Praise for Tombstone

Writing can be a largely solitary (and at times, isolated) activity. My initial motivation for formally creating Tombstone was to produce a fun, simple Wild West I could play with my friends, and a rulebook with art I liked. Most of the time I create products which are received with little feedback. Here and there people may comment that they enjoy something, or that they'd like to try it, or compliment some aspect of what I have done.

I was feeling a little jaded last night, but I got this lovely email out of the blue:

"Hi Corey,

I just wanted to let you know that I downloaded your Tombstone alpha rules and printed out the book and read through it. I really like what you've done.  I've tried several of the wild west games out there (Coyote Trail, Shotguns and Saddles, Blood & Bullets, Boot Hill, Wild West Cinema, and others I am likely forgetting) but your game really works for me. I love the simplicity and how easy it is to add house rules to. I'm greatly looking forward to the finished product. I really like the game and can't wait to see it in the finished form. I liked it enough that I ordered the actual print book from lulu after we played. I think we are going to give it another go on Sunday.I'm even considering running this for my regular face to face group a week from Sunday. Keep up the great work!"

These little moments keep me motivated and inspired. Thank you!

OD&D + 0-Level Characters

A present to myself arrived on the doorstep today: the Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG. I will probably do a review of it at some point (what I've read so far is awesome), but one aspect that inspired me is the handling of 0-level characters. I like the idea of a dozen or so peasant mates banding together to explore a dungeon: 

*Hiccup!* "Barry, ai heard therz sum treshurez in this here dungin!" 

A few hours/days/weeks later most are dead. Shit, that escalated quickly.

Anyway, my Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers mini-campaign is winding down. I'm running a published adventure at the moment, and my Xamboola adventure has been successfully playtested. I'm kind of itching for something different. Earlier this year I ran an OD&D one-shot which turned into The Black Ruins. I'm a huge fan of OD&D. Although I was born over a decade after its release, I adore the ruleset. It's simple, malleable, and includes all the bits of D&D that I like. The other day I drew a map of an imagined city called Styro which is basically...I don't know...it's weird. But the idea of a classless game - or at least a looser definition of class - has been sitting with me recently, and DCC's 0-level characters has got the juices going a bit further. I've been considering running an OD&D hexcrawl/megadungeon game, where characters start off as worthless peons, and through adventure begin to hone their skills further. Each character would begin at 0 level, and...

• I'd probably use my Sandboxing tables to generate a prior profession, or use the DCC tables for ideas.
• Begin with1d3 hit points. 
• Gain a level at the conclusion of the first adventure and choose a class. Classes will be assumed to be fighting-man, cleric, or magic-user (probably human only). Additional class options are my OD&D Thief and Berserker (see my downloads section). Also, players can describe what sort of character they want, and I can create a template from that (I'm working on a Mentalist at the moment).
• Instead of gaining another hit die, 1st level characters would then roll 1d6 for hit points. If the total exceeded their 0-level total, they keep the higher. Otherwise they gain 1 extra hit point. Thus, a 1st level character could have anywhere between 2-6 hit points.

Oh, and I'd get players to roll at least 2-4 characters. I've been mapping out the first level of the Styro underworld too. I'm kind of excited for where this eventuates. More to come. 

Mini Review: 18 "Unusual Dice Set" Impact Miniatures

For a long, long, long, long time (as in a month max), I had determined to pick up a set of eclectic dice. I was considering buying the Goodman Games DCC dice, but ended up purchasing the "Unusual Dice Set" by Impact Miniatures. They were available from Amazon for $26 USD. Shipping rates were more affordable for those of us residing at the bottom of the world too. 

The included dice are d3, d4, d5, d6, d7, d8, d10, d%, d11, d12, d14, d16, d18, d20, d24, and d30. Quite the variety. They came very speedily (a week?). Impressive service.

Overall Thoughts:
I'm happy with my purchase, although straight out of the bag I did notice the d5 and d20 in particular had blurred/running ink marks on them. The quality is equitable or slightly inferior to Chessex and definitely not up to par with Game Science. I have a sneaky intuition the d5 favours the 5 a little too much, though without rigorous testing, my predilection will remain indefinitely in the realms of suspicion. In sum, it meets my needs: a big faakking range of dice.

If you need a set of "unusual" dice, go ahead and grab one. I'm looking forward to my next game just so I can have an excuse to roll something weird. I can see why everyone is making d30 tables. 

Tombstone (Alpha Playtest)

I am proud to announce the Alpha Playtest of Tombstone! Tombstone: Role-Playing In The Wild West, is a rules-lite system, inspired by a combination of TSR's Boot Hill, and B/X D&D. I have attempted at all times to keep the rules as simple as possible, while providing multiple options for the Judge (Game Master).

You can download a FREE PDF from HERE
You can download a physical copy from HERE

Please note the physical booklet is not a refined product, but is designed for playtesting purposes. Purchase at your own risk. 

The "full" version of Tombstone will (hopefully) be appearing later this year. Besides additional content, it will include all of Erik Wilson's fabulous artwork, as well as +Joe Salvador's beautiful maps.

In the meantime, I really hope you enjoy the Alpha version of Tombstone. My gaming group and I have been putting this game through its paces for close to a year, so I can attest that it's easy to play and very easy to run. 

Have fun!

P.S: If you have any suggestions, feedback, critiques, whatever, great! Please hit me up on G+ or email me at coreyrwalden@gmail.com. The purpose of this initial release is to refine the current rules. Don't be shy.

Styro City Map (FREE DOWNLOAD).

Today, I've been thinking about cities, and doing them slightly differently in a fantasy game. I doodled the above map today. I like the idea of sci-fi meeting fantasy. The premise being a melding of ancient pyramidical and domed architecture, meeting modern conventions. Think elevator shafts, electronic "magic" equipment, etc. Clearly, there is a visible level above ground, and an undercity rife for exploration.

DOWNLOAD MAP

Points of Interest

Styro can be either an inhabited city, or a seemingly deserted locale. A large building can be located in the wilderness. Leading away from this building, and towards Styro are tall, stone-like creatures (of at least 20 feet in height). These creatures stand erect with arms straight against their sides. Fused to their either side of their heads are two silky cords which act to connect them all in a line extending miles, into the tip of Shaft II's antenna. The creatures do not speak, and may even appear as statues.

In actuality the creatures are psychic conductors. The two cords are known as psychic silk, which can be used to power buildings and technologies. Those endowed with psionic ability can tap into the "silk" and communicate with the connected buildings. 

Styro has a few large buildings, and the rest are fairly humble domiciles. Of note is the Ramid, Babel, the Silo, and the dual shafts.

The lower levels and monsters are not detailed. I may run my group through this adventure site (if they find it!), and do not wish to ruin any surprises. Depending on my ongoing enthusiasm I may release this as a proper adventure. Enjoy. 


1. Shaft I

• 120 feet deep, 6 feet wide.
• After 60 feet an entry into Gamma (Level 3) may be visible.
• A winch-wound shaft and basket enables descent.
• Service entries can be found on either side of shaft, for maintenance or surprising foes.
• The building housing the shaft has strange blinking lights within, and a perpetual rumbling noise.
• Opening the rumbling cages reveals sluggish creatures sitting in pits of putrid goo. The goo glows with a phosphorescence, and seems to power the infrastructure. 

2. Silo

• 40 feet high.
• Appears as an administration office — various abacus', merchants' scales, astronomical tools, and so forth can be found within.

3. Ramid (Temple)

• 80 feet high. Can be ascended by climbing its stepped sides.
• Has an unusual pole atop. 
• Inside is a catacomb of worship avenues, shrines, sacrificial altars, mission quarters, and channels of cut recesses within the floors. 
• The temple interior is divided into 3 levels, each 20 feet high.
• A crypt of monkey-sarcophagi.
• A shaft descends into Alpha (Level 1).

4. Shaft II

• 120 feet deep, 6 feet wide.
• At the bottom an entry into Zeta (Level 6) can be discovered, though the portal is locked. 
• Alternatively another descent into Shaft III can be discovered. Though descending this requires manipulation of an ensorcelled device. 

5. Babel

• A tower — 60 feet high at its pinnacle, 20 feet wide.
• Murals on most walls depicting a slave-people toiling to erect this structure. The exterior resembles the Empire State building somewhat. 
• The appointments within suggest a matriarchy society, led by Queen lineage. 

6. Domiciles

• Simple structures of varying sizes and shapes. Most are single or double-roomed, while others are rather palatial.
• Squarish or domed.
• A few will have treasure. 

7. Shaft III

• 70 feet deep, 6 feet wide.
• Getting up or down requires manipulation of an ensorcelled device (powered by the slugs or the Giant Rockdweller psychic silks). 

8. Alpha (Level 1)

• Vaulted ceilings 20 feet high. 

9. Beta (Level 2)

• Vaulted ceilings 20 feet high. 

10. Gamma (Level 3)

• Vaulted ceilings 20 feet high. 

11. Delta (Level 4)

• Vaulted ceilings 20 feet high. 

12. Epsilon (Level 5)

• Vaulted ceilings 20 feet high. 

13. Zeta (Level 6)

• Vaulted ceilings 20 feet high. 

14. Eta (Level 7)

• Vaulted ceilings 20 feet high. 

15. Theta (Level 8)

• This level is 60 feet high.

16. Iota (Level 9)

• This level is 40 feet high.

On "Character Builds"

Disclaimer: I don't give a monkey's banana how you play your game. I mean that sincerely. However...

The two words "Character Build" makes me cringe every time I hear them. This process of character creation has been described in both "official" and "unofficial" capacities, and it honestly perplexes me. Despite the fact I was weaned on 3rd edition (mainly), and I became well acquainted with poring over tables, dense paragraphs, and rules and options galore, I can't help but feel this term is misplaced. In a game in which death lingers around every darkened corner, it is preemptive to plan so far ahead to predict a character's distant fate. Is this not the role of the game itself to determine? 

The idea of "character build" makes way more sense in a video (or digital) game. Usually, death is as inconvenient as reloading from your last save, or as involved as retrieving your items from whence you were slain. By this mode of play, the idea of a "character build" is logical. By and large, the autonomy of a character's destiny is in the hands of the player. If they don't like how the computer...err computed...that last battle, just reload the game. Someone will invariably argue that video gamers are destroying the hobby and blah blah blah, but I would suggest the prevalence of min-maxing has been around since day one. This is evidenced in Gygax's distaste for some of the hobbyist hacks of the day, where umpteenth levels were not uncommon. Munchkinism right?

If you are a munchkin/min-maxer, all power to you. Then again, in a tabletop role-playing game — especially if you're playing a relatively high lethality system (like most OSR games) — I feel the idea of a character build puts an unfair burden on the DM. Why? Because when a player says "I'm going to have a 20th level x, who has taken x feat, and adds x amount to attacks and damage" the DM, in their role of "facilitating fun", is more likely to take this player predilection on board. A bias (and arguably a detractive one) occurs. The game becomes less free. 

I'm a huge fan of letting the dice fall in whatever random pattern they may. If this benefits the players, so be it. If it destroys my careful preparation, so be it. If a character dies, so be it. Even if I am a player, and my character dies because of a shitty die roll, I honestly couldn't care less. The merciless randomness of "chance" is more fair and exciting to me than any hyper-effort towards true game balance. One of my biggest attractions to D&D is the fact that real-life intelligence can be helpful. Yes, there is an arbitrariness to the whole thing. DM decision-making and the whims of the dice can be a cold fate to swallow, but a system that facilitates the immediate creation of a superhero is tediously boring. The game purposely involves dice. Surely, the game is meant to contain some level of randomness. If a purpose of a role-playing game is a (rather loose) simulation of reality, why would everything work in a player's favour? Characters will and should die. 

As a DM, I just want to run my game, and for it to be enjoyable. I don't want the nagging thought in the back of my mind that a player is expecting their character's inevitable specialness to shine through every session. If they're invested in the game, I believe that will happen by itself. I see that specialness every session when my players blow me away with their awesome ideas. For me, part of the fun of the game, is the notion that death could be around the corner, and if I want a level, or more gold, or an awesome sword, I need to legitimately "earn it". I can distinctly remember my least enjoyable games. They have usually involved a predetermined or unavoidable narrative path I (as the player) must follow, or the complete absence of real danger to my character. Let me know death is not only possible, it's probable.

For the record, I'm not going to pretend slaughtering a whole village of orcs is not fun, it is. But I like that powerful feeling to be interspersed with moments of terror and the imminent realisation that my character kind of sucks!

Sandboxing (A Work In Progress)

I've decided to compile a growing collection of tables into one booklet. The purpose: to assist with an upcoming hexcrawl/megadungeon/sandbox campaign I'm working on. Maybe other people will enjoy them too. I've already published three of these to my blog, but I've attempted to tidy them up somewhat in a slightly more professional manner. 

The booklet is aptly entitled "Sandboxing". I will continue to add new tables to the booklet, as I create them. It will be available exclusively (for the moment) from my downloads page. If it grows to a publishable size, I may look at making a print-on-demand version available. If you like it, keep checking back. This is a long-term project, and I have two other projects of much higher priority, but I do hope to keep plugging away at it over the next year or two. 

Get it directly from HERE or check out my downloads page.