Junkland Blues Gear

Players start with 3d6x10 barter points. These are used to buy starting possessions, not counting a set of traveling clothes. PREACHERS start with a holy book or symbol. Prices are in Town price/Junkland price format. Assume Town prices for starting possessions.

There is no more hard currency. To get new things, you must exchange goods worth equal barter points. These are guidelines, and some people may set their own prices.

You have 25 slots of inventory, not counting worn items. Bulky items take up 2 slots and small items take up slots in units of 25. Movement is reduced after 10 slots are full, and again after 15 and 20 slots. After 25, you can't move.

Slots	Turn	Round	Run	Day
0-10	120 ft	40 ft	120 ft	24 mi
11-15	90 ft	30 ft	90 ft	18 mi
16-20	60 ft	20 ft	60 ft	12 mi
21-25	30 ft	10 ft	30 ft	6 mi

Armor	Price	AC
Leather jacket	25/50	+2
Junk armor	100/200	+4
Ballistic armor	800/1,000	+6

Mechanical	Price	Notes
Blowtorch	200/400	Used to make structural mods or major repairs
Car battery	20/80	Lasts up to 3 years
Gasoline, 5 gal can	10/40	-
Gas generator	100/200	Burns 1 gal/hr
Toolkit	50/100	Used to make minor or medium repairs
Motor oil, 1 qt	5/20	-
Radio	50/100	Receives signals and transmits up to 5 mi
Scrap, 1 unit	1/1	Used for repairs and mods

Adventure	Price	Notes
Batteries	5/10	-
Binoculars	50/90	Objects appear 10 times closer
Canteen	2/4	Holds 4 DRINKS
First aid kit	7/14	Used to dress wounds at ≤0 HP
Grenade	8/10	Thrown, 3d6 damage, 10 ft radius
Landmine	6/9	Explodes on contact, 3d6 damage
Matches	1/2	50 matches
Molotov cocktail	3/4	Thrown, 2d6 damage, 10 ft radius, burns 10 rounds
Net	5/10	Entangles on failed BODY save, range 10 ft
Pots and pans	1/3	Used to cook meals from raw ingredients
Rope, 50 ft	3/6	-
Shovel	3/6	-
Sleeping bag	1/2	-
Tent	5/10	-
Watch	10/10	-

Light	Price	Range	Lasts	Notes
Flashlight	5/10	60 ft narrow arc	24 hrs	Requires batteries
Floodlight	30/50	90 ft wide arc	-	Requires ext power
Lantern	3/5	30 ft circle	24 hrs	Requires oil
Oil flasks, 2	1/1	-	-	24 hrs/flask
Torches, 5	1/1	30 ft circle	1 hr	-

Food	Price	Rations	Notes
Beer, 6 pack	6/12	6 DRINKS	BODY save or drunk for each after 2nd
Cricket chips	1/1	1	-
Fried lizard	3/3	3	-
Liquor	5/2	0	BODY save or drunk for each swig after 3rd
Raw meat	1/1	1	Must be cooked
Real vegetables	5/8	2	-
Spam	1/1	1	-
Skewered rat	2/2	2	-
Twinkies	1/1	1	-
Water, 1 gal	16/32	16 DRINKS	-

Melee Weapon	Price	Unarmored	Leather	Junk	Ballistic
Brass knuckles	10/10	+2	+1	-1	-2
Garrote*	5/5	-	-	-	-
Mancatcher**	20/20	-	-	-	-
Spear†	5/3	-2	-1	+1	+2
Staff†	5/3	+1	+1	0	-1
Weapon, great†	50/80	-2	-1	+1	+3
Weapon, medium	20/30	+2	+1	-1	-1
Weapon, minor	5/5	+3	0	-1	-2
Weapon, small	10/15	+2	0	0	-2
Whip	10/15	+2	0	0	-2

*Requires a successful grapple to do damage.

**Hit opponent must succeed in an INSTINCT save or be caught.

† Two-handed.

Ranged Weapon	Price	Range	Accuracy	Capacity	Jam
Boomerang*	10/10	150 ft	-1	-	-
Bow	30/30	600 ft	0	-	-
Crossbow**	30/30	150 ft	0	-	-
Longshot†	300/500	2700 ft	0	1	1-2
Revolver	60/80	90 ft	-1	6	1
Rifle	100/200	900 ft	0	5	1-2
Shotgun	80/120	120 ft	+1	6	1-2
Shotgun, sawed off	80/120	30 ft	+2	6	1-2
Uzi††	300/500	600 ft	0	50	1-3

Arrows/bolts/ammo - 0.5/1 each, not interchangeable.

*Returns to thrower after a missed ATTACK.

**Ignores 2 points of ARMOR.

† -4 to hit at less than 150 ft.

†† Automatic: 3 ATTACKS/round, uses d4 ammo per ATTACK.

The Ideal

For mine own clarity of purpose:

1. There is something interesting to do in every direction. The players know that, have some idea of the options, and can discover the rest of the options through play.  They have enough information for each option to make an informed decision on what to do.

2. All of my creative energy goes into making these interesting things to do. There is enough variety that the game doesn't feel repetitive. History, character motivations, relationships, etc are very important, but only if they can inform player decisions.

3. Prep feels like a game rather than a chore. I have a baseline of resources that can be repurposed when working on something new and prevent me from feeling overwhelmed. My methods are fun and efficient, consistently produce interesting material for the players, and don't burn me out.

4. Prep is useful no matter what the players choose to do and supports player agency rather than the illusion of choice. Prepared resources inspire me at the table. They don't allow me to go on autopilot, but they provide enough of a safety net that even when I have an off night the game is still fun.

5. Players don't feel like I am the boss who tells them what to do. They are in charge of themselves and don't feel artificially constrained.

6. Decisions have consequences. There are good decisions with good consequences and bad decisions with bad consequences, and these feel consistent and comprehensible. The rules enforce these consequences and are simple enough that players have an idea of likely outcomes.

7. The rules generate fun and interesting outcomes, whether good or bad. They support rather than resist creative problem solving. They don't get in my way but prevent me from screwing things up too badly.

8. I leave each session feeling energized and with clear goals of what to prep for next time, guided by the notes I take during and immediately after the session. I make sure that, no matter where the players go next, there is something interesting to do.

Death, Revised

I think I've made my death and injury procedure significantly more complex than the previous iteration without actually making it any more complicated for the players, and that makes me feel like a good boy.

INJURY AND DYING

At 0 HP, make a CON/Paralysis save to remain active and roll d100 on the following table. For further successful attacks against you, roll d100 + cumulative damage x 10 on this table. Italics indicate an infection, with an onset of 4d4 turns on a failed CON/Poison save. No infection has the same cure twice. The duration of non-permanent effects is 2d4 weeks or as described.

d100	Effect
1-4	Flesh wound. Looks worse than it is.
5-8	Hideous scar or burn.
9-16	Broken ribs. Disadvantage on all CON rolls.
17-25	Internal bleeding. Disadvantage on DEX rolls.
26-34	Broken arm. Temporary -2 CON and disadvantage on attack rolls.
35-43	Broken leg. Temporary -2 CON and move as if one encumbrance level higher.
44	1: Wound blisters and turns a sickening fuschia color, burning badly. Disadvantage on all rolls.
45	2: Lacrymal glands leak a black mucus that seals eyes shut. DEX halved, disadvantage on all rolls.
46	3: Agonizing convulsions and retching for d4 turns on a failed WIS/Paralysis save during any physical exertion.
47	4: Vomit acidic, boiling blood that corrodes worn equipment.
48	5: Fever, can’t keep down any food or drink. -1 to all abilities each day, death if any reach 0.
49	6: Fetid pus-filled boils cover the skin. Confusion and madness. Too weak to stand after 2d6 days. Death follows d6 days later.
50	7: Lockjaw after d4 days, no speaking. Rest of limbs follow 2d4 days later, and death d4 more.
51-52	Lose an eye. Permanent -4 DEX.
53-59	Lose an eye. Permanent -4 DEX + Infection 1 (53), 2 (54), 3 (55), 4 (56), 5 (57), 6 (58), 7 (59).
60-61	Lose d4 fingers. Permanent -1 CON and DEX.
62-68	Lose d4 fingers. Permanent -1 CON and DEX + Infection 1 (62), 2 (63), 3 (64), 4 (65), 5 (66), 6 (67), 7 (68).
69-70	Lose a hand. Permanent -2 CON and DEX.
71-77	Lose a hand. Permanent -2 CON and DEX + Infection 1 (71), 2 (72), 3 (73), 4 (74), 5 (75), 6 (76), 7 (77).
78-79	Lose an arm. Permanent -4 CON and DEX. Disadvantage on attack rolls.
80-86	Lose an arm. Permanent -4 CON and DEX. Disadvantage on attack rolls + Infection 1 (80), 2 (81), 3 (82), 4 (83), 5 (84), 6 (85), 7 (86).
87-88	Lose a leg. Permanent -4 CON and DEX, always move as if heavily burdened.
89-95	Lose a leg. Permanent -4 CON and DEX, always move as if heavily burdened + Infection 1 (89), 2 (90), 3 (91), 4 (92), 5 (93), 6 (94), 7 (95).
96	Decapitation.
97+	Septic shock and agonizing death.

Why I like this:

• Consequences kick in at 0 HP. No more negative numbers.
• Players can remain active, but put themselves at considerable and quickly increasing risk if they don't run. Inspired by Small but Vicious Dog. I love forcing hard choices!
• Standardized mechanical effects for injuries.
• Infections! This is a gamey, built-in way for players to get sick. Inspired by Last Gasp. Pull cures from that post if you want.
• Still only a single roll (per attack) on a single chart.

Report: Maze of the Blue Medusa!

Read these:

Mandy:
Facebook
Google+

Zak:
Blogger

In the absence of hard evidence on either side, you need to decide for yourself whose words are more credible. For my part, I find Mandy more credible because I can see Zak's great incentive to lie, but I can't see hers. I've decided to withdraw my support for Zak - through both my money and my blog - unless I can be absolutely certain that I'm not supporting the person Mandy describes. I wouldn't send someone to jail based on this level of evidence, but I'm not sending him to jail so that standard doesn't apply. The only things I know for sure about Zak are that he makes good RPG material and is unnecessarily combative online, and those things neither condemn nor exonerate him.

Things That Could Use A Red & Pleasant Landing

This is mostly something for me to come back to later.

Oz. Duh.

Phantom Tollbooth

Moomin

Harry Potter. As you can probably tell from my previous post, I think this would make a great megadungeon.

Wrinkle

Earthsea

Wild Things