I personally find it bizarre that some corners of the OSR think we should be spending our time debating how ethical it is to have mentions of sex and adult intimacy in reference to a game which has been semi-humorously summarized as being all about “killing things and taking their stuff.”Of course, I could be… Continue reading Being An Arbiter of Taste

Technological index may vary from 0 to 18, more commonly ranging from 4 through about 10.  Higher numbers indicate greater capacity….The technological index is used in conjunction with the technological level table to determine the general quality and capability of local industry.  The tables indicate the general types or categories of goods in general use… Continue reading Traveller Tuesday: 1977 Tech Levels, Part 3 of 3

The next morning, he and Harkaman took an aircar and went to look at the city at the forks of the river. It was completely new, in the sense that it had been built since the collapse of Federation civilization and the loss of civilized technologies. It was huddled on a long, irregularly triangular mound,… Continue reading Traveller Tuesday: 1977 Tech Levels, Part 2

Original D&D cost $10.  That’s a fact.  Using any of a number of online inflation calculators (I used this one), we can see that what cost $10 in 1974 would cost approximately $43 in today’s money.  In 1974, the minimum wage was approximately $2/hour, which would be worth a little over $8/hour in today’s money.… Continue reading Cold Hard Facts

Tech levels in Classic Traveller have always been a subject of debate.  Back in 1977, what was interesting was seeing the range of tech levels, and what they meant.  Because of the relatively “gritty” feel of the original game – firearms and cutlasses on the ground, lasers and missiles in space – there was a… Continue reading Traveller Tuesday: 1977 Edition Tech levels

So I read over on the Escapist about “Read an RPG Book in Public Week” – I think this is a grand idea.  I’ve been known to be reluctant to read my role-playing games in public, but that was because of unfinished-dissertation-guilt more than anything else.  I’m going to have to think about it, but… Continue reading This looks like fun! Read an RPG Book in Public!

I’m having an epiphany of sorts. For a very long time, I thought that the idea of “race as class” was just plain weird.  Why couldn’t a dwarf be a fighter?  Why can’t a hobbit be a thief?  It seemed very strange to me, reading about this in Moldvay/Mentzer Basic D&D.  “It’s about the focus… Continue reading Race as Class

So in the latest session, our band of hardy adventurers had gotten split up: Eric – a human cleric of Styphon the Healer-god Reacher – a human “locksmith” Fram – a human priest of Galzar Wolfhead …had all gone through a teleportal that caused them to appear about 20 feet above ground level, near the entrance to… Continue reading The “New” Campaign: Trouble on Second Level

Alternate World Forms:  Several alternatives to the traditional spherical world form are possible. Most occur when a civilization wishes to trap and use energy from its central star, and needs great land surface to do so.  In addition, population pressure (especially on a civilization unable to develop interstellar travel on a large scale) may be a… Continue reading Traveller Tuesday: 1977 Edition Worlds, Part Two

In the three weeks and two sessions since I last reported on my “new” D&D campaign, we’ve added not just one player, but two – I’m up to three players at my local FLGS, and other gamers are beginning to notice.  It’s fun, but I must admit I’m continuing to run into some issues in… Continue reading Update on the “new” campaign