Campaign journals, reviews of TTRPG stuff, and musings on D&D.
What is quick, and for whom? There is learning to play and there is learning to run, as well. Since I mostly play Dungeons & Dragons, I will say that quicket for both uses cases would be Holmes Basic and Moldvay Basic. Unfortunately the former isn't easily available, but the latter can be purchased on DTRPG for just $5.
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Every professional adventurer should make sure to have appropriate gear in each of the following categories:
A prepared adventurer is an alive adventurer.
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| Character | Class | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Bob the Dwarf | Dwarf level 3 | Midget with big beard in search of an adventure. |
| Hoffman | Fighter level 1 | Bold, aggressive, and ugly. But good at heart. |
| Leticia | Cleric level 1 | Extremely righteous, borderline zealot, devout follower of Rasthri, Goddess of Strength in Revenge. |
| Lugh | Elf level 1 | An elf from faraway secluded area, suspicious of people. |
| Cesar | Halfling level 1 | Brawly trouble magnet, but has good head on his shoulders. |
Bob has had it with Hagar the Haughty! Once again Hagar left without Bob, taking other adventurers on an expedition that will make them all rich. But not Bob!
Was it because Bob was defaced by a carnivorous giant fly? Or because he was scalped by an Altanian? No! It was because Bob now wields the mighty Wolfhammer, and Hagar surely envies him!
But Bob decided not to sit idly on his ass. No! He allowed his entrepreneurial spirit to blossom, and he recruited four promising adventurers: Hoffman the Fighter, Leticia the Cleric, Lugh the Elf, and Cesar the Halfling.
Then he found a local merchant who needs help: giant lizards laired close to where rivers Farhills and Cedarwade meet. Twenty-five gold coins per tail were sufficient to buy this newly formed party.
Bob then led the party to the described cave. They lit up a torch and descended into a dark hole overlooking the river bank.
Narrow and slippery limestone slopped downwards. It was broad enough to allow the party to proceed in single-file formation.
“Psst. Stop.”
Bob and Lugh halted the party.
Snoring in the darkness.
The party moved on slowly.
A slumped pig-faced humanoid was snoring.
A hand axe by its hip.
Snot-bubbles coming out of its snout.
Someone fired at the monster.
And missed.
The orc looked up, confused.
Hoffman gingerly smashed its head against the cave wall.
The beast slumped into eternal slumber.
The cave they descended to was quite large, spanning some forty feet wide and sixty feet long, if not longer. But the adventurers were preoccupied with the cave passaged that was lit. Low grunts could be heard coming from that direction.
Sneaking closer, Bob took a peek.
Four pig-faced beastmen sitting around a campfire.
They were blissfully unaware of the horror that is about to jump them.
The party released a volley at unsuspecting foes.
Cesar and Lugh had slain one; the rest fled east; splashing and tripping in the shallow stream.
One gasped as arrow penetrated its lung from behind.
“Onwards!”
Bob charged after the fleeing monsters.
His new recruits followed diligently.
Except Cesar. The halfling crossed the stream. Just to see what's on the other side, you know. There he found two wooden chests. Of course he took a look. The chests were filled with gold and silver coins.
Rest of the adventurers followed the stream. Bob halted the party at the narrowest point.
“We will wait for them here.”
Grunts could be heard in distance. Lugh could understand some of this primitive language. There were cries and complaints. Then somebody said “Go get the Bonecrusher!”
The party readied themselves. Weapons braced. Position reinforced.
Silence.
Silence.
Thunderous cheers.
Sounds of many feet running through the stream.
“Waaagh!”
Eight pig-faced beastmen came charging out of darkness. One towered over them, dressed in clinky chainshirt and wielding a longspear with wicked barbed top.
The ranks clashed against each other.
Bob swung his Wolfhammer, but missed the Bonecrusher.
The orc sidestepped the attack, swung his spear at the dwarf's belly, breaking his ribs. Then he quickly stepped back, rotated the spear, and drove it through Bob's back. Blood and gore splattered all over the adventurers as Bonecrusher yanked the barbed spear out of Bob's lifeless body.
The adventurers tightened their ranks; as did their anuses.
Orcs roared and pushed through the Bonecrusher.
They were eager for blood.
Hoffman stepped forth.
Oh how glorious he was in his plate armour, shield, and superior dexterity.
He deflected blow after blow.
He left no error go unpunished.
Leticia was to his left; Cesar to his right.
“Waa–”
He smashed the face of roaring orc with his shield, then finished him off with a mighty blow.
Halfling was badly wounded. If it weren't for Lugh's quick reaction, Cesar would've been gone for sure. The elf dragged him out of melee, and then he stepped forth. Despite his pathetic strength and thin leather armour.
Hoffman killed another beastmen with a single blow, dropping its lifeless corpse in front of Lugh.
Shallow stream was getting clogged by orc corpses.
Leticia screamed as she crushed her first orc.
Hoffman followed with yet another powerful attack.
Then he jumped on the pile of corpses and bellowed a war cry.
Orcs hacked him to death, and added his corpse to the pile.
Stream was now more blood than water.
Blood stained cave walls all the way up to the ceiling.
Lugh was quickly brought down.
Cesar repaid his life debt by dragging the elf out of melee.
Both were messed up, barely remaining conscious.
Leticia was the last one standing.
Until she wasn't.
She held her ground for good time.
But her blows weren't connecting.
Her shield and plate armour were dented by orcs' relentless attacks.
She slumped on her knees, bruised and battered.
Bonecrusher grunted in ecstasy as he dragged the spear along the cave wall.
Leticia gritted her teeth.
This is a good death.
Law fighting Chaos.
Nothing to be ashamed of.
Lugh and Cesar had to cover their eyes from a sudden sunburst from within the cave.
Once they were able to see again they were amazed by the sight.
Leticia standing strong; her armour perfectly mint; her hammer and shield with yellowish glow.
Cleric screamed as she leaped of the corpses.
She smashed Bonecrusher's head with a single mighty blow.
Elf and halfling threw themselves at the last surviving beastmen. Together they were able to wrestle one and hack him to death.
Rejuvenated by divine intervention, Leticia fought like a Valkyrie of legends. She crushed legs of one orc, throwing him to the ground. There halfling jumped on his and stabbed him to death.
Lugh killed the final beastman.
Leticia moved the corpses aside. Then she took Bob's Wolfhammer.
The survivors then filled five backpacks worth of coins.
Five hundred gold coins and one thousand and five hundred silver coins, to be exact.
Beats whatever that guy would pay for lizards' tails.
They left the corpses to the stream.
The trio left the cave and returned to Hara.
Thus they were welcomed to the Barbarian Altanis.
Discuss at Dragonsfoot forum.
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Vorkosigan Saga by Lois McMaster Bujold has some quite compelling characters. From crippled Miles, to his stoic father Aral, strict grandfather Piotr, fiercely independent mother Cordelia, to elusive Elli, paranoid Bothari, and many, many others. Damn, I should re-read the books.
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Alternity Player's Handbook and Gamemaster Guide:
Hordes of the Things:
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I've recently been reading Kane books by Karl Edward Wagner, and boy do they feature some really evocative environs. Alien cities sunk in deep swamps, titanic mountains hiding giants' graveyard, ancient towers in decadent cities... Every story has something memorable! And Kane is an overpowered murderhobo ass-hole. So just like players with high level characters?
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I would assume one of the more recent lite OSR games like Knave would be very well suited for one-shot with a group of very inexperienced players.
But since I have never played it, I'd just use Dungeons & Dragons Basic Rules. If it was good enough for kids almost fifty years ago, it ought be good enough for adults today.
Regarding adventures, I'd just use one of the one-page dungeons from the One Page Dungeon Contest, probably from one of the early compendiums (2009–2012).
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I ran an OD&D one-shot at the local gaming club for a group of players that were willing to give older ruleset a try. Three players rolled two characters, and one player rolled three.
Character creation took around 30 minutes, and the game session took around three hours. We played legendary Caverns of Thracia. Everybody quickly picked-up the rules and the game flowed smoothly.
See end of the post for more on preparation.
In alphabetic order:
| Character | Class | Alignment |
|---|---|---|
| Andre the Pious | Fighting-Man | Lawful |
| Bojan Bakrovic | Fighting-Dwarf | Neutral |
| Catalina | Magic-User | Chaotic |
| Clarisa | Cleric | Lawful |
| Keith | Cleric | Lawful |
| Lindon | Cleric | Lawful |
| Serene | Fighting-Elf | Neutral |
| Wilhelm Popovic | Cleric | Lawful |
| Xander | Magic-User | Neutral |
Adventuring party of nine finally found the fabled Lost City of Thracia. For the past day they've been trawling through lizard-men infested swamp. Most trawled waist-deep; Bojan had to do so at nipple-height.
The party approached the ruins from the west side, exiting the swamp southwards. Carefully inspecting the closest ruined building revealed little of interest. The largest building, what once used to be a temple, dominated the vista. Alas, it had no visible egresses sans the breakage in the walls caused by overgrowth.
Lindon, secured with rope and held steadfast by Wilhelm and Bojan, approached a dilapidated well and peered down. A lone torch burned at the bottom of the deep hole. The dwarf estimated the depth to be between 60 and 100 feet.
Scuttling alongside the temple wall, adventurers proceeded north, investigating their surrounding. Andre the Pious, or the Tenfoot Pole Bearer, led the way tapping and checking for traps. He was asked to inspect the largest crack in the wall, which he was happy to do.
Climbing up the tree trunk allowed him to peek into the ruined temple. Lo and behold, a staircase leading into darkness was visible. Just like four hyena-headed humanoids. Andre dropped back, and the party formed battle ranks by the fissure.
Two gnolls emerged and clashed against the front rank. One of the hairy beasts swung its mighty battle axe, landing it straight between Keith's ears. His head burst like an overripe watermelon. Clarisa the Cleric soon suffered a similar grisly fate.
Bojan and Lindon revenged them in quick succession, murdering two gnolls. A brief exchange of blows ensued with the surviving gnolls, which soon gave up and fled, leaving a bloody trail leading down the stairs.
“Chase them!”
“Wait! My mule!”
Catalina stayed behind, trying to get the mule to climb the tree trunk and enter the ruined temple. Others gave chase and followed the gnolls underground.
Lighting a lantern revealed a large chamber filled with rubble and debrief. Everything was caked with faeces of varying dryness. Blood trail led east. Up north were large double doors, ajar. To the west was a dead end, and to the east a corridor. Looking up, the dwarf spotted hundreds of bats—source of brown material coating the floor, no doubt.
“Let's slow down.”
Adventurers continued their pursuit, albeit now proceeding carefully, tapping the ground with the ten foot pole. A turn, and a turn, and then another turn, and then yet another! But this time, there were closed doors, and blood led to them.
“I have a plan.” Bojan announced whilst taking out his trust iron pitons. Then he knelt by the doors and begun hammering them in, one by one.
Andre watched guard over the north corridor. Alas, he was taken by surprisingly ferocious charge of four gnolls lead by a squat man with doberman head. Wilhelm reinforced the fighter, checking the beastmens' charge. Alas, that spelled doom for the cleric and soon he was nothing but bloody mess.
“Look how pathetic they are! Capture them all!” dog-man barked at the gnolls. One of the adventures understood him, and promptly conveyed the message to others.
Partially spiked doors were constantly banged on; as if something or someone is trying to force the open. Adventurers kept hammering in pitons, preventing the doors from being forced open.
Focusing the efforts on the dog-man soon produced results. The beast was a great swordsman, but it could not withstand adventurers' superior skills. Andre's blow forced the monster to the ground. Bojan ensured it dies an agonising death by brutally severing one of its limbs.
At this moment the party obviously had an upper hand. They rallied and pressed on against four gnolls, slaying two. Remaining two fled down the long corridor. Lindon beheaded the dog-man's corpse and left it in front of the spiked door. Just so beastmen know who they are dealing with.
Once again the party gave chase, but soon gave up after running down several hundred feet long corridor slopping downwards.
“Let's go back and check the double doors?”
“Sounds good.”
Spiked doors were still jammed shut; the captives were still banging to get out.
Passing through the double doors revealed a thirty feet wide, long corridor. Two lines of columns ran along, derelict but still structural sound. Andre ran up to fetch Catalina. The rest pushed on, finding a fissure in the corridor.
Bojan took a look; it was deep, but too scraggy for anything human to climb up. Further north was a pile of rubble flanked by two doors. Left were shut, right were slightly ajar.
Serene took a look.
Two yellowish reptilian eyes looked back at her.
The doors swung open.
Two naked lizardmen with clubs greeted the party.
Behind them was another lizardman tending to a wounded one on the ground.
The elf was knocked unconscious in a single blow.
The lizards grabbed her body and begun to drag her into the chamber. Andre tried to shut the doors, but left that and tried to wrestle Serene's body instead. Alas, lizardmen were stronger.
“Onwards!”
Party forced their way into the room and total chaos ensued.
Bojan was brutally mauled. He collapsed to the ground, with severe headache. The only thing that saved his life was his amazing greathelm. With last ounces of strength he crawled to his crossbow and fired it.
He missed.
Xander the Magic-User suffered traumatic brain injury, courtesy of yet another club wielding lizardman. He lied prostrate.
Andre the Pious delivered the killing blow to the biggest of four lizardmen. But there was no celebration to be had. Catalina gasped as spear was driven through her abdomen. She collapsed to the ground, lifeless.
“Get out! Run!”
Andre yelled at Lindon.
Cleric nodded, and withdrew from the chamber.
Andre took lit a torch.
Then he smashed an oil flask upon the backpack of his fallen comrade.
He knew damn well that backpack was full of flammable flasks.
And then he hit it, hard, with a burning torch.
Lindon could see a ball of fire blowing out of the chamber.
Silence and smell of burn flesh followed.
Turning around, the cleric opened the west doors.
An abandoned chapel.
A long ruined statue of unknown god.
Lindon said a silent prayer.
And then he got the fuck out of the dungeon.
I decided to used just the little brown books since they have less rules. Since I didn't want to be the bottle neck (e.g. have players wait for me while I'm explaining something to another player), I prepared a series of player facing reference sheets:
I also printed original reference sheets for myself:
Player sheets were well used during the game, and everyone was able to quickly make several characters. I did not used Judge facing reference sheets, since I apparently remember more rules than I was aware of.
For The Caverns of Thracia I (1) prerolled four encounters for first two levels, (2) prerolled % if someone is somewhere for ground and first level, and (3) wrote down 20 rumours on pieces of paper to hand out.
I also noted vertical connection on my maps. There was no need extensively prepare, since the party can't delve too deep in one three hour session anyway. I did reduce monster hit points, though, since they were obviously rolled with Supplement I and variable HD. So I reduced everything to uniform d6 HD.
That was it, an hour or so of prep.
The session was enjoyable, and players did great for their first foray into Thracia. Great future awaits Lindon, no doubts about that.
#Wilderlands #OneShot #SessionReport
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To be honest, I don't really know. I don't watch much TV anyway. Deus Ex might be cool as TV series. But only if they include the mine trick to explode Gunther as he runs into the plane. Or was it the cyborg lady? I don't remember anymore...
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