The illustrious Silverglade Woodshadow!

Here are the current Swords & Wizardry Complete, Labyrinth Lord, and OSRIC stats for my longest-running character, Silverglade Woodshadow, who I created around 1991. He started-out as a "BECMI" Elf as per the D&D Rules Cyclopedia, so this isn't an exact translation, but it's very close. The campaign was Known World/Mystara and the first adventure he ever played in was DDA1 Arena of Thyatis, wherein he killed his first monster (a carrion crawler and no, not singlehandedly), and got his first magic item (a short short +1 that he's since passed on to another PC's henchman). His name is stolen directly from the Cyclopedia, since I've always been terrible at names. He quickly came to be known for his casual and rather goofy demeanor, the polar opposite of your stereotypical aloof, regal elf. This likely explains why he left Alfheim (where he was prince of his minor clan) in order to wander the lands of the humans he often feels more of a kind with. His home is a manor house with small attached stone tower on the outskirts of the town of Melinir in the Thunder Rift mini-setting, which we transplanted into Mystara just north of Darokin. He's frequently encountered with his boon companion, Dunric N'jorld, a Lawful (Good) ninth level human fighter hailing from Vestland. While generally goodhearted, Silverglade is also an impulsive, childlike trickster with little in the way of a "filter."

______________________________

Name: Silverglade Woodshadow
Player: Will Mistretta
System: Swords & Wizardry Complete Revised
Race: Elf
Class: Fighter/Magic-User
Level: 4/8
Alignment: Lawful
Sex: Male
Age: 181
Height: 5’4”
Weight: 120 lb
Hair: Brown
Eyes: Green

Ability Scores:

Strength: 12
Dexterity: 18
Constitution: 13
Intelligence: 15
Wisdom: 8
Charisma: 11

Combat Details:

Hit Points: 32
Armor Class: 3 (-2 with parry bonus)
THAC0: 16
Saving Throw: 8 (6 versus magic)
Base Movement Rate: 12
Encumbrance: 58 lb

Experience:

Fighter: 75,000
Magic-User: 75,000

Languages Known:

Alignment
Common
Dwarven
Elvish
Giantish
Goblin

Special Abilities:

60’ darkvision
Ghoul paralysis immunity
Multiple attacks
Parry (-5)
Secret door detection (1-4 on 1d6 active search, 1 on 1d6 passive)

Spells/Level:

1/2/3/4
4/3/3/2

Spells Known:

1st Level:

Charm Person
Detect Magic
Magic Missile
Protection from Evil
Read Languages
Read Magic

2nd Level:

Continual Light
Invisibility
Mirror Image
Phantasmal Force
Strength
Wizard Lock

3rd Level:

Dispel Magic
Fireball
Fly
Haste
Lightning Bolt*
Water Breathing

4th Level:

Charm Monster
Confusion
Dimension Door
Polymorph Others
Polymorph Self
Remove Curse

Spells Commonly Memorized:

Charm Person
Detect Magic
Magic Missile (x2)
Invisibility
Mirror Image
Strength
Dispel Magic
Fly
Lightning Bolt
Charm Monster
Dimension Door

Magic Items Carried/Worn:

Silver longsword +3 ("Quicksilver")
Silver dagger +1
Shortbow +2
Chain mail +1
Medallion of ESP (30')
Crystal Ball
Potion of Extra Healing

Regular Equipment Carried/Worn:

20 silver arrows
Backpack
Bedroll
Flint and steel
Small steel mirror
Three day’s trail rations
Waterskin
Large sack
Spare clothes
Spell book

Money Carried:

50 gp
Gold ring (10 gp value, worn)

Equipment and Money Elsewhere:

Spare spell book (at home)
5000 gp (at home)
2500 sp (at home)

______________________________

Name: Silverglade Woodshadow
Player: Will Mistretta
System: Labyrinth Lord
Race/Class: Elf
Level: 8
Alignment: Lawful
Sex: Male
Age: 181
Height: 5’4”
Weight: 120 lb
Hair: Brown
Eyes: Green

Ability Scores:

Strength: 12
Dexterity: 18
Constitution: 14
Intelligence: 15
Wisdom: 8
Charisma: 11

Combat Details:

Hit Points: 36
Armor Class: 0 (Bracers of Armor, dexterity bonus)
THAC0: 14
Movement Rate: 120'/40'
Encumbrance: 33 lb

Saving Throws:

Breath Attacks: 9
Poison or Death: 8
Petrify or Paralyze: 9
Wands: 9
Spells or Spell-like Devices: 11

Experience: 200,001

Languages Known:

Alignment
Common
Dwarvish
Elvish
Gnoll
Hobgoblin
Orc

Special Abilities:

60’ infravision
Ghoul paralysis immunity
Secret door detection (1-2 on 1d6)

Spells/Level:

1/2/3/4
3/3/2/2

Spells Known:

1st Level:

Charm Person
Detect Magic
Magic Missile
Protection from Evil
Read Languages
Read Magic

2nd Level:

Arcane Lock
Continual Light
Invisibility
Knock
Mirror Image
Phantasmal Force

3rd Level:

Dispel Magic
Fire Ball
Fly
Haste
Lightning Bolt*
Water Breathing

4th Level:

Charm Monster
Confusion
Dimension Door
Polymorph Others
Polymorph Self
Remove Curse

Spells Commonly Memorized:

Detect Magic
Magic Missile (x2)
Invisibility
Mirror Image
Phantasmal Force
Fly
Lightning Bolt
Charm Monster
Dimension Door

Magic Items Carried/Worn:

Silver longsword +3 ("Quicksilver")
Silver dagger +1
Shortbow +1
Bracers of Armor, AC 3
Amulet of Telepathy (as Helm of Telepathy)
Crystal Ball
Potion of Extra-Healing

Regular Equipment Carried/Worn:

20 silver arrows
Quiver
Backpack
Bedroll
Small steel mirror
Flint and steel
Three day’s trail rations
Waterskin
Large sack
Spell book

Money Carried:

50 gp
Gold ring (10 gp value, worn)

Equipment and Money Elsewhere:

Spare spell book (at home)
5000 gp (at home)
2500 sp (at home)

______________________________

Name: Silverglade Woodshadow
Player: Will Mistretta
System: OSRIC
Race: Elf
Class: Fighter/Magic-User
Level: 5/8
Alignment: Chaotic Good
Sex: Male
Age: 181
Height: 5’4”
Weight: 120 lb
Hair: Brown
Eyes: Green

Ability Scores:

Strength: 12
Dexterity: 19
Constitution: 15
Intelligence: 15
Wisdom: 8
Charisma: 11

Combat Details:

Hit Points: 33
Armor Class: 0 (chain mail +1, dexterity bonus)
THAC0: 16
Base Movement Rate: 120'
Encumbrance: 44 lb

Saving Throws:

Aimed Magic Item: 9
Breath Weapons: 13
Death, Paralysis, Poison: 11
Petrifaction, Polymorph: 11
Spells for unlisted categories: 10

Experience:

Fighter: 80,000
Magic-User: 80,000

Languages Known:

Alignment
Common
Elven
Gnoll
Gnomish
Goblin
Halfling
Hobgoblin
Orcish

Special Abilities:

60’ infravision
90% resistence to sleep and charm spells
+1 to hit with pulled bows, longswords, and shortswords
Detect secret doors
Ghoul paralysis immunity
Surprise bonus

Weapon Proficiencies:

Longsword
Shortsword
Dagger
Spear
Staff
Longbow
Shortbow
Sling

Spells/Level:

1/2/3/4
4/3/3/2

Spells Known:

1st Level:

Charm Person
Detect Magic
Feather Fall
Magic Missile
Read Languages
Read Magic

2nd Level:

Continual Light
Invisibility
Knock
Mirror Image
Strength
Wizard Lock

3rd Level:

Dispel Magic
Fireball
Fly
Lightning Bolt*
Phantasmal Force
Water Breathing

4th Level:

Charm Monster
Confusion
Dimension Door
Polymorph Others
Polymorph Self
Remove Curse

Spells Commonly Memorized:

Detect Magic
Feather Fall
Magic Missile (x2)
Invisibility
Mirror Image
Strength
Dispel Magic
Fly
Lightning Bolt
Charm Monster
Dimension Door

Magic Items Carried/Worn:

Silver longsword +3 ("Quicksilver")
Silver dagger +1
Shortbow +1
Chain mail +1
Amulet of Telepathy (as Helm of Telepathy)
Crystal Ball
Potion of Extra-Healing

Regular Equipment Carried/Worn:

12 silver arrows
Quiver
Backpack
Blanket
Waterskin
Spell book

Money Carried:

50 gp
Gold ring (10 gp value, worn)

Equipment and Money Elsewhere:

Spare spell book (at home)
5000 gp (at home)
2500 sp (at home)

______________________________

(* = the referee should feel free to substitute Silverglade's Forcebolt for Lightning Bolt if desired)

(Last updated: 10 June 2024).

Film Review: Game of the Year

That's right, it's my first ever film review!

You guys have Kevin Lehnert to thank for this one. He's Director of Marketing over at 88mm Productions and was recently kind enough to send me a complimentary DVD copy of their 2009 movie Game of the Year. So full disclosure: A freebie is what prompted this review. I'm still going to try to be as fair as I can manage, though, as I have in similar reviews for complimentary rulebooks and such both on this blog and at former haunt RPG.Net.

I feel the most useful place to start is by explaining that Game of the Year (GotY, hereafter) is, in essence, a "mockumentary" in the style of Rob Reiner's 1984 classic This Is Spinal Tap, as well as that film's own star Christopher Guest's subsequent similar series of works (Waiting for Guffman, Best of Show, etc). This means that GotY is meant to depict real people being followed around and recorded by a documentary film crew. These sorts of films are actually scripted, of course, but the "raw" seeming camera work and heavy use of improvised dialog encourages the audience to suspend their disbelief on that score.

GotY story centers around DM Richard and his motley crew of D&D gamers as they prepare themselves for a do-or-die audition at a local gaming convention. The audition is for a group spot on the titular "Game of the Year", a reality television show where rival gaming groups compete for the singular prize of running a (fictional) established game company for an entire year.

It's here, in the basic premise, that GotY makes its first and gravest misstep for me. Here, in literally the first minute or two of the movie, the idea of a big budget, televised reality show in the vein of Survivor or The Amazing Race centered around D&D is a huge blow to the realistic atmosphere that the filmmakers spend the entire rest of the production laboring, largely with great success, to achieve. Maybe if reality television existed in the D&D fad days of the early 1980s, sure. But in the 21st century? I swallowed the conceit and pressed on, but it went down hard indeed.

This is a pity, because by the time the credits rolled, I really was quite taken with GotY. Why? Well, one thing that I was on the lookout for before I even pressed play was the lazy overuse of cliche. And my heart did sink a bit when the main characters are introduced playing in...a dingy basement. Are basements really that popular for gaming? Over twenty years now, and I've never rolled dice in one.

Anyway, I digress. Despite that disconcerting start, the cliche beast is kept on a mercifully short leash throughout. There is a bit midway where a (gasp!) girl at the table causes some predictable awkward lust and inter-group strife, but that's really about it. In fact, most of the cliches on display in GotY have more to do with gamers' stereotypes about each other rather than anything outsiders would recognize: John is the solid, man's man military enthusiast into 1970s chit wargames and kicking ass while taking names. Billy is the ADD-afflicted goofball loony who just wants to have fun. "Good" DM Richard's pompous foil Gary Elmore (tee hee!) is an archetypal all talk, no action frustrated novelist/thespian, more interested in telling his epic stories as floridly as possible than in getting any actual gaming done.

In fact, GotY is at its funniest when it's operating in this mode. The scene where no-nonsense John and comic relief Billy find themselves sitting in on a new game where the anal-retentive tyrant DM has elaborate rules governing time limits for combat actions, out-of-character speech, etc, had me practically rolling on the floor. Although I imagine that non-gamers might not have been down there with me. This is definitely a film with a very specific target audience that it homes in on rather single-mindedly.

Thankfully, writer/director/cast member Chris Grega also took care to give the main characters depth beyond their stock types. John also has a troubled marriage, for example, and Gary blames Richard for ruining his life by stealing both his girlfriend and his game ideas in the past. This prevents the characterization and humor from being stunted at a corny "live action Knights of the Dinner Table" level.

How's the actual gaming in GotY? The mechanics are what I like to call "pleasantly vague." Other than a few things like initiative and clerics, there's not much to indicate what flavor of D&D rules are being used at the table. Some 3E rulebooks are glimpsed, but at the same time the referees seem to freely alternate between using DM screens from AD&D 1E, AD&D 2E, Basic D&D, and WotC editions. This is really for the best, I feel. Excessive jargon would be a pointless way to pander to the audience that would detract from the story. And while the game mechanics and such are never the focus specifically, the filmmakers still found plenty of more subtle ways to demonstrate to the target audience that they know their stuff. Characters cleverly sport surnames like Dee, Mohan, Otus, and Martek. Gary Gygax, Dave Arneson, and Steve Jackson are referenced outright, but overall these are restrained, classy tips of the hat to the grognards out there.

Do Richard and company actually win a spot on the television show? I'm not about to spoil things here, folks, but I will say that the ending is what really made GotY a winner for me. Bittersweet, heartfelt, and fundamentally true-to-life are not terms I thought I'd wind up associating with a film that started off with a premise as dodgy as this one's, but there you go. The aforementioned above-average amount of effort put into the characterization (given the often lazily-handled subject matter) really does pay off when it counts most.

Is GotY really the best gaming movie ever made? By the end, I was convinced. Joke all you want about the bar being set low, but this is an indie comedy that has solid writing, believable acting, real heart, and also happens to be about tabletop RPG gamers. That combination is pretty unprecedented and, frankly, impressive.

If you need numbers, have a 4/5. See this one if you can.