First things first: If you're new to the blog and are curious about other "deep dives" into the Wasted Lands, O.G.R.E.S., and how it all works, check out our other blogs in this series (or just click on one of the label tags):  Races (Species) in Wasted Lands What are Divine Touchstones? Will Wasted Lands Be a Retroclone? Wasted Lands: The Dreaming Age is Imminent! Tiered Abilities in Wasted Lands Wasted Lands is Powered by O.G.R.E.S., the house system for  Elf Lair Games . It uses three base mechanics on the backend: the Check mechanic, the percentile Class Ability mechanic, and the Rule of 2. The most common of these is the straight-up d20 attribute check and combat mechanic, and that is the focus of this blog. This mechanic covers everything from save checks to sneaking, searching for clues in a setting, and anything else that is not covered by a class ability, while also serving as a  backup  for class abilities.  That is to say, if you have a class ab...

It's time for another peek behind the curtain in Wasted Lands. In case you've missed our past posts, we have already covered what type of game Wasted Lands will be , and how Divine Touchstones work in game. This time we'll look at nonhuman species and cultural backgrounds. These things in the O.G.R.E.S. system work a bit differently than some of our old-school (and even new-school) players may be used to seeing, but at the same time will have a degree of familiarity. Let's dive in.  Why "Species?" First things first: why "species" and not "race?" The use of the term "species" goes back to Night Shift: VSW .  We chose the term species for a couple reasons (and we did it long before those Wizards decided to pretend it's some sort of socially relevant term). First, it's flat-out more accurate: elves, dwarves, gnomes, halflings, and the like are quite literally a different species from humanity. Races occur within the same sp...

  (This blog cross-posted from elflairgames.blogspot.com . Follow us over there as well!) Peoples and Culture of the Dreaming Age The core conceit behind  Wasted Lands: The Dreaming Age  is that you play the origins of the gods of old. You are not actually  playing  gods - in fact, you're not even  playing  modern humans. You are playing "proto-humans" who were created by the Great Old Ones experimenting on native creatures. Thus, while every "human" has the same game stats, one might look more avian, one may appear reptilian, another simian, one rodentian, etc.  Similarly, the cultures in the Dreaming Age are sort of proto-versions of later ancient world cultures. The game is set 54 million years ago, between the time of the K/T Extinction event that wiped out the dinosaurs (and sent the Old Ones into their eternal slumber), and a second great cataclysm that wipes all the remaining traces of the Old Ones' civilizations from the world. During this...

  (This blog is cross-posted from our Elf Lair Games blog. Please follow us there as well!) I have spent a good deal of time on this blog talking about what O.G.R.E.S. brings to the table for role playing, how it codifies the original system for fantasy role playing (the original, B/X, and advanced versions) to make it clear how intuitive they are to use, and balances out the results to unify the mechanics across the board - making spell casting, for example, work the same as every other class ability by changing it to a percentile instead of Vancian.  A number of fans across the board have been waiting to see our fantasy take on the system (and it has been TOO long coming - we honestly should've had this done a year ago, but I'm solo on this one. Tim and Derek have been supporting me all the way, helping with proofing, ideas, and critiques, but Elf Lair needed a game that would support the company without the need for royalties.  We are now coming very close to the laun...

Elf Lair Games has officially signed on with Studio 2 Publishing to distribute English language tabletop RPG product, beginning with Night Shift: Veterans of the Supernatural Wars .  I couldn't be more excited about this partnership. It stands as the next big step in expanding our reach as a publishing company, and we look forward to getting our games into the hands of as many players as possible. Studio 2 is just the company to make that happen. Making this transition was a big step for Elf Lair and signing on with Studio 2 is a huge development for us. This represents a vital move towards what I hope will be a bright and exciting future for the company. The partnership will greatly expand the reach of Elf Lair Games , allowing its presence in physical gaming stores and major online retailers. Elf Lair recently made the transition from a small PDF and print-on-demand company to a traditional offset publisher thanks to a successful Kickstarter in October 2019.  About Night Shi...

This is one of the most common questions game designers get in the modern era of game design. Everyone's looking for the latest, new and unusual thing, and that's understandable. So what do I answer when people ask me what's so innovative or new about Night Shift: VSW?  Nothing.  That's right; there's nothing in the mechanics or system that's particularly new or innovative in Night Shift: VSW.  Now, before you throw up your hands and say, "Why bother, then?" Let me elaborate.  There's No Such Thing as Innovative Mechanics The simple truth of the matter is, the vast majority of designers who use "innovative" as a claim to fame for their game are at least one of two things, and very often both:  1. Trying to be different for no other reason than to say they're being different, often at the expense of playability. 2. Simply wrong.  Most so-called innovative mechanics are smoke and mirrors at best . The truth is very simple: dice exist in...

 Reviews of Night Shift: VSW are starting to appear in the wild!  The most recent is courtesy of Finarvyn over at the  ODD74 message boards . Fin has posted a fantastic  review of  Night Shift: VSW   which does a solid job of breaking down what the game is, how it works, and what he likes about it.  If you're on the fence about the game and want a bit more information, or you're just curious about what the game is, how it plays, and how it goes together, head over there and check it out! Then consider signing up for an account and stopping to stay awhile--it's a very cool place.  As always,  you can find  Night Shift: VSW  over at my website , where you can head to our store to pick up a physical copy or head over to DTRPG for your PDF!

The OSR, originally short for "Old School Renaissance," and more recently in some circles altered to "Old School Revival," is undergoing something of an identity crisis--and has been for a number of years, now. There are people who with varying degrees of disdain, dismiss it as nothing but a marketing ploy. There are others who insist that it's not a movement, but a philosophy. There are still others who try to enforce their personal definition with varying degrees of extremity--I saw one person recently insist that it only applied to Original Dungeons & Dragons, and nothing else. There are those who try to insist that Vampire the Masquerade is an OSR game, or even that with the advent of 5e, that 3.x has become OSR. For varying reasons, I'm somewhat dismissive of all three of these claims. What exactly is the OSR? Was it a flash-in-the-pan fad? Is it an ongoing movement? Is it a philosophy? Can it be firmly defined, and does it need to be? Did it ev...