The Babbling Bane's Blog

Playing With Hero Lab For PFBB

2012-01-29T18:04:00.000-06:00

It appears, that the Hero Lab version for Pathfinder Beginner Box is free, full functioning, and works wonders:

This creature stands barely three feet tall, its scrawny, humanoid body dwarfed by its wide, ungainly head.
--------------------
Grinder: Male Goblin (Neutral)

Goblins are hateful, suspicious creatures about 4 feet tall. They prefer to dwell in caves or buildings abandoned by others. They love fire, hate dogs and horses, and believe that writing steals the words from your head.

Initiative +6; Speed 30 ft. (6 sq.); CR 1/2; HP 8
Senses Darkvision (60 feet); Perception +4
--------------------
DEFENSE
--------------------
AC 16, touch 13, flat-footed 14   (+3 armor, +2 Dex, +1 size)
Fort +0, Ref +4, Will +0
--------------------
OFFENSE
--------------------
Melee (M) Dagger +0 (1d4+1/19-20/x2) and
   (M) Dagger +0 (1d4+1/19-20/x2) and
   Unarmed Strike +2 (1d2+1/20/x2)
Ranged Shortbow +3 (1d4/20/x3)
Special Attacks Sneak Attack +1d6
--------------------
STATISTICS
--------------------
Str +1, Dex +2, Con 0, Int 0, Wis 0, Cha 0
Skills Climb +5, Disable Device +7, Knowledge (Dungeoneering) +4, Knowledge (Local) +4, Knowledge (Nature) +1, Perception +4, Ride +6, Sense Motive +4, Stealth +10
Feats Improved Initiative
Equipment Backpack (empty), Belt Pouch (empty), Caltrops, Dagger, Dagger, Flint and Steel, Sack (empty), Sack (empty), Shortbow, Studded Leather, Thieves' Tools, Waterskin
--------------------
ECOLOGY
--------------------
Environment Temperate forest and plains (usually coastal regions)
Organization Gang (4-9), warband (10-16 with goblin dog mounts), or tribe (17+ plus 100% noncombatants; 1 sergeant of 3rd level per 20 adults; 1 or 2 lieutenants of 4th or 5th level; 1 leader of 6th-8th level; and 10-40 goblin dogs, wolves, or worgs)
Treasure NPC gear (leather armor, light wooden shield, short sword, short bow with 20 arrows, other treasure)
--------------------
SPECIAL ABILITIES
--------------------
Darkvision (60 feet) You can see in the dark up to 60 feet. This works like normal vision, but it's only in shades of gray.
Sneak Attack +1d6 +1d6 damage if you flank your target or your target is flat-footed.
Trapfinding +1 +1 to find or disable traps.

Hero Lab® and the Hero Lab logo are Registered Trademarks of LWD Technology, Inc. Free download at http://www.wolflair.com
Pathfinder® and associated marks and logos are trademarks of Paizo Publishing, LLC®, and are used under license.

This rocks! Now, I must play a PFBB campaign!

TB

Home...

2012-01-27T18:22:00.000-06:00

Home at last, though I thought I would get alot of blogging done while on my business trip, it never came to fruition. Now, I hope, I can delve off into some PFBB ramblings...

TB

Stop SOPA

2012-01-18T09:16:00.002-06:00

Pathfinder Beginner Box and D&D Red Box

2012-01-17T22:34:00.001-06:00

I had blogged about getting the Pathfinder Beginner Box (PFBB) a while ago, but I just picked up the D&D Red Box too. Which, I swore I wouldn't get, but I found it on sale for $9.50

Talk about totally different attempts at what, I think, was meant to be the same thing; an introduction to 'the' game.

The PFBB was a trip down memory lane. I really enjoyed the solo adventure and all the way through to page 53 of the Hero's Handbook. That is where the crunch began under the heading of "Combat"... I stomached through to the end because it was only an additional ten pages that covered only first through fifth level (the sweat spot for me personally).

The PFBB Game Master's Guide had a nice mini-adventure and, though it was tailored to new GMs, was an enjoyable read.

In short, the whole PFBB screamed quality.

The D&D Red Box (RB), on the other hand, whimpered. From the box and booklet quality, to a Player's Handbook that was 39 pages of solo-adventure ONLY! I did like how they had you develop you character sheet throughout the adventure, but this did not make up for my less than gloomy first impression.

The D&D RB Dungeon Master Book had me crying before I even finished it, which I did not do. The rules where like reading a 60+ page boardgame instruction manual...

Now to admit, I currently play D&D 4e with a great group, and the GM handles it very old school. So I know it is possible, but if I had to start a group with this thing, it probably would never happen.

PFBB on the other hand has me compelled to start a new campaign, should I find the players.

To answer a few questions directed to me from the last post by Erin:

"....looks friendly enough and I'm sorely tempted to pick it up, but is it good enough to launch a whole new campaign..." ~ Absolutely. It is solid, and much more of what I wanted out of PF 3.5 than what it has become. I could totally see repeat playability just by staying in the 1st to 5th level that the box set covers. I must admit that I have always liked the idea of a E6 style game anyway. This scratches my itch!

"...or is it just reference material I can use in my existing game?" ~ I think it can do that too, to a lesser extent. It has an 'old school vibe' to it, but it is obviously a d20 product. It introduces Sandpoint and the neighboring region and gives out a few plot hooks to expound on for sure, but it is an 'introduction' to the game.

"Is it "stand-alone" or will I have to go down the Pathfinder rabbit hole?" ~ it suggests going to the PF Core rulebook, but it is 100% stand-alone. I do not see myself investing in anything other than perhaps the setting book, where I will run a plethora of PBB adventures, should I find an interested group! So, no, no rabbit hole in my future! But I like the setting, so might get the one other book to 'expand' it some.

"I await your judgement..." ~ I recommend it, surprisingly. I honestly didn't expect to like it as much as I do. I wish the entire PF line was like this though. The D&D RB on the other hand... was a waste of my money even at the 'bargain' price. I enjoy my D&D 4e group and game, I do, but reading what I was able to of the box set, well, was torture. I hoped it would have been different, because I do enjoy my face-to-face 4e group game, and assumed, wrongly that perhaps the reviews were not fair or I might like it because I had prior experience... not the case! I thought I might one day want to even GM a 4e game/campaign, but realize I don't have the chops that my current 4e GM has to make it 'old school'.

In closing, get the PFBB, I don't think you will regret it,

TB

Pathfinder Beginner Box

2012-01-10T22:34:00.003-06:00

Staying in a hotel for weeks on end, eight hundred miles away from home, you do some strange things. Like purchase the Pathfinder Beginner Box set...

Knee-jerk reaction, I can live with it. Something between Microlite20 and full blown 3.5 might just fit the bill. Think I will go sit down in the lobby and read it. Maybe I can find some other equally as bored people to give it a run for it's money?

Later Taters,
TB

Monitary Mapping

2011-12-29T21:07:00.000-06:00

Over on Telecanter's Receding Rules, Telecanter spoke of The Pre-Mapped Dungeon and its effect on game play.

Introducing pre-mapped dungeons in the form of Player handout maps is an interesting topic for discussion. But past; whether it should be done, how accurate they should be, and the effects to game play, I had to wonder, 'Where do they get them?'

It would be assumed that either; the map is completely fraudulent (source had never been there), or if accurate, that the dungeon had been plundered by the cartographer at, or before, the time of the map's creation. Both could be circumstances that could lead to in-game disappointment for the Characters, and to a lesser extent the Players.

But what really got me was, "How did they get such a map?" One would assume that it was made for profit, as making a personally plundered map for oneself seems cost prohibitive unless it was used to extricate oneself from same.

So, assuming it was made for profit to be sold to others, how much would it be worth? Why don't Players ever try to sell their maps? Why don't big-wig NPCs hire Characters to map locations, even their regional terrain? And, if this was prevalent, should Characters receive experience for a successful cartography exploration?

A myriad of questions I must ponder upon!

Happy mapping,
TB

Messing Around With Wacom...

2011-12-25T21:08:00.000-06:00

Just wanted to show off my new toy! Yes, I am not very good. I have been reading tuts and sketching all day and this is the best I have to show for it....

Much practice in my future, but at least I won't feel bad about crumpling digital paper and throwing it in the digital trashcan.

Constructive critism is fine, lay it on me.

TB

Microlite20: Stats

2011-12-21T17:54:00.001-06:00

Moving on, I have decided:

===========
Stats
There are four stats the represent you Character;: Fortitude (FORT), Reflex (RFLX), Will (WILL), and Comprehension (COMP).

Fortitude (FORT) measure your character's ability to stand up to physical punishment or attacks against your vitality and health. It is often referred to as Strength in may RPGs. (Strength of Body)
Reflex (RFLX) is the speed associated with the body and your character's ability to dodge attacks. It is often referred to as Dexterity in some RPGs. (Speed of Body)
Will (WILL) is your character's resistance to mental influence as well as many magical effects, often thought of or referred to as Wisdom in other RPGs. (Strength of Mind)
Comprehension (COMP) is the act or action of grasping with the intellect, and how fast the mind can process stimulus. It is thought of as Intelligence in other RPGs. (Speed of Mind)

Rolling for, and assigning, Stat scores:
Players should roll three six sided die, annotated as 3d6, and assign them to one of their character's Stats after being totaled, before rolling for another Stat. At any time the player may take a total rolled and assign it as their character's starting gold roll (discussed later).

Calculating Stat bonuses/penalties:
Each exceptional or sub-par Stat will either produce a bonus or penalty, respectively, to rolls during play. This bonus or penalty can be calculated by subtracting ten from the Stat score and dividing by two, rounding down.

Stat bonus = (STAT-10)/2, rounded down.
===========

There, procrastination complete and OCD fended off... for now.

TB

Village Of Nickime

2011-12-17T14:10:00.001-06:00

A quick post to show the Large Village of Nickime that I created from the "It's All About The Quarters" post I did yesterday. Again I want to thank Talysman, for the motivation/inspiration. I haven't gotten into digesting his response on the last post, but soon will.

*Edit: Roger, over at Roles, Rules, and Rolls, took creating settlements with coins even further with several interesting twist!*

Without further ado, here is the map of Nickime:

A Keep was placed for the quarter, and merchant/craftsmen got a larger building. Then I just added ten houses per fifty cent piece. Here is what the original map looked like, if you missed it:

I was initially worried about the placement of the Church/Shrine, but when I did the rough map I think it turned out okay.

Best,
TB

It's All About The "Quarters"

2011-12-16T22:10:00.000-06:00

So, while perusing blogs, I stumbled on Talysman's latest post: Mapping Towns and Cities During Play.

There, I saw a link to: The Quarter System. I thought, 'Cool... That would be neat!' So off I went, Mozilla buzzing, to find it was not what I had thought. It was 'Cool', just not what I anticipated.

This, is what I had in mind:

Coinage! Quarters!

That lead to this:

Where I started with a Quarter to represent the Castle/Keep. Inspired again by Talysman, here, I quickly decided that dimes would be crafts, nickles would be multi-entity establishments, quarters the controlling interest, and half-dollars would be homes.

I placed the Quarter, then a dime, figuring that the controlling entity would want them near. To support that, I needed homes. Each additional coin had to touch at least two others and homes had to touch the establishment it supported. Each craft/merchantile had to be as close to the 'hub' as I could get it, then its supporting homes. When at all possible I shared the edge of the homes with another half-dollar to represent how homes tended to cling together...

And bingo a rough Large Village was created, again based on this.

I will assume that there are three entrances into the Castle/Keep at each of the dimes, and for the most part that each coin that touches another has a major thoroughfare connecting it.

Now that I know what each can represent, I should be able to pick up some coins (the amount based on the size of the settlement) and have a ready made establishment.

What to do with the penny?... Ruins or Slums! Done.

Hope you like it, it is rather 'outside-the-box' for me, and it is all because Talysman blogged about quarters!

TB

*The only thing I had a problem with was the Church/Shrine. It probably should have gone NE or SW of the Controller, but I didn't want it near a Stable or a Blacksmith.*

Trying My Hand At Silhouettes

2011-12-15T18:53:00.001-06:00

Wanted to try it out myself since Telecanter makes them look so cool!

First One I did took me about fifteen minutes. And it looks like it...

Learned a valuable lesson. Not all poses look right. This fellow in the original was setting up for a backswing. In the Silhouette, it appears that he is going for a forehand swing... meh.

Second one was this one, which took me about ten minutes.

You loose the pick-sword in Silhouetting him, but better. The outline doesn't look as jagged with this technique.

Fun though,

TB

Microlite20: Stats Start To Solidify

2011-12-12T21:52:00.000-06:00

**Edit: My 100th, and I missed it**

Thanks to the author of Beacon, Todd's response here, got me over the mental block I was having. Now I didn't take the suggestion as is, but the result is worth thinking about. The question I have to answer is, "Do the changes that I would make add to the game, based on my design goal, or detract from it?" Answer, "I don't know yet."

I am fairly certain that converting to Fortitude, Will, and Reaction is a solid decision. The vernacular is familiar enough to the 'old hands' that I don't feel it would be distracting, and might as I suggested, add to the feel I am going for. A fair tradeoff, if not a slight advantage for making the change.

But what about 'Comprehension'? Comprehension: 'capacity of the mind to perceive and understand; power to grasp ideas; ability to know'. Or in my laymen's terms, 'speed of mentally processing stimulus.' I like the symmetry. You have the toughness and speed of both the body and the mind in four stats. Combining each individually with a M20 skill results in a large pool of Saving Throw options.

My concerns are that a) it might alienate conventional D&D players by going too far afield, and b) comprehension is not 'commonly' used enough to be understood in this context.

In retrospect, I used Charisma primarily as the strength of the Mind stat, when I used it. But 'Will' is more fitting. So, in this, perhaps what Todd said is correct, "As a proponent of Charisma I would convert it to Will and come up with something else for the MIND stat (or just go fortitude, reflex, Mind and Will.)" This is how I had used Charisma in the past, but my OCD will not release the symmetrical beauty of the option discussed earlier in this post...

Okay, maybe it has not solidified, but I am vigorously mixing it around in my melon! Come on Jello!!!

*pop*
TB

Question? What question?

Mirolite20: Considering Stats

2011-12-11T21:19:00.001-06:00

Not having gotten any feed back from my initial discussion of Stats for the conversion of Microlite20 to the system I want to use for Humanity's Reign & Ruin, I flipped a coin and decided to move on by expanding on the assumption that I would use Fortitude, Reflex, and Will as the default Stats. These will equate to Strength, Dexterity, and Mind of the standard Microlite20 rulebook.

As I mentioned in the proceeding post, Charisma is an often added stat for Microlite20 (simply M20 for here on out). Though I usually play with this added stat, I am apprehensive in trying to add it, based on my current decision to switch to the fore mentioned; Fortitude, Reflex, and Will stats, because there is no save in this capacity found in the source material (d20 SRD).

Proponents of the, "Don't use Charisma, just make it a Mind save" for conventional M20, have a point, considering my choice to change the default stats. Though I did not like the idea of using Mind as a charismatic save previously, it does makes a bit more sense to me now as a Will save. Even so, I have been toying with the thought of adding some form of 'Composure' stat, and relating save.

On Stat Values: Determining stat values vary from incarnation to incarnation of M20. Purest Essence, which I consider to be the default version, has Players roll 4d6 and drop the lowest and assign them as they are rolled. I had been thinking that I would drop Stat values altogether, but have reconciled that notion to my pending True20 project of M20. So how do I want to generate Stat values? Neither of these approaches appeal to me for this iteration of rules. The convention of 3d6 in order is suitably 'old school', and has the advantage of being gritty especially considering my adaptation of Feats, which I will blog about in later post. Though I want gritty, I don't feel compelled to gimp the Players out of playing the Class that they want to play. This is a rather weighted decision because of the possible perception that I am limiting Players on Race, which again I will address in subsequent posts. The short of it however, is that in Humanity's Reign, Humans will be the primary Race and in Humanity's Ruin, Demi-Humans will be.

So, currently I am planning on going with having Players roll 3d6, assigning the highest to the 'Prime' Stat for their Class and the remaining two scores (three if I decide to go with a 'Composure' Stat) go in order for the other two (or three) Stats.

On Stat Bonuses: Like Stat Values, Stat Bonus calculations vary widely on their mathematical determination depending on version of M20 you are playing. Purest Essence says, "Stat bonus = (STAT-10)/2, round down." On the high side, this could grant a +4 bonus with an eighteen Stat Value ((18-10)/2). Though this corresponds to the source material, I am much more partial to the normal spread found in older versions of the game, ranging from -3 to +3 with the bell curve resting on a +0 for the 9 to 12 range.

So, do I want to stick with the convention established with Purest Essence and the SRD, or do I want to tone it down and flatten the bell curve bit? This is a harder question to answer in my opinion, and one that I am not ready to decide upon at this time. Advantage goes to flattening the bell curve for the gritty feel I want, but unlike changing the Stat names, changing it adds one more hurdle for compatibility.

I hope you have enjoyed watching my head implode over what might be thought of as trivial decisions, but I would REALLY like to hear some input, or thoughts, on the matter.

TB

Making A Pocketmod Book

2011-12-09T22:30:00.001-06:00

While I sat and ruminated on my last post I considered how I was going to release it. I really like Pocketmods, but for a book, even a small one, more than one would be required. How would I break down the data? Some folks have released four to five Pocketmods, each with its own topic. For example; one for character creation, one for Divine Spells, one for Arcane Spells, one for Monsters, etc.

Looking at my computer desk... I would lose 'em! Sure they are easy to print out, cut, fold, and enjoy, but I wanted something all-in-one. Then I found this:

Instructions can be found HERE. Which utilizes four individual Pocketmods bound with kite string into a single book. That might just work for what I have in mind! That is thirty-two pages of Microlite20 goodness right there. Depending on font, it could work, if legible.

Then I found this from the same author, icspots:

Yep, that is 50+ pages! Her instructions for this little beauty can be found HERE.

What say you?

TB

I Am Truly Torn...

2011-12-08T21:05:00.001-06:00

About what I should/want to be doing. I just got done watching an... 'interesting' movie, The Lost Future. Surprisingly, it wasn't terrible, but I digress. At the moment, I am considering whether to go play Oblivion, Blog about how I want to implement Microlite20, or read the latest version of Beacon (release 5, as of this post).

Life seems to answer many of my questions for me as I procrastinate; the living room (where the Xbox is) is full of kids watching T.V., and though I need to read Beacon before my pending play-test, I don't want it's greatness to influence my first decision on how I want to tweak the system to give the setting its own feel.

So to get started, for those that aren't familiar with Microlite20, "it is a trimmed-down, subminiature version of the Primary Fantasy SRD rules (see license for more info) that has been designed to be quick and easy to play. The goal was to create a simpler game, but one where all of the resources of Primary Fantasy SRD (monsters, spells, adventures and equipment) could be used without conversion."" ~ Microlite20 Purest Essence.

Basic Microlite20 kicks things off with Stats. It only uses three of the six 'common' stats you would find in other fantasy role-playing games, and its source SRD; Strength, Dexterity, and Mind. Charisma is a commonly house-ruled stat, though I am somewhat torn on its use myself. But, I am not sure that I want to use any of them for this incarnation of the system to represent adventurers in Humanity's Reign & Ruin (referred to as simply HR&R from here onward).

My intention for HR&R is for it to be gritty and low magic. How can I reflect this through the rules even now, as I approach "putting pen to paper"? Stats. Perhaps, rather than be conventional, I can convey the gritty feel now. As I skim the basic rules, something caught my eye. Something that always catches my eye, "Note that there are no “saving throws” in this game; use Physical + STR or DEX bonus for Fortitude and Reflex saves. Saving against magic (Will save) is usually MIND bonus + your level."

Everyday in HR&R should be a day to save versus something, so why not just use these commonly removed items for stats? Perhaps I should just use; Fortitude, Reflex, and Will, instead or Strength, Dexterity, and Mind. If players have a preconceived notion of this verbiage being associated with 'saving their proverbial bacon', then could having them as stats convey the gritty life threatening nature of the setting I want to produce? Or, as I fear (1), this would be too large a step away from the conventional?

Well that is the first small stumbling block in my path to getting underway, getting what is in my head and in a small mound of written notes, into a congealed setting and rules set.

I would love to hear some thoughts on this.

Best,
TB

(1) Thought on Fear as I wrote the above post: How to project it into the game, by implementing some mechanic that makes sense?

Pocket Encounters...

2011-12-08T17:14:00.001-06:00

Digging this... A modifiable Pocketmod of Telecanter's silhouettes, for encounter booklets!

Sorry, just wanted to give this a quick 'shout out'. Probably gonna post more tonight about Microlite20, so if you like that kind of thing, stay tuned.

TB

It's Got Me!!!

2011-12-07T19:05:00.001-06:00

Yep, my addictive personality had me go out and buy the Elder Scrolls: Oblivion game for Xbox because my cheap personality waits for Elder Scrolls: Skyrim to be beaten by youngens, so I can pick it up on the cheap, used....

Well, now I am fully addicted to it! Too bad the 3d person view stinks on ice! Thankfully, the nausia I get from 1st person limits my play time, or I would get NO sleep.

Back to bashing baddies...
TB

Not Sure Why I Am Posting This...

2011-12-06T19:11:00.001-06:00

But, since I posted a while back what I like: Mounted Characters, I thought I would post about what I don't like, or at least what doesn't make a lot of sense to me. Putting this down in a blog kind of surprises me - since they may be construed as being non-old-school.

Dungeons. Yep don't like 'em. They make no sense to me what-so-ever. A small one under a castle for prisoners, sure, but a large one for whatever reason... nah. Natural caverns, sure. A mega-dungeon? Not in my worlds. I can even go with some Dwarven mines and some billeting for the miners, but a conventional dungeon.... Why is it there? Specially when most have no rhyme or reason for their shape? Pass!
Vancian Magic. Another of the love-it or leave-it topics. I will just have to leave it. I feel so dirty... I guess it falls into my love of low-magic preference, but something as... incredible as magic, leaving your conscience after you cast it... nah.
Hit Points. Okay, I don't not like them, but the idea of them being 'wounds' is outside my level-headed obsessive compulsive comprehension. The best I can succinctly refer to them as, at this moment, is Resolve. I guess 'damage' falls into the same sphere. The best way I can explain my take on it is that it isn't damage to your opponent, but rather Advantage for the attacker....
Treasure. Not that I don't like it, but it makes no sense to me in the grand scheme of things either. I mean, why does a clan of Goblins have 'treasure' in the form of gold. Sure they are somewhat intelligent, but I just don't see them hording it either. What use do they have for it? I don't see them bartering with humans or demi-humans with it. It just seems to me that a society of chaotic, dungeon dwelling, defecate in the corner of their own 'living room', type of monsters wouldn't give... well two copper for the gold that humanity puts so much value into. If they are "intelligent" you would think they would push it all out under a tree or something to keep the big mean adventurers from ransacking their home. Now a bag of fungus spores... now that is worth fighting for!

I'll stop there before you think I shouldn't be allowed to blog about classic gaming and leave it on a high note:

Mounted Dwarves!! (Yes, again, pic used without permission and I have completely forgot where it originated from, but as always it can be removed should the originator request)

TB

Critical Hits...

2011-12-05T15:38:00.001-06:00

Something about -C's post here, has me thinking about an easy way to do Critical Hits. The post there really only mentions Critical Hits in passing, but something made me think, 'taking a penalty to hit should equate to something like a called shot, which in turn should cause more damage.' It was probably the similarities of how HPs started higher than other games at first level for Hackmaster. Same is true with my current rules preference; Microlite20.

This lead me to the following, which is not currently play-tested:

Taking a negative modifier to hit (say -3) will ~~reduce~~ increase the chance of a Critical (usually a natural 20) by an equal amount (17-20 in this example).

Typically in Microlite20, Critical Hits equate to max damage, but considering the inflated HPs that a character starts off with (typically Con Score, plus modifier, plus 1d6) we are looking at a rather large beginning threshold. I think to play-test it, a critical will do max damage + damage die roll (keeping in mind that my version of said mechanics will be 1d6 HP and Damage dice, exclusively). This could lead to 2d6 or 2-12 points of "damage" on a critical, which I think will scale well with the increased HP at 1st level

Part of me wants to make the damage die roll exploding as well, similar to what is described in the above linked post mentioned with Hackmaster.

I hope this will dovetail nicely with other alternate rules that I want to interject, such as Shields Shall Splinter (need to find link to originator) and some other choice bits.

Thanks for reading, and let me know what you think...
TB

PS - I hope the new style is acceptable. My old eyes don't care much for black print on white expanses much anymore.

Help Me Find A Site...

2011-12-04T21:17:00.001-06:00

Googling my arse off and for the life of me I can't find it! It was a 'random nemesis success' table. Each 'x' amount of in-game time, you rolled to see what success or failure a particular nemesis, protagonist, villain had. You had to acquire enough points (totals of your rolls) before the arch-villain could move on. It was a 'ticking clock' in the background so-to-speak.

Anyone know where I can find this?

Best,
TB

Firmly In The Less Is More Camp...

2011-12-04T17:58:00.001-06:00

Minimal systems are currently my preference. My Gamer ADD/OCD tends to have me wondering, so rules heavy systems don't seem to last. An example of a borderline too rules heavy system is Savage Worlds, that I began mulling over a while ago. I stopped then on page 78 and haven't returned.

I am currently fully entrenched in Microlite20, but what factoids I have gleaned from developing Savage Worlds - Plot Point Settings are interesting. For example; Plot Points, Set Pieces, and Adventure Paths and Delving into Design: Echo of Dead Leaves (Part II) (interesting reads if Plot Point Settings appeal to you). I am planning to attempt a similar tact while pushing ahead on a Microlite20 house rule set for Humanity's Reign & Ruin.

As I had mentioned, I envision Humanity's Reign & Ruin as being two settings, a before and after kind of thing. Humanity's Reign, as a middling magic, human-centric, middle-ages - with monsters, affair. The subsequent setting; Humanity's Ruin, a demi-human-centric, pronounced magic, humans are rare, dark and gritty - with monsters, affair. They tie together with my, for now only in notes and mind, game history.

Currently my approach to presenting these two, tied together, settings is going to be a short paragraph about each and allow the Rules, Tables (thanks to Zak's How I Want To Hear About Your Setting), and Plot Point Setting adventures to speak for themselves. I have a mental image of what, and how, the world and things in it coalesce, but have no desire to put out an expansive Setting PDF on it that no one wants to read. I think a simple Gazetteer focusing on the above, with maps, should suffice. Then six to eight Plot Points, with all the entail, for adventure.

At the moment, I am speculating on whether a Plot Point Zero adventure is in order? I think it would be interesting for the first adventure to be the 'lead-into the fall of Humanity' and have the Plot Point Setting Adventures lead up to that experience that the Players would have already experienced.

Thoughts on a Plot Point Zero for Humanity's Reign & Ruin?

Hopefully this is a beginning to an end...

Best,
TB

An Awesome Free, No Download, Table!

2011-12-01T21:27:00.001-06:00

This has to be seen to believed!!!

It's called Taeble, and yes it is intentionally spelled wrong, but it rocks!

You can save it, host a game on it, and best of all customize it by bringing in maps and pieces from your PC or the Web! Nice! And it already comes with all standard D&D dice...

I so want to try this out with maybe Skype....

TB

A Shout Out

2011-11-30T18:30:00.001-06:00

To the players of the 4e Darksun game "Sun Burn: Wealth and Death in Athas"

Something I threw together since I found The Bunny Kit on a RuneScape Forum. Kit used with permission from Ethan Wykes creator of TheBunnyKit, which can be found at http://thebunnykit.deviantart.com/

Looking forward to our next game!

TB

Legend

2011-11-28T20:04:00.001-06:00

Over on Stargazer's World, I caught a whiff of a variant d20 OGL game named Legend by Rule of Cool.

"The Legend system core rulebook is now available! Until December 9th, it can be accessed on a pay-what-you-want basis. All proceeds from the book go to benefit Child’s Play." - quoted from site.

Check it out, donate (it's a good cause), and download. It is an interesting take on the conventional d20 rules set, with subtle changes that reflect an interesting take on the OGL (through pg30 ATM). Perhaps a review once I finish Savage Worlds. Also, additional material is promised as financial goals are reached.

TB

Why do I think...

2011-11-28T15:52:00.001-06:00

...Mounted characters are cooler? Case in point: Dwarven Warrior, or this?! (Note: all images used without permission and I will gladly remove them at the request of the artist.)

Or even this?

Place a character on a mount and they get infinitely cooler in my book, for some reason. Maybe it is the added power the mount gives them, though I have never professed to be a min/max power gamer. Past that basic observation, the rationalization of the epic awesomeness - that is mounted characters - eludes me.

My take on the best mount for some of the fantasy staples include;

Dwarves on Dire Bears
Orc on Dire Boars
Goblins on Worgs
Halflings on Raptors (Wolves/Dogs are alright, but come on, Halflings really need something epic IMHO)
Gnomes on Ostriches or Mountain Goats (terrain dependent)

Thoughts?

Another must, in my book, is pets. I know where this philosophical predisposition comes from though. From an image I can't seem to find on the webs, that I saw when I first got interested in D&D, of either an Orc or Hobgoblin (Shaman I think) with a staff and two Dire Rats on chains, as pets. Then there was a module that had an image of a man in studded leather loosing his two war dogs. Think he was a warehouse guard or something...

Am I alone in this? Or, as suspected, I have finally lost it?

TB

Adventures In Dark Sun 4E

2011-11-26T23:02:00.001-06:00

Tonight was the first official meeting of our new 4e group, and I think a good time was had by all.

Scott: Evil DM
Chris: Shah - Male Genasi Bladesinger
Jeff: Torin - Male Dragonborn Warlord (*Edit* Found out it is Torrin)
Kim: Sadine - Female Human Rogue (*Edit* Found out it is Sadime)
Myself: Finnan - Male Halfling Ranger

[Note: I may have spelled names wrong and gotten the exact Race/Class wrong, but it is what I understood at the time. I also slip in and out of first and third person a lot... sue me.]

The following recap is based on my tired recollection, from the perspective of a corn-rolled black haired, heavily scarred, beaten, and mad (read psychotic) cannibal Halfling....

We started off with an introduction encounter to learn the ropes. It was an ambush encounter along a path in the woods, by some "Ambush Spiders" - eight to be exact - if I recall correctly. Kim and I were the only two left standing after the encounter, and I think it could have been a TPK if the DM would have played the spiders to the hilt. Being used to older editions from years ago, I wanted to push just how far I could take the new rules and the DM. Seeing the Genasi, a race that I - nor my character - were familiar with, become a translucent form of sandman and sand-step across the battlefield, I had to try it! They all looked at me as if I were mad, and maybe they were right. I told the DM I wanted to do what he did, and describing myself spinning like a dust devil and trying to 'slide' across the sand. I rolled well, as I recall, and went into an attack were I then rolled a '1'. A critical fumble based on the house rules...Dizzy is what I got! good times!

But, basics were learned and lessons taken away...

Primer out of the way, cards were handed out to individuals that set the stage for our current predicament. I still don't know what the others cards read. Mine explained that following the events of my self created back-story, where I was kidnapped by Tri-Keen slavers, I was sold to a Templar of Tyr named Gorix, where I was badly beaten. A Human Female named Shantee sheltered me and took care of me while imprisoned as a slave. For whatever reason, I was packed up and shipped out in a caged caravan heading to who-knows-where.

Arriving at an oasis in the desert, our caravan housing; Torin, Sadine, and I, stopped to trade with another caravan who held Shah. Our caravan leader, a nasty Tri-keen, began to barter with the caravan leader of the other caravan, who was Elven.

Mid negotiations, a desert storm kicked up blinding us and choking us out. When we came to, we prisoners were all that were left alive. Shah sand-shifted through his bars, Torin ripped his cage apart with brute force, and Sadine picked the lock of her cage. I tried to kick the roof out of my cage to no avail and went a little Halfling mad, bouncing around my cage like a wild chimpanzee.

Seeing Sadine (a Human Female) scavenging the bodies outside my cage, I telepathically asked her to help me out. I suppose I shouldn't have referred to her as "Shartee" when I did though.... after some role-play, I believe she thought me mad. As they were about to depart they discussed what to do with me. Reluctantly Sadine picked the lock to my cage and set me free. I knew nothing of the group dynamic from a character perspective. I had spent my time rocking in the corner of my cage until freed.

I gathered my gear and discovered that Shah had appointed himself as guide and leader of the group while taking all items from the Elven caravan as "his personal" equipment. He is a smug SOB in character... Anyway, I kinda took a shine to Sadine, aka Shantee to me, and when Shah asked me what I could provide to the group I suggested I could help carry some gear. He wanted more, but I just stared at him. He asked again. I just moved my mini over behind Kim's, gave her a 'puppy-dog' look, and stared back at Shah's Player. Sadine didn't come to my aid, but Shah finally relented and allowed me to "tag along", and leading, headed out South-South-West....

"Wait! We're going the wrong direction." I say. I had looked at the map earlier. Tyr was South of the Wildernes Mountain Ridges that I was from. South of that was desert, and more desert. We didn't know how long we had been in the desert, but I knew (or wasn't told by the DM) about going through the mountains either. So based on this, I assumed we were heading deeper into the desert... Sadine was not too excited about going back to her home of Tyr, nor was Torin too keen on returning to his place of origin either. Figuring Shah was a self professed 'desert guide' they followed him, and I them. So, we followed Shah.

After several hours of travel we setup camp in some rocky outcroppings. Torin volunteered to take first shift and Sadine suggested that we work in pairs. I moved my mini to hers, but the group agreed that I would stand watch with Torin. Nothing happened our first five hours and we switched out. Just a half hour later, Shah perceives something. Torin, wearing just his shield as a blanket, and I, in my studded leather, got caught in a surprise assault of two large scorpions that came scuttling out of the darkness toward us. Sadine snuck around an outcropping to come in on their rear, but they moved faster than I thought they would.

One each attacked the Dragonborn and I. Getting a buff for the one that Torin had stood to attack, I rolled so as to not be attacked by the scorpion on me (5' shift), and dual attacked the one that he had bloodied. It went down the next round, either by Torin or Shah's Magic-Missile from above (he had taken watch from the outcropping above that we had sheltered under, but not before it grabbed me. So now I am held by a large dead scorpion while Torin got dressed no less!

Sadine sneak attacked the other and it turned on her. "No you don't" and I rolled back the other way toward it, after freeing myself, stating I was going to grapple the tail before it stung her. BAM! a 20! I immobilized it just about the time another GIANT Scorpion climbed up on the outcropping to attack Shah. Shah moved down and over onto another smaller outcropping to engage the larger scorpion when he discovered that it was "a beast" of a monster. Far worse than the "LARGE" ones that began the assault. It came over the edge for the three of us after Shah's retreat. I managed to pull off great rolls on a daily power; Sure Shot and Shah popped it with another Magic-Missile. Down it went.

Shah catches sight of another GIANT scorpion coming in from the other direction and Sadine moved to intercept. It grabbed her and Shah hit it with a Magic-Missile. Sadine broke loose as Torin closed and I tried to fire off a dual shot. Natural '1'! (In Dark Sun weapons break. I could have tried a re-roll, but if I missed, my bow was toast. I chose not to risk it. Torin then gets caught up in the pincers of the Scorpion as he blocked for Sadine, and Shah closed, receiving a second attack attempt from the pinned Warlord's buff. It missed. Having the Scorpion 'bloodied', Torin decides to spit his acid breath on the giant scorpion! Template attack, and Shah is caught up in the attack but saves taking no damage. The Scorpion went down in a rig-goring pile of carapace and jellied entrails!!!

I still think we are going the wrong direction, but at least I am halfway to 2nd level!

*Que victor music*

All-in-all, great role-playing! Interesting using minis, which I wasn't used to, and combat didn't take as long as I had feared it would. Three large combat/role-play scenes between four and ten o'clock, with about a half-hour break to order pizza. It should go faster now that we all have a good grip of our character sheets (a must IMHO for fast combats in this version of D&D). Koodoes to Scott, the DM, for making all the role-play possible and not letting it be the 'board-game on steroids' I thought it could be!

Piece!
TB

It's Savage I Tell Ya!

2011-11-25T19:47:00.001-06:00

With me playing in a new 4e game, with a new group tomorrow, what do I find myself doing? Going over the rules? Checking out my character so I can hopefully recall the multitude of things he can do? Nope! I am reading the Savage Worlds Deluxe PDF that I just bought in a bundle with Suzerain Pocket Universe on RPGnow! for $19.95.

I don't know if I will do a write-up on it as a review. There are plenty of those out there already I think. I will say that I was leery of buying it for its apparent necessity for miniatures. Then, when I read a review online about the Deluxe version having suggestion on how to get around this, I caved. Also, at 161 pages it is digestible... at least so far. I am on page 68.

Game on!
TB

"Locked" In Combat....

2011-11-23T21:28:00.001-06:00

Yes, it has been a while. I am tired, lacking individuality, and creativity at the moment. But, I have to get back to blogging....

I just wanted to expound on something I thought of while reading through, and cleaning out, some blog posts in my bookmarks. Namely on these from Zak and Telecanter back in... April, I believe.

Procedural Lockpicking - by Telecanter

Making Picking Locks Fun, Disarming traps + Die Drop Fumbles - by Zak

I think based on reading these and my current project, I wonder how cool it would be to make this into a combat mechanic? Something like:

(1) Bump = Block
(2) Probe = Thrust
(3) Rake = Slash
(4) Twist = Dodge

Need to take out a goblin, roll 4d4 and read them as what must be done to take them out: (2-Thrust, 4-Dodge, 4-Dodge, 3-Slash). Once the Player 'unlocks' the necessary move combination they get to describe how the Goblin is taken out. If they miss by one, they are 'stiff' and all unsolved dice are re-rolled (randomized)? If they miss by two, they are 'jammed', take a wound, and all unsolved dice are randomized?

In the spirit of Trollsmyth's "Shields Shall Splinter", perhaps getting 'jammed', the character could sacrifice a shield or some armor to avoid it like Zak's "Get out of jam free" cards?

I have NO idea what I am talking about actually but the idea sounds interesting... Not very Old School, but... hey, I'm blogging again!

As always,
TB

It Was Bound To Happen

2011-11-16T22:03:00.001-06:00

It has happened again... I have had a mind jarring revelation when I should be working/writing on my latest projects. Based on a small fact, that I am sure others are already aware of, when it comes to role-playing; I am Lex Luthor.

First allow me to brain dump the sources of this epiphany before I elaborate:

Zak talked about, "Sandboxes And The Roguish Work Ethic"

Beedo commented that, "Story Matters, But Loot Pays the Bills"

Answers, in part, to my earlier "Click... Click... Boom!" post about Motivations. Both address Player motivation more, but they do give me some insight.

I grok why and how to get a Player to push headlong into a dungeon of traps, mystery, and dark, but I am still floundering why the Character would do so without it being a game of Russian Roulette...

TB

Where Did I Go?

2011-06-11T20:45:00.000-05:00

Not sure anyone has noticed, but I have disappeared lately. I have fallen into the Clockworks of Spiral Knights and refuse to come out! I am 100% addicted to this game! It is F2P, for the most part, and is Java based (yes, I used to hate java games too, but this one is pretty high tech). You are limited by the amount of Mist Energy you get (takes Mist Energy to adventure into the 'dungeons')

To the left you can see my character, Baines. His is decked out in Magic Hood, Magic Cloak, Owlite Shield, Bomb and Sword in this particular SC. I have gone almost pure bomber currently with bomber armor and equipment.

If you check it out and make it out of the training area called The Rescue Camp and into Haven, add me as a friend and mention the blog. I will do what I can to help you out. It can be challenging in the beginning getting "self sufficient".

Best,
The Bane

Weathering the Weather

2011-05-10T21:10:00.000-05:00

Over on Roles, Rules, and Rolls, Roger blogged about 'My Take on Damage from Travel.' I have seen, and used, many rules that pertain to environmental challenges. Some worked, some didn't. I thought about the ones I liked and bounced it of his 'requirements':

Players traveling in less than ideal conditions should risk daily damage to Hit Points.
The damage must be real Hit Points and heal in the standard manner - no extra bookkeeping.
The damage should scale, so that high level characters do not outlast low level ones to a ridiculous degree.
Easy to remember.

and decided for me the easiest approach to cover these areas and 'get-the-job-done' would simply take what is already there and use it: Elementals. Make it combat against the Elements, which it is in a sense. Cold? Through some Water and Air Elementals at them. Just describe it as a cold wind that cuts through their clothing and slices to the bone. Rain and mud slogging conditions? Water and Earth Elementals. "Attacks' would be building a fire, finding shelter, layering/removing clothes, etc. Give them a chance to hit with a d6 damage every time they take proper precautions or actions to circumvent the effects.

Base the AC of the 'Elementals' on how well the party is prepared for the condition. HPs based on how 'strong' the conditions are to over come.

Well, just a tip from your 'Uncle Larry',
TB

City Crawling (pt2)

2011-05-08T20:14:00.005-05:00

So I finished with the city. Ok, it might not be finished, but it is usable (I think). Just don't feel motivated to do anything else to it:

It looked better before I merged the layers down in GIMP. There wasn't all the white lines between the 'buildings'. Does bring to mind the cities I have been running in on Assassin's Creed.

Best,
TB

Edit: No Background

City Crawling (pt1)

2011-05-08T16:56:00.000-05:00

I have been enamored with Zak's Urban Crawl Rules for Slacker DMs since I found the post. I am not one for a lot of 'round' lines in an urban environment map, so I squared everything off using Libre Office (Open Office split since the buy out) Impress so I could quickly copy/paste the words and numbers. Again, just a thought experiment that I want to play out while I blog.

I am going to try this for the Manors, Villages, and Town/City of the Mini-Gazetteer I have been fiddling with. Zak started with Ten neighborhood and represented them with the words 'ONE' thru 'TEN' randomly written on a sheet of paper with varying colors of marker. This is a large City in my view, and was wondering how big various urban areas should be for a more 'medieval' feel. Ok, too much thinking, again. Go random, it is all the rage anyway:

Manor: 1 Neighborhood
Village: 1d4 Neighborhoods
Town: 1d6 Neighborhoods
City: 1d8 Neighborhoods
L. City:1d10 Neighborhoods

I am considering a single 'Neighborhood' as a flat 'footprint' of the urban area. It could, and probably should, have several 'levels' for larger urban settlements. I mean, If I roll a 1 on a 1d10 for a Large City, that small of a footprint will not house the populace. It would have to be built vertically instead of horizontally to do so.

Rolling a d8 for the City of Yorkcast I got a 4. So, four neighborhoods. I could arrange the words; one, two, three, and four for the neighborhood layout, but I don't want every city to have the same number words. So I want to roll a d10 for times to find the number words I will use for this exercise; four, eight, three, and three.

Off to copy/paste the words into a new slide... Done, but how should they be positioned? Starting with the first number, four, I decide that another random roll is in order: 1d4 (1 normal, 2 +90, 3 +180, 4 +270). A 2, so rotating the 'four' ninety degrees... Now the 'eight'... a 3, so one-hundred and eighty degrees... place on the 1d4 side of the 'four', starting at 12 o'clock as position 1 and going clock wise... a 4, or left side... now for the other two 'three's...

I moved some stuff around and added a protective wall:

Somethings just scream out at me now, as a visual thinker. For example, two entrances, one in the South connected to the 'T' in 'THREE' and one to the West connected to the last 'T' in 'EIGHT'. Add some towers, etc... (and trim the image so it doesn't take up a huge white chunk of the blog!)

Next I will overlay a random number (1-0) over each letter of the neighborhood to show back alleys and such. More to come after I watch some 'Merlin'...

Best,
TB

Nine Pages of Awesome!

2011-05-07T18:38:00.000-05:00

Over at GreyWulf's Lair, he has graciously provided a 9 page PDF of Undungeon. Though I have been too busy to post recently, I had to take a moment to link this. I really like it!

As the title suggests, nine pages of awesome.

TB

Making Variable Damage Make Sense To Me.

2011-04-28T19:13:00.000-05:00

As I had mentioned in my previous post, 1d6 or Variable Weapons Damage, I have made the switch to 1d6 for personal preference. But, if I continue on with my train of thought, supported by the previous poll, that HPs are a representation of stamina and ones ability to defend ones self while the Strength, or even Constitution, attribute takes the physical blood letting wound damage, I can progress.

**Random Thoughts**

Perhaps defending against daggers and quicker weapons reduces the opponent's Stamina faster than the less rapid form of fighting with heavier weapons, but heavier weapons do more damage than the lighter quicker variants when they hit?

Dagger 1d10 to HPs (Stamina), 1d4 to Ability (Wounds)
S. Sword 1d8 to HPs (Stamina), 1d6 to Ability (Wounds)
L. Sword 1d6 to HPs (Stamina), 1d8 to Ability (Wounds)
2H. Sword 1d4 to HPs (Stamina), 1d10 to Ability (Wounds)

Critical hits (usually on a natural 20, though some versions span this out for some odd reason to 19-20, 18-20, etc. depending on weapon) could go straight through to Ability wounds.

In a system where level approaches something akin to experience, perhaps it could play a part in the by passing of taxing the opponent and just 'going for the kill'? Maybe the difference between the level of the attacker and the level/hd of the defender is the range for potential critical. Where a 4th level Fighter attacking a 2hd Monster would crit on 18-20?

But isn't this already addressed with most systems having some form of attack bonus as they level, and how does it play-out?

Perhaps the advantage of level experience should be on the backside of the hit adding the attacker's level, or level difference, to the Ability damage.

I don't know which to start with for play-testing, but I like the general concept and think it lends itself to what I envision as an exchange in combat. I think the difference in level to level or level to hd for additional damage is more what I am looking for, but do you add it to the reduction of Stamina too?

Too many questions to speculate on at the moment. One that just occurred to me is, does this diverge too far from core old school sensabilities?

Best,
TB

1d6 or Variable Weapons Damage?

2011-04-27T14:53:00.000-05:00

Over on the Blood of Prokopius blog, the discussion of Variable Weapons Damage using Holmes & Cook. Now, not one to get involved in various version discussions, I was compelled to address Variable Weapons Damage vs. a straight d6 damage model. As I stated there, I grew up on BECMI D&D and have recently switched to S&W:WB. One of the reasons, and as my previous poll alluded to, is that I no longer see a successful 'hit' as a blood drawing wound. So, if I don't, then why make a larger weapon do more damage? I can easily see a dagger wielding foe causing me to 'dance' from a flurry of slashes and thrusts in a round much more so than the swipe of a large axe. Granted a large axe will probably kill me faster when it does connect, as opposed of a death of a thousand cuts from a small blade.

All that said, I had been planning on going with a HP = Stamina / STR = Wound combat exchange anyway, so why not take it a tad further? What if a fast dagger wielding foe did 1d10 'damage' to my Stamina (aka HPs) but only did 1d4 to my STR once real 'wounds' started flowing? And a battle axe flailing barbarian does 1d4 'damage' to my Stamina and 1d10 to my STR?

Or at least something resembling that, should I ever have the desire to go back to Variable Weapons Damage.

Please, go check out my ramblings on Blood of Prokopius, where I might have made more sense, and have a look around. Nice blog if you haven't been there. Tell 'em a rambling idiot sent ya. = )

Best,
TB

By the way, I am heavily sedated on bed-rest at the moment, so please bare with me.

Mini-Gazetteer: Work in Progress...

2011-04-20T23:20:00.001-05:00

Suppose to be studying for my Security + exam.... bah! more Mini-Gazetteer! Trying to figure out how I want to present it...

Barony of Malvethan: Background
This newly formed barony sits on the Northern border of Aerialdon. It was formed just forty years ago when Sir Deniam Yorkcast, leading a force of Aerialdon troops, pushed out the Goblin occupation that was raiding Aerialdon, and other lands to the South, from these lands. As a result Sir Deniam Yorkcast and a select few of his men were given estates within the lands now known as the Barony of Malvethan. Though the pre-existing independent towns and village were unable to work together to handle the previous Goblin infestation, some local inhabitants still do not like the current occupation any better under the current rule of Baron Deniam Yorkcast and his Manor Knights.

Barony of Malvethan: Populace

Bytenyr Estate (2 Manors): This small estate sits on the Northern boarder of the barony's lands and is the first line of defense for Baron Yorkcast.

[#4018] Ruler: Sir Enem Bytenyr, (Manor Knight | F4); Align: C (Supported); Motivation: Greed; Pop: 106; Resources: 2/3 Herd Animals, 1/6 Timber, 1/6 Copper; Forces: Hvy Cavalry x2 (F3-Knights), Lt Cavalry x4 (F2-Squires), Cleric (C3), 12 Med Footmen (F1)
[#4020] Ruler: Sir Toldat Oldpol, (Knight \ F3); Align: L (Ambivalent); Motivation: Duty; Pop: 98; Resources: 2/3 Grain, 1/3 Timber; Forces: Hvy Cavalry x2 (F3-Knights), Lt Cavalry x3 (F2-Squires), Friar (C1), 10 Med Archers (F1)

Rumors:
1 To the East, [#4517] a hungry dragon eats the flesh of man. (T&F)
2 Sir Bytenyr is planning to assassinate Sir Oldpol (F)
3 Sir Bytenyr's has dug too deep in the mines and has awoken a Wraith [#4117]. (T&F)
4 Sir Bytenyr is not well. (T)
5 Sir Oldpol wants to protect the village of West Minoford [#3721] from raiding Orcs! [#3422] (T)
6 A young girl went missing at the bend of the road East of West Minoford (T). She was swollowed whole by a giant snake that lives in the River Minoview there! (F)
7 Sir Bytenyr has promised riches to his serfs that will dig in the mines. (T, but has no intention of paying up)
8 Gazing into Minoview on a full moon will cause you to turn into a werewolf! (F)
Random Encounters: Day / Night
2 Wyvern / Wyvern [#4517] 2.78 Special
3 5.56 V. Rare
4 8.33 Rare
5 11.11 Uncommon
6 Foot Patrol (Squire, 2 Archers, 2 Footmen) / Horse Patrol (Knight, 4 Cavalry) 13.89 Common
7 16.67 Typical
8 13.89 Common
9 11.11 Uncommon
10 8.33 Rare
11 5.56 V. Rare
12 2.78 Special

Ognurlar Estate
Tobelark Estate
Rethysek Estate
Ganut Estate
Haverosse Estate
Urullik Estate
Codamor Estate

Village of West Minoford, Neutral
Village of West Crossmouth, Lawful
Village of Oakandria, Lawful
Village of East Witvale, Neutral
Village of Swordburgh, Lawful
Village of Satunbee, Neutral
Village of Witwarren, Chaotic

The Writing Actually Begins!

2011-04-10T14:30:00.000-05:00

My Decleration of Intent seems to have gotten my mind right! The writing has begun and the big change for me, other than scrapping a large chunk of the bad fiction, is that I have decided to use Microlite20 as my go-to-rules set. I realize that many might not consider it 'OS' to use an SRD derivative work, but playing with Microlite20 with my girls sure has the old style vibe for me. Take it or leave it, I am confident that I have made the right choice. Especially after working on something as small as the Mini-Gazetteer using S&W:WB.

Just a rough mockup for a cover. Though, I am not sure what more I would want in one to be honest. Alot of my layout inspiration is coming from Beacon at the moment.

Best,
TB

Declaration of Intent

2011-04-09T11:55:00.000-05:00

Wow, what a week!

I haven't done much blogging this week, but I have been thinking some. Mostly about two things; what house-rules do I want / need to get the feel of the setting that I am trying to convey, and to a lesser extent, what rules should I use to base it on? The second, surprisingly, for me got answered thinking about the first, for the most part.

Design considerations. I wanted something that gives the feel of older style play, rulings not rules. I have two distinct settings / feels within Ukarea history that need to be covered. Produce something! - I have been ruminating on this for years, time to finally get a product out. Show, don't tell - it is more than just a presentation goal - time to put something down in digits from the myriad of notes. Scrap 80-90% of my notes! It is mostly bad fiction anyway. Less reading, and more writing. The more blogs I read the more 'great ideas' I have, but the less writing / development I do.

Ok, this blog post may not mean much to anyone reading it, but it is a major step for me I believe. More to come on my decisions and why. But for now, I am just excited to have finally made some solid decisions.

Thanks for stopping by,
TB

Bookmark Clearance

2011-04-04T22:18:00.000-05:00

While digging through a multitude of bookmarks, to see what I could dislodge from the browser, I found two that I had forgotten about and would like to share:

Dawn of Worlds: a minimalistic world creation game that allows you and your gaming group to build a full fledged setting from ground up. Roll some dice, spend the points on anything from terrain creation to cultural explosion and wars. When the evenings over, you should have a map, time-line, and a lot of fun!

The Mule Abides: 9 Minute Campaign Design. An old post from Nov 2009 that asks questions to assist in describing your campaign setting in '9' minutes...

Nope, I can't do it either. But interesting none-the-less.

Enjoy,
TB

Poll: Every Hit Point of Damage is a...

2011-04-04T19:02:00.002-05:00

Seeing a few of the recent posts on 'critical hits' and 'damage below 0' tables, I pulled up an old Trollsmyth bookmark: Playing with Death and Dismemberment. Why I had bookmarked it in the first place wasn't for a critical hit table, but for the novel idea of helm affects that were presented. Something that actually gives a reason for writing 'helm' on the character sheet in Oe D&D!

Now in retrospect, I like the idea of how it strengthens the idea that hit points are not necessarily physical, or at least not major life changing physical, until you get to below zero. I have often toyed with the idea of changing the name of Hit Points to something else, but just could not find the right noun. Besides, I might be burned as a heritic.

With this however, I imagine that armor would be better suited as DR. I don't know. What I am curious about is how do you envision/play-out hit points in your game?

Best,
TB

Mini-Gazetteer: Thought Experiment

2011-04-03T15:46:00.000-05:00

I got side-tracked doing research for Ukarea and thought I would take a break and work on the Mini-Gazetteer. I have the map I created earlier, and wanted to work on populations and how they corresponded to each other before adding a bit of detail to the notable NPCs. I started with this:

Originally I had some ideas, but none near enough to get a feel for the whole setting. So, I turned to some randomness and color:

1d6 (Ruler is:)
1-2 Lawful (Yellow)
3-4 Neutral (Green)
5-6 Chaotic (Black)

1d6 (Ruler is X by Populace:)
1-2 Opposed (Red)
3-4 Neutral (Blue)
5-6 Supported (Lt Green)

I was going to elaborate on the results, but think that I will leave it up to the interpretation of any GM that might want to use it.

Immediately things jump out at me; take the Haverosse Estate in the South-East. The estate's Vassal Knight is Neutral and opposed by his populace. The other two Haverosse Knights are Chaotic and the populace is ambivolant. Perhaps the Vassal Knight's people are unruley do to the success of the other two Haverosse Knight's? Perhaps, if the Chaotic Haverosse Knights throw in with the supported Chaotic Knight in the Urullik Estate, they could overthrow the Lawful Urullik Vassal Knight there? The supported Neutral Urullik Knight would probably not interject, and the Neutral Haverosse Vassal Knight could be usurped, turning the two estates 'Chaotic' and against the Baron in short order? As long as the populace in Haverosse did not change their oppinion of their rulers for doing so. (Reaction Roll please...)

I like it. Falls into the inspirational, without giving too much mind-numbing detail, I believe.

Thoughts?
(other than my spelling sucks: Blogger doesn't seem to want to assist me with it today)
TB

Getting Carried Away

2011-04-01T23:47:00.001-05:00

More GIMP Goodness: I was messing with the peel-back of the last image I had done, and suitably darkening up the Humanity's Ruin pic, when I decided to try something else...

Kinda wish I could figure out how to have the before/after knight showing rather than the castle before/after. But, I am digging it.

-EDIT-

Messing around...

Come again,
TB

Humanity's Ruin Image: A New Beginning

2011-04-01T21:38:00.002-05:00

So I started messing around with the Humanity's Ruin image and the OCD and ADD kicked in:

Humanity's Ruin: A New Beginning

Not exactly what I set out to do, but....

Thoughts?
TB

-EDIT-

While I was posting the above, I had GIMP minimized and when I returned to it, this was there:

Strange Results

I can't explain it... perhaps my keystrokes were still effecting the image? It was the only layer and was called Copy#8. Strange! If I could only do this to the 'Humanity's Reign' image!

Images for Ukarea

2011-04-01T20:35:00.000-05:00

I got to thinking I wanted some images for Ukarea. Searching the Internet I found this in the public domain:

Very nice for the human-sentric first half of Ukarea's history: Humanity's Reign (TM). I started looking for an image for the second half of Ukarea's history: Humanity's Ruin (TM)... Not so much luck. Then I got to thinking edit what you have! So I came up with these:

Reign 1

Reign 2

Reign 3

Ruin

I obviously have some work to do on the Ruin image. I don't like how the light on the leaning knight hits him, and want to add some shadow to the ruins.

I would love to hear which of the 3 Reign pictures I should use though...

Best,
TB

Click... Click... Boom!

2011-03-31T16:16:00.001-05:00

Motivations are Killing Me, Shoot me now!

Richard of richardthinks, wrote about weekend reading: D&D as heist, were he talked about the "...assumptions behind the play style", where a character would delve off into a dangerous setting for what equated to "...a long string of Russian Roulette spins."

What motivates a person (character) to risk playing or taking a potential series of life risking endeavors? Where is the motivation?

Richard linked to Michael Curtis's blog, The Society of Torch, Pole, and Rope, where he discussed, what I perceive as motivations, in the form of capers (The Acererak Caper), or heists, in the RPG settings.

This is great stuff, presented by both. Richard points out the lunacy of playing Russian Roulette style adventures, and Michael gives a motivation as to why to do just that. The motivation is however one-sided IMHO. I mean, yes, once you are committed to going after 'X' in the final sandbox climax adventure, granted levels of experience later, motivation is established. But, what kind of setting does such motivation birth?! This is a setting level motivation, where is the character level motivation?

Choo choo, hop on the thought train. Yes, "We need the Scepter of Sphinxster to save whatever", but why? A couple of options are; the world is a terrible awful mess - everyone knows it - and the PCs want to fix it - or - the world appears to be hunky-doory to most inhabitants - but the PCs know better - and want to fix it. Either way, how does this become an individual's motivation?

Greed is often an unwritten character background motivation, but if so - a weak one for reasons I will explain - or a player motivation. If greed was a strong setting motivator, the halls of every tomb would be littered with the bodies of the oppressed and poor when the characters entered. Why is the riches there anyway?! I think it is more a player's motivation. We get things from the game that we might not in real life. We can, through are character, become; rich, famous, leaders, etc. Again, that is fun motivation for the player, but why is the character's motivation hand-waved?

Granted, I have played in games where extensive backgrounds were required, to games where none were. Even with extensive backgrounds, none that I recall, were sufficient for the in-game life exhausting mission of perpetual Russian Roulette. Too often, IMO, character motivations are assumed from player motivations. I want to be rich! I am not gonna rob a bank (read, delve into a dungeon) because I don't want to pull the trigger! I'm scared to. But my character isn't! "To the Mines of Misery!" But what makes my character different than me? I think too often this is glossed over. Is, "Well, he is a hero...", sufficient?

Rolling into Discovery Station. I think this is where I fall way short at being a great GM. I discover the more I think about it, that I am a good GM, but not great and why 'Sandbox' Settings allude me. With a sandbox, you can't railroad that motivation. You have to take that, "I want revenge on the Black Bark Brigands for stealing my family's savings and forcing my mother into prostitution and my father into suicide!" into, "That's great, but to do that you have to plunder the Dungeons of Diabolic Dispare." I have to find the 'why' here, and often do not! What is the connection between the Dungeons of Diabolic Dispare and being able to have their revenge on the Black Bark Brigands?!! As a GM, I am detracting from the immersion of the player into the character that they want to play. Or, so I am beginning to believe.

IDK, maybe I am just waxy philosophical, or perhaps I am just losing my mind. I often wonder if the few people that read this are interested in what I have to say, or swing by to see if I have finally been consumed by ranting mental issues...

Found It! The motivation is always The Girl!

Best,
TB

New Inspiration and a Challenge.

2011-03-29T21:05:00.007-05:00

While posting over at The Yaqqothl Grimoire blog about how the author seems to be in a similar boat, as I. I had to put in one of those scramble words (aka Captcha) to be able to post my response. I got to thinking, 'What kind of monster would the word be?'... Subdolec

Subdolec
The Subdolec is a large bipedal tail-less reptilian monstrosity, standing between ten and twelve feet tall. Its chest is considerably larger than its abdomen and its long muscular arms end in three webbed digits. A row of small blade like, bony plates protrude from its back as well as a single short thick horn from the top of its head (ground and sold as an aphrodisiac; 40-50gp). Covering the Subdolec are a myriad of fist sized parasitic pods that have a finger size round opening in them. When struck (max damage is rolled), these pods produce a fine fungal mist that causes prolonged bouts of coughing and fatigue.
Subdolec: HD 5; AC 5 [14]; Atk 1 bite (1d6+1) or 2 claws (1d6-1); Move 9; Save 12; CL/XP 6/400; Special: Non-lethal fungus, +2 to save, or -1 Constitution and 1d4 days of coughing. Additional failed Saves does not worsen effects, but does extend them if the duration (1d4) is longer than initial exposure.

Let's see what monsters you encounter while posting to others blogs...

Best,
TB

Epiphany, Obsessive Compulsive, or Attention Deficit?

2011-03-24T20:12:00.001-05:00

Started slogging away at the mini-gazetteer and got to staring at the screen. 'This is not what I want. This is not what someone else wants,' kept popping into my head. Then, for inspiration, I turned to the net. Low and behold, I find three posts where I had a 'eureka moment', when I found Stuart's blog entry on RPG Settings: Show, Don't Tell. This lead me to the source, How I Want To Hear About Your Setting on the Zak S blog, Playing D&D With Porn Stars. Mentioned in the remarks, of one-or-the-other, was trollsmyth's reply on the Trollsmyth blog where he talks about Minimalist Setting: Timeline Example and the originating post, Zak Offers Up Another Plate of Sacred-cow Burger.

So, what do all these links mean to me? In reflection, I just had a similar but unrealized moment a few days back, when I was reviewing The Majestic Wilderlands. The thing I loved about the book was the mechanical implementation of the setting; the Character sections, the rules for Orders, Sects, and Culture, rules for Magic, etc. That is what I remember, not the overall fluff, but rather how the fluff was brought to life with just enough 'rules spin' to make it unique.

I think something else that I should keep in mind, as I continually develope Ukarea, is the success I had with a 'Rumors at the Inn' Microlite20 one-shot that turned into a somewhat serious campaign, though it flopped miserably trying it via Play-by-Post. Basically I drew a quick map for this one-shot and said, "Alright, your in the inn, having some drinks... yadda yadda... and you hear someone mentioning... what?" They all looked puzzled. So, I encouraged them to think up rumors that they were hearing as they sat there. It took a bit, and they started off slow; "I heard there were giant spiders in Ol' Man Bidnee's Stable..." I scrambled for my pad, and pencil, and jotted that down, puting a 'F' after it. The players had no idea if what they were 'hearing' was true or false. If I put 'F', I thought up reasons why the rumor wasn't true. "Ol' Man Bidnee's business partner was spreading this rumor to reduce business so he could buy the place cheap." I had no in depth fluff, other than what the characters came up with sitting at a table in an inn. Before long, elaborate tales were being cast and local history evolved; "Well if Ol' Man Bidnee hadn't had skipped on his responsiblility to help the town with the Goblins two summers ago...", etc. You can't make the stuff up that they came up with, and been able to present it the way it came out. It wasn't my setting, it was ours. I would overhear them between the few sessions that we had, talking about what rumors they thought true and why, what to investigate next, and how could Ol' Man Bidnee have left with a stable to run... and a baby on the way... keeping up with them was the hardest part. As I recall, this was just after I read the Western Marches experiments.

In short, GMs aren't going to want to run my setting and Players don't want to play in it either. They want, or so I am led to believe by the first links, something unique that they can make there own. I had developed setting before, and the group went along and played it. It wasn't until they were 'co-developers' that we really had fun I suppose. Developing a setting for release isn't as easy as I had originally thought.

Best,
TB

Ok, This Is Just Plain Cool!

2011-03-24T19:33:00.001-05:00

An awesome random map creator! 2D, 3D, the works. No telling how long it will last on the internet considering it was built by students... Check it out before it turns into vapor.

Best,
TB

Derailed Again By ADD!

2011-03-23T20:18:00.000-05:00

While working on my first barony of the mini-gazetteer, I was fishing for a good stat block and ran across another Bat in the Attic post that I had bookmarked for an alternate alignment system. He blogged about the Four Humors, which now has me looking into them.

I never got Alignment, to me, most things "good" or "bad" depend on which side of the line you stand on. Now, don't get me wrong, some things are universally bad, but for role-playing games I'd rather look at disposition and motivations. Especially when you are considering an NPC stat block.

The search for the Four Humors brought me here and showed me this:

Now that is handy! Eight adjectives aligned top to bottom screams, "1d8!" to me. But, Melancholic, Choleric, Snquine, and Phlegmatic, did not even speak to me. I am just not that intellectual. So off I went... which led me to the Five Temperments. I found a great site for the Five Temperments, that broke it down into actions in short paragraphs for me. Better, but not quite what my 'tween' kids would want to dive off into...

Ah ha! Ureka even! In the age of texting, I find this....

Now that is something I can work with. I can even emoticon them for stat blocks!

Supine < ) Servant-Leader "I answer to a higher authority."
Sanquine > ) Fun Loving Attention Grabber "All the world's a stage."
Meloncholy < ( Idealized Perfectionist "Artist-Poet in search of kindred soul.."
Choleric > ( Control-orientated "When I say jump..."
Phlegmatic = | Reserved, Quiet, Peacemaker "Aummmm"

Supine/Sanguine = )
Sabguine/Choleric > |
Choleric/Meloncholy = (
Meloncholy/Supine < |

Nice, now I just have to come up with some motivation, or rather motivations for my NPCs.

Off to Google!
TB

A Thought Experiment I Never Published For The Mini Gazetteer

2011-03-23T17:55:00.001-05:00

Tobelark Estate
The Tobelark Estate sits just West of the West Crossmouth Village, and is ruled by Thastmorus Tobelark. The Estate is bisected, West to East, by Pawson's Creek, that swells in early Spring and late Fall from the rain that creates intermitant streams from the Flaxon Hills in the South, that feed into it. The Creek retains water throughout the year, and is the main supply for the Manors and the livestock. The Tobelark Estate's main exports are lumber, grain, cattle, and horses from Lord Tobelark's Manor stables.

Tobelark Manor
Lord Tobelark is a reservered compasionate man who can often times be seen tending his own fields. A farmer by trade, Tobelark found himself within the forces of the Baron after the death of his wife to raiding Orcs. He spent two years in the service of the Baron, repelling the Orc'n raiders. While doing this, he left his three, then young, children in the care of the wise-woman , in West Crossmouth. Upon his return, he was rewarded with his own manor, and appointed governance of all five manors within the estate. Since vengance of his wife's death was Tobelark's main concern, and he desired nothing more, he performs his governing duties when required, but does not take a proactive role in it, rather preferring to allow the other Lords to manager their own affairs.
The Tobelark Manor's main export is the Draft and Warhorses that Lord Tobelark raises, toughted to be the best in the barony. This in turn is subsidized by some cotton fields and goat herdes. His manor relises heavily on excess grain from the other manors within the estate.

Tobelark Manor Forces:
Lord Tobelark commands undying loyalty of his troops due to his hands-on-approach to managing the manor (if he is present, their Morale is 12, instead of listed value.) He maintains a strong bond with Sir Bloakang Drongthur, his deseased wife's only brother, whom he fought in the Baron's army with. Due to this kindship, and the unrequited love interest of Madam Poisha Hilon, thier relationship is strained but professional. Lord Tobelark's affections lie elsewhere, namely with the wise-woman of Crossmouth Village.

Lord Thastmorus "Lord Thast" Tobelark
S16 I10 W11 D11 C16 Ch12
AC 2[17], F-4, HP 17, MV 9, BthB +2, SV Fighter-4 [11], ML 12, Temperment (: |) AL L, Background Farmer; Platemail, Magical 2-Handed Sword +1 (1d6+3), Dagger (1d6), Ring of Poison Resistance +5, Ring of Protection +1, 140 gp in belt pouch [Large man with dark shoulder length hair, red beard, reserved, quiet, peace maker]

Sir Bloakang Drongthur
S11 I7 W9 D11 C16 Ch8
AC 2[17], F-3, HP 13, MV 9, BthB +2, SV Fighter-3 [12], ML 10, AL N; Platemail, Lance (1d6+1), Longsword (1d6), Dagger (1d6-1), Scroll of Elemental Protection, 82 gp, [Young man, short brown hair, green eyes, outspoken, and opinionated]

Madam Poisha Hilon
S14 I8 W8 D17 C10 Ch12
AC 1[18], F-3, HP 11, MV 9, BthB +2, SV Fighter-3 [12], ML 11, AL L; Platemail, Shield, Lance (1d6+1), Flail (1d6), Dagger (1d6-1), Rope of Entanglement, 47 gp, [Attractive woman in her mid-twenties, brown hair, blue eyes, scared forearm, wants respect and praise from peers]

Squires (x4 Light Horsemen)
AC 4[15], F-2, HP 7,6,5,3 Move 12, BthB +1, SV Fighter-1 [13], ML 9, AL N; Chainmail, Shield, Spear (1d6), Longsword (1d6), Dagger (1d6-1), 23 gp in a belt pouch.

Men-at-Arms (x10 Footmen)
AC 5[14], F-1, HP 7,6,5,5,5,5,3,3,2,2 Move 12, BthB +0, SV Fighter-1 [14], ML 9, AL N; Chainmail, Shortsword (1d6-1), Dagger (1d6-1), 16 gp in a belt pouch.

[1] *Lord Thastmorus "Lord Thast"* Tobelark**
AC 2[17], F-4, HP 17, MV 9, BthB +2, SV Fighter-4 [11], ML 12, AL L; Platemail, Magical 2-Handed Sword +1 (1d6+3), Dagger (1d6), Ring of Poison Resistance +5, Ring of Protection +1, 140 gp in belt pouch
Hu S16 I10 W11 D11 C16 Ch12	[ ] Large man with dark shoulder length hair, red beard [ ] Knight / Farmer / Equestrian [ ] Reserved, Quiet, Peace Maker [ ] Phlegmatic (= \|] [ ] Marry the Wise-woman and let the other Knights manage their own Manors [ ] Position his brother-in-law to take his place [ ] [#] Wise-woman of Crossmouth, [#2] Sir Bloakang Drongthur, [#] The Baron of Malvethan

[2] Sir Bloakang Drongthur
AC 2[17], F-3, HP 13, MV 9, BthB +2, SV Fighter-3 [12], ML 10, AL N; Platemail, Lance (1d6+1), Longsword (1d6), Dagger (1d6-1), Scroll of Elemental Protection, 82 gp
Hu S11 I7 W9 D11 C16 Ch8	[ ] Young man, short brown hair, green eyes [ ] Knight / Noble's Son [ ] Outspoken and opinionated [ ] Supin (< )] [ ] Become a Vassal Knight like [#1] Lord Tobelek [ ] Prove himself in battle [ ] [#1] Respects Lord Tobelark but thinks he needs to be more proactive, [#4/#5] Other soldiers of the Manson force,

[4] Squires (x4 Light Horsemen)
AC 4[15], F-2, HP 7,6,5,3 Move 12, BthB +1, SV Fighter-1 [13], ML 9, AL N; Chainmail, Shield, Spear (1d6), Longsword (1d6), Dagger (1d6-1), 23 gp in a belt pouch.

[5] Men-at-Arms (x10 Footmen)
AC 5[14], F-1, HP 7,6,5,5,5,5,3,3,2,2 Move 12, BthB +0, SV Fighter-1 [14], ML 9, AL N; Chainmail, Shortsword (1d6-1), Dagger (1d6-1), 16 gp in a belt pouch.

More Mini-Gazetteer Development

2011-03-23T17:11:00.004-05:00

Further development on the mini-gazetteer that sprung from the Mapping Population Experiment post. I narrowed down the central settlement and cordoned off the various manors into Baronies. To be honest, this kinda goes against previous experiences I have with the BECMI and Rules Cyclopedia, where a Barony was a 24 mile hex. I guess I can live with this, it is my world after all. Plus issues that might arise doing this can do nothing but help me with Ukarea...

((Edited 3/24/2011 for the sake of my OCD Sanity!))

Introducing, The ~~County~~ Barony of Malvethan!

Based on the guidance, again from The 25 Mile Hex blog, an individual can only rule either five holdings or vassals. So I went to lumping the manors present into groups of five by what made sense. I did make some smaller for originality. This gave me the eight ~~baronies~~ Estates, designated with dotted lines. The Eight ~~baronies~~ Estates could not be managed by a single ~~Lord~~ Vassal Knight, so I am assuming that there are two ~~Viscounts~~ Vassal Knights (?) who are then governed by the ~~Count~~ Baron living in The City of Yorkcast. I am planning on giving each ~~Viscount~~ Vassal Knight (?) a Keep, one in the North and the other in the South. As well as flesh out the humanoid / monster population once I get the political portions done.

Heading straight to the first Barony write up...

Chow,
TB

Fantasy Demographics Made Hard

2011-03-22T23:43:00.001-05:00

Based on data from The 25 Mile Hex blog, I threw together the following table, which I haven't really proofed. It is basically somewhere for me to start:

Settlement	Area Req	ZoE	Workers +/-	Population +/-	Supports
Farm	1, 1 mile hex	None	2 (all rural)	10 ppl	1 Urban Family
Thorpe	4, 1 mile hexes	None	12 (all rural)	55 ppl	6 Urban Families
Hamlet	7, 1 mile hexes	None	21 (all rural)	95 ppl	10 Urban Families
Manor	1, 1 mile hex	1 Shared	100 (rural)	400 ppl	50 Urban Families
Village	1, 1 mile hex	1 Not Shared	350 (250 rural, 100 urban)	1,575 ppl	25 Urban Families
Town	1, 1 mile hex	2 Not Shared	Variable (all urban)	2,000 - 5,000 ppl	No Urban Families
City	1, 1 mile hex	2 Not Shared	Variable (all urban)	5,001 - 12,000 ppl	No Urban Families
Capital	3, 1 mile hexes	2+ Not Shared	Variable (all urban)	> 12,001 ppl	No Urban Families

It's late and I guess I will map out some examples tomorrow, so until then...

Happy Gaming,
TB

Image Hotspots Are Hotter Than Elf Chicks!

2011-03-21T18:19:00.001-05:00

This morning I posted about trying to figure out how to put multiple hyperlinks into an image (aka Hotspots). I have since been successful! So now what do I do with it? Well I was thinking that I could put a map at the top of my blog and hyperlink areas, towns, regions etc to individual blog posts on the corresponding hotspot topic. A Gazetteer Blog if you will. This all stemmed from me trying to figure out how to organize Ukarea and my post about the Narrator's Helper.

My initial feeling is that it might work well for a Gazetter style writeup, but not so great for a full Setting. I would love to hear some thoughts on it.

Best,
TB

Experiment: Trying to put an image map (hotspot) in map below

2011-03-21T11:02:00.008-05:00

The Narrator's Helper

2011-03-21T09:45:00.000-05:00

Once again I am looking at a pile of notes on Ukarea and realize that I have to organize them. Back when I was heavily into True20, particularly the Blood Throne setting, I discovered a great tool to organize my notes with. After some searching, I found it again; The Narrator's Helper.

It is basically a standalone wiki, or one html file, that is described thusly, "This self-contained wiki-format website can be easily used as a repository for all the notes, media, and other planning tools that go into running an RPG." Things like maps, images, hit point boxes, dice roller, and many more are already built in.

A little tiddlywiki language savvy, which really isn't hard, and you are on your way, once you copy the linked site above, to your system.

I am consider even releasing Ukarea as a self contained tiddlywiki file instead of a PDF. Thoughts? (Please at least check the site out before smashing this idea though.)

Best,
TB

Review: Majestic Wilderlands (Conclusion)

2011-03-19T20:35:00.003-05:00

I had begun a chapter-by-chapter review of The Majestic Wilderlands by Robert S. Conley in my previous two posts, but do not believe I can adequately capture all the detail that the product is immersed in. I finished reading the product today, all 140 pages of it. Though not as many pages as some tombs, the detail and depth is intense (for lack of a better word). You surely have to see to believe.

So, I will provide my overall opinion of the setting and rules, granted without having actually played in it, by providing the follow image:

The Good: Too much to capture in a simple review.

An expansive setting that provides ample background for a myriad of types of campaigns to be set in; from Oriental to Fantasy Western.
In depth social structures in the form of Orders, Cultures, Sects, and many others.
Well thought out and interesting character classes that do not coddle to balance, but rather are designed to support and reinforce the setting and locals. Classes are intriguing enough to garner even the most munchkin player's attention to select a class based on role-playing potential rather than any mechanical advantage.
Though the setting has a strong fantasy base, Rob has managed to bend traditional fantasy tropes just enough to make it not feel like a canned fantasy setting. This is where the life of the setting emerges in my opinion and is, as mentioned earlier, supported by the iconic character expansions.
Additional rules, for the most part, are not added just for the sake of adding something new. They appear to have been included to strengthen a certain feel. Where this is not the case, the rules have been identified as 'optional'. Such as a short entry on helms.
I really can not encapsulate the wealth of inspirational goodness that is shoe-horned into this book.
A small issue I normally have with PDF purchases, but that grates on me terribly, is executed with perfection within this release: hyperlinking. It may seem like a small thing, but when I read a PDF with hyperlinks that drop me at the wrong page, mid paragraph, etc. It grates on me. All tested hyperlinking took me straight to the top of the desired information. Bravo!

The ~~Bad~~ Unfortunate: Though minimal / trivial, there are some.

Some of the 'flow' of data could have been arranged differently for my personal tastes. For example, Setting geographical and history first, then characters. Or corresponding character types in said setting section. Example, "Character Classes, and Ability Bonuses" on page 65 might have worked better, for me, up in the "Character:" chapters.
Sparse instances of missing words or gramatical flow. Nothing that ruined the experience, but noticable.
Though designed, in my opinion, to be taylorable by a GM for their own campaign, I would have loved to have seen a small area of the "The Main Campaign Area" section drilled into with more detail. Perhaps displaying some of the author's legendary maps? In that vein, "Cultures and Religions" and "Regions" occasionally covered similar ground. Reducing the scope of the world, or its writeup, and expounding on the section that Rob's campaigns took place in would have made this product five stars for me. Basically, I believe he mentions having changed the scale of the setting map. I would have rather seen 5 mile regional hex description, than 12.5 mile world hex description. If that makes sense?

Over All Assessment: 4.5 of 5 stars with an expected 'Red' result on the 'Fun Meter' for actual play! Amazing setting with integrated rules. A little less in the expanse of the world and a tad more detail in the core campaign area, would have made it the best setting I have ever had the pleasure to read.

Cudos Rob Conley. Wish I would have purchased months ago!

Best,
TB

Review: Majestic Wilderlands (Part Two)

2011-03-18T21:19:00.001-05:00

Where I continue on, from where I left off...

Characters (Clerics): Clerics explained here, use the existing (Sword & Wizardry) rules, with additions. This hearkens back to by question in part one. I like the idea of Clerics being 'governed' by their deity. Though powerful, Clerics can be reigned in by the GM if needed. Can't wait to see if there is a mechanic for this other than stripping their powers.
Characters (Clerics): Perhaps a bullet for all magically inclined characters, it is interesting to note the inherent magic resistance within these classes. Makes magical duels less prone to happen, and if they do, could turn out to be long drawn out slug-fests. More reading may clarify this for me.
Characters (Clerics): Once again, the 'animosity' between two sets of characters is mentioned (see part one of this review - Characters (Fighting Men), but a viable reason to work together is broached. One or the other, may see the other as 'evil', but all collectively disdain demons. I have a soft spot for non-Law-Chaos alignment system. Alignment, and the acts performed by different Alignment members, are purely speculative depending upon which side of the line you find yourself standing, IMHO. *golfer clap*
Characters (Clerics): Clerics indeed appear quite powerful, and again, I don't mind. I think that the author (Rob Conley) has provided enough interesting, unigue, and individual classes to this point in the book to make even the most die-hard munchkin chose a character class based on roleplaying potential, over mechanical ability / advantage. (run on sentence, but crap, I want to play a Cleric! Which is quite the divergance for me. Edge weapons FTW!)
Characters (Rogues): Not one, but many types. It appears that there are some form of Thieving abilities present within The Majestic Wilderlands, but past a mechanical bonus, have not been explained how they work (up to page 35). Not sure why Rob chose to use non-traditional Rogue Abilities though. Legerdemain anyone? Locution? The final variant, Merchant Adventurer, seems forced somehow into the Rogue class IMHO. Merchant Adventurer is an interesting take however on the conical role.
Non-Adventurers: Ranging from skilled Craftsman to Scholars, this section provides for quite a variety of, well, non-adventures. Suitable to fill your cities and towns. Pretty straight forward, but I am still anticipating how skills or abilities will work withing the setting / rules. But perhaps I will hit that mark in.... Part Three!

Best, and really enjoying reading The Majestic Wilderlands thus far.
TB

Review: Majestic Wilderlands (Part One)

2011-03-18T19:39:00.001-05:00

As I mentioned in my previous post, I have purchased a PDF copy of this setting / rules set by Rob Conley, of Bat in the Attic renown. Here I will present my thoughts on the setting / rules, as I read the material, in bullet form. Following that, I hope to roll my collective notes up into a more traditional review.

Introduction: "No attempt has been made to balance these rules in terms of game mechanics." ~ Right off the bat, I like this! It appeals to my thoughts on not tailoring settings, rules, and especially encounters to the character. To a lesser extent even character to character. Can't wait to see how / if he incorporates this into the setting / rules.
Characters (Fighting Men): Several variation of fighting men are presented, and captured nicely, with associated rules. As promised, these classes of fighting men, under initial scrutiny and without play-testing, do not appear to be balanced with each other. I phrase it that way because, though one character may outshine another in more areas than one, the 'offending' class is harder to acquire do to minimum attributes, quests, and such. I personally like this and mention it because, though it may fall right in line with 'old school' play, players of later version may protest.
Characters (Fighting Men): The Fighting Men presented seem to be well thought out and presented in a fashion to give a strong feel for the setting, even though I haven't even gotten that far (setting material), I get very strong Legends of Paksenarrion vibe from them. This is awesome in my book, being someone who likes the works of Elisabeth Moon. Granted, I may have made this connection because Rob recently posted about the same.
Characters (Fighting Men): One thing that concerns me is the mention of one type of Fighting Men being the "traditional enemy" of another one of the Fighting Men presented. This immediately throws the old, 'why are we working even working together?' question at me as a GM, which I hate to hear. I think this, unless presented differently later in the book, could have been worded differently for my tastes. Perhaps toned down, but not removed. Perhaps 'being at odds' would have been more apropos?
Characters (Magic-users): With this section, a question arises, do the 'original' Sword & Wizardry classes exist? I am assuming they do, though the Fighting Men section jumps straight into unique Fighting Men classes, while the Magic-user section just briefly mentions what I think are 'traditional' Magic-users. They are described as "lone practitioners of magic outside of any of the established orders", then the book proceeds to cover several orders. Not sure on this, but think it may be a GM call, or covered on the author's site by now. I believe the initial confusion I got is do to the mention of Magic-users in passing at the beginning and then the first 'Order' being very similar to a conventional Sword & Wizardry Magic-user.
Characters (Magic-users): This section is well written, consistent internally, and online with the presentation of the Fighting Men section. There are a couple minor typographical errors within the section, but nothing significant,or detracts from the rules.
Characters (Magic-users): Magical 'schools', called Orders, are expansive and diverse. The Orders, rather than having their access limited by minimum Abilities like Fighting Men, are limited by trials at various levels. Do to this I see the optional Fighting Men classes presented being more unique than a Magic-user associated with an Order within the setting. It appears that non-Order Magic-users are suppose to be 'secretive' in nature, whether sought for indoctrination or extermination, it is not clear yet. This combined with the benefits of the various Orders makes me wonder why someone would chose to be a 'traditional' Magic-user. In short, it is interesting to see the Fighting Men classes appear to be presented as unique, while the Ordered Magic-user being the norm within the setting.
Characters (Magic-users): As previously mentioned, many of the Magic-user schools require tests or challenges to progress. In theory this is interesting and adds an interesting feel to the setting. I am just concerned on how best to handle these tests in the contexts of gaming? Sure, role-playing is the goal, but how will such tests be perceived by non-Magic-users within the group. Individual sessions would be ideal for this purpose, but are not always possible. GM fiat might also be an option, but this IMO will forgo an interesting part of the experience of The Majestic Wilderlands, as I see it. Play tests are in order! = )

Part one of my review covers the first 27, of the 139 pages, of the book. Thus far I may have appeared overly critical, but that was not my intention. Mostly it is just thoughts as they appear to me as I read through the book for the first time. Thus far, it is a very solid product, and if I read no further I got my $7 worth.

Part Two to come,
TB

Majestic Wilderlands: I Have Some Reading To Do!

2011-03-18T17:07:00.001-05:00

Just wanted to let the world know that I finally sprung for the Majestic Wilderlands PDF.

I hope to one day have the book, but until then, reading pixels will have to suffice. I have been a long time follower of Rob Conley's blog; Bat in the Attic, and based on the goodness found there, could not hold off any longer on my purchase.

I hope to be able to do a writeup on the PDF as soon as I have read it, or perhaps as I read it.

Based on other's reviews, I hope not to be disappointed, but will approach my review with an honest, open eye.

Ok, I'm wasting time... off to read!

Best,
TB

Mapping Population Experiment: Part Four Alpha

2011-03-17T21:45:00.001-05:00

After about fifteen minutes, I changed the map to what I feel is a more Bat in the Attic feel.

All land within two to three hours travel from the Central Settlement will be patrolled and farmed by the local populace. This is where I diverge from his mapping / setting style. I tend to go for settlements protecting their own and think this approach is feasible, though maybe not historically accurate as his Manorial setup.

Central Settlement main populace (ABM = Able Body Men):
73 one mile hexes at .865sq miles per hex is 63sq miles, give or take. Divided randomly based on my personal whims; 40sq miles of agriculture (20160 ABM), 15sq miles of herd animals (7500 ABM), and 8sq miles of swine (6400 ABM). This translates, if I did the math correctly, to the Central Settlement able to self sustain 34060 ABM. This creates a HUGE population in my mind, especially if you consider 4.5 people in a household. Granted not all of the 34060 would be part of a household, but still. Even at 70% of self sustainable max (23842) we are still in the Metropolis range. Add in a 10% tax of goods and services to the outlying villages, and Manors, the total climbs back up.

I realize, after looking at the map, that I did take the 'best case scenario' for what the settlement could farm, which in my mind would be an older, established, settlement. Cutting it down to what a newer settlement might look like, gives me this:

This would be what a younger settlement would look like in my mind. Still patrolling out a few hours, but without the benefit of a ferry or other river fording devices, it would be confined to terrain to the North-East of the settlement. This area consists of 26 one mile hexes (22sq miles). A strictly agricultural settlement, at 100% utilisation, could sustain 7040 ABM. Divide up into roughly equal venues, it could sustain; 11sq miles of agriculture (3520 ABM), 7sq miles of herd animals (3500 ABM), and 4sq miles of swine (3200 ABM), or 10220 ABM. Figure in a 4.5 member household, with half of them married with households, and the total populace jumps back up over 20000 people.

I don't know. Maybe I am doing something wrong, or missing something critical? This methods gives my OCD a warm and fuzzy, but until I can figure it out, maybe getting some feed back from Rob Conley, I should go with the Third Population Mapping Experiment?

Hey Rob! Help a brother out here? = )

Best,
TB

Mapping Population Experiment: Part Four

2011-03-17T20:22:00.001-05:00

More mapping population experiments.

Part One: Making the map.
Part Two: Hodge-podge of both The 25 Mile Hex and Bat in the Attic suggestions.
Part Three: Done solely with The 25 Mile Hex guidelines.
Part Four: Here it comes baby...

Another look at the map:

Yes, I added some things. Adding up all the 1 mile hexes that have production land, I came up with 91 one mile hexes (20 center settlement, 29 manors, 42 for the seven villages). Taking 91 one mile hexes and multiplying it by .865 (The square miles in 1 one mile hex, per The Welsh Piper) I got 78.715 square miles. I will call this 79 square miles for simplicity.

I image that this land is equally good for both planting and live stock. I decide to say 60% (48sq miles) is agriculture, 25% (20sq miles) herd animals, and 15% (11sq miles) swine.

Agricultural takes 30 ABM (able bodied men) to work and can feed 320 ABM. This leaves a net surplus of 290 per sq mile. 290 x 48sq miles is 13920 (10440 at 75%)

Herd animals take 50 ABM to herd and will feed 500 ABM. This is a surplus of 450 per sq mile. 450 x 20sq miles is 9000 (6750 at 75%)

Swine take 100 ABM to care for them and will feed 800 ABM. This is a surplus of 700 per sq mile. 700 x 11sq miles is 7700 (5775 at 75%)

Total number of ABM that can be fed, above and beyond the required care takers, is 22965. Now how to break that down over 29 Manors, 7 Villages and 1 centralized settlement? Not to mention that I just noticed that I missed the listing for Manors: 1 historical manor will need 70 able bodied men for labor and will feed 750 people, when I went to see if there was guidance on this.

I think if I would have drawn the map differently, the Bat in the Attic formulas would have been much easier and would have resulted in a different feel for the setting. But, I drew the map with the layout guidance of The 25 Mile Hex first. Perhaps I will go back and do a map that I think would work better with Bat in the Attic's formulas. I think it would be more similar to his maps if I did do so.

To be fare to both, I want to go back and do just that. Off to hexographer...

Have fun... go map!
TB

The Wondering Mind.

2011-03-17T12:33:00.001-05:00

Last night, when I couldn't sleep, I started thinking about making the 25 mile map that I did for the Mapping Population Experiments posts (which I haven't finish and intend to today) into a small Gazetteer. (Perhaps my mind wondering is why I couldn't sleep) But, the train of thought was interesting none-the-less. It started with me looking at the blog stats and seeing what people were looking at. I want to work on Ukarea, but I want to put out interesting material too. What's the point of putting it on a blog if no one reads it? I could just as easily do it in a three ring binder. I noticed heightened interest in the Sara Bellum, an Elegia Character, post that I statted up for that rules set.

Glancing over the post to see if I could discover the interest, I noticed that there was something that I liked: Attribute Checks. With this in mind, and an attempt to put myself asleep reading the section on creating settlements in the 3.5 DMG, I thought this might work well for NPCs, to represent their 'skill'. I don't care for a full blown skill system, but a trade/background system might work well. Perhaps for every 5 years of experience a +1 modifier to the Attribute Check would be in order. This could also be utilized to represent the quality of equipment/materials that a 'professional' produces. Perhaps the Attribute Check roll represents the 'save' for that material item. "Ol' Thomas weaves the best ropes in four Baronies...."

Just getting my thoughts down so they, hopefully, won't keep me up tonight.

Best,
TB

New Background Image

2011-03-16T13:11:00.000-05:00

My blog now has an awesome new title image thanks to Ze Bulette releasing a great picture, that he took, to the public domain over on his blog. Thanks for sharing Ze Bulette. Hope he approves of the use.

Best,
TB

Leaning on Freeform

2011-03-15T21:48:00.001-05:00

Thanks to Talysman telling me where to find what I sought in my last post, I now have more to think about. I want to finish my Population Mapping Experiment first before I delve too deeply into it, but for now, I will throwout my initial thoughts on the Free-form Magic System he linked to for me and how I might want to adapt it to the Ukarea setting:

Magic will probably follow the verb-noun format commonly found in such free-form magic systems, and may include adjectives for additional oomph.
Magic is rare and scorned in Ukarea for the most part.
Magic will be difficult and taxing for casters. Modification of DCs, not common in OE/Basic D&D, should be addressed.
Not sure if I want to retain separation between Mages and Clerics, or even if I want to keep a traditional Cleric in the setting at this point.
Magic will be primarily elemental based, do to the setting history (which I realize I may not have even covered on the blog yet.) Using magic directly on 'life forces' is going to have to take mastery in the magic to do, as it is a culmination of all the elements.

More to come, once I have finished the Population Mapping Experiments,
TB

I know exactly what I am looking for....

2011-03-15T00:18:00.000-05:00

There was once a set of rules for non-vanciant magic that was more free form and allowed you to add up modifiers based on varying difficulties for range, area, etc. and then successes were used for effects (or effect dice). The writeup, as I recall gave an example of a mage trapped in a cage near a campfire of sleeping guards and how he could escape.

If anyone knows what I am talking about, and can give me some direction where to find it, I would be forever grateful. I know it sounds kind of 'four by five' system-like, but even Googling that, I can't find what I am looking for.

Please help,
TB

Mapping Population Experiment: Part Two (found)

2011-03-14T23:24:00.004-05:00

Found it! This and that, might make a complete Part Two! Other Part Two removed to reduce confusion.

The next phase may look confusing, but it was quite easy and intuitive. I took the preceding map, and based on the information on The 25 Mile Hex which say, "Thus, towns and cities occupy one 5 mile hex in total... In any settlement larger than a village, the entire population is considered urban and totally reliant on imported food from the country side." I filled in what I thought would be acceptable homelands for the city populace. As can be seen, I figured that 20 one mile hexes are associated with the town/city in the center 5 mile hex (I only counted half hexes as full if they were on the river, and three I deemed unsuitable based on how the river ran through it.)

Twenty, one mile hexes is 17sq miles (20x.865=17.3 rounded down for the river). I think this is where I will depart from the good, but general, ideas in The 25 Mile Hex blog and consult some data from the Bat in the Attic blog. He has some great data on pastoral and agricultural demographics that I want to play with. If I assume that the city raised up from a village to a town, to a city, as would be expected, then at least the original village population would be self sufficient. If I take a SWAG at the pastoral to agricultural ratio, then I can figure that out. If I assume 1/3 of the surrounding land is pastoral (herders) then the rest (2/3) is agricultural. Braking the land down like this gives me 5sq miles of pastoral and 12sq miles of agricultural farms and fields around the city. 12sq miles of agriculture will feed 3840 people (320x12) at 100%. I want to divide the 5sq miles between swine and other domesticated beasts; say, 2sq miles for swine which will feed 1600 people at 100% and 3sq miles of cattle, goats, and sheep which will feed 1500 people at 100%. So this land has the potential of feeding 6940 people at 100% productivity.

100% productivity is unrealistic, so... to the dice. The percentages of productivity come out like so; swine 51%, cattle, goats, and sheep 90%, and agriculture 99%. My mind is racing with potential dominion game rules at the moment. Stay focused... stay focused... So for the year; of the original 100% totals, 816 people will be fed by pork and it takes approx. 200 people to raise them (200 rural - outside the city walls feeding slop, leaves 616 urban city dwellers), 1350 will be fed with other domesticated animals which takes approx. 150 to raise (150 rural, 1200 urban), while another 3801 people will live on agricultural produce which takes 360 people to raise (360 rural, 3441 urban). That puts 710 people rural (outside the city proper) with 5257 urban (within the city proper). This seems high so far, but as I look at the map, it does seem like a rather productive area for the city. If I would have used the 13 one mile key terrain rules I used for all other five mile hexes, it probably would have limited this down quite a bit. Perhaps a redo once this is in order is called for? This, however, still only puts it squarely in the camp of a average sized Town based on S. John Ross's Medieval Demographics Made Easy. So, no worries yet.

On to surrounding Villages, which there are 7. Going back to guidance from The 25 Mile Hex, I placed villages where they had a full seven hexes to occupy without modifying the underlying terrain. It was intuitive once I started, or at least felt like it. I didn't mind delving off into the math for the core populace of the central settlement, but I don't want to go that far with the supporting settlements. So if The Hex Master says there are 350 able bodies people in a village then all I want to do is apply some randomness. To the dice bag...

d4 (1-2 minus, 3-4 add)
d20 (percent of change)

Village One: 350 minus 8% = 322 able bodies (92 urban, 184 rural, 46 surplus)
Village Two: 350 plus 17% = 410 able bodies (164 urban, 328 rural, 59 surplus)
Village Three: 350 minus 3% = 340 able bodies (97 urban, 194 rural, 49 surplus)
Village Four: 350 minus 12% = 308 able bodies (88 urban, 176 rural, 44 surplus)
Village Five: 350 minus 16% = 294 able bodies (84 urban, 168 rural, 42 surplus)
Village Six: 350 plus 15% = 402 able bodies (115 urban, 230 rural, 57 surplus)
Village Seven: 350 minus 2% = 343 able bodies (98 urban, 196 rural, 49 surplus)

Totals are divided by 3.5 to ascertain urban, double urban is rural, the difference of the total, minus urban plus rural, is the surplus in able bodies that can provide for the larger town or city. This replicates the 250 to 100 ratio he uses on the blog, though it is inverted here.

So now I know that there are a total of 346 surplus providers throughout the villages. At a 2:1 ratio, they are providing for an additional 173 productive (able bodied) people in the central settlement, above and beyond what the central settlement's core is providing for. If each able bodied person, of the 173, is supporting 5 (average number in a household) then an additional 865 people can live within the walls of the city. The original 5257 inhabitants, plus 865 more, gives us a subtotal of 6122 for the city proper.

Now to see how many additional people can be added to the central settlement with all the Manors' surplus kicked in to support them. There are 27 Manors filling the remaining usable space when adhering to the "zones of exclusion" guidelines. The 25 Mile Hex says there are 100 rural able bodies in a Manor, or 2700 in this case, which can support another 1350 at a 2:1 ration.

We are looking at a Large Town with 7472 people give or take... about the same as doing it wholey with The 25 Mile Hex rules.

That's about it for now. I will work on some tables; military forces, village merchants, key personnel... basically turn it into a Mini-Gazetteer, as time permits. I also want to try the same two different ways; strictly by The 25 Mile Hex and strictly using Bat in the Attic's figures to see which appeals more to me for Ukarea.

Best,
TB

Mapping Population Experiment: Part Three

2011-03-14T23:06:00.001-05:00

After a horrendous Blogger meltdown in my last post I decided that, though fun, the way I was approaching it was needlessly complicated. To that end I want to see what the central settlement will turn out to be based on The 25 Mile Hex approach vs the Bat in the Attic tables.

First up: using The 25 Mile Hex.

7 Villages = 100 urban and 250 rural able bodies (ea. has a surplus of 50 able bodies which can support 25 others, for a total of 175 able bodies in the central settlement.) 1
29 Manors = 100 urban able bodies (since they are all rural, they can support 50 able bodies ea. for a total of 1450 able bodies in the central settlement.)

Total: 1625 able body adults in the central settlement. Or, a total population of 7312 (Large Town)

(1) I still have a question out to The Hex Master as to whether the numbers on his blog are inverted. He has 250 urban and 100 rural able bodies to a village, which in my mind does not make it 'self sufficient' as described if it follows the 2 rural:1 urban formula.

That took all of 5 minutes and came up with a total population of the Town close to what I had originally. I can also easily extrapolate the military force within the 25 mile hex... This method does have some potential.

Stamped: [The Bane Approved!]

Best,
TB

Mapping Population Experiment: Part One

2011-03-12T20:26:00.002-06:00

So, I have the Bat in the Attic: Manors vs Farms Blog and The 25 Mile Hex: Mapping and Population Blog pulled up for quick references. I also pulled up Hexographer and created a 25 mile template with sub hexes. I wanted to see what I could come up with as far as a population goes. Once I had the template made, which I can share if there is an interest, I threw in some rough terrain:

I followed the suggestion that a minimum of 13 hexes should be the overall next hex up primary terrain feature. The big hex, 25 miles, is clear so a minimum of 13 of the five mile hexes should be clear and at least 13 of the one mile hexes of its should share that same dominant feature. Assuming I counted correctly, I came up with this:

Not that inspiring I will admit, but it should give me a good random base to see what size city this 25 mile large clear hex can support. I intend to plunk a city icon in the center and start expanding out with a population. Based on how many able body rural people I can smash into the country side, I can deduce how many able bodied urban people can be supported in the city at a 2:1 ratio.

This is extremely geeky I know, but for some bizarre reason I enjoy doing this kind of stuff.

Now I now, base on what has already been done at The 25 Mile Hex, the largest population density would be supported by an arse load of Manors. But where is the fun in that? Besides, I kind of think that the city would have some form of military presents, so the populace immediately around the city wouldn't cluster into Manors or Share Cropper groups. The farther you go out, the more the commoners will need there own security, turning to share cropping and manors. I guess it will be easier to show what I mean than explain, so watch out for part two, where I start adding the masses...

Best and keep mapping,
TB

Greywulf Has Done It Again!

2011-03-07T13:43:00.000-06:00

Greywulf, on his Blog, has introduced me to CorkBoard.Me! Awesome, had to share! Check out what he suggests you can do with it!

Best,
TB

Oh the Horror! More Ramblings...

2011-03-07T13:03:00.000-06:00

I stayed home today and have been reading some blogs that I follow in my blog list. I have realized that I have a penchant for Dark Fantasy. This is nothing new. I have always lean toward the Gritty, life is fragile, type of D&D adventures and settings. I never subscribed to the theory that Player Characters had a right to survive and that encounters should be balanced, though I continually fight my own OCD to do so. In short, High Fantasy isn't my thing. I believe this is why I never really got into later versions of D&D, where characters are Uber and perform world shaping feats.

I mention this just so you might have some idea from where I am coming from when I read the following. Over on the Dreams in the Lich House blog, Beedo wrote about Horror in Dungeons & Dragons, and then again in Horror Revisited. I hadn't thought of Dungeons & Dragons as using horror elements, but some of the suggestions that he gave made me think that this is the type of thing that I wanted to do to make my games more 'gritty'.

Then I spun off of that, from a link in one of his posts, to the Lamenations of the Flame Princess blog where James blogged about how D&D is a Horror Game. This brought this all together for me. Earlier versions of the game were 'Horror Games!' Back in the day, we were disappointed when a character succumbed to the hazards of adventuring, but the 'death' did not diminish our fun. Several moments later, we were up and adventuring again with a new character. No fuss, no muss. With this in mind, it was the best IMHO when a character got up to 9th+ level. That one-in-many character was a true hero! It made it that much more rewarding. If someone had a 'name level' character that they advanced from 1st level it was a source of awe and admiration by others. I would argue that adventuring with such an invested character was even more of a horrific experience. Loss of such an investment was scary!

There were alot of good comments to the LotFP post. One that caught my attention was by Superhero Necromancer, who said, "... I rarely hear reports that the deadliness of (say) Call of Cthulhu just leads players to make cardboard characters they don't care about, but I do hear of it happening in D&D. I rarely hear about people reacting very poorly to their character's death in CoC, but I do hear about it in D&D. Why? I think part of it is right there: expectations."

This is interesting and on par with what I observe when I GM. Newer generations of D&D players expect 'High Fantasy', in my definition of the phrase anyway, and are occasionally disappointed to the point of quitting when their character dies. Thinking that I "surely wouldn't put a dragon here if we can't defeat it!" is a mistake in my games.

Now, the crux of my train of thought where I hope to be brief, to-the-point, and concise:
For universal understand, let's assume my take on Gritty Fantasy as being all about individual character survival adventures while High Fantasy is about world shaping survival adventure. In very loose terms anyway.

Observations / thoughts:

Though both earlier and later editions of D&D can be played in either a Gritty or High Fantasy setting, earlier version rules lend themselves better to Gritty Fantasy (ease of getting back into the game) and later version rules lend themselves to High Fantasy (more intricate character rules to enhance survivability, IMO) better.
Typically older edition players, based on various polls that I have read around the internet, prefer lower level games. Most like 1st to 3rd, some like 1st to 6th, and less still like 1st to 9th. The majority of the polls I read, show a significant drop after 'Name Level' play. This lends credibility to, in my mind, that we favor challenging individual survival play over 'save the world' type story arcs.
With High Fantasy play, survivability is more paramount to the success of an Epic Heroic High Fantasy adventure, hence the expansion of character rules detail, IMHO. New generation players are accustom to long survivable story arcs with 'save points'. It's more about the world changing story than simple character survival. Perhaps this is why later versions of D&D had such an impact on console and PC games?
When an OE party got to the point of being heroic, again IMO, it was that much more rewarding due to its rarity.
In my experience, when a character dies in a newer version game of D&D, there is a higher chance of the game concluding as opposed to earlier versions. It seems older versions were more conducive to bringing in a replacement character than later versions. You could bring in a lower level replacement character in moments and with the lack of required balance, it wasn't that much of an issue. Heck, it was even more or a 'horrifying' experience for that player. Spinning up an equal level character, to maintain balance, in later editions is time consuming requiring an extended pause, if not complete halt in play.

Well crap, I am rambling again and unable to codify my thoughts. But, I will leave you with a couple questions - considering that 'expectations', as Superhero Necromancer pointed out, may indirectly influence choice of rules, which intern supports style / type of play;

Are we nearing the end of Gritty Fantasy being viable? Considering the emergence of the "Entitlement Society / Generation" that has spawned recently? I believe it just might be.
Could this be the reason for the OSR? A form of backlash to said social changes? With that, is the OSR sustainable? Sure we can introduce new longer players to older version of the game, and they may like it, but as they develop and become aware of 'entitlements', will their desire to play world shaping level games emerge and as a result they switch to more 'modern' rules sets?
If #2 is correct, is this why a preponderance of older version players are either young (say < 15 or 16 years old) or old (the age where people become disheartened with 'entitlements' and expect people to survive on their own)?

Wow... Did I ever get mentally deeper than I was able to ever convey while righting this! What a rabbit whole I have found for myself!

Best,
TB

Elegia: Character

2011-03-06T18:56:00.001-06:00

I have been interested in Elegia for some time. It might be something that I will look into as a rules base for Ukarea instead of Dark Dungeons. It is a bit lighter than DD, weighing in at svelte 42 pages. To check it out, I created the following character in minutes....

Sara Bellum
1st Level Female Rogue Hob

Strength: 7 (+0, 3-in-6)
Dexterity: 9 (+1, 4-in-6)
Intelligence: 6 (+0, 3-in-6)
Willpower: 7 (+0, 3-in-6)

Hit Dice: 3 (16hp)
Skills: Craft 1, Stealth 2, Perception 1
Resistance: +1
Move: 5"
Gold: 10

Equipment: Broad Sword (D+1, 15G, 1/4st), Dagger (D-1, 5G, 1/8st), Bow-Short (D, 30G, 1/4st), Arrows x20 (20G, 1/4st), Leather Armor (DF7, 20G, 1st) 1 7/8st

Hob Bonuses: +1 Resistance, +1 Attack w/ Missiles, +1 Stealth, Surprised 1-in-6
Hob Penalties: Movement 4", Limited to 4 Stones + Strength Mod, Min Willpower 6, No 2-Handed
Weapons
Rogue Bonuses: Wield Any Weapon, Crit on Natural 11&12 for +2D Damage, Unencumbered +1"
Rogue Penalties: Restricted to Leather/Chain,

I am sure I missed some of the minute' with the character, but I can live with that...

Best,
TB

Windows Woes

2011-03-05T23:25:00.000-06:00

It appears that I decided to buy a laptop at just the right time. My trusted desktop, which I have run Ubuntu Linux on for years, has bit the dust. I got a laptop preloaded with Windows7 on it and thought I would keep it thus-ly so I could play some of the old D&D-esque games on it that I have lying around - Can you say, "Diablo?"

Anyway, I have found that much of what I have amassed during those years are no long compatible with my latest OS. = ( GIMP is no longer an easy option (doesn't appear to have a stable x64 Window$ release), and I have no desire to fork out the cash for Photo-Shop, etc. I guess I will have to see what I can salvage from my external before I decide if I want to; keep Window$, dual boot, or go whole hog and change it to Linux...

Until then, I have been rebuilding a new Ukarea in Hexographer, which I am pleased with thus far, while skimming old blog posts in my blog list to see how I want to continue... If nothing else, trying to figure out how to recreate what I have done with the new OS has inspired me to push on with the project.

Best,
TB

More 'Painting!'

2011-02-26T22:15:00.000-06:00

I decided to try something that I have never done before; painting on the computer. I have been familiar with GIMP for some time, working on maps and such, but never tried to do something artsy with it. I think what I have done so far isn't too bad. Just will have to keep at it and see how it turns out...

By the way, I am reserving the rights to these images and all subsequent images (to include the finished image) to ChicagoWiz.

Background w/out sketch overlay:

Background with sketch overlay:

So, what do you think thus far?

Best,

Rough Conceptual Sketch

2011-02-25T16:42:00.001-06:00

Over at Chicago Wiz's Blog he was kind enough to elaborate on a rule that he uses. In the examples he provided an example that he later requested art for. Now, I am NOT an artist. I doodle at best, but thought the idea of the image captured my imagination so I went with it.

Below is a VERY ROUGH sketch of what I envisioned. Once Chicago Wiz gives a thumbs up, I will do a finished product... perhaps in water color?

Best,

Question Referencing "Dodging"...

2011-02-23T17:05:00.000-06:00

Over at The Nine and Thirty Kingdoms Talysman ask which of three ways for Dodging seemed simpler / easier. I replied back and suppose that I chose "E: None of the Above." I regret it now, because in reality I wasn't any help. I did offer an option as a knee-jerk reaction, but that really isn't what he was looking for. So, rather than pollute his comments with ideas that he did not request, I figured I would put up the idea that I had on the subject and elaborate a bit.

Talysman's first option for Dodging utilized ideas from Trollsmyth's thoughts on "Shields Shall be Splintered". Talysman suggested, "...give players to skip their attack to avoid damage from one successful hit."

My thought was rather than removing the option for the player to attack, I would propose that the player can still act but is penalized for his damage mitigating action. It would require some additional book keeping and I am not entirely sure that I would want the option in my games. I do realize that many do, so suggest the following:

Perhaps rather than taking the player's following attack, they receive an immediate penalty to their AC, until their next action, and a penalty to their follow-on attack. Both penalties would be equal to the amount of damage that they circumvent.

AC penalties would have varying effect based on whether the character had had their action for the round or not yet. Dodging prior to your action doesn't seem nearly as bad as dodging after your action, but play tests would be required to confirm. This in my mind, if true, is explainable in that the character has time during the round to regroup for his attack. Either way, the penalty to the follow on attack and how many Dodges they perform in a round, should be sufficient to keep this action in the 'life saving' realm.

Example:

Round 3
DM - The first Goblin, needing a 17 to hit, connects for... 4hp...
PC - I Dodge!
DM - Fine, your current AC and next To hit are penalized by 4. The second Goblin goes for your legs as you dodge, needing a 13... hit... 3hp of...
PC - Dodge!
DM - Fine, but now you have a penalty of 7 to your current AC and Attack next round...

Round 4
PC - I want to crush the little bugger that went for my legs... I rolled a 15...
DM - 8... Modified for your penalty... Your hammer blow goes wide, missing it's mark...

Some additional book-keeping, but it might work ok. Especially if you are looking for a little more granularity and combat options. I tend to go the route that a 'miss' within a round of frantically flailing combatants isn't a miss per-say. A miss means the defender was sufficiently successful in reducing their opponent's actions to not caused them any lasting effects to their own effectiveness. Dodging, in this context, is that the character sees no acceptable way to stop their opponent's attack from doing damage except to put themselves in further danger later in the exchange.

Ok, I realize I have been somewhat long winded in presenting what one would think is a straight forward house rule, but as always, I need to work on conveying my thoughts better.

What do you think on the matter?

v/r
TB

Pelinore

2011-02-21T22:06:00.001-06:00

Over at Absolutely Mental Tim posted about Pelinore and provided a link to an interesting pdf of some of the information to the long lost setting. Giving it a quick once over, though not what I personally want in a setting, I discovered that I really liked the way it was presented! Clear, concise, and inspirational.

I am considering doing something similar now with Ukarea...

Would love to know what people thought of the setting and its presentation. Is it worth going down this road?

Best,
TB

Been A While...

2011-02-20T22:02:00.000-06:00

Yes, it has been a while since I have posted anything here. Do to some unfortunate personal issues I haven't had time for much past reading other's blogs, that I am subscribed to. But, for the few that follow along, I have every intention of continuing on with my Ukarea setting: Humanity's Reign and Ruin.

While I intended to go with Sword & Wizardry: White Box, I am beginning to lean more towards the Dark Dungeons rules set now. Mainly do to my familiarity and love for it's inspiration (Rules Cyclopedia) and the recent shake up of White Box, that I am not prepared to comment on at the moment.

I still have to delve into the legal-ese of Dark Dungeons, but "Dark Dungeons published 2010, no Copyright is asserted on the original text found in this work." does sound promising assuming a OGL page at the end of my publication will suffice.

With the re-discovery of Building the Perfect Class at Breeyark, I feel motivated to rebuild the classes from the ground up to better fit the setting that I have in mind. Especially the dark fantasy side, Humanity's Ruin, which will be demi-human centric. I think this all (Dark Dungeons and Building the Perfect Class) ties well into what I am gunning for.

More to come soon, promise.

Best,
TB

Minecraft and Me

2010-11-30T09:55:00.000-06:00

Greywulf, over at his blog, created an inspiring dungeon based off of what I believe was a 4th edition module. It got me to purchase the software/game that he used to make it, (MineCraft), and... I am hooked! You hear me? I am hooked! I can't believe how much I love this game and the graphics are blocks! I mean, come on, with all the 3D accelerated 'realism' out there, who would want to play a block game? Me apparently! Just goes to show you that graphics only get you so far.

Any hoo, that is what I have been doing 12-14hrs a day during the holidays rather than P&P RPGing. Check out MineCraft, well worth the 13 dollar American!

Best and happy gaming!

The Bane

Been Mapping...

2010-11-07T12:17:00.001-06:00

So, yea it has been a while since I have posted. I have been chasing another interest... cartography. I wanted to see if I could come up with something a little more professional and tried a tutorial I found on the Cartographer's Guild for Gimp.

This is what I came up with thus far:

It is far from complete based on the tutorial. Perhaps as I get time I will finish it off.

TB

Top Ten Purchased RPGs I Want to Play Right Now...

2010-09-09T22:23:00.000-05:00

After yesterdays Top Ten Free RPGs I Want to Play Right Now post, I thought I would see what I could come up with as far as Purchased RPGs...

Again, in no particular order...

True20 (General Fantasy or Bloodthrone Setting preferred)
Mouse Guard
Fairy's Tale
Dogs in the Vineyard
Mutants and Masterminds
Shadowrun (2nd Edition)
Mechagenesis (True20 Transformer Setting)
Warriors & Warlocks (Yes, technically a genre book for Mutants and Masterminds)

Well... I guess I need to dig through my books.

Doah!

Rules Cyclopedia (or BECMI, well, maybe not I)
Mechwarrior (Think it was Second Edition)

Little harder to pull this list together. Interestingly enough, I don't mind paying for books but my penchant has been on rules lite as of late and those tend to be free for the most part. Some of the PDFs might have been sold, but I can't recall which were free and which I purchased... Sad I know, but I have ALOT of them!

Night fellow gamers,
TB

The Top Ten Free RPGs I Want to Play Right Now...

2010-09-08T22:23:00.002-05:00

Thinking about what I would like to play next, I got to ruminating on my options, and several great systems came to mind. I thought about the myriad of free systems out there, and what I would liked to play the most right now. So, I thought I would lay the top ten down here that I am currently interested in:

In no particular order.... Title (Genre)

FATE (Universal)
Swords & Wizardry (Fantasy)
Elegia (Fantasy)
HiLo Heroes (Supers)
Warrior, Rogue, & Mage (Fantasy)
Wushu (Universal)
Micro Lite 20 (Fantasy)
Mini-Six (Universal)
Dungeon Squad (Fantasy)

Wow, the first nine went rather quick, but now I am back to my old ADD hangup I have about all the Retro-Clones. I can NOT pick favorites past Swords & Wizardry... Guess I would be leaning toward Dark Dungeons at the moment. just so I could find out if it would satisfy my nostalgic desire for some BECMI (RC).

TB

Finally, Sword Wielding Wizards!

2010-08-27T22:30:00.001-05:00

Wielding a blade, while having access to spells, has always seemed to be a sore spot in conventional 'old school' games. There has been some discussion about what the difference a Mage with a sword in S&W when all damage is based on a d6. But trying to shoe-horn it into any old school rules seemed... well, not quite kosher. But, when you make your own game, with it's own 'old school' feel, you can do what you want.

Just reading Warrior, Rogue, and Mage, as I haven't had a chance to play it - yet, I am excited about the possibility. It has a unique approach, but seems to maintain an older version feel that I just can't explain. I hope that play has the experience that I am hoping for...

More to come once I have.

TB

Having Knobs to Turn

2010-08-24T18:18:00.001-05:00

Over at Bat in the Attic's blog he mentioned something I find interesting in an older post called: Other Knobs to Play With.

But there are other way to give your setting that lived in feel. One technique is before a campaign I make up a list of events. These events are not like a Dragonlance style railroad plot. Rather these events represent what going to happen if the players were not involved. To add the lived in feel add more events that are not part of any plot or ideas you have.

I think what might be beneficial for me to take from this, is to not stop the 'History' where the players begin play. But, rather, to push out further with 'what might happen' should they not begin adventuring. Then just modify it as they effect the potential time-line. Subsequently adding 'what might be' to the history with new groups and campaign changes.

Adding this to "The Master Plan" could provide a myriad of adventuring hooks and opertunities...

Best, and may the future be yours to change!
TB

Getting back in the saddle...

2010-08-20T11:00:00.000-05:00

So, I started digging back through my older posts hoping to get back into the swing of setting creation. Well, to be honest, I couldn't even get my foot in the stirrup, let alone back on the horse. I realize I have lost my forward movement, my momentum. I am not quite sure where I was headed or the exact computations that I was using and trying to validate...

With my desire to get back to Ukarea (TM), I started hitting some blogs for inspiration and returned to a commonly visited blog: Bat in the Attic. I have been visiting the blog for sometime, finding bits of golden goodness within, but it wasn't until just a few days ago that I found a link on the side pointing to an older post: Wilderlands Demographics.

This is perfect! Well, not perfect as Robert uses a different scale than I prefer for mapping, though I am considering the scale he uses as I read some of his older posts. Overall, it gives me direction / guidance that I had lost recently...

Perhaps I will even invest in his The Majestic Wilderlands setting... after all he has done the very thing I want to do; develop and publish an expansive fantasy setting. Well done Mr. Conley! I just wish I would have discovered your older posts sooner!

TB

Determing the DC...

2010-08-12T22:15:00.000-05:00

It has been some time since I have been able to post, but hopefully reality has slowed enough that I can now get back to it regularly...

Over at the new M20 Forums, it was suggested, when there were no rules for a given task, one could make a ruling by finding the character's minimum and maximum potential based on their total modifiers applied. For example; if a character had a total modifier of +5 (say from stats and skills) then the min possible would be 6 and the max would be 26. Splitting that in half (16?) would give an equivalent of a 50% chance of success, and halving that again would give you a 25% chance on the low end and a 75% on the high end of success/failure.

I understand that this may be a common practice, but I don't understand it. If you are going to do this, for a single character, what is the point of even factoring in modifiers? Why not just have them roll a d20 and read it as it lies? This may be more feasible/usable if you find the parties min/max, but YMMV and this is definitely IMHO.

I think I personally prefer a static 10, 15, 20, 25 DC. After all, a DC of 20 should be extremely difficult for your average character and a DC of 25 impossible without something helping them out.

Just rambling thoughts today...

TB

Separate Blog

2010-06-08T16:46:00.000-05:00

All Mutants & Masterminds / Warriors & Warlocks material will hence forth be done on a new blog designated for such.

TB

Mechanics for Horror, Fear, Sanity, etc.

2010-06-04T22:34:00.001-05:00

I haven't got a full post for today that has anything revolutionary to do with 0e. I just thought I'd throw out there what is ruminating in my melon at the moment.

I have been considering how to inspire emotions in players and characters alike. I know many guffaw at the thought of a game mechanic to do just that. I realize people have strong feelings about introducing such mechanics also. I am contemplating such mechanics because of my currently only medium to role-play is Play-by-Post (PbP) and conveying such sensations through PbP is different and more complicated than in a Face-to-Face (FtF) game.

So, my thought in a nutshell, is if you don't know if you are scaring them with your words, frighten the shiat out of them with your mechanics...

More on this as I develop it,
TB

Sally Forth

2010-06-02T21:36:00.003-05:00

Dwarven Bezerker, Power Level 4 (60pp)
Sally is a Blacksmith whose skill of crafting steel is better than her ability to barter. To this end, she is taken by her customers on a regular basis. Locals know better, they have seen her anger get the better of her. She is not much of a fighter, but watch out when she gets riled up and goes for her maul.

Templates: Dwarf (Racial) (16pp)

Trade Offs: -1 Attack/+1 Damage

Abilities [11pp]: Strength 12 (+1) / 16* (+3), Dexterity 10 (+0), Constitution 14 (+2), Intelligence 14 (+2), Wisdom 12 (+1), Charisma 11 (+0)

Saves [12pp]: Toughness +3 (+6 Chainmail), Fortitude 4 (+6/+8*), Reflexes 4 (+4), Willpower 4 (+5/+7*)

Combat [8pp]: Attack Bonus +1 /-1* [Melee: +4/+2*, Maul: +5/+3*], Base Defense +6/+4* [dc16/14*], +1 Flatfooted [dc11/ 9*], Initiative +0, Grapple +3/+5* (+9 resist*), Knockback -4, Hero Points 1

Damage (dc): Unarmed +1/+3* (dc16/18*), Maul +5/+7* (dc20/21*)

Skills [2pp]: Bluff 2 (+2), Craft (Artistic) 4 (+4), Sense Motive 2 (+3)

Feats [16pp]: Attack Focus (melee) 3, Attack Specialization (maul) 2, Dodge Focus 3, Equipment 2 (10ep), Favored Opponent (Giants, Goblins) 2, Hardy, Rage, Steadfast, Tough

Powers [11pp]:
"Thick as a brick." [Density 1; Extras: Duration (Continuous), Flaws: Permanent, Power Feats: Innate, Note: +2 Strength] (2pp)
"Old as an Oak" [Feature 1 [Longevity] (1pp)
"Stout" [Shrinking 1 [Extras: Compression (+3), Duration (Continuous), Normal Strength, Normal Toughness, Flaws: Permanent, Power Feats: Innate] (7pp)
"Vision of an Owl" [Super Sense 1 [Infra-vision] (1pp)

Equipment [10ep]: Maul +4 [Crit. 20, 5ep], Chainmail [+3 Toughness, 3ep], Small Shield [+1 Dodge / Block, 2ep]

Build Notes:

* Is stats for Rage Feat
Density causes Strength to start at +2 (12)
Racial Template is Constitution +2 (12), Charisma -2 (8)
First character with M&M rules in a long time, so some things may have been miscalculated

Change Log: Miscalculated the dc for unarmed attacks. I was thinking, for some reason, that unarmed started at 10+ damage bonus and lethal started at 15+ damage bonus. ~ Thanks Naturax!

Putting the Abstract into Fighting

2010-06-01T23:07:00.000-05:00

A few days back, on the B/X BLACKRAZOR blog, JB talked about removing the To-Hit roll out of combat and making hits automatic. This got me to thinking that I could expound on an older post of mine.

- Break -

Ok, the break is because I started that at 2:30 this morning and thankfully I stopped when I did. I was amazingly tired, but could not sleep. I was having all kinds of 'grandious' ideas at the time though they probably amounted to nothing more than a game that was not D&D. Which, I will say, is not such a bad thing, but I hesitate to succumb to my ADD. Or, give it room to flourish, let alone fertilize it. I do however have to get it out of my head. So, intention: get it down and force myself to forget about it.

If the following is true:

Hit Points are abstractions of Heroic Resources that have to be whittled down before you can actually damage them.
To Hit rolls are just another mechanical save for the target and can be eliminated.
Hit Dice are source of an abstract randomly generation of a character's potential prowess (HPs).
Damage rolls are used to remove that potential prowess and to determine the severity of the eventual physical blow.

I came up with a whole bunch of stuff that boiled down to a single roll mechanic that didn't really resemble 0e D&D anymore.

Basically one would use Red, White, and Blue dice and based on my thoughts in my older post, linked to above, would be rolled for representations of the the abstractions, or would be physical representations of the same. Wow, I realize that makes little sense, but I know what I am thinking but just can't articulate it well. So I will attempt to use examples.

Combat is resolved by dropping the Initiative and To Hit rolls. Players grab a number of white dice equal to their Hit Dice (rounded down), a Red Die, and a Blue Die if they have a shield. The Red Die represents their damage potential, the White Die their combat prowess (for lack of a better phrase), and the Blue Die their shield (if they have one).

The person that goes first is the person that declares an attack first. Imagine a group sitting around the table with a hand full of dice (not that many actually) staring each other down (would like to try this in an E6 game). I kind of envision that calm before the storm, as opponents circle and size each other up. If no one initiates, the side with the most participants goes first. If that is a tie, IDK, roll.

Once someone declares a target for an attack, they cast their dice. The defender does likewise. The Attacker's Red Die is turned from potential into action with the roll, and if it beats any of the Defender's White Die, damage is inflicted; the White Die is permanently removed and taken from the table (Does NOT go back into the hand in subsequent rounds), Hit Points are subtracted equal to the damage of the Red Die to the opponent. However, the defender may use their Blue Die to Block (used Blue Dice are removed from the table but are added back into the hand on the next combat round), or their Red Die to Parry (Losing their attack and removing the Red Die from the table but not permanently, and not losing Hit Points either). Now the Defender (assuming they are still alive - have HPs remaining) can counter attack, or hold their action until their target presents themselves. Of course, they could be chopped down before they get the chance.

Once Dice are cast, they remain on the table until all participants have a chance to act or the target is unconscious or dead.

Tracking monsters is rather easy, but granted more difficult than normal. A notation might be: Orc 1 (4) or Troll 6+3 (24) for HD (HP). When the monster (or the dice representing it) is recovered from the table, the HD should be updated so that when they are cast for the next round an appropriate number of White Die will be thrown.

If all HPs are removed, but there are White Die still present (HD) then the opponent is unconscious. If all the White Die are removed, but their are still HP the opponent is Dead!

That's it in a nutshell, and I can see it bordering on a totally different mechanic than traditional 0e D&D, or even a mechanic for miniature war games but I think I like it enough to try it (or something similar) if given the chance (not likely)

If anyone tries this, or something similar, please let me know how it goes.

Best,
TB

Thought: an option could be that if the opponent loses a White Die, but is not dead and left on the table, the dice are picked up and re-cast (used Red Dice do NOT get added back into the re-cast hand). Some dice might be lower this throw (representing them staggered and off balance from the previous successful attack) or they all may be higher (representing them fortifying themselves from the same).

[Warriors & Warlocks] Character Template

2010-05-31T21:27:00.001-05:00

Ok, so I am lazy. I wanted to do a few character builds for Warriors & Warlocks and put them here on the blog. I didn't feel like having to type the format each time so I figured I'd make a post out of it and copy/paste as needed. Hopefully I covered everything...

Character Name, Type, Power Level # (##pp)

Abilities [#pp]: Strength 10 (+0), Dexterity 10 (+0), Constitution 10 (+0), Intelligence 10 (+0), Wisdom 10 (+0), Charisma 10 (+0)

Saves [#pp]: Toughness +0, Fortitude 0 (+0), Reflexes 0 (+0), Willpower 0 (+0)

Combat [#pp]: Base Attack +0 [+0 type], Base Defense ## [## flatfooted], Initiative +0, Grapple (BA+Str+Size), Knockback (1/2 tough save, size, immovable), Hero Points #

Damage (dc): Unarmed (+0),

Skills [#pp]: Name rank (+0), Name rank (+0)

Feats [#pp]: Name rank, Name rank

Powers [#pp]:
Power Name rank [Extras: Name, Flaws: Name, Power Feats: Name, # Alternate Powers]
-Base: Game Name [Power Name rank; Extras: type; Flaws: type; Power Feats: type]
-AP: Game Name # [Power Name rank; Extras: type; Flaws: type; Power Feats: type]

Equipment [#ep]: Name [Facts], Name [Facts]

Drawbacks [#pp]: Type [Description],

Complications: Type [Description],

The Helm: A Redux

2010-05-30T13:47:00.000-05:00

As Talysman was kind enough to point out in a response to my previous blog post on The Helm had some errors. To be honest, after re-reading it, it was full of wholes. In my hurry and zeal to get the ideas in my head down I rushed through it and somethings didn't jive.

So here is part duex, where I keep some things and re-write others. Keep in mind I am smitten by Swords & Wizardry and use it almost exclusively, and have taken the typical rule of Xin6 chance up to an equal Xin12 chance:

Effect on Armor Class: Not wearing a helm for the appropriate suit of arms is a +1 [-1] penalty to that Armor Class (Referred to as AC from here on out). So wearing a helm (the default) gives you the listed AC. Note: There is NO penalty for not wearing a helm when 'unarmored'. unarmored is not an AC as far as I am concerned and it retains its 9 [10] AC, and wearing a helm when 'unarmored' does not improve your AC.
Surprise: by default, characters are surprised 4in12 (2in6), were default assumes wearing a helm. Removing the helm, or being unarmored, should improve this. Un-helmed and unarmored characters are therefore only surprised 3in12 of the time. Great Helms, discussed further below, do provide better protection but increase the chance of being surprised to 5in12 when worn. Characters removing a Great Helm become surprise as an un-helmed or unarmored character (3in12), but it does take one round to put any helm back on.
Initiative: as with surprise, by default assumes characters with armor are wearing a helm. Initiative is typically decided by the higher roll of a d12. Unarmored and un-helmed characters should have a slight advantage, perhaps a +1, to initiative as they would be able to perceive the actions of others better and react accordingly. Note: An un-helmed character will almost certainly take the advantage of the first round to don their headgear. If not treat them as un-helmed until they do (see Combat Effects below).
Hear Noise: dwarves, elves, and halflings, by default have a 4in12 chance to hear noise and humans a 2in12 chance. Thieves, if used, also start at the same chance as demi-humans to hear noise, but increase as they advance (Hopefully oneday I will get thief rules wrote up). Again, the default assumes that armored characters are wearing a helm. A character, for whatever reason, devoid of a helm should increase the chance for hearing noise by one.
Basic Guideline: by default assume that an Armored character has their helm on unless they say otherwise. If the proposed action can conceivably have better results when not wearing a helm, give Un-helmed character a +1 to their Xin12 chance.
Combat Effects to Attack: when attacking; on a modified To Hit roll of 19+, the attacker may call the head of a helmed opponent as their target, and on a modified To Hit roll of 17+ the attacker may call the head of an un-helmed opponent as their target.
Combat Effects to Damage: striking a helmed head does regular damage, but the target must make a Saving Throw with a +2. Passing the Saving Throw causes the defender to be dazed in addition to the damage received, and will be at -1 for their next round's actions. Failing the Saving Throw causes the defender to be knocked prone and be dazed (-1 for their next round's actions). Striking an un-helmed head does full damage, no roll required, and causes a Saving Throw. Passing the Saving Throw causes the defender to be dazed in addition to the full damaged received for 1d4+1 rounds. Failing the Saving Throw causes the defender to be knocked unconsious for 1d6+2 rounds.
Great Helms: will provide an additional -1 [+1] to AC, as do shields, but this type of helm will also add an additional +1 to the Xin12 formula, for helms mentioned earlier, for Surprise and an additional -1 to formulas for Initiative, Hear Noise, etc. (See Base Guideline rule above for guidance. Basically a Great Helm provides an additional +1 when its size and protection is beneficial (Saving Throw vs called head shot and AC) and an additional -1 when its size and protection is hindering.

A re-working / re-writing of the helm rules was required. I still do not feel 100% comfortable with the outcome, so additional observations or criticisms are appreciated.

TB

Warriors & Warlocks

2010-05-29T14:02:00.000-05:00

While I have been focusing on Swords & Wizardry (Fantasy being my favorite genre) lately, I have been known to try other rules sets out in the past. I once purchased several PDFs of Mutants & Masterminds (M&M from here on out) to play in a M&M Fantasy game that didn't work out. I even tried a teen game of M&M where my concept was a fifteen year old goth kid that would Nullify others, that he perceived as bad when he wore his goth attire and would Nullify everyone if he didn't have his jacket on (a black leather straight jacket FWIW). Much debate ensued on how many points this should cost. Needless to say I lost interest.

Then, a few weeks ago, I stumbled upon Greywulf's blog and read about how much he liked Warriors & Warlocks! Well I was intrigued, to say the least. So, last night I purchased it as a PDF for just over $16. I think what I will really like about it is that it will be in a genre I love, which is fantasy, and has some built in genre constraints, or tropes if you prefer. Unlike convention M&M where if you can imagine it, you can build it, Warriors & Warlocks (W&W from here on out) establishes itself in a sub-genre of fantasy, Swords & Sorcery. Which is even better. My main concern was that Magic would be a catch all Power that would be a subsystem in character creation to sneak in all the non-genre appropriate abilities. With W&W starting in a sub-genre that governs Magic more harshly, I can slowly add-to rather than restrict. Another feature I like is templates. There are Racial Templates and Professional Templates. Want an Elven Rouge, pay the price for the templates, verify that resulting scores do not exceed game limits, and move out smartly! I had thought about building templates, and in fact Joshua Dunlow had created several fantasy templates and done a lot of other work on M&M Fantasy prior to W&W coming out, over at The Atomic Think Tank (a M&M Forum) already.

I suppose I will finish reading the PDF and might submit a full review. At the moment my ADD is screaming at me to use W&W for Ukarea (TM) rather than S&W. Right now, I am forcing myself to say, "Maybe do it for both rules sets eventually, but stay focused on what you started with!" Tough sell ~ I love to tinker.

The only thing that is kind of disheartening is the fact that M&M 3ed is do to be released soon and I have no idea if W&W will be re-released for the new edition. Not to mention how much interest can be garnered on PbP boards for a M&M 2ed game when it is.

Wondering why I am doubly blessed; OCD & ADD
TB

The Helm

2010-05-28T18:36:00.002-05:00

A full re-write on this is pending. Talysman, thanks. There are tons of flaws do to my haste to get my thoughts down. I know what I want to do, I just have to make it, make sense.

Reading the Beyond the Black Gate blog I got to thinking about how the helm offended my OCD senses when I was younger. I had forgotten about it until now, but once again, I am obsessing on it.

For the record, I almost exclusively use Swords & Wizardry: Whitebox (though I am leaning towards possibly switching to Swords & Wizardry: Core rules, but that is for another post) and occasionally refer to Mentzer Basic (BECMI or RC). Any other rules systems mentioned here will more than likely be tagged as such. I also prefer the Ascending Armor Class but usually try to mention both when the subject is approached, for those that prefer Descending Armor Class.

Now, about helmets. Based on replies at the afore mentioned blog, I have decided to mash a couple of the ideas together. I should give credit to each author I suppose, but there are quite a few of them, so I will just say, "Go read the linked blog. It has tons of good info."

Damn, ADD kicking in again! So, here is what I intend to try for my next game:

Not wearing a helm for the appropriate suit of arms is a +1 [-1] penalty to that Armor Class (Referred to as AC from here on out). So wearing a helm (the default) gives you the listed AC. Note: There is NO penalty for not wearing a helm when 'Unarmored'. Unarmored is not an AC as far as I am concerned and it retains its 9 [10] and wearing one when 'Unarmored' does not improve your AC.
Since wearing a helm is the default, Surprise, Initiative, Hear Noise, etc. is 4in12 (the old school 2in6 taken up to a d12 for Background Skills and such, which I hope to post one day). This is reduced to 3in12, possibly 2in12, when not wearing a helm.
Great Helms will provide an additional -1 [+1] to AC as do shields, but this type of helm will also add a +1 to the Xin12 formula for Surprise, Initiative, Hear Noise, etc.
When attacking; on a modified To Hit roll of 19+, the attacker may call the head of a helmed opponent as their target, and on a modified To Hit roll of 17+ the attacker may call the head of an un-helmed opponent as their target.
Hitting a helmed head does regular damage, but the target must make a Saving Throw with a +2. Failing the Saving Throw causes the defender to be dazed in addition to the damage and will be at -1 for their next round.
Hitting an un-helmed head does full damage (no roll required), and the target must make a Saving Throw or be knocked unconscious for 1d6 rounds. (Considering having a -1 dazed effect even if Saving Throw is passed.)

These are just initial ideas and I would love to hear feed back before I playtest them. Please, thoughts?

TB

Still Undecided

2010-05-28T13:54:00.002-05:00

Now that I have slept on it and read up on it... I still have not decided how to determine the largest settlement in the barony, but I have a few ideas.

I think that whether the barony is standalone, or part of a larger dominion, should have a direct reflection on the size of the largest settlement in the barony. A barony that was part of a duchy for example, might have a city as a trade center, as it is receiving outside trade goods and would likewise want to have a communal place to bring it's goods and services to trade with the duchy.
The age of the barony should also have a direct effect on the size of the largest settlement. I have already established a 1d4+1 for this setting to determine the number of centuries the dominion has been established. I could use that as a modifier.
The size (square mileage) of a barony, to a lesser extent will determine the number, size, and location of settlements. Not to mention that a larger dominion could be a perceived a threat, in which case it might be concurred, or it might actually be a threat and be the ruling barony of a march.
As many of the larger dominions, at least in the Rules Cyclopedia, are defined on whether some or all of the combined baronies were the result of conquest, I might want to factor that in as well, based on the above thought.

Guess it is time to work on some random tables.

TB

Time to Scratch My Head!

2010-05-27T21:45:00.003-05:00

So, I finished up the arable regions and their populace. I had started with a figure of 19,530 total inhabitants for the barony. After all the arable regions inhabitants were subtracted, I had 17,208 people remaining.

The guidelines suggest taking the square root of the population (which is 131) and multiplying it by a randomly generated number (2d4+10), where I rolled 3 for a total of 13. The largest non-arable producing center in the barony would then be a Small Town of 1,705 inhabitants. My sensibilities thought this was fine, but when I started reducing 1,705 by a random percentage (2d4x5%), I got two more towns of 1,279 and 1086 persons, and a village of 760. This left me with a staggering 12,378 people in a multitude of tiny (<760 inhabitants) villages, which is not ideal for what I had envisioned!

Think I will call it a night and mull this over. My knee-jerk reaction is to start with a Large Town, or even a Small City, and then reduce it to eat up some of the population...

"OH NO! GODZILLA!" ~ resident of my starting barony

TB

Progress: Coming to Life

2010-05-27T17:56:00.003-05:00

The barony that I chose to start with in Ukarea (TM) is starting to take shape and I thought I would share, for those who care, and to make a log of what I have done so I can do it again if it works out well. I have the memory of a nat so hopefully I can convey what I have done so I can recreate it if necessary later.

First question, how many inhabitants are there in the barony? I decided a general question could have a general answer; 16 six mile hexes (total livable area) each have 31sq miles of space, or (16x31=) 496sq miles total. This is comforting because it is on par with the 498sq miles of a default dominion (One 24mile hex) in BECMI or RC. OCD sated. So based on the random Population Demographics formula; 4d6xC where "C" is the number of centuries the barony had been around (2 full centuries in this case, see older posts). I multiplied the random population density by the number of square miles in my barony for a total of 19,530 people. That sounds about right, I guess.

Second question, how much arable (farmland) is needed to support 19,530 people in a medieval society? Using the figures provided, 1 square mile will sustain 180 people. 19530/180=108.5 sq miles of arable land. I should have probably just said 108 or 109 one mile hexes, but I didn't. A one mile hex is not equal to one square mile, based on the .9306049 squared figure provided. A one mile hex is, based on that figure, .866 square miles. Multiplying .866 by the 108.5 square miles needed I discovered I needed 125 one mile hexes of productive arable land (farmland) to support the populace.

Oh, Hexographer...

Third question, how was the land dispersed and how much of the total population lived in the arable regions? I placed the 125 one mile farm hexes to taste, creating twelve separate arable regions. I decided that each of these regions needed farmers and families to work the productive lands. But how many? I decided to do the same thing that I did for the barony as a whole. I counted the number of hexes for each region and multiplied that by .866 (the square miles to a single mile hex) for a total square mileage for each of the twelve regions. I am kind of thinking of them as mini-dominions, which I think is a fair assessment. So as an example, farmlands covering 6 one mile hexes has a total square mileage of 5.196. I dropped that area into the Kingdom Population Calculator under Land Size, entered 229 years (figured earlier) for Kingdom Age, and rolled 4d6x2 for Specific Desired Density then hit calculate. Which gave me some key information; Total Population, Rural Population, and Urban Population. The key for me was Total Population.

Note: I could have used the same random (4d6xC) that I had generated for the barony for each of the arable regions, but chose not to so that I would get better randomization. If two arable regions had the same number of one mile hexes, it would have the same number of inhabitants. Which I didn't want. With this, a second 6 mile hex arable region will more than likely have a higher or lower population (perhaps it was founded earlier or later than the first one I did).

Note: I disregarded Rural and Urban results, as they felt wrong to me for the small villages, hamlets, and thorpe that I was creating. In retrospect, I think I could have inverted the corresponding results for the two fields to get a fair assessment of how many of the population lived in the settlement, and how many lived out of it, perhaps on a distant farm.

Lastly, I took the number of people in the arable region and used it into the Population Center Demographics Calculator to find out what types of services were present, and noted it down for the dominion writeup that will come later. I have completed eight of the twelve farm regions thus far and hope to have the remaining four done tonight. Once I have all them done, I will total their populace and subtract it from the dominion total population. Once I have the figure, I can use the steps provided to determine the largest settlement and all subsequent settlements per the Medieval Demographics Made Easy site.

This all sounds rather difficult I am sure, but once I figured out how I wanted to do it, it went rather quickly.

Happy Gaming,
TB

So the Rolling Begins

2010-05-26T18:00:00.002-05:00

Pulling out the dice, firing up Hexographer, and pulling up my old blank Ukarea (TM) map...

1d4+1= 2 (200 hundred) + 2d10 = 2,9 (29 years) - So the new Barony will be 229yrs old (Recorded Time). Not a founding Barony by no means, but falls into what I suspect will be about average.

5d6 = 21 hexes (6mi each) - where to plunk my first undertaking?

So I chose a chunk of land from the Ukarea (TM) map, and picked 21 hexes and blew it up!

Each small hex is now equal to one mile across, or from center to center. Keeping in mind that a hex at this scale has an area of only .866 square miles I can continue by placing Farm Land to determine the number and density of the populace and use 'Arable' land and figure out how many people could be supported the dominion by rolling 6d4x2 for each such hex.

Additional Note: If each Farm Land hex has 6d4x2 farmers, then subtracting that from 180 (the number of persons it could support with its resource) I can figure out how many people are living in settlements.

More to come as I splash in farmlands and tinker a bit...

Hope you enjoy it! My OCD is being sated!

Attempt at Randomizing Dominion Creation

2010-05-25T23:57:00.004-05:00

I decided rather than reinvent the wheel, I would take my blank map of Ukarea (TM) and repopulate it. I was never really happy with the breakdown of dominions anyway and hate to throw the work away that I have already done for it. Now to apply some randomizers...

Pulling out my old copy of Dawn of Worlds (direct link to pdf), as a reference for world building time lines, I have decided to try some random calculations for the dominions I will be creating. During the Second Age in Dawn of Worlds, time is measured in 100 year increments and a minimum of five turns has to be spent on the age (500 years). Which interestingly enough corresponds to the multiplication factor for randomly determining Population Density in Medieval Demographics Made Easy by S. John Ross. I have decided to go with 1d4+1 for the number of hundreds of years, and a percentile roll, 2d10, for years between centuries. The number of full centuries will be 'C' in the converted Population Density formula of; 6d4xC per square mile of arable land.

So, with that, I can determine how old the dominion is and how many people there are per square mile. Once I chose where the dominion will be placed, I can draw up a sub-hex map with arable land represented as farmland. Each 1 mile sub-hex is equal to .866 square miles. From there I can extrapolate how many people are in each sub-hex / each 6mile hex / and the overall dominion. I can also determine based on the number of hexes that could be made arable, how many persons the dominion could hold at full capacity. (This might lead to a fun little ratio that I could use to determine need for expansion, which in turn will influence the relations of neighboring dominions, when I get that far into this)

In my previous post about distractions, I discovered that there was similar square mileage in sixteen 6mile hexes as in a standard BECMI (RC) 24mile hex dominion. Sixteen 6mile hexes being average for a dominion (Barony most likely) I have decided to try going with 5d6 (range of 5 to 30, with a bell curve around 17 or 18) for a random generator of how many 6mile hexes my starting dominion will cover.

Now all this may sound silly, and I can rationalize that it is, but OCD is a remarkable fickle bitch. Good thing I enjoy doing such things, aka exercises in futility.

More tomorrow, hopefully.

TB

HOW IN THE NAME OF ALL THAT IS HOLY DO I GET THE TEXT BACKGROUND COLOR TO GO BACK TO TRANSPARENT?!

Great! More Destractions!

2010-05-23T13:35:00.002-05:00

As I had mentioned in an earlier post I had ran across two topics that got my juices flowing. Now, I want to mash them together, with a couple of other ideas, and see what I can come up with:

Take the following:

Micro-Megadungeons (at Evan's Swords of Minaria Blog, which takes the idea of leveling a party to forth level all in a small setting)
The One Page Dungeon / The One Page Wilderness and to a lesser extent the 5 Room Dungeon (Sorry no link)
The Master Plan (by 3llense'g, over at Goblinoid Games) that suggests a Nemesis can advance as the party does, that I think of as a Mini-Game for the DM.
And something else I can't remember at the moment...

Put it all into my brain, shake vigorously, and release!

((Pulling this out of the Draft list so topic may wonder))
So, while looking for the mysterious fourth inspirational item referred to above, I stumbled across S. John Ross' Medieval Demographics Made Easy. I had seen it before and scanned over it, but was not interested in developing a setting at the time. Now, unlike then, I am. Well to begin with I couldn't decide whether to start big and zoom in, or start small and grow the setting. I decided to take a middle route. I wouldn't develop a whole world, nor would I begin with a village. Inspired by the early works of Grubman with his The Phoenix Barony setting (Sorry can't currently find a link), I decided to start with a barony. I had to decide how big the barony would be, so I consulted my copy of Test of the Warlords module and Rules Cyclopedia. Both sources suggested starting with a 24mile hex for the basic dominion. This held me up for a brief moment, as I had decided to go with a 6mile hex scale, based on Steamtunnel's The Hydra's Grotto blog. I converted the 24mile hex to square miles and did the same for the 6mile hex. I found that their were 16 6mile hexes worth of land in a 24mile hex. So my starting barony would be 16, 6mile hexes. That soothed my OCD, temporarily...

I set about using the guidelines presented on S. John Ross' site and tried some of the linked random generators, but none of the results fit my idea of the demographics of a fantasy role-play setting. Needless to say, I went to bed frustrated. While trying to go to sleep, I had an epiphany! I was trying to once again develop from a top-down viewpoint. The question was, what if I went bottom-up? Could I draw the map how I wanted it and then based on that determine how big the population was? How many Cities, Towns, Villages, etc. would be present? Sure I could. If I made a map with sub-hexes and put in farmland I could figure out the population and what size neighborhood to place based on the figure provided of 180 people could be supported with each 1mile squared. Off to fire-up Hexmapper!

More to come, hopefully tonight!
TB