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Post by xerxez on Apr 3, 2011 1:09:41 GMT -6
Good stuff. I have thought much about volunteering to run some games at a hospital for kids or veterans in a vets center, problem being some religious paranoia for games like D&D in the state where I reside.
I think the key is to have a lot of interesting playing pieces (miniatures or larger, evocative and well crafted art works) and have few if any set rules--heck, just grab a set of percentile dice and say that high rolls are bad and lows rolls good--and then design an adventure around your playing pieces.
Thanks Kesher.
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Post by xerxez on Apr 1, 2011 11:56:10 GMT -6
Just saw this thread.
I must say, I don't think any one work is completely ambient of D&D as it is an amalgamation of so many different modern authors, fairy tales, and world mythology.
If forced to pick, though, I would agree with Geoffrey that the particular tome by Fritz Lieber he mentions is the most evocative of D&D as it has normally been played.
Piers Anthony's "Xanth" works come to mind as well.
Problem with Lieber's works is, as I remember, no demi-humans or humanoids. If one added Elves, Dwarves and Halflings and the goblinoid races to Newhon you would have the essential D&D setting.
Middle earth is defiintely an alloy of the D&D compound but the books would not convey any sense of the game at all in my opinion.
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Post by xerxez on Mar 30, 2011 5:11:48 GMT -6
Thanks! These are tremendous.
The Derinkuyu system is amazing! A true mega-dungeon with soft rounded edges--an awesome aesthetic.
It's got me inspired already--perhaps I can find a book with detailed maps.
Here is a video for it on YouTube.
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Post by xerxez on Mar 29, 2011 7:06:47 GMT -6
Paint the words "Danger--Keep Out" on the door.
Someone will eventually figure out how to get it open.
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Post by xerxez on Mar 29, 2011 3:14:15 GMT -6
The older games have spirit I see in few later systems.
There is a passion and experimental excitement born from coming off the first gamers' tables and love of the game and fantasy was the energizing element, not $$S.
It's true the early game writers wanted to make a living from it and some got lucky and saw some real cash but they really put heart and soul into the products.
The artists are a good example. Sutherland was a very good artist--but to be honest, many games coming off the shelf today have better artwork if artist ability is the yardstick.
But Sutherland's art captured the feel and spirit of D&D. I seldom get that vibe from most game art today.
And truth be told, there is something charming in all of the classical texts since they bring back that first time of wonder when I disovered D&D as a young boy with my friends.
I remember thinking, Wow, here is a way to actually visit the storybook places I loved growing up and have adventures in them!
Everytime I see the old school books, they still give me that feeling.
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Post by xerxez on Mar 27, 2011 5:51:13 GMT -6
Good idea, the book of Vile Randomness!
Here are two tables I created for a Spell Backfire Effects mechanic we used in a rules light game we played.
Some of the effects reflect our rules system (like spell points loss) but the table can easily be adjusted for whatever system you are using and if you don't use it regularly it can be occasionallyused for cursed magical items.
Hope someone can use it.
Xerxez
Spell Backfire Tables
Spell backfire occurs only when a natural (unmodified) roll of 96-100 is rolled by the magic user or cleric when casting a spell.
Exception: Healing magic and remove curse spells never backfire and if a healing spell or remove curse fails, ignore any Critical Failure Results. A spell backfire results in a loss of 1/2 all remaining spell points in addition to listed effect. Roll d100 to determine effect.
Roll 1st on table I.SB and, if indicated, a second roll takes place on table II.SB
Table I.SB Primary Spell Backfire Effects
01-15 Harmless magical effect (rains flower petals, butterfly swarm, etc). Use imagination.
16-30 Spell affects caster, if spell results are vague in this case use imagination. no save.
31-35 Spell affects party member, determine randomly, save permitted.
36-40 Spell results are opposite intended effect, beneficial to target.
41-45 Spell affects caster's party in 30' radius, save permitted except for caster.
46-50 Magical explosion, all within 30' radius lose wound level, save permitted except caster.
51-55 Lose all spell points 1-10 turns, regain 1/2 at end of duration.
56-60 Same as 51-55 except affects all other spell casters in 30' radius, save permitted them.
61-65 Caster stunned by magical backlash, no magic use 1-5 rounds or turns as appropriate*.
66-70 Flash of magic light,30' radius,all in area must save or be blinded 1-5 rounds or turns*.
71-76 Great thunderclap 100' radius,all in area must save or can't hear 1-5 rounds or turns*.
77-80 Caster loses 1 Sorcery Rank for 1-10 turns.
81-00 Consult Table II.SB
*If party or caster is in combat situation, duration of effect is in rounds, otherwise in turns.
Table II.SB Secondary Spell Backfire Results
Roll d100 again on Table I.SB plus a roll on this table. Ignore a second roll 0f 81-00 on table II.SB. Unless otherwise noted, Table II.SB efects permit no saving throws.
01-05 Spell caster's clothes and items become invisible 2-20 Turns, even if they change clothes
06-10 Caster shrinks to half normal height, permanent until remove Curse spell cast.
11-15 Caster changes sex for 2-20 turns.
16-20 Caster changes sex permanently until Remove Curse spell cast.
21-25 Lose all remaining spell points. must be regained in the usual way (i.e., rest).
26-25 Same as 16-20 but all casters in 30' radius affected lose 1/2 s.p. if fail to save.
26-30 Magical Dampening Area created for 1-10 turns or rounds*, no spell casting.
31-35 Swarm of insects or gaseous cloud follows spell caster, 30' radius 1-10 turns or rounds*,+10 on all actions, -10 Movement for those in affected area.
36-40 Caster grows extra body part except head(third eye, arm, extra fingers, etc.). GM determines how this affects Spell caster. Permanent until Remove Curse spell cast.
41-45 Caster grows extra head instantly, the head looks like the caster but has its own nasty disposition and abusive manner of speech. Permanent until Remove Curse spell cast.
46-50 Spell affects NPC friend of caster no matter how far away, no save permitted.
51-55 Impenetrable darkness follows caster 30' radius 1-10 rounds or turns*,+10 on all actions,-10 on Movement.
56-60 A dimension door opens, randomly determined monster appears and attacks caster and party.
61-65 Same as 56-60 but instead of monster a 300 pound ape.
66-70 Same as 56-60 but instead of monster an NPC party has been teleported to caster, use random determination and reaction rolls to determine disposition and alignment.
71-75 Caster bursts into green flames, lasts 1 round, lose 1 wound level.
76-80 An illusion of the spell being successfully cast affects the caster.
81-85 Caster driven insane for 1-10 rounds or turns*, a useless gibbering freak.
86-90 Caster's mouth disappears, 2-20 turns. Cannot talk or cast spells.
91-95 1 Magical Item in 30' radius is disenchanted, determine randomly.
96 Caster teleported 300' away in random direction.
97 Caster becomes an insect or small animal, retains intelligence but cannot fight, talk or cast spells. Equipment/clothes fall to ground, permanent until Remove Curse spell cast.
98 Caster teleported to other plane of existence (usually bad places...) for 1-10 rounds or turns*.
99 Caster becomes an infant sitting on pile of clothes and equipment. Permanent until Remove Curse Spell cast.
00 Caster disturbs and angers a demon or a god or goddess, use imagination.
*If caster or party is in combat situation duration is in rounds, otherwise turns.
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Post by xerxez on Mar 26, 2011 1:49:23 GMT -6
Ah. I meant Dreyer when I said "Herzel". Yes, Joan of Arc was lovely and moving indeed.
And I agree that Vampyr was a compelling and scary film--it feels like a dream one is having while you watch.
I personally don't think Bergman is overrated, though--his films strike a very honest chord.
"Wild Strawberries" is one of his best and very memorable, even for the slow start.
Nothing of D&D in there, though....but one could mine the seventh Seal for some adventure ideas or NPC's.
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Post by xerxez on Mar 25, 2011 1:10:02 GMT -6
There were some very funny moments in the film and I did laugh.
Didn't know there was a dubbed version, I'll look.
But Criterion films tend to be quite powerful in my experience--Joan of Arc by Herzel was another moving film--thiswithout ANY sound at all.
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Post by xerxez on Mar 23, 2011 4:27:23 GMT -6
Recently I discovered the film works of Ingmar Bergman and I have been astounded at the depth and power they hold.
After watching a few of his films (and liking every one of them) I discovered the Seventh Seal.
I don't think I am the only gamer who will like the medieval story and imagery of the Seventh Seal.
Disclaimers:
It's black and white (1957). Its not anything like a silent film, however.
It's Swedish with English subtitles.
It is not exactly historically accurate and it was not meant to be. Bergman did not get confused on the divergent events that he tied together but used poetic license.
Finally, it is unavailable online but can be ordered from Netflix. Or rented from a store, if you can find it.
That said, it is a moving and memorable experience.
A knight who returns from the last Crusade meets Death on a shore. Death has come to claim him but he asks Death to first play him a game of chess as he has heard tales and songs that say Death is a skilled player. Death accepts his offer, and the knight gets him to agree that he will not take him until the game is finished and if the knight should win, he will go free.
Dillusioned by the Crusades, lost youth and fears and doubts about life and death and the existence of God, the Knight tells Death that before darkness takes him, he wishes to perform "one meaningful act".
They do not play the game all at once--they play a series of moves and then death disappears for a time--they resume the game at intervals in the film and during the course of their ongoing game the Knight (and his ignoble and irreverent Squire Jons) gathers a band of unlikely companions and travel for the Knight's castle.
That is all I can say without ruining any of it. This is a moody, philosophical film filled with the themes of life, death, and God.
If you can detatch yourself from the way films are done these days and enjoy it as a medieval story you will like it. I could almost swear that Rutger Hauer modeled his Ladyhawke character's weary but ever chivalrous mannerisms after Max Von Sydow's Antonius Block role in the Seventh Seal. Block is not the cynic that Captain Navarre was, however.
Block is the most compelling character in the entire film and I want to play a character based upon him in the next game I partcipate in as a player. He was very believable. Although he wavers between doubt and faith, he is all the more believable for that.
I already gathered an idea from it for a D&D scenario I am looking forward to using! The personification of Death himself, entering the player's lives via a friendly but weary Knight who is engaged in an ongoing game of Chess with mysterious nightly visitant...
Hope someone gets to see it and enjoys it. Would enjoy hearing from folks who already have.
Xerxez
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Post by xerxez on Mar 12, 2011 2:40:34 GMT -6
Ken--a great job and very playable, all of it. I downloaded it and may use it--thanks!
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Post by xerxez on Mar 12, 2011 2:38:09 GMT -6
Its not my favorite, but you do get a lot of bang for the buck.
Complete rules/spells/tables through the very highest levels, character sheet pages to copy, full color maps and setting descriptions for Mystara and the Hollow World.
The maps alone are worth the price of admission.
Well do I remember the old Moldvay books and the glorious adventures we had in the Grand Duchy!
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Post by xerxez on Mar 8, 2011 14:43:32 GMT -6
I owned this in the eighties. I know where two copies are sitting on a used book shelf and have been thinking about snagging them. One is large size, the other is a smaller version, both are in mint condition and only a few bucks each!
I always thought the system itself was magnificent and we did roll up characters once.
I think it would have been thoroughly playable but if a player has even a modicum of traditional religious belief the magic mechanics could unsettle them a bit.
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Post by xerxez on Mar 1, 2011 13:14:29 GMT -6
That was funny and well done!
Obviously written by or at least involved a person(s) very familiar with old school gaming.
On a serious note, I have long wanted to run one of my sessions where only I as the DM roll the dice but my players have never liked the idea, or at least a couple of them and I have not pushed it. I play often as well and this would not bother me.
It's not a control thing--I honestly think it would add to the story feel, increase suspense, and it would eliminate certain player knowledge, such as regards to secret doors, reaction checks, etc.
Keep them guessing, and imagine the thrill of the DM describing a critical hit that surprises the player whose character made the attack.
Just a thought.
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Post by xerxez on Mar 1, 2011 12:32:36 GMT -6
Kesher, thank you for posting this.
I have Netflix and fortunately this film was available for instant viewing.
I was very impressed!
At first, I looked at the style of art and thought "Not my sort of thing", but after the first five minutes I was amazed at this unique animation concept, and the story and music was just as good.
Good find.
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Post by xerxez on Mar 1, 2011 1:31:34 GMT -6
Appreciate the feedback.
Maybe I'll just cull the level titles from AD&D.
I had to put gaming on hold for a couple months due to life stuff going on but when I resume, I don't care about anything else besides
1.Holmes Basic D&D
2.FGU's "Aftermath."
I dearly love Tekumel but it might be a few moons before I have another go at it.
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Post by xerxez on Feb 28, 2011 14:28:49 GMT -6
My son picked up some D&D materials from a flea market this past weekend.
Among the lot was a D&D Rules Cyclopedia, 1991. First time I've seen it.
I am no big fan of Wizards of the Coast or most post AD&D 1st Edition TSR materials but this is a beaut.
Seems to me the perfect companion for continuing Holmes Blue Book characters well into the higher levels.
It is a compilation of all the Basic, Expert, Companion and Master rules in one volume.
It adds a class, the Mystic, but in all other respects seems very close to the design and the spirit of the Holmes book.
I'd originally been wanting to use modified 1st Ed. rules to continue our Holmes campaign but this is more handy. I like what others here on the forum have done in their house rules as well but this seems too good a resource to pass up.
It is surprisingly well written, instead of being filled with the superlative fluff one normally finds in books from the post Gygaxian epoch.
The art is quite palatable as well.
Anyone else read or use this?
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Post by xerxez on Feb 12, 2011 17:25:33 GMT -6
Hi Guys. I usually post in the D&D sectons of the board. Hope this is the right place to post this. I began a serial web story about a man who survives and searches for meaning in a post apocalyptic wasteland. I invite anyone who likes that sort of thing to read and respond in the comments. Parts one and two are up and it's been a lot of fun. Cathartic, too. Since I'm living in Oklahoma right now, I based it in this area to begin with. As a kid when I live here before some friends of my played D&D but we also ran a TMNT After the Bomb campaign based on the Oklahoma and surrounding area sometimes...it was a lot of fun. Honestly, this tale is something a vampire story as well. Below the link is a pen and ink sketch I did for the latest installment just today. Hope you enjoy. Thanks. Xerxez contagionstory.blogspot.com/
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Post by xerxez on Dec 10, 2010 13:43:16 GMT -6
One of the best forums on the web, without a doubt. I am 39, married 19 years, have two children 16 & 17. When I was 13 I went to spend a year with my grandparents in Oregon. This was 1983. They lived in a rural community--lots of woods to explore but little else to do. There were only two other boys my age living in the area but one of them had the three core AD&D rulebooks and they had been playing for years as his brother was a longtime DM--his brother was away at college and the books and dice were his (we had no minis). They introduced me to D&D and I was hooked instantly. I created my longtime halfling thief character and during ther summer we probably played at least every other day. I also DM'd a few games. I played heavily until I was 19 and then took a long haitus until I was about 36--I almost 40 now and have been making up for lost time! I prefer D&D, AD&D, EPT and Tekumel related games. Occasionally I like post-apocalyptic as when I was a kid we played a TMNT After the Bomb campaign that was quite good--I like post apoc films and lit but my true love is fantasy. I also created a homebrew setting based largely on the Gandalara books by Randal Garret and his wife. We have played this much--it is actually like D&D meets Arabian Nights with some Tekumel ingredients thrown in for good measure, as well as most of the material from the novels. This is our "free from" rules light game. I have no OD&D material except Holmes blue book, but I do plan to get some. I also like medieval and fantasy wargaming and I host weekly games at my home as I have a large living room and we set up a 10x5 folding ping pong table that has been overlaid with nice wood and it makes an awesome gaming table. Thanks Fin for creating the fourm and to everyone for the insightful posts. I have not yet revealed the site to my players...
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Post by xerxez on Dec 10, 2010 3:30:36 GMT -6
P.S. The "barbarians off the boat" is the best premise in my opinion. Or, as has been suggested, transport a party of D&D characters to Tekumel via some sort of miracle or magical happenstance. Or maybe even have them create themselvesas PC's, have a John Carter experience, and wind up on Tekumel where they find that they are stronger and off course can begin to learn combat or spellcasting....hmmm. When I try Tekumel again, I may do that. Alternately, I recommend two scenarios offered free at the Tekumel site (though I had to create a map for one myself): "A Matter of Honor" Very good introductory adventure I studied but have not run yet. Pre-rolled characters, includinga Pe choi, sheds a lot of light on Tsolyani ways and the clan system, this is good if you want to start off as Clan members. Has lots of role playing, some combat, and some puzzle solving as well as a little setting exposition. www.tekumel.com/gaming_advAMOH.html"Welcome to Jakalla" The off the boat introduction. Ran this adventure and it is a total BLAST! Had to create my own dungeon map but other than that it is an excellent intro. I can download the map and a couple player hand outs I used if anyone wants it. I had a veteran D&D player who has played some 25 years and he said this adventure felt like when he was a kid and played D&D the first few games. www.tekumel.com/eoasw1_02.htmlBeyond that, the Tekumel site has tons of adventures you can use.
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Post by xerxez on Dec 10, 2010 3:12:56 GMT -6
I had the good fortune to run an OEPT game for several months.
I love it as a setting and am familiar enough with it to run EPT as a distinct and exotic setting.
I say that to have three players (including the GM) who grasp the difference and are willing to play within the scope of the Tsolyani culture and Tekumelani cosmology is better than more people who do not understand and or are not willing to do so. I had two players who started to get it and gave it a shot but with my other two regulars one began to get frustrated and the other was playing some other strange game in his head the whole time...he stubbornly refused to become Tsolyani--for example he simply couldn't roll with slavery even in a game setting, and slavery is a cornerstone of the world of the Petal Throne and it's social structures. So he set about trying to reform Tsolyanu...okay, whatever.
I wish I would have kept running the game with the two who tried.
Heck, it might almost be smart to grant XP or other point system for players who come to the table each week with a new Tsolyani word or who exhibit some kind of new understanding of the culture. I'm not joking here.
I think more visual aids are needed for Tekumel--even if one has to cut out and paint stock paper figures.
I don't think it works as well to simply use your normal miniatures, something is needed to convey the exotic strangeness of an alien culture and this feel is important.
Beyond this, perhaps the best way is to actually find a total noob and introduce them to roleplaying games with the setting. They don't have to un-learn a bunch of stuff.
And forget Tolkien--forget him completely when you run EPT, def go with the sword and planet feel.
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Post by xerxez on Dec 8, 2010 2:38:17 GMT -6
Um, I have about a million thoughts, but no time to post them right now---this is a placeholder! Thanks for linking to the rules, too---you mentioned these rules in another post, right? Yes I did, you're welcome. I might add that the author of the PDF I linked to is friendly and answered two e-mails I sent him asking a lot of questions about the system. I have the boxed Gardasiyal/Tekumel rules and the Game Master book has a fair sized section written by Professor Barker on how a GM should use this system with the percentile dice, apparently even if using a set of actual mechanics like the Gardasiyal rules.
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Post by xerxez on Dec 7, 2010 4:04:57 GMT -6
For the last 7 months I ran a campaign at my house with quite a few players that was based on a set of "free-form" or "rules light" guidelines I found at the official Tekumel website. It worked well as a system--characters have four elements (Combat, Sorcery, Social rank and Scholarship) and basically a player assigns their aptitude in each, must have one weakness, can only be adept in one or two areas, etc. Aptitude determined modifiers to a simple d100 roll, lowest numbers being the very best and producing a favorable outcome, middle range being neutral, high numbers generating bad results. A 96-100 was a critical fail while a natural 1-10 was a perfect roll and allowed the player to actually narrate the outcome to the GM and other players, something I really liked. The balance was that it had to be an outcome of their previously declared attempted action--I loved the creative and intricate combat descriptions this provoked. The player who stated that he was going to leap into the air, whirl and try to decapitate his two opponents actually had a chance of doing just that, albeit only a 10% chance. If he rolled, let's say a 12 or 13 on the percentile, not a perfect roll, the GM got to dictate what happened but had to incorporate the player's plan, i.e, "you didn't cut off both heads but you did get one of them!" If it was, say, a thief picking a lock, any moderately low numbers might indicate success while a perfect roll might result in the thief being able to instantly open any lock of that nature in the rest of the palace. High numbers might result in a failure to pick the lock, very high numbers could result in the lock pick being broken, or a critical fail might result in a guard passing by, etc. Not D&D, not by any means..but fun and it lead to alot of creative story telling by players and GM alike. I wasn't running Tekumel with the rules, by the way, but a homebrew setting. Now I liked the game as a story telling, role playing based game and the players liked it, even experienced D&D'ers who played loved the freedom and fast play. Draw backs were plentiful, though, one being no sort of real progression. Since your character began pretty much epic or heroic material anyway, this was a minor glitch, the development of the stories were the main thing, not really character progression. Character development was important, but only in the way a character grows and changes in a novel, not with regards to levels or powers necessarily. Combat was another sticky situation. There is only one roll for the player in combat, if he gets a bad roll his character may well take wounds, as much as warranted by the numbers. Strong foes affected his modifiers so it was balanced enough for myself but some just could not accept it. Combat seemed to be the weakest element of the game--if I'd had some committed story tellers around me, I think they could have done okay, but some had used D&D combat systems, were as much gamist in their tastes as narrativist, and after a few months they felt cheated in the arena of battle. A few GM's took it hard when a well planned baddie encounter got trumped by a player rolling a 01. (I understand, that, too...). A DM could simply not stand the thought that his dragon encounter might end with a lucky roll on the part of the player and instant dragon death--yet is this not exactly what happened with Smaug and Bard the Bowman? Granted, the black arrow was undoubtedly magical, too. But in this game, you could actually play someone like Bard the Bowman right off the bat. Anyway, I could see their point. Having dug up my Chainmail rules I can readily see that the Man to Man and Fantasy Supplement rules offer a very fast and enjoyable method of combat. I really dig the percentile roll system and the "perfect roll" clause--so I think am going to retain this feature for all non combat related matters (pick pocketing, bargaining, climbing, etc) and with regards to combat I will still permit a player to make a roll and if they get a natural roll they still get to narrate the outcome of a melee, and if they get the next best roll the GM and player get to decide together as described above but if they do not get such a roll before melee then combat is resolved using the Chainmail Man to Man rules. I think this will give me the best of both worlds! Here is a copy of the D100 Narrative Rules PDF: texaszombie.com/eptd100.pdfI run an occasional Holmes Blue Book D&D game and an AD&D campaign as well, so I love that too, but I am a big fan of "rules light" as well because we had some awesome games and some of the most memorable things took place that never could have happened using tactical rules systems. Anyone have thoughts about this?
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Post by xerxez on Nov 30, 2010 0:51:24 GMT -6
I've got to concur wholeheartedly with those who stated that EPT with the Gardasiyal spells would be awesome.
I obtained EPT and began to run a campaign that lasted almost 6 months, and honestly, I enjoyed the flavor more when I ran it from the EPT rulebook but didn't know a whole lot about the setting.
As I tried to align my games with subsequent studies of the Blue Room, the novels, and the Swords and Glory sourcebook, I found that only a couple of my players really appreciated the uniqueness of the setting--mostly they just tried to play D&D. They found the Tsolyani culture a bit constraining so I changed to a homebrew setting that was Tekumel inspired as well as other sources and that played more like D&D.
I think EPT is an excellent and amazingly comprehensive rules set, and if I had at least three players who wanted to play it as set forth in those rules, I would probably run a game now and then.
On that note, it was the Barsoom section of this board that piqued my interest in John Carter books, which somehow I had never read--I was always strictly fantasy, no sci fi, so I felt it would not be of interest to me. As far as pulp went I had read all the Conan and Kull stories but never the Barsoom saga.
Well, I have been happily devouring these books for weeks and they are the best!
Having said that, unless mistaken, I think I now see ALOT of Barsoomian elments in Tekumel, which is cool actually.
But it's a hard setting to get a lot of gamers interested in, and I gave it my dead level best.
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Post by xerxez on Nov 25, 2010 1:49:22 GMT -6
Monk I refer to the time keeping aspect of the games as "The Meta-Game". Here is an article I wrote (rather sloppy) about the Meta-Game for my Atlantean campaign...not yet underway. batlanteanswords.runboard.com/t43
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Post by xerxez on May 30, 2010 18:58:08 GMT -6
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Post by xerxez on Mar 25, 2010 21:20:25 GMT -6
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Post by xerxez on Dec 21, 2009 11:50:43 GMT -6
In classic EPT the assumption is that you begin play a "barbarian" from the southern continent who washes up on the shores of Jakalla. Personally, I've always found that this rather limits your play, especially in light of later Tekumel games that basically assumed you were Tsolyani in origin. Stupid question: would there need to be many changes in OEPT to play Tsolyani as PCs? No, good question. The barbarian premise works great for introducing people to Tekumel. Barker and others later changed their mind and said they wished they hadn't used it but I disagree. It provides a reason why the characters don't act Tsolyani and can halfway get away with it. Also, you can then use NPC's to explain most everything they need to know or let them learn by roleplaying and trial and error. Furthermore, they can rise to citizenship and clan membership and "become" Tsolyani. After a group of players gets used to the setting and understands it, it makes sense to let them be Tsolyani and use the Nobility skills table.
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Post by xerxez on Dec 16, 2009 15:27:36 GMT -6
What about these ideas:
A roll of an unmodified 1 is a fumble and denotes a loss of that combatants next attack. This is an established house rule.
To make EPT a tad less lethal: for PC's only, a saving throw vs. paralysis (if a foe gets a kill blow with a follow up 19 or 20).
If the save is succesful, the character is unconscious, at 0 hit points, and must be rescued or they can be slain by the combatant if the combatant desires to do so. They would if a warrior get their "dying" strike. To fail this saving roll is to be instantly DOA .
Another idea up for discussion, seeking input: a table for use if a natural 20 is rolled, a critical hit table in other words. The mechanics of such a table can be debated. Besides doing double damage, Characters would make a second throw against the table, which would of course contain ghastly results. Example: 20: decaptitation, instant kill. 19: Vital organ strike, instant kill. 18: Disembowelment, character will die in 1-3 turns (not combat rounds) unless immediately healed by a spell or a succesful use of the physician skill. 17. Amputation-loss of limb or body part, roll d6 to determine limb or body part (ears, fingers etc.). 16: The larger range of numbers (1-15)would be broken up into three sets of damage bonuses in addition to the double damage from the original 20.(1-5 would be +1, 6-10 would be +2, 11-15 +3). Just a thought....
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Post by xerxez on Dec 15, 2009 12:34:19 GMT -6
Okay, but what about actions per round--example that comes up a lot is when fighting undead and slaying them, the efforts involved in reaching fallen warriors and setting them afire--how long it takes to pour oil on a corpse, etc.
Also, intiative is figured per side, not per combatant, so you're saying just add any people who aren't ready with their weapon to the side that lost initiative?
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Post by xerxez on Dec 15, 2009 11:04:26 GMT -6
Any recommendations for how to handle split moves and number of character actions per combat round?
For example, if a character expends full movement to reach a combatant, should they also get an attack that turn or only fighters?
A rule I concieved was to allow a character 3 actions per combat round (drawing weapon, nocking arrow, getting light going, set the Mrur on fire, etc), with half of one's movement being consitituted as an action.
So in other words, you could move half your alloted movement, draw a weapon, and attack (3 actions), or take full movement for all 3 actions, with the exception of warriors who get to attack in every combat round they are in.
This works I think but what about facing? I think in a comabt situation its fair to say that using a hexagonal approach that the character can face direct front, or either of the two adjacent sides without expending an action but to face sideways or behind would require an action.
What think ye?
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