The Ravens Nest

And How We’re Getting Away With It & Not Caring.

Meet Herger Baldursson. He is a Viking and Skald and, at present, he’s completed a raid among his party. He managed to mobilize about half a group of orcs to become shock troops in the raid. Some of them also managed to help carry out some loot from a church that was housing a sort of pseudo-satanic Chaos Cult.

But this wasn’t The World’s Most Popular Role-Playing Game*. This was Horde Wars. The basic rules are available at Big Geek Emporium and that other site for $7.

When it comes to Horde Wars, the creator, DM Blackwall, is running the game and we, as players are actively attempting to break this game. Nearly two hundred pages which is pretty generous content, and we’re trying to break it because the Basic Rules need to hold up for the Advanced Rules which will be coming to Kickstarter.

In this case, it makes sense to play as close to the rules as possible. It also makes sense to debate them, discuss them. When the final advanced product comes out, you’ll have a complete game that moves fast, combat doesn’t get bogged down and we’ll have broken all the rules so you don’t have to.

There seems to be two competing extremes these days, Unwavering Rules Attorneys practicing as thought they’re being paid good money to do it and people who have never once read their books. The polarization continues with no in-between whatsoever. Anyone in between or who wants to be left alone, they’re being just shot to hell in this Culture War until they’re dead to one “side” or the other.

There’s good news though. Three pieces of it, in fact. Buy Horde Wars and you can join Blackwall’s Guilded Server and join with us. Next game session for The Seaborne Adventure is June 29th, which gives you plenty of time to create characters and join in.

The other, is to ditch D&D altogether. Leave it to the warring factions. I have. Let’s talk about two other game designers as well.

First, There’s Elf Lair Games. You might remember them. I’ve written two articles about their Backerkit for Thirteen Parsecs which is still ongoing and the first stretch goal hasn’t even been met yet. Let’s change that and push it past $25k. Plenty of surprise goals in mind from Jason Vey if we can push this past that $25K Goal.

You can read up on Thirteen Parsecs on the Backerkit page. Let’s talk about two games that Elf Lair Games has already released. Games that you can get with Thirteen Parsecs if you don’t already have them.

These two in particular. Night Shift: Veterans of The Supernatural Wars and Wasted Lands: The Dreaming Age.

Both games operate on the Oldschool Generic Roleplaying Engine System (O.G.R.E.S.)

It’s an endlessly customizeable system. Do you like the Basic/Expert Rules? Use them. Lean more AD&D? Okay, that’s cool too. How about Holmes Basic Rules? Go right ahead. Oh, not your style? Remember that old Dice Pool system from the older Vampire: The Masquerade? Yep, you can do that too. Whatever your favorite system is, it’s plug-and-play. Even if you like Original D&D Rules, you can use those too. No two tables will ever operate exactly the same. This is your table, your rules in a colossal way. No other system has ever been this customizable for your table. Thirteen Parsecs is going to operate the same. Furthermore, each of these games can operate as it’s own game or you can link them together. In fact, Tim Brannan, the games’ Co-Creator, has used the exact same character across all three games. How? The Night Companion. That’s the book that allows you to do that. In fact, the class in The Night Companion called The Immortal class.

This is one of my favorite systems. Whatever system you’re used to playing from the 70s, 80s & 90s, this is where you get to try new settings without sacrificing mechanics your table is accustomed to. On top of that, this is a completely independent game studio. Elf Lair Games appreciates their customers. Nothing has been retconned. You’re not being lulled into a walled garden. Once those books are in your hands, your game is out of theirs and they’d love to hear your play reports. You can get all three games here. Support Elf Lair Games today and send a clear message to much larger companies that see you as no more than a wallet.

How does O.G.R.E.S. Work? I’ll allow Jason to explain…

At its base, O.G.R.E.S. is a class-and-level system that uses three core mechanics. These are as follows:

Class Abilities: Class abilities such as the Bounty Hunter’s ability to track, or a Psychic’s psionic powers use a straight percentage roll (roll under your percentage) for success.

Attribute Checks: Attribute checks (including combat and saves) use a twenty-sided die, adding bonuses, and trying to score 20 or better.

The Rule of 2: The rule of 2 is generally reserved for the game master and allows for quick adjudication of any scenario not otherwise covered by the rules. Not sure what to do? Pick a die, roll it, and on a result of 1 or 2, something happens.

That’s it! You now know how to play a game that’s Powered by O.G.R.E.S.!

Speaking of Independent Game Companies, let me introduce you to another one that ranges in my top five, right there with Elf Lair Games. I’ve talked about this company before but I’m going to do it again…

Our friends at Troll Lord Games, the creators of this beautiful series of books called Castles & Crusades. To add cheers to the benefit, Jason Vey of Elf Lair Games is also a staff writer at Troll Lord Games. In fact, Eric Fabiaschi turned me onto his work on Amazing Adventures & Night Shift. While Castles & Crusades (Free PDF At The Link) is their flagship game, other games like Amazing Adventures, The Starship Warden, Amazing Adventures: Starsiege, Victorious and The Storyteller’s Dictionary and The Storyteller’s Thesaurus were other works published by Troll Lord Games and their Aihrde setting is one of the most amazing worlds you’ll ever explore but it was one of the places where Gary Gygax, E. Gary Gygax Jr., and Jim Ward contributed heavily. That’s right, Legends Worked There! That’s why I have all of these…and more not pictured here.

But, on top of all of that, Their SIEGE Engine is dead simple. For those who may not prefer the endlessly customizable approach, The SIEGE Engine takes a different approach.

That’s actually explained here. I’ll post the quote here for you.

HOW DOES IT WORK?

Almost everything you do in Amazing Adventures revolves around an attribute, or SIEGE check. Your character has six attributes, representing their physical and mental aptitudes and abilities. These attributes are the same ones most players familiar with d20-based role playing games recognize: Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma. Each of these attributes is rated from 3-18 with a corresponding bonus.

PRIMARY AND SECONDARY ATTRIBUTES

There are two types of attributes in Amazing Adventures: primary and secondary. Primary attributes are those physical or mental abilities in which a character is particularly well trained or very experienced in using. Secondary attributes are those the character uses with only average skill. A player selects the character’s primary attributes after choosing a class.

Player characters have three primary attributes. Each class has one primary attribute associated with it that cannot be changed. The player selects the others. For example, the primary attribute for the gumshoe class is strength. If the player chooses to play a gumshoe, this forms one primary attribute. The player may then select any two more primary attributes. The remaining attributes are considered to be secondary.

SIEGE CHECKS

As mentioned before, the distinction between primary and secondary attributes is important. Almost all non-combat actions (for which the Game Master deems a roll is necessary to determine success or failure) are resolved by an attribute check, or SIEGE check. To make a SIEGE check, a character rolls a d20, adds any relevant bonuses (usually character level and ability bonus), and attempts to equal or better a Challenge Class, or CC.

The CC is determined by adding the Challenge Base (CB) to a Challenge Level (CL) determined by the GM. Generally speaking, the CL will combine the hit dice or level of the opponent with any situational bonuses or penalties the GM feels appropriate.

Checks made against Primary Attributes have a CB of 12, while checks against Secondary Attributes have a CB of 18. This makes it significantly easier to succeed at a check if you have a Prime in the ability in question.

For example, if Natalya the Fox is trying to slip past the sentries at a Nazi-fortified camp, she makes a Dexterity check for her Move Silently class ability. Since Dexterity is a Prime attribute for Hooligans, her Challenge Base for the check is 12. Let’s say that the Nazis have an average of 4 Hit Dice, that means the CL for the check is 4. Adding 12+4 gives us 16 for the final Challenge Class; Natalya needs a 16 or better on her Dexterity check to slip unnoticed past the guards.

Granted, this lends more to Amazing Adventures but it works exactly the same for all the other games that I mentioned. It’s super-easy for Pickup Games, One-Shots or even long-term Campaigns.

Furthermore, leaving so much up to the GM reinforces the stance that TLG has gone on record as stating and they have never once wavered…

Once again, if a rule doesn’t fit for your table, toss it or modify it. Discuss with your table. Make the game your own. The rule that should be with all RPGs is alive and well with both Elf Lair Games and Troll Lord Games.

That’s all good news for you because, in the faces of the growing malcontents out there making demands that you either game their way or be labelled (yes, that’s both “sides”) you can quickly remind them that you’re not playing their game, you’re playing what is truly yours.

This is where you get to support three truly independent games and know you have a hand in showing even companies that impose upon you that you’ll be imposed upon no longer. They can hate you all they want but they’ll do it for free. Meanwhile Blackwall Games, Elf-Lair Games and Troll Lord Games, they appreciate you and your business.

This is how you can “Play it wrong” and not only get away with it and not give a single care in the world whether or not someone else has an opinion about your game.