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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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[AD&D] Stealth Sans Skills

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A question that comes up a lot is how do you handle stealth for non-thieves in AD&D? A lot of people expect there to be some kind of default probability, less than that of a 1st level thief, but some sort of probability in the same vein as the Thief Abilities. Some veteran AD&D players simply allow the surprise check to work as a de facto stealth check, with Thief Abilities representing skill above and beyond that. But that seems to raise more questions than answers. How exactly is Move Silently or Hide in Shadows supposed to be integrated with the surprise system? There is something in the PHB to suggest that being silent would boost the surprise probability from 2 in 6 to 3 in 6, as would being unseen, and both would boost it to 4 in 6. So what do you do? Call for a hide in shadows check, a move silently check, and a surprise die roll just for a thief to sneak about? I can understand how the extra stealth skills of a thief would enhance the surprise ability, leaving the a...
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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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