Aaron The Pedantic

Today, I had a player leave my game. For the first time I can recall, I had a player leave because he didn't like the system.  But was the system really the problem? I don't think so. He was a 5e player, incredibly excited about the idea of Lion & Dragon. He said he was excited about medieval role-playing, that he felt as though D&D didn't really scratch that particular itch for historical accuracy. I briefed him on how this would be VERY low magic and very grounded in medieval realism.  I welcomed him aboard with open arms. Problem is, he brought his presuppositions from 5e with him in spite of my warnings . I should have seen the writing on the wall after he argued with me about the possibility of a 6 INT Cleric in a game where a 6 is only a -1 and a Cleric is really a Templar Knight with miracles.  He got me very pissed off (an incredible feat) and I was tempted to ask him to leave then and there, but I deescalated and we were cool. I should have kn...

Basic Concepts If you've been in the D&D circuit long enough, you've probably heard of "Dungeon Ecology." For the uninitiated, Dungeon Ecology is a reference to the element of dungeon design that takes into consideration that you have living (usually) creatures living in closed environments. You've got two polar opposites on this spectrum: total plausibility and utter chaos bereft of any semblance of verisimilitude. It's easy to picture the latter: You travel down the derelict halls of the ancient catacombs, the measured clanging of your iron footfalls echoing down the path. Taking a turn at the end, you see three elves in pink spandex. Immediately, they begin hurling water balloons at you while a Bugbear plays solitaire. Nuts, yeah? This is clearly a medievalesque crypt. Where'd they get the spandex? The balloons? Let's try another. You enter the room. The odor of feces, piss, and straw fills your nostrils as you spot a few goblin infants resting ...

Part One: My Trek to the OSR. (Skip to Part Two if you'd rather just talk shop) When I first joined the RPG hobby, I was enamored by system complexity. I'm not like many in the OSR who come from a background of long nights with D&D in their youth, experiencing the rollercoaster of developments in the system through the years. I grew up on Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, Star Wars (not the prequels, mind you), Stargate, and a scant few fantasy novels that I'd sneak in from time to time. By the time I entered the Tabletop Role-playing scene, customization was all the rage.  My experience growing up with MMORPGs and JRPGs made me a perfect candidate for the build-obsessed WotC era D&D player. I spent hours upon hours engaging in whiteroom theory crafting exercises, trying to eke out the highest maximum benefits for games that hadn't even started yet. Compared to the peak of 3.5e (which I probably would have adored were it my first introduction), Fifth Edit...

Taking Damage: If your HP is greater than zero after taking damage... You were grazed at worst.  You found the means to adequately defend yourself.  So long as your HP remains above zero, you're able to stand your ground effectively.  Suffering a critical strike may require MORE energy to defend yourself properly than usual (as reflected in the increased damage), but does not automatically wound you.  This is best thought of as that moment in a fight when a defender has to scramble in order to just barely parry an attack.  They still have the opportunity to turn the tide, but the moment is probably against them. If your HP is equal to or less than zero after taking damage... Oh, shit.  You're vulnerable as fuck.  You're winded.  You're running out of steam.  The adrenaline just isn't cutting it anymore.  Taking damage at this point means that you're actually suffering harm.  Take 100% of one of your Class Hit Dice.  ...

I started a Dungeon Crawl Classics campaign and we now have a Cleric. I surfed through the DCC book for information on what an Appendix N Deity might be like, and.. All I got was a chart of names, weapons, and Unholy Creatures by Alignment.  This was the only actual complaint that I've ever had with DCC. It just didn't give us much on gods. Patrons are another story. So, I picked up this gem and started reading. It's a supplement for DCC by Donn Stroud that provides an opportunity to flesh out religions in DCC. Using the book and some of my own tweaking (barely any), here's what I came up with regarding the worship of Pelagia, the Sea Goddess. The tenets, weapons, and Unholy Creatures are mine, but the rest was randomly generated using the supplement. Pelagia, Goddess of the Sea. AKA The Scorning Tempest, The Brine. Core Tenets: The weak willed need not our aid. The storm is to be weathered. Do not falter. Revel, weep, and sing. Life is short and brutal. Unh...

Well, that escalated quickly. I had some hiccups getting things going in my Dark Albion game. Chiefly among the issues, about 5 players backed from playing the game within a few days of our starting night. It being an online game, I anticipated this. I recruited 8 players total. Since we only had 3 players actually play and Lion & Dragon is a lethal ass game, I told them to go ahead and run their back-up PCs. This left us with 2 Clerics: Agnes and William, 1 Fighter: Grace, 1 Magister: Roland, and 2 Thieves: Yorick and Leonard. Sir John Neville and his Magister, William the Elder, explained his plan to the party. They were to disguise themselves as monks returning to the abbey at Stamford Bridge, retrieve a cache of armor and weapons in the catacombs, wait until nightfall, then storm the manor to capture Lord Egremont and force his men to stand down. It went off without a hitch. By leaning into the Monk disguises and putting the "Clerics on official business" spin on it, ...

The Aberrant Tapeworm Generic, right? There really is no better way to describe this thing. It's nice and understated, fitting somewhere between somewhat ominous and extremely inconvenient. The Aberrant Tapeworm is a parasite. It's introduced to the host through undercooked meat when animals graze in corrupted fields, but you can change that to whatever. In my campaign, an Inquisitor ate a wild hog that ate some weeds in the field the Inquisitor murdered his wife. While typical tapeworms seek sustenance through absorbing nutrients, Aberrant Tapeworms multiply inside the host, introducing foreign agents into the bloodstream that induce rage and paranoia. People will observe worrisome mood changes in the afflicted, but will often be murdered by the host before having a full grasp on what's happening. As they grow and replicate (over 5-6 days), they maneuver to the brain and sieze control of the host's body. When this happens, they devour organs and use their inherent tele...