The Evolution of Fantasy Role-Playing Games - Michael J. Tresca [125]
There are five different clans (with parallels to Dungeons & Dragons classes) in MagiQuest: Majestic (cleric), Shadow (rogue), Trixter (the bard), Warrior (fighter), Woodsy (druid). The players interact with both digital and live-action characters. Those characters draw parallels to characters from the Harry Potter series, including the Dumbledore doppelganger known as Questmaster to Z’nort, who bears a strong resemblance to Dobby.
Gender and Race
When players select a character, they select only a class. Although gender and race are sometimes assigned, they are not usually a factor in play. In Darkon, players may choose to play any race they like, but there are no modifiers. They are encouraged to dress as the race they have chosen (Darkon Staff 2009:34). In True Dungeon, “Races and gender listed do not imply that a player must play up to that designation as the game is truly about the player’s abilities, not the characters” (True Dungeon Staff 2006:8).
Class
In True Dungeon, every character class has a specific skill that applies in the dungeon. True Dungeon divides its implementation of abilities into two categories: minor feats of physical dexterity and mnemonics. At the start of each session, the players are given time to practice their skills until they are ready, when a Dungeon Master then leads them into the dungeon.
For physical tasks, paladins and fighters practice sliding discs along the shuffleboard table. Rangers can slide two discs at once, representing their skill in two-weapon fighting. Rogues must have a steady hand to pick locks or disarm traps, simulated by moving a metal stylus through a small metal maze without touching any of the sides.
For mnemonic tasks, clerics must be able to recall the best focus item for casting a spell or turning undead. Wizards must remember which plane of existence aligns with which spell. Bards must recall the meaning of ancient glyphs found in the dungeon.
This does not preclude the penalties from being physical, however. Beyond actual damage inflicted to the characters, players may experience an electric shock, get blasted with a puff of air or sprayed with water.
BARD • Bards in True Dungeon are similar to third edition bards. They can cast spells, use scrolls of all types, and are responsible for memorizing glyphs, a simulation of the fabled bardic lore. Bards are also able to sing or rhyme, resulting in a +1 damage bonus to all other party members—an ability that is increased if the bard has the right musical instrument.
I played two adventures in True Dungeon, as a bard, of course. One of the requirements for a bard to bestow his bonuses upon his party is to sing. In tabletop games players of bards are not usually expected to act out their performance. Even in Dungeons & Dragons Online, bards only play a handful of tunes. While bards are assumed to be singing or playing a musical instrument in the tabletop version of Dungeons & Dragons, actual singing by the player seems to be discouraged.
That didn’t stop me. When it was time to encourage my party to combat a monster by singing, I sang my fool head off. Come to think of it, I never heard another bard sing—either because no one else was playing a bard or because they were too bashful to sing. And what did I sing? U Can’t Touch This of course, by MC Hammer. This caused the Dungeon Masters who were present to exclusively target me with monster attacks “because of my horrible singing.” And before my very eyes, on the big twenty-sided die, on two separate occasions, the Dungeon Masters rolled a natural 1. Not just a miss, but a total and complete whiff. Can’t touch this indeed!
ASSASSIN • Players can be assassins in Darkon. Assassins are required to carry a twelve-inch-square piece of black cloth as a symbol of their class. The assassin gains the ability to disguise himself, climb walls, backstab,