Monday, December 10, 2012
First Session: The Goblin/Kobold Defense
Surion the Magnificent Wizard, Velma the sneaky half-elf rogue, Finnean the Fiery Fighter dwarf ventured into the cave after a short and sweet conversation with Buff Hardback, who informed them
1) entries into the cave are scheduled regularly
2) other groups of adventurers had gone in and NOT RETURNED
and 3) if they return without the orb, they're gonna be in a world of pain (the Aevulking don't play like that brah).
Journeying downwards, they found a small antechamber. Beyond, they could see a large cavern where several guard kobolds and goblins sat chatting and eating their filthy goblin gruel around some campfires. Velma's keen half-elven eyes were able to espy a thin, gossamer strand stretching across the doorway. Both she and Surion let loose with their bows, injuring two of the goblins. Alerted, the goblins with crossbows ran to get behind two shoddily constructed barricades. Unfortunately, in returning into the antechamber after taking a shot, Velma's feet were not as keen as her eyes. She tripped over the wire. A large bell sonorously resounded, waking two armored goblins that had been fast asleep in a treasure room off of the main cavern. To add insult to injury, one of the crossbow goblins, steadying his aim on the barricade, managed to land a quarrel straight into her left ass cheek, severely injuring the half-elf.
After a few more seconds of back-and-forth archery (and a goblin mage slinging frightening purple missiles of arcance potency), Finnean had had enough, charging out of the room at one of the barricades. At the same time, Surion magicked several magicks moft potent and lulled one of the crossbow goblins and both spear kobolds at the other barricade, as well as one of the awoken armored goblins, to sleep. The goblins before finnean fled to the relative safety of their sleeping comrades' barricade, and he got a but a piece of one as it did.
The goblin mage took the fight to the adventurers, entering the antechamber and warming up a terrifying cone of fire from his hands. Unfortunately for him, Velma had remembered she was a rogue and deftly flipped out of the way. Drawing her bow, she nailed the unfortunate mage in the chest. Spewing ichor, he began to flee in terror. Surion cast an enlargement spell on Finnean, who used his mammoth size to eventually best the waking armored goblin in single combat, though he was beset by arrows from the crossbowmen across the room that yet lived. Beset, that is, until Velma's arrow exploded one of their heads. Both crossbowmen fled, one to the treasure room in the northeast corner and the other to another antechamber to the west. Surion and Velma followed the mage and crossbowmen to the room in the west, where they were pounding on a door. After dispatching them, Surion had a really really good listen and could faintly hear the snoring of several other small creatures on the other side, some distance away.
Finnean, meanwhile, managed to chase the final remaining goblin into the treasure room in the northeast corner. Though Finnean Loomed Menacingly, the goblin overcame great odds to pull himself together, and then overcame greater odds to plant a quarrel straight in the magically giant dwarf's throat. Already weakened by multiple quarrels to the feet and shoulder and a gash from the cruel curv-ed scimitar of the armored goblin, Finnean fell making gurgling noises. The goblin, believing himself invincible, ran out into the main room and was promptly felled by Surion and Velma. Finnean, after a few seconds, did manage to stabilize himself and is out of danger for now.
Surion went about slitting the throats of the sleeping enemies, and the team rejoined to the treasure room to see what they could see, and prepare to venture further into the cave...
Call to adventure: The Cave
Your characters are all, for whatever reasons you come up with, in the sleepy town of Robert's Mill, on the edge of the Wilds in the Eastmarch. It is a farming village with a minor garrison to defend against periodic raids by the Wildmen to the east, and its main feature is a mill owned by a brutal monopolist by the name of Bob. He insists that he be called Robert, but his parents really did just name him Bob.
The town is unusually bustling--a glut of adventurers are hanging around, and as a result a glut of merchants have come to serve them [meaning you can buy whatever you can convince me would be found in a regular sized city, not just a tiny town]. Why so bustling, you ask? A Proclamation of the King! Your characters, whether reading it for the first time or having seen it elsewhere and come here as a result, read it thus:
"HEAR YE HEAR YE
A Royal Proclamation of King Klishayd Aevulkin, Thirteenth of His Name, Defender of the Westmarch, Eastmarch, Southwestmarch & other Marches &tc.
To the Northeast of the King's Village of Robert's Mill, there is a cave infested with Goblins and Kobolds. Fear not, innocent citizens, for my faceless AevulTroopers are standing guard around the clock to prevent their escape. However, for those of you with more strength or skill, I have an offer which may interest you.
It has come to my attention that, beneath the grottoes where the Kobolds linger, there is an ancient ruin built by the Ancient empire containing an artifact MOFT ANCIENT. I had sent in a detachment to retrieve it, but they have not returned. If you can retrieve for that artifact for your King, you will find it very rewarding. One Thousand Gold Pieces rewarding.
To avoid any depopulation issues, please report your Adventuring Resume to the garrison at King's Mill One Week prior to attempting to enter the mine. If you are not up to snuff, my AevulTroopers will suggest a more suitable way you can help your King [for reals though, I've never balanced one of these things so please get me character sheets before we dive in so I can set up encounters and shit, lvl 2 characters (so you can actually do spells if you want to! You can leave your friends behind!) Adnd 3rd edition/the one we usually play (if you want to pick up some jacked up class from that wiki of jacked up classes I have no problem with that)].
I would send in another detachment, but my ghostly economic adviser Mul'Ton Frejdmum tells me that allowing you shmucks to try will still get me the artifact and at maximum only cost me 100 gold pieces, and "keep the rifks in the Sector Moft Private." On second thought, scribe, they don't need to know that. Hey, I said scratch that out! Don't write this down either! By the Beard of Maelor, you think you're clever, don't you?! Guard, kill this scri----------"
A long line extends from the last letter. Your characters [should] know what they must do; band together and retrieve the artifact! Good luck (they're going to need it......).
Saturday, November 10, 2012
Sunday, November 4, 2012
Names for the Inn Where We Begin
- The Lame Ass
- The Gnashing Gnoll
- The Dancing Goblin
- Last Stand
- Cheap Inn
- The Three Fine Wenches (with fine crossed out on the sign, possibly)
- Yellow Leadbedder Inn
- Old Oak Tavern
- Moldy Boot Saloon
- Gizzlerd and Metatron
- Booty Station
- Capsized Mary (a tavern in the hull of a ship)
- The Seven Dwarves Spa
- The Moaning Nun
- The Polished Knob (logo on the sign is a winking wench)
- The Tipsy Tankard
- The Wily Wino (logo on the sign is an obviously drunk snidely whiplash-type rogue)
- The Jubilant Heifer
- The Dancing Duck
- Jimmy's
- Sojourner's Repose
- Step on Inn
- A Minimum of Rats
- Pilgrim's Progress's Pause
- The Lazy Eye (logo on the sign is a napping beholder)
- Peasant Hollows (or, Hollow Peasants)
- Picklehaus (sign: a barrel full of pickles )
- The Cracked Cabbage
- The King's Junk
- Ole Cracked Tankard
- Stewgaard
- Muttonmansion
- Queen Kestler's Three Nieces
- Dragonbreath Griddle
- Hacker Barrel (sign: a barrel full of axes)
Sunday, October 28, 2012
Campaign intro: "In the Fiefs of Zengi"
The First Crusade has ended, and the Second Crusade has yet to begin.
Zengi the Mad, Zengi the Cruel, Zengi the Warlord is ascendant in Syria. His fiefs are Aleppo and Mosul (in Iraq) and all the fiefs between.
To his west lie the Crusader Kingdoms -- Antioch, Tripoli, Jerusalem, and Edessa.
To his east the Turko-Persian princes vie for ascendency over their father's empire.
And Zengi has his cruel, mad eyes set on Damascus, but not on his own lands; not on a lonely keep at the edge of the Waste; not on the road that leads from that keep to the ruins of an ancient city.
Zengi's troops march away and leaves his lands unwatched and unpoliced. The lonely keep is undermanned and turns away no sell swords, and the ruins in the desert hold a vast treasure, guarded by evil magic, Shayatin, and the Dragon of the Southern Desert.
The time is ripe, adventurers.
Thursday, October 18, 2012
Monday, October 15, 2012
Diary Entry October 15, 2012
Dear Diary,
I write to amuse you, my dear old book.
I left my Volcano ship to hover over the Pond of Liquified Eyes and strolled passed the Grove of Femurs to the home of my old comrade Mithras, a demon of the pit! He is well, Diary, and still tending to the eternal torture of his captives -- The Souls of Mortals Killed by Wizard Magik!
We sat for a smoke, and after, descended to the pits. On the Rack of Ages lay a pathetic bunch: a thief, a cleric of the Lords of Kobol, several men of arms, and a novitiate of the arcane. To the side I found a work of imaginative fiction, written by one of the captives. Between torments, Sir Loin, of Beef, had written an account of their deaths, form the view point of his trusty mule!
Here it is, Diary:
I write to amuse you, my dear old book.
I left my Volcano ship to hover over the Pond of Liquified Eyes and strolled passed the Grove of Femurs to the home of my old comrade Mithras, a demon of the pit! He is well, Diary, and still tending to the eternal torture of his captives -- The Souls of Mortals Killed by Wizard Magik!
We sat for a smoke, and after, descended to the pits. On the Rack of Ages lay a pathetic bunch: a thief, a cleric of the Lords of Kobol, several men of arms, and a novitiate of the arcane. To the side I found a work of imaginative fiction, written by one of the captives. Between torments, Sir Loin, of Beef, had written an account of their deaths, form the view point of his trusty mule!
Here it is, Diary:
It’s not a bad life, thought the mule. Now that those idiots
are gone. Always heeing and hawing about who knows what. I may be tied to a
tree but at least I have my priorities straight. Won’t catch me running off
into someone else’s barn.
He grabbed at some dried grass with his large teeth. Awful
lot of dried grass around here, he though. A little burnt tasting though. He
chewed, a resolutely neutral look on his face. I could really be here all day,
he thought, if it weren’t so loud.
The door of the tower slammed open with a thud barely
audible over the lighting cracks. The mule huffed irritably as the man
practically threw himself down the stairs.
What’s he look so upset about, thought the mule, he’s not
the one who’s going to miss out on all this fantastic grass. They way they run
is so comical, with their forelegs flailing and their eyes bulging, squeaking
and whimpering like blind foals.
The mule flicked his ears at a particularly resonant crash
of electricity. Ten paces in front of him the man lit up like hay in a bonfire
and with a frantic yelp crumpled into a chunky pile of dust. Another flash of
light slammed into the ground and the pile settled into the dry earth, exposing
a blackened skull.
With a snort, the mule trundled back towards the tree to
which he was tethered.
Idiots, he thought. All of them.
I'm so happy this fool became an adventurer -- for he would have surely failed as a bard. Its no Battlefield Earth!
-L. Ron Hubbard, PlanesTraveller
Sunday, September 30, 2012
Diary Entry Sept 23, 2012
Dear Diary,
I write now to record a strange happening: In the heat of the day I sat in just my trousers by the edge of my cave. Over the cliff edge and past the treetops I saw down into the plain. The man-drakes waddled earnestly down a hill to where a red beam of light shone onto the orange dust. By the red spot on the ground lay a red, quivering form. Before I could determine the gender or note any sign of its origins the man-drakes arrived and fed, though the meal did not satisfy: the smallest man-drake was devoured after, and then they departed.
I've seen amateur teleporters before, and I believe the red form must have been from another plane. For a moment I held the foolish thought that I might encounter some man of high-science or some interplanar merchant with supplies. But, no. I checked the ridge for signs of predators, and then returned to work on my VolcanoShip.
It has been 18 days since my teleport engine malfunctioned on this plane, but my food supplies remain near-full, and I am determined to finish these repairs.
I do hope that my followers on Terra have made progress in eradicating the Thetans which so plague their species.
I shall write again, Diary.
--L. Ron Hubbard, PlanesTraveler
I write now to record a strange happening: In the heat of the day I sat in just my trousers by the edge of my cave. Over the cliff edge and past the treetops I saw down into the plain. The man-drakes waddled earnestly down a hill to where a red beam of light shone onto the orange dust. By the red spot on the ground lay a red, quivering form. Before I could determine the gender or note any sign of its origins the man-drakes arrived and fed, though the meal did not satisfy: the smallest man-drake was devoured after, and then they departed.
I've seen amateur teleporters before, and I believe the red form must have been from another plane. For a moment I held the foolish thought that I might encounter some man of high-science or some interplanar merchant with supplies. But, no. I checked the ridge for signs of predators, and then returned to work on my VolcanoShip.
It has been 18 days since my teleport engine malfunctioned on this plane, but my food supplies remain near-full, and I am determined to finish these repairs.
I do hope that my followers on Terra have made progress in eradicating the Thetans which so plague their species.
I shall write again, Diary.
--L. Ron Hubbard, PlanesTraveler
Why are you here?
From things that came up at my place during and after last session, there seems to be some confusion, at least among the newer players, as to what the point of the game and ultimate goals are. So, let me give the short answer and my take. Firstly and lastly, the goal is wealth. The whole point of the game is to get filthy rich, and there are two game reasons why you want that. First, wealth enables you to live out your medieval fantasy dreams of building a castle or tower or hidden lair and commanding great power over those lower than you. Second, the value of the treasure that you find directly translates into how many experience points (XP) you receive, which determines how your character grows. So, if you want to be able to cast new spells, to swing your axe with greater ability, to sneak around and disable traps more successfully, then you need to gather wealth in order to progress your character.
Now, you may be wondering, "what about storytelling and glory and involved role playing and all those great things that I love?" Well, you can fit those things into a game whose explicit goals are not to them. You can always create great stories of your adventures, even if you're not out destroying every living creature within the known world.
If you happen to cleverly trick some dragon into leaving its lair while you empty it of its treasure, that's all the better than risking your nice un-charred flesh to kill some fire-breathing terror. Also, while folks in this fantasy world may praise you for slaying some awful beast and freeing them, your tales will fade with their memories if there is nothing tangible to remind them of your greatness. So build a freaking castle and show everybody how awesome you are when they have to trudge past everyday, shit-covered, and hoping they can sell their last goat in order to pay for the funeral of their children who died of the stanky leg plague. Show them how awesome you are when you build a tower and then cast it and the countryside around it into the sky, where you float around the world terrifying ignorant peasants and powerful kings alike.
During all of this, you can create whatever sort of personality you would like for your character, but one part of it must include a reason and need for adventuring. If your character wanted to earn an honest living, we could play "Mud Farmers and Apprentice Craftsmen." While I think that Rio Grande could create that game, I don't think I'd want to play it.
In short, if you are playing D&D, then you must like solving puzzles, medieval fantasy, role playing, socializing, or just eating Doritos. For any of those reasons that you like playing related to the game itself, you need character wealth to win. For those related to hanging out, well, you're already winning by just being there.
Now, you may be wondering, "what about storytelling and glory and involved role playing and all those great things that I love?" Well, you can fit those things into a game whose explicit goals are not to them. You can always create great stories of your adventures, even if you're not out destroying every living creature within the known world.
If you happen to cleverly trick some dragon into leaving its lair while you empty it of its treasure, that's all the better than risking your nice un-charred flesh to kill some fire-breathing terror. Also, while folks in this fantasy world may praise you for slaying some awful beast and freeing them, your tales will fade with their memories if there is nothing tangible to remind them of your greatness. So build a freaking castle and show everybody how awesome you are when they have to trudge past everyday, shit-covered, and hoping they can sell their last goat in order to pay for the funeral of their children who died of the stanky leg plague. Show them how awesome you are when you build a tower and then cast it and the countryside around it into the sky, where you float around the world terrifying ignorant peasants and powerful kings alike.
During all of this, you can create whatever sort of personality you would like for your character, but one part of it must include a reason and need for adventuring. If your character wanted to earn an honest living, we could play "Mud Farmers and Apprentice Craftsmen." While I think that Rio Grande could create that game, I don't think I'd want to play it.
In short, if you are playing D&D, then you must like solving puzzles, medieval fantasy, role playing, socializing, or just eating Doritos. For any of those reasons that you like playing related to the game itself, you need character wealth to win. For those related to hanging out, well, you're already winning by just being there.
Saturday, September 29, 2012
Session 1 recap
Our brave adventures journeyed to the edge of civilization, up to
forested hill lands near the pass leading to legendary Forbidden
Valley. In a small village along a lake they heard rumor of a wizard's
tower in the area where lightning was seen constantly striking. They
followed the trail towards the Valley until finding a second less worn
trail through the woods. After walking several miles along this trail
they could see and feel violent crashes of lighting. Upon drawing
closer they saw an ashy blasted clearing with a great tower at the
center, drawing in each bolt like some giant lightning rod.
The clever Man Helsing thrust a pole into the ash and watched it for several minutes before it was disintegrated adding fresh dust to the ground. He and several other members of our party sprinted across the wasted land surrounding the tower, up its stairs, to the main door of the tower. After delicately pulling on the handle with his bow The Farmer, drew back the knocker, which fell with a resounding BOING, and the great doors to the tower drew inward. The party then proceeding cautiously with their exploration of the tower.
Upon the first floor, they found a spotless waiting room, a large closet with nothing but mildewing clothes and moth-balls, and a well-furnished sitting room with a large statue in one corner. Bosinator and (the self-styled) Sir Loin of Beef spent some time exploring a few of the walls of these mundane rooms for any signs of secret compartments or passages, but, alas, to avail. Meanwhile, Tavaris Rhet found that his powers overqualified him for most of these mundane tasks, and decided to make himself useful drawing a map for the party. However, being unaccustomed to anyone else having to interpret his scrawls, his descriptions of the layout were crude at best. Stairs running along the inner circumference of the tower lead up from this room to next level.
Our team, anxious to continue upward, examined the second floor from landing between separated the stairs that wound further up. There they found a plain room with cooking utensils and an oven; the room seemed to occupy about half of that level of the tower, with a hallway leading off to the side. Man Helsing and Farmer led the exploration and were the first to see the trail of blood oozing down the stairs from the above. Following the trail up, they discovered a locked door at the top of the stairs with a bleeding keyhole.
The Farmer skillfully picked the lock, and the party entered the room to discover an old wizard trapped in a circle of salt near the center of his chambers. First appearing bumbling and asking for the characters to free him, he quickly turned hostile and threatening. Our team wisely ignored this demon-worshipper, and gathered from his room what valuables they could find, namely a skull-sized egg-shaped crystal. Through a door in the back, they discovered an elevator chamber, and ascended to the top floor.
At the top of the elevator, they discovered the wizard's workshop. By playing with a simple control panel, the team figured out how to operate a strange inter-planar telescope that blasted a giant red laser beam into the sky. A curious Bosinator looked through the eyepiece of the telescope to see what lie beyond the great the red beam in the sky, only to be sucked into and through the telescope, and causing the focusing crystal of the telescope to explode a great fury. Sir Loin of Beef was the unfortunate soul to discover the fate of Bosinator who was transmogrified into a pulpy version of herself and devoured by mandrake-like demons on some plane lying at the other end of that otherworldly beam.
I don't plan on doing recaps every week. For one, somebody else could do a much better job of it stylistically. And, while I could catalogue every session's activities, it will be much more challenging, involving, and fun if you guys try to remember what you've done, where you've explored, etc. so that you can truly interact with the enviroment without me goaling you towards things.
Any questions before the next game, email me.
forested hill lands near the pass leading to legendary Forbidden
Valley. In a small village along a lake they heard rumor of a wizard's
tower in the area where lightning was seen constantly striking. They
followed the trail towards the Valley until finding a second less worn
trail through the woods. After walking several miles along this trail
they could see and feel violent crashes of lighting. Upon drawing
closer they saw an ashy blasted clearing with a great tower at the
center, drawing in each bolt like some giant lightning rod.
The clever Man Helsing thrust a pole into the ash and watched it for several minutes before it was disintegrated adding fresh dust to the ground. He and several other members of our party sprinted across the wasted land surrounding the tower, up its stairs, to the main door of the tower. After delicately pulling on the handle with his bow The Farmer, drew back the knocker, which fell with a resounding BOING, and the great doors to the tower drew inward. The party then proceeding cautiously with their exploration of the tower.
Upon the first floor, they found a spotless waiting room, a large closet with nothing but mildewing clothes and moth-balls, and a well-furnished sitting room with a large statue in one corner. Bosinator and (the self-styled) Sir Loin of Beef spent some time exploring a few of the walls of these mundane rooms for any signs of secret compartments or passages, but, alas, to avail. Meanwhile, Tavaris Rhet found that his powers overqualified him for most of these mundane tasks, and decided to make himself useful drawing a map for the party. However, being unaccustomed to anyone else having to interpret his scrawls, his descriptions of the layout were crude at best. Stairs running along the inner circumference of the tower lead up from this room to next level.
Our team, anxious to continue upward, examined the second floor from landing between separated the stairs that wound further up. There they found a plain room with cooking utensils and an oven; the room seemed to occupy about half of that level of the tower, with a hallway leading off to the side. Man Helsing and Farmer led the exploration and were the first to see the trail of blood oozing down the stairs from the above. Following the trail up, they discovered a locked door at the top of the stairs with a bleeding keyhole.
The Farmer skillfully picked the lock, and the party entered the room to discover an old wizard trapped in a circle of salt near the center of his chambers. First appearing bumbling and asking for the characters to free him, he quickly turned hostile and threatening. Our team wisely ignored this demon-worshipper, and gathered from his room what valuables they could find, namely a skull-sized egg-shaped crystal. Through a door in the back, they discovered an elevator chamber, and ascended to the top floor.
At the top of the elevator, they discovered the wizard's workshop. By playing with a simple control panel, the team figured out how to operate a strange inter-planar telescope that blasted a giant red laser beam into the sky. A curious Bosinator looked through the eyepiece of the telescope to see what lie beyond the great the red beam in the sky, only to be sucked into and through the telescope, and causing the focusing crystal of the telescope to explode a great fury. Sir Loin of Beef was the unfortunate soul to discover the fate of Bosinator who was transmogrified into a pulpy version of herself and devoured by mandrake-like demons on some plane lying at the other end of that otherworldly beam.
I don't plan on doing recaps every week. For one, somebody else could do a much better job of it stylistically. And, while I could catalogue every session's activities, it will be much more challenging, involving, and fun if you guys try to remember what you've done, where you've explored, etc. so that you can truly interact with the enviroment without me goaling you towards things.
Any questions before the next game, email me.
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
The New Campaign
Click the following link to download a pdf of the rules
http://www.lotfp.com/RPG/uploads/downloads/GrindhouseRulesMagicFree.zip
we are using Lamentations of the Flame Princess brand Grindhouse Rules.
It's a clone of the 0th edition dnd.
http://www.lotfp.com/RPG/uploads/downloads/GrindhouseRulesMagicFree.zip
we are using Lamentations of the Flame Princess brand Grindhouse Rules.
It's a clone of the 0th edition dnd.
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Friday, February 10, 2012
The Earl speaks
I enclose herein, dear reader, a letter from the most excsellente Earle of Stafforde. It seems as though the Gawab of Jamcot had invited him as the official observer of the Queen, to observe the conflict between the embattled Gobs of Jamcot and the loathesome aggressors, the rat men.
**************
On the Sqigsday (Goblin date), forces of the Gawab of Jamcot, led by Stumpy Gzat were ambushed and destroyed by a force of Ratmen in the Forest of Jamcot.
Ordered by the Gawab of Jamcot to investigate the alleged destruction of a small village in the Forest of Jamcot, Stumpy Gzat led a small force into the forest. Finding the rumors true, Stumpy was making his way back when he found himself ambushed by a contingent of Ratmen. Stumpy's force consisted of eight bow-goblins, guided by a forest scout, deployed in skirmish order, twenty spear-gobs and two goblins mounted on squigs, a curious and unreliable mount, moving a distance determined by the roll of two dice each turn. Stumpy found himself in a small glade, suddenly ambushed by Ratmen on all sides. Three groups of skirmishing "Night-Runners," a Jezzail hand-canonne, and a small group of eight armoured Clanrats, the bodyguard of a Vyle Ratman preist.
Battle was joined as the Ratmen, taking advantage of the ambush moved in towards the surrounded goblins, and fired upon them, to no effect with the Jezzail. Stumpy realized that he needed to escape to the north, he being some twenty inches from a safe point of escape. Stumpy ordered his Squigs to attack the cannonne to his left,the west, while the bow-gobs, of their own accord, moved to engage the approaching Clanrats to the northeast. Stumpy advanced northward with his own spear-gobs, continuing to take fire from the jezzail, still to no effect. To his left, the squig-cavalry was engaged by two groups of Nightrunners, eight in all, who killed one of the riders and mounts, forcing the other to flee, though only after his squig exacted revenge on the Ratmen, though he fled into the forest, gone from the battle Stumpy's bowmen proved to be quite effective and killed three of the Clanrats, causing them to flee in a rout. Before they were completely dispersed.from the field, they rallied and turned back towards the Goblins.
Stumpy's left flank having collapsed, he halted his movement as a group of Nightrunners charged the bow-gobs directly, and routed them. In terror, Stumpy's spear gobs fled, though he rallied them and formed up once again for the fight. Now, however, he was even further south, further from escape and he had just seen his routed bowmen cut down completely by Nightrunners. Now alone, Stumpy attempted to head south and then up to the east, keeping a grove between him and the Ratmen. Despite his inspired maneuvers however, the Ratmen boxed him in with their greater speed, eventually surrounding the goblins. The cunning Ratmen stayed just far enough distant that Stumpy's goblins could neither attack them, nor move closer for fear of being attacked themselves.
Finally the Ratmen struck, to Stumpy's front and rear, killing six of his men, while they bravely dispatched four ratmen. The confusion of the attack from the rear, coupled with the death of much of the unit caused the goblins to attempt to flee, despite Stumpy's heroic attempts to rally them, but their attackers cut them down completely as they ran.
Now the alarm is sounding the Village of Gar-yuk Rooil, the next likely site of attack, as the Gawab of Jamkot attempts to marshal his forces...
(The game was heavily influenced by the low Leadership of all troops involved. Stumpy and the Ratman leader only had Ld 6 so any morale checks were potentially disastrous. In fact, in the last rally check, Stumpy miraculously rolled a 3, but did nor pass due to the +4 mod to his roll from the Ratmen's advantages)
Hope you enjoyed this and that it makes sense. There will be others.
Ordered by the Gawab of Jamcot to investigate the alleged destruction of a small village in the Forest of Jamcot, Stumpy Gzat led a small force into the forest. Finding the rumors true, Stumpy was making his way back when he found himself ambushed by a contingent of Ratmen. Stumpy's force consisted of eight bow-goblins, guided by a forest scout, deployed in skirmish order, twenty spear-gobs and two goblins mounted on squigs, a curious and unreliable mount, moving a distance determined by the roll of two dice each turn. Stumpy found himself in a small glade, suddenly ambushed by Ratmen on all sides. Three groups of skirmishing "Night-Runners," a Jezzail hand-canonne, and a small group of eight armoured Clanrats, the bodyguard of a Vyle Ratman preist.
Battle was joined as the Ratmen, taking advantage of the ambush moved in towards the surrounded goblins, and fired upon them, to no effect with the Jezzail. Stumpy realized that he needed to escape to the north, he being some twenty inches from a safe point of escape. Stumpy ordered his Squigs to attack the cannonne to his left,the west, while the bow-gobs, of their own accord, moved to engage the approaching Clanrats to the northeast. Stumpy advanced northward with his own spear-gobs, continuing to take fire from the jezzail, still to no effect. To his left, the squig-cavalry was engaged by two groups of Nightrunners, eight in all, who killed one of the riders and mounts, forcing the other to flee, though only after his squig exacted revenge on the Ratmen, though he fled into the forest, gone from the battle Stumpy's bowmen proved to be quite effective and killed three of the Clanrats, causing them to flee in a rout. Before they were completely dispersed.from the field, they rallied and turned back towards the Goblins.
Stumpy's left flank having collapsed, he halted his movement as a group of Nightrunners charged the bow-gobs directly, and routed them. In terror, Stumpy's spear gobs fled, though he rallied them and formed up once again for the fight. Now, however, he was even further south, further from escape and he had just seen his routed bowmen cut down completely by Nightrunners. Now alone, Stumpy attempted to head south and then up to the east, keeping a grove between him and the Ratmen. Despite his inspired maneuvers however, the Ratmen boxed him in with their greater speed, eventually surrounding the goblins. The cunning Ratmen stayed just far enough distant that Stumpy's goblins could neither attack them, nor move closer for fear of being attacked themselves.
Finally the Ratmen struck, to Stumpy's front and rear, killing six of his men, while they bravely dispatched four ratmen. The confusion of the attack from the rear, coupled with the death of much of the unit caused the goblins to attempt to flee, despite Stumpy's heroic attempts to rally them, but their attackers cut them down completely as they ran.
Now the alarm is sounding the Village of Gar-yuk Rooil, the next likely site of attack, as the Gawab of Jamkot attempts to marshal his forces...
(The game was heavily influenced by the low Leadership of all troops involved. Stumpy and the Ratman leader only had Ld 6 so any morale checks were potentially disastrous. In fact, in the last rally check, Stumpy miraculously rolled a 3, but did nor pass due to the +4 mod to his roll from the Ratmen's advantages)
Hope you enjoyed this and that it makes sense. There will be others.
~Stafford
some old thoughts, re-submitted
I sent the email below to the early 2011 Enkopja campaign. I'd like to revisit and rework a great deal of this material in posts to follow. (Note: the numbers here are from our 3e homebrew).
***********************
Creature Feature
Gang,
I - for one - would like our dungeons and dragons game to be fairly strategic, with the players confronting problems which require clever plans. Now, we all know that if you don’t have any information you must, by default, just take shots in the dark. So far in this campaign, there has been a pattern of players mostly taking shots in the dark, taking wild chances, and I do think the cause is lack of information.
Two kinds of information are lacking: (1) predictable results of actions and (2) the abilities and statistics of monsters. In order to make the consequences of character actions more predictable, we did an experiment with dice: instead of rolling 1d20, we rolled 3d6 for checks. This meant we were far more likely to have middle numbers (8-13) than high or low numbers (3-7; 14-18). The numbers which were meant to be outliers, meant to be lucky or unlucky, are now actually less probable than mediocre results. Given this information, you are more able to make informed decisions, rather than gambles. (I'm exaggerating toward the truth)
http://www.thedarkfortress.co.uk/tech_reports/3_dice_rolls.htm
However, the dice change provides some but not enough new information. The Cleric with +6 to hit with his mace now knows he is most likely to roll between 14 and 19, but if he has no experience of enemy ACs to draw on when using this “predictive science,” the knowledge of his likely die rolls isn’t all that useful.
To give you a sense of enemy AC’s, and also to supply you the “prior combat experience” you might have had if we’d played against opponents for levels 1-3, I’ll bring two things to the table.
1. A list of Armor Classes for monsters you would have fought or could guess at easily
2. Creature Feature: I’ll give the low down of a creature and some relevant commentary. In your character’s back story, he or she may have encountered these creatures. In any case there might be substantial lore or “cultural memory/knowledge” passed down to your character about these creatures.*
* Of course, I won’t give you knowledge of creatures you’ve never encountered before, so there will be some surprises left in life....and DEATH (sorry)
Table 1: Armor Class and Hp for Familiar, Humanoid Melee Combatants
| Monster | AC | Hp |
| Orc tribesman from the Hordelands | 13 | 5 |
| Hobgoblin marine from the isles near Napaj | 15 | 6 |
| Elven patrolman from the edges of Darkenwood | 15 | 4 |
| Sahuagin infantry raiding coastal towns of the Great Ocean | 16 | 11 |
| Human-size skeleton in a necromancer’s lair | 15 | 6 |
| Lizardfolk spearman from the isle of Catatan (jk) | 15 | 11 |
Let’s see how melee combat ought to run with a character of middling melee ability.
Creature Feature: Feanor vs. an Orc Tribesman from the Hordelands
Were Feanor the Fire Mage in the Hordelands and attacked by an orc tribesman, he would have to defend himself using his melee combat skills, instead of just grilling the punk at range.
Feanor has +2 to attack with his scimitar. Rolling 3d6, Ian is likely to roll between 8 and 13, meaning that when he rolls for his total attack, he will consistently roll 10-15.
The Orc tribesman, being agile and wearing some light armor for an AC of 13, is in danger from Feanor. Feanor is pretty likely to hit him (though he’ll no doubt miss a bunch too!).
Given that Feanor deals 2-12 damage with every hit, the orc might be felled in 1 blow, or it might take 3 blows. Feanor can kill this orc in melee combat. But - can he kill the orc before the orc kills him?
Feanor has 31 hp when he is in perfect health, but he has an AC of 14. Because the Orc rolls between 12 and 17, it is pretty likely to hit Feanor when it attacks, and because its damage is between 6 and 12, Feanor could be killed in 3 to 5 hits.
Though its close, Feanor can - with luck and tenacity - defeat an orc tribesman. It will be a hard and risky fight, so he probably shouldn’t engage in melee, against even this most mediocre of melee combatants. SO: If Feanor is a character motivated by survival and victory, his strategy will not revolve around melee combat. But that is of course up to the player and depends on what he finds fun.
Luckily, Feanor also shoots lasers. Against the Orc at range, Feanor attacks with +4 (between 12 and 17 total) against the Orc AC 11 (his armor doesn't count against laser fire!).
Feanor can expect to hit the orc when he rolls, and when (not if) he hits, the orc takes 4d6+4 damage (between 8 and 30 damage). Given the Orc’s 6 hp, the orc eats it like Porkins in IV. Feanor may appropriately begin cackling like Bobby Flay at this point.
Strategically, Feanor should not be engaging in melee combat unless he can’t help it. Una and Kajit shouldn’t either, unless Kajit is sneak attacking.*
For Motonari, Sigurd, Chase, and Benedict, the appropriate response to an orc tribesman attacking in melee is “bitch, please!” And other such dismissive cuss phrases. This is because their ACs are high, their melee attack bonuses are high, and their melee damage is high - all much higher than the orc’s.
Second Note: Thinking about Ranged Combat
The average humanoid can move 30ft/round, and so can charge 60ft (charge= double movement). A bow or crossbow has range ~100ft and at the very least >60ft.
So, when you can see an enemy at a distance, you can shoot them at least once from close range before they get to you. Even before that, you might hit them at long distance.
Ranged combat is your friend. It is not honorable according to the Iliad, but they weren’t self-interested treasure hunters, or practical servants of the people. Given that bows and crossbows deal 1d6 or 1d8 or 1d10, they can provide a one shot kill against the humanoids listed above, or at the very least the 1 or two damage of even the worst shots will make sure the next hit on the orc will drop it.
More to come -- Hill Giant and Sneak Attack options
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Time, for E.G.G.
"TIME
TIME IN THE CAMPAIGN
Game time is of utmost importance. Failure to keep careful track of time expenditure by player characters will result in many anomalies in the game. The stricture of time is what makes recovery of hit points meaningful. likewise, the time spent adventuring in wilderness areas remove concerned characters from their bases of operation - be they rented chambers or battlemented strongholds. Certainly the most important time stricture pertains to the manufacture of magic items, for during the period of such activity no adventuring can be done. Time is also considered in gaining levels and learning new languages and more. All of these
demands upon game time force choices upon player characters, and likewise number their days of game life. One of the things stressed in the original game of D&D was the importance of recording game time with respect to each and every player character in a campaign. In ad&d it is emphasized even more: YOU CAN NOT HAVE A MEANINGFUL CAMPAIGN IF STRICT TIME RECORDS ARE NOT KEPT."
Saturday, February 4, 2012
from E.G.G.
"As an active Dungeon Master I kept a careful watch for things which would tend to complicate matters without improving them, systems devised seemingly to make the game drag for players, rules which lessened the fantastic and unexpected in favor of the mundane and ordinary."
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