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Post by extildepo on Jun 12, 2016 20:56:48 GMT -6
This is my first post here. I hope it's in the right place in the forum.
I am starting a new campaign setting (and a new campaign) and OD&D is going to be the system. I'm posting here to (hopefully) receive some good advice and glean from other's experiences, triumphs and folly. But first some background:
I've been DMing since 1983 (and I won't give you my entire history) so I am a 2nd wave (maybe 3rd wave) grognard. Since 2004 I've been working with the same homebrew setting for 1E AD&D: Messoria. I drew the maps in 2004, but didn't have players at the time. I filled in some details. Later, in 2006, I started doing many one-shot sessions and finally, in 2013, I started an ongoing campaign which is coming to an end very soon. Before that, I usually ran my games in Greyhawk (1983, or thereabouts, box set). I'm bored with my old world though. There are many things I like about it (and I want to retain for this next world) but I feel I made a few mistakes that are hard to retract. I'm ready to start "fresh."
The other day I drew a map. The western portion of a Europe-like continent or subcontinent. I was thinking 50 miles to the hex. I will make more maps (of a more regional in scale) once I have cleared a few things up and made some decisions. There are four kingdoms (or provinces or baronies or what have you), adjacent to each other, which largely share the shores of a Mediterranean-like sea. I've already noted what parts of the kingdoms are "developed" in terms of agriculture, major cities and major roads...no villages though (the scale is too large yet). All four kingdoms still have vast tracks of mostly undeveloped wilderness. North of those kingdoms, more vast and forested wilderness - snow peaked mountains, major rivers, inland lakes, swamps and badlands...
Why OD&D? I want to modify things quite a bit and OD&D seems the ticket (more on that later)...
Materials Available
Of most importance:
I have the 3 LBBs coming to me (being shipped) OCE prints, I believe
I have the "Premium Reprints" of the LBBs in the wooden box (this includes Blackmoor, EW & GD&H...)
I have an original copy of Greyhawk, Supplement I
I have the Judge's Guild Ready Ref Sheets
I have pdf printouts of The Strategic Review issues 1 through 7
I have a pdf printout of Chainmail
Of secondary importance (or reference):
Holmes Basic
The 1E Monster Manual
The 1E DMG
I have the first 3 "little black" Traveller books...of particular importance is Book 1
Things I want to do in this campaign:
Monsters: I only want to use the most basic/common monsters from fairy tales and folklore and none of the monsters specific to D&D (i.e. I'll use giants, orcs, trolls and ogres but no mind flayers, rust monsters, etc). I'm going to create my own "weird" monsters - either variants of D&D-specific monsters or something created whole cloth.
Magic: I want this to be a low magic campaign but I'm not sure how magic is going to "work" in this world. I do know that I want two basic types of magic: witchcraft and sorcery (clerics may not actually get magic in this world or clerics may become sorcerers). Witchcraft = an innate, often maleficent, and chaotic power. Witches are born witches. Sorcery = magic by process (i.e. learned and formula-based). A third type of magic, "enchantment" may represent the "faerie" non-maleficent form (this would be an elf thing). All forms of magic will be antisocial and feared if not completely outlawed. These terms (witchcraft/sorcery, etc.) may change or be refined as I further develop the milieu.
Religion: I want to develop a new pantheon of either neutral or lawful evil entities/outsiders who control a good portion of the political realm of the world. Some clerics are fooled into thinking they are forces for good. Higher priests know the truth and are either corrupt sociopaths or secretly trying to disrupt the influence of (or destroy) these aliens. Demons exist too - they are chaotic in nature and are served by the witches and used by the sorcerers. There also has to be a force for "good" in the world too - but I'm not sure what that might be yet. Also, I'm not sure how the world of ghosts/undead will work, yet.
Character Gen: I want to create a new character generation process that is similar to how Traveller works. Basically, players can send their proto-PCs on "tours of duty" in exchange for more/better skill. The risk being that characters may die before their first real adventure. Social rank should figure into this process. Some sort of political backdrop must be developed too (although it need not be too detailed). I'm thinking of separating "profession" from "class" (class in the D&D sense, which is really, "archetype"). For example, a soldier who does several tours of duty is obviously a fighting-man class, but an jem cutter might have some other underlying class (perhaps cleric or thief). The details are not there yet... A town councilor might also be a cleric-type (if only in terms of HP and combat tables). Witches can be any class. Sorcery might be something you take on later in life (as in priests or aldermen becoming sorcerers). Perhaps every 4 years spent "developing" a character earns them one level in "pre-play." I'm also thinking of adding a couple of new stats: Power (representing force of will and in some cases innate magic, the average on int and wis), Sanity (a stat secretly tracked by the DM, equal to power at first) and Luck (the average of all 6 original abilities). Power and Sanity come directly from Call of Cthulhu. Luck is a new thing (for me). Perhaps they are non-refundable lifetime points can be spent to save one's neck.
...
Anyway, my trajectory is to outline: 1) the lay of the land 2) Basic Cosmology 3) political/religious structure and then develop a very small portion where the "real" work (the adventuring and exploration by players and me) can begin. I want most of the specific stuff to emerge from actual play - so I'm really talking about building a broad framework here (i.e. I don't want/need to build too much of this world before we start playing).
Thoughts , stories, advice appreciated.
Cheers!
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Post by tkdco2 on Jun 13, 2016 2:45:53 GMT -6
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Post by extildepo on Jun 13, 2016 7:18:32 GMT -6
That's an interesting read! Thanks, Tkdco2.
In his "Character and Conflict" book he sticks very close to the Traveller mechanics. It's a good starting point, althrough since I am building a specific milieu I can get more specific with the professions (careers in the aforementioned C&C). The professions I allow for PCs will be limited compared to NPCs - only certain "types" are driven to adventure.
Some thoughts. I think I will be using these D&D archetypes/classes as the underlying mechanic for the various professions:
fighting-man: for professions involving soldiery, including noblemen/noblewomen who, by virtue of birthright, take on higher leadership positions in the military. Luck (the new attribute) might play a factor in social status.
thief: for professions where wit and cunning would prevail, including untrained mercenary-types - I think this might be the base-class in this milieu.
cleric: obviously for priests but also for "clerical-like" professions (without the magic element) - not sure yet. As I mentioned before, clerics might have no magic in this world, or perhaps the whole class gets illiminated.
magic user: for those who never picked up a sword or mace and went straight into sorcery
I like the use of "terms" in C&C as a generic term for "tour of duty" from Traveller.
Characters like paladins (holy crusaders) and rangers (hunters, woodsmen) will also come into play.
Cheers!
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Post by Vile Traveller on Jun 13, 2016 7:23:55 GMT -6
I personally think CT's original character generation system is the best in RPGs, bar none. Your universe sounds interesting, probably a bit more detailed than I would start with but hey, that's personal taste. I know that lots of people have tried adapting CT to fantasy, not sure how many of them completed the project. It's certainly a tempting target, given the fact that both sets of LBBs (one brown, one black) are so closely related. Have you seen Mercator? zozer.weebly.com/free-rpgs.html |
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Post by extildepo on Jun 13, 2016 13:11:06 GMT -6
I personally think CT's original character generation system is the best in RPGs, bar none. Your universe sounds interesting, probably a bit more detailed than I would start with but hey, that's personal taste. I know that lots of people have tried adapting CT to fantasy, not sure how many of them completed the project. It's certainly a tempting target, given the fact that both sets of LBBs (one brown, one black) are so closely related. Have you seen Mercator? zozer.weebly.com/free-rpgs.htmlThanks Vile. I'll check that out. I think I should state, for clarity, that the only aspect from CT I want to inject into this OD&D campaign is a similar decision process at character creation (specifically, risking the PC for greater development) and not any of the actual mechanics or terminology. I won't actually be merging rules from CT into OD&D (at least at this point, I don't think I will  ?). I think the first branch in the decision tree will be "race" (for lack of a better term). Human or demi-human based on rolled ability scores. I plan to be more restrictive with race than profession or class. I think LUCK can play a role at this early phase in chargen. Perhaps the player can spend LUCK to improve certain abilities (to a limited extent and remembering that LUCK can only be spent and not gained). Once the race is determined, the next thing would be to determine social status. This might be dependent on or modified by remaining LUCK. Social status and race will limit what professions (and subsequently class) are available to the PC. After that it's the "tour of duty" or "terms" game where the PC risks death (and gains age) in return for experience. Perhaps one level gained per term survived up to a certain max (determined by race). Race might be an issue. I would prefer to keep elves "mythic" and NPC only, but players love to play them... |
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Post by extildepo on Jun 15, 2016 22:48:05 GMT -6
But perhaps I have already taken it too far? I still want this to be "D&D," after all ... So here's what I'm thinking (at this stage). Equipment: M&M, U&WA, M&T + Greyhawk + TSR issues + JG Ready Ref Sheets + these house rulings and setting. The races will be Human, Dwarf, Hobbit and Half-Elf (but not full-elves). Classes (Archetypes really) will include the three main: fighter, cleric and mu and Greyhawk thief. Added to these (and largely house ruled) will be TSR #2 Ranger and Greyhawk paladin. Theses archetypes will be built into available "career paths" which the players choose during character generation. For example, only PCs of noble blood may be Paladins. A serf or escaped slave might be a cutthroat thief. We have these new stats: Luck, Power (POW) and Sanity (SAN). POW and SAN start at the same value. They are the average of INT and WIS. SAN is tracked secretly by me, the Ref. LUCK is likewise derived from the existing 6 D&D stats, being the average of all six stats. The six D&D stats are rolled in order, 3d6. I'll allow the players to roll their own. How PWR and SAN come into play will be very close to how they work in Call of Cthulhu 1st Ed. LUCK will feature prominently in character creation and in game (but in different ways). To test luck (generally) I have this: Universal Luck Outcome Table or ULOT. (Ulot, will also be the name of a deity - the god of luck/fortune): roll 2D6 ->
luck score
| 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | | 18 | F | E | D | C | B | A | A | A | A | A | A | | 16-17 | F | F | E | D | C | B | A | A | A | A | A | | 13-15 | F | F | F | E | D | C | B | A | A | A | A | | 12 | F | F | F | F | E | D | C | B | A | A | A | | 9-11 | F | F | F | F | F | E | D | C | B | A | A | | 6-8 | F | F | F | F | F | F | E | D | C | B | A | | 0-5 | F | F | F | F | F | F | F | E | D | C | B |
The outcomes are as follows (General): A = Excellent / Best possible outcome B = Good /Expected Results C = Mostly good / mixed results D = Mostly failure / mixed results E = Failure F = Worst Possible Outcome Also, in binary situations that call for a pure test of luck, anything C or better is success while D or lower is failure. However testing luck with this table "in game" will only happen under very rare and special circumstances...in game I would allow players to irrecoverably "spend" luck points to modify any die roll (pre-roll) - until their PC has literally "run out of luck." This table will really only come into play during character creation. Determining social strata and the outcomes of "terms" spent developing a character. These could be tours of duty (if a fighter), missionary work (if cleric), heists or other criminal activity (if a thief), serving in a coven (if a witch or druid), studying under a master (if a sorcerer), etc. When determining the outcome of terms spent, a result of 'F' will always mean death. An 'E' results in some major wound and either discharge (in the case of military service), defrocking, dismissal or the like (i.e. they can't do more terms). A 'D' results in a discharge and some major scaring. A 'C' indicates some scaring but would allow reenlistment or continuation (at the player's option). An 'A' would indicate excellence in the field - perhaps a decoration or some honour placed upon the PC. Each successful term grants the new character one level of experience above 1 but will age them 4 years (or more in the case of demihumans). Race, social status and the number of terms spent developing would determine starting money. I'm also toying with the idea of allowing players to "spend luck" on the 6 core abilities (starting Luck score diminishing as a result, of course) and even on the "social status" roll. So it would be possible to have a PC of noble blood with exemplary stats and hardly any luck. Such a character might opt for only one "tour of duty" as a high-ranking officer in the King's Army (even if they survived unscathed) or may find themselves dishonoured and disowned by their wealthy family. If I'm being too vague here it's because 1) I'm still hashing this out and 2) I want to keep things a bit free-form to allow players and me to develop an interesting story. Also, I'm still thinking about the "world," which will determine a lot. There needs to be some political backdrop to all this and a basic understanding of the cosmology... |
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Post by extildepo on Jun 30, 2016 20:10:17 GMT -6
I've been doing some more thought-work on this (perhaps this requires a new thread somewhere else on the forum?). I sat down and sketched out a very vague historical timeline dating from about 3000 BCE (before the catastrophic event - the nature of which is still unclear to me) to the fall of the Tibres Empire (year 0), through a reformation around 600 AD about 900 AD (present campaign century). Dwarves seem to have existed parallel to but isolated from human culture, however other demi races (elves / hobbits) do not "appear" until after The Event. The Four kingdoms of Western Taál are Krogh'Ta (think Germany/Denmark), Sironan (think France/Spain), Tibrés (think Southern France and Italy), Tukolmi (think Greece and Turkey). North of Krogh'Ta are the Wilderlands - isolated by mountain ranges and thick wilderness - here are where the Elves reside, somewhere unknown to most. There are several conflicts going on here in the 900s (some of them centuries-long). Internally, Krogh'Ta is dominated by one major clan (the Drachnech) who believe themselves the sovereign rulers of the lands, but they clash with other rival clans for control of various territories within and are at constant war with the Dwarves of the White Peak. It is between the Dwarves and the Drachnech-controlled City-State of Blackshoal where the unlikely Hobbit Shire Enclave exists, nestled just north of the White Mountain Range - out of war's reach. Tibres (home of the Church Papacy) along with its ally Sironan conducts Crusades in the far-east beyond Tukolmi (this "Holy Land," Itan, being of-the-map). The truce between Tibres and Tukolmi is tenuous. Tibres wars with the tribal clans of Krogh'Ta who dare encroach upon her from the north, however she is allied with the Drachnech Clan (who control the northwestern portion of Krogh'Ta). But back to char gen. The ULOT (see above) can be utilized for a few other purposes. Specifically where enchantment/witchery are concerned. There will be three "types" of magic: witchcraft/enchantment, sorcery and mystical Witchcraft/Enchantment is an innate power. It's my answer to psionics or the "psionist class." Witches are feared, outlawed and persecuted throughout Taál unless they happen to live in cultures/enclaves where "enchantment" is tolerated (it is all a matter of culture/context whether one is "enchanted" or "bewitched" an "oracle" or "demon-possessed" a "shaman" or "demon worshiper"). Witchery is the result of 1) having strong natural Power (PWR = INT+ WIZ / 2) 2) having an "outsider-being" (demon/devil/spirit/deity/etc.) take interest in the character in question and 3) the character developing a pact with said outsider. Any character can have this trait with the exception of Dwarves who cannot perform magic of any form (save using magic weaponry). A character with a Power score over 13 may qualify for witchery/enchantment. A binary roll on the ULOT (made once in the Ref's presence) will determine if they have the "gift" (or curse). The ref will assign an outsider-being to the character (the nature of whom depends on culture/context). At first level, the character simply accepts the outsider into their consciousness in return for power. With subsequent levels, the Patron-Outsider will attempt a Geas upon the witch (the nature of which depends on the outsider). The character must test their luck on the ULOT to determine if they fall to the geas. The alignment of the Patron-Outsider need not "align" with that of the witch. A witch (or oracle or druid, etc.) may take on any other additional class or profession they qualify for (essentially being multi-classed). For example, a knightly noblemen (fighter class) may also secretly be a witch who has made a pact with a demon. Such a character would divide experience between classes as a fighter/magic user. The differences between a witch/enchanted character and a magic user is as follows: A) There is no spell memorization and no need for books. The witch may choose any spells available to them from the MU list (as clerics do). I may create a spell list specific to witchery/enchantment (made up of both MU and Cleric Spells) B) Paraphernalia (material components) may be required for some spells but are always sympathetic in nature and will be determined by the ref and player in-game C) The same "spells per day" restrictions apply as per normal MU's except for every spell level cast the witch temporarily looses the equivalent in PWR that day (until they have cast their max number of spells/level or run out of PWR, whichever happens first). For example, a second-level witch may cast 2 1st level spells (each costing 1 PWR each). A tenth-level witch with 13 power might cast 2 fifth-level spells and 3 first-level spells before running out of PWR. This limits the witch's power (compared to conventional MUs) at higher levels. D) Current PWR will be used as "savings throw" against the powers of other witches. For such PWR vs PWR events (or any stat vs stat type events) I created this table: Active vs Reactive Matrix (AVRAM)(roll 2d6, AS = "automatic success," AF = automatic failure") Reactive Score ->
Active Score
(below) | 18 | 17 | 16 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | | 18 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | AS | AS | AS | AS | AS | AS | | 17 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 2 | AS | AS | AS | AS | AS | | 16 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | AS | AS | AS | AS | | 15 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | AS | AS | AS | | 14 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | AS | AS | | 13 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | AS | | 12 | AF | 12 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | | 11 | AF | AF | 12 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | | 10 | AF | AF | AF | 12 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | | 9 | AF | AF | AF | AF | 12 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | | 8 | AF | AF | AF | AF | AF | 12 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | | 7 | AF | AF | AF | AF | AF | AF | 12 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 |
Note: Notice I lumped Druids in with witches - I won't be using the EW druid class, but I might include the spells in the witchery list. Sorcerers are Magic Users as written in the LBBs. Sorcery is also heavily outlawed and feared. Characters who choose Witchcraft or Sorcery as their only "class" must serve in pre-adventuring professions that would make a good "cover" for this activity. People of Noble blood (e.g. dilettantes) would find this easy - people of lower caste will have greater challenges. A Freeman bookbinder or seller would work really well as a closeted sorcerer. Perhaps (because of a poor luck roll for their second term as a bookseller) they find their store the target of a witch hunt - the store is burnt to the ground and the character narrowly escapes town, beginning (rather precipitously) a new life of adventure (as a second-level MU). |
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Post by extildepo on Jul 3, 2016 14:34:22 GMT -6
The worst sort of Sorcerer is the combined Warlock-Sorcerer (or Witch-Sorceress, or Enchanted-Wizard). Combining both innate/granted ability and use of arcane lore a level 1/1 Witch-Sorcerer can cast one spell via his/her Patron-Outsider (as explained above) and one spell from memorization. Unlike standard MUs the warlock-sorcerer can use his PWR to fend off incoming spells of any sort (either as a test on the ULOT or PWR vs PWR on the AVRAM).
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Post by extildepo on Jul 7, 2016 20:12:23 GMT -6
OK, I've set up a date to test all these house rulings (Friday July 22, 2016) and I've got three players lined up so far with hopefully more to join. Rather than create a dungeon for this one-shot open-call-type game, I've decided to adapt B2: Keep on the Borderlands into this world. I'll be placing the Keep/Outpost in the northern province of the nation of Sironan (known as Cicenott) in a remote area along the northern border, adjacent the White Peaks mountain range. The White Peaks create a natural border between Sironan and the "barbaric" Krogh'Ta nation (which is really just a collection of clannish tribal territories and a major city-state). The White Peaks themselves are fabled to contain the hidden domain of the Krög Clan (a secretive Dwarven Clan). However, if one were to somehow pass through the White Peaks, then one would find the shortest passage to the Hobbit Shire Enclave from eastern portions of Taál and the "Holy Far East." Our heroes have been hired by a Hobbit Tea Trader who was seeking safe passage to the Keep for he has heard rumour of a hidden mountain pass, and if such a pass indeed exists it would be of great benefit to himself and his homeland (note: the known route circumvents the mountain range by way of boat and a long road eastwards through Krogh'Ta). Now that the stout Tea Trader has arrived at the Keep/Outpost, he intends to convince his hirelings to aid him in blazing this new trail. Of course, the roads to the Mountains lead through the ravine and past the Caves of Chaos...
I'll be creating pre gen characters for my players. Some ideas I've been tossing around:
An second generation "urban dwarf" smithy from the city of Tibres who wishes to visit the White Peaks, for he believes his father was a member of the Krög clan and wishes to learn more about his bloodline. Perhaps he believes he has noble blood.
A defrocked low-level priest of the Holy Thaumaturgic Church (the dominant religion of Western Taál) who now works as a thief "on the run" from the Church. A place as remote as the Outpost Keep appeals to this character.
A sorcerer/budding sage who already knows of the evil cult that resides in the "caves of chaos" and wishes to examine it and perhaps obtain any magic items of interest.
And of course, a few fighting-men and straight up thieves working as mercenaries Perhaps the thief is fleeing a bad situation with a local crime syndicate and the fighters may be ex-soldiers seeking fame and fortune.
B2 seems an ideal module for this - it's so open ended. Perhaps the task of fitting B2 into this home-brew OD&D campaign setting deserves its own thread. Names will have to be created - new rumours about the Krog
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Post by kesher on Jul 12, 2016 11:20:27 GMT -6
Awesome, both the table AND the God of Luck.  Way off topic, it occurs to me that you could use ULOT to adjudicate outcomes when characters attempt something using any of their ability scores, in place of the traditional "roll under the number on a d20"... Oh, and welcome! |
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Post by extildepo on Jul 12, 2016 11:26:01 GMT -6
Awesome, both the table AND the God of Luck. Way off topic, it occurs to me that you could use ULOT to adjudicate outcomes when characters attempt something using any of their ability scores, in place of the traditional "roll under the number on a d20"... Oh, and welcome! Thanks, kesher! True, about ULOT and ability checks! Also I like the robust curve of 2d6 - the original"attack roll" dice! |
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Post by extildepo on Jul 20, 2016 9:10:25 GMT -6
 Rolling up those pre-gens! |
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Post by extildepo on Jul 23, 2016 7:58:26 GMT -6
Well, the game happened. Six players, plus myself.
EDIT: Since I wrote this on my phone, I'm went back to edit a few things for clarity-sake...
Warning, some B2 spoilers below...(but I'm sure you know this stuff...)
B2 was easily shoehorned into my campaign world, however the players were less interested in hints and facts about the "greater world" than the minutiae of the Keep inhabitants. The Keep was named Sirohelm. The party arrived there as hired men-at-arms/guards for a tea trader's caravan - their contract now honoured, the tea trader paid them. There was a lot of drama at Sirohelm Keep before Our Heroes were eventually driven out by the Captain of the Guard. I had the Night Watch (the Captain of the Watch and his men based out of battlement 12) corrupted by the visiting priest (Brother Terrence) who was a supposed monk but actually a member of an evil cult (the shrine in the keep - a cult to Nyarlathotep). The Night Watch tried to frame Our Heroes for a murder they committed. The Captain of the Guard believed Our Heroes were innocent and so he banished them (knowing it would be hard to prove their innocence) and arrested the Watch.
Later, Our Heroes ambushed Brother Terrence and his acolytes who were on their way from the Keep to their secret shrine in the Caves of Chaos. This should have lead the players to the shrine, but they killed the acolytes and Brother Terrence (after some torture and unsuccessful interrogation). Mad with a sick sense of pleasure, because his own torture was indicative of "the coming of the Crawling Chaos," Terrence would have been more than happy to lead Our Heroes to the Shine - knowing that the ruby mirror would surely corrupt them...but players will be players...
Anyway, they eventually make their way to the caves and, rather randomly, enter an Orc Cave (the one with the wall of heads). After slaying about 4-6 orcs they were driven out by the rest of them, right out of the ravine. Forced to camp off the road (but too near the caves), they were attacked by angry orcs that night. The resulting carnage attracted the owlbear, on it's predawn hunt. The owlbear was slain but took out half the party, which drove them out of the area and back towards the keep. Hoping everything got "sorted out" with the Night Watch back at Sirohelm, they run into the tea trader who is now heading northeast with some new hired guards along the road, towards the caves area...they told him he should turn back, and after relating their experiences at the caves he did. That's were we called it quits - about 4.5 hours of gaming.
I forgot to make a toast to Gygax that night (his birthday is approaching)...but I think he would have been pleased.
The players said they enjoyed using the luck points in-game, the rule being you announce their use and how much before the die is rolled. One player spent all his luck to kill the owlbear - wise. I made good use of the ULOT too, for both luck tests and ability checks.
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