Challenges Game System

Challenges Game System
by Tom Moldvay
Challenges International Inc, 1986

Not available anywhere that I can find.

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

The Challenges Game System (henceforth, Challenges) is a booklet authored by Tom Moldvay (yes, THAT Tom Moldvay of the greatest version of D&D fame).  The booklet includes 8 pages of rules and is 12 pages long, including front and back covers.  Challenges is designed to be an easy-to-play alternative to AD&D.  The booklet claims that this is the foundation for a fantasy game.  I believe, though it does not make this claim, that the TSR-produced AD&D books were meant to supplement Challenges.

The booklet begins a short introduction, a list of abbreviations, and then jumps right into character creation.  There is no "what is a rpg?" paragraph.  

The game uses six ability scores, which are mostly comparable with AD&D:  Muscle, Dexterity, Stamina, Willpower, Wisdom, and Charisma.  I find it interesting that Mr. Moldvay replaced Intelligence with Willpower.  Willpower tends to be consolidated with Wisdom much of the time - at least in modern iterations of the game.  In Challenges, Willpower is used to "influence the environment with sheer force of will" and that it is sometimes called Intelligence.  I don't see these two jiving but it is what it is.  Wisdom is "intuition and subconscious intelligence".  Obviously, Muscle and Stamina are actually Strength and Constitution.  I don't know why Mr. Moldvay switched from the six standard abilities but I assume it was for legal reasons.  

Ability score modifiers tend to start at 13 or 16 for positive modifiers and 5 or 8 for negative modifiers.  The modifiers don't track exactly with AD&D but they are pretty close.  

An interesting note here is that a high Stamina means the character can go to lower Life Points (hit points).  Characters, in general, can go to -10 LP before dying, but with a Stamina of 16+, the character will die at -11 to -14 LP instead.

One interesting tidbit is that all ability scores get a percentage breakdown once the score hits 18.  As most of y'all know, AD&D (and OD&D Greyhawk before it), broke down Strength at 18 into percentages, but only for fighters.  

The game includes five classes - the warrior, sorcerer, cleric, thief, and mirager.  The mirager is an illusionist in AD&D.  It's a pretty bold move including the least played AD&D class, other than monk, as a core class.  

Each class has its own experience chart.  Each class has a Luck score, which improves with level.  The Luck score is this game's Saving Throw.  Swords & Wizardry uses this concept in their currently produced game, which is a good thing.  I much prefer a single saving throw to the original group of five.  Each class also has a Base score, which is for all intents and purposes, its THAC0.  Each character class goes to level 10.  The rules state that this is due to space restrictions but I feel that 10 levels is the perfect number, anyway.  

The sorcerer and mirager use the same class chart.

Thieves have two scores, Stealth and Thief Skill, which encompasses lockpicking, traps, picking pockets, and the rest of the non-stealth skills from AD&D).  These two skills are percentage-based, presumably to be compatible with AD&D.

Clerics have a Turn Undead score, which is nothing unusual for a D&D-based game.

Characters can choose to play a human, dwarf, elf, gnome, or hobbit.  It is also a bold move for Mr. Moldvay to use the term "hobbit" after the kerfuffle that TSR got into with the Tolkien cats back in the day.  He does point out, and makes it very explicit, that "hobbit" comes from British folklore, and has been used in print since at least 1859.

There is nothing unusual with any of the race options, and anyone who as played any version of TSR xD&D will recognize the racial abilities.  Dwarves get special skills when doing underground stuff and have a bonus to magic saving throws.  They can become warriors, thieves, or multi-class.  The rest of the races have their own benefits and hindrances, of course.  It is mentioned that humans alone can advance beyond 10th level.

For some reason, weapon damage follows the section on races.  Well, actually, the weapon chart is split in two with how to create a multi-class character mixed in with it.  I assume that this is a mistake done by the layout crew.

The game uses descending armor class.  Shields improve the AC by -1 to -3, depending on the armor worn.  It is an interesting take on armor and shields and I like it.  Shields are less useful in D&D than they should be.  Challenges rectifies this but also keeps metal armor more useful for defense.  I don't know if this is accurate in the real world, or not, but from a game mechanic point of view, I like it.  The reason this is done, according to the author, is to ensure that the best AC available is 0.  I still like it.

Combat follows and is what a player of AD&D would expect - roll initiative and then roll d20 to hit your foe.  There are two tables which give modifiers based on exact die roll.  I think this is interesting but would not use it, personally.  For example, if you miss your foe you might lose an attack, lose initiative next round, or even take damage; if you hit your foe, you will do extra damage and if you roll above the number needed by high enough, you can cause a light or serious wound.  Light and serious wounds give attack roll penalties until healed.  Mr. Moldvay mentions that a cure light wounds spell can be used to remove this condition and a cure serious wounds spell can remove a serious wound condition.  As I said, I would not use this at all - it is all too fiddly for me.

Spells come next.  Each spell gets a one or two sentence description, which includes range, damage, effect, duration, etc.  I really like the abbreviated spell descriptions.

Here is the sorcerer's light spell.  Light (range 60', duration 1 turn per level; magical light in the shape of a sphere with a 2' radius).  Concise, to the point, and allows the player and referee some wriggle room to make decisions based on circumstances.  Is the light floating in the air?  Is it cast on an object?  Is it stationary?  Is it the equivalent of a torch?  Some referees and player would cower in fear at the power a simplified rules set provides groups but I find it refreshing that in 1986, an author was not piling on the crunch.

Monsters come next.  I will note first off that monsters have a Morale score, which is necessary for any game.  If your D&D game doesn't have a morale mechanic, you are playing a poorly designed game.  The Base and Luck scores of a monster is based on its Life Points.  For example, a monster with 20 LP has a Base 16 and Luck 15.  There is no list of monsters given.  I assume that the AD&D Monster Manual is expected to be available.  The monster section mentions Challenges Inc adventure modules but I do not believe that any were produced.

Would I run Challenges?  Maybe.  I like the 8-page format for a game.  I like the simplified format for races, classes, and spells.  I doubt I would use the combat modifiers and would instead implement a typical natural 20 does double damage, or something.  If I did use the combat tables, I would maybe simplify them.  I don't know, I still maybe would referee it.  I would definitely play it, though!

⇒ GRIT:  ★★★★☆ This game packs everything needed, except monsters into eight pages.  This is some serious game design ninja skill and I love it.  As a beginner rpg or for someone who has not refereed or played a version of TSR D&D, this would instead be one star.  If this pamphlet included a handful of sample monsters, I would give it 5 stars.

⇒ VIGOR:  ★★★☆☆ Limited to 10 levels, this game will keep a game group going for a few years.  Challenges suffers due to a lack of construction rules and charts, domain play, and all that high level jazz.  I suspect that the author assumes folks would have the AD&D Dungeon Masters Guide available for this.  I feel that a page or two of what characters might want to do at higher levels is warranted.

⇒ GRACE:  ★★☆☆☆ Challenges is ugly.  I mean fugly-level ugly.  The front cover is nice, with some hapless warrior about to get his butt handed to him by some fire monster.  After the cover, though, reading is rough going.  Dumping racial descriptions in the middle of the weapons table is silly.  Walls of text make reading a bit difficult.  The booklet succeeds, though, in its brevity.  Reading this is like reading any late 70s AD&D book.  I think that by 1986, books looked better.  I know that in 1989, the AD&D 2e books looked better than the 1e (except for the cover art of course, 1e was WAY better with covers).