tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10079448479308678522024-03-13T22:08:51.157-07:00Dynasty ZeroNarmerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08635665594860371230noreply@blogger.comBlogger436125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1007944847930867852.post-7654455991222274992024-01-20T09:47:00.000-08:002024-01-20T09:47:47.585-08:00Mini Six: Bare Knuckle Edition<div class="separator" style="text-align: right;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: right;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjXJ3OzkXG-EFB4pZ08Vui8eQervaWSc4L3LINWzVrcxfUId2bChQ6-QPo7aY6SsNSn4Tyo3CUg73PVSencEuz_yMIXA2o-hh_9fTRuBpxekNAmEYaynTzUOKnHpmTDEiM3D9bbEypnQCH7mCnnkVNUsA6yYzgnH_Q4BBFhSG_oshv1vE4Y4cU8kR2NTUbG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="640" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjXJ3OzkXG-EFB4pZ08Vui8eQervaWSc4L3LINWzVrcxfUId2bChQ6-QPo7aY6SsNSn4Tyo3CUg73PVSencEuz_yMIXA2o-hh_9fTRuBpxekNAmEYaynTzUOKnHpmTDEiM3D9bbEypnQCH7mCnnkVNUsA6yYzgnH_Q4BBFhSG_oshv1vE4Y4cU8kR2NTUbG" width="240" /></a></div><span style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: left;">I'm often oblivious to things happening in the gaming world. I'll get focused on one or a small handful of games to the exclusion of all others, even favorites. Well, that has happened again. AntiPaladin Games came out with a new version of <i>Mini Six</i>. <b>Eight</b> months ago! And Ray Nolan, the author, has been working on it and talking about it for at least a year! Talk about head in the sand.</div></span></div><div>So what's different? Mini Six: BKE is non-OGL. It is not a complete game. It is intended to be used as the basis for others to build their games on. Thus, there is a lot left out like the mini settings. And there is some changes. I haven't read it yet so I'm not sure what has changed. I'm still surprised there is a new version.</div><div><br /></div><div>You can find it free at the <a href="http://www.antipaladingames.com/p/mini-six.html" target="_blank">AntiPaladin Games website</a>.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Narmerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08635665594860371230noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1007944847930867852.post-57593599051035482872023-12-08T22:57:00.000-08:002023-12-08T22:57:49.011-08:00Perilous Shores Hexcrawl Campaign<p>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.</p><p>I've mentioned the online map generator <a href="https://dynastyzero.blogspot.com/2021/10/perilous-shores.html" target="_blank">Perilous Shores</a> 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 <a href="https://watabou.itch.io/village-generator" target="_blank">village generator</a>, a <a href="https://watabou.itch.io/medieval-fantasy-city-generator" target="_blank">city generator</a> and a <a href="https://watabou.itch.io/one-page-dungeon" target="_blank">one page dungeon</a> generator. All of which have options to customize and/or modify the output.</p><p>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.</p><p>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.</p><p>Here's a short example:</p><p>This is the bare-bone beginnings for the Island of Storms hexcrawl using Watabou's generators.</p><p>First, I generate a map. I'm going to make this a small map just for sake of example.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkn5JBZf_fZgy3Orb0zPqXbPl3z8EVAPjJdl6qOU8VW985pw2derN76AgxzmMiBOwrZV0nNtd-qRdZBo-SYKgrpAZ3efq8kGrK6Kaqn6sLsk59Ou4rNleZSdaW4QKDfQlDkhnL8_pSbs9TIIbCyGp5QXxCQcGe82X5muiOs-3NhbpQUgM6jSC9s14V-lj4/s4095/island_of_storms.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4095" data-original-width="4095" height="474" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkn5JBZf_fZgy3Orb0zPqXbPl3z8EVAPjJdl6qOU8VW985pw2derN76AgxzmMiBOwrZV0nNtd-qRdZBo-SYKgrpAZ3efq8kGrK6Kaqn6sLsk59Ou4rNleZSdaW4QKDfQlDkhnL8_pSbs9TIIbCyGp5QXxCQcGe82X5muiOs-3NhbpQUgM6jSC9s14V-lj4/w474-h474/island_of_storms.png" width="474" /></a></div><p>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.</p><p>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.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZzqQVIDWVDND5HTJqxkxDd2WUnHE7p3InK5rtsAKwsPQ5FMtSwicr3j9OMHqO4aNIpenCnQL_pW_Uml_zuVCNs4uOhbapQbDDa4sWs9qt4LhECeTWC9TFhN7SwbXzYh51Z9xQyEmAk5pRZOY0V5qEK6hEUhnSWWZ2zhMEve6K-_3zi_H0Fz3aw6jg60YJ/s4095/island_of_storms%20player's%20map.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4095" data-original-width="4095" height="467" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZzqQVIDWVDND5HTJqxkxDd2WUnHE7p3InK5rtsAKwsPQ5FMtSwicr3j9OMHqO4aNIpenCnQL_pW_Uml_zuVCNs4uOhbapQbDDa4sWs9qt4LhECeTWC9TFhN7SwbXzYh51Z9xQyEmAk5pRZOY0V5qEK6hEUhnSWWZ2zhMEve6K-_3zi_H0Fz3aw6jg60YJ/w467-h467/island_of_storms%20player's%20map.png" width="467" /></a></div><br /><p>Second, I'll create the map of the village.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRUHse3UXupSeEhnqwBhgLqA2dRsrJ43f2S48dtIp656GbrDcjfl4qoT3R90_a_OHSW_avwY447dEHL1ybKXscfDsC9hm3Kf5RdD0PLi8dPAJnkI2w_fHrGmOLolUENYT1S816kLrQu3gP7DslqClOwoOEEQlGSRMRS4kUOux2f6XJZtPc3TaDTEZb1S7_/s4095/crimson_gate.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4095" data-original-width="4095" height="406" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRUHse3UXupSeEhnqwBhgLqA2dRsrJ43f2S48dtIp656GbrDcjfl4qoT3R90_a_OHSW_avwY447dEHL1ybKXscfDsC9hm3Kf5RdD0PLi8dPAJnkI2w_fHrGmOLolUENYT1S816kLrQu3gP7DslqClOwoOEEQlGSRMRS4kUOux2f6XJZtPc3TaDTEZb1S7_/w406-h406/crimson_gate.png" width="406" /></a></div><br /><p>Then on to the adventure sites.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8PSwMbPljpdt59Kut9Hak9kAAgzRXCdr9pKBaXRnWaB64erkYC42UQwOPKTXRAKx6g8_HrbLhvDLgOJHDhSRtHEm8fyrriis8sjiBCiR4DX7tQgQAD5phyphenhyphen11CPrMXhYxFh1Z4Uso7XDX9cOyFTDv5P1Pq9px1yWkN3a27En4aHUPFR2EdeMIT8YxBXZYr/s5495/crypt_of_the_blasphemous_witch.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3052" data-original-width="5495" height="317" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8PSwMbPljpdt59Kut9Hak9kAAgzRXCdr9pKBaXRnWaB64erkYC42UQwOPKTXRAKx6g8_HrbLhvDLgOJHDhSRtHEm8fyrriis8sjiBCiR4DX7tQgQAD5phyphenhyphen11CPrMXhYxFh1Z4Uso7XDX9cOyFTDv5P1Pq9px1yWkN3a27En4aHUPFR2EdeMIT8YxBXZYr/w569-h317/crypt_of_the_blasphemous_witch.png" width="569" /></a></div><p>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.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXQfGADLulWDTSZUUSWKM5JtSwF7P2Zih2zYpMOiLuZrnorLgv39jBqeecX4qsMM7DzIsI30E_U7HzCpKmx-jPNJ5dqzpq4PxR8tuD7A2P6Fv_FVVfl5Mztb5wUEGIW9qRqiMPTrkBIMAWCzhKtDgqEBmp53IkgOBN4cF53ShYNIouhUGgnKrwFea_O9oz/s5495/crypt_of_the_blasphemous_witch%20(1).png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3052" data-original-width="5495" height="309" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXQfGADLulWDTSZUUSWKM5JtSwF7P2Zih2zYpMOiLuZrnorLgv39jBqeecX4qsMM7DzIsI30E_U7HzCpKmx-jPNJ5dqzpq4PxR8tuD7A2P6Fv_FVVfl5Mztb5wUEGIW9qRqiMPTrkBIMAWCzhKtDgqEBmp53IkgOBN4cF53ShYNIouhUGgnKrwFea_O9oz/w556-h309/crypt_of_the_blasphemous_witch%20(1).png" width="556" /></a></div><br /><p>Now the second dungeon.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS_YhG0WjXqvea_AIoWOh06PcWYFWYRsSE4fZaowVgsgzAxLVxsN0ER2Q8z4AOgcdLRgIreH2D9ZaYoSDPIauOSpit32Rt3dZEIis3rzxHctv2sJO1s1iJtcfdtnp7aOHbF7TKthF_EHYuuIfD8VGrgdJMgQ1MY_Xw8PD0yMpgnhirWGr8_KFcfMUZK745/s5504/haunted_vault.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3047" data-original-width="5504" height="326" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS_YhG0WjXqvea_AIoWOh06PcWYFWYRsSE4fZaowVgsgzAxLVxsN0ER2Q8z4AOgcdLRgIreH2D9ZaYoSDPIauOSpit32Rt3dZEIis3rzxHctv2sJO1s1iJtcfdtnp7aOHbF7TKthF_EHYuuIfD8VGrgdJMgQ1MY_Xw8PD0yMpgnhirWGr8_KFcfMUZK745/w589-h326/haunted_vault.png" width="589" /></a></div><p>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.</p><p>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.</p><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Narmerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08635665594860371230noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1007944847930867852.post-91974732616100906062023-04-22T15:06:00.005-07:002023-04-22T15:06:45.308-07:00Inspiration for The Hobbit Inspired Campaign II: The Man Himself<p style="text-align: center;">Art created by J.R.R. Tolkien about <i>The Hobbit</i>:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQvMH_ZoafllfDn5TjbouI-cxXDyJFoetkQyps_plAjd66EWNEKTzCAai1B8ewazLK5POUT-J8i4di_REkO2CP3u8y54jpHFFxAZZvyHrvUuU4vIYOehLLcAxwwRq90aHmIbOYSfPeopWVPO2XmQMbBGCiuPSjK1ypeY_euQO0rpPLe8Xkm0um3a9nsQ/s1436/the_hill_hobbiton-across-the_water__the_tolkien_estate_limited_1937.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1436" data-original-width="1072" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQvMH_ZoafllfDn5TjbouI-cxXDyJFoetkQyps_plAjd66EWNEKTzCAai1B8ewazLK5POUT-J8i4di_REkO2CP3u8y54jpHFFxAZZvyHrvUuU4vIYOehLLcAxwwRq90aHmIbOYSfPeopWVPO2XmQMbBGCiuPSjK1ypeY_euQO0rpPLe8Xkm0um3a9nsQ/w299-h400/the_hill_hobbiton-across-the_water__the_tolkien_estate_limited_1937.jpg" width="299" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGXStH3tswdSvp_YuIth-OCqWmbBOq6eG9YcGyV6NFx52cfvNqLSCsnCIWyj_GE1wmswLi-7NMXhxTyH5pOCHxDrHfrauHrMu3GXBinbkWHXcuh-_mPG9YLZqbO11H0C-shuNOLftZw5gVhSntbyVRV55u1yn7j9htvynk_v2lcq_3zXbBp2HxeBLr5g/s534/vGARLKN.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="445" data-original-width="534" height="334" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGXStH3tswdSvp_YuIth-OCqWmbBOq6eG9YcGyV6NFx52cfvNqLSCsnCIWyj_GE1wmswLi-7NMXhxTyH5pOCHxDrHfrauHrMu3GXBinbkWHXcuh-_mPG9YLZqbO11H0C-shuNOLftZw5gVhSntbyVRV55u1yn7j9htvynk_v2lcq_3zXbBp2HxeBLr5g/w400-h334/vGARLKN.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBRjxFbRltOBmF-TlzHh-7ErDyfndp9A0NnOhg3urWcue0V0d-SpPsuAjTIC_nnGCydQ8oPL94f_MUHwtfHwDXGmpYAvD2BuW7GZ3AUXnOububmkCWRUK1YtQHktB3r-M1-XixltkcyRxEpbP-m9Tw-gzIKtZJ1pcdUyJ5qL921ppL91covZEpiVkPXg/s468/GCyCRaG.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="461" data-original-width="468" height="394" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBRjxFbRltOBmF-TlzHh-7ErDyfndp9A0NnOhg3urWcue0V0d-SpPsuAjTIC_nnGCydQ8oPL94f_MUHwtfHwDXGmpYAvD2BuW7GZ3AUXnOububmkCWRUK1YtQHktB3r-M1-XixltkcyRxEpbP-m9Tw-gzIKtZJ1pcdUyJ5qL921ppL91covZEpiVkPXg/w400-h394/GCyCRaG.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1PcSu3ycqnI0uhxKrpRz00tJOczv-VirDzUO4t7lV76ikSwWIlUyxPiAo8_f1oNvP_Ka0uihpSRKMTgmmOm-3TLRZhtCrgSQlMyTiHlMupROxTFurAl4N4eD8bN6fkKNhREfvzjGRWTfAnJSybTIRd6O62xA2hCtJuEjzhKBLlPU2mV4i35N6zeXNww/s489/MC6Lqz1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="489" data-original-width="340" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1PcSu3ycqnI0uhxKrpRz00tJOczv-VirDzUO4t7lV76ikSwWIlUyxPiAo8_f1oNvP_Ka0uihpSRKMTgmmOm-3TLRZhtCrgSQlMyTiHlMupROxTFurAl4N4eD8bN6fkKNhREfvzjGRWTfAnJSybTIRd6O62xA2hCtJuEjzhKBLlPU2mV4i35N6zeXNww/w278-h400/MC6Lqz1.jpg" width="278" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihXhGDaFLOszK3m2Ej6DRUoMMGK3Ht6LWaNHrjTnp-De61P3fQ_1sEjpOpy08A96CcvlVUyy9HUpq4_Fptffydujpm3cHUG35xEXKXIJUVtAL9zpm94hxc_4nj7zHmz-dGIvcu4LZkMAGBktlnWE-JrH5x4c5vt70pvDPmkV1RBZ5961EoN5W74Eidag/s1041/J.R.R._Tolkien_-_The_Elvenking's_Gate_(II).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="766" data-original-width="1041" height="294" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihXhGDaFLOszK3m2Ej6DRUoMMGK3Ht6LWaNHrjTnp-De61P3fQ_1sEjpOpy08A96CcvlVUyy9HUpq4_Fptffydujpm3cHUG35xEXKXIJUVtAL9zpm94hxc_4nj7zHmz-dGIvcu4LZkMAGBktlnWE-JrH5x4c5vt70pvDPmkV1RBZ5961EoN5W74Eidag/w400-h294/J.R.R._Tolkien_-_The_Elvenking's_Gate_(II).jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB1Ml1bRF1iennkrycu7E7cM532ZOmQp5y0iOqoKSszVwjFYCCsU_vrD1KKJrGhUfnocADWJ0hKVXPk0s2OytGLQ4iKgSkv3Qn4CRN42P0bJML8mI0vgeX4VWwCKqx7w9qOywAQI_yCl-GseiIruLwcEXgKE_nujqRpYf8dYEjGcP-V35SJbF2yvWJRw/s1229/bilbo_comes_to_the_huts_of_the_raft-elves__the_tolkien_estate_limited_1937.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1229" data-original-width="1072" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB1Ml1bRF1iennkrycu7E7cM532ZOmQp5y0iOqoKSszVwjFYCCsU_vrD1KKJrGhUfnocADWJ0hKVXPk0s2OytGLQ4iKgSkv3Qn4CRN42P0bJML8mI0vgeX4VWwCKqx7w9qOywAQI_yCl-GseiIruLwcEXgKE_nujqRpYf8dYEjGcP-V35SJbF2yvWJRw/w349-h400/bilbo_comes_to_the_huts_of_the_raft-elves__the_tolkien_estate_limited_1937.jpg" width="349" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPcUala3tBeN4AbHH-Wlpor3g1VmBjpdXheacJxPr7b-mmVklLeNRqvGlBA5wpvhcRMC9sqEkGnY5M0QLCkiZlZ8cGuvylPIsYY8sWi6F2NSTez56xZFeP8ad-E4D5y0z_h47NNB8-_VtKcIclVAVuVToacaKw1EsCGnfJGxjx0lDWYmThzhLFYWRqPA/s1158/22-MS-Tolkein-drawings-30.jpg1555x2000.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1158" data-original-width="900" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPcUala3tBeN4AbHH-Wlpor3g1VmBjpdXheacJxPr7b-mmVklLeNRqvGlBA5wpvhcRMC9sqEkGnY5M0QLCkiZlZ8cGuvylPIsYY8sWi6F2NSTez56xZFeP8ad-E4D5y0z_h47NNB8-_VtKcIclVAVuVToacaKw1EsCGnfJGxjx0lDWYmThzhLFYWRqPA/w498-h640/22-MS-Tolkein-drawings-30.jpg1555x2000.jpg" width="498" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Smaug and Bilbo. One of my personal favorites.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi21e84xoKWCKchrWWBfQ4ZUzk0i5wMDtYhyi7DijRMXdu0jn-lUNeT_Tv_jgTmEqFkLE3ozD9WAPyMZo9T1HO9gIEaSmP09BP6OmeC09lnRWbdw87FQLT4B1K4QojQBp19e72f98Y_V7UAqaAzkOIFuboxnAe9i_zrg3g7PfmN2NCNdRWG7ukyS_VC9g/s735/artofthehobbit1.jpg"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="735" height="261" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi21e84xoKWCKchrWWBfQ4ZUzk0i5wMDtYhyi7DijRMXdu0jn-lUNeT_Tv_jgTmEqFkLE3ozD9WAPyMZo9T1HO9gIEaSmP09BP6OmeC09lnRWbdw87FQLT4B1K4QojQBp19e72f98Y_V7UAqaAzkOIFuboxnAe9i_zrg3g7PfmN2NCNdRWG7ukyS_VC9g/w400-h261/artofthehobbit1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p>Narmerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08635665594860371230noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1007944847930867852.post-69828427566976495562023-04-20T16:34:00.011-07:002023-04-20T16:38:16.495-07:00A Hobbit Inspired Campaign V: System<p>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.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjClkgSZ3l5UGp94N6FFQGPO2OKLZsdu1_eLBiJDQFJaFCCKsvgySFiBi_4tt5TfrO8feJfBGxpXot631WD_Z8wPfPcurxHMp_bz5QWKhW7WzfawrTQtjgfZutYpmmfIlS6bj_W-3sXJELOd8eixMGz2kvZ3_xep9V7b8c1Fh5MB-FOgvIPuETEilPiDA/s1276/190631.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1276" data-original-width="826" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjClkgSZ3l5UGp94N6FFQGPO2OKLZsdu1_eLBiJDQFJaFCCKsvgySFiBi_4tt5TfrO8feJfBGxpXot631WD_Z8wPfPcurxHMp_bz5QWKhW7WzfawrTQtjgfZutYpmmfIlS6bj_W-3sXJELOd8eixMGz2kvZ3_xep9V7b8c1Fh5MB-FOgvIPuETEilPiDA/s320/190631.jpg" width="207" /></a></div>For this exercise I am going to use <i>White Box: FMAG</i> with a few modifications. This was a difficult choice. I was sorely tempted by both <i>B/X</i> and <i>The Hero's Journey</i>. But for simplicities sake I am going to go with <i>White Box</i> for now. For the most part the changes will be plug-and-play.<p></p><p></p><p>Starting with base <i>SW: FMAG</i> I would make the following changes and additions.</p><p>From James Spahn' <i>White Box Omnibus</i> and <i>Compendium</i> I would add:</p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>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.</li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>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.</li></ul><p></p><div>Other changes I would make:</div><p style="text-align: left;"></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Remove Cleric.</li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>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 <i>White Box</i> maxes out.</li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>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.</li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Berserker - If I can find a Berserker class that I like I will include it to represent the skin-changing Beornings.</li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Experience Points - Ultimately, <i>The Hobbit</i> 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. <i>The Hero's Journey</i> has an experience system like this.</li></ul><p></p><div>And a couple of house rules off the top of my head:</div><div><p style="text-align: left;"></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><a href="http://trollsmyth.blogspot.com/2008/05/shields-shall-be-splintered.html" target="_blank">Shields Shall Be Splintered!</a> and <a href="https://dynastyzero.blogspot.com/2018/04/helms-will-be-dented.html" target="_blank">Helms Shall Be Dented</a>! (Also known as Helmets shall be sundered.)</li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Though there is no mention of Plate Armor that I recall it will exist but will be rare and VERY expensive.</li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Add Scale Armor -3 [+3]</li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Max HP at 1st level.</li></ul><p></p><div>This is what I have so far. I may add more or change my mind on system completely.</div></div><div><br /></div><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Narmerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08635665594860371230noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1007944847930867852.post-36345620960167204782023-04-15T12:45:00.004-07:002023-04-15T13:15:11.752-07:00Inspiration for The Hobbit Inspired Campaign<p>Art from the Swedish and Russian versions of <i>The Hobbit</i>.</p><p><b>Tove Jansson</b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyoqL9H6otKBczd1SSHO6qRx5iiXQyXJQd1VCvSuTFjP2aH4VNA6HepBC_NgqiRCgeAlSBlLVgJAMoDMnKBr6PjgByeiniAN3CyMqEb2Wy0VQX48aPy0nELcZUYAqMJ8s_Iam7zxqYhDgmamYZzgeXKaWCz9Z_IHozYKK2L6U-l_TcmjsKW8AjdekZFA/s1024/tovehobbit2-714x1024.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="714" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyoqL9H6otKBczd1SSHO6qRx5iiXQyXJQd1VCvSuTFjP2aH4VNA6HepBC_NgqiRCgeAlSBlLVgJAMoDMnKBr6PjgByeiniAN3CyMqEb2Wy0VQX48aPy0nELcZUYAqMJ8s_Iam7zxqYhDgmamYZzgeXKaWCz9Z_IHozYKK2L6U-l_TcmjsKW8AjdekZFA/w446-h640/tovehobbit2-714x1024.jpeg" width="446" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg1yf76r7X6Q8fP7zZczbq1CSCiCHgusHIxMC_6GPt47fYBmw92izKFgiUMaHU-a9x_n271o25Jpn0GSNM_72A6rLH_NEimy4SigYy4SA8Vk7h8uXCsQJInxoPRv3LEx1-RWguYdoGFEa4GrGshwJDN9c8t6yxVdt0guL7Kjbx0L7hRXq7hVWhi6d7og/s1024/tovehobbit11-704x1024.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="704" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg1yf76r7X6Q8fP7zZczbq1CSCiCHgusHIxMC_6GPt47fYBmw92izKFgiUMaHU-a9x_n271o25Jpn0GSNM_72A6rLH_NEimy4SigYy4SA8Vk7h8uXCsQJInxoPRv3LEx1-RWguYdoGFEa4GrGshwJDN9c8t6yxVdt0guL7Kjbx0L7hRXq7hVWhi6d7og/w440-h640/tovehobbit11-704x1024.jpeg" width="440" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmdO6-Xc1LIoVAns0RIPvQ80FtPXRg-K63LiLEuS2pWxCWYbhYgs32ISfkYo1Mm4icRWIVjJLB513D9_Q7stu9HzhCan9chr37HLU4wG50edACf_SqPfGXoSVUErLvLIH4K7K9WA7uKukhNLjEeez-ToT-swaJwlsFrQecQqMzasr92bk8HSYBsprLgA/s1024/tovehobbit7-701x1024.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="701" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmdO6-Xc1LIoVAns0RIPvQ80FtPXRg-K63LiLEuS2pWxCWYbhYgs32ISfkYo1Mm4icRWIVjJLB513D9_Q7stu9HzhCan9chr37HLU4wG50edACf_SqPfGXoSVUErLvLIH4K7K9WA7uKukhNLjEeez-ToT-swaJwlsFrQecQqMzasr92bk8HSYBsprLgA/w438-h640/tovehobbit7-701x1024.jpeg" width="438" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>Mikhail Belomlinsky</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiumQZMuOzMFK2-vuDUbfMND4J-8xZgXFfabEQUm_k_zyCZRmpmu4XD3pf3CmwthbUsp4TZu9bOMHx_b-I0LRY_s-lUflw6XNsUHoF4mYt47Sc3W6xIJcr0NZlf-vDPh3u1ov6NorV7D787ldN68kXGm3IbqU2rjbPOgRMNkM7cXBuqW9HPwCtoLimRLA/s1024/SovietHobbit7-683x1024.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="683" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiumQZMuOzMFK2-vuDUbfMND4J-8xZgXFfabEQUm_k_zyCZRmpmu4XD3pf3CmwthbUsp4TZu9bOMHx_b-I0LRY_s-lUflw6XNsUHoF4mYt47Sc3W6xIJcr0NZlf-vDPh3u1ov6NorV7D787ldN68kXGm3IbqU2rjbPOgRMNkM7cXBuqW9HPwCtoLimRLA/w426-h640/SovietHobbit7-683x1024.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBsMkBl05O7P0B3i1_UciUCABoJstYxAoUcHo6W6i1J7AYhJyy_IWX-EHqvB64iYhIlg_TWT_xY9Zr6dLamvoHqapZBV6EbvzYCQDjTEZf_eA9JXsEMElr3e12RocmRv5I1ogwdDzEhg3LMwHfHas35GusKErYmt8JC1QJTuSQACAEKhT5-Xs4n1fAUg/s1024/SovietHobbit4-683x1024.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="683" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBsMkBl05O7P0B3i1_UciUCABoJstYxAoUcHo6W6i1J7AYhJyy_IWX-EHqvB64iYhIlg_TWT_xY9Zr6dLamvoHqapZBV6EbvzYCQDjTEZf_eA9JXsEMElr3e12RocmRv5I1ogwdDzEhg3LMwHfHas35GusKErYmt8JC1QJTuSQACAEKhT5-Xs4n1fAUg/w426-h640/SovietHobbit4-683x1024.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5EY7ka31_onlsMyiFqsP4_1pJv8AmsARnW0L2hCHaxsWjWaPeoXEtNwrlf3lYOUDVU0u2hYq1sYofAp_ms7UZ2aeCb79RVRefha6O3Ab0zpd3VmBYcg1_Ch0jdvfvNCLzA6t_BlZzBGX1MB9bUrmqdaG1o-OXqb_CpeFSc0zldEq1w3f5Cjvo9UedbA/s1024/SoveitHobbit3-683x1024.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="683" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5EY7ka31_onlsMyiFqsP4_1pJv8AmsARnW0L2hCHaxsWjWaPeoXEtNwrlf3lYOUDVU0u2hYq1sYofAp_ms7UZ2aeCb79RVRefha6O3Ab0zpd3VmBYcg1_Ch0jdvfvNCLzA6t_BlZzBGX1MB9bUrmqdaG1o-OXqb_CpeFSc0zldEq1w3f5Cjvo9UedbA/w426-h640/SoveitHobbit3-683x1024.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><p><br /></p>Narmerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08635665594860371230noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1007944847930867852.post-6126476259739695132023-04-07T16:44:00.002-07:002023-04-08T17:41:36.671-07:00A Hobbit Inspired Campaign IV: Details About the 1937 Version of "The Hobbit"<p>In this post I want to highlight some specific points about the 1937 version of <i>The Hobbit</i>. For this I'm going to draw on <i>The Hobbit </i>itself, the two blog posts that inspired my series, <a href="http://steamtunnel.blogspot.com/2010/10/hobbit-1937.html" target="_blank">"The Hobbit 1937"</a> and <a href="http://riseupcomus.blogspot.com/2017/09/1937-hobbit-as-setting.html" target="_blank">"1937 Hobbit as a Setting"</a>, as well as a couple of forum threads talking about the subject, including <a href="https://forum.rpg.net/index.php?threads/lotr-using-the-hobbit-as-the-only-canon-and-starting-point.549134/" target="_blank">"Using 'The Hobbit' as the only canon and starting point"</a> and <a href="https://forum.rpg.net/index.php?threads/d-d-the-hobbit.832600/" target="_blank">"D&D: The Hobbit"</a>. </p><p><i>The Annotated Hobbit</i> 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.</p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>*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.</li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>The term Middle-Earth does not appear in the book. Neither does Shire, only Hobbiton.</li></ul><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>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.</li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>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.</li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Rings of Invisibility are just what they seem. And you leave a shadow when invisible.</li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Orc is the Hobbit word for Goblin. Hobgoblins are larger Goblins.</li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Goblins speak the common language used by Hobbits, Men and Dwarves.</li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Dragons also speak the common language.</li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>In fact giant spiders, trolls and some birds speak the same common language.</li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>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.</li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Heck, even troll purses are enchanted to warn their owners of theft.</li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Stone Giants exist and some are friendly enough to help wizards occasionally. Perhaps other types of giants exist, too.</li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>There was once a king west of the Wilderlands that people have now forgotten.</li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>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.</li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>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.</li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Rivendell does not seem very large. Particularly if you use Tolkien's paintings as evidence.</li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Elrond is a Half-Elf thus Half-Elves exist.</li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>An Elf-Goblin War occurred in the far past.</li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>A Dwarf-Goblin War occurred in the recent past. Many of Dain's warriors participated in it.</li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>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."</li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Elves are magical.</li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Elves aren't always nice.</li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Elves like to party and they get drunk.</li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Elves trade with Men.</li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>There are larger trade networks even if the quantity of goods is small.</li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Dwarves were master smiths and used to make marvelous toys, in addition tomasterful weapons and armor.</li></ul><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG-2a9zzz2W0q4cNf2mLnbm1rme3wc1ws-vQkGU8Zksx_ipEMppjY_dNBRdFMfbv12wLGutRfcxo8KSg9V0wUAKgDCx6BYeZWTsZuVeGLHMN6zYhBSwm7J_Q5vYc4Hbl1cYyXCuG2DqKbFJzh0X75D7kEzMjtYzurAeq7Rg8glC_vYi6USt0VW7nZzrA/s1200/00413.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="916" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG-2a9zzz2W0q4cNf2mLnbm1rme3wc1ws-vQkGU8Zksx_ipEMppjY_dNBRdFMfbv12wLGutRfcxo8KSg9V0wUAKgDCx6BYeZWTsZuVeGLHMN6zYhBSwm7J_Q5vYc4Hbl1cYyXCuG2DqKbFJzh0X75D7kEzMjtYzurAeq7Rg8glC_vYi6USt0VW7nZzrA/s320/00413.jpg" width="244" /></a><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Wicked Dwarves were known to ally with Goblins.</li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Smaug is not the titanic dragon he is often depicted as. Once again, if you use Tolkien's paintings as evidence.</li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>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.</li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>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.</li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Chain mail seemed to be the most common heavy armor.</li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Golf is a game. Originally played with a goblin's head.</li></ul><p></p><div>Ok. That's a lot of details. In the next couple of posts I'll actually try to put together a setting inspired by the book and the points above.</div><div><br /></div><div>You can find the first three posts in the series here:</div><div><br /></div><div><div>You can find the first part of <a href="https://dynastyzero.blogspot.com/2023/03/a-hobbit-inspired-campaign.html" target="_blank">A Hobbit Inspired Campaign here</a>.</div><div>You can find the second part of <a href="https://dynastyzero.blogspot.com/2023/03/a-hobbit-inspired-campaign-ii.html" target="_blank">A Hobbit Inspired Campaign II here</a>.</div></div><div>You can find the third part of <a href="https://dynastyzero.blogspot.com/2023/04/a-hobbit-inspired-campaign-iii.html" target="_blank">A Hobbit Inspired Campaign III here</a>.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Narmerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08635665594860371230noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1007944847930867852.post-15877793405555291642023-04-01T13:35:00.001-07:002023-04-05T18:41:04.370-07:00A Hobbit Inspired Campaign III<p> </p><div>You can find the first part of <a href="https://dynastyzero.blogspot.com/2023/03/a-hobbit-inspired-campaign.html" target="_blank">A Hobbit Inspired Campaign here</a>.</div><div>You can find the second part of <a href="https://dynastyzero.blogspot.com/2023/03/a-hobbit-inspired-campaign-ii.html" target="_blank">A Hobbit Inspired Campaign II here</a>.</div><div><br /></div><div>I have been looking at RPGs that might be a good fit to run a campaign based on the 1937 version of <i>The Hobbit</i>. My first post covered several possible OSR candidates. The seconds looked at <i>The Lord of the Rings Adventure Game</i> and its clones and derivatives. </div><div><br /></div><div>This installment will look at a couple of unrelated games that look like they could work. They include one that was inspired by same blog posts that inspired this series, <a href="http://riseupcomus.blogspot.com/2017/09/1937-hobbit-as-setting.html" target="_blank">1937 Hobbit as a Setting</a> and <a href="http://steamtunnel.blogspot.com/2010/10/hobbit-1937.html" target="_blank">The Hobbit 1937</a>.</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM0Yzx3Y-TlCd6mvrO1_k77e2gezqDI-_HsYmyip2Vetg1vT-kMEGaiFMnwSJFNWBGeH1xSPWhjpWtGIzKs9IQ39PbcNvYkoOKK77pzK99Z0PDn9ADhi7YIYfsp1YSs4KbQX3Q_g_6FoGt1qAPvCavC3l-KOlCGlcC_1bxk6GkonJAAzpkHNNt_CWdMA/s1644/TaBA%20C.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1644" data-original-width="566" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM0Yzx3Y-TlCd6mvrO1_k77e2gezqDI-_HsYmyip2Vetg1vT-kMEGaiFMnwSJFNWBGeH1xSPWhjpWtGIzKs9IQ39PbcNvYkoOKK77pzK99Z0PDn9ADhi7YIYfsp1YSs4KbQX3Q_g_6FoGt1qAPvCavC3l-KOlCGlcC_1bxk6GkonJAAzpkHNNt_CWdMA/w220-h640/TaBA%20C.png" width="220" /></a></div>So let's talk about it first. Unfortunately, like most of the games I own, I have not had the opportunity to play it. It is titled, appropriately enough, <a href="https://rayotus.itch.io/taba" target="_blank"><i>There and Back Again</i></a>. This is a little one sheet gem by Ray Otus, the same fellow who put together the campaign/worldbuilding pamphlet <a href="https://rayotus.itch.io/gygax75" target="_blank">The Gygax 75 Challenge</a> based on an article written by Gary Gygax. Ray briefly talks about the genesis of the game <a href="https://jellysawgames.blogspot.com/2018/11/there-and-back-again.html" target="_blank">on his old blog</a>. Note that the game itself is no longer available there. <a href="https://rayotus.itch.io/taba" target="_blank">You can find it here</a>.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>There and Back Again</i> (<i>TABA</i>) is rules-lite, as one would expect from a two page game. It is a limited d6 dice pool system. The pool gets no larger than three dice and you succeed if even one of dice comes up a 5 or 6.</div><div><br /></div><div>Each character has two attributes, Toughness and Fate. Toughness is essentially hit points and Fate is spent to cast spells and is used as a meta-currency to add dice to your pool. A starting character also has two Traits with three associated Skills. There are eight Traits total, which includes magic, and each trait has three or four associated skills. Or in the case of magic, spells.</div><div><br /></div><div>I'm not going to go into it much more because it's only two pages and it's <a href="https://rayotus.itch.io/taba" target="_blank">free</a>. How would <i>TABA</i> work? If you like ultralite games, I think it would work really well. It was written to the <b>exact</b> specifications I laid out in my first post. In its two pages <i>TABA</i> somehow evokes the feel of <i>The Hobbit</i>. I don't quite know how Mr. Otus did it but for me he did. Would I actually use it for a campaign? I don't know. One point in its favor is that it does have advancement rules. But it is so lite that the GM would have to fill in a lot of the gaps. It also lacks a bestiary. It has three sample creatures. Now, creatures are dead simple to come up with, but you would still need to think of their Traits. So, for me I don't think I would run a full campaign with it but I would definitely use it for one-shots or a two or three session arc.</div><div><br /></div><div><br />Next is <i><a href="http://www.1km1kt.net/rpg/LoME.pdf" target="_blank">Legends of Middle Earth</a></i>. It is a free game that is 25 pages long that uses its own system. <i>LoME</i> is a game pointed directly at the full <u>Lord of the Rings</u> experience. One of the races a player can choose is Descended Maiar. </div><div><br /></div><div>Players choose a Race for their character. These include, as mentioned, Descended Maiar, Dwarves, Elves, Hobbits, Man and Numenorians. Then a Role which include Burglar, Commoner, Diplomat, Leader, Ne'er Do Well, Ranger, Scholar and Warrior.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOJ5h0YYu2rWxKxPXAzQOocw6agGB7YvR4Cjq_EMYWJl6Ltgib4KwKoiAOGJmdUTz3R3DfvQ9sCVWahscbKfWVtjf5l-QUI57r7-JD2YPFynKy1j_SejYhrHP8UPMqSG_dd30yuJB77ESZna6hm_Okn0n3PMTw58v5Xr50BMfp9JVwxzPNippfZMan-A/s747/pic573468.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="402" data-original-width="747" height="172" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOJ5h0YYu2rWxKxPXAzQOocw6agGB7YvR4Cjq_EMYWJl6Ltgib4KwKoiAOGJmdUTz3R3DfvQ9sCVWahscbKfWVtjf5l-QUI57r7-JD2YPFynKy1j_SejYhrHP8UPMqSG_dd30yuJB77ESZna6hm_Okn0n3PMTw58v5Xr50BMfp9JVwxzPNippfZMan-A/s320/pic573468.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Characters are defined by skills. There are three groups of skills - Prowess, Bearing and Lore - with eight skills in each group. Most skills start at 8 and are modified by Race and Role. Then a player gets extra points to spend between Skills, Passions, Story Tokens, Special Abilities and Artifacts.</div><div><br /></div><div>The system uses a d6 roll under/equal dice pool. For regular tasks the GM determines the difficulty and from that selects the appropriate number of dice to roll. A very difficult task uses 4d and the player must roll under the skill being used. Bonuses and penalties can be assigned by adding or removing dice.</div><div><br /></div><div>For combat, LoME uses a sort of bidding system. Whichever combatant has initiative chooses the number of dice to roll. If the roll is successful character A has hit. Character B then gets to make a "saving" throw against the most appropriate skill using the same number of dice as the attacker. If he makes it the nothing serious happens but character A gets to act with advantage next time. One less die. If the attack succeeds, fight over. If the fight continues then character B attacks. He can use the same number of dice or add one or more. It seems like an interesting process. The harder you make it for you to hit, the harder it is for the defender to defend himself.</div><div><br /></div><div>Magic is divided into two parts, Parlor Tricks and True Magic. Parlor Tricks are what the rules call imitation-magic. It covers sleight of hand and things like alchemy. I'm assuming alchemy would cover Gandalf's fireworks. True Magic, however, is the real deal. It is divided into three types, Light Magic, Elven Magic and Dark Magic. It can only be performed by Descended Maiar, Elves and to a lesser extent Numenorians. Magic is pretty freeform with no set spell list. The magic user states what he wants to accomplish, the GM sets the difficulty, the player pays a story token and then rolls against his magic skill.</div><div><br /></div><div>Story tokens allow the use of magic, are used to activate certain special abilities and to edit the story.</div><div><br /></div><div>Passions, Story Tokens, Special Abilities and Artifacts all affect the game and assist rolls. It does have a brief section about character advancement. The last four or five pages are a GM's section. It discusses how to create NPCs that are the right level of challenge for the players, when to roll the dice for maximum fun and when not to, campaign and adventure creation and it has a couple of campaign seeds.</div><div><br /></div><div>I'd like to talk about how it would work for gaming in <i>The Hobbit</i>-verse. I'll stand by my statement that it is aimed firmly at gaming in the full Third Age Middle-Earth. However, the Adventure section starts in an interesting way. I'm going to quote it in full.</div><div><br /></div><div><div><blockquote>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.</blockquote></div></div><div>The author outright acknowledges that there is a difference in the style and tone of the two "settings". He then goes on to briefly outline the next two steps the GM needs to take but I like the fact that he sees this as the foundation on which the rest of the game will be built. Unfortunately, he doesn't go on to suggest any mechanical changes the gamers can or should make. He just speaks to the tone. If he would've talked about the changes that could be made to help capture the tone I would be much more enthused about this. However, as it stands it doesn't meet my criteria. Of course I could modify and hack it but I'm not interested in doing that with this game. So, I think it would make a good Middle- Earth game but not necessarily a good <i>The Hobbit</i> only game.</div><div><br /></div><div>There are two other games I would like to talk about but can't. The first is <i>Under Hill, By Water</i>. This is actually written by Josh McCrowell, the author of the blog post <a href="http://riseupcomus.blogspot.com/2017/09/1937-hobbit-as-setting.html" target="_blank">1937 Hobbit as a Setting</a>. I can't write about it because I haven't read the rules yet despite owning them. I get the impression that, even though the game is all about Halflings, it might not be a good fit. That's because its tag line is:</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Adventures? No thank you.</b></div><div><br /></div><div>And part of its blurb reads:</div><div><br /></div><div><div>What do you do in Under Hill, By Water?</div><div>This game is about capturing your aunt’s escaped ornery goat. </div><div>This game is about growing the biggest turnip for the Harvest Festival.</div><div>This game is about gathering rare ingredients for a birthday feast. </div><div>This game is about being simple and silly. </div></div><div><br /></div><div>So, unless something changes my mind when I finally get a chance to read it, I don't think this is in contention.</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw5W0RDvKN-D0G82tszEzm5VagKdYsXtDSD7hiJDJLsu0Kog1Sj3kfF8L-PP79qaSwGaWDw7xy2YEkFIvpPR3ghDeO2PJGWzIdaEh2FekmYd3ZXBvIaeues__jH9xIaWEomp8Zk8vKIzphMbEpvwcx786E2TPFst_dCPQDtzhiC98MOwbb6A8EHpnCvg/s900/There%20and%20Hack.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw5W0RDvKN-D0G82tszEzm5VagKdYsXtDSD7hiJDJLsu0Kog1Sj3kfF8L-PP79qaSwGaWDw7xy2YEkFIvpPR3ghDeO2PJGWzIdaEh2FekmYd3ZXBvIaeues__jH9xIaWEomp8Zk8vKIzphMbEpvwcx786E2TPFst_dCPQDtzhiC98MOwbb6A8EHpnCvg/s320/There%20and%20Hack.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>The second one I would like to talk about but can't is <i>There and Hack Again</i>. I don't own it yet. This is a <i>Black Hack</i> hack modified to capture the Tolkien feel. And I've <a href="https://dynastyzero.blogspot.com/2022/11/the-black-hack.html" target="_blank">grown rather interested</a> in <i>The Black Hack</i> and its variants recently. It includes rules for journeying and despair, as I understand the more recent LotR games do. So I'm looking forward to getting this one to see what it's like.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>As I wrap this post up I want to leave you with a couple of links from the Rise Up Comus blog. The cover several Middle-Earth games both official and unofficial. You can find them here.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://riseupcomus.blogspot.com/2020/04/licensed-tolkien-role-playing-games.html" target="_blank">Official</a></div><div><a href="http://riseupcomus.blogspot.com/2022/03/non-licensed-nottolkien-games.html" target="_blank">Unnofficial</a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Narmerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08635665594860371230noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1007944847930867852.post-62643448318284980732023-03-26T23:24:00.001-07:002023-03-30T00:08:12.503-07:00A Hobbit Inspired Campaign II<div>You can find the first part of <a href="https://dynastyzero.blogspot.com/2023/03/a-hobbit-inspired-campaign.html" target="_blank">A Hobbit Inspired Campaign here</a>.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQrBRNSKtcLYViPn5u16PYzzrU_GPjV13W6g-DEbqUKcuuvznZ830TjXKLE9hSTAAuZc6t_y7mwkIvkxlVYH5tSFAvaOBjqNU6bn2BA57GmNNeGNq9GvGqZILq8EfogyJI8NpdzWt5m56N5ubfXCZLUmrDoi4IkSTbPs8QXHJEzbRB9azspSea4avRnw/s500/s-l500.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="462" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQrBRNSKtcLYViPn5u16PYzzrU_GPjV13W6g-DEbqUKcuuvznZ830TjXKLE9hSTAAuZc6t_y7mwkIvkxlVYH5tSFAvaOBjqNU6bn2BA57GmNNeGNq9GvGqZILq8EfogyJI8NpdzWt5m56N5ubfXCZLUmrDoi4IkSTbPs8QXHJEzbRB9azspSea4avRnw/s320/s-l500.jpg" width="296" /></a></div>So, it's time to get away for OSR type games. I mentioned the <i><a href="https://rpggeek.com/rpgitem/61924/lord-rings-adventure-game" target="_blank">Lord of the Rings Adventure Game</a></i> in the last post<i>.</i> It is the only official Tolkien licensed RPG that I'm interested in at this point. <i>LOR</i> was published by Iron Crown Enterprises in 1991 as a kind of simple introduction to roleplaying in Middle-Earth and as a lead in to their <i>Middle-Earth Role Playing</i> game. And it, apparently, had its genesis in the "Middle-Earth Quest" choose your own adventure game books. <div><div><br /></div><div><i>LOR</i> is a simple system that uses 2d6. You roll, with appropriate modifiers, and attempt to equal or exceed a target number to succeed at a task. In combat, you roll on a chart with appropriate modifiers to determine the outcome of an attack. Characters have 12 Stats, 5 that I would call attributes (Strength, Agility, etc.), 6 skills and Defense, which doesn't seem to fit in either category. These essentially act as modifiers to rolls. You can play as a Hobbit, Elf, Half-Elf, Human or Dwarf and be a Scout, Warrior, Ranger or a Bard. Gandalf is listed as a Human Bard, Thorin as a Dwarf Warrior and Bilbo as a Hobbit Scout to give three examples. There are limitations though. If you wanted to play a Hobbit you are limited to being a Scout and Dwarves are limited to being Warriors.</div><div><br /></div><div>Magic is also limited as there are only 15 spells. Some may not like this but I have heard that others think that it fits the feel of Middle-Earth well. Spells include Shield, Charm Animal and Fire Bolt.</div><div><br /></div><div>The boxed set included, besides the short rulebook, maps, pre-generated characters, cardboard character figures and an adventure. Two further adventures were released before I.C.E. lost the rights to publish the games. And all of their Tolkien related games.<br /><div><br /></div><div>Much to my surprise there have been several clones and homages to <i>LOR</i>. In one way though, it shouldn't have been much of a surprise. Just like many of the older games, the price of the <i>LOR</i> boxed set has seen a sharp rise on the second-hand market. On the other hand it is a somewhat obscure game so I was a little thrown to see not only one but multiple versions.</div></div></div><div><br /></div><div>The first game I ran across was the <i><a href="https://sites.google.com/site/ambarquenta/home/the-offical-games/meag" target="_blank">Middle-Earth Adventure Game</a></i> (<i>MEAG</i>). It's listed as being published in 2002. Which is only a couple of years after <i>LOR</i> went out of production. But it didn't come to my attention until years later when I became aware of and interested in <i>LOR</i>. It adheres pretty closely to <i>LOR</i> but does make some changes. Mostly additions. <i>MEAG</i> adds specializations, special abilities and negative traits. </div><div><br /></div><div>It also expands the number of spells and changes the way they are cast. In <i>LOR</i>, when a Bard cast a spell, it costs the character Endurance, which for Bards starts at 30 or 35. <i>MEAG</i> adds a mana pool. It is only after the mana pool is depleted that spells affect Endurance. <i>MEAG</i> also changes the Bard to the Mage/Scholar.</div><div><br /></div><div>Another significant change is that they separated race and profession. So a Hobbit can be any of the five professions (<i>MEAG</i> adds Rogue), not just a Scout as in the original game. However, Hobbits are intrinsically less capable of using magic than others so there is that to take into account when choosing a profession.</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhso7t8CaHiu7IoEbus50v5feQtq3hX6sKLUq58CyaOURcRtN9aRYvL9GdgnXxNCcwbilfvHvkFGwJOYXrnU7mTGoLR_SJDVK1adPrHQFQWjvNdpJVI4syVmveQudleLR1MHq7nIlJxjc-PN4eJU6o9HFxt3cOvKn1K9sPDfMzVumfGxQfXCS3JIXbvNg/s656/hAHA9A.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="656" data-original-width="470" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhso7t8CaHiu7IoEbus50v5feQtq3hX6sKLUq58CyaOURcRtN9aRYvL9GdgnXxNCcwbilfvHvkFGwJOYXrnU7mTGoLR_SJDVK1adPrHQFQWjvNdpJVI4syVmveQudleLR1MHq7nIlJxjc-PN4eJU6o9HFxt3cOvKn1K9sPDfMzVumfGxQfXCS3JIXbvNg/s320/hAHA9A.jpg" width="229" /></a></div>Two other games based on <i>LOR</i> are <i>Tales & Legends</i> and <i>Simple Fantasy Adventure</i>. <i>Tales & Legends</i> follows <i>MEAG</i> pretty closely but cuts the professions to three: Warrior, Scout and Mage. It adds a 80+ creature bestiary, which <i>MEAG</i> doesn't have. And come to think of it, neither does <i>LOR</i>! </div><div><br /></div><div>I think my favorite version is <i><a href="https://winterstargames.itch.io/simple-fantasy-adventure" target="_blank">Simple Fantasy Adventure</a></i>. It strips things down bringing it closer to <i>LOR </i>again. It is simple and clearly explained. Any race can be any class, as <i>SFA</i> calls them, so it does differ in that respect. The spell list is pared down to the original. It has a minuscule bestiary. It's lean and mean. I also prefer the formatting, which is much easier for me to read than <i>MEAG</i>, for example.</div><div><br /></div><div>Now the beauty of all of these games is you can borrow from any of them and mix and match to your hearts content. For example, I could take the bestiary from <i>Tales & Legends</i> and use it with the other games without any modification. (Unfortunately, <i>Tales & Legends</i> is a commercial product, albeit very low priced in PDF.)</div><div><br /></div><div>How would these games work for a game emulating <i>The Hobbit</i>? I think any of them would work excellently. Though ostensibly sold as a "Lord of the Rings" game, <i>LOR</i> and its emulators fit the feel described in the articles well. The professions are tailored for Middle-Earth which will make it easy to slide into the <i>The Hobbit 1937</i> setting. The games are also rules-lite, which is definitely my preference.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Narmerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08635665594860371230noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1007944847930867852.post-27225252916702286552023-03-19T21:45:00.001-07:002023-03-19T21:45:08.118-07:00HexfriendI don't know if I've mentioned <a href="https://hexfriend.net/" target="_blank">Hexfriend</a> yet. My favorite mapping program at this point is Hex Kit. It's a downloadable program that is simple to use and has a bunch of tile sets that you can use to make different style maps.<div><br /></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ0uHMREMdWzYHk4RCDMo1cVSJWWJxOaIEVEoGnBbbsoEhA06951pUhCXk2EjvQoO0IGJR8EDftKY_gtpUcTp0Qi-e8suc_yGBBd2yrwQxmylOHgmLUM1OMX6UL5gqd4Mp15zTSmCmPToGuwHZV6GgFJSRPDkJI9-67UrADWQ76WTi18TcXF96c--oxQ/s464/Hexfriend%20Test.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="429" data-original-width="464" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ0uHMREMdWzYHk4RCDMo1cVSJWWJxOaIEVEoGnBbbsoEhA06951pUhCXk2EjvQoO0IGJR8EDftKY_gtpUcTp0Qi-e8suc_yGBBd2yrwQxmylOHgmLUM1OMX6UL5gqd4Mp15zTSmCmPToGuwHZV6GgFJSRPDkJI9-67UrADWQ76WTi18TcXF96c--oxQ/w320-h296/Hexfriend%20Test.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>A map made with Hexfriend</i></td></tr></tbody></table>However, if you can't afford the price of a paid program or only have access to a computer that won't run downloaded programs there is Hexfriend. Hexfriend is my favorite online mapping program. It is simple to use. It allows you to create classic looking hex maps, download the source file so you can work on it again later and export the final product as a PNG for printing or distributing to your players electronically.</div><div><br /></div><div>It has several features that somewhat surprised me for an online program. Besides being able to choose the size of the map, you can choose whether to have a classic rectangular map or a hexflower style map. You can have the hexes either flat top or pointed. Coordinates on or off and one of four styles. The tiles and icons are reminiscent of the classic TSR maps of yore. And, theoretically, you can import your own tiles and icons. I know there is at least one set for sale on DriveThru.</div><div><br /></div><div>One downside to it is that there isn't layering other than the automatic layering between terrain, icons, rivers/roads and text. Also, the icons are fairly limited. On the upside, the icons are scalable in size.</div><div><br /></div><div>But, if you want any easy online mapping program you might like Hexfriend. You can find it <a href="https://hexfriend.net/" target="_blank">here</a>.</div><div><br /></div><div>https://hexfriend.net/</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Narmerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08635665594860371230noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1007944847930867852.post-7448547154889952592023-03-17T10:23:00.001-07:002023-03-17T10:23:36.100-07:00Quickstarts I Like: Dungeon Crawl Classics<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKVGG4Q5JriaqXRrCm54b7jAvI3XyhXKukdrIFY2cUjwDaIgC2gfz25ldwcjypnFE27XPhfh7MQAFM0__oO-U3T9GRSL7m77iTu0tQTQeXgbRY7h3rqrAONwGF46T5-gdOLZB9O-urOJnirMFly0MEdeG2coO0tAfwxVMYdLK-UlRsn3JihKiOdgEPTg/s553/71TP+6VSvBL._AC_SX425_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="553" data-original-width="425" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKVGG4Q5JriaqXRrCm54b7jAvI3XyhXKukdrIFY2cUjwDaIgC2gfz25ldwcjypnFE27XPhfh7MQAFM0__oO-U3T9GRSL7m77iTu0tQTQeXgbRY7h3rqrAONwGF46T5-gdOLZB9O-urOJnirMFly0MEdeG2coO0tAfwxVMYdLK-UlRsn3JihKiOdgEPTg/s320/71TP+6VSvBL._AC_SX425_.jpg" width="246" /></a></div><br />I think of the <i>Dungeon Crawl Classics Quick Start Rules</i> as the modern day gaming equivalent of the Basic <i>D&D</i> boxed sets of old. Well almost.<div><br /></div><div>You see, the core rules for <i>Dungeon Crawl Classics</i> are massive. Over 500 pages! That can be intimidating!!! The <i>Quick Start</i> is 52 pages, including the covers.</div><div><br /></div><div>So, what do you get in these 52 pages? Well, as I mentioned, it reminds me a bit of on of the Basic boxed sets. You get the 52 page booklet which covers character generation for your 0 level mooks who will die by the dozens. (There is also an excellent online generator at <a href="https://www.purplesorcerer.com/create_party.php" target="_blank">Purple Sorcerer Games</a> if you don't want to do it manually.) It also covers the first two levels of character advancement including how experience points work. A list of appropriate level spell. A list of weapons, armor and equipment. And two adventures. A 0-1 level funnel and a 1st level adventure. (So everything you need to get you up and running and playing for a while without having to invest in the full ruleset. </div><div><br /></div><div>So what are the downsides? Obviously, you do get all of the rules or details you would get with the full ruleset. One example is supernatural patrons. Wizards get their magic from supernatural patrons such as demons or elementals. This isn't covered in the <i>Quick Start</i>.</div><div><br /></div><div>Another thing to be aware of is that there are a couple of different versions of the <i>Quick Start</i>. There is a free version on the <a href="https://goodman-games.com/store/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2020/09/DCC_QSR_Free2.pdf" target="_blank">Goodman Games website</a>. This version has one adventure though, the funnel, and is 44 pages. Before I discovered it I had purchased my copy at DriveThru and it is the version that has 52 pages and two adventures.</div><div><br /></div><div>Whichever version you get I really think it's worth a look if you have even a passing interest in DCC. Particularly since there is a free version. I had kind of dismissed DCC until I read the <i>Quick Start</i>. Reading it prompted me to buy the full rulebook.</div><div><br /></div><div>Edit:</div><div>It turns out Goodman Games has several variations of the <i>Quick Start</i> on sale. Each has two adventures but the second adventure varies.</div>Narmerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08635665594860371230noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1007944847930867852.post-43622365805426115612023-03-15T11:52:00.006-07:002023-03-30T00:08:51.951-07:00A Hobbit Inspired Campaign<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtBNcsgfbyEmCpZnDr-Edla8l965ff3akgBem4RvxnG6En5pUhL4wb9CHXP5Dn3G-3cxYO2PlqHLIsPuoocNiEBFzU-8gKTCt7roSNUE1iZTEQOV2RwM3EJfzFD1_s-MffICJx_cx2dDaFZgfc3P-pbSQB7kecC1txJkfti_tMe0aA5-F4S2qj6nCVnA/s750/Hobbit-Cover-vintage-book-posters-museum-outlets.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="530" data-original-width="750" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtBNcsgfbyEmCpZnDr-Edla8l965ff3akgBem4RvxnG6En5pUhL4wb9CHXP5Dn3G-3cxYO2PlqHLIsPuoocNiEBFzU-8gKTCt7roSNUE1iZTEQOV2RwM3EJfzFD1_s-MffICJx_cx2dDaFZgfc3P-pbSQB7kecC1txJkfti_tMe0aA5-F4S2qj6nCVnA/s320/Hobbit-Cover-vintage-book-posters-museum-outlets.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />I've mentioned before my love of Tolkien's <i><b>The Hobbit</b></i>. I really, really like it. My fondness for it has only been growing over the years. On the other hand, I don't much care for <u>The Lord of the Rings</u> trilogy. But that's another story. (Oddly enough, though, I really like <u>The Lord of the Rings</u> movies but not <u>The Hobbit</u> movies.)<div><br /></div><div>Two of my favorite blog posts out there on the gaming blogs are <a href="http://steamtunnel.blogspot.com/2010/10/hobbit-1937.html" target="_blank">"The Hobbit 1937"</a> at The Hydra's Grotto and <a href="http://riseupcomus.blogspot.com/2017/09/1937-hobbit-as-setting.html" target="_blank">"1937 Hobbit as a Setting"</a> at Rise Up Comus. Both of these riff on using <i>The Hobbit</i> as it was originally written as a campaign setting. The current version of <i>The Hobbit</i> was modified when <u>The Lord of the Rings</u> was publish in the 1950s to fit better the series' lore. So the posts ask, what would a campaign be like with just the information available in <i>The Hobbit</i>, as originally published, but with none of the later lore added by <u>The Lord of the Rings</u> and Tolkien's other works?</div><div><br /></div><div>These two blog posts really make me want to play/run a campaign in that world. It's essentially a points of light campaign, which I find fascinating. Though it can be a harsh and grim world it also has a touches of fairytale whimsy. And it shows how a small group of people can have an oversized effect on the world.</div><div><br /></div><div>While I'm interested in playing in the setting itself or a close analog, I'm not really interested in using any of the of the licensed games. Except, perhaps, <i><a href="https://rpggeek.com/rpgitem/61924/lord-rings-adventure-game" target="_blank">The Lord of the Rings Adventure Game</a> </i>(<i>LOR</i>), a simple game released in the early 90s by Ice Crown Enterprises as an introduction to their <i>Middle Earth Role Playing</i> game. But I'll talk about this game in another post.</div><div><br /></div><div>I can think of several rulesets that I could use for this. TSR D&D and OSR rulesets jump to mind immediately because that is what I'm most familiar with.</div><div><br /></div><div>The first for me, of course, is B/X. With the exception of the cleric it fits quite nicely. The demi-human race-as-class fits the archetypes well in my mind and the other classes are spot on. As for the cleric, many people online have suggested that the cleric's magic actually fits Tolkien elves better than magic-user spells. I will take their word for it because as much as I like <i>The Hobbit</i> I am not a Tolkien scholar in any way, shape or form. I could do away with the cleric altogether and have elves use clerical magic instead. I just purchased <i>BX Options: Class Builder</i> by Erin Smale (aka <a href="https://welshpiper.com/" target="_blank">The Welsh Piper</a>) so I could just build the class from the ground up so it would be customized to my liking and have different x.p. requirements suitable for their modified powers.</div><div><br /></div><div>The second to come to mind is <i>The Hero's Journey</i> by James Spahn. Either the First or Second Edition would work fine. The First Edition adheres more closely to its <i>White</i> Box roots. It does add more classes, modifies how attributes are generated and actually adds two attributes, luck and appearance. It also uses only shields and dexterity to determine armor class and has armor reduce damage. The Second Edition makes many more changes to better match Mr. Spahn's vision. I wrote about it in more detail in <a href="https://dynastyzero.blogspot.com/2020/07/the-heros-journey-fantasy-roleplaying.html" target="_blank">this post</a>. I like both editions but the First Edition draws me to it more at this point. So if I were to go with <i>The Hero's Journey</i> I would use First Edition suitably modified. I would throw out some classes and a race to make it fit my vision better. (Buh-bye Bard, buh-bye Jester, etc.) And the cleric would have to be dealt with again.</div><div><br /></div><div>I could go with <i>White Box</i> with added classes and options from Mr. Spahn's <i>White Box Omnibus</i> and <i>White Box Compendium</i>. This would essentially be taking the building blocks that he used to make <i>The Hero's Journey</i> and brew up my own version to try to more exactly meet my vision. I would certainly add Greenleaf Elves, rangers and druids and perhaps the barbarian. I would also probably add the druid spell list from <i>White Box Expanded Lore</i> by Simon "Noobirus" Piecha. A little more time consuming but the process can be fun in and of itself.</div><div><br /></div><div>Then there are several other noncommercial OSR games that are aimed at a LotRs feel. There is <i>Drums in the Deep</i>, which is a modification meant for Holmes Basic. There is also <i>Balrogs & Bagginses</i>. <i>B&B</i> states you will need a version of Basic or <i>AD&D</i> to use it. Whereas <i>Drums in the Deep</i> is 11 pages, <i>B&B</i> clocks in at 58. I haven't read these in quite a while so I'm not going to say much about them at this time.</div><div><br /></div><div>I think I'll wrap this post up for now and talk about non-OSR options next time.</div><div><br /></div>Narmerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08635665594860371230noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1007944847930867852.post-80041493259144533582023-02-09T13:39:00.005-08:002023-02-09T13:39:48.556-08:00Christmas Gift<p> I realized I haven't mentioned my Christmas gift yet! I received the newest version of <i>Traveller</i>! Pretty cool!</p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiUqy04Q5fQd8wQTEdvx2IJg4uq14KYSKJV38VMDzsuxiPbutiEWWYZDIvp0a4fFGUrVp8bLT66EWWxqkgn0o3t9VUzYjtEr39t2dNmJ67bMfx2bzEmXf4bfYZ-tvWyFVm9i_YL5-Epzgd2MYG6YYODOL2yh2nDmoEq2i0wV9lfLThMP0RpyQrS3Ruu-g" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="" data-original-height="870" data-original-width="673" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiUqy04Q5fQd8wQTEdvx2IJg4uq14KYSKJV38VMDzsuxiPbutiEWWYZDIvp0a4fFGUrVp8bLT66EWWxqkgn0o3t9VUzYjtEr39t2dNmJ67bMfx2bzEmXf4bfYZ-tvWyFVm9i_YL5-Epzgd2MYG6YYODOL2yh2nDmoEq2i0wV9lfLThMP0RpyQrS3Ruu-g" width="186" /></a></p><p></p><p><br /></p>Narmerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08635665594860371230noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1007944847930867852.post-15913246836076530142022-11-15T13:15:00.010-08:002022-11-15T13:21:29.761-08:00World Names for the SV Inspired Setting.I've been pondering what to name the planets in my <i>Space Viking</i> inspired setting. In his Terro-Human Future History, Piper leaned heavily on world mythology for the names of planets. So, I figure I can do one of two things. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisMkn8QexRvILpX_WnzAy80nrVd3zLo6y3R_6QyxeEgU_hXSThkUyP7QaZPsU2U49un5hbWJ9oUeXBdrzxkDdWZ-F6ur4zZVsdeae-KRaRYBJP5IYCT5pQV6m6Ep5kjSRY04_ptJ8JV7JCLnYtegSSQ1rbMIooVrkgh8JhJo7WGU-eh5q60DPIMv14IQ/s960/960x0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="960" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisMkn8QexRvILpX_WnzAy80nrVd3zLo6y3R_6QyxeEgU_hXSThkUyP7QaZPsU2U49un5hbWJ9oUeXBdrzxkDdWZ-F6ur4zZVsdeae-KRaRYBJP5IYCT5pQV6m6Ep5kjSRY04_ptJ8JV7JCLnYtegSSQ1rbMIooVrkgh8JhJo7WGU-eh5q60DPIMv14IQ/s320/960x0.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div>I can embrace this and either recycle the names that Piper used or I can dig up my own mythological names. On the positive side, reusing Piper's names would give an instant familiarity to anyone who has read the book and people who haven't read the books wouldn't know any different. On the negative side those who have read the books might have preconceived notions about what the planets are like, even if I don't want the planets to emulate the originals. </div><div><br /></div><div>Digging up my own mythological names shouldn't be too hard but many of the figures involved could be very obscure. It's a distinct possibility that the players would miss the references. Heck, I would probably miss the references. It shouldn't be that hard though, with the internet and the books available at the library and such.</div><div><br /></div><div>The second course of action is to invent new names or draw them from a different source. Now, I find this a bit daunting. I would like a unified theme like Piper used but I don't know what that it would be and I don't know where I would get the names if I did come up with a theme that I liked and felt fit the game.</div><div><br /></div><div>Right now I'm leaning towards scavenging Piper's names in conjunction with coming up with new mythological names.</div><div><br /></div><div>Here is a list of names from Piper's Terro-Human Future History books. I found it on one of the sites dedicated to Piper's works, <a href="http://www.zarthani.net/index.html">Zaranthi.net</a>. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><google-sheets-html-origin><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; table-layout: fixed; width: 0px;" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><colgroup><col width="100"></col><col width="100"></col><col width="111"></col><col width="100"></col><col width="100"></col></colgroup><tbody><tr style="height: 21px;"><td colspan="3" data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Worlds"}" rowspan="1" style="border-bottom: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); font-weight: bold; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: center; vertical-align: bottom;">Worlds</td><td style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"></td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Sword Worlds."}" style="border-bottom: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Sword Worlds.</td></tr><tr style="height: 21px;"><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Abigor"}" style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Abigor</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Hoth"}" style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Hoth</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Panurge"}" style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Panurge</td><td style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"></td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Colada"}" style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Colada</td></tr><tr style="height: 21px;"><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Agni"}" style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Agni</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Imhotep"}" style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Imhotep</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Poictesme"}" style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Poictesme</td><td style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"></td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Curtana"}" style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Curtana</td></tr><tr style="height: 21px;"><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Aditya"}" style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Aditya</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Irminsul"}" style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Irminsul</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Quernbiter"}" style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Quernbiter</td><td style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"></td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Durendal"}" style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Durendal</td></tr><tr style="height: 21px;"><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Amaterasu"}" style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Amaterasu</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Isis"}" style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Isis</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Rimmon"}" style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Rimmon</td><td style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"></td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Excalibur"}" style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Excalibur</td></tr><tr style="height: 21px;"><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Ashmodai"}" style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Ashmodai</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Ithunn"}" style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Ithunn</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Seshat"}" style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Seshat</td><td style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"></td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Flamberge"}" style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Flamberge</td></tr><tr style="height: 21px;"><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Aton"}" style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Aton</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Janicot"}" style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Janicot</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Set"}" style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Set</td><td style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"></td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Gram"}" style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Gram</td></tr><tr style="height: 21px;"><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Audhumla"}" style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Audhumla</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Jaganath"}" style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Jaganath</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Shesha"}" style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Shesha</td><td style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"></td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Haulteclere"}" style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Haulteclere</td></tr><tr style="height: 21px;"><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Baldur"}" style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Baldur</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Joyeuse"}" style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Joyeuse</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Svantovit"}" style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Svantovit</td><td style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"></td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Joyeuse"}" style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Joyeuse</td></tr><tr style="height: 21px;"><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Baphomet"}" style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Baphomet</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Jurgen"}" style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Jurgen</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Tanith"}" style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Tanith</td><td style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"></td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Morglay"}" style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Morglay</td></tr><tr style="height: 21px;"><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Belphegor"}" style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Belphegor</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Khepera"}" style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Khepera</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Terra"}" style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Terra</td><td style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"></td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Quernbiter"}" style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Quernbiter</td></tr><tr style="height: 21px;"><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Beowulf"}" style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Beowulf</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Koshchei"}" style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Koshchei</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Tetragrammaton"}" style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Tetragrammaton</td><td style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"></td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Tizona"}" style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Tizona</td></tr><tr style="height: 21px;"><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Britomart"}" style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Britomart</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Loki"}" style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Loki</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Titan"}" style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Titan</td><td style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"></td><td style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"></td></tr><tr style="height: 21px;"><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Calidore"}" style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Calidore</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Lugaluru"}" style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Lugaluru</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Tizona"}" style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Tizona</td><td style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"></td><td style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"></td></tr><tr style="height: 21px;"><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Colada"}" style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Colada</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Luna"}" style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Luna</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Thor"}" style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Thor</td><td style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"></td><td style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"></td></tr><tr style="height: 21px;"><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Curtana"}" style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Curtana</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Malebolge"}" style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Malebolge</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Uller"}" style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Uller</td><td style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"></td><td style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"></td></tr><tr style="height: 21px;"><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Dagon"}" style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Dagon</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Marduk"}" style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Marduk</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Venus"}" style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Venus</td><td style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"></td><td style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"></td></tr><tr style="height: 21px;"><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Deirdre"}" style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Deirdre</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Mars"}" style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Mars</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Vishnu"}" style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Vishnu</td><td style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"></td><td style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"></td></tr><tr style="height: 21px;"><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Dremna"}" style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Dremna</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Melkarth"}" style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Melkarth</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Vitharr"}" style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Vitharr</td><td style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"></td><td style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"></td></tr><tr style="height: 21px;"><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Durendal"}" style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Durendal</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Mephistopheles"}" style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Mephistopheles</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Volund"}" style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Volund</td><td style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"></td><td style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"></td></tr><tr style="height: 21px;"><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Excalibur"}" style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Excalibur</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Mercury"}" style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Mercury</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Xerxes"}" style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Xerxes</td><td style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"></td><td style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"></td></tr><tr style="height: 21px;"><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Fenris"}" style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Fenris</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Midgard"}" style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Midgard</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Xipototec"}" style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Xipototec</td><td style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"></td><td style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"></td></tr><tr style="height: 21px;"><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Flamberge"}" style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Flamberge</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Mimir"}" style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Mimir</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Xochitl"}" style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Xochitl</td><td style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"></td><td style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"></td></tr><tr style="height: 21px;"><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Freya"}" style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Freya</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Morglay"}" style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Morglay</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Yggdrasil "}" style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Yggdrasil</td><td style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"></td><td style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"></td></tr><tr style="height: 21px;"><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Gilgamesh"}" style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Gilgamesh</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Nergal"}" style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Nergal</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Zarathustra"}" style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Zarathustra</td><td style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"></td><td style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"></td></tr><tr style="height: 21px;"><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Gram"}" style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Gram</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Niflheim"}" style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Niflheim</td><td style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"></td><td style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"></td><td style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"></td></tr><tr style="height: 21px;"><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Hathor"}" style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Hathor</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Obidicut"}" style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Obidicut</td><td style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"></td><td style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"></td><td style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"></td></tr><tr style="height: 21px;"><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Haulteclere"}" style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Haulteclere</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Odin"}" style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Odin</td><td style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"></td><td style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"></td><td style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"></td></tr><tr style="height: 21px;"><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Hertha"}" style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Hertha</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Osiris"}" style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Osiris</td><td style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"></td><td style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"></td><td style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"></td></tr><tr style="height: 21px;"><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Hovendile"}" style="font-size: 13.3333px; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Hovendile</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Pantagruel"}" style="font-size: 13.3333px; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Pantagruel</td><td style="font-size: 13.3333px; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"></td><td style="font-size: 13.3333px; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"></td></tr></tbody></table></google-sheets-html-origin></div>Narmerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08635665594860371230noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1007944847930867852.post-50948447214150483592022-11-14T21:33:00.002-08:002023-03-31T11:54:42.551-07:00The Black Hack<p>I've had the PDF for the first edition of <i>The Black Hack</i> for quite some time but only recently got around to reading it. I found that I like it for several reasons. </p><p>First, I can pretty much hold all of the rules in my head. Since I got back into RPGs about two decades ago I discovered that I prefer rules-lite games. As a working parent who was perennially tired I just did not have the brain power to expend on complicated games. Now I'm old and just plain tired and still don't. And besides, it turns out my favorite games are rules-lite.</p><p>Second, it is familiar. Two of my favorite games are <i>B/X</i> and <i>White Box: FMAG</i>. <i>The Black Hack</i> is based on the Original Edition and so is very close to these games. Same attributes, same spells, same monsters and similar adventuring style. So you know what you're going to get and what you're supposed to do.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUfliInvad5v28Abjg9gWyIyC2toDEiQH2cCqBy1IZHBIQVda_FnTEWu64a7qDHxDu11if7BapzFmOGvP2F13M-g0dj7yyoFlPaTxoCB1VzsBX64oJ-ojdV8limxO87Fl0iYWR9QwIzgX2krWPTxPjhgI5VSKCIpRbBbD4KRp0_vgQMWjFLzlrisCKNw/s913/The%20Black%20Hack.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="913" data-original-width="644" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUfliInvad5v28Abjg9gWyIyC2toDEiQH2cCqBy1IZHBIQVda_FnTEWu64a7qDHxDu11if7BapzFmOGvP2F13M-g0dj7yyoFlPaTxoCB1VzsBX64oJ-ojdV8limxO87Fl0iYWR9QwIzgX2krWPTxPjhgI5VSKCIpRbBbD4KRp0_vgQMWjFLzlrisCKNw/s320/The%20Black%20Hack.jpg" width="226" /></a></div><p></p><p>Third, it is pick up and play. <i>TBH</i> is excellent for one shots. Characters can be generated quickly and you can be off and running. You don't have to spend a lot of time prepping if you don't want too.It's my understanding that it can be used for campaigns also but I haven't played more than a couple of sessions so I don't know this personally.</p><p>And fourth, support and adventures. In the years since the first edition was published many adventures and supplements have been published. Often these are free or very low priced. This makes it easy to keep playing if you like the game. The supplements range from new classes and ways to add in races to full-blown games based on <i>TBH</i>. What's more, I understand that the modules and adventures from the original games are easily compatible too. So you can pull out any of the your old TSR modules, or new OSR stuff for that matter, and run it with <i>TBH</i>.</p><p>Another thing I like about <i>TBH</i> is what people have done with it. Not just the adventures and supplements but the full games people have created using it. <i>TBH</i> has an OGL and is open content, what ever all of that means. I've never really understood it except that it means people can use it to make other games using the material under certain conditions. And people have created many, many different variations in many different genres. Some are a few pages long like <i>TBH</i>'s 20 pages to others that are over 200 pages.</p><p>For example, I haven't played straight <i>The Black Hack</i>. I have run my son through three or four programmed solo adventures using <i>Bluehack</i>. <i>Bluehack</i> is an expanded (to a whopping 26 pages) version of <i>TBH</i> which fills in some of the gaps in the sparse <i>TBH</i> and is modified to feel more like Holmes Basic, which was the RPG that started it all for me. In fact it was created by the same person who created Holmes' clone <i>Blueholme</i>.</p><p>There are many fantasy hacks that take it in different directions. There are several D&D versions including <i>Red Hack</i> and <i>Heroes & Monsters</i>. There are at least three sword & sorcery versions. I have two, <i>Black Sword Hack</i> and <i>Swords Against the Shroud</i>, and will get the third version, <i>By this Axe I Hack</i>, soon. There is also a Tolkien version that incorporates some features from <i>The One Ring </i>called <i>There and Hack Again</i>. </p><p>There are also various science fiction versions ranging from spacefaring to post-apocalypse. This includes serious to full on <i>Gamma World</i> gonzo in the form of <i>Barbarians of the Ruined Earth, </i>which is a big, beautiful full color book that I would like to have some day.</p><p>I could go on but suffice it to say that the full range is covered. Anime, cyberpunk, noir, modern, pirates, supers and even dinosaurs. You name it, it's probably out there.</p><p>Now there is one last thing I like about <i>The Black Hack</i>. It gives me the urge to create. Not just that. It actually makes me feel like I could be successful in these creative endeavors. None of the variations of <i>TBH</i> that I have read are exactly how I want them to be. I know what I want to change and clarify, add and subtract. The thing is, the chassis that this game provides is so simple yet so sturdy and I understand it from a lifetime of gaming that I know I could do it. I just need to sit down and do it. Write my perfect version of this game to suit my personal tastes and quirks.</p><p>I think I've just set myself a goal. Dammit.</p>Narmerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08635665594860371230noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1007944847930867852.post-3483176950902985002022-11-10T16:46:00.001-08:002022-11-10T16:46:21.170-08:00Space Viking World and Subsector Generation Thoughts<p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEixSnQIBMfCW-Y2xSXhcxJRmv1coBC3M6p-EUHfbCfQVPUNMACyFAOx6tBJbe6p-fv2PFKiQMH6bFD5LFL1XrQjLV3YeERqlIp135bjxEOHY2YyjGOtVk1m74fW_Fc5pdCSSIby5DbHZ4CgM3XUAZHw0Mu9yGEA7xGZheM_5XxDRyyFaMPesiEB_KQHtA" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img data-original-height="740" data-original-width="1080" height="219" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEixSnQIBMfCW-Y2xSXhcxJRmv1coBC3M6p-EUHfbCfQVPUNMACyFAOx6tBJbe6p-fv2PFKiQMH6bFD5LFL1XrQjLV3YeERqlIp135bjxEOHY2YyjGOtVk1m74fW_Fc5pdCSSIby5DbHZ4CgM3XUAZHw0Mu9yGEA7xGZheM_5XxDRyyFaMPesiEB_KQHtA=w320-h219" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Art by Alan Gutierrez</td></tr></tbody></table>I mentioned in an earlier post that the standard world generation in <i>Traveller</i> wouldn't meet my needs for my <i>SV</i> inspired setting. There are a few worlds I would want to handcraft. Those worlds that had a high enough tech level for interstellar flight, particularly the character's base worlds. And the world(s) that they controlled/dominated. Essentially whatever pocket empires I want in the setting. I don't envision them being larger than three or four worlds in size. Other than that I would want to be able to randomly generate worlds that meet the tech level and other requirement that produce the feeling of the setting.</p><p>So, planetary generation would need to be modified in several areas.</p><div style="text-align: left;"><ul><li>Tech Level Cap (TL 10)</li><li>Starport Type</li><li>Bases</li><li>Planetary Atmospheres</li><li>Government</li></ul>The first thing that would have to be modified is tech level. The tech level cap will be TL10. Though I'm thinking that I will allow Type J maneuver drives, jump drives and power plants because that will allow for 2000 ton ships. <i>Space Viking</i> had some big ships and this will allow for a bit more emulation in that area. TL 10, however, limits the setting to computer type 4 which means jumps are limited to 4 parsecs. So even small ships won't be wildly speeding through the galaxy. I plan to designate which planets have TL9 or TL10 so the planets that I randomly create need to be capped at TL8. My solution is to roll on the Tech Level Table as usual but ignore the starport type modifier. Technically, this can still yield a tech level as high as 11 but I think it is unlikely. And the GM can just cap it at TL8. Or, if they want another starfaring planet they can just go with it up to the TL10 max.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Starport type needs to be handled differently too. Anything below TL7 will not have a spaceport. Unless it is in ruins or it is mothballed or on a moon or is a satellite. TL7-8 can have interplanetary ships so can have one and may be in the process of colonizing its solar system. The GM can either choose a starport type or roll on the table I've devised below.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Bases won't be present on TL6 or below planets. Unless, of course, they are ruins or abandoned bases off planet. They can be determined as the GM deems appropriate for TL7 and above systems</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I wanted to modify atmosphere for a couple of reasons. The first of which is that 10 out of the 13 types of atmospheres listed in the book are unbreathable by humans without some sort of breathing equipment. I figured that with the loss of technology after the Federation fell that this would lead to planets being depopulated as their inhabitants lost the ability to manufacture and repair the equipment. The second reason is that I can remember the only planet in Piper's Terro-Human Future History that did not have a human breathable atmosphere was Niflheim. It was from another of Piper's books, <i>Uller Uprising</i>, set centuries earlier than <i>SV</i>. The only reason that people had anything to do with Niflheim and its corrosive atmosphere was its wealth in metals. The planet is so hellish that its name is actually used as a curse. So, in order to give planets a higher chance of be habitable I am going to dropped the tainted designation.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Several of the planets mentioned in <i>SV</i> weren't unified, both the primitive ones as well as some of the relatively technologically advanced worlds. I wanted to have this reflected in the world generation. I figured that before the government type was rolled the GM would roll 1D6. On a 1-3 the planet would be balkanized, otherwise the GM would roll normally. If balkanized, roll 1D3+1 to find the number of major countries/political units. Then the GM can either roll separately for each country or the GM could choose.</div><p>Here is what the World Generation Checklist would look like.</p><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Determine world occurrence (1D for 4, 5, 6 is standard). </li><li>Check system contents table for details of world. </li><ul><li> Check for gas giant. </li></ul><li>Name world. </li><li>Generate universal planetary profile for world. </li><ul><li>Planetary size: 2D-2. </li><li>Planetary atmosphere: 2D-7 +size. Ignore Tainted designation (unless GM has special circumstances in mind). If planetary size is 0, the atmosphere must be 0. </li><li>Planetary hydrographics: 2D-7 +size. If planetary size is 0, then hydrographics must be 0; if atmosphere is 0. 1, or A+, then apply a DM of -4. </li><li>Population: 2D-2. No population if atmosphere 0-3, A+</li><li>Government: Roll d6, 1-3 Balkanized. Roll D3+1 for # of major political units. Governments can be roll for or determined by GM. If not balkanized 2D-7+population as usual.</li><li>Law level : 2D-7+government. </li><li>Technological Level : 1 D+DMs from tech level table. Ignore starport modifiers. TL8 cap unless referee decides otherwise.</li><li>Determine starport type. See tables below.</li><li>Determine naval base as appropriate. </li><li>Determine scout base as appropriate.</li></ul><li>Decide if travel zone coded. </li><li>Establish communications routes.</li><li>Note trade classifications based on universal planetary profile. </li><li>Note statistics for reference.</li></ul><div>Here is the table to generate starport type for TL 7-8 I also included a table for TL 8-10 just for kicks. In case the GM wanted a little randomness.</div></div><div><br /></div><div><google-sheets-html-origin><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; table-layout: fixed; width: 0px;" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><colgroup><col width="50"></col><col width="50"></col><col width="50"></col><col width="50"></col><col width="50"></col></colgroup><tbody><tr style="height: 21px;"><td colspan="2" data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Spaceport Type"}" rowspan="1" style="border-left: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); border-top: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: center; vertical-align: bottom;">Spaceport Type</td><td style="border-right: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"></td><td colspan="2" data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Spaceport Type"}" rowspan="1" style="border-right: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); border-top: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: center; vertical-align: bottom;">Spaceport Type</td></tr><tr style="height: 21px;"><td colspan="2" data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"TL 7-8"}" rowspan="1" style="border-bottom: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: center; vertical-align: bottom;">TL 7-8</td><td style="border-right: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"></td><td colspan="2" data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"TL 9-10"}" rowspan="1" style="border-bottom: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: center; vertical-align: bottom;">TL 9-10</td></tr><tr style="height: 21px;"><td data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":2}" style="border-bottom: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: center; vertical-align: bottom;">2</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"X"}" style="border-bottom: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: center; vertical-align: bottom;">X</td><td style="border-right: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"></td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":1}" style="border-bottom: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: center; vertical-align: bottom;">1</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"X"}" style="border-bottom: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: center; vertical-align: bottom;">X</td></tr><tr style="height: 21px;"><td data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":3}" style="border-bottom: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: center; vertical-align: bottom;">3</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"E"}" style="border-bottom: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: center; vertical-align: bottom;">E</td><td style="border-right: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"></td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":2}" style="border-bottom: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: center; vertical-align: bottom;">2</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"E"}" style="border-bottom: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: center; vertical-align: bottom;">E</td></tr><tr style="height: 21px;"><td data-sheets-numberformat="{"1":5,"2":"m-d","3":1}" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":44659}" style="border-bottom: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: center; vertical-align: bottom;">4-8</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"D"}" style="border-bottom: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: center; vertical-align: bottom;">D</td><td style="border-right: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"></td><td data-sheets-numberformat="{"1":5,"2":"m-d","3":1}" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":44624}" style="border-bottom: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: center; vertical-align: bottom;">3-4</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"D"}" style="border-bottom: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: center; vertical-align: bottom;">D</td></tr><tr style="height: 21px;"><td data-sheets-numberformat="{"1":5,"2":"m-d","3":1}" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":44814}" style="border-bottom: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: center; vertical-align: bottom;">9-10</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"C"}" style="border-bottom: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: center; vertical-align: bottom;">C</td><td style="border-right: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"></td><td data-sheets-numberformat="{"1":5,"2":"m-d","3":1}" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":44688}" style="border-bottom: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: center; vertical-align: bottom;">5-7</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"C"}" style="border-bottom: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: center; vertical-align: bottom;">C</td></tr><tr style="height: 21px;"><td data-sheets-numberformat="{"1":5,"2":"m-d","3":1}" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":44877}" style="border-bottom: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: center; vertical-align: bottom;">11-12</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"B"}" style="border-bottom: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: center; vertical-align: bottom;">A/B</td><td style="border-right: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"></td><td data-sheets-numberformat="{"1":5,"2":"m-d","3":1}" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":44782}" style="border-bottom: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: center; vertical-align: bottom;">8-9</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"B"}" style="border-bottom: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: center; vertical-align: bottom;">B</td></tr><tr style="height: 21px;"><td style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"></td><td style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"></td><td style="border-right: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"></td><td data-sheets-numberformat="{"1":5,"2":"m-d","3":1}" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":44846}" style="border-bottom: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: center; vertical-align: bottom;">10-12</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"A"}" style="border-bottom: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: center; vertical-align: bottom;">A</td></tr></tbody></table></google-sheets-html-origin></div><div><br /></div><div>These are just my initial thoughts. <u><b>I haven't tested these world generation rules yet.</b></u> When I do I will let you know how it went and and changes that I think need to be made.</div>Narmerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08635665594860371230noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1007944847930867852.post-51266134093327032992022-10-29T17:50:00.001-07:002022-10-29T17:50:37.136-07:00How Piperesque? Warm Fuzzies Anyone?<p>Garnett Elliott* asked me a good question. Am I going to include Fuzzies in my <i>Space Viking</i> inspired setting? That me made take a close look at what I'm doing. How close to the fiction do I want to adhere? </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTkb7RQbKqBlY3xu14zFdtfFEvGn3x7BiUx11uw6j0Tp1fwAurvbzVj0PasIszpNp2lP07sM561rHVlJmMMybfq653evmP4Y1zFAc0q6zL7lQHed0GRzjfuEMhhODqlg5RsSF6O8ex1xkzEWSeDkhVuQdc_XZOYpqSXkMKM4IrbfeePRnTpeSeQAZiQQ/s528/little-fuzzy-31.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="528" data-original-width="353" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTkb7RQbKqBlY3xu14zFdtfFEvGn3x7BiUx11uw6j0Tp1fwAurvbzVj0PasIszpNp2lP07sM561rHVlJmMMybfq653evmP4Y1zFAc0q6zL7lQHed0GRzjfuEMhhODqlg5RsSF6O8ex1xkzEWSeDkhVuQdc_XZOYpqSXkMKM4IrbfeePRnTpeSeQAZiQQ/s320/little-fuzzy-31.jpg" width="214" /></a></div><p>I knew from the start I couldn't do a straight conversion. To much history, background and differences from <i>Traveller </i>for me to want to do that. At first I thought I would incorporate some of the planets, names and history into the setting. But I need to decide how much to <strike>steal</strike> borrow. Or do I just go for the vibe.</p><p>At this point I'm thinking I will just go for the feeling of Space Viking with a few bits and pieces built in. Maybe a few key planets. An alien race or two, like the Fuzzies. Then again, it might be "inspired by". I'll have to see how it goes as I work on it. Because honestly I've been vacillating between the two on an almost daily basis. And it will probably end up somewhere in between.</p><p>So, I guess I don't have an answer to G-Man's question yet. </p><p><br /></p><p>*<a href="https://rpggeek.com/rpgdesigner/20013/garnett-elliott" target="_blank">Game/adventure designer extraordinaire</a> and <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5306756.Garnett_Elliott" target="_blank">author</a> you should read if you like your fiction <a href="https://www.amazon.com/kindle-dbs/entity/author/B00VOLMDT0?_encoding=UTF8&node=283155&offset=0&pageSize=12&searchAlias=stripbooks&sort=author-sidecar-rank&page=1&langFilter=default#formatSelectorHeader" target="_blank">hardboiled</a>.</p>Narmerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08635665594860371230noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1007944847930867852.post-58070720384309729532022-10-26T15:10:00.002-07:002022-10-26T15:10:35.610-07:00Traveller Setting Ideas and Parameters<p style="text-align: left;">I've been thinking about my <i>Space Viking</i> inspired <i>Traveller</i> setting. Here are some preliminary notes.</p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><i>Space Viking</i> vibe without trying to reproduce it specifically.</li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Classic <i>Traveller,</i> Books 1-3 (or the <i>Traveller Book</i>) plus Supplement 4 <i>Citizens of the Imperium</i>.</li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>TL 10 limit. However, the old Terran Federation had a higher TL so artifacts might be found.</li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Only a few planets have rediscovered interstellar flight.</li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Terran Federation tore itself apart leading to the Long Night.</li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Humancentric. There may be aliens but they are low tech levels and have not discovered interstellar flight or spaceflight.</li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>The location of Terra has been lost.</li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Few multi-planet polities. </li></ul><div>Other things to ponder: </div><div><br /></div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Do I leave interstellar travel and jumps alone?</li><li>Special resources for jumps. In the book </li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>How big should the pocket empires/confederations be? Two or three planets? A few more? There are apparently 12 Sword Worlds though I don't remember all of them being named in the book. That seems like too many, at least for what I'm shooting for.</li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Ship size. CT using the first three books is a small ship universe. However, the ships in <i>Space Viking</i> are huge. A Space Viking ship (and all ships in the Piperverse) is spherical and could be 2000 feet in diameter and have a crew of 300 and carry 500 ground fighters. Looking at <i>High Guard</i> and <i>Fighting Ships</i>, a ship with that crew size is something in the 30,000 to 50,000 ton range. Much larger than I was thinking. So, what do I do about that? Ignore it?</li></ul><div><br /></div></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj936-RjTI-vPqqq2YwgoS7GuL2qpsteoNE0LNUdfSu-L54eQ7uHYw46I6wg9oX-m6mM8M8tfMA-f44Vc3l5ny54Cb1MUzZdpdZREH4rYeBYeWQTkFbo4tJA_TP8M2424T4pgKehitgo1Vho7S0VJfXDJ9XtVWuz12T8eboKYWFEgxVW5sk9oUZL2sUHg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="250" data-original-width="750" height="134" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj936-RjTI-vPqqq2YwgoS7GuL2qpsteoNE0LNUdfSu-L54eQ7uHYw46I6wg9oX-m6mM8M8tfMA-f44Vc3l5ny54Cb1MUzZdpdZREH4rYeBYeWQTkFbo4tJA_TP8M2424T4pgKehitgo1Vho7S0VJfXDJ9XtVWuz12T8eboKYWFEgxVW5sk9oUZL2sUHg=w400-h134" width="400" /></a></div><br /><br /></div><p></p><p></p>Narmerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08635665594860371230noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1007944847930867852.post-62835954909563641472022-10-22T15:57:00.001-07:002022-10-22T16:08:50.316-07:00Space Viking for Traveller<p>Many years ago I wrote a <a href="https://dynastyzero.blogspot.com/2009/12/inspirational-fiction-space-viking.html" target="_blank">blog post</a> about the novel <i>Space Viking</i> by H. Beam Piper and how I always wanted to play a <i>Traveller</i> game in that setting. I wrote how complex the background was and how</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLE-CWId6JMHBmWoxZftSVowpPFhfSNT9TgD6g2b4P6Vi3JY0-RkK8Q46u4tBcepHWFSLeCaCMbVKKt5qagGrQbsF12OnL70LgKcmoF408kDQVDFe3IgsCqBkS2p36PnEfbqHeFwNESij0qvb8c51MStIgxCeHqXHr1AQgOySk-hKo5ck9Jt0w_6PMRw/s396/Space_Viking_(pb_cover_02ba).jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="396" data-original-width="255" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLE-CWId6JMHBmWoxZftSVowpPFhfSNT9TgD6g2b4P6Vi3JY0-RkK8Q46u4tBcepHWFSLeCaCMbVKKt5qagGrQbsF12OnL70LgKcmoF408kDQVDFe3IgsCqBkS2p36PnEfbqHeFwNESij0qvb8c51MStIgxCeHqXHr1AQgOySk-hKo5ck9Jt0w_6PMRw/s320/Space_Viking_(pb_cover_02ba).jpg" width="206" /></a></div>some of the technology differed from <i>Traveller</i> so I had never done it. Well, I still haven't done it but that hasn't stopped me from thinking about it.<p></p><p>Since I can't do a direct conversion and I don't want to use the Sword Worlds from the Third Imperium I've decided that I should create a setting has the feel of the book. Namely, humanity is coming out of a Long Night after the collapse of a large star-spanning empire/federation. Most planets have not regained spaceflight, let alone interstellar flight. Those that have have only started to voyage outward and there is still much unknown about the remnants of the empire. And some of the planets will have regressed pretty far technologically, as far back as preindustrial.</p><p>I've thought of this before but I didn't know how to pull this off when randomly creating the couple of subsectors I wanted to start with. How do I keep the tech levels low enough for most of the worlds? How do I ensure that there are two or three systems that have a high enough tech level but not too high? The randomness of the subsector creation project would make it difficult..</p><p>So, the answer may seem obvious to you but, to be honest, I'm not very good at modifying game rules or even thinking my way out of the box created by the rulebooks. I've always been this way for some reason. I've never wanted to tamper with games because I don't want to mess them up. I really can't explain why. It's probably the same reason I have troubles writing in a fresh blank book. I don't want to besmirch it with my lame thoughts and ideas.</p><p>However, I've been reading the blog <a href="http://spacecockroach.blogspot.com" target="_blank">Den of the Lizard King</a> lately and I've drawn inspiration and practical advice from it. Den of the Lizard King is the blog of Omer Golan-Joel. He runs Stellagama games and has done a lot with <i>Traveller</i> and <i>Cepheus</i>. One of the main things that has inspired me is his posts about low tech settings he has worked on called Hard Space and Harsh beginnings. These really got me thinking about how I could apply what he was been writing to my desired setting.</p><p>Then I ran across one particular post which freed my mind up and gave me a practical method to create the subsectors I need. The post is called <a href="http://spacecockroach.blogspot.com/2018/08/hard-space-thoughts-on-world-generation.html" target="_blank">"Hard Space: Thoughts on World Generation"</a>. In it he discusses the population levels, government types and the law levels for each of the worlds. <b>And then he creates his own random tables customized to get the results to fit his setting.</b> This was a revelation to me. I don't know why is was, other than me being slow and not very creative.</p><p>Then I re-read this in Book 3: </p><p><i></i></p><blockquote><i>Finally, the referee should always feel free to create worlds which have been deliberately (rather than randomly) generated.</i></blockquote><p></p><p>Now, I believe I will be able to create the <i>Traveller</i> setting that I've always wanted. Of course it won't be <i>Space Viking</i> but that's ok. It will be something I can be happy creating and be close enough for my tastes. All I had to do was see an example of how to do it and give myself permission to deviate from the book.</p>Narmerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08635665594860371230noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1007944847930867852.post-90898256455242599782022-09-05T22:30:00.002-07:002023-03-15T11:28:36.038-07:00Hexgen<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZFRYtA0XtqIdPBn1Iy0nFtC5yNAfQ8jIXfaSp2S4CAse2huoUCYzwVz8SJYcSXU2MCkZJOpub1YgsTEnnM0LxVcVdsyaFpGOnBGYA3tyyJVqH02_-8PIiLciRPNF3IjnqNAhxvl7dsqha3jCXFwUJZaevAezMJjHfYAfTTYpZ8ZBaENr09cjSgE-shQ/s1733/Grid-9_5_2022,%2010_25_54%20PM.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1733" data-original-width="1600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZFRYtA0XtqIdPBn1Iy0nFtC5yNAfQ8jIXfaSp2S4CAse2huoUCYzwVz8SJYcSXU2MCkZJOpub1YgsTEnnM0LxVcVdsyaFpGOnBGYA3tyyJVqH02_-8PIiLciRPNF3IjnqNAhxvl7dsqha3jCXFwUJZaevAezMJjHfYAfTTYpZ8ZBaENr09cjSgE-shQ/s320/Grid-9_5_2022,%2010_25_54%20PM.png" width="295" /></a></div>Mr. Raston over at the <a href="https://lizardmandiaries.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Lizard Man Diary Blog</a> created an interesting little <a href="https://lizardmandiaries.blogspot.com/2022/09/the-twinkling-dunes-half-hex-crawl.html?sc=1662441351450#c9187128240411604373" target="_blank">hex crawl</a>. What caught my interest is that he used an online map generator called <a href="https://noerskov.net/#/hexgen" target="_blank">Hexgen</a> to create the map. I always like map generators. I haven't played with it much so I don't really know its capabilites. The image is a randomly generated map without any modifications. You can find it here: <a href="https://noerskov.net/#/hexgen" target="_blank">Hexgen</a>.<p></p><p></p>Narmerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08635665594860371230noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1007944847930867852.post-3677198001051945772022-08-29T18:28:00.003-07:002023-03-15T11:36:12.484-07:00Sword & Sorcery Games<p>I own a lot of RPGs. I mean a LOT. It's a weakness with me. Or an addiction. But that's between me and any future therapist that I get. Most of them are in PDF form. I have a comb binding machine so if a like a game enough I print out a copy and bind it into a book myself.</p><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKQu2JNzMaD0GEefcQcA94PfGGGv_o9bJJ2nQ6XjrNBORFuOcpf4v6loOVMZeY7Sj4q89YqjuOqMUPcO3ctT5RwBvRllLaO76u8bn556TUBuQCIYLT_uCvYB5EdjcgrPe0X_d2XF3KgH60392ykdupVHXq9leUewwQ_b5h1Lo9SQm1Mgs19Ql_FFnPRA/s869/pic551479.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="869" data-original-width="615" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKQu2JNzMaD0GEefcQcA94PfGGGv_o9bJJ2nQ6XjrNBORFuOcpf4v6loOVMZeY7Sj4q89YqjuOqMUPcO3ctT5RwBvRllLaO76u8bn556TUBuQCIYLT_uCvYB5EdjcgrPe0X_d2XF3KgH60392ykdupVHXq9leUewwQ_b5h1Lo9SQm1Mgs19Ql_FFnPRA/s320/pic551479.jpg" width="226" /></a></div>My favorite genre of games is Sword & Sorcery. (I think. Because I like SF and post-apoc quite a bit too.) I have quite a few but I've never compiled a list. So that is what I am going to do here. I'm bound to miss a few but I will add those later. I think I have a somewhat narrow view/definition of what S&S is but I am going to list the games that the publishers advertise as S&S. But it will also be tempered by my own judgement.<p></p><p>I will state up front, for those who don't know, my favorite S&S game is <i>Barbarians of Lemuria</i>. It is a light, flexible game that can be played in many different S&S settings. Not just the interesting one it comes with. It fact, it has been used for different genres and eras as well and it has been turned into a generic pulp system with <i>Everywhen</i>.</p><p>Unfortunately, I haven't played all of them. Or most of them. And there are few I haven't read yet, too. There are several I really want to try out but I actually have very little opportunity to play.</p><p>So, here we go:</p><div style="text-align: left;"><ol style="text-align: left;"><li><i><b>Barbarians of Lemuria</b></i></li><li><i><b>Barbarians of Lemuria - Legends of Steel Edition</b></i></li><li><i><b>Astonishing </b></i><i><b>Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperboria</b></i></li><li><i><b>Barbarians & Basilisks</b></i></li><li><i><b>Barbaric!</b></i></li><li><i><b>Beasts & Barbarians: Savage Worlds</b></i></li><li><i><b>Black Sword Hack</b></i></li><li><i><b>Blades & Black Magic</b></i></li><li><i><b>Blood of Pangea</b></i></li><li><i><b>The Bloody-Handed Name of Bronze</b></i></li><li><i><b>The BoL Hack</b></i></li><li><i><b>Broadsword</b></i></li><li><i><b>Bronze</b></i></li><li><i><b>Conan: Adventures in an Age Undreamed</b></i></li><li><i><b>Crimson Blades</b></i></li><li><i><b>Crypts & Things</b></i></li><li><i><b>Forgotten Tales of Sword & Sorcery</b></i></li><li><i><b>GURPS Conan</b></i></li><li><i><b>Into the Bronze</b></i></li><li><i><b>Jaws of the Six Serpents</b></i></li><li><i><b>Lankhmar: City of Thieves (Savage Worlds)</b></i></li><li><i><b>Lankhmar: DCC</b></i></li><li><i><b>On Mighty Thew</b></i></li><li><b style="font-style: italic;">One Dice Pulp </b>(One of the "skins" is for sword & sorcery)</li><li><i><b>Red Mists: Swords Against Sorcery</b></i></li><li><i><b>Shadow, Sword and Spell</b></i></li><li><i><b>Sharp Swords & Sinister Spells</b></i></li><li><i><b>Stormbringer</b></i></li><li><i><b>Sword Noir</b></i></li><li><i><b>Sword of Cepheus</b></i></li><li><b style="font-style: italic;">Swords Without Master </b>(in <b style="font-style: italic;">Worlds Without Master #3</b>)</li><li><i><b>Through the Sunken Lands</b></i></li><li><i><b>USR Sword & Sorcery</b></i></li><li><i><b>ZeFRS</b></i></li><li><i><b>ZeFRS - Cimmerian Quickstart</b></i></li></ol></div><div style="text-align: left;">Edit:</div><div style="text-align: left;">Additional titles</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span> </span>36. <b><i>Swords Against the Shroud</i></b></div>Narmerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08635665594860371230noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1007944847930867852.post-88437394366171911552022-08-28T21:07:00.001-07:002022-08-28T21:07:27.820-07:00#RPGaDAY2022 Oops<p style="text-align: left;">I didn't even meet my modest goals for RPGaDay2022. So, I'll just give the rest of my answers in one post.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMWxb4ybcfOSkHHZYkk1GOAUNX5QiqG5NYSA_2Hd40YiVh3C8bbIvuQkgF0w7tgh3vSPHbjetpIGOb_9cN7lYmvvUywA9Cw8_xsAMn2SskwYT72-CXGbXwKgvZ-in4WRH1jXjxVeIGfsPbhNcUSCVZf_ZCJbdJuGV3oaiziYuMqn7TRJl5UX8UePsjdA/s551/image.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="389" data-original-width="551" height="283" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMWxb4ybcfOSkHHZYkk1GOAUNX5QiqG5NYSA_2Hd40YiVh3C8bbIvuQkgF0w7tgh3vSPHbjetpIGOb_9cN7lYmvvUywA9Cw8_xsAMn2SskwYT72-CXGbXwKgvZ-in4WRH1jXjxVeIGfsPbhNcUSCVZf_ZCJbdJuGV3oaiziYuMqn7TRJl5UX8UePsjdA/w400-h283/image.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><div style="text-align: left;"><b>3. When were you first introduced to RPGs?</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I was introduced to RPGs in the Fall of 1979 when I overheard some friends talking about a game at the bus stop. I asked them if they were talking about <i>D&D</i>. They weren't, they were talking about the Metagaming board game <i>Melee</i>. But they did play <i>D&D</i>. I bought <i>Melee</i> and then a short while later the Holmes Basic box. I was on my way.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><b>7. System Sunday: Describe a cool part of a system that you love.</b><br /><br />I really like the career system from <i>Barbarians of Lemuria</i>. Instead of a list of skills a character has several careers from their past. So whenever a character attempts a task, if it relates to one of his careers, he gets a bonus. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The career system does a couple of things for the game simultaneously. First it helps with genre emulation. <i>Barbarians of Lemuria</i> is a sword & sorcery game. Characters in the fiction often start out experienced and competent. Having already had several careers shows this experience. So, you were a farmer who became a mercenary that then turned pirate. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Second, <i>BoL</i> is a rule-lite game and it helps speed up both character creation and game play. During character creation you don't have to agonize over a list of skills trying to decide over which will serve you best during the game. And during the game you don't have to remember which skills you have on your character sheet. You need to tie a knot that will hold the weight of the treasure as you lower it down the cliff? You were a pirate. Pirates are sailors who have a lot of experience with knots. You get the bonus.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Third, it gives the character an instant backstory. Farmer, mercenary, pirate? Our hero Kinlar was a simple farmer. He tended his farm with his family, did his civic duty by participating in the town assembly and serving in the town militia and generally minded his own business. Until the warlord Tyern destroyed the town, burned his farm and butchered his family. With nothing left for him he took his meager skills as a militiaman and joined a mercenary outfit. There he became a hardened soldier of fortune. All the while his heart smoldered with the desire for vengeance against Tyern. After several years as a mercenary his company was destroyed in an unsuccessful campaign and Kinlar fled for the coast after the battle. There he was picked up by pirates. They intended to sell him as a slave but his fighting skills soon earned him the pirate captain's respect and a place among the crew. So, a quick and dirty backstory but easy to come up with. It also provides a goal, hooks and complications that the GM can use.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">These are the reasons I like the career system in <i>BoL</i>. And to top it off, it is easily transferable to other genres using the system.<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>8. Who introduced you to RPGs?</b><br /><br />School friends.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><b>9. What is the 2nd RPG you bought?</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />It's hard to remember for sure but I believe it was <i>Gamma World</i>. I remember reading <i>Star Man's Son</i> by Andre Norton and <i>Hiero's Journey</i> by Sterling Lanier not long after getting Holmes Basic and then seeing <i>Gamma World</i>. I loved the post-apocalyptic worlds and wanted to play in something like them.<br /><br /><b>10. When did/will you start Gamemastering?</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Immediately. It was just me and a friend and someone had to do it. I really started with <i>Melee</i> and Metagaming's solo adventures like <i>Death Test</i>. But then it was me running games for my friend.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>12. Why did you start RPGing?</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />It seemed like fun! It WAS fun!<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>13. How would you change the way you started RPGing?</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />I wouldn't have jumped to AD&D so quickly. It seemed expected at the time but I wish I hadn't. And what I really wish is that I would not have dismissed Moldvay when it came out. I only started exploring it when I got back into RPGs years later. It and its derivatives are now my favorite versions of D&D.<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>16. What would be your perfect game?</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />Does it exist? That's hard to say. I really like <i>Barbarians of Lemuria</i> but it and its system isn't perfect. But it's solid and adaptable. I don't actually think there is a perfect game for me. It would have to be anything and everything I want it to be all at once.<br /><br /><b>17. Past, Present, or Future? When is your favorite game set?</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />In the fantastical past. In Lemuria. My other favorite game is <i>B/X</i>. <i>B/X</i> is pure fantasy.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><b>19. Why has your favorite game stayed with you?</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><i>BoL</i>. Its ease of use and flexibility. I really like the way that the character generation inspires my imagination. And that it can work in many different settings.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><b>21. Setting Sunday: Share an intriguing detail from a game setting you enjoy.</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />The setting for <i>The Fantasy Trip: In the Labyrinth</i> is the giant world of Cidri. Cidri was created by the Mnoren. This dimension traveling race imported people from across Earth at various times in the past as well as from fantasy worlds. This allows GMs to create almost any historical or fantasy setting they want and mix and match as they please with a tech level up to early gunpowder equipment.<br /><br /><b>31. When did you first take part in #RPGaDAY?</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The only other time I participated was 2015.</div>Narmerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08635665594860371230noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1007944847930867852.post-36923812007683108302022-08-02T12:39:00.005-07:002022-08-28T20:42:00.493-07:00#RPGaDAY2022 Day 1 - Who would you like to introduce to RPGs?<p>I would like to reintroduce my sons to RPGs. We haven't played in a long while and it would be nice to play. </p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9JPJlnrdJpINMM2qu7Fxh0v57pVPxKmETr0BNuEzXEG5geaKI5G_C1PIc__GOR49vjYh9GVHr_ytB6nJwLweRn9WyzldJWSAm5GhJULGW9tm9zdVV-BYusGsQpQXBgTKuLZuHPLqP1LzzRiyQPJxmt_cYKAbp_50U4ZB_LOg9FnDtK10HzdKA9c_rjw/s640/RPGaDAY2022.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="452" data-original-width="640" height="347" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9JPJlnrdJpINMM2qu7Fxh0v57pVPxKmETr0BNuEzXEG5geaKI5G_C1PIc__GOR49vjYh9GVHr_ytB6nJwLweRn9WyzldJWSAm5GhJULGW9tm9zdVV-BYusGsQpQXBgTKuLZuHPLqP1LzzRiyQPJxmt_cYKAbp_50U4ZB_LOg9FnDtK10HzdKA9c_rjw/w490-h347/RPGaDAY2022.jpg" width="490" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p>Narmerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08635665594860371230noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1007944847930867852.post-1679841614698933302022-08-01T12:26:00.009-07:002022-08-28T20:41:29.018-07:00#RPGaDAY2022 Day<p>There is another RPGaDAY challenge happening. These can be fun but sometimes I can't complete monthly challenges like this. So I'm going to approach this on a little different. I'm only going to answer the questions I want to, at the rate I want to. That way it is enjoyable, as it should be, and not a stress.</p><p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiESRGHJNXfNx1Hm3vAle2YKShpErMdV_H1lz4s-AT4k61vggyrumPqtUL5hCUqWqszNcRiyxkWw459vMvGWsZK7y0mFXfunox1WondFQn6BPrYWwNuAcVjSOZ4zPsB_lcESOe7XGiFn8J7eVSXxgvP41FaqZcgqV9z4X9chNbTYuzZnSA_hXCdzuUKHA" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="452" data-original-width="640" height="389" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiESRGHJNXfNx1Hm3vAle2YKShpErMdV_H1lz4s-AT4k61vggyrumPqtUL5hCUqWqszNcRiyxkWw459vMvGWsZK7y0mFXfunox1WondFQn6BPrYWwNuAcVjSOZ4zPsB_lcESOe7XGiFn8J7eVSXxgvP41FaqZcgqV9z4X9chNbTYuzZnSA_hXCdzuUKHA=w551-h389" width="551" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p>Narmerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08635665594860371230noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1007944847930867852.post-26266247894019397862022-06-03T16:30:00.000-07:002022-06-03T16:30:15.995-07:00Quickstarts I Like: OneDice Quickstart<p>Quickstart or jumpstart, call it what you like. These truncated rule-sets serve the purpose of introducing players to a game, usually for free or at a minimal cost. Some do this more effectively than others. I want to do a couple of posts about quickstarts that I like and the reasons I like them. Ones that I liked so much that I acquired the full game as a result.</p><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfzZId6IczeOyIUoaFUXbeWSD8lsaw72Kr7m3sFYbWXhdjzcCiteTkRiGa5UnUwESIjw5xQ_z1KNqSXwb4yu-LEby23bj_paNkU8WgsfWoCUW7minXR08NAKnwxgfRUVWFd9V_sybHraHLOziUgUdElJ2SixpO1hd8R1ZLgZS7gHdIAisjXgKvETyYmQ/s772/OneDice%20Quick.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="772" data-original-width="513" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfzZId6IczeOyIUoaFUXbeWSD8lsaw72Kr7m3sFYbWXhdjzcCiteTkRiGa5UnUwESIjw5xQ_z1KNqSXwb4yu-LEby23bj_paNkU8WgsfWoCUW7minXR08NAKnwxgfRUVWFd9V_sybHraHLOziUgUdElJ2SixpO1hd8R1ZLgZS7gHdIAisjXgKvETyYmQ/w213-h320/OneDice%20Quick.png" width="213" /></a></div>I'll start with <i>OneDice Quickstart</i>. I have written about the OneDice system before but I'll do a brief recap. It's a simple system that uses 1d6. Yes, it still bugs me a bit that they call it OneDICE. But, oh well.<p></p><p>Characters have three abilities, Strong, Clever and Quick. Three derived stats, Health, Defense and Move. And then you have some skills. Pretty quick and easy.</p><p>The basic system is ability + skill + die roll vs. target number.</p><p>The book itself is 42 pages overall with 27 of them being character creation and rules and the rest divided between two adventures. The first is a GM run fantasy adventure and the second is a programmed SF adventure for a single character.</p><p>So, why do I like this quickstart? There are a couple of reasons.</p><p>The quickstart has the complete character creation system. It only leaves out rules for character advancement. There are a lot of quickstarts that come with pregens and that's it. I think that getting a taste of the character generation process is an important way to get to know the game.</p><p>The two adventures really give you a chance to see how the game plays. The solo adventure allows you to do this even if you can't round anyone else up to play. It also shows how it can work with different genres. The adventures do highlight different aspects of the game. Playing through the solo adventure, for example, taught me that combat can be deadly.</p><p>And I did pick up the full game, <i>OneDice Universal</i>, after reading the quickstart. I've also picked up several of the genre books also, including <i>Pulp</i>, <i>Science Fiction</i>, <i>Steam Punk</i> and several more. What's beautiful about the genre books is that each includes the full rules suitably modified for the genre. If you are only interested in <i>OneDice Fantasy</i>, for example, that is the only book you would ever have to buy.</p><p>So, if you have any interest in the OneDice system at all, pick up the free quickstart.</p>Narmerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08635665594860371230noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1007944847930867852.post-61118341135228257302022-06-02T14:01:00.001-07:002022-06-02T14:01:31.357-07:00Gundobad Games<p> <a href="https://gundobadgames.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Gundobad Games</a> is a gaming blog written by "a professional ancient/medieval historian who teaches at the university level."</p><p>I really like this one because it blends ancient and medieval history with gaming. It's fun as well as educational. He's currently discussing Merovingian Gaul/France and how to build a campaign around it. In the past he's covered creating quick histories for a campaign, archaeology and rpgs, the decline and fall of civilizations and more. Check it out <a href="https://gundobadgames.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">here</a>.</p>Narmerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08635665594860371230noreply@blogger.com1