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Post by countingwizard on Nov 5, 2019 8:09:41 GMT -6
I will probably have a rules guide or whatnot up this week. Monster manual for Ghostbusters will have to wait until I run it again at NTRPG Con 2020. The game is basically a set of house rules that sits on-top of the 3LBB apparatus. It can coexist with D&D, especially with a little additional time travel or interdimensional exploration. I would like my Monster Manual to replace some of the original descriptions of D&D monsters. I've also considered a full undead rewrite; although I will probably just start with the ghost-types and add some additional monsters like gremlins (1/2 HD invisible goblins), etc.
I ran Ghostbusters for a middle school group, and they got a surprising amount of the manor explored within 2 hours. I let them split the group and it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. I also put them out in front of the manor and let them start busting without any backstory. I'll probably do that every time I run it now.
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Post by countingwizard on Oct 31, 2019 8:01:55 GMT -6
I saw the billboard for this on Airport Blvd, but recognized the monsters on it just late enough to miss what the advertisement was for. Thanks for letting me know. We should go as a group if anyone is interested. I'll send out an email in a couple weeks.
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Post by countingwizard on Oct 22, 2019 8:53:23 GMT -6
How do you gain experience points in this ruleset?
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Post by countingwizard on Oct 21, 2019 9:54:22 GMT -6
So I barely got everything together and prepped before the game on Saturday. I was still filling out pregens when my players showed up, and I was still missing a monster manual for changes I made to monster abilities and descriptions (in my head), player aids for weapon damage, ghostbuster equipment charge usage, and a list of psychic powers/miracles by level. However I was able to print out three user manuals that described in detail the effects of each psychic power, miracle, and ghostbuster equipment (and charge usage), so they were able to look through these as we played. I explained everything as we went along, so the session was a bit slower than a normal D&D game we were all familiar with. The players really had to feel out how to use some of the new tools I gave them. Norm (Trollandflame) kept using his ecto-goggles everywhere instead of his PKE meter, because he didn't realize he could get much of the same information from it without using up charges [note to self, reduce duration from 6 turns to 1 turn for goggles to emphasize it's specialized purpose]. A few of my ghostbusters kept thinking it was ok to carry and use firearms they got from the supply van. Otherwise the game was very fun, and it did not feel like I was forcing the ghostbusters into a rule structure that wasn't built for it. The one change I'm going to make for future games is that there can only be 1 monster-hunter, 1 exorcist, and 1 medium.
Session Report:
Ghostbusters got called out to an ancient coastal fortress/manor in Maine by a director named Señor Spielbergo. He was filming his magnum opus, "Poultrygeist II", when on one night of shooting major paranormal activity started occurring, beginning with the complete re-arrangement of the interior rooms and halls. Some of his crew got lost, others came out jibbering and insane, etc. So the ghostbusters pulled up to the manor during a localized storm (likely caused by strong PKE activity), and were met by the owner of the Manor, Roger Rump, and a vampire hunter named Eddie Frog (now adult, Lost Boys). Some others who were also present and waiting were two exorcists: Father Merrin (Exorcist I), Father Lamont (Exorcist II); and a medium named Tangina Barrons (Poltergeist).
The ghostbusters questioned Ronald, while Eddie, the exorcists, and the medium armed themselves with military surplus from Eddie's blacked-out van. Ronald was not very honest or forthcoming about the dangers they would so face, so together with the three ghostbusters (Winston, Egon, and Peter) they all approached the front door, which Roger unlocked for them. A nearby statue turned its head and asked where they were going. The ghostbusters took readings and got their first glimpse of the kind of adventure/investigation this was going to turn into.
Entering the place they immediately encountered their first ghost, a demonic looking spirit with horns and great batwings, wearing a butler's uniform who offered to take Winston's wet clothes and or proton pack. The spirit then floated through a wall when Winston said "no thanks buddy." As the rest of them entered, they noticed a few bodies piled up next to the door. They were crew members who had been strangled to death and left there to take out like trash. There was some brief interaction with a haunted painting; the effects of which were avoided. That encounter made them wary of looking at any of the portraits they would later encounter. Egon used his giga meter, and discovered a major source of PKE activity coming from the south by southeast, potentially explaining the cause of the haunting.
They faced a locked door (one of three) in the foyer, which Peter failed to lockpick open, so Winston got out his crowbar and busted it open with force. They entered the hallway beyond, and tried one of the doors. That door opened into a room covered from floor to ceiling in some kind of deranged mural of symbols and blasphemy. Father Lamont went in there to get a better look, and what he saw made him sick to his stomach (literally). He also saw a cane in the corner and tried to grab it, but it flew up into the air and whacked at him until he left the room. Once back in the hallway they heard screaming from a nearby room. They decided to head back to the Foyer and search for secret doors. Finding none the group opened the large door into the great hall.
The great hall was a huge room (160' x 110', 160' is the width of a football field), lit by a pair of fires in a two hearths at opposite ends of the room. A pair of long tables were set the length of the room towards the center, and several skeletons were seated at them, silent and unmoving, slouched; some with cups in hand. The room was scattered with broken movie-set lighting equipment that had been knocked over. Egon put on his ecto-goggles and was able to see a generalized PKE disturbance in the air on the western side of the room. Egon was also able to detect that the antique shotgun on the western wall was a paranormal object that was attracting ghosts, so Peter went over there and put it in a plastic sample bag for safe keeping. The rest of the group wandered around the room. Winston tried the light switch, finding it not operable, but made a successful electrician check to determine that the power for the whole place had gone out, and that the only way to turn it on would be to reset the breaker at the junction box. He had noted seeing the powerlines coming into the house on the west side, and thought the junction box might be over there. Eddie convinced Winston that they should go out and turn it on while the others stayed put (they had walkie-talkies), but I used referee fiat to prevent the splitting of the party because I was already juggling so much between explaining new rules, running the module for the first time, and having to remember the ghostbuster equipment and medium's passive detection capabilities. Looking around the room, they noticed the skeletons were real (not props), and were not surprised when a zombie entered from the south door, and staggared toward them moaning and coughing. They nearly blasted it, but when Father Merrin failed to automatically exorcise it, and it gained first initiative, they held their fire. It turned out to be an actor/extra in make-up, named Pete Diggler, who had been lost in the house all day long. He asked them where the exit was, and Eddie told him the group was lost too, and that they would have to get out of there together (I then changed his alignment from Good to Neutral). Eddie and Pete chummed it up real good, with Eddie bumming a smoke from Pete (the special kind of "cigarettes"), and gaining +1 WIS for 12 turns by smoking it. Meanwhile Tangina was looking at the eastern-curtained portion of the room with the others, and found a secret door. The group was called over, and they opened it up.
The room beyond opened up behind a statue, into a small open-aired interior courtyard, with rain pouring down into it. Various statues lined the sides. A big heap of dung was piled in the center, crawling with freakishly giant beetles (bombardier), and Eddie stepped forward to meet them as they flew toward the group, opening up with his submachine gun in full-auto. The battle was soon underway, with one of the exorcists also firing with a revolver, and two of the ghostbusters using their proton beams to blast the bugs. Eddie had some issues landing his hits under full-auto (-2 to attack), and at one point fumbled and shot himself in the foot for half damage; but he was able to kill one of the beetles. The other two beetles proved tougher, but Winston, with some quick thinking, pulled out his atomic destabilizer (a smallish/shotgun looking weapon) and zapped one of the beetles into ectoplasmic form just as his comrade proton-grappled it. The following round the other two ghostbusters also grappled it, and threw out traps, and it took about 3 rounds to get it successfully captured as it struggled to get free. I believe Eddie finished off the last beetle (using better dice).
So the courtyard being cleared they tried to head out a door but found it barred from the other side. A roaring sound as if from a wild animal could be heard coming from beyond, and Tangina reached out with her ESP to detect thoughts but found none. Eddie pulled out his compact chainsaw and made fast work of the bar by sawing through that section of the door. Beyond they found a narrow 5' wide passage, which they went down until they reached a curtain. Eddie quietly poked the tip of his gun through the curtain and peeked his flashlight into the room beyond. He spotted three giant spiders crawling around a large room of stone walls/blocks. Then he opened up on them, again full-auto, but started splitting his attacks to spray and hit all the spiders. He was very effective, but these were some big spiders and they were all still had 3/4th health. The rest of the group charged into the room, opening up with their firearms as well. Father Lamont and Eddie were both bitten by spiders, but resisted the effects of their powerful venom, taking minimal damage. Otherwise the room was mostly cleared in quick order. Egon used his Giga Meter again, and found that the biggest PKE disturbance located beneath the room they were in. They searched the room, finding a secret door to the east (and carefully examining the other side of it were able to see it was "one-way"), as well as noticing a cage trap just adjacent to the door.
The group headed through the secret door into a short hallway, while Eddie and Pete kept it propped open. They entered into a sitting room with several statues and a paint easel. A brush began painting them as they entered, and they noticed that the statues were surprisingly detailed, and looked suspiciously like production crew members, complete with badges and everything. They eventually forced open one of the other doors in the room, and left before the painting could be completed, but doubled back upon finding it a dead end. They then went through a different door from the painter's room, and found a hallway with a couple portraits. They looked at one of the portraits to see if they could communicate to it to ask it how to get beneath the manor, but it wasn't a talking painting. Then they returned to the throne room, looking for a nearby way down.
Tangina remembered she had the psychic power to summon a friendly ghost to serve her for 6 rounds, so she conducted a seance in the throne room and brought forth a class VIII non-repeated full-torsoed spectre. She asked it a question but it was not capable of speech, so she used another psychic power to channel the spectre, giving it possession of her body. It introduced itself as Hathor McCatskill in a gruff man's voice. The group questioned the spectre, asking it where it came from, how it got here, where the PKE event was, what it was, and how to get to it. The spectre said it came from the dark place, chased by a storm and drawn by the white light. Once here in our world, it wandered around for a bit, but was soon called by Tangina. It thought that the gate it came through was beneath the manor, somewhere on the 4th floor, and that to get downstairs they needed to go through a door it then pointed to. They thanked Hathor, and then the players wondered if they could keep Hathor around somehow. I told them Tangina could channel it as long as she wanted, but that body would basically be shared between the player and the referee. Hathor was happen to continue inhabiting a living host, but if he left possession he would only be under Tangina's command for 6 rounds before leaving (Hathor expressed a desire to get out of the manor, it was full of evil spirits). The players figured out that the spectre could be yoyo'd back and forth via possession and free-floating as necessary to perform tasks; the number of rounds of control remaining being reduced every round it was untethered.
The players then followed the spectre's directions and found the 2nd floor of the dungeon (manor was 0th floor). Down there they found branching hallways, and asked the spectre which way he came from, but it was at a loss. It had floated through floors, and only knew of the staircase.
And that was where the game ended, to be continued the next Halloween; perhaps with the addition of some new characters.
To set the mood of the party, I printed out all character sheets on fluorescent orange (MH), green (GB), yellow (EX), and pink/purple (ME) paper. I created a custom DM screen, printed on green paper, with one side having illustrations from the Real Ghostbusters Cartoon coloring book. I replaced the lights in the dining room with blacklights, and had a dry-erase board mounted on my wall, and used fluorescent orange and yellow markers to help visualize some of the mapping elements. I bought 14 sets of glow-in-the-dark RPG dice to use in the game, and added some additional fluorescent dice I didn't realize I had, including some awesome transparent dice that glowed brightly green under blacklight. We had gravestones out in the front yard, and torchlight-bulbs flickering in the porch lights. It was pretty cool, and added to the spooky 80's ghostbusters aesthetic.
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Post by countingwizard on Oct 18, 2019 13:51:42 GMT -6
I plan on running one session of it at NTRPG Con, and I hope to make this a Halloween tradition like Jimm does his movies.
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Post by countingwizard on Oct 18, 2019 7:49:22 GMT -6
I've retyped out the module and changed all the treasures, some of the room descriptions, and some of the monster stats. I wonder if it's enough to claim parody rights so I can publicly share it.
I learned a lot from how Bob Bledsaw laid out his dungeon. The room names are sparse enough to provide direction but encourage on-the-fly creativity during a game, and the room descriptions are always laid out in a way that prevent the referee from just reading from the book. Like, the referee has to pause, read the paragraph, and then describe what is in the room for their players. But d**n did he have problems with spelling. Every single instance of the word "animate" (and there were many), was misspelled in creative and exciting new ways. There is also how the room description key is used as a secondary source of information, but the module is actually designed around navigating using only the map; room names, sounds/smells, statues, traps, etc. are only mentioned on the map. Monsters are inconsistently statted throughout the module, sometimes skeletons are 1/2 or 1 HD, zombies are sometimes 1 HD or 2HD, ghouls sometimes have paralysis or don't, sometimes shadows deal damage other times they only drain strength. The description of each monster strongly infers the type of reaction intended too; like some monsters don't have HD or stats listed because they are clearly supposed to react peacefully.
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Post by countingwizard on Oct 17, 2019 7:39:04 GMT -6
So I've been secretly working on a slight modification of the OD&D rules in order to run Ghostbusters in the 1977 Bob Bledsaw Classic Haunted House Module: Tegel Manor. I've got an upcoming Halloween game I'll be running it for this weekend in Austin (Leander technically). The size of the group should be about 8 players, all Planet Eris veterans. I'll give an after session report of the event sometime after. I designed it to be slightly easier for people new to D&D, converting spells into a point pool, with each level spell costing an equivalent point. Some changes I made are: - Magic-User replaced with Medium class, which uses psychic powers (not from Supp. III).
(Ex: Tangina Barrons, Danny Torrance, Gillian Bellaver, Charlene McGee) - Thief replaced with Ghostbuster class, which can use ghostbusting equipment, pick locks, do mechanic/electrician stuff, and read languages/magic with skills.
- Fighting-man replaced with Monster-hunter class. (Ex: Kolchak, Dr. Robert Morgan, Peter Vincent, The Frog Brothers)
- Cleric replaced with Exorcist class, which exorcises instead of turns undead, dealing damage, no weapon restrictions, but with limited cleric spell use via miracles.
(Ex: Father Tom, Father merrin, Father Karras, John Constantine) - Armors have been converted (for the modern setting) into leather, kevlar (chain), ceramic (plate); and for ghostbusters: uniform/pack (unarmored), adv. uniform/pack (leather), hazard suit/pack (chain, but encumbered like plate), ecto-suit/pack (plate, but encumbered like overburdened).
- Spell scrolls, wands, magic items, magic weapons, etc. have all been preserved and can be used by Mediums and Ghostbusters. Mediums don't need a skill, but they also don't have spellbooks or memorize spells.
- Addition of some modern weapons like guns, flashbangs, etc; all in line with the original melee weapon damage baselines (1d6).
- Monsters have been reflavored to be more colorful (literally) and closer to the ghostbuster movie mythos. Goblins may be blue or hot pink, and may be scientifically referred to as "transdimensional trickster entities" and "class I non-ethereal manifestations".
- Monsters still retain their original properties of being insubstantial spirits and physical creatures. Only spirits can be busted (and maybe vampires in mist form since ectoplasmic).
- Monster abilities slightly tweaked to make them less deadly. Slimes in particular match the movie counterpart rather than turn you into slime.
Undead spirits will slime instead of level drain the enemy. Vampires and wights retain their level drain though... - Characters can still be seriously injured/maimed, but will be KO'd instead of killed. They must be recovered from the manor and taken to a hospital to recover. Death is possible though, just not as likely due to modern medicine.
- Proton packs run on charges (~20), and take days to recover.
- Depending on the size of the group of players who show up, the Ecto-1 may contain additional proton packs and ghostbusting supplies for when you run out of charges.
- The town hotel can be used to rest in safety overnight, but you will have to return to the city in order to recharge your proton packs and dump ghosts into containment.
I'll post my materials once I've ran the game. I'm still working to get it operational for the party. I'm using Planet Eris as the baseline ruleset, since I need the single-saving throw, and the accelerated level advancement it provides (same xp rates, but increases HD, saving throw, and attack competence each level).
[edit: I will still post my materials, I'm just doing some final touches on them.]
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Post by countingwizard on Oct 9, 2019 8:08:07 GMT -6
Percentile dice, re-roll any result that is 03 or higher. This is best way. The most precise.
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Post by countingwizard on Oct 8, 2019 7:07:21 GMT -6
I definitely have a copy of the FGC but not sure on the BoT, will double-check! Allan. If you find it, let me know if it has any new tables not seen before in the Ready Ref sheets, and if it is still applicable to OD&D/AD&D.
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Post by countingwizard on Oct 7, 2019 20:36:38 GMT -6
I googled the heck out of the book of tables. No PDFs and no physical copies for sale anywhere. But I did find the troll and flame blog mentioned purchasing a copy in 2010 (because of course Norm would have it in his massive library). Texted him today and he said he still has it.
Looks like I'll be reviewing it in a couple weeks when I see him again. I'll probably scan and upload it to a public filez site for posterity as well since it looks very hard to find. I'll try to follow the tradition of leaving an entire page out like the official paid pdf of the Monster Manual did too (skeletons and snakes).
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Post by countingwizard on Oct 6, 2019 15:09:44 GMT -6
I've been deciphering Tegel Manor to run it in OD&D, and one thing I noticed is that in the Revised edition by Gamescience in 1989 they mentioned two supplements that could help a referee out. Has anyone read or seen these before, or know how I can get my hands on them? - THE BOOK OF TABLES, Volume I (GS 10451)
- THE FANTASY GAMER'S COMPENDIUM (GS 10330)
I realize that I don't need them to run the module. I've already found and deciphered how traps are intended to operate via the original JG71 Frontier Forts of Kelnore trap generation tables, but what I've read about it from the revised edition of Tegel indicates that it is a treasure trove of original JG tables consolidated in one place, not unlike the Ready Ref Sheets. The time period they were published in tells me that this was a last hold-out of OD&D and AD&D 1e referee guidance and material, and that they may have been lost to time due to the abandonment of that style of game.
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Post by countingwizard on Sept 30, 2019 13:27:43 GMT -6
I have no idea how I found Hyborian War. I think I was just starting to do serious research on Conan and collecting REH works about that time and I came across it somehow while googling more scholarly questions. I signed up for a few turns around then, but dropped the game after feeling like I was the only player. I had sent off three our four hand-written letters to my neighboring kingdoms (they give you address on request), trying to roleplay my faction, but got no responses to my diplomatic advances.
I may have played a game or two of OD&D with Austinjimm at that point, but I hadn't yet landed on a preferred system since I was brand new to playing D&D with actual people and not just computer games. Hyborian War sent me on the path to looking at game mechanics and learning how things work, why modern rules are the way they are, and learning about the history of the game. That meant playing lots of OD&D because it was more of a blackbox of obscurity, and then working my way through the rule systems from there, examining differences and why things were changed in each iteration.
Best answers I've been able to come up with in my 8 years of research are: 1. Gotta sell books and supplements to make money, and new rules are a way to kickstart a new purchase cycle. 2. Rules changed focus to sell more of a particular type of product; i.e. modules and then stories and books as TSR changed from a gaming company to a book publisher. 3. Rules needed to be codified exactly so that the publisher could sell more computer games. 4. Rules were changed to appeal to computer games of the time (MMOs). 5. Rules were simply forgotten during the transition back to a focus on at-the-table play.
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Post by countingwizard on Sept 30, 2019 7:21:00 GMT -6
I just finished up a year long team campaign (2-week turns) of Hyborian War with Norm from Troll and Flame. We joined a custom game using the Road of Kings Forum. Our game had all the kingdoms divided up into teams of 3. We played Stygia, Darfur, and Tombalku. Hyborian war is kind of a strange beast. On one hand it has all these descriptive non-quantifiable stats and mechanics that are a hallmark of OD&D play. On the other hand, the descriptions are repetitive and can be almost entirely ignored for key details found in each report; and certain actions and strategies seem absolutely useless in effect. For example, you could send a spy to foment rebellion in an enemy province, but even when successful you won't see any changes take place even over the course of 3 months of real-life plotting. When it's good, it's good. But when it's bad it's really bad. Once your territory starts getting ate up by your enemies, the momentum keeps going. The game doesn't have as much attrition as Risk does, where rapid expansion spreads the enemy forces thin. So there are very tiny opportunities to actually be able to turn a war around. Usually the only way you will survive is if someone bigger comes along and starts eating up your enemies so that they have to turn and fight them instead. Also, there will sometimes be turns where your orders aren't entered correctly and the game will totally f**k you. You can appeal to the company, and they may give you some extra troops or something, but it doesn't really help since momentum is everything. I did enjoy the adventuring stories that are intertwined throughout the game. You can send your adventurers off on adventure, and the game will regale you with stories of their exploits (or death) and tell you how much treasure they bring back. Also the game took up a tremendous amount of time. Even running a small kingdom such as Tombalku, I was spending about 3 or 4 hours at a time reading the results and submitting each turn. It's not like you can spread that time out either. You've got to keep track of where your forces are, what your characters can do and how good they can do it, and then coordinate your actions so that everyone is doing the most optimal thing. I set up a Roll20 page and imported the Hyborian War map, and imported images of different colored pushpins to keep track of forces/ownership and coordinate with my team mates. I myself would consider trying a different PBM game, but I would want something that was less frequent and needed less time to submit turns. In my opinion, there is enough material in the Hyborian War game to turn it into an actually fun custom war/board game or setting. All the military units, characters, and provinces are detailed enough to give guidance on building a good framework of a game. It definitely inspired me to start learning D&D back when I first ordered a copy of the rules and map back in 2012. I got into OD&D precisely so I could learn how to make a good Conan adventure game in the same format as D&D. My Conan project eventually took a back seat to creating actual OD&D content though.
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Post by countingwizard on Sept 24, 2019 8:15:14 GMT -6
How do you guys view the proper progression of monster difficulty as they get deeper, especially at the extreme end of the spectrum where dungeons theoretically could go on endlessly? I don't use a 1:1 mapping of dungeon level depth and monster difficulty in my version of Castle Greyhawk, since PCs may move up/down the levels with some rapidity (willing and otherwise ). So, several adjacent dungeon levels are set to the same average monster level of difficulty, but with different ranges for the min/max level of difficulty in any given level; see www.greyhawkonline.com/grodog/gh_castle_grodog.html#levels for what that looks like. I'm not sure if that kind of schema will address the concerns you're raising, countingwizard but perhaps it might help some? Allan. I've been reading through your dungeon and those are some sprawling maps. I noticed one of your levels actually decreases somewhat in monster difficulty from the level above it. I'm not sure I ever found your monster tables though. Does your dungeon share the same encounter table even for side-levels? So far what I'm getting from you guys is that: 1. I should mix monster level difficulties in a single level (already doing). 2. I should distribute monsters across what levels I do have rather than directly correspond monsters to their listed level (strictly or loosely). Note that I believe this makes it more difficult to organically grow a dungeon over time and add to it. 3. No complaints about introducing unfamiliar monsters as a form of difficulty. I want each level and side-level of the dungeon to be inhabited by a specific/distinct set of monsters, that can be found occasionally roaming up to n area-connections away. Right now that is 2, but I'm considering making it longer. Basically if an encounter indicates a monster is from a different level, I'll have to trace the source along n number of paths, rolling to randomly determine path choice at each connection.
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Post by countingwizard on Sept 20, 2019 9:59:00 GMT -6
Does anyone have an opinion on level depth and difficulty? OD&D uses the 6th level as the most difficult level of monster, while AD&D uses 10th. I also think I read in the DMG that deeper levels may add retinues to the monsters encountered instead of adding multiple of the same monsters.
My concern is that with 14 dungeon levels, the special abilities of the monsters encountered at this depth will make it an unfun impossible nightmare deathmarch to the final goal. I've got 4 levels beyond 10 to populate with monsters, and I feel that I should be shifting the [monster] threat of deeper areas towards strange and unfamiliar monsters that are unique to the campaign, but which players must learn how to deal with via trial and error rather than player knowledge and mastery of the monster manual.
How do you guys view the proper progression of monster difficulty as they get deeper, especially at the extreme end of the spectrum where dungeons theoretically could go on endlessly?
Should deep dungeons be about increasing the difficulty exponentially, fighting gods ala BECMI, etc. or do you agree with me that they should remain places of exploration whose difficulty is partly a factor of being able to reach them in the first place?
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Post by countingwizard on Sept 19, 2019 8:29:28 GMT -6
I can't remember if this was REH Conan or expanded universe Conan, but I remember it was implied that one of the lotuses helps sorcerers gain magical knowledge or powers.
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Post by countingwizard on Sept 19, 2019 8:25:02 GMT -6
I think I've got that story (I collect Asimov). I think some of his later Foundation works had some bow-chicka-wow-wow too; I vaguely recall something on Gaia. I have really enjoyed some of the hard-science fiction books written in the past few years though, like the Expanse. So you guys are saying give Niven a shot at a place on my bookshelf?
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Post by countingwizard on Sept 18, 2019 7:01:43 GMT -6
I haven't read any of the catman scifi books, somehow my Dad had all of them, but he only let me borrow the Asimovs and Bradburys as a kid. Are they worth reading as a fan of sci-fi and/or sword and sorcery?
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Post by countingwizard on Sept 18, 2019 6:58:32 GMT -6
Welcome to the opium dens of Amon Sin my friend. We have the finest lotus collected from deep within the stygian Demon Jungles. Just lay back and enjoy the tale. I call this one, The Keep on the Borderlands...
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Post by countingwizard on Sept 16, 2019 10:56:25 GMT -6
Just found this tidbit over at Memory Alpha: woof. Ok, so scipt writer Gene Coons conceived of the klingon and justified them as being reminiscent of the communist super powers of the day. Gene Roddenberry was a World War II vet with a strong sense of totalitarian threats. So, which D&D race makes for the more cohesive (nevermind aggressive) military power?
Starbeard, if I had any doubts that Vulcans were the elven analog, pointing to the "Romulan" Drow counterpart cemented it for me. But, are drow warlike? Starfleet is a de facto military organization, so their adversaries are all either military or terrorist in nature(I'm looking at you, Khan.)
p.s.: bugbears have pumpkins for heads.
I feel like Vulcans are the Elven M-U's while Romulans are the Elven F-M.
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Post by countingwizard on Sept 16, 2019 9:53:10 GMT -6
I'd like to see time travellers for a change. I don't think I've ever seen anyone make the explicit connection in a game that elves are Vulcans, complete with Vulcan powers. That would be neat. You could throw other TOS and TAS races in there very easily as well, but those would be nothing more than roses of another name since really only Vulcans get special powers. Unless, of course, you would like to make your orcs marooned spacefarers as well! That would be an unusual twist. Klingons have biological redundancy; every organ has a backup, and they have fast metabolism and the ability to regenerate. They are resistant to physical trauma, environmental exposure, and illness. They also have a heightened sense of smell (similar to elvish hearing; can they smell secret doors?). Also greater physical strength. Andorians can thrive in extreme environments (hot or cold), such as temperatures hot enough to boil or freeze.
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Post by countingwizard on Sept 16, 2019 8:10:02 GMT -6
Remember, the thief as originally intended wasn't supposed to be a melee combatant. He was a trained specialist who had as much business going toe-to-toe with orcs and goblins as a magic user. A fighting man would know how to dodge and parry effectively, thus the extra HP. A thief, on the other hand, would know enough to not be in melee combat in the first place. Doc I prefer to approach the Thief class from a gameplay mechanics aspect. Fighting-men are the base class of D&D, from which all the other classes are derived. Fighting-men are basically able to do everything a normal person could do, but better. To make the Magic-User or Cleric class, you remove capabilities in exchange for other capabilities a normal person wouldn't have. Magic-Users give up attack competency, damage durability (hp), the ability to wield most weapons (and magical weapons), the ability to wear armor, and the ability to progress (level) as quickly; in exchange for the ability to cast a large repertoire of spells, use any magic item, and read any magic scroll. M-Us also give up some saving throws (like save vs. breath) in exchange for better saving throws against spells. Clerics give up some attack competency, some hp, the ability to wield swords and magic swords; in exchange for the ability to cast a limited repertoire of spells, use a limited list of magic items, and read a limited list of magic scrolls. They also progress quicker and have better saving throws. Thieves have never made sense to me. Thieves have a little less magic-use than Clerics, being limited by level and magic items and scrolls, and have a few specialized skills that were likely resolved via the 2-in-6 chance on a d6 rule of thumb before the class was introduced; but are placed somewhere between Cleric and Magic-User in terms of trade-offs. A magic-user can already do everything a Thief does, but with limited resources.
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Post by countingwizard on Sept 16, 2019 7:51:22 GMT -6
Long have we heard that HPs are not only a measure of physical toughness, but also the ability to dodge blows, reduce impact, luck, fighting skill, resistance to fatigue, favor of the gods, etc... In the context of the 3LB books, this makes sense. Fighters should be the best dodgers, have the best fighting skills, the ability to turn a fatal blow into a mere scratch, etc. etc. Followed by the cleric and the M-U. This also totally makes sense when the ONLY thing that can modify Armor Class is... well, armor. Armor Class represents how difficult it is to defeat the protective metal defenses of the warrior. Note that dexterity does not modify AC. So... here is the hard question: If you introduce the "thief" class in this context, under these assumptions and interpretations of the rules, where HPs are not only a measure of physical toughness. Shouldn't the "thief" be the class with the highest hit points? Discuss. I would honestly have zero problems with Thieves having more hitpoints than they do. The class in OD&D is incredibly gimped and encourages undesirable play styles as it is: hiding all the time to get a backstab, sneaking off for solo exploration, and not participating in combat due to AC 7 and M-U quality hitpoints. It's made even worse if you stick with the HD die size change from Greyhawk for each class. Basically the only way to make it to higher levels is to abstain from helping the group during combat situations, which causes everyone to hate that player.
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Post by countingwizard on Sept 16, 2019 7:19:13 GMT -6
I am reluctant to call this an OD&D post since it gets science fiction "peanut butter" in the fantasy "chocolate", but I am referring specifically to Dungeons & Dragons when I ask: Can't I, as a dm, put a phaser in an elf's hand and say that they were just marooned spacemen all along? Is this not the shortest path from the fantasy supplement to the planet Vulcan? Many creators have already mixed genres in D&D. I want to know why the most fundamental of fantasy characters shouldn't have led the charge straight into the twenty third century? Maybe someone else has already toyed with this idea. If so, I'd love to hear your justifications or your critique. I play this way all the time. Jimm Johnson's Planet Eris does this. Kinda. The elves in his game are mostly half-elves descended from ancient star elves. Instead of carrying around spellbooks and stuff they carry their spellbooks in their minds and can mind meld to share with each other. A good OD&D setting has a good helping of Sci-fi to supplement the Weird Fiction. I'm still sad I lost my level 5 fighting-elf in Jimm's Ghost Tower of Invernix sessions. He had an Enfield 1853 rifle with about 40 cartridges of ammunition scavenged from civil war time travelers from a different dungeon. That thing did 1d4 x d6 per shot, w/1 round to reload. Such a f**king fun experience to open up with a blast from that and then draw my sword and charge. He died by disintegration when he jumped through a glowing portal in Invernix. Keep an eye on Jimm's blog for the digital Planet Eris Gazetteer release if you want some interesting ideas on mixing sci-fi with fantasy: cubeofquazar.blogspot.com/Planet Eris is predominantly a Sword & Sorcery setting though; none of the sci-fi/tech stuff can be bought in shops for example.
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Post by countingwizard on Sept 13, 2019 6:53:06 GMT -6
nagnar, I recently got a few sets of d20s, only they are the ones numbered 0-9 twice. I love my lucky sixes, but the d20's are my new favorites. Short answer: just curious. EDIT: okay, full disclosure here: I bought them to pay tribute to how I thought Dave and Gary would have liked to roll if their players weren't so set in their six-sided ways. Real percentile rolls. I still keep Mike Carr's 2d6 to percentile cheat sheet folded in my wallet in case an impromptu game night materializes and my dice bag is not at hand. I did not know someone had made a 2d6 percentile chart. This is amazing. Mike Carr even. I knew it was possible to get an approximation due to mixing and matching bell curve probabilities but d**n that is good.
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Post by countingwizard on Sept 12, 2019 6:33:29 GMT -6
If I had to choose a particular dice to use as a weapon, it would be the d4 caltrop; the most dangerous dice ever invented.
But for gameplay it would be d6's because you can either use them for simplicity, or group them together into pretty bell-curves to obtain those less common probabilities. D&D is all about moving the game along and less about the dice you roll to get there.
I still would like to run a game of Swords & Six Siders; I've read the rules twice now and I think it boils away the unnecessary complexity of the game to help people see the core elements of D&D. That said, I also think there is something to be said about the novelty of having different ways to resolve each action, with no action ever having the same rules (for rolling) to resolve success. I think variety, the unexpected, and unpredictability are some of the core novelties of OD&D in particular.
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Post by countingwizard on Sept 11, 2019 13:03:48 GMT -6
I also noticed the other day that the reference sheet from Keep on the Borderlands has OD&D saving throws listed instead of Basic. Good spot! I've pointed out in the past that statistically, hit points in B2 more accurately match the OD&D d6 hit dice scheme. This makes me wonder when the original authors of D&D and modules stopped adding new ideas and changes to the game and started preserving the rules they created/used.
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Post by countingwizard on Sept 11, 2019 7:53:27 GMT -6
I think it would be cool as hell to document each type of random roll used by referees in D&D, and the approximate year. I mean my running list is something like:
1d20 equal or over target number to hit AC, modified by attacker level. 1d20 equal or over saving throw, modified by character level. d6 roll to determine listening, forcing door, monster encounter, getting lost, surprise, some thief skills. 1d100 equal or under attribute score to succeed at action (sometimes multiple characters can add together). 3d6 equal or under attribute score to succeed at action. 2d6 to determine reaction, morale, undead turning, some thief skills. 1 or 2 on a d6 equals default odds of thing happening, generally applied. 1 on a d6 equals odds that rare thing happens, generally applied.
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Post by countingwizard on Sept 10, 2019 10:45:21 GMT -6
Using my new monster list I was able finish mapping out the vertical side-view of my dungeon and the connections between them. 14 layers (or levels if you prefer), 29 levels (or areas if you prefer). Still to-do before NTRPG Con 2020: 1. Fill out wandering encounter tables for each level. 2. Fill out unique encounter tables for each level. 3. Describe the unique features, general features, lairs, and any unique tricks or traps to be found in each level; working from bottom to top. (Most of this is in my head, scribbled in my journal, or scattered in electronic notes on googledrive.) 4. Map each level working from bottom to top. 5. Draw/commission the map of the city of Partholon that lays atop the megadungeon. 6. Write up sets of rumors to be unlocked and disbursed the deeper adventuring parties go. 7. Create a new Planet Eris DM Screen. I hope you give us a go at this awesomeness at our Camp Allen Mini-con! Fight on! You did hear the part about 29 areas right? Some of those will also be 2-page maps.
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Post by countingwizard on Sept 9, 2019 14:10:50 GMT -6
I think it is important to note that in order to make a Star Wars setting feel like (let alone work well with) OD&D, we should consider preserving a few very important gameplay mechanics:
1. Treasure. OD&D requires that some sort of object be sought after to obtain a direct reward of experience.
2. Dungeons. OD&D requires novel environments to explore, map, and interact with. At a bare minimum, just a single level.
3. Combat agency. OD&D requires that each character be able to feel agency in combat. Whether that is from spell-use, an attack roll, or some other non-combat action or complex adjudicated action.
4. Combat simplicity. OD&D requires that combat be resolved quickly with relatively simple rules so that a single combat encounter doesn't take up the entire adventure session.
5. Survivorship. OD&D allows for the possibility of surviving a combat encounter even if your team loses the battle. Some team members should be able to escape and survive according to their round to round actions. A combat fail state should not indicate the automatic death of everyone in the group.
6. Base & Safety. OD&D usually puts the base at a distance from the dungeon, so that a Wilderness Adventure (travel) must take place to reach or return from the dungeon.
7. Cooperation. OD&D is a game played with other people working in cooperation with each other. Each person (and their character) contributes something to the party. Sometimes it's just a way to mitigate damage so that someone else besides you dies, other times its contributing magical items and combat prowess, and other times its utility spells, spells to address overwhelming odds, and creative thinking.
So, in order to preserve the basic game loop and premise, I think a good Star Wars game should:
1. Include objects to be sought after for experience within unmapped dangerous areas.
2. Have classes that are all capable of combat.
3. Have ship combats where all players can contribute an action from round to round, and where losing a combat encounter does not result in the automatic death of everyone on the ship.
4. Have ship combat and personal combat rules that are still just as simple, quick, and straight forward as OD&D.
5. Have classes and items that contribute to the party in different and novel ways.
6. Have bases and areas of safety that can be reached with just as much ease and in-game effort as a wilderness adventure.
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