I will make no apologies for my own preferences. I started role-playing in the era of Moldvay’s Basic Set, Cook’s Expert Set, and 1st edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (with the original covers). The illustrations that fire my imagination when I think of D&D — the illustrations that allow me to effortlessly slip the shackles of reality and enable me to be there — are those of Dave Trampier, Erol Otus, Jim Roslof, Darlene Pekul, and Russ Nicholson. Whereas later editions were increasingly dominated by commercial art and comic book art, the classic editions were populated with art that was original and even visionary. It was art that was as creative and liberating as the game it depicted. The artists I mentioned above were responsible for the look of D&D when it was at the pinnacle of its popularity. This is something worth considering.

If Wizards of the Coast really wants to recapture the true spirit of D&D, they would be well advised to choose their artists carefully from amongst those who have a personal interest in fantasy art, and not merely a financial one. This is an excellent opportunity to provide work for many artists who may be outside the mainstream, but who are exactly right for this frankly eccentric hobby. Another option would be to select illustrations from every edition to represent the D&D that encompasses all previous editions (with perhaps some new illustrations as well). And if neither of those options are acceptable, then I would plead for an edition with no illustrations rather than the soulless corporate hackwork that characterized the last two editions.

(It is worth mentioning that, according to EN World, “The Forgotten Realms will be supported from the start, and a video game art studio from China has been hired to fully detail the Realms.” If outsourcing the art to sweatshops in totalitarian nations is to be the strategy for D&D Next in general, then Wizards of the Coast doesn’t deserve custodianship of D&D. Human rights matter.)

* It is highly advisable that the original title be retained insofar as the edition is known officially as ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS (with all capital letters as it was spelled and enforced by its original publisher, TSR). Changing the title (by dropping the word “Advanced,” for instance) creates confusion and doubt. The game was not then, nor is it now, referred to as Dungeons & Dragons, 1st edition or otherwise (and that reopens and exacerbates yet another can of carrion crawlers regarding the issue of edition numbering). If the title has been changed, gamers will ask, what else has been altered? This will diminish the appeal for those who are interested in a true reprint of the content. D&D Next may be just Dungeons & Dragons (or whatever they decide to call it), but AD&D is ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS. If you respect the history of D&D, don’t try to rewrite that history. Most role-playing gamers have long memories.

The survival horror wound gauge causes characters to be gradually worn down as their reflexes become slower and their top speed (movement rate) decreases. Unlike the standard wound gauge, there are four levels instead of five, and the standard number of boxes per level is eight (for a governing trait at Fair), with two boxes added for each positive level in the governing trait, and two boxes subtracted for each negative trait level.

The sample wound gauge that follows shows the standard eight boxes per level for a character with an attribute of Fair (whether it is Health, Vitality, Stamina, Endurance, etc.).

Survival Horror Wound Gauges

When the last box at the Danger level is marked, the character is dead. The certainty of this outcome contributes a grittiness that can be lacking in methods that relegate the question of a player character’s death to the GM’s judgment. Optionally, the Danger level can be dropped from the wound gauge to maximize the… danger.

[Edit: If simultaneous combat rounds are being used, the initiative penalties may be interpreted as combat trait penalties or disregarded.]

[Source: Grognardia]

[Source: Grognardia]

Of particular interest to me is the Design Goals section of the page. The goals are admirable and certainly challenging. If they can be met, I will be very impressed.

The game is at its best when it is yours. For that reason, we want your participation. The goals we have set for ourselves are by no means trivial or easy. By involving you in this process, we can build a set of D&D rules that incorporate the wants and desires of D&D gamers around the world. We want to create a flexible game, rich with options for players and DMs to embrace or reject as they see fit, a game that brings D&D fans together rather than serves as one more category to splinter us apart.

The article above also includes an invitation to sign up “to be notified when the playtest is beginning and how you can participate.”

The first is a slight modification of the Not-So-Very-Varied Trait Ladder. Some players don’t feel quite right about not having a Legendary trait level, so instead of adding Very to each additional level above Superb, Legendary is situated above Superb and each level above that adds another Very. The same is done with sub-Terrible trait levels and the substitution of Abysmal.

The All American Trait Ladder

Here is the trait ladder for Americans of the Great Depression and Second World War. This is the language of gangsters and coppers, flappers and mols, GIs and MPs, the Three Stooges and Our Gang. It’s the Common Man’s trait ladder, and it’s Swell, see? And don’t let any Lousy bum tell you differently. Besides, that palooka is only a So-So boxer and you’re, well, you’re O.K. with your mitts. Sure, you can take him. Oh, you mean the bruiser over there? He’s Pretty Good in a fight. Nice knowing ya, pal. Good luck. Gotta go. So long!

The Proper Lady’s Trait Ladder

To suggest that a proper lady is only able to distinguish between what is proper and improper would be far from correct. A proper lady has an extensive vocabulary with which to describe her trials and tribulations as well as her triumphs. It would be most vexing indeed if one were limited to a mere two words; two words would be less than advantageous if they were one’s sole means of supporting oneself in a cruel world. Turbulent is the life of a proper lady who is forced to contend with the daily indignities of dealing with Dreary household servants, common labourers with Ghastly manners, and nieces who are Atrociously difficult to match with gentleman callers. O, to be extricated from that undeserving fate and elevated to her proper place! — such is the conundrum uppermost in her thoughts. A proper lady, a lady of society, ought to be able to expect, quite reasonably, to concern herself exclusively with attending Lovely parties in the company of other personages of importance like herself.

The Cold and Analytical Trait Ladder
[To be recited in a monotone.]

This trait ladder is stripped of unnecessary sentimentality. Do not expect this trait ladder to generate an emotional response or any other human weakness. The function of this trait ladder is to achieve Maximum efficiency. Inefficiency must be eliminated. To operate at less than Standard Capacity is to be inefficient. Most human capabilities are Below Standard; many are Well Below Standard. Therefore, humans are inefficient. Inefficiency must be eliminated. Now processing data…

[Originally posted here in the Omnium-Gatherum section of Fudgery.net.]

The Good, the Bad, and the Adequate

To be honest, all results really boil down to being either good, bad, or adequate, or degrees of the first two. To extend the idea presented above, one could center the trait ladder at Adequate, with Good at +1 and Bad at -1. For each level above Good or below Bad, one adds “Very.” A Great result is now Very Good, a Superb result is Very Very Good, and a Terrible -1 result is Very Very Very Bad.

The English Gentleman’s Trait Ladder

To reflect a more civilized point of view, one may opt for the famous capacity for both understatement and overstatement that is characteristic of the archetypical English gentleman. Whilst one may admit that French cuisine is Quite Sufficient, one can state with satisfaction that English cooking is simply Smashing. Similarly, whereas the Bataan Death March was a Rather Bad situation, the service in this restaurant is Appalling!

Big Brother’s Newspeak Trait Ladder

George Orwell’s 1984, written as a warning of the dangers of totalitarianism, has a built-in trait ladder for those who wish (for whatever incomprehensible reason) to adventure in his nightmarish dystopia. Note that there is no equivalent trait for Fair in this trait ladder. The concept of “Fair” is a thoughtcrime. Report at once to the Ministry of Love.

[Originally posted here in the Omnium-Gatherum section of Fudgery.net.]

In order for this dynamic to work, it is necessary for the dice to be rolled in the open. That is to say, the dice ought to be rolled in full view of the players and the GM. Certain kinds of rolls would still be made secretly by the GM, such as a percentage chance of a certain event or encounter happening or when a player character attempts a skill for which success is not readily discernible (e.g. searching for a secret door or detecting a trap), but rolls that represent a contest between characters or a character and the environment should be visible to all participants in the situation.

One problem this alleviates is distrust by the players. If a player can see the GM’s roll, he or she knows that the GM is not fudging rolls for the players’ benefit or detriment. Although some GMs are suspected of fudging rolls in favor of their NPCs or monsters, I suspect many more are actually guilty of fudging rolls in favor of the players because they do not wish to be too harsh. I suspect this because I was one of those GMs in my early days in the hobby. Mollycoddling players does them no good in the long run. You may think you are helping them, but in actuality you deprive them of the true taste of victory when they succeed if you withhold the bitterness of defeat when they fail. You are also obstructing their growth as gamers.

Any given dice-rolling tradition is probably as old as any other. Some GMs roll in the open; some roll in secret; some let the players roll, but never tell them the target number; some even roll for the players, too. Different groups have different needs. My needs, both as a GM and a player, require that I get to roll dice and let them fall where they may.