>Trove -- https://mega.nz/#F!3FcAQaTZ!BkCA0bzsQGmA2GNRUZlxzg!jJtCmTLA
>Useful Shit -- http://pastebin.com/FQJx2wsC
Previous thread: https://boards.4chan.org/tg/thread/47321633)
Question: Do you use metallic dragons in your game? How do you use them?
>>47368098
>Question: Do you use metallic dragons in your game?
I'm actually considering the same question right now, since i'll be running my first D&D game and the only requirement one of the players had on it was that "there should be dungeons and there should be dragons".
The only thing i've got in mind so far is that, even if I end up having several spread out in the campaign (not sure yet), that each and every dragon should be treated as "the Dragon" and not "a Dragon".
>>47368892
I'm always a big fan of using dragons as either (a) big political movers, (b) big bad evil doers, (c) maniacal isolationists only to be encountered deep in their extremely complex (read megadungeon) lair).
If you want to retain a feeling of 'The Dragon' while have multiple dragons, make them hard to reach, influential, pivotal, legendary, truly majestic or any combination of this.
For example; the dragon in his swamp lair guarding a nice treasure horde? He is mighty Ilfurix, scourge of the Black Mire. His lair is within a sunken temple of a legendary serpentine god, and he is said to be the direct descendant of that god. His army of snake-men minions guard and revere him. Although cheesy as hell, it allows you to have a different dragon further down the road with a similar grand setting so as not to lose the 'The Dragon' feeling.
In case anyone is interested, I'm wanting to run a S&W game in an hour or so.
See: >>47368816
>>47368892
>>47368983
Check out the Dragon Mountain box set for a good way to have the dragon be some sort of looming figure.
Or maybe Xak Tsaroth from D1, but I don't remember there being that much mention of the dragon before you got down there.
>Do you use metallic dragons in your game?
Most of the time I will actually steal from Dragonlance when it comes to metallics. They exist but keep themselves hidden and intentionally stay out of the affairs of the humanoid races (regardless of what the chromatics choose to do).
Though honestly, sometimes I like my (true) dragons to be so rare that the good/evil metallic/chromatic classification breaks down; every true dragon is a unique individual rather than part of a race based on their color, and the things that common people call dragons are going to be wyverns, salamanders, etc...
>>47368098
Hey buds, do you know any OSR-themed movies?
>>47369181
Pretty much any Sword & Sandal movie, Harryhausen flicks, most Hammer Horror ones and quite a lot of cheesy action ones (even modern stuff like John Carter of Mars).
Average 3rd+ level PC: youtube.com/watch?v=vN-ttCBHyx8
>Dragons
I use them as a created servitor race of the super-intelligent old lizards.
They're powerful but not godlike, arrogant and very picky about their aesthetics, but may bow their heads and even serve someone who is suitably powerful (name level PCs generally) and hugely ostentatious in manner and dress.
/osrg/, I've decided to run a Greyhawk game for my group soon. I'm thinking of putting them through N1 to start with, then branching out from there. Is there anything in N1 you think I should watch out for?
>>47369851
Like all TSR modules it needs to be toned down in parts and may or may not need to be expanded in others.
IIRC, and going by a quick google for a reminder, N1 had issues with:
Very rich peasant NPCs.
A lot of save or die saves vs poison.
Shitty hiding of treasure (no, I don't want my PCs to be encouraged to remove fucking tiles in the dungeon).
The final boss fight is railroady and almost a guaranteed TPK. Even if you change nothing else (and I encourage you to change the rest) revamp this one.
>>47370029
Would you recommend me using T1-4 or U1-3 over N1? I was staying away from them because they're both significantly longer than just N1.
>>47370072
God no.
T1: Homlett and U1 are all fairly good (as is L1 which can be combined with U1) but imo the rest of those series are flawed to hell and back.
N1 is pretty good aside from those aforementioned flaws and the only one that's really a must fix is the final boss battle.
I recommend you check out Tenfootpole's reviews to get an overview of newer modules. TSR ones aren't bad overall (there's some great ones like the Giants and Drow series, B10 etc) but imo a lot of love for some modules have to do with nostalgia. (though i'm not like Tenfoot who'll shit on Keep on the Borderlands)
Also all the newer Dungeon Crawl Classics stuff (after 66.5 and forward) made by Goodman Games is magnificent imo. (but the level recommendations are from DCC RPG which is higher powered than your average D&D game)
Don't forget that Judges Guild had some great ones as well. (Caverns of Thracia, Book of Treasure Maps, Dark Tower, etc)
Anyone have deep carbon observatory?
>>47370339
It's in the Trove in OP.
>>47370330
>L1 which can be combined with U1
Aren't those two at opposite ends of the map?
>>47370359
Just replace one village with the other. I wouldn't take the module's "offical placement" to heart.
>>47369181
Wizards
Can someone explain to me the appeal of Greyhawk? I just don't understand why anyone would play it with Mystara around, much less now when there are like 50 published settings out there, all kinds of resources to roll your own, and so on.
Is there anything that actually makes Greyhawk interesting?
This isn't a diss of Gygax at all. I just don't get it. I started reading the setting book and was bored to tears.
>>47371038
>Mystara
Are we talking Gazetteer Known Worlds or overexplained later stuff?
>I just don't get it. I started reading the setting book and was bored to tears.
I feel the same about Forgotten Realms and that's despite loving the Baldur's Gate and Icewind Dale series.
I guess a lot of love for Greyhawk comes from the great map(s), the sparse DIY World of Greyhawk boxset and how it explicitly is the kind of setting AD&D 1E implies through it's rules. Although i'm not personally a fan so don't take that as the word of god.
That said TSR settings never did it for me beyond reading about them. Planescape doesn't make me want to run it, quite the opposite, but I think it makes nice reading.
Out of the old published settings Wilderlands is more my thing and even then i'd homebrew it beyond all recognition.
>>47371038
>Mystara
Why play that when there's Tekumel?
>>47371274
Gazetteer Known Worlds.
Also, that's interesting. Any more recent OSR settings you like?
>>47371290
I don't know what Tekumel is, but something tells me it doesn't have a nuclear physicist who became a deity to a bunch of underground elves, a secret nuclear reactor deep beneath the earth, dinosaurs and ancient Egyptians on the inside of the hollow planet, etc.
>>47371327
>Any more recent OSR settings you like?
I quite like what i've seen of Gabor Lux's Fomalhaut, the Hill Canton guy's releases and the Clark Ashton Smith-pastiche setting outlined in Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea (I wouldn't use the system though, it's a heavy AD&D variant and i'm more of a Crypts & Things Swords & Wizardry guy).
>>47371327
>I don't know what Tekumel is, but something tells me it doesn't have a nuclear physicist who became a deity to a bunch of underground elves, a secret nuclear reactor deep beneath the earth, dinosaurs and ancient Egyptians on the inside of the hollow planet, etc.
It's a science fantasy where all the Gods are Lord of Light superhuman types, the main setting area is heavily inspired by Mughal India and the Byzantine empire with a heavily clan-based society where sacrificing Chaotic Evil Priests and Lawful Neutral priests tend to get along pretty swell, there's still railcars running underground and aliens hang about. It was a colony of an evil human Space Empire that got cut off due to dimensional fuckery.
>>47371572
Okay, I admit that's pretty cool.
>>47371572
Don't forget they put Hobbits in the Zoo in Bey Su!
>>47371597
The only real issue is that, like Glorantha, it's a fairly heavy setting to take-in and some of it's newer fanbase are fucking assholes who want to tell you how to play and how things "really are". (inevitably some narrativist horseshit or explaining to you how you can't understand it if you're straight, white and male. nevermind the fact that it was created by a straight white male muslim-convert who played it like a pulp setting a lot of the time and explained how to best build a D&D underworld/megadungeon in the very first book released)
>>47368098
>Question: Do you use metallic dragons in your game? How do you use them?
1. Since most can turn into peoples or animals, they can be used to guard a city or something like that while seeming normal, so you don't have to just use classed types to defend such places.
2. When in comparison to chromatic dragons, well, if you look at the breeding rates, dragons can actually outbreed humans. This comes at a terrible environmental and economic price, however, as in my games I require dragons to eat real food. So if good dragons are a force to be reckoned with, evil ones really are.
They're also a good target for evil necromancers and dragon slayers.
>>47371650
lol, Jeff Berry one of the original players has talked on the RPGSite how some retards even did the same to Phil himself.
Telling the author to his face that's not how his setting works. Just amazing.
Is there anything remotely like 3.pfs item familiars, weapons of legacy, bladebound maguseses, etc in OSR stuff?
>>47372692
Generally OSR stuff expects players to worry about stuff ingame rather than customization that happens outside of the game and the availability of magic items are squarely in the hands of the DM.
That said it would be easy for any DM to incorporate similar stuff into any given OSR game assuming they want a higher-powered setting.
>>47372801
Doesn't have to be customization in any way, a wholly linear progression is perfectly fine. At most, the level of customization in a wizard's spellbook is all you'd need.
>they want a higher powered setting
RAW tends to result in you already getting huge amounts of magic treasure, just a lot of it winds up redundant.
>>47368098
>Question: Do you use metallic dragons in your game? How do you use them?
Better question: Do you use gem dragons in your game, and how hard do you fuck with players who mistake them for a different type of dragon?Also, I'm partial to sticking to Gold Dragons being the only Lawful ones (and also being the strongest). It leaves a bit of uncertainty in the dungeon, especially since Lawful doesn't mean "will go along with the PCs' bullshit".
>>47371274
>Out of the old published settings Wilderlands is more my thing and even then i'd homebrew it beyond all recognition.
I'm not sure that it's possible to NOT homebrew that setting beyond recognition.
Unless you're using the 3E remake that overexplains everything, that is. The old booklets have extremely sparse descriptions that pretty much require you to make shit up as you go along.
>>47373280
Which kind of gem dragon? Psionic or BECMI? Both are cool.
I don't think players are particularly likely to attack even dragons they think of as "evil" on sight, unless there's context that they should, as they tend to be aware that most dragons are intelligent and can be reasoned with, and are also very dangerous.
But the reverse of that is that in general, good and evil dragons (or L/C) will probably react to the PCs in a similar fashion -- ie "Um, excuse me, wtf r u doing?"
I've thought about a campaign that would have like, ten levels worth of session that are just a smallish dungeon, its dragon, and its hoard, which prompts a series of unfortunate events.
>>47373490
>as they tend to be aware that most dragons are intelligent and can be reasoned with, and are also very dangerous.
I kind of prefer the old OD&D/1E/BECMI thing where their intelligence is fairly random - in AD&D even a Gold Dragon only has a 90% chance of being able to speak, for instance.
Also, of course, Treasure Type H (for Hoard, presumably) is probably the best one there is in OD&D. So much stuff. I think the dwarven Treasure Type G (for Gold, perhaps) is the only one that comes close?
Dragons are big and nasty and dangerous to fight, but if you can beat them it's probably worth it.
Although you should probably try picking on the little ones. Preferably, like, a white wyrmling. And avoid sticking together in a group. Maybe see if you can get cold resistance somehow. Oh yeah, and see if you can shoot it down with arrows from a distance. That sounds like a good idea.
>made the ugliest character sheets
Hope they somehow work at the table at least
Do you call Spellbooks Spellbooks or do you change it up with different names like grimoire?
I ordered some 'funky dice' for DCC and i'm pretty sure someone stole them off my porch. I'm trying to imagine their face when they find a bunch of weird dice.
>>47376943
Maybe he'll think you're a wizard and give it back to you.
>>47374579
>Although you should probably try picking on the little ones. Preferably, like, a white wyrmling.
A wyrmling would never be on its own like that.
>>47369181
As the excellent recommendations of >>47369282 suggested,
Definitely watch the Sinbad films, (Eye of the Tiger and Seventh Voyage), and Jason and the Argonauts.
Some animated films like Princess Mononoke, Sword of the Stranger, and the Ralph Bakshi films are great adventure fuel too.
Hellboy and Hellboy 2 are good creepy/ myth heavy settings with a bombastic, modern sensibility hero (kind of like PCs in an adventure)
The recent Solomon Kane film is pretty solid, too! Good atmosphere.
Westerns are also great for "hero/s wander into town, sort out problem, move on". The Magnificent Seven is a masterclass of getting a party together. (and obviously the Akira Kurosawa films that were so influential for westerns)
Also, just go watch Star Trek (the original series) again, especially if you want to do spelljammer or town wandering adventures!
bomp
yo. I know this is an all too common question, but I'm looking for some good modules to run. I use LotFP as a rule system, but don't really use Raggis 16th century Europe setting. I've ran Tower of the Stargazer, DFD and The Grinding Gear. But i'm looking for good dungeon crawls that are outside of LotFP, easy to use, and most of all fun. Are there "must run" DnD modules, besides Lost City? Labyrinth Lord? Swords and Wizardry?
Halp.
>>47379474
http://tenfootpole.org/ironspike/?page_id=844
>>47369181
Someone recommended an obscure B movie called "As Above, So Below" recently, and after watching it today, I'm gonna second it. It's like "OSR Modern: the Movie" where a bunch of foolish young people climb down into the catacombs below Paris looking for a lost alchemist's treasure, and then terrifying weirdness happens and most of them get killed in unusual ways. The complete dungeon crawl experience, with battery powered head lamps instead of torches.
>>47380616
Did any of them do anything kickass and clever at any point?
>>47380678
I'd say yes. The protagonist's "Aha!" moment and the harrowing action sequence that followed was pretty cool.
It's not exactly a great movie, but it does feel a lot like a dungeon crawl.
>>47369181
The original Conan is hard to beat. The original Beastmaster is excellent for a grade B movie (if that makes sense).
https://youtu.be/kFXn1KWsZsY
In the humorous category, Mazes and Monsters is a far out game... er... movie. And if you're feeling brave tonight, check out Dragon Strike.
https://youtu.be/FpcL-fQNPfQ
https://youtu.be/B8LBpMuSTrQ
Why not? Who says that dragons aren't like snakes: completely solitary, non-social animals that can only stand to be in one another's territories to mate, and that they abandon their eggs shortly after laying them?
Could be that most dragons lay their eggs in such extremely dangerous places that they are relatively safe from danger.
>>47382510
I'm not sure who you are responding to but just to add my two cents;
Even if you make your dragons intelligent I enjoy the concept of making them totally pro-cannibalism of their younger members like crocodiles. It's part of their culture; essentially if a young dragon is weak, slow, or stupid enough to get caught by a larger one it wasn't deserving of reaching adulthood anyway- they care very little for any of their younglings as they haven't proven they are really dragons yet. If they even treat adult dragons any better is mostly up to you.
>>47371038
the primary parts of Oerth that most people associate Greyhawk with aren't all that exciting admittedly(although the City of Greyhawk itself is a good locale, and Oerth does have a pretty good set of deities attached to it), but one of my favorite D&D settings is technically part of it; the Sundered Empire/God War, which is set in a Western portion of Oerth not seen prior to it's introduction in a version of Chainmail that WOTC briefly published early in 3rd edition's existence
take a look for yourself in fact
>>47371327
>Any more recent OSR settings you like?
pretty much any setting published by Hydra Cooperative, as well as Yoon-Suin, and there's some really great ones on this blog(Troll World is my personal favorite of his); http://gameswithothers.blogspot.de
Does anyone have an evocative name I could replace "spell level" with?
>>47383665
Circle? Tier? Stage? Step? Force? Node? Intensity? Power? Magnitude? Degree? Craft? Secret? Mystery? Rote? Capacity? Discipline? Devotion? Mode? System? Mantra? Truth? Path? Line? Gate? Oracle? Chakra? Form? Order? Rank? Echelon? Mark? Iteration? Stage? Sphere? Caste? Principle? Code? Domain? Frame? Nature? Denomination? Element? Paradigm? Key? Origin? Seed?
>>47383665
> Does anyone have an evocative name I could replace "spell level" with?
Spell circle is my preference. What is the context of the question?
>>47383880
Thesaurus, go home. You are drunk.
>>47383880
Foundation? Stem? Seed? Focus? Revelation? Derivation? Source? Seat? Acclivity? Sign? Cipher? Mark? Revelation? Token? Coil? Vein? Stratum? Rigor? Ordeal? Tribulation? Canon? Foundation? Model? Device? Exemplar? Paragon? Device? Method? Sequence? Ability? Course? Intensity? Eminence? Virtue? Merit? Moment? Axiom? Maxim? Caliber? Stature? Merit? Interval? Limit? Potency? Dominion? Domain? Capacity? Potential? Standing? Station? Status?
>>47384016
>Thesaurus, abscond to your domicile. You're inebriated.
Am not.
>>47383880
>>47384028
So of these, my favorites are: circle, tier, dominion, domain, discipline, devotion, mantra, power and capacity. Order is nice, but it goes in the wrong direction. Paradigm is nice, but it's a bit too long once you stick an ordinal number in front of it.
>>47383880
I can see Spell Tier working well
>>47384028
>look my character sheet
>see that I have 2 Mark circle spells, 1 Coil level spell, and 3 Ordeal rank spells
>look at other player's character sheet
> less than 2 axiom intervals
>not a single order echelon
>laughing_diabolists.jpg
>>47383453
Dick axe?
>>47385101
It has good penetration.
Been playing around with a way to give fighters multiple attacks in a less clumsy way than the 3/2 formula AD&D uses. One thought I had was to simply give them an additional attack each round but to reduce their THAC0 at this point to keep their offensive power in check. They could choose to make just a single strike in order to gain a bonus to their attack that would offset this THAC0 reduction, though this would rarely be advantageous.
>>47385897
So essentially an optional 3.x style extra attack, except optional?
Also this is a nitpick but I'd probably put the THACO on the righthand column, so it's the first thing you read. It "feels" backwards the way it is.
>>47383665
Valence.
"A Valence of the Ninth Order".
>>47386353
>So essentially an optional 3.x style extra attack, except optional?
Well, sort of. All of your attacks would be made at the same THAC0, which makes things a bit simpler. Also, I think of it less an optional additional attack and more like you get two attacks and can optionally sacrifice one in order to get a bonus. I know it's six of one thing and a half dozen of another, but the instances in which making only one attack would help you would be rare, and it'd only even be an option so that there would never be a time when you'd be like "I wish I were a lower level, because then it'd be easier to hit this guy." Think of sacrificing an attack sort of like a careful aim mechanic, where you can spend a round aiming in order to get a bonus to your attack (only you're not spending an entire round to do it, obviously).
>I'd probably put the THACO on the righthand column, so it's the first thing you read.
Left hand, you mean? That seems a bit weird to me as you're referencing your class and level to discover your THAC0, not referencing your THAC0 to figure out your level. The THAC0 column could maybe be set apart somehow though--boldfaced, or boxed, or something. It's still a work in progress at this point though.
>>47386586
It seems like you're replace "level" with "order" there with Valence just adding flavor.
does ANYONE have any of the newer DCC modules in PDF? the Trove section hasn't been updated and I never see them floating around here either.
Does anyone have a copy of Wizards, Mutants, Laser Pistols!
>>47386592
Yeah, I meant on the lefthand, I'm sorry. I think your ideas for making it stand out are better than my idle suggestion. THACO isn't in the same class as level, so it seems "off" to have them look almost identical.
And yeah, I dig your implementation of the attack bonus, I look forwards to seeing the rest of your project.
Aside from "As Above, So Below" mentioned in >>47380616, are there any good horror/adventure mixture movies that are basically dungeon crawls?
>>47387153
Seconding this, I'm looking for Doom of the savage kings.
>>47387268
This guy does:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/WMLP
>>47387448
I'm starting to think we should start pooling together money and buying products with the sum and let it be shared by all.
I'd share some of my shit, but it's Watermarked. How do I remove?
>>47385897
Sorry, but that's a Bad Rule. As implemented, at least.
Not through any fault of your own, though - you just didn't check the math, I guess. The extra attacks mean more average damage at all points... except for when the target number is an 18, when they do exactly as much as a single attack, and when they TN is 19-20 in which case the single attack does a bit more.
Unfortunately, you're very unlikely to ever need to fight someone with high enough AC for that to matter - not when your lowest THAC0 for multiple attacks is 18x2! That means that you'd need to face someone with AC-1 for the single attack to be worth it. Subtract by one for each plus your magic weapon has.
If you're interested in variants of the rule, it looks like giving an extra +1 in the exchange increases the AC it's worth using against by one? It still won't completely save it, though, since even +5/attack exchanged doesn't bring the equilibrium beyond TN 16. And your table gives three attacks at THAC0 15/x3. Yeah.
I'm not entirely sure how I'd go about fixing it, to be honest.
>>47387436
Here you go, anon.
>>47387642
I tried to engineer it so that single strikes would come into play as seldom as possible. I'd rather not have to contend with them at all. That's why I went from 15 THAC0 to 18 x2, which gives you the same amount of damage per round vs. AC 0, and favors 18 x2 for anything higher. 12 x2 and 15 x3 are similarly balanced.
But while I've tried to minimize the conditions under which you'd actually want to sacrifice a strike, they do still exist. Maybe you've got a one-use item of some sort or are making a special sort of attack that can't be repeated two or three times in a round (dropping onto somebody from above, etc.). Maybe you're a weak character (to hit penalty) striking at an enemy with an excellent AC. Maybe you're striking at an invisible creature or are trying to fight while blind or in darkness. Maybe you've been drugged, poisoned, or wounded to the point where you're suffering from a sizable penalty to hit.
The +3 to hit for every strike you forfeit is a "just in case" sort of thing designed to make sure that you never run into the odd circumstance where being a higher level is actually to your detriment.
>>47387359
>And yeah, I dig your implementation of the attack bonus, I look forwards to seeing the rest of your project.
Thanks. It may be that this is the progression I stick with, but I want to keep tinkering around with the numbers and see if anything ends up looking better in some way.
>>47387579
> I'd share some of my shit, but it's Watermarked. How do I remove?
Did you check 7chan's /tg/ ?
>>47388428
Tl;dr: It's a feature, not a bug.
what are some lesser known modules/extras/tools you think should be more known?
pdf related.
What's the best "never played D&D" before introductory module/mini-setting in your guys views?
I've looking a bit at:
OSR ones (Ironwood Gorge, The Darkness Beneath, NOD Hexcrawls, DCC modules),
TSR old modules (N1, U1, L1, T1)
Judge's guild (Trial by Fire, Illhedrin book, bits of the Wilderlands)
Sandboxes (B2, B10, Gaz 1: Karameikos)
But can't really decide on what to use. Any of those stand out to you or any other great introductory adventure you'd recommend?
Swords & Wizardry Complete if that matters.
>>47389180
Tower of the Stargazer. It's got a bit of everything and is specifically made as an introductory adventure. Also Shadowbrook Manor is pretty fun.
I don't recommend using DCC modules outside of the DCC system, myself. But they are fucking awesome. Frozen in Time is a great lv. 1 adventure. As is >>47389051 .
How do you add new players to a given party if they die mid-dungeon? Chained up in the dungeon? Other adventurer whose party died on the way in? Just let them join up no questions asked?
I'm sort of toying with the idea of merc organizations who can be paid to send in new blood at a moment's notice if anyone around is crazy enough to do it (probably stealing those jade slips/tablets that break when you die in Xianxia novels).
>>47389433
Hirelings usually.
For my last run (of Stargazer >>47389235) I had "curious patrons from the tavern follow the group to the tower, standing a good distance back." when someone would die, i'd have one of those onlookers get the courage to peek their head in and see what's going on. roll up some stats for em, give em a few random items and plop em in the game.
>>47389433
That's why you give them hirelings. And try to make sure that individual delves don't take too much time. And encourage players to retreat if things go too badly - in some ways, a dead player is just a less obvious death spiral. Encounters that were previously easy are now challenging, encounters that were challenging are now deadly. Not to mention what happens if, say, the last Fighter dies and leaves the Magic-Users to fend for themselves.
Or you could have them encounter a surviving adventurer or a prisoner or something. That also works, I guess. The trust issues can be sorted out on a player level, and probably don't need your micromanagement - let them ask questions if they want, it helps discourage That Guys and keeps PCs on the same level. Philosophically, that is. Give the group as a whole a chance to veto Drizzt D'Edgelord.
It also gives the player in question a chance to introduce the character in a social way against personalities that he's presumably already familiar with.
A third option is to treat things with less of a "I am my character, and this character is mine" mindset - even if a PC is dead, that doesn't mean that the player can't contribute to the group in other ways. They can still map, or give advice, or solve puzzles, or any of the various other things that aren't necessarily "in-character". They might not be able to speak with NPCs, but that doesn't meant that they can't tell other players their opinions of how they should deal with said NPCs.
Or they can go pick up the pizzas while the DM figures out some way to get them into the game and the rest of the group continues. I dunno, there's a lot of very different ways to handle things.
>>47389506
>>47390047
>aren't hirelings only available from level 3 and on?
>>47391281
Nope. Why'd you get that idea? They're available from the moment you have the opportunity to hire them.
Hell, B4 even recommends handing a few hirelings to smaller groups and that's a Basic adventure. I'm pretty sure I remember B1 and B2 having fairly big hireling sections as well.
If I were to play second edition AD&D without the optional rules like proficiencies, wouldn't it effectively be not much different than first edition with THAC0? If that's the case, couldn't I use first edition character sheets?
>>47391878
I mean mechanically. I know that there's differences in classes and such.
>>47391878
Weapons vs. AC. The entirety of the initiative system. The Bard. Psionics.
Not to mention how weapon proficiencies are a 1E thing and NWPs were also introduced in 1E. Although I think they worked a bit differently depending on the book, if I remember some of OA's quirks right.
Overall, though, you could probably use the character sheets without too many issues?
Then again, you could also just use a blank sheet of paper, a pencil, and a ruler. Make adjustments as needed. I don't know if I've ever seen a "perfect" character sheet, to be honest. Most of them could do with some more space for spell descriptions, for instance, not to mention notes in general.
Or you could just print out a lightweight 2E sheet, I guess. Not all of them are ten-page monstrosities. I think I remember seeing some really nice DiTerlizzi ones?
thinking about making a post-apoc skin of LotFP. Suggestions? Thoughts?
>>47392859
>>47392896
>>47392919
I dunno whether to reduce the amount of saves. I replaced Magical device with Tech and Magic with Radiation, but Radiation is poisoning, so I may as well ditch it.
>>47392168
Are weapon proficiencies officially considered optional in 1E like they are in 2E? I just assumed that they were introduced in 2E.
>>47393255
I'm pretty sure they're non-optional. Weapon proficiencies, that is. "Peaceful proficiencies" are non-optional in Oriental Adventures, I think. NWPs were introduced in the Wilderness/Dungeon Survival Guides, so they're completely optional if you don't have those books for obvious reasons.
One thing I like with how AD&D handled weapon proficiency was that Fighters didn't care too much about non-proficiency - they only get a -2, while Clerics get a -3 and Magic-Users a -5. And they get more proficiencies than the other classes. I don't know that it's the perfect solution, exactly, but I like it better than some others. Partly because it seems like an attempt at nerfing magic-users and buffing Fighters, I suppose.
>>47392859
What are the mutations?
>>47391878
>>47392168
If you're playing rules as written, then one of the biggest changes is in terms of timing and the so-called "exploration turn," that is, the time keeping regarding searching, movement, and cetera in dungeons.
>good friends with both members of a couple
>one of them DMs games for me sometimes; the other is nervous about playing tabletop RPGs due to social anxiety
>they live quite a while away
>thinking of offering to run a campaign for just the two of them, thus eliminating or at least reducing the anxiety problem
1. How do I make dungeons more suitable for two player characters instead of the usual 4?
2. What module should I run first? Normally I'd do B1, but I'm already running that for my sister and a couple of her friends. B2 is a little too sandboxy for an intro, IMO. However, I would appreciate it be something that's officially Mystara, or fits very smoothly therein, that doesn't require me to add too much myself.
>>47396526
1. Henchmen.
2. B3?
>>47396526
You could use Scarlet Heroes. Probably have to adjust some of the encounters a bit, but not much. Its for making 1 player games work, so 2 isn't much of a stretch.
I've found starting people with a 1 page dungeon works pretty well. It's short enough to be fun but also not exhaustive. You can find one you like and add a bit of stuff, see how it goes, then figure out what modules and such to use based on how they play.
>>47396526 here. The reason I mentioned they live a while away is that I plan to use roll20.
>>47396692
Thanks, I've actually never even read B3 before.
>>47396799
That's not a bad idea! Where can I find good one-page dungeons?
>>47396836
>B3
Make sure you get the green-cover one, the orange-cover one desperately needed another editing pass or two.
The orange one was explicitly set somewhere in Glantri, but the green one isn't explicitly set anywhere. You can still put it in Glantri.
Be advised, the first few rooms are sort of CYOA things by default, and the module also advises locking your players inside the dungeon.
>>47396836
There's a contest every year. They're mostly at
>https://www.onepagedungeon.info/
I haven't even looked at 2015s. Bunch of cool stuff it seems though. This looks good off the top of my head for 1st level exploration that could be put into any setting easily.
>>47385101
no that axe is sticking out of the corpse in the foreground
>>47389180
for some reason that map is giving me Dark Souls/Bloodborne vibes
>>47396836
I like this one a lot.
>>47397834
This one too.
>>47396799
>You could use Scarlet Heroes. Probably have to adjust some of the encounters a bit, but not much. Its for making 1 player games work, so 2 isn't much of a stretch.
You wouldn't have to adjust much, if at all, as far as numbers or difficulty. Scarlet Heroes lets a single hero take on a mob of enemies, and can let you solo old TSR modules with very little changed apart from damage calculations.
With two players they will be kicking serious butt, on a Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser level, if not higher.
PDF related, free rules pdf that is the predecessor of Scarlet Heroes.
>>47396526
>1. How do I make dungeons more suitable for two player characters instead of the usual 4?
Hirelings or as the other anon said Scarlet Heroes.
>2. What module should I run first? Normally I'd do B1, but I'm already running that for my sister and a couple of her friends. B2 is a little too sandboxy for an intro, IMO. However, I would appreciate it be something that's officially Mystara, or fits very smoothly therein, that doesn't require me to add too much myself.
If you want something slightly more on rails there's B3: Palace of the Silver Princess.
Maybe following it up with the excellent B10: Night's Dark Terror. They're both Karameikos iirc so Gaz 1 wouldn't hurt either.
>>47392859
> Thoughts?
You need to spread out mutations a bit more.
> Suggestions?
My suggestion: make (3-in-6) chance to get one mutation every level, for example.Also, for fucks sake, drop the 5-save system.
Playing around with a setting of my own.
Thinking of a fantasy Spain that resembles the OD&D Wilderness Survival setting. "Europe" has been overrun by hobgoblins from the East bringing with them a violent code of honor. The dwarves have been kicked out of their mountain strongholds in the Pyrenees, which are now occupied by goblins.
I kinda want to incorporate Rakshasa, but I'm not quite sure how to fit them in given their solitary nature.
>>47380616
That was a fairly watchable movie. Not great by any means but creepy and atmospheric.
Bump
>>47385897
Still tinkering. Boosted Wizard and Thief progressions; set the THAC0 column apart (though I'm not sure I'm happy with the look).
anyone got a copy of Machinations of The Space Princess, doesn't appear to be in The Trove
>>47401771
Shit. Skipped over level 8 in the Wizard progression.
>>47401771
>>47401880
Quick fix for my careless error.
>>47401847
https://mega.nz/#F!1gASBZhK!tzDU3261epVYkN_NCNwhfw
Is the dungeon alphabet in the trove?
>>47403481
Yes. GM Resources.
Anyone got How to Host a Dungeon?
Does anybody know what level range RA1 - Feast of Goblyns is intended for? Most of the enemies seem to be in the 4-9 HD range.
The Six-Thousand Steps by Pete Douglas is supposed to be free, but I cannot find the link to it anywhere.
Is there any adventure with randomly generated pointcrawl?
>>47404149
I think he has it uploaded on boardgamegeek or something. Here.
>>47392859
Aberrations of the Mutant Overlord?
>>47403553
Anybody else looking at the Driftwood Verses Kickstarter?
>>47399827
I like the chance for a mutation per level. I think I'm gonna cut Saves down to 3: Paralyze, Poison and Area.
>>47408833
You could do what S&W does? One save based on class/level, with certain classes getting a bonus to saves against certain things.
Like Druids have a saving throw progression that's their save against literally anything that calls for a save. And they get a bonus to saving throws to avoid damage from fire.
>>47405495
You're a cool dude.
>>47407101
This looks pretty awesome. Between VRA and that Stygian Garden thing this group (Publisher?) is pretty great.
You wouldn't happen to have any more kf their content?
>>47409221
nope, I only found out about it today since Raggi posted about iton Facebook
How does using TSR modules work with LotFP?
The fighter being the only one to improve in hitting may be an issue.
>>47410012
LOTFP is a B/X clone so B/X stuff would work best with it
>>47410012
Well I tried playing B2 with LotFP rules and it was hell and I needed to change everything. From my experience a lot of stuff has to be prepared before play.
>>47410012
They've worked for me. Just modify AC and lump Thief skills into their proper die rolls.
>>47410141
Can I ask for extra elaboration so I know what to look out for? What were the biggest issues you came across?
>>47410275
Almost all of the module is about fighting mooks and that doesn't work if a bunch of classes can't do much with that. So in the end I just kept the premise and changed all the caves to give them more puzzles and challenges and such. Also the fact that you get xp for treasure rather than killing made the whole thing a big mess.
Also if you want to run B2 specifically, make sure to give the distance between the keep and the caves some thought. Gygax sort of messed it up I feel.
>>47404035
Back page says "For 5-7 Characters of Levels 4 - 7"
Has anyone gotten a hold of The Black Hack yet? If so, what do you think?
I don't think I've ever been as uncomfortable at a table as today
>new group
>nice and roleplay-heavy DM
>all is fine until a part where an off-hand remark derails us into trying to investigate a whorehouse
>stuff happens and I get stuck with a harlot
>DM proceeds to describe it all in great, fanfic-level of detail with all the acting around it
>standing there petrified
>nobody found it weird
>try to handwave and laugh it off just to fast forward through it
>went on for what felt like an eternity
Not sure what to think. Still shellshocked
>>47411728
I never thought I'd hear of this kind of thing happening in an OSR campaign. Weird.
You should have just burst out of there as quickly as possible and explained that your character has a weird thing about sex and starts panicking.
>>47411777
Yeah, I'd associate it more with newer stuff, but wow.
Weirdest part was when the DM attempted to simulate the sounds.
Not sure if creepy or really descriptive, because she has such clinical precision in describing everything going on that this may just be an extension of that?
Felt forced to me though.
>>47411928
Maybe she was trying to seduce you IRL? Honestly, I have no idea. The most sexual I ever got in a D&D game was hooking up with a villain, and it was very "fade to black."
Black Hack is very very good if you're looking for something OD&D or B/X related. It's very small and lightweight and leaves a lot open for the DM to improvise on.
It does a few "strange" things, from a purist standpoint, but I think it works quite well and it embodies the spirit of the early DIY D&D.
It's the kind of D&D I want to play. Black Hack, with Maze of the Blue Medusa would be a perfect game.
I made a map!
http://www.noelshack.com/2016-21-1464044741-gridcrawl.png
It follows the wilderness generator for Wolf-Packs & Winter Snow, and yes, I suck at drawing, but it involves dropping physical dice on the paper, so I couldn't do it with hexographer. Though I might do an hexographer version now.
The question I bring is : should the player (yes it's a solo game) know what the map looks like, or should he do his own based on what he explores, since it's gonna be a survival/discovering a new region type of game?
WP & WS is a Prehistoric D&D based off ACKS, LotFP, B/X, that kinda thing, btw.
>>47412464
Was expecting a hexmap, but I dig this. Reminds me of Dragon Quest of all things
I'd say make the player draw their own map. Helps with involvement.
>>47412464
If it's a solo game i'd probably have a copy of the map for the player with a regular white paper over it as the "wall of fog" that gets revealed as you go.
>>47412638
Yeah, I was surprised to see that apparently, the Wilderness in WP&WS is a square grid. At least that's how I read it. It also says that I can do regular hexmaps for each grid that need lots of details, like where the base camp will be set up. I'm thinking of making a cleaner hexcrawl version of the big map with hexographer though, might be useful, especially if I have to help the player keep track of the big map easily.
>>47412638
I dig this, but I'm not sure he'll have the time, as he is studying pharmaceutics and currently recovering from nearly dying. It's actually been months since the last time he could play.
>>47412701
For now it's solo, it might grow larger with time. It's online though, so no paper stuff.
I think I'm gonna make a full version on hexographer, and like, fill only the hexes he could see/visit and send him the new things between sessions, maybe only showing the closest stuff if he doesn't actually start making maps in game.
Hey, how about a good old fashioned posting-of-the-collections?
Pic related isn't mine because I own literally just a set of dice at this moment, but I'm going to get some books and such in the very near future (I prefer playing with physical books rather than PDFs where possible, at least for main rule books).
>>47412935
I would love to but my phone is just a phone so it doesn't take pictures.
Here's what on my shelf, from left to right.
B1 In Search of the Unknown (brown version)
Fate Core
Lamentations of the Flame Princess
Over the Edge
Talislanta 4E
Z-Corps
Silent Legions
Stars Without Number
COPS "White Lines" (french RPG's supplement)
COPS "Friendships of L.A.
Moldvay's Basic
Cook/Marsh's Expert
Call of Cthulhu 6E
Fire on the Velvet Horizon
Vornheim
A Red & Pleasant Land
Castle Gargantua
The 'Hood (Apocalypse World hack)
Apocalypse World
I don't have a lot of money for physical books, sadly.
>I don't have a lot of money for physical books, sadly.
This is the reason I just own dice right now. I'm a grad student and have no job at the moment.
I'm using the S&W Complete free PDF to make supplements and modules for S&W to put online as pay-what-you-want in hopes of using any money earned to buy the physical, hardback copy of S&W Complete.
Honestly, if I have the following physical objects, I'll be happy RPG-wise for probably years:
>S&W Complete (hardback)
>S&W Monstrosities (basically the S&W >Monster Manual)
>Chessex Megamat + wet erase markers
>A crapload of dice (so other people who don't have their own dice can use some of mine)
>pencils, graph paper, lined paper, and printing paper for character sheets, extra content, house rules, handouts, etc.
>three-ring binders
Everything else I can do via PDF or make on my own.
>>47413191
Same situation as you. If by grad student you mean you finished high school, got a diploma and are now doing actual useful school. I live in a socialist country so I actually get paid for studying, but it's just enough to get by.
I got a lot of dices because everyone keeps offering me dices when my birthday comes up. I have like, a hundred of them.
If you have a printer or some cheap printing shop at hand, you can always print your own books, it's cheaper than the real thing but it works great. I don't have graph paper, but I mainly play online.
>>47413224
I've thought about printing my own, but I don't mind waiting until a birthday or until I have enough to get the book.
>socialist country
Like Northern Europe or like the government pretends to be representing the proletariat?
>>47413260
Like France, so despite all the things you might hear, it's actually pretty nice to get money if you're too poor to afford actual university. Basically, my parents have barely enough to feed my two little sisters, and since I can't just find a job that would help them without diplomas, I get to do free studies. I get the highest possible amount, and it basically all goes in the rent, with about 50€ in monthly food and I skip a lot of meals. I'm not complaining here btw, just explaining how it works. But still, there are like hundreds of people in my uni who spend the day complaining or throwing rocks at the police because they're angry about something they have no idea about just because the tv said so instead of like, trying to actually get diplomas and maybe one day change whatever they don't like by being active members of society.
And that's coming from someone who votes for the left, that is, the socialists.
Sorry for the rant, that's enough politics for me tonight.
I love Sword & Wizardry, though the Complete version sounds a bit too crunchy for my tastes; it's basically AD&D 1e and OD&D + Supplements, right?
>>47413462Well, I'm an anarchist (in the stateless socialism sense, not the "capitalists can be anarchists 2 u guise!1" sense) but let's not go there.
It's basically OD&D + supplements in a way that makes it kind of like AD&D 1e but lighter.
>>47413679
I think I would love to play it but hate to DM it.
I have very fond memories of AD&D, but it was back in the days were we just looked over the cool pictures and didn't actually know how the game worked. I laugh everytime I remember young myself frantically looking at all those tables when I DMed for adults and suddenly "realised" I had to do it "right". Fun times.
[spoilers]I don't know how to spoilers but that's cool in my book.[/spoilers]
I did an Hexographer version of my hand-drawn map from >>47412464, but I'm not a fan of the result. I think the hand-drawn hides the overall ugliness of the layout, whereas here I feel it seems uglier. What do you guys think?
http://image.noelshack.com/fichiers/2016/21/1464049778-gridhex.png
Plus some features don't have matching stuff on the software, like the elephant cemetary in J-8 (yes, I know it probably doesn't strike you as that in the hand drawn either).
Hey all. For awhile I've had it rummaging around in my brain that I could make a boxed set that is basically there to recreate 3LBB+Chainmail as this doesn't physically exist in realspace.
1. Do you think this would be worth purchasing?
2. Do you think this would be worthwhile in general?
As 3LBB+Chainmail is 4 books, I would have:
Book #1: The humanoid world. Making characters and pitting them against other human types. Spells, classes, etcetera. Include 20:1, Man to Man, strongholds, cities.
Book #2: The underworld and wilderness. Monsters. Include Fantasy Combat, magic items, basic wilderness/dungeon encounter design.
Book #3: Speculative stuff. The noncanon book. How to use Fantastic Combat for everything. How to use Man to Man combat for everything. How to use 20:1 scale for everything. Space permitting, it may or may not include Greyhawk options. Space permitting, may include class ideas for later editions.
Ideas? I may instead just include Book #3's ideas in the others (ie expanded fantasy combat in Book #2 as well as what they count as in Man to Man and 20:1), and have Book #3 be reserved for including content from later supplements and editions (paladins, druids, warlocks, etc) in OD&D style.
Aesthetically, it would be three brown books of the same size, and I would commission higher quality lineart at about the same pace as in the originals, on the same pages.
>>47411728
Nothing wrong with it in principle, if everybody's comfortable with it, but you're obviously not. If you think it was mostly just a matter of being blindsided, then you might want to see if you can roll with it in the future. You could also talk to the DM, tell her you're a bit uncomfortable with it, or at least not used to it, and see if she could soft pedal it a bit as far as you're concerned--skim over things, fade to black, or just throw less of it your way. A more extreme version is to request that you be able to opt out of it altogether--just coincidentally your character is never involved in one of those situations, or it's fade to black with extreme prejudice, before things even really get going.
Requesting that the DM not delve into this sort of thing in the game at all is normally an option as well, but if you're the odd man out and the rest of the group is fine with it, that's gonna be a hard sell. If you really can't stand it, your only recourse might be to excuse yourself from the game entirely. If you're going to do this, the best course of action is probably to simply explain that you were uncomfortable with the way things went down, but in a "it's all water on the bridge and I'm not bent out of shape or anything, but it's probably best if I be moving on" sort of way, at least if you can actually pull that off. You could always give it another shot if she offers to change her approach at that point, but you're not pressuring her to do so (because you're not saying "I'll leave unless..." but rather treating your departure as something you've already decided on, no matter how tentatively).
>>47392919
>>47392896
For what purpose is there fighty guy, skill guy and fucked by RNG guy? Are sullied remotely good as wizards? Their mutants would have to OVERWHELMINGLY tend towards the positives to be worth it. OVERWHELMINGLY.
>>47411952
Different groups are comfortable with different levels of sexuality in the game, plain and simple. For me, it heavily depends on the type of game and the people in the group. In some groups / games, I wouldn't touch it with a 10' pole, and in others, I'm perfectly comfortable going into explicit detail. The most important thing is to read the room. In the case in point, the room was obviously cool with it, except for the poster here.
>>47414048
Delving Deeper does pretty much that in one book.
I wouldn't buy a "new" boxed set, if it doesn't add anything that the original doesn't have, personnaly.
Nonetheless, I think any new OSR stuff is worth the work if at least one person (its creator) will use it. Plus it's a great exercise.
>>47411728
It doesn't sound like That DM, more like you didn't sign up for this (as in, expectations weren't on the same page); next time, just ask for a fade to black if you're, as >>47414053 puts it, the odd man out.
>>47392859
It's pretty, that's that. What's the Sullied's thing? Like, The Wastelander fights, the Ruinrunner scavenges.
>>47413835
I find the hand-drawn one has more charm
Also, keep in mind it'd be better to upload pictures directly instead of linking them.
For spoilers, you almost did it right, but used plural. Another neat recent addition is the ability to select text in your comment and press ctrl+s for it to automatically get spoilered.
>>47405495
This looks really interestingg.
>>47413835
>[spoilers]I don't know how to spoilers[/spoilers]
Like that, only don't put an "s" at the end of "spoiler".
>>47414142
I agree with you. I think I'll show him bits and pieces of it then.
They're very big pictures, and I couldn't find a way to reduce the size without fucking up the quality. Thanks for the advice too.Testing.
>>47414138
>Delving Deeper does pretty much that in one book.
It does? Does it really have all four combat systems or are you just pulling my leg?
>>47413835
Another S&W Complete guy here. I would never run AD&D because of how crunchy it is but Complete isn't much of an issue.
It's basically S&W with better layout, a bit more explanatory text (not always for the better), different art and some minor stuff from Strategic Review like the Monk, Ranger (which I don't use) and more spells above 6th level. (which the book says might be more fun to treat as quest-y rituals)
With the stuff I cut out I got my rules set down to around 25 pages and another 20 for all the spells.
>>47414198
Oh no sorry, didn't read enough, my bad.
Delving Deeper is basically OD&D with Chainmail house rules, like the "fighters get a number of attacks equal to their hit dice" which is a big streamlining from Chainmail.
I remember Chainmail being quite easy to grasp though, but yeah, then, sounds like a very good idea. You're going for fidelity + clarity, right?
>>47414228
Very, very neat.
Which reminds me, have you noticed there's actually a big lack in DM screens in OSR games?
>>47414238
Cool. Yeah, it would be fidelity + clarity.
>>47414278
If it cheers you up, I printed out that one just yesterday in addition to material I did myself
>>47414278
because LOTFP had their DM screen as backer only
>>47414278
I think it's because it's something like a 50/50 split between people who use them and don't.
Personally I have a Savage Worlds landscape one so I customize for any given game.
>>47414278
I just made one not too long ago using two cheap binders plus binder clips to hold it and the sheet protectors inside together. It's fairly inexpensive and sturdy and it keeps a bunch of essential charts for Basic Fantasy RPG handy when I need them.
>>47414283
I think OD&D doesn't get enough love compared to Basic or Advanced, so it's actually a great idea. Don't know why I was skeptical at first.
>>47414303
>>47414325
I'm not sure it's just a LotFP thing though, I don't know of a LL or ACKS or Osric screen. But maybe I'm just being daft.
Also, there's a charm and satisfcation in DIY screens that I don't find in official ones. My IRL screen is basically plastic cardboard that I took from a billboard, which I proceeded to paint black before stapling plastic sheets in which I put the necessary stuff.
>>47412935
I have stacks of shit in boxs and propping up my monitor and shit...
All the 1e hardback books, except the 1st Monster Manual (went missing), Legends & Lore (since I have Deities & Demigods), Manual of the Planes, and Dragonlance Adventures. I'm sad that I lost my original cover of the Player's Handbook, but the insides of the books are the same.
I have the core books for 2e.
I used to have Moldvay Basic, but that went missing decades ago. That's very sad.
I have a whole bunch of modules--a few Basic, but mostly AD&D--but some of them have been lost and I'm not exactly sure which.
From the standpoint of "not D&D", I have most of the Star Frontiers stuff and 2nd edition Gamma World (my third edition has gone missing). I have 3rd edition RuneQuest, 1st and 2nd edition Paranoia (along with most of the 1st edition modules and supplements), the original Ghostbusters, the original TMNT, Lords of Creation. Megatraveler, Call of Cthulhu 4th edition, and Stormbringer 4th edition. I also have some oWoD books, if they're old school enough to count: Vampire, Mage and Changeling.
And that's all I'm thinking of right now. I'm sure I've forgotten something, but everything else I'm coming up with is too new to be old school If you're interested in that too, I've got 3e, Blue Planet, Mechanical Dream and... uh... I know there's more than that. It's a bit harder with the modern stuff though, as I've played less of it, tending towards homebrew stuff. Still, my old school books dramatically outweigh my news school ones.
>>47412243
Tell me more about it. How are the Race Hack and Class Hack? Did you try any of the 3rd-party splats for it?
>>47414560
>Star Frontiers
Haven't had a chance to play it, but the PDFs are up for free here: http://www.starfrontiers.com/Rules/
>>47412935
I'd rather not take a picture, since there's an entire bookshelf and some of the books are being lent to friends.
But on the top level of the bookshelf are the Forgotten Realms box set (grey one from 2e - it's also incomplete), the Planescape box set, the Planes of Chaos box set, the second Ravenloft box set (the one after the Grand Conjunction), Dragonlance Adventures+Leaves from the Inn of the Last Home/More Leaves/Lost Leaves (I had a fan submission get in to Lost Leaves!), all the 3e Dragonlance stuff minus a couple of things.
First row starts with my copy of the RC, and houses the majority of my 2e stuff (quite substantial). After that it's WoD and 3e stuff I keep because we occasionally play and I feel it would be a waste to throw it out. On the bottom shelf is stuff like Battletech, Alternity, and other odds and ends.
I keep my LotFP, Basic Fantasy RPG, and my 1e DMG in what amounts to my "go bag" for game night.
Is that enough for a settlement?
Plains (landmark : rock in the shape of a bear)
"Tribe of the Red Moon", Camp of Hunters
Led by Roghtar, a 4th level Hunter
-27 summers, tatooed legs, always hungry, is traumatized and seeks intimacy after losing his mate to dire wolves
The tribe has:
17*Fishers
21*Herders
8*Crafters
4*Children
No Elders : they are exiled when useless
The tribe has more than enough flint, but needs new fishing spots.
>>47415552
It's for Wolf-packs and Winter Snow by the way, so prehistoric RPG.
>>47415552
Less than 1/10 of the people being children seems pretty unsustainable. If you figure that the average lifespan is 40 years, with maybe a third of that spent in childhood (depending on where you draw the line), then you need more a good deal more kids, especially since a not-insignificant number will die before becoming an adult. And honestly, a 40 year average lifespan is probably being charitable (and more like the average lifespan if you only count people who actually make it to adulthood). I'd think you'd want 15 children at the minimum for a tribe that size.
Wait, it's a tribe of hunters? Where are the actual hunters? Also, you probably need some "moms"--folks dedicated to child-rearing with light duties otherwise (gatherers, misc.).
>>47415834
Apparently the average lifespan is 50+D12.
I'll trust your judgment for kids. Hunter is the Fighter class, those adults are all fighters except for the Crafters who are experts.
Maybe like, 5 or 6 of the Herders could take care of the children?
Also, I'm using a quick & dirty generator, but the actual domain rules have more depth, maybe for the first settlement the PCs will find, I should use the domains rules and get more details? It does sound weird right now, I get you.
>>47415899
One thing that's probably making this tricky is that I wouldn't expect to see a strict division of labor. In other words, there may be 17 people who mainly fish, but I'd expect there to be a great deal of fluidity between roles. I'd think that childbearing and rearing would be a primary responsibility for most of the women, and that they'd tend to fill in the gaps in terms of chores (with gathering fruits and vegetables being the biggest thing).
>I'll trust your judgment for kids.
I don't have any great insight on any of this; I'm just reasoning things out. If you have fewer people in the first decade of their life than the average of the other decades, your population is going to decline.
>Apparently the average lifespan is 50+D12.
That seems way too long (see pic from wikipedia article on life expectancy).
>>47411728
>stuff happens and I get stuck with a harlot
>DM proceeds to describe it all in great, fanfic-level of detail with all the acting around it
>standing there petrified
>went on for what felt like an eternity
That's why you don't play with Ed Greenwood.
>>47416271
If guns exist and are reasonably powerful, expect a rise in the power of Dexterity and a concomitant decrease in the power of Strength. If Strength doesn't increase melee damage, that's another hit against it. Dexterity could end up being more than twice as powerful as Strength.
If Constitution only adds to level 1 hit points, it quickly becomes insignificant. If you've got 30 hit points, then a +1 constitution modifier barely makes a difference.
>>47416390
Guns exist. Ammo should be scarce.
I just realized I didn't change that constitution modifier bit. whooooops.
>>47416390
>>47416492 (You)
Updated. Removed that Constitution modifier bit.
Fixed the Strength bonuses for Damage. Good call.
Post-Apocalyptic LotFP homebrew. Looking for feedback, input & ideas. Thanks.
>>47416653
Looks pretty cool, I would like to see some of the mutations and things for the Sullied class.
>>47415834
>If you figure that the average lifespan is 40 years
The thing about average lifespan in the bad old days is that when they say it was 40 years in the middle ages or 30 or whatever, you have to understand that most people you'd meet could still expect to live to be 60 or 70 or even 80 years old. It's just that the massive infant and child mortality rates pulled the average down. If you lived to be 10 years old or so without starving during a really lean year or getting sick and dying, you were probably fine to live another 50 years or so.
>>47416744
Thanks. Working on that part now. D100 roll on mutations; some physical, some mental, some disadvantageous.
>>47416881
Sure. If you look under "paleolithic" in the image here >>47416146, it says that life expectancy is 54 years for people who reach age 15, rather than the 33 years they have at birth. But if only 60% of children reach the age of 15, that means you need a lot more children to maintain your population.
I'm sure this is an argument waiting to happen, but which OSR game is the best for introducing/convincing some mostly open-minded, but inexperienced, 3.5/PF/4e/5e players? My group has played through all of the above for the last ten years (with some individuals rotating in and out) and lately, with one of our usual DMs going away for a few months because of a new kid, the group is interested in deviating from our normal and trying a new filler game.
I suggested we try out OSR, and I'm even up for running it, but I am not sure which one would be best suited to us. We're the kind of gamers who roleplay about 60% of the time and drink beer/crack jokes/diceroll and stab monsters the other 40% of the time.
I was looking at DCC and ACKS but I don't know my head from my ass and I'd love to know what /tg/ thinks. LotFP seems way too dark and serious for us so I've sort of given it a soft pass. Beyond that I'm a blank slate.
>>47417203
>But if only 60% of children reach the age of 15, that means you need a lot more children to maintain your population.
Yes, but the majority of the deaths are as infants, so you really need lots of babies, not necessarily children.
>>47417306
Swords and Wizardry Complete.
You can use ascending armor class to make them comfortable, but there are a lot fewer rules that affect your attack bonus so it's still not complicated. You literally have one saving throw for everything, and depending on your class may get a bonus vs. certain things. It's compatible with anything made for OD&D. It doesn't have race-as-class, which also means it's more inviting for players coming from new editions.
And you can fit all your stats on one side of an index card, with inventory and spells/class abilities on the other.
The PDF is also legally 100% free, and it has a range of classes without being bloated.
I love it and imagine you will too.
As far as the tone of the game, that'll come from the adventure you run and from how you all act. I might recommend Anomalous Subsurface Environment, which is in the Trove.
>>47417306
LotFP as a system is fantastic. The darkness is only as bleak as the adventures you run. Tower of the Stargazer and the Grinding Gear are two supported modules for it that are more traditional dungeon/tower crawls and will last you a few sessions. However, neither are designed to be combat heavy; they're more wits and puzzle based.
Labyrinth Lord is also good and has good modules, but uses THAC0 which I hate. Swords & Wizardy I haven't played, but looks like fun. Mutant Future is post-apoc goodness (albeit also using THAC0) and would make for a great jokey/drinking time, due to the ridiculous mutations.
And lastly, DCC. It's a little more rule & table heavy, but since you come from outside OSR it shouldn't be a problem. The modules for the system are AMAZING. Its the RPG version of a 1970's stonervan side-panel mural come to life.
>>47417306
It somewhat depends on how "authentic" you want your game to be. Castles & Crusades uses the unified d20 mechanic of new school D&D with a streamlined, tweaked AD&D. For that reason, it's generally less wonky and more accessible to modern players (just remember to do the saving throw fix: add only *half* a caster's level to their spell challenge level). But obviously, the use of the d20 mechanic (not to mention the introduction of their own SIEGE system for attribute checks) deviates from how things were done in the old days, so if that concerns you, you might want to try something more standard, like Moldvay Basic or its relatively faithful clone, Labyrinth Lord.
>I was looking at DCC and ACKS
I can't remember what ACKS looks like, but I'm not a fan of the level of crunch that DCC brings to the table. Maybe a good question to ask would be how heavy a system you're looking for. Games that tend more towards the AD&D end are going to be crunchier, with more options, but more fiddly bullshit, obnoxious restrictions and so forth. Games that tend more towards the Basic end are going to be more simplistic, with fewer options but less fiddly bullshit, obnoxious restrictions and so forth.
>>47417416
THAC0 is pretty easy to convert, if you're willing to do the legwork.
>>47417396
I like Swords & Wizardry White Box, but sort of feel like you're better off going with Labyrinth Lord once you get to the complexity level of Swords & Wizardry Core or Complete. Regardless, the single-stat saves are worth stealing.
>>47417396
Thank you very, very much for this. I'm going to start reading it now.
>>47417416
Maybe I was too quick to dismiss LotFP. The old school trap/puzzle dynamic is at least half of why we all (drunkenly) thought OSR would be the best idea for a filler, so I really appreciate that info.
>>47417464
I don't think we have any real preconceived notions of what this OSR excursion "should" be besides probably less forgiving, more disposable PCs, and some good fun. I will look into both C&C and LL alongside the S&W Complete suggestion above. Thanks for pointing out the differences.
>>47417506
I'll consider this a vote for both S&W and LL
I came across this image. Evidently it's the cover for some game which is a parody with lots of crude humor. Or something.
Anyway, I actually really like the aesthetic of it. The "MS DOS color scheme" in the title, the bright colors on a dark background, the cybernetic elf, and the overtly sexual but not pornographic imagery.
I'd love to run a game that's kind of like this but not played for laughs. I mean, I don't need to be grimderp serious all the time, but I'm also not looking for straight up comedy.
Think Star Trek: The Original Series as directed by Nicolas Winding Refn, but with the soft neons of Drive or Only God Forgives replaced with the flickering neon light of a trashy bar, and the Federation is kind of corrupt and the Enterprise is stolen by a crew of dastardly space pirates, only Uhura is still there and helps them translate and everything, which she doesn't mind because she's friends with the captain,who is the Captain Kirk from the timeline we know and love, but who got thrust into this universe and, seeing how horrible the Federation is there, decided to go rogue.They're in love and she's pregnant with his child.
What OSR system should I use?I'm not quite drunk, but I'm buzzed and tired.
>>47417306
I'm going to chime in with Basic Fantasy RPG. All the PDFs are free, and the books are cheap on Amazon.
Pros are that it uses ascending AC and attack bonus, and it has no race-as-class, so it'll be less of a culture shock.
Also, there's lots of extra stuff on the website, including modules, races, classes, and rules expansion options. All free.
Con is that the Thief needs a boost on its skills, since they stretched the progression out to 20 levels.
>>47417506
Here, this should be easier. Rather than telling you what to do, this does everything for you.
>>47417605
I've never really found a dedicated science fiction game that pushed all my buttons, so it's hard to give recommendations. Barbarians of Lemuria has at least a couple of futuristic hacks that might be worth checking out (I'm unfamiliar with them, so I can't vouch for anything).
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_s7AHDCtljfZkVPMGEwZ1lwdVk/view?pref=2&pli=1
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BxEfFjJxTck7cmNzaEtvV1NvbWM/edit?pref=2&pli=1
Or, of course, you could hack BoL yourself. With a game that simple, it should be pretty easy.
Failing that, maybe a universal system of some sort? Savage Worlds?
>>47417557
All of these games are essentially compatible, so it'd be pretty easy to rip mechanics out of one game (say, ACKS encumbrance system, or S&W's single stat saves) and put them into another (say, Labyrinth Lord).
>Con is that the Thief needs a boost on its skills, since they stretched the progression out to 20 levels.
Thieves are pretty much always in need of boosting. The table here takes the B/X thief skills and treats them as saving throws after an initial 2-in-6 roll has failed, thus reducing the chance of failure by 1/3. At this level, they start to look a lot more reasonable.
>>47417605
I like the idea of Uhura shacking up with the pirates, but alt timeline Kirk kind of ruins it for me. It may have something to do with the fact that when I see "alt timeline" and "Kirk" in the same sentence, I end up obsessing over how much I want to punch JJ Trek Kirk in the face.
>>47418729
That's fair. Mostly I just added Kirk because I see a lot of myself in him and I have a crush on Uhura.
>>47412935
if we limit ourselves only to physical product, here's mine(limiting myself to only D&D and OSR stuff);
D&D 4E
Player's Handbook 1 & 2
Monster Manual 1 & 2
Dungeon Master's Guide
Manual of The Planes
Adventurer's Vault
Keep On The Shadowfell
Wizards Presents: Worlds & Monsters
Wizards Presents: Races & Classes
Starter Set
Heroes of The Fallen Lands(for all the issues Essentials had, I still feel they were among the absolute best looking and highest quality in printing quality D&D books ever made, and really hope that whenever 6E happens that they adopt a similar size and aesthetic for the books)
DM's Kit(missing part of the included adventure unfortunately)
D&D 5E
Player's Handbook
Monster Manual
Dungeon Master's Guide
D&D 3E
Starter Set(only thing I own for this edition in physical format, and it's pretty ragged by this point)
D&D Basic
Adventure Game Box Set(found it at a garage sale still sealed, main thing I got out of it was some dice and a pretty neat little dice bag)
Gamma World 7th(overall my favorite WOTC published RPG, and probably the only one I'd run these days)
Core Box Set
Famine In Far-Go
Legion of Gold
Star Wars SAGA Edition
Core Book
Threats of The Galaxy
Pathfinder
Beginner Box(one of my favorite RPG products, and pretty much the only way I'd run Pathfinder)
FantasyCraft
Core
Adventure Companion
Mutants & Masterminds 2E
Core
Mecha & Manga
OSR & Retroclones
Dungeon Crawl Classics
Swords & Wizardry Complete
Blood & Treasure
Delving Deeper
Stars Without Number(the only OSR book I regret buying a physical copy of)
Dark Dungeons
Fantastic Heroes & Witchery
Whitehack
Basic Fantasy RPG
Basic Fantasy Field Guide
Adventurer Conqueror King System
ACKS Player's Companion
Microlite 74 Compendium(self assembled and printed compilation of all Microlite 74 material)
Weird Adventures
Yoon-Suin
Dragon Magazine Issues 356, 358, & 359(final print issue)
>>47417605
Its not really a stretch to imagine Kirk going rogue from the Federation when LITERALLY EVERY episode where he touches base with Federation people of similar or higher rank, what you see is frightening, corrupt, or both. You can really tell how heavily inspired 40k was from, amongst other things, TOS. Its clear they authorize exterminatus in certain cases, like rogue psykers of too great a power; there are places you can be put to death for visiting; and some places have degenerated into scary, mind raping cults etc.
>>47419154
Also, in TNG and a few TOS movies, excelsior class showing up = Federation antagonists incoming. Miranda class showing up = Federation victims incoming.
The TNG Federation at large is enormously fucked up as well. Though in TOS, the Federation at large is really, really fucking bad news, in TNG its still mostly bad apples that the protagonists encounter.
What cracks me up is that people argue that DS9, due to having more continuity, showed a "darker, grimmer" version of the Federation... when in reality, the badness of the Federation was, metaphorically, largely exiled to a single rogue organization. So while the Federation is 99% bad in TOS and 95% bad in TNG, its only 0.1% bad beyond Section 13 as of DS9.
>>47417605
Seeing as Traveller is my favorite SF system, I'd use that rather than OSR. Heck, the Third Imperium setting is already halfway to where you're headed, as is.
Unrelated, but what do you appreciate art-wise when it comes to OSR
If one were to make a module, what would you want the art to look like?
>>47420379
The closer to classic Erol Otus, the better. I dig the stylization.
Anyone got Tower of the Scarlet Wizard?
>>47420379
Stuff that looks like this.
>>47416974
The Metamorphic may help with ideas.
>>47420379
Mullen and Roslof, all day every day.
>>47420511
I liked it. The review on tenfootpole is pretty accurate.
Going to start planning a semi-historical campaign based on my home province. Planning on mixing some political intrigue (GoT style) with good old monster hunting and ruin scavenging. Definitely wanting to run in an OSR setup. So here is my question, I'm gonna mash stolen subsystems from OSR games together to get my rule set and am looking for some suggestions for subsystems, so far I've got:
- LOTFP as a base
- Unified saving throw from S&W
- Deities and Demigods inspired mythos and clerics
- Aging mechanics stolen from 1E DMG
- ACKS inspired domain rules?
- Maybe AC adjustments for weapons for man v man combat?
- Some kind of crafting system / monster part system that makes hunting monster lairs profitable aside from their scavenged treasure?
So, what are your favorite subsystems to throw in your games? As long as it is relatively true to 1e / basic tone I'd love your input!
>>47422644
> - Some kind of crafting system / monster part system that makes hunting monster lairs profitable aside from their scavenged treasure?
How are you going to pull this one off?
>>47422679
Yea no idea yet. ACKS has some interesting ideas involving monster prats / components required for the crafting of magic items, so maybe I'm gonna read that over and make something in that direction.
>>47422644
Do you think some sort of honor or status system would fit?
>>47422644
Forgot some:
- Looking for a mass combat system for bigger skirmishes and maybe a rare climactic battle
- Stealing the 5e idea of lair actions, where monsters can take a 'lair action' once per initiative pass to give the 1 v party fights some more excitement.
- Maybe a dueling system with a bit more in-depth combat for climactic man on man fights?
>>47422725
Oh good one! I might be able to steal something from HackMaster on that front! Finally a reason to break out those beautiful books. It's going on my list!
>>47422729
Combat and Tactics has a dueling subsystem.
For mass battles, you could always use Battlesystem.
>>47422743
There's also honour and status systems in places like Al-Qadim and the Celts sourcebook.
>>47412760
I went with a square grid because
a) it's way easier to find squared paper than hexed
and b) if you're navigating by 'north, south, east and west' it feels smoother to use squares with those sides.
Any advice on turning normal modules into science fantasy conversions? Besides adding robots
>>47417605
Stars Without Number, White Stars, Barbarians of the Void.
>>47419383
Traveller is kinda part of the "OSR" if you include Old School games in OSR.
But let's not reiterate yet another pointless argument.
>>47413679ANCAP IS THE ONLY ANARCHY
>>47422729
Read Legends of the Five Rings 1e, find a way to use it in D&D.
>>47424439
Mongoose Traveller (circa 2008) is OSR then.
Not to turn this into/pol/, but were there any old schoolpolitical modules out there?
>>47422729
I've never used it, but the Rules Cyclopedia has a mass combat system and a domain management system. I don't know if it'll be what you want, but it's a place to start.
>>47424439
I don't think there's a real argument to be made in the first place. OSR comes from OSRIC, it's just a euphemism for "totally not D&D, Mr. Lawyer Man."
Traveller isn't OSR. Classic Traveller is old school, sure, but OS without the R is a different thing.
Anybody have a step-by-step on how to develop an old school adventure, from the beginning?
I have a basic idea and no idea how to proceed.
I'd share the idea, but one of my players frequents /tg/ and I don't want him to recognize it.
>>47424502Neat! I'm a mutualist; I'd say the socialists and ancaps are BOTH right. Capitalism IS bad, and its worst enemy is the free market.
Actually, I'm a little surprised there's so many anarchists in the OSR thread. I knew this place rocked.
>>47425345Kevin Carson, is that you?
>>47425314
I don't have any step-by-step ones but I have a couple of articles I like.
http://www.therpgsite.com/showthread.php?22693-Dungeons-vs-Plotlines-%28Decan-vs-Benoist-Slapfight%29&p=537683#post537683
http://www.therpgsite.com/showthread.php?21794-Melan-s-Dungeon-Layout-article
http://www.therpgsite.com/showthread.php?22693-Dungeons-vs-Plotlines-%28Decan-vs-Benoist-Slapfight%29&p=537094#post537094
http://thealexandrian.net/wordpress/13085/roleplaying-games/jaquaying-the-dungeon
http://www.knights-n-knaves.com/phpbb3/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=1737
And finally I would recommend checking out reviews from Tenfootpole, who I don't always agree with about what's good or rehashed but he's generally on point when something's shit, particularly the critical ones.
>>47369181
>>47369282
>>47370552
>>47377428
>>47380616
>>47381769
Thanks for all the suggestions, guys!
I've watched as above, so below and yeah, it's definitely good. I'll give some of the others a go.
>>47425303
> OSR comes from OSRIC,
OSRIC = Old School Reference and Index Compilation
OSR = Old School _Reference_?
Return, Resurgence, Restoration, Renaissance... Hell, I'd even buy "Open Source Rules", for that matter. Not Reference.
Either way, OSR is style, not game mechanic. And even this is a guideline.
> Classic Traveller is old school, sure, but OS without the R is a different thing.
Mongoose Traveller is Old School and it is 2008. That makes it OSR in my books.
>>47425428
>Either way, OSR is style, not game mechanic.
>Mongoose Traveller is Old School and it is 2008. That makes it OSR in my books.
No, OSR is a movement centered around reviving and expanding upon old-school D&D. If you buy an "OSR" module off drivethrurpg and try to run it with Mongoose Traveller, you're gonna have a bad time of it. Your books are weird.
>>47425559
> drivethrurpg pigeonholes things
At least you are not using Hasbro to appeal to authority.
>>47425314
Brevity is your friend. One page of backstory/"explanation", at most two, is about what you can expect a GM to stomach for an adventure module. (mini-settings and sandboxes may allow more but not much more)
Check out the One Page Dungeon Contest and Dyson's Dodecahedron if you haven't already done so.
The section of this review dubbed "Hex Crawl" is also pretty great fodder for understanding what a DM wants out of your product (i.e. terse non-boring encounters that sets your brain on fire so they can expand it themselves): https://princeofnothingblogs.wordpress.com/2015/09/12/princeofnothingreviews-carcosapt-iv-from-the-jaws-of-defeat/
As for NPCs you can think why they are where they are and, this is important, give them all a secret they have.
Goals/motivations/objectives can be left to major NPCs, if used at all, but even minor ones are more useable with a secret. Stuff like the local Beekeeper makes poison for the assassin's guild and owes them more money than he has and mention that he has a secret stash with his bees. (this is from some one page dungeon I read iirc)
And instead of saying "guarding the city gates" make what they're doing more active "chatting away loudly (roll two rumours on rumour table) while guarding the gates".
Slumbering Ursine Dunes has probably one of the best rumour tables as a reference, some are nonsense, somewhat true, true but with a single detail being false, mostly false with a hint of truth, true but useless.
And do us all a favor and never put down "200 gp worth of gems" or "+1 shield" anywhere. Make mundane and particularly magic items interesting with a story, or potential hooks, even if you can't find something more interesting there than +1 shit. (example would be making the shield bear the heraldry of a local noble family, make the gems be carved in the form of a local god)
Mundane items can also be things you haven't thought of, like 15g worth of rare spices (saffron), wines, rare paintings etc.
>>47425877
This isn't to sell; I just want to make my own to run. Right now I'm trying to design a wizard's tower.
Dungeon design has always been what I was worst at.
>>47425428
>Mongoose Traveller is Old School and it is 2008. That makes it OSR in my books.
That's like saying that RIFTS is OSR.
Or hell, GURPS. Or World of Darkness, since if we're counting 2E we might as well count its major rival.
>>47425924
Even for your own use most of that stuff applies if you wan't to be able to wing it mid-play.
But the earlier links with tenfoot, melan and jacquaying is probably all you'll need for making dungeon layouts that don't suck combined with the examples from Dyson's and One Page Dungeons.
For a Wizard's tower you should check out examples like Tower of the Stargazer (it's in the trove in OP) since it has actual design notes on top of being a very solid dungeon, The Emerald Enchanter and the tournament module Ghost Tower of Inverness. (none of which are perfect but all of which are great in their own right)
>>47426055
Neither Rifts, nor WoD support the Old School playing style. Traveller does.
>>47426055
To be fair Traveller started out as a hack of OD&D. (as did Runequest)
>>47426133
Really you can just talk about Traveller stuff instead of arguing if it's OSR or not. 100% of it could be used easily with Stars Without Number anyway.
How can I make a barter system work as currency in an OSR game?
>>47426257
don't use coins. just use the price list to estimate value when trading.
In Room 42 of Tomb of the Iron God, is the army of skeletons supposed to attack the second the party enters the room, or if they get too close, or only if the party attacks them first?
>>47426175
>To be fair Traveller started out as a hack of OD&D. (as did Runequest)
As did RIFTS. AD&D 2E, if you wonder. Hence the excessive tables.
And GURPS is somewhat based on The Fantasy Trip, which has obvious links to OD&D on account of being released in '77 and everything having obvious links to OD&D back then.
>>47426257
Don't use a player-facing price list. If you do, all you're doing is recreating a coin economy using bushels of wheat in the place of coins.
Also, don't go for exact trades. Give a bit of leeway.
>>47426529
There's no "supposed to" as far as i'm concerned. It's up to you to decide. They might attack outright, they might not notice, or react to, the party until after the party has noticed them and done something.
