Is this game/thread acceptable here? I'm very interested in the game and recently acquired the rulebook. And there were some folks playing this at GC I (GT and Shalaban - among others). I hope to play next year! [Learn how to spell, dummy! OK, OK, I was in a hurry. Yeah, BS - you were hitting the sauce again. Stop talking to me! Stop talking to yourself! :?
Re: Dangerours Journeys Hi Rhu! Yes, you can talk about Dangerous Journeys here. I own 3 or 4 sets of the rule books myseld. I have not played since 1994 or 1995. I really like the system, but it would benefit by having some software developed to assist with Heroic Persona generation (I think I am right - character was D&D and avatar is LA right?). If you take the time to read and understand the rules- and make up what isn't specifically addressed (like a good JM should) it is an awesome system. Some great magic, awesome starting characters and a cool world to adventure through. Hell, I'd like to play next year too! Luke
Re: Dangerours Journeys I really enjoyed reading through the Mythus and Mythus Magic books. I like the feel of the system but was always afraid of its complexity. I think it's quite a feat to have had such convoluted mechanics while at the same time communicating a sense of enchantment about the setting. Usually one smothers the other. It's not the case with Dangerous Journeys.
I hate to say it, but I will-- I've never played this system (same with C&C). I always wanted too, just never seemed to find the time/group. Maybe one year it'll happen.
Re: Dangerous Journeys (1992) From what I can determine Gary Gygax is credited with creating the: Mythus 1992 Mythus Gamemasters Screen 1992 I'm only focusing on rules "books", not modules and adventures.
I am a big fan of the DJ system. It gets knocked for its complexity, but one of the system’s strengths is the flexibility. It can be as basic or as complex as you want it to be. The Prime rules play very much like LA, and you just add to that. Creating advanced HPs could be a task. Statting out advanced encounters was a lot of work too. I agree that a computer program would have worked wonders.
If Gary Con II is held around the same time as Gary Con I, I will definitely be there! And I will be saving seats for GT, Tony, Rhuvein, Luke, Dale, and ScottyG for DJMGRPG!!! This thread was originally posted on The Doomsday board here: http://doomsdaygames.proboards.com/inde ... thread=621 Reason: I want everyone to know that IMHO that the Dangerous Journeys Multigenre Roleplaying Game System is the best vehicle for story telling that I have ever came across. (Once the parts are put together…) It is logical, built from the ground up to be expandable, smooth, realistic, intuitive, balanced, player friendly, and diverse. Logical: Such as using the Laws of Magick when doing an On the Spot Casting. Expandable: It is a simple thing to create new Vocations, K/S Areas, Castings, Creatures, Magick Items, etc. The Game even provides the methods of design for these things. It also encourages the players to do likewise. (Such as giving an initiative bonus for creating your own castings.) Smooth: I was worried at first if this would be the case, but was pleasantly surprised when we had our first combat that included Spiritual, Mental, Heka, Mêlée, Missile, and Unarmed Combat that took no longer than any other combat in AD&D. Also the genius of a hit location chart comprised of Ultra Vital, Super Vital, Vital, and Non-Vital is perfect for any creature and keeps one from having to have many different charts for different creature types. Realistic: No longer are there contrivances for such things as: Why don’t Elves control everything if they live so long and have such magickal power. Why can you hit a 20th level Fighter many times with a Two-Handed sword and he seemingly is undamaged until the last few Hit Points, etc. These questions are answered via design as opposed to contrivances. Intuitive: While rolling up an HP sometimes my Players would make an assumption and then ask if the assumption was accurate. In every case the assumption was basically correct. Such as- Player: “I was reading that gems can provide Heka, right? Journey Master: “Yes.” Player: “So can I use gems to provide Heka for On The Spot Castings?” Journey Master: “Yes.” Player: “Do I crush them or what?” Journey Master: “Yes, you crush them.” Player: “So a working understanding of the Laws of Magick and some high value gems would enable my HP to perform magick even if he was out of Heka?” Journey Master: “You got it.” Balanced: I really wanted to introduce the multi-genre aspect to my Players, so I rolled up an OP from the Changeling milieu. It was a Fighter Android with an Indigo Laser Pistol, a Crystallizer Rifle, and a Grenade Launcher with two different types of grenades. I know, it sounds like Monty Hall overkill, but in the end it turned out to be a challenging encounter for the HP’s that was well balanced. As well it further established the Multi-Milieu to the HP’s and the Accursed in relation to other Milieux. Player Friendly: When I told my Players that I had had enough 1st ED AD&D, I was not sure if I could make my Avoidance roll to avoid all the incoming dice headed in my direction. But being the astute Players that they are, they heard me out. Since then all the feedback from my Players has been nothing but positive. Some examples: Chase is having a blast digging into the poison rules and using his Handicraft K/S area for making personalized storage and delivery methods for his Assassin HP. Brian is enjoying making Specialized Castings. Griz said that the last gamming session gave him heart flutters (something he said he has not experienced in years…) as he did not know if he would survive a battle he was in. Our last gamming session lasted 11 ½ hours. The last time I played over 8 hours I think I was a teenager. Diverse: Not only is the game a multi-genre one, but the world of Ærth in itself contains the ability to run a campaign of a Pre-historic, Ancient, Medieval, Renascence, or Victorian Age setting. Not to mention Subterranean Ærth, Inner Ærth, and the counter would of Phæree. My source material: 1. Mythus Core Rulebook- This is a heavily modified from normal book. My Mythus Core Rulebook (as is all the others when used extensively) fell apart. I removed the Mythus Prime Rules and took the remaining sheets and put them in page protectors. To this I added any and all corrections and updates as was necessary to run a smooth game. The corrections and updates took many forms. On some pages I wrote them on the page itself and in other cases I inserted pages out of Mythic Masters Magazine. I put the whole in the largest folder I could buy and separated sections with dividers. 2. Mythus Magick- This book has yet to fall apart but it soon will. When it does it too will get the same treatment as the MCR. It also needed corrections and updates which were handled in the same way as the MCR. 3. Epic of Ærth Companion Volume- This also needed some corrections and updating and was handled in the same fashion as the other books. 4. Necropolis and the Land of Ægypt Campaign Scenario- This too needed some corrections. 5. Mythus Bestiary Ærth Animalia- Also needed some corrections. 6. Issues 1 – 6 of Journeys: Journal of Multidimensional Roleplaying- These are good for the adventures that are in them and one has an updated map of Ægypt. 7. Issues 1 – 6 of Mythic Masters Magazine- I can not express how important these are to running The Game. As well there are some really insightful articles on the history of Gygax. 8. Unhallowed Supernatural Horror Roleplaying Game- This was about 95% completed when the law suit was settled out of court. This I printed out, edited, and put into a folder. 9. Changeling Weird Science-Fantasy Roleplaying Game- This was about 80% completed and also needed editing. After doing this it too was printed out and put in a folder. 10. Mythus Bestiary Volume II Phæree- This was a mess when I received it and extensive editing work had to go into it. I received it in the form of 4 Word files, 2 Excel Macro files, and 8 Excel Worksheets. The information on the worksheets needed to be edited and added to the Word files and the Word files had to be combined into a single PDF file which then had to be printed off and put into a folder. 11. Pantheolons of Ærth Sourcebooks- This was only about 15% done. It consists of 1 Excel Macro, 4 Excel Worksheets, and 3 Word files. There were also 3 pantheons fully listed in MMM. 12. Gygaxian Fantasy World Series Volume I – VII- These go hand in hand with the Dangerous Journeys Multigenre Roleplaying Game System. The same concepts that went into the Epic of Ærth Companion Volume are expanded upon in the GFWS and have proven to be invaluable. 13. All manor of information that has been gleaned from various sources- Most of this information is in the form of Notepad files that I have made or that has been downloaded from the big WWW. But it is all “Official” in that if it was not written by Gygax himself, it was permissible by Gygax to be used in some vehicle of official publication be it a rulebook, magazine, or someone who worked directly on the Dangerous Journeys Multigenre Roleplaying Game System. 14. I’m not much for hybridization of game systems, but for all that the Dangerous Journeys Multigenre Roleplaying Game System offers, it does not have an encumbrance system. Thus I use: The Advanced Dungeons and Dragons Dungeon Masters Guide, 1st ED. (for non-weapon enc. values) The Advanced Dungeons and Dragons Players Handbook, 1st ED. (for weapon enc. and enc. limits) The Advanced Dungeons and Dragons Unearthed Arcana, 1st ED. (for weapon enc.) The Advanced Dungeons and Dragons Oriental Adventures 1st ED. (for weapon enc.) In keeping with the change of nomenclature we now call this unit of measurement Encumbrance Factors or EF. 15. Role-Playing Masterly and Master of the Game- These are two Gygax books that IMHO everyone who aspires to master a milieu should read and have accessible. 16. Specialized Heroic Persona Sheets- These are sheets that I have made based on others of their ilk and my personal milieu and campaign needs. I have done these up on PDF files for easy printing. 17. Mythus Gamemaster’s Screen- Certainly useful for the normal reasons. Also this product contains a booklet of useful/updated/new charts. 18. The Anubis Murders, The Samarkand Solution, Death in Delhi, The Infernal Sorceress- Theses give a bit of flavor to the Epic of Ærth Companion Volume and things like On The Spot Casting as described in the Mythus Magick Book on page 304. 19. An Atlantian Calendar- To keep track of game time and weather. I generated three years and use a slightly modified Weather System from the 1983 Greyhawk box set. It took me a few tries to fit it in to a normal sized paper but I got the hang of it. My Players- I have 7 Players consisting of 3 females and 4 males with ages ranging from 15 to 51. Their names and the vocation that they play are listed below. (In no particular order): 1. Mya, who plays a Dweomercræfter of the Elemental School. 2. Eric, who plays an Engineer. 3. Brian, who plays an Alchemist. But used to play a Soldier of Rome. R.I.P. 4. Chase, who plays an Assassin. 5. Griz, who plays a Dweomercræfter of the Black School. 6. Lyndsi, who plays a Sage. 7. Diana, who plays a Mercenary. About me- I started playing RPG’s in 1982 when I bought the red basic boxed set of Dungeons & Dragons at the age of 11. Two weeks later I bought the AD&D Players Handbook 1st ED., and from that point I never looked back. For the next 25 years I steadfastly played only 1st ED AD&D. In 1992 with the release of the Mythus I began to study this new gaming format. Between 1992 and 2007 I read, re-read, and read again all the material I could find on this subject. I edited, corrected, updated, reconstructed, and organized all the material I could accumulate. I talked with several others who played, wrote for (professionally), and authored the Game. I even had some correspondence with the man himself, Mr. Gygax. Then in 2008 I was ready to start my first Dangerous Journeys Multigenre Roleplaying Game System campaign. So I gathered my Players together and we began. I am 38 now (almost 39…) and I am sure that I will be using Dangerous Journeys Multigenre Roleplaying Game System for the next 26 years of gaming and more. What we have done thus far- Early in 2008 the first thing I did was have each Player to create a Heroic Persona. This was done one-on-one with the Journey Master and Player only. It took each Player 3 to four sittings with each sitting lasting about 4 hours. Then each Player had a solo-adventure as suggest on page 297 in the MCR. The details of these adventures were kept simple with a few encounters. The main function in this case was to get everyone in the same place at the same time. So from Middrid, Paris, Camelgugh, London, Murcia, and Rome they came for different reasons to Rome. Then I ran the following adventures in the order listed below, all of which came from Journeys Magazine except for the first and last two. 1. Galley Slaves 2. Any Port in a Storm 3. Elemental, My Dear Man 4. Grym’s Keep 5. The Scepter of Amun-Ra 6. Today is NOT a Good Day to Die 7. The Trouble With Tribals 8. Necropolis and the Land of Ægypt Campaign Scenario 9. High Time at The Winged Pig Right now the Players are investigating the tomb of Rahotep in the Necropolis that lies in The Gorge of Osiris in the Western deserts of Ægypt. In closing- Thanks for letting me spill this entire thing out on your site! I have to tell someone other than my Players. They already know! We play every other Sunday from Noon to at least 8:00 P.M. and often longer.
Wow Shalaban! Incredible post and sounds like you're running an incredible game. I've been collecting the published DJ stuff and have just recently started reading through it. So far I love what I'm reading and seeing a post like yours is definitely incentive to keep going.
Thank you Ector! It was a fun campaign until they all were wiped out by Rahotep! Now I am fast at work on another campaign this time centering on Rome. I ran the first adventure of the new campaign for my Players at Gary Con I. Keep reading for sure! It’s worth it! Thanks Rossik! I believe that I will be playing DJMGRPG for a long while! Rhuvein, I’m glad you’re convinced! I look forward to playing with you at Gary Con 2010! I wish it would hurry up and get here!
Something is missing from DJMGRPGS!!! Can you believe it? Well if you have read the books you know all too well that there was everything from misprints to things simply being left out. Not to mention the things that was to be left for other future references… (Ah Fate, yet you play with me!) So it seems unlikely that we will see anything official on the subject anytime soon. ??? Thus problems such as the one below may never be addressed let alone found! *In the Mythus Magick book on page 356 under the heading ‘Things of the Conjuror’ in the second column under the entry of ‘Sword’ it states “When dealing with conjured beings, the sword’s wilder will gain a 10-point STEEP bonus toward the Negotiation K/S Area.” *In the Mythus Magick book on page 357 under the heading ‘Things of the Sorceror’ in the second column under the entry of ‘Sorceror’s Sceptre’ it states “When the sceptre’s owner brandishes the device in the presence of any being from the Nether Planes, it confers a bonus of 20 points to the persona’s Negotiation K/S for purposes of dealing with the creature. *In the Mythus Magick book on page 260 in the first column is a Sorcery Grade I casting called ‘Negotiation Charm’. This charm seems to call for the aforementioned Negotiation K/S Area. *And as well the Influence K/S Sub-Area Salesmanship Area on pg. 151 in the MCR calls out not just for the Negotiation K/S Area, but specifically for the Haggling Sub-Area. My question is where is the definition of this allusive K/S Area? I have looked through Mythus, Unhallowed, MMM, The J-Mags, and the Changeling material but to no avail… So… I envision it thusly- Negotiation (MMCap + MRCap) x0.5 • Negotiation: This K/S is a measure of one’s skill at a discussion with the intent of all involved to produce an agreement of compromise. A good negotiator will have the skill to empathize with all parties concerned. Unlike the Influence K/S, an equitable compromise is the goal of all parties concerned and the terms are always understood. The following Sub-Areas are covered under this K/S: 1. Business, Guilds 2. Deals, Pacts, and Pleas 3. Haggling 4. Hostage 5. Political A roll against this K/S will often be necessary to convince one or more OPs to agree with each other on a set of terms. Precisely which Sub-Area you will use, will vary greatly with the situation. Sub-Areas 1 and 5 tend to apply to a group of people, whereas 2 through 4 are more one on one in nature. Business, Guilds is the skill at ensuring equitable economic practices between employers and employed as well as between business mergers and buy outs. It crossfeeds and is crossfed by the Economics/Finance/Investing by 10% of their respective STEEP. Deals, Pacts, and Pleas is the skill at negotiating a set of terms between just two individuals. Deals are by far the most common, while Pacts are only carried out between those of an evil nature and always involve servitude of some sort. Cf. Negotiation Charm, MMB Pg.260. (Although said Charm could also be used on Merchants, and others who would refuse to negotiate.) Pleas apply mostly to courts of law but can apply in any case wherein the person being pleaded for has no bargaining leverage as one might have in a deal or pact. Haggling or bartering is the skill of driving down an over priced item to its normal price or perhaps lower through verbal negotiations. Most times this will mean a K/S vs. K/S test between the Haggling Sub-Area and the Salesmanship Sub-Area. (And I ask you what merchant would not have the Salesmanship Sub-Area? ) Hostage is the Sub-Area used for mediating the safe release of those held captive by negotiating the demands of the one or ones holding the hostages, with those in charge of enforcing the law. Hostage is crossfed by the Law K/S area by 10% of its STEEP. Political is the Sub-Area one would use when dealing with large governmental entities of any type. This Sub-Area works like mounted combat in that it allows one to use any of the other Negotiation K/S Sub-Areas in the context of large governmental bodies from city-states to empires. It also allows one to understand the basic governmental structure as it relates to his or her home government and thus at the very least keep one from any large mishap of the law and culture. Keep in mind that one Negotiation K/S roll can cover a time span from a few moments to a few hours however, negotiations can last months or longer in which case you’re Journey Master will inform you as to how many rolls will be required. Also keep in mind that when you fail an attempt (or series there of) at this K/S, you are unlikely to get a second chance under the same set of circumstances any time soon regardless of the Sub-Area used and/or the one you would like to try next. A special failure indicates no attempt can ever be made again by the individual and further more said individual incurs a -50% penalty to all reaction rolls to one or more concerned parties of the negotiations thereafter. A special success indicates that there after, such a successful individual gains a +50% bonus to all reaction rolls with all concerned parities. Special successes and failures are the rise and fall of a negotiator’s reputation as word spreads. What do you think???
If you ever make it up to Northern Virginia, I play in a C&C game every other Monday night. You would be more than welcome to join in. I have never play DJ before; have not even read the rules...
No problem. I know that VA Beach is not really that close... I don't know if you ever frequent Dragonsfoot.org, but there are several members there in the Norfolk/Portsmouth/VA Beach area.
I have the material for LA, but when I read LA it seemed to me that if I stuck with LA it would be akin to going from 1ED AD&D to Basic D&D. :shock: Simplistic RPGs are not my cup of tea though. And by simplistic I mean rule light.
It is rules-light, no doubt. I loved its free-form nature, though many of my friends didn't like it at all, for the same reasons I liked it. Gary was capable of writing a game to fit almost any taste, that's for sure. Still, whether rules lite or intricate like Dangerous Journey's, his ability for creative output never ceased to amaze me.
I agree. I said this in another thread but it bears repeating here- “D&D and RPGs for that matter, as a concept set forth in print as the late Mr. Gygax conceived them, was so mind-bogglingly unique and connected to the human condition that the concept cannot die, as is evidenced by this and other forums.” E. Gary Gygax was amazingly creative. :idea:
I had once posted that I thought LA was like a refined Mythus Prime. I heard some disagreement, but I still feel that way. I agree with Shalaban in regards to AD&D vs. D&D. They're both fine systems, but I prefer the more detailed AD&D. Same thing with Mythus vs. LA.
