I'm on Version .75 of the Heroes of the Dungeon Crawl Quick Start Charts booklet. Funny, this thing started as an effort to get me a set of charts printed out for some testing of the game mechanics. I have added quite a bit to this project in the last couple weeks, and now it has almost become a booklet that a person can use to play HotDC. I have given some consideration to releasing this on Lulu after a few more updates to it. I'm still not 100% on the idea, but I'm liking what I'm seeing so far.
Presently, this thing has 21 pages now with information on Game Character creation, the Attack-Defense System, Incantations from 0-2 Degrees for Mages and Priests, Creatures from 0-2 Degree, Treasure Charts and more. The Basic HotDC Rulebook will have much more, but with a few more tweaks here and there, a person could start playing HotDC within a few minutes after reading this booklet. I'm going to keep working on this for the moment, and we'll see from there.
I should point out that there are several changes I may make with this game as I attempt to make it more distinct. What may ge printed from the current pdf could me much different from what the actual rulebook has. The first version that I actually printed a couple of weeks ago is different from what I have now.
Friday, June 29, 2007
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Back At The Table For D&D 3.5
Well, I did it. I finally sat down at the table for a little 3.5 D&D. Figured I'd better after mentioning the need for such a game to the local game store owner. As it turned out, he got a DM who intends to DM a newcomer game all summer, set in the Forgotten Realms some 5-10 years before the Time of Troubles.
When I picked up my Player's Kit Friday at the store, I was a bit overwhelmed. The Kit really didn't and still doesn't impress me, but I'm talking about the rule book itself. See, this is what bothers me about this game. Too many rules and stats. I'm an old grump I suppose, but I miss the old days of six characteristics, AC, HP, equip and let's roll. Of course, it's with that spirit that I am doing Heroes of the Dungeon Crawl.
But as much as I have heard people from my way of thinking dump on this game, I had to try it out. I agree that what Gary and Dave created was D&D enough for me, but I'm not going to hate on this game without trying it. I've played Neverwinter Nights and had fun, though I confess I played a Fighter and paid barely any attention to the Feats or any of that stuff. It just seemed like somebody was talking another language to me.
But a new generation sees it another way. I suppose I gotta give it a try if I want to sit at the table with them. I know, I'm an old crank when it comes to that, and it amuses me to think of what I could say to these kids. Thinks like:
Back in my day, Armor Class was better the lower it got. That's the way it was and we liked it.
We didn't need no damn Bard. If we wanted a Bard, we created a Theif and gave him a guitar.
But anyway...
The DM patiently spent over an hour, probably closer to two, explaining things to us. I recognice one of the players from the session I have watched at the store previously. He actually brought his own character. The DM preferred we use his pregen characters, but he was able to keep his. I decided to scrap my character after showing him to the DM. I don't think there were any objections to me using what I brought, but why make waves? Besides, this one had more Hit Points. I named him Gerald, and went with it.
My first Dice Roll in this session was a luck roll that gave me Banded Mail for armor. By the time I calculated the armor, shield and Dex bonus, I had an AC of 19. High AC still seems weird to me, but it's a good number for a starting Fighter.
Once equiped, we went to town to get a writ from the Duke to allow us to adventure. There was a Crusader, a Wizard and a Druid to go with my Fighter. Our Crusader went to negotiate while the rest of us went to the bar (Reminds me of the Dead Ale Wives comedy bit, roll to see if I get drunk, heh heh). Well, he comes back with the writ while we have had our pockets picked of 20 gp at the bar.
Aparently the writ was good for three weeks and we are required to do a task for the Duke. We must rid the farmland of some Brigands who are burning crops and buildings in their raids of the area. Thing is, our Cruader made the deal so that this was just the first of other tasks before we are granted a full writ.
So, our characters, roughly 17 years of age and all human, head down a trail that is an old dried up creek. Our Druid steps on an old Dwarven Electrum Piece, slightly injuring his foot as metals and Druids don't mix. I suggest we look for more coins and we find about 12 in total. They are ancient and Dwarven. We go a little further up the mountain and set up camp for the night. In the morning, our Druid encounters a ghost of a Dwarf, who died in battle nearby. The Dwarf asks that he find his body and bury him.
The Druid conveys this to the party. We figure the coins found on this trail were his, so we keep walking in hopes of finding the body. We do. Poor Dwarf died of a spear wound to the chest. We bury him in one of the Dwarven traditions, burning his body. The Crusader says a few words, and I am feeling antsy. I am watching all around us as we light this fire for fear of provoking an enemy.
As it turns out, no enemy appeared, But, we did find 200 more of those coins underneath the Dwarf, some nice cross bow bolts and three scroll tubes, one in particular that may come in handy. As my character could read Dwarven, he could tell that it said something to the effect of do not open unless in dire need to save a loved one (Now that I think of it, we missed the boat on this one as I'll explain further down).
At this point, the DM explained that we have gained a level. Ah, RP experience. Another thing foreign to this old hack & slasher, but I actually like the RP aspect. This is one reason I wanted to get in with a group. I wanted to experience this aspect of the game. A little more combat might have been nice, but I understand why the DM wanted to go a different route. He's defintely more into the story aspect, for one, and I think he was trying to ease us newbies into this thing. We had also been gaining XP's for various RP type situations. As an aside, this is something I'm working on incorporating into HotDC.
We of course gained new skills, feats, spells and such, along with a few other modifiers and HP's. After taking a moment to calculate all of that. We were off. We made it over the hill, walking under the trees at the high point as our Wizard wanted to be careful. On the other side, we saw a farm, so we came in to talk to the people there. It was getting late. Our crusader showed the writ to their leader to varify who we were, and then they invited us in for a meal and a drink.
Once inside the three story farm house, we were instructed to take off our weapons and we engaged in various conversations with the people. The Wizard saw some books of interest, the Druid was talking with one of the women about the crops and when they should be planted. The kids seemed to love the Crusader, and well, Gerald seemed to catch the eye of one of the young ladies.
Later in the night, that young lady came into Gerald's room. He tried to politely decline her advances for fear that a liason between the two might upset one of the elders. I'd like to tell you that I made the savings roll on that one, but....
Speaking of savings rolls, I fumbled another one in my big clunky armor waling down the hill to the farm. The Wizard missed catching my Fighter, but the Druid was able to stop him before he hurt himself.
That next morning, the Druid was engaged in more crop conversation while the Wizard offered to work to repay them for their hospitality. The Crusader and my Fighter went looking for one of the leaders to ask about the Brigand activity.
Just then, there was a commotion further down the hill. We heard shouting, so we gathered the rest of the party and went to investigate. It looked like some of the Duke's men had been killed with just one still standing. Of course, we went in, but we were outnumbered. My Fighter couldn't move fast enough to keep up with the Crusader's charge into battle, and my shot with the crossbow missed.
In two rounds, the Crusader was taken down and the Fighter was hurt pretty batly, both from the Wizard they had in their party. We were taken captive, and that was the end of the four hour session.
There were a few things I forgot, but a lot of the 3.5 stuff is new to me. Our Crusader and Druid had a tense moment early on as the Druid felt the Crusader did a bad job in negotiating the writ. The Crusader apologized, and all seemed to be forgiven.
Two things I realize now as I type this.
1-The scroll we shouldn't open unless it was an emergency might have proven useful (nobody even asked, duh).
2-Could this have been a setup by the Duke or somebody else? It just seems that this battle we charged into was hopeless from the very beginning.
As for what will happen next with the group, I don't know. There are some intriguing questions. Will I make it to the next one. I'm not saying no yet, but I don't have a yes at this time either. Mondays are gonna be a tough night for me to do this, so we'll see. While the hack factor is a little low, I admit I am interested in seeing where this is headed. The party could use a Rogue though, but that's another story.
When I picked up my Player's Kit Friday at the store, I was a bit overwhelmed. The Kit really didn't and still doesn't impress me, but I'm talking about the rule book itself. See, this is what bothers me about this game. Too many rules and stats. I'm an old grump I suppose, but I miss the old days of six characteristics, AC, HP, equip and let's roll. Of course, it's with that spirit that I am doing Heroes of the Dungeon Crawl.
But as much as I have heard people from my way of thinking dump on this game, I had to try it out. I agree that what Gary and Dave created was D&D enough for me, but I'm not going to hate on this game without trying it. I've played Neverwinter Nights and had fun, though I confess I played a Fighter and paid barely any attention to the Feats or any of that stuff. It just seemed like somebody was talking another language to me.
But a new generation sees it another way. I suppose I gotta give it a try if I want to sit at the table with them. I know, I'm an old crank when it comes to that, and it amuses me to think of what I could say to these kids. Thinks like:
Back in my day, Armor Class was better the lower it got. That's the way it was and we liked it.
We didn't need no damn Bard. If we wanted a Bard, we created a Theif and gave him a guitar.
But anyway...
The DM patiently spent over an hour, probably closer to two, explaining things to us. I recognice one of the players from the session I have watched at the store previously. He actually brought his own character. The DM preferred we use his pregen characters, but he was able to keep his. I decided to scrap my character after showing him to the DM. I don't think there were any objections to me using what I brought, but why make waves? Besides, this one had more Hit Points. I named him Gerald, and went with it.
My first Dice Roll in this session was a luck roll that gave me Banded Mail for armor. By the time I calculated the armor, shield and Dex bonus, I had an AC of 19. High AC still seems weird to me, but it's a good number for a starting Fighter.
Once equiped, we went to town to get a writ from the Duke to allow us to adventure. There was a Crusader, a Wizard and a Druid to go with my Fighter. Our Crusader went to negotiate while the rest of us went to the bar (Reminds me of the Dead Ale Wives comedy bit, roll to see if I get drunk, heh heh). Well, he comes back with the writ while we have had our pockets picked of 20 gp at the bar.
Aparently the writ was good for three weeks and we are required to do a task for the Duke. We must rid the farmland of some Brigands who are burning crops and buildings in their raids of the area. Thing is, our Cruader made the deal so that this was just the first of other tasks before we are granted a full writ.
So, our characters, roughly 17 years of age and all human, head down a trail that is an old dried up creek. Our Druid steps on an old Dwarven Electrum Piece, slightly injuring his foot as metals and Druids don't mix. I suggest we look for more coins and we find about 12 in total. They are ancient and Dwarven. We go a little further up the mountain and set up camp for the night. In the morning, our Druid encounters a ghost of a Dwarf, who died in battle nearby. The Dwarf asks that he find his body and bury him.
The Druid conveys this to the party. We figure the coins found on this trail were his, so we keep walking in hopes of finding the body. We do. Poor Dwarf died of a spear wound to the chest. We bury him in one of the Dwarven traditions, burning his body. The Crusader says a few words, and I am feeling antsy. I am watching all around us as we light this fire for fear of provoking an enemy.
As it turns out, no enemy appeared, But, we did find 200 more of those coins underneath the Dwarf, some nice cross bow bolts and three scroll tubes, one in particular that may come in handy. As my character could read Dwarven, he could tell that it said something to the effect of do not open unless in dire need to save a loved one (Now that I think of it, we missed the boat on this one as I'll explain further down).
At this point, the DM explained that we have gained a level. Ah, RP experience. Another thing foreign to this old hack & slasher, but I actually like the RP aspect. This is one reason I wanted to get in with a group. I wanted to experience this aspect of the game. A little more combat might have been nice, but I understand why the DM wanted to go a different route. He's defintely more into the story aspect, for one, and I think he was trying to ease us newbies into this thing. We had also been gaining XP's for various RP type situations. As an aside, this is something I'm working on incorporating into HotDC.
We of course gained new skills, feats, spells and such, along with a few other modifiers and HP's. After taking a moment to calculate all of that. We were off. We made it over the hill, walking under the trees at the high point as our Wizard wanted to be careful. On the other side, we saw a farm, so we came in to talk to the people there. It was getting late. Our crusader showed the writ to their leader to varify who we were, and then they invited us in for a meal and a drink.
Once inside the three story farm house, we were instructed to take off our weapons and we engaged in various conversations with the people. The Wizard saw some books of interest, the Druid was talking with one of the women about the crops and when they should be planted. The kids seemed to love the Crusader, and well, Gerald seemed to catch the eye of one of the young ladies.
Later in the night, that young lady came into Gerald's room. He tried to politely decline her advances for fear that a liason between the two might upset one of the elders. I'd like to tell you that I made the savings roll on that one, but....
Speaking of savings rolls, I fumbled another one in my big clunky armor waling down the hill to the farm. The Wizard missed catching my Fighter, but the Druid was able to stop him before he hurt himself.
That next morning, the Druid was engaged in more crop conversation while the Wizard offered to work to repay them for their hospitality. The Crusader and my Fighter went looking for one of the leaders to ask about the Brigand activity.
Just then, there was a commotion further down the hill. We heard shouting, so we gathered the rest of the party and went to investigate. It looked like some of the Duke's men had been killed with just one still standing. Of course, we went in, but we were outnumbered. My Fighter couldn't move fast enough to keep up with the Crusader's charge into battle, and my shot with the crossbow missed.
In two rounds, the Crusader was taken down and the Fighter was hurt pretty batly, both from the Wizard they had in their party. We were taken captive, and that was the end of the four hour session.
There were a few things I forgot, but a lot of the 3.5 stuff is new to me. Our Crusader and Druid had a tense moment early on as the Druid felt the Crusader did a bad job in negotiating the writ. The Crusader apologized, and all seemed to be forgiven.
Two things I realize now as I type this.
1-The scroll we shouldn't open unless it was an emergency might have proven useful (nobody even asked, duh).
2-Could this have been a setup by the Duke or somebody else? It just seems that this battle we charged into was hopeless from the very beginning.
As for what will happen next with the group, I don't know. There are some intriguing questions. Will I make it to the next one. I'm not saying no yet, but I don't have a yes at this time either. Mondays are gonna be a tough night for me to do this, so we'll see. While the hack factor is a little low, I admit I am interested in seeing where this is headed. The party could use a Rogue though, but that's another story.
Sunday, June 24, 2007
An HotDC Article On Dice & An HotDC Update
Work continues on Heroes of the Dungeon Crawl on two fronts this weekend. I have written more material for the Basic HotDC Rule Book itself, and I have been working on the HotDC Quick Charts, renamed the HotDC Quick Start Charts. Why? I am considering a Lulu release of these charts. Early consideration. More on this when I make the decision. I have lots of thoughts as I continue the creative process.
Anyway, I did a chart explaining the HotDC Combat Process and wrote a section for the Rule Book explaining it. Plus, a few other things, and a basic description of Elves for Part 2 of the Rule Book. I have put stats together for 2nd Degree Creatures, which will go into the Quick Start Charts pdf soon. I am on Version .657 at this point. I am adding a Table Of Contents and Page Numbers for printing. This pdf will also be rearranged in the interest of continuity. This is why I have been considering the possibility of an official release. We'll see how it goes.
While writing, I did a section about rolling dice in the game and when not to do it. This sort of ties into the Monty Haul thing I've been talking about, so I'll end this post by including this article. I want to expand on the subject in future articles.
Don't Let The Dice Rule YouIt's easy to fall into the trap of looking at all of the charts and just rolling for everything. Don't. The charts are there as a reference, particularly for the newcomer Hero Guide. Certainly in Combat, Rogue, Priest Repel and Safety Throw situations, the dice will roll. Other times, they may not be needed. As an HG, you will instinctively learn when to use that judgement. HotDC rules have been intentionally crafted to allow an HG to make adjustments as he sees fit, but beware of getting too far away from the known rules and charts without discussing why you are doing it either before or after your gaming session.
One instance when leaving the charts behind may be the right thing to do is rolling for treasure. Please bear in mind that the treasure charts are merely guidelines to let the HG know what might be available. Don't fall into the trap of using them as a crutch. For one thing, lucky or unlucky rolls will give the GC's too much or too little. As an HG, you will no doubt know what you want to have in your dungeons or various adventures. You may set up a certain amount of coins, gems/jewels and magic items available, based on the Degrees of the adventuring party involved.
This will help ensure game balance. For instance, a Warrior with +1 plate mail armor, a +1 shield and a +2 elite sword at 1st Degree is NOT a good thing. The gamer may love it, but game play will be effected by it. Now, at 7th Degree or so, those items make sense. The GC will have adventured quite a bit and will have earned it. On the other hand, you may need to throw your games a bone now and then, or boredom and frustration will set in.
At lower Degrees, GC's will get hurt, so healing potions and potions in general are a good reward. Like potions, scrolls are used up after one use and are a good low Degree GC reward. At 1st Degree, one +1 item or ring, wand or other special item should be possible. You also have to take into account that certain items will be available for purchase in town as per the item chart, allowing GC's to get stronger that way. A 0 Degree Warrior won't start out with the best stuff, but gold earned along the way will enable the purchase of better items.
Reactions are another example. You don't have to roll for Creature reactions at every encounter. There will be times where a fight is going to happen or times when you are planning a talking encounter to advance the plot and encourage role play from the gamers. Other times, gamers actions will mandate a Creature reaction one way or another without a dice roll. Don't be afraid to fake a roll to add to the excitement, while going with your instinct.
Some charts are there as a reference to give an idea of how to proceed. As you get more comfortable in your role of Hero Guide, you will be better prepared to wing it. This will serve to make the dice a part of the game, but not the only part.
Anyway, I did a chart explaining the HotDC Combat Process and wrote a section for the Rule Book explaining it. Plus, a few other things, and a basic description of Elves for Part 2 of the Rule Book. I have put stats together for 2nd Degree Creatures, which will go into the Quick Start Charts pdf soon. I am on Version .657 at this point. I am adding a Table Of Contents and Page Numbers for printing. This pdf will also be rearranged in the interest of continuity. This is why I have been considering the possibility of an official release. We'll see how it goes.
While writing, I did a section about rolling dice in the game and when not to do it. This sort of ties into the Monty Haul thing I've been talking about, so I'll end this post by including this article. I want to expand on the subject in future articles.
Don't Let The Dice Rule You
One instance when leaving the charts behind may be the right thing to do is rolling for treasure. Please bear in mind that the treasure charts are merely guidelines to let the HG know what might be available. Don't fall into the trap of using them as a crutch. For one thing, lucky or unlucky rolls will give the GC's too much or too little. As an HG, you will no doubt know what you want to have in your dungeons or various adventures. You may set up a certain amount of coins, gems/jewels and magic items available, based on the Degrees of the adventuring party involved.
This will help ensure game balance. For instance, a Warrior with +1 plate mail armor, a +1 shield and a +2 elite sword at 1st Degree is NOT a good thing. The gamer may love it, but game play will be effected by it. Now, at 7th Degree or so, those items make sense. The GC will have adventured quite a bit and will have earned it. On the other hand, you may need to throw your games a bone now and then, or boredom and frustration will set in.
At lower Degrees, GC's will get hurt, so healing potions and potions in general are a good reward. Like potions, scrolls are used up after one use and are a good low Degree GC reward. At 1st Degree, one +1 item or ring, wand or other special item should be possible. You also have to take into account that certain items will be available for purchase in town as per the item chart, allowing GC's to get stronger that way. A 0 Degree Warrior won't start out with the best stuff, but gold earned along the way will enable the purchase of better items.
Reactions are another example. You don't have to roll for Creature reactions at every encounter. There will be times where a fight is going to happen or times when you are planning a talking encounter to advance the plot and encourage role play from the gamers. Other times, gamers actions will mandate a Creature reaction one way or another without a dice roll. Don't be afraid to fake a roll to add to the excitement, while going with your instinct.
Some charts are there as a reference to give an idea of how to proceed. As you get more comfortable in your role of Hero Guide, you will be better prepared to wing it. This will serve to make the dice a part of the game, but not the only part.
A Few Notes About Free RPG Day
Free RPG Day seemed to be a success from what I have heard. The closest participating store seemed happy. I met the man who put this deal on. He's based a few towns away from me, and I think it's great that a local guy put this deal together. He seemed happy about the way it was going and said that the purpose was not to bring in new gamers, though a few newcomers would be nice, but to get established gamers to try other products. He's already talking about next year.
Hmmm.... Wonder if Heroes of the Dungeon Crawl could make the cut next year? Well, it's a thought anyway.
I visited and supported with purchases at three of the establishments within distance who supported Free RPG Day and got to check out much of what was offered. There was some nice stuff.
Goodman Games, the guys who bring us those excellent Dungeon Crawl Classics Adventures, offered up two adventures, a DCC and an XCrawl Adventure. Both were top notch print jobs like you'd get if you purchased a regular Adventure Module. Both were usable by new characters. The DCC was The Sinister Secret Of Whiterock #51.5 and ties in with another adventure available for sale at most stores. I've only skimmed through XCrawl, but it appears to be set in our times, but with Dungeon Adventuring to be some sort of sport. I was impressed by both products.
I've only skimmed some of this stuff, but Paizo's Game Mastery Module Hollow's Last Hope was the most professionally printed item. The guys who have done the Dungeon and Dragon Magazines these past few years really hit a home run with this one.
White Silver Publishing had a Quick Start set of rules for The Chronicles of Ramlar called Black Arrow Run. Another top notch product. Wicked Fantasy Factory did a 1st level adventure called Termple of Blood, another very impressive presentation. I expect gamers who got any of these items will enjoy a fun session with them, perhaps trying these companies products for the first time.
Troll Lord Games offered quick start Castles & Crusades rules for players. It had a softer cover to it, but was a nice presentation. I'd heard these rules felt very much like AD&D and they seem to from what I could see. Still, it felt kind of incomplete. I would have loved a 1st level adventure to run through to really test them out. I suppose that at least this presentation will expose some people to what is said to be a very nice "old school" style game.
I was disappointed Wizards of the Coast and KenzerCo. didn't partake. I've heard Kenzer didn't really care for the FreeRPG idea. If true, they seriously missed the boat. Old schoolers seeing Hackmaster for the first time might be encouraged to get the core books. A Knights of the Dinner Table offering would have been nice too, but oh well. It is a business, after all. Wizards supposedly didn't have enough time to prepare, but they may (?) get involved next year.
I told the man who put this together (Why didn't I get his name?) that this was a great idea, and it will only get bigger and better next year.
There were other items that I didn't get a chance to see, but I wanna give respect to Flying Buffalo's Tunnels & Trolls. It's a six sided dice system, and it's been around nearly as long as D&D has. It's simple, and fun. I still own a module and a rulebook that I bought years ago, and the solo adventures by these guys are a lot of fun. T&T offered up a soft cover book like C&C, but unlike C&C, this had a solo adventure and a small adventure a Game Master can run, in addition to some quick start rules that take you from 1st to 5th level. Nicely done. This is on my to play list for this week.
All in all, FreeRPG Day was a success from my point of view. I got to sample several different company's products that I likely wouldn't have otherwise, and I did a little business with the stores I visited as well. I think that was the whole point of this deal. Anything that helps the world of Tabletop RPG's is okay in my book.
Hmmm.... Wonder if Heroes of the Dungeon Crawl could make the cut next year? Well, it's a thought anyway.
I visited and supported with purchases at three of the establishments within distance who supported Free RPG Day and got to check out much of what was offered. There was some nice stuff.
Goodman Games, the guys who bring us those excellent Dungeon Crawl Classics Adventures, offered up two adventures, a DCC and an XCrawl Adventure. Both were top notch print jobs like you'd get if you purchased a regular Adventure Module. Both were usable by new characters. The DCC was The Sinister Secret Of Whiterock #51.5 and ties in with another adventure available for sale at most stores. I've only skimmed through XCrawl, but it appears to be set in our times, but with Dungeon Adventuring to be some sort of sport. I was impressed by both products.
I've only skimmed some of this stuff, but Paizo's Game Mastery Module Hollow's Last Hope was the most professionally printed item. The guys who have done the Dungeon and Dragon Magazines these past few years really hit a home run with this one.
White Silver Publishing had a Quick Start set of rules for The Chronicles of Ramlar called Black Arrow Run. Another top notch product. Wicked Fantasy Factory did a 1st level adventure called Termple of Blood, another very impressive presentation. I expect gamers who got any of these items will enjoy a fun session with them, perhaps trying these companies products for the first time.
Troll Lord Games offered quick start Castles & Crusades rules for players. It had a softer cover to it, but was a nice presentation. I'd heard these rules felt very much like AD&D and they seem to from what I could see. Still, it felt kind of incomplete. I would have loved a 1st level adventure to run through to really test them out. I suppose that at least this presentation will expose some people to what is said to be a very nice "old school" style game.
I was disappointed Wizards of the Coast and KenzerCo. didn't partake. I've heard Kenzer didn't really care for the FreeRPG idea. If true, they seriously missed the boat. Old schoolers seeing Hackmaster for the first time might be encouraged to get the core books. A Knights of the Dinner Table offering would have been nice too, but oh well. It is a business, after all. Wizards supposedly didn't have enough time to prepare, but they may (?) get involved next year.
I told the man who put this together (Why didn't I get his name?) that this was a great idea, and it will only get bigger and better next year.
There were other items that I didn't get a chance to see, but I wanna give respect to Flying Buffalo's Tunnels & Trolls. It's a six sided dice system, and it's been around nearly as long as D&D has. It's simple, and fun. I still own a module and a rulebook that I bought years ago, and the solo adventures by these guys are a lot of fun. T&T offered up a soft cover book like C&C, but unlike C&C, this had a solo adventure and a small adventure a Game Master can run, in addition to some quick start rules that take you from 1st to 5th level. Nicely done. This is on my to play list for this week.
All in all, FreeRPG Day was a success from my point of view. I got to sample several different company's products that I likely wouldn't have otherwise, and I did a little business with the stores I visited as well. I think that was the whole point of this deal. Anything that helps the world of Tabletop RPG's is okay in my book.
The Player For Tomorrow's D&D Game Has Been Created
Used a tool on the net to create a character for the newbies D&D 3.5 Forgotten Realms game I'm am playing tomorrow. The generator worked pretty good and can be found here:
http://www.pathguy.com/cg35.htm
Anyway, I rolled a Human Fighter named Gerald. He has 10 hit points, a sword and Chain Mail Armor that gives him an 18 AC. I guess that's good. I'm an old descending AC guy, and I haven't played in years. This is new to me, but I'm gonna give it a go. There are two others playing that I know of, and I'm looking forward to it. I may have a report on the experience in the future. I expect Gerald won't last long, but we'll see. Hopefully I rolled him up right, or I'll be using a DM created pregen character.
http://www.pathguy.com/cg35.htm
Anyway, I rolled a Human Fighter named Gerald. He has 10 hit points, a sword and Chain Mail Armor that gives him an 18 AC. I guess that's good. I'm an old descending AC guy, and I haven't played in years. This is new to me, but I'm gonna give it a go. There are two others playing that I know of, and I'm looking forward to it. I may have a report on the experience in the future. I expect Gerald won't last long, but we'll see. Hopefully I rolled him up right, or I'll be using a DM created pregen character.
Friday, June 22, 2007
Will Be Joining a 3.5 D&D Game
Kinda talked myself into this one with all the talks I've had with a local game store owner. I have observed a few higher level D&D 3.5 games and had mentioned I'd love to play a newcomers game. Well, it finally happened. In fact, the whole summer has games scheduled for a newcomer campaign in The Forgotten Realms. I feel more comfortable with the old rules, but I'm gonna give this a fair shot. In fact, I just picked up a D&D Players Kit to get me started. I may post observations in a future post. Will I become a regular in this group? Not sure yet.
I will give you a quick first impression of the Players Kit. I'm not impressed with it. In fact, I have a little buyer's remorse over it. One of the things I bought it for was the miniatures. I'm not a miniatures kinda guy anyway. I like the old school approach with the pencil and graph paper, and minis just seem like a money grab to me. But, I bought the kit, and it had 8 minis in it. Why the hell are we putting monster minis in a player's kit? Seems retarded to me. I was hoping for some basic minis, a fighter type, a wizard type, and so on.
The dice in the kit are nice. I'll give them that. The solo adventure is skimpy. On the box it seems like there is more to it than that. The Player's Handbook is the real deal, but soft cover. It has all the info needed for character generating, but I think the hard cover book is a better deal than this kit. There are also two Character Sheets, which is nice. I plan to copy mine so as to keep the original in good shape.
I must confess to being uncomfortable with these rules. Seems a bit much to me, but that's the way they play this game these days. I'm gonna give it a chance and see what happens. I've played Neverwinter Nights on the computer, but the books are a different animal. However, I want the table top experience of RPGing, so I'm gonna give this a chance. Where's an old school Basic Game when you need one?
Oh, and work on Heroes of the Dungeon Crawl will continue. The idea of a Basic Game needs to be persued.
I will give you a quick first impression of the Players Kit. I'm not impressed with it. In fact, I have a little buyer's remorse over it. One of the things I bought it for was the miniatures. I'm not a miniatures kinda guy anyway. I like the old school approach with the pencil and graph paper, and minis just seem like a money grab to me. But, I bought the kit, and it had 8 minis in it. Why the hell are we putting monster minis in a player's kit? Seems retarded to me. I was hoping for some basic minis, a fighter type, a wizard type, and so on.
The dice in the kit are nice. I'll give them that. The solo adventure is skimpy. On the box it seems like there is more to it than that. The Player's Handbook is the real deal, but soft cover. It has all the info needed for character generating, but I think the hard cover book is a better deal than this kit. There are also two Character Sheets, which is nice. I plan to copy mine so as to keep the original in good shape.
I must confess to being uncomfortable with these rules. Seems a bit much to me, but that's the way they play this game these days. I'm gonna give it a chance and see what happens. I've played Neverwinter Nights on the computer, but the books are a different animal. However, I want the table top experience of RPGing, so I'm gonna give this a chance. Where's an old school Basic Game when you need one?
Oh, and work on Heroes of the Dungeon Crawl will continue. The idea of a Basic Game needs to be persued.
Free RPG Day
Just wanted to post a note about tomorrows Free RPG Day. Several game stores in the US are giving out free stuff. This includes free starter rules for Tunnels & Trolls, Castles & Crusades and other stuff. The site is linked below for what will be available and what stores are participating. Lots of goodies will be available.
Check the site here to see what's avaialable and what stres are doing it :
http://www.freerpgday.com/
Check the site here to see what's avaialable and what stres are doing it :
http://www.freerpgday.com/
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Version .6 Made A Trip To The Printer
At this time, the Heroes of the Dungeon Crawl Quick Charts (Version .6) isn't being released, but it may at some point. I have already made several changes to it, and several more are planned. But, I am very pleased with it. I really was a bit surprised at how far I had gotten with this game when I started typing all of these charts. Then, the urge to put them into a pdf flile was too great to pass up. Of course, the next stop was the printers, and I was really excited about the outcome.
For that copy, I actually designed a cover with the logo you see on this page and a little bit of clip art from the publisher's program that I am using. The charts are all in it, and I even added the map based on If In Doubt, Seek It Out to it. Plus, the original Three King's Island map, which may become the first Adventure Campaign Setting for HotDC.
It's all a work in progress, and I am looking for the tools to create an old school style map of TKI similar in style to what was in the old blue book from back in the day. This idea was inspired by the map Goblinoid Games just released on the Labyrinth Lord page. By the way, LL is scheduled for a July release, and I'm looking forward to it. But, back to HotDC...
I really wanted to have a hard copy of these charts for when it gets tested again. One of the reasons I don't plan on releasing Version .6 of this pdf is that there is much work to be done. For instance, I need to adjust stats on the Creatures listed in 0 and 1st Degree as they appear to be a little too powerful for my tastes. I want the Creatures to be a threat, but not too powerful. Ah, there's that game balance thing again.
For that copy, I actually designed a cover with the logo you see on this page and a little bit of clip art from the publisher's program that I am using. The charts are all in it, and I even added the map based on If In Doubt, Seek It Out to it. Plus, the original Three King's Island map, which may become the first Adventure Campaign Setting for HotDC.
It's all a work in progress, and I am looking for the tools to create an old school style map of TKI similar in style to what was in the old blue book from back in the day. This idea was inspired by the map Goblinoid Games just released on the Labyrinth Lord page. By the way, LL is scheduled for a July release, and I'm looking forward to it. But, back to HotDC...
I really wanted to have a hard copy of these charts for when it gets tested again. One of the reasons I don't plan on releasing Version .6 of this pdf is that there is much work to be done. For instance, I need to adjust stats on the Creatures listed in 0 and 1st Degree as they appear to be a little too powerful for my tastes. I want the Creatures to be a threat, but not too powerful. Ah, there's that game balance thing again.
Sunday, June 17, 2007
An HotDC Milestone - Quick Charts Version .5
I wasn't really expecting this, but all of the typing I've been doing during the last week made it possible. I have created a 14 page pdf file called the Heroes of the Dungeon Crawl Quick Charts Version .5. I haven't decided if/when it will be released. The main reason I did it was to have quick charts for the next test session, rather than leafing through all of my notes.
Within those 14 pages is a good chunk of what is needed to actually run a session of HotDC for 0 or 1st Degree Characters. I'm pretty excited after looking at the finished product. There will be many updates to come for this file, but it shows me that my project of creating and simple and basic Fantasy RPG has actually come a long way since starting a few months back.
I would like to have the Basic HotDC Rulebook completed by year's end or sooner, but we'll see how it goes. I remain excited about the prospects of creating a game that has simple and easy rules and uses just the six sided dice. A test session shouldn't be that far away now, and I'm confident that I have the rules close to where I want and need them to be.
Within those 14 pages is a good chunk of what is needed to actually run a session of HotDC for 0 or 1st Degree Characters. I'm pretty excited after looking at the finished product. There will be many updates to come for this file, but it shows me that my project of creating and simple and basic Fantasy RPG has actually come a long way since starting a few months back.
I would like to have the Basic HotDC Rulebook completed by year's end or sooner, but we'll see how it goes. I remain excited about the prospects of creating a game that has simple and easy rules and uses just the six sided dice. A test session shouldn't be that far away now, and I'm confident that I have the rules close to where I want and need them to be.
Saturday, June 16, 2007
More Spells, More Charts, Work Continues
Did some more of the charts for my quick booklet of Basic HotDC rules last night. I have to admit that I didn't think I'd been getting that much done lately, but the charts opened my eyes a bit. The rules are coming along nicely. The main thing will be describing them all in the rule book. Does this mean the book is coming along faster than planned? I don't want to say at the moment. Perhaps, but perhaps not. I just want it done right.
Last night, however, something happened that was not anticipated. While doing quick notes for 1st Degree Incantations for Priests, I veered off into uncharted 0 Degree Incantation territory. The next thing you know, we had 0 Degree incantations for Mages and Priests. A 0 Degree Mage will still get 1 1st Degree Incantation and 2 0 Degree Incantations, while the Priest does not receive a 1st Degree Incantation until he earns 1st Degree.
Now, I understand the danger of making overly powerful Incantations for 0 Degree, and I don't think that has happened. However, I do like the idea of having them. It just felt right when I drew it up on the notepad, so I went with it. It's another area where HotDC differs with the old red book, but it propbably won't be the last. The idea is to keep it simple, similar, but different, from that old book. I'm feeling pretty good about the progress so far, but there's work to be done.
Last night, however, something happened that was not anticipated. While doing quick notes for 1st Degree Incantations for Priests, I veered off into uncharted 0 Degree Incantation territory. The next thing you know, we had 0 Degree incantations for Mages and Priests. A 0 Degree Mage will still get 1 1st Degree Incantation and 2 0 Degree Incantations, while the Priest does not receive a 1st Degree Incantation until he earns 1st Degree.
Now, I understand the danger of making overly powerful Incantations for 0 Degree, and I don't think that has happened. However, I do like the idea of having them. It just felt right when I drew it up on the notepad, so I went with it. It's another area where HotDC differs with the old red book, but it propbably won't be the last. The idea is to keep it simple, similar, but different, from that old book. I'm feeling pretty good about the progress so far, but there's work to be done.
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Charts & Other Stuff
I have been typing a little bit of Heroes of the Dungeon Crawl stuff lately, believe it or not. Mainly, it's been charts. I am working on an Item Weight & Cost chart that will help deal with movement in the game. I have done the Treasure charts, 0 and 1st Degree Creature charts, Priest Repell Living Dead charts, Degree Progression charts and Adventure Point Rewards charts.
What I am after is a mini booklet with vital information for running an HotDC game. Rather than having to sift through that old notepad, which is falling apart, and the other papers, I want a quick source for info. I have other charts that need doing, such as Rogue Ability charts and Weapon Damage charts, and I will be working on them today. If the test session goes like I'm hoping, I intend to step up the work on the rule book.
As it is, I have worked on the brief description of an Elf for Part 2 of the HotDC Rulebook. That has been hand written, and I will type it as soon as it is done. Halflings are next, and then the descriptions of the four core races and professions will be done. The Half Dragon and Felinoid races are still on the drawing board.
One blog post I want to get into soon is about the challenges of being a good Hero Guide. I will draw on the many mistakes and the sucesses that my old group had playing the old game. It's a delicate balance, and it's not to hard to go from a Monty Haul HG to a Character Killer HG. I have several thoughts on this subject, so there may be several posts on the subject as a running series.
What I am after is a mini booklet with vital information for running an HotDC game. Rather than having to sift through that old notepad, which is falling apart, and the other papers, I want a quick source for info. I have other charts that need doing, such as Rogue Ability charts and Weapon Damage charts, and I will be working on them today. If the test session goes like I'm hoping, I intend to step up the work on the rule book.
As it is, I have worked on the brief description of an Elf for Part 2 of the HotDC Rulebook. That has been hand written, and I will type it as soon as it is done. Halflings are next, and then the descriptions of the four core races and professions will be done. The Half Dragon and Felinoid races are still on the drawing board.
One blog post I want to get into soon is about the challenges of being a good Hero Guide. I will draw on the many mistakes and the sucesses that my old group had playing the old game. It's a delicate balance, and it's not to hard to go from a Monty Haul HG to a Character Killer HG. I have several thoughts on this subject, so there may be several posts on the subject as a running series.
Sunday, June 10, 2007
Knights Of The Dinner Table
I wanted to talk for a minute about Knights Of The Dinner Table. This page has a link for it as I really love the magazine. These guys are old school gamers. The Knights and other characters in that book are dead on at times. Other times it may be out there, but you'd probably be amazed at how true to life some of those characters and moments are. The comic centers around five players, BA, Bob, Dave, Brian and Sara, playing the Hackmaster game at the dinner table, but it has grown to include dozens of other characters and gathering places.
I'm not sure how I came across the Knights. Might have been mentioned on a web page, but I had to read it. I aquired all but one of the first 50 comics, and I caught myself laughing out loud often. I love good gamer humor. I fell out of touch for a while and started reading from about issue 74 to 86. Again I missed some issues. It wasn't until a book sale at my local used book store that I came across some Knights Illustrated and Hackmasters of Evernight issues. That clinched it. I picked up 87-100 and finally subscribed.
I love the comics the most out of the magazine, but there are letters to the editior, tales from the table, game reviews, movie reviews from a gamer perspective, game ideas and other stuff. If you haven't seen this magazine, check it out. If you are getting your first taste, get Bundles Of Trouble 1-3 to start with. Classic stuff there. The earlier ones are the funnier ones, while the later ones are more story driven.
My latest issue hasn't arrived yet. Any day now I think. However, there is a mention of Tom Moldvay's passing. Tom influenced many gamers and probably had a touch of influence on the Hackmaster game that KenzerCo makes. If you are a fan of old school gaming, you might want to check out Hackmaster.
Oh and be sure to look at the Knights Of The Dinner Table site as there are some samples of this very excellent comic there.
I'm not sure how I came across the Knights. Might have been mentioned on a web page, but I had to read it. I aquired all but one of the first 50 comics, and I caught myself laughing out loud often. I love good gamer humor. I fell out of touch for a while and started reading from about issue 74 to 86. Again I missed some issues. It wasn't until a book sale at my local used book store that I came across some Knights Illustrated and Hackmasters of Evernight issues. That clinched it. I picked up 87-100 and finally subscribed.
I love the comics the most out of the magazine, but there are letters to the editior, tales from the table, game reviews, movie reviews from a gamer perspective, game ideas and other stuff. If you haven't seen this magazine, check it out. If you are getting your first taste, get Bundles Of Trouble 1-3 to start with. Classic stuff there. The earlier ones are the funnier ones, while the later ones are more story driven.
My latest issue hasn't arrived yet. Any day now I think. However, there is a mention of Tom Moldvay's passing. Tom influenced many gamers and probably had a touch of influence on the Hackmaster game that KenzerCo makes. If you are a fan of old school gaming, you might want to check out Hackmaster.
Oh and be sure to look at the Knights Of The Dinner Table site as there are some samples of this very excellent comic there.
Thursday, June 7, 2007
A Quick Start Rules Set For HotDC?
I have recently considered doing a bare bones quick start set of rules for Heroes of the Dungeon Crawl. I have so many ideas going through my mind as I jot down notes on HotDC that it's hard to know what to do next sometimes. Even though the typing process has been slow of late, much progress has been made with the rules themselves. I have figured out how I want to proceed with Gamer Character Generation, and with the Character Sheet being designed, I am anxious to get a test session started.
Repelling Living Dead Charts, Rogues Abilities Charts, Incantation Charts (the first stage at least), Creature Charts for 0 and 1st Degree, Treasure Charts, the Attack-Defense System, Character Movement Rate Chart, Encounter Procedure Chart and other stuff have been done. There may be tweaking here and there, but I feel this is all coming together nicely. The thought has occurred to me that a pdf of Quick Start HotDC Rules could be released ahead of the game. If I get motivated enough, it could happen.
What will need to happen first is the completion of Part 2 of the rule book to get finished. This is the part that explains basic Character Generation. Haven't done the Incantations Section (Part 3), but a Quick Start pdf dealing with 0 and 1st Degree encounters would mainly need the 1st Degree Incantations list anyway. Okay, so if I do this, when will it be released? Don't have a date as of yet. It's really just an idea bouncing around in my head at the moment. I would really like to run a test or two first.
To that end, I have begun designing a 0 Degree Adventure that takes place at an outpost on a mountain overlooking a town, which has been mentioned in previous posts. This outpost will have several levels of dungeons beneath and perhaps this Secret City mentioned in a previous post. But it starts with the outpost, and it's all in the planning stage at this point.
Repelling Living Dead Charts, Rogues Abilities Charts, Incantation Charts (the first stage at least), Creature Charts for 0 and 1st Degree, Treasure Charts, the Attack-Defense System, Character Movement Rate Chart, Encounter Procedure Chart and other stuff have been done. There may be tweaking here and there, but I feel this is all coming together nicely. The thought has occurred to me that a pdf of Quick Start HotDC Rules could be released ahead of the game. If I get motivated enough, it could happen.
What will need to happen first is the completion of Part 2 of the rule book to get finished. This is the part that explains basic Character Generation. Haven't done the Incantations Section (Part 3), but a Quick Start pdf dealing with 0 and 1st Degree encounters would mainly need the 1st Degree Incantations list anyway. Okay, so if I do this, when will it be released? Don't have a date as of yet. It's really just an idea bouncing around in my head at the moment. I would really like to run a test or two first.
To that end, I have begun designing a 0 Degree Adventure that takes place at an outpost on a mountain overlooking a town, which has been mentioned in previous posts. This outpost will have several levels of dungeons beneath and perhaps this Secret City mentioned in a previous post. But it starts with the outpost, and it's all in the planning stage at this point.
Tuesday, June 5, 2007
Character Sheet & Sleep Spell
I redesigned the Heroes of the Dungeon Crawl Gamer Character Sheet yesterday and printed one out. I will probably post it in the near future. I wasn't happy with the first one, so I redid it. The intent is to make Character Generating easy and make game play simple. This sheet has all the details needed, I think. I may still adjust it as needed, so a different version could appear in the final rule book.
Incantations are the next step of the rule book, and Sleep (May get a different name) is one of them. Though I am a fan of the old red book and looking to create a similar feel, I want to make HotDC unique in it's own right. In the red book, you get no Safety Throw against this Incantation, but it only effects characters of 4th Degree or lower. I understand why this was done as Mage's in the red book are pretty weak, and this gives them a little power to start with.
But, Mage's will be a little tougher in HotDC at the start, I think. What I am thinking of doing with this Incantation is allowing Safety Throws to any target of this Incantation, and making it so that any Creature affected by Sleep (Living Dead Creatures are immune) can be put to sleep. Not just those of 4 Degrees or lower.
Incantations are the next step of the rule book, and Sleep (May get a different name) is one of them. Though I am a fan of the old red book and looking to create a similar feel, I want to make HotDC unique in it's own right. In the red book, you get no Safety Throw against this Incantation, but it only effects characters of 4th Degree or lower. I understand why this was done as Mage's in the red book are pretty weak, and this gives them a little power to start with.
But, Mage's will be a little tougher in HotDC at the start, I think. What I am thinking of doing with this Incantation is allowing Safety Throws to any target of this Incantation, and making it so that any Creature affected by Sleep (Living Dead Creatures are immune) can be put to sleep. Not just those of 4 Degrees or lower.
Friday, June 1, 2007
Reworking The Bandage Rule & Other Stuff
I tweaked the Bandage Rule a bit last night. The desire with this rule is to give the Game Character a fighting chance when reduced to 0 Life Points, but I've been thinking about adjusting that to where there is a chance that bandaging won't get the job done. Still working on it, but it would be like a 1 in 6 chance of death anyway and perhaps a 2 would mean that a healing potion or Incantation must be used immediately or death will occur anyway. A successful bandaging still means a full day of rest must be had to get back to 1 Life Point. It's a work in progress.
I have recently been presented an opportunity to go to GenCon. I may be going for it. I mean the chance to meet guys lik Gary Gygax, the guys at KenzerCo., possibly Frank Mentzer and others is pretty tempting.
I understand Troll Lord Games will be unveiling their new Basic C&C Boxed Set at or before GenCon. This is good news for Basic Gaming fans. Word is that the quick statrt rules that will be offered on June 23rd as part of Free RPG Day delayed things a bit, but work continues.
Word from Goblinoid Games is that Labyrinth Lord is on schedule for a July release. This game, of course, is using the OGL to emulate the old Basic D&D game. Word is there will be a map of the Known Lands included. I'm really looking forward to this release and considering creating a module for it.
I have recently been presented an opportunity to go to GenCon. I may be going for it. I mean the chance to meet guys lik Gary Gygax, the guys at KenzerCo., possibly Frank Mentzer and others is pretty tempting.
I understand Troll Lord Games will be unveiling their new Basic C&C Boxed Set at or before GenCon. This is good news for Basic Gaming fans. Word is that the quick statrt rules that will be offered on June 23rd as part of Free RPG Day delayed things a bit, but work continues.
Word from Goblinoid Games is that Labyrinth Lord is on schedule for a July release. This game, of course, is using the OGL to emulate the old Basic D&D game. Word is there will be a map of the Known Lands included. I'm really looking forward to this release and considering creating a module for it.
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