The Apstrae

 The apstrae haunts wetlands and damp forests, the wooded edges of freshwater bodies, river crossings. They can sometimes be heard singing from teh shadows, especially at dusk, but if the otherworldly humming that accompanies that almost-human voice dulls your senses and lulls you into a docile state, be warned: you may not be long for this world.

The apstrae may look human at first glance, as it peers from the darkness btween the trees, with its near-human face and near-feminine features, but it is not. Those eyes you cannot quite see the whites of, have none and the twinkle that may appear to glitter there is but the dying light catching the multi-faceted surface of insect eyes. That hair is long and wild and may appear bushy and unkempt, but in truth is the wiry bristle of insect, flat against which lie a pair of downy antennae, that have sensed your warmth, your breath, your blood.

The apstrae creeps from cover on six legs and even if they appear at first to be pale, human limbs, protruding from its odd, segmented body, with its leaf-litter wings, they are nothing of the sort. Those pale hands with their long fingers will not caress, but grasp and tear, the toes of those four feet will claw and scratch and cling to your back while the apstrae seeks a kiss. 

The kiss of the apstrae though, is not kind; the nose that may seem a little long in the dim twilight is monstrous when it unfurls, a probiscus that seeks a vein, that punctures flesh and drinks deep of its ruby treasure. When the apstrae bites, it costs its victim dearly...

The apstrae are like a hybrid of mosquito and human. Like an insectile harpy, they sing to their victims from the shadows as if courting them, when in truth they seek their blood. And when they have supped their fill, they momentarily gain sentient, awareness of the cost to their victim of what they have done. With it, they gain certain fleeting fragments of memory and knowledge of any languages their victim spoke. And any spells. Now articulate, they spend the next hur muttering regretful thoughts about the life they have taken, which they are cursed now to appreciate. It is at these moments that the watchful traveller might have most to gainfrom an apstrae encounter, hearing perhaps enough of their confused chatter to extract knowledge of a spell or magic charm. An apstrae engaged thus and treated sympathetically will indulge a curious stranger in the repetition of a charm or spell, knowledge of the life their victime lived, a few arbitrary facts.

Apstrae evolved to hunt large mammals and are used to puncturing thick hide; their armour-piercing bite reduces all armours by -1. They drain a d8 hp per turn once they have bitten and unless they are wrested free, drain such damage each round without needing to attack again. Pulling an apstrae free requires an opposed Str test. Apstrae have a Str of 10 but attack with Advantage when in flight. 

 

AC 11 (leathery hide) HD 1 Blood Drain1d6+1, Nat 19 Blade Trauma (1d10) 

S10 D14 C11 I10 P10 W10 Ch10 L4. Reac 2-6 Ravenous 7-8 Sorrowful 9-10 Confused 11-12 Chatty

Homebrewing Skills In Tales Of Argosa

 The skill system in ToA is simple. It is easy to learn, straightforward at the table and fast.

But I like a bit more in my skills systems. I like to be able to distinguish between a character who can do a thing, and one who is really good at it.

And I like the Traveller system.

The ToA system , RAW, is basically to add +1 to your Attribute when you make an aatribute check, if you have the skill. And there doesn't seem at first to be a lot of scope for fiddling with that, because of numbers and scope and 1-20, and so on. There's an option to make the skill a necessity for trying in some circumstances.

But there is another rule, in the character progression system, which kind of runs alongside this skill system. That rule is that every time a charcter levels up, they gain +1 to an attribute of their choice. Every time they level up. That's actually very generous. It isn't a bad rule, but it's probably open to abuse, if a player just keeps piling it onto the same aatribute every time. Basically, I think it is more generous than necessary. 

Every time an attribute increases, of course, every skill check you every make with that aatribute, wether you have the skill or not, also gets easier.

So my homebrew version of this rule will be to swap out some of those attribute increases for a skill point instead, and have a scale of skill level from 1 to 4.

I'll keep attribute increases, because everyone enjoys that buzz, but only at levels 3, 6 and 9.

On all the other levels, you get a skill point to put into an existing skill. Maybe characters will only get a new skill at the points where the Rules as they stand already give one and I'll award an improvement skill point at every level, so characters can develop a few skills. I'll have to play around with it. But either way, not increasing attributes so often ought to balance that out. Mostly.

I'll have to playtest this, to see how it works, of course. As an optional extra, I may even go full Traveller mode and award a penalty to trying something that requires a skill the character doesn't have. That's a but tough and I'll only do it if players are happy with it. After all, there is already the option to put a bar of Great Successes if oyu don't have the skill (which i totally use already).

Anyway, as always, if you get around to trying this out, please let me know how it goes.  

Seven Types of Fighter for Tales of Argosa

 The Adaptable feature of the ToA Fighter class is cool. Every level, you get a new 'thing' and they are just about enough to help distinguish a couple of fighters from each other within the same group.

But how can we use this to help define the world we are setting our campaign in?

It seems to me that this is a useful tool. I don't want to re-write anything here, or make anything more complicated: simplicity is important to me at the Table. But I think by considering the way we use the Adaptability table, we can squeeze just a little more flavour out of it.

Below are my suggestions for types of fighter you might find in a fantasy world and which Adaptability feature they would need. There are two ways you can use this idea. The first and simplest is to use the table as normal. Whichever version of Adaptability a player selects dictates what kind of fighter the character is currently employed as. Alternatively, you might ask the player to roll on the table even at generation, when they would normally chose, to randomly select a current career. 

New combat style: Shield Wall. 

New entry for the 'Adaptable' on p31. Use on a 6 in place of  'Ranged' for all non-archers. This style means that as long as you are standing shoulder to shoulder with an ally, and armed with a shield, you or they gain +1 AC (fighter's player's choice).

Contacts. These are NPCs a player may start out knowing. They should be advantageous - a source of information, adventure seeds or geographical knowledge in a world where most people don't travel very far. Where possible, they should be recurring characters who the players might get to know well, and they ought to be embedded in the local setting. They are the first steps in fleshing out the nearest town, the player's faction or the local community. If Fighter characters elect to have a specific job attached to their class, they should gain a contact as listed below in the Jobs and Roles section. 

Below is a simple list of the kinds of jobs or careers each Adaptable style implies. Further below are some ideas on how to develop these roles further. 

 

Charger                                    Assault Troops

Dual Weapon                           Outlaw, Marine

Long Reach                             Guards, of temples, palaces, etc.

Opportunist                             Gladiator

Protector                                  Militia, Town Watch

Ranged                                    Archer

Single Weapon                        Duellist

Two Hander                            Specialist (Bridge-holder, etc) or Judicial Champion

Unarmed                                Pugilist or bare-knuckle fighter

Brutal                                    Assault troops, Marines, Raiders

Rearguard                              Caravan Guard      

Expert Guard                         Guards, of temples, palaces, etc            

 

Jobs And Roles 

Archer (see my Archers In Tales of Argosa post, here).

Depending on the setting, either trained from a young age or part of a standing army or other fighting force. Gain Ranged. Equipped with a short bow, a light axe and dagger instead of long sword and shield. 

Archers are a breed apart in many ways. They have a very specific skill set, which it helps to have someone teach you. An archer is likely to know the person who helped them develop as an archer, or taught  them to fletch arrows or even to craft a bow. Contacts might include a fellow archer, a bowyer, a fletcher or their sergeant.

Assault Troops

Frontline troops in any attacks on enemy positions. Often veteran who lead the charge.  Contacts might include fellow veterans, a mercenary captain, or even a lord.

Caravan Guard

Used to defending a caravan, they begin with Rearguard. Often well-travelled. May have additional Contacts in other settlements or towns. Contacts might include merchants, wagoners, horse breeders or even outlaws. 

Champion (or Bridge-holder)

Champions are participants in judicial combats, hired to fight on behalf of the accused or the accuser. Bridge-holders (my term) are specialist wielders of two-handed swords, used to hold strategic positions, such as bridges, courtyards or doors. Take the Two Hander style. Contacts might include those they have defended in the past, members of the judiciary, or whoever taught them to wield that weapon.

Halbadier 

Soldiers specifically trained in the use of the halberd. Gain Long Reach style. Contacts are likely to include veterans or officers.

Infantry

Soldiers paid or otherwise engaged to defend the realm. Level 1 would be like peasant levy, followed by various ranks of officer. Only one step up from a civilian in many ways and Contacts are likely to include camp followers (e.g. Rogues), officers, and people from home. 

Militia

Sometimes paid, sometimes volunteers, their job is to protect members of the community. They take Protector as their default style. Might come from any of several walks of life so potential Contacts vary, but many will be middle class and know a lot of merchants, other members of the Watch or Militia and members of the town council 

Palace Guard

Specialist guards, usually taller than average and well equipped, often with polearms, such as halberds, long spears/pikes or partizans . They take Expert Guard or Long Reach as their default style and must take the other at the next opportunity. Contacts may include those they protect, as well as their rivals. 

Pugilist

Bare-knuckle fighter. Takes Unarmed. Contacts will be other fighters, trainers, people associated with other jobs they have, and particular fans (which might include much wealthier peple, such as lords). 

 

Archers in Tales of Argosa

 Archers are not a class in most RPGs. But they should be. IN ToA, the closest you'll get is probably a Fighter with the Ranged combat style, or a Ranger. Rangers start out with a longbow. But their class abilities are not as martial as a Fighter. 

I like Rangers. But they're not Archers. 

This is the entry for the 'Ranged' combat style on the Adaptable table (number 6) on page 31 of the ToA Rulebook:

 

When you make a ranged or thrown attack, targets lose any AC bonus due to cover. Additionally if you miss your target you never reroll the attack against an ally in the same melee. 

 

On the whole, I like the Adaptable entries, but  there are a few reasons why this entry stands out from the others as a bit weak.

Firstly, if you don't want to play an archer, its useless. A lot of folks play Fighters specifically to enjoy melee combat. 

Secondly, it dicourages the use of cover, which is a cool thing to have; its a free, easy thing any player or NPC can do to improve their chances of survival. It engages the players with the terrain and NPCs using it makes players think about alternative routes of attack. 

Thirdly (slightly repetitious, I know, bit valid, I think), it removes a rule (cover), instead of adding something. 

Fourthly, it doesn't really do archers justice. There is lot more to being an archer than shooting through cover and most of them are more fun. 

Finally, I actually think Archer ought to be something closer to a class, and I'll finish with some ideas about how to adapt the Fighter class to be more archer friendly, without re-writing a whole thing. 

 

Adapting the Adaptable.

I suggest that if you want to give players the option of playing Archers that are distinct from Fighters, you replace 'Ranged' in the Adaptable table altogether. I replace it with 'Shield Wall', which gives any Fighter armed with a shield and standing shoulder to shoulder with an ally an additional +1 AC bonus, which , if they choose, they can lend to the ally. Only one of them gets the bonus, but if two Fighters do this, obviously, they'll both get it. I allow this to be taken as a unique Ability by non-Fighters, IF there is a fighter in the group that has it. I figure a trained fighter would explain it.

Ranged Styles.

I decided I needed a new table of styles, suitable for Archers.  Some of these of course, you could just take as Unique Abilities. But my feeling is that players either want to play a full-on Archer type, or they don't bother with ranged weapons unless they are playing a Rogue or a Ranger (in which case these work as unique Abilities). I only have ten, so far. 

1. Fast Shot - once per combat round, take an additional shot as a free action with a penalty of -2. 

2. Arrow Storm - shoot two arrows at a time, at the same target, with Disadvanatge. Take twice to reduce the penalty to -2. Wether it can be take three times is up the GM.

3. Long Shot - reduce Range by one band. 

4. Sniper Shot - as long as you take no other action in a round, attack with Advantage. 

5. Deadly Shot - increase damage die by one die type. 

6. Moving Shot - move and shoot at the same time with no penalty

7. Moving Target - half penalties for shooting at a moving target.  

8. Mounted Shot - take no penalty for being mounted. 

9. Arrow Snatcher - on a successful Dex test, snatch an arrow from the air that was aimed at you. 

10. All Weather Arrow - ignore penalties for weather.

Archer as Class

 Key Attribute: Dexterity

Hit Points: Equal to Con score + (Level x2)

Weapons: All

Armour and Shields: All 

Class Starting Gear: Longbow (1d8), Light Axe (1d6), Dagger (1d4), Reinforced Leather armour (new) (+2 AC), a quiver of arrows (20).

Continue to use the Fighter class abilities, but any class ability that begins with 'When using a weapon' now should be read as  'When using a melee weapon' for Fighters and 'When using a ranged weapon' for Archers.

 

As usual, if you use it, let me know!

Smuggling Adventures

 Smuggling offers many opportunities for adventure, while keeping adventures well within the sword and sorcery parameters of low stakes, high action - or alternatively, low world stakes but high personal stakes. In fact, I can't help think that smuggling operations make for better adventures than 'busting' them. There are a number of reasons this is true.

Smugglers are constantly operating outside the law. There is no 'fall back' position, unless they have a powerful patron (such as corrupt local lord intent on avoiding paying taxes). So players have to solve their own problems, however weird they get.

There are continual challenges and near perpetual threat. You don't have to look far to find peril here. The forces of the law alone are a consistent and evolving force of antagonism. Here, combat may well be viewed in this context as a fail state a sign that things have gone badly.  Smuggling depends upon subterfuge and stealth; not being noticed is a win.

Each operation consists of multiple component parts. Acquiring the contraband. Transporting the contraband. Concealing the contraband. Retrieving and  moving the contraband. Selling the contraband. At any of those points enemies can seek to thwart them, plans can go awry and 'things' can go 'wrong'. All of which leaves a lot of scope for a wide variety of adventure. Opposition, challenge and setting/terrain. From dodgy merchants trying to rip them off, to honourable and duty-bound officials and law enforcement officers trying to catch them, to robbers and rivals. Wether the campaign is set in a pseudo-medieval, modern or sci-fi setting, these things still apply. Each operation is, in fact, a mini-campaign.

Hiding contraband isn't easy. Smuggliers in Britain in the eighteenth century used a range of methods. These area few examples of historical contraband concealment and how they might pan out in a campaign.

Weighted barrels were sometimes sunk off-shore. Local merfolk object/steal the goods/demand a tax.

Hidden in ruins - either buried or in hidden cellars or other rooms

Hidden in caves - sea caves or in cliffs

other people's cellars, barns or houses - with or without their knowledge!

On small, offshore islands 

Buried in fields

 

 Lots of roleplaying. because of the above points, there are tons of opportunities for roleplaying interactions with a range of recurring and single-use NPCs or many types. But hat roleplaying can also take the form of planning and execution of potentially complex operations.

 

I came up with the following potential twists to a smuggling operation and made them into a randomized table, so I can roll up how any given operation might go south. Ideally, I would set out the normal situation, the plan of the smuggling operation, and then roll to see why it doesn't go to plan. 

These adventure seeds should be used alongside my Types of Shoreline post. 

Roll 1d12 

 1. Straightforward smuggle; no untoward developments.

2. The goods are not what they seem to be (on a d6) 1 - more valuable; 2 - magical; 3 - magical and aligned with an evil power in the world;  4 - of special interest to the Church/most powerful religious body; 5 - of special interest to local secular powers; 6 - of special interest to the ruling national government.

3. Stolen goods. The contraband was initially stolen and the former owners are making extensive efforts to get them back.

5. Betrayal; a member of the smuggling gang has betrayed them to a rival.

6. Tip-off; someone has tipped of local law enforcement, who are expecting the shipment. Are they waiting when the contraband arrives, or do they sit back until a better 'net' is in place? Will they expect to be bribed?

7. Rivals undercut; a rival smuggling operation has already delivered similar contraband at a lower price and demand has dried up. Find new buyers.

8. Local robbers attempt to take the contraband by force.

9.  The local Lord wants a cut in return for turning a blind eye. 

10. A dragon hears about the cntraband and decides to take it for itself.  

11. The journey becomes a naval adventure: Storm, mist, becalmed, mysterious island, haunted hulk, etc. 

12. Haunted goods; the contraband itself is haunted in some way.

 

It is my intention to run these as an 'unpredictable' smuggling themed campaign. Other elements required are:

Ports. Smuggling adventures work best in space or at sea. Smuggling, of course happened in other arenas, but these are the best for RPGs because they include both the special terrian of sea/space and the 'HQ' of a ship of some sort which the players will care about (eventually). I figure I need about half a dozen. Not more. The need to be visited repeatedly, so players can develop their sense of them. 

Factions. Buyers, sellers, The Law, rivals, robbers, 'dangerous other'. That's four types of faction and they should all be included.  Robbers might mean pirates. Work out how navel law and law enforcement work in your world. Know who the smugglers are buying from and selling to. 'Dangerous other' might include mer-folk, water elementals, weather spirits, ghosts or demonic entities. 

Ships or vehicles. For player immersion to really work, you need a credible, detailed ship or other vehicle. If its a plane, fine, but make sure you (and the players) get familiar with it over the course of the campaign. Spanish galleons were large, complex places, with lots of rooms, nooks, crannies and specialist aspects. The same goes for modern shipping. 

Contraband. It is helpful if you know exactly what contraband there is in your world, where it comes from, how much it costs, and why it is valued. And if any conflict is inherent in its nature (which there WILL be in the case of modern, illicit drug shipments, for example, or any other high-value, mobile commodity). 

 

That's all I can think of for now.

I'd love to hear from someone who had tried this!