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WhiteBoxandBeyond
Wednesday,February17,2016

AboutMe

FredDaniel

Pit&Perils

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2016(40)
March(11)
February(14)
AFewGoodMonsters
Demihumans
Good&Evil
Powers&Perils
OldSchoolRenaissance
Pit&Perils
FightingMan,MagicUser,Cleric
Abilities

ANostalgiaGame
Pits&Perils(P&P)isareimaginingoftheWhiteBox,itisnotasimulacrumorclone,butrather
authorsJames&RobynGeorgehaveseeminglycloselyexaminedwhatmakesWhiteBoxwhatit
isandhavedesignedagamethatdoeswhatWhiteBoxdoes(minusintroducingtheworldtoa
newhobby,ofcourse)inamannerthatreflectsthe1970'sstyleamateurpressproducts,yet
usingtheirownnewmechanics.Theresultingproductisdelightfultoreadandmaybeoneofthe
bestruleslitegamesIhaveseen.
P&PnotesintheIntroductionthatWhiteBoxwas"justaspecialkindofwargame".Rules
designedbyamateursfortheirownenjoyment,playedwithfriendsusingminiaturefigureswithan
emphasis1:1ontacticaldecisionsandimaginationdescribingjustthestateofthehobbycirca
1977whenIacquiredmyWhiteBox.Irecallfeelingitwasaterriblydifficultgametodecipherand
Iwasneversurewewere"playingitcorrectly'.P&Pattemptstosolvethislatterissuewhile
reproducingthefeelofa1977game,rightdowntotheoddfontwhichlookslikeitwas"typedin
someone'sbasement"andtheartworkwhichisalldonebytheauthor.
SowhatmakesP&Pstandout?Mr.andMrs.Georgehavecleverlydistilledthesixclassicability
scoresdowntoasinglerolltodeterminewhichone(ormaybetwo)oftheabilitiesthePCis
outstandingin,Strength,Intelligence,Dexterity,Wisdom,ConstitutionorCharisma.Being
outstandinginanabilitymaygivesomegamebonusorallowthePCtodothingsotherPCscan't.
Humanscanexcelatanyability,whiledwarfsandelvesarelimited.P&Pisaclassandlevel
systemandusesthe"raceasclass"conceptofearly"Basic".HumanPCscanbeaCleric,
Fighter,MagicianorThief.Certainexceptionalabilitiesareassociatedwithcertainclasses,like
StrengthandFighter,DexterityandThief,butthereisnorulethatpreventsaFighterwith
exceptionalIntelligenceorWisdom,oraMagicianwithexceptionalStrength.Theexceptional
abilitygiveseachPCaspecialtyinadditiontotheirclassspecialfeaturesandfurtherencourages
teamwork.
Eachclassdiffersintheamountofexperienceneededtolevel,hitpoints,armorandweapons
allowed,andanyspecialclassabilitiessuchasacleric'sabilitytoturnawayundeadandathief's
abilitytopicklocksanddisarmtraps.EachPCmustchoosea"side"whichcorrespondstoWhite
Boxalignment.Lawfulcharactersare"honorableandgenerallygood",Neutralcharactersareself
interestedandgenerallynoncommitted,whilefollowersoftheChaoticsideare"unpredictableand
oftenquiteevil".
P&Pusesauniversalmechanic,arolloftwosixsideddiceaddedtogethertoachieveanumber
equaltoorgreaterthana9incombatortoa7outofcombat.Fightersgeta+1bonusincombat,
dwarfsreceivea+1toallsaves.Incombatasuccessfulhitdealseitheroneortwopointsof
damage,armorincreasesone'shitpointsandusingatwohandedweaponaddsanadditional
damagepoint.P&PseemslessdeadlyatlowlevelplayandhighlevelPCsseemlessuber
powerful,particularlyinhitpoints,comparedtomanyothergames.Amagicianstartswith5HP
andafighterwith10.At9thlevelthemagicianwillhave14HPandthefighter28.Witheachhit
causingoneortwopointsofdamageittakesafewofthemtodropaPCto0HPanddeath.
Encumbrancelimitis10itemsandupto1,000coins,simpleandeasy.Armorslowsmovement
andaddsabonustooverallHP.Combatstartswithinitiative/surpriseandPCshavethechoiceof
severalactionssuchasmaneuvering,blockingwithashield,parryingwithaweapon,attackingor
castingaspell.VarioustacticalsituationsaddtoorsubtractfromtheattackrollmakingP&P
combatfeellikeaminiatureswargameonewithfantasticcreaturesandlotsofmagic.
Magicianscancastanumberofmagicspellsdependingontheiravailablemagicpointsstarting
withtwospellpointsperday.Therearetwentyfourspellsonthelistandcuriously,theyallhave
fourletternames.ThestartingMagicianorElfcanknowany3spellsfromthelist,eachcoststhe
same(1spellpoint)tocast.ClericsknowCureandHealandtheirmagiciscalled"Miracles"

PCsorWorld
Pacing
CriticalHits
ManToMan
Magic
WhiteBoxMiddleEarth
January(15)
2015(80)

ratherthanspells.Otherwiseitworksverysimilar,butClericsarebetteratcastingCureand
Heal.
Experienceisgainedforkillingmonstersandacquiringtreasure,soP&Pisa"killmonstersand
taketheirstuff"typegame.Theactualexp.numbersarerelativelylowcomparedtomanygames
withatypicallevel1monsterearningthePC5exp.and150exp.isneededforaClerictoreach
2ndlevel.Theexperiencetablestopoutat9thlevelwiththehighest,Elf,needing80,000exp.to
reachthatlevel.LikeWhiteBox,P&Pusestitlesforclasslevelsuchas"acolyte"and"novice"
respectivelyfor1stlevelClericsandMagicians.P&Plists87monstersandgivesabrief
descriptionofeach.Includedaresomecommonanimals(someofgiantsize)suchashorseand
mule,apeandbataswellasmanyoftheclassicfantasymonstertropessuchasdragon,troll,
vampireandminotaur.
Mr.&Mrs.GeorgehavepublishedacouplesupplementbooksforP&P,butthebasicrulescover
essentiallythesamegroundasthe3LBBsplusGreyhawk,ofcourseallisintheuniqueP&P
style.P&PisarecentpurchaseformeandIhavenothadachancetoplayityet,butIamvery
excitedtodoso.Thereisalotofmaterialpackedintothese74pagesandalthoughthebasic
mechanicissimple,likesomeofthebestwargamesthereseemstobeconsiderablesubtlety
therethatonlyrepeatedplaycanreveal.InP&P,likeinWhiteBox,successdependsonplayers
cooperating,usingtheircollectiveandindividualgameskillandimaginationandmakinggood
decisions.That'sthewayIrecallthegamebeingplayedin1977.

PostedbyFredDanielat6:31AM

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