Dungeon Hack! Game for kids (and big kids too)

Working on my own simplified dungeon crawl game for playing with my 6 year old. We got to try it out today. While we have yet to get into the idea of tactics. So far we have dealt with a trap, and "whack the goblin with my big sword". Also had a bit if tears over rolling a 1 for Fate, but in general we had a good time! I think this would really work well as a fun and quick game, and want to try it out sometime with older gamers as well. It truly is mostly about player skill. Will post it when I get it finished and find out how to from the iPad. One design concept I really like is using old business cards to make the spell cards. It feels a bit like dungeon the game - and should be very familiar to those who have played final fantasy type games. But I present Lion - the dwarf, on his quest to recover his family history tome from the caves of despair.

The original evil space wizard

I spent my birthday with my son, wife and inlawsa at the exploration center in wichita ( one of America's most underrated cities). What a cool exhibit and birthday. Even though my boy has sort of a fascination slash fear of starwars there was lot of other stuff for him to do. If samurai space wizards can adventure together with uptight royalty freedom fighters why do some folks sweat the smorgasbord of od&d?

First Twenty Questions for FCotTD - oh poor Yorick....rolled a 2 on the hurt table and didn't run

Well here are the first set of 20 questions from Brendan's blog. I found these useful. I think with all the variations for ability score modifiers from thr old school games there should be a 21st one: what are the modifiers for the abilities. I will follow up with Jeff's in due time.

Poor Yorick must have rolled poorly on the hurt table after getting hit by a level draining fiend and foolishlyn didn't run.


Ability scores generation method?
3d6 in order: Str,Int,Dex,Wis,Con,Cha
Fighters can reduce int, dex, wis on 2 for 1 for str
MU can reduce str, dex, wis on 2 for 1 for int
Others can't reduce at all.
If you pick a hafling the max score for any is 12.

How are death and dying handled?
At 0 HP characters have to roll on the serious hurt table. The second whack you get while at 0 HP you only roll 1d6 on the serious hurt table. When you are less than 6 HP you get wicked wounds and scars.

What about raising the dead?
Only one sect - Maidens of the Blackgate can cast a raise dead spell. This is a special spell that costs a lot of money, including the upkeep for the priestess for the rest of her life as she loses her clerical powers in casting it.

How are replacement PCs handled?
Ported in, unless the character has someone is mind - prodigy or similar but that generally requires the player to wait until an appropriate time. In general new characters are level 1 and other players are expected not to be a dick to them. If all the players agree new characters can be the average level minus 2.

Initiative: individual, group, or something else?
Group unless there are special circumstances. Plain old B/X


Are there critical hits and fumbles? How do they work?
Yes, hits only, generally only by players or named characters. On a natural 20 something cool happens (generally someone that will give an advantage to your next hit or someone that will make it hard for the other guy). Rolling a 1 is the same as giving the other guy a crit. Fighters, dwarves, Enochs can explode a natural 6 roll for damage. Roll special crit die ( six sider that is marked with 0,0,2,4,6,8 or roll d6+d4. A roll of 3 or better on the d6 gives you 2x the d4 result)
If you roll a nat 20, the roll a nat 6 on the damage roll you get to roll on the serious hurt table.


Do I get any benefits for wearing a helmet?
Yes depending on what is happening in the story. In general though no specific game rules regarding helmets. Some of the serious hurt table benefits from a helmet.

Can I hurt my friends if I fire into melee or do something similarly silly?
Yes, if you miss, roll again to see if you hit something else.

Will we need to run from some encounters, or will we be able to kill everything?
Use your player skills to find out

Level-draining monsters: yes or no?
Yes

Are there going to be cases where a failed save results in PC death?
Yes - that is the purpose of a saving throw a chance to escape death

How strictly are encumbrance & resources tracked?
Mostly yes - ammo, light, food, money, spells, hp, etc. will all be tracked. Encumbrance will be based on b/x.

What's required when my PC gains a level? Training? Do I get new spells automatically?
No training, but at least day of downtime. Magic Users get one new spell automatically but it takes d6x100 gp to scribe it out in a new spell book. Enochs are the same.

Can it happen in the middle of an adventure, or do I have to wait for down time?
No, you must be in town

What do I get experience for?
Treasure - 1xp for every gp you spend on non-equipment and not on spells. What you choose to spend your money on tells us a lot about your character. If folks have trouble with this I might break out a carousing rule instead. Later in the game folks can buy property and become a landholder.
You do not get xp until you spend the money.
Defeating monsters
Exploring (generally you get some for every room you explore, and interacting with the dungeon). If someone dies due to interaction with the dungeon, the survivors get some to.

How are traps located? Description, dice rolling, or some combination?
Combination, if you describe it good enough no roll. If you don't standard b/x roll.

Are retainers encouraged and how does morale work?
Yes, if you can afford them. Vagabond camps are interesting cheap ways to get them, but with unpredictable folks. Morale based in Charisma. They check morale based on when DM thinks they should. If the level up to same level as you they walk. They generally want a share of the treasure, and if you treat them as scum, they will treat you as scum.

How do I identify magic items?
Read magic or go and find a sage.

Can I buy magic items? Oh, come on: how about just potions?
Maybe, there isn't a magic shop. If you had a magic sword that was a 1000 years ago wielded by an overlord of the Riven Empire of the Stars that spit a life stealing black ray with a cackling laugh would you sell it? You might try some of the tonic salesmen dressed up gaudy clothes at the crossroads, or the young witch of shattered dream falls, but maybe it is just river water mixed with string wine and some sparkles or maybe it really is a potion of healing? Try some to find out if it will save your bacon before the serious hurt roll or make you take a save vs. dysentery?

Can I create magic items? When and how?
Yes. Scrolls are 100 gp per level and take 1 week per level to make. Clerics cannot make scrolls. Others are per the expert rules. Dwarves can forge magic arms and armor if they can find the lost arts and the requisite materials. For the most part it will be a while to make magic items. All require the caster/forger to find the secrets of their making.

What about splitting the party?
Go for it, but don't complain about the downtime as I try to run two games at the same time.

More maps

Created using notability plus Flickr stackr plus iPad

First attempts of using iPad for gaming.....

New Tools and the joy of hex

For my bday I got what any gaming dad would love - and iPad! Many games of Puerto Rico later I have gotten a bit more serious. I love penultimate for a mere .99 cents. Especially since you can put in your own custom papers. With some simple free downloadable hex maps you can have both a moleskin looking notebook sketch pad as well as having hex paper. I swear this will be better once I have my stylus - no more scanners for sure. Well once I figure out how to get from my iPad to blogger. Still learning the tools I guess. Blah

Not dead, just busy....

Summer is here, with that work heats up, kids are doing summer stuff, car trips to grandparents, etc.... Still working on my flaming canyons of the transfigured dawn d&d mine.... Anyone have any great critical hit tables that they have publishable on the web ( I.e. telling me use the tables from an out of print book that I don't have would be less useful)