tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post4311945826012159238..comments2024-03-29T07:58:31.156-04:00Comments on GROGNARDIA: REVIEW: The Grinding GearJames Maliszewskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-47780178323722798282009-12-12T17:42:55.047-05:002009-12-12T17:42:55.047-05:00What Zak said, Aaron. Go get Green Devil Face!
(Y...What Zak said, Aaron. Go get Green Devil Face!<br /><br />(Yeah, some of mine stuff is in there, so what? :)AndreasDavourhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17170806742393291962noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-47746447682379217232009-12-12T16:07:47.078-05:002009-12-12T16:07:47.078-05:00In my Sunday game, one player has a low INT charac...In my Sunday game, one player has a low INT character. He handles it by often suggesting obviously bad ideas, with the idea that the other players pick up on the idea that as a player he thinks they should do the opposite.<br /><br />My next adventure features some bits where information is given only to certain combinations of race/class/INT. "Dwarfs with 12 or greater INT, or Clerics with 15 or greater INT, or anyone with 17 or greater INT can decipher..." That sort of thing.<br /><br />And thanks for the kind words, everybody. :)JimLotFPhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02992397707040836366noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-21457622773356843962009-12-12T12:10:28.908-05:002009-12-12T12:10:28.908-05:00I propose that if the player character has a low I...I propose that if the player character has a low INT score, DM will reveal less information to the player to make a decision, so a low INT PC will have to guess more. INT check is required to hide something successfully, to find something hidden, to spot an ambush, to read difficult text, low INT character will have less skills. Low INT character will be less likely to figure out if someone is trying to lie to them or manipulate them. What I really HATE is players playing their character to their weakness - i.e. playing dumb.Brooser Bearhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08487438364129415650noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-14956224597423588822009-12-11T11:37:11.327-05:002009-12-11T11:37:11.327-05:00re playing int scores "different from your ow...re playing int scores "different from your own:" I propose that it's (a) unresolvable - how would you play a character with higher intelligence or wisdom than yourself (a situation I've been in more than once)? Depend on the collective intelligence of your group? If so, are you needed? - and (b) a bit of a non-issue because, per Gardner, we still lack any good general model of intelligence (IQ tests are very far from complete or descriptive). <br />I'm also concerned first with fun rather than simulation of abstract unknowables, and if the one player at the table has a brilliant solution to the current challenge but can't share it, I say fun is reduced. In my own games I allow the score to model die-roll situations but I do not require players to model int or wis scores in their behaviour, although they're welcome to if they wish, for comic effect.richardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13517340075234811323noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-59352062378702113612009-12-11T08:01:07.634-05:002009-12-11T08:01:07.634-05:00You listen to and follow the lead of your smarter ...<i>You listen to and follow the lead of your smarter party members. Just as the strong fighterly types typically take point on melee. The smarter wizards, rogues, etc. are brought to bear when their abilities (int/wis/dex) are needed.<br /><br />Otherwise you die and rightly so.</i><br /><br />Agreed, I think that's how it's played best.Jimmy Swillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12549837261062727446noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-173712556793696782009-12-11T03:52:19.093-05:002009-12-11T03:52:19.093-05:00> what you did if you were playing an idiot.
Y...> what you did if you were playing an idiot.<br /><br />You listen to and follow the lead of your smarter party members. Just as the strong fighterly types typically take point on melee. The smarter wizards, rogues, etc. are brought to bear when their abilities (int/wis/dex) are needed.<br /><br />Otherwise you die and rightly so.Norman J. Harman Jr.https://www.blogger.com/profile/01319655075997712313noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-39801279889745735062009-12-10T23:00:17.507-05:002009-12-10T23:00:17.507-05:00Aaron--
most of the traps are portable. If you wan...Aaron--<br />most of the traps are portable. If you want nothing but portable traps i recommend Raggi's Green Devil Face 2 and 3Zak Shttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05443268280676127815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-12399163852455719092009-12-10T22:03:22.563-05:002009-12-10T22:03:22.563-05:00you know yu just made be purchase the pdf.... damn...you know yu just made be purchase the pdf.... damn you!Tenkarhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05159289652051155824noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-49798319414660382272009-12-10T22:00:13.767-05:002009-12-10T22:00:13.767-05:00"Fact question: is this for 1-3 level charact..."Fact question: is this for 1-3 level characters?"<br /><br />The module text says that it is for characters of levels 1 to 4. :)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-19313453173999719992009-12-10T21:14:52.376-05:002009-12-10T21:14:52.376-05:00Question for those of you who have the adventure: ...Question for those of you who have the adventure: I am terrible at designing traps in dungeons; are the traps in this adventure easily portable to other dungeons, or are they really tied in to the overall setting and concept? I'm always looking for good sources of traps, and it sounds like this <i>may</i> fill that role, but I'm not sure.Aaron W. Thornehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09265357352225836802noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-89149037922495325052009-12-10T19:49:33.892-05:002009-12-10T19:49:33.892-05:00One OSR metaphor is that when you play a character...One OSR metaphor is that when you play a character less intelligent than you are, you are acting as that poor fool's guardian angel, helping them stumble past the traps and accidentally do the right thing. God looks after children and fools, and players look after stupid or foolish PCs.<br /><br />Playing an idiot as an idiot, dumbing down your own intelligence to try to do the stupid thing you think your PC would do is fun for a while, and at times, but it isn't fun forever.Rick Marshallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01707062453047354335noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-77852430383722616332009-12-10T17:15:54.547-05:002009-12-10T17:15:54.547-05:00Fact question: is this for 1-3 level characters?
...Fact question: is this for 1-3 level characters?<br /><br />Comment on "playing in character when you rolled a low Intelligence.":<br /><br />As my mother, a school teacher likes to say, everyone has peaks and valleys. So maybe you can barely speak common-- nevertheless, every once in a while you get these "insights"-- perhaps lent to you by an unseen prescence of (relative) genius that turn out to be, well, relative genius. . . <br /><br />And then you compensate by showing your character's stupidity when there's a need for harmless comic relief.Brian (brian_cooper at hotmail d o t com)https://www.blogger.com/profile/02805168206752602148noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-10984287297072591012009-12-10T16:42:45.431-05:002009-12-10T16:42:45.431-05:00"I like The Grinding Gear and think it solidi..."I like The Grinding Gear and think it solidifies James Raggi's position as one of the most interesting and daring writers of old school material around today."<br /><br />I'd like to offer a correction to this. James is one of the most interesting and daring writers *period*, no matter what school of gaming you like.Mike Mearlshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18338840534913321057noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-39356197535405647062009-12-10T16:23:49.323-05:002009-12-10T16:23:49.323-05:00Something that I've been wondering about with ...Something that I've been wondering about with games like this is what you did if you were playing an idiot.<br /><br />By which I mean, some luckless bastard with a 6 intelligence, and a 5 wisdom...far from the worst scores that I've rolled, as I remember...would pretty much be doomed, if you played him according to his stats. Or did you not worry about your PCs mental capabilities matching his actual stats?<br /><br />I started with the boxed set, with the world's softest plastic dice, in 1980ish, for the record. At the age of 11 or 12, I was more concerned with accumulating treasure and/or kills than anything else.... Roleplaying, as I now enjoy it, had little to do with how we played in those days.<br /><br />(In many ways, as with science fiction, the golden age of roleplaying is indeed 12.)Rolzuphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18063984136236939039noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-42426682925139287842009-12-10T16:16:55.998-05:002009-12-10T16:16:55.998-05:00Jesus, we wrote almost exactly the same review--ri...Jesus, we wrote almost exactly the same review--right down to the final paragraph injunction that we probably won't be running it but WILL be looting it for ideas.Zak Shttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05443268280676127815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-18217640532666964652009-12-10T14:54:59.090-05:002009-12-10T14:54:59.090-05:00@Valandil: Yeah, he does like Jim's work. Thes...@Valandil: Yeah, he does like Jim's work. These are the products James has rated at 80% since he instituted his new three-part rating system this year:<br /><br />Death Frost Doom (24/30) 80%<br /> Presentation: 8 out of 10<br /> Creativity: 10 out of 10<br /> Utility: 6 out of 10<br /><br />No Dignity in Death: The Three Brides (24/30) 80%<br /> Presentation: 9 out of 10<br /> Creativity: 9 out of 10<br /> Utility: 6 out of 10<br /><br />The Grinding Gear (24/30) 80%<br /> Presentation: 9 out of 10<br /> Creativity: 8 out of 10<br /> Utility: 7 out of 10<br /><br />The People of the Pit (24/30) 80%<br /> Presentation: 8 out of 10<br /> Creativity: 9 out of 10<br /> Utility: 7 out of 10<br /><br />El Raja Key's Arcane Treasury (24/30) 80%<br /> Presentation: 7 out of 10<br /> Creativity: 9 out of 10<br /> Utility: 8 out of 10<br /><br />After studying the works in question, I have to agree they do all have the goods. Typical though of James's approach to reviewing, these still aren't perfect scores; he leaves room for improvement.<br /><br />The only product to score higher under the new system is this one:<br /><br />Old School Encounters Reference (28/30) 93.3%<br /> Presentation: 8 out of 10<br /> Creativity: 10 out of 10<br /> Utility: 10 out of 10Rick Marshallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01707062453047354335noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-27276925450422488172009-12-10T13:25:25.428-05:002009-12-10T13:25:25.428-05:00Good post. Also good to hear the term "screwj...Good post. Also good to hear the term "screwjob" being used for something else other than what Vince McMahon did to Bret "Hitman" Hart in the 90's.<br /><br />Actually, I think it is a damn great term for killer trap dungeons.Kevin Machttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14122665488285424578noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-40064773051356134352009-12-10T12:19:02.350-05:002009-12-10T12:19:02.350-05:00Wow. You dont ussualy give scores as high as these...Wow. You dont ussualy give scores as high as these. 9/10 and 8/10! It seems that you consider it a really good module.Valandilhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02736239726821755165noreply@blogger.com