Pendraken Miniatures Forum

So here we go again ... the last attempt at doing this met with unavoidable disaster and kinda fizzled out due to me moving home ... just bad timing   :(  All my minis were put in boxes for the big move, then eventually  unboxed the other end, an ongoing process I`m afraid; it’s amazing how much a collection gets scattered and misplaced if you`re not extremely careful in packing… note to self, make sure I label boxes properly if I ever move again haha.  Of course, other more pressing things, like settling into the new place and all the trappings that go with a new start  had to take precedence to my gaming for a while. And sadly, a consequence of the move also meant I lost contact with my old group of players. So I have pretty much had to start from scratch, and I am currently encouraging and teaching a new bunch of ` bods` the joys of gaming for the first time; these will be my victims once the new game gets underway   :D WOOooHAHAhahaha   <------ evil laugh  First things first though, I need to create a campaign from the very beginning… and I need to get it right, which means listening to my new perspective group and making sure I create something they will all enjoy. The only stipulation I am following fairly rigidly is that the campaign will be very dungeon oriented … this is made easier for me to achieve as new players always love a good dungeon crawl; seems to be the stock starting introduction for many who join the brother and sisterhood of rpg.

Soooo, I figured what better time  to start a new thread in the Dungeon section ... it’s about time I started writing here properly again in any case  :-\

Over the next... however long ... I shall add constantly to this thread, and share my new campaign as it grows from the foundations up. Hopefully, Pendraken Fantasy fans may find my endeavours interesting, may inspire them to start their own projects, and maybe kick start a few ambitious DM`s to do something similar with their own collections  :)

Wish me luck

Six  :-\

Howdy Six,

Glad you finally got everything sorted out and back up and running, been there, done that  ;)

Looking forward to seeing your Campaign spring to life here on the forum, best of luck   :D

Excellent - new campaign eh? It'd be rude not to start with B2 Keep on the Borderlands wouldn't it?  :d

Lovely - and just square off those Caverns of Chaos six - you'll be fine  :)

Quotenew campaign eh? It'd be rude not to start with B2 Keep on the Borderlands wouldn't it?

... its firmly on the agenda Nik  ;)  Cheers bud  ;D

QuoteGlad you finally got everything sorted out and back up and running, been there, done that 

Looking forward to seeing your Campaign spring to life here on the forum, best of luck

Cheers Blaker.. good to be back  :D

Look forward to the AAR's 

Are you still down in Kerry?

QuoteLook forward to the AAR's 

Are you still down in Kerry?

Okay, I admit it....  I have no idea what it means  :-[  what’s an AAR?

No Fenton, I`ve moved from Kenmare in Kerry to Bantry in West Cork.... just over the mountain range really... but far enough away that everything is changed, scenery, people, accents, the lot; and its far enough away that its quite a long haul by car over the pass (which is always pea soup with mist) to commute between the two places.

There’s some fascinating history in Bantry; like the anchor and cannon found in the harbour recently and belonging to a French galleon that went down (circa 1796) during a naval battle between a French fleet anchored in the bay  and an English armada that snuck into the shallows attempting  to destroy their enemy… bit naughty really as Ireland was supposed to be neutral but in fact had leanings in  friendship towards the French. The  HUGE anchor from the sunken vessel now sits in the Bantry Bay market place for all to see, along with several cannon dotted along the water front.

Hi Six,

looking forward to read your campaign blog!!!  :)

Cheers,

Annatar

Sounds great Six! Have fun.

Quote from: sixsideddice on 02 June 2012, 02:12:57 AM

Okay, I admit it....  I have no idea what it means  :-[  what’s an AAR?

After Action Report  :)

Nice anchor too  8)

QuoteAfter Action Report  

oh Duh!!!!  thats one I wont forget again in  a hurry   ;D


..........    and cheers  Lemmey.... Annatar   :)

Bantry is a nice place, we used to drive  down there every summer from Belfast for a holiday when I was a kid.

There used to be a village round near Bantry that had nothing but English people in it, they were all old hippies from he 60's that moved across.

Maybe there's a plot in there for strange underground rites etc, or maybe I am just thinking of the Wicker Man


I wonder if Leon could do a 10mm Christopher Lee wearing a dress for us

Quote from: nikharwood on 02 June 2012, 08:26:02 AM

Nice anchor too  8)

Looks to be a complete anchor to!

Quote

Bantry is a nice place, we used to drive  down there every summer from Belfast for a holiday when I was a kid.

There used to be a village round near Bantry that had nothing but English people in it, they were all old hippies from he 60's that moved across.

Maybe there's a plot in there for strange underground rites etc, or maybe I am just thinking of the Wicker Man


I wonder if Leon could do a 10mm Christopher Lee wearing a dress for us

Yeah, it is a really quaint place...  but a LOT of trouble now with the travellers at night...   we`re not meant to say that if we want to be politically correct (meant to love and welcome them with open arms  =) ), but then again...   my GOD they cause a lot of violence, and other sorts of trouble. Court day here is just lines and lines and lines of them in a row; cos the only troube round here is  due to them.

WOw, you know Bantry well then Fenton. I wonder if the place you are thinking of is Durrus, or maybe Ballylicky? Bantry area is teeming with pagans... Wicker Man is a given here  ;)

OOOoooh  10mm  Wicker Man minis  =P~

QuoteLooks to be a complete anchor to!

yep, it is.

Quote from: sixsideddice on 02 June 2012, 05:49:40 PM

WOw, you know Bantry well then Fenton. I wonder if the place you are thinking of is Durrus, or maybe Ballylicky? Bantry area is teeming with pagans... Wicker Man is a given here  ;)

I haven't been in about 30 years to be honest but I always remember it being nice















[/quote]

Looking forward to the thread Six !
Christopher Lee in what ?
Cheers - Phil.

Dungeon World Rule Additions & Dungeon World Variation Rules:

The first thing I wanted to do before getting down to creating this new campaign, was to make up some new rules to give the thing more of a true `role playing` feel. Dungeon World works just fine as a miniatures based dungeon crawl.. with  a lot of rpg elements thrown in to give it that `old school` feel; but I wanted to make the game a lot more flexible to allow for a complete rules experience which could stand alone just as well either with or without miniatures… pen and paper gaming. I tend to experiment a lot in my games, and I often do things very differently in Dungeon World than the way the game was originally written. But really, this is all just part of being imaginative and `house rules` have always been the domain of imaginative Dungeon Masters ever since the early pioneer days when the role playing games first evolved…. I think almost all game hosts do this with their favourite set of rules to some extent or another. But house rules tend to be a very personal thing, and reflect the preferred preferences of the Dungeon Master and his players, and are not always useful when trying to put out a generic set of guidelines others can easily enjoy and follow, so I tend usually to leave them out of things when I`m presenting guidelines for others. However, for completeness in describing my new campaign, I will be including my own house rules for everyone to see.

The following rules are used in conjunction with Dungeon World 2nd edition:


To Hit roll a D20 and add the Dungeon World “Attacks” stats value to the die roll. If this total equals or exceeds the target`s Armour Class (AC), the hit is successful and will cause damage. E.g. a D20 roll from the Scout Battle Witch in melee against an Orc yields a 12 on the die. The Battle Witch`s Attacks are 4, so she adds +4 to the die roll. The final result is 12 + 4 = 16. An enemy`s Armour Class is always 10 plus its “Armour” stats. In Dungeon World An Orc`s Armour is 4. So the Orc`s Armour class is 10 + 4 = 14. The Scout Battle Witch`s Attack of 16 beats the Orcs Armour of 14. So the Witch`s wounds the Orc.

The maximum "Attacks" value a Hero or Monster can have in Dungeon World is usually 10 (in extremely rare cases, this can be higher): but the highest "Attacks" value possible in these Variation rules is 10 = i.e. +10.

Critical Hit & Fumbles A natural 20 thrown on the “To Hit” roll is a Critical Hit (and is always an automatic success), and does double maximum weapon damage. E.G. A Short Sword scoring a Critical Hit will automatically hit and cause 12 damage.

A natural 1 rolled is an automatic failure. Draken Masters might like to turn a natural 1 into a Fumble if appropriate to the situation. E.g. a Hero shoots his bow and throws a 1: the DM tells him "oh dear! Your bow string just snapped".

Armour Class A Hero or Monster`s Armour Class is always 10 plus its Dungeon World “Armour” value â€" giving a range of between 11 (Armour 1) and 16 (Armour 6), which is perfectly adequate for the game. No Armour at all (Armour Class value 10) might, for example, be a non combatant, unarmed civilian, a bystander, etc (in Dungeon World, that would be Armour 0).

Damage/Wounds The following is a very simple formula for calculating the amount of damage a weapon hit inflicts in melee or ranged combat.

Dagger/Knife 1D4
Short Sword 1D6
One Handed Sword/Axe/Mace 1D6+1
Spear 1D8 (cannot use in confined dungeon space if there is a figure on both flanks of the spear
user - unless the other figures are friendly spearmen)
Sling 1D4+1
Two Handed Sword/Axe 1D10
Short (Composite) Bow 1D6
Crossbow 1D8+1
Longbow 1D10+2
Arcane (Black Power) Pistol 2D4
Black Powder Musket 1D12
Burning Torch 1D6

Optonal: if you wish to speed up combat resolution considerably: add the wielder`s "Attacks" value to the damage the weapon inflicts. e.g. a Mage (Weapon Attacks 4) makes a "To Hit" roll and hits with his knife. The total damage inflicted would be 1D4 +4 for the Mage`s Weapon Attack value. But be careful, this optional rule has the knock on affect of making even a single hit extremely dangerous - especially to the Heroes. If you employ the above rule, I`d strongly advise you restrict all Monster attacks upon Heroes to a generic 1D6 per successful hit and wound.

Ranged Attacks and Melee (Using the “Attacks” Stats from Dungeon World)

Models with “Attacks 5” may roll to hit a second time if the first attack is a hit.
Models with “Attacks 6” roll to hit twice in combat.
Models with more than “Attacks 6” roll to hit three times.

Temporarily adds apply.

Adds A Hero receives a +2 to his “To Hit” roll if flanking an enemy all ready engaged with another Hero. A Hero receives +2 to his “To Hit” roll if charging an enemy (must move at least 2 squares to be classed as charging). A Charge allows a Hero to be moved double the normal movement allowance for that move. A Hero with Stealth receives a +4 to the “To Hit” roll when attacking an enemy from behind (on the first round of a new combat only) â€" this is called a Back Stab attack.

The Draken Master should be fluid, and be prepared to make up relevant adds (or minuses) in mid game as situation demands.

Wounds A Hero or Monster`s Wounds/Hits are multiplied by 5 in this RPG variation. E.G. The Scout Battle Witch`s Wounds in Dungeon World are 6. Thus, multiplied by five the Witch`s starting Wounds become 30 here. Keep track of all wounds (mark these on the Hero character sheet or on a note pad if it’s a Monster). When the wounds are reduced to `0` the Hero is classed as unconscious and critically ill. If the Hero takes a further 6 wounds, the Hero dies. Monsters reduced to `0`are always automatically classed as dead.

Apply common sense when using these Variation rules alongside Dungeon World. For example, a +1 (power up) bonus is the same as an Attacks +1 in these rules. A trap inflicting 1 to 3 wounds would convert to: 5, 10 and 15 wounds respectively.

Dungeon World versus Dungeons & Dragons

It may be obvious by now that when I designed this Dungeon World rpg game variation, it was with games like the Dungeons and Dragons 3.5 and 4th Edition rules very much in my mind. Start with Armour Class 10 (unarmed) and add +1 to 6 to arrive at a final Armour Class of all Heroes and Monsters. For Hit Dice you can round odd numbers up or down to the nearest complete five if you like (e.g. 77 becomes 75. Round 38 up to 40, etc.) but it’s really not necessary to do so just because Dungeon World Heroes and Monster stats work in multiples of 5. Similarly, assuming you will be using Dungeons and Dragons a lot as your base for Adventures; when it comes to spells, just keep things simple... keep the essence of the D&D spells intact, but they don`t need to be complicated. As a DM, I find I can usually `wing it` needing only a reminder of what a Dungeons & Dragons spell is all about... then use storytelling to do the rest. Good story telling is almost always the key to a successful game.


Task Resolution and Skills

It falls to the Draken Master to decide whether an in game task is Easy, Tricky, Difficult, or Impossible. Impossible Tasks should be pretty rare.

D20 Number Needed

Easy
10
Tricky
15
Difficult
20
Impossible
25

Examples:
Easy: Picking a lock without setting off a trap.
Tricky: listening at a door to hear if there are any sounds beyond, made by a Monster trying to be very quiet.
Difficult: Shooting an arrow at the far wall in a chamber to hit a button which will open the portcullis.
Impossible: Picking the lock mechanism of a colour coded door which (in Dungeon World) normally requiring a corresponding coloured key.

A Hero with a Special Ability that might be relevant to the task receives a +4 to the die roll attempt. For example: a Hero with “Stealth” would receive a +4 if trying to sneak past a Monster without being detected. A sleeping Hero with “Listen” would receive +4 to see if he wakes up in time not to be `surprised` when a Monster approaches. A Hero with“ Traps” would receive a +4 if trying to work out how a trap works; then might need to make a second +4 task check to try to disarm the trap. In some cases, more than one Hero may assist in a task. If the assisting Hero has a relevant skill, that help can be added to the attempt. A second or even a third Hero may help in a task. If a Hero has no relevant skill to add (DM permitting) he/she may only add +1 to the task.

Any task (even an Impossible Task) always succeeds if the die roll yields a natural 20.

Incidentally Please note: normal Dungeon World `?` Traps are applied and resolved in game as normal using the Dungeon World rules. In all cases, the new rules for Tasks only apply to dungeon specific situations, written into the game or made up by the Draken Master.

An entirely new skill may be purchased (usually between games) by a Hero at a cost of 500 gold. The new skill is marked on the Hero character sheet and has a start task resolution bonus of +0. If the Draken Master decides an existing Dungeon World Special Ability applies to the newly purchased skill (e.g. Trap, Listen, Stealth, Checking, etc); then the new skill will start at +4 and not at 0.

A pre-existing special ability can be improved just like other purchased skills; always +1 at a time. Between games a Hero may increase any existing skill by +1 at a cost of 500 gold per increment bonus.

The Maximum bonus a Hero may have in any skill is +8.

If you are used to playing other rpg games you will know that some task checks require a success roll of 30/35 etc. Just treat the highest task resolution you can get in Dungeon World as an Impossible task and you can`t go wrong. Even with a skill of +8 any Hero will have his work cut out to succeed in an Impossible (25) check... that’s what friends are for (each friend helping will increase to the chance of success).

Keep it Simple: the Draken Master must decide if a new skill is appropriate or available for a Hero to learn perhaps even role play the experience. To keep it simple, it is pretty safe to assume heroes can ride, swim, read and write, cook, make a camp fire, possess outdoor survival skills, make his/her own arrows - and possess a whole host of other mundane abilities unless the Draken Master decides it might be more fun to have the Heroes learn these things from scratch.

The skills a Hero can purchase might include all the listings found in other role playing games, such as Dungeons and Dragons, Warhammer Fantasy Role Playing Game, etc. So start browsing for ideas.

A Player may come up with his/her own new skills. It is then up to the player to tell the Draken Master of a new skill he or she wishes to learn, and together (through friendly compromise) the new skill ability can be fleshed out, written down by the Draken Master... in effect, added to the rules for posterity; and then purchased in game for the normal price. The price reflects finding a teacher, and then the teacher`s fee for sharing his art with the prospective Hero. Unfortunately, like in real life - little in this world is ever free.

New Skills might of course include Magic Spells. A +1 add to combat (“To Hit”) would cost 500 gold to learn but remember like all other skills: +8 is the maximum which can be learned.

Warning:
The Draken Master should not feel obliged to let the players get their own way all the time. Always be aware that a wrong new skill may unbalance the game and ruin the fun for everyone. Be fair, be wise, and be mature about your choices.

Game Phases & Initiative:

The variation rules plays a bit differently than a normal game of Dungeon World. Forget the four phase move as described in Dungeon World, and instead think in terms of (dare I say it again) Dungeons and Dragons! The Heroes move through the dungeon, role playing as they go. The Draken Master talks to the players, describing what the heroes can see, smell, hear and feel. If you like, this part of the game can be called `the exploration phase`. When things heat up and an encounter is imminent, we move to the `action` part of the game, at which point the Draken Master will ask the Players each individually to roll for initiative, and the Draken Master also rolls a D20 initiative die just one roll for his own creatures. Each Player decides what their respective Hero wants to try to do in his or her phase; the results are thrown for, and the Draken Master describes the outcome.

Remember: Initiative is now rolled for separately by each Hero (but the Monsters roll collectively) on a D20. The highest rolling Hero goes first, then second highest, etc. The Monsters all get to move and act at once when their turn sequence comes - as they all share a joint initiative roll. Remember also: There is no Non Mover`s Shooting Phase in this game variation. BUT a Hero (who is not surprised and off-guard) who faces a Monster bearing down on him ready to engage in close combat is allowed to shoot a ranged weapon or cast a spell before contact is made.

I have kept things pretty loose and open regarding actions within a game move. If exploring develops into an action encounter; the DM simply asks the players what they want their Heroes to attempt to do. Many things don`t need to be set as tasks at all, and are merely time consuming. If for example a Hero wants to sheath his sword and pull a bow from his back and notch an arrow â€" in my own games I would class this as an action. I usually rule that an action replaces movement, so a Hero could probably switch his sword for a bow, notch an arrow and still get a shot off at the end of his move... but that would be it. Maybe the shot at the end would need a Task check 10 or 15 to allow the Hero to proceed? Always be flexible, this is meant to be epic story telling not just endless tests against the dice.

Using this Dungeon World variation of the rules, I find a perfectly satisfactory rpg can be played out... adding an entirely new yet very simple layer and depth to the game. Now, I find I can play Dungeon World rpg`s straight from my eBook â€" the rules are that easy to remember.

Dungeon World Variations (Additional Rules)

How to use Dungeon World Stats to represent attributes for Task Resolution (TR for short).

Movement: The average for a human Hero is 4 (Squares) per action phase. Slower movement (e.g. a Dwarf or Halfling) will reduce all Movement Skill and Resolution based Tests by -2 per movement point below 4. Each point above 4 (e.g. Elves have a movement of 5) will increase Tests by +2. Movement Tests might include all Dexterity based skills -jumping climbing, catching a thrown object, swimming, juggling, general co-ordination, etc.

Movement increases cannot be purchased. You are born as you are (unless a Draken Master deems otherwise).

Attacks: Weapon Attacks and Shooting (just called "Attacks" in the Variation rules) apply to Task Resolutions involving feats of Strength and Endurance.

Attack adds can be purchased, and the maximum is 10.

Armour: this ability is also used to represent Constitution (general well being) in all Task Resolutions relating to fitness, health, survival traits, and Stamina.

Armour adds can be purchased, and the maximum is 6.

Hits/Wounds adds can be purchased. Maximum Hero is 10.

Hit Points/Wounds are never used in Task Resolutions.

Initiative Bonus (which is not actually an attribute and cannot be raised beyond possessing the ability) but allows a Hero an intrinsic awareness of what’s happening around him/her. This adds +4 to all Task Resolutions demanding astuteness, being in tune with nature, general observation, judging if a person feels `right` or is lying, seems good or bad, instinctively sensing whether it’s going to rain later, perhaps allowing the Hero to be good at cards, gambling, etc. Initiative Bonus is the only attribute that can never be raised beyond the basic +4. But more than one (2 max) Initiative Bonus can be added together to complete a single task resolution.

Checking can be combined with Initiative Bonus to give an additional +1 to relevant Task Resolutions. Similarly, Initiative Bonus will add +1 to any Task check made against the Checking ability. On its own, Checking will add +4 to Task Resolutions requiring observation, recognition (perhaps recognising a person at long range), and noticing changes in environment (it’s getting colder, and so on).

Charisma: there is no Hero stat for Charisma in the Dungeron World rules. But the following rules may be used in the variation rules to create such precedence.

Give every newly created Hero an initial starting Charisma of `0`. To this, throw one negative D4, and one positive D4. Throw the negative die and subtract the result from the charisma. Throw one positive die and add this to the charisma. For example: a Hero is created and throws a negative D4 and rolls a 2. He then rolls a positive D4 and rolls a 3. So -2 +3 = 1. So the new character starts the game with a Charisma of 1.

After this initial attribute is set up, the Hero can purchase +1 bonuses in this attribute just like skills (maximum allowed is +8). Each 500 gold spend in this way represents the time and money spent on gaining the social and educational benefits of that privilege.

Its up to the Draken Master whether he wants to include any racial bonuses for non human starting Heroes? Such as +2 for Elves, -1 for Dwarves, etc. Personally, I don`t usually do this. If I want a charismatic Hero NPC, I just make one that way when I create the stats.

Alternatively, instead of using "Attacks", "Armour" and so on as attributes for task checks, you might simply prefer to make up new traits using the same formula you used for Charisma to make things like: Dexterity: Agility, Endurance, Physical Charm, etc.

Other Special Abilities may also benefit the user in certain situations - as the Drakon Master sees fit. As a Player, if you feel your Hero has a relevant ability... hammer it out with your Draken Master. If you have a kind and benevolent DM he may just allow you to use it. Special Abilities such as these usually start with a basic Task Resolution bonus of +4. Additional bonus increments (+1 at a time) may be purchased as the game goes on.

A New Dungeon World Core Rules Addition

The Wizard - Hero Class:

This is a new optional Hero Kit which a player can use to create a dedicated Wizard class character. By dedicated Wizard I mean a character that specialises in casting magic to the exclusion of many Special Abilities others are able to learn.

A newly created Wizard will start play with the following starter game stats:

Movement 4:
Weapon Attacks 2:
Armour 3:
Wounds 4:

The Wizard starts with 1D4 Special Abilities from the new Wizard`s Spell List. After this, the Wizard will have to purchase new spells whether from the new Wizard`s Spell List or the learnable Special Abilities from Dungeon World, or find them (in scrolls etc) during their adventurers... but finding spells should be a very rare occurrence - normally they must be purchased at a cost of 2000 gold each new spell learned. I know it may look like "Hey! the Wizard is totally useless as a starting kit". But as the Wizard progresses through the game, he will ultimately become very powerful - but possessing a few built in weaknesses. The Wizard is really an option intended for linked campaign games. For `one off` games the players may not always see this class as a practical option.

There is a maximum cap of 8 Spells a Wizard may know at any one time. After this, an already known spell would have to be discarded to make room for learning a new one. If the Wizard ever wants to re-learn a spell that has been discarded, he or she will have to rest up for a day, meditate, hit the books, and study to re-learn the old spell: i.e. there is a 12 hour rest delay in relearning.

A Wizard may only cast 8 spells per game session or per level of the dungeon explored â€" whichever comes first. The Player and the Draken Master should keep a count of the spells used up during an adventure. This limitation represents the fatiguing affects that wielding magic has on the mind and body of the caster.

The Wizard can never learn the following Special Abilities from the Dungeon World rules:

Berserk Attack: Charge Attack: Dedicated Shot: Master Shot: Poison Attack: Regeneration: Fire Weapon (Advanced â€"with extra fire damage counters): Listen: Traps: Undying: Acid
Spit: Underfoot Attack: Battle Chant: Checking:

The Wizard can learn the following Special Abilities from the Dungeon World rules:

Fire Weapon (Basic): Swift Mover: Stealth: Control Enemy: Gaze Attack: Fly: Multi Shot: Initiative Bonus: Healing Touch: Field Healing:

New Wizard Spell List:

An asterisk * next to a spell title means that spell can be used by some very rare Monsters… not only player characters.

Conjure Elemental: This spell conjures either a Water or Fire Elemental to fight for the caster (caster decides which to create). The conjured Elemental must stay within 10 squares of the caster, and must remain in line off sight to the caster at all times or the Elemental will vanish and be removed from play immediately. The caster can only conjure an Elemental once per game session or dungeon level- whichever comes first.

*Dispel Enemy Magic/Ranged Attack: This spell will automatically nullify any ranged attack made against self or any friendly member of the party within 4 squares of the caster both
the attacker and the target of the enemy attack must be in line of sight to the caster. Can be cast at anytime during the Non Mover`s Shooting Phase.

*Sleep: This spell will send 4 Wounds worth of enemies to sleep (not Undead Monsters). Place the affected enemy miniature(s) lying down to show the spell has worked. If the Wizard throws a 2, 3, 4, or 5 on a D6, the spell works and lasts the entire move. If he throws a 1 or a 6 the spell fails to work this move. The Wizard nominates which enemy or enemies he wants to send to Sleep. Spell range - 6 squares. Can be cast in the Mover`s Action or the Non Mover`s Shooting Phase.

Protection from Undead:This spell will keep 8 Wounds worth of Undead creatures away from the caster - i.e. the spell stops them from moving into caster`s kill zone (ranged weapon attacks still apply). If the Wizard throws a 2, 3, 4, or 5 on a D6, the spell works and lasts the entire move. If he throws a 1 or a 6 the spell fails to work this move. The Wizard nominates when he casts the spell which enemy or enemies he wants to keep at bay. Spell range - no Undead Monster can move adjacent to the caster. Can be cast in the Mover`s Action or the Non Mover`s Shooting Phase (when using the standard rules).

Unlock: This spell can be used to unlock any locked door in a dungeon... unless the Draken Master expresses says “no” to an attempt.

*Teleport: The caster may teleport himself immediatelyto anywhere in the dungeon currently within his line of sight. The caster may not teleport into a square containing another miniature. Can be cast in the Mover`s Action or Non Mover`s Shooting Phase.

Walk on Water: The caster may walk on and across water for the duration of his Mover`s Action Phase.

Single Wish: The Caster can cast this spell to force the Draken Master to take back an
adverse dice roll. This spell can only be cast once per game session or explored dungeon level - whichever comes first.


Players should feel free to discuss (with the Draken Master) the possibility of making up their own new spells. Just remember to keep it balanced, and keep things fair.

Additional Spells for Dungeon World:

Let There Be Light: causes light (like that of a candle) to appear at the end of the caster`s staff, hand held crystal, fingertip, etc. The light will last as long as the caster concentrates on the spell - potentially for hours if not distracted or fatigued; the spell can be extinguished at will by the caster at any time.

Read Arcane Languages: allows the caster a 50% 50% chance (plus 10% per 4 hours rested) of knowing and deciphering arcane/magical writings.

Detect Evil: allows the caster to sense when he/she is close to the presence of evil (or sense good, if the caster is evil).

Entangle: the caster may use any natural object (rope, vines, weeds, roots, etc) to ensnare and confine a single target… a second advanced level in this skill (purchase the skill twice) will allow the spell to work on multiple adjacent targets. Advanced skill in this spell also might allow the caster to tie/untie rope knots etc.

Levitation: the Caster may levitate self or one other off the ground for one move.

*Web: creates a mass of sticky strands which are difficult to destroy except with flame. Can be used to block an affected area from being moved through (the end of a bridge, in front of a portal, a cave mouth etc).

*You Cannot Move: holds a single target in place for one move. The chance of caster success is 100%... minus 10% per point of “Armour” the target possesses.

Breath Water: Allows the caster to breath water; lasts as long as the caster concentrates on the spell.

Cause Confusion: the caster confused the target, making it agitated, docile, befuddled, so it does not overly think of the caster and instead is lost in other concerns. A second purchase of this skill makes it an advanced spell, at which point the caster can affect multiple targets and even affect the type of confusion the target(s) suffer.

Invisibility Spell: the caster can make a target not notice his/her presence for one move - as long as the caster does not move and remains silent. A second purchase of this skill allows the caster to make self and friends in close proximity invisible.

Flames: the caster causes nearby inflammatory objects to burst into flames.

Create Illusion: the caster can create minor illusions. A second purchase of this spell can create more elaborate illusions with limited (repetitive) movement. A third purchase of this spell can create life like illusions. None of the spell illusions are touchable, and the spell may be seen for what it is if contact is made with any part of it. A forth purchase of the spell makes physical contact with the illusion believable.

Charm: the caster has a small chance (10% per Armour of the caster, Minus 10% Armour of the target: minimal chance of success 10%) of making a living target tame, pliable, and friendly to the caster for a full day. A second purchase of the spell causes no increased affect; but a third purchase will make a charm spell permanent on a target (with a 10% chance of the target breaking the spell once a month).

*Alter Self: allows the caster to appear to have the shape and sound of another person. A second purchase will allow the caster to take on animal form and sound. Spell lasts as long as the caster concentrates.

True Change: allows the caster to change shape into a small animal for as long as the caster concentrates on the change.

Predict Weather: the caster has an unerring ability to predict weather patterns.

*Heat Metal: the caster can make an item (such as a sword) become too hot to hold.

*Silence: the caster can create a circle of silence around self (and a small party); no sound will escape from outside or within this circle of silence. A second purchased Silence skill will allow the caster and party within the silenced area to communicate with one another but anyone outside the circle will not be able to hear any sound within.

Speak With Corpses: the caster can communicate (in a limited way) with recently deceased (up to 1 day old corpse) humans and humanoids (provided they speak a language the caster can understand).

*Insect Plague: the caster can create/summon a cloud of insects to harass and annoy an enemy. -2 on all skill and to “hit” rolls.

Ventriloquism: the caster can throw his/her voice anywhere within line of sight. The target(s) of such a spell will believe the words come from close by (where ever the caster directs the voice to).

Ground Slush: the caster creates a patch of muddy, sticky, slushy hindering ground underfoot (can cast up to 6 squares away) which will hinder target(s) for 1D6 moves.. reduces movement by half.

*Polymorph Self: the caster may instantly teleport to another place. The caster must know the intended destination fairly intimately. This spell can only be cast twice a day. If more attempts are made, the caster starts with a 60% likelihood of success, with a minus 10% chance each attempt after that…  the likelihood of a fumble becomes greater each attempt after the initial two times (5% cumulative).

Polymorph Other: similar to Polymorph Self, except the caster casts the spell on another.

                             Early Firearms in Dungeon World:



Harquebus

Attack
Dice 8: Range 12 (8-12)

-1 from target Armour (on the Kill roll) when range is 6 or less squares.

If the shooter rolls 4 or more 1`s when rolling the “To Hit”dice, the weapon misfires (no hits on the enemy this move I`m afraid) and the shooter must, instead, take 2 automatic wounds.


Pistol:

Attack Dice 6:
Range 7 (6-7)

-1 from target Armour (on the Kill roll) when range is 3 or less squares.

If the shooter rolls 3 or more 1`s when rolling the “To Hit”dice, the weapon misfires (no hits on the enemy this move I`m afraid) and the shooter must instead take 1 automatic wound.


Blunderbuss:

Attack Dice 8: Range 5 (8-5)

A Blunderbuss has no short range.

A Blunderbuss may potentially hit multiple targets when fired. The first target (the nearest) along the line of fire is hit on the “To Hit” roll of a 4, 5, or 6 and has Armour reduced by -1 on the Kill roll. The second nearest target (which must be within 2 squares of the initial target square) is hit on the roll of a 5 or 6 (no target Armour reduction). A third potential target must be adjacent to the second and hits on the roll of a 6. A forth available target must be adjacent to the third and is also hit on the roll of a 6.

A Blunderbuss may be fired at an adjacent enemy or enemies (i.e. within the shooters kill zone) in the Non Movers Shooting Phase â€" but only on the initial move the enemy moved adjacent to the firer.

A Blunderbuss goes BANG! Inflicting 1D6-1 wounds on the weapon wielder if the shooter rolls 3 or more 1`s when rolling the “To Hit” dice.

Artificer

One of my players has shown an interest in having an Artificer as his character starter kit : (Wiki: a skilled worker; a craftsperson. One that contrives, devises, or constructs something).

I`ll create the stats and rules for this over the next few days. This new player is a deep person used to multiple options in complex PC and X-Box games, so I will need to make the rules quite detailed I think. hmmm *thinks hard*  :-\

Quote from: sixsideddice on 03 June 2012, 11:08:52 AM
This new player is a deep person used to multiple options in complex PC and X-Box games, so I will need to make the rules quite detailed I think. hmmm *thinks hard*  :-\

Nah - don't overcomplicate your rules - unless he absolutely insists on meta-gaming: just make sure that the gaming experience is deep enough for him...immerse in atmosphere, add ingenuity, intrigue, conundrum and enigma, toss in some nifty combat and other encounters and you'll be fine...and the trick to making all that work beautifully is the KISS approach if you ask me - strip rules down to make everything flow & intuitive - lose complexity, gain kudos  8)

I know I'm preaching to the converted here six - just sounded like you needed a reminder buddy :D

QuoteNah - don't overcomplicate your rules - unless he absolutely insists on meta-gaming: just make sure that the gaming experience is deep enough for him...immerse in atmosphere, add ingenuity, intrigue, conundrum and enigma, toss in some nifty combat and other encounters and you'll be fine...and the trick to making all that work beautifully is the KISS approach if you ask me - strip rules down to make everything flow & intuitive - lose complexity, gain kudos 

I know I'm preaching to the converted here six - just sounded like you needed a reminder buddy

I knew it... I knew it.... thanks for that Nik  ;)  you`ve just convinced me to stay firmly on track and not to get lost in possibilities. *Quote from self* "a set of rules which starts out as an uncluttered idea can quickly get bogged down so that its original simplicity becomes a mere footnote"

I`ve often noticed people on the forums asking one another "How do I go about making a random dungeon".. I`ve used the following system for making my own randomness for a long time. I find it really handy for making something up on the spur of the moment, or for adding new bits to existing dungeons (especially if tired and inspiration is low at the time).


Random Dungeon Layout


At the beginning of each move in which the Heroes win initiative and actively moves a Hero miniature to a position where it has line of sight to a newly revealed area, throw a die for the random layout of the dungeon tiles. Roll once on the table below for each direction a Hero has line of sight to (place all new tiles next to the last piece(s) lain). You only have to place what the Heroes can see. For all corridor, T junction or crossroad tiles rolled... place the tile and roll once again - place the second tile next to the first tile just placed. However, before a second roll is made, also throw a separate (different coloured) die once! If this separate die result yields a 1 then the second roll for a new room or corridor along that line of sight is ignored and a dead end tile is placed instead. If all further ways into the dungeon complex lead to dead ends â€" allow a Hero to discover a previously undetected secret door (only one) at the first dead end section they explore.

1-3 = Room: 4-6 = Corridor

Corridors:

o   1= Straight corridor - 4 squares long

o   2= Straight corridor - 2 squares long

o   3= Straight corridor - 4 squares long with a door at the end 1-3: on left, 4-6: on right

o   4= 4 square long corridor with door at the end, straight ahead

o   5= Junction (1-3: T junction, 4-6: crossroads)

o   6= Corridor with corner bend (1-3: left, 4-6: right)

Newly placed doors are open on a 1 and closed on a 2-6. To find out what is beyond the door roll a die 3 times. The first roll determines whether the Heroes discover a Room or a Corridor beyond the door; the second roll to determine size, and the third determines contents.

Rooms:

o   1= Small room (4 x 6 squares)

o   2= Smallish room (4 x 8 squares)

o   3-4= Medium room (6 x 6)

o   5= Large room (8 x 10)

o   6= Special* (6 x 12):

*Special (1d6)

   1= Communal Hall the Draken Master places 1 die of tables chairs and beds in the chamber. Roll 2 dice to check for Monsters, and then roll any successes on the Random Spawning Table.

   2= Hall of Healing the Draken Master places a crate of apples, a table full of food (and chairs) and a bookcase in the chamber.

   3= Storage Area the Draken Master places a table full of food, a crate of apples and a crate of skulls in the chamber. Roll 2 dice to check for Monsters, and then roll any
successes on the Random Spawning Table.

   4= Guard Post the Draken Master rolls on the Monster Random Spawning Table and duplicates any success results twice â€" then place the resulting Monsters in the chamber.

   5= Magic Dead Room! Heroes and Monsters within this chamber may not use any special abilities.

   6= Scenario Specific Room! The Draken Master will need a few pencil drawn cards (small index file cards work well) listing what these special chambers contain. Shuffle these
cards and place them face down before the game begins. Draw one when required.

Roll for room/corridor contents:

1-3= Empty.

o   4= Rubble Tile. The Draken Master Places 1 to 3 rubble pieces within the tile.

o   5= Dropped Item Tile. The Draken Master places 1 prop of his choosing in this tile. It may at first seem logically obvious the Draken Master will always place a nasty item in this tile; but a wise DM will sometimes place nice things there, to entice the Heroes to go down that way - especially if this furthers his devious plans to lure and herd the heroes where he wants them to go!

o   6= Special:


If special....

o   1-4= Empty

. 5= Monsters? Roll 3 dice to check for Monsters, and then roll any successes on the Random Spawning Table.

o   6= Ambush! The Drake Master automatically wins initiative for the next two moves (after this one).This represents the Heroes having walked into a trap or ambush, and allows the Monsters to gain momentum for a few moments while the Heroes re-gather their wits. Also Roll 3 dice to check for Monsters, and then roll any successes on the Random Spawning Table.

By letting the majority of Dungeon Monsters be determined randomly in the way described above servers three direct purposes in the game. (1) In a competitive game where the Draken Master is actively trying to win against the Hero Player(s), it limits the DM`s power slightly within the complex. (2) In a solo game (i.e. a game where either a single Player or a group of Players run the Heroes through the Dungeon without a Draken Master) the above system for determining the spawning of Monsters coupled with the normal rules described in DW for the initial placement of newly created Monsters adds an `unknown` chance element to the game. (3) Determining the random creation of spawned Monsters for most the rooms and corridors greatly reduces the burden placed on the Draken masters head; allowing him to concentrate more on his own Scenario Specific Rooms - which are of course where the main plot encounters will take place; and are the driving force behind the game storyline.


Hopefully these few simple rules will kick start your imagination into wanting to make up some new ideas of your own (additions to the things listed above). Use the tables as they stand for the first few games; by which time you`ll get to know how it all works - and you`ll be able to start coming up with things that I have not included in the lists. At which time - just sit down for a few minutes, look at your collection of miniatures: check what dungeon tiles you have available to you: and come up with something suitably fiendish and monstrous to spice up your games.


As always and I can`t reiterate this enough times Dungeon World (for the most part) is a series of guidelines and suggestions... the rest is all down to you to make your fantasy world live and breathe in any way you choose.

And the shape of the new campaign has finally been decided... actually the others decided for me (and I just smiled secretly to myself because it suits me just fine as I have all the figures scenery and props).

The new campaign... which we plan to run for a very long time, so can start slow and build over the months and even years ahead... will be firmly set in "Middle Earth" with a lot of pre-industrialised Steampunk (the Dwarves and Saruman)  and bits of Gothic Ravenloft thrown in for good measure  8)


Six  :-\

Campaign location has firmly been decided. The game will take place to the North of the regions described in the books; there are plenty of unexplored land masses there for me to dabble with and means I can use "Arnor" and "Angmar" as the base for all my plans.



Oh and Nik... I`ve finally picked up a nice shiney new copy of Pathfinder Core Rules, DM`s Guide, and the Bestiary....   wow is all I need to say  8)


First game is planned for next Saturday  :D

Quote from: sixsideddice on 15 June 2012, 08:18:30 AM
Campaign location has firmly been decided. The game will take place to the North of the regions described in the books; there are plenty of unexplored land masses there for me to dabble with and means I can use "Arnor" and "Angmar" as the base for all my plans.

First game is planned for next Saturday  :D

Sound cool Six 8) I'll look forward to reading how it goes.

Cheers,

Kev

Quote from: sixsideddice on 15 June 2012, 08:18:30 AM
Oh and Nik... I`ve finally picked up a nice shiney new copy of Pathfinder Core Rules, DM`s Guide, and the Bestiary....   wow is all I need to say  8)


First game is planned for next Saturday  :D

Excellent - looking forward to seeing / hearing about how it goes; I am being good though and resisting buying any more RPG stuff until I've unloaded way more of my surplus to create the shelf-space  :)

QuoteI am being good though and resisting buying any more RPG stuff until I've unloaded way more of my surplus to create the shelf-space 

Good man yer`self there Nik....  *sighhhhs*  I`m hopeless I`m afraid.

Actually, its all your fault Nik  8) if you hadn`t set me on the path, I`d never have been tempted. But I was kinda good. I thought about it for a good nine months before I actually made the jump away from 3.5 and into Pathfinder. I especially like the way it translates and amalgamates so easily into  DW and vice versa. First game session was sweet...  will relate how it went later, soon as I get a few hours spare. Second session is tonight ^^


Six  :)

Cheers Squirrel....  pics and write up on the first sessions coming very soon  :)

Quote from: nikharwood on 15 June 2012, 09:37:27 PM
Excellent - looking forward to seeing / hearing about how it goes; I am being good though and resisting buying any more RPG stuff until I've unloaded way more of my surplus to create the shelf-space  :)

naaahhhhh get yourself a copy on Triple Ace Games Leagues of adventure - mine arrived yesterday, very nice it is too. played a few games so far...ubiquity system works well  and with the lot I play with, an overweight  consulting detective with a steam powered dog called snack... hence the order - snack...attack and a ex military doctor with a damaged leg... and these are the two who shall defend queen and country against the dashed enemies of the state.... oh lord rpreserve us :)

Quotean overweight  consulting detective with a steam powered dog called snack... hence the order - snack...attack and a ex military doctor with a damaged leg... and these are the two who shall defend queen and country against the dashed enemies of the state.... oh lord rpreserve us

OOoo I wanna hear more.... do you have any of this (batreps, campaign journal) on blog or anything? Sounds like my cup of tea.

hey six here is the forum link
http://www.tripleacegames.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=22&sid=4c364c3487454e9620160fbaf0ad8bb7
I  just had a look on the web front, the special offer for leagues of adventure runs out 19th June Uk time and date stamp
the horror supplement is coming out next month I think.
Well worth a look if you are interested, to be honest we used to play savage worlds but now moving over to ubiquity as a system.
I am running the games now, but will have to sort out a character for when somebody else runs one - now do i resurrect Sir Percival Fanhard or do I come up with somebody new.hhhhhmmmmm

here is a review of the game from a third party, I shouldnt really comment too much as the writer is my mate and in my gaming group.. but I like it  :D
http://solaceofsavagery.wordpress.com/2012/05/21/leagues-of-adventure/

ohh and sorry for hijacking your thread..if someone wants to shift it please feel free :-[ :-[ :-[

wow.... Wow... WOW  WOW

That looks truly AWESOME.

Thank you very much for the links Maenoferran (<---  what does that name mean btw?).

Quoteohh and sorry for hijacking your thread..if someone wants to shift it please feel free

Gosh no...  hack away. This is realy just a thread for me to place all things campaign related regarding the new rpg fantasy campaign I`m running; thoughts, ideas, rundown of game sessions, etc etc... and any imput is always very welcome. Side-trecks into things like your game threads just add a bit more spice really  :)


Six

Where to start….

The players for this new campaign had, with the exception of my eldest daughter Tiffany, never played a game of D&D before in their lives. I knew the biggest hurdle I was going to have to overcome was their reliance on information they  t-h-i-n-k they perceive about how the game is run, based on their extensive knowledge of X-Box, PlayStation, and PC/Console games in general. This problem, I realized early on (and of course, later borne out in the game sessions themselves) was going to come from pre-conceptions that “D&D is similar to watching a screen and making the characters move about based on commands promoted by thumbs and fingers”; and secondly, the ugly meta-gaming syndrome where all those badly borrowed monsters and other creations from rpg and fantasy books which end up on PC games screen…  wind their way into the consciousness of the players, causing them `wrongly`  to believe this `out of game` information will help them with their knowledge and comprehension when transposed to paper and pencil gaming…

DM: “you see a green viscous mass slowly slithering its way towards you, filling the tunnel almost completely as it gurgles its way forward”.

Player: “oh it’s just a Green Slime, I’ve seen these in Balders Gate, easy to kill… I know cos I`ve faced these many times before on the PC game…”.

WRONG…. badly wrong. Not only does this take away the wonder and excitement of discovering new things for the fledgling player team; it creates a totally blasé  “seen it all before” attitude which de-sensitizes the players to the game before it even begins, and steals the suspension of disbelief  needed to provide maximum suspense and sense of wonder which should be intrinsic throughout the game.

This has been the biggest bone of contention that I (as a DM) have had to face so far.

The second problem I have had to deal with and an ongoing problem) is that…  PC games are all about, stat blocks, gaining and attaining powers and in game level `pick ups` , combined with a vast array of avatar types the console player can command with his fingers and thumbs. This is all well and good for a console game, because those types of game are all about tailoring the best avatar possible to battle your way through the `unrealistically` vast legions of bad guys the player is going to meet as he/she fights an endless linear onslaught to reach the end of the game and face its inevitable pre-written `cut scene` conclusion…  some console games even allow for a couple of alternative endings *gasps in mock respect and delighted surprise*… but meh! end of the day it’s all pre-programmed and inevitable.  In RPG pencil and paper gaming… especially the old school gaming that I like so much, I really like the concept of players playing humans; this was the way D&D was originally conceived (by Gygax and Arneson), and in fact Elves, Dwarves, Hobbits (note -not Halflings… that name came later), Half Orcs etc were massively penalised as playing characters with a level cap way lower than humans might ever attain. I LIKED this concept… it meant that I as DM was able to make the Elves and Dwarves and what not come alive… could make them culturally different and exotic for the players to encounter. Hard to do when you`re trying to explain to the characters that the group of Elves meandering through the forest path towards you look almost other-worldly, fey and enchanting, with an element of sad melancholy etched into their features as though their wisdom transcends through the mists of time… only to hear the player controlling the elf go: “yeah yeah, I know all this from my last DC history check and my racial bonus is +6 because I`m an elf…  so do I see a wizard who can teach another spell for my mage?” 

LET the players play humans, and let the demi humans be played as NPC`s by the DM. It’s time the good old stock human character finally took a rightful stand against the prejudice gamers have developed against this `boring` character class… when other racial types of character (barely conceived enough ever to be played properly in a role playing capacity) often look far more appealing.

I`m known for breaking rules and for making rules… usually I break them first, then remake them again to suit my style of play. In my game, it is j-u-s-t starting to dawn on the players that humans have a massive advantage in the game world over the other `potentially` playable racial types they can choose from. In fact… I will be kind and benevolent, and allow them miraculously to metamorphose into humans if they choose to (I think of my whole group, only one player chose a human would you believe; yet the rest actually have no idea how to role play a demi-human effectively). But I`ll let them all come to this conclusion themselves… in time.

But, all in all, they are a pretty good bunch, and have for the most part, taken to role playing , like ducks to water… bottom line, were all having a ball. Several sessions in and the adventure is just starting to pick up and become epic.

Next thread will summarise the game plot so far, and if I can work out image re-sizing, I`ll add photo/bios of the group :-)

Sounds like you are all having a great time - which is the whole point after all :D

Step learning curve for your players, but I'm sure they will master it quicker than you expect ;)

Cheers,

Kev

Totally agree with Kev - sounds like you're getting them (& you) to enjoy themselves six - and that's what it's all about...

I can't stand meta-gaming, it must be said - does my head in & can completely ruin it for others as well. That's why it's useful to have a load of DM variables up your sleeve...not necessarily anything particularly evil (certainly not a TPK) but just things that will discourage  :d

Anyway - glad you're underway and it's all working out - looking forward to more detail etc as you get it  8)

Roleplay is best left for bedroom antics :-[

lol

What you're up to is rather interesting SSD.  When i started, there weren't even mobile phones (in fact my parents didn't even have a landline), let alone console games.

Since almost the entire 'computer game' industry owes its lineage to Messrs Arneson, Gygax et al and their wonderful roleplaying games, i find it very interesting to hear about youngsters coming out of the console gaming into pen and paper gaming.

I don't think your 'willing suspension of disbeleif' issues are unique to the generational feedback though.  I remember my earliest childhood games that were filled with wonder at the beasties i was facing in this magical world.  Experience dulls that wonder though as you become a creature of the game mechanics.  Its the old 'Monty Haul' or 'roll playing vs role playing' debate isn't it?  Lovely to hear your facing it with a new generation, prised from the soulless PC games. 

Hopefully, sticking at it, and keeping the GM pressure on developing characters rathyer than stat blocks will pay off in the end.

The best game i found to help new players understand what roleplaying is about was Greg Staffords Pendragon.  Unfortunately not much good for female gamers though... :(

QuoteWhat you're up to is rather interesting SSD.  When i started, there weren't even mobile phones (in fact my parents didn't even have a landline), let alone console games.

When I started, the white box D&D had only just been invented, and I had one of the initial run of 2000 copies printed by Gygax and purchased from Gen Con in 1973. Space Invaders the arcade machine hadn`t even been invented yet, and like you say, most homes didn`t have a phone (eveyone used the public phone box). Supermarkets didn`t exist, and kids still wore short trousers to school.

QuoteSince almost the entire 'computer game' industry owes its lineage to Messrs Arneson, Gygax et al and their wonderful roleplaying games, i find it very interesting to hear about youngsters coming out of the console gaming into pen and paper gaming.

It is incredible isn`t it... something which was considered an unhealthy fad, a minor annoyance to most parents and frowned upon by the church as devil enhancing and spiritually unhealthy should become one of the major uber businesses of the coming decades; turning not only rpg but wargaming as a whole into a money making factory as opposed to an amateur minority pastime.

QuoteI don't think your 'willing suspension of disbeleif' issues are unique to the generational feedback though.  I remember my earliest childhood games that were filled with wonder at the beasties i was facing in this magical world.  Experience dulls that wonder though as you become a creature of the game mechanics.  Its the old 'Monty Haul' or 'roll playing vs role playing' debate isn't it?  Lovely to hear your facing it with a new generation, prised from the soulless PC games. 

Yes, totally correct. Thankfully, due to a bit of experience, some tenacity in steering the `ship` and a lot of gentle DM persuasion, I seems to be keeping things nicely on track.

QuoteHopefully, sticking at it, and keeping the GM pressure on developing characters rather than stat blocks will pay off in the end.

This is my single minded plan... I`ve actually banned my players now from pouring over the rule books and monster manuals... sounds harsh, but we`ll see if that helps.

QuoteThe best game i found to help new players understand what roleplaying is about was Greg Staffords Pendragon.  Unfortunately not much good for female gamers though...

Funnily enough, I never got on with that game; but I noticed it had quite a considerable following so it must have been a pretty cool game. I still own a copy somewhere.

Pendragon was one of the best RPG's along with Torg in both occasions in long campigns we had the right players with lots of RPG experience and the right characters...I thought it was amazing in Pendragon how quickly we became bogged down trying to run our Manors and what a pain in the arse it was when our characters got married...I had 4 daughters , had to think about doweries so couldnt get the bloody defensive walls built to proect the Monor house...a couple of them ended up in the nunnery for financial purposes...fun times though

I have no doubt it is as amazing as I have heard....   I think I was just put off by the incredibly bad artwork....  just didnt feel Arthurian in style.... but thats just me probably.

I think we were playing it around the time Bernard Cornwells Warlord Trilogy was published ( still I think my fave books)  so that probably spurred us on as well

Quote from: Fenton on 06 July 2012, 05:25:12 PM
I think we were playing it around the time Bernard Cornwells Warlord Trilogy was published ( still I think my fave books)  so that probably spurred us on as well

A splendid set of books, certainly inspired my modelling and gaming!

Cheers,

Kev

My mainstay fellowship of players are Hilary, who plays a strange human with an even stranger past, but I`ll reveal a little of this a bit further on. Hillary`s Daughters: Robyn (24) and Hayley (19); son Ryan (17), my daughter Tiffany (19), and Jack (18) who is the boyfriend of my youngest daughter.


It all started with the gang travelling together (cheaply) in a rickety old carriage, as far as their coin would allow, as they set off on their adventures together. In the course of travel over the next few days they got to know one another, they decided to bond together for companionship, camaraderie… and of course, for safety.


Their gold finally ran out, and they were eventually set down on the market square in a small town called Sandpoint situated on the north western coast of _____________   (at the time I had the campaign floating, as I was still undecided exactly where I was actually going to place the game world).


It was a cold January evening when they arrived, and sleet was in the air; but the lantern lights dotting the square on the market  (which was still in full swing) warmed their hearts greatly, especially as they were all travel weary and hungry.


Within minutes, the female Dwarf (Robyn) found her trousers falling down round her knees, and discovered someone had cut not only her purse from her waist, but had severed the belt leather too. A suspicious looking rogue was seen heading away hurriedly into the crowd, and the group decided to follow  - at a distance.


However, the cut-purse was a seasoned thief, and quickly picked up he had been spotted by the group;  and using a silent sign language known only to thieves, he speedily relayed the problem to others of his house lurking in the busy market square. He was soon leading the group following him down narrow winding lanes and alley-ways thinking to himself “Yule has certainly come earn this year… not often a group of `green behind the ears`  `would be` adventurers fall so easily into such an obvious ambush”. After a while, the thief stopped half way down an especially dark and narrow alley, turned round and sneered at the group… by now very obviously following him. Behind the group of players, a small gang had now appeared at the entrance of the alley, effectively blocking them off. The thief the players had been following so badly (like a Pink Panther comedy sketch) called out: “Right, YOU lot… yer MONEY… hand it over, or else!!!”


Several things happened all at once; as the players panicked, and instead of talking it out amongst themselves for a few seconds first… each of them told me what he or she was doing, while I silently rubbed my hands with glee. They t-o-t-a-l-l-y failed to work as a team for this encounter.


The Bard (Tiffany) decided to un-sling her bow from her back (an action), take aim (another action) and shoot an arrow at the thief they had been following… the shot missed totally, sailing over head and threading its way through several loads of washing, hanging like banners from the half open windows overhead. Simultaneously, the Sorcerer/Healer (Hilary) decided to cast a morale breaking spell at the gang approaching them from behind. The spell scored “1” a critical fail (a fumble) and instead of scaring them, the gang suddenly became incensed with rage and picked up speed, waiving their fists and shouting uncouth curses at the players as they advanced. The male Dwarf (Ryan) decided (alone) to charge the gang following them, while the rest of the players decided to run the other way towards the lone thief. The thief turned tail and ran with the players (minus the Dwarf) hot on his heels. The Dwarf, realising his mistake, turned in mid charge and followed after his companions…puffing and panting  as his little legs carried him as fast as they could as he tried to catch up with the heels of his friends.


And so that initial encounter played itself out. The thief who had cut the purse and belt from the female Dwarf escaped into the streets, and soon, the players found themselves back in the market square and quickly mingled with the crowd, effectively losing the gang of thieves… or so they innocently assumed. Oh the sweet beauty of innocent new players.


They entered an Inn (The Blind Po), secured themselves a dormitory for the night, and went down to the tap room to pick up local gossip and news. They quickly got interested in the rumour of a Wyrm that had been spotted in the area, and which had recently plucked up and carried away a few victims into the night. Strangely, the players went for the very first adventure hook I gave them… and didn`t stop to take any real notice of three other (more manageable) plot hooks I had also hinted to them.



As a group, they went to see the local lord to learn more about the Wyrm. None of them really took much notice of the fact that one of the thieves* they`d encountered earlier was not only sitting in the Inn, was obviously well known and accepted at the place,  sat close to the bar and looked very much at ease talking with many other locals). Nor did they notice he had dispatched a young female woman to `tail` them. I was waiting to see if anyone looked behind, at which point they`d have easily spotted Janey Jenkins following them.


{{*By now I`d given them a family name (Jenkins), the large house and warehouse where they obviously lived and worked, and had let slip several Jenkins names… but they were by now single mindedly bent on talking to the local Lord, so failed to take any notice of much else that was going on around them.}}



They gained audience with Lord Tomson, and he told them that a giant wyrm had carried away two victims this last week; the first was a woman who had been taken from the shore line, at night, at the foot of the high cliffs. This information came from an eye witness… an old fisherman who claimed to have seen the whole thing….  at night….in a stormy gale… mending his nets… on the shore in the dark… Hmmmm! The second victim, a few days later, was a soldier plucked from the walls of the town as he stood watch at night… both the girl and the man were related (but the players never really followed up on that fact at all) . The players investigated both `murders` and found inconsistencies in both stories. The fisherman who claimed to have spotted the girl was never questioned.  Nor was the soldier on the wall that night who claimed to have seen his companion carried away into the night. And when they were shown the wall where the soldier had been taken, they discovered the claw marks on the parapet were in fact chiselled to look like giant claws; and the sorcerer felt the slight residue of recent illusionary magic in the same area.


They retired back to The Blind Po to think about all this, and thus ended the first session.


The second session started with them overhearing that a shipment of smuggled goods was due to arrive… over the castle walls, that very night… incidentally,  from the same section of the wall they had searched the night before. Sitting on their newly acquired information, they decided to investigate this for themselves. That night, some of the party (Tiffany and Ryan) decided to go investigate the bottom of the cliffs to see if they could pick up any more clues about the murder that had taken place there; and they were shown out of a small postern gate and shown the way down the long, narrow, frail, rickety old steps to the shore below. The rest of the gang decided to follow up on the smuggling. As they were now working (for pay) for the Lord, they pretty much had unrestricted access to the town walls. So that night, they hid themselves, waited and watched. Sure enough they soon spotted a grapple and hook go over the wall section near to them, and the soldier on watch (obviously bribed to take no notice) turned his back and pretended not to see a thing. As the person on the end of the rope started to climb over the wall and onto the parapet, the players rushed forward to apprehend the villain.  The soldier on the walls was totally surprised and half heartedly tried to stop them with a “Oh, what you…. Uuuugh” But that`s as far as he got. The Human woman Sorcerer (Hilary) gave him a small shove as she pushed past him towards the person climbing over the wall. Of course, she rolled a perfect 20 for her shove, and the soldier went toppling  backwards over the wall on the town side… and crashed heavily, onto and through the wooden roof of a building attached to the wall… ouch, broken leg at least. When the woman and the Dwarf reached the person climbing over, he tried to react by drawing a blade, but somehow, in the confused scuffle, he lost his grip and fell down… down… down onto the rocks below on the seaward side of the walls; but not before the woman and the Dwarf had managed to snatch a heavy bag from his hands just before he toppled from his precarious purchase.


Meanwhile, the rest of the gang had discovered a cave at the foot of the cliff, and they decided to investigate. Basically, they decided to follow a mini dungeon crawl (I wanted them to rejoin the others and go back as a full group, but they decided to go it alone… there and then). They had a few encounters, but nothing major… and one of the party (Tiffany) found a medallion of water protection (from the God of the sea). They decided they`d seen enough and not to go in deeper. But on their way back they found footprints in the sand behind them and knew they   `d been followed, at least part of the way. As they ascended the rickety old steps back up to the town wall above, the ropes of the steps above began to be hacked through by someone up above. They barely escaped this encounter; but they never discovered (or tried to discover) who had tried, and nearly succeeded, to kill them.


This concluded the second evening s entertainment.


Play resumed with the gang still split in two. The woman and the Dwarf (now joined by the fey half human (Hayley) opened the bag and discovered several crystal shards and a note. This all meant a great deal to the woman sorcerer, but she still decided to sit on her newly acquired knowledge.


At this stage I should point out… the woman (Hilary) was in fact a newly made Vampire. Her Husband had bitten her out of love, because he didn’t want ever to be parted from her… the following week as fate would have it, he was hunted down (far away from the current location) and killed by angry villagers. A loyal servant had carried the weakened woman to safety and had tended to her, nursing her back to health. The Woman refused to take human life and feed, so she only drank animal blood (and thus never knew her full strength and potential as a Vampire). Already she was shaping herself into a bit of a neutral (neither good nor bad) character type. Her main mission in joining the others was to hide amongst them, for safety in numbers if nothing else, and find out as much as she could about her strange husband ( an arranged marriage)…. and hopefully reveal some much needed truth about her current condition. The smugglers, the crystal shards, the Jenkins, all pointed towards dealing with her deceased ex. But she had not yet put it all together, and still sought to find out more information…. Her current lead suggested looking below in the Underdeeps.


Meanwhile, the party inside the town decided to go tell the Lord what they had discovered so far.  But upon reaching the Lord`s castle home, they found all the guards, the servants, and the entire family (including the Lord) butchered in their beds or where they stood on watch throughout the castle. They now made a dreadful mistake… *sighhhhs* the players actually looted many of the bodies (men, women and children) and searched the bedrooms for more; and then left hurriedly to sell their misbegotten treasures in the town. They never even raised the alarm with anyone. Oh dear!!!


By now the player party was all reunited and they found themselves being observed by the same girl who had followed them earlier (Janey) and they gave chase… strange really, but they did none the less. The chase continued all through the town and ended up at a Tavern (based on the Yawning Portal in Waterdeep) and the girl jumped down the well in the main tap room, and after a while talking to the proprietor (who I called Durnan… lol), the player party descended after the girl.


The game now turned into a full blown dungeon crawl in which the party had many adventures... but they never did find the girl they were chasing.


When they determined to wind their way back to the surface, they met with the Tavern proprietor`s wife (Maeve)  who immediately spotted the Vampire for what she was, and quickly sussed she was tied in with another seperate story… a hunt she herself was actively a part of… to find the missing Vampire nest formerly led by the sorcerer`s husband (Iran Von Drakonfels). Maeve, perceiving the female half vampire was not evil, determined to help the party of adventurers. Whether Maeve acted through kindness, or whether she in fact had another motive, this has not yet become clear.


But she warned them that they were being hunted in the town above in connection with the murders of Lord Tomson and his family, and especially due to the fact their activities had been noticed (the selling of the loot from the dead bodies), and that things did not look at all good for them.  I really laboured this point across to them.. all role played  and in character, of course.


As DM, I smiled gleefully to myself at this, as I watched the blood drain slowly from the players` faces. Bingo! I successfully taught them in one fell swoop, you can`t go looting indiscriminately at the scene of a murder… in an urban environment.. and hope to get away with it scot free...  not to mention pushing a soldier from the walls while he (supposedly) stood watch, but failed to hang about to explain to anyone why they had done so. They were now the main suspects in a growing murder enquiry, and as the Lord and his family had been so popular in the town, it was highly likely they`d all swing for their deeds before being given a chance to prove they had no hand in the deaths… whether innocent or not.


Maeve offered (with her husband’s help) to clear their names; but she required all their currently acquired treasures (to buy back the things they had stolen and then sold to the various vendors), and to bride authorities not to pursue this case any further. Effectively, the players lost just about everything they had acquired from their dungeon crawls and now had nothing left but the small change in their pockets.


But Maeve took pity on them again (she was fast becoming their patron) and told them that though she herself had business elsewhere, she would point them to where a stash of unclaimed treasure still lay… and also to a defiled, unholy temple complex within yet another part of the Underdeeps. There she required them to retrieve some files of holy water blessed by Saint Agnus of the Blessed Sacrament. By the time they return to the surface, Maeve says, if she and her husband could work their charm on the authorities, the players names should all be cleared (by a mix of gentle honest persuasion and some bribery in the right places) of all suspicion concerning the deaths of the Lord, his family, and the entire household.


It had taken two more sessions to reach this point in the campaign.


The current session sees the players half way through the mini dungeon adventure Maeve sent them on, having so far waded through half submerged temple chambers, hordes of zombies, and a myriad of hidden traps… there is still no sight of the chamber where the vials of Saint Agnus are supposed to rest, but play is planned to resume in a few days time.


This game synopsis completely misses a heck of a lot of the finer detail, but does give an overall picture of the campaign plot so far. I have missed the funny dungeon crawl encounter with Shnott and his small Goblin tribe…. The dangerous encounter with a horde of dire rats; a giant millipede that literally swallowed the Dwarf (Ryan) whole and he had to cut his was out from the inside while his friends hacked away, in horror, at the beast from the outside….  nor have I described the run in with an evil Goom… an undead mud like ooze…. which Maeve calls Nargul…. I was glad to see the party lost their bottle with this one and fled long and far (and got totally lost for a while) to escape this powerful botched amorphous blob like entity. Only a Daylight spell cast in utter desperation from the fey half human (Hayley) put some distance between themselves and it… when the thing finally tracked them down where they rested. I have not mentioned the encounter with the Floating Roof Monsters (Darkmantles) or how that chance meeting so nearly ended up wiping the entire player party… but didn`t due to some funny and lucky dice rolling. The best bit was when the party finally found the hidden stash Maeve had pointed them towards.... they had gained the unwanted attention of a group of Huffity-Puffs (ghostly shape shifting demons who can temporarily alter time and dimension to work frightening mind tricks on weak victims)... you should have heard the girls SCREAM when I role played this encounter.


I may describe some of these encounters as one off threads at some later point; if anyone has an interest in reading about them.

Wow, really cool report!  8)

Wow - that made for superb reading six - top-notch  8)

I want to hear more. I vote you play with this group every night from now on.  :d

I

Quotevote you play with this group every night from now on.

hehe... get yer bum over here Nik, and you can join in some of the fun ;)

Very cool Six! Sounds like you're running a great adventure and have all your players well and truely hooked!  8)

Keep up the good work and keep these reports coming too, makes for great reading  :D

Cheers,

Kev

QuoteWow - that made for superb reading six - top-notch 

I want to hear more. I vote you play with this group every night from now on. 

I agree with Nik, looking forward to hearing a lot more about these adventures 8)

thanks guys.... I just kept the write up functional and not too cluttered... Ive adjusted the camera setting now, so I`ll be able to post photos with it in future  :)

Quote from: sixsideddice on 09 July 2012, 12:20:20 AM
I


hehe... get yer bum over here Nik, and you can join in some of the fun ;)

Someday, mate, someday  :)

I'll be a thief...

QuoteI'll be a thief...

One of my fav chars to play, or to see in a player party when I DM .... I`ll make sure you face lots of Kobolds  ;)

Nothing worse than Kobolds... and if your the DM the one lone kobold leaning round a corner and giving the party the finger , hopefully the party will think its a cheeky little so and so and charge only to find a phalanx of the little buggars waiting for them ...Great fun if your the DM, and pretty lethal no matter the experience levels of the party.. Dragon Mountain being a
Prime example where there are thousnads of them running about

I was just looking at the Kobold thread... maybre time to reactivate the requests for them?

QuoteNothing worse than Kobolds... and if your the DM the one lone kobold leaning round a corner and giving the party the finger , hopefully the party will think its a cheeky little so and so and charge only to find a phalanx of the little buggars waiting for them ...Great fun if your the DM, and pretty lethal no matter the experience levels of the party.. Dragon Mountain being a Prime example where there are thousnads of them running about

What a great idea... I like the picture you paint.

Quotehopefully the party will think its a cheeky little so and so and charge only to find a phalanx of the little buggars waiting for them ...

Stealing that and puttig it in my game tonight.... STAMP!

:D

QuoteI was just looking at the Kobold thread... maybre time to reactivate the requests for them?

I second that.

Hope it works out for you

I cuold also tell you the time my warrior ran round a corner straight into a clear gelatinous cube.. very embarrassing

QuoteI cuold also tell you the time my warrior ran round a corner straight into a clear gelatinous cube.. very embarrassing

HAHAhhaaaa  

Just finished tonights session....  much fun was had by all (will write it up tomorrow or the next day). The players REALLY worked as a team this time. Really well done to all of them, especially Hayley and Ryan. More on this later  ;)

Waiting impatiently.....

A terrific game report!  :) Takes me back to my own times and player and DM. <sigh>

QuoteA terrific game report!  Takes me back to my own times and player and DM. <sigh>

With 10mm, why not start a new campaign Poogle  :D .... its now so much easier than it was in the (good) old days when we had nothing to work with except our imaginations and some (usually) badly props, and if we were lucky... a few basic miniatures. With 10mm, its now possible to re-live (cheaply) those old days in complete 3 D    ;)

Quote from: sixsideddice on 11 July 2012, 09:53:50 PM

With 10mm, why not start a new campaign Poogle  :D .... its now so much easier than it was in the (good) old days when we had nothing to work with except our imaginations and some (usually) badly props, and if we were lucky... a few basic miniatures. With 10mm, its now possible to re-live (cheaply) those old days in complete 3 D    ;)

Very true! And how many miniatures showed up on the table unpainted? (shudders) With 10mm, there's no excuse!  :D

hehe

Play resumed with the party collectively standing in front of a heavy portcullis with a big heavy wooden door bound with rusty iron, situated a few inches the other side of the solid grill. The Fey (Heyley) had already found and disabled the locking mechanism so it was simply a matter of lifting the obstruction to get to the portal sitting behind. The Dwarf  (Ryan) and the Barbarian (Jack) soon discovered that with the locking device turned off, the portcullis was smooth and easy to lift… in fact would not drop down again once lifted. The Dwarf was careful to take a good hard look at the door, while the Bard (Tiffany) used her skills to listen for any sounds emanating from beyond.


A few secret checks behind my screen, and I told them that the portcullis had knobbly flakes on it as though it had been immersed in water for a considerable time, and the door showed signs of water damage but had stood the test of time and still looked solid. No sounds could be heard beyond the door.


They tried the handle and found the door was unlocked. So they carefully and silently swung the door open.


Beyond was a large chamber with slate floor which was covered in deep cavern moss and algae.  A door sat half way along on the left, and another door was situated opposite the first and on the far wall. Spiders webs covered the upper wall and ceiling in two corners.


Someone prised up a slate from the floor and discovered a fine layer of salt below. A few detect magic spells soon revealed that the whole chamber was consecrated against undead passing through. Once powerful magic, but long defused and inadequate as a protection any longer…  but the chamber showed no signs of having been entered in a very long time.


They were being very cautious this time and took simply ages before they would even set foot in the room. I don`t know if my tone of voice make them careful or perhaps they were learning to work together to achieve a safe result; but they debated long and hard how they should proceed any further. In the end they decided to take a chunk of rock from the previously explored half submerged and semi collapsed hallway behind them, and chuck/roll it into the room.


Suddenly, the rock was pulverized as a trap was sprung… like an inverted metal spider convulsing on its prey, metal prongs appeared through the moss and clapped tight, activated by the flung bouncing and rolling stone. It was a deadly Dwarven man-trap!


The female Vampire used her spider climb to crawl round the room without touching the floor, and alighted in front of the door half way along the chamber. The Barbarian and the Bard, seeing she was safe, took heart and walked carefully… hugging the wall as much as possible and looking up carefully at the webs over head… reached the woman`s side in front of the door (how they missed additional traps is actually quite amazing. There were three such traps in the room staggered in a triangle formation to impede progress to the main door at the end). The Vampire then spider crawled her way round to the far door and dropped silently to the ground. Similarly, the rest of the party hugged the wall to the right and made their way to the Vampire, who was by now listening at the door.


Echoing wind howled from the other side.


The Barbarian decided to push open the unlocked door half way along the wall. A 40 foot tunnel twisted to the right at the end. The floor was covered with bits of debris, skulls, armour, various pieces of personal paraphernalia… but all crushed and flattened,  totally bend out of shape. A large shiny silver coin sat at the far end of the tunnel.… enticingly.


The Bard tried to tell the Barbarian not to try it… but the allure was simply too much (especially when I told him it l-o-o-k-e-d like it could be Mithras) Half way along he saw the ground had a deep rut cut into the floor, which vanished from sight round the corner at the end…. a bit like a monorail track!


Cries from the Bard of “Come back NOW” fell on deaf ears and the Barbarian reached the end of the long tunnel and peered round….. The corridor went a little way further but then reached a dead end. But a large Shute vanished at a steep angle into the ceiling.


“Jack…Come back NOW”! The Bard called again. By now the faithful companion had (exasperatedly) tip-toed to join her friend.


The Barbarian licked his lips nervously, looking first at the Shute, then back at the coin.


After a timeless moment of pause, he tiptoed back to the coin and prised it up out of the ground.


From behind him, from the dark hole in the ceiling, a large stone ball started its descent.. totally filling the passage as it gathered momentum.


The Bard screamed and flung herself on the Barbarian`s back. The Barbarian ran… fast… with the ball gaining speed every few seconds.


By now the pair realised with horror that a ten foot section of the floor separating them from the door beyond, had fallen away leaving a deep dark chasm.


Without even stopping to think, the Barbarian speeded up as fast as his powerful legs would carry him, and he flung himself across the divide to the other side. The Bard screamed again in mid flight. But he rolled a natural 20 and made the jump… and landed on the other side… still running.


The Stone ball fell into the chasm and vanished from sight.


Recovering  their wits, the Barbarian and the Bard stood panting for a while. The Bard slapped the Barbarian on the chest repeatedly, hurling abuse at him… but the Barbarian was too caught up looking at the nice shiny coin in his hands even to notice.


Dismay!


The coin was a fake… made of lead… overlaid with a deceptive layer of silver foil.


((Meanwhile, the rest of the party waited patiently… slightly amused by the entice transpiring elsewhere.))


Satisfied they had done all they could; the Barbarian, followed by the Bard, started back towards the rest of their friends. But the Barbarian chose that moment to step on a trap. Using acrobatics, he flung himself into the air, somersaulted, and landed straddling the razor sharp metal trap… his groin merely inches above the wicked looking device…. After that, the two of them were e-x-t-r-e-m-e-l-y careful rejoining the rest of the party.


Now re-united, the team prepared to open the door ahead of them.


The cave beyond was large and wide. A green statue with gemmed eyes stood in front of them and the cave twisted into a tunnel to their right.


The Bard rushed forward and prised out the two precious stones with the tip of her knife. In chipping away, she also removed some of the green metal of the statue… it was actually solid gold.


HAHA  a solid gold statue they had no way of lifting and no tools on them to hack bits off with. Besides, the noise of attempting this act would have been horrendous.
Surprisingly, they all decided to leave this statue alone and concentrate on the cave tunnel ahead.


A face appeared round a corner at the far end of the narrowed passage… taunting them. It was a particularly ugly looking Goblin. He flung foul abuse at them in common tongue. But when the party advanced towards him menacingly, he vanished out of sight.


The party advanced, and then all hell broke loose.


Bone Mesh Spiders descended on the party from above… dropping on silver strands to engulf them in ambush. The fight was fierce and furious and lasted long and hard. But eventually the adventurers got the upper hand and started to dispatch their foe with a will… tricky little buggers that they were.


The party had all but forgotten about the goblin that had been annoying them. Actually it was no goblin, but a Huffity-Puff playing mind tricks to entice the party into a trap of their own. They had not forgotten their earlier encounter with this group and had determined not to give up on this tasty meal quite so easily. They had kept close tabs on them ever since… following and waiting for their chance…. using secret passages and ways and means only known to themselves to get both behind and in front of their intended prey.  But the spiders had ruined their chance. So now they sprung their own attack while the adventurers still reeled and recovered from their recent fight.


Dozens of them fell upon the surprised and flat-footed team, and they found themselves once again fighting for their lives… but this time losing badly… and losing fast.


At one stage the Barbarian found himself literally dragged into the throng of them and was being pulled apart (like the scene in Shaun of the Dead, when the annoying guy was pulled through the window of the pub). Only his sheer brute strength and muscle stopped his demise…  for a few precious seconds.


Thankfully, a well timed Daylight spell from the human Fey  flooded the chamber… and the Huffity-Puffs were literally blown apart by the power of the spell.
The adventurers stood panting and shaking .

The Vampire (Hilary) also took considerable damage from the spell,  but survived it.


The first to recover was the Fay. She pushed open a door and smiled to herself. “I think I`ve found the alter and the chamber of Saint Agnus.” She said.


End of play session.

Superb account six - really cinematic  8) (lucky barbarian too!  :d )

That barbarian is winning massive points on the lucky,lucky,lucky b*star*d chart!  ;D

Great stuff Six, and good to see the party working together 8)

Cheers,

Kev

;D   We have an ongoing joke surrounding the Barbarian. Jack, who plays him, can`t always be with us at game sessions... so, as he plays a permanently semi drunk, happy-go-lucky type... whenever he joins the game from a place where he has been left behind from previous play, we have him up above in the outside world, sitting (and leaning back too far) from the side of a well, tripping into an open Shute, or falling down a sewer shaft and joining the rest of the gang with a splash as he falls prone through the ceiling amidst the surprised party.

 :D ;D :D

Okay, time to reveal the players themselves.

Tiffany (my eldest daughter) plays the Bard of the group... interesting as she plays guitar and sings in real life. Just finished Art at college, she still gets asked her age card when she goes into a pub or a nightclub due to the fact she`s a mere 5` 1`` tall... never ate her sprouts when she was little.

The lovely Hillary...  and my domestic partner in crime. She plays a (semi good alignment) Vampire woman in the game.

Heyley... the Human Fey in the party. Shes totally wicked, and can be quite unscrupulously evil in the game... totally opposite from real life where she`s gentle, kind, and wouldn`t hurt a fly.

Ryan (The X-Box King)  the male Dwarf of the gang (strange, as in real life he`s a huge six foot guy LOL)... I have to stay on my toes with this one, as Ry`s very often got a sharper memory than I have: "wasn`t the Tavern on the right last time we came this way.. and the Inn keepers name was George... not Errol"    damn pesky Dwarves


;D   gotta love `im though grrrrrrrr  ^^

Jack (with Felicity... my other daughter... asleep and draped over him while he tries to read the Players Handbook)....  the lucky lucky lucky Barbarian of the group.


Think he thinks if he closes his eyes tight enough I won`t see him  to take the photo lol

Last member of the group is Robyn (female Dwarf)..... will get a proper photo of her the first time I get a chance to see her and take one (shes away right now)....

Wooohahahahahahaaaa    <------   me being evil of course

errrm.... Me....  the kind and merciful DM of the game

and no, before you ask thats not my normal face   

The  DM Plots!!!

Hils plays her Vampire "Lady Scarlet Vivian Von Drakonfels" in a second (linked) but solo game that just the two of us play... she`s really into the game role play side of things, so she`s the most fully fleshed out character by far in the game.

She really gets into the role totally and dresses up in Vamp costume to play LOL    love it  8)

Ryan (on X-Box)  and another of Tiff

Ah, heres a better one of our illustrious Barbarian

Robyn.... who plays a female Dwarf or ` Dwife` as I call females of this race.

Outstanding!  :)

Cool - good to see the cast  8)

Campaign is soon about to step up a pace and turn heavily miniatures oriented as we start to introduce battles and sieges and all manner of yumminess into the cauldron  :d


Six  :)

.... and HELLO Ryan (the Dwarf) I know you`re reading this ^^

SPOILERS!  ;)

QuoteSPOILERS! 

LOL   ;D

Aother two sessions to write up... I must try and get these done before the next mammoth (ten hour) game over the week end.


Six  :D

Pushing open the door to the new room before them, they entered with some trepidation… they`d been quite badly beaten up in the previous session and were not relishing another encounter too soon. But the chamber was clear; and the Fay was correct, it was indeed the chapel they had been searching for.


Retrieving the holy files of water “the Tears of St. Agnus”, they backtracked by the quickest route they could, back to the spot where the Barbarian had fallen down the well. There the Vampire among them spider climbed up the shaft and dropped a rope down for the Barbarian to ascend. Bidding them all farewell, he made his way to the surface and vanished from the story â€" for now. The rest of the party meandered their way back to the tavern well, and out to safety… and that is where we wave them all goodbye.


As is often the way with new players, they all felt they had learned a lot from their experiences (and mistakes) so far and wanted to create fresh characters, more to their individual likings and group needs. The same campaign would of course continue, but they would be embarking on a new storyline, leaving their old characters to become NPC`s for me to play around with. They may even run into them at some point in the game, you never know. Their adventures will of course continue, but now they will be woven into a part of the `living world` which falls within the DM`s domain to create.


Meanwhile, the Barbarian`s adventures had only just begun to get interesting (Jack wanted to keep his character, and I must say I was rather pleased about this as there is a lot of potential here to become a truly epic hero..  especially with his incredible luck).


Now all I have to do is tie in the gangs` new characters to fit seemlessly into the game with the Barbarian...  this should be fun  :o  :-\

Goodbye to many... hello to the new

Good stuff six - looking forward to hearing more of the new party  8)

haven`t forgotten the campaign, in fact I now have about half a dozen sessions to write up in this thread. Just quiet as I am workng hard trying to keep head above water (try keeping a combined total of four kids in college, its crazy money  X_X )

Will get back to it sooooooooon  ;)


Six

Looking forward to it Six 8) Always for a cracking good read.

Cheers,

Kev

Quote from: Squirrel on 26 September 2012, 05:28:49 PM
Looking forward to it Six 8) Always for a cracking good read.

Cheers,

Kev

Wot he sed  :D

My Campaign has taken on an epic tone over the last sessions... it’s just finding time to write it all up and doing justice to it all. Bear with me a while longer.

But a question if I may please: I`ve had my game sort of floating in limbo since its creation, waiting to sink it firmly into the right world once I decided where that would be. I considered Middle Earth for a while, and Forgotten Realms… Ravenloft, and others... but none of them seemed perfect for me; hence why I left my setting floating for now. Recently I discovered Game of Thrones and WOW, I think I`ve finally found my baby. However, I`m only just starting the series really (half way through book one) and was wondering which 10mm Pendraken minis would be best to use to represent the various factions and races. If anyone has already done their homework on this I`d be extremely grateful for their input.

Six

Dark Sword have the official licence - so are a good source of what different factions should look like

http://www.darkswordminiatures.com/mainwebsite_html/store2GRRM.htm

Plain armour, with cloaks seems quite common for most of the Lords so Late Medieval knights, might have to the add the cloaks your self.
The Starks seem to have earlier armour with surcoats

I think most of the Westoros troops will be broadly similar late medieval types. The Iron men, wildlings, dothrakyi etc will start getting more interesting figure wise.

The un-armoured late romans could be quite useful.

Quote from: sixsideddice on 30 September 2012, 01:15:17 PM
My Campaign has taken on an epic tone over the last sessions... it’s just finding time to write it all up and doing justice to it all. Bear with me a while longer.

But a question if I may please: I`ve had my game sort of floating in limbo since its creation, waiting to sink it firmly into the right world once I decided where that would be. I considered Middle Earth for a while, and Forgotten Realms… Ravenloft, and others... but none of them seemed perfect for me; hence why I left my setting floating for now. Recently I discovered Game of Thrones and WOW, I think I`ve finally found my baby. However, I`m only just starting the series really (half way through book one) and was wondering which 10mm Pendraken minis would be best to use to represent the various factions and races. If anyone has already done their homework on this I`d be extremely grateful for their input.

Six

Hi Six,

Have a look at the images for Battles of Westeros and its expansions on BoardGameGeek: http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/67492/battles-of-westeros (http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/67492/battles-of-westeros)

Should be plenty of inspiration there.

Cheers!

Meirion

WOW, THANK you Meirion... this idea is starting to look better and better.

Perfect.... cheers for that  :-bd

WOOOOOOOOOW Fred.,..... I think I`m in love. These are fantastic. THANK you  :)

Already I can see I`ve opened a sweet can of worms with this one.. and they taste good  :-\

I think we have a ` go` on this project.

I`ll probably pick up all the figures I need for this (face to face) when I`m at Warfare in November. Until then, I`ll just work out everything I need to purchase for now; which is made harder for me by the fact I don`t know whats to come in the succeeding six books (I`m still on book one); but that works too, as I`ll place my initial campaign just before the books start, and expand (time line wise) as I read and learn more... seems like plenty of scope to keep me going on this for a very long time to come.

:D

You need to know what is beyond the wall, it ranges from NATSY to REALLY REALLY NASTY!  ;)

Still the most dangerous thing are... humans and their ability to be petty and stupid!

Then there are dragons, mor eon those later!

Quote
You need to know what is beyond the wall, it ranges from NATSY to REALLY REALLY NASTY! 

Still the most dangerous thing are... humans and their ability to be petty and stupid!

Then there are dragons, mor eon those later!

mmmmm I`m in love... these books are utterly amazing.

Jon Snow is my favourite character. I just LOVE the chapters about the wall. Beyond the wall, OMG I can`t wait.

I do know one thing now... clearer than ever.

It doesn`t matter what rules I use to role play with; they`re all far too complicated in a totally unnecessary way. Dungeon World (which started out as a miniatures based 3D dungeon crawl game - much like Space Hulk did for sci-fi) and the simple rpg add on I included in these forums is without a doubt the way forward, for me at least. I think I`ll flesh out the rpg section properly to make it more rounded and usable for everyone. Looks like a 4th edition will soon be in the making   :D

Wow, Game of Thrones and me being all inspired.... dangerous combination  ;)


Six  :-\

Quote from: sixsideddice on 01 October 2012, 08:39:52 AM
I`ll probably pick up all the figures I need for this (face to face) when I`m at Warfare in November. Until then, I`ll just work out everything I need to purchase for now; which is made harder for me by the fact I don`t know whats to come in the succeeding six books (I`m still on book one); but that works too, as I`ll place my initial campaign just before the books start, and expand (time line wise) as I read and learn more... seems like plenty of scope to keep me going on this for a very long time to come.

:D

Set a budget per book and get someone who'se read them to choose the figures for you. Keep them in separate packages by book and that way you've got an extra incentive to finish and when you do:  <:-P <:-P <:-P :-bd

;)

Cheers!

Meirion

Quote
Set a budget per book and get someone who'se read them to choose the figures for you. Keep them in separate packages by book and that way you've got an extra incentive to finish and when you do:    

Haha... now that`s not a bad idea  ;)


any volunteers  :D

Amendment (addition):

Actually, seriously.... if I set a budget, and could find someone who knows the books intimately... enough to choose, book by book, which figures I would need; as you say, I could have an endless source of loveliness to look forward to over the coming months - years even. It would require someone choosing the figures, slipping Leon the info needed to put each `book`s` worth of minis in appropriate envelopes for me to open when required, and bingo... endless fun.

Oh the joys of new projects and daydreaming  :x

If you need I could, but I'd say you need someone who REALLY knows the fantasy range too...

Cheers Lemmey, and thanks mate.....   let me think about it some more and see if I can come up with a good solution. I have a feeling the best thing I can do is probably read all the books first and then choose what I need  :( But the surprise in envelope idea does sound rather appealing I must admit. It`s not often you get a chance to be a big kid again and re-live christmas come early at my age hehe.

Quote from: sixsideddice on 01 October 2012, 10:55:21 AM
Actually, seriously.... if I set a budget, and could find someone who knows the books intimately... enough to choose, book by book, which figures I would need; as you say, I could have an endless source of loveliness to look forward to over the coming months - years even. It would require someone choosing the figures, slipping Leon the info needed to put each `book`s` worth of minis in appropriate envelopes for me to open when required, and bingo... endless fun.

Oh the joys of new projects and daydreaming  :x

Well, presumably, after the first few books you'd have most of the figures you'd need for the major players - unless entirely new factions turn up out of the blue!

Quote from: mad lemmey on 01 October 2012, 11:31:17 AM
If you need I could, but I'd say you need someone who REALLY knows the fantasy range too...

I'd have though you'd have the majority of the fantasy creatures in hand Six?

Of course I'm now being tempted to start reading them myself! I'll have to go and peek in the library later... ;)

Cheers!

Meirion

A couple do...  ;D

Quote from: mad lemmey on 25 October 2012, 07:52:26 AM
A couple do...  ;D

:-$

Don't tell Six ;)

;D

 ;D  8)  =)

omg these books just keep on getting more and more amazing, and deeper and deeper.... wheels within wheels; but oh soooooooo doable   :-\


oh yeah....  next campaign write up will be posted here tomorrow lol

But you know your character will NEVER EVER follow your plot!

 =O   oh  god, never a truer word said

THIS THREAD will continue in video form as soon as I get it all up on my site.... dunno why I didn`t think of recording all my campaign sessions like this years ago.

QuoteHi Six,

Have a look at the images for Battles of Westeros and its expansions on BoardGameGeek: http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/67492/battles-of-westeros

I just spotted this old thread while I was doing `forum catch up`. Funnily enough, I have (over the last while) purchased just about everything for Battles of Westeros; both the big box games and all the expansions. Then I started picking up a few Battlelore boxes (Dwarves and Goblins mostly). The miniatures are great and the boards work amazingly well in 10mm... so I now add a lot of the Pendraken  range to my (lets call it) generic table top fantasy games.

I don`t do Thrones (tried it, didn`t like its story ark that much... and I couldn`t include all my lovely monsters). But, I do use the minis and the components both for stand alone games, and especially alongside my 10mm Dungeon stuff. The BOW and BL minis make great heroes, which I use alongside the smaller monster range... and the BOW maps are PERFECT for outdoors cameos in my campaign sessions.


Six.

A few BOW minis alongside a few pieces from my beloved Pendraken 10mm Dungeon range.... I think you`ll agree, the scales are nicely compatible.

finally gone Pro on my site today... so am uploading the first parts NOW.

God, this is going to take me a while, there's LOADS of it  :o

Quote from: sixsideddice on 08 August 2013, 05:44:13 PM
finally gone Pro on my site today... so am uploading the first parts NOW.

God, this is going to take me a while, there's LOADS of it  :o

Cool - looking forward to this...

its still in its infancy, but I think its ready for anyone to take a look at now if they wish.

still lots more of the Video campaign sessions to go up, but I`ll adds those that over the next few weeks. After which, I`ll add each new D&D game session as it happens.

Lots of other things to see as well in the various sections, but like I say... still loads more to do yet as the site`s still new. Have a browse about at your leisure. I`ve added a couple links to a few of the various pages below.

http://shiftymushrooms.weebly.com/dd-campaign-on-video.html

http://shiftymushrooms.weebly.com/carlotta-wynn-pulp-fiction-gaming.html

http://shiftymushrooms.weebly.com/tutorial-steamboat.html