In the last few years, we've used our time machine to resurrect some of the Old School games that laid the foundation for the industry that has made our hobby what it is today. Most of us never got to experience these old modules in the proper light, due to our late emergence into gaming. For most of us, this was the early 1990's...and for the most part these old games and modules were in severe disuse by that time.
So, in order to qualify ourselves as "experts", we've decided to relive some of the old campaigns. To better understand gaming's evolution, we've focused mainly on Dungeons & Dragons. All of this, you already know. Today, we're going to talk about something that's become apparent in playing these old adventure modules. Namely, the sheer lethality of the old games versus the "new school" of game design that started in the 1990's.
Just to very quickly bring you up to speed, the "new school" tends to focus on character development rather than combat and adventure. Your characters tend to last a lot longer with much less effort. I think anyone who's been playing at the Wargate for long enough to have played games in both "schools" can see this is very apparent. Yet no game has been more punishing to our intrepid Gatekeepers than the early editions of Dungeons & Dragons.
The old modules we've played have been designed to a different tune entirely than what we're used to with playing newer games, even Dungeons & Dragons, 3rd Edition. Designed for challenge, rather than story, these old modules are serious about how you can die. Moreover, this is just the basic module series, nevermind the modules actually designed for competition (such as C-Series). The competition modules are designed to destroy everyone to the point that it's about how much of the module is finished before the party is destroyed or forced to retire. It's an entirely different style of challenge.
A movement associated with Old School gaming, appropriately calling itself the "Old School Renaissance" has come about in the last decade or so. The movement has created new games that are "clones" of these older versions of D&D to make sure this style of game stays in print. We have a couple of sites dedicated to the OSR in the link list on the right.
The OSR movement has members that are linked and focused on various aspects of the old school games, but today we are talking about lethality - that is, the propensity of player characters to perish permanently. Whether it's "save or die" situations, murderous combat or simply "die no save" attacks, we've found that player characters tend to buy the farm much quicker in these old modules - if the modules are played the way it is suggested. The way the modules are written is very deadly, indeed.
You know us...we like to play the way it's dictated. We feel it gives us a better handle on the way the module was meant to be played in its native ruleset. We have been very surprised with just how insidiously deadly all of them have been so far.
At this level of lethality, the game is very hard. At low levels, there are precious few spells each day to recover hit points or fight magical threats. Even worse, the spells that are available very seldom include any spells to revive dead comrades. The rules for recovering hit points naturally are very strict, and very slow at best. Long dungeon expeditions are not recommended for parties of less than 30 levels total.
One of the true killers is the 0-hit point mark. Hit Points are low, even for fighters. Hit Dice are called Hit Dice for a reason: Hit Dice are how many dice worth of damage you can be expected to take before you die. Once you hit 0 in AD&D 1e or D&D (BECMI), there's no coming back. So, once hit points are low, the party has to head back to safety or risk death at every turn. Some characters do this anyway, such as those with d4 or even d6 for hit dice.
The challenge provided by these strict rules on death will start to change the way your players approach the game. We can definitely see D&D's wargame roots, and you know, we like it. A lot. Now, accomplishing modules is something the club can be proud of.
Another advantage gained by the mortality rate is a certain sense of verisimilitude. As new characters come into the game, their stories interact with the older crew and create something entirely new. As a Dungeon Master, I have really enjoyed seeing my players create the roleplay aspect among themselves, rather than let an overly scripted adventure dictate it.
The main drawback of this level of lethality is that it can create despair in a player group. If the module is too hard, or the player's approach is consistently putting them on the receiving end of a pain train, then it can happen that the players revolt and demand another game. This happened to us with The Temple of Elemental Evil - the players were generally dismayed that they had made little progress, and the terrors of the temple only got more ridiculous.
Fend off that despair by turning things only slightly in favor of the party by dangling a new clue or resource that's already in the module. Soldiers, magic, a place to rest...just be wary. This is a fine art, as you should not give them more than what they need to make it on their own. Just as important is to not give anything away for free, but if the players need a break set them on a course for one. Make them work for it, though.
In this manner, you can balance lethality without compromising the rules of the game or scenario. All the dice still fall where they may, and the players won't feel you as the DM are holding their hand through the module. Most modules have their own set of rules that supersedes the basic rules in some way, and each one has a variety of resources the players will be heartened to find amidst their horrific journeys.
All in all, the old modules have been a huge hit with our game group. We've got several more to play with in several different rulesets, and they are all going to be a blast. We'll keep a lid on what modules / adventures we're going to be playing, but if you plan on GM'ing a game you should check with the Project Coordinator and make sure that he knows what modules are on your list. We keep a big ol' spreadsheet to make sure nothing overlaps, so you don't get a module that someone else runs.
Yet that doesn't mean we don't write our own adventures here at the Wargate, just check out the second schedule Palladium game! Even in D&D, there will be a few curveballs that aren't modules in our upcoming campaigns. Entire campaigns are even being designed to stitch into the larger narratives we'll experience as we continue on our journey through D&D history. See you on Game Day!