TORCHES (6): A RPG Microblog Collection 9

 

Well, 6+1, but hey, you found an extra
in the crypt...

Work has been keeping me occupied, so posting has slowed down a bit, but here are some other great works that are in the blog-o-sphere that will fuel inspiration!

Torches (6) is a collection of microblogging about cool posts I've come across. This feature is lit at irregular intervals 

[Dungeon] Fruits Are A Great Source of Nutrients [/Paralysis]: Alice over at Dungeon Dolls is back with another solid post on fruit found in the dungeon. To my eyes, each example feels like a great take on potion/scrolls. I think the post does three clever things:

1. You can't bank the fruit outside the dungeon- use it now or mark it for (maybe) later
2. Each comes with a risk
3. The risk and reward combined make eating them an exciting choice rather than a casual use item

Your Party's Spirit: Goblin Punch is out there again with another anti-cleric stance! Given general D&D's polytheistic stance and environment where the gods do tread the earth, it makes sense that PC would be far, far more religious than they often act. The key here is around incentives. 

I think this would blend well with the shrine system I cooked up for a home game.

How To Run Arden Vul: This is a pretty amazing Reddit thread form a DM who's run Arden Vul for 3 tables using 2e AD&D. I think the most interesting advice is how this DM ran each of the three tables at a set time and did not deviate. There was no West Marches player-organized time; the DM laid down the time, and you just had to show up. However, the knock-on effect was that scheduling is very simple and very consistent- food for thought:

[Arden Vul DM] I am a stickler about my schedule. Trying to arrange my schedule around when the player's are available is a no go for me. I'm simply too busy. (In addition to running 3 private tables, and 1 public, open table, I also have a comic book podcast I record 1-2 episodes a week for, plus I need to spend time with my spouse. Literally almost all my time is spoken for between spouse, hobbies, and work.)

I've also found that if you don't have a set schedule to game just doesn't work well. We play every Monday from 545-845 no matter how many people show up. We play every Wednesday from 545-845 no matter how many people show up. We play every Saturday from 545-845 no matter how many people show up. I'm not trying to get myself off in some scheduling hell with a west marches style set up. It just doesn't work for me, and I'm of the opinion it would kill the tables.

There is also the limiting factor of, if I open sign ups for my place on Mondays someone might be at work and miss the chance to sign up. So I don't get to see that person that week. Maybe they are always at work during the sign up time frame (2 of my players are teachers). So they always miss the time frame and I never get to see them.

Set groups on set days solves all my problems with scheduling. 

And speaking of getting people to show up, a convo on Discord recounted how a DM running an open-table zombie campaign had a rule that if you missed 3 sessions in a row, your PC got eaten by a zombie off-screen.

Room Size & Geomorphs:  Playful Void does the maths to examine average room size. I'm always interested in stuff like this. Much like average treasure, I think understanding the "environment" of D&D helps construct good DM tools for ideally more off-the-cuff play (see Human Centric Game Design). Using the calculations here, one could roll a set of 6 rooms to build out a dungeon, or better yet, fill in a dungeon geomorph

Human Centric Game Design: A Manifesto: Personable Thoughts is really zeroing in on what I think is one of the most relevant game design ideas in today's increasingly digital world. What do human-centric RPGs bring to the table? And how can that be maximized? This is especially true as video game RPGs also offer, not necessarily competing, but different RPG experiences. 

I think this is true not just in terms of a game system, but also in the raw running of games. For instance, when I run an encounter, what can I bring to that experience that a computer can't? And how can I double down in that?

A Better Equipment List: This is a nice post with equipment descriptions to better highlight to players how equipment can matter- almost like low-key powers. Some examples:

CLOAK, DARK, HEAVY: conceal; disguise; pad; bundle; smother; shadow  

ROPE, HEMP, 50 FT.: climb; bind; lower; haul; measure; rig 

I am starting to believe that one of the best things the back of the character sheet can include is common equipment, price, and descriptions like those above. It also sorta feeds into my feelings on how ultimately equipment is interesting in how much the players choose to carry. But for that to matter, Paladin is right, they have to see it as valuable.

Folks of the Guild (Still Building a Better Thief): Love this Hags post for showing that ODD is still alive and well. And the "better thief" brain worm still wiggles. I like the way this post grounds the thief's abilities in the world and creates a visual mark that is a thumbing-your-nose at the punishment the thief would receive. It also helps one back-calculate, to me, the laws of the land (and as such, you might need a sheriff). Example:

The Barbers

Automatically hit and double any damage when attacking an unaware opponent from behind.

Barbers wear scarves or cravats, a dainty reminder of both their trade - a slit throat - and the murderer's sentence - a hangman's noose. Neck adornments play a special part in Guild symbolism as one of the Two Ends: in this case, Death by the Law.

TORCHES (6): A RPG Microblog Collection 8

 

The Ultimate Warrior! Over at Save vs. Total Party Kill, Ram discusses a quick rule for determining death or unconsciousness at 0 hp or below by making a save versus Death. On a roll of a natural 20, the PC rerolls all their HD and gains that HP. I kinda like this idea for con games, its quick, but really impactful and has the same feel as Death's Door in Darkest Dungeon.

Social Bonds: At the BREAK!! blog, Naldo helps us figure out how exactly our PC know each other. Again, another great trick for con games, but also plays very well at the table.

Shuddering Forms Crawl Forth!: Save vs Worm lists out some new undead for their King of Kings setting. I particularly like the named undead that they have listed out:

Dog-headed Dyan the Dreadful: The only known wraith of the dog-headed men, who are already known for their demon-haunted cruelty. He was known for injustices done unto babies and mothers. Just wants to taste succulent childflesh again, but for his burnt-out tongue.

Before You Crawl B2, Check This Hexmap Out: Over at Blog of Forlorn Encystment, WEC rebuilds the wilderness region around B2 into a fantasy ~20 hex area. Demonstrating how little you need to have a fully stocked campaign!

$7 Mordheim/Forbidden Psalms Terrain: Summon Lesser Maker did this video and it really drove my creativity into high gear. I have been working to complete four 1'x1' skirmish boards using his techniques wth popcicle sticks and cardboard. Its really been awesome! I want to do some more posts about the painting/kitbashing folks that I am following.

Straight Up Villain: Bommyknocker Press writes about the "Nemesis System" which was found in the Shadow of Mordor video game. Glad to see other folks writing on it. I did here a little while back and recently need to use it again in my Nightwick game.

TORCHES (6): A RPG Microblog Collection 7

Over on bluesky, Zenopus Archives posts a new favorite Holmes/OD&D house rule: "...that thieves can fire into melee without penalty; i.e. no friendly fire". This is a great rule and keeps positioning thieves as a specialists in combat. While they still could use a spear in the second rank, thief PC could be out of rank acting as scouts/recon- this rule allows them to use that position and further encourages the *risk* of breaking rank.

Death, Taxes, & the City Guard: Blog of Forlorn Encystment summarized some very nice rules buried in the AD&D DMG about the city guard having indentured magic-users, taxes on goods, and highlights that by applying taxes- your PCs will try to find ways around them, which is fun. Also this is an excellent reason to have a thief be connected to a guild- black market downtime. Good to note too His Majesty the Worm incorporates a 50% tax rate for this very reason!

Megadungeon Zine (n.): Casey Garske of Stay Frosty fame has put out a new megadungeon 'zine Oubliette using Google docs, public domain art, and his own pencil art. Two issues so far with "0" being a small player's guide and "1" being the first level of the dungeon. I love this old-school G+ energy. We need some more of it in the space. The early old-school scene has a lot of these sorta 'zines and I try to collect as many as I can. It's a lot of similar energy found in many Appx. N Jam entries.

And speaking of megadungeons, Castle Kelpsprot is being put out by The Dododecahedron. Yet another to check out and apparently it already has hundreds of rooms keyed.

Mouth of Mormo: Speaking of dungeons, Goblin Punch released a new, free dungeon which comes in a highly annotated form filled with DM advice. In particular, I love: In my games, characters are required to have character goals. Why do you adventure? Why risk your life to search for gold in these horrible tombs? Character goals must be something that can be solved with money; otherwise, why is this character an adventurer in the first place?

Speed Dice for Fast Combat: A-new-to-me-blog, Light From the Far Horizon, has an interesting combat system where a weapon's damage die (the speed die) is rolled for the to-hit. If you are a lower roll than your target's roll, you strike them first before they strike you, but armor is ablative. However, two-handed weapons have to roll above the target's speed die. Sheilds get their own speed die, which you have to beat as well to strike. Its seems like a lively and interesting system. 

d666 Dungeon Dressing Table: Who doesn't want a table of "stuff you'd expect to find in a dungeon" to "gonzo/anachronistic mythic underworld bullshit"?

TORCHES (6): A RPG Microblog Collection 6

Reaper Miniatures
sculpt: B. Jackson

1. Moldvay's Labyrinth: Someone has made a dungeon crawler based on Moldvay Basic D&D. Apple phone and Android!

2. When in doubt, fuck up the moon! Save Vs. Worm does just that in this fantastic post about moon men that crawl from their lunar haunts to raid the earth! Also has a cool calendar.

3. Combat in Abstract: Over at Press the Beast, there is a lengthy discussion on old-school combat shortcuts.

4. Barrowmaze Retrospective: Having run both Barrowmaze and Archaia this is a fair evaluation of my own experience and why Nightwick continues to enchant after 100+ sessions.

5. Ah, Delicious in Dungeon!: Skerples has the Monster Menu-All of the classic AD&D Monster which "takes all the creatures in [the AD&D Monster Manual], divides them by flavour and effect, and gives random tables and neat little rules for some of them". 

6. Known Spells of Wizards Past: At Half Again As Much, the good Dr. Curious looks at their father's D&D known spell list, which contains 400+ different spells across 14 levels. While they contain the old standards, they also span the mundane (Summon Frog) to the wicked sounding (Wailing Wheel of Fire). Its a fantastic resource that reminds up how free-wheeling Dungeons & Dragons once was before being standardized (perhaps too much) by convention.

* Bonus because I am thinking about NPCs as of late. Here is an interesting perspective on creating NPCs using: Name, rough age, notable physical detail. Skill, Skill, Skill. One Obsession. One Secret. One Burden

TORCHES (6): A RPG Microblog Collection 5

 

1. The Moon Realm: One of the minor domains of the OSR is screwing with the moon and Alone in the Labyrinth maintains that tradition with their "exiled stone-age psychonauts exploring the spirit realm". I especially enjoy blogging about settings/campaigns because it harkens back to blogging of yore.

2. Market Instability: Nickoten at Pathika lays out a brief rule for market instability: 

The “base” price of a good is 2d6 of your standard currency, which can be rerolled for each item or each shopping trip. This price is then multiplied depending on the price category. So a “Plentiful” good is 2d6 coins, a “Limited” good is 10x that, a “Rare” good is 20x that, and a “Treasured” good is 200x that.

3. Review of Appendix N: False Machine not only does a nice job reviewing Appendix N: Weird Tales From The Roots Of Dungeons & Dragons but I think it also succinctly frames what is attractive about the energy of sword & sorcery stories: 

Impulsivity, immediacy and atavism, but always with intelligence, sharp wits and keen senses. These stories are about things happening now. Too late! In the time it took you to read this sentence the Barbarian has killed a man and moved to another scene. 

Also, I have this book and I am on my second read-through despite having read a few of the stories like Tower of the Elephant many times before. However, its interesting to consider them all in aggregate. Its also a great gift for D&D fans, young and old. 

4. Most Adventures Are Bad: Gus L. has a breakdown of why a published adventure might miss the mark in terms of quality as well as a few questions we all could ask ourselves when putting together something for the table.

5. Where to Start With OD&D: I faced this same issue when running the Gygax 75 Minute Challenge. I am leaning toward WhiteBOX: FMAG as it seems to keep me from overly obsessing about the ruleset, which puts attention back on the game.

6. Holme Alone: This is a nice post about a 2008 thread from Carcosa's author McKinney about looking at Holmes Basic as a complete game- "Holmes 33". No AD&D supplementation, Level 3 is the cap, and it would last as long as it would take to reach third level which is about 33 sessions. I like this because it matches some of my ideas about level 4 being a natural break point and 33 sessions make for a nice timeframe, especially with today's modern entertainment environment. Its a sorta capsule campaign and something to think about as I frame Tropics of Cancer. Also, Blueholme: Printice Rules is a favorite ruleset of mine. And if you are thinking of such a game, the Zenopus Archieves Holmes Reference is a must!