Role Playing in Vastonia!

The site details all the basic fundamentals of ROLE Playing in Vastonia. Everything from customized rules, to explanations of what can and can NOT be found within the realm. Of course every DM who chooses to use this campaign realm as their own may wish to customized my rules or change settings as they so choose. OK, lets get down to business.

- Basic Core Rules -

First Edition - YES! you got it. I play by the very original rules. The best and only rules if you ask me. If you are a true fan of AD&D then get yourself a copy of the original DM guide and player handbook. These books are classic for a reason. Both books have more detail shown in the first 50 pages then their entire 2nd edition successors. However I do incorporate a few of the 2nd edition rules. Ie Thaco tables, Thief ability score placement, Saving throw tables and sometimes allow character kits.

My goal and mission as a DM is simple. I seek to keep the game fun, fast and enjoyable. Nobody wants to wait an hour for there turn. Nobody needs to be a ranger who receives bonuses for his class, kit, secondary skills, proficiencies, heritage and personal background. That makes the game slow and takes away the entire point of playing the game in the first place. If you allow your players to min/Max everything they will. It's not uncommon to see that ranger character I mentioned above have 10 proficiencies at first level. Yeah, friggin stupid.

Dice Rolling Method - When players generate characters for my realm, I allow 4d6 to be ROLEed. The worst die ROLE is removed and the remaining 3 dice are added together giving a total score ranging from 3-18.

Placement of Attribute Scores

Most of the time I don't allow my players to arrange the scores in an order they so choose. This forces players to ROLE PLAY. Confused? Well if you only ROLE a high Wisdom score and the other scores are average or below average, then that player will be forced to ROLE PLAY a cleric or perhaps a fighter etc. They would not have the minimum ability scores to qualify in playing a cavalier for example. While players who are allowed to place their scores where they choose, can place their highest scores in such a manner that they can play whatever they choose.

In my mind that's NOT ROLE-playing. ROLE PLAYING is the act of playing a role far different than one would normally play. A test of true gamesmanship. A player who is fond of "Hack N Slash" characters will always place his best score on their character Strength score, while a player who is forced to stick that MASSIVE 18 score on his INT, will more than likely choose to play a Magic-User or at least a very intelligent Fighter. Far from their normal lineup of characters.

On occasion I allow certain players to place their scores. This all depends on how well they have played previous characters. Someone who plays a Magic-User really well, who does NOT normally play magic-users, will be given the privilege of placing their next characters score where they so choose.

There is one exception to this rule. Sometimes the DM needs a certain character class to incorporate into the adventure. In such cases I will allow a player who wants to play that class multiple rolls until they achieve the minimum requirements needed to play the class. However each time they fail in their attempts all scores are erased, not just the ones that did not meet the minimums. ALL OF THEM! This might take hundreds of attempts but that's the way it's going to be, if they cry or not.

Level Advancement

In Vastonia, you dam well earn your levels. Over and above the normal experience requirements necessary to advance to the characters next level, all character's/players must earn good ROLE PLAYING ratings before being given the level. This is done for a very good reason. If two fighters journeyed together for any length of time, fighting monsters, meeting NPC's, using proficiencies and mastering other skills and finally acquired enough experience to gain a level.

Why should Guldaf (the bad ROLE-player) advance in level at the same time Harclath (the good ROLE-player) does just because he got knocked unconscious by the umber hulk, set off a pitfall trap and tied a knot that broke lose and sent Malkamant the mage plummeting 600 feet down into a chasm of volcanic lava. He SHOULDN'T right?

Well here's a system I use to restrict my players from advancing their characters to levels they did NOT earn. It's called the rating system, it can be found in the 1st edition DM guide. Just another reason why I use 1st edition rules.

The four basic ratings are: (E) for Excellent, (S) for Satisfactory, (F) for Fair and (P) for Poor

At the end of each major event or game session, I award RATINGS according to how each player ROLE played their character. Players who successfully mastered a skill, or ones who figured out a riddle saving the party from certain death would receive an E or at the least an S rating.

While numbnuts who almost drown in the river, which he had no business falling into in the first place, ended up losing his backpack in the rivers current. Only to have permanently lost the parties only amulet, that was needed to save the King of Adania from a horrible disease. Yep, this character should receive a P rating or at best an F.

Now how do all these ratings work? Well each character must earn three positive ratings before they can advance in level. P's cancel out E's, and F's cancel out S's. So in order for Numbnuts to gain that level he's been working so hard to lose. He'll have to earn three positive ratings, E's or at least three S's to attain that status.

Simply put, this system keeps the poor ROLE-players from advancing in level and allows the better ROLE-players to achieve greater characters, as they rightfully should.

- Definition of Time Period -

Vastonia's time period closely resembles earth's late 1400's. Vastonian campaigns do NOT take place during earth's renaissance period, like other AD&D campaigns. Almost the entire campaign setting/ continent of Vastonia conforms to England's chivalric time period. Knights, feodality, lances, longswords, ladies, lords, kings, queens etc. with a twist of Greek culture, gladiatorial combat and slavery all rolled into one.

Although there are a few major regions of Vastonia that resemble other earthly settings such as Huskuria "the oriental kingdom" or Hadaurm "an Egyptian kingdom" just to mention a few. However all of these places share the same benefits and/or restrictions as that of the other kingdoms. None of the following items can be found in Vastonia:

- No guns (flintlock or otherwise)

- Cannons, and/or cannonballs

- Bronze Platemail

- Fencing swords (although some may resemble such weapons)

- Lights (no electricity), only flame sources and magical illuminations.

- No Roman armors (Vastonia is based on a combination of old English, Scottish, Irish, Norse, Egyptian, Greek and Oriental fashioned armors.

If your one for visual descriptions of Vastonia's time period please watch BraveHeart or the highlander movies. Both of these movies revolve around the late 1400 periods, and make great examples for Vastonia's setting.

Only the following religious mythos exist:

Greek, Norse, Chinese, Egyptian, Finish, Christian, Catholic, and almost every Demi-Human god and/or religious faction. See Gods for further details. Small sections of the realm worship other deities and or cult leaders.

All of the following weapons are commonly found throughout the realm:

longswords, shortswords, bastard swords, broadswords, two-handed swords, scimitars, khopesh swords, katana, ninja-to, rapiers, claymores, battle axes, war hammers, polearms, spears, lances, maces, flails, nunchuku, and any other late 1400 period weaponry found within English, Scottish, Irish, Greek, Japanese, Egyptian, Norse or Chinese cultures. All Vastonian weaponry can be found on this listing.

All of the following armors commonly exist throughout the realm:

leather, padded leather, studded leather, hide armors, banded mail, scalemail, splintmail, coinmail, ring mail, platemail, full plate, field plate, and any type of oriental armor described within the oriental handbook or complete Ninja handbook.