The Cunning: A WHITEHACK Character Class

The Cunning

Level	XP	HD	AV	ST	Slots	Groups	Raises
1	0	1	10	9	1	2	-
2	2,500	2	10	10	1	2	1
3	5,000	2+1	11	11	1	3	1
4	10,000	3	11	12	2	3	2
5	20,000	3+1	12	13	2	4	2
6	40,000	4	12	14	2	4	3
7	80,000	4+1	13	15	3	5	3
8	160,000	5	13	16	3	5	4
9	320,000	5+1	14	17	3	6	4
10	640,000	6	14	18	4	6	5

I

f players of The Strong Class are provided with tools to solve problems through application of direct, physical force and The Deft instead must utilize more discrete/indirect methods (via attunement, etc.), then The Cunning Class is to The Wise as The Deft is to The Strong. Miracles could be said to provide the faculty to address challenges by direct, meta-physical force. The Cunning Class is typically much more subtle with their application of the inexplicable.

Cunning characters may write their Vocation Group next to two different attributes in order to receive double-positive rolls on either attribute when undertaking tasks associated with their Vocation. When participating in Auctions, the d6 rolled by The Cunning is double-positive. The Cunning are known for their clever schemes and plans, always staying a step ahead.

Although similar in effect to Miracles, manifestations of The Cunning’s abilities could easily be attributable to perspicacious preparedness, simple serendipity, or in some cases the fickle finger of Fate herself.  They do not usually have an associated HP cost to use but are often not as dependably predictable or pragmatic as a Wise’s Miracles.

To play a Cunning character, you will need some additional accouterments. A set of Scrabble™ tiles, their pouch-home, and one of the racks that are used to hold the letters. At the start of play, draw seven (7) tiles and place them in the rack. Use these to form words or even simple phrases. These words or phrases can be evoked in play via negotiation with the Referee. Having an applicable Vocation, Affiliation, or even Species Groups can help here.

The overall intent is that effects evoked by the words should remain subtle and almost incidental whenever possible. If Miracles are the player bending reality to fit their whims, then the effects of these words are more akin to reality subtly molding itself around the player's caprices. Drawing the letters WKPUNSK for instance could form the word “SKUNK” which a Cunning Woodsman could conveniently interrupt a group of Goblins arguing in the woodland clearing ahead.  The word “SWORD” could potentially be used to allow a disguised Cunning Buccaneer to produce one on their person (if one could be feasibly concealed/acquired earlier) or even potentially cause the grip of their assailant on the hilt of their blade to slip (requiring a ST), etcetera. Once the word has been used, the player should make a note of the word and their level, then return these tiles to their pouch and draw new ones to bring the total tiles back up to seven.

Nouns are generally the most efficacious, and verbs intended to manipulate the actions of another entity may engender a ST by the target. In addition, particularly potent or inconceivable effects could always necessitate an HP cost or ST at the Referee’s discretion. Objects manifested through the use of these words generally do not last in a useful form longer than a day unless The Cunning assigns them to a Slot.

Slots for this Class can also be used to “Bank” words for later, allowing the character to save a word from their tiles and for later use and immediately draw a new letters to expand their options.  The letters forming the word are set aside, and new ones are drawn to bring the total back up to seven. The Slot is considered filled until the "banked" word is used, at which time the player may choose to either keep the word "banked" or free the Slot and return the tiles. As mentioned above, whenever a word is used, it should be written down on the character’s sheet, along with their level. No word may be evoked more than thrice in a given level.

If a Cunning character happens to BINGO (form and utilize an applicable word using all seven tiles), the Referee should feel free to grant them XP equal to the point cost of the tiles and is encouraged to exercise generosity with the effects magnitude (inapplicable to "banked" BINGOs). If a situation occurs where a Cunning character cannot form a usable word, the Referee may also allow them to share their tiles with the rest of the players, and any player that comes up with an applicable word that ends up being used in play can be awarded its point value in XP and could also derive a specific minor benefit as reality also temporarily shapes itself around them. The occasional mulligan and complete re-draw of a rack should also be permitted if even the Referee is stumped.

Cunning characters may use any weapon, but armor heavier than chain is only permitted by those with a Combat oriented Vocation. While wearing heavier armors, The Cunning's Vocation is limited to only one attribute, and they do not receive their Auction benefit.

Also in the Pipeline: The Charming (solving problems through direct, social means using Slots for mutable affiliations and combat versus Social Armor Class) and The Tough (when sometimes the only means of overcoming a challenge is to survive it).

Review: Kidnap The Archpriest

Skerples has released an adventure entitled Kidnap The Archpriest. It is available for purchase on rpgnow here. Billed as a “Heist” module, it’s 54 pages and surprisingly setting/system neutral. The module features a thankfully ink-friendly layout (black, white, and grays mostly) for printing, and although it is pleasing to read on the screen, some parts are almost essential for physical reference. The layout is clear and crisp even within the denser pages and the illustrations and cartography are very well done.

This module attempts to address an aspect of play that is often overlooked or simply “tacked on” to a larger path by most adventure publishers. It eschews the standard dungeon, sprinkled with antagonists, treasures and wandering boxed text for something more focused on honing the player skills associated with Non-Player Character engagement, planning, and less “directly fictionally material” resource management. It’s billed as a method of gradually teaching players the essential elements of this style of adventure, but it certainly doesn’t neglect the GM.

The module emphasizes the need for player engagement, and this is refreshing. I wish more modules reminded GM’s about this occasionally. What one reads on the page or within the sometimes-ponderous short flavor-fiction of an adventure, will not necessarily translate well to an entertaining adventure if it is missing this essential ingredient in the admixture of role-playing. There is thankfully no lengthy prose-dump or heaped backstory to report here: this is a functionally utilitarian adventure.

It may not necessarily serve as fodder for a successful evening foray if your players have no interest in running a heist or have other pressing goals in mind. Thankfully, the over-arching concept is straightforward enough that this module could slot into a sandbox relatively easy, as the setting is very neutral (but the key conceits, such as Locations and NPCs are not flavorless to the point of being bland…more on that in a bit). There’s even advice for making minor modifications to whittle the module down to slot into other genres.

I’ve always been interested in options for play that do not involve the conventional D&D graph-paper flow-chart experience, but this module seemed a bit ambitious. Could a tutorial be produced that provides the necessary tools to run a successful, entertaining, and exciting adventure without the typical focus on combat encounters and character sheet-bound challenges?

After pawing over KtA a few times, I’m pleased to say it does an admirable job at providing these tools. Here’s the relatively spoiler-free skinny: The player’s characters are offered the task of kidnapping someone (the titular Archpriest). The someone is well-defended and a figure of renown. Most of the first portion of the adventure revolves around the players skills with managing a trinity of resources (Time, Money, and Information) to be sufficiently forearmed to come up an actual, bona-fide plan.

Tension is incredibly important to pull the necessary levers for an exciting and engrossing heist. KtA uses Time for this. People and places have schedules, and things are wont to happen according to strict timetables barring any interference from the players. Limited time ratchets tension and should hopefully help discourage the decision paralysis some players encounter when asked to think creatively. Even a flawed plan is better than no plan if it’s all you have when time’s almost up. The included timetables, schedules and advice for handling this are all extremely useful and helpful.

Money appears to be the lever that can be pulled in lieu or in addition to role-playing/social encounters in order to obtain Information that’s not immediately apparent. While this could vary greatly depending on the finances of the group of characters involved in the adventure, I enjoy that almost everyone and everything not only has a price, but falls under auspices of the incredibly effective admonishment of “No heist should fail because the PC’s can’t find equipment.” The module also features valuable advice for how to obtain things faster (requiring less Time) by spending more Money.

When adequate Time and Money are furnished, the result is completing the triumvirate with Information. This is the necessary element that replaces a hare-brained scheme or plan with something that stands a chance of succeeding. My only recommendation would be for the necessity of this process to be more directly telegraphed to the players: while it can be understood or conveyed through actual play somewhat easily by and to an experienced audience, something in the form of a more direct, if kayfabe breaking, coaching statement to this regard might work a little better for players unaccustomed to less traditional adventures. I’ve gamed with players that see their character abilities and sheets as the hammer for every nail, regardless of the nature of the problem.

The interlocking of these elements is beautiful when taken in concert with other aspects of the module, particularly the development of the NPCs which largely serve as the dispensers of Information that isn’t readily obtainable through devoting precious Time to basic observation (i.e.: a plan built only on a lengthy intelligence-gathering stakeout phase only reveals so much and is almost sure to be discouraging).  NPC descriptions are delightfully brief (and true the system-neutral claims) and contain only the most actionable information needed at hand for a GM to successfully portray the character: The GM is provided with the Name, Appearance, Voice (important and often neglected for bringing a character to life and differentiating them from each other!), Wants, Morality, and Intelligence (expressed in relative, descriptive terms instead of an Ability Score). Stats are conveyed using a simple shorthand, such as “As a Noble” which is expounded upon later in the module in terms of the type of challenge the NPC would present to the PCs should it come to fisticuffs or handily, bluffing them.

Several key NPCs are outlined in this manner and all are distinctive and interesting enough to provide plenty of fodder for the Information gathering phase, but one of the real standouts of this prescribed process is the incredible Rumor table this adventure provides. The table, like some of the NPC descriptions is peppered with the seeds of exciting schemes. I find it very difficult to imagine a situation where the players could make it through the Information gathering phase without a usable germ of an idea on how to proceed with the heist. Some are naturally more feasible than others, but the important thing here is that they open additional options and notions to the players that may have gone unconsidered initially. The complexity of the potentially revealed inter-relationships is truly appealing and arms the GM with some surprises down the road. Central NPCs are also given the aforementioned time-tables and schedules which become indispensably important to help determine their given location when the actual heist is underway.

Locations receive a similarly succinct but still very functional treatment, with enough information to provide quick descriptions (advice within the module hammers this home: this is a Kidnapping, not a room-to-room tour with time to search every nook and cranny), obvious/visible Loot and Plunder, and the additional advantage of some in-line scheduling notes for the times during which NPCs would normally be present. This addition alone makes for a much more dynamic and functional method of describing locations than I’ve typically seen, especially when coupled with the NPC time-tables to understand what they are doing here.

The maps, as previously mentioned are very well done and useful. The inclusion of walk/run times (for Escaping with the quarry is part of the heist after all!) between locations that will be central to most heists is far more useful than a simple distance key for the city. In a very welcome departure from typical presentation, areas of larger maps are reproduced, enlarged, on the same page as their keyed descriptions which is very handy indeed. This makes for much easier reference by the GM for pesky, critical, and inevitable tidbits such as “Where’s the nearest Exit!”

Flavorful encounter tables are also provided to further furnish the GM with some interesting complications and situations. I really can’t see this module going the same way twice, which can seldom be said for more traditional site-based crawls.

The module closes with some additional advice for designing your own heists using the blueprint followed in KtA. It breaks down the constituents of a good heist-based adventure and almost serves as useful design notes/insight when taken into consideration with the rest of the module. There’s some real wisdom, beneficial tips, and warnings of common pratfalls tucked away here that would be useful to anyone attempting to design this style of adventure.

I’ll end with a quick table that will likely only make sense if you purchase the product, which I definitely encourage you to do if you are interested in running any kind of Heist-style adventure:

You saw a Black Endoguard do what?
1	“The blighter was at least two pike-lengths away from us, and we was whispering. When we talked about pilfering the silver though, he perked right up and started moving towards us. We ran we did.”
2	“He strode into the library, to the section where they chain the big books down with fetters as wide around as my arm. Ripped it free and walked to the Fortress with it, he did.”
3	“Saw one tangle with a sorcerer once, I swear on me mum that he flat out just caught a Magic Missile in his gauntlet, crushed it, and only red dust remained.”
4	“An out of control cart was a-barreling down the cobbles toward him. One swing of his Flamberge and both horses were decapitated. Cart crashed into him a right mess of splinters…didn’t even wince.”
5	“Waked right into the sea, sure as the sunshine. No bubbles or nothing. Was down there for what seemed like ages, came back with an anchor that had a skeleton in robes tied to it.”
6	“Oh, they don’t never stop moving…during last years’ archery contest in Market Square one of ‘em waltzed right into the line of fire like it was nothing. Should’ve been hit by any one of the hundred arrows flying his way…”

Review of Veins Of The Earth

Patrick Stuart's Veins of the Earth is now available, after years of bated breath you can purchase the PDF here or, if like myself you prefer physical items, from the LotFP store.

I devoured the PDF version yesterday, unable to patiently wait for hardcover. Here are some of my initial impressions of the content. I may end up appending a review of the physical copy to this once it arrives from Finland.

This work is huge (300+ pages) and ambitious. It was worth the wait, and here are some of my thoughts:

After a brief introduction, the book jumps straight into a bestiary containing fifty-one underworld adversaries. Any reader familiar with Patrick/Scrap Princess’ previous work Fire On The Velvet Horizon (my lulu-replacing hardcover just arrived and it’s quite fetching) will know that monsters written/illustrated by this team are not your usual spear-fodder. They are though-provoking, captivating, and occasionally campaign inspiring. The largest difference here is probably the presentation. Unlike FotVH, Stat Blocks have been provided (largely linqua franca, and I do enjoy the AC notation of “Plate” or “Chain and Shield” rather than attempting to accommodate both the descending/ascending crowd). Another interesting item is a line for each creature noting it’s methods of seeing, which is very handy to have on hand given the light-based innovations to initiative presented later in the book. An additional welcome inclusion is sensory descriptions of most monsters beyond the visual. Sounds and Smells are frequently described in evocative detail, vitally important for situations where the visible spectrum may be limited or unavailable, but also great for incorporating organic traces and warnings for random encounters in the deep and establishing a more sensuous/less-visual descriptive corpus.

There are some very intriguing entries here, and the choice to begin the book with a bestiary is sound. This section very quickly imparts the reader with a sense that the world that contains these creatures is vastly different than the surface. Motivations, methods of predation/ecology, and physiology are all impacted by the deep and this stays in the forefront throughout VEINS. These creatures really help establish the alien expectations of the setting much more swiftly than attempting to telegraph the otherness of the underworld via several paragraphs of information. As for some examples: We have comic-relief Cambrimen, humanoid Olm, and the tragically noble Trilobite Knights. As we’ve seen previously in FotVH, there are some incredible campaign-centerpiece foes:  challenging ones that an intrepid Vein Master would have no difficulty basing an entire campaign around. I’m looking at you AntiPheonix and Civilopede, but I also adore the due-diligence geo-political ramification brainfood the Castillian Caddis Larvae description includes.

An artist gave Caddis Larva gold and precious gems to construct their cases:

This one is the size of a bus and uses gold and the steel of magic weapons.



Following the bestiary, there is another setting-sending chapter on some civilizations/cultures one could encounter in the VEINS. There are thankfully no drow and therefore no dreary Drizzt surrogates to clog your VEINS. Gone is the unfortunate evil matriarchy and arachnid worship. More than a stand-in, the Ælf-Adal could still be used by the lazy and uncreative to fulfill the role, but their motivations and origins are far more interesting. There’s an awesome flowchart to help illustrate the mindset of the Dvargir (deeper dwarfs), and the dErO receive a positively pitch-perfect, Shaver-riffic treatment in their schizophrenic section.

Again, the initial chapters work well to help engross the reader in some of the stark differences that adventures in the VEINS will entail. This is a world where cannibalism is a matter of course, light is money, and money is time.

Speaking of Light, the next chapter addresses its importance (both mechanically and flavorfully) in detail. We are given some advice on how to handle the different modes of vision in traditional fantasy games (spoiler alert: light still generally wins), a sound new way of handling initiative underground based on light source, some achingly prepossessing sample lanterns and the first appearance of an exciting new mechanical procedure that sees significant use in VEINS. For lack of a better name, I’m dubbing it the All Ability Score Check.

This first appears in the section “When Lost In The Dark” (love the implication, not if, but when). The basic gist is a PC is chosen as an actor or guide and a d20 is rolled and compared to each of their Ability Scores/Statistics in sequence, with the specific consequences tied to the failure of a specific stat. This has some pretty interesting and broad applications as a mechanic, and I like it much better than a standard Skill-Check, because it incorporates interesting degrees of failure. Here’s an example of how this works (not from the book, just something I whipped up for illustrative purposes).



Table: Swimming a Sump with a Light Source (VEINS p. 226)

Stat	Fail
Constitution	All further fails cumulative
Strength	Dropped Gear. Lose Half Equipment
Dexterity	A limb is caught, will take margin of failure rounds to free.
Intelligence	Unanticipated current. Pushed further and faster than expected (d6 x margin of failure feet)
Wisdom	Disoriented in an Air Pocket. Lost, don’t know how to get back.
Charisma	Group Separated. Even upstream, Odd downstream. Hope both groups have light.

Typically, the first failure on the list (except for the cumulative Constitution failure) interrupts the sequence of resolution.

This procedure is wonderful, and is used throughout for things like exploration and climbing that have a degree of danger and physicality instead of just a single skill check. They are dangerous, and enforce difficult choices and player’s carefully planning and thinking very hard about their strengths and weaknesses before deciding on a course of action or the actor/guide who will lead them through a challenge. This is the first I’ve seen it used (please let me know if this shows up elsewhere), but it’s really quite lovely.

In the next section is a custom VEINS Character Sheet that places some of the key perils of subterranean peregrination where it should be: front and center. Encumbrance is always an easily hand-waved subsystem, but here we find another add-on to the already easy to adjudicate LotFP standard system. On the VEINS sheet, each Stat (save Charisma) can grant a bonus item or so that you can carry comfortably. The sheet itself will likely soon be available on the LotFP website, so I’m refraining from reproducing it here, but suffice to say it really puts the appropriate attention on how Encumbrance interacts with the different movement modes and allows for very quick “eye-ball checks” of what a character would have on them NOW. UPDATE: VEINS Character Sheet. Climbing rules also receive prominent placement (prognosticating the frequency at which they will likely be invoked) and the addition of the Lamp section enforces the importance of Light. The autopsy of the character sheet segues nicely into the sections on Exploration and Climbing/Falling.

Some real procedural meat follows in the section on Generating the VEINS. Cavern and cave-mapping in traditional games has always been lacking the crucial three-dimensional aspect of cave exploration and the mapping methods outlined here attempt to address this in a novel, abstract way. I’ve yet to actually kick the tires, but it seems simple and sound enough with a bit of practice. A great boon is the Example provided in the Appendix of the book, which takes the reader step-by-step through the procedures and was very helpful for wrapping my brain around some of the more extreme cartographic paradigm shifts (like quadrants representing above/below). The map notation methods used seems serviceable, but the tables included here are incredible. There is a d50 “mix and match/read-across” table of Cave Shape/Kinds of Stone, a fantastic Smells & Sounds table (I still need to get around to posting about my Yoon-Suin smells procedures) and a d100 Encounter table full of session saving inspiration.

But the best is really saved for last here, with 100 individual cave descriptions, all replete with Patrick’s evocative style. They sometime assault the mind’s eye and hurt the brain but I wouldn’t have it any other way. I found myself re-reading several and concentrating on dredging up whispy memories of a wonder-filled and simultaneously terrifying visit to Carlsbad Caverns when I was very young. I vividly recall a point in the tour when they turned out all the lights and left us silent in the utter dark for a few moments (the Appendix section on the different kinds of Darkness resurrected this memory, and there are some interesting 4^th wall breaking ideas here).

The next chapter contains interesting items, treasures and new “Speleo Spells” tailored for a subterranean campaign. I envy Patick’s ability to write about artwork in a stimulating way within the “One Hundred Treasures of The Civilopede” section.

The final proper chapter deals with the gnawing, persistent Hunger and looming madness that await explorers of the VEINS. The procedures outlined for dealing with Rations are a welcome departure from the meticulous tick-mark record keeping and long shopping-sprees that come from tracking consumables to the meal. Marching a provision-laden mule through the intensely anti-navigable VEINS is foolhardy, and would probably just serve as a supper invitation for Spotlight Dogs. Instead we’re presented with a simple three-stage minimal system that oozes gravity. You will be hungry, cannibalization becomes mechanically attractive (informing play), and starvation is a very real danger. It once more stresses that the act of exploring the VEINS necessitates travelling light and is dangerous to the body (in more ways than one). The remainder of the chapter (save a small section on Hypothermia) deals with the gifts the VEINS can bestow upon said body (in the form of mutations/adaptations) and damage to mental state. The treatment of cave madness within VEINS is excellently chilling.

Now a word about the art. This book is absolutely brimming with illustrations and paintings by Scrap Princess. The style will be familiar to any readers who are familiar with the Deep Carbon Observatory, or FotVH. It is fluid, frenetic, and frequent, with some extremely lovely colored frontspiece paintings sprinkled between chapters. Every. Monster. Is. Illustrated. Some more than once, and even though your sensibilities may veer more toward the traditional when it comes to more typically prolix RPG artwork, this style marries quite well with the text in my option. Things in the VEINS are rarely static, and rarely seen with any detail, the impressions conveyed by the illustrations and paintings work well to convey the sometimes-unsettling desperation that pervades this extensive ecosystem. I cannot wait to see some of these pieces within their proper context within a physical book, because artwork of this frequency has another very underrated and added benefit: It is bookmarks.

I can often navigate an RPG book to locate a specific table or rule/procedure by its proximity/placement to artwork. Physical bookmarks quickly become redundant or fall out and dogearing makes me sad. Instead, I can zip directly to the information I need with a simple scan and the thumb/forefinger rapid page-flip, stopping when I see art that I know to be near the object of my intent. I really believe that the sheer amount of distinctive artwork within VEINS will really facilitate the location of information for reference.

I’ll admit that the style itself may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but for me it’s a welcome change from the recycled Sidney Sime/Public Domain chestnuts or artists who only seem to ape Elmore or clumsily imitate Franzetta. I do tend to prefer art that springboards the imagination, to art that seems shoved in for the sake of breaking up text or contaminates the mind’s eye with a specific gloss or vocabulary. Scraps’ art evokes more than dictates, it forces the reader to fill in blanks, which is what a good Vein Master should probably be practicing at every opportunity.

It’s a very good read, even on screen (which is something I seldom have any desire to do).  The layout is lovely.  The PDF proved to be well-crafted, bookmarked, and has a robust index. If you are interested in running games that extend below the surface, I’d put this on a must-have list for the sheer amount of inspiration and research it condenses alone. Your player’s will not crawl out the same way the marched in.

Review of Perdition

I received my copy of Perdition from Lulu a few days ago, and wanted to share a few thoughts. I don’t normally review things, so bear with me.

I like it. It smells good. I liked the PDF enough to whip up a character sheet:

Ink/Toner-bane | Sans background

I tend to do this for new systems/games frequently, since the Character Sheet is an important component of how the Player ends up experiencing the game. Even if a talented Game Master/Agonarch can reliably hijack the interceding nerve receptors for imaginary eyes/ears/tongues/noses during play, Character Sheets are still the silver cord that ties the player to the plane of play.

The catechistic act of creating a Character Sheet is also often the easiest way for me to develop a deeper understanding of the mechanics and system. This is especially useful for something that diverges quite a bit from traditional D&D ruleset like Perdition. Not too far mind you, just far enough that falling back to previous system experience could result in the reader failing to implement important and interesting bits.

Here are a few thoughts:

Setting as Mechanics is an ambitious goal, and this is one of the first attempts I’ve seen and more importantly enjoyed. I’ve personally grown quite weary of books bogged down with setting information that never seems to be truly player accessible. The alternative (“just rules”) is usually completely devoid of setting, and this genericism can leave one uninspired. Perdition isn’t strictly an attempt to compromise between these methods, nor is it a hybridization of both approaches, it’s a novel and artful mutation from standard presuppositions of what a role-playing game book should do.

In Perdition the pitch is short, to the point, and although the premise may not appeal to every table, it is expertly telegraphed through the choices players make as they generate their characters, the equipment list, and codified within how the rules are invoked.

The discovery of Perdition's setting is one that takes place incrementally throughout, for as one encounters new rules and mechanics these in turn perform a double duty by dovetailing directly into the world. A game that treats “Wickedness” as an Ability Score or features rules for adjudicating Infernal Contracts immediately intimates some stark setting implications.

This process of setting exploration as one reads through the rules was pleasurable to me. Perusing Perdition for setting acquaintanceship is akin to eating an artichoke. You start on the outside, pulling off petals and scraping the small pulpy portion between your teeth for a trifling taste of the heart here and there. With each ensuing bract, you’re getting more to ruminate.

This is not to say the setting is spoon-fed or parsimoniously trickled out, it’s simply persistently present within the very tools you will be using to play the game, as opposed to padding the page-count with prose. Setting investiture for players needs these sorts of short cuts. Handouts or homework seldom work for the majority of gaming groups. Perdition's lack of roadside attraction fluff-prose may be a bit jarring at first, but the sly marriage of mechanics and setting consecrated here is a very elegant way to arrive at the destination.

To reiterate: This isn't an "implied setting" in any sense, it percolates throughout, emulsified within the rules you use to explore the very world portrayed. It's nifty that way.

I also appreciate the candor of voice, and any reader of Courtney’s blog probably has at least a passing familiarity with his writing style. Perdition’s text is refreshingly frank and uncompromising, especially in terms of the tidbits of advice for the Agonarch incorporated throughout. There's even a bit of humor here and there.

It’s the primary tone of the text that could cause some to ruffle quills at a perceived didacticism creeping in intermittently, but I think it’s important to read on, and see that the motives behind the occasional sweeping intransigent statement are frequently succinctly provided. This is quite nice. Rather than simply admonishing the reader to “Do this” there are frequent explanations as to the “why it’s important.” I don’t find it condescending – it’s an improvement over the normal homebrew heartbreaker, which can sometimes err on the side of almost too chummy elbow-rib-jabbing. This in turn can result in something that may be easy to read, but is either honeycombed with lacuna or largely consists of prosaic and repetitive advice for its own sake.

I’d be remiss to fail to mention that there are also some contributions from the exceptional Arnold K. I could be mistaken, but his fingerprints seem to be all over the especially evocative Fiendish Patrons. The accompanying illustrations had a cockle-warming familiarity to them at first glance, and imagine my surprise to discover they were by none other than the marvelous Russ Nicholson. It's one of many examples of a lovely interblending of the new and old here.

I tend to find insight into the design process to be useful and fascinating, and would like to see more of it. Anyone familiar with some of the great things to come out of game development over the last several years with the Old School Renaissance will  see some things that hearken to it. I particularly liked the “Sombreros May Be Splintered” permutation. 

Even if the recommendations and rules are not all new and groundbreaking, they are still a bit like the joy of discovering a new pocket in an old overcoat. Perdition provides a splendid blend between the old, comfortable familiarity of this style of play alongside multiple neoteric and thought-provoking morsels.

I’m still digesting, but so far my gripes are surprisingly few and mostly on the side of nit-picky. I enjoy the implementation of Physical and Mental Hit Die, and Struggles may finally be the grappling/psionic rule solution I loot first.

The near-symmetry of some things system-wise may prove a minor bother though, as some may be spoiled by more unified mechanics. This came to light in the character sheet design, as I noticed that some components of the system clicked in ingeniously similar ways, but others still stood out, seemingly disconnected at first glance.

I understand why there are no Social Hit Dice, or a true Social Armor Class to compliment the Physical and Mental counterparts, but this may seem to some a little like a missed opportunity to streamline the ruleset a little further. Still, I do feel that the persistence of the 2D6 bell curve and Courtney’s excellent previous work mechanizing Social Interaction with the Reaction Roll and Social Encounters in On the Non-Player Character are important, and this lack of unification doesn’t come across as a tall poppy or proud nail. Most fans of the older games are not averse to the inclusion of subsystems, and like the wonderful dice-pool Magic System, it helps set these “attack types” apart. In a good way.

Could it be raided for new rules/ideas? Absolutely. Grab the PDF if you are curious and I think there are some Free Basic Rules in the works. There are several very interesting and different approaches within this book (I’m still wrapping my head around the way Initiative Dice are handled) and most will fit in fine with D&D of all flavors, streamlining where necessary and elsewhere plugging directly into the chassis where additional subsystems are wanted. Is it possible to reskin or extract all the underlying rules and run this game using a different setting? I don’t really think so. The truly intriguing thing about Perdition is how intrinsically symbiotic most of the the mechanics seem to be to the setting, and I fear that the painstaking process of extracting one from the other wouldn’t result in anything with near as much flavor and function. 

Skill Systems: Tweaking "The Middle Road"

Inspired to stitch together this post out of my languishing House Rules document by this post over on Papers & Pencils.

I also like to use “The Middle Road” approach, with a few modifications:

Skill Rating	Skill Die/Dice
UNABLE	1d4
ROOKIE	1d6
NOVICE	1d8
VERSED	1d10
EXPERT	1d12
MASTER	2d6
LEGEND	3d6

The “Ratings” are expanded a little bit, success is still on a 5 or more (making UNABLE impossible for the player without circumstantial modifiers...which are generally kept low/stingy). The bell-curve comes into play with MASTER which really increases the chance of success, but with a cost.

I don't tie skill improvement to level in any meaningful way most of the time. This is mostly to mitigate the “20 HD MASTER Blacksmith NPC” and “I gained a level and am suddenly an EXPERT at Tracking” issues, although Thief classes and formal training-as-cash/time-siphon can open up some additional improvement avenues during downtime with some good fictional explanations. Instead I like to tie Skill Rating improvement to actual play.

Any successful Skill Roll (5+) prompts for another skill roll immediately, and on a maximum die/dice result, the first letter of the next Rating is written down. Once you spell it out, you've achieved the next Rating (this is why all Ratings have 6 letters).

This has diminishing returns: It becomes more difficult to improve/master a skill as you get better as the chances of success increase, the chances of rolling the maximum also decrease. I also like that improvement is actually tied to “Doing the thing,” so players are encouraged to attempt it, even if the odds may not be great (Practice makes perfect!).

Skill Rating	Success Chance	Improve Chance
UNABLE	-	25%
ROOKIE	33.3%	16.67
NOVICE	50%	12.5%
VERSED	60%	10%
EXPERT	66.7%	8.33%
MASTER	83.33%	2.78%
LEGEND	98.15%	.46%

 If it's too harsh, you could also allow improvement on a “max roll” on the attempt itself, but this could possibly increase the speed of advancement a bit and homogenize expertise more quickly.

Thief types have some additional Rating advancement options to help protect their niche, and to ameliorate the malevolence of the fickle dice gods. Upon gaining a level, the Thief may choose one:

•                 Immediately Roll on All Skills for a Letter
•                 Three free letters to be distributed to any skill or skills the player chooses.

If they are part of a guild structure, they may also have easier access to Teacher/Mentor types for certain, non-competitive skills.

If you use class-based XP advancement (with faster advancing Thieves), another option is to allow Thief types the option of immediately spending 100 XP for an additional improvement roll on a Skill success. But my feeling is generally these Classes will likely be making the most Skill attempts anyway, their opportunities for improvement occur more often.

Another option for all classes is to seek out a Teacher/Mentor of a higher Skill Rating in the same skill that is amenable to training the character (often an adventure in itself once you’re seeking EXPERTs and above). After a week of downtime training, the Teacher rolls their Skill die/dice, and on a success the player is permitted to make a Skill roll.

If successful (over 5), they gain 1 letter, if unsuccessful they lose a letter as they have to shed or “unlearn” bad technique. If they roll the maximum (as for standard improvement), they gain 1 letter for each step in Rating difference (so a MASTER would grant the NOVICE three letters). This can be repeated (within reason, and time/resources permitting…training isn’t always cheap or free…I enjoy quest-dispensing Mentors), until the Teacher fails their Skill Roll, or the player reaches the Rating directly below the Teacher. At which point, the Teacher has no new wisdom to impart the student. I’d probably also prevent further training if a player is ever reduced to UNABLE in this way due to poor rolls. No risk, no reward.

Another option is to make the player hunt down a Teacher/Mentor with not only sufficient higher Rating in the Skill the player wishes to train, but also a TEACHER skill high enough to reduce the chances of failure. By using the TEACHER skill to transfer knowledge, instead of the skill itself the learning process becomes much more dicey. This makes finding a good Teacher almost as important as a proficient one. 

All starting characters receive 1 Skill at NOVICE based on Background, they can improve this skill to VERSED and/or take another at NOVICE by taking a voluntary UNABLE in a Skill (max 2 UNABLE skills). Anything else attempted is done at the ROOKIE rating. I’ve toyed with the idea of replacing/supplementing Ability Score modifiers with additional skills or letters (so someone with a -2 in Strength has to take two UNABLE skills involving Strength… or  someone with a +3 in Dexterity gets three free Ratings or letters to a skill or skills involving DEX). Thieves get more starting skill options, but I’ll probably need to cover that in a separate Class post.

I do still really like the idea of a Skill system emphasizing what the player's “Can't Do” rather than what they can (which I touched on here)...to prevent that character sheet paralysis that occurs with really granular skill systems and an invisible DC. When the odds of success are telegraphed to the player with everything they can attempt they may not even attempt the thing. Even though very little resolution is intended to be Player Facing in older versions of D&D (I touch on this problem in this ancient post), when improvement is tied to attempts, players may be more likely to try.

I briefly flirted with expanding Ratings a bit more, but I'm still not sure of the die/dice I would use:

ROOKIE              

TAUGHT

NOVICE              

TESTED             

ADROIT

VERSED

EXPERT             

MENTOR           

MASTER             

LEGEND             

SAVANT

As always, I’m open to thoughts/suggestions.