Board Games Will Suffice

Well things have been hectic for me the last couple weeks but seem to have finally settled down. Apologies for not posting, but to be honest I didn't feel I had much to write about. Then I got to thinking about what I could talk about gaming related and realized I have been playing a lot of board type games on our very random family nights. So the next few posts will be about what games the two of us play that are not exactly RPG related but falls into the genre at the same time.


Munchkin

Everyone but me seems to have found this game years ago, apparently I have lived a sheltered life in relation to gaming.

I purchased this game on a whim since I knew little about it but what little I did know always was favorable. So one day after a Sunday breakfast we journeyed to our local game store Adventures Underground, which by the way is an awesome store with a great selection and staff (shameless plug), and after walking the game aisles for a bit trying to decide on something we decided on Munchkin.

Now allow me to explain first off that a game purchase is a pretty big deal at this point in life as money is tight and we are really looking for something that is going to entertain us for more than just an initial play. We pretty well know the standard board games like Monopoly, Risk, Life and the sort but to be honest they are games for people in old folks homes and neither myself nor my daughter are ready for the retirement center yet. /end side tangent/

With the trickeries of payment handled we leave with box in hand and decide to have a cup of coffee at the local spot and give the game a test play. This is where a game can fly or fall because you need defined rules in order to start, but too many or too complicated a rule set and you begin to get lost in the lawyering of the game instead.

Munchkin I am glad to say has none of those issues. It does have a couple pages of rules but it boils down to the following:

• Deal 4 cards from each deck
• If in your hand lay out race and class you will be playing
• On your turn kick in the door
• Fight beast on other side or run like hell
• If fight and win, collect a level and treasure 
• If fight and fail take loss in stride as indicated on monster card
• If run success, catch your breath
• If run fail, take loss indicated on monster card.
• If no monster is found on the other side of the door you may choose to fight one from your own hand.
• Make sure you only have 5 cards in hand at end of turn either by putting them in play, discarding them or donating to another player.

Or as the official rules state:

1. Kick open the door
2. Look for trouble
3. Loot the room
4. Charity

All your weapons, armor and class bonuses add up easily enough and each battle you win gains you a level unless indicated otherwise.

That is pretty much it for straight play....but just to make things interesting you are also allowed to make opponents lives more difficult or easier at your discretion. Sometimes you can throw cards that add monsters, remove items or otherwise change the field of play. You may also assist in battle either out of the kindness of your heart (yeah right!) or in trade for an item or share of treasure.

Super simple but every time you play it is a different game. If you get tired of it there are numerous expansions available which add themes like zombies, Cthulhu, wild west and so on to the decks.

This game has quickly found it's way into our hearts, with a rules light system and allowances for house rules I am sure it will continue to give us good times as a family as well as with friends for years to come.

John

Been busy

Apologies for not updating because life has gotten in the way of more enjoyable pursuits. Hope to have things back to normal and updates of the gaming type beginning next week.

Slacking and Reading

Haven't had much to write on the last week, busy at work and in general slacking when not working.

So what have I been doing gamewise?

Mostly reading books and most these books have little to do with the type of campaign I will be running but let me give a list of my current reads:

Monster Hunters International by Larry Correia
A fun read so far and it takes kind of a different approach to the usual in regards to a wide variety of monsters. Tosses in a bit of a love story of course but nothing too sappy, plenty of humor and of course plenty of action. There is rumor of a movie based on it but I am sure it will be butchered compared to the book (how hipster of me). If you haven't read it then I recommend it.

Dies The Fire by S.M. Stirling
So having not done any real research into this series I instead picked it up on the recommendation of a friend and I am enjoying it so far. It really appeals to my survivalist nature and my post apocalyptic fetish. It does seem a bit familiar in the story to the TV series Revolution, although I am only at the fourth chapter or so and I have more hope for this than the TV series delivered. Not sure if the two are related but I will probably look that up when I remember to. This is the first book in the "Emberverse" series.

Bioshock Rapture by John Shirley
As a fan of the Bioshock universe and how it lightly touches into steampunk/dieselpunk I picked this up and have been enjoying it considerably. Gives a lot more background into the world and the events leading up to where the game begins. Well written and easy to read. Another book I am only about a quarter of the way into but always look forward to sitting down with it.

Well that's it for now, hoping to have some more interesting thoughts soon.

~John~

Game Creation Notes Part 2

So I finally started working on maps for the game and drew up a dungeon using Roll20 and here are some things that I learned.

First off Roll20 is a great virtual tabletop system, if you haven't checked it out then go take a look.

That being said I learned that it doesn't have an erase tool which would be useful in map creation especially when creating "hand drawn" maps. I had gotten pretty close to finishing off my map and as I laid the background of some nice hewn stone for the floor I learned that all those extra lines I created during the process were not going to be hidden. I messed with it for an hour trying desperately to save the map I worked so hard on, but it was a loss due to this. So I deleted the map, cried for a minute then began working on it again with a much modified way of thinking. It took a lot less time to create the second time and I am very happy with the results.

I also learned how to use the "fog of war" setting, real simple and allows you to reveal the map as characters delve deeper into it. This will be getting a lot of use in the game.

In creating the dungeon and placing objects I was telling myself the story in my head of who sleeps here, what the doors were made of, motivations and so on. So in creating the dungeon first I actually was able to flesh out an entire storyline and NPC list. Not sure how others do it but this seemed a very natural workflow for me and I plan to use it in the building of the town map as well.

This is all pretty exciting to me, seeing my world gradually come to life and having a plan to communicate that world to the players in a way that should make it an immersive experience...at least that is what I am hoping for.

Tonight I plan on creating a sewer system and if time is on my side maybe start on the town a bit as well.

Thanks for reading, feel free to post comments or personal experiences below.
~John~

Game Creation Notes

This is not really notes on game creation and how to do it, many others have that covered just fine in many other blogs of far superior quality and depth than I could hope to have here at this time. No, this post is about the process of creating my first world in DnD 3.5 and how I feel it is going.

In a word I would say "slowly" but that is to be expected.

Currently I am working on building a town map, with buildings, a marketplace and all the associated items to go with it including populating it with NPCs. Seems simple enough right? "X-town" has about 400 citizens, they are a lawful society and have light to medium military presence...sweet, I am done.

Not really because now I need to map out what my town of 400 people looks like. I need to have buildings of note, a variety of districts, is it in a mountain/river/desert/seaside, are there sewers and an underground that is either known or unknown, if so is it a bunch of ragtag beggars or further down is it a society living within the caverns below, are they good or bad in relation to the rest of the world, what is their culture based on financially and do they produce anything to trade with the world above?

This is honestly how my mind works, and it does this all at once like a massive power dump of questions that shoot holes in other questions and raises even more in asking them. 

So I have decided I am going to tackle this the only way I know how, one piece at a time. I will begin with the gates to the town/city (see it has grown already). Are there walls around it? What material makes up the walls if so? Who guards the walls, how trained and how vigilant are they?

Yeah that looks like a good plan right there. This will allow me to create a border of sorts around the area of the city, it gives me a beginning to the number of NPCs and a couple of varieties within a single class. I figure if I draw up a command class guard, a watch guard (lower ranking) and then a battle guard and mix them up a bit I should be good. The command class would be a bit more detailed than the rest and I would name a few of them since they will be most likely to have interactions at some point.

Once that is done I will tackle the first district as you walk into the city. What class makes up this area, what buildings do you see and how many are able to be entered and what shops or market types are available?

Again should work out with a few simple designs of buildings mixed and matched into the scene, a few NPCs of various importance and population density in the area can be decided a bit later.

Man this town building thing sounds easy when put that way, but what about story line? This is the difficult one for me and I don't know why. I get the idea and it is a simple idea really basically all you need is a mission goal(s), a protagonist, a bad guy and a reward for a job well done or penalties for a job poorly done.

Being we are starting with level 1 characters this shouldn't be difficult really, I mean something as simple as, "Geldar has asked you to deliver a letter to his daughter who lives the next town over but is a 3 day journey on foot. Upon delivery you will receive x gold or item." As the characters grow in levels and abilities the adventures grow as well because I too am growing as a GM and sorting out the handling of the game...hey this really isn't going to be as bad as I thought.

Oh crap! Now I have to create a second town...maybe I will make it a small village instead that should be easier, right? Are they farmers, loggers, maybe crafstmen or maybe an evil town filled with dark wizards who have possessed the bodies of the townsfolk...see? here we go again.

Well I gotta go get working on this while I have some ideas in my head. In the meantime comment below regarding your preferred methodology in creating towns/cities and adventures to go with them.

Thanks for reading and happy adventuring,

~John~

Adversity of a Different Kind

The concept of playing RPGs  is to escape reality a bit but not necessarily leave it behind at the same time. By this I mean yes the laws of nature are more pliable, your character is able to do things that you as a real person can only imagine and yet gravity still functions as expected, the sun (or suns) still rise and fall in a predictable fashion (I feel another post coming up) and so on. In this alternate reality people are still prone to injury in battle, some permanent and some temporary, but what about the idea of a character with a disability from the start?

"You have got to be joking John! Why would someone do that, after all gaming is all about a character doing what you can't."

Well there you have it, your question may well be the reason for adding a physical disability (for me anyways). I am relatively healthy and as of yet have not had to deal with many physical limitations (growing older and injuries notwithstanding) so to play a character with one would be a challenge of sorts. While it may seem a bit condescending on my part to talk about this sort of subject, I assure you it is meant honestly and with no malicious intent to anyone with a disability so get over any feelings of resentment right now and hang up that call to the ADA...please.

It could add something different to a game to not have a fully physically capable hero, how does a one legged Monk handle combat? What issues might a dyslexic Wizard have in reading scrolls? If your character is the only one with knowledge arcana but the words or symbols are in green on red background and he is color blind what do you do? You have a Rogue with asthma who also has a speed feat, how long does he rest after using this feat before he can battle? Does it affect other aspects? A Sorcerer with turrets anyone? Maybe a Bard with aspergers?

The possibilities are endless and where the issues pop up or limit may be a constant thing in the case of missing appendages or may be on a random roll such as with turrets. Use your imagination on where this could go, I am just putting it out there for you to read and comment on and maybe even use in a game. I have already discussed this with a few players in my group and they thought it was an interesting idea for a short game or one off so who knows down the road I may give it a run.

Have you ever run such a scenario?
How did it work out?
Would you do it again on either a long term adventure or a one off setup?

Leave comments, would love to hear your thoughts.
~John~

The Tale of the Half-Orc Revolt

"No I will not rent you a room! Not as long as you insist on your half-orc slave staying here too. Take him to the slave quarters at the end of town, then we can talk room rates but not a moment sooner."

Lothar turns and with his fellow adventurers in tow leaves the Inn. Once outside they discuss their options and decide that for the night it may be better to play the role and avoid trouble in town. So off they go to get Lothar a spot in the slave quarters at 10 gold a night (expensive town).

The slave quarters is a huge open warehouse inside with a dirt floor and half-orcs in makeshift camps all around the inside of it and small campfires here and there with groups gathered in low conversation and cooking food. In the middle there is a slight mound that Lothar walks up in order to get a better look around and take it all in hoping to find a good spot to lay his bed or maybe even a familiar face.

While he is looking around another half-orc takes exception to his position on higher ground and approaches, "This is my territory, you get down now!" his voice booming through the open space.

Lothar fresh from battle decides this challenge must be met and although unarmed he lays into his aggressor like a true barbarian would. He leaps at his challenger with great ferocity tackling and pinning him down then proceeds to beat him until he cries out for mercy. Luckily Lothar has no interest in killing his own kind so he allows his enemy to slink off to a dark corner.

The guards having heard the commotion come in from both ends of the slave quarters armed with clubs and begin beating on the slaves who are still standing around where the action has just taken place, "Get back you stupid slaves! Break it up!" the guards are yelling as they club a young half-orc.

Lothar seeing this happen is enraged once again and attacks the guard who hit the young one, taking him out with a single hit. Another guard swings his club and hits Lothar solidly on the shoulder, and as he prepares to swing a second time Lothar swings around with the club he has just taken from the downed guard and with all his might connects with the guard before he can block and is separated from his lower jaw.

At this point the other half-orcs have taken to beating guards as well and in a short time there are 12 dead guards and some angry slaves with clubs. 

Lothar seizes the opportunity and returns to the top of the mound again and shouts, "It is our time brothers and sisters, we must show these humans we are not slaves any longer and escape to freedom!"

On his words they rush the doors forcing them open and a flood of 200 half-orcs pours into the city streets and before the guards can even react they have overtaken the gate and are running into the woods to their freedom.

Two days later Lothar and his party meet up again and over the nights campfire he tells the tale of the half-orc revolt.

****

This adventure happened during my second game session of playing. The DM told me he was not so sure he was ready for something like that to happen but it was well worth letting it play out. I hope I did the adventure some justice as it was a very memorable session and a lot of fun.

...but you're dead Billy!!

Character deaths are more an inconvenience than anything else in a majority of games I have played, granted I have a short history in the RPG tabletop gaming area (about a year now) but aside from having to roll a new character there was no incentive to not play my characters a bit haphazardly, so I have decided on a couple ways to make it more interesting for both the players and the DM.

What could possibly make death more interesting you ask?

Good question, allow me to explain a bit of back story. I am currently putting together plans to run my first game as a DM, I have been reading books, listening to podcasts, building characters, scribbling outlines of basic concepts and generally over thinking the whole process as I do. It all kind of fell apart when it came to how I am going to handle character deaths (actually just one of many spots) and after some thinking I came to the conclusion that an adventurer needed a proper burial once the battle dies down and it must be in accordance to their religion of choice or they must carry the body out if a funeral cannot be carried out. I mean deep in the darkness of a dungeon is not a proper place for an Elf to be buried after all.

If this is not done there needs to be a penalty right? But of course I want it to be fun for everyone and the dead guy isn't having much fun sitting there watching his corpse rot is he? So if a proper burial is not performed and everyone goes about robbing the body (we all do it right?) of all the useful stuff. After a time (to be determined) the dead character rises to play as a zombie with goals and some skills remaining.

My thought on this was they get basically half skills, no magic abilities and can only use basic weapons or surrounding objects as weapons if their weapons have been stolen. Movement speed becomes halved and intelligence is dropped to that of just above a zombie so they still have some tactical knowledge and no speech skills to explain their intentions. Again this isn't completely worked out but the idea being that they have to retrieve all items taken from them by the players and if this goal is accomplished (not likely) the character is returned to life with penalties placed until such a time as they can be healed properly through ritual, if they fail and the players kill the zombie character then that character is dead and must roll a new one.

Wow John, that sounds like a lot to worry about when all I want to do is move on with the game.

Is it really? In real life there is a grieving process and a funeral for a person who has passed. So how do I handle this in a more detailed form? Well having not yet implemented it and this post being part of my fleshing out process, I have decided that all characters take penalties to a variety of skills for a period of time (not yet determined). The idea behind this is again they are grieving for their friend so things like concentration for spells, called shots etc. would be skewed.

I have not set in stone what the penalties would be for the various issues and will be working on this a bit further to hopefully create some kind of a table based on character class and skill levels. It is a slow process for me as I am still learning a lot but wanted to toss the idea out into the wild with the intention of getting a bit of feedback from others on it and it's implementation.

Have you done something similar to this to make death either more realistic or more traumatizing to the party?

If so how or what did you do?

Leave comments and feedback below, all is appreciated and more thoughts on this and other oddball ideas to come in future posts.

~John~

*edit*
After posting this I realized I had not given proper credit to +Gamerstable and their podcast for inspiring this idea after listening to their podcast relating to character death.