What Was I thinking

[Scott Anderson]

The navel-gazing "wither this?" opening and poor opinion of profit put me off right away. I hope the game sells a jillion copies but I couldn't make it past the second paragraph.

My game's Foreword is also a navel-gazer, but it's also not for sale so I'm entitled.

EDIT: Oh, wait, you're going to post it on big purple?  Then the opening's perfect.

[David Johansen]

heh, it's the designer's notes, not the forward.  You're probably right but at the same time the first matter of importance is explaining why you designed the game and what you hoped it would accomplish.  Also, I might be trying to channel Gygax a little here and there.

If the game in question were written to be played by three year olds using hand puppets it would be a very different game.  Even so, it's not the first time I heard that.  I got it when I first posted the designer's notes on tbp.

Ah well it's a first draft.  I'll admit the introduction and foreword have me stumped a bit.  I'm not really into writing another how to roleplay section and quite honestly this is a game that assumes some prior experience.  The kind of "our game is awesome" balderdash also leaves me a bit cold.  In truth I will probably make the introduction brief and forget the foreword entirely.

I might take a stab at some fiction.  Maybe, I'm not entirely convinced the front of a generic system is the place for such things.

[David Johansen]

Just by way of example here's a prior attempt of which I like some bits and dislike others.  I may take another stab at it but first I want to get to position in melee and tidy up some other bits.

Don't say I didn't warn you.

Come Ride With Me
   Come ride with me through forests dark, across mountains perilous and fair.  Until at last.to reach some forgotten shore.  And there to dance with elves and sing the lays of bygone days of noble kings and daring heroes.  But we will not dally with those good fair folk for there are deeds to do today and dragons still to slay.  For legends do not sleep and heroes may live happily for a time but never ever after.

   The concept of the fantasy roleplaying game is no longer new and it is doubtful there is a corner yet left unexplored.  But here we are.  I can't claim that you will find anything new here.  Other people had all these ideas long before me.  Other people blazed those trails and fought those battles.  Yet, perhaps, I still have something to add.  Perhaps there is nothing more here than an unwillingness to accept that others control and own the legacies of my favorite games and thus anything I might wish to contribute there.  Perhaps, vanity, or vain glory or greed is what drives me, though to date my hobby has never profited me a single penny.  But be all that as it may, I'm still a buyer, a reader, a player of new games and perhaps that is because I am still searching for something.  A noisome beast making a racket of baying hounds leads on before me and down the well worn track I ride into the all but civilized wood.  Once more chasing the gleam.   

   "An Obscure Confabulation, what is an Obscure Confabulation?"

    This game or series of games or series of booklets of bits of games is an Obscure Confabulation.  It's obscure because nobody has ever heard of it and it's a confabulation because it's put together from bits of this and that.  The whole thing is a bit of myth and storytelling and game playing and making up stuff and studying and reading and is forever being strung together with bits of gossamer threads of ideas and notions and dreams.  For all that it's what you make of it, be it high drama or low comedy, thrilling daring-do or dull tedium.  It's all crammed in here in bits and pieces in what is hopefully a reasonable order and structure.

   "But it's just a role playing game right?  And it's just a generic fantasy one at that!"

   Or not, the fullest intent of The Obscure Confabulation is that the readers and players do the confabulating.  Some elements of popular modern fantasy have been given here as a starting point and to serve as examples but as was stated before: it is what you make of it.  It certainly can be a roleplaying game ranging from desperate exploration in the depths of the earth to complex political intrigues.  But it's more than that because each part of the whole is able to be used separately or in conjunction with the rest.  There is a realm building and management game here, and a skirmish war game and mass battle game and even a framework for an epic living world building game where the participants shape and detail their own corner of a massive setting.

   It's nothing new.  It adds little to the prior art.  No claims of the game's superiority or innovations will be found herein.  Just boundless ambition and a desire to have one's hands on the reins.  To be empowered to create and shape the game as one wishes while retaining compatibility with some standard structure.

   "But how do you play this game?"

   However you want.  You can use the sample setting provided or you can build your own.  You can start from the top creating the very gods or you can start from the bottom with a small rural fief or a series of caves.  You could roll up a character or build an army.  Whatever takes your fancy there are tools in here to guide you on your way.

What do you need to play?
   Paper, pencils, and ten-sided dice at the minimum.  Print outs of the character sheets or other forms are handy.  A binder with some dividers to put your work in is a must.  Some will favor a computer but scratching out some notes on paper often helps and you'll want some way to organize the pages so you can go back to them when whatever you typed in doesn't make any sense later on.  There are optional rules for using other polyhedral dice if you fancy them but they are never required.  Miniature figures and scenery are wonderful but can get in the way as much as they help.  The author favors 54mm figures.  Every year miniatures manufacturers make bigger and bigger figures.  Why not just get ahead of the crowd?

[David Johansen]

Here's a first draft for position in melee.  I still need to go over it in the context of the rest of the free moves in melee text.

[Scott Anderson]

David: you don't need to defend your choice.  I understand and respect your decision to write how you want to. Everyone's voice speaks to a segment certain and you will find your audience.

[David Johansen]

Thanks I appreciate that sentiment.

I'll take another stab at it though because I think it's been said by enough people that it's probably too much naval gazing.

I've been told by many that nobody reads introductions and designer's notes anyhow.

The real question you have to answer is "Why not just use D&D, Tunnels and Trolls, Chivalry and Sorcery, Rune Quest, Rolemaster, Sword Bearer, Fighting Fantasy, GURPS Fantasy, Hero Quest, or Fantasy Craft."

But I can see I need to take a more positive approach without ranting or ripping down that other game.  No, not even with the tongue firmly in cheek like Marvel's Distinguished Competition.

[Bloody Stupid Johnson]

Oh well I liked the design notes. IMHO I much prefer the details of why such-and-such, over the more typical ad copy of how this RPG is the bestest evar and merges cutting edge old school design with gritty simulative narrativism.

[David Johansen]

Thanks

Here's a bit that I wrote very early on and haven't integrated back in yet.

Spirits
   The ethereal realm exists as a close parallel to the mundane realm which is invisible to the waking mind.  Living creatures are partially ethereal just as they are part air, earth, fire and water.  The ethereal component has the unique aspects of being a template as well as cognitive and thus while the other elements simply decay, the ethereal body or spirit lives on.  Gods and demons are in the business of collecting or recruiting like minded spirits into their own realms and go to considerable lengths to encourage mortal beings to conform to their own ideals, but many spirits linger in the ether either for lack of a place to go or due to pressing concerns on the mortal plane.

   In game terms the only Characteristics a spirit truly possesses are Fortune,   Intelligence, Intuition, and Willpower.  These will mirror their capabilities in life.

Beast Spirit
   Animal spirits are simpler and more primal than those of mortals and immortals.  They carry on instinctually, behaving much as they would in life.

Elementals
   There are creatures which are wholly native to one of the four elemental realms.  These are not merely spirits bound to an animated form but beings composed of the pure element.  Such beings are awesome in their power and alien in their thought.

Entities
   Demons and angels are not technically physical beings in the traditional sense.  They seldom linger in the aether but often pass through it on their various tasks rather than walking to and fro upon the earth.  Angelic spirits will never willingly serve any but the most righteous cause but demonic ones are often more than happy to take an opportunity to make mischief.

Immortal Spirits
   The spirits of elves, orcs, and dragons are rare in that they only die by violence but are less likely to be tied to any god or demon and thus often linger in the aether pursuing their own ends.  Such spirits are often proud and haughty and may not particularly desire incarnation.
      
Mortal Spirit
   The spirits of men, dwarfs, and other sentient mortals are often drawn into the higher or lower realms by gods or demons, but some linger in the aether tied to the mortal realm by unfinished business or lack of commitment to any particular faith or creed.  Such spirits are often quite willing to be bound in order to gain some access to the physical realm though they often have their own agenda.

Household Spirit
   Minor corporeal spirits often become quite fond of families and move right in without asking.  While they can be a nuisance at times, they are willing if occasionally misguided helpers.  Any such being in the vicinity of the spell is drawn to the caster and will converse with them.  The spirit will often take on the form of a small animal and will speak and understand the local language.

Ancestor Spirit
   In places where ancestors are remembered and revered their spirits often linger.  Such spirits are excellent, if biased, sources of historical information and will often be knowledgeable on the whereabouts of living family members and current gossip.  Unable to take corporeal form they will often speak in whispers in the trees near their grave, from statues or pictures of themselves, or death aspected animals.

Realm Spirit
   At times an individual or even a legendary figure that never actually existed will become a symbol for an entire people.  Such beings can become quite powerful in their own right and some even ascend to godhood.  Realm spirits have a great interest in the well being of their people and the maintenance of traditional values.

Unclean Spirit
   Evil is very real in the spirit world.  There are dark, gnawing beings of malice and madness which lurk in unwholesome places.  These minor spirits cannot take physical form but often cause great harm by lending their aid to angry and hateful individuals, whispering foul notions in their ears and providing them with information.

Cleansing Spirit
   Even as there are spirits of disease and madness there are those of healing and clarity.  They will seek to root out any unclean spirits in the area without being asked.  So caught up are they in their war with impurity that such spirits are seldom knowledgeable about events in the physical realm.  They are much given to dire warnings and predictions of doom and seldom worth speaking to.

Nature Spirit
   Places, plants, and natural geological features often have spirits that dwell within them.  These are seldom knowledgeable about human affairs, concerning themselves primarily with the on going panorama of nature.  One might well know why the bees avoid a certain field while knowing nothing about where the farmer lives.  Nature spirits can be very powerful if roused to anger as they are able to incarnate corporeally in the river, rock outcropping or tree where they dwell.

[David Johansen]

...and another crack at an introduction:

Introduction
   This is a game about fantastical worlds that are grounded in reality.  Where ecosystems need to exist to support monstrous predators and turnips can be worth more than gold at the end of a hard winter.  While cash economies exist, they are assumed to be supplemental to far larger and more powerful barter economies.  One does not, so much buy a castle with gold as build it with man power.  Such details are intended to provide a sense of a living world in which the characters exist rather than a world that only exists in as much as the heroes interact with it.   Within these core rules, the popular "northern" fantasy drawn from the Eddas and popularized by Professor Tolkien is used both by way of example and common ground.  In time other realms will be detailed such as distant Tzoldria, a parasitic continent where demons walk among men and Bashana with its crystal spires, bestial castes, and forbidden arts.  But such realms are too esoteric for a core volume that is intended to reach an audience through common ground.

   This is a game about heroism.  But there are many kinds of heroes and sometimes a small band of misfits can matter more than a legion of knights in shining armour.  Here, characters are created by spending a points budget or rolling dice.  Vocations exist as pre-built templates that in no way restrict future growth or provide any particular mechanical advantage over any other vocation.  One is free to create a character they want to play and need not be bound by concerns of effectiveness as the experience level system prevents the dumping of all a character's resources into a single ability and allows sufficient points to have interesting skills without being punished for it.  Long term campaign play is supported by allowing open ended character development.  Legendary heroes might well break the boundaries of credulity and face odds mere mortals might deem impossible.

   This is a game about valorous deeds and great trials, mighty battles and perilous debates.  The rules are robust and consistent.  They make no claim to innovation nor clever party tricks. Herein, simple percentile rolls and additive modifiers suffice to provide the tension and risk of loss that make the game exciting and enjoyable.  One should not view such results as "rolls to advance the plot" but rather as rolls to see where things go.  The end should not be a foregone conclusion and indeed a satisfying end should not be expected, the world goes on whether one lives or dies.  

   This is a game about magic, dark and mysterious, irrational magic.  By its very nature magic follows the laws of myth and story not physics.  As such a great deal of focus has been placed on the artifice of magic, on potions and wands and phlyacraties.  There is a discussion of the whys and hows and the effects of spells have been distilled to essential effects and structures as befits a game but a great deal of effort has been invested in the process and procedure of magic.  No thought has been given to the balance of combat abilities between the warrior and the wizard.  No, not one, there is no restriction on the wizard's ability to use a sword, nor on the warrior's ability to learn a spell beyond the very divergent skill bases involved in either activity and that is balance enough.

   This is a game about monsters, frightening, and horrible monsters but also individual monsters with stories and unique capabilities.  Monsters are created by much the same method as characters but can have their abilities boiled down to a simple combat stat block for everyday use.  On the whole, the guiding principle of less is more has been followed.  Thus there is one small race with cultural variations to cover the range of brownies, pixies, and halflings.  It is assumed that individual skills and abilities explain the differences between green and brown orcs and a single entry suffices for both.

   The concept of Fantasy Roleplaying Games needs no introduction. They have been with us on the table top for forty years now and on computers for almost as long.  If the presence of a book in your hands didn't clue you in, this is a table top Fantasy Roleplaying Game.  It's a set of rules that mainly exist to fill a particular set of requirements.  If you want a simple, blisteringly fast, laser focussed game or one that attempts to shape the game to some literary notion of story structure, this isn't one of those.
   It would be unfair to call this a generic game as it bears certain assumptions and makes no effort to treat them as modifications to the core system.  Instead, this is a game with an intended tone and style of play that can span milleux that hold to a similar tone.  If you have sought such a tool, you may find it here.