Obligation in 13th Age

I've been intrigued by the idea of porting the Obligation mechanic from EotE into other games ever since our first campaign.  Since 13th Age has been the other main game that our group plays it seemed like a good candidate, but I never really pursued the notion since OUT, Backgrounds, and Icon relationships are existing narrative mechanics that can serve the same purpose (though not as well), and I figured adding a fourth would just be too much.

Then I came across this adaptation of the Warlock for 13th Age, from the Mystic Theurge blog.  The genius of the Warlock is that it's not a class per-se, but rather an add-on that really gets down to the core concept for what makes it unique - the fact that you've made a pact with a powerful being.  The additional class feature very simply gives you a free 1 point Icon relationship (which you can invest more points into) with whatever being you've entered into a pact with.  Most likely this will not be an established Icon.  Any 5 or 6 is more or less resolved as normally, but with a supernatural flair reflecting the fact that it's a magical pact boon.  When you roll a 1, though, your patron has an Agenda for you.  As the blog entry states, this was based on Obligation from Star Wars, but obviously re-skinned to fit into the existing paradigm for Icon rolls.

I began to think more about this idea when I was creating my Druid (playtest version) for our current 13th Age game.  His OUT is that he was the only survivor of a town swallowed up by a hellhole, but in the process he was infected with the blood of a demon (he's a Tiefling).  He has a 2 point negative relationship with the Crusader because they want to hunt him down, as they consider him an abomination.  He's always on the run, thus creating the perfect set-up for Obligation!  Just interpret any 1's rolled as his Obligation being triggered.

There are a few things to keep in mind when using this mechanic, though.  As-is, it's adding a strictly "negative" consequence for your PC with nothing positive to compensate for it, though a certain type of player (myself included) enjoys the narrative complications that crop up even if the character wouldn't.  Some players might not necessarily view it as fair though, especially if others in the group don't have this extra burden.  There are a few different ways of handling this that I can think of off the top of my head.  Like with Obligation, the PC could gain access to additional resources.  This is basically how the Warlock works, since you get an extra relationship die with which 5's and 6's can be rolled.  This is a good, tangible benefit for a player with "Obligation."  Alternatively, you might extend the benefit of the existing dice instead of granting more dice, so that a roll of 4 counts the same way as a 5.  In this way the negative results of rolling 1 are countered by the fact that you expand your chances of rolling a benefit by 1/6 as well.  In both of these scenarios there is an additional burden placed on the GM, however.  For some GMs who have an easy time using Icon rolls already, this might not even be considered a burden.  But in our current campaign we're rotating GMs, and it's becoming clear that everyone but myself is having quite a bit of trouble actually using Icon results.  The GM tends to groan when a lot of results are rolled for a session, and adding even more results would only exacerbate the problem.

This can be ameliorated by trying to replicate the Obligation mechanic from EotE even more faithfully.  First up, in Star Wars a PC can increase Obligation for the chance to get more starting funds or some extra starting XP.  Give the 13th Age character with "Obligation" some starting resources, too!  A true magic item seems like a good candidate, though it might be a bit more powerful than some groups are comfortable with.  A handful of runes and/or potions might work nicely, though.  Another hallmark of Obligation as it works in EotE is that you can voluntarily take more on during play in order to gain some immediate benefit.  The classic examples are taking on debt to get some gear you can't afford, or agreeing to some future favor that can be called in (probably at an inconvenient time).  The Icon mechanic can handle this, too, since one of their suggested uses is an event-based roll for dramatic events.  Simply give players with "Obligation" ample opportunity to utilize event-based rolls.  Along those same lines, for groups that want to handle it in as simple a way as possible you can simply balance out the "bad things happen on a 1" mechanic by saying those good things that happen on a 5 or 6, those tend to be better than they are for players who don't have "Obligation."  Because of your special status as a thorn in that Icon's side, the enemy's of that Icon are apt to look more favorably on you, and are willing to go that extra mile to help you out.

Leaving Wilderland: Upcoming Supplements for TOR

A recent announcement by Cubicle 7 revealed the 2014 releases for The One Ring.  Rivendell has been on the schedule before, and was originally slated for a 2013 release.  It looks like it will be a combination of a regional sourcebook along with a decent amount of player options (including two much sought-after Cultures, and rules for magical treasure).  Not much of a surprise here.

The revised core rulebook is an interesting twist, and I think a necessary one given the switch to hardcover for the more recent books.  Even though hardcover books are a little more expensive, their durability makes them well worth it in my opinion.  I suspect the list of errata will be small, but this is still worthwhile even for some that already have the slipcase set.  I know that my copies have binding issues, like many, and while the pages are all attached with the string, the glue has completely failed.  Functional, but not very pretty.  I'm not sure if I'll personally pick this one up since I have limited funds, already own the core books, and plan on purchasing books for other games, but it would definitely be nice to have.

Ruins of the North looks absolutely phenomenal, because Cubicle 7 has set a strong precedent with Tales from Wilderland.  I typically don't run published adventures, though I will occasionally mine ideas from them, but this adventure anthology is top-notch.  I've read through the whole thing twice already just for pleasure, without intending to actually run it.  I've also run pieces of a couple of the adventures in the book, but even without running it I'd say I've gotten my money's worth.  In short, these adventures do a great job of showcasing how to effectively roleplay in Middle Earth.  Everything from the tone, the style of adventures, and the description.  Middle Earth is a tough setting to GM for, but Tales helps get you in the right frame of mind for it.  I expect Ruins will be just as good.  I've never been this excited about a published adventure before.

The Adventurer's Companion will probably be the best "bang for your buck" for players.  Really, TOR hasn't had any supplements that cater particularly strongly toward players, with Lake-Town being the closest but still mainly a GM resource.  I expect it'll fill the niche of "PHB2" quite well, and it's probably a great way to go about adding more Cultures as opposed to handing them out piecemeal over several GM sourcebooks like the Men of the Lake and the Dunedain.  It'll also be a really quick way to expand the game geographically all in one fell swoop, essentially adding most of the "missing" Cultures from all over Middle Earth.  I honestly didn't expect Bree-folk to be in the same supplement as Riders of Rohan and Men of Gondor, and I didn't expect Dwarves of the Blue Mountains or Elves of Lorien at all!  I'm personally holding out hope for the Druadan, and possibly the Dunlendings, as these would be little-represented Cultures from the legendarium that have a lot of potential for being fleshed out, much like the Woodmen.

The Horse Lords of Rohan will scratch an itch felt by a LOT of TOR players, as Riders of Rohan are easily the most-requested playable Culture based on online discussions.  Granted the Culture itself will be in the Adventurer's Companion, but a GM-targeted regional sourcebook is arguably just as valuable.  All the more so since it also covers Fangorn and Isengard.  I found Heart of the Wild to be absolutely brimming with potential seeds, and I suspect this book will as well.

Overall, it's a very exciting time to be a fan of The One Ring!  While many fans have felt a bit boxed in by the game's restricted support for just Wilderland, it sounds like it will be expanding to the far corners of Middle Earth pretty rapidly!  I was one of those players who actually thought Wilderland was perfect for Middle Earth roleplaying, but I admit that recently I have been itching to explore west of the Misty Mountains lately, and I look forward to how the game handles mounted combat with the addition of the Rohirrim.  I'll also be interested to see how they handle the power level of Rivendell and Lorien Elves, as I initially suspected that they wouldn't be playable Cultures.