Inspiration: Wizards

Here is a game which draws its strength from the reality of the powers beyond, where ritual, art, and music have the ability to change the course of events, and where mystical enchantments become real, not only in the world of WIZARDS, but in our world as well.

– Avalon Hill advertisement

Wizards, Coral J. F. Mosbø © 2015; used with permission

Once upon a time, “our culture [became] more and more ego-centric and materialistic, epitomized by psychologists who encouraged us to become 'self-actualized,' with no responsibility toward the feelings of others.”  Additionally, “The genre of High Fantasy [fell] prey to the 'Gates of Delirium' syndrome” and “fighting and the violence [became] the most important thing, and Good [was] turned to Evil.”  Those dark times were “the Eighties.”  In response to this iniquitous age, “the initial concept for Wizards was born: a game which would once again portray the Good side of things: the Light, the Mystery, the Calling to the Heavenly Realm.”

The quotes above are from an exegesis of the game¹ by Thomas Mosbø, co-designer (along with Coral Mosbø) of Wizards, an Avalon Hill bookcase game published in 1982.  A portion of the above image was used for the box cover.  The full image features three of the titular Wizards; according to the indicia of their staves, they are (L to R):  Aevarex (“fairest of the High Wizards, Healer of Harms”), Ishkatar (“the greatest of all beings that inhabit the Enchanted Isles”), and Tolmitar (“possesses intense mental energies of Light”).  Incidentally, the Wizards “have existed from beyond time.”

Diverse elements combined to influence the creation Wizards; among these are:  Tolkien, cultural anthropology, prog rock (a Yes song is quoted on the second page of the rules), and Zoroastrianism.  Doubtless, the most important influence came from the Wizards and Elflords.  According to the designers' notes for the game:

In Gaming, as in Ritual and Art, players act out truths.  The world of the Game is a real world – the actions which transpire throughout its course are real events, and the personalities encountered have actual existence.  The players enter the world of the Game, experiencing and establishing the truths of that world.  But these truths are not locked only into the world of the Game, for by playing it the players make its truths realities in our world.

Therefore, “...we have hope that in actually playing Wizards, some good will come into our world, increasing the values expressed through the symbols our game.”¹

The game takes place in the Enchanted Islands.  At the beginning of each game, players distribute territory tiles (examples of which are displayed at the conclusion of this post) upon a game board representing water.  Thus, each playing of the game allows for a distinct configuration of areas.  The Enchanted Islands are afflicted by the Evil Spirit.  Only the High Druid Priest Rüktal can permanently defeat the Evil Spirit by casting “the Spell of Spells.”  In order to cast said spell, Rüktal needs a set of Sacred Gems which the High Wizards keep.  This is where the players come in.  Each player must join one of the Magical Orders (Wizard, Sorcerer, or Druid), develop abilities, eventually collect the Sacred Gems and then deliver them to Rüktal.

Sorcerer, Wizard, & Druid, Coral J. F. Mosbø © 2015; used with permission

For much of the game, players complete tasks drawn from a deck of task cards.  Examples of tasks include:

Recover the wandering Dreamer, Solina, from a random COMMON OR ELVEN space.  Return her to Belbidar, Warden of the Crescent Ridge A4 Common Town.

Escort Truvior and Corianna from the Glendale C3 Elven Dwelling to the Star Crest to perform the Star Dance for the Awakening of the Mysteries of Hope.

Release the soul of a Dolphin from its spellbound entrapment in a RANDOM space.  Return the soul to the Sea at least TWO Water spaces from land.

Successfully completing tasks improves one or more attributes (Knowledge, Perception, and Power).  By improving attributes, 'players' can advance to higher ranks of a Magical Order, thereby gaining new or improved spells.  Examples of spells include Boat Summoning, Swiftness, and Demon Dispelling.

Each turn represents a day of game time.  Every fortnight, “the Evil Spirit” attacks.  At first, the attacks are limited to placing demons and transporting the 'players' randomly.  Starting on the third fortnight, the Evil Spirit will “take over” a territory, effectively removing that territory from play.  The only way to prevent this for a given fortnight is for the players to successfully complete ten tasks.  Essentially, the action in Wizards is a 'pick-up and deliver' routine – made progressively more difficult as areas are removed from play.  As Mosbø states,  “Wizards is a race rather than a combat.”²  Since one of the Wizards is a traitor, there is also a mystery/deduction component.

The game is quasi-cooperative.  In his exegesis, Mosbø claims, “a game which must have a winner must be competitive, and so we limited considerably the options for cooperation.”¹  Why must the game have an individual winner?  The 'competition' is against the game mechanism of the Evil Spirit.  Even without 'limited cooperation', a single winner could be determined not by who completes the delivery of Sacred Gems first but instead by a player's total points or number of successfully performed tasks.  There can still be tension as player may, at certain times in the game, decide between 'going for points' or working toward the common good.  With the game's winning condition as it is, there is an effectively infinite supply of each type of Sacred Gem – each player collects his or her own set and (should any be lost or stolen) additional instances are available.  This profusion of Sacred Gems does not seem realistic (as opposed to spell-trapped dolphin souls).

The world of Wizards and its predicament could easily serve as the basis for a role-playing campaign, especially one not focused on violence.  The backstory of the Enchanted Islands is more extensive than what I covered here.  The tasks offer a variety of interesting adventure seeds.

Art by Coral J. F. Mosbø

Art by Coral J. F. Mosbø

¹  “Rivers of Thought.”  Heroes (Vol. 1, No. 5)
²  “Tactics and Strategy in Wizards.”  Heroes (Vol. 1, No. 5) 

Customized Classes (part IV)

Art by Léon Bakst

Here are more classes designed via a system derived from the one presented by Paul Montgomery Crabaugh in Dragon 109 (May 1986).

Rakasta

The rakasta were introduced in The Isle of Dread:

The rakasta are a race of nomadic, cat-like humanoids.  They walk erect, much like humans, but are covered with soft, tawny fur and have feline heads and features.

In presenting them as a class, I decided to provide them with abilities typically associated with cats; hence three thief abilities and the feature of “feline senses” (mainly, a cat's ability to see in the dark).

Rakasta favor a weapon called “war claws,” inflicting 1-4 points of damage.  In terms of 'Weapons Allowed', I have included war claws as a distinct weapon type.  Without the war claws, rakasta can inflict 1-2 points of damage.  According to the Expert Rulebook (p. 25), this is the same amount of 'unarmed combat' damage inflicted by humans (and elves and dwarves and halflings).  However, unlike humans (and their ilk), rakasta have two claw attacks per round; they also have a bite attack (1-4 damage).  The 'additional attacks' cost covers a second claw attack as well as a bite.  Even so, I think it is appropriate for player character rakasta to suffer a -2 cumulative modifier per attack beyond the first in a round.  Additionally, I think a rakasta's armor class should be unfavorably modified by 1 during any round in which it chooses to bite.  Of course, if a rakasta elects to use a normal weapon, it is restricted to one attack per round.


Aranea

Aranea were also introduced in The Isle of Dread:

Aranea are an intelligent giant spider race...The front limbs of an aranea are divided into flexible digits.  The aranea uses these to grasp prey and manipulate simple tools.

I felt the aranea should have the thief ability of 'Climb Walls'.

Aranea are web-spinners.  This is a useful ability and it would have a greater cost, but there is no evidence that aranea can produce webs so quickly for this ability to be useful in combat situations.  Naturally, aranea should be restricted regarding the amount of webs that they can produce.  Perhaps the equivalent of one wall of webs per day is an appropriate limit.

An aranea has only one (natural) attack; a bite that inflicts 1-6 points of damage.  Additionally, the bite is venomous, meaning a target must save vs. poison or die.  Such an attack may be worth more than what I indicated; however, just like with webs, there should be a limit to the amount of venom an aranea can generate.  Perhaps an aranea can generate enough venom per day for a number of bites equal to (Constitution + Level) / 3.

Most significantly, aranea are spell-casters; these are actual spells, not abilities that generate spell-like effects.  In fact, mention is made that “they spend much of their time in magic research.”  It seems to me that – in order to study and cast magic-user spells – aranea need spell books (or something very much like spell books).  Given their limited ability to use tools, I cannot imagine aranea creating spell books, nor can I imagine aranea easily obtaining spell books.  I think that aranea must weave and tie strands of web together in order to create magical documentation; something akin to quipo.  A 'read magic' spell should be sufficient for non-aranea spell-casters to decipher such a thing.


Beast Lord / Beast Lady

In Crabaugh's system, the Animal Trainer 'specialty' had a 30% cost and was evidently meant to represent the ability described for Animal Trainers in the 'Specialists and Mercenaries' section of the expert rules.  An Animal Trainer – as described in the rulebook – is limited to one type of animal; such a restriction is hardly appropriate for a player character.  Starting at first level and with each level thereafter, the Beast Lady/Lord chooses a type of animal about which she or he is knowledgeable (and can therefore train).  For the first few levels, the Beast Lady/Lord should be limited to types of animals that are commonly domesticated (e.g., dogs, horses, et al.).  Once the Beast Lady/Lord reaches sixth level (or thereabouts) she or he can start choosing more exotic animal types (e.g., reptiles, bears, hippogriffs, et al.)  Assuming the circumstances are not threatening, a Beast Lady/Lord can usually obtain a positive reaction from 'untamed' specimens of an animal type with which she or he is knowledgeable.  The information in the Animal Trainer description can be used as a rudimentary guide for the amount of time required for training.

A 'Beast Buddy' is a single animal of 2 Hit Dice or less that has an empathic connection to the Beast Lady/Lord; it is very much like a familiar, although the basic game does not provide rules for familiars.  For an animal, a Beast Buddy is uncommonly intelligent and loyal.  A Beast Lady/Lord starts the game with her or his Beast Buddy and does not need to train it.  (At the discretion of the DM, a Beast Lady/Lord might have two Beast Buddies of the same species with 1 Hit Die or less.)

In addition to a Beast Buddy, a Beast Lady/Lord can have “animal retainers.”  Although not as intelligent as a Beast Buddy and without an empathic connection, animal retainers are loyal enough to sacrifice themselves for the Beast Lady/Lord.  A Beast Lady/Lord does not start the game with animal retainers; they must be found and trained during play.  The maximum number of animal retainers a Beast Lady/Lord may have is the same as the maximum number of human(-oid) retainers based on the character's Charisma score.  (e.g., A Beast Lord with a Charisma score of 13 can have five animal retainers and five 'human' retainers.)  If an animal retainer dies in the service of a Beast Lady/Lord, the Beast Lady/Lord should lose experience points –perhaps the Hit Dice of the lost animal retainer times 10% of the character's current level requirement.

The 'heal animal' feature allows the Beast Lady/Lord to restore 1 - 4 hit points to an animal; the Beast Lady/Lord must touch the animal to accomplish this.  The 'speak with animals' feature functions just like the cleric spell.  The 'charm animal' feature functions just like magic-user 'Charm Person' spell except that it only affects animals.

Aquatic Elf

The aquatic elf actually requires less experience to advance compared to regular elves. There are several reasons for this: ‘hit progression’ is less frequent, ‘spell progression’ is less powerful, the only ‘armor allowed’ is a shield, and the aquatic elves would have little use for the languages of orcs, hobgoblins, and gnolls. Instead, aquatic elves can breathe underwater, have an impressive swimming movement rate, and they know the language of dolphins. (According to the Rules Cyclopedia, “Dolphins are intelligent and have their own…language.” Thus, using game logic, communication with dolphins should not require a ‘speak with animals’ spell.)

Since aquatic elves are ‘magic-user’ spellcasters, they ought to have spell books, just like their land-lubber cousins. Books, of course, are not practical for a submarine environment. I imagine that aquatic elves, when they need to record information, engrave symbols upon sea shells. As such, an aquatic elf would have a collection of shells in place of a spell book.


 Falcon People
 












These beings appear like humans except with a falcon's head, wings, and talons (all in proportion to the human form).  Because of low bone density, they use a d4 for Hit Dice.  They posses the visual acuity of birds of prey.

The 'additional attacks' feature refers to one beak attack (1-4 damage) and two talon attacks (1-6 damage each) per round.  The talon attacks do not suffer the multiple attack penalty that applies to rakasta, but they can only be used while the character is flying.  The beak attack is subject to the same armor class modifier as a rakasta's bite and does suffer the multiple attack penalty if used in the same round as the talon attacks.

Regarding the 'great eagle' language, the Creature Catalogue states, “great eagles are much more intelligent [than their normal cousins].”  Additionally, “They have their own rudimentary language.”  Just as with aquatic elves and dolphins, it is reasonable to think that bird people can communicate with great eagles in their own language.


Dralasite

These entities were one of the original four player character races in Star Frontiers :

Dralasites are short, rubbery, aliens that have no bones or hard body parts. Their skin is a flexible membrane that is very tough and scratchy. It is generally dull gray and lines with dark veins that meet at the Dralasite’s two eye spots…The Dralasite’s central nerve bundle (brain), numerous small hearts and other internal organs float in a pudding-like mixture of protein and organic fluids. Dralasites breathe by absorbing oxygen directly through their skin, so they have no lungs. They are omnivores, but eat by surrounding their food and absorbing it, so they have no digestive tract or intestines.

Why stat them as a Basic D&D class? Why not?  Maybe they're descendants of an expedition that was stranded on the campaign planet ages ago.

If shapechange can be used to shift into an alternate form, I assume it can represent Dralasite malleability.  A Dralasite doesn't actually acquire an alternate form, but it is able to modify its body; for instance, it can generate a number of limbs equal to ([STR + DEX] / 5) + 2.  'Fashioning' its body requires several minutes, so 'adapting' in the middle of combat or emergencies is not likely.

Dralasites have a keen sense of smell, so 'heightened olfactory sense' is appropriate.  A Dralasite's lie detection ability does not work like the Detect Deception skill.  A first level Dralasite has a 5% chance of detecting a lie; this chance is increased by 5% every level to a 90% chance maximum.  If a roll is successful, the Dralasite receives a cumulative +10% bonus on additional attempts upon the same target on the same day (to a maximum chance of 90%).  On the other hand, if a roll is failed with regard to a certain target, the Dralasite character cannot successfully use this ability upon that target again that day.  Of course, the DM should make all lie detection rolls so that the player doesn't know if the Dralasite character failed.

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Green Martian (male)

These beings were first described in Edgar Rice Burroughs' A Princess of Mars.  Given their huge size and four arms, 'normal' armor will not accommodate them.  The 'leather' listed as 'Armor Allowed' refers to straps and belts a Green Martian warrior might wear; enough material for two full suits of 'normal' leather armor must be tailored for the Green Martian form.  Upon reaching fourth level, it is assumed that a Green Martian has collected enough metal from his fallen foes so that – when worn – it is the equivalent of chainmail.  By virtue of his eye stalks, a Green Martian warrior can only be surprised on a roll of 1 instead of 1-2.  His tusks do 1-6 damage in lieu of any other attack in a given round.

If You Kill a Squirrel in Atlantasia, Be Sure to Eat It

In Atlantasia, the gods take a direct role in wildlife conservation. For instance, we learn from page 111 of John Holland's The Realms of Atlantasia that squirrels “are prized by the goddess Dannuih.” (From what I can tell, Dannuih is some kind of druid goddess – like, D&D druids, not historically accurate druids.) This means that anyone who kills a squirrel loses 5 experience points. I'm down with this; I mean, it's not like you're going to become some big, macho hero by exterminating squirrels. Dannuih isn't a hard-ass about it, if one or two squirrels are killed for food, she lets it slide (“the goddess gives the world this” – mighty white of her).

Dannuih likes dolphins too. If you kill a dolphin, you lose 25 experience points, whether you eat it or not. However, losing 25 E.P.¹ is the least of your worries if you threaten a dolphin. The leader of the mer-people, Tri-Danté² (a.k.a. “The Demon of the Deep”), and a posse of mermen will show up to protect any threatened dolphins. According to page 174, “Tri-Danté stands 30' tall, with...a strong set of fins for legs.” Page 129 tells us that “Tri-Danté uses a uni-whale as his mount! ” Uni-whales have a single horn and “two magical attacks (tidal wave & ice).” Uni-whales “have a high intelligence (7).”³ I guess dolphins are more than twice as smart since – as indicated in a previous post – they have an intelligence of 15. Anyway, Tri-Danté is loaded with magic items.

Meridian lizards are one of the few things about Atlantasia that I actually like. They are sensitive to “energy lines.” As such, “The stripes down their back will change color” depending upon the power of any given energy line. That's the extent of what I like about meridian lizards; Holland, however, can't leave it at that. There's no E.P. value listed for meridian lizards, not even a negative amount. Per page 119:

It is absolutely FORBIDDEN to kill a meridian lizard...Should anyone be caught killing a meridian lizard (and you WILL be caught), you would owe a quest to the first Deity that shows up after the death of the lizard (usually 3 – 10ss).

That doesn't sound too bad. If you're bored, just kill a meridian lizard and some god will show up with a quest.

Another (rare) good idea from Holland is his treatment of unicorns. Killing a unicorn “costs you the life of one you love...and the Deities will ensure this...” The twist is that the player chooses which loved one the gods kill off. I guess the gods know if you really love someone and aren't just throwing out a name. Unicorns don't provide any E.P., so the only reason to kill one (other than spite) is to collect its blood. Supposedly, according to page 147, “putting unicorn blood on a weapon and striking any who are not of pure heart will curse them to a painful, burning death within 1 season.” If you really need to kill a unicorn, you might not want to do so on the faerie island of Xyla. Unicorns are serious business there; every Faerie Being on the island will be trying to kill you within two semi-segments after you kill a unicorn.

Sea turtles are worth 200 E.P. but, according to page 127:

Sea turtles are revered by sailors because sea turtles ride the currents of the oceans they reside in. Thus sailors will always know where the tides are and in what direction the tides are going. A ship of sailors will develop a special relationship with a certain sea turtle. Therefore, should that turtle die, those sailors will know and will avenge the death of their friend.

In other words, within three cycles of killing a sea turtle, a ship of sailors⁴ will show up to battle the killer.

House cats, horses, oxen, and camels don't offer any E.P., but there do not seem to be any inherent negative ramifications for killing them.

¹ E.P. is more realistic than X.P. because 'experience' begins with an 'e.'

² Get it? Tri-Danté – trident – Neptune. Get it?

³ Regular whales “have a very decent intelligence (8) ,” but they don't have magic attacks.

⁴ “10% chance of being pirates”

Spies in Atlantasia

John Holland concedes that the fantasy setting of The Realms of Atlantasia necessarily obviates some degree of realism so, in fairness, we cannot criticize each instance of inexact correlation between Atlantasia and our quaint reality.  Now, your humble host makes no claim to expert knowledge of espionage practices in the real world; however, espionage in TROA differs decidedly (and perhaps necessarily) with how espionage is portrayed in real world media.

In the real world (or so the media would have us believe), espionage is the clandestine collection of information, typically sponsored by a political and/or military entity.  This ‘collection of information’ is effected, in part, by covert operatives (i.e., spies).  A complication of espionage is that the information source often has its own espionage apparatus.  So, there are various entities, each trying surreptitiously to acquire information about one another while simultaneously safeguarding their own information.  These activities engender not just agents, but counter agents, double agents, sleeper agents, etc. Things get complicated and confusing, causing an inefficient deployment of resources. The situation is different with Atlantasian spies and their activities.  Holland presents an intriguing concept but – as is his want – he imbues that concept with Atlantasian goofiness.

In Atlantasia, any and all spying is conducted by the Spies' Guild.  There are no competing organizations to complicate matters.  Like most guilds, the Spies' Guild does not take kindly to outsiders plying the guild trade.  Every once in a while, some journeyman thinks he’s slick enough that he can get away with a freelance operation.  Well, he can’t.  A thief can get away with an occasional side job without the Thieves’ Guild taking notice, but nothing gets past the Spies' Guild.  You have a better chance of finding a half-elf sunbathing in Baba-Luna than you do of successfully defying the guild.  Holland has too much decorum to detail what happens to freelancers, yet between the lines a gruesome fate is implied.  In fact, Holland spends less than a page discussing the Spies' Guild; much of this post is extrapolated from the notion of an espionage monopoly in a fantasy setting.

The Spies’ Guild has a Guild Master in every city.  Each Guild Master oversees a spy network that extends beyond his (or her) city.  According to page 524, “The Spies' Guild is run by a being no one has ever met, or at least no one has ever remembered meeting this being.” 'This being' has its own network that relays communications from the Guild Masters to 'this being' and vice versa.  (I have a theory as to the identity of 'this being' but I shall not disclose it in this post.)

There is no permanent Guild House for spies in any city; the de facto Guild House changes frequently. Typically, the “top members” take turns in hosting the Guild House “with a room always available for the Guild Master (who[m] no one ever sees, just hears) whom all information goes through.” Apparently, individual spies are granted an audience with the Guild Master in order to convey information. In an effort to control the dissemination of information, spies are not allowed to congregate. You see, “the...members have no idea who the other members are!”  More to the point, anybody can be a spy:  a dwarf shaman, a gypsy horse trader, an elf noble, a priest of Ta-Khu, a gnome sailor, a cosmic mage...anybody.  I bet there are even dolphin spies.*  "The point is; spies are everywhere!"

If spies don’t know one another, how do they gain admittance to the Guild House?  Holland doesn’t say.  I would think that any worthwhile spy should be able to infiltrate any household.

If the location of the Guild House is secret and the location varies, how do spies know where to go (especially if they do not communicate among themselves)?  Good question.  From page 524:

Spies know where the Guild House is...by hidden messages placed in certain inns around the city. These messages are placed in places only a spy would know to look and written in symbols only spies know. 

Please note the phrase “in symbols.” The Thieves’ Guild has its own language, but the Spies’ Guild doesn’t.  If they had their own language, then it would be possible for non-spies to learn it or understand it via magic. Using “symbols” the Spies' Guild can place messages in public places yet maintain their secrecy.

Holland says, “All full-fledged spies have small pins that distinguish them as spies and those are only shown to the Guild Master. ” I think that Holland is supplying Spies' Guild disinformation to us in this statement. How can you show something to someone who is never seen?  Perhaps it is time to discuss some of the benefits that spies obtain at high level.  At 50th level, spies gain the ability of 'True Insight.'  Holland doesn't explain what one can accomplish with 'True Insight' and the success rate is 75% at best, so I don't think it's very useful.  At 90th level, however, spies get a 'Helm of Telepathy.'  Guild Masters don't need to see any secret decoder pins; they know who their agents are via telepathy!

Inquiring readers may want to know how prospective clients actually contact the Spies' Guild.  That's another good question and I have thought many times about this.  The way I figure it, you don't contact the Spies' Guild, they contact you.  Their information gathering abilities are so effective, they can anticipate the needs of their clientele.  Perhaps much of the guild's business is simple blackmail.

If the Spies' Guild is the only game in town, doesn't it present a conflict of interest?  If you want the services of a spy, isn't it likely that the subject of your spying may want to spy against you (or at least be informed that they are the targets of espionage)?  That's the brilliant part; the Spies' Guild plays both sides against one another.  Ultimately, after taking money from both sides (I don't think that Helms of Telepathy grow on trees, but I could be wrong), the side that prevails is the side that is more valuable to the Spies' Guild in the long term.  That's why you can't afford to antagonize the Spies' Guild, they can (and will) help your enemies.

Finally, how are spies recruited?  I refuse to speculate.
 
*  Atlantasian dolphins have an Intelligence of 15.  The highest Intelligence score a player character can have (without magical aid) is 14 and that is only achievable by a noble spy (or a spy noble) where the player rolled a 10 for Intelligence.