| VitoMML |
As a co-author of MML, I thought I would share my experiences with playing the game I helped create and how that has impacted me as a Game Master. Andy and I share many ideas, and also bring different styles to our games, of course, as all GMs. So, I will keep posting to this thread in a series of 'chapters'.
As a quick note - thank you to all of you who have picked up the game and its supplements. We are tremendously pleased to hear that as we had dreamed - that an old school style RPG could be realistic, quick, and gritty, could appeal to a number of gamers like us. We will keep striving to give you more and more. Now onward:
A. Base Premise: Let's start with a simple premise - you can't play MML as a character the way you might play many other fantasy games. If you do, you are likely to be disappointed quickly, finding your character in any one of a myriad of threatening situations, faced with his own mortality. Since the game focuses on realism, you have to retool your entire thinking framework. I have seen players of D&D, some White Wolf games, and even GURPS (all GREAT games in their own right), have a difficult time adjusting to this level of realism. However, I have also seen them hunger for more once they get the hang of it.
As a GM, you therefore, need to GM a MML campaign with an entirely different framework in mind for the setting. In many fantasy games, the focus is on the powers of the characters, and giving them challenges they can defeat with use of their abilities. These might be spells, or sheer muscle, or some minor super-powers. The dramatic plots are usually to provide a back-drop of the central heroism and grandeur of the characters.
But in MML, the central focus in the character being able to survive any threats that may arise so he or she can pursue their personal goals. In a party of 4 characters, this gets interesting as the characters have different motivations. Since combat is a dangerous matter, it is often not the first choice for how to settle challenges, since even the strongest of warriors can get hurt with the wrong slip of a sword. This fact alone changes the focus of the players into problem-solving, cleverness, research and digging into their contacts and resources. So, the setting can now become the central focus of the game, not the back-drop. Suddenly the subtle becomes the very acute, characters they meet become far more interesting as allies or obstacles.
In this framework, once you get your mind around it as a GM, you no longer have to worry about elaborate labrynths you need to fill with crazy (hard-to-believe) creatures, or create powerful arch-villains that can stand up to the power of the group. You can, instead, introduce lore of ancient histories, local rumors of the lands, and create the challenge of simply planning an 8-day journey to the next town. These settings are also far more gender-balanced for their realistic drama.
A last note to make is that in this setting, the daily events can be a subject of great humor. As an example, in my campaign one character wanted to make contacts and join a Huntsman's guild. He was asked to return a few days later and was brought to a daily festival, where he was stripped to only his pants and released into a mud pit, where he had to get his hands upon a 60 pound greased pig. This entertaining event was handled with some creative description by me, a number of die rolls, and some of the other players' creative commentary - his successful initiation resulted in acceptance to the guild and an opening lead to another story plot.
So step one is to understand that GMing this game is more like writing a serious literary novel, where the details of daily life matter a great deal.
In my next few chapters, I will address two other important notes about prepping a MML campaign setting - Opponents and Economies.
Thank you again Fans!
| VitoMML |
Installment 2: The Scaling of Opponents
Now that one has decided to Game Master a Metal, Magic and Lore campaign, and began to think more in accordance with a literary novel rather than a high fantasy setting, one will probably come up against a few questions: How do you scale the challenge levels in MML? With the realism of combat and the realistic magic, how difficult should the encounters be for the characters? These questions would naturally be foremost on the mind of the Game Master as he or she begins to create the setting of the world. For this installment, I will not be addressing villains, but rather the creatures we find in MML, and how they scale in comparison to a group of characters.
In my view, we kept the feelings that were invoked by the word ‘beasts’ in mind when we created the beasts in Metal, Magic and Lore. Even some of the seemingly simple beasts can be menacing in their own right. Now, because of some of the laws of physics involved with regard to armor, weapons and certain materials, there are some things to keep in mind. In our real world, while there are a number of natural beasts that can chew through light grades of steel, or crush a man’s arm with its jaws even if mail is worn for protection against cuts, there are a host of creatures that do not have these abilities. So, with the right protection, a man can certainly be prepared to deal with some of these natural threats, if one looks purely by comparing the strength of an attack to armor (i.e., a bite or claws against light steel, steel mail, or layered protection under hardened leather). But there are other conditions in MML that can dramatically affect such encounters for a group of adventurers. If a group is surprised, out-numbered, or even slightly fatigued, the balance of the encounter can tip favorably toward the beast. A small group can be overborne, even if their armor protection is strong enough to ward off attacks at first. Unchecked attacks that result from being out numbered have a drastic impact on the defenders. Fatigue greatly affects the chances to perform well under duress. And, even if members of a group are fairly well armored and have gear with them, it is likely that if they get into trouble in an encounter with beasts, they would not be able to escape easily if the beasts are determined to pursue them. The beasts are likely much too fast. This last threat alone can work on the minds on the characters (players), regarding the possible effect of the encounter, affecting the tactics and responses of the players.
Moving onto one of my favorite subjects, I wanted to say a little about the Undead. I think to summarize, I always believed that anything that already died once shouldn’t be easy to kill a second time. In addition, we have always kept a sense that the very thought of something dead rising up from the grave to take some sort of revenge on the living is so unnatural, it would be frightening to the core. We designed the Undead with this type of approach in mind. Even the least fierce of Undead, the risen Skeleton, though slow, simple, light and easy to knock over, can be quite difficult to contend with if a small group of them aren’t dispatched in a brief amount of time. Most of this is due to two simple factors. First, the affects of wounds do not hold power over undead, they do not feel pain from such wounds, and are not affected by them unless they are completely disabled from moving. Second, undead do not fatigue. With mindless persistence they will pursue their prey until either the undead or the prey are destroyed. There are few limitations to this programmed behavior. If characters can not destroy their ensuing Undead they will soon find that the group will begin to tire and experience lesser effectiveness from fatigue, while the Undead will simply continue on at the pace at which they started. This can really ruin the day for a campaign.
At the time of this installment, we have released the revised versions of the first 5 Undead; Skeletons, Skeleton Warriors, Wights, Zombies and Mummies. Within a number of weeks, we will be releasing 5 of the newly revised Man-sized beasts; Oranguns, Gekkon, Erghodts, Orcs and Night Goblyns. Later this year, we will be releasing the long awaited ‘Monstrous Beasts’ as we have called them, all over-sized and menacing. As detailed as MML can be, ironically, there is a great point of relief for many GMs where MML beasts are concerned, since preparing for the campaign encounter is fairly simple. Since overall, these beasts are relatively powerful, there are far fewer of them needed for a typical campaign. This means that while a bit of preparation is needed, with the way the materials are presented in the bestiaries, after only a few minutes of note taking, a GM may be prepared for an encounter. I have found that preparing beasts for a MML campaign takes far less time than it did for when I played a number of other RPGs.
So for scaling tips, here are thoughts I keep in mind when looking to set up encounters for various groups of players. I have used this thinking in Demo games as well as campaign encounters, and they address the 5 Undead and the 5 Man-sized beasts mentioned. Of course, each GM will have certain style and scaling requirements to meet based on personal taste, so the reader should feel free to play with these as desired. I merely provide them as some tools for each of you to get started.
Bestiary I creatures:
Skeleton - For Spartan or Adventurer’s campaigns: 2 creatures per character. For Heroic campaigns, 3+ creatures per character. While they still require some numbers to present a challenge for characters, the numbers needn’t be extreme. If the number of skeletons accumulates against the front-line combatants, overbearing becomes immanent.
Skeleton Warrior - For Spartan or Adventurer’s campaigns: 1 creature per 1.5 characters. For Heroic campaigns, 1 creature per character. The beast’s ability to ward off attacks, wear armor, and move quickly makes it very difficult to dispatch, and its attacks can be more effective than the characters’ at times.
Mummy - For Spartan or Adventurer’s campaigns: 1 creature per 3+ characters. For Heroic campaigns, 1 creatures per 2+ characters. These creatures are very tough, and because of their wrappings and death mask they have the equivalent of light armor. With the use of a weapon and the fact that it will attack a target’s neck to snap it, it is a fierce adversary.
Wight - For Spartan or Adventurer’s campaigns: 1 creature per 1.5 characters. For Heroic campaigns, 1 creature per character. These creatures are tougher than zombies on a 1-for-1 basis, and their exceptional speed makes them even more worthy to be feared.
Zombie - For Spartan or Adventurer’s campaigns: 1 creature per character. For Heroic campaigns, 1.5 creatures per character. These creatures are very tough, indeed, as there is a reduced effect for certain weapons used against them. With some light weaponry they become even more menacing.
Bestiary II creatures:
Erghodt - For Spartan or Adventurer’s campaigns: 1 creature for 3+ characters. For Heroic campaigns, 1 creature for 2 characters. Singularly, this is the strongest creature in Bestiary II. The elusive nature of the beast makes for good suspense and cat-and-mouse as the creature is cunning. If it is encountered directly, it is tough and will not drop easily, and its attacks are effective against some armors.
Gekkon - For Spartan or Adventurer’s campaigns: 1 creature per character. For Heroic campaigns, 1.5 creatures per character. The hunter-like and territorial orientation of this creature in addition with its bestial level skill makes it a good first creature for characters to meet.
Orangun - For Spartan or Adventurer’s campaigns: 2 creatures per character. For Heroic campaigns, 3+ creatures per character. Another good first creature for a group to encounter. The power in numbers and their ability to live in canopies can make an encounter or adventure with this creature somewhat protracted. A horde of these beasts could overwhelm a party into a retreat.
Orc - For Spartan or Adventurer’s campaigns: 1.25 creatures per character. For Heroic campaigns, 1.75 creatures per character. However, if armed well, a small band of these beasts might very well present a ratio pf .75 creatures per character, especially if played well by a GM who understands that these are intelligent, thinking creatures, who have survived the most extreme of spartan existences.
Night Goblyn - For Spartan or Adventurer’s campaigns: 1 creature per character. For Heroic campaigns, 2+ creatures per character. However, these ratios can be misleading. While they do not survive direct combats well, the Night Goblyns may be considered the most difficult of creatures to defeat in a campaign setting. Their magical abilities can have stacking effects against characters.
There are many factors that can influence the ratios I state above. If a group contains a skilled Life Elementalist or Symbolist, they may be able to withstand greater numbers of undead. If the group is oriented toward archers or lightly armored rogue characters, the group will be able to handle more of the man-sized beasts, but less undead. Symbolists tend to ensure the survival rates of groups a bit longer, and Wizards and other Elementalists can make the groups attacks stronger in many cases.
In either way, with some good judgment and a good story, any of these creatures can present a real challenge for a party, regardless of the setting. Think like you imagine the beast would, (or like its creator), and you will have the scaling in hand fairly quickly.
With opponents out of the way, we will be able to move onto the next topic: The Economy of Metal, Magic and Lore.
| VitoMML |
Co-Author's Guide to Game Mastering Metal, Magic and Lore
Installment 3: The Economy of MML
Well, it is just after Origins 2009 in Columbus, Ohio – and a hearty thank you to all of you who came to enjoy our events, and who have joined in the community of MML players – and GMs! Having said that, it is appropriate for me to move on to my next subject for Game Masters – the Economics of MML.
Another way in which a Game Master needs to rethink his campaign conventions is in regards to the economics of Metal, Magic and Lore. Even in such a fantasy-based campaign, many of the regional economies are agrarian in nature. Barter and exchange are staples in the economy, simply because quantities of coin – which is made of precious and semi-precious metals, is simply unattainable for many. As a basic reminder, in such a setting, the value of metal is directly related to how it can be extracted from the ground, made pure, worked into something useful, and its resistance to environmental conditions in the end. Although in cities and larger towns there are craftsman who make their living working such metals in a multitude of ways, they are by far a small percentage of the populace. Most of the populace, across the intelligent races, make their living by rendering other goods and services, and/or exchanging the products of their labors for other goods and services which they need (Orcs just try to steal them).
So to break the convention of thinking set in much of the fantasy RPG genre, the first reminder to address is the exchange of coin in MML: 5 copper coins to 1 bronze, 10 bronze to 1 silver, 50 silver to 1 gold (the largest jump in value), and 3 gold to 1 platinum. Certainly it is possible to introduce the Electrum Coin into this arrangement (a mixture of Silver and Gold), though we did not do so in our Player’s Rulebook. There are a few key notes to make about the creation of coins and their scale as currency in this setting.
The first is that if we look into the MML Player’s Rulebook, the base of the economy is scaled to the value of the bronze coin. Copper was one of the first metals to be worked historically, and is easy to work, even for a primitive culture. It also does not weather the environment well and turns color very quickly. Bronze is copper which contains mixtures of tin (another easy metal to work), but this combination gives the coin another body of properties. It will still tarnish over time. Some bronze mixtures may contain different quantities of each metal, and may even contain another (possibly Nickel, for example), but this isn’t tremendously relevant for our discussion. What is relevant, is that the required effort to make bronze makes this an ideal metal so scale the basis of the economy – it is valuable enough for base coin, and valuable enough to make trade goods that are worth something.
The second item to note, is that by setting the value of bronze in such a manner, looking at the pattern of historical value, suddenly silver becomes a valuable metal (this opposes the idea set into momentum by some other fantasy games - that a lot of silver makes up a piece of gold, which is what you really want, anyway; who cares about the silver?). So even a single coin of silver gives you 10 times the leverage to buy ordinary goods like food, clothing, lodging, etc. As it turns out in campaigns, it also makes for wonderful bribery coin (ask my players).
The third effect is that again, looking at the pattern of historical values, gold now becomes a valuable precious metal again. Even in today’s economy, the value of gold – as a stand-alone material – remains valued by many. At 50 times the essential value of silver over time, finding gold means that you have found treasure. Finding a few gold bars locked away in a small chest means that you have bought yourself a nice piece of land. Finding a few more means that you can now hire enough labor to work the land and have it produce for a few years (environmental conditions notwithstanding). What a wonderful concept in the world of role-playing gaming - gold that is as valuable as treasure.
Platinum is a metal that requires a bit of history to really understand its true value. In fact, platinum was considered almost worthless until somewhere around the turn of the 18th to 19th centuries, when the process of heating ovens changed so that temperatures were essentially doubled (I am leaving the details out of this for purposes of the conveying just the idea). Platinum, before then, was nearly impossible to extract from the earth, as it has a tremendously high melting point. As a result, while it may have looked very nice and sparkly in its ore form, it was worthless unless it could be extracted and worked. Once these technological developments occurred, it became a precious metal, especially given its properties. In a fantasy setting, magic is required to heat ovens so hot, so all the intelligent races still value Platinum greatly.
Nevertheless, even armed with the information I have provided, because the value of metals is not linear (for example, 10:1 for each type of coin), the scaling can escape the mind. In fact, the disparities illustrated in these exchanges begin to give way to the development of the caste system in society. If one is born of common blood on a farm, he or she will likely never be able to make enough money to ever buy even a scimitar. Thus, a community of peasants could be easy quelled by even a handful of armed guards, unless they uprise in some well-organized fashion. Conversely, the loss of a good sword and a moderately well-cared for suit of armor might never be recovered simply by one’s labors. Thus, the roots of the feudal system are engrained in the setting of MML. “Take this sword, armor and horse, and render your arm to me until the debt is paid”. By my calculations, this could take 20 years in the MML setting – maybe you can do the math too and see what you come up with. Better start adventuring!
So, the caste system is an excellent reason for adventurers to become adventurers. In fact, it is consistent with some of the reasons for the Crusades in the 11th to 13th centuries – the second and third sons of lords needed to acquire wealth, and in order to do that they needed something to plunder.
So in essence to help scale the economy, here are some tidbits to consider. In every case, the coin listed can buy any single line item from the list underneath:
10 Copper Coins:
- a half-day of grain for a beast of burden
- 2 nights in a common room at a tavern
- 2 days rations
- 2 sets of common clothing
- 1 supply of common components for a spell
10 Bronze Coins:
- 1 Donkey
- 5 days of preserved rations
- 1 supply of Uncommon components for a spell
- 2 Slings
- 1 arrow
10 Silver Coins:
- 1 Charger (warhorse)
- a 2 lb. hammer
- 1 supply of Rare components for a spell
- 1 War Spear
- 1 Bow with 12 arrows
100 Silver Coins:
- 8 Chargers with associated gear
- 20 days of food for a hamlet of 100 people
- 1 blank Wizard’s Tome
- 3 swords or 2 Maces
- 5 sets of War Spears and Round Shields
500 Silver Coins (10 gold coins):
- 11 Chargers with equipment and riders for 1 week
- 2 Large wagons with teams of 6+ oxen each
- 50 days of food for a village of 200 people
- 17 sets of War Spears, Round Shields and Pot helms
- 1 Suit of medium weight armor
2,500 Silver Coins (10 platinum coins, or 30 gold coins)
- 54 Chargers with equipment and riders for 1 week
- 12 Large Wagons with teams of 6+ Oxen each
- 250 days food for a village of 200 people
- 80+ sets of War Spears, Round Shields and Pot Helms
- 7 Suits of medium weight armor
So, on that note I will leave you with some questions for you to consider:
Will the local lord feed the hamlet or provide them with an armed guard of 4 men?
Will a villager want a War Spear he cannot use, or will he prefer the hammer so he can mend his home?
Will a captain risk the loss of his 10 cavalry in a fight if he cannot replace any losses with the booty gained?
And lastly, for you – how much coin is a lot of coin?
Happy campaigning! I look forward sharing more with you in my next installment.
| nrtrandahl |
To me the coinage system is a major plus for MML. When I would run campaigns in other rpgs I would always houserule a coin system to make gold really rare again unlike DnD where everyone seems to be carrying around a sackfull. I havent got to play MML yet but I would imagine that dangling a small reward in gold in front of some players (especially in a spartan campaign) would be an excellent motivator!