The Complete, Unabridged Manual Of How To Play Roleplaying Games

Has it all been said before?

The RPG internet community has roots that extend back more than two decades. Yes, it's true - people were discussing roleplaying games on the internet before it was even the internet. Shocking. I know. Go here to boggle your brain. OK... back? Now that you have read advice on gaming that is some 25+ years old... you might now be wondering the same thing: Is it possible that everything there is to say about gaming has been said? Is tabletop gaming a finite creative space? If you take the collective meta-mind of the tubes (read:teh intehnetz or teh blogezfear) - is there anything really new for the community to discover? Has the community as a whole really made any DING! groundbreaking revelations in the last few years?

I might argue NO. I might even say that everything the RPG blogging community rants about has been ranted about by thousands of people for close to 30 years. I should really post some screenshots from some early Dragon magazine "Letters to the Editor" columns... but I think you get my point.

I'm not talking about new creatures, adventures, villains, worlds, creative settings, dice, types of miniatures, or even rule systems. That's all in the field of content - which is arguably inexhuastible. That would be like asking if every story that could be written has been written. Of course... that may very be true too. But that's another issue.

I'm talking about advice. Comments, shared with others, about HOW to play. HOW to be a better game referee, GM, DM, storyteller, marshall, or whatever you call it. What works - what doesn't. How to build tight social groups that faciliate immersive play. etc. What's new? If you were to read everything that has been written before, in chronological order: at what point in time would you say "OK... nothing new here". Would it be the early 80's? Gaming has changed alot since then. Perhaps the mid-1990's? Maybe never?

Is it possible that I'm completely out-of-the-park off base here?

I'm still going to say no - so if I'm not off base, and I am on to something... then has anyone tried to make a definative guide to roleplaying games? I'm not talking about D&D For Dummies. I'm talking about something akin to Black's Law , but for tabletop roleplaying games. A reference that everyone hails as being the de facto jumping off point for further discussion. A manual on RPGs in general, in all its crazy variations on a theme that is not tied to any one game.

A manual on HOW TO GAME.

If such a book exists, please let me know. Perhaps Gygax's Master of the Game counts - but I have yet to read it yet. Have you? Is it any good?

Triggering Combat Powers in 4E D&D

This post over at tenletter prompted inspired me to make a suggestion - one which I'm sure someone else in the blogosphere has made before (but I can't find the reference): what if you removed the names of the combat powers in 4E? Instead, just have the players actually describe what they are doing instead of "pushing a button".

But I'll actually take this one step further.

What if you made these nameless Encounter and Daily powers triggered effects, instead of chosen actions? For example:

• Player's Daily powers would trigger (and replace) any critical hit on an opponent made with a basic attack or an at-will power.
• Encounter powers would happen only after any successful hit with a basic attack or an at-will power, and replace the effects of the initial attack.
• At-will and utility powers would be used as they operate now.

The effects of this might be to limit character choices, thus promoting player creativity. It might play out much like 3E or previous editions of D&D where there are far fewer choices for your "toon". Heck, few classes had multiple ways of making melee attacks (monk's being on exception; flurry of blows anyone?) eliminating character choices from one round to the next might also speed up combat.

Now, such a house rule might also apply only to martial and primal classes: divine and arcane classes might remain as they are. I mean, wizards have always had tons of choices - that was their specialty - and still is considering that Tomes have been added to 4E (greatly expanding the flexibility of wizards in game).But I digress...

If you remove the names of encounter and daily powers and simply move them over to the existing at-will powers as triggered effects (immediate interrupts maybe?), it might have a very strong effect on the mood/feel of 4E combat as it plays out.

Crazy, stupid idea? Or maybe there's some traction here? What do think?

Shock and Horrific Deeds in RPG's

Torture and Rape isn't touched on much in games, and for good reason, gaming is about fun escape and dealing with such horrific concepts always lies outside people's comfort zones. More than that though, gaming is fantasy, and normal sane people don't fantasize about such things. To do so harkens back to the early 1980's during the height of gaming paranoia and Tom Hanks starred in a disgustingly misinformed movie called Mazes and Monsters. Rest assured there are dozens and dozens of wrong ways to game out such horrific deeds, methods that will inevitably cause player alienation and more often than not kill a game, however I've experienced games where such storytelling devices were used to create compelling and provocative stories. These stories were certainly not comfortable, but they were extremely memorable.

To me the most memorable sessions were the ones where the trials were unexpected and actually challenging, they were also the ones that deeply impacted my character. Often I finished the game session upset, annoyed, or spitting mad, and occasionally I left a game in shock. Most of this was because of one female GM who has a cruel streak. Her secret? Make the players care, and then sunder that which they cared about in the most graphic way possible. Nothing was sacred to her, no NPC was immune to her destructive whim, no law of reality could not be bent or broken to shatter the PC's illusions. Sometimes she took these shocking tactics too far, but sometimes too far was best.

I've experienced the horror my character sitting helpless in a prison cell nearly overcome by his personal demons while his soul mate in the next cell over - a pillar of support in a trying time - was gasping incoherently because her tongue was cut out in a torture session she'd just been returned to her cell from...

Another session my character was restrained and forced to watch another friend become drugged and sexually assaulted by a lecherous god because this was his "process" which he used to instill her with oracular ability. This oracle would go on to help us find out pivotal information that we needed. But my character had to come to terms with the fact that the information recieved was gotten at such a cost. He wanted to discard it, but that would have made his friend's sacrifice all for nothing...

Sessions like those were far from the most fun I've ever had in role-playing, but they taught me things about myself and developed my character in unexpected ways. When I started, the character was someone I envisioned like one of the badasses I'd seen in gritty movies like Sin City, while those experiences turned him into something that was completely different than that vision, the result was far more legitimate.

I can't say that I was always ready for the sorts of horrific scenarios that I've been subjected to in some of these games. I don't think anyone is really 'ready' if they actually do care about their characters. This is why Game Masters who do these things need to know their groups. There needs to be balance in the tone, players don't come to care about their characters if good things never happen to them, and if they don't care then the horrifics won't mean anything. A game should never be horrible all the time or there simply won't be any fun to draw players back.

One element I cannot stress enough is flexibility when dealing with this kind of storytelling. Absolutes and extremism mixed create very bad things. An example of this is the Carcossa Supplement V which was a blogger-made game that featured Cthonic gods and black horror. One of the controversial points of the game was that there were spells written with listed prerequisites involving Podiatry, sacrificing babies and similar heinous acts. I've examined what was behind the writer's motivations for creating such disgusting content, and while from a setting purist's stance I do see some degree of justification, everything I know about gaming tells me this sort of thing will not play out enjoyably. Even if players and Game Masters alike can get past the distasteful nature of the content, the gameplay will never end up as intended because the system utilizes D&D's inflexible alignment mechanics.

I'll tone down the subject matter to something more acceptable and relatable as I explain. We're all familiar with Star Wars' light force dark force concepts, where the dark force offers great power and thus tempts the Jedi to use it and fuel himself by doing dark acts. This is great compelling story and character development material, but is wrecked when one includes inflexible morality mechanics such as the ones that appear in D&D.

Alignment mechanics as they sit in D&D begin to break immersion when a player goes to the extreme ends of them. You get players that start doing stupid things "because my character is evil" rather than looking at the simple question of why is that character evil? Morality isn't black and white, especially when you consider that ethics and morality aren't the same thing. World of Darkness takes a different approach and makes morality a fluid stat that can be raised or lowered based on the PC's decisions, thus you can see a slide into darkness or a quest to redeem himself. The mechanic offers incentive to RP correctly but doesn't force anything because it's flexible. An inflexible mechanic forces the Player to contrive a reason why his character acts the way the Alignment says he does, rather than letting the player decide how to play his character on his own. In the case of the light-force/dark-force temptation an inflexible mechanic offers no incentive to stay good, or feel the strain of that slip into darkness, the player just makes a conscious decision to become a dark Jedi because they get the cool powers he wants and that's that.

Certainly role-playing horrific deeds can be accomplished independent of subtle mechanics, but absent those mechanics introducing heinous acts as prerequisites for great power suddenly becomes a personal issue and is in fact enforcing certain behaviors where the only check or balance is the players and GM's own distaste for such material. Absent flexible morality mechanics, a game that has a power or spell requiring a horrific act - be it something to appease dark gods or tap the dark side of the force - you have a number of reactions occurring:

• The GM will disregard the requisites as distasteful and choose to run the game without such content.

• A player will either be disgusted and refuse to play, or apathetic and if he wants to cast that spell he'll make a character that "has to be this evil bastard, because that's what I need to cast the spell".

• Or the player is somehow intrigued by the concept of such a thing and wants to play it out.

All of these reactions miss the mark on what the intent of the component was meant to play out like. It doesn't instill the proper mindset and inevitably breaks the immersion of the game as both players and GM's alike have to decide not only what is appropriate for the game table but how their characters should feel. No game designer aims for this scenario, and it's certainly not a game mechanic I would ever want to play in, yet I've said before that I've found compelling stories based around similar concepts, so what's the difference?

The difference comes from allowing that internal conflict to flourish and become part of the character one is role-playing. This is accomplished by having variance in the mechanics showing a slipping slope of moral certainty, but also by granting benefits and drawbacks to a particular moral stance. In the world of Star Wars, wielding the power of the dark force was theoretically set to decay the Jedi's body, in the World of Darkness, monsters deprived of their humane side become more frightening and harder to blend in. In Exalted a character's virtues don't necessarily orient his moral compass but allow him to excel in the things that are backed by the strength of his convictions. These sorts of systems of flexibility combined with mechanical incentives and drawbacks allow games to survive horrific stories without breaking immersion and hopefully without making anyone so uncomfortable that they leave the game.

Ultimately that's what this is all about: the story. In basic literature we're taught that among the key conflicts is man vs. self. Horrific acts are stimulated by man vs. man conflict, but the character must resolve the implications of such acts in the theatre of his own mind. Perhaps in his struggles he will fail and become the villain. Or hopefully he will be raised by his own convictions and the aid of his allies to become a hero once again, thus making him that much greater.

As an advocate of balance in all things, I think that characters that accomplish great deeds should sometimes endure great hardships, both physical and emotional, else their greatness might become hollow. So maybe if you're a GM that has a strong repoiré with your players, maybe try going outside of everyone's comfort zone and see what the results are, they might surprise you.

Six RPG Map Making Solutions For Your Game

One of the oldest parts of our hobby that is still enjoyed by just about every GM I talk is map making. Heck, since the earliest roleplayers were lovers of wargames, you might even say that the whole table-top roleplaying hobby was born out of a love of maps . Nowadays though, with games like Nobilis and 4th Edition Dungeons & Dragons, fantasy roleplaying games are wide jump away wargames with all those pesky tanks, cannons and other soldiers. But they do have something in common... yep, you guessed it.. maps!

GM love world building and making maps for them. You can't play an RPG without a map. Well, have yet to see one that is played without a map. Whether it is a map in your head, a map on a page, or a map on your iPhone... you just can't get by without them.

So, as a gamemaster... how do you go about making your maps? What software, if any, do you use? How do you share these maps with your players? The fog-of-war is often an issue though, so I'm wondering how other GMs handle it at the table. All too often my glorious maps end up being for-my-eyes-only because ... well, revealing it would spoil the fun.

In any case, I've compiled a list of six solutions for GM's looking for ways to make good quality maps for their games. Let me know what you think; and by all means add to the list by leaving a comment.

1. CARTOGRAPHY SOFTWARE. This is the obvious elephant in the room. There are some truly awesome map making packages out there, but the best of them often carry a steep learning curve and a price tag to match (Profantasy's Campaign Cartographer comes to mind). On the lighter side - there are more old school options like Hexmapper, HexWorldCreator (my favorite), or RPGMapMaker (Mac OS X)- or maybe you would like something inbetween such as DungeonCrafter or Autorealm. Whatever your preference, there are tons of alternatives - a simple google search is all you need to do - or jsut go here.
2. REAL SOFTWARE. Photoshop, Illustrator, Inkscape, Gimp, CorelDraw, etc. Why do I call this category "real"? Because you can use it for so much more than just making a map for your game. I mean, the learning curve for these applications is worth it, and honestly the best maps (those made by professionals) are done using one of the above platforms. Once you learn how to use Inkscape (which, like Gimp, is free by the way) you can do all kinds of cool graphics. The same is true for learning Photoshop. How might you use these apps for map making? Start with Illustrator or Inkscape, or pencil something and scan it in, then export your rough map into Photoshop or Gimp and doctor it up. If you hunt around on Google Image search for maps created using this programs you will be blown away - Profantasy is nice, but this map and this map look amazing. There's even a cool tutorial over at GeekSix about how to use Photoshop maps live at the game table.
3. RANDOMIZED MAPS. There are tons of utilities out there that create random maps of terrain, dungeons, cities, combat maps... even whole worlds. Although I'm not a big fan of the completely random map, I do like using this approach for parts of the maps I design. Also, once a good random map is generated you can import it or copy it into Photoshop to make it look better. Most of the random map generators I know about don't really produce good looking maps. Some notable online random map generators include Gozzy's Random Maps (which include zoomed in battle maps for wilderness and dungeon encounters), Tavern Maker is good for inspiration, and of course there are many more in the googlesphere; I've just linked some of my own favorites.
4. PREMADE FANTASY MAPS. There are many sources for maps that have already been created. Once great resource is an online gallery at Angelfire.com.There's also the official Wizards of the Coast "Map-A-Week Archive" - which still after all these years seems useful. I also recently discovered RPGMapShare.com which, although somewhat difficult to navigate, seems to have tons of free, community developed maps for use to drop into your campaigns. And of course, there's also hundreds if not thousands of maps in already published adventures, fanzines, and web articles from all the major game developers; I've hacked a published adventure's map for my own needs dozens of times with great results.
   
5. HISTORICAL MAPS. It's probably impossible to beat the Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection - or at the very least, the links they provide to other real-world historical map sites on the net. If I lived in Texas - I would no doubt make a road trip up there just to check it out in person. Why historical maps? You're playing fantasy you say? Well, for one, historical maps give you an idea of how people thought about maps back in medieval times. The distortion of continents, shorelines, etc is always fascinating (I'm sure there's a technical term for that, alas it escapes me), but its not something I've ever seen in a fantasy RPG map. Fantasy maps, as least world maps, are nearly always drawn as if the GM has a global positioning system to measure distances; which might not be appropriate given most fantasy campaign worlds. I would love to see a version of the map of Faerun or Greyhawk drawn like the ancient maps of early civilization. I mean, just check out the Roman's road map from the 4th century (above) -- it rocks!
   
6. Pencils, Pens, and Paper. The tried and true best technique; at least to get started. It's like sex: so easy anyone can do it. Just draw and go. Of course, some mix of the above software solutions with your hand drawn beauty will often produce the best results. Need some inspiration for hand drawn world maps? Use paint. Try watercolors and let it bleed. For dungeon maps - I like drawing the "key areas" first, and then connecting them with tunnels and other areas second. Sometime some cool new surprises end up in my adventures as a result.
   

What are your favorite methods for map making for RPGs? Did I miss anything here?

Through the Looking Glass

"Conscience is the window of our spirit, evil is the curtain." - Douglas Horton

Obviously, a mirror is not a window, so the looking glass reference may not be the most accurate - but that's why you're reading this article instead of 'Clever and Accurate Blog Post Titles.' But, now that I have your attention, I'd like to introduce you to the . . .

Johari Window

Chances are, if you've worked in any sort of corporate environment or taken any psychology courses, you've encountered a Johari Window - even if you don't remember the name. It was created in 1955 by Joseph Luft and Harry Ingham to serve as a graphic model of interpersonal awareness. The window is a simple 2x2 grid that helps organize adjectives and characteristics that a group of people know about an individual, as well as what that individual knows about him or herself.

Click for a printable version, complete with terms.

The four areas of the grid can be described as:

• Arena: Traits of the individual of which both they and their peers are aware.
  
• Facade: Information about the individual of which their peers are unaware; the participant choose whether or not to reveal this information.
  
• Blind Spot: Traits the individual has that he or she is not aware of, but others are. The individual most often learns about these traits only when they receive feedback from others.
  
• Unknown: This quadrant contains the behaviors and motives that are not recognized by either the individual or their peers

Below is the list of 55 adjectives most commonly used to populate the quadrants. There is also a negative variant, known as the Nohari Window, that contains negative personality traits:

Application in RPG's

The easiest and most direct application of the Johari Window to a roleplaying game would be for players to flesh out their characters - a player can fill out a window to deepen their character's personal history and background, sharing how family and friends felt about them 'back home.' Each person's actions and behavior are shaped by past experience and relationships. Using a Johari Window for a character can provide an opportunity for a player to define how those relationships affects their character's current relationships and a guide for future decision making and roleplaying. Another interesting application of the window would be in assessing character growth. An initial window is filled out in the context of past relationships, and a new window is completed for the character for his or her current social environment. This brings us to the second use of the Johari Window - relationships among the members of your party.

Inviting the other characters in the party to contribute in filling out a window for a character can help delineate the social roles each one plays and provide some insight into the party's social dynamic. The longer the group has been adventuring together, the more useful this exercise will prove. Players who have just started their adventure might be able to try and fill out the windows based on an agreed upon history or background, but until they have worked together to come through a social encounter and witnessed each others' strengths and weaknesses in action, one cannot really know how a PC will perform in such a situation. I would encourage the DM to state explicitly that such an exercise be kept within the context of the game - the PC's are evaluating the 'characters' in the party, not the other 'players' - and act as a moderator to keep participants objective.

Surprisingly, the Johari Window may be of most use to the DM beyond stalling for time as you scramble to get your materials together for the night's adventuring. In addition to profiling the PC's and determining how NPC's might react to them in a social encounter, the DM can fill out a window for prominent NPC's. How do the townspeople feel about their mayor? What about the mayor's feelings about the temple priest? Does the innkeeper have a bias for or against adventurers, and how will that affect his rates? Using it for the BBEG is especially interesting when you consider the Unknown quadrant. Knowing the BBEG's flaws, insecurity or greed for example, a canny DM might allow for his PC's a way to overcome the villain by exploiting them. Meanwhile, the cruel DM (you know who you are) might keep their PC's from having an easy means of drawing the BBEG out from his Castle of Doom and vanquishing him for the Greater Good.

Finally, I would like to propose one final, more abstract use of the Johari Window. Instead of filling it out with character traits, try putting in plot points. The group columns represent common knowledge in this instance, while the rows can apply to either the heroes or the BBEG. Do the heroes know about the haunted cave that the townsfolk are afraid to talk about? Does the villain know about the underground resistance plotting his downfall? Has no one heard the legend of the dragon that died alone in its cave, its treasure hoard remaining undiscovered?

Over on The Kingworks Creative Blog, I am always seeking to find or invent new and interesting ways of adding spice and variety to a game. What I like about the the Johari Window is that is has something to offer people on both sides of the screen - a tool for players to integrate more closely with their characters and their party; and a means of not only building a richer, deeper campaign world, but of working out plot details for DM's. So give it a try and let me know what you think.

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Please welcome our latest guest blogger, Kingworks, to The Core Mechanic. Kingworks Creative Blog is a recent addition to the RPG blogging community; and from what I've seen thus far it is shaping up to be a truly unique place to visit. You may already know of his Monster Cards (which are awesome), but if you're tired of  the all-too-frequent echo chamber effect that often plagues the RPG blogosphere, drop in and visit Kingworks, or even better -- subscribe to his blog. You won't be disappointed. -- Jonathan.

PHB2 Character Backgrounds - A Modular System for Emerging Complexity

The recently released Player's Handbook 2 offers 4E Dungeons & Dragons players and DMs a new game option: player backgrounds. These are a set of simple rules that allow you to apply in game bonuses to certain skills based on the character backgrounds you might choose at the time of character creation. D&D players who are familiar with the Forgotten Realms' regional benefit system will no doubt see many similarities in this new option as well.

The 4E character background system found in the PHB2 offers up a fairly comprehensive set of backgrounds to choose from. There are 62 backgrounds that fall into five broad categories: Geography; Society; Birth; Occupation and Race. The last of which is the largest since there are two or three backgrounds for each of the 15 player character races in the game (thus far). Each background description is limited to one short paragraph and a set of one or more associated skills.

 This was a welcomed surprise in comparison to the 3rd Edition PHB2 - which only provided 11 archetype backgrounds drawn out over 8 or 9 pages in the book. It was too unwieldy of a system to use effectively.

At the time of character creation, players can choose as many of the modular background components as they like, but one of them will provide any in-game benefits to skill rolls, bonus languages, class skills, or regional benefits. Its very straightforward and provides a foil for players (especially those new to the game) to help shape their characters backgrounds by picking a couple of these and making them work together.

The basic template for each background is:

[NAME]: One or two statements, followed by two or more questions.
Associated Skill(s): A list of skills; one of which can be chosen to give a +2 bonus or be treated as a class skill.

This very simple system is not meant to be all inclusive. It also allows DMs who are home brewing up their campaign worlds with a quick way to add a few backgrounds seamlessly into the mix. While this no doubt may be regarded by some as "too formal" or "too regimented"; its important to remember that not every player is a creative genius, and 60 or 70 backgrounds in a modular format can be just the trick to help fuel their imaginations.

This system also works extremely well with an emerging complexity approach to generating character background. How? Simply don't answer all the questions presented in the background until there is a need to do so in game. For example, below I've included the character background Birth:Among Another Race from the Players Handbook 2.

Among Another Race: Your were born among a race other than your own. Did you grow up among the trees of an elven forest, deep in a dwarven mountain fortress, or in a halfling caravan? Did your family live among that race when you where born, or did some other circumstance bring you there?
Associated Skill: A skill the other race gains a bonus to.

Lets say that you are playing a human that lived in an Elven community as a child. Don't answer the second question at the time of character creation; leave it open ended. Then, later in the campaign you answer the second question to make the storyline a bit more connected. Let's say, for example, the DM introduces a new villain into the game and you decide then that this villain killed your family, which is why you lived with the elves as an orphan.

Another thing to consider is to start with those first questions, and then - without answering them - brainstorm a few additional questions. Write them down on the back of your character sheet or in your notes, and then use those unanswered questions to help build your character's background on the fly as the campaign progresses.

For the DM, remember too that using these background with an emerging character could be applied to any longstanding NPC or villain that needs fleshing out. It works very well.

I am curious to know how other players are balancing character background generation with the in-game rules. How are you limited "power-creep"? So, how are you handling character backgrounds in your campaigns in general? NPC backgrounds? Does this new modular background system presented in the PHB2 work for you?

How To Build An Interactive Timeline Using Google Docs

I confess. I'm addicted to using Google's tools for everything imaginable. I think the best thing that could happen to the RPG industry would be for Google to buy Wizards of the Coast; but I digress...

Today I'm going to walk you through a tutorial on how to use Google Docs to build an interactive timeline that you can use for your campaigns. What's even cooler is that both players and gamemasters alike can enter in the dates and times of events in the past or present (with a few caveats). Since I'm a data junky, and love to catalog my campaigns; I'm psyched about this tool. Now let's get started:

If you want to skip to the cool online tool I've set up for people to use, scroll to the bottom; otherwise keep reading and maybe you'll learn something.

How To Build An Interactive Timeline Using Google Docs

Note: All the screenshot images below can be enlarged by clicking on them to get a better view.

STEP 1 - If you don't already have one, you'll need a gmail address and you'll need to activate your Google Documents application. Once you managed to reach the internals of Google Docs, you should see a screen something like this ->

STEP 2 - Create a new Google Form by clicking in the menu on the upper left New --> Form. Immediately, a new window or new tab will open with a blank form that will need some editing. The screenshot below will show you what you'll start with.

Title the form, add some Help Text, and create enough fields for the following: the form MUST have the following fields (aka "Question Title" in the form editor) - title, start, end, description, image, and link. THEY MUST BE LOWER CASE for some reason. As you add fields / questions to the form - make sure title and start are required. You may also want to add some Help Text to inform the use what the formatting requirements are for the dates (must be mm/dd/yyyy format). By the time you are done - you should have a form that looks like the one below

STEP 3 - Once your form is done, you'll now need to make some tweaks to the spreadsheet that was automatically created to store your form data and add a Timeline widget to the spreadsheet as well. Click the button at the top of the form that reads "See Responses" then click "Spreadsheet". This will take you to the underlying spreadsheet that is tied to the form. It should look something like this:

Step 4 - Next, click on the menu above the sheet and choose "Insert" -> "Gadget...". A pop-up menu will appear, select the "Featured" category on the left and scroll down the list on the right to find the Timeline Gadget.

Click the bubble button that reads "Add to Spreadsheet". This will plop the gadget right down in the middle of your spreadsheet, which is less than ideal. Will fix that up next.

Step 5 - Customize the Timeline Gadget by making the following changes:

• Set the range to "Sheet1!B1:G100". Google spreadsheets by defauly only have 100 rows on a new spreadsheet. If you get more than 100 entries from your form, the spreadsheet will expand to include the new entries, but you'll have to remember to come back to this configuration menu to change the range for the cells.
• Retitle your timeline -- I named mine "FRCS Interactive Timeline". /wink
• Change upper interval to "month"
• Change upper interval width to "narrow"
• Change lower interval to "year"
• Change lower interval width to "xx-narrow"
• You can play around with the color schemes later - for now just leave them as the default.

Here's a screenshot of what it should look like.

Click "Apply". Since the spreadsheet is empty, you will no doubt recieve an error from the Timeline Gadget; don't worry -- we'll fix this next. But before we do... you see that little tiny grey triangle above the [X] in the very upper right hand corner? Click that, and choose "Move to its Own Sheet".

That should result in you being bumped over to a new sheet with a blank timeline. You may also see another error about Headers being fouled up.. we'll fix that next.

Step 6 - Move back to "Sheet1" by clicking on the tab at the bottom of the spreadsheet. Now click the menu above "Form" -> "Go to live form...". Here's a screenshot

Once your live form launches, enter your first event into the timeline. Remember, the dates MUST be in a mm/dd/yyyy format. I mentioned caveats before... well... negative dates is one of those caveats; using them might break your timeline. Here's an example of my first entry:

After entering a few of these, you will note that your spreadsheet automatically gets the entries. Here's a view of the spreadsheet.

Not pretty, but that's not the point. Now, if you click over back to your Timeline Gadget worksheet (the tab titled "Gadget1" at the bottom), you should see the following (or something similar).

Step 7 - The last step is to publish your spreadsheet, form, and gadjet for everyone to see and play around with. You DO want your players to be able to add events into their own campaign history log, right? To do this, first click the blue "SHARE" button at the top right and choose "Publish as Web Page". Make sure that you choose "Automatically republish" when the next menu pops up. When you are done, click the [X] and return to your spreadsheet.

Now you want to know how to embed the form and spreadsheet into another website? Well, for the timeline click back over to the Gadget1 tab and click the grey "Publish" button in the upper right hand corner of the timeline. The code that you end up with should be pasted into any HTML document and ... voila... it's magic.

To embed the form someplace, switch back to "Sheet1" and then select "Form" -> "Embed Form..." from the menu along the top. A new window will open and you'll get some iframe source code. Drop that code into any HTML page and you'll be ready to roll. In my experience, it helps to edit the width/height values of the iframe to eliminate scroll bars (yeck!). There's also similar parameters in the script URL for the Timeline widget that you can play with.

Both the timeline and form are LIVE below. If you have any questions or comments, please go back to the top of the post and click "Comments". I'd love to hear what you think of this latest tutorial.

BELOW IS THE LIVE INTERACTIVE FRCS TIMELINE
Use the form below the timeline to update and enter whatever events you want. Click on the events to get more information, images, and links. It's awesome!

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Reputation (Part 3)

Last week The Core Mechanic featured Reputation (Part 1) by guest author Ameron of the D&D blog Dungeon’s Master. The first reputation article was aimed at the DM and provided direction for using reputation as a campaign tool.

A few days later Dungeon’s Master followed that up with Reputation (Part 2). The second article in this series provided players with tips for developing the positive aspects of their PC’s reputation in D&D.

Today, Reputation (Part 3) appears on Dungeon’s Master. The third and final article in this series provides players with advice for how to work on their reputation when things don’t go quite as expected.

• False Heroes
  You’ve been credited with someone else’s deeds, what do you do?
  

• Anything But Heroes
  Your misfortunes and failures precede you. How do you make things right again?
  

• Larger Than Life Heroes
  Can you live up to a reputation run amok?

Check out the final installment in this series on reputation in D&D on Dungeon’s Master.

The Farchives: Why have classes at all?

Here's the second in a new series on The Core Mechanic: The Farchives. Every Friday I will re-post a popular TCM post from the previous year. I've included a post that was one of the first "popular" ones I had the first month the blog was in existence. This post was originally posted on July 30th, 2008. Hopefully you'll enjoy it.

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There is a super ridiculously large amount of chatter in forums, blogs, and other websites about the over- or under- powered effects of multiclassing in 4th Edition Dungeons & Dragons. So, given the way that Wizards of the Coast designed the new game: why have classes at all?

Think about it...

• All the classes use the same progression table (p28 PHB1 I think).
  


• The powers, at each given level, are comparable across classes. Level 1 powers are just as "powerful" no matter what class you choose. OK, sure, some people will no doubt argue this fact - but that's a topic for another day.


• Removing the choice to multiclass from the game entirely eliminates the bitching associated with it.

The way I see it, 3rd Edition D&D (and 3.5) was already heading towards a super-hybrid play style already. Every character had dozens of choices for so-called prestige classes; there was no limit to the number of multi-classes you could choose; and everyone chose Rogue for first level (for the skill bonus) and had 2 levels of Fighter (for the free feats and BAB, right?). By eliminating classes completely, then the game system would be wide open for people to make whatever kind of character they want.

Now, from a game designers point of view (not that I am one, but...) I could see the need to keep the whole notion of classes in D&D

1. It's just the way things should be. Without classes, the game would not be D&D anymore.
2. It provides easy, self-contained choices for new players to choose from. This facilitates people learning the game, and wanting to play. Too many options at the start can be daunting and will scare people off.
3. An open, class-free game system would be too hard for a DM to keep track of and the level of player to DM abuse would skyrocket. Munchkins and PowerGamers would be roaming the streets, frothing at the mouth - and that is something we just can't have.

No, but seriously.. why not? Another way to look at it is to examine the Monster Manual. Each monster presented therein is, in many respects, a new class. Obviously, the secrete-cabal-of-game-designers must have used some sort of system for assigning powers and abilities to each monster. You think Rob Heinsoo ever said to James Wyatt, "Hey man... you can't make Goblins have that power, they first need to take the [Acolyte of Doom] feat so that can qualify for it!" No, not likely. They just made them; and they made them using a class-free system that was balanced and scalable.

The way WoTC has encapsulated each class's abilities into fixed powers, at nearly every level of the game makes me scratch my head and think: Why the hell do we even need classes anymore? If my player wants to make a fireball throwing, healing, rogue who wears plate mail -- FINE! I mean, you could do that in 3.5, right?

The biggest obstacle I would see about a class-free system would be how to allocate Class Features, starting skills, etc. You know, all the stuff you get at 1st level. But - beyond that - if you make the prerequisites for some power or feat or something; take it!

Let me know what you think. I'm going to be thinking about this hard for a while I think - the idea just seems so "OMFG, of course!" I can't ignore it.

Reputation (Part 2)

On Monday, The Core Mechanic featured the article Reputation (Part 1) by guest author Ameron of the D&D blog Dungeon’s Master. The first Reputation article was aimed at the DM and provided suggestions on how to incorporate and use reputation in your game.

Today Reputation (Part 2) appears on Dungeon’s Master. It’s aimed at the players and explores how the choices you make during your adventuring career will have a direct impact on your PC’s reputation.

• Local Heroes
  You’re famous for all the right reasons. People love you and you take full advantage of having a reputation that was hard earned and well deserved.
• Unsung Heroes
  Try as you might, you just haven’t had any luck gaining praise for your deeds. You’ve done everything right, but people haven’t heard of you.
• Anonymous Heroes
  You’ve chosen not to take credit for your deeds. You’re not in it for the fame, and you’ve taken steps to avoid unnecessary recognition.

Check it out and be sure to look for Reputation (Part 3) on Dungeon’s Master early next week.

Anatomy of a Villain

I do it all because I'm evil,
and I do it all for free,
your tears are all the pay I'll ever need.

— Voltaire, "When You're Evil"

Fantasy literature has had its great share of villains. So too have fantasy role playing games, although there's an important difference: villains from fiction tend to be more memorable, more believable. Rarely do we, as players of the game, lament the death of a great villain. Why is this so?

In my experience, the villains encountered in our games are often killed off too quickly or their motives are less-than believable. How many Mad Wizards bent on destroying the kingdom have we seen? How many rapacious Bandits have we captured? If you look at the archetype villains through the history of D&D - very few are memorable and quite a few are just downright forgettable.

There are several important things you can do to make the villains more memorable in your game:

• What kind of villain are they? Are they a Card-Carrying Evil villain (like the Mad Wizard above)? Or something else, such as Knight Templar or a somewhat more subtle Well Intentioned Extremist? Is the villain also the Big Bad of the story/campaign? Figure out what kind of villain they are ahead of time and decide on some guidelines about how they should be role played both in and out of combat (and 'off stage', behind the scenes).
• What is their motivation? The card-carrying types don't need a motivation - they just do evil for Evil's sake. Other villains, however, should have some legitimate goals. At a very minimum a villain should have an elevator pitches worth of description that outlines their motivation. When mooks or minions are captured and questioned - bits of their boss's motivation might be revealed. Clues left behind in dungeons, urban settings, or other adventuring areas also give some clues. Believable motivations lend credibility to the villain, and the PCs can act on their expectation of those motivations.
• Give them Managers. And their Managers Minions. Unless the villain is a solo "bad guy", they should have at least one layer of mid-level managers. Those mid-level managers in turn should have a whole collection of minions and mooks. These are the guys that do all the villains boring grunt work. You know... things like burning villages, plundering tombs, capturing slaves, etc. Establish the motivation of the mooks and their managers too. Are they serving out of loyalty? Are they being paid? The managers (tribal chiefs, elites, etc) might have one set of motivations and the minions another. Regardless, setting up and defining these motivations can help shape the PCs perception of who this super villain is, and what they are up to.
  
• Don't Kill Them. Not Yet. Memorable villains show up more than once throughout the campaign either in spirit ("Dr. Madevil was just here!") or in the flesh ("Dr. Madevil, you won't escape us this time!"). Change up the ways in which the PCs face the villain or encounter their minions. Avoid making it expected that the villain is going to escape. You can also really keep the players on their toes by having several layers of villains; minor villains don't escape (cRPG equivalents of 'mini-bosses'). It's a bit of balancing act - one method I employ is to have the villains show up when the players are lowbies (somehow they escape or survive), again when they are mid level, and then have a big face off battle once they are 9th or 10th level. Spread it out over a few levels and the effect is amazing. That last battle, when the PCs finally defeat or capture the villain, is a gaming moment sometimes on par with the best that fantasy literature has to offer. I also like to use the Boss in Mook's Clothing Trope.

You no doubt have noticed I've included tons of links here to the TV Tropes Wiki. Phil, over at Chatty DM, turned me on to this website as a great resource for adventure and campaign design. One thing I've figured out along the way is that players have expectations and often like to be part of a known tropism. It plays on their expectations, builds anticipation, and gives the DM the opportunity to mix things up.

One of the best Big Bad villains of all time: Dr. Doom.

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What to read more? For more villains and how to play them - head over to At-Will's post "The Vicious Virtues of Villany".

Reputation (Part 1)

Reputation is everything in D&D. Even 1st level characters have a reputation. It may only be a reputation for being eager to prove themselves, but it’s enough to get them noticed. What the PCs do today will have a direct impact on the opportunities afforded them tomorrow. Every adventure will add to their reputation and will impact how NPCs view them. It’s up to the DM to use reputation to enhance the overall game.

This is the first of three articles examining reputation. Part 1 is aimed at the DM and provides direction for using reputation to its fullest potential. Parts 2 and 3 are aimed at the players and provides insight on how the PCs can shape their own reputation and gain the most benefit from doing so. Look for Reputation part 2 and Reputation part 3 at Dungeon’s Master in the days to come.

Many DMs and players overlook or underestimate the importance of reputation in D&D. The DM should use the past deeds of the PCs to shape new storylines. The PCs are supposed to be the best of the best. What they do and how they do it will be closely observed. People will want to hear what kind of creatures they’ve fought, what kind of treasures they’ve accumulated and what they plan to do next. In essence, the PCs are celebrities and should be treated as such.

Reputation – The DMs Perspective

When the PCs visit new villages, towns and cities, there should be a chance that someone there has heard of them. If the PCs are just starting out, the likelihood of being recognized is minimal. As the PCs earn XP and gain levels, news of their heroics will spread and people will start talking. The PCs are recognized more and more often. This can be helpful in some scenarios and detrimental in others. As nice as it is to be famous, there will be times when the PCs just want their privacy. As the reputation of the PCs grows, the DM should apply suitable modifiers as conditions demand.

Positive Reputation

The PCs are heroes and everyone knows it. Their accomplishments are the subject of bard song and legend. Their vast wealth and power are key reasons for their positive reputation. Everyone wants to know more about the PCs. Everyone wants to meet them. The PCs are the points of light in the darkness and all attention is focused on them.

In general, people will open their doors to welcome the PCs. Important figures who may not normally be willing to meet with them are curious, or experience a change of heart and take the opportunity to ride the PC’s coattails. Perhaps a few admirers are genuinely interested in just being their friend.

These skills may be enhanced by a positive reputation.

• Bluff: The greater the reputation, the more likely those listening will accept what they’ve been told.
• Diplomacy: Social encounters are a breeze. People are fascinated with the PCs and will forgive many social blunders.
• Streetwise: Anything the PCs ask is answered.

Being famous does have its pitfalls. If the PCs have earned a reputation that tells of their affinity for all things good and righteous, then attempts to infiltrate the criminal element may meet with harsh resistance. Fame can also be regional depending on the reason for a positive reputation. War heroes will be celebrities in their home country, but may be scorned by their neighbours.

These skills may be more difficult because of a positive reputation.

• Insight: Everyone wants to meet the PCs and when they do, they want to be remembered. There will be so many people spinning so many tales that it may be difficult to tell the truth from the lies.
• Stealth: How do you go unnoticed when you’re famous? It’s possible, but a lot more difficult.

No one is famous forever. The DM should present plenty of opportunities for the PCs to hurt their own reputation. If they choose to do stupid things without thinking of long-term consequences, then it’s their own fault. Just remember to offer opportunities for redemption if the PCs begin to fall.

Negative Reputation

The PCs have run into some bad luck of late. Perhaps they didn’t defeat the Dragon that threatened the local village, they only wounded it. After the PCs left, the Dragon returned and took out his anger on the innocent townsfolk. Suddenly, the PCs are infamous; everybody knows them, but for all the wrong reasons.

There are very few benefits to being hated or despised. If the PCs have caused a lot of collateral damage as they’ve travelled the realm, then they may be turned away when they reach the city gates. People are less likely to talk to them or be outright hostile. Important figures may refuse to meet with them under any circumstances.

These skills may be enhanced by a negative reputation.

• Bluff: Since people already think the worst of you, any attempt to play up that angle may garner success.
• Intimidate: People probably expect you to be mean and hateful. A small show of force, or even a small threat of force, may go a long way to getting what you want.

These skills may be more difficult because of a negative reputation.

• Diplomacy: Nobody wants to risk association with you. Good luck finding people to treat you fairly.
• Streetwise: It’s unlikely that people will want to share any information with you. If they do, be suspicious.

In general if the PCs have a negative reputation they should do something quickly to try and remedy the problem. It’s up to the DM to present opportunities for the PCs to prove themselves. The size of the task should be left up to the PCs. Let them decide if they want to take baby steps or if they want to try and fix things with one grand gesture.

Unearned Reputation

An unearned reputation has potential to be the most fun and the most dangerous. This could be something as simple as a mistaken identity. The PCs match the description of another group of heroes and are mistaken for them. Perhaps the PCs stumbled across the site of a great battle and a witness assumed they were the ones responsible for the victory. There are many possibilities, none of them good for the PCs – at least in the long run. The short-term gains are the same as any other positive reputation. But when the truth comes out (and it always does) then the PCs will go from famous to infamous in a heartbeat.

The idea of an unearned reputation has the most appeal to me personally as a DM. It forces the PCs to decide if the benefits of accepting an unearned reputation are worth it. This scenario provides the DM with the perfect opportunity to begin new adventure hooks, introduce new NPCs and set the foundation for the long-term campaign.

If the PCs adopt the persona of the party they are mistaken for, it could have negative consequences. Here are a few ideas of how to make life difficult (or at the very least, interesting) for the PCs if they decide to accept an unearned reputation.

• The real heroes may be wanted criminals in a neighbouring country.
• An item the PCs are supposed to have is needed but obviously unavailable.
• Past debts owed by the true heroes may be called in by a powerful Wizard.
• A pregnant woman may demand the baby’s father marry her.
• The heroes who actually earned the reputation may show up.

The possibilities are truly limited only by the DM’s imagination. In the end you want the scales to be balanced. Just because the PCs indulge when they’re not entitled doesn’t mean that the punishment should be too detrimental. The DM should always provide opportunities for the PCs to make things right. It doesn’t have to be easy, but it should be possible.

Conclusion

It’s up to the DM and players to decide if reputation will impact their game at all. Using reputation shouldn’t be mandatory and shouldn’t have any adverse affects if the PCs don’t want to worry about it. In the end everyone should agree to what extent, if any, reputation has in your game.

This article was written by Ameron from Dungeon’s Master. This is his first guest post on The Core Mechanic.

The Farchives: Statblocks - They're just numbers on a page.

Today kicks off a new feature on The Core Mechanic, The Farchives. Every Friday I will re-post a popular TCM post from the previous year. To kick this new series off, I've included a post that was one of the first "popular" ones I had the first month the blog was in existence. This post was originally posted on July 22nd, 2008. Hopefully you'll enjoy it.

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After reading Stephen Radney-MacFarland's column "Saying Yes is a Skill", the following paragraph stood out:

...Consider this case in point. The cifal, also known as the Colonial Insect-Formed Artificial Life (I'm not joking), was a critter from the original Fiend Folio that featured a back story and a name I thought was absolutely stupid. And I was not alone; in 2000 the cifal was voted the stupidest Fiend Folio monster by the readers of Polyhedron magazine. Still, this critter showed up a number of times in my game as a swarm-of-flies devil that served Baalzebul. What did I change about the monster? Not much, just the name and alignment. It was that easy. My players were scared to death of the poor, stupid cifal, which they knew as bzazels (heck, not even a vast of an improvement on the name front, come to think of it)...

Then it occurred to me that I had been doing something for years that maybe other DMs don't do, or maybe don't do often enough. I'm talking about Stat Block Masking (SBM). SBM is one of the oldest tricks in a DMs toolbox. It's easy to do, saves hours of prep time, and keeps the players on their toes. The muchkins at your game table hate SBM techniques, the role players love it. So, what is it?

SBM is where the DM uses the stat blocks for one creature, item, trap, spell, class, etc. to replace the stat block of another similar thing. The decription of the thing stays the same, but the stats are VERY different. Two examples should be enough to illustrate my point:

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Example 1: The Beegguns Goblins
Goblins are easy to kill and the player characters blow through dozens of them in an evening of gaming. After a whole evening of slaughtering scores of them, complete with spell casters, traps, interesting terrain combinations, and the like, you realize that the players need a bigger challenge. But, the problem is that they are in a goblin den. To maintain internal consistency, there's a somewhat limited number of assailants you might throw at them. What can you throw at a group of Level 2 heroes that might scare them out of their wits. Then, you have an idea...

As the PCs turn the corner and see a four 'bigger', foul looking goblins coming down the hall towards them. "These 4 huge goblins come lumbering around the corner, groaning. Their bodies are covered in some kind of black oil, as are their large spiked clubs. They don't seem too happy in general, and are probably going to take it all out on you."

One of the players at the table says flatly "Oh no, these goblins look (sarcasm) scary! I charge them."

Another player metagames a bit and says, "What, they have twice the health or something? My wizard begins casting Ray of Frost."

You simply just chuckle and the battle begins. After 4 rounds of combat, the party has blown all their encounter powers, and nearly everyone has used their dailies. Action points? HAH... those are all gone. These goblins are stunning people with some sort of sap that's on their clubs, and seem like to beat on the same, stunned (panicing) heroes until they are clobbered. Plus, these guys are taking huge ammounts of damage.

Its at this point that the players realize that these are not simply "tougher" goblins; they are something else entirely.

In fact, they are Ghouls. Well... at least their stats are Ghoul stats. But, instead of claws, they use big clubs covered in somekind of toxic (to everyone but goblins) sap. Instead of being vulnerable to radiant damage, you make them vulnerable to fire damage (the sap burns quite well). In the end the PCs are fine, they mostly survive. But, they are all left wondering "WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT?"

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Example 2: The Ring of Blades
Your heroes have worked hard pushing through the goblin den. Most of the goblins have either been killed or have fled to find greener pastures. In a final, last ditch effort for "survival" the goblin chieftain surrenders and offers the heroes a 'secrete treasure that will remain buried forever' unless they let the remaining tribe go free. The heroes, always filled to the brim with a lust for more lewt, agree. The chief tells the heroes where he keeps a secrete cache of coins and a few items of value. The heroes find the treasure and among they find a magic ring and a magic axe. They let the chieftain go (these heroes are real goodguys), and begin investigating the items. They seem harmless enough. The axe is a something magical, but harmless.

The ring, however, is something different. "Your skill checks are successful, and you determine it is a Ring of Invisilibility". They PCs actually failed in identifying the ring correctly and on an earlier Passive Perception check, but the game table is filled with a series of 'holy crap!" "wow!" "OMFG!" etc.

Then, one of your players adds "Wait... a Ring of Invisibility is a Level 18 item. We're a bunch of Level 2 stooges..."

"You know Mr. Metagamer, you are right! And, just as your character realizes this existential fact and holds up the ring to inspect it, it seems to unfold. Slowly at first, then faster still until the whole party are enveloped in a whirlwind of flying blades."

The ring is actually a Whirling Blades trap (p.89 DMG), and appropriate but difficult challenge for the party. You might also rule that, if they fail in disabling the trap the ring is destroy. If they succeed, they might just walk out of there with a nifty little gadget to take with them...

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I've think I've illustrated my point. Statblocks can be stripped of their descriptions and applied to anything in a variety of settings, assuming you keep challenge at an appropriate level for the heroes. The trick is just to think outside the box a little and be creative. Using this technique, DMs out there will never be stuck needing a 'better' challenge in the middle of a gaming session. Players out there will also have to stay on their toes since you'll never know what to expect next...

"What the heck is that?"
"What? His mount? Oh... that's his armored heavy warhorse that was raised in the marshlands of Xuntargak. It was trained for war, and has been subject of many foul rituals by his arcanists. Good luck..." It's a heavy warhorse, but I'm using the Basilisk statblock.

I should note that Unclebear has also come out with a series of posts on "Shemping" - anyone interested in more info on recasting / shemping should check out his blog for his view on the same topic.

4th Edition Dungeons & Dragons Needs Blue Bolts from Heaven

A little retrospective:

Back in the day (1E AD&D), there was this notion of the "DM's Blue Bolts from Heaven". The idea was simple - some PC is too annoying to deal with, too powerful compared to their peers, or just plain ignored the warning from the gods. Blue, firey bolts of hot lighting would come down and, potentially, strike them dead on the spot. I think the rule of thumb was 3d6 bolts would come down, each carrying a saving throws vs. Death inside. I lost several characters myself this way. Luckily, a couple of them had friends in high places who could raise people from the dead...

No one doubted that BBFH were a very real threat to munchkin players. Power gamers and munchkins were always justifying their awesomeness as a result.

"He must find the Holy Avenger, like his father before him! It is his destiny!"

Declarations like that early in a character development not only added to the backstory, but it also provided the munchkins among us a foil against future BBFH should they find the sword in some kind of ass'hattery kind of way. Everyone was happy, story gamers and munchkins alike.

Enter 4th Edition Dungeons & Dragons. You start out as a "hero" at first level. The game is designed for power gamers, munchkins love it, and roleplayers either hate it or are heard frequently defending 4E as just as viable an RPG as any other 'older' one (me included). Regardless though, there's nothing in the rules-as-written about controlling over powered characters. The RAW in fact supports accension to godhood (which, in all fairness, every other edition of D&D has supported as well including BASIC).

Nonetheless, throwing down blue bolts from heaven in a 4E campaign strikes me as a deal breaker. I can already see the players standing up and crying "That's Bulls***!".

So... Are munchkins a problem, or a welcomed part, of your game? If you are running a 4E game, what measures have you taken to limit the obscene power gaming munchkinism that the end-days of 3.5E D&D faced? Or, is this not even an issue for you?

10 House Rules to Make Grognards Like 4th Edition Dungeons & Dragons

Have you ever wondered why the D&D community was so fragmented?

Have you ever thought "Hey, 4E is the new Old School D&D!"?

Have you ever wanted a grognard at your 4E game table?

Well, I have. Some say its impossible though. Grognards are, by definition, grumpy dwarfs. They don't want to game with 4'Teens. They say it can't be done. It's against thier code of ethics. Plus, it is rumored that they will turn to stone as soon as they use a healing surge.

I disagree. These rumors all all bunk. I think they do want to game with us. I think they just are grouchy, but shy. Well, take any one of these 10 House Rules and help make your 4E game appeal to that grumpy old curmudgeon. Come on, you know we all love'em! Right?

OK.. maybe it will take all 10 of these House Rules, but give it an honest shot. You may surprise yourself...

1. Limited Healing Surges. Limit the number of healing surges to PC's 1+Con bonus, or just set a fixed number regardless of constitution or class ("everyone gets 3 healing surges, that's it!")
2. Halve Starting Hit Points. That's right. Start with less. In OD&D most wizards only started the game with 4 hit points, and that's if your DM was being generous.
3. Limit the Classes to the Fab Four. OK, technically there were three in the original game, but the thief is just too good to pass up. From 4E, play only with the Fighter, Cleric, Wizard, or Rogue.
4. Limit the Races to Three. All you need are the Human, Elf, and Dwarf races, right?
5. Award XP for Gold. 1 gold = 1 xp. Also, drop xp bonuses for quest rewards, skill challenges, and traps. Killing things and taking their loot are the only things worth XP.
6. Make All Encounters Deadly. When making encounters, always pretend the party is 2 or 3 levels higher than they are.
7. Don't Scale the Campaign Setting. Take a page out of the book of Gygaxian Naturalism and design your campaign world independently of the PCs level. If those woods over there are dangerous, make them so. If that castle is inhabited by demons, make it so. There's nothing more annoying that a town frightened by a tribe of level 1 kobolds... its just laughable.
8. Make Encounter Powers Daily Powers. This will make their use a bit more like old school one-a-day spells and abilities.
9. Make Daily Powers Charged Powers. Make the use of a daily power drain XP, use a healing surge, or have some other charged effect.
10. Put Away the Miniatures. Try playing without miniatures. This may seem antithetical for 4E gameplay, but it IS possible. How? Use your imagination. There's something very cool about playing D&D in a living room instead of at the game table. Try it.
11. Try What Greywulf Suggests...
1. Roll 3d6 for stats and then GO!
2. Play an old school D&D module using 4E rules. Very cool... we like this. And YES.. this is the ELEVENTH house rule.. actually.. its two.. now I'm just confused.

With one or more of these house rules in effect, I think its pretty easy to recreate the deadly, resource management style game that OD&D embodied using 4E rules. Give it a shot, and let me know how it goes.

Oh, and this post is meant to draw fire. Flame away! Show me your worst! I'll take it on the chin like the geek that I am! [runs away, hides...]