tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4372464286852637246.post8248447956626146891..comments2024-03-17T19:27:36.946-07:00Comments on Pits Perilous: Against Gonzo Dungeons and Total Party Kills (or Some Old-School Tropes Overturned)...Olde House Ruleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06672388784118015345noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4372464286852637246.post-80656021641314131022017-12-07T15:01:41.000-08:002017-12-07T15:01:41.000-08:00Fair enough! This was largely (although unstated) ...Fair enough! This was largely (although unstated) a response to those who identify old-school as lethal dungeon crawls exclusively. Combined with the linked post about the diversity of old-school mechanics, the message here is that our hobby was extremely diverse and early on...Olde House Ruleshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06672388784118015345noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4372464286852637246.post-78857214675941183462017-12-07T08:19:39.764-08:002017-12-07T08:19:39.764-08:00Interesting piece, but it strikes me you are confl...Interesting piece, but it strikes me you are conflating some different things and setting up a few false dichotomies. Consider these disparate concepts:<br /><br />Gonzo<br />Rationale<br />Lethality<br />Extent to which the rules and/or scenario are geared to high-level characters.<br />Role-playing<br />Story<br />Story imposed by the module (railroading?)<br />Story created organically <br />Characters<br />Complexity<br /><br />In my view, all of these things are DIFFERENT. Sure, some are often referred to as "old school" and some often as "new school", but that doesn't mean they're necessarily linked in any non-contingent way.<br /><br />I'm not trying to be argumentative. You're right that there was more diversity in approaches back in the day than sone people want to acknowledge. My point is simply that lumping all of these things together is potentially misleading in its own way if for no other reason than that it itself masks a certain degree of diversity in approaches.Oakes Spaldinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08078500142758654392noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4372464286852637246.post-39037184369943824552017-12-06T04:00:34.824-08:002017-12-06T04:00:34.824-08:00If constant death was inevitable; if play was inst...If constant death was inevitable; if play was instances rather than serial; there would be no reason to have XP tables. XP is an implicit endorsement of serialized play with the possibility of advancement rather than death. <br /><br />This does not mean the DM ought to coddle the characters. Let the dice kill them. And more's the point, let the players get them killed!<br /><br />Just as satisfying as seeing your paper man become the ruler of his own demesne is to cap his story with a satisfactory death. It's ok to let them die. <br /><br />And now this is rather OT: the original Temple of the Frog "module" was more wargames campaign than D&D campaign. Just look at the number of bad guys in there. You'd need 20:1 scale rules to play it, else you'd wear your dice down to spheres. Scott Andersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12067161332003628237noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4372464286852637246.post-61057777724828656952017-12-05T22:33:54.554-08:002017-12-05T22:33:54.554-08:00Great idea! Adventuring is always funnest at lower...Great idea! Adventuring is always funnest at lower levels, and this sounds like an awesome way to develop fleshed-out NPC's for a campaign...Olde House Ruleshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06672388784118015345noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4372464286852637246.post-91929621225831124362017-12-05T19:05:58.081-08:002017-12-05T19:05:58.081-08:00I've always favored reason, purpose, motive an...I've always favored reason, purpose, motive and an organic plot that involved good old dungeons. I've been in campaigns that were epic in deed, but some of the most satisfying and interesting ones were when a character finished their 'story arch' at a lower level. For example, I had a character who was a blacksmith who was recruited by his guild to infiltrate the guild of another kingdom to discover the secret of 'dragon powder'. It was gunpowder. It was an interesting campaign, I'd reach 4th or 5th level, returned to my guild with the secret, and that's where it ended. The GM and I decided that was a perfect place to end his career as an adventurer and that he become an NPC for the blacksmith guild. Gothridge Manorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11371740532802642972noreply@blogger.com