tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28991962784045956102024-03-13T14:47:41.760-04:00Ice and RuinMatt Stromhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18348894314974680211noreply@blogger.comBlogger72125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2899196278404595610.post-71168511464065096042024-01-18T13:01:00.001-05:002024-01-18T13:10:53.192-05:00What Else Have I Got in Me?<p>Brechewold's been done for a little while. Still incredibly pumped to have this labor of love out in the company of LotFP's marvelously creative body of work.</p><p>I'm definitely taking a breather from big projects. But I don't intend for this to be my only publication. What else has been rattling around in my brain?</p><p><br /></p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Low-Hanging Fruit</h2><div><br /></div><h3 style="text-align: left;">Prison Island NY-1</h3><p>This is my mashup of Escape from New York, The Warriors, Ninja Turtles, and all the trashy dystopian NY-centric fiction of my youth. I originally intended it to be set in a US conquered by Imperial Japan during World War II. I meant the prison island as a fuck you to the US Japanese concentration camps during the war, but the longer I sit with it the more I think that it probably won't be taken that way. And you know what? The US doesn't need any help from an Axis power to be shitty and fascist. So I'll probably rework the backstory.</p><p>Much of the material for this is done. I'd like to use it as an exercise to learn how to properly lay out a book myself. Right now it uses modified Into the Odd rules. I'm currently looking into whether it might benefit from using the Cy_Borg rules instead.</p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Kapuluan Kup</h3><p>A short adventure detailing an aeronautical race through a tropical archipelago in the midst of civil war. Intended as an homage to Hayao Miyazaki and his love of vroom vroom planes. This will probably use its own rule set (modified Into the Odd unless I decide otherwise) and I'll likely just put it out myself. The main holdup right now is figuring out how to handle the mechanics of a long distance race.</p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Friday Night Frights</h3><p>An anthology of simple setups for horror movie style one-shots, one per page spread. I love running these, like <a href="https://iceandruin.blogspot.com/2020/05/evisceration-in-everglades.html">this one here</a>.</p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Middle-Distance Fruit</h2><h3 style="text-align: left;"><br /></h3><h3 style="text-align: left;">Hamlet 2</h3><p>I mean, the idea writes itself, doesn't it?</p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Brechewold sequel, tentatively "The Red Ledger of Brechewold"</h3><div>I want to write a rare kind of adventure - one designed specifically for domain-level play. It would pick up after graduation and use the characters' student debt to draw them into working for the interdimensional entity that "underwrites" Brechewold's magical energy. Definitely more ambitious than the first book, and it would require domain management rules. I've never been incredibly happy with any that I've read before, so as daunting as it feels, I would likely write my own.</div><div><br /></div><h2 style="text-align: left;">Pie in the Sky</h2><h3 style="text-align: left;"><br /></h3><h3 style="text-align: left;">Brechewold double-sequel, tentatively "The Green Mirror of Brechewold"</h3><div>This would complete the trilogy of adventures and move play into the "intended" endgame of 80s Basic D&D - Immortal-level epic dimension-hopping shenanigans. Besides the name and the vague intention, though, I don't have anything for it yet.</div><div><br /></div><h3 style="text-align: left;">We Are Not Alone</h3><p>I wrote this board game during the pandemic about national competition during an alien invasion. The rules are complete and alpha-tested, but I don't know a thing about game balance or how to take this idea over the finish line.</p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Eldritch Grasp</h3><p>This is a sort of proof-of-concept "two-level" board game, with some players as heavy metal wizards vying for power and other players as warriors working for the wizards. Alpha rules are done, but only a few of the multitude of player characters, monsters, equipment, and spells that this would require are written. Again, no idea how to get a board game made.</p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Lord of Heaven</h3><p>This beast of an idea is set in a galaxy-wide space fantasy war. There would be two levels to it: a grand strategy board game in the vein of Diplomacy linked to a tabletop miniatures skirmish game that could help decide the outcome of the board game. No rules written, only vibes. </p>Matt Stromhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18348894314974680211noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2899196278404595610.post-43067054379629508542024-01-11T13:04:00.001-05:002024-01-11T13:06:58.438-05:00How a Brechewold Campaign Works<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqnpHHl_D_Bz47SRHl2cuX1igVXe5GqFhjbD2SrSiF8gdm6nuV3I6OWP3CBCCcmnVT_zldVqK_phLCQbKSwoOLJVC_eeFctzQrv1LUlMBrV4K-hhRtY4B3a5bkL-nfia2l8Lf4LzqgzRfDA_8KFQgiy0AYg8osi7b0-LM_3gTGmPSmi0Mv_ghENpIBVlI/s1271/castle.PNG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="898" data-original-width="1271" height="452" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqnpHHl_D_Bz47SRHl2cuX1igVXe5GqFhjbD2SrSiF8gdm6nuV3I6OWP3CBCCcmnVT_zldVqK_phLCQbKSwoOLJVC_eeFctzQrv1LUlMBrV4K-hhRtY4B3a5bkL-nfia2l8Lf4LzqgzRfDA_8KFQgiy0AYg8osi7b0-LM_3gTGmPSmi0Mv_ghENpIBVlI/w640-h452/castle.PNG" width="640" /></a></div><p>I have been delinquent in letting you know that Brechewold has been available from the <a href="https://us.lotfp.com/store/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=104">LotFP US web store</a> for some time. If you’ve been waiting to save on shipping, now’s the time. If you live outside the US and want a physical copy, go <a href="https://www.lotfp.com/store/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=439">here</a>, and if you want a PDF, go <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/447148/The-Yellow-Book-of-Brechewold">here</a>.</p><p>I was never that interested in writing a book about sitting in class. I suppose I could have cracked the code to making fantasy school interesting, but I think most high school fiction agrees with me here. I’m sure there are ways to do it, but here’s the thing: school is kind of a railroad. If the focus of the game were the classroom, then everything would already be predetermined. There are far more student-directed educational models, of course, but I didn't want to convey that kind of vibe with Brechewold. Quite the opposite, in fact.</p><p>It would also necessitate entirely different mechanics, and I wanted to make a dungeon game. I could certainly imagine a guided-dungeon-as-lesson type thing, but for some reason that rubs me the wrong way. "Today's quiz is the flying axe puzzle room, students." I think the guided nature would run counter to the sense of discovery, my favorite part of D&D.</p><p>No, I'm far more interested in the "we're not supposed to be here" feeling. So here's the engine of the campaign I <i>did</i> write: PCs select courses at the beginning of the term, but their main function is to impart secrets that will hopefully entice players to investigate further. I like to think of the course catalogue as an a la carte rumor menu that should align with player interests since they picked the courses themselves. Each term will have one major investigation, so there's a ticking clock in the background: after four years (eight terms), the PCs graduate.</p><p>The courses also act as a way for PCs to begin building relationships with the professors. There's a web of intrigue going on behind the scenes, and in my experience players tend to side with the professors whose courses they've most selected. You'd be surprised how much loyalty picking an imaginary course from a list can create.</p><p>For a long time in my playtesting, I was using milestone experience. I don't think I'll ever use it again. It seemed like the obvious choice: at the end of the term, PCs pass their classes and level up. Graduating is about the closest real-life analog to leveling up most people experience. But it provided no incentive to explore and take risks. Even worse, it seemed to rob my players of forward momentum - they asked me several times, "So, what are we supposed to do next?"</p><p>So I went back to the old standby, XP for GP. It might not be the flashiest or most innovative reward system, and yes, it prioritizes greedy accumulation, but boy does it just work. I tried to put a little twist on it - PCs only earn XP for treasure they use to decorate their common room, hopefully evoking a feeling of a frat house full of junk that all tell stories of past glory.</p><p>This will be my last navel-gazing Brechewold post for now. Up next: what does the future hold?</p>Matt Stromhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18348894314974680211noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2899196278404595610.post-37682271875560574862023-09-13T13:12:00.000-04:002023-09-13T13:12:52.767-04:00Into the Megadungeon<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf5hM3La0NF4VPPWIIKXKS-mGaDnLtBb6tCB9uIAEGTlSwcTHRmtBTw-PICCYPmtB6N_iePjOVytyWvTbinTjbFZ1OIgGINCzXQudCEo2QyR4XA8f27smBf95E7V5-ho3A40AW8IsOpz5sWvdoKQRG92-BZcSJ_5Je22S3cBGOLQbzQIv4h5EP2nK1I5w/s490/2023-07-18_140413.2.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="490" data-original-width="349" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf5hM3La0NF4VPPWIIKXKS-mGaDnLtBb6tCB9uIAEGTlSwcTHRmtBTw-PICCYPmtB6N_iePjOVytyWvTbinTjbFZ1OIgGINCzXQudCEo2QyR4XA8f27smBf95E7V5-ho3A40AW8IsOpz5sWvdoKQRG92-BZcSJ_5Je22S3cBGOLQbzQIv4h5EP2nK1I5w/w285-h400/2023-07-18_140413.2.png" width="285" /></a></div><p>Just a quickie to let you know that if you're not following Ben Laurence's new podcast <a href="https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/benjamin-laurence">Into the Megadungeon</a>, you are doing yourself a serious disservice. I'm sure his blog <a href="https://maziriansgarden.blogspot.com/">Mazirian's Garden</a> has a wider reach than mine, but goodness gracious this is good stuff. So far, he's interviewed James Maliszewski, Nick Kuntz, and Gus L, and I've thoroughly enjoyed each. Don't sleep on it.</p>
<iframe frameborder="0" height="102px" scrolling="no" src="https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/benjamin-laurence/embed/episodes/Mysteries-e27l6fa/a-aa6rmsq" width="400px"></iframe>Matt Stromhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18348894314974680211noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2899196278404595610.post-31828925845334835262023-08-31T15:11:00.000-04:002023-08-31T15:11:25.893-04:00Brechewold Forest Design Notes (and Available Now!)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpDQDNgg4mNrBlgFYng_2R9Ge8H54vdeX5HqlgTU6sfUa5OuTKPMN_QCpRrNbYHNMOpLgy_CMopmuwCrvWosmLiakBH4hY-MoW7cHAPI1GhXRkB0q6g3BoFJ88lp94pUfOvxF4i3juNVzVHMUew0j7ye4iYrg8QMEe0eP901Gahg8FE17w9PU0FjsFaNg/s1566/store%20page.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="813" data-original-width="1566" height="333" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpDQDNgg4mNrBlgFYng_2R9Ge8H54vdeX5HqlgTU6sfUa5OuTKPMN_QCpRrNbYHNMOpLgy_CMopmuwCrvWosmLiakBH4hY-MoW7cHAPI1GhXRkB0q6g3BoFJ88lp94pUfOvxF4i3juNVzVHMUew0j7ye4iYrg8QMEe0eP901Gahg8FE17w9PU0FjsFaNg/w640-h333/store%20page.PNG" width="640" /></a></div><p>The Yellow Book of Brechewold is now available in print and PDF on Lamentations of the Flame Princess's <a href="http://www.lotfp.com/store/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=439">EU online store</a> (which ships worldwide), or just PDF on <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/447148/The-Yellow-Book-of-Brechewold?src=hottest">DriveThruRPG</a>. If you're in the US and want to save on shipping, it should eventually be available from LotFP's US online store. If you pick it up, and especially if you use it, let me know what you think.</p><p>Besides writing a big ol' dungeon, another of my design goals for Brechewold was to “cook with all the flavors of vanilla.” There’s weird shit in there (or at least I hope so, or it doesn’t belong on a “weird fantasy” publishing label), but the weird shit serves to complement and enhance the classic shit rather than completely subvert it. </p><p>And by classic, I mean largely pre-Tolkien/Moorcock/etc - things that would be classified as “medieval romance” rather than fantasy. I’m talking Arthurian legend, Robin Hood, Shakespeare, and the meanest fairies you ever met. And for the most part, I’ve tried to separate the classic elements into the forest and the more esoteric stuff into the school dungeon. There's a difference in tone, too - where the dungeon is creepy, the forest is often farcical. I think of the forest as a "medieval British Disneyland." There's exceptions to this - I think the fairy knights in the forest encounters are the creepiest thing in the book - but they're there to stand out rather than set the tone.</p><p>So, hopefully the feeling Brechewold evokes is a real artisanal, hand-churned vanilla sundae with a few sardines and habaneros mixed in that the ice cream shop didn't mention - but they're truly excellent sardines and habaneros. Contrasts in tone are a powerful tool for highlighting the really strange or dramatic parts of a setting. If everything is one note, there's no melody.</p><p>Some features of the forest:</p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Generators for the aforementioned fairy knights, plus original recipe knights.</li><li>Solitary giants and trolls in a variety of flavors. I decided that each troll has a season in which its power is at its height, and is less dangerous the rest of the year.</li><li>Speaking of which, there are encounter tables for each season. There are mainstays that appear throughout, but I wanted to create a rhythm to the year with the differences. I've never seen this done before, but I'm sure you'll correct me in the comments. Nevertheless, this was an idea I had all by my lonesome that I like a lot.</li><li>A coven of witches headed by Arthur's half-sister Morgause.</li><li>A band of outlaws that rob from the rich and give to the poor in service of their militant anarcho-syndicalism.</li><li>Shrines to misfit saints, like St. Demelza the Hard-to-Read and St. Cadwaladr Who Did Not Die Very Easily. They grant various boons.</li><li>A relic from the Last Supper (not that one).</li><li>Various native plants and other resources that have uses elsewhere in the setting or can be baked into a magic pie.</li></ul><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2ZP0sVGks7Xi9WZsKESmDQSJ1fTtnqXHnQollTFcWbS2qDbd4plYtoy1kaMc93yzqq7YKaqbvLOL_xr_s5riM7dKJ-i861R8NcQ081CRa5Dtc7j3XzjihBU1J1q244CAGXV4Gw5XzJd8u1FLW0XwV6ibd3qmNEgT4bKT1nQs0Afj4JU9oGosgwOL3pBc/s1247/Player%20Map.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="896" data-original-width="1247" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2ZP0sVGks7Xi9WZsKESmDQSJ1fTtnqXHnQollTFcWbS2qDbd4plYtoy1kaMc93yzqq7YKaqbvLOL_xr_s5riM7dKJ-i861R8NcQ081CRa5Dtc7j3XzjihBU1J1q244CAGXV4Gw5XzJd8u1FLW0XwV6ibd3qmNEgT4bKT1nQs0Afj4JU9oGosgwOL3pBc/w400-h288/Player%20Map.PNG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div>I'll write one more design post on the faculty and the engine that supports player choice - the course catalogue.</div><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Matt Stromhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18348894314974680211noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2899196278404595610.post-10636132592623088562023-08-04T11:49:00.006-04:002023-08-04T12:48:55.503-04:00Design Notes for Brechewold's Big (Not Mega) Dungeon<p>At its heart, Brechewold is a failed megadungeon. Actually, it began life as <a href="https://iceandruin.blogspot.com/2016/03/wizard-school-die-drop-generator.html">this post</a>, a way to quickly generate wings of a magic school. However, I’ve come to see random generators as best for smaller dungeons, where the results can be made coherent more easily. In a larger environment, especially where the generator must be repeated, things tend to take on a bland sameness, no matter the creativity of the random tables.</p><p>I set out to turn the original post into a completely keyed megadungeon. In my naïveté, I thought this might end up being a short pamphlet that I could put up on DriveThruRPG. Well, I got to 101 rooms, got tired, liked the symbolism of the number, and stopped. That’s big, but to me “mega” should evoke feelings of endlessness and incomprehensibility. We can argue over how many rooms it takes to create that feeling (300?), but I don’t think I hit it.</p><p>Still, I do think the dungeon is big enough for my purpose. It supports many delves and is dense enough to require several trips to the same location to explore it fully.</p><p>So, the center of a Brechewold campaign is the big ol’ dungeon below the castle in which the school resides, representing older, abandoned parts of the school and previous inhabitants of the site. It has seven levels. Do I need to say that if you read on you could spoil something for yourself?</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnEim4ovfJ2jgPb3xGY_f8aSyzsSrwQo2yt9C9TTyPRPRgUHxCirVWAb8K7I5eR-Sn7j_iYTyQHIiW4hGEMM8nYaTmuDl6HE8UtuqEfQG7lkPJhKjzdcXV57-O1I06s6N0VnR9dPuOIsI5KqifnxNJo6LgTC6RPW-MarsspJemHLkM5dGKz669BhoBdcY/s1566/4F9E82E5-5C48-4391-832A-1F24B2516ED3.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1566" data-original-width="1095" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnEim4ovfJ2jgPb3xGY_f8aSyzsSrwQo2yt9C9TTyPRPRgUHxCirVWAb8K7I5eR-Sn7j_iYTyQHIiW4hGEMM8nYaTmuDl6HE8UtuqEfQG7lkPJhKjzdcXV57-O1I06s6N0VnR9dPuOIsI5KqifnxNJo6LgTC6RPW-MarsspJemHLkM5dGKz669BhoBdcY/w448-h640/4F9E82E5-5C48-4391-832A-1F24B2516ED3.jpeg" width="448" /></a></div><p>I. Cellars - This is the most conventional dungeon, with a few booby traps, some neat tricks and boons, and an avoidable boss monster ghost. It’s training wheels for Brechewold and aimed especially at people who are new to old school play (most of my players).</p><p>II. Aviary - An experiment in building a concentric dungeon - in this case, concentric bird cages. There are helpful birds, dangerous birds, and birds in between. Most importantly, there’s a game of snakes and ladders - as in, you’re actually supposed to play the board game. There’s also a disgraced professor in hiding who could function something like a merchant, but the real secret on this level is the hidden armory of crazy staves, inspired by the scene in <i>if….</i> when they find all the military-grade weapons and turn them on the teachers.</p><p>III. Orrery - This has the first of four secret sub-levels, a castle on Mars reachable by a magic carpet. It also contains a big anti-gravity orrery that clever players could use as an ambush, and two secret rooms: one that holds an item that makes the “end” of the dungeon considerably easier, and another where the eponymous Yellow Book resides.</p><p>IV. Antiquities and Alchemy - I’m pretty proud of the Dream Vault sublevel here, where some characters need to act in the real world while others act in a parallel dreamland to unlock a magic item. It’s the most Zelda part of the book. The alchemist’s laboratory is full of my favorite kind of dungeon shit: stuff the players know their characters shouldn’t mess with, but they can’t help themselves.</p><p>V. Archive and Ruins - This is where the school starts to give way to older inhabitants of the site, like a dwarf fortress and the tomb of a Celtic chieftain. There’s a dwarven gate to other dimensions operated by binary, which to me feels very logical for dwarves to do. Not sure how easy that will be to figure out. There are also some goblins running a diploma mill, of course.</p><p>VI. Demonium - I’m also very proud of the way to get into this level: you have to let your character be killed by an evil doppelgänger, which is some Metal Gear Solid type shit. This is where the dungeon really starts to take on a metaphysical Mythic Underworld character. There’s a gate to Hell, natch.</p><p>VII. Crystal Cave - This is where Nimue is guarding Merlyn trapped in crystal. You didn’t think he was really gone, did you?</p><p>Interconnectivity: One of the most important ways to make a dungeon really sing (and feel disorienting) is to provide lots of connections between levels. On the first level alone, there are less-than-obvious ways to get to every other level. In fact, there is an extremely easy way to get to the very end of the dungeon - It just requires a (literal) leap of faith and will hopefully feel obvious in hindsight.</p><p>I’ll be back next week with more about the book’s other components. On sale now at Gen Con, booth 2930.</p>Matt Stromhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18348894314974680211noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2899196278404595610.post-47400394470991507062023-08-03T18:02:00.004-04:002023-08-03T22:11:59.618-04:00Please Buy Everything<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="365" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ttdve_Asw48" width="540" youtube-src-id="ttdve_Asw48"></iframe><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmt8QAwhJuoN8VaV-AbqNl9Qj87XNp563OqQ99wG1waE4UViHkTgyXE6z3b2PSp-HnKgCCVjZJuypZ-tYD0OD9LHu0YQtjeQwJdq-CCKff9ogWJ7aOg1sGWJZrvWrvpEERoEbopc1dYmDinfH4QEem6xxaRNx2MnkjA1Hj9yWkG7FtpPohzvD8lVaxVks/s2436/BACFC8E7-6C14-4BFC-839D-D681E3A4BA83.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2436" data-original-width="1125" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmt8QAwhJuoN8VaV-AbqNl9Qj87XNp563OqQ99wG1waE4UViHkTgyXE6z3b2PSp-HnKgCCVjZJuypZ-tYD0OD9LHu0YQtjeQwJdq-CCKff9ogWJ7aOg1sGWJZrvWrvpEERoEbopc1dYmDinfH4QEem6xxaRNx2MnkjA1Hj9yWkG7FtpPohzvD8lVaxVks/w296-h640/BACFC8E7-6C14-4BFC-839D-D681E3A4BA83.jpeg" width="296" /></a></div><br /> <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Now available at Gen Con. Booth 2930.</div><div><br /></div><br /><p></p><div><br /></div>Matt Stromhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18348894314974680211noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2899196278404595610.post-63476929679837211822023-08-02T14:42:00.003-04:002023-08-02T14:42:25.479-04:00The Yellow Lamentations of the Brechewold Princess<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3VYs6EG78L-l4FQFKPqUUqoihQWbPmWdtgroUuRtUlaxP6CL6smIqfSKqs0tfgKnXjQ9ZIYB_3_nEbj383ZUHpAAk1-ovanbemlNsJXzy4RJQ4vi7xA62hcFux3lplPbcZcdAZU6MgZfLc-J62-_M3AKlxtlhCH9MCbfdH9m-QubjldgxkdMLQ4Qplts/s1370/Cover.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1370" data-original-width="961" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3VYs6EG78L-l4FQFKPqUUqoihQWbPmWdtgroUuRtUlaxP6CL6smIqfSKqs0tfgKnXjQ9ZIYB_3_nEbj383ZUHpAAk1-ovanbemlNsJXzy4RJQ4vi7xA62hcFux3lplPbcZcdAZU6MgZfLc-J62-_M3AKlxtlhCH9MCbfdH9m-QubjldgxkdMLQ4Qplts/w280-h400/Cover.png" width="280" /></a></div><p>Jesus, it's been too long. Has time truly progressed to this late date?</p><p>Here are my excuses:</p><p>1. Had a baby.</p><p>2. Any surplus energy has gone into Brechewold. Happy to report it is now done.</p><p>The Yellow Book of Brechewold will be published imminently by Lamentations of the Flame Princess. How imminently? If you’re going to Gen Con, James will sell you a book tomorrow. Sadly I will not be in attendance (see: baby). For the rest of us, it will be available on the lotfp.com web store August 11.</p><p>So what is it?</p><p>First of all, I think it may be the tamest and most trad-D&D book in the Lamentations catalogue. There are elves in it, for Christ’s sake. This makes me feel a bit inadequate, while at the same time filling me with a perverse sense of satisfaction.</p><p>Nevertheless, I think it was this description that sold James on the project: it is what would have happened if Jack Vance had written Harry Potter as a sequel to T.H. White’s The Once and Future King. There is a magic school founded by long-gone (?) Merlyn full of amoral scheming wizards and deep dungeons beneath. I think of the surrounding enchanted forest as a sort of medieval British Disneyland, with knights in shining armor, merry men, and the like. Hopefully Monty Python references are still cool in 2023.</p><p>I’ll be back with more Brechewold coverage later in the week. For now, check out the table of contents:</p><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGAF1IX0CxZpq04pw45mTy0Ts6kQ-mQO7PIApKcX8XUkrRsl_P0dh-YNVvESt4YaNoHqDJXmUztUmjKwvuUcahCw2FEjUvCGsXHqs1AAv4u7Ayca6wfxJFuQM81fnF80ge0dOlUy7Utu2TYTqLKvoHojv_Z5MqYPOtFIFwajM_mdICKC2ZW9qnk5Kw1eQ/s1263/ToC1.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="902" data-original-width="1263" height="458" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGAF1IX0CxZpq04pw45mTy0Ts6kQ-mQO7PIApKcX8XUkrRsl_P0dh-YNVvESt4YaNoHqDJXmUztUmjKwvuUcahCw2FEjUvCGsXHqs1AAv4u7Ayca6wfxJFuQM81fnF80ge0dOlUy7Utu2TYTqLKvoHojv_Z5MqYPOtFIFwajM_mdICKC2ZW9qnk5Kw1eQ/w640-h458/ToC1.PNG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUiD83QmV8QouhxCaY4z_4PJ6s2f4-JalIY00-wpTRlJPvBAQhM3dir-Syc21ECF8ANUUTvDnQgAttXt1DbtSvgR_edLaP2h__icmbG9ONUEDJC-RV5AT7mJDzAzPVVtkVk_iKHYsS7qJ1XYEQ5RltiCxlbLYTKEq_tm2WIsBCDLUdMSIHtQtzNJEvOqM/s1262/ToC2.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="902" data-original-width="1262" height="458" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUiD83QmV8QouhxCaY4z_4PJ6s2f4-JalIY00-wpTRlJPvBAQhM3dir-Syc21ECF8ANUUTvDnQgAttXt1DbtSvgR_edLaP2h__icmbG9ONUEDJC-RV5AT7mJDzAzPVVtkVk_iKHYsS7qJ1XYEQ5RltiCxlbLYTKEq_tm2WIsBCDLUdMSIHtQtzNJEvOqM/w640-h458/ToC2.PNG" width="640" /></a></div><br />Matt Stromhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18348894314974680211noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2899196278404595610.post-70845186390936859742021-11-13T09:17:00.003-05:002021-11-17T17:31:00.499-05:00People of the World, Spice up Your Life<p> I have seen the <i>Dune</i>. It’s good, but, like all “content” now, too long.</p><p>The forms of many designs are quite nice (love the costumes of the imperial delegation at the beginning), but they forgot to color them in. I suppose I’m too infected by the lurid vision of Jodorowski’s Dune.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-b6WaGU1oSwg/YY_IscPQhQI/AAAAAAAACjw/Om8wIhMANPUVk4YRwY93VlgZGFI_6LiSACLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/9B39C7A3-E7DB-41F8-95A6-8C6EA816382B.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1513" data-original-width="2048" height="472" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-b6WaGU1oSwg/YY_IscPQhQI/AAAAAAAACjw/Om8wIhMANPUVk4YRwY93VlgZGFI_6LiSACLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h472/9B39C7A3-E7DB-41F8-95A6-8C6EA816382B.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><p>In fact, much about the new adaptation is beautiful yet muted - the cinematography, the storytelling, the performances. It makes good sense for a story about careful politics and intrigue, but I somehow still prefer the bad sense and wild life of Lynch’s movie. Call me contrarian. Of course, when it comes to depicting the idiosyncratic combat and warfare of the book, Villeneuve wins hands down.</p>Matt Stromhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18348894314974680211noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2899196278404595610.post-15049208185295392021-06-14T13:57:00.002-04:002021-06-19T10:53:26.991-04:00Politricks<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bUZu-BsJ6Fg/YMeYIYooBaI/AAAAAAAACfg/aqVTKkhibIE_PLbCPFEIMwo0wZX0f1gzACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/18DF3595-DA65-4A8E-9BA5-E2C6DC71747F.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1244" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bUZu-BsJ6Fg/YMeYIYooBaI/AAAAAAAACfg/aqVTKkhibIE_PLbCPFEIMwo0wZX0f1gzACLcBGAsYHQ/w311-h400/18DF3595-DA65-4A8E-9BA5-E2C6DC71747F.jpeg" width="311" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Did you know Machiavelli looked like this goof?</td></tr></tbody></table><p>Getting political has been the main way to keep higher-level play from becoming too easy or repetitive since basically forever in D&D. There isn’t much about it on the character sheet, though, so it’s not always clear how to do it. I’m going to try to break it down into straightforward steps that I’ve learned through trial and error.</p><p>Politics involve goals, power, and opportunity.</p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Goals</h3><p>You can have politics in one hex, town, or even dungeon if there are individuals or groups with differing goals. However, completely incompatible goals like, “The ogre wants to eat livestock,” and, “the farmers want to keep their livestock,” won't usually result in politics, unless the PCs are interested in negotiating some sort of livestock-sharing agreement. Partially incompatible goals will allow for negotiations, diplomacy, and betrayal. If some actors actually have the same goals but for conflicting reasons, things will become even more complex.</p><p><b>What to do: </b>When you write notes about the inhabitants of an area (including monsters), make sure you add, “and they want...” Make some goals incompatible, but others partially compatible, and still others the same but for different reasons.</p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Power</h3><p>Power is the ability to accomplish goals. It is rare for an individual to be able to accomplish all its goals alone. Politics, therefore, is, “the art of the possible:” that is, combining power until it is possible to accomplish a goal.</p><p>Power can come from different sources. They tend to boil down to belief, force, knowledge, and wealth (these mirror the four core classes of cleric, fighter, magic user, and thief nicely).</p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Belief can be religious, but it doesn’t have to be. Any ideal, ethic, or opinion is a belief, and the more widely they are shared, the more power they have. “The emperor rules by the Mandate of Heaven,” and, “a democratically elected government represents the will of the people,” are both beliefs that confer power.</li><li>Force can be overt, like armies, or covert, like assassinations. Fear of force can often be enough to accomplish goals.</li><li>Knowledge is the stretchiest category, but it often involves technical skill, secrets (i.e. blackmail), or (in D&D) magic or the occult.</li><li>Wealth means resources, either physical or monetary. In D&D, money isn’t different from any other resource. There is usually only one currency (gold pieces), and everyone values it, including monsters. In real life, money is a belief masquerading as a resource, but you don't need to get into that unless you have a very specific set of players.</li></ul><div>Other axes of power are old vs. new and class vs. class. There are always established power centers struggling to stay at the top and upstarts threatening to dethrone them. There almost doesn’t need to be more of a reason for conflict than that. Furthermore, a high-status actor won’t usually betray their own class interest unless there’s a really good reason. Low-status actors will be more likely to betray class interests if they stand to gain from it.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>What to do:</b> Answer these questions for your setting: who holds power through belief? Who holds it through force? Who holds it through knowledge? Who holds it through wealth? Sometimes actors hold power through a combination of sources.</div><div><br /></div><div>Then, ask the reverse question: who requires someone else's source of power to meet their goals? You will start to see who might attempt to ally with whom.</div><h3 style="text-align: left;">Opportunity</h3><div>Actors will not always be able to wield their power to accomplish their goals right away. For example, the Bush administration inherited the power of force to invade Iraq, but they could not do so until they created public will through the belief in "weapons of mass destruction" and "ties to terrorism." Often, one actor making a move provides the opportunity for another to make a move.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>What to do: </b>As you play, look for conditions that give actors the opportunity to wield their power in their interest. I don't really have a system for doing this - I just ad hoc it. It helps to have all major goals written down in one place, so you can easily reference them.</div><div><h3>Organizations</h3><p>Individuals will often pool power into organizations to pursue a shared goal. However, only the smallest organizations have truly uniform goals. There will always be differences of opinion, rivalries, and even those using the power of the organization for their own selfish ends. All organizations are essentially the same, be they clubs, churches, mafias, or kingdoms. The more powerful the organization, the more likely it is for individuals to join purely to advance themselves, with no regard for the organization’s stated project. </p><p><b>What to do: </b>In any organization you make, build in a few factions and rivalries. If it is powerful, include members who are purely selfish.</p><h3 style="text-align: left;">PCs First</h3></div><div>An important thing to remember is that the PCs are the center of the campaign. If the players don't really seem interested in engaging in the politics of the setting, don't foist it on them. If it's fun for you, keep it humming in the background, changing the power environment that the PCs find themselves in. If and when politics becomes relevant to the PCs’ own goals (the most important goals in the game), they will engage with it.</div><p></p><p><br /></p>Matt Stromhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18348894314974680211noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2899196278404595610.post-83330564874414002502021-05-26T12:57:00.000-04:002021-05-26T12:57:04.846-04:00Tales of Brechewold<p> A few stories:</p><p>1.</p><p>One of my <a href="http://iceandruin.blogspot.com/search/label/Brechewold">Brechewold</a> groups has discovered a hoard of golden items in the dungeons: furniture, dish wares, decor, etc. They are the results of Ina the Alchemist’s experiments with the Fool’s Stone. However, they revert back to their original material when touched - a “reverse Midas” situation. They’ve already made good use of it. </p><p>The Empty Knights (enchanted suits of armor) that guard the dungeons can be befriended if one places a literal heart of gold in their opened chest cavity. Upon hearing this, my players asked if there were any taxidermied animals in the gold collection. Of course there were (how could I say no?), so with a combination of an Unseen Servant, a little dissection, and some broom slap shots, they made some new friends.</p><p>This group also wants to use the magic forge in the dungeons to make magic weapons out of a troll’s iron heart, and it turns out that the troll most powerful in the forest in Autumn is Miser, who eats gold and silver. Well, they’ve swept some gold nicknacks into a bag, and are off to bait a troll trap.</p><p>2.</p><p>Another group is more interested in forest economics than dungeon delving. They have secured a Series A round of funding from the lord of the nearby town Ygraine to start a guided tour company with noted local travelogue writer Steve Ricks. They have also convinced the bees of the Llewyn Family Meadery to unionize. They’re simultaneously bringing capitalism and socialism to Brechewold forest. The Merrye Bande of Merrye Outlawes, a group of anarcho-syndicalists, is therefore keen to make their acquaintance.</p><p>3.</p><p>My third group has recently found out that Merlyn imprisoned a white dwarf star on Mars as a heat source to forge a replacement for Excalibur. The star is (understandably) disgruntled, and the group has convinced themselves that it poses them an existential threat. They are therefore considering their options to deal with it. Currently in the running are finding the gate to Hell in the dungeons and engaging in some demon negotiation, or recovering the elven relic the Jade Warning Bell, currently trapped in a dream dimension. It is said to be able to match the natural frequency of any matter, granting power over it.</p><p>—</p><p>Two thoughts: first, my friends and family rule at playing D&D. I’m consistently dumbfounded by the energy and creativity they bring to my simple play tests. Second, I’m really starting to think this book is shaping up nicely. You’ve been warned.</p>Matt Stromhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18348894314974680211noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2899196278404595610.post-42126743828176506452021-04-23T13:11:00.001-04:002021-04-23T13:11:25.992-04:00D&Dhammer Battle Report<p>Ok, let's see how <a href="http://iceandruin.blogspot.com/2021/04/d-lite.html">this</a> works. I put together two armies using stats from Old School Essentials:</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Orcs and Goblins</h4><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Orc footmen (3 units): AC 13 HD 3 ATT +0 ML 8</li><li>Goblin archers (2 units): AC 13 HD 2 ATT +0 ML 7</li><li>Goblin spider-riders: AC 13 HD 3 ATT +3 ML 8 (I used the black widow stats. They have a poison attack, but I just decided to increase their attack bonus instead of dealing with that.)</li><li>Siege Stone Giant: AC 15 HD 9 ATT +7 ML 9</li></ul><p></p><p>Using the number appearing from OSE as a guideline, this would represent about 180 orcs, 120 goblins, 10-20 spider riders? (the NA for black widows is 3, but that seems far too low), and 1-6 giants. However, there's no real reason this couldn't represent twice or three times those numbers. There's definitely room to use your best judgment and try to keep things proportional.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Vampire Lords</h4><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Skeleton horde (3 units): AC 12 HD 3 ATT +0 ML X</li><li>Brigand archers (2 units): AC 13 HD 2 ATT +0 ML 8</li><li>Giant bats: AC 13 HD 2 ATT +1 ML 8</li><li>Vampire knights: AC 17 HD 7 ATT +6 ML 11</li></ul><p></p><p>The orcs and goblins had 17 HD of units and vampire lords had 14, but they also had the highest-stat unit and 3 that didn't need to check morale.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Round 1</h4><p>Orcs win initiative. Goblin archers attempt to bring down the vampires' bats, since they're the only ones who can attack flyers, but miss. Bats go after the archers in retaliation, but miss too. Spider-riders hit the vampire knights, who hold morale. The vampires' archers hit the giant, who holds morale. The giant then throws a boulder at the knights, but it doesn't find purchase. Vampire knights charge the goblin archers, who manage to scramble and hide. Finally the orc footmen and skeleton hordes clash, and the orcs inflict two hits.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Round 2</h4><p>Orcs win initiative again. Goblin archers hit the bats once, who hold morale. Vampire knights charge the goblin archers again, inflicting a hit, but the gobbos barely hang on. Giant goes for the knights, but misses. Bats miss the goblin archers, and spider-riders miss the brigand archers. Brigand archers rain their arrows down on their goblin counterparts, and the little greenskins finally break morale, wiped out since they've lost all HD (At this point, going by the rules I laid out in the previous post, the bats should be impervious to attack, but I'm going to argue with myself and say the giant is big enough to get them so I can keep going). Orcs wipe out the remaining skeletons.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Round 3</h4><p>Vamps take the initiative this time. Brigands loose on the giant, missing with both attacks. The giant swats the bats out of the sky, wiping them out. Knights tilt at the giant, missing. Spider-riders scurry for the brigand archers, but can't inflict a hit. Orc footmen overrun the brigands, hitting, but the archers hold formation.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Round 4</h4><p>Orcs regain the initiative. Giant misses the knights, knights miss the giant, spider-riders pull off a coup and hit the knights. Those pesky vamps hold morale. Brigand archers miss the giant. Orc footmen smash the rest of the archers.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Round 5</h4><p>Vampires take the initiative, and with only the vampire knights remaining they manage to throw the orc footmen into disarray with a hit. Giant misses the knights, but spiders hit. High morale keeps the vampires hanging on.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Round 6</h4><p>Vampires hold the initiative, and with a well-timed charge they force the giant into disarray. However, the spider-riders countercharge, sending the vamp knights into disarray. Orc footmen manage to reform their ranks.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Round 7</h4><p>Vampires keep the initiative, manage to pull themselves together, and hit the spiders, who are thrown into disarray. The giant can't pull it back together. Orcs can't attack the mounted knights, since the knights are cavalry and too fast for the footmen.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Round 8</h4><p>Vampires manage to keep the initiative <i>yet again </i>and rout the spiders, pushing them off the field. Since the remaining orc footmen cannot attack the knights, they just hurl insults at them. The giant can attack the knights...but misses.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Round 9</h4><p>Vampires keep the initiative and I start to wonder if Google's dice roller is broken. The knights hit the giant, sending it into disarray. Since the orcs can't attack, they decide to quit the field. The vampires have won, but at a great material cost.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MzZ4J9DtEu8/YIL92-CfJ-I/AAAAAAAACec/TChZ3LZVXCoS3Ah7HYF0YiZ5Ig5Iw2KZgCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/0127443F-EA2C-4498-A585-147FB72FF083.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MzZ4J9DtEu8/YIL92-CfJ-I/AAAAAAAACec/TChZ3LZVXCoS3Ah7HYF0YiZ5Ig5Iw2KZgCLcBGAsYHQ/w480-h640/0127443F-EA2C-4498-A585-147FB72FF083.jpeg" width="480" /></a></div><p>What I noticed:</p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Initiative is a harsh mistress. Winning 6 out of 9 times definitely gave the vamps the edge.</li><li>It has the same weaknesses as regular D&D combat - lots of misses and rounds where nothing really changes.</li><li>1 HD footmen units are pretty squishy. I don't think this is necessarily a problem. They are basically shields, like linemen in football.</li><li>What would happen if the orcs had no units that could attack the bats? Battle over? I suppose the orcs could try to push their luck and take out as many units as they could before the bats became a big enough problem and they had to retreat. Fielding balanced forces that can deal with a number of threats will be important.</li><li>Similarly, when it came down to the vampire knights and the orc footmen, the orcs couldn't attack. This isn't necessarily a problem, but I might institute a rule that if cavalry attack footmen but miss, footmen can counterattack if they haven't attacked that round. However, I don't want to keep making situational rules like this that make the rules more fiddly.</li><li>It took about a half hour to do all the rolling and typing. It might be a little bit longer if I was narrating the battle at the table. That seems pretty good as an add-on to a campaign climax session. However, it could be a lot longer if players can't decide how to command their forces.</li></ul><div>Overall, though, this does seem to hang together. I have a campaign now in its 6th year where things have moved pretty far into domain-level play, and the players barely use their character sheets anymore. I'll probably use this system with them before too long and try to refine it further. Some next steps: codifying magic some more, dealing with fortifications, and stuff like ambushes/surprise attacks.</div><p></p>Matt Stromhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18348894314974680211noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2899196278404595610.post-89949060884261791962021-04-21T12:34:00.002-04:002021-04-21T18:58:35.847-04:00D&Dhammer<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://i.pinimg.com/originals/09/e8/0f/09e80f9f968cbf8249838cd83c52c33c.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="513" data-original-width="747" height="440" src="https://i.pinimg.com/originals/09/e8/0f/09e80f9f968cbf8249838cd83c52c33c.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p>Ah, the elusive mass combat system. I've overthought this for a long time. Just use regular monster stats, ya dummy!</p><p>Specifically AC, HD, THAC0/Attack Bonus, and Morale. Ignore everything else. Each unit is represented by the stats for one creature of the troop type. If there are several units of the same troop type, multiply the HD by how many units there are. If you're not sure how many individuals one "unit" should represent, use the maximum number appearing. Try to keep the HD numbers small but proportional.</p><p>No maneuvering unless you feel like it. The type of unit determines who it can attack (adapted from Matt Colville's <a href="https://shop.mcdmproductions.com/products/strongholds-followers-hardcover-pdf">Strongholds and Followers</a> rules):</p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Footmen and big monsters: can only attack other footmen/biggies if any are on the field, followed by archers, and finally siege engines.</li><li>Archers and flyers: can attack anyone.</li><li>Cavalry, fast monsters, and siege engines: can attack anyone except flyers.</li></ul><div>If you want to get a little more advanced, you could say that any unit that was attacked in melee (so like, attacked by footmen or non-ranged monsters) must pass a morale check (2d6) to attack a different unit (instead of the one that attacked it) that turn.</div><p></p><p>Roll initiative. Each side takes turns using units until none are left, and then roll initiative again. Ideally, this would happen alongside the PCs engaging in normal D&D combat against the enemy commander or executing a special mission.</p><p>Units make attack rolls as normal against each other. A successful "hit" reduces the defender HD by 1. </p><p>Each time a unit is hit but has HD left, it must make a morale check, adding the total hits accumulated to the roll. If it succeeds, it may continue to act normally. If it fails, it is in disarray and may not act again until it passes a morale check. If a unit is hit while in disarray, it is routed and flees from battle.</p><p>I have two ideas for how to handle a unit reduced to 0 HD: </p><p></p><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>Wiped out immediately. Simple.</li><li>It is only wiped out if it fails a morale check. I like that this would allow for units to hang on for heroic last stands. I worry that this would make low-HD, high-morale units punch too far above their weight. You would have to keep counting hits to add to morale checks.</li></ol>Mindless units, like some undead, do not check morale at all but are automatically wiped out at 0 HD.<p></p><p>If a commander is on the field, all units add the commander's Charisma bonus to their Morale score. A 12 is still a failure.</p><p>In order for a spellcaster to use spells in battle, it must be at least 9th level and use up spell slots (of at least the spell level) equal to the HD of the unit it is casting the spell on. Adjudicate special creature abilities on a case-by-case basis. I haven't thought magic and special abilities through very well.</p><p>Even though this is simpler than a real wargame, it is still a lot to add on to a regular D&D combat, so you'd only want to run maybe one or two climactic battles per campaign like this. I'm taking a look at the War Machine rules from the <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17171/DD-Rules-Cyclopedia-Basic">Rules Cyclopedia</a> to try to adapt it into something I'd use. It reduces a battle to one roll, but there's a lot that goes into determining the modifiers to the roll. I'll post my version of that eventually. Honestly, most of the time, you probably don't even need to roll for the results of a battle unless it seems like it would be close. Even then, if the PCs accomplish their part of the battle, their side should win unless it really doesn't make sense.</p>Matt Stromhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18348894314974680211noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2899196278404595610.post-57792850599500039522021-03-20T13:47:00.003-04:002021-03-20T13:47:39.838-04:00Advertising!<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Nm5g5Nf1kyc/YFY09b_xotI/AAAAAAAACdI/SC751GnrBYIxSRdDJGWWwOzuyVws8NgjgCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/160D49C2-963D-4833-8CAB-89BAC387C885.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1431" data-original-width="2048" height="435" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Nm5g5Nf1kyc/YFY09b_xotI/AAAAAAAACdI/SC751GnrBYIxSRdDJGWWwOzuyVws8NgjgCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h435/160D49C2-963D-4833-8CAB-89BAC387C885.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p>Matt Stromhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18348894314974680211noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2899196278404595610.post-66452670068835045642021-01-19T19:22:00.000-05:002021-01-19T19:22:23.377-05:00The Only DM Advice in Brechewold, I SwearA subject fraught with peril, to be sure, but I gotta admit I'm feeling good about this lil nug I wrote as part of the <a href="http://iceandruin.blogspot.com/2020/04/saints-preserve-us-im-writing-book.html">Brechewold</a> intro:<br /><br />This book does not present a plot. There is neither a predetermined conclusion nor a set path to follow. When DMing, I resist the temptation to think of myself as a storyteller. I am not telling a story. I am creating the conditions for and participating in a game of imagination structured by weighted chance. “Story” is what the players will tell when the game is over. I haven’t discovered a truly useful analogue to the role of a DM. Though it shares skills with storytellers, traditional game designers, teachers, theatrical directors, psychologists, and architects, it is a unique thing.<div><br /></div><div>So, do not prepare a plot. Set the scenario. Provide enough information for players to make informed choices for their characters. Become familiar with the goals and personalities of the book’s NPCs, and then pay attention. Pay attention to possible conflict or convergence between players’ choices and NPCs’ goals. Pay attention when the players ignore certain undercurrents and allow NPCs to pursue their goals unhindered. Advance the scenario, updating the players with new information as their characters would learn it. <br /><br />Above all, respect the players’ agency. They must be free to make any choice allowed within the confines of the setting and the comfort and fun at the table. Do not move things around in the imagined world to render their choices meaningless. The NPCs are allowed to be deceptive, but the DM is not. Err on the side of providing too much information if players are unsure what to do, but let them make the choice. Let them surprise you. Let them create chaos. Shed your preconceived notions and allow the imagined world to react naturally to players’ choices.</div>Matt Stromhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18348894314974680211noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2899196278404595610.post-25469343621485024162020-11-27T14:54:00.005-05:002020-11-28T00:58:24.775-05:00Some Brechewold Forest Spots<p> <a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WuMe4x2T344/X8EyI-YNOzI/AAAAAAAACag/UiB-SleB0bswPu2oAAraJUUxsa6rbpunQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1440/527A6039-2BB3-4E8A-8FC6-03A34162427E.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="810" data-original-width="1440" height="360" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WuMe4x2T344/X8EyI-YNOzI/AAAAAAAACag/UiB-SleB0bswPu2oAAraJUUxsa6rbpunQCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h360/527A6039-2BB3-4E8A-8FC6-03A34162427E.jpeg" width="640" /></a></p><p></p>These are a few hexes that will be part of the preview chapter of <i><a href="https://iceandruin.blogspot.com/search/label/Brechewold">The Yellow Book of Brechewold</a></i>.<p dir="ltr" id="docs-internal-guid-04a7d28f-7fff-4c7f-0254-c58260a7d1d4" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Libre Baskerville", serif; font-size: 9pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" id="docs-internal-guid-04a7d28f-7fff-4c7f-0254-c58260a7d1d4" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Libre Baskerville", serif; font-size: 9pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">B1. Waterfall Mine and the Crone</span></p><ul style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><li style="font-family: "Libre Baskerville", serif; font-size: 9pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Landscape: </span><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">wet, pool-filled foothills leading to craggy mountains; the River Slither finds its source here</span></p></li><li style="font-family: "Libre Baskerville", serif; font-size: 9pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The River Slither is thin here but leads back to a pool into which a tall, slender waterfall empties</span></p></li><li style="font-family: "Libre Baskerville", serif; font-size: 9pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Barely perceptible, a set of narrow, overgrown stairs is carved into the cliff up the side of the waterfall, leading to a rough-bored mine entrance behind the falls</span></p></li><ul style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><li style="font-family: "Libre Baskerville", serif; font-size: 9pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; list-style-type: circle; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Entrance: </span><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">moss and lichen crust the rocky opening, mist and mottled light from the falls. Ahead, a rickety ladder pokes out of a wide hole. Ten feet above the hole, a round trap door is mostly obscured by a layer of moss</span></p></li><li style="font-family: "Libre Baskerville", serif; font-size: 9pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; list-style-type: circle; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hidden Cache: </span></p></li><li style="font-family: "Libre Baskerville", serif; font-size: 9pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; list-style-type: circle; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Descent: </span><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">an old wooden ladder leads down a 60 foot shaft with about a foot of water at the bottom; 1-in-20 chance of the ladder breaking on the way down, increasing by another 1-in-20 for each additional person who uses it</span></p></li><li style="font-family: "Libre Baskerville", serif; font-size: 9pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; list-style-type: circle; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Mourning Ghosts: </span><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">a swirling collection of 1d4+1 elf ghosts dressed in ancient garb, from the time fairies lived on earth. They mourn the death of King Mountain-Fears-the-Rain, not realizing that they themselves have died. They encourage others to join in the mourning, and will attack guests who try to leave</span></p></li><ul style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><li style="font-family: "Libre Baskerville", serif; font-size: 9pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; list-style-type: square; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Elf Ghost:</span><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> AC 6 [13] HD 1 HP 4 ATTACKS 2 (Hobbling touch: save or take d4 Dexterity damage, Distended jaw: save or take d4 Constitution damage (plus any change in HP)), immune to non-magic damage</span></p></li></ul><li style="font-family: "Libre Baskerville", serif; font-size: 9pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; list-style-type: circle; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Altar: </span><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">a large rectangular slab of quartz ornately carved, on which rest offerings of flowers and candles occasionally left by questing fairy knights; anyone of fairy blood may leave a meaningful offering in return for ancestral guidance on a big decision</span></p></li><li style="font-family: "Libre Baskerville", serif; font-size: 9pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; list-style-type: circle; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Elf-Silver Seam:</span><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> an unlit old gold lantern (1,000 gp) hangs from the ceiling. If lit, it will illuminate a large seam of rare elf-silver, as strong as iron but may be used by elves</span></p></li><li style="font-family: "Libre Baskerville", serif; font-size: 9pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; list-style-type: circle; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Tunnel: </span><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">a rotting wooden catwalk leads the way over the waterlogged tunnel; 1-in-6 chance of breaking through a board and plunging into the water, which is infested with hallucinoleeches</span></p></li><ul style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><li style="font-family: "Libre Baskerville", serif; font-size: 9pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; list-style-type: square; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hallucinoleech: </span><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">AC 9 [10] HD 0 HP 1 ATTACKS 1 (Bite: +3 to hit, save vs. poison or believe you are in your favorite place, never wanting to leave the water: -1 HP per turn spent there motionless and leech-covered)</span></p></li></ul><li style="font-family: "Libre Baskerville", serif; font-size: 9pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; list-style-type: circle; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Flood: </span><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The low chamber is flooded completely with glassy water; the ornate stairs and just-visible statues of griffins peeking above the water hint that this place is very different from the rest of the mine. In the center of the room is a chest with some of the king’s effects: elf-silver idols (2,000 gp), ceremonial gold headdress (3,000 gp), barbed whip, tinder that will light a fire even underwater (400 gp)</span></p></li><li style="font-family: "Libre Baskerville", serif; font-size: 9pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; list-style-type: circle; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Tomb of the Warrior-King: </span><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">the mummified remains of King Mountain-Fears-the-Rain are entwined in roots which have grown around him as a sort of sarcophagus. His shield is at his side (bronze, grinning sun motif). Before him is a stone pedestal carved with bell imagery with a neatly folded note on top: </span><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Had to nip in and borrow this, chaps. Return it in a flash. ~M.</span><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> This is the true resting-place of the Jade Warning Bell (The Crystal Cave, p. )</span></p></li></ul><li style="font-family: "Libre Baskerville", serif; font-size: 9pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Perched on an impossibly high peak is a little chocolate box of a cottage on chicken legs. This is the home of Mim the Crone of the Maiden, Mother, Crone coven</span></p></li><li style="font-family: "Libre Baskerville", serif; font-size: 9pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fat, wrinkled, with wild hair and warts, she is nearly always naked; speaks like a sweet old lady in a Monty Python sketch until stressed, when she flies into a histrionic rage</span></p></li><li style="font-family: "Libre Baskerville", serif; font-size: 9pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She rides a somewhat uncooperative copper pot through the night, looking for children to cook and eat</span></p></li><li><span style="font-family: "Libre Baskerville", serif; font-size: 9pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Resources: </span><span style="font-family: "Libre Baskerville", serif; font-size: 9pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">elf-silver, hard as iron but won’t burn elves</span></li></ul><div><span style="font-family: Libre Baskerville, serif;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 12px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></div><div><p dir="ltr" id="docs-internal-guid-7446e3ed-7fff-1a46-5baa-dff60db1d6fc" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Libre Baskerville", serif; font-size: 9pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">C1. Bargaz and Saint Ophrenia the Only-Lightly-Singed</span></p><ul style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><li style="font-family: "Libre Baskerville", serif; font-size: 9pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Landscape: </span><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">a marshy, sandy, and desolate estuary</span></p></li><li style="font-family: "Libre Baskerville", serif; font-size: 9pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Bargaz, a cave-dwelling giant, is a mass of scarred, knotted sinew with raptor eyes and crooked teeth. He is naked save the large key he wears around his neck and drags a shillelagh behind him</span></p></li><li style="font-family: "Libre Baskerville", serif; font-size: 9pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The key opens the Smoking Mountain. His father was contracted to build the mountain, but took the key when the Knights of the Round Table refused to pay a pagan savage</span></p></li><li style="font-family: "Libre Baskerville", serif; font-size: 9pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Bargaz is one of three giant brothers who live in the forest, along with Balam (A4, p. ) and Bancroft (see Random Encounters, p. ). Each takes a different approach to humanity. Bargaz lives as little more than a wild predatory beast, believing that any semblance of civilization is mere pretense and a denial of the world’s true nature</span></p></li><li style="font-family: "Libre Baskerville", serif; font-size: 9pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The shrine to Saint Ophrenia, patron saint of third degree burns and disfigurement sits half-buried in sand among the rushes along a tributary to the River Lethe</span></p></li><li style="font-family: "Libre Baskerville", serif; font-size: 9pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The saint stands peacefully, holding a sword before her, sculpted to be wreathed in stone flame to commemorate the warrior-nun’s battle with the Dragon of Dyfed Mawr</span></p></li><li><span style="font-family: "Libre Baskerville", serif; font-size: 9pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Blessing:</b> Those with grievous wounds earned in battle, particularly burns, may present an offering of vanquished foes in return for healing and making all your scars look really cool, giving you a mysteriously magnetic aura (+1d4 Charisma, up to 18)</span></li></ul><div><span style="font-family: Libre Baskerville, serif;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 12px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></div></div><div><p dir="ltr" id="docs-internal-guid-a10bbf31-7fff-8a1c-0e4b-14e9099ba83e" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Libre Baskerville", serif; font-size: 9pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">D2. Watchtower and Saint Fagan the Unwise</span></p><ul style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><li style="font-family: "Libre Baskerville", serif; font-size: 9pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Landscape: </span><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">rocky crags, twisted oak and scrub pine</span></p></li><li style="font-family: "Libre Baskerville", serif; font-size: 9pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A ruined watchtower sits atop a rocky outcropping</span></p></li><li style="font-family: "Libre Baskerville", serif; font-size: 9pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A partially-intact stained glass window depicts Arthur and Guenivere presiding over feasting knights</span></p></li><li style="font-family: "Libre Baskerville", serif; font-size: 9pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Thanks to a rift in the fabric of this enchanted forest, once per month the house of the Fates teeters precariously on top of the tower in the light of a waning gibbous moon halfway between full and half</span></p></li><li style="font-family: "Libre Baskerville", serif; font-size: 9pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Fates go by Orddu, Orgoch, and Orwen in this part of the world. They sit at three looms, hopelessly trying to weave a single tapestry which covers every surface in the house, bunching and fraying in many places. They frantically attempt to coordinate, but are hopelessly confused. They may appear as wild-haired old women, radiant maidens, or any other form</span></p></li><li style="font-family: "Libre Baskerville", serif; font-size: 9pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">They will each take one question, but their harried, distracted answers will only direct the questioner to a certain fold in the weave of Fate. Examination requires a save against magic. </span></p></li><ul style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><li style="font-family: "Libre Baskerville", serif; font-size: 9pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; list-style-type: circle; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fail: temporarily blinded and insane for d4 hours after glimpsing the incomprehensible underpinnings of the Universe </span></p></li><li style="font-family: "Libre Baskerville", serif; font-size: 9pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; list-style-type: circle; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Pass less than 20: the Fates have directed you to the wrong part of the tapestry, and what you see does not help you </span></p></li><li style="font-family: "Libre Baskerville", serif; font-size: 9pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; list-style-type: circle; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Natural 20: you find your thread weaving its way into the future and work with the GM to answer your question. Additionally, on one future roll that directly affects you (rolled either by you or the GM), you may choose the number rolled and reveal that you spied this in the tapestry</span></p></li></ul><li style="font-family: "Libre Baskerville", serif; font-size: 9pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Shrine to Saint Fagan the Unwise sits in the center of a set of stones placed in the River Lethe as a crossing. Fagan is the patron saint of doomed enterprises</span></p></li><li style="font-family: "Libre Baskerville", serif; font-size: 9pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">His statue exudes youthful exuberance and overconfidence. It faces a waterfall, behind which is the old lair of a troll he attempted to convert to Christianity. He succeeded, but could not stop the troll from eating him anyway</span></p></li><li style="font-family: "Libre Baskerville", serif; font-size: 9pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The lair is strewn with piles of gnawed-on bones and coins, jewelry, and weapons worth 120 gp. 50% chance of finding one of the forest’s trolls rooting around (see Forest Encounters)</span></p></li><li><span style="font-family: "Libre Baskerville", serif; font-size: 9pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Blessing: </span><span style="font-family: "Libre Baskerville", serif; font-size: 9pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">for an offering of a valuable object acquired foolishly, the supplicant may choose to pass a roll with a 20% or less chance of success. Mark one use of the blessing. The next time the character wishes to use the blessing, they must roll above the number marked on a d4 or automatically fail the roll</span></li></ul></div>Matt Stromhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18348894314974680211noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2899196278404595610.post-721495789208450472020-11-16T16:01:00.000-05:002020-11-16T16:01:43.195-05:00Brechewold Preview Chapter Cover<p>I’m nearing a full draft of <i><a href="http://iceandruin.blogspot.com/2020/04/saints-preserve-us-im-writing-book.html">The Yellow Book of Brechewold</a></i>. I’ll post more excerpts soon. Once I’m happy with the words, I’m going to work on the layout of the surrounding forest chapter as a sort of proof of concept and preview chapter that I’ll put up on DTRPG or something.</p><p>A huge chunk of the art is also done. I still have the maps to do, and I think I will have to wait until I’m far along in layout to know if I want to do any more watercolor illustrations. The covers for both the preview and the final book will be digital, bright, and simple. Here’s the preview cover:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-P4DeFGOh9dU/X7GWRw6F4lI/AAAAAAAACaE/quGSaxn70U4HLTpzyCpzKWJiCo9VplcOACLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/6674B855-9007-4AA5-A9B0-D640DA2265CD.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1444" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-P4DeFGOh9dU/X7GWRw6F4lI/AAAAAAAACaE/quGSaxn70U4HLTpzyCpzKWJiCo9VplcOACLcBGAsYHQ/w452-h640/6674B855-9007-4AA5-A9B0-D640DA2265CD.png" width="452" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p>Matt Stromhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18348894314974680211noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2899196278404595610.post-14478328735047266242020-09-30T12:10:00.002-04:002020-10-20T19:32:58.514-04:00We Are Not Alone<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MhKb2OeQRnI/X3SrOTI32pI/AAAAAAAACY0/XrjnAEXVzjMF6NvdYpakIfmWg8Ug8SnUACLcBGAsYHQ/s1366/We%2BAre%2BNot%2BAlone.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="634" data-original-width="1366" height="298" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MhKb2OeQRnI/X3SrOTI32pI/AAAAAAAACY0/XrjnAEXVzjMF6NvdYpakIfmWg8Ug8SnUACLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h298/We%2BAre%2BNot%2BAlone.png" width="640" /></a></div><p>As this splendid isolation drags on, I’ve dipped a toe into board game design. Well, it’s really sort of a board game/RPG hybrid called “We Are Not Alone,” inspired in large part by <a href="https://media.wizards.com/2015/downloads/ah/diplomacy_rules.pdf">Diplomacy</a> and the megagame <a href="http://watchtheskies.net/">Watch the Skies</a> (check out a pretty sweet play video <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hN71v9H_gg8">here</a>). I guess I’ve been thinking about how a pandemic is essentially no different from an alien invasion. There’s this vague sense I get from pop culture that somehow humans would come together in the face of such an invasion (<i>Independence Day, Watchmen</i>, etc), but...of course we wouldn’t. Look around. </p><p>So in this game, each player controls a nation or group of nations, and the GM (Mothership) controls an alien threat. But it’s not a cooperative game. For now, I’ve been giving each player unique, competing goals to accomplish in addition to defeating the aliens. However, I’m thinking about simplifying that to “whoever controls the most territory when the aliens are defeated wins.” Not sure yet. I like the idea of having asymmetrical goals better, in the Braunstein tradition, but the idea of balancing them so they’re all equally accomplishable makes my eyes glaze over.</p><p>In fact, balancing in general is a little overwhelming. I never bother in RPGs, because in my mind that’s missing the point. But in a competitive board game, it’s pretty necessary.</p><p>I’m pretty proud of the resource management system. Another result of my increased online diet is that I've become more convinced by Modern Monetary Theory, at least the broad strokes. It's the idea that sovereign fiat-currency governments are constrained by physical resources, labor, and politics, but not by money. This is certainly true during wartime, when even historically nations would often suspend the gold standard to "pay" for the war. So I didn't want players spending money and potentially running out during the game, which just wouldn't be possible in our modern system.</p><p>Instead of money, players have three constraints on what they're able to accomplish in a given turn: Oil and Mining territories, which represent physical resources; the number of territories controlled, which represents labor pool; and Political Capital. Political Capital is the number of actions a player can take in a turn and is an average of stats which represent the health of different aspects of the player's nation or coalition. It's an abstract and perhaps naive nod to the notion that governments are at least a little bit beholden to their people (or party) in order to have the leeway to pursue their foreign policy.</p><p>Here is a <a href="https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1UU7aQNV5625AKUvGb89E3gF-0TrMXFic?usp=sharing">Google Drive folder</a> with the rules and game assets so far. My friends and I have been playtesting on Astral Tabletop. I set the board as the “Map” and the playing pieces as “Characters”. You have to make all the players GMs so they don’t see fog of war and can move all the pieces around. So, I’d be grateful for any feedback you have, especially on the balancing front. And if you actually attempt to <i>play</i> the damn thing, please share your experience!</p>Matt Stromhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18348894314974680211noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2899196278404595610.post-90661726858841136732020-06-01T09:33:00.003-04:002020-06-07T10:02:02.576-04:00Evisceration in the Everglades<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-w9oFA5EqVvU/Xtzy_fEKxNI/AAAAAAAACTc/afD7XNNle9w9YppmjZl_PljOkVq59XZ2gCK4BGAsYHg/s539/Everglades-motel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="344" data-original-width="539" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-w9oFA5EqVvU/Xtzy_fEKxNI/AAAAAAAACTc/afD7XNNle9w9YppmjZl_PljOkVq59XZ2gCK4BGAsYHg/s320/Everglades-motel.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>I've discovered that thin slasher movie premises make great setups for one-shot games. To wit:</div><div><br /></div><div>It is 198X and the players are guests at Gator Gretchen’s Motor Inn, a motel and rundown former resort in the Florida Everglades. Despite its condition, it still attracts National Parks enthusiasts, birdwatchers, Skunk Ape cryptozoologists, and people trying to do a Florida beach vacation on the cheap by staying inland. This is who else is there:</div>
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“Gator” Gretchen McHenry</b> - The owner, who bought the condemned Everglades Resort and turned it into a cheap motel, complete with animated alligator neon sign. An inveterate hustler and loudmouth. (Str 8 Dex 13 Wil 10 Stamina 4)</div>
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<b>Alcide Martin</b> - Classically-trained Cajun chef who does great French and Cajun cuisine, but awful at the American staples he mostly has to cook here. (Str 7 Dex 15 Wil 13 Stamina 4)</div>
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<b>Florence Holmes</b> - Kindly old housekeeper. Actually the daughter of the previous owners from when this was the gilded age Everglades Resort. They used it as an H. H. Holmes-style murder palace to kill wealthy guests during the Great Depression. She is appalled at what the place has become, and wants revenge. (Str 6 Dex 6 Wil 18 Stamina 2)</div>
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<b>The D'Amico Family</b> - Father <b>Jack</b>, a NYPD officer, mother <b>Diane</b>, and son <b>Kevin</b>, a family sick of each other after the drive down from New York City. (Jack Str16 Dex 11 Wil 9 Stamina 2, Diane Str 11 Dex 13 Wil 12 Stamina 2, Kevin Str 9 Dex 6 Wil 12 Stamina 6)</div>
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<b>Barbara James</b> and <b>Ernie Hubbard</b> - The Jacksonville chapter of the American Cryptozoological Society, down for a skunk ape hunt. They teach at the same high school. Actually, only Barbara cares about the skunk ape. Ernie secretly doesn't believe in it. He's in love with her and feigns interest to spend time with her away from his wife. She has no idea. (Both Str 10 Dex 10 Wil 10 Stamina 3)</div>
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<b>Fred Nerk (Holmes)</b> - Supposedly an Australian on a sport fishing holiday, but actually Florence's son. He's a tank of a man and will do her bidding. (Str 18 Dex 6 Wil 18 Stamina 6)<br />
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Chronology of the night if the players do nothing:</div>
<div>
<b>6 pm: </b>Gator Gretchen checks guests in and informs them that the next bus will be noon the next day.</div>
<div>
<b>6:30 pm: </b>Guests gather in the Sawgrass Grill for dinner.</div>
<div>
<b>7 pm:</b> Alcide happens to recognize Florence in an old staff photo in the restaurant for the first time, and calls her over to show her.</div>
<div>
<b>8 pm:</b> Florence orders Fred to kill Alcide when he takes the trash out in the back. He is found floating in the pool 15 minutes later by Barbara, mangled, arm nearly ripped from his body. Barbara and Ernie think it's the skunk ape and go to get their cryptozoology gear.</div>
<div>
<b>9 pm:</b> Barbara finds Fred in the machine shop behind the motel cleaning blood off himself. He kills her. She is discovered by Ernie, who loses it and admits he was only there because he was in love with her. Fred removes the spark plugs from all cars in the lot.</div>
<div>
<b>10 pm:</b> Florence lures Gretchen into the basement of the main building and kills her. Fred sets fire to the D'Amicos' room. Trails of gasoline lead back to his car.</div>
<div>
<b>10:30 pm onward:</b> Florence and Fred try to start picking off the players one by one.</div>
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I used <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product_info.php?products_id=145536&">Into the Odd</a> (free preview <a href="https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B6MR1KWIUR9UaFhnSU5TcDRVblk/edit">here</a>) for the rules framework. At this point, I can't imagine myself using any other system for one-shot games. It's my go-to for tight, minimal, easily-adaptable rules. Here are my modifications for running a horror game:
</div><div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>I use Willpower instead of Charisma, which replaced it in the superb update <a href="https://chrismcdee.itch.io/electric-bastionland">Electric Bastionland</a> (free preview <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1hzUHy9OkHXSkLMEagBp-22ngjd7BRD52/edit">here</a>). It's more appropriate for the situation.</li>
<li>I call "Hit Points" plain old Stamina. I think it gets the point across in a less abstract way.</li>
<li>No equipment matrix. I just have them all come up with a reason for staying there, and I said they could have anything they reasonably would have brought for that purpose.</li>
<li>Whenever characters witness something fucked up, they take d6 Willpower damage and have to make a Willpower save. Anyone who fails freaks out and can't do anything useful until they're out of danger. You have to be completely relaxed to regain Willpower.</li>
<li>Instead of moving, the killer/monster/whatever may transfer d6 Willpower to Strength on its turn. I think of this as "the Jason effect."</li>
<li>I didn't do it for this game, but usually I secretly text the players hidden, conflicting agendas for their characters to complete. I never tell them I'm doing this. Actually, I saw that the <a href="https://www.alien-rpg.com/">Alien RPG</a> does something similar. Great minds. It looks pretty dope - I just don't have the need or money for a new game right now.</li>
</ul>
<div>
If you want to run a game like this, all you really need is a thin premise, a cast of colorful characters to kill off first, a timeline of events, and a map with goodies stashed around it. A soundtrack helps, too. I made a pretty sweet <a href="https://open.spotify.com/playlist/57poFgU3KU5oAJ2kF4b9BY?si=-LMpuztzTDmkH1V-p9byiQ">Spotify playlist</a>, if I do say so myself.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RRzIyPXh718/XtzzPhpoH8I/AAAAAAAACT4/JmggfMrXXOgrm96SVWgTtr4s0qUFqaGTQCK4BGAsYHg/s800/The%2BBird%2BWith%2Bthe%2BCrystal%2BPlumage_header.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="435" data-original-width="800" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RRzIyPXh718/XtzzPhpoH8I/AAAAAAAACT4/JmggfMrXXOgrm96SVWgTtr4s0qUFqaGTQCK4BGAsYHg/s320/The%2BBird%2BWith%2Bthe%2BCrystal%2BPlumage_header.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Matt Stromhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18348894314974680211noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2899196278404595610.post-53960574917537541332020-05-26T10:44:00.001-04:002020-10-16T12:04:08.819-04:00Knight Errant Generator<div>
This is from the upcoming <a href="http://iceandruin.blogspot.com/2020/04/saints-preserve-us-im-writing-book.html"><i>Yellow Book of Brechewold</i></a>. I'm thinking about putting out a zine of just the enchanted forest section while I finish the full book. The heraldry is a stripped-down version of <a href="http://iceandruin.blogspot.com/2019/02/knights-heraldry-generator.html">this post</a> to make it manageable with dice.</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kDpFBMP4u20/Xs0qORj8boI/AAAAAAAACSQ/OHHQCEu2K50eJS_4GEua1qLrMqFRLDpxQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/98E20022-A56B-4E99-BA6E-EFFB15044B4F.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kDpFBMP4u20/Xs0qORj8boI/AAAAAAAACSQ/OHHQCEu2K50eJS_4GEua1qLrMqFRLDpxQCLcBGAsYHQ/w240-h320/98E20022-A56B-4E99-BA6E-EFFB15044B4F.jpeg" title="One of my illustrations for the book" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of my illustrations for the book<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Roll one die of each type d4-d12 and three d20s to generate a knight. The knight’s HP is equal to all the even numbers you roll added together, and the attack bonus is the first even number you roll. Assume AC is equivalent to plate + shield. Have one or two knights pre-generated as random encounter rolls. <br />
<br />
<h2 style="text-align: left;">
Heraldry</h2>
<div>
<b><br /></b></div>
<div>
<b>d4 Metal</b></div>
<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li>Argent (silver) field, coloured charge (symbol)</li>
<li>Coloured field, argent charge</li>
<li>Or (gold) field, coloured charge</li>
<li>Coloured field, or charge</li>
</ol>
<b>d6 Colour</b><br />
<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li>Azure (blue)</li>
<li>Ermine (white with black spots)</li>
<li>Gules (red)</li>
<li>Purpure (purple)</li>
<li>Sable (black)</li>
<li>Vert (green)</li>
</ol>
<b>d8 Charge (symbol)</b> <i>*see following tables*</i><br />
<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li>Ordinary</li>
<li>Two ordinaries</li>
<li>Beast</li>
<li>Two beasts</li>
<li>Bird</li>
<li>Sea creature</li>
<li>Plant</li>
<li>Object</li>
</ol>
<b>d10 Ordinaries</b><br />
<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li>Chief</li>
<li>Bend</li>
<li>Fess</li>
<li>Pale</li>
<li>Chevron</li>
<li>Saltire</li>
<li>Cross</li>
<li>Cross botonny</li>
<li>Cross crosslet</li>
<li>Cross flory</li>
</ol>
<b>d10 Beasts</b><br />
<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li>Lion</li>
<li>Wolf</li>
<li>Bear</li>
<li>Boar</li>
<li>Horse</li>
<li>Bull</li>
<li>Hart</li>
<li>Hound</li>
<li>Hind</li>
<li>Fox</li>
</ol>
<b>d10 Birds</b><br />
<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li>Eagle</li>
<li>Martlet</li>
<li>Peacock</li>
<li>Pelican</li>
<li>Swan</li>
<li>Cock</li>
<li>Crane</li>
<li>Dove</li>
<li>Duck</li>
<li>Goose</li>
</ol>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>d10 Sea Creatures</b></div>
<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li>Pike</li>
<li>Perch</li>
<li>Salmon</li>
<li>Squid</li>
<li>Octopus</li>
<li>Dolphin</li>
<li>Cod</li>
<li>Eel</li>
<li>Whale</li>
<li>Seashell</li>
</ol>
<b>d10 Plants</b><br />
<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li>Fleur-de-lis</li>
<li>Rose</li>
<li>Trefoil</li>
<li>Thistle</li>
<li>Grapevine</li><li>Oak</li>
<li>Pine</li>
<li>Pine-cone</li>
<li>Aspen</li>
<li>Willow</li>
</ol>
<b>d10 Objects</b><br />
<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li>Sun</li>
<li>Crescent</li>
<li>Moon</li>
<li>Star</li>
<li>Key</li>
<li>Constellation</li>
<li>Ship</li>
<li>Tower</li>
<li>Crown</li>
<li>Clarion</li>
</ol>
<h2 style="text-align: left;">
Characteristics</h2>
<div>
<b><br /></b></div>
<div>
<b>d12 Fighting Style</b></div>
<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li>Uses shield to steamroll opponents</li>
<li>Only fights from horseback</li>
<li>Stoic and defensive with greatsword</li>
<li>Graceful duelist with sword and dagger</li>
<li>Uses long flail to toy with opponents</li>
<li>Berserker with two handaxes</li>
<li>Jumpy with crossbow</li>
<li>Bruiser with huge warhammer or battleaxe</li>
<li>Hidden weapons all over body</li>
<li>Claims sword has a mind of its own</li>
<li>Only fights in by-the-book jousts or duels</li>
<li>Invents ever more elaborate reasons not to fight</li>
</ol>
<b>d20 Personality</b><br />
<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li>Dour, joyless</li>
<li>Pompous, thinks everyone is a fan</li>
<li>Droll, always amused</li>
<li>Monomaniacal about quest</li>
<li>Jaded, disillusioned</li>
<li>Adheres to chivalry to the letter</li>
<li>Generous and rare champion of the oppressed</li>
<li>Insufferable warrior-poet</li>
<li>Quick to take offense</li>
<li>Boisterous bully</li>
<li>Ambitious schemer</li>
<li>Tight-lipped and suspicious, always considering worst-case scenarios</li>
<li>Sarcastic to hide insecurity</li>
<li>Mirthful, spontaneously bursts into song</li>
<li>Constantly complains, especially of ill-fitting armour or undergarments</li>
<li>Believes quest is beneath him</li>
<li>Easily bribed or otherwise distracted by mead</li>
<li>Is aghast at people less educated and well off than he</li>
<li>Plays trombone (which he invented) to ease the stress of battle</li>
<li>Hears whispers that others do not</li>
</ol>
<b>d20 Quest</b><br />
<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li>Save maiden from controlling father</li>
<li>Test self discipline and resistance to temptation</li>
<li>Seek holy relic</li>
<li>Slay a giant or other eater of Christians</li>
<li>Track a beast entangled with family history</li>
<li>Save lost, enchanted love</li>
<li>Win the heart of a cold fairy princess</li>
<li>Deliver dying wishes of king or queen to relative</li>
<li>Search for lost heir to a throne</li>
<li>Rescue noble baby stolen by fairies</li>
<li>Protect last child of a murdered royal family</li>
<li>Duel old rival</li>
<li>Capture and return villain to face trial</li>
<li>Seek advice from old hermit</li>
<li>Hide the child of a lady’s affair from her wrathful husband</li>
<li>Recover the Mourning Veil for a noble who wishes to deal with the Fairies</li>
<li>Forge a sword of iron troll hearts in Brechewold’s forge Belcher</li>
<li>Find a vizier at Brechewold to bring back to court</li>
<li>Gain entry to the Smoking Mountain</li>
<li>Find cure for a dying maiden</li>
</ol>
<b>d20 Name: Sir...</b><br />
<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li>Lionell</li>
<li>Bors</li>
<li>Kay</li>
<li>Tristram</li>
<li>Gareth</li>
<li>Bedivere</li>
<li>Bleoberis (woman in disguise, true name Elaine)</li>
<li>Lucan</li>
<li>Palomedes</li>
<li>Lamorak</li>
<li>Pelleas</li>
<li>Ector</li>
<li>Dagonet</li>
<li>Degore (woman in disguise, true name Laudine)</li>
<li>Brunor</li>
<li>Alymere</li>
<li>Uwaine</li>
<li>Aglovale (woman in disguise, true name Viviane)</li>
<li>Fergus</li>
<li>Morganore</li>
</ol>
Matt Stromhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18348894314974680211noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2899196278404595610.post-4060917467303302172020-05-14T20:41:00.001-04:002020-05-14T20:41:31.513-04:00Welcome to BrechewoldSaints preserve us, I'm writing a book. The map I posted the other day is from that. I don't quite know how to feel about joining in on OSR oversaturation and commercialization except to say that I don't feel this is a play for "relevance" or "hype," and certainly not for "money." I just think it's a good idea that I can do well.<br />
<br />
It is called <i>The Yellow Book of Brechewold</i> unless I can think of something better. It will detail a small campaign setting: a school for magicians (the titular Brechewold) and its environs in post-Arthurian western Britain. It will include:<br />
<ol>
<li>A completely keyed big (what's the cutoff for "mega?") dungeon: the school and abandoned, haunted levels beneath including tombs, a zoo, a body farm, a giant orrery, portals to other planets and fairy pocket-dimensions, a goblin diploma mill, seniors growing drugs, and more!</li>
<li>Detailed faculty with personalities and goals, and a more sparsely detailed student body</li>
<li>A small keyed enchanted forest surrounding the school including knights, giants, witches, elfs and other fairies, a unicorn, a relic from the Last Supper, religious hermits, anarcho-atheist bandits, &c</li>
<li>A chapter on the conflicts between factions and individuals to facilitate sandbox play</li>
<li>A chapter summarizing the treasures found elsewhere in the book, for ease of reference</li>
<li>Full color<i> </i>player-facing maps and illustrations, black and white DM-facing maps and illustrations<br /></li>
<li>As many of the best practices of OSR design as I've been able to absorb</li></ol><div>Here's a portrait of the headmaster and the introduction. It will be ready when it's ready.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_9QXcB9JizU/Xr3jXl6-fbI/AAAAAAAACRI/FoDpnbfnhlg7Y-aw0WyYr9B2GwEw4EHQQCK4BGAsYHg/Ambrosius%2Bthe%2BHeadmaster.tif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4241" data-original-width="3157" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_9QXcB9JizU/Xr3jXl6-fbI/AAAAAAAACRI/FoDpnbfnhlg7Y-aw0WyYr9B2GwEw4EHQQCK4BGAsYHg/s320/Ambrosius%2Bthe%2BHeadmaster.tif" /></a></div><br />1. Introduction<br /><br /><div>You may have heard, old chap, that wizards are wise. This is untrue. Don’t let their robes, beards, or pig Latin fool you. Wizards are lazy, greedy, vain clowns who would rather spend a lifetime in a library looking for shortcuts around reality than do a single honest day’s work. The only thing worse than a wizard is two wizards, and the only thing worse than that is a damned college of them. Welcome to Brechewold.</div><div><br /></div><div>The first wizard who got it into his head to teach magic on this rock in the woods was that hoary necromancer Merlyn. Yes, the Merlyn who made a right mess of England because he thought he knew best of all how to pick its ruler. I’m not saying I would have done better in Art’s place, mind you, but I am saying that I’ve never slept with my sister.</div><div><br /></div><div>Merlyn, knowing as he did that his time among the men of Albion was nearing an end, hung a sign on the old Celtic fort at Brechewold Promontory that anyone who wished to learn a few tricks and incantations in defense of the realm was welcome. A nest of knaves coagulated, and the old boy left this world to let the living sort out his mess.</div><div><br /></div>A brief scuffle for succession followed, and Gertrude Malory of Newbold Revel became the school’s first headmistress. As the years stretched into centuries, the school grew like a layer cake into the current Brechewold Castle. Wings now exist which have lain unoccupied for decades. The castle squats like a great cephalopod above Lake Hart, its lower tentacles fallen into disuse.<br /><ol>
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Matt Stromhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18348894314974680211noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2899196278404595610.post-33820928796875216912020-04-25T15:46:00.000-04:002020-04-25T15:46:52.547-04:00Meanwhile, in the Woods...The DM-facing hexmap from a double-secret project that I hope will only be single-secret before too long. I stole the concept from <a href="http://morgothiaismyhome.blogspot.com/">Matthew Adams</a>.<br />
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<br />Matt Stromhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18348894314974680211noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2899196278404595610.post-5317069070696147352020-04-21T08:46:00.004-04:002021-08-19T15:13:45.417-04:00I Love LamentationsI just learned that Lamentations of the Flame Princess is in serious financial trouble. If they went under, I would be crushed. LotFP is the greatest RPG company of all time, TSR included, and Jim Raggi is the greatest RPG publisher. He's the kind of leftie that I thought died out in the nineties: ornery, a free-speech diehard, and committed to just business practices and hiring all kinds of people not as a stunt but because it's self-evidently right. He has the most interesting catalogue of products out there: weird, shocking, and often brilliant. <a href="https://us.lotfp.com/store/">Buy them</a> (US store link). Run them in the spirit they are intended and they will make your game better. Jim pushed the OSR scene beyond masturbatory nostalgia while simultaneously writing the clearest, most concise retroclone.<br />
<br />
I don't like that the guy supports Jordan Peterson (who is an ass). However, who Raggi has chosen to work with seems to speak loudly that he is very much pro-trans people. If you have any evidence to the contrary, please let me know and I will change my opinion. The modern left is obsessed with purity tests and turning allies into enemies. This is why President Iceberg is currently driving the Titanic.<br />
<br />
When Jim's bestselling author was accused of abuse, Jim canceled all the author's future work and reprints. Literally no one did more to show that abuse has no place in our hobby. It seems his great sin was that he was upset about doing it. Well, fucking duh. But he did it anyway. And yet in online "communities," words are so often valued above actions.<br />
<br />
LotFP forever. If you agree, buy from them if you can and spread the word. I, like many others during this time, am hurting financially with only $1200 from the government to help (thanks, President Iceberg!), but I will be buying a few books because this is important to me.<div><br />
(In case it is not clear: I am criticizing the tactics of left-leaning people in the old school RPG scene because I hold quite left-leaning views and I want us to do better.) </div>Matt Stromhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18348894314974680211noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2899196278404595610.post-73757988638274619412019-12-01T15:03:00.002-05:002019-12-01T15:03:20.836-05:00New Map of the Elf Empire and Southern IslesI’ve been having fun developing a new map-drawing style that I think is finally reaching a certain level of maturity. And yeah, it owes a lot to <a href="https://thehauntedgasworks.tumblr.com/">Matthew Adams</a>, a guy who has become as inspirational to me as artists like John Blanche or Moebius. This will be an in-game map belonging to a particularly savvy current traveling companion of my party.<div>
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And hey, if you have any maps you want drawn for personal or published projects, I’m feeling competent enough to take on commissions. I’d like to make some money for better art supplies. Get in touch at m.cliffstrom at g mail. I don’t have a ton of time, so I’ll probably only take on projects that inspire me.</div>
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And experimenting with a different watercolor style for a very different project:</div>
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Matt Stromhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18348894314974680211noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2899196278404595610.post-7812776220632087642019-09-21T12:24:00.000-04:002019-09-21T12:24:25.326-04:00Am I the Only One Who Hates Actual Play Shows?I have an strained relationship with actual-play D&D streams, podcasts, etc. I'm very glad they exist. More than one of my players actually got interested in playing through the Adventure Zone. And I know from running a D&D club at the school where I teach that real-life kids listen to them. I feel about as sure as I am about anything that they are a big reason for the long-overdue coming out party that the tabletop RPG scene has enjoyed in the past few years.<br />
<br />
I also can't stand them. I have tried many, from Critical Role to the more obscure OSR groups, and they absolutely cannot hold my attention. I can't even get into the Adventure Zone, and I love their other podcast. I don't even really know why I don't like them. It may have something to do with the fact that I'm not invested in the same way as when I'm playing, or maybe I don't like to see DMs making choices I wouldn't make.<br />
<br />
But I <i>want </i>to like them. I really do. Do I have to make one to find one that I like? I fucking hope not. I couldn't see myself putting in the effort. Still, I have some ideas of things I'd like to see in something like this:<br />
<br />
<h4>
Aesthetics</h4>
<ul>
<li>Film in front of a green screen and stick in atmospherically appropriate visuals - movies, real-world footage, photos, illustrations. </li>
<li>Graphics that look like they're taking inspiration from something a little better than World of Warcraft.</li>
<li>Animations that show game information - like if a player gets hit, there's a blood splatter and "-8 HP" above their head.</li>
<li>Replace DM description with short animations, if you can find someone good to make them.</li>
<li>Shoot on video tape for max nostalgia. I guess you couldn't stream like this, but whatever.</li>
<li>Closeups of all players, and a wide shot of the whole table. I'm not a fan of the Brady Bunch style that streaming kind of forces you into. I guess in general I'd rather watch something that has been shot ahead of time and edited together later, rather than streamed live.</li>
<li>Rotoscope the players so when they say something "in-character", they are literally their character, full Ralph Bakshi style. Could be pretty off-putting, but I think I'd like it.</li>
</ul>
<h4>
Performance</h4>
<ul>
<li>Like four players max. Maybe three.</li>
<li>Everyone should know the fucking rules. Normally I will tell you that you do not need to know <i>any </i>rules to play D&D, but if you're going to be doing it for other people to watch, you should not be slowing down to figure things out every few minutes.</li>
<li>Everyone should be charismatic and charming and genuinely like each other. This seems like the first thing you should worry about and the hardest to pull off. Like real life, I guess. Usually the "cast" is either wooden, gratingly and self-consciously "nerdy," or obviously frustrated actors looking for exposure.</li>
<li>Editing, guys.</li>
</ul>
Matt Stromhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18348894314974680211noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2899196278404595610.post-20391061642713711492019-03-02T15:44:00.003-05:002019-03-02T16:17:08.803-05:00Somebody stop meThis system is basically an unholy hybrid of <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/145536/Into-the-Odd">Into the Odd</a> and a few of my previous experiments <a href="http://iceandruin.blogspot.com/2019/03/ok-how-about-this-one.html">here</a> and <a href="http://iceandruin.blogspot.com/2018/01/d-without-hp.html">here</a>.<br />
<br />
Design goals:<br />
<ul>
<li>Remove hit points</li>
<li>Tie combat effectiveness to statistics, which Into the Odd doesn't do </li>
<li>Differentiate weapons without variable damage</li>
<li>Provide interesting tactical decisions in an intuitive way</li>
</ul>
It's not quite as elegant as I would like (the way you use the injury chart for ranged weapons is particularly clumsy), but overall, how did I do? Any glaring oversights?<br />
<br />
<h2>
Character Creation</h2>
Roll 3d6 each for Strength, Dexterity, and Willpower. Saves and non-combat skill checks are roll under these stats. Each level, try to roll over each on 3d6 to increase them by one.<br />
<br />
<br />
Consult this table for Weapon Skill:<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-left: 0pt;">
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none; width: 468pt;"><colgroup><col width="*"></col><col width="*"></col><col width="*"></col><col width="*"></col><col width="*"></col><col width="*"></col><col width="*"></col></colgroup><tbody>
<tr style="height: 21pt;"><td style="padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><b><br /></b></td><td style="padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><b><br /></b></td><td colspan="5" style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<b>Dexterity Score</b></div>
</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><b><br /></b></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><b><br /></b></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<b>3-8</b></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<b>9-12</b></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<b>13-15</b></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<b>16-17</b></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<b>18</b></div>
</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 21pt;"><td rowspan="5" style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: middle;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<b>Strength Score</b></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<b>3-8</b></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
1</div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
2</div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
3</div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
4</div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
5</div>
</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 21pt;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<b>9-12</b></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
2</div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
3</div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
4</div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
5</div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
6</div>
</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 21pt;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<b>13-15</b></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
3</div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
4</div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
5</div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
6</div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
7</div>
</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 21pt;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<b>16-17</b></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
4</div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
5</div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
6</div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
7</div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
8</div>
</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 21pt;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<b>18</b></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
5</div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
6</div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
7</div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
8</div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
9</div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<br />
(The charts kinda got fucked up, but hopefully they're readable.)<br />
<br />
Choose equipment according to your preferred method or roll on an Into the Odd-style starting package chart.<br />
<br />
<h2>
Hand to Hand Combat </h2>
Combatants make opposing d10 rolls. If they have equal Weapon Skills, they each roll one die. If one combatant has a higher Weapon Skill, he or she rolls one more die. If one combatant has at least twice the Weapon Skill of the other, he or she rolls two more dice. During the first round of engagement, the combatant with the highest-reach weapon adds another die to his or her roll, but after that (until they disengage) the combatant with the highest-speed weapon adds another instead. Compare the two combatants’ highest rolls, and use the difference between them to consult the Injury Chart for the low roller.<br />
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-left: 0pt;">
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none; width: 468pt;"><colgroup><col width="*"></col><col width="*"></col><col width="*"></col></colgroup><tbody>
<tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b>Weapon</b></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<b>Reach</b></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<b>Speed</b></div>
</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
Minor (like daggers)</div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
1</div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
5</div>
</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
Small (like shortwords)</div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
2</div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
4</div>
</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
Medium (like longswords)</div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
3</div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
3</div>
</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
Great (like two-handed axes)</div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
4</div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
2</div>
</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
Pole (like spears)</div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
5</div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
1</div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<br />
<h4>
Confined Quarters </h4>
In cases where the width of the fighting area is less than the length of a weapon extended from the body (use your best judgment), its reach bonus during the first round of engagement does not apply.<br />
<br />
<h4>
Fighting in Ranks</h4>
If combatants fight in a line, any reach bonus from their weapons continues to apply after the first round of engagement, except on either end of the line.<br />
<br />
<h2>
Ranged Combat</h2>
The shooter rolls a d10 and hits the target if he or she rolls equal to or under his or her Weapon Skill. If the intended target moved in the previous round, the shooter rolls two dice and uses the higher result. If the shooter spent at least one previous round doing nothing but aiming at a stationary target, he or she rolls two dice and chooses the lower result. If the shooter hits, subtract the lowest roll from 10 and consult the Injury Chart.<br />
<br />
<h2>
Armor</h2>
For both hand to hand and ranged combat, armor reduces the number used to consult the Injury Table by a certain amount. However, heavier armor reduces the speed of the weapon carried by the armor’s wearer.<br />
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-left: 0pt;">
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none; width: 468pt;"><colgroup><col width="*"></col><col width="*"></col><col width="*"></col></colgroup><tbody>
<tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b>Armor</b></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<b>Injury Reduction</b></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<b>Maximum Weapon Speed</b></div>
</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
Light (like leather)</div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
1</div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
5</div>
</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
Medium (like chain)</div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
2</div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
4</div>
</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
Heavy (like plate)</div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
3</div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
3</div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<br />
<h4>
Armor Piercing</h4>
Longbows, crossbows, maces, and lances from horseback reduce the effectiveness of armor by one point.<br />
<br />
<h2>
Called Shots</h2>
Instead of consulting the injury chart as normal, combatants may aim for a specific injury. In that case, consult the Injury table’s “Called Shot Dice” column. In the case of hand to hand combat, the defender of the called shot rolls that many extra dice. In the case of ranged combat, the shooter rolls that many extra dice and chooses the highest roll. If the attacker still succeeds, the desired injury takes effect.<br />
<br />
<h2>
Injury Chart</h2>
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-left: 0pt;">
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none;"><colgroup><col width="35"></col><col width="75"></col><col width="140"></col><col width="140"></col><col width="140"></col><col width="95"></col></colgroup><tbody>
<tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: bottom;"><br /></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: bottom;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
Injury to:</div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: bottom;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
First Hit</div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: bottom;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
Second Hit</div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: bottom;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
Third Hit</div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: bottom;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
Called Shot Dice</div>
</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: right;">
1-3</div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
Legs</div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
Temporary disadvantage on Dex-related rolls</div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
Disadvantage on Dex-related rolls until healed</div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
Disabled, dead in 2d4 rounds if not stabilized</div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
1</div>
</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: right;">
4-5</div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
Arms</div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
Temporary disadvantage on Str-related rolls</div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
Disadvantage on Str-related rolls until healed</div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
Disabled, dead in 2d4 rounds if not stabilized</div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
1</div>
</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: right;">
6-7</div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
Torso</div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
Disabled, dead in 2d4 rounds if not stabilized</div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
Dead</div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
-</div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
2</div>
</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: right;">
8-9</div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
Head</div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
Dead</div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
-</div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
-</div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
3</div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Healing takes d4 weeks after a “Second Hit” and 2d4 weeks after a “Third Hit.”</div>
Matt Stromhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18348894314974680211noreply@blogger.com0