In Search of Strongholds, Part 6: Get to the Good Stuff

Welcome to the penultimate installment of my blog series on developing a stronghold system for 4e. It has taken a lot longer to get this all written down than it took to put it together in my head, but that is the way things go sometimes. Check out the previous installments if you need to catch up: Parts 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. Today's post largely shies away from mechanics and instead focuses on the philosophy and reasoning behind my design decisions.

Here at Frothsof 4e, I try to keep my DM advice practical and specific. I personally do not enjoy reading DM advice posts. You can learn more by DMing one session of a game then you will ever learn by reading someone's blog, or even worse, a DM "self-help book". Specific advice on game elements is fine, but I believe everyone should make their own path as far as pacing, adventure styles, preparation, and all of the the rest goes. When it comes down to it, there is really only ONE bit of advice that I consider crucial enough to stress to a new DM, and that is to get to the "good stuff".

This is a lesson I think many of us have learned. We have a great idea, be it for an adventure, a foe, a location, or whatever, but instead of immediately getting to the good stuff, we take a roundabout way of getting there. We then run the risk of never actually arriving. Gaming groups break down, things happen. If you do not get to the good stuff, you sometimes never get there at all. If you have a great idea, use it as fast as you can. Get to the good stuff.

I have applied this mantra to my stronghold rules. I asked myself, "What is the "good stuff" when it comes to stronghold systems?" This also begs the question, "What is the bad stuff?" Well, everyone is different, but for me the "bad stuff" regarding strongholds and domains would be too much focus on the minutiae. Too much accounting. Too much resource tracking sucks the fun out of it for me, and makes it feel like school work. On the flip side, there is a lot of "good stuff" about stronghold systems that appeals to me greatly. I love the idea of carving your own place in the world, clearing hexes old-school style, designing what your stronghold will look like, roleplaying the construction and hiring of retainers and armies, attracting townsfolk to the area, and of course, eventually making a profit.

The question now becomes, "How do you get to the good stuff with only a modicum of soul-killing accounting?" Well, we start where every stronghold system starts: finding a suitable location to build. This should always be a joint exercise with the DM, and should always fit into your campaign world. My own completed, edited rules ("Baronies and Barbicans") will appear in issue #2 of 4e Forever, and as such, they will reflect the 4e Forever world. So the seemingly simple act of selecting a locale will vary widely depending on the campaign.

The DM should draw a map on hex paper. Use large hexes. It doesn't have to be very detailed, but it can be if you want. As for scale, I suggest using 1 to 3 mile hexes. The DM should note any special geographical features. Select a hex to be the building site. The PC(s) must then clear the area of monsters in a 3 to 6 mile radius around the site. This can take as long as you like and can constitute one or many adventures in and of itself. You can use random tables or design detailed adventures. The party can do all the work themselves or hire soldiers and mercenaries. Whatever the case, building should not start until the area is cleared.

So far this should sound pretty standard. Here is where it gets a little different. Traditionally, here is where you will start having to itemize everything. Every individual salary of everyone hired from potboys to engineers. Every single door, bastion, and tower. Formulae for construction time based on the number of workers. Wall footage. Armies. It starts to get tedious fast and the fun quickly gets sucked out.

That is why I came up with an idea for simplifying the building and staffing process. Now, I have talked before about how I could care less if my numbers are "historically" accurate. Its a fantasy game. I want them to make sense, but I do not care if they accurately portray medieval life or economies. If you disagree with this style, this system will likely drive you bonkers.

Anyway, you will still want to roleplay the hiring, building, and so forth, but I have "bundled" the necessary expenses for building and maintaining the property into two "packages". A DM could extrapolate further based on these packages if he or she wanted to make it more complex. The idea is that you spend a set amount of money. I have used round numbers for ease of use. The numbers are based on the stronghold construction taking a year (in the game world) to complete. All of the materials and labor costs are rolled in together. This includes a Sage whose magic presumably helps with the speed of construction, as well as the cost of fielding a smallish "army", whose size varies based on the amount spent.

I present two options, one priced at 50k and one for 100k. That is the total cost for the first year (i.e. construction, salaries, army, etc), payable all at once or by the game "month". After the first year, there is a set amount you pay in perpetuity for upkeep of the property, patrols of the previously cleared area, and maintaining your armed forces. After the stronghold is built, settlers automatically move into the area and begin paying taxes. After a couple of years you break even, and from there you start to make a modest profit. The hard numbers for this will appear in the next installment of the series.

Here is an idea that I am really proud of. I have always loved looking at the little drawings of castle components in OD&D and the Judges Guild's Ready Ref Sheets. Designing the look of your keep or manor is definitely part of the "good stuff" in my book. What sucks is trying to tally it all up piece by piece. I mean, how many doors do I need? 60? 43? How long does this wall need to be...and if I make it such and such length, what about the moat? Argggh. Fun=gone. Well, my idea is that instead of itemizing and accounting for each little piece of the stronghold, the cost of construction instead provides you a certain area of space. You can then use whatever architecture you want so long as it fits in the area. This area should be depicted on graph paper, and involves a combination of length, width, and height. So you don't have to worry about counting doors or towers or any of that. You are just restricted by the size of the stronghold, not by the "look". Make sense? Like I said this isn't "accurate", but it works. It is a way to embrace the fun parts of traditional stronghold systems, while doing away with the nitpicking.

So to review, the idea is pretty simple: less accounting, more roleplaying and stronghold designing. The system maintains the traditional "feel" of various domain systems, while alleviating a lot of the math and inventory tracking. The costs for building and maintaining the property and employees are all built in. You have a lot of freedom to give your construction the look that you desire without having to be needlessly anal about it. What is also cool is that it also will tie into the Scalemail mass combat system for 4e Forever (see issue #1).

So that is it for now. I will provide some numbers and breakdowns next time and summarize the blog series. You will have to wait until issue #2 for everything to be edited into a final presentation. My wife is going to be drawing the stronghold components, and I will be aiming for it to feel as close to the OD&D and Judges Guild's drawings as possible!

I would love to hear some feedback. Let me know what you think about these ideas!

The Best 4....Weeks...in Gaming?

So I thought I would make this post as the GenCon excitement has reached a fever pitch. People have arrived and lines are forming. Not I. For millions of gamers, it just isn't feasible. The biggest reasons for me are family related, but you could point to a myriad of reasons one might not attend, from cost, to work-related issues, to living outside of the US, to just not wanting to brave a crowd of tens of thousands of people.

Hope you brought your deodorant...

I have always been the type that would rather watch a football game or other event on the boob tube rather than pack up the fam, deal with traffic, and ultimately not have the greatest view in the world. Of course, there are exceptions (like that Pink Floyd concert back in the day), but by and large, as long as I can see/hear what happened, being there in person is not crucial to me. In the case of gaming conventions, I can always catch up on seminars through social media. Important news gets around quickly, and the twenty minute delay in hearing the news is not such a big deal to me. Likewise, while I do collect a lot of old RPG materials, I cannot see myself waiting in line for things like free commemorative dice sets. There is nothing wrong with that at all, and I do not mean to sound judgmental; I am just speaking for myself. If I want an item badly enough, I can bid on it or find another way to get it. Anyway, I say all of this just to set up my point. There is ONE thing about conventions that has always made me jealous of those that regularly attend. The gaming. The near-constant gaming.

In my home games, I am always the referee. Always. I actually don't have a lot of folks nearby that would have ever even have played RPGs if I hadn't have invited them. This is fine and good, but I like to play too. I like to play old games. Obscure games. Brand-new games. All kinds of games. Conventions give you the ability to immerse yourself in a variety of games with other like-minded folks. That has always been the "draw" for me.

For years now, I have supplemented my in-person gaming with on-line gaming. I have always used the VT that WOTC tried to develop. It is a pretty simple program to use, and it works very well with 4e D&D, and other editions to some extent. It is limited though. It is not terribly well-known. In fact, when VTs get mentioned, it is rarely listed. It is also very much centered on 4e, which is fine, but it limits its appeal. There were other games I wanted to play, and for a long time it seemed like the only way I would get to play them would be to run them myself, likely with a group that wouldn't even be all that into it. Then I started exploring Google+.

About 4 weeks ago, I started to explore G+ more thoroughly. I had ignored it before; it just seemed like another pseudo-Facebook type deal. Come to find out, it is a gamer's paradise. Dozens of obscure, forgotten games have found a home there. New RPGs are playtested. Free materials are shared. And lots and lots of games get played.

Within the first 20 minutes, I was approached about playing a game of Boot Hill. I nearly swooned. Boot Hill? I literally do not know anyone but the local game shop owner that has even heard of it. I have had a player-in-waiting, The Albuquerque Kid, for years. Powers and Perils? Yes sir! Oriental Adventures? You don't say? Numenera? Why not? Mutant Future? Let me at it. Night's Black Agents? Holy moly! Pathfinder as far as the eye can see. D6 Star Wars. Shadows of Esteren. Dungeon Crawl Classics. Cthulhu. The opportunity to play games of all varieties is staggering.

I got to play in an OD&D game for the first time in years. I got to playtest the latest 5e packet. And the games just keep coming and coming. I don't have time to play half the games I would like to. If I had this while I was in college, I may have never graduated.

There is no real cost of entry. Most games are played on free tables, usually Roll20 being run through a Google "Hangout". You will likely need a mic, but that's about it.

Now, I am sure I sound a bit noobish to many. I am certainly late to the party, as there are already thousands and thousands of gamers taking advantage of it. All I can say is, better late than never. Anytime I want to find a game, I can pretty much just hop on, click around a bit, and find something going on. There hasn't been a day that has gone by that I haven't seen a game posted that I would love to play in.

Another bonus is that there seems to be a dearth of assholes. I am not saying they don't exist, it just seems like there is a lot less cynicism and edition-warring on G+ as opposed to the typical forum. I hope it stays that way. Everybody I have met has been cool.

Anyway, while you might be down in the dumps about not making it to GenCon for whatever reason, if what you feel like you are missing is the sheer GAMING, all I can tell you is that everyday is a convention on G+. Freelance designers share ideas, gaming companies preview materials, freebies flow like water, gaming news abounds, and most importantly, ACTUAL GAMES are going on near-constantly. So, don't just sit there feeling sorry for yourself! Get on G+ and find some games!

The Return of Arduin???!!??!?!

I want to thank James Mishler for first mentioning this on Google+ or I may have never seen it. Emperor's Choice, who I must admit I had never heard from until today, is doing a retro-clone or re-creation of Arduin.

The first "Arduin Grimoires" were kind of a weird mix of an original fantasy game and a supplement to D&D. The creator of the material, David Hargrave, had a lot of creativity and personality. He was an early advocate for "hacking" other systems, and took the attitude that in some ways the game belonged to everyone. Consider this excerpt from The Arduin Grimoire #1:

 "About three years ago fantasy role playing games began to become extremely popular among gamers of all types. At first it was something new and wonderful, and ideas and information flowed freely among the players.
 
About a year or so ago things began to change: the joyous game was becoming big business. And those non-amateur game designers took on all of the trappings of things that have profit as their main motivational force: greed, secretiveness, hunger to "control the market" and all of that other garbage.

Amateurs who tried to publish their ideas were being told to cease publication if their ideas even remotely resembled any those big business types had published. Yet those same people ripped the amateurs' ideas off quite freely, and with dismaying frequency.
 
This supplement is offered in the hopes that it will infuse new life into the amateur side of fantasy role playing garnes, and stimulate the free idea exchanges so sorely needed to keep this type of gaming alive and viable. This supplement does not seek to replace or denigrate any other fantasy role playing supplement or game, either professional or amateur. It could have been three times the size you see before you, but personal problems, finances ,and lack of time required otherwise."

If their goals weren't so diametrically opposed to each other, he and Gygax could have almost been friends, what with the slightly paranoid and arrogant tones.

So how is the material? Its hit or miss, but when it hits, its great. Lots of off the wall classes, such as "Technos", rationally-minded scientist types who despise magic and can build robots. The early stuff had a charm that I don't think was ever fully recaptured with later iterations and releases. His piece de resistance, in my opinion, is The Howling Tower, a massive, gonzo funhouse dungeon featuring rooms made of jagged glass, mechanical tigers, and the dreaded, feared Skorpoon.

Anyway, Arduin certainly deserves a second look, and I am hopeful that this new project will focus on the earliest Arduin materials. It will be interesting to see what happens!

A Megadungeon? For 4e? (Part 2!)

Wow, time flies. Hard to believe it has been over a year since I did this original post on megadungeons in 4e. Now that my zine 4e Forever has come out with the first level of a megadungeon "serial" adventure, I feel like I learned more about using these behemoth settings with the 4e game, so I thought I would post a part 2.


I noted how 4e combat speed can effect the pace of a megadungeon. You cannot populate every room with a 4e set-piece encounter and ever expect to finish such a thing, let alone enjoy it. But here is the dirty little secret: 4e's skill system works GREAT for exploration. Sure, you sometimes have that annoying player that rolls perception every 5 seconds, or the guy that detects magic on everything including a dead squirrel (adventure idea?), but overall its pretty no-frills and gets out of the way of the actual game. Exploration is one of the great joys of dungeons in general, and megadungeons in particular. A megadungeon gradually reveals itself. Each room is a thread of the tapestry. The story is in the exploration, how different areas of the place relate to each other, and the relationship of the creatures inhabiting the place. Even something completely "funhouse" like Tegel Manor has a sort of hidden rationale that only becomes apparent when you can finally step back from it and look at it all at once. Kind of like those 3D posters where you blur your eyes?


I am convinced that pacing is the key of running a 4e megadungeon. If you check out the first level of the pyramid in "Tales of the Lost City" from my zine, you will notice that out of 49 rooms, there are only 9 or so encounters, some of which might not even happen. I am not saying there is some pat and easy formula, but you want your design to really lean towards exploration. Having run I6 Ravenloft for 4e, Tegel Manor, and playtesting "Lost City", I really feel comfortable in saying that.


In the Temple of Elemental Evil (perhaps not a megadungeon, but a damn big one), there are a lot of good lessons regarding how different factions might work together or against one another. On the first dungeon level, you have a large group of gnolls. All of the gnolls rooms are connected, and if you encounter one group, odds are that the others will be alerted in kind of a domino effect, until all have joined the fight. 4e is GREAT at handling these kind of gradually-building encounters. 4e PCs have a lot of resources, and if you introduce creatures from nearby areas gradually during an encounter, you can really give it a "real" feel, as well as challenge your players. In "Lost City", a lot of the rooms of the pyramid are locked; the broken and open doors are towards the entrances of the pyramid, so rooms there are the most heavily populated. This is deliberate design; different creatures can hear a commotion if it happens.



I am reminded today on Gygax's birthday of what I consider the greatest set-piece encounter in the history of D&D: entering (or attempting to enter) The Forgotten Temple of Tharizdun. Gygax gives detailed instructions for adding reinforcements to the initial group of monsters encountered. They cover 25 ROUNDS and must include at least 100 creatures. The feel of a constantly growing combat encounter can give even jaded players a rush of adrenaline. If you are considering a 4e megadungeon, consider laying out some of the encounters in such as a way that they can 'blend'. I hesitate saying this adds 'realism', as realism isn't the point of a fantasy megadungeons; it does add a kind of logic to it though, a natural feel if you will, and the great thing about that is that it fits the 4e system like a glove.

By primarily emphasizing exploration, and by carefully considering encounter placement, you can create 4e megadungeons that work to the game system's strengths.

In Search of Strongholds, Part 5: Hirelings, Soldiers, and Wages

I know it has been forever since I posted anything in this series, and I apologize. I was compelled to finish the first issue of my zine 4e Forever, and it of course took waaaaay longer than I would have guessed. That said, a day has not really gone by that I haven't thought about stronghold rules. You can check out the earlier installments at these links: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4.

I had contemplated doing an entirely new list of mundane gear in order to fit the new "economy" I am working with. I say new economy, but what it really amounts to is throwing 4e's "expected wealth per level" in the trashcan. I added random treasure tables, with lair treasures being the mother lode, the source of fabulous wealth. As I researched different prices of mundane gear over multiple editions, I started to realize that every edition is pretty much in line with the prices. There is a little variance, but overall they are pretty close. The biggest difference is with things like armor; old editions priced plate armor out of reach of low level PCs as a balancing factor, whereas with 4e, characters can afford plate at level 1, but they cannot all benefit from it. I was going to have to use the 4e prices for weapons and armor anyway, so the fact that the rest of the prices were in the same ballpark meant that I really didn't need to make new gear lists after all. It would have been a lot of work for nothing.

All of that aside, I still needed to nail down wage rates for hirelings. You cannot run a stronghold without them. You need staff to maintain the property, not to mention to support and supervise your armed forces. Your soldiers, of course, are also hirelings in and of themselves. If you have not already, you can read the current hireling rules in 4e Forever #1 in the Grimoire. I provided the basic "formula" for hireling wages: 2gp x hireling level = their daily wage. That said, to go any further we must talk a little bit about how hirelings and levels are defined.

First of all, none of the numbers you are going to see represent real history or medieval demographics. I try to maintain an internal logic and consistency, but I am not a scholar and do not purport to be. I do not personally care if stuff in my fantasy game matches up exactly with real life. I am trying to use simple formulas and concepts (such as "hireling level") to make rules that are easy to use. So, every number or gp total you see may not feel "realistic" to you. If that is a crucial factor, these may not be the stronghold rules you are looking for.

Second, hirelings and soldiers need to be differentiated. Soldier wages (but not their leadership's) are much lower than typical hirelings. This is for several reasons. The main ones are that their supplies, armor, weapons, food, and lodging are all provided to them. There are also many of them, so in the same way that buying in bulk might save you or me some money at a grocery store, the costs for your soldiers are also lowered as the costs are spread amongst many. There are also many "one-time" costs; you don't need to repeatedly buy a barracks, for example. Low-level "grunt" soldiers may also be less skilled, illiterate, be former criminals and/or mercenaries, or any other balancing factor that you need to justify it.

Wages per day are provided below, with wages per month extrapolated from them. You might have a campaign world that does not use months, or has a weird calendar, or what have you. I am assuming 30-day months with 12-month years. You can use the daily wage to set your own wages or use an optional rule that smooths everything over, albeit at the risk of losing a bit of "realism": most hirelings require a "monthly" wage for any services that take two "weeks" or more. So if you are hiring someone for 15 days or 30 days, it is the same wage. If you have 40 day months, you could still use the "monthly" pay rate. This will allow most DMs to use the same prices/rules even if their calendars are different.

Ok, so we talked before a little bit about how hireling levels work. They are based on the rarity of their skills as well as whether they are in a supervisory role. Thus, an Alchemist is of higher level than a Fletcher, and a Sergeant would make less than his Captain. The levels may feel arbitrary in and of themselves; they only have meaning when they are compared against each other.

So here is a breakdown of hireling wages. These do not apply to your standard soldiers (i.e. artillery, cavalry, etc) but they do apply to military leaders. As noted in the Grimoire, hirelings have a level cap of 10. They do not typically accompany PCs on adventures; that is the purview of henchmen. Soldiers do engage in mass combat, and they will be integrated into the Scalemail mass combat system for 4e Forever (see issue #1) eventually. A sage's wages should be set based on how rare their purview of knowledge is within the setting. For example, in Serd (see 4e Forever issue #1), any sage with information about the location of ancient ruins would be very well paid (Level 10).  Typical hireling occupations are listed; if you utilize a hireling with an occupation or skill that is not listed, use whatever level makes the most sense to you based on the wages of those that are. Also remember that common laborers are not hirelings, and they are not paid according to these tables.

Hireling Wage in GP by Day/Month
Level 1-2/60
Level 2-4/120
Level 3-6/180
Level 4-8/240
Level 5-10/300
Level 6-12/360
Level 7-14/420
Level 8-16/480
Level 9-18/540
Level 10-20/600

Hirelings by Level
Level 1-Scribe, Pack Handler, Chef/Baker, Minstrel
Level 2-Blacksmith, Tailor/Weaver, Tanner, Potter, Furrier, Vintner
Level 3-Armorer, Fletcher/Bowyer, Weaponer, Sergeant
Level 4-Gemcutter, Lieutenant, Animal Trainer
Level 5-Captain
Level 6-Engineer (Architect), Barrister
Level 7-Spy/Assassin (hired by the month only)
Level 8-Sage (varies)
Level 9-Sage (varies), Astrologer
Level 10-Sage (varies), Alchemist, Apothecary

Soldiers
Soldiers are all paid 5gp each per game month, or 60gp per year. Soldiers are never hired by the day. For simplicity's sake, I do not differentiate between different types of soldier in order to determine their wage.

In the next installment of this series, I will lay out the costs of constructing a stronghold and the minimum staff needed to maintain it. This will include the military leadership needed to supervise varying totals of soldiers, and notes on building your own army within the Scalemail system.

***I am still looking for submissions for 4e Forever #2!!! If you want to contribute artwork, cartography, or an article, PLEASE feel free to contact me at frothsof@gmail.com

Googling for Floorplans

Hey. I bought this old book about world architecture for inspiration. It has all of these awesome floor plans of actual temples and pyramids and stuff, and is really killer. I also have a lot of travel guides; this morning my daughter had pulled some out and I looked in one of them and was reminded that they usually have a lot of floor plans in them as well.

Anyway, it got me thinking about just searching online for floor plans. Its amazing the kind of stuff you can find. I searched "travel guide floor plans Venice" and found this completely random gem; if you are running Call of Cthulhu this would do nicely as a visual aid of a hotel.

Searching for "old cathedral floor plans" likewise yielded awesome results.

Searching for "Egyptian temple floor plans" yielded too many awesome results to post.



The thing that I really like about this (besides how easy it is) is that I find I get inspired quite easily just by looking at different floor plans. I already feel the inkling of an idea forming for a Cthulhu adventure using that hotel...something really, really 70s. The Egyptian granary above would make a killer jail for D&D. The image could be a player handout, a blueprint; maybe the PCs have to spring a falsely-imprisoned dignitary out of one of the central cells in order to stop an assassination. 

Try it! It is almost like a Rorschach test or something; your mind will make a story out of the floor plan.

***I am still looking for submissions for 4e Forever #2!!! If you want to contribute artwork, cartography, or an article, PLEASE feel free to contact me at frothsof@gmail.com



Wednesday Grab-Bag: A New Setting from Birthright's Rich Baker, New OSR Zines, and More!

A quick post to point out some things you may have missed:

1. Rich Baker of Birthright fame has combined forces w some other industry vets to launch a Kickstarter for a new campaign setting, Primeval Thule. Check it out here. Cool thing about it is you can order it for 4e, 13th Age, or Pathfinder, so it should appeal to a lot of gamers.

 

2. I mentioned before that the legendary OSR zine "Footprints" has returned from a lengthy hiatus. Well, they seem to really be back on track, bc there is already another issue out! Check it out here. 

3. The unrivaled star of the show at Free RPG day was Lamentation of  the Flame Princesses' Better Than Any Man. I was happy to have backed the Kickstarter for it; it is a great accomplishment. It is now available for "pay what you want" at RPGNow. Check it out.

4. Speaking of great accomplishments, Richard J. LeBlanc, Jr.of New Big Dragon Games has launched an excellent OSR zine that is also priced at "pay what you want". More info can be found here.

Lots of great stuff going on!

4e Forever Issue #1 Wrap-Up: Submissions, Q&A, and a THANK YOU!!!

Well, issue one of my fanzine 4e Forever has come and gone, and all I can say is that the response blew my expectations out of the water. This is obviously a niche product: a zine focused on a recently "cancelled" edition, and one that centers on high-level play, traditionally the least played "tier" of all editions. It also incorporates a lot of old-school elements, which, if you believe everything you read, is diametrically opposed to 4th edition. Well, the response proves that was a lot of bunk. I have had die-hard OSR guys congratulate me, and people that have only played 4e tell me I peaked their curiosity for classic editions. It seems a lot of the loud voices on the internet do not represent gamers as a whole.

I want to give a special thanks to those that shared this with others. Several people blogged about it, shared it on websites that I had never heard of, and some generous soul even took the time to index the issue on RPG Geek. Thank you. If anyone liked it or knows others that might, please continue to share it.

I thought I would give a short Q&A regarding some questions that arose from readers.

How often will 4e Forever be published?

There is no set schedule. A lot of it depends on real life and how many submissions I get (see below). It will be irregular, that's for sure.

Can classes other than Arcanists use spell research?

Yes. I left it as Arcane classes only in the mag for old-school flavor, but in retrospect, I should have clarified that.

You mentioned the rate of pay for hirelings based on level, but there was no list of hirelings.

A list of hirelings will appear with the stronghold rules, whenever I get them completed. In the meantime, a DM can just improvise based on common sense. For example, a blacksmith is a very common occupation, and even small villages like Hommlet will have one, so assign them a low level. In contrast, a sage that specializes in ancient astrology might be incredibly rare and command a higher wage. The less common the occupation, the higher the level. This also applies to supervisory roles, like in the mag example.

Does a Savage's extra attack on its initiative +10 work like some of the more recent 4e dragon designs? Do they get one action or a full set?

Yes, it is basically the same thing. How many actions is up to the DM. Note that a Savage is not required to use all of the features listed, but it will typically have many of them.

Who controls henchmen? Hirelings?

A DM should control hirelings, while the players control their henchmen.

What happens if the PCs level up and they are in an area with no henchmen to be attracted?

If the PCs are unable to be approached, then no henchmen are attracted, but if the PCs are in any location where populations of Humans or Demi-Humans are nearby, henchmen should find them.



I am THRILLED that I have already received a few submissions. I want to talk a little bit more about them. I am COMMITTED to making it smooth and easy as possible for you to submit material. Therefore, if you need help converting monsters to the new stat block, I will do it for you. I you have questions about the world or need guidance on any of the rules, I have an open line of communication. If you have "system neutral" material, such as random tables, by all means, send them in; not everything has to scream 4e. You might have something you submitted to Dragon or Dungeon that didn't get printed. Consider reflavoring it and sending it in! If you want to contribute to the zine, I promise I will do everything in my power to make it happen. So please, consider sending something in, or tell a friend that you think might be interested about it. Again, you can email submissions to frothsof@gmail.com .

Well, I just want to once again thank everyone for checking out the zine, even if it wasn't your thing. It is now my most popular blog post by a million miles. If anyone runs any of the adventures, let me know how it goes! I know that at 150+ pages, many of those who downloaded it may not have had a chance to finish reading it, so please keep sending me feedback. Thanks again!

DOWNLOAD MY FREE 4E FANZINE!!! 4E FOREVER ISSUE #1 IS UP!!!

So the wait is finally over. It has been a loooong road, but I am happy to say that I followed through and finally got it done. I hope you have enjoyed the "spotlights" on contributors yesterday and over the weekend. I again want to thank the Crypt Thing Robert Waluchow, Timothy "Morpho" Reynolds, and Will "Beholder Pie" Doyle for all of their help.

When the end of 4e was announced, I felt it had a lot further to go. I was cynical for a minute, thinking about all of the stuff that I felt was still needed or that was never accomplished. I decided that instead of bitching, I would do my own thing. After all, there are tons of awesome 'zines out there for out of print games...why not start one for 4e?

So I can finally spoil the contents for you now! What is in the first issue of 4e Forever?

-The framework of a new shared world that 4e fans can build together
-The best alternate and additional rules from my blog, re-organized, edited, and compiled into one easy to use document, the 4e Forever Grimoire
-Revamped trap rules for 4e with 15 new tricks and traps
-Over 30 new high level creatures
-Two full-length adventures, including part one of a massive megadungeon adventure path
-Exciting rules for a 4e mass combat system designed by WOTC published author Will Doyle
-All the info you need to submit your own writing, artwork, and/or cartography

This magazine is and always will be free, but I will ask one thing of you, Gentle Reader. Please pass this link along to any and all 4e fans that you know. I need help to keep this going, and I will be relying on submissions. So please, send to your gamer friends, forward to your friend lists on forums, tweet it, email it...anything you can do to help spread the word would be greatly appreciated.

And so, without further ado, I hope you enjoy the mag!

DOWNLOAD 4E FOREVER ISSUE ONE

COUNTDOWN TO THE 'ZINE-CONTRIBUTOR SPOTLIGHT-WILL "BEHOLDER PIE" DOYLE

Wow, it is just one more day til I drop my 4e fanzine! Over the weekend we took a look at some of the awesome talent that contributed to the first issue. Saturday we checked out the Crypt Thing, Robert Waluchow. Yesterday, we spoke with the multi-talented Timothy "Morpho" Reynolds. Today we shine the spotlight on Will Doyle of Beholder Pie.

Will and his girlfriend Stacey operate the blog, a truly amazing mix of great 4e design and world-class artwork. Someone on a forum somewhere mentioned it to me a few years ago, and when I checked it out, I was pretty overwhelmed. "How has nobody heard of this guy?", I wondered, as his blog is really heads and tails above a lot of what you see. Well, it seems WOTC took notice as well, because in the year since I first asked Will about contributing to my zine, he has had not one, not two, but three adventures appear in Dungeon, with another possibly on the way. All of his adventures have gotten rave reviews for their creativity. I am not surprised in the least.

When I approached Will about printing one of his articles in the mag, he was total class. He let me make edits, answered questions, and he is really a super-nice guy who deserves all of the success he is getting. You will be seeing a lot more of this guy, I promise you that.

Will was nice enough to answer some questions for me:

1. How did you get into gaming?

I was first introduced to roleplaying games in 1984, when a relative gave me and my brother a boxed copy of Call of Cthulhu. I was nine, so it was way above my head, but I remember liking the pictures! Eventually one of my brother's friends ran a short campaign of Dragon Warriors, and we finally understood how it all worked - and were pretty much hooked. That led to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Paranoia, Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay, D&D and dozens more. Nowadays I mostly play D&D and Call of Cthulhu, with occasional forays into other systems. My girlfriend is a keen player, and we both work in video games, so there are plenty of opportunities to game!

2. Can you talk a bit about Beholder Pie? How did you get started with it?

Beholder Pie was born when my 4th Edition campaign began developing lots of housebrew content: a mass combat system, unique monsters, magic items, and artifacts. Most blogs seemed to focus on GM-advice, so I thought a "crunch-heavy" site could stand out from the crowd. I also played with a group of video game artists, who were always drawing pictures of their characters, so I had lots of original artwork available. Over the months the blog has become less crunch-based, but I still try to provide something mechanical every once in a while.

3. I know you have had some stuff published by WOTC recently. Anything else on the horizon you want to share with us?

Over the last year I've written four Dungeon adventures for Wizards of the Coast. The first two - "Tears of the Crocodile God" and "Glitterdust" have already been published, and there are two more in the pipes. I can't talk much about them until they're been announced, except to say they were a real blast to write and playtest! Two of the adventures I've written have been based on concepts they've asked me to develop (rather than ideas I pitched to them), which in some ways I prefer - it's more of a challenge, as it puts you out of your adventure-writing comfort zones!

I am not going to spoil what Will contributed to my zine. All I will say is that it is a game changer, plain and simple. You do NOT want to miss it. Thank you SO MUCH for your help Will!

You can pretty much click at random on Will's blog and find something awesome, but I think I will leave you with a link to some of his recent ultra-creative stuff, "The Drowned Kingdoms". This is a killer new campaign setting, a world completely flooded...kind of like Waterworld without the urine drinking and cigarettes. Here are the posts about it, scroll down to start at the beginning.

One of the awesome locales of the Drowned Kingdoms, Fathomdeep

COUNTDOWN TO THE 'ZINE-CONTRIBUTOR SPOTLIGHT-TIM "MORPHO" REYNOLDS

Today I continue to shine the spotlight on contributors to my upcoming free 4e fanzine. Don't forget, it comes out this Tuesday, June 11th! Yesterday, we took a look at cartographer extraordinaire, Crypt Thing Robert Waluchow. Today we spotlight Timothy "Morph" Reynolds!

I first met Timothy Reynolds about three years ago, gaming online. We played (and still play) on the RPGTO; this is the virtual table that Wizards developed but discontinued. It is still going strong, but that is another story.

Tim aka "Morpho" aka "MorphoPractix" aka "SarialMorphoPractix" is the consummate gamer-the exact person you want playing at your table. Courteous, friendly, creative...anyone that has played with him remembers what a cool person he is to game with. I am lucky enough to have played dozens of sessions with him. Everyone likes Morpho.

Slowly but surely we got to know each other a little bit, and I began hearing more about his real life. "Morph", as I prefer to call him, alluded to the fact that he is a stage actor. Didn't surprise me at all, as he is a great roleplayer. I started hearing more about his parts in productions; he mentioned "Penny Dreadfuls" and "Varney the Vampire" one session, and I felt hip to know that I knew what the hell he was talking about. Anyways, I had let people know that I was working on a 4e fanzine, and Morph ended up emailing me about it. It turns out that he is a Renaissance man, and that drawing and painting are also among his many talents. Again, not really surprised. Turns out Tim is many things: an actor, playwright, poet, designer, and a visual artist. He is also my place to crash next time I am in Brooklyn, NY (half-kidding).

I am not a fan of modern RPG art. I love the classic stuff: Sutherland, Trampier, Otus...I don't like anything that feels overwrought or tortured. I want to feel an artist's character. I don't know if that makes much sense, but you can probably still appreciate how awesome it was when Morph sent me these images that he drew for a storyboard/treatment of a friend's upcoming outer-space sci-fi film. This is exactly the kind of art that I wanted to see in an RPG. It is visceral, fluid, and most importantly, it has character.

Slime on the foot? That's a BAD THING in outer space.

Space jealousy? That's even WORSE.

Uh, yeah, but space cutting is worst of all...

How awesome it is to have an artist with that kind of talent contributing to my little fanzine. Thank you so much Morph!


I asked Morpho a few questions in a vain attempt to unravel the enigma. Here are his responses:



1. How did you get into gaming?

I first began with Basic D&D in 1977, moving quickly onto AD&D.

2. I know you are a creative guy, you act in the theatre, you paint, etc. How do these tie-in to your gaming?

RPGs tend to attract actors and artistic types.  I always have drawn during game sessions - characters, combats that were happening, etc.  It has always fueled the game for myself and for my fellow players, as I tend to do character portraits for my companions and the DM.

3. Any projects or plans for the future with your painting? 

I will always do artwork and I am contemplating a tarot deck series of paintings.



The tarot thing sounds amazing. Morpho is a true talent, with an incredible knack for interpreting text and conveying it in an image. Everything I gave him was like a sentence or less, and he did incredible things with it. You will see for yourself soon enough. I do not want to publish his email, but if you want to contact him let me know and I will pass on the information. I can see him doing a lot of OSR work, as his artwork is perfectly suited for it. I will certainly be hitting him up for issue #2.

The Tuesday release is creeping closer! In the meantime, you can check out this awesome sneak peek at an original Morph image from the 'zine. I asked him for "zombies". No detail or anything. Look at how awesome this is! (Note the dude in the bottom left...super-creepy!)

"Zombies" by Timothy Reynolds

COUNTDOWN TO THE 'ZINE-CONTRIBUTOR SPOTLIGHT-"CRYPT THING" R. WALUCHOW

As I countdown to the release of my free 4e fanzine this coming Tuesday, I wanted to shine the spotlight on some people that helped make this first issue everything it could be. Today we take a look at the Crypt Thing, Robert Waluchow.

I first became aware of Robert's blog ( http://cryptthing.blogspot.com/ ) by way of 4thcore. I really appreciate the 4thcore movement, as it incorporates a lot of my own philosophy into its design. I like challenging combat and old-school adventures, and 4thcore delivers both. I started checking out other 4thcore affiliated sites and came across Rob's. I had an instant appreciation for his blog; unlike many sites, it is primarily focused on cartography. I really liked his style; it feels like a mix of hand-drawing and technology, an interesting balance. 

One of Rob's awesome creations

Over time, Rob started sharing some of his artwork as well. I love the style. Check out the Vrock Seer below!

Vrock Seer, Crypt Thing style

As I started work on my magazine, I took the chance of approaching Rob about him helping with the mag's cartography. I thought, "What do I have to lose?". The worst he could tell me is no, but if he helped, I knew I would have a real up-and-coming talent in the world of D&D cartography helping me. Thank the gods that he said yes. Over the last year+, Rob has shown amazing patience with me, making edits, and taking on a LOT more work than I originally gave him. I am eternally grateful to him for his help. I can't imagine what it would be like if he hadn't helped me. I wholeheartedly recommend designers out there hiring Rob to help with your work. He is a pro and a great guy.

I decided to ask all of the contributors a few questions to help shine the light on how they got into the hobby and about their work. Here is my Q&A with Rob:

Q: How did you get into gaming?

A: I got into role playing games in the mid 90’s playing AD&D 2^nd Edition. Unlike many other role players, I didn’t have anybody to shepherd me into the hobby. I had a vague general impression of Dungeons & Dragons, but had never been exposed to it. The catalyst for my entry into the hobby came (appropriately enough) from mapping. One day while I was daydreaming during class, I spied a fellow class mate drawing. My interest perked, I leaned in to see what he was drawing and saw a map of a sprawling fantasy kingdom. He was fleshing out a homebrew setting for use in Dungeons & Dragons. I marveled at the audacious free-form creativity employed for use in a game. The idea of creating a unique world whole-cloth and having a group of people interact with it and experience it was too alluring for me to ignore. I rushed out, picked up the core rulebooks, and began blundering my way through learning the ropes of running a Dungeons & Dragons campaign. I’ve never looked back since.

Q: Can you tell us about Crypt Thing?

A: Crypt Thing is a blog I started up a couple of years ago in order to share the maps I create for my home games with a wider audience. There is a myriad of blogs out there that deal with Dungeons & Dragons and role playing games in general, but I found that most of them discuss game theory or offer advice on running games. Precious few offered concrete tangible tools that Dungeon Masters could use and drop right into their games. So I decided to create a venue to showcase my maps and offer them up unlabelled so that readers culd take them and use them in their own games however they saw fit.

My greatest joy as a Dungeon Master stems from when the players discover a new location: that moment when I drop a lavish new map down on the table. Their eyes light up as they pour over the map and begin to explore the nooks and crannies of the creation. It is my hope that I can help others foster this experience in their own games.

Q: Can you tell us about your ties to Fourthcore?

A: My tie to fourthcore is chiefly one of rabid fanboyism. I love the incredible works of SVD Press and Dungeon Oracle. The way these designers have eschewed the appeal of a wide audience to fearlessly bend the game and create adventures the way they want to play has been eye-opening and inspiring.

I've been playing Dungeons & Dragons for 17 years, and Revenge of the Iron Lich remains my favourite adventure I've ever run.

I'm also quite active with FourthcoreTeam Deathmatch. Created by C Steven Ross, (author of such great blogs as DMG 42 and Triumph and Despair) FTDM is an amazing pulse-pounding team-based death match that utilizes the 4e ruleset. In addition to playing it every chance I get (lookout Gencon 2013!), I've designed two of the maps, E4M1: Court of the Storm Lord, and E4M1: Vault of the Spider Queen.

Also on the fourthcore horizon, I'm currently working on the illustration and cartography of a new fourthcore module by Anthony Franchini, called "Pit of the Void Locust". Privy to the design process, I've been able to look under the hood of this one. If you are fan of fourthcore, you're going to love this module; it's evocative, deadly, and ludicrously difficult.

Q: You mentioned on your blog that you were working on an adventure; any progress on this?

A: Sadly, my ambitions always seem to outpace my reality. Between professional and personal obligations, I have found precious little time to work on it. As I'm sure you are aware, there is a mountain of work involved in taking an idea from a form that you yourself can run at the table and turning it into something you can share with a wider audience. I'm committed to seeing it through, but I have no set timeline for doing so.

Still, I've got some work coming down the pipe, including Pit of the Void Locust, more maps and a tutorial on how I draw and colour my settlement maps.

Thanks again Rob, for everything.

I am proud to leave you today with a juicy sneak peek of Rob's work in the magazine. (Why yes, that IS the first level of a 4e megadungeon!!!)

Told you he was a bad-ass!

COUNTDOWN TO THE RELEASE OF MY FREE 4E FANZINE!!!

If you have been wondering "Where's Froth?" lately, please forgive my absence, but I finally decided to buckle down and finish my free 4e fanzine! I didn't want to post again until it was done. I first mentioned it over a year ago, and it feels great to finally be able to get it out there.

Why did it take so long? Well, I GROSSLY underestimated the amount of work it would be for one thing. Secondly, the thing just kept growing. I thought it would be a little 30 page deal (and it might be in the future, lol), but it grew to over 150 pages. Between working full time, raising a kid, and running multiple campaigns, it was just a lot of work. I am not like some other writers that can just turn it on and off. At a lot of points, I just didn't feel like writing or didn't feel creative. Getting the last little bits done was the hardest. I also struggled a bit with the layout; it is a little on the crude side, but I did my best. I am proud of myself for following through.

Now that its done, I can't just post up a link right now. That would be too easy. No, I want to celebrate this sucker. As a result, I am setting the release for this Tuesday, June 11th. Over the weekend and on Monday I will be featuring a series of blogs spotlighting contributors to the first issue. I think you will all enjoy it. I don't want to spoil who helped just yet, but rest assured that they are all bad-asses.

I had several goals in setting out to create the mag. For one thing, I wanted to help keep 4e alive by giving fans an outlet that they could use to create and share their own material. I wanted to support high-level play exclusively. I also wanted to continue the work I have done on my blog, bringing old-school, classic edition design elements into 4e. 

So what is in the zine? Well, without spoiling too much, I can tell you that there are two full adventures, over thirty new high-level monsters, over fifteen new tricks and traps, tons of alternate rules for 4e, and a bunch of other stuff that I don't want to spoil just yet.

So, check out the blog over the weekend and be sure to download the mag next Tuesday!

Footprints is back!!!

Wow, after a two year absence, the good folks over at Dragonsfoot have compiled a new issue of Footprints! If you haven't heard of it, Footprints is a free OSR e-zine that first appeared all the way back in 2004. You will find adventures, original monsters, fan fiction, cartoons, and more in each issue. What a wonderful thing to see that Footprints is still "kicking"!

Check it out!

OSRCon

Hey everyone. If you have wondered what the deal is with no updates, I have been sick and my daughter has been sicker. Preschool is a dark and dank cesspool, as grim as the darkest dungeon. I apologize for it, but only parents will probably understand it. Anyways, I just wanted to quickly point out how awesome this convention will be to attend if you are in the Toronto area. Hang out with Mentzer and Greenwood? What else is there to say? I wish I could be there. There is a push to get word out about it, because some folks involved in the OSR have fallen off of the face of the earth. So if you are in the know or have friends and fam in the area, please repost! Ok?!

Dungeons and Cthulhu

Though Dungeons and Dragons will always be my first love, a close second is Chaosium's classic horror RPG, Call of Cthulhu. Although these games are distinct and have many differences, there are still some ideas from CoC that you can port right over to your D&D game. Lets take a look at some ideas.

CoC-ESQUE CLUES IN SANDBOX PLAY

One of my favorite adventures of all time is Masks of Nyarlathotep. I cannot say too much about it because I will be running it soon for my home group. The reason I bring it up is that it is in a "sandbox" style; players can follow clues literally to all corners of the world, and it doesn't matter in which order they pursue them. Some are related, some aren't. Each chapter presents a little table of the clues in that chapter, and where they lead. That is the part I want to focus on.

Some DMs aren't ready to run a true "do what thou wilt" sandbox, or they simply don't want to do that in the first place. A DM sometimes makes a "pseudo-sandbox", where they have prepared several scenarios or adventures, and the players basically choose which one they pursue. It feels like a sandbox to the players, but it is actually under DM control. Other times, the DM has a specific adventure or scenario he/she wants the players to play, and all roads point there.

Whichever your style, consider using a "clue drop" to give your players options. In Masks of Nyarlathotep, investigators might discover 4 or 5 seemingly unrelated clues at once. They then have the freedom which to follow now and which to follow later. There are innumerable ways to do this. Maybe they find several disparate leads in the pockets of an assassinated lord. Maybe they return to collect a fee for a deed, and the benefactor's house is burned to the ground, with just a few smoldering clues. Clues could lead them to the ends of your "earth", to remote libraries, shady traders in dangerous port cities, or to dangerous ritual magic. Think of a few locales and scenarios that you think will be fun for both you and your players, and then drop a few clues leading there. Those apparently unrelated clues could eventually fit together into a complex plot line.


INSANITY

Ah, insanity. Perhaps the most ground-breaking mechanic of CoC. For the uninitiated, Cthulhu investigators slowly (and sometimes rapidly) go insane. It is really just a matter of time, as the more crazy stuff they discover, the more sanity they lose. Fun stuff. The Ravenloft campaign setting of 2e "stole" this a little bit, and added its own twist to it. I am suggesting using a totally simplified version.

Basically, if a PC encounters something truly weird, alien, and horrifying, you might check their sanity. In D&D terms, seeing creatures from the Far Realm or the Abyss might qualify for sanity checks. Have a PC roll a saving throw. On a failure, the PC might suffer some slight effect...at first. They might automatically miss their next attack roll, be stunned temporarily or immobilized, be forced to run a few feet in terror, etc. PCs will only have to make a check once per creature or group of creatures. If they fail numerous sanity rolls over a short period of time (multiple encounters), they might have a more permanent insanity or disorder. You can get funny or stark with this depending in the tone of your campaign. They could maybe develop something as silly as a fear of dwarves, or something as depraved as fecalphilia.

ATTRACTING THE ATTENTION OF LAW ENFORCEMENT

In CoC, the investigators might be armed to the teeth, but treating 1920's New England like the wild west is going to quickly draw the attention of local police. Consider making certain towns and cities in your milieu to be very anti-weapon/violence. Maybe PCs cannot even wear armor. This immediately adds an interesting pressure to the PCs; maybe they have no problem tracking down a villain, but with the risk of attracting 100 soldiers or constables, they have to get creative with how to take the villain down. Not every town appreciates having the hell blown out of it by adventurers.

DARK RITUALS

In CoC, using spells and magic gradually drains an investigator's sanity. It also costs "magic points", which are derived from an investigator's "power" or force of will. To keep this simple in D&D without requiring a lot of mechanics, consider dropping a few powerful ritual scrolls in a treasure parcel. While the power might be tantalizing, what the players do not realize is that the power comes with a price. Casting the spell might prompt a sanity save, and failure could cause temporary insanity, possession or whatever else you can think of.

UNKILLABLE FOES

One of the first things you learn playing CoC is that you stand no chance in hell of taking on a Great Old One with your little pea-shooters. It is best to run as fast as you can, but if you have already seen the entity, it may already be too late. I have talked before about players' sense of invulnerability, primarily in later editions of D&D. Fleeing an encounter is a completely foreign concept for many D&D adventuring groups. On rare occasions, consider presenting the PCs with a truly unkillable foe. This helps them keep perspective about their place in your multiverse.








OTHER IDEAS

Other ideas you can port into your D&D game from CoC include conspiratorial adventures, encouraging research (libraries, government records), and perhaps even designing your own Cthulhu-related themes (Professor, Antiquarian, Private Investigator).

CONCLUSION AND UPDATES

I hope you got a few ideas from this article. Those of you still waiting on the conclusion of my stronghold rules, I have made progress but I am still not done perfecting the costs and construction formulas. I am, sad to say, not the fastest writer in the world. It will be done eventually. For those that have followed me in anticipation of my 4e fanzine, I swear I am getting close. I am waiting on some material from others, maps, illustrations and the like, and as they are being provided free, as favors, I am just letting everyone take their time. It has blossomed to over 150 pages, and it will be worth the wait in my estimation.

At any rate, I hope everyone has a good weekend. If you have any ideas on how to bring some CoC goodness into D&D, please leave a post!

Hilarious D&D Vid

So this has been floating around on multiple sources, but as I almost missed it, I am re-posting in hopes that others get as big a laugh out of this as I did. These guys take an episode of the old D&D cartoon and overdub their voices over it as if they are playing D&D. Some brilliant stuff on here:

WATCH IT!!!

Tracking "Turns" in 4e

Howdy all. I am a big fan of the old-school "turn". The term has wargaming roots, and while I have seen some old games assign different amounts of time to a "turn", in all of the classic editions, a turn is ten minutes. In my upcoming zine, I bring the concept into 4e, and I thought I would encourage you do to the same.

Why? Well, it has nostalgic, old-school flavor for one thing, but it also gives some added versatility to DMs. You can track "in-game" time more accurately, and you can utilize the turn for everything from wandering monsters to rewards with random durations. You can use it in your adventure design in creative ways; perhaps the PCs are in an area that is patrolled once every 1d4+1 turns, adding a chance the PCs will get caught, depending on how slow they move through the area. Tracking turns gives the DM a good, rough sense of the time passing, and this is a good thing.



How? Take a page from the old editions. It doesn't have to be (and never will be) exact, and it isn't meant to be. It is a tool. In B/X, your "turn" speed was three times your "encounter speed". So you might see a speed listed as 120' (40'). Your turn speed (120 feet in this case) was about how far you would typically move in a dungeon in ten minutes, assuming you were being somewhat cautious. So for 4e, I take the slowest party member and multiple their speed times three. This is roughly the distance the party can travel in a dungeon on foot in ten minutes, assuming they are watching their step, mapping, or what have you. You can pretty much just eyeball this; it is a rough measure. I count an encounter plus the following short rest together as one turn, even though it isn't quite that long. If a party member announces they are searching a room, disabling a trap, reading runes from a wall, or anything else requiring real concentration and skill, it takes a turn. For any other scenario, judge as needed.

The next time you are putting an adventure or scenario together, consider trying to use turns as a tool. I really like giving alternative rewards that last for a few turns; you can afford to give them something really powerful, as it will not last very long at all. On the flip side, you can give PCs debilitating short-term conditions. Instead of an effect ending at the end of an encounter, perhaps it lasts 2d4 turns...long enough for the condition to make its presence felt without overstaying its welcome.

Any other "turn" lovers out there?

Something Presumably Awesome Is Going On With The 4thcore Site

Quick post just to note that the 4thcore site has looked a little odd the past few days...like there is at minimum a site re-org going on, at most perhaps a peek at the enigmatic Sersa V's new RPG that he/she (it?) has alluded to be working on in the past.

I must say, I am a huge 4thcore fan. I will be watching the site in anticipation for what this might mean.

Let's Clear Up A Few 4e Myths

Howdy. I had a few disparate blog ideas running thru the head, and I realized they all could be used to dispel a few 4e myths, so I have combined them together. First off, don't get me wrong, 4e isn't perfect and I don't claim it to be. Readers of this blog know that I constantly tinker with 4e to make it something I like more. That's sort of the essence of D&D after all: making the game your own. But I am undoubtedly a huge fan of 4e. Anyway, here are some common 4e myths and my response:





"It is difficult to convert old modules to 4e"

I don't now who started this one, but it simply isn't true. I've mentioned before that I drop Skill Challenges from my games. One of the reasons for this is that, on its own, the 4e skill system is very smooth, intuitive, and covers pretty much anything that comes up (and if something else comes up, you can roll with Ability Checks). Anyway, in my experience the 4e skill system works like a charm in updated adventures. I updated Ravenloft (I6) for 4e. There are all kinds of roleplay moments, exploration, etc where skills came up. I just rolled with it if the players wanted to use one, or called for a check if it was really needed. So there is really no conversion necessary for an old modules' out-of-combat material. It can be handled on the fly quite easily.

The monster conversion is where the real challenges would appear to begin. Now, I am not going to say converting monsters from 1e to 4e is as easy as 1e to B/X or 2e, because it isn't. But 4e does have a strength that those games lack: 4e monsters have specific formulas to work from. This can help DMs determine difficulty fairly accurately, but more importantly, it is very easy to make 4e monsters.

Confronted with the need to convert a monster in an old module, the first step I would encourage is to see if there is a 4e version within your party's level range. If so, check the source and see if it is post MM3. If it isn't, try these tips to upgrade old crappy monsters on the fly. If the monster isn't in your party's range, it is fairly straightforward to adjust. The design remains the same, you just plug in different numbers. Make sure you are using the DMG errata though.

If you can't find the monster in a 4e source, or if you don't like what 4e did the monster, build your own. This doesn't have to be laborious. Use this guide to make quick 4e monsters. Try to distill the essence of the original monster and keep it simple.



The last step is to make sure the adventure doesn't run like a sloggy mess. There are several ways to do this. You could drop the wandering monsters from an adventure and just run the prepared encounters, or you could drop a lot of planned encounters and instead just use the wandering monster tables. Or you could drop a little of both. This isn't just in response to 4e combat length (more on that below); the fact is, some old modules feel like a grind to begin with. You should also use Morale and Reaction Tables. If you are using an old module that has Morale scores, just port them over. Otherwise you can check my 4e Morale rules. Ok, so that leads us to the next myth.

"Combat was fast in old editions, never approaching 4e length"

This is simply not true. It is true that classic edition combat COULD be quicker, but it wasn't always. I know this because I DM and play old editions. At even moderate levels, old edition spellcasters could have a ton of choices, and adjudicating their effects was often not a cut and dried proposition. A typical PC's percentage chance to hit was often lower, so there are more misses. There were also huge throngs of monsters in old adventures, like all the time. I am reminded of one of my faves, Descent Into the Depth of the Earth, which was a combo module of D1-D2. There are like 20 Drow here, 40 Kuo-Toa there, 30 Troglodytes here. Heck, even in the Village of Hommlet, you will have 16 or more enemy combatants!

Now I KNOW combat can drag in 4e. I have tried to provide some tips and ideas to help with that. Simplifying monsters, using groups of the same monsters, using Morale, lowering hit points-all of this helps. But it is simply disingenuous to act like old combat couldn't take a while, especially when casters had some actual spells to cast. This has also been true of my experience with 5e so far. We had a two hour combat last week and we just hit level 2. Combat often takes an hour or more at level 1. I am not saying it isn't fun, or that this is too long, I am just saying that combat length can drag in multiple editions; it isn't only a 4e phenomenon.

"It is harder to houserule 4e than other editions"

I am tempted just to say "read my blog" as a response to this one, because there are dozens of houserule examples on here, but just to expound on it a bit, 4e is no different from any other edition of D&D. You can houserule it and make it your own with ease. The difference between 4e and classic editions is that the mechanics in 4e are "on display". The math is predictable and easy to grasp. This is already sort of covered above with monsters. This makes houseruling and homebrewing very easy. Since you have clear expectations for damage, defenses, DCs, etc at all levels, it becomes very easy to slide the scale towards "easy" or "hard". See Fourthcore. I have tweaked monster design, traps, disease, combat, and on and on, and I have only scratched the surface of the possibilities. 4e does not deviate from D&D's proud history of homebrewing and houseruling, it embraces it as much as any other edition.

That's all I have for you today. As always, I welcome comments! Take it easy!