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Worse, the fact that it was a parody game (emphasized by both the cartoon connection and the need to throw in some humor elements in order to distinguish the product from AD&D material that Wizards of the Coast generously let Kenzer use) made the substance of the game easy to overlook, or actually got in the way of something that was designed to run much like old AD&D. I had mentioned in another review how our group's experiment in running HackMaster (HM) collapsed after the party's Fighter gave the Half-Ogre Barbarian the “wuss slap” to hit his Honor stat, which made the Barbarian's player rather offended in real life. (Especially since the Fighter managed to avoid a return hit to his Honor by making the Barbarian 'save vs. apology.')
Then you had the fact that the game was just as expensive as any other RPG on the market, especially given all the 'Hacklopedia of Beasts' (Monster Manual) volumes going for at least $20 each. As one of the RPG.net reviews put it at the time, it was “way (too) damn expensive for just a joke.” In any case, Wizards is no longer quite so generous with letting others use their trademarks, and the need for Kenzer to come up with a new system for their title also allowed them to take a fresh approach. This included some of the ideas that were in the 4th Edition and also some new ones. So we now have the HackMaster Basic book. Similar to the REALLY old days of Dungeons & Dragons, Kenzer decided to make this book a short, cheap introduction to the system with most of the 'higher level' data in a yet-to-be-released “Advanced HackMaster.” Unlike 4th Edition HM, or most stuff on the market, it's actually cheap; $19.99 plus taxes or other charges. I got mine from USPS through the KenzerCo website. It's not much physically- softcover 192 pages, one truly freakazoid cover by legendary TSR artist Erol Otus, with the inside being black-and-white standard paper, using various types of clip art and pieces from The Brothers Fraim, Travis Moore and other Kenzer veteran artists. The layout is likewise a bit basic. This doesn't matter much to me; I am after all a Hero Games fan. (And most of their softcover books are of similar physical quality to this but are less pages and cost more.)
The opening pages still have some of the expected KoDT-style humor, including autographs of HM founders Gary Jackson and Jo Jo Zeke on a “dice rub” sheet where you're also expected to have other game designers sign so that you can rub the autographs for good dice luck. Then there's also a foreword from Gary himself. (To give you an idea of how long it's been since I've been able to buy KoDT at a store, I had no idea Gary was back from 'sabbatical.')
The actual rules start with a Quick Start method of character creation where certain details have been omitted. For instance, picking a class requires you to pick among a short list of skills favored by that class, rather than using the Build Points option given later.
Chapter One is the detailed system of character creation. It is actually much like it was in 4th Edition. You get 50 Build(ing) Points. In addition to the Strength, Intelligence, Wisdom, Dexterity, Constitution and Charisma abilities, Looks is also considered an ability score, even though it primarily serves as a modifier on Charisma and Honor. You are expected to roll your abilities on 3d6, IN ORDER, with Looks rolled between Constitution and Charisma. You do get the option to trade stats around to the desired order- like, if you'd rolled 10 Wisdom and 16 Strength and the group needs a Cleric- but you're given an incentive to keep most or all stats as they are by getting 25 extra Build Points (BP) for trading only two stats or 50 for leaving everything as rolled. (There is a 'Shopkeeper Rule' where a PC with no stat above 13 or two stats of 5 or less can be just handed over to the GM for use as a shopkeeper or other hapless NPC. This is the only time you are allowed to re-roll; the game says 'Any other set of rolls is playable'.) Each of these abilities also has a percentile score attached to it; you can spend 1 BP to raise a normal stat by 5 percentage points or an ability of 16+ by 1 BP for 3 percentage points. So for instance if you had a stat of 12/86, you could spend 3 BP to raise the stat by 15% and just bring it up to 13/01.
This Basic game only has four races and four classes, although the Cleric varies in that each order of priesthood is basically what AD&D 2nd Edition would call a “specialty priest.” The only advantage Humans get is that they can pick the Merchant's Tongue (Common) at reduced skill cost. Other races get ability adjustments and free skill picks. Each race also gets a static hit point 'kicker' based on size; Humans and stout Dwarves are considered Medium and get 10 extra HP. But both Halflings and Elves are considered Small (in the latter case due to their build) and only get +5 HP. Dwarves are also considered Large for purposes of the new Knockback rules below. The actual rules for Character Classes are in Chapter Four, but you have to spend some of your initial Build Points to choose a class. The number depends on what race you are, reflecting the fact that Dwarves and Halflings are rarely Mages (75 BP for these races to be Mages) and Humans could be anything (25 BP for any class).
Characters also have to pick an alignment. As opposed to D&D, where most beings are either Good, Evil or Unaligned, HM characters can also choose alignments based on Law (emphasis on order) or Chaos (emphasis on freedom) and cross these with Good, Evil or Neutrality so that the game actually has nine alignments including True Neutral in the center. So wait, now- it's possible for a character to be Chaotic and NOT also be Evil? How progressive!
Characters can (but are not required to) roll for detailed heritage and backgrounds as per rules in Chapter Eleven. You ARE required to roll for one Quirk and one Flaw (see Chapter Three). You then total your ability scores (including the fractional points) and average to get your character's starting Honor. You can now use your remaining BP to buy any Skills, Talents and Proficiencies (STPs) as per the rules in Chapter Five. You then determine starting Hit Points- your full Constitution score plus the HP bonus above, plus a class bonus (Cleric +1d8, Fighter +1d10, Mage +1d4 and Thief +1d6). You then record your base combat modifiers- Base Initiative and Base Defense are both affected by Wisdom and Dexterity, Base Attack is affected by Intelligence and Dexterity, and Base Damage is modified by Strength. Each character receives a 'grub stake' of around 35-50 silver pieces to get gear. This is on a scale where (in the Chapter Six equipment lists) studded leather armor is 40 sp and chainmail is 350. So... good luck. Finally, you do a die roll plus base to get your character's starting age, depending on class.
Chapter Two is the rules for Honor, which positioned near the head of the rules, probably indicates the emphasis of the game design. While the text stresses that honor is not always a measure of 'good' alignment, it seems clear from reading that the rules intend to use Honor as a means of enforcing proper role-playing of both alignment and class, as well as Quirks, Flaws, and only using in-character knowledge. At the same time it is possible to take unfair hits to Honor because it is based on public perception (for instance, a character who is framed for murder would take a loss to Honor). This perception is based on one's Honor total compared to character level, so “Average” is 11-20 for a 1st level character while Low Honor is 6-10, Dishonorable is 1-5 and Great Honor is 21+. Low Honor yields no modifiers. A Dishonorable character is at -1 to all rolls and if Honor goes below 0 the character is forced to change alignment according to the nature of his behavior and take a penalty to experience earned until his Honor goes up to normal. On the other hand Average Honor (where most PCs are) allows a +1 to any roll per session and Great Honor also allows one free “mulligan” on a die roll. In addition, a character can spend 10 Honor Points to make a re-roll. (The text also says this not only allows for larger-than-life feats but prevents any need for 'anyone, be he player or so help me gawds, GameMaster, to fudge a roll.')
Chapter Three is for Quirks & Flaws. To individualize the character, each player must roll on a random table for one Quirk (a psychological trait like 'Glutton' or 'Racist') and one physical Flaw. This is the first thing in the game I don't really think I can work around, since all of the Flaws are minor but fairly crippling in their own areas. I can see a Human or Dwarf Fighter with “Facial Scar” (minus to Looks) but I can't see a willowy Elf Mage with “Flatulent” or even “Tone Deaf” (since that prevents the character from learning singing skills). I liked the HM 4th Edition approach better, where taking Flaws allowed you to get more Building Points, like in HERO System or GURPS. Yes, that leads to min-maxing, but this is HackMaster. That's kinda the point.
Chapter Four gives us the rules for the four classes (finally). HackMaster Basic goes up to the fifth experience level of play, and all characters use the same experience chart, which starts at 0, requires 400 XP to get to 2nd level, and based on my math requires 200 XP times the next level to achieve (so to get to 3rd level requires 1200 XP, which is 800 more than 2nd, and 4th level requires 2200, which is 1000 more than 3rd). Characters get 15 BP each level. Interestingly, characters do not get added hit points every level, rather, at each even level they get “1+ re-roll” which means you get to re-roll your last hit die to see if it's better than the last roll. If you re-roll twice after three levels and the result is not at least half of your hit die (e.g. 5 for a Fighter's d10) you automatically get that hit die bumped to the halfway score. This requires PCs to keep track of what they rolled for HP at each level.
The Fighter is pretty straightforward. In addition to getting free proficiencies with all armor, he gets a discount on weapon proficiencies and can use his Build Points to gain specialization in weapons. In this game, weapons have four stats: Attack, Damage, Defense and Speed. (Missile weapons like bows require specialization only in Attack and Speed.) Each +1 to a stat requires 5 BP times the new bonus (so 10 BP for a +2) and the Fighter must bump up all four stats on a weapon skill to +1 before bringing any of them to +2, “as this skill derives from knowledge of all the techniques upon which it is built.”
The Thief (HackMaster does not use politically-correct terms like 'Rogue') is returned to the intent of old D&D; rather than being a slice n' dice machine, he is weak on the attack, except by surprise, and specializes in non-combat skills that give “mobility, stealth and reactivity” so that the Thief can bypass locks and walls to get to a situation of combat advantage or loot his target. One new element for this class is the concept of Luck Points: A Thief gets a base of 20 plus his level in Luck Points to alter a non-combat skill roll by 5% per point or an enemy's attack or damage roll by 1 per point. This assumes some roleplayed event like a flask of alcohol in the vest that helps reduce the damage of an attack. However, these Luck Points are per level: If a 1st level Thief starts with 21 Luck Points, he can't recharge them until he reaches 2nd level, at which time he starts over with 22 points.
The Mage is the combat wimp that you get in classic D&D. He can only wear heavy robes as armor, and while he can buy weapon skills, they cost double. However, he uses a new spell system that differs from the old “Vancian” magic. Sorta. A Mage starts with 140 Spell Points (SP) which go up by 50 (190 total) at 2nd level then 50 + 10 per previous level thereafter (260 at 3rd, 340 at 4th, 430 at 5th). A mage can memorize 1 spell of each level (including pre-1st level Apprentice and Journeyman spells) and memorized spells cost 40+10/spell level in SP, so a 1st level spell is 50 SP. A character can always cast a spell he hasn't memorized, but the cost is double. Spell Points can also be used to augment a spell- each spell may have a description of what factors can be adjusted and for what cost (area effect, duration, etc.)
The Cleric is specifically described as “the ambassador and the foehammer of his deity”. In this universe, the gods either cannot or will not become directly involved in mortal affairs and so the Cleric's first role is to promote his deity's agenda, whatever it is. Again, this means that Clerics have different abilities, favored weapons, etc. depending on the nature of their patron deity, and so the game's religious pantheon is described here. The gods (who do not seem to have names, only epithets like 'The True' or 'Ill-Luck') each have favored weapons (that a priest gets free proficiency in), armor restrictions, bonus skills and special powers (like Turn Undead). The cult of each deity is described along with its favored sayings- e.g. the Lawful Good goddess of justice favors places of law, her followers and priests are often official magistrates and one of her sayings is “When a man lies, he slays forever a part of the world.”
Chapter Five is for Skills, Talents & Proficiencies. STPs are all bought with Building Points. The description of skills is not terribly clear, but it seems that you roll your “skill mastery” on percentile dice and try to roll high, which in the case of opposed rolls means that the higher roll wins. When you buy your first pick in a skill, you take your relevant stat (or lowest stat, if the skill can use more than one ability score) as the base and then add the result of a “mastery die” to get your skill mastery score. The mastery die type depends on how low your current skill rating is; if it's under 25% you get to roll a d12 as a mastery die to add to it, but if you are already a “Master” with a skill of 88-100, buying another skill level only adds d3. Some races or classes start with free skill picks, for example Halflings get one free purchase of the Hiding skill (ability score plus first mastery die roll) and if the Halfling is also a Thief he gets another free Hiding skill pick at 1st level (which as his second pick would be mastery die only). Skill costs range from 1 BP (for Botany) to something like 16 BP for Disarm Traps or 20 BP for Trap Design (a Thief-only skill).
Talents are largely combat oriented and range in price from 10 BP (+1 Attack Bonus with a specific weapon) to 40 BP for Blind-Fighting. Non-humans can pick up some Talents at 50% cost; e.g. Charm Resistance is 16 BP but an Elf can get it for 8.
Proficiencies are similar to skills but are generally all-or-nothing and do not increase by buying additional picks. These include general labor training but are used mainly for armor, shield and weapon proficiencies. Most armor proficiencies are already assigned by class but can be bought in some cases (a Thief can get Shield Proficiency for 6 BP). Weapon Proficiencies generally depend on how complex the weapon is- for instance the Minimal Skill category (club, sap, garrotte) takes only 1 BP for each weapon to get and a character who does not have it still takes only -1 off attack rolls with that weapon. The High Skill category (longbows only) takes 6 BP and imposes a -6 attack penalty to a character without proficiency in the longbow.
Chapter Six is the Armor, Weapons and Equipment list. Purchases are on a scale where 10 copper pieces equal 1 silver and change for a copper is 10 brass coins to 1 copper. For weapons, prices range to a few coppers to 75 sp for a longbow. Damage includes a feature called “dice penetration” which other games would call an open-ended or exploding roll- that is, if you roll the maximum value on a particular die you can re-roll and add that second result, minus 1, to the total, and continue to do so if the maximum result is rolled. (This dice penetration feature is used on many other rolls in the game- for instance the mastery die, described earlier, is a penetrating roll.) Armor gives a damage reduction rating (subtracts from each hit taken) but reduces Defense (makes it easier to hit you) and movement rating. Shields bring Defense rating back up but the shield itself can be damaged; different damage types (Crushing, Hacking and Piercing) do different levels of damage to the shield.
Chapter Seven is the list of Mage Spells. The spell descriptions include the SP cost (Apprentice spells are 30 SP and Journeyman-level spells are 40 SP), components (verbal, somatic, material), duration and possibility of saving throw (usually the caster rolls d20 plus his level as a difficulty number and the target rolls his level or, if a monster, Attack Bonus, as a modifer to beat that number). Some spells also have an “Additional Spell Point Schedule” detailing which factors can be modified with additional SP- for example, the Enfeeble spell has a Duration of 30 seconds with an Additional Spell Point Schedule of 20 SP per additional 10 seconds. A Mage can memorize one spell slot for each level spell- so at 1st level he can memorize one Apprentice, one Journeyman and one 1st level spell, and at 5th level he can use four more spells- one each of levels 2 through 5. Each level, he can research another spell of his new level automatically, and seek out new spells through adventures and roleplaying.
Chapter Eight is the list of Cleric Spells. Clerics gain their spells straight from a patron deity and thus do not use spell points. Like Mages, they gain one spell of each level and at Wisdom 13 or higher can gain bonus spells of whatever level they can cast (Wisdom 15 allows one bonus 5th level spell, but you would need to be a 5th level Cleric to use the slot). Clerics, of course, have several spells for curing wounds of various levels, though there are also some spells for inflicting them.
Chapter Nine gets to the combat rules. “Some folks say that battles aren't that central to HackMaster. Indeed, it's a multifaceted game with many other fascinating elements… This author won't waste the space in this exalted pages to ponder such a rhetorical topic. After all, it doesn't take a bloody genius to notice that most of those other topics don't have an entire freakin' chapter devoted to them, do they?” Like HM 4th Edition, these combat rules are fairly complex, but unlike 4th, not mind-bogglingly so.
In this new HackMaster, combat time is measured in not in Turns or Rounds but in seconds, “using actual time like your ancestors intended.” A combat starts on count 1 and proceeds with each count being each second after that. This means that when you roll for Initiative (on a d12) you want to roll low, and if you have a plus to Initiative due to your abilities (because your Wisdom is 14 or less, and/or your Dexterity is 12/50 or less) and your class (Mages and Clerics both take a +1 to Initiative) that's actually a penalty that may make you act after other characters. The only class that gets a minus (boost) to Initiative is the Thief, reflecting his opportunism. The Thief also gets a smaller Initiative Die as he goes up in levels. If a character somehow gets a negative Initiative modifier it counts as 0. It's also possible that if characters can prepare for the enemy (e.g. can set up an ambush) they can get a lower Initiative Die, down to d4.
How this works is that the GM starts “The Count Up” from 1 going on up. Any character who has a Starting Initiative roll higher than the current Count Up number is considered surprised and unable to react, use a shield, etc. If the character gets hit before his starting move, he is only considered surprised for 2 more seconds, assuming he doesn't get to move before then. At this point the chapter discusses distances and movement (measured in feet) and then the possibility of ranged attacks. The thing is that the mechanic for ranged attacks gives each weapon a range category, with the first getting a d20p (penetrating) attack roll, the next category a d12, the third d8 and the fourth d4. This is compared to the defender's roll of d20 for a moving target or d12 for a stationary one. “A cursory glance at the weapon charts reveals that scoring a hit is by no means assured, even at presumably undemanding ranges. Those with some perfunctory exposure to archery may balk at the seeming difficulty of hitting a target. Let it be said that these naysayers might do well to remember that the bow that they used bears as much resemblance to period bows as my iPod does to a Victrola and they should go back to relaxing in the blind comfort a millennium of scientific achievement has provided them.”
Once characters get in range of hitting each other with melee weapons or natural attacks, melee combat begins. If one party has more reach than the other (due to size of the weapon or the character) then the character with less reach attacks in the following second. When the attacker's count comes up, he attacks with a d20p (plus Attack Bonus) against the defender's d20p-4 (plus Defense Bonus). Tie goes to the defender. When the defender uses a Shield this makes the roll d20 (without the -4) and if the defender makes his roll that means that the attack hit the shield and it protects the character. (Piercing weapons do minimal damage to a shield while other weapons generally do half damage. If a shield ends up taking 20 points from a single blow, or 30 for a medium/large shield, it is automatically destroyed.) The character then applies the Damage Reduction value of the shield, plus that of any armor. Each weapon has a Speed Rating that is added to the initial attack count for determining when the character can attack with that weapon next. (If El Ravager makes his first attack on Initiative 4 and uses a battle axe with Speed 12, he makes his next attack on Count 16.)
This game also has a Knock-back mechanic for damage rolls of 5 points per size category (remember that both Elves and Halflings are only Small, while Humans are Medium and Dwarves are Large for this purpose only- so an Elf would take Knock-back for every 10 points of damage BEFORE damage reduction while a Dwarf would need to take 20 points from a single attack to be Knocked back). If the character takes a “double” or greater Knock-back, he is prone and loses his attack until his next Weapon Speed count. I'm not sure how realistic it is, but as in superhero games, it looks cool. After all this, a damaged character then has to check for his “Threshold of Pain” - if he takes more damage from one blow than (about) 30% of his maximum HP, he must make a ˝ Constitution check; if he fails he falls to the ground until 5 seconds times the difference between ˝ the Con score and the amount by which the check fails. Then you have rules for parry, defensive fighting, critical hits, and so on. Spell casting is as described in the earlier chapters except that a mage has to use only a d8 for defense rolls while casting a spell during its casting time, and having cast a spell has to wait out “spell fatigue” for 1 second plus that spell's casting time before casting again, and is also -6 to defense rolls during that time.
To explain how all this works in practice, the chapter has an extended Knights of the Dinner Table cartoon showing how the team fights off B.A.'s attacking Goblins, with inserts of game rules between panels. This is probably something they should have done in the first place with the prior version.
Chapter Ten is Miscellaneous Rules. These include illumination sources, falling damage, secret doors, etc. Notably, healing is only 1 point over a period of time TIMES the hit point damage suffered. Thus a character who takes a 4 point wound needs to rest 4 whole days to bring it down to a 3 point wound and another 3 days to bring that down to 2. The only saving grace of this is that this healing is applied per wound taken so multiple wounds heal simultaneously.
This chapter also says that characters (other than Elves) will adjust ability scores as they age to gain in Wisdom but lose other traits including Looks. “Looks penalties apply only to females. In scientific literature, this is known as the 'Sean Connery effect.'”
Chapter Eleven is an optional chapter for detailed character backgrounds. However it also includes tables for generating character height as well as weight, the latter based on Body Mass Index and yielding a result of “ectomorph, mezzomorph (sic) or endomorph”. It also has tables for handedness ('Ambidextrous characters suffer a +1 Initiative penalty, as they often hesitate for a second as though choosing which hand to use') and parentage, including number of siblings and even their attitudes towards the character. It's mentioned in the start of the chapter that this element can provide several story hooks.
Chapter Twelve: On Dice is based on the original HM 4th Edition appendix (with photographs) going into loving detail on all that concerns a gamer's dice, and all the little rituals like the aforementioned “fame rub,” “dice priming” and which types of roll are or are not acceptable, such as The Two Finger Drop ('This technique apparently started in Europe where folks are a bit freer with the way they roll their dice. It doesn't fly at my table and it certainly isn't permissible in HackMaster.')
Then you have a GAMEMASTERS ONLY BEYOND THIS POINT section for GM only material, namely monsters and treasure. GM Chapter One is the monster selection. This includes animals and similar beings that do not have an alignment. Their stats include short options for Attack Bonus, Defense, Threshold of Pain (ToP Save) and of course Experience Point value. Some creatures have other special stats. For instance a Werewolf has a 'virulence factor 12' for its lycanthropy, meaning that a character bitten by it will have to make a Con check versus that difficulty or contract the disease. GM Chapter Two gives awards for magic and treasure, including a chart for what Experience value to assign for Traps or similar threats encountered in getting the treasure. Most of the magic items are of a fairly basic level, including the armor and weapons, which in HackMaster Basic are not magical per se but what D&D 3rd Edition would call “masterwork” items. (In the prior section, monsters like Gargoyles and Vampires that are usually hit only by magic weapons in D&D Classic are hit only by silver weapons per these rules.) Then you have GM Chapter Three, which is the GameMaster's Code of Conduct and a photocopy of The GM's Oath. The Code of Conduct goes over various points of Canon, starting with “The Game Must Go On.” As in: “The GM shall use best efforts to guarantee that the Game goes on notwithstanding inclement weather, unruly players, player absenteeism, civil or military authority, war, riots, fire, strikes or natural disaster.”
Then the book concludes with a nice-looking HackMaster Basic two-page character sheet. There is no Index.
SUMMARY
I am forced to conclude that the new version of HackMaster is again “Old School Gaming”... for better and worse. It is at least not nearly so complicated or expensive as the last version (but then, we haven't seen Advanced HackMaster) but one still has to wonder how seriously we should take this. Not just because this is based on a joke, which I've already gone over, but because one of the premises of the humor in KoDT is that a lot of these “old school” rules just flat-out don't make sense, or are based on the highly biased opinions of the game designer (or perhaps his ex-wife or little son). Some of the “in character” quotes I've provided should give an idea of how this comes off with regard to Gary Jackson, who is a pretty obvious analog to Gary Gygax, except that while Gygax was even more opinionated, he was a little bit classier.
But with all the little elements of randomness, forced use of Flaws, and so forth, I am again reminded of why I got tired of “old school” attitude in favor of games that allow more choice and focus on roleplaying over random rolls. D&D itself has modernized considerably in response to consumer demand- not to mention experience- and I'm not sure how much market there is for yet another fantasy game with poor editing, arbitrary choices and imbalanced rules.
(I was going to say something about Palladium Games here, but I'll just drop it.)
Style: 4
This is a high score mainly in terms of “simulation value.”
Substance: 3
I actually like some of the elements in HackMaster Basic, like the Count Up initiative system, but it seems to have even less options than older editions of AD&D or the HackMaster 4th Edition. Given that it's supposed to be basic, and also given that “simulation value,” I don't think I wasted my money, yet I don't think I'd actually play this game.
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