Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Paleo-Future

The way the future was.

http://www.paleofuture.com/

http://paleo-future.blogspot.com/

Sunday, July 15, 2012

More Optional Magic Rules

Optional Magic Rules

As it stands.

Spell are cast as skills, starting with Hard (-1), Very Hard (-2), or Extremely Hard (-3)

Optional rule for offensive spells.

If the caster elects to drop the casting level. the spell effect is +2; the caster elects to cast Magic Missile as Very Hard, "Improved Magic Missile", the missile does + 2 points of damage, to a single target.

The 'repeat performance penalty' is in play. Casting the same spell in the same combat is at one level lower.

The 'wind up bonus' is also in play. If the caster spends a combat round 'winding up' a spell will be cast at one level higher. The caster can not do anything. Not dodge, nor roll saves.

Spells can only be made easier to cast OR do more damage, Push or Bash, not both.

HARD

Cure Light Wounds
The cleric touches one character orcreature (or himself) and heals it of 1 hit point of damage.

Striking
The caster enchants a weapon to deal an extra hit point
of damage or make it +1 to hit ('push or bash'), and makes an otherwise non-magical weapon able to attack a monster normally only affected by weapons of a magical nature.

Locate Object
The caster can sense the direction of a well-known or clearly
visualized object. The caster can search for general items, in
which case the nearest one of its kind is located. Monsters or characters may not be located.

Magic Missile*
A missile of magical energy darts forth from the casters
fingertip and strikes its target, dealing 1 point of
damage. The missile strikes unerringly, even if the target is in
melee combat or has less than total cover or total
concealment.

DAZZLE
causes one man-sized enemy to hesitate.

LUCK
allows you to add your die to another person's roll, before they make it! Can be cast every turn.

MAGIC SHIELD
protects a single person the wizard chooses (including the wizard if she desires) from an amount of damage equal to the subject's Strength.

VERY HARD

LIGHTNING
does 3 points in damage divided as the wizard chooses among targets.

EXTREMELY HARD

FIREBALL does 6 points of damage divided as the wizard chooses among targets.

Sunday, July 8, 2012

Optional Magic Rules

As it stands.

Spell are cast as skills, starting with Hard (-1), Very Hard (-2), or Extremely Hard (-3)

Optional rule for offensive spells.

If the caster elects to drop the casting level. the spell effect is +2; the caster elects to cast Magic Missile as Very Hard, "Improved Magic Missile", the missile does + 2 points of damage, to a single target.

The 'repeat performance penalty' is in play. Casting the same spell in the same combat is at one level lower.

The 'wind up bonus' is also in play. If the caster spends a combat round 'winding up' a spell will be cast at one level higher. The caster can not do anything. Not dodge, nor roll saves.

Spells can only be made easier to cast OR do more damage, Push or Bash, not both.

HARD

CURE LIGHT WOUNDS
The cleric touches one character orcreature (or himself) and heals it of 1 hit point of damage.

STRIKING
The caster enchants a weapon to deal an extra hit point
of damage or make it +1 to hit ('push or bash'), and makes an otherwise non-magical weapon able to attack a monster normally only affected by weapons of a magical nature.

LOCATE OBJECT
The caster can sense the direction of a well-known or clearly
visualized object. The caster can search for general items, in
which case the nearest one of its kind is located. Monsters or characters may not be located.

MAGIC MISSILE
A missile of magical energy darts forth from the casters
fingertip and strikes its target, dealing 1 point of
damage. The missile strikes unerringly, even if the target is in
melee combat or has less than total cover or total
concealment.

DAZZLE
causes one man-sized enemy to hesitate.

LUCK
allows you to add your die to another person's roll, before they make it! Can be cast every turn.

MAGIC SHIELD
protects a single person the wizard chooses (including the wizard if she desires) from an amount of damage equal to the subject's Strength.

VERY HARD

LIGHTNING
does 3 points in damage divided as the wizard chooses among targets.

EXTREMELY HARD

FIREBALL does 6 points of damage divided as the wizard chooses among targets.

Sunday, July 1, 2012

Role vs Roll....

Just a though.

The only problem with minimalist games is that the players have to bring more game to the table to fill in the gaps.

Not everyone is up to that.

SKETCH / Labyrinth Lord Magic

Been thinking about magic, D6 we used an 'open book' system, fist level spells had a 'Difficult' base level. Difficulty levels moved up and down depending on several factors, Snap Shot or Repeat Performance would move the difficulty up; Extra Casting Time or Purely Defensive would move it down.

Maybe a point buy system for a spell by spell list.

I may go with a variation of the Dungeon Squad! Spell List

(yes, only six; but they get the job done)

DAZZLE causes one man-sized enemy to hesitate for every 2 points rolled. Bigger creatures require 4 points; smaller ones, 1! Victims cannot take any action for a turn when they are dazzled. Can be cast once per battle.

FIREBALL does triple its die in damage but can only be used once per adventure! Roll the Fireball's die, then multiply the result by three. Anyone near the target takes the straight, pre-multiplication Fireball die in damage as well - a powerful spell!

HEALING restores its die in hit points to the person the wizard chooses. This spell can be cast once per battle, and can only assist one person.

LIGHTNING does its die in damage divided as the wizard chooses among targets. Can be cast every turn.

LUCK allows you to add your die to another person's roll, before they make it! Or reduce an opponents roll by the same amount, before they make it. Can be cast every turn.

MAGIC SHIELD protects a single person the wizard chooses (including the wizard if she desires) from its die in damage, which is chipped away until it is gone. Can be cast once per battle

SKETCH / Labyrinth Lord basic mechanics.

Farsight Games is having downloading problems. To get a copy of SKETCH you can email Jonathan Hicks on the contact page
http://www.farsightgames.moonfruit.com/#/about-us/4530546241

or go to his blog.
http://www.farsightblogger.blogspot.com/


SKETCH uses two rolls: Skill Rolls and Opposed Rolls.

When a character attempts a task, they roll against their appropriate skill set.

"The Skills Golden Rule is: Rolls of natural 6 are always a failure; rolls of
natural 1 are always a success."

Tasks can be modified:

Difficulty Change Skill Level By:
Very easy +3
Easy +2
Normal 0
Hard -1
Very Hard -2
Extremely Hard -3

Opposed Rolls are when two PCs or NPCs are in direct contest, Each rolls a D6 then adds the skill level to the roll.

Missile and magic attacks are Task Rolls.

Melee is an Opposed Roll.

SKETCH / Labyrinth Lord

Started a SKETCH dungeon crawl at The Playground.

First thing, the six attributes are skills sets as well. You choose '1' through '6' for each attribute. Higher is better, the mechanic is to roll one D6, success if the roll is equal to or lower than.

Bear in mind

=<6
6 - 100%
5 - 83%
4 - 66%
3 - 50%
2 - 33%
1 - 17%


Demi-human restrictions:

Dwarves - Dex maxes out at 4

Elves - Con maxes out at 4

Haflings - Str maxes out at 4

Note: all rules are subject to well reasoned haggling.

Thorin (my traditional dwarf door kicker)

Strength (in SKETCH is HPs) 5

Str - 6

Melee combat, kicking in doors, lifting and throwing heavy things, ...

Con - 5

Save vs damage, save vs poison, ....

Int - 4

Perception, reasoning, remembering obscure facts, ...

Dex - 3

Ranged combat, getting out of the way, throwing not so heavy things....

Wis - 2

Guessing, calling on higher powers, ....

Chr - 1

Meeting and greeting people, knowing your way around a city or town...

Reasonable gear is assumed. I'm still debating a point buy for bonus gear.

Dwarves speak goblin, gnome, and kobold.

Stone Sense replaces infravision, but dwarves can still "detect traps, false walls, hidden construction, or notice if passages are sloped."

Friday, April 13, 2012

SKETCH Zombie Apocalypse Skills

SKETCH Zombie Apocalypse Skills. also good for Attack of the Giant Atomic Mutant Movie Monster

'adapted' from Evil Dead D6.

Jock Skills:
Getting Out of the Way
Riding Big Hairy Beasts
Burnin' Rubber
Tough Guy

Hurting Stuff:
Hurting Stuff with Your Bare Hands
Stabbing, Slashing and Bludgeoning
Shooting Stuff

Schoolin':
Science 101
Blowing Stuff Up
How Not to Die in the Wild
Medicine

Nerd Skills:
Fixing Stuff
Scrounge
Stopping the Bleeding
Paying Attention

People Skills:
Barkin' Orders
Stubborn Jackass
Talkin' Pretty

Lying, Mooching and Cheatin':
Cheap Bastard
Sneaky
Thieving

Sunday, April 1, 2012

Dervish Skill List.



I looted the Microlite D20 Psionic skills for Dervish skills.

I figure the character has to be a Sufi first, then buy Really Unusual Background or Esoteric Knowledge, then buy skills.

Burst Move twice as fast for one round.
Catfall Instantly save yourself from a fall. Lessens damage of fall
by 10ft/level.
Chameleon Gain +10 bonus on Subterfuge rolls that involve hiding.
Claws of the Beast Your hands become deadly claws doing 1d6 damage.
Grip of Iron Your iron grip gives +4 bonus to hit in unarmed combat and
hold on to objects.
Inertial Armour +4 bonus to AC.
Metaphysical Claw Your natural weapon gains +1 bonus.
Thicken Skin Gain +1 to AC for 10 min./level. This is cumulative to other
powers.
Vigour Gain 5 temporary hit points.
Body Adjustment Heal 1d12 damage.
Body Equilibrium You can walk on nonsolid surfaces, Uncanny Agility.
Body Purification Restore 2 points of ability damage.
Painful Strike Your natural weapons deal an extra 1d4 damage.
Wall Walker Grants ability to walk on walls and ceilings.
Keen Edge, Psionic Doubles normal weapon's threat range.
Immovability You are almost impossible to move and gain DR 15/–.
Inertial Barrier Gain DR 5/–.
Oak Body Your body becomes as hard as oak.
Suspend Life Put yourself in a state akin to suspended animation.
Iron Body, Psionic Your body becomes living iron.

The Back Burner....

I'm putting Risus on the Back Burner for now, right next to Fudge.

I like the use of Careers in Barbarians of Lemuria, similarly we used Skill Blocks in Qwik-Six, but Careers is broader in context.

Picking through the Perks in Jags

And have been looting a massive Microlite 20 freebie for ideas and psionics skills for the Sufi and Dervish careers.
Retroroleplaying.com

Sufi Skill List.



I looted the Microlite D20 Psionic skills for Sufi skills.
http://blog.retroroleplaying.com/2012/02/microlite20-rpg-collection-2012-edition.html

I figure the character has to take an Unusual Background or Arcane Knowledge perk, then buy skills.

Astral Traveller - Enable yourself or another to join an astral caravan-enabled
trip.
Call to Mind - Gain +4 bonus to a Knowledge skill check.
Create Sound - Create the sound you desire.
Daze, Psionic - Humanoid creature of 4 HD or less loses next action.
Demoralize - Enemies become shaken.
Mind Sight - Gain low-light vision, +2 bonus to search for items and
notice secret doors.
Far Hand - Move small objects at a limited distance.
Know Direction and Location - You discover where you are and what direction you face.
Missive - Send a one-way telepathic message to subject.
Sense Link - You sense what the subject senses (single sense).
Animal Affinity - Gain +4 enhancement to one ability.
Control Sound - Create very specific sounds.
Darkvision, Psionic - See 60 ft. in total darkness.
Detect Hostile Intent - You can detect hostile creatures within 30 ft. of you.
Psionic Scent - Gain the scent ability (like a dog).
Tongues, Psionic - You can communicate with intelligent creatures.
Danger Sense - Gain +4 bonus against traps.
Darkvision, Psionic - See 60 ft. in total darkness.
Escape Detection - You become difficult to detect with clairsentience
powers.
Touchsight - Your telekinetic field tells you where everything is.
Aura Sight - Reveals creatures, objects, powers, or spells
Detect Remote Viewing - You know when others spy on you remotely
True Seeing, Psionic - See all things as they really are.
Mind Blank, Personal - You are immune to scrying and mental effects.
Remote View Trap - Deal 8d6 points electricity damage to those who seek to
view you at a distance.
Mind Blank, Personal - You are immune to scrying and mental effects.

Sunday, March 18, 2012

Back to Arabia

Been reconsidering Nationality Templates as in the Conan RPG.

Persian

Arab

Berber

Frankish

Greek

I like the use of Careers in Barbarians of Lemuria, similarly we used Skill Blocks in Qwik-Six, but Careers is broader in context.

Picking through the Perks in Jags
http://www.jagsrpg.org/

And have been looting a massive Microlite 20 freebie for ideas and psionics skills for the Sufi and Dervish careers.
http://blog.retroroleplaying.com/2012/02/microlite20-rpg-collection-2012-edition.html

Thursday, February 23, 2012

From Dragon's Foot

Opening remarks and mission statement.

The Nights are, in tone an temperament, more supernatural pulp than high fantasy. I don't want to run an Arabian Nights game; I want to adventure in the Arabian Nights universe - more the Golden Voyage of Sinbad than The Thief of Bagdad.

Back on topic.

For Mini Six there should be two levels of Perks in Magic Knowledge.

First level is "has some knowledge of". Usually the daughter of a cobbler or butcher "has some knowledge of" enchantments and can recognize a man who has been turned into a monkey and may know how to break the enchantment. Maybe even make reasonably useful charms.

The second level is "higher education". The can make explosives, acids, golems; can summon and bind jinn and demons; and make really useful charms.

You shouldn't have to buy separate Perks for Summoning, Alchemy, and Kabalism; but the skill for each has to be bought separately.

Looting D20 Microlite, again.

Massive freebie at RetroRolePlaying


more Steampunk......

Stargate 1895


The Steampunk supplement for Dice Chucker is way cool.

Thursday, February 9, 2012

Getting a handle on Scribblar.

I'm getting a handle on Scribblar.

http://www.scribblar.com/

Great for pbp games.

Maps can be saved, and switched between Scribblar and Windows Paint. The trick is to layer the maps, the immovable stuff can be set as background on the whiteboard. One hitch has me puzzled. The whiteboard will expand to meet the needs of an active drawing, but working on a map with Paint, then uploading it, if the map is big, Scribblar will only set part of it as background. So far it is the whiteboard with the least hassles.

Design Notes for Highway from Hell.

I didn't write an adventure, I have a central idea and have created, so far, five One Page Adventures, more or less connected.

While working on an unrelated zombie apocalypse game with a friend, we came across some footage of the Hurricane Rita evacuation traffic jam, possibly the worst traffic jam in American history.

My first though was :"Wow what a place to get jumped by a zombie horde."

Perfect. A cramped metal maze to kill zombies, loot cars, and set fires.

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

I don't like to blog about current games, but when the game is over why bother to post anything?

The Mini Six / SKETCH Zombie Apocalypse game is winding down, three of us are in it and Eric's D20 Resident Evil game and when the SKETCH game took a R/E turn we decided to finish the current mission then have Ric join the D20 game.

I'm still hoping to to something with Mini Six; I've found a lot of nostalgia, but not much love, for D6. The collapse is my own fault, I make a stupid rule - "a character can take combat at 6 only if they are active military or SWAT. I was hoping for a more Joe Average game - but everyone was suddenly part of a well trained SWAT team.

Co-Op games can be a real pain in the ass.