Pangea (Or What Is Narrative)?

For those who may not know, our Blood of Pangea game has finally been released, with abundant thanks to those brave souls who've supported the title so far!  The game is a bit of an experiment, but not quite as radical as some may think.  Yes, the term narrative carries baggage in gaming circles, suggesting something new-fangled and far removed from old-school principles.

But think again!  It's true that many "narrative" games involve players having a hand in devising the plot.  A shared responsibility between the players and the judge, often, with the intention of creating "cinematic" scenes rather than taking part in a simulation with an uncertain fate.  This "story-gaming" is derided, perhaps unfairly, as fluffy, pointless fare.

This isn't the case here.  Shared narrative is very consistent with old-school ideas, and if done properly, might just be the oldest school of all!  In fact, we argue that the most traditional of games actually WERE a "shared-narrative" experience...

Sword and Sorcery was literature, NOT simulation!

Consider original Dungeons and Dragons:

(1) A traditional division of labor is preserved, with the DM creating the setting and running supporting characters, and players taking charge of a main character or hero...

(2) This IS a cooperative narrative, as everyone is "in charge" of some SPECIFIC part of the story...

(3) In other words, everyone STAYS IN THEIR LANE!

(4) That said, if players want to guide the outcome of events or otherwise shape the story, they need to make good decisions and use their skills and abilities as best they can.

This is a point of division between old-school games and certain modern forms.  The newer stuff has considerable overlap, with players and judges sharing responsibilities and, alternately, having mechanics that promote the creation of dramatic scenes within an evolving gameplay narrative.

A clear division of labor is what separates "old-school" narrative creation from "new-school" styles of play.

Blood of Pangea is described as a "narrative" system because the players write a narrative describing what their characters can do in the game, but also because spell casting is free form and not reliant on any formal spell-list.  That said, character creation is done the same way that the great pulp writers did it!

Does it really matter HOW you know your character is a tracker as long as you KNOW?  Especially when there's otherwise some system for determining success or failure and mechanics to limit individual power (and to preserve challenge) within the game? 

Blood of Pangea preserves the traditional division of labor and requires that players make good choices and use abilities as wisely as possible.  And the outcome is uncertain.  Death and/or ruin happens routinely, but smart playing can prevent that.  At the same time, it recognizes the role of writing plus fluid and free-form storytelling within certain boundaries...

How else might one recreate a purely literary genre?  Sword and sorcery was writing, not simulation.  But gaming IS simulation, with the aim of offering a challenging experience.  Blood of Pangea is our little experiment in how far one can go mixing styles while preserving the best of both - and we hope you enjoy savage Pangea!  

Contemplatives in Pits & Perils

Clerics in Pits & Perils were conceived primarily as holy (or alternately, unholy) warriors supplemented by healing abilities and power over undead enemies, etc.  Clerics are NOT formulaic spell casters in the fashion of magical practitioners, but rather, pious folk who call upon their god(s) for aid:

Help me, _______________, I'm in trouble (Ally)

Help me, _______________, I'm really sick (Cure)

Help me, _______________, I'm really hurt (Heal)

Help me, _______________, my friend is dead (Resurrection)      

OK, you get the idea.  This means that clerical healing power is limited (a conscious attempt to make players prioritize), once again, underscoring the fact that what clerics do is emphatically not the same as what magicians do...

This greatly limits how much healing power there is to go around, barring the use of magic items, necessitating the use of non-player clerics to get the job done.  Wise hermits or cloistered priests spring immediately to mind here, although these are not the typical warrior priest, but something else entirely.

These spiritual seekers are true CONTEMPLATIVES...

.

Contemplatives are usually non-player hermits...

So first, some definitions here:

Standard clerics are MILITANTS, being specially trained to engage enemies of the faith, including the undead, in the manner put forth by the Pits & Perils basic rulebook...

CONTEMPLATIVES are religious hermits and/or seekers who dedicate their lives to prayer.  Accordingly, they are less common on adventurers, although conditions may draw them from their cloisters to get involved, including some player characters if the referee decides to allow them (perhaps specific deities are served only by contemplatives) per the following:

(1) As non-combatants, contemplatives cannot wear armor or shield and may only fight with a staff or walking stick.

(2) Furthermore, they may only turn undead up to 6th level, being unconcerned with this sort of confrontation.

(3) On the other hand, contemplatives get 2 faith points (FP) at every level such points are acquired, meaning that a 3rd level cleric would have 4.  This represents greater piety and prayer-based abilities, much like a magician with spell points (SP).

Now, this is the sort of cleric characters will meet in the wilderness or seek for healing, etc.  They're also highly sought by adventuring parties - and for obvious reasons.

In this respect, contemplatives are much like hospitaliers or healing-priests who eschew physical pursuits for a ascetic life of prayer and meditation.  Most will be non-players, although some attach themselves to adventuring parties, effectively doubling their healing power while reducing their martial contributions...

Blood of Pangea (Coming Soon)...

Blood of Pangea is in the proofreading stages and soon to be unleashed on the world!  So what is it?  Well, it's all about sword and sorcery from the pulp era (the 1930s to be exact).  Of course, we've already got a fantasy product; Pits & Perils, and that should be enough to do the genre, right?  Right...

But the truth is, sword and sorcery; TRUE sword and sorcery, is altogether different from the typical dungeon romp.  Years of gaming culture and memories of 1980s Conan movies have muddied the water here, and we recommend reading the first stories and contemplating their feeling and general subtext.

This upcoming release does more than eliminate demi-humans, it embraces the fact that these original stories imagined an entirely different world shaped by the views of writers who may have been alive in the 19th century!  This sensibility isn't just aesthetics or affectations either (as in some of steampunk)...

James listened to Robert E. Howard
audio books while putting this thing together...

It also recognizes the literary nature of the original genre in several keys ways, meaning that players can approach gameplay almost as if writing a story instead of assigning character points or choosing a class, etc.  But this isn't story-gaming either; every traditional division of labor between the players and judge are all intact and carefully (lovingly) preserved...

So here's what you get...

(1) Narrative character creation and advancement.  Once you understand the rules, you're almost writing a story, which is kinda what Howard and friends were doing... 

(2) An intuitive and effective magic system with NO SPELL LISTS required in keeping with how sorcery was employed in those original pulp adventures - but also without complexity!

(3) Monsters are treated like the singular abominations they typically were, and with simple rules for "writing" them, sometimes on the spot if need be.  Scary!

(4) Tips for setting up a campaign, plus some details from our eponymous Pangea setting.  But don't worry, we've left plenty of room for judges to do their own stuff...

(5) And finally, all of this is anchored in simple, but solid mechanics minus the subjective "wonk" that accompanies some of these games and scares people off.  It's proper old-school.
     
So we'll finish by offering the first page of the Introduction, which explains the genre as we've come to understand it, and in all of it's lurid glory and antiquated sensibilities...

Of course, we're still proofreading this thing, so please excuse any typos; our editor got eaten by some great nameless horror...

Doom (A Spell for Pits & Perils)

Here's a spell for Pits & Perils from the Astral College in Yerth and useful when planning dangerous adventures.  But be warned, the future one glimpses might be troubling, and some things are better left unseen.  Still, there are some in Yerth brave enough to glimpse what might be their ultimate doom!

Who really wants to see their
ultimate doom?  Sometimes, it's bloody...

SPELL	DURATION	RANGE	SPECIAL EFFECT
Doom	instant	self	reveals one possible fate

DOOM grants the magician a vision of their fate on any upcoming adventure (normally, within one game day).  The referee then selects what they consider the most dangerous enemy (or trap) in their prepared scenario and presents a vision showing what MIGHT happen should they encounter it.  For instance, falling into a pit or being devoured by a specific monster, etc.  The vision should offer no other advice or information, but only a glimpse of something deadly that COULD happen - a good way to scare the players!

Note that if the magician is resting in town, their visions are generally mundane and non-threatening unless the referee has other plans for the party, like assassins, etc.  

This spell was written by Thelingus Magmerum, but seldom used because its visions are disturbing.  In the Yerth campaign, doing so requires saving dice to avoid a trembling fear such that all dice are rolled at -2 for the following game day.  So be warned...