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| ASE LEVEL III - this is not a small dungeon |
Monday, November 19, 2012
ASE II Review
Dungeon Design and Stocking - with examples!
Recently there was some discussion on Google+ about dungeon design, and if it's possible to teach better dungeon design. I frankly don't know, but it got me thinking about how I design dungeons vs. how I know others who I think are good GMs design dungeons. Below is a glimpse of my method- with illustrations from the Mute Tower, which I finished running last week, and which presents a simple dungeon that was perhaps a bit the railroad because it exists only for the purpose of finding a map and some radioactive pebbles to get a party into ASE.
Now I design my dungeons "organically" or "naturalistically". I rarely use random tables, and I try to stock them in a way that makes sense. This creates it's own issues, but I feel it works well to build an interesting and alive feeling adventuring environment.
Now I design my dungeons "organically" or "naturalistically". I rarely use random tables, and I try to stock them in a way that makes sense. This creates it's own issues, but I feel it works well to build an interesting and alive feeling adventuring environment.
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| From VALL3Z GAX at http://gaxix.blogspot.com - whole adventure based on this drawing... |
Sunday, November 18, 2012
Character Sheet - The Laughing Boy
The Laughing Boy is an 11th Level LOTFP fighter I'll be using in a one shot. He is completely random, with a random appearance (Male, Child, Beautiful, Wearing Uniform) and 3D6 in order stats (which turned out good). This random appearance roll though created the creepiest PC I've played in a long time.
Saturday, November 17, 2012
The Mute Tower - Map
THE MUTE TOWER
Just finished running this for the Google+ ASE group, it took three session, but I think it was fun. As a dungeon I designed it to be introductory with a little bit of everything, and a fair number of odd things to play with. The party managed to circumvent most to the death traps and didn't lose anyone, though there were two saves vs. death and on near TPK (Well it would have resulted in capture and enslavement by Johnny Two-Bad - reanimated pugilist/Wizard).
A waste of cracked earth expands for almost a half mile around the Mute Tower, an ancient construction of cherry red ceramic fused adobe marring the plains several miles East of Marsten. The tower has been home to many strange denizens in the eons it's stood, most recently the two-headed mutant wizard "Johnny Two-Bad" who once terrorized Marsten with his madness and displays of strength.
Thirty years ago, as Denethix consolidated its control of the surrounding area and battalion of the Unyielding Fist, led by Captain Tyrno himself besieged the tower and put its inhabitants to the sword. While Marsten has since bloomed into a bustling cattle town, the tower remains, an almost forgotten oddity. Only a few souls have ventured to explore the place, due to its bad reputation and the general belief that the place was looted out by the victorious army when Johnny Two-Bad was put down.
Recently a small expedition from the Temple of Science asked directions to the Mute Tower, and headed off towards it laden with a fancy assortment of supplies. They haven't returned, and it's a well known fact the the Temple of Science is wealthy enough to pay ransoms and rewards for those who return, save or hold its Scientists.
The Dungeon itself had only a few monsters, and most were reskinned standard creatures - I got to use carrion crawlers without anyone realizing what they were until two party members were already paralyzed. The party even bought barrels of salt to throw at the creatures because they were some kind of horrible slug creatures. I think this shows the usefulness of gonzo, at shuffling about the cliches and tropes of D&D play and allowing wonder or something like it back into the game.
Just finished running this for the Google+ ASE group, it took three session, but I think it was fun. As a dungeon I designed it to be introductory with a little bit of everything, and a fair number of odd things to play with. The party managed to circumvent most to the death traps and didn't lose anyone, though there were two saves vs. death and on near TPK (Well it would have resulted in capture and enslavement by Johnny Two-Bad - reanimated pugilist/Wizard).
A waste of cracked earth expands for almost a half mile around the Mute Tower, an ancient construction of cherry red ceramic fused adobe marring the plains several miles East of Marsten. The tower has been home to many strange denizens in the eons it's stood, most recently the two-headed mutant wizard "Johnny Two-Bad" who once terrorized Marsten with his madness and displays of strength.
Thirty years ago, as Denethix consolidated its control of the surrounding area and battalion of the Unyielding Fist, led by Captain Tyrno himself besieged the tower and put its inhabitants to the sword. While Marsten has since bloomed into a bustling cattle town, the tower remains, an almost forgotten oddity. Only a few souls have ventured to explore the place, due to its bad reputation and the general belief that the place was looted out by the victorious army when Johnny Two-Bad was put down.
Recently a small expedition from the Temple of Science asked directions to the Mute Tower, and headed off towards it laden with a fancy assortment of supplies. They haven't returned, and it's a well known fact the the Temple of Science is wealthy enough to pay ransoms and rewards for those who return, save or hold its Scientists.
The Dungeon itself had only a few monsters, and most were reskinned standard creatures - I got to use carrion crawlers without anyone realizing what they were until two party members were already paralyzed. The party even bought barrels of salt to throw at the creatures because they were some kind of horrible slug creatures. I think this shows the usefulness of gonzo, at shuffling about the cliches and tropes of D&D play and allowing wonder or something like it back into the game.
Thoughts on Combat Resolution Techniques
Random thoughts on D&D combat systems and how combat style has serious and possibly unintuitive effects on game-play.
NOTE: If the works of Otto Dix appear anywhere in your referee materials or inspirational imagery don't get attached to your character...
Now to my mind combat is an integral component of classic table top RPG play. War game roots, conflict requiring randomized resolution, immediately recognizable as risky, fulfills male power fantasies common among gamer types etc. Of course there's the question of what kind of combat one might have?
I am by inclination and lack of newer gameplay pretty stalwart in my devotion to B/X ODD OSR combat and gameplay, so I am not really talking about other editions or systems here (like story games of the tactical focus I hear is part of 3.5E on). Yet, within even simple (and deemed by some to be deadly boring) B/X style fights there's a lot of house rules and variations that effect play. In order to make them work it seems one has to figure out what one wants.
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| Otto Dix |
Now to my mind combat is an integral component of classic table top RPG play. War game roots, conflict requiring randomized resolution, immediately recognizable as risky, fulfills male power fantasies common among gamer types etc. Of course there's the question of what kind of combat one might have?
I am by inclination and lack of newer gameplay pretty stalwart in my devotion to B/X ODD OSR combat and gameplay, so I am not really talking about other editions or systems here (like story games of the tactical focus I hear is part of 3.5E on). Yet, within even simple (and deemed by some to be deadly boring) B/X style fights there's a lot of house rules and variations that effect play. In order to make them work it seems one has to figure out what one wants.
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Anomalous Subsurface Environment Session II - Two Bad for You!
Anomalous Subsurface Environment Session II -Two Bad for You!
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| Nathan Rosario draws He Man Villains. |
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
Pahvelorn - Session XIII - Rats!
PAHVELORN PLAY REPORT - RATS! - SESSION XIII
Feeling like they'd accomplished a lot, and that the upper level of Pahvelorn's buried city might be pretty much looted out, Beni Profane (Rat Catcher), Higgins Dreadmire (Warlock), Tarvis (Priest) and Sarin (Priest) decided to take themselves and their henchmen to the corrupted shrine in Pahvelorn's abandoned districts. The "shrine" is a tower edifice, more a cathedral than anything with such a humble name should possess, but it is undoubtedly corrupted. Last time the party ventured into the shrine, it was a near thing - zombies, flying imps and giant lizards all took a piece out of the adventurers before they encountered a pack of undead smoke creatures that very nearly wiped the party out.
Feeling like they'd accomplished a lot, and that the upper level of Pahvelorn's buried city might be pretty much looted out, Beni Profane (Rat Catcher), Higgins Dreadmire (Warlock), Tarvis (Priest) and Sarin (Priest) decided to take themselves and their henchmen to the corrupted shrine in Pahvelorn's abandoned districts. The "shrine" is a tower edifice, more a cathedral than anything with such a humble name should possess, but it is undoubtedly corrupted. Last time the party ventured into the shrine, it was a near thing - zombies, flying imps and giant lizards all took a piece out of the adventurers before they encountered a pack of undead smoke creatures that very nearly wiped the party out.
Monday, November 12, 2012
Many Gates of Gann - Review
MANY GATES OF GANN
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| Cover of Many Gates of Gann |
As any reader of this blog must realize, I am rather fond of a bit of silly in my D&D. Pure Tolkienesque mock seriousness with every elf a wise-eyed noble stoically forging on under the weight of an eon of sadness and an unfortunate name like "Glintiever the Unsullied" makes me feel like making trouble as a PC and makes me feel like a complete jerk as a GM. Equally I can't really embrace the Warhammer style vikings, chaos and scumbags approach, I lack the cruelty to make every tussle with street urchins a life and death situation and don't enjoy properly modelling wound fevers.
This means I mostly enjoy a bit of the strange light hearted sentiment known among the OSR as gonzo (though most D&D games seem to have an element of Hunter S. Thompson's greatest scraps in them). Gates of Gann is billed as such, and contains a fair bit of fun and weird ideas. It feels less of an homage and pastiche of 80's Sword & Sorcery cartoons/media than ASE, which I've seen it compared to, and more of a flavor like a Kull or Conan story. This is a good thing, a different authorial voice that still allows for legions of white apes (the two armed kind) with gemstones implanted in their skulls.
Works in Progress and Some Tables
Finally got to run something again, though once again a one shot aboard the HMS Apollyon turned into negotiation and cocktails with the forces of (very lawful and indolent) evil rather than the punch fest I'd got planed. It was one of the more seat of my pants sessions that I've run, and hopefully it turned out well. I got to spring the Apollyon's version of displacer beasts on the party, which was fun - and they encountered what is Deck 9's "safe" area. I think I managed to make it tense and creepy.
Anyhow I am typing up the adventure for the clocktower map I posted last Monday - it's turning a bit bigger than I expected, so it'll likely be broken up here. Below are the random encounters and rumor tables...
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| Girard - I think it's from the Incal |
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
Tempus Gelidum - A Short Location (Map & Monster)
TEMPUS GELIDUM
An ASE Wilderness Encounter Levels 3-6
Deep in the badlands of the Certopsian Plains it is not uncommon to find strange remnants of ancient times. Tempus Gelidum takes place in one such location, an ancient train station, now buried beneath the cracked earth, except for it's clock tower, which acts as the roost for a terrible creature and her minions. The clock tower is home to Sthaleno, a winged gorgon, of rust and pitted iron who finds the tower's similar black metal construction the perfect perch from which to hunt. Around the tower statutes of rusted iron provide a clue to the great gorgon's presence, though travelers and adventurers are a curious lot, and tend to investigate rather than flee.
Stahleno herself is an ancient creature, perhaps not as old as the tower, but older than a thousand years. Her body is made of thick iron plates, streaked with rust, but still incredibly strong and resilient, a combination of the mechanical and magical arts. Unlike most gorgons, Stahleno does not have a bull's head, but bears the face of a beautiful woman, made from living porcelain, with black iron eyes. Stahleno's breath is a noxious cloud of rust colored smoke that transforms those caught in it into iron statues, which she places at the base of her tower to savor the last reverberations of their hopelessness and fear. Indeed, Stahleno lives off of the fear, terror and despair of mortals and will play with her victims to heighten these emotions.
In addition to her own considerable powers Stahleno has been able to reanimate some of her victims by returning a small portion of their life force, creating several iron servitors that act to protect her lair and the various treasures she has scavenged.
An ASE Wilderness Encounter Levels 3-6
Deep in the badlands of the Certopsian Plains it is not uncommon to find strange remnants of ancient times. Tempus Gelidum takes place in one such location, an ancient train station, now buried beneath the cracked earth, except for it's clock tower, which acts as the roost for a terrible creature and her minions. The clock tower is home to Sthaleno, a winged gorgon, of rust and pitted iron who finds the tower's similar black metal construction the perfect perch from which to hunt. Around the tower statutes of rusted iron provide a clue to the great gorgon's presence, though travelers and adventurers are a curious lot, and tend to investigate rather than flee.
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| Map of the Clock Tower |
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| Gorgon |
In addition to her own considerable powers Stahleno has been able to reanimate some of her victims by returning a small portion of their life force, creating several iron servitors that act to protect her lair and the various treasures she has scavenged.
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