About This Blog

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This blog is simply an outlet for some of my thoughts and ideas on tabletop role-playing games.

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Gygax vs History

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 About 18 years ago, I had the privilege of meeting Gary Gygax at a special event at the now defunct Higgins Armory in Worcester, Massachusetts. The curator there was extremely knowledgeable in medieval weapons and armor, and they were able to boast at the time to be the only group of researchers in the world translating and putting into training and practice medieval German combat training manuals. The event, of course, included Q&A with Gary and a book signing. But it also featured a debate between Gary and the museum curator over the use of polearms in medieval combat. The curator held the safe and boring position that the wild and bizarre designs on polearms were strictly ornamental, or perhaps designed for intimidation, and were completely useless in combat. Gary took the position that, no, you actually could learn to use all those specialized and intricate heads. Gary was never one to take the label of "expert" lightly. Although he was well read and knowledgeable, h...
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[LA] Avatar Creation

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STEP 1: Choose Race Lejendary Essentials offers the selection of Human, Dwarf, Ilf, Kobold, and Oaf (Typical and Major). In addition, the Lejendary Rules for All Players offers Gnomes, Orcs (Greater, Lesser, and Common), Trollkin, Wylf, and Veshoge. For new players, we recommend playing a Human. STEP 2: Determine Knacks and Quirks Orcs, Oafs, and Veshoge Avatars have a specific number of Knacks and Quirks they begin with. Other races are assumed to begin with 1 Knack and 1 Quirk. The primary purpose of Knack and Quirks is to keep Alfar Avatars varied and mysterious, and so for Alfar they should be interpreted as extremely as possible. In my game, Humans are 90% likely to possess a Knack and only 50% likely to possess a Quirk. STEP 3: Assign Points to Base Ratings You may wish to look ahead to which Abilities you will want for your Avatar. Some common distributions for Humans, and the Orders that best fit with them are: 60/32/8: Mariner, Noble, Outlaw, Soldier 55/35/10: Mariner, Noble, ...
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An Encounter with Goblins

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What follows is a case study. It began with a random encounter result of goblins. Then the LEDGE method (outlined  here ) was applied. It produced a module-worthy encounter. It was then run in actual play. This is a recap of that play identifying the critical parts of the encounter through the lens of the LEDGE method. Unbeknownst to the party, one of the NPCs they disclosed their quest to was secretly a spy. Because of this indiscretion, the enemies in the following encounter knew the PCs were coming and had set up an ambush. The party consists of: Kizya , Female Human Champion ( 7th level Fighter ) Zoltar , Male Human Magsman ( 8th level Thief ) Nadja , Female Human Magician ( 6th level Magic-User ) Jada , Female Half-Elf Prefect Thaumaturgist ( C5/MU5 ) Zogath , Male Half-Orc Curate Myrmidon ( C4/F6 ) Viktor , Male Human Myrmidon ( 6th level Fighter ) Nadja also made the mistake of drinking liquor at the tavern from the bartender’s personal stash and is suffering fro...
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