tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-234860332024-02-20T07:06:54.295-08:00Small But Vicious BlogComradeGnullhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09210806450294521289noreply@blogger.comBlogger78125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23486033.post-34235214938800406692015-04-26T14:26:00.002-07:002015-04-26T14:26:30.791-07:00Non-Combat Travel Encounters: Stone CairneNon-combat Travel Encounters: Stone Cairne<br />
<br />
Stone Cairne - a pile of stones is spotted along the side of the road. Roll for its contents and origin. Roll 1d10.<br />
1 - Burial cairne. A corpse was buried under this pile of stones. A fresh corpse may indicate bandits are nearby, or indicate a mysterious murder. An older corpse may bear treasure, or rise an attack as an Undead creature of the appropriate level.<br />
2 - Traveler's Shrine - The cairn is an offering, usually to a god associated with travel or protection. Stones are carried from place to place and added to cairns by wandering pilgrims. Adding a stone to the cairn if one has been carried from your previous destination may grant a blessing (Inspiration). Removing stones or destroying the cairne may incur Misfortune (disadvantage on a roll of the DM's choice, preferably in an appropriate situation) or summon the shrine's guardian. Stones may have messages or prayers carved or scratched into them, and odd or rare stones are sometimes found among the cache.<br />
3 - Food Cache - Some large semi-intelligent creatures (ogres, hill giants, various beasts and magical beasts) will create food caches by taking recent kills and covering them in rocks, preferably in cool locations. The cairne stinks of rotting meat, and a few minutes of excavation could turn up anything from a deer carcass to a piece of a human leg. A few scavengers might be around, and disturbing the cairn may arouse a hunt for the offender once discovered.<br />
4 - Equipment Cache - Barbarian tribes, merchant caravan companies, local rangers, explorers, and bandits all sometimes store extra survival equipment in cairns from time to time in case of emergency or accident. These are found at designated rally points or landmarks throughout their territory or else alongside well traveled roads and paths. Expect to find one or more Explorer's Packs, plus the possibility of a tent, extra rations, or even a map of the area. It is considered good manners to use such a cache only when needed and to notify its owner that it was depleted- preferably with payment in full- and the people that left it may not take kindly to encountering their emergency gear in the hands of thieves.<br />
5 - Flint Tools - A local stone-age humanoid tribe (some orcs, goblins, and barbarians, bullywugs, lizard folk, etc.) uses this outcropping of native stone as a source for arrow heads, fish hooks, knife and axe blades, and other necessities. Players may be able to fashion equipment using tool proficiencies or Survival at the DM's option. The cairn itself is made up of discarded flakes and partially crafted tools that were discarded when flaws in the stone were discovered.<br />
6 - Earth Shrine - Similar to a Traveler's Shrine, but dedicated either to a god with the Earth domain or to the element of Earth itself. Making an offering at the shine gives Inspiration that can be used to cast earth-related spells or to attack Air elementals. Disturbing or defacing the shrine may summon a guardian elemental or Outsider.<br />
7 - Broken Colossus - The pile of stones is actually the remains of a gigantic stone creature- maybe a stone golem or earth elemental. <i>Detect Magic</i> reveals faint elemental magic or enchantment on all the stones as appropriate. They have no mechanical properties in and of themselves, but they may be prized by alchemists, golem builders, or other collectors or useful in as a reagent for magical contructs. The remains could be the result of an ancient battle, or a recent creation.<br />
8 - Gizzard Stones - The stones are all very smooth, as though they have been sitting in water. In fact they are gizzard stones disgorged by a giant bird (like a Roc or Giant Eagle) or some other flying monster that tends to swallow its prey whole (could include Dragons and Wyverns). The stones make great sling bullets (though they do smell a little like rotting meat), and indicate that <i>something</i> liely keeps a hunting ground nearby.<br />
<br />ComradeGnullhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09210806450294521289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23486033.post-69048441813302779862015-03-09T16:12:00.004-07:002015-03-09T16:12:58.947-07:00[5e] Bronze Age D&D: Rules for low tech weaponsMetalworking was considered more akin to magic than technology for much of its history. During the early Bronze Age, you had cultures that were still chipping axes and clubs out of flint living alongside cultures that had mastered smelting, casting, and other complex techniques of metal work. Supplies of important ores were highly localized and trade was slow and dangerous.<br />
<br />
Krynn, the setting for the Dragonlance books and game modules, is one example of a campaign world where metal scarcity was an issue. Athas, the Dark Sun setting, was another. Both games had rules to deal with metal scarcity- Krynn replaced gold with steel as the most valuable currency in the world, and 2nd edition Dark Sun had rules for stone, bone, and obsidian weapons. Telling players what metals weapons are made from can add color and detail to the game world. It can also reflect cultural differences in game- maybe a remote island has plenty of tin and copper, but no iron ore. Maybe the local tribe of hobgoblins has learned the smelting and casting of bronze, but has been denied access to more advanced metalworking technology (which they would happily kill to acquire).<br />
<br />
Making antagonist weapons bronze or other inferior materials can also discourage players from hoarding the gear of fallen foes, if you'd rather not bother with encumbrance rules. By the same token, a player who loses their primary weapon and has to survive using an inferior one taken from a fallen foe or enemy weapon store can make for some interesting drama.<br />
<br />
<b>Rules for Bronze Age-style Weapons</b><br />
<br />
Default weapons are bronze. On a critical failure (rolled a 1 when rolling without disadvantage), the weapon is damaged. Attack rolls are made at disadvantage, and damage becomes 1d3. This penalty persists until the weapon is repaired by a metal smith, requiring access to a forge, anvil, and metal working tools. If the weapon is damaged again before it is repaired, it is destroyed.<br />
<br />
Masterwork weapons (double cost) are made of iron and are not subject to breakage.<br />
<br />
+1, +2, +3 weapons are made of steel and not prone to breakage.<br />
<br />
Iron and steel weapons must be sharpened regularly to retain any bonus to hit and damage. This is assumed to be done during short or long rests, provided you have a whetstone. Bronze weapons rely more on weight and geometry than on a fine edge, and so don't need regular maintenance.ComradeGnullhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09210806450294521289noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23486033.post-2844411069184346692015-02-21T14:10:00.000-08:002015-02-21T14:10:47.730-08:00[5e] Goblin AssassinsHere's some stats for a goblin assassin- mine are acting as spies for well-organized Hobgoblin mercenary company that is working for the main antagonist in my game, but they could easily be slotted in as Dhakaani goblins for a Eberron campaign.<br />
<br />
Goblin Assassin (Rogue 3)<br />
Medium Humanoid, Neutral Evil<br />
Armor Class: 13 (leather)<br />
Hit Points: 15 (3d8)<br />
Speed: 30 ft.<br />
<br />
Str 8 (-1) Dex 15 (+2) Con 10 (0) Int 10 (0) Wis 16 (+3) Cha 7 (-2)<br />
Saving Throws: Dex +4, Int +2<br />
<br />
Skills: Stealth +6, Perception +5, Acrobatics +4, Investigation +3, Athletics +3, Sleight of Hand +4<br />
Senses: Darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 15<br />
Languages: Common, Goblin, Thieves Cant<br />
Challenge: 1<br />
<br />
Sneak Attack +2d6 damage 1/round against targets the Goblin has advantage against<br />
Cunning Action: The goblin can take the Hide, Dash, or Disengage action as a bonus action on each of its turns.<br />
Assassinate: The goblin has advantage on any creature that has not yet taken an action in combat. In addition, hits against surprised targets are automatically critical hits.<br />
Poison: Many goblin assassins use poison, particularly on their darts (which are often used to cover an escape). Carrion Crawler Mucus (DMG), Serpent Venom (DMG), and Basic Poison (PHB) are all common.<br />
<br />
<b>Actions:</b><br />Dagger: <i>Melee or Ranged Weapon Attack,</i> +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., range: 20/60, one target. Hit: 1d4+2 Piercing damage.<br />
<br />
Darts (5): <i>Ranged Weapon Attack</i>, +4 to hit, Range 20/60, one target. Hit: 1d4+2 Piercing damage + poison (see below)<br />
<br />
<b>Description:</b> While Goblins are not known for being particularly well-focused on any particular task, their natural small size, natural stealth, and basic self-centered ruthlessness can make then useful spies on assassins for a leader who has sufficient strength of will and arms to keep them in line and compel them to stay focused on their mission. Goblin assassins are much more grim and focused than the average Goblin, keen observers who prize their own survival and always have an eye out for potential targets or ambushes. Goblin assassins prefer to strike when their target is totally helpless, infiltrating towns or camps under cover of darkness and having no qualms about killing sleeping victims. Their equipment depends on their mission, but often includes poisons and caltrops that are used to cover their escape in the event that they are discovered or interrupted.ComradeGnullhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09210806450294521289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23486033.post-88861436521346229262015-02-21T02:24:00.002-08:002015-02-21T02:24:58.379-08:00Vows and Codes of Conduct [5e]<div style="color: #222222; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.42857142857143em; margin-bottom: 0.357142857142857em; padding: 0px;">
Tying game abilities to behavioral restrictions has always been a bumpy road, but I think the new rules provide some interesting options.</div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.42857142857143em; margin-bottom: 0.357142857142857em; margin-top: 0.357142857142857em; padding: 0px;">
Consider a simple code of conduct for a monk or priest:</div>
<ul style="color: #222222; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0.357142857142857em 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 40px;">
<li style="font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.42857142857143em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><div style="font-size: 1em !important; line-height: 1.42857142857143em; margin-bottom: 0.357142857142857em; margin-top: 0.357142857142857em; padding: 0px;">
No touching money (coins).</div>
</li>
<li style="font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.42857142857143em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><div style="font-size: 1em !important; line-height: 1.42857142857143em; margin-bottom: 0.357142857142857em; margin-top: 0.357142857142857em; padding: 0px;">
No touching members of the opposite sex out of combat.</div>
</li>
</ul>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.42857142857143em; margin-bottom: 0.357142857142857em; margin-top: 0.357142857142857em; padding: 0px;">
If you violate either of these strictures, you lose:</div>
<ul style="color: #222222; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0.357142857142857em 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 40px;">
<li style="font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.42857142857143em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">You proficiency bonus</li>
<li style="font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.42857142857143em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Any unspent spell slots</li>
</ul>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.42857142857143em; margin-bottom: 0.357142857142857em; margin-top: 0.357142857142857em; padding: 0px;">
Until your next Long Rest (which you must spend meditating and doing penance, but you can still regain spells as normal- you don't have time to do anything else, however).</div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.42857142857143em; margin-bottom: 0.357142857142857em; margin-top: 0.357142857142857em; padding: 0px;">
Couple of points:</div>
<ul style="color: #222222; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0.357142857142857em 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 40px;">
<li style="font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.42857142857143em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><div style="font-size: 1em !important; line-height: 1.42857142857143em; margin-bottom: 0.357142857142857em; margin-top: 0.357142857142857em; padding: 0px;">
Keep rules concrete and few in number</div>
</li>
<li style="font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.42857142857143em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><div style="font-size: 1em !important; line-height: 1.42857142857143em; margin-bottom: 0.357142857142857em; margin-top: 0.357142857142857em; padding: 0px;">
Doesn't have long-term alignment impact- that is a different ball of wax</div>
</li>
<li style="font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.42857142857143em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><div style="font-size: 1em !important; line-height: 1.42857142857143em; margin-bottom: 0.357142857142857em; margin-top: 0.357142857142857em; padding: 0px;">
Doesn't cripple you by removing all abilities, but is serious enough to not be used willy-nilly</div>
</li>
<li style="font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.42857142857143em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><div style="font-size: 1em !important; line-height: 1.42857142857143em; margin-bottom: 0.357142857142857em; margin-top: 0.357142857142857em; padding: 0px;">
Restoration is low-impact, but not automatic (because you have to make it until your next safe spot for a long rest)</div>
</li>
</ul>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.42857142857143em; margin-bottom: 0.357142857142857em; margin-top: 0.357142857142857em; padding: 0px;">
Likewise, you can take on optional strictures (like "no edged weapons" or "no metal armor"). Doing so gives you Inspiration at the end of the next Long Rest (provided that you didn't break a mandatory vow during the same period).</div>
ComradeGnullhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09210806450294521289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23486033.post-29181094932981591832015-01-26T06:49:00.000-08:002015-01-26T06:49:18.832-08:00[5e] Lost Mines of Phandelver Maps<a href="http://www.reddit.com/r/DnD/comments/2tnn13/i_finished_my_maps_for_the_dnd_5e_starter_set/" target="_blank">Acriaos on /r/dnd</a> put together this collection of maps for use with the Starter Set adventures: <a href="http://imgur.com/a/oHWUd#0" target="_blank">Lost Mines of Phandelver maps</a>. They are cool.ComradeGnullhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09210806450294521289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23486033.post-64167157998431083682015-01-11T23:02:00.000-08:002015-01-11T23:21:29.653-08:00Character Concepts for a Quickplay GameHere are some fast (but interesting) character concepts that you can use to quickly bring together a new group of players, particularly folks new to the game. Let everyone pick their own names and decide their relationships, etc, but provide them with all the mechanical decisions (Race, class, background) ahead of time.<br />
<br />
The group concept is a group of bandits/mercenaries left together at the end of a long war. Some of these were inspired by characters in the movie <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kundo:_Age_of_the_Rampant" target="_blank">Kundo: Age of the Rampant</a>.<br />
<br />
<b>Warrior Monk</b><br />
Race: Human<br />
Background: Soldier<br />
Class: Monk<br />
Alignment: Neutral Good<br />
<br />
You served as a chaplain in the army, fighting alongside your fellow soldiers and tending to their wounds and funerals during pauses in the fighting. Because of your lifestyle, you are more rough around the edges than the typical monk, but still respect your superiors in your order.<br />
<br />
<b>Outcast Noble</b><br />
Race: Human<br />
Background: Noble<br />
Class: Fighter<br />
Alignment: Lawful Good<br />
<br />
Your father was an aristocrat, and your mother was a village girl who died in childbirth. Your father remarried for money and prestige, and you were eventually replaced by a new noble-born heir and sent off to seek your fortune in the world. You have studied war and combat since you were tall enough to hold a sword, and naturally expect others to follow your lead.<br />
<br />
<b>Camp Follower</b><br />
Race: Half-orc<br />
Background: Urchin<br />
Class: Rogue<br />
Alignment: Chaotic good<br />
<br />
You grew up an orphan, raised in the baggage train of an army or mercenary company, following along as it moved between garrisoned towns, frontier villages, and restless cities. You lived on what you could beg or steal, sneaking into besieged towns to find secrets to sell to the commanders and robbing the corpses of the dead. Your manners appall civilized people, and you are probably more used to running from or undermining authority than obeying it, but you grew up in an egalitarian society of orphans and beggars where the older children made sure that the younger ones got to eat.<br />
<br />
<b>Scout</b><br />
Race: Half-elf<br />
Background: Outsider<br />
Class: Ranger<br />
Alignment: Neutral Good<br />
<br />
You grew up in the wilderness, maybe living in an isolated cabin or living in tents as you migrated between pastures and hunting grounds. From the time you could walk you were at home in the wilderness, able to live off the land as easily as most people would live in a hotel. You were hired by an army to serve as a scout, seeking out enemy camps and ambushes and finding paths through the wilderness. You speak few unnecessary words and think civilized life is soft and boring, but you are curious about the world and enjoy meeting new people and seeing new places.<br />
<br />
<b>Chronicler</b><br />
Race: Elf<br />
Background: Scholar<br />
Class: Bard<br />
Alignment: Chaotic Good<br />
<br />
Most who know you know of you only as an entertainer, singing songs around the campfires at night in exchange for coins and drink. The soldiers and their companions enjoy your songs, but regard you as strange and alien, unsure why one of the mythical Fair Folk has joined their number. In fact, you are far more than a mere minstrel- the full Elven name for your vocation is something like '<i>witness to the strife of the short-lived races'</i>- and you regard it as something of a sacred duty to witness and record the short, passionate lives of mortal armies in story and song. Your long life grants you a unique perspective on the struggles of your companions- others regard you as cold and strange, but in truth you are stirred deeply by the struggles of those around you, a fact that emerges primarily through your music.<br />
<br />
<b>Changeling Messiah</b><br />
Race: Gnome<br />
Background: Folk Hero<br />
Class: Sorcerer<br />
Alignment: Chaotic Good<br />
<br />
You Human parents found you hidden in a concealed nook in an abandoned village- you had clearly been placed there for your protection, but the village had been abandoned for days by the time your parents found you. Thinking at first that you were just an unusually small child, it soon became apparent that you were something very different. The people in your remote village regarded you at first with fear and mistrust, but then began to think that they had been favored by the gods when your magical powers began to develop. A cult developed in the village centered around you- you were pampered and catered to to the best of their meager ability- but once you had outlived your aging parents, you grew restless and left to seek your origins, much to the dismay of your worshipers. You are brash and used to being treated as a god, but ignorant about the ways of the wider world. You fell in with a group of mercenaries or bandits when they found you amusing and noticed that people you don't like tend to burst into flames. They treat you as a kind of mascot, trying to keep you away from the real fighting but letting you act out symbolic victories like burning the enemies banners or making enemies swear their parole oaths to you.<br />
<br />
<br />ComradeGnullhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09210806450294521289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23486033.post-61276034606136338742014-12-26T02:43:00.000-08:002014-12-26T02:43:50.876-08:005e Class Summaries for New Players<h2>
The Classics</h2>
<div>
The classic D&D party consists of four classes:</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Fighter (front-line combatant & general muscle)</li>
<li>Cleric (healer, secondary melee combatant, magical utility)</li>
<li>Rogue (ranged/opportunistic combatant, non-magical scouting and utility)</li>
<li>Wizard (ranged combatant, magical scouting and utility)</li>
</ul>
<div>
Each of these classes is very broadly defined and can be effective in pretty much any environment or situation</div>
</div>
<div>
<h3>
Cleric</h3>
<div>
<b>In Combat: </b>Clerics are capable combatants, able to wield many different types of weapons and armor. Traditionalist clerics employ only blunt weapons. Clerics can also offer prayers to their patron (a god, goddess, saint, or philosophical principle) to heal their friends or smite their enemies- they are particularly good at destroying the undead and other other-worldly menaces.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<b>Out of Combat: </b>Clerics can ask for aid from their church as long as their mission is in accordance with its principles- the church may chose to provide as much as an army or as little as a bowl and a robe depending on the worthiness of the cause, the reputation of the cleric, and their resources. Clerics can pray to their patron to heal wounds or diseases, provide food or shelter, or seek portents of the future. They also likely know the lore of their church or people.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Fighter</h3>
<b>In Combat: </b>You are a master of all forms of armed and unarmed combat, and adept at employing any conceivable weapon or armor that you might encounter. You can specialize in a type of fighting at which you are particularly adept, and can keep yourself alive despite significant wounds.<br />
<br />
<b>Out of Combat: </b>You are well-versed in tactics and strategy- you can spot favorable terrain, defensive choke points, ambush opportunities, etc., by inspecting your surroundings. You know the customs and culture of army encampments and how to make a living as a hired sword. You are good at identifying objects that are both small and valuable.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Rogue</h3>
<div>
<b>In Combat: </b>You are skilled with a number of light, easily concealed melee and missile weapons, and you are particularly good at striking from concealment or when an enemy is distracted. You are comfortable in light armor, but find heavier protection too constricting.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Out of Combat: </b>You are a master of stealth and deception, able to sneak past guards, pick locks or pockets, and disable traps and alarms. You are good at recognizing valuable loot. Your criminal background may provide opportunities to find new work or buy and sell rare or illegal goods.</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<h3>
Wizard</h3>
<div>
<b>In Combat: </b>Your more powerful spells can kill or incapacitate multiple enemies at a time. Your weaker magic can provide you with a fair chance of defending yourself at a distance. You strive to avoid melee combat at all costs- you are more likely to wear armor backwards than correctly, and likely have only basic skills with a few rather non-threatening weapons. You are prone to dying without prior warning.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Out of Combat: </b>Your spells can pierce the boundaries of time and space in pursuit of knowledge or power. You know a wide array of magical lore that may contain arcane secrets, forgotten history, or forbidden wisdom. You spend most of your spare time studying.</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h2>
The Specialists</h2>
<div>
These classes can be thought of as specialized versions of the classic four- they trade a little overall utility for versatility or excellence in a particular area. Barbarians excel at close melee combat, but have a narrow range of tactics available to them compared to fighters. Monks ecel at unarmed combat and can make decent scouts, but lack the selection of weapons, armor, and tactics of the fighter or the focused specialization of the rogue. Rangers provide extra utility in a wilderness situation at the expense of overall combat options. Sorcerers have a narrower range of spells compared to other primary spell casters, but gain some versatility. </div>
<h3>
Barbarian:</h3>
<b>In Combat: </b>You are a a fierce but undisciplined opponent, throwing yourself into combat with reckless abandon. You are familiar with most weapons, but prefer to stand toe-to-toe with an opponent while wielding a huge two-handed weapon. You are particularly adept at avoiding damage while wearing little or no armor.<br />
<br />
<b>Out of Combat: </b>You have keen senses that make you adept at noticing danger, like traps or an ambush. You are good at shrugging off the effects of poisons and diseases, and difficult to hold o restrain. You likely grew up in the wilderness, and are skilled at surviving both in the wilds and<br />
among the hardened people who live there.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Monk</h3>
<div>
<b>In Combat: </b>You are a master of the martial arts, being as or more effective bare handed at dealing and absorbing damage as most people are cased in steel and armed to the teeth. You are highly proficient with a small selection of deceptively simple melee and thrown weapons. You are adept at performing complex maneuvers (like flips, kicks, etc.) in combat.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Out of Combat: </b>You likely belong to an order of warrior-monks, who you can seek out for assistance, wisdom, or further training. You may also know the philosophy and lore of your order, which may contain secrets about the world. You move quickly and can make an excellent spy or scout.</div>
<br />
<h3>
Sorcerer</h3>
<div>
<b>In Combat: </b>You can wield only a few basic weapons and shun armor in favor of magical attack and defense. You have a narrower selection of spells, but can change them up on the fly (unlike wizards, who must prepare their spells in advance).</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Out of Combat: </b>You are charismatic and find it easy to socialize with and manipulate others. You likely know some arcane lore or the history of your patron power.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<h3>
Ranger</h3>
<div>
<b>In Combat: </b>You are familiar with a wide range of weapons, and may specialize in a preferred form of fighting. Almost all rangers maintain some skill with bows of some type.</div>
<div>
<b><br /></b></div>
<div>
<b>Out of Combat: </b>You are at home in the wilderness, and are particularly skilled at navigating and foraging in unfamiliar terrain. You can recognize important or edible plants and animals, natural hazards, signs of animal or monster dens, and track a quarry through any imaginable terrain.</div>
</div>
<h2>
The Utility Players</h2>
<div>
These classes can fill any of a variety of roles, and are common either as '5th party members' or to fill multiple roles in a smaller party. Bards bring a mix of magic, rogue skills, and combat utility and excel in social roles. Druids blend the wilderness expertise of a ranger with the spell casting and combat abilities of a cleric. Paladins combine some of the options of the cleric and the fighter and make excellent defensive fighters.</div>
<h3>
Bard</h3>
<b>In Combat: </b>You are a fair fighter with blade or bow, though you are most familiar with lighter, more elegant weapons. You can turn the tide of a battle at critical moments by inspiring your companions with your words or music.<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Out of Combat: </b>You excel at getting along with strangers and making new friends- you are also good at tricking or manipulating people. You know some minor magic that can be used to entertain, distract, or deceive. You have an excellent store of old stories, rumors, legends, and dirty jokes that can be used to recall facts about your environment or gain the friendship of primitive idiots.<br />
<h3>
Druid</h3>
<b>In Combat: </b>You are a versatile combatant, skilled with a small selection of traditional weapons. You can cast spells that call on the natural world to aid your allies or harm your enemies in combat, including healing wounds. At higher levels, you can transform into an animal and attack. You shun metal weapons and armor as much as possible.<br />
<br />
<b>Out of Combat: </b>You know a great deal about the natural world and its inhabitants, and can survive there easily without any outside support. Your spells allow you to commune with natural spirits, seek portents of the future, heal the sick, etc.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Paladin</h3>
<h3>
<div style="font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;">
<b>In Combat: </b>You are highly skilled with a wide range of weapons and armor, and are most comfortable fighting as a heavily armed and armored knight. You are skilled at fighting from horseback and battling the undead. You can heal your allies by calling upon your faith.</div>
<div style="font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;">
<b>Out of Combat: </b>You can detect the presence of supernatural evil, and heal your allies with your faith and prayers. You can call on other members of your faith for assistance in worthy tasks. If you are recognized as a member of a particular knightly order, you likely have a good reputation that proceeds you everywhere you go- except in evil lands, where you may be met with hostility or scorn.</div>
</h3>
<h3>
Warlock</h3>
<div>
<b>In Combat: </b>You iz muthafucking Skelator, yo! Zap things. Then zap them harder.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Out of Combat: </b>I think you ride a bike or something.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Seriously, I've never played a warlock. Don't know anything about them.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
<br /></h3>
ComradeGnullhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09210806450294521289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23486033.post-13823428938326932302014-11-14T01:16:00.000-08:002014-11-14T01:16:11.966-08:00Books of the Anvil - A Downtime Magic Item for 5eThe <i>Books of the Anvil</i> are a legendary collection of collected over the years by an unknown master<br />
Dwarfish wizard. With typical Dwarfish ingenuity and discipline, he applied himself to cataloging magic with the same intensity of focus that a master smith would bring to a life-long masterwork.<br />
<br />
<b>Identifying the Books</b><br />
Even to the untrained eye, this collection of 15 books (50 lbs total) appear to be of exceptional quality. Despite their antiquity, they are in exquisite condition. Each page is richly illuminated, with orderly black-on-white lettering interspersed with geometric designs and diagrams. To <i>Detect Magic</i> they give off an aura of mild divination and abjuration magic. Any wizard can immediately recognize that the books are all spellbooks, as can anyone making a DC 5 Arcana check. On a DC 20 Arcana check, you recognize the books as being those of a Dwarfish wizard. Anyone who knows the Dwarfish language and is of Chaotic alignment must make a DC 15 Wisdom save on first reading through the books or be blinded for 1d10 hours. Subsequent readings have no effect on a character who has been blinded, though overuse (described below) can still trigger blindness.<br />
<br />
<b>Using the Books</b><br />
The Books of the Anvil use a highly complex magical encoding scheme to cram a seemingly impossible number of spells into 15 volumes. Unfortunately (for everyone but Dwarfs) this means that a great deal of math is needed to puzzle out the spell formulas, and a table of contents is neither included nor possible.<br />
<br />
A wizard can chose to study the books for up to 8 hour per day. Time spent resting or adventuring does not permit proper study- the books can only be studied on 'days off', though other non-strenuous activities (buying supplies, resting and healing) can be undertaken. A wizard who attempts to study more than 8 hours in a single day becomes blind for 1d10 hours. At the end of 7 (cumulative) days of study, make a DC 15 Arcana check. On a success, the wizard has identified one spell that is stored in the book and can attempt to learn it and copy it into his spellbook as normal, paying the associated costs in time and gold. Determine the spell randomly. If the wizard chooses not to learn the spell, there is no guarantee that he will be able to figure out the encoding for that spell again- each time the wizard attempts to identify a new spell, the encoding for the previous spell is forgotten and a new spell is generated at random.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />ComradeGnullhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09210806450294521289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23486033.post-63810939158333186122014-09-22T18:39:00.001-07:002014-09-24T13:51:48.823-07:005e Goblin PCs<b>Ability Score Increase: </b>Your Dexterity score increases by 2.<br />
<b>Age: </b>Goblins mature faster than humans, reaching adulthood around age 10. A healthy Goblin can live to 50 or more, but rarely does.<br />
<b>Alignment: </b>Goblins tend towards evil; they tend to be greedy, lazy, and selfish. They have no particular inclination towards following orders without a strong incentive to do so, but are happy for someone else to be responsible for hard decisions or dangerous tasks. As a result, they have little inclination towards either law or chaos and their most common alignment is Neutral Evil. Goblins that live among other races are capable of working within a system to get what they want, or ignore it entirely when it is convenient, tending more towards True Neutral or Chaotic Neutral.<br />
<b>Size: </b>Goblins are between 3 and 4 feet tall and average about 35 pounds. Your size is Small.<br />
<b>Speed:</b> You have a base walking speed of 30 feet.<br />
<b>Darkvision:</b> Goblins commonly live underground, and even surface-dwelling Goblins tend to be more active at night, emerging to scavenge or raid and then laying low during daylight hours. You can see in dim light within 60 feet as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can't discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.<br />
<b>Languages:</b> You can speak, read, and write Common and Goblin, which uses a crude version of the Dwarvish alphabet. Goblin is rarely written down, except in the form of graffiti which Goblins use to mark their territory and mock their enemies.<br />
<b>Nimble Escape: </b>Goblins favor hit and run tactics, which they use in groups to wear down their opponents while trying to remain out of range. When an opponent targets you with a melee attack and misses, you can take the Disengage action as a reaction to move away from your attacker.<br />
<b>Sneaky: </b>You are proficient in Stealth.<br />
<b>Sniveling: </b>Goblins are used to being treated with contempt by those stronger than they are, which is nearly everyone. The average goblin will shamelessly lie, boot-lick, grovel, and flatter to avoid being swatted down by a boss or foe. Their ancient enemies have long realized that goblins treat mercy as a weakness, but other races either haven't caught on or don't regard goblins as worth the trouble to kill. You have advantage on Charisma checks to avoid being blamed or punished for your actions by anyone other than a Dwarf or an Elf.<br />
<b>Opportunistic Eater: </b>Goblins enthusiastically eat a wide variety of foods that more civilized races turn their noses up at; they also are accustomed to having to provide for themselves in a wide variety of situations. You have advantage on Wisdom (Survival) checks to forage for food, and can forage for food anywhere- including inside dungeons and cities. At the DM's option, the food that you find may not be fit for non-goblinoids to eat!<br />
<br />
<b>edit: </b>Thanks to <a href="http://www.reddit.com/r/DnD/">/r/DnD</a> for feedback- I've made a couple adjustments for balance and simplicity that were suggested there and added the 'Sniveling' feature.ComradeGnullhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09210806450294521289noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23486033.post-33280309955604760212012-10-26T03:51:00.000-07:002012-10-26T06:23:19.732-07:00Dead Run: An RPG Mashup Inspired by Jim Jarmusch's Dead ManThere are lots of rules for rule conversions. Can we make a whole new game from an existing set of rules and a rule for plot conversion?<br />
<br />
1) Use the <b>rules</b> from any edition of Deadlands, or any other RPG you are familiar with that includes rules that would cover a 19th Century/Wild West era. Games with relatively high PC mortality rates are probably the better choice in a tie breaker.<br />
2) Ignore any rules that have anything to do with magic or the supernatural when creating characters.<br />
3) Think of a <b>plot</b> that would work for a Shadowrun adventure, ideally one where magic isn't completely central to the plot. Look<a href="http://forums.shadowrun4.com/index.php?topic=109.0"> here</a> for ideas if you want.<br />
4) Perform Plot Conversion:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Any journey in a car, truck, or other ground vehicle of under 100 miles is made by horse over a distance that is 1/10th as far.</li>
<li>Any journey by plane or helicopter becomes a journey by train of 1/10th that distance.</li>
<li>Any international air travel becomes a boat trip that takes 10x as many days to sail as it would take hours to fly.</li>
<li>Any reference to Elves, Indians, or Metahumans becomes a reference to Native Americans, Chinese immigrants, freed slaves, etc.</li>
<li>Sprawl residents become frontiersmen, slaves, prostitutes, etc.</li>
<li>Any data, blueprints, plans, etc., become account books, ledgers, contracts, papers, etc.</li>
<li>MacGuffin's become a more efficient steam engine, repeating rifle blueprints, account and ledger books unveiling fraud, rare ore samples, priceless European art, etc.</li>
<li>Super-powerful megacorporations referenced in the plot become powerful local interests that 'own the town', can get away with anything, and employ their own hired guns. Alternately they can be aristocratic European families or East Coast banking and railroad interests.</li>
<li>All PCs and NPC still have guns on them at all times. People being shot in the street or a running gun battle in an office building probably draws a few curious onlookers and maybe a short article in the paper tomorrow, but little more.</li>
<li>Lone Star becomes local sheriffs, Texas Rangers, U.S. Marshalls, the Pinkerton Detective Agency, etc.</li>
<li>NPC Physical adepts and street samurai become martial artists, bareknuckle boxers, or gunslingers. NPC Deckers become accountants. NPC Riggers become engineers (train or mechanical). NPC mages, shamans, and intelligent magical creatures (like Dragons) become highly educated aristocrats from Europe or the East Coast.</li>
<li>Cyberware becomes conventional melee weapons like knives and axes for bodyware, or journals, libraries, and specialized assistants (translators, copyists, valets) for headware.</li>
<li>Communication by net or phone becomes letters, sometimes sent through messengers (who can be trusted not to read the letters because they are illiterate).</li>
<li>Street gangs become claim jumpers, horse rustlers, bank robbers, etc.</li>
<li>The default setting becomes a nameless county in a federal territory west of the Mississippi instead of Seattle. Travel between locations within the city becomes travel through the countryside between small towns or isolated farms.</li>
<li>DocWagon contracts become pre-paid funerals.</li>
</ul>
<div>
<b>Anticipated Questions:</b></div>
<div>
<b>What is this?: T</b>he intent for this game is a fairly gritty and 'real-world' Wild West game with a lot of opportunity for intrigue, violence, and general murderhobo behavior. Good choice for a sandbox game, maybe. The isolation of the Wild West and the power that money and violence brought make this setting (or at least its cinematic representation) a nice giant moral void where PCs have a lot of agency.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>What is...:</b></div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Deadlands is a supernatural Wild West game; I picked it for the rule set because the names and range of options available for character creation (and task resolution) are already rooted in the 19th Century American West. There are stats and rules for revolvers, riding horses, etc. If you squint and ignore the supernatural stuff (essentially make all PCs and NPCs mundanes), you get a theme-appropriate rule set for building cowboys, bounty hunters, gunslingers, saloon girls, whiskey priests, etc.</li>
<li>Shadowrun is a supernatural cyberpunk game set in the (semi-)near future. A product of the go-go 1980's, it's setting is very concerned with the out-of-control growth of corporations and the eventual Japanese conquest of the commercial world (recent versions may have revised this to make it a little less dated, but I haven't really paid close attention since version 2 of the rules). Players typically take on the role of 'shadowrunners', deniable corporate assets who take on missions like swiping data from a rival, protecting executives from assassination attempts, assassinating rival executives, tracking down defectors, sabotage, debt collection, etc., for organized crime figures or powerful multi-national corporations. The world of the future is a sort of libertarian dystopia where everyone goes around discreetly armed and armored, corporations can make their own laws, and commercial disagreements occasionally erupt into running gun battles in the streets.</li>
<li><i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dead_Man">Dead Man</a></i> is a 1995 film written and directed by Jim Jarmusch and starring Johnny Depp. It's been described as a 'surrealist Western'. It went over Roger Ebert's head. Go watch it and see if you're smarter than he is.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div>
<b>What other works convey the appropriate tone?: </b><i>True Grit</i> comes to mind- the new one with the Dude, not the old one with the Duke. Maybe the old one is fine too, I haven't seen it. <i>O Brother Where Art Thou? </i>could work if you're interested in more humor and less killing people and taking their stuff. Most Spaghetti Westerns and their imitators will also work in a pinch if they keep the fantastic elements to a minimum (i.e., if you're thinking of <i>Wild Wild West </i> or <i>Brisco County Junior</i> you would probably be better off playing straight up Deadlands).</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Why?: </b>I watch a lot of movies late at night.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>The numbers for converting a journey from one type of travel to another are off: </b>That isn't a question. I made the numbers up in my head. Do some Googleing and calculate better ones, or just treat them as conceptual guidelines.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
ComradeGnullhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09210806450294521289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23486033.post-12309912724872044882012-10-24T23:15:00.001-07:002012-10-24T23:15:32.479-07:00WFRP: Chaos Gifts of SlaaneshSome Chaos Gifts for followers of Slaanesh that I put together before the Tome of Corruption was released.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span>Stained
Glass Beauty: </b>Your personal charisma
is such that the weak-willed find it difficult to contemplate harming you. In melee combat, opponents must make a
successful WP test to attack you, unless you have attacked them first.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Animal Magnetism: </b>Regardless of your appearance, you have a
powerful affect on others. You gain a
+20% bonus to Charm tests made against members of the opposite sex, and a +20%
bonus to Intimidate tests made against members of your own gender.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Tactile Sensitivity: </b>Slaanesh heightens the effect of your
every sensation. You suffer a 10%
penalty to Initiative rolls and Perception tests, because the constant flow of
sensation is somewhat distracting. On
the other hand, you gain a 10% bonus to Sleight of Hand, Pick Lock, and Agility-based
Trade skills.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Chemical Sensitivity: </b>You are an extremely cheap date, and have
a wonderful time at parties. Every
alcoholic drink that you consume counts as two of the same type when
determining drunkenness, and you take a 10% penalty to Willpower rolls to
resist becoming addicted to drugs like Mandrake Root. You gain a 10% bonus to Prepare Poison tests
and any attempt to detect poison in your food or drink.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<st1:place w:st="on"><b>Union</b></st1:place><b> of Pleasure and Pain: </b> The character becomes unable to distinguish
serious pain from the most enthralling rapture.
For the 2 rounds immediately following an injury of any type, the
character receives a +2% bonus to all tests for every Wound lost. These bonuses do not stack; only the highest
bonus available applies. This bonus
applies to self-inflicted wounds as well.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Add these to the random gift table in the Tome of Corruption or add them to your Champion as needed.</div>
ComradeGnullhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09210806450294521289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23486033.post-10618310206493804352012-10-15T01:11:00.000-07:002012-10-15T01:11:24.648-07:00Myth & Magic: Q&D Trader ClassI'm considering doing some Dark Sun conversions for Myth & Magic. While poking through some of the old 2nd edition Dark Sun stuff, I was struck by the trader class.<br />
<br />
Traders are pretty much like Bards, except that they have slightly more practical skills- they learn to buy and sell, appraise and bribe, etc., rather than just learning how to play the lute.<br />
<br />
So here's how we make a rough (really rough!) Dark Sun Trader from a Myth & Magic Bard:<br />
<br />
Weapons, attributes, armor, and other core features are all fine as they are. When in doubt, assume that the Trader works just like the Bard in terms of progression, HP, etc., until proven otherwise.<br />
<br />
<b>Bardic Knowledge: '</b>Trader Lore'. This ability makes perfect sense for the Trader, since they would be travelling around and hearing rumors, sharing stories with sources, joining caravans, etc.<br />
<br />
<b>Bardic Performance: </b>Swap Performance for Diplomacy. <i>Bardic Charm </i>becomes <i>Fast Talk </i>and reflects the Trader talking his way out of sticky situations. You might even allow the Trader to offer bribes to receptive audiences to improve his chances of success. <i>Counter Song</i> becomes <i>Bid Calling</i>, and now relies on the Mercantilism proficiency instead of Performance. Traders, through long years barking orders and working auctions, have learned how to disrupt audible spellcasting through carefully timed and well-projected shouts and hollering (ever heard a live stock auctioneer in the South?). <i>Inspire Allies </i>becomes <i>I</i> <i>Give the Orders</i>- Traders generally are in the habit of coordinating the movements of drovers, porters, and other lackies and are able to effectively coordinate the movements of their allies in combat, or at least irritate the enemy with their constant hollering and complaining.<br />
<br />
<b>Rogue Skills: </b>Replace Decipher Script and Perception with Mercantilism and Appraise.<br />
<br />
<b>Arcane Spell: </b>Here we get into deeper water, as arcane magic is quite rare in the original Dark Sun setting. For my purposes (since psionics get on my nerves) rather than try and put together a complete psionics system for my campaign, I'm just going to alter the background of the setting to be more open to magic (though it is still quite mysterious), going for more of a Barsoom/psuedo-Vancian feel. In that setting, it seems not unreasonable that Traders would come across the odd tome of arcane lore and try their hand at a few labor saving (or profit improving) spells. Good spell choices here (I fell a random table coming on) would help make the Trader feel a little more distinct from the Bard- probably a more restricted selection of early spells, for instance.<br />
<br />
<b>Armored Caster, Activate Arcane Scrolls, & Activate Magic: </b>Since we split the Solomonic baby regarding arcane spells, there's no need to change these abilities around now. <b>Bardic Influence </b>is also fine as-is.<br />
<br />
<b>Renown: </b>Seems fine. There are some charts in the Dark Sun books if you want more interesting followers. These followers will be the Trader's agents, acting on his behalf as body guards, buyers, clerks, etc.<br />
<br />
<b>Legend: </b>Again, fine as is. When the Trader dies, his heirs become filthy rich members of the permanent oligarchy and he gets his face on a bank note and a university named after him, instead of some crappy song.<br />
<br />
At the upper levels, the Mercantile activities rules from <a href="http://www.autarch.co/">Adventurer, Conqueror, King System</a> will be your friend.<br />
<br />ComradeGnullhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09210806450294521289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23486033.post-49906261563577884752012-10-12T18:44:00.001-07:002012-10-12T18:44:43.714-07:00Huzzah for new Goblin Concept Art<a href="http://www.wizards.com/DnD/Article.aspx?x=dnd/4dreye/20121010">Round two of the Goblinoid concept art for D&DNext</a> is out today, and I have to say that I am pretty excited about it (both the cartoon and the actual sketch). I was a bit disappointed by the first round of sketches, particularly the Goblin sketch which looked too gorilla-y and orc-like for my taste. While there are always going to be nits to pick (sweet, delicious nits!), I would be perfectly happy is this became the 'canon' goblin style for D&DNext. In face, I snagged both images to add to my huge folder of goblin images that I keep on my computer for... whatever. Yes, I do have such a thing, and no, I don't know what it is for. I just like having it.ComradeGnullhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09210806450294521289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23486033.post-23179638817649502602012-10-11T10:00:00.000-07:002012-10-11T18:23:50.507-07:00Myth & Magic: Random Starting Bard SpellsBards get 1d4 spells at random two, either selected or random. Here's random:<br />
<br />
<b id="internal-source-marker_0.787684126291424" style="font-weight: normal;"></b><br />
<div dir="ltr">
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none;"><colgroup><col width="83"></col><col width="178"></col></colgroup><tbody>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">1d20 Roll</span></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Spell</span></td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">1</span></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Alarm</span></td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">2</span></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Change Self</span></td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">3</span></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Comprehend Languages</span></td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">4</span></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Detect Magic</span></td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">5</span></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Dancing Lights</span></td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">6</span></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Erase</span></td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">7</span></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Identify</span></td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">8</span></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Light</span></td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">9</span></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Manipulate Flames</span></td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">10</span></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Mending</span></td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">11</span></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Message</span></td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">12</span></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Arcane Cantrip</span></td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">13</span></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Audible Illusion</span></td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">14</span></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Phantasmal Image</span></td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">15</span></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Read Magic</span></td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">16</span></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ventriloquism</span></td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">17</span></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Charm Person</span></td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">18</span></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hypnotism</span></td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">19</span></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Unhinge</span></td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">20</span></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Color Spray
</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
ComradeGnullhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09210806450294521289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23486033.post-1107881006042832212012-10-10T14:51:00.002-07:002012-10-10T14:51:41.479-07:00Animal Friends for EveryoneWorld building idea blatantly stolen from The Hobbit:<br />
<br />
Every in-game race has an ancient alliance with a particular race of wild animals- a species of bird, for instance. Members of this race can automatically communicate with that species or type of animal. Animals of that type are not necessarily the companion or servant of that particular race, they just are cordial with one another and will help each other out if the opportunity presents itself and it isn't too inconvenient. Animals of that type will generally not attack members of their 'ally' race unless the animal is sick or starving to death. Animals of the appropriate type can be negotiated with to provide favors, but they are generally the type of favors that are covered by something the animal would already be likely to do.<br />
<br />
Example pairings:<br />Elves - Robins, jays, swans and other similar birds<br />
Gnomes - Burrowing mammals- moles, badgers, groundhogs, marmots, chipmunks<br />
Dwarfs - Eagles; possibly bears<br />
Goblins - Wolves and wargs<br />
Orcs - Carrion crows<br />
Humans - Non-wolf dogs and wild horses; hawks<br />
Halflings - Mice and sparrows<br />
<br />
Example Interactions: An elf could ask a blue jay to carry a message to another elf who lives within 1 days flight, or to pass the message on to another blue jay who can pass it on to whoever. A bird is going to be flying around all the damn time anyway, and doesn't need any incentive to pick one place over another. A wolf (who probably spends all day scouting his territory anyway) would tell a goblin when someone new has entered or left the territory he patrols, and what rumors he has heard through night-time howling from other packs. Violent animals might be willing to go along with their allied races in combat, but their goal is slaughter and feeding, not clearly defined strategic objectives. Carrion crows enjoy telling orcs things that will rile them up and get them out killing people because hey, free buffet. More complicated favors (things that involve doing something the animal would not normally do, like carry a rider or a message, fight someone, fly in bad weather would require convincing the same way you would need to convince or bribe a friendly stranger to do something. Particularly animals may become friends with an individual rather than just pleasantly disposed towards a particular race. Hunting or killing a member of your allied animal species gives you a bad reputation and makes it more likely your future requests will be refused.<br />
<br />
It also occurs to me that the Alignment languages from the early versions of D&D could be used for this purpose- your ally species speaks the alignment language of your race- Chaotic Good for Elves, Lawful Good for Dwarves, Neutral for Humans, Neutral Good for Halflings, Neutral Evil for Goblins, Chaotic Evil for Orcs, Lawful Evil for hobgoblins, etc.ComradeGnullhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09210806450294521289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23486033.post-7777463854584452852012-10-09T17:52:00.002-07:002012-10-09T17:52:20.545-07:00Taint as an Alternate Paladin MechanicPaladins are one of those classes that provoke a disproportionate amount of debate and/or hate. One of the big problems with Paladins is the use of alignment (a mechanic with a long history of pointless argument and other sturm and drang) to balance the extra goodies that Paladins get as a 'holy warrior' class. The need to maintain Lawful Good alignment and use only Good allies and henchmen can become a pain for the whole party; the Paladin player's choice of character ends up limiting what his fellow players can do and what concepts will work within the game. It might be great for high-immersion groups who are primarily interested in telling a good story, but as a game mechanism it's a source of tension and bother without an accompanying upside. If alignment is ignored (as 4e did, and as some DMs irritated by the whole thing certainly did in pre-4e), Paladins end up being rather flavorless- they're just a super-Fighter with magic powers.<br />
<br />
The all-or-nothing nature of 'loosing' Paladinhood is also a particularly blunt instrument- either you're in the favor of your God, or you're not. There is no mechanic that reflects 'skating on thin ice' or a gradual descent into naughtyness- you're either one of the Divine Elect or you're a nobody. So here's an alternative:<br />
<br />
<b>Taint Points: </b>Paladins start with a Taint score of zero. For every unlawful act they personally commit ('unlawful' in this case meaning out of alignment with the goals and values of the deity they serve), they gain one Taint point.<br />
<br />
<b>Taint Points in Play: </b>Whenever a Paladin invokes a class ability, spell, or spell-like ability, roll 1d20. If the result is less than the current Taint score of the Paladin, the attempt to use the ability fails and that ability can not be used again that day until the Paladin has slept and prayed (i.e., the next time he has the opportunity to prepare spells for the day). This applies to casting spells, lay on hands, auras, turning undead, immunities, and other supernatural and spell-like effects, but not to base attack bonus/THAC0, level/attribute determined saving throws, weapon and armor use, etc.<br />
<br />
<b>Getting Rid of Taint Points: </b>To get rid of Taint points, the Paladin must complete some action to bring himself back into the favor of his deity. This can include:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>An Atonement spell cast by a cleric at least two levels higher than the Paladin. The cleric will likely require the Paladin to complete some task (possible a Quest/Geas) to earn the spell, but not one as complex as the quest option described below. The cleric may also require a donation to his or her temple.</li>
<li>Tithing 5% of the Paladin's current wealth to an appropriate temple. The donation can be cash or equivalent magic items/treasure. The donation must be for the use of the temple- the player/character can not, for example, donate treasure to a temple that is part of their own fortress or castle or donate to a temple that they are in control of. If you ordinarily give XP for class-appropriate treasure spending, the character receives no XP for this donation.</li>
<li>Undertaking a major quest for the appropriate deity or temple, for which the character receives no XP and donates all recovered treasure to the temple, might be worth wiping a Taint score back to zero.</li>
<li>Laboring under a vow for an appropriate amount of time. A god of war might want you to refuse using missile weapons for five combats. A god that protects the poor might want you to give generously to anyone who asks for money or other help for a month. Any god might accept fighting without magical weapons or armor for an appropriate number of combats or using crude and simple weapons (possibly ones that you are not proficient in) like daggers and clubs.</li>
</ul>
ComradeGnullhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09210806450294521289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23486033.post-67609881765459810992012-10-08T19:05:00.000-07:002012-10-08T19:07:02.499-07:00Semi-Random Starting Spells for Myth & MagicRandom character creation is good because it's fast and unpredictable. Picking spells for new wizards is bad because it's slow and you tend to only pick spells you already know how to use and can anticipate using. Totally random spell selection is a pain in the ass because you may end up with too many spells that do the same things (if you already know Magic Missile, as a level 1 Wizard are Shocking Grasp, Burning Hands and Shoot You In the Face really that useful?). Thus the following:<br />
<br />
<b>Starting Spell Selection: </b>Wizards in Myth & Magic start the game knowing a number of spells equal to 1/2 their Intelligence, rounded down. In practice this means that you always start knowing between 5 and 10 spells.<br />
<br />
All Wizards start play knowing <b>Read Magic</b> and <b>Detect Magic</b>. Use the guidelines and tables below to determine the rest of the spells in your spellbook.<br />
<br />
<b>5 Spells: </b>Roll one time each on the Offense, Control, and Utility tables.<br />
<b>6 Spells: </b>Roll once each on the Offense and Control tables, and twice on the Utility table.<br />
<b>7 Spells: </b>Roll one time each on the Offense, Control, and Defense tables. Roll twice on the Utility table.<br />
<b>8 Spells: </b>Roll once on the Offense and Defense tables, and twice on the Control and Utility tables.<br />
<b>9 Spells: </b>Roll once on the Defense table. Roll twice on the Control, Utility, and Offense tables.<br />
<b>10 Spells: </b>Roll once on the Defense table. Roll twice on Control and Offense tables. Roll three times on the Utility table. Enjoy being a Gnome.<br />
<br />
<b id="internal-source-marker_0.46733125601895154" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Table 1: Offense Spells</span></b><br />
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<table style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none;"><colgroup><col width="88"></col><col width="145"></col></colgroup><tbody>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">1d10 Roll</span></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Spell</span></td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">1-2</span></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Burning Hands</span></td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">3-4</span></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Chill Touch</span></td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">5-6</span></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Gull’s Stone Storm</span></td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">7-8</span></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Magic Missile</span></td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">9-10</span></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Shocking Grasp
</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b id="internal-source-marker_0.46733125601895154" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<b id="internal-source-marker_0.46733125601895154" style="font-weight: normal;"><b id="internal-source-marker_0.46733125601895154" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Table 2: Control Spells</span></b></b><br />
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<table style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none;"><colgroup><col width="84"></col><col width="118"></col></colgroup><tbody>
<tr style="height: 24px;"><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">1d8 Roll</span></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Spell</span></td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">1</span></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Charm Person</span></td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">2</span></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Color Spray</span></td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">3</span></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Deflate</span></td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">4</span></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Frighten</span></td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">5</span></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Grease</span></td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">6</span></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hypnotism</span></td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">7</span></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sleep</span></td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">8</span></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Unhinge
</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<b id="internal-source-marker_0.46733125601895154" style="font-weight: normal;"><b id="internal-source-marker_0.46733125601895154" style="font-weight: normal;">
<div dir="ltr">
<b id="internal-source-marker_0.46733125601895154" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Table 3: Defense Spells</span></b><br />
<div dir="ltr">
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none;"><colgroup><col width="79"></col><col width="188"></col></colgroup><tbody>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">1d4 Roll</span></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Spell</span></td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">1</span></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Arcane Armor</span></td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">2</span></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Protection from Evil</span></td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">3</span></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Thermoc’s Reflective Disc</span></td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">4</span></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Thermoc’s Shield
</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<b id="internal-source-marker_0.46733125601895154" style="font-weight: normal;">
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<b id="internal-source-marker_0.46733125601895154" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Table 4: Utility Spells</span></b><br />
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<table style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none;"><colgroup><col width="85"></col><col width="181"></col></colgroup><tbody>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">1d20 Roll</span></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Spell</span></td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">1</span></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Alarm</span></td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">2</span></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Change Self</span></td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">3</span></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Comprehend Languages</span></td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">4</span></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Dancing Lights</span></td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">5</span></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Detect Undead</span></td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">6</span></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Enlarge</span></td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">7</span></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Feather Fall</span></td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">8</span></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Floating Disc</span></td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">9</span></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hold Portal</span></td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">10</span></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jump</span></td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">11</span></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Light</span></td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">12</span></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Manipulate Flames</span></td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">13</span></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Mending</span></td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">14</span></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Message</span></td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">15</span></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Minor Cantrip</span></td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">16</span></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Audible Illusion</span></td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">17</span></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Phantasmal Image</span></td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">18</span></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Spider Climb</span></td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">19</span></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Unseen Servant</span></td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">20</span></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ventriloquism
</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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ComradeGnullhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09210806450294521289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23486033.post-24285307893997987602012-10-05T04:21:00.000-07:002012-10-05T04:21:07.043-07:00Google Trends: The Retroclones<br />
<script src="http://www.google.com/trends/embed.js?hl=en-US&cat=0-8&q=labyrinth+lord,+OSRIC+-strang+-wow,+Castles+%26++Crusades,+Hackmaster&date=1/2006+82m&cmpt=q&content=1&cid=TIMESERIES_GRAPH_0&export=5&w=500&h=330" type="text/javascript"></script><br />
It crossed my mind tonight that there is scant information out there about how big of a piece of the RPG market OSR-style gaming represents. We hear the occasional odds and ends in relation to Kickstarter print volumes vs. the economics of the big game publishers like Paizo and WotC, but beyond a vague idea that the OSR market is 'small', there isn't much information available. Despite its small size, the OSR community makes a lot of noise online. So I started plugging things into Google trends to see what I got.<br />
<br />
Several surprising things:<br />
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<ol>
<li>Hackmaster is more popular than I would have imagined according to Google, but seems to have lost some ground to both OSRIC and Labyrinth Lord over time.</li>
<li>Getting numbers for OSRIC is complicated by real and fictional people named 'Osric', and particularly by a WoW NPC named Osric Strang.</li>
<li>Google seems to think that these OSR games are all mostly North American phenomena. Vast majority of the volume is from the USA, to the extent that other countries register as a big zero in the regional breakdown. There was a significant volume for OSRIC from England, but that vanished when I added a filter to get rid of WoW results. Wonder if this relates to the lack of localized translations for OSR clone rules.</li>
<li>Despite being the oldest of the retro-clones (since Hackmaster started out as something else), Castles & Crusades retains a very low profile online- something I saw mentioned in a recent thread on the <a href="http://osrgaming.org/forums/">OSR Gaming forum</a>.</li>
<li>OSRIC and Labyrinth Lord seem to have been neck-and-neck since roughly 2010.</li>
</ol>
<div>
Obviously, this graph doesn't represent how popular a game is in terms of number of downloads or number of players; Kenzer & Co.'s legal trouble with Wizards of the Coast, for instance, probably served to raise Hackmaster's profile significantly. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
An unsuprising result:</div>
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<script src="http://www.google.com/trends/embed.js?hl=en-US&cat=0-8&q=Labyrinth+Lord,+OSRIC+-WoW,+Pathfinder,+Hackmaster&date=1/2006+82m&cmpt=q&content=1&cid=TIMESERIES_GRAPH_0&export=5&w=500&h=330" type="text/javascript"></script><br /></div>
Pathfinder crushes the most popular OSR games by a huge margin. And...<br />
<br />
<script src="http://www.google.com/trends/embed.js?hl=en-US&cat=0-8&q=Labyrinth+Lord,+OSRIC+-WoW,+Pathfinder,+Hackmaster,+D%26D&date=1/2006+82m&cmpt=q&content=1&cid=TIMESERIES_GRAPH_0&export=5&w=500&h=330" type="text/javascript"></script><br />
D&D is still the 500lb. gorilla in terms of profile on Google... though it has dropped steadily while Pathfinder is trending up, something that Google extends out if you turn on the 'Forecast' option:
<script src="http://www.google.com/trends/embed.js?hl=en-US&cat=0-8&q=Pathfinder,+D%26D,+Dungeons+and+dragons&cmpt=q&content=1&cid=TIMESERIES_GRAPH_0&export=5&w=500&h=330" type="text/javascript"></script>
Largely meaningless? Maybe. But still interesting to play with for a bit.ComradeGnullhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09210806450294521289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23486033.post-38957103291913500652012-10-03T02:47:00.001-07:002012-10-03T02:47:15.628-07:00Support the Myth & Magic GM's Guide Kickstarter!I posted recently about how much <a href="http://rat-catcher.blogspot.com/2012/09/myth-and-magic-intro.html" target="_blank">I'm loving New Haven Games' Myth & Magic</a>, so I feel obligated to do my part in spreading the word about the <a href="http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/705393141/myth-and-magic-game-masters-guide-and-collectors-c" target="_blank">Myth & Magic Gamemaster's Guide Kickstarter</a> that launched last week. I'm already in as a supporter- they reached their funding goal in the first 25 hours and are now cruising towards hitting their $15k stretch goal, which will add stats for an extra 50 monsters to the Guide's bestiary. At $20k, a hard copy GM's screen unlocks for purchase.<br />
<br />
Myth & Magic is a really nice system for anyone who enjoyed 2e play or likes the feel of 3e, but dislikes the accompanying complexity. As the post above describes, it puts together a lot of the things that I'd hoped would end up as part of D&DNext with a more retro feel that can easily be made to work for both dungeoncrawls and more narrative adventures. New Haven Games put together a great product for their Player's Guide kickstarter, so I fully expect to be similarly impressed by the art and organization of the new GM's guide.ComradeGnullhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09210806450294521289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23486033.post-47658263147124501232012-10-03T01:54:00.000-07:002012-10-03T01:54:01.096-07:00Building a Random Dungeon with Central CastingAt some point in the past, I ended up with a copy of a Task Force Games product called <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0922335524/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0922335524&linkCode=as2&tag=munkipox-20">Central Casting: Dungeons</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=munkipox-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0922335524" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /></i>, a random dungeon construction module from the early 90's. Despite having had it in among my RPG gear for many years, I had never really used it in the way that it was intended- to generate a complete random dungeon- but had instead just browsed through it, maybe occasionally using a floor plan for a room to fit into an existing game. It always appeared needlessly complex- rolling for corridor lengths, rolling for random rooms, rolling for room sizes and treasure and encounters- and likely to produce nonsense results that, even for the RPG world, seemed implausible in a real structure.<br />
<br />
Still, having recently gotten back more into dungeon crawl-style gaming, I decided to pull it out and give it a whirl. The results: it's just as much of a pain as I imagined. It creates results that are just as ridiculous as I imagined. I gave up on using it after an hour or so. And I still came out thinking it's a great product.<br />
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Here's the map I created using <a href="http://www.superdan.net/gridmapper/" target="_blank">GridMapper</a>:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaBh0MqAwlNd8wG83BhYMNy0JUKJ9WJiMDRA675tqGHmmUwrBcIDXRCXMU9awQznN8YGbTuHIsH9Yvcsej0KPcOSnrldSUcIQHVIqJEm4ZE0MEXSAj3Pcu7qfOmEql4eWZ9CJOkA/s1600/random+map.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaBh0MqAwlNd8wG83BhYMNy0JUKJ9WJiMDRA675tqGHmmUwrBcIDXRCXMU9awQznN8YGbTuHIsH9Yvcsej0KPcOSnrldSUcIQHVIqJEm4ZE0MEXSAj3Pcu7qfOmEql4eWZ9CJOkA/s320/random+map.png" width="251" /></a></div>
<br />
<i>Central Casting: Dungeons</i> is essentially a big book of d100 tables. There are tables to determine how often you roll to see if a corridor changes direction or sprouts a door, tables to determine the type of room behind a door, whether the door is open, locked, stuck, or all three, etc. By changing the 'spacing' of the dungeon (how many blocks of corridor between rolls to determine if a feature is present), you can create a dungeon with long, winding corridors, a dense, house-like dungeon with few hallways, or anything in between. You can also roll up details like how many people occupied a chamber when it was in use, how many bodies are buried in a crypt, whether there is a natural water source in a bathroom, etc. Each room or feature type has a few associated tables to determine the room size, contents, and other details.<br />
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<br />
Rolling all this out can be a little exhausting. I found myself fudging rolls to reduce the number of 'special' rooms or features- my dice seemed to have a real yearning for high numbers tonight, and results in the 90's are likely to produce 'special' results that require consulting yet another table or performing multiple rolls. Keeping track of what I had determined and hadn't involved a fair bit of book keeping- I ended up writing myself notes to indicate where I needed to go back and determine an encounter or treasure using yet another set of tables, rather than trying to fill those details in as I went.<br />
<br />
Pleasantly, encounters and treasure are fully system agnostic- you get Class A-E encounters, ranging from trivial Class A to 'Run Away!' Class E. You can scale what, say, a Class C encounter means for your campaign in terms of difficulty, effective level, amount of treasure, etc. using guidelines for your specific rule set.<br />
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Early on, I started to get some weird results. My first room in the dungeon was an 'Exhibit Room'- essentially a trophy room. My next room was a deadly trap. After that was a bath (without installed water supply) and just across the hall from the bath, a Burial Chamber containing one non-undead body. I was starting to suspect that my dungeon was going to amount to random nonsense. A servant's chamber that allegedly had room to sleep 58 people inside a 40'x30' box prompted some contemplation of the slightly weird sense of scale that the standard 10'x10' square sometimes gives you- rooms that can comfortably hold a half-dozen people having dinner look like cubby holes on a standard grid map.<br />
<br />
After a couple more odds-n-ends rolls (a bedroom, a trap or two) I hit a real bonanza of new rooms- a 15 room bedroom suite! I started rolling up random rooms for the suite, ending up with 2 libraries, 2 sitting rooms, 2 bedrooms for special retainers, a wardrobe, bath, storage room, and treasure room, as well as a waiting room and a guard room.<br />
<br />
It was at this point I finally started to get a vision of what my dungeon had been before it became a loot-or-die opportunity for bold adventurers. Someone important had lived here- someone who regularly received guests, liked books, had some trophies to show off, and kept one dead VIP near the front of the house. I started to come up with a scenario.<br />
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The dungeon had been one floor of the home of a powerful noble. He had gone abroad to wage war, returning home with treasure and riches to build a new home and stock a trophy room. But all was not well; soon after returning from abroad, his beloved wife died unexpectedly. He turned the manor's chapel into a shrine for his wife. Troubled by her death and his own mortality, he began to delve into the necromantic arts, ultimately becoming a powerful wizard.<br />
<br />
He continued to publicly receive guests, as befit his station. The two sitting rooms? One was a 'public' room where visitors were received, another a 'private' room for entertaining important visitors and intimates. The two retainers' bedrooms belonged to his majordomo and his mistress (he missed his wife, but life does go on). The front library was primarily for show- history books and genealogies for visiting scholar to flip through- while the second library, accessible only from his bed chamber, contained his arcane writings and necromantic works.<br />
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At this point, I stopped rolling randomly and just started thinking about how I could build out other levels of this dungeon. What kind of dwelling was it part of? Given the nature of its occupants, a fortified manor house seemed like the best fit. I could add some outbuildings, a courtyard, stables, etc. Other levels could include workrooms and alchemical laboratories, as well as more room for servants and men-at-arms. I started considering some campaign options: where was the nobleman now? Was he, too, dead, and his ghost haunting the manor, waiting to be re-united with his dead wife? Had he become a lich and moved on to other pursuits? Why was the dungeon abandoned? (There are tables to cover these sorts of things in <i>Central Casting </i>as well, but I was more interested in working things out for myself by this point)<br />
<br />
At this point, I'll probably go back and re-build this dungeon from scratch, discarding a number of the random results- but I now have a clear idea of what I want to build, how I can create an adventure around it and even how to develop it into a campaign. By and large, the details of traps and corridor lengths didn't matter too much- a few random rolls (the Exhibit Room, the awkwardly positioned burial chamber, and the massive bedroom suites with multiple libraries) started to suggest an idea, and at that point I could just run with it. I can now pick and choose what I need from the stock rooms in the book and build them into something that works for the game.<br />
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Odds are I won't be using <i>Central Casting: Dungeons</i> exactly as intended by the publisher- to create a complete dungeon. Instead, I can see myself rolling up a few rooms at random, and then trying to connect them with some kind of plot or back story- was part of the dungeon abandoned, and then converted to a different function? Did two different groups of humanoids live here and modify different sections to meet their needs? Why do you need a music room and five bath chambers? (obviously a naiad Partridge Family!)<br />
<br />
The <i>Central Casting</i> books have been out of print for some time, but there are a few available <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/0922335524/?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&condition=all&creative=390957&linkCode=ur2&tag=munkipox-20" target="_blank">used on Amazon</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=munkipox-20&l=ur2&o=1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />. I'll certainly be hanging on to mine, but in the meantime I wonder if anyone has created a comparable product- it seems inevitable that during the OGL era someone didn't churn out a similar book covering stock dungeon features. There are definitely some programs on the web that will build a whole random dungeon for you, but one of the nice features of <i>CC:D</i> is that you can pick and choose from the tables- if you have a dungeon, but want some reason for its existence, you can roll or look through that. If you have a good idea of the type of dungeon you want to create (a crypt, a wizard's tower, a fortress) but just want floorplans or guidelines for the appropriate type of room, you can look them up. It turns out to be a pretty nice toolkit- somewhere in between a full generation program and a pre-made and fully fleshed out setting.ComradeGnullhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09210806450294521289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23486033.post-6111742810454844772012-09-29T02:02:00.000-07:002015-02-22T22:45:57.141-08:00Can't Somebody Else Do It? A Random Table for Involving the AuthoritiesPlayers sometimes have the clever idea of seeking aid from the local authorities- the local lord, sheriff, etc.- in solving their problems. Someday, perhaps someone will invent a game where 'Call 911 and lock yourself in the bathroom' is a fully explored option- perhaps the core feature of a Bystander class. Until then, I offer the following table.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Can't Somebody Else Do It? Reasons why involving the authorities won't work.</span></b><br />
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</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">1 - You kids and your drugs</span></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Authorities assume that you are drunk or otherwise impaired. Charisma check to avoid spending the night in the stocks, drunk tank, or other comparable discomfort.</span></td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">2 - We'll put our best man on it</span></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Authorities assign an unpopular minor flunkie to accompany the players on the mission. This NPC brings no useful skills or insights to the table, aside from an ability to stop arrows with his face. Oh, and if he dies the local officials will be very upset and suspicious.</span></td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">3 - Not my department.</span></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Players spend 1d4 hours being shuffled back and forth between different ministries, offices, and homes of important government officials. At the end of the day, they’ve received several firm handshakes, a promise to 'look into it', and no useful assistance of any kind.</span></td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">4 - Take a number</span></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Players spend 1d4 hours in a waiting room, great hall, or parlor awaiting an audience. At the end of this period, a minor functionary appears and politely but firmly tells them that the person they are waiting for is finished receiving visitors for the day.</span></td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">5 - Clerical Error</span></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">An earnest and well-meaning official listens to the player's story with interest, and vows to provide assistance. He sends them on their way with promises that the cavalry will be along shortly. Unfortunately, due to a misheard instruction further down the line, the cavalry will arrive either 1d4 hours later than promised or in the wrong place entirely.</span></td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">6 - Rabble Rabble Rabble!</span></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">While visiting the official in question, an angry mob of local citizens appears agitating over some trivial local controversy- sod cutting rights on the Great Moor, the rabbit hide tax, etc. A scuffle breaks out, and the players will need to take action to avoid being drug off to jail or caught in a full-blown riot.</span></td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">7 - Don’t tell me how to do my job!</span></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Officials are offended that the players were attempting to intervene in such important matters. They claim they will handle everything, but will take no action. If it later comes out that the players took care of the situation themselves, they will have made an enemy of the local officialdom.</span></td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">8 - Fifth Columnist</span></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The local officialdom is in cahoots with the players' enemies, directly or indirectly. While pretending to offer help and advice, the official will seek to undermine their efforts and possibly get them arrested.</span></td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">9 - Send word to the capitol!</span></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The official is eager to help but, unfortunately, can take no action without advice from his superiors. A messenger is dispatched to seek aid from the next tier up on the totem pole. Of course, it will take 1d4 days for him to reach his destination, get a response, and return...</span></td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">10 - Call out the guards!</span></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 7px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The official is so frightened by the threat that has triggered the players’ visit that he insists on dispatching all available local resources to protect himself and the immediate vicinity- the town hall, the village, his castle, whatever. In any case, there are obviously no troops to spare in carrying out the mission- the players will have to do that themselves!</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
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<br />ComradeGnullhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09210806450294521289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23486033.post-31656052397692282922012-09-27T20:55:00.000-07:002012-09-27T20:55:03.921-07:00Goblin PC Race for Myth & Magic<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">In keeping with my love of goblins as a PC race, I decided to put together some stats for Myth & Magic. I diverged a bit from the Goblin profile in the GM's guide in the interest of not gimping them <i>too</i> much as a PC- I intentionally wrote the rules for daylight sensitivity, for instance, so that GMs and players could decide whether to impose the penalty or not.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">You can also check out my <a href="http://rat-catcher.blogspot.com/2012/08/goblin-pcs-for-labyrinth-lord-advanced.html" target="_blank">goblin PC rules for Advanced Edition Labyrinth Lord</a>.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><u>Goblin</u></b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span>
<b id="internal-source-marker_0.010721041355282068" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Attributes & Speed:</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Goblins are small and dexterous. On the other hand, they are also weak and unpleasant. Goblins gain +2 to Dexterity, but suffer-1 to Strength and Charisma.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A goblin’s base movement speed is 20 feet.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Weapons & Armor: </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Goblins can use any weapon allowed by their class. Weapons used by a goblin are considered one size smaller and deal one less die category of damage.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Goblin Senses: </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Goblins see up to 60’ in total darkness. In low-light or shadowy light, they see twice as far as a human. Goblins not adapted to life on the surface are sensitive to light, and suffer a -1 penalty to AC and all d20 rolls in light equal to daylight.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Languages: </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">PC goblins begin play speaking Goblin and Common. They may also learn to speak Hobgoblin, Orc, Kobold, and Giant.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Heritage Proficiency: </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">All Goblins receive Basic proficiency in Stealth.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Protection from Disease: </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Goblins often dwell in filthy conditions, and over the years this has rendered them resistant to most common illnesses. Goblins receive a +2 bonus to their Fortitude save to resist contracting or suffering the effects of any non-magical disease.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Opportunistic Digestion: </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Goblins are accustomed to scavenging for food. At the GM’s discretion, Goblins can locate food in environments that wouldn’t usually feed a human, such as in natural underground caverns, sewers, or urban environments where hunting and gathering is normally impossible. Using this ability may still require a successful Wisdom/Wilderness Survival check, and does not extend to finding food in totally inhospitable environments like deserts, open ocean, or glaciers.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Dirty Fighter: </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Goblins don’t understand the meaning- or the point- of a fair fight. PC Goblins of any class automatically gain the Dirty Fighting Talent.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Classes: </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Goblins are typically Thieves, Fighters, or Clerics.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Height and Weight:</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Goblins stand between 3 and 4 feet tall, with the average falling somewhere around 44” in height. They tend to be quite thin for their height, averaging perhaps 50 lbs.</span></b>ComradeGnullhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09210806450294521289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23486033.post-88277524213254063932012-09-27T02:33:00.000-07:002012-09-27T02:33:24.407-07:00My D&DNext Looks like Myth and MagicI learned to play D&D during the AD&D 2nd edition era. Not everything about that era was great for the game (bankrupting TSR, for instance), but I still have a lot of nostalgic memories of it. That is the form of the game that is familiar to me, and certain things about earlier editions (Dwarves being a class, no baseline Bard class) and later editions (sorcerers, Dragonborn and Tieflings) will always feel a little out of place for me.<br />
<br />
But nostalgia isn't everything. 2nd editions rules were baroque and confusing in a lot of places. There were arbitrary restrictions from earlier editions ported over whole cloth (restricted class/race combos, alignment restrictions for rangers and thieves) that never really seemed justified within the game. 3e cleaned up a lot of the mess and added a nice unified skill system for task resolution, but added things that over-complicated the picture like multi-class/PrC fever and complex feat/Prc 'builds' that varied from the unplayable to the game breaking. The refined math made the game more intuitive, but also introduced us to the arms race of optimization and 'effectiveness' that swallowed 4e whole.<br />
<br />
So when the Next playtest packets started appearing, I was excited. D&DNext, to me, looks a lot like 2nd edition looked before kits and optional rules and torturous attempts at re-building the non-weapon proficiency system into a general purpose skill system turned it into a morass. Shortly before the second playtest packet came out, I started putting together my own criteria for what I wanted from a D&D-ish experience. As of a couple days ago, it appears that what I was looking for is already here: a 2e retro-clone(ish) called <a href="http://www.newhavengames.com/?page_id=23" target="_blank">Myth & Magic</a>.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a>Here's what was on my list:<br />
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<ul>
<li>Quick PC creation: Over the years the amount of choice and customization found in 3.5e and PF has started to feel exhausting to me. You sit down to make a PC for a new game, and an hour later you're still spending skill points, picking spells, and calculating attack and defense bonuses. Starting a new high-level character can be a multi-day prospect as you sort through feat chains and try to keep track of unspent skill ranks.</li>
<li>Anyone Can Try Anything: I've grown skeptical of skill systems that end up feeling like they restrict options instead of expanding them. Instead of anyone being able to try to sneak into an enemy encampment or negotiate (with terrorists), only the people who bought that skill and kept it ranked up through play have a snowball's chance in hell of succeeding. </li>
<li>Supports Lethal Dungeon Crawling: 4e's healing paradigm made it very hard to make anything other than an extended combat with multiple opponents feel like a credible threat. To support a more high-stakes style of play, you need several ingredients: low overall HP totals, limited healing, and fast character creation. Why fast character creation? Because if it takes three hours to fill out your character sheet, your DM isn't going to want to kill a level 1 PC, and you aren't going to want to make a new one.</li>
<li>Consistent Rules: No weird subsystems where you switch from trying to roll high on a d20 to trying to roll low on a d6, or suddenly busting out roll-under-percentiles when you need to fight a monster whose name ends in a 't'. This encourages improvisation and 'eyeballing' instead of needing to plan and pre-calculate as much of the game as possible.</li>
<li>Feels Core-y: This is probably the most subjective of all. Halflings, elves, and Dwarves feel 'core' to me. Warforged and Shifters don't. Shardminds and Kitsune really don't. Fighters and Clerics are core. Cavaliers and Oracles are not. Psionics aren't core. Half-orcs, assassins, monks, and druids can go either way. There are things I have to see (the 2e PHB races, the 4 main classes), things I wouldn't mind seeing (Paladins, Rangers, Bards), things I will probably ignore but don't object to (Monks), and things I don't want to see (Psionics, anime-inspired class/races). Entirely arbitrary, probably prejudiced by early exposure to AD&D 2nd edition.</li>
<li>Some (But Not Too Much) Character Customization and Variety: This goal is in tension with both quick character creation and supporting lethality. I generally like the additional features that Pathfinder added to 3e's classes. I like having the option to make my Halfling Thief or Dwarf Fighter slightly different than the standard- being able to decide that I favor a certain weapon, or focus a lot on picking pockets and less on traps. Not taking it all the way to the 3e 'micro-manage every skill point' level, or the 2e kit-style 'abandon a class feature to gain extra competence somewhere else' extent. But each character should have a 'specialty', and there should be a few interesting options (rather than one world-beating option and three crappy ones).</li>
<li>No Mandatory Gear Progression: Magic items are special little bonuses that you treasure, not mandatory gifts and purchases that are built into your progression.</li>
</ul>
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So how does Myth & Magic do at meeting my requirements?</div>
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<br /></div>
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Pretty fantastically, actually. Classes are very simple, but still offer some customization through Class Talents (essentially mini-feats, but without any dull, mandatory, or useless feats like Extra Turning or Toughness or Friends with Voles). All the core 2e races are there, in recognizable but often improved versions (Gnomes are both Dwarf-y and scholarly, with an Int bonus and some stonecunning). Actions are resolved using attribute checks, with a simplified attribute bonus system that preserves the advantage of having an ability score of 11 instead of 10 that roll-under-attribute provides. Non-weapon proficiencies are back, but they are sensible and just add to your ability to make an attribute check instead of restricting your options. Weapon proficiencies allow you to buy fighting styles, weapon group proficiencies, or other little features, but the list is small and they all at least appear viable. Non-weapon proficiencies have ranks, like Rules Cyclopedia Weapon Expertise, so that it's possible to focus intently on one area rather than having every ability move in lock-step. Healing is closer to a 2/3e model. Magic is magical instead of obligatory.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
Better yet, there is a <a href="http://www.rpgnow.com/product/100492/Myth-%26-Magic-Player%27s-Starter-Guide" target="_blank">free version of the players guide</a> which includes just the core four classes- Thief, Cleric, Fighter, and Wizard- which matches up exactly with plans I've been making to run a core-4-only dungeon crawl.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
So overnight Myth & Magic has given me a bunch of extra free time, because I'm no longer working on converting Labyrinth Lord rules to support the type of game I was wanting to play. At the same time, it has substantially raised the bar for what D&DNext has to bring in order for it to be compelling for me- Myth & Magic already looks like it delivers a lot of what I have been hoping for from D&DNext.</div>
<div>
<br />So, if you're nostalgic for 2e, liked the consistent rules of 3e but hated the complexity over-growth, want a preview of what cool things we can hope for for 5e, or want a simpler combat mechanic than 4e that puts a little more effort into customizing non-combat aspects of characters, check out Myth and Magic.</div>
ComradeGnullhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09210806450294521289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23486033.post-73414157307930392922012-09-18T10:00:00.000-07:002012-10-04T06:21:19.277-07:00Goblinoid Deities of Sharn<br />
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More cleaning out of some of my old gaming folders today- here's some stuff that I posted to the old pre-4e Wizards forums on goblin-specific interpretations of various members of the Sovereign Host pantheon. The idea was that goblins who had immigrated to Sharn generations before and integrated with Human/Demi-human society would eventually adopt the worship of the Sovereign Host (or be converted by local priests) but would adapt the traditional views of the Sovereign Host gods to better fit with Goblin values and lifestyles.</div>
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<a name='more'></a><br /></div>
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<b>Tukuul'daar - Patron of Laborers:</b> Depicted as a wiry, weathered goblin wearing
thick leather gloves, and carrying a large hammer or sledge. Once known primarily as a protector and
benefactor of slaves, Tukuul'daar (whose name means 'strong shoulders') was
converted into a deity of protection and labor following the goblin's
emancipation by King Breggor of Breland.
Tukuul'daar is said to work alongside those who make their living by the
sweat of their brow, intervening at critical moments to provide strength that a
goblin might himself lack. A religious
gobling worker who has finished a difficult task might say that Tukuul'daar
worked at his side, while a more common (and less reverent) expression is to
say that a task is 'fit for Tukuul'daar', that is to say, more work than anyone
could reasonably be expected to undertake.
Tukuul'daar is also seen as a figure of the common man; a companionable,
hard worker who ends his day with a stop at the pub, where he carouses with
Dhakal'an (the goblinoid equivalent of Olladra). With the influx of larger goblinoids from
Darguun, and other creatures from Droaam, Tukuul'daar is regaining some of his
martial and protective aspects. Goblins
look to Tukuul'daar to protect them from the larger, stronger creatures, and to
prevent them from being taken into servitude.
His clerics are mostly retired laborers without living family, who are
provided a pension by tithes from other goblin laborers in the city (usually
level 3-5 commoners, possibly with 1-2 levels of either warrior or (more
rarely) adept). Occasionally, a young
firebrand will take up the god's mantle, and act as a labor organizer or
champion of the rights of oppressed goblinoids.
Scholars believe that Tukuul'daar represents a fusion of an older goblin
deity that was worshipped by goblin slaves in post-Dhakaan Khorvaire with the
worship of Dol Dorn, introduced by Malleon the Reaver when he conquered the
goblinoid city of <st1:city w:st="on">Duur'Shaarat</st1:city>.</div>
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<b>Madruu - The Clan Mother:</b> Depicted as an elderly female goblin, with an infant crooked in one arm
and a long spoon in the other hand.
Madruu is a domestic deity, primarily concerned with affairs of the
family and home. Her worship is largely
informal. There are few formal shrines
to her, and no organized temples, but most goblinoid homes have a small altar
to her located in the kitchen or common living area. Madruu's clergy are elder female goblins,
usually widows who live with their children or grandchildren. They act as hubs of goblinoid communities,
serving as matchmakers, midwives, teachers, and therapists to their own family
and the families around them. Because
goblins tend to live in cramped conditions, in extended family units, tensions
can run high among goblin families, and Madruu's clergy often act as arbiters
in disputes over marriage, inheritance, children, and divorce. While their decisions do not carry the weight
of law, the desire of Sharn's goblin population to avoid attracting the
attention of civic authorities means that many disputes never reach Sharn's
court beacause of the decision of a goblin granny somewhere in the undercity or
Malleon's Gate. Madruu's cult is
considered to be a form of the worship of Boldrei, though some of her aspects
(her association with fertility, midwifery, and birth) may have been assumed
from Arawai. The word 'Madruu' is an
ancient goblin term for mother that has taken on an honorific significance, and
continues to be used as a term of address for an elderly female goblin, or the
oldest female in a clan or family.
Clerics of Madruu are typically commoners with a few levels in adept,
focusing on skills and magic relating to healing and diplomacy.</div>
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<b>Kesruuk - The Listener:</b> Depicted as a goblin youth, with one hand cupped to his ear. Kesruuk is a peculiar form of Aureon, often
referenced but little worshipped by most goblinoids. In goblin society, the emphasis on academic knowledge is diminished compared with the value placed on more
practical forms: local knowledge, oral tradition, and secrets.
Kesruuk is the omnipresent deity of 'word on the street' and overheard
rumor. He eavesdrops at every window,
watches every interaction, and remembers all that he hears or sees. Adulterers and thieves make offerings to shrines
to Kesruuk to keep their deeds secret, while suspicious spouses and worried
merchants pray that Kesruuk will whisper something in their ear. The network of street urchins that keep
organized crime figures and local leaders informed of new goings-on in the
neighborhood are called 'Kesruuk's children', and forms a vital link in the
intelligence gathering networks of thieves and inquisitives alike. Kesruuk is represented at goblin temples to
the Sovereign Host, but has no temples or clergy of his own. Anonymous tips (in the form of unsigned
notes) are often left at shrines to Kesruuk- they range from romantic advances
from secret admirers to admonishing someone to bathe more often. Anyone is free to read the notes left at
Kesruuk's shrines to learn secrets about the community that someone would like
shared.</div>
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<b>Ul'tekesh - The Wild Twins:</b> A combined form of Arawai and Balinor, Ul'tekesh receives little
attention from urban goblins. Arawai is
depicted as a youthful female goblin, holding a sickle and a basket of
wildflowers. Balinor is depicted as a
male youth, clutching a bow in one hand and tugging on the chain of a hunting
dog with the other. The wild twins occur
more in mythology than in active worship; they are the embodiment of nature,
having dominion over plants and animals respectively. Goblins make token offerings to Arawai when
planting gardens, and butchers may have shrines to Balinor in their
abattoirs. Most animal and plant life
goes unnoticed by Sharn's goblins, and the Wild Twins receive correspondingly
little notice as well. The exception to
this rule are the goblins that live in the deepest levels of Sharn's sewers and
undercity; here, where strange creatures roam more freely and more of their
food comes from odd fungi and scavenging, the Wild Twins are invoked to protect
undercity tribes from ravaging beasts, and to ensure that the pickings are
never slim. Clerics of Ul'tekesh (the
two are generally worshipped together) are likely to be undercity goblins who
lead tribes of scavengers. They are
often Experts of level 3-5, with ranks in Survival, Knowledge: Dungeoneering,
Appraise, Swim, Climb, Spot, Listen, and other survival skills, and adepts of
level 1-3. Many of them have the Filth
Eater Feat (from Sharn: City of Towers), to represent their experience at
surviving on the bounty that the wasteful surface dwellers provide.</div>
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<b>Dhakal'an - The Clever Trickster:</b> The most popular deity in goblin society,
Dhakal'an (whose name, roughly translated, means 'free lunch') is a deity of
good fortune, opportunity, and , where necessary, deception. He is depicted as a laughing goblin youth,
raising a goblet in a toast with his right hand while holding a coin
(representing fortune of both types) in the other. Dhakal'an represents the sophisticated goblin's ideal of a
good life lived with minimal work and effort, and minimal conflict. His victories over his foes always come
through quick wits and a gilded tongue, resorting to the odd blow to the back
of the head only when necessary. He
slips through life giving the appearance of compliance when necessary, all the
while secretly staying a step beyond his oppressors (usually depicted as buffoonish humans, hobgoblins, or other larger races who are attempting to force Dhakal'an to perform hard work on their behalf). Dhakal'an is the drinking buddy of
Tukuul'daar, and together with Madruu the threesome represent the pillars of goblin
society in urban Khorvaire. Dhakal'an is
the ideal of an easy life and good living, toasted at every celebration and
heralded as a bringer of victory and good fortune. Tukuul'daar is his more even-keeled
companion, more willing to do an honest days labor, but never unwilling to take
the shortcuts that the more clever Dhakal'an offers, nor ever passing up an
opportunity to knock off work early for an evening at the pub. Dhakal'an may steal Tukuul'daar's lunch from
time to time, but the latter knows that when the big score comes, Dhakal'an will
share all with his friends and family.
Dhakal'an in this way represents the looser goblin notion of personal
property, which manifests itself negatively as a propensity for theft and
positively as an inclination towards sharing and generosity in times of
plenty. Dhakal'an's clerics always have
at least one level of Rogue, and usually a level or two of adept as well. Adventuers and higher-level goblin NPC's in
the community are quite likely to be at least supporters of Dhakal'an: the
rogue class and the Arcane Trickster prestige class are popular among his
followers. Followers of Dhakal'an often
contribute a portion of any ill-gotten gains to his shrines and temples, where
it is distributed to the neediest in the community. Dhakal'an also strictly enjoins his followers
against making victims of their neighbors and clansmen; as a result, faithful goblin
rogues generally refuse to go after targets in goblinoid neighborhoods. Small organized crime groups with ties to
Dhakal'an's church run protection rackets in their neighborhoods, primarily
because of the lack of watch protection.
They are loosely associated with the Boromar clan, paying tribute each
month while maintaining some autonomy.
They are deeply troubled by the expansion of the Droaamite-led Daask into
traditional goblin areas like Malleon's Gate, but lack the strength to mount
much of a direct challange. The Boromars
offer limited backing, being more concerned with more lucrative rackets in the
city that are also under threat.</div>
ComradeGnullhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09210806450294521289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23486033.post-86819152188714895162012-09-12T10:00:00.000-07:002012-10-04T06:21:55.138-07:00Xen'drik Story Hooks<br />
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Cleaning out an old folder of gaming stuff today. Below were some story hooks for adventuring in Xen'drik in Eberron that at some point I may or may not have posted to a WotC forum. These range from ideas for full-blown adventures to ideas for small encounters that might occur while parties are on the move between objectives.<br />
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<ul>
<li>A Forest Kith goblin tribe. They hunt with their trademark nets, as well as poison-tipped blowgun darts. They seem friendly and slightly more 'civilized' than usual at first, because a traveling evangelist of the Silver Flame converted them to his religion. Unfortunately, he failed to explain some of the nuances of his beliefs, which is why the goblins think it is their religious duty to burn alive travelers that pass through their territory after offering them a ritual feast.</li>
<li>Cargo cult. A group of local primitives worships as a god the preserved skeleton of the first outsider explorer who passed through their territory, treating his abandoned equipment as holy relics. The tribe is friendly and compliant dealing with outsiders, but violently resists any attempt to remove their 'god' or any of his trappings. Quite a problem, since the old boy had possession of the only known copy of the map the characters need to find their destination. How do they convince the tribesmen to let them rifle through god's journals and personal affects without spending the rest of the adventure running from angry war parties?</li>
<li>Xenobiology. Local friendlies speak of a powerful creature that lives in the jungles nearby. It matches no known description of any animal previously seen on Khorvaire or by explorers in Xen'drik. The tribals say that their legends say that the Giants used the creatures in battle, and that none could withstand its terrible power. New, undescribed creature, trainable as a combat mount? Houses Deneith and Vadalis would both be very interested in capturing such a beast, or gaining better information about its capabilities and habitat.</li>
<li>Who's got jungle fever? House Jorasco. A rare herb grows deep in the jungle with wonderful curative properties (cures some particular affliction, or maybe provides a general bonus to the Healing proficiency or healing magic). House Jorasco would love to establish a monopoly on its harvesting and cultivation. Do the characters keep their eye on the gold piece, helping the House deny all other takes access to the healing herb, or do they work with locals, a rival party, or by themselves to bring the herb to any and all?</li>
<li>Heart of Darkness/Apocalypse Now. A station agent sent by one of the Dragonmarked Houses (maybe even the house that is sponsoring the character's adventure) has vanished in the jungle during an expedition to an ancient Xen'drik ruin. Attempts to establish contact have resulted in more disappearances of entire expeditions. Unknown to the House, a powerful artifact that the agent discovered in a ruin contained the disembodies spirit of an ancient Giant-age sorcerer king. Possesed by the spirit, the agent is creating a private empire in the jungles, enslaving local drow and humanoids and raiding surrounding communities. The House may still want to retrieve some of the materials that he discovered in his quest, or may just want to terminate him with extreme prejudice to calm the situation on the continent (raids against previously friendly coastal tribes may have made them suspicious of outsiders, resulting in a cool reception for visitors)</li>
</ul>
<br />ComradeGnullhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09210806450294521289noreply@blogger.com0