A Sub-Class Review

Play-Cast Name: Sub-Class Act Where I Listened: Google Podcasts Where It's Available: Anchor (and thus, various players) System: Varied

Leather with Shield

Thoughts and Review

Sub-Class Act is a solo-play actual-play podcast available via Anchor and thus also on its supported platforms. In Sub-Class Act, our host - James Sral - walks us through adventure arcs with parties of characters he rolls and controls while various solo-play emulators or oracles play the role of the game master. It is a refreshing taste in my ears - one of very few solo-play actual-plays I have run into - as it simultaneously tells the story that James only seeds, allowing emergent narrative to take control as the oracle guides the outcomes; outlines and educates on both RPG systems and emulator process; and likewise delves into an aspect of the hobby in which I have no personal experience - the use of oracles and chance to play with yourself rather than having at least one friend sitting with you at the table.

Sub-Class Act is, as of this review, just stepping in to Season 2; this review is based, thus, on having listened to the back catalog of Season 1 - which is educational, entertaining, and worth your time to listen.

What I Like

What made me want to write this review - the first and foremost piece that draws my attention to this actual play - is the balance of rules and narrative. While not all of the arcs appeal to me, and while the host does use voices (which I've pined on in the past), some of the arcs truly do appeal to me (I'm a fan in particular of the Old West arc from episode 14 to 18) and most of the voices don't detract from the immersive experience of the listener. As such, from an entertainment-value perspective, the podcast does fairly well. However - more so - when action occurs, when the oracle comes into play, when a combat occurs, when procedure would be appropriate: James dives into procedure, outlining what he is doing and why, prior to rolling the dice and interpreting / adjudicating the result. While the dichotomy of narrative and mechanics may jar some, I found - listening to Sub-Class Act - that the jarring didn't happen. It slipped into and out of the game smoothly and I was able to identify systems based on the mechanics I heard.

The podcast, in this sense, provides dual benefit: you can use it for entertainment and you can use it to learn how to play the game: either the RPG in question or the solo-mode oracle in use. That balance - utility and entertainment - are the primary drivers of whether or not I like an actual play for the purposes of teaching the hobby: in this goal, Sub-Class Act does well.

To speak to production quality - the initial episodes are a bit rough: but the quality rapidly accelerates. If you - like me - are a completionist at heart and like to start at the beginning (or, at a chapter heading, a relative beginning, where an arc turns over in the middle) - stick with it! I had initially discounted this podcast, as it didn't initially suit me: however I came back to it on a whim, having burned through all of my podcast backlog during the aforementioned Old West arc from episode 14 to 18 and I am glad I did. Stick with it - or, I'll provide a system/emulator guide by episode below: jump to an episode you think will do you better - because it's worth it by the fourth to sixth episode, depending on how much of a stickler for audio you are. As of the current episode - that is, the newest one released as of the release of this review - James has gotten to the point where he's the consummate amateur: the quality of the content, GMing, audio, and integration of ambiance could be monetized, could become professional, however isn't by the choice of the author: who is driving on the joy of the experience (and the sharing of that joy and experience) rather than on fiduciary impetus.

Lastly, Sub-Class Act is hosted on Anchor: the same provider, a subsidiary of Spotify, that the Clerics Wear Ringmail Podcast uses. Why? Likely because it's free and easy - however: what's more important is the culture that surrounds it. A defining feature of Anchor is the call-in function: anyone with an account, which is free, regardless of whether you choose to make a podcast or not, can quickly and easily send a message up to 60 seconds in length to any Anchor creator: which the creator can then see in a "messages" panel, include in episodes, download, and otherwise interact with. In Addition, James provides several other mechanisms to contact him, as not everyone wants to sign up for Anchor and may reach out on a platform to which they are already member.

Three, off the cuff, I can think of that are highlighted in the podcast are his Twitter account, via Email, or on the Audio Dungeon Discord server.

Happy hunting! And if I've missed one that needs to be shared - let me know! Drop a comment (or hit me up) and I'll try to keep the page current! It creates a talk radio culture: which, though not live as talk radio would be, it lends itself towards being very approachable, very personal: the connection between an Anchor podcaster and their audience is more akin to being on the phone with a friend.

While not all Anchor-hosted podcasts engage in this culture, Sub-Class Act does.

Throughout the series, the host answers fan call-ins, solicits feedback and suggestions, and acts on the feedback and suggestions that come in. I respect that - I really like that - and though I don't particularly agree with some of the callers' opinions (I would rather see more OSE or indie games than anything 5e... suggestion: Viking Death Squad solo play?), I do agree with the principle. So - hats off to you, James - for stepping up and working with your audience to provide what they are looking for; and to you, audience, eyes open! Your opportunity to see emulators and oracles in action is only a single Anchor message away!

What I Don't Like

There exist some points of rules confusion over the course of the adventure - e.g. what is a "turn" versus what is a "round" - however this is understandable, as the host is running through multiple systems, sometimes swapping back and forth between episodes. Additionally - I don't hold these confusion points against the host, as the educational value of the podcast is less for the main systems and more for the oracles: which James elaborates on and appears to be fluent and confident with. To reinforce this notion - James expressly states that, though some games he plays do have rules for certain actions (listening at doors comes to mind) he prefers the oracle over the game for consistency and flow of play.

The schedule of the podcast is irregular: which makes sense, based on the home life and situation of the host. However, from the perspective of an unbiased new listener, the most mileage you will get out of the podcast will likely entail appreciation of the (continually growing) backlog. Again, less of a complaint and something that I won't hold against the host.

Regarding actual complaints a reviewer might have against this podcast - the foremost is less a complaint and more an observation as pertaining to the audience of this review series. Of the games played, not all of them maintain spiritual or mechanical fidelity and compatibility with the original Dungeons & Dragons franchise: as such, there are varying degrees to which the games used can be considered OSR. Thus, if your interests lie in the OSR and not outside of it, this podcast will be of use to you (or interest, as may be) on interval rather than throughout. If system doesn't matter to you - discard this paragraph (and the next one).

Finally - the primary focus of this podcast is the narrative generated by using an oracle or GM emulator. While interesting - and while useful for OSR types who don't like gaming online and don't live in a large OSR market - it is not expressly OSR in and of itself: solo gaming, and oracles, are arguably better served for telling a story rather than exploring a world - while, of course, you can use an oracle to answer questions about the world, it's not the same as having someone else create the world, create the dungeon, and you - as the player - explore and uncover it.

Thus, while a great learning tool for the product, your mileage may vary, as depending on what you're looking to get out of an actual play podcast.

System Guide to the First Season

Regarding oracle, the host uses several different oracle systems - generally grouped by episode as follows:

Note, the above is point-in-time as of this review. I admittedly stopped listening at season 2, as I am not interested in 5e (although I do not fault people who are!), and as such, does not contain a guide for post-Season 1. Admittedly, it is unlikely I will keep the post updated - as James does a good job documenting his own activities in show notes on the podcast - but if he does something particularly interesting - such as, maybe, a Viking Death Squad solo play, I may have to post an update and direct you, dear reader, to it.

• Season 1, Episode 0 through 4, 8 through 11, 17 through 18 - Mythic GM Emulator
  Season 2, Episode 1 - Also Mythic GM Emulator
• Season 1, Episode 5 - Motif Story Engine 
• Season 1, Episode 6, 14 through 16 - OSR Solo
  
• Season 1, Episode 7 - M.U.N.E.
• Season 1, Episode 12 through 13 - Ray Otus' Oracle

Regarding system, the system played is by "season" - also generally grouped as follows and stratified by FOEtitutde. To clarify, for the purpose of this review only: 

1. OSR implies tonal and mechanical fidelity to the TSR game set and to the principles of the OSR Primer. 
2. NuSR implies tonal fidelity only. (I had been tempted to use "FOE-SR" in lieu of "NuSR" as funny joke - but didn't know if that would cross the line from "categorization" to "antagonizing." So I didn't.)
3. NoSR is just another RPG - with no connection to OSR principles or mechanics, to my knowledge.
   

This is not intended as denigration: simply categorization.

• Season 1, Episode 0 through 3, 7 through 9 - Basic Fantasy RPG (OSR)
• Season 1, Episode 4 through 6- Offworlders (NuSR)
• Season 1, Episode 10 through 13 - Old School Essentials (OSR)
• Season 1, Episode 14 through 15 - Index Card RPG (NoSR)
• Season 1, Episode 16 through 18 - Warlock! (NuSR?)
• Season 2, Episode 0 through 1 - D&D 5e (Eew NoSR)
  

Thus, if you're looking to listen to a particular system, you can focus on those episodes, presuming you'll catch on to whatever backstory you may have missed in the over-arching contiguous campaign.

In Conclusion

Because of the increasing production values and because of the exquisite integration of system and story, I recommend Sub-Class Act. Because I am unsure of how applicable it is to the OSR-specific experience (which, to remind the reader, is the focus of this review series: to teach the OSR experience via a pleasurable medium), I am rating it Leather with Shield. Leather - because I like it, because I think there is value, but because also there are distinct non-OSR elements mixed in - and Shield because of the immense variety of oracles, emulators, and virtual referees the host has well-researched, well-explained, and well-executes throughout the performance. In sum, if you are interested in solo play and would like to learn a range of mechanisms for it while getting a feel for what it's like - Sub-Class Act is for you.

You're a bit of a FOE, James, but you're my kind of FOE.
Keep riding solo and I'll keep selectively bolting on my side-car!

Sub-Class Act logo retrieved from podcast Anchor home and used with permission.

Glade Dragons

The man cupped his hand over a knee, allowing a boy to take foot.

"One... Two... Hoist!"

With a quick movement, the boy was up and over the narrow split of the birch tree nearing the top of the rise. The man deftly followed, his landing heavy, but muted by the sack sandals both of them had tied over their feet. Before them, a boulder formed an outcropping - strangely bereft of trees, only two or three, spaced apart, behind the thick wall of growing wood.

"Shhhh," he hushed. And they approached - stepping through the orange ruckus that was the glade in Autumn.

"Here," he continued, "grandson, here lies the secret behind the woods - the reason we cut only what we need, and why we pay gratitude to the woodlands where it provides for those needs. But be silent - if not for fear, but for respect."

The boy nodded. They advanced.

The ground slowly gave way as their perspective crept forward, peeking over the edge of the overhang and into a hollow - ringed and matted by a thousand fallen leaves - revealing the great guardian of the wood. Curled into spiral, the serpentine beast heaved slowly with deep breathing, its eyes closed: sentience hidden and spent in the far Elysium of dreams. With scales the shape of spade-heads, its back and folded wings reflected scintillating reds and yellows - mixed and meshed together into a quilt of unknowable pattern.

The boy startled.

"Don't worry, grandson: see how some of the scales show the sign - the tint of brown about the edges. The guardian sleeps with the coming of the winter. In spring, he will wake - breathing life again with his waking and taking flight between the boughs, a new skin upon him to match the new leaves sprouting and the blossoming of the hanging flowers. And in the spring, again, we will offer gratitude to the forest: knowing it - and we - are in symphony."

The boy nodded - looking again over the edge at the somnolent winged ophidian.

"Come away now - we must let him rest; you have seen what was meant to be seen."

A Flight Between the Boughs

Glade Dragons are the untamed wild. Glade Dragons are the grand expanses where the canopy keeps the sun from searing - the life that teems in the gentle shade. Their scales resemble the leaves, interlaced and interlocked, and both their limbs and neck are long, flexible. Their faces are not short, but not long - blocky, as a stump might be - and on occasion irregular. Their eyes lack an iris, only pupil - wide, wide pupil, to the exclusion of the white - but the pupil is shaded a deep, deep green.

Encountering Glad Dragons

Glade Dragon
Armor Class:	3	No. Appearing:	2-5
Hit Dice:	7	Save As:	Fighter 7
Move:	Std: 90' (30') Fly: 240' (80')	Morale:	9
Attacks:	Claw / Claw / Bite	Treasure Type:	~ (H)
Damage:	1-6 / 1-6 / 2-20	Alignment:	Neutral
Frequency:	Rare	Chance In Lair:	20%

• Chance of Talking: 30%
• Chance of Being Asleep: Special
  
• Spells by Level (1/2/3):  2/1/~
  

Whimsical, animalistic creatures, Glade Dragons move among the trees with a lithe grace and flexibility akin  to a weasel or ferret, but with the mass and power of a lion. They are surprisingly quiet, their voices whispering as the rustle of leaves where branches in the canopy overlay one another.

Glade Dragons have a chance 1 greater to surprise, and a chance 1 less to be surprised in turn, when in their preferred biome. Additionally, the appearance of the dragon is slightly different based on the trees in the area it inhabits: in coniferous regions, a Glade Dragon will be a deep green color and have a striated texture to it; whereas in an oak forest, a Glade Dragon will have large, amoebic scales which will change from a light green in the spring and summer to a yellow or orange in the autumn, then brown in the winter. Glade Dragons in deciduous biomes, as such, are also known to molt in the spring time - their scales having lost all color over the winter sleep.

Regarding sleep, the chance that a Glade Dragon is asleep is determined by the time of year and the behavior of the trees where it lives:

	Of Evergreens...	Of the Deciduous...
In the Spring,	20%	20%
In the Summer,	10%	5%
In the Autumn,	20%	30%
In the Winter,	40%	80%

Thus, there is great variety in Glade Dragons - but each becomes the guardian of their own plot and territory.

Breath Weapon

• Template: Line*
• Range: 80' x 5'
  

The breath weapon of a Glade Dragon is a channeling of growth and can only be used when the dragon has at least one foot on the ground or when it is gripping a live tree still rooted in the ground. When used, a writing mass of green vines and sprigs erupt from the dragon's gullet.

The vines can be directed to turn up to 90 degrees, once every 20', up to the maximum range. The vines can be prematurely ended - that is, if the dragon does not want the line to continue to the full 80' range, it can end it, say, at 60' - or 70'; or 32' - however many as it desires. If ended early, the vines will plunge into the earth, or entwine around plants or rocks around them, securing themselves to the end location.

These vines rapidly brown - hardening from herbaceous tendrils to a solid wooden cord. Any character that fails their Save vs Breath when targeted by the breath attack will be entangled, paralyzed, stuck in place until such time as they can be forcibly extracted from the trunk. A character so entangled should likewise thereafter Save vs Death or begin to suffocate, their chest being compacted by the growth.

When the breath ends, the dragon must move within the next round, leaving behind a trunk for the newly deposited shrub which roots at the point where the dragon's foot was (or feet were, evenly divide between them as applicable) in contact to be grounded. Note, if a Glade Dragon ends its breath weapon early, it will be rooted in two places: where the dragon was and where the termination took place. If the breathing Glade Dragon does not move, or cannot move, within one round of breathing for their breath to take root, they must - themselves - save or be paralyzed: though a Glade Dragon cannot cause itself to suffocate.

Lair and Treasure

Glade Dragons make their lairs in the forest, taking on the character of the forest around them. In the boreal taiga, they will be nestled among the poplars and evergreens; in the sweltering tropics, they will be found amidst the ceiba and strangler figs.

Some lairs are underground - but most take the form of large, living wooden structures: constructed, the sages say, from the very breath of the creature, drawing and adding to the life of the woodland.

Resistances and Immunities

Glade Dragons are immune to Poison and Cold or Ice.

Glade Dragons are vulnerable to Fire: taking double damage therefrom.

Deeper Lore

Spoiler Alert!

The Deeper Lore section contains some notes to help a GM (me) to run the Glade Dragon in a way consistent with the archetype they are supposed to fill and some of the inspirations behind their creation. If you play in (or want to play in!) a game GM'ed by me, beyond this point will ruin some of the mystery for you for both Glade Dragon and for most of the sentient races: having some impact in the game world that isn't immediately available outside of player character discoveries.

Glade Dragons are sustained by the animus of the forest: the sway of the branches in the breeze and the perpetual fortitude of thick trunks; the the shade cast by the canopy and the persistence of the lichens, grasses, and moss that grows in its shadow. A Glade Dragon will thus require a territory proportional to its size of forestry to sustain it: larger dragons taking up several hexes, smaller ones requiring only a particular copse.

Glade Dragons are attuned to the trees with which they are cohabited. A Glade Dragon which is surrounded by the trees to which it is attuned will require fewer of them to sustain it, but will encourage the thicker and faster growth of those kind of trees in and surrounding their range.

Attunement is not permanent.

While Glade Dragons will begin life attuned to the forest in which they are spawned, a Glade Dragon will - over time - come to attune to new trees if they are forced to relocate or if the forest around them changes dramatically in tone or content. Thus, the same dragon - years down the line - may have a different appearance to it than it did in years past, if encountering the same player or party.

Public domain and open license art retrieved from Pixabay, the National Gallery of Art, and OldBookIllustrations.com and adapted for thematic use. Attributions in alt text.

On Adversary and Adversarial

Anchor.fm/Clerics-Wear-Ringmail: Episode 6 -
On Adversary and Adversarial

(Or, audio now on YouTube!)

Description

Responding to call-ins, mostly centered around DM as Adversary versus Adversarial DM, and digging deeper into what constitutes either category. Responses authored under the influence of a fever - so hopefully they make sense! 

Want to join the conversation? Drop me a message: https://anchor.fm/clerics-wear-ringmail!

Theme Music by XTaKeRux, Free Music Archive: https://freemusicarchive.org/music/XTaKeRuX

Show Notes

• 00:00 - Intro
  
• 02:40 - Theme
  
• 03:08 - Karl Rodriguez - D&D is Soft!
  
• 10:03 - Joe Hardin - Fear Itself
  
• 12:29 - Joe Richter - There is a difference!
  
• 17:34 - Jason Connerly Approves This Message
  
• 19:44 - Randy Nichols - The Killer DM
  
• 24:08 - Spikepit! - Missing (or getting) the joke
  
• 28:06 - Daniel Norton - Gygax as Adversary
  
• 30:21 - A Challenge to the Listener
  
• 31:15 - Theme and Legalese

Links

Karl Rodriguez, The GMOlogist Presents! (https://anchor.fm/karl-rodriguez)

Randy Nichols & Joe Hardin, Biggus Geekus Podcast (http://biggusgeekuspodcast.com/)

Joe Richter, Hindsightless (https://anchor.fm/joe-richter9/)

Jason Connerly, Nerd's RPG Variety Podcast (https://anchor.fm/jason376)

Colin Green, Spikepit (https://anchor.fm/spikepit)

Daniel Norton, Bandit's Keep (https://anchor.fm/daniel-norton/)
    ... or on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/c/BanditsKeep)

100th Post Actual Play: Expedition to Warlock Tower!

As most of my readership will know, Prince of Nothing recently wrapped up the No Artpunk dungeon contest - open to submissions over the summer, a select few will be published in a PWYW format, any profit from which, per the original announcement, is destined for the Autism Research Institute. I like making dungeons - so I wrote one up using the Rules Cyclopedia - and, as a celebration of this blog reaching 100 posts - this post being the hundredth - here presented is an actual play recording of me running a handful of foolish gracious buddies through it!

The video can be found on the Clerics Wear Ringmail YouTube channel under a new playlist, Basic Line Actual Play, created against my own better judgement to showcase exactly how unqualified I am to be rating other people's actual play recordings, or if you prefer - you can watch it in an embed below:

How did it go, CWR? All things considered, I think I did OK. Re-watching the video to edit (I cut out the chaff and breaks to focus on the adventure - and I cut out a few parts where my elder toddler decided to take the stage) I did a few things well and a few things wrong.

On the one hand, The VTT in use, Astral Tabletop, I didn't (and still don't) have a professional grasp of - which led to a bit of a hiccup starting up. I was mediocre about STRICT TIME RECORDS, guesstimating what the group  was doing rather than tabulating movement and actions. I did not make any special point to enforce encumbrance - though the players might have been tracking it in my defense.

...but on the other, I was decent about remembering the sequence of the combat round (even morale and flight!) I was rolling for random encounters and was tracking light sources independently. A couple of the players afterwards told me they'd come back if I ran again - and that's worth something, isn't it?

So I think it's fair to say that I do have a bit of a way to go before I try to review myself: but in any case, this being the first time I've gotten to run a game in right around three years, I was able to knock the rust off and I learned a lot about procedure - especially with a virtual tabletop - to keep the game moving the same way I was accustomed to moving it on a physical tabletop. So I've got a couple tricks in my sleeve to try next time - a couple better practices to implement based on learning the tools and the environment - and until the next one loads, delve on, readers!