A Thread For Random RPG Musings

[Cygnia]

[Cygnia]

[Doc Democracy]

Crazy that this is one of the major trigger points for a lot of players.  "Of course the goblin cannot, through the system, persuade me to spare it's life.  I decide that." Though they will want to rely on the system allowing them to scam their way outrageously through NPCs.

[tkdguy]

Here's a scenario with terrain I hope to use in my games sometime. The (slightly modified) miniature and the pedestal (actually a base for a different miniature) are from Reaper. I built the shrine with wood and cardboard.

[tkdguy]

"You meet at an in...."

 

 

And a follow-up:

 

 

[Ragitsu]

You receive a platter of fatty pork; drizzled atop the slices is a pungent mixture of crushed garlic, salt and an unknown oil. Next is a plate bearing a loaf of coarsely-textured wheat bread with an accompanying stick of what looks to be herb-infused butter. Then comes a wide wooden bowl filled with some sort of chestnut salad.

 

Finally, the wench plunks down a bulbous jug of mead smack-dab in the center of the table.

[Old Man]

13 hours ago, tkdguy said:

"You meet at an in...."

 

 

And a follow-up:

 

 

 

I see you have the same youtube feed as me.

[Ragitsu]

"In the falcon's talons." or "Falcon's talons." = A Druid's (or Ranger's) expression which means "Being caught up in unexpected trouble/an unexpected problem." (formed by many observations of the birds-of-prey ambushing their quarry before the latter can react quickly enough).

[Scott Ruggels]

19 hours ago, Ragitsu said:

You receive a platter of fatty pork; drizzled atop the slices is a pungent mixture of crushed garlic, salt and an unknown oil. Next is a plate bearing a loaf of coarsely-textured wheat bread with an accompanying stick of what looks to be herb-infused butter. Then comes a wide wooden bowl filled with some sort of chestnut salad.

 

Finally, the wench plunks down a bulbous jug of mead smack-dab in the center of the table.

Sounds like a reasonable Southern Restaurant to go to.

 

[tkdguy]

Various sources (printed and online) have equated D&D currency to American currency. Hence, 1 gp = a dollar, 1 sp = a dime, and 1 cp = a penny. Since my solo game is set in fantasy California, I may just convert wealth to dollar amounts. GURPS does this already, so it's not a new idea. I won't use electrum or platinum coins; I'll convert them to the gp/sp equivalent. Gems will be listed separately from cash, but will be listed in the total gp/dollar value.

Edited March 30 by tkdguy

[Ragitsu]

4 hours ago, Scott Ruggels said:

Sounds like a reasonable Southern Restaurant to go to.

 

 

At these, ah...these establishments...are random patrons liable to hurl daggers within a hair's breadth of the cook's head to express their dissatisfaction with the burnt roast?

 

3 hours ago, tkdguy said:

Various sources (printed and online) have equated D&D currency to American currency. Hence, 1 gp = a dollar, 1 sp = a dime, and 1 cp = a penny. Since my solo game is set in fantasy California, I may just convert wealth to dollar amounts. GURPS does this already, so it's not a new idea. I won't use electrum or platinum coins; I'll convert them to the gp/sp equivalent. Gems will be listed separately from cash, but will be listed in the total gp/dollar value.

 

As long as you're not offering sticks with pitch (pardon me: "torches") for 1 gp a pop, you're doing great . 

[Ragitsu]

 

There are days when the Dungeon Master doesn't feel like indulging his inner thespian.

[Ragitsu]

Most DMs: Can get players excited over tangible rewards (e.g., swords, gold, scrolls, fine silks, et cetera).

Fewer DMs: Can get players excited over intangible rewards (e.g., friendships, romance, invitations, honorary citizenship, et cetera).

The rarest DMs of all: Can get players to prefer the intangible over the tangible.

[tkdguy]

 Another idea I have rarely, if ever, included in my games is some disaster occurring in the setting. It can be a natural disaster like an earthquake or tsunami, or it can be a plague or epidemic. While they suck in real life, they can provide adventure seeds, from survival to search and rescue to finding a cure. You can find more ideas in this blog.

 

Edit: While this list repeats much of the previous one, there are a few other ideas, including the repercussions.

Edited April 2 by tkdguy

[Ragitsu]

Take a page from BioWare's finest: widespread privation caused by the shortage of one specific resource. In that game, the iron went sour, but there are other possibilities such as trees, grains, birds, music (a divine curse at play?), et cetera; all you need is a semi-believable domino effect which results in sufficient drama.

[Doc Democracy]

I thought I would have another go at this.  It has been playing in my head as something I want and, if I do, then surely HERO can accommodate me.  I reckon the big thing is whether you can introduce an element of uncertainty and "magic" without imposing an undue time or complexity "tax" in game terms.

 

On 2/18/2024 at 8:51 PM, Hugh Neilson said:

The game problems with magic of this nature have already been drawn out above.  Players like to know what their characters can do, and want some narrative control over the results.  The latter can be implemented if the player exercises some (or full) control over the results of the magic, despite the character being unable to do so, but this will also break that "magic is a mystery" vibe.

 

I think the key dichotomy of this issue is that the player has knowledge the character does not (the game rules), that the character has knowledge the player does not (the rules of the universe, and living in a world where mortals wield such power).  I am sure the characters are entirely unaware of their "level" and why, when they cast their six first level spells, they must only cast more powerful spells.  🙂

 

What is missing here is that neither of them know what the GM (and thus the universe) knows.

 

I was, to my surprise, reaching toward Ars Magica as that, tome us the epitome of magic as science.  But the game tries to provide a core game-comoatibkeway of codifying magic.

 

Before I start, this is only worth the (GM) effort if you want to introduce an element of doubt and uncertainty to magic and that is only worth it if it adds depth and colour to the magic and the world.

 

On 2/18/2024 at 9:39 PM, Chris Goodwin said:

If tides are entirely the whims of Zeboim, then I have no idea what else might be, and just that fact is enough to make me not care.  

 

To me, the question is not whether Chris might gave an idea but whether Belzeboim, his magic-wielding character in the world, knows or can find out. 

 

In Glorantha, everyone is aware, they understand how the world works and they do not pine for a world of bacteria and viruses, nor for a world where metals are inert chemicals with no link to the mythic history of the world. The player can learn the rules of the world but cannot expect their knowledge of this world biology is chemistry to deliver insight into that nautical world, or that the scientific method will reign supreme as it does in this world.  It us a different paradigm.

 

In HERO, this is all bound up, I think, into the (boring) magic roll. The magic roll adds an element of unpredictability but no magic, wonder or setting colour.  I think it would be valuable for the world to introduce variety and colour to magic in the setting. I would make the magic roll a straight 10 or less but not allow people to but bonuses to the roll, that all comes from the cloud of knowledge, skills, and materials available to the wizard.

 

So, players should have knowledge of what characters know (which is what they have been taught).  If the character is from a hedge witch tradition, they will have knowledge such as Plants, Weather, Animals, the Winds etc., and may have charms, potions and fetishes that enhance their magic.  If the character is from a wizardly tradition, then they will have knowledge such as Thaumaturgy, Evocation,  Illusion etc., and may have a staff, symbols and scrolls that will enhance their magic.

 

The Fantasy Hero source book delivers a lot of the detail on which this stuff could hang. The question us how it might work in game.  Would a hedge witch trying to cast an "unseen" charm in a field have the same chance as a wizard casting an "invisibility" spell in the same field?  That is where the GM knowledge comes in. 

 

The environment is an "unknown" to the player.  That unknown is what introduces variability, the difficulties the player will not know of (and character might be able to find out).  As such, I think there will be two approaches, prepared and unprepared. 

 

In a prepared situation each spellcaster might use various skills to understand the environment, or it may be the home territory of the caster and thus "known".  That may counter some or all of the difficulties. The player might also proffer a skill and item that will deliver a bonus to the roll.

 

In an unprepared situation only skill and item will help.

 

The GM should have a range of environmental issues such as "wild magic area", "local nature spirits", "on a ley-line" and a variety of other things that have a variety of +/-2 modifiers.   It is subjective rather than objective.  The GM sees the hedge witch, in an area known to them, and decide that the "local nature spirits" are friendly and provide a +2 to their magic roll.  The GM might decide the same spirits deliver a -2 to the wizard, or perhaps are neutral to the wizard casting invisibility but might be unfriendly to them changing the environment.

 

This should be a discussion with the players, the casters will be aware of positive or negative influences.  These should not be subject to rolls at the time of casting.  However, the player might seek to better prepare for magic by getting to know their environment ahead of casting (meaning more opportunity for either role play with active environment such as nature spirits or lore exploration with passive environment such as ley-lines or wild magic areas). Such preparation can turn neutral or negative elements into positive ones (and may entail rolls to "persuade" or "understand" the elements).

 

This also means it is much more dangerous taking on a spellcaster on their own ground, all the environmental elements will be positive for the home-caster and likely, at best, neutral to other casters (unless they are of a similar tradition and know the location).

 

I would also be open to a system where the magic roll delivers boons or complications.  I think that every six rolled in a successful cast delivers a boon to the caster while every one rolled in an unsuccessful cast causes a complication. These things do not change the spell but deliver additional benefits or complications to the caster, such as gaining a positive relationship with the nature spirits or understanding of the magical ambience of ancient ruins.

 

I think this begins drawing the players into the setting by giving them game-relevant reasons to do that.  It also means that casting lightning bolt on the site of an ancient battlefield might be more unreliable than wgen cast in defence of a prepared campsite.

 

All-in-all, I think this would begin to make magic more magical, as the unknowns of the environment have the potential to make things more unreliable, while the boons and complications blur the edges of success and failure.

 

Doc

 

Edit: I will cross post this in the Fantasy HERO forum where it probably belongs...

Edited April 3 by Doc Democracy

[Ragitsu]

[tkdguy]

From MMO to TTRPG: This quest is available during the Spring Festival:

 

 

Amd it just so happens that the giant shrew has been included since the early editions of D&D

 

OSE Version

 

d20 Version

 

Maybe I'll recreate this quest in my next game set in Middle-earth. BTW I really suck at this quest, so I avoid it like the plague.

[tkdguy]

 

[Ragitsu]

Spoiler

 

Every so often, Lady Luck favors us with a smile (oftentimes a modest display, at best, yet still worth cherishing); I was fortunate enough to chance upon this piece of tabletop gaming history. A similar specimen turned up on the electronic bay, oh...a little under two years ago. Nowadays, even (original) 2e products are increasingly beyond the reach of casual collectors thanks to exorbitant premiums; if you have had your eye on something, carpe diem before you find yourself busting out your third kidney.

 

Speaking of which, has anyone here ever played in or ran campaigns wholly focused on ruins far removed from civilization? Alternatively, a campaign that wasn't entirely confined to exploring the remnants of a lost age, but which still involved a substantial chunk (say, forty percent or greater of the total duration) of discovery throughout long abandoned ancient structures also counts. The idea is to keep player characters away from a fortified base of support while simultaneously denying them easy resupplying of provisions. NPCs willing to engage in civilized discourse - or perhaps trade - are few and far between; friendly personalities are in the minority, while the majority is decidedly neutral in disposition (naturally, vipers lurk in their midst).

 

P.S. Recommendations for relevant modules are welcome!

[Ragitsu]

On 4/5/2024 at 11:35 PM, tkdguy said:

From MMO to TTRPG: This quest is available during the Spring Festival:

 

 

Amd it just so happens that the giant shrew has been included since the early editions of D&D

 

OSE Version

 

d20 Version

 

Maybe I'll recreate this quest in my next game set in Middle-earth. BTW I really suck at this quest, so I avoid it like the plague.

 

My, how times have changed; back in the day, we were content with taming the lot.

[tkdguy]

13 hours ago, Ragitsu said:

 

My, how times have changed; back in the day, we were content with taming the lot.

 

I playtested this scenario the other day. I had to change a few things to make it viable. The shrews were all 1 hit point creatures, but they automatically got initiative in round 1 and got +1 to initiative rolls after that, as per Basic D&D rules. A successful hit by a shrew prompted a save vs death by the target, where failure meant the target lost his/her attack that round (instead of running away in fear). No gigantic shrew as per the MMO, but that's in the works. The victory condition was that the first to get 10 kills won the contest (50 extra xp); I think I'll allow 20 rounds and everyone who gets 10 kills succeeds in the quest. But the first one who completes it still gets a bonus. Shoes will give 1d4+2 damage. Boots for the biggest shrew get 2d4. Strength modifiers apply.

[tkdguy]

I'm surprised this hasn't been used more often in games. I've played this way, and so have a bunch of GMs I played with.

 

 

 

Edited April 10 by tkdguy

[Cygnia]

[tkdguy]