The Darkling Princess

Our Land of Azurth 5e campaign continued last night with the party summoned to a counsel of the three rulers: Viola of Yanth, Desira of Virid, and Bellona of Sang. The PCs were informed of recent intelligence that suggested have her long deathless sleep, Nocturose, lover of the Witch Queen of Noxia might be awakening. None of them were sure who this event should it come to pass might tip the balance of the war as the Gloom Elf servants of the Witch Queen have been allies of the Wizard, but they want the party to get involved and find out.

Zabra, ever true to her alignment and her upbringing, makes inquires what might be in it for them. Alas, the rulers just appealed to the party's sense of right. Most of them have long ago resigned themselves to pocketing loot on the side, so they convince Zabra to go along.

They are transported across northern Yanth Country and the border at the Vale of Thorns into gloomy Noxia where the sun is eclipsed by Umbra, the Shadow Moon, by air elementals in the service of Desira. They are deposited at the entrance to the dark forest where the chapel where Nocturose lies in state is located. The elementals wish them luck and say they'll wait.

The dark canopy of the forest is full of stirges and the shadows are unusually thick. The trail is blocked by twisted treant who tells them that Nocturose's fitful spirit seeks a mirror that was shattered. With it reassembled she can fully awaken. He reveals to them in verse the locations of the mirror pieces. The party takes on the task of finding the mirror shards, though they still aren't sure of their purpose or their side here.

They manage to talky to gothy nymphs into giving up the shard that they have. Then they trade a +1 battle axe and a low level potion of healing to a winged morlock-thing for the shard he and his tribe have. Next, they descended into a dark pit and found a cace. Before they could locate a shard there, a voice challenges them from the darkness and a shadowy dragon moves into view!

This relates to the characters and concepts mentioned in the Dictionary of Azurth.

In Translation

Constructed languages, at least for naming, are a big part of fantasy literature. Evocative coinings like Minas Tirith, Lankhmar, Aes Sedai, An-Athair, Khaleesi, Tharagavverug, and sranc are an important part of the enjoyment.

In fantasy rpgs, however, even constructed naming languages can be tough for some players. Not only can names like Hrü'ü be hard for some to pronounce, but a number npcs with difficult/unfamiliar names may be difficult for players to keep straight or remember at all and so keep those players from fully engaging with the imagined world.

Tolkien, bitten though he was by the conlanging bug, offers a solution: translation.

We all know, of course, that we must imagine translation as having occurred so that we can read books and play characters in rpgs in our native languages and not in whatever language exists in the setting. Tolkien, unlike most authors, doesn't just leave this to necessary convention. He tells us that the book he ostensibly got the story of LotR from was in Westron and that the names of the Hobbits Bilbo Baggins and Peregrine "Pippin" Took (for example), are translations/localizations of Bilba Labingi and Razanur "Razar" Tûc, respectively.

Those nice details aside, Tolkien goes a step further. Other imaginary languages in his work beyond Westron get rendered as different, real languages: Rohirric, the language of Rohan gets translated into Old English, and names in the tongue of Dale and that of the dwarves get translated into Old Norse. This allows him to retain the "foreignness" of those other tongues from the perspective of Westron which has become mostly invisible since it's rendered as Modern English.

But he's not done there! Tolkien often chooses languages to "translate" into that retain the essence of the imagined linguistic relationship between his fictional languages. For instance, the names of the ancient kings of  Rhovanion are rendered in Gothic, preserving in Gothic's relationship to Old English something of the relationship of the tongue of ancient kings to Rohirric and Westron. This graph from Wikipedia shows it:

Chiswick Chap

I think this approach is a natural fit for rpgs. True, any use non-Modern English (or whatever the native language of your group is) might present difficulty for some players, but I think "coding" the use of unfamiliar languages to only certain groups both aids the memory and decreases the total number of unfamiliar things to remember. If Elvish names are translated as French (or Farsi, or whatever you like), well maybe the player still can't remember a particular elf's name, but they stand a better chance of recognizing names as Elvish.

There was a Dragon article back in the 80s that sort of hit upon this. The author suggested using a mix of Old and Middle English to represent the ancestor of Common. In my Azurth campaign, I have high elves speak in sort of the cod-Shakespearean manner of Marvel Comics' Thor to represent how their long lives left them behind current language changes.

Wednesday Comics: DC, April 1984 (week 4)

I'm reading DC Comics' output from January 1980 (cover date) to Crisis! This week, I'm looking at the comics on January 26, 1984.

World's Finest Comics #302: The cover story here is a reprint from issue 176 (1968) by Bates and Adams where two aliens in conflict from the same species appear to recruit a Batman and Superman to their respective sides, pitting the heroes and their allies against each other. It's all a trick with a twist ending, of course, though Batman does appear to punch Superman with kryptonite gloves, so the cover is only mildly misleading.

The interesting story, though, is the second one by Kraft and Mazzucchelli/Rodriquez which serves as a coda to the Pantheon saga that concluded in issue 300. As the other heroes depart, Batman asks Superman if he'd like to get a drink with him. The two go to a pub full of African colonialist scum and villainy and a couple of them don't believe these funnily dressed strangers who order milk and talk about their feelings are real superheroes and decide to challenge them. Humorously, the two heroes defeat the tough guys without leaving their seats and only barely disrupting their conversation. The strange thing about this story from the modern perspective is seeing Batman talk to his friend about his feelings. He references his loneliness and concern that the two of them seldom get to talk because they are always dealing with some crisis. I can't say Kraft's script completely sells me on it, but it's kind of refreshing to see a time where friendship was important to these characters.

Action Comics #554: This is another story that appeared in that formative comic fan experience for me, Best of DC #61 (1985). While it isn't as memorable as "Anatomy Lesson" or "Guess What's Coming to Dinner?" it is a pretty good story of the "importance of these characters" type that comics fans (and writers) like. Wolfman and Kane pick up where last issue left off with Superman's destruction of the ancient pyramid temple, which we now learn was made by aliens as a tool of conquest, creating an alternate timeline where humans don't have violent tendencies and have been easily conquered by the aliens. Two children (named Jerry and Joe, naturally) imagine a hero, Superman, coming into existence to defend them--and their belief makes him manifest. Superman conquers the aliens and sets things right.

Batman Special #1: I read this one in Best of DC #62 (1985), "The Year's Best Batman Stories," and it's the only one from that volume that stuck with me. In this story by Barr and Golden/DeCarlo we're introduced to the Wrath, sort of a criminal opposite number of Batman's whose origin parallels that of his nemesis. On the same night when Thomas and Martha Wayne were murdered, he was made an orphan, too, as the police killed his parents in a gun battle after the commission of a crime. He also became a dark avenger of the night, but one that preyed on the representatives of law and order.

As the anniversary of his parents' death approaches, the Wrath is coming for the man who killed them: the now-Commissioner Gordon. As Batman keeps Gordon safe, Wrath investigates his foe and deduces Batman's identity. he destroys the Waynes' grave marker, invades Wayne Manor, and brutally beats Alfred. On the anniversary of the Waynes' (and his parents') murders, the Wrath kidnaps Leslie Thompkins, offering to release her in exchange for Gordon.

They meet on a Crime Alley rooftop. The Wrath shoots Gordon three times, but Batman and the Commissioner have worked out a ruse beforehand and he's protected by a bulletproof vest. Batman and Wrath fight one on one. Eventually, the Wrath is engulfed by a fire he started, leading him to fall from the rooftop and presumably (since he didn't re-appear) die.

The Wrath is definitely a villain designed for one story, and once it's told, he's of limited utility. (Though he does show up in The Batman (2004) animated series and even gets a kid sidekick, Scorn, which I thought was a clever addition.) Still, it's a good single story with nice Golden art.

Arion Lord of Atlantis #18:  Continuing form last issue, Garn Daanuth has successfully broken free free from Arion's body and is terrorizing the land of Khe-Wannantu. Chian and Wyynde leave the palace to look for Mara, who they find, while Garn wracks the village with a powerful storm. Desperately, Arion makes mystic contact with his father's crystal back in Atlantis. He's able to draw on the power Caculha's spirit and use it to fight Garn. However, the villain unleashes a tidal wave that drowns Khe-Wannantu. Arion binds Garn underwater with a magic chain. He returns to the surface to find that his friends may have survived, but nearly all of Wyynde's people are dead.

Batman and the Outsiders #9: Barr and Aparo debut a new villain team, the Masters of Disaster. In their introduction their leader gets to say "Punk is over. I'm New Wave!" so we know it's still the 80s. The Masters are in the hire of the Shelton family (out for revenge on Black Lightning for the accidental death of their daughter) and approach gang boss Morgan Jones offering to kill Black Lightning for him. They attack a Wayne Foundation benefit for a new housing project to draw the Outsiders to them. During the fight, the Masters of Disaster make their goal clear, so Black Lightning surrenders to them to keep anyone else from getting hurt. Batman and the rest of the Outsiders vow to get their friend back.

All-Star Squadron #32: The origin of the Freedom Fighters continues. This issue is a whole lot of characters giving backstory to the All-Stars. First, Uncle Sam, then it's Midnight, and finally Doll Man. Midnight and Doll-Man also went to Earth-X and fought Baron Blitzkrieg. They learned about a new attack being planned on America--one that is supposed to occur at Santa Barbara on two Earths. The Spectre sends Sam and a new group of Freedom Fighters (the one's we know) back to Earth-X, while the Squadron flies to Santa Barbara to protect their own Earth from attack.

Detective Comics #537: Intriguing cover this month. Robin, Bullock, and Gordon try to locate Dr. Fang, but get nowhere. Alfred tries gets some time to bond with Julia, but also has to keep her from uncovering Batman's secrets, Out on patrol, Batman encounters a homeless man from Mexico living in the sewers who tells him about a murder. Batman follows him to his camp. He recognizes the body as a known gang member. Batman helps him against a group of criminals who came looking for the body of the man they killed and ultimately convinces the man to leave the sewers.

In the Green Arrow backup by Cavalieri and McManus, Ollie sends guys moving his stuff out of his apartment and discovers his landlord is forcing all the tenants out of the building. He organizes the tenants into a protest. The landlords goal in all this is to kill Sammy, one of the tenants who could I.D. him as a hitman when he killed Sammy's parents years before. Green Arrow tricks the former hitman into shooting a dummy, then captures him, revealing that Sammy was institutionalized and had his memories of his mother and the murder destroyed by electroconvulsive therapy.

Jonah Hex #83: Mei Ling rejects Jonah once again after he punches out Hart. He returns to his hotel to find Emmylou gone. All the women in his life having forsaken him, he crawls into a bottle, only pausing to outgun a couple of punks who think they can challenge him while he's drunk. He later throws his guns into a pond, then is taken in by an old woman whose sort of a temperance crusader. He works on her farm and dries out but then has to deal with the usual owl-hoots coming after him for revenge. The old woman, fearing further trouble, asks him to leave her farm.

Nathaniel Dusk #3: It's typical for the gumshoe in detective fiction to endure a lot of hardship in solving a case, put MacGregor and Colan really heap it on Dusk. He manages to escape the cliffhanger at the end of last issue, by sending "Big Mouth" plummeting to his death from the elevated train after a melee. He goes Joyce's apartment to find clues about her murder and discovers Abrahams waiting to arrest him for Squire's murder. He manages to convince his friend to let him go, but now the heat his own. He finds out from her daughter that Joyce's mother (despite what he had been told) is still alive. Before he can investigate that, he gets a call from a woman he will tell him who killed Joyce if he meets her on the Staten Island ferry. He does, and she tells him who did it--"Blondie." She's about to tell him who Blondie works for, but the killer shows up and he and Dusk get into a fight, and we end (again) with Dusk being thrown from a height to likely death.

New Adventures of Superboy #52: Superboy discovers the town hermit who has been around since before his father was a kid, is actually an alien with teleportation powers whose been stranded on Earth. Superboy is unable to help him at the current time, but he promises to find a way. Meanwhile, Lana seems to be jealous of Clark and his new girl.

The interesting thing about this title is, despite the "retro" nature of the stories typically, Kupperberg pays attention to continuity and character stuff in a way that is definitely of the era. Johnny Webber, the former Dyna-Mind, shows up in this issue, and is still facing some (perhaps understandable) ostracization for his former behavior.

Saga of Swamp Thing #23: Swamp Thing is still inert, dreaming within the Green and dealing with the fact he is Alec Holland. Meanwhile, the Floronic Man begins to reign terror through his control over the plant kingdom across Terrebone Parrish. Abbie is caught up by some of his murderous vines, and her cries rouse Swampy from his reverie. We get a full-page illustration by Biessette/Totleben of the new, leafier design of the character. He rescues Abbie, having recognized Woodrue's malign presence in the Green, and goes to confront the Floronic Man.

Greyhawk: The Horned Society

The origin of the so-called humanoids of eastern Oerik is something of a mystery. They first entered history as mercenaries and foederati of the Suloise and Baklunish in their wars. When the conflict toppled both empires, the humanoid groups fell upon their former patrons as well as their enemies as every people scrambled for their own survivable. A confederation of hobgoblin comitatus and various allies of other humanoid groups settled in the steppe north of the Nyr Dyv between the Veng and Ritensa Rivers.

In recent decades, one or more high priests of a diabolic cult have managed to convert the fractious tribes and bring them under their sway, forming the Horned Society. While the name is applied in human lands to the region, only a portion of the humanoid tribes residing there are actually directly in the service of the Horned Society Hierarchs. Though much has been made of the superstitious fanaticism of humanoids, it seems likely that the Hierarchs rule as much by their success in delivering lucrative plunder through banditry and by canny manipulation of rivalries between groups. The theatrics employed by the Hierarchs, to say nothing of the invocation of diabolic power, likely serve as a deterrent against would-be usurpers, however.

Weird Revisited: Magical Revolutions

The original version of this post appeared in December of 2010. I've updated it with some newer thoughts...

We’re all familiar with the advance of technology and the shifting--sometimes radically--of scientific ideas. The ether theory gave way to special relativity; the crossbow gave way to the gun. So why is it we seldom see any advancements in the technology of magic, or magical paradigm shifts, in rpg settings?

Not that magic isn’t shown as changing over time, but it's almost always a fall from a more advanced state, even a Golden Age, to its current one. Mostly, though, this seems to just a change from more magic to less. Sure, this gives a convenient rationale for ancient magical ruins and magical items laying around, but there are other explanations for that stuff, surely.

Why can’t magic missiles be more powerful today than 100 years ago? Maybe old spells have completely fallen by the wayside due to improve defenses (maybe, though, those defenses have been lost too?). Or how about old magical theories giving way to the radical new theories of a Magus Einstein? Different magical schools/styles need not be equally valid views that just add “color”, one could be more true than the other. What would that even mean: more powerful spells? shorter casting times? higher levels attainable? bragging rights in the outer planes?

It turns out the manga (and anime) Frieren: Beyond Journey's End actually does some of this. A powerful demon early on is easily defeated because his formerly unbeatable attack has now become so well understood over the time he was sealed away that even relatively inexperienced mages know how to defend against it. It seems that in general, combat magic has gotten better over Frieren's (extended) lifetime, but a number of minor spells or things for noncombat applications have been forgotten.

 

Still though, that's the only example I think I've come across in the years since I wrote this post initially. I think there's a lot that could be done with the idea in gaming, particularly in a system like modern D&D with so many varieties of magic. 

Wednesday Comics: DC, April 1984 (week 3)

My mission: read DC Comics' output from January 1980 (cover date) to Crisis! This week, I'm looking at the comics Santa might have stuffed in a stocking that were published January 19, 1984.

Green Lantern #175: Weirdly, part of this is a replay of the events of last week's Flash that Jordan participated in just from Jordan's perspective. Even the dialogue is the same. Beyond that, the Shark is on a mind-absorbing spree in Coast City. Clay Kendall's Psi-Chair experiments accidentally make contact with the creature, but the contact is fleeting, and the Shark moves in on STAR Labs instead. Green Lantern tries to intervene but in a fight the Shark gets the better of him and leaves him unconscious on the ground. 

Meanwhile, Jason Bloch is stewing over the failure of Javelin to get the revenge for his family on Ferris Aircraft thanks to the action of Green Lantern. gets a visit from the mysterious Mr. Smith from Continental Petroleum (Con-Trol) who asks him to stop cease or at least delay his vendetta until Con-Trol his company can conclude their business. Bloch refuses, and when Smith is gone, reviews his file revealing he knows Green Lantern is Hal Jordan.

Legion of Super-Heroes #310: Levitz, Giffen, and Mahlstedt really up the action this issue. It's made all the more frenetic (and honestly, more than a bit hard to follow) thanks to Giffen's new, ragged art style. On Khundia, the Legion has a showdown with the Omen and the partially controlled Prophet, even as Ambassador Relnic, per the Khunds' demands, orders them off the planet. Ultimately, Omen reveals that the Khunds have constructed a "negaton bomb," a weapon spacetime-puncturing weapon. As Omen easily defeats the combined powers of the strongest Legionnaires, Dream Girl detonates the bomb, sucking Omen and Prophet out of the universe--and disgorging back into it the original Invisible Kid! Meanwhile, Brainiac 5 thinks he's discovered a way to cure Danielle Foccart.

The Prophet and Omen storyline sort of ends abruptly with us never really understanding their conflict or motives. In a way, that's an interesting approach: a cosmic menace that remains an enigma. I think to make that work the story needs to feel like it has a bit more of a payoff, though.

New Talent Showcase #4: Perhaps editorial felt like they have to have more at least superhero adjacent material to sell this title? We get a whole new batch of features and most of them are. Margopoulos and Steve Lightle/Gary Martin introduce Ekko, a hunky, pipe-smoking MD-PhD who developed an ultrasound-powered superhero suit. Just in time, too, because superhuman assassins in employ of the Crimeking are after his no-account older brother. This one reminds me a lot of 80s smaller press/indie stuff. It's clear Margopoulos' knowledge of medicine comes from TV, but I don't hold that against him.

"Who is Feral Man?" by Ringgenberg and Brigman/Magyar is similar but a bit more amateurish. I could have easily seen it being a late 70s/early 80s TV show as it has a Man from Atlantis or Manimal vibe. A Altered States-esque experiment unlocks the primal essence of our hero giving him animalistic heightened abilities. The shadowy government agency wants to make him a weapon, so he's got to escape and fight back.

"Bobcat" by Tiefenbacher and Woch/Kessel gets making me think it's going to turn horror, but nope it's a little hearted tail of a bullied kid with a perhaps unhealthy fixation on big cats who turns homemade costumed vigilante to scare his bully--and winds up befriending him. Similarly, "Full Circle" by Tillman and McManus/Alexander is about an older guy (the story says he's "near retirement" and some characters call him old, but he's only 51!) who feels like his life is effectively over, until a moment to be a hero fighting for an old homeless woman preyed on by street punks. He takes a beating but makes a friend. 

Sgt. Rock #387: This feels like an unusually grim issue. The Kanigher/Redondo main story has Easy getting two new soldiers after a tough battle: one's gung-ho and the other is a conscientious objector. They wind up being able to work together--and dying in the same foxhole. The reprint from '73 by Kanigher and Estrada has George Washington taking the time to talk with a boy who tried to desert at Valley Forge. Washington convinces the boy to be brave--as he meets his end in front of a firing squad. Then, there's a one-page humor strip to round out the issue.

Supergirl #18: Supergirl takes her new headband out on the town for the first time and gets into conflict with a storm-causing alien named Kraken. He entered Earth-One's dimension years ago, tried to conquer Argo City but repulsed and almost killed. When he returned years later, he found Argo City depopulated but vowed get its last survivor in gain revenge. He boasts that is magical powers will easily defeat his target, Supergirl. Turns out his magic is really the product of super-science devices in his belt and bracelets. Supergirl melts those with heat vision, and Kraken is easily subdued. It's interesting just how different Infantino's art looks under Oksner's inks than McLaughlin's.

Warlord #80: I discussed the main story here. In the Barren Earth backup by Cohn and Randall, the slavers pursue Jinal and her friends. With the help of their the Harashashan, they set traps for the slavers, destroying their force and allowing Jinal to retrieve her weapons.

Crunch and Complexity

Last week, consideration of the new HârnMaster: Roleplaying in the World of Kèthîra and a blog post I came across in defense of heavy rules sets got me pondering what constitutes complexity and/or crunch in a rpg. Though the terms are often used interchangeably, I feel like it might be worthwhile to differentiate them. 

Complexity I think speaks to the level of detail. Games tend toward greater complexity when they have one or more of the following:

• Multiple rule subsystems/exceptions to standard mechanics
• Multiple rolls required to resolve tasks/events
• Larger numbers of character qualities, particularly when they each have their own mechanics
• Figured/derived characteristics needed in play
• Tracking of multiple characteristics/variables
• Required consultation of charts

So what's crunch? I had initially thought of it essentially as math related: quantization, calculation, use of formulas, etc. Discussion with Ian of Benign Brown Beast made me reconsider. He viewed crunch as "character builds, optimal play, and interaction with the rules on their own terms (as opposed to thru the fiction)."

"Optimal play" and "interaction with rules on their own terms" are about approaches to systems, not the systems themselves, so I think those are separate phenomena. Perhaps they are a signal for the existence of crunch, though? Melding Ian's thoughts and my initial ones, I now think crunch relates to number of mechanical decision points within a system. This would show up on the player-facing side as character creation and tactical options, resulting in the potential for optimal builds in games like 3e D&D or Lancer. It also shows up in games intended to "realistically" (or at least consistently) model a wide range of genres or setting elements, like Hero System or GURPS.

In this way of viewing things, crunch can (and does) lead to complexity, but there are also factors that would lead to lengthier procedures but not necessarily options or decision points.

Two Lawful Neutral Religions

 My "Hidden Religions of D&D" posts got me thinking about a new way to view alignment in D&D, and that is not as personal ethics or even (necessarily) cosmic forces, but rather as placeholders for religions within a campaign setting. Old D&D gives us some detail on the generic "Church of Law" so it would be interesting to expand that idea to other alignments--however many one wants to use. 

A Lawful Neutral church would be one that holds to the supremacy of cosmic order. They would focus on the duties of individuals and society to uphold and harmonize with that cosmic order. Here are Lawful Neutral faiths that would represent these ideas in different ways.

Universal Harmony

This faith believes there is an Eternal Order that has always existed on some idealized plane, but through the process of Law that encompasses both the working of the cosmos and the virtuous behavior of the beings with that cosmos, must be made manifest. The obligations of the humanity in this work are laid out in the religion's holy text, the Formicarium.

The common person is urged to be content with their roll in life and work to make society as whole more orderly and harmonious. The contemplation of greater mysteries is left to ascetics who sometimes provide guidance on important issues to the communities they serve. Those involved in the legal system and the formulation of laws are likewise members of the clergy as law flows from and is a facet of perfect cosmic Order.

The Formicarium mandates that the ruler of a state should be a dispassionate vessel for law. Their job is to insure those under them proceed with honest and transparency, and punishment for transgressing the law is swift and impartial.

Upon death, adherents look forward to an ultimate oneness with the universal process, so that they neither suffer nor desire.

Zurthonism

Zurthon is viewed as the first principal, the transcendent god of time, space, and fate. Zurthon is sometimes called a "machine god"--a being without passion or compassion, and above concepts of good and evil. The faithful seek to divine the path Zurthon has predetermined for them from the beginning of the universe by the study of the Heavens. Zurthonist astrologer-priests plot a child's horoscope from birth. The faithful do not seek to avoid or change ill-fate but rather use this for knowledge to allow them to prepare for the future, the better to display their submission to Zurthon's divine plan. 

There are heretical sects of Zurthonism that view predetermination as an excuse for licentiousness or abandon (and thus become a cult of Chaotic Neutral), but orthodox belief promotes a stoicism in all things.

Wednesday Comics: DC, April 1984 (week 2)

I'm reading DC Comics' output from January 1980 (cover date) to Crisis! This week, I'm reviewing the comics released on the week of January 12, 1984. 

Amethyst: Princess of Gemworld #12: Mishkin/Cohn and Colon reach the conclusion of this first Amethyst saga. Our heroes are hard pressed against the increased power of Dark Opal, but the villain's treachery and madness cause his former allies Sardonyx and finally Carnelian to turn against him, which seals his fate. Despite her budding romance with Prince Topaz and the rulership offered her, Amethyst feels the need to return to Earth and her life as Amy Winston. She is reunited with her family and resumes life as a normal teen. For now. In Gemworld, Opal's scowling broach lays in debris--and we see it's expression change.

While I didn't give the series any attention in my youth, I found it enjoyable now, and it might have been even more enjoyable if I hadn't read it as one among a stack of 80s comics a month. While Mishkin's and Cohn's story is good, Colon's art is probably what really makes it work.

Tales of the Teen Titans #41: Sorry, Wolfman and Perez, but I find this one a bit silly. We pick up where last issue left off with the Titans (except for the brainwashed Dick) in a deathtrap as Brother Blood gloats. Raven tries psychically to free them, but Blood defeats her. Thanks to Terra, the Titans escape, but then there's another trap, where again they may die, but no, they defeat the monster. At every turn, we have Brother Blood either gloating or thinking that he is sooo powerful that he could kill them any time, but he just doesn't want to.... Then they are captured again and wake up in another (guess!) deathtrap (like the cover) with Dick again supposed to push the button to kill them. They escape, of course, and Brother Blood appears to have died, but there's the hint he's really still doing some Xanatos Gambit. The initial and final deathtraps are even very similar in appearance. Ending and beginning with pretty much the same set piece makes the issue feel like the padded installment of a modern streaming TV series.

In the letter column, Wolfman explains the title's name change--though he states the new title (which he says won't begin until the next issue) is just The Teen Titans. I can only assume they thought better of it and added "Tales of" but didn't think the change was big enough to redo the column. The name "New Teen Titans" will now go to a Baxter paper (though Wolfman doesn't use that term) direct market series.

Arak Son of Thunder #32: The Thomases and Randall.Maygar get up to some old-fashion comic book Sword & Sorcery big monster fighting. Arak and Satyricus are in the Lebanon Mountains and come upon an abandoned village that would remind the reader of Jurassic Park if that were around a decade away. The villagers are hiding in a cave an about to sacrifice a traveling alchemist's daughters to the saurian beast. Arak vows to fight it instead. Ultimately, the alchemist is eaten but turned to gold by his formula mixing with the "dragon's" saliva, but Arak manages to kill the beast. However, he is thrown off it's back and appears to have died in the fall.

Batman #370:  Moench and Newton/Alcala continue the relatively tight plotting between the bat-titles as we open with a solo Robin patrol as Batman is still out of town. He runs afoul of goons working for Dr. Fang and hurries back home to report. Meanwhile, Bullock is pursuing his undercover operation and meets with the eccentric crime lord who is an ex-boxer who dresses like a pro-wrestler with a vampire horror host gimmick. He's sort of Kingpin by way of Zacherley Anyway, he agrees to work with Bullock, but doesn't fully trust him and has him followed. He's aware that Bullock has revealed his plans to rob the Wayne Foundation and plans a trap. Batman and Robin attack Fang's base first and manage to round up the gang, forcing Fang to flee.

Flash #332: Continued from last issue, Flash's super-speed manages to keep his lawyer from dying in a bomb blast, at least immediately. He's at the very least severely injured and will need time to recover. The celebrity lawyer Redik somehow gets word of this quickly as he's immediately working through various means to get the gig as the Flash's attorney. Flash, unaware of these maneuvers meets with Cecile Horton, Peter's law partner. Flash hears Fiona got released from the hospital and gets frustrated with a flyer offering a reward for information on the missing Barry Allen, but then the Rainbow Raider kicks off a crime spree, so he has to deal with that. Ultimately though, it's Green Lantern who happened by the see how his friend was holding up with the whole murder charge thing who takes down the villain.

Bates' story is already beginning to show signs of dragging things out, and it's nowhere near done. This sort of longterm story is probably tough for comics to pull off successfully even today, but in the late Bronze Age where scene decompression isn't employed, you can't just stretch it out with dialogue. It lends a very soap opera effect with scenes always ending on cliffhangers. Infantino's increasingly abstract art (under McLaughlin's inks) probably isn't the best for this sort of story, either. It's ambitious, though, and deserves credit for that.

G.I. Combat #264: No Mercenaries this issue. Instead, we have just one Haunted Tank yarn and a Kana story, plus some nonserial tales. The Haunted Tank story is a bit schmaltzier than most. The Stuart's Raiders are on their way to check out a place called the Grotto of the Saint where there's a German fuel stash, which they need badly. Along the way they (without Jeb's permission) pick up Rick's brother who has been blinded in combat and believes the Saint will heal him. After a fight with some German tanks, it appears the Saint does or at least his vision gets better and also the fuel the Germans were to use is replaced with water--which may have been the saint again or maybe the partisans.

The "AWOL Army" by Drake and Yandoc is a humorous tale of two soldiers fed up with spam who go AWOL to sneak into Paris and have a good meal, run into lots of trouble, but manage to make it out alive, just without a Parisian feast. "Boy in the Bomber" with Talaoc is Kanigher where he is comfortable: gritty heroism. A boy lies about his age to serve on a British bomber run, manning the guns as the crew is whittled down by the mission, refusing to parachute out even when only he and the captain are left. They both die, crashing into the cliffs as the wounded captain can't keep the altitude to get them home.

The Kana story by Kanigher and Cruz is supposed to tell his origin, but so far gives the bit we already know regarding his parents, then detours into time travel to the Japanese feudal era induced by ninja meditation. 

Omega Men #13: Slifer and Smith/DeCarlo deliver an issue more focused on character then events which is atypical for most of the run of this title to date. Much of this issue is devoted to Broot coming to terms with the fact that his wife and the miner Changralynians she ministers to are content with their life of toil for others and early death, preferring its predictability to the unknown. Broot and his wife say their goodbyes with acceptance of each other, if not understanding. Broot is left with at least a little hope for the future as one of the young Changralynians approaches him to say he will at least think on the Omega Man's words.

Meanwhile, Primus gets a new eye, but is still mourning the loss of Kalista, and Shlagen blunders by making an accidental transmission contact with the Gordanians. 

Star Trek #3: Barr calls this one "Errand of War" which echoes the ST:TOS episode "Errand of Mercy" and foreshadows where the plot is going. Both Starfleet and the Klingon Empire are pushing to war and we discover (though our heroes don't know it yet) that some sort of rock monster alien(s) are behind it (Excalibans if you know your ST lore). There's even a jingoistic Federation propaganda broadcast. Kirk and his crew, realizing something isn't right, disobey orders and head for Organia rather than the Romulan Neutral Zone where they have been sent. Why Kirk thinks going to Organia is so important isn't really well laid out in the story, but it appears he believes the Organians would be actively enforcing their treaty on the Empire and the Federation unless something had happened. 

As anti-Klingon sentiment among the crew builds (pertinent because they took on a Klingon defector last issue), Enterprise arrives at Organia to find it enclosed in some sort of black void--and Klingons ready to attack. Kirk manages to convince now-Admiral Kor (the Klingon Captain from "Errand of Mercy," who is now depicted as bumpy-headed) that something's going on and they join forces. Before they can do anything, an Excaliban appears and threatens them.

Superman #394: The thumbnail synopsis of this one on the DC Database conveys its basic weirdness: "Superman and Valdemar clean up some industrial polluters, political humorist Bucky Berns finds that he can predict future events in his column, and Superman endorses Berns for president." This one is by Maggin and Swan/Hunt. If you are wondering who the hell Valdemar is (as was I, even after reading the issue) he's a Viking who hides a giant hawk who lives in some hidden Viking valley. He previously appeared in some Maggin penned stories in the early 70s, but not since. Berns is presented oddly too (and I'm not talking about his super-powers), like we are supposed to know him. The Database helpful supplies that he's a stand-in for Washington Post humor columnist Art Buchwald. Why does Superman support him for President? It doesn't seem like he's completely sure, so perhaps a reveal is coming. Berns' powers are caused by a cabal of wealthy men who wish to destroy America by destroying Superman who they feel symbolizes what Americans see as right and good about their country. No motive is provided here, but it's a continued story. This plot seems an odd one to graft a somewhat didactic story about polluters and how to combat them through media and legislation that happens to feature a magic Viking. 

I have more to say about how Superman is written in this period, but for space reasons I did that over on the Flashback Universe.

Ergodic RPG Setting Presentations

Going back to the Greyhawk Folio has made me realize how it differs from modern setting material and perhaps why I bounced off of it when I first encountered. I believe it falls into a category of published setting I would call "ergodic settings." Ergodic settings are analogous to ergodic literature, that is that are settings whose form of presentation requires nontrivial effort on the part of the reader to make sense or understand the setting.

I'll concede that "understanding" in this context can be kind of fuzzy. Different perspective DMs likely have different expectations and desires of a setting. I'm sure there are a lot of people that loved Greyhawk from the moment they encountered the Folio or the Wilderlands of High Fantasy, to name another setting I find ergodic. But I don't think that changes the quality of ergodicity, it's more about how much work you're willing to do (or have already done) to meet the setting where it is.

So what do I mean by ergodic? Well, Greyhawk in its initial present is brief, which is often touted as a virtue, but in that brevity its ability to develop an easy sense of place is impaired. It also consistently refuses to take the modern route of focusing on "juicy" details or hooks. It's not that there aren't things going on in the Flanaess, but as far as we know from the Folio, they aren't really things for low-level treasure seekers. When seeds of adventure are there, they tend to be more Game of Thrones clash of armies and intrigues. There's also perhaps a focus on wargame realism over fantasy. A careful read with an eye toward history can suggest Gygax's models and sources, but he doesn't make it easy, like say, Robert E. Howard or the first introduction to the Known World in Isle of Dread (which just tells you the inspiration, so you don't even get to feel smart!)

Well, I don't know the primary export, but these places seem cool!

 Wilderlands is similarly fairly opaque in that department, but at least you can read hexes with a crashed spacecraft, mermaids or giants. And lots of them. The Folio is dressing your set with backdrops and a few props, but with scant actual prompts for adventure and very little enticing fantasy spectacle. This is just the facts; you do most of the fantasy.

But modern settings require work because they are often too completist and too wordy! Getting through all that cruft requires work! Sure, but it's a different sort of work. It's the work of separating wheat from chaff, perhaps, or just the work of reading homework, it isn't the conceptual work of "what does this mean and what do I do with it?" The Folio approach makes it harder to distill "the good bits" for your own thing, if that's what you're after.

This Strange Stars OSR has a good approach. Wonder who wrote this?

Now, this can be a virtue for the seasoned DM. It's easier to make it your own, perhaps, or even run it differently with the parameters that exist in different campaigns. And if all you need is the barest background to sink your dungeons into, it doesn't matter. But looking at the more recent DMs Guild Greyhawk presentations, there's more of an effort to put player-engaging material in, even as they hew fairly traditionalist.

Greyhawk: Rel Astra

Rel Astra is one of the major port cities of the Great Kingdom. It is an old city of the Aerdy, the original seat of the early Aerdian Church of Law and once a capital of an Aerdi kingdom until the crowning of the Overking. Once the Great Kingdom was declared in Rauxes, control of Rel Astra was given over to a ministerialis who served as constable and mayor in the Overking's name. The post continues, but it now belongs to a hereditary noble line whose interests have diverged from those of the Malachite Throne.

Like the lords of the Iron League region, the Constable's financial interests lie with the burghers and trade, and he resents the grasping and peremptory ways of the Overking. He is also wary of the covetousness of Medegia's Holy Censor.

While the more fierce-tongued members of the city's council urge swift action, the Constable chooses to slowly build his forces and bide his time.

The original Folio had an apparent editing mistake that listed Rel Astra as the capital of Medegia, so a thought it was worth making a nod to that in the history. Though the Folio never mentions it, the title of Overking suggests their were (at least once) subordinate kings. I figure there must have been multiple, petty Aerdian kingdoms that were united.

Wednesday Comics: DC, April 1984 (week 1)

My mission to read DC Comics' output from January 1980 (cover date) to Crisis enters its fifth year. This week, I'm looking at the comics that were at newsstands on the week of January 5, 1984. 

Atari Force #4: Conway and Andru/García-López continue pulling their team together (this is positively modern, decompressed storytelling), but this issue does deliver some backstory in terms of Martin Champion and why he's now on the outs with New Earth leadership, as well details of Chris Champion's and Dart's origins. Martin believes he has proof that the Dark Destroyer is still out there, but no one is ready to believe him. Meanwhile, Morphea gets Babe away from the pirates and Rident Oly captures his brother, Packrat.

Blackhawk #269: Blackhawk is dodging German soldiers and trying to get out of Germany alive after his failed assassination attempt against Hitler. He winds up seeking out the assistance of Helga the barmaid he met previously, but that brings attention from Germany High Command to her, and Frau Bulle comes to recruit her for the Leipzig Project. 

Meanwhile, the other Blackhawks are in the newly named La Resistance, France. Gaynor secretly executes a group of German prisoners. Chuck is on to him, but doesn't get a chance to confront him, as Killer Shark retakes the town and takes the Blackhawks prisoners.

DC Comics Presents #68: Conway is still promoting his creation Vixen, left out in the cold by the DC Implosion. He's supported this issue by Swan/Anderson. Vixen seeks out Superman's help after her nephew vanishes into a hot new arcade game "Galaxy Starfighter." It turns out Jimmy Olsen has been tracking other such disappears. Our heroes discover the kids are in the clutches of Admiral Cereberus, a renegade U.S. military man who previously oversaw a program of psychic research but decided to use his discoveries for himself. He siphons the psychic energy of special teens to give himself super-powers, but it's not enough to defeat Superman and Vixen. Some elements of this story (an arcade game as a test for some other purpose and "Starfighter" in the name) suggest The Last Starfighter (1984) as inspiration, but the film and comic book tie-in from Marvel are months away, so Conway would have needed some special access.

Fury of Firestorm #22: Broderick is back on art and Carla Conway gets a co-writing credit for this mostly flashback issue retelling Firestorm's origin. In the framing sequence, Firehawk wants to get to know Firestorm better so she pressures him to reveal his identity. After some disagreement between Ronnie and Stein, they do tell her about the accident that made them Firestorm. Somewhat surprisingly, I think, in the end Lorraine is trouble more by the fact that Ronnie is younger than her than that Firestorm is a composite being made of a two very different men. Firestorm points out that if you average Ronnie's and Stein's ages, then he's older than her. In the end, she decides it doesn't matter and continues their relationship. Ronnie's high school friends who happen to see the two super-beings frolicking above Manhattan and wonder where Ronnie might be.

Justice League of America #225: Cavalieri and Patton/Marcos tell a forgettable story about the demonic cult of Fiatlux who is trying to get their hands on the substance, Luciferase (the story never addresses whether this is the bioluminescent chemical of the same name, but I assume not) to unleash the demon Hellrazer. The JLA tries and fails to prevent this, so the resolution is continued until next issue.

There are a couple of things beyond the basic story that are interesting about this issue to me, though. One, none of the "Big Three" are present. In fact, none of the "Big Seven" are present (depending on who you think the 7th is) because Flash, Green Lantern, and Aquaman are out too. I don't think this is completely accidental given Batman officially left the team, and the group recently voted on whether to keep the Flash. There seems to be a move in this period to lower the profile in this book of the characters with their own solo titles. Interestingly (and perhaps related), a response in the letter column hints at changes coming to the book wherein new characters with be introduced (the letter writer had requested Vixen!) and there will be more of a focus on character relationships. The Detroit League (or the germ of the idea that became that) is clearly already in the planning stage.

The other interesting thing is how "in continuity" this is. We began with the Atom thinking back to his recent experiences in the Sword of Atom limited. Carter and Ollie are still arguing about the rightness of Flash's actions in regard to the Reverse Flash.

Vigilante #5: Chase declares to a cop who is trying to take him in and hates vigilantes that he "hates killing" and has only ever done so in self-defense. He's a lawyer, so he's probably got a good argument for the latter claim, but the first one is at least misleading based on what we've seen in earlier issues. There's been a lot of "that's the kinda guy he is this month" in this title, perhaps as Wolfman figures out just where he wants to go with this character, but it gives the impression that Chase is a bit unstable. I wouldn't go so far as to assume that is Wolfman's point, but it's possible.

Anyway, in this one the mob hitmen Saber (he uses guns) and Cannon (he uses blades and martial arts) have joined forces and are taking out mob leaders so they can run things. Vigilante, figuring out they live together, rashly attacks them and winds up shot and stabbed, and having to escape in an ambulance for his trouble. Saber and Cannon are clearly a gay couple, but this is never stated outright which is probably good because then any potential homophobia also stays subtle. The only hint of it is Vigilante commenting they are "cute" when he busts into their bedroom.

Wonder Woman #314: Mishkin and Heck pick up directly where last issue left off with Wonder Woman facing a transformed Major Griggs. Diana manages to defeat Griggs and free him from Circe's influence. She comes to realize that Circe is serving some master. She doesn't have to wait long to find out who that is, as a defeated Circe disappears into a black mirror and the Aztec god Tezcatlipoca reveals himself.

In the Cavalieri and Beachum/Martin Huntress backup, transitioning to a new storyline is the order of the day. Huntress seems to have to some degree restored her reputation after rescuing an infant from Earthworm. Nedra Borrower is fired after her boss becomes aware of her sexual relationship with corrupt politician, Terry Marsh. We're also teased with the introduction of a new villain: the Sea-Lion.

The Xmas Dagmar turned Krampus

Our Land of Azurth 5e game continued last night, a much-delayed continuance as we started a holiday-themed adventure before the holidays. It's fitting, though, that we got to finish it on Twelfth Night.

Sent to aid a village suffering from child-disappearances far to the north, the party suffered accompaniment by rhyming, snowman narrator as they ascended a treacherous mountain to find a secret workshop where kobolds were using the children as slave labor.

Defeating the kobolds, the children pointed them to where the evil mastermind laired. After puzzling over a trap made with colored lights, they confronted the villain--the Krampus!

He was a formidable opponent, and the opening exchanges suggested it would be a hard-fought battle. Until Dagmar the Cleric strove forward to attempt to turn the fiend. 

And turn him she did, despite his magic resistance. That bought them time and the fighters took advantage of it. When Erekose delivered the final blow, the Krampus exploded with a "pop" and a shower of confetti and glitter.

The children were returned home and the party was honored with a feast: roast beast and all the trimmings.

This adventure was adapted from How The Lich Stole Christmas.

The Fruitful Inconsistency of the Hyborian Age

The Encyclopedia of Fantasy (1997) describes Howard's Hyborian Age and similar imagined worlds as "fantasylands" in contrast to the more serious, Tolkienian worldbuilding of "secondary worlds." This perhaps undercuts the quite serious world-building Howard did in places like his "Hyborian Age" essay but also obscures the fact that all world-builders (Tolkien included) borrow or are at least derive inspiration from history or other works of literature.

Still, it's hard to deny that the Hyborian Age tends to wear its undiluted influences or antecedents proudly. Perhaps not as totally as say D&D's Known World or some other rpg settings, but to a greater degree than Middle Earth or most other literary fantasy settings. I can't be too critical of these game settings as it allows people to get a handle on different lands or cultures quickly, but it does strain suspension of disbelief for some folks.

The Hyborian Age does those similar gaming settings one better, however. In what I think was possibly Howard's best world-building idea (at least so far as things to steal for gaming), the overall action and theme of regions come through, even when his cultural inspirations are less clear. Visiting different Hyborian lands may not just mean travel through history with Fantasy Vikings here and a Fantasy American Frontier there but travel through different subgenres or modes of pulp/adventure fiction.

In his Conan yarns he gives us Golden Age of Piracy adventure stories, tales of the Crusaders and the Outremer, Frontier stories in the vein of the Leatherstocking Tales, and a few stories recognizable as just fantasy in today's genre standards. He does this often by dispensing with a lot of the historical things that led to these settings and situations and just gets down to the action readers (and presumably players) are looking for.

Vague or passing homologies are all he seems to need to get going. He doesn't worry about establishing a Christendom or an Islamic World--or even really a Holy Land to get his Outremerish setting. He handwaves some former colonies (now independent) of Koth (which is vaguely Italic maybe, but hardly Imperial Roman and with a capital whose name is borrowed from the Hittites) on a borderland coveted by Turan, and he just describes the players, setting, and action in a way that the vibe of crusades and Crusader Kingdoms comes through, regardless of the background differences.

Likewise, "The Black Stranger" deals with pirates and a treasure, sure, but to drive home we are now in Treasure Island territory, he dresses Conan for the part:

The stranger was as tall as either of the freebooters, and more powerfully built than either, yet for all his size he moved with pantherish suppleness in his high, flaring-topped boots. His thighs were cased in close-fitting breeches of white silk, his wide-skirted sky-blue coat open to reveal an open-necked white silken shirt beneath, and the scarlet sash that girdled his waist. There were silver acorn-shaped buttons on the coat, and it was adorned with gilt-worked cuffs and pocket-flaps, and a satin collar. A lacquered hat completed a costume obsolete by nearly a hundred years. A heavy cutlass hung at the wearer's hip.

Does this undermine the essential Medieval character of the Hyborian Age? Probably! Does it weaken one's ability to think of it as a sustained and complete world? Could be! Does it make it clear "we're now on the Pirates of Caribbean ride, behave accordingly?" Yep!

I feel like this tool can be put to good use by GMs. Even ones that are more interested in setting consistency perhaps than Howard. Even small details can do a lot.