My friend, John, who runs all of our Shadowrun campaigns, has a couple binders worth of info, just printouts and handwritten notes on tablet paper. It always seemed to be a big mess, but I'm starting to think it's a good idea. John had one binder with just NPCs, plotlines, and houserules, and another with all of Atlanta mapped out, including various building maps he made on an architect program he has, (and photocopied published Atlanta stuff from his Shadowrun books). He always runs our games in Atlanta, and over the 2 several years long campaigns I was in, and a few he ran before I knew him, he had a ton of info. I'm actually kind of jealous ;).
I tend to use a published city (Waterdeep) over the last 5 or 6 years. But I also was horrible about keeping campaign notes. If I had kept the various maps and NPCs I used, I'd have a lot more stuff to work with when I start up again. Instead, I'm back to my copies of the published material. That leaves me with a lot of information, but it also doesn't really leave the city as "mine". I have used bits from CSIO, Marienburg, Ptolus, and other published cities as well, especially NPCs.If I'd kept a running folder, even with notes like "this PC from this book goes here", my version of Waterdeep would be much more interesting to me. I have a fair amount of this stuff still in my head, but I never wrote it down. Maybe I'll have to do that soon.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Thursday, February 25, 2010
The S&W WhiteBox houserules that I use
Stat bonuses go from -2 to +2.
Fighters can crit on a natural 20. Crits do maximum damage - no damage roll required.
There is no Turn Undead in my game. Clerics do +1 damage vs. Undead in melee to make up for this.
Maximum level 10, even for mages.
Elves use the variant class, not the weird one with fighter one day, mage the next.
No demi-human level limits. Everyone can reach level 10.
AAC throughout. I hate Descending AC.
That's about it. Mostly small changes, except for demi-humans.
Fighters can crit on a natural 20. Crits do maximum damage - no damage roll required.
There is no Turn Undead in my game. Clerics do +1 damage vs. Undead in melee to make up for this.
Maximum level 10, even for mages.
Elves use the variant class, not the weird one with fighter one day, mage the next.
No demi-human level limits. Everyone can reach level 10.
AAC throughout. I hate Descending AC.
That's about it. Mostly small changes, except for demi-humans.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Swords & Wizardy WhiteBoxes are shipping!
Not sure how long until mine will show up, but I'm kinda excited. This little box set just sounds awesome to me. I already really like the WhiteBox rules, and now they are in a great format.
My favorite "style" of old-school game
In general, I prefer a city setting. I actually had the most fun D&D gaming when we were in Waterdeep, but the DM was running the game like we were Shadowrunners instead of your standard D&D party. I know there is a fair amount of overlap, but Shadowrun has a distinct feel compared to D&D. We had a guy we met in taverns (our "fixer") who gave us missions, and we got paid in gold instead of nuyen.
Some of our missions were not very nice. We broke into places, kidnapped a noble's son, and robbed a couple merchant houses. But instead of using smart-linked Ares Predators, we had fireballs and longswords. It was a lot of fun. I haven't played in a D&D campaign like that since the mid-90's, but I will never forget it.
I'm thinking of running something like that the next time I get a gaming group together. I will focus on the street gangs, the taverns, and a couple mysterious people who need work done by discriminating adventurers. And I am not going to include alignment in the game, which I think will really change the players outlooks. I will keep stuff like Angels are good and Demons are evil, but alignment doesn't matter for normal people.
Some of our missions were not very nice. We broke into places, kidnapped a noble's son, and robbed a couple merchant houses. But instead of using smart-linked Ares Predators, we had fireballs and longswords. It was a lot of fun. I haven't played in a D&D campaign like that since the mid-90's, but I will never forget it.
I'm thinking of running something like that the next time I get a gaming group together. I will focus on the street gangs, the taverns, and a couple mysterious people who need work done by discriminating adventurers. And I am not going to include alignment in the game, which I think will really change the players outlooks. I will keep stuff like Angels are good and Demons are evil, but alignment doesn't matter for normal people.
Monday, February 22, 2010
This picture is Dungeons and Dragons for me
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Elves as the ruling class
I think I want to make a world where the elves are the rulers. After all, they live for hundreds of years. Just by personal connections alone, they should have a huge advantage over humans. I also don't believe in demi-human level limits, so this seems to be a natural extension of what that rule change would mean.
It seems to me that the Melniboneans in the Elric Saga by Moorcock would be one potential model for the elven rulers. Another could just be how Galadriel is portrayed in the LOTR movies. Both are mysterious, and quite alien to human psychology. I know I don't want the elves to just be super-powered humans. I want them to have a distinct feeling from the other races.
I might have them be slave-owners. "After all, why should humans, who only live for maybe 60 years, be treated any better? They just act like spoiled children unless they have elven guidance.", says the typical elf.
I don't really want an elven Dark Lord, though it is a possibility. If normal elves have a ruthless enough feel, then a Dark Lord would be redundant, anyway. Maybe the crumbling elven empire on the edge of the campaign map would be enough, with the actual campaign area the wilderness next to it, or even a province that has revolted in the not-too-distant past.
I'm actually a bit surprised that none of the major published campaign worlds have tried a setting where the elves are the big movers and shakers, and everyone else is just living as their servants or in the wilderness that the elves don't care about. It seems a fairly obvious setting hook to me. Instead, they generally go with "There are only a few elves left in the world, and they are tree-huggers who never leave their forest". I did like Eberron's ancestor/undead worshipping elves, but even they are no major force in the world.
It seems to me that the Melniboneans in the Elric Saga by Moorcock would be one potential model for the elven rulers. Another could just be how Galadriel is portrayed in the LOTR movies. Both are mysterious, and quite alien to human psychology. I know I don't want the elves to just be super-powered humans. I want them to have a distinct feeling from the other races.
I might have them be slave-owners. "After all, why should humans, who only live for maybe 60 years, be treated any better? They just act like spoiled children unless they have elven guidance.", says the typical elf.
I don't really want an elven Dark Lord, though it is a possibility. If normal elves have a ruthless enough feel, then a Dark Lord would be redundant, anyway. Maybe the crumbling elven empire on the edge of the campaign map would be enough, with the actual campaign area the wilderness next to it, or even a province that has revolted in the not-too-distant past.
I'm actually a bit surprised that none of the major published campaign worlds have tried a setting where the elves are the big movers and shakers, and everyone else is just living as their servants or in the wilderness that the elves don't care about. It seems a fairly obvious setting hook to me. Instead, they generally go with "There are only a few elves left in the world, and they are tree-huggers who never leave their forest". I did like Eberron's ancestor/undead worshipping elves, but even they are no major force in the world.
Saturday, February 20, 2010
"Real" magic in D&D campaigns
I've often toyed with the idea of using a "real" magic system in D&D. I'd love to have a non-flashy, money-consuming, rituals-only Golden Dawn type of magic usable by mages, instead of the walking artillery currently in the game. Or maybe just an indian shaman or voodoo priest celebration style magic system.
I know various attempts were done for this in 2e (by Mayfair and TSR) and some OGL 3e products. But, in general, any of the people I've actually gamed with strongly prefer the flash-bang stuff. Which the game sort of requires. If a mage can't easily and quickly aid the party while in the dungeon, he just ends up being a burden instead of a helper.
My idea really would only work if magic was NPC-only, or the game was mostly low-combat, and probably city-based. A Golden Dawn practitioner would be pretty useless when faced with an angry ogre. But sometimes I wonder just how different the game might be if Gary Gygax had been heavily interested in the occult.
I know various attempts were done for this in 2e (by Mayfair and TSR) and some OGL 3e products. But, in general, any of the people I've actually gamed with strongly prefer the flash-bang stuff. Which the game sort of requires. If a mage can't easily and quickly aid the party while in the dungeon, he just ends up being a burden instead of a helper.
My idea really would only work if magic was NPC-only, or the game was mostly low-combat, and probably city-based. A Golden Dawn practitioner would be pretty useless when faced with an angry ogre. But sometimes I wonder just how different the game might be if Gary Gygax had been heavily interested in the occult.
Friday, February 19, 2010
Sword and Board 5th draft available
The fifth draft of Sword and Board is located HERE. Please let me know what you think!
Hex mapping
I kinda missed most of the hex mapping craze during my early gaming career. I wasn't really introduced to it until I picked up the Wilderlands of High Fantasy box set put out by Necromancer Games a few years back. I'm kinda up in the air on my feelings about this style of map when used for a campaign setting.
Pros
1. I love just having a large bunch of encounters keyed to each hex. It is easy to organize, and very easy to look up information on the fly.
2. It gives the game a more sandbox feel, at least to me. Especially when the hexes are not set up where all the low-level adventures are in one corner, and all the high-level adventures are in the other corner. You could find a dragon one hex over from a small goblin cave.
2a. It makes it easier as far as just letting the characters wander wherever they want to, as there will be at least one interesting thing for them to find in any given direction. Now, if they can actually handle the encounter is another story.
Cons
1. Hexes are damn ugly. And they can hide map information if not done just right.
2. It makes it harder for me to picture how each kingdom or area is set up, and how they deal with their neighbors. The pertinent information is often in the various hex entries, which tend to be scattered about by hex number, instead of a separate country/area entry.
3. While it is cool to have big monsters living right next to little ones, an inexperienced or rash adventuring party could easily be killed just by heading east instead of north.
Pros
1. I love just having a large bunch of encounters keyed to each hex. It is easy to organize, and very easy to look up information on the fly.
2. It gives the game a more sandbox feel, at least to me. Especially when the hexes are not set up where all the low-level adventures are in one corner, and all the high-level adventures are in the other corner. You could find a dragon one hex over from a small goblin cave.
2a. It makes it easier as far as just letting the characters wander wherever they want to, as there will be at least one interesting thing for them to find in any given direction. Now, if they can actually handle the encounter is another story.
Cons
1. Hexes are damn ugly. And they can hide map information if not done just right.
2. It makes it harder for me to picture how each kingdom or area is set up, and how they deal with their neighbors. The pertinent information is often in the various hex entries, which tend to be scattered about by hex number, instead of a separate country/area entry.
3. While it is cool to have big monsters living right next to little ones, an inexperienced or rash adventuring party could easily be killed just by heading east instead of north.
Monday, February 15, 2010
Add a little steampunk to your S&W
Steampunk items table
1. Pair of goggles.
2. Flying cap.
3. Grandfather clock.
4. Working pocketwatch.
5. Mechanical bird.
6. Coal-powered automobile.
7. Steam-powered robot.
8. An Aetherscope (allows user to see into the ethereal realm).
9. Binoculars.
10. Difference Engine (a very, very large clockwork computer).
11. Compass.
12. Bowler hat.
13. Box of fine cigars.
14. Full helmet with goggle eyes that lets you see invisible creatures.
15. An airship.
16. Clockwork toy that moves.
17. Stereoscope (3D images).
18. Phonograph (early record player).
19. A fully-loaded Revolver.
20. A clockwork spying fly.
21. A submersible ship.
22. Monocle.
23. Top hat.
24. Sword cane.
25. Jet pack.
1. Pair of goggles.
2. Flying cap.
3. Grandfather clock.
4. Working pocketwatch.
5. Mechanical bird.
6. Coal-powered automobile.
7. Steam-powered robot.
8. An Aetherscope (allows user to see into the ethereal realm).
9. Binoculars.
10. Difference Engine (a very, very large clockwork computer).
11. Compass.
12. Bowler hat.
13. Box of fine cigars.
14. Full helmet with goggle eyes that lets you see invisible creatures.
15. An airship.
16. Clockwork toy that moves.
17. Stereoscope (3D images).
18. Phonograph (early record player).
19. A fully-loaded Revolver.
20. A clockwork spying fly.
21. A submersible ship.
22. Monocle.
23. Top hat.
24. Sword cane.
25. Jet pack.
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