Wednesday, April 15, 2015

My New Campaign Is About To Start

Selangod

Selangod is the capitol city in the Kingdom of Selangod. There are 20,000 souls in the large city, a mix of races: 40% human, 20% Dwarf, 15% Elf, 12% Gnome, 8% Halfling, 3% Half-Orc and 2% Half-Gnoll. Trade comes and goes at a fervent pace inside the city. As the Government collects no taxes, merchants proliferate. Competition causes the best merchants to succeed but the power remains in the government – there is no business lobby. People get several chances to succeed and are never disadvantaged by any hegemony, so long as they obey the laws. King Lecrose is fair. It is common knowledge that the Royal Family has a fortune in diamonds and with his own wise investments, the King covers the cost involved in maintaining the City, the services and the armed forces. He knows what a Gold Piece is worth.

Like many of the valleys and lowlands throughout Mu, Selangod enjoys a jungle climate. It is usually hot enough to cause one to sweat, and is always humid. There are two seasons, Rainy and Sunny with the former occurring only during the last three months of the twelve-month year. It is normal for there to be a short rain every day, soon after sunrise. The kingdom has two lakes and two main rivers. The white tips of tall mountains can be seen far to the north on a clear day.

The nearest kingdom of civilized people is three hundred miles to the northwest, whose capital is called Davout. There are occasional trade caravans sent along empty roads, back and forth between this kingdom and Selangod. Davout is at war with the mighty Ogre Kingdom. There are other settlements of peoples here and there, some nearby, but most of these are small, temporary and unmapped. The majority of the jungle is thick and wild. Very, very far to the north of Selangod is a great sea, surrounded on all sides by other great kingdoms. Over three hundred miles to the south is The Endless Expanse, water with no far edge.

The Kingdom of Selangod is currently also at war with the Ogre Kingdom. King Lecrose has raised a large army of Gnolls to fight this war, although some townsfolk have also joined the war effort. The Gnolls live in the northern mountains between these two kingdoms. They have an ancient alliance with Selangod, and seem willing to maintain it. The war has long periods of coldness where only small skirmishes occur.

The religion of the Sun God, Atura, is the main religion throughout Selangod. The traditions and laws of the church are closely tied to the governmental laws. Justice is fair but swift. The God has no symbol except the sun in the sky. Priests are very often involved in government and they see to the needs of people. It is in everyone’s best interest to keep their neighbors from struggling.

King Lecrose is known for his fairness and justice but also his generosity. During his reign he has ended the burden of taxation and built a network of care-houses that do more than shelter the disadvantaged, but strive to teach and rehabilitate them. He has also wiped out the Withering Death plague. Additionally, the old and infirm are allowed to leave the world in comfort and honor on the King’s own estate, with final support given to their families. The King has no Queen, nor any known children. It is expected that he will appoint a successor at the time of his retirement, likely an important person from the official church.

The police force throughout the kingdom is fair but strict. In Selangod, it is managed by a Master and a team of Bashers. Strangers get extra attention in town from law enforcement. Those looking the part of Adventurers get harassed as adventuring is frowned upon. Weapons and armor are rarely worn by citizens. The police themselves are lightly armed. There are no “adventurer’s” shops but there is a public black market that trades in everything. It’s not illegal to shop the black market, it’s just illegal for common folks to bare arms. Licenses to carry arms and armor can be purchased with donations made to the church.

The only official duty required of the populace is the Blood Offering. Every month, on a day of the supplicant’s choosing, adult citizens are bound by religious and secular law to provide a small share of their own blood. There are many centers throughout the Kingdom where this offering can quickly and almost painlessly, be made. There has never been an incident or accident regarding this ancient and holy tradition.

Generally speaking, the people of Selangod are happy and helpful. Those that do gripe and complain are most often focused on problems outside the Kingdom: toward Ogres, strangers, and the inefficiencies in foreign kingdoms. There is a lot of opportunity for those that embrace fair business, with those seeking to take advantage of people being run out of town. Selangod insists on being a safe Kingdom.

Thursday, March 26, 2015

My New Novel

I have released my novel, "Conversion," and it has a very strong D&D feel to it. It is certainly inspired by role-playing and swords and sorcery. It is available now through Lulu:

Tuesday, January 13, 2015

The Party Rests in Armor

I received a heavy set of steel chainmail for Christmas. I wear it around town, under my huge sweatshirt, three sizes too big. It's about thirty pounds of extra weight so maybe I will burn off some of the Holiday Cheer. In any case, I slept in my armor last night to no ill effect. So I suggest that if you require your Player Characters to sleep outside of their armor when they rest, perhaps you should make an exception for chainmail. It is not uncomfortable, and I'm a light sleeper.

Tuesday, December 9, 2014

Complete Tarot Deck of Many Things

This is a complete Deck of Many Things, and is attributed to the wonderful Thoth Tarot Deck:

Saturday, December 6, 2014

More House Rules II

Here are some more house rules dealing with the AD&D Dungeon Masters Guide.

Pg. 25 – Player Character Expenses: 100 GP a month per level? Really? Not including taxes or room and board? That can safely be ignored. The DM will occasionally ding the total treasure brought into town to cover minor costs of living, but not 7200 GP a year + expenses for a party of 6.

Pg. 58 – Outdoor Movement: It is hot and muggy in most areas in Mu. This chart assumes as much and gives movement in miles per day. Easier areas are per the old chart on pg. 58:
Terrain
Burden.. Normal..Rugged..Very Rugged
Light.. 20.. 15.. 10
Medium.. 15.. 10.. 5
Heavy.. 10.. 5.. 2

Mounted movement miles/day
Terrain
Mount.. Normal.. Rugged.. Very Rugged
Light.. 50.. 20.. 5
Medium.. 35.. 15.. 5
Heavy.. 25.. 10.. 5
Cart*.. 20.. 10
Wagon*.. 20.. 5

* With some kind of road or flatland.

Pg. 64 – Grenade Like Missiles: Misses: When a grenade like missile misses its target, roll 1d3 and 1d8. The d3 represents the squares away from the target that the missile will land. The d8 gives the direction, clockwise from the target’s square with the front square being “1”.

Pg 72 - Grappling: Grappling is a Strength vs. Strength battle. If a character wishes to grapple another, then he or she must first roll to hit as normal. After hitting, the struggle begins. The procedure is to take the strength of the attacker and compare it to that of the defender. For every point of strength that is different, a plus or minus 5% is given. For example: a person with 16 Strength grapples someone with 12 Strength. 16 – 12 = 4. 4 X 5% = +20%. Therefore the attacker would have a base 50% chance of holding his or her target prone, plus 20% due to being stronger. The attacker would have a 70% chance of successfully Grappling the defender each round, holding the defender prone and unable to act. Of course, the defender must be able to be grappled (i.e. not a slime, or a spirit, etc.)

Pg –192 Harlots: We really don’t need to roll on a chart to determine what kind of harlot you are hiring.

Extra: Suffocation: Suffocation: A breathing, humanoid creature that is roughly human sized, will suffocate to death if they are held without air for their Constitution score in rounds or more. For example: a fighter with a Con of 12 will drown to death if submerged in water for 12 rounds (2 min, 24 sec.)
A similar person held without air for half of their Constitution score (rounding down) in rounds will require additional rounds to recover. For example: if the same fighter with Con of 12 is held for 10 rounds without air. For each round in excess of 6 (half Con), the fighter will require 1 round to recover, or 4 rounds in this case. During those rounds the character will be treated as prone.

More House Rules

Here are more house rules from the AD&D Players Handbook.

Pg 101-102 – Encumbrance: The new chart should explain it. However there should be something said about bulk. It is conceivable that a character would want to carry on his or her back: 100 arrows in five quivers, 10 flasks of oil, 200 feet of rope, 4 javelins, pots and pans, 20 days of food, 2 gallons of holy water, a 10’ pole, 2 blankets, and a backpack full of other stuff. Did I mention that the character was a three-foot-tall Halfling with 18 strength? While it would be possible for the character to carry all of this stuff, it would probably triple his or her size. Let’s be reasonable people. Clearly try to imagine where each piece would fit on the character. If you imagine something that looks ridiculous, then it very likely is.

20 gold coins equal one pound.

Str.. Light.. Medium.. Heavy
3-5.. 16 lbs.. 17-33 lbs.. 34-50 lbs
6-8.. 26 lbs.. 27-53 lbs.. 54-80 lbs
9-11.. 38 lbs.. 39-76 lbs.. 77-115 lbs
12-14.. 54 lbs.. 55-116 lbs.. 117-175 lbs
15-17.. 86 lbs.. 87-173 lbs.. 174-260 lbs
18-18(50).. 133 lbs.. 134-266 lbs.. 267-400 lbs
18(51)-18(00).. 173 lbs.. 174-346 lbs.. 347-520 lbs
19-21.. 266 lbs.. 267-533 lbs.. 534-800 lbs
22-25.. 400 lbs.. 401-800 lbs.. 801-1200 lbs

Armor movement restrictions are in place but no Max. Dex Bonus.

If you are Light or Medium in encumbrance then you get no modifier to movement. If you are Heavy, then you lose 30’ of movement i.e. from 90 to 60. If you are over your Heavy limit or carrying an oversized piece, you lose a total of 60’ of movement. Heavily encumbered characters are –2 on initiative and will only be able to travel half as long over land.

You can always swim if you come up Light.

Infravision in all of its forms has now become Darkvision. The subject gains the ability to see up to 60 feet in total darkness. Darkvision is black and white sight only but otherwise like normal sight. Darkvision does not grant one the ability to see in magical darkness. Someone with Darkvision sees colors in light but they are washed out, never bright. Bright light is irritating to those with Darkvision, but not to the point where normal daylight would hamper their abilities.

Ultravision is improved Darkvision. The 60-foot limit in darkness is removed. Additionally magical items and creatures emit a slight aura when viewed with Ultravision. Invisible is still invisible, however.

Supravision is like Ultravision however magical auras are clearer. Invisible shapes cast a shadow that someone using Supravision can see, if indistinctly.

True Seeing is like Ultravision except that invisible or otherwise magically hidden forms are clearly revealed.

Extra: Jumping: The distance achieved in a standing or running jump is determined by Strength and Movement rate. The distance of a standing long jump is equal to a character’s height, modified by the chart below. The distance of a running jump is equal to a character’s Strength score in feet, modified by the chart below. Encumbered (Heavy) characters lower the modifier by half or -20% for 0 modifier.

Jump Chart
Movement Rate/ Modifier
30.. -75%
60.. -50%
90.. -25%
120.. 0
150.. +25%
180.. +50%
210.. +75%
240.. +100%
270.. +125%
300.. +150%

Wednesday, December 3, 2014

Why We Play The Game

I have put together a packet I call the “Players Guide” which gives information about my world, my rule changes from the AD&D PHB and DMG, and information on how the game will run. I have edited the packet a few times adding several pages with additional tables, and paragraphs of detail. My players have slowly been coming to me with feedback regarding the changes, but only one has approached me regarding the style of play we will incorporate. It is this feedback that I really want, as helpful as the rules feedback has been.
I posted before now the seven fundamental requirements for playing in my game. These I felt were reasonable and I researched each of them keeping the game context in place. These requirements were also answers to some problems that we have had. Players regularly showing up forty-five minutes late, for example, was a problem I addressed. I want to treat these people like adults but also don’t want to enable rude behavior. The one response I received dealing with these requirements is that my players would not be up for it. That the players won’t want to give up their little abuses and that I should find new players if I want to go this stricter, more “serious” way. I appreciated his feedback. Maybe I do need new players. Or maybe, although I don’t believe this, I need to forget about these new standards and I should just let people do what they do. They enjoyed my game in the past so… Maybe I’m wrong.
Or maybe I’m right. Part of treating these adult people as adults is to respect their words. I have asked each of them how they felt about the packet. So far all but the one has skipped over the requirements section with their feedback, and told me what they liked or disliked about the rule changes. I am certain that they have read the requirements, and at this point will treat their silence as acceptance of those requirements. Nevertheless, I will ask each player more specifically if he or she is okay with the requirements, but that will be their last chance to comment. After that, players, myself included, will be held responsible to their commitment.
So how can an adult game be fun? The game is too serious if we set up house rules for play, isn’t it? If Joe and Frank are an hour late, that just gives the rest of us more time to socialize. If Jane and Sally only speak when spoken to then that’s fine; more time for the real players to have their voices heard. Jim is on his phone so now is a good time to take advantage of his distraction. Speaking of distraction Margaret has fallen asleep on the couch and doesn’t need a share of tonight’s treasure. No one remembers that hint the old man in the tavern gave us last session; I will sneak back and exploit that on my own. Bill didn’t even show up, but hey, it’s only a game. Only a game.
It’s not only a game, people. You are building relationships around that table. You are forming possibly long-term friendships. Wouldn’t that be easier without snide remarks about behavior? What about hurt feelings because a good and fair boundary wasn’t set? What about those two anxious players you have that are frustrated because players are late? Where’s the respect? Players should do what they want to do. If they want to talk on their phones during the game then they should probably find a different game where phone chat is acceptable. They would be happier, and those still around the original table would not be held up.
Come, let us kill Orcs together, unified by purpose and fraternity. Let us scheme the best way to knock over that trade caravan, with each of us working together. Let us delve into that ancient tomb and with concerted effort, put to rest the Lich King of Arswhole. Let’s come to the table as close friends and leave a little closer.