Back down to art again

As of a few minutes ago, the text for my OSR coversion of Life of Rage is complete.  And, like the original version, all that remains is artwork.  This seems to be a recurring theme, and something that is a bit of a stumbling block for an independant (wannabe) game-designer like myself.

At this point, if I want to be able to charge a small fee for my original creations, I have one of two options.  I can either A) do the art myself, or B) commission the requisite artwork from a professional.

Option A is obviously the most cost-effective.  I work a day job that is adequate for covering the normal expenses of a full family.  So, finances are a major concern.  I don't have the kind of cash laying around to invest in something that could conceivably lose me money.  At this point, all of these efforts have cost me nothing except time.  Honestly, I'm a fair artist.  Not a professional in terms of ability, but I can get by.  And there are always a few shortcuts for a small venture like this.  So, this route is doable.  The main downsides are that it is very time-consuming, and that I am my own worst art critic.  So, I know that if I do the art myself, it will be a long time before this stuff is ready to be published, and even then, I will most likely be unhappy with the final product.

Option B has the downside of not being feasible at this point, due to the afore-mentioned financial constraints.  Art is expensive.  Good art is very expensive.  And I don't have the financial backing of an established RPG publisher.  I could crowd-fund, ala Kickstarter, I suppose.  But that adds the extra burdens of expectation and delivery.  And I'm kind of a coward when it comes to self-promotion and promising delivery.

Really, at this point, I have only one option.  So, I guess I ought to break out my pencils, pens, paper, and reference books, and get cracking.

Swords & Sorcery

On a whim, I opened up the PDF of the play test version of my complete S&S RPG, Age of the Sword.  And then, on another whim, I decided to use Adobe's "booklet" printing feature, and print the thing out.  I now have in my hand (well, on my desk, as holding it would make typing difficult) a 5.5" x 8.5" RPG, just begging to be played.

It currently sits at a whopping 23 pages, plus covers, Introduction and Forward pages, and a blank character sheet.  The only section that is still empty is the "Sample Characters" which I never got around to building.  And the whole thing is laced with pencil and ink drawings by Frazetta and other fantasy artists, with a legal disclaimer at the front stating that they are just there for illustrative and place-holding purposes, please don't sue me.

So, now I am trying to figure out what to do with the dang thing.  The layout is pretty nice, and the whole thing looks pretty good (though there are some big, blank spaces that could use some text or illustrations).  In order to finish it properly, I would mainly need to fix the art issues; replace the copyrighted art with original art, and do a full-color cover image.

The game was designed to be minimalist, and bare-bones.  But, I think there is some room for expansion.  Maybe some more detailed options in game-play, a few more monsters and foes to fight.  And the world I created as a setting is intentionally vague and abstract (without even a proper name, it's simply called "The World").  There are defined nations and regions, but each just gets a gloss over, with a general description and not a lot of detail.

The mechanics are based on a dice-pool system that uses d6's exclusively.  You're basically looking to roll over a target number for any given task.  There is a lot of leeway for how to employ that mechanic, as the whole thing was based on a universal system I wrote ages ago called EGO.

Over all, I like the game.  And I think fans of the genre that Howard built would like it too.  I think I might dust it off, polish it up, and see what I can do with it.

Basic Arcana

So, as of this morning, I have officially put out my first attempt at an OSR "product."  Basic Arcana is intended to be a sort of Unearthed Arcana for the Basic/Expert rules.  All of the rules and modifications are intended to be add-ons, or quick adjustments to the old rules.  I decided to do this because I love those old rules (as with my tastes in movies, that's probably in no small way attributable to nostalgia), but they have their flaws.  And I think that may be the charm of OSR gaming. 

The Basic and Expert rules are, by the standards of recent editions, rather simple.  This is actually a strength for some people.  For 3rd edition, and to a slightly lesser extent 4th edition, there are just so many rules and options.  There is something to cover everything.  For younger gamers, this is what they want, so that's great.  But, us older gamers (the ones who actively play, anyways) sometimes miss the days when house-rules were the norm, and modifications were practically expected.

As gamers we tend to develop particular "tastes" for gaming experiences.  We like it when things work in certain ways.  So, when a new edition or game comes along that doesn't fit that, we have a tendency to want to fix what we perceive as a flaw.  And that, IMHO, is the basis for the entire OSR movement.  The ability of a DM or player to figure out how they would like the game to be, without having to look it up in some "officially supported" book.  It's a more personal gaming experience.

So, if you play those old versions, feel free to download my paltry little file.  If you like one thing I have in there, I will feel vindicated.  As always, feel free to discuss it below, and let me know what you think.

Basic Arcana <-- Download Here

Please note, I know that other attempts at this sort of thing have been made.  And if I have duplicated any one's efforts, it's purely coincidental, as I have not yet read any of those.

Who am I?

As a way of easing into this Gaming Blog world I am suddenly fascinated with, I thought I would introduce myself.  What follows is an excerpt from the introduction to my recent project.  I’ll talk about what that is later, once it’s a little further along, and I’m sure I’m not just duplicating others’ efforts.  Suffice it to say, it’s an OSR “book” of sorts.  Anyways, on to me…

I began my life-long journey in Role-Playing Games with Moldvay’s 1980 version of the Basic Rulebook.  I was 11 years old and in the sixth grade.  I had just moved back to my hometown in Northern California to stay with my grandparents while my mom went into the Air Force.  One day a new friend of mine, Richard Schmidt, asked me “Do you play D&D?”  To which I responded “What’s that?”

Since then I have played every edition of D&D, and have found that 3.5e seems to be my favorite.  In addition, I have played a whole laundry list of other RPG’s in just about every genre.  These days I play in a regular game of D&D with other 40-somethings who refused to outgrow our beloved hobby.  We bring our kids and let them play together while we sit at the table and have grand adventures with minis and a battle mat.  Each session has food provided by one of the families.  We are the new breed of Domesticated Geek.

Yet, despite the 30 years of gaming experience I have, that old Moldvay red book still holds a certain amount of charm for me.  I can crack that ancient tome open (though the copy I have isn’t my original one), and I am instantly transported back to the 6^th grade, when the whole idea of fantasy role-playing was new and wondrous.  I sometimes long to just roll up a fighter, and explore the Caves of Chaos™.

So, where does that bring me today?  Well, from a gaming standpoint, I do a lot of thinking and tinkering, but not a lot of actual playing.  I like to write new rules, rules variations, and even gaming systems.  But I usually have to rely on others to play test and critique them.  So far, this hasn’t worked out too well.  But, I still enjoy the process of writing stuff for games.

Among my current projects are Life of Rage, an RPG where the characters are all orcs, a soon-to-be revealed addition to the Basic rules, using Moldvay’s book (and Cook’s Expert Rules) as the basis, and then a few odds and ends of gaming.  I always seem to have some irons in the gaming fire, despite being busy with school (getting my Masters in History), writing fiction of various lengths and genres, working a full-time job,  and having a full family life.

Yep, life does indeed move pretty fast, Ferris.