Wargaming: Basic Strategy

Most tabletop games are about thinking strategically. This makes sense, considering that you're sitting at a table, there aren't a whole lot of other things you can test. Wait, arm wrestling happens on a table. Is beer pong a tabletop game? Okay, so occasionally strength and maybe the ability to bounce a ping pong ball and resist the effects of alcohol. But mostly if you're sitting at a table, it's a contest of minds.

The most obvious example of this is war games. In a war game you're pitting your little dudes against an opponents little dudes, seeing who can kill the other dudes the fastest. Except sometimes you're not. Here's a breakdown of things to do to keep from getting completely spanked at war games:

1.Keep the objective in mind. While you're playing, your goal is to win. Not to kill the other guys general. Not to take out that squad of snipers on the hill. Accomplish the objective. If you have to protect a certain area, don't send half your army chasing one guy. If you need to take something, don't do that either, unless he's holding the objective. In that case, send most of your army after him. It's easy to get caught up trying to accomplish a specific goal and forgetting what your actual mission is. Don't do that. In Warhammer 40k there's a mission called "Cleanse." The tables divided into four quarters, and you have to vie for control of them. A wise man once said "hold two, contest one." For those of you keeping score at home, that gives you two and a half of the four quarters. That's all you need to win. Don't waste time trying to dig your opponent out of the one quarter he's dug into like a World War One doughboy. Take his other quarter.

2.Don't play his game. Don't get into a pushing match with a sumo wrestler. You'll lose. If he's got some big close combat monster headed towards your line, charge it. Let your big guns take him out. If your opponents army excels at something, force him to do the other. If they've got great artillery, close with them. If they're great melee fighters, keep your distance.

3.Be evasive. Don't slam up against your opponents lines like some schmuck. Move around him. If he's defending an objective, and sends out a Daemon Prince to meet you, don't let it charge you. Split your forces and go to either side of the thing. Now suddenly he has to choose between engaging one of your units, or pulling Mr. Hellface back to protect the objective. That's three options, none of which work out nearly as well for him as "tie up half the opposing force with my close combat monster." Be flexible.

I may attempt to expend on this or add points in a future post, or I may just let you find advice from someone better qualified. Either way, I'll see you Monday.

War Gaming: Army Design Philosophy

Building an army for a tabletop war game isn't like designing an actual army. You don't have to contend with the military-industrial complex, and it only seems like you're spending several billion dollars. You're also working on a much smaller scale: dozens of troops rather than hundreds of thousands. But the basic goal is the same: create a force capable of dealing with an enemy force of unknown composition and responding to rapidly changing conditions found on a battlefield.

This article is primarily based on my experience with Warhammer 40,000, which is what I've played recently, but the ideas should apply to other games with similar structures.

There are a few different ways you can approach building an army. One is to design everything with strategy in mind, refusing to spend a single point that doesn't fit into your overall goals. Another is to build an army with some sort of theme in mind. Finally, you can just pick whatever models you think look cool or fun to play and throw them all together into one box.

The first philosophy can be a good first step towards winning games. Understand, however that the product of this single minded focus on victory will produce a soulless killing machine. This may seem pretty cool, but focus on that first part of the phrase: "souless." By focusing on winning, you deprive your army of any sort of cohesive element or character. It's going to be very obvious to anyone who looks at this army list that you're playing to win, and only to win. There's nothing wrong with that, so long as you don't let that attitude completely control how you behave around the table.

The second philosophy involves focusing your thinking more outside of the rules. The "theme" of your army doesn't have to be an actual theme. It could simply be building an army around how you think your faction would actually field, based on the fluff (the story and lore behind a game that is unrelated to the rules). This can be a lot of fun, and can bring a lot of insight into the game. The other way to do this is to actually have a specific theme in mind. Maybe you want to build an army around some real life group, or a group from some other piece of fiction. As long as you stay within the rules, you can have a lot of fun with this. Or you might make an army based around a specific piece of fluff. You can find more on this style of army here.

The last design philosophy is often the most anarchic, and is therefore a lot of fun. Just look though the troop list or army book for your faction, and pick whatever looks cool. You'll probably have to adhere to some sort of rules about what you can take, like the force organization chart in Warhammer 40k, but other than that, just take whatever you like. This isn't necessarily the smartest thing to do, but it guarantees you like every part of your army.

That's really the most important thing. The goal isn't to create an implacable purveyor of death, or a brilliant work of art. It's to create an army that you enjoy playing, and that people enjoy playing against. If you learn nothing else from me, remember this: if you're not having fun, you're not playing a game. I don't know what you're doing, but games are fun, and if you're not enjoying yourself, then you're just going through an elaborate ritual to distract yourself from how miserable you are.

RPGs: Building a Better Fighter

Role playing games are a diverse bunch. That's a gross understatement. Role playing games are an extremely diverse bunch. They cover every genre imaginable and several you don't even know about. I write a blog about table top games, and I can't name half the rpgs on the market. But through every game I've ever played, every rule set I've read, every campaign setting I've visited, there has been one constant. There were fighters. Rough men who's job it was to hurt people. They brought to the table two things: a weapon and the will to use it.

It seems like this would get boring, tired out, formulaic. For some gamers, it does. They can't figure out why, when you can play wizard evoking blasts of sering fire, or a warlock conjuring demons from the seventh circle of Hell and binding them to your will, or a silent spy slipping through infinitesimal holes in security, why anyone would play a character that's just good at hitting things. I say those schmucks don't have any imagination.

The martial heritage of the world is one of the richest and most interwoven pieces of history available. Within it we find tools perfectly engineered to deal with problems. And not just any problems, like how to have hot coffee when you get out of bed in the morning. No, I mean real problems, like how to prevent X guy from placing Y object into Z vital organ, where X is rather determined, Y is sharp and rusty, and Z is squishy and belongs to you. There's got to be some interesting character fodder in there somewhere, right? You bet your shiny, handcrafted hematite d6 there is.

The trick to making a memorable fighter is style. In that regard it's not that different from any other character archetype. It's just more important with fighters.

So the first thing you need to do is choose a weapon. Sword, spear, crossbow, fist, shotgun, whatever. So long as it fits the campaign and you can hurt people with it, it's good. Then, you make the character very good with that weapon, because you'll be using it a lot.

Now decide how your character fights. Does she slam into a room with a blood-curdling roar, splintering the door and tossing aside enemies like rag dolls? Does he strike from the shadows, surgically destroying the enemies ability to counter attack and then disappearing once more into inky blackness? Does she harry here opponents, peppering them with a constant volley of missiles while staying just out of reach? Whatever you decide, make sure the style fits the weapon you chose. Claymores do not make good ambush weapons, nor does a sniper rifle do you much good while breaching a room.

Now it's time to add some character. You're not just some soldier guy, you're an ex-Spetsnaz GRU operative trying to put your life back together after a medical discharge. You're not just some guy with a big sword, you're the last student of Albrecht Hrendel, master swordsman and latest teacher of the tradition of Joachim Ringeck, greatest swordsman ever to descend from the mountains of Swabia. You're sidearm isn't just a gun, it's a Government Model .45 with a doublestack magazine and tritium night sights.

It's all about how you look at something. So next time you make a character, don't settle for making a fighter. Make a character worthy of the adventure your GM gives you. On second thought, make him better.

Introducing New People to Role Playing

Role playing is a rewarding and entertaining hobby. As you may have noticed, it's also considered somewhat unusual by the plebs. The more people that play these games, the closer it will come to being mainstream, and the more the art form will advance. We'll have a large selection of products to choose from, and our families will stop asking us when we're going to grow up and stop playing those stupid games every holiday. For the past ten years. Like I'm some sort of deviant for enjoying the occasional escapist fantasy. Nobody questions my cousin Jeff's fantasy football habit. No, that's a perfectly healthy preoccupation for a mature adult....sorry, lost my train of thought.

My point is, it is in every gamers best interest for new people to start playing our reindeer games. So how do you induct new people into role playing? First find somebody whose interested in learning, preferably several somebodies. Then, find somebody to run a game. This could be you, or it could be one of your more gullible friends. Then, get the aforementioned people together and play a game. That's really all there is to this. Like any other game, the easiest way to teach someone how to role play is to play a game with them.

Everything I've said before about game mastering is appropriate here, as is my article on running your first game. If you haven't read that article, take a few minutes and do that. If someone else is going to run this hypothetical game, direct them here. Seriously, I need the traffic. I got kids to feed. Well, not kids, but pets. Okay, technically there my roommates, but I spend enough time cleaning up after them I should get a tax deduction or the right to hit them with a rolled up newspaper.

Two unproffestional digressions in one post. I'm losing my touch. With reality, that is.

Choosing the system is probably your most important decision. You want it to be something easily grasped, but that they'll be playing for a long time. Whatever you usually play is probably the best bet, unless it's something hideously complicated. HERO would be a difficult first game. GURPS would require you to make the characters for them. Templates would be very helpful.

I have to mention D&D, even though it's not my favorite system, simply because it's so universal. I have yet to meet a gamer who hasn't at some point played it at one time. The rules are for the most part simple enough, especially the new 4e. As starting games go, you could do worse.

WoD would be acceptable, if you're into that sort of thing. It might traumatize them horribly, though, so consider the players carefully before you choose this.

As far as running the actual game, your only real concern should be making sure that everyone has fun and wants to do it again. That means you should avoid pulling out anything terribly nasty, like D&D's rust monsters. You don't want to frustrate these people.

One final word of advice: if there's a girl in this group, stay frosty. I know the instinct is to give her special treatment. Don't. Don't flirt with her. Don't faun over her. Don't stop to make sure she understands every little detail. She'll probably find it condescending, and even if she doesn't it'll be irritating to your other players. By all means, chat her up afterward. Once the dice go away, cry havoc and let slip the dogs of libido. But during the game, keep professional. You're there to teach other people how to play. Stay on target. Mav out.

Game Mastering: Managing Your Group

A game master has to wear several hats. You are the storyteller, unfolding the plot for your players. You are the supporting cast, interacting with your players and providing them aid and information. You are the adversary, challenging your players and giving them something to strive against. The most important role you play, however, is den mother. It's your job to make sure that everybody gets along and nobody get left out. One of the best ways to do this is to limit the number of people in your group.

I have never played in a game where having more than five players ended well. It may be possible for some gms to do it, but I've never met one. The problem comes from the fact that the more people you have in a group, less each individual person is doing. Add to this the fact that you have to split your own attention between each of the players, and running a game efficiently gets exponentially more difficult with every person you add. More people also means more potential schedule conflicts, and as we discussed last week, these are the death of games.

How do you do it? How do you keep a reasonable number of people in a game, when every time you turn around somebody is asking to join? Learn to say no. Be firm but kind. Explain to them that your game is full, and that you aren't comfortable adding another player. I know what you're thinking. "But Eric, what if a g-g-girl asks to play in my game." Steady on, lad. Do exactly as above, and make sure to look at her face the entire time. If you can swing it, get her phone number. Then take a quick lap around the block and a cold shower. You could probably use the exercise.

If a large number of people are asking to join your game, offer to start up another campaign. This is especially good if you have people who are new to role playing, as it lets them get a feel for the game without having to deal with experienced players giving them nasty looks for sullying their table. Hey, I think I just found my next post topic.
See you in 48. Mav out.

Game Mastering: Pandering to the Unwashed Masses

I know what you're thinking. "I've spent days doing historical research, crafting a magnificent and believable world for my players to inhabit. Every corner of it is inhabited by complex, three dimensional characters with genuine wants and needs. My villains are vile yet sympathetic. Their victims are pitiable yet unbowed. My King is a dauntless pillar of flawed regal nobility. How could anyone not enjoy this campaign, my greatest opus?" Well, Billy, it's simple. Your players probably don't care about any of that stuff. Most of them aren't interested in what you've done. They're interested in what their characters can do.

There's a big difference between writing good stories and writing good adventures. It's a lot like the difference between designing a statue and designing a toy. You can make an absolutely fantastic statue, with twenty paint applications and anatomy so exquisitely detailed you can see the Rhomboidius major underneath the Trapizius. But if you can't make it fight Optimus Prime, it's still not a toy. It has all the play value of a paper weight. And not one of those cool snow globe paperweights, or the deactivated handgun ones. No, this is just a brick of resin, pretty to look at, but not much else going on. Books are the same way. You can read them, and postulate what's going to happen next. You can speculate about the different characters motivations. But you can't interact with it. No matter what you do, events will unfold as the author wrote them. That's fine for literature, but we're talking about gaming. We need a little more interaction.

Continuing the toy analogy, there are things you can do to improve play value in an adventure. In toys, things like this are called finger food. For our purposes, we'll call them "player bait". The classical form of player bait is combat. Chuck them into a room full of orcs/werewolves/mooks and put the janitorial staff on standby. And there's nothing wrong with combat. It can be fun. It can be lots of fun. But you should accommodate other styles of play. Sneaking around enemies can be as much fun as fighting them. Let your players do things, don't just put them were they need to be. If they're walking down a dungeon corridor, put a fast moving underground river in their way. Then sit back and watch them. The best swimmer might take a rope across for the other members to pull themselves along. Somebody might be able to just jump across and do the same thing. You might be able to throw a smaller party member across. And these are just genre unspecific examples. You'd be amazed what happens when players have access to magic or technology.

The important point here is not just to let the players play, though. Let them play the game they want. That's more than a consideration of genre. Yes, a dungeon crawl when you're entire group wants to be in space isn't going to go well. It also isn't going to be well received if your party would rather be back in town interviewing suspects in a murder case. Style is going to effect the quality of play much more than genre. Get to know your group well enough to be able to anticipate what sort of bait they'll take. Also realize that play style preferences aren't going to be the same throughout the group. One player is going to really enjoy combat, another might prefer solving puzzles, while a third is interested in interacting with different groups. Put out bait for everyone. It'll keep the group happy, but it'll also add variety to the play.

That's your Game Signs for the day. See you in 48.

Game Mastering: Consistency

Role playing is something that takes a lot of time. Moving a group of characters through an adventure worth anything is going to take dozens of hours of play. The best way to get this time in is by playing consistently. You'll get more done meeting weekly for three or four hours than in one or two massive twelve hour marathon sessions. Even if you manage to stay focused through most of the session, after twelve hours few of your players are going to able to meet again for a while. Marathon sessions aren't by any means a bad thing. They can be fun, occasionally. But it's hard to run them very often. It's a big time commitment, and most people have lives outside of hobbies, even gamers.

Establish a time and stick with it. If everyone can meet on Monday night from six to ten, meet then every week. Don't try and move the game because you want to watch Heroes. Get a DVR. There are going to be times when someone can't make the game, so be accommodating. People have to cover strange work shifts. Children have recitals. Relatives get married, die, and demand sleep space in your home. Hopefully not all at once, though. It's awkward to explain why Zombie Aunt Edna's brains are now decorating the guest room wall.

If you're having to constantly move your weekly session, it's probably time to reevaluate the groups various schedules. Find a new time where everyone can meet weekly. I know I said not to change game night once you set it, but if you're constantly having to work around other people's schedules anyway, you're not meeting consistently.

The goal of all of this is to keep your players happy and interested in the game. If you only play once or twice a month, it's going to be hard for them to get engaged in the setting. Their characters won't develop, and they'll feel like they're just sitting around rolling dice.

That's it for me. See you in 48.

Game Mastering: Driving Play

Momentum is as important to gaming as it is to unpowered flight Without it, you nosedive into Mother Earth, shattering bone and rupturing your spleen. Metaphorically speaking. That's why it's vital that you drive not only the plot, but also your players. Otherwise, you end up like this guy.


While a lot of problems can be prevented by proper preparation, there are things that need to happen during the game as well. When you run a game, the most important thing to do is to be constantly giving the players something to respond to. It's fine to give them a little downtime to role play and such, but when the party is actively doing something, make sure they're doing something.

Players are funny. They're usually either leaping five steps ahead of where you want them, or they're so thick you have to bludgeon them over the head with a clue just to get the game moving. Occasionally you'll find yourself stuck on a sandbar, with the players standing around debating their next course of acting with an adventure hook is staring them right in the face. When this happens, set the hook and reel. If they should have discovered a treacherous baron working against the king's interests, have the party be attacked by the baron's men. If terrorists are saboteurs are targeting vital wartime industries, have a nearby bomb go off prematurely. Make the players respond to something. Sometimes you have to level a few blocks of (hopefully) abandoned buildings to get people moving again.

When you're in combat, make sure everyone knows the turn order. A dry-erase board with the initiative order is really useful. Even a laminated piece of paper hanging from the front of the gm screen will work. When it's someone's turn, make sure they know it's their turn. Say their name and make eye contact. If somebody's not focusing on taking their turn, keep looking at them until they get on with it. Glare a little.

Again, keep in mind, the most important things is just to keep the game rolling. As long a things are happening, the players will stay interested. Good luck, and see you Monday.

Game Mastering: Preparation

Preparing for a game isn't fun. I'll be the first to admit it feels a lot like work. But anything that's worth doing is worth well, and that means taking the time to do it right the first time. Here's what you need to do to make sure you have everything ready for your game.

Read through the entire adventure. All of it. Whether it's reading a premade or going through your own notes, intimate knowledge of the adventure is going to be vital to a successful game. Mark pages that you know you'll be going back to, like stats for characters, maps of different areas, or special rules for an environment.
Read through anything else that's referenced in the adventure. If you have a gray tentacle goblin attacking your players, make sure you know the special rules for it's paralyzing tentacle caress, and mark the page you found it on.

Have a plan B, and know it as well as you know the primary adventure. As much as possible, anticipate what the players could do in a situation, and be ready for it. If there's a town two days travel from the adventure that's not involved in any way with the quest, be ready for your players to go there. Have something for them to do, even if its just a hook to get them going the direction you want them to go. If there's a minor character that the players interact with, be prepared to answer questions that aren't pertinent to the adventure. This is especially important with premades, where they don't always give you a lot to go on.

Have anything random on your end already rolled up. If there are random encounters, roll those ahead of time, read the entries, and mark the pages. Likewise, roll up any random treasure ahead of time. You don't want this to happen: "You've slain the dragon! In his horde you find....hang on a sec ::rustle rustle clatter::...I could have sworn the treasure chart was in that book. Hand me that Game Meister's Guide...No, the 2.7 edition one. ::mrEOOW!:: Sorry, fluffy." It's annoying to the players, it breaks up the flow, and it's hard on the cat.

The goal is to be able to run the game without interruption. At no point do you want to have to stop and look something up, because that's time the players are spending not playing the game. If you prepare for the game, you'll have a better session, your players will like you more, and you'll probably be asked to run more games. That last one may not be the incentive I meant it to be.

What I look for in a GM

The biggest factor in a role playing experience isn't which system you use, or where you play, or even the quality of your snacks. It's the people you play with. And the person who has the biggest effect on the experience is the game master. Different games call it different things: Narrator, Storyteller, Dungeon Master. Actually, the "X Master" formula is rather common in these games, with X being something integral to the game, usually part of the title.
Being a good GM is both a lot easier and a lot harder than most people think. You don't have to be an accomplished writer, or a brilliant actor, or even capable as either. What you do need is dedication to making sure the players have a good time. That means keeping the game moving and giving the players what they want. Here are a few tips on doing the above:
1. Do the prep work. I know it's not fun, but making sure you know any special rules you'll need, as well as having pages for whatever you need marked and ready for quick reference does wonders for you games. The last thing you want to do is be sitting at a table trying to find the paragraph about Medusa's petrifying gaze while your players sit there twiddling their thumbs.

2. Drive the players. Don't let your players be passive. Some people are always going to be more outspoken than others, but don't let the group just sit there. When somebody's turn in combat comes up, let them know immediately, and keep looking at them until they finish their turn. When the party bogs down making a decision, kick them along a little. Make an explosion in the distance. Have a tunnel collapse. Make one of the choices obvious. You shouldn't do this every time the party disagrees, but if more than five minutes go by without the players doing something, get the ball rolling again. If you lose momentum, they'll lose interest.

3. Play consistently. Find a time when all your players can make it every week and stick to that. If someone can't make it that week, play without them. If someone's going to be late, start without them. It's great if you can get the group to meet at a different time, but don't exclude someone from the game because they can't make that time. The regular time should be changed only if everyone can make that time. Also stick to one campaign. I know it's tempting to start up a new game every time you have a great idea, but your players will get really tired of never being able to develop a character properly because you can't commit to a game.

4. Find out what the players want and give it to them. If the players want to do an Ocean's Eleven style heist, don't put them into a military game. Unless it's a Kelly's Hero style military game. They'd like that. Keep that example in mind. If you want to run one style of game, and your players want to play in another, try and combine the two. See if there are any sources that have already done this. If so, steal like the place is going out of business.

5. Give the players the opportunity to be awesome. Yeah, a complex plot full of intrigue and three dimensional characters is great, but some days you just want to hurt something. If you've set up an elaborate and dramatic court scene for the conclusion of your Gothic horror campaign involving multiple coup d'etas and a mind breaking revelation about one of the players, and the parties drunken master bursts into the throne room, ninja kicks the two bodyguards, and then blows a gout of flaming alcohol into the vampiric baron's face, run with it. He obviously wants to get on with the violence, and if the other players are half as flamboyant, you're going to see a fantastic floor show. Don't completely jettison your plans, but be flexible enough to let the players handle things their way.

6. Manage the number of players you have. This can be a real problem, depending on the type of group you hang out with. Any more than five players is going to be difficult to keep focused. I've seen it done, and done well, but it's difficult, and usually not very satisfying for the people involved.

Lastly, I want to again direct you attention to this column. It's now defunct, but it's still a very good primer for anyone interested in running a game. That's it for me. Keep these six points in mind, and your players will have no reason to break your knees. See you in 48.

Review: Demon Hunters Role Playing Game Part 2

Demon Hunters Review Part 2: GO!
Chapter four focuses on the actual system of the game. It uses the Cortex system, which isn't anything mind blowing, but it works well. You get a little more detail than Storyteller, but not so much the game bogs down whenever combat starts. What I really like about this game's system are things called plot points. A character starts the play with a few plot points, and can gain more with good roleplaying, by accomplishing goals, or just by being flat out awesome. You keep track of them with poker chips, or tokens, or more likely spare dice, and then use them to add extra dice to a roll, or give you a bonus to a failed roll. Several other systems have tried this sort of thing, but I like the way it's been implemented here.
Chapter five is the equipment chapter, and it's something of a disappointment. You get basic statistics for assorted weapons and things, and a little blurb about each piece of equipment. That's fairly standard in this business, if anyone wants more detail they can do their own research. My problem is that the much of the information in the weapons section is inaccurate. I take particular offense at the description of the longsword as a "weapon of brute force." Anyone who has watched a serious student of the Lichtenauer tradition can attest to the elegance and efficiency found in European sword forms. Likewise the statement that the rapier is "much thinner and lighter than any weapon seen on the continent" is also not wholly accurate. The blades of most rapiers, while narrow, were over a foot longer than most single handed swords of older forms, and were ofter just as heavy, if not heavier, than their predecessors. I could go on, but I'll surmise by saying do your own research on weapons, rather than taking the color text at face value.
Chapter six has for some reason been omitted from this book. This could prove to be a problem, as the table of contents list it as "How Not to Die."
Chater seven is the general chapter on how to run and play a game that you find in most RPGs. Some good work, but nothing to really get excited about.
Chapter eight is an appendix of useful characters and antagonists. It's also chock full to bursting with references to various Dead Gentleman films. Its a great addition to the book.
Chapter five's desperate need for a fact checker aside, I like Demon Hunters. It's got a good beat, and I can dance to it. The campaign world is original, and the book is genuinely fun to read, which is unusual in this genre of literature. If you're a fan of the DG, or you're looking for a heavily ironic slant on the urban fantasy genre, I heartily recommend the Demon Hunters Role Playing Game.

Review: Demon Hunters Role Playing Game Part 1

Remember when I promised to post something for the more experienced gamers? Today's the day. It's time to walk you through a game called Demon Hunters from the wonderful people at Dead Gentlemen Productions .
Remember The Gamers? Those people made a game. For those of you not familiar, this is the type of people we're dealing with.

In Demon Hunters you play an agent of the Brotherhood of the Celestial Torch, an organization charged by God with protecting humanity from supernatural entities, especial the forces of Hell.
The book comes with an intro DVD, done by the Dead Gentlemen and featuring characters from their Demon Hunters movie series, now available on DVD. This DVD is full of the morbid, ironic humor that is the DG's MO, and is in all honesty probably worth half the purchase price right there. If you weren't excited about this game before, you will be after watching this DVD.
The first chapter of the book to the in game world and it's version of history, which is just close enough to the biblical accounts for it to be sacrilegious. Within the first few pages you can tell that the DG's had a blast writing this game. There's an inherent sense of playfulness that you don't find in many games anymore. I'm happy to report this continues through the rest of the book.
Chapter two deals with character creation. This game is built in the Cortex system, which uses a point buy system broken into attributes (strength, agility, toughness, intelligence, alertness, and willpower), skills, and traits, and three levels of starting experience (recruit, veteran, and grizzled veteran).
Chapter three is about attributes and skills, which are fairly standard for the game, though the prose still contains the old DG charm. It also contains the big list of traits. This is one of the places where the game really shines. Traits are all the little abilities and problems that make your character unique, things like contacts, addictions, reputation, enemies, charming good looks, and the ability to produce an explosive on demand. Oh, and vampirism. That's there too.
Next post I'll talk a little more about the system, as well as the last four chapters of the book.