Saturday, December 31, 2022

Glyphs and Protective Inscriptions

As anyone who's read it knows, the AD&D Dungeon Masters Guide contains not just excellent advice and suggestions to the referee, but also some odd and easily overlooked details. Take, for example, these examples of possible glyphs of warding at the bottom of page 41:

Gygax suggests that referees "design [their] own or use an encyclopedia to find interesting alphabets to use." He also suggests that the referee might look to the example of The World of Greyhawk for further runes and glyphs. 

On the next page, while discussing the cleric spell aerial servant, Gygax briefly notes that "the spell caster should be required to show you the form of protective inscription he or she has used when the spell is cast." He then provides illustrations for the three forms mentioned by name in the spell's description in the Players Handbook.

In looking at these two sections, I was reminded that, while AD&D has this reputation in some quarters as being very precise and even nitpicky, especially compared with OD&D, there's still a great deal that's left to the individual referee to resolve. In the case of the glyph of warding, for example, its effect is variable to some degree, with just how some of possibilities (i.e. paralysis, blindness, and energy drain) function left unclear. Similarly, there's no clear mechanical difference, if any is intended, between the three illustrated types of protective inscriptions. It's another one of those things the referee is left to decide for himself. 

Frankly, I see this as a strength in AD&D and indeed any roleplaying game. I have little interest in a RPG that leaves no "creative lacunae" where the referee can exercise his own imagination. Moreover, any game that did attempt to cover every base would necessarily be immense in scope, not to mention length. I'd much rather spend my time playing – and making things up – than seeking out every jot and tittle of the rules. I doubt I'm unique in this regard.

11 comments:

  1. At some point years ago Wizards of the Coast made a d20 using those glyphs, with and expanded set. I've not been able to find it online in some time, but I know it existed at some point... It was a Gen Con special, maybe?

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    1. Yes, they did versions of the Fist of Emirikol (the one you're thinking of), as well as Dice of Olidammara too, both as RPGA rewards and/or promos.

      I followed-up on your post in the FB auctions group, too!

      Allan.

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    2. Files posted to https://www.facebook.com/groups/rpgcbg/files/files

      Allan.

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  2. These would be the strength of AD&D if any of these designs had ANY game effect. In this form they are what the youth of today would call fluff, nothing more.

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    1. Perhaps, but I don't see anything wrong with fluff. In fact, good fluff often serves as an inspiration for my own creativity.

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    2. In a 21st century where almost any information pertinent to a fantasy game is only a few keyboard taps away, then it is fluff. However, in the 1980s and 90s this sort of stuff was useful inspiration. I had no idea of other alphabets beyond the Greek (and that was from maths) and not a clue about magical circles, so these tidbits or nuggets of information were useful.

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  3. The Palladium Fantasy RPG had several pages of wards, circles and glyphs.

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    1. I was going to mention palladium too. The disability was a pretty interesting class stitching together different runs to create effects and activations etc.

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    2. Palladium Fantasy also had some of the best illustrations of fantasy coinage I've ever seen in a game. Say what you will about the system, they certainly tried their best to make the artwork interesting.

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  4. The unexplored fraying edge of your creation provides the threads for others to weave their own additions.

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  5. FWIW Gygax's glyphs are actually letters of the Glagolitic alphabet (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glagolitic_script), meaning you can type them if your PC supports Unicode.

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