Authentic Role-playing, Episode 6 (featuring me!)

So, the thing that I obliquely hinted at in my previous post on the topic has finally occurred: I was a guest on Alexis' Authentic Role-playing podcast. The sixth episode was just published yesterday, and we have a fairly good chat.

This might be the first time you've heard my voice; it's certainly the first time I've heard a lengthy recording of my own voice since starting the blog. Give it a listen, and listen to the other episodes if you haven't yet!

An Experiment With Characters

Okay, this post might get long-winded or confusing at points. If you're already familiar with Kingdom Hearts II (the game or the manga based on it), feel free to skip this section. Myself, I've read the first two volumes of the manga, but not played the game; I did try playing the first one, but without much success or enjoyment. Yesterday, though, thinking about it gave me an idea.

The Continent

(Scale: 1 hex = 24 miles)

This is the Continent. No name for the entire landmass has yet been adopted by its denizens, but it can be easily divided into the three political powers that govern it: the Principality of Le'var (home of the Thelvi) to the west, the Principality of Tadea (home of the Tades) to the east, and the Kingdom of Duemerus in the center. While Le'var and Tadea are racially homogeneous apart from the rare itinerant traders or merchants, Duemerus is home to a number of sapient species, only some of which have attained control of significant parts of the land.

Humans are the most numerous species, and the ones who wield the greatest political power; the King of Duemerus is a human, therefore making the Kingdom as a whole human-dominated. Alliances with some of the other demihuman and humanoid species have been in place for varying periods of time. The counties of Dyreton Greens, Mitropoli, Molemond, Oakenvane, and Walteria are controlled by human forms of government (usually republicanism).

Dwarves have been allied with humans since before the Elven Schism, but chose not to interfere in that conflict due to their resentment over the essentially forced annexing of their mountainous homes. The counties of Alkahest, Beggar's Isle (mostly used for prisoners), and the Ebon Hills are controlled by the dwarvish monarchies.

Elves are nearly as numerous as humans, but much of the territory that was the domain of the high elves and wood elves has now been taken and transformed by the Thelvi. The only county under their oligarchic form of government is the West Woods, although that county includes the second-largest city in Duemerus (Lacke) as well as two of the Kingdom's four major lakes.

Gnomes and halflings are less numerous (the former even more so), and have had the fewest armed skirmishes with humans due to their similar cultures. The only county firmly under joint gnome/halfling leadership (a democratic system, with republican provisions should population become too large) is Blaylach, which includes the only significant gnomish settlement (Nual).

Hobgoblins, though extremely capable in military terms and often employed as mercenaries, are not as numerous as other species, owing to their low birth rate. They control the county of the South Coast, though several small human settlements have been built there under their supervision; their government is tribal and autocratic.

Orcs are usually relegated to the status of resident aliens in others' counties, although the low human and elf populations of the Forester's Wilds has allowed it to fall under the control of the Grullgar tribe. Their culture is tribal, similarly to that of hobgoblins.

There are also three counties whose ownership is disputed. Lakespar is a site of contention between the Forester's Wilds (who wish to expand their territory), the capitol county of Mitropoli (who wish to do the same), and the West Woods (who wish to surround the Forester's Wilds, and thereby reclaim it for themselves over time). Rollins is disputed between dwarven, halfling, and human ownership, on the basis of several small but long-lived villages and shires being present in the county. The twin islands of Gyll are the object of a longstanding feud between the humans of Westerburg and the hobgoblins of Ystu, due to the islands' strategic importance as harbors.

EDIT: Just noticed that one of the names on the map is incorrect. I'll fix it next time I boot up Hexographer.

Thief Skills in AD&D (1st and 2nd Edition)

So, given my renewed interest in Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, 2nd Edition, I've been looking at other sources for rules. My current document of house rules is pretty short at this point - and to be honest, I'd like it to stay that way for as long as possible, especially considering that I still haven't assembled a group of committed players. I might even temporarily remove the helmet rules, at least until I can learn whether the majority of my players would enjoy that level of granularity (and especially since I'm not using encumbrance yet).

But where rules sources are concerned, my primary pool is the variety of "official" 2e products (like the Player's Option books), as well as Justen Brown's excellent 2e retroclone, For Gold & Glory. I'm also drawing a lot from the first edition of AD&D, which has some useful bits that were removed in 2e for no good reason that I can think of. A big example is the random encounter tables; while I can see why they might be culled a bit in view of the trend towards story-gaming in the 1990s, removing them entirely is just asinine. In the past, I've used the encounter tables from B/X, with good results.