The Vagaries of War and Fortune

Siege of Stralsund – 1628

Public domain via Wikimedia Commons

In the immediately previous En Garde post, your humble host started to provide information about military campaigns. The outcome of any such campaign is predicated by military ability – “the numerical quantification of a character's ability to lead men in battle.” Although not mentioned until page 19, military ability is determined as a part of character generation. Unlike the other ability scores, only one die is used to establish military ability. It is also necessary to determine military ability for many non-player characters. For instance, when a player character belongs to a regiment on campaign, military ability must be established for each commanding officer (and their adjutants) of every unit level under which the player character serves. Page 21 tells us, “Campaign battle results determination begins at the highest level and proceeds to the lowest.” The roll of a die is compared to military ability on the Battle Result chart, first for the highest ranking officer and then down the chain of command with a sort of 'trickle down' effect. In the example on page 22, each of eight non-player characters is provided a military ability so that the outcome of a campaign can be found for a single player character. These military ability scores are recorded so that they will remain consistent when needed for future campaigns. This would seem to be a great deal of bookkeeping. Your humble host understands there are computer programs that calculate and store these values but it is the principle that is distressing.

In any event, the personal outcome for a player character is eventually resolved. The player makes a number of 2d rolls, trying to achieve a certain number or greater in order to (a.) survive, (b.) be 'mentioned in dispatches,' (c.) be promoted, and (d.) acquire plunder. (This method is the direct forebear of the process used for each 'term of service' during Traveller character generation.) Before making a roll for survival, a player can choose to apply a positive modifier to the roll in order to have a greater chance of survival. This is called poltroonery and, if discovered, can cause the character to be disgraced. On the other hand, a player can opt for reckless bravery; this increases the chance of death but also increases the chances of being 'mentioned in dispatches,' being promoted, and acquiring plunder. Being 'mentioned in dispatches' entitles the character to one-to-six points of status for three months and one point of status per month thereafter (cumulative with other 'mentioned in dispatches' awards).

Being promoted is conditional; there must be a vacancy (more bookkeeping) and the character must be of sufficient social level. Of course, with higher rank comes greater privilege in the form of status and pay. Success in military endeavors can lead to a title of nobility with an increase in social level, an award of status points, and a possible pension. Higher ranks and titles are eligible for appointments, such as Quartermaster General or Minister of State. Some appointments can be quite lucrative, either by adopting policies that enhance one's investments or by embezzlement. One interesting appointment is the Commissioner of Public Safety. Not only can the Commissioner “trump up charges against five players per year...he must trump up charges against one player character” within the first two seasons of his appointment.

Characters can use 'influence' to affect rolls that represent the decision of a non-player character. For instance, when attempting to secure an appointment, influence can be expended to increase one's chances. Characters can also use influence to the detriment of their enemies and rivals. Influence is measured in units of favors and each favor is defined by its class. Decision makers of greater prominence can only be influenced with favors of higher class. As an example, a colonel can be influenced with a class 3 favor, but the king can only be influenced with a class 9 favor. Separate favors can be combined to increase their effectiveness. Influence is obtained from one's mistress, from one's position or appointment, and from one's own social level. There is no allowance for it in the rules, but I think that characters should be allowed to 'improve' the class of any given favor by contributing a certain amount of funds, similar to how a courtship roll may be modified – only more money would be required, such as 100 crowns times the next higher class value.  Perhaps there could be a way to 'convert' status to a favor.

In closing, your humble host perceives En Garde as an interconnected set of ‘sub-games.’ First, there is the ‘fencing’ game being, of course, the foundation upon which the other games are situated. Next, we have the ‘social standing’ game characterized by the constant need to acquire status. Closely aligned to the ‘social standing’ game is the ‘money management’ game with the risk-taking elements of gambling and investments. There is also the ‘military’ game, by which I refer to the resolution of campaigns and their attendant effects upon characters. Also, there is the 'influence' game where influence is cultivated and strategically spent. Finally, once the characters has progressed sufficiently, there is the 'appointment' game.  Each 'sub-game' is indispensable but the rules for such need not be ingrained. For example, players could employ a different method to resolve duels without altering the rules for the other 'sub-games.' Also, I would like to think that military campaigns could be handled in a more straightforward manner, yet not disrupt other aspects of the game as a whole.

For those of you who may have missed certain comments on prior posts, Les Petites Bêtes Soyeuses is an active game of En Garde! that currently seems to have about fifty players. Please use the link for additional information.

Alignment Languages

Н.К.Рерих "Победа (Змей Горыныч)".

There is so much to dislike about alignment in AD&D, your humble host cannot contain it all within a single post.  Here then is the first in a projected, irregular series about how bogus alignment really is.  Today's topic is the bizzare concept of 'alignment languages.'  Unless otherwise noted, all quotes are from page 24 of the 1E Dungeon Masters Guide.

Gygax claims that alignment languages are “not unjustifiable” by making reference to thieves' cant, coded communications by secret societies, and the use of Latin by the Catholic Church. That's all fine and dandy, but these are examples of organizations. The suggestion that all intelligent beings of sympathetic moral outlook can communicate with one another via a special language is simply bizarre. Oh wait, not all intelligent beings...Although Blink Dogs are intelligent and lawful good (and have their own language), they do not understand “lawful good” language because they are instinctively lawful good – they “do not intellectually embrace the ethos of lawful good.” Huh? On the other hand, an intelligent dragon does understand the tongue of his or her alignment. Why the difference? Are mythological reptiles more linguistically inclined than magic canines? Do they have a better grasp of philosophical nuances?

Alignment languages are not spoken openly. “Any character foolish enough to announce his or her alignment by publicly crying out in that alignment tongue will incur considerable social sanctions” from persons of that same alignment as well as persons of other alignments. This leads to some interesting questions. If alignment languages are kept so secret, how would anyone recognize an alignment tongue not their own? I mean, I don't understand Russian, but I can recognize spoken Russian as Russian. If Russian was an alignment language and therefore kept confidential, I wouldn't be able to recognize it as a language and I certainly wouldn't associate it with 'Slavic Neutral' or whatever ethical paradigm it represented. Also, how are alignment languages taught? Are children assigned an alignment based on the results of a moral aptitude test? Do they go to alignment language summer camp? (“Chaotic good camp is way better than neutral good camp...They don't supervise you at all.” “My parents threatened to send me to lawful evil camp if my grades don't improve...I hear the counselors are real hobgoblins.”) Don't tell me that everyone in a family is the same alignment and that alignment tongues are propagated that way.

According to page 34 of the 1E Players Handbook, “If a character changes alignment, the previously known language is no longer able to be spoken by him or her” and, one supposes, no longer understood. Also, from the same page, “only one alignment dialect can be used by a character.” Are the neural mechanisms for comprehending an alignment language disrupted by an alteration of ethical motive? I could almost buy that but for the alignment language abilities of intelligent, high level assassins. Realistically, how do they learn additional alignment languages?

Alignment languages “are not used as salutations or interrogatives if the speaker is uncertain of the alignment of those addressed”(emphasis in original) and they are “used to establish credentials only after initial communications have been established by other means.” However, “Each alignment language is constructed to allow recognition of like-aligned creatures...” If you have to be certain of someone's alignment before conversing with them in an alignment language, how can you use alignment languages for purposes of recognition?

Lastly, alignment languages consist of a “special set of signs, signals, gestures, and words.” Regardless, certain magic swords can somehow communicate via alignment language. How does that work?

No Friends for the Cardinal's Guard

Image believed to be in the public domain

According to page 16 of En Garde, “Gentlemen will find that a career in the military offers the best opportunities for advancement.” There are seventeen regiments from which to choose (not counting frontier regiments). The ease with which a character is accepted into a given regiment is based upon social level; higher social levels indicate a higher likelihood of acceptance. More desirable regiments require higher social levels. For instance, acceptance into the Royal Foot Guards (the most exclusive regiment) requires a minimum social level of seven; even then there is only a 1-in-3 chance of acceptance (i.e., a roll of at least 5 on a d6). The same social level gives a character a 5-in-6 chance of acceptance to a regiment of lesser renown, such as the 13th Fusiliers. If a character applies to a regiment commanded by another player's character, there is no die roll; the commander's player simply decides. To be accepted, the character must still meet any requirements. For instance, in order join a cavalry regiment, a character must own a horse (which requires a monthly expenditure of crowns for supplies and a groom).

Applying to a regiment requires a week of game time. If the regiment declines to accept the character, he may apply to other regiments in the same week, provided the regiment is of lesser social standing. For every two rejections, a -1 modifier is imposed on future rolls for acceptance.

Once accepted into a regiment, a character may purchase a commission; otherwise, the character will hold the rank of private. This entails spending two weeks of every month performing duties for the regiment. Characters of the next rank, subalterns, “must spend one week of every month on duty...” Characters of higher ranks are not obligated to spend any time on duty. A position in a regiment provides a monthly salary and (in most cases) a monthly amount of status. The amount of salary and status is dependent upon rank and regiment. For instance, a private in the Royal Foot Guards earns 12 crowns and 6 status per month; a private in the 13th Fusiliers earns 4 crowns and no status.

Each regiment has a friendly relationship with another regiment, as well as a regiment with which it has a hostile relationship. Exceptions are the Cardinal's Guard, who have no friends, and the Royal Foot Guards, who have no enemies. Relations among the regiments affect characters for purposes of dueling. A character gains more status when he wins a duel against an opponent from an enemy regiment; however, a character actually loses a status point if he wins a duel against an opponent from a friendly regiment.

Each regiment has a favored weapon (i.e., sabre, rapier, or cutlass). A character can practice with his regiment's favored weapon at no cost. Practice constitutes a week's action and after so many weeks, the character's expertise ability increases by one. A character who chooses to practice with another weapon (or a character who is not in the military) must pay his expertise in crowns for every week of practice. If expertise improvements via practice apply only to one weapon, then it would seem that a character could have as many as three expertise scores – one for each weapon. The rules for practice (p. 15) say that characters can irreversibly convert five points of expertise to one point of strength. Does this apply only to 'comprehensive' expertise or will simple 'cutlass' expertise be sufficient?

According to page 19, “One of the aspects of joining the military is that it is sometimes necessary to go on campaign.” Regular regiments only campaign during the summer season while the frontier regiments campaign every season. While on campaign, a character is exempt from status requirements and need not pay for his usual monthly upkeep. Also, characters can take a leave from their club so as to avoid paying club fees for the duration. A roll on the Force Commitment table indicates which regiments are deployed in a given season.  The type of campaign (i.e., siege, assault, defense, or field operations) is determined by a roll on the Force Deployment table.  To determine the organization of the campaign army, create a two-digit number using the Force Commitment die result as the first digit and the Force Deployment die result as the second.  With this two-digit number, consult the aptly named Force Organization table.  The nature of the 'force organization' helps to determine the eventual outcome of the campaign, a topic about which your humble host shall digress in a post next week.

Note:  Republished due to Blogger errors.

My Favorite Magic Items in Atlantasia

John Holland, in his The Realms of Atlantasia, presents a copious number of magic items – presents, but does not necessarily describe in detail. More precisely, Holland lists numerous magical effects (what he calls ‘suffixes’) which can be associated with a variety of items. For example, Johann Nederland – spy mage – owns ‘saddlebags of charity.’ There are also ‘dice of charity,’ ‘belts of charity,’ ‘pouches of charity,’ ‘packs of charity,’ ‘books of charity,’ ‘cards of charity,’ and the ever-convenient ‘crystal balls of charity.’ They each have the same effect which, according to Holland, is “never pays for food or lodging.”*

The existence of a variety of items with the same effect is important in Atlantasia because there are restrictions with regard to the number of magic items that a given character can have ‘active’ at a time. For instance, a character can only wear one cape or cloak at a time. So, if you have a ‘cape of agility’ and a ‘cape of protection,’ you can benefit from one only at the expense of the other. If, however, you have an ‘amulet of agility’ and a ‘cape of protection,’ then you’re in business. (You can have ten amulets or broaches, but only three medallions. Don't worry, you can keep track of it all on page four of the character profile.)

In Atlantasia, potions are brewed by alchemists.  There are twelve potions that only particular alchemists can make.  For instance, the ‘Potion of Shadow Dragon Control’ is made exclusively “by the Shai-elf Dragon-mage Trahl-issyss.”  This makes for some passable adventure seeds -- the king needs a potion, the player characters have to track down the alchemist, maybe they have to negotiate a price, maybe they have to help the alchemist out of a predicament or perform a favor, maybe they need to gather the ingredients, etc. So far, so good.  Yet once again, Holland seems to have a good idea going only to make a sharp left and pass into the inexplicable realm of WTF.

First, the potions are described twice (pp. 42-43 as well as pp. 188-190).  Yeah, sure, it’s only a couple of pages but considering what the 545 page book doesn’t cover, it’s a shame two pages couldn’t have been devoted to character movement or other absent rules.  Second, the pricing is odd -- big surprise.  The potions are rare and powerful, so it’s understandable that they’re expensive; however, for expensive items, the prices are rather precise.  For instance, the ‘Potion of Dimensional Travel’ has a price of 59,950 gold chips as opposed to a nice, round 60,000.  It’s not like there’s competition and you need to advertise $9.95 instead of $10.  Third, some of the effects are peculiar.  The ‘Potion of Mass Illusion’ “infects between 20-50 targets with a terrifying illusion.”  Do the targets drink the potion?  The ‘Potion of Seasonal Change’ “was developed to change the season you are in.”  How does that work?  Does the imbiber travel through time or does the potion somehow change the nature of reality?  Actually, any confusion about effects is rendered moot due to the next fact.  About these potions Holland tells us…

NONE OF THEM WORK!!!!... (they are all frauds)

That’s right, Holland goes through the trouble (not once, but twice) of describing a dozen potions, identifying their respective creators and assigning them a precise cost, only to tell us that they’re fake.  I can only assume that their fraudulent nature is generally unknown, but how well known would the potions be even if they worked?  So, the limited number of people who know of them at all are ignorant of their falsity.  Don’t you think that the first customer who was fooled (and survived) would make life difficult for the alchemist or at least spread the word about the swindle?  Maybe it’s like “The Royal Nonesuch” in Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn; people are embarrassed that they fell victim to the ruse and they want others to suffer similarly.

Here are a few other magic items.

Cape of Electric Retard (p. 209):  I would have called it the ‘Cape of Protection from Lightning,’ but whatever.

Bell of Invisibility (p. 204):  This item is ideal if you want to avoid detection by deaf people.

Amulet of Sleep (p. 246):  Any person wearing this amulet “goes to sleep every time they try to attack.”  This is supposed to be a cursed item, but I think it would be beneficial since it prevents people from hurting themselves.

*  I’m not sure how this is supposed to work. Let’s say that Johann has been staying at an inn. The proprietor approaches him with the reckoning. Does Johann tap the saddlebags and then the proprietor just smiles and waves good-bye?