tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36397252002357623562024-03-05T01:52:13.299-08:00Ramblings of a Gentleman GamerThe winding and mayhaps overly convoluted pontifications of a fairly peculiar hobbyist.Doctor Apocalypsehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06002801879387232554noreply@blogger.comBlogger55125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3639725200235762356.post-6710647662175274982012-05-13T19:50:00.001-07:002012-05-13T19:50:43.271-07:002295 Stellar Survey - Appendix F (Anomolies & Restricted Worlds)Captain's Log, U.S.S. _________, H_____ S___, commanding...<br />
<br />
We have completed our remote survey of stellar system ZA-9748PJF, usually known as the Zelazny System. Of the ten planets circling this G class star, four of them are not only class M, but inhabited. Though this, in and of itself, is not unusual; there is considerable evidence that this is an engineered situation.<br />
<br />
Zelazny-3 is a hot, humid, jungle world with small oceans. Most native intelligent life bears great resemblance to insectoid and reptilian forms. However, there are pockets of other sapients - humanoid and more unusual forms, that my Science Officer insists are not of native origin. Also, dispersed across the planet are ruins of a mysterious nature. I believe them to be remnants of a star-faring society due to their similarities to the architectural stylings of the F______.<br />
<br />
Zelazny-4 is a warm, ocean world. Land masses only cover ten percent of its surface and consist of three micro-continents and a plethora of islands. The native intelligent life is, quite reasonably, mainly aquatic in nature. However, the aquatic sapients are of three derivations; pseudo-piscine, pseudo-cephalopod, and aquatic humanoids. All of these appear to be in a state of war with the others. Some humanoid forms exist on Zelazny-4's scattered land masses, the majority of which appear to be related to the aquatic humanoids. Once again, my Science Officer speculates that these apparently unrelated sapients are not native to the planet. I find myself in some agreement with her, as there are traces of ruins similar to those on Zelazny-3.<br />
<br />
Zelanzy-5 is very similar to Earth in terms of physical properties. However, unlike Earth, it is inhabited by a wide array of sapient species; the majority of whom are humanoids. Zelanzy-5 is also the most heavily populated planet in the system and as such supports a great variety of polities and ethnocultural groups. Many of these appear to be remnants of more technologically sophisticated societies. Though our scans were unable to discover any traces of ruins similar to those on the other inhabited planets, we did uncover a large amount of ruins of a bewildering assortment of styles; primitive, technological, and post-technological.<br />
<br />
Zelanzy-6 is not a dead world, yet. But the inhabitants certainly tried to make it one once. Some form of thermonuclear apocalypse occurred roughly seven or eight hundred years ago and this has left the planet rife with deadly zones and common sense defying mutants. Due to these rampant and peculiar mutations, and the abbreviated nature of this survey, we were unable to determine the exact number of sapient species on Zelazny-6. Obviously, there are considerable ruins of the pre-apocalypse civilization, but there are also earlier ruins that appear to be of the same style as those on Zelazny-3.<br />
<br />
None of the various governments are ready to be contacted by our federation due to their lack of star-faring technology. However, that alone would not make me recommend that this system be quarantined. There are at least two reasons I can provide that will support my recommendation of quarantine.<br />
<ol>
<li>There is considerable evidence that there is surviving, working technology from earlier periods of the system's history. The natives refer to these by multiple, usually supernatural, terms, but they do grasp the basics of how to use many of them. Mostly weapons systems, according to our scans.</li>
<li>Across all sapient species on all planets there is a high occurrence of elevated psychic abilities. The natives possess a supernaturally themed view of such abilities and refer to them as magic. Nevertheless, they are powerful and likely to cause difficulties should we attempt to interact with the native cultures.</li>
</ol>
Accordingly, I recommend that the Zelazny System be placed on the list of restricted planetary systems, on par with the T____ System. <br /> Doctor Apocalypsehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06002801879387232554noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3639725200235762356.post-85575066294081024622012-05-07T18:18:00.002-07:002012-05-07T18:18:41.085-07:00The Unsavory Tendencies of the VagabondA friend recently spoke to me about a term he had either created (or heard of, I misremember) as an alternate title for <i>player character</i>.<br />
<br />
It was, and is, simple, elegant, and possesses a shockingly large amount of truth to it.<br />
<br />
The term is: <i>murder-hobo</i>.<br />
<br />
A murder-hobo is a person of dubious background and no fixed abode who travels the land, murdering and robbing those that society deems antagonistic (orcs), threatening (dragons), or terrifying (mind flayers). On the frequent side of occasionally, the murder-hobo also murders and robs those that society has no particular grudge against, but this is oft-times o'er-looked because the murder-hobo is of great use in keeping down dangerous species. Also, the murder-hobo typically spends what wealth they rob, thus being a wondrous boon to the economy.<br />
<br />
And have you <i>seen</i> these people? They are damned scary... Crawling out of the ruins of a mad wizard's keep gleefully waving about barely understood and less controlled magical <i>things</i> that a sane person would want destroyed...<br />
<br />
Let's just say it's often easier just to tell a murder-hobo about a new, unexplored, and conveniently far away, ruin and let them traipse off rather than lose good lives putting them down.<br />
<br />
Frighteningly, and all kidding aside, the term <i>makes sense</i>.<br />
<br />
There were many published adventures where the NPCs who are asking for the PCs' aid nevertheless treat said PCs like garbage. And suddenly that was perfectly reasonable: the NPCs thought they were murder-hobos!<br />
<br />
And let's be fair, many PCs <u>are</u> murder-hobos.<br />
<br />
They smash in a door/wall/gate, lay about with a dazzling array of deadly effects, strip the place of anything and everything remotely valuable, and proceed on to do it again until they get tired.<br />
<br />
This is not what playing a role-playing game is all about, this is what my lovely companion refers to as "playing Duck Hunt".<br />
<br />
There is a place for "Duck Hunt", but I am well convinced that computer games do it faster, better, and without the sinking feeling that a DM gets when their campaign goes to pieces because someone wanted to mouth off to the Duke...<br />
<br />
Murder-hobo syndrome can be avoided, just pause before you start the slaughter and think of something else to do.<br />
<br />
Like talking.<br />
<br />
It won't always work, but those seven foot tarantulas might be reasonable.<br />
<br />
The other tip to avoiding being a murder-hobo, give your PC a home. Even if it's a dive bar, something that connects that PC to the world, even a story about why the PC lost their home will work. Just make it so that your PC cares about something more than descending into a terrifying, trap-filled netherworld to loot and pillage.<br />
<br />
And stop telling the Duke that you can eat him for breakfast, you're seventh level and he's second, of course you would wipe the walls with him, that's why he's asking for your help...<br />
<br />Doctor Apocalypsehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06002801879387232554noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3639725200235762356.post-70792858947554585242012-04-22T18:36:00.001-07:002012-04-22T18:36:28.831-07:00"By the Iron Boots of Gorslaug!"Whilst the possession of a class, or classes, by the traditional "monster" races is no longer any great shock, I feel that the use of this device should be a distinct rarity. A classed monster is, should be, at least, a shock. Something that not only surprises the players (and player characters), but also something that forces a rethinking of the encounter.<br />
<br />
Whether this rethinking causes long-term issues, philosophical quandaries, or a mere tactical reevaluation depends solely on the choice of the DM. Encountering an ogre fighter is a far different dilemma than encountering an ogre paladin...<br />
<br />
Given my own idiosyncrasies, I lean towards the more startling and unusual. I prefer the classed monster to be a character unique in its own right, and since it is a special case, I desire it to be a special challenge. An ogre fighter is merely more powerful, an ogre fighter who is questing for a lost artifact in order to save his clan/smash the fortress of a heroic/villainous crusading order/bring about ruin to the orcish hordes/dwarven realms is a very different beast. As a result, I tend towards crafting quasi-opponents. These being characters that <i>might</i> combat the player characters, but are not necessarily destined to do so.<br />
<br />
In accordance with this idea, I present a quick sketch of Morvidus ap Rivallo, a quickling <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1QX7Icvg0x8rXPTeS21UR9trYSCrtHKma46eElhEiy_E/edit?authkey=CLWq8qkO&pli=1">necromancer</a>.<br />
<br />
More amoral than evil, Morvidus is brilliant, devious, and sly. He lacks the basic understanding, common to humans and demi-humans, of moral behaviour and, as such, can fit in well as a scheming villain who's ultimate goal will bring ruin to civilisation. Doubly so, since his class provides him the ability to manufacture unquestioning minions. However, he can also fill the role of the dubiously accepted ally. He'll find any paladin or cleric to be more baffling than obnoxious and can provide information or assistance in dealing with a truly evil foe.<br />
<br />
He stands a mighty 2 feet, 3 inches tall and possesses the characteristic lean build of his kind. His skin is pale from hiding in haunted woodlands and libraries of dubious ethics which, combined with his black hair and lambent green eyes, gives him the appearance of a short and sinister apparition. His attire is as close to "villainous musketeer" as one is comfortable with, and, yes, that does include the waxed mustache and beard.<br />
<br />
As his statistics will vary depending on his chosen role, I choose not to include them save to make note of two items he normally carries. These being a <i>ring of water-walking</i> and the <i>dagger of ill-fortune</i> (a long sword in his small, yet capable, hands). This latter item is of but a +1 enchantment, but also forces those struck to make a saving throw versus spells or be afflicted by a curse that causes them to suffer a -1 penalty on all saving throws for a full week.<br />
<br />
The title of the post is his most common oath (which he may use profanely or not, as the mood strikes him) and possibly one of his goals (they being the footwear of the first and mightiest redcap). <br />
Doctor Apocalypsehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06002801879387232554noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3639725200235762356.post-40249803119827962202012-02-02T00:17:00.000-08:002012-02-02T00:21:37.574-08:00Bleakholme and Other Things...I'll be trying to scan and post some of my written notes for Bleakholme in the next few weeks, as well as posting a few things about a Space/Psuedo-horror game.<br /><br />And, well, various other things as long as I can transfer them from scattered notes to blog posts...<br /><br />It's a great pity I think well in a completely disorganised fashion.Doctor Apocalypsehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06002801879387232554noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3639725200235762356.post-63781591851849067582012-01-30T23:25:00.000-08:002012-01-30T23:29:05.172-08:00No One Killed Your DogI would love to comment on <a href="http://bxblackrazor.blogspot.com/2012/01/i-am-douche-bag.html?showComment=1327994665201#c7111854036980695842">this</a>, but the level of maturity shown on the part of JB makes it pointless.<br /><br />That said, sometimes good, decent people who have lots in common fail to mesh well.<br /><br />Let it be.Doctor Apocalypsehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06002801879387232554noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3639725200235762356.post-28459151439709889102012-01-30T22:55:00.000-08:002012-01-30T23:15:42.988-08:00If I Weren't Busy Writing College Papers...I'd probably be able to update this more than once a year...<br /><br />On the positive side, college is going well and I should be transitioning from community college to an actual four-year college this fall (or autumn, for those of you with an addiction to multiple syllables...).<br /><br />On the gaming front, I've mainly been playing Shadowrun fourth edition (the fourth edition I like...), a bit of Pathfinder, and a once a month-ish 3.5 Dragonlance game.<br /><br />I have found that I can only play 3.5 if I create something ludicrous, which is why I'm playing a kender swashbuckler/dread necromancer.<br /><br />I'm sorry, you did read that right.<br /><br />I've also finally obtained GURPS Vorkosigan, which has proven to be thoroughly delightful, and I've been bouncing around several ideas for games (I know, I need to post them here rather than letting them rot in my notes... O' time, thou art a fickle friend...) which include a Shadowrun game set during World War One, a Space:1889 and Unhallowed Metropolis blend, and an AD&D game set in a mediaeval-esque Europe with strong borrowings from Clark Aston Smith's works.<br /><br />So, despite appearances, I have not yet passed from the mortal coil, nor given up mine ancient hobby.<br /><br />And so to bed.Doctor Apocalypsehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06002801879387232554noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3639725200235762356.post-2773902931638546932011-04-01T16:16:00.000-07:002011-04-01T16:31:41.633-07:00Kort, the World's Weakest KoboldAh, Kort, my old friend... it has been several years since Kort's first appearance, cowering bravely in the ruined kitchen that the other members of his gens had told him to clean up and use to get dinner ready...<br /><br />This was first edition AD&D and Kort had a hit point, a cleaver, and a grubby chef's hat.<br /><br />Kort was also the only monster that the party talked to in that entire game.<br /><br />He was, quite simply, described as "too pathetic to kill".<br /><br />And he was. Weak, feeble, kind of stupid, barely any common sense... Kort was the only character in that game who was guaranteed to kill himself in one hit (which gave rise to a description of Synnibarr as "The game where everyone is Kort", years later).<br /><br />The weird thing is, he was really fun to play.<br /><br />He sniveled, he closed his eyes and waved his cleaver at the PCs in a desperate attempt to defend his "turf", and then the PCs were nice to him and gave him a measure of respect.<br /><br />Kort now owns and operates a grand restaurant in the kingdom's capital city.<br /><br />I once thought about re-making Kort in Third Edition D&D, but realised that he would be far more powerful than he should be and abandoned the idea.Doctor Apocalypsehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06002801879387232554noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3639725200235762356.post-90617002240073411932010-10-09T17:25:00.000-07:002010-10-09T17:50:54.411-07:00Further Classes and Other Blather.Though late, I will continue to update with the various custom classes and house rules that I am using in my home campaign. Today's particular gem will be the mountebank, a class I badly wanted to see back when it was first mentioned by Mr. Gygax in a Dragon magazine no small amount of time ago.<br /><br />For the iteration presented, I am indebted to the version by David Prata that appeared in <a href="http://www.dragonsfoot.org/ft/"><span style="font-style: italic;">Footprints</span></a> No. 12.<br /><br />My interpretation of the class can be found <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/edit?id=19Zzt181D9EqS-7PIez0ig7lnSgOuodN-zSk7iUFiKJ0&authkey=COzhm4UJ&hl=en#">here</a>.<br /><br />At some point I plan on finishing the versions of cavalier and barbarian that I wish to use, but that depends on my being able to start them... The mad scientist will be up next, followed by the necromancer (though that worthy's spell list may take a tad longer). I am also planning to post the rake in the near future... the assassin will appear at some point after that.<br /><br />In other news, I am delighted by random rolls, as they caused Demogorgon to make an appearance in my home campaign recently. This gave much pause to the paladin, especially when he realised that two of the party's henchmen (known as "the twins") conversed in much the same manner as the dual heads of the demonic overlord. No, there is no connection, but the paranoia builds...<br /><br />Also, I have started the slow process of creating what I believe would be called a "mega-dungeon", though I dislike the term myself. Called Bleakholme, I will be trying to post various bits and pieces here for others to use or not, as they wish.Doctor Apocalypsehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06002801879387232554noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3639725200235762356.post-7112889334588898822010-10-09T17:23:00.001-07:002010-10-09T17:25:34.559-07:00MusingsI have been remiss in updates, mainly due to starting college after a twenty year gap in any sort of formal education. So far, so good, further updates on my education as warranted (i.e.: probably none).<br /><br />I love<a href="http://wheel-of-samsara.blogspot.com/2010/10/gedankenexperiment-vancian-rarity.html"> this post</a>.Doctor Apocalypsehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06002801879387232554noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3639725200235762356.post-73061708026209913962010-09-03T16:21:00.000-07:002010-09-03T16:24:28.691-07:00Posting So I Don't Forget This...I happened upon this <a href="http://flamingtales.blogspot.com/2010/09/when-is-dwarf-not-dwarf.html">gem</a> earlier today.<br /><br />"<i style="font-style: italic;">Iconography has great influence on human psychology; what we perceive, visually, becomes reality. The phrase 'a picture is worth a thousand words' might be better expressed as 'a picture trumps</i><span style="font-style: italic;"> a thousand words.'"<br /><br /><br /></span>Doctor Apocalypsehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06002801879387232554noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3639725200235762356.post-81879757817458649152010-08-30T23:12:00.000-07:002010-08-30T23:13:28.219-07:00Strength and Why I Changed the ChartI've never particularly cared for percentile strength, it always seemed to be a bit of a downer. You think you roll the best strength score you can, but no! There's a new roll now and you probably won't be that lucky again.<br /><br />And that's provided your character is a fighter...<br /><br />I suppose that if the other classes had percentile prerequisites it wouldn't have grated all that much and it would have sort of balanced things... though what the mechanics of an 18/00 intelligence would be, I am not sure.<br /><br />Nonetheless, they didn't and I resented percentile strength. Though, the thought occurs that if <span style="font-style: italic;">only</span> fighters (not their sub-classes) had access to it, it might not have been as annoying, then again, mayhaps not...<br /><br />And this mighty lead-in takes us to my revised strength chart, cheerily presented via Google docs, at least I hope so...<br /><br /><a href="https://docs.google.com/document/edit?id=1FbysaarbisroxrJiyXLTWHi6sksiNc8kbf08KZQGF9M&hl=en&authkey=CMuvw_YI#">Strength Table II (revised)</a>Doctor Apocalypsehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06002801879387232554noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3639725200235762356.post-41394438235588304872010-08-21T12:30:00.000-07:002010-08-21T12:54:25.054-07:00Home Campaign and Further NewsDespite the hectic pace of life and the difficulties that surrounds it, I have been able to maintain my home campaign for no little time now. This in spite of the ongoing employment issues (i.e.: the lack thereof) and the D&D Day at the Library (Tacoma Public, that is), which is nearly a year old at this time, and all of the other varied things that destroy my time and attention.<br /><br />I can no longer refer to it as my Ravenloft (albeit house-ruled) game, as the players have managed to escape the demi-plane through the, to me, novel expedient of placing a <span style="font-style: italic;">helm of opposite alignment</span> on the head of a domain lord (Drakov, for those of you wondering) who promptly failed both his magic resistance check and his saving throw and caused Falkovnia to instantly collapse, causing everyone in it to be scattered across the planes. The PCs are presently in the Forgotten Realms.<br /><br />A word or two about that.<br /><br />Like much that I do, I take an odd approach to campaign settings. In my youth, I would strive mightily to re-cast canon into something useful or appealing (to me, of course) whilst still allowing the use of new material. Not so much at present. I am using the originally released Forgotten Realms boxed set, no other published information, just things I'm making up. I am compounding my hubris by having placed the PCs in an area not covered by said boxed set, thus forcing myself to make up a great deal.<br /><br />So, at present, the party is cooperating with the incarnate deity Tash (NG, Reason, Fair Play, and Justice, quasi-deity) in hopes of obtaining more information about the demi-plane they so recently escaped. This with the goal (of the paladin, at least) of being able to destroy the evil or at least free the innocent. As Tashluta (City of the god Tash) is beset by two groups of enemies, Tash promised his aid if they could free up his resources by throwing a sharp check to one of these factions.<br /><br />The choice being between the rakshasa lords of Narubel or the Serpent-Men of the Black Jungles.<br /><br />They chose to go after the Serpent-Men...<br /><br />As I am choosing to make the Realms something of an interdimensional Sargasso, said Serpent-Men are the descendants of an exploratory/colony group hailing from the Scarlet Brotherhood. Yes, they plummeted far back in time in addition to crossing dimensions.<br /><br />All in all, things are going well on that front.<br /><br />I am hoping to begin a weekly update schedule, detailing the various classes and rules changes I am coming up with. Several of the classes are completed, but I am struggling with how I wish to approach others (mainly the barbarian and cavalier) given my founding principle that a sub-class with higher entry requirements should be better than the base class. On the other hand, I have no wish to be as absurd as the classes presented in the old UA.<br /><br />Good luck and good gaming!Doctor Apocalypsehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06002801879387232554noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3639725200235762356.post-13086920415805101452010-03-30T11:52:00.000-07:002010-03-30T12:22:44.385-07:00Things You Learn...Quite a few people seem to spend more than a little time savaging 3rd Ed./3.5 D&D, I generally don't (<a href="http://ramblingsofagentlemangamer.blogspot.com/2008/09/why-i-hate-second-edition-ad.html">saving my bile for 2nd Ed...</a>), as I spent several years playing it and, overall, had a great time. The fact that I've grown disillusioned with it does not destroy its worth.<br /><br />One of the things that I started doing in Third that I've carried on with is the rule I started calling "It's on the table". The origins of this were due to some of my Third players being far better at mechanical jiggery-poky than I am. So, in an effort to save my sanity and keep the game being fun, I told them that they could use anything their black little hearts desired... but that I could, <span style="font-style: italic;">and would</span>, use whatever horrific monstrosity they came up with against them at some later point, they had, as I put it, "placed it on the table" and it was fair game. Conversely, I said, whatever I use as an NPC is also on the table.<br /><br />So far, in my current Ravenloft 1st Ed mash-up the oddest a player wanted to start with has been a half-orc, even though I stated that I am open to whatever they'd like to play. (I wouldn't necessarily let it be <span style="font-style: italic;">powerful</span>, but it would be at least on par with the PHB assortment of races.) This being the case, all of the oddball races (and classes) have been NPCs (now, this is, at least sort of, Ravenloft, so all of the races have been at least human-seeming, but...) and now there is a small selection of potentially interesting options.<br /><br />At present, on the table are:<br /><br />necromancer (my own version of such a class)<br />mad scientist (a class of my own creation, a sub-class of magic-user)<br />half-ogre<br />weirdling (all of the semi-humans, such as the tiefling, but exact bloodlines may vary)<br />drow<br />Gamma World mutant<br /><br />And that's about it... oddly when I started the post I would have said there were more, but I've checked and it's not so... (though weirdling is pretty open-ended now that I think of it).Doctor Apocalypsehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06002801879387232554noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3639725200235762356.post-37686026875400030772010-03-23T10:48:00.001-07:002010-03-23T11:14:15.899-07:00Some Commentary from the PastI recently obtained a collection of old <span style="font-style: italic;">White Dwarf</span> issues and have been gleefully perusing them. The <span style="font-style: italic;">Fiend Factory</span> articles are a huge treat, as I find it fascinating to see the origins of many of the <span style="font-style: italic;">Fiend Folio</span> creatures (and the commentary on their use by Don Turnbull is both useful and provides an insight into how things were done in that time and place).<br /><br />However, I'm going to focus on a different bit of commentary by Mr. Turnbull. The following comes from the end of his review of the <span style="font-style: italic;">Players Handbook</span> in <span style="font-style: italic;">White Dwarf</span> number 10:<br /><br />"<span style="font-style: italic;">However those who have grown up on the first edition need</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">not be alarmed - all this is completely compatible with the</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">familiar system and I don't believe it will be long before the</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">necessary changes and adjustments are taken under the belt; as</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">in all things practice and habit are great teachers. I have no</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">shadow of a doubt that the Advanced rules will be accepted</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">and incorporated into campaigns currently in progress, though</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">the DM will, as always, have the final say as to what is and</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">what isn't allowed in his dungeon/world.</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Of course, perhaps the most important function of the</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Handbook is as a source of reference; no more searching</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">through stacks of magazines and books to find the information</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">you are seeking (dammit - what issue of Strategic Review</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">contains the stats for rangers? and where did I put the copies</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">of Strategic Review anyway?). Pretty well everything needed</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">is here, carefully compiled and indexed; if it isn't here, it is in</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">the Referees Guide of which I for one can't wait for my copy.</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">There is little more I can say. If you already have a copy, you</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">may share my apprehension at the amount of time it is going</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">to take to digest all this new material, but I suspect you also</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">share my whole-hearted welcome of it. If you haven't, and you</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">are the least bit interested in D&D, the sooner you get a copy</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">the better. I said of the Monster Manual that it was TSR's</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">most impressive publication to date; that is no longer true -</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">this accolade must belong to the Handbook which is nothing</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">short of a triumph.</span>"<br /><br />Now, when he says "first edition", he would appear to mean what we now refer to as the "LBBs", or OD&D... which many would argue is a very different game from AD&D.<br /><br />Which is somewhat true, but it is still very similar, and I think his claims of complete compatibility are strongly grounded in truth.<br /><br />What intrigues me about this is the idea that this kind of reaction doesn't really happen with regards to today's D&D. "Third" edition did provide a token conversion system... which is hardly the same as compatibility, but to my knowledge, "Fourth" edition didn't even bother with that. (The numbering of the editions, as virtually all of us know, is horribly flawed... there are, I think, about four ways to view it, leaving the current publication of WotC as Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, or Eighth edition. It all depends on which publications one counts as "editions") Also, the current mindset seems to be, "Come, join us in playing this game, it's way better than the older one!", rather than the attitude expressed by Mr. Turnbull above.<br /><br />And now, back to perusal...Doctor Apocalypsehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06002801879387232554noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3639725200235762356.post-74722996284483883062010-03-16T11:50:00.000-07:002010-03-16T11:56:37.502-07:00A Quick Thank You......to <a href="http://mikemonaco.wordpress.com/">Swords & Dorkery</a> for the mention in his, as yet, <a href="http://mikemonaco.wordpress.com/2010/03/16/damn-you-hivemind/">most recent post</a>, not to mention being added to his blogroll.<br /><br />Any of you who wander by here who haven't come from there should check it out, especially <a href="http://mikemonaco.wordpress.com/2010/03/11/devils-in-the-details-half-orcs/">the post on half-orcs</a>.<br /><br />I think this will mean I'll have to step up my game on posting...<br /><br />Let's hope I can avoid the Hivemind Syndrome. :)Doctor Apocalypsehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06002801879387232554noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3639725200235762356.post-6712370575639458762010-03-10T17:00:00.000-08:002010-03-10T17:12:41.851-08:00Should Half-Orcs Be Able to Have a 19 Strength?One of my oldest house-rules is "The stat max is equal to 18+/- the racial modifier". I don't have too many concerns regarding that but, recently, a player rolled up a half-orc fighter and I had cause to look up the relevant bonuses and penalties.<br /><br />+1 Strength, +1 Constitution, -2 Charisma.<br /><br />"Wow", I thought, "he might be able to get a 19 freaking strength. That's like a hill giant..."<br /><br />I was a tad nervous for a bit, then I decided to look up the mechanics.<br /><br />I was not impressed. The difference, in combat, between an 18/00 and a 19 amount to a +1 damage. Whee. Certainly, a half-orc would have an edge in being able to get a 19 (roll an 18, add 1, and viola!, rather than roll an 18, roll percentile, and hope), but this is fairly minimal and altogether not worth worrying about.<br /><br />Sure, half-orcs become the ultimate choice for fighters for a certain type of player (I don't actually have any of them, so, again, not an issue for me), but how is that harmful?<br /><br />I'm still thinking of ditching percentile strength and reworking the chart, but that's a separate issue, one more related to my dislike of a special type of scoring for one stat.<br /><br />Oh, and for those wondering, the PC in question doesn't have a 19 strength. The player's rolls were good, but not that good.Doctor Apocalypsehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06002801879387232554noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3639725200235762356.post-42039143597042773192010-01-27T12:46:00.000-08:002010-01-27T12:50:37.301-08:00Words fail me...I quote: "There is a class of magic item - the really, really cool magic item - that we here at WotC HQ cannot publish. I'm going to talk about why that is and what we can do about it."<br /><br />Here's the link:<a href="http://community.wizards.com/wotc_peters/blog/2009/12/08/magic_items_the_items_we_cant_publish"> http://community.wizards.com/wotc_peters/blog/2009/12/08/magic_items_the_items_we_cant_publish</a><br /><br />The summary: We designed "magic" items to be weak and have no plans to change that.<br /><br />Why bother? No, seriously, why even bother including magic items?<br /><br />Have these people no sense of joy, wonder, or excitement? Have they no desire to experiment with the warped creation of a probably unhinged and certainly obsessed mind?<br /><br />Apparently fun is not mechanically sound...Doctor Apocalypsehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06002801879387232554noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3639725200235762356.post-54199205784957269792009-11-07T20:52:00.000-08:002009-11-07T21:04:03.427-08:00"Not allowed to give quicklings Mountain Dew."So, I recently stumbled across a <a href="http://webspace.webring.com/people/bb/bungie78/baw/300.html">small list</a> on the vast and wonderful web...<br /><br />I'd be frighteningly willing to allow many of these things in my game.<br /><br />Specifically allowed are the elf with the Scottish accent (as soon as I play <span style="font-style: italic;">Shadowrun</span> next...) and the gnomish god of heavy artillery (who I have decided is named Gelaris Thundertube, which is roughly three hundred times less dorky than <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gnome_deities#Gelf_Darkhearth">Gelf Darkhearth</a>).Doctor Apocalypsehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06002801879387232554noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3639725200235762356.post-76355042414056513402009-10-28T20:32:00.000-07:002009-10-28T22:33:57.084-07:00Thoughts on the Nature of Things.Being the witty and personable fellow that I am, I have a splendid collection of equally astute friends. From time to time, these worthy persons occasionally give me gifts, as has been known to happen throughout the nation. I am always thankful to receive such presents, especially when they are in line with my eccentric and occasionally odd interests, but I do not always take the time to peruse them right away.<br /><br />In today's case the perusal portion of the process took about two years.<br /><br />In short, I just read '<span style="font-style: italic;">Fantasy Imperium</span>' last night.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyje2NJ1XZobVlPOKElwlhIJ8ZwILr3IMLwDuV0W68Cq0Jn0qTukCTrEscDTpj_lBLVxyUxkCHnBLZCMkaCCiOQIyN_fuF1h35OngSs0zDyiOlT4jNCJ5VAfpoe2YVhDO4bf0jTWPvvHE/s1600-h/Fantasy+Imperium.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 100px; height: 129px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyje2NJ1XZobVlPOKElwlhIJ8ZwILr3IMLwDuV0W68Cq0Jn0qTukCTrEscDTpj_lBLVxyUxkCHnBLZCMkaCCiOQIyN_fuF1h35OngSs0zDyiOlT4jNCJ5VAfpoe2YVhDO4bf0jTWPvvHE/s400/Fantasy+Imperium.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5397861124140864674" border="0" /></a><br /><br />For those few of you with short attention spans that still struggle to gain insight from my ramblings, though I doubt any of you are left, I shall make it short and simply say, "Oh, dear..."<br /><br />Allow me to lead the rest of you down a merry pathway for a time and I shall endeavor to provide additional enlightenment.<br /><br />There was a time when, as a matter of course, games would set characteristic maximums at differing levels depending on the gender of the character. Generally by limiting female character's strength score. What was that from the back? No, males received no limits to any statistics, why do you ask? Sarcasm aside, this was and is defended by many as "realistic" (more on this below) but has generally been dropped from most games produced from about 1990 on (if not before). Since, you know, it's sexist and pointless and drives off players.<br /><br />'<span style="font-style: italic;">Fantasy Imperium</span>', my copy dated 2006, has such rules. They are, in the interest of full disclose, mostly optional. The non-optional part is that female character's may re-roll their "attractiveness" statistic...<br /><br />Because it's a woman's job to be pretty.<br /><br />Right?<br /><br />And we wonder why the hobby is not that popular amongst females...<br /><br />Galloping forward once more, the rules system seems horrifically convoluted, the sub-title exudes pretentiousness ("<span style="font-style: italic;">An Interactive Storytelling Game of Historical Fantasy</span>"), and the chosen setting is Europe... with magic.<br /><br />The setting has many problems. One, it's basically impossible to boil enough information on Medieval Europe down to a setting chapter that is either usable or accurate. Two, despite the vast and complicated theologies of the times, the author has decided that Christianity is the One, True Faith. This despite the provisions for "mythical races" in the rulebook...<br /><br />Perhaps this is just mine own opinion, but the existence of centaurs would rather successfully argue for the presence of the Greco-Roman Pantheon.<br /><br />But apparently not.<br /><br />The game's piety system is vastly amusing, however. As long as one performs the rituals, one can have a high piety score, belief isn't necessary and believing in God only nets one ten points out of a one to a hundred (or more?) scale.<br /><br />But enough. Though the game is bad, it's not '<span style="font-style: italic;">Racial Holy War</span>' or '<span style="font-style: italic;">F.A.T.A.L.</span>'<br /><br />However, it is enough to make me wonder about the thread of misogyny that seems to weave itself into this hobby. One could, perhaps, forgive the old '<span style="font-style: italic;">Fantasy Wargaming</span>' its flaws as it was a product of an earlier, more benighted, time (the '80s) and it did provide really spiffy lists of the Hosts of Heaven and Hell... Nonetheless, it is part of the spectrum that includes the previously mentioned games, as is '<span style="font-style: italic;">Fantasy Imperium</span>'. It is possible that we simply live in a misogynistic culture and that permeates everything, but that merely redefines the problem on a grander scale.<br /><br />We should, I think, consider how this sort of thing begins, and why it begins. It's easy to point at '<span style="font-style: italic;">F.A.T.A.L.</span>' and see that it crosses the line, the trick is finding the seemingly innocuous thing that might allow someone to think that the next step is OK as well. Keep in mind, as horrifying as it is, that the author(s) of '<span style="font-style: italic;">F.A.T.A.L.</span>' and '<span style="font-style: italic;">Racial Holy War</span>' are a part of this hobby and they started gaming somewhere before they wrote their games...<br /><br />Moving on, or backwards for a bit, I wish to touch on the old AD&D limits on a female character's strength score. A sadly large number of people defend these, even unto this day, as being "realistic". The usual counter to these folk is, "So, where are the realistic dragons?"<br /><br />I don't think that addresses the problem.<br /><br />I am not sure if the problem can be addressed. It may be pure misogyny, it may be far more harmless.<br /><br />I do know how I plan on addressing the argument in the future however.<br /><br />I plan on implementing what I call "Conan-reality" in my games.<br /><br />As I was thinking about this old, old argument, it came to mind that, "realistically", there was no way that R.E. Howard's Conan could be as supremely muscular and powerful as he was described in the stories. Historical barbarians could be strong, but were generally worn down by the hardships they endured, not built into towering powerhouses. However, I like the archetype of the mighty barbarian and I plan on keeping it.<br /><br />The "realistic" limitations on a female's strength go in the same basket as the "realistic" limitations on the barbarian.<br /><br />I hear the horde of the outraged, "But, but..." and a million reasons are proffered.<br /><br />I'm not going to listen to them. Not even those that harshly restrict everything in their campaign world to "realistic" levels (where, I might ask, is the fun in that?).<br /><br />Suffice to say that there could be any number of reasons for the seemingly "unrealistic" and I see no reason to artificially penalize female characters.Doctor Apocalypsehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06002801879387232554noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3639725200235762356.post-4110759575379219132009-10-21T15:32:00.000-07:002009-10-21T15:52:04.170-07:00Adventures in GamingFor the last month, I have been running a role-playing night at the Tacoma Public Library. This is only every other week, so only two sessions have happened, but it has been fairly well attended...<br /><br />For something with virtually no publicity...<br /><br />So, you know, about a dozen folks showed up...<br /><br />The game I chose to have available, with an assortment of pre-gens, was the Mentzer Basic rules. Mainly because I know them well, but also because they are easy to start up and easy to explain.<br /><br />I'll be whipping up a new adventure for the next night (November third, if any of you are in the area), since everyone died last night due to poor thinking on the magic-user's part.<br /><br />However, the room that the library has kindly allowed us to use is absolutely enormous! We could easily fit eight tables in there and I'd kind of like to do that, if only to keep the programme going (it's running through December right now, but if the turn out is good, who knows...).<br /><br />Several attendees have been surprised that 4th Ed. D&D is not being run, but the thing is, that's not what I want to play and, more importantly, no one has offered to run it.<br /><br />I mean, I'm not going to be stingy here, I've got more space than I can use... You want to play 4th Ed., be my guest, grab a table and we'll try and get players for it. It's not appealing to <span style="font-style: italic;">me</span>, but my own ego is not what this is about, this is about the love of gaming.<br /><br />Sadly, even though I have asked, nay, begged, for these fans of 4th Ed. to run a game, not one seems willing to do so...<br /><br />It's a tad frustrating.<br /><br />I want to be helpful, but though I might play it at some point, just to see if it plays better than it reads, it's not my cup of tea.<br /><br />I'm certainly not going to run the thing just for a few people who aren't willing to at least try and DM once...<br /><br />My first DM was a guy named Aaron. Not because he was good at it, it was because he had the books (well, boxed set, this was Mentzer's Basic rules) and wanted to play with people. We were all eleven then and we had a great time.<br /><br />I suppose the point of my rambling is, if you're not willing to DM, don't be disappointed that you can't find a group.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Someone has to be the DM.</span>Doctor Apocalypsehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06002801879387232554noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3639725200235762356.post-33243037677932990092009-10-19T23:57:00.000-07:002009-10-20T00:14:14.923-07:00I Strongly Suspect I'm Mad...But I need to refine this a bit further...<br /><br />Yes, if you can make it out, it's R.E. Howard's Hyborian Age affixed to E.G. Gygax's Oerth.<br /><br /><br />Oh, come on, as if th<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvy3KRyBNDaPn26DWassfAE0eyiLesK_SyOR5a5Jma011QjG2IusaG4WWyWFYskLbr-TwyUbRzx0rcgfrlPRmprMiuhebx8TgV4UGDLHpQhWqEinfie1B9v6Xrjpg2QuvZtF6_xo6R7EE/s1600-h/Greyhyboria.gif"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvy3KRyBNDaPn26DWassfAE0eyiLesK_SyOR5a5Jma011QjG2IusaG4WWyWFYskLbr-TwyUbRzx0rcgfrlPRmprMiuhebx8TgV4UGDLHpQhWqEinfie1B9v6Xrjpg2QuvZtF6_xo6R7EE/s400/Greyhyboria.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5394576784374292098" border="0" /></a>e Suloise weren't related to the Stygians?Doctor Apocalypsehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06002801879387232554noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3639725200235762356.post-71528986090117730632009-10-16T23:46:00.000-07:002009-10-17T00:06:12.166-07:00Lost Empires and Broken Lands<span style="font-style: italic;">Three hundred years ago the Great Empire planted colonies on the forbidding shores of the newly discovered northern continent. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">One hundred and fifty years ago, all communication with the Empire ceased. No more ships arrived and all ships that sailed southwards were lost to all knowledge. In the chaos and wars that followed the Disappearance, the settlers and natives merged and founded new societies.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Now, bleak, charnel-house, ships sail northwards, crewed by animate corpses and captained by unspeakable monstrosities...</span><br /><br />Either D&D meets <span style="font-style: italic;">All Flesh Must Be Eaten</span>, or a particularly grim GURPS horror parallel, it hardly matters. What matters is where you and your players go with it...Doctor Apocalypsehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06002801879387232554noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3639725200235762356.post-81900837801408417822009-10-15T13:32:00.000-07:002009-10-15T14:00:10.573-07:00Men Out of Time<span style="font-size:100%;">The thought occurs to me that there has been a multitude of examples in literature of the hero being a man (occasionally a woman, but I think the disparity greatly favours men) from "our modern world" - whenever that is - who is transplanted to a fantasy world.<br /><br />It never seems to be the </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:100%;" >villain </span><span style="font-size:100%;">who is the cross-world voyager.<br /><br />Oh, there's occasionally a lesser bad-guy who is such, usually weak, venal, or tricked into assisting the true villain, but there's not (to my knowledge) any example where the </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;">Dark Lord</span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">(tm) is such a traveler.<br /><br />So, depending on your groups style, you could spice things up a bit in your fantasy game by having the new and terrible threat be from a modern (or futuristic) world. You'd have to make such a villain a competent, lucky, and powerful as the heroic types of the stories, otherwise they wouldn't survive. Let's face it, if dropped into a medieval fantasy world, most of us would be dead in short order. This has to be someone who is able to survive, prosper, and be a credible threat.<br /><br />Motive becomes something of an issue, however. In the literature, the hero usually picks the correct side by pure luck (and/or incredible prejudice), if he does pick the wrong side, he's usually made aware of this pretty early on and gets to go on a revenge kick as well as protect the good guys. This could work for a villain, but you'd still have to work out why he's evil.<br /><br />Some ideas:<br /><br /> The villain has been converted somehow. (Been made a member of the undead, "seen the light" (dark?) and converted to an evil god, etc)<br /> The villain is trying to make things better, casting down unfair monarchies and re-building the world in a more "sensible" fashion.<br /> The villain is out for blood. (The fantasy world's wizards' guild refused to help him get home/refused to believe him and so he's going to smash them all, despite this nonsense about cosmic calamity...)<br /> The villain senses opportunity... (Just because he's a cubicle-monkey back home doesn't mean he's going to be one here).<br /> The villain doesn't want to go home... yet some heroic group are trying to make him. (This ties in well with the above, but on its own is a bit weak). </span>Doctor Apocalypsehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06002801879387232554noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3639725200235762356.post-66762489489122287512009-10-11T19:40:00.000-07:002009-10-11T20:52:58.233-07:00GraveshireNestled in the placid Highcourt Valley, is the former County of Gehesthramayne. Though the County fell in fire and blood over two hundred years ago, there are still human settlements along the Highcourt River. The largest of these, though still tiny when compared to the mighty cities to the east, is Graveshire, a farming community ruled by a hereditary sheriff (whose authority derives from the long-dead line of counts...).<br /><br />This would, no doubt, be a forgotten backwater were it not for the rise of the goblin warlords of the Brokenstone Highlands. With the vicious humanoids launching raid after raid into human lands, Graveshire finds itself on the front-lines in what is rapidly becoming a long war...<br /><br />Fortunately, the farmer folk have defenders...<br /><br />Not only is the sheriff a skilled soldier (F3), but that worthy commands a loyal militia of some 20-odd souls (all F1). Also, unbeknownst to the natives, the innkeep of the newly built (i.e.: within the last decade...) Knave o' Nails travelers' inn is a retired guildsman of the far off city of Roarwater and has secretly sent word to said guild about the loot the goblins have been able to amass... which might not be entirely accurate, but it has led that guild of thieves to send out certain thugs and bravos in an attempt to gain some filthy lucre for themselves. On the other hand, well known to the natives are the Monastery of the Beneficent Storm-lord, the local headquarters of a militant brotherhood tasked by their god to be always on the frontiers, and the Tower of Gherethave the Mysterious, the home of a reclusive and aged wizard and his apprentices (many of who have never seen their nominal master). Both of these isolated communities have volunteered to assist the farmers of Graveshire during the current troubles.<br /><br />The role of the player characters in all of this is fairly simple, that of an elite squad striking against and scouting the goblin bands (for benevolent or self-serving reasons) and possibly unearthing what has caused the sudden wave of attacks. But it doesn't need to be limited to that, undead created during the County's fall may haunt the shire, claimants - legitimate or not - may appear demanding the old title of Count, soldiers of the nearest kingdom may appear and demand food, shelter, or other things, it all depends...Doctor Apocalypsehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06002801879387232554noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3639725200235762356.post-48403156909212399812009-10-10T09:50:00.000-07:002009-10-10T23:02:18.752-07:00Cross-Playability and the Warhammer ChangesSo, back in August of this year, I was given the work <span style="font-style: italic;">Night's Dark Masters</span>, the vampire book for WFRP 2nd Ed. I've been collecting the rest of said 2nd Ed since then, but I've recently found out about the 3rd Ed... which is dramatically different from its predecessors...<br /><br />I'm not thrilled.<br /><br />I know, the shock, the amazement...<br /><br />I'm not even sure why I feel the need to ramble on about this, those that agree with me (due to exasperation with novelty, the desire to maintain perfection, or sheer hatred of truth and beauty) will continue to do so and those that disagree (due to addiction to novelty, the desire for perfection, or sheer hatred of truth and beauty) will plot my inevitable downfall... or continue to do so, as their fancy takes them.<br /><br />Nonetheless...<br /><br />I rather like the second edition, overall it is the same game, but it does have certain tweaks and some things were deleted, changed, and what-have-you. I think the strength and toughness changes were silly, but can understand them, and the reining in of elvenkind was an unlooked-for delight, so things seem fairly reasonable. Also, I really like the fact that the systems are basically compatible. Yes, you'll have to tinker a bit with it all, but not too much and you can use all the old material with the new.<br /><br />This is, I think, an important point. Similar to how D&D was, essentially, the same game from 1974 to 2000 (I realize that the differences seem vast, but they really aren't... and I say that having already gone on record with <a href="http://ramblingsofagentlemangamer.blogspot.com/2008/09/why-i-hate-second-edition-ad.html">my hatred of second edition AD&D</a>...), WFRP was the same game from 1986 to 2009. All the material released in those periods was usable if you happened to want to use it (though some was so dreadful I wouldn't have wished on my worst enemy... OK, maybe I would have inflicted <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/images/0786901497/ref=dp_image_0?ie=UTF8&n=283155&s=books">Skills and Powers</a> on them... if I were in a really bad mood).<br /><br />I like improvement (one of the things that many intelligent gamers really like is some form of non-random character generation - in many games, I like it too, but there are some times I like trying to make a character out of a set of random rolls - so packaging a well thought out "point buy" system, along with the old random method, in your game's new edition isn't going to hurt anyone, under normal circumstances...), but I also like backwards compatibility. Deleting the usefulness of the small library of game books I've already purchased isn't going to win the new edition my friendship or money.<br /><br />The point must be made that I am probably not the "target market" anymore, and therefore superfluous...<br /><br />So be it.<br /><br />I do wonder who the current "target market" is, however. Is it anyone who's played the previous editions? And am I cheap, or does <a href="http://www.fantasyflightgames.com/edge_minisite.asp?eidm=93">$100 seem a tad pricey for the start-up kit</a>?Doctor Apocalypsehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06002801879387232554noreply@blogger.com1