Krenjian Panther

 The Krenjian panther stalks its prey from the shadows. It hunts in moonlight, when the colour of its fur shifts to blue-violet, treading the grasslands and the forests with large and silent paws. It stalks caravans and lone travellers alike, preys on mounts and draught animals, and takes sleeping travellers to careless to keep a watch.

And it follows you into your dreams and hunts you there, as well. 

The Krenjian panther is a thing of nightmares.

If you're on watch and you see three palely glowing spots of light, look away quickly. But rouse your companions and have them do the same.  Awake, you have a chance to fight back.

The Krenjian panther is a three-eyed psychic predator of the plains and surrounding woodlands.  Much like a leopard with broken stripes, in appearance, it has a third eye in the top of its head. When it attacks it tries to cause its prey to flee, an easier target, panicked and heedless if possible. It does this using its Anguished Yowl attack, which puts fear in its target and causes a Willpower or Morale check at -2.

If its targets are sitting at a campfire, it will strike each in turn with this psychic  attack, hoping to panic them into leaving the safety and company of the fire and fleeing into the darkenss. Krenjian panthers have been known to pick of members of a company one-by-one like this over days, their bodies found secreted in trees along the route by the next caravan. 

But if you are  asleep when the creature strikes, things can be much worse. For a failed save during sleep, will allow the beast into your sleeping mind, where it will hunt you through dreams, unable to waken, unable to fight back. Victims toss and turn, call out and sweat as though fevered, into the finally the beast's fangs close around their throats.

 

 

KRENJIAN PANTHER: no: d3 AC 13 HD 3 Claws (2) 1d6 and Bite 1d8 Nat 19 Bonus Psychic Assault vs target.

S12 D16 C12 I6 P14 W12 Ch13 L5. Move Fast. 

If both claws hit the target is knocked Prone and the bite automatically hits. 

Unnerving third eye: causes instant Luck (Will) save (or Morale check for NPCs) the first time one is encountered and again with Advantage thereafter or the panther automatically wins the Initiative. Ignore after 3 encounters.

Anguished Yowl: Targets within a 30' make a Willpower save (or Morale check) or flee to Very Far range (beyond 60'). Full action, including one Psychic Assault. 

Psychic Assault: One specific target within range of the Anguished Yowl becomes irrationally afraid and takes a penalty of -2 to their Willpower save due to the cat's focused psychic assault. Recharge: 2 in 6 (1-2 on d6, roll in secret).

Dreamreaver: One sleeping target per round is targeted by something similar to a Psychic Assault which keeps them entangled in nightmares from which they cannot awaken unless they make a Willpower test at Disadvantage. If an ally attempts to wake them, they gain Advantage instead. Can only make one attempt to wake up per turn. For each round a target remains  entangled Psychic Assault recharge increases by 1.

Reac 2-4 Hostile 5-6 Aggressive 

 

Feedback welcome! 

The Skrael

 Stories abound of the origins of the skrael. Stories abound also of the sorcerous origins of various creatures, of demented mages intoxicated by power, using dark arts to meld forms and birth twisted bodies and nightmare creatures, a mishapen race, an unnatural guardian. Some of these stories may even be true.

But in the case of the skrael, it seems more likely than most; how else would a creature with the head of a seagul and the body of a human possibly come to exist? And so the tales of their sorcerous origins are held, almost universally, to be true.  

But there is another version.

The skrael are known to inhabit a range of environments. In particular, the love coastal areas and rockly ones especially, though large bodies of freshwater also seem to appeal. In fact, they seem to have an unerring, though perhaps unconscious, ability to sense water. As if they can smell it. They are known to have a keen weather-sense, able to predict accurately changes in the weather, appraching storms, rain or fine weather, and even drought. 

Skrael have heads like herring gulls. White feathers, yellow beak, smudge of red on the lower bill. A skrael's white feathers extend down the neck to the chest, but how much further is unclear. In some individuals it would seem the entire torso is feathered, but in others not. It is unclear whether such differentiation indicates distinct populations. Limbs are never feathered, however. Feet, though avian, are not webbed. Hands are entirely human. Which might bring us back to that origin story. 

Skrael was once a man, punished by, depending on the version you hear, the sea deity or a storm deity. for mistakenly thinking the world was only there for his use. He fished in forbidden waters. He hunted dolphin in the breeding season. He caught fish he didn't eat and used other people's boats to do it, borrowing without permission. Worse, he stole from others' nets and fought with his fists over the right to fish in particular waters. The deity told him to change his ways. But he did not heed the warning. His wife asked him to change and warned him his behaviour would end in disaster, but he would not heed her warning either. So the deity gave him the head of a gull, saying "If you behave like a gull, you should look like one, that people are warned of what you are".

Thus marked as an outcast, Skrael wandered the earth. But his wife took pity on him and stayed with him and bore him... eggs. And from the eggs hatched more skralls, for the deity had cursed him with this also: that all his folk should be like him and behave no better than he, so that he would never get any rest. 

Skrael and all his kin still roam the world, screaming their ancestor's name and taking what they will. 

The skrael are consumate sailors. An innate understanding of current and wind makes them almost infallible. But they make poor traders. They are impulsive, impatient, impolite, unreliable, untrustworty, aggressive, selfish and disonest. 

They are very good raiders.

They travel the coastlines of their world in longboats, (often stolen), in crews of a dozen to a score, armed with whatever weapons are to hand (often stolen) and makeshift armour (often stolen). They don't wear helmests: they can't make them and stolen ones don't fit. 

Skrael eat almost anything organic. This often includes victims of their raids. After attacking a coastal settlement, they can often be found gorging on any food supplies they find until the place is bare. Fresh meat, such as bodies, will be eaten first. They do not drink, for physiological reasons (beaks) and they are immune to food poisoning. 

The one area of trade in which skrael are partially successful is the slave trade; skrael are  at least able to value foodstuffs and they recognise livestock as such, an humans as a form of livestock. They are also moderately successful mercenaries. Though indisciplined, unreliable and dishonest, they are courageous, or at least unable to conceive of danger. They are also cheap and vicious and often find work in return for food alone or 'spoils', which in skrall terms means dead bodies and shiny stuff.

Skrael are not designed to be playable. But should some misguided player ask to, then the Intelligence score of any skrall should be the minimum for sentience. In class-based systems, skrall are best represented by the Barbarian class, and if Barbarian is an Origin or Background option, this is mandatory for any Skrael player character. They are , by nature, violent thieves, so Thief or Rogue might also be a viable class, but only with a focus on physical cometence, not persuasion of trickery-focused characters. Thug, Outlaw or Bandit would also be suitable profiles, backgrounds or careers or NPC types.

Skrall don't do magic.  Unless you decide they do. Or worship in the way humans comprehend, but they do show respect (through a kind of walking, bobbing dance, that involves lowering the head and making a wretching noise) to something called The Great Deep one, which is definitelt NOT the sea god of your world.  And some recognise Great Thunder Cloud Head, which might be a personification of storms.

They don't bury their dead.

They don't do mercy. 

And if they want something you've got, they don't give up. 

My VTT Ate My Upload; Now I Don't Need It

 Recently I ran out of storage on Roll20.

This only happened because I stopped paying for it, of course. I had been an avid user of it until a couple of years ago, when the frequency of my online gaming became monthly, rather than weekly. And although I don't think Roll20 is overly costly - its actually cheap if you use  it to run a weekly game - its an expense I didn't need. 

Its not like the free version isn't still good.

But of course, I lost quite a few resources - everything above my storage quota - and I couldn't upload anything. So I decided to do two things: check how much crap I keep on there that I don't need, and learn how to use less storage.

Turns out the answer to the first task was - a ton. Especially as stuff you buy does not contribute to the storage and you can buy personalisable noticeboards for your fantasy tavern that do WAY more than the homebrew one I had on there, despite how proud I was of it. So I cut back.

Eventually, I had a tiny amount of storage I could use again. Know what I did? I uploaded a map from an old DnD adventure. And then I drew over it. And then I deleted it. And then I uploaded a different map, this time of Utah, and drew over that.

So basically, here is a step-by-step instruction set on how to create an interactive hex-crawl map for your campaign, either from an existing resource, or from something you want to adapt:

1) Upload the map you want to use and place it on the GM Layer. You can still see it.

2) Switch to Map Layer. Select an appropriate pen thickness from the drawing menu and trace over the coastline of other major features. You may want to use different colours, or you may want to stick to classic black and white. Pen thickness can help distinguish between different kinds of linear features, such as coastline, borders or rivers.

3) Switch to GM Layer. Select a feature on the map, alter the thickness of your pen to suit, select a colour and draw over your feature, for example a mountain, a tree or a bridge. If possible, make it a single, continuous line. You can draw it large and then select and reduce it. It doesn't matter if you have to try this a few times; take the time to get it right. I actually sourced some icons for cities and castles because they looked better, but you may be better at this than me.

4) Select and copy your feature, then paste it everywhere you want it. Repeat for any other features you want to show on your map. 

6) All your map features are now on the GM Layer. Players can't see them. But you will make these features visible when player characters enter a hex. So select now which ones you want players to begin the game knowing about or already able to see. By making a few of the features visible, you make it clear to players that this map has such features and this will hopefully pique their curiosity. Move these features to the Map Layer. I suggest large mountain ranges are included in this, as characters have a variety of ways to know about them, even if they cannot see them. But you don't have to put them all on yet; in fact its better if you don't. 

7) At this stage, decide if you want to include icons for famous or visible creatures, such as known goblin territories, giant eagles, or dragons. This can represent local knowledge, or in the case of large flying beasties, actual sightings from adjacent hexes.

8) As your players progress, make more features visible, hex by hex. Annotate using the Text tool.

Dice pool settlement generation works on a VTT, too. There are various methods running about on the internet, for using dice pools to generate towns and villages, etc, where the physical spread of the dice represents the layout of the settlement. You can do this on a VTT. Have your VTT roll a handful of dice, using the 3d dice setting. You may have to use an Advanced Dice setting or type in the dice you want using '+' or find some other means of combining different die types in the pool, depending on your VTT. But it should be possible get a handful of varied dice roll across your screen. Screenshot this. The screenshot is necessary because as soon as you click on the screen the dice will disppear. When the screenshot pops up, copy it, typing or freehanding the numbers onto the grid (the grid helps you locate them precisely). You then cross reference the numbers with whatever index of building types you are using. Like I said, there are several versions of this on various blogs - you'll have to select one that works for you or invent your own. But very basically, the number on the die tells you what sort of building it is. Os something. Anyway, my point here is just that you can do this on a VTT, too. You could probably do it in session, but I haven't tried that. And you can pretty it up with map tokens between sessions, if you feel the need. 

If you decide to give any of these ideas a try I would love to get feedback.

My AI Adventure

 

So I recently went to a seminar on how AI can help in the workplace. And it kind of inspired. It also really intrigued me to see what it could help me to do, if anything, in the RPG space.

I know this isn't new to many people, so I'll be brief. 

I asked it to create an RPG adventure, for a specific RPG that was not DnD, about a ruined castle.

That was all I gave it.

The results were interesting. It was VERY fast. And I was impressed by the fact that the document it  created opened with a set of hooks and a claim that this would appeal to different sorts of adventuring parties. I read them and I agreed, they would. 

The AI also claimed that there were several possible endings, and that the adventure could be resolved in a number of different ways, by magic, negotiation or combat. Here I kind of agreed: it could be solved by magic, negotiation or combat - in the Inevitable Climactic Encounter which the characters could not succeed without having. But that, to be honest, is a typical DnD thing and really does depend on one's interpretation of 'different possible endings'.  I didn't actually specify multiple endings, so the AI gets credit for partial success here, whatever you think about Inevitable Climactic Encounters. Another thing I did not specify was level specificity, but the document specified 3-5 characters of level 1-3 .

On the down side, the adventure was very generic. I mean SO generic. The title was 'Shadowheart Keep', which clearly is from Baldur's Gate III. The central figure (who may or may not be an antagonist) is Lord Ravencrest, a name that has at least been used before, in World Of Warcraft: Legion. So 'originality' is an issue, if you believe in that kind of thing (they are hardly 'original' names in the first place. The 'mook' NPCs were largely shadows and there were some haunted statues, dire ravens and other thematically appropriate stuff. But more importantly, you could play this game. Happily. It wouldn't be spectacular. There were only five locations, for a start, which is kind of limiting. And few surprises, if any, unless you were a beginner player.

At first, the document didn't include any stat blocks. When I asked for them, they came pretty quick, but were for 5e. I asked for something specific to the rules system I wanted to use and it said it didn't have access to that rule set. Which is cool. It's copyrighted, obviously. I resisted putting anything into the AI that wasn't my own and, in fact, didn't put anything that was my own in, either. Let's keep this relationship cordial for now... So I had to ask it to sniff around for something it could use and we settled on a good old 'OSR' system that fit the bill. 

Then things got interesting.

I asked the AI to expand the adventure into a multipart 'mini campaign' and it did. In seconds, it extrapolated the premise of the original adventure, ret-conned it where it needed to, and created a four-part adventure. Complete with NPCs which it now statted. To be honest, part four was, in itself, a four-parter, and was pretty sketchy at that. Very brief. And my plan is to go back and get it to do that. You see my original preconception was that I would get a sketched outline or something, and then develop it up myself. But no. No, not at all.

Because I wanted to tackle that generic feel.

First, I asked it to expand the number of locations, based on  what real castles were like, to include a well, and to create one subplot for every five rooms. It did that and now I know there was a conspiracy to undermine our Ravencrest character, long before the events that set this adventure in motion. There was already a plot of sorts to corrupt a spell he was trying to cast, which is why the adventure can exist. But now, there are a couple.

I then told the AI to rework some of the names. I got it to translate some of them into Old Norse, give me alternatives, explain how the names break down. Like this, I got rid of 'goblins' altogether.

The adventure is now looking very different from how it did originally; it has a different feel, a different implied setting, a bigger cast and stage. Now I've changed it all, I'll revisit the rest of the min campaign. I plan to visit those subplots and shore them up, see if I can't get some major consequences for the world written in there and even look back at the whole structure and ask myself if the Keep is even the best place to start.

And here's my big takeaway from all that:

It would have taken me tens of hour to do all this. As it was, it still did take hours. There's a lot of prompting etc involved in this. But. I can create a substantial campaign out of this in a fraction of the time it would have taken me on my own. I can keep my focus on my initial vision easily, because I don't have three hours of trying to assimilate a basic knowledge of Old Norse before I can give my characters cool names. I don't have to to and fro between and map and key, trying to strike the right balance between verisimilitude and fun. I don't have to spend hours draw a map, only to realise I need change it after I finish...

Anyway, if you want to see it, or a version of it, here's the link...

https://claude.ai/public/artifacts/a128284b-8b32-41bf-b39a-ade951754be2

Five Taverns

 

Below are five taverns for use with simple, one-room maps of fantasy taverns, whenever you don't have staff and taverner's names to hand or need a quick subplot. All system agnostic.

THE LAUGHING OGRE

A large tavern, with no guest rooms. 

Decent food in the local style, nothing fancy but always reliable. Beer from all three of The City’s breweries. Standard prices.

Run by Annaloy Taverner, a large, blonde woman with a loud voice. Quick to laugh but also sharp when annoyed. Won't tolerate overt sexism. Popular with regulars and locals. Her man Hunter keeps order with a cudgel. Or with a crossbow if necessary.

Festival days, main bar room becomes a dormitory after hours.

Khyle, Lantice and Comcille work the bar most evenings, all women in their twenties.

Khyle is somewhat argumentative, wears a nose ring and is unremarkable in appearance, with nondescript brown hair.

Lantice is shamelesslt flirtatious and will occasionally sleep with customers for money. This infuriates Khyle and Annaloy would sack her if she knew.

Comcille is very outspoken but homeless at defending her ill-though out points and always loses to Khyle. She is extremely pretty but has obvious scars on her forearms which she doesn't try to hide.

Comcille's brother Grefyth is a member of the Thieves' Guild, knows Thieves' Cant and works with the smuggler's band The Horny Hand.

The cellar is shallow and more like a half-basement, reached via five steps down, to the side of the bar. In fact, the original floor was much lower and was filled in to hide a mysterious doorway.

THE BEDRAGGLED DRAGON

A modest-sized building with 1 twin room and 4 singles, in a higgledy-piggledy layout.

Food is simple but wholesome, beds are clean and comfortable, beer is good and reasonably priced.

Claymore, the tavern owner, is rumoured to be a dwarf but may just be short. Red beard, bald on top and the rest shaven. Forearms 

Came to The City from The Mines, a decade ago, to carve out a life for himself among humans.

Honest. Barely waters his beer. Always charges at least a fair price.

Druma the barkeep is a mute woman of indeterminate age and everybody wonders why Claymore keeps her on.

Keeps a (comparatively) clean establishment.

“I had a shipment of ale due this morning. Didn’t come. Not the first delivery to vanish of a mornin’. Streets ain’t safe n’more.  In the last half dozen weeks, as many places have had their beer stole afore it e’en arrived. Now, I got customers an’ a reputation to think on. I need me beer back.”

I’ll pay you out me own purse, as far as me delivery’s concerned. Fifty gold coin. But the Guild’s of a mind to pay more, if’n the whole shebang can be put a stop to.”

THE REDCAP'S REVENGE

Medium-sized tavern, no guest rooms but tap-room used as a common room. Poor quality, cheap food (turnip pottage, potato peeling soup, 'meat' pie with not enough 'meat', bread with sawdust added to bulk it out - none of this is illegal, just bad...).

Tresis. Short, skinny man with a hard, pinched face. Quick to laugh at the misfortunes of others.  Not trustworthy.

Tresis is a former thief, and still clips coins, sometimes blaming the last tavern the customer was in. Acts as a fence for local thieves and can do so for player characters.

Beer is from Halberdier Brewery: 'Halberd Ale' and 'Victory Beer'. 

Tresis has a steady turnover of staff, most of whom are Guild members who need to lay low or prove themselves. He knows Grefyth, from the Laughing Ogre, but doesn't particularly like him.

Regulars 

Garan, a disillusioned watchman. Lose lipped, so Tressis gives him credit to keep him coming in. Missing an ear. Considers Tresis a like-minded man who he can trust. He has been drinking in the Revenge for years, despite his comrades warning him not to. Regularly defends Tresis. If he ever finds out the man was clipping coins, he may lose his temper. 

Sellit, a rat-catcher and herbalist who has a good idea what goes on in the Revenge and always checks any coins she is given there. She's getting on now, in her sixties, but still quick-witted with fast reflexes.

Petron, a stevedore at the dock. Big and dull and for hire. Addicted to Lotus and so needs to earn more money, doing more dangerous things, if necessary. Balding but otherwise long hair.

THE SPARROWGLASS

Medium-sized inn. Common Room can sleep a dozen people, plus six twin rooms. Food is good to excellent if a little expensive. Half a dozen staff (human). Named for a stained-glass window in the porch, of a small bird in flight.

Run by Kaylum. Elf. Fair hair and bright eyes that are blue in most lights but sometimes look hazel in shadow. Wears autumn reds a lot, except when he wants not to be noticed. Middle-aged for an elf (depends on your setting). Knows a few things. Remembers the Moon Goddess cult and mourns its passing.

Kaylum has lovers across the City but one is Verona, the daughter of a wealthy merchant.

THE STANDING STONE

A small tavern on a street that climbs a hill. Views from the back are nice.

Single bar room. Serves stew and home-baked bread. 

Four staff: Clapham, Treg, Fulnice and Purt.

Run by Dreeslum, quiet man who mainly keeps to himself. Wife Marnie does all the talking, book-keeping and negotiating. Dreeslum took an injury in the head years ago when he was an adventurer and relies on Marnie and the good will of his regulars.

Gets his beer from the Lantern House and Halbardier Breweries.

The Standing Stone is in the back yard and part of the wall.

Whilst Dreeslum did, indeed, take a head injury years ago, that isn't what causes his problems. During the same escapade (a fight with some gnolls in the Forest of Far-flung), he was cursed by one of the enemy. The curse can be detected by certain magic-users, but shouldn't be easy or it would have been detected before now. Gnoll blood or an item of the original curser's should be necessary to get rid of this. The curse makes Dreeslum forget things, makes him hesitant and lose track of what is going on. He is fine when serving customers as this is all deeply ingrained, but anything out of his routine is tricky.

Tales Of Argosa Session Report

 What follows is a report of how it went, including how the rules came up in-game and were resolved, combined with a more general review of the book and rules.

A couple of months ago, I downloaded the free Playtest PDF of Tales of Argosa and read it on my phone in lunchbreaks and spare time. I figured there were some things I did and didn't like about it and thought I'd never run it. But something about it, combined with a favourable report I heard in a podcast, niggled away at the back of my mind and eventually I just bit the bullet and bought the damn book. I bought the soft cover for £26 on Drivethru.

I first saw Tales Of Argosa when I began looking for a system that was  lighter than those we had been using, but not as light as a full-on OSR D&D clone. I had grown tired of D&D 3.5 years ago and persuaded my group to switch to Modiphius' 2d20 Conan, a system I still have an enormous amount of love for but which is crunchy enough that it isn't always what I want to use online. I knew the friends I was thinking of wouldn't want to learn a whole new system and would find something like Black Sword Hack or Barbarians Of Lemuria unsatisfying and we had tried DCC, but some of us just didn't enjoy race as class (though it has to be said, if you play in an all human setting, such as the world of Conan, that becomes irrelevant. I am also tired of 'high magic' systems, but that deserves a post of its own.

I was running this at short notice as a player in our regular campaign couldn't make it. I was running it on Roll 20, for two players, and I grabbed a map on there that I've never used and decided who the bad guys were. Done. My players rolled up characters in about half an hour. Lucky Luca, the Rogue, and Black-eyed Jasper, the fighter. They're on a road. They come across a turned wagon and a dead horse and tracks leading into the forest.

Jasper and Luca notice an odd chap watching them (eventually - I didn't have them roll for it but I didn't point it out, either. It was right there on the screen) and fail a Perception (Detect) check to see his mate hiding. This ultimately leads to a knife fight when they don't accept an invitation to go with the two strangers to see the people they 'rescued' from the wagon accident. They PCs win, but one of them only has a single hit point left by the end of a combat that lasted a single round. I'm using basic 'Human Bandit' NPCs here, nothing fancy. This is dangerous combat, and it set the tone for the rest of the game. The other player looks around for some herbs, as he has the Apothecary skill, and uses Perception (Detection) to find them and treat his friend.

Around this time, the Rogue asks if he has heard any unusual stories about the area. I call for a General Lore (Cha) check, Charisma reflecting that a socialite such as Luca will spend more time in bars than reading books. He succeeds and has indeed heard tales of 'Goblin Men' in the hills hereabouts - people who have given themselves to the darkness in moments of anger or despair. (I could have just told the players this, of course, but we were learning the system).

Following the tracks leads the PCs to a set of stairs straight down through the forest floor. They quickly find themselves inside a series of rooms and passages lit with braziers, that resemble the cellars to a building no longer there. Jasper and Luca proceed to sneak about, trying to find the 'rescued' wagon party. Luca picks the lock to a room. Luca's target is 19 because his Dexterity is 17 and his has the Traps and Locks skill and its an easy lock. He rolls 2 which is 17 below target which is less than half and so is a Great Success. I decide to reward Luca with a +1 bonus to all future attempts at lock-picking down here, as he understands the locks they use.  Inside the room is a lit brazier, and the PCs rifle through old, unused belongings in the detritus of what looks like a very troubled and squalid life. A successful Perception (Detect) check reveals an item of interest and a quick roll on the Uncommon Gear table reveals it to be a holy symbol, in this case filthy  and left to rot on the floor.

On a stair, Luca failed to find a tripwire with a Perception (Detection) check and then failed to evade it with a Luck (Dex) save and took the kind of damage other games laugh off, but which in this context could mean the next fight is your last. Crouched before a large door with lit showing beneath, the PCs listen in on snatches of a conversation that seems to centre around captive and if they will 'turn' given the right 'incentive'. The Rogue opens the door a crack, catches a glimpse on some unnaturally unpleasant-looking individuals and a woman who seems to be in charge as well as being a magic-user. 

They decide (wisely) that discretion is the better part of valour and retreat, discovering, in the process, a side door leading to well-furnished chambers that include a desk. The desk contains scraps of letters, mostly int eh same hand and mostly to the same person, somebody called 'Cassandra', who it seems might be related to the writer. The letters tell of despair and grief and clearly never got sent. A few more of the sort of Traps and Locks and Perception checks described above lead tot he discovery of a minor treasure, but I use the Rare Gear table instead of treasure - partly because I have already determined that the real treasure is elsewhere and partly because its an interesting table - and as a result, the PCs end up with several vials of Poppy Milk, which they fail to identify with an Apothecary (Int) check. It is worth noting that I could have made that an Apothecary (Perception) check instead and that this may have altered the outcome, but I figured Jasper the fighter had probably never seen poppy milk before. This flexibility around attributes and skills I find really refreshing and easy to improvise with.

And that was where we left it. The PCs are deciding whether to keep searching or take out what NPCs they can, some of whom they detected in a nearby room while stealthing earlier. The rules for surprise mean they will get a free attack if they kick the door in. NPCs all use d8s for Hit Dice, so single Hit Dice NPCs will probably have about 4 or 5 HP, to the PCs'  6 and 16 respectively. The combat rules mean that under those circumstances, the PCs will likely kill a few immediately.

We shall see.

Tales of Argosa Review

 Recently, I ran my first session of Tales Of Argosa, from Pickpocket Press, written by Stephen Grodzicki. This  is my review of the rule system. A report will follow soon, including how the rules came up in-game and were resolved.

Physical Product.

The book is beautiful. I love black and white illustrations in RPG books, I find them more evocative than colour. This book is monochromatic, with a wine red used for headings and tables. It is well laid out and really clearly formatted and organised. I have had no trouble at all navigating it. It was a far more enjoyable read in book form than it had been on my phone (no surprise)! The illustrations look better, obviously. But what really struck me was that a full-page spread really brings home the quantity of useful tables to roll on for the GM Tools. This is where this book excels, in my opinion, but more on that later. There is an index and some 'decorative' maps by Dyson. Its basically a really nice book and a pleasure to read and practical at the table/online session.

The Basics

With the exception of combat, this is a roll-under-attribute system, with a +1 bonus if a character has the relevant skill. Attributes are rolled on 3d6 with some room for alleviating a complete lack of decent scores and some finagling, so it isn't raw attributes as rolled (although you could always do that of course) but it isn't a full-on build either. Attributes include the usual, plus Perception, Initiative and Luck. These three are all interesting choices which I'll explore in a moment. If you roll half or less of the target number, you get a Great Success and failing by half the target number again is a Terrible Failure. It is up to the GM what the consequences of this are. This leaves room for your GM-ing style, which I like. 

Personally, I love the Luck mechanic: players all start with the same score but it reduces every time you make a successful Luck check. These can be modified by other attributes, according to the situation. So avoiding a trap could be a Luck (Dex) save. Initiative is also a winner for me - an attribute derived from the average of Dexterity and Intelligence. Initiative is used more than many other attributesin most d20-style games and might as well be an attribute. Perception is sometimes contentious. I know some people feel that if the GM wants the character to see something, they should just let them see it. But I disagree. I am not a very observant person in real life. Friends point it out fairly often ( I notice people not  things...). So I think having a Perception attribute is perfect. It is also used for ranged attacks, which I also like, because I like separating picking locks and pockets from shooting bows and arrows!

Character Generation

Characters take a Background during generation which gives then a skill and an attribute bump. This provides a sketch of a backstory. Classes are familiar but a lighter touch than some games. There are no subclasses (which I didn't miss) and very little magic except for Magic Users (which is a single class, not a group of them), Cultist (which replaces Cleric) and Artificer (which the book suggests isn't suitable for all settings). One notable feature is that most classes get a class ability at Level 1 which develops every level (exceptions are Barbarian, Bard and Magic User - though new spells at each level is a close match). For example, Fighters get Adaptability, which brings a new 'Stance' each level, which is rolled for and brings a bonus under certain conditions. There is an equivalent for each class. I wasn't sold on those of the Ranger, to be honest. They felt a little contrived and relied too much of imposing conditions on enemies without what I considered to be a strong anchor in the fiction. But the rest all look great. And there are also new, more typical Class Abilities as characters progress, too. Every third level, characters get something called a Unique Feature, which players are supposed to negotiate with the GM which might be a great way to customise a campaign, or might be a pain if you have a the wrong group. But there is a decent list of suggestions.

Hit Points begin equal to Constitution. So one of my players began with 4, until he remembered the 'you can swap any two attributes' rule. But each time they level up they only gain their new level multiplied by 1-3 depending on class. So the hit point curve is going to be flatter over the long run. This, in my view,  makes planning ahead easier and reduces the yawning gap that can occur between characters' robustness. It also prevents the whole campaign becoming ridiculous. 

Combat is the usual d20 roll over AC, with the usual modifiers. Weapons have slightly different damage dice from some other games, usually higher, but the main difference is in NAt 20 and Nat 19. Natural 20 is a critical but delivers maximum weapon damage plus half your level, so doesn't require rolling dice or multiplying or any of that. A NAtural 19 on the other hand, often delivers trauma, based on weapon-type. There are a  few OSR-type bells and whistles, too, such as Morale checks and rules for a full party retreat, chases and a bunch of manoeuvres. Exploits allow players to attempt 'Mighty Deeds' type actions. 

Magic Users are simplified but also less fragile, when compared to crunchier systems. You get a spell per Intelligence bonus at generation, plus one spell per level and you can cast a number of spells equal to level per adventure. That's it. But you do get to use weapons and light armour, so you're not useless. I'd personally take a leaf out of DCC with this and possibly allow more spells to be learned as a result of a quest and possibly even cast, as a result of magical items gained on similar quests. But magic in Tales Of Argosa is 'dark and inherently dangerous,' so every time a spell is cast (and for one or two other things) a die is rolled on the Dark and Dangerous Magic (DDM) table. The die size depends on the level of the caster, so the higher their level, the more unpleasant some of the options become. I haven't seen this in action yet, as we didn't have a Magic User in the party. 

Encumbrance is via slots. Currency is in silver. Some prices are a dice roll. There are tables and tables of GM support, so that with the slightest forethought, a session can come to life. GM tools include Diseases and Parasites, Dungeon Crawling rules, 'Hexploration' rules, rules for Hirelings, Mass Battle, Naval Combat, Solo Rules, Traps, Treasure, etc. Tons of it, but all fairly light, simple and accessible at the table.

Tone

Tales of Argosa is intended to be a sword and sorcery style gam. It isn't aimed at creating a power fantasy for players. It isn't dripping with magic or enchanted bling. There isn't a lot of 'rules armour' and probably some characters will die. Encounter tables are not 'levelled' and you could as easily roll up an encounter with 2d12 giants as with a couple of blokes arguing in the street. So there is a distinct 'Old School' vibe without it feeling at all 'old'.

I really like this game. I'm not sure it will ever rival the big name TTRPGs, as it doesn't have the massive marketing engine behind it that some of those games have, but its a fun, well-developed game with a real tone of its own and a ton of support available in the form of adventures. Tales Of Argosa's predecessor was Low MAgic Gaming and I get the impression Pickpocket Press are re-writing much of their old support material for the newer version. Which is great because their setting material, 'Midlands' includes fifty adventures. Yes, Fifty... Between those and the GM Tools in teh core book, you'll have enough material for years of gaming...

A Love Hate Affair With 3.5

 I have an ongoing desire to hack 3.5.

Largely as a result of my equally ongoing love/hate relationship with it. 

And I just realised we call those toxic relationships, nowadays... Something I'll have to reflect on...

It's probably just nostalgia. I ran a campaign for about ten years. It was all we played. We new the rules intimately; they became second nature. you know how it is. You get your handful of house rules (like 'No, you do NOT roll to confirm criticals, because that is the shittiest rule ever,') and they become ingrained in your scruffy little gamer souls, your collective game-soul... You have a style of play that is ALL about that system and its quirks and demands and its pay-offs.

And really it was probably never my soul-mate system anyway. Too fussy. Too pedantic about stuff that didn't move anything forward.

But we loved it. 

I loved it.

I loved the skills system. Even though in years to come, the number of times we realised we had all lost track of how many ranks we'd put in anything or why our scores were what they were. Even though 'roll 4 dice and drop the highest' felt intrinsically like cheating. Even though some of the weapons made no sense (a falchion is a two-handed scimitar? Really...?) and there were downright silly weapons in it, like a double flail.... and axe... You could just kind of ignore them, after all. 

The skills list was wonky (I never,  ever thought 'Use Rope' was going to get air time as a skill...) and I don't like so-called Vancian magic (I get why its called that and its as good a name as any, but have you read Vance? Of course not. Nobody, reads anymore, what am I thinking...).

And every now and again, somebody would have to go and grapple or the Cleric would have the audacity to try and do something other that heal people and he'd open the Pandora's box of the Turning rules, and the game would suddenly resemble a genuine medieval mud highway turned to mire in autumn rains and the wheels of your session would grind to a halt...

But. But. A lot of the time it was the best thing we'd ever played.

I didn't even come up playing D&D, by the way. Living in the UK, it wasn't that big. I started out with Traveller, of all things. Progressed to Tunnels and Trolls, moved on to Stormbringer (which I fucking loved...) and then got into Warhammer Fantasy Roleplaying. Which I adored. It was perfect. I played it through University, and three years living in London and then went a broad. While I was away, the only thing I played was a few weeks of a homebrew d6 game I invented to have something to play while I was living in Columbia. When I came back, I didn't have any of my gaming stuff anymore, so I bought Castles and Crusades. I pretty quickly discovered 3.5 online (which had become a thing recently) and by the time I had a circle of regular players, it was making way for 4E, which meant I could buy a tonne of supplements cheap. Which I did.

So what killed it for me?

Over time, novelty fades and irritants build. And for me there were a few irritants, some of which I've mentioned.

And there was the magic. I'm not a 'Vancian' magic fan. In fact, I've read Jack Vance and I'm not sure how 'vancian' 3.5 magic really is. I don't like 'fire-and-forget' spells. I like ritual and ceremony, curses and picking at the threads of Destiny. I like summoning, but not of badgers... I like necromancy that is more about actual necromancy and less about making a list with the same number of spells as every other so-called s'school'. And I like schools of magic... that mean something.

Yeah, I basically don't like the magic system. A LOT. 

And that's a problem, because you can't get away from it in any edition of D&D that I have played.

In Stormbringer, I thought it was cool that you could only summon things and maybe bind them (1st edition, obviously). In Conan 2d20, I love... well everything. Finding a patron, bribing them/it, having very few spells. And not needed a sorcerer in the party at all if you don't want one. In DCC I love rolling a skill test to see how powerful the manifestation of the spell is, and corruption, and displeasing the gods and some of the Patron-based spells are brilliant. The Black Sword Hack has cool non-corporeal demons, which have to possess people to have impact.

Hellboy 5e has some interesting ideas on magic. (Actually, a lot of cool stuff about a lot of stuff. But that's going to have to be another post.)

So, where does this all leave me?

I have a lot of 'stuff, fluff 'n' crunch' for 3.5, a lot of which I like (including the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting, etc) but which I can't easily port it to anything else because, well because. It doesn't translate easily to DCC, despite DCC being built on 3.5. I could run Barbarians Of Lemuria in it, but I  wouldn't be using any of the rules at all, really. 

I'm going to try and hack it into something more manageable. I have the following TWO design principles in mind: reduce cognitive load, not increase; use existing rules where possible, instead of inventing new ones. In other words: Simply, don't complicate.

 These are the main aspects I think I'm going to have to look at:

Abilities (Attributes)

'Races' (which I'm going to re-name), because some of them are a long list of unrelated 'atomised' abilities with nothing convincing or compelling - I'm looking at elves...

Hit Points

Magic

Money (because money in D&D is the most useless, irritating, messed up thing since ever)

I'll create a post on each topic, as I get around to them. Hopefully I'll even get some feedback. At this stage, I'm aware that I'm just writing out into the ether, but who knows...?

Travelling Merchants in Jackdog Town

Several merchants pass through Jackdog Town at regular intervals. Usually only one of the traders below will be passing through at any time, but during festivals or celebrations, you might be lucky and get two.

I plan to update this as a future point with adventure or campaign hooks.

1. Seomund - Friendly, happy chap, always has a warm greeting and a smile. Scars on his wrists and ankles. Passes through every couple of months, with his trader’s wagon, always happy to purchase the unusual and sell at a decent price, especially knives, axes and arrow(head)s. Usually stocked with non-standard adventuring gear. Trades with the Blue Jar folk. 
2. Chink - Short and stocky with hair he claims has never been cut and facial scars that his paltry facial hair fails to hide. Sells short swords and daggers at a discount, holy symbols, shackles and totems made of teeth. 
3. Kro, Map-seller - They say she’s a hobgoblin, but her trimmed ears give nothing away and though her teeth are large and sharp, all her canines are missing. Likes a cloak and hood in most weather. Sells maps of places nobody should want to go and buys pelts. 
4. Pix - Actually a pixie under the influence of a permanent Enlarge spell;  jumpy, skittish and easily distracted. Sells 1d6 different herbs at any time. Will buy good samples of any herbs they do not have.
5. Heng and Brogun - barbarians dressed in brightly striped trous and unbleached wollen tunics, and wearing outlandish 'barbarian' hair and lengthy moustaches. They speak a remote and obscure dialect to one another, but are fluent in most other languages in the region, including that of the Blue Jar hobgoblins.
6. Rumpunk and Slipskin - this dwarf married couple travel miles upon miles of the forest roads in their covered wagon, and have a passably working relationship with most communities they encounter. Which alone makes them notable. Both enjoy a drink at a familiar bar but regulars know better than to buy Rumpunk spirits, who is known to go into a full-blown beserk rage when crossed, if drunk on spirits. Slipskin is said to have a peculiar affinity for badgers... 

Blue Jar Hobgoblins

This post is an attempt to olffer a possible alternative role for hobgoblins in an RPG setting.

Why?

Well there are a couple of 'problems' with hobgoblins as they are (bearing in mind, of course, that they don't actually exist, and that all this is in my imagination, so 'problem' is probably a strong word...). One is that they are basically very similar to orcs. In outward appearance at least. Which is how they are more often depicted. In fact, really, they are orcs. 

Well, obviously. Tolkien used the word 'hobgoblin' in The Hobbit. Later, he changed his mind, when he realised that the 'hob' bit didn't mean 'big'. In fact, in British folklore, the 'hob' prefix is associated with the literal hob of a cooking hearth, which was originally either a built-in seat beside the hearth or a large hook, often built to swing out when in use, on which the cauldron hung in which ALL food was cooked, depending on who you believe. So a hob goblin is a hearth goblin or a goblin of the home. A kind of house fairy. Or elf, as the terms were pretty much interchangeable throughout most of their common usage. You see the same prefix in the names of other creatures of folklore, such as hob, hobby, Hobberdy Dick, Hobberdy/Hobbaty/hobbidy, Hobley, hobbledehoy, hobyn (a small horse), hobyah and Hob Lantern, all of which occur in Denham's list of mythical creatures which you can see here or here. Oh, and that list includes the word 'hobbit', by the way.

Orc is a much better word for what people seem to enjoy fighting so much in D&D. One of its original meanings was demon. 

Tolkien's creatures, whether called hobgoblins or orcs, were never described as traditional D&D or OSR orcs, i.e. green, strong and stupid. In fact, if they were tormented and disfigured elves, then they were more likely to share the traits elves are known for. One of which is agility. And to be quite tough. To have survived. So an increase in Dexterity... and Constitution? In combat, then, hobgoblins tend to behave significantly differently to orcs, with effective ranged attacks and being quite difficult to kill.

Hobgoblins are nearly always an antagonistic force. Nothing wrong with that, per se, but they are too often mindless baddies, rarely explored in the depth many other evil creatures are. They appear to have no culture, no society. Often, literally no homeland. Thus, no motives, alliances, meaningful aspirations or ambitions and, importantly, no allies.  Also, limited interesting options for interaction with players.

In a campaign I am currently developing, I wanted to do something different with the race, Including offer them as a playable 'folk' or people. So this is my attempt to do so. 

Blue Jar hobgoblins

The Blue Jar inhabit the valleys and caverns of the Cold Goddess Mountains. It is a tribe (or 'nation') consisting of seven 'Wagons' or Clans, each of which further consists of four to six 'Wheels'.  They are largely dispersed and make little attempt to adopt tribal or Clan insignia or distinguishing dress. They dress simply and carry whatever arms and armour they can afford, to defend themselves. The  Blue Jar folk do not seek to set themselves apart from others. Especially not customers. 

The Blue Jar take their name from the blue glaze they put on their ceramics, which they use for many things, including burying the cremated remains of their dead. Predominantly traders and farmers, they form an important link between the Lands Above and the Below. They are almost entirely nomadic, travelling through immense subterranean tunnels in large, family-owned wagons pulled by pairs of Hule (large, lightly furred quadrupeds with disturbingly human-like faces and  which walk on the knuckles of their forelimbs, that stat as horses). 

The wagons of the Blue Jar carry furs and hides,  fungi-woven textiles, herbs, medicinal concoctions, magical charms and even letters. They do not carry blue-glazed jars for sale, only for storage, and these are only rarely sold at all. As they make their ways through the tunnels, caverns, mines, gorges and under-roads beneath the Cold Goddess, Blue Jar encounter a wide assortment of other peoples. They are tolerated because they are generally seen as a universal good, and they strive to maintain this. They will bear, free of charge, letters and other communications between settlements along their route, gladly offer directions to travellers, and where practical offer basic medical treatment. 

The tunnels of the Below connect to some of the larger, more remote valleys of the Cold Goddess Mountain range, where each Clan has a lodge; these are not inhabited all year round, but serve as focal points for shared cultural events such as birth and death marking,  equinox celebrations, coming of age rituals, Road-giving and councils of war. Livestock are bred and kept in the neighbouring territory (but not Hule, which are acquired elsewhere).

The Blue Jar are not universally respected, especially among other hobgoblin groups. They are generally despised by the Ghost Face tribe for maintaining relations with some Troglodyte tribes, for example. They are currently striving to retain their independence from the Red Mantle Legion.

They have cordial relations with certain Troglodyte groups, from whom they acquire minerals for their glazes and are both wary of and keen to sell to Grulocks and frequently visit duergar cities such as Tainted Angel, where they can do a great deal of trade. They are wary of the Stilth.

The Blue Jar can provide an adventuring party with supplies, directions, medical assistance, news, warnings and even a replacement player character.

Shokan's Place

A tavern in Jackdog Town.

 

The building is ramshackle, with a reed thatched roof, though it does not leak or let in drafts. Windows are small and made of pig-hide just thin enough to let in a little light in the daytime, when the door is normally left open. The windows have mismatched shutters. There is no chimney - smoke disappears through the roof. Tables were all built by Shokan, with the largest made of the bed of the wagon he arrived on (the axles of which were used in the roof). 

The bar is five metres long and carved with an intricate abstract design. The wood was stolen from a temple during a raid on an indigenous (elf) settlement and a cartographer can discern a map to the Hidden Valley, on a suitably difficult skill test.

There are seven stools and Shokan always insists one stay empty. He loses his shit if it is used and a spare not provided.

Shokan serves two types of beer: an ale and a dwarf-recipe stout. Also a couple of spirits and an over-sweet liquor he calls 'Tongues' because you can speak any language while drinking it (effect ends when the alcohol wears off).

Also serves cold meats, nuts, dried berries, apples, trail biscuits, candles, flint and steel kits, and other small, useful items.

 Shokan

Level 4 Fighter.

A big but not the biggest, tells stories of his times in the gladiatorial pit and carefully cultivates his reputation and 'aura' (mainly to encourage a peaceful bar). Quick thinker, smarter than many, knows his customers even if he doesn't respect them. Only leaves the bar to sleep, eat and haggle for supplies. 

Modifiers (+1) to Str, Con, Wis. 

Skills include gambling, intimidate, knowledge of the local area, notice, persuade, anything to do with business.

Gear includes a sword, an old vest of armour (scale or something similar), a cudgel,  a dagger, a cloak of concealment and smart clothes. 

Barkeeps

Roll some d6: Afternoon: 1d6; Evening 2d6; Festivals, Holy Days and Weekends, 3d6.

1. Jormykr.  Big northman, overly friendly. dark auburn hair, eyes the blue of a northern sky. A veteran. Left arm badly scarred, doesn't like to talk about it.

2. El. An elf woman. Folk say she was pulled from a burning house by her human foster parents.  They don't say they were the ones that set the fire. 

3. Cyanitis. A huge man with a permanent idiot expression and a living giant reptile-bat embedded in his chest and shoulder, which does all the talking. 

4. Kanuta. A quiet-spoken and serious woman who arrived in town as a slave but everyone has forgotten. Including, it seems, her owner.

5. Face. Stocky male who never takes the sack off that he wears over his head. Funny, its only got one eye-hole. In the middle...

6. Growler.  A wolf hound. left behind by a guest, years ago. 

Regulars  

Roll d6 to see how many are in at any given time.

1. The Mercenary: Krantzia, disinherited noble daughter of a powerful southern house; one arm is inhumanly hairy, the result of a witch's curse.

2. The Outlaw: Sandholm; everyone knows what he is but he is tolerated amongst the town folk (if not by the soldiery of the nearby fort) as he preys only on the wealthy merchants and kills only armed men. Said to be accompanied by a bear when in the woods, but it is never seen in town.

3. The Hunter: Malakius Whitestag, so-called for his obsession with a certain white stag he once was wounded by. The wound festers still, giving him a limp in his left leg. Some say the fortunes of the Jackdog Town depend on him never catching his quarry. Others, of course, say the opposite...

4. The Orc: Duzhgal took everyone by surprise six months ago by riding in on a horse, like any sane person would. No one is quite sure what to make of the newcomer, nor keen to test the orc's mettle with the great sword it wears on its back. (Also, round here, the word 'orc' can mean different things... )

5. The Dwarf Prospector: Tankerance Bluetooth is prospecting for glimquartz, a mineral known to glow faintly in absolute darknes, enough to provide the equivalent of dim light for 5' for a human and which is given as talismans by dwarf parents to their children (it helps them to see where they are).

6. The Whore: A heart of gold and a purseful of dust, Selnia has friendships in many quarters because of her good deeds and caring attitude towards others despite not having much to share.

7. The Madman: Mantic Hardhaven is touched by the gods. Or by something else. His visions often bring him to his knees in the middle of the street. Trouble is, some of the things he sees, are recognised by those who hear his desperate descriptions of them.

8. The Gambler: Lona Dearhart was raised with money and care but never learned to settle down. Somewhere along the way, she learned all manner of games of chance, from knuckles to dice, and from backgammon to dominoes. Everyone says don't play against her when she's wearing green... 

 Folk Of Reknown

Sometimes, well-known or even famous people might be found here. Sometimes, its even a good thing.

1. The Shire Reeve, Duncan of Trie, occassionally visits Shokar's place just to 'slum it' with the locals. He thinks it helps him 'stay in touch' with the common folk. He always comes with an armed guard. Gets drunk and then weeps about some past indiscretion none but (allegedly) Stargadder knows about.

2. The Falcon Of Mirlev (Bard), otherwise known as Leomar the Unmatched. A fine bard, plain and simple, whose coming is always a delight to all. Plays the lute, ridicules dwarfs and emulates elves, seduces men and women alike and always leaves everyone wanting just a bit more. Sincerity, maybe.

3.  The Duellist Of Kelenved, Sadonel the Swift. Said by many to be the fastest blade in Meikos. Not really keen to prove her prowess, as killing haunts her. Makes ballads and poems in her head but only shares them under duress or when drunk. Can sing too, but only sober.

4. The Bishop, Aukinslade of Drimsdale. A holy man, who seeks to contain the duke's most fierce ambitions and give the diverse peoples of the region a chance to meld naturally into one nation, despite all their differences.

5. The Knight, Sir Belicassus of Erstwhere, passes through from time to time on quests, patrols, sorties against 'the enemy' (who he never identifies, but is possibly either orcs, a specific dragon, goblinoids and monsters in general, or just anyone he doesn't like). 

6. The Emissary of the Elves, Irithiel of the Leafy Shade. This role was forced upon Irithiel, as emmissary duty to humans always is, as it is basically punishment duty, though nonetheless undertaken with all sobriety and gravity. Now forced to try and understand the halfwits that are humans and even remain on good terms with some of them.

7. The Captain of the Guard, Captain Stargadder. A big, burly, somewhat brutal man, capable of astonishing violence on those with whom he has conflict. Comes here sometimes to get away from the 'airs and graces' of the castle.  

8. Thurmojid the Brave an ex-soldier from the Duke's army in the south and deadly with blade or axe in any one-to-one fight. Said to be looking for an abandoned dwarf mine that is still full of silver. Has a liking for Lona, but they're not an item.