Review: Cha'alt

I was very intrigued about this when it was on kickstarter but I was unable to participate when it was live. I acquired the pdf the first chance I got and Venger Satanis sent me a physical copy for review purposes. 

In Venger's own words, "The world of Cha'alt started as a fairly typical medieval land with elves, dwarves, snake-men, clerics, and magic-users; steeped in superstition along with antediluvian traditions, before the Old Gods went mad.  

Three-thousand years passed. The surface dwellers split from the malevolent creatures who slithered below. Those who remained on the surface lost the understanding of magic, but their civilization became a highly developed, technological empire of domed cities welcoming interstellar travelers, their massive starships hovering high above in blue skies.

But in the deep crevasses of the world, a power older than time stirred from its deathless slumber. The Ancient Gods, long forgot, had not died but continued to dream... growing chaotic and full of darkness.  And those living underground hastened the Old Ones' rising because they yearned to reclaim Cha'alt for themselves.

When the Great Old Ones awakened, they were angered by the lack of worship, sacrifices, or even casual acknowledgement that they had fashioned the world and all life upon it. 

Soon enough, Cha'alt was all but destroyed by those vengeful Gods, jealous of their creations' achievements and bitter that they had been forgotten.  Civilization in ruins, the surface-dwellers of Cha'alt turned to barbarism as sorcery reappeared, dragons appeared in the now-magenta sky, and demons took hold once more.

Cha'alt is a mysterious world where you're likely to encounter mutant bikers with laser rifles, tentacled sandworms in the deep desert, tribal warfare as blood-splotched shamans ululate at the crimson rock, and alien pirates on anti-grav skiffs looking to steal relics of a bygone age."

This is just the tip of the iceberg. It has so much more potential then just being a campaign setting. It can be used as a location to to send players and one could easily drop any location, monster, NPC, dungeon room, or factions into any other campaign little to no effort. There is enough setting information to give game masters a solid footing in the world but there is wiggle room to make Cha'alt a sandbox world of your own. 

The above map shows twelve locations one can visit. Each location is given some information but four places places are given a lot more detail. The locations that are focused is the City of Kra'adumek, the ruins beneath Kra'adumek, the frozen Violet Demon-Worm, Gamma Ineel Cantina, and the Black Pyramyd. 

The city of Kra'adumek is given descriptions but there are no NPCs, maps, or specific plot hooks. 

The Ruins beneath Kra'adumek is an introductory dungeon that is also doubles as an introduction to the setting. There are multiple ways characters can end up there and it starts the party right in a dungeon. I personally love this idea and I have used this technique multiple times. 

The frozen Violet-Demon Worm is a giant worm that is frozen outside of Kra'adumek. No one knows the if the worm is actually dead. The worm itself is a location that characters can explore and inside of the worm is a mini mega Dungeon in it's own. Inside the belly of the worm there are encounters like a family that took shelter and the wife is about to give birth and an almost intact pirate ship.

Ah, the Black Pyramid. This is the heart of Cha'alt and is a Mega Dungeon that spans pages 81 to 199. This thing is stuffed full of encounters like a madman in a playhouse, a tiki bar, and a giant frozen peach with ape men. 

Presentation: I have to saw that I am completely blown away by the physical presentation of Cha'alt. It is a 211 FULL COLOR paged, dust jacketed, hardback tome that should live on your coffee table. Under the dust jacket is a reddish brown cover that has a burlap texture with gold inlay. The pages are thick and edge to edge full color (not just the art). The images inside the book is a mix of fantasy/sci-fi, live action, and abstract images that are probably from the lucid dreams of H.P. Lovecraft himself. 

       

Character Creation: It is designed basically OSR system agnostic which means you could easily plug in your OSR system of choice with it. Though, with that being said Cha'alt is designed using Crimson Dragon Slayer d20 (these rules are included in the back of the book) which is Venger Satanis's own rules light hack with a DnD 5th Edition flare. Character creation boils down to choosing a name, race, class (there are 4), alignment (law, chaos, neutral), and writing down something noteworthy about your character.

Resolution System: If you use the included Crimson Dragon slayer then the dice mechanics are d20 vs. Target number or Armor Class. Anything that needs to be determined outside of roleplay it is vs. a DC of 15 but the player adds their character level to the roll. Saves are 20 - character level and must roll that number or better to succeed. The advantage/disadvantage mechanic is used instead of numeric modifiers.

Crunch: There is none. 

Final Thoughts: This is what happens when H.P. Lovecraft, Robert E. Howard, Ray Bradbury, Manly Wade Wellman, and Frank Herbert all drop acid and play Gamma World. Cha'alt has aspects of Dune, Gamma World, gonzo fantasy ala Warhammer Fantasy, and just about anything from Weird Tales. They way it is written you could tone down or crank up the gonzo, the sci-fi, or the fantasy aspects. Even if any if these aspects do not fit your taste or gaming style it is worth getting your hands for inspiration and mining for ideas. 

My favorite thing about this is that all of the encounters and designed where things, people, and monsters have their own motivations and are going about their business in addition to whatever the encounter with the party brings. This creates role play rich opportunities and gets ride of the kill everything and ask questions later mentality. To be honest, combat is not always the wise or best option in the harsh sands of Cha'alt. 

You can acquire this Tome of Maddening Awesomeness here:

PDF

Limited Edition Hardcover of 2,000

Additional Resources:

Pre-Generated Characters

Cha'alt Ascended (63 old school feats/abilities, rules for Sorcerers, and random background generator)

Crimson Dragon Slayer d20

Dog Days: Other Races

Wolves: +2 Str, +2 Wis, -2 Cha Size Medium; Cornered Fury (4 RP): Prerequisites: None; Benefit: Whenever a member of this race is reduced to half its hit points or fewer and has no conscious ally within 30 feet, it gains a +2 racial bonus on melee attack rolls and to Armor Class. Low-Light Vision (1 RP): Prerequisites: None; Benefit: Members of this race can see twice as far as a race with normal vision in conditions of dim light. Scent (4 RP): Prerequisites: None; Benefit: Members of this race gain the scent ability (Bestiary 304). Fast (1 RP): Prerequisite: Normal speed; Benefit: Members of this race gain a +10 foot bonus to their base speed.

Wolf Languages: Woofish and Howler

Working Felae: +2 Dex; +2 Int; -2 Con: Cat’s Luck (1 RP): Prerequisite: The race has at least a +2 racial bonus to Dexterity; Benefit: Members of this race gain the following extraordinary ability: Once per day, when a member of this race makes a Reflex saving throw, it can roll  the saving throw twice and take the better result. It must decide to use this ability before attempting the saving throw. Silent Hunter (2 RP): Prerequisites: None; Benefit: Members of this race reduce the penalty for using Stealth while moving by 5 and can make Stealth checks while running at a –20 penalty (this number includes the penalty reduction from this trait). Sneaky (5 RP): Prerequisites: None; Benefit: Members of this race gain a +4 racial bonus on Stealth checks. Darkvision 60 Feet (2 RP)

Luxury Felae: +2 Dex; +2 Cha; -2 Str Curiosity (4 RP): Prerequisites: None; Benefit: Members of this race are naturally inquisitive about the world around them. They gain a +4 bonus on Diplomacy checks to gather information, and Knowledge (history) and Knowledge (local) become class skills for them. If they choose a class that has either of these Knowledge  skills as class skills, they gain a +2 racial bonus on those skills instead. Nimble Faller (2 RP): Prerequisite: The race has at least a +2 racial bonus to Dexterity; Benefit: Members of this race land on their feet even when they take lethal damage from a fall. Furthermore, they gain a +1 bonus to their CMD against trip attempts. Darkvision 60 Feet (2 RP): Prerequisites: None; Benefit: Members of this race can see in the dark up to 60 feet. Beguiling Liar (2 RP): Prerequisites: None; Benefit: Members of this race gain a +4 racial bonus on Bluff checks to convince an opponent that what they are saying is true when they tell a lie.

Feral Felae: +2 Dex; +2 Wis; -2 Cha: Fearless (1 RP): Prerequisites: None; Benefit: Members of this race gain a +2 racial bonus on all saving throws against fear effects. Special: This bonus stacks with the bonus granted by the lucky (greater or lesser) racial trait. Curiosity (4 RP): Prerequisites: None; Benefit: Members of this race are naturally inquisitive about the world around them. They gain a +4 bonus on Diplomacy checks to gather information, and Knowledge (history) and Knowledge (local) become class skills for them. If they choose a class that has either of these Knowledge skills as class skills, they gain a +2 racial bonus on those skills instead. Nimble Faller (2 RP): Prerequisite: The race has at least a +2 racial bonus to Dexterity; Benefit: Members of this race land on their feet even when they take lethal damage from a fall. Furthermore, they gain a +1 bonus to their CMD against trip attempts. Stalker (1 RP): Prerequisites: None; Benefit: Perception and Stealth are always class skills for members of this race. Darkvision 60 Feet (2 RP): Prerequisites: None; Benefit: Members of this race can see in the dark up to 60 feet.

Cat Languages: Meowan and Br'rt

Brown Rat: Use ratfolk but not slow, and without Skill Bonus Craft Alchemy, and Skill Bonus Use Magic Device, but also with Swim (2 RP): Prerequisites: None; Benefit: Members of this race have a swim speed of 30 feet and gain the +8 racial bonus on Swim checks that a swim speed normally grants, and Lightning Reflexes as a bonus feat.

Black Rat: +4 Dex, -2 Str, -2 Con, Size Small; Nimble Attacks (2 RP): Prerequisites: None; Benefit: Members of this race receive Weapon Finesse as a bonus feat. Fleet-Footed (3 RP): Prerequisite: The race has at least a +2 racial bonus to Dexterity; Benefit: Members of this race receive Run as a bonus feat and a +2 racial bonus on initiative checks. Swarming (1 or 2 RP): Prerequisite: Medium or smaller size; Benefit: Members of this race are used to living and fighting communally with other members of their race. Up to two members of this race can share the same square at the same time. If two members of this race that are occupying the same square attack the same foe, they are considered to be flanking that foe as if they were in two opposite squares. Special: If the race is Small or smaller, this trait costs 1 RP. If the race is Medium, it costs 2 RP Rodent Empathy (1 RP): Prerequisite: Ratfolk subtype; Benefit: Members of this race gain a +4 bonus on Handle Animal checks made to influence rodents Low-Light Vision (1 RP): Prerequisites: None; Benefit: Members of this race can see twice as far as a race with normal vision in conditions of dim light.

Rat/Ferret Languages: Mazian, Labratine, and Squickish

Ferret: +2 Dex, +2 Cha, -2 Wis, Size Small; Silver Tongued Members of this race gain a +2 bonus on Diplomacy and Bluff checks. In addition, when they use Diplomacy to shift a creature’s attitude, they can do so up to three steps up rather than just two. Low-Light Vision Members of this race can see twice as far as a race with normal vision in conditions of dim light. +2 bonus to Perception +2 Bonus Stealth, Gift of Tongues Members of this race gain a +1 racial bonus on Bluff and Diplomacy checks, and they learn one additional language every time they put a rank in the Linguistics skill.

Worg: +4 Str, +2 Con, -2 Dex, -4 Cha, -2 Int Size Large; Bite (2 RP): Prerequisites: Small or larger size; Benefit: Members of this race gain a natural bite attack, dealing damage equivalent to that of a creature one size categories lower than normal for their size (Bestiary 302; 1d6). The bite is a primary attack, or a secondary attack if the creature is wielding manufactured weapons. Special: This trait can be taken up to two times. The second time it is taken, the bite damage increases by one size category. Darkvision 60 Feet (2 RP): Prerequisites: None; Benefit: Members of this race can see in the dark up to 60 feet.

Worg Languages: Howler

Leopard: +2 Str, +2 Dex, -2 Cha  Size Medium; Cat’s Luck (1 RP): Prerequisite: The race has at least a +2 racial bonus to Dexterity; Benefit: Members of this race gain the following extraordinary ability: Once per day, when a member of this race makes a Reflex saving throw, it can roll the saving throw twice and take the better result. It must decide to use this ability before attempting the saving throw. Camouflage (1 RP): Prerequisites: None; Benefit: Choose a ranger favored terrain type. Members of this race gain a +4 racial bonus on Stealth checks while within that terrain type. Climb (2 RP): Prerequisites: None; Benefit: Members of this race have a climb speed of 20 feet, and gain a +8 racial bonus on Climb checks that a climb speed normally grants. Fast (3 RP): Prerequisite: Normal speed; Benefit: Members of this race gain a +20 foot bonus to their base speed. Darkvision 60 Feet (2 RP): Prerequisites: None; Benefit: Members of this race can see in the dark up to 60 feet.

Leopard Languages: Meowan and Br'rt

Note: All races were created with Pathfinder 1e race creator.

Harmon's Story Circle

As I run games, read books, or watch movies I never really think about the formula behind the story. This is especially true when I games because when I prepare an adventure I have bullet points (that cover goals, obstacles, etc) and a list of locations with NPCs and I just let the players run with it.

It was not until I cam across a forum post by Matt Slaton that I really started to think about story design. Matt Slaton also has a great youtube channel where he talks about terrain building and other table top things. 

Anyway, in Matt's original post he presented a technique called Dan Harmon's story circle. The circle has 8 steps to follow to help create all the elements of a good story. 

Here is an example of a break down of the circle using The Dark Knight as an example:

Here is another example of how the circle can be used in a Dungeons and Dragons/table top adventure/setting:

In the above show, Satine Phoenix lists various references in regards to storytelling;

• Hero of a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell
• Heroes Journey by Joseph Campbell
• The Writer's Journey by Christopher Vogler
• Story by Robert McKee

It is also interesting to note that Dan Harmon is the creator behind Rick and Morty (I have never seen the show) but apparently almost every episode follows the story circle. 

Matt Slaton also put together a pdf template for the story circle that can be found here.

Dog Days: Session 3

As the rest of the party sleeps Ghost heads out to one of the great walls of the city to track down the Lt. Upon tracking him down, a long conversation his had about the Capt. and Ghost eventually learns that if the Capt. was still in the city the best place to disappear would be the slums. 

Upon his return to the Red Snouzer Inn Ghost goes to sleep before the rest of the part wakes up. Roger, Thane, and Thorin discuss some ideas over breakfast and it is decided that Thorin is going to go to the local gaird post and see if he can dig up any information and will return. Roger and Thane think it is best to wait for Thorin' return.

It did not take long for Thorin to find the local guard post and due to his background and commanding presence he was able to make his way inside and play some dice with the guards. During the dice game Thorin did not learn anything of value but the ideas of how great and loyal the Capt. was were reinforced and how it looks like they will be shutting down the city guard soon. Thorin soon takes his winnings from the dice game and returns to his companions at the Red Snouzer Inn.

When Thorin returned he motioned Roger and Thane to follow him. Once in their rooms they woke Ghost up and information was shared. Ghost let them know that the Capt. is probably hiding in the slums and there have even been sightings of a German Shepherd. 

The party makes it's way to the slums and they were quickly accosted  by a rat trying to pick pocket Roger. Thorin and Thane made their perception checks and Thorin was able to grab a hold of the rat before he could escape. The rat was about to suffer some serious violence but a mob of slum goers surrounded the party and started to throw things at them and threaten them. Thane's crazy good diplomacy check helped.calm the crowd down and and the rat was reluctantly let go no worse for wear. 

...Now Introducing Disaster (Ferret Swashbuckler with the Inspired Blade archetype): Disaster is on the search for his brother that was one of the missing ferrets from then massacred encampment. Disaster is a investigator by trade and well traveled.

As the party trekked on, they ran into Ferret looking for his magically inclined brother and a deal was struck that the party would help the Ferret look for his brother if he helped then look for someone else. During the ensueing conversation it is learned that Disaster saw a German Sheperd of the same statue enter a house some blocks away.

The party knocks on the door as Thane sneaks around the back. A little old maid of a Mutt answered the door and says she doesnt know what the party is talking about and it is just her and her sons. As this conversation goes on Thane opens the back door and narrowly misses a crossbow trap. As Thane looks through the offending hallway he sees to large dogs in cloaks that appear to be armored and are pointing crossbows at him.

Hearing the commotion at the front door Thorin intimidates the old mutt to let him and his friends in as they immediately go to the aid of Thane. Due to some slick talking by Thane the situation does not end up in a bloodbath and the residents are convinced we are friends of the Capt. and mean him no harm. We are allowed to wait inside the house for the Capt. to return. During this wait, the sly Thane tries to seduce the old Mutt in the hope that he can get more information during ye olde pillow talk. Thanes attempt was top notch and the result on the die roll was crazy high (like a 29)  but the shrewd old Mutt turned him down.

The Capt. returns later that evening and much conversation is had. The Capt. and his men understandably don't trust us and it is decided that we will all meet on neutral ground with the Senator at a warehouse (the Capt. Doesnt know that the warehouse is owned by the Senator and there is a secret passage from the warehouse to the Senators compound).

During the next day the Capt. and his men leave as Disaster, Roger, and Thane go to talk to the Senator and to set up a meeting with the Capt. During their meeting in the Senators office (at his compound via warehouse tunnel) Disaster reader an encoded letter from the Govenor talking about capturing the Capt. and the Govenor himself makes an appearance...

In the meantime, Ghost and Thorin find a good hiding spot to watch house but quickly release that they are being watched by a beggar. Thorin makes his way over there and drops some coin on his cup and learns that a wizard ferret was abducted by men in robes right off of the street a few days ago. Thorin drops a few coins in the beggars cup for future information.

As night falls, the party is reunited and it is decided to be completely honest with the Capt. about everything. When the Capt. returns it is decided that they will keep said meeting but try to set up a ambush becuase keeping this meeting is the only way to find our the truth and who is loyal to who....

This is where the session ends...

LotFP Class: The Reanimated

The Reanimated are not born, they are created. Sewn together from living parts and given life through terrible intellect, the reanimated appear to be stitched together well-preserved corpses.

Rules and Magic Core

Experience: As Fighter

Hit Dice: As Fighter

Saves: As Fighter

Inhuman Strength: They receive a +2 damage bonus on all melee attacks and their unarmed strikes deal 1d6 damage.

Relentless: They do not need to eat, sleep, drink, or rest. In addition, their move is always 60’ per turn/20’ per round/12 miles per day) regardless of encumbrance.

Unnatural Physiology: They reduce all damage by 2 and possess a +2 bonus to all magical saves.

Second Edition Playtest Notes Changes

Experience, Hit Dice, and Saves are ignored becuase they are calculated differently.

Unnatural Physiology: The magical save bonus becomes a +2d6.

Credit where credit is due. This is basically a conversion of the Reanimated Class found in White Box Gothic from Barrel Rider Games. Before I came across this book I tinkered with various ideas and nothing seemed to work that way I wanted it to. Then I remembered I had White Box Gothic on my shelf and cracked it open and bam! There it was. No need to reinvent the wheel. 

Dog Days: Breed of Canis

Sporting (Retriever, Spaniel, Setter): +2 Cha; -2 Dex; +2 Int Size Medium Emissary (1 RP): Prerequisites: None; Benefit: Once per day, members of this race can roll twice when making a Bluff or Diplomacy check and take the better roll. Swim (2 RP): Prerequisites: None; Benefit: Members of this race have a swim speed of 30 feet and gain a +8 racial bonus on Swim checks that a swim speed normally grants.  Terrain Stride (1 RP): Prerequisite: Normal speed; Benefit: When in Marshes Members of this race can move through natural difficult terrain at their normal speed while within the chosen terrain. Magically altered terrain affects them normally. Hold Breath (1 RP): Prerequisites: None; Benefit: Members of this race can hold their breath for a number of rounds equal to four times their Constitution score before risking drowning or suffocating. Fearless (1 RP): Prerequisites: None; Benefit: Members of this race gain a +2 racial bonus on all saving throws against fear effects. Special: This bonus stacks with the bonus granted by the lucky (greater or lesser) racial trait. Lucky, Greater (4 RP): Prerequisites: None; Benefit: Members of this race gain a +2 racial bonus on all saving throws.

Toys (Comedian, Pug, Chihuahua): +4 Dex; -2 Str; -2 Int; Size Small Gifted Linguist (2 RP): Prerequisite: Standard or linguist language quality; Benefit: Members of this race gain a +4 racial bonus on Linguistics checks, and they learn one additional language every time they put a rank in the Linguistics skill. Fleet-Footed (3 RP): Prerequisite: The race has at least a +2 racial bonus to Dexterity; Benefit: Members of this race receive Run as a bonus feat and a +2 racial bonus on initiative checks. Jumper (2 RP): Prerequisite: The race has at least a +2 racial bonus to Dexterity; Benefit: Members of this race are always considered to have a running start when making Acrobatics checks to jump. Sprinter (1 RP): Prerequisite: Normal speed; Benefit: Members of this race gain a +10 foot racial bonus to their speed.

Working (Great Pyrenees, Mastiff, Bernese Mountain Dog): +2 Str; +2 Int; -2 Cha Size Medium Cornered Fury (+2 Bonus to AC and Melee attack rolls when reduced to half HP and no allies within 30 ft.) (4), Mountain-Born (1 RP): Prerequisites: None; Benefit: Members of this race gain a +2 racial bonus on Acrobatics checks made to cross narrow ledges and on saving throws against altitude fatigue and sickness. Mountaineer (1 RP): Prerequisites: None; Benefit: Members of this race are immune to altitude sickness and do not lose their Dexterity bonus to AC when making Climb checks or Acrobatics checks to cross narrow or slippery surfaces. Ferocity (4 RP): Prerequisites: None; Benefit: Members of this race gain the following extraordinary ability: If the hit points of a member of this race fall below 0 but it is not yet dead, it can continue to fight. If it does, it is staggered, and loses 1 hit point each round. It still dies when its hit points reach a negative amount equal to its Constitution score.

Non Sporting (Chow, Poodle, Shiba Inu): +2 Cha; -2 Con; +2 Dex Size Medium Stubborn (2 RP): Prerequisites: None; Benefit: Members of this race gain a +2 racial bonus on Will saving throws to resist spells and spell-like abilities of the enchantment (charm) and enchantment (compulsion) subschools. In addition, if a member of this race fails such a save, it receives another save 1 round later to prematurely end the effect (assuming the spell or spell-like ability has a duration greater than 1 round). This second save is made at the same DC as the first. If the member of the race has a similar ability from another source (such as a rogue’s slippery mind class feature), it can only use one of these abilities per round, but can try the other on the second round if the first reroll ability fails. Silver Tongued (3 RP): Prerequisites: None; Benefit: Members of this race gain a +2 bonus on Diplomacy and Bluff checks. In addition, when they use Diplomacy to shift a creature’s attitude, they can do so up to three steps up rather than just two. Multitalented (2 RP): Prerequisites: None; Benefit: Members of this race choose two favored classes at 1st level and gain +1 hit points or +1 skill rank whenever they take a level in either of those classes. Gregarious (1 RP): Prerequisite: The race has at least a +2 racial bonus to Charisma; Benefit: When members of this race successfully use Diplomacy to win over an individual, that creature takes a –2 penalty on attempts to resist any of the member’s Charisma-based skills for the next 24 hours. Gift of Tongues (2 RP): Prerequisite: Standard or linguist language quality; Benefit: Members of this race gain a +1 racial bonus on Bluff and Diplomacy checks, and they learn one additional language every time they put a rank in the Linguistics skill.

Herding (Australian Cattle Dog, Shepherd, Collie): +2 Con; +2 Wis; -2 Cha; Size Medium Bond to the Land Plains (+2 Bonus to AC when in Plains) 2. Silent Hunter (2 RP): Prerequisites: None; Benefit: Members of this race reduce the penalty for using Stealth while moving by 5 and can make Stealth checks while running at a –20 penalty (this number includes the penalty reduction from this trait). Skill Bonus +2 Escape Artist (2rp). Quick Reactions (2 RP): Prerequisites: None; Benefit: Members of this race receive Improved Initiative as a bonus feat. Bonus Feat Toughness (2)

Hounds (Dachshund, Bloodhound, Beagle): +2 Int; +2 Wis; -2 Dex Size Medium, Curiosity (4 RP): Prerequisites: None; Benefit: Members of this race are naturally inquisitive about the world around them. They gain a +4 bonus on Diplomacy checks to gather information, and Knowledge (history) and Knowledge (local) become class skills for them. If they choose a class that has either of these Knowledge skills as class skills, they gain a +2 racial bonus on those skills instead. Scavenger (2 RP): Prerequisites: None; Benefit: Members of this race gain a +2 racial bonus on Appraise and Perception checks to find hidden objects (including traps and secret doors), determine whether food is spoiled, or identify a potion by taste. Scent (4 RP): Prerequisites: None; Benefit: Members of this race gain the scent ability (Bestiary 304).

Terrier (Pitbull, Scottish Terrier, Schnauzer): -2 Con; +2 Dex; +2 Int Size Small Integrated (1 RP): Prerequisites: None; Benefit: Members of this race gain a +1 bonus on Bluff, Disguise, and Knowledge (local) checks. Bonus Feat Toughness (2rp) Underground Sneak (5 RP): Prerequisite: Race is native to the Darklands; Benefit: Members of this race gain a +2 racial bonus on Craft (alchemy), Perception, and Stealth checks. The bonus on Stealth checks increases to a +4 bonus while underground. Climb (2 RP): Prerequisites: None; Benefit: Members of this race have a climb speed of 20 feet, and gain a +8 racial bonus on Climb checks that a climb speed normally grants.

Mutts Small: +2 to any one attribute Size small Flexible Bonus Feat (4 RP): Prerequisites: None; Benefit: Members of this race select one extra feat at 1st level.  Skilled (4 RP): Prerequisites: None; Benefit: Members of this race gain an additional skill rank at 1st level and one additional skill rank whenever they gain a level. Swarming (1 or 2 RP): Prerequisite: Medium or smaller size; Benefit: Members of this race are used to living and fighting communally with other members of their race. Up to two members of this race can share the same square at the same time. If two members of this race that are occupying the same square attack the same foe, they are considered to be flanking that foe as if they were in two opposite squares. Special: If the race is Small or smaller, this trait costs 1 RP. If the race is Medium, it costs 2 RP. Stability (1 RP): Prerequisites: None; Benefit: Members of this race receive a +4 racial bonus to their CMD when resisting bull rush or trip attempts while standing on the ground.

Mutts Medium: +2 to any one attribute Size medium Flexible Bonus Feat (4 RP): Prerequisites: None; Benefit: Members of this race select one extra feat at 1st level.  Skilled (4 RP): Prerequisites: None; Benefit: Members of this race gain an additional skill rank at 1st level and one additional skill rank whenever they gain a level. Swarming (1 or 2 RP): Prerequisite: Medium or smaller size; Benefit: Members of this race are used to living and fighting communally with other members of their race. Up to two members of this race can share the same square at the same time. If two members of this race that are occupying the same square attack the same foe, they are considered to be flanking that foe as if they were in two opposite squares. Special: If the race is Small or smaller, this trait costs 1 RP. If the race is Medium, it costs 2 RP.      

The language of the Canis are Woofish, Yappy, Barkian, and Borker.

Note: These races were created using the Pathfinder 1e race builder.

Review: Amazing Tales

Awhile back I was looking for a game that would be appropriate and fun to run for kids and be enjoyable on the GM as well. I read up on and looked at all the usual suspects but none did what I wanted them to do (becuase I wanted a game to be able to easily pull of any genre I wanted and to merge well with any character concept the kids could come up with). I came across a recorded play of Amazing Tales on YouTube and I was sold. The author, Martin Lloyd was kind of enough to send me a pdf and a physical copy for review and demo purposes.

Presentation: This hardcover book clocks in at 96 pages of full color including the covers, legal pages, etc. The words and art is set against an aged parchment color of paper - something like the color of an old an old map. The art itself is very whimsical and ethereal. It instantly captures the soul of Peter Pan, The Legend of Zelda, Grimm's Fairy Tales (in very light hearted way), The Princess Bride, The Labyrinth, The Last Unicorn, all of Hayao Miyazaki films, etc. All of the art is full of color and detail which makes it enjoyable to read and seems to hold even the most distractanle kids attention.

Character Creation: The process of creating a character is very simple and straight forward. You ask the player what is their characters name, what do they look like, and what they are good at. When you get to the last point you want to discuss what four skills their character has and what they think they should be best at, then what they are next best at and so forth. Then you assign a skill dice to each skill; a d12 for their best skill, a d10 for their next skill, a d8, and finally a d6. You should try to keep the the skills broad that can be used in a variety of situations. You younger kids are going to need more guidance in this area but make sure they feel like their character is theirs. That is it for character creation! No attributes, no saves, no hit points (yep, you heard me), no movement, and no complicated maneuvers.

Resolution System: If the character tries something that has a chance of failure or if succeeding would be interesting choose one of the related skills and roll it (the game is player facing so the GM does not roll). On a result of 3+ you succeed. This is the main reason you want skills to broad and you also want to really encourage the players to use their skills in creative and out of the box ways to solve problems. Due to the nature of the game, you are advised to avoid hard flat failures and are encouraged to go with the "no, but..." model that makes the situation worse. There is also some great advice given about asking the player how they fail. 

Crunch: Ummmmmmmm, there is none.

Final Thoughts: I have logged in hours of running this for kids and even adults (yes, it works amazing for adults) and it is a blast to run for any age group. In addition, the book is crammed full of GM advice for running games for children, how to use the system, and there are four examples settings (Tales from the Deep Dark Wood, Tales from the Magical Kingdoms Long Ago, Adventures on the Pirate Seas, and Adventures Among the Stars). I would easily recommend this for running games for kids (obviously), introducing new people to roleplaying games (all ages), and even running a campiagn for adults.

There is also great support for Amazing Tales:

• Martin Lloyd's Blog
• Actual Play
• An amazing article about What I learned from Playing AMAZING TALES...
• Facebook

You can find the game on Drivethrurpg and Amazon. The simple and elegant character sheets can be found here. The version depicted below is designed for the players to draw their character and their skills. A secondary version is included in the download that is designed for writing the same.

Dog Days: Session 2

As Thane, Ghost, and Roger were freeing the last of the Ferrets a large number of guards wearing a sash adorned with a Senate seal burst into the room and demanding to know what is going on. The guards were surprised to see that their job had been done for them and after some vetting they released that Thane, Ghost, and Roger were not cultists and were actually hired by the Captian of the Guard. 

The party was surprised to learn that the Capt. has gone missing and is wanted by the Governor for failure to handle the Breeder Cult situation. As the force of guards started to clean up and help the remains Ferrets to safety a large mutt by the name of Thorim who had an air of military veteran about him approached the party and introduced himself by way of, "you guys actually look like you know what your doing. The rest of them are nothing more then farmers with pitch forks". 

Conversation and introductions were had all the way around after the decision was made to go see the senator. Roger was really not happy that the Capt. vanished becuase the Capt. was suppose to pay him.

At the meeting with the Senator the party learned that their was conflicting stories between the Capt. and the Governor. The Capt. said he was under orders not to act by the Governor but the Governor said that the Capt. disobeyed his orders. The senator made a point that he sides with the Capt. becuase the Governor is trying to make a power play for the Triumvirate and plans to replace the city guard with his own personal army. 

After some rude persuasion by Roger, the Senator agrees to pay everyone a daily wage for the work promised by the Capt. and offers the party a job to find the Capt. and bring him to the Senator. The job is strictly off the books and the Senator threatened death if we run into trouble and admit who we are working for. The payment would be 100 gold pieces per person and there was failed diplomacy by Roger for money and by Thorin to get access to the armory. 

After the meeting Thorin led the party to the Red Snouzer Inn where he was staying and working as a bouncer since he arrived in the city. The party took to a table on the corner of the smokey room to discuss strategy. During the conversation Perception checks were made and only Ghost and Thorin made their rolls to notice someone listening to their conversation outside of the window. Thorin and Ghost jumped out the window and gave chase to the grungy looking rat that was spying on them. Roger followed shortly after but Thane botched is Perception roll so bad that he was mesmerized by a fly buzzing around his head and when he came too his fellow companions were gone and most of the tavern goers were gawking in the aftermath of the commotion. 

Thane quickly jumps up, grabs his instrument and started playing and singing a distracting song about the majestic fly.

The rat was finally cornered in a dead end alley where a dart from a solid throw from Thorin knocked the rat off of the wall he was trying to climb up. After some interrogation the party learns that he was hired by the cultists to gather information and help lead Ferrets to them. During this time, Ghost removed himself from the situation and headed back the tavern as he didn't want his morals to get in the way of what needed to be done. Roger killed the rat before information could be gleaned about where the rat was meeting the cultists. Thorin searched the body and outside of some loose coin a vial of strange brown liquid was found.

Upon everyone's return to the tavern, Thorin, Roger, and Thane went to bed while Ghost decided to follow up a lead with one of the Lt. who was a good friend of the Capt. 

This brings us to the end session 2. 

Happy Dave Arneson day!

In honor of the forgotten hero, Dave Arneson I am resharing the story of the very first Dungeon adventure that took place under the city of Blackmoor.

The First Dungeon Adventure

By Greg Svenson
(Revised 5/21/2009)

I have the unique experience of being the sole survivor of the first dungeon adventure in the history of "Dungeons & Dragons", indeed in the history of role-playing in general. This is the story of that first dungeon adventure.

During the Christmas break of 1970-71; our gaming group was meeting in Dave Arneson's basement in St. Paul, Minnesota. We had been playing a big Napoleonics miniatures campaign, which was getting bogged down in long drawn out miniatures battles. So, as a diversion for the group, one weekend Dave set up Blackmoor instead of Napoleonics on his ping pong table. The rules we used were based on "Chainmail", which is a set of medieval miniature rules with a fantasy supplement allowing for magic and various beings found in the "Lord of the Rings". I had never played any games like it before, although I had read "Lord of the Rings". Other members of the group had played the game before, but always doing adventures in and around the town of Blackmoor. By the end of the weekend I had fallen in love with the game.

On this particular weekend, Dave tried a new wrinkle for the game. He had been working all week to prepare a map of tunnels and catacombs under the town and especially under the castle. To begin the adventure an evil wizard, played by Jim Abler, and his pet balrog, played by John Soukup, did something to Baron Fant (Dave Fant), the Lord of Blackmoor at the time. I don't know exactly what they did, as I was playing one of the castle's guards, simply a man-at-arms in chainmail with a shield and a sword. After doing his evil deed, the wizard fled into the dungeon under the castle, which had apparently been abandoned for many years by the normal denizens of the castle.

So, the Baron picked 30 of his men-at-arms and sent us to hunt down the wizard. Among the 30 men-at-arms there were six players, myself, Bill Heaton, Mel Johnson, Kurt Krey, Stephen Rocheford and Jim Barber. I want to thank Stephen Rocheford for reminding me that Jim Barber was the sixth member or our party. All of us were level 1 fighters in modern terms, although at the time you were either a flunky (like all of us at the start of the adventure), a hero or a superhero.

We started by marching down a huge staircase from the main hall into the castle's basement, a huge irregularly shaped room with seven pillars supporting the ceiling and a large number of doors leading into the dungeon. This was the only area of the dungeon that was secure for us "good" guys. We had no idea which way the wizard went, so we picked a door leading northwest, later dubbed the "Northwest Passage". We were carrying torches for light. We meandered about for a while until we found a staircase going down. We took the stairs and continued wandering the corridors.

At this point Dave took us into the laundry area of the basement, telling us he wanted to see what we would do. He had us line up in our marching order. Then he turned off the lights saying a sudden wind had blown out our torches. Then we heard some screaming. We generally scattered as best we could. He turned on the lights looked at what we had done and then went back to the other room, telling us that a black blob (like the thing in the classic Japanese horror movie "The Blob" from the 1950’s) had killed one of the NPCs who ran into it. We soon found that our weapons dissolving when we struck it. Then we got some torches relit and found that we could fight it with fire. Eventually we killed it losing a couple more men in the process.

After wandering more corridors we entered a room where we were attacked by giant spiders. Another fierce battle ensued and we overcame them, losing a couple of men in the process. We found some copper coins and broken weapons in the room along with a bunch of bones, including human bones.

Then we found another staircase going down, so down we went. We wandered for a while on this level. Then we came to a room with the fallen statue of Poseidon with trident in his hand. From the room there was a staircase going down. At the bottom of the stairs we entered a triangular room with a smoking pot in the center of it. It shot balls of fire at us. It took us a while to figure out how to get safely past it.
We found a magic sword on the ground. I am not sure which room we were in when we found it. Probably, either where the statue was or where the smoking pot was. Anyway, one of the players tried to pick it up. He received a shock and was thrown across the room. The same thing happened to the second player to try. When Bill tried to pick it up he was successful. We were all impressed and Dave, declared Bill our leader and elevated him to "hero" status.

We found another staircase going down, now to the 4th level. Here we found a fountain with a small statue of a devil in it. There was also an ominous red glow here. We realized that we had no time reference, but that we were all getting tired, so we stopped and set up camp in a large room and bedded down for the "night", carefully placing guards at the doors. During the night a beautiful woman came to our camp. She successfully seduced Bill. While they were embracing she turned into a serpent and killed him. We fought and eventually killed it, but Bill's loss was a major set back for the party. Several of us were injured trying to pick up the magic sword. One of the guys was eventually successful in picking it up, though. We collectively decided that we were in way over our heads and to return to the castle. Soon we realized that we had made some errors in making our maps, too, as we were quite lost. We eventually got back to the second level and decided that it was time to make camp again.

While we were resting, the evil wizard and the balrog decided that we were getting to close to getting out, so they decided to finish us off. The balrog became invisible and entered the room where we had our camp and first attacked the man with the magic sword. After he killed him we were all awakened and set upon him. The balrog's body became a flaming torch as he tore into us. But 20 men-at-arms were no match for the balrog without our hero. We fought valiantly; after all, there was no safe place for us to run. After a while I realized that I was the last man standing. The balrog realized it, too. He stopped attacking, turned off his flames and said to me "Go in fear and tell the Baron what we have done to his men!" Then he disappeared.

As I looked about one of the corridors became illuminated. A voice spoke (the evil wizard) telling me that the illuminated corridor would lead me back to the castle. After determining that everyone else was dead, I picked up some leather and carefully wrapped the magic sword with it and walked down the illuminated corridor. This corridor led me to a staircase going up. At the top another corridor was illuminated leading me to a door. On the other side was the large room where we had started.

I reported to the Baron what had happened. He looked at the sword and offered me the unimaginable sum of 100 gold pieces for it. I realized that it must be vary valuable and bargained hard with him, eventually agreeing on 150 gold pieces for it. That was more money than I, a mere farmer’s son, drafted into the Baron's guard, could imagine (of course, eventually I figured out that such swords were vastly more valuable than that, but by then it was far to late to do anything about it...).

Over time I went on to be one of the heroes of the "First Fantasy Campaign", picking up the nickname "the Great Svenny" from my comrades. At one point, I had much of the dungeon memorized; I had done so many adventures there. That proved to be almost fatal to our group, but that is another story.


The Great Svenny is still alive, 33 years later. We still do adventures, occasionally. The Great Svenny is currently serving as the "Lord Regent" of the Regency Council of Blackmoor. Svenny lives in his tower, Zvensen's Freehold, several miles east of the town of Blackmoor City, near the Elven village and Wolf's Head Pass.