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.

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

Expierence Points Drive the Game - XP For Exploring the Dungeon?

I won't rehash what we all already know - how you give out XP defines a lot of what happens at the table. It works in the corporate world the same way - you work what you measure - and rewards drive behavior.

If I was being fidely and forgey - well I would overall the whole system potentially. There are a lot of really good games that do a good job with this, Burning Wheel comes to mind as well as the keys from the Shadow over yesterday. But then that would Azemol a bit more complicated than what I am looking for, and also it would hamper being to move from campaign to campaign - or least it would impact the fungibility of players from different backgrounds being able to play (probably another post all together on one of the things that makes old school DnD is while every table is different they are relatively fungible from a rule set - but probably not always from a style).

Instead I go back to the good old standby's plus a bit more. I want Flaming Canyons to be like when I played the B/X originally - a lot of exploration - what's around the next corner - what's on Level 2. But I also really like in my game of the impacts as characters grow and you get into the "end-game".

Like many I use the Dave Arneson rule: you only get the xp if you spend the gold you get out of the dungeon. Meaning that just getting isn't enough. What you spend on doesn't matter, except you don't get any XP from buying equipment or making magic weapons. All else you spend on does give you XP. If wine, women, and song is your thing, then by all means. But you could also get paying a ton of bribes to gain an audience with the Baron Throckmorton or in building up your Overlord Lair or whatever. What you spend it on shows some of how you see your character.

Jeff has a similar system for his carousing. I don't limit to carousing, but I do like some of his ideas about how big of a city you can spend it on. In the past I haven't done this, I just assumed somehow - usually 'off camera' the character spent the money. Make something up, scratch the gold off your sheet, and we talk about it (briefly) and maybe I add a twist or two to what you said, usually some sort of complication, a 'I always knew he was that type of guy' or just jot something down to add for future adventure fodder.

I will have think on it a bit more if I want anything more fiddely than that. One thing I do want to do is encourage characters to take some additional risk though. Exploration is a big thing, espically those old so tasty weird Enochian Ruins like the Burnished Tower of the Spellthrone. So in addition to the rule on gold, and monsters, I will add one on exploration.

So my XP system looks like:

• 1XP for every 1GP a character spends on non-equipment/magic item creation 
• Standard Monster XP per B/X
• +25 XP times the Level of the Dungeon for each room you explore in a dungeon. 
• +50 XP for trying something weird in the dungeon (what happens if I pull this lever; sure I'll drink from that rainbow hue liquid squirting out of the fountain that we found in this 1000 year weird fortress buried in the side of the mountain about 200' underground!) 
• +100 XP if someone dies in that room of the Dungeon from the Dungeon (i.e. killed by a monster or trap or something weird). Those that survive learn from these events. 
• +100 XP for going down the stairs to the next level
• +200 XP for going down a level by means other than stairs caused by the dungeon (that teleporter you weren't expecting will also learn you some - at least if you make it out. 
• Need to work it out but something similar for Hex Crawling and clearing Hexes. 

Or something similar. I would probably get some tokens or markers or something and just hand them out for each event. When you get back to town you can cash them in for XP for exploring new stuff and coming back out alive to talk about it.

Interested in feedback on this - especially the level of the awards and how others would see to implement XP for exploring the dungeon.

Peace,

D&D Mine - Taking the OSR to the next Level

JB at Blackrazor had a compelling post around the concept of D&D Mine. I'll just link it so you can get the complete thoughts, and if you are reading my little ole' blog out of the Bayou City you have probably already seen it. I think the planet Eris is great. I love it. Both are the inspirations for my own project to pull together all the rules I like, all the little quirks of the basic game that helped me fall in love with the game, and after a brief stint over at indie games - brought me back.

I realized that the simplicity of Moldvay was what my gaming style is. I still like a few changes. My other game of youth I liked but could never get a group to really get my head around was Tasilanta - there wasn't enough grounding for us for really to create 'adventures'. And that is what Roleplaying is to me, having adventures not crunching a bunch of numbers.

My D&D mine still has a lot of characterization and color even if not always original - I think Otus instead of Elmore. I am making it for me and folks I play with. Others are free to have it, but I do like to think of it like what JB posts, a sort of gaming bible for our table, back to the days when there wasn't a ka-zillon splatbooks. Quite frankly I have divested myself of well over a 1000 dollars of gaming gear. As I approach the other side of the 30's I don't have the time or space. I kept my Moldvay/Cook and few other key books that serve mostly as inspiration. They take up all of 1/2 a bookshelf. I don't plan on buying a lot stuff. I have everything I need between the blogs, my inspiration, and the pdf's like Eris that are out there.

I am a hobbyist, and don't mind if the industry doesn't stay an industry. When getting my car serviced - some random dude saw my B of B/X. He said - "wow we had so much fun with that when we are kids". I doubt if I had held whatever D&D Next is, he would have said that. The old Red Book is a cultural icon for a lot of my generation. That is who I play with.

I would encourage others to make their own D&D Mine - share your inspirations, share your ideas. I think the OSR has enough "base" now. Enough to start building and playing on. You can start to see some of these ideas coming through now in the mega dungeons, the versions of D&D mine like Flying Swordsman and Planet Eris. I think this is encouraging as a hobby. The great thing is that if we keep it as a hobby (or at least cheap) we can all still play in each other's campaigns. We will have the same grounding. I think it is still important to understand what "your game" is about. So I will be sharing my twenty questions and introduction in a future post for Flaming Canyons of the Transfigured Dawn.

Peace,

Canyon Goblins - They Go Bang!

So thought I would also add to the already huge list of monsters out there - really - who can't use more monsters in their campaign. This is one that is a huge pest in the D&D Mine project that I am working on: Flaming Canyons of the Transfigured Dawn. They are in the first of many dungeons in the area - in the outskirts of the Burnished Tower of the Spell Throne - an Enochian Dungeon (more on them later - they replace Elves in D&D Mine). Between the market village and the actual dungeon is a wall with towers on it that was built sometime between the Star Empire and now. We don't know who actualy built it, but the stones don't have mortar and they fit perfectly, and has been standing for well over 200 years.

Inhabit ting this 'foyer' to the Dungeon are two different tribes of Canyon Goblins that go through wars, truces, and treaties on a frequent basis.

At the start of the game roll a D6 and consult the table below:
1 - Heated War with each other, attack on site, will assume all encountered are spies - all reaction rolls are immediately hostile. Heightened chance of wandering monster (guards/spies).
2- Wat - at war with each other, will be suspicious - normal encounter rolls.
3-4 Ceasefire - Used to be at war in the not so distant future, but currently not. Wouldn't take much to get one going
5- On trading terms with each other
6 -Thinking about joining the two tribes into one supertribe.

The other aspect of canyon goblins is that they go bang. They explode when killed (at least some of the time) That makes it fun, especially if the players aren't expecting it.

Note: in Flaming Canyons all Monster HD are d6. 

Canyon Goblins
AC: 6
HP: D6-1 (Fight as 1HD-1 Monsters)
Move: 60'
Attacks: 1 Weapon (usually a spear or crappy shortbow)
Damage: D6
No. Appearing: 2-8 (4-48 in Wilderness)
Save As: Normal Man
Morale: 7 / 9
Treasure Type: Q (Ind)/C (Wilderness)
Alignment: Chaotic

Canyon Goblins are chaotic small humanoids that frequently infest older ruins, abandoned settlements, any caves that would be worth turning into a hold or settlement, and some of the deeper darkest forests on the mountain sides. They stand between 3-4' tall, have bright green skin with deep beady red eyes. They can see 90' in darkness, and suffer a -1 to initiative and to hit when in sunlight. They come out between dusk and dawn.   They usually wear whatever they can find, but dye it pitch black, and wear funny floppy pointed caps. Different tribes trim their raggy clothes and patchwork armor with different colors of hideous orange, yellow, or red. They fight with cruddy shortbows (will usually only work for about 1 or 2 shots at most before they break or are rendered useless).

They frequently raid other settlements, and have a fondness for eating pork and sheep. Groups (tribes) of 15 or more will have a "Boss". The boss has 10 hitpoints and fights as a 2HD monster. The Boss will generally fight with a two handed weapon of some sort (giving +1 to hit against armored opponents). In the wilderness, there is a 1 in 4 chance that there are D6 gobbler herders amongst the tribe. For each 2 herders there will be one gobbler.

They have a fondness for cheap strong beer. Some communities have been able to bribe some tribes 'protection' to leave them alone by supplying a steady supply of cheap beer and pork products. These communities are often frowned upon by neighboring communities for encouraging such pesky infestations.

Canyon Goblins are sometimes known as Bang Goblins or Bomb Goblins. When a Canyon Goblins is reduced to 0 hitpoints they die like any other creature. But they also blow up. Anyone in a nearby radius - such as those engaged in hand-to-hand combat suffer 0-4 points of damage (D6-2). If the die roll is odd then any items that are easily flammable on those affected by the blast catch on fire, if the die is even they do not or someone managed to stamp it out. Characters can spend a round to put out a fire, otherwise they continue to take 1D6 damage for one more round from the object being on fire. When a canyon goblin explodes there is a loud bang noise, which tends to be head many tens of feet away unless muffled by thick stone walls and heavy doors. Out in the canyons the explosion tends to echo very loudly. Once a goblin explodes there will be left a steaming pile of sulfourous smelling pile of wet ash. If left alone, in about 7 days 1D4 goblin pups will grown out of the pile. They mature in a mere month. Goblin pups have 1 HP and don't attack. They can be raised as (unreliable) followers, but most communities will run you out with their pitchforks for bringing one into their community.

Canyon Goblins speak Goblin, and pigdin form of Common, and a brutally mashed up version of Dwarvish limited to insults, taunts, and pleading for mercy.

Some evil overlords have been known to keep stables of canyon goblins and load them into catapults all tied together to make a missle that usually kills the goblins on impact and results in a pretty decent explosion. Of course the goblins don't like this, and will generally check anyone hiring the tribe has a catapult or other siege type engine.

Dwarves hate Canyon Goblins and vice verse, they usually attack each other on sight, fighting first and asking questions later. 

Business Card Character Sheets - Demonstration of Low Impact - High Fun Gaming

I finally found a use for all those extra business cards that I don't need when I switch jobs. One of the great things about B/X (my preferred system) or S&W Whitebox (my second perferred) is that the characters are so simple, yet allow for so much characterization. While sitting waiting for my car to be serviced, I took one of the business cards, and using the dicenomicon app on ipod touch - whipped up Azemol the Archer in like 10 minutes.

What's more when I think about Azemol - his stats would point to a thief or halfling - both of which I frown upon for different reasons for Flaming Canyons of the Transfigured Dawn. But with the chaotic nature of the communities in the canyons, I soon saw that Azemol was a survivor. With his higher dex, con and cha - here was a guy who was making his way through the various communities in search of adventure. Personable enough to make his way through the small villages and communities without ruffling too many officials. With his long bow a bit of poaching gets him by, and he is pretty tough (rolled a 5 for HP out of 6, for a total of 7 for a fighter  with his Con)- in Flaming Canyons Fighters have D6+1 HP). Neutrality seemed like the logical choice for his alignment.

Equipping him, I thought that an archer wouldn't want a shield too much. So instead with his higher dex I went for the two weapon fencer type of sword and dagger. In Flaming Canyons this means when he hits he will get to roll 2D6 and take the best one. I also bought him a silver arrow. He either knows that wererats are semi-common in some of the ruins, or I like to think that a sibling of his bit the dust facing off against something that was only hit by silver, making him a bit superstitions.

Still need to work a bit on spacing on the buisness card, if I had made a thief or a magic user not sure I would have enough room for spells or theify type skills. But I think I could make it work. In play I would use a separate card for making notes, keeping track of turns and resources. Poor Azemol didn't have enough coin for tinderboxes or torches meaning he will have to be friendly with someone who does (but with his Charisma - he seems like the kind of guy that is able to borrow something pretty easy from his friends). Or potentially the next character will have to be a cleric of the Cleansing Flame.