House Rules and Question Resolution

I broke my dungeoneering teeth on the Moldvay Basic set and that will be forever my favorite set of rules. That being said I think Labyrinth Lord is an improvement of the original classic with regards to layout. I am still hemming and hawing about whether or not to use the additional classes from the Advanced Edition rules, but for now I have decided to only use the 'basic' LL rules and the original classes (including race as class).

And as with every DM, I have a set of house rules which I have tacked on including healing and death rules, carousing and gambling, saves vs. energy drain and sleep, experience point bonuses, etc. At some point soon, I'll add a table covering these in more detail.

With regards to the solo play rules, I realized after a nice discussion with Alasdair on G+ that I probably need to elaborate a bit more on the question resolution system that I am using.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I am using the Mythic GM Emulator for question resolution - but how does it work? Well, during solo play I am playing the characters and relying on Mythic to be the GM by answering yes/no questions to which I have ascribed a % likelihood of being a yes. Then I roll dice (d00) on the Fate Chart and based on the likelihood of a yes, I get either a yes, no, or an exceptional yes/no. The latter two require an interpretation on my part as to what additional implications the yes or no comes with.

There is also the possibility of a random event occurring if doubles are rolled on the d00.  The random event is determined first by rolling on the 'Focus' table, i.e. what is the target/subject of the new event. Then a roll is made on the Event Action and Event Subject tables to gain further insight. In the last play report there is a good example which I will try and elaborate on further so my thought process is a bit clearer.

So, the party was in the midst of a tough fight with the orks. I thought ok, perhaps now the party might consider retreating, although given that they still outnumbered the enemy, I said the likelihood was greater than 50% that they would stick and fight. The result on the d00 roll was a 44, indicating that they did in fact continue the fight AND the doubles meant a random event.

I rolled on the Focus Table and came up with 'PC Negative', i.e. something bad (relatively speaking) for the party. Then I rolled on the Event Action and Subject tables and came up with 'Attract a Project'. Now this gets to the heart of solo play….how to leverage the randomness and unexpected results from various tables by interpreting the output  given the context of the game. So after thinking a bit the best I could come up with was Loro leveraging the tight spot the party was in to grab a share of the loot. A 'negative' for the party, but one that made sense to me given where the action was at that specific moment.

I'm not following the process as laid out in the GM Emulator to the letter (for those that know the system, I'm still not sure about how best to incorporate the Chaos Rank), but I am employing interpretation 1.0 and it's fun so far.

I am considering using other question resolution systems, and I have no doubt that version 2.0 will come along soon!

PLAY REPORT - Session 1, part 3

Thowin Four Fingers, a fighter

Imorfin the elf

Reldari the cleric, and his torchbearer, Nux

Fretta the Dark, a thief

Balork the Medium, a magic-user and Bursus, his man-at-arms

We rejoin the party on the first level of Stonehell, packing up their gear after a brief rest…

Loro rolled up his drawings of the dwarven architecture and stuck them in his pack as Thowin and Imorfin got the rest of the group ready to move out.

New torches were lit and the party followed the only passage out of the chamber, soon reaching an intersection. The halls were silent, offering no real clue as to which passage to pursue. They tried the western passage first, but it led to an empty chamber and nothing of interest was found save for some unintelligible scribblings on the stone walls.

Thowin led the way back to the intersection and down the eastern passage. They soon entered another chamber, this one littered with piles of foul-smelling offal, bones of various sizes (and species) and other detritus. As the group considered whether to try and navigate the nastiness to an opening in the opposite corner of the room, Bursus noticed some movement in a nearby trash pile.

Suddenly a horde of giant-sized rats poured out, surging towards the party like

a brown wave. With weapons already drawn, the party was ready for the charging rodents, and within a few seconds, six of the rats were dead. Save for a few nips which were't close to penetrating boot leather, the rats didn't put up much of a fight. A couple more were cut by the party's blades and suddenly the remaining rats turned tail and headed back into the piles of waste.

Just as Balork muttered something about unnecessary noise, four visitors barged into the chamber from the opposite side of the room. "Orks!" Fretta turned and loosed an arrow, striking one of the four and the fight was on. Imorfin, Reldari, Bursus, and Loro the dwarf followed a charging Thowin Four Fingers into the fray.

One of the orks shouted out a warning down the passage from which they emerged. Thowin cursed, wondering how many orks might be around the corner. The big fighter then cut down one of the foes with his two-handed sword. Loro took an arrow in the shoulder, but the dwarf battled on.

(Morale check showed that orks would fight on.)

Reldari took a nasty cut across his chest, but the good cleric wouldn't back away from the fight. He offered words of encouragement to Bursus, who was having the better of it with his foe. Suddenly a gong sounded from whence the orks came. A collective sense of dread washed across the party. What to do?

(Q: Does the party flee after hearing the gong? Unlikely - I figured they would stick around a bit since the orks were outnumbered, for now at least. 53 - party fights on. Some rolls behind the screen revealed that two waves of ork reinforcements would arrive in a few rounds.)

The fighting was messy as man, elf, dwarf, and ork all slipped and tripped, struggling to find firm footing in the offal-filled chamber. But luck seemed to be with the party. First Imorfin cut down an ork and then Bursus dropped another.

(The lone remaining ork failed a morale check and decided to bolt.)

The last ork turned and ran for the exit, dodging a swing from Loro. Fretta loosed a last arrow, but it was well wide of the mark. The party quickly caught their breath and after a brief discussion it was decided Reldari would use his spell of healing on himself, as his wound was much more serious than the injuries to Loro and Thowin.

Before the party could consider further action, three more orks arrived, two of them armed with bows. Fretta fired again wide of the mark, and the albino thief cursed under her breath. Imorfin caught a shaft in the shoulder and grimaced in pain.

(Q: Does party fight on? Likely, given there are only 3 orks. 44, Yes. And the doubles mean that a random event occurs. The RE table in Mythic reveals a PC Negative event: Attract a Project. Hmmmmm)

Loro the dwarf tugged at Thowin. "We agreed a full share for me, eh?" The fighter reluctantly agreed. It was a little difficult to refuse in the middle of the fight. Loro winked as he hefted his axe and then the dwarf charged the orks.

Imorfin and Thowin each cut down an ork, leaving only one. Loro squared up against the last foe and drew blood. But the ork retaliated with a vicious blow of his own, and Loro the dwarf dropped to the mucky floor, thus ending the shortest employment for a mercenary in recorded history.

Suddenly a group of seven orks burst into the chamber, six ork fighters led by a huge brute, obviously their captain. Imorfin and Thowin immediately turned to engage. Balork, who had been holding his Sleep spell in reserve, finally decided that he could wait no longer and the magic-user cast the spell.

(Imorfin and Thowin were both caught in the area of effect of the spell along with the orks. 9 HD were affected - the 7 1HD orks, as well as Imorfin and Thowin. All missed their save vs. spells - I'll post soon about my house rules)

Reldari, Fretta, Bursus and Balork, now out of magic, faced the ork captain. The latter hefted a wicked looking battle-axe and sneered at the weaklings before him.

(To be continued…)

PLAY REPORT - Session 1, part 2

In borrowing again from John Yorio, I have decided to include the questions I ask of Mythic and the resulting answers. Already the oracle takes some of the adventure material and twists it slightly, adding some interesting color. This is the part I most enjoy - watching the story develop organically by way of randomization!

Thowin Four Fingers, a fighter

Imorfin the elf

Reldari the cleric, and his torchbearer, Nux

Fretta the Dark, a thief

Balork the Medium, a magic-user and Bursus, his man-at-arms

We rejoin the party in the entry chamber on the first level of Stonehell, contemplating which way to go….

After lighting new torches the party opted for one of the two passages heading to the south. Thowin led the way as they entered a square chamber littered with bones. A quick examination revealed the remains likely to be humanoid. Old blood stains covered a good portion of the stone floor.  A lowered portcullis could be seen to the west down a short passage, but before the party could investigate further, a strong wind began swirling about, growing stronger and stronger until the two torches were extinguished.

"Fools! Flee before your bones rest here evermore," boomed a voice in the darkness, followed by sinister laughter. (Question: Does the party flee? Very unlikely - 25, Yes)

The party didn't think twice and as one, bolted from the room. Back in the entry chamber Thowin and Imorfin steadied the group and led the way down the other southern corridor.

Voices were heard up ahead coming from a side passage.  Thowin peered around the corner and immediately discovered the source - a party of dwarves standing at the bottom of a pit in the middle of the hallway. (Random Encounter check came up with 4 dwarves. They were coming from a side passage that had a pit trap. Question: Are the dwarves trapped in the pit? Unlikely - 23, Yes; Are any of the dwarves injured? 50-50 - 4, Exceptional yes; so I judge that one of the dwarves actually bought the farm in the fall)

Imorfin and Thowin instinctively moved forward to help the trapped dwarves. Ropes were dropped down and the grateful demihumans were pulled up. With the exception of one poor dwarf who impaled himself on his pickaxe, the rest seemed to be no worse for wear, escaping with mild bumps and bruises.

The group was led by one Snorri Broadshoulders, and the party soon found out that the dwarves were exploring Stonehell on a sort of archeological expedition, looking for examples of ancient dwarven construction.

(Question: Will Snorri and the dwarves leave with their fallen comrade? Unlikely - 22, Yes. The doubles mean a scene interruption from the Mythic Oracle. The event focus is 'NPC Positive' with a meaning 'Dispute Liberty'….how to interpret?)

The dwarves debated whether or not to continue with their expedition, but Snorri ultimately decided to return to the surface with their dead comrade. But before they departed one of the younger dwarves engaged Snorri in an intense discussion. Apparently the lad was seeking permission to join Thowin's group, and after a few words between Snorri and the human fighter, his wish was granted. (Random Encounter check negative) So with Loro added to the ranks, the group parted ways with Snorri. 

They came across one empty chamber and after a fruitless search, quickly continued on to the south and found a door at the end of the passage. They entered the chamber beyond and immediately realized they had found one of the rooms that Snorri was seeking. The stonework of the walls and ceiling were of the highest quality and obviously very old. Images of dwarven gods in bas-relief adorned the walls. Loro immediately began sketching and taking notes, completely lost in his admiration of the ancient dwarven stonework.

When Fretta as the last of the party entered the room, the door slammed shut before anyone realized there was no handle on the inside. Thankfully there was another hallway that provided an exit from the chamber, but Thowin and Imorfin motioned for everyone to take a rest, resigned to the fact that there was no way back the way they had come.

While Loro scribbled away, rations were pulled out and the party rested.  Bursus pulled out a piece of wood and began whittling as he and Nux  chatted about all the treasure they we certain soon to find.

(To be continued…)

Random character generation

Without a doubt my passion for using random tables and generators also extends to character generation. Over the past several years I have picked up ideas and source material from various OSR bloggers and put together some tables for auto-generating character details. 

I first tried out the concept for a PBP game I was running at the time. Although my players were great in humoring me, I think honestly the reviews were mixed. But now that I am "the player" in the EES, all PCs and NPCs will be auto-generated using different tables. So here is my methodology:

Stats (3d6 in order) - To be honest, the current PCs were generated using 4d6 (drop the lowest) in order. Don't recall why I was so wimpy at the time, but I think for all new characters, I'll man up and go 3d6. Although likely with the caveat that total modifiers (aggregated) have to be -1 or higher. Baby steps…

Hand of Fate table - This is an idea that I lifted from Jeff Rients (I think), with other sources thrown in, I'm sure. This is a d100 table that every PC rolls on with different categories of possible results. These include (with actual table example):

Special Motivation (You are searching for a family heirloom - what is it?)

Random Boon (You have an eagle eye - add +1 to all missile attacks)

Random Bane (You have a headgear obsession - roll on the Random Headgear Table)

Skill (You are a gifted musician, +2 to all reaction rolls while playing your lute in front of others)

Roll on Special Class Ability Table (Thief: Never surprised, unless asleep or drunk)

Magic item (Random Potion)

Roll 2x on the Table

All in all, I think the good items outweigh the bad 2-1 with some neutral thrown in.

Appearance, Quirks, and Skeletons - These are actually three separate tables and each PC rolls on two of them (selected randomly). See example below with the PC description

Name generator - There are many name generators out there, but I borrowed the concept for mine from the supercool MeatShields generator. I basically created two lists of first and second syllables and I roll twice to create a name, e.g. Balork. I also created tables for females as well as having subtables for 'ready-made names', demi-human names, and monikers (1 in 12 chance)

Previous occupation - Self explanatory. I think rat catcher is still my favorite…

So,of course all the current characters (and retainers) in the Ever Expanding Sandbox game were generated using these random tables. Please meet them below.

Balork (Magic-User): Wears a black eyepatch, fascinated by dungeon ecology, and was previously a fisherman. He is searching for something, although we don't yet know what it is. Balork had a random stat increased by +1

Fretta the Dark (Thief): Fretta is an albino, she has an unresolved family vendetta and was formerly an armorer. She is also afraid of the dark. Now, when I rolled that up I could only smile. First I randomly generate Fretta who then hits a 1-120 probability for the moniker 'the Dark'…. Fret-ta the Dark and THEN she has a random bane - fear of the dark. It's awesome when random tables come together like that!

(EDITED - previously had the wrong character!)
Reldari (Cleric): Reldari is an outcast from his family, the illegitimate child of a minor noble. He has very poor teeth and is a voracious reader. Reldari's Strength score was increased by +1

Imorfin (Elf): Imorfin always wants to be the good guy (elf), is also an exile from his homeland (makes more sense for an elf), and is an experienced fisherman. He is also a charmer and gets +1 to all interactions with the opposite sex (humans and elves). Makes sense!

Thowin Four Fingers (Fighter): Has a lame eye and is haunted by a ghost! Was previously a farmer. Thowin also has a signature weapon (two-handed sword) and gets an extra +1 to hit/damage when he uses it

So each PC has some nuggets to play with. Not all of the quirks or skeletons have been explored yet and maybe some PCs won't last long enough to do so, but the idea is to flesh them out through play. Fretta is also already developing additional fears (snakes), so I'm going to keep playing on that.

If you have any links, tips, thoughts on random character generation, hit me up! I'm always looking for more source material!

PLAY REPORT - Alternative style

I'm not sure if anyone is reading or not, but if so, I would like to ask you for some input. I am considering two different styles for writing my solo play session reports. A couple days ago I posted the first play report in normal 'DM summary' format. Below I offer the first-person journal entry format from the party's magic-user. I think both formats have their pros and cons, and to be honest, I still think I'm a long way off in finding an approach that I like. The fact that I suck as a writer doesn't help either.

But which version do you prefer? Any general considerations for writing session reports?

Foray into Stonehell as recorded by Balork the Medium

Day 1

Led by Thowin Four Fingers and Imorfin the Elf, we made the long descent down the stone stairs and into the dungeons of Stonehell. Nux, the young torchbearer with the lazy eye walked just before me holding his torch high. Next to him went his employer, the good cleric Reldari, mace and shield at the ready. I never found out exactly which minor deity or demi-god the acolyte worshipped.

Bursus, my man-at-arms, walked at my right. The young lad appears a good sort, despite his numerous tattoos and his strange wood-whittling obsession. If nothing else he is focused on securing as much gold as he can, owing a rather large debt to some unsavory individuals in Enharza.

Fretta the Dark, the albino thief rounded out our motley band. She has not revealed the story behind her moniker, despite some badgering from Thowin and Bursus. Fretta seems somewhat sickly, and mostly hides under her cowl.

After a long descent we finally emerged from the stairs into the middle of a large chamber. The light from our torch revealed a well-travelled place evidenced by the numerous scribblings on the walls and refuse on the stone floor. We saw no one, but to a man we were convinced we could perceive distant sounds, although we could not agree on their source.

Four  passages left the entry chamber, running  in different directions. In addition we saw a large wooden door. With no real preference we selected one of the corridors. We passed through an interesting archway which seemed to represent the gaping maw of some demon or devil. Unharmed, we proceeded onwards and soon came to an intersection.

An iron rod stood in a crack in the stony floor in the middle of the intersection. Attached to this rod was a sign. In crude Common we could read that a 'dragon' was to be found down the passage to the left. After some debate we decided to investigate, all the while doubting the veracity of the sign.

The carved stone corridor gave way to a natural stone passage which soon opened into a large cave. We ran almost headfirst into a party of dog-men who emerged from a side cave. We were both startled and before we really had the chance to size each other up, one of the kobolds startled a nest of snakes which were nesting behind some large stones.

Our two groups joined forces instinctively against the new threat. I pulled forth a flask of oil and tossed it in the direction of the snakes. It was close, but unfortunately not a direct hit. I threw my torch anyway and the flame ignited the oil.

The snakes, giant spitting cobras each at least eight feet long, were startled by the flame and retreated into the crevices. But unfortunately not before a serpent spat its venom into the eyes of one of the kobolds.

The kobolds, grateful for our intervention, quickly departed with their dying comrade. Perhaps they knew of a way to counter the poison, but if they did, I think it was too late for that one. Before the dogmen left they did answer the mystery of the dragon sign from the intersection. Apparently an oversized lizard has taken up residence in these caves.

Not wanting to test ourselves against the lizard-beast, we headed back to the intersection and went east. We found a chamber filled with refuse. A path led through the mess to an opening in the opposite wall. Fretta began poking about the piles of trash, hoping to find something of value. Instead she uncovered another giant snake and bolted from the room.

We had no choice but to follow after and we found her in the entry chamber, cursing snakes and all forms of reptiles. We convinced her that it was too early to leave the dungeon and that treasure certainly awaited us if we remained diligent.

Why Stonehell?

The Ever Expanding Sandbox project is actually a hybrid of two separate gaming activities that I had been working on over the last year or so. The first is the development of the sandbox for the PbP game I was running over at Unseen Servant. I had sketched out ideas for the sandbox, including concepts for the starting city and a map I had made using Hexographer as well as a few working titles for adventures.  I wanted to create a small sandbox that would allow for different adventuring 'experiences' within a reasonable distance for the party.

I wanted  a jungle setting, an Underdark setting (probably minus the drow), a desert setting, a Barsoom-like 'broken land', a big city, and many small, unique islands for the players to explore.  I will talk in more detail in later blog entries (hopefully) as I try and flesh out each of these, but the point for now is that I was looking to create a sandbox with areas or places with distinct 'themes'. I had decided that there wouldn't be any kobolds, goblins, or hobgoblins, and I didn't want orcs, but orks. The latter was to be a much more violent, ruthless, berserker version of the usual orc. In short, my sandbox was a place where a dungeon like Stonehell wouldn't fit in.

   

Now the second component that's behind the creation of the EES is my first foray into solo-gaming. As I mentioned in the first post, I have been heavily inspired by the supercool solo play concept and rules of John Yorio of Tabletop Diversions. I think what John is doing is fantastic and I really enjoy reading his blog and following the development of his Ever Expanding Dungeon. I am still tweaking and adjusting the basic chassis of his random dungeon generation methodology to fit what I'm trying to accomplish, but I'm not there yet, although getting closer. But as I tested the waters of solo play, I wanted to try an existing adventure so I could focus on how the question resolution system worked and indeed see if solo play was something for me at all.

For me to enjoy DMing, whether it be the (very) rare occasion at the table, PbP gaming, and certainly solo play, there needs to be an element of randomness to the game so that there are always unexpected twists and turns. In selecting the centerpiece adventure for my solo play game, I wanted to use one that was anything but linear, one that allowed for many choices. So I chose Stonehell. I must admit that I really like this dungeon and thought it would be the perfect 'tentpole dungeon' for my soloplay game.

So the party had already made two forays into Stonehell in my solo play game when I made the decision to start the Ever Expanding Sandbox project. Now I had a dilemma - toss the story so far in favor of creating the sandbox  from scratch and according to the original idea, or keep Stonehell and adjust slightly the original idea for the flavor of my sandbox. And I chose the latter.

PLAY REPORT - Session 1

STONEHELL

We meet our band of intrepid explorers as they reach the entry chamber on the first level of Stonehell, far beneath the surface above. The party includes:

Thowin Four Fingers, a fighter

Imorfin the elf

Reldari the cleric, and his torchbearer, Nux

Fretta the Dark, a thief

Balork the Medium, a magic-user and Bursus, his man-at-arms

After a long descent the party finally emerged from the stairs into the middle of a large chamber. The light from their torches revealed a well-travelled place evidenced by the numerous scribblings on the walls and refuse on the stone floor. They saw no one, but to a man were convinced they could perceive distant sounds, although they could not agree on the source.

They left the chamber via one of the corridors running north, passing through an interesting archway which seemed to represent the gaping maw of some demon or devil. Unharmed, they proceeded onwards and soon came to an intersection.

An iron rod stood in a crack in the stony floor in the middle of the intersection. Attached to the rod was a sign and in crude Common they could read that a 'dragon' was to be found down the passage to the left. After some debate the party decided to investigate, all the while doubting the veracity of the sign.

The carved stone corridor gave way to a natural stone passage which soon opened into a large cavern. There the party almost ran headfirst into a group of kobolds who emerged from a side cave. Both groups froze and before they really had the chance to size each other up, one of the dog men startled a nest of snakes which were nesting behind some large stones. The long serpents hissed as they spilled out from their hiding place.

The two groups joined forces instinctively against the new threat. Balork pulled forth a flask of oil and tossed it in the direction of the snakes. It was close, but unfortunately not a direct hit. The mage threw his torch anyway and the flame ignited the oil.

The snakes, giant spitting cobras each at least eight feet long, were startled by the flame and retreated into the crevices. But unfortunately not before a serpent spat its venom into the eyes of one of the kobolds.

The kobolds, grateful for the party's intervention, quickly departed with their dying comrade. Perhaps they knew of a way to counter the poison, but if they did, it was probably too late for that one. Before the dog men left they did answer the mystery of the dragon sign from the intersection. Apparently an oversized lizard had taken up residence in these caves.

Not wanting to test themselves against the lizard-beast, they headed back to the intersection and went east, finding a chamber filled with refuse. A path led through the mess to an opening in the opposite wall. Fretta began poking about the piles of trash, hoping to find something of value. Instead she uncovered another giant snake and bolted from the room.

The rest of the party had no choice but to follow after and soon found her in the entry chamber, cursing snakes and all forms of reptiles. After some talking they convinced her that it was too early to leave the dungeon and that treasure certainly awaited them if they remained diligent.

(To be continued….)

Welcome to the Ever Expanding Sandbox!

Not that I actually expect anyone to find this blog-equivalent of Tatooine, but if you have stumbled here, welcome!

Inspired by the Ever Expanding Dungeon my aim is to flesh out and develop a small sandbox via solo play using random tables, generators, and lots of dice! I had already started developing this sandbox for a short-lived PBP game, but never got further than generating the map, details of the main city, and ideas for adventure locales. I do have some specific thoughts about what I'm looking to develop, but I very much want to 'play' through its creation using numerous generators and tables to add a healthy (over)dose of randomness throughout.

As well as being an outlet to scratch my fantasy itch, I hope the developed sandbox will provide a rich setting for later use...at least that is the idea in theory! And this blog will serve as a repository for my thoughts and ideas and as a record of the development progress of my sandbox. And of course session summaries from my solo play will feature prominently!

Welcome again to the Ever Expanding Sandbox!