tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17967262166516860052024-03-13T10:24:23.109-04:00Tabletop DiversionsWherein Our Hero blathers on about playing with toy soldiers, playing RPGs and related interests for his own edification.John Yhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16465161620134394060noreply@blogger.comBlogger543125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1796726216651686005.post-45443910044776873742016-09-12T11:05:00.001-04:002016-09-12T11:05:34.142-04:00Adventure Maximus! and Risus: RPGing with my 5 Year Old<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The Young Lord Shadowmoss, who recently turned 5, has been playing far more Minecraft than is probably healthy. So, Saturday afternoon I suggested we shut down the laptop and break out <i>Adventure Maximus! </i>to<i> </i>resume the adventures of his druid wolf-kin, Squiddy, and his great white shark companion (whose name changes every time, this time it was 'Jaws').<br />
<br />
I'm not a fan of the game system (the rules could use some clarifying in my opinion), but the Young Lord likes the pictures on the cards (as do I), not to mention he has a restaurant with a gargoyle chef and a trimera he befriended in the course of earlier adventures The response was enthusiastic, although it was another 30 minutes before he shut down Minecraft.<br />
<br />
That was fine, because I hadn't thought about what to do for an adventure.Thanks to the restaurant, I've used special/rare ingredients as McGuffins many times now but I wanted to mix it up a bit.<br />
<br />
This time around, Squiddy was hired by the Big Bad Wolf to clear his name. It seems 'grandma' had been trying to frame Big Bad for some unnamed crime that she had committed. Knowing Squiddy has been desperate to find a sword, Big Bad naturally offered one as a reward - I figured, correctly, that even if he didn't care one iota about the purpose of the adventure, he'd care about that sword. According to the Wolf, grandma was camped out in her cottage at the top of Big Rock Candy Mountain, and so Squiddy prepared for his trek.<br />
<br />
I told the Young Lord that Squiddy couldn't possibly carry all of his gear up the mountain (over several adventures he's amassed quite a haul, everything from a pillow to a bow that turns any enemy that it hits into a bunny). The first order of business was preparing for the journey to grandma's house and role-playing packing for the trip- we reviewed all of the equipment and discussed the merits and disadvantages of each, before settling on a modest number of items: 1 range weapon (the aforementioned bunny bow), 1 melee weapon (the snail flail) and 1 oddball item (gas gun).<br />
<br />
Gear selected, he and Jaws made the journey - which I mostly hand-waived other than asking him what if anything he was doing along the way. It turned out, he was very concerned with finding food for Jaws. After some discussion, we decided a special delivery of sandwiches by the gargoyle chef was on the way.<br />
<br />
It seemed logical to me.<br />
<br />
Near the top of Big Rock Candy Mountain, Squiddy and Jaws, now full on sandiwches, were assaulted by animated snow men - six in all - hurling snowballs at them. Squiddy's first move was to spray the gas gun - missile weapons can't hit through the cloud. I told him right out that I was impressed by that tactical decision and he beamed, and then explained to me why I was impressed.<br />
<br />
He was completely wrong, mind you. Still, it's fun to hear how his mind works. I always find the way kids his age rationalize things to be pretty amazing.<br />
<br />
In the next round, he surprised me again and instead of jumping into the fight, Squiddy cast his spell to summon a creature to fight alongside him and some pixies showed up and joined the fray. The snowmen went down pretty easily between Squiddy, Jaws and the summoned Pixies..<br />
<br />
Grandma, it turned out, was some crazy Ursula-from-The-Little-Mermaid tentacled thing (it's a boss monster in the game, but I forget the name and I'm nowhere near the box to go find the card) and she was pretty tough. When she refused to come quietly and confess her scheme to the law (probably because Jaws broke down the door instead of knocking), the fight was on.<br />
<br />
Her first spell charmed Jaws into believing she was his friend. This was a tough choice as a dad, but it seemed the most in character for her - after all, Jaws was right up on her and a clear threat. (I refuse to fudge dice rolls with him either, rolling everything in the open. Call me a hard-ass, but I don't believe in just letting him win.)<br />
<br />
Of course, that didn't go over without notice, and the Young Lord did not take it well. He was confused and seemed to think Jaws was now the evil grandma's companion, and I had to continually remind him that Jaws was still his companion, he just happened to like grandma too. In any case, he and by extension Squiddy were ready to destroy grandma now.<br />
<br />
Her second spell gave her an extra pair of arms and an extra attack each round. I felt bad about casting this one, figuring Squiddy, without Jaws, might now be outgunned. As luck would have it, I rolled poorly for her attacks thereafter, only causing 1 point of damage to Squiddy.<br />
<br />
Besides, I'd forgotten his Summon Creature spell, so, with the help of a summoned pirate and judicious use of his own snail flail, Squiddy put the hurt on grandma, brought her to justice, and claimed his reward.<br />
<br />
He was justifiably excited - he earned that sword.<br />
<br />
**********<br />
EPILOGUE:<br />
<br />
I was pretty drained after our game (it lasted less than an hour but if you have a 5 year old or thereabouts, or ever have, then I think you understand) but he then wanted to try Risus, which I've been trying to get him to try for months now.<br />
<br />
I had to seize the opportunity and at least get character generation taken care of.<br />
<br />
It seemed to me that the best way to get his character created in such an open ended system would be to guide him with questions to describe what he imagined his character was like and I'd deal with getting him to 4 cliches by asking as many questions as needed.<br />
<br />
Here, verbatim, are the answers he came up with as he ran around the room and jumped on the sofa :<br />
<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>1/2 Stormtrooper 1/2 master wizard demon who casts crazy awesome spells and other weird stuff (4) </li>
<li>Protector of other demons (3)</li>
<li>Swimmer (2)</li>
<li>Gun collector (1)</li>
</ul>
<br />
<br />
You can see why the after school teacher pulled me aside the other day to ask if the Young Lord has a lot of toy weapons at home.<br />
<br />
Oh, and the character's name? <b>Demon Stormtrooper Wizard Man</b>John Yhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16465161620134394060noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1796726216651686005.post-90187257676874292042016-09-07T13:44:00.001-04:002016-09-07T13:49:35.488-04:00De Profundis : My First ImpressionAs DragonCon approached*, I was reminded that I had come across a copy of <i>De Profundis: Cthulhu Gaming on the Edge of Madness </i>in the dealer's hall one year, but passed on it, as I knew t<a href="http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/84298/De-Profundis-Second-Edition" target="_blank">he PDF was available from DriveThruRPG</a> for a good bit less. Like so many PDF purchases, it went into the vast pile of bits and bytes to be forgotten.<br />
<br />
The other day, I finally put it on my e-reader and gave it a read.<br />
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<br />
For those who are unfamiliar with it, <i>De Profundis</i> is a:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<br />
". . . game of psychological horror . . . De Profundis is a correspondence-based story-telling game that can be played from the point of view of participants from a variety of eras . . . Utilising a mix of letter writing, email and text based gaming - depending on your chosen era of play - it's a perfect game for the modern time strapped gamer."</blockquote>
Sounds pretty cool right?<br />
<br />
Better, one of the selling points, as I saw it, is that it can allegedly be played solitaire. As readers may recall, this is my kryptonite.<br />
<br />
I say "allegedly" because now that I have read it, I am honestly not sure I understand how to play it.<br />
<br />
Or if it's a game at all.<br />
<br />
It is, as the author(s) reminds us continually, psycho-drama, and not a traditional role-playing game. For example, there is no GM, there are few if any rules, and it takes place in letters. True, there are <i>some </i>rules, some tables, dice even get involved - although I will need to read this a 2nd time to make sure I'm right about any of that.<br />
<br />
In many ways, it seems to me more of a parlor game of "let's pretend" or telling ghost stories, without the parlor and involving letter writing. For some reason, I imagine haughty rich people sitting in a circle in suits and evening gowns while bedecked in jewels saying "My word!" and "Heavens!" as they play.<br />
<br />
That last bit is probably just me though.<br />
<br />
Much of the book stresses atmosphere and immersion. In fact, most of the book is written as letters to the reader - which I suppose illustrates how one might play, but I found it distracting: tell me what to do! (wow, I sound like a perfect cog, don't I?) To make immersion easier, to prevent the breaking of illusion, players are encouraged to play themselves, in the real world, but to look for the weird in the ordinary and fill their letters with these mysteries (this wonderfully blurs the lines between reality and "the fiction" to the point that you might end up a raving believer in conspiracy theories. Better get out that tinfoil hat before playing). If playing another personality in a different time period, the book suggests ways of keying the envelope so the recipient can achieve the proper mindset before opening.<br />
<br />
So, it sounds like it could be cool, but not very game-like, more like an exercise in creativity and imagination. That's not to dismiss <i>De Profundis</i> - I want very much to try it as I love letter writing- but I'm going to need to read it again and then figure out how to go about it.<br />
<br />
*the night before DragonCon, I broke my foot and alas I did not get to attend this year.John Yhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16465161620134394060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1796726216651686005.post-53665630958107647682016-09-06T12:25:00.002-04:002016-09-06T14:28:32.535-04:00An adventure in the Abyss - Deluxe Tunnels & Trolls<br />
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Abyss is a solitaire module for dead T&T characters by Paul Creelman, included in the Deluxe Tunnels & Trolls rulebook. It's a chance to work your way back from the underworld, with the stipulation that you only can try this once per PC.<br />
<br />
Fortunately (?), I have quite a pile of dead characters to work with, although most have 0 adds and poor Constitution. I shuffled the stack and decided to revisit <a href="http://tabletopdiversions.blogspot.com/2016/08/descent-into-buffalo-castle-deluxe.html" target="_blank">Karak the Stout and <strike>Beautiful</strike> Attractive</a> (attributes are what they were immediately before death).<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
********</div>
<br />
To his surprise, Karak found himself standing before a large leonid god-type thing, offering a way back to life itself. Also surprising was the short sword in his hand, considering he had never owned one before.<br />
<br />
His first lucky break came when he found a charmed pebble capable of poisoning any weapon or make a poison liquid if plopped into water. I should add that the phrase "first lucky break" is misleading.<br />
<br />
Further along, our hero came upon a sultry woman. With practiced ease, she beckoned Karak to join her in mind-bending bliss. But Karak, blessed with wits (IQ of 14), suspected something untoward was planned for him if he conceeded. Not wishing to fight what might turn out to be a demon or worse, he stepped backwards.<br />
<br />
And promptly fell as if from a great height.<br />
<br />
"Fabulous," thought Karak.<br />
<br />
His fall was abruptly stopped (thanks to a successful level 1 luck saving roll, 1LR if I understand the T&T convention). However, any relief he felt was quickly dispelled - he was caught in the talon of a large black raven.<br />
<br />
Instinctively, he swung his sword at the great bird, but pathetic was the damage he inflicted (spite damage only). He resigned himself to certain death at the hand, or talon as it were, of the raven.<br />
<br />
Not until he was dropped into the bird's nest did her breathe easy.<br />
<br />
Perhaps it mistook him for its own chick?<br />
<br />
Possible, but unlikely.<br />
<br />
Relief turned to dread; three nestlings already there were clearly under the impression that Karak was dinner.<br />
<br />
And they killed him.<br />
<br />
The way out of the Abyss closed on Karak forever.<br />
<br />
****<br />
<br />
Playing time was fairly short - but I didn't have a lot of time anyway, so I was OK with that. A character with more adds and with more CON would have lasted longer, as would one with higher STR and DEX, so they could wield a more damaging sword.<br />
<br />
The concept is a fun one, and there is plenty of randomness even within an encounter. Playing other characters through this may not have the same results, even when I make the same choices.<br />
<br />
And I will undoubtedly run other dead characters in the Abyss.<br />
<br />
There are some interesting mechanics for sorcery and there is a multiplier based on the number of combat adds you have that represents the Abyss's desire to keep you - with 0 combat adds, the multiplier is 1, and of no consequence.<br />
<br />
The one issue I had was that it wasn't clear to me whether or not I had armor. It isn't stated either way that I could find. I may have read the introduction too quickly.<br />
<br />
What is stated is that I'm armed with the largest sword or dagger I can wield (which is why Karak was surprised by that). In the event, I decided to use a strict reading of the text; if it wasn't stated, then I didn't have it. In this way I avoided having an advantage I shouldn't, but I'd be curious if others were of the same mind.<br />
<br />
Now you may be asking yourself, "Self, why didn't he use the poison?"<br />
<br />
Honestly, I wasn't sure of the game mechanics for poison, and I didn't feel like reading that section of the rules in depth - my quick skimming was unhelpful. Also, coming from DnD where poison use on weapons (as opposed to traps), at least in 1e, is strongly discouraged (and if used, then players should expect NPCs and monsters to use it too), it didn't seem right to poison my blade.<br />
<br />
That said, I'll be reading the poison rules closely, and next time I encounter it, my decision will be a role-playing one, not an issue of rules knowledge (or lack thereof).John Yhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16465161620134394060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1796726216651686005.post-7547883464513081172016-09-03T07:00:00.000-04:002016-09-03T07:00:23.063-04:00Thinking Out Loud : More on a WW2 Wargame Campaign As I continue to seek out ideas on running a WWII-based wargame campaign, I've made one firm decision (small victories, folks): one stand = one platoon.<br />
<br />
I don't want to worry what 1st squad, 2nd platoon is doing. I assume they're doing what they are supposed to be doing. I do want to make sure 1st platoon, A company is where it needs to be.<br />
<br />
This lines up with the <i>One Hour Wargame</i> platoon basing and what I've been using for most of my recent Morschauser games. <i>Blitzkrieg Commander</i> supports this basing, and so does <a href="http://lonewarriorswa.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/Misc-Newport-WWII-Tactical-Combat-Rules.pdf" target="_blank">‘Tactical Combat’ WWII rules</a>, of which Stu Rat reminded me. The latter two have much more WWII feel, but Morschauser is a good bit of toy-soldier fun that is hard to resist. The other real contender is <i>Portable Wargames: Modern</i> or perhaps the <i>Big Battles</i> version, which as they are on grids, feel like a blend of toy-soldiers and hex-and-counter wargaming.<br />
<br />
I am leaning heavily towards a Morschauser strategic map campaign. What can I say? I really want to use those blocks for map movement. The benefit of Morschauser's system is that no record keeping is needed, at least for the losing force. In Morschauser terms, and as I'm imagining it, each command on the map will consist of a battalion, or some part thereof, on the table.<br />
<br />
How I generate the tabletop forces I haven't decided quite yet, but these are the options I'm considering:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><i>FiveCore Company Command</i> force generator moved up a level (it's written for squad bases) each side could end up fielding anything from a platoon up to a battalion</li>
<li><i>OHW </i>force generator, either as is (one company to one company + one platoon), double the units (two companies to two companies + two platoons), or some variant thereof where I roll to see if the units are doubled which would mean between three and eight platoons of infantry</li>
<li>Morschauser's or <i>BKC</i>'s point systems and try to equip each side specifically for the scenario being fought</li>
<li>If using a <i>Table-top Teaser</i> or similar, bases my forces on <i>TT</i>'s suggestions - scaled for 1 stand = 1 platoon</li>
</ul>
<br />
Regardless, I have some painting to do to field a full battalion of infantry of nine platoons for the US and Germans (We can quibble that some battalions should have 12 platoons depending on the year of the war) with three figs per stand. I'd prefer four, mind you, but I have no desire to paint as many figures as I'd need. As it stands, the US needs two or three figures and the Germans require four for 3-figure stands.<br />
<br />
Some nice to haves:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>assemble my 2nd PAK-40, and paint it</li>
<li>touch up the existing PAK-40 - it's in desperate need of it</li>
<li>acquire some ATGs for the US, as my existing field gun was broken during one of the many battles with Godzilla that my son and I play</li>
<li>acquire proper scout cars (I found that Solido makes one for the US and one for Germany, in 1/50)</li>
<li>acquire one more PZ IV in 1/50</li>
</ul>
<br />
And, since I mentioned him, here's a grainy pic of Godzilla:<br />
<br />
<br />
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<br />John Yhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16465161620134394060noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1796726216651686005.post-33659741517962812722016-08-31T20:56:00.001-04:002016-08-31T20:56:27.338-04:00Again into Buffalo Castle!<br />
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<br />
First, there was Edgar the Sickly and of the questionable career choice. 5'8 and a whopping 95 lbs, his general weakness (str 6, con of 11 however) and high IQ (15) lead to years studying, then writing copious amounts of poetry (talent: poet). What his parents, nor anyone else expected was the author of the renowned, Ode to a Handsome Milk Maid I Spied Not Creepily, and the epic, I Sing of Salt Marsh, to take up questing. <div>
<br /></div>
<div>
He should have stuck to poetry: killed by a troll not moments after entering the castle</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Then came Gorn the Dim Stonecutter, aka "Slim Speedy," Gorn was blessed with muscle and quickness (str 13, spd 14) but the intelligence of a walnut (iq 4). No one was surprised when the 6'7 160lb stonecutter gave up the daily grind for a life of adventure. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Oddly, he was killed in the castle by sea creatures - two giant jelly-fish dropped on him, causing significant damage, and then later an octopus of unusual size bludgeoned him to death with its tentacles.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Finally, there came Joe Average. He lacked everything, but mostly creativity in choosing a name, descriptive of his abilities as it was. He had no talents, he couldn't be bothered. He adventured because it was something to do. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
He was crushed beneath the pounding hooves of buffalo on a vast and grassy plain deep within the castle that bears their name.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
*******************</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I did roll up another character, but that one came in at level two, thanks to a Dex of 23 and the adventure is for level 1 warriors. The 13 combat adds total he had would have been nice, but I didn't want a cake walk either.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Having now made several trips into Buffalo Castle, I'm not so sure I'll be going back again anytime soon. The gonzo-ness is wonderfully old school, but it seems like a bit of a "killer dungeon" for a lowly level 1 warrior and I'm getting tired of rolling up characters to have them die an encounter or two into the adventure.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
It's a classic, and the 1st of its kind, and it has definitely helped me get familiar with character generation, equipment, saving rolls, and combat, so I'm glad I gave it a go, but I have a lot of other solitaire modules / adventures to try.</div>
John Yhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16465161620134394060noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1796726216651686005.post-55079130258780956562016-08-29T07:00:00.000-04:002016-08-29T07:00:00.970-04:00Descent into Buffalo Castle - Deluxe Tunnels & TrollsSaturday night, I broke out the <a href="http://drivethrurpg.com/product/152613/Deluxe-Tunnels--Trolls?term=deluxe+tunne&test_epoch=0" target="_blank">Deluxe T&T rulebook</a> for the second time, grabbed my freshly minted copy of the classic <i>Buffalo Castle</i> and prepared to roll up a new character. This is a solitaire adventure for a single low-level warrior, so Type (equivalent to DnD class) was predetermined.<br />
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<br />
For those familiar with earlier editions of T&T, char gen is pretty much the same as always. There is a starting talent thing that I don't recall seeing in 5th edition, but basically no surprises.<br />
<br />
During the kick starter for Deluxe T&T, i purchased a factory sealed 5th edition boxed set, complete with dice with a troll face in place of the 1. The inaugural game with this system seemed like the right time to bring out those dice. The clatter of dice and the scratching of pencil on paper and:<br />
<br />
First (that I said 'first' is already a bad sign) there was Thorn the Bearded, a viking type who rolled an abysmal Luck of 6, and a Constitution(which functions as Hit Points in T&T) of 8. Still, his other stats were good enough that he had 5 combat adds, and I hoped to get some decent armor, a shield and maybe a sword or some such.<br />
<br />
Like DnD (at least the editions I'm familiar with), you roll 3d6 * 10 for starting gold. I rolled a six. SMH. With 60 gp starting money it was not meant to be.<br />
<br />
<div>
No matter though. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Thorn fell into a pit almost immediately, in true old school fashion. While searching for a secret door, he was set upon by a giant jellyfish dripping deadly sliminess from above. As he wore no helmet, he was defenseless, and with his low constitution and the damage from the preceding fall, he was dead.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
But fret not, for then came Karak, the Stout and Beautiful (Constitution of 29 and Charisma of 27. I rolled 18s for both! In T&T, when you roll 18 you get to roll again and add it to the total ) His luck was better too, double Thorn's. Clearly, here was a hero.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Having learned from my mistakes Karak was equipped with a skull cap, and due to more bountiful coin (110 starting gp), he was better equipped all around.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Karak's first encounter was with a frighteningly large and aggressive octopus. Early successes against the first two of the eight arms eventually involved kept the fight within a reasonable chance of success and when all was said and done, the cephalopod was vanquished (for 80 Adventure Points).<br />
<br />
Flushed with excitement, I eagerly scanned the paragraph for the details of its treasure. A die roll later, and alas, the creature had a meager treasure of but 10 gold.</div>
<div>
<br />
Despite the ease by which he could have exited, Karak went further into the castle (the rules state that a character may only enter Buffalo Castle one time. So, if he left, he would be done with the adventure). At times he wandered through halls becoming hopelessly turned around (I really should have kept better track of where I had been). </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
A wandering orc challenged him but was cut down with ease, and yielded a bag full of silver. In spite of his successes, our hero thought better than to try his luck with a gambling wizard. For his caution, the wizard cursed him with ugliness (halved his charisma, but still, at 14, Karak was at least Stout and Attractive, if not Beautiful) and called him chicken.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
A stampede of buffalo was both a strange sight and a long encounter that left him more or less intact and with some valuable hides (5 g.p. each) to sell back in town. And again, Karak pressed on, sure that more treasure awaited.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Then, upon boldly entering one more room, an ogre bashed him senseless.</div>
<div>
<br />
<i>[In T&T doubles mean you can roll and add to the results to the previous roll and in one round of combat, the ogre rolled 51 points. A near miracle occurred as I rolled successive doubles myself, but my total was only 32. My armor absorbed 6 points - thanks to my warrior ability to wring every last bit of protection from it, leaving 13 to remove from my CON. Which, unfortunately was all I had left at that point.]</i></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
*****</div>
<div>
I spent a lot of time flipping through the rule book looking up this and that, but the adventure was fun, and frustrating in that i-want-to-play-it-again-and-do-better kind of way. I'll be rolling up another character soon and giving it another go.</div>
John Yhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16465161620134394060noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1796726216651686005.post-55811367026733436742016-08-27T14:07:00.002-04:002016-08-27T14:07:31.503-04:00More Thoughts on a "Modern" CampaignAs I added to <a href="http://tabletopdiversions.blogspot.com/2016/08/wwii-and-imaginations-some-thoughts-and.html" target="_blank">my previous post</a>, rifling around through the books on my games shelf (a single shelf. I got rid of more than 1/2 of my gaming related books collection over the past year!) I discovered both Morschauser and Featherstone (in his <i>Advanced War Gaming</i>) provide some interesting mechanisms for running a map campaign.<br />
<br />
Both have a simplicity that I like, although Featherstone muddies things up with several optional bits - more complexity sounds great to me at first, but I have learned that in war gaming ,and RPGs, for that matter, there is a point where my enthusiasm wanes in proportion.<br />
<br />
Morschauser's system is the harsher of the two, in that if a force loses a battle, they are just done and no longer available for the strategic level. There is the benefit of no record keeping in that case, but it does seem a bit difficult to swallow. Still, he uses painted wooden blocks on a map and who doesn't like the sound of that?<br />
<br />
Featherstone 's method for generating a random map sounds quite fun - using 2"x 2" painted squares drawn at random and placed into a 12" square frame .<br />
<br />
I believe it was in Featherstone that I saw mention of the often cited "rule" of 1/3 of casualties are killed, 1/3 are wounded and not available for some time period and 1/3 are combat ready by the next encounter.<br />
<br />
Even if I did not see it there, that rule of thumb has a long pedigree and who am I to resist something with such history?<br />
<br />
Of course, I could combine the two (blocks on a randomly generated map, using casualty recovery)<br />
<br />
The other issue I find myself considering is the level of command.<br />
<br />
Initially, I was thinking commanding a company at most in a given game, however, a battalion would not be out of the question, either with Morschauser or<i> Blitzkrieg Commander, </i>both of which work with the same basing systems I intend to use. It's more a narrative question than it is a gaming issue.<br />
<br />
Scenarios in any case, I think are well accounted for with <i>Blitzkrieg Commander</i>, FiveCore's <i>Company Command</i>, and <i>Platoon Forward </i>(moved up a level) all providing scenario ideas, plus <i>One Hour Wargames</i>, and <a href="http://steve-the-wargamer-teasers.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">tabletop teasers</a> (and presumably, situations would naturally arise from the campaign).<br />
<br />
Next, I need to look at my collection and see what, if anything, I want to paint (OK, need to paint. Want is a strong word) - I think I may be short some heavy infantry, and I know my anti-tank gun teams need some love.John Yhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16465161620134394060noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1796726216651686005.post-67029091446467262622016-08-26T15:58:00.001-04:002016-08-26T20:40:48.057-04:00WWII and Imaginations? Some thoughts and links<a href="http://54mmorfight.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Over on 54mm or Fight!</a> you can see that the sole wargaming I've been doing of late is set in Europe, WWII. While I enjoy playing one-off scenarios, my Helvetica Campaign (you can find the posts by going <a href="http://tabletopdiversions.blogspot.com/p/campaigns.html" target="_blank">here</a> and scrolling down to Helvetica) remains among the top wargaming experiences I've had, and so, logically, it seems to me that I should try something similar set in WWII or thereabouts.<br />
<br />
But, so few wargaming campaigns discussed in blogs seem to be set in WWII, never mind Imaginations WWII-like campaigns. That doesn't mean I won't do it, but I was hoping for a bit of inspiration. (Far mor involve 20th C. South American or African Imaginations, it seems).<br />
<br />
The likely route will be the continental battle between Hefeweizen ( nee Riesling in the pre-unification days ) and the allies of Sauvignon-Blanc, particularly the Federal Republic of Lager. Or, perhaps, less evocative/alcoholic, Army Feldgrau vs Army Olive Drab.<br />
<br />
Obviously thin veneers for the actual participants but what can you do?<br />
<br />
My searching eventually lead me to an Imaginations 20th century mini-campaign on one of the better respected blogs, Wargaming Miscellany. The posts begin with <a href="http://wargamingmiscellany.blogspot.com/2016/01/a-winter-ish-war-background.html" target="_blank">this one</a> I believe. Mr. Cordery also stirs up the idea a bit a few years earlier in <a href="http://wargamingmiscellany.blogspot.com/2009/05/20th-century-imagi-nations-memory.html" target="_blank">this post</a>.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
As for campaign rules, I know already that I don't want anything terribly complicated - nothing to do with supply and all that, although reinforcements and casualty replacement should come into play. And, I really enjoy the narrative "campaign diary" stuff, so if it supports that in some way, all the better.<br />
<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Jeff, at Saxe-Bearstein's <a href="http://saxe-bearstein.blogspot.com/2008/07/simple-campaign-format-this-is-re-post.html" target="_blank">method</a> worked well for Helvetica, and had the benefit of no map being required, although one developed during play. I keep getting stuck on the battle to the capitals though. This is probably a me thing, and perhaps I just need to change the labels? Perhaps the FRL "capital" is actually more akin to Normandy, while the initial battle takes place in a Battle of the Bulge-type situation?</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Rather serendipitously, Peter at Grid Based Wargaming - But Not Always, has recently posted <a href="http://gridbasedwargaming.blogspot.com/2016/05/ww2-mini-campaign.html" target="_blank">a series about this very topic</a>. Looks like it might be more than I want, but I may be able to strip out the bits I don't want.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Featherstone, in his <i>Wargaming Campaigns</i>, touches ever so briefly on a WWII campaign, but focuses specifically on recon, and leaves everything else for the reader to develop (presumably from ideas presented in other chapters).</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Kevin White (one of my all time favorite contributors to <i>Lone Warrior</i>), sets up a map based WWII mini-campaign in issue 182 of <i>Lone Warrior</i>. I had trouble following some of the setup, and need to re-read this.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Steve's Balagan has some ides of different types</li>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://balagan.info/mapless-campaigns" target="_blank">Mapless</a></li>
<li><a href="http://balagan.info/linked-scenario-campaigns" target="_blank">Linked Scenario</a></li>
</ul>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>TMP is always a stop for debates about nothing, and <a href="http://theminiaturespage.com/boards/msg.mv?id=254672" target="_blank">this time</a> is no different :D And <a href="http://theminiaturespage.com/boards/msg.mv?id=188452" target="_blank">here</a> the participants debate why 18th C. imaginations over imaginations in other eras.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><i>Blitzkrieg Commander</i> has a rather <a href="http://www.blitzkrieg-commander.com/Downloads/Publications/BKC-II/BKC-Campaign.pdf" target="_blank">basic campaign system</a> (and I happen to like the game itself) </li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><i>Platoon Forward </i>might work if I change the scale upwards for a company per side, or I suppose I could just use it at the intended level.</li>
</ul>
Edit: It turns out I should have paid closer attention to Morschauser and Featherstone (Advanced War Games). Both have systems of map moving that would work for modern games. Indeed, Featherstone explicitly uses a WWII campaign for his example.<br />
<br />
If you have a preferred way of building campaigns, particularly for WWII company-level engagements (maybe battalion), please shoot them my way.<br />
<br />
<br />John Yhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16465161620134394060noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1796726216651686005.post-6881209648222986252016-08-21T13:57:00.000-04:002016-08-21T15:59:16.323-04:00What Was I Thinking?I was thinking this blog was probably dead, which is why I started <a href="http://54mmorfight.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">54mm or Fight!</a> What little hobby stuff I had been doing, other than reading, had been solely focused around 54mm games and a focus on that seemed logical.<br />
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<br /></div>
<div>
But now, as I find myself with the unusual situation of increasing free time, thanks in part to the Young Lord Shadowmoss (who just turned 5) playing more independently (some evenings, he disappears after dinner to play Minecraft until bedtime), my mind has been turning to neglected projects.</div>
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<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
So, instead of being dead, it may be that this blog was just dormant. Color me surprised.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
One thing I'm not going to do is set any kind of hobby goals (*crosses fingers*) , despite my natural inclination to do so.<br />
<br />
That said, these are the projects/areas of interest at present that I'm jumping between:<br />
<br />
<b>54mm WWII </b>- mostly just playing games, as I have a decent enough collection here for toy-like games (I'm generally not aiming for simulation). I did switch from mostly 1/35ish vehicles to 1/50ish, and though they cost more, I am much happier with the look of the thing. US paratroops are <a href="https://54mmorfight.blogspot.com/2016/08/friday-night-paint-table-bit-late.html" target="_blank">on the paint table</a> since I just re-watched <i>Band of Brothers</i>.<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>1/72 Italian front, WWI </b>- I read<i> The White War: Life and Death on the Italian Front 1915-1919</i> (excellent book and highly recommend) for background, and I've got several more books to read. But of course, I've started painting (slowly) because I couldn't wait.<br />
<br />
Still deciding on rules/basing. Possibly <i>HMG </i>from Agema (command a battalion, individually based) or <i>Hordes in the Trenches</i> (command a battalion, up to a regiment / brigade maybe base per <i>Hordes of the Things</i>), or maybe just <i>GASLIGHT </i>(make individual units a company or battalion; individually based) with some rules for gas and barrages. Trying to keep figure totals small. <i>Contemptible Little Armies (</i>individually based) might work too for that reason.<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>54mm AWI</b> - this is a very slow going project for giggles since of the places I've lived, I lived in Philadelphia the longest(plus, I recently read David McCullough's 1776). Figures are mostly Imex and I've got all of 2 painted so far. Might just base these for Neil Thomas OHW with a 4" base, with 8 figures per base, or use them with a set of rules for the period by Charles Wessencraft (woo! Old school!) or <i>All the Kings Men</i>.<br />
<b><br />Solo RPG </b>- <i>Deluxe Tunnels & Trolls</i> kickstarter stuff came with a bunch of solitaire modules. It's not the free form of The Ever Expanding Dungeon, but I really want to play these modules as they are usually a fun time, very low commitment and obviously, very low prep.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DOsRK234Mlw/V7npooMgRUI/AAAAAAAAFNk/n04sQX8a2JYzSy0g5osXn2SFZG51lgESwCLcB/s1600/tntsolo01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DOsRK234Mlw/V7npooMgRUI/AAAAAAAAFNk/n04sQX8a2JYzSy0g5osXn2SFZG51lgESwCLcB/s400/tntsolo01.jpg" width="306" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption">This is not the edition of Buffalo Castle I have, but I wish it was.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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John Yhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16465161620134394060noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1796726216651686005.post-37019255742827235902016-08-16T14:49:00.000-04:002016-08-16T14:49:01.248-04:00Back in the Gaming Groove (sort of)Hi there!<br />
<br />
After a long time away from blogging about my gaming, or even reading other blogs about gaming, I'm back.<br />
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However, now I'm over at http://54mmorfight.blogspot.com/<br />
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I plan to mostly talk about wargaming with 54mm / 1:32 figures as the name implies.<br />
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Not that that's all I'm working on (Italian Front WWI and my ever ongoing GNW project, both in 1/72), but I haven't painted anything in almost a year, nor gamed in any other scale in that time, so there's little to say there yet.<br />
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As for solo role-playing, the thing most people seem to know me for, and still come here for according to the stats, I haven't done any in quite some time.<br />
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Even my 2 year+ Trelleborg campaign for my in-person group has dissipated (due to other projects I'm involved with that use the bulk of my creative energy and time), so, as you can guess, I'll be quiet on the RPG front a little longer.<br />
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Still, I just read the Deluxe Tunnels & Trolls rules the other day and cannot remember the last time a set of rules had me so fired up to play.<br />
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And, of course, DragonCon is coming and the possibility of running / playing games is quite high.<br />
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I hope you'll join me over on http://54mmorfight.blogspot.com/ and thanks for reading!<br />
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cnTLnDZm7VE/V6_2QRcMcPI/AAAAAAAAFMo/E8m4BUzIEucp3huCyCEpy8eAt3XYwPyXgCPcB/s1600/20160813_003213.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cnTLnDZm7VE/V6_2QRcMcPI/AAAAAAAAFMo/E8m4BUzIEucp3huCyCEpy8eAt3XYwPyXgCPcB/s400/20160813_003213.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />John Yhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16465161620134394060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1796726216651686005.post-70859709978791987072015-04-10T03:00:00.000-04:002015-04-10T03:00:01.654-04:00Solo Role-Playing Bonus Feature: Handling Mysteries and Investigations<h1 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">Games that revolve around a mystery for which investigation is required and clues discovered may take some thought to make them work well solo. The problem with a mystery / investigation is that for a clue to point to the mystery’s solution, we are starting from an effect and working our way back, not to possible causes, but to the one and only particular cause of that instance of the effect.</span></h1>
<b id="docs-internal-guid-d5269312-0e43-a734-56b7-ac73ac54c026" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Clues must present a logical and coherent picture (real or imagined) when examined, if players are to have any hope of solving the mystery. Worse still, as seen in social games with poorly designed scenarios, the correct interpretation of the clues hinges on one particular clue, which the players might not find. It is no wonder that there is often an element of railroading in social investigation games, as a result.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When reliant upon randomization for story elements, or subject to it, if that is your position, then that logic and coherency must either be imposed by the solo gamer and thus surprise and sense of discovery limited as the player tries to direct the results of random generators and sets up scenes that point to a particular solution, or ignored, which potentially results in a frustrating investigation of a mystery that remains unsolved. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If one simply accepts that some mysteries will go unsolved, then there is no problem, but for those who cannot, or for RPGs which base character changes on such success or failure, that may not be an option. For those games, some of the following might work, but I will admit to having little experience with them, as I subscribe to the idea that not all mysteries can be solved:</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<ul style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Expand your role as the GM. Determine several possible solutions to the mystery, decide which is most logical. As the player, explore that possibility first - if the results point to this being the answer then there you go. If not, look at the remaining solutions, and explore the next most logical, etc.</span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Decide IN ADVANCE what the resolution to the mystery is. Create a pack of cards - each containing a clue - for each scene, draw a card to see which clue you stand to gain and play out a scene around it. I think, to add to the challenge, make the possibility of losing the clue part of the scene - and if you don't collect enough clues, you can't succeed. When you have all (or whatever number you require) of the cards, you have solved the mystery and can play out the resolution. If you don't get enough, then you fail.</span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As an alternative, you have all of the clues up front, your goal is to play to determine how those clues add up, and determining what they mean. The game is about finding coherency among possibly unrelated elements. </span></div>
</li>
</ul>
<br />
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There is a bright light, so to speak, if one disregards a logical coherency of the clues and that clues must point to their cause. Lovecraftian style games, where the protagonist hopes merely to escape with their wits intact, let alone actually solve the mystery presented, benefit from this potential lack of coherency. Tenuous connections between clues spur the investigation while driving the protagonist closer to things that should be best left alone. Typically, in Lovecraft at least, the unexplained remains so to the end.</span>John Yhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16465161620134394060noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1796726216651686005.post-21379727533585138982015-03-18T03:00:00.000-04:002015-03-18T03:00:01.532-04:00First Point for My Saga Vikings!<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">These are plastic Gripping Beast Dark Ages Warriors.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">They will make up the Warriors (as opposed to Hearthguard) for my Saga warband - 8 warriors counts as 1 point. Four points is a starter warband.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Initially, to keep costs low, I'll stick to 4 units of Warriors, which I can make from this one box of plastics. I'll pick up some Hirdmen, probably in metal since I only need a small number, after I've played a bit.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Admittedly, their shields can use some work, but overall, I'm happy with their appearance. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1PRgt4vnaD4/VQZJp4NDXcI/AAAAAAAAErs/7_8wY6oFO_Q/s1600/saga.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1PRgt4vnaD4/VQZJp4NDXcI/AAAAAAAAErs/7_8wY6oFO_Q/s1600/saga.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Pictured on my S&W Whitebox digest-sized hardcover.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I was under the impression the box came with bases, but I might have misread that. I bought the box on ebay, so make of that what you will. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I ordered bases last week and they should be here in a few days.</span></div>
John Yhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16465161620134394060noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1796726216651686005.post-66594058338840446362015-03-16T03:00:00.000-04:002015-03-16T03:00:11.160-04:00Session 37: The Ever Expanding Dungeon<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This session was played in JANUARY. I tried something new: recording notes in a spiral notebook, and then promptly misplaced the notebook. I found it and so present this brief escapade to you:</span></i><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After examining the pit, Leegand held a rope while the rest of the party used it to climb down into the pit. Leegand, who was last, hung off the edge of the pit and the fighters, Runolf and Eomond caught him as he dropped down. With Zilliniy's grappling hook, they easily scaled out the other side, and resumed marching order. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">[ <i>Mythic, Does this succeed? Likely. 66. Yes</i>]</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">They crept down the steps checking and rechecking behind them as they went. At the bottom, the steps joined directly with a long corridor, well carved and laid with flagstone. A straight shot took them to a T-intersection, with a door to the South and to the North. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Eomond listened at the North door and could hear voices on the other side [Is he able to make them out? 50/50, 76, No.] but was unable to make them out. Testing the door, Leegand found the door was unlocked but was stuck [<i>This was determined from my own <a href="http://tabletopdiversions.blogspot.com/2013/03/solo-traps-rough-draft.html" target="_blank">Solo Traps process</a></i>] . Force would be necessary. They quickly rearranged into room entering order, with Maglom and Runolf in the front. Behind Runolf, Zilliniy knocked an arrow to fire over the dwarf's head if need be.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">[<i>Contents: Monster, No Treasure. Rolled 1d6 to see if monster surprised . 2 = yes</i>]</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Runolf forced the door open to the surprise of three elder gentlemen in wizarding finery, including pointy conical hats covered in moons and stars. Maglom was quick to apologize for the intrusion,but [<i>I'm using the b/x reaction roll this time:</i> <i>reaction roll 2d6, 4 hostile] they were very clearly displeased by the interruption. [Are they swayed by Maglom's apology. Reaction: 6. They are uncertain</i>.] They seemed divided as to whether or not the party meant them harm - the knocked bow of the elf and the fact that they kicked the door in without knocking really didn't help.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Lykidas stepped to the fore to explain the party's presence, in hopes that one of their own might fare better. He suggested perhaps a small donation from the party as a sign of their sincerity. [<i>I gave them +1 for the gesture. Rolled 2d6: 3+1, 4. Nope, not going well!</i>] With a sharp rap on the table, the eldest of the three rose and pointed a knurled finger at the door.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"Go!" his voice was hoarse and whisper like, yet the command hit the party as a hurricane. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Maglom and Runolf closed the door and the party debated the possibility of returning later when they might be on better footing to deal with such powerful magic.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To the South, the 10' pole failed to trigger a trap and instead poor Maglom accidentally found the odd colored piece of flagstone that dropped the floor from beneath the feet of the front two ranks. Maglom, Runolf, Ygg and Zilliniy [<i>Minimal damaged suffered: Maglom lost 3, Runolf lost 2, Zilliniy lost 2 and Ygg lost 1</i>] Leegand, Lykidas and Eomond lowered themselves down and the party repeated their earlier pit crossing exercise.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Neither Eomond nor Leegand heard anything beyond the next door. The door was not locked and did not appear stuck, so the party assumed door order and moved in.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">[<i>Contents: Monster, No Treasure</i>]</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For a moment all was silent, and then the air filled with the screeching of large mosquito like birds with long piercing beaks - thirteen stirges looking to feed.</span>John Yhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16465161620134394060noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1796726216651686005.post-49041217639250859812015-03-06T13:34:00.002-05:002015-03-06T13:34:21.034-05:00Achtung! The State of My German Army<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Fighting for the Fatherland, your 2015 German force:</span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EIpnEY41SLA/VPntfmaRYAI/AAAAAAAAErA/vBFeZC6RTtw/s1600/germanarmy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EIpnEY41SLA/VPntfmaRYAI/AAAAAAAAErA/vBFeZC6RTtw/s1600/germanarmy.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Because they fight both my Soviets and my US troops, and because Ultimate Soldier/Forces of Valor/21st Century toys vehicles tend to be available every now and then for very cheap, they are by far the best equipped of my 1/32 armies.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">They are the only force with an engineer (flamethrower in the picture below) and two HMGs ready to go (the US has one already, and a second awaiting painting, whereas the Germans have one waiting assembly and that's it). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The right-most is the CTS HMG team from their older German infantry set, and the left team is from CanDo (1/35 pre-painted figures from Dragon).</span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PtlfkQuc7dY/VPntf59YANI/AAAAAAAAErE/EFExD2zGHp4/s1600/hvywpns.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PtlfkQuc7dY/VPntf59YANI/AAAAAAAAErE/EFExD2zGHp4/s1600/hvywpns.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The mortar crews are Ultimate Soldier I believe. Well, one of those companies - I actually have 3 mortars for the Germans, but until I pant the Italeri gun crew for the PAK 40 (below), I have assigned them to serve the gun.</span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WG4ObKTjQIc/VPntezicWyI/AAAAAAAAEqs/N_m_mg-0fVc/s1600/atg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WG4ObKTjQIc/VPntezicWyI/AAAAAAAAEqs/N_m_mg-0fVc/s1600/atg.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">All of my armies have been based in the same way: 2 figures to a base, except for leaders and other special figures. The Waffen SS (W. Britain, behind Unit "Airfix") , I left singly based, since they will see use primarily in very small 1:1 scenarios against my British paratroops.</span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IkpoNxlo6D0/VPnteycbBvI/AAAAAAAAEqw/aT-hhga4bQ8/s1600/WaffenSS.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IkpoNxlo6D0/VPnteycbBvI/AAAAAAAAEqw/aT-hhga4bQ8/s1600/WaffenSS.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Finally, unlike the US with only one vehicle capable of moving personnel, and the Soviets, who have one awaiting assembly, the Germans are in rather good shape here (CTS and Ultimate Soldier) thanks to the Morsermannschaft which came with the mortar crews (I gave the third one to my son. These things are models, not toys, and it was quickly destroyed, although he still loves to play with it.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The kubelwagen (Britain Deetail) can transport an officer if necessary, but is usually used in a scouting role.</span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rOtqgldgmC4/VPntgNjdwyI/AAAAAAAAErI/8vgOkR39jo4/s1600/vehicles.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rOtqgldgmC4/VPntgNjdwyI/AAAAAAAAErI/8vgOkR39jo4/s1600/vehicles.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The figures are a mix of Matchbox, Airfix (which are my favorite), CTS, Ultimate Soldier and Britain. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In the queue is the crew for the pictured PAK 40, as well as a 2nd PAK 40 and crew. I also have a King Tiger model to assemble, but I'm terrified of it and will start with something easier and work up to it. They will undoubtedly be the first of my forces to be able to meet any configuration Neil Thomas's scenarios throw at me.</span>John Yhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16465161620134394060noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1796726216651686005.post-71384850773515919932015-03-04T08:00:00.000-05:002015-03-04T08:30:22.573-05:00Saturday DCC: The Rise of Fandar<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's rare that I get out during daylight hours to play an RPG, but Saturday, I made the effort and arranged for a sitter, so I could play some Dungeon Crawl Classics. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I haven't been a player since DragonCon, so I jumped at the chance when I saw the announcement in my Meetup.com feed. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My character, Fandar the Blood Crazed Barbarian, is a level 1 warrior randomly generated via the <a href="http://purplesorcerer.com/tools.php" target="_blank">Purple Sorcerer utilities</a>. The returning players had played 0-levels last session and all had at least one character survive to level 1. The new folks, which turned out to be me, would jump in at level 1.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Which I feel oddly about. I mean, to me, that's the most fun amazing game idea ever. So, it was strange playing DCC and not having a horde of rabble to run, and more hit points than 4 level 0s combined.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, in honor of my first DCC game with a leveled character, I painted up a mini:</span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3FtbgJ9urZQ/VPaRVn3ZQBI/AAAAAAAAEqQ/Qp63GYKJJHs/s1600/barbarian.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3FtbgJ9urZQ/VPaRVn3ZQBI/AAAAAAAAEqQ/Qp63GYKJJHs/s1600/barbarian.jpg" height="400" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Fandar is a Reaper Bones mini. He took about 3 hours, start to finish (all on Friday night).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is before his shower of gloss varnish. I'll use dulcoate eventually on him, for now, he appears to have been slimed.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here he is on the table at Gigabites:</span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Dqy32KVx2gs/VPaRvwWcXHI/AAAAAAAAEqY/5K6HdLuc2po/s1600/fandar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Dqy32KVx2gs/VPaRvwWcXHI/AAAAAAAAEqY/5K6HdLuc2po/s1600/fandar.jpg" height="400" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I tried a Mighty Deed just about every attack - and succeeded once. I'm playing him as a Conan / Thongor type of pulp barbarian, so it's go big or go home, even if I just have leather armor and 12 HP.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We survived the adventure although we didn't succeed in our quest. We voted as a group to not return to town, but maybe drift away someplace where people won't know us. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Also, as a side bonus, one of the other players is into historical gaming, and we talked about Saga a bit. I did some digging around, and before you knew it, I had ordered a box of Gripping Beast plastics to form my 4 point viking army.</span>John Yhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16465161620134394060noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1796726216651686005.post-90350925801792686162015-03-02T23:52:00.000-05:002015-03-02T23:52:10.519-05:00Solo Role-Playing Series Part 7: Our Example Continues, but Now with Open Ended Questions<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Admit it, you didn't think I'd get this post on Monday. OK, OK, depending on where you live, I didn't make it but it's still Monday where I live. as I write this. I'm counting it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><a href="http://tabletopdiversions.blogspot.com/2015/02/solo-role-playing-series-part-5-short.html" target="_blank">When we last left our hero</a>, he was getting nowhere fast with a village lass, and so he had decided to return to the old man in the tavern for more info. You might choose to play these things out in more or less detail, depending on the experience you want to have. Since we're still in scene 2 of the Five Scene Model, I wanted to advance things along a little bit. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">I am using the same 1d6 system for Yes/No questions:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">1 yes and</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">2-3 yes but</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">4-5 no but</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">6 no and</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">But I'll be using some oracles as well to illustrate how I might use them.</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Scene 2: Continued </span></b><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Lugar heads to tavern, is the old man still there?</span></i><br />
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I roll a 2, which is a "Yes, but".</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Since he's a village elder, I immediately imagine people come to see him with problems and such and figure the 2 means he’s busy. For some unknown reason, I see him as being irritated that Lugar is back so soon.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">My notes:</span><br />
<i><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">2 - yes but he’s busy and seems irritated that Lugar is back.</span></i><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Lugar isn’t keen on being the cold shoulder and demands the old man meet with him if he wants his village protected.</span></i><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">This seems like an Ego vs Ego check but I also noted in my file, <i>what kind of game is this old man playing? </i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">I'm suspicious, and while it might be nothing, this will serve as a reminder that there's something about this old guy that might bear investigating.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">As for the Ego contest, Lugar has a d6 for Ego, but what about the old man?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Well, he’s an old man, and perhaps reflecting my hope that I will be an old man someday (I doubt I'll give out quests but you never know), i’ll just assume that makes him wiser than most. Conversely, he is probably not as strong as a younger man, meaning the d10 is not going to be in Action but it might be in Wits or Ego.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">My notes:</span><br />
<i><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">1-3 Ego is d8</span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">4-6 Ego is d10</span></i><br />
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<i>4, of course</i></span><br />
<i><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">d10 = 8</span></i><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">I have no reason to roll my d6, i can't beat that.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">My notes:</span><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Lugar waits for the old man to finish with whatever was keeping him and he finally meets with Lugar to answer his questions.</span></i><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">What does the old man tell Lugar?</span></i><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">An open ended question!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">For my first oracle, I decided I'd start with a tarot deck. Not having one handy, I went online and drew three cards for the old man's store: Page of Wands, Justice, 8 of pentacles</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">In my notes, I record the story the old man tells Lugar, which I generated based on the three images:</span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">The bandit prince was a village son - he was accused of stealing a small sum from a traveling merchant. He claimed it was a demon that had come from an old abandoned well, but no one believed him. He ran away, swearing vengence on us. Over time he raised an army of from children of the surrounding villages, trained them and himself, and turned to a life of banditry.</span></i><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Lugar wants to know if there is any truth to the demon story. he asks. </span></i><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">I rolled a 1, to my surprise.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<i><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">1-yes and it has been our shame ever since. </span></i><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Of course, I immediately want to know does the demon still haunt the village too?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">my notes look like this:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<i><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Does the demon still haunt the village?</span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">4 - no but some of the tongue wagglers suggest that it waits for an opportune moment to strike.</span></i><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<i><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Lugar is satisfied with what he has found and finds himself a big tree on the village edge to sleep in - he's short of coin and he can keep watch at night of the village goings on and maybe even catch an early arrival by the bandits.</span></i><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<b><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Scene 3:</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">In a 5 - room dungeon, this scene is usually some sort of resource drain. it can be a red herring but it doesn't have to be. Since i’m in the mood for some combat i’m hoping to take this scene in that direction, but i will let Rory’s cubes have the final say. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">How many dice you roll is up to you, but I like 3 dice. It's rare that one of the three results won't be usable and more often, I can use at least 2. Four just seems like too many things to work in:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">I get a: <i>Scissors cutting an envelope, a punch card thingy, and sad face</i></span><br />
<i><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></i>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">I have no idea what to do with this. 3 seconds or less and I roll again: <i>Foot, Someone looking, Someone shouting</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Immediately, I decide this must mean that Lugar awakens to shouting of some villagers and they are looking for someone or something. Notice, I gave up on the first idea, and it really did little to slow me down. 3 seconds, probably less.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">I include some generic phrases in my notes, to help me set the scene in the write up, and then, like a good GM, of course send the thing heading in Lugar's direction:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">“<i>Catch him, he went that way”</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><i><br /></i>
<i>“No, he’s over there!”</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><i><br /></i>
<i>Lugar could hear the sound of something crashing through the tall grass, heading in his direction.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">But it's dark and I'm not sure what, if anything, Lugar can see.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<i><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">is he able to see anything?</span></i><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Because it’s dark, i decide to modify the die roll with a +1, which will push the response toward a No value. The best he can hope for is a "Yes, but" which seems reasonable given the context.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">I rolled a 3, which becomes a 4 with the modifier.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<i><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">4 - No ,but the sound is getting closer.</span></i><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<i><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Lugar steadies himself on his perch into a crouch, struggling to view whatever may be approaching and preparing to pounce regardless.</span></i><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<i><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">The thing nears - does it approach close enough for him to jump onto it?</span></i><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<i><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">1 - Yes, and it passes right beneath the limb Lugar crouches on - he can’t make out the shape exactly but can see the darkness where its body ought to be - he hurls himself at it.</span></i><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">This can be a skill test unopposed, since the thing doesn't seem to know he’s there, or it could be an opposed challenge since it is moving.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">I like the latter as it will tell me a bit more about what I'm dealing with:.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">My notes:</span><br />
<i><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Lugar: d10, rolls a 10</span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">The thing: Action = 1-2 d6, 3-4 d8, 5-6 d10, but on a 6, re roll and on 1 it’s a d10, 2-3 d12, 4-6 d16 (maybe it’s really strong - and FYI, i made this table up on the spot, just liked I'd do at a table with other people.)</span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">6! son of a!</span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Followed by a 3. means it has a d12</span></i><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><i><br /></i>
Fortunately, the d12 comes back with a 1, so Lugar succeeds.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<i><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Lugar leaps from his hidden post and brings the thing to the ground</span></i><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">I still have no idea what I've encountered, so I need a way to find out. I could use a wandering monster table, or a monster builder, but I've opted to use<a href="http://tangent-zero.com/zero_dice/zero_dice.htm" target="_blank"> Zero Dice</a>:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2AvBm-IfyEg/VPU7Tu7N9rI/AAAAAAAAEqA/IC79O4rsDuw/s1600/zerodice.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2AvBm-IfyEg/VPU7Tu7N9rI/AAAAAAAAEqA/IC79O4rsDuw/s1600/zerodice.png" height="176" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">The crossed claw remind me of X-Men’s Wolverine. Perhaps its some mutant humanoid with great claws that has come down from the mountains and while I’m not sure about the droplet, I can only assume it's probably blood. Great</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">I type up what I'm picturing, so that later, when i do the write up, I won't forget what I had in mind:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><i>The creature, larger than Lugar was man-like in from, but it’s face had a twisted animal like quality about it, it’s hands seemed to end in elongated steely claws like long spikes. Lugar could see they glistened dimly with a black wetness</i>.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">FIGHT!!!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">I'll just copy/paste my notes here:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<i><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Initiative:</span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Lugar: Actions + Wits: 6</span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></i>
<i><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">wits: 1-2 d6, 3-4 d-8, 5-6</span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"> d10, 6 of course</span></i><br />
<div>
<i><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></i></div>
<i><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Creature: d12 + d10 = 8</span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></i>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<i><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">The creature strikes at him: d12, 7</span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Lugar rolls his defense, he has dodge so he gets +2:6</span></i><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<i><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">1 pt of damage gers though, Lugar is down to 7</span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></i>
<i><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Lugar draws his sword and swings</span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">wait, is he able to do so? yes, but it catches enough to void his attack this round</span></i><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Next round: (rolling again is not the default in USR)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<i><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">The creature attacks again: d12, 8</span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Lugar dodges d10+2, 4</span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">So FOUR POINTS GET THROUGH! he’s down to 3</span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></i>
<i><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Lugar swings: d10+2,12!</span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">d12 + 2 (i assume a clearly predatory creature like has some sort of bonus for sharp reflexes): 2, so 4</span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">It takes 8 points of damage!</span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></i>
<i><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">How many hp does it have? </span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></i>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">If you have read any of the Ever Expanding Dungeon, you probably know I have an entire system for maintaining surprise for hit points, but I haven't introduced that here yet. For now, let’s just do it the old fashioned way.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<i><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">I roll the thing's hp: A+W: d12+ d10 = 6</span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">WOOO!!</span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">The creature roars as it collapses in a bloody puddle at the barbarian’s feet.</span></i><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">As always the "WOOO!!!!" is in my notes.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">At this point I would write the narrative up, but I'm going to stop here or I won't make my self-imposed deadline!</span>John Yhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16465161620134394060noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1796726216651686005.post-10104406957092594412015-02-27T08:00:00.000-05:002015-02-27T08:00:04.267-05:0010 Games, 10 Times: Iron Ivan's Disposable Heroes / Coffin for Seven Brothers<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HgFBjpcT6Pk/VO_4lMmyB6I/AAAAAAAAEoI/0sNkI4fbgSo/s1600/dhc7b3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HgFBjpcT6Pk/VO_4lMmyB6I/AAAAAAAAEoI/0sNkI4fbgSo/s1600/dhc7b3.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Soviets try to get their tanks across the table in a later game in the series.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">i had played DH/C7B a handful of times before, initially not really digging it, but later coming to decide that it might well be my favorite set or 1:1 WWII gaming, for squad to a platoon per side. Yet, I hardly played it thereafter, and when i did, it was primarily infantry only conflicts, hence its inclusion on my 10 Games, 10 times challenge list. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-iWftdPNelFM/VO_4oUlHZuI/AAAAAAAAEos/D4YQ7JWvYl4/s1600/dhc7b8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-iWftdPNelFM/VO_4oUlHZuI/AAAAAAAAEos/D4YQ7JWvYl4/s1600/dhc7b8.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The first few games were straight up infantry affairs to help me shake off the cobwebs and figure out where I was forgetting rules.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Backing up, for those who don't know, DH/C7B is a 1:1 set of WWII skirmish rules, where the basic unit is the fire team. It's recommended for up to a platoon per side, with support, although you can extend it further if you have time or multiple players.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
My sole gripe with the rules is the use of markers for tracking activation, pinned, acquisition status (for armor), and # of armor penetration hits. You also need some way of tracking the number of destroyed units for each side, as these, plus the # of currently pinned units effect the initiative score.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--qTWcFsqVQQ/VO_4boIWaEI/AAAAAAAAEnU/bgHjtvjcdZ8/s1600/dhc7b2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--qTWcFsqVQQ/VO_4boIWaEI/AAAAAAAAEnU/bgHjtvjcdZ8/s1600/dhc7b2.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So many markers. The white cards are blinds - I used Platoon Forward for many scenarios, along with its enemy force generation method. This is from one of the last games I played in the series - after I had mounted the figures to 3 inch squares.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">However, so many games require markers, that it seems like short of an all or nothing approach to hits, or off table tracking (difficult in a 1 figure = 1 man game with more than a handful of figures per side), there really isn't a better option.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
So, other than that, the game has a lot going for it although it took me 5 or so games to really see how good they were, as I kept forgetting rules in the early games or situations just didn't come up:</span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Guts score - it effects both initiative and morale, including the ability to rally. It's a mix of quality and motivation.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">simplified movement</span></li>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">if one figure reaches cover, the whole group does</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">move one figure, then place the rest around that figure, rather than measuring for all</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">terrain does not effect movement rates of infantry</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Movement rate determines what additional actions a unit may perform and any penalties</span></li>
</ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Snap (opportunity) fire is restricted to one enemy unit.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Using grenades to supplement a charge is abstracted and works quite smoothly</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Taking fire, regardless of result, triggers a Guts check - this seems right to me, but surprisingly few systems I have played incorporate it</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It is difficult to score a hit on a target in cover - based on what i've read about the expenditure of ammo in WWII to hit a target, this too seems right to me.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The way it handles armor.</span></li>
</ul>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ChONQ0Ykr20/VO_4eSYSz2I/AAAAAAAAEn4/71HSoWTGC-w/s1600/setup%2Bfloor.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ChONQ0Ykr20/VO_4eSYSz2I/AAAAAAAAEn4/71HSoWTGC-w/s1600/setup%2Bfloor.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I wanted to really go big,both because i wanted to see if it made a big difference in my enjoyment, and also as a way to see if I could at some point eliminate a table and the space it takes up. Playing on the floor was loads of fun but no more so than a table, as it turns out.<br /></span></td></tr>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-km44UvjuGoE/VO_4m2HoiEI/AAAAAAAAEog/e5q_O4ofAxs/s1600/dhc7b5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-km44UvjuGoE/VO_4m2HoiEI/AAAAAAAAEog/e5q_O4ofAxs/s1600/dhc7b5.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One thing that has flummoxed me about some other systems at the 1:1 scale has been armor: either they are too simple, and the type of vehicle does not matter, or too complex to the point of having to use calculus to understand the tables. DH/C7B's system for attacks by and against armor sits somewhere in the middle and I rather like it. It has enough flavor to get a feel for the period and the differences in equipment, but not so complicated that every rivet matters.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7S3gbk2zDDk/VO_4deJL0tI/AAAAAAAAEns/nw2IcAP6q9M/s1600/herecomessdk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7S3gbk2zDDk/VO_4deJL0tI/AAAAAAAAEns/nw2IcAP6q9M/s1600/herecomessdk.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I had to fudge any vehicle that wasn't a tank, since no stats are included in the core rules beyond a vehicle or two per army.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
One downside is the mix of roll low/roll high is somewhat annoying - you want to roll low always -to acquire a target, to hit, to pass a Guts check, but when you're rolling for armor penetration, then you want to roll high. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-erpNcuTo-H8/VO_4bbqOnxI/AAAAAAAAEnQ/q1aWyO284Us/s1600/destruction.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-erpNcuTo-H8/VO_4bbqOnxI/AAAAAAAAEnQ/q1aWyO284Us/s1600/destruction.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's hard to see, but the PZ. IV had just made it onto the table when one of the T-34s brewed it up on a single hit This is less frequent an occurrence than my pictures might relate.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The other is that the core rules, which contain the "big four" nations, do not include much in the way of vehicles for these. As such, I had to fudge a bit on anything not remotely covered. The force supplements contain the desired data but those are additional purchases.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XEeqqtE_Ta0/VO_4lEHy4uI/AAAAAAAAEoE/JZ7UQrC7OCE/s1600/dhc7b11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XEeqqtE_Ta0/VO_4lEHy4uI/AAAAAAAAEoE/JZ7UQrC7OCE/s1600/dhc7b11.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The core rules do, however, cover tank riders!</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Once again, the 10 Games, 10 Times Challenge comes through, and I have a new understanding and appreciation for this game. That said, I also have come to realize, that i prefer 1:1 games with 3-5 figures, rather than squad to platoon sized engagements. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
As a bonus, I suspect these rules could work well for that - treating each figure as their own fire team and disregarding the man-alone rule and the "only 1/2 figures per unit can shoot" rule. I may try them in that respect at some later date, but Five Men in Normandy awaits first.</span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tHyFlh7MIwo/VO_4kvU24cI/AAAAAAAAEoA/OK7sWLn3-XU/s1600/dhc7b10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tHyFlh7MIwo/VO_4kvU24cI/AAAAAAAAEoA/OK7sWLn3-XU/s1600/dhc7b10.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></span></a></div>
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John Yhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16465161620134394060noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1796726216651686005.post-58787234264195807132015-02-18T20:00:00.000-05:002015-02-18T20:00:02.144-05:00One Hour Wargames (OHW): Scenario 7 : Flank Attack (2)<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Last night, I was in the mood to play a wargame after taking the picture of my US troops earlier in the day. I opted to give <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00JPRU93W/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00JPRU93W&linkCode=as2&tag=tabletdivers-20&linkId=P5CM4FF5IXC2VZRG">Morschauser's</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=tabletdivers-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B00JPRU93W" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />
Modern rules a going for my 2nd play through of Scenario 7: Flank Attack from Neil Thomas's <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00PLVRDGC/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00PLVRDGC&linkCode=as2&tag=tabletdivers-20&linkId=YRPBE4OIDZFHSQ7E">One-hour Wargames</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=tabletdivers-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B00PLVRDGC" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /> (OHW).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
But of course, I couldn't leave the rules alone, and ended up modifying them:</span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">using Featherstone's tank damage rules</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">my own morale check from <a href="http://tabletopdiversions.blogspot.com/2015/01/hot-chow-rapid-play-wwii.html" target="_blank">Hot Chow!</a></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Thomas's limiting units either attack or move but not both, per turn </span></li>
</ul>
<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">OOB:</b><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Germans (Blue): infantry x 3, ATG x 1, tanks x 2</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">US (Red): infantry x 4, mortar x 1, tank x 1</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
Infantry had 4 Strength Points each, the rest had 2. In Morschauser, this dictates how many dice are rolled to attack as well .</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
Per the scenario, Red army crammed onto the large hill. I ran out of space so the US mortar is off the hill to the rear.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
Two Blue units were situated on the hill South, while to the west, the bulk of the Blue force made the flank attack. Red was unprepared for this, and so Blue went first each turn.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">FYI, The road to the west indicates the edge of the playing area (OHW scenarios are designed for 3' x 3')</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BNdcyPmVLgg/VOTd7nVCkuI/AAAAAAAAEkg/gPJJHPMH9vc/s1600/start7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BNdcyPmVLgg/VOTd7nVCkuI/AAAAAAAAEkg/gPJJHPMH9vc/s1600/start7.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
On the first turn the flanking force scored some hits on the US platoons on the hill's east flank, but on the US half of the turn, the Sherman unit proved its worth again:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qCvGuf6xMGM/VOThRua8ioI/AAAAAAAAEks/_IuOwiMc5eE/s1600/brewed7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qCvGuf6xMGM/VOThRua8ioI/AAAAAAAAEks/_IuOwiMc5eE/s1600/brewed7.jpg" height="488" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
I rolled the 2 dice (1 per strength point), and scored double 6s (in Morschauser, tanks hit on 4 or 6). Since that's two hits, I used the method from Hot Chow! adding +1 to the 2d6 roll. And rolled an 11!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
The German Panzer unit was completely eliminated in one go. Things were not looking better for Germans on this replay.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
A few turns later, the US unit on the left charge the German unit on the hill (mostly as a way to try Morschauser's close combat rules):</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5ztuHD9IO9w/VOTjGAIwDOI/AAAAAAAAEk4/827MnWKmxdM/s1600/bad%2Bidea7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5ztuHD9IO9w/VOTjGAIwDOI/AAAAAAAAEk4/827MnWKmxdM/s1600/bad%2Bidea7.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
Both units had been softened up by shooting, but the Germans came out on top and the US unit was destroyed.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
At the same time, to the east of the hill things were going from bad to worse for the Germans. They lost their ATG, and then one of the infantry units in the woods fell (this triggered morale checks on their next activation). Emboldened by this, the US turned their attention to that flank.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qcN1ZLIjEZc/VOTkRQVveuI/AAAAAAAAElE/ZCALXcehWk0/s1600/right7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qcN1ZLIjEZc/VOTkRQVveuI/AAAAAAAAElE/ZCALXcehWk0/s1600/right7.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
Although they passed their morale check, the remaining infantry on the flank was destroyed, and the PZ. unit took fire and ended up retreating two full moves (rolled a 10 on the 2d6).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
A last ditch charge from the southern hill lead to the elimination of the last infantry unit. And the tank, failed its morale check.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0ESOMonL7RM/VOTlY25vyhI/AAAAAAAAElQ/YA90ei0Q974/s1600/end7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0ESOMonL7RM/VOTlY25vyhI/AAAAAAAAElQ/YA90ei0Q974/s1600/end7.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
<br />
I opted to call the game as the odds were very much against the PZ IV taking the hill.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
***</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I will play this scenario again, with the same OOB, but instead of trying to sit back and shoot (which is a terrible idea really), I'm going to charge the hill with minimal covering fire. I'll also use a re-working of Hot Chow! I'm calling "Hot Chow! Second Helpings."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>John Yhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16465161620134394060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1796726216651686005.post-16644948940587880122015-02-17T19:47:00.003-05:002015-02-17T19:47:38.683-05:00Something for the Folks Back Home : 1/32 US Force on the Move<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Somewhere in Europe, my US force advances for the camera so the folks back home can be proud of their boys:</span><br />
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Wnp5hgjk7oE/VOPcMJTAiCI/AAAAAAAAEkE/WCpc8ny0EZ4/s1600/usa3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Wnp5hgjk7oE/VOPcMJTAiCI/AAAAAAAAEkE/WCpc8ny0EZ4/s1600/usa3.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The whole enchilada! </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Vehicles are a mix of CTS (tanks) and Forces of Valor (jeep and half-track). Figures are a mix of Toy Soldiers of San Diego, W. Britain, and some Ultimate Soldier (1 mortar crew and the listening post + crew). The camera man is King & Country.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Infantry are based two figures on 3" squares. These can be formed into three-base units of 2-rifle bases and one LMG base (this is true for most of my 1/32 WWII stuff now, save British paras, Waffen SS and unit leaders). This way, i can use 3 bases + 1 leader to field a 7 figure squad (one rifle team of 2 bases and one LMG team of one base) for games like Disposable Heroes/ Coffin for Seven Brothers, but I can also use them in games where 1 base = 1 squad, 1 platoon, etc.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5yjuQ2AokWA/VOPcMGKxG0I/AAAAAAAAEkA/HK1jWyqgriQ/s1600/usa1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5yjuQ2AokWA/VOPcMGKxG0I/AAAAAAAAEkA/HK1jWyqgriQ/s1600/usa1.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_sMp3ic3lGQ/VOPcMHNhzjI/AAAAAAAAEj8/QS_GiHFFEvc/s1600/USA2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_sMp3ic3lGQ/VOPcMHNhzjI/AAAAAAAAEj8/QS_GiHFFEvc/s1600/USA2.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Waiting for paint :</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 1/32 Classic Toy Soldier.105mm gun + crew</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 1/35 M-10 Tank Destroyer (waiting for assembly too!)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In order to field a force for any of the various combinations in Neil Thomas's One Hour Wargames, I need a 2nd 105mm gun. Fortunately, Father's Day is just a few months away! For now, in the rare event I roll a force with 2 anti-tank guns, i"ll either commandeer the Russian gun, or substitute the MG. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I also have two TSSD mortars and HMGs with crews, and a number of unpainted TSSD figures, which I'll eventually paint, but they aren't top priority.</span></div>
John Yhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16465161620134394060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1796726216651686005.post-16246775782754149292015-02-16T12:10:00.001-05:002015-02-16T12:13:31.751-05:00My Haul from the 38th Annual Atlanta Model Figure ShowOn Saturday, I took in the 38th Annual Atlanta Model Figure Show.<br />
<br />
Admittedly, I went for the vendors, not the displays.<br />
<br />
There were plenty of deals to be had, just as I hoped:<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-a5lBabzoNX4/VOIbfPwAQ1I/AAAAAAAAEjU/sdE2p_ia1c0/s1600/loot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-a5lBabzoNX4/VOIbfPwAQ1I/AAAAAAAAEjU/sdE2p_ia1c0/s1600/loot.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">blurry because i was so excited.</span></i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Back to front, left to right:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Ultimate Soldier 1:32 U.S. Listening Post</li>
<li>Forces of Valor 1/32 U.S. Jeep</li>
<li>Tanks (Russian manufacturer) 1/32 WWII Russian Maxim and Crew</li>
<li>Marx farm animals 1/32?</li>
<li>2x Classic Toy Soldirs PZ. IV,left one is missing turret HMG.</li>
<li>King & Country catalog</li>
<li>Armies in Plastic 1/32 French Foreign Legion</li>
<li>2x King & Country 1/30 British Paratroopers</li>
<li>1x King & Country 1/30 Polish Paratrooper</li>
<li>Armies in Plastic 1/32 Arabs with Rifles</li>
<li>King & Country 1/30 U.S. Army Cameraman</li>
<li>Armies in Plastic 1/32 WWI French</li>
<li>Classic Toy Soldiers Sandbags</li>
</ul>
<br />
<br />
The camera man was a total indulgence (more so than the rest of this hobby) and one of the few things I paid retail price for. I see him making an appearance on just about every battlefield.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VHqignv5i28/VOIbjKrwwsI/AAAAAAAAEjc/VSgmvqrS1vA/s1600/loot2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VHqignv5i28/VOIbjKrwwsI/AAAAAAAAEjc/VSgmvqrS1vA/s1600/loot2.jpg" height="369" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
I wanted the farm animals for some background dressing when attacking farm houses, but this guy, well, I have plans for him! \m/<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4_7thFTc850/VOIbmhTjwDI/AAAAAAAAEjk/p4DRfNmThDE/s1600/lot3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4_7thFTc850/VOIbmhTjwDI/AAAAAAAAEjk/p4DRfNmThDE/s1600/lot3.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></div>
<br />John Yhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16465161620134394060noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1796726216651686005.post-5822471258227099362015-02-12T09:25:00.002-05:002015-02-12T09:25:15.257-05:00Solo Role-Playing Series Part 6: Handling Open Ended Questions <div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 10pt;">
<span style="line-height: 24.533332824707px;"><i><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">We now resume our regularly scheduled post in this series. For those hoping for some kind of wargaming content, fear not. Painting and playing are happening and I'll post some soon.</span></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="line-height: 24.533332824707px;"><i><br /></i></span></span>
<div style="line-height: 1.15;">
<b style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: x-large; line-height: 24.533332824707px;">Handling Open Ended Questions </b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">It won't be long before you'll start to want a system to fill in the blanks about the world for you, to</span><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;"> turn more of the game master role over to a system.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Often the kind of info we are seeking relates to detail - such as personality or appearance - but, it can also be about exact nature of the "scene", the reason for adventure, or contents of a room, for which we have no particular idea or when we feel like our ideas are stale and uninteresting. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><b>Random Generators Are Your Friend</b></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></span>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-grxb6vi0N_M/VNy2vd7oFiI/AAAAAAAAEi8/nHN-LHPBpAw/s1600/dilbert.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-grxb6vi0N_M/VNy2vd7oFiI/AAAAAAAAEi8/nHN-LHPBpAw/s1600/dilbert.jpg" height="150" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: black; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Random Generators allow you to answer these kind of open ended questions and for our purposes there are two types: </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">the first gives concrete results that require little interpretation, while the other is something best described as oracular. </span></div>
<br /><b><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Concrete Result Generators</span></b><br />
<br /><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">The first type of generator is akin to the Wandering Monster and Treasure tables in Old School fantasy games. </span><a href="http://dl.dropbox.com/u/23281443/d12dungeongenerator.pdf" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;" target="_blank">Random dungeon generators</a><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;"> (of which I am enamored) fall into this category as well. Your rules of choice may include many of these, the 1e DMG is chock full, as are more recent releases like </span><a href="http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/86467/Stars-Without-Number-Free-Edition" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;" target="_blank">Stars Without Number</a><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Releases like <a href="http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/109821/Ruins-of-the-Undercity" target="_blank">Ruins of the Under City</a> and <a href="http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/127180/Scarlet-Heroes" target="_blank">Scarlet Heroes</a> present their own approaches to solo play but you can simply use their tables as part of your own toolkit. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">And, of course, many such generators are available online. Among my favorites are:</span></div>
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<li><a href="http://donjon.bin.sh/" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;" target="_blank">donjon</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.apolitical.info/webgame/tables.php" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;" target="_blank">Age of Fables</a></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; line-height: 1.15;"><a href="http://roll1d12.blogspot.com/" style="line-height: 1.15;" target="_blank">The Dungeon Dozen</a></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><a href="http://chaoticshiny.com/" target="_blank">Chaotic Shiny</a></span></li>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">Although the result may require further die rolls to determine </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 15px; line-height: 17px; white-space: pre-wrap;">additional details, these do not require any particular inspiration to generate a usable, game-able result. </span></div>
<br /><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">In addition to numbered lists to roll on, there are cards and dice that produce specific results that can be commandeered for this purpose, such as the </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/search/ref=as_li_qf_sp_sr_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&index=aps&keywords=pathfinder%20item%20deck&linkCode=ur2&tag=tabletdivers-20&linkId=QYL5FKYIWR3E3TU3" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;" target="_blank">Pathfinder item decks</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=tabletdivers-20&l=ur2&o=1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and </span><a href="http://www.dungeonmorphs.com/dice.shtml" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;" target="_blank">Inwkwells Dungeonmorph dice</a><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">Nearly every NPC generator contains descriptors of appearance, personality and motivation - Chaotic Shiny is the one I use most often because they often include anachronistic hobbies. Several companies manufacture NPC card decks. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">You can embellish the results as desired with further questions posed to your toolkit or with whatever seems enjoyable for the game you are playing, but often the initial result is enough.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">For an adventure start, you </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19.1666679382324px; white-space: pre-wrap;">you might want to check out S.John Ross' </span><a href="http://www222.pair.com/sjohn/blueroom/plots.htm" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19.1666679382324px; white-space: pre-wrap;" target="_blank">Big List of RPG Plots</a><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19.1666679382324px; white-space: pre-wrap;">. Either put the plots on index cards (or print and cut up) and draw one at random, or number the list and roll. You'll need to flesh them out, but they're a good way to get your character/s going when you're at a loss for a kick-off adventure.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><b>Behold the Oracle</b></span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-w8zvZ9rMeO8/VNy25lzAUMI/AAAAAAAAEjE/U67oj42WTJw/s1600/Pythia%2BAegeus%2BThemis%2BDelphi%5B1%5D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-w8zvZ9rMeO8/VNy25lzAUMI/AAAAAAAAEjE/U67oj42WTJw/s1600/Pythia%2BAegeus%2BThemis%2BDelphi%5B1%5D.JPG" height="278" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">The second method, I find, is more interesting in that it does not provide a definitive result that two different players would interpret in similar ways. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">What I mean is, while gold coins might bring up an image in your head different than mine, we are, more often than not, both thinking of something either of us would </span><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 23px; white-space: pre-wrap;">recognize</span><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;"> as a gold coin. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">However, if, for the contents of a chest, we drew cards from a tarot deck and the Fool card came up, it’s unlikely we will come up with even close to the same interpretation. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">This is the power of the oracle result : even we are unlikely to interpret the result the same way the next time we encounter it.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">Tables, dice, cards and online generators are available as oracles, and you can certainly create your own. They feature words, usually abstract concepts, but not always, or images which, if they say 1,000 words as purported, is quite a value at any price.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><a href="http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/20798/Mythic-Game-Master-Emulator?it=1" target="_blank">Mythic: GME</a> includes two word lists, a Subject and Action list. A roll on each is combined and the player interprets the result. </span></span><a href="http://www.risusmonkey.com/2011/04/w-is-for-wilderwords.html" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;" target="_blank">WilderWords</a><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and </span><a href="http://www.risusmonkey.com/2011/02/dungeonwords.html" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;" target="_blank">Dungeon Words</a><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;"> are two of my favorites as they suit the kind of gaming I do often. They do have more concrete results, so I prefer to roll 2-3 times and combine the concepts into one. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">Writer’s have been using similar tables at least since the 1930s (you can sometimes find these on Etsy or Ebay) for inspiration, plot, and character creation.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br />As mentioned, tarot cards can be drafted into service in this regard, and there are decks themed to just about everything so you can find one that works best for you. Similarly, many illustrated playing card decks can fulfill this role. Search Etsy.com for a treasure trove of both.<br /><br /> Other divination tools like runes or the I-Ching might work for you as well, as long as the results inspire your brain to make sense out of the result.<br /></span>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Finally, there is, of course, the much ballyhooed <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/search/ref=as_li_qf_sp_sr_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&index=aps&keywords=rory%27s%20cubes&linkCode=ur2&tag=tabletdivers-20&linkId=T27QLDT246UWXP3H" target="_blank">Rory's Cubes</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=tabletdivers-20&l=ur2&o=1" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />. If they are not the most popular tool among solo gamers after Mythic: GME, then they are certainly in the top 3. </span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Rory's cubes are dice with simple, bold icons on them, sold in packs of 9, with several 3-dice per pack supplements. The icons are clear, and often, not at all obviously related to what you're doing. That said, they push you to think outside of your comfort zone and to come up with interesting bits for your games. They are conveniently available as an app as well for those who prefer that.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">The <a href="http://www.rpgsolo.com/play.php" target="_blank">RPGSolo</a> website has their own set of story cubes available for free - just click on the button marked MAG (for Mark's Adventure Glyphs). These are created specifically for role playing. In fact, the whole site is dedicated to solo roleplaying, incorporating many of the tools already described.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Tip:</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Mythic suggests something like 10 seconds to figure out what the Subject - Action words mean, and then roll again or just pick something. I find 3 seconds is about my limit before I roll again. Don't get hung up on making the oracle result work. If it's not instantaneous or nearly so, roll/draw again. We want inspiration here, not perspiration.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In the next post, we'll look at some of these in action.</span></div>
John Yhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16465161620134394060noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1796726216651686005.post-89757709605819412352015-02-11T14:09:00.000-05:002015-02-11T14:09:01.124-05:00Solo Role Playing Series Bonus Feature: Borrowing from Robin's Laws of Good Game Mastering<div style="line-height: 20.4444446563721px;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">We interrupt the intended sequence of posts to bring you another alternative for answering questions about the game world that propel your adventure forward.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">This option relies on you in your role as part-time GM but also provides some direction for each possible result. As the subject of the post states, it comes from </span><a href="http://www.sjgames.com/robinslaws/" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;" target="_blank">Robin's Laws of Good Game Mastering</a><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by Robin Law. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">In the section on improvising,he suggests:</span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 15px; line-height: 23px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Imagine the most obvious result </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 15px; line-height: 23px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Imagine the most challenging result</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 15px; line-height: 23px; white-space: pre-wrap;">imagine the most surprising result</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 15px; line-height: 23px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Imagine the result most pleasing to the player.</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 23px; white-space: pre-wrap;">(Laws, 2002, p. 30)</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 23px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">You then dice between them:</span></span></div>
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<tr><td><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">1-2</span></td><td><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Obvious</span></td></tr>
<tr><td><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">3</span></td><td><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Challenging</span></td></tr>
<tr><td><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">4</span></td><td><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Surprising</span></td></tr>
<tr><td><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">5-6</span></td><td><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Pleasing</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">You might quibble the odds assigned to each option, so tweak away.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">This method allows for surprise, but, <a href="http://tabletopdiversions.blogspot.com/2015/01/the-essential-toolbox.html" target="_blank">like the method I recommended, or the Featherstone and Matrix methods</a>, it follows logically from the game world and so doesn't leave us scratching our heads.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">So, for example, in my example where I am seeking the old man who gives out quests, I ask, "does the bartender know where i can find said old man?"</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">1-2 : Yes he does, but I need to buy a drink before he'll tell me.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">3 : He doesn't but the mad monk knows and he can be found at the temple. Good luck getting in dressed like that.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">4 : He replies, "Old man? Is that what they are calling me?"</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">5-6 : "You're sitting right next to him."</span></div>
John Yhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16465161620134394060noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1796726216651686005.post-54380241567535258292015-02-07T00:00:00.001-05:002015-02-12T10:01:06.332-05:00Solo Role-Playing Series Part 5: Short Example of Play Using Our Toolkit So Far<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Returning to the fact that we have a means to answer questions about the world, let's take a look at how this might work out in practice. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">In this example, I will use a set of RPG rules and primarily stick to the the <a href="http://tabletopdiversions.blogspot.com/2015/01/the-essential-toolbox.html" target="_blank">method I recommended previously</a> for addressing questions about the world. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">1 yes and</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">2-3 yes but</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">4-5 no but</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">6 no and</span><br />
<div>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">One thing we have not discussed is note keeping and journals - I'll get to them but suffice it to say, recording something about your play is a good idea. I like to record notes about the narrative, the mechanics, and my own personal thoughts, and then later write it up in a coherent manner for my blog, but there are many other ways to go about it. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">In this case I will do it as I ordinarily do, but I'll show you the whole process here.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">First, I need a system and a character. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">I'm going to use <a href="http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/98901/USR-Unbelievably-Simple-Roleplaying" target="_blank">Unbelievably Simple Roleplaying</a>, and because my ego is boundless, I will use my own <a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/23281443/MoldvayEraFullSize2.pdf" target="_blank">USR: Moldvay Era Classes</a> document to place the game into a fantasy setting. I just read <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/search/ref=as_li_qf_sp_sr_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&index=aps&keywords=wizards%20of%20lemuria&linkCode=ur2&tag=tabletdivers-20&linkId=BJEWEXETIV3FFWKV" target="_blank">Wizard of Lemuria</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=tabletdivers-20&l=ur2&o=1" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />
and one of the many Conan books is waiting in the wings, so I'll go with a fighter, imagining him more barbarian from the North and less plate-clad knight of a pseudo-Europe. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><i>Lugar of the Frozen Wastes: Action: d10, Wits: d8, Ego: d6. HP: 8 </i>(not terribly impressive - thank goodness this is a one off!)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><i>Specialisms: Melee Weapon Mastery (Action + 2), Smashing things (doors, chests, etc.) (Action +2), dodge (action
+2)</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Don't worry if you're not familiar with the system - it's pretty straight forward. One of the nice parts is that it has a system for handling uncontested attribute tests, for actions that are not automatic successes.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Getting started can be the hard part - later, when I discuss methods for handling open ended questions we'll look at generating these starts randomly. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">For now, I decide to rip off <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003KGBISY/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B003KGBISY&linkCode=as2&tag=tabletdivers-20&linkId=OZLOJ7TSNTP6OPXE" target="_blank">Seven Samurai</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=tabletdivers-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B003KGBISY" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />, with a village under threat by bandits. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Also, since this is intended to be a one-shot, I will follow a <a href="http://www.roleplayingtips.com/readissue.php?number=372#tips" target="_blank">5-Room Dungeon model</a>, using Scene 1 to set the stage and get the quest, Scene 2 to to handle the investigation/travel/roleplay, Scene 3 to be an encounter designed to drain my resources, Scene 4 to be a big encounter, and Scene 5 to be the treasure/reward/or plot twist.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><b>Scene 1: </b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Note: This is all me acting in my role as the GM. I'm setting up the first adventure for our protagonist - and it's pretty much a railroad to get here.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><i>Lugar arrived in the village of Argalia, tired and somewhat short of coin. The people eyed him suspiciously - perhaps it was the minimal attire, not more than a loin cloth - and the great sword which swung from his hip. In the tavern, where the only thing that mattered was if he had money to pay for his tab, he found a more welcoming atmosphere. Indeed, there one of the elders of the village approached him and offered him a reward if he would help defend them against bandits who ride down from the hills, steal their harvest, raid their tills, and steal their women. They will probably arrive within the week. With money running short, he accepted.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Heavy handed, sure, but it works. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><b>Scene 2:</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">The first thing that comes to my mind is that Lugar wants to know if there are any capable fighters in the town that he can use either as a raiding force of his own, or in a defensive way.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">In my notes, it looks like this:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><i>Lugar wants to know if any capable fighters in the village . Are there? </i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">I roll a d6 and get a 5. "No, But" and I decide that means that, while there aren't any capable fighters in the village, the people are more than willing to help. In fact, some of the younger men see it as a way to become heroes and advance themselves socially.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">My notes: </span><i style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">5 - no but the people are willing to help in any way they can. Young men see this as a way demonstrate their physical strength and courage and to advance socially. They don't understand the threat.</i></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Lacking the possibility of a raiding force, I decide that Lugar examines the village layout and will attempt to identify weak spots and inform the villagers as to how to address them.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">My notes: <i>Is Lugar able to determine which areas are the most vulnerable?</i> </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">I have two options here - I can use the d6 method, or I can look at the rules I am using and treat this as a non-contested attribute check. There is no right or wrong here. Since I would set this at Medium difficulty for his Wits score, that puts success at slightly better than 50/50 (4+ on a 1d8)</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">My notes: <i>Wits check. Med. 4+ - 2. Crap.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Yes, the word crap is in my notes because it popped into my head as soon as i rolled the die and I'll want to remember that when I read my notes later.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Worse, because this is basically a hard "No." answer, I may have painted myself into a corner. So I take on the role of the GM for a minute and note:</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><i>Lugar made a check of the village perimeter, attended by a young woman of about 18, hair long and black and skin pale like the snow of his homeland, assigned to take notes on his recommendations. He could scarcely concentrate.</i></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">I decide I still need to do more to prepare for a coming raid by the bandits and so Lugar will inquire of the young lady if she knows where and how the bandits enter the town.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">My notes:<i> Does the young woman know where and how the bandits enter town?</i></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">I don't know anything about her - in fact she didn't exist until i needed means to explain away the fact that Lugar noticed nothing he could fix.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">I roll a d6 and hope for the best.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">My notes: <i>3 - Yes, but she is afraid to tell him.</i></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">My reaction to this in real life is, "Wait, why is she afraid?"</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Just like that, I have less of an idea of what's going on.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">My notes: <i>Is she afraid of spies? 4, no but, she darts her eyes to an old well.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">That popped into my head for no apparent reason, but I could see it plain as day, and so I went with it.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Lugar decides he will try to schmooze her into telling him more.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">My notes for this scene look like this:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><i>Is he able to schmoozer her for more info? Wits vs Wits.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><i>YoungWoman Wits Stat: </i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><i>1- d4</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><i>2-3 - d6</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><i>4-5 - d8</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><i>6 - d10</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><i>6!</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">I roll and record the results of his d8 vs her d10:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><i>Lugar: 6, Young Woman: 10</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><i>Nope.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Lugar will have a talk with the village elder back at the tavern and see if he knows anything.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Now, let's say my time playing is up there and I have to continue that scene next session. In between, I'd review my notes and write it up as a narrative, interspersed with mechanics because people have repeatedly told me that's what they want to see. If you're doing this in a document that you aren't sharing publicly, you certainly can eliminate the mechanics.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><b>The Write-up:</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Lugar arrived in the village of Argalia, tired and somewhat short of coin. The people eyed him suspiciously - perhaps it was the minimal attire, not more than a loin cloth - and the great sword which swung from his hip. In the tavern, where the only thing that mattered was if he had money to pay for his tab, he found a more welcoming atmosphere. Indeed, there one of the elders of the village approached him and offered him a reward if he would help defend them against bandits who ride down from the hills, steal their harvest, raid their tills, and steal their women. They will probably arrive within the week. With money running short, he accepted.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">His first inquiry to the elder was in regards to any organized militia or capable fighters among the villagers. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">[</span><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><i>Are there? </i></span><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><i>5 - no but the people are willing to help in any way they can. Young men see this as a way demonstrate their physical strength and courage and to advance socially. They don't understand the threat.</i>]</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">The old man shook his head, and not without a touch of shame, replied in the negative. Not one to give up easily, Lugar asked if he might be take around the village perimeter to inspect it for weak points.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Later that afternoon, the elder introduced Lugar to a young woman, who would show him around and record his recommendations. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">And so, Lugar made a check of the village perimeter, attended by a young woman of about 18, hair long and black and skin pale like the snow of his homeland. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">[</span><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><i>Is Lugar able to determine which areas are the most vulnerable? </i></span><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><i>Wits check. Med. 4+ - 2. Crap.</i>]</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Unfortunately, he could scarcely concentrate, and as a consequence noted no areas of particular concern. Still, he knew he hadn't been concentrating and so made an effort to learn something of the bandits.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">"Do you know by what way these curs come?"</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">[<i>Does the young woman know where and how the bandits enter town? </i></span><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><i>3 - Yes, but she is afraid to tell him </i>]</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Lugar could tell she knew something but she seemed afraid to speak. Lowering his booming voice to a near inaudible whisper he said, "Do you fear spies among your own?"</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">[</span><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><i>Is she afraid of spies? 4, no but, she darts her eyes to an old well.</i>]</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Her reply was silence, but she had darted her eyes towards a field. When Lugar looked in that same direction, he noticed an old, dilapidated stone well. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">"Woman, you have nothing to fear. I have stood knee deep in the blood of thousands of enemies of this land. My whole life I have devoted to the protection of the old, the weak, and the fair. And you are fairest of all." Lugar laid it on thick in an effort to get her to open up.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<i><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">[</span><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Is he able to schmoozer her for more info? Wits vs Wits.</span></i><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><i>YoungWoman Wits Stat: </i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><i>1- d4</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><i>2-3 - d6</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><i>4-5 - d8</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><i>6 - d10</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><i>6!</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><i>Lugar: 6, Young Woman: 10</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><i>Nope.</i>]</span><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">It came as no surprise to Lugar that his efforts were in vain; a beautiful woman like her undoubtedly heard lines like these every day and was immune to their intended effect.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Lugar thanked the woman for her time and headed back to the tavern to see if the elder was still there. He had questions that needed answering.</span><br />
<br /></div>
John Yhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16465161620134394060noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1796726216651686005.post-4902555466677222062015-01-30T11:50:00.001-05:002015-01-30T11:50:14.389-05:00Solo Role-Playing Series Part 4: Playing One Character vs Playing Several<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><i>I originally planned to post this as post 3, but changed my mind because I wanted to give people something to play with, dice to roll, etc. So, here's a bit of my thoughts on the question of one character vs a party. Scroll down for the TL;DR in bold.<br /><br />Also, I have comments to reply to on previous posts. I will do that shortly!</i></span><div>
<br /><div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rwR-_ZWOECw/VMu1LO4zoiI/AAAAAAAAEh0/aQae7_KcjDs/s1600/1-vs-group.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rwR-_ZWOECw/VMu1LO4zoiI/AAAAAAAAEh0/aQae7_KcjDs/s1600/1-vs-group.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Although the phrase "solo role-playing" might imply that the player takes the role of a single character, the reality is that, in some games, this is not the recommended course - either due to the lethality of the game world to lone characters, or because characters occupy various niches and thus a lone character is ill suited to deal with the variety of common challenges they might encounter.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Both situations are typical in the more popular fantasy games as well as the more realistic, as opposed to cinematic/pulp, military games (think Band of Brothers vs. Sgt. Rock</span>). <div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">If you want to play a solo character, a lone wolf with no team to speak of, for genres or game systems that assume teams of PCs with specializations, then, as the player and GM, you may want to exercise your freedom to alter game play. You can do this either by reducing the level of danger/challenges encountered, focusing on the kinds of challenges that your character is best suited for, or rewrite the rules to reflect your preference.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">As an example of the last, I highly recommend checking out</span><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;"> the free supplement, </span><a href="http://www.rpgnow.com/product/114895/Black-Streams-Solo-Heroes" style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;" target="_blank">Black Streams(Solo Heroes)</a>. <span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">It </span><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">uses an ingenious approach to interpreting hit points. As a result, the lone character has an increased chance of success and long term survival, without the need to resort to resort to reduce the difficulty of encounters. Even if you don't play Old School Fantasy games, there is inspiration there to be had.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Without modifying the game so drastically, you can focus on the character's strengths. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If, for example, you are playing a thief in a </span><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 15.5555562973022px; line-height: 19.1666679382324px; white-space: pre-wrap;">traditional, class/level fantasy RPG</span><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, then the focus could be on committing "jobs", rather than solo looting ancient cyclopean ruins. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">This kind of thing can work quite well. Understand that you may need to do some rules tweaking, depending on the game system. For example, in a system where character growth is dependent on combat, a lack of same will hamper character growth, in system terms, if your adventures revolve around intrigue. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 15.5555562973022px; line-height: 19.1666679382324px; white-space: pre-wrap;">If playing that same thief from that traditional, class/level fantasy RPG, you want to raid </span><span style="line-height: 19.1666679382324px; white-space: pre-wrap;">subterranean</span><span style="font-size: 15.5555562973022px; line-height: 19.1666679382324px; white-space: pre-wrap;"> lairs, you might decide to scale encounters/challenges. For example, when you are 1st level, rather than the four to eight orcs you might ordinarily expect to meet if you were in a group, you limit the number to 1 or 2. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I have played many enjoyable games this way - I won't call them campaigns because the characters were short lived - and it is well worth a go to see if it works for you. Without a doubt though, some will find it unsatisfying because it doesn't feel like the game they set out to play - either because they have to tweak the rules too much to give their lone hero a chance, or because they really want to play out the exploits of a team.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20.4444446563721px; white-space: pre-wrap;">If that is you, then you will take on other characters - call them NPCs if you like, but of course, they aren't, as there are no non-players in your game - and either treat all of your characters as special snowflakes, or have one main character and treat the rest as secondary. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Special snowflakes are full fledged PCs in their own right, which you the player do your best to run independently of your other characters, while I mean a secondary character as one that supports the goals of your PC, although they too should have some depth, with varying degrees of focus during game play. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In either case, you will find it helpful if these NPCs have at the least their own agendas and one or two character quirks. These you can</span><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20.4444446563721px; white-space: pre-wrap;"> use to provide narrative color, as well as friction for your main character, if you have one.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The extreme alternative is to treat the secondary characters as 1-dimensional props. These poor souls exist simply to fulfill their role in the group and are easily replaceable, e.g.s. torchbearer, porter, the mercenary, etc. Although, over time, you will undoubtedly find they take on personalities of their own.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Perhaps, surprisingly if you follow The Ever Expanding dungeon, this last approach is my recommendation for the beginning of your solo ventures.</span></div>
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<b style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20.4444446563721px; white-space: pre-wrap;">TL;DR: </b><b style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19.1666679382324px; white-space: pre-wrap;">if you are just getting started, stick to one main character. </b><b><span style="font-family: Courier New;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 19.1666679382324px; white-space: pre-wrap;">If you need sidekicks/other characters in the group in order to succeed in system terms, treat them as 1-dimensional cannon fodder</span></span><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19.1666679382324px; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></b><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19.1666679382324px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>who dutifully follow non-suicidal orders.</b> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19.1666679382324px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Why? </span></div>
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<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19.1666679382324px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Because many people find playing multiple characters difficult, either for characterization, record keeping or some other reason. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19.1666679382324px; white-space: pre-wrap;">It allows the player to easily use a game intended for a team of characters, without having to tweak the rules. </span></li>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19.1666679382324px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Since D&D (in all its editions and simulacra, including Pathfinder) is the most popular RPG (I don't have the numbers, but I'm pretty sure it's true), and is a team-oriented system, this will be the situation for most people who are trying solo gaming.</span></li>
</ul>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19.1666679382324px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Later, you can develop the secondary characters as much or as little as you wish.</span></li>
</ul>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">The alternative to all of this, of course, is to reconsider your choice of system. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There</span><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;"> are rules sets that support a more Conan, less Lord of the Rings, more Batman and less Justice League adventures.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Games based on source material that regularly features a lone protagonist: superhero, samurai, vampire/werewolf protagonists, etc., or those centered on Lovecraftian horror for instance, more often readily lend themselves to the solo PC. In these genres, the basic assumptions lead to a system that very often requires no adjustment as a result; one investigator is just as likely to go insane investigating Mythos horrors as a group of them.</span></div>
John Yhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16465161620134394060noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1796726216651686005.post-43833671831744390692015-01-28T12:50:00.002-05:002015-01-28T13:17:48.398-05:00Solo Role-Playing Series Part 3: The Essential Toolbox<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">When we consider at the bare minimum what a human Game Master does, we can distill out what is essential to have mechanisms or systems for in our solo toolbox. <br /><br />What, at the bear minimum, does a GM typically do?</span><br />
<ul><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">
<li>They answer our questions about the game world. </li>
<ul>
<li><i>Do I recognize the figure in the trench coat? </i></li>
<li><i>Which political agents are at work in this town?</i></li>
</ul>
<li>They adjudicate the success of our actions. </li>
<ul>
<li><i>I climb the side of the building, do I make it?</i></li>
<li><i>I jump into the rough water and attempt to retrieve the sword from the bottom of the river. Do I succeed?</i></li>
</ul>
<li>They determine the reactions of others to our character. </li>
<ul>
<li><i>I hold up my hands in a sign of peace, how do the orcs react?</i></li>
<li><i>I apologize to the mafia boss for hitting on his wife. Does he accept my apology?</i></li>
</ul>
<li>They adjudicate conflict, ideally without bias towards a particular outcome. </li>
<ul>
<li><i>I offer the merchant 1000 credits for the respirator, does he accept?</i></li>
<li><i>I attack the guard with my sword. Do I hit or cause damage? </i></li>
</ul>
</span></ul>
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What you should notice almost immediately is that many of these might be handled by your rules of choice.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; font-size: xx-small;"><i>This picture of Pumpkin has nothing to do with anything. I just felt like the wall of text needed a picture</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Conflict is almost always handled explicitly in RPGs, similarly many systems have Skills or Abilities mechanisms that determine if an attempt to do something succeeds or fails. Reaction tables go back to early versions of D&D, and wargaming before that.<br /><br />Regardless of how much fluff is included, what isn't so common in a rule book are mechanisms to handle questions about the game world.<br /><br />Many of our questions about the world will be closed questions (yes or no), and while there are a variety of ways to generate the exact answer, most boil down to 50/50 one way or the other. <br /><br />Open ended questions, such as “What’s in the room?” or “What does the guard say?” seem more complicated on the surface. <br /><br />However, they are more easily tackled, if you invoke your role as the part-time GM.<br /><br />You might: </span><br />
<ul><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">
<li>Decide by fiat - arguably the simplest method, but it does little in the way of surprise. However, even here, there are ways to shake things up. </li>
<li>Consult a randomizer (such as cards or dice) with assigned results to each value. Random dungeon generators and room stocking tables are common examples of this. </li>
<ul>
<li>You can prepare these lists on the fly - using your role as GM to make them more logical and feel less random - or in advance. </li>
</ul>
<li>Consult an oracle. Here I mean something that gives a non-literal result for you to interpret - be they pictures, random word lists, tarot cards, etc. </li>
</span></ul>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">
Fiat and randomizers will in part at least, be touched on below, but oracles will merit their own post(s).</span><br />
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<b style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: x-large;">Mechanisms to answer our questions about the game world.</b><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">A mechanism to adjudicate questions about the game world can also serve to answer questions about the success of our actions, the reactions of others, and adjudicate conflict. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br />Indeed, with just this one mechanism, and without a set of rules, you can play a solo role playing game. However, if you are using an RPG system, you will probably defer to those rules when the system already provides the means to answer your question.</span><br />
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<h3>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"> Type 1: Natural Language to Percentage Chance</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Mechanisms of this type have a form like the following:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Adjective</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Yes</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">No</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A Sure Thing</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">01 - 90</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">91 - 100</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Very Likely</span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">01 - 75</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">76 - 100</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Somewhat Likely</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">01 - 60</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">61 - 100</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">50/50</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">01 - 50</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">51 - 100</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Unlikely</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">01 - 40</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">41 - 100</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Very Unlikely</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">01 - 25</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">26 - 100</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Impossible</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">01 - 10</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">11 - 100</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Now you might quibble about the percentages, but the concept is clear, I hope. You pose your yes/no question, decide which adjective best describes the possibility of the hoped for result, and roll using the appropriate row to interpret the results. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br />More often than not, you won't know which adjective is the right one, and in that case, go with 50/50.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.mythic.wordpr.com/page14/page9/page9.html">Mythic: Game Master Emulator</a>, or Mythic : GME,is probably the most well-known example of this kind of Yes/No table. The Mythic results table has more adjectives, and is unusual in that it makes use of an additional attribute which shifts the likelihood of a yes or no result as things go well or badly for your character. <br /><br />Mythic’s table also includes the possibility that either result might be an extreme example. That is to say, if you roll sufficiently poorly, your result becomes a “No, and” and conversely, rolling well can give you a "Yes, and". I highly recommend purchasing Mythic GME as it is a complete method of solo gaming that offers a number of ideas that I will not be covering.<br /><br />Wargamers who own Too Fat Lardies <a href="http://toofatlardies.co.uk/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=78&zenid=30ba52b8073f7833bb50e88648ecc504">Platoon, Forward!</a> will find a similar system to Mythic, without the notion of “Yes, and” or “No, and.” Rather than the granular approach Mythic takes with the d100, Too Fat Lardies use a d10 for percentages.<br /><br />A free product which I rather like, is a system known as <a href="http://shiftymushrooms.weebly.com/rules--stuff-inradic.html">IN-RADIC</a>. It can be found here. The author makes use of 2d6 instead of percentile dice but the approach is the same. In addition, he provides an oracle and a set of pulp wargaming rules that can be used as a rules lite RPG as well.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Type 2: 50/50 Systems</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">These systems avoid the use of varying chances of yes/no and focus only on the 50/50 outcome. As this is probably the most common choice with the Natural Language to Percentage systems, you can be assured they work quite well. <br /><br />The most obvious method of deciding a 50/50 question is to flip a coin. Perhaps more common among gamers is to roll 1d6, 1-3 = yes, and 4-6 = no, or perhaps, odds = yes, evens = no. <br /><br />Either of these methods works perfectly well, but with little effort it’s possible to add interest to your game’s narrative. <br /><br />Taking a hint from the various bits of advice given to GM’s to say “yes, and” or “yes, but”, we can use the dice to bring in additional details about the game world, our actions or the actions of NPCs. <br /><br />Here are three such mechanisms, all based on the ubiquitous d6: <br /><br />The first method essentially replicates the Mythic-type approach to using yes, no and extremes of both. <br /><br />1 = “No, and “ <br />2-3 = “No.” <br />4-5 = “Yes.” <br />6 = “Yes, and ” <br /><br />Next, we can add the possibility of getting a Yes or No, but not quite exactly what we bargained for: <br /><br />1 = “No, and “ (Not only no, but extraordinarily so) <br />2 = “No.” <br />3 = “No, but <something yes-like>” <br />4 = “Yes, but <something no-like>” <br />5 = “Yes.” <br />6 = “Yes, and “ (Not only yes, but extraordinarily so) <br /><br />The problem with a straight "yes" or "no" is not unlike the problem with receiving that answer to a question in other day-to-day activities; sometimes it's acceptable, but it's harder to go someplace interesting from that. <br /><br />So, finally, and my preferred, refinement: </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br />1 = “No, and “ (Not only no, but extraordinarily so)<br />2 -3 = “No, but <something yes-like>"<br />4-5 = “Yes, but <something no-like>” <br />6 = “Yes, and “ (Not only yes, but extraordinarily so) <br /><br />An example might make all of this easier to follow. <br /><br /><br /><b>The Scene: </b><br /><i>Inside the tavern, Arnax’s eyes take a minute to adjust to the darkness that envelopes the interior despite the bright sun outside. He saddles up to the bar and the bartender says, “what’ll you have?”</i><br /><br /><i>Does he know where I can find the Old Man Who Gives Out Quests?</i><br /><br />I roll 1d6. I get a 1, the result of “No and” on all three tables. I come up (i.e. made up, decided by GM fiat) with the following:<br /><br /><i>No, and he says, “If you value your life, you won’t ask again.”</i><br /><br />Notice that the “extraordinarily so” doesn't have to be extreme, but if you want it to be, go for it:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /><i>“No, and he pulls a gun and shoots”</i><br /><br />Or if surreal and dream-like is your preference: <br /><br /><i>“No, and he removes his head and punts it to the waitress who takes off running.”</i><br /><br />What if I had rolled a 2?<br /><br />The first and second approach would yield a simple “No”, which results in “No, he doesn't.” Helpful in some respects, but not for driving your game to interesting places.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">The third approach could yield something like: </span><br />
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<li>No, but he says, “There’s a kid who comes in here everyday and claims to know him.” </li>
<li>Or No, but he says “For 50 gold crowns I might.” </li>
<li>Or No, but he says “if you drink enough, they say he comes to you in your dreams.” </li>
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You can see the benefit of the last approach in that, despite the question being a close-ended question, the results drive the game in new directions. <br /><br />If you prefer, declare exactly what each result will be prior to the rolling of the die, writing it down to keep yourself honest. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">So, for example: <br /><br />1 = No, and he says, “If you value your life, you won’t ask again.” <br />2-3 = “No, but there’s a kid who comes in here everyday and claims to know him.” <br />4-5 “Yes, but it’ll cost you.” <br />6 - “Yes and he nods to a lone figure bent over a table nursing his drink. ‘That’s him.’” <br /><br />This approach leads into the next type. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Type 3: Dicing Between Options aka Featherstone’s Matrix</span></h3>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">This method is similar to the last example, although there are two variations that I want to demonstrate. <br /><br />The first I call “The Featherstone” and it gets its name to from an idea Donald Featherstone presents for playing skirmish wargames solo. As it turns out, it works equally well with role-playing. <br /><br />The second variation is what I am labeling the Matrix method, based not on the movie of that name but on Engle’s Matrix games. It simply takes the argument resolution method from the Matrix games and uses it for deciding which of several options is, in fact, the case. <br /><br /><b>The Featherstone: </b><br /><br />The Featherstone involves deciding upon the likely outcomes and assigning percentages to each of them, so that totaled, the result is 100%. <br /><br />A simple yes/no result can be treated as 01-50 and 51-100 ,but you could include the “buts” and “ands” as well. <br /><br /><i>Does the bartender know where I can find the Old Man Who Gives Out Quests?</i> <br /><br />01 - 10 = No, and he says, “If you value your life, you won’t ask again.”<br />11 - 50 = “No, but there’s a kid who comes in here everyday and claims to know him.”<br />51-89 = “Yes, but it’ll cost you.”<br />90 - 100 - “Yes and he nods to a lone figure bent over a table nursing his drink. ‘That’s him.’”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br />But you could take it further:<br /><br />01-10 No and he threatens you<br />11-20 No but he tells you a kid comes in everyday who clamis to<br />21-30 No but for 50 gold crowns he might<br />31-50 No but the old man comes by from time to time<br />51-60 Yes but he’s dead.<br />61-70 Yes, but you’ll need a letter of introduction if you want to meet him<br />71-80 Yes, but it’ll cost you 50 gold crowns.<br />81-90 Yes, but he isn’t talking until you order a drink, this isn’t a church.<br />91-100 “Yes and he nods to a lone figure bent over a table nursing his drink. ‘That’s him.’"<br /><br />That’s a little extreme, but I wanted to demonstrate the possibility that this method opens up. In actual play, 3 or 4 options are plenty, especially for a yes/no question.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Matrix:</span></h3>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">The Matrix method is something of a cross between the Mythic method and the Featherstone. Declare your possible outcomes, decide how likely each one is (called the strength of the argument in Matrix terms) and roll. The exact method and table necessary is illustrated <a href="http://www.wargamedevelopments.org/matrix.htm#Resolving arguments">here</a>.<br /><br />You could use the full Matrix method but it is a bit more time consuming to setup, as it is intended for multiple players.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: large;"><b>Conclusion:</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Obviously, use whichever method most appeals to you, but if you are just starting out, I recommend using:<br /><br /><br />1= “No, and “ (Not only no, but extraordinarily so)<br />2 -3 = “No, but <something yes-like>” <br />4-5 = “Yes, but <something no like>” <br />6 = “Yes, and “ (Not only yes, but extraordinarily so) <br /><br />At first, don’t worry about writing things down before you roll - once you find that you like solo gaming, you might not mind the few seconds that takes, but in the beginning, we want the game to move at a good pace to keep your enthusiasm high.<br /><br />Why this method? <br /><br />It uses the d6 which in all likelihood, everyone who owns a boardgame owns. It only provides four outputs, which are quickly and easily generated, and all of the results move the story and the game world forward. <br /><br />So, roll the dice, go with your gut in terms of the result. Later, you can write things down before you roll, or tweak the results by combining them with oracles or random generators. <br /><br />With our method for resolving questions about the game world, and incidentally, the other questions as well, if our rules of choice do not, we’re ready to play.</span><span id="docs-internal-guid-a7d100b0-3171-81a7-b624-344bde2c561f"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">
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John Yhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16465161620134394060noreply@blogger.com12