Dragonhelm Keep

Introduction

With the recent licensing of some of Wizards of the Coast?s settings recently, such as Dragonlance and Ravenloft, there has been talk amongst fans of licensing out some of the other older settings as well, such as the Spelljammer setting.

Despite there being an interest in having such a license, the fan base is split on how it should be approached. Some will tell you that classic Spelljammer should be updated to 3rd edition rules. Some will say that Spelljammer should be based on Shadow of the Spider Moon, the d20 Spelljammer mini-game in Polyhedron, written by Andy Collins. There?s plenty of other divisions as well, including what tech level Spelljammer should be set at.

As we look at the possibility of licensing the Spelljammer campaign setting, we must look at it through a different ?lens? than in the past. While this is true with the rules, this becomes especially true with the setting.

Spelljammer as a Setting

Spelljammer would have to be looked at in its entirety if licensed, and as one complete setting. You can’t look at it as the Spider Moon setting vs. the classic setting. If you choose one over the other, then you’re bound to alienate a portion of your fan base.

For example, if one built a new 3rd edition Spelljammer solely off of Shadow of the Spider Moon, you would lose a bit of the classic Spelljammer crowd. On the other hand, if one were to focus solely on the classic material, you would lose the new fan base that has come about due to Andy Collins’ work.

Integrating both works together would, in my opinion, be the way to go. You could use Andy’s Spelljammer rules to get you started, and his sphere (which fans have dubbed Pyrespace) would make a good starting point for adventure. Go beyond that sphere, and then you can tie it all together.

Beyond integrating both of the materials, though, is one more key element. You must build a cohesive setting that has materials that are familiar, but also a setting that has some new, interesting, and exciting elements to it.

Perhaps there are new races, and maybe one of them is trying to conquer the other spheres. Perhaps new spheres and new worlds are being discovered (a great way to integrate the classic and d20 Spelljammer settings). Perhaps there is new magic, new technologies, and new ships.

Through tying together the setting, and building upon it, you’ve accomplished one of the hardest goals.

Spelljammer as a Concept

Spelljammer is more than a setting – Spelljammer is a concept. The idea of traveling from world to world through means of magically powered ships with no futuristic technology whatsoever was a new and fresh one, and ripe for adventure.

While building a setting so that players have a place to adventure is important, it is equally important to present Spelljammer as a concept.

This concept of traveling from world to world through fantastic means should be set up to where you could travel to any world, whether it be a D&D world, or the worlds found in your favorite fantasy novels.

Conclusion

Spelljammer is a world that has infinite possibilities. So much can be done with the concept of fantasy space travel. By presenting a cohesive setting while also allowing Spelljammer to be a tool added to any fantasy setting, you ensure your road to success.

My handwriting is horrible. Whenever folks need a visual representation of the Klingon language, they ask me to write something. If you go by the stereotype, I should be a rich doctor. And yet, it is what it is. Just kind of sloppy and hard to read.

My character sheets were equally hard to read. My writing is kind of big, so to put it in teeny tiny boxes…well, it gets hard to write it all. Like any gamer, I like accuracy and detail. And yet, my own handwriting was limiting me.

That’s when Wizards of the Coast released Character Builder. Here was a program that would help me build my character (thus being appropriately named) , and would do so in a fashion that would produce a neat, clean, detailed character sheets. Plus it had those attractive D&D 4th edition power cards as well. I was elated, and spent many an hour converting old characters to 4th edition or coming up with new character ideas.

Character Builder had become my salvation. It had become my jailor.

You see, I’m also part tinker gnome. Maybe it’s my Dragonlance roots talking, or maybe I’m like a lot of gamers out there. I like to build and craft within my game. We gamers are notorious world builders and amateur game designers. It gets in your blood. New races, new roles to play within the world, monsters, villains….it’s all wonderful stuff. And a lot of it needs stats to implement in-game. And like good little tinker gnomes, we love to craft those rules.

So it was that my frustrations with Character Builder began. You see, the miracle program had one big flaw. It wasn’t friendly towards house rules. You could put some in, but you were limited in other areas. And there was always an annoying little icon reminding me that my character wasn’t “legal” (whatever that means). What happens when I want to use house rules for a 4th edition conversion of some rule from a prior edition? What happens when I create something new I want to implement?

I found limits in other ways too. For example, I would have to wait a month between publication of a book and the time when it would be implemented on Character Builder. I found myself just waiting on baited breath for the release of the next update. A few months ago, such an occurrence was happening again. I had been waiting a year for the release of the 4th edition version of Dark Sun. I got the books, and knew it was just a matter of time before I could update my old Dark Sun characters in Character Builder.

That day didn’t come. The update didn’t come. WotC was pretty silent on the issue. Through a comedy of errors, Character Builder was delayed, and then those dates weren’t met. Wizards was not communicating with the public to keep people informed. We finally got half an update in October, but still no Dark Sun. Essentials was coming out too, and we wondered if that would be included.

And so I waited and waited, until finally, the new online Character Builder was released. I jumped into it, but with caution. As it turns out, caution was warranted. Character Builder was filled with errors and liked to crash. It was even worse about house rules as well. I play Dragonlance a lot, and yet I couldn’t even type the name of a Dragonlance deity into the appropriate box.

I had had enough. Something finally snapped within me. I had known for some time that this program was inhibiting me from a creative standpoint. I realized that it was holding me back, and was serving not so much as an aid, but as a crutch.

And it was my own fault. I had brought this on myself. I allowed a program to control my fun.

The Character Builder fiasco had a couple of good effects. First, it was a reminder of how we used to tackle character sheets – by hand. We didn’t worry about what some silly program told us was legal.

But wait, my handwriting is like bad Klingon. Was going back the way to go?

As it turns out, the gaming community is quite creative, and not just within the confines of the game. They have a knack for creating some of the best toys, such as form-fillable character sheets and power card generators. I’ve known about them, but have taken a closer look in light of the Character Builder fiasco. And you know, I’ve found some neat toys. I feel like I can tinker again.

The moral of this story? We all have our shackles. We all have those things that limit us as creative individuals. Maybe for you it’s the rules, to which you might feel beholden. For me, it was Character Builder. And while I think it can still be a useful tool, I no longer feel that it is necessary for me to play the game. Because it isn’t.

Try to recognize those shackles that hold you down. They can be hard to identify at times. Recognizing them is the hard part. Once you do, though, search for a way around them, and remember that there are always alternatives.

For the first time tonight, I got to play Encounters. This season, the adventure is none other than the classic Keep on the Borderlands. I had never played it before, so I was excited to do it.

My friend Curtis and I were it for our table, so we were going to play two characters each. Another group was also short, so they combined us. What’s funny is that we had a lot more role-playing when it was just me and Curtis. The others were probably half our age (or close to it) and only out for the combat. One guy was metagaming like crazy, and another guy kept rolling his eyes any time anyone else did something.

We basically had a bit of setup, then proceeded to the encounter. We battled some dragonborn and various other reptilian creatures, all servants of Tiamat. The DM was a lot of fun, and pulled no punches.

For tonight’s game, I played the pre-generated fighter, Quinn. Quinn utilizes the new knight build found in Heroes of the Fallen Lands. I have to say, the pre-gen felt like a knight to me. Of course, I played up the part. One might even say I hammed it up.

At one point, I had a battle with a monster that kept trying to throw a net over me. He got me in a pit, but I climbed out. Another player moved him into the pit. I went all Hollywood, and jumped in after the monster, pressing my advantage. Eventually, I defeated him.

I have to say that I really enjoyed playing the Essentials fighter. It felt more like the basic fighters of prior editions. Yet the cool stance and aura abilities made for some fun possibilities and nice visuals. I miss having the daily power, but the rest made up for it.

While the Essentials fighter was good, I can’t say that I was terribly enthused about Encounters. It’s a neat idea, but the name is self-explanatory. You’re just playing encounters. Our DM commended the role-playing that Curtis and I did and said that they didn’t have that much role-playing the entire time they did the Dark Sun encounters. I just found that sad.

Now, I’m debating on whether to go back or not. Did I have fun? Yeah, it was a good time. But it wasn’t a great time. I haven’t made any decisions yet, but I think I prefer games where we can get into our characters a bit more.

How do you know when your game is successful? How do you know that you have one of those games where the players are really into the story and action? How do you know that your game isn’t just good, but great?

These are hard questions, to be sure, ones that don’t always have clear-cut answers. Sometimes players won’t tell you if they’re not having fun because they don’t want to hurt your feelings. Sometimes you misread your players and think they’re really into your game when they might not be.

I believe the mark of a successful game is when players give back. Perhaps they want to create something for your setting, such as a new technology for your sci-fi game. Or maybe they want to expand their character’s backstory to fit in better with your game, which in turn gives you new NPCs to use in future games. Maybe they want to build a new fortress or space station.

It’s at this point, when players give back, that you know they are invested in your setting, and you have a successful game.

Earlier tonight, I interviewed Tracy Hickman for a future episode of the Dragonlance Canticle podcast. During the conversation, we talked about gaming, and an interesting topic came up. The basic gist is that role-playing games have become very good at being simulations in nature, but have gotten further away from narrative storytelling and creativity.

Is this the case?

There are those that say that story is independent of the rules. We as gamers bring the story to the table. There’s a lot to be said for that. I know that, no matter the game, I bring the same killer storytelling to the game table.

Can rules be a deterrent to storytelling?

Frankly, yes. Want proof? Look no further than 4th edition’s Character Builder. Don’t get me wrong, Character Builder is a wonderful tool. Yet at the same time, I find that Character Builder is not the most conducive to house rules.

Many rules systems have a mechanic like feats that show extra-special abilities characters can do. They’re faster, they have new powers, they’re great with a sword, etc. etc. If the ability is not listed on the character sheet, do we even try it? Probably not. Yet it may be more dramatic to the story of the game if you can at least try things not on the character sheet (within reason, of course!).

For example, let’s say that you’re playing a rogue. Your rogue is running from a local thug who is out for blood, and the alley dead-ends just ahead. There’s nowhere to run. As the thug comes in, the rogue jumps against the wall, bounces off and does a mid-air flip, landing on his feet on the other side. He’s then able to attack the thug.

Now, in this scenario, we could look up a bunch of rules and find that there isn’t a specific rule covering this. Perhaps you, as the player, were also recently frustrated when you discovered there were no rules for fighting on a tightrope.

Rules can not cover every possibility. They can serve as guidelines. We, as gamers, can easily be drawn into the idea that if the Rules As Written (RAW) doesn’t offer an option, then it can’t be done. Yet this is a restriction on creativity and storytelling. The game suffers in the process.

My advice is to find the rules you want to use, and then approach them in broad strokes. Sometimes, a simple skill check or ability check is all you need. Our rogue from up above may have made an Acrobatics or Dexterity check to pull off that amazing flip. The DM sets an appropriate target number. If the player makes it, then you’ve got Hollywood action in your game.

Allow for the player to be creative and loosen up on the rules. It will allow everyone to have more fun and be a creative boon to your world.