Dungeon Master - Basic Tools

One of my long time players had recently gotten super excited about DMing a D&Desque pirate campaign.  He has ideas for his own character classes and everything.  It reminds me of the young pre-teen me :)  And I suppose I have done a good job of conveying my DIY vision of this gaming thing we do, because he didn't ask "What system would be good to play out this idea I have," but just started coming up with his own rules and subsystems.

It has been really interesting for me to try and help him because there are a lot of things I didn't know how to do when I started DMing so I had to craft my own methods and tools.  Now I can share those with him and hopefully he can hit the ground running and adapt them however he wants.  I have so many tables and charts. 

It's also interesting, since I suffered a few hard drive failures over the years, trying to find these tables in editable forms.  Some of my tables apparently only exist as a hard copy in my personal DM folder or in posts on this blog.  Anyway, it has been fun and useful to try and revisit some of these old tools and revise them and pull together some of the things I've learned into one place.

Map
First I showed him two easy ways to make maps, a Toss & Trace way to make natural caverns (which came from this post) and a Tetromino Template Dungeon for purposefully built dungeons that can still be arranged for variety (originally from this post).  For the latter we didn't do the whole stencil thing, just cut and pasted the individual rooms.  Here is a revised sheet to make that easier:

Monsters
Then I gave him the run down on how I put monsters in my dungeons.  Now, this is for basic lower level dungeons and just focuses on unintelligent creatures at first.  But I think it's a handy baseline to have that you can add intelligent faction on top of.

Here is the Wandering Monster table I mention in that document (a revision of this):

There is a lot packed on there.  The idea is, if you are in a rush or learning this craft, that you can just reskin the four creature behavior types and use the default stats given.  But they are printed in light grey so you can revise them by writing over them if you want.  If your pirate cave's vermin are little albino crabs you can make their AC higher and write 14 over the default 12.

The little pips are how much that monster has to outnumber the party by before they become out-right hostile (they may stalk and do other aggressive things at lower ratios).  So, vermin would have to out number the party 4-to-1 before you roll initiative and they straight up start trying to attack.

The graph paper is so you can pre-roll creature hitpoints circle the appropriate squares and scratch them off in the heat of combat.

I told my player my dirty little secret that I will often use the rolled hitpoints for double duty, as a set encounter on the map and also as a wandering encounter if it comes up.  I figure losing a little randomness by not rerolling 18 crab hitpoints is worth the convenience I get as a DM.

The other table mentioned, What are the Monsters Doing? was from a post here, but I realized I didn't have an editable version anywhere so here it is.

Treasure
I haven't quite put together the handout on treasure yet.  I'm heading back up to the mountains, maybe I can add it here when I get back.  I need to explain how much monetary treasure I place.  How many potions, rings, wands, or other magical items and share the tables I have for all those.  And I should probably try to scour my blog for spells.  I probably have at least 30 interesting spell ideas.  I'm really bad at knowing how to assign levels though.  There was a Dragon magazine article I remember about designing spells that gave some guidelines for assigning levels.  I think I'll find that, print it out and take it to the mountains with me to study.

Anyway, I've linked all but the two inmages as doc files so you can mess with them if you want.  I consider them drafts I will need to revise and maybe put together as a little booklet.  I usually annotate my map with traps and treasures so during play I only have two letter-size sheets of paper to keep track of.  It is pretty easy and streamlined, no numbered room lists or anything.  I hope this is useful for some of you.  If nothing else, I've got the files up here for me to access later :)  Stay cool, folks.

Mountain Ideas 2

I had great plans to post every other day while in the mountains.  Unfortunately, Google decided it didn't like that I was posting from a new location ( though I've posted many times from there before) and would not allow me to log-in without phone confirmation of my account.  Traditional security check via email confirmation would have worked, but Google insisted on calling or texting my phone and there is no cell coverage where I was at, so posting to my blog from the mountians is no longer possible unless Google changes its policy.  Sucks, but I wrote down all my ideas I had while hiking around and I'll just give them to you all in one dump:

Wound Map
Cast this spell on a bare back and fresh wounds will raise up (1d6 hp) rendering a map of the surrounding paths or passages.

Failed Spells
Trying to think up new spells, I kept coming up with crappy ones.  Then I thought, what if a spell scroll might be some wizard's attempt at a spell they wanted, but they never quite worked it out.  So, a scroll found in a dungeon might have a sort of abstract with a title and what the spell does, but when the player casts it, it does something less.  Not horrible, more annoying and useless.  For example, a scroll lists itself as "Astral Arm: a third, ghostly arm appears that can reach through walls. Lasts a day"  But on casting it, it is more like "Arm Growth: A lumpy, flesh protuberance begins growing out of the casters back.  It takes until that caster reaches the next level for it to fully grow into a crude arm with a thumb and 1d4 fingers.  Not useful for much-- add 1/3 to encumbrance and an extra save when falling as it scrabbles to catch hold."

Chaos Blade
This one is pretty obvious, so you might have seen it before.  This weapon is +2, but shifts form each time you go into battle

1. 1d6 darts
2. Bow and 1d6 arrows
3. 2-handed sword
4. club
5. glaive
6. dancing long sword

The bonus and the possibility of it dancing are good, but the fact you might end up with darts when you are fighting skeletons hopefully makes it less powerful as well as unpredictable.

Telecanter's Cold Camp
This blue fire casts barely any light and no heat at all unless the caster says "heat this"-- all other objects are unaffected.  Allows for preparing food, lighting torches, or keeping warm even in a field of dry kindling.

Rune of Recognition I
Cast the spell, tell anyone you wish to know the shape of your secret rune, and then later, you can make the shape of the rune from stone or sticks, draw it in the sand etc., and anyone told of the shape before hand will see it but it will be completely invisible to others.

Fugitive Blood Ritual
This necromantic ritual of last resort allows the caster to cut their own throat and let their blood pour from their body and escape.  The blood flows across the ground, through cracks, and hides until a later time to come back and re-invest the apparently dead body.  If the casters body is destroyed in the mean time the blood can persist for years looking for a blood-drained body to inhabit.

Corpus Fungus Ritual
This necromantic ritual of last resort causes the caster to swell with fungal growths and explode into  a shower of spores.  Anyone breathing the spores (fail saves) will, over the next few weeks, slowly turn into the caster.  Multiple versions of the caster can thus result (treat as clones).

Keepsafe Lizard
A wizard casts this spell and whispers something to any normal lizard.  The wizard then completely forgets that information, it is excised from their mind and exists only in the lizard.  The lizard can be told to return in days, weeks, or years.  It will then disappear into the wild and find the caster again, wherever they are, at a random time within the time frame given.  Allows wizards to hide information that may be coerced or ensorcelled out of them.  They can't even tell an enemy when the lizard will return because they aren't sure themselves.

Bloodgift Swarm
A swarm of insects is summoned to draw blood from the caster.  The caster can decide how much or little (up to their HD -1 hp).  The resulting engorged swarm must be kept somewhere dark and protected, under a hat or in an empty scroll tube are common places.  A swarm can be kept thus indefinitely, but the donated life is slow to replenish (half hp regen).  Then, when needed, the caster can command the swarm to give their blood to any target-- restoring that same amount of life to them. 

Spell-Type Category Research
A wizard that knows 7 spells of a "type" can do research that, if successful, will improve all spells of that type.  Types could be spells involving a particular substance, like fire, be a particular effect, like a bolt, or affect certain creatures like, insects.  This is why the original wizards had so many spells in the same category-- Bigby's hand spells, for instance, because they specialized in them and became experts in that type of spell.
  
Rune of Recognition II
The caster draws this rune anywhere they wish, but usually in their spell book or in a forbidden area of their lair.  And any person that looks upon the rune will be recognized as such later by the caster.  Just by looking at their eyes, the caster will know they have looked upon the forbidden rune and been where they shouldn't have.

That's it for now.  Hope you are staying cool and having fun gaming with friends.

Ideas from the Mountains

I've had the privilege of getting to spend some time up in the mountains this summer (haven't really the last two summers).  Being up in the cool, clean air and the quiet always gives me tons of ideas.  Here are a few:

Class-based Maps for a Space Game
I've been interested in some non-D&D one-offs, or mini campaigns.  One that I think would be fun would be a space ship crew investigating a derelict ship.  In trying to figure out how to catch some of that genre flavor, I thought giving each player different maps of the ship being explored would work.  The idea is the ship itself is a familiar entity, a federation ship, or one from their own corporation, but their individual knowledge of the ship is limited to their field of expertise.  So the engineer knows where the maintenance access ducts are, the medic/science officer knows where life support air ducts are, ect.  Then let loose some alien threat and only allow players to share their maps by verbally describing them to each other: "If we get to bulkhead B, there is an air duct there."  "Yes there is a maintenance duct access near there too, I think we should head there."

Phoenix Balm
A magic item that you rub on and suffer great burning pain (1d6 hit points lost permanently) but allows you to come back after death-by-fire a whole level higher.

Spell Beetles
A rare beetle mages catch, whisper a spell to, and then send to a friend in need.  The beetle travels at normal speed to where the friend is, and if eaten, grants that friend the ability to cast that spell once.  Until they do, that spell slot is lost to the beetle-sending mage, though.

Yahtzee Mechanic
I've long been a proponent for using common parlor games in my D&D-- Jenga, cards, charades - both because if it is that common it is probably good at being amusing but also it is probably something players will have knowledge of, so reduces the amount I have to teach them.  I don't think I've  written about Yahtzee in this regard.  I think it would be perfect for a gambling type situation where you can take small gains that you know, or risk them to push for bigger gains-- two situations that spring to mind are spell research and social maneuvering.  Maybe getting to know the local politicians could be that player throwing Yahtzee dice and the higher the hand they end up with the better the relationship established.  Or, I was just talking about wanting some type of shopping mini-game, maybe this mechanic could work for that.

Under the Cathedral

The party's exploration of caves under the city's main cathedral continues.  Oma's player was out of town, but the sometime-player of Toss had work off, so joined for the night.

Anonimo - Rogue
Aphrodisia - Cleric
G - Cleric
Toss - Fighter
and various hirelings

I cut off last write-up a little too soon.  The party had actually explored a passage to the left that ended in a sturdy oak door with a steel lock.  Anonimo tried to pick it but failed so they proceeded to break it off.  One of them step on a pressure plate and darts started pouring from the walls-- not shooting, apparently that mechanism was broken-- but the pile around their legs was enough to knock out Aphrodisia, her dog and hireling Arpe.

While they were deciding what to do, Anonimo scouted past the now opened door to find the natural cavern passage ending in a downward sloping passage only high enough to belly-crawl down.  He went far enough to see there was a room of some sort full of jumbled idols.

The party decided to go back up to the cathedral to rest.  After everyone woke back up and refreshed, they headed back to the small room with the idols.  They spent a lot of time rummaging through these.  Anonimo especially looking for gems and valuable bits.  I tried to give the impression that these were lots of different gods formerly worshipped in the city that have been pitched here.

As they were messing about the room they heard movement and a weird barking below them.  Aphrodisia started to talk to it.  The thing seemed to call itself a dark swimmer and it got excited with its simple language, when she mentioned humans, saying "feed!, feed!"

The party decided to go back up to talk to the two priests.  The learned one recited a few lays about dark swimmers and humans turning into them.  Then they went on an extended shopping and dragons spree, I think to buy materials to try and trap what they imagined was down there.

Then back below the cathedral.  They decided, before committing to going deeper, that they wanted to explore the other direction more.  So they proceeded to the right, found a filthy hair sack, and a room of quivering pigeons with little tentacles writhing from their breasts.  They also heard a huffing/ roaring sound and it was now G's turn to try and talk to whatever was ahead in the darkness.

It seemed territorial, and angry at another of its kind.  It eventually came into the light and they saw something like a muddy hippo body but a bear-like head with sharp teeth.  It didn't attack them.  So they decided to explore back the other way a bit.

Toss stripped of armor and explored forward a bit in the cold water.  Finally, turning back when the water didn't open up before she started running out of breath.  So then it was back to the idol room and down to where the dark swimmer had been.

Under the pile of idols they found a hole.  They descended down into the darkness to find hallways covered in a pitch black substance and roughly shaped, almost as if they were burrowed out.

This hallway had a few side passages that led to locked doors.  Anonimo got a chance to pick them.  In the first two rooms were weird sensory experiences: shifting colors, smells.  As they continued down the main hall, little hoof taps greeted them.  Then this thing showed up out of the darkness.

It begged and pleaded with them to let it touch their forehead.  G was ready with a club, wanting to brain it, but Aphrodisia allowed it to and her greatest regret melted out of her with a feeling of warmth.  Then it clattered of in the darkness and we ended for the night.

Thoughts and notes
I gave all my players an index card at the beginning of the session that had the instruction to "Write your character's biggest regret" and when the thing touched Aphrodisia I asked for her card and dramatically tore it in half.

This was the first time I as a DM have ever played animals talking to players.  It was fun.  I made it less funny language and more the players understanding what the creatures were communicating in broad terms like "be alert, everyone hunting now", etc.

The players seemed to think the one creature they were talking to was referring to the barking "Dark swimmer", which was just a weird seal, but it wasn't.  There is another even larger bear-hippo on the other side of the water cave.  They got a lucky reaction roll on the first one, they might be in trouble if the keep messing with these big creatures.

The whole thing is a chaos area leaking out underneath the cathedral.  I set up a Jenga tower and asked the clerics to pull when they cast a spell.  If the tower fall bad chaos things will happen.  I have another mechanic in mind for the next session (hopefully tonight).  I have some colored stones of about the same shape.  I'm going to let the players examine they as long as they wish, then put them in a sack and ask them to pull a stone they name before hand, by touch alone.  I think it should be fun, and probably hard.  I am trying to use it to convey the idea that Chaos is so strong hear that they are having a hard time communicating with their deities.  So each time they try to cast a spell, they will have to successfully draw a stone for it to succeed.

The lockpicking minigame seems to be working well, when I introduced it a while back, Anonimo the rogue's player said something like "Finally something to do"  Which made me fell a bit bad, but, I'm working on it.  I need to give the fighters more to do.  I'm thinking a magical chaos weapon down this hole might do just the trick.

Magic Item Through Tech

Heh, haptic shoes, ladies and gents.

They lead you by giving you signals to your feet not exactly the slight pull I mentioned with these magic shoes, but I figure close enough.

Hat tip to Boing Boing.