Infamous

Infamous

The isle of Farvion is an ongoing web of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 1st edition games, which use a variant of 1st edition D&D. This variant is known only by "Infamous," an alteration of standard play created by David Tucker, and the other Infamous DMs. As the legends of Farvion were spun, I found myself needing to make slight changes here and there to improve game balance, and to add to the masterwork that Dave had originally created. The DMs in question behind this uncompromising variant had two primary purposes in mind when creating these new rules. The first of these was to create a game that provided sufficient training for the old 1st edition D&D tournaments which were played back in the day, tournaments that Dave and his friends would often participate in. The second reason is that of the form of storytelling Dave preferred in playing D&D. Most standard D&D games often show favor towards the players and their characters, often placing them at the center of the world; the main characters of the story. What was decided is that while these games can be fun to play in the moment, it can be very hard to create a compelling story in a world that revolves around the characters in question. This is mostly because a character's death is often seen as a bad thing, as something that should be avoided by the DM. Dave disagrees. In Infamous, the game functions almost as if the world itself operates against the players, forcing them to take the spotlight for themselves should they want it. The focus puts all the power in the hands of the villains of the story, while the players involved are often regarded as little more than trained commoners who must claw their way to victory. While this seems like cruel and unusual punishment to most D&D players, it promotes a more world-centered focus on the game, where the players must integrate themselves into the world for the story to appear. The game often doesn't follow any scripted plot or storyline. Instead, the story is simply what the world already is, and what the players do in it. If and when a character dies, that's a part of the story. If the characters find great success, that's a part of the story. Infamous promotes world growth, and the players finding their own ways of becoming a part of the story. In this, players are encouraged to found cities and fortresses, encouraged to create classes so their future characters have roles that may have a greater significance to the threats at hand, and encouraged to tell their stories through their characters. Every character death, every failed mission, every adversity that causes harm to the player's cause, is all apart of the story. Every destroyed city, every founded nation, every constructed stronghold, is also part of the story. Most often, players will share the stories of how their glorious character fell, defending against the mighty forces of evil who plague the land. "Losing is fun" doesn't even begin to describe the wonderful stories that are crafted in this game. Be it failure or success, life or death, your character will have a story to tell. So embrace the difficulty. Laugh at death in the face, because at the end of the day, life's too short for the rest of us for you to complain about how your edgelord character should've been able to wipe out the entire empire. Now, let's play some D&D.

The following links will hopefully give you some insight into how to create your Infamous character, as well as give more background on the Infamous game itself. Use them wisely. 

Preface to Infamous: https://farvion.blogspot.com/2023/03/preface-to-infamous.html

All Infamous Supplements and Guides: https://farvion.blogspot.com/search/label/Infamous

Infamous Classes: https://farvion.blogspot.com/search/label/Infamous%20Classes

Ability Scores: https://farvion.blogspot.com/search/label/Stats