Undead and Loving It

As part of the May of the Dead blog carnival I’ve put together some thoughts on the undead and running them in RPGs. The core ideas is coming up with a single emotion or passion that drives each undead type, and applying that to their outlook and the ways of playing them. I’m focussing on specific types of undead, largely some of the standard ones that feature in D&D or similar FRPGs although they can be used for any other RPG (for example, Liches appear in Cthulhutech as well). I’m not going to bother dealing with non-intelligent undead, such as Zombies, as they have likely been done to death elsewhere (if you’ll forgive the pun).

Ghoul

Given that ghouls feast on the bodies of the dead, they’re something of a nuisance to necromancers and more powerful undead. They are driven by hunger and tend to congregate in packs, perhaps with an hierarchy (which explains ghasts). Their defining emotion is one of greed, tearing apart bodies to get to the choicest flesh, and perhaps squabbling over morsels. They may even start chowing down on the wounded of their own kind, abandoning combat to feast on the fallen or wounded of either side. Ghouls usually become undead through the consumption of corpses – perhaps during a siege where there is nothing else to eat – but it leaves them with a gnawing hunger that cannot be satiated.

Like the Ghouls of Lovecraftian lore, they tend to stay close to their food source, tunnelling deep beneath cemeteries in burrows that are likely poorly maintained – as undead they don’t need to breathe or light. Their burrows are narrow, damp and confined – and prone to collapse. They also tend to congregate together. Ghouls may even be families – the family that eats together, stays together.

Wight

Wights are undead that haunt ancient ruins and their tombs. They are aggressively territorial and hang on to their half-life, guarding their former possessions and territory. Their refusal to give up their worldly possessions are largely responsible for their undead state, and Wights are obsessed with retaining them. This obsession is their key emotion: if something is stolen from their hoard, they will stop at nothing to retrieve it. Wights are like the Terminators: they do not get tired, they will never give up, and they have no qualms about killing innocents. Wights are also intelligent, possibly concocting elaborate schemes of revenge, even raising other undead (such as creating wights of their own) in order to track down those who have transgressed against them.

Wight’s burial places, tombs or barrows, are likely arranged in a very specific manner that allows a Wight to keep an eye upon all their possessions easily. They are fastidious about checking their possessions; possibly in as obsessive compulsive fashion, so everything must be in a certain place or order. They may even keep other undead around as guards, although they probably distrust all other free-willed undead.

Wraith

Wraiths occupy a shadowy twilight world bereft of colour, warmth, and light. Their entire existence is one of freezing cold, and they are drawn to the warmth of living beings. Wraiths are always seeking the warm life energies of living beings as a result; nearly bereft of rational thought except a need to warm themselves, even if it is for a brief time. Wraiths create other wraiths but have no concept of cooperation, perhaps as they can barely see them, and the presence of other wraiths may cause a wraith “feeding frenzy” when they encounter mortals.

As Wraiths will feed off any living being, even plants, and areas where wraiths prowl will be devoid of any life, usually dark and shadowy places – they shun brightly lit places. Vegetation is dead or blighted from frost, and the area will be shunned by wildlife. Such places are also dark and still, perhaps with the light dimmed to such an extent that even during the brightest part of the day, the area remains in shadow and twilight.

Ghost

Ghosts are tragic creatures, by definition their existence is one born of tragedy. Their whole existence is geared towards one of repeating the events leading toward the circumstances of their death. Their entire emotional focus is one of sorrow and regret: so much so that they are focussed on nothing else, replicating the same events over and over. They are pretty distant, ignoring mortals as they focus upon their own concerns; although mortals may find themselves caught up in the ghostly enactment of events which can be just as deadly as those in the physical world.

Ghosts haunt the places of their death, often ruins or other old buildings. Depending on the power of the haunting, the whole area could be part of a manifestation: the ruin becomes a stately home once again, the battle is re-enacted, the murderer stalks the town again. These “phantom shifts” can easily be used as plot devices – the PCs are drawn into the events leading up to the Ghost’s death, and may even have a chance to lay the ghost to rest – TV shows like Supernatural may give you some ideas. Sometimes, a building or vehicle itself can be the haunting – see Shalebridge Cradle in the video game, Thief: Deadly Shadows; or the Event Horizon starship (in the movie of the same name).

Specter

Specters (or spectres) are usually created by a violent death of some sort, which has also unhinged them somewhat. They are “angry” ghosts, consumed with hatred and malice towards the living, likely resenting their death and those left alive. This cold anger likely manifests itself as an almost predatory glee as they stalk, terrify, and kill their victims – often turning them into undead Specters like themselves. Over time, this anger manifests itself as a perverse need to cause as much terror and disruption as possible – they may manifest fully, partially or not at all, but still cause problems for mortals.

The places where Specters dwell are shunned by animal life. The presence of these undead means that they will often torture and kill anything that they can find. Their lairs, or ruins, where they live are likely to be devoid of anything that isn’t smashed or broken, as the Specters hurl things around in rage or break things maliciously.

Mummy

The Mummy is usually an ancient ruler or powerful individual interned and mummified. They are used to being in control and being in a position of authority. They are unused to having peers of any kind, and expect their orders to obeyed. Some may even consider themselves to be living gods. Their undead state renders them effectively immortal and they are likely to be hugely powerful (e.g. Imhotep in The Mummy movies). They respect power for power’s sake; and they are highly intelligent. They are a little archaic in their mannerisms and languages and may not be capable of communicating with lesser beings, should they deign to do so. Mummies are overwhelmingly arrogant and imperious: they have cheated Death itself.

The link between Mummies and their domains is a powerful one. By domain, we’re not just talking about their pyramid or burial site, but they may also have strong ties to their former kingdom or family (see the The Gods of Lankhmar in Fritz Leiber’s Fahrd and the Grey Mouser series). Should a Mummy become aware of such things being threatened they may act. Mummies may not necessarily be aligned with evil, but they certainly come across that way – mortals are there to be used. They are unlikely to work with other undead or directly for necromancers without some form of bargain (or a powerful compulsion) that likely serves the Mummy’s ends. They don’t share power willingly, and will likely plot to remove any mortal who seeks to control them.

Liche

As Liches are undead spellcasters, they continue to do what they do in death as they did in live. Liches are obsessed: they were once compelled to seek ancient knowledge that allowed them a form of life beyond death. With that goal attained, Liches continue to seek out new knowledge such as lost spells or magical techniques that are new. This obsession may also carry into hoarding behaviour of another kind, possibly because the Liche still retains some ties to a mortal life. Liches are likely to be become almost pathologically obsessed with obtaining items for acquisition.

Liches themselves are undead but do not necessarily associate with other undead beings, although they may freely create them. As they do not need to breathe, they may have sealed their lairs to protect scrolls or books, in a similar way to climate-controlled archives in the real world. The air may be bad or even absent as a result – would-be robbers may find themselves unable to breathe! Liches jealously guard their knowledge and are unlikely to leave their knowledge for anyone to find, perhaps protecting it in such a way (such as with a firetrap spell) that if the Liche can’t have it no one can. As with other undead, Liches will spend a great deal of time protecting their lairs (and ultimately their repositories/collections), using spells and minions. No one should be able to simply walk into their lairs.

Vampire

Vampires are the most “human-appearing” undead. They willingly involves themselves in the affairs of mortals, often in such a way that they can go unnoticed. Most Vampires live a life of hedonistic excess: they may indulge themselves in emotionally charged events, seduce mortals, or live a life of blood-soaked debauchery. Their taste for blood may manifest itself as a drug or an addiction – for instance they may only drink the blood of the terrified (perhaps hunting down and applying tactics designed to scare the victim) or the very young as examples. Doctor Dominiani in the AD&D adventure, Feast of Goblyns, has developed a a taste for the spinal fluid of the insane within the asylum he runs for example. They are largely driven by their passi0ns in all things although older vampires may have more refined tastes (such as Faethor Ferenczy in the Necrosope series).

Vampire lairs also tend towards extreme displays of wealth or ostentation, or seek visceral experiences like those of battle. They may often surround themselves with things of beauty or extreme ugliness (such as artwork, dwellings, and servants), as a feast for the eyes or other senses. They may seek to immerse themselves in politics and intrigues, often under a human guise. Vampires constantly seek to keep themselves amused, perhaps to the extent where they may even “play with their food,” setting elaborate traps or schemes designed to ensnare mortals. In this respect, vampires are like a cat playing with a captured mouse.

Conclusion

There’s probably more undead out there that you can apply these capsule emotions to, but hopefully this short article has given you some ideas on how this sort of thing works. You can also apply capsule emotions to any monster.

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Classics

Joe Abercrombie

The Blade Itself

Jim Butcher

The Dresden Files

Trudi Canavan

Black Magician

Traitor Spy

David Dalglish

The Half Orcs Series

The Paladins

Shadowdance Trilogy

Steven Davidson

Douglas Hulick

Tale of the Kin

Robert Jordan

The Wheel of Time ( with Brandon Sanderson)

William King

Terrarch Chronicles

B.V. Larson

The Imperium Series

Mark Lawrence

Broken Empire Series

George R R Martin

A Song of Ice & Fire

Terry Pratchett

Discworld Series

Patrick Rothfuss

The Kingkiller Chronicle

Brandon Sanderson

The Stormlight Archive

Adrian Tchaikovsky

Shadows of the Apt

Brent Weeks

Night Angel

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What we do in life echoes in eternity

- Maximus, Gladiator

I began clearing out a lot of old bookmarks the other day. I’m surprised at how many sites have disappeared from the ‘net over the last few years, many of which were actually quite useful! While sites like http://web.archive.org are useful, it got me thinking just how much stuff is lost on the net – looking back over some of my early blog posts, I’ve realised that I first started blogging in 2006.  There’s something very sad about the disappearance of many of these other sites, many of which were RPG resources that were at least of some use. I currently have an online presence in a number of formats outside of themandragora.com so if the website ever becomes archived, most of the posts will at least continue to be available at places like Facebook, Twitter, and  LiveJournal. So I guess there will always be a part of me out there on the ‘net.

Many independent websites likely continue to exist out there, but they are often rarely updated. Usually they start off with the best of intentions but run out of steam within a few weeks. Often the hosting provider folds or the expense of keeping a website going (both time and money) leads to them getting buried. So here’s to all those RPG websites that failed their save vs. deletion.

It’s very much the fact that there are huge amounts of people blogging now about RPGs, where once there would have been a handful. More and more frequently there are posts that are little more than opinionated rants, rather than anything useful (I’m as guilty as the next person of this though!). It seems that the days when you could actually do a search on a particular RPG or subject, and/or download materials has now become a quaint custom. There’s been a huge change in the last few years with more emphasis on portal sites and web 2.0, like Obsidian portal, enworld.org and rpg.net.

I’m participating in the May of The Dead blog carnival, with a post on the 18th about playing Undead. Whilst I’d like to do more I just can’t find the time – it’s also why I don’t like posting or visiting forums such as Enworld, as there’s so much chatter or noise that it becomes difficult to follow or things just become unpleasant (like RPG.net’s occasional overzealous mods and those posters who seem to take umbrage at anyone with a different opinion). However they do have their uses, especially if you’re looking for new players. I’ve never used Obsidian Portal but it also looks like there are many dead games on there too, so it suffers the same problem. I think, in the end, there are too many damn gaming forums!

Here’s a case in point: there’s been so much talk about the next version of D&D (a.k.a DNDnext) that I’ve given up trying to follow it online. Everyone and their dog has an opinion on it, on a game that hasn’t really been created. Instead, I’ll get the playtest rules when they come out at the end of this month – at that point I might start paying attention to the online speculation, but right now I just can’t be bothered wading though it all.

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I’m planning to run the Days of Futures Past setting. It’s set some time in “the-not-t00-distant-future” after the events in X-Men: the Last Stand, although the film came out some time after the comic. It’s a time when many superheroes have been killed by the robotic Sentinels, who now hunt down anyone with super-powers as part of Project Wideawake (not just  mutants, but normal or augmented humans, aliens, and anyone with super-human powers). It’s a pretty bleak future depicted in Futures Past: mutants, both super-heroes and -villains, are either executed or imprisoned in internment camps; the PCs are thrown into this head-first, avoiding Sentinel patrols, and trying to evade capture and execution.

One aspect I’ve decided to use is one of proper random attribute and power generation. I’m not a big fan of points-based systems that all too often allow min/maxing, allowing an unscrupulous player to wring an unfair advantage from a system. As I’m also using the Ultimate Powers book it means that there’ll be a variety of powers that the PCs could have, rather than them all having the same power (or powers): there should be some variety.

The Sentinels are hugely powerful opponents – a challenge even for the X-men – so the PCs are likely going to be outclassed right from the start. And here’s the thing: that’s how it should be. In the movies, the superhero nearly always gets their butt kicked on the first trip out, or something goes awry. Sometimes the heroes have to be outclassed, and they should retreat or face destruction.

This is why I hate D&D’s concept of Challenge Rating, and why I think encounters should occasionally be impossible for characters to beat. CR is ultimately a total cop-out and does not challenge the creativity of your players. CR is a guideline, not a rule: if your low level group are facing something of the higher level enemy, then they should back off, and formulate a different strategy. It is also a pretty common plot device in literature, where the protagonists frequently face a more powerful foe, sometimes with tragic consequences (e.g. Sturm Brightblade in Dragonlance, Kyle Reese in The Terminator, etc.).

As a GM, make it clear that such foes are powerful enough, and that the party is in deadly danger: of course, if PCs persist in “waking the dragon”, or otherwise pushing their luck, as GM give them ample opportunity to reconsider. If they don’t, then feel free to unleash seven kinds of hell upon them.

However, PCs shouldn’t continually suffer this, as sooner or later it’ll wear thin. However, there’s no reason why the same threat can’t become a recurrent one, so long as it isn’t over-used: Hearing the sound of Sentinels overhead, for example, may be enough to get the PCs moving in a Marvel Superheroes game; the huge roar as the dragon wakes up may motivate the would-be adventurers to get moving with the loot that they can carry, etc.

Of course, if your players are the type to sacrifice their PCs with a “Run, Sara!” moment then by all means give their PC’s death meaning: it shows a weakness, and provides a plot device or macguffin, such as a blind spot or weak spot, e.g. in the film of the same name, the Mummy (the hugely powerful Imhotep) flees a cat, of all things.

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I think their predominant color was a greyish-green, though they had white bellies. They were mostly shiny and slippery, but the ridges of their backs were scaly. Their forms vaguely suggested the anthropoid, while their heads were the heads of fish, with prodigious bulging eyes that never closed. At the sides of their necks were palpitating gills, and their long paws were webbed. They hopped irregularly, sometimes on two legs and sometimes on four. I was somehow glad that they had no more than four limbs. Their croaking, baying voices, clearly used for articulate speech, held all the dark shades of expression which their staring faces lacked … They were the blasphemous fish-frogs of the nameless design – living and horrible.

The Shadow Over Innsmouth

For me, what makes the Deep Ones truly horrifying is the fact that they are often descended from humans (and can also breed with them). They are just as intelligent  (if not more so), are practically immortal, and have their own civilisation. In the Call of Cthulhu RPG they’re often portrayed as being little more than savage fish-men, there to be gunned down by Investigators – they are brutes hurled at the PCs in order to wear them down. Some of the concepts from Cthulhutech may make some readers uncomfortable, but I should point out that Cthulhutech is supposed to be a game of horror, and you should be horrified at how the Deep Ones act.

However, not all Deep Ones are inhuman – hybrids become more like Deep Ones with age, likely losing more of their human emotions but they can still retain some human emotions and intelligence. What happens when a Deep One hybrid begs for mercy? They will also retain much of their knowledge – remember that Deep Ones are effectively immortal – and they retain any skills and training they might know.

Beneath this placid surface lies monsters

Source Unknown

Deep Ones provide a GM with the means to show what the future of humanity might be – from the oceans we came, and to the oceans we may return – and that maybe Earth’s future belongs to the Deep Ones, not humanity. They are the only other intelligent race indigenous to Earth. The numbers of Deep Ones are unknown, but they may rival humanity, especially given that oceans cover 70% of the world’s surface. The Deep Ones also have cities – G’ll-h0o near Surtsey in Iceland, Y’ha-nthlei off the New England coast, and Ahu-Y’hloa near Cornwall – and there are hints of many more. In Cthulhutech, R’lyeh (where Cthulhu’s tomb is located) is lost to the Deep Ones and they are continually searching for it – but its not just lost on earth, it is lost in time.

They can hit any sea coast in the world, and use rapid hit-and-fade tactics when their normal techniques of gradual assimilation fail. Deep Ones likely use the night as cover for their attacks, as the darkness is no problem for them: they are used to the gloom of the deeps, so prefer to avoid bright lights. It also gives them cover as their eyesight is likely poor – much of their long range capability is also reduced by their need to remain close to the water. Hybrids and human lackeys are more likely to provide long-range fire support to enable the Deep Ones get close enough. However, their most favoured tactic is the gradual assimilation of a town, going unnoticed until too late: when they can simply escape into the waves. If you’re a Call of Cthulhu player or Keeper, Escape from Innsmouth covers the infamous raid on Innsmouth which pretty much details such an event.

Deep Ones freely make use of creatures such as dolphins and sharks to spy for them or even hunt for them -such as the prehistoric Megalodon AKA Great White Death in Cthulhutech. Deep Ones will make use of weather sorceries to becalm vessels or conjure storms to cover their attacks. A vessel attacked by Deep Ones will likely never know it is under attack as sentries are silenced, the propellers fouled, and rudder broken. Then the true horror begins as the Deep Ones swarm over the gunwales, cutting down the sleep-befuddled crew with their coral acrutha spears and sreltha knives. When they leave, they take the bodies with them, leaving the vessel adrift as another maritime mystery or sinking it.

Deep Ones are also scavengers of technology and make use of their hybrids and followers in that sense to supply or develop technology. That’s why this entry is titled the way it is. In Cthulhutech, The Deep Ones are part of the Esoteric Order of Dagon (or EOD), and they are part of the EOD military machine – not only do they have weapons, but they have mecha and powered armour. Their weapons use much of their technology (including deep-sea toxins), and they utilise their home turf – the oceans – to their advantage.  In many cases they may also utilise other mythos creatures, such as the shoggoths as servants.

They also use infiltration techniques as they did in Ponape and Innsmouth, also using their own “breeding”program in occupied EOD towns – which has lead to some criticism of the Cthulhutech setting. I should point out that the concept of the “rape camps” is pretty much a horrendous concept in itself, and that is mentioned once in CT (and does not go into any detail, thankfully). We know the Deep Ones are alien and emotionless, yet this whole premise adds to the horror as they are driven by base desires.

In the Through the Looking Glass game I’m running the PCs have split into two groups and raiding a former fertility clinic (a long story), used by Deep Ones and their hybrids. However, two of the group have got there first and are heading into the building – and the Deep Ones inside are possibly armed with guns, a fact that the players are only just beginning to recognise… and it has made them pause.

In Call of Cthulhu (and Delta Green), Deep Ones can cause SAN (sanity) loss. What should really worry the PCs is passing the roll and realising that the Deep Ones are packing Uzis. So if you really want to make your Deep Ones really scary, make them unseen, and give them guns.

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The times they are a-changin’

Bob Dylan

Back in the early 1980s, very few parents would have played RPGs, but now there are two, maybe even three, generations of gamers in some families. I’m not just talking about video gamers (although that is more common), I’m talking about pen’n'paper RPGs.

Pen’n'paper RPGs (PNP RPGs to save time) to me are far more beneficial to a child or adolescent than computer ones. Every kid plays make-believe, and RPGs are a great way for parents to engage their kids without worrying about their exposure to the “dangers” of the internet or computer games. If you are a parent and an RPG player then you’re pretty much ready to run a game for them. The key points to remember in all of this is responsibility as a parent, and the need for supervision. There’s always a few parental concerns about the RPG hobby, but Ken Walton does a fantastic job of allaying them on the Escapist web page.

Adult RPG groups are understandably wary about allowing younger players to join  their group without parental supervision. In the current climate that is understandable, particularly since many groups meet in pubs or houses. There’s also the unfortunate perception that younger players can be disruptive or immature – whilst this may sometimes be the case, no more so than any adult. I’ve played a few games with a father and son, and I have to say there was no problem: the group had a great time and there was little or problem with age.

From this point on, I’ll focus on what parents and teenagers can do when they are looking for a game in their area. By far the easiest way  is to muster your own group, ideally those of the same age. Whether you are a parent, or teenager, it can be pretty daunting; especially if you are assembling a group and you’re under 18.

Without pandering to a stereotype too much, RPGs tend to appeal to the more withdrawn or reserved kids who are often outside the normal social circles. For parents, RPGs provide a kid with a social outlet, as well as human contact – computer games are all very well, but RPGs still provide human contact, often with those of a similar age, outlook, and interests.

School groups are one of the best ways for younger gamers to meet up and play. Obviously this requires cooperation from the school management and other parents, but it is a far more attractive alternative for parents than wondering where their kids are.

Wargaming groups and hobby game shops like Games Workshop also provide a good outlet and method of meeting other folk of the same age, many of whom will also play RPGs.

Youth groups are a great place for u18s (under 18s) to pick up RPGs and play, but time and a venue can make things difficult. However, with adult cooperation and understanding, kids can get together and play.

Finding a place to play can be tricky at the best of times – a decent game session usually requires a certain amount of seclusion from distractions, aside from the obvious mobile phone or TV! At the end of the day it’s up to the responsible adult to make sure that the environment is OK for u18s to play RPGs – for example, if you’re playing in the public area of your religious community, talk of blood, demons, bullets and explosions may raise a few eyebrows! The best place to play is somewhere like a hall or function room, where people can come or go to a public area for refreshments.

At the end of the day, RPGs can be played anywhere. ORC started out in Cafe Nero, a coffee shop. u18s can also play games at a friend’s house, or at their local church hall. As always, if  you’re a parent make sure you’re OK with the venue.

At the end of the day, it’s down to a parent to make sure their kids are safe. If you’re under 18 try and engage your parents with your hobby – they’ll likely understand, and might even want to help – especially if they are gamers!

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Here’s what I think is happening. It takes time to test a system like Dndnext that is literally is going back to formula. With the input from the D&D community at large, plus a corporate bottom line, it will require a lot of testing and marketing. Current players don’t want to play a board game with cards, although 4e was close. WotC is the publishers of the Magic card games so it looks towards its strengths in that regard. If they can get Magic: the Gathering players to start playing D&D with the same cards, then they’ll reap the whirlwind.

I think DNDnext is at least a year off. It takes time to print and edit a book, let alone a franchise. A board game costs a lot to print compared to a book. There’s counters, cards, the board, and the packaging – plus the overhead from artwork or graphic design.

I’ve a suspicion of my own: will DNDnext be a basic board game of counters and cards, with “Advanced” books that are available later? Something similar to the Expert and boxed sets that they produced in the 80s? However, my suspicion is that they will lean towards a series of books that expand upon a common structure – extra monsters, feats, powers, etc.

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A few months back I blogged about the Version wars of D&D. At that time 5th Edition of Dungeons & Dragons, 5e or DNDnext as it has become known, was merely a news item that hadn’t really reached a tipping point as it were, or reached a general audience.

Hats off to Wizards of the Coast for the publicity storm they have created since. Not long after they ran the first DNDnext test games at conventions (complete with Non-Disclosure Agreements or NDAs), the RPG forums across the internet hit a critical mass.

Given that Wizards were planning to consult the gaming community, the publicity they’ve been getting for DNDnext is something else – rumour and speculation or suggestion and confirmation, they’re certainly getting people to voice an opinion. I’ve pretty much been through the editions as a player, and a DM to a lesser extent – but I’m finding the sheer volume of material to be quite daunting: I’ve heard that there’s possibly card-based combat, that 1e randomness will make a comeback, that the game will be more flexible

I’m quite looking forward to the DNDnext playtest packs that are supposed to be coming out soon (May 24th) as a result. Here’s what I’m hoping to see.

• The return of Hit Dice and HD-based XP for monsters. In 2e AD&D this provided a great way of making a monster individual without taxing the DM’s mental arithmetic. It also provided a decent basis for replacing CR – which is pretty pointless anyway and seems to be off-balance anyway. CR also means that some players call foul when a monster more powerful than the entire party kicks their butts. Sometimes it is wise to choose your battles
• Less DM “advice” – a novice DM can pick up 95% of what he needs from gaming sites on the net. The 4e DM guide was little more than fluff text, and a waste of cash.
• Reducing the Powers and Feats in DNDnext to a single element system that is not wholly combat-related  or battle-grid dependent.
• Reduce the Skills to simple  Trained or Untrained. No ranks or bonuses, except if you are Trained.
• The ability to play a character with weak physical stats yet have some survivability.
• A decent piece of software like the AD&D Core Rules CDs that allows DMs and players to generate PCs, monsters, magic items, etc. as well providing a list of free digital versions of the books (both the rulebooks and PLAYERS OPTION books). You could use it offline and export specific items for others to use – and was far better than the buggy eTools or DDI.
• Treat Pathfinder as the basis for what worked in 3.5.
• Make the game playable without allowing certain players min/max or to work the system so that, for example, they can use a weapon and shield in the same hand.
• Remove the point-based system and encourage the random rolling of dice and individual characters.

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I’ve got quite a bit of things planned over the next few months, both on the site and at ORC Edinburgh. And its not just me: there’s a mini-campaign of the Dragon Age RPG kicking off, a Pathfinder game, a GURPS Swashbuckling Superhero game, as well as my own Marvel Super Heroes game.

I’m also thinking of participating in a Blog Carnival about the Undead as part of May of the Dead next month. Although I’ve never been enthused about zombie films or similar, they and other undead have often featured prominently in my games. I’m probably going to focus on what drives them. I may also look at haunted houses too.

I’ve also got vague plans for running a good old-fashioned Dungeon bash – it may even take the form of a tournament, wherein two different parties take on the same dungeon. I’m leaning towards a Liche-created series of traps and a menagerie of monsters, but may also feature some ideas I came up with for a Thieves Guild trial in Ashes of Freedom. Essentially, I improved upon those shown in that sequence in the 1st D&D movie, featuring Richard O’Brien (reprising his role from the Crystal Maze TV show, “Get through the maze and win a prize!”). I’m considering running it under Pathfinder or The Secret Fire RPG rules, both of which lend themselves to this kind of game.

As we get through to the end of summer, I’m looking at the return of my Ashes of Freedom D&D game. I’m hoping to get a number of the original players back for this, although it’ll likely have a few new folk.

Now that I have largely finished a lot of the work that I was doing for TSF I’ve got a bit more free time (despite upping my game at ORC. This means that I may finally get a chance to start work on a couple of stalled projects: an implementation of the FATE RPG called Mandragora: Ashes of Freedom, and the Arunstoun setting/adventure for Call of Cthulhu. Both have had some work done on them but as usual, I’ve not followed up on them due to the time constraints involved.

Any day now I’m hoping to hear more about the global D&D playtest (AKA D&Dnext or 5e) for the next edition, so may also work that into my schedule. I’m not sure how good or bad it will be as there’s a lot of information bouncing around the net, but so far it sounds like it will likely provide some kind of framework to run any edition or implementation. Not sure how that’ll work as each edition tends to have overcompensated for the faults of the previous one. Well, we’ll see.

And finally: I’ve got an idea for NaNoWri month in November (National Novel Writing Month). It’s likely to be a bit of a mystery but played out through the eyes of three different characters in three different times. Should be an interesting experiment!

Copyright bill at themandragora.com

ORC has around 200 members, as I’ve taken the steps of removing any accounts that haven’t logged in for over a year. This should reduce the number of profiles to copy over that may have issues. For obvious reasons, I want to keep the user data, the forum posts, events, downloads, and functionality.

Current Joomla Configuration

The site currently runs Joomla 1.5 on PHP 5 and MySQL. It  also links to a Mediawiki 1.18 install. The template is JS Optimus Free (customised) by JoomlaShack, that will likely need some alteration again.

Modules installed

• Admin Tasks (mod_comprofilermoderator – sys admins/mods only)
• ORC Info (mod_cb_login)
• Shout Box (Batjo’s mod_shoutbox)
• Latest Posts (mod_kunenalatest)
• Main Menu (mod_MainMenu)
• ORC Calendar (mod_eventlistcal15q which won’t exist any more)
• Upcoming Events (mod_eventlist)
• Who’s Online (mod_whosonline)

Components

I’ll have to reinstall any component marked with an asterisk (*), as a version for Joomla! 2.5 exists. Those marked in bold shouldn’t need migrated as they are supposed to be migrated by jUpgrade (however I suspect they will need checked or reinstalled).

• Akeeba Admintools*
• Akeeba Backup*
• Community Builder - it does work but may need reinstalled.
  
• Eventlist*
• jUpgrade
• Kunena – doesn’t migrate rankings cleanly and you may need to reset category permissions.
  
• Newsfeeds
• Remository*
• UddeIM*
• Weblinks
• XMap*

Plugins

• CBCaptcha for Community Builder
• User – Mediawiki login (Harold Prins‘ mediawiki plugin)

Preparation

Right, first I put the site into maintenance mode. I’ve also done some basic housekeeping, cleaning out old messages, checking the database, and making sure that everything is as up to date as I can make it. I’ve also emptied the caches and trash for the forum, menus, and modules. I’ve made a full backup of both the database and file structure (as well as using Akeeba Backup to create a JPA download), and also moved the folder structure to a test folder. The phpMyAdmin Synchronize facility works well for creating a quick and easy backup of the databases.

I’ve created a place-holder index.htm  for the site which says it is undergoing an upgrade – for some reason, the default option for putting a site off-line in Joomla still allows logins (which is why I’ve moved folder to a test environment as well). It is pretty easy to do -  create a blank index.htm folder then create the following text within it:

<head>Site Offline<head>
<body><h1>THE SITE IS CURRENTLY OFFLINE</h1>
<p>It is being upgraded.</p></body>

That at least lets people know what going on.

I have also created a test sub-domain and database (which uses the same login criteria). So the “production” site is off-line, and the test site is now the one I’ll be working upon.

Phase 1: Using jUpgrade

I’ve copied the necessary folder structure to the test site, but haven’t made any modifications yet to the config files or database. If you’ve used Akeeba Admin Tools to create a customised htaccess file, rename .htaccess in the root of your website folder to .htaccess.live (or similar). If you don’t, jUpgrade will stall.

Change paths to test server.

Make sure configuration.php is writeable (CHMOD 644) and open it in a  text editor. There are two variables you need to change for the full path to the test folder

var $log_path = ‘/path to test/logs’;
var $tmp_path = ‘/path to test/tmp’;

Note that we’ll also need to change the path to the database at some point but leave it as it is right now. We’ll come back to it later. Righto

“Whichever way you look at it, it’s brown trousers time” – Holly, Red Dwarf

Performing the jUpgrade

Backup your site AGAIN just to be safe. If you haven’t already install the jUpgrade module from RedComponent. Note this requires registration to download so create a throw-away password rather than you own sysadmin one (but you knew that already, right?) .

The defaults are usually OK, but you can check the parameters to see what you can do with them. I’m leaving them to the defaults as I’m not expecting problems, but three are worth looking at ( you might also like to make sure that the template positions are set to be saved as well!):

• Target Directory is usually the path to your test server/jupgrade
• Prefix for old database – by default is “jos_”. If you’ve changed this (which is a smart move – it is a security risk), make sure the correct prefix is set here.
• Prefix for new database – by default is “j25_”. We’ll be changing this later on so you can leave it as is.

First of all make sure you’re connected to the internet. Once you’ve saved these parameters, run the jUpgrade. It took a few minutes, but downloaded Joomla 2.5 and installed it to the jupgrade folder. If successful you should see

$wgAuthJoomla_LoginURL = $wgAuthJoomla_domain .'index.php?option=com_users&view=login&return=' . $wgAuthJoomla_LoginLink;
$wgAuthJoomla_LogoutURL = $wgAuthJoomla_domain . 'index.php?option=com_users&task=logout&return=' . $wgAuthJoomla_LogoutLink;

Copyright bill at themandragora.com