Jupiter Ascending

Training bonuses

Dark Souls swords by Bringess

This is an idea for weapon training that I had which is probably too fiddly for online play, but might work in person. To gain more than a +1 to attack or damage (whether from attack bonus, strength, or wherever bonuses come from in your system of choice), a combatant must train with a given weapon. Each weapon is rated with minimum stat requirements and maximum bonus potential. Mundane weapons might be, for example, min +0 and max +3/+3, meaning that anyone without a penalty can use them and they can support at most a +3 to attack and damage. Insisting on using a weapon without the minimum stat imposes some large penalty (-4 or 5E style disadvantage).

The constraints would need to be tracked for each weapon along with training level, which could default to starting scores for starting weapons initially (representing background training). For example, consider a first level Labyrinth Lord fighter with 16 strength, which grants a +2 to attack and damage. A first level fighter in this system also has the equivalent of a +1 bonus to attack. Assume further that this character starts with a battle axe and dagger. Under skills, the player would write battle axe +3/+2 and dagger +3/+2. This is the character’s initial training. If a sword is picked up, it will be wielded with +0/+0 until the character can train with it.

How does training work? As a downtime action, the character can pay for training in a weapon. This costs some set amount, maybe based on bonus to be unlocked, say 500 GP per target plus (so, moving from +1 to +2 would cost 1000 GP). This raises either the attack or the damage by one point, assuming that is supported by class attack bonus or ability scores. Thus, that example first level character above can gain no more bonus points in battle axe until ability scores or attack bonus increase.

The benefits are that it gives fighters something to do during downtime actions, somewhat restrains bonus progression, makes special weapons more valuable without needing to resort to magic weapons as treasure all the time, and allows fighters to ease in to using crazy weapons like the Berserk dragon slayer sword or the asylum demon’s great hammer which might make their use feel a bit more special (and also more fictionally justified). It would also allow weapons to be numerically defined on dimensions of finesse and brutality. For example, a big club might be +1/+4 in potential, making it a good choice for a character with low skill but high strength (assuming such is possible in the base system).

This would would particularly well with a system that has regular stat increases, such as this adventurer class or Green Ronin’s Dragon Age, but should also be functional with a regular attack bonus.

Pits & Perils divergences

5 Replies

Because I am tentatively planning to run a Google Plus hangout game of Pits & Perils this friday, I was reviewing the rules. While doing this, it occurred to me that it might be useful to summarize the aspects that differ from “how things are usually done.”

As a player familiar with traditional fantasy roleplaying games but new to Pits & Perils, I think these are the most obvious differences.

PCs have 1 or 2 abilities. As in, you “have strength” (no numbers).
Abilities constrain what you can do.
To attack, roll 2d6. 9-11 = 1 damage. 12 = 2 damage.
Fighters get +1 to attack. Magic weapons grant bonuses here also.
Saving throws succeed on 7+ rolling 2d6.
Using an ability (for example, dexterity) works like a saving throw.
Encumbrance is armor & shield + 10 more items (hard limit).
HP is static (for example, a 3rd level fighter has 14 HP).
Armor works by adding a small amount of HP.
Casting a spell costs one spell point (no preparation).

Image from Pits & Perils title page

There are a number of other specific rules, but if you already know, for example, B/X D&D, I think this will get you most of the way there.

Also, here’s a list of the core spells with numbers, in case you want to determine starting spells randomly (break out that d24). Or click here for a popup.

Bolt
Call
Calm
Cure
Fade
Fear
Find
Foil
Gaze
Glow
Heal
Hide
Know
Link
Load
Mend
Mute
Null
Pass
Rise
Ruin
Send
Stun
Ward

Dispell as counter-spell

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To counter a spell, expend one prepared spell and follow the formula presented for dispell magic:

Dispell Magic: Unless countered, this spell will be effective in dispelling enchantments of most kinds (referee’s option), except those on magical items and the like. This is modified by the following formula. The success of a Dispell Magic spell is a ratio of the dispeller over the original spell caster, so if a 5th level Magic-User attempts to dispell the spell of a 10th level Magic-User there is a 50% chance of success. Duration: 1 turn. Range: 12″.

Source: Men & Magic, page 25.

That is, any prepared spell can be “converted” into an antagonistic dispell magic. One could without issue probably extend that to full dispell magic functionality (thereby doing away with the need to find, learn, or prepare dispell magic as a distinct spell), given that removing enchantments is a relatively core aspect of wizarding, though I could understand wanting to keep the full dispell magic a separate thing.

Note that OD&D does this differently than AD&D, which works like the BRP resistance table (50% success modified by level differential). To make the difference clear, in OD&D a 9th level magic-user has a 90% chance of successfully dispelling an 10th level magic-user’s enchantment (9/10), while in AD&D the chance would be only 45% (50% -5% for having one less level).

Alternatively, compare spell levels rather than class levels using the OD&D formula. So, expending a second level spell in an attempt to counter a third level spell would have a 2/3 (66%) chance of success. This method might be preferred if you see the countering process as an opposition of specific spell energies rather than a contest between the overall skill of the two magic-users.

The burn spells paradigm is becoming increasingly attractive to me. There is some danger of complexity creep, so the possibilities should be limited to a small number of effects. That said, having several default options frees up magic-users to prepare more obscure or interesting spells, which otherwise might not get as much use, much as 3E clerics were able to convert any spells into cures. Further, requiring the expenditure of prepared spells to power such effects retains some degree of resource constraint, unlike make other unlimited or at-will approaches, and doesn’t require tracking any additional information, since spell slots are already managed.

The options so far that I have thought about are maleficence, magical defense, and now dispell magic. I could see adding read magic to that list perhaps, though I am also experimenting with replacing read magic with a “skill” type d6 roll that comes at the cost of an exploration turn.

(This idea came to me when I repurposed dispell magic for banishing summoned creatures.)

Slumbering Ursine Dunes

1 Reply

SUD cover from RPGNow

Chris K. of Hill Cantons is one of the procedural innovators of the OSR blog scene, and his innovations are all the more valuable for arising from solutions to problems experienced in actual play. For examples, see posts on point crawls, ruin crawls, and the chaos index. So, I was excited to see how Chris would realize these ideas in a more formal product, such as Slumbering Ursine Dunes (original kickstarter, current RPGNow PDF).

For a quick overview, the atmosphere of SUD is one part Slavic mythology, one part Moorcock. The major points of the content are a small scale, keyed wilderness, two medium sized “dungeon” adventure sites, a collection of monsters, faction details, and a modular subsystem (the chaos index) which could be used generally. The dunes and adventure sites are both flavorful and easily integrated, I suspect, into most exploration-focused hex crawl type campaigns, though see the note on Slavic cultural specificity below. The tone is light, and though it violates my general preference for setting as straight man (players generally add enough humor on their own), the numerous jokes and site gags here work. For example, the sloth variation on another classic monster, the Terminax, etc.

The basic structure of SUD is a master class in faction design, and for me this was both a complete surprise and its strongest component. Adding any factions at all to an adventure site increases the richness of potential interaction, but the distinct character of each faction here seems like it would drive dramatic conflict particularly well. There is one faction of each major alignment quadrant (lawful good, chaotic good, lawful evil, chaotic evil). Thus, one faction is just interested in carnage and watching the world burn, but all could be useful by enterprising and creative players. When I bother with alignment at all, I generally gravitate toward cosmic interpretations that equate chaos and magic, such as forwarded by Carcosa and LotFP generally, but this setup makes the nine point alignment system shine in a way that I have not seen done nearly as effectively before.

The Slavic cultural inspiration has both upsides and downsides. It makes the texture of the setting more distinctive, but it also makes the dunes slightly harder to drop into a campaigns without modification. The names in particular seem like they may need to be replaced, though that is no big labor. That said, I suspect this distinct cultural flavor will be a draw for anyone that has been saturated with the English-Germanic pastiche implied by many D&D settings and modules. The Moorcockian influences are, for me, uniformly wonderful. For example:

The Eld presence in the Dunes precedes even that of the Master, the extradimensional elves having wrestled the Glittering Tower from the Hyperboreans back when their necromancer king-led states began to crumble more than a 1,500 years ago and then lost it to Medved when he ascended to divinity in the area.

I also enjoyed the immanent divinity of the many minor gods. This is not just a point of taste, though it is that as well. Making deities immanent means that players can interact with them in play. It transforms a campaign element from either info dump or character build option to active encounter, so engaging all players, not just those that do their homework.

The area of the dunes is intended to be governed by mystical, dreamlike logic rather than staid ecological assumptions. In Chris’s home campaign, this is manifested as shift from rational, civilized areas to impressionistic, wild areas called the Weird. It is easy to say this, but standard causal assumptions can easily reassert themselves unless the Weird manifests in play, either through continuous referee engagement or some game system. The chaos index is such a game system. It consists of three a5 pages detailing a simple state machine and several random tables. The referee (secretly?) maintains a number representing the irrationality of a campaign area. (Pause a moment to absorb the irony of managing chaos with a numerical, predicable framework.) Depending on the chaos index level, the referee rolls on various tables which include outcomes like a tesseract opening, the arrival of Eld Bubbleships, and shadowy illusions. The chaos index by default rises 1d4-1 points each session (thus, the expected rise is small but positive) and is also affected by player actions. The system is light enough that I do not think it would be a drag to use, and the tables could be repurposed for encounters or magical catastrophes even if you do not want to engage in the rather minimal bookkeeping.

The layout is unfortunately not as useful as it could be. Objects such as tables are often spread between two pages or even between two spreads. Examples. Pages 7, 8, and 9. Pages 41, 42, and 43. Zombastodon stats are on page 54 and description on page 55 (which are two different spreads). And so forth. Maps diagrams and key entries do not generally share a spread, requiring either page flipping or printing out maps (one more thing to shuffle). Descriptors are also often nestled within several paragraphs of prose, which means I either need to read and take notes, scramble to reread continuously during play, or miss details. Though this remains the standard mode of module writing, and is good at communicating atmosphere during a linear read-through, I find it difficult to use at the table. These are not huge flaws, but I highlight them to bring them to the attention of future creators. A table of contents (both textual and as PDF metadata) would also have been appreciated, to allow quick access to modular tools such as the chaos index.

The art in SUD proper (example) is also not exactly to my taste (the texture looks too much like Photoshop brush). It adequately illustrates many included situations, but does not excite me. I am looking forward to the art in the related and upcoming Misty Isles of the Eld supplement by Luka Rejec.

Despite the layout (objective) and art (subjective) critiques, this is a great little module with several new ideas and fun, interesting details. The content could easily be used in an existing hex crawl, many of the tools are modular, and it is particularly worth picking up to see the faction presentation and how those affiliations permeate all aspects of the scenario.

You can buy the PDF or print on demand perfect-bound paperback at RPGNow.

OD&D summoning

3 Replies

Mateo had the (brilliant) idea to use the retainer and morale system as the base for a summoner class. His approach adjusts the loyalty rolls based on summoner level, monster HD, and other factors. This allows higher level summoners to control more powerful creatures (on average).

Here is another take on the same basic idea, but using the retainer system literally. That is, summoned monsters just occupy retainer slots. Reaction, negotiation, and loyalty rolls are made exactly as if the monster was encountered in the wild. Base rules are 3 LBB OD&D, but I suspect a similar approach would work with other systems. See pages 12 and 13 in Men & Magic and also this old post I wrote about OD&D loyalty and morale.

Monsters defeated in combat may be subdued and brought into service following the rules in Men & Magic. Now, we could pretty much just end there and have a relatively comprehensive system. Magic-users would need to find minions during adventures and convince them to serve or employ charms. However, I like the idea of magic-users being able to gate in creatures directly, and the only even remotely similar spell in Men & Magic is conjure elemental. The monster summoning spells introduced later are not to my taste. So it seems like at least one new rule is required, in the form of a spell that any magic-user could employ if learned:

Summon Monster, level 1 magic-user spell

In a puff of smoke, a monster appears. Use the dungeon random encounter tables, determining first dungeon level* then monster with dice. Establish reaction normally, adjusting for incentives (2d6: 5- hostile, 9+ friendly). Only one monster is summoned. Do not use the number appearing value.

I like the minions that Mateo crafted, but also find the idea of just leveraging everything in the Monster Manuals compelling.

Beyond the new spell, the core of the summoner’s art lies in the skillful application of other standard spells.

Summoned creatures cannot cross a properly prepared circle of protection (requires salt and casting the spell protection from evil). Creatures may be summoned into or outside of such a circle, at the summoner’s discretion.

Other spells that a summoner may want to master: charm person, charm monster.

The dispel magic spell may be used to banish summoned creatures. The “original spell caster level” is the higher of summoner level and monster HD.

The polymorph others spell may be used in conjunction with flesh to stone (using special techniques, they may be cast together, though both must be prepared separately) to transmute minions into figurines, holding them in stasis until recalled using dispel magic (no check required, given that you are dispelling your own enchantment). Such figurines are significant items, and creatures that resist are permitted a single saving throw versus the combined polymorph/stone effect.

Thus, higher level magic-users become better summoners because they are more likely to have all the other spells and be able to set up the summon, ward, compel “combo” more easily and reliably than a lower level conjurer.

In OD&D, I allow magic-users of any level to create scrolls of any spell possessed, even if it is too high level to prepare normally, at the cost of 100 GP per spell level and one downtime action. This rule is based on the scroll creation system in Holmes. It essentially allows ritual casting of higher level spells given time and sufficient GP. Thus, with proper access to spell texts and resources, even a low level magic-user could perform a summoning, but it would be a long, expensive, arduous undertaking, and still entail significant risk.

* Roll 1d6 for dungeon level if using The Underworld & Wilderness Adventures (page 10). The AD&D Monster Manual II probably has the best dungeon encounter tables (page 133), though, so I might use that instead, in which case roll 1d10 for dungeon level. The MMII provides the chance of randomly getting, for example, a duke of hell.

An odd toolbox

Hazard System v0.2

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The Hazard System is the gameplay engine behind The Final Castle. Though it assumes games of fantasy adventure and exploration, it is modular and should be easily adaptable to many kinds of tabletop RPGs. I use some variation on this approach for pretty much every game I run now and I don’t think I could go back to any other method of pacing or timekeeping. It is the natural outgrowth and generalization of the overloaded encounter die.

Gameplay proceeds in turns at different fictional timescales with each turn accompanied by the chance of a hazard. What “hazard” means will vary based on the context. For example, a hazard during a haven turn, when characters are recovering between adventures, might be a natural disaster, while a hazard during a dungeon turn, a much shorter period of fictional time, might be an encounter with a wandering monster. The hazard system also serves as a general timekeeping and resource tracker.

The text below the divider is released under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license. Attribution:

Necropraxis Productions Hazard System v0.2 http://www.necropraxis.com/hazard-system/

A PDF is also available.

Currently, several references to undefined terminology from The Final Castle remain, such as Ability Tests. It should be relatively easy to interpret these in light of whatever system you are using, but the final Hazard System text will likely be entirely system agnostic. Additional turn types will also likely be included (Domain Turns and Generation Turns, particularly).

Hazard System v0.2

The game proceeds in turns of several different types. The turn types are haven, wilderness, dungeon, and combat. Each represent a progressively smaller amount of fictional time within the game world, though the exact durations are usually abstract. The passage of time within each turn is a resource to be spent wisely, as the hazard die is rolled for every turn that passes to represent potential danger.

The Hazard Die

The six-sided Hazard Die deploys threats, manages resources, keeps time, and tracks light. In short, it is the engine that drives gameplay forward and the heart of the Hazard System. Every significant action, whether in town recovering, traveling through the wilderness, or searching a dungeon corridor for traps, takes a turn. Every turn is accompanied by a roll of the Hazard Die. The exact interpretation of the die result varies by turn type, but the outcomes are conceptually similar. A haven hazard might be a shortage of supplies while a dungeon hazard might be a wandering monster.

Players other than the referee should roll the Hazard Die to make the time cost salient. After rolling the Hazard Die, hand it to another player so that everyone gets a chance. If playing in person, rotating clockwise around the table works well.

Beginning the game

Start a new campaign with the first Wilderness or Dungeon turn of an adventure. Players should choose a clue or quest from the Tavern to pursue. Roll HP following Recovery guidelines to determine initial HP.

Starting and ending sessions

Sessions should begin and end in a Haven if possible. This allows the the players and PCs to vary between sessions. After a session, players should tell the referee if they are going to follow a different clue or Quest during the next session so that the referee can do any preparation required beforehand.

Haven turns

To recover and replenish resources in a civilized refuge, take a Haven Turn. The exact fictional duration of a Haven Turn can be anything from a few days to several weeks. It is rarely necessary to interrogate the details.

Roll the Hazard Die and resolve any hazard
Pay upkeep: accommodation, retainer, property, and so forth
Recover (roll HP, applying accommodation modifiers)
Process retainer loyalty
Reckon XP gained and level up if appropriate
Buy or sell items, repair damaged gear, or recruit hirelings
Optionally, take one Haven Action (scribe scroll and so forth)
Prepare spells
Review rumors and news

Haven Hazard Die results

Complication (introduce at any point during the turn)
Clue about next complication
Abatement of one or more (by referee whim) haven conditions

Ignore results of 4 – 6. Starred complications persist as conditions.

Haven complications
d20	Complication	d20	Complication
1.	Assassination	11.	Insurrection *
2.	PC challenged	12.	Invasion *
3.	Curse *	13.	Jailbreak
4.	Earthquake	14.	Mobilization *
5.	Flood	15.	Monster attack
6.	Falling star	16.	Murderer on the loose *
7.	Famine *	17.	Pestilence *
8.	Fire	18.	PC slandered
9.	PC impersonated	19.	PC item stolen
10.	Inflation *	20.	Winter *

Wilderness turns

Wilderness turns alternate between day and night. Characters taking two non-camp wilderness actions in a row suffer 1 damage and gain a point of Exhaustion. Choose a wilderness action: travel, search, explore, hunt, track, or camp.

Travel

Move the party into an adjacent area or access a known landmark such as a haven or dungeon.

Search, Explore, Hunt, or Track

The party leader makes a Search Test to locate (and enter, if desired) a hidden feature. To Explore, Search without a stated goal. Success reveals a random hidden feature. Track is a Search to follow a quarry. Hunting yields 1d6 rations (adjust for terrain) per hunter. Night applies a -1 penalty to Search, Hunt, or Track.

Camp

Camping requires a bedroll and consuming 1 ration per character. One person may stand watch for each four party members without impairment. Ignore Hazard Die results above 3.

Wilderness Hazard Die results

Encounter (may differ between day and night)
Percept (regarding next encounter)
Locality (mechanical change in environment)
Percept (regarding hidden feature)
Resource exhaustion
Lost

Lost

Travel is no longer an option if a party is lost. Search must be used to locate a landmark before travel can be resumed.

Exhaustion

Each point of Exhaustion imposes a cumulative -1 penalty on all physical Ability Tests. This adds to Encumbrance penalties.

Dungeon turns

Some actions that require a Dungeon Turn include climbing, forcing a door, guarding the party, listening at a door, moving to a new area, searching the current area, and other tasks of similar scope. Each player may take a different action during a Dungeon Turn. Dungeon Turns can represent a fictional amount of time anywhere between a few minutes to an hour, though most commonly are about 10 minutes long.

In practice, the passage of Dungeon Turns can be more fluid than selecting actions by name, resolving any hazard, and iterating. However, always remain cognizant of lurking dangers and call for the Hazard Die whenever significant actions are taken.

Free dungeon actions

Minor actions often do not consume a full Dungeon Turn. Interacting with particular features such as looking under a rug, opening doors that are not stuck, and pulling levers are all free actions. Clever use of free dungeon actions can forestall the Hazard Die and thus decrease risk.

Dungeon Hazard Die results

Encounter
Percept (regarding next encounter)
Locality (mechanical change in environment)
Fatigue (take 1 damage unless the next turn is spent resting)
Resource exhaustion (spell duration, etc)
Light source exhaustion (any or all light sources go out)

Reasonable resolution

Fatigue and light source results may be ignored when they do not make fictional sense, such as during the first few turns of an exploration. Exhausted light sources rarely all go out at exactly the same time, but instead dwindle over the course of the turn, and may be relit given sufficient PC resources.

Released under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license

Attribution:

Necropraxis Productions Hazard System v0.2 http://www.necropraxis.com/hazard-system/

Wonder & Wickedness released

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Demon by Russ Nicholson

Get it here.

Sorcery rules, spells, magical catastrophes, enchanted treasures.

More from Paolo here, including another image sample.

It will only be available in this form until the end of december due to EU regulations. We can’t guarantee anything, but we are working on a solution to keep it available after that point. There may at the least be some period of interruption come 2015.

Vacant Ritual Assembly #1

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Vacant Ritual Assembly #1

Vacant Ritual Assembly (VRA from hereon) is a zine by Clint K. primarily about his LotFP campaign. This format seems ideal for sharing personal campaign material with a wider audience. Zines are more professional and put together than blog posts, but not ambitious enough usually to get mired in development hell. They seem to naturally lend themselves to non-comprehensive treatments, in contrast to a setting or megadungeon publication. I have been unsure for a long time about whether or how I might share my Vaults of Pahvelorn campaign materials, but I am so impressed by what Clint has put together here that this will likely be the way I release Pahvelorn.

Other than an interview with Chris M. about Into the Odd (which is also enjoyable reading), pretty much everything within is a useful game tool. My favorite part is the ghoul market, which, along with being atmospheric, also solves elegantly the treasure economy problem that all treasure-for-XP referees must confront in some manner. Almost any cemetery of significant size will contain a passage to the Ghoul Market. The mark of the White Ankh on a tomb or mausoleum indicates that the edifice serves as a gateway. The market is a form of mythical geography where PCs can buy a small number of randomly determined magic items between games or raise the dead by engaging the services of the skinsmith (which may result various grim alterations such as a character’s head being replaced with that of a bull). Oh, and “essence” (charisma points) are also accepted as currency. These six pages + the curiosity shop worksheet are top shelf supplement material.

As might be clear from the above description of the ghoul market, the setting implied by VRA is slightly more magical than the default LotFP expectation, shaded toward something like classic Diablo, which I like. Additionally, there is a half page of house rules, some external media recommendations, a minor firefly god (Luminari, Lady of the Golden Lamp), a flooded village adventure, and a mansion map (“Greycandle Manor”) with unfilled key. I gather this last item was an undead lair that was cleared out and claimed as a home base by the PCs in Clint’s game. Overall, the tone is creative and flavorful without being turned up to 11.

VRA is available in print or pay what you want PDF. The ghoul market alone is worth your time. Highly recommended.