Tag: #fantasyttrpg

Three Alternatives to Dungeons & Dragons.

The nice thing about all of the games listed is that there is wide open ground for GMs to convert or create fantasy game settings all their own. The systems are all user friendly and players can roll with whatever they imagine their characters to be. All three are just as easy to learn if not easier than D&D.

I felt this might be a good time to discuss some Non-D&D games.

FATE

FATE. from Evil Hat Productions. This game has a lot going for it and cool artwork. If you love the roleplaying element of D&D, then this is probably a good system for you.

It’s easy to learn, easy to run and has cool dice. Honestly, any D6 can work, but their plus, minus, and blank dice are pretty cool. It’s another rules lite game where you can go as in depth or as vague as you’d like. I love it for its simplicity and adaptability as a writer and as a GM.

There is no officially published fantasy realm for this game (as far as I know,) but with little effort, a plucky GM could probably cook one up in a short amount of time. If nothing else, it would be easy to port characters, spells, items, and so on over to FATE from another game.

Cypher

Cypher by Monte Cook Games. Let me preface this mini-review by saying I’ve sold these guys short for years now. (Sorry MCG family. I kinda owe you one.) Originally, many moons ago, I game up on Cypher and recently one of the staffers at Monte Cook mentioned it on Twitter. I dug my copy out, went over it again, and I honestly have no idea why I disliked it now?

*Also, if you visit the Monte Cook Games website, please look around at some of their other work. They make a lot of great games and supplements for 5E. Some of the staff at MCG are gaming royalty having worked in the RPG industry for decades. They also have a really spiffy social media presence.

The system for Cypher will seem intuitive for most players if they are familiar with D&D or other D20 based games. Roll 1d20, add modifiers, and celebrate (or cry.) The Skill system will also look pretty familiar, so might Effort. Then the system takes a diversion from what one might expect.

Cypher is conceptually deep in places. Character generation is more like FATE in that it is based on what you prefer the character does and how well. There are really no hard and fast classes. Also, cyphers are spells, powers, unusual talents, and other abilities above and beyond the normal.

One of the most appealing features for me is that the GM never has to roll dice. Player rolls to attack vs monster’s defense. Monsters (controlled by the GM) cause players to make a defense roll. The GM never has to pick up the dice, leaving them free to come up with cool characters, plots, and control the flow of the action.

Cypher as a system is derived from the acclaimed RPG, Numenera. While Numenera isn’t really what I’d call a true medieval fantasy game, it does have a lot of neat sci-fi and fantasy elements being set in the far future. It’s a well-loved, expanded, fleshed out RPG that sci-fi and fantasy gamers alike can enjoy. There’s also a Community Content page on DrivethruRPG for those who wish to sell Cypher and Numenera content of their own.

Cypher is a core ruleset, much like FATE, Powered by the Apocalypse, Open Legends, or Cortex. As far as I’m aware there’s no official fantasy setting yet, but with the Community Creator program, there very easily could be one in the future. I’ve got a much more in depth article covering Cypher coming at a later time. Thanks Monte Cook Games for producing a real winner.

Open Legends.

Open Legend by Brian Feister and Ish Stabosz. Like FUDGE, this game is community based and basically FREE. It’s another generic system that does fantasy extremely well. You can certainly emulate other genres with it, as shown in the core book. Mixing genres is easy and practically encouraged.

I was attracted to this game because of its, well, openness. If you want to create your own sourcebook for it, they encourage it! Just make sure credit is given where due. It takes the idea of Open Game Licensing to a new level.

Again, it’s a fairly rules lite, easy to learn game. If you can master D&D 5E, Open Legends is easy and fun to pick up. It’s got the wholesomeness of Essence20 and similar games going for it. Roll 1d20+other dice vs Target Number. The spells and equipment are a bit more fluid in this system. It really does look like what a generic set of core rules should look like.

The nice thing about all of the games listed is that there is wide open ground for GMs to convert or create fantasy game settings all their own. The systems are all user friendly and players can roll with whatever they imagine their characters to be. All three are just as easy to learn if not easier than D&D.

Thank you for stopping in. More to come. Game on.

Warm Handaxe.

The axe also comes with a bit of personality. First, it has been known to cause random items to burst into flames. It will allow itself to be left outside of libraries, manor houses, and art galleries.

The pyroclastic origins of this item are the subject of much speculation in taverns where adventurers gather.

For use with Dungeon Crawl Classics and similar D20 system RPGs.

This Fiery Handaxe is often the bane of forests and wooden buildings. Its very presence in an area of dry wood or grass could be the start of conflagration. The axe is tame as long as it remains in its special sheath. However, in the hands of a bonded (attuned) user, it is capable of defeating large numbers of enemies in a single fight.

This +1, (+3 vs Corporeal Undead and Trolls) Hand/Throwing Axe deals an extra 1d4 Fire damage on a successful hit. A successful hit will ignite the target for 1d4 Fire damage per turn for 1d3 turns unless extinguished. It also has a 15% chance to ignite nearby flammable objects on contact.

When not in use, the owner may speak a command word to put the axe out so it may be stored. When lifted from its sheath, another command word ignites it again.

The axe has four minor powers that it will reveal to its bonded (attuned) owner.

  • When ignited, it acts as a torch.
  • When sheathed it keeps the owner warm and dry down to -10 degrees Fahrenheit as if they were standing near a campfire.
  • Returns to the user with a command word when unsheathed (as a Free Action.)
  • Can be used to start any campfire or other small fire magically even if the wood or other suitable material is wet. Also suitable for candles and torches.

The axe also has a special power:
Once per turn command, the axe can be hurled toward and enemy as it turns into a miniature fireball that travels in a straight line and strikes one target unerringly dealing 3d8 damage + 1d4 burning for 1d3 rounds. The target may make a Reflex (Dex or Spell) Save at DC 12 for half damage and no burning effect. The little fireball travels up to 60 feet before returning automatically. If used in this manner, the axe returns to the wielder red hot, doing 1d4 Heat damage when caught. It stays red hot for 1d3 rounds. The owner can refuse to catch it until it cools.

This special power may only be used 3 times per day (long rest.)

The axe also comes with a bit of personality. First, it has been known to cause random items to burst into flames. It will allow itself to be left outside of libraries, manor houses, and art galleries.

Second, while it has never spoken it does seem to be listening to its owner’s conversations If it doesn’t like what it is being told to do, it might not ignite or grant use of its powers. On the other hand, it is aggressive- almost zealous anger toward corporeal undead and trolls.

Last, it absolutely hates being wet. It is best cleaned with oil and a cloth before and after use as long as there is no water. It may refuse to function as a weapon in torrential rain, underwater, or heavy snow. It will always keep the owner warm and dry, however.

it is speculated that there may be a companion piece of some sort to this item. It might be a cold pick or another fiery axe of some kind. The blacksmith that forged the axe may even still be alive somewhere in a northern climate.

Retainers: The Forgotten.

Now, what we tend to forget mid-dungeon is that Lil Jimmy (thusly named because of his small stature, not age) probably has a family that would miss him and his 3 copper per week income. The family goat just died recently and they sent Jim out to try to earn enough to buy seed for next year’s bean crop. But, on paper he’s listed as Torchbearer Jim: AC 11, +0 Init, 3hp, +0 Saves, Club: 1d6 dmg.

Sounds like it could almost be an RPG in and of itself.

Game Masters/Dungeon Master tend to hate them because they’re one more name to come up with and one more stat block to keep track-of. Players tend to use and abuse them for all sorts of things. While I try to make them as entertaining and endearing as possible, let’s just say most adventuring parties tend to either forget them, or use them as fodder.

Some players forget they’re even available, preferring to haul their lucre home on their own backs. But more often than not, a wagonload of loot and everyday comfort items can bog down. It’s a little hard to fight in a dungeon while dragging a chest full of loot, carrying a torch in one hand and firing a crossbow with the other two…oops. Not many three and four armed characters out there. (*Thri-Kreen not withstanding.) At some point, the group must realize they’re going to have to hire some help.

Personality: a guide to NPC retainer survival.

Sure, Lil Jimmy the torchbearer only has one tiny line of stats. He’s armed with, uh, the torch. He’s had little to no training as a fighter and tends to trip over his own boots in the dark. He hasn’t found any deathtraps yet because he’s still with the group. Super useful for carrying the torch. That’s about it.

Now, what we tend to forget mid-dungeon is that Lil Jimmy (thusly named because of his small stature, not age) probably has a family that would miss him and his 3 copper per week income. The family goat just died recently and they sent Jim out to try to earn enough to buy seed for next year’s bean crop. But, on paper he’s listed as Torchbearer Jim: AC 11, +0 Init, 3hp, +0 Saves, Club: 1d6 dmg.

Maybe Lil Jimmy the torchbearer is a really nice guy. Kinda meager. Missing a few teeth so he talks with a lisp. He’s mostly human, but grandma always said there was a gnome far up the family tree. All of Jim’s extended family lives under one roof. Great grandma’s lumbago keeps her bedridden, so Jim’s 3 coppers often go for apothecary expenses. Sharecropping hasn’t paid so well lately, so the family is pretty far in debt to the landlords.

My aim here was to illustrate the more the characters get to know their trusted, loyal retainers, the less likely they are to have one walk into a room full of traps to act as a damage sponge. Every job, including adventuring, has its set of employer-employee relationships. Most worthy employers at least try to know a little bit about their employees.

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What? They ran off with the loot in the middle of the night again?

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Another thing that might keep an adventurer-retainer relationship healthy is that the retainers know when the group sleeps. There is very little to keep a number of disgruntled retainers from just wandering off in the middle of the night, possibly with the party’s gold and magic items. Those are just the scrupulous retainers. 3cp/week to haul around a veritable mountain of gold, magic, and misc objects d’art? You don’t have to be a noble to see that’s a really screwed up deal.

Yes, the adventurers might think they’re paying a fair wage. They have to do all the scary, heroic things to get the loot. Then again, porters and torchbearers might be risking all down in the dungeon right alongside the “brave heroes.” A bit of wage negotiation might be in order at that point.

Some games might include 0-level retainers/hirelings/henchmen as backup characters.

Dungeon Crawl Classics and other OSR games might allow for 0-level characters to be retainers in the event one or more party members happens to die mid-dungeon. The player may then treat the retainer as a character that freshly passed onto Level 1 and keep the action going.

Ed the cart driver suddenly becomes Ed the Wizard. Billy the torchbearer suddenly takes up the thiefly arts. Bob the dwarf cook suddenly becomes Bob the Dwarf Adventurer. Seems a bit unlikely in places, but perfectly logical in others.

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Retainers were automatic in some fantasy RPGs.

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We used to laugh in Warhammer FRPG when a new class automatically retained followers. The same was true of D&D back in the day. The question was always, “Who are these guys, and why should we care?” Sometimes characters would become landowners and need someone to watch the place while they were off dungeoneering. Enter the NPCs.

Well, obviously, Alfred the famous Warrior was worthy of a retinue of like-minded knights who want to travel with him. Fredo the Cleric had people who flocked to hear him speak, and Sunny the Thief had an entire guild of street urchins. Made total sense except for where did these people come from and why were they stalking our characters? The DM always had fun coming up with ways for these characters to obtain followers and why.

Some unscrupulous PCs would get their retainers killed and fake sympathy. One of my Warhammer players actually had his character start killing his off one by one. It was pretty grim, but it did settle the problem of people wanting to work for him ever again. That was a pretty, um…. murder hobo campaign, though.

Later editions of various rulesets made retainers optional or just not a thing, thankfully. It saved the GM/DM time in coming up with names, descriptions, etc. It was a lot less paperwork all around. Nowadays, if characters want to attract followers/retainers, cool. It can be a good roleplaying device and characters in some fantasy games these days don’t explore or crawl about in dungeons as much.

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All things said, I think it can be a good lesson, especially for younger players.

Treat people nicely (in game) and they’ll want to work for you. Please treat people with kindness and understanding, regardless. In a game, it’s just nice to reinforce positive values. That, and it’s better than having Bob the Former Dwarf Cook having to be triple encumbered carrying a mountain of loot home on his back.

Thanks for stopping by. You’re awesome. I appreciate you!

I’m grateful for you!

1d12 Ways to Stumble into a Fantasy Dungeon.

1d12 Ways to Stumble into a Fantasy Dungeon and 1d12 Freakish but mundane nighttime occurrences.

The way into freakishly large, scary, underground complexes isn’t often marked by road signs and tourist maps.

Roll 1d12 and consult the table below:

  1. While wandering off the road to go to the bathroom, a random character tumbles down into a concealed pit. Take falling damage for a 40′ drop and look up to discover a very old necropolis.
  2. A couple of farm kids clearing a field piled up some funny looking rocks with symbols carved into them. Late one night a portal to some sort of maze opened in the new field.
  3. A Well Digger is reported missing while working on the town’s new well. He fell down onto a buried ziggurat with a large aquifer flowing around it. The Well Digger is okay aside from some bumps and bruises. Who knows what was down there in the dark with him.
  4. A local cleric discovers a secret passage leading to a previously unknown and unmentioned series of underground passages. He did not dare venture further into them alone.
  5. The group is gathering some firewood for the night and wanders right into the entrance of a bramble maze.
  6. The braying of wolves and flashing of will-o-wisps can be found on the moors late at night. One particularly playful wisp teases the group until they follow it to a mysterious cavern entrance.
  7. Insect plagues and stinging insect attacks are on the rise in a nearby farming village. This prompted the discovery of an enormous hive on the side of a cliff facing.
  8. A seemingly random monster attack in the middle of the night by some sort of burrowing beasties leads to a chase through their tunnels right into a complex underground lair.
  9. A hunter (perhaps someone in the group) following game down an old animal path discovers a long abandoned and forgotten fort lying in ruins.
  10. An orc comes running out of the bushes in fear for her life. The local kobolds have summoned something large in their warrens nearby and now the orcs are afraid their village might be destroyed.
  11. The construction of the new inn and stables went really well. Or at least until the first mule put into the stable overnight kicked open a hole leading into an underground passage.
  12. A pair of wyverns circles overhead before swooping down and capturing a stag. Clever characters can track them to their lair in a larger underground complex.
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Freakish but mundane things that happen during the night in a fantasy woodland setting.

Roll 1d12 and consult the table below to freak out whoever is on guard duty.

  1. Footsteps can be heard in the distant underbrush. Whatever it is, it’s large. However there’s nothing there but large footprints and animal tracks if investigated.
  2. Rumbling of thunder can be heard in the distance as if a storm were rolling in. There isn’t a cloud in the sky.
  3. A distant owl hoots a bit more frequently than normal. It almost seems to be moving closer. Is it trying to communicate.
  4. A fox comes out of the underbrush and cautiously investigates the camp.
  5. A couple of bats continually swoop through the air near camp catching bugs. This isn’t so bad except they keep coming down right next to one of the sentries.
  6. A trio of raccoon kits attempt to raid the camp’s food or provisions. They’re loveable and cute as well as very harmless.
  7. A large colony of wasps is discovered next to camp in an old log right after the fire is built.
  8. The patter of deer footsteps are heard going past the camp in the dark after everyone has gone to sleep.
  9. One lone large coyote can be heard circling the camp. A while later it is joined by two more. Soon the whole pack is circling the camp looking for opportune prey. They may or may not actually attack.
  10. Something very large lands in the trees not far from camp. Later it can be heard flying away. The next morning the remains of a large animal are found somewhere near where whatever it was landed.
  11. The grass and shrubs near the camp constantly crackle and rustle as if growing rapidly during the night. In the morning it turns out the grass gained an extra inch or two while the group slept.
  12. A loud whooping noise can be heard in the distance. Soon the whoop is joined by another. Tree branches can be heard far away. The thud of rocks hitting outside of camp soon follow. They aren’t accurate enough to be considered an attack, more like a warning.
In a dark wood by Penny Mayes is licensed under CC-BY-SA 2.0

Fantasy TTRPGs- Starting a Dungeon

Dungeon crawls. Why do they exist and who would build such a thing?

Giving the dungeon, and the module, a backstory.

Whether I’m creating a typical five room dungeon or a massive underground mega sprawl, the first question that always comes to mind is: why? And the why actually goes both ways. Why would anyone in their right (medieval fantasy) mind want to build the complex, possibly underground at all? Furthermore, why would a group of characters want to go into a dank underground complex full of terrible traps and drooling, slobbering monsters?

Now, not every dungeon adventure the party is going to face is necessarily underground. It could be a hedge maze, an old manor, a shipwreck, or something even stranger. The question always remains, why is it there?

Design for a Stage Set: A Dungeon with High Vaults and a Staircase at Right. by Domenico Fossati is licensed under CC-CC0 1.0

Who built it and for what purpose?

Not every dungeon is built for a reason. Some occur naturally. But every dungeon is inhabited for a reason. (Or worse, abandoned for a bigger reason.) I mean, every creature needs a home, right? Even drooling, slobbering, scary monsters gotta live somewhere.

But a true dungeon, a real stereotypical fantasy underground complex, springs to life with a legitimate reason of some sort in mind. I find it important to decide on a cause before I start construction so I know what the centerpiece of the place is going to be. Bear in mind, a truly huge dungeon would take thousands of man hours and gold coins or lots of magic in order to build it safely. Guards and traps are extra, of course.

Then we come to the who. Sometimes it’s obvious from my GM/DM’s perspective that said BBEG or villain needs a cool lair. Sometimes (Out of character) I need a particularly deadly place to stash some epic loot the party might need some time down the road. Other times yet, it’s just for flavor, like a sidetrack or incidental.

The builder’s in-character motive always comes to mind as well. Maybe it’s a tomb full of stone soldiers constructed in memory of a forgotten general. Perhaps a power mad necromancer needed a secluded place to build his golem in peace. (Darn villagers with their torches and pitchforks…) It’s possible a well meaning group of beings long ago wanted to seal away a gate to their realm. It could be the lair of an innocent Ancient Red Dragon that just wanted to keep it’s modest filthy lucre mountain safe before he can donate it to the orphans. Maybe a group of well meaning good samaritans wanted to seal something truly horrific away forever and throw away the key. Still another reason might be to bury a powerful artifact away from those who would abuse its power.

These are mere examples. We could go all day and night coming up with cool reasons to build a dungeon. The history and lore should play an important role in the next step: getting the player characters in the door. To be continued…

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