Spiderweb in the Corner

The times they, are a changin'

noreply@blogger.com (adia134) — Sat, 14 Jun 2014 14:04:00 +0000

Over the last couple of session I could feel a change in some of my players attitude towards the megadungeon. They just weren't as excited about it as they had been. I made some adjustments to the game. I added more puzzles, reduced the random encounters, gave out some treasure with small plot hooks attached, that sort of thing.

That helped a little.

The players just weren't into it any more. But because they are all good guys, they played on. After our last session (my off week of GMing), I asked point blank if the dungeon was still fun. The response was a hearty "Meh." One player (Batista) stepped up and commented about there not being enough story. That in the past my games had been about story, and this game was just a slog through a dungeon.The other players present agreed. I still need to check with the guys who weren't there, but I have a feeling they will agree.

A bit of History.

The first campaign ran for this group was a series of loosely linked published adventures. Some were from old Dungeon magazines. Some were PDFs purchased from places like RPGNow. All of the adventures were converted from D&D to GURPS Dungeon Fantasy. It was a lot of fun. The players advanced from 125 point characters to about 300 point characters. The problem was in the style of play. From the GM side of things I felt like I was railroading the players through the adventures. I don't know if that is how the players felt. I should have asked. The group went through some big changes, players left, players joined. The combination of the roster changes and the perception of the railroad track I had laid down led me to close that game down.

Next I GMed a Shadowrun game, converted to GURPS, of course. As a reaction to the tight story lines of the previous game, I built a huge sandbox for the players to run around in. I had a couple of plot lines running, each with ways for the PCs to interact and affect. It started out pretty well. The first couple of runs came off with a few minor incidents that planted the seeds for things to come. But then the players started to flounder. I had built the sandbox too big. Way too big. The players were looking for something with more direction. Again we were experiencing some roster changes in the group and it seemed like a good time to switch things up again.

That brings us to Spiderweb in the Corner and the megadungeon under Castle Falconflight. Here I built a tiny sandbox. The PCs could do whatever they want as long as it involves going into the dungeon, killing monsters and getting treasure. It felt like a good solution to the problem I was having in the Shadowrun game. Limited area, limited NPCs, and a very straight forward game. I set things up for the players to power game their way down into the depths.

Not enough story. I was enjoying the slug fest, the minimal prep, the focus of the game, but it was/is lacking.

So, Its time to change again. I have a couple of options. I could expand the game world, send the PC out beyond the one town and one dungeon. Or I can change the game completely.

I am going with option 2. I am currently planning on starting a GURPS Reign of Steel campaign.

Thanks to this great article written by +Peter V. Dell'Orto, I will building a limited sandbox. There will be tons of adventure to be had in the sandbox, and if the players start moving towards the edge, I will endeavor to bring them back using plot hooks, and rewards. I still have a lot of decisions to make. How many points? Where in the game world? I need to create the NPCs the characters will interact with etc.

I plan to continue the blog, although its focus will change. I also intend to keep the megadugeon ready to roll, for one shots, or if we have a guest player that would be hard to work into the RoS game.

So, who among you has played or GMed a Reign of Steel game? What advice can you give me?

Thanks!

A Chilly reception, Undead spiders, and someone gets tossed off a roof.

noreply@blogger.com (adia134) — Thu, 08 May 2014 17:09:00 +0000

The Party
Batista, human thief, approximately 325 points
Aquinas, Dwarf cleric, approximately 325 points
William Von Cromberg, human knight, approximately 325 points
Acroa, Human scout, approximately 305 points
AElfvine, Human Wizard, approximately 315 points

Hirelings
No hirelings joined this foray to the dungeon.

After gathering a couple of rumors, stocking up on healing potions and other consumables the party prepared for another early morning departure for the dungeon. Just as they were about to go up to their rooms for the night a man entered the Inn. He was ragged and wounded. His left had was missing, his arm ending in a stump covered in bloody bandages. He had bruising on his neck, as if he had been strangled. He walked with a noticeable limp. An empty scabbard hung at his waist. The bandoleer over his shoulder was empty. His chain mail missing several links and caked with blood. He staggered over to the group and flung a rolled sheaf of papers at the group. Shouting as though he were deaf, "I'm Done. I will Never Go Back to that thrice cursed dungeon. Here take these maps" His voice dropped to a barely heard whisper he continued, " I left four friends down there, if you see them, tell them I'm sorry."
The maps were very basic, and seemed to be areas that were new to the characters. In all there were 3 maps. One labeled "B", one "C" and one "E". Both B and C were of man made dungeon, but E indicated natural caverns and an underground river.

Accompanied by the wagon crew, the group rolled out just before dawn. Traveling over the river and through the woods they eventually came to the clearing surrounding Castle Falcolnflight and the ruined village.
Stopping at the clearings edge, William, using a spyglass, spotted a couple of figures walking on the outer wall of the castle. Batista was selected to sneak ahead of the group and gather information. In the mean time the rest of the party stealthfully made their way to the rally point in the ruined village.

Batista waited until the figures were out a sight before sneaking his way to the base of the wall. Fearing more people may be inside the castle, he elected to climb the outer wall. Three stories straight up. The climb was difficult, requiring several rolls all with negative modifiers, but his extremely high skill came through. Once on the walkway he found a shadowy corner to hide in. Here he waited for the cloaked figures to return. His luck held as only one of them approached him. Silently stepping from the shadow Batista snapped his saber out at the mans neck, doing enough damage to decapitate him. Batista quickly tossed the body over the crenelations of the wall and returned to his hiding spot. The second figure came around to investigate. Batista once again slipped from the shadows, this time running his blade through the man's belly. Too wounded to react the man staggered a bit. Batista planted his foot in the mans back and kicked him off the roof. Batista climbed down the wall and rolled the bodies for loot, finding only a dagger and a couple of gold on each one. Batista rejoined the group at the rally point. Once there Batista was questioned by the group as to what the figures were. He really didn't have much information, other than that they were human and poorly armed.

Leaving the relative safety of the rally point the group crossed the clearing as quickly and quietly as they could. They entered the castle through one of the many holes in the wall. Once inside they made straight for the stairway leading down to the dungeon below. Once underground they opted for the easier but longer path to what was now being called level A. The plan was to get to level B in as direct a route as possible. Taking the long narrow passage near the Crypt with the Otoroshi guarding it they headed for the stairway where they had encounter the giant bombardier beetles.

At the edge of their torch light they spied some quick, furtive movement. Acroa scouted ahead of the party to see what he could find. As he approached he saw movement again. This time he was able to make out that whatever it was had pale skin, and was smaller than a man. Suspecting a trap, the group stacked up at the next corner in the hallway. Leaping around the corner in an attempt to surprise their quarry, Batista was suddenly bathed in a aura of debilitating cold and frost. The six Frostfell Harriers were considerably quicker than the party. Taking advantage of their speed, the Harriers dashed up the hallway to better engage the party in close combat. Batista was set upon by two of the creatures, each attacking him with icy claws. Batista was able to dodge both attacks easily. However, the Cold aura surrounding the Imps took its toll,doing 5 points of damage. The rest of the party was similarly able to fend off the claw attacks, but each was wounded by the sub-zero cold. Aquinas started casting Protection from Cold as quickly as he could on the most wounded members of the party, but the tight hallway made this difficult. William was his usual killing machine wading through the Harriers as quickly as he could get to them. Aelfvine was able to snare one with a Fascinate spell, allowing the other members of the party to dispatch it with ease. By the time the combat was over most of the party was severely wounded. Healing potions were used in great quantity, everyone received some first aid. While the spell casters rested, William lamented not having sought out Brother Murdock to join them.

The Delvers then made their way to Level B and using the newly acquired map, discovered that they had missed several rooms on the last trip down. The first of these rooms contained a long bench, big enough to hold six people, facing a large wooden X standing in the center of the room. Each arm of the X had a manacle attached to it. Behind the X was a small chair, bolted to the floor and facing away from the Planks. The far side of the room had a locked wooden door. Batista mad quick work of the lock and discovered torture chamber behind the door. In addition to the usual racks, iron maidens and other tools of the trade the group found a large drain in the floor covered with a heavy iron grate.

Peering down into the darkness Batista was able to make out some angular shapes, no details, but the shapes were definitely man made. Working together the party was able to lift the grate out of the opening. Securing a rope to one of the torture devices the group began to lower themselves down the drain. William waited until the entire group was down then jumped in, using a ring of feather fall to make his way down.

The room was large. The walls covered in murals of giant spiders, demons, dark elves and creatures that were half man-half spider. Several large graves dominated the center of the room. Each was six feet square and stood about four feet tall. Each of the stone graves was also covered in carvings of spiders, dark elves, and the half man-half spider creatures. Batista, wanting to see what was inside tried to shift one of the stone lids on the graves. As soon as he touched the stone it began to tremble and shake. Soon all of the lids were doing the same. Then with a loud crack the lids all broke into pieces and giant Undead spiders about 9 feet across clambered out.
The party panicked a bit. Batista, still wounded from the fight with the Frostfell Harriers made his way to the one doorway out of the room. Acroa loosed an arrow at the over sized eye of one of the spiders. William also made his way to the doorway Batista was intending to flee through. Aquinas fired of an armor spell on AElfvine. AElfvine began to concentrate on an illusion spell. The spiders attacked and most were able to defend with out much issue although they did have to give ground and would soon be backed up against the walls.
Batista after realizing that the rest of the group was going to stand and fight returned from the hallway, ran his full move and took a wild swing at the closest spider. Acroa loosed another eye shot, scoring good damage. William was able to advance and attack also.
The fight went on for a couple more rounds, neither side able to do much damage to the other. AElfvine's spell finally went off and trying to play to the natural tendencies of spiders created a phantasm of thousands of smaller spiders attacking the giant spiders. This was just the edge the group needed. It didnt cause a lot of damage but it was enough to put a couple of them over the edge. This made it much easier for the party to gang up on the remaining spiders.
Hidden among the grave good the party found a suit of plate armor, black as night. Aelfvine rolling well on his Hidden lore, magic items skill was able to recognize it as a being Armor of Darkness.

IT was getting late and we needed to end for the night.

Notes:

Two really close fights. THe Harriers were more difficult than I thought. They arent all that tough, but do hace a 1d cosmic aura attack. The spiders were easier for teh party to deal with. It was fun to see the looks on all of the players faces when I picked up 7 dice for a damage roll. by far the most I have used in this game.

Armor of Darkness: Known abilities: DR 8 all but torso, Torso DR 15. Deflect missile (only when an active defense is allowed), Dark vision. Being worn by "Good" people causes damage to the wearer.

The maps were given because I was tired of trying to keep the directions traight between myself anf the player doing the mapping. The maps are not labeled in any way and may not alwys be correct, but it should help save a lot of confusion

At the end of the session the players wanted to camp in the dungeon. I said no. My response was to paraphrase +Peter V. Dell'Orto from his blog Dungeon Fantastic;
First you start camping in the dungeon, then you hide things in the dungeon, then you have to guard the things you have hidden, then you have to live in the dungeon to protect your stuff all the time, then you become one of the monsters in the dungeon.

I was wrong to say no. I should have let them camp. I mean really, why not. If the party does follow the example above, the game changes. Either starting over with new PCs or with a different focus on the mico climate within the dungeon.

Gas Attack and a Giant Crab

noreply@blogger.com (adia134) — Thu, 08 May 2014 15:03:00 +0000

First session in a long time. The weather was nice, and we got a late start due to little league practice.

The Party
Batista, human thief, approximately 320 points
Aquinas, Dwarf cleric, approximately 320 points
William Von Cromberg, human knight, approximately 320 points
Acroa, Human scout, 300 points

Hirelings
Brother Murdoc, Human Cleric, unknown point total. Hired by William Von Cromberg to provide some healing power as Aquinas has no healing spells.
Daniel Red Apple, Halfling, unknown template, unknown points, glommed onto the party while they were in town.

The list looks a bit different, Ori's player moved to a different state. Drav's player switched out to play a scout, replacing Ori and eliminating the overlap between the two wizards. AElfvine's player was away on a business trip.

Other than making sure the still had use of the Inn's wagon, the party did little in town.

The Group, their hirelings and the wagon drivers all set out in the early morning hours to Castle Falconlflight. The journey was uneventful and the band stopped just short of the clearing around the Castle. While the rest of the group found a place to stash the wagon, Acroa scouted around the ruins of the town and the back of the Castle.

Making a bee line for the second level of the dungeon the group headed down the ladder hidden in the jail cell in the basement of the Castle. Making their way to the closest stair way down they entered what was once a priests robing room. The stairs were behind a closed door. Acroa took the lead and headed down the stairs. About halfway down he started to suffer from nausea and feeling weak. A foul stench began to waft up from the room below. Unable to see into the room, the party started rummaging through their packs looking for a disposable light source. Daniel, the halfling follower, reached into an interior pocket of a ridiculous overcoat and pulled out a glow vial, which he chucked down the stairs before anyone could stop him. The light revealed a dense mist of poison gases about waist deep populated by six giant bombardier beetles. William, armed with his sword and a continual light stone charged down the stairs, holding his breath as best he could. The light was more effective than the sword, causing the beetles to flee out of the room into their warrens.

The room was an art gallery, or rather it had been an art gallery. Several ornate frames hung on the wall, but the canvases had been crudely cut from the frames and were missing.

At this point mapping was all but abandoned and the players rushed from room to room. First they discovered a small room, all four walls covered with plain red tapestry. a bit of searching revealed a door on the far side of the room. The party spent some time trying to figure out the purpose of the curtains, but did not discern any thing out of the ordinary.
The next room was filled with low tables and cushions. The tables and most of the floor were covered in small (1 inch) loose tiles, each with different symbols on them. The party surmised that the tiles were used in a game similar to Mahjong.

Continuing on they found a closed door that felt warm to the touch. The hallway smelled especially musty. after checking the door for traps, and finding none, they opened it to reveal a room filled with steam. Inthe center was a small fire over which was a pan filled with rocks. Next to the fire was a bucket filled with water. Entering the sauna, they were attacked by a steam elemental. William engaged the elemental with sword and shield, to little effect. Due to the vaporous nature of the beast every attack against it only did 2 points of damage. The group hung in there, taking only minor wounds and eventually sent the creature packing back to its home realm. Searching the room reveal a silver bracelet inlaid with mother of pearl. The inlay depicted a sun being eclipsed by the moon.

Continuing with the pell mell run through the level they found themselves in a very long corridor with many twists and turns that eventually turned into another section of rooms.
Here, somewhat frustrated by the way in which the group was proceeding, William stood in the hallway and started banging on his shield and yelling at the top of his lungs. This had the desired effect, drawing out the closest dungeon dwelling monster, a giant Crab. The crab lunged at William with a pincer but he was able to deflect the blow off of his shield. William wound up for the return strike, taking an unusual called shot to the head. Rolling a three, William struck a critical blow. Rolling on the table he came up with the "treat it as a major wound result." turns out he didn't need it. The damage roll (3d+7) came up an 18+7 for 25 points. Maximum damage, killing the beast outright.

After this there was bit more exploring, including finding another art gallery, this one still intact, however the frames were trapped with a lightning spell that did a number on Batistia. After gathering up the artwork, the party headed for home.

Notes
William is coming into his own as the groups tank. In all my years of gaming I have never seen max damage rolled on a critical hit. It was pretty awesome.

Batista's player suffers some sort of curse. IF there is any form of electricity in an adventure, his character will be the one to find it. IT happens over and over. As the GM this amuses me to no end. I have never rigged it for him to be the one getting shocked, it just happens.....all the time.

Hiring Brother Murdock the healer was a help, they would have had to head home sooner had they not had him along. Daniel the halfling didn't really have any impact on the session, but I think as time goes on, he will.

A shelf full of 3 ring binders

noreply@blogger.com (adia134) — Thu, 10 Apr 2014 17:36:00 +0000

The book shelf in my home office is a modest one. A simple put it together yourself model from the local outlet of the worlds largest retailer. Five shelves, plain white, and rather boring. I did replace the cheap cardboard back with salvaged pallet wood to add character and strength, but the shelf is just the vessel, what is on the shelves is what matters.

The top f the unit is covered in mementos, including a green telephone from my grandmother's house, a Spider-man cake decoration from my 30th birthday, and a ceramic dragon painted by my son when he was younger.

The first shelf is filled with works of fiction, many authors, many genres.

The second and third shelves is home to my gaming books, mostly GURPS but a few others thrown in for good measure. The books are sorted by genre. Fantasy, Alternate earth, Space, Western, Supers and a few Genre defying. In each section there are two or three large three ring binders.

The Binders.

Each binder is home to a campaign I have run in the past. Character sheets, NPCs, maps, all of it. Ready to go in a moments notice. The binders are the equivalent of a Zombie Apocalypse "Go Bag".

If my group of players were to come to me and say they wanted to change games, I could, in just an hour or two, get them running. By the time the players finished building characters, I can review enough of the material to run a starting adventure.

I have a fully developed Supers world ready to go. It pulls a lot of stuff from Champions and Mutants and Masterminds, but I run it in GURPS. I have 3 distinct power levels set up for the game, depending on what the players what to do. I can run a street level game, a regional/national level game, and an international/world level game.

I have a Fantasy world ready to go as well. I have several plot lines, each in a different geographical location, ready to go. The word has large cities, wild regions, and lightly populated areas.

I have SCI-FI covered as well.
Cyberpunk, got it, in the form of a mash up between GURPS Cyberworld and Shadowrun, depending on if the players what magic or not.
I can run a GURPS Reign of Steel, or GURPS Monster Hunter
I can run a Space based game too. Traveller, Firefly, WH40k, all ready to go. OK the 40k needs some work, but not much. With a bit more time I could pull together a Star Wars game, but that is very undeveloped at this time.

Point is, save the stuff you have already run. You may need to shave the serial numbers of a few things if your players have seen it before, but you will have it.
If your players aren't as excited about a game as you are, you can change with little fuss. If you need a one shot because the regular GM is down with the flu, pull out an old supers encounter to fill in. Need a break from the current game? Pull out the binder from a different genre. Stuck for an idea? Go through the binders, maybe change a weird alien into a new fantasy race or monster. Maybe the Pirates from you old fantasy game can crew the Star ship attacking the PCs.

Truth is other than the mega dungeon I am running now, I haven't run a completely original game in years, maybe decades. But, then again, I could drop it into Cyberpunk as a sewer, or Space as a space station, or Supers as an underground lair for the evil mastermind. Good thing I am saving all my notes in a 3 ring binder.

Seven weeks is a long time

noreply@blogger.com (adia134) — Wed, 09 Apr 2014 21:56:00 +0000

So, I havent had a chance to run a game in seven weeks. Normally a break this long would have kicked my gaming ADD into over drive and I would have shown up at tomorrows session with an entire new campaign world ready to foist on my players.

Not this time.

I was able to resist the urge a couple of ways.
First, I didn't go looking for new ideas for the campaign I am currently running, I didn't need to. Running the self contained dungeon has allowed me to plan further out than I normally would have. The maps have all been completed for some time. The upper levels have been stocked, restocked and reviewed. The encounters have been buffed, or de-buffed as needed. The treasures are ready and waiting.

Second, I didn't read any gaming books. This is what usually kicks me into "New Game Planning Mode." Once I start reading about new settings, adventures or whatever, I cant help myself. Often times I will pick up a out of genre book, looking for crossover ideas. This will then percolate in my mind until the ideas become entire campaigns on their own.

So tomorrows session will not be a new game, in a new world, with new characters. Just good old fashioned dungeon crawling.

Boy, am I looking forward to it!

Lost Reich paper model

noreply@blogger.com (adia134) — Tue, 01 Apr 2014 20:16:00 +0000

So, the regular dungeon crawl game has been on hiatus for about 6 weeks now. It has been a weird combination of illness, spring break, vacations, work and on and on

In the mean time I have been working on some paper models to use in different games.

Below, is a 28mm scale version of Fat Dragon Games' Lost Reich Sherman Mk. 1 mecha. This model was originally designed to be 15mm scale, but I wanted to use it in a different setting. After a little work in GIMP to change the scale and clan up some details I didn't want in the larger model, and I was ready to print. The model went together pretty easily. It took me about an afternoon, while i was watching television, to fully assemble the model. This included cutting it by hand, scoring the folds, coloring the edges, assembly and basing.

Above, the 28 mm scale version pictured with an original 15mm scale Sherman and a GW Imperial Guard

Again the 28mm scale Sherman, an Imperial Guard soldier, and a soda can for scale.

the two versions, 15mm on the left and 28mm on the right.

Session 4: Skulls and Spiders

noreply@blogger.com (adia134) — Thu, 13 Feb 2014 16:37:00 +0000

The Party:
Batista, human thief, approximately 315 points
Orivileni, who is called Ori, Wood Elf scout, approximately 315 points
Aquinas, Dwarf cleric, approximately 315 points
William Von Cromberg, human knight, approximately 315 points
Drav Emberstrike, dwarf wizard, approximately 315 points
Aelwine, human wizard, approximately 305 points

Guest appearance:
Unnamed Dwarf fighter, approximately 300 points. A former player was in town for the night and used a sheet out of the back up characters file.

The players spent quite a bit of time figuring our how they wanted to spend earned CP. Once again most chose to raise stats, or save to raise stats. Time was also spent on deciding what to do with the suit of armor found last session. In the end they sold it to purchase quite a bit of equipment including a permanent Continual light stone, enchanting William's sword with Puissance +1, and a ton of healing potions. As this was the first real money they were able to spend, I didn't bother to roll for availability.

Gathering rumors was less successful for the group this session. I would report them, but I have misplaced the notebook where I recorded the rolls on the chart. (Doh!) I do recall that at least two were already known to be false.

Once again the wagon team from the White Wyvern Inn agreed to accompany the group to the castle in exchange for a portion of the loot.

As usual the group departed the White Wyvern Inn before dawn, over the river and though the woods to castle Falconflight. Scouting around the valley showed no new work in the rebuilding of the castle. After helping the wagon team hide themselves in the ruined town, the group headed into the Castle through the larger gap in the back wall of the Castle.

In the castle jail, the party heard the sounds of fighting from around a corner. Ori sneaked ahead to see what was happening. In the hallway a three foot long Acid spider had a man in plate armor pinned to the ground. The man was no longer fighting back. The sound was actually the spider trying to get past the armor to enjoy his evening meal. Ori loosed and arrow while signaling for the rest of the group to charge in. Aelwine cast an illusion causing the hallway to appear longer than it really was. The spider fell for the trick and came up short on its charge. After that it was quick work for the party to bring the spider down. They did recover enough venom from the spider to make several acid grenades.

Wasting no time the delvers headed down to the large passage, now known as Giant Cockroach path. Once in the dungeon, the delvers made a bee line for the terraced dining room. The group made their way to the bottom of the center isle ramp. Batista suspected that there should be a door here and began searching. He did not find a door but buried under the rubble at the end of the ramp he did find 3 copper tiles in the floor, each about an arms distance apart. A little poking and prodding later, the party realized the the three tiles were pressure plates. Everyone readied weapons while Batista, Aelwine, and William stepped on the tiles. With an extremely loud sound of rusty gears, a secret door opened vertically in the wall. Everyone rushed through into a long narrow hall way.

Advancing cautiously they came upon an unlocked door. While Batista checked the door for traps, Ori ran back to the Terraced dining room and stacked up a bunch of tiles in the still open doorway and returned to the party. His search complete, Batista opened the door. As he did, the same screeching metal sound filled the air. Thankfully ORi's tiles had stopped the door from closing completely, leaving just enough room to shimmy through should they need to.

Entering the room revealed eleven small alcoves, each with what at first appeared to be two burning candles in the recess. As the group moved closer the shadows shifted revealing the true nature of the lights. Eleven flaming skulls took flight and attacked the party. Immediately blades were flashing, hammers swinging and spells were flung. Drav let fly with an area effect fire spell that did little damage. Batista tried to flee the fight by exiting the room through a door on the side wall. Three of the skulls pursued him just as the door slammed shut behind him. It was another battle of patience as the size modifier and speed of the skulls made them hard to hit and the cosmic nature of their attack dealt a slow steady stream of damage to the players. Batista trapped alone with three of the skulls was a dodging machine. He was only hit once or twice before the rest of the group showed up to rescue him. After the fight was over, 11 bloodstone gems were found, one in each alcove. William gathered these up and the party moved on.

A bit of exploring revealed the party to be in a complex of rooms and hallways behind the large room with the crypt. While passing through the crypt room, careful to stay on the correct tiles, the party saw the corpse of the Otoroshi they had slain on the last trip in. By watching for a few seconds they were able to see a second Otorshi had taken residence on the roof of the crypt. Aelwine made several rude gestures at the guardian, but it ignored him.

Moving on, the party found themselves in a large lounge. several overstuffed chairs, lanterns, chandeliers, and other fine furniture were placed around the room. While the others set to searching and looting, Aquinas flopped down in one of the chairs, kicked his feet up on one of the coffee table and tipped his head back in hopes of catching a quick nap to recover lost fatigue. As he gazed at the ceiling it started to wriggle and writhe. Aquinas tried to jump up and alert the others but before he could a three foot spider had dropped from the ceiling and tried to bite him. Large spiders cascaded from the ceiling as the party tried to gather into a defensive formation. The fight went pretty well for the adventures. A few people were bitten, most had plenty of armor to protect them. Those that didn't took not only the 1d-1 from the bite, but 1d-1 fatigue damage as a follow up attack. The spiders were quick and dodged a lot of the attacks. As players figured out the spiders could not get through the characters armor, they started using all out attack, extra attack, to force the spiders to dodge more. The fight still drug on for quite a while. In the end all the spiders were dead, the party was able to heal, and gather quite a bit of loot.

The party made it out of the dungeon, and back to town with no difficulty.

Notes
The second spider fight was long, really long. The players seemed to get a bit disinterested. I take the blame for that, I was not giving very good descriptions of the action. By the end of the fight, they were just happy to have it over.

Not sure why more of the players are not taking advantage of Power-ups. I think it might be not wanting to take the time to read and understand them and just get playing. Not sure if this needs "fixed" or not.

Note taking continues to be a weak link on my part. I have to slow down and take better notes.

the Plate armor, the gems and the furnishings from the lounge added up to a pretty good haul. for the first time, having the wagon waiting for them has paid out.

Each player got 5 CP.

Session 3: Fish-men and a Guardian Spirit

noreply@blogger.com (adia134) — Mon, 27 Jan 2014 00:47:00 +0000

Bitter cold and howling winds did not keep us from playing.

The Party:
Batista, human thief, approximately 310 points
Orivileni, who is called Ori, Wood Elf scout, approximately 310 points
Aquinas, Dwarf cleric, approximately 310 points
William Von Cromberg, human knight, approximately 310 points
Drav Emberstrike, dwarf wizard, approximately 310 points
Aelwine, human wizard, approximately 300 points

The session started with the party in town doing research, gathering rumors, and trying to arrange for a wagon team to accompany them to Castle Falconflight.
Drav spent time at the Academy researching the guardian spirit discovered near the end of the last session. He learned that the Otoroshi would leave the group unmolested, if they had good intentions when they entered the tomb.
The rumor mill was in full swing. The PCs learned that: 1. A dragon lives in the dungeon. 2. A man recently came into town with four gargoyle heads and a large number of gems. 3. A beautiful woman lives in the dungeon. 4. Some of the trees near the castle are sentient and will attack. 5. The dungeon leads to a lost dwarven city.
After several failed attempts to hire a wagon team, the owner of the White Wyvern Inn took pity on the adventurers. Arrangements were made for the party to take one of the Inn's wagons in exchange for a small portion of any loot returned to town. The group also rigged up a large wooden crate with long wooden handles, a la the Ark of the Covenant, to transport treasure out of the dungeon.

Once again, the group set out in the predawn hours, over the river and through the woods to Castle Falconflight. They arrived at the edge of the clearing. Here the companions decided to head for the front gate instead of the side entrance they had been using. All was quiet as they neared the Castle gate. Batista made the gruesome discovery that the portcullis had crushed a man when it fell from its rails. Judging by the state of decay, the large number of insects feasting on the corpse and the foul smell, Aquinas came to the conclusion that the deceased had probably already had his last rites. Batista then searched the body, discovered a set of Delver's Webbing and 2 or 3 minor healing potions.

Some talk was made of sending Batista up the wall of the Castle to open the gate from the inside. This plan was quickly rejected by Batista. Instead they made their way around the castle to the larger section of broken wall. They had avoided this area previously because of the large number of footprints in and around the gap in the wall.

Batista was first in. The room, part of one of the cornet turrets, was well used as evidenced by many muddy foot prints tracked in and out of the room. On one wall a mustard colored cloak hung on a peg. Batista investigated, disturbing a large colony of yellow mold in the process. Everyone made their resistance rolls, and a pearl was found sewn into the hem of the cloak.

After getting their bearings the adventurers made some assumptions regarding the layout of the castle.Taking the first staircase they came across, they made their way to the roof.

Looking down into the courtyard Ori spied movement in the waist high grass. Sadly he was unable to spot anything more. In an effort to lure out whatever was in the grass, Aelwine created an illusion of a weak, yet oddly chubby squirrel and set it limping through the grass. Nothing attacked the squirrel so after a minute the spell was dropped. Still concerned, the idea was struck upon to have Drav set the grass ablaze with a fire ball and then control the fire to force the creature to reveal itself. Soon a grass fire raced across the courtyard. Several chickens flapped out of the grass then into one of the arrow slots on the ground floor of the castle wall.

A quick exploration of the roof revealed four balistas, one on each corner turret, in various stages of assembly. Rather than remove the balistas, and put them in the wagon, the party destroyed the disassembled ones and sabotaged the two still in working order.

The sabotage completed, they headed for the dungeon below the castle. Taking a spiral staircase the group clomped and clanged their way down. Rounding the last turn in the staircase, Batista narrowly avoided a spear thrust from around a corner. A school of five Kuo-toa waited in ambush for the party. Batista leaped across the hall, back flipped off the far wall, then came down with a slash of his sword, but his opponent dodged. Aelwine was the next one off the stairs, he immediately set to casting an illusion. Ori cleared the stairs but was unable to attack. The rest of the group stacked up behind Aquinas. Sadly this position made them unable to navigating the few stairs to join the fight. Each of the fish-men made an attack, but either missed, or the target defended. Batista flipped and twisted his way through the fish-men to get behind them. Aelwine's spell activated which created thousands of illusory cockroaches flowing from his hands towards the fish-men. This was very unsettling for the Kuo-Toa. All failed the resistance roll so believed the illusion to be real. As did William who had pushed past the dwarves on the spiral stairs. The Kuo-Toa made another set of ineffectual attacks. Batista took a swing at one of the fish-men sadly it was not injured. Aelwine set the mass of cockroaches to attack the Kuo-Toa. This action sent the Kuo-Toa retreating towards the open well behind Batista. A trio of fish men attempted to shoulder block Batista to knock him into the water. However, Batista was a nimble one so stayed on dry ground. The fish-men all made good their escape, but left 4 spears behind.

A bit of investigation allowed the group to complete the map of the dungeon. Once that was completed the group entered a trap door in the false jail cell to the library below. Once everyone descended the ladder they made a bee line for the room which contained the mausoleum. The room was quite large, measuring 30 by 21 feet. In the center stood a small mausoleum. The floor was covered in a random array of red and black tiles. An exception being a path of black tiles which lead from one of the doors on a far wall to the small building. The group dropped from a small balcony to the floor below, much as they had before. Aquinas and William elected to stay on the balcony.
Ori, Batista, Aelwine and Drav all had to make 3 jumps to remain on the black tiles to make their way to the pathway. Drav jumped with all of his dwarven might but failed to clear the distance. He fell into a 10 foot pit, taking minor damage. The others helped Drav out of the pit then headed for the crypt. As they approached a sparkle of light revealed the spirit guardian on the roof once again. Batista, failed to see the creature thus headed for the door of the crypt. As soon as he touched it, the Orotoshi jumped off the roof, slashed his claws at Batista then landed. Batista failed to dodge so was knocked below 0 HP in one shot. Ori loosed an arrow at the eye of the creature, but missed. Drav set loose a fireball which was easily dodged. Here my memory begins to fade so my notes are incomplete. I know that somehow the Otoroshi fell off the trail and into one of the pit traps. Once he had fallen , Aelwine cast a Phantasm spell of a large stone block that fell from the ceiling which also trapped the Guardian. That gave Ori and Aelwine time to tend Batista's wounds and poured healing potions down his throat. Seeing how terribly hurt Batista was, William and Aquinas made their way to the floor of the room. Batista, Ori, Drav and Aelwine entered the tomb. William and Aquinas stood guard outside the open door. Aelwine was out of the fight because he was down to 1 FP. Batista was just barely above 0 HP. Aquinas had cast Armor on William upping his DR. As the Otoroshi leaped from the pit and onto the pathway, both Ori and Drav let loose with missiles from the open door way. One arrow to the eye and a fireball, both struck home! Each doing a fair amount of damage. From here the fight turned into a slug fest. William and Aquinas flanked the creature, while Ori and Drav took shots when they could. The creature fought well but the combined attacks were just too much. It managed to stay on its feet until it was all the way down to -5x HP

It didn't take long for the adventures to loot the grave. Hung on a rack near the head of the grave was a suit of scale armor. The armor definitely had some enchantments cast upon it so the group surmised it had been made by a master craftsman. Since Aelwine needed to rest, Drav used the time to cast analyse magic, which revealed the armor was enchanted with deflect +1. The grave itself held no treasure.

It was late, so the party made their way out of the dungeon. They arrived back to town with no problems.

Otoroshi (shrine protector)

ST	35	HP	35	Speed	6.25	Class	Divine Being
DX:	15	Will:	10	Move:	7	Source	GURPS 3rd ed Fantasy Bestiary p 49
IQ:	5	Per :	5	SM:	0
HT:	14	FP:	14	DR:	5
Dodge:	12	Parry:	12
Melee	Level	Damage
Claw	15	4d-1 cut
Tusk	15	4d-1 imp
Traits:	Sharp claws, tusks, does not eat, does not sleep, sense “inpiety” or lack of respect for the place it guards, healing (all HP healed after 24 hours)
Skill:	Brawling 15,
Notes:	Otoroshi will use stealth and pounce from the roof of the building it protects. Otoroshi will AOA if the opponent is unarmed. Otoroshi will fight to the death. If a Otoroshi is slain, a new one will replace it 24 hours later. There will never be more than one Otoroshi per building, but may be more than one if the location has more than one building.

Notes.
A pretty fun night of gaming. Both fights went well.
I'm not sure why the group trashed the balistas. They could have added up to a nice chunk of change.
An entire floor of the castle walls remains unexplored.
The party is having a hard time deciding if keeping the armor is better than selling it.
They made a profit, and earned 5 xp for the night.

Superstition and Dice

noreply@blogger.com (adia134) — Thu, 16 Jan 2014 16:33:00 +0000

Gamers are by nature a superstitious lot. Especially when it comes to dice. Many players have their favorite set of dice. Some have that one special d20 they roll only when it "really matters". They may have dice they only use during random character generation. Other players roll one color of dice for skill tests and a differing color for damage rolls. We have most likely all seen someone change dice after a series of bad rolls. While playing at my FLGS, I once saw a guy go purchase an entire new set of dice after a string of failed rolls. Most of us own more dice than we could ever really need in a game. Some players would rather give up a kidney then let someone borrow their beloved dice. Some groups have a big ol' bucket of communal dice that players dig through to find the one awesome d8 they once got a critical hit with.

My only dice superstition is that for each new game, I get new dice. Weather I am a player or the GM, every time the group starts a new campaign, changes rules systems, or tries a new setting, I buy a new set of dice.

This habit originally started as a way to discourage myself from changing characters too often. When playing in a long running game I would get an idea for a new character and want to play it. Our group rule at the time was; all new characters start at beginning level. I was always behind the power curve. To limit my character hopping, I instituted the personal rule; New character, New dice. At the time we were on a pretty tight budget. The money aspect was a real deterrent to changing characters too often. The mind game worked, and I learned the joys of playing a more long term character.

Then I started GMing on a regular basis, and my gamer ADD reared its head once again. I would get excited about a new system, or GURPS would release a shiny new source book, and I was off the the races. Often I would spring the new game on the players without warning and with too little prep. THis bad behavior caused many a game to crash and burn. So, I put the rule back in place. New game, New dice. While I can afford new dice more easily now, the effect has been the same. I take more time to plan and prepare for a new game. I give the players more warning when changing things up. In general it just slows the process down, preventing rash decision making.

There is an up side to this little quirk. Each set of dice is like a little souvenir. I can look at a set of dice and, in most cases, remember what game or character they were attached to.

Although we are a couple of weeks into the new game, I have just now gotten my new dice set. The delay was accidental. I ordered some dice at my FLGS, but due to back orders and then discovering that they were no longer in production, they never arrived. I purchased a set from my next FLGS, and now I feel as if I am finally, completely, really and truly ready for tonight's session.

Chessex Teal-White/black 16mm

my new dice (and my dollar store dice tray)

Session 2: Attack of the Gargoyles

noreply@blogger.com (adia134) — Sat, 11 Jan 2014 19:53:00 +0000

Session 2:

We had five players in attendance on a very cold and blustery Thursday evening.

Batista, human thief, approximately 300 points
Orivileni, who is called Ori, Wood Elf scout, approximately 300 points
Aquinas, Dwarf cleric, approximately 300 points
William Von Cromberg, human knight, approximately 300 points
Drav Emberstrike, dwarf wizard, approximately 300 points

The session opened with the party at the Inn of the White Wyvern. The group spent some time gathering rumors. William learned of some very dangerous metal skeletons in the dungeon. Aquinas thought this odd, as he figured all metal skeletons would, indeed, be dangerous. Batista discovered that some of the locals believe that the tunnels in the dungeon sometimes rearranged themselves.

William tried to purchase a continual light stone, but was not able to afford it. He settled for a stone with a single casting of the spell, which was considerably cheaper, but only lasted 7 days. The rest of the gang made no purchases as they had not made a profit on the last trip into the dungeon.

Again the group set out in the predawn hours. Traveling over the river and through the woods they made their way to the valley of Castle Falcolnflight. Upon entering the valley, the group discovered that the portcullis had fallen off of its tracks. The falling appeared to have crushed someone or something, but they chose not to investigate more closely. The guild also spied a large pile of cut stone blocks near the Castle gate. Ori was sent to scout ahead, but found nothing worth noting in the ruined village. The party then joined him in the burnt out house that served as their rally point. Someone suggested that in the future, equipment could be hidden in the house to save time taking it back and forth to town.

From the ruined house the party scampered across the clearing towards the hole in the Castle wall they had used before. Before they could make it across, a group of Gargoyles swooped down from the crenelations atop the walls of the fortress. The Gargoyles made one swooping attack, then landed. There were as many gargoyles as party members. The gargoyles foolishly split up to fight the guild one on one. The first round of combat was pretty even. Batista used acrobatic dodges to keep from being hit. Aquinas blocked with his shield, and William parried with little effort. The gargoyles were very efficient dodgers in that first round, although Drav was able to tag one with a two dice fireball and Ori hit one with a well placed arrow.
After that it went down hill for the gargoyles. The stone beasts were able to wound both Ori and Drav, but William was able to kill one gargoyle and several others were wounded. The gargoyles then fled, flying back up to the top of the wall. When the others asked the cleric to help heal them up, Aquinas replied " There are some clerics who can heal people, I am not one of those types of clerics."

Once inside the relative safety of the wall hallway, the delvers discussed options. One option was to explore more of the castle. Another option was to head straight down into the lower level of the dungeon. Last session the explorers had discovered a passage in the jail cell.last session. The majority wanted to go down, so down they went. Down the spiral staircase, through the jail cell entering the first real level of the dungeon

The passage went directly to another trap door. This door opened into a library where a bookcase made up the final few rungs of the ladder. William tied a rope to the last of the iron rungs in the passage, to help with climbing out. They also chose to leave the trap door within the ceiling open. When a quick assessment revealed no traps they exited through the only door out of the library. The library lead into a scriptorium, which contained several tall desks and stools, some decayed parchment and dried ink jars. Another search exposed a door hidden behind a bookcase. Batista loudly announced that since the door was hidden, clearly there must be more treasure to be found behind it. Following his logic, the explorers headed into a long narrow passage. Soon they came upon a side passage, this one of natural stone rather than carved blocks. Without even so much as a "hey which way?" William led the party down the side passage. The natural cave twisted and turned, but always sloped upwards. At a sharp switchback the party stumbled on four giant cockroaches each at least 4 foot in length. Ori, let loose the arrow he had ready, striking one through the eye. William brandished his continual light stone at the insects. Startled the cockroaches fled up the passage. The adventurers followed right behind without attacking, herding the insects in front of them. Soon the bugs were able to find some smaller passages that would have been a tight fit for the group to follow. The group decided to allow the bugs to go. Moving forward the explorers unearthed a passageway. It ended up being just to the east of the prison complex, down a hallway they had ignored before.

A bit discouraged, they returned to the scriptorium to exit via the only door available to them. They advanced down another hall way into what appeared to be a receptionist area. A large desk dominated the center while two rusty braziers sat in opposite corners of the room. One wall was painted with a mural, a sun being eclipsed by the moon.

Further exploring led them to a ransacked barracks. On the wall hung a large tapestry which featured the eclipse design. The looters pulled the tapestry down, rolled it up for William to toss over his shoulder. The group also located a small waiting room. The waiting room had two hallways that seemed to match up with the reception area. Batista was encouraged by William to pick one and make sure that it did indeed link up. A few steps into the hall, Batista stepped into something squishy. Shining his torch on it he discovered it to be a Reek. Batista made the roll to resist the daze effect of the reek then easily freed his foot before taking any damage.

The hall did indeed lead back to the reception area. At the urging of the player doing the mapping Batista headed down the second hall expected to link up with the waiting room. About half way through the passage a large gonging started to reverberate over and over again. Drav checked for magic and found the hallway to be enchanted. The group concluded it was an alarm spell so they ignored it until the cacophony stopped a minute later.

Beyond the waiting room the party found a one room apartment. From out of the darkness a pale semi solid figure appeared, pointed at the group then shouted "GET OUT" in a low gravely voice. Rather than leave, the party attacked. Ori sent an arrow towards the eye of the creature. The arrow struck home, paused for a split second, then continued through the target without injuring him. Batista took off at a run for what appeared at first to be a charge at the creature. He veered off at the last second, headed for a door on the opposite side of the room. Drav conjured a 2d fireball, unfortunately the attack did no damage. William yelled for Aquinas (the cleric) to turn the Wight. Aquinas instead blocked the Wight's attack on his shield then began concentrating on a spell. William took a swing at the Wight, but it too was ineffectual. Aquinas completed his Affect Spirit spell on William's sword. The Wight simply touched William on the shoulder which paralyzed him. At this point, the delvers decided that discretion was the better part of valor so made a hasty exit out of the room following Batista. The Wight did not follow. William asked Aquinas why he didn't try to turn the Wight. Aquinas replied, "There are some clerics who can turn undead, I am not one of those types of clerics." William, upset and confused as to what the cleric was good for asked "What did you do for the Church?!!!" to which Aquinas replied " I passed the collection plate."

The next room proved to be a large kitchen and dining room. On the shelves were many dishes and pieces of cook wear. A quick tabulation estimated the value of the dishes to be $300.00. Not wanting to be weighed down, the delvers left most of the find behind. Aquinas and Ori convinced William to take at least one cauldron with them.

Just off the kitchen in a hallway, a secret door was found. Failing to disarm the Frost rune trap, Batista just barely dodged out of the geyser of frost which sprayed from the floor. Behind the door a stone staircase led down into the darkness. The party closed the door. Instead they focused on exploring more of the current level.

Through several twists and turns, with a bit of backtracking the adventurers found themselves back in the scriptorium. From here they returned to the hallway behind the bookcase. They passed the cave leading up to the castle.

The next room was rather strange. A steep, red tiled ramp slopped down the long narrow room. On either side of the ramp were several terraces. Each terrace contained a dining table and chairs. One of the terraces had a door behind the head of its table. Batista started down the ramp, but after only a couple of steps the tiles came loose. An avalanche of red tile and dust.thundered down the ramp. Batista made a desperate leap for one of the terraces, narrowly making it to safety.
The rest of the group avoided the now bare stone ramp, climbed down the levels to the terrace with the door.
Behind the door was a small balcony. The floor 15 feet below them, the ceiling 15 feet above. In the center of the very large room was a mausoleum made of dark stone. On one wall a staircase led to the floor from a closed door. The floor was a random jumble of large red and black squares. The exception being a path of black squares that led from a far door to the grave in the center. Batista and Ori lowered themselves from the balcony to one of the black squares on the floor, and after several close jumps made it to the pathway. Just as they were about to enter the small building, Aquinas saw a small shimmer of light, that revealed what looked like a combination of a small bear and a large cat sitting crouched on the roof. A successful check against his Hidden Lore skill led Aquinas to believe the creature was some sort of guardian spirit. After hearing this, Ori and Batista made their way back to the balcony, again avoiding any red squares. The party returned to town for a time of rest and healing. Aquinas felt more information on the guardian spirit was needed before going any further.

Notes

I may have been a bit strong in my encouragement to head down to the deeper levels.

Not taking the dishes, meant the party once again did not make a profit. This is going to make it tough to replace torches, arrows, and healing potions.

Overall a good session. I really need to make sure to take better notes. I got caught up in the exploration and combats so forgot to write anything down. Since it has been a week between playing and writing this post, I may have forgotten some things.

Aquinas really didn't do much in the fight with the gargoyles and I couldn't figure out why. His player is new to GURPS and was reading the character sheet wrong. He thought he only had 5 fatigue points. Once we figured that he really had 16 FP, he was quite a bit more active.

I updated the rumor chart, restocked the areas that have been explored, and in a effort to prevent the PCs from starving to death, upped the amount of treasure a fraction.

Did you hear that?

noreply@blogger.com (adia134) — Sun, 29 Dec 2013 21:57:00 +0000

It's quiet, too quiet. With all of the extra time I had to prep and the limited scope of the campaign, the aftermath of the first play session has been very easy.

Normally I would be scrambling to figure out how the NPCs would react to the actions of the PCs. Instead, I am spending prep time focusing on small details, more creative traps, better way to describe settings and monsters. Books on my gaming shelf that haven't seen the light of day for a long time are getting pulled out and perused for ideas. IT has been quite liberating.

Procrastination is my enemy. Waiting until the PCs have gotten close to an area of the dungeon to write up descriptions and stock it will only lead to pain. Right now, I feel ahead of the game.However, in one session the players could take a direction I haven't planned and literally be in uncharted territory. Granted, I have been using quite a few randomly generated maps. I even have a couple extras lying around, but they are not stocked. I don't want to improvise a new level of the dungeon. Oh, there are tricks to slow down a party's progress: I am not afraid to employ them. I just need to stay focused not resting on my laurels.

I have 3 above ground levels completed, 3 underground levels completed and 3 underground levels started. That feels like a lot, but considering how much time is really spent in the dungeon, it will get used up pretty quickly. Restocking helps this quite a bit, no level is ever truly cleared out.

I just need to stay focused.

Oh hey, the other day I was in my local super giant shopping place while a song was playing in the background. You can find the video here. I am not Rick rolling you! When designing an NPC bad guy or dungeon level around the phrase "The King of Wishful Thinking" what would you build?

Session 1; Castle Falconflight

noreply@blogger.com (adia134) — Wed, 25 Dec 2013 01:33:00 +0000

Despite an impending ice storm we finally got to kick off the game. I spent the day before, which I had off from work, planning, finishing a few more rooms, and printing character sheets. My printer started acting up, but was I was able to trouble shoot it and finish up with just a couple of minutes to spare before I had to make the after school run to pick up the kids.

Here is the first play report. I will be following a format similar to the one that +Peter V. Dell'Orto uses over at Dungeon Fantastic. I just really like the way it is laid out.

Characters
Batista; Human thief, 300 points
Ori; Wood elf scout, 300 points
Unnamed; Dwarf Cleric 300 points
William; Human knight 300 points
Drav; Dwarf wizard 300 points

The group started out at their residence, The Inn of the White Wyvern. This large inn has been the base of operations for different adventuring groups for years and years. William spent some time chatting up the locals for information about the Castle and dungeon below it. He was able to find out that "the dungeon is picked clean, and a waste of time," and " fire is especially dangerous in the dungeon." this last tidbit sent Drav, the fire mage into a bit of a tizzy. William also spent some time in town, looking for other adventuring groups, observing what equipment they were taking with them, and the injuries they had suffered when they returned. This information was all rather generic, though they did see that parties returned with a myriad of wounds.

The group started out for the castle in the early predawn hours. They traveled over the river, and through the woods. The party found the valley of Castle Falconflight with little trouble. They were a bit surprised to discover a ruined village to the east of the castle. Ori scouted into the village while the rest of the party stayed hidden among the trees. Ori unable to find any signs of recent activity in the village motioned for the group to join him. After a close stealth roll or two, the group gathered in a broken down house. The house provided a bit of cover from the castle. The group declared the house to be its "out of the dungeon" rally point. If the group gets separated, go to the house and wait for the rest of the party to come and get you.

From their vantage point the group could see that the portcullis, while still standing, was off of its rails. Vines and other plants had overgrown the lattice work of the gate preventing anyone from seeing inside. They could also see that in many places the walls of the three story structure were broken. In some places repairs had been made, but none recently. Ori was sent to scout the parameter of the Castle walls. As he made his way from cover to cover, he discovered a tree that seemed to be dead, while all the others around it were in good health. Investigating further he found the area around the tree to be quite cold. Just as he was about to return to the group to share this information he was hit by a blast of frost. A Frost snake had made its lair in the roots of the tree, for 5 damage. Ori turned and loosed the arrow he had knocked before setting out, hitting the six foot snake in the eye, killing it instantly.

He returned to the party and explained what happened. Drav wanted to take time to field dress the snake so he could harvest its organs for sale back in town but, the group disagreed. Drav eventually draped the carcass over a tree branch, out of the reach of any scavengers, to be picked up on the way home.

Ori once again set out to complete his circuit around the castle. On the corner turret furthest from the village he found a section of the wall that was completely broken obviously used as an entrance by many. There a large numbers of tracks were found going into and out of the castle.

While Ori was gone, the others discovered a small opening in the wall, hidden in the shadow. It would be a squeeze, but they should all fit though. Ori returned and told them of the entry way, the group decided that the less used gap in the wall was a safer way to go.

Using stealth the group made their way to the gap in the wall. All made the DX check to slither through. Once inside William lit up a torch. Ori finally remembered to first-aid himself, taking care of most of the damage he suffered in the snake attack.

In a long narrow hallway, arrow slits on either side, the group must make its first real decision, left or right? After investigating the arrow slits on the inside wall, discovering a courtyard with a keep in the middle, the group heads back towards the front gates of the Castle. The first door they discover is checked for traps, but finding none, Batista sets to picking the lock. Easily making his roll, he opens the door and finds a closet full of fine chairs, all rotted and moldy. Batista was quite discourage that the closet did not hold all the wealth of the castle. Continuing on to the south west corner turret,a skeleton is seen lying on the floor, in front of a door. While Batista set to disarming a poison trap, The unnamed Cleric checked to see if the body had been given proper burial rites. It had not so he performed the rites claiming a set of lock picks (found on the body) as his proper payment for the service of last rights. A loud drumming could be heard, but the group was unable to triangulate from where the sound was coming.
The room behind the trapped door proved to be empty, except for footprints and scat of a few small woodland creatures.

The corridor turned to the West, so the group followed it. Behind a door they discovered a set of spiral stairs leading both up and down. A discussion of whether to try to clear the level, or head down the stairs resulted in Drav being out voted so the group headed down the stairs. Half way down, William lit a second torch to placed it in a wall sconce. At this point, the group started marking the walls with chalk making it easier to track where they had been and the line of retreat.

Further exploration of the lower level brought them to a set of barracks. Across the hallway the group found a passage blocked by a locked iron gate. Batista's tries to pick the lock were unsuccessful. A bit further down the hallway Batista finds a large key ring in the Jailer's quarters. He attempted palming it so that no one else could see it. He fooled every one except the Cleric. Batista announced that he will give the lock on the iron gate a second try. Using slight of hand he opened the lock with the key. With a great flourish and loud announcement of his success, Batista lead them down the corridor into a jail. The cells are all locked, and empty. Batista makes quick work of the locks. In one cell they found that the door also had a key hole on the inside of the door. Thorough searching discovered the cell has trap doors in both the ceiling and floor.

Due to some good mapping by William's player, they realized that the jail was directly under the keep. Opening the ceiling trap door, they discovered a ladder of iron rungs set into the wall of narrow vertical passage. Seeing it as an opportunity to avoid crossing the open courtyard to get to they keep, they started up the ladder. Batista went first, followed by the dwarves, who needed a boost to reach the first rungs of the ladder, then William, and Ori bringing up the rear.

At the top of the ladder, after opening another trap door, they discovered a chamber pot. Batista spent a long time examining the chamberpot, but in the end decided it was just a regular, old pot. The room the chamberpot was housed in was quite small, really only room for two people. Exiting the room they found themselves in a a bed room. All of the furniture was smashed. Moving on, they explored a large sitting room with a spiral staircase leading down. From two small balconies they discovered they were on the highest level of the keep. A second bedroom was also located. Ori watched the outer walls of the castle while the others searched. Spying movement on top of the Southwest turret, he went to tell the others, but when they returned, whatever it was, was gone. Hearing the drums again, they failed to locate them, again.

The party continued down the levels of the keep. The second level being servants quarters. The ground floor housed a great hall and a kitchen. A small bit of treasure in the form of spices was found in the larder just off the kitchen. Ori was peering out the back door of the keep, trying to locate the source of the drumming, when an ork stepped up to the ledge of the Northwest turret. It dropped its pants to urinate over the ledge. The ork spotted Ori (after a critical stealth failure). The party retreated back up the keep to the second floor and waited to see what the orks would do. They didn't have to wait long. The orks crossed the courtyard to head up the stairs. As soon as the first ork was in view Ori loosed an arrow into the eye of the charging ork, killing it instantly. The second ork grabbed the falling body and threw it at Batista, who was waiting near the stairs with his saber in hand. The throw was short. In the melee that followed the party made pretty quick work of the orks, most falling in two or three attacks. Only one ork manged to survive as it surrendered.

It was getting late so the party stripped the armor and weapons off the orks. Gathered the few little things they had found and headed back to town. They forced the remaining ork to carry the loot, then set it free before they arrived at the Inn.

Notes:
Overall, the night was a success. The adventure started out a bit slower than I would have liked, but that was entirely my fault. Castle Falconflight is a well known dungeon. It just made sense that a lot of the areas were already picked clean. The group established a good marching order, some rally points and discovered an entrance to the next level down. I awarded four experience points as the meager treasure was not enough to cover the party's expenses.

I have already restocked the rumor chart and explored areas of the castle. The next session is scheduled for just after the New Year.

Deja vu all over again

noreply@blogger.com (adia134) — Wed, 18 Dec 2013 15:43:00 +0000

Two weeks ago I posted final prep for the game was in full swing. It was my turn to GM. I would be sending a group of adventurers to the Ruins of Castle Falcolnflight in search of treasure, fame and more treasure. Circumstances changed and we played a different game that night.

Now, once again I am beset with the "first night of a new campaign" jitters. This time my worries are all from a different source. Two weeks ago it was the material of the game that was giving me butterflies. Thoughts of the party racing beyond the finished map, not having enough monsters, etc filled my head.

This time around I am more worried about the running of the game. Areas of concern include

Having a large group
having two new players
working from minimal notes
introducing new concepts to the players

Eight players is a lot. IT is a good problem to have. I would rather have too many players than not enough. The challenge for me will be to establish control. Not of the characters or players, but of the room. I will need to establish leadership. Some of this leadership is already in place through out implied social contract. The rule being, the GM is in charge. However, with a group this large I will need to have a bit tighter control than usual. I don't want the night to be a shouting match of the players trying to get my attention. I do want all of the players to be involved and active.

Two new players. Awesome! I don't know them, not as awesome. They are friends of friends, so I know they will be good guys. They have a long RPG history, that too is good. I don't need to spend time talking about the basics of table top gaming. I don't know if they have any GURPS experience or not. Not an insurmountable problem, but it does take a while to get used to a new rule system. I am looking forward to them joining the group. New blood will bring new ideas, and hopefully some new jokes to the table.

With the scope of the megadungeon, I have kept my notes on each room pretty bare bones. I have all the stats for the doors etc and a one or two sentence description of the room. The plan is to expand the description at the table, making notes if I add things to the room. I need to spend some time re-reading my collection of GMing articles about describing locations and evoking responses from players.

Player mapping, a more adversarial GM, and open rolling are three things that will be different from my last campaign. None of these is a groundbreaking advancement in the world of gaming, but there are concepts that are a bit different than the group is used to. I am sure they are up to the tasks at hand.

One of the Player Characters

noreply@blogger.com (adia134) — Sun, 15 Dec 2013 13:58:00 +0000

Most of my playing group is not all that familiar with GURPS. because of this, I offer to build characters for the players. A two edged sword for sure. My building the characters for them doesn't really help them get to know GURPS better, but It does save time at the table.

When I build a character for a player, I try to offer them three variations on a theme, based on information they have given me about what they want to play. Sometimes this is just a couple of weapon choices, or a different spell list. It might be different perks and power-ups. Or maybe it is an added lens. This helps give the player a bit of ownership of the character.

Here are the options for a player looking for a barbarian character. I chose to go with added lenses. This was done to help separate the character from the knights in the group.

Name:
Race: Human

Attributes [190]
ST 18 [63] (ST includes +1 from 'Extra ST')
DX 13 [60]
IQ 10
HT 13 [30]

HP 27 [17]
Will 10
Per 12 [10]
FP 13

Basic Lift 72
Damage 1d+2/3d

Basic Speed 7 [10]
Basic Move 8 (Basic Move includes +1 from 'Gigantism')

Ground Move 8
Water Move 1

Social Background
TL: 2 [0]
Languages: Common (Native) [0].

Advantages [105]
Barbarian Damage Resistance (2) (Tough Skin) [6]
Barbarian Damage Resistance (Crushing) (2) (Limited (Crushing only); Tough Skin) [2]
Combat Reflexes [15]
Extra ST (1) (Affects displayed ST score; Size) [9]
Hard to Kill (2) [4]
High Pain Threshold [10]
Lifting ST (1) [3]
Outdoorsman (4) [40]
Trading Character points for Money ($1000) [2]
Very Fit [15]

Perks [2]
Weapon Bond (Two-Handed Sword) [1]

Disadvantages [-40]
Bloodlust (12 or less) [-10]
Gigantism [0]
Low TL (-1) [-5]
Overconfidence (12 or less) [-5]
Phobia (Machines) (12 or less) [-5]
Sense of Duty (Adventuring companions) [-5]
Social Stigma (Minority Group) [-10]

Quirks [-5]
_Unused Quirk 1 [-1]
_Unused Quirk 2 [-1]
_Unused Quirk 3 [-1]
_Unused Quirk 4 [-1]
_Unused Quirk 5 [-1]

Packages [0]
Barbarian (Dungeon Fantasy) [0]
Barbarian Advantages (Dungeon Fantasy) [0]

Skills [48]
Animal Handling (Dogs) 10 [2]
Brawling 13 [1]
Camouflage 14 [1]
includes: +4 from 'Outdoorsman'
Climbing 12 [1]
Disguise/TL3 (Animals) 8 [2]
includes: -2 from 'Gigantism'
Fishing 16 [1]
includes: +4 from 'Outdoorsman'
Forced Entry 13 [1]
Hiking 12 [1]
Intimidation 10 [2]
Lifting 12 [1]
Mimicry (Animal Sounds) 12 [1]
includes: +4 from 'Outdoorsman'
Naturalist (Earth) 12 [1]
includes: +4 from 'Outdoorsman'
Navigation/TL3 (Land) 14 [2]
includes: +4 from 'Outdoorsman'
Observation 11 [1]
Running 12 [1]
Stealth 13 [2]
Survival (Woodlands) 15 [1]
includes: +4 from 'Outdoorsman'
Swimming 13 [1]
Throwing 14 [4]
Tracking 15 [1]
includes: +4 from 'Outdoorsman'
Two-Handed Sword 17 [16]
Weather Sense 10 [2]
Wrestling 13 [2]

Stats [190] Ads [105] Disads [-40] Quirks [-5] Skills [48] = Total [300]

Hand Weapons
1 Greatsword LC:4 $800 Wgt:7
Swing Dam:3d+3 cut Reach:1,2 Parry:13
Thrust Dam:1d+4 cr Reach:2 Parry:13

Armor & Possessions
1 Canteen $10 Wgt:3
1 Double Mail Hauberk $1040 Wgt:88
2 Iron Spike $2 Wgt:1
1 Mail Coif $55 Wgt:4
1 Torch $3 Wgt:1

A nice solid barbarian, nothing fancy, but still effective. I haven't done any background or chosen any quirks, leaving that for the player.

The Second option is actually a swashbuckler, with a barbarian lens.I did this for the weapon master and the speed. While working through the Swashbuckler template, I made sure to keep the barabarian aspect of the character in mind.

Name:

Race: Human

Attributes [160]

ST 13 [30]

DX 15 [100]

IQ 10

HT 13 [30]

HP 13

Will 10

Per 10

FP 13

Basic Lift 34

Damage 1d+1/2d+1

Basic Speed 7.5 (Basic Speed includes +0.5 from 'Extra Basic Speed')

Basic Move 8 (Basic Move includes +1 from 'Extra Basic Move')

Ground Move 8

Water Move 1

Social Background

TL: 3 [0]

Cultural Familiarities:

Languages: Common (Native) [0].

Advantages [143]

Acute Vision (1) [2]

Ambidexterity [5]

Barbarian Damage Resistance (Crushing) (1) (Limited (Crushing only); Tough Skin) [1]

Combat Reflexes [15]

Extra Attack (1) [25]

Extra Basic Move (1) (Affects Move) [5]

Extra Basic Speed (+0.5) (Affects Speed) [10]

Extra Enhanced Parry (Broadsword) (2) [10]

High Pain Threshold [10]

Luck [15]

Outdoorsman (1) [10]

Signature Gear (Matched Broadswords) ($2,500) [5]

Striking ST (2) [10]

Weapon Master (Broadsword) (one specific weapon) [20]

Perks [3]

Dual Ready (Broadsword/Broadsword) [1]

Off-Hand Weapon Training (Broadsword) [1]

Weapon Bond (Broadsword) [1]

Disadvantages [-50]

Code of Honor (Pirate's) [-5]

Greed (12 or less) [-15]

Impulsiveness (12 or less) [-10]

Overconfidence (12 or less) [-5]

Sense of Duty (Adventuring companions) [-5]

Vow (Never refuse a challenge of combat.) [-10]

Quirks [-5]

_Unused Quirk 1 [-1]

_Unused Quirk 2 [-1]

_Unused Quirk 3 [-1]

_Unused Quirk 4 [-1]

_Unused Quirk 5 [-1]

Packages [0]

Barbarian Advantages (Dungeon Fantasy) [0]

Swashbuckler (Dungeon Fantasy) [0]

Swashbuckler Advantages (Dungeon Fantasy) [0]

Swashbuckler-Barbarian (Dungeon Fantasy) [0]

Skills [49]

Acrobatics 15 [4]

Brawling 16 [2]

Broadsword 20 [20]

includes: Extra Enhanced Parry (Broadsword)

Carousing 13 [1]

Climbing 14 [1]

Fast-Draw (Knife) 16 [1]

includes: +1 from 'Combat Reflexes'

Fast-Draw (Sword) 16 [1]

includes: +1 from 'Combat Reflexes'

First Aid/TL3 (Human) 10 [1]

Fishing 11 [1]

includes: +1 from 'Outdoorsman'

Gambling 9 [1]

Gesture 10 [1]

Intimidation 9 [1]

Jumping 15 [1]

Naturalist (Earth) 9 [1]

includes: +1 from 'Outdoorsman'

Scrounging 10 [1]

Search 9 [1]

Stealth 14 [1]

Streetwise 10 [2]

Survival (Woodlands)10 [1]

includes: +1 from 'Outdoorsman'

Swimming 13 [1]

Throwing 15 [2]

Tracking 10 [1]

includes: +1 from 'Outdoorsman'

Wrestling 15 [2]

Stats [160] Ads [143] Disads [-50] Quirks [-5] Skills [49] = Total [300]

Hand Weapons

2 Thrusting Broadsword LC:4 $2400 Wgt:6

Swing Dam:2d+6 cut Reach:1 Parry:16

Thrust Dam:1d+5 imp Reach:1 Parry:16

Armor & Possessions

1 Heavy Leather Leggings $60 Wgt:4 Location:legs

1 Heavy Leather Sleeves $50 Wgt:2 Location:arms

1 Legionary Helmet $150 Wgt:6 Location:skull, face

1 Lorica Segmentata $680 Wgt:26 Location:torso

Again, background and quirks are left for the player. The image of a duel wielding barbarian is pretty iconic. The swashbuckler template added a lot of dimension to the character.

The final option for the player is a barbarian from the far east.

Name:

Race: Human

Attributes [162]

ST 17 [63]

DX 13 [60]

IQ 10

HT 13 [30]

HP 22 [9]

Will 10

Per 12 [10]

FP 13

Basic Lift 58

Damage 1d+2/3d-1

Basic Speed 6 [-10]

Basic Move 7 (Basic Move includes +1 from 'Gigantism')

Ground Move 7

Water Move 1

Social Background

TL: 3 [0]

Cultural Familiarities:

Languages: Common (Native) [0].

Advantages [130]

Chi Mastery Damage Resistance (1) (Chi; Tough Skin) [3]

Chi Talent (1) [15]

High Pain Threshold [10]

Luck [15]

Outdoorsman (4) [40]

Rapid Healing [5]

Recovery [10]

Signature Gear (Poleaxe) ($1,000)
Trading CHaracter points for money ($500) [1]

Trained By A Master [30]

Perks [3]

Sacrificial Parry (Polearm) [1]

Weapon Bond (Polearm) [1]

Disadvantages [-50]

Disciplines of Faith (Chi Rituals) [-10]

Easy to Read [-10]

Gigantism [0]

Phobia (Crowds) (12 or less) [-15]

Sense of Duty (Adventuring companions) [-5]

Social Stigma (Minority Group) [-10]

Quirks [-5]

_Unused Quirk 1 [-1]

_Unused Quirk 2 [-1]

_Unused Quirk 3 [-1]

_Unused Quirk 4 [-1]

_Unused Quirk 5 [-1]

Packages [0]

Barbarian (Dungeon Fantasy) [0]

Barbarian-Martial Artist (Dungeon Fantasy) [0]

Skills [60]

Animal Handling (Dogs)10 [2]

Blind Fighting 10 [1]

includes: +1 from 'Chi Talent'

Body Control 11 [1]

includes: +1 from 'Chi Talent'

Breaking Blow 9 [1]

includes: +1 from 'Chi Talent'

Camouflage 14 [1]

includes: +4 from 'Outdoorsman'

Climbing 12 [1]

Disguise/TL3 (Animals) 8 [2]

includes: -2 from 'Gigantism'

First Aid/TL3 (Human) 10 [1]

Fishing16 [1]

includes: +4 from 'Outdoorsman'

Forced Entry 13 [1]

Hiking 12 [1]

Intimidation 10 [2]

Judo 13 [4]

Karate 13 [4]

Kiai 12 [1]

includes: +1 from 'Chi Talent'

Mimicry (Animal Sounds) 12 [1]

includes: +4 from 'Outdoorsman'

Naturalist (Earth) 12 [1]

includes: +4 from 'Outdoorsman'

Navigation/TL3 (Land) 14 [2]

includes: +4 from 'Outdoorsman'

Observation 11 [1]

Parry Missile Weapons 12 [1]

includes: +1 from 'Chi Talent'

Polearm 17 [16]

Power Blow 9 [1]

includes: +1 from 'Chi Talent'

Pressure Points (Human) 9 [1]

includes: +1 from 'Chi Talent'

Running 12 [1]

Stealth 13 [2]

Survival (Swampland) 15 [1]

includes: +4 from 'Outdoorsman'

Swimming 13 [1]

Throwing 14 [4]

Tracking 15 [1]

includes: +4 from 'Outdoorsman'

Weather Sense 10 [2]

Stats [162] Ads [130] Disads [-50] Quirks [-5] Skills [60] = Total [300]

Hand Weapons

1 Poleaxe LC:4|4|4 $1087.5 Wgt:15

Swing/cut Dam:3d+5 cut Reach:2,3* Parry:12U

Swing/cr Dam:3d+5 cr Reach:2,3* Parry:12F

Hook Dam:1d+2 cut Reach:2,3* Parry:9U

Armor & Possessions

1 Cloth Armor Suit $300 Wgt:24

1 Light Scale Suit $1230 Wgt:108

This guy knows just enough about the power of chi to hurt himself. Given time he will be a force to be reckoned with.

I know which one I would want to play. Which one would you choose?

A lot more planning, and a little more scheming

noreply@blogger.com (adia134) — Fri, 13 Dec 2013 22:26:00 +0000

Well, the extra 2 weeks of prep time are about half gone. I have been pretty busy with real life stuff so I haven't done as much as I wanted. Time has been spent adding to the monster files, working on characters for the new players, stocking dungeon levels, and building some NPCs.

I added almost 50 monsters to the files in one marathon prep session. Most of these were pulled from old adventures that I had run before. Here are a couple of my favorites.

Golem, Rope

ST	15	HP	10	Speed	5	Class	Construct
DX:	12	Will:	10	Move:	4	Source
IQ:	2	Per :	10	SM:	-2
HT:	10	FP:	10	DR:	3
Dodge:		Parry:
Melee	Level	Damage
Grapple	ST	Margin of victory
Traits:	ST +10 (one attack, grapple), homogeneous, fragile(unnatural), unhealing,
Skill:	Wrestling 15
Notes:	Usually left as a trap, the rope golem will wait to be picked up by unsuspecting delvers

Rage Drake

ST	30	HP	30	Speed	6.75	Class	Animal, reptile
DX:	12	Will:	14	Move:	8	Source	Revenge of the Giants adv.
IQ:	4	Per :	14	SM:	2
HT:	15	FP:	15	DR:	5
Dodge:	11	Parry:
Melee	Level	Damage
claw	12	3d cut
Raking leap	12	3d cut, rof 4, all out attack,
Traits:	Claws, bad temper, super jump 1, 2 extra legs, no fine manipulators, horizontal, wild animal
Skill:	Brawling 12, jumping 12
Notes:	Can be domesticated, but should never be trusted

The addition of two new players brings the total to 8 possible players on any given night. That is a lot. It's going to be tough to make sure every one is heard, understood and has some spotlight time. However, with that many players they should be able to cover most situations. With some of the players attendance being spotty I think it will all work out.

The current roster looks like this;

Human Thief
Human Knight
Dwarf Cleric, specializing in one of Buff, Turning, or Healing
Human Fire wizard
Dwarf Knight
Scout, maybe an elf, maybe human, maybe something else, depending on what the players chooses.
Human Barbarian (this character is either a swashbuckler with the barbarian lens added, a Barbarian with a Martial artist lens added, or a straight up barbarian, depending on what the player chooses.)
Human wizard

I see this as 3 fighters(two knights 1 barbarian), 2 ranged ( the fire wizard and the scout, and 2 support (the cleric and the other wizard).

Four and a half levels of the dungeon are completely finished. Still have a ways to go before I feel super comfortable. I think my final goal is somewhere around 14 levels.

Tonight I may stat up a dragon, a very old dragon.

New Challenges

noreply@blogger.com (adia134) — Mon, 09 Dec 2013 15:16:00 +0000

Well, I did not get to kick off the game as planned. A series of things led to the group playing a different game last week. The group decided to start playing a earlier in the evening. An old player from out of town was back, and two new players are joining the group.

The group decided to move our start time up by an hour. Long run, this is a good decision. Unfortunately, I had an appointment I could not change with the short notice. This along with a renewed focus on getting stuck in, will lead to more quality "game" time.

It was awesome to see an old friend. It looks like he will be taking a job in another state. Whatever gaming group he ends up with will have a great player.

The new players are going to fit in well, I think. One GMed the game we ended up playing and did a good job. I really enjoyed my character. A paladin, not to bright but very devout, seeing the world in stak contrast of black and white.

I don't know if the game we played on Thursday will be one of the regulars that we play. Right now we run an every other week schedule between two games. The other GM said he wanted to finish up his adventure, the new game was fun and players are excited to get to my game, so we will see what happens. we might go to a three week rotation or a just drop one of the other games, saving it for oddball weeks when one of the regularly scheduled GMs cant make it.

So, moving forward, I find myself once again with an extra two weeks to prepare, but with a new dilemma. I will have 7 players. I am trying to figure out a good way to make sure everyone gets some spotlight time and protect everyone's niche. Advice is welcome.

Tomorrow is Game Day

noreply@blogger.com (adia134) — Wed, 04 Dec 2013 20:00:00 +0000

After about 6 weeks of planning, we will finally get to play Spiderweb in the Corner. This was longer than anticipated but the game will be better for it. In the extra 3 weeks I was able to reach several goals that I would not have if we had started when originally planned. I was able to complete a much larger Rumor Mill. I added quite a few monsters to the Monster Files. I was able to stock an additional level and a half in the dungeon.

Today is crunch time. I still have quite a bit to finish before the game can start.

I am building the characters for a several of the players. I have at least one done for each of them. I prefer that each player has three characters to choose from. Usually each of these is from the same template, but with some variations like different weapons or spell choices. For example the player wanting the cleric will have the choice of three spell lists. The player wanting a super strong dwarf fighter, is only getting one character, he was pretty specific about what he wanted. I still need to build 3 or 4 characters, but that should go pretty quickly using GCA.

Along those same lines I need to build a couple of hirelings for the PCs. None of the characters has any allies so this will also be a quick romp through GCA.

My printer will be working overtime. I need to print out all of the PCs character sheets, quite a bit of the room descriptions and stats, and a bunch of the monster cards.

I need to firm up how I want to take notes. I have never taken notes with the intent of using them to write a game report.

The list of things I would like to finish is a bit longer

I need to finish filling out the Random monster encounter chart. The chart is big, 108 entries. If its not done before the game starts it won't have a huge impact on the game, but I will be a bit disappointing.

Another level of the dungeon stocked would make me a lot more comfortable. It is doubtful the players will get further than is prepared, but more is better in this case.

More Monsters. There are never enough monsters.

A playlist of background music. I haven't done this in a long time, but in the past it has been a great addition to a campaign.

I use a homemade GM screen. I would like to find some suitable art to post on the outside.

Assemble some paper miniatures. I am a huge fan of paper miniatures. I would like to have a miniature for each of the PCs and all of the encounters. This is extreme low priority because the player's house we meet at is chock full of miniatures.

I want to brush up on some of the rules, mostly around combat, injury, and magic. I feel pretty confident about getting it right, and knowing where to look, but the review wont hurt and I would hate for a PC to get shorted because I missed something.

Thankfully I have today and tomorrow off from work, and other than 2 meetings, all day tomorrow is free. So with some diligence and perseverance, I should be able to finish all of the must be done items, and several of the want to finish items.

On a completely unrelated note, Steve Martin's album "The Crow" is pretty good, maybe better than "Rare Bird Alert"

Rolling Dice

noreply@blogger.com (adia134) — Sat, 30 Nov 2013 17:19:00 +0000

In past campaigns I have used a GM screen to hide all of my dice rolls. I fudged the dice. This was done for a lot of different reasons; keeping the party alive, saving a PCs life, ensuring NPCs live long enough to share information, enhancing plot, minimizing poor player choices. Those days have come to an end.

When Spiderweb in the Corner finally gets kicked off next Thursday, the majority of rolls will be made in the open. No more hiding behind the GM screen. No more fudging. This will help keep the old school, adversarial feel that I am going for.

Flipping through GURPS Dungeon Fantasy 2 Dungeons I found only a half a dozen places where rolls are suggested to be made in secret. I'm sure I missed some, but they will will be addressed when they come up.

Watches - Here the purpose of rolling in secret is so that the PCs don't know when an attack is coming. I think this roll can be made in the open with little or no difference. If the players start taking crazy actions because they know the result of the roll, then it may need to be made in secret. In my group, the opportunity to blame another PC for allowing the attack to happen on a failed watch roll, will just add to the fun.

Cartography - This one may need to stay in secret. One aspect of this game that I am looking forward to is the player's mapping. I have never gone this route before, always providing at least a stick map of the areas they have been through. With SitC, I am going to make the players map everything on their own.

Hidden doors - This roll can be made in the open. If a player declares that he is searching for hidden doors, he will be able to roll for himself. I will not tell the players any of the penalties or bonuses, and my standard response is and has been "You are relatively certain that there are no hidden doors in this room." this gives no indication of whether the gamer failed, or that there really are no hidden doors. If a player rolls a critical failure, I usually say "you are very certain there are no hidden doors in this room." or "You are convinced there is a hidden door somewhere in the room." and encourage the person to role play that fact to the rest of the group.

Traps - While DF2 assumes that the party is always looking for traps, I generally do not. If the players do not either add it to the SOP of the group, or state that they are specifically looking for traps, they will go unnoticed until sprung. If the players do state that they are looking, then the situation will be handled in the same way as a hidden door.

Danger sense - This one can be rolled in the open. Better to let the player know it was his own fault that he fell in the pit, with spikes, and fire ants. The problem here is that by having the player roll, he has some clue that there is danger about. This has to be handled in character. If the player starts making crazy changes in the way the character is acting, then I will have to start rolling this in secret.

Recognition - Used to identify monsters, etc. in a dungeon. I think this one also can be rolled in the open. With my group, knowing that they are being lied to about the monster won't change their actions. If it starts to make a difference, then I will take this roll back behind the GM screen.

I am looking forward to all of the open rolling. In the past, fudging dice rolls always felt like cheating. It feels more honest to roll in the open. As a bonus, I suspect will be feeling less guilt when I kill off characters. (Note I said when, not if)

Prep work update: more monsters are ready, and the random monster encounter chart is about half finished. The big push is to get more rooms done. I have been stocking them in an order I think the players will go, and all GMs know the PCs never do what you expect them to do.

Another Monster

noreply@blogger.com (adia134) — Fri, 29 Nov 2013 12:22:00 +0000

I present another monster conversion, The Reek. Taken from GURPS third edition Fantasy Bestiary these piles of slime are often found in caverns.

I converted several different versions but my favorite is the Mana Enhancer. It increases the local Mana level by 2 to Very high, which makes all spell casting failures a critical failure. And, it reduces IQ for spell casing by 10.

Reek, mundane

ST	-	HP	15	Speed	1	Class	slime
DX:	-	Will:	-	Move:	1	Source	Fantasy Bestiary p 58
IQ:	-	Per :	-	SM:	var
HT:	5	FP:	-	DR:	-
Dodge:	0	Parry:
Melee	Level	Damage
Contact	-	1 point per turn in contact, DR protects for turns = to DR
Binding	-	Once in contact roll vs ST to break free.
Traits:	Homogeneous, diffuse, fragile (unnatural), chameleon 2,
Skill:	-
Notes:	Some reeks can climb and will fall onto victims from above.

Reek, confusion

ST	-	HP	15	Speed	1	Class	slime
DX:	-	Will:	-	Move:	1	Source	Fantasy Bestiary p 58
IQ:	-	Per :	-	SM:	var
HT:	5	FP:	-	DR:	-
Dodge:	0	Parry:
Melee	Level	Damage
Contact	-	1 point per turn in contact, DR protects for turns = to DR
Binding	-	Once in contact roll vs ST to break free.
Confusion	HT-2	Affliction, Hallucinating
Traits:	Homogeneous, diffuse, fragile (unnatural), chameleon 2,
Skill:	-
Notes:	Some reeks can climb and will fall onto victims from above.

Reek, Decay

ST	-	HP	15	Speed	1	Class	slime
DX:	-	Will:	-	Move:	1	Source	Fantasy Bestiary p 58
IQ:	-	Per :	10 (detect)	SM:	var
HT:	5	FP:	15	DR:	-
Dodge:	0	Parry:
Melee	Level	Damage
Contact	-	1 point per turn in contact, DR protects for turns = to DR
Binding	-	Once in contact roll vs ST to break free.
Traits:	Homogeneous, diffuse, fragile (unnatural), chameleon 2, detect (food)
Skill:	Cast Decay food at 15 magic p 77
Notes:	Some reeks can climb and will fall onto victims from above.

Reek, Glue

ST	-	HP	15	Speed	1	Class	slime
DX:	-	Will:	-	Move:	1	Source	Fantasy Bestiary p 58
IQ:	-	Per :	-	SM:	var
HT:	5	FP:	-	DR:	-
Dodge:	0	Parry:
Melee	Level	Damage
Contact	-	1 point per turn in contact, DR protects for turns = to DR
Binding	-	Once in contact roll vs ST to break free.
Glue	-	Emanation, area of effect, sticky, limited area (only a trail behind it. 12 hexes long)
Traits:	Homogeneous, diffuse, fragile (unnatural), chameleon 2, vibration sense ( only glued hexes)
Skill:	-
Notes:	Some reeks can climb and will fall onto victims from above.

Reek, Daze

ST	-	HP	15	Speed	1	Class	slime
DX:	-	Will:	-	Move:	1	Source	Fantasy Bestiary p 58
IQ:	-	Per :	-	SM:	var
HT:	5	FP:	-	DR:	-
Dodge:	0	Parry:
Melee	Level	Damage
Contact	-	1 point per turn in contact, DR protects for turns = to DR
Binding	-	Once in contact roll vs ST to break free.
Daze	ht-6	Affliction , contact agent
Traits:	Homogeneous, diffuse, fragile (unnatural), chameleon 2,
Skill:	-
Notes:	Some reeks can climb and will fall onto victims from above.

Reek, Pleasure

ST	-	HP	15	Speed	1	Class	slime
DX:	-	Will:	-	Move:	1	Source	Fantasy Bestiary p 58
IQ:	-	Per :	-	SM:	var
HT:	5	FP:		DR:	-
Dodge:	0	Parry:
Melee	Level	Damage
Contact	-	1 point per turn in contact, DR protects for turns = to DR
Binding	-	Once in contact roll vs ST to break free.
Love	ht-3	Affliction, delusion (I love this reek), irritant (euphoria)
Traits:	Homogeneous, diffuse, fragile (unnatural), chameleon 2,
Skill:	-
Notes:	Some reeks can climb and will fall onto victims from above.

Reek, Rust

ST	-	HP	15	Speed	1	Class	slime
DX:	-	Will:	-	Move:	1	Source	Fantasy Bestiary p 58
IQ:	-	Per :		SM:	var
HT:	5	FP:		DR:	-
Dodge:	0	Parry:
Melee	Level	Damage
Contact	-	1 point per turn in contact, DR protects for turns = to DR
Binding	-	Once in contact roll vs ST to break free.
Rust	-	Contact agent, Metal only, 1d against the objects HP. Every 5 points reduces metal DR by 1
Traits:	Homogeneous, diffuse, fragile (unnatural), chameleon 2, detect metal
Skill:
Notes:	Some reeks can climb and will fall onto victims from above.

Reek, trip

ST	-	HP	15	Speed	1	Class	slime
DX:	-	Will:	-	Move:	1	Source	Fantasy Bestiary p 58
IQ:	-	Per :		SM:	var
HT:	5	FP:		DR:	-
Dodge:	0	Parry:
Melee	Level	Damage
Contact	-	1 point per turn in contact, DR protects for turns = to DR
Binding	-	Once in contact roll vs ST to break free.
Slime	ht-3	Affliction DX-1, Area of effect 4 yards, disadvantage total Klutz, only when victim is touching ground, persistent
Traits:	Homogeneous, diffuse, fragile (unnatural), chameleon 2,
Skill:
Notes:	Some reeks can climb and will fall onto victims from above.

Reek, Manna damper

ST	-	HP	15	Speed	1	Class	slime
DX:	-	Will:	-	Move:	1	Source	Fantasy Bestiary p 58
IQ:	-	Per :		SM:	var
HT:	5	FP:		DR:	-
Dodge:	0	Parry:
Melee	Level	Damage
Contact	-	1 point per turn in contact, DR protects for turns = to DR
Binding	-	Once in contact roll vs ST to break free.
Traits:	Homogeneous, diffuse, fragile (unnatural), chameleon 2, Mana damper 3, area of effect 4 hexes, emanation
Skill:
Notes:	Some reeks can climb and will fall onto victims from above.

Reek, Mana Enhancer

ST	-	HP	15	Speed	1	Class	slime
DX:	-	Will:	-	Move:	1	Source	Fantasy Bestiary p 58
IQ:	-	Per :		SM:	var
HT:	5	FP:		DR:	-
Dodge:	0	Parry:
Melee	Level	Damage
Contact	-	1 point per turn in contact, DR protects for turns = to DR
Binding	-	Once in contact roll vs ST to break free.
Wild magic	HT-6	Affliction, reduced IQ -10 only for spell casting.
Traits:	Homogeneous, diffuse, fragile (unnatural), chameleon 2, Mana enhancer 2 levels
Skill:
Notes:	Some reeks can climb and will fall onto victims from above

Rumor mill

noreply@blogger.com (adia134) — Mon, 25 Nov 2013 15:12:00 +0000

One aspect of +Peter V. Dell'Orto's Dungeon Fantastic game that intrigued me was the rumors that characters could get in town before heading off to the dungeon. I contacted Peter about how he built his rumor chart, and then took the idea and made it my own.

Characters wanting to check for rumors will have to make a skill check against Streetwise, or Savoir-Faire. For bonuses (or penalties) to this roll players my also first opt to roll vs Carousing, sex appeal, intimidation or other applicable social skills. The margin of success or failure will determine the penalty or bonus to the Streetwise or Savoir-Faire check.

My rumor chart has 36 entries. Players will roll a d6,d6. Which in GURPS parlance will be to roll one d6 and use it for the first digit, then roll a second d6 and use it for the second digit.

Filling in the chart was a lot of fun. There were several things I knew I wanted to be on the chart. This filled up about a third of the grid. For a bit of help filling in the rest, I went to donjon. Using the random Inn generator, I was able to get some pretty neat ideas. Not all of the rumors on the chart are true. Many of them are false, some have a grain of truth in them, and others are mostly true.
.
Once a rumor has been shared, it will be crossed off the chart and a new entry made. I will restock the chart between sessions. Some of the rumors will be completely new, others will build off of things that the players latch on to in game play.

I am looking forward to the players hearing the rumors, and seeing how it will affect the dungeon once everything is in motion.

Prep up date: Not much got done over the weekend. I didn't have time to get anything down on paper, but was able to mull some things over in my head. Hopefully that will allow me to get more done over the next couple of days.

Sharing a Monster and a Trap

noreply@blogger.com (adia134) — Thu, 21 Nov 2013 17:13:00 +0000

Today I am sharing some of the fruits of my prep work labors. First is a creature I converted from 3rd Edition GURPS Fantasy Bestiary. Second is a trap I created using the generator published in Pyramid Magazine 3/60 Oct '13.

My version of the:

Cerastes (Horned Serpent)

ST	16	HP	16	Speed	7	Class	Animal
DX:	14	Will:	10	Move:	7	Source	Fantasy Bestiary p. 16
IQ:	4	Per :	14	SM:	1
HT:	14	FP:	14	DR:	2
Dodge:	12	Parry:	10
Melee	Level	Damage
Blunt Horns	14	1d+2 cr
Bite	14	1d-3 imp, Armor piercing (5)
Poison	HT-6	2d tox, irritant (Nauseated), Follow up to Bite
Traits:	360 vision, Double-jointed, Combat Reflexes, Legless(slithers), terrain adaptation (sand), Vibration sense,
Skill:	Stealth 14, Brawling 14
Notes:	Cerastes are skilled ambushers, hiding in loose soil, they attract prey with horns shaped like edible morsels to small animals (Familiars) that are displayed above the soil.

I rolled up this trap randomly, but it came out very useful.

Sleep Gas

Type:	Alchemical
Detect:	PER based Alchemy, HAZMAT (magical) -0
Disarm:	Alchemy, HAZMAT (magical) -0
Circumvent:	Avoid area, hold breath in area
Evade:	Vision-2 to avoid area (modified by light levels)
Effects:	Sleep, Causes living beings to roll HT-4 or sleep for 16-HR hours
Shots:	11 shots , fumes (2 yrd radius)
Rearm:	No, the trap automatically resets
Steal:	Fumes may be gathered in an air tight container, creating a Sleep grenade if the container is broken.

I already have a place for each of these in the dungeon. I will refrain from warning my players where each of them will be located.

I may make this into an ongoing series if it is well received.

Monster files

noreply@blogger.com (adia134) — Tue, 19 Nov 2013 02:31:00 +0000

In yesterdays post I talked of my dislike of using computers at the gaming table. All of my prep work for things that will be used at the table get printed out and stored in binder or folders. Until now that is. I am trying something new. In GURPS Dungeon Fantasy books monsters are presented using the same format. I made a blank template following that same format, with a couple of minor changes.

Name:

ST		HP	Speed	Class
DX:		Will:	Move:	Source Book
IQ:		Per :	SM:
HT:		FP:	DR:
Dodge:		Parry:
Attack	Level	Damage

Traits:
Skill:
Notes:

It is formatted to fit on a 4x6 index card. The cards will be stored in a small file box with dividers for each letter of the alphabet.

I am working my way through all of my GURPS books, my collection of old Dragon and Dungeon Magazines, as well as several old 2nd edition AD&D books, pulling out monsters I like, converting the ones I need to, and printing out a card for each one. This has been a huge undertaking. In the long run it will be worth it. All of the monsters will be filed in one place. I will be able to use this for years to come. It is pretty easy to transport. Each card records the book and page number the monster came from, so I can look it up later if needed. At some point I am planning to print a picture of each monster on the back of it's card.

I am using three different styles of encounters in the game. First will be set encounters. The second are area monsters. The third will be wandering monsters

Set encounters will take place in a set location. For example, one room is home to a Wight. The Wight will stay in the room until acted upon by the PCs. This will often be encounter where the monster is either trapped in a room, or makes a certain room its home.

Area encounters will take place over a larger area. An Orc tribe occupies several room in the same general area of the dungeon. Within the area the Orcs may move around, set watches at different places etc. They, for the most, part will stay in one section of the dungeon.

Wandering monsters are just that, monsters that wander around the dungeon. For these I will be constructing a chart, and rolling randomly to see what shows up to harass the PCs. I plan to make this chart quite long. Something about 100 random monsters showing up appeals to me. I am taking care to make sure that the random monsters still fit the feel of the dungeon.

Prep work update: More monsters were built, a couple of rooms were stocked, and I have an idea about lighting in the dungeon that I still need to develop a bit.

Computers, Tablets, and Phones,.....Oh my!

noreply@blogger.com (adia134) — Sun, 17 Nov 2013 13:34:00 +0000

I don't like computers, tablets or phones at the table. It is as simple as that. I only have so much free time. When I sit down to play a RPG, that is where I want my focus to be. Electronic devices are a distraction. Computers, tablets and phones make it too easy to be doing something else, surfing the net, reading, playing other games etc. RPG are a social game that already serve as an escape from reality. Additionally, I find it to be rude to the other players and GM, not unlike taking a phone call during dinner, or at a movie theater.

I am guilty of sending and receiving texts while playing and have on occasion used my tablet to reference some of my PDFs. While the first was and is rude, sometimes you just have to communicate with your wife. The second, was, in my opinion, ok. It was game related, did not involve the internet in any way, and was done behind the GM screen.
Over time it has become part of our group's unwritten Social Contract, that laptops are not welcome, internet use is not needed, texting is kept to a minimum, ringers are set to vibrate, and you excuse yourself from the table if you have to take a phone call.

Rest assured that my little rant has more purpose than making me feel better. It also helps to explain some of my game prep processes.

I do a lot of the work on the computer. Spreadsheets, word processors and the internet all play important parts in planning a campaign. But, when it comes time for game play, it all gets printed out, and put either into a binder or a file folder. Old fashioned? Probably. The way I like to do it? Definitely. The best way to do it? For me yes, for you maybe not.

So now, when I write about some the ways I do things, you will know why I don't just put it all on a thumb drive and take that to the game with me. Instead I make my son lug a milk crate of books and a box or two of other miscellaneous GMing supplies into my friend's basement every other Thursday.

This was originally going to be a post on the new file system I am working on for the NPCs and monsters in my game, oops. I guess that will be a separate post.

The Characters

noreply@blogger.com (adia134) — Sat, 16 Nov 2013 03:34:00 +0000

I just finished building the last of the PCs for the group. Character generation was a 50/50 split. Half of the players built their own characters, the other half had me do it for them. Those that had me do it are pretty new to GURPS, and were not able to be there the night we worked on the characters. They told me what they wanted, race, template, etc and I just plugged it into GURPS GCA. I try to make choices that the player can live with, and always give them the option of changing out after a couple of sessions if the character isn't meeting expectations. Whenever I can, I give each player three characters to choose from. Each one will have a different main weapon choice, and there will be some slight variations in the disadvantages and skills.

For this game I gave the players 300 points, -50 in disadvantages and -5 for quirks. This is more than standard starting points for a Dungeon Fantasy game. I wanted the players to have room to choose a second lens if they wanted, or one of the more expensive races templates. Plus, it is pretty easy to just add more Orcs to the encounters to make up for the extra points.

Race choices for the game were limited a bit. The players could choose from the following

Dragon-blooded
Dwarf
Elves (Half Elf, High Elf, Shadow Elf, and Wood Elf)
Gnome
Halfling
Half Orc
Human

I had originally planned to allow Goblin PCs, but took them off the list. For the Old School feel of the game, goblins need to be monsters.

Template choices were

Artificer
Assassin
Barbarian
Bard
Cleric
Druid
Holy Warrior
Knight
Martial Artist
Ninja
Scholar
Scout
Swashbuckler
Thief
Wizard

I also allowed for characters made without a template, but they would be limited in the power ups and improvements they could make after game play started. (no one took this option)

The Starting roster for Spiderweb in the Corner will be

A Dwarf Cleric (not sure which of the spell lists he will choose)
A Dwarf Knight with ST 20 and +2 Striking St (I was asked to make a super strong dwarf fighter)
A Half Orc Barbarian spear wielder
A Human Wizard with most, if not all, of the fire spells
A Human Thief
A Human Knight, or maybe he was dragon blood, the player went back and forth and I don't remember what he settled on.

I usually don't allow that much overlap in the characters (2 knights and a barbarian) but really, you can never have too many fighter types. Like I said, there are always more Orcs in the dungeon. The only thing they are really missing is a Scout, they may be a bit weak in the ranged attack department. I will probably have a hireling or two for filling the gap. Of course the will need to be paid, may be of questionable quality and loyalty, but if they can keep the pointy end aimed in the right direction its better than nothing.

None of the characters chose a second lens, for which I am grateful, At least at the start of the game I want to keep an eye on niche protection (fighters being the exception). Also, I don't think anyone chose from the template's power up options. A lot of stats and skills were increased above the template starting level. To be honest, I if I were a player, that is what I would have done too.

Overall I think this is a good mix. I am looking forward to the PCs getting names and personalities. A couple of the players made character choices that they don't normally pick. The guy who usually plays a fighter chose a thief, and the guy who usually plays a more timid type of character chose a knight. It will be interesting to see how they adapt their play style to fit the different role in the party.

Prep work update: The characters and one hireling are stated out and ready to go. I finished re-reading Dungeon Fantasy Monsters I. Next I want to get a couple more rooms ready and put together a couple more monsters.

The Setting

noreply@blogger.com (adia134) — Fri, 15 Nov 2013 20:59:00 +0000

Looming before you on a small rise nestled between two towering mountain peaks, the ruins of Castle Falconflight stand ready for you to plunder. It's builders dead for hundreds of years, it has succumbed to the ravages of wars long forgotten. The cold grey walls are crumbling in places. In others you can see different repairs that have been made over time. Directly in front of you stands the Gatehouse, three stories of arrow slits and murder holes made all the more intimidating by the chilling fog rolling down from the mountains.

Above is the first bit of canned text that the players will hear when they approach the ruined castle. As a side note, I am not a huge fan of canned text, so I will probably just paraphrase the text when game time rolls around.

The Setting
The setting for Spiderweb in the Corner is pretty generic. It is a medieval/fantasy setting. The campaign will take place in just a small number of locations.

The Town
The home base for the game will be the river town of Megetrs. I found the map through a random Google search. It is a good fit for my game for a few different reasons.

The town is large enough to support the commerce the PCs will bring in. The river trade will allow for merchants in the city to buy and sell a bit more freely.
THe town has a place of higher learning. This will help the PCs out by providing sages and scholars for them to consult with.
The river will also allow for NPCs to come and go. THe town is used to people staying only a short time, and pays little heed to strangers. This will be handy if/when a group of rivals or other treasure hunters show up.
The background that was laid out in the blog post that I gleaned this from is pretty neat and may come into play if the players seek out regular contacts, etc in the city.
The large number of Inns on the map allows me to set different levels of upkeep for the players. Some will want to stay in the low cost areas of the city, while others may want to stay at the finest hotel the city has to offer.

The Inn

While I have allowed for the PCs to stay where ever they like in the city, I am going to make The White Wyvern Inn a very attractive choice. I have had the map for some time and never had a great chance to use it. I dont know if it will get a lot of use in this game either, but I figured why not throw it in.

Out side of the Inn, the Tree of Sorrows serves as a memorial to fallen comrades. Adventurers returning to the city, where ever they may have come from, leave a token of the party members who did not come home. Over the years as the tree grew many of the items left, shields, tabards, holy symbols, etc have grown into the tree itself. A Dragon Magazine cover served as the inspiration for this idea, rather than a trophy rack for a dragon, the tree is a living memorial to friends lost.

The Dungeon

Since I know some of my players are reading this blog, I wont go into a lot of details. The dungeon itself is under a ruined castle. The dungeon has several entrances, lots of tunnels and rooms on many different levels filled with big scary monsters. and maybe a little treasure.

Like I said, the setting is pretty generic. Once the PCs start to explore and learn more, I will share what I can here.

Prep work update: I just found out that I wont beable to start teh game until the 5th of December. school concersts and the Thanksgiving holiday will prevent us from getting together. This is kind of a mixed blessing. I love to get as much ground work done as early as I can, and this delay will allow me to get a lot more done. However, I am excited to get rolling. I have orcs just chomping at the bit to kill some treasure hunters!