[13th Age] Midgard & 13th Age: What do you think?

[Angel Tarragon]

I am getting the 13th Age core rulebook this month. Since I am a fan of Midgard and Pathfinder, I am looking forward to picking up a few 13th Age Midgard resources in the future...I know that there are a few that are 13th Age exclusives, so that would help to flesh out my Midgard library and perhaps offer a bit more setting fluff at my fingertips.

Anyone else here a fan of the combination? What would you say does 13th Age have over Pathfinder n terms of the Midgard setting? If you have only read 13th Age Midgard, what are your thoughts on it? For you GMs and players, what have your experiences with 13th Age Midgard been like?

[Tim Baker]

Anyone else here a fan of the combination?

I'm a huge fan of 13th Age and really enjoy Midgard, and have run several 13th Age adventures in the setting.

What would you say does 13th Age have over Pathfinder in terms of the Midgard setting?

This really depends on the type of stories you want to tell in Midgard. With the icon relationships mechanic for 13th Age, characters are inherently more closely tied to the "movers and shakers" of the setting. Wade Rockett did a nice job of documenting Midgard icons in the Midgard Bestiary for 13th Age, so you can choose whether your characters have a relationship with Baba Yaga and her followers, or the Free City Council, for example. This leads to stories where the PCs are the focus and yet they're part of something bigger.

In terms of what the 13th Age Midgard products offer that the Pathfinder ones don't, once again I recommend the Midgard Bestiary for 13th Age. ASH LAW (his capitalization, not mine) doesn't simply "convert" monsters, but expands upon them. One of my favorite additions to the monster descriptions is the list of items likely to be found on the creature. Rather than rolling on a random treasure table, there are quirky and unique items -- many mundane, but a few magical and/or powerful -- that you can barter for, pickpocket, or loot from a corpse.

For a more general sense of what makes 13th Age different from Pathfinder, I find this list helpful.

If you have only read 13th Age Midgard, what are your thoughts on it?

I like the Midgard products so much, I buy them regardless of the system. I have Open Design (Kobold Press' previous name) going back to D&D 3.5, 4e, Pathfinder, Dragon Age, 5e and 13th Age. I like them all. Even when I can't use the mechanics directly, even the crunchier books provide me ideas for how I'd reskin a 13th Age monster or create a new talent or spell for a player's character.

For you GMs and players, what have your experiences with 13th Age Midgard been like?

My experiences with Midgard have been positive. The Kobold minions offer several fun adventures and a world rich in details. 13th Age has its own default setting, and I often draw from Midgard to make that setting my own.

[Big Mac]

What is the size of the "footprint" of Midgard in 13th Age products vs the size of the "footprint" in Pathfinder format?

Is there just a nod to 13th Age, or is the support substantial?

And is there anything that is only available under 13th Age rules?

[Tim Baker]

What is the size of the "footprint" of Midgard in 13th Age products vs the size of the "footprint" in Pathfinder format?

Is there just a nod to 13th Age, or is the support substantial?

And is there anything that is only available under 13th Age rules?

The amount of mechanical "crunch" given to 13th Age is approximately the same as that given to Pathfinder. So far, the only 13th Age books for Midgard are relatively high in 13th Age-specific material. In each case, it's a conversion (though I use the word loosely, as there are notable differences between the products and play-styles they best support) of a Pathfinder product, and the Pathfinder source product was "high-crunch" as well.

In the 13th Age books, the support is substantial. I don't have it in front of me, but I believe the bestiary has over 100 monsters for 13th Age. Deep Magic has hundreds and hundreds of 13th Age spells.

Aside from some of the content being different in the 13th Age versions of products, there are no 13th Age-only products. Every book that you can find for 13th Age has a Pathfinder equivalent.

[rabindranath72]

I haven't GMed Midgard yet, but I have used the 13th Age Midgard Bestiary, and it's a wonderfully imaginative resource. Psychic Derro Foetus anyone?

[Tim Baker]

I haven't GMed Midgard yet, but I have used the 13th Age Midgard Bestiary, and it's a wonderfully imaginative resource. Psychic Derro Foetus anyone?

Agreed. I use it regularly for my 13th Age games that don't take place in Midgard (as well as those that do, of course).

[Big Mac]

Anyone else here a fan of the combination?

I'm a huge fan of 13th Age and really enjoy Midgard, and have run several 13th Age adventures in the setting.

Are there any Midgard articles in previous issues of Escalation, Tim?

I know you are working on a special issue for Glorantha, at the moment. If that goes well, would you consider an issue dedicated to Midgard, at some point?

[Tim Baker]

Are there any Midgard articles in previous issues of Escalation, Tim?

I know you are working on a special issue for Glorantha, at the moment. If that goes well, would you consider an issue dedicated to Midgard, at some point?

There aren't any Midgard articles, but that's mostly due to my not realizing that Kobold Press permits their IP to be used in fan productions. I would need to double check that, of course, but assuming they have a community use license the way 13th Age and Glorantha do, I'd love to create a Midgard issue!

[Tim Baker]

Ben Eastman sent this my way via Facebook: https://koboldpress.com/kobold-press-co ... se-policy/

[Big Mac]

Are there any Midgard articles in previous issues of Escalation, Tim?

I know you are working on a special issue for Glorantha, at the moment. If that goes well, would you consider an issue dedicated to Midgard, at some point?

There aren't any Midgard articles, but that's mostly due to my not realizing that Kobold Press permits their IP to be used in fan productions. I would need to double check that, of course, but assuming they have a community use license the way 13th Age and Glorantha do, I'd love to create a Midgard issue!

Yay! I look forward to seeing how you get on.

Ben Eastman sent this my way via Facebook: https://koboldpress.com/kobold-press-co ... se-policy/

That's a great licence.

You can write about stuff under fair-use rules, but RPG stuff often goes beyond that and into the territory of an "implied licence for GMs to collaborate". Most publishers don't want to stop fans from supporting their products, but there are a few fans who step over the line and try to make things that would bypass the need to actually buy the original RPG products. I think it's good when a publisher tells fans what they are comfortable with...and when the fans do their best to comply with the spirit of what the company is trying to do.

How are things with 13th Age? Is that all under the Open Game Licence or are there bits that are locked down? I don't suppose you would want to ever create a full-version of the OGC from 13th Age, but do you ever look at an entire section of something like the rules for monsters, in order to infer how to make new content that is compatible with it?

[Tim Baker]

How are things with 13th Age? Is that all under the Open Game Licence or are there bits that are locked down?

13th Age has a generous community use policy. If you're interested in reading, it you can find it here (click on the "Community Use" header, as I can't link to it directly).

I don't suppose you would want to ever create a full-version of the OGC from 13th Age, but do you ever look at an entire section of something like the rules for monsters, in order to infer how to make new content that is compatible with it?

The three core 13th Age books already make their OGC available in the form of a massive (711-page) System Resource Document (SRD). If you want it in a hyperlinked, online format, you can also access the core book's OGC via http://www.13thagesrd.com/.

See? You have no good reason not to check out 13th Age, since it's free. And the lead designer of 3rd Edition D&D is a co-designer of 13th Age, and this is his preferred version of D&D.

[Big Mac]

How are things with 13th Age? Is that all under the Open Game Licence or are there bits that are locked down?

13th Age has a generous community use policy. If you're interested in reading, it you can find it here (click on the "Community Use" header, as I can't link to it directly).

Looks like they based it on Paizo's community licence. Nice to see Paizo helping out another D&D clone.

I don't suppose you would want to ever create a full-version of the OGC from 13th Age, but do you ever look at an entire section of something like the rules for monsters, in order to infer how to make new content that is compatible with it?

The three core 13th Age books already make their OGC available in the form of a massive (711-page) System Resource Document (SRD). If you want it in a hyperlinked, online format, you can also access the core book's OGC via http://www.13thagesrd.com/.

See? You have no good reason not to check out 13th Age, since it's free. And the lead designer of 3rd Edition D&D is a co-designer of 13th Age, and this is his preferred version of D&D.

Your Jedi mind tricks won't work on me Tim.

No, joking aside, they look like great resources to have links to in an Other 13th Age Websites (& Free Downloads) sticky.

[Tim Baker]

Your Jedi mind tricks won't work on me Tim.

Haha! Love it.

No, joking aside, they look like great resources to have links to in an Other 13th Age Websites (& Free Downloads) sticky.

Done. Is this what you had in mind?

[Big Mac]

No, joking aside, they look like great resources to have links to in an Other 13th Age Websites (& Free Downloads) sticky.

Done. Is this what you had in mind?

That's just the thing. Now it just needs more links.

I've made a master sticky to link to it.