Speechless (Again)

Once more, J.R.R. Tolkien's birthday is upon us and I am ill prepared to say anything to mark the occasion. Much like Dungeons & Dragons, I'm not certain I have anything left to say that I haven't already said on numerous occasions beforehand – or that others more eloquent than I haven't said better. Therefore, I will simply remind everyone of the date and bid you all to commemorate this auspicious date in whatever way seems appropriate to you. I'll be re-reading some of my favorite sections of The Hobbit, like riddles in the dark or the meeting with Elrond. Those scenes (and many others besides) remind of why Tolkien is still remembered and celebrated to this day.

Happy Birthday, Professor Tolkien!

In Case of Fire, Break Glass

Nearly everyone who's read the AD&D Dungeon Masters Guide remembers Will McLean's delightful comics that poked gentle fun at many of the conventions of fantasy roleplaying. Traveller had a few examples of its own, my favorite being this one which appeared in The Traveller Book by Loren Wiseman and John M. Morrison. 

Modifications to Traveller (Part II)

Wiseman continues: 

The most common change will probably be in the available weapons. Any additions to the weapons should be especially well thought out and rationally based. Science fiction literature contains many more weapons than could be described in the basic rules. Many of these have only the flimsiest of scientific justifications, if they are justified at all. In television and movies, weapons are often created for the visual effect they have and are not usually very well thought.

A couple of points. First, we again see a reference to "science fiction literature" as the first source of inspiration for Traveller, which shouldn't be surprising. Anyone with even a passing knowledge of E.C. Tubb and H. Beam Piper – the two most influential authors on Traveller – can easily see where the game came from. That said, sci-fi TV and movies are mentioned, albeit unflatteringly. Second, it's very clear that Wiseman at least considered Traveller to be an attempt at a "serious" game grounded in real world science. He doesn't see it as a game of swashbuckling space opera. I'm OK with that, though I know plenty of people aren't.

In addition, all ramifications of the weapon must be considered. For example, any major change in lethality of hand-carried weapons is likely to have profound effects on military tactics, at least eventually (the military is sometimes a little slow to catch on).

This is a fair point. For the most part, Traveller's weapons – at least those readily available to player characters – are all on a fairly similar plane in terms of lethality. There are differences, obviously, but, aside from some of the stuff introduced in Mercenary, they're all of a piece. 

A few question to ask might be: is this weapon really required by my universe? What is the principle of its operation? (If the weapon is taken from literature, the principle of operation may be described or well-established.) Is the principle of operation a reasonable one? What are the advantages and disadvantages of this particular weapon, and why would it be used in place of more conventional weapon systems?

All reasonable questions, so I don't have much to add. I will note, however, that a common complaint about Traveller is that it includes too many "archaic" weapons among its firearms, like shotguns and submachine guns. This has never much bothered me, perhaps because of a comment in Book 1 of Traveller that seemingly addresses this point: "the surest way to injure or kill an adversary will be to subject him to a large dose of kinetic energy, and a simple way, easy way to administer that energy is by bullet impact."

Adaptations to the jump and maneuver drive systems and to our concept of jump space should be made only with care and consideration. The effects of modifications to these areas are wide-ranging and touch almost every rule in one form or another. In designing our interstellar drive system, we tried to come up with one which fitted in with the other aspects of our proposed mythos and which was reasonably close to the literature we drew it from. It was assumed, however, that some referees would not be satisfied, whatever system we devised. It was further assumed that any referee who felt strongly enough about the matter would change what displeased him.

This section might be one of the more controversial ones, because I know that many people both dislike Traveller's jump drive and believe that the game is perfectly playable without it. Wiseman acknowledges this above. For myself, I'm a big fan of the way jump drive works, because, when coupled with the lack of any form of FTL communications, it creates a setting that's somewhat akin to the Age of Sail, at least as far as the dissemination of information. That opens up a lot of possibilities for adventures both large and small. 

We do not recommend major revisions of the trade and commerce section without considerable thought. Minor deviations from the trade and speculation table, or reclassification of certain world types are acceptable; indeed, in most cases, some deviation from the letter of these rules is desirable, but the spirit (i.e. the general system) should be preserved.

As to how integral the speculative trade system is to Traveller, I'm not sure. I'll only say that I very much love the system, not because it's a good simulator of interstellar commerce – it's not – but because it provides a terrific campaign framework and a reason for characters to travel from world to world. I'll talk more about this in a future post.

Referees are cautioned against making psionic powers too common. Players will often urge that psionics become more widespread, but this is often only because they want to have every possible advantage without drawbacks. Powerful psionic abilities would soon dominate all aspects of play and most of the excitement of Traveller (the advanced technologies) will lapse into disuse, or at least be relegated to a secondary role. 

I can't really disagree with this section, but I've also never been a huge booster of psionics in Traveller (aside from when I've used the Zhodani), so my opinion is perspective is perhaps skewed.

The cautions which apply to major revisions apply to a lesser extent to expansions of existing rules. Many referees find certain rules do not go into enough detail to suit them. Examine the manner in which Book 4, Mercenary, expands upon the army and marines, or Book 5, High Guard, expands upon the navy for general guidelines on technique. You need not (and probably should not) duplicate the systems in these two books exactly, but they will prove a source of inspiration for your own efforts.

Even as someone with a decidedly mixed opinion about Traveller Books after 3, I agree with Wiseman here. Most of the later books do provide good models for those who wish to add more detail to their adventures and campaigns, even if I've rarely felt the need to do so myself. I prefer a simpler, less baroque version of Traveller, but I understand not everyone feels this way, especially in a game that's much more laser focused on a particular style of play.

Wiseman offers up a lot of food for thought in this section of Book 0. In future posts, I'll be returning to a few of them. Stay tuned.

Looking Ahead

Judging from my past attempts to do so, I am a very poor prognosticator of the future. Therefore, I am going to refrain, on this first day of 2025, from making any predictions about the next twelve months. If the last few years are any guide, the only thing one can safely predict about the coming year is its unpredictability. With luck, that unpredictability will work in our favor from time to time.

I am likewise not a maker of resolutions. My ability to follow through with almost any project I undertake is spotty at best, as anyone who's paid any attention to my creative output over the years can tell you. The only project that I can (almost) guarantee you'll see this year is this blog, which, for better or worse, I've still managed to keep writing, though there are plenty of days when I wonder how long I'll be able to continue to do so. 

That said, there are a few things I feel reasonably safe to state about 2025 and Grognardia's place within it. First, there will be a rise in the number of posts dedicated to Traveller, at least for the foreseeable future. I started down this path toward the end of last month, so that should be no surprise. Traveller remains my favorite roleplaying game, so this shift in focus was perhaps inevitable. However, I cannot promise it'll be a permanent shift, as one can sometimes grow tired of even one's most cherished interests.

Relatedly, I will probably also post a bit more about Thousand Suns, the science fiction RPG I wrote as my love letter to Traveller. It's a game with which I'm very pleased and that I've enjoyed playing over the years. It's also a game I haven't put any further development into in many years, for multiple reasons. Despite this, I am regularly asked about the game and whether or not I have any future plans for it. Those are all fruitful topics for discussion, especially as an adjunct to the increase Traveller posts here.

Second, there will be more posts about Secrets of sha-Arthan, the science fantasy roleplaying game I've been creating, on and off, for the last three and a half years. I've made a lot of progress in that time, but I'm a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to personal projects like this. I've written and rewritten, abandoned and returned to numerous drafts of the game rules multiple times now – so many, in fact, that I often despair of ever settling on one that I like enough to playtest widely. I'm hoping that will change this year. Even if it doesn't, I still plan to share more about the sha-Arthan setting, which I think is pretty cool.

Third, 2025 marks the 50th anniversary of the publication of Empire of the Petal Throne. And while my House of Worms campaign is very likely coming to its end within the next few weeks (just shy of its 10-year anniversary), my interest in Tékumel remains. Plus, I did such a poor job of commemorating the semicentennial year of Dungeons & Dragons last year that I feel an obligation to do better with EPT, a game that deserves to be better known and appreciated. 

Fourth, I will definitely post more about the other campaigns which I'm refereeing or playing. In particular, the Barrett's Raiders Twilight: 2000 campaign deserves greater coverage. That campaign has been going for the last three years and it's now entering a new phase, as the characters are in the midst of evacuating the war-torn Poland of September 2000 and returning home to the USA. I think this new phase will be quite interesting, both to play and to write about, so expect more T2K posts throughout the year. 

Fifth, expect some more interviews with notable figures from the history of the hobby. Interviews used to be one the major features of this blog in its early days. I've not done quite as many of these since I return to it in 2020. I intend to change that this year, if only because I think it's very important that we preserve the thoughts, memories, and experiences of the pioneers of this amazing hobby we all share. Being keenly aware of my own mortality these days, I don't want us to lose any more of our founders before they've had a chance to tell their stories. Interviews are one small way that might be able to happen, hence why Grognardia needs to post more of them this year.

Naturally, I have other hopes and intentions for 2025, but I've probably already tempted Fate by publicly mentioning the five I have, so I'll keep the others to myself for now. In the meantime, I want to wish all of my readers a Happy New Year and to thank you all for your continued interest and support. That means a lot to me.

The Articles of Dragon: "Greyhawk's World"

In my younger days, I was a big fan of The World of Greyhawk setting, for reasons I've discussed in other posts on this blog. Sometime during 1982, probably starting with the appearance of "The Deities & Demigods of the World of Greyhawk" series, there was a significant uptick in the amount of Greyhawk material in the pages of Dragon. I loved this, of course, as I was eager to learn more not just about Greyhawk but also perhaps the direction Gary Gygax was planning to take AD&D, as rumors of an expansion first began to circulate. Just as each new character class or collection of spells provided hints about where AD&D might be headed, so too did his elaborations on the Greyhawk setting (or so I thought anyway).

Consequently, when issue #71 (March 1983) came out, I was pleased to see that it included multiple articles penned by Gygax, two of which specifically dealt with Greyhawk. While one was simply another installment of deities and demigods, another presented something adjacent but nevertheless slightly different. Entitled "Greyhawk's World," the article presented three "quasi-deities" and one "hero-deity" – entirely new concepts for AD&D, as Gygax himself explains at the start of the article.

Gygax defines a "quasi-deity" as "above the status of important characters, by and large, but not quite demigods." Included in this class are "personages" such as Daern, Heward, Johydee, Keoghtom, Murlynd, Nolzur, and Quaal, all of whose names should be familiar to anyone who's read the Dungeon Masters Guide, because they're associated with various magic items and artifacts (Heward mystical organ, Keoghtom's ointment, etc.). Some of these characters were once player characters and are now retired from adventuring in the usual sense. For the most part, "their exalted status moves them in other realms," but they may occasionally become involved in more mundane matters, hence Gygax's description of three of them in this issue: Heward, Keoghtom, and Murlynd.

Heward is a high-level bard named for Hugh Burdick, Gygax's cousin. Whether Burdick ever actually played Heward or D&D, I don't know, but I am sure my better informed readers can provide that information. Keoghtom possesses high levels in multiple classes – cleric, magic-user, illusionist, monk, bard – and is an homage to Gygax's deceased childhood friend, Tom Keogh. Murlynd is the former character of another deceased of Gygax, Don Kaye, who was also one of the original founders of Tactical Studies Rules. Of the three, Murlynd was the one who most interested me, because, in addition to having levels as a paladin, magic-user, and illusionist, he was also "typically clad in garments of another time and world, that of 'the Old West'." Murlynd also carried a pair of six-shooters that nevertheless worked in the Greyhawk setting, despite their otherworldly technological nature.

In addition to the three aforementioned characters, Gygax presents a fourth, Kelanen "the Prince of Swords," whom he calls a "hero-deity." A hero-deity would seem to be a step closer to true demigod-hood, given that "some who live by the sword pay him homage." Like the quasi-deities, Kelanen possesses high levels in multiple classes, in addition to having a number of unique magic items and special abilities that set him apart from mere mortals. Unlike the three quasi-deities, Kelanen is more reclusive and singularly devoted to his narrow interests. He's also neutral in alignment – the others are all good – and dedicated to "balance."

When I first read this article, I was instantly taken with it, primarily because it provided some additional details about the high-level NPCs of the World of Greyhawk. I, of course, recognized the names of Heward and Keoghtom right away, while Murlynd and Kelanen were unknown to me. Of the two, Murlynd caught my attention, because of his cowboy-like appearance and his use of firearms, something that, up to that point, was quite uncommon in AD&D, outside of oddities like Expedition to the Barrier Peaks. I found Murlynd simultaneously appealing and repellant – appealing because who doesn't find the idea of a magic-using cowboy cool and repellant because I was a terrible stick in the mud generally opposed to genre bending. I preferred to color within the lines, even in my fantasy.

The other aspect of the article that I found compelling was one that Gygax didn't much develop. He mentions offhandedly that 

Using these three as guidelines, it should not prove too difficult for the DM to act to bring very special "retired" player characters, and possibly some of your most successful NPCs too, into the realm of the quasi-deity. By means of dual-class work, special situations, successful quests, and the completion of defined tasks, the former PCs can be elevated to the new status. 

Gygax provides no details of precisely how to handle this, leaving up to each Dungeon Master to adjudicate, which strikes me as wise and probably a better approach then what we got in the Immortals Rules. Though I never took this up in any of my own campaigns, I was intrigued by the idea, as well as by the implication that perhaps, in the future, AD&D might carve out more space for high-level characters. High-level play is one of those things that's always existed in theory, but it's never, in my experience anyway, been all that satisfying – just more levels, more hit points, more spells, etc. without any real purpose beyond it. Maybe that's an inherent flaw in the structure of D&D itself, I don't know. From time to time, though, I caught glimmers of something more than that in Gygax's Dragon columns. I'll be sure to point out what I'm talking about in future "The Articles of Dragon" posts.

Modifications to Traveller (Part I)

Deluxe Traveller, a boxed version of the game released by GDW in 1981, included Book 0: An Introduction to Traveller written primarily by Loren Wiseman. Book 0 was intended to be "a guide to the world of Traveller, written especially with the beginner in mind." It's written in a straightforward, conversational way, eschewing the dry, technical manual style that's common in RPG rulebooks, in order to reach an audience who might have no experience with this kind of game. Consequently, it provides some insight into how GDW saw Traveller as a game and what they felt important to convey to newcomers to it.

There's a section in Book 0 titled "Modifications" that focuses, more or less, on house rules. Though it's not quite two pages long, it nevertheless contains material worth pondering. The section begins:

In the process of playing scenarios, or while preparing to adapt a specific science fiction literary mythos to Traveller, many referees will wish to change the rules to a greater or lesser degree, either to expand some aspect which is not adequately covered in Traveller, or to modify some section which does not fit in with the referee's universe.

There's a couple of things here worthy of note. To start, there's the reference to "a specific science fiction literary mythos." I've been saying for years that Traveller is almost entirely inspired by SF books, particularly those written between 1945 and 1975, and that televisual and cinematic sci-fi had minimal impact on its design. It's always good to see further confirmation of this fact. That said, Wiseman couches the idea of modifying the rules first in the context of adapting the game to prior art and then in the context of a homebrew universe. 

Referees should feel free to modify any rule to whatever extent they see fit, providing they bear in mind that:

— The rules are interlinked to a great extent. If you change one section, you must also be willing to change all other sections, which are then rendered inconsistent. Naturally, radical departures from the rules will have greater and more far-reaching effects than minor changes. Referees who modify the rules without regard to the repercussions are doing themselves and their players a grave disservice.

Traveller's rules are very elegant in my opinion. Marc Miller put much more thought into their design than did Arneson and Gygax when creating Dungeons & Dragons. Consequently, Traveller is not as easily modified or house ruled. It's not impossible by any means, but, as Wiseman notes here, doing so without reflection can have ripple effects.

— The balance of play should not be destroyed. A common change many newer players make (particularly those with backgrounds in fantasy role-playing) is to increase the occurrence of psionic talents, and permit training on a much higher level than the basic rules. This may seem like fun at first, but when any character can kill with a single burst of mental energy, where is the challenge? Psionic talents are best used sparingly.

Wiseman's reference to "newer players" and "those with backgrounds in fantasy role-playing" are intriguing. I wonder if GDW was seeing an expansion in Traveller's player base by 1981. If so, that would certainly explain some of the reason behind the publication of Book 0.

— All of the changes should be rational, logical, and scientifically sound (after all, Traveller is a science fiction role-playing game). A typical example is a suggestion we receive about three times a year for some form of anti-matter small arm (usually a pistol or rifle, but once a hand grenade). These suggestions always seriously underestimate the amount of energy necessary to maintain a magnetic bottle around the anti-matter for any length of time, and almost always have a maximum range of considerably less than the burst radius of the projectile. 

I love hearing little anecdotes like this one! When I spent time with Loren Wiseman at GenCon back in 2001, he shared many stories about dealing with fans of Traveller over the years. They weren't all like this one, but many were. 

— The speed of communication should never be allowed to exceed the speed of travel. This is a basic tenet of Traveller, and its violation will irrevocably alter the balance of the rules.

This one surprised me, not because I disagree with it – quite the opposite – but because, up until now, Wiseman had implied that any aspect of the game could be changed, provided the referee is willing to deal with the consequences. Here, though, he is emphatic: the speed of communication should never be allowed to exceed the speed of travel. This is a topic to which I'll return at greater length in a future post (or, more likely, posts), but I'm glad it was mentioned here.

— Do not expect other Traveller materials to match your universe if you engage in large-scale modifications.

This is, of course, the eternal danger of house rules. On the other hand, referees who make extensive use of house rules generally aren't using many official supplements and rules expansions, at least in my experience, so it's not a huge problem. 

(To be continued ...)

Be of Goodly Order

Long ago, I wrote about a fantasy art book that fascinated my childhood friends and I. Called Down in the Dungeon, the book featured color illustrations of a locale called Zarakan's Dungeon. Because there's very little text in the book, there's almost no context for anything depicted in it, beyond this overview of the subterranean complex.

It's a very cool illustration, especially because all of the artwork included in Down in the Dungeon can be placed within it. In fact, if you look carefully at the overview, you can even make out smaller versions of some of the scenes found elsewhere in the book. For example, in the upper right hand portion of the overview, you can see a bunch of pillars. Those pillars – and what's around them – can be seen more clearly in a pair of other illustrations.

In the book, these two illustrations are side by side, as you can see from the creature passed out from intoxication in the first piece, whose hand can be seen in the second one. In the book, a captain accompanies them, reading "Neutral Ground. Be of Goodly Order." Clearly, this is meant to be a bar or tavern located within the dungeon, where all its various inhabitants, monstrous or otherwise, can rub shoulders not only with one another but also with adventurers – so long as they all are "of goodly order."

It's a pretty strange concept, a bar within a dungeon and yet I can recall at least one dungeon I played in as a young man that included such a thing. The bar was explicitly a "safe area" where characters could rest and even re-supply, though to a limited extent. I don't know where the referee, whom I met at a "games day" at a local library, got the idea for such a thing. I'd never seen anything like it before (since I hadn't yet encountered Down in the Dungeon) and I recall finding it odd. However, my fellow players and I went along with it, since there were all sorts of weird NPCs in the place with whom we enjoyed interacting. Plus, as I said, the bar was a place where our characters could rest up, heal, and get more food/water, arrows, and other similar things. I suppose the referee intended it as a mercy of sorts, since the rest of the dungeon was pretty brutal.

Has anyone else ever encountered something like this in a dungeon? Are there any examples of it in fantasy literature or perhaps in a fantasy RPG? I can't shake the feeling that I'm failing to remember something obvious.

Found It!

Last week, I mentioned a computer program called TravGen that I used to have and lost in the process of upgrading my computer. After poking around online, I found a link to the program on Frank Filz's Wine Dark Rift Classic Traveller Campaign website. I've downloaded it and have been having fun playing around with it over the last few days. It's a great little mini-game with which to procrastinate when I should be doing other things and I highly recommend it to anyone else looking for something similar. I also recommend Frank's website, which has lots of interesting ideas and resources for players and referees of classic Traveller.  

Merry Christmas!

Deathwish

Like Dungeons & Dragons, Traveller assumes that a new character is generated through a series of dice rolls – 2d6 in this case rather than 3d6 – for each of his six characteristics (Strength, Dexterity, Endurance, Intelligence, Education, and Social Standing). The results are recorded, in order, on a character sheet. Book 1 of Traveller recognizes the possibility that these random rolls may result in "a character with seemingly unsatisfactory values." However, the text states that "nevertheless, each player should use his character as generated," since 

The experience procedures and acquired skills table offer a genuine opportunity to enhance value, given only time and luck. 

This is true. Most characters, over the course of the terms of service, will gain one or more bonuses to certain characteristics, which will raise them higher than the initially generated scores. However, the 1977 edition of Book 1 – and only this edition, so far as I can tell – does include an "escape hatch" for players who are still unhappy with the characteristics they've rolled.

Should a player consider his character to be so poor as to be beyond help, he should consider joining the accident-prone Scout Corps, with a subconscious view to suicide.

Considering the poor survival rate of Scout characters, I find this amusing.