Guest Post: Steve Marsh on Alignment

As the completion of art and editing for Steve Marsh's Shattered Norns draws imminently closer, and its publication looms, and editor always has to face the unfortunate truth that there is just not a place for EVERYTHING you'd like to include in the book. In this case, the thing I'd like to include (but just seemed to feel forced in wherever I put it), is a small insight penned by Mr. Marsh regarding his introduction to Gary Gygax of the Good/Evil alignment axis (thereby creating the "dual-axis" alignment system introduced in AD&D), and how it relates to Steve's concept of chaos (i.e., "anarchy"). Steve also nods to 5th Edition's acknowledgement of abominations (outsiders/forces of entropy) as this is particularly relevant in his Shattered Norns world where abominations abound.

In addition to Steve's commentary, I've included a graphic I recently created, taking all of the components of the various alignment charts that exist, as well as the SRD alignment content, and merging them into a single "go to" reference graphic for alignment.

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On Alignment – My approach to alignment
by Steve Marsh

The original alignment system was based off of the law/chaos axis of Poul Anderson’s Three Hearts and Three Lions more than anything else.

Chaos was feral rebellion, both the immoral and the amoral, and everything that tore down creation.

Law was the harmonizing and creative force that organizes, creates and preserves the world.

Using this law/chaos polar opposition as an express part of a gaming world was a conceptual breakthrough by Gary Gygax that allowed it to be a natural driver for all sorts of things in the game world. The system fit a dark ages world very well. It creates a natural conflict and aligns with good and evil directly on the law/chaos axis.

The system had two problems, though. First, too many gamers were much more familiar with Michael Moorcock’s use of law and chaos. Second, I wanted a different type of nuance.

This is why I proposed an order/anarchy system with the poles of good and evil on a different axis. Anarchy can have natural nobility (determined purely by personal charisma and power), and Law can have democracy. For a long time in my personal campaign I used Anarchy or Tychism (a philosophical school) in the place of Chaos in order to focus the point on what “chaos” was.

Eventually, Gary agreed with me and migrated the game world to a 2-axis system where the law/chaos axis crossed with good/evil axis. It allowed for things to be feral without them being necessarily evil (old school “chaos”). It also allowed for characters to distinguish between the amoral (where being without morals = neutral) and the immoral (where those who are doing wrong = evil).

One thing I like about 5th Edition is that it acknowledges abominations (those from outside; generally forces of entropy, normally classified as “evil”) that do not necessarily fit properly into the law/chaos structure. My campaign world (Shattered Norns) is marked by having been marred by a massive intrusion by an abomination that was repulsed. I used to use the term “chaos” to refer to it, which led to confusion. Part of what I like about the 5e “abomination” category is that I can use the term “abomination,” and be clearly understood across the game categories, while using the standard law/chaos terminology as well.

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New BX/LL Psionic Class: The Devine

As I've mentioned previously, the two main sources that fed the input for what Tim Kask developed as psionics in Eldritch Wizardry was a mystic class penned by Steve Marsh (which provided the source for the psionic disciplines) and a devine class created by Gary Gygax (which provided the source for psionic combat). The mystic class for the Basic Psionics Handbook was developed by me under the guidance of Mr. Marsh (and, again, I thank him profusely for his input and advice). Unfortunately, I don't have the same luxury of being able to ask Mr. Gygax for his input on a devine class. I do, however, have as reference a version of the devine class penned by Mr. Marsh under the class title of "Psychics" which I believe was either published in, or intended to be published in, an issue of The Cupric Text zine (I'll need to get clarification from him on this). His psychic class employs combat modes, and it was Mr. Marsh's "rock/paper/scissors" idea that fed the basis of the way psionic combat works in the Basic Psionics Handbook.

What you'll find below is my take on the devine character class for use with the Basic Psionics Handbook, inspired by the demon slayers of hindu legend. (Take a moment and go get your 1e Monster Manuals; you'll find that all greater demons possess psionics.) This class will for sure appear in the Character Class Codex, but will likely appear sooner in an addenda volume for the Basic Psionics Handbook (tentatively titled Addenda Psionica) which will include some additional psionic classes, powers, monsters and items I've been working on.

[BTW, I'm still slated for a PDF release of the BPH tomorrow morning.]

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THE DEVINE

Please note that this character class requires use of Old School Adventures™ Accessory PX1: Basic Psionics Handbook.

The devine is a mystical combatant who balances physical prowess (with traditional weapons) and psionic prowess (through the use of psionic combat modes). Although the powers of a devine are derived from innate psionic talent, devines are akin to clerics in that they receive assistance from divine patrons known as devas (benevolent divinities) and asuras (malevolent divinities). Devines often find themselves in the roll of demon slayer, in service to a deity (or deities).

The prime requisites of a devine are Strength and Wisdom. If a devine has a score of 13 or greater in both Strength and Wisdom, the character will gain a +5% bonus on earned experience points. If a devine has a Strength of 13 or greater AND a Wisdom of 16 or greater, the character will gain a +10% bonus on earned experience.

Devines use the same attack and saving tables as clerics.

RESTRICTIONS: Devines determine their hit points with six-sided dice (d6). Devines may wield any type of weapon, wear any type of armor, and use a shield. They are permitted the magic items normally permitted a fighter, and the psionic items normally permitted a mystic. A devine must have a minimum score of 9 in both Intelligence and Charisma.

When a devine reaches name (9th) level, he or she may choose to build a fortress, which must contain a shrine. The cost of the construction is 125% of the normal cost for a similar fortress, as the devine will spare no expense in furnishing the building and decorating it in such as a way as to honor the divinity(s) to which the devine pledges his or her honor. Once constructed, the fortress will attract 2d6 1st level fighters who will serve the devine as a personal guard. There is a 50% chance that one of those fighters will, instead, be a 1st level devine.

SPECIAL ABILITIES: Through a combination of meditation and devotion to the gods, devines are endowed with a number of special abilities. The greatest of these is their knowledge of psionic attack and defense modes, which devines gain as they rise in level. Because the devine dedicates himself to both the physical and the divine, devines earn PSPs at a much more restricted rate than mystics, but at a much greater rate than monks, gaining 4 PSPs per psionic level. Devines are subject to the same “character time” requirements as other psionicists for the daily regeneration of PSPs—an undisturbed period of meditation and prayer (usually about an hour) after a full-night (8 hours) of rest.

As the devine rises in level, a number of other special abilities are gained as outlined below:

Third Eye. Beginning at 3rd level, a devine gains a permanent third eye. While it precludes the use of third eyes (as psionic items), it does provide the devine with a number of permanent abilities based on his or her level, including the following:
– 3rd Level: infravision to 120'
– 5th Level: ability to see into the Ethereal Plane
– 7th Level: psionic true seeing
All of these abilities are usable concurrently if the devine so chooses.

Detect Planar Natives. Beginning at 4th level, a devine gains the ability to sense the presence of planar natives to a radius of 360' (if in the same plane as the devine). This ability works through all materials except iron, and includes bound creatures (e.g., through magic jar or in a soul gem). The type of being detectable depend on the level of the devine as below:
– 4th Level: Ethereal natives
– 6th Level: Astral Natives
– 8th Level: natives of the inner/outer planes
Devines are unable to detect the presence of natives of the Shadow or Dream Planes.

Extra Limbs. Beginning at 9th level, a devine gains access to the use of an extra pair of arms. These arms take 1 round of concentration to manifest and they remain for 3 turns, though the devine may dismiss them before the end of that duration. From 9th through 11th level, this ability is usable 3 times per day. Beginning at 12th level, it is usable 5 teims per day. These arms provide one additional one additional attack per round (as outlined below), but do not allow the use of a second shield:
a) 1 additional melee attack per round with a 1-handed weapon against the same opponent as the first attack (made with a separate 1-handed or 2-handed weapon) or
b) 1 additional arrow attack per round against the same target as the first attack, using the same bow as the first shot
While manifested, these extra limbs provide the opportunity to wear/use additional magic items (e.g., bracers, gloves, rings, etc.), increase the amount of weight a character may carry/lift/drag by 25%, and provide a +3 bonus to any Strength check or grappling attempt.

Banishment. Beginning at 10th level, a devine gains knowledge of the psychoportative discipline banishment. The devine may use this ability at will, but with the same PSP cost as a mystic (3 PSPs per use).

Concurrent Use of 2 Attack Modes. Beginning at 11th level, a devine may use 2 attack modes concurrently. The PSP cost for each is the same as normal. Victims must make separate psionic saving throws for each or suffer the effects of each attack as normally prescribed.

Concurrent Use of 2 Defense Modes. Beginning at 13th level, a devine may use 2 defense modes concurrently. The PSP cost for each is the same as normal. The benefits provided by the concurrent modes do not stack; instead, the more beneficial option of the 2 modes employed is used for the sake of determining saving throws, and the more beneficial option of the 2 modes employed is used for the sake of determining effects on a failed saving throw.

My Formula for the Original Development of OD&D Psionics

With the recent release of the 5th Edition psionics playtest document, I thought I'd take a look back at where psionics came from in the first place.

As many of you know, for the last year-and-a-half or so, I've been working on a psionics adaptation for classic editions of the game (BX/LL). Throughout the process, I've been lucky enough to remain in contact with Steve Marsh, one of the original contributors of psionics to D&D, and I've gotten a great insight on the process for the development of psionics in OD&D.

The gist of the story/process is this...

Before Steve worked at TSR, he would mail things to Gary. One of the things Steve sent was a concept for a mystic character class (based on the tradition of Indian mysticism). This was envisioned as a standard character class that would gain additional mystic powers as they rose in level (much like a MU). [These abilities would inform the majority of the standard psionic disciplines from OD&D.]

Separately, Gary was developing a psionic combatant class—the devine. The devine had attack and defense modes (though I can't speak to how they changed as the devine rose in level). [These modes are obviously the foundation for psionic combat.]

The most interesting insight is the following (based on a comment Steve made a couple of weeks ago on one of my blog posts in reference to the editorial process on Eldritch Wizardry):

"It should be noted that Tim (Kask) got everything as sheets in a large bowl and told to work with it. He did amazing work given the conditions. As for where material came from, Tim would get clues when Gary would put the credits together..."

Yes. Tim had a literal BOWL on his desk that Gary would dump things into as work in progress. [Steve mentioned to me that the "WIP bowl" is something he himself only learned of last month when talking to Tim Kask at the recent NTRPGCon.]

Finally, Tim Kask brought a lot to the psionics party in the forms of the charts and tables. From a Dragonsfoot.org post in 2007:

"I LOVED psionic combat and had great fun devising it with all of its tables and charts. Apparently I was in the tiny minority. I guess mental combat was too esoteric for most D&Ders; not enough of them shared my fondness for the Dr. Strange Marvel comics and Mindflayers."

So here's my interpretation of the formula for how psionics developed for OD&D:
[(Marsh Mystic + Gygax Devine) × Kask Bowl] ÷ (Gygax Input + Kask Editing) = OD&D psionics.

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[On a related note, the illustration that appears at the top of this post is by F.Y. Cory from a Frank Baum book titled The Master Key: An Electrical Fairy Tale, Founded Upon the Mysteries of Electricity and the Optimism of Its Devotees (1901, Bowen-Merrill). I'm thinking the Cory illustration may be the image that appears on the title page of the Basic Psionics Handbook.]

It only took 35 years (New BX Monster: The Intelligent Wooly Rhino)

34 years ago, I purchased my first every RPG product... what has since come to be known as "Cook Blue," though I prefer call it "Cook/Marsh Blue." This was the product that started it all for me (apart from the friend who introduced me to the concept while waiting for a Mardi Gras parade to pass earlier that year). This past year, there were a couple of key highlights during my time at the North Texas RPG Con. One of them was meeting Steve Marsh, the guy who wrote the majority of that very same book. The time he took to sit with me at the con and share his kind words about my Three Castles award-winning Valley of the Five Fires is among my fondest gaming-related memories.

Partly spurred on by that encounter, and partly spurred on my long-intended want of a BX psionics system, I started the quest to do the latter in earnest a few months back. My mystic class, and the inclusion of a "Planar Primer" and "Planar Travel Guide" in my Basic Psionics Handbook, are built on a vision for a plane-traveling mystic class originally penned by Mr. Marsh, but merged with Gary Gygax's devine class by Tim Kask.

"Psionics were added to D&D as the result of two character classes, the mystic and the devine, that were in process. Mystics were finished, Devines (who used the psionic attack and defense modes) were not. Tim Kask cut the material up and put it into Eldritch Wizardry."

Steve Marsh, November 28, 2005, indie-rpgs.com

During the process of writing the Basic Psionics Handbook, I've occasionally emailed Mr. Marsh to get some clarification or deeper information on statements he's made in previous interviews. So when it came time to write up the monsters for the Basic Psionics Handbook, I just had to do something in response to the following...

"Erol Otus mocked my idea of having the Wooly Rhinos be intelligent, so that got canned (I liked the idea of a potentially psionic group of Rhinos in the far north, coordinating the defense of the herd against predators)."

Steve Marsh speaking about writing the Expert Rulebook,
April 11, 2005, Dragonsfoot.org

So I started writing up an intelligent, psionic-using, wooly rhino... and I passed the drafts by Mr. Marsh, who provided great insight regarding his intentions, and specifically mentioned having them use enfilade and defilade tactics in battle. So I re-wrote the listing a couple of times, sent him the final draft a couple of days ago, and received an email yesterday morning which said simply, "Really well done." (At which point I clenched my fist with a "YES!")

Well, it only took 34 years for this vision to come to life (assuming the idea came about the year before the Expert book was published), but without further ado, I present the Steve Marsh-inspired (and Erol Otus-mocked) intelligent, psionic-using wooly rhino for the BX rules. (BTW, the "rho'tha" name was an invention of mine, but the Xhosa-inspired clicking sound in the middle was Steve's idea).

Answers to some of your questions concerning my BX Psionics System and Mystic Class

After my post yesterday, many of you had some good questions that you shared via comments on a couple of different G+ posts. So I've decided to address them here, today, so everyone can see the answers (and the questions).

What about the crown chakra?
I really debated this during the development of my chakra-discipline concept. My feeling was that the first six chakras coincided rather seamlessly with the 6 established psionic disciplines. I have not included the crown as of this moment, but here's my general thinking regarding the 7th (crown) chakra... the powers granted through knowledge of the 7th chakra will be part and parcel of the pathway to becoming immortal (and therefore, are not accessible by most mortal creatures). Will I ever flesh out this "immortal pathway for mystics"? Shakes Magic 8-ball... "Ask again later." For now, it will likely be a reference to the idea and concept of a 7th (crown) chakra, but without mechanics.

Will it support wild psionics?
They way I see it, any system will support wild psionics, because they're wild (and, therefore, outside the context of standard rules). The real question is, "Should it support wild psionics?" My simple answer to that question is, "No, because it goes against the simplicity that I love about BX D&D." To me, wild psionics are like feats and player options... if I wanted them, I'd use 2e. Now, that being said, there will likely be an appendix for determining wild psionic abilities, because I think a lot of DMs would like to include them. Besides, how much space could it take to say, "If your INT and WIS are this, and your class is this, and you roll this on table I, then roll on table II and... BAM! You've got a wild psionic power."

Where does it fit, powerwise between 1st (wild and all over the place) and 2nd edition (too few points to accomplish much of anything compared to even low level casters)?
This is where I think I've really hit the sweet spot... a nice balance between the two. Mystics gain abilities over time (like spellcasters), accessing different types and grades of abilities as they grow in experience level. The Psionic Strength Point (PSP) cost for powers are much more "value-oriented" than 2e (meaning, the PSP costs are generally more reasonable, there are little-to-no "maintenance" costs, and the duration of many of the abilities are more akin to Oe and 1e than the terribly stripped back 2e versions). The real key to the system is the determination of PSPs, which is treated similarly to determining hit points (with the die being used determined by the mystic's WIS score)—a mechanic which is generally more liberal with PSPs than 2e, unless you have a really low WIS score (in which case you have no business choosing to be a mystic anyway).

And now answers to a couple of questions you haven't asked yet, but are bound to...

Why is Mental Class (MC) based on Intelligence rather than Wisdom?
In some contexts, I could definitely see Wisdom related to concepts like Willpower, and using WIS to determine MC might make sense. However, I began by looking deeply at why saving throws vs. psionic attacks in Oe/1e were based on Intelligence*. My take on this is that the concept of "awareness" is related to Intelligence (the ability to "note" things, to me, is a function of knowledge... "knowing what"; this is "reactive" function related to comprehension). Wisdom, by comparison, is more a function of "knowing why" (a "proactive" function which relates to focus and devotion). So in the case of noting a mental attack, it is more important to know "what" (i.e., "an attack") and be reactive, then to know "why" ("because the person attacking you has psionic ability") and be proactive. Therefore, in this system, INT affects defense (reaction) against mental attacks, while WIS affects accuracy and damage (proaction) with mental attacks. (I well expect that many of you will see these two concepts as exactly opposite the way I see them.)

* It's worthy to note the first appearance of the Intelligence-based psionic saving throw dates to the introduction of the Mind Flayer in Strategic Review #1 in the Spring of 1975; this is approximately the same time the mystic class was suggested to EGG by Steve Marsh for the inclusion in Blackmoor; the mystic was ultimately not included in Blackmoor, and psionics was made available to "everyone" except elves in Eldritch Wizardry; I have no confirmation the INT-based save came from Mr. Marsh, and instead assume it was EGG's invention; but I will look for some clarification on this from Mr. Marsh. in the near future.

How can the psionic combat system be "optional"?
Simple. Steve Marsh's original mystic class didn't have psionic combat (just psionic abilities; they were akin to sub-continental Indian cleric). Gary Gygax was working on the "devines" in order to have a psionic combat class. Tim Kask cut and pasted the two into one big kludgey system for Eldritch Wizardry. So... you can obviously have psionic abilities without needing psionic combat... UNLESS you're coming up against psionic monsters (especially psionic monsters from other editions that have psionic attack and defense modes), THEN you need psionic combat. The system I've developed for psionic combat is much simplified from 1e (and more akin to 2e), but easily allows DMs to take existing psionic monsters and use them in a BX game. (This is one of those little things I'm very proud of... a "conversion" system to port monsters in from Oe and 1e.)

An Historical Dig into the Planes of Existence

For some additional context on today's post, see this post (and its comment thread) at Delta's D&D Hotspot regarding the spell Contact Other Plane.

I was doing some digging around to older resources on concepts of the planes of existence (as an extension of the mystic class/psionics system I'm working on for BX/LL) and came across a couple of things. First, the writings of the Theosopher Charles W. Leadbeater who really launched the whole theosophy/metaphysics field around 1900. He (along with Annie Besant) is credited with systemizing the planes in his writings. Most of what has come afterward (entire 20th century and beyond) seems to be based (at least in part) on his writings. While his concepts are based on some older Hermetic thoughts (older Egyptian and Greek philosophies), he's the one who (at least in a modern context) suggests concepts like astral travel. This page (at left) from his 1903 book "Man Visible and Invisible" seems to lay out the concept that the astral plane is accessed by means of etheric double.

The Kybalion (by "The Three Initiates," 1912) seems to be the other "go to" theosophic book on the planes. The second chapter, ("The Principle of Correspondence") embodies the idea that there is always a correspondence between the laws of phenomena of the various "planes" of being and life (p.28). This text lists the "Plane of Ethereal Substance" as the 4th sub-plane of the 7 minor physical planes (essentially the same place that Leadbeater puts it). But the Kybalion's ethereal plane itself consists of 7 sub-planes... "This Ethereal Substance forms a connecting link between Matter (so-called) and Energy, and partakes of the nature of each. The Hermetic Teachings, however, instruct that this plane has seven sub-divisions (as have all of the Minor Planes), and that in fact there are seven ethers, instead of but one."

So where am I going with this?

Well, as I stated at the beginning of this post, I'm trying to lay out some ground rules (but, honestly, little more than that, for the sake of fearing being too restrictive and cumbersome) for a "planar travel" appendix to the mystic class/psionics ruleset I'm developing for BX/LL (which is coming along swimmingly, BTW, thanks to some great insight I graciously received from Steve Marsh... the nearly-uncredited genius behind a lot of the planar concepts of D&D¹). I've been trying to decide what rules are "givens," and which things are better left to DMs to develop themselves. Based on the above, I think I'm going to stick with the basic concept that one must access the ethereal plane before accessing the astral, even though both the 1e PHB version of the diagram of the planes (and it's predecessor from Dragon Magazine #8, pictured below) suggest that the Astral plane (area 9, in light blue) can be accessed directly from the Prime Material plane (area 1, in purple). This physical-to-ethereal-to-astral model seems to support the "higher consciousness" aspect of the mystic class I'm developing. The ethereal plane will still access all the other material planes (e.g., the elemental planes, and things like the positive and negative material planes, should I keep those "as is"). It's the astral plane and beyond that I'm still contemplating.

But, then again, I might decide to abandon this structure altogether.

There are some other ideas I'm toying with, so I'm sure there will be more posts to come.



¹ "When ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS was still in its earliest conceptual stage, Steve Marsh and I exchanged considerable correspondence pertaining to the planes." Gary Gygax, "The Sorcerer's Scroll," Dragon Magazine 38 (Vol. IV, No. 6), December 1979.

Reference to Dark ("Drow") Elves Dating Back to 1884

"The three 'D Series' modules...owe little, if anything, to fiction. Drow are mentioned in Keightley’s THE FAIRY MYTHOLOGY, as I recall (it might have been THE SECRET COMMONWEALTH—neither book is before me, and it is not all that important anyway), and as Dark Elves of evil nature, they served as an ideal basis for the creation of a unique new mythos designed especially for AD&D. The roles the various drow are designed to play in the series are commensurate with those of prospective player characters. In fact, the race could be used for player characters, providing that appropriate penalties were levied when a drow or half-drow was in the daylight world."
-Gary Gygax, "Books Are Books, and Games Are Games, and Never the Twain...", Dragon #31

Below, is page 64 from the 1884 edition of Thomas Keightley's
The Fairy Mythology: Illustrative of the Romance and Superstition of Various Countries.

Scrutinizing the Scroll: Papyrus, Parchment and Vellum

In the original DMG, this is about as far as EGG goes into the differences between paper, papyrus, parchment and vellum... "A scroll of spells may be inscribed only upon pure and unblemished papyrus, parchment, or vellum - the latter being the most desirable."

As an educator on the history of graphic communication, I'm familiar with the origins of and differences between the various writing substrates (as well as the writing utensils and "inks" that correspond to each), but it struck me that many of you may not be. So what follows is a top-line overview of the various writing surfaces (particularly those used for spell scrolls) and considerations for incorporating those into game play.

Cave Walls and Ceilings
30,000+ B.C.
Obviously, the point of a scroll is to make the magic portable, convenient, and disposable. And, obviously, you can't do that with a cave wall or ceiling, but it was the first writing substrate. Every type of writing medium requires both a pigment and a medium and, in these cases, the pigments included red and yellow ochre, hematite, manganese oxide and charcoal, held in a medium of animal fat to bind the pigment.

Wet Clay
In common use from 3500-1750 B.C.
As nomads became farmers in the fertile lands between the Tigres and the Euphrates, village culture necessitated the need for records of properties, laws, ets. So the Sumerians when straight to the most available materials... reed styluses and wet clay. Pictographic writing gave way to symbolic writing in the form of cuneiforms (quick marks made with a triangular tipped version of the stylus.)

So... get out your copy of Deities and Demigods, go to the Sumerian Mythos section, and consider that in the earliest of the time period reflected here, clerics of these gods would (most likely) not see papyrus for at least 1,000 years (if they saw it at all.) And parchment? Forget about it. By the time the Sumerian language was fading away as a sacred, ceremonial, literary and/or scientific language in Mesopotamia, parchment was just being invented. Now, go the Babylonian section of the book. Those clerics... maybe.

As far as incorporating clay tablets into game play, it's obviously not conducive to carrying even one spell tablet with you into a dungeon, unless you happen to possess a Bag of Holding. However, in more primitive cultures, spell tablets are an option. I could see clerics or magic-users going into battle accompanied by horse-drawn carts filled with spell tablets prepared with summoning and protection spells (the tablets would disintegrate upon use, similarly to their papyrus and parchment counterparts.)

Papyrus
Invented c. 1,000 B.C.
This is an Egyptian invention that dates to around 1,000 B.C. However, it was adopted soon after by the Greeks (being supplanted later in Greece by parchment, a Roman invention), and was used widely through Europe and the Roman and Byzantine empires until it was replaced by the less expensive paper (invented in China, but introduced to the West by way of Arabia.)

Papyrus as a substrate is made from the pith (the inner portion) of the Cyperus papyrus plant. It essentially consists of two layers (or sides) with the fibers in each side aligned with the same side, and perpendicular to the other side. The fibers in the top (recto) side run horizontally, and the fibers in the bottom (verso) side run vertically. For longer scrolls, multiple pages of papyrus were glued together. In regards to writing utensils, the Egyptians used brushes made from rush stems, whereas Greek scribes used hard reeds, cut with a nib and split at the tip to aid ink flow.

As for game play, consider this... sure, papyrus is cheaper, but it also has a +5% chance of failure (per DMG.) Why? Firstly, in dry climates (like Egypt) papyrus is fairly stable, but in more humid climates it is highly susceptible to mold. No reason to not up that % chance of failure in more humid climates, especially the longer that papyrus has been sitting around in a less-than-airtight scroll tube. Second, those striations in the recto and verso sides do not exactly make for the smoothest of writing experiences, especially with "loopier" writing forms. It serves the Eqyptian Demotic ("priestly") script well, given its strong vertical and horizontal strokes. But Elvish is a little on the loopier side. Consider upping that % chance of failure based on the quality of the papyrus, as well as the form of the writing being used by the scribe.

Parchment
Invented c. 500-200 B.C.
According to the Roman Varro, Pliny's Natural History notes parchment was invented under the patronage of Eumenes of Pergamon, as a substitute for papyrus, which was temporarily not being exported from Alexandria, its only source. ("Parchment" is actually an English word derived from the name of the city where it was reportedly invented.) Though a Roman invention, it was quickly adopted by the Greeks, and was used popularly throughout Europe, even concurrently with the use of paper up through the invention of the printing press (mid 1400s A.D.) In fact, though most copies of the Gutenberg Bible were printed on paper, a few parchment copies exist. Papermaking was mechanized around this time, which made paper inexpensive enough to allow it to become pervasive.

As a substrate, parchment is made from calfskin, sheepskin or goatskin, often split. Think of parchment as a "half-ass" version of leather in that it's limed (the part of the leather-making process that removes the flesh, fat and hair from the skin) but it's not tanned (which helps protect leather from weather/humidity.) The skins are then soaked, stretched and scraped to finalize the process. However, additional treatments could make the parchment smoother or more writing-friendly (like rubbing pumice powder over the flesh side while it was still wet.) But let's go back to that not-being-tanned thing for a minute. Uh-oh... guess what that means...

Parchment, like papyrus, is extremely affected by its environment and changes in humidity, which can cause buckling. Books with parchment pages were bound with strong wooden boards and clamped tightly shut by metal (often brass) clasps or leather straps; this acted to keep the pages pressed flat despite humidity changes. Even after the use of paper made such fittings unnecessary, they continued to be used as decorative element on bound books of paper. But let's face it, buckling is not molding. I guess that explains the "± 0% chance of failure" in the DMG.

Vellum
Popularized c. 500-1500 A.D.
Simply put, the difference between vellum and parchment is the difference between veal and beef, respectively. Vellum is really just a finer version of parchment made from the skins of calves and/or kids, depending on whether you believe the English or the French; it is either the split skin of any of several species (English) or the split skin specifically of the calf (French.) Now, when it comes to anything animal-related (particularly food-related, or quasi-food related) I tend to defer to the French over the English (but don't let them know I said that.) If this helps settle the argument, the term "vellum" comes from the French word "veau," which means "calf" or "veal." Most of the finer sort of medieval manuscripts, whether illuminated or not, were written on vellum. The Gutenberg Bibles mentioned above are (more specifically) on vellum.

In game, the thing to remember about vellum is that, for scribes, vellum's finer, smoother surface is the cream of the crop when it comes to writing anything. (Okay, that explains that -5% chance of failure from the DMG.) BUT!!! There is that climate thing to consider again. When store in areas with less than 11% relative humidity, it tends to get brittle. And in areas with 40%+ relative humidity, it has a propensity for mold and fungus growth. (Yummy!)

Paper
Invented c. 105 A.D.
Though the actual invention of paper is "shrouded in mystery," its invention was reported to the Chinese Emperor by Ts'ai Lun, an official of the Imperial Court. Even though paper was most likely invented 200 years earlier, WAY before Ts'ai Lun was born, Ts'ai Lun is nonetheless deified in China as the "god of the papermakers." By 600 A.D., paper was all over the far east. After the defeat of the Chinese in the Battle of Talas in 751 (present day Kyrgyzstan), the invention spread to the Middle East. By the 9th century, Arabs were using paper regularly (reserving the use of parchment/vellum for more important documents/manuscripts.) The oldest European paper documents date to around 1100 A.D. (most likely introduced to the West via The Crusades.)

In its more primitive forms (though still made essentially the same way today, albeit mechanized) plant fibers are soaked and pulped, set in a frame on a screen, shaken to cross the fibers and grains, the excess water pressed out, then the frame set aside for the paper to dry. The dried sheet of paper is removed from the mold, allowing the mold to be reused.

While the 1e DMG makes no mention of paper at all, by 3e you start to see mention of "high-quality" papers for use in scrolls. The more important thing to remember about paper, though, is the immense varieties of type based on the fibers and binders/additives used during the papermaking process. Vulnerability to weather and other conditions are completely dependent upon this.

LARGER-SCALE GAME CONSIDERATIONS
Again, I refer back to the 1e DMG. This time I refer to the entire "Manufacture of Scrolls" section beginning on page 117. Note how much attention is given to the ink formulas and to the quill types being used, going as far as including the formula for the ink required to scribe a protection from petrification spell. And note how little attention is given to the writing surface. Even the BX Expert rule book (as limited as it is) goes further than the DMG on the subject matter when it suggests a "scroll might require a special parchment." Given the information in the post above, I don't see why you couldn't require the same thing of the writing surface that you might of a quill or ink. Scroll types could necessitate that parchments or vellums be made from specific animals, perhaps prepared particularly by alchemical or magical means (beyond the standard liming process.) I don't see why you couldn't require paper for certain scrolls be made from the pulp of specific plants or trees. Or papryus prepared from cyperus papyrus plants that grow in particular waters. What would happen if the PCs were to get ahold of a particular type of parchment or paper but, having been lied to by the merchant, procure the wrong type? It might accidentally turn that summon dryad scroll into a summon dragon one.

A Holy Grail of RPG Collecting?

It's not every day you buy something for $2.71 that's worth worth nearly a grand. For me, that day was yesterday. On a seemingly innocuous stop at an indie used bookstore on my way home from jury duty yesterday, I chanced upon this beauty... The Official Dungeons & Dragons Coloring Album... UNCOLORED!!! For those in know, that means the difference between $80 and $1,000. Once the store's $5 price was cut in half via my store credit, the addition of tax put the grand total at two dollars and seventy-one cents!!! (And I thought my $4 purchase of The Official Superhero Adventure Game was a good buy.)

I'm not going to go into too much detail about this baby because it's been talked about in these parts a lot recently by the likes of fathergeek and boingboing, centered mostly around the recent post by monsterbrains (who's scanned and posted the entire thing to his blog.)

The review that seems to sum it best for me, though, is from dungeonskull who states that it just might be "the best encapsulation of an 'old school' D&D adventure ever made." Well, let's see... 1) old EGG wrote it himself, 2) there's a quest for loot with no other heroic motive (like rescuing or saving); 3) it features a "well-rounded" adventuring party (fighting man, cleric, thief, magic-user, ranger, dwarf, elf... you get the idea); and 4) it's got classic D&D monsters like a bulette, a lich, a beholder, an umber hulk, a remhoraz, and Tiamat the dragon. Yup. That pretty much sums it up.

Now I know how Jared feels when he finds a safe in the back of a locker on Storage Wars.

Mazes, Minotaurs and Modules (or "Dungeon Crawl Clichés: the Minotaur's Maze")

My recent minotaur illustration and my chance meeting on the same day (yesterday) with a $2.99 copy of The Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth at Half Price Books got me thinking... is the minotaur's maze the most overused cliché of the dungeon crawl? While it can be argued that in some way most dungeon crawls are actually labyrinths, I'm referring specifically to maze-like designs that feature an actual minotaur (or minotaurs) in them.

Well, let's take a look, shall we...

(Spoiler alert: Yes, I know it's been about 30 years since many of these adventures were published, but the following descriptions do give away pertinent details of the referenced modules, on the chance that you haven't read/played them yet.)

1980 - Module Q1: Queen of the Demonweb Pits
Designed by David C. Sutherland and E. Gary Gygax as a tournament dungeon for the Origins '79 game convention, the published edition came out in 1980 and was intended as the final adventure in a series of 7 by E.G.G. (as a sequel the G- and D-series). The "Web" levels of the dungeon feature a series of intricate geometrical interwoven passageways (i.e., "labyrinth") that would make Frank Stella jealous. But before you even get into the pits, the minotaurs show up as WMs in Lolth's Forest. Then, in the pits on Web Level 1, the Gnoll Barracks (3) feature 3 minotaurs. Additionally, spells function differently in the pits and the Druidical spell of reincarnation can actually bring a dead character back as (among other things) a minotaur! (When combined as a single adventure with the rest of GDQ series, this module was voted the single greatest adventure of all time by Dungeon magazine in 2004.)

1981 - Module B2: The Keep on the Borderlands
Again, from good ol' E.G.G. himself comes this classic from the Moldvay red box that introduced so many of us to the original fantasy game. If you're introducing the game to newbies, why shouldn't it have a labyrinth with a minotaur? And if you're trying to bring the classicism of the original myth as well, then of course there should be a direction confusion spell misdirecting the party. Honestly, trying to work your way through this baby as a first-time player seems worse than continuing to type "N, S, W, SW..." and constantly having that damn screen tell you, "You can't go that way!" while playing the Colossal Cave text-based computer adventure. (This module was ranked the 7th greatest adventure of all time by Dungeon Magazine in 2004.)

1982 - Module S4: The Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth
This is another adventure written by E.G.G., and while published in 1982, it was originally a tournament module written for the 1976 WinterCon V gaming convention. In the context of the module, the "Dark Labyrinth" located at the grotto numbered "9" on the "Greater Caverns" map is really more of a magical trap, suddenly appearing in front of the party, closing off the entrance behind them and forcing them through the maze to exit the labyrinth and get back to the main caverns (facing two minotaurs on bullback in the process.) In the context of the rather deep content of the adventure (32 pages of encounters in Book 1, plus 32 pages of new monsters, magic items, spells and pre-gens in Book 2), this is really just a single encounter. If that's a single encounter, what does that say about how deadly this whole adventure is? (This module was ranked the 22nd greatest adventure of all time by Dungeon Magazine in 2004.)

1982 - Module N1: Against the Cult of the Reptile God
Written by Douglas Niles, this novice module was written in four weeks from an existing brief. While it does feature a maze, that maze is occupied by an ogre (not a Minotaur.) The real classic here, though, is that a printing error in an early edition had the maze with NO EXIT! (This module was ranked the 19th greatest adventure of all time by Dungeon Magazine in 2004.)

1983 - Module MSOL2: Maze of the Riddling Minotaur
Finally... an entire module devoted to a maze and a minotaur! This solo module by Jeff Grubb invited players to "Explore the Maze of the Riddling Minotaur in an invisible ink module that you can play by yourself or with a group of adventurers!" Utilizing a seemingly incomplete map and an invisible "A,B,C" choose-your-own-adventure style mechanic, a special pen revealed pre-printed invisible ink to produce the results of encounters as the character(s) worked through a classic "rescue the princess" plotline. Designed for use with Moldvay B/X, the module contained "two" versions of the adventure, 1 for solo play, and an "expanded" version, that essentially just adds wandering monsters to the same maze, as well as a few brief encounters outside of the main solo adventure location for a group storyline.

So let's recap: Over the course of 3 or so years (technically 7 if you include the pre-published/tournie dates), that's 4 TSR modules (out of about two dozen published those same years) that prominently feature mazes and minotaurs (+1 with a maze and an ogre), and 4 of those 5 are in the top 22 adventures of all time.

So what's the verdict?
Well, I think we can say for sure that it is a cliché, but the "most overused one?" Honestly, D&D is wracked with clichés (see the name of the actual game for two of them.) The entire game is founded on clichés (heroes, magic, et al.) But if you're okay with that, so am I.

Pictured at top: Minotaur and Dead Mare before a Cave Facing a Girl in a Veil, Pablo Picasso.

How the Industrial Revolution Inspired the Original Fantasy Game: A Brief Timeline

As a graphic designer and a teacher of graphic design history, I've been familiar with William Morris (no, not the Hollywood agent) for quite some time, but only recently discovered his connection to the roots of the original fantasy game. What follows is a brief timeline of documented connections that links the Industrial Revolution to the birth of RPGs.

c. mid-to-late 1800s: The Industrial Revolution
Due in great part to the development of steam power (fueled primarily by coal), many jobs that were previously performed by manual labor become mechanized. And, as it seems to go in "industrialized" nations, the continuing goal is to get costs (and prices) lower and lower. The long and short of the Industrial Revolution... speed goes up, costs go down, and quality gets thrown out the window. (There's a saying in the business world, "Good, fast and cheap. Pick two.") Like many other products, book design becomes a casualty in the growing world of mass production.

November 1888: Emery Walker Gives an Illustrated Lecture on Printing
Present at the lecture was William Morris who, though interested in printing for quite some time, was inspired both by the lecture (focusing on a return to the quality and dedication to the craft of pre-Industrial Revolution printing) and Walker's collection of 16th century typefaces (from the masters at the birth of the printing industry as a whole.) This evening became the catalyst for Morris's founding of the Kelmscott Press.

1891: William Morris Founds the Kelmscott Press
More important (for this discussion anyway) than Morris's contributions to book and typography design (like the typeface Chaucer), was the subject matter of the books Morris published, some of which were written by Morris himself. In this context, the most important of them is The Story of the Glittering Plain (written and published by Morris in 1891), which is possibly the first modern fantasy story to unite the ordinary world with the supernatural. More importantly, by doing so, Morris broke with a tradition in these types of books, in that they were previously based in real worlds and time periods. Morris was one of the first writers to have his novels take place entirely in a land of fantasy.

c. 1910s: J.R.R. Tolkien Takes Up Writing
Among his many inspirations in poetry, prose and subject matter alike, Tolkien cites the work of William Morris. It was some of these works from which Tolkien took hints for names like "Dead Marshes" and "Mirkwood." Tolkien particularly cites The Well at the World's End (sounds like the name of a module, doesn't it?), written and published by Morris in 1896.

c. 1937/1954-55: The Hobbit is Published/Lord of the Rings is Published
If you're not familiar with this part, you've either been living in a cave under the Misty Mountains or you never venture further than the edge of your shire.

1966-1970: Chainmail, Gygax, Arneson, Yadda, Yadda, Yadda
And this is the part where everybody else comes in.

FOR FURTHER READING (I feel like Lavar Burton should be here for this):
The Story of the Glittering Plain - William Morris, 1894 Kelmscott Press edition
The Well at the World's End, Vol. I - William Morris, 1896
The Well at the World's End, Vol. II - William Morris, 1896

Pictured at top, a Walter Crane illustration from The Story of the Glittering Plain (1894 edition.)