I’ve been saying for years that the RPG market has been suffering because it no longer has a gateway product: An affordable, complete product that looks like a game, doesn’t require a lot of invested time to play, is available in mainstream markets, and isn’t a paid preview for a different product.

A couple years ago, this prompted me to say that the D&D product line needed to feature “a single, consistent box that says ‘DUNGEONS & DRAGONS’ on the front cover.” (See the rest of my imaginary D&D Core Sets here.)

And earlier this month Mike Mearls wrote, “This brings us to the second big picture goal [for D&D Next]. We’re going to make an RPG product called Dungeons & Dragons. It will be the game, Dungeons & Dragons, not just a sampler or a game that guides you through making a character and playing a single adventure. You can buy D&D and play a full, tabletop RPG campaign. You will be able to start playing, regardless of experience, and will easily find other products to migrate to if you so desire.” (And it sounds like the “migrate” thing will be the result of other products offering modular additions, although we’ll have to wait and see.)

Holy shit.

Meanwhile, the ICv2 RPG bestseller lists for more than a year have consistently included Dragon Age as one of the Top 5 RPGs. (Summer 2012, Spring 2012, Q4 2011, Summer 2011, Q2 2011, Q1 2011) Although these Dragon Age players don’t seem to be present on traditional RPG forums, the game is clearly a quiet and persistent hit. (Which perhaps suggests, if we wanted to get really, really speculative, that the people buying Dragon Age aren’t traditional RPG fans.)

I mention this because Wil Wheaton just quietly announced that Dragon Age is going to feature in the two-part season finale of his Tabletop web-series. And according to multiple, reliable reports any game featured on Tabletop enjoys a huge boom in sales.

And Dragon Age already features the type of introductory product I’ve been arguing for and D&D appears to be returning to.

Meanwhile, hobby games in general have been enjoying three years of explosive growth. Board and card games have been leading that growth with RPGs only making up a small part of it, but it suggests that the market for games played face-to-face and around the table is ripe and ready.

So call me crazy if you’d like, but stitching all of this together I’m going to make a bold prediction: Over the next 12-24 months, RPGs are going to experience a boom in sales. And this boom has the potential to enjoy a critical chain reaction if the release of D&D Next is handled perfectly and if auxiliary factors like the Pathfinder MMO are successful at the right time and in the right way.

The basic function of a drug is similar to a poison: They have a type (contact, ingested, inhaled, injury), a Fortitude saving throw DC to resist their effect, an initial effect, and a secondary effect. However, drugs also have the following statistics:

Buzz: The length of time the buzz from the drug lasts. The initial and secondary effects of the drug end when the buzz comes to an end. (For example, a PCP might inflict a Wisdom penalty as its initial effect and grant temporary hit points as its secondary effect. After the PCP’s buzz of 2d6 hours comes to an end, both the buzz and the temporary hit points go away.)

Addiction Threshold: The number of doses that must inflict the secondary effect of the drug before the user risks addiction. Once the user reaches the addiction threshold, they must make an addiction save. If a user goes one day without using the drug, reduce the current tally of doses by 1 to a minimum of 0.

Addiction DC: The DC of the Fortitude save required to resist addiction. On a failed save, the user becomes addicted to the drug (see below).

Recovery Threshold: If a user makes a number of successful withdrawal saves equal to the drug’s recovery threshold, their addiction is broken. They no longer suffer the effects of addition, but a recovering addict suffers a -4 penalty to future addiction saves against the same drug.

Compulsion DC: If a character addicted to a drug has the opportunity to take the drug, they must make a Will save against the drug’s compulsion DC. On a failed save, they must take the drug. If a character is currently suffering withdrawal, they take a -10 penalty on this saving throw. If the character is currently buzzed on the drug, they gain a +2 circumstance bonus on this saving throw for every dose of the drug currently affecting them.

ADDICTION

If a character becomes addicted to a drug, they must stay buzzed on the drug. When the buzz comes to an end, withdrawal begins. Withdrawal acts just like a disease with an incubation time of 1 day. Once per day, the victim must make a new saving throw against the withdrawal or suffer the withdrawal damage of the drug.

SAMPLE DRUGS

ABYSS DUST: Abyss dust is alchemically distilled from snakeweed (see below), although few associate the innocuous effects of snakeweed with this powerful narcotic. Abyss dust looks like ashes, with a rich black and gray color. It is administered through inhalation or smoking. Some hardcore users like to mix their abyss dust with snakeweed, claiming the snakeweed “takes the edge off” of some of the more extreme hallucinations.

Price: 1 gp
Effects: Inhaled DC 13, buzz 3d4 hours, initial effect Hallucinations (-4 on all action checks), secondary effect -1d4 Wisdom
Addiction: Addiction DC 13, threshold 3 doses
Withdrawal: Withdrawal DC 13 (fatigued, 2 Str, 1d4 Wisdom), Compulsion DC 10

BARBARIAN’S BLOOD: A recreational drug also known as “the red burn” and “veinglory”. Users of the drug are marked by a deep reddening of the skin and a significant protrusion of the veins. They experience a psychotropic dissociation in which physical pleasure is heightened and pain is experienced as pleasure.

Price: 2 gp
Effects: Ingested DC 13, buzz 1 hour, initial effect -2 penalty to Wisdom, secondary effect 2d4 temporary hit points
Addiction: Addiction DC 8, threshold 1 dose
Withdrawal: Withdrawal DC 15 (2 Str and 2 Con), Compulsion DC 15

SHADEBANE: Shadebane comes in the form of a pale, silver-grey powder. Water is added to this powder and it is then smeared on the skin. The user experiences hallucinations which give the impression of gifting them with visions from beyond the grave. Regardless of the truth or fiction of these visions, users of shadebane are intensely unpleasant for undead to approach. Undead within 5 feet of a shadebane user must succeed on a Fortitude save (DC 12) or become sickened (even if they would normally be immune to the sickened effect). Long-term users of the drug, however, become obsessive with death. They often begin collecting memento mori and are drawn to graveyards and others places of death. With prolonged use, these morbid obsessions can lead to suicidal, homicidal, or necromantic inclinations.

Price: 15 gp
Effects: Contact DC 13, buzz 1 hour, initial effect Hallucinations (-1 penalty to all action checks), secondary effect sicken undead (see text)
Addiction: Addiction DC 12, threshold 4 doses
Withdrawal: Withdrawal DC 12 (1d6 Wis, 1d6 Con), Compulsion DC 12

SNAKEWEED: The sunburst flower is found growing in many ancient ruins throughout the Serpent Islands. The trances produced by smoking the dried leaves and flowers of the plant became a popular, casual intoxication among the pirates of Freeport and spread to ports throughout the Southern Sea. When dried, the stuff is simply called snakeweed by most, and while it can be psychologically addictive it is relatively harmless by itself. When smoked, snakeweed produces a feeling of serene calm, a deadening of pain, and slight euphoria. Heavy doses produce an incapacitating euphoric stupor, and sometimes inspire dreams of shadowy, serpentine forms and vast cities beneath the waves. In Freeport, it is commonly used by the poorer citizens and sailors as an escape from the drudgeries of everyday life.

Price: 2 sp
Effects: Inhaled DC 11, buzz 1d3 hours, initial effect +1 to Will saves, secondary effect -1 Wisdom
Addiction: Addiction DC 5, threshold 12 doses,
Withdrawal: Withdrawal DC 5 (insomnia, -1 penalty to action checks), recovery threshold 5, Compulsion DC 5

This material is covered by the Open Gaming License.

Coming up with names for NPCs on the fly can be tough. It can be even tougher in a fantasy setting. About a decade ago, I started keeping a list of random names in my folder of generic GM tools: Pick up the list, pick a name, and you’re good to go.

I generated the list below a little over five years ago when I was working at a temp job doing a massive amount of data entry: I quickly realized that mixed into the hundreds of common entries like “Bob” and “Susan” there would occasionally be an unusual or flavorful name. So I started jotting those names down on a piece of paper. And they were great. Particularly because they were real names (which meant, among other things, that they were pronounceable).

So these have served me well for half a decade, now I offer ’em to you in the hope that they might serve you well.

Playtest Tip: The process of picking up this piece of paper and looking at it, if handled properly, is indistinguishable from looking at any of your other notes. It also buys you a valuable breath of time in which to brainstorm the unexpected NPC and then put your thoughts into order before opening your mouth. Take advantage of both the bluff and the moment of reflection to sustain the illusion of the world for your players.

Tagline: The hit of GenCon ’98. The hit of your gaming table.

I know I used this word just last week, but I’m afraid I need to use it again: Unique.

The Extraordinary Adventures of Baron Munchausen is a unique, high quality product. In twenty-four pages James Wallis – excuse me, Baron Munchausen has created one of the most memorable game manuals I’ve ever read. Hell, I’ll even go so far as to say it was one of the most memorable experiences I’ve ever had, period.

(Allow me to slip into the idiom of the game itself.)

The game was designed by the famous Baron Munchausen himself in the year 1798 while staying with a friend of his, the publisher John Wallis, in London. After receiving the manuscript – one of the most expensive he had ever paid for (the Baron had a habit of going through the best liquor in anyone’s house) – Mr. Wallis realized that the manuscript was simply unacceptable for its time period. Instead he sealed the manuscript until such time as one of his descendants thought the time was finally right to release it. His descendent James Wallis, the current director of Hogshead Publishing, has finally decided that such a time has come and has released the game on its 200th anniversary.

(Yeah, right.)

The game basically breaks down like this: You get together with a number of other compatriots (making sure to keep the number of commoners down to a minimum) and gather around a table at your favorite bar. Make sure you bring your purses and a good supply of coins because wagering will be involved (the Baron points out that all the coins should be of the same value in order to keep arguments to a minimum). The game begins when one of you turns to another and says, “So, Baron, tell us of the occasion when you gave birth to an elephant.” (Or some other outrageous circumstance.)

At this point the person may either say, “Ah yes, of course…” And begin to tell his tale. Otherwise he may say, “No, I’m afraid my throat is dry…” At which point he must buy a round of drinks for everyone else in his party and ask the person next to him tell a tale of his own.

During the telling of the tale others may interrupt the storyteller with objections such as, “But, Baron de Neuvillette, it is well known that the fire-breathing llamas on the moon are strict vegetarians.” (The key here is that these are potentially amusing complications, not serious nit-picks.) When doing this the objector pushes forward a coin from their purse. The storyteller may then accept the objection (“Ah, yes, but this llama was merely fetching food for the young wolf cub she had taken under the fold of her wing…”) and take the wagered coin. Otherwise the storyteller must put forth a coin of his own and decline the objection (“You must be thinking of the goats to be found upon the moons of Venus, for it is well known that the llamas of the moon are of no such character…”). The objector may either take both coins on the table, or he may add a third coin and renew his objection.

That is the basic mechanic of the game. There is also dueling, companions, methods of finishing a story, various drinking rituals, and (finally) the wrap-up of each round of storytelling. The book itself also includes an appendix with over two hundred suggestions for stories and another appendix which sums up the rules on a single page (which is useful since the Baron does tend to ramble in a thoroughly enjoyable manner).

(Okay, so why should you buy it?)

First off, the game is just plain fun to play. Swapping the outrageous stories which form the centerpiece of the game is great. Add on the ritualized drinking which is incorporated into the game (plus the elaborate wagering system which – in the end – makes no one and everyone a winner) and you’ve got an irresistible night’s entertainment.

Second, the book is a treat to read. It is written in the voice of the inestimable Baron himself. He is constantly wandering off the main track of the narrative in order to recount various snippets of his own outrageous tales (although none should doubt the honesty of his own stories, for he would take offense at this insult to his honor). The illustrations are by Gustave Dore, the “greatest illustrator of the nineteenth century”, who died in 1883 (I really hope I can trust this section of the book).

(Coincidentally the Baron himself died in 1797, which is revealed in his biography in the back of the book. Leave it to the Baron to write a game about himself the year after he died.)

Finally, the title of the game is no joke: This is truly a “Role-Playing Game in a New Style”. Wait a minute, you say, nothing that you’ve described sounds like the roleplaying games I know.

Well, duh. It’s in a new style!

Let’s break it down. First, it definitely involves roleplaying: Namely you assume a character who is inspired by the Baron Munchausen himself. You may find this limiting at first, but then I realized that the only important thing here is the element of your character which involves being the type of person who goes on outrageous adventures and then tells stories about them. Beyond that things are pretty wide open. I don’t consider that any more restricting than being told to “design a character who will go on fantasy adventures” or “design a character who happens to be a vampire”. Plus you get to play the character at two levels simultaneously (something “traditional” roleplaying games don’t let you do) – both at the immediate level of “telling the story” and in the events of the story being told.

Second, it’s definitely a game. What makes this unique is that inherits a different tradition than other roleplaying games do. Most RPGs stem from the traditions of wargames and boardgames. The game elements of Baron Munchausen are derived more from card games – involving bidding and wagering.

The Extraordinary Adventures of Baron Munchausen is definitely a game you should buy. It was the hit of GenCon ’98, and it’ll be a hit at your game table… or, heck, the bar you go out to have a drink at afterwards.

[ Make sure you read the disclaimer on the title page. The quotes on the back are good, too. Save the “Table of Contents” for last, as some of the comments foreshadow pleasant jokes in the text; but definitely make time for it after finishing the book. Be warned that “you will require pencil, paper, imagination, a manservant, money, a selection of fine wines, noble blood, a sense of flamboyance, and at least one attractive member of the opposite sex (optional).” ]

[ I have been informed that the game was actually conceived in 1792 or 1793, with the explanation of its existence being written in 1798. Which is, of course, unfortunate because it ruins the perfectly good joke found above. In the interests of absolute accuracy I have, of course, attached this note to clarify my earlier mistake. ]

Style: 5
Substance: 5

Author: Baron Munchausen (James Willis)
Company/Publisher: Hogshead Publishing
Cost: $5.95
Page count: 24
ISBN: 1-899749-18-7

Originally Posted: 1999/05/28

At the time this review appeared, there was a massive debate raging at RPGNet concerning whether or not The Extraorindary Adventures of Baron Munchausen qualified as a roleplaying game or not. You can see my thoughts on the matter, circa-1999, above.

Today, my opinion on the matter would be quite different.

The discussions surrounding Baron Munchausen in 1999 caused me to formulate my definition of an RPG as “a game which involves roleplaying”. Applying the definition gave a clear-cut verdict in favor of Baron Munchausen, case closed.

But not really. Because when I found myself applying that definition beyond the confines of that narrow debate, it quickly became apparent that its semi-circular nature was only part of the problem: It also created far too many false positive, reporting that everything from Risk to Super Mario Bros. was a roleplaying game.

It took several more years before I evolved a better definition of “roleplaying game” that accurately encapsulated the history of the medium without simultaneously including a bunch of other games that clearly weren’t RPGs. You can read more about that in Roleplaying Games vs. Storytelling Games. (The Extraordinary Adventures of Baron Munchausen, for the record, is an STG, not an RPG.)

For an explanation of where these reviews came from and why you can no longer find them at RPGNet, click here.

There we go.

I told you those riders and goblins would appear.

We’re still in the holding pattern of “nothing new to report” updates, but finished pieces of art are hitting my desk with startling regularity at this point. On the other hand, one of my artists is currently in the process of getting uprooted out of his second apartment in as many months. (Which sounds like a complete nightmare.)

So… two steps forward, one step back.

I am very tempted to say at this point that we are perilously close to the point where I would have the art in hand necessary to start the final layout pass on the book. (After which we would have another pass to lay in the SRS, then a final digital proof, and then the additional proofing steps required for the physical book.) But I remember that the first time I was tempted to say something like that was in December of last year just after I finished revising the Grimoire… and then all my artists disappeared. So, like I said, still in a holding pattern here.