Another Setting

Inspired by Snorri's post "Lost Land of Mêm" on OD&D Discussion, I pulled out my Expert rulebook and some dice. I quickly rolled up 4 encounters for each major terrain type as listed on page X75 and whipped up a new campaign setting...

Encounter Table Results:
Grassland - Antelope, Lions, Hill Giants, Stirges
Woods - Black Widow Spiders, Tiger Beetles, Driver Ants, Brigands
Swamp - Adventurers, Wraiths, Ogres, Trader
Mountains - White Dragon, Troglodytes, Merchants, Trolls
Desert - Fire Giant, Giant Hawk, Small Rocs, Ghouls
City 1 - Orcs, Fighters, Traders x 2
City 2 - Acolytes, Wights, Fighters, Nobles
Ocean - Sea Dragon, Hippogriffs, Giant Hawks, Sea Hydras
Jungle - Giant Gekkos, Hippogriffs, Wyverns, Tarantella Spiders
Hills - Hydras, Wyverns, Red Dragons, Hippogriffs

The merchant city of Xulthon sits perched on the Urbe Steppes overlooking the Silver Sea to the north of the city. It is a bustling city, full of traders, merchants, mercenary companies (including some barely accepted orc mercenaries). When looking south from the city walls, the steppes fade away into the distance, the Caravan Road splitting the plain. From time to time you can see the dark shape of the antelope herds crossing the grassland. Lions also make the steppe their home prowling after the herds. As one heads farther south small stands of trees intermittently dot the vast swath of grass but beware as these are often the nesting grounds of stirges.

Passage across the Silver Sea is also dangerous as a large Sea Dragon has its lair in the murky depths. Hippogriffs and Giant Hawks hunt for tuna and small whales but they stay away from the Sea Hydras which also roam the sea.

To the east the steppes eventually begin to rise up to rugged hills. This area is home to Hill Giants who wear ratty, dirty lion pelts and hunt whoever is brave or foolhardy enough to enter their domain. But they also have to have care as the Bonehills are the home to many fearsome beasts - Hydras, Wyverns and Hippogriffs all fiercely protect their hunting grounds and often can be seen riding thermals above the plains. It is rumoured that a mated pair of Red Dragons also lair in the chalky hills but they have not been seen in many a year.

The Bonehills continue to rise up into the Guardian Peaks. Few passes split this rugged fence. The pass where the Caravan Road crosses to the allow merchants to travel to Melaphon, The Haunted City is a dangerous route. A White Dragon makes its home on a high peak above the valley and it often stops caravans seeking tribute for these merchants to cross its domain. There are also rumours of a vicious tribe of troglodytes that follow a family of trolls.

On the other end of the pass the Haunted City of Melaphon squats on the last of the rugged highlands. The area around the city quickly falls away to a dry and dusty plain called the Desert of Alf. Melaphon is a decadent city - nobles and acolytes both too busy with their depraved pursuits to worry about the plight of the slaves which they keep under their thumb with a vast number of temple guards. But don't be caught on the streets at night as the debauched forefathers still prowl the streets as wights.

The Desert of Alf is hot and dusty. The few oases that break up the barren landscape are surrounded by strange ruins through which Ghouls lurk. Careful watch must be kept along the edge of the desert where it butts against the Guardian Range as many Fire Giants reside there. Small Rocs hunt Giant Hawks through hot, wavering air.

To the west of the Urbe Steppes, the dark Creeping Wood is home to the many things from which it gets its name. The dark wood is home to Tiger Beetles, Driver Ants and Giant Black Widow Spiders. Due to its reputation, a band of brigands also make the dark forest its home from which they raid the steppes.

To the south of the forest is the fetid Blackmire. This foul marsh is home to a band of ogres. It is likely that this marsh was not always here as there are a number of sunken ruins which are rumoured to be haunted by Wraiths but to also contain vast treasures. As such there are a number of Adventurers trekking through the swamp and an enterprising Trader has set up a walled roadhouse not far from the marshes edge.

Across the Blackmire is the Emerald Jungle. Under the vast canopy lurk Giant Gekkos and Giant Tarantella Spiders and above the green roof Wyverns hunt.

Setting Riffs

Idea one is taken straight from Dwarfstar Games' Demonlord,

On Narth, once called the “continent of man”, the origins of the Demons are obscure. Some say a wizard’s summoning went out of control. Others suggest that the Demons themselves opened a magical gateway, still extent at the gate of Tor’zem, the Demonlord Capital. A few philosophers even believe that the Demons are a natural race, like humans or dwarves, except the Demons became stronger than others.

In any event, the Demons are now the power on Narth, and each Demonlord rules his own province under the Emperor. Although Demons are a tiny minority, through their great power, magic, and capacity for evil they act as captains, administrators, and governors of many lesser races such as half-men, demi-men, goblins, orcs, and other manish races of darkness.

Nisshar is a typical province in the west of the Demon domains, ruled from a capital city of the same name. But here, humans and semi-human allies resist them, banding together under the influence of Hosar, a sun-god cult. At times, they were so successful that even Nisshar came under siege. Now, the armies of the Demonlord and the Alliance of Hosar are mustering once more, for another bloody campaign.

After centuries of sleep, the Demon Empire once more sends forth its hideous armies to conquer the lands of men. Desperate fighters stand with bow and shield against the goblin hordes which blacken the fertile valleys. The wizards and priests are called together in a desperate attempt to counter the Demonlord's dark magicks. But the balance of power lies with the neutral kingdoms. Will the Dwarven King, the Cloud Prince of Lyung, and the mysterious Ancients join with the forces of light, or will they cast their lots with the dark host commanded by the shadowy presence of the DEMONLORD...

The second idea is a riff off the first, a post by Philotomy on Original D&D Discussion and the really neat idea for Project Long Stair from RPGnet. It would be set after the first idea,

Many of the Mages of Hosar retreated to their tower in the great city of Timur. It is now said that they went knowing full well their upcoming fate. These great mages wielded arcane power beyond any seen in any age since and with this vast power they were able to hurl the Demons back into the primordial chaos from which they came.

However, a devastating backlash of arcane power and the forces of chaos destroyed Timur and everything for leagues around. The Mages of Hosar were devastated. All of those that participated in the Great Sealing were lost. Only the few that were purposely kept away from the ritual survived. While the price was high, the Great Sealing forced the Demons back into the chaos and sealed the gateway to Narth. That was centuries ago. Now the seal is failing...

The idea is that the seal and gateway are part of a megadungeon that is a mythic underworld. This mythic underworld is spreading tendrils, magical portals, into other places of darkness and chaos (smaller dungeons and lairs).

Another Quick Thought About Skype Gaming and T&T

I am starting to think that Tunnels & Trolls would be a great system for a game using skype.

It may just be a byproduct of the lack of physical cues when gaming over skype but I am finding the D&D individual attack rolls and the narrative that goes along with them to be disjointed. T&T's pooled combat rolls and single resulting narrative would likely "flow" better. I also think that the craziness that is possible using saving rolls would be great fun and keep the action moving.

Now I did it

Well, I did it. If you have checked out our Online B/X game blog or read JB's B/X Blackrazor, you will know that I killed three characters in during our last session. Alright, "I" didn't kill them - a band of a half-dozen troglodytes did but you know what I mean.

As JB says, there were a few tactical errors made and some interesting character roleplaying that I did not see coming. Who would have known that Krome and Diomedes were the heroic sort? However, it doesn't surprise me that Amsorak would go down protecting the party.

The three big tactical errors I saw were:
1. Fighting six 2 HD creatures that gave a couple of the fighters a -2 penalty to their attack rolls and each creature had 3 attacks (18 attacks in total) in the first place.

2. Charging into the middle of the room where all six could attack. The party eventually did a fighting withdrawal to a better defended position but by then some of the damage had been done.

3. Having the polearm in the front rank.


A few thoughts from my side of the virtual-table:
1. I am still getting a handle on playing without being able to pick up on physical cues from the players. Using skype I feel the same as when I am DMing a group that is just giving me blank stares - never a good thing. I am surprised about how uncertain I feel - are the players actually enjoying themselves? Am I giving the players enough descriptive details? Are they getting the point I am trying to get across? Without the physical cues I feel a little lost.

2. I seem to be quite self-conscious after the feedback I received a while ago about the Northern Marches campaign. When the first character fell in combat, I though, "oh no...". I am relieved having read the comments so far from the players. I am also somewhat comforted by the fact that K-Slacker, who has the distinction of being the only player to have participated in all of my Northern Marches games, seems to enjoy the punishment enough to be part of the online game as well.

3. My dice rolling was not in the party's favour. I use a mix of the dice roller that comes with Gametable and some actual dice when we are playing. Neither set were working for the party's benefit. The one hope the party had was the Trogs failing a morale check but it wasn't even close.

The Quest for the Holy Avenger

While not in the B/X magic item list, the Holy Avenger is just such a great item for a quest. Here is a quest involving a number of dungeons to find the holy mcguffin.

Three royal princes, who were each buried in a different crypt, were each buried with a different magic item. One prince was a valiant paladin of good who protected the innocent. His brothers however were vile necromancers who plagued those unable to protect themselves. It is rumoured that the valiant paladin was buried with his holy sword, Travarlach, Bane of the Dead. Use the clues to figure out which prince was buried in which crypt, and who was buried with the holy sword.

Place one clue in each separate dungeon. When the paladin is ready they can head off to the tombs.

Clues:

1) Prince Pettar was not buried with the Sphere of the Damned.
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2) Prince Stepan was not buried in the Red Tomb.
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3) The prince that was buried in the Golden Tomb was buried with the Sphere of the Damned.
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4) Prince Taldar was buried with the Blood of Maidens.
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5) The Prince who was buried with the Holy Avenger, was not buried in the White Tomb.

LOGIC PUZZLE ANSWERS:
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Prince Pettar was buried in the Red Tomb, with the Holy Avenger.
Prince Taldar was buried in the White Tomb, with the Blood of Maidens.
Prince Stepan was buried in the Golden Tomb, with the Sphere of the Damned.
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The logic behind the answers:
Prince Pettar was not buried with the Sphere of the Damned (clue 1) or the Blood of Maidens (clue 4), so Prince Pettar was buried with the Holy Avenger.

Prince Pettar was not buried in the Golden Tomb (clue 3), Prince Pettar was not buried in the White Tomb (clue 5), so Prince Pettar was buried in the Red Tomb.

Prince Taldar was buried with the Blood of Maidens (clue 4), so Prince Stepan must have been buried with the Sphere of the Damned. Then Prince Stepan must be buried in the Golden Tomb (clue 3), and Prince Taldar must be buried in the White Tomb.

Five dungeons and four tombs worth of possible adventures...

I sure hope I got all that right :)

Grit

I have often heard (and have likely made the comment myself) that older versions of D&D are "grittier" than newer versions.

But what makes a game "gritty"? Is it lethality? Is it strictly atmosphere?
Some adjectives I have heard to describe a "gritty" game: realism, lethal, dark, sacrifice.

A few things that I think make B/X a gritty game:
1. The fragile nature of the characters.
2. The roster of monsters. The number of giant versions of normal animals, dinosaurs and bugs keeps things "grounded"
3. The focus on resource management - it is tough to feel really heroic when you are worried that you might run out of torches and be lost in the dark.


Is White Plume Mountain gritty? It definitely is lethal.

Is Dark Sun gritty? I would say yes.

What do you think? What is "gritty"? What makes a game gritty?

Two Dimensional Characters

In the comments to my post about B/X Ability Scores, Timeshadows mentions,

The only pisser is thinking that people are so two-dimensional so as to only ever be one thing, or in this case, Class.

I have had a number or really interesting online discussions with TS over the past month or so as she is part of the Skype B/X game and like me, she really enjoys discussing gaming.

Her comment is one I hear often in relation to the limited class selection, lack of multiclassing rules, and/or race as class in B/X and I would agree wholeheartedly with her if B/X was a simulation. However, B/X is a glorified wargame. And I revel in this fact. B/X does not try to represent any type of reality and verisimilitude is not something that is strived for.

In real life I am much more than an ex-investment banker (at least I really hope so). Just like in real life an infantry battalion is more than just a bunch of guys with guns and an armoured battalion is more than a bunch of tanks. However, in most wargames they are portrayed as singular types.

Just like different types of units in wargames, Fighters, Thieves, Clerics and Magic-users are designed to provide different tactical options. A party made up of five fighters is going to have different tactics than a party made up of two fighters, a cleric and two magic-users.

In B/X, are all fighters the same? No and Yes. Ability scores and roleplaying are the only real ways to distinguish one fighter from another. As I mentioned in an example I gave in the B/X Ability Scores post, "A DM can reasonably determine if a character can swim based on his background."

But besides these arbitrary differences, yes all fighters are the same. And they have specifically been designed as such.