Campaigns

Random Domain Events for Blood and Treasure

/ jstater / 2 Comments

Writing up a couple sections of Blood & Treasure today. Came up with this table of events for high level characters ruling a domain.

Each month, the Referee should roll 1d6, a roll of 1 indicating that some random event has occurred. Determine the event on the table below by rolling d%:

ROLL EVENT
1-10 Arrival of a yeoman family looking for 20 acres to farm.
11-18 Departure of a yeoman family.
19-24 Arrival of a professional and his family looking for work.
25-30 Departure of a professional and his family.
31-36 Arrival of a mid-level (1d4+3) character wishing to pledge his loyalty to the lord or lady in exchange for 40 acres of land.
35-40 Departure of a vassal and his family.
41-46 Arrival of 3d6 pilgrims looking for succor. Roll their alignment on 1d6 (1-2 = Lawful, 3-5 = Neutral, 6 = Chaotic). They expect one night of hospitality from the lord.
47-49 Arrival of a tribe of humanoids looking for plunder and war. Use humanoids common to the area.
50-54 Arrival of human or demi-human lord and 2d6 followers looking for hospitality. The lord brings a valuable gift and expects to stay for 1d4 weeks.
55-57 Arrival of human army looking for conquest. The army should be powerful enough to challenge the lord or lady’s army.
58-60 Arrival of demi-human army looking to rid their land of the lord and his followers. The army should be powerful enough to challenge the lord or lady’s army.
61-63 Arrival of undead plague in village. Roll 1d10: 1-3 = Ghoul, 4-6 = Wight, 7-8 = Wraith, 9 = Spectre, 10 = Vampire.
64-66 Arrival of powerful monster in wilderness. The monster should represent a strong encounter (see Monsters below) for the lord or lady of the domain and his or her most powerful followers.
67 Ill weather ruins crops. No agricultural rents will be collected this year and food must be imported to keep people alive. If food is not imported, all yeomen and professionals leave and all serfs attempt to escape. Vassals have a 30% chance of leaving their lord or lady’s service. There is a good chance that the ill weather was caused by a monster or rival spellcaster
68-69 Arrival of king’s herald, demanding the lord and his knights go off to war.
70-74 Arrival of diplomat from neighboring fief offering alliance through marriage or demanding satisfaction for some real or imagined slight. 50-50 chance of either.
75 Earthquake damages castle. There is a good chance it was caused by a subterranean monster or rival spellcaster.
76 Comet sighted! The lord will suffer bad fortune for remainder of the year until a pilgrimage is undertaken to the nearest temple or sacred site and a sacrifice worth at least 1,000 gp per level of the lord or lady is made.
77 A member of the lord or lady’s family or retinue dies suddenly and mysteriously. There is a good chance it was caused by a monster or rival spellcaster.
78-80 A mine is discovered on the periphery of the lord’s holdings. Roll 1d20 to determine the product of the mine: 1-12 = base metal, 13-14 = copper, 15 = silver, 16 = gold, 17 = platinum, 18 = fancy stones, 19 = gems, 20 = jewels. There is a 50% chance it was discovered by the lord’s agents. Otherwise, it was discovered by prospectors who work it in secret.
81-85 Bandits plague the fief, hiding in the wilderness.
86 Pregnancy in the lord or lady’s family (ignore if circumstances do not lend themselves to such an event).
87-91 Arrival of traders who wish to set up a market. The traders bring with them exotic goods and useful news of the world.
92-96 Arrival of entertainers who wish to put on a show. There is a 1 in 6 chance they are not what they seem to be.
97 An inhabitant of the fief receives a mysterious vision.
98 There is an assassination attempt of the lord or one of the members of his family or retinue. The assassin has a level equal to to their target.
99 The lord or a member of his family or retinue is cursed by a high level spellcaster or monster.
100 A valuable item is stolen or a member of the lord’s family or retinue is kidnapped by a high level rival or monster

I tried to make sure that many of them are really just adventure hooks in disguise.

Party On Dude (Random Party Events)

/ jstater
Painting by Frans Hals, 1623

Your adventures have been invited to a party – maybe its a halfling wedding, maybe a swank soiree with the aristocratic set or an intimate dinner party being thrown by a merchant prince you’d like very much to rob.

This is one of those tricky things to run in an RPG – there are just so many moving parts! So, why not a random table?

Roll once per hour per adventurer (or more often if you’d like), with an “event” happening on a roll of 1 on 1d4 during the first hour of the party, 2 in 4 during the second hour, 3 in 4 during the third hour, etc. Roll the event with a d20. Any event that doesn’t make sense for the particular circumstances of your party can be re-rolled.

ROLL d20
1. Insult the member of a chaotic cult / 1 in 6 chance it is an anti-cleric, who will curse you; otherwise a lay member who will report you to his superiors

2. Start a small fire / gain a permanent -1 reaction bonus with people at the party and others in their circles

3. While snooping around, walk in on three burglars stealing jewels (or some other valuable) from the host

4. Walk in on the host or their significant others in flagrante dilecto with someone else

5. Uncover a plot of murder against a high noble or official – or maybe it’s just in your imagination

6. Horrify some folks with your stories of past adventures / gain a permanent -1 reaction bonus with people at the party and others in their circles

7. Impress some folks with your stories of past adventures / gain a permanent +1 reaction bonus with people at the party and others in their circles

8. Learn a valuable rumor while conversing with other party guests

9. Drink a bit too much / make a saving throw or become drunk and (1-2) make a scene – perhaps dancing on a table or removing too much clothing – and be escorted into the street, (3-4) pick a fight with an NPC with class levels, (5) wander outside and disappear for the night or (6) get sick in a potted plant. Either way, you gain a permanent -1 reaction bonus with people at the party and others in their circles

10. Spill a drink on (1) the host or hostess, make a Charisma check to avoid being sent away in shame, (2-3) the largest, most violent person at the party, make a Charisma check to avoid a fight, (4-5) a seemingly mild-mannered man or woman who can make your life a misery, (6) your soul mate!

11. Make an important contact with a (1) friendly cleric, (2-3) wealthy merchant, (4) friendly magic-user (50% chance they are not what they seem), (5) petty noble or government official, (6) member of the local thieves’ guild. There is a 1 in 10 chance the person is actually a doppelganger trying to infiltrate your party or a vampire on the hunt for prey.

12. Make eyes at an attractive partygoer / 50% chance they are unattached; if not, make a Dexterity check to avoid the notice of their significant other (who either (1-3) makes a scene; (4) does nothing but fume or (5-6) has you severely beaten or killed – by themselves if they are capable, or by a gang of minions); if alone, you may approach and make a reaction check to see how they receive you

13. Cornered by a zealot who talks endlessly about subjects you know nothing about / Make a save vs. sleep; if you remain awake, make a Charisma check to extricate yourself from the conversation or this is your result for the next hour as well.

14. Get an impromptu lesson in some area of knowledge from an engaging expert / at some time during play, you can have a one-time bonus to miraculously know an important fact you otherwise would not
15. Quell an argument between two guests / gain a permanent +1 reaction bonus with people at the party and others in their circles

16. Make a terrible faux pas, breaking a sacred taboo of the local culture / gain a permanent -2 reaction bonus with people at the party and others in their circles

17. Accidentally promise yourself in marriage to another guest or to their son, daughter or ward

18. Agree to look into a seemingly innocent (but actually very dangerous) problem of a party guest

19. Stand in the corner nursing a drink and interacting as little as possible / gain a permanent -1 reaction bonus with people at the party and others in their circles

20. Get challenged to a duel at dawn with an excitable party guest / 1 in 6 chance they have twice your levels as a fighter or magic-user; otherwise they are a 0-level loudmouth

Random Idol Generator

/ jstater / 9 Comments

Need a quick and (moderately) interesting idol for that forgotten temple? How about this …

Size (d8)
1. Tiny (1-ft. tall)
2. Small (3-ft. tall)
3-6. Medium (6 to 9 ft. tall)
7. Large (12 to 15 ft. tall)
8. Huge (20+ ft. tall)

Gender (d6)
1-2. Male
3-4. Female
5. Androgynous
6. Genderless

Head/Face (2d8)
2. Animal head
3. Ball of darkness
4. Ball of light
5. Beautiful
6. Bulbous (over-large)
7. Double faced (per Janus) or multi-headed (1d8+1 heads)
8. Grotesque
9. Handsome
10. Inverse pyramid
11. Long and narrow
12. Monstrous (angel, demon, dragon, medusa, etc.)
13. None (either chopped off (50% chance holding own head in hand) or never there)
14. Pinhead
15. Square
16. Wrinkled/aged

Eyes (2d8)
2. Blazing
3. Blindfolded
4. Cast light in beams
5. Closed
6. Cold and appraising
7. Faceted like an insect
8. Gems (1d6 x 100 gp each)
9. Gouged out
10. Jewels (1d6 x 1,000 gp each)
11. Joyful
12. Large and soft
13. Mournful
14. Multiple (d6)
1-3. Third eye in center of forehead
4-5. Four eyes (stacked)
6. Nine eyes radiating around head
15. Suspicious
16. Voids

Mouth (2d8)
2. Absent (i.e. no mouth)
3. Alluring
4. Beak or snout
5. Contorted with rage
6. Fanged
7. Grimace of pain
8. Muffled (hand clamped over it or bound by cloth)
9. Open wide in full-throated song or scream
10. Shy grin
11. Slit
12. Sly smile
13. Stoic and noble
14. Tongue sticking out
15. Toothless
16. Tusked

Position/Body (d12)
1. Animal (random animal or monster)
2. Dancing
3. Dying or sleeping
4. Enthroned
5. Hovering horizontally (face up or face down)
6. Kneeling
7. Locked in battle (with random monster)
8. Lotus position
9. Reclining
10. Running
11. Standing
12. Upon a mount (random animal or monster)

Features (d100)
01-02. Adorned with jewelry
03-05. Adorned with silks
06-07. Animated (per closest golem)
08-10. Beneath a waterfall
11-12. Carrying book or tome (1% chance of magic book, 10% chance of spellbook)
13-14. Carrying globe (1% chance of crystal ball)
15-17. Carrying instrument
18-19. Carrying lightning bolt (1% chance of javelin of lightning)
20-21. Carrying regalia
22-23. Carrying tool
24-25. Carrying weapon (1% chance of magic weapon)
26-27. Covered in chains or ropes
28-29. Covered in sheen or stains (blood, dung, holy oil, slime, wine)
30-31. Darkness, 10-ft. radius
32-34. Draped in garlands of flowers or herbs
35-36. Encased in ice or crystal
37-38. Energy drain (drains 1d3 levels when touched by wrong alignment)
39-41. Engraved or tattooed (10% chance of glyph of warding)
42-43. Ethereal
44-45. Fires beams of energy at unbelievers (as 10 HD monster, 6d6 damage)
46-48. Furry or hairy
49-51. Hollow (filled with fire, occupied by priest, etc.)
52-53. Long neck
54-55. Magic mouth (chants, screams, speaks)
56-57. Magic portal (opens gate or teleports people or sends them into Astral Plane)
58-60. Multiple arms (1d4 x 3)
61-62. Overgrown with fungus
63-64. Overgrown with vines
65-66. Oversized genitalia
67-69. Painted realistically
70-71. Scaled
72-73. Surrounded by aura of light
74-76. Surrounded by chained animals (lions, bears, etc.)
77-79. Surrounded by chained slaves or penitents
80-81. Surrounded by magic circle (random alignment)
82-83. Surrounded by magical music (1% chance of uncontrollable dancing)
84-85. Surrounded by moat (acid, alligators or piranha, bottomless pit, lava, molten metal, oil, ooze, perfume, portal into other world, spikes, water (holy or unholy), wine or spirits)
86-88. Surrounded by offerings
89-90. Surrounded by plumes of flame
91-92. Surrounded by spirits (ghosts, poltergeists, shadows, etc.)
93-94. Surrounded by vapors (laughing gas, narcotic, oracular, perfume, poison, stench)
95-97. Trapped with pit in front of it
98-99. Wearing armor (1% chance of magic armor)
100. Actual deity summoned when touched or spoken to

Material (d20)
1. Basalt
2. Granite
3. Marble
4. Porcelain/terracotta
5. Alabaster
6. Malachite
7. Porphyry
8. Obsidian
9. Iron/Steel
10. Bronze
11. Hepatizon
12. Brass
13. Copper
14. Silver (if large or huge, re-roll, taking this result if re-rolled)
15. Gold (if medium to huge, re-roll, taking this result if re-rolled)
16. Platinum (if small to huge, re-roll, taking this result if re-rolled)
17. Adamant (if small to huge, re-roll, taking this result if re-rolled)
18. Gemstone (if small to huge, re-roll, taking this result if re-rolled)
19. Light (holographic)
20. Flesh (via foul magic)

Metal idols have a 5% chance of being automatons in the classic sense of the word

How about some samples?

IDOL 1: A huge brass idol of a kneeling, androgynous figure. It’s head is a ball of darkness and it holds aloft a crown.

IDOL 2: A large idol of a genderless figure with a head shaped like an inverse pyramid (i.e. narrow chin, top of head large and flat). It has cold, appraising eyes and its mouth is hidden by its left hand. The figure is mounted atop a rearing dragon and surrounded by plumes of flame. The entire idol is carved from basalt.

IDOL 3: This medium idol depicts a dying man with a grotesque face and a mouth like the snout of a bat. It has large, empathetic eyes and its hands are folded over its chest. The idol is carved from obsidian and is encased in a block of ice.

Now This Is the Seed of a Game …

/ jstater / 4 Comments

Map of San Fran’s Chinatown in 1885. And I mean hardcore Chinatown – tongs and exiled princesses and foolish Occidentals and opium dens and weird dragon cults and foo dogs and all that good stuff. I have to do something with this …

 

Oh – and Emperor Norton. Have to throw in Emperor Norton, just for fun. Maybe it could be a supplement to Action X? Or a board game – like Monopoly but with tongs and kung-fu.

Map from THE BIG MAP BLOG, the internet’s premier source for BIG MAPS! When you’re in the mood for a BIG MAP, think THE BIG MAP BLOG.

Family Feuds

/ jstater / 4 Comments

The other day, I was thinking about fantasy cities and ways to define them. Most of my cities for NOD are done as a small section of the place with interesting personalities to run into, along with a run down on the ruler, high priest or priestess, etc. Just enough to make the place memorable and with a focus on something special that might bring the players hundreds of miles – the finest armorer in the region, a black market for stolen goods, etc.

The idea of a key industry crossed my mind – think of several industries and specialties and generate one specialty in one industry in which a city excels – i.e. if you want the best éclairs, you have to travel to Barnabas, the City of Eclairs. So, Barnabus would have a bunch of master bakers who produce the best éclairs in the universe, and in fact are so skilled they can bake magical effects into their éclairs (i.e. magic potions). Barnabas would have many excellent normal bakers as well, and to support the baking industry would need associated industries like milling, farming, orchards, jelly makers, beet growers, spice merchants, etc. As I played with working this into a system, I realized that it was breaking my #1 rule for NOD – focus on adventuring. This industry stuff was interesting, but how was this forwarding the goal of sending players on adventures? Putting an hour of work into generating some demographics that will never lead to one daring sword fight, swing across a chasm, assassination attempt, kidnapping or plundered treasure horde just doesn’t make sense to me when we’re working at creating an adventure game.

One thing that did come to me, though, was the idea of rival families. You see, when I was thinking about different medieval industries, merchants came to mind. But how does a city specialize in merchants? Well, maybe banking – but every city needs merchants. And then I thought about great merchant families, and the Montagues and Capulets came to mind and I thought – you know what every fantasy city needs – rival families. Three families at least – one the most powerful, the other the bitter rival and the third the up-and-comer playing one off the other. That can lead to adventures, as players get involved with these folks and their endless machinations. With that in mind …

STEP ONE – THE FAMILY

Every family has a head – the man and woman who holds the legal reins. We need to determine how old they are and what they can do. In this case, all of these families are going to be mercantile in nature. All family heads are going to be venturers. Their level depends on their generation: Adult 1d6+1, Mature 1d8+2 and Old 1d10+3.

1-3. Adult (25 to 35 years old)
4-5. Mature (36 to 55 years old)
6. Old (56 + years old)

Now we need to roll 1d6 for the family head’s siblings. Each sibling has a 50/50 chance of being male or female and comes from the same generation as the head of the family. We’ll presume that any older family members are dead, or else they would be in the leadership position.

The siblings are probably nondescript merchant types or venturers, but might be something else. Roll to find out for sure. At the same time, roll a 1d4 to figure out their general personality.

OCCUPATION

1-6. Merchant (0-level)
7-10. Trader (3 HD)
11-13. Venturer
14. Sage
15-16. Artisan
17. Thief or Assassin
18. Magic-User or Illusionist
19. Cleric* or Druid
20. Fighter or Duelist (1% chance of a paladin)

* Clerics worship as follows: 01-70 – Deity of Trade or Wealth; 71-90 – Lawful Deity that might frown on some business practices; 91-100 – Chaotic Deity/Demon/Devil

PERSONALITY
1. Sanguine (impulsive, pleasure-seeking, sociable, emotional, creative, compassionate)
2. Choleric (ambitious, leader-like, aggressive, passionate, energetic, dominating)
3. Melancholy (introverted, thoughtful, pondering, considerate, artistic, perfectionists)
4. Phlegmatic (relaxed and quiet, lazy, content, kind, accepting, affectionate, shy)

For those with class levels, roll them as follows:

Young* – 1d4
Adult – 1d6
Mature – 1d8
Old – 1d10

* For children of adults

75% of males and females are married and have 1d4-1 children. Each siblings mate is (1-4) from the same generation or (5) one generation older or (6) one generation younger. The children are all from one generation younger than the younger partner in the marriage. Roll up the children’s personalities and occupations as well, unless the children are from the generation younger than “Young”, in which case they are too young to have an occupation.

For each person in the family, roll up their Charisma score as well on 3d6.

Adult or older children of the siblings have the same chance as the siblings as being married with children. Young children of the siblings have a 50% chance of being married and have 1d3-1 children.

STEP TWO – ASSETS

Each of these mercantile families has core assets dependent on the number and age of the family members (not including spouses). Each family also has a town house for the head of the family and each sibling, and the necessary servants for each town house (butler/valet, cook, upstairs maid, etc.)

Young – 1d20 x5 gpAdult – 1d20 x 10 gp
Mature – 1d20 x 50 gp
Old – 1d20 x 100 gp

In addition, the family gets 1d4+1 rolls on the following table of special assets.

ASSETS
1. Tied by blood to a noble family – the head of the family is a (1-3) 3rd cousin, (4-5) 2nd cousin or (6) first cousin to a (1-4) baron, (5-6) count or (7) duke or (8) king.
2-3. Tied by marriage to a noble family – replace the head’s spouse or one of the sibling’s spouses with a person of noble blood (as above).
4-9. Owns a caravan of 2d6 wagons or elephants or 4d6 camels to a nearby city
10-15. Owns a merchant galley that travels to a nearby city
16-20. Owns a caravan of 3d6 wagons or elephants or 6d6 camels that travels to a far away city
21-25. Owns a merchant cog that travels to a far away city
26-27. Owns a valuable heirloom that is (1-3) a major piece of jewelry, (4-5) a major gem or (6) a minor magic item
28-30. Owns 2d4 fine horses
31-33. Owns 3d6 fine hounds
34-36. Owns 3d6 fine falcons
37-38. Owns a single magical beast
39-40. Has a hired magic-user (roll 1d4+1 for level); all family members can cast a single non-offensive 1st level magic-user spell per day
41-43. Has a hired assassin (roll 1d4+1 for level); all family members carry vials of mild poison
44-48. Has a hired duelist (roll 1d4+1 for level); all family members +1 to hit and damage with rapiers
49-50. Has a hired gourmand (roll 1d4+1 for level)
51-55. Owns a fine manse in the city (1d6+6 rooms)
56-59. Owns a fine mansion in the city (1d10+10 rooms)
60-62. Owns a fine villa or manor in the country (1d8+8 rooms)
63-66. Owns a fabled wine cellar (total value of 3d10 x 100 gp)
67-70. Owns a fabled art collection (total value of 3d10 x 100 gp)
71-74. Owns a fabled armor and weapon collection (3d6 pieces, all masterwork and legendary)
75-78. Has a seat on the city council
79-80. Has a seat on the king’s privy council
81-83. Has master of the local merchant’s guild
84-85. Has a dark family secret
86-88. 1d4 x 10,000 sp in additional assets
89-90. 1d3 x 1,000 gp in additional assets
91. 1d2 x 100 pp in additional assets
92-95. Has a letter of marquee from the king
96. Suffers under a family curse
97. Enjoys a family blessing (an ancestor was a saint or martyr)
98. Has an infamous (and rumored) torture chamber
99. Has an infamous (and rumored) cabinet of horrors
100. Has an infamous (and rumored) shrine to a demon or devil lord

SAMPLE FAMILY: THE MONTFLEURS

Arnou Montefleur – Sanguine 4th level Venturer, Adult

Arnou has two sisters:

Gallia is a phlegmatic, adult trader (3 HD) married to Merlin, a young merchant. They have three infant sons, Merlin, Arnou and Delmar.

Allyriane is a sanguine, adult duelist (1st level) married to Octave, an adult merchant. They have three young children, Tristan (3 HD trader), Therese (3 HD trader) and Fleurette, a goldsmith.

The families assets are 10,000 sp and 310 gp in cash money, locked away in the family’s town house.

The family also owns a caravan of 5 wagons that travels to a far away city, 8 fine hounds, a merchant galley and, though this is only rumored, a shrine to the devil Mammon in their cellar (it’s really behind a sliding wall in their dining room).

Queen and Kaiser – Some Thoughts

/ jstater / 6 Comments

 

I know – I have lots of projects to work on, but when the muse kisses you on the forehead, you have to put pen to paper or risk forgetting everything. Thus, some notes on Queen and Kaiser.

—

Theme: Full-throated Victorian adventure. All the characters in a group serve a government – their success turns into success for that country in terms of expanding its empire, inventing new devices – etc.

Influences: Jane Austen, Bronte sisters, Lewis Carroll, Thomas Hughes, Rudyard Kipling, Robert Louis Stevenson, Arthur Conan Doyle, H.G. Wells, Jules Verne, H. Rider Haggard, Joseph Conrad, Edgar Allen Poe, Mary Shelly, Charles Dickens, Flashman (of course)

Replace the concept of “race” in most games with class – Low, Middle or High – maybe – might make the rest of the character creation concept too complicated

No classes – characters shaped by random experiences – kind of like Traveller.

Game set circa 1890

Roll experiences based on age of character – different tables for Youth (i.e. school days), 1881-1890, 1871-1880 and 1861-1870. Whatever age range you choose (youth, mature, middle-aged, old), you roll up to three times on a table, declaring the number of rolls before making the rolls.

The basic experiences involves adventures in Victorian England / France / Germany / Russia

One “experience” is called Bend Sinister – this sends you to a different table concerning crime and the underworld, a table one may never escape

One “experience” is called Foreign Service – this sends you to a different table concerning foreign affairs – spying, wars, going native, etc. This table can send you back home to the basic table

One “experience” is called Supernatural – this one goes into Victorian horror and science fiction – one roll, then back to the basic table and no more dips into the supernatural pool – can be ignored if the Referee does not wish to use this material in his or her game

Base the different eras on the literature and historical events of that period

Might restrict the characters in the basic game to English or German, maybe adding different groups in NOD articles – i.e. French, Russian, American, Japanese, Dutch, Ottoman

Characters can be male or female, though experiences might be different

Ability Scores – roll as normal for Target 10

Vigor (strength, fortitude, courage)

Dash (dexterity, quickness, flair for the dramatic)

Study (knowledge, learning, ability to think things through, common sense)

Charm (manners, etiquette, courtship)

You have “hit points” based on your Vigor and “charm points” based on charm, etc. to allow for different forms of combat – Dash can help in all of these things

Hit Point combat is normal fighting

Charm Point combat is about combat in the social sphere- getting the best of a person through being witty, using innuendo, out-talking people – wins people to your side

Skills
Horsemanship (riding tricks, charging, increasing daily movement, polo, steeplechase)

Fencing (swords, axes, spears, walking sticks, knives)

Ballistics (rifle, shotgun, pistol, maxim gun, light cannon)

Fisticuffs (boxing, wrestling)

Archery (bows, crossbows, slings, spears)

High Society (contacts in high society, waltzing, manners, witty conversation, negotiation, waltzing)

Sports (rowing, cricket, football, rugby, darts, billiards, bicycles, croquet, lawn tennis, roller skating)

Command (leading troops, morale checks, military contacts)

Climbing & Leaping (acrobatics, scaling walls and cliffs, leaping over chasms, balancing)

Decipher Scripts (decoding codes, reading ancient tongues)

Detection (finding clues, noticing things, sensing motivations)
Skullduggery (sneaking, cheating, lying, picking pockets, forgery, underworld contacts)

Occultism (uncovering frauds, divining the future, hypnotism, sixth sense)

Prestidigitation (escaping bonds, card tricks, sleight of hand, use of magical props)

Physician (first aid, more complex operations, etc)

Soldier (marching, camp life, cooking, resisting fear under fire)

Scholarship (basic knowledge from university life)

Invention (working with electricity, magnetism and chemicals)

Engineering (working with mechanical objects, building and repairing, clockworks)

Native (local customs and mores, finding one’s way, survival in the environment, native contacts)

Domesticity (managing books, managing servants, cooking, cleaning, first aid, contacts in the shops, commanding others)

Woodcraft (tracking, stalking, knowledge about flora and fauna, survival in home environment)

Husbandry (controlling animals, training animals, taming wild animals)

Seamanship (sea legs, climbing, swimming, gunnery, navigation)

Advance through skills as follows:
– Start at Acquainted (+1)
– Then move to Practiced (+3)
– Then Expertise (+6)
– Finally Mastery (+12)

At expertise, you may take one element of that skill set and advance it to specialization +9 (i.e. with expertise in soldiery you could become a specialist at resisting fear)

At mastery, your previous specialized skill becomes legendary (+15)

Foreign adventures and schooling tutor people in languages. For languages, it goes:
– Smattering (+1) – brief commands and a few words
– Conversational (+3) – can speak with others with no problem
– Literacy (+6) – can read and write in the language
– Fluency (+12) – can write well, have a knowledge of their history and lore and count as having a smattering of all related languages, including ancient dialects

The skills give variable incomes for expertise and mastery, based on the perceived value of the profession – this can be used to procure supplies for expeditions.

Each of the episodes in a life has a dark side as well, requiring one to make an ability check (DC 5, usually) or succumb to an injury, phobia, or some other flaw. The final character may be skilled, but will have some baggage he’s pulling around. Hopefully this makes the character breath and live in the mind of his player!

How about a war wound table?

– Lost limbs – major reduction of movement or dexterity
– Lost eye
– Wounded limbs – reduce movement or dexterity and such
– Permanent hit point loss (no more than 1) – minor wound and scar
– Dengue fever – yellow fever – malaria – reduced Vigor

Expeditions

The game concerns the adventurers being sent on expeditions by the Queen / Kaiser / Czar, etc.

Guides for different adventurers, but always focused on accomplishing a goal (first person to climb a mountain, discovering a lost city, recovering a stolen item, stealing an item, securing a fort, mapping a river, forging diplomatic ties with an aboriginal king or influential noblewoman, etc.)

There would also be a map of the colonial possessions of the empires of the period, and tables for how the world situation changes as adventurers succeed or fail at different tasks. There could always be the threat of a Great War, and the changing political climate could itself spur new expeditions (i.e. “After losing their hold on Rhodesia to the Germans, the Queen’s government has decided they need to obtain the plans for the latest German cruiser which is now stationed off the coast of Tanganyika.)

Foes
Drawn from the archetypes of Victorian fiction, but also from the Gothic romances and horrors, etc. Lions, tigers and bears, of course. Wells’ Martians, maybe.

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First two images from Wikipedia


Strongman from the aptly named Olde Strong Men blog. No, I wouldn’t have ever known it existed if I hadn’t searched Google.

Waltz image from the Victorian Web.

Too Many Ideas …

/ jstater / 2 Comments

Queen & Kaiser

Role playing in the late colonial period. Semi-Victorian gaming – gentleman of fortune, soldiers, daredevils, naturalists, native scouts, jungle guys and gals, etc. – but the game incorporates the competition between the Great Powers, such that the victories and defeats of the PC’s translate into victories and defeats by their patron power. You’d have to incorporate competitions of manners, honor, exploration, etc. Inspired as more by the satirical cartoons of the period and adventure fiction than realty. Maybe add some steampunk and occult rules for folks who want that, but otherwise keep it plausible rather than fantastic.

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Image from wikipedia.

Handy Dandy Mini-Dungeon Chamber Generator

/ jstater / 3 Comments

I’m finishing up the first chunk of my Hell hex crawl now, and that means mini-dungeons. I save most of them for last and have about four or five more to go [dude, just counted – there are 13 of them – how appropriate]. To that end, I scribbled down some ideas for generating chambers that I thought others might find useful.’

Contents
1. Empty
2. Trap
3. Monster
4. Monster with treasure
5. Trap with treasure
6. Monster, trap and treasure

Since this is for mini-dungeons, I want fewer empty rooms so I get more bang for the buck. If you’re only dealing with six or seven rooms, making three or four of the empty doesn’t work for me.

Shape
1-3. Square or rectangular
4. Circle
5. Other shape (pentagon, hexagon, octagon)
6. Cross or L-shape

Levels
1-4. One level (i.e. normal, flat room)
5-6. Multi-level – levels connected by
1. Ramps
2. Stairs
3. Balconies (i.e. no connection)
4. Beams (i.e. no connection)
5. Pit (i.e. no connection)
6. Ropes or chains
7. Magic (levitation discs, air currents, teleporters)
8. Roll twice, maybe adding a third level to the room

Monster Is …
1. Alone (CR = party level +3)
2. Duo (CR = party level +2)
3. Trio (CR = party level +1)
4-5. Mob (CR = party level)
6. Monster and mob (CR for monster = party level, CR for mob = party level -1)

Exits
1. No additional exit – dead end
2-3. One exit
4-5. Two exits
6. Three exits

Special Room
1. Fire / ash / smoke / torches / fire pits / burning walls / obsidian / red
2. Water / sludge / fountains / pools / well / reservoir / damp / rain / geysers / blue
3. Ice / freezing / snow / cold winds / white
4. Gas / sleeping / poison / acidic / fog / clouds / yellow / green
5. Light / multi-colored / bright / dark / twilight / candles / lamps / witch lights
6. Crystal / reflections / mirrors / glass / gem encrusted / facets / vibrations
7. Bone / blood / flesh / mold / rot / unholy / quivering / breathing / secretions / heaving
8. Noise / screaming / breathing / moaning / sighing / music / song / chanting
9-20. Nothing special

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Image by Joseph Gandy

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Addendum – Just got this from Lulu.com. My shop link is up in the corner. You know what to do, if you have a mind to.

 

Handy Dandy Mystery Men Subterranean World Generator!

/ jstater / 3 Comments

Check every 50 yards (i.e. Speed 1). Roll 1d6. On a 1-2 roll on the chart below.

What Does the Cavern/Tunnel Feature?

What Creature Is Encountered?

How many? Divide the total XP value of the heroes (100 XP per level + 10% XP value of powers) by the XP value of the monster. This number is the max roll on a dice. In other words, if the value is 5, then there are 1d5 monsters (or 1d10 divided by 2). For a really challenging encounter, double the number of monsters rolled on the dice.

And for an example …

Invasion America!

/ jstater / 2 Comments

I came across this article recently positing an invasion of the United States by the Nazis during World War II. It immediately brought to mind two games from my wargaming past – RISK and Axis & Allies (and Invasion America, though I never actually played that one). I got RISK as a kid and immediately fell in love with it – one of those “I didn’t know something like this even existed!” moments.

I was big into militaria and WW2 as a kid – watching Victory at Sea on Sunday mornings on the local TV station (KVVU, Channel 5) and playing war with other kids in the neigborhood. I remember my first game was played against a friend in the neighborhood and my dad. I played the blue army, naturally, and my father the red army. When he finally beat me, I felt like I’d failed the USA and let the Soviets conquer the world – what a lousy feeling. Fortunately, he gave me some pointers – mostly on not spreading myself thin and attacking at all costs – and I improved quite a bit at RISK. I now move at a snails pace, building up so much depth that attacks crash against me like waves on a shore. The last time I played was a few years ago, with my daughter. The first game I played with her she couldn’t roll a bad dice and she won. She decided RISK was a great game. The next two went to me and she decided she was going to take a break from RISK for a while. C’est la vie.

I was introduced to Axis & Allies (one of the greatest game covers ever, by the way) by some guys I worked with at a video store (VIDEO PARK – World’s Largest Video Store). They also introduced me to SUPREMACY. Fun stuff. I learned the hard way that Axis & Allies is designed to replicate the strategies used in WW2 – almost like wargame railroading. You wander too far off the reservation, and things can get tough. I can still remember a good friend of mine and I were going to be playing the Axis in a game and we spent the entire day at work plotting our strategy. We seized on the idea of Germany building an aircraft carrier and threatening the USA with its fighters – the Allies would never expect it – we would be unstoppable. Unfortunately, we were playing with a guy who didn’t think in terms of military strategy, but rather game strategy – and he also had a knack for rolling dice. Germany built its ill-conceived carrier and, like the real carrier built by the Germans, it took forever, was finally stuck in port, and then unceremoniously sunk when the Allies came across the Channel. Still – good times, and very instructive about the importance of understanding the logic of the game rules over the logic of the “real world”, even in terms of old school, rules-lite games.