Le Samouraï

When I started high school in the Fall of 1983, I began to study French for the first time. Some months prior to this, I recall reading an article in Dragon mentioning that the Moldvay-edited Basic Rulebook had been translated into la belle langue. I must have mentioned this to my father, because, one day, he put a telephone into my hand, telling me that he had "someone from 'that game company in Wisconsin' on the line."

It seems he'd called directory assistance and managed to get through to TSR, where he began to ask people about how he could obtain a copy of the French translation of D&D for me. He was apparently shuffled around the company from person to person until finally he'd gotten hold of someone who could help. Since he didn't know anything about D&D, he passed the phone to me to talk to the knowledgeable TSR employee to whom he'd finally been transferred.

The person to whom I spoke turned out to be none other than François Marcela-Froideval, whom Gary Gygax had brought over from France to assist him on various projects as TSR expanded into the European market. I spoke to M. Marcela-Froideval for some time, who, so far as I can remember, was a very affable fellow. He took -- or at least feigned -- interest in hearing about my D&D campaign and my high regard for Gary Gygax. He also commended me for my desire to learn French and said he would make arrangements for a copy of the French-language Basic Set to be sent to me.

As it turned out, I wound up receiving two copies of the French boxed set. The first was one purchased by my father (who spoke to someone in the Dungeon Hobby Shop, I believe, after my conversation ended) and I was very happy to receive it. The second copy arrived a few days later, sent directly from TSR. This second copy wasn't shrinkwrapped, because Marcela-Froideval had had it autographed -- "May the Dice Be with You! -- Gary Gygax" -- making it one of my most prized possessions as a teenager.

I mention this story because recently, thanks to Matthew James Stanham, I was made aware of the existence of an issue of the French fanzine, Casus Belli, available online at Nicolas Dessaux's website, that contains an original AD&D character class written by François Marcela-Froideval -- the samurai. This immediately piqued my interest, because the original responsibility for the writing of Oriental Adventures had been entrusted to Marcela-Froideval. However, the book that was eventually published under that title, though bearing Gary Gygax's byline, was in fact entirely the work of David Cook. For that reason, many old schoolers have wondered what Oriental Adventures might have been like had Marcela-Froideval written it. We'll never know the answer to that question, but perhaps the samurai class he published in the pages of Casus Belli give some indication.

What follows, then, is my translation of the article into English. I hope its roughness can be forgiven: some of the terminology used in it is odd and the original article is written almost in shorthand, with certain words and phrases being omitted. I've tried to make the translation as intelligible as possible by filling in some of those blanks, but I have also retained its ambiguities and even errors. Since I didn't write it, what follows isn't Open Game Content and remains the property of its author. I present it here solely for discussion.

The Samurai

This legendary figure has not yet been recognized as a specific type of character in Dungeons & Dragons. The class that is closest is the monk. Here is a proposal that will give this kind of fighter a fully-realized existence.

He does not have very good strength characteristics -- Strength: 12 or more, Wisdom: at least 15, Constitution: at least 14, Dexterity: at least 16, Alignment: Necessarily Lawful, with a slight tendency towards Neutral.

Power

Danger Detection: There is no real range for this power. Even so, it is a feeling that has a limit of 100 meters.

Level	Detection Chance
1st-3rd	50%
4th-6th	60%
7th-8th	70%
8th-9th	80%
10th-11th	90%
11th-12th	100%

(This chart is a good example of where the original article has errors -- JDM)

Detection of Good and Evil

When concentrating, the samurai can detect good or evil in a person or in a place. The range of this power is 20 meters and can not pass through doors. The percentage chance of detecting good and evil increases in the same way as the power of danger detection. When the samurai does not focus, the percentage is reduced by 40%.

Kiai

When concentrating and fighting, the samurai can launch the Kiai to cripple his opponents, who are entitled to a saving throw against petrification. If this roll is successful, the opponent suffers a -2 penalty to hit, but, if the roll is failed, the opponent does not attack during this round. The higher the samurai's level, the more the saving throw is affected (-1 for every three levels the samurai has attained).

Concentration

When he concentrates, the samurai can raise his Strength to 18/00, with all the ensuing adjustments, for one round every hour. However, in such a state of concentration, the samurai is forced to push his kiai.

Damage Resistance

At 1st level, because of his endurance and training, the samurai takes only ⅔ the damage he receives.

When he reaches 3rd level, the samurai takes only ½ damage.

At 5th level, he takes only ⅓ the damage he receives.

Number of Attacks per Round

From 1st to 2nd level, the samurai strikes once per round. From the 3rd to 4th, twice per round. From 5th to 8th, three times per round. From 9th, four times per round.

The Samurai can fight with all weapons of Japanese tradition but his weapon of choice remains the sword (katana), which causes 1-12 points of damage. If this katana is of remarkable manufacture, it can strike at +2 on armor.

Level	Armor Class	Experience Points
1	5	4,000
2	4	8,000
3	3	15,000
4	2	30,000
5	1	52,000
6	0	104,000
7	-1	196,000
8	-2	390,000
9	-2	780,000
10	-3	1,170,000
11	-3	1,500,000
12	-4	2,000,000

There can be no more than one samurai of 12th level, 5 of 11th, 7 of 10th.

However, this very powerful type of character possesses numerous inconveniences: his loud Kiai possesses the faculty of attracting wandering monsters.

He gains levels very slowly and, if he fails in a mission given to him by his lord, he must immediately commit seppuku (hara-kiri).

Retrospective: Bushido

When gamers talk about "medieval" or "feudal" Japan, they're usually referring to the Sengoku or "Warring States" period of the mid-fifteenth through the beginning of the seventeenth centuries. This was a period of decentralization and destabilization, as power shifted away from the shogunate to local daimyos, bringing with it lots of military conflict and political intrigue. This makes it well nigh perfect for the kinds of mayhem characters in RPGs create, which probably explains the appeal of the era -- well, that and the ninjas.

The difficulty with Sengoku era Japan is that it takes place not only in the past but also in a foreign country. Most gamers haven't the foggiest notion about Japanese culture beyond what's been popularized (typically inaccurately) through comics, movies, and TV shows. To create a RPG set in the era that hits all the right notes is thus a difficult task. Many gamers want their historical games to be "authentic," but don't necessarily want them to be "realistic." That is, they're not content with games that get socio-cultural details wrong, even as they're not so keen for those details to get in the way of creating the cool character of their dreams.

It's a tough line to walk and, in my experience, very few RPGs of this sort ever succeed completely. One of the rare exceptions is 1981's Bushido. Published by Fantasy Games Unlimited and written Paul Hume and Bob Charette (who'd go on to lasting fame with their game Shadowrun), Bushido opted for a what might be better called a "mythic" approach to the Sengoku period. That is, the game's setting, Nippon, is historical Japan -- the place names and geography are the same -- but it's not strictly historical, since it's filled with ahistorical NPCs, events, and, in some cases, supernatural beings. It's a bit like the Ars Magica approach to medieval Europe, albeit subtler, since Nippon is much more "realistic" overall than AM's Mythic Europe. Consequently, Nippon somehow doesn't come across as nearly as intimidating as it might if it were presented simply as historical Japan, thereby making it a far better RPG setting in the process.

As a game, Bushido is very interesting. Its rules are complex, although not as complex as one might expect from an FGU product. Much detail is given to combat, which is both expected for an RPG of the era and for one set in medieval Japan. Of course, Bushido has rules for far more than combat, including skills, ki powers, and magic. As one would expect, the game also treats questions such as honor and status within Nipponese society, as well as how one acquires and loses them. It's here, I think, that Bushido really shines, at least if my experiences with the game are any indication. Players quickly acclimate themselves to the rhythms and values of Nipponese life once they see that many of the usual RPG problem-solving tactics will get them killed or, worse, ostracized. There's something truly glorious in observing this transformation in one's players and it's a testament to good game design that such a transformation is even possible, let alone likely.

I have a lot of fond memories of Bushido, which always struck me as more "serious" than any of its competitors, including TSR's late entry Oriental Adventures. I often call Bushido the "Japanese Pendragon" and I think it's apt: both games treat their subject matter with respect, adopting an approach that's neither too historical nor too fantastical, a middle road that encourages good roleplaying in a culture whose values are often at odds with those of contemporary Western society. That's an impressive achievement in any era. That it was achieved more than 25 years ago is all the more remarkable.

Plus, you've got to love any game whose random encounter table includes almost as many different types of "rude peasants" as the Dungeon Masters Guide does harlots.