#100StatementSetting

#100StatementSetting

This worldbuilding idea just popped into my head a few days ago.  Feel free to share this idea to make other new settings.

Reply below with a statement that describes a new setting. It cannot undue or contradict any of the previous statements submitted by others. The setting will be entirely described in 100 statements about it.

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I posted that on: MeWe, and in 3 Facebook tabletop groups.  Surprisingly the only one that got to 100 was on MeWe.

If I can get on my laptop soon (and have some time off work) I'll post up some of the results in another blogpost and video on YouTube maybe).

Random 1D10 Table: What's In Its Guts? (RPG Brigade Community Project)

A few of us old timers who've had RPG YouTube channels for awhile are trying to get people in that group of people to be more active.  Here is a random table to add to a recent idea posted there.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/RPGBrigade/?ref=share

What's In Its Guts?

1. An ancient game played bt a forgotton local culture comprised of 1D100 intricately carved alabaster pieces.  The creature ate it along with the game's owner.

2. 1D4 Gems that pulsate along with the notes to a silent song trapped within them.  If these gems are broken the closest intelligent being will be able to perform the song (singing and playing instruments) perfectly for the rest of their life.

3. A moderately sized ball of half-digested hair that will animate to grapple and protect the creature that last touched it.

4. A magical sword that can be folded 20 times in on itself to make it very small (the size of a penny).

5. A complex holy symbol that took a master craftsman 100 years to make.  Inside a forgotten trapped god waits to be released.

6. A pair of match8ng blood-stained bracelets with five attached twisted nails.  If nailed into two people they can speak telepathically with each other up to one mile away.  Once a month the users must save vs. diseases or contract an illness that will wither that hand.

7. A bottle filled with a weak poison that refills itself once a week.

8. Bones of a squirrel that once was a potent wizard's familiar.  Once freed from the stomach it will befriend and assist the closest magic-user for 1D100 days.

9. 2D12 arrows that will reform after they are broken, burned, melted, etc.  The arrow heads deal much more damage when the arrows are removed from a creature (critical hit).

10. Roll again.  The item that you roll has 1D4 copies instead of just one of them.

Solo Role-playing: The Lost City of Barakus Part 4 (Reflections / A Form of GM Prep)

I could be playing another session of this solo campaign right now, but I find myself just pondering the basic concept of solo role-playing instead and some possible other benefits of doing it.

In many ways I think this form of solitaire is actually a great method for GM prep.  You get to experience an adventure first-hand as a player, and see what you enjoyed about it and what you really didn't like at all.  You can use those experiences to better run the game for players in a more traditional session later on down the road.  Playing through an adventure is an experience unlike just READING over everything and taking notes, and really... it's more fun too.  It feels like you are crawling around in the guts and bowels of an adventure and not just looking down on it from some lofty vantage point.  It feels more personal, and the elements of the adventure are sticking in my mind more so than via other methods that I've used to memorize adventures.

I have run some adventures multiple times for multiple groups, such as The People of Pembrooktonshire from Lamentations of the Flame Princess (LotFP), and while that helped me learn it, there is just something different (perhaps even better) about being a player inside an adventure that helps me remember things in more detail.  I tend to learn by doing, and in this case, by playing rather than just skimming over things. 

When you play, you don't go through the encounters in the adventure in an orderly fashion either (or at least I don't).  Often players will: skip encounters, bypass interesting NPCs (or kill them before they utter a word), and meander around in a chaotic fashion that the adventure designer could never anticipate.  Again, this is a different way of interacting with the adventure than just reading it over in an orderly fashion.

Solo role-playing in this light, as being a form of GM Prep, I think should help some people remove that stigma that is sometimes associated with this style of play.  I know I found myself thinking before trying it that playing through an adventure by myself was pathetic, or just seemed lonely, but I've been pleasantly surprised with this whole experiment.

Experimentation.  Sometimes you will be surprised when you try new things, as I have been via solo-role-playing.  I know I've been surprised in how vested I am in the player characters.  In each campaign I always try to do some new trick, or use a new technique that I heard about from some other role-player and this campaign is no different.  I love the interaction of the randomness of tables and dice blended with whatever just "makes sense" for a given encounter, and knowing the characters.

Another aspect is getting to know these characters in and more intimate way, and I suspect sole-roleplaying could help authors flesh out protagonists in unforeseen ways too.  I don't see myself every writing a true novel, but perhaps a short story about these characters might be in order. 

Just a few thoughts.  I hope everyone is having a decent day out there.

P.S. I miss the days of these blog entries automatically being posted to Google+.  Oh well.  It was fun while it lasted. 

Villains of the Undercity RPG Adventure Review (Maximum Mayhem Dungeons #3)

Villains of the Undercity was written by Mark Taormino of Dark Wizard Games, and it is meant for characters of first to third level.  It is statted up for OSRIC but as with most Old School Renaissance (OSR) adventures it would be easy to run this with another retro-clone or fantasy system of your choice.

https://www.darkwizardgames.com/

It should be noted that I was given these adventures by Mark free of charge, for which I am very grateful.  These all look like a blast, but for this review I'll focus on this specific adventure.

The PDF is black and white in a two column format which is pretty standard for OSR publications.

The adventure takes place in a coastal city, and a dungeon lurks beneath it.  It is a straight-forward setup that I have used in other campaigns (namely Empire of the Petal Throne).  I do love Undercities and dungeons beneath settled areas.  They remind me of the film As Above, So Below.  If you've never watched it, check it out.

The included dungeon maps are that nice nostalgic light blue and white, and while the layout of the dungeon isn't super complex or novel it is clean and easily read.  The map should be easily to map out on graph paper for the players.

 
Rumors can be easily heard about the Sinister One, and his bands of Bugbears, Lizard Men, and Orcs running a slave trade.  Townsfolk have gone missing in greater numbers as of late, prompting the need for desperate and reckless adventurers to explore the depths below to find those kidnapped by this nefarious organization.  This slave trade could lead the group to other locations if the GM wishes.  It would be easy to include wagons loaded with slaves that head off to other locations to be sold off to the highest bidder.

A rumors table, random tavern events, and random encounter tables are a nice old school touch that are useful and easy to read.  Some of the results are rather crass and humorous.  :)

The included art is black and white and it reminds me of the TSR Choose Your Own Adventure books from my youth.  I do appreciate good B&W art!

The stat blocks and NPC speaking lines are bold, as well as text that NPCs might utter to the players.

A sample stat block is included below:
(8) Skeletons (AC: 7, MV: 120 ft, HD: 1, HP: 8 each #AT: 1, D: 1d6, SZ: Man Sized, MR: Standard, SD: Immune to cold, sleep, charm, hold and other mental based attacks, AL: Neutral, Level/XP: 1/15 + 1/HP)

The hanging dead? troll encounter is a fun one.  I think I would have its appendages have a life of their own. (Evil GM Cackle)

Snoot's Rock n' Roll Pit Fight Arena is a bit silly, so you might want to modify this encounter.  I think some more standard bards could foot the bill here.

There are a good many NPCs included in the adventure and that is cool to see.  They are described well.

As with most adventures a GM will need to read through the adventure, make notes, emphasize parts of the text that need to stand out more, etc.  You know, standard GM prep work for running a published adventure.

The art for Cavern of the Snare Beast is really evocative.  Just look at that evil bastard!  Woah!

There is a good amount of treasure, and useful magic items littered here and there in the dungeon IF the player characters can manage to find them.

I love the My Giant and Me encounter.  I want a giant pet spider now!  The art is also very evocative with a Dwarf holding onto a chain leash that holds his eight-legged pet in tow.  The art is included over there. <---

While there isn't a ton of art included, almost every piece is impressive.  Some of the pieces are a bit too "cartoony" for my tastes, but I do like most of it. The pieces I am including here are my favorites.

This adventure looks like it will kick a party's ass if they are the types that just go toe-to-toe for every encounter.  They will need to use magic items, have a good amount of healing and offense, and a good amount of luck to get through it all I think.  Good luck, it looks like a fun challenge.

One of the rooms has chess pieces that animate and attack.  I love this idea.  It reminds me of battle at the end of Time Bandits and that one scene in one of the Harry Potter flicks.

Wendell Hobblefoot (an evil Halfling) literally rules the dungeon and I like that twist, but his art is a bit on the cartoony side as well.

New monster stats are included in an appendix, as well as pregenerated characters to use for the adventure.  I wish more adventures included those. 

While this adventure seems to be on the short side (at 36 pages) it is densely packed with encounters and what appears to be a lot of over-the-top fun.  If you want a more gonzo adventure this can cover you, and if you want to slightly tweak it for a more serious game that is easy to do as well.

It appears like this adventure could possible take up to 2 to 4 sessions to play it all out, but I'll need to playtest that.  Maybe I'll get to use this in my solo campaign, or at my local convention that I run games for twice a year.

I hope to review the rest of the Maximum Mayhem Dungeon adventures, and perhaps get a review up on my RPG YouTube channel as well.  Only time will tell though.  Have a good one.  -Tim

Solo Role-playing: The Lost City of Barakus Part 3 (LL) Dretches & Death Dogs

The party was still mucking and sloshing about in the sewers when they stumbled upon two hideous little Dretches (Demons) dumping soil in the sewer near a now opened secret door.

Giladrina went unconscious again after several bites and claws landed brutal hits.  The Dwarven Cleric saved her from death's door and she managed to cast a Burning Hands spell to take the demons out.

Further into the secret lair they were ambushed by twin Death Dogs and two of the characters were infected with Rotting Death (-1D6 Con).  A Sleep spell put them down but the party fled back to the city of Endhome to lick their wounds.

At Endhome the Priests of Freya cured their diseases and they rested at their rooms at The Lion's Side Inn.  They paid for back rent and two more weeks stay there (6gp per week each).

By this point the group has been adventuring for 12 days.  Some shopping and upkeep was in order.

I really need to improve my record keeping and I started using a group xp sheet, a wealth sheet, and a house rules sheet.  I'm taking notes as I go on college ruled paper in a three-ring binder and that seems to be working well.

My house rules so far are:
*0HP = Unconsciousness
*Sell items for 50% of value
*1gp = 1xp
*If shooting into melee a natural 1 = Friendly Fire

I also need to keep better track of food and expended torches but it's going well and I'm having fun.

Solo Role-playing: The Lost City of Barakus Part 2 (Labyrinth Lord)

I had some more time today than I expected so I got in a second solo RPG session.  It almost ended in a TPK but I'll get to that below.  I'm really enjoying rolling on random tables, going with "whatever makes the most sense," and just enjoying the various sections of The Lost City of Barakus as a player.  I tend to be the GM so it's a nice change of pace.

The characters were all 3rd level but I'm keeping track of individual XP as I go from here on out.  It's actually been awhile since I even worried about XP but for this it just seems to fit.

I'm using a variety of random tables but I need to get them all into physical format so I don't need to be checking my phone so often which comes with distractions.

The Party:
Driya is an Elf Fighter,
Giladrina is an Elf Fighter / Magic-user,
Marzul is a Half-orc Thief,
Tralina is an Elf Thief,
and Ulfgar is a Dwarf Cleric

I'm using some of the options from Advanced Labyrinth Lord aka the Advanced Edition Companion (AEC).

Randon Encounter: Upon leaving the city Ulfgar had his pockets picked my some wandering merchants.

The group then traveled and ambushed The Greentree Bandits but the tide of battle turned against our intrepid heroes (bad dice rolls).  The leaders actually went down easily but the bandit minions were bloodthirsty jerks haha.  Tralina went unconscious and the rest of the party only had a few hit points at the end.  It was interesting to see how invested I was in having the characters survive.

The characters looted the corpses, stole the available wealth, and went back to Endhome to heal up at the inn while the magic-user spent a week doing magical research at the Wizard Academy to acquire a new spell.

The characters upgraded equipment and their armor and were attacked by a Shadow that drained some Strength from them before they could flee.

Next up was visiting the Temple of Freya and the priest sold some healing potions and gave them a new quest to find a missing priestess.  This was a hook to another adventure supplement so I just rolled up 3 random encounters: Giant Lizard (Gecko), Giant Ants, and an Albino Ape which were all from Labyrinth Lord.  Only the ape proved to be a little trouble by rolling two back to back critical hits. In the end they brought back the priestess to her temple.

The last encounter involved a diseased rat swarm that infected Giladrina thereby making her deaf for the near future.

Next up, more splashing around in raw sewage.

Solo Role-playing: The Lost City of Barakus Part 1 (Labyrinth Lord)

I had some downtime so I figured I would try to do some solo role-playing for the first time.  I'm used a variety of random tables, Labyrinth Lord, and The Lost City of Barakus as the adventure.

I'm surprised how much fun it was.  It reminded me of playing PC and NES games like The Bard's Tale and Wizardry. It's sure was better than just staring at a wall. Haha.

I added in a dose of common sense and I tried to flip back and forth from a player's POV and that of a GM.

I've never played or ran The Lost City of Barakus before and this seemed like a cool way to try out and learn the adventure before I run it for my friends or at a convention.

I also had to get over that internal self criticism about solo play.  It just sounded so lonely when I first heard about it.  For people like me though that work all the time it will help to pass the slow hours in an interesting way.

The characters had to fight their way into the city (killing 2 guards) and the Elf ended up doing some research at the magic academy.  The rest of the party got a room at an inn and got their first adventure hook (finding a lost husband in the dungeon).

There were some random encounters too pike thugs and helping a wounded man who gave the Dwarf Cleric a magic gem as a reward (it acts like an Identify spell).

So in closing, if you've never given it a try pull out some random tables and make up some characters and charge into a published adventure or randomly generate one on the fly.

Sea Magic aka Shell Spells

A friend posted about finding shells on the beach but my brain read his post as finding SPELLS on the beach.  That made me think about a shell-based system about a culture that harvests shells to cast sea-based magic.  Maybe they crush them, snort them, cut themselves with them, or inscribe spells onto them as a focus. 

Shell Spells... :D

Rolemaster Unified Stat Generation for Empire of the Petal Throne

Recently I watched a video by Bankbar Como on YouTube where he was generating a character for RMU from I.C.E. In that video he rolled 3D100 for each stat, dropped the lowest, used the next highest roll for the current stat, and the highest roll was used for the maximum Stat Potential (the highest that stat could ever be).

That stat generation method made me think of Empire of the Petal Throne.  As a house rule I always had the players roll 4D6, drop the lowest result, and then multiply the 3D6 total X 5 to get the final stat total.  Now I think I'm going to bolt on RMU's method.

EPT has random rolls at each new level to increase your stats.  I think I'll make that roll a bit easier but include the stat maximums.

Anyway, I thought I would share.

Here is Bankbar Como's YouTube channel:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqNR2CzK5eZDrqv2Cf2rQCw

Vs. Dragons RPG Review

#MiniRPGReview

There are only 2 Stats (Brains and Muscles) and that reminds me a bit of the Lasers & Feelings RPG.  You get to put 4/4, 5/3, or 3/5 in the Stats.

Core Mechanic: Draw cards = Stat.  If the highest card is equal to or greater than the set Target Number (7 average) success.

Classes provide only one special ability but it wouldn't be tough to add some free Gimmicks in the game to flesh them out more.  I like that they are simple.

Each hero (character) gets one good and one bad Gimmick of their choice.  Think of D&D Feats but more narrative.  These are like many Boons and Flaws in other games but more rules-lite.

Equipment is more on the "what makes sense" side of things as well.

Shields are awesome.  Hearts deflect hits, Diamonds or Clubs reduces damage, Spades reduces damage but shield is damaged.

Weaponds deal 1-4 damage depending on size.

Random Card Draw as an Oracle:

Hearts = Very Good,

Diamonds = Good,

Clubs = Bad,

Spades = Very Bad

Initiative is just clockwise around the table.

Actions are move and attack.

Melee Combat is a draw of # of cards = Muscle, if highest card is greater than or equal to target's Muscle hit.

Ranged Combat is a draw of # of cards = Brains, if highest card is greater than or equal to Range Value (based on distance) hit.

Toughness (Hit Points) is 10 or higher with Gimmicks.  At 5 -1 Pain mod, at 2 -2 Pain mod, at 0 -3 Pain mod, at -1 Unconscipus.  Any hit after -1 is death.

Natural Healing is 1/hour, or 5/4 hours.  First Aid/Medical Care is Heart it worked, Diamond or Club is. Nothing bad happened, and Spade is it failed and possible death.

The rest is optional rules, NPC and Monster stats, items, and spells.

Hero Rewards are via Stat increases, Bonus Cards, or new Hero Gimmicks.

Save vs. Moonlight or Lunar Influence

My friend is on a cruise and took this.  It made me think that I should tinker on a Saving Throw vs. Lunar Influence table. Feel free to chime in.

Save vs. Moonlight.  If you fail a Saving Throw roll on the table below.

1. Temporary loss of short-term memory.
2. You lose one item by setting it down and forgetting about it.
3. Your sense of smell increases three fold.
4. You gain low-light vision temporarily.
5. You gain darkvision temporarily.
6. You gain Infravision temporarily.
7. One random stat increases.
8. Two random stats increase.
9. One random stat decreases.
10. Two random stats decrease.
11. You and an ally gain telepathy with each other for the rest of the night.
12. Your hair turns white permanently.
13. Your pupils look like twin crescent moons for 1D6 days.
14. Any spilled blood looks like it glows for you.  The blood in living beings makes them glow a dull red too.
15. You know how to read, speak, and write one random language for the rest of the night.
16. The character can cast 1D4 divine spells based on the domain of one of the moon gods or goddesses.
17. The character grows long black fur all over their body.  It needs to be shaved off to remove it.
18. Your fingernails and toenails grow extra quickly (as if they had grown naturally for one year).
19. Your fingernails become sharp talons that can be used as natural weapons.
20. You transform into a violent predatory animal for 1D6 hours.

Google+ Apocalypse, the Rise of MeWe, the OSR, and Little Ole Me

Hello everyone.  How's life?  Things are super busy around these parts with work and family but I have been spending a good amount of time chatting about RPGs over on a new social network called MeWe.

Yeah... the name is weird but in the course of about a week most of the OSR role-players that I followed on Google+ migrated over.  

The site is pretty user friendly and the RPG groups are easy to find with a quick search.  If you want to add me feel free.

https://mewe.com/i/samwiseseven_rpg

Each group has a chat which I think really helps bring in that feeling of community.

When you are just getting started you are only allowed to add 50 new people a day but I understand that it is a spam prevention method.  Just be patient.  I've now gotten to the point where I don't max out every day. Hehe.

I hope to see you over there.  Come say hello.  Cya around.  *Internet High Five*

My Published Work: Murcanto's Lair RPG Adventure

I'm pretty awful at promoting my own little projects.  Just look at the way this blog post is written.  hehe.  ;)

Here is a link to a systemless dungeon crawl adventure I published a few years ago too.  It is behind the Adult Filter because I figured I'd better be safe than sorry.  It is a bit dark & horrific in places and the subject matter might offend some out there.

Murcanto's Lair
http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/159883/Murcantos-Lair

https://samwise7rpg.itch.io/murcantos-lair

I'm also in the LOOOOONNNNGGGGG process of writing up my next adventure called Suffering of the Moth Queen.  It is going to be aimed more at OSR play, but you might be able to use it with other systems with a bit of elbow grease.  It is proving to be my most ambitious project yet.  It is more like a sandboxy mini-setting than a typical adventure.  The text alone is up past 170 pages now and I like to include a lot of art, so I'm sure it will balloon up when a skilled layout gal or guy gives it some love.  This one will be a bit more risque than my other projects, so it might draw some unwanted attention.  The main themes in it will deal with physical and psychological abuse on top of a bunch of fantasy/horror tropes that I will twist until I like them.  Let's hope I finish it before I die of old age.  hehe.

Interacting with RPG People Online: the Tim Way

I wrote this over on Google+.  Figured I would share it here too.

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I don't like conflict, never have.  I also suck at standing up for myself, but I'm trying to work on that front.  Seeing friends of mine attacking each other is always disheartening.  I also avoid choosing sides and try to stay as far away from internet drama as possible.  I do prefer those that stick more to gaming chatter by in large.  

It seems that I have way more patience for dealing with problematic personalities that others find super annoying.  Some of us have undiagnosed personality disorders I think.  I have anxiety and depression issues, so I'm not above anyone.  I often find myself in the predicament of having two or more friends that despise each other, and yet, I still consider them all my friends.  I'll give you an example.

A younger much more naive version of myself got married when I was 20 (and somehow I'm still married at 38).  At that time I had a pretty decent sized pool of friends from various backgrounds, cliques, groups, etc.  I invited them all to my bachelor party in the mountains (we made dams in the creek, slid down a natural water/rock slide, ate lots of food, and drank generic soda pop).  Yes, I know, I had a boring party by many standards but for me it was mostly just what the doctor ordered.  That park is still my favorite place on Earth.  

Roughly one third of my friends left almost as soon as they arrived to this party.  Why did they do that?  They did that because they couldn't stand some of my other friends, and could not bear to hang out with me while they were there.  So their distaste for some of the guests was greater than wanting to hang out with me for one last night before I got married.  It pissed me off then, but I understand their reaction too to a certain degree.  That reaction just isn't one that I use much in my life.

How does this all apply to people that are into RPGs and interacting with them?

*Even if Friend X says Friend Y is awful, that doesn't mean you need to ditch Friend Y.  If Friend X can't handle that you are still friends with Friend Y that is their problem not yours.  This doesn't mean that you approve 100% with Friend Y's behavior either.

*I like to give people the benefit of the doubt.  Maybe they are acting like an asshat today.  There are probably reasons for that, and maybe they should have just stayed away from the keyboard while they were upset or felt like crap, etc.  I don't throw a friendship (or online interaction type person) away for a bad day.  People are people, and we all suck sometimes.  I think people need a bit of forgiveness and leeway.

*If a friend or acquaintance sucks donkey balls all the time, and they are a leech and the relationship with them is nothing but a one way street, sure, now it's time to dump their ass on the curb and move on.  Life is just too short for that kind of draining negativity.

*People have commented that I do respond to trolls and that I shouldn't feed them, yada yada.  Well, trolls are people too (albeit misguided ones that come in several varieties).  I think I've surprised some of them by being nice in response to some asinine nasty comment they made on a blog post or RPG video, or Facebook post or Google+ post.  I've even got a few to apologize (I know, a miracle right)?  Sometimes I'll even agree with them, but spin their comment a bit.  I also like self-deprecating humor, so there is that.

*I don't think I need to win every argument, and to me a friendship or relationship with a person online means more to me than winning.

*Maybe I'm just a dreamer (cue the Beatles) but I do kind of expect people to be nice to each other as a general rule.  My expectations are often not met however, haha.  Still, for myself I do aim to be nice to everyone if possible.  If not, there are blocking features, removing them from circles or friends' lists, etc.

*I know that my personality type / way of dealing with people can piss some people off too.  "Dammit man, get angry or something."  I'm sure it might be healthier to unleash on someone from time to time, but that just isn't my M.O.

If you want to stick around to hear my random thoughts, campaign ideas, opinions about games, etc.  I'll be bere.  If not, good luck to ya and have a good one.

-Tim

P.S. This was surprisingly hard to write, and I have a sneaking suspicion it is as clear as mud.  I hope you got something out of it.

My "Old School" Expectations & D&D Play-style

Dead Air, Filling the Silences: I have really been trying not to fill every silence that happens at the table, because I've realized that it is not my job to do so (it is the group's responsibility as a whole).  By letting that dead air just HANG there I have found that players tend to get more proactive and fill it themselves by engaging in dialogue with one another or doing something.

Dice Rolling & Randomness: I will only roll dice (or call for a dice roll) when I want a random result.  There will be times when I just say your character succeeds at an action without a roll.  Many times I include descriptive details that would be the result of a roll as well to cut down on the number of times dice are rolled.  IF the dice hit the table however we will be incorporating that outcome (I don't fudge dice).  There will be more randomness in character creation (namely rolling 4D6 dropping the lowest die straight down the stat line) to discourage min-maxing but the rest of character creation is a series of player choices.  

Emergent Narrative: While I will be using the rough draft of my Suffering of the Moth Queen adventure, it is more like a current situation and sandbox and I have NO idea how your characters will navigate its challenges or what will happen after they get involved in what is happening.  The story will emerge from play as the characters explore the environment and interact with creatures and NPCs.

Exploration and Interaction with the Environment: I think part of an old school game is exploring strange locations, mapping them out, and discovering what lies in those fuzzy un-mapped areas.  Every room will not have an encounter, and everything you encounter will not try to kill you.  Sure, other things WILL be trying to kill you but even then they will be interacting at the characters.  I don't think in-character role-playing needs to end when initiative is rolled.  As a general rule try to listen to the descriptions of things as there are often hints and clues sprinkled in there.

Heroic Characters, Not Superheroes: Some of the house rules will aim to reduce the power level of the characters so that a bit more realism is prevalent during play.  Characters will most likely die at some point during the course of the adventure, and that's okay (note that resurrection is an option).  I find that if death is a real possibility for the characters combats have more of an exciting edge to them.  Also, when fights are dangerous I find that players look for other options than just hitting things in the face with swords.  hehe.

In-character Role-playing, Not Social Skill Checks: I gutted Charisma and all of the social skills because I want to promote in-character role-playing.  You don't have to be an actor using accents and stuff however.  Just do your best.  It is evident when someone is trying and that is all I can ask for.  Plus, I find bantering back and forth in-character to be one of the things I really enjoy about RPGs.

Meaningful Character Decisions: I will not be using any "Quantum Ogres" as you go through the dungeon.  I want to make choice matter.

Pro-active Players and Risk Taking: Don't be afraid to think outside of the box to try something new.  All of the answers are not on your character sheet.  If you just sit there your characters won't do anything cool.  That being said, the world that the characters will be exploring is dangerous and being careful at the right moment might save your character's life.  Without risks there are no gains however.  

Rulings / Rules as Guidelines: The rules are guidelines and at the end of the day the GM will make a call for a situation where the rules are unclear or too unrealistic and move the game forward with a ruling.  I don't want to fight over the rules during a game session but afterward we can look up the rules that are in question.  The GM is the final arbiter and referee of the rules while the game is going on.  I will try to be fair, and I always like to get feedback so feel free to let me know.

Theater of the Mind: I mostly run games in a more theater of the mind approach (aka no miniatures or grids).  In the case of complex combats I might throw out some flat marbles, dice, etc. to represent things though.  

Unbalanced Encounters: Everything the characters face will NOT be of an appropriate challenge rating.  Sometimes the best choice is to run like Hell or hide or do some talky-talky.  There should be some clues in the room description to let you know that this thing that you are facing is deadly (like a mountain of skulls, or blood everywhere, or corpses hanging from walls).  

Weird & Wonderful: I hope to drench modified fantasy tropes with strange horrific details.  At times I can dip down into dark fantasy.  I look at megadungeons as strange supernatural mythic underworlds where reality's rules need not apply.  They aren't just piles of ruined mortar and stones in my mind. 

Ten RPG Magical Circles / Symbols / Sigils / Arcane Brands

I doodled up a bunch of these magical symbol type things awhile back and I'm going to use these ten in my next RPG adventure entitled Suffering of the Moth Queen.  Maybe you can plop them into your campaign.  These symbols are going to be branded into the skin of the ten scattered body parts of the Moth Queen in the adventure.

1D20 RPG Herbs & Poisons

I intentionally went for very hard to pronounce “tongue-twister” names for each of these herbs or poisons, but they also have a nick-name that the common folk use.

For a bit of ornery GM fun you could make the players try to pronounce the herb that they are using to gain their beneficial effects... There is no correct way to pronounce them though.

1D20 Roll	Herbs
1	Verusktorild/She of the Crimson Eye – When you grind the stem into a powder it can be blown into the eyes of your target to daze and partially blind them for 1D2 rounds.
2	Lorenbannysy/Bloodroot Broth – If you mix a few drops of blood into the crushed roots of this plant it will produce heat for 1D6 hours equal to that of smoldering coals.
3	Enisghatora/Purple Limb – The leaves of this plant when chewed to a pulp are toxic. If this substance is smeared onto a blade and enters through a wound the area near the wound will swell drastically causing intense pain and then the affected flesh will turn a dark purple.
4	Serechtonalde/Garland's Berry – A creature that eats the fruit of this plant will not take any violent action unless they are attacked.
5	Ormagetasechight/Vurnon's Cauldron – If you mix the buds of this plant with sand it will produce a noxious substance that reeks horribly.
6	Agetontiaundler/Spit of the Widow – Chewing and spitting the leaves of this plant in to the face of a dying thing will keep them from crossing over to the other side until natural or magical healing can be used on them.
7	Deltherdentonem/Pangs of the Dog – If you dehydrate the flower petals of this plant they can be ingested to get rid of hunger for 1D12 hours. If used for a week however the creature or person will no longer be able to digest food correctly and will start to death no matter how much food is ingested.
8	Rynhonbanunty/Milk of the Infant – Sucking out the milk from the stem and drinking it provides energy for staying awake for 1D4 days. After its effects wear off the person that drank it will fall into a deep coma that lasts 1D2 days.
9	Yerestenthkinon/Girnin's Giggling Root – Eating the roots of this plant will heal injuries (1D4 hit points plus 1 point of any stat damage). A side-effect of this herb is that the creature or person that ate it will giggle uncontrollably for 1D6 minutes after eating it.
10	Dynuskuntinga/He of the Still Form – If you grind the flower petals of this plant and mix it in a drink it will paralyze the person that drinks it for 1D6 minutes.
11	Undildgarserage/Eyes of the Sleeper – Someone that is in a deep slumber (natural or magical) that smells this pungent fruit will awaken.
12	Ansayarhat/Cold's Demise – When the entire plant is sprinkled with the ground up leaves of the Yerestenthkinon plant (see above) it will produce a short-lived fire. The fumes are said to be beneficial for getting over minor sicknesses too.
13	Serackuskhon/Marlae's Bruise – A wrap made out of the entire plant will heal 1D10 hit points worth of damage that were caused by blunt weapons.
14	Achesselmaro - If you lie these plants end to end around a campsite or around a dwelling all insects will not cross it.  It can also be used as a way to scare of larger more violent insects from attacking you.
15	Tonelminaorusk/Bindings of the Martyr – Bleeding can be stopped by cutting a section of this plants' leaf and placing it over a wound caused by a slashing weapon (treat as a binded wound). If the patient engages in any fighting or athletic maneuvers before the injury is healed the wound will tear open again.
16	Bangharakiaril/Death of the Leech – If the juice of this plants' berries is slightly heated and imbibed it will reduce fevers and kill any parasites in or on the patient.
17	Nalechingnygar/Savage Mask – By tying all of the long tubers from one of these plants into your hair you can gain the trust of one animal. It is up to the GM's discretion as to what that animal does for you, or if they become a temporary ally.
18	Seringildageia/Orange Dream – If you place and hold the buds of this plant in your mouth you can spit out an orange substance. This substance produces hallucinogenic dreams if it is drizzled into someone's eyes.
19	Emechpolon/Hollistor's Pollen – If the pollen is painstakingly collected it can be sniffed to give the inhaler a burst of speed and an increase in movement.
20	Issangeldir/Amalthea's Lizard Skin – If the entire large plant is ingested (roughly the same as a large meal) the creature or person that ate it will have their skin toughen much like scales or natural armor.

NPC Images for Green Ronin's A Song of Ice and Fire RPG

I'm running a play by post game of Green Ronin's A Song of Ice and Fire RPG for the first time.  I did get a chance to play under an awesome GM (who used to be on YouTube called ZigCopasetic) and he taught me that NPC images like this are a very handy player reference in political games.  It seems to help keeping all of the political machinations straight in your head if you have some faces to put to all of the backstabbing schemes.  I put the characters on there too, to remind everyone what position the characters have in the House of Banefort.

Links for more info on House Banefort:
http://awoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/House_Banefort
http://awoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/Banefort

PBP Game: http://www.realroleplaying.com/rmsmf/index.php?board=671 

Here is the NPC image.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5q-SrbFhJetNm1kLXVZbE1FeDQ/view?usp=sharing

Avalon Hill's Titan: Additional Creatures

I do not get a chance to play many board games, but there is a special place in my dark heart for Avalon Hill's beautifully illustrated masterpiece Titan.  It is an esoteric game of merciless fantasy brutality.  I imagine the players getting sprayed in the face with blood like they were Ash in the Evil Dead flicks as they play.  I've seen multiplayer games where two of the 6 players were destroyed in just the 2nd turn.  This game doesn't care if you go crying over in the corner after a humiliating defeat.  It also has a nice balance of luck vs. strategy so it is possible to have a lucky player stand toe-to-toe with your friend that could be nick-named General Tactics.  I tended to be the lucky player.  My brain does not grok strategy for the most part, unless taught by YEARS of failures and public massacres at the gaming table.  lol. 

Anyway, here are some higher-level creatures that my little Titan group made up over the years.  The numbers and abilities probably still need adjusted, but here they are.  Apologies for the bad photography.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5q-SrbFhJetRnRFWWVFR0k5VG8/view?usp=sharing

 
Tower: At 300 Points you can get a Knight (7 - 5)

Brush: With 3 Gorgans you can get a Manticore (11 Flying / Range Strike 2)

Jungle: With 2 Serpents you can get a Froghemoth (12 Ranged Strike 3)

Plains: With 3 Rangers you can get a Bearhawk (8 Flying 3)

Woods: With 2 Unicorns you can get an Ent (8 Range Strike / Special Range Strike Through Trees 4)

Desert: With 2 Hyrdras you can get a Sphinx (9 Flying / Range Strike 4)

Marsh: With 3 Rangers you can get a Giant Spider (6 Range Strike 4)

Hills: With 2 Unicorns you can get a Nightmare (8 Flying 4)

Swamp: With 2 Hydras you can get a Black Dragon (12 Flying / Range Strike 3)

Mountain: With 2 Colossus you can get a Leviathan (15 Range Strike 3)

Tundra: With 2 Colossus you can get a Dracolich (9 Range Strike 5)


There are only 4 of the extra creatures for the Brush, Plains, and Marsh and more of the bigger ones.


That's it for today folks.  I'm sure I'll be back to RPG Thing in the next post.  Have a good one out there.  May your Titan be the last one standing the next time you next wade into the bloodbath that is Avalon Hill's Titan. 

Re: Hoards of Swords (1D20 Weird Swords)

Sam Mameli posted this image over on Google+ and I went a bit nuts and described most of the swords in the comments beneath it.  https://plus.google.com/111650678242611500802

I don't know why I can't be this creative with my own motivation.  I seem to work best when someone tells me to do something and then I get to work in answering it in my own strange way.  I guess I just need creative direction. 

Anyway, without further ado, here is the list that others and myself came up with.  I edited them all a bit to my own liking.

1. Heartstrings.  The blade is a normal blade (not even that finely crafted) but the handle of the sword is made from wrapped dragon heartstrings. Those that wield the blade can cast one random spell per day, and they can more easily resist the spell-like effects of dragons, lizardfolk, and any other scaly foe.

2. Hangman's Toothpick.  This sword mysteriously clattered on the ground beneath an unarmed man that was hanged for unspecified "crimes against the crown." The blade is cold to the touch. If this sword is attacking a creature they will hear whispers all around them, distracting them and making them easier to hit.

3. The Grieving Butcher. This sword feels more like a meat cleaver when wielded. It grants a large attack bonus vs. stationary targets. The sword is said to have been created by a widowed meat merchant.

4. Eye Bane. On a critical roll the target of the blade will be permanently blinded unless they make a saving throw.

5. Sacrificial Blade of the Water Priestesses. Those killed by this blade have their bodies turned quickly into pools of churning water that evaporate after 1D6 minutes.

6. The Wayward Gem.  This blade is said to have belonged to the Heathrowe family.  The gem of the sword falls off during a battle and teleports itself to random locations.  The wielder of the blade can then also teleport to the gem's location along with anyone else that is touching them. 

7. The Paddle Sword. This roughly worked sword changes into a paddle when it touches water (or at the wrong time when it is raining, or someone spits on it).

8. Sword of the Shattered Bone. On a successful hit one random bone will break cleanly inside the victim (if they fail a saving throw).

9. Death of Stars.  This sword is rumored to have fallen out of the hand of a dying "Star Childe." Before it died it wrote the strange sigils on the blade with its elongated finger and blew on it with its final breath. Any creature slain by this sword is temporarily possessed (for 1D6 rounds) by the sword's original owner and it spouts off wisdom in a strange unknown tongue (something like a Comprehend Languages spell will be needed to decipher it).

10. Heavy-hearted.  This blade has an enchantment on it that makes it weigh the same as a large warhorse unless the wielder is from the _________ race/species (something in your setting of choice). Most people cannot pick it up or move it.

11. The Serpent's Kiss. When a critical is rolled on an attack a living irate snake is implanted in the target's intestines.

12. Axeblade.  This is a normal sword, though it can act more like an axe for chopping down trees. The handle also unscrews to reveal a secret compartment in the handle.

13. Pyramid Key.  Once per day this sword summons a stone pyramid shelter.  The sword is the key to open and to lock it. 

14. Lost Sword of Halves. This sword has never killed a single soul and it never will though it does wound. It reduces the Hit Points of the victim in half with every successful hit (round up to the nearest whole number).

15. Sword of Self-Decapitation. Upon her death bed, a woman pulled this strange brand from beneath the covers. With a command word the sword decapitated her violently by itself. The sword is of fine craftsmanship, but it holds no other abilities.

16. Bloodspitter.  This sword has a mechanical lever that when pushed forward sucks blood from a body. This lever can also be reversed to spray blood out of a small hole at the top of the sword. Other liquids can be held in the sword, but it will begin to shake violently after any other liquids are contained it after 1D6 hours.

17. The Smoldering Ruin. Small flames can be lit on the cross-guard and they will stay lit for 1D6 hours. These flames stay lit even when the sword is being used violently in combat. If a 1 is ever rolled during an attack the wielder of the blade must roll a saving throw or one of their appendages will burst into flames and turn instantly into ashes. The blade hates magic-users and grants the wielder a bonus when attacking them.

18. Carnival Bone. This strange sword heals undead creatures when it stabs them and does not deal any damage whatsoever to living creatures (it turns ethereal and passes right through them). It is said that the sword was used in a traveling carnival.

19. Time Blades.  Reclusive, pacifistic elves live for generations isolated from the violence of their former lands. When raiders find and start targeting these elves, swords were made having only dusty scrolls and hearth-fire stories to go on. The result were 10 matching blades that seemed to slice through time itself. Whenever the wielder uses the sword in a purely defensive maneuver, adjust the player's initiative score in a positive way.  Also, on a natural 20 the wielder of the sword can choose to return to a point right before the fight to avoid all bloodshed.  

20. Thornblade.  These wooden weapons are sentient swords grown by a sect of reclusive druids in remote part of the world.  When wielded by a ranger or druid (or other nature-based character), the blade deals damage as a metal longsword.  On a critical hit the target of the sword will sprout 1D6 trees upon their death that will grow quickly out from their flesh.  For other non-nature affiliated characters, the blade deals damage as a shortsword and wounds the wielder on a fumble or natural 1.  The thornblade will lose its shape and lose its abilities if not bathed water regularly.