SoA: Development Log 3

 

Well, If I am honest, over the summer my inspiration for Secrets of Arn kind of dwindled. Then life got in the way and the project just say on the back burner simmering for a bit. I also got distracted by a few other projects as you do.

It was not until I sat down to start working on my "Appendix N" for Secrets of Arn that the inspiration started to come trickling back. I just started with a list of movies which had me thinking, "I need to re-watch some of these" and so I did. 

Though, what really burst the dam was my two recent conversations with Jeff Berry. I always deeply enjoy my conversations with him and just talking about history and sharing stories had my mind going in a million directions at once. 

This resulted in me taking some time to work on the project, lose some sleep, hitting the books, and going over everything I have written so far. 

Our conversations reiterated over and over again to keep it simple and to keep things moving as fast as possible and in as real time as possible. He also explained how basically the importance of die rolls come down to success or failure with a base chance of 50/50 and you adjust from there as needed.

I have done some probability crunching and using math I haven't used in awhile, as well as the handy dandy anydice I decided to reduce math on the core mechanic. Every base roll is 2d6 and you need a result of 5 or 6 on either side to succeed. This base roll can be affected by a boon (from tags, the situation, and so on) which is basically advantage and 3d6 are rolled looking for the same 5 or 6s. The same base roll can also be affected be a setback which is basically disadvantage and a 1d6 is rolled looking for the same 5 or 6. Saving dice use the same - which reminds me I need write about that. But I digress, this keeps quick, simplex avoids math so no forgetting to carry the one, and more kid friendly. 

The probability of success breaks down to 1d6/33 percent, 2d6/67 percent, and 3d6/82 percent. It makes characters feel competent but still there is a fair chance of failure. Below are the Anydice results of the probability:

UPDATE REGARDING PROBABILITY: A few people reached out to me to let me know that I got my probability wrong. I probably used anydice wrong and for complicated things, it is not exactly user friendly. Anyway, the updated percentages for looking for a single success (that is probably where I went wrong) are 1d6/33%, 2d6/66%, and 3d6/70%. The only big changes were in the latter two, but I like the probability better.

I guess I should of mentioned this first, but I adjusted character creation as well. The character creation questions have been dropped down to five, adjusted and called tags (this is one of the areas where boons can be utilized). The fifth tag is actually a character flaw as no one is perfect - the flaw can be called in for a boon but the Referee can call it in for a setback if the flaw makes since in the fiction. There are additional questions that deal with equipment and what not. I think this adjustment has created a more focused character creation process. This process ends up producing characters that are tied into the game mechanically and have a cleaner narrative focus.

Speaking of character creation, the characters special ability tag now has some expanded examples. 

I have also had to make some tough design decisions in the invisible rule book section of the project.

Goodbye Priests

The players first tag choice during character creation is basically a choice of class and initially I had Priest as an option. After some careful consideration I decided to remove this option as the roots of the fantasy hobby did not have them and I feel like being a Priest is more of a vocation then anything else. I also did not want to deal with divine magic in my design as well as I wanted to remove magical healing outside of some not so effective healing herbs. This keeps hits as more of a resource management and retreat a positive tactic as natural healing is slow. 

Hello Silver Standard

Initially, I was doing my best to avoid any type of coin counting and I created what I thought was a pretty intuitive narrative treasure system using treasure points to abstract wealth above and beyond basic necessities. Though, after thinking about it and reading historical sources I am going with the silver standard and various prices have been adjusted to match the silver standard directly. Some things were not multiplied for fiction reasons. In addition, I made it a point to state that coin in actual circulation is low and the treasure table reflects this. 

In addition to the above, outside of a limited selection of potions and scrolls, magical items cannot be bought, should be rare, should be weird, and be useful in various situations. The writing and procedures reflects this.

Those Dang Upstart Wizards and their Fireballs

Historically games had a low magic focus and Blackmoor specifically attempted to avoid dealing with magic on the player character side. This is why each character had a unique ability. This was the approach I was going to take because lets face it, from both a fiction and a game design point of view, magic can be tricky - especially on the balance side. Though, I was recently told the story of how magic really came into the lime and that story goes something like this during a session:

"I cast fireball" said the World's first Wizard (Peter Gaylord)

"Wait what?" asked the Arneson.

"I cast fireball, that is what wizards do." said the Wizards first Wizard (Peter Gaylord)

That is when the Arneson decided they needed rules for magic and because of these dang upstart wizards, I figured it would be important to get ahead of the fireball so to speak. In addition to this, I personally love the idea of the classic wizard like Gandolf, Merlin, and Rincewind. With all the trappings of the pointy hats, spell books, and handful of parkour tricks. I also really like the idea of how the magic create tattoos on a wizard and these arcane tattoos grow as the wizards power grow. Thus, this is what I decided to base my idea of wizards off of.

I also knew if I was going to include magic, I wanted it powerful and limited in various aspects but I did not want to rely on the classic Vatican magic because (SPOILER ALERT) Secrets of Arn has no levels. So, to keep the classic feel going, I carefully selected 14 well known wizard spells and I added two spells that could be considered on the divine side (Banish and Speak with the Dead). Then I added a system to constrict the usage of spells and within these limitations, if a wizard is lucky, they may be able to cast the same spell a couple of times per day. Wizards also only start with one spell and yes fireball is one of 16 spells.

 

Monsters, Oh My!

I was originally just going to include a simple monster generator that can be used for all kinds of adversaries and leave it at that. Though, in the end I decided that I am going to include some sample monsters for quick use. This decision came about after I adjusted character creation as now adversaries may have access to tags and how some special abilities may allow a save. I am still going to include the monster generator but a typical entry in the final product is going to look like this:

Name (# of Hits)

Brief Description

Tags:

Equipment: 

Advancement 

As I stated previously, there is no level system built into Secrets of Arn. This is because traditionally there was not a level system as we know it today in modern games and a lot of the advancement happened organically by the characters moving up into social status, influence, power, and wealth. This is commonly known as domain play where characters become lords, ladies, generals, and the like. These characters when the reach the height of social power are usually retired as they are to important to go around "thumping bandits" and new characters are created to go on adventures but the original characters remain alive as NPC's that the player can occasionally slip back into to make decisions in the realm.

With that being said, I wanted to create an option for advancement to show some type of personal growth but once again I wanted to keep it limited and avoid bean counting. Advancements are based on amount of sessions participated in, a character can gain a max number of 9 advancements, and the choices when taking an advancement include gaining hits (to a certain number), learning a new skill that is not related the characters tags, and the ability to learn a new spell. 

An important thing to note about skills is that they are not combat oriented and are more vocation an role play focused. 

The advancement rulings are not going to be placed in the Invisible rule book section, they are going to be placed in the procedure section. 

Encumbrance

Resource management is an important aspect of gaming for me and was an important aspect for the founders. I think this is in an aspect that become over complicated and I did not want to mess with math in dealing with item weight and the like. So, I decided on something simple. All characters have twelve backpack slots and all equipment take a single slot. This includes things like a single torch, a bundle of arrows, and so on. Characters can also carry (that are not included in one of the twelve slots) are a small personal items such jewelry or a pipe with tobacco. This is in addition to a coin purse that can hold up to 250 coins. if more coins are carried, they take up a backpack slot for every increment of 250. If a character decides to carry more then 12 items, all physical actions are completed at a setback.

 That is all for now...the work continues.  

Legacies of Exera: Session 15

 

As the party continues up the trail, they come across their old friend Stephononcles who looked defeated and like Stephonocles have had a difficult few nights out in the wilderness. After catching up, Anari notices some smoke out in the distance and the party decides to follow the smoke as they trek down a trail into a wooded butte that split from the main trail that was partially hidden by some bushes. 

As the party heads down the trail they notice three large white dogs keeping pace with them on the side of the woods before encountering a band of the Alpine Cavemen. Harl offers council about the benefits of retreat and starts to move back up the trail before the Alpine Cavemen sounds the charge and the dogs attack as Vladimir charges in blindly. 

The rest of the party are left with no choice but to charge in to attempt to save Vladimir from being surrounded as more and more Alpine Cavemen join the battle that were hidden in the treeline. As the battle rages on, Stephonocles watches Vladimir fall to the Alpine Cavemen's blows and Stephonocles fights his way towards Vladimir to heal but as soon as Vladimir starts to get up another Alpine Cavemen drops Vladimir again along with Enama. At the end of the battle Harl, Gareth, and Helenista are the only left standing and they spend some time dragging their unconscious friends to safety before helping the fallen members wake up. After a quick conversation, it is decided for Gareth to go on a stealth mission to discover what lies at the end of the smoke trail in the sky. 

When Gareth returns, Gareth reports that the smoke trail ends at a rather large Alpine Cavemen village and how the party should probably head back up the trail and leave the village alone. The party decides to go back to the large rock where they fought the hill giant to camp for the night with the safety of cover. 

The next day, the party nearly avoids a rock slide as they are noticed by two small red dragons out for breakfast. The party quickly responds with ranged attacks and spells before the dragons can get into chomping range. Enama and Anari have the honor of the final blows with fist and bolt. 

_______

PLAYER NOTES: It was fun to be reunited with one of the guest players ala "Stephonocles". The player always gets 100% into character which is always fun. The battle with the dogs and the Alpine Cavemen was a cluster and could have been avoided but decisions were made by other players that negated the effectiveness of the retreat. I thought it is going to be a TPK but we were able to squeak by and survive. The DM explained at the end of the session is that the DM has been heavy handed with random encounters to help us get to the level we should be at for the continuing journey.

S&B Reforged Updates

 

So, as I teased earlier in this post I have been working on Sword & Backpack: Reforged and through lack of sleep and sheer stubbornness plus a healthy dose of inspiration the hack has been completed.  

I have even ordered a proof copy from Lulu but after doing so, I got it in my head that the blank note pages I included (to meet Lulu's minimum page requirement for global distribution) were not that professional so I am working on adding dot matrix pages instead, I have a friend of mine working on that as I type this. This means that I will need to order a new proof copy if I am able to work out the changes. I may just be paranoid and the blank pages titled Note may be just fine but that is the current situation for the print edition of Sword & Backpack: Reforged. 

With that being said, I have also made updates from the proposed version discussed earlier to the final version. These core updates are:

• I have reduced math completely. There is now an advantage mechanic in place in specific situations. This will keep things simple and make interpreting the rolls faster.
  
• Combat is now all or nothing. Whoever wins the roll off is allowed to deal a hit. This keeps combat fast, dynamic, and fixes action/turn economy in specific situations such as engaging a BBG. 
• Adventurer hits have been increased. 

The final version across the board also includes:

• 9 pieces of art
• A sample adventuring party of 3
• A character sheet

The PDF version will be 20-24 pages long that include note pages (US Letter) so it can be printed out in booklet style at home or at a print shop. If I do not include the cover art page, it will be 20. If I do include the cover art page it will be 24. 

The POD version is going to be 34 pages with 17 note or dot matrix pages that will be US Letter softback perfect bound.  

Finally, here is a sneak peak of the character sheet created by the talented Mr. Gone.

 

 

Legacies of Exera: Session 14

 

The begins their morning trekking up the Giant Mountain and as the morning wears on, Harl and Enama notice some movement by a large rock and Enama, Harl, and Vladimir split off into the bush to try to flank the possibly enemies. Enama, Harl, and Vladimir discovers a hill giant posed to ambush the rest of party walking up the main trail. Vladimir is able to sneak up on the hill giant and land an opening blow as the rest of the party engages the hill giant and the giant can barely respond to the onslaught before the giant finds the sweet embrace of death. 

The party cleans their blades and continue up the mountain before they find a clearing off of the main trail to make camp at the end of the day. During the early evening, the party notices some chittering and Anari looks up into the sky and notices what appears to be an oddly shaped humanoid with wings closing in at the parties location. The party readies for the attack as they scan the night sky. 

Helenista announces to everyone that she sees four the creatures heading their way moments before they bat creatures land amidst the camp. The sounds of battle echo through the night sky as the party makes quick work of the bat creatures and the rest of the passes without incident. 

The next morning the party continues up the trail that gradually becomes narrower as the party encounters a group of Alpine Cavemen blocking the path. As Harl is trying to parley with the Alpine Cavemen, Vladimir issues a challenge to fight that turns the situation into aggressive negotiations. Harl sighs and mumbles, "Here we go again" as the sound of steel breaking leather rings off of the mountain side before the party ends the lives of the cavemen. 

_______

PLAYER NOTES: I do not have much to say here. It was a quick and to the point session. My character Harl was trying hard to parley with the Alpine Cavemen and was hoping to even to see if they would be willing to help. That idea was ended quickly and I was more then a little frustrated.

Review: Frontier Scum

 

This is a game that I have had my eye on for a long time but I missed the initial release and it sold out (the first printing was 500 copies). I had to wait around for the second printing. I have always been a fan of Westerns and that whole era as a soft spot in my heart as it is one one of the settings where the world still feels bug and unknown. Just like the age of sail. 

The Author states that the game was inspired in flavor by by movies such as Dead Man (1995), Ravenous (1999), Bone Tomahawk (2015), The Hateful Eight (2015), El Diablo (1990), Gallowwalkers (2012), The Quick and the Dead (1995), The Lighthouse (2019), The Witch (2015), and I Sell the Dead (2008).

As far as the term or setting Acid Western goes, I had to do some quick googling and have a few discussions with other people to understand it as it is a new term/style/setting for me. A consistent google result for the definition is this: 

"Acid westerns are a unique subgenre of Western that emerged during the 1960s and 1970s. Pauline Kael first coined the term in a 1971 issue of the New Yorker during her review of Alejandro Jodorowsky's 'El Topo.' Acid Westerns combine classical revisionist Western motifs with the cinematic excesses of Spaghetti Westerns, incorporating LSD-inspired countercultural narratives to create a provocative, drugged-up version of the American Frontier"

With that being said, the "big picture" view can be summarized as follows (it is easy to replace filmmaker with Gamer Master and so on):

• Acid Westerns are a unique subgenre that combines classical Western motifs with cinematic excess and countercultural narratives.
• These films use symbolism to explore themes of spirituality, masculinity, femininity, and the journey towards death.
• Acid Westerns provide filmmakers with a space to experiment with narrative and image, challenging the audience to think differently and explore deeper philosophical questions. 

 Disclaimer: I was provided a physical copy for review purposes from Games Omnivorous.

Presentation: Right off the bat this book is layed out and presented in a way that I have not seen before. The first thing that stood out to me is the cover - the cover feels like it is made out out of thick solid cardboard - but that is not the material. In addition, the book sports an open sewn spine that is sealed with glue but allows the book to lay completely flat. For all intents and purposes it is just has durable as a book with a closed spine. I have not had any personal issues with durability or have I heard of any complains about the books durability from any of my online sources. 

The other major thing that stands out to me is the page layout. The page layout is such that it feels like you are reading directly from a newspaper in the frontier. Handling and reading the book provides a unique immersive experience.

The book clocks in at 66 pages that include rule reference sheets and an adventure.  

Character Creation: Character creations follows a type of life path system where the player rolls or can choose results fro various tables that bring the character to life. 

Resolution: The core mechanic boils down to rolling a ability check, which is 1d20 + Ability Modifier versus a Difficulty Rating. The standard Difficulty Rating is 12 and unless otherwise listed, that is the Difficulty Rating for most things. There is a Difficulty Rating table that provided benchmarks to adjust the Difficulty Rating up or down. 

It is written in black and white, that successful or not, no roll of the dice should stop the action or the story. 

If a character has a skill that relates to the course of action and the GM agrees, the Player can make the check with advantage. A character can only have six skills and when a player rolls a natural 20 on a skill check they can opt to learn a new related skill instead of earning an Ace.

An interesting thing to note about the resolution system is that the system is player facing and NPC's do not roll 99.9% of the time. The characters react to what is going on around them.

Combat follows these steps:

1. Roll a d6 every round, one a 1-3 the enemies go first, and on a 4-6 the PC's go first.
2. On a turn you can move and take an action. The actions include melee attack, ranged attack (not a gun), shoot a gun (in melee), shoot a gun (tough shot), or do something else. If you are rolling multiple damage dice, you can assign one to different opponents within range. 
3. The Wrestling Clause: When players and NPC's are wrestling around or in a bar fight, instead of the players rolling twice for attack and defense, they just roll for attack and if the player succeeds they hit their opponent and if the player fails, the opponent hits them. If one side or the other is outnumbered, then +1/-1 DR depending on who is outnumbering who.
4. Rinse and Repeat as needed.

Death, Dying and Healing:

• After a Scuffle: Heal 1d4. +1 for each - smoke, drink, and nap. 
• Until  Morning: Heal 1 + 1 for each - entertainment, food, sleep. 
• Heal twice as much in comfort with good beds, company, food, and drink. 
• If reduced to below 0 or below HP by non-lethal means roll a Drop Check: d20 + Grit - any negative HP. 10 or less drop unconscious until you gain 1 hp. 11 or higher remain at your current HP. If you are reduced by lethal means, you make the same roll and it is considered a death check. Compare the die results to the table and the high the better it will be. 

Some other mechanic things to be considered or needs further explanation:

• Aces are a meta currency that each player start the session with one and they can spent on a re-roll. When a player rolls a natural 20, they can choose between gaining an Ace or a new skill. Though be warned, if any player rolls a natural 1, everyone loses their aces. 
• Skills as explained before (and if the GM agrees) allows the player to make an ability roll with advantage. Characters can only have a maximum of six skills and if the player wants a new skill, they have to forget an old one. 
• Advantage and Disadvantage is used. Advantage = rolling 2d20 and taking the higher result while Disadvantage = rolling 2d20 and taking the lower result. 
• Tough Shots are the way to adjust the target number by GM fiat or to take into consideration range, weather, if the target is small/moving/behind cover/etc., is the shooter distracted/moving/blind firing, and the gun - rifles are good at long range/shotguns are good at hitting moving targets/close range. The more unlikely the shot, the greater the DR of the Slick check to
  hit and the lower the DR of the Luck check to avoid being hit.
• Conditions fall into two categories. Miserable and Drunk. Miserable results from a character not meeting basic needs/being poisoned/Frostbit/Exhausted/Soggy Boots and so on. If a character is deprived they cannot heal HP until the condition is resulted. Drunk results from intoxication and the first time a character becomes drunk they swap to abilities and must make a note of which abilities were swapped as the same abilities will be swapped each time the character becomes drunk. 
• A small list of drugs, medical kits, and so on + what effect they have. 
• The Hat! Players can sacrifice their hat to avoid being hit as their hat is shot off instead. 
  

Final Thoughts: I have to say that Frontier Scum is dripping with flavor flavor from the layout, the character creation choices, the baked in setting, baked in locations, and some really great tidbits like determining the horse personality/looks/etc. One of my favorite things in the game is the ye old cowboy hat and how you can sacrifice the hat to avoid being hit. 

I think the setting it comes with along with the adventure in the back really go a long way to help the players and the GM understand the vibe of that game plus, the characters are wanted men and women. You are Scum and Scoundrels in a frontier that never was.

If I am being honest, this game was my first exposure to the theme of "Acid Western". I had to do some research on the genre. I still need to watch some of the recommended source material but at the moment I do not have a firm grasp on the genre except for the foundation of things are bad and will rarely get better. People are just trying to survive day by day and will generally mind their own business unless they are up to nefarious plots.

The game also has information and proves for equipment, services, hunting/fishing/foraging, city life, NPCs, and a great starting adventure. There is an overshadowing of the weird/grotesque so a GM could lean into those aspects for a more supernatural feel or stay away from them for more of a focus on the darkness of humanity and the harshness of frontier life. Or just anywhere in between.

Frontier Scum originally started out as a Mork Borg hack but grew into its own thing before release. Though you can still see Mork Borg's influence. There is also some influences from Death in Space. 

Now there are some caveats I would like to mention:

• There is a lack of explanation on the genre
• There is a lack of guidance on how the wanted PC's interact with towns and other people. This includes what actions will cause the PC's to be reported to the authorities and how well known the PCs are. 
• Low HP/Low possible stats can make the game lethal and the players will not have a chance to take advantage of the healing/rest rules.Though, with that being said, if the players are smart there character can end up being tougher then you think.
  
• Progression is not linear, characters can increase HP and abilities from death checks. This also includes gaining new skills (to a max of 6) and getting new gear and silver.
  
• The crime and wanted dead/alive/dead or alive determination tables can get a bit wonky as a character can end up being wanted dead or dead or alive for more minor crimes. 
  

You can find Frontier Scum at:

• Frontier Scum Website
• Discord 
• Reddit
• The Author's Deets 
• Scumslinger's Arsenal 
• Games Omnivorous 
• Drivethrurpg
• Itch.io 
• Exalted Funeral
   

 

Orthodox Sword & Backpack Part Deux

 

After extensive play testing and imminent release of Arsenic & Old Lace, the influences of Trollish Delver, Barrel Rider Games, Dungeon Crawl Classics, the 1937 "The Hobbit" as a setting, Crown and Skull, and of course Olde House Rules; I have done some serious tweaking on the "Secret Storyteller's Rulebook" for running Sword and Backpack that I initially discussed in my original Orthodox Sword & Backpack post.

As I was playing around with the bones, I wanted to accomplish a few things (not in any particular order):

1. Honor the Legacy of the Twin City Gamers
2. Reduce Math
3. Honor the Original Material
   
4. A "failed career" that has some impact because lets face it, no one is born an adventurer
5. Smooth Combat
   

I think the FIRST thing is going to be create an example list of failed careers after the players choose their "job" and add the caveat of them writing down why the career failed and what was their call to adventure. Like one of the three jobs, they are considered to have the equipment from their failed career. I also think this enriches characters backstories and opens up role play options. Players can roll, choose, or work with the Storyteller of choosing something else. There may be some other examples as well.

1. Alchemist
2. Astrologer
3. Barber
   
4. Blacksmith
   
5. Butcher
   
6. Cutpurse
7. Farmer
8. Gambler
   
9. Healer
   
10. Hunter
    
11. Mariner
    
12. Mercenary
    
13. Merchant
    
14. Musician
15. Rat Catcher
16. Scribe
    
17. Smuggler
    
18. Soldier
    
19. Trapper
    
20. Vagrant
    

The SECOND thing is going to reduce math as much as possible. In my initial "secret rule book" I used a three tier difficulty to make choosing target numbers quick and characters got to add +5 to their roll if the action fell under the purview of their job. This is also the area where I want the "failed careers" to have an impact outside of lore and I want to keep the three tier difficulty base...so here we go...

• If an action falls within the Job: 8+
• In an action falls within the failed career: 10+
• Everything else: 15+
  

The THIRD thing was to make combat player facing and it is something I spent a lot of time play-testing and I was truly on the fence about it. In the end, I decided to not handle combat this way. I wanted the experience to be more dynamic and engaging for everyone evolved. Plus, I think it would be fun to add a little bit of swing and chaos. For posterity sake I am going to include my original idea below.

• If the characters tactics falls within the scope of their job OR the opponent/hazard is not meant to be strong: 8+
• If it is standard opponent/hazard: 12+
• All other opponents/hazards: 15+

Now, how I ended up to decide how to run it will be that there will be simple initiative (adventurers go first) and then the opponents. Everyone gets a turn and only the active adventurer or opponent as the ability to deal a hit (more on the below). Then the player and the Storyteller will both roll d20s and whoever has the highest result wins and the active adventurer or opponent will get to land a hit. Though, the caveat of this is that if the adventurer's job can be brought to bear then the players gets to add +5 to their roll!

Oh yes, I did it. I changed it up for combat. So sue me.

The FOURTH thing I was going to do was to hard wire in some resource management in the core so to speak but after much play-testing and introspection I decided against it. I am going to use a simple hit system like it has been done since the dawn of time. Adventurers start with 7 hits. Most opponents will have 1-2 hits and more powerful opponents will have more.  Simple as that.

So, putting this all together, it would look like this...

COMING SOON...

Legacies of Exera: Session 13

 

Sirabolter is a massive Dwarven city built into the side of a mountain that houses about 500,000 residents. 

Harl and Vladimir arrive in the city of Sirabolter on a cart that they were able to hitch a ride to Sirabolter because Gareth was contacted Harl telepathically and after the shock wore off a quick conversation was had and Gareth shared where the rest of the party was headed and the general plan.

Regardless, Harl and Vladimir spend some time wandering the city absolutely lost to find the rest of their party until Gareth reached out again Telepathically to give Harl directions and the party is eventually reunited. Gareth shares various rumors and lore about the city of Sirabolter. The most interesting information that was shared was how there are rumors of a Drow incursion in the lower mines. After the conversation, the party decided to enjoy some rest and all members go their own ways for awhile. 

After food, baths, and worship the party find themselves at the edge of a fighting ring from the encouragement of Enama. Enama ends up entering the ring facing off against an obscenely muscled dwarf. The match was a blur of action as both combatants ended up covered in sand and blood. The rest of the party held their breath as it looked like Enama was going to be beaten but Enama finds an opening and is able to pull victory out of the jaws of defeat. 

After Enama gets cleaned up, the party decides to head to the Battle Cavern to find out more about the incursion in the mines. As they enter the the Battle Cavern, they are stopped by some guards as Harl Hands over the job posting. The guards quickly notice Anari and share some harsh words and some harsher questioning due to Anari's heritage. As Harl eases the guards minds about Anari and the guards lead them to the foreman of the mines. The foreman explained how they used to be a civilization of dwarves below known as the Alabaster Dwarves and how the kept the forces of the underdark at bay. The Battle Cavern of Unquenched Valor is a monument to the Alabaster Dwarves costly victory. The foreman continues to explain that the incursions started about  year ago and the guards were able to find the tunnels the Drow were using as access and those tunnels have been collapsed but they must have found a different way in and even with the guards patrolling parts of the mine, the breaches have not been found. 

With all of this new information, the party decides to explore the mine in the morning and everyone takes advantage of one of the famous bath houses known as the Bubbling Cauldron. Harl, with his best Flynn Rider smile is able to sweet talk the dwarf running the front desk (who happened to the owner) to run Harl's bath and give Harl a massage herself. Prince Claren mumbled that they can't take Harl anywhere as the odd couple vanish into the bathhouse. Gareth and Prince Claren opt for the public pools as and swap war stores with other patrons of the bath house. There is an older dwarf couple that appears to recognize Claren as a Prince and their low conversation becomes excited. 

In the aftermath of the adventures at the Bubbling Cauldron, the party find themselves at a busy tarven enjoying some drink and food. After Vladimir has to much to drink, Vladimir decides to pick a fight with a grumpy looking dwarf by making fun of the dwarf's beard. This quickly escalates into an all out brawl. The dwarf quickly establishing dominance and the brawl becomes one sided in the favor of the dwarf. In a panic, Vladimir draws a dagger and in response one of the dwarves friends throws the dwarf an axe. In the bloodshed, Vladimir is brought to his knees and before the final blow could land, Prince Claren steps between them moments before the Snow Flurries (The city guards) show up to break up a fight and try to figure out what happened. Gareth quickly offers to buy everyone a drink at the tavern as the dwarf exclaims to the law that there is no need for their interference - it has been settled. The Snow Flurries gives the party the riot act about starting trouble and next time there will not be a choice about the law getting involved. Gareth and Harl give Vladimir a stern talking to about the etiquette of a bar fight and how drawing a weapon should never be an option - it is called murder. 

The party regroups at the inn and they discuss what their next course of action will be. They decide that they need money to finance the supplies they will need to take a deep dive into the mines. The party decided to follow the lead about the treasure that is supposedly hidden in Giant Mountain. The party decided to take the safer path back through the town of Arduin to resupply heading up the mountain. 

_______

PLAYER NOTES: This was a great session full of some superb role play. It was great to see all of the characters explore the city and indulge in their own likes and to see what characters preferred downtime actions are. The DM did some great lore drop about the city and there was even some conversion about settling down in the city after the Prince is delivered. I was shocked about the decisions made by Vladimir's character regardless of the bar fight and my characters sense of justice was going to let the whole situation play out.

SoA: Development Log 2

 

Writing has continued consistently since my initial Secrets of Arn and the first development log. I believe I have the character creation prompts locked down and I moved my focus to the Referee's "Secret Rule book." The secret rule book is basically how I would run games, what resolution processes to use, and what procedures to use to help keep the game going and to try to prevent the game from grinding to a halt. 

Even getting to this point was interesting because I went back and forth on how much should I include, how should I include it, or if I should just give some deep guidelines in running the game. I decided to use my secret rule book in its entirety so Referees have something to work with to make running the game easier. These Referee's can use it, change it, throw it out and write their own secret rule book, and do their own research. It is simply the tools I use but it is not law and might not even be the best way to handle things. It is simply what I do - nothing more and nothing less.

The heart of the decision and what all other decisions are going to be based off of is the dice, how they are used, and how they are interpreted. Though, due to the whole point of this project is to capture a certain style of play and to preserve history I need to take into account other aspects before making design decisions. Which, actually makes it easier in a way because a lot of how I would do things tends to align with history and the choice was simple. Use d6s!!!

The choice was made but the how presented difficulty and I ended up second guessing myself, third guessing myself, and spent some time wanting to chew my own neck off. After writing pros and cons list, having conversions with various people in the industry, I decided what was going to make the final decisions on how the dice work is going to come down to probabilities. 

Below is the classic 2d6 probability curve that let me explore options with different target numbers and opposed rolls. 

After some additional study, I ran the numbers with a 2d6/3d6 advantage mechanic. 

Now it is just a matter of deciding on the probabilities and I have to keep in mind that regardless how I set up it is going to work for the players the same as the referee. Looking at probabilities has helped me make some final decisions moving forward.

 Consistency and fairness is key because there is over 40 years of consistency!

I am going to end this with additional art by the talented Inked Gas...

 

Some Thoughts about D&D 5e

 

Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition was released on July 15th, 2014 and has since released countless supplements and books that changed how various systems or procedures work and ret-coned various aspects. Fifth Edition came off the heels of 4th edition that was met with mixed opinions (regardless of what side you were on, 4th Edition was a completely different game then its predecessors) and the success of Pathfinder. 

I was ecstatic when 5th Edition was released and I felt like it really streamed that what the game was in the 3.x era. It made things across the board easier and was a better polished game compared to most of the editions. 

 

Now, the years have gone by and the varnish has worn off. Now before I go into my issues with D&D 5e, I want to discuss the things it has done well.

• Bounded Accuracy (Proficiency Bonus)
• Magic Users (Cantrips and such have made spell casters viable across the board)
• Streamlined Mechanics 
• Accessibility 
• Good Dungeon Master's Guide
  

I do not know if this has anything to do with the actual game of 5e or marketing but Dungeons and Dragons as well as other role playing games have became popular and mainstream in a sense. This can be seen in its accessibility, the Critical Role effect, how various Hollywood stars have publicly talked about or played Dungeons and Dragons as well as other games. Regardless of why, I think this has been a positive situation with the hobby for countless reasons and gives me hope people who role play will not have to deal with another Satanic Panic.

Now, with that being said, it is time to discuss the issues with it. I have not played 5e in over a year and really did not do anything in the table top realm. Now, I have been playing in a 5e campaign and just catching up in general including a deep dive back into the 5e books and my experiences. These are not going to be in any particular order...

1. The rules are not as streamlined as I initially thought. It is true that 5e has came a long way since its 3.x days but it is not enough. 5e has required countless Q&A "Sage Advice" for answers how rules are suppose to work. Even with this, there is still debate among players but at least there is a Compendium for the most common issues which acts as a living errata document. Though, language as not been updated in subsequent printings. Now, errata being what it may and there is some expected instances of "editing missed that" this is ridiculous. Things should not be so poorly written or convoluted that they need consistent sage advice or a living errata document. In addition to even after sage advice, it still causes contention between players. 
2. After what? 45+ years there is still a consistent struggle of created a viable Barbarian, Monk, Ranger, and to a lesser extent Rogue class? It took Pathfinder a years and a whole supplement Unchained to hammer out common issues and attempts in Unearthed Arcana were made to revisit the Ranger but the minor changes helped the class but it still was not enough and other classes have not been revisited at or or barely touched upon. In addition to spell casters get the most support out of all of the other classes across the board. The frosting on this cake is Unearthed Arcana is unofficial or play test material so Dungeon Masters across the board do not have to allow it.
3. Just because 5e is popular, does not make it a good intro RPG for new players or DMs and #1 supports this greatly. 
4. Feats have obscenely different power levels and usability. 
5. One of the Sacred Cows that WOTC seems to be holding on to is Challenge Ratings. This creates a lot of complicated math for trying to build encounters even with the formulas given. There is also the additional issue where Challenge Ratings do not always match the creature they are attached to and there is even fractions! This places a ton of extra work on the DM for no reason at all. D&D needs to bring back using HD and special abilities for encounters and get rid of all the extra math and matching issues with CR. 
6. Another Sacred Cow is Vatican Magic, there are better more intuitive ways to handle magic.
   
7. Since 3.x tactical combat and combat in general is a consistent focus which makes using fists to solve every problem a common tactic which is systematically supported. 
8. Yet another Sacred Cow is the 9 point alignment system.
9. Adventure Paths have been consistently poorly written and require a lot of work from the DM. They should work right out of the box with minimal effort by the DM - that is the whole point of adventure paths. 
10. There are huge differences in what classes have better use of the action economy (standard, reaction, and bonus actions) and a lot of times, actions are unused. This also relates to #2.
11. Skill resolution is tired to the same system as combat and both of them are meant for different types of outcome ranges. The attempt at a unified mechanic falls short here with skill points. 

I think that is everything off of the top of my head for now.

Ok, I lied. there is one more point I already mentioned but I want to reiterate is that 5e is not a good game for beginners as people do not want to sit through hours of rules or how to play discussions. This is also includes spending entire sessions on character creation and reviews. I think people who are interested in playing Dungeons and Dragons or any role playing game for the matter do not want to sit through rule and how to slogs and just want to get into the game, the character, and start playing. Even me (being a veteran player) tends to role their eyes when people start discussing rules or the entire game is put on pause when the DM or another player has to bust out the rule book. These points right here is where I think we lose a lot of new people and frustrate a lot of veteran players. I believe we should strive to get people in the game as quickly as possible, keeping immersion deep as best we can, and then keeping the game moving without rule breaks. 

Once again, I have ended up with more to say when I thought I was down. I guess that is why I rarely post things as soon as I am finished so I can let them simmer for a day or two but I digress...

To begin, Wizards of the Coast has released their publishing schedule for 2024. The biggest title on the list is the new Players Handbook... From there it looks like there is going to be 48 sub classes? And a return to rules bloat! WOTC's habit of turning RPGs into a commercial product for mass consumption have driven the game as a concept and an art into a money grab that leaves little room for quality control. It has been a long slide since at the release of 4th Edition into fully devolving the game into a cRPG/MMO model. A game played on a character sheet with players looking to hit character sheet “buttons” to solve problems and waiting for the next seratonin hit from the next level, magic item, spell, or whatever else they earn. Creative problem solving, exploration of procedurally generated places, rolep laying, and encounters has waned. It seems that WOTC continues to hammer nails in the coffin of the idea of neither the DM nor the Players knowing which way a session will end.

With that being said and what I have seen of all of the current and past play test materials the New Players Handbook is going to bring a lot of positive mechanical changes to the process of character creation, races, classes, feats, and so on. Though a lot of these changes have already been seen in Pathfinder 2e and other places. I also believe the book is even going to be re-organized to make it more intuitive and user friendly. Even with all of this, The Monk, .Barbarian, and Ranger still need work.

This is in addition to I have yet to see any reworks of important subsystems like Challenge Ratings, role play focused abilities, backgrounds, and so on. Though, I am sure we are going to see a revised Monster Handbook and Dungeon Masters Handbook at some point. Regardless of all of this, it is rounding back to my original point. 5th Edition did not go far enough and neither is D&D One going far enough to file off the burs and really adjust things that need to be fixed. I have zero faith that the new players handbook is not going to need official sage advice to clarify things and adventures will be good to go out of the box...

FKR Simply Defined

 

In my initial "Definitions of FKR" post there is a lot of flowery language and great explanations of ideas which I think it is great. Though, re-reading it and after more experience it all sounds way to theoretical and may be confusing. I am going to list various aspects but they are not in any particular order.

The first thing is that playing games FKR style or FKR games are designed to be high trust or played with an high trust mindset. This roughly translates that the players trust the Referee to be fair, knowledgeable, and that the Referee is going to make clear consistent rulings. To condense this further, the Referee has a lot of authority to make unilateral decisions without necessarily failing back on any published rules. 

The second thing is that the Referee tracks a good amount of the player focus stuff. This could be magic points, hits, gear uses, and so on. By doing this, the referee creates an environment where the players spend more time immersed in the fiction.  

The third thing is that generally, the style is played with little rules. No 600 page rule books to be found as far as the eye can see. 

The forth and final thing tends to cause a lot of discussion and is something that causes a lot of confusion. FKR style games tend to be rules light and the players do not have access to whatever rules or ruling they are out going to experience during the course of play with the minor exception of what is needed for character creation (and to make meaningful decisions during that process). So, with that being said, it is possible to run Pathfinder, 5e, or even GURPS in an FKR style but I do not know why a Referee would want to do that to themselves. 

Here is where the confusion comes in. People will argue that Dave Arneson (and others) did not have rules when he ran his games but that is not the case. It is well documented that Arneson handed over 18 pages of rules to Gary Gygax that would be used to help design the original release of Dungeons & Dragons. Though, whatever rules or rulings Arneson used, he kept to himself and there was no players handbook that the players had access to. Hence, this is where the high trust aspect comes into play and the ye olde reference to the invisible rulebook.

Another point of contention that this forth aspect causes is that there is a lot of rules discussions regarding this style of game or play and it tends to frustrate the veterans and other people who have a lot of experience with this style of gaming. This has caused some of the veterans to step away from those conversations and those spaces. 

This situation just comes from a lack of understanding of the play style and a lack of comfort from people who have little or no experience of the play style because they want guidelines or sets of rulings to help them on their journey. That is where the barrage of rules questions come from. It also does not help that a lot of FKR products do not offer much in referee guidance outside of resolution mechanic and some character creation. There is no problem with people seeking rulings that they can use for their games or to use until they are comfortable to create their own. 

Circling back to the high trust aspect of FKR and the higher responsibility of the Referee I am going to try to smooth out the misunderstandings, wrinkles, and try to assist new Referees wanting to run games in this style. 

So, as a Referee for this style of game, you are in charge of creating a high trust environment, conducting research, and separating the players from the rules so they can be as immersed as possible in the experience. So, the referee should come to the table prepared with some baseline rulings, campaign information, and their handy dandy notebook. Depending on the comfort level of the referee will determine how much rulings they bring ready to go in their notebook and how much on the fly rulings they will make during the course of play. That is why it is important to have the notebook and to MAKE SURE TO WRITE IT DOWN so the Referee can make the exact same ruling or call the next time and the time after that. Consistency is key - hence the high trust aspect.

For an example, in a game that Arneson was running someone decided to throw a fireball and the response was what? The answer to the what was well, I am a wizard and that is what wizards do. So, on the spot the ruling for a fireball was decided and was written down in the notebook. 

As for research? Yes, it is important as the referee to take time to research things the characters in the game talk about, are interested in, or discuss. I am reminded of a story where Gary Gygax was running a game and there was a 16 year old high school kid at his table. During the session, the 16 year old announces that he hits the opponent with ??? (I do not know what the word is - but it was some fancy word for some fancy polearm) and Gygax had no idea what that was, but he did not let the 16 year old kid know that. So Gygax gave it a damage rating, wrote it down in the notebook, and then the next day Gygax went down to the library and read through a historical book on medieval weaponry. This is probably one of the reasons why there is a listing for every can opener on a stick in some of the books. Regardless, the point still stands. Referee's need to do their research and use their notebook to make sure their rulings and how they handle situations stay consistent.

That is the style of and how to run it on the referee side. The players responsibility in this is to trust the Referee and let go of all modern gaming sensibilities.

Legacies of Exera: Sessions 11 & 12

 

 Session 11

The party awakens in the inn in Arduine only to discover that Sir Harl and Stephonocles have left.  Harl saw the apparition of his fiancee again and chased it, leaving a note for the party saying he would return as soon as possible and if Harl and Stephoncles misses them, they will catch up in Sirabutler. Stephonocles followed Harl.  

The party began investigating the town to locate the werewolves.  The party discovered that one of the werewolves was the shop keep at the general store.  There was one more, who they discovered lives in a cave outside of town.  They battled them both as the shop keep called its alpha when he was attacked.  They learned that there had previously been a third but it died earlier.  The party then continued their journey, encountering a hill giant in one encounter and three ogres in another.  They came to a crossroad where the road continued on to the Dwarven city of Sirabulter and a path went left up Giant Mountain. They decided to take the road to Sirabulter to get some rest and restock on supplies before continuing to Giant Mountain.

Session 12

Before arriving at Sirabulter, Vladimir departed from the party to go find Harl and Stephonocles to let them know they had gone to Sirabulter.  The party then arrived at the mountain pass into Sirabulter.  After paying the entry fee of 1 copper piece each, they entered Sirabulter through Sharindlar's Acres, Sirabulter's northern agricultural district.  Here they purchased a wagon from human Hans Arstel at Arrowstar Wainwright.  Afterwards they purchased four draft horses (two brown, one black, and one white with black spots) from dwarf Magtharn Hammerfall at Hammerfall Stables.  They then traveled to Bubbling Cauldron in the Gloryview district of Sirabulter and got baths, laundered their clothes, and got massages.  They learned from some Dwarves in the bath that there was some kind of threat from the "Roots of the Mountain" in the Grand Mines of Sirabulter (located in the the Cloudy Peaks district).  They learned Underdark spiders, Duergar, and even Drow had been spotted in the mines near ancient tunnels that had previously led to a now abandoned ancient Dwarven city in the roots of the mountain.  The party then purchased rooms and meals at Ye Olde Ponies Inn in the Gloryview neighborhood.  They then sold weapons they had looted at the Fabulous Blade and sold looted armor at The Wandering Mountain, both shops in the Bonderbreaks.  They also sold gems and art at the Lonely Pantheon in the Gloryview district.  

 

__________

PLAYER NOTES: Due to series of unfortunate events I was not able to be present for Sessions 11 & 12, I received the summary reports from the Dungeon Master. 

Garvangr (Harl's Spear) - Gained +1 enhancement bonus

Goujian (Prince Claren's Sword) - +1 enhancement bonus.

Bag of Three (Gareth's Belt) - Bag of Holding Qualities 

Shadowgrumble (A'nari's Crossbow) - Enhanced Critical Hit: On a critical, this eapon deals an additional 2d6 piercing damage.  

Pia's Belt (Enama's Belt) - +1 to saving throws & DC's to Ki abilities. In addition, a bonus action can be utilized to regain Ki points equal to the roll of the Martial Arts die, this feature cannot be used again until the next dawn. 

Feyshadow Boots (Helenista's Boots) - The footsteps of the wearer make no sound and the wearer gains advantage on Stealth Checks that rely on moving silently.