tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2839388853027848212024-03-28T00:42:26.102-07:00GrognardlingExploring games that were published before I was born - and the games inspired by them.Christopherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16988517412357391012noreply@blogger.comBlogger221125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-283938885302784821.post-17095452938948546312023-01-11T21:28:00.001-08:002023-01-11T21:28:07.378-08:00Dungeon23 11/365: Empty Room and Gelatinous Cube<p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Room 11</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">This room is empty.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Random Encounter</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">A gelatinous cube.</span></p>Christopherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16988517412357391012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-283938885302784821.post-12978120015588022332023-01-10T23:09:00.006-08:002023-01-10T23:09:59.768-08:00Dungeon23 10/365: Empty Room and a Cave-In<p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Room 10</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">This room is empty.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Random Encounter</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Randomly select a door. A cave-in blocks this door and does 1d6 damage to any character near it who fails a save.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Every time the party returns to the dungeon, the doorway is completely repaired, without a trace of the cave in, on a 1/10 chance.</span></p>Christopherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16988517412357391012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-283938885302784821.post-55492341949992041972023-01-09T22:39:00.002-08:002023-01-09T22:39:27.088-08:00Dungeon23 9/365: Ant Nest Hole and Piercers<p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Room 9</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">This room contains a stairway down to Level 2. It is guarded by 3d4 Giant Ant Soldiers, each with gold tracings throughout their carapaces.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Random Encounter</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">2d4 piercers. If your system has piercers of different hit dice, roll to randomly select how big each one is.</span></p>Christopherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16988517412357391012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-283938885302784821.post-74573152706156406882023-01-08T16:43:00.005-08:002023-01-08T16:43:57.977-08:00Dungeon23 8/365: Giant Ants<p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Room 8</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">This room is used as a graveyard by the giant ants on Level 2. The giant ants have traces of gold in their carapaces. There is a 1/8 chance that a scavenger is consuming or removing a giant ant corpse. If so, roll 1d6:</span></p><p></p><ol style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">Mushroom people from Room 5, working to haul a carcass away. They would appreciate help. If the party helps, roll for random encounters twice as often until the party bathes – the smell of ant death attracts more attention. On the other hand, the mushroom people will be grateful.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">A rust monster, nibbling at the gold in a dead ant's carapace.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">A carrion crawler.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">2d4 tunnel prawn</span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">A carrion moth</span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">A gelatinous cube</span></li></ol><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Unless bothered, each of these scavengers (other than the mushroom people) will only pay attention to the party on a 1/10.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Random Encounter</b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">A giant ant scout. Normal, except for gold tracing throughout carapace. Will not attack, but may steal something or someone vulnerable and scurry back to the nest on Level 2, possibly returning with reinforcements.</span></div><p></p>Christopherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16988517412357391012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-283938885302784821.post-24374720502966475582023-01-07T22:08:00.002-08:002023-01-07T22:08:34.758-08:00Dungeon23 7/365: Levers & Kill Kittens<p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Room 7:</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">All doors to this room are locked with <i>Lock #1</i>. Unlike the rest of this level, which is carved into solid stone, this room's floor is covered in flagstones.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Four levers are set into a wall (roll each time to determine which wall; they shift).</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The <b>first lever</b> is set with a four-leafed clover emblem in its handle. Roll 1d8 to determine the effect on the first character to pull it:</span></p><p></p><ol style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">-4 to random stat</span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">-3 to random stat</span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">-2 to random stat</span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">-1 to random stat</span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">+1 to random stat</span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">+2 to random stat</span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">+3 to random stat</span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">+4 to random stat</span></li></ol><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">This lever disappears after the first time it is pulled, never to be seen again. If you think up a good idea for a lever, put it here with a 1/6 chance to appear each time the party enters the room.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">The <b>second lever</b> is set with an arrow pointing down. If it is pulled, the entire room drops down to the second level. Pushing the lever up brings the room back up to the first level. The room only has enough energy for 1d4 level shifts before it must recharge for 2d4 turns.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">The <b>third lever</b> is engraved with a skull. If it is pulled, a <i>Stone Construct</i> pulls itself out of the flagstone floor for each character (PC <i>and</i> NPC) in the room. They immediately attack. They will pursue the party throughout the dungeon, but will not leave the dungeon. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">If they are not all defeated the constructs re-set and this lever only appears on subsequent visits to the room with a 1/6 chance. If the constructs are all defeated this lever disappears, never to be seen again. It can also be replaced with a lever and effect of your choice which appears with a 1/6 chance.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Each construct leaves a hole containing a treasure chest. Each chest contains enough coin to bring the PC furthest from leveling up to the next level and then halfway to the next level.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">The <b>fourth lever</b> is set with an emblem of a salamander. If pulled, a <i><a href="http://grognardling.blogspot.com/2012/04/key-eater-box.html">key eater box</a></i> clatters to the floor. It is <i>Lock #2</i>.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">If successfully opened (wait until then to keep yourself in suspense too), roll 1d6 to determine the contents:</span></div><div><ol style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">A hairball. If burned, a flaming <i>salamander</i> emerges from the flames to attack a threat to the flame-setter. If a threat is present and obvious, the <i>salamander</i> attacks that; otherwise, it scuttles out of site and the party will discover its work in 2d4 encounters (the aftermath generally involves fire, ashes, and melted or burned things). The <i>salamander</i> is successful in dealing with the threat 4/6 of the time. The hairball radiates strong magic, but a sage will only be able to identify its function with a 1/4 chance – otherwise having no idea what it does or is; make a morale check to see if the sage makes something up or admits ignorance. </span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">Three of the teeth of Dahlver-Nar.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">A full map of the fourth level – including secret doors. No room contents listed and nothing to indicate that this map is of the fourth level – or even a map of part of the dungeon.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">A full <i>Deck of Many Things</i>. The big one.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">A cursed <i>Broach of the Salamander</i>. Exquisite and worth 1d4 thousand gold. Any character wearing the <i>Broach</i> who receives damage bursts into magical, unquenchable flame which does 1d12 damage per round for 3d4 rounds, after which the curse is spent. Sages misidentify this as a broach which encourages enemies to attack others rather than the character wearing it 4/6 of the time. Per normal cursed items rules, the <i>Broach</i> – and any clothes it is pinned to – cannot be removed (without <i>Remove Curse</i> or similar) once it is worn.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">Ten small pellets, each with the effect of a random potion. Easily identified by a sage. Except one, which will be identified incorrectly.</span></li></ol><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Random Encounter</b></span></div></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Kill Kittens. For those unfamiliar with these devious Arduin monsters, they look exactly like kittens. One will seem to be alone and injured. When picked up, it injects poison through its claws and the rest of the pack comes out to feast.</span></div><p></p>Christopherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16988517412357391012noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-283938885302784821.post-3534903349730841832023-01-06T21:23:00.000-08:002023-01-06T21:23:05.367-08:00Dungeon23 6/365: Dripping and Centipedes<p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Room 6</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">This room is empty. There is a dripping sound, but it is impossible to locate.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Random Encounter</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">2d4 giant centipedes. </span></p>Christopherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16988517412357391012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-283938885302784821.post-84190690100239854622023-01-05T13:34:00.000-08:002023-01-05T13:34:02.815-08:00Dungeon23 5/365: Mushrooms<p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Room 5</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">A family of harmless mushroom people live in a corner, sheltered by some large fungi. Three of these large fungi are Shriekers who ignore the mushroom people but will not ignore anyone else who approaches the corner.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">If attacked, the mushroom people will try to run but will not otherwise defend themselves. If a mushroom person dies, it will release a cloud of spores; all who breath them save or die. Most denizens of the dungeon know this and leave the mushroom people alone.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">If treated kindly, these mushroom people will offer a stew which will heal one hp for all who consume it.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The mushroom people survive by scavenging corpses throughout the dungeon and bringing them back for their fungi to consume. They feed on their fungi as well as the corpses themselves.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The mushroom people do not use names.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Random Encounter</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">1d8 small fungi no one in your party has ever encountered before. A sage or herbalist will be able to identify them, but there is as 1/6 chance that they will have lost their potency by then. Roll 1d6 for the effect of these fungi; roll again each time this encounter is rolled.</span></p><p></p><ol style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">Eyes melt away (1d6 dmg and now blind)</span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">True sight: see invisible objects, through illusions, etc., 2d4 days</span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">Automatically notice secret doors for 1d4 days</span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">All attacks (melee, ranged, magical, etc.) do max damage for the rest of the day</span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">Normal rest now heals twice as many hit points for this character – forever</span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">Forget all prepared spells</span></li></ol><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">These fungi are:</span></div><div><ol style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">Green</span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">White</span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">Purple</span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">Red</span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">Blue</span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">Black</span></li></ol><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">With </span></div></div><div></div><p></p><ol><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">Green</span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">White</span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">Purple</span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">Red</span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">Blue</span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">Black</span></li></ol><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">spots.</span></div>Christopherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16988517412357391012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-283938885302784821.post-73625176238237564532023-01-04T20:16:00.001-08:002023-01-04T20:16:10.985-08:00Dungeon23 4/365: Empty Room and Scorpions<p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Room 4</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">This room is empty. I have to remind myself that a good number of them are supposed to be in a classic dungeon.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Random Encounter</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">2d4 giant scorpions. I'm not sure I've ever run those before.</span></p>Christopherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16988517412357391012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-283938885302784821.post-18421393741076964672023-01-03T04:00:00.011-08:002023-01-03T04:00:00.170-08:00Dungeon23 3/365: A Pool & Twin Dragons<p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Room 3</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Against a wall is a semi-circular pool. There are other pools like it throughout the dungeon. If a character pours water from one pool into a second pool, that character may teleport freely from either pool to the other from then on. This is Pool #1.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Random Encounter</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The twin dragons Mardulopennum and Vergilotolabathar. They are fire-breathing dragons of the youngest age category, barely a year old. They are keenly aware of their vulnerability and willing to have conversation with PCs.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Both are able to speak.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Mardulopennum can cast the spell <i>Sleep</i> once per day. She is inclined to arrange the death of PCs – whether through direct attack, trickery, or timely betrayal – if she suspects they will be a threat to her or her brother.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Vergilotolabathar can cast the spell <i>Charm Person</i> once per day. He is most interested in building the twins' horde. He may suggest teaming up with the party against a stronger monster he believes has prime treasure (and he is correct in choosing treasure-rich targets 90% of the time). He may also betray the party if they have particularly choice treasure on their person – powerful magic items or lots of loot on their way out of the dungeon, for example. He will become very loyal for 3d4 months if the party gives him valuable treasure – a choice magic item or over 1000 gp – and resist any attempts by his sister to kill the party.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Neither dragon is stupid or evil for the sake of evil. If they betray or attack the party it will be when they have maximal advantage – unless they are defending themselves in desperation.</span></p>Christopherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16988517412357391012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-283938885302784821.post-50675315549067326202023-01-02T09:20:00.001-08:002023-01-02T09:20:41.649-08:00Dungeon23 2/365: Spiders<p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Room 2</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">This room's floor, walls, and ceiling are covered in a mosaic depicting a solar system. None of the planets or constellations match those familiar to the party.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">This room is home to a giant trapdoor spider who – if not discovered by the party – will wait until the party is leaving the room before emerging from a cutout in the floor and silently attacking the last member of the party to leave the room, attempting to do so without the rest of the party noticing – at least until the party member has been dragged back into the spider's tunnel and the cutout is safely replaced.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Use Dexterity and Wisdom checks, grappling rules, saving throws, called shots, or whatever your system uses to adjudicate the spider's success. Other than that, stat as a standard giant spider.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The corpses of previous prey are buried in the silken walls of the tunnel. PCs who search them can find assorted coinage totaling 5d100 gp but will need to deal with 2d4 lesser giant frogs that serve as pest-control for the spider.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Random Encounter</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Giant Net-Casting Spider</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Stat as a normal giant spider. Hangs out on the ceilings and drops a sticky web net down on a character. Net does no damage but net attack hits at +4. Anyone caught in the net should have a really hard time getting out of it. The character caught in the net is pulled up to the ceiling so only ranged attacks will do anything – and they have a 1/2 chance to hit the character rather than the spider.</span></p>Christopherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16988517412357391012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-283938885302784821.post-26291534760806362682023-01-01T04:00:00.024-08:002023-01-01T04:00:00.178-08:00Dungeon23 1/365: The Entrance<p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Near the village of Ner-lek stands a massive stone structure, somewhere in size between a butte and a mesa. The top of this structure is perfectly smooth and bare of any plant life.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">A stairway is carved down into the center of this surface, leading to a stone door. This door opens inward, does not lock, and slowly closes itself if opened.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">To the left of the doorway is a slot for coin. Above it, carved into the rock, is the word "Toll." Each time the dungeon is visited, roll to see the toll indicated: 1d12 gp.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Each character who does not pay the toll has a 1/100 chance to be crushed, instantly killed, and drawn into the stone as that character enters the doorway.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">For each character who pays the toll there is a cumulative 1% chance that something will be on the pedestal in Room 1.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Room 1</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Rather than re-starting the numbering of rooms at each level, all rooms will be numbered sequentially, à la Caverns of Thracia.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">This is a bare 30x30 room. There are six doorways.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">There is one doorway in the center of the West, North, and East walls, without doors.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The entrance to the dungeon opens into the center of the South wall and is between two doorless doors similar to those in the other walls.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">In the center of the room is a tall, thin pedestal. Near the top of the pedestal is engraved: "Partake freely. Nothing is free."</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">If the toll dice so indicate, there is an item on top of the pedestal:</span></p><p></p><ol style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">A single slice of cake. If a single character eats the cake, increase the stat of the player's choice by 1d6. If more than one character partakes, increase a random stat of each character by 1. The character(s) who eat are now affected by a geas; if they do not complete this geas by the deadline, their affected stat falls to 3.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">A meat pie. If a single character eats the pie, that character does not take any damage for the entirety of this dungeon trip. If multiple characters partake, the first 1d6 hit points of damage they take on this dungeon trip instead become added temporary hit points. Do not inform players of either of these mechanics. </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">The character(s) who eat are now affected by a geas; if they do not complete this geas by the deadline, they are unable to heal any damage until <i>Remove Curse</i> or similar magic is cast on them.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">A single key. This is the key to a particular lock in the dungeon. All locks will be numbered.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">A random magic potion.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">A random magic item.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">A magic dagger. Randomly generate it as a magic sword, just make it a dagger. Max out the Ego score or whatever makes it most likely to be jealous, cause trouble, or take over.</span></li></ol><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Geas (these will be added to as the dungeon develops):</span></div><div><ol style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">Find Delores, Farmer Oord's magic sow before leaving the dungeon and return her to him. The pig is in room 1d30+1 if she is not found in a random encounter first.</span></li></ol><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Random Encounters</b></span></div></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Wandering monsters and other random encounters are an important component of Old School dungeons, so I figure I can create one random encounter a day as well as one room a day:</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Delores, Farmer Oord's magic sow. Stats as a normal pig. She routinely escapes the farm to root out the mushrooms that grow in the dungeon. She will tranquilly follow any PCs back to Farmer Oord's. If treated kindly, she may (1/30) grant a <i>Wish</i> to a random PC when she is returned.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">And… that's day one. I don't expect all days to be as elaborate as this, but I had the time, energy, and inspiration today. One down, 364 to go.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><br /></div><p></p>Christopherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16988517412357391012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-283938885302784821.post-62020955394140007092022-12-31T07:08:00.006-08:002022-12-31T07:08:48.667-08:00Rebooting with Dungeon23<p> <span style="font-family: verdana;">Hello everyone. I'm back.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">A lot has happened over the last… 10 years? Most of which isn't relevant to this blog.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">What IS relevant to this blog is that I'm typing this as I'm waiting to see if anyone shows up early for a game I'm about to run for my brother-in-law, my best friend, his wife, and their daughter.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">I haven't run a campaign since I let this blog die ten years ago, and I've only run a handful of games in the last decade. I'm probably rusty, I'm nervous, and I'm also excited. I remember that just because one game session doesn't go awesome doesn't mean that the next one won't be awesome.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">But I don't plan on talking too much about the games I'll be running. Instead, I plan to publish my participation in Dungeon23 here. Just one room a day. That sounds really good. Let's see what happens.</span></p>Christopherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16988517412357391012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-283938885302784821.post-57887864976616568982014-07-30T21:43:00.000-07:002014-07-30T21:43:21.576-07:00ConsolidatingReaders of this blog will know that I'm into heavily homebrewing my campaign. If I were running games right now, I'd be running a weird cross between S&W and ACKS with some LotFP and DCC RPG thrown in for good measure, along with plenty of stuff I've taken from the OSR blogosphere and some of my own contributions.<br />
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Homebrewing is fun, and, especially when I do it in consultation with my players, results in a game that is more fun to play for us than running a game straight would usually be. Over time the game is shaped to fit us like a glove.<br />
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I've noticed a cycle, though, in homebrewing. I find my homebrewing getting out of hand, the complexities and ramifications needing to be resolved and enumerated. For example, I've decided to include something like a Carcosan sorcerer in my games, as well as various academies of magic, and to have the clerics tied intimately with the setting… all of that requires a good deal of either figuring out the execution, a good amount of time sitting down and generating/writing it all out, or both. In the meantime, if I'm going to start running my old game again, I need to write some more dungeon. It's all pretty exhausting and I find myself taking a step back sometimes until I get another burst of energy to finish the current cycle of changes I want to make and it makes sense to run games again.<br />
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I don't like this.<br />
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I want to be running and playing games all the time. I don't want for it to be a chore. Here's my solution.<br />
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On the one hand, I'm breaking the homebrewing I need to do up into manageable chunks in the form of a 'zine. I'm trying to decide whether I'll make it available to others, and if I do I'll probably get a few issues done first so I create a time buffer and know I can deliver, but just breaking everything into one or two pages of a digest-sized 8-page 'zine, I think, will help me to take it bit by bit, not all at once.<br />
<br />
On the other hand, in order to get playing again I think I'm going to start running DCC RPG straight, and use written modules instead of my own dungeon. I'm funding the <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1409961192/dungeon-crawl-classics-peril-on-the-purple-planet" target="_blank">Peril on the Purple Planet</a> Kickstarter, which is on track to reach all of its stretch goals if it brings in about $600 each of the remaining eleven days. As part of my funding, I'm buying four modules that should level my players up from 0 level to 4th level, ready for the Peril on the Purple Planet. There's a FLGS that opened up recently and, along with asking about buying Zocchi dice, I want to see about setting up a face-to-face game and maybe creating a gaming group there.<br />
<br />
The things I like about DCC RPG is that it's different enough from the directions I'm going in my own homebrewing that I think it will diminish my temptation to homebrew it, and yet it also is committed to OSR gaming… and is all sorts of zany, dice-whimsical fun.<br />
<br />
So, anyway, that's where I am with my gaming right now. Hopefully I'll be checking in more in the future, but no guarantees right now.Christopherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16988517412357391012noreply@blogger.com35tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-283938885302784821.post-19886099382694819472014-06-30T23:37:00.000-07:002014-06-30T23:37:33.026-07:00Setting Design by CommitteeI realize the conventional wisdom is that doing much of anything creative by committee, or even in a team, is a poor idea, especially when it comes to RPGs, but I've been wondering…<br />
<br />
What if a dozen or so people got together and everyone who had an idea (the more out-of-the-box the better, though creative, interesting takes on classic/traditional-style settings are allowed) for a setting drew lots to decide who's idea they would work on first. Then they spend six months fleshing out the setting together, improving the format, making art, writing gazetteers and bestiaries and porting them into 3-5 different systems to be released simultaneously.<br />
<br />
And then what if they spent the next six months writing adventures. There would be some leeway for each person to contribute during the setting creation phase, but the real license to go their own way would come here, with all kinds of adventures, varying in tone, style (sand-boxy hooks and relationships, one-shots, adventure paths, etc.), seriousness, whatever.<br />
<br />
Then, after those adventures have been released, we have a reasonably well developed setting, complete with maybe 20-30 adventures. That counts as well-supported, I'd say.<br />
<br />
Then everyone with an idea for a setting draws lots again and works on fleshing out a new setting for the next six months.<br />
<br />
Then, during the six-month adventure-writing phase adventures are allowed to be written for either setting already produced, allowing for continuing support. The added choice, especially as the cycles continue, encourages fresh, exciting, well-done adventures, with more settings hopefully increasing the chance of good ideas occurring to adventure writers.<br />
<br />
As this continues, more people join in, allowing for new settings to still have enough adventures written for them and eventually allowing some members to skip the setting-creation cycles sometimes and write adventures for 18 months straight.Christopherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16988517412357391012noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-283938885302784821.post-22011612904686809992014-04-09T12:21:00.000-07:002014-04-09T12:21:17.739-07:00I've Got Your Sword-Wielding Wizards Right Here!Idea for a magic system:<br />
<br />
Ingredients:<br />
<ol>
<li>Enough non-magic-using classes that you think the campaign will be interesting. How many counts as interesting obviously depends on you and your players.</li>
<li>A spell list.</li>
</ol>
<div>
Instructions:</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Only non-magic-using classes are available. When stocking treasure, increase the chances of magic scrolls being found by at least 2, maybe more, depending on just how much magic you want the PCs to have access to.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
When characters find magic scrolls, they can choose to read them. If they read them, the magic spells leap from the scrolls into their heads (erasing the scroll). They now know the spell and can cast it, as with standard Vancian magic. Casting a spell memorized in this way erases the spell from memory, as with standard Vancian magic. There is a 1/6 chance that such spell scrolls are labeled so that characters can determine what the spell is before reading and memorizing the scroll. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The number of spells that can be held in memory at one time is limited by class level. The simplest way to do this is to have the number of spells memorized be equal to or less than the class level.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Whenever the character levels up while having one or more spells memorized there is a chance (a Wisdom check, or # of currently memorized spells/20, say) that one of the memorized spells (select randomly) will "stick" and the character will be able to cast the spell indefinitely. The simplest way is to allow each "permanently memorized" spell to be cast once a day.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Ways to make this more complicated:</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Labeled scrolls may be mis-labeled</li>
<li>Stipulate that spells of spell level higher than class level may not be memorized</li>
<li>Stipulate that total spell LEVELS memorized must be equal to or less than class level</li>
<li>Bolt on some sort of damage or sanity mechanic, or some other consequence, if memorizing more spells or spell levels than is allowed is attempted; if spell levels rather than spells are being counted, this means that memorizing an unknown spell is always a risk</li>
<li>Alternately, stipulate that the only way to read a spell (and figure out what it is) without memorizing it is to read it while already having memorized the maximum number of spells currently allowed to be memorized</li>
<li>Introduce costs to casting a spell, such as hit points or attribute points, which replenish at some rate</li>
<li>Stipulate that how often a permanently acquired spell can be used depends on class level and spell level ratio. For example:</li>
<ul>
<li>A spell that is 4 or more spell levels below the character's class level is an at-will spell</li>
<li>A spell that is 2 or 3 spell levels below the character's class level can be cast 3 times a day</li>
<li>A spell that is within 1 spell level of the character's class level can be cast once a day</li>
<li>A spell that is 2 or 3 spell levels above the character's class level can be cast 3 times a week</li>
<li>A spell that is 4 or more spell levels above the character's class level can be cast once a week</li>
</ul>
<li>If using a system like this to determine how often a permanent spell can be cast, choose between having the frequency with which a particular acquired spell can be cast either always stay the same as it was when first acquired or increase as the character levels up</li>
<li>Bring in a second spell list. The first list is for the spells that can be found. The second list is rolled on to determine permanently acquired spells. Arcane spells could be found, but Divine spells acquired, both Arcane and Divine spells could be found, but psionic powers are acquired, etc.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
Christopherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16988517412357391012noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-283938885302784821.post-74012461573943677622014-03-11T21:42:00.000-07:002014-03-11T21:42:03.101-07:00The Blessed Helmet of FlummoxificationThe Blessed Helmet of Flummoxification appears to be a standard, well-made riveted helmet. When found, it is immaculately clean and usually finds its way onto a pedestal that will mysteriously be lit as from above. The Helmet smells faintly of garlic and onions.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi51Dw-Xd_ky3OcWlMLOSDODznCoN-x7brRNwNXU-t8zYdkUTkDBJbBBxg1obdINmK_dMG2PlzLGong13ctenm_MZxcegU9qRKTQMCYCtbJgXp9DkG9JoP2YeVKTSdz1PAmr-2wv1SoWnj9/s1600/Blessed+Helmet+of+Flummoxification.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi51Dw-Xd_ky3OcWlMLOSDODznCoN-x7brRNwNXU-t8zYdkUTkDBJbBBxg1obdINmK_dMG2PlzLGong13ctenm_MZxcegU9qRKTQMCYCtbJgXp9DkG9JoP2YeVKTSdz1PAmr-2wv1SoWnj9/s1600/Blessed+Helmet+of+Flummoxification.jpg" height="400" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
The Helmet radiates magic so strongly that any caster with Detect Magic even prepared will sense magic radiating from it, and those who cast Detect Magic on it will sense what is most likely the strongest emanation of magic they have ever sensed…<br />
<br />
Part of the magic, however, is that no amount of trying will reveal what the Helmet does! The Helmet may be put on and taken off with ease - the only obvious sign that this is not technically a cursed item.<br />
<br />
The benefits of the Helmet last only until the Helmet is removed. They are:<br />
<ul>
<li>ONCE per owner, the Helmet will restore all hit points and health, healing all injuries, neutralizing all poison, removing all curses, restoring all drained levels and experience, etc. This will ONLY occur when death is otherwise inevitable (most commonly when hit points drop to whatever it takes to die in your system of choice).</li>
<li>The Helmet improves the wearer's AC by 1 more than a normal helmet.</li>
<li>The wearer of the Helmet adds +1 to attack and damage rolls.</li>
<li>Whenever the wearer of the Helmet would normally be surprised, the wearer instead surprises the enemy. If the enemy would normally have a bonus to attack or damage, or some other ability, during a surprise round, such as a backstabbing ability, the wearer of the Helmet gets that bonus or ability for the surprise round.</li>
<li>While the Helmet is worn, none of the costs of the Helmet adversely affect the wearer's ability to conduct combat. Any actual benefits to combat from the costs are adjudicated by the Referee, as are in-combat disadvantages if not wearing the Helmet.</li>
</ul>
<div>
Whenever the Blessed Helmet of Flummoxification is put on, a random effect upon the wearer takes place. Roll on the following table to determine the random effect:</div>
<div>
<ol>
<li>Nose grows into an elephantine trunk</li>
<li>Earlobes droop to the knees</li>
<li>Eyebrows sprout half-sized peacock plumes</li>
<li>Mouth replaced by hawk's beak</li>
<li>Ears grow into pachyderm flaps</li>
<li>Beard grows or falls off, depending on previous beardedness</li>
<li>Grows long, gerbil-like tail</li>
<li>Face turns various shades of red, blue, green and yellow, which migrate slowly across the face in patches</li>
<li>Nose increases 3 times in size and is covered in scales</li>
<li>Canine teeth grow into saber-tooth fangs</li>
<li>Canine teeth grow into large tusks</li>
<li>Mouth grows into a duck's beak</li>
<li>Ears turn into a bloodhound's flaps</li>
<li>Mouth and nose turn into a mastiff's mouth and nose</li>
<li>Eyes grow out on stalks, like a slug or snail's</li>
<li>A small octopus tentacle sprouts from each cheek and temple (4 total)</li>
<li>Fairy-like antennae sprout from forehead</li>
<li>Eyes bulge out into fly-like compound eyes</li>
<li>Daisies burst forth from the elbows and knees</li>
<li>Each finger is replaced by a finger-length, fully prehensile tentacle</li>
</ol>
</div>
<div>
The mechanical and/or role-playing penalties (or benefits) of these effects are left to the referee to adjudicate as the referee sees fit.<br />
<br />
The costs of the Helmet last NOT until the Helmet is removed, but until the wearer loses consciousness. This means two things:</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>If the wearer manages to sleep with the Helmet on through the night, the wearer may wear the Helmet the next day with all the benefits and none of the costs. An unsecured Helmet has an 80% chance to fall off during sleep. Measures taken to secure the Helmet to the wearer's head during sleep are adjudicated on an individual basis by the Referee using common sense.</li>
<li>If the wearer dons the Helmet, takes it off and then puts it on again during a single period of consciousness, the wearer now experiences TWO random effects. Taking it off and putting it on again once more results in THREE random effects simultaneously affecting our unwise hero.</li>
</ul>
<div>
There are rumors of a Cursed Helmet of Flummoxification, completely identical to the Blessed Helmet except that it has no benefits and cannot be removed once put on, per normal cursed item rules.</div>
</div>
Christopherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16988517412357391012noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-283938885302784821.post-5595936462263529442013-09-01T22:28:00.000-07:002013-09-01T22:28:02.714-07:0030 Day Challenge: How I Got Started in RPGsSo this is apparently a <a href="http://timbrannan.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/30-day-d-challenge-day-1-how-you-got.html" target="_blank">thing</a>. Let's see about breathing some life into this blog, shall we?<br />
<br />
I first heard about RPGs in the mid 90's in an infamous Adventures in Odyssey episode that dealt very badly with them. Adventures in Odyssey is usually, I think, a very good kids radio show, so it doubly disappoints me how badly they handled RPGs. Fortunately, I had absolutely no idea what they were talking about.<br />
<br />
I was introduced to RPGs, D&D 3.5 specifically, in college. One of my floor-mates was running a game and my roommate joined in. I think I heard my DM talking about people criticizing RPGs as evil and so my guard went up and I didn't join in; I didn't have enough information to know what I thought and didn't have the time to quickly research and figure stuff out for myself.<br />
<br />
I eventually did do enough research to figure out what a farce B.A.D. is; I seem to remember an article by Michael Stackpole helping out a lot with that, and I joined one game, but decided I was too busy right then to game regularly. I did enjoy myself. I played a Dwarf.<br />
<br />
The next semester, I think, another friend invited me to play as he ran the 3.5 introductory set and I played the pre-generated Dwarven Cleric. I remember things getting tense with my roommate as I hadn't figured out gaming etiquette and had my character pick a fight with his character.<br />
<br />
My friend went on to begin a full-on 3.5 campaign in which two of his sisters, my roommate and myself played. I played a Marshwiggle (from Narnia) Cleric that I'm pretty sure was severely underpowered; my roommate and I homebrewed the Marshwiggle race and neither of us really knew what we were doing. 3.5 is complex, but we can already see the beginnings of my inveterate homebrewing.<br />
<br />
At some point I began poking around online during this campaign and stumbled upon the OSR blogosphere. The rest, as they say, is history.Christopherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16988517412357391012noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-283938885302784821.post-37271348687713041062013-08-26T17:24:00.001-07:002013-08-26T17:24:39.355-07:00"Realistic" Female ArmorSo, whenever the RPG blogosphere gets back around to debating what kind of armor women should wear in illustrations, <a href="http://fashionablygeek.com/videos-2/this-armored-lady-won-the-longsword-competition-at-a-world-invitational-tournament" target="_blank">this</a> should probably be thrown into the mix.Christopherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16988517412357391012noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-283938885302784821.post-45408011073816283232013-07-31T08:27:00.000-07:002013-07-31T08:28:02.551-07:00Top Ten Troll QuestionsLast week I started running my game again. That was cool.<br />
<br />
I also have been doing a lot of rules-brewing/synthesis and world-building. I've almost finished mixing ACKS Elf classes with the Theorems & Thaumaturgy Fey Elf idea and my own contributions.<br />
<br />
So let's see if I can get back in the swing of things at all. For today, <a href="http://randomwizard.blogspot.com/2013/07/top-ten-troll-questions-for-your-game.html" target="_blank">Random Wizard has posted ten questions</a> that I'm going to answer about my game.<br />
<br />
<b>(1). Race (Elf, Dwarf, Halfling) as a class? Yes or no?</b><br />
<br />
No, but I do love the ACKS idea of demi-humans having their own classes. So we use that.<br />
<br />
<b>(2). Do demi-humans have souls?</b><br />
<br />
Elves are Fey, so they probably don't have souls. Dwarves are mortal, so they probably do. I keep everything pretty ambiguous and not spelled out; there are even some sects that don't believe Men have souls.<br />
<br />
<b>(3). Ascending or descending armor class?</b><br />
<br />
Ascending. My players threatened to revolt when I mentioned considering switching to descending, and it just works well for us so I've worried about messing with other rules areas.<b> </b><br />
<br />
<b>(4). Demi-human level limits?</b><br />
<br />
Probably, maybe? We haven't hit any yet, so it's kind of up in the air.<b> </b><br />
<br />
<b>(5). Should thief be a class?</b><br />
<br />
I actually really like my <a href="http://grognardling.blogspot.com/search/label/Thieves%2FRogues%2FSpecialists" target="_blank">Scoundrel</a> class. <a href="http://osrandom.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/unfashionably-late-to-10-questions-meme.html" target="_blank">And what this guy said.</a><b> </b><br />
<br />
<b>(6). Do characters get non-weapon skills?</b><br />
<br />
I have this great <a href="http://grognardling.blogspot.com/2011/06/scoundrel-part-6-skill-system.html" target="_blank">d12 skill system</a> that both my players and I really like… that never gets used in play. I've been strongly considering switching to ACKS proficiencies, or scrapping them altogether.<b> </b><br />
<br />
<b>(7). Are magic-users more powerful than fighters (and, if yes, what level do they take the lead)?</b><br />
<br />
At some point, probably, since we're playing S&W. My players haven't gotten there yet. <br />
<br />
<b>(8). Do you use alignment languages?</b><br />
<br />
Nope. <br />
<br />
<b>(9). XP for gold, or XP for objectives (thieves disarming traps, etc...)?</b><br />
<br />
XP for playing, which I'm strongly considering ending, save for my fear of player revolt, and XP for gold spent. <br />
<br />
<b>(10). Which is the best edition; ODD, Holmes, Moldvay, Mentzer, Rules Cyclopedia, 1E ADD, 2E ADD, 3E DD, 4E DD, Next ?</b><br />
<br />
Probably ODD, just for its incompleteness. Home-brewing is a big thing for me, and it's an attitude that it took me a while to acquire; being forced to make decisions helped a lot with that.<br />
<br />
<b>Bonus Question: Unified XP level tables or individual XP level tables for each class?</b><br />
<br />
With my latest round of rules revisions, we're moving from unified XP tables to ACKS individual XP level tables for each class. Christopherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16988517412357391012noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-283938885302784821.post-34212295828565953262013-07-29T01:00:00.000-07:002013-07-29T01:00:01.842-07:00King and Lionheart<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />Christopherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16988517412357391012noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-283938885302784821.post-22206866917731638772013-07-13T01:14:00.000-07:002013-07-13T01:14:33.983-07:00Purposes for Paladins and Militant OrdersAs I continue in my sporadic attempts at world-building, I've recently turned my attention back to Clerics and Paladins, as well as to one aspect of their inspiration: medieval European religious orders.<br />
<br />
Now, I realize that, especially when it comes to Clerics, Hammer Horror films, especially those that depict Dr. Abraham Van Helsing (usually played by Peter Cushing) as a vampire hunter, usually opposed by Christopher Lee's Dracula (I actually chipped away at the list of classic influences on D&D I, as a "grognardling," haven't experienced by watching the original Horror of Dracula yesterday) are a major, if not the primary influence, and I don't think that they are without value even in a setting where Clerics and Paladins are members of religious orders instead of professors independently seeking out and destroying the undead. For example, Van Helsing's personal mission sounds an awful lot like, "seeking out and destruction of evil heretics [substitute "vampires" here] and their lands and also of those who rebel against the faith of the holy church." The wording comes from the mission of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Order_of_Knights_of_the_Faith_of_Jesus_Christ" target="_blank">Militia of the Faith of Jesus Christ</a>, formed mainly to combat Cathars in southern France. Van Helsing even goes so far as to call vampirism a "cult" in Horror of Dracula.<br />
<br />
<br />
Van Helsing, though, is obviously not the only inspiration for D&D's Clerics, as Clerics in D&D are not (at least not universally and primarily) professors, but are clergy in some religion. I've read multiple places that Odo of Bayeux (shown wielding a mace in the Bayeux Tapestry) and Bishop Turpin, a Paladin companion of Roland, are also inspirations for Clerics.<br />
<br />
It makes sense, then, to look at actual religious orders to get inspiration for beefing up the background, organizational, world-building side of Clerics and Paladins, especially since the trend it my world-building currently concentrates on tying PCs to the setting through various class-based organizations. In practice, this has meant a lot of looking through Wikipedia, trying to figure out the difference between Clerics Regular and Canons Regular and trying to figure out what kinds of orders might produce adventurers in a fantasy setting. I don't really have enough to show anything of value for Clerics yet, but I chose to look concentrate on military orders (seeing as there are fewer of them than non-military Catholic orders) and have a few things that might be profitable for gaming even in this early stage of my research.<br /><br />For one thing, the purposes of military orders varied widely, and most seem to have more than one purpose:<br />
<ol>
<li>Providing care in a hospital (which might specialize in a certain awful disease, like leprosy) and protecting the hospital with force</li>
<li>Protecting pilgrims to certain lands or certain holy sites</li>
<li>Reclaiming lost territory from infidels</li>
<li>Ransoming captives (this seems to have meant soliciting from donors)</li>
<li>Ensuring the proper burial of fallen Crusaders</li>
<li>Defending frontier areas from infidels</li>
<li>Inquisition and invading areas where heretics ruled</li>
<li>Keeping the peace in a certain area</li>
<li>Improving ties between the Church and the nobility and rulers of an area</li>
<li>Defending the rights and freedoms of the Church</li>
</ol>
And there's a handy little d10 chart. Roll 1d4 times to determine the purposes of an order you're creating for your setting.Christopherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16988517412357391012noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-283938885302784821.post-24494873256308502982013-06-26T01:00:00.000-07:002014-04-15T09:54:08.941-07:00Fey AlignmentOne more way I'm trying to make Fey Elves alien is by having the Fey, including any Elven characters, use a different alignment system. This alignment system straddles the line between D&D and AD&D conceptions of alignment: I imagine both Seelie and Unseelie courts, for example, though I haven't figured out how to flesh that out yet, besides members of different alignments generally avoiding or being somewhat antagonistic towards each other; on the other hand, these alignments definitely serve as AD&D-style roleplaying aids. What do you think?<br />
_________________________________________________________________________________<br />
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<div dir="ltr" id="docs-internal-guid-4b83d088-74e6-a967-b101-da279f673628" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Elves, and indeed all Fey, are not aligned along the Law-Chaos axis. They have little to do with metaphysical concepts of Order or the progress of Man’s civilization and they, being inherently of Nature, cannot engage in unnatural Necromancy or Summoning. Indeed, the Elves continue to hold the entire Fey outlook and are aligned along the Seelie-Unseelie and Trooping-Solitary axes.</span></div>
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Seelie Fey, including Elves, are lighthearted, fickle pranksters and change their attitudes towards other characters easily, neither holding grudges nor gratitude for long. They are generally friendly when first meeting someone and as prone to performing acts of service for no reason as to pranks and practical jokes. The Unseelie Fey, again including Elves, are generally aloof if not unfriendly to new acquaintances or strangers and not prone to spontaneous pranks or services. They hold both grudges and gratitude for a long time, if not forever. </span></div>
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Whether Seelie or Unseelie, Elves, as Fey, should always be roleplayed with no appreciation for Man’s ideas of proportion, whether dealing with pranks, random kindnesses, thanks or revenge. Both beneficial and malicious actions should be more than a Man would find appropriate or worth the trouble.</span></div>
<br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">All Elves that join mortal parties are Solitary. Elves that travel in all-Fey parties or who settle down in forests where they establish a Fastness are Trooping. Solitary Elves must leave their parties and wonder alone for a month in order to level up. Trooping Elves must not leave their troop for any reason and most interaction with mortals must be corporate instead of individually building relationships with mortals.</span>Christopherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16988517412357391012noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-283938885302784821.post-55594081538483737452013-06-25T01:00:00.000-07:002014-04-10T21:24:34.336-07:00Roleplaying Fey ElvesI really like the Fey Elf in the excellent <a href="http://the-city-of-iron.blogspot.com/2012/10/theorems-thaumaturgy-here-it-is.html" target="_blank">Theorems and Thaumaturgy</a>, and wanted to give players of Fey Elves a way to play them that makes them even more alien and folklore-ish. Here's some of my crack at that:<br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">As Mankind settles the wilderness and becomes more numerous, it is becoming harder and harder for the Immortal Fey. Mankind destroys their meeting-places and homes, fences and plows the meadows and clears the forests; Man can even kill the Fey with iron and steel weapons. It is slowly becoming clear to the Fey that they will have to adapt in order to survive.</span></div>
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<br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Elves are one way in which some Fey are experimenting with adapting; the Fey have always been able to shape and change their own natures and Elves are Fey who have changed their natures to resemble those of mortal Men. Much that is typical of the Fey is lost in this transformation – perfect memories of the millenia past become faint and the ephemeral form is traded for solid flesh and a connection to the material world – yet much is retained. Elves are immune to mind-affecting spells such as Sleep and Charm as well as magical paralyzation and remain familiar enough with Faerie to identify Faerie objects such as portals or writing.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Elves have trouble grasping mortal conventions and different Elves have more or less trouble with different concepts that Men and Dwarves take for granted. Roll 1d4+1 times to determine mortal concepts an Elf is unable to grasp.</span></div>
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<li><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Distinguishing between actions under self-control as opposed to those not under control (eg. charmed or coerced)</span></li>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Any belief or concern with what happens after death (including nothing)</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The idea of children, parents, caring for children and legal minority</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Differentiation between genders or sexes</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The mortal understanding of magic as special, not-normal or not-natural</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Daily routines such as sleeping, waking, eating based on time of day</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The existence of status and rank among mortals (does recognize Fey courts and hierarchy</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Religion</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Property</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Incongruence between thought, speech and actions</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Each time an Elf levels up, roll 3d6. If the roll meets or is below the Elf's level + any Wisdom modifier then the Elf has mastered one of the conventions the Elf previously could not grasp (player's choice or randomly select).</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Elves have trouble fitting in to Men’s society and are attracted to adventurers who are themselves on the fringes of society. Adventuring parties who accept an Elf into their ranks will need to supervise the Elf during interactions with Mankind, as Elves are prone to <em>faux pas</em> ranging from the awkward to the capitally illegal. As Elves gain more experience, they will become more accustomed to Man’s ways and will require less guidance, eventually becoming able to function, more or less, on their own among mortals. Elves are often worth the inconvenience and worry to adventuring parties, offering familiarity with Faerie and a number of abilities beyond the ken of mortals along with the headaches of associating with them.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">That </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">said, players of Elves should not feel that they must play their characters as totally unable to interact with society. Elves are still Fey and the Fey are able to interact with Man in ways generally understandable by Men; that is, Men generally understand what the Fey are doing, whether they understand their motivation or not. Players of Elves should not feel constrained to make every visit to town end with the party narrowly escaping a lynch mob; neither should they play Elves as normal mortal Men. </span></div>
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">For example, an Elf that does not understand the idea of property is just as likely to give away valuable “possessions” as to “steal;” an Elf might begin a relationship with a store-owner by giving a fortune in gold to him when the Elf sees other characters giving the store-owner gold to buy items, expecting nothing in return. During another visit, the Elf might take items the Elf needs without paying for them, but the shop-owner will likely not mind, or will at least not make a fuss, not wanting to anger a Fey creature over an irregular situation that is, after all, at least currently resulting in a net profit. When fellow party members are present to explain and smooth things over (or cover the costs of the Elf’s actions, temporarily or permanently), these kinds of irregular relationships are even more easily established.</span></span>Christopherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16988517412357391012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-283938885302784821.post-11220405523412899932013-06-24T01:00:00.000-07:002014-04-15T09:49:50.030-07:00Æglor<b>Æglor</b><br />
Hit Dice: 1d4<br />
<b></b>Armor Class: 9[10]<br />
Attacks: 2 Weapon (1d6)<br />
Saving Throw: 18<br />
Special: Immune to non-magical weapons, destroyed by light, low weight<br />
Move: 24<br />
Alignment: Chaos<br />
Challenge Level/XP: B/10<br />
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Chaotic Sorcerers commonly use evil rituals to provide themselves with willing servants and foot soldiers. Most commonly, they employ their twisting magics to turn Humans into Orcs or Dwarves into Goblins, but occasionally, with the right knowledge, they will bend the Fey to their will.<br />
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Æglor are Seelie Fey who have been warped by dark magic into servants of Chaos. They unquestioningly obey their masters and, where once they took delight in song, dance, beauty and mischief, now delight only in battle, slaughter and destruction. In appearance they are very short humanoids clad in dark hooded robes that cover them completely. They almost always appear in mobs of 5d20 and are small enough that two of them are able to attack an opponent in a space where only one normal-sized attacker would fit. Æglor move and attack quickly, swarming and overwhelming their opponents.<br />
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Æglor are immune to non-magical weapons but their small size and weight means that when an Æglor is hit with a weapon in combat then the Æglor is thrown into the air 5d4 feet away from the character, taking no damage. Æglor are not immune to magic. The weakness of the Æglor is that they dissolve completely into the air when exposed to light. Their hooded robes magically cling to them and normally protect them from light but when an opponent makes a critical hit on an Æglor this signifies that the hood or some other part of the robe has been lifted back and the Æglor dissolves with robe and weapon. If called shot mechanics are used then called shots can be applied to targeting an Æglor's hood.<br />
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These guys popped into my head a week or so ago as a mental picture of manic bloodthirsty hybrids of Jawas and the little yellow minions from the Despicable Me movies. I've been messing around with Fey in my designing recently and these guys actually solved a few problems for me. For one, I long ago decided that most monstrous humanoids in my setting (the notable exception being Kobolds) are twisted humans and demi-humans, a la Tolkien, but, besides Orcs being twisted Humans, I hadn't ever nailed down a whole lot - I'm still not sure what bugbears and hob-goblins are. The Æglor helped me decide that Goblins are twisted Dwarves, since Elves are Fey in my setting. In addition, I've got a sorcerer luring Fey into a trap in my megadungeon for use in a Carcosa-style ritual but I hadn't figured out what that was going to be until I realized that the sorcerer could be tiring of his human assistants and planning on replacing them with Æglor, created from the Fey he has trapped in a dark ritual requiring the still-beating heart of the Faerie King. So, if the players don't figure this out and stop it in time whenever I actually start running games again, then there will be hordes of these little guys running around the dungeon giving them problems.<br />
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I really like the image of these guys mobbing a room and the fighters, with multiple attacks against opponents with less than 1 HD, desperately knocking these guys harmlessly across the room only to watch them rebound and join the mad rush against the party again, occasionally with one occasionally disappearing but all of the characters too busy fighting the others off to notice exactly what happened or how to replicate it without a Wisdom check (so, "the little robed guy you just hit disappears into the air; everyone make a Wisdom check"). Yes, this is designed to scare and confuse players.<br />
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Also, once they figure this out, it makes for a great opportunity for them to use <a href="http://dndwithpornstars.blogspot.com/2012/03/called-shot-mechanic.html#" target="_blank">Zack's called shot mechanic</a>. Over and over again. Which means that there will be lots and lots of fumbles.Christopherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16988517412357391012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-283938885302784821.post-57625621669624289752013-06-21T21:51:00.001-07:002013-06-21T21:52:13.603-07:00"What happens if I get too close to that castle?"<div dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 15px/1.15 Cambria; list-style-type: lower-roman; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">
The following is something I wrote up a while ago, inspired by OD&D's rules for castle inhabitants and by Arthurian legend. It only applies to castles run by Chaotic Fighters and even this could be developed a bit more. Maybe you want to write up a table for Lawful Magic-Users or Chaotic Clerics?</div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span> </div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Unless the party can show evidence they are allied with his allies or are too powerful to risk attacking, or can appeal to his self-interest, a Chaotic lord will exact a heavy toll (which may be more than the party has; this should probably vary by campaign, but 500-1000 gp per level sounds about right in my silver standard game) and if they will not (or cannot) pay will attack with the aim to capture the party and hold them for ransom in the lord’s dungeon (forces should probably be determined during setting creation). The lord will send a messenger to one character (NPC or other, un-captured PC) per captured party member, designated by each party member, asking for a ransom (the original toll multiplied by 2d4). The party will be stripped of all possessions (which will only be returned if 150% of the normal ransom amount is paid), separated from each other 75% of the time and imprisoned in poor conditions. Every month each PC must roll under their Con score or lose a point of Con; any character that loses all Con points dies. Once freed, Con damage is healed at a rate of 1d4 per week of rest in good conditions. If the party is captured:</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">01-50: imprisons them for 2d4 months and then sells them to another chaotic party unless ransom is raised first</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">51-71: imprisons them indefinitely until a ransom is paid.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">71-85: imprisons indefinitely, but will allow one PC to leave to raise ransom for the rest if the party suggests it</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">86-90: imprisons for ransom indefinitely but will allow all the party, except for one hostage, to leave to raise ransom, if they suggest this</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">91-95: after first ransom is paid, breaks word and holds for second ransom - reroll to determine new terms (which are not told to players)</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">96-00: waits until ransom is paid and then sells the party to another chaotic party.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Other Chaotic party:</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Magic-User, to be used for experiments</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Cult, for sacrifice</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Chaotic military force, to serve as slave-soldiers</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Slave-master, to be used as gladiators</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">S</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">lave-driver of engineering project as manual labor - roll under Con each week or lose one Con until freed or Con hits 0 and PC dies</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Slave-trader who takes them to a city with a slave-market and sells each slave separately, splitting the party (roll 1d6)</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Fighters as (1-3) gladiators, (4-5) soldiers, (6) manual labor</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Thieves as (1-3) domestics, (4-5) manual labor, (6) gladiators</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Wizards as (1-3) tutors, (4-5) domestics, (6) manual labor</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Clerics as (1-3) tutors, (4-5) scribes, (6) domestics</span></div>
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<div style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 15px/1.15 Cambria; list-style-type: lower-roman; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Each class has a chance to be bought and freed by some friendly party, increased by membership in organizations like thieves guilds, magic academies, churches, etc. This part is especially sketchy and probably setting-dependent.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span> </div>
<div style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 15px/1.15 Cambria; list-style-type: lower-roman; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Using this will have a few implications for your game. For one, this could seriously change the direction of a campaign. It's hard to imagine a villain the players will hate more than a Chaotic Lord that messes with their plans, likely kills a few of their characters, separates them from their gold and quite likely goes back on his promises as well. The players will want to kill him dead and, if run correctly, will have to do a lot of work to get there. They very well may scrap the rest of their goals for the sake of revenge.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span> </div>
<div style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 15px/1.15 Cambria; list-style-type: lower-roman; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Additionally, a lot of this ransom stuff depends on the PCs having contacts that they can ask to ransom (or rescue; that should definitely be on the table for PCs, but I'd be hesitant to have NPCs rescue the party) them. This means either generating PCs with contacts (like Magic-User masters or church hierarchies), running the game so that PCs form relationships with NPCs that are both able and willing to ransom them, or using a "stable" system where players have multiple PCs that they use for different sessions (or two or three of these options). It won't make a lot of sense if the Chaotic Lord locks them in the dungeon and then asks who he should send the ransom demands to and is met with blank stares because the PCs don't actually know the names of anyone they haven't killed. Unless you want to let them make up contacts. That works too, actually, though I'd prefer the other three options.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span> </div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Thoughts? Suggestions? Improvements? Your own set of tables for other types of castle lords?</span></div>
Christopherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16988517412357391012noreply@blogger.com1