Death is on the Table

[The Master]

Over on the Tales to Astound Blog there is this post Death is on the Table. He talks about how he plays Lamenations of the Flame Princess and it is very OD&Dish IMO.  

Some select quotes

Well, the Players talk to me. And then I talk back. They know that the minute they have to make an attack roll, an attack roll might be coming back. So they come up with schemes and ideas to get around or avoid the beasts that might kill them. By building fictional details one time after another in the conversation between each other, between them and me, and me with them, we add create the specifics that let them mitigate, when possible, the dangers of a dangerous world.

To be clear then: The game play is not in rolling to hit. The game play is in the decisions and ideas prompted by the fact that the moment you start rolling attack dice, things can go horribly wrong.

I’m not concerned with making “balanced” encounters. Because I don’t expect the the PCs to enter combat with strange creatures–because it is wiser for the PCs not to risk death doing something that might not gain much XP–I leave it to the Players to decide if they’ll fight or not fight. There is always risk, never enough information, and they are then forced to come up with excellent plans to tip the combat in their favor, winning without combat if possible. But that’s their business, not mine. I just provide opportunities and obstacles, and sit back and see what they choose to do!

Sounds like an old school game with an old school referee to me.

[hengest]

I've been attracted to this game for a long time. Now more so.

[Hexenritter Verlag]

Aug 18, 2018 20:06:37 GMT -5 hengest said:

I've been attracted to this game for a long time. Now more so.

I own a hardcopy of Lamentations of the Flame Princess, it is a real good game. That said it has ascending AC and no bestiary. You can get a free and legal artless version from DriveThruRPG here. If you are prudish I'd suggest just getting this and not bother looking at the other stuff put out for it. I grew up on old Warhammer Fantasy books and novels so the grim dark content and adult oriented art doesn't faze me.

[El Borak]

Aug 18, 2018 21:47:13 GMT -5 Hexenritter Verlag said:

Aug 18, 2018 20:06:37 GMT -5 hengest said:

I've been attracted to this game for a long time. Now more so.

That said it has ascending AC and no bestiary.

Well nothings perfect.

[Hexenritter Verlag]

True, but the AC thing could be fixed easy enough the main reason there is no bestiary is the game it meant for Weird Fantasy and each monster is meant to be fairly unique creatures designed for an adventure. Though the game has Elves, Dwarfs & Halflings as options the author any many creators for supplements set their campaigns in mythic versions of our world or strange fantasy settings, such as Carcosa.

[El Borak]

Aug 18, 2018 22:12:56 GMT -5 Hexenritter Verlag said:

True, but the AC thing could be fixed easy enough the main reason there is no bestiary is the game it meant for Weird Fantasy and each monster is meant to be fairly unique creatures designed for an adventure. Though the game has Elves, Dwarfs & Halflings as options the author any many creators for supplements set their campaigns in mythic versions of our world or strange fantasy settings, such as Carcosa.

Yes, the AC can be corrected easy, and I like Weird Fantasy and I like unique monsters.

[Warrior Twin Two]

This is good and also a great thread title.

[ripx187]

I have a lot of respect for the author. Back in the day he painstakingly helped me understand the hex-crawl system and why it was important to the game. He used to be a very vocal member of our little communities, but now you hardly hear from him which is sad.

[El Borak]

Aug 22, 2018 18:12:31 GMT -5 ripx187 said:

I have a lot of respect for the author. Back in the day he painstakingly helped me understand the hex-crawl system and why it was important to the game. He used to be a very vocal member of our little communities, but now you hardly hear from him which is sad.

I really don't know much about him beyond a lot of people hate him and his game(s), but from what I have heard the game is quite good, if vulgar. But given how easily people hate these days, I find the hate to be irrelevant, but it is free publicity. Considering not many people will take time to help someone else these days, that says a lot.

[ripx187]

I really like him! I think that the deal is that he's European and Americans are used to this false politeness which he doesn't have. In my previous life I networked with a lot of Germans and Swedes, I prefer more of an open dialogue where folks don't get offended so easily but we get what we get, right? That and in real life I'm a hillbilly and vulgarity is my native tongue. That helps too   

[El Borak]

Aug 22, 2018 20:49:48 GMT -5 ripx187 said:

I really like him! I think that the deal is that he's European and Americans are used to this false politeness which he doesn't have. In my previous life I networked with a lot of Germans and Swedes, I prefer more of an open dialogue where folks don't get offended so easily but we get what we get, right? That and in real life I'm a hillbilly and vulgarity is my native tongue. That helps too   

I thought I read someplace that he is a transplanted American, but your point holds even so.

[Hexenritter Verlag]

Are you talking about Raggi or the blog author ripx187?

[ripx187]

Aug 23, 2018 3:11:35 GMT -5 Hexenritter Verlag said:

Are you talking about Raggi or the blog author ripx187?

James Raggi.

[Mighty Darci]

I've seen some of the covers and titles of his stuff on Google+, he may be helpful to you, but I am not a fan of his stuff, it is very anti-female in tone from what I can tell. But it should not be censored and if he is tweaking the thought police, he does play a useful role. He has a specific niche and it is working. I am sure based on his success he is selling a lot of things to people who would never admit publicly that they are buying it for fear of the thought police.

[ripx187]

Female nudity and sexist peril is old-school, isn't it? That is one of the elements that got Dungeons and Dragons into so much trouble bitd. This goes right back to the pulps and man's fiction which inspired the genre itself. I know that when I was in regular contact with him he always insisted on women portraying powerful roles where they were the aggressors which contrasted with the old D&D art styles where they were typically the victims or things which must be conquered. This may have changed! I haven't kept up with LotFP at all in many years, and cheesecake has always sold well. You look at characters like James Bond and Conan, they are chick magnets who throw women away and always have a fresh face in the next installment. This idea is very attractive to young men who are sick of always being hurt or crippled by shyness. As horrible as it is, it is still a marketing tactic today. BE A REAL MAN! What is a real man? 

[Bartholmew Quarrels]

Aug 23, 2018 17:21:48 GMT -5 ripx187 said:

Female nudity and sexist peril is old-school, isn't it? That is one of the elements that got Dungeons and Dragons into so much trouble bitd. This goes right back to the pulps and man's fiction which inspired the genre itself. I know that when I was in regular contact with him he always insisted on women portraying powerful roles where they were the aggressors which contrasted with the old D&D art styles where they were typically the victims or things which must be conquered. This may have changed! I haven't kept up with LotFP at all in many years, and cheesecake has always sold well. You look at characters like James Bond and Conan, they are chick magnets who throw women away and always have a fresh face in the next installment. This idea is very attractive to young men who are sick of always being hurt or crippled by shyness. As horrible as it is, it is still a marketing tactic today. BE A REAL MAN! What is a real man? 

I think she is talking about the covers that give the impression that the contents are super sexually graphic which goes way beyond the simple nudity that was present back the day. The covers that are being advertised lead one to believe there is real porn inside. One publication I saw a while back implied that the whole focus was on the magic female genitalia and one right now being advertised explicitly implies that it is about menstruation (female legs with blood running down is not subtle). So while I haven't bought them to see if the cover art and language was just to shock and there is an actual adventure inside or if the inside was just what the outside implied it was.

Mods if this is too graphic feel free to delete this post.

[ripx187]

Aug 23, 2018 20:59:50 GMT -5 Bartholmew Quarrels said:

Aug 23, 2018 17:21:48 GMT -5 ripx187 said:

Female nudity and sexist peril is old-school, isn't it? That is one of the elements that got Dungeons and Dragons into so much trouble bitd. This goes right back to the pulps and man's fiction which inspired the genre itself. I know that when I was in regular contact with him he always insisted on women portraying powerful roles where they were the aggressors which contrasted with the old D&D art styles where they were typically the victims or things which must be conquered. This may have changed! I haven't kept up with LotFP at all in many years, and cheesecake has always sold well. You look at characters like James Bond and Conan, they are chick magnets who throw women away and always have a fresh face in the next installment. This idea is very attractive to young men who are sick of always being hurt or crippled by shyness. As horrible as it is, it is still a marketing tactic today. BE A REAL MAN! What is a real man? 

I think she is talking about the covers that give the impression that the contents are super sexually graphic which goes way beyond the simple nudity that was present back the day. The covers that are being advertised lead one to believe there is real porn inside. One publication I saw a while back implied that the whole focus was on the magic female genitalia and one right now being advertised explicitly implies that it is about menstruation (female legs with blood running down is not subtle). So while I haven't bought them to see if the cover art and language was just to shock and there is an actual adventure inside or if the inside was just what the outside implied it was.

Mods if this is too graphic feel free to delete this post.

LOL! Yeah, that is much different than Raggi's original intent. I don't think that I'd be putting that on my shelf. I have no problems with pulp art, what you describe sounds counter productive.

[Hexenritter Verlag]

Aug 23, 2018 21:10:06 GMT -5 ripx187 said:

Aug 23, 2018 20:59:50 GMT -5 Bartholmew Quarrels said:

I think she is talking about the covers that give the impression that the contents are super sexually graphic which goes way beyond the simple nudity that was present back the day. The covers that are being advertised lead one to believe there is real porn inside. One publication I saw a while back implied that the whole focus was on the magic female genitalia and one right now being advertised explicitly implies that it is about menstruation (female legs with blood running down is not subtle). So while I haven't bought them to see if the cover art and language was just to shock and there is an actual adventure inside or if the inside was just what the outside implied it was.

Mods if this is too graphic feel free to delete this post.

LOL! Yeah, that is much different than Raggi's original intent. I don't think that I'd be putting that on my shelf. I have no problems with pulp art, what you describe sounds counter productive.

Raggi has been pushing the whole sexualization for shock value for a while, not that I am offended as I was a fan of Warhammer Fantasy art & consumed a lot of comics that portrayed similar themes. But much of the interior content doesn't play up the shocking covers. But the guy is a Metalhead and many of us are not offended by that kind of art or content. That said, one of Raggi's freelance creators is a pornstar called Zack S. So i am not surprised by his covers and Free RPG Day products. His earlier covers were more in the vein of Weird Fantasy and Sword & Sorcery, now he seems out to shock.