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Post by Scott Anderson on Oct 29, 2019 12:02:26 GMT -6
Like tetramorph said. There are 78 wizard spells that are known to exist (but no one wizard would know how to cast them all.) I give the players no hint there may be more than that. But then when they find scrolls some of the known spells will be there plus maybe some unknown ones from a different list I keep with another 102 spells on it, so that’s fun and exciting. (13 spells per level x 6 levels = 78; 17 new spells x 6 levels = 102) Players can have their wizard research spells but I can’t remember if anyone ever has.
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Post by Scott Anderson on Oct 29, 2019 11:54:40 GMT -6
It helps me to make a list of each step in a
Combat round Exploration turn Wilderness day Down time period (this one will be up to you to think up.)
Literally a little list. Point by point.
Then post it on the inside of your dm screen or in another very handy place and run through the steps one by one.
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Post by Scott Anderson on Oct 24, 2019 9:56:00 GMT -6
Shouldn’t it vary by campaign? It’s not like you’re giving them out as a reward for hitting level X; they have to go make it happen.
In our last campaign, my fighter and another fellow’s fighter began to scheme about taking over the castle we adventured in at level 1. It never ended up happening because other things came up, but the point is we didn’t wait til level X to start thinking about it.
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Post by Scott Anderson on Oct 19, 2019 23:12:50 GMT -6
S4
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Post by Scott Anderson on Oct 19, 2019 10:55:20 GMT -6
It sounds like a marvelous campaign idea. I also like the lower XP thresholds for fighters. If you look at abilities vs XP, you might actually want to switch clerics and fighters.
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Post by Scott Anderson on Oct 13, 2019 16:46:21 GMT -6
I got mine Oct 12 but no one told me until Oct 13!
It’s as good or better than advertised. Can’t wait to bust it out. Don’t know when, don’t know where, but it’ll happen at some point.
Thank you Geoffrey!
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Post by Scott Anderson on Oct 3, 2019 14:04:34 GMT -6
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Post by Scott Anderson on Sept 29, 2019 19:13:30 GMT -6
“Need” is a strong word. Try a unitary spell list out in your next campaign I guess.
Here: maybe you can turn cleric spells into rituals that take time to perform but any lawful guy with a ritual book can do them?
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Post by Scott Anderson on Sept 20, 2019 6:42:20 GMT -6
This question, and the related questions around how infravision works, always bothered me. So I just got rid of elves and dwarves. : Elfs and Dwarfs are archetypes as well as races. Orcs and Hobbits too. People are not. People are diverse. It’s perfectly OK to get rid of fantasy races as PCs in theory - but I think players would miss them. I often wish to get rid of them.
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Post by Scott Anderson on Sept 20, 2019 6:37:22 GMT -6
In terrible at making up dungeons. But Donjon makes them up for you. So maybe that’s how to do it - bring an iPad and put the computer generated dungeon in the next hex.
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Post by Scott Anderson on Sept 19, 2019 19:32:06 GMT -6
Fearghus is on to it: a 3 is not the minimum human ability but rather the minimum requirement to be an adventurous type. Wisdom of 3 is not foolish. An int of 3 is not a complete idiot. They’re just not as polished and clever as the int 13 and wis 13 guys.
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Post by Scott Anderson on Sept 19, 2019 12:22:31 GMT -6
Currently: don’t worry about it. If it’s a wizard or cleric assign the XP penalty. Of course checking for success against them will be harder. I do 1d6 checks with +-1 or even 2 for circumstance and stats. So a 3 WIS and 6 WIS are functionally the same.
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Post by Scott Anderson on Sept 18, 2019 13:45:44 GMT -6
Wait til the character have some extended downtime. Then give them the treasure. Sorry I’m boring I don’t get this. Are you saying you just use randomly rolled treasure maps as a kind of delayed release treasure? Dude, you wrote a game called Treasure Hunters. Help me out here. I thought treasure maps were prizes rather than challenges. Guess I’m playing it wrong!
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Post by Scott Anderson on Sept 18, 2019 13:43:23 GMT -6
If you want it to include ogres, let it include ogres. My instant response was yes.
Ogres seem charmable. And HD is not the issue - you could conceivably charm a 12th level fighting-man.
But the main argument is that you want it to happen in your game, so make it so.
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Post by Scott Anderson on Sept 17, 2019 18:37:15 GMT -6
Shorter is better. It is better to speak it rather than have it typed up although this is not always possible.
I am sure that your world, like mine, has a hundred different things that are important in context, but remember that the players do not need to know much at all to get a handle on how to start.
Here:
The prince of the fallen empire is dying in his castle as we speak. You are freemen who live within the capital city, a city which was once the envy of the world but now subsists within its own rotted husk. Seven great powers within the city vie for control once the prince passes on. The city and empire are on the brink of civil war.
Possible campaigns (players’ choice): 1. West Marches style 2. Megadungeon 3. Political and military within the city 4. Domain level play 5. Explore and re-civilize parts of the city that have fallen into ruin.
There is a ton of stuff I’ve put into the setting but that’s all the players really need up front in terms of backstory.
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Post by Scott Anderson on Sept 14, 2019 9:56:01 GMT -6
Wait til the character have some extended downtime.
Then give them the treasure.
Sorry I’m boring
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Post by Scott Anderson on Sept 13, 2019 6:13:59 GMT -6
Last I checked, the d10 wasn't a Platonic solid. So, d6 it is. Seriously, though, d6 offers the level of granularity I enjoy at the table -- with a wide range of combinations that can change distribution as needed. And you can grab a handful no matter where you are, whether it's at a grocery store or pilfering that old Yahtzee game in your vacation house rental. Hell, if you were really desperate, you can mark and roll a plain yellow pencil (it has six sides). Why can’t this be a legitimate concern? No, I do t like dice that aren’t Platonic solids. 6s and 20s man.
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Post by Scott Anderson on Sept 10, 2019 13:05:41 GMT -6
True. I bet Dan has run the numbers. He has run the numbers on everything OD&D.
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Post by Scott Anderson on Aug 31, 2019 22:50:56 GMT -6
I’d like to be able to package a game with three books and dice. How can I find someone who makes custom boxes? Has anyone done this and who did you use and was it any good?
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Post by Scott Anderson on Aug 29, 2019 6:20:30 GMT -6
A1 worked well for us. There are fun surprises and choices.
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Post by Scott Anderson on Aug 28, 2019 14:19:40 GMT -6
I'm toying with the idea of having the PCs use portals to teleport to locations near dungeons and other adventure locations. I haven't worked out the details, however. The early MMO Aherons Call used this mechanic to good effect.
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Post by Scott Anderson on Aug 27, 2019 1:18:12 GMT -6
Love the idea of DIY PDF generator. Considering the number of well-curated generator sites, this seems well within reach of some enterprising dice chucker.
I have lots of specific ideas for Platonic D&D. Don’t we all? House rules or fantasy heartbreakers, whatever you want to call them. We all have them.
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Post by Scott Anderson on Aug 21, 2019 15:31:03 GMT -6
Be self-directed. If the DM offers you a setting and no premise, you should still go do something. Not that I would be happy with such a DM either.
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Post by Scott Anderson on Aug 21, 2019 11:36:40 GMT -6
Elfs and dwarfs have it but even a candles worth of light spoils it. So yes, unless they’re within about 100’ of people.
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Post by Scott Anderson on Aug 21, 2019 11:23:57 GMT -6
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Post by Scott Anderson on Aug 19, 2019 0:05:18 GMT -6
Michael Mornard would be the one to ask about that. According to Michael’s blog (I paraphrase) Rob Kuntz invited him to play Gary’s new game about exploring the dungeon under a castle. After a while they wanted to know what was over that hill, and they went to look.
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Post by Scott Anderson on Aug 5, 2019 23:54:29 GMT -6
Respect for institutions versus will to power is a good one.
Jeff Rients formulated the explanation I give to a new player and sometimes use at the table:
LAWFUL is the good guys. NEUTRAL is out for himself. CHAOTIC is up to no good.
Yeah this conflates “good” with “law” in a linguistic sense, but it’s close enough for government work.
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Post by Scott Anderson on Aug 5, 2019 23:48:20 GMT -6
Hello again friends.
Although I have been away for two years I still think about and play d&d. I write occasionally on my blog TreasurehuntersHQ.blogspot.com and I comment more frequently on others.
I’m playing in a 1e campaign that has gone on a little more than two years and looks to wrap up in the next three sessions or so.
Subsequently I will be refereeing a d&d game with my new rule system (draws from 0E and it’s Arensonian descendants) and lots of neato setting and procedural elements from all our OSR-DIY friends.
No idea whether I will be around here again but I would love to have a letter from new friends and old now that G+ is well in the rear view.
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Post by Scott Anderson on Mar 25, 2018 0:02:09 GMT -6
Didn't there used to be a much larger list of monsters somewhere? It felt like dozens of pages printed out in tiny font.
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Post by Scott Anderson on Mar 24, 2018 19:58:19 GMT -6
What do you call the platform upon which a throne sits? I have this image of a royal court where the king is raised up above the rest of the hall.
Is this accurate? If not, how was it done?
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