Dynasty Zero
Saturday, January 20, 2024
Mini Six: Bare Knuckle Edition
Friday, December 8, 2023
Perilous Shores Hexcrawl Campaign
It's been quite a while since I've written anything here. But there's always something going on in my head. (Be afraid. Be very afraid!) Here's one of the things I've been pondering.
I've mentioned the online map generator Perilous Shores before. It was a really useful tool then and I really liked it. Well, I still like it and it keeps getting better. Watabou, it's creator, keeps adding features that improves it and makes it more flexible. He also has several different generators including a village generator, a city generator and a one page dungeon generator. All of which have options to customize and/or modify the output.
One of the really cool improvements to Perilous Shores is that Watabou connected the other generators to the map maker. So, if you want to instantly create a village that is on the map, you right click the village and you have the option to have the village generator create it. The same for adventure sites and the One Page Dungeon generator.
This got me to thinking. If you wanted to create a hexcrawl but were feeling lazy you could use the generators to get a headstart. In fact, if you combine it with other generators for NPCs and monsters you could create an entire hexcrawl pretty quickly.
Here's a short example:
This is the bare-bone beginnings for the Island of Storms hexcrawl using Watabou's generators.
First, I generate a map. I'm going to make this a small map just for sake of example.
This entire map was created by the map maker, including names. I did modify it. As generated it had a city but no adventure sites. Being a small, isolated island, I didn't want it to have a city so I deleted it, leaving only the village of Crimson Gate. I also added the two adventure sites so there would be places for the characters to explore. This is all menu driven so it's simple to do.
Next I created a players map. I would only do this if I wanted the players to know the geography of the area. I can modify the map to hide the adventure sites and other features if I want.
Second, I'll create the map of the village.
Then on to the adventure sites.
The information is automatically generated with the dungeon. And it can be formatted in a couple of different ways. This is just the default style. However, if you want complete control over stocking the dungeon or want to use a different generator you can hide the descriptions and just have numbers.
Now the second dungeon.
The integration of the generators isn't perfect as you can tell by the description of the Haunted Vault. It does not lie in the bend of a river.
It took me about ten minutes to put all of this together. Now, I'll need to come up with some NPCs, stock the dungeons, create a wandering monster table for the island and I'm set to go. Or as I mentioned, find generators to do this for me. They are out there.
Saturday, April 22, 2023
Thursday, April 20, 2023
A Hobbit Inspired Campaign V: System
I was debating whether to talk about system or the setting first. I've decided to tentatively select a system because I believe it will help focus the setting creation. And I can always change the system later if I'm not satisfied with the outcome.
For this exercise I am going to use White Box: FMAG with a few modifications. This was a difficult choice. I was sorely tempted by both B/X and The Hero's Journey. But for simplicities sake I am going to go with White Box for now. For the most part the changes will be plug-and-play.Starting with base SW: FMAG I would make the following changes and additions.
From James Spahn' White Box Omnibus and Compendium I would add:
- Greenleaf Elf - Although elves are magical, some are more magical than others. Greenleaf Elves do not command magic but are very attuned to the forest and have forest related skills.
- The Ranger - The Ranger would not use the magic option. This class, as well as the Fighter, would represent the Woodmen. I was also considering the Barbarian for this but went with the Ranger instead.
- Remove Cleric.
- Elves would use the variant rules if they are not Greenleaf Elves. They would use Clerical magic. I still need to decide whether they would use the Elf Variant spell progression or the Cleric Spell progression. And I would lower the XP needed to reach second level to 4000. Since Elves are not fading and disappearing into the west, I may let elves progress to the 10th level. This is were White Box maxes out.
- Half-Elf - Though I can't quite figure out how to do it. The one Half-Elf mentioned is Elrond and he seems like any other elf. The Half-Elf classes I've seen aren't satisfactory. They usually give the half-elf a single first level spell and some of the Elf abilities. I might just make Half-Elves the same as elves.
- Berserker - If I can find a Berserker class that I like I will include it to represent the skin-changing Beornings.
- Experience Points - Ultimately, The Hobbit is a treasure hunt. And the characters get their hands on two hoards during their travels, the trolls' and the dragon's. However, gold as XP doesn't necessarily feel right for a game based on the book. I could either substitute or supplement the traditional system with one that rewards reaching goals, completing quests or being heroic or something like that. The Hero's Journey has an experience system like this.
- Shields Shall Be Splintered! and Helms Shall Be Dented! (Also known as Helmets shall be sundered.)
- Though there is no mention of Plate Armor that I recall it will exist but will be rare and VERY expensive.
- Add Scale Armor -3 [+3]
- Max HP at 1st level.
Saturday, April 15, 2023
Friday, April 7, 2023
A Hobbit Inspired Campaign IV: Details About the 1937 Version of "The Hobbit"
In this post I want to highlight some specific points about the 1937 version of The Hobbit. For this I'm going to draw on The Hobbit itself, the two blog posts that inspired my series, "The Hobbit 1937" and "1937 Hobbit as a Setting", as well as a couple of forum threads talking about the subject, including "Using 'The Hobbit' as the only canon and starting point" and "D&D: The Hobbit".
The Annotated Hobbit was a big help with this because it has the text of the 1937 edition in parallel with the current edition. Also, many of these items were pointed out in the blog posts and on the forums, so most of this didn't originate with me.
- *EDIT* I seemed to have missed kind of a big one. The Elves in particular but other races also don't seem to be fading away. There is no mention of the Elves heading West and leaving that I recall. This definitely changes the tone.
- The term Middle-Earth does not appear in the book. Neither does Shire, only Hobbiton.
- Wizards are people, too. Gandalf is just a wizard, there is no indication that he is anything more. He visited "a great council of the white wizards" who are masters of good magic. He has a cousin named Radagast who is also a wizard and lives near the Southern borders of Mirkwood. Gandalf has an enemy called the Necromancer who is also a wizard. He turned the Greenwood into Mirkwood with his evil. That means there are evil wizards in the world. The fact that he is called a necromancer also implies the existence of the undead. Gandalf and the Council of White Wizards drove him out of Mirkwood. It appears anyone can be a wizard with enough talent and practice.
- Gollum is an honorable creature. Even though he will eat any humanoid he can. He is not obsessed with his ring of invisibility. He is very upset when he discovers that his ring is missing and he can't give it to Bilbo as the prize for winning the riddle contest. He offers to lead Bilbo out of the mountain as a consolation prize.
- Rings of Invisibility are just what they seem. And you leave a shadow when invisible.
- Orc is the Hobbit word for Goblin. Hobgoblins are larger Goblins.
- Goblins speak the common language used by Hobbits, Men and Dwarves.
- Dragons also speak the common language.
- In fact giant spiders, trolls and some birds speak the same common language.
- Other birds, like the giant eagles, and creatures such as Wargs speak their own language that people can learn or know if they are the right bloodline.
- Heck, even troll purses are enchanted to warn their owners of theft.
- Stone Giants exist and some are friendly enough to help wizards occasionally. Perhaps other types of giants exist, too.
- There was once a king west of the Wilderlands that people have now forgotten.
- Between Hobbiton and Rivendell "There were castles on some of the hills, and many looked as if they had not been built for any good purpose." When I read the revised version of the line, "On some of them were old castles with an evil look, as if they had been built by wicked people." I always assumed that the castles were ruins. I'm not sure why. I'll probably run with this assumption.
- Elrond states that the trolls may have"...come on the remnants of old robberies in some hold in the mountains of the North. I have heard that there are still forgotten treasures of old to be found in the deserted caverns of the mines of Moria, since the dwarf and goblin war.” It sounds like there are dungeons or adventure sites to be plundered.
- Rivendell does not seem very large. Particularly if you use Tolkien's paintings as evidence.
- Elrond is a Half-Elf thus Half-Elves exist.
- An Elf-Goblin War occurred in the far past.
- A Dwarf-Goblin War occurred in the recent past. Many of Dain's warriors participated in it.
- Elves are not immortal. "Already behind him among the goblin dead lay...many a fair elf that should have lived yet long ages merrily in the wood."
- Elves are magical.
- Elves aren't always nice.
- Elves like to party and they get drunk.
- Elves trade with Men.
- There are larger trade networks even if the quantity of goods is small.
- Dwarves were master smiths and used to make marvelous toys, in addition tomasterful weapons and armor.
- Wicked Dwarves were known to ally with Goblins.
- Smaug is not the titanic dragon he is often depicted as. Once again, if you use Tolkien's paintings as evidence.
- There are skin-changers/shape-changers in the Wilderlands. And the ability is passed from generation to generation. At least one skin-changer had animals that acted as his servants. They even walked on their hind legs.
- Men are expanding north into the land between the Misty Mountains and Mirkwood, the land of the Great River of the Wildlands, settling and creating villages.
- Chain mail seemed to be the most common heavy armor.
- Golf is a game. Originally played with a goblin's head.
Saturday, April 1, 2023
A Hobbit Inspired Campaign III
Next is Legends of Middle Earth. It is a free game that is 25 pages long that uses its own system. LoME is a game pointed directly at the full Lord of the Rings experience. One of the races a player can choose is Descended Maiar.
When preparing for a game in Middle Earth, a Game Master must make one decision before all others: The Hobbit, or Lord of the Rings? Basically, the feel of which book would you like to emulate? Both are completely valid choices, but also altogether completely different. Games modeled after The Hobbit are likely to be more lighthearted, silly, and clichéd. Those emulating the trilogy will be more melodramatic and grim, focusing upon the interplay of character’s Passions. And perhaps most importantly, servants of dark forces in Hobbit style games have names like Tom, Bert, and William. In Trilogy like games, they’re more likely to be like Grishnak, and mean something in some dark language or another.