Actually, it started Sunday, but I was driving all day and then I worked from home yesterday, so today was the first day I could participate in the third and final Read an RPG Book in Public Week of 2012.Participating is easy: grab an RPG book (rules, bestiary, module, whatever), go out in public, read it where people can see you.
A dead-tree book makes more sense here than an e-reader since the point is to make RPGs more visible to the general public.
You can get all the details you want at The Escapist.
I went with Tunnels & Trolls, 5.0. I've read bits and pieces but I wanted to read the whole thing start to finish, and this was as good an excuse as any
I have to say, I'm not even close to finished with reading it ,and I see a lot I like.
The combat system is simultaneous - there's no initiative or anything like that. It's all factored into the combat adds system. It's scalable too. More than one combatant on a side then they total their dice. I'm sure at some point this would bog down, but for the usual dungeon encounters it would definitely move things along.
The class system appeals to me as well. While one can choose to be a warrior, mage or rogue, one is born a warrior - mage. That is,the warrior - mage has hard limit stat minimums across the board that are ALL above average. They will be a rare thing indeed.
The magic system allows a spell caster to cast a spell of any level (provided they can find a way to learn it) for an additional cost in STR (you use STR points to cast spells. Another feature I like.). This is something I know would help me sell it to Lady Shadowmoss.
Speaking of, experience is not given for gold or magic items (her pet peeve - she feels it forces characters to have gold as a motivation). It is given for a whole host of other reasons though, many explained and with minimal modification, portable to other game systems. Which, by the way, is exactly what I'll be doing for my Labyrinth Lord game.
I'm looking forward to rolling up some characters at lunch and giving one of the many available solitaire adventures a try.
As a GM I have never given any xp for treasure . . . as far as I'm concerned it is its own reward.
ReplyDeleteI DO give xp for good role-play however . . . and for making me laugh. This is supposed to be fun after all.
-- Jeff
I have read lot's of explanations in favor of, and against, xp for gold and find myself nodding in agreement with points from both camps. For my present Labyrinth Lord campaign, I'm giving 1xp for every 5 gold as a compromise. Whether to represent fame/increased stature or as a bonus for finding it in the first place (it's usually well hidden and trapped), I'm undecided.
DeleteI have given xp for roleplay, but I hadn't thought about xp for making me laugh. That should definitely count for something. I'll have to give that a go the next session I run.
-John