|
Post by foxroe on Jan 1, 2018 22:09:29 GMT -6
I haven't started a campaign yet, but I was thinking of keeping it simple. I'll likely run Hyperborea as-is, but use Holmes' Bluebook for the rules. Once (and if) the players get into the game and setting, I'll slowly add rules/options from AS&SH until we're playing it full-on. I'll still probably stick with simplified Holmes-style combat, though. The other thought that I had was to just use all of the AS&SH material as a basis for an OD&D game. I even thought of making my own unofficial "Supplement" book with a basic gazetteer and necessary "house rules" - yet another project.
|
|
|
Post by foxroe on Jan 1, 2018 21:55:07 GMT -6
Having not read the Sabin book and being only passingly familiar with Dunnigan's handbook, what is it that Sabin finds so disagreeable with Dunnigan?
|
|
|
Post by foxroe on Dec 28, 2017 19:46:16 GMT -6
Wow, yeah. VERY Carcosa. I can imagine a village in Carcosa that is comprised of multiple members of the different colorful races, and a social convention has evolved of wearing masks/helmets so as to make them all "equal".
|
|
|
Post by foxroe on Dec 27, 2017 20:07:49 GMT -6
If you are referring to the combo map, that was put together before I fixed the paths. On that individual maps that should be showing as fixed. The ones that I see show it as fixed (other than the one showing how they connect.) Link me the date and time stamps for the map you are referring to so I can fix. (Just in case you can see an old map link that is not showing up for me.) Ah yes, I see it now. I was looking only at the composite map, and not the individual maps.
|
|
|
Post by foxroe on Dec 27, 2017 19:50:06 GMT -6
Nice! My Melee and Wizard micro-boxes are moldering away, so it would be nice to replace them. I'd love to see it all released as a one-volume compendium.
|
|
|
Post by foxroe on Dec 24, 2017 19:04:27 GMT -6
Merry Christmas, everybody!
|
|
|
Post by foxroe on Dec 23, 2017 19:49:10 GMT -6
I am not really sure what you are going for. Are you looking to create a need within the group to replace a hand/limb with an artifact? Or are you trying to create an special item from the player's lost extremities? If the former, just have them find the item, tease them with the amount of power the item wearer will wield, and see who cuts what off first. Player agency. The Peener of Vecna! ...um... you first. Heh. Don't you mean the fabled Peener of Vhy'Agara?
|
|
|
Post by foxroe on Dec 23, 2017 19:45:21 GMT -6
You know I saw the thread title and was kind of interested. What can we do when Outdoor Survival doesn't work? LOL. That's exactly what I thought when I saw the topic, and having never played Outdoor Survival (actually, maybe once), I ignored this thread until now. I have nothing really useful to add to the discussion that hasn't already been pointed out. But, I will add two observations: 1) Why "railroad"? Let the characters interact with the "scene". You can always work elements into the "scene" that would make it difficult for the players to successfully thwart your intentions (i.e. sleep spells are a two-way street ). If they screw up your intended outcome, try something else. 2) There is precedent in "old school" for pushing players down predetermined paths (usually at the start of an adventure, just to get the ball rolling). Example: In the classic Traveller double-adventure Marooned/Marooned Alone, one of the players is initially separated from the rest of the party and plays through the Marooned Alone adventure, while the remaining party members play through Marooned.
|
|
|
Post by foxroe on Dec 23, 2017 19:09:23 GMT -6
VERY much in the Carcosa spirit! I love reading the names of all of the locations and imagining what could be there. One quick question/observation: In the Orchard of the D*mned (<- censorship seems silly in a Carcosa thread ), in hex 1401, the path leading north appears to dead-end at the hex edge and not carry over into the Lakes of the Fetid Fungus - was this intentional?
|
|
|
Post by foxroe on Dec 22, 2017 20:02:05 GMT -6
Well it wouldn't be Conan without a little Stygian necromancy...
Is there an "official", or otherwise faithful, purchasable poster version of the Hyborian age map anywhere? My recherche d'internet isn't turning up anything useful.
|
|
|
Post by foxroe on Dec 22, 2017 19:43:34 GMT -6
An old thread I know, but has anyone tried this out? Do the rules lend themselves to RPG adaption? It looks pretty nice. It's also got a 7.9/10 rating on BGG, which is pretty darned good.
|
|
|
Post by foxroe on Dec 22, 2017 19:33:37 GMT -6
Brookhurst still has a bunch of Xyston models, at least when I was i the store back in July. But, I think at this point I generally head to www.magistermilitum.com/ for figures and if possible, I just order DBx rules directly from Amazon UK. Thanks Prime. How is the shipping cost/time/experience from Magister Militum to the US?
|
|
|
Post by foxroe on Dec 22, 2017 1:06:29 GMT -6
Hmmm. I don't see the images. I turned my ad blocker off thinking that was it, but still no images.
The google link works though. Great maps (as always)!
|
|
|
Post by foxroe on Dec 21, 2017 23:37:31 GMT -6
Feel free to post anything, skars. It's meant to be a catch-all thread for DBA.
|
|
|
Post by foxroe on Dec 21, 2017 19:37:31 GMT -6
May the sacred Frog's EGG break and reveal its bounty of imagination upon you all!* --------------- * That is actually a blessing -- and not a curse! Sure! Just ask these guys:
|
|
|
Post by foxroe on Dec 21, 2017 19:31:54 GMT -6
Those are great ideas, bravewolf, especially the first one. I can see running an entire campaign with the players' group marooned on an enormous, derelict vessel of the ancients - discovering new technologies, interacting with other groups that have also been stranded (i.e. pirates, established "colonies", etc.), beset by failed "experiments"... the possibilities are endless, and there would be no need for the crufty High Guard system. Its very Metamorphosis Alpha.
|
|
|
Post by foxroe on Dec 19, 2017 23:11:02 GMT -6
This is the "OSR" version of the Original rules I recommend to anyone who doesn't want to muddle their way through the original (not that I see a problem with that, but different strokes, etc.). The rules are well laid out and so simple that they're compatible with just about anything "old school" D&D or based on the SRD. I also love that there is a variety of cover pieces to appeal to different audiences (I have the red dragon cover myself). But the new cover is fantastic...
|
|
|
Post by foxroe on Dec 19, 2017 18:28:52 GMT -6
From a purely gaming perspective, capital ships were impractical because the players would never get ahold of one, and likely never interact with one. From a "realism" perspective though, whether a capital ship is practical to build entirely depends on your tech level, the size of your economy and the nature of the threats you face. Valid point. I could maybe see the players obtaining such a large vessel as an end-game objective/reward (similar to strongholds and land in OD&D), but it would be just a big hand-wave at that point.
|
|
|
Post by foxroe on Dec 19, 2017 18:22:05 GMT -6
I believe the intent is for "enchanted" to refer to summoned beings and magical constructs - so demons, devils, elementals, etc., and not elves, goblins, chimerae, etc. For undead, I would limit it to necromancer-spawn (i.e. skeletons and zombies). There's obviously a subset of monsters that the immunity applies to, otherwise why would there be a ST bonus and attack penalty associated with the spell?
|
|
|
Post by foxroe on Dec 19, 2017 0:03:50 GMT -6
I played Traveller a couple of times in the early 1980s, and I can hardly remember the first thing about it! It's a great game (the "classic" original version), full of old-school sensibilities a la OD&D. Everything is pretty much a 1 or 2 d6 roll, the referee is the final arbiter and is encouraged to make rulings on the fly, etc. You can still purchase it directly from Marc Miller here: www.farfuture.net/FFE-CDROMs.html ("The Golden Age")
|
|
|
Post by foxroe on Dec 18, 2017 2:05:14 GMT -6
..and Book 5, [i[High Guard[/i], goes into detail on how to create ships up to 1,000,000 tons, but the combat system is different (and a bit more detailed) and doesn't work well with the "small" ships. In the basic ship combat rules, life is simple - roll 2d6 + modifiers >= 8 to hit, roll on one damage table (again, 2d6). In [i[High Guard[/i], space combat is more like a wargame. The rules are bit more complicated: it's also a 2d6 roll to hit, but the target number changes based on how many weapons are firing (or how big it is), what defenses the target is using, and what type of weapon is being fired. Then there are different damage charts to roll on, the roll is modified (and so on)... blech. Don't get me wrong; in my younger days I greatly enjoyed mega-ship fleet actions in Traveller, but nowadays I prefer simplicity in my rule sets. IMO, the basic Traveller "small" ship rules are more than adequate for the use of starships in a sci-fi RPG setting. If one wanted to introduce a larger ship into the "small" system, one could just mash a bunch of identical 5,000 ton ships together and call it a day. Hey, wait a second... are you trolling us geoffrey? Have you seriously never played Traveller?
|
|
|
Post by foxroe on Dec 16, 2017 18:19:42 GMT -6
I've always found the concept of enormous space-faring capital ships to be odd. I mean they're a pretty cool sci-fi trope; how can you not like giant interstellar space fortresses bristling with massive weapons that put the entire world's nuclear arsenal to shame?
But seriously, they seem way too impractical in use. Firstly, even in null-gravity, the science and engineering involved to overcome the material stresses and strains in constructing large ships has to be well off of Traveller's TL scale (unless of course one considers hollowed out space rocks). Secondly, the energies involved in moving, operating, and weaponizing such a platform have to be impossibly sun-like. And thirdly, the return on investment has to be worthless given the crap-shoot that such a thing would survive any major engagement.
IMO, ignoring Book5, the small starships from Book 2 are much more "realistic". It seems to me that an armada of 3000-ton warships would be far more practical (and probably cheaper) than a squadron of 100kton dreadnoughts.
Watchya think?
|
|
|
Post by foxroe on Dec 15, 2017 19:36:05 GMT -6
Mother helps Henry with the ship and volunteers to stay on board while the others gallivant.
|
|
|
Post by foxroe on Dec 15, 2017 19:34:29 GMT -6
Sharron asks some of the ground crew as she walks around the outside of the Sun stretching her legs, "There a local watering hole where we can get in trouble?"
|
|
|
Post by foxroe on Dec 15, 2017 19:07:25 GMT -6
Brookhurst Hobbies should still supply Xyston Miniatures. They're based in southern California ( brookhursthobbies.com). Thanks Starbeard ! Hey, they even carry the 1/600 war galleys... Dangit! I'm trying to save money, not spend it!
|
|
|
Post by foxroe on Dec 14, 2017 19:27:23 GMT -6
Does anyone know what the best sources are for ancients miniatures (preferably 15mm)? It's looking like eBay, but I'd rather deal directly with sellers (in the US). Splintered Light has 15mm Dark Age historicals. I like their stuff. www.splinteredlightminis.com/15daagehi.htmlOtherwise, Alternative Armies (formerly 15mm.co.uk) has good stuff. www.alternative-armies.com/Thanks chicagowiz! Alternative is a UK seller, but I hadn't come across Splintered before. The detail looks pretty good on those sets.
|
|
|
Post by foxroe on Dec 11, 2017 0:16:11 GMT -6
DBA is a wonderful game. I hear the whole argument decrying that it is "rock, paper, scissors" which is an argument that can be applied to virtually every wargame. This is the very nature of combat. To be a successful commander, you must exploit enemy weakness. DBA does exactly that in a simple way. Unlike "rock, paper, scissors" you don't always win the favorable matchup, which is the way it should be. There are a fair amount of top down counters at the Junior General site. Many are mounted on square or rectangular bases. 2cmX4cm or 4cmX4cm. DBA can be played with these but you will get a slightly different experience with them since, solid blades, for instance will fall back as fast as Auxilia or Psiloi. Not really a big deal. You just need to be aware of the slight change for when you play with "properly" based troops. www.juniorgeneral.org/index.php/figure/figureList/topdownsIf you want to apply your own paint program skills, here is a sheet of masters, many of which I made or modified. www.juniorgeneral.org/index.php/figure/view/TopDownAncientscoloredDBA is great fun and a fantastic game for an evening of lite fare. That was my plan! I was thinking about doing a solo Greek-Persian v1.0-style campaign, and the paper flats are a much cheaper alternative to amassing metal armies for solo games. For now, I'm using the "counters" I showed up-thread.
|
|
|
Post by foxroe on Dec 7, 2017 3:05:08 GMT -6
When you say "Bath-esque", do you mean you were running a Hyborian age campaign using historical cultures? Sound pretty swanky/boss/epic (or whatever phrase it is that kids use these days).
|
|
|
Post by foxroe on Dec 7, 2017 2:58:01 GMT -6
Well, that's "if" I were to create such a class; I wouldn't though. To me, within the frame of reference of just the 3 LBB's, the Assassin is more of a specific occupational label (like "Thief"). Any of the three core classes can use their abilities to perform an assassination, just like they can steal things if they so desired. Anyway, just random lunch-break thoughts.
|
|
|
Post by foxroe on Dec 6, 2017 19:29:24 GMT -6
If I were to create an Assassin class whole-cloth, and keep it within the scope of the three LBB's:
1. Same as Fighting-man 2. Chance to surprise 3:6, but limited to leather or chain, no shields 3. Able to extract and use poisons from monsters 4. Chaotic alignment only
|
|