Vagabonds of Dyfed: PbtA OSR?

TL;DR: I don't think Vagabonds of Dyfed is as mechanically rich as other PbtA games because of how they discarded playbooks and GM moves, but it can still be called PbtA under Vincent Baker's definition.

I just wanted to comment on an OSR/PbtA Kickstarter I saw: Vagabonds of Dyfed. The Kickstarter is actually structured fairly well: one tier ($10) gives a PDF and an at-cost code for a print copy via OneBookShelf, so I don't have anything to complain about there. Also the company, Sigil Stone Publishing, has created some great products in the past, like Belly of the Beast. They even offer their current draft of the rules, which is what I'm going to be commenting on.

After a brief read through of the rules, I don't think that this is a true PbtA RPG. It uses a tag system similar to City of Mist, and does use the Apocalypse World-derived 2d6 failure/partial success/success system. It doesn't have any playbooks, which is IMO the hallmark of a PbtA RPG: codified actions for a game that set the theme of the setting. Playbooks are also one of the best things about * World hacks because they let players play without ever looking at the rule book. Of course, they aren't the end all be all of what a * World hack is. As the creator of Apocalypse World, Vincent Baker, states, "Is Apocalypse World an inspiration for your game? Enough so that you want to call your game PbtA? Did you follow Meg's and [Vincent]'s policy wrt publishing it? Then cool, your game is Powered by the Apocalypse."

So, this Kickstarter is Powered by the Apocalypse, but in my opinion, it loses the good stuff about PbtA games in trying to adapt the OSR to PbtA.

Here's an example of some moves I wrote for a more traditionally PbtA old school game:
Find traps: When you are travelling cautiously down a dungeon hallway without a direct enemy threat, roll +Dex:
     6-: Your attempts to find and disarm the trap fail, activating the trap instantly.
     7-9: You find the trap but cannot disarm it. You may be able to avoid its effects though.
     10-12: You successfully find and disarm the trap, but there could still be more.
     13+: You manage to set off a chain reaction, where each trap springs another trap, leaving them all harmless as far as you know.
Assault: When you try to attack a monster or enemy with a melee weapon, roll +Str:
     6-: Your attempt fails and the monster gets a free attack against you.
     7-9: You hit any creature with an Armor Class of 16 or below but they get a +1 bonus to their next attack against you.
    10-12: You hit any creature with an Armor Class of 20 or below.
    13+: You hit your target and deal two points of damage.
Spell casting: When you try to cast a spell under stress or in combat, roll +Intelligence:
     6-: The spell escapes your brain and destroys your carefully cultivated neural pathways as it does so. You take two points of Willpower damage and must meditate for one day in order to recapture the spell.
     7-9: You manage to cast the spell, but the toll of doing so deals one Willpower damage to you as the spell interacts with the target in incomprehensible ways.
     10-12: You cast the spell successfully but are drained by the effort.
     13+: The spell is willing to co-operate with you and all effects of the spell are doubled for this casting.

For my PbtA OSR game, hit points would ideally be divided into three categories, Willpower, Grit, and Fortitude, and don't increase with level. For example, a Magic-User would have five Willpower, four Grit, and three Fortitude, while a Thief would have five Grit, four Willpower, and three Fortitude. This could reduce the need for a save system, as mental or reflex-based attacks just drain Willpower or Grit respectively. Enemy hit points could be one pool and equal to their hit dice in the source material.
I do seem to have a lot of ideas for a much more old school Dungeon World-esque game, maybe I'll try to write some playbooks...

In summation, I think the Kickstarter is well done and I expect them to make a great looking product, but mechanically, it doesn't do what it says it will for me, or at least the current rules don't.

50th Post and On Phantasmagoria Tech

This is my 50th post on this blog, so here's a brief introduction to tech in my DCC sword & planet setting, Phantasmagoria:

Technology in the galaxy is rare, but not non-existent. While most foes you'll encounter will be wielding a flintlock pistol, or a sword, you will occasionally find people wielding nuclear-powered firearms or with personal force fields. The technology that you find is the remnants of a long-dead, highly advanced civilization of which very little is known, save that the civilization broke down long ago. This highly advanced empire is the basis for a lot of the space-ships found in the setting as well. The Foundation series is a great basis for what the empire was like, except there was no Seldon to save civilization from the collapse.

KoA Kickstarter Update and Patreon

I'm still working on finishing up my Patreon and preparing it for launch and my Kickstarter for a Kull of Atlantis reprint is still ongoing (with ~20 days left). I also am working on finishing up several projects and will hopefully be funding one of them through Patreon.

Slave, Soldier, and King Kickstarter

I am currently running a Kickstarter to fund an anthology of Robert E. Howard's first sword and sorcery tales with new illustrations by artist all-star Stefan Poag. If you want, you can check it out here.

On 4-Dimensional Foes in D&D

Inspired by this short blurb, I decided to write about having fourth dimension beings in an OSR setting. Additional inspiration was provided by this part of the first chapter of the book of Ezekiel:

And from the midst of it came the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance: they had a human likeness but each had four faces, and each of them had four wings. Their legs were straight and the soles of their feet were like the sole of a calf's foot. And they sparkled like burnished bronze. Under their wings on their four sides they had human hands. And the four had their faces and their wings thus: their wings touched one another. Each one of them went straight forward, without turning as they went.

 Effectively, beings that could move in the fourth dimension would be nigh-unstoppable by any mere adventurer, capable of ignoring the adventurer's armor and weapons at will. Of course, if the monster could attack the adventurer, at least some of the monster has to be on the same phase(?) as the adventurer.

Mechanically, this could be represented by a damage cap for four dimensional foes, such as five points. This damage cap would apply to all attacks (even spells) to represent how it was because the body was on a separate phase not just because it was resistant. Of course, on their turn, the four dimensional foe could shift to a phase where the party couldn't reach them at all, but they couldn't hurt the party either.

[Phantasmagoria] New Class: the Automaton (DCC)

This is a class for my WIP sword and planet/science-fantasy setting for Dungeon Crawl Classics, currently called Phantasmagoria. Theme-wise, I'm thinking Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy meets Edgar Rice Burroughs' Barsoom series, with a wee bit of Warhammer 40k. And of course, any genre that begins with science has to have some robots in it! This class is based on Marvin the Paranoid Android and C-3PO in particular, but androids in general.

Automatons

Automatons are the universal debris of ambitious magitechnicians across the universe, thrown aside once they realize someone else has done it before, and done it better. They are left to find a purpose and something to glean from their existence, without any parental figures to guide them. Some automatons form insular communities, either existing under the radar of larger cities or founding their own cities, while other automatons find a group that can recognize them for their talents, not for their past.

Automatons, despite being wholly mechanical, still have a few needs. They will need additional fuel every couple months in order to keep running and need eight hours of rest each night in order to let their batteries recharge. Additionally, the magic wrapping an automaton’s conscience allows mind-affecting magic to affect an automaton, regardless of their artificial status.

Hit points: An automaton gains 1d10 hit points at each level.

Weapon training: An automaton is proficient with any weapon integrated into their chassis. Automatons begin play with one weapon of their choice integrated into their chassis. Automatons do not wear armor of any kind.

Sociopath: An automaton can never truly identify with organic life forms, or ‘organics’, and for this purpose, it has a maximum Personality score of 15. The actual personality score should be recorded in parentheses after the modified score, like this: 15 (17), but for all game purposes, the automaton’s Personality score is 15.

Modularity: An automaton’s chassis is built to accept various modules and upgrades. At every new level, including level 1, an automaton rolls 1d30 and consults the following table to determine what new module they have gained. Ignore any results you have already rolled and roll again.

d30	Module Implanted
1	The automaton does not gain a module this level
2	Integrated weapon: Attacks move up one step on the dice chain with an integrated weapon
3	Reinforced chassis: +1d4 additional hit points
4	Armored plating: +2 bonus to Armor Class.
5	Targeting system: Attacks with any ranged weapons move up one step on the dice chain
6	Mapping module: The automaton has perfect recall of the layout of any building it has been in before
7	Nightvision: The automaton can see in the dark1
8	Vacuum tubes: The automaton has an eidetic memory
9	Spell repeater: The automaton learns to cast one first level spell with an effective caster level equal to one-half of their level
10	Rocket propulsors: The automaton’s speed doubles
11	Nuclear generator: The automaton does not need to rest for eight hours each night
12	Trash compacter: The automaton can crush ten cubic feet of loosely packed matter into a 1’ x 1’ x 1’ cube.
13	Projector: The automaton can project their thoughts or the contents of a holodisc onto any flat surface
14	Empathy unit: The automaton has synthetic emotions and their Personality score can exceed 14.
15	Medical synthesizer: The automaton can synthesize basic medical compounds. This works as the cleric’s lay on hands class ability, except the base disapproval rate is one through four and they roll on the Automaton Malfunction table.
16	Encyclopedia module: The automaton has approximate knowledge of many things1
17	RNG: The automaton can randomly generate numbers
18	Self-destruct: The automaton’s death causes a fiery explosion that deals 3d8 to all enemies in a 20’ radius
19	Navigations system: The automaton can adequately drive a spaceship1
20	Infrared vision: The automaton can see heat signatures
21	Jack of all trades: The automaton rolls a d12 instead of a d10 on all checks for untrained skills
22	Holographic disguise: The automaton can disguise itself through the use of an appropriate hologram1
23	Universal translator: The automaton can understand, but not speak, all common languages
24	Secondary processor: The automaton increases their Intelligence by three points.
25	Beverage dispensary: The automaton can create a nutritious sludge that vaguely resembles tea
26	Taser fists: The automaton can deal 1d8 points of damage with an unarmed attack
27	Luck siphon: The automaton can drain willing targets of their Luck score, up to three points per day
28	Fireproof: The automaton is immune to fire attacks.
29	Nanobots: The automaton heals 1d6 damage/hour
30	Roll twice and gain both results

1Consider this as a skill that the automaton is trained in.

Automaton malfunctions: Whenever an automaton rolls a natural 1 on any roll of an action die, they roll on the following table, adding their Luck modifier to their die roll.

1d12	Automaton Malfunction
1 or less	The automaton catches fire, taking 1d6 points of damage every round until it’s extinguished
2	One of the automaton’s modules breaks
3	The automaton’s circuits explode, dealing 1d12 damage to the automaton
4	The automaton’s gears catch and it cannot move until they are fixed
5	The memory banks are temporarily wiped
6	The automaton is infected with a virus; all dice they roll for 1d7 days move one step lower on the dice chain
7	The automaton runs into a paradox, stopping it from taking any action besides protecting itself
8	The automaton’s speed is halved
9	The automaton suddenly runs out of fuel
10	The automaton cannot hurt any intelligent or humanoid life for 1d14 hours
11	The automaton’s artificial brain stalls; making it completely immobile for 1d8 rounds.
12 or more	The automaton desperately needs an oil bath

Level	Attack	Crit Die/Table	Action Dice	Ref	Fort	Will
1	+0	1d8/II	1d20	+0	+0	+1
2	+1	1d8/II	1d20	+0	+0	+1
3	+2	1d10/II	1d20	+1	+1	+2
4	+2	1d10/II	1d20	+1	+1	+2
5	+3	1d12/II	1d20	+1	+1	+3
6	+4	1d12/II	1d20+1d14	+2	+2	+4
7	+5	1d14/II	1d20+1d6	+2	+2	+4
8	+5	1d14/II	1d20+1d20	+2	+2	+5
9	+6	1d16/II	1d20+1d20	+3	+3	+5
10	+7	1d16/II	1d20+1d20	+3	+3	+6

[KotR/etc.] Updates and Such

Firstly, I've decided that I will be submitting a 3,000 preview of Knights of the Road to Charlie Mason's The Wizard's Scroll zine! I should be able to knock that out over the weekend, and will be probably putting some additional KotR material in my (recently named) Extinguish the Sun 'zine, coming out at an undetermined date.

Additionally, I've begun to collect a few OSR tidbits and house rules in case I want to make a B/X retroclone incorporating them... There may be more news on that later, or not, based on how far I get with it. I'm also working on a DCC RPG compatible Spelljammer-esque setting that I should get more information on later.