#lok's luminations

[destronlok]

I can't find my previous post where I talked about Gubat Banwa, so I'll start a new one.

This game has a mechanic called "Thunderbolts" and at this point I am genuinely surprised I haven't seen any other game use the term in this way.

[destronlok]

Stuff I learnt from my last campaign

I just finished my recent Troika campaign and I have been thinking about some things I can take away from that campaign and into the next one. This is not an exhaustive list.

More players means combat takes a lot longer unless you have a good initiative system (simultaneous action declaration or clockwise turn order around the table).

In a game without a dedicated leveling system, you can and should improvise your own (either through awarding items that grant class-like bonuses or abilities, or just straight up increasing player stats at a fixed or variable rate) - This is something I want to get better at so I can run Metamorphosis Alpha at some point.

Mapping can sometimes slow down the game. It may be better to provide a new group of players an incomplete or almost complete version of the map with which to take notes on (and fill in spots for secret doors).

This one I don’t know how to phrase, but establishing a default character motivation can help tie the group together and keep the game flowing. For example, if your game is all about finding treasure, then it should be assumed by players that they all have a goal and treasure can help them toward that goal. In doing something like this, the campaign continues to move, even after a total party kill. Connecting player characters to existing factions or goals that are unique to them may result in the game slowing down or even stopping if those players are unable to attend.

The final, most important one is that pre-written plots are overrated and unhelpful. It is better to prepare a small number of encounters or locations and establish a relatively simple reason as to why your players would go there - usually some kind of reward.

[destronlok]

Keep on the Borderlands Battle Report Session #3

Link to previous post

Keep on the borderlands continues! We've now played for three sessions of Old School Essentials & Keep on the Borderlands, and I reckon I'll run at least 3 more before considering changing up the rules to a new system. (ICRPG is very appealing right now).

Good session all up, click for the details.

Today we had some new players, a Thief, an Assassin and another Elf. They rolled terrible on their hit points and it was a miracle they didn't die.

They journeyed toward the forests in the north, encountering a mad old man and his pet mountain lion. One of the NPCs was killed, as well as a player character.

I increased the rewards substantially from what was written in the module, but players are leveling up very slowly.

I think I'm beginning to get tired of the incremental XP present in older editions like B/X and AD&D. It's a big hassle to calculate how much XP the players get when it won't actually result in them levelling up. Games like Maze Rats and Deathbringer have solved this by having all XP be in single digits. ICRPG also just allows the GM to simply grant additional abilities at their whim.

These systems look really appealing, so I'm unsure if OSE will continue beyond 6 sessions.

Players weren't really prepared for the fight with the Old Man & his pet mountain lion. One player did attempt a backstab, but it didn't hit. The assassin didn't get a chance to assassinate either. (not sure if that works as a ranged attack).

The second combat encounter, the players fought a werewolf, I was convinced they would all die, but I got them to team up with a werewolf hunter, prep some ammunition, and they seemed to go along with the Werewolf hunter's plan to ambush the werewolf.

They did extremely well in this encounter, but it almost felt too easy, and most of the planning was done by the Werewolf hunter character which I was controlling. At least, that's how I remember it.

Players are still having fun and it seemed to fine for one of the players who had never played before.

[destronlok]

Decided to read a reprint of the 1977 version of Traveller - a science fiction roleplaying game.

It's possible to die in this game during character creation. So that's interesting.

[destronlok]

Alright, time to read Tunnels & Trolls Deluxe.

[destronlok]

Just found out that the idea of role-playing games may predate Dave Arneson’s Blackmoor game.

David Wesley was playing in 1969 before David Arneson’s Blackmoor in a game in which players controlled an individual in a fictional german down, with improvised combat rules for “duels” between players.

[destronlok]

Today I found out how to substitute my dice set for a ti-30. How's your day going?

[destronlok]

I had soft drink for the first time in ages today.

How on earth do people drink this stuff without getting sick?