It never ceases to amaze me how many games there are out there to discover, even when you limit yourself to a single format (d100) within a single genre (RPG’s).
D100 Dungeon, discovered when I was hunting for a Malifaux d100 option, looks like a winner that melds the old Steve Jackson Melee/Wizard, Write Your Own Adventure and OST DnD vibes (3 Stats, solo dungeon delves, hand drawn maps etc) into a D100 system, re-imagining. So of course I had to have it!
I have stayed mostly true to my plan of avoiding any new RPG’s especially non d100 games, but this one just screamed out to me. Tons of vocal supporters, solo play (option of group) and a clean and logical system all work for me.
I went for the soft cover + PDF options on DTRPG. Soft cover books are fine, especially when you can print out the needed charts and tables from the PDF’s. The savings helped cover the third book I purchased (book 4), giving me the Core (bk 1), Players Guide (bk 2) and Tome of Extraordinary rules (bk 4). I also have the PDF’s now of course, but I must admit, I really do not feel like I “own” them until the hard copies come. I am sure the other two or three books will be added later but maybe only as PDF’s as they are adventures not “enablers”.
D100 stirred up some other recurring thoughts also. My dislike of overly glossy, feigned immersion by proxy games, the ones heavy on production values, but no heavier than anything else in substance. These may even force on the reader, a fixed paradigm of pre-conceptions, stiffling open creativity.
We are handed everything these days. We often know what to visualise when reading a well known book, because the accompanying movie or series has created a backdrop and this, for better or worse. What does Harry Potter look like…….bet I know where your imagination went.
The same is true of RPG’s. I have many fond memories of games drawn (literally often) from my own imagination, using a solid, but visually unexciting set of rules. Old school DnD comes to mind, but these days even that corner stone of the hobby has gone “Hollywood”.
Traveller (GDW 1.5 ed) is an example of a game that lacked any visual cues in the three book base set. That’s right, it had zero illustrations. It is famous however for it’s cover that painted a picture in your mind of a desperate situation for the free trader “Beowulf”. It still sticks with me, and many others to this day.
My reserved but solid love of all things d100 comes with some requirements. The first is to embrace the very flexible, simple, realistic, but sometimes poorly implemented system mechanic. The second is, that with only a few exceptions (Warhammer 4e), most d100 games are pretty basic in their presentation.
For me, this is a huge plus!
From the very early versions of Call of Cthulhu (2-4e), Rune Quest or Storm Bringer (1-4e), d100 games have been high on character, tension and immersion, but relatively low on “fluff”. Even the first edition of Warhammer Fantasy Role play, had a few colour plates, but generally stuck to very approachable pencil sketches, adding to its feel.
I find illustrations that look hand drawn are the most appealing. They make me feel like the designer is sitting at the table with me, giving me the ok to join in with my own efforts. Glossy tomes of artistic excellence, just make me feel detached from the whole thing. The same happens with miniatures. There is no doubt, that for many the biggest hurdle is the intimidation factor of the magnificently painted figures showcased by the companies involved. Malifaux is a prime example.
In the modern era, there seems to be a push back from d100 production companies against this over the top presentation style, relying more on the games content than slick presentation.
This for me is a release. When a game is “perfect”, it needs to be. The annoyance of no real shield rules in Warhammer 4e is compounded by the quality of the book. It is perfect to look at, a treasutre to own (two), but like a shiny veneer with hidden cracks underneath, it is not perfect in application.
Content is really highlighted here. The game needs to be a standard bearer of the genre. When it is just “ok” or falls short of fullfilling its potential, it just stings that little bit more. The true measure of a RPG system is in the play and shape that takes. D100 systems, not without some known issues, are stable
If the book was cheaper, printed in mostly black and white and on regular paper, it could be dealt with, with notes in the margin, printed pages inserted or simply re-bought in a later edition without breaking the bank balance. It can also be bought in a PDF and printed at home or cheaply by a professional and look much the same as the original. Mongoose Traveller is an example of an older system with all the retro charm I like, printed on plain paper. Notes from the slicker newer one can be easily added to it, making it better mechanically, only adding to the feel.
Another issue is life span. A $100au+ book printed on high quality glossy paper, is no more likely to survive extended use than a soft cover paper back, which has the benefit of being more easily backed up. Ageing the former is heart breaking, while aging the latter is empowering. My ancient WFRPG 1e is coffee stained, yellowed and generally a bit rough. My 4e versions are perfect, but I feel I need to keep them that way and I only have two so I always have one in that condition! It is also a bigger wrench when edition wars inevitably kick in.
The One Ring caught me there. I have the slip case, revised and an eye on the new second edition. Apart from the mounting cost and waste of older editions, changes can make whole systems of books redundant. The new ones gave some small changes, but the look, that you are paying a premium for, has totally changed!
Creativity. When the book is less precious, less opinionated, I feel my creative juices kick into overdrive. The game is mine, not the writters. If I don’t want “X” to look like their version of “X”, then it won’t. I appreciate the odd visual “stimulant”, but not an over bearing graphic lean.
I do not read pictures books (well the odd comic), because I don’t need a picture painted for me, so why would I need a picture-game? A nice cover, some black and white "generic” illustrations and even some nice inspiration are fine, especially if the game is based on a specific work or historical period, but leave it at that. Leave it to me. M-Space is ideal to me. It has some very emotive colour plates (like the front cover), that take me back to my sci-fi roots, but nothing is decided for you, only more mysteries to be uncovered.
Mongoose Traveller 1e is a fine example of a game that uses simple retro style illustrations to enhance it’s narrative. These “career path” ones in particular, fit perfectly with my minds eye equivalents from my early days of role playing. My inspirations were 2000AD comics, Star Wars, Stainless Steel Rat and Jerry Pournelle books and the art of Chris Foss and similar, which these drawings compliment well. The 2e ones just don’t fit with my perceptions, looking more like generic (bland) modern sci-fi, which is at odds with the older sci-fi interpretation the system is based on.
Primary examples of systems that should have me excited, but fail to, are Warhammer/Hordes RPG’s (sold), Mongoose Traveller 2e (in limbo) and to some extent Warhammer 4e (but I will persevere).
Favourites and systems that tick all the boxes of being close to my ideal of appraochable, free form and well balanced are most d100 systems especially Legend, WHFRP 1e, M-Space, Chivalry and Sourcery and Call of Cthulhu, but also Mongoose Traveller 1e and the Hero System 4e. It may be that these are coming from my sweet spot period of role-playing, but they may very well be one of the reasons it was my sweet spot.
Retro is very in at the moment, I feel in part because we are looking for that missing something. Maybe that missing element is what we put in, the hand made or bespoke connection, not what is delivered to us for free.
The one exception, as it manages to get around all of the above issues and still be “high end”, is 13th Age. The books are weighty and glossy, but not overladen with illustrations and many of those are simple chroma-white sketches that are very much on point with the games style. There is also a massive effort exerted by the writers to empower the gamers to make it their own.
The books are mid-range expensive, but they are also very well make, not too precious and there has been no revised, upgraded or typo fixing reprints so far, even after several years. As it does so many ways, 13th Age is an exception to the rule.
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On a side note, Mythras Destined arrived today. This was meant to be the end of my d100 path, but finally succumming to RQ3e it’s companion and three D100 Dungeon books has extended that day out. It has however closed the loop for me in another way. I now have a comprehensive range of options in Mythras (high crunch), BRP (mid crunch) and “other” (low crunch) d100 systems.
Super World as my only real d100 supers system (although the BGB could handle plenty. Seeing as supers games have always been a personal favourite, seemed a bit thin. Destined slots into a larger family of games that give me access to supers, super natural, weird science/sci-fi and fantasy options with one unified system.
It is another fine example of pleasant, but not over done production values, heavy on content.