- Tabard of Shifting - Goes over armor and shows enemies the heraldic symbols of whoever they least want to fight- be they family, ally, or powerful enemies. Enemies that understand such symbols will lose the first round of initiative and have -1 to hit thereafter. The tabard can shift even within combats.
- Quill of Stealing - Quill that allows you to forge, by stealing the real signature off of one document and placing it on another. Only holds one signature at a time.
- Coins of Return - 7 gold coins with different ancient emperors depicted, each known for despicable acts. Pay someone with all of these at once and the coins return to you at midnight.
- Fidelis Fibulae - Give one of these beautiful cloak pins to a trusted hireling. As their loyalty diminishes, so does their hair- falling out little by little (the bald will grow hair).
- My Last Mistake - A colorful porcelain knot the size of a coin. Break it and the last hour can be done over.
- The Golden Bones - Crude, carved from bone, as long as these dice are rolled anyone within earshot will gather round and watch the results.
Showing posts with label Rogues. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rogues. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 30, 2014
6 Roguish Magical Treasures
Magical treasures for more roguish types of play:
Thursday, August 1, 2013
Procedural Lockpicking Revisited
A few years back I offered an idea of a way to make lockpicking more engaging and interesting for players. You can go back and read that post here. The problem was some of the things I say in the post (like traps at certain points in the flow chart) make it so locks would have to be designed individually, like mini-dungeons. Way too much work for it to be used by me. Zak posted a simpler method of guessing using dice and Arkhein did something as well using cards.
Both are sharp mini-game solutions to the problem of needing to make locks. Unfortunately they don't allow for something else I'd like in a solution, a way that players can get to know locks and feel like they are gaining expertise, not just their characters through abstract level bonuses. Today I offer another attempt at it.
First, if we limit the number of actions involved to 3 (I'll use Bump, Probe, and Rake) and limit the "tumblers" of each lock to 3, and even further, say that no action is ever used in a row, then we can whittle down the possibilities to something more manageable and discoverable. If I'm not mistaken the possibilities for these constraints with actions ABC should be:
The procedure to pick a lock is pretty simple, you try an action and if you get it wrong the lock gets stiff, letting you know that. If your second attempt is correct you get to go on to the next tumbler. If your second guess is also wrong the lock jams and will have to be smashed off. Here is a handout you can use to record the lock solutions for your world and give to players to record their guesses:
As you can see, I've decided that each lock type will have certain number of hit points representing durability; how much damage you have to do to just break them off. I left the action names blank so you can put in what you want (I suppose I should have done the same for the lock types).
The challenge here is to balance the complexity a player will have to encounter in trying to pick a lock and the diversity of locks available in the world. This depends a lot on how many locks you have in your dungeons and how lucky players get. They might figure out Tin locks the first time they encounter them and know them ever after. But they might not. I think I'll have to just playtest this and see how it works.
I should probably leave it at that until I try it out but I have a few more ideas.
Modifiers could increase lock diversity without increasing the complexity of solutions too much. Here's what I was thinking:
Lock Modifiers
Because there are 12 possibile solutions on our chart you could also add 6 more types of locks of just duplicate the default 6 but call them Goblin locks (goblin tin, goblin brass, etc) or Dwarvish locks or whatever.
Character Level
This system doesn't take into account levels at all, you might assign levels to locks by rolling a d10. So, for instance, giving you a 7th level iron lock. You might assigning penalties and bonuses from the modifiers chart like, locks above the picker's level act as if they are corroded or locks below your level act as if they are worn. But that might get a bit fiddly.
I like Zak's suggestion that every level you get one get out of a jam free card, but only one. That might be simpler. Again I'll have to try this out and see how fast the lock types get solved. If half the types are still a mystery at 5th level then level might not even be much of an issue-- actual player knowledge standing in for the assumed character's skill increases.
Both are sharp mini-game solutions to the problem of needing to make locks. Unfortunately they don't allow for something else I'd like in a solution, a way that players can get to know locks and feel like they are gaining expertise, not just their characters through abstract level bonuses. Today I offer another attempt at it.
First, if we limit the number of actions involved to 3 (I'll use Bump, Probe, and Rake) and limit the "tumblers" of each lock to 3, and even further, say that no action is ever used in a row, then we can whittle down the possibilities to something more manageable and discoverable. If I'm not mistaken the possibilities for these constraints with actions ABC should be:
- ABA
- ABC
- ACA
- ACB
- BAB
- BAC
- BCA
- BCB
- CAB
- CAC
- CBA
- CBC
- Tin CAC
- Copper ABA
- Brass BAB
- Iron CBC
- Steel CAB
- Strange ACB
The procedure to pick a lock is pretty simple, you try an action and if you get it wrong the lock gets stiff, letting you know that. If your second attempt is correct you get to go on to the next tumbler. If your second guess is also wrong the lock jams and will have to be smashed off. Here is a handout you can use to record the lock solutions for your world and give to players to record their guesses:
As you can see, I've decided that each lock type will have certain number of hit points representing durability; how much damage you have to do to just break them off. I left the action names blank so you can put in what you want (I suppose I should have done the same for the lock types).
The challenge here is to balance the complexity a player will have to encounter in trying to pick a lock and the diversity of locks available in the world. This depends a lot on how many locks you have in your dungeons and how lucky players get. They might figure out Tin locks the first time they encounter them and know them ever after. But they might not. I think I'll have to just playtest this and see how it works.
I should probably leave it at that until I try it out but I have a few more ideas.
Modifiers could increase lock diversity without increasing the complexity of solutions too much. Here's what I was thinking:
Lock Modifiers
- Cracked – more forgiving, first step, any action works
- Worn – more forgiving, first jam doesn't happen
- Normal
- Banded – Twice as many hit points required to smash it off
- Corroded – less forgiving, wrong action goes straight to Jam
- Spiked – less forgiving, each wrong action results in 1hp damage to the lock picker
Because there are 12 possibile solutions on our chart you could also add 6 more types of locks of just duplicate the default 6 but call them Goblin locks (goblin tin, goblin brass, etc) or Dwarvish locks or whatever.
Character Level
This system doesn't take into account levels at all, you might assign levels to locks by rolling a d10. So, for instance, giving you a 7th level iron lock. You might assigning penalties and bonuses from the modifiers chart like, locks above the picker's level act as if they are corroded or locks below your level act as if they are worn. But that might get a bit fiddly.
I like Zak's suggestion that every level you get one get out of a jam free card, but only one. That might be simpler. Again I'll have to try this out and see how fast the lock types get solved. If half the types are still a mystery at 5th level then level might not even be much of an issue-- actual player knowledge standing in for the assumed character's skill increases.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
House Rules - Rogues III
I chose abilities that I thought would work best in my campaign for my Choose-Your-Own Rogue class. But I thought you might be interested in seeing some other possible abilities I ended up deciding against. I was trying to avoid choices that would override a player's abilities-- so no diplomacy, bluff, intimidate or lying. I was also trying to include abilities that covered the great roguish triumvirate of thief, brigand, and conman. So here are the semifinalists and why they didn't make the cut:
Acrobatics -- Mostly for long jump and tight rope walking, but maybe surviving falls and swinging on things. Climbing walls seems gritty and Swords & Sorcery (hey Conan did it!) in a way that jumping and flipping just doesn't. But if you want something like ninja's in your game you could squeeze wall climbing into this and be good to go.
Appraise-- Know the value of gems, jewelry and other precious items. I smooshed this in with Ancient lore, now that I think of it, it would probably fit better in street lore. The point being, it seems too small of an ability on its own.
Disguise-- Fool even people familiar with you with a modicum of materials and preparation. This just seemed like it would be useful so rarely as not to be worth adding complexity to my ability list.
Forgery-- Exactly reproduce the markings of someone else. Same as above, not useful very often, but you might include this in street lore if you want your rogues writing the princess love poems as the local pig-herder.
Gambling-- Know how to play, and how to win, whether deservedly or not. This just seemed a cheap way to get money, and not really interesting in play: "I'll lose twice then take them for everything." But, on second thought, it could cause problems for PCs. Your call, maybe (Dex/Chr)
Identify-- Know the function and provenance of magic items. I smooshed this in with Ancient Lore. I always liked the Legend Lore ability of bards and thought it was a shame to be hogged by them (and I was trying to become a bard in 1e!), but this kind of lore seem very adventurerish, Cudgel-like.
Mimicry-- Exactly reproduce the sounds and mannerisms of someone you are familiar with. Again, didn't seem like this would come into play that often.
Read Person-- Tell by looking at their clothing, posture, and facial expression, a persons mood and character. This, combined with Mimicry and/or Disguise might be a good addition for the jongleur-type rogue. Or, you could include them all as a grab bag in Minstrelsy, so a player might be more tempted to pick it.
I would caution, if you decide to add your own abilities to the rogue, not to have too many. I tried to keep them to a minimum and I'm still worried the whole Dex/Chr dual-thing might be too fiddly. I mean the point of this blog is supposed to be about doing more with less, to be more minimal. But I suppose this class could keep people from thinking they need several other classes. And if it heads off the need for a full blown skill system, I think that would be worth implementing the Rogue class right there. On minimizing choices, Delta posted about keeping things as close to 7 as possible here.
But hey, it's been a long time since I've been able to DM, you all probably have some great ideas for abilities that players are wanting to do, but you feel would require more knowledge/skill than a normal person would possess. Share them in the comments.
Acrobatics -- Mostly for long jump and tight rope walking, but maybe surviving falls and swinging on things. Climbing walls seems gritty and Swords & Sorcery (hey Conan did it!) in a way that jumping and flipping just doesn't. But if you want something like ninja's in your game you could squeeze wall climbing into this and be good to go.
Appraise-- Know the value of gems, jewelry and other precious items. I smooshed this in with Ancient lore, now that I think of it, it would probably fit better in street lore. The point being, it seems too small of an ability on its own.
Disguise-- Fool even people familiar with you with a modicum of materials and preparation. This just seemed like it would be useful so rarely as not to be worth adding complexity to my ability list.
Forgery-- Exactly reproduce the markings of someone else. Same as above, not useful very often, but you might include this in street lore if you want your rogues writing the princess love poems as the local pig-herder.
Gambling-- Know how to play, and how to win, whether deservedly or not. This just seemed a cheap way to get money, and not really interesting in play: "I'll lose twice then take them for everything." But, on second thought, it could cause problems for PCs. Your call, maybe (Dex/Chr)
Identify-- Know the function and provenance of magic items. I smooshed this in with Ancient Lore. I always liked the Legend Lore ability of bards and thought it was a shame to be hogged by them (and I was trying to become a bard in 1e!), but this kind of lore seem very adventurerish, Cudgel-like.
Mimicry-- Exactly reproduce the sounds and mannerisms of someone you are familiar with. Again, didn't seem like this would come into play that often.
Read Person-- Tell by looking at their clothing, posture, and facial expression, a persons mood and character. This, combined with Mimicry and/or Disguise might be a good addition for the jongleur-type rogue. Or, you could include them all as a grab bag in Minstrelsy, so a player might be more tempted to pick it.
I would caution, if you decide to add your own abilities to the rogue, not to have too many. I tried to keep them to a minimum and I'm still worried the whole Dex/Chr dual-thing might be too fiddly. I mean the point of this blog is supposed to be about doing more with less, to be more minimal. But I suppose this class could keep people from thinking they need several other classes. And if it heads off the need for a full blown skill system, I think that would be worth implementing the Rogue class right there. On minimizing choices, Delta posted about keeping things as close to 7 as possible here.
But hey, it's been a long time since I've been able to DM, you all probably have some great ideas for abilities that players are wanting to do, but you feel would require more knowledge/skill than a normal person would possess. Share them in the comments.
House Rules - Rogues II
First, this class is built on the thinking and sharing of others, like James Maliszewski, Skathros, Akrasia, and others. I want to thank them before I offer up my derivation of all their ideas.
Now, without further ado, Telecanter's Choose-Your-Own Rogue:
Rogue
Rogues find themselves on the wrong side of the law more often than not. In order to survive they have to rely on their wits, toughness, and/or flair. You might be a backstreet cutpurse, a burly thug, or a charismatic con artist. Your role is to find a way around obstacles, whether they be locks, walls, or the law itself.
Prime Attribute: One of: Dexterity, Constitution, or Charisma, 13+ (5% experience)
Hit Dice: 1d6-1 per level (gains 1 per level after 9th)
Armor/Shield Permitted: Leather
Weapons Permitted: Any one-handed
Rogue Abilities
Choose 5 of these at start of play:
(Con) Backstab – When attacking from behind roll two dice for damage and take the highest result.
(Con) Street Lore – Know who is powerful, who owes who, and find out local rumors & gossip. Know better where to roust out hirelings and followers.
(Con/Dex) Extraordinary climbing – Climb surfaces that seem humanly impossible to climb.
(Dex) Pick locks/Disarm Traps – With the proper tools, you know how to open locks and make most mechanical traps safe.
(Dex) Two-handed fighter – Using a dagger in the off hand, fighting with two weapons will get a +2 to hit and damage is the average of the two.
(Dex) Escape – No bonds can hold you for long.
(Chr/Dex) Sleight-of-hand – Make small things-- keys, blades, scrolls-- appear to disappear. Also, take things from people without them noticing.
(Chr) Ancient Lore – While anyone might know the value of gems and objects, some have heard tales of items carrying terrible curses and stories of powerful magic items and the ways they are made to work. The rogue with lore has also picked up a smattering of useful words in many languages.
(Chr) Minstrelsy – Improvise poems and songs, play musical instruments, sing and tell jokes, all well enough to gather a crowd and earn a little money.
On the Rogue's Prime Requisite: You may only have one prime requisite. You must have two skills centered on a stat in order to choose that stat as a prime requisite, but you aren't required to. If you want your 14 Con rogue to take all the Charisma oriented skills, that's your prerogative.
Rogue Advancement: After making a table of my own, I realized it was almost exactly that of James Maliszewski's found in Knockspell #2. With one exception, all saving throws are base 15 in my campaign and rogues gain a +2 to saves versus dodgeable traps.
Attracting Followers: At 9th level your reputation will attract less experienced rogues that wish to follow your leadership . . . as long as it profits them. These followers can take the shape of a gang, guild, or troupe depending on the type of rogue you play.
Design Notes:
- Ability scores are important not just for performing, but acquiring these abilities. For the Con abilities, I imagine the rogue would need to be tough to acquire them (continually falling from walls, getting beat, in the quest of rumors). Likewise for the Chr abilities ( you need to convince the old wizard to tell you about the magic sword or teach you the word for treasure in Stygian).
- Notice they are called abilities. I'm trying to push towards the idea that these are unique things the rogue can do, like the cleric's ability to turn undead, not skills anybody can pick up over a fortnight. And they are things that the rogue can do most of the time successfully.
- How to adjudicate these? DMs, you choose. I'd suggest roleplaying where possible, but you can decide if you want to roll on a d6, d20, or d%. I suggest rogues be able to perform these abilities in most cases at 1st level, be able to handle trickier situations at 3rd, better still at 6th, and by 9th only fail in the most extreme of situations.
Saturday, June 20, 2009
House Rules - Rogues
There have been a bundle of thief implementations for Swords & Wizardry. I've read through them all. I like bits and pieces of each, but not all of any of them.
I've been thinking a lot about the resistance some grognards have to putting thieves back in to the game. With that much resistance I think it pays to think about why. As I understand it, they feel pre-thief anyone could try anything, post-thief everyone was limited in what they could try to do and the great slip towards skill began.
I think I'm agreeing; why shouldn't every character class, type, or race, be able to try to move stealthily? Why shouldn't they be able to climb walls? But, should they all be able to pick locks? Umm . . . I think I still have the desire to implement a roguish character. And I say rogue, because to me it includes thugs, brigands, and, yes, bards (I don't see a lot of evidence for the bard archetype in literature. Bards to me are witty, talented cons and parasites).
So, I propose a class with only those roguish skills that DMs would have a hard time allowing characters accomplishing without months of training. I also propose a small selection of skills that a player would select from at start of play. This would allow them to decide what kind of rogue they want to be, the burly bully or the delightful dandy.
The good thing about this concept is 1) it prioritizes the ability of all characters to do almost anything they can think of in play, barring the few things that would need training, and 2) you can pick and change the skills you, as DM, think would best fit that description.
Here are my thoughts on some of the most common thieving skills:
Hide in shadows-- unless this is ninja-like hiding in direct sight, it seems like anyone could try this.
Move silently-- If I take off my hauberk and boots, are you saying my fighter can't be silent enough to surprise some bandits?
Climb walls-- Is this preternatural wallcrawling, or just scaling a wall?
Pick pockets-- I think you would have to practice a lot to do this. But, of what use is this in the dungeon? This might be the poster boy for allowing players to pick their core skills.
Pick locks-- This may be one of the takes-a-while-to-learn type of skills. I wouldn't want everyone of my players running around picking open every lock. At the same time, I'd hate for them to have to bash open every chest they find. This skill may be the poster boy for why thieves are a good addition to the game.
Disarm traps-- sounds fiddly, tricky, like taking apart a watch. Experience and training are essential, but it depends on how sophisticated the trap is. I don't mind letting any character try to disarm traps through roleplaying, though.
Hear noises-- ??? Okay, am I just dense? What is the deal with this? I don't understand why it is mentioned in some systems at all. Is this meant to see who has a better chance of hearing through dungeon doors? That seems a twiddly little thing to have a rule for. Exactly the thing a DM should make rulings on (how noisy is the environment outside the door, inside the door, what kind of creatures are inside, etc.) Is this just a factor of who has sharper hearing? I think the 1e DMG talks about this, giving different races different bonuses. This seems the perfect thing for Bohemian's "Good At," system, a player could say Keebler the Elf is good at hearing. But it seems to trivial to add a whole rule to the game. So, how about our rogues? Nah, that extortionate thug over there is hard of hearing from all the punches he's taken, and the sly, dark fellow . . . well, he'd rather you put your ear against that obsidian door there.
Backstab-- anyone should be able to try it, but a person grown up in the back alleys may have a lot more practice at it. Not necessarily a dandy, though, again reason for the player to choose.
Stay tuned for Telecanter's Choose-Your-Own Swords & Wizardry Rogue
I've been thinking a lot about the resistance some grognards have to putting thieves back in to the game. With that much resistance I think it pays to think about why. As I understand it, they feel pre-thief anyone could try anything, post-thief everyone was limited in what they could try to do and the great slip towards skill began.
I think I'm agreeing; why shouldn't every character class, type, or race, be able to try to move stealthily? Why shouldn't they be able to climb walls? But, should they all be able to pick locks? Umm . . . I think I still have the desire to implement a roguish character. And I say rogue, because to me it includes thugs, brigands, and, yes, bards (I don't see a lot of evidence for the bard archetype in literature. Bards to me are witty, talented cons and parasites).
So, I propose a class with only those roguish skills that DMs would have a hard time allowing characters accomplishing without months of training. I also propose a small selection of skills that a player would select from at start of play. This would allow them to decide what kind of rogue they want to be, the burly bully or the delightful dandy.
The good thing about this concept is 1) it prioritizes the ability of all characters to do almost anything they can think of in play, barring the few things that would need training, and 2) you can pick and change the skills you, as DM, think would best fit that description.
Here are my thoughts on some of the most common thieving skills:
Hide in shadows-- unless this is ninja-like hiding in direct sight, it seems like anyone could try this.
Move silently-- If I take off my hauberk and boots, are you saying my fighter can't be silent enough to surprise some bandits?
Climb walls-- Is this preternatural wallcrawling, or just scaling a wall?
Pick pockets-- I think you would have to practice a lot to do this. But, of what use is this in the dungeon? This might be the poster boy for allowing players to pick their core skills.
Pick locks-- This may be one of the takes-a-while-to-learn type of skills. I wouldn't want everyone of my players running around picking open every lock. At the same time, I'd hate for them to have to bash open every chest they find. This skill may be the poster boy for why thieves are a good addition to the game.
Disarm traps-- sounds fiddly, tricky, like taking apart a watch. Experience and training are essential, but it depends on how sophisticated the trap is. I don't mind letting any character try to disarm traps through roleplaying, though.
Hear noises-- ??? Okay, am I just dense? What is the deal with this? I don't understand why it is mentioned in some systems at all. Is this meant to see who has a better chance of hearing through dungeon doors? That seems a twiddly little thing to have a rule for. Exactly the thing a DM should make rulings on (how noisy is the environment outside the door, inside the door, what kind of creatures are inside, etc.) Is this just a factor of who has sharper hearing? I think the 1e DMG talks about this, giving different races different bonuses. This seems the perfect thing for Bohemian's "Good At," system, a player could say Keebler the Elf is good at hearing. But it seems to trivial to add a whole rule to the game. So, how about our rogues? Nah, that extortionate thug over there is hard of hearing from all the punches he's taken, and the sly, dark fellow . . . well, he'd rather you put your ear against that obsidian door there.
Backstab-- anyone should be able to try it, but a person grown up in the back alleys may have a lot more practice at it. Not necessarily a dandy, though, again reason for the player to choose.
Stay tuned for Telecanter's Choose-Your-Own Swords & Wizardry Rogue
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