New Race: Atlantean

Anyone who has been keeping track and downloaded my Campaign Player's Handbook (houserules for my Swords & Wizardry campaign) will remember that there were a couple of holes yet to be filled; namely the Atlantean and Stygian race descriptions.

Mike (MilkManX and one of my players) had some ideas for these races so we sat down and worked out the Atlantian and the Stygian (with obvious nods to REH) the later of which is still being worked on a bit, mostly how spellcasting is handled by the race. I'll post that one as well as we finalize the details.


Race: Atlantean
Atlanteans are a very ancient race decedent from a pre-cataclysmic age. Their numbers are few as their race dwindles though they have retained their high culture through the ages. They are quick to anger and can be quite barbaric in their savagery and have a strong distrust of magic and the supernatural.

Class: Only Fighter, Thief or in some instances Druid (see below)
Prime Attribute: Depends on Class
Hit Dice: Fighter D8+1, Thief D6+1, Druid D6
Armor/Shield Permitted: Per class but cannot wear Plate Mail as a Fighter
Weapons Permitted: Any per class
Alignment: Neutral or Chaotic (preferred)

Attribute Adjustments
Atlanteans gain a +1 to Strength and a+1 to Dexterity and a -1 to Intelligence and -1 to Charisma.

Save Bonus
Atlanteans gain a +1 against to save against cast spells of a sorcerous nature.

Class Restrictions
Atlanteans can be either Fighters or Thieves. On occasion (25% chance for PC class) they may be a Druid which this race calls a Shaman. They do not gain any experience bonus for any class.

Class Bonus
Atlanteans are skilled in stealth and tracking. Atlantean fighters can Hide In Shadows and Move Silently as per the Thief class two levels below their current level. An Atlantean Thief gains a +1 to both Move Silently and Hide In Shadows but a -1 to pick locks and disarm traps. They can track as per the Ranger class with a -2 on the die roll (D20)

Alertness
Like Rangers, Atlanteans reduce their chance of being surprised by half.

Limited Wealth
Atlanteans may only own what they can carry with them, spending the rest on wine and women.

Session XVII: Out Into The Wilderness

Returning to the Cloven Hoof tavern, our party attempted to recover from their earlier altercation with The Brotherhood of the Black Hand, with Gnarly being quite bloody and Vinny's pride damaged more than anything.

Again they ran into Onyx the old blind wizard who was once the occupant of the ruined tower outside of town. Onyx learns from Vinny and Geedle that Zenopus is now a vampire.

"Indeed, she has mastered the dark arts more than I imagined!" says the old man who then offers his help if the party can recover the Eye of Zenopus, an all seeing stone that can help in returning the old man's site.

But the party has other concerns at the moment. Fearful of reprisal from the Brotherhood, most of the party followed Gnarly outside of the city and into the woods to conceal themselves - all except Wolfheir who stayed at the Cloven Hoof with one of his many chosen 'ladies of the night'.

Out in the woods, after the first watch, Adara had her first dream….

In it, she was standing in a blackened and burnt plain. Thousands of bloodied bodies are strewn about, the remains of a fierce battle. Adara walked among the smoldering and bloodied bodies and there was a sense of great evil and oppression. In the distance she noticed a line of rocky hills. Suddenly she saw, floating above, an image of a face covered in a black iron helm. The eyes glowed a fierce red. The mouth opened and she was engulfed in darkness...

The Exploits of Wolfheir the Barbarian

In the early moments before dawn, a pleasantly restful however alert Wolfheir lying with his woman heard the heavy boots of armored men outside his door. As a naked Wolf leaped up out of bed, the three city guardsmen entered the room with swords drawn and ask the Viking to come with them. Wolf, not trusting a sword pointed at his face grabed a chair and tossed it through the window. As the Viking makes a run for it the guards closed in trying to subdue Wolf. Wolf beat off his attackers and leaped through the second story window, grabbed onto the roof and pulled himself up. Hearing other shouts of city guards from the street below Wolf looks down and saw one of his attackers looking up through the window and alerting his soldiers in arms.

Realizing he has left his Axe, gear and all his armor behind, Wolf decided to flip back into the window to retrieve his items. Naked, the Viking again grabbed the edge of the roof and swung back through the window knocking the guard back into the other two. Picking up the guards sword he fought his way through the remaining two. The two other guards, however, again tried to subdue the wild Viking and disarm him. With both arms restrained, Wolf brought the two heads of the guards together and tossed them out the window.

Hearing more heavy footsteps coming up the stairs outside his room, Wolf quickly gathered his possessions, tossed them up to the roof and again climbed out the window flipping himself up to the rooftop. Wolfheir climbed down the other side into the stables meeting Jack the stable boy. The Viking tosses some gold coins at the boy, mounts a white horse and leaps the gate. The naked Wolfheir bare-backs it through the early morning cobbled streets of Caladan and out through the south gate and up the road towards the woods and his companions.

On the road ahead he saw a contingent of mounted guardsmen heading towards the forest. Wolf steered his horse into the woods and donned his armor…

In the early hours of morning, Tibag heard the approach of heavy footsteps in the woods coming from the road. Alerting his companions they draw their weapons and prepare their defenses, Gnarly's mushroom men included. Out of the woods come a large number of Caladan City Guard. The guards ask them to come with them for audience with Lord Osric. Slick Vinny casts a spell and enchants the guard leader who reveals that the party is not in any danger from the guards and only were asked to escort the party back to the Merchant Guild. The guards departed without incident.

Meeting with Lord Osric the party found that Osric is concerned for their safety after their altercation with the Brotherhood of the Black Hand. Osric doesn't want any more blood shed in his city and doesn't want to cause a stir with the Brotherhood. He asked the party to leave town at once for their own protection as the Brotherhood will surely be out for revenge. Osric said that he is risking his own life by helping the adventurers as the Brotherhood is a very 'influential' organization and that this would be in payment for the rescue of his daughter those many months ago.

Vinny and Gedleesmote bargain with the Lord who offers them a weeks worth of rations. They also ask him to give word to Father Halford of the Temple of Mithra to get in touch with them in the woods outside of town for they will use this as an opportunity to quest for the Crimson Skull of Yam-Gregak.

The party is escorted outside of Caladan and they regroup in the woods planning their next move and awaiting Halford. The Priests of Mithra arrive and healing the party give them the requested healing potions for their quest. One of the priests, Nardrak, joins the party to aid them in the recovery of the Crimson Skull. They spend another night in the woods.

Adara had her second dream….

Again Adara was standing on a plain. There was a line of rocky hills in the distance. Around her a fierce battle was taking place. The screams of the dying filled her ears and the stench of death was all around. She looked down as blood washed over her bare feet. Looking up she saw a fierce warrior, armored in black astride a black horse with hooves aflame. The armored figure turned towards her, it's eyes aglow with a fierce red and in it's hand a bloody mace. Suddenly, everything around her faded into a grey mist except the red eyes which were now upon the center of a black metal disk around which was red flame. The flaming disk with the red eyes flew towards her with a horrid scream…..

In the morning the party began their journey to Harrowood. Traveling around the outskirts of Caladan they headed north along the Great Coast Road and turned off into the hills northwest of town. It was in the hill where they made their camp for the night, the sound of the River Blackmoor in the distance and the edge of Harrowood before them.

On Geedlee's watch, he saw beyond the river a fiery red glow. Dragons perhaps or Fumark the Foul? The dwarf was not sure as the glow died away.

This night Adara had her third dream….

Adara was standing in complete darkness. She felt a great sense of loneliness. In the far distance she saw a slight red glow. As the Ranger approached she saw that was walking through a great stone hall with a number of cave like openings on either side. The red glow was coming from a pair of evil eyes. They were in the center of a black iron shield with blades along the edge that appeared as flame. The shield was atop a stand on a small alter. There was a robed man with his back towards Adara She reached out to touch him. He suddenly turned around. He had no eyes! He screamed and his screams echoed into the caves. Adara felt impedding doom coming from the caves. Darkness enveloped her and death was all around. Suddenly a golden light burst through the darkness and there stood a beautiful woman warrior with golden flowing hair. Darkness dissolved away and Adara had a feeling of peace and strength. The woman bent towards the Ranger and whispered in her ear one word…"Seek."

In the morning there was some debate about whether to seek out the source of the flames or continue on towards the ruined temple and the Crimson Skull. The Crimson Skull won out and the party entered Harrowood. Exploring the woods they were unable to locate the ruined temple. They set up camp that evening in the woods, setting up a defensive perimeter of punji sticks.

Late into the night Gedleesmote heard the footfalls of a group of humanoid beasts that surround the camp. Alerting his companions they prepared to defend themselves. A lit torched tossed into the woods reveals a pack of wild primitive Beast-men that rush to attack. Alas, the battle is short as the most of the Beast-men are taken out with ranged weapons, Mushroom-men and their own awkwardness.

In the morning Adara and Tibag followed the trail of the Beast-men which lead to their lair. Inside Tibag finds some treasures and.... a map!

DM Comments:
Wolfheir's wild brawl in his tavern room was a highpoint in the session. That was all the player Mike. He just decided to do some of this wild swinging in and out of the window and it worked. No rolls were fudged in this process. Mike made every roll. When he had to roll high, he did when he had to roll low he did. We're not using skills so most of the rolls were based on Dexterity or Strength and I think maybe a save or two. And one point he actually rolled a 20 when needing a high number and the next roll needed low and rolled a 1. Mike's rolls were on fire and it made for a very exciting time. I use the wrestling and hand-to-hand rules from Basic Fantasy RPG.

DM dice rolls, however, sucked. The NPCs were tripping over each other, monsters falling into the fire pit (beastmen), wilderness encounters just not happening. Oh well, that's the randomness of the game.

I wrote Adara's dreams during the week and planned to give them to her each game night. The dreams were meant to be somewhat cryptic for the players to figure out but will have meaning in upcoming sessions having to do with Adara's request of the gods to aid her in overcoming a nasty night of binging.

Usually when I start a session I come up with a general starting event based on the previous sessions to move the 'story' forward. The story, of course, is just a connection of the character's past events. In this case, with the player's antagonistic behavior with the hornet's nest which is the Brotherhood of the Black Hand, repercussions were going to be felt. Up until game time I hadn't decided whether the party would be attacked by the Black Hand or Lord Osric would get them out of town. The player's actions decided it for me and I went with Osric hearing about the violence in the West End and aiding the PCs as repayment for rescuing his daughter. Of course, the Black Hand is not going to soon forget either of these events, thus more plot points with which to play with. There was some talk among the players of just going after the Brotherhood but, sensibly, they decided to take Osric's advice.

Which brings me to Plot Points. You'll notice in my recent session recaps I've been linking back to the beginnings of plot points that come up during the session. Some points were created by me to add additional hooks for the players to grab on to. Other were created by the players themselves based on their actions. It seems like there's quite a bit going on and there is. But use these back references to illustrate the fact the actions have reactions in the game world and reinforce that with the players. I think they're just starting to feel the weight of their actions within the world. That's a good thing.

Backstab With +4 To Hit

D&D is not only about fighting monsters, sometimes you end up fighting your fellow race of baddies. No magic, no claws - claws - bite, no big bad boss, just shield, sword and axe with some fellow revelers that you somehow wronged in the tavern the night before. I hope this guys go more than one hit die!

DM As Participant At The Table: Improvisation

As fun as it is running a session as a DM/GM there is one major difference than that of a player; players have no idea what is around the next corner, what might happen next or who they might run into. Each moment of the game is a potential surprise and therefore creates an expectant excitement (hopefully) for each player around the table. The DM on the other-hand, has knowledge of most every aspect of dungeon, city, wilderness, etc. which means there is less chance for surprise or expectant excitement. The DM's surprises and excitement come from the players themselves.

A DM always participates in the game, the question to ask is if his/her participation is more in preparation for the session or is his/her participation more at the table itself. The DM as a more reactionary referee managing preplanned events at the table can be an comfortable trap to fall into thus becoming a more passive participant at the table. But the real fun and participation begins when the DM has no idea (just like the players) what may happen next.

It's a challenge for a DM, especially beginners, to not have a tight guide or plan for the session not that there's anything wrong with that either. One doesn't want to give their players a dull game or be looking up rules or descriptions so there is, indeed, some preparation required. And it is a bit of a safety net to have a more controlled environment with which to manipulate the players and session. And that's enough of a challenge for any DM's especially beginning DM's to run with.

But there comes a time when the training wheels come off and, as a DM, you jump into the deep-end, sometimes willingly and sometimes unwillingly with plenty of apprehension and fear. It is inevitable that your players will turn down that passage they were not meant to turn down, decide to explore that guild-house instead of the dungeon that you slaved over during the past week, or just trek off into the wilderness.

Instead of saying 'um, you can't go there', I suggest that you just let them go there. Take that plunge into the Deep End!

Those are the times when your players take you as DM into unexpected territory, unplanned events, unmapped locations. As stressful, scary and uncontrolled as that may sound, that is when the DM becomes full participant in the game. Acting and reacting with the players at the table who are also on their toes acting and reacting to the situations you throw at them. You are actively in the moment coming up with the maps, encounters, and events and treasures to toss at your players. You, as DM, become just as surprised at what might happen next as do the players. You become a full participant in the game. And that is what the game (at least classic, rules-lite versions of the game) was designed for.

Some of our best and most memorable sessions for many of the players and for me as DM were the ones where they took me in an unexpected direction. In a sandbox style campaign I do have to have some things prepared, but things are more prepared as potentialities then solid concrete events. These potentialities need to be flexible enough to change on a dime if they are even used at all. And believe me, if you open up the game to your players, they will bust that thing wide open. My players have opened up so many plot-points that the running joke is that their party seems to have ADD as they can never seem to finish something they started. It's not their fault as players or mine as DM. It's just the way the game rolled. Just the way the dice rolled. Just the way fate rolled. And in a sense, it's more true to the chaos of life and herein lies the beauty; The Chaos of the Game.

My game prep has become less and less as the sessions have become more and more fun. It helps to have great players, which I'm so lucky to have and a good collection of resources to fall back on.

So for you DMs out there apprehensive at taking that step off into the deep end. Close your eyes and take that plunge. The worst that can happen is that you get a little water up your nose. The best? One hell of a good time!


Some hints and suggestions when the unexpected happens:

1. Listen to your players. Often times they will mention their expectations of what might be beyond that next door or around that next corner or what they might want to accomplish. Why disappoint them? Let your players do the work for you.

2. Random charts. A must have. Make them yourself or better yet download some from the interwebs or copy some from magazines such as Fight On! or Knockspell. Many of the D&D blogs have posted custom charts for everything from general encounters to what might happened if your PCs carouse too much after an adventure. Many of these random results create events that almost write themselves and can lead to situations that can end up lasting sessions or be picked up on at a later date! Pick and choose the ones that you think may be useful to you. Sometimes the weirder the better. Remember that every action by the players should have a reaction in the game world. Collect these charts and tables into a binder for quick reference at the table.

Check out these links for some great charts:
Age Of Fable
Old School Encounter Reference
Random Chart Madness with Jeff Rients
City Encounters

3. Get comfortable with winging things if you have to. Your players have no idea what you have prepared and what you make up on the spot. It will all appear seamless to them. Trust in that. Use table talk to your advantage and use that time to write some notes, draw some quick maps or create an encounter.

4. If you screw up a rule or don't have the stats in front of you, just use your best judgment and make it up. Sometimes a mistake behind the screen can leave the players with a mystery that may keep them wondering and guessing. Remember, listen to what they are saying it could spark a new idea for you.

5. Names! Coming up with NPC names on the fly can be a challenge for some DMs. It's one of my huge weaknesses, in fact it's become a joke at the table. Create a list yourself when you have the time and have a few names ready to go and attached to your screen (if you use one). There's a great fantasy name generator app if you have an iPod. I prefer not to use electronics at the table but any tool that helps you with this process is an asset.

If any other readers have suggestions, methods, ideas please feel free to post them here.

Random Generation Online Goodness

I ran across this random dungeon generator possibly through another blog but the name now escapes me. It's not only a dungeon generator but world generator, name generator, magic items, encounters, ship names just all kinds of stuff randomly created. A great source for some quick inspiration.

Check out donjon; RPG Tools

First Friday: Captain Future

Today's First Friday brings us Captain Future: Wizard of Science from the early 1940's.



Reared by his guardians — a living Brain, Grag the robot and Otho the android — after his parents are murdered, Curtis Newton assumed the name Captain Future to battle the evil foes who would threaten the security of the Solar System, circa 2015.

2015! Just three short years after the coming 'End of the Mayan calendar' 2012! Wow, the future has never seemed so close!

And as a special July Friday bonus Frank Frazetta's interpretation of Captain Future and his posse.

Campaign Players Handbook

When I started my Swords & Wizardry campaign last year, I had gathered together some house-rules, random charts and altered the general S&W core rules to create the fantasy game that I wanted to run.

Nothing ground-breaking there, as most every GM does a little bit of tweaking to make the game flow the way they want to.

I thought S&W had the most open ended foundation with which to start this process. I threw in some elements from classic Holmes, Basic Fantasy RPG, Labyrinth Lord, Knockspell and Fight On! and things I've read from so many of the great blogs and forums. The great thing about the OSR movement (is it still being called that?) is that there is so much of this stuff available to pick and choose from.

Like I've said before, I'm not one to world and rule-build from scratch. That's not where my strengths lie in gaming. I've used a process of 'found art' to create my campaign world. Of course, I started with a map 'cause I do enjoy that part of the process (really who doesn't?). I ended up using descriptions of a Holmes campaign world that Doc over at the OD&D Discussion forums put together altering it for my needs (thanks Doc!). I used this just as a background to give the 'world' some depth and it's much better than what I could have created. From there I focused on one small portion of the land, adding details, cities and towns and, of course, treasure filled dungeons, in a very broad-stroke of course. I add to it as needed as my players, in this sandbox world, branch-out every so slowly.

I wanted things to be more tough and pulpy for the characters but plenty of fantasy has crept into the sessions as well. One of the players, Mike (a huge REH fan) said that there was a good balance between pulp and fantasy in our campaign. Well, I'll take that as a success.

So I had all these little rules, maps, descriptions etc. floating around, and I put it all together into a booklet for my players - a Players Handbook of the campaign so to speak. It's been a great resource for the players and for me to keep track of what been added or removed in our 'rules'. We've updated the booklet already with rule tweaks and additions. I say 'we' because I feel that the players should have some say in the rules of the campaign. I mean, they are 'writing' a good portion of their adventures.

So here is the most current version of the Players Handbook / House Rules of our campaign. As you will see its still (and always will be) a work in progress and there are still some TBD sections such as the race descriptions for Stygians and Atlanteans (I'm still figuring those out so if anyone has any ideas or can point me in the direction of a good source…)

Download Swords & Wizardry House Rules Player's Handbook