Far Out Space Nut

I still seem to have Science Fiction gaming very much on the brain.

I have taken to downloading Starships & Spacemen, looking over all my ol' Star Frontiers stuff and generally trying to come up with a way to finish my Aliens & Astrobases project.

None of which seems to be getting me anywhere.

I know what I want. I want fast action, blaster battles, exploring weird planets and meeting strange aliens, operating a starship, messing with psychic powers, robots, a little tactical stuff, a little resource management and some fun PC/NPC interactions. Sounds like a typical Adam game but for some reason I can't put my finger on I'm having difficulty locking down the specifics.

One issue is I think my brain is in one mood and my spirit* is in another. I'm in one of those 'I want to try a new game' modes. That or an old game I haven't played before (which is much harder to find than a new one). I also miss my 'Serious Comedy' games. Oh man I miss those. Galaxy Quest, Ghostbusters...See, here's where Hunter Planet would totally rock! Maybe West End Games' 'Men In Black'. Maybe mix InSpectres with Men in Black.

Madness I tell you. Madness.

On a related note, I have big plans for posting in March that revolve around a project I've worked on on-and-off for the better part of 15-20 years. Its nuts and I doubt I can get anyone to play it but I feel its high time I talked about it so expect something very strange in about a week.

It could be that thinking about this side project is distracting me from the now. It could also be that I am secretly a bit scatterbrained and indecisive.

Anyway, Happy President's Day to all and I'm sure I'll post something more meaning meaty later on.

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Barking Alien

Class Action

More thoughts on Classes for Aliens & Astrobases...

To me, the concept of a Class in an RPG falls into three main areas:

Class as Iconic Profession

This is the default D&D/D20/Palladium, etc. idea of classes. These are basically jobs that are easily and often boldly defined by looking to our favorite characters in the fiction of the genre. Conan is a Fighter or a Barbarian, Gandalf is a Wizard, Aragon is a Ranger, etc.

This is my least favorite interpretation as these Classes are often (though not always) given less customization options and don't define some of the genre's more unusual characters. Elric is not exactly a Wizard and he can fight with a bad ass sword. Gray Mouser is a Thief who also know some magic. You get what I'm saying.

Class as Templated Skill Set

This is sort of the 'Class-that-isn't-a-Class' system used by D6 Star Wars, ICON and FASA Star Trek (Decipher's CODA feels like a cross between this and the Iconic Profession which is why I'm not as keen on that game*), numerous modern and military themed RPGs and even to some degree point based systems like Mutants & Masterminds and Champions.

Now that wouldn't be standard for the latter two but both give you the option of using a template or purchasing a package of abilities where the math is already done for you. For Champions/HERO System, this is much more popular in its spin offs like Fantasy Hero and Star Hero so everyone who wants to play an Elf or a particular alien species can simply purchase the same package.

Class as Classification

Now this one is something I've been thinking about for years and years. The word Class in this context always makes me think of a classification or a type. So the job or profession of Fighter, Paladin, Cavalier or Barbarian would all fall under the 'Class' of Fighting Man for example. Wizard, Cleric, Druid and Sorceror would called be considered Magic Users.

I can't think of any RPGs that do it quite this way off the top of my head but I'm certain I remember encountering this idea before. If you guys can think of any let me know.

What am I getting at with this? Well how about the following Classes for Aliens & Astrobases:

Academic

Combatant

Contact

Enigma

Tech

In addition to two 'special' Classes

Alien

Robot

What you have here is the character that thinks (Academic - Int - Mental character), the character that fights ( Combatant - Con - Physical character), the character that interacts (Contact - Cha - Social character), the character the does (Tech - Wis - 'Skill' or Capable character) and the wild card (Enigma - Dex? - More about abilities than stats - this is the Psionic/Cyborg character).

To this Class you get to add a Profession or job that gives you one special ability or skill like ability and gives you some variation. Professions might include Pilot, Explorer, Medic, etc. There for you could play a Combatant Medic, a Combatant Pilot, an Enigma Soldier, a Contact Explorer or what-have-you. Its a bit like Stars Without Number but simplified, paired down and yet I may expand the use of the base Classes to make them more distinct.

Any thoughts? Back to Star Trek...

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Barking Alien

*I must say that while Decipher's Star Trek game isn't my forte', I think their Lord of the Rings RPG is somewhat underrated. The CODA system works much better for that game and it was pretty cool to run. If only Decipher as a company had had some clear idea of what the heck it was doing with its RPG lines....

Class Struggle

Taking time out from my Star Trek RPG work to talk about one of my other projects, the Old School SF game I'm designing, Aliens & Astrobases. I want to take a look at the 800-pound gorilla in the room, Classes. My apologies Mr. Gorilla but I'm not a fan.

I've never liked Classes as presented in the old school format. I find the concept OK but in execution most Classes in most games suffer from a most difficult to remedy paradox.

1) They are too rigid and don't always represent the character the player has in mind.

2) They are not distinct or different enough that playing one over another is all the special.

These may seem to contradict each other and I'll admit that they do a bit but hear me out on this...

If you are going to create Classes than make them feel different. Let either the mechanics or the atmosphere generated by nifty mechanics make each class feel distinct. The Wizard's spellcasting should not feel exactly the same as the Cleric's spellcasting. The Thief at least often had skills not one else had (pre-3rd Edition). The Fighter...uhg. The Fighter.

I've noticed in some of the retroclones, blogger's houserules and other Old School idea sets, the Thief and/or Cleric is removed for whatever reason. This strikes me as strange since...well OK, maybe the Thief could go. I mean, in D&D, isn't everyone the Thief? The big focus is crawling through ruins, tombs and such stealing their stuff or killing monsters and stealing their stuff. The Cleric on the other hand is like the driving force of medieval society to some extent. The Cleric is my favorite Class. Its the one with the most built in role playing potential because of your need to interact with your Deity and those who worship them. Plus, its the All-Around-Class. I'm a big fan of that type of character. I don't want to be the strongest, the smartest or the fastest. I'd rather be second best at EVERYTHING. My favorite superheroes aren't Flash and the Hulk. I prefer Green Lantern and Iron Man. A power theme with multiple applications. Give me versatility over raw power any day.

No dear reader, if I were to tell you the Class I think is most deserving of being dumped I assure you that you'd think me mad. Eh? You already do? Fine then...The Fighter.

Oh lord how I despise the Fighter. More hit points, any weapon, any armor and nothing else interesting at all. This has to be the single most boring class from OD&D all the way to World of Warcraft. Why don't we just have a class called Average Person. I mean the average person in a fantasy town is a Fighter no? He can use a sword or an axe! A Peasant, a Carpenter, a town Guard, a Blacksmith and pretty much any other able bodied individual can probably also do that. These games even contrive the idea that a Wizard can't use a sword (like Gandalf and freakin' Merlin) just to give the Fighter something to be proud of.

One of the biggest inspirations to creating my houseruled D&D-for-those-who-don't-like-D&D was to create a system where a Fighter felt like the hero of so many books, movies and comics. Where a guy or gal with enough training and physical prowess could actually stand up to a Wizard and vanquish them like they do in myth and legend. In D&D a 10th level Wizard is going to turn a 10th level Fighter into beef jerky in a few rounds.

What does this have to do with Aliens & Astrobases. Simple, do we need a Fighting class? Is there anyone running around the Star Wars universe who can't fire a blaster besides C-3PO? Keith Laumer's Retief is a Diplomat who can fight and shoot a laser gun. He's more of a Scoundrel in some ways. The same can be said for the Stainless Steel Rat. Do we really have to have a guy whose speciality is something everyone in the genre can do?

Yes. Surprised by my answer? Don't be. You see, it isn't that I find the Fighter class unnecessary, its that I find nothing exceptional about Fighters. That's why my Fighter in my D&D-But-Not game is exceptionally good at fighting. Not just more hit points and the ability to buy more from the Hunting and Sporting section of the medieval WalMart. No, he has various abilities the make him the King of Battle when doing what he does.

So I'm thinking of a similar idea for A&A but without my skill/Talent system. What if the Fighting Class character can, by virtue of his incredible ability with weaponry, cause more damage with a given weapon than anyone else. Say a ray gun does 3D6. The same ray gun in the hands of a Fighting Class character does 3D6+2 per level. This would help offset that annoying feature where the Wizard causes an increasing amount of damage thanks to level and better spells but the Fighter does 1D8+Strength bonus with a sword on day 1 of 1st level and 1D8+Strength bonus day 10 of 8th level.

Just some thoughts that came to me while being unable to sleep. I haven't decided to completely rule out adding my Talent system to this game but right now I'm trying to keep it skill-less as best as I can.

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Barking Alien

Trying to Spin Gold into Lead

Hey gang! Happy Nearly New Year to all!I want to thank everyone who commented (and those that didn't. My page hits are high recently. Don't be afraid to talk. I don't bite. What? Barkley's wants me to assure you that he most certainly does however) and showed an interest in Aliens and Astrobases. Rest assured it will be made. When and how remains to be seen.

Kobold commented, " So why wed yourself to OSR if it will give you hives and, as you say, your game has evolved in your head?"

An excellent question with a barely rational answer. For a pretty rational and logical fellow I do sometimes have patterns of thinking that show off the geek in me. And those aren't hives...its just a mild skin irritation.

Let me see if I can make clearer what I'm trying to do by way of this somewhat odd example:

Let's say, when you were little, your Aunt made these amazing Gingerbread Pumpkin Cookies.

Now people make Pumpkin Cookies and people make Gingerbread Cookies, yet nobody but nobody makes Gingerbread Pumpkin Cookies like Auntie did.

Well Auntie's passed on and she was never any good at writing down recipes. That stinks because this holiday season you are determined to remake her awesome cookies. You research and talk to family members, check out Cookie cookbooks and after a long time and a lot of work, you think you can make them. And you do. And everyone loves them.

They say they're lighter then Auntie's cookies. Yes, they melt in your mouth. They're more buttery! Not as sharp a ginger taste but sweeter. The whole family loves them!

But you don't. Why? Because they're better...but they're not your Aunt's Gingerbread Pumpkin Cookies. They just aren't the same.

See, I can make a good, no damn it, a GREAT Sci-Fi/Space Opera RPG. It would incorporate stuff from my favorite games and some nifty new ideas and focus on characters and story and relationships with the PCs, the NPCs and the vast galaxy they live in.

But that's not what I'm trying to do. I'm a modern aviation designer trying to restore a World War II airplane, not build the latest and greatest in aerospace technology.

I want to understand the old school and find a way to convey it in a Sci-Fi game that has classes, levels, an archaic experience point system, virtually no skills to speak of and the other things that people fond of those things are fond of.

Obviously you can see my handicap.

Kobold also said...

"I'm obviously a bit dense as I seriously don't get the whole OSR - good, everything else - bad. It would appear, from what I've seen and heard, that a number of these "retro-clones" are essentially various versions of D&D with all the rules the writer doesn't like thrown out and all his houserules stuck in. Am I missing something, here?"

No. At least not to me. As I've been researching this and reading my copies of Labyrinth Lord and Swords & Wizardy and a few others, I'm struck with the notion that I have paid money for someone's campaign houserules for old editions of D&D.

Kudos! Seriously. As someone who views P.T. Barnum as an inspiration and personal hero I am all for getting the public to pay tickets to see the Bearded Lady, Lana the Hairy Woman and She-Wolf, Woman with a Beard and have them all be the same rather hirsute gal.One interesting thing I'd like to end with is that everything on my blog is my opinion. Its not yours. It might be but for the most part all I can guarantee is its mine. I also have a rather peculiar sense of humor. So if I have offended your sensitivities over my particular approach to describing the old school - get over it. Kick your shoes off while you're here. Relax. Laugh for a change. Seriously, I have 62 followers. No ones going to know if you can over, stayed a bit, looked at some old posts and actually enjoyed yourself. I'm not gonna tell anybody. Dude chill, its all good.

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Barking Alien

OSR SF - Preliminary Scans

At this point its unlikely I'll be finished with my OSR, D&D inspired SF game by Saturday. Sad face.

There are a lot of reasons but the primary ones are quite simple:

Real life is a bit busier and more chaotic than I'd hoped this week.

I find myself distracted by projects I'm more interested in.

Deep down I'm just not an Old School guy and while I thought it might be fun to get this vision of an Old School Sci-Fi game that I've had in my head for 25+ years out of there, I realize that its been tucked away in a forgotten box in my mind for a reason. Its an old idea. Its an idea that I don't play with or use anymore. I keep wanting to add skill mechanics, relationship sub systems or special abilities for Aliens that really don't fit the Old School. I see why the games that have come out already (X-Plorers, Terminal Space, Stars Without Number) are built the way they are. A real D&D OSR SF game would suck. And be full of initials apparently.

So am I giving up? No! Never Give Up, Never Surrender! But I'm not going to finish it this week.

I want to get back to working on my person RPG project.

A friend has asked me to run Star Trek! Home sweet home!

I want to try out more Apocalyse World.

Games without limits! Games that evolve. The past is nice but I'm looking forward to the Future!

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Barking Alien

OSR - Outer Space Redux

First off, I've got to level with you. The last few days have been rough.

The Holiday largely stank, I'm just getting over a cold and I'm feeling those end of the year blues.

Of course, this is the time my mind decides is just picture perfect for a huge spurt of creativity. When I read over my last few posts I find them far to chaotic and unfocused. There are some cool ideas in there, but I'm not really selling them, or getting the point across.

The same thing can be said of some recent comments I made on other game blogs. I stand by what I said, but I wish I had explained myself more eloquently. One specific point I'd like to rectify was my mention of the RPG Stars Without Number.

Some may have gleaned from my post that I didn't think it was a good game. That couldn't be further from the truth. In fact, I think it's an extremely good Science Fiction RPG, and quite well done. It reminds me a bit of my favorite RPG (well, one of my top three), the ICON System version of Star Trek by Last Unicorn Games. And therein lies the problem.

The game is too modern to convince me it is an OSR compatible Science Fiction game inspired by D&D. Its (and I don't mean to be facetious) too well put together. It makes almost too much sense the way they went about it. It needs to feel more clunky, arbitrary and odd. It doesn't need to really be those things, but it needs to generate that kind of vibe.

What I think an OSR Sci-Fi/Space Opera RPG should be like may well be impossible to make. Maybe it shouldn't be done. Honestly, I'm almost looking forward to a game I wouldn't play. Not really of course...but sort of.

To that end I issue myself a challenge! I, Adam Dickstein, will create an Old School, D&D inspired, Science Fiction/Space Opera RPG and save it to PDF by the First of the Year! Yes, racing rocket fans you heard (-pst-read-) er, read correctly. I give my lazy, candy ass 1 week to put my money where my mouth is and make Aliens and Astrobases available to the online viewing public. It'll be a nice practice run before I complete my real RPG project sometime in March. Who knows? Might have a hit and have to do a sellable version. Damn, but that would be funny, no?

Anyway, a few disclaimers...First and foremost, it might be very, very bad. Second, it will be an unplaytested game so it may have numerous flaws I don't even know about. Play it and send my feed back. It will have art but not a lot and not the best. I'll likely be using assorted old sketches from my previous Sci-Fi campaigns. Lastly, it will beg, borrow and steal heavily from Swords & Wizardry, Jeff Rients, SRS Basic* and numerous other places. I said I was going to do it in a week. I didn't say it was going to be super original or mind-blowing. This is more of an excercise in "Can Adam make the Old School feel, Sci-Fi RPG he always imagined TSR should've created but didn't."

It will be free to download but if you decide to use it as a substitute life support system device for intelligent, plant based aliens, I will have to charge you.

Comment, questions, words of encouragement and even the shaking of your heads is welcome.

I better get cracking!

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Barking Alien

*SRS Basic is the Basic version of the 'Standard Roleplaying System', the house engine used by Japanese tabletop RPG company FarEast Amusement Research (F.E.A.R.) for all of their games.

P.S. - Zak S of the forever awesome 'Playing D&D with Pornstars' and I are having a difference of opinion. Nothing hostile. I appreciate where Zak is coming from as I too came from there some 20 something years ago. It is a cool place to be. It rocks. Now I am largely here and here.

P.S.S. And speaking of there, I mean here, I mean...screw it. Look at this. Apocalypse World will change the way so wake up in the morning, go to sleep at night and enjoy spending time with your significant other. And I am understating how *&#^ing cool it is.

OSR Sci-Fi Game, Where Art Thou?

I downloaded Stars without Number the other day in the desperate hope that a rules light, neo-classical old school Sci-Fi/Space Adventure RPG had finally been made. It has not.

Now don't get me wrong, its a fine product, excellent in fact, but still not what I was hoping for. Maybe I don't really know what I'm hoping for.

But I do. Ever since I was 13 or 14 I imagined that the fog in front of TSR's eyes would clear and they would learn that their approach to D&D would work for Sci-Fi. You would start with a basic boxed game and than proceed to an advanced version. The advanced game would have three rulebooks: A Player's Handbook, a Sci-Fi Master's Guide and an Alien Manual. Either there is something seriously wrong with me for thinking of this all too obvious idea or I'm some kind of freakin' gaming genius. I really don't think the latter is the case. Smart yes but a genius...?

For months and months now I've been secretly screwing with my D&D-for-those-people-who-don't-like-D&D system, mostly based on 1st Edition AD&D crossed with S&W crossed with mine own personal madness, to create a Sci-Fi version currently entitled Aliens & Astrobases. Its a bit (understatement warning) over the top but I think it would really fill a niche not currently covered. Its a bit like X-Plorers meets Anime. Sort of. Not exactly. Its fun.

Any interest or should I just move on to my next crazy idea?

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Barking Alien