The Philosophy of the Enchanted Realms (Part 1)

No, this is not a post about the lore of the intellectual life of the Enchanted Realms (ER) setting. Instead, it is a discussion of the philosophy behind the rules. In particular, there are two features about ER that distinguishes it from most other LARPs:

• Other than class abilities, there is no skill system
• There is no in-game economy

These factors are causing some debate, but I am extremely reluctant to add them to the rules. I have a very good reason - both of these violate my fundamental design philosophy (two in particular) when I set out to write ER. To quote the rules, these two principles are:

• Adventure-Focused – we are primarily inspired by old school fantasy stories, where epic adventures are the norm.
• Simplicity – we hate it when complicated rules interfere with a good adventure. Therefore, we will try to keep the rules simple and easy to remember.

Let me discuss how each of the items in contention violate the 2 fundamental principles, starting with skills.

Skill Systems

One of the suggestions for ER was to create a skills system to complement the class abilities. Players would earn points that they would use to buy skills such as crafting.

My first issue with skills, especially crafting skills, is the added complexity. If someone buys a skill, then the rules need to provide some advantage or benefit for buying that skill. Let's take blacksmithing as an example. If someone has this skill, how would it benefit them? Fighters already have a repair skill, so blacksmithing isn't needed to fix stuff. Would you allow smiths to create items in-game? If you do, what about those without that skill? Do they have to "purchase" their kit from smith? Right now, players can enter the game with whatever weapons they have, aside from class restrictions. Are you saying I can't use that sword unless I buy it in-game? Where do I get the money? If you go this route, you now have to introduce some tracking mechanism to indicate what I own in-game. I hope you see where I am going with this; craft skills just open a Pandora's box!

My other issue is that non-adventuring skills draw attention away from the adventure-focus of ER. I want players going out on quests, not sitting around crafting stuff. Adventures are exciting; crafting is boring. Think about the great adventure stories, movies, and games. The thrilling stuff is in overcoming challenges, whether combat or puzzles. Crafting not so much (aside from MacGyver and a few other exceptions). When I wrote the ER rules, I was heavily influenced by the old school D&D sessions of my youth. Back then, there were no skills. You were just a fighter, thief, cleric, magic-user, etc. That's it. Our characters did not craft stuff; they just went out and bashed the bad guys. And we had a blast! That's the experience ER tries to replicate. In my opinion, adding a skills system will detract from that.

One argument in favor of skills is that they provide a more immersive experience. I guess the idea is that adventurers would also have other skills to fall back on. I disagree with this concept. Most adventurers live short, hard lives and meet violent ends. If you were especially skilled at a craft, you would most likely stay at home, focus on that craft, and not risk life and limb. Adventuring is for the desperate; those who don't really have any other marketable skills. In general, adventurers risk their lives because they have nothing else. It may not seem that way from modern RPGs, but that's because players are pampered today. Try an old school RPG and see that an adventurer's life is cheap. Now, I am not advocating wholesale slaughter of player characters. I don't mind giving characters a little more survivability. That's their talent, after all. What I am saying is that those player characters probably shouldn't have non-adventuring skills! If you want more atmosphere, the Quest Master can add in NPC crafters!

Of course, there may be some general skills that would work within the ER philosophy. I already introduced one - First Aid. All adventurers are assumed to be able to treat and bind minor wounds; in game this allows recovery of 1 life point. First Aid is limited to once per adventure, so it won't replace a priest. Yet it does add a little more survivability to characters. This skill does not violate my principles. It does not really add complexity - essentially it is a non-priestly heal. And it benefits the adventure-focus of the game. It helps player characters accomplish their quests. If ER were to add skills, First Aid is a good example. I would consider a limited list of skills related to adventuring.

That's my 2 coppers on skills. Next I'll talk about money.