tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-392427526916288536.post1646021158041298981..comments2024-03-18T07:25:03.802-07:00Comments on Against The Wicked City: On romantic fantasy and OSR D&DJoseph Manolahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05387275537008858939noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-392427526916288536.post-14031743044680315952023-09-02T13:03:13.075-07:002023-09-02T13:03:13.075-07:00There are some elements of this in the Dolmenwood ...There are some elements of this in the Dolmenwood setting... or at least I think so. It does list Princess Mononoke and Labyrinth in its Appendix N. Omar Benmegdoulnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-392427526916288536.post-41082042607867349732022-03-23T18:49:31.879-07:002022-03-23T18:49:31.879-07:00I like powerful characters, but this article makes...I like powerful characters, but this article makes a good case for restraining them from high-level powers. Some of these OSR features are things I'd want to ignore, like arbitrary random stats and potentially starting with 1 HP while the player next to you has 6. But that stuff can be ditched while still keeping systems like reactions and morale that I feel add something more to the game. A lot of the Pathfinder material just assumes people fight to the death and that avoiding combat isn't even an option.<br /><br />I'd also like to try playing with your "On not having a skill system" rules. Lately I've been looking at the Sine Nomine games like "Stars Without Number", which to some extent tell you not to roll if basic professional competence would let you do something.Kris Schneehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18121917846372647922noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-392427526916288536.post-59155460443340885892021-02-08T11:04:58.223-08:002021-02-08T11:04:58.223-08:00Sorry to be late in replying to this, Alicia - I&#...Sorry to be late in replying to this, Alicia - I'm very glad to hear that you found the post useful, and I hope that your adventures in B/X have proven rewarding for you!<br /><br />The AD&D2 XP rules were a mess. The main emphasis was on XP for killing things, but the numbers were all out of whack: an orc was basically a match for a level 1 fighter in a duel, but the fighter would somehow have to kill *fifty-eight* orcs to go up to level 2. So you *had* to use some variant of the 'optional' XP rules or no-one would ever level up. When I ran it as a teenager I rapidly slid into just awarding arbitrary XP awards for each scenario completed. Joseph Manolahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05387275537008858939noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-392427526916288536.post-35441599760625204262021-01-31T02:52:57.585-08:002021-01-31T02:52:57.585-08:00I just want to say that this one post is what made...I just want to say that this one post is what made me want to try out old-school and B/X D&D. I had missed how 1,2 and 4 went missing in newer versions, and how the game wasn't always as combat focused. <br /><br />From what i can find, 2nd ed AD&D made "XP for GP" into a very small optional rule. 2nd ed revised removed even that. Lost in Wonderlandhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06667463332124923078noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-392427526916288536.post-27799570494513734322019-03-16T12:19:46.716-07:002019-03-16T12:19:46.716-07:00I quite like the idea of alternate source material...I quite like the idea of alternate source materials for OSR inspiration.<br /><br />Another good example of this kind of story, and one which was used as a plot point in, of all things, "Better Call Saul", is "The Adventures of Mable".PapaJoeMambohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10761277227069180245noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-392427526916288536.post-55259349909756412902018-11-26T13:26:40.556-08:002018-11-26T13:26:40.556-08:00It *is* fun, but in a very slow, repetitive, 1790s...It *is* fun, but in a very slow, repetitive, 1790s, there's-nothing-to-do-except-read-so-the-longer-our-novels-are-the-better sort of way. Skimming huge sections of it is nothing to be ashamed of!Joseph Manolahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05387275537008858939noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-392427526916288536.post-27860235123381082032018-11-26T07:52:49.484-08:002018-11-26T07:52:49.484-08:00Ooooohhhhh, I'd never heard of the 'Myster...Ooooohhhhh, I'd never heard of the 'Mysteries of Udolpho' before - looks like fun! Thanks for the (perhaps unintentional) heads up!endonauthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03522081802809449081noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-392427526916288536.post-33416198619769776332018-11-21T13:14:59.123-08:002018-11-21T13:14:59.123-08:00'The Wizard of Oz' certainly fits, and ind...'The Wizard of Oz' certainly fits, and indeed it was probably one of the inspirations for 'Spirited Away'. Girls' adventure stories in general tend to fit this pattern, all the way back to ur-texts like 'Alice in Wonderland' or 'The Mysteries of Udolpho'. Fighting is off the table, so you have to talk and think instead. Stories for boys tend to fast-forward to the 'and then he got super-powers and killed everyone' stage, which I've always found rather dull in comparison. Joseph Manolahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05387275537008858939noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-392427526916288536.post-12303067472757878232018-11-21T09:14:51.380-08:002018-11-21T09:14:51.380-08:00I just was redirected to this post by a link on a ...I just was redirected to this post by a link on a forum-- apologies for resurrecting the dead, it may be happening on a few of your posts today.<br /><br />Annnnnyway: Spirited Away is 100% my favorite Ghibli film and I really dig your take on it as an inspiration for OD&D play, and your Very Sensible reasoning about why the rules support this style of play!<br /><br />I can only add (on the extremely off-chance you haven't already thought of it yet) that it has always seemed to me that Spirited Away and The Wizard of Oz (especially the novel version) are amazing d&d stories, *and also* essentially the same story arc: little girl, lost in a strange land where the normal rules don't apply, far from home, beset by witchery and intrigue, who manages to triumph by being kinder and braver and better at making friends than everyone else involved, then is finally reunited with her family and returned to The Normal.<br />Again, thanks for the fun thoughts to chew on!endonauthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03522081802809449081noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-392427526916288536.post-7551130661430545062017-11-13T00:59:24.451-08:002017-11-13T00:59:24.451-08:00Great post. That's why I like B/X D&D and ...Great post. That's why I like B/X D&D and its retroclones. I also add reaction rolls and morale rules to my fifth edition games. My favorite kind of fantasy in games and literature is sword&sorcery, but playing romantic fantasy as explained by you can be extremely rewarding.yurizanelli79@gmail.comhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05935837719583931463noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-392427526916288536.post-52805180685422786012016-12-15T07:50:28.070-08:002016-12-15T07:50:28.070-08:00I've been struggling with group size, as I'...I've been struggling with group size, as I've got three players and not all can make it every Sunday. Avoiding a TPK each session has been hard.<br /><br />The solution has been on the social side. Most of our first few adventures introduced a new NPC adventurer to round out the party, partly to increase their strength and partly to cover for skills they didn't have; a party without a thief, or a cleric, or both is in serious trouble. These NPCs return on and off, often serving as a spur that day's session.<br /><br />They're not high enough level yet, but as we're playing AD&D I plan of using the hireling/henchman rules extensively. They look like a godsend to me.Paul Dryehttp://falsesteps.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-392427526916288536.post-43436539515286227652016-12-14T18:25:57.120-08:002016-12-14T18:25:57.120-08:00I once ran a campaign after having watched the fig...I once ran a campaign after having watched the fighting styles in Kurosawa's Yojimbo and Sanjuro - basically most of the combatants watching the buffest/craziest fighters, not wanting to get hurt if they can possibly avoid it without totally losing face. The orcs were great for switching sides if it looked like one side was dominating. The campaign became one of gathering more orc vassals with each victory... fun stuff.ron meinershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16824816206188765356noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-392427526916288536.post-25546135861049568552016-06-04T02:42:23.542-07:002016-06-04T02:42:23.542-07:00I am a big fan of this style of fantasy, but it...I am a big fan of this style of fantasy, but it's always difficult to come up with examples that could give other people an idea what all the talk is about.<br />Could you perhaps make a post about introducing people to this style with a list of example works?Yorahttp://spriggans-den.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-392427526916288536.post-2999587413206620712016-05-29T23:07:59.432-07:002016-05-29T23:07:59.432-07:00I'd certainly be interested to see it if you d...I'd certainly be interested to see it if you did!<br />Those are three of my favorite movies, actually. What really got me started on reading your blog was the idea that you could run a game that felt like a Miyazaki movie and still sounded like a fun thing to play. I'd also had D&D romance/Romance on the brain since I was asked to run an introductory game for a friend, who requested "something about travel that feels like a really good telenovela," so your work has been very helpful.<br /><br />I've never read 'Jane Eyre' and haven't revisited 'Pride and Prejudice' since high school, I'll have to make time for them. Henryk Sienkiewicz's 'With Fire And Sword' is outstanding (especially the W.S. Kuniczak translation if you, like me, don't read Polish).Tom Kilianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17086235205146158319noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-392427526916288536.post-37053822611102636132016-05-24T15:39:29.538-07:002016-05-24T15:39:29.538-07:00My top picks for the kind of thing I'm calling...My top picks for the kind of thing I'm calling 'romantic fantasy' here would be movies, actually. 'Spirited Away', 'Labyrinth', and 'Song of the Sea' are all really good examples; they all show characters getting thrown into threatening magical worlds, and navigating their way through them via relationship-building and emotional problem-solving rather than violence. <br /><br />If you actually mean romance proper, then the ur-texts are 'Pride and Prejudice' and 'Jane Eyre', the latter of which draws heavily on the kind of Gothic fiction which fed into D&D - except that it treats the Gothic hero-villain as someone to be healed through love, rather than purged through righteous violence. Jane Eyre even has psychic powers!<br /><br />Good question, though. I'll have to think about putting together a proper list...Joseph Manolahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05387275537008858939noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-392427526916288536.post-54696448821028983712016-05-22T16:31:48.160-07:002016-05-22T16:31:48.160-07:00Do you have an Appendix N or similar list of recom...Do you have an Appendix N or similar list of recommended romantic fiction?Tom Kilianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17086235205146158319noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-392427526916288536.post-71593286078436034522016-04-03T16:03:56.624-07:002016-04-03T16:03:56.624-07:00Woah, I'm going to comment on this one... Sorr...Woah, I'm going to comment on this one... Sorry for being messing up in an old post! <br /><br />I really love this approach to fantasy, games and OSR D&D in particular. I always tried (sometimes with really bad results) a similar approach that I call 'plausible fantasy': You'll never make a 'realistic' fantasy (it's... Well, it's imposible) but you can make some fantasy that seems realistic, that is plausible. Some games try this approach, some games deny it and some other games can be played in both ways. You are doing a great job making D&D plausible, romantically plausible, and that's very cool. <br /><br />Good post and better blog!Nirkhuzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01625430841723207402noreply@blogger.com