Product of Your Imagination

I was reminded, when digging out the D&D Expert rulebook, that TSR had possibly the best slogan of any RPG company.

Products of YOUR Imagination. It follows on from something Gygax (presumably) wrote in OD&D: "why have us do any more of your imagining for you?" Well, as Gygax would learn, for one thing if the people who buy your rules have sufficient imaginative powers (and energy, and time), you only need to sell them one book. Ever. 

(There was a few threads on various fora about 'dead' RPGs - but a game is not dead that which can eternal be played.)

The Adventure Starts Here

As the chaos of the summer draws to a close and we come closer to the structured time of the school year (not only am I an academic, but I am married to a teacher and we two teenagers!) and rugby season (still going even as I dash towards fifty), I started thinking about planning for an autumn game for the family, and in doing so thinking about the bits and pieces of my own gaming history that revealed the promises and possibilities of roleplaying games. And this image here is pretty central.

So, sure, I had explored the Forest of Doom, the Island of the Lizard King, and had trekked across Sommerlund, but when it came down to sitting at a table and adventuring the vast majority of my time had been spent in funhouses full of straight lines; a universe in two dimensions, constrained by graph paper. We did not own any adventures, so that was how we played the Basic set. But then we got the Expert set - was Expert better than Advanced? I wondered at the time. 

And there was an adventure and it was classic. As with mapping the The Warlock of Firetop Mountain, I would hazard that exploring the wilderness of the Isle of Dread is an almost universal experience for gamers around my age. Pirates! Dinosaurs! Zombies! Kopru? Phanatons? Perhaps if we had had access to a Basic level such as The Lost City we would have already advanced our game to something that involved more than kicking in a door and killing everything inside, an analogue version of the arcade classic Gauntlet. But we did not, so the Expert Set was a revelation and totally transformed how we played D&D.

And a MAP! Every young fantasy reader's favourite part of a novel was the map, which promised the reader a bigger world that whatever sub-Tolkien quest they would read over the next 300 pages. You could look at the map and imagine what better stories were going on in those curiously named places. Well, now you could imagine them together!

And that is the sort of feeling I want to relive, and recreate for my players.

(Seriously, I got quite a thrill digging these out of my BECMI box in the cupboard. Kinda makes me regret that I have discovered better games...)

A Complete Game in Four Parts

Of all the D&Ds, Frank Mentzer's BECM is the one that is closest to my heart. I leave out the 'I' as I never owned the Immortal Set. In fact, as I describe below, I'm not sure that I've ever needed the Master Set as part of my 'complete game'. Certainly I've never played in a campaign that has got beyond the 'teen' levels. Part of the reason that I hold these slim books in such high regard is, no doubt, nostalgia. In the 1980s we got a tremendous amount of play out of just four books – the Basic Player and DM books, the Expert book (which is my favourite D&D book of all time), and the Isle of Dread. We fought our way up from frightened dungeon grubbers, we travelled all across the Known World, by horse, ship, and – later – a variety of flying monsters, we built castles, ruled domains, and lead armies into battle (we didn't have the Companion set at the time so we made up our own rules, which isn't that difficult in an AC/HD system). We could do all this because BECM D&D is a wonderfully complete and well organised game that supports this range of fantasy adventure with a number of simple but effective play procedures.

"Well organised?! It is spread across seven books!" Sure. But do not overlook the virtue of procedures organised by 'tier'. First, it stops players and DMs being overwhelmed by trying to master rules and procedures that are of little to no relevance for their own games. But second and more importantly - and this is something that is missing from plenty of more serious, comprehensive games - it makes material the idea that the kind of adventures that a PC might engage in will change, as they grow. This change will be qualitative as well as quantitative. Play at higher levels isn't just about fighting bigger monsters for more magnificent treasures (though both are there, if you want them) but about different kinds of adventure altogether. The PCs are a 'real' part of the world. In my opinion, if 'serious' D&D has to be three big hardbound books, it would be better for the game (though not for WotC’s bank balance) if the material – the procedures that make up the game – was organised by tiers of PC power (and where these tiers mean something other than the addition of more kewl powerz) rather than the now standard PHB, DMG, MM division. 

Second, do not be fooled by the fact that these rules are spread across seven books. Each book is a pretty slim volume affair. I can use the weight of most RPG rulebooks to press flowers - if I was into that - and many RPGs don't settle for just one big book. These? I couldn't squash an ant with these books, even one on top of the other. Yet within these books there are not only the systems that are found in any fantasy adventure RPG - character creation and advancement, magic, equipment, combat, monsters, etc., but a whole raft of simple procedures that cement the place of PCs within the game world. My expectations of an RPG have been so coloured by the comprehensiveness and scope of BECM that I find other games inadequate in this regard (and end up porting in BECM D&D's procedures to fill in the gaps).

From the Basic DM book we have a procedure for dealing with retainers (BD20), a system for handling the reaction of monsters and NPCs (BD22), treasure tables that provide us with a system of determining appropriate levels of reward with the context of a D&D game world (BD40-42), a system for generating room contents and random treasures (BD47), and a system for determining whether the party will encounter wandering monsters, with sample wandering monster tables on the inside back cover.

The Expert book, as we all know, introduces wilderness travel and adventure (for example, encounter tables on E30 and 35, getting lost etc. on E41), but it also includes procedures for allowing PCs to build castles (E23), hire mercenaries (E24), conduct magical research (E25), as well as adventures at sea (E42-44).

The Companion book brings us rules for ruling Dominions (CD5-10), fighting wars (CD12-17), and, for those higher level PCs without the taste for rulership, guidance for engaging in adventures across other dimensions and planes of existence (C18-20).

And, given that in BECM we’re not talking about a race from 1^st level to name level in just under three weeks of actual adventuring (which, judging by the release of the free DMG pdf is the assumption of 5e), the Companion book also introduces some rules for aging (CD25).

In other words, across a handful of pages (not many - count 'em!), using pretty simple systems of resolution (okay, the Dominion rules could have done with a serious trim), we have the procedural skeleton on which a can be built play a campaign in which the players can enjoy their PCs exploring, shaping, ruling, and travelling beyond the game world.

And while AD&D churned out adventure module after geographic guidebook after splatbook, the BECM D&D supplemental line included material that further cemented the idea that this was the D&D for extended, meaningful sandbox campaigns. The C and M series of modules often involved the PCs not only as adventurers but as rulers. Hidden in the GAZ series was material than made them something more than mere geographical guidebooks and sources of variant Class options - consider the trade rules from the Minrothad Guilds and Darokin supplements. And in Red Arrow, Black Shield, the PCs were invited to take a meaningful, consequential part in a continental war - in the war itself, mind, which was not 'merely' the background for a quest for a MacGuffin.  

Kids game, huh?!

[Of course, there are a few things that I don't like about BECM. It is not the perfect D&D. Central to my complaints is the lunatic level spread (36 levels!), and the fact that that level spread is partly responsible for producing the worst iteration of the Thief class in any D&D.]

The Goblin Tax (part two)

So, here are entries 7-12 on the 1d12 selection of GOBLIN encounters. These are not meant to be whole adventures, but some of these encounters might become significant events in a sandbox campaign. Or they might be just a little bit of colour to liven up the evening's goblin slaughtering session.

Oh, and I was wrong - these print on two sides of a 6"x4" index card when printed in Calibri at 11 point. If anyone actually wants the them in a printable format I'll see what I can do about putting a .pdf file up somewhere.

7 DOMINATED DRONES

EIGHT near naked GOBLINS labour tirelessly, moving at a single, inexorable pace. They are lean and fit, working in total silence. They have lifeless eyes and blank expressions – a result of the dull grey metal headbands that they wear: BANDS OF DOMINATION (7a). The reaction check is not for these goblins, but their master – CHARNUM the MAGIC USER – who hides, wasting away, in the cellar of a cottage a mile away.  

GOBLINS (4) = AC: 7, HD: 1-1, HP: 3, MV: 30’ per round, ATT: 1 tool DAM: 1d4 SV: NM, MR: 12, AL: C, XP: 5

CHARNUM (MU 2) = AC: 9, HD: 2d4*, HP: 4, MV: 10’ per round, ATT: 1 dagger (-2 to hit), DAM: 1d4-2, SV: MU2, MR: 7, AL: C, XP: 25

Charnum has Magic Missile and Charm Person (or Sleep) memorised. Charnum will use the Crown to enslave the party if he uses Sleep. This might not be interesting. They will be slaves of Charnum for the final 3d4 days of his life.

Charnum recently stole the Crown and Bands from his tutor and used Charm Person (or Sleep) to assemble his ‘retinue’, planning to become a mighty wizard. If the reaction roll is favourable, Charnum will attempt to use the goblins to guide the party to his cottage. He is educated and polite, but will plead to be returned to civilization. But not to his tutor. If the reaction roll is hostile, Charnum will reason that the party are bounty hunters, come to reclaim the crown and deliver him to justice. He will use the goblins to keep the party away from the cottage at all costs.

Charnum has 20GP in a box decorated with his family crest, and a spellbook containing Read Magic, Detect Magic, and the above spells. These items can be used to trace Charnum’s origin and the previous owner of the Crown.

7a THE CROWN AND BANDS OF DOMINATION

Each Crown of Domination is magically connected to 1d8 Bands. Both are made of a permanently warm, dull grey metal. The Bands are thin circlets, while the Crowns are heavy and broad.

The will of those wearing the Crown (‘masters’) immediately displaces that of those wearing the Bands (‘slaves’). Slaves lose one point from INT, WIS, or CHA per day. For each point lost so, masters lose a point from STR, DEX or CON. If INT, WIS, or CHA fall to 0, the slave is permanently without will. No more ability score points are lost by either master or slave. If STR, DEX, or CON reaches 0, the master dies. The Crown cannot be removed except by use of Dispel Magic, which cannot be cast by the wearer. The Bands can be removed by magic or one the death of the ‘master’. A Saving Throw vs. Spells in can be made to avoid the domination of both the Crown and the Bands. Ability points recover slowly, but only after the items are removed.

8 RAG AND BONE

A small cart rumbles along, piled high with bones and animal pelts. The cart is drawn by FOUR WOLVES. THREE GOBLINS (Gatta, Krun, Lod) ride and walk alongside. They are traders, travelling between petty goblin kingdoms. 

GOBLINS (3) = AC: 6, HD: 1-1, HP: 3, MV: 30’ per round, ATT: 1 short swords DAM: 1d6 SV: NM, MR: 7, AL: C, XP: 5

WOLVES (4) = AC: 7, HD: 2+2, HP: 10, MV: 60’ per round, ATT: 1 bite DAM: 1d6 SV: F1, MR: 8(6), AL: N, XP: 25

The goblins are minded to react positively (a +2 modifier to the reaction check). They are traders after all. If the party receives a favourable reaction, the traders will attempt to bargain with the party. They are especially interested in metal weapons and armour. Abstracted, the party can trade for pelts that will sell in a human settlement for double the value of the objects traded, but at double the encumbrance. Many of the bones are marked with intricate carvings; transcriptions of ‘epic’ poems, jokes, and other aspects of goblin culture – including erotica. These will also sell for double the value of the objects traded, at a one-to-one encumbrance rate, but only to a tiny market of secretive scholars and collectors. If the party receives a hostile reaction, the goblins will see the party as the sort of people who kill goblins and take their treasure. Their wolves make them dangerous opponents. The goblins will take the wolves by the reins and use them to menace the party. If the party do not retreat – or above the growls and shouts offer generous trade terms – the goblins will let slip the wolves.

Goods in the cart; 300gp of pelts, 200gp of carvings and a goblin gambling set worth 10GP (these artefacts of goblin culture will flood the tiny market). Strapped underneath the cart is a small box containing 50GP of silver jewellery. If the party have killed or driven off the wolves, how will they get the goods to market? 

9 ON TO ADVENTURE!

A ‘first level’ adventuring party of FIVE GOBLINS are exploring the same area as the party. The party consists of two ‘Fighters’ (Jagga, Prok), one Shaman (Wratta), one Wicca (Shonk the Magnificent), and one ‘Thief’ (Dirty Agg), together with a decrepit old mule laden with rope, torches, etc.

GOBLINS (‘Fighters’ and ‘Thief’) = AC: 6, HD: 1-1, HP: 5, MV: 30’ per round, ATT: 1 spear DAM: 1d6 SV: NM, MR: 8, AL: C, XP: 5

WRATTA (SHAMAN 1): AC: 6, HD1, HP: 5, MV: 30‘per round, ATT: 1 silver sickle, DAM: 1d4, SV: C1, MR: 8, AL: C. XP: 10

SHONK (WICCA 1): AC: 6, HD1*, HP: 5, MV: 30‘per round, ATT: 1 bone dagger, DAM: 1d4-1, SV: MU1, MR: 8, AL: C. XP: 13

Wratta has no spells, but can command the spirits (Turn Undead as a 1^st level Cleric). Shonk knows Light, which he uses to impress (and blind) other goblins. 

The standard behaviour of the PCs should be reflected back at the players. These goblins are adventurers, and the PCs have established what that means. Nevertheless: if the party receives a favourable reaction, the goblins will offer to trade information with the party. They will know details about 1d3 nearby adventure locales. The goblins may be persuaded to temporarily ally with the party if a profitable adventure is proposed. Goblins are unpredictable, and additional reaction rolls should be made mid-adventure. If the party receives a hostile reaction, the goblins will react much as the PCs would to a dangerous monster.

The goblins have 25GP between them, along with poor quality adventuring gear. This gear has a 10% chance of failure in critical situations. They also have a map to an adventure locale with scribbled details (roll twice on the rumour table).

10 WRETCHED ESCAPEES

A group of FOUR GOBLINS (Ak, Jud, Brong, Degga) have escaped from a sorcerer. They are a pathetic sight; snivelling, terrified, near naked. They are being harried by THREE of the sorcerer’s SCOUTS (Bran, Krevan, Hart), humans with tattooed faces trained in bushcraft (PCs are surprised on a roll of 1-3 when in the terrain of the type inhabited by the scouts’ tribe, i.e. the terrain in which the initial encounter takes place). These will not be encountered together – once the party has encountered the goblins the next wandering monster rolled will be the scouts.

GOBLINS (4) = AC: 6, HD: 1-1, HP: 2, MV: 30’ per round, ATT: 1 rock, DAM: 1d3, SV: NM, MR: 5, AL: C, XP: 5

SCOUTS (3) = AC: 6, HD: 1, HP: 5, MV: 30’ per round, ATT: 1 short sword or sling, DAM: 1d6 or 1d4, SV: T1, MR: 8, AL: C, XP: 10

There are two reaction rolls here. A favourable reaction from the goblins will see them offer magical treasure (2d3 Potions of Healing in the form of pellets of sweet, thick paste wrapped in leaves) if the party escort the goblins to their tribe (a 2d3 day journey). A hostile reaction from the goblins will see them flee the party, who they presume to be agents of the sorcerer. If the goblins do escape, this will complicate further encounters with goblins in the area as news of the party’s affiliation spreads.

A favourable reaction from the scouts will see the party approached as possible collaborators in the schemes of the sorcerer – initially the capture of the goblins, for which the sorcerer’s agent will reward them with 2d3 Potions of Healing). A hostile reaction will result in the scouts seeing the party – particularly any magic using characters, as better prizes than a band of wretched goblins. The scouts wear silver medallions bearing the symbol of the sorcerer – worth 20GP when melted down – and 5GP a piece.

11 LOTTAGROB THE KNIGHT

A GOBLIN (Lottagrob) in shining plate armour sits astride a well groomed DIRE WOLF (Lope), a brightly coloured pennant flying from his spear. A second, smaller GOBLIN (Kip) serves as squire to this ‘knight’, holding a spear shield and two spare spears. Lottagrob was captured by human knights, and before escaping developed a fascination with chivalry.

LOTTAGROB = AC: 3, HD: 2, HP: 10, MV: 30’ per round, ATT: 1 spear or short sword, DAM: 1d6, SV: NM, MR: 8, AL: L, XP: 20

LOPE = AC: 6, HD: 4+1, HP: 18, MV: 50’ per round, ATT: 1 bite DAM: 2d4 SV: F2, MR: 8, AL: N, XP: 125

KIP = AC: 6, HD: 1-1, HP: 2, MV: 30’ per round, ATT: 1 spear, DAM: 1d6, SV: NM, MR: 7, AL: L, XP: 5

Lottagrob will block the party’s path. He will challenge the party member who most resembles a knight to a contest at arms. If the reaction roll is favourable, Lottagrob will challenge his opponent to a non-lethal dual- subdual damage only. If he wins, he will take the loser’s weapon to melt into ‘warrior rings’. He will also claim the loser’s shield, or other item carrying an emblem to keep as a trophy. Throughout, Lottagrob will be polite, and after the contest will offer the party the hospitality of his motley patchwork of a tent. If the reaction roll is negative, Lottagrob will list the crimes of the party (some real, some imagined, some cases of mistaken identity). He will then demand that the party’s champion face trial by combat. If defeated, and his life spared, he will see it as proof that the party is just, and will offer to serve the party until he has paid his debt (one adventure).

He is wearing a finely crafted suit of Halfling-sized armour. Of Elven manufacture, it is worth triple the price of plate, but encumbers only as much as chain. Lottagrob has no money, being of charitable nature.

12 HELP ME, OH BIG ONE, YOU’RE MY ONLY HOPE!

The party hears a whimpering from the underbrush. The whimpering is silenced. If they listen carefully, they will hear a gruff ‘hush’. THREE GOBLINS are hiding; a female (Nush), a youngling (Vankagh), and an old warrior (Vrang). Vankagh is the spawn the dead king of a local tribe. The new king killed Vankagh’s siblings, but his mother fled with the help of the old king’s champion. They hope that a rival tribe will see fostering a pretender to the ‘throne’ as a source of long term advantage.

NUSH = AC: 6, HD: 1-1, HP: 2, MV: 30’ per round, ATT: 1 knife, DAM: 1d3, SV: NM, MR: 7, AL: C, XP: 5

VRANG = AC: 6, HD: 2, HP: 10, MV: 30’ per round, ATT: 1 sword +1, DAM: 1d8+1, SV: NM, MR: 8, AL: C, XP: 25

GOBLINS (2d4) = AC: 6, HD: 1-1, HP: 4, MV: 30’ per round, ATT: 1 spear, DAM: 1d6, SV: NM, MR: 7, AL: C, XP: 5

With a favourable reaction, Vrang has assumed the party to be of a mercenary bent. He will promise them riches if they can be delivered to the rival tribe. They will be pursued by 2d4 goblins (the next wandering monster encounter). There is a -4 penalty to any reaction roll with the pursuers if the party is with Vankagh. With a hostile reaction, Vrang attempt to frighten the party with COWARD MAKER. The screams of his sword will trigger a wandering monster roll. Regardless of morale rolls, Nush and Vrang will not flee without Vankagh.

Coward Maker is a Sword +1. It is a crude falchion that screams as it is swung. This is part of the regalia of kingship of the tribe, and the new king is as concerned with its return as he is with killing the youngling. Hidden in Vankagh’s swaddling is 100GP of jewellery.     

Paying the Index Card Tax...

Much of my current sandbox game is run using index cards. Now, I need a better system of sorting and organising these cards - at the moment the principle, as with most of my campaign notes, is that they get shoved in the folder at the end of a session. Organisation aside, being able to flick through a stack of cards with concise and game-relevant details allows me to have the NPCs, locations, and encounters allows me to keep the engine of the sandbox to hand.  

The colours, they mean nothing. NOTHING!

But, I figure it is time to start paying my taxes. One of the things that I've been doing is creating 'interesting' encounters to flesh out the perfectly ordinary Wandering Monster tables. And if I'm paying my tax, I have to do something a little more organised, a little less piecemeal. So a 1d12 table of GOBLIN encounters, fleshed out as index cards ready for use at the table, ready for use in Basic D&D/Labyrinth Lord games...

Goblins?! Boring! Yeah, well, I like goblins. Goblins are a big part of Basic Level D&D. And interesting doesn't have to mean weird, or gonzo. And (hey, I'm getting defensive here!) I know that these are nothing that you couldn't do yourself. But then, that's part of the point. Here's my contribution to the collective body of things that we *could* all do ourselves, based on how I run things at my table.

After I've posted up the goblins, I'll probably do some low-level undead.

All of these fit on two sides of a 6"x4" index card when printed in Times New Roman at 12pt Calibri at 11pt. 

[EDIT: Oh, and while I know you can't remember NPCs from one session to the next, but if you are playing in my game (yes, YOU!), there are spoilers ahead.]

GOBLIN ENCOUNTERS 1-6 (of 12, 7-12 tomorrow)

1 THE BOAR HUNT

FOUR scrawny GOBLINS (Polg, Hruk, Jargo, Bukk) are hunting. Armed with long spears and slings, they have bagged several birds, and are now on the trail of a dangerous BOAR. They call the Boar Old Tusk-Gore, and by all accounts it is a large, dangerous alpha male.

GOBLINS (4) = AC: 6, HD: 1-1, HP: 3, MV: 30’ per round, ATT: 1 spear or sling, DAM: 1d6 or 1d4, SV: NM, MR: 7, AL: C. XP: 5

No modifiers to the reaction check. If the party receives a favourable reaction, the goblins may invite the party to share lunch with them, even inviting them to help with the hunt. A hostile reaction will likely not see the goblins attack directly, but the party will be tracked for some time (check for Hear Noise) as the goblins evaluate the prospect of taking bigger game: the party!

The goblins are wearing simple silver jewellery worth 15GP in total.

Old Tusk-Gore is a hulking boar, bigger than a wolfhound and covered with scars. As the boar charges through the undergrowth he will seem much bigger to startled low-level PCs. Remember to check Goblin Morale as the beast’s grunts and snorts towards them, a squealing roar heralding its charge, with snot and drool dribbling from its scarred mouth!

WILD BOAR (Old Tusk-Gore) = AC: 7, HD: 3, HP: 21, MV: 30’ per round, ATT: 1 tusk, DAM: 2d4, SV: F2, MR: 9, AL: N. XP: 35

A -3 modifier to the reaction check – Old Tusk-Gore is very aggressive. A favourable reaction will see the beast retreat, almost as if the party were not there. A hostile reaction will see the boar charge at the lead or largest PC.

2 DUNJA DEM THE MYSTIC

A SINGLE GOBLIN dances and sings and waves his gri-gri around as the party approach. High on mushroom tea, DUNJA DEM is on a spirit journey and is only half in this world. He wears layers of animal pelts, giving him the appearance of a quite horrible toy bear.

DUNJA DEM (SHAMAN 2): AC: 6, HD2*, HP: 10, MV: 30‘per round, ATT: 1 silver sickle, DAM: 1d4, SV: C2, MR: 7, AL: C. XP: 35

Dunja Dem knows Protection (from Evil/Good), which he casts waving his gri-gri and singing a guttural ‘nursery rhyme’ about bugbears eating children.

No modifiers to the reaction check – Dunja Dem is unpredictable. If the party receives a favourable reaction he is liable to give them plenty of information about the area, and gossip as to the politics of the local tribes, which he intersperses with empty aphorisms. He will offer to brew up some mushroom tea. PCs drinking the tea must Save vs Poison if they wish to resist the effects, which involve a hallucinatory(?) visitation by whatever beings would reinforce the already existing motivating ideas and principles of the PC. If the party receives a hostile reaction, Dunja Dem will attempt to curse the PCs (though he has no real magic in this regard). His promises of doom, however, should unnerve, even though they are hopelessly general; he will promise that they will die when they pass between the stone teeth, that when they will lose all that they love under the green roof, that the blue salt desert will devour them, skin, blood, bones, and all, etc. The next time the PCs travel through the mountains, into a dense forest, or across the open sea they should shiver at the memory of Dunja Dem’s curse/s. Dunja Dem may attack the PCs – he is high and a little unhinged after all. 

Dunja Dem’s only treasure is a simple silver sickle (used for cutting herbs and fungi for his ‘potions’), worth 30GP.

3 THE PLAGUE PILGRIMS

FIVE pathetic GOBLINS (Tunk, Regba, Weel, Nesh, Sokka), wrapped in bandages, trudge wearily. Four carry sacks while the goblin taking the turn to lead the procession scourges itself. They stink, and green pus stains their dressings. They are suffering from the Weeping Buboes*. They are travelling to a stone circle nearby, where they plan to burn offerings to Bargrivyek. The sacks contain small animals (chickens, a kid, two puppies, rats), except for one that contains a naked, bruised, concussed, and bound and gagged HALFLING (Bundy Strawhair). Returned to his village, the party will be rewarded with the family heirloom; an elven Dagger +1.

GOBLINS (5) = AC: 7, HD: 1-1, HP: 2, MV: 20’ per round, ATT: 1 dagger (-2 to hit), DAM: 1d4, SV: NM, MR: 6, AL: C. XP: 5

If the party receives a favourable reaction, the goblins will beg for a little food. The goblins will tell the party where they are going, and will welcome an escort to the stone circle. Travelling with the goblins will expose the party to the Weeping Buboes. Avoiding close contact grants a +3 to the Saving Throw (being spattered in infected goblin blood will result in a -1 penalty). If the party receives a hostile reaction, the goblins will offer the party 25GP to escort them to the stone circle. They will wheedle and beg, and make extravagant promises. Once at the stone circle, they will attempt to add the party to the burnt offerings.

*The Weeping Buboes: SAVE VS POISON. On a failure, after two days swellings develop in the groin, the neck, and the armpit (-1 to hit, -2 penalty to CHR modifier). After two more days, these begin to ooze a green liquid that smells unpleasant, reminiscent of strong cheese (-2 to hit, -2 to CHR modifier, penalties to other rolls). The character will die as their lungs fill with ooze in 2d4 days after that. A Cure Disease spell is the only sure cure, though a sage or other knowledgeable person might know of a remedy, the ingredients of which are expensive or dangerous to recover.    

4 RAIDERS!

EIGHT GOBLINS (Gurgan, Hukk, Lendol, Skan, Iggmal, Posk, Bosk, Jrunt) are armed and armoured and looking for plunder. Dressed in leather armour, decorated by copper coins sewn in rows, they each carry a spear, a short sword, and a shield. These are more dangerous than the average goblin (see AC and Morale). Gurgan is the leader of the war band, and is one of the champions of a local goblin ‘king’. He can be easily angered.

GOBLINS (7) = AC: 5, HD: 1-1, HP: 5, MV: 30’ per round, ATT: 1 spear or short sword, DAM: 1d6, SV: NM, MR: 8, AL: C. XP: 5

GURGAN = AC: 5, HD: 2, HP: 9, MV: 30’ per round, ATT: 1 spear or short sword, DAM: 1d6, SV: NM, MR: 8, AL: C. XP: 20

If the party receives a favourable reaction, the warband are returning from successfully desecrating a temple. Gurgan has no wish to risk his plunder by taking on a party of adventurers. He will offer to trade with party, and is particularly keen to acquire a good steel longsword, and other weapons and armour of human (or better) craftsmanship. The war band have a chest containing 200GP, two tapestries that could be sold for up to 100GP each, and an altar piece made from silver and semi-precious stones worth 100GP. The tapestries and altar piece will be difficult to sell except through a fence, but could be returned to a temple.

If the party receives a hostile reaction, the pickings have been lean – though they have still to probe the defences of the temple. Gurgan is minded to kill the PCs and strip their corpses of loot. In this case, the only treasure is a golden torc worth 25GP worn by Gurgan. If he is surrenders, he will attempt to preserve his own life by claiming, truthfully, that his king will ransom him (for 100GP).

5 BRAINZ ARE BEST!

The party encounter FIVE savage GOBLINS (Esh, Kift, Grutt, Wast, Puv), naked but for daubs and red-brown across their bodies and a few scraps of poorly tanned leather. The daubs are, of course, dried blood, and the leather is flayed human skin. Their teeth are filed to points. They are members of a flesh-eating cult, treated with fearful reverence by the local tribes. They carry no treasure except an ornate brass key for a private box in the city bank.

GOBLINS (5) = AC: 6, HD: 1-1, HP: 5, MV: 30’ per round, ATT: 1 flint dagger or thrown stone, DAM: 1d3, SV: NM, MR: 7, AL: C. XP: 5

The goblins know that they are little match for a well-armed party. They are not concerned with self-preservation but with feeding the evil deep under the roots of an enormous tree. They worship a shrine that whispers promises of power in exchange for brains. Five marble skulls sit on the altar with empty brainpans. If a brain is placed in each of these, the ‘worshipper’ is granted a +2 to all to hit rolls and saving throws for a week (with other bonuses as appropriate), while the shrine consumes the brains. There is 50GP in loose coinage scattered about the remnants of the eaten. The entrance to the shrine is trapped with a staked 7" deep pit. The disguise (branches and leaf litter) is obvious if approached carefully (at exploration speed) but not if moving quickly (SAVE VS DRAGON BREATH to avoid falling and taking 1d8 damage).   

There is a -4 modifier to the reaction check – these are beings of rare malevolence. If the party receives a favourable reaction, it is because the goblins have even worse enemies. Two bugbears are searching the area, looking to seize the shrine. The goblins will wheedle with the party, trying to persuade the party that the bugbears are carrying great treasure.  If the party receives a hostile reaction, the goblins will encourage the party to pursue them back to the shrine, to lure the party into their trap and onto into the twisting, narrow tunnels that lead to the shrine.

6 THE SLAVE CARAVAN

The party encounters SIX GOBLINS (Lom, Bont, Grund, Gedd, Ploo, Henk), their eyes piteous, an air of total defeat about them. They are bound by chains that link them, neck and wrists, to the goblin behind and in front. A pair of mules brings up the rear, laden with travelling gear (tents, food, wine, etc.). They are being led by THREE large, ruddy-faced, pot-bellied MEN (Vint, Pascal, Antrem) – slavers. They are armed with nets, whips, and swords, and wear leather armour.

MEN (3) = AC: 6, HD: 1 HP: 6, MV: 30’ per round, ATT: 1 Sword, DAM: 1d8, SV: T1, MR: 8, AL: C. XP: 10

The slavers carry little treasure (just 30GP between them), though they have plenty of useful (but worn and poor quality) equipment. The goblins are their main treasure – but even these sell for little more than 10 GP each. The goblins are wretched, and will do little to win their freedom. If they can be armed and given some inspiration, they will fight as normal goblins.

If the party receive a favourable reaction they may be invited to share a meal. The slavers are looking for more merchandise – they have chains for up to 30 goblins – and will quiz the party about local humanoid tribes. If the party appears to find the business distasteful, the slavers will try to recruit the party to their goblin hunting by telling them a tall tale(?) of missing children – a brother and sister – they are been tracking, kidnapped by goblins. If the party appear interested in slaving, the slavers will suggest that they could introduce the party to their patron, a rich merchant in the city always on the look-out for enterprising men. If the party receives a hostile reaction, the slavers will see the party as either 1) rival slavers, out to steal their ‘goods’, and will not entertain any dialogue, or 2) valuable merchandise, if only an iron collar could be slipped around their necks. 

Playing it Wrong

At the moment, we’re playing Lamentations of the Flame Princess (LotFP). And we’re doing it wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong. Why? Because we’re using the core mechanics of LotFP and playing classic D&D with it. That isn’t what James Raggi wanted, is it? But it is a compliment.

The core mechanics of LotFP are D&D made elegant. I love them. The combat rules (this is the game that converted me to ascending AC), the streamlining of weapon options, the d6 adventuring rules, the rules for spell research and the creation of magic items… and the Specialist! A classic D&D Thief that doesn’t suck! LotFP is the version of classic D&D that I want to play. But I want to play classic D&D with it. I want the tone of the Mentzer Basic/Expert sets mixed with some Brit-fantasy to darken the mood. But it’s laughable thinking that a dash of Titan, a pinch of Lone Wolf, and a sprinkling of Warhammer will ‘darken’ a game when LotFP provides the possibility of mis-casting a Summon spell and have a party compelled to genitally mutilate each other? Actually, the mis-casts of the Summon spell are BRILLIANT. But they’re not part of the game that I’m after at the moment.

I’ve got my Rules Cyclopedia on my table as we speak, and my BECM (never did get I) books sit in a box alongside my collection of Gazetteers, modules, and assorted classic D&D accessories. But RC/BECM (or Labyrinth Lord, which I use as a proxy to avoid having tea poured all over my precious, precious RC) it isn’t exactly the game I want to play either. It lacks the elegance of Raggi’s system, and it’s power scaling is all wrong. 36 levels?! Back when I began playing D&D I had the Basic and the Expert set, and that was the system. 

So my house rules try to use LotFP to play D&D. All classes increase in attack bonus (though much, much more slowly than the Fighter. Not every monster is a unique Cthulloid entity; we’ve got Kobolds and Goblins, Trolls and Treants. The spells are mix of LotFP (Raggi’s interpretations of the classic spells are often extremely well done) and classic D&D (well, actually, for ease of reference at the table, I’m relying on Labyrinth Lord quite a bit). And I’m using D&D Treasure Tables – a mechanised Experience Point system that runs on loot demands a mechanised loot allocation system. In other words, I’m doing Raggi a terrible insult, stripping away the deliberate and consistent tonal qualities of LotFP to leave myself with the skeleton of the rules.

I'm worried about tea? It looks like they'll fall apart of their own accord soon enough...

The thing is, I appreciate the tone that Raggi strove for when writing Lamentations of the Flame Princess. It’s something that I’d be happy playing as a player. Strangely, it’s a game that I'd probably be happier playing that running. But right now, we’re dungeon delving and monster bashing. And, when you end the first adventure with a character blinded by a SPITTING COBRA, and three characters (a serious head wound, two fingers severed, and a broken leg)  needing lengthy spells of recuperation thanks to some FIRE BEETLES (oh, and Chris Kutalik’s Death and Dismemberment table), you know that you’re not playing too light and breezy a game.     

Oh, and of course, the Rules and Magic books for LotFP are available free. They're art free, but if want some cutting edge art criticism, try HERE. God knows what I'll do with my FOUR Rules and Magic hardcovers when they arrive (thanks to the Indiegogo campaign), but I'm looking forward to the Ken Hite adventure. And Kelvin's.

Rapid Dungeon Generation

After weeks of not playing anything other than boardgames (face-to-face at least - I've been playing in an online Age of Treason game [which uses Legend rules], GMed by the writer of the book, no less), tonight was meant to be the beginning of a short(?) trip down memory lane. Variously, illness, children, holidays, and being a local anti-folk 'star', have all hampered getting on with any substantial roleplay gaming over the past couple of months. In an effort to reboot the enthusiasm that had drained away, I suggested we get back-to-basics and play a bit of D&D. And I mean actual, honest-to-goodness D&D. Something quick, easy, and unpretentious. Faced with a very short space of time in which to come up with an adventure, I allowed the dice to roll and to rule. I pulled Advanced Fighting Fantasy 2e off the shelf and used its dungeon generation system (described here, by Coop) to create a hook and a cave system, and then went to the Mentzer Basic Set to generate monster numbers and treasure hoards. I choose the monsters, added some unique (and fun?) features, uncovered the 'why' of the dungeon. I ended up with this mess of notes:

Enough to run a game off, especially when fresh in my head. And then I check my phone... game cancelled. Bugger. Well, in that case, YOU (my players, that is) might well be getting this dungeon 'horrored' up with reference to Crypts and Things. YOU have been warned!

Painting in Primary Colours

I have lots of D&D material. AD&D1e, AD&D2e, and my beloved BECM(I[*1])/RC. A cupboard full of the stuff. But I haven’t played D&D in ages. Recently, we've been playing WFRP1e and 2e in our gaming group. And lately, I've been really interested in running RuneQuest/Legend (or OpenQuest) recently. I like the elegance of the d100 system, the bloody death that awaits characters who charge thoughtlessly into combat. I’d been considering it as the engine for a new sandbox campaign, with a world to be generated from the ground up (with some components acquired by unashamed robbery from existing campaign settings, fantasy fiction, and legend – I wouldn’t even file the serial numbers off). To satisfy my desire to both GM and to play, I convinced D to run this campaign as a co-GM, populating the world through a developing array of random tables and a library of stock elements. With no great secret plot driving the action, rather the decisions of the PCs, co-GMing is not much of a problem. And, anyhow, if you are unable to separate player knowledge from character knowledge, you are not going to make much of being a GM anyway.

But what do we come up with? A Viking-based, low-magic, all-human campaign, in which the PCs are tied to their community and culture by 'realistic' economics and a Pendragon-based personality system, with one or two adventures per game year. Giving the campaign an epic, intergenerational scope. I am not saying that is boring. It certainly got me and D excited. But will it excite the players in our campaign in quite the same way? This is a campaign concept that you really need to buy into. I have a strong feeling that, at the moment, some of the players in our group want their game painted in a few more ‘primary colours’ rather than the seven shades of, er… grey that is a well done WFRP or RuneQuest game. And that isn’t just in terms of the game style – killing monsters and taking their stuff >over> scrabbling, unrewarded, in the dirt – but also in terms of game mechanics – I’m a fighter, I’m a wizard etc. lets get to it >over> I have a range of skills that mostly overlap with yours. These things, of course, are a spectrum – skill-based systems have class-like archetypes, and class-based systems, even RC D&D, have skill systems, and campaigns about fighting dragons and clearing out the kobold caves can have gritty elements, just as a campaign that began wrestling in the Middenheim mud with a pox-ridden beggar[*2] might end with a Trollslayer, a Wardancer, a Knight, and a level 4 Wizard facing down giants and chaos warriors.


More than that, there's the structure of our gaming group. My wife and I have just had a second child. The other GM in the group has two children (and a non-gaming wife). This produces play sessions are short compared to what we might once have played - 3 hours is about the typical maximum - and, potentially, irregular. If we’re gaming weekly, we’re doing well. The other players, well, I’ve got a feeling that they would be far more into a ‘killing monsters and taking their stuff’ style of campaign – I am pretty certain that, for all they enjoyed Shadows Over Bogenhafen, for example, the lack of combat and character reward[*3] did not match expectations.

So what game and play-style is geared towards quick, episodic thrills and easy fun? My thinking is a sandbox campaign, with a hex map populated by small dungeons – strongholds, encampments, ancient tombs, sewer systems, caves, and dense forests – with random tables and improvisation generating the world on the fly in order to generate a sense of real player/character freedom. Put aside any worries about the world having a ‘realistic’ economy [*4], ‘realistic’ geography, or ‘realistic’ cultures – in Mystara for example, the Viking analogue culture complete with Scandanavian analogue geography immediately abuts an Arabian analogue culture and geography. So what? There is also a flying Gnomish city, an Empire of 36th level Magic Users descended from extra-dimensional ‘humans’. And if you really want the problem of unlikely neighbours, there is a nation of Halflings living in a late-Medieval rural English idyll right next to a plateau of magical Native American analogues. And all this makes it fun. Not mindless fun, not even cheap fun. Just primary coloured fun.

But what rule set? Well, I can’t use AD&D1e. Why? I can’t make head nor tail of the arrangement of the rules in those books, I never have been able to. I love them, but it is like reading someone’s house rule document out of context. AD&D2e [*5] is a goer, and I’ll be able to make use of the rulebooks that I had shipped from Scotland to the Caribbean [*6] the Christmas of their release. Those books are well travelled companions of mine. BECM(I)/RC is also a goer – many of those books are also the original having assembled all the GAZ/PC series etc. over the years I have endless optional rules and classes to incorporate, and campaign locations and NPCs to steal. Largely, though, I see D&D and AD&D1e/2e as essentially the same game. Alternatives would be Dragon Warriors, or Advanced Fighting Fantasy 2e, though the D&D nostalgia, and the weight of the D&D cupboard, bear down on me. The default settings of those two do contain important flavours to stir into the mix – the darkness of Dragon Warriors Legend takes some of the edge off the high fructose corn syrup of Mystara, and a dollop of Titan adds a very British spice. But in the end, this will be a world that develops from player/character action (and overt player suggestion), GM improvisation on top of some sketchy preparation, and random tables – let the dice decide!

*1 I don't have the Immortal Set. I do own one Immortal level module - The Immortal Storm -, and I think I'd have to be in a pretty special headspace to consider running it.

*2 Sorry, I mistyped. You are the pox-ridden beggar wrestling in the mud. And it is fun.

*3 The PCs were all still alive at the end. What more do they want?!

*4 Though I will be returning to my series (currently stalled on part 1) on ‘fantasy’ economics – did you know, for example, that a BECMI Magic User can earn 3,000GP per month for sitting around in someone else’s castle?

*5 What is the ‘problem’ that some have with AD&D2e? It is still recognisably A/D&D, unlike 3e and on.

*6 Releasing the Monstrous Compendium as a ring binder rather than a book was a nice idea, but made it awkward to post internationally in the 1989.

Known World, Old World

The Known World was my first fantasy role-play setting. A little continent of archetypal fantasy settings in the Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) Expert Rulebook (1983), with a short description of the setting in the accompanying module, The Isle of Dread, it was expanded in great detail throughout the 1980s, mainly by way of the superb Gazetteer series, until it became the world of Mystara. It is a high-fantasy setting with a light, humorous atmosphere. And it is a lot of fun if played that way.

The Old World is the world presented in the first edition of Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay (WFRP) (1986). A faux-Renaissance Europe dominated by the Empire, corrupted from within by petty human failings and the shadow of Chaos, it was a setting richly detailed in the superb The Enemy Within campaign. It is a low-fantasy setting with a dark, humorous atmosphere. And it is a lot of fun if played that way.

In two imaginary worlds, and their associated game systems, we have neat encapsulations of the gulf between American and British pop-culture. One the one hand you have the Justice League of America, on the other the Justice Department of Megacity One. The Known World of D&D is bright, clean, and [super-]heroic. The PCs survive (mostly), save the world, defeat the evil, and grow powerful and rich. The Old World of WFRP is dark, dirty, and a grim struggle. If the PCs survive (and there’s a good chance they won’t), they merely forestall the spread of chaos, before they are permanently disabled fighting a pickpocket in a filthy alley, grow sick, and die in poverty.

And for a GM, or player, these two worlds and systems have, between them, all the rules and well-presented colour to run fantasy campaigns of whatever flavour you want. I have recently returned to roleplaying after a long period away – getting a degree, becoming a husband, getting a PhD, becoming a father, and breaking my body on the rugby fields of Yorkshire and South Wales. Those 15-20 years have given me a different perspective on what I want from a roleplaying game. This blog is about the Known World and the Old World, the game systems that they were built around, and my thoughts on playing these classic roleplaying games.