A couple of weeks ago I mentioned Dyson’s Dodecahedron as a great source of maps. Today I thought I would mention Lloyd Neill’s occasional Death and Dismemberment blog (http://deathanddismemberment.blogspot.co.uk/).
Neill is an OSR/D&D and Rolemaster enthusiast and house rule fan which is kind of a prerequisite for Rolemaster GMs I guess.
This is relevant particularly given this weeks discussion on OSR. Last year there were some interesting discussions on House Rules. I am not a fan of OSR roleplay as it, in my opinion, just a thief tax but each to their own.
Thief tax?
Cheers for the heads up by the way! I’m probably not likely to be updating the blog in a hurry as what little time I can devote to gaming (4yo foster son) goes to prepping and running a once a month game.
OSR tends to accept asking the thief player exactly how they want to check for traps or disarm one but you wouldn’t ask the healer to describe how they are going to cut out an arrowhead.
Have you ever asked a magic users player to demonstrate exactly how to cast a fireball?
Yes, but then we had to call the fire brigade! (Okay, not serious!)
In my experience that only tends to happen in games with no skill system to cover thievery – I agree that asking for detailed descriptions then making a roll would defeat the point somewhat.
Take a look at Hero Kids and get him in early!