Day 2 - Blog Hop Challenge

First person you introduced to D&D, Which Edition, Their First Character.

I received AD&D 2nd Edition for Christmas one year, shortly after reading thru most of the books while on Xmas vacation, I believe I created a quick little adventure and ran that with my brother & sister.  I honestly can't quite remember what their characters names where.  I am guessing however that they were straightforward characters like a wizard, thief or warrior, rather than a ranger or a bard.  I remember my sister used to come up with some fairly funny names at the time.

Here we go again! Fellow bloggers lets do this up! - Day 1 D&D 40th Anniversary Blog Hop Challenge

Day 1 - The first time I played D&D it was 1st Edition, my older cousin had gotten into it with his friends and had me play once with him.  I was of all things a Lizard Man warrior! I can't honestly remember my name.  It was all very new to me.  I of course was into the Choose your own adventure books at that time.  As the years progressed my friends and I got into Fighting Fantasy, and later Advanced Fighting Fantasy (Where I was GMing) and then finally AD&D 2nd Edition.

Do we need another clone?

This link has got me thinking about creating a game http://www.mcnallyrobinson.com/selfpubpricing

As far as I'm concerned, the price is right, and the fact that you can put it on McNally's book shelves is even better.  The question that comes to my mind, is do we need another clone? Probably not.  Is there possible money to be made? Possibly? What is really making me think right now, is what can I do different? Is this a project to consider?  OGL/SRD? Legalities? Etc.

I think if I was going to do something like this, I'd probably try and trim down the basics of RPGing to a more elementary level, A fun, rules light version.  Something that some one could pickup and roll with fairly quickly.  Once again I circle back to the above.  But it does make me think is this do-able?

osr-compatible-adventures

I updated my page
http://3toadstools.blogspot.ca/p/osr-compatible-adventures.html

Movement in OSR/D&D

Played a rousing game of Herosquest last night, and it got me thinking about D&D.  My players quite liked the use of miniatures and visualization of the game, rather than theatre of the mind kinda stuff.   A few things pooped into my head, which I believe I've discussed before.  However I'm going to reiterate them for my own purposes here anyways.

First off, I have Dragonstrike & Dragon Quest at home as well as Herosquest, all of which come with some cool game boards.  I'm considering writing adventures for basic fantasy around these.  The thing that comes to mind is movement.  I have to double check the rulings in basic fantasy to see if they have movement rates in the book.  I guess the question comes to mind, is how to deal with it?  Atleast as far as the PC's are concerned.

If Batman was a D&D Character

Just reading a "showcase" Batman graphic novel lately, its a collection of stories in B&W from the 60's, which are my absolute favs! The cheese, etc.  Of course my brain goes to D&D and I start thinking, Hmmm Batman would be an interesting character to play right?  First off he's not super human, he's just human.  He doesn't use deadly weapons, or weapons at all really.

So my thoughts are the following, obviously he would need a reasonably high Strength attribute, as he does most of his fighting using his fists.  Intelligence of course would also have to be high as he's a detective first and foremost.  and of course Dexterity would also have to be quite high, as he's quick, and uses a lot of thief type skills.  

I"m thinking he would be a fighter/thief.  A thief not so much because he steals anything, but he follows thief's and tracks them down, so he needs to "know his enemy" per se.  All the thief skills would be super handy and relate directly to the Batman character, other than pick pocketing.

As far as weapons go, this is what I got so far.

Fists (not sure of the brawling rules) but I"m thinking 1D4+1 (or 2 depending on STR) and he would be able to use both in one attack round.

Boomerang - 1d6 or 1d4 maybe, can use ever other round, as it doesn't return to his hand right away.

2 balls together on a string - I can't think of the name of this device, but when you throw it at peoples feet it wraps around there legs and they fall.  Maybe it does 1D2 damage, the real thing is it subdues the enemy.

Small Crossbow with grappling hook - not used for fighting, but for scaling walls, etc

As far as armor is concerned, I'm guessing about AC 6 (13) made out of heavy leather.  Including steel gauntlets that act as a shield, adding one extra point of AC (reflected in original total).

Well that's all I got for now, its a bit early in the morning.

Thoughts? What about other Characters out there? any other super heroes come to mind?

One Page Dungeon Contest 2014

I entered the One Page Dungeon Contest 2014! Honestly not sure how good my dungeon is, but its fun nonetheless.  Here's the details if you want to enter! +Dungeon Contest

http://www.onepagedungeon.info/one-page-dungeon-contest-2014

Submission Deadline:

April 30th, 2014 23:59 UTC (aka Wednesday evening before midnight Greenwich England time)

Submission Guide:

Read about the history of the "One Page Dungeon" to get a feel for the concept.

The submission must be put under the "Creative Common Attribution-Share Alike 3.0" license.

Each submission must have a title, an author, and a link to the license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0).

Remember that the judges may not know the exact game system you play, so a good strategy is to avoid using too many system specific stats.

Only one entry allowed per participant.

Submissions can be replaced/revised up until the submission deadline. Only the last revision will be considered as the official submission.

Submissions with extremely small font sizes will (most likely) score low with the judges.

Keep in mind that the submissions will be printed out on paper by some judges.

Submissions must be sent as a PDF to dungeoncontest@gmail.com

The file size of the PDF should be under 6MB.

A link to a web page or blog article can be submitted along with the PDF and it will be posted to the contest page.

The deadline for submissions is April 30th 23:59 UCT

Sponsors:

Troll Lord Games
Precis Intermedia

Goodman Games
Wayne's Books

Engine Publishing

One Page Dungeon - Assault on the thieves guild.

Was in a really boring meeting this morning, so I started doodling a map.  Came up with a quick scenario about a thieves guild base that is under the town in the sewers.  This one is OSR compatible, have fun!

I'd love to know your comments.

I'm going to see if I can doctor the map a bit more in photoshop, I drew it in my notebook with a pencil.

thanks!

here's the link for download 

Town NPCs

There is more to come, this is just the start!

Town NPCs

During a brief discussion over at the OSR Google + Community, someone had mentioned that modules & retro clones are all fine and dandy, but what they would like to see is a detailed town, and its inhabitants.  Rather than create a town with a map, I decided it would be best to just have a list of NPC’s, what they do, what their motivations are, race/class if any.  In this way a DM can use these personalities in their own town, without having to be bound by map placement, town industries, world, etc.  The following is the best that I can come up with.  I hope you enjoy it.

A few town assumptions…..

- First and foremost, as I said, place this town anywhere, create your own map, feel free to delete, revise, have fun!

- Obviously the town needs to be “Ran/Ruled” by someone.  I’ve decided that there is a council of 3, that are elected by the towns folk

- as far as races are concerned, just to add some color, this town includes humans, half elves and halflings.  Once again, throw that away if you’d like.

- Industry - there needs to be some, how does this town make money? what draws people to it? In this instance, I’ve decided there is a iron mine & a mill near a river.  Once again, throw it away, or change it.

The Council Of 3

Walril Shortcloak - (Male Halfling) Reckless with a dark past.  Walril came from a far off village of halflings, in a previous life he was a thief.  He was voted onto the council because of his high Charisma and speechcraft.  However things haven’t been looking good for him lately, he makes decisions too quickly, doesn’t think things thru, which has made some town’s folk upset with him.  

Ravasaadi Fiedlerson (nee - Duskwalker)  - (Female Half-Elf) Daughter of an Elf Warrior and a common human maiden from the town, Ravasaadi grew up poor and hungry.  Her father felt the call of the Elves and left early in her childhood to be with his own people.  Ravasaadi is quick witted and smart.  Her husband Walhorn Fiedlerson lives with her and her two children in a small house.  She is also runs a butcher shop for the local farmers.

Zangeon Hammertoe - (Human Male) - Zangeon is fairly old (about 75) he has seen the town grow from just a few farmsteads and an Inn to quite a busy little trading centre.  He is very suspicious of other peoples motives, and doesn’t mind saying so.  He is considered the “Voice of reason” in town, and is also suspected of being a magic user, although its never been proved.  He lives on the edge of town in a squat house.

Merchants & Dignitaries

Nerisdiana Urthadar the Armorer - (Female Half Elf) - She owns the “Blackened Thongs” Armorer & Blacksmith Shoppe.  Legend states that Nerisdiana was taught by Dwarf’s to smith armour when she was young.  Of course, this could also just be hearsay, and excellent marketing techniques.  She is reasonable with her prices, and her quality of work is outstanding.  She is married to a local and has 1 child.

Gurlyassa Trannyth - (Female Human Cleric) Gurlyassa is priest at the local temple.  Among her many duties she oversees the festival’s for harvest, and marriages & deaths, and of course blessings.  She is a learned scribe, spending much of her free time pouring over old forgotten tomes (which she will pay for).  Humble & selfless for the most part is how to describe her personality.  She is single & beautiful.

Norhand Wolfswift (Human Male) - is the Barkeep/Innkeeper/Owner of the “Stinkin Minotaur” Inn & Tavern.  Norhand is shrewd! he doesn’t like when the Inn is busy, nor when it is slow.  When someone asks for a drink he will take his time getting it, and grumble about.  Don’t even think of asking for anything to eat!  Its said that he hoards a pile of gold locked in his cellar.  You can’t take it with you can you?  He is a direct relation to the Wolfswift family, although he tends to not meddle in their affairs & feuds.

Norice Waveharp (Human male) - owns a merchant stand that specializes in everyday items, and foodstuffs.  He makes a regular pilgrimage to bigger cities every few months to re fill his supply.  Norice is irritable, and almost always itchy.  During negotiations for product, he will scratch at these itches with ferocity, sometimes even to the point of bloodshed.

Common Folk

Walhorn Fiedlerson - (Male Human) - Husband to Ravasaadi Duskwalker, Farmer.  Walhorn is very cautious, and doesn’t like to create a stir or commontion.  He advises his wife to be prudent and passive when dealing with the council of 3.

Riclannan Shortankard - (Male Halfing Thief) - Riclannan is a thief, and most of the town knows it!  However he has never been caught.  Riclannan can be found in farmers fields, or just off the road apparently “looking for something he’s lost”.  More often than not, he’s stealing food.  An industrious fellow, he will often travel away for long periods of time (selling stolen merchandise) and return with grand tales and sacks of gold.

Wilril Fletcher (Human Male) - Wilril has been down on his luck ever since he was born.  He lives & sleeps where he can, and is often found begging for food.  An oldtimer with a lot of stories, he will gladly tell enormous fictitious tales to anyone who will listen.  He will sometimes find work sweeping out barns, and is not strong enough anymore to work in fields or mines.

Hollylyassa Dawntracker - (Female Half Elf) this lighthearted lady plans to be a great songwriter & singer of wondrous tales some day.  Unfortunately her singing voice is not up to par!   She can usually be found on her duff outside of the Inn, having just been thrown out for gleefully singing at the top of her lungs.  She has an adventurous spirit and may accompany heroes on a quest, (anything for a tune!).  

The Wolfswift Family - (Human) Quikain Wolfswift (Mother) Willannan Wolfswift (Father) Adoward Wolfswift (Grandfather) Norroar Wolfswift (Uncle) all live in a small shack in town.  This human family are a group of miners.  Along time ago a feud was started between the Wolfswift family & the Hawklight family, it has been ongoing for centuries.  One family kills off another, which is followed by more deaths.  At the present there hasn’t been an uprising in the last few years.  Lore says that one of the great grandfathers of the Hawklight family stole a pig from the Wolfswifts.  Quikain & Willannan have 7 children.

Hawklight Family - (Human) A hardy lot if there ever was one, apparent descendants of barbarians, the Hawklight family are now farmers, living off the land.  Shadak (Father) Oolaella (Mother) Xanhorn (Grandfather) Ravakahn (Grandmother) Zinnaerris (Aunt) Thoroar (Uncle) all live on a farm close to town. Shadak & Oolaella are parents to 9 children.

Gurvyre Strifelaugher (Female Halfling) - Gurvyre is extremely tardy, so much so that friends and relatives will send invitations to her a year and a half in advance of any celebration!   She spends her days sewing clothes & hemming pants.

Victalove Milltall - (Female Halfing) Victalove is married to Gerge, they live in a house in town.  They are devout worshippers at the temple.  Victalove is a messenger often leaving home for long periods of time.  She has a wealth of information about the lands surrounding the town and far off lands as well.  She is very polite, so much so that it can become slightly irritating having a conversations with her, between all her “pleases and thankyous”.

Gerge Milltall - (Male halfling) married to Victalove.  Gerge is a farmer, he is very meek & quiet, preferring to let his wife do most of the speaking.  A devout follower of the temple.