Common meme: Art is eating our RPG books. The number of illustrations have been increasing per page.  Customers won’t buy books without a lot of art in them. And this is totally new. Didn’t used to be this way. Back in the day we were willing to buy books even if they didn’t have any art at all.

Really?

Fact check time.

OD&D White Box: 44 illustrations, 116 half pages = 0.37 illustrations per page (0.75 per full page)

AD&D1 PHB: 35 illustrations, 128 pages = 0.27 illustrations per page
AD&D1 DMG: 50 illustrations, 240 pages = 0.20 illustrations per page
AD&D1 MM: 246 illustrations, 112 pages = 2.19 illustrations per page
AD&D 1st Edition Total: 0.61 illustrations per page

AD&D2 PHB: 95 illustrations, 256 pages = 0.37 illustrations per page
AD&D2 DMG: 81 illustrations, 192 pages = 0.42 illustrations per page
AD&D2 MM: 326 illustrations, 384 pages = 0.84 illustrations per page
AD&D 2nd Edition Total: 0.60 illustrations per page

D&D3.5 PHB: 68 illustrations, 317 pages = 0.21 illustrations per page
D&D3.5 DMG: 71 illustrations, 320 pages = 0.22 illustrations per page
D&D3.5 MM: 203 illustrations, 320 pages = 0.63 illustrations per page
D&D3.5 Total: 0.36 illustrations per page

D&D4 PHB: 67 illustrations, 317 pages = 0.21 illustrations per page
D&D4 DMG: 48 illustrations, 221 pages = 0.22 illustrations per page
D&D4 MM: 208 illustrations, 288 pages = 0.72 illustrations per page
D&D4 Total: 0.39 illustrations per page

Exact counts may vary.  (For example, I didn’t count the 23 illustrations on pg. 21 of Volume 3 of the White Box depicting various types of construction as separate illustrations. I just counted the whole pageonce.) But the conclusion is self-evident: The number of illustrations per full page in D&D’s core rulebooks has actually decreased over time. If we want to talk about black-and-white art vs. full color art or the merits of border art, let’s have it. But RPGs have been art-rich literally since day one.

“But, Justin,” you say. “That’s just D&D. What about Traveller? The little black box practically had no illustrations at all!”

True. The original Traveller black box only has 3 illustrations in 150 half pages. On the other hand, the relatively recent Shock: Social Science Fiction has 3 illustrations in 90 two-third pages. Books that feature stark, austere layouts haven’t exactly vanished off the face of the planet.

Now, if there is one trend that has appeared in the last 20 years its the technique of putting a big piece of art behind the text. And I think we can all agree that this technique should be taken out into the desert and left to die.

But if you want to complain about how much gosh-darn art there is in roleplaying games these days?

Check your facts.

Go to Part 1 – Go to Map

The key posted over the last several days for the Ruined Temple of Illhan represents the temple as it was discovered by my players. If you’re interested in running through the temple in the days after that hardy group of wanderers passed through it, you’ll want to make the following changes:

AREA 9: The secret door has been wedged open with iron spike.

AREA 20: The stone block has been propped up with three iron chests, holding it far enough off the ground for halflings and unarmored characters to crawl under.

AREA 21: Portcullis has been raised (using the control level in area 23).

AREA 26: The ceiling of this room has collapsed, leaving behind a solid wall of rubble in the doorway.

AREA 30: The iron chests and treasure have been removed.

AREA 36: Spear has been removed.

AREA 43: All of these doors have been chopped through with axes.

Thanks again to Dyson Logos for giving me permission to share his re-keyed map. I very much recommend checking out his site; he’s got a plethora of terrific stuff over there ripe for pillaging.

Go to Part 1 – Go to Map

AREA 32: Empty chamber.

AREA 33: The angled wall has the chipped remnants of what must have once been an extravagant mural; but it is now too damaged to make out any pertinent details. On the wall opposite the mural there is an iron rod bracketed to the wall about seven feet off the floor and running perpendicular to it.

AREA 34 – PIT TRAP (30’ deep): 1 in 6 chance of opening when crossed.

AREA 35: These rubble piles will shift ominously as people walk over the top of them (but there’s no real risk).

AREA 36: A metallic pole covered in runes stands upright from the floor in the middle of this room.

Pole: The runes are arcane. The pole is actually a +1 spear of charged lightning, which can hurl 1d6 lightning bolts which deal 4d6 points of damage each. When the charges on the spear are exhausted, it remains a +1 spear but cannot discharge lightning again until it has been returned to the depression in this chamber. The weapon can be used normally by any follower of the Norse or Neo-Norskan pantheon (despite being a bladed weapon).

Each time the spear is used (whether to throw lightning or in melee) by a character who does not worship the Norse or Neo-Norskan pantheons, there is a 1 in 6 chance that its curse will be revealed: Black lightning will run up the spear and into the arms of the character wielding the spear. The black lightning will sap the strength from their limbs, inflicting a -4 penalty on attack rolls on damage until the spear has been returned to this chamber or they have received a blessing from a Norse cleric.

AREA 37: Empty room.

AREA 38: Partially collapsed chamber.

AREA 39: Room is empty. Door is wooden.

Secret Door: On the wall here there are two small, concealed lenses. (See area 40.)

AREA 40: On one wall of the chamber there is a kind of iron coffin or sarcophagus which is flush with the wall (where the secret door is indicated). On the other side of the room, a set of open stairs goes up, takes a turn to the left across a short landing, and then heads up another flight (to area 24).

Iron Coffin: This is hinged and can be opened if six clasps down the opposite side are removed. Affixed to the wall within the cavity of the sarcophagus are a set of “viewing glasses” (similar to binoculars or opera glasses), which look through the lenses into area 39. If the viewer is sealed inside the sarcophagus (with all six clasps being shut from the outside), the view in area 39 will shift to show the same room several hundred years ago when the complex was still in use.

Vision: Three maidens wearing blindfolds (one of crimson red, one of royal purple, and one of pale blue) sitting around a large brass bowl filled with burning incense. Priests of Illhan will enter, drop tokens of intricately carved wood into the burning incense, and ask questions. There’s no sound, but those who can read lips will be able to decipher a prophecy describing the temple’s destruction.

AREA 41: An empty room.

AREA 42: In the center of the room there is a large pile of dry wood. (Those looking through it will discover the remains of broken furniture.)

Closet: The wooden door on the far side of the room has been hit with an axe several times, but is still mostly intact. The closet beyond it has a skeleton slouched in one corner; it has a small, badly rotten pouch with 6 sp and 76 cp.

AREA 43: All of the rooms in this little complex are empty. The doors are made of wood, several of which have swelled from moisture and jammed shut (3 in 6 chance).

Continued tomorrow…

(Original cartography by Dyson Logos.)

Go to Part 1 – Go to Map

AREA 24: The arches at either end of the long hall here are formed from the upper halves of a spinning wheel. A half chipped mural on the ceiling depicts white clouds in a blue sky.

Stairs: Go down, turn right across a short landing, and then descend again into area 40.

AREA 25: The arch to the south has the top of a hammer serving as a capstone (with its handle pointing up). The arches to the north both have a pair of horns curving up from their capstones.

AREA 26: The room opens off to the left. There are still two columns left standing, but you can see a third one further down the length of the hall which has fallen onto its side. Beyond that the room has collapsed. And as the door opens, you see some dust drift down from the ceiling.

Pillars: Disturbing a pillar has a 1 in 6 chance of causing the room to collapse. Removing one of the pillars will automatically cause the chamber to collapse. Everyone in the room will take 8d6 points of damage.

AREA 27: This room contains a stone well raised about three feet high. There’s potable water 30 feet down.

AREA 28: The arch leading to the stair is formed by two large hammers (see area 16). The archway leading towards area 29 has a large, stone eye serving as its capstone. The archway leading towards area 30 has an empty socket at its capstone (a missing eye).

Capstones: Moving the capstone from one arch to the other will cause the (currently secret) door leading to area 31 to become visible and the door to area 29 to vanish.

AREA 29: Hanging from a long iron rod on the far side of the room there is a single red curtain in perfect condition. (The curtain benefits from a mild enchantment to render it immune to the passage of time, but is otherwise unremarkable.)

AREA 30: The archway in this chamber is formed by two spears. There are three iron chests at the end of the chamber. Their lids are thrown back and they have been completely emptied. The chests have been bolted to the floor, although the one on the right is slightly loose.

Secret Compartment: Beneath the iron chest on the right there is a hidden compartment. Loosening the bolts allows the chest to be removed, revealing the compartment. The compartment contains 9 thin strips of gold, each worth 100 gp. There is also a small flask of crystal filled with a reddish liquid (potion of fire resistance).

AREA 31: The door to this room only becomes visible if the capstone in area 28 swaps its position. On a small, circular altar of white marble at the far end of this chamber lie two silver hammers worth 250 gp each due to their high craftsmanship.

Those familiar with dwarfcraft will recognize the hammers as being of dwarf-make. One of the hammers has the dwarven rune for FRIENDSHIP engraved upon it; the other has the Norskan rune for FRIENDSHIP on it.

(Note: These hammers can be used in area 19.)

Continued tomorrow…

(Original cartography by Dyson Logos.)

For the past 6 hours I’ve been agonizing about whether or not to cut this rule from Legends & Labyrinths:

Grappling: A combatant can grapple an opponent by making an opposed grapple check, which is a type of action check:

1d20 + grapple attack bonus vs. opponent’s grapple check

If the check is successful, the combatants enter a grapple. Combatants in a grapple can escape by taking an attack action.

When attempting any action (including escaping the grapple), a grappling combatant must first succeed at an opposed grapple check against everyone else in the grapple. This check is a free action. Opposing characters can choose to automatically fail their checks. (Note: When making a  full attack, a combatant must make an opposed grapple check for each attack action.)

These would be the entirety of the rules for grappling. They take my Super Simple Grappling rules and boil them down even further to their core essence. I’m also playing with the idea of embracing the Pathfinder method of a grapple check vs. a static defense score (CMB vs. CMD).

Either way, though, it means including an extra set of rules, at least one extra stat for every character, and extra information cluttering up the Creature Size table.

To put this in perspective, the only other combat maneuver you’d currently find in Legends & Labyrinths is a stripped-down version of a partial charge. (And that’s only there because it was the easiest way to make surprise rounds work. The other option was to give everyone a full set of actions on the surprise round, and that seems to be too powerful in playtesting.) The goal is to make the game as simple as absolutely possible, but not to the point of crippling its utility.

This grappling rule obviously adds complexity and a little bit of extra baggage to the rules. The question I can’t quite answer is this: How essential is the ability to grab somebody else and wrestle with them? If this rule doesn’t exist, is every DM running the game going to end up needing to figure out how to adjudicate it?

What do you think? Keep it or cut it?