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Playing Like it's 1973

We wrapped up the Second Season of Ravenloft: Masque of the Red Death, and we can now get started on a project that I have been really looking forward to; our own world! If Gothic Earth has taught me anything, it is that it is incredibly easy to create your own spaces. not to mention that it is more interesting to DM because I'm not even sure what is out there.

The biggest change to this game will be the ruleset. It is no secret that there are things in AD&D that I just don't like anymore, and through talking to some of the original players I have found the basic source materials that AD&D was based upon and use that instead. So, we'll be using mostely original Dungeons & Dragons and homebrew it on a need to basis. I want a game that is more Dave Arneson than Gary Gygax, but less tongue in cheek.

I am shooting for a classic game where the players don't know the rules. The more I examine systems, the more I notice the players basing decisions on game facts rather than their own imaginations. I've done my best to weed this kind of metagaming out of their thinking; you know, not limiting them to the character sheet. Is it too late to bring back that sense of wonder and amazement after 30 years of AD&D? I think so.

Are Thief Player Characters Still Relevant?

Albrecht Dürer - Cupid the Honey Thief. 1514

Since adopting more elements from OD&D into my gaming, a style that is less skill based and more player driven, I've noticed that many of my fellow tinkerers have opted to remove the thief player class from the game. Now, long-time readers of this blog know that even though I am very critical of skill based systems, my favorite class to play is the Thief. Doesn't make much sense, does it?

It's not that I think that the entire skill system is bad for the game, I just feel that systems like Pathfinder and modern D&D have allowed it to take center stage. It controls too much! People have gotten too reliant on them, and use the skill system to bypass fun parts of the game. It alters the flow, speeding it up, and I feel that it interferes with immersion.

To make a long story short, specifics can correct the problem of mechanical interference, but that doesn't mean that we should completely scrap the NWP system; and then we have the thief class. A skill based class that relies upon them to function.

In a game where the traps are specific, we know how they function and the players can locate them with tools or equipment, and come up with a plan which may or may not result in disarming them, where does the thief fit into this?

Thieves are more expendable.
They can figure out the hidden workings of advanced traps.
They do more for the team than just disarm and locate traps.

Handling Checks

In my last post, I suggested that we try to stick to specifics as much as possible. The DM listens to the plan, and translates the odds of success to the d%; however, there are times when the players are going to have to make checks. In times like these, I prefer the d20. It is fast, fair, and usually in the player's favor.

d% Thief Checks

via: Pinterest

I never really thought about it before, why do thieves roll d% for thief ability checks? I suppose that it is just a hang-over from 1st Edition AD&D. It gives the illusion of player control, but it really isn't all that functional.

As a player, the thief skill system doesn't work at early levels of play and offers no challenge at higher levels. The best games are when you are gambling with your character's life. As a player, if something is dangerous, I'm not going to even attempt it unless I've got at least a 70%. If things get desperate, I may attempt it at 50%, but never below that. If something has no risk, I will just sit there and roll dice until we all get bored or it works . . . hours and hours later in game time. That sucks, and that isn't playing the game.

I know that there is a huge population of gamers who think that the NWP system is broken, but I don't feel that it is, of course, the way that I design my games I enforce no reliance upon the system to use it. It can allow a user to bypass an obstacle, or make a section easier if you are successful, but play doesn't stop because of a failed check; that is a symptom of bad design. It all boils down to percentages, the d20 just uses increments of 5%. If a character has a DEX of 15, with a -2 to his ability check, he's got a 65% of succeeding. That is actually lower standards than I would normally allow for a dangerous task that will kill me if the dice say no.

PLAYER'S OPTION: SKILLS & POWERS

It was this book that got folks prepared for 3e. It focused on a reliance on skills over the traditional game. It even stripped the class system that we all loved in favor of building some character class that made it even slower to roll up new characters, and caused players to stop play to look at the weird rules in this thing. I hated it. I'm still not a fan.

Regardless if you like the book or not, it did say something interesting . . . if you could find it. It suggested turning thief skills into NWP. How stupid is that? I mean, it goes against years and years of tradition! Besides, thief players aren't going to want to sacrifice NWP slots on skills that they used to have from the start of the game, right?

RAVENLOFT: Masque of the Red Death

This boxed Campaign setting actually predates the Skills & Powers book, but it had lots of mechanics which were unique to it. It isn't a medieval fantasy game, this one takes place in our world during the 1890's. It altered all of the classes, but the most affected were the Thieves.

All of the characters had been depowered, there are no super-heroes in this game, what makes them playable is the skill system, however, this still isn't a skill based game. You aren't going to find the Pathfinder like rules which are overly strict, you pick your skills which define your character, and you play. The skills are passive. You still use specifics over rolling the dice, but I digress.

Thieves are no longer a class. While the other classes still use skills, the class that is dependent upon them is called Tradesmen. If a character doesn't use magic, and can't be defined as a soldier, they automatically become Tradesmen, thus, this is the dominant class.

via Pinterest

It is still possible to play thieves, but since all traditional thief skills have to be purchased with NWP slots, you've got to build them. The skills function as NWP too, you don't have to build them up through gaining levels, if you chose to know how to pick locks, then you can pick locks.

As a fan of thieves, this method works great! I always preferred to play against the grain. I never played The Greymouser type thieves, I could probably count the times that I've used Pick Pockets on one hand, and I never started building it up until I was satisfied with my other scores. It just sat there, ignored. In this system, I don't have to pick it at all! I can replace it with some other skill that I want instead, something useful to me and how I want to play my character.

But wait . . . didn't I just say that Skills & Powers was stupid?

It is. It provides very little motivation to play-test the ideas held within it, however, this system has been play-tested at my table, and it works. It works amazingly well! Masque of the Red Death, to myself and the other members of the club, made D&D fun again. Its higher level of challenge changed not just how we game, but how we see the game itself.

Thieves are all different
Thief skills work from the start
The challenge is consistent, regardless of level
The thief skill system does not place limitations upon the system as a whole

As a DM I am sold, and the players are happy with the results that they get. This will be adapted into all future D&D games.

But Percentages gave more to the game than yes or no answers

As a player, I was always torn. I like rolling my own results, but sometimes I wanted the DM to keep the actual results a secret from me. I wanted to simulate thinking that I'm moving silently but not really being sure if I am or not. As a DM, these thoughts were amplified, but I was stuck because I couldn't figure out how to simulate the event without taking away player agency. This system actually allows that.

Either the DM can translate the d20s into percentages, or tell the player who succeeded their check that they believe that they have found a route which is possible to move silently and hide in shadows, then get confirmation that they still want to do the action or not. If they do, then the DM rolls the percentile check to see exactly how quiet they are.

The point is that no matter what we do, we've taken the traditional Thief Skills System, which was closed and set in its way, and changed it into a Skill System which allows the player and the DM to open it up when they want to.

http://quotesgram.com/dark-evil-demonic-quotes/#Q43E2crKqm

THE DOWNSIDE OF THE SYSTEM

Players can no longer get a 95% chance of success

A perceived penalty imposed on low ability scores

Player's who do want to play traditional thieves hate this

A psychological loss of control

Requires a talented DM to function

THE BENEFITS OF THE SYSTEM

Cleaner Character Sheets

The Level Cap has been removed

Custom Characters without breaking the system

Fast and Easy NPCs who are competent without cheating

Creating Hirelings that grow with the game and aren't static

Easier to level up (and level down)

Rewards Imaginative Play

Skills can be given to Races without weird limitations

Before closing, something needs to be addressed. Since the players are spending slots on abilities, should they get more slots to spend? The answer is no. They still get the same amount. This is balanced by the abilities themselves being useful as soon as they are chosen.

Unmodified skill checks do place caps on abilities. DEX of 18 = 90%, and on the low end, 9 = 45%.

The 3d6 method of STAT Generation prefers to give results in the 11-13 range, which gives you some good numbers that are fun to gamble with, 55%-65% but aren't fixed in my games, they go up and down. If you choose, the Thief Ability Table found in the 2e DMG can be used in conjunction with this system if you need to lean on it now and then. Since the system is open, we can change the difficulty level of a task as we see fit.

Most of the time, it really doesn't matter. The core Thief System is a nitpicker. Either the thief can pick a lock, or he can't. The players can decide to break the door, spend a spell opening the door, or ignore the door and walk away from it. Who cares if the Thief picks a lock? Why impose that restriction at all?

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9335 BATTLESYSTEM Skirmishes Review

BATTLESYSTEM was an intriguing product that fell victim to TSR’s inability to market its product. It had a terrible name that did not really identify it, I remember reading a reference to it in The Castle Guide, but not knowing which BATTLESYSTEM that they were talking about, but I think that its biggest failure was the lack of support for the system. This, I believe, was something that Dungeon Masters would really be into if it was better designed, and if further supplements helped us use it more confidently. As it sat, we had no idea how to build a fair army, nor did we really know any basic military strategies that would work well with the system.

The 2^nd Edition of BATTLESYSTEM had reduced the amount of bookwork required, but there was still a lot to keep track of. The Castle Guide did provide an update to the BATTLESYSTEM and allowed users to conduct sieges, which was awesome! The Siege Engine didn’t really need the BATTLESYSTEM to function, but if added together with the alterations made to BATTLESYSTEM in The Castle Guide, they say that it improved the experience.

9335 BATTLESYSTEM Skirmishes, was released in October of 1991, there was a planned push for the product line, linking it with the upcoming Dark Sun setting, and Skirmishes was intended to make the BATTLESYSTEM even easier to use!

Skirmishes, was designed by Bruce Nesmith, co-designer of Ravenloft. The idea was to make BATTLESYSTEM easier to use for the purpose of role-playing; The battlefield itself was shrunk down from War level, to a more manageable Melee level that fell more in line with the Core AD&D rules, and instead of 1 miniature = 10 units, in Skirmishes, 1 miniature = 1 character.

This product allowed for all tables to be able to run some very advanced combat scenarios! It could handle the Siege, it could handle war-like battles, and it allowed the DM more precision in design. An ambush that plays out in our minds played out in a completely different manner on the table. Skirmishes added a new element of challenge to what we were doing.

The greatest advancement of Skirmishes was the elimination of almost all of the book work. Tracking BATTLESYSTEM armies was still a difficult task that would slow the game down considerably. Skirmishes system is FAST! Perhaps too fast; instead of hit points, the system used hit dice; a 7^th level character was dead after 7 successful hits, which can be dangerous. It is balanced by the difficulty to score a true hit, allowing for the morale system to function, so it probably isn’t as bad as it sounds.

This game also used less dice, BATTLESYSTEM had required several buckets of d6’s so this improvement is seriously appreciated, and while this is a very good step in the right direction, it wasn’t perfect. It still did not remove the need for BATTLESYSTEM if you wanted to simulate large scale combat, however if you took the principals of Skirmishes Combat system and carry them over to the War scale it would make it easier to run, but it still doesn’t help us make fair armies, nor teach us advanced strategies.

Another problem with BATTLESYSTEM Skirmishes is the book itself is horribly over-written. I still don’t know if this was a replacement or not, all of the rules had been included in this book, but so many rules that comparing them to BATTLESYSTEM and the AD&D Core Rules is beyond what I am willing to do, so you are on your own in that department.

The text itself is so dry and boring that reading the back of a bottle of Tylenol is more exciting. There is just so much information here that isn’t needed, and repetitive, especially if you’ve played AD&D for any length of time. Why they felt the need to completely re-write a book that had been out for less than 2 years is a mystery. While more complex, BATTLESYSTEM 2e was better written than this one. It would have been nice if Skirmishes did more updating and supporting than it did.

The sad thing is that this product was not utilized any more than the original BATTLESYSTEM, Dark Sun supported it for only a couple of months and then it disappeared. The greatest support that this product ever got was actually from Forgotten Realms, when the Horde attacked, unleashing a massive war that was kind of awesome, but still unneeded. Most users still ignored this product and just wrote around the war.

As far as Skirmishes legacy goes, this idea was allowed to go dormant until Wizards of the Coast took over. WotC provided an excellent update that made it even easier to use in Player’s Options: Combat & Tactics. Though I think that Skirmishes still has a place at our tables for the combat system alone; let’s face it, sometimes the players make some really dumb decisions that may require an impromptu and unplanned for miniature scenario, and we can get through it faster and easier by using Skirmishe’s faster combat system, but do you really need the book itself at the table? No. All the changes that you want can be summed up on a couple of sheets of paper, making this product more desirable in PDF form.

I give BATTLESYSTEM Skirmishes a C. It did improve the BATTLESYSTEM line, and it could of change the way that we game, but it was just so overwritten and didn’t go places that would had been more helpful to the users. It is a big shame that TSR didn’t have more faith in this product, if they would had kept at developing the line, it could had been very profitable for them, and offer us some really cool options, but it was dropped prematurely, I feel due more to lack of advertising and support than actual content issues. AD&D clubs could had used less Forgotten Realms dogma and more BATTLESYSTEM (God, I hate that name).

2400 Dark Sun Campaign Setting Review

The original Dark Sun Campaign Setting was released in October, 1991. Its design team of Troy Denning and Timothy B. Brown, along with Mary Kirchoff and artist Gerald Brom took what was assumed to be the dull task of creating what was ultimately an elaborate ad campaign to boost sales of TSR's BATTLESYSTEM and The Complete Psionics Handbook, and transformed it into one of the deepest and artistic products that ever came out of the 90’s.

This product defies corporate ideas about what a RPG should be, and in doing so, became very important, not just to the users who love this setting, but it pushed RPG design into a new direction. Dark Sun breaks many of the traditional rules and ideas that governed RPG design at the time: it ignored the formula for achieving game balance, it perfected and applied the meta-game in a functional way that favored the user over the company, it . . . well, it broke a lot of new ground. This game is important on so many levels that it makes talking about it in a cohesive way very difficult.

The exact product that we’ll be looking at today is 2400. It is the original boxed set, and it contained so many rules changes, that it worried TSR Executives so much that they had to go back and increase the influence of AD&D; which they ended up doing, but twisting the traditional concepts in very creative ways that still made Dark Sun unique.

Most of TSR's titles are full of things that, honestly, you can do yourself. You are paying to have lots of work done for you, but the tropes and elements within the setting are all things that follow a default setting. If we create a map, and just apply the principles of the Core Rules, we still end up with Forgotten Realms. Dark Sun is not Forgotten Realms. The designers actually earned their money with this product, creating new design and achieving something that we folks at home couldn't really come up with by ourselves; not on this level anyway! They got paid for their efforts, and thought deeply about ways to take a dumb concept like “War World” and make into a professional quality game with its own identity and design. The concepts introduced are elegant and unique, they not only allow the game to function differently, but they push the users in a direction that, up to that point, TSR had been pushing them away from.

This is not a game for new users. Dark Sun was designed for very advanced tables that have almost become jaded with traditional fantasy tropes. It has been well documented on the Web that this is a very difficult game, but what hasn’t been discussed is what makes it so hard to play. It isn’t just the mechanics, it isn’t just the combat, nor that PCs will die, it isn’t even the imbalanced nature of the game; what makes Dark Sun so challenging is that it attacks you on a psychological level. Unlike most games where the players are limited in what they can do by their characters, in this game, the characters are limited and held back by us.

All that stuff that players are used to doing: saving little villages against bullies, defending lawful kingdoms from evil enemies. All of that clear cut Good vs. Evil stuff goes right out the window. By the time that you start playing Dark Sun, those wars and struggles had ended centuries ago, and the good guys lost.

Dark Sun isn’t a war game, it is a survival game. The players who are used to being in control of their own destinies, and like to feel important to the story, aren’t. The characters that they will be playing are strong enough to take over typical AD&D settings, but here, they aren’t worth the salt in their own tears. This world is brutal, and it affects the people playing in it. Many clubs who start playing Dark Sun quit, they make up excuses that the setting is too preachy, or complain because they don’t seem to be getting anywhere; these are cop-outs. Dark Sun is difficult because it forces us to think and play differently than we had to before. All of the weak and helpless are gone, going murder hoboing isn’t just a PC strategy that they share with the villain, this is a way of life. Characters in Dark Sun aren’t nice, there is a moral ambiguity to everything, and always a feeling of isolated repression that most players of RPGs just aren’t ready for.

The fact that whatever you think that you earned yesterday, you have to defend today; makes any victory or a sense of gain far and in between. We are talking about a world where finding a weapon made out of copper is a huge deal! There just aren’t enough resources to go around, and that leads to some very very dark sessions. Even the DM is not exempt from the cruelty of Dark Sun, as we’ve got to enforce the rules and amp up our capacity to concoct evil acts that go way beyond the standards of the typical game. This isn’t a horror game (the ideas behind horror are almost romantic in nature and execution), Dark Sun is a metaphor for much darker lines of thinking that cause emotional and psychological discomfort because, unlike other settings, we really wouldn't want to go to this place, but we fear that one day we might just be forced to.

The Rules book within the box will be used by both Players and the Dungeon Master regularly. All of the classic races have been twisted to fit the setting, and new, more powerful playable races have been added. Players are able to exceed the standard ability scores, and are encouraged to create super characters, as they will be very hard to keep alive. At all times the players must have at least 3 characters ready to go, they can choose one of them to play for that session. Characters are also started at a higher level than normal; because of the conditions on Athas, there are no low level characters. The world is more dangerous than normal, but honestly, a really good player can keep a character alive, especially if you’ve been playing 2^nd Edition for a long time, but it does let the DM be more aggressive then he typically would be. The level of risks that one must take to get by here are high. The enemy is typically desperate, so fights to the death are typically the rule, not the exception.

Classes have also been introduced which would normally only be associated with villains, if you want to play a Templar, for instance, and serve under a Sorcerer King, you can, and you’ll get the same benefits as the NPCs do. How this translates into a cooperative game is left to the party to figure out.

I’m sure that everyone who is reading this knows all of these changes already, so I won’t go into it to much. This is a basic introduction to a very large world which is supported by modules and novels, however since everything has been completed, the DM has even more options than he did at the time that this product was currently being circulated. If the DM wants to run this according to core, or just build upon the basic concepts Dark Sun supports either/or.

The second booklet is the Wanderer’s Journal, which presents the setting to the Dungeon Master. It helps the user understand the culture and gives adventure ideas. They also added a short story called “A Little Knowledge”, as this is meant to be a literary style game. The module included with the Setting is a bit odd, it included two flip books, one for the Dungeon Master, and one for the Player Characters. Art is very important to this setting, not just for the users, the dedicated artist of Dark Sun, Gerald Brom, was instrumental in the games overall design. He would draw characters, places, and items, and the writers would come up with ways to introduce them into the game. Historically, this was the first TSR product that incorporated a dedicated professional artist which was responsible for capturing the unique look and feel of a setting. It is up to the DM if they want to use the flip books or not,there is enough potential material here to play the game without the published adventure.

A SUCCESSFUL META-GAME

Typically the meta-gaming concept always benefits the company as it allows a product to be re-marketed and repackaged again and again and again. It involves reworking the map, dramatically altering the setting, and enforcing DM PCs disguised as NPCs. Typically the DM’s first task of prepping a new setting is finding these elements, and minimizing or eliminating their impact upon the game itself. Forgotten Realms didn’t need the Spell Plague, it didn’t benefit the users at all. The Lords of Ravenloft are simplified and pointless characters that anybody could create themselves and a successful game is achieved by completely ignoring them during play. Dark Sun is a meta-game, but the meta-game has been properly incorporated into the system, and allowed to function where it belongs, in the background.

There are major NPCs; however they are actually functional, it is up to the players to identify them and decide if the character should be eliminated or not. How a character being removed from the board will impact the game according to the needs and the creative whims of the DM. What these major players are doing impacts the game, but it does so in a way which frees up the DM to run the game better. The challenge in running these scenarios comes in micromanaging the party; the primary and daily goals for the PCs is always satisfying basic needs first, gathering resources enough to risk practicing higher ideals is where the true heroics of this game come through. To have predictable characters in the background is a blessing for the DM, not a curse.

THE DARK SUN SOAPBOX

This game is very different than any other setting published by TSR, this rises above just a game where people sit around the table and play pretend: the design, the function, the story, all of it combined with the imaginations and development through individual play results in something that is art. Dark Sun is social commentary, it uses metaphors and deals with very adult and complex issues which are directly mirrored by real life. That results in something that, while uncomfortable to play, provides a fascinating experience that is unique to it.

All of the people who started playing Dark Sun and quit because it was disturbing never got to the true heart of the setting itself; it is easy to be blinded by the violence, the wickedness, the unfathomable odds stacked against you, but you also get to experience an element here that isn’t as pure in other settings: Hope.

This game is amazing and fun, but very different from anything that you will play. It will be a very trying and grueling experience, but a very rewarding one as well. It has the potential to take a great player and make them even better. If you want to escape from the Tolkien influence and discover brand new challenges this is the product for you.

I think that many of us want to play evil characters to exercise demons or just to cut loose. This game allows users to do that, and continue to learn from the experience. Evil consumes itself, and that is exactly what is going on in Dark Sun. While in the short term it feels like you aren’t getting anywhere; that there are no real rewards to what you are doing, in the long term game Dark Sun, unlike standard D&D, allows you to actually feel a huge sense of accomplishment, especially if you are able to answer the challenge of this miserable dying world in a meaningful way.

I give this product an A+. This is perhaps the greatest thing that TSR accidentally released. It wasn’t directed at their target audience of novice consumers, but at experienced users who desperately needed a challenge, and were hungry for new ways to play without sacrificing design. For a hard to hit demographic, it exceeded my expectations. As far as the relevance to modern gaming; the days of living under the threat of The Bomb have returned, so yes. The ideas and fears which inspired this game are not out of date.

Now, this specific product is the introduction to Dark Sun; it will get you started. Two other boxsets fleshed out the system, and in 1995 Dark Sun was revised, and while that set is more complete and better written than this one, I feel that in order to have the greatest potential at the table, it is this original box set that you should get. This is Athas in its purest form, warts and all, and not to sound like an elitist, but if the DM can’t tailor the original to fit his club’s needs, then they probably aren’t ready to run it yet.

In the last 10 years the desire for this product has increased the price. While I always prefer to have hard-copies, the PDF is definitely an option. The ideas behind Dark Sun is what matters, one can print off the material that is required to run the game, and leave the rest on your PC and do just fine.

The legacy of Dark Sun was as epic as the game itself, users updated it to 3e, unfortunately it was softened in the process. 4e also took a crack at it, but the 2nd Edition Setting is the one that offers the greatest amount of potential and challenge. It is this specific timeline that will shape the game into a unique experience, and it really is a shame when people skip it.

Thoughts on RAVENLOFT Masque of the Red Death setting, product MCA2, and sad news

I had a whole month to prep, and I used it all. I've got a large body of work over here, but I am happy with it all. It should give me time to figure things out. I've got many elements to it, it is layered nicely, but we'll have to see how it plays. It will definitely be a challenge for everyone at the table, a test of everything that we've learned so far. It has exploration, physical conflict, amazing treasure that will make things easier for the party, but not required to succeed if they miss it. A great mystery that should unfold nicely. I'm excited! I like this! I wish that I could play it, which is a really good sign.

Its been a couple of weeks since I've chatted you up, and I do have some stuff to say, so lets get to them!

I stumbled across an article about "Masque of the Red Death" (I didn't save it, and I no longer know where it is, but the writer summed Gothic Earth up to a simple game. Something that you play for a session or two and then beat it, like it is a video game, and this is so far from the truth that it annoyed me. Maybe I see something in it that others don't. I will admit that sometimes I get frustrated with it, because it can be very demanding, the setting isn't complete in any way shape or form, if I get lazy it always shows, and because of the technology of the 1890's, the flow is different from sword and sorcery, and from time to time I'll admit that I miss that; But, this setting offers a lot more than fighting the Red Death, as a Dungeon Master who enjoys a more literary style, and as a huge fan of the Ravenloft Setting, this is the perfect medium for both. You aren't confined to the default AD&D setting in any way, it allows the DM and players the freedom to come up with their own mechanics, it excepts a very broad variety of styles, but in a challenging way that keeps things fun and spontaneous. Things that players take for granted in standard fantasy are really tested here, it isn't just me that caters to the setting, and nurtures it, the players are actively doing it as well. We like the idea of turning all of the magic into rituals; giving it that occult feel. I expected the players to buck the system, but they don't. They see it as an additional challenge, and really put thought into using it.

Going into it with the expectation that you are going to save the world from the Red Death is akin to going into Forgotten Realms with the expectation of getting rid of the Red Wizards of Thay and expecting everything to be peachs and cream. The Red Death, to me, is more like Sauron in the Lord of the Rings, but worse, because the Red Death doesn't consolidate his power into a tower that you can storm, but what the two do share is that neither have an actual face. They aren't flesh and blood characters, they are horrifying ideas. One can't assault the Red Death. To whatever it is, even a 30th level wizard is a pawn on his game board.

As a DM, Masque of the Red Death allows me to really focus on, and properly showcase monsters found in the MM. Give them the perfect stage to really delve into what makes them tick. Up until we all sit around the table and I start describing the world, it is the monster that is the hero of the game. I really like that.

We are still playing Dungeons & Dragons, but with a lot more thought put into it than a fantasy game typically requires, and for those of us who have a real appreciation for gothic horror, the setting allows us to get a lot of bang for our buck. It challenges us to rethink what table top role playing can be, but allows us to use a system that we are comfortable with. I've been playing this setting for many years now, and still don't think that I've scratched the surface of it's true potential.

I would gladly pit Masque against the other commercially successful settings that D&D offers, and point out that it is just as open and full of possibilities as any of them. I'm not sure why it didn't get the acclaim and attention that it deserved, perhaps it was just bad marketing or just to much of an indy kind of an idea for people. Those of us who did give it a shot absolutely love it! It was well worth learning the new mechanics and changes that it demands. On paper it does look barebones and incomplete, but once you get going it becomes apparent just how wonderfully different that this is, and how well it compares with similar products. I've played Call of Cuthulu, but I prefer this medium. It allows for more surprises and twists then CoC does, and since it is still Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, it offers much better support and idea generation.

Before closing, I would also like to make a retraction. Somebody, I'm sorry, I forgot who exactly, pointed out that the XP Calculator was updated in the Monstrous Compendium Annual Vol. II; a book that I have ignored for years as just more monsters that are more trouble than they are worth, but I after picking it up and looking at it, this book is moving off of the annex shelf and over to the main one. Not only does it have a great XP Calculator, but I find that the Random Encounters are much better than those found in the 1st Edition DMG, which I had been using and was never all that happy with. I completely forgot that that appendix was back there! It is also worth noting that rediscovering this appendix made my life much easier during my prep marathon, so thank you :)

The game starts on Saturday, wish me luck! Also a bit of sad news. Another player has lost a parent, a shout out to my brother Bigfoot. If you need anything, brother, we are here. Our thoughts are with you, always.

Do It Yourself: Wood Dungeon Master Screen

Greetings Readers of the Page!! Rip’s wife here.

So, Rip told me that someone was interested in a sort of “how to” on the screen I made for him for Christmas. I didn’t think about someone wanting a tutorial on it, and unfortunately I didn’t take pictures as I went. I can, however, tell you more or less how I did it and just hope that it makes enough sense to whoever might want to make one of their own.

Rip using old screen

As Rip pointed out in his post his well-used copy of the DM screen for 2e has seen better days. The seams are totally overworked from the years of opening and closing. One seam is about halfway ripped out, and as he also mentioned, if you want to buy a new one they’re astronomical! The cheapest I could find a used one for (and honestly no telling what kind of condition it’s really in) was around $35, and for a new one I was looking at $75. Now, I don’t know about the rest of y’all, but that’s a little steep for a screen made out of something that’s about the same weight as poster board. Yes, we love the game, but for the love of all the lost gods, that is way too freakin’ much for a DM screen. To the internet I went to try and find an Instructable or even Etsy to see if someone had already made one. Well, I found lots of wood ones, none with the tables inside, and while they’re gorgeous to look at, I didn’t want to shell out nearly $200 for something that I could make myself. I’m crafty, so why the hell not?

I tried looking for craft wood at Hobby Lobby that would work for my project. No dice. Either the pieces weren’t thick enough, or were too thick, or weren’t big enough to hold a regular size sheet of paper. I did find the brass hinges I used there. They’re about two inches long and work perfect. They cost me all of $2 a package. My next stop was Menard’s. I went to where they have the rows of wood to find what I wanted. Honestly, you could use whatever type of wood suits you. You want to pay out for Oak, then by all means buy Oak but to duplicate what I did, you need it to be 12 inches long, 10 inches wide, and 1 inch thick. I looked at the ½ inch stuff, but to be brutally honest, I wanted something that was going to be stout enough to put up with the table getting bumped and jiggled, papers hanging off of it, or the DM knocking into it and not knock the poor thing over. They had a section with what looked like wood for craft type projects. One side had Pine and the other side had Aspen. I did look at the Pine, but like my oldest son who was with me pointed out; the Pine was kind of soft and maybe wouldn’t put up with much abuse. The Aspen felt nice, would take stain well, and price wise wasn’t too shabby. I spent $18 on the piece I purchased. I bought a piece that was 4’x12”x1”. Perfect! They have a saw there at the store and if you ask they’ll cut it for you. Each panel is 12”x10”x1” and as you can see in the picture, you’ll need four panels.

The next step was the stain. You can use whatever stain you like. I bought mine at Walmart for $3.99. It was just one of those small cans of stain. Gunstock is the color I used. The pictures Rip posted up really don’t do that stain justice. It turned out with a very warm sort of reddish tone. However, if you prefer something darker or lighter, or would just like to leave it natural, do what works for you. The Aspen only needed one coat. It soaks up stain like nobody’s business and I didn’t want to overdo it. Just make sure you do it somewhere well ventilated and put something down to protect your surfaces. I accidentally got a little overspray on my kitchen table due to being a little overzealous while brushing it on. Whoops! Leave it to dry for at least 24 hours before moving on to the next step or you might end up with a mess on your hands.

The second night of work was applying the tables and pictures to it. We have a combo printer so I was able to make copies of Rip’s original screen. I did try to find pdf’s of his screen, but either I’m not smart enough to find them on the internet, they don’t exist, or I’m not smart enough to find them on the internet. Ha ha. In the end, it works out that I used his original screen anyway. If the rest of y’all are anything like my favorite DM, your screen has spots and stains on it too, and you can tell a story about each one of those stains. In other words, it means something specifically to you and it’s sentimental. Those stains and spots carried over to the copies, and I was okay with that.

My first panel (these are going left to right) has these tables-Morale ratings, calculated THAC0S, saving throws, visibility ranges. Second panel-Turning undead, thief average ability table, encounter reactions, armor class ratings, standard modifiers, and surprise modifiers. Third panel-Weapon damage and missile weapon ranges. Fourth panel-Missile weapon ranges, calculated THAC0s, turning undead, Punching and wrestling results, Armor modifiers for wrestling, and standard exchange rates for money. They’re exact copies of his original screen, so they’re laid out just the same. However, a person could make their own tables, make a copy of their own screen, whatever would work in your world can be put onto your screen. But remember this, once you’ve decoupaged them on, they’re on there, so make sure it’s what you really want. For the pictures I used the dragons fighting off of his original cover, and since we also play a Gothic Earth/Ravenloft setting, I printed off a picture of Strahd and his brides for the other center panel.

Once my tables and pictures were printed off I used a lighter and singed around all of the edges to give them an old beat up look. Be careful while singeing though. You can lose control of your fire quick and burn up your page before you know it.

Next was the decoupage. I used the outdoor formula of Mod Podge. The jar I bought cost around $8. If you have a really small budget you can use Elmer’s glue and a touch of water and do the same thing. I wanted the heavy duty outdoor stuff because there’s always the potential for something wet to get spilled at the table and I wanted it to be able to withstand just about anything. Figure out how you want your pages put on each panel before you start so you can get an idea for lay out before you’re stuck with it. Then, remove the picture/sheet, lay down a thin layer of Mod Podge over the whole surface, place the paper down on the glue making sure you smooth it out well as you go and get rid of any bubbles. You can even use a credit card to smooth it down if necessary. I also roll my pages “backwards” before laying them down so I know the edges won’t roll up on me. Once the page is down good, cover it with a thin layer and cover the whole side of the panel. Allow to dry for a good 15-20 minutes before adding another layer to it. I only did a couple of layers and mine is sealed pretty damn well. Allow your panels to dry in a warm, dry place before continuing. I had a short time frame for mine, and once my middle two were just barely tacky to the touch I put the pictures on the backs of those panels. This proved to be slightly problematic during the curing process, but luckily with the panels being thick enough I was able to stand them up so they could cure.

Lastly, was putting on the hinges. I wanted the whole thing to be able to fold in on itself when not in use. The idea I had in my head looked something like a “W” when slightly folded up. If the hinges are put on right, all of the decoupaged surfaces are protected and the only thing showing is wood. So with the middle two panels I laid them on the table with the picture sides showing towards me. I lined up the panels and had them to where they were touching. The hinges are each placed about an inch and a half in from the top and bottom and screwed into place. Next, I flipped them over to tables side up and starting with the left panel I repeated what I did on the other side, and then finished with the far right hand panel. When folded up, the pictures end up touching each other, and then the tables are all touching each other, leaving just the plain wood showing. Total cost thus far-$30.

Final thoughts-I do have some more ideas for it to make it better. My oldest made the suggestion of adding brass corners to the panels. With the warmth of the wood stain, brass looks amazing against it. I did find some decorative brass corners online for about $2.99 for a pack of 4. They screw into place, and I think they would totally set off the whole thing. I also have a couple of magnet strips to add to the tops of a couple of the panels. On one of the Instructables I found ages ago, a guy had done that to one he’d built and I think it’s brilliant. Rip’s always trying to find ways of getting his stuff a little better organized at the table and out of the way. With the magnet strips he could put paper clips on the top of a map/character sheet/NPC card/etc. and then tack it to the panel. Easy peasy. The last and final thing I’d like to do I have to wait until the weather gets warmer, and that’s to spray a clear coat over the whole thing to completely and totally seal it in. I want to make sure this thing is close to indestructible.

Anyway, I hope I didn’t ramble too much and you found this to be useful. This was a fun project to work on and I’m so glad he loves it. I have to take care of my favorite DM ya know. ;)