Complexity I think speaks to the level of detail. Games tend toward greater complexity when they have one or more of the following:
So what's crunch? I had initially thought of it essentially as math related: quantization, calculation, use of formulas, etc. Discussion with Ian of Benign Brown Beast made me reconsider. He viewed crunch as "character builds, optimal play, and interaction with the rules on their own terms (as opposed to thru the fiction)."
"Optimal play" and "interaction with rules on their own terms" are about approaches to systems, not the systems themselves, so I think those are separate phenomena. Perhaps they are a signal for the existence of crunch, though? Melding Ian's thoughts and my initial ones, I now think crunch relates to number of mechanical decision points within a system. This would show up on the player-facing side as character creation and tactical options, resulting in the potential for optimal builds in games like 3e D&D or Lancer. It also shows up in games intended to "realistically" (or at least consistently) model a wide range of genres or setting elements, like Hero System or GURPS.
In this way of viewing things, crunch can (and does) lead to complexity, but there are also factors that would lead to lengthier procedures but not necessarily options or decision points.
A Lawful Neutral church would be one that holds to the supremacy of cosmic order. They would focus on the duties of individuals and society to uphold and harmonize with that cosmic order. Here are Lawful Neutral faiths that would represent these ideas in different ways.
Universal Harmony
This faith believes there is an Eternal Order that has both always existed on some idealized plane, but through the process of Law that encompasses both the working of the cosmos and the virtuous behavior of the beings with that cosmos, must be made manifest. The obligations of the humanity in this work are laid out in the religion's holy text, the Formicarium.
The common person is urged to be content with their roll in life and work to make society as whole more orderly and harmonious. The contemplation of greater mysteries is left to ascetics who sometimes provide guidance on important issues to the communities they serve. Those involved in the legal system and the formulation of laws are likewise members of the clergy as law flows from and is a facet of perfect cosmic Order.
The Formicarium mandates that the ruler of a state should be a dispassionate vessel for law. Their job is to insure those under them proceed with honest and transparency, and punishment for transgressing the law is swift and impartial.
Upon death, adherents look forward to an ultimate oneness with the universal process, so that they neither suffer nor desire.
Zurthonism
Zurthon is viewed as the first principal, the transcendent god of time, space, and fate. Zurthon is sometimes called a "machine god"--a being without passion or compassion, and above concepts of good and evil. The faithful seek to divine the path Zurthon has predetermined for them from the beginning of the universe by the study of the Heavens. Zurthonist astrologer-priests plot a child's horoscope from birth. The faithful do not seek to avoid or change ill-fate but rather use this for knowledge to allow them to prepare for the future, the better to display their submission to Zurthon's divine plan.
There are heretical sects of Zurthonism that view predetermination as an excuse for licentiousness or abandon (and thus become a cult of Chaotic Neutral), but orthodox belief promotes a stoicism in all things.
I'll concede that "understanding" in this context can be kind of fuzzy. Different perspective DMs likely have different expectations and desires of a setting. I'm sure there are a lot of people that loved Greyhawk from the moment they encountered the Folio or the Wilderlands of High Fantasy, to name another setting I find ergodic. But I don't think that changes the quality of ergodicity, it's more about how much work you're willing to do (or have already done) to meet the setting where it is.
So what do I mean by ergodic? Well, Greyhawk in its initial present is brief, which is often touted as a virtue, but in that brevity its ability to develop an easy sense of place is impaired. It also consistently refuses to take the modern route of focusing on "juicy" details or hooks. It's not that there aren't things going on in the Flanaess, but as far as we know from the Folio, they aren't really things for low-level treasure seekers. When seeds of adventure are there, they tend to be more Game of Thrones clash of armies and intrigues. There's also perhaps a focus on wargame realism over fantasy. A careful read with an eye toward history can suggest Gygax's models and sources, but he doesn't make it easy, like say, Robert E. Howard or the first introduction to the Known World in Isle of Dread (which just tells you the inspiration, so you don't even get to feel smart!)
Well, I don't know the primary export, but these places seem cool!Wilderlands is similarly fairly opaque in that department, but at least you can read hexes with a crashed spacecraft, mermaids or giants. And lots of them. The Folio is dressing your set with backdrops and a few props, but with scant actual prompts for adventure and very little enticing fantasy spectacle. This is just the facts; you do most of the fantasy.
But modern settings require work because they are often too completist and too wordy! Getting through all that cruft requires work! Sure, but it's a different sort of work. It's the work of separating wheat from chaff, perhaps, or just the work of reading homework, it isn't the conceptual work of "what does this mean and what do I do with it?" The Folio approach makes it harder to distill "the good bits" for your own thing, if that's what you're after.
This Strange Stars OSR has a good approach. Wonder who wrote this?Now, this can be a virtue for the seasoned DM. It's easier to make it your own, perhaps, or even run it differently with the parameters that exist in different campaigns. And if all you need is the barest background to sink your dungeons into, it doesn't matter. But looking at the more recent DMs Guild Greyhawk presentations, there's more of an effort to put player-engaging material in, even as they hew fairly traditionalist.
Like the lords of the Iron League region, the Constable's financial interests lie with the burghers and trade, and he resents the grasping and peremptory ways of the Overking. He is also wary of the covetousness of Medegia's Holy Censor.
While the more fierce-tongued members of the city's council urge swift action, the Constable chooses to slowly build his forces and bide his time.
The original Folio had an apparent editing mistake that listed Rel Astra as the capital of Medegia, so a thought it was worth making a nod to that in the history. Though the Folio never mentions it, the title of Overking suggests their were (at least once) subordinate kings. I figure there must have been multiple, petty Aerdian kingdoms that were united.
Sent to aid a village suffering from child-disappearances far to the north, the party suffered accompaniment by rhyming, snowman narrator as they ascended a treacherous mountain to find a secret workshop where kobolds were using the children as slave labor.
Defeating the kobolds, the children pointed them to where the evil mastermind laired. After puzzling over a trap made with colored lights, they confronted the villain--the Krampus!
He was a formidable opponent, and the opening exchanges suggested it would be a hard-fought battle. Until Dagmar the Cleric strove forward to attempt to turn the fiend.
And turn him she did, despite his magic resistance. That bought them time and the fighters took advantage of it. When Erekose delivered the final blow, the Krampus exploded with a "pop" and a shower of confetti and glitter.
The children were returned home and the party was honored with a feast: roast beast and all the trimmings.
This adventure was adapted from How The Lich Stole Christmas.
Still, it's hard to deny that the Hyborian Age tends to wear its undiluted influences or antecedents proudly. Perhaps not as totally as say D&D's Known World or some other rpg settings, but to a greater degree than Middle Earth or most other literary fantasy settings. I can't be too critical of these game settings as it allows people to get a handle on different lands or cultures quickly, but it does strain suspension of disbelief for some folks.
The Hyborian Age does those similar gaming settings one better, however. In what I think was possibly Howard's best world-building idea (at least so far as things to steal for gaming), the overall action and theme of regions come through, even when his cultural inspirations are less clear. Visiting different Hyborian lands may not just mean travel through history with Fantasy Vikings here and a Fantasy American Frontier there but travel through different subgenres or modes of pulp/adventure fiction.
In his Conan yarns he gives us Golden Age of Piracy adventure stories, tales of the Crusaders and the Outremer, Frontier stories in the vein of the Leatherstocking Tales, and a few stories recognizable as just fantasy in today's genre standards. He does this often by dispensing with a lot of the historical things that led to these settings and situations and just gets down to the action readers (and presumably players) are looking for.
Vague or passing homologies are all he seems to need to get going. He doesn't worry about establishing a Christendom or an Islamic World--or even really a Holy Land to get his Outremerish setting. He handwaves some former colonies (now independent) of Koth (which is vaguely Italic maybe, but hardly Imperial Roman and with a capital whose name is borrowed from the Hittites) on a borderland coveted by Turan, and he just describes the players, setting, and action in a way that the vibe of crusades and Crusader Kingdoms comes through, regardless of the background differences.
Likewise, "The Black Stranger" deals with pirates and a treasure, sure, but to drive home we are now in Treasure Island territory, he dresses Conan for the part:
The stranger was as tall as either of the freebooters, and more powerfully built than either, yet for all his size he moved with pantherish suppleness in his high, flaring-topped boots. His thighs were cased in close-fitting breeches of white silk, his wide-skirted sky-blue coat open to reveal an open-necked white silken shirt beneath, and the scarlet sash that girdled his waist. There were silver acorn-shaped buttons on the coat, and it was adorned with gilt-worked cuffs and pocket-flaps, and a satin collar. A lacquered hat completed a costume obsolete by nearly a hundred years. A heavy cutlass hung at the wearer's hip.
Does this undermine the essential Medieval character of the Hyborian Age? Probably! Does it weaken one's ability to think of it as a sustained and complete world? Could be! Does it make it clear "we're now on the Pirates of Caribbean ride, behave accordingly?" Yep!
I feel like this tool can be put to good use by GMs. Even ones that are more interested in setting consistency perhaps than Howard. Even small details can do a lot.
Lately I've been thinking about how well some classic adventures might adapted to real world settings. By real world, I mean historical fantasy--I'm not thinking of throwing out magic. Some monsters or at least, their abundance might be sacrificed, though. Harryhausen fil-esque beasts would be fine; tribes of orcs or goblins would likely be reskinned.
There are, of course, a number of dungeoncrawls which could take place pretty much anywhere with a little work. Here are a few that I recall with more distinct locations:
The Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh: Given that we're told the setting of this one is meant to evoke a south-coast English town, the obvious placement for me (inspired by Captain Clegg) would be the set on the southeast coast of England in the area of Romney Marsh. Of course, that's not the only option. The Low Country would work, too. The significant presence of lizard men in the area might need to be reskinned as something else, but maybe having this have to do with Deep Ones off the coast would work?
Beyond the Crystal Cave: This one reminds me of The Tempest (though it's probably the similarity of the name Porpherio to Prospero and the island location that does that) so I would place it on Prospero's Island in the Mediterranean, which could be Pantelleria as some have suggested or a completely fictional Mediterranean isle.
Aerie of the Slave Lords: My initial thought on this one was the Barbary Pirates, but that name is usual reserve for pirates that are a bit later era than might be the sweet spot. Fortunately (in this context only!), slave trading in the Mediterranean was quite common in the Middle Ages. You don't have to go to an "evil" nation like a Pomarj, you just have to go to Venice. Some Mediterranean port could be a stand-in for Highport, and a fictional mediterranean volcanic island in the Companian volcanic arc would be the sight of the slaver's secret base.
Anyway, you get the idea.
The Church of Law has ever tied to the Aerdi, their kings, and kingdom. While the various Hierarchs of Law of the Flanaess were independent, they were in communion, and the Hierarch of Medegia was invested as Holy Censor, guardian over the doctrine of Law and moral guide to the Malachite Throne and the entire Kingdom.
Most Medegian church houses, including its great basilica, were originally dedicated to Pholtus, the Blinding Light, though Legalism being a transtheistic faith, this was not true of other churches in other lands. Today, the iconography of Pholtus persists, but the stern-faced deity is little favored by the current Holy Censor, his most senior clergy, or the other highfolk of the land. The Divine Law has varied manifestations and champions, so why should they not pray to Zilchus, whose doctrine of material prosperity for the faithful is more amiable to their wealth and privilege?
Despite the Holy Censor's roll as advisor to the Overking, neither the indolent Hierarch nor his flattering and generous orthodoxy are favored at court. Ivid is rumored to have become enamored of an antinomian heresy wherein, as a divinely favored monarch, he is above the precepts that bind others. The Censor is, of course, concerned, but not overmuch, so that his enjoyment of his position isn't soured.
I think there's another way to go, though, completely consistent with what the original works tell us about druids.
Druids first show up as monsters in the Greyhawk supplement. We are told they are "priests of a neutral-type religion." They can shape change and attractive barbarian followers.
They become a class in Eldritch Wizardry where they are described again as Neutral and "are more closely attuned to Nature, serving as its priests rather than serving some other deity." Mistletoe is holy to them, and they protect plants and animals.
Neutral may well just have been meant to imply unaligned here--not taking a side in the conflict between the civilizing force of law and the destructive forces of chaos: "I am not altogether on anybody’s side, because nobody is altogether on my side, if you understand me: nobody cares for the woods as I care for them," as Treebeard would have it. But maybe it's not just the woods the druid cares about?
Unlike Law and Chaos which seem to be transcendent and come from extraplanar forces, maybe Nature in this context is the cycles and balance of the material world? Given the description in Eldritch Wizardry, it seems likely to me that the religion of the druids is pantheistic with Nature (or the material plane) being an immanent divine force or deity. It could be animistic with everything in the natural world having a separate spirit, but it might also be monist, where divine Nature is the only true reality.
I think then that the druid's neutrality is a somewhat militant sort. The dualism of Law vs. Chaos is contrary to their understanding of the unity of all things; the strong, opposing polarities are nonsensical if existence is governed by cycles. Worse, these ideas from the Outer Planes would be alien intrusions on the harmony of the world.
And the M is for "Medieval." I've read some dark and/or weird fantasy set in the Middle Ages of late, and I figured I'd put them together in a list with some complimentary works for those that might be interested.
12th Century:
Mitchell Lüthi. Pilgrim: A Medieval Horror. A German Knight and his companions agree to smuggle a Holy relic out of Jerusalem for the Pope but wind up transported somewhere else by a gigantic sandstorm and confronting cosmic horror.Clark Ashton Smith. “The Maker of Gargoyles" (In 1138, gargoyles come to life and terrorize the city of Vyones), “The Holiness of Azédarac” (a priest travels through time from 1175; in the future he discovers a sorcerer as managed to get declared a saint).
13th Century:
Clark Ashton Smith. "The Colossus of Ylourgne." In 1281, a necromancer and his disciples take revenge on Vyones with an undead giant.
14th Century:
Christopher Buehlman. Between Two Fires. In 1348, as the Black Death ravages France, a disgraced knight and a young girl may be the ones who can keep Lucifer and his legions from bringing about Hell on Earth.
Jesse Bullington. The Sad Tale of the Brothers Grossbart. In 1364, A pair of German brothers from a long line of graverobbers embark on quest to make their fortune looting the crypts of Egypt. They encounter monsters, magic, and madmen along the way.
Clark Ashton Smith. “The Beast of Averoigne.” In the summer of 1369, a comet heralds the arrival of a strange beast to ravage the lands around the Abbey of Périgon.
15th Century:
Jesse Bullington. The Folly of the World. In the aftermath of the St. Elizabeth's Flood, three conspire to take a treasure from a town beneath the water.
by Anna Meyer
The Iron League was a separatist alliance formed in 447 CY for mutual defense against the Great Kingdom. While the members made much rhetorically of the demoniac apostasy and madness of the Naelax, the League's greatest concern was economic. None of the trading cities wished to allow the profligate Aerdy nobility to root like pigs in their accumulated wealth.
The association's core members had histories stretching back to ancient, Suloise, maritime city-states. While the Aerdi gained suzerainty over the region, the regional lords were content to allow a great deal of local self-rule (so long as they benefited from the ongoing trade), and in time became intertwined with the Suloise population through marriage and alliance with the local oligarchic families. Intra-region conflict between local nobles, powerful families and guilds was a more pressing concern until the Herzog's heavy-handed treatment prompted the member states to set aside their differences. At least for a time.
Although the League was founded primarily for military purposes, it did possess a confederal civil government. The ruling council, composed of representatives of the individual states, was fairly limited in its power outside of military matters, but was given the ability to control custom duties and adjudicate disputes between regions.
This is a follow-up to this post. I drew inspiration for the Iron League from the Lombard League and communes of North Italian and their relationship with the Hohenstaufen Holy Roman Emperors. Given their Suloise history and their climate (Hot summer Mediterranean, according to Anna Meyer's climate map), I felt like their Suloise history might well amount to something like the Phoenician city-states. Visually, the continental states would look something like Sicily, Southern Italy, or parts of the Iberian Peninsula, except the Lordship of the Isles which is more humid and more like Florida.
Here are some suggestions for comics related gifts for this holiday season:
Mighty Marvel Calendar Book: All the classic Marvel calendar images from '75-'81 are collected in this hardcover. It features art by Buscema, Miller, Simonson, Perez, Kirby, and more. Who doesn't want to see the Hulk as George Washington at Valley Forge?
Hobtown Mysteries vol 2: The Cursed Hermit: I've been charmed by this quirky series of stories probably most succinctly described as "Twin Peaks meets Nancy Drew/Hardy Boys." Creators Bertin and Forbes present a small, coastal Canadian village with a lot of weird stuff going on under the surface. The Teen Detective Club—a registered after-school program makes it their business to get to the bottom every one of their town's bizarre occurrences unraveling the secret history of their town as they go. You'll want to read volume one first.
World's Finest: Teen Titans vol 1: Spinning out of the Waid's World's Finest we get a tale of the original Teen Titans, that homages the Silver Age while by completely modern. Waid's approach to this these link series brings a lot of warmth and a bit of humor in addition to the superhero action.
Frieren: Beyond Journey's End vol 1: I've talked about how good this fantasy manga about what happens after the party completes the epic quest is before (back when #11 came out). Alas, there's no bundle of all 11 (currently) volumes, but this is where you want to jump in.
Duke vol 1: I was skeptical of the Energon Universe re-imaging of Hasbro's toy properties when I first heard about it, but the Duke limited series won me over. Not every limited series has been as good I don't think, but this one and Cobra Commander are well worth your time if you have any interest in the 80s iteration of G.I. Joe.
DC Comics Style Guide: Early this year Standards Manual announced they would be reprinting the fabled DC Style Guide from 1982 with that gorgeous José Luis García-López artwork that set the standard for the look of the DCU for a generation. It ain't cheap, but you can pre-order this hardcover here.