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Post by Scott Anderson on Feb 18, 2015 2:06:33 GMT -6
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Post by Scott Anderson on Feb 18, 2015 2:04:44 GMT -6
WRITER WANTED...
I cannot stand writing monster listings. Dunno why. It's been holding up production for about a week now; but I actually started monsters maybe two months ago.
I don't have much else to write for the first draft of the referee's companion. It's just about done. But the d**n monster stat blocks are holding me back.
I'm willing to offer co-author credit and two points (if it ever generates any revenue) to anyone who will write the monsters from F-Z alphabetically. A-E are done, save the demons.
The format is set; the descriptions are meant to be really short. I just don't want to write them up!
PM me here or on DF if you like writing monster entries.
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Post by Scott Anderson on Feb 18, 2015 0:01:44 GMT -6
Note to self: assign treasure types to NPC types and list them in the Ref Companion for Treasure Hunters.
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Post by Scott Anderson on Feb 17, 2015 10:12:37 GMT -6
Matt gave Chris written permission to make comparisons and contrasts over on Dragonsfoot. So, now we can talk about it.
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Post by Scott Anderson on Feb 16, 2015 19:26:38 GMT -6
I took a close look at IF at the stage it's in. It looks really solid. More the merrier I say.
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Post by Scott Anderson on Feb 16, 2015 13:32:57 GMT -6
Throw 2d6 for each kind of treasure and each kind of item. If the number thrown is less than or equal to their level, they have that kind of item. Then generate the item normally. Money is ten times their level in that type of coin. Time consuming. Probably want to generate one of each level prior to table time. But fair.
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Post by Scott Anderson on Feb 16, 2015 13:27:12 GMT -6
I treat magic spells as strange living energy creatures. this provides me with the fluff to explain "why" the several weird inconsistencies with magic- the spells themselves have an opinion, and it must be honored to make magic go.
So Dweomers (the name of the class of creatures which constitute spells) are unsympathetic to worked iron. They don't like to be around it for long. It's insulting to them that a wizard would carry it around and also ask them to do their spell stuff.
Meteoric iron or Mithral or other metals are okay. Why? Who knows! They don't talk.
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Post by Scott Anderson on Feb 15, 2015 18:44:04 GMT -6
Ive edited the OP to reflect a stable link for the newest versions.
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Post by Scott Anderson on Feb 15, 2015 15:52:59 GMT -6
Letting them wear armor, especially if you use encumbrance and sneaking rules, is a wash. Let them do it.
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Post by Scott Anderson on Feb 14, 2015 14:39:48 GMT -6
Treasure Hunters started as a what-if exercise: what if OD&D was written using only six-sided dice? That seemed easy enough. And for a lot of the technical stuff, it is pretty easy. There are some differences- armor class and to-hit numbers vary a little. However as I went along, I found a number of things I wanted to bring in from Holmes, B/X, BECM and even some elements of modern retro-clones. When we play "D&D" at my house with my son, my wife, and my daughter we use the Treasure Hunters rules. It works fine for us, but lately I have wondered how it would work at other tables where "dad" isn't there to issue rulings. It's not a finished game; most notably, the monster stats are only about 1/3 done. Certainly there are many parts which are unclear, contradictory, or that could use some adjustment. Right now, my goal is to be able to release a very small run of boxed sets before Christmas with original art, with two booklets and dice. I would probably self-finance the initial run but kickstarter is a possibility too. Before that happens i need to get some play testers to tear it apart and find what's wrong with it. Rather than update this thread as we go, I will direct your attention to the stable home of the PDFs for both the player's rules book and the referee's companion: treasurehuntersrpg.blogspot.com/?m=1
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Post by Scott Anderson on Feb 14, 2015 11:05:20 GMT -6
Reproducing this table using only six-siders was fun.
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Post by Scott Anderson on Feb 14, 2015 10:57:11 GMT -6
Wow, thanks for the linkie love. Presently, I will put up links to get the newest revisions. Maybe I should put up a thread here for it.
Edit: current versions are up as of 2/14/15
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Post by Scott Anderson on Feb 14, 2015 0:17:00 GMT -6
I find most of the retro-clones amusing, because they always include a "what is role-playing?" section, as if 99% of their readers weren't crusty, middle-aged gamers. It's not a proper retroclone without that kind of introduction. Or without a ™ behind the name. Is that true? Crap. I don't have anything about what role playing is in my game. There's three short sentences about how to play, so maybe that counts.
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Post by Scott Anderson on Feb 12, 2015 9:32:45 GMT -6
You're right, derv. I remember hearing Harlan Ellison say that there are three things that everyone thinks he's good at: driving, having sex, and writing. I for one have no opinion on whether or not Harlan Ellison is any good at having sex.
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Post by Scott Anderson on Feb 9, 2015 18:01:39 GMT -6
Nobody can force you to work for a price you don't agree to. Nobody can force you to sell something for a price below that which you are willing to sell it. Please consider these statements carefully.
You want work? Go dig me a subway! This RPG stuff we do for love. There ain't any free lunches.
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Post by Scott Anderson on Feb 9, 2015 15:50:51 GMT -6
The dungeons, maps and floor plans made for the DL modules are awesome as-is or to mine for ideas.
The idea that your players have to basically pantomime through stories already written, which is ubiquitous in the modules, is an atrocity.
Definitely pick all these up. And don't read them straight through. Just use the bits and pieces.
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Post by Scott Anderson on Feb 9, 2015 0:28:39 GMT -6
Exalt, ways
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Post by Scott Anderson on Feb 8, 2015 21:08:24 GMT -6
I agree with Perilous about copyright law. It's too bad that the party with the best lobbyist gets to write law. On the other hand, people ought to be able to sell anything that's otherwise legal to anyone old enough to enter into a business agreement.
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Post by Scott Anderson on Feb 8, 2015 14:32:14 GMT -6
Per word payment does seem a little weird.
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Post by Scott Anderson on Feb 8, 2015 13:04:15 GMT -6
Or, one might cap levels at 16 (or 14 or whatever). Not XP- you can keep adventurin forever- but just say there's a cap on the potential for greater prowess.
Character classes (not to mention races, which is already cooked into the system) don't necessarily need to have the same level caps, either. Maybe there are only 16 levels to fighter but 26 levels to MU. It's not completely absurd to think of.
In Treasure Hunters, most classes have 14 levels. Druids have 13, and Monks have 17. Why? Because it's easier to master the Druid class than normal and much harder to master the Monk class than normal. Hedge Wizards only go up to 11.
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Post by Scott Anderson on Feb 8, 2015 12:06:19 GMT -6
Build a better mousetrap...
Zak S has (he says) paid his rent in downtown LA for months on his initial Red & Pleasant Land print run with no signs of letting up.
You get paid what you're worth, more or less. Aside from the very tip-top producers in the arts, nobody makes a living at it.
If you want to make a living, go work on an oil rig.
This is harsh & snarky I know. But, we do what do because we love it, and if the paycheck comes, all the better.
Furthermore, I can't pay text book prices for RPG books. That's what would happen if writers were paid good living wages.
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Post by Scott Anderson on Feb 6, 2015 20:18:07 GMT -6
Based on what I've read of Dave Arneson seems reasonable that Dave spoke the way he wrote. But did Gary speak the way he wrote?
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Post by Scott Anderson on Feb 6, 2015 16:59:57 GMT -6
Aha! In comes bounded accuracy to FUBAR your silly 60th level demigods!
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Post by Scott Anderson on Feb 6, 2015 6:09:10 GMT -6
There are a BOATLOAD of things that I'd look at the Loyalty score and ignore Morale. Are any of your hirelings/henchmen cheating you? Cook overinflating the price of food, seneschal skimming from taxes, etc etc etc. Those things would be hugely influenced by Loyalty but they have buggerall to do with Morale. That's a whole new way of looking at it for me. Thank you. So, can we say that morale is specifically for combat and other life or death situations, and that loyalty is for general outlook and non-combat situations? What kinds of modifiers would loyalty get? If morale had modifiers, certainly these are a subset of loyalty modifiers. Or more precisely, the Venn diagram overlaps to some degree. When I was working out domain management rules, I was strongly influenced by ACKs. I put together a table of "domain morale" modifiers which largely (but not entirely- some random chance involved) determine whether things are going poorly or going well in the domain from month to month. A number of these modifiers would seem to apply directly to henchmen's loyalty. At the macro level of domain play, its pretty abstract, but some of the same conditions should apply to this (new to me) concept of loyalty.
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Morale
Feb 4, 2015 7:43:38 GMT -6
via mobile
Post by Scott Anderson on Feb 4, 2015 7:43:38 GMT -6
I'm still thinking about whether to use separate morale and loyalty mechanics or whether to combine them. They're very similar in most ways. A failed morale score results in essentially the same thing as a failed loyalty score, but the loyalty score seems to imply that there are additional times where it would trigger- "deserts at first opportunity" &c.
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Post by Scott Anderson on Feb 3, 2015 16:53:01 GMT -6
The 2-12 table, in its many incarnations, is pure genius. Possibly the best single game mechanic in the game or in any other.
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Post by Scott Anderson on Feb 3, 2015 1:03:49 GMT -6
One thing that I forget, both as DM and player, is that even a level 1 fighting man is pretty accomplished.
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Post by Scott Anderson on Feb 1, 2015 12:32:07 GMT -6
I did a similar chargen thing for Treasure Hunters as an alternative to straight chargen. It's an option in the referee's companion. All OD&D backgrounds instead of generic itinerant adventurer stuff.
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Post by Scott Anderson on Jan 31, 2015 20:32:18 GMT -6
I just forgot my /sarc tag
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Post by Scott Anderson on Jan 31, 2015 20:28:08 GMT -6
The setting we use is one of scarce iron in the region, coupled with fairly constant border skirmishes punctuated by larger campaigns. Small quantity supplied and high quantity demanded. Even if armor makers are available (they are- it's a good business to be in in this realm), they pay a high price for the raw steel. Therefore, plate is priced at the equivalent of 4,000 gp, and other armors scaled up in price considerably as well. Not out of the realm of possibility for a 3rd level fighter. Everyone, even wizards, get a free kit of leather to begin, and a very few PCs randomly get chain or plate as a legacy gift from their family or patron.
It also means humanoids and monstrous humanoids are also wearing chain at best, and usually leather.
Upon reading what everyone has to say here, it seems 4,000 is high, maybe by a factor of 10. I shall have to have a vein of good iron be opened up in the coming weeks or months, bringing the prices back down. It shouldn't affect NPCs armor all that much but maybe level 1-2 fighters will be able to afford for a suit to be made.
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