OSR: Fuck Water

From now on, I officially declare that I forego the tracking of water from my games!

Or rather, we assume that Rations come with water (or cider, weak ale, watered-down wine, or similar). Why?

• Food is a resource to be taxed by the perils of wilderness travel or the claustrophobic dungeoneering. That's it.
  
• Nobody tracks water in my games anyways. My players just don't care about it. If tracking it becomes relevant (plenty of horses, trasversing barren plains or a desert) we can always reintroduce it.
  
• We streamline the hunger and starving resource to just one currency to track for the players. Simpler for them, they will do that.
• The B/X rule of rest 1-in-6 turns or -1 to all rolls is very often ignored. I've also ignored its existence on occasion. We could rely on the more abstract and popular overloaded encounter die. The point is, we can add a tiny addendum to the rule, as follows:

You can forego the need to rest in the dungeon every hour if a Ration per individual is quickly consumed.

This achieves yet another significant choice for the players, another push your luck decision. Attack the character sheet and all that. This is a low-hanging-fruit addition to an otherwise dry rule. And it's a lot more palatable if you think about knaves needing water and a nervous bite when crawling through cramped tunnels, instead of stuffing their faces.

PS1: Of course, alcohols and spirits still remain as they are. Precious lubricant when parlaying with humanoid factions is very much appreciated. Ah, and also as treasure if found and expensive or frivolous enough (bottles of elven wines, dwarven rum, etc.).

PS2: I know this tampers the fourth level Cleric's Create Water spell. If you use Clerics, just replace it with a better option, it was a lame spell anyway. Problem solved.

OSR: Why is damage left as a die?

Going through recent adventures in the OSR space, it is very common to see an attempt at generic or system neutral statistics. This is done a lot, with armor as chain, saves as Fighter 1, etc. This is very useful if say, you are running your game for B/X but then change for Swords&Wizardy (different saves), or LotFP (different AC baseline).

An exhibit from the Dust Elemental in the remastered Stygian Library

BUT very often monster descriptions use original die size. D8 in the picture above. Why? Why not take instead an equivalent damage as sword, or damage as polearm? Main reason I can think for this vestigial limb to persist is that some monsters inflict greater (or different) damage than what standard weaponry allows, surpassing damage dice.

*End rant*

My solution would be to have extended weaponry values in the equipment section (grenades, bombs, pistols, muskets), or use damage from spells (which are meant to surpass mundane weapons).

Don't have a solution to this trend. Just my observation. What do you think?

Tales of Mordhearse Reloaded

This is a build up from the excellent work by vilecultofshapes, expanding on the player rules.

You can find his game on itch: Tales of Mordhearse Hyperlite.

It is extremely light. But in its simplicity lies the beauty. There are no to-hit rolls, like in Into the Odd. Roll d8 to get your HP and character class, so creating a character is done in a minute after a couple of rolls. Use current HP as a resolution system, with roll under (want an easy game? use a d10 or d12. hardcore mode? d20).

Tales of Mordhearse Reloaded

In just a couple pages we can taste the feel of the world of Mordhearse (a dying earth and Humanity of sorts). The version by vilecutofshapes has a sample dungeon and some spark tables to boot! But frankly, any ItO material should work just fine.

OSR: The Owl's Nest

There's this project that's been bloody stuck in my mind.

Imagine a brewery turned inn that's been putting out the best damn ale in the region. Not only that, but almost any liquor you can imagine. They produce it in the best quality, and no time. If the local ruler asks for a hefty tax mark, no problem. They are swimming in gold and revenue.

Where does all this fine liquor come from? Why is nobody looking into this?

Krzysztof Maziarz

What the @$!*ck is this, Hammer?

Scope is always a problem with these things, but I think I have an exact idea of what I want. In a pinch:

Inn for Downtime + Toolkit + Underground Cellar/Brewery Pointcrawl Adventure

This serves several purposes and goals.

First off, the idea that a lot of adventures start in a tavern. Or have a recess in one. That's true, be it for gathering rumors, meeting NPCs that can turn into hirelings, carousing, or generalized shenanigans. Even in the OSR space, I think it does serve a purpose for in-between adventures for the "what to do in town".

Second, it provides context and a list of interesting NPCs.
Be it recurring ones, or simply random tables of "who's here at the moment". These are great to gather rumors of what's been going on whilst the PCs were out of town. They also provide services and quests the PCs might need.

Third, it's seeds to build your own adventures. This is not described here, and ties to the second point. By having a handful of clear stated NPCs and their agendas, or clear adventure elements, this is an opportunity for the referee to build their own adventures directly from the inn.

Fourth, the inn connects to its own dungeon. This means we can control when the PCs find about this by making some rumors clear. Or they can start asking themselves questions. Where does all the alcohol come from? Why is it of best quality? A pointcrawl requires low prep, and the aim is to provide an unprepared referee with a dungeon locale they can run as-is with minimal preparation.

Nothing too innovate here, just my take. The Yawning Portal has been around for ages, and is basically the same concept of inn+dungeon entrance. Here the second part is a secret fact though.

There's also the Night Wolf Inn adventure module. Full of great ideas, rich with gonzo material oozing from every single page. A gold mine to plunder. But this is DENSE. It's also too rules heavy for my tastes. A more system agnostic version of this module, trimmed and edited, would be a killer. Mandatory Bryce review.

Gestalting The Thing

The thing is, I've never done something like this by my own. First step was to fire an excel document and start writing down ideas and sections for this thing. What tables would I need? What sections? Are there related articles, books, or media I need? Many are obvious and expected just by the premise of inn + cellar dungeon.

Raw, ideas without filtering. No mechanics or discarding yet.

Semi-sorted Section List

• [Inn] Inn Description and Fluff
  Everything going on and obvious before the PCs enter the inn. And if they don't act, how/why it remains in this state.
• [Inn] Inn Map
  Hire a cartographer. Making it abstract or isometric is completely valid (even preferred).
• [Inn] List of Named NPCs
  Relevant NPCs that are always here. The innkeeper family (dwarfs), the resident bard, some of the NPCs that inhabit "Rooms at the Inn". Some provide hooks to underground adventure. There should be someone who can buy and sell magic items. And someone who can provide healing services: a surgeon, or a priest/cleric of a God of pleasure and drink.
• [Inn] d66 Random Inn NPCs
  Random table for generation on the fly. Name, ancestry, quirk, what they want. Brief.
• [Inn] d66 Hirelings (Optional)
  Price per day. Good variety. Ready to go.
  
• [Inn] 6-10 Rooms at the Inn
  Have 3-4 rooms occupied by adventure sprawling NPCs. The inn is famous, so there's a reason why they'd stay here.
• [Inn] The Menu! (Optional)
  A tactile handout for the players to check what they can eat or drink at the inn. Cookie points if it has some hidden clues?
  
• [Tools] Carousing Table
  There are a lot of these. Good ones! I did a downtime one a while back. Base on B/X gold quantities.
• [Tools] List of Inn Games (Optional)
  Self explanatory non-sense, unrelated to anything else.
• [Tools] dX Table of Alcohols and Drugs
  Can provide interactivity, traps, etc. Requires an ad-hoc system for consumption. Certain areas (in the dungeon adventure) experienced differently depending on the amount of drink consumed?
• [Adventure] Locations and Details
  This is a 2 page spread with the table to roll for, with a 1-line description (key words) to give the referee an image whilst they flip to the relevant page of Location and Detail.
• [Adventure] Locations Expanded
  Actual meat of what the PCs are meant to explore. Unique and expandable with the Details + Encounter. Aim for 20 of them.
• [Adventure] Details Explained
  Brief, punchy, distinctive.
• [Adventure] Set Pieces Explained
  Each more of a "boss" encounter. It is the lair of some of the major factions/agents in the adventure. They help to break the entropy and change the dungeon generation procedure. 6 Set Pieces.
• [Adventure] d100 Encounter Table
  Bigger threats the deeper into the dungeon. Maybe combine with Overloaded Encounter Die? Encounter and Omen. Also hazards: tunnels collapsing; lights going on; underground gas bags exploding; etc.
• [Adventure] I Search the Body
  Should be more interesting crap and clues rather than gold. If gold, make it dependent on HD of the slain creature.
• [Adventure] Bestiary/Denizens
  Like the stocking notes below, but expanded. Easy stats, but provide context as to why they are here. Lengthy section.
• [Commentary] FAQ
  Commentary to ease the referee's life based on playtest feedback. Advised rulings, etc.

Underground Cellar/Brewery Pointcrawl Adventure

A procedural generated dungeon adventure of the underground cellar and cavern system below and around the inn. Similar to the very popular (and by me beloved) Gardens of Ynn and Stygian Library, but with Set Pieces. These read as more static locations that advance the whole adventure, and where basically PCs can really fuck things up and change the status quo.

The rearranging bit of the pointcrawl is harder to get than in an infinite garden or a library in cavernous tunnels. But there's a bit about it: the Worm. It creates and collapses new paths at will.

Pointcrawl Generation Mechanics

It takes a turn (10 minutes) to move from one Location to another.
Whenever PCs want to move to a new unexplored Location (therefore expanding the map), roll:

• d6 for Overloaded Encounter Die (encode to d100 to avoid extra rolling for Encounter?)
• 1-2: roll for Encounter -> when they enter new Location that's what's there.
• 3: roll for Encounter (Omen) -> when they enter new Location that's what's there.
• 4: Dungeon Effect (tunnels collapse, gravity reverses, traps reset, etc.)
• 5: torches
• 6: torches/lamps
• d12+Depth for Location (if you roll a 12, consult a Set Piece instead based on the result of the Overloaded Encounter Die)
• d20 for Details

Dungeon Stocking Notes completely raw form 

Devil Management
-Probably the most powerful thing down here.
-Someone got their True Name, and now they're a servant. They resent that and want to see it  changed.
-Will toy with the PCs; finds them amusing and a tool.
-Makes constructs at his service, the Golems. They are soul-infused.

Golems
-Tankard/Bottle/Keg Golems, soul-infused by Devil Management.

Molekin Workers
-Have a contract by Devil Management to keep expanding the place, greasing and restoring the traps, etc.
-Led by a dwarf NPC.
-Take drugs to keep the insane work pace. Imagine "kobolds on cocaine".
-Think the Giant Worm/Centipede is a God "Mama"

Giant Worm
-Creates and generates most of the tunnels here (at least 10ft wide). Very important: if it's killed, dungeon becomes static?
-Very powerful, tons of HD.
-The Molekin worship it calling and call it "Mama".

Caelan Stokkermans

Yeast Elementals
-Think of themselves as gods.
-Myconids as minions?
-The excellent brew producing creature is a dwarf wizard hooked in symbiosis to a humongous Yiest Elemental. (with tubes coming out from the body, etc.)
-Sentient, clever, not too powerful (doable), and has the True Name of Devil Management.

Vinegar Elementals
-Want to take over the status quo and privileged position of the Yeast Elementals.
-Could team up with the PCs. To then stab them in the back.

Antlings/Giant Ants?

Schnapshund
-Scary and powerful. Or pet-able and interesting
-Independent
-Probably the first "big" monster the PCs will meet.
-From unlawfulgames

Corrupt Underground Dryads
-Look like socialite from ancient Greece.
-Want to drink and fornicate, so they're quite happy with Yeast Elementals.

Priest of the Brew God
-Loner; came down here to get the secret ale recipe from the Inn.
-Seeing the truth of the decadence down here, is loosing faith by the second. Understands The Game, hence the desperation.
-Worships Zisdarger, the 'Drinker of Hours' (a drunk God that can reverse/advance time).
-Could still get a miracle going, time related.

Knave++, my Knave Hack

Knave++ is my Knave hack. I intend to test this system from now on. This is v1.0.

At this point it barely resembles the original game that Ben Milton designed (with a very generous Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license). I added enough bits and bobs to please my taste. And as an exercise, building a hack from the ground up, with the very strong core that Knave provides, has been very educational.

Casque Knight!

Knave++ Player's Guide Doc

Knave++ Features

What follows is a scattered list of changes and additions compared to the "vanilla" Knave.
The solid Knave core remains: ascending d20 rolls tied to the 6 standard ability scores, item slots based on constitution (and a general focus towards equipment), quick character generation, high compatibility with B/X and other OSR games.

• Character Creation
• Classic class features called Knacks. Abilities and powers that PCs can pick up.
• Ancestries as a random table. A light way to imprint the game setting. These are specific to my Maienstein/Stonehell game. List can be replaced with whatever Ancestries tingle your fancy. Or drop them altogether. It's meant for flavor and a minor ability boost and drawback. Differentiation, nothing more.
• Playing the Game
• Healing is slightly modified, and adds the concept of Snacks as quick healing bursts. Additional rules for starvation.
• Combat 
• Alternative initiative system to have individual rolls for each PC and antagonist NPC group. Henchmen always go last. Still rolled every round for extra randomness.
• Easy to use death & dismemberment table when a PC drops to 0 HP.
• Spellcasting
• Keep arcane level-less spellcasting, but replace the original list by the Magic Dice system from GLOG. I really like the MD mechanic as a whole, and it's easy to stick to Knave.
• Add cleric spells, called Prayers, which contrary to Magic User spells have no Miscasts/Dooms. Reduced spell list, but more reliable. Flavor as herbs, bells, tablets, or some similar equipment that eat up Item Slots, called Clerical Implements.
• Advancement
• Advancement and experience taken from LotFP, and with different numbers to use on a currency=XP game.

Changelog

There is no way to get everything right on the first go. This is to keep track of future changes.

• 23.12.19: version 1.0. A baby is born.

Things To Add

• Referee facing rules
• Overloaded Encounter Die
• Wilderness travel
• Summary of rule terminologies: Advantage, Save, MD, turn, round, Knack, Ancestry, etc.
• Fatigue
• Ranged weapons range?
• Cover from ranged attacks

Medusae Menagerie, the RPG

Found out about the 200 word RPG challenge, you can read more about it here.
Funny idea, had to type a tiny little game. Here is my submission. It's about Medusae, and their wyrd social dynamics whilst attending a show at the Opera. It could be played in ~20 minutes, as presented.

A gang of Medusae. Going to the Opera.
Each player rolls for hair type in secret (expand the table at your discretion):
1. Snakes
2. Gooses
3. Wasps
4. Worms
5. Octopuses
6. Suricates
Petrifying gaze and charm apply to all.
Medusae and players can't look at each others heads during the Opera.

The Opera is divided in three Acts.

Act one, Presence. Go in rounds, one-by-one, complimenting each others appearance.
Heads are a sensitive area to avoid.
Compliment for 10 minutes, or until a Medusa takes more than 2 seconds to come up with one.
If the latter, that Medusa has to leave the Opera.

Act two, Invitation. A ticketing fault duplicated invitations. Randomly pair Medusae in twos.
Each pair has to agree on who gets to seat and attend the Opera. The Iron Butler can be called, but he won't help.
If after 5 minutes there is no agreement on who leaves, both do.

Act three, Performance. Each Medusa secretly writes on paper an adjective describing the Opera.
The Medusae have 2 minutes to ask each other questions that can be answered with yes/no.
If they find the description, the remaining WON.
Otherwise they all LOST.