False Premises: "The DM should maximize player fun."

What. The. Actual. Fuck.

Someone just said that today. In a public forum. That the only job of the DM is to maximize player fun. This discussion was related to race/class restrictions in 2nd Edition AD&D - but I have to tell you, I've never seen a more stupid sentiment in my life and I decided it needed a blog post. The obvious response is obvious:

NO.

I mean this is such obvious bullshit that no one should say it and expect to be taken seriously as a functional adult. This is the kind of crap I expect from toddlers and anyone spewing this verbal vomit should be treated as such.

Now, being the generally nice chap that I am, I will explain once - and once only - why this is a load of crap. Afterwards, if you still want to hold on to this crap, I'd recommend therapy or maybe electroshock treatment.

First, let's step back and answer: "What is a role playing game?"

Premise of a Role Playing Game

A role playing game is a set of structured rules administrated by a single individual to provide guidance around the actions of the players. In terms of AD&D, and D&D in general, the single individual is referred to as the DM and is given maximum leeway in both interpreting the rules and managing the table - in that, whatever the DM says is what the rule at the table and that is "rules as written." This is often referred to as "Rule Zero."

The players have control over their own agency. What this means is that once the players are at the table, with characters created within the scope of the DM's campaign setting, the players have full control over how their characters will react and explore the world. This is why DMPCs and railroading are terrible - they remove player agency either by making them passive to the world (DMPC) or making their agency and choices meaningless.

The DM, of course, is responsible for creating that world: plots, maps, encounters, managing the reactions of the players, allocating resources, evaluating material/rules, and resolving unexpected or unplanned player actions. Essentially the bookkeeping and management. This usually takes up time before and after a game as well, so once the players are done, the lonely DM is still at the table determining the ramifications of the game and planning the next session.

Now, let's discuss maximization.

The Premise and Problem of Maximization

Maximization, or more properly, the utility maximization problem is a microeconomic theory regarding consumer decisions. Typically the question is asked in regards to purchasing: "How should I spend my money in order to maximize my utility?" Money and time are both finite resources that can be viewed under the scope of this utilization formula. For gaming, the utilization problem can be expressed as: "How should I spend my time in order to maximize my utility?" where utility is fun.

Now there is a whole crap ton of work done on utility maximization problems. It's fascinating stuff and I encourage you to delve into it, but the key point that I think needs to be emphasized for this post is this: Although the theoretical utility curve created by the consumer/player will indicate that a theoretical choice is best, that choice might not exist. This is the opposite case of bounded rationality (where the player is unwilling to put in the time or effort to determine their maximum utility and thus they chose a suboptimal experience or product), but the effect is the same - the consumer/player is left with suboptimal choices based on their theoretical - but nonexistent - maximum.

For our player who is searching for his theoretical maximum, two problems get in the way of maximizing their fun:

1. Demand Pressure: There are only so many DMs. Since demand for DMs is high, and supply of DMs is low, DMs have greater control over the market and can offer those products they wish to offer and not necessarily what the market demands.
    
2. Subjective Probability: Subjective probability is based on a person’s own personal reasoning and judgment. It is the probability that the outcome a person is expecting will actually occur. There are no formal calculations for subjective probability but instead it is based on a person’s own knowledge and feelings. For us, any two given players looking at a proposed game will subjectively come to different assessments of their ability to enjoy that game. As a result, the player base is fractured, there is no agreed upon standard for evaluating and assessing a "fun game" meaning that any efforts by the player to maximize utility will be frustrated first by not having the ability to internally quantify their utility, and second being a part of a large demand side of people in a similar situation.
   
   It's important to note here that the fact that fun is subjective and internal means that it is impossible for any DM to actually meet the maximum utility of all players. Each one will have a utility maximum that is different from the others, including the DM themselves.

By chasing the theoretical maximum, which won't exist in the market, the player fails to maximize their utility. They want to be in the RPG market, they have time to spend on the RPG market, but they burn that time chasing something which they can't have.

Now, a rational actor who examines the market place and finds that there is nothing in that market place that offers what they want can handle it one of three ways. Let's look at the them:

1. Create their own Service: The player will offer to DM, establishing the game they want to play and inviting other players to join.
    
2. Adjust their Expectations: The player will seek to join a game where the game play is as close to possible to the theoretical maximum.
    
3. Do not adjust: The player will either not join games and thus get zero utility, or will join games and attempt to force the games to their preference which results in no one gaining utility (due to stress and frustration at the board, leading to DM burn out and reducing the DM supply, thus making it more difficult for everyone else). 

An additional problem, which makes three above such an issue, is that we're all attempting to maximize our utility. If the DM's maximization is at odds with the player's maximization, then the laws of supply and demand come into play. Limited supply and high demand mean that the player who is at odds with the DM will never be able to play a game. If the player can't adjust, or act as a DM, then the player will enter into a situation where zero utility for anyone is possible. Rational players and DMs, faced with a player like that, will remove the player in order to maximize their own utility.

Back to Gaming

So what does this all mean for role playing games? Simple. Be respectful when you're at the table. When a DM outlines their world take notes. If you like it well enough, play it. If you hate it, but can carry on, do so - nothing stops the player from taking notes and saying to the DM: "Hey if you want to take a break at some point, I came up with an awesome idea..."

Your DM would probably appreciate it.

Expanding on Variant Humans

Under 2nd edition rules, human characters are not seen as viable if you remove class restrictions. It's right in the DMG. The sum total of human benefits can be summed up as:

• Fairly common (no mechanical benefit)
• Generally well liked (no mechanical benefit)
• Can dual class (poor version of multiclassing)
• Unlimited access to all classes (not Comcast/Verizon unlimited. TRUE unlimited access)
• Most magic items are going to be sized for them (or elves, and half elves)

So when you want to remove class restrictions on demihuman players, you run into objections that it isn't fair. Heck, the DMG even says it:

The DM can, if he chooses, make any class available to any race. This will certainly make your players happy. But before throwing the doors open, consider the consequences. If the only special advantage humans have is given to all the races, who will want to play a human? Humans would be the weakest race in your world. Why play a 20th-level human paladin when you could play a 20th-level elven paladin and have all the abilities of paladins and elves? - Page 21, DMG, Chapter 2 PC Races - A Nonhuman World

Now, ignoring for a moment player agency and also ignoring the world building consequences (that's an entirely different rant), it is true that, mechanically, humans get the short end of the stick. However, this can be adjusted without damaging the game balance or engaging in any more power creep then 2nd Edition engages in already! And the main reason has nothing to do with demihumans - though it helps with that.

There is a strong cultural variance between groups that live in radically different situations - even apparent in the Middle Ages. Look at perceptions of Appalachia versus the cities of coastal Virginia. And there are even further divisions based on the role that an individual has within a city or rural area: landed lords vs free peasants (i.e. the economic conditions that led to Enclosure), or the "town vs gown" debates, or what to do with peasant workers migrating en masse to cities. Guilds only took in so many people, and the huge labor force cause significant cultural changes.

At the same time, these cultural variations lead to skill variations. During enclosure, peasants kicked out of common lands lost the security and safety that the old system provided. They were unable to transition their existing skills into the new market, and this lead to revolts and riots during the transition period. In Ireland, food and land seizures that disrupted the population lead to the formation of the Irish Republican Brotherhood (later the IRA).

The primary point of all this is that there are significant differences between human populations in terms of skills, temperament and inclination. What unites them is a general view from other races that humans are dirty (high populations crammed into cities; or crammed into small villages and living with the mud and animals), but also diplomatic and generally well liked. Because of that I give all humans two racial abilities:

• Peacekeepers: Humans in general are more trusted then other races. Both elves and orcs, racial enemies turn to humans at times and though humans might have preferences (evil preferring orcs, good preferring elves), there is generally no way to know at first. As such, humans always start one level higher on encounter tables: Hostile to threatening, threatening to indifferent, indifferent to friendly. This is the case until the human does something to indicate that they should be treated differently.
• Disease Resistant: In most fantasy settings humans cities are often described in typical medieval fashion compared to elven or dwarven cities: dirty, squalid, and packed to the parapet. These conditions have one natural outcome: disease. Disease often rips through human cities and kills the weak. Those left multiply and grow, having stronger resistance. Humans thus gain resistance to non-magical disease similar to how halflings and dwarves have resistance to poison and magic. They gain a +1 to their saves for every 3.5 points of constitution. The save type depends on the special attack used by the creature. Rats, for example, use the Save vs. Poison chart. If no save is allowed or outlined (i.e. rabies from a large bat) the character can make a Save vs. Poison without their bonus.[/list]

In addition to the above, I recommend the following variants based on regional variance:

Rural

Peasants and nobility that live out of the cities on estates. Humans of this type tend to favor outdoor activities and are often seen as uncultured by their urban peers. Typically they live in small villages and hamlets and are engaged in agricultural work, logging, or mining. Rural humans get:

• Ability Score Adjustment: +1 to Constitution, -1 to Intelligence. Rural humans need to be tough to survive the day to day of back breaking farm labor. At the same time, they very rarely get formal schooling and children tend to be put to work quickly, which acts as a detriment to maximizing mental capacity.
• Making the Best: Rural humans are used to selling the best of their wares and making do with what is left over. When at market, they can choose to buy less expensive food, basic goods, and raw resources for personal use. This results in a 50% savings of the list price in the PHB. This covers leather and padded armor types as well. A rural human can always find a material for a sling, a quarterstaff, or a club at no cost.
• Rural Work: Rural humans are generally aware of human activity when they encounter it. On a roll of 1 through 3 on a 1d6, a human will know if other humans were responsible for logging, mining or farming. Further, on a roll of 1 through 2 on a 1d6, they will know, in general, if the area is good for one of those activities. On a roll of 1 on a 1d6, they can even isolate specific resources such as high quality farming soil, mineral wealth for mining, or high quality lumber for specific purposes.
• Bonus Proficiency: If non-weapon proficiencies are used, they can choose to gain a bonus non-weapon proficiency from the following list: Agriculture, Animal Handling, or Mining.

Urban

Suave and cultured, cunning and conceited - even the lowest of the low has a hustle. Urban humans tend to be more culturally aware and savvy, and careful of word and deed when they want something. Politics comes as second nature.

• Ability Score Adjustment: +1 to Charisma, -1 to Strength. Urban humans typically represent guild members, members of the Church, and nobles. They tend to learn how to navigate social encounters early on, giving them advantages to their Charisma score. However, most of their time is spent around tables or markets, and not the back breaking labor of rural or coastal humans. This reduces their overall strength.
• Cityslickers: Urban humans tend to be wealthier than other humans and demihumans. When rolling starting gold, they add an additional die before multiplication.
• Social Intuition: Urban humans can give a person a quick one over and know where they stand. On a roll of 1 - 3 on a 1d6, an urban human can assess a person's social standing. On a 1 - 2 on a 1d6, they can determine the amount of wealth that the person has, and on a 1 on a 1d6 they can assess how that person will respond to their own goals and political maneuvering. Alignment is not the question - only the actual actions of the other person. As an example, a merchant is planning on using his friendship with the Princess to secure a wool shipment contract. Concerned his plans might be known, he looks around before slipping in the back entrance of the palace. A chaotic evil bandit is hiding behind a barrel focused on getting drunk in an alley, and the merchant immediately dismisses him. A neutral good human guard has been paid by another merchant to keep an eye on him, and he senses that the guard is being shifty and following him. Concerned he keeps walking, and plans an alternative approach.
• Bonus Proficiencies: If non-weapon proficiencies are used they can choose to gain two bonus non-weapon proficiency: Etiquette and then they can choose one based on their background. If they are a guild member, they can choose a crafting skill from the General table (i.e. blacksmithing). If they are noble or a church member, they can choose heraldry, reading/writing, or an additional language. Merchants can choose from either one. [/list]

Coastal

Coastal humans are like the sea, a smooth surface with depths underneath. As with the sea, they can go from calm to raging and back to calm fast enough to make your head spin. Coastal humans are those involved in making their living from the sea or other bodies of water, be it in an urban or rural environment. If not sailors, they'll own taverns or work the docks.

• Ability Score Adjustment: +1 to Dexterity, -1 to Charisma. Coastal humans typically represent sailors, fishermen, boat builders, dock workers, and those who make their living in or around the coast. Docks or decks tend to be crowded and subject to rapid changes, making coastal humans naturally quick on their feet. However, the blunt requirements of the job, and the totalitarian nature of ship organization, makes such humans blunt and crass, and quick to anger.
• Quick to Anger: Coastal humans are used to brawls, fights, arguments, and more. Like the sea, storms brew up quickly, cause intense damage, and disappear almost as quickly as they arrived. They never shy from a fight, and are quick to join in. Over time, coastal humans learn many dirty tricks in fighting. When fighting unarmored using traditional sailor weapons (club, chain, belaying pin, dagger/knife, gaff/hook, hand/throwing axe, harpoon, scourge/whip), they gain a +2 to their AC, and a +1 to their attack rolls.
• Weather Eye: Coastal humans grow up with a weather eye, and are generally aware of what the weather will be and when it will shift (i.e. the old saying "Red in the morning, sailors take warning; red at night, sailors delight."). Even if not aware they are doing it, coastal humans will be keeping an eye on the weather subconsciously. On a roll of 1 - 3 on a 1d6, they'll be aware that a weather shift is coming ("A storm is coming" or "The storm will clear") in the next six hours. On a roll of 1 - 2 on a 1d6, they will know the specific timing of changes within 30 minutes. On a roll of 1 on a 1d6, they will know specific conditions of an upcoming storm: lightning, hail, wind bursts, tornadoes etc. On a 1 on a 1d6, they can predict the outcome of weather magic based on the changes happening to the atmosphere around them. How they use that information is up to them.
• Bonus Proficiencies: If non-weapon proficiencies are used they can choose to gain access to a bonus non-weapon proficiency from the following list: Fishing, Rope Use, Seamanship, or Swimming. Coastal humans also gain weathersense.[/list]

Wild

Wild humans are from beyond the rural environment. Lost tribes in the mountains and jungles of the world represent wild humans. Typically, they have a lower technology level compared to civilized humans - though this isn't always the case. Wild humans will tend towards tribal organization in small bands.

• Ability Score Adjustment: +1 to Wisdom, -1 to Charisma. Wild humans typically represent tribesman, or cultures that eschew the type of urban environment found in compact cities. They might represent pioneers or colonists, or hermit sects that have isolated themselves away from the main population. They tend to be patient and observant, learning from nature and the wildlands, while also eschewing contact with outsiders.
• Weapons in Hand: Wild humans need weapons to survive, and even children are trained on specific weapons from a young age. Choose from one of the following weapons: bow (short), club, dagger, javalin, sling, or spear. The character is proficient in that weapon and can make a stone or bone version (Wild Weapon, Wisdom -3).
• Survivor: Wild humans grow up learning how to live off the bounty around them. They are skilled survivalists and foragers, and can generally find everything they need close to hand. On a roll of 1 through 3 on a 1d6, they can find enough food and water to keep one person alive for a day after one hour of foraging, hunting, or setting traps. On a roll of 1 through 2 on a 1d6, they have a general direction sense, and can figure out how to get somewhere with no trails. On a roll of 1 on a 1d6, they can determine the best way to navigate difficult to pass terrain. 
• Bonus Proficiencies: If non-weapon proficiencies are used they can choose to gain access to a bonus non-weapon proficiency from the following list: Animal Lore, Direction Sense, Fire-building, Running, or Mountaineering. Wild humans gain Survival automatically.

House Rules for Campaigns

I like 2nd Edition AD&D because it is what I grew up with and what I'm familiar with. I like the Player's Option material. I like the splat books. I like the campaign settings. I like the world building. If you don't like that stuff, that is totally a'okay!

That being said, just because I like 2nd Edition doesn't mean that I don't house rule. House ruling is, in my mind, the divine right of DMs. I don't think I've ever actually met a DM that doesn't house rule. Even DMs who will go on about RAW will make a house rule in the heat of the moment - and there is nothing wrong with that! So when I find something I like from any source, I'll make a house rule to incorporate it into my game. So I thought I would share some of my house rules here, and everything here is filtered under: "In my not so humble opinion."

• Removing Class Restrictions: This one is probably one of my earliest changes. Class restrictions and level restrictions seemed stupid. The underlying assumption that it is necessary for a human-centric world is also wrong - population limitations on Elves, Dwarves, Gnomes and Halflings would work fine. If, in 100 years you have x6 human population growth, and x0.01 elf population growth, for every elf who chooses to become a wizard you'll have probably have ten or more humans making the same choice. Further, larger communities - even if outcasts - would provide for a greater pool of cooperation, debate, research and fresh perspectives meaning that human magic would probably advance faster then elven magic.
   
• Human Modifications/Dual Class Removal: The above works for the world, but for players who want to play humans and not feel like they're not getting anything, I usually provide a few boosts. For example, human characters can start the game with proficiency and a +1 to hit bonus with any one weapon of their choice. If part of a campaign setting, I usually make this cultural ("The Kingdom of Irilka has long insisted that all citizens must fight, and starting at the age of 12 under the local Guildmaster or Lord, the people train on the green or other public place in the skills of the longbow."), and provide a few options ("House Irilka's insistence on a strong yeomanry is due to the constant raiding of the Danor, their brutal lifestyle and association with orc tribes has led their people to train constantly with the battle axe as it is key to their festivals, celebrations and warfare. Only the network of fortifications keep the Kingdom safe.").
  
  Moving back to regional changes, I also worked out specific non-weapon proficiencies based on terrain types. Humans from certain terrains could choose one as a bonus non-weapon proficiency based on how humans are quick learners and can pick up a wide variety of skills. Water environments, such as ocean shores, lakes, and rivers would have fishing, seamanship or rope use. Urban environments would include heraldry, a modern language, or etiquette. These might be adjusted by social standing of course, but the idea is that the player gets an option of three NWP to choose from that are a cost of 1 and come from the General table.
  
  In most fantasy settings humans cities are often describe in typical medieval fashion compared to elven or dwarven cities: dirty, squalid, and packed to the parapet. These conditions have one natural outcome: disease. Disease often rips through human cities and kills the weak. Those left multiply and grow, having stronger resistance. Humans thus gain resistance to non-magical disease similar to how halflings and dwarves have resistance to poison and magic. They gain a +1 to their saves for every 3.5 points of constitution. The save type depends on the special attack used by the creature. Rats, for example, use the Save vs. Poison chart. If no save is allowed or outlined (i.e. rabies from a large bat) the character can make a Save vs. Poison without their bonus.
  
  Finally, I grant human intuition. Due to the constant infighting humans engage in, many humans develop an intuition about who can be trusted and who cannot be. When encountering other humans, the DM rolls a 1d6. On a roll of 1 or 2, the character will know if the person can be trusted or not. Alignment is not at question, only the actual actions of the NPC towards the PC. A chaotic evil bandit, who is more concerned with getting drunk then harming the PC will not register as a threat. A neutral good Lord who is planning to undermine the PC in front of the King will register as a potential threat.
  
  In addition, dual classing is completely removed and humans are allowed to multiclass.
   
• Unified Experience: One thing that we did do back in the late 90s was create unified experience tables. We settled on the cleric's experience table and let everyone advance using that. This was due to our feeling that though classes might have strengths and weaknesses, everyone was better off at the same level - and in general we believed in supportive play styles and didn't mind the wizard blasting everything away. It was part of the fun. Over the years I've expanded it. Using these rules:

• Rogue = Fast. For characters who meet the bonus XP requirement for their class.

• Cleric = Average. In general what all characters use.

• Fighter = Slow. If you are multiclassing, each class uses the slow table. Experience is split.

• Wizard = Very Slow. This is for characters who do not meet the class requirements but still want to be in the class.

As a final note on unified experience, another advantage for humans would be to let them use average for all classes, and demihumans can use average for any class they can go over 10 levels in normally (10+), and slow for all other classes.

What home rules do you use? How did you develop them?

Demons, Devils and Demonology

First: It's been a while since my last update. My apologies as I've been swamped at work and with real life stuff. But it's good to be back!

Demons, Devils & Demonology

I understand that demons and 2nd Edition have a history. This post is not about that history but is instead about ignoring all of that history and introducing a concept I think could provide useful story tools for DMs moving forward. Demons and devils were included in 1st Edition and not 2nd due to that history, but this post is not about the demons and devils in 1st Edition. These rules are going to go in a different direction.

These rulers were inspired by the book "Scales of Justice" by Daniel Hood. the fourth book in the Fanuilh series.

Librum Daemonum

Mara peaked through the dirty glass into the basement. There, the Circle of the Broken Blade had gathered around a circle drawn in chalk. Chained in the center was a sacrifice, a small goat from the fields behind her. She frowned as she studied the circle. Reaching into her bag she pulled out an oil cloth wrapped book. In the light from the window the words 'Librum Daemonum' were clearly imprinted in the red leather of the cover. She opened it and started flipping through pages, her eyes darting from diagrams back to the chalk circle inside. She found it nodded to herself. Packing up she backed away slowly from the building and went around to find her friends, the Circle was looking for information - more than likely about Mara and her friends.

The Book of Demons is a rare tome that seems to turn up where mischief is desired. Trade in the books is generally considered illegal, and when found the books are burned. Only certain wizards and clerics are allowed to openly own them, as they are responsible for tracking and killing those that summon demons and the demons themselves. Despite this prohibition, copies can still be found in private collections even if they are not used. Simply owning them is a thrill. Yet, in the back of the dustiest shops in unexpected nooks it is possible to find someone who, with the right incentive might be able to provide a copy of the book. 

The books themselves are surprisingly uniform. They are always bound in red stained leather, with the words Librum Daemonum in white. Touching the letters shows that it is bone embedded into the leather itself. The book is usually between an inch to an inch and a half thick, with crackling parchment pages. They almost always look aged.

The inside of the book is written in black ink and is composed of diagrams, formula, and descriptions of the demon and devils that can be summoned and what it is that they do. The language is an ancient form of denomic, and the user of the book must either be proficient in the language ("Languages, Ancient"), or spend 3d4 weeks studying the manuscript, where after it will be added as a bonus non-weapon proficiency. This proficiency can be improved per normal,

When someone is seeking one of these books for a specific purpose - especially if that purpose is dark - then when they find a copy and open it for the first time, it will often fall open to the specific summoning circle they need as a form of temptation.

Summoning a Demon

Hald, a balding gnomish warrior slammed the door with his shoulder. Despite his small size, he was exceptionally strong - and the gauntlets of ogre's strength didn't hurt. As the door crashed open, the Circle turned in shock their chant falling away in surprise. The leader, caught up in the summoning, continued his chant unaware of the sudden commotion. Mara was only a few steps behind and with a flick of her wrist, she launched a knife at the cultist near the front. Hald was already pushing forward wielding his heavy battle axe in two hands as he closed towards the circle. They pressed hard, as they only had a minute or two before the demon arrived.

The book describes how to summon multiple different types of demons for multiple different purposes. Anyone can use the book to create a summoning circle. Each book is divided into 10 overarching spheres of influence:

1. Foresight: Portents, Omens and Divination | Internal
2. Promises: Power, Deals, and Contracts | Internal
3. Deception: Secrecy, Deceit, and Trickery | Internal
4. Knowledge: Information, facts, and history | Internal
5. Bloodlust: Hunting, killing, and battle | External
6. Vengeance: Revenge, hatred, and envy | External
7. Assassination: Destruction, death, and power | External
8. Confusion: Obstruction, plots, and manipulation | External
9. Pestilence: Disease, famine, and vermin | External
10. Hedonism: Desire, debauchery, and lust | Internal

If a sphere of influence is External or Internal indicates where the demon or devil will be summoned outside of the summoning circle (External, with the caster standing inside) or inside the circle (Internal, with the caster standing outside of the circle). When summoning, the caster has to create the circle. Creating and summoning is like casting a spell, though the level of the spell is determined by the rank of the creature that you are attempting to summon.

The ranks are as follows:

1. Tempters: (HD: 1 - 3)
2. Masters: (HD: 4 - 7)
3. Minor Lord: (HD: 8 - 11)
4. Lord: (HD:: 12 - 14)
5. Duke: (HD: 15 - 17)
6. Dark Champion: (HD: 18 - 19)
7. Prince of the Sphere: (HD: 20)

Determining what kind of demon responds to the call is handled by percentages. There is a 60% chance a demon will show up for an external sphere, and a devil for an internal sphere. If a demon, there is a 60% chance it is a fighter type character (treat as a PC fighter where level is the HD), and 20% chance it is a wizard, 10% chance it is a thief, and 10% chance it is a cleric. If a devil, there is a 60% chance it is a cleric, 20% chance it is a thief, and a 10% chance it is a fighter or wizard. HD are rolled randomly. They are always humanoid type creatures. 

Each summoning circle is generally the same:

Summon Demon or Devil (Conjuration/Summoning)Range: 20'
Duration: Special
Area of Effect: 20' radius
Components: V, S, M
Casting Time: 1 to 20 Turns
Saving Throw: None

The summon demon spell found in the Librum will take between 1 and 7 turns to cast depending on the HD of the creature being summoned. This does not include the time to set up the summoning circle, which requires materials ranging from common for low ranking demons to exceedingly rare for Princes. While a goat or chicken might do for a tempter, an angel or high priest will be needed for a Prince. Stopping the summoning of a Prince might be an adventure in and of itself. 

Controlling the Summoning

When summoned, a demon is not under any special power or control of the caster. The summoning circle will either protect the caster by presenting a barrier. An encounter check is made immediately. Demons start off as threatening. If the summoner has less hit dice then the demon, it changes to hostile. If the summoner has more, it changes to indifferent. Devils start off as indifferent, if higher in HD, they are threatening. If lower they are friendly. Princes are always hostile.

When starting the encounter roll 2d10 and subtract the reaction adjustment of the summoner based on their charisma score. Devils are always lawful, demons are always chaotic. If the player's alignment matches the summoned creature, then they get a +1 bonus to their reaction adjustment. If the summoner is not matched, it is a -1 bonus. Other bonuses and penalties can be found on Table 50 in the DMG for encounters.

The demon does not have to stay in the summoning circle and can simply leave and return to where it came from. This happens automatically if flight is the encounter result. Spells that bind demons can be applied in this situation, though this automatically sets all future summons to hostile.

When the demon arrives it will be prepared to help the summoner answer their question and will stick around long enough for one attempt. They will either be ready for battle with appropriate gear, will have the right spells memorized, or will have access to the right non-weapon proficiencies.

By their nature, demons and devils in general are unhelpful. If the question is to uncover where Baltur the Money Lender hides his account ledger the responding creature might give an exact location ("The third stair in the west wing of the manor has a hidden compartment") or might be more mysterious ("Where feet tread upwards towards the setting sun, the count of Hydra will reveal a light within the darkness.").  The level of help from the creature is dependent on their reaction. Friendly creatures will be more helpful.

Starting an Adventure: Religion!

Gods & Faith for your Players

When I first started designing my adventure, I didn't really think about gods. The player came to me and said that he wanted to play a priest and that he chose the Agriculture mythoi. I responded that the priest would come from a small monastery, and they have apple orchards and blackberry bushes. Interestingly, one of his weapon choices was the bill-guisarme, which made sense with the type of agriculture the priests practiced. Growing up out in a very rural part of New England, the garage at my house had a lot of old style agriculture tools including a billhook and an actual scythe - so I loved having that be a focus.

Beyond just wanting the polearm, the player and I conferred about what this religion would look like using just the PHB. First, we decided that the god was a minor god, focused primarily on the agriculture of trees: fruit and nut trees being the most obvious, but I also had the neat idea that the priests made a fuel out of pine resin and their pine pitch candles were a special trade item:

Candle, Pine Pitch (1sp): A pine pitch candles are mixtures of pine pitch, wax, and charcoal. Each candle is a dark black color, and is shaped as a small three inch rod. These rods are then dipped into regular wax until they create a votive candle. They can then be put into small stone or glass containers and lit. Unlike wick candles, pine pitch candles take longer to light - the priests also make special matches consisting of a long bronze arm with a pitch soaked twine match (2sp, can be used ten times) - but burn brighter and longer then regular candles. They will burn for 20 minutes per inch, and shed light in a 15' radius. 

Now just using the PHB, I decided to throw together the religion for the character by going through each step. At the time, I did not have the Complete Priest Handbook, but the PHB chapter on priests is detailed enough to allow the DM some amazing discretion when it comes to designing a faith. This post will walk you through those steps and how I approached them.

Requirements

In addition to requiring a wisdom of 9, a specific religion might have other requirements for the player as well. I decided that a minor agricultural god would expect a certain level of health and intelligence and made the requirements be a Strength of 12 and an Intelligence of 10. Why? I assumed farmers would have to be fairly strong, and intelligence was the relevant ability score for the agriculture NWP. The priests work their own orchards, and using heavy tools for hours on end would be exhausting work.

I generally expected that the members of this church would be of a neutral good alignment. Generally supportive, but separated from the core of civilization.

Weapons & Armor

The god we developed was a minor agricultural deity, primarily worshiped in the northern areas. A big emphasis was on harvesting and maintaining trees. We decided that the weapon selection, however, would be pretty basic and focused primarily on weapons converted from agricultural use or that farmers might have available: club, flail, hand/throwing axe, bill-guisarme, fauchard, quarterstaff, and sickle. We felt that this made sense as the weapons were basically all modifications of tools that they would normally use or were very simple and commonly available like the club and quarterstaff.

We didn't touch armor selection, and left the priests of this deity with full access to all armor available. I did make a note that the priesthood is generally not in favor of out of control fire, so throwing burning oil on a goblin in the woods would be seen as a bad thing.

Spells

I felt that being a priest of an agricultural god meant - especially a minor one - meant that the priest would not necessarily have access to all spells and spheres. This was essentially the same approach used by the specialist wizard. I banned necromancy, combat, and astral out of hand - far beyond the scope of this god. I also got rid of creation, since it creates something from nothing while the whole point of this God is to grow and nurture. You don't just create food, you grow it and earn it. I felt that the sphere's description didn't match what I saw the religion being about.

For major access, plant, weather, sun and healing were right at the top. I felt that all three made sense and provided the "key focus" of what the god was, and what it was hoping to do in the world. You'll also see that I choose to ban four spheres and make four schools major access. My thought was that for each major access you had to ban an "opposed" sphere. Although there are no real oppositions, I felt that was a good way to show specialization.

Everything else defaulted to minor access.

Powers

Granted powers, such as turning undead are where the priest class could truly shine. For my agricultural priest, I decided that they could turn undead, but they also able to turn vermin such as rodents and insects, and had immunity to any plant based poison. The turning abilities I felt could both be used once per encounter - so you can turn undead in one round, and then turn a beetle in the next round. I told the player that vermin were only those rodents and insects that attempted to destroy trees or eat crops, and thus something like bees or dragonflies wouldn't count, but that insect swarms (See Monster Manual, pg 206 would count). Rats would count, while weasels wouldn't count. The purpose of the power was to protect agriculture.

The poison ability was something I thought would make sense. A deity focused on plant life would probably have a strong understanding of plant poisons and provide protection to their followers. How embarrassing would it be if you start a fight with the god of disease, and his followers poison yours using the very plants you represent? Note, this also gave me another deity - a chaotic evil disease god that the cleric's character was sworn to fight against.

Ethos

In defining the ethos, the player and I had a full discussion. We defined seven primary beliefs of the religion that we felt made sense from the perspective we had developed above:

1. Support and encourage farmers. 
2. Defend against urbanization.
3. Teach the best methods for tending orchards and using the resources of the trees.
4. Encourage the growth of orchards where possible.
5. Defend against disease and fire, and the spread of disease carrying vermin.
6. Encourage peace, protect the innocent, and face challenges with bravery.
7. Develop the knowledge of agriculture, and discourage the use of wild forests.

The player felt that the religion would strongly encourage the development of orchards and tree farms for pretty much everything. Examples we developed:

• Special ships are built only using timber grown by this priesthood. 
• Wooden weapons such as long bows and quarterstaffs made by this priesthood are easier to enchant. 
• Fruit and nuts raised by this priesthood are healthier and last longer

Titles

Since the religion is primarily built around monasteries, all the members are Brothers or Sisters, and leaders are Abbots or Abbess. Men and women would work side by side, so defining their buildings as a convent or monastery would be meaningless, and we defaulted to monastery to emphasize that it was isolated and often remote.

Conclusion

Religion is one of those things that a lot of world designers sweat on. Yet, it isn't that hard. As you can see from the above, just using the Player's Handbook it is possible to design an entire priesthood quickly and easily. Everything you need to start building your world is right there - and you don't even need the priest's handbook to do it!

Catching up after Moving!

Moving: Why it seems so much easier in RPGs!

One thing I will say about RPGs: they make moving and packing look easy. Sure you can ransack that ancient castle with 100 rooms - let's just say you make off with 10,000gp and all the loot. In reality, a two bedroom apartment takes 16 hours and the weather gods decide that - despite the fall month - you will also have to deal with a temperature of 106F. Isn't that great? Obviously my sacrifices and prayers were in vain.

Le sigh!

But let's talk for a minute about encumbrance. As that's what I've been spending the past few weeks thinking about!

Encumbrance and Transportation

This is very much an optional set of rules, and one that is often not focused on in the game - which is a shame, because this is the kind of rule that would address those concerns of fighters and thieves that magic users are overpowered. Even if you are playing a high magic game with tons of magical options to transport things, you do hit a cap - and nothing helps clear out a dungeon like the follower table for the fighter. But that will be addressed later.

For now, let's focus on encumbrance itself. I would say that out of every ten readers, only one will have used encumbrance (Please feel free to comment below if you are that one person - I'd love to know your experience with the rules). Encumbrance adds an additional layer of complexity to the rules that many players and DMs do not like. They don't want to record gold coin weights, nor do they want to stop being able to seed the dungeon with useful items.

And that's fair. There is nothing wrong with saying "we're going to hand wave our way around this." This is a game after all, and though I couldn't hand wave myself through my wife's closet (seriously: four hours in and of itself), I can understand the desire to do so.

So why do I do it?

Because it is fun to go back to old adventures with new rules becoming the focus of the fun! When I include these rules, the goal is to make the characters think about their equipment and about their environment. If you find a room with two full treasure chests, how are you going to get them out? Say you have a fighter (Str: 15) and a thief (Str: 12). Between the two of them they can carry 100 lbs unencumbered. But the fighter has chain mail and the thief has leather armor: 55 lbs of their weight is taken just in their armor. This is unencumbered of course, If they are carrying weapons and some gear we might get from encumbered to lightly encumbered. 

So the large chest weighs 100 lbs (maxed out capacity based on Table 50 in the PHB, page 105). So let's just say that our characters are sharing the load and we'll assume the chest is evenly packed. That means each character is lifting 50 lbs. So for our fighter, we'll say that puts him at moderate encumbrance, and our thief is now at heavy encumbrance. Both are humans, and now the fighter has a movement rate of 6, but the thief has a movement rate of 4. When moving did you ever hear someone say: "You're going to fast!"

Well due to the shared load, the fighter is now at the same speed as the thief - four. If the fighter tries to go faster, then the thief is going to fall down, or lose his hold, etc etc. Now you're party is moving this chest through a dungeon at a movement rate of 4. How many random encounters will they have? Did they clear the dungeon first? Are they sure? How long will it take to get it outside? Is outside even safe? There is another chest too - so now you have to repeat this!

Now you've added an additional layer onto the dungeon for the PCs. Not only do they have to concern themselves with the monsters, but they also have to think strategically. This leads to four major areas for additional role playing opportunities:

1. Making Camp

The first is the base camp. Many adventures start in an inn, jump to the dungeon, and end with the players partying it up back in town. Again, there is nothing wrong with this style of play. However, encumbrance means you have to have a place to leave your gear and it needs to be secured. Making camp then, requires actually working through the outside of the dungeon area. The players need to think about:

• Concealment - is it hard to see where they want to make camp?
• Accessibility - can it be easily accessed when carrying a heavy load?
• Safety - can it be easily defended if necessary?

As a DM you can either have the players talk through this: "I look for a small cave, more a crack in the rock which we can conceal with freshly cut branches." Or you can have the players use non-weapon proficiency, such as survival or camping:

Camping (General/Fighter)

 # of Slots: 1 | Relevant Ability: Intelligence | Check Modifier: 0 

You know the basics of setting up a camp in the wilderness, such as creating a safe fire pit, and the best location for a refuse pit. Most people know that you can pitch a tent and set up a fire, but when they make camp randomly, they might end up sick if they put their refuse pit to close to the spring or they might start a forest fire if they didn't properly set up a place for cooking. You can avoid those mishaps easily. Without an ability check and with proper equipment such as tents, a shovel, flint and steel, and tinder, you can set up a camp for 4 people for each hour you spend working.  

With an ability check, you are able to set up shelters if you have none, for the same time frame. Each hour requires an ability check, and you gain a bonus of +2 to your ability role if you have the survival skill. You are able to scour the local site for what you need. This assumes ideal conditions, and problems such as inclement weather could impose penalties.

When taken by a fighter as a fighter skill, the fighter can make additional skill checks to conceal the camp, or set up a camp as a siege camp. When concealing a camp, the character imposes a penalty equal to difference between their target, and what they rolled. For example, Arwin the Halfling Fighter is attempting to conceal a camp in the mountains. His intelligence is an 11. He has chosen a good site, and had all the necessary gear to get the camp set up. He begins the process of concealment and rolls a 9. The orcs that have been tracking them end up having to take an additional -2 penalty to their tracking score or they lose the party and move on.

If you use additional skill points on this skill, you are mastering camping skills in specific terrains, such as mountains or temperate forests. You gain that additional skill point bonus when in that specific terrain, and that terrain only. You can use more then one additional skill point for one terrain type, for example, a fighter with three skill points spent on camping would have general, and then could either declare a +2 bonus for camping in mountains, or a +1 bonus for camping in mountains and a +1 bonus for camping in temperate forests. Non-fighters can spend a skill point to gain the fighter abilities above.

The DM might allow you to also purchase specially designed camouflage supplies. These would add an additional bonus to the concealment check. Of course, if you have animals in your camp concealing it could be difficult. You might need to hire guards. Especially when you start carting out treasure.

2. Carting Equipment Around

So the party wants to make their way into the mountains. They know of a good camping site near the ancient tomb of Xylocan the Terrible, but they want to be absolutely sure they are ready for what they encounter. They want to bring tents, supplies for a few days, and some spare weapons. They also know that the last time they went exploring, that they had found some items that were to large to carry out easily, so they want to bring block and tackle and some hand carts.. wait! Hand carts? What?

First, making an expedition out into the wilderness requires bringing along everything you are going to need - or making it as you go. Hunting and fishing, for example, can maintain food supplies, as does foraging. However, having ready made food is easier as you do not have to spend all your time just focused on survival. The same is true for weapons - you're better off with prepared weapons versus making your own. So you decide you need:

• Tents
• Bedrolls
• Rope (lots and lots of rope)
• Poles
• Lanterns/Torches (and oil for lanterns)
• Block and tackle
• Grappling hooks
• Extra ammo and weapons
• Food and water (jugs or barrels are probably the best approach)

How do you get all of this up into the mountains? A wagon makes the most sense, pulled by a mule or ox. I've always ruled that a horse, mule, ox, or other pack animal with a cart harness is able to pull 150% of their stated weight on the encumbrance table. They can pull more then moderate encumbrance if the character passes an animal handling check with a -2 penalty for each level above moderate (or for each movement penalty point if using the optional encumbrance rules). However, wagons don't fit into most dungeons easily (there are obviously exceptions!).

So what about inside a dungeon? Well, the characters can use a block and tackle to load up a small cart. There are three types: Hand Carts, Miners Carts, and Wheel Carts. When using a cart to transport, the weight is considered to be 50% of the total weight if pulled, and 80% of the total weight if pushed.

Hand Cart (10 gp): A handcart is essentially a chest on wheels. It can carry up to 100 lbs, and is 3' long by 2' wide by 2' deep. A cart might come with an optional closure on the top which can be locked and secured (+2 gp), or it could just be open. If open, ignore depth - though putting a tall statue in the cart could cause it to tip over. 

Miner's Cart (30gp): A miner's cart is larger then a hand cart, being 5' long, by 3' wide, and 4' in depth. Miners carts can carry 200 lbs. Miners carts sit on two axles and four wheels. They are often pulled by mules or pushed by the miners and are well constructed for that purpose. As they are designed for use underground, most make sure to include a place to hang a lantern, torch or candle from the front. Fancier carts will include a small mirror of highly polished silver to help improve the visibility of a miner's candle (+10 gp, miner's candles burn even in poor air quality, and brightly - they cast light out in a 10' radius and last for 20 minutes per inch. The polished silver mirror extends the light out to a 20' cone, which is 10' wide at the end. Miner's candles cost 5cp each).  

Wheel Cart (5gp): A wheel cart is usually nothing more then a single axle with a small base that is 2' wide and 0.5' long. A single rope is included that can be tied around objects laid on the platform, allowing them to be pulled along. Wheel carts are most frequently used by foresters who down a tree and put one end on the cart, and the other end of the tree is harnessed to a mule or pony to be carried back to their mill. Wheel carts cannot carry a large number of items, but can only carry one item that is secured via the rope. 

With these options the players are able to cart more equipment, and now have an additional reason to set up a camp. Remember, if they're using mules or ponies to pull their gear they will also need feed for them as well!

3. Making Shields and Armor Actually Worthwhile

Additionally, I have made shields and armor more worthwhile. I allow fighters to gain a bonus of -1 to their AC in any kind of armor (i.e. leather armor goes from -2 to -3) by using a weapon proficiency. Further, for all classes shields are better:

Buckler/Target: Improves AC by 2 against one attack, or 3 if used against a missile attack.
Small: Improves AC by 2 against two frontal melee attacks. or 4 against missile attacks.
Medium: Improves AC by 3 against all melee frontal and flank attacks, or 6 against missile attacks.
Body: Improves AC by 4 against melee frontal and flank attacks, or 8 against missile attacks.

Halflings and gnomes cannot use body shields, however they, and other Small sized creatures, treat their shield as one size larger. For example, Arwin the Halfling Fighter has come back to town. During his latest foray into a dungeon, he was attacked from behind and had to drop his short bow and fight with his short sword. He got hurt badly, and has decided he needs a shield. He goes to the shop, and finds a human armorer who has created a small round shield with a bronze leaf pattern. He loves it and purchases it. In his next encounter, he will have an AC bonus of 3 against all frontal and flank attacks: 2 for the shield, and 1 for using a weapon proficiency.

This allows weight to be saved on armor, and also is slightly more in line with history - where shields were key to a soldier's defense. 

4. Hirelings as more then Torch Bearers

Porters, carters, and camp guards all become necessary if encumbrance is going to be a serious concern. The players will need to balance, however, the cost of a team against the potential reward. And this also means that they have to think long term: should we quickly scout a place out and determine what we'll need ahead of time? If we have to leave and come back, what could happen? 

Perhaps the main treasure of the adventure isn't even monetary. An ancient evil has overtaken a temple far in the mountains. The church wishes the PCs to go into the temple and recover important relics: statues of their goddess. These statues are made of marble and are fragile, each double the size of a regular human. In exchange, the PCs will be well rewarded - but not with gold, but access to restoration and healing spells. To recover those statues the PCs will need to clear the dungeon, evaluate the safety of the route, and then bring in a team to get each statue safely out of the dungeon and into wagons or onto wheel carts, and then back to the temple. All of those people will need to be paid, and all that equipment secured or rented. A team of teamsters going all that way will be a handsome sum. Add in laborers and you have a large team of people heading into the mountains. What will that attract? Is the route truly safe? The PCs will have a very difficult time... and that's what makes it so much fun!

And also note: you aren't going to double up here. Guards aren't going to do the job of porters and porters make terrible guards. Maybe if the guards are getting some of the action they'll help load - after all, the more treasure that comes out, the larger their share - but do the players want to share?

Starting an Adventure: Populating your Campaign World

Starting an Adventure

The basic idea for this adventure came to me very quickly: a small gem stone operation has been interrupted when a rock slide opened up a cave system, and a bunch of giant rats came out to attack the miners. The miners were gnomes because gnomes loved gems according to the Player's Handbook. My logic was infallible.

You can read more about getting started on this campaign here.

While I sketched out the map, the two players I had started out with their character development. One wanted to be a fighter, the other a cleric. So I quickly added both a monastery to my notes and a fort where a local Baron ruled. Both characters decided to be humans so right now I only have the rock gnome miners, and a bunch of humans running around. But this was a wealthy town (gem stones and metals) and so I wanted to figure out what it looked like. Being the good DM that I am, I immediately turned to the Monster Manual and decided to roll everything out. This is how it was described the area according to my notes:

Village of Highfall and the North March Barony

The Village of Highfall is a quiet village surrounded by farmland, and under the shadow of the Frost Wall Mountains. Four large peaks, former volcanoes, tower above the sky and watch the activity in the valley below. Before the arrival of the barony, local tribes worshiped these mountains, associating them with the seat of their gods. The village is close to Forest Watch Keep, the seat of the North March Barony. 

From the Keep, Baron Eberhart and his soldiers, guard the land from the constant incursion of barbarian raiders, goblin tribes and the never ending supply of bandits from the Staghaunt Woods. The Baron is a kind, but hard, man and is well liked by his men. He is considered fair and just, and has done much for the local population.  

At the edge of the Staghaunt Woods, a small monastery was established. The order of priests raises blackberries and apples that they turn into wine and hard cider, which they sell to fund their order. Less well known is their library, a small collection of holy works that they continue to expand upon. 

After writing out the above, I used the Monster Manual to actually determine what the Barony looked like. The results are below:

North March Barony & Village of Highfall

• Baron Waren Eberhart (6th Level Human Fighter, Lawful Good)
• 10 Gentry (17 Guards, 46 Servants)
• 3 Knights
• 44 Soldiers (Including 1 2nd Level Lieutentant, and 12 1st level Sergeants/Corporals)
• 22 Mercenaries
• 16 Farmers
• 81 Peasants
• 9 Craftsmen
• 7 Priests
• 9 Rock Gnome Miners

So now we have a very general idea of what is out here in the woods. Later I would add a wizard tower and two wizards and three apprentices so that another character could play a wizard. The wizards had six servants, and eight guards at their tower. The head of the tower is 5th level, and is often consulted by Baron Eberhart on things magical. Additionally we expanded our map to a lake at the end of the valley and this is where the small village of Dawnfields was added - being primarily a halfling village under the protection of the Barony. This also marks the full range of the Barony.

Village of Dawnfields

• Master Warden Collyn Longwood (3rd Level Halfling Fighter, Lawful Good)
• 6 Wardens of Dawnfields (2nd Level Halfling Fighters, Lawful Good)
• Master Priest Reya Merryberry (3rd Level Halfling Priest, Lawful Good)
• 91 Halflings
• 8 Human Craftsmen
• 10 Human Sailors

At this point we know what our happy Barony looks like - but what makes it unhappy? Barbarians, bandits, and goblins! Because random encounters are so important, I decided to put together a random encounter table, and decided that it made sense to roll on that table every five miles that the players traveled - which we estimated to be about two hours of game time. To save time I decided to re-purpose the monster summoning table from the Monster Manual. I made it focused on what it was I was trying to accomplish for the feel - plus keep it balanced for the number of adventurers I had. Roll 1d12:

1. Wolf
2. Bat, huge
3. Orc (1d2)
4. Barbarian (2d4)
5. Goblins (1d4)
6. Bandits (1d4)
7. Rat, giant (3d4)
8. Kobold (3d4)
9. Wolf
10. Bandits (1d4)
11. Bat, huge
12. Rat, giant (3d4)

So now we have our overall environment: towns, the land, encounters, and more. At this point I felt ready to begin the adventure. But first - here is the updated map!

I recreated the map in Hexographer, something I will review at a later date - but have no financial interest in or relationship with beyond me using it to make maps. This is fairly basic, and each hex represents 5 miles.

So the adventure begins! My starting characters were a Human Fighter and a Human Cleric. The fighter was a former soldier of the baron who had finished his service and was looking forward to adventure. The cleric was a trainee at the monastery ready to go out into the world. They now had a place to explore and people to interact with.

Next post I'll actually put up the adventure!

Building a Kingdom from the Ground Up: Magic

Decisions on Magic in a New Campaign Setting

Back in my previous post on Building a Kingdom from the Ground Up, I talked briefly about character creation and how I and the players built out at the same speed. As the players grew, the campaign world grew. A player wanted a halfling, so we built a halfling village. Another wanted a wizard, and so we quickly addressed magic in the setting. I then took a moment to beat on the Forgotten Realms as that is one of my favorite hobbies.

But let's step back for a second and examine the consequences and design decisions of the various levels of magic.

Definitions

Magic is one of those things that can be defined on a simple scale: None, Low, Medium, High, Extensive. This is the basic Likert scale I use to define fantasy worlds. I'll quickly give a basic breakdown of them below:

• None: This is a fantasy world with no magic. It might have something like orcs, or goblins, but in general, there is zero magic involved in the campaign setting. Examples would include The Three Muskateers or the Count of Monte Cristo, fantasies in zero magic settings. It could also occur in D&D if you were to use an all fighter or all thief campaign, without magic items. Not necessarily the most common or favorite of anyone.
• Low: A lot of people point to Middle Earth as an example of a low magic campaign and I tend to agree. A small handful of magical items, a heavy dependence on fighter types, and if wizards are present - they are rare. I generally prefer this setting type, though it is hard work. Magical practitioners will either practice physical magic (i.e. sleight of hand) or be hedge wizard types. Another example would be the Kingdom of the Isles in the Riftwar Saga, while Kelewan would be an example of a medium to high magic campaign setting. In general, average folk will know magic exists and they will either be hostile or neutral towards it. I generally prefer neutral, but have played at tables where it was hostile.
• Medium: An example of this setting type would be Pre-War of the Lance Dragonlance. The distrust of magic was strong and wide spread, and while magical items and the magical gods do exist - as does an organization of mages in the Tower of High Sorcery - they are on decline. The campaign is not necessarily magically hostile - but Wizards still have to be cautious. Average folk will know wizards and magic exists, they will know it can generally be helpful, but they will have little to no practical knowledge of what magic can do. Most folk will range from nervous to generally enthusiastic about magic.
• High: Most campaigns in the various incarnations of D&D fall into this category. Magic is pretty much everywhere and magic users can be encountered in every town and region. Although some campaigns might stop short of magic shops in the market, it is a "Just barely" kind of thing. Mystara, Greyhawk, and the Forgotten Realms are all squarely in this setting, with Mystara and Greyhawk handling it well, and Forgotten Realms handling it poorly. In general, people will have a neutral to positive feeling in regards to magic, and a solid foundation for player character wizards. In my mind, this is the default setting for most D&D campaign worlds and is the easiest for DMs to implement.
• Extensive: The opposite of none. Pretty much magic is in every part of the campaign world from the word go. This could take the form of the Eberron where there are magical trains, to the world of Golem Arcana where even the poorest outcasts are able to assemble powerful magically forged Titans to defend themselves. Such campaigns are often built on the "What ifs..." that we all ask when we first start going through the spell lists... "What if I cast continual light on a bunch of stones and use them as street lamps?" In an Extensive magic world there is a city employee doing just that. In general average folk love magic, and probably practice it themselves. Forgotten Realms crosses into this realm every once in a while.

Thinking About Magic

The purpose in thinking about magic is to think about your long term, without planning out every aspect of your long term. In a high or extensive magic setting, for example, you have to not only deal with planning epic encounters, but also building in defenses against magic wielders as well. Magic is powerful, and it has the potential to completely derail a well thought out campaign. If you are going to go high and extensive you need to think in that dimension. You need to consider what will teleport and fly do to your campaigns. What about polymorph or wish? If you have an extensive magical campaign, what happens when bar fights start having web or summon monster used? 

Planning a magic level is something you should work on with your PCs finding a comfortable fit for what they want out of the world and what you want out of the world. At the end of the day, however, the DM makes the final call. 

Further, because random tables are fun, I threw this together as well - if you don't know what you want to do - or just think rolling dice is fun - then use the following tables:

1. How will average commoners react to a magical spell in your campaign world? (Roll 1d10)
   
   
2. How common do you want NPC wizards to be? (Roll 1d6)
   
      
3. When you hear "Magic Shop" your reaction is... (Roll 1d6)
   
   
4. How do you want players to react to a +1 Sword? (Roll 1d8)
   
   

Now simply take the results of each roll and look at them. Mostly low? You would prefer a low magic setting. Is it a mix? Take the one in the middle. You have one or more extensive results? Consider using that as your magical base. 

As a note, if you use these tables I'd love to hear your results. I am generally biased towards low settings and as a result these tables are too - please feel free to play with them!

Building a Kingdom from the Ground Up

And we're off!

One of the favorite things I love about 2nd Edition AD&D is that it IS the system for world building. It doesn't matter if you're looking to create a simple setting to build around an adventure, or you are going for a full multiverse that puts Brandon Sanderson to shame - you can do it in 2nd Edition. Especially with the release of the Player Options series. Let's stop for a second.

A Minor Note: Player's Option, Optional Rules, and Kits

Many people do NOT like the Player's Options series. They'll tell you about their dislike, at length, for long periods of time. And that's totally fair. Most times, if you dig into their dislike, what they hated was that the system - when player's just showed up with everything and the kitchen sink pulled into their character - could do a lot of min/maxing. This is a royal pain to adjust for, and it is very difficult on the DM to adjust a game for that kind of player. Especially in the 2nd Edition days when computer tools were limited and you couldn't just have a tablet on the table that let you manage your game.

However, when you use the optional rules to build your campaign setting - you can do pretty much anything. I feel a lot of people discounted the Player Options series due to the explosion within the player base that was brought out by the material in Skills & Powers - yet, I hope this blog helps people revisit the material.

How big should your setting be? Big enough.

A lot of people make one very big mistake with campaign settings: they try to build everything at once. They will draw/find a map that represents a planet the size of Earth or larger, and try to make sure that they know every NPC and organization on every square inch. They'll want to be able to tell you that on the Island of Froz, the butcher's cousins wifes uncles great niece twice removed was born on the night when the second and fifth moon were both full, and what this means in terms of the full cosmology of religions as well as the ancient space fairing race that monitors all life from their hidden base on the third moon.

Okay - I might be slightly exaggerating. However, if you see yourself in that description above, don't worry! I used to be that person, too! In fact, my first attempt at building a world did JUST that. Except I hand drew AND colored the map on a three by three map of 8.5" by 11" graph paper (so 25.5" by 33"). And one day I might even have enough courage to tell you just how badly it flopped. For now, let's use the short cut version!

After getting a good sized group together, I went into detail about the setting to "help" with character creation. If you can't figure out why this was the only sentence I can really write that is positive about that night, I can't help you - but let's just say no matter how bad of a DM you think you are, I am 100% sure I can beat you!

The following month, I sat down with two friends - and we had an on the fly session. I created a town named Highfall, and the adventure was based around a group of rock gnomes who had a small, but profitable life, pulling jewels out of the water at the base of the falls that gave the town it's name (in my defense I grew up in a town named Milford.. because the Mill was on the river ford, so don't judge). Suddenly, without realizing it, I had a setting - sure it consisted of one town, only a few NPCs, and a cave system (and yes, I'll post this adventure at some point - I have the notes, but will have to recreate the maps). I needed a setting and created one, and it was good enough.

Building out the Options -Work with the Players

So I started off with a quick town, and one player said they wanted to play a Fighter, the other wanted to play a Cleric. So I quickly throw together a local Baron who has a guard organization and the Fighter character comes from here. The Cleric comes from a local monastery that also has a vineyard as the player wanted to know how to make wine. So now the setting is growing. We started with a town, and we added a local keep with a Baron, and a religious presence. We haven't done anything to figure out religion yet, nor anything really complicated with the government, but our setting is growing.

As we added other players, we continued to add and grow the campaign world. We had a player who wanted to play a halfling, so that required building out that option. Now, where the river ended in a lake, a small halfling community was formed. Why a lake? Because the character took the fishing Nonweapon Proficiency. One of the benefits of this approach was that the halfling town was detailed by the player - he built out the NPCs and everything else associated with it, and even came up with what roll they played in the local environment. They traded cheese, wood, and wool north to the Highfalls folk in exchange for gemstones and metalworks. They also built a large barn where the humans and gnomes could store their trade goods for when barges would come. Now where are those barges going?

Think about Magic - But only when you need too!

Of all the early decisions you can make about your setting, the most important is the level of magic. This is a big point of debate in almost any forum for any edition. And I'll be frank on where I stand: I prefer low magic settings. At the same time, I like the setting to be low magic - not the party. As a result, when I had a player express interest in a wizard, I worked with the character on developing a back story where the character was instructed by an isolated recluse.

I quickly decided on a low magic setting as I wanted to avoid the single largest error that the Forgotten Realms setting makes: that it is nearly impossible for any true danger to exist due to the sheer number of apparently omnipotent magical characters that exist. If the players screw up, Elminster or someone else will float down from the sky and solve the problem in a classic dues ex machina. This isn't necessarily bad if you like it - and if you want a high powered/high magic campaign, go for it. FR I feel fits the bill nicely, and so homebrew allows for low power/low magic games which I feel are more fun.

Summing it up:

• Build a setting when you need a setting, and only what you need at the moment in time you need it.
• Work with your players, make them a part of the setting and they'll take ownership for making the game work.
• Think about magic early - but remember to focus on the setting. Your players are unique in your world - they are brave enough to go adventuring!