Thursday 18 April 2024
New monster for dungeons and debauchery
Wednesday 17 April 2024
Subterranean Entrances in Chagrinspire
Played Gunderholfen solo up to 4th level sub levels. Had a few close near TPKs, lost a follower and blew 20% of all cash made on a raise dead for them. Blew every potion. Currently fighting undead which is a bit tedious now cleric turns used up. Cleric also has diseases but has a scroll - waiting until really need to use scroll as might face more undead that cause this. AC of cleric and fighter have helped them do ok. Helping to test new rule mods before next game and new character sheets. Currently running Marvel and it needs very little prep with tables i made this year and player-driven choices. Playing Ravenloft 5th ed and long time since i was a cleric. Feels like i can do cleric and fighter and wizard stuff well by my old-school wired brain.
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There are dirty holes all over the wastelands. This is to help generate on the fly. Some might be where monsters they meet as encounters call home. Some might be dungeons or underground transit tunnels.
I will start on the Chagrinspire region map soon. The innermost defence ring around the dark spire has ruins of cities mostly drowned in mud or warped by Chaos hoping to subvert the Black Sphere mechanisms. They will be slow to find worthwhile undamaged goods and have to weigh it up with the risk of encountering mutants and creatures living in the ruins who hate outsiders. Once im satisfied with this outer region stuff I will work on the Dungeon Proper. All this started from a dungeon doodle and the urge to make a a exrta grimy filthy post-apocalypse fantasy world.
Will be working on post about the walls of the star fort around chagrinspire with vast walls with huge cannons and signs of past damage.
d10 Quick Subterranean Entrances in Chagrinspire
1 Burrows
2 Caves
3 Tunnels
4 Sapper holes
5 Homes
6 Lair
7 Ruins
8 Dungeons
9 Bunker
10 Colony
02 Burrows of giant worms d4 1=giant leeches 2=carrion worms 3=purple worms 4=worm abhumanoids (leech folk)
11 Great cave system with huge gate and wall built inside entrance. Once traders from the Underland came here from the deep to trade and the gate was built to control the passage to prevent traders from working with allies against Chagrinspire
31 Tunnel in trench dugout winds under no-mans-land to enemy lines
51 Creek has exposed a buried ruin where a family of ogre siblings have a lair
61 Ruined underground train station entrance to multi level rail platform and small shopping arcade. Home to a variety of occupants
71 Goblins dug this dungeon complex as a base and orcs took it over
81 Concrete bunker with broken cannon on the surface. Monsters have taken over after all the ammunition out and the gun cult fled
91 Tent village colony surrounded by 6m high thornbush wall, inside are herder who are also slavers. They run auctions and unsold slaves they trade with smarter undead, cults and monsters for ancient treasure. Underneath the village are catacombs for cultists and cannibals privacy
Thursday 11 April 2024
Character Gen Re-Write & Prep
As I rewrite my homebrew im asking more am i sticking to this for some weird tradition or not or is it better and so a few odd results, I can see this as a great era for retro clones.
I will probably edit this right up till i use it in play.
Maybe all the occupations could be on one d100
I feel ofter several years as a player and reader of 5th ed I finally feel i could make interesting characters and DMs often steered me from choices for what suited their play style. But I want to be a weirdo and feel I have enough power. And If I get on the edition it is in its last days. The options and powers are great for players but poor for the DM who has to deal with those options and police them and run monsters and write cinematic padding. It put me off being a DM for 5th ed. I got back to old d&d because monster stat blocks were so minimal in a module and were fast to write while BRP every monster had a character sheet and maths for its weird hit locations and the best fights in that were ambushes where you slaughter foes fast. D&D is a bit more gung ho, especially after a few levels.
So I want a start of my character generation by including a Level 0 character system as an option which is faster and simpler for players with fewer choices and things to record. Its also a good system to generate zero level humans or followers. Its a simpler quickstart for new players or a way of earning some extra benefits with some extra risks (extra HP and spells).
I am playing Gunderholfen solo currently.
My Assamir angel cleric who manages to burn 30 attackers to ash has been fun. I look forward to fireballing encounters we meet.
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The zero level system is for introducing new players or making weirder characters to roleplay with some tangible lasting benefits. You don't need to start zero level if players don't all want to and you can skip this and go straight to making a 1st Level Character.
Making a Zero Level Player Character
1 Allocate these ability scores*
15 13 12 11 10 9
into the following attributes
Agility Might Vigour Charm Talent Will
*or Roll 3d6 in order minimum of 9
May swap the highest score for your class Prime Requisite
The highest Attribute is generally put into your Prime Requisite of your Character Class or something that suits your starting career.
Attributes that are high help you enjoy certain character classes better from 1st Level and they make you more likely to succeed at certain tasks. They also improve your characters your character's performance in other ways.
Rolling under your Attribute with a 20 sided dice is a common action in-game
-Agility for making feats of accuracy, balance and manoeuvring from danger
-Might for making feats of breaking things and lifting heavy stuff
-Vigour for making feats of health and recovery from disease, poison or exhaustion
-Charm for making feats of diplomacy, attracting a follower or convincing others
-Talent for making feats of cunning, knowledge and logic or noticing clues
-Will for feats of resisting mind control magic, intimidation or tests of piety
Sometimes a roll is harder and you need to roll under half your attribute or under your bonus. Sometimes the skill roll is so easy it is automatic. A person without a skill can improvise with half their attribute and usually can only try once. Tools or certain conditions might add or subtract extra points.
High Attributes Gain a Bonus with various effects
Some of these are effective for certain character class prime attribute
Some of these benefits help any character
There is a box next to your attributes for the bonus if you have one
There is a small circle for later when you gain improved saving throws which zero level people rarely get.
Bonus Table
1-2 -4
3-4 -3
5-6 -2
7-8 -1
9-12 +0
13-14 +1
15-16 +2
17-18 +3
19-20 +4
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+2 +1 for every 2 points the plus goes up 1
Mortals permanent attributes peak at 20 and can go beyond this
-Agility bonus ads to all hit rolls and AC or armour class
-Might bonus for extra damage on any muscle-powered weapon
-Vigour bonus ads to your HP and you get this with every new HD you roll
-Charm bonus is how many bonus followers you can recruit in play
-Talent bonus in extra skills or languages at the start of play
-Will bonus adds to your starting luck point score of 1 that allows you to reroll dice each game
2 Choose if you are from an Arms or Arts or Magic Background
This assumes you are human but if you want to be a young demihuman or non-human declare it now and your special cultural abilities are not distinctly developed yet. You are the equivalent of a 16-year-old at this stage. You can make your own careers like the ones in the tables or just use them. These are just suggestions and shorthand to give you some choices or options to roll. You can ignore them or roll if confounded by choices.
If you are from an Arms Background you start with a d6 HP +your Vigour Bonus
You start with one arms skill and one arts skill from your training
1 Militia - Spear & Search - leather armour, spear, thicker shield d6sp
If you are from an Arts Background you start with a d4 HP +your Vigour Bonus
You start with two arts skills from your training
d12 Practitioner of Arts d4HD
If you are from a Magic Background you start with a d4 HP +your Vigour Bonus
You start with one arts skill and one cantrip zero level spell from your training
d4 Practitioner of Magic d4HD
If you are from a non human Background your starting HP Dice is dependant on your species +your Vigour Bonus. You start with one arms skill and one arts skill from your training
d12 Non Humans
Group Packages
You Might create a package for starting adventurers to be the same so characters can have known each other for some time and start with skills in common. If players agree to one of these instead of individual ones let them.
Musicians in the same band (arts) d4HP- Music Lore & Perform,
Gear: instrument, knife, flashy outfit for shows, d6cp
The party have been on tour working on street and taverns on the road
Tavern Drunks (arts) d4HP - Carousing & Drinking
Gear: Pewter drinking Stein, Pipe, Knife, d4 bottles of beer, d6cp
Rich gangs who party and riot taking over whole blocks with wild parties
Criminal Gang (arms) d6 HP - Blades & Streetwise
Gear: 2xKnives, Gang Tatoo, Club, Sack, d6cp
Party met possibly in prison or as youths adopted by the gang
Wizard School Students (Magic) d4HP - Arcane Lore & Ignite Cantrip (or pick another)
Gear: robes and hat, stick, erotic ceramic beer stein, pipe, spell book, d6gp
Met at a prestigious prep school of magic, swap for holy lore if a church school instead
Ship Crew (arts) d4HP - Sailing & Swimming
Gear: dagger, sack, 6m rope, tattoo, shark tooth medalion, d6sp
Pressganged together on the same ship as crew for years
Noble Attendants (arts) d4HP - Groom & Etiquette
Sent to be servants in household of better family to work up the noble ladder
Gladiators (arms) d6HP - Sword & Intimidate
gladius, cestus, dagger, +1AC Arm brace +1AC Fancy Custom Helmet, belt, 1m long chain or small sheild+1, body oil, d6gp
Sweaty shaven oiled warriors who fight for money in glamourous stadiums or filthy fight pits
Urchins met in an orphanage or were adopted together (arts) d4HP Bluff & Looting
Gear: crude shank knife, d3 good rocks, sling bag, days stolen food, d6cp
Child gang who scavenged and lied to get food until adopted or employed or join a real gang
Army conscripts (arms) d6HP - Spears & Marching
Gear: leather armour uniform +3, whicker medium shield, spear, dagger, bedroll, 2 javelins, d6sp, regimental tattoo
Fresh from BootCamp after being chosen from the militia, mostly guard stuff and march
Nightwatch (arms) d6HP - Clubs & Night Vision
Gear: leather armour, buckler, club, dagger, 6m rope, d6 torches, tinderbox, d6 wanted posters d6sp
Working at guard on waterways and warehouses and merchant caravans.May even investigate crimes to catch problem criminals
Bailifs (arms) d6HP - Club & Judgement
Gear: leather armour, club, dagger, 6m rope, set of manacles and keys, d6sp
Serve judges and sheriffs seizing people to appear for court or prison and aiding other legal officers dealing with gangs, smugglers and troublemakers
3 Calculate Other Starting Abilities
Your Starting HP are either a d4 or d6 + your Vigour bonus depending on your background. You get an extra HD based on your class each level you go up to a maximum of level 10, after that you get a set number of HP per level based on your class.
Your starting-to-hit bonus equals your Agility Bonus and is a measure of your ability to hit enemies. You always hit on a natural 20 roll and a 1 is always a miss. A mortal may only use +20 Hit Bonus max
Your Talent Bonus grants you extra Skills
-an extra weapon like Swords, Bows, Handguns, Blades
-an extra arts skill like from one of the lists here or the skill section
-you could use these skill slots to buy cantrip spells of one list type as magic skills
Your starting AC armour class is your Agility Bonus and plusses from your shield or armour. This plus 10 is the target number required for enemies to hit you.
Basic clothes offer no armour.
Light Armour is usually Leather +3
Medium Armour is usually Chain +5
Heavy Armour is usually Plate +7
A small shield or buckler Is +1 Armour
A medium shield like most knights or warriors use +2
A Large shield covers more and is more awkward +3
There are other types of armour and piece-based armour but that won't come up yet right away
A mortal may only use +20 AC max
Your damage dice are based on your weapon + your damage bonus from Might
A knife is d3
A dagger or stick or dart is d4
A club or small sword or javelin or hand axe or shortbow is d6
A sword or battle axe or short spear is a d8
A polarm or great sword or great axe or long spear or lance is a d10
Your Mov score is your speed and an average of your Agility And Vigour
Most people are between 9 and 12
There are other scores and abilities on the character sheet but most are not used at zero level. Most characters start with minimum equipment and money to buy food, accommodation or more weapons.
4 Have a Simple Adventure to advance to 1st Level
Now you are ready for a simple adventure
You don't need much and should have your character ready for play in the same first game session. Three small encounters and a few athletic risks avoiding hazards are typical first adventures.
Your DM Might have prepared an adventure or have something they bought or found online for beginning characters. They might even be solo possibilities with a player using random tables like encounter tables in woods or city looking for trouble. Its ok to run away at Zero Level you are just normal people.
d12 Sample Beginner Adventures
1 Vermin control some small slightly perilous creatures like giant rats, snakes or stray dogs
2 Several humanoid pests are harassing travellers, Two goblins for example
3 A bandit and several gang members are hiding in the area and have rewards offered
4 Merchant wants it recovered from an abandoned house with some hazards and perils
5 Deliver a message between several locations and meet a wilderness encounter
Advancing to First Level
When you are ready to advance to First Level go to the making a 1st Level Character section, pick a character class usually based on your best attribute and interests. Keep your zero level HP and Skills in addition to the ones you gain at the first level. If you don't play as a zero Level character you can't claim the benefits of having been zero level. Once you have played the game you might wish to skip zero level for future campaigns if players no longer find it interesting.
What is the Process of gaining a level?
For most people, it takes 1-4 years to learn a character class and then a month per level for each further level of school, study under a master, do research or work in a gymnasium. This is for those who only adventure once a year or so. Heroic types might avoid this.
If heroes are engaged in a thrilling busy saga on the move these time frames can be ignored but you could have some kind of montage scene advancing time if you want. Perhaps chosen heroes of the gods can advance without all the time most people do, especially if working on some world-shaking caper. You might bring in longer times for when you can't find a higher-level trainer who isn't a jerk or just for 10th+ levels. This can help nudge people into year-per-session campaign play for landed nobility.
Fast Campaign Mode
Gain a level per session or when a campaign achievement is made
A month for starting a new class
Day per level training from someone higher level or weeks of self-training
Top tier usually has supernatural training
Lets you experience the range of the game with rapid power-ups
Slow Campaign Mode
Gain a level with one session per level or when a campaign achievement is made
A year to start a new class
Week per level training from someone higher level or months if self-training
Top tier usually has supernatural training
Lets you experience power-ups ups slowly to enjoy them more, levels more significant
Zero Level Followers
These are on the lame side but the sooner you start having followers the more powerful they will be in the long run. The humans are likely to be your relatives and dependants of you may be their legal guardian. You are responsible for pets. You can retire an old follower and recruit a new one in play. You can choose a follower if you have a charming bonus or roll one if indecisive. Roll a d12+8 if you definitely want a human or a d6 for an animal.
You can retire a follower but it is nice to give them a payment or pension or a job perhaps in one of your businesses.
d20 Typical Zero Level Followers
1 Terrier Dog d4HP AC+3 d3 Bite Mov15 expert ratter and yappy
13 Young Urchin d4 AC+0 d3 knife Mov12 Streetwise skill. Has knife, throwing rock, chalk
14 Old Porter d4HP AC+0 d4 stick Move 12 Endurance skill. Has stick, pipe, sack
15 Old Squire d4HP AC+0 d3 knife Move 9 Knows Etiquette skill. Has knife, pipe, faded fancy clothes, stick
16 Old Thug d6HP AC+3 leather d6 Club Move 12 Knows Intimidate Skill, club, knife and sack
17 Old Lamp bearer d4HP AC+0 d4 stick Move 9 Knows Night Vision. Has tick, lamp, oil jar, 2m pole for lantern
18 Old Hermit d4HP AC+0 d4 stick Move 9 Knows Holy Lore. Has stick, holy text, d6 candles, a begging bowl
19 Young Messenger d4HP AC+0 d3 knife Move 12 Knows Flee skill. Has a satchel and knife
20 Young Apprentice d4HP AC+0 d3 knife Move 12 Knows Repair skill. Has a knife, ball of twine, jar of paste, spatula, a bundle of sticks
Current side A character zine
Wednesday 10 April 2024
Gunderholfen Solo Play
https://preview.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/317631/darkness-at-nekemte
https://preview.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/378555/bottomless-pit-of-zorth
When i first saw this book it was a bit pricey for me but is well priced now and I've seen on sale. Later i somehow ordered th pit of zorth and was surprised by it quite a bit. Its amazing and useful in a few of my settings. Then i got the Nekemte book which is a good weird dungeon and so i did get Gunderholfen.
It's quite a bit more minimalist and simpler than the other two books and at first i was a bit surprised. Many reviews complain of its brevity being like 1980 modules and having read 30 issues of Dungeon of late brevity is good. One good part of this is you could reskin the dungeon and add to it easily. I was going to use it for my current Chagrinspire as the other two adventures fit in well.
The city encounters you could use in other cities and is pretty good. The NPC tables would be a good aid to any ad&d game.
As a mega dungeon it is not too dense yet has lots of play. Many of individual levels could be finished in a session or even half. Its a mega dungeon but you could see people play it through faster than say Barrowmaze.
Also the adventures do have weird interesting touches particularly later in Gunderholfen.
So given these I have been solo playing it to test my current homebrew rules. It has gone very well - the brief text is easier to engage with, no overblown text requiring comprehension rolls for the reader. So it is easy to work out objectively what your adventurers would do. This all makes it perfect for solo play but i recommend at least 3 bookmarks - one for a current place, one for maps and one in the encounter section.
It has worked quite well with four characters and some hired followers. The first few trips were uneventful with kobolds and goblins and fairly tame encounters. Has some good monsters and a few from MM2 and FF im not to familiar with. One return trip through swap while wounded was almost a TPK when a giant dragonfly attacked which included several players reviving each other with potions in the fight. I make lots of morale checks for monsters and in a few cases the monsters fled in others they fought to the death. Lv two got a bit trickier and had two near TPK. Some annoying blobs that sucked blood and exploded if killed were a menace and players alternating reviving each other with potions made the party last long enough to win.
Lots of cash, some scrolls not any magic weapons yet so I've allowed some to be purchased and I used my oath system and my thief ended up against killing which is a bit inconvenient.
Ive mostly run it in bed with a tablet of my own blog stuff, my phone with a dice app and the book. I will probably include the ad&d monster books as it will help for those critters I don't know by heart.
Ive done 5 sessions so far and has replaced my bedtime reading for a while.
Im also playing ravenloft 5th ed as an assamir cleric and im running TSR marvel mostly. I do hope to get back to DnD and my cthulhu in space games.
Any adventures you have run solo that worked well?
Ive been watching and a bit inspired by this vid blog and some others
This guy has a great voice and accent and adds lots of detail
https://www.youtube.com/@WizardDeadloss
I will probably get this too
https://preview.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/442331/tomb-of-the-twice-crowned-king
Monday 8 April 2024
Dungeon Decor For Chagrinspire
These can decorate rooms, dungeons, wrecked vehicles and other weird stuff.
d10 Quick Types
1 Graffiti
d100 Dungeon Decor For Chagrinspire
01 Faction or planar patriotic tags and signatures cover everything
11 Poster showing war machines of ancient "Fight us and Suffer Needlessly"
31 Life size stone or metal face set in wall or altar or niche 1in6 still functional can be ordered to control d4 1=on or off lights 2=provide spring water from mouth 3=explains where you are in ancient 4=heat or cool room
51 Metal plate walls with rivets, rusted iron or tarnished copper
61 Wall has engraved oaths to an ancient god and symbols of the god
71 Ornamental columns often in rows, possibly with animal, humanoid, plant or geometric-inspired designs
81 Large plinth with a naked woman an each compass point with a cornucopia and a great collection of food carved from stone (really petrified by a spell and could be depetrified and eaten). It is dedicated to survivors of all the great famines on the continent during the apocalypse war. Later carvings are cruder with larger death tolls that depopulated whole nations
91 Walls covered in antique weapons and armour, sometimes displayed as exotic foreign weapons of the past, 1/3 are low quality wall hangers -2 to hit and bump dice down one. Rest are actually functional and a d4+1 will be real. At least one is cursed, one will be superior and the rest common items
Sunday 7 April 2024
d100 Documents of Despair for Chagrinspire
Typically I have
Common Spoken/Written (the modern international trade tongue)
Ancient Spoken/Written (on lots of the continent's ruins used by Allies)
Underland Common Spoken/Written (remnant of the common speech of age of darkness)
The popular printed works here are in a late form of ancient and is somewhat recognisable to modern people through sounds odd.
d10 Quick Documents of Despair Types
1 Propaganda
2 Reports
3 Pamphlets
5 Novels
d100 Documents of Despair
01 Poster of an ancient General and text supporting a forgotten faction
11 Form detailing ancient records of enemy artillery, some include pinups to make soldiers lodge them to get new posters. The posters are usually kept and cut from the booklet and found in trenches
31 Letter to loved one asking about the farm and children
51 Newspaper announcing rations and countries collapsing to chaos from famine
61 Fithy smut comics about ancient celebrities and radio show characters, badly printed
71 Manual on how to set table for military dinners and arrange seating plans
81 Book of the Black Sphere - depressing book of philosophy warning all life is suffering and that the Null Sphere will see us from ever existing so we will be at peace forever
91 Alchemists Primer a basic book of recipes for beginners that you can cook on a stove or campfire in cooking pots. Introduces some other concepts and how they hope to have mastery over all matter and magic one day. Start a career in alchemy today its the way of the future!