Go to part 1 In my last installment I talked about the combat & magic rules for Whitehack. If you’re interested in an Actual Play example, check out this entry. (It uses some innovations from Scarlet Heroes because the module I played was for 4-10 characters but other than that it’s purely Whitehack). In this blog post, I want to take a look at the first part of the Game Master section of the book.
Chapter 3: Running the game
Whitehack is for those who like to balance Referee power and player freedom, but just as much for those who like to prepare stories, to get into the mind of their characters, to engage in strategic combat, to collect and paint miniatures and terrain, to hang out with their friends or to sit by and watch others do most of the playing! The game is supposed to bring people together, not set them apart.
Christian Mehrstam states that the rules are there to make things more
challenging and to provide structure and means of resolution
instead of helping the Referee to run the game.
The Referee is clearly more powerful than the players and the goal is to
succeed in telling a story together by risking failure in following the
rules. I find some of the notions particularly interesting. I like how
the author points out that the rules are there to make the game more
difficult instead of making it easier for the players. It’s a good idea
to communicate this concept to the players to get on the same page what
old school role-playing means in regards to playing Whitehack.
Settings
Here we find guidance on how to “hack your notion of normal”, about
switching or mixing genres, using real word history influences or using
a literary setting.
While the information is painted in broad strokes it’s still interesting
to read and gives you some good ideas.
Adventures & Campaigns
The author stresses that you shouldn’t get too attached to your own idea
of how the game should play out. You should prepare an adventure to be
ready for improvisation and you cannot dictate player choices. (Amen.)
Furthermore, we find advice on RPG Story Phases as a tool for creating
fantasy adventures. The author breaks down typical adventure structures
into different phases. For example, there is the hook (which you can
skip), then there is a preparation phase (investigation, gather
equipment) and then a traveling phase (exploration). Afterward, you have
the climactic confrontation and then probably an end phase where the
players deal with the consequences of their doing.
Sprinkle in some phases for resting, social encounters etc.
He admits that other structures are possible (mystery adventures, urban
adventures, dungeon crawls). For dungeons, there is a small section on
how to create a rudimentary crawl. Again, very basic advice but useful
nonetheless. Additionally, Christian Mehrstam uses visual connection
maps (similar to mind maps) to illustrate NPC agendas etc. This is more
or less something like Bankuei’s Conflict
Web.
Then add events to bring things into motion. And use random tables.
Lastly, we find some blurb about campaigns. I’m not to sure what to make
out of it. I think it’s just the author’s point of view about what
defines a campaign and how he plays campaigns/constructs campaigns out
of adventures.
A traditional toolkit
This section covers how to use modules for other D&D games. As Whitehack
has its own armor class system, you’ll need to convert that. Some minor
tweaking to Attack Value might be necessary. Also, there’s advice on how
to uses monsters, spells, and abilities.
There is advice on reaction rolls, morale checks, hirelings, and
retainers plus vehicle combat. For example, a reaction roll is a
Charisma task. Vehicles are handled as characters with AC, ST, weaponry
and special attacks. Retainers don’t play a big role and are always HD 1
NPCs who can’t level up. The book includes a table for crawling rates
and traveling rates for wilderness adventures. Christian Mehrstam
explains how these type of gameplay can be utilized in Whitehack.
Moreover, he shines a light on using miniatures and terrain. Whitehack
can be used with the standard grid map (1 inch = 5 ft.) but also offers
alternatives. Next up is the compelling addition of a mechanic for
Corruption. This is a catch-all for radiation, madness, influence of
chaos etc. (the Dark Side!). It’s split up in corruption levels (CL).
The more levels you have, the more “corrupted” you are. You gain effects
at higher levels, i.e. phobias, mutated skin, scars. Sometimes you need
to make a Saving Throw to negate effects but failing makes things worse.
In some cases a high CL can be positive because some creatures, places
or objects can favor a high corruption. All in all, a very easy mechanic
which adds a welcome twist to the rules. It was not part of the 1st
edition. As already mentioned in my post about combat and
magic the game also includes a
toolkit for using traditional magic instead the freeform magic system.
This is especially useful if you want to play modules for other D&D
variants.
Rare Character Classes
The 1st edition of Whitehack contained the three base classes Deft,
Wise and Strong. Here you can find more classes which you can make
available to players after one of their “base” characters has died.
The two new classes are the Brave and the Fortunate. They come with
their own advancement tables, like the core classes.
The rare classes play differently from the regular classes and produce characters that are uncommon in the game world.
The Brave is the underdog and if he fails a roll he gains a “comeback
die” (d6) which he can add at a later roll. You can use multiple
comeback dice but only the highest counts.
Furthermore, he can negate an attack or successful harmful miracle once
per session. He has slots for special quirks (8 to choose from). For
example, enemies always attack someone else first at the start of the
battle.
There are some more special rules that make the Brave unique. It’s
certainly something different from the standard classes and nothing
which has obvious roots in D&D classes. The second rare class is the
Fortunate, a lucky or rich character, someone with good fortune. There
is an option to use influence once per session for a major boon (i.e.
getting a personal audience with the queen). He also has a special
standing that makes faction groups more willing to help him.
The other defining characteristic is that the Fortunate can have
retainers that advance in level. However, that means that the player
character has to spend gold XP on his retainers.
The class owns a signature item and can wear all weapons and armor. The
author also addresses how to create a species-as-class character and
gives two examples of the White Curse campaign setting: The Dagonite
and the Marionette.
Basically everything works as per normal rules found in the earlier
chapters. You create a character with a species vocation and then come
to an agreement with the Referee about how the species works, what their
limitations or advantages are and how powerful these should be. The
Referee is free to adjust the XP requirements for leveling up. There are
some details about the two example species. The Dagonites are amphibian
creatures and are technologically pretty advanced. They need to be
Deft or Wise and need a vocation related to either crafting,
summoning or rune carving. The Marionette is a puppet creature, created
from the souls of dead humanoids. Marionettes wear an intricate face
mask with a ghost box which allows them to speak to others. Like robots,
they are immune to diseases and poison, don’t need to drink or eat etc.
You know the drill.
They have magic restrictions (like the Asimov’s Three Laws of
Robotics).
Interestingly, as they are undead creatures, they can be exorcised!
They are restricted to the Strong and Deft class and have vocations
like Butler, Medic, Slave or Adjutant. They need double XP to advance.
Altogether a very appealing class that shows the evocative feel of the
White Curse setting.
Plus, it illustrates how easy it is to create a species for Whitehack.
Beyond Levels
The maximum level is level 10. The author included two extra rules:
Divine Aid & Debts and Playing With Aspects. The first option allows
for a higher influence of the divine on your campaign. A character can
dedicate an affiliation group to a higher power and is granted divine
aid which allows him to do incredible things. It comes at the cost of
the power also demanding more from him which can open up more quests.
The second option allows players narrative control about aspects of the
game world. This should be fun for those who also like collaborative
world building as they are allowed to introduce new elements to the game
(at the Referee’s discretion).
Some thoughts
Compared to the first edition of Whitehack this part of the book
contains much more information. Most of the general advice is given in
broad strokes and gives a good overview. It can’t (and wasn’t supposed
to) supplant a complete Game Master’s guide.
Although Whitehack is old school there are some newer ideas thrown in,
for example, the mind maps.
The idea of “hacking your notion of normal” is pretty neat because it
can easily provide you with the skeleton of a setting. It’s a fine
starting point.
Differently than the first edition, the game now includes conversion
notes for traditional old school modules which are written for other
retro-clones or original D&D iterations. This is very helpful.
The section about traditional magic is also quite useful as the
open-ended nature of selecting miracle wordings at the start of play can
be intimidating for players. This tool provides a valuable option to use
“standard spells” and is also good if you run traditional modules where
those are used.
The new rare classes are a nice addition, but I’m glad that they are
restricted. I don’t think that they should replace the standard
classes.
The corruption mechanic opens up some mechanical possibilities and is a
very cool addition. For example, you could use this for corrupting magic
users (sword & sorcery?) or if you want more sci-fi for simulating
radiation.
All things considered, this portion of the book is an interesting read.
Some of the material can be used universally (i.e. the Story Phases or
the setting part) which is also a plus. Go to part
5