Days 4 & 5: Darn it, I Have No Time On Work Days [D&D 40th Anniversary Blog Hop]

Thought I could handle that challenge, but now I realize I won't be able to do this every day (as is obvious from the lack of posting yesterday). Anyway, I'll follow through as best as I can. Both questions, today and yesterday, aren't that fruitful in my case, so not all is lost ...

First powerful Monster I slew?

&

Highest level character I ever ran?

The first powerful D&D monster I helped slaying was that succubus I talked about in the post for day 1. Never fought a dragon. At least no fight I'd count. A dragon, in my opinion, is an adversary of real quality, worth a small campaign in most cases. It's not a monster you encounter down the road and kill en passant.

But it reminds me of a something one of my players said to another as they saw a dragon fly by in a distance:

"Look! It's an xp-mother ship ..."

It's, I believe, one of the most common misconceptions in D&D is to believe that big monsters are just more meat to beat on. Truth is that the time needed to even confront a critter like a dragon should be a big investment ... But that can't be news. Well, that succubus had been a major villain and the build up to get there had been the adventure. The question how the big monsters really should influence their surroundings is to be answered at another day.

Now the sad truth about the highest character level I've ever played on. It was AD&D and a level 12 bard (Edal Worfang) made at a convention. So much fun, really, but other than that I'm not playing enough to get there. Ever. It's hard enough to get a campaign going long enough to see some of my players there.

A buddy of mine had announced some time ago that he'd be interested to try himself as a DM. I hope he'll do so some day.

And there's always Flailsnails. But I'm not sure about that yet.

This is a Blog Hop - So get hopping!

Stelios V. Perdios is hosting.

Tomorrow's question will be about my first dead character. Still have to think about this one ...

Day 30 - Best DM I've ever had (D&D 30 Day Challenge)

The best DM I've ever had was the one leaving a lasting impression on me. It was at least 16 years ago at a convention. It was our first time at a convention and we were eager to play some new games, so we looked for open seats and were lucky to join a Runequest game.

Buddha in a lotus position.

After making new characters (I made a halfling, don't blame for it, my buddy made a barbarian), we started playing. And had a blast. The DM was a fantastic story teller. He was a thin guy with long hair and was sitting on a bench in a lotus position. Not that it was a spiritual experience, but he was very relaxed and in control. He never checked the rules and it all came very natural. System mastery had been an ideal for me ever since.

Whatever we wanted to do, we could try and it became part of the story. If it was stupid, it had consequences. But we always got the impression that even some questionable calls from our side of the table just gave more opportunities for playing the game, never a dead end.

I have no exact recollection of the story he had told, only some faint memories, but that's more than I can say from other games I participated in. What I will always carry with me, though, was the impression of a perfect DM. Never saw the guy again...

----------------------------

And thus ends the 30 Day Challenge. I'm glad I went through with it. The questions weren't that good at times and it made me doubt my decision to join at a few occasions. But I've discovered some interesting blogs on the way and all the participants I followed did an excellent job with it.

So I'd have to say, it was fun and I hope some of my contributions were as entertaining as those of the others.

But now for something completely different...

Day 29 - Least favorite question of the bunch... (D&D 30 day Challenge)

So the question was: What is the number you always seem to roll on a d20? And I'm at a loss. I've rolled the d20 many times since we first met 20 years ago. I guess it averaged out at some point. Sure, there were days when I thought nothing goes or the dice favored one character or another. I always roll bad when I'm rolling for myself, but roll like a mean bastard when rolling against my players (not in a bad way, but the dice can be harsh...). And yes, we like to see a pattern in those things. We all do, don't tell me any different. But as a question it is somewhat... uninteresting.

I've written too much words about this as it is.

The last question tomorrow is more promising and than this affair is dealt with.

So as a compensation for the lack of content, I thought I'd treat you with a lecture by Benoit Mandelbrot about complex structures. It has (in my opinion) some relevance to game design and it got me thinking about how simple rules are often able to produce extraordinary complex results. Combat in D&D is an example for that. Well, anyway, enjoy:

Day 28 - Character I'd never play again (D&D 30 Day Challenge)

Sorry, but I'm at a loss with this one*. I regret nothing!

A much more interesting answer to a question no one minds to ask, would be:

The Fungus In Your Cheese Is Having Weird Sex (over at the Smithsonian)

So have fun with that!

*Here are the questions...

Day 27 - A Future Character (D&D 30 Day Challenge)

A character I want to play in the future?

3d6 in a row

Choose class

3d6 x10

Buy Equipment

Enter Dungeon

...

[source]

Day 26 - Favorite Non-Magic Item (D&D 30 Day Challenge)

[HackMaster Edition]

I was there. I've seen the dice fall and destroy huge amounts of digits. A critical hit with a light crossbow. It dealt 68 points of damage that day in the dungeon below the moathouse. Think what a heavy crossbow could do...

Da Vinci did it [source.]

The heavy crossbow is one of my all-time favorites, but especially so in HackMaster. An arrow of a heavy crossbow will deal S 1d8 / M 2d4+1 / L 3d4. The icing on the cake are the rules for exploding dice, though. Normally, rolling the highest possible number on a die will result in an additional roll with the same die and a -1. Roll the highest number again and keep rolling. But there is an expansion of that rule for crossbows. They explode as soon as the second highest number is rolled, which means a whole lot of trouble for large creatures.

One arrow doing 3d4 damage will mean 50% chance per die to create more havoc. Even for the reroll. I mean, this puppy will rip a hole into a giant, his grandfather will feel the punch. It's the heavy crossbow that kept all the civilizations of smaller creatures save from those big evil creatures hiding in the mountains. It's terrifying*.

Even if a character of mine was not proficient with it, he'd carry one of those. Loaded. Hoping that the first roll will be a hit and the first orc/goblin/kobold will be smeared upon the next wall. Just as a first impression. That's why they say "it's worth a shot". And I like an unfair edge in a fight (as a player**).

The heavy crossbow is the single most enjoyable mundane item in D&D HackMaster.

*Try this in regular AD&D at your own risk. Only the 20 hp-kicker makes this work for HackMaster. A system assuming less hp per creature couldn't stand that kind of damage output.

**I don't mean cheating, of course.

Day 25 - Favorite Magic Item (D&D 30 Day Challenge)

I'll stay away from the classics for this one. My favorite magic items are those that manage to establish a personal connection with the characters. Of the top of my head I'd go with the cursed halberd one of my players "created". It nearly made the "craziest moment" in the challenge, but it really was just funny as hell.

It all began with a fumble. The character was a level 1 fighter and they were exploring a cave of mutated goblins. Anyway, he rolled the "1" and at the time we still used the Arduin Fumble Tables. He rolled the d100 and came up with a 99:

Fun fact: The Arduin Grimoire was the first to introduce Critical Hits and Fumbles into D&D (the scan was found here).

He critted himself. With a halberd. Being level 1, he couldn't possibly survive it. And he rolled an immense amount of damage. What made us laugh so hard was the players look and his question: "But... how?!" We ever since try to explain how he'd managed to kill himself with a halberd. As of yet it's inconclusive...

But the weapon kept killing those using it.

I kid you not, the same player lost his next character with the same weapon and another (not so harsh, but it was enough...) fumble. The player didn't have the chance to make a third character (busy life and all that), but they carried it along and finally, another player started to use the weapon and (you're already seeing where this is headed) he killed himself with a fumble!

The weapon was cursed, they were sure of it. Nobody would touch it after that and they left it behind to kill someone else.

Does that count as a magic item? I'd say so and the players sure believed it, superstitious bunch they are.

After that we also stopped using the Arduin Tables.

Day 24 - Favorite Energy Type (D&D 30 Day Challenge)

Green.

I'm totally into renewable energy and all that stuff, you know, against atomic power plants and the waste they produce...

Wait.

A D&D energy type? Ah, well... There are... ? You have to have... ? What the...?!

I'd say, somebody ran out of questions fast. Can't promise this will be the last of my short answers in this challenge (and I really like what some of the others are doing with this, so creative answers are possible), but if I had to answer this, I'd say:

FIRE

Day 23 - Least Favorite Monster (D&D 30 Day Challenge)

Yes, that is a question.

Caught a cold a few days ago, so I'll keep that one short too. I don't care that much for gnomes. There, I said it. They seem like an afterthought. And an unnecessary hybrid between dwarf and hobbit. Never got the appeal.

Day 22 - Favorite Monster Ever (D&D 30 Day Challenge)

So now we are already at question 22 of 30. Favorite Monster Ever. Somehow it's one of the easiest questions for me and the short of it would be:

Humans

Creative evil diversity with a high power curve. No monster in D&D is that powerful, intelligent and versatile without at the same time being the odd man in the crowd. I mean, powerful Monsters disguise themselves as humans to get along.

But cruelty is not bound to level, it's bound to motive. A simple level 1 maid can put a whole lot of social pressure on a group, if she were so inclined. Greed can be a very good motive, too. Just so many possibilities.

And there is not only raw individual power given by the rules and the story, there's also the power of the crowd. Agitated masses will ruin a player's day anytime. Humans are everywhere and if they weren't, they want to be there or have already been there some time ago.

The final reason would be that humans are the one most effective origin of other monsters. The lich, the vampire, a wizards evil aberrations are all but examples how far the influence off humans in a setting may reach. They are my Favorite Monster Ever.

Day 21 - Favorite Dragon (D&D 30 Day Challenge)

Again, a short one. Future questions will be more interesting (and I hope the answers will be, too). I'll go for the red dragon with this one. He's the most classic of them all, breathing fire and whatnot. Sure, some variations are nice every once in a while, but the first dragon a group encounters should be a scary old red one.

This being a really short post, I'll go and give you a link to something worthwhile. This excellent essay about death in computer games and some thoughts about game design. Read it, it's worth the time. And it features this map:

Did I get your attention now? It's awesome!

And here is the essay: Exhausting Gameplay

Enjoy!

Day 20 - Favorite Fey (D&D 30 Day Challenge)

[HackMaster Edition]

The Barbarian Brownies

For this part of the challenge I will (mostly) review some of my favorite HackMaster monster variants. HackMaster 4E did an excellent job in providing all the AD&D monsters a DM could probably need (and then some). We're talking more than 1600 monsters in 8 "Hacklopedia of Beasts" volumes here, with aliases and ideas for the use of special monster parts in addition to a description and the stats. And it's funny.

Here's about the Barbarian Brownies.

The Willow Brownies.

This goes back a while. When I saw the movie Willow for the first time, I didn't care that much for the little guy, but I loved the Fighter and the brave brownies. I was young and didn't know better (didn't see that film for a long time now, but my appreciation for anything George Lucas has been faded for some time now...). But yeah, those guys were fantastic. Fighting and drinking, always at a disadvantage, but not really that aware of it. Perfect.

But it wasn't before I had read the Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett and saw the entry for the Barbarian Brownies (aka Savage Fairies or Pictsies) in the Hacklopedia of Beasts, Vol. 1 that I started to connect the dots. At the time the group was exploring the town Tharp (which some of you might know under the name Hommlet) and I had to breathe some life into the village. The reasonable thing to do was to put a brewery in there. The beer had to come from somewhere (an often neglected fact...).

Rob Anybody, Big Man of the Nac Mac Feegles.

So the local brewery had some problems. Beer was gone missing and some rumors made the rounds that the brewery was cursed (accidents had happened, too). It was a classic plot. It took the players some time to find out that some savage fey had come down from the mountains and discovered the brewery as their holy land (it all became a bit clearer when the characters found a dead drunk blue fairy with red hair and a kilt, of course).

They had a regular occurrence as comic relief after that*. Loved those guys.

As far as stats go, HackMaster was pretty generous to the Barbarian Brownies, they got 2 HD +2, they only eat meat and love a good fight (count as fearless, fear spells don't affect them). They live in barren lands, have to fight for their survival and are quite strong (four Nac Mac Feegles could steal a sheep, each of them grabbing one leg). They save as fighters level 9, love to use traps to get an advantage and do 1d5 damage. If they have 2 rounds time to prepare, they can invoke a berserk rage, dealing 1d6 points of damage for 3 rounds. These small warriors know how to blend with their surroundings (surprise an enemy 9 in 10 times).

They don't like other fairies that much and are an intimidating enemy.

Need to do a character class some time in the future...


*The Nac Mac Feegles speak sort of a Scottish dialect, which is hilarious. Took me half a book to understand what they were saying (not being a native speaker and all that). For our game switched that to Bavarian, which worked just as well.

Day 19 - Favorite Elemental (D&D 30 Day Challenge)

Cutting it really close today (here is still half an hour of the 19th left)... I need to write something else tomorrow (and a favorite fey is easy, so that won't be a problem).

I like all plants, the HackMaster monster varieties idea isn't working that well (just didn't have the time, it was a busy week), so I'll go with the favorite elemental. It's the:

Earth Elemental

They remind me of the troll in the Scandinavian folklore, and that's all I need to know. Behold:

[source]

Day 18 - Favorite Outsider (D&D 30 Day Challenge)

This one is easy and will be very short. I'm way over my posts-per-month ratio by now. And 9 rather uninspired Favorite Monster Questions start to make this a challenge after all. Well, I'll make this short. Favorite Outsider:

Orcus

Check out the Wikipedia page for Orcus.

Or, better yet, listen to some Corvus Corax:

Neo-medieval music with an orchestra and authentic instruments (more information from the Wiki). Enjoy!

Day 17 - Favorite Animal/Vermin (D&D 30 Day Challenge)

[HackMaster Edition]

The Dungeon Anemone

For this part of the challenge I will (mostly) review some of my favorite HackMaster monster variants. HackMaster 4E did an excellent job in providing all the AD&D monsters a DM could probably need (and then some). We're talking more than 1600 monsters in 8 "Hacklopedia of Beasts" volumes here, with aliases and ideas for the use of special monster parts in addition to a description and the stats. And it's funny. Here's about the Dungeon Anemone.

Hacklopedia of Beasts, Vol. 2 (p. 116)

Not much time today, so let's make this a short one. As a DM I like a broader palette of vermin and animals. Monsters in general are a DMs best friend. Anyhow, like I tried with my other entries, I go with the weird and unexpected. Like an anemone floating in dungeons and caverns.

Creatures living in the Underdark or any other underground setting with flora and fauna, really, often resemble things living in the deep sea (or should, anyway). Those beasts don't need to be magical or otherworldly to be strange and dangerous. Also I like the idea of a mushroom forest with these things floating around (to the right...).

Those beasts sure are big. It goes for the heat signature of creatures and is difficult to fool.

Eight tentacles (AC 6), if they hit, they keep strangling the victim. And their touch is toxic, paralyzing a victim (save vs. poison +4 negates). As soon as the prey stops moving, they start pulling them towards their body for digestion (1d6 damage per round).

If hit by a sharp weapon, there is a 20% + damage chance that the gas bladder is hit that keeps the thing afloat. Only full recovery will let it fly again.

I'd add a smaller glowing variant (the original likes to stay in the shadows...). 

Day 16 - Favorite Aberration (D&D 30 Day Challenge)

[Tome of Horrors Edition]

The Gorbel

For this part of the challenge I will (mostly) review some of my favorite HackMaster monster variants. Today, however, has to be an exception. The original Tome of Horrors (by Necromancer Games) was one of the first additional monster books I bought while we still played with the 3E rules. Basically they took many of the creatures WotC didn't care to revive for the 3E and updated them for The Game. It's where I first encountered the Gorbel.

The art makes the monster... (source)

The gorbels are distant relatives to beholders. They made their first appearance in the Fiend Folio in 1981, but would be reduced to a footnote in the AD&D Monstrous Manual and would have vanished if it weren't for the Tome of Horrors. For me they are the right mix between dangerous, funny and weird. Check this very nice entry.

They'll try to eat anything that moves and are very curious, but dumb. The gas they float on smells like rotten eggs. They are immune to blunt weapons (bouncy), but will explode for 1d4 damage (in a 5 foot radius) if hit by anything else. They appear in herds, but are not immune to explosions of their kin (chain reaction occur on a regular basis).

Nice additional information from the Tome of Horrors:

"A gorbel eats, breaths and excretes through an aperture best described as a mouth."

They also give birth through that mouth.As soon as they're attached to their next meal they start to mew like kittens.

What to do with those?

I'd put them anywhere a strong breeze could bring them. They'd need to breed fast. Put a herd of those in a small town and have fun with it. Or a wizard might want some parts of them for his research. Or they block a passage in a dungeon. There are countless possibilities for this weird beastie to ba a nuisance. However, done right, a first encounter with the gorbels could be a fun experience for DM and the players

Day 15 - Favorite Undead (D&D 30 Day Challenge)

[HackMaster Edition]

The Brain-Eating Zombie

For this part of the challenge I will (mostly) review some of my favorite HackMaster monster variants. HackMaster 4E did an excellent job in providing all the AD&D monsters a DM could probably need (and then some). We're talking more than 1600 monsters in 8 "Hacklopedia of Beasts" volumes here, with aliases and ideas for the use of special monster parts in addition to a description and the stats. And it's funny. Here's about the Brain-Eating Zombie.

I like Zombies in general and looking at the list of D&D Zombie variants, I think I'm not alone in this. It's a classic trope and, if done right, a good Zombie scenario never gets old in The Game. I even wrote a Zombie Advancement Table a while back to add to the diversity.

The Brain-Eating Zombie (aka Cranium Cracker) has a special place in my heart, though. Those Zombies are result of the strange emanation of a meteor. They are clever and fast, even able to talk or change strategies, if necessary. But all they really care for is brain. It's a classic setup. Now for the specifics.

2 HD creatures with one attack per round (for 1d8 damage) for 270 xp. First attack is always to grab the victim, every attack after that is a called shot to the head (-6). If bitten, a victim is infected if a save vs. poison is not successful and will become a Brain-Eating Zombie 24 hours later (Cure Disease and Remove Curse heal a victim completely).

It gets better.

They are pretty tough to kill. Only total dismemberment will stop them from attacking and only critical hits might affect the hp. If left for dead (that is: totally dismembered), they will regenerate completely in 2d6 days and come back to hunt down those who hacked them to pieces. Only permanent destruction of the body will avoid that. Burning the corpse will result in very poisonous fumes, killing and infecting everybody within 50 feet if a save vs. poison is not successful. Eating it's flesh will immediately infect the victim.

Normal undead immunities apply and they can't be turned (because of the alien origin...).

What to do with this?

This is a huge little monster. It's not unstoppable, but to find a suitable strategy is not easy either. It's far more classic than your basic D&D zombie. Land that meteor somewhere in your campaign setting and see what happens. Might be worth an Adventure, might change the campaign world. In the end it's an intelligent infection out for your brains. Give them a chance to conquer the world and see how they start breeding humans for brain before they run out.

Now I have to ask myself if a wizards brain tastes different than, say, a barbarians and if dwarfs and elves and some such could be infected. Or, say, not humans become infected but the dwarves have it. The result would be an intelligent dwarf zombie race out for (invent table for what specific brain they'd need, roll appropriate die) brain...

Day 14 - Favorite NPC (D&D 30 Day Challenge)

My favorite NPC got to be the torchbearer. Those poor guys have always to fear for their lives. Most of the time they're treated like some sort of slave with a "sacrifice" option. Some like to call them meat shields or trap-grinders. To be honest, I have killed them too, instead of harming a PC. Who wouldn't?

But is there a braver soul than the torchbearer among the NPCs?

No, there is not. The grit it needs to take a burning stick into dark places, with no backup from the people that hired you, no weapons and possible maiming or even death in the near future, is most admirable.

Love to DM those guys, too.

Here are the questions, here are the others.

D&D 30 Day Challenge - Day 13

Today's Question is:

What's my favorite trap or puzzle?

My favorite traps or puzzles are those that are difficult enough to be a problem for the players while creative and engaging, but without bringing The Game to a standstill. Used a chess game once as a key to open a secret door. The players needed to make the right move and had to interpret a riddle they had found to solve it. I even had brought a chess board with me to visualize the puzzle.

The most fun puzzle I can remember, though, was the painting of a naked lady on a couch. It was hanging in a small closet in a brothel and looked something like this:

Nude Woman by the impressionist Gustave Caillebotte, ca. 1880 (Gallery)

Now, the painting will radiate magic, if someone is looking. Touching it will move the woman. One finger will move the head, two will move the head and one arm, etc.. To move the whole body, a second hand needs to be involved. Moving the dame in the right position (I did go for sleazy, it's a brothel after all) will open something (in our case: a secret door, the pun was intended).

You could go all kinds of directions with this. The picture could show the same room (did in my case) and a variant could be that some compartment is in the picture that isn't in the real room. Only the woman is able to open it. Stuff like that.

It's just fun to watch the players search for the right solution. And it is something that's easy to visualize and everybody can participate. So yeah, could be my favorite puzzle.

Also:

My favorite illustration in the 4E HackMaster Gamemaster's Guide (p. 323),
can't look at it without getting my Evil-DM-Grin (TM). 

So day 13 is dealt with. Let's see what the others are up to...

D&D 30 Day Challenge - Day 12

[Question]

Favorite Dungeon?!

[Fast and easy answer]

Rappan Athuk

The Dungeon of Graves

[Picture]

[Reasoning]

3E just wasn't for me. I'm not hating or opposing it, we just didn't get along. That's it. No hard feelings. As a player, I don't care that much, even liked it on low levels (well, character creation takes it's time, but I see the appeal). And of course it is nice for players to believe they have more control over the game. But it makes a DM's experience of the game a lot more, well, mechanic? Less control, more fiddly parts, rules over rulings, etc.. Preparation sucked or you were to buy products with the work already done.

One of the more fun aspects of 3E was the shitload of third party products. Most of them were crap, to be honest, but there were some pearls among them. I consider Rappan Athuk one of those pearls. It's deadly and mean. Players had to bring their A-game or they'd get eaten alive. It was famous for being the deadliest dungeon crawl for 3E (and one of the deadliest of them all) and really didn't disappoint.

Incidentally it's also one of the few legit published Megadungeons out there. Sure, the OSR produced a few more (and still is), but before that? Castle Greyhawk, (maybe) Tegel Manor and Ruins of Undermountain. That's it. It's one of the best things D&D 3E produced.

Someday I'll revisit that dungeon with a few willing victims players. Maybe with one of the newer versions? We'll see...

[Bonus Material]

Comprehensive list of Megadungeons

Also worth exploring: grodog's Version of Greyhawk Castle