Adventures that Matter

Cross-posted from reddit:

The only thing that makes adventure matter is presenting players with choices where the consequences matter, and where there is enough context that they have at least some idea of what those consequences may be. And I don't mean a choice where there is an obviously right answer.

To use Lord of the Rings, when the Company sets out from Rivendell, they don't know that they are making the right choice. Going around the mountains and passing through Gondor, trying the mountain pass, and going through Moria all have potential risks, and they do not know which is the right way. LotR, especially the novels, is full of points where the characters make choices, and do not know which is the right choice to make. They do, however, have some idea of the consequences of their options, and they do discuss them,

The first adventure I wrote for Goodman Games has the quest-giver as the villain. It is pretty clear that this is the case, and pretty clear that giving her what she wants will not end well. Less clear, but equally true, is that taking what she wants for one of the PCs (explicitly possible in the adventure) will cause problems in the long run. There is also a magic sword with a similar issue: you gain power, but have to deal with the drawbacks if you take it.

I have run this adventure many times, for many players, and every group has made different choices when dealing with the issues it presents. The adventure matters to them because their choices drive the narrative, for good or ill. The adventure matters to me because I get to be just as surprised as anyone else at the table because I am not the one driving the narrative.

And that's really the whole secret. Making player choices that matter makes an adventure that matters.

Launch Alert

I have been a huge fan of Tales From the Smoking Worm. Since the first issue the quality is mercilessly hard to beat. With Issue #10 coming soon, I wanted to take the chance to get the word out.

I've done a few reviews of past offerings, and I have found things to enjoy and to use at the game table in every issue thus far. I don't think that is going to change soon! These really are well-written, professional-grade zines, and I hope you will support them.

Ostrich Skeleton

Ostrich Skeleton: Init +2; Atk kick +1 melee (1d6+1); AC 12; HD 2d6; MV 50’; Act 1d20; SP un-dead, half damage from cutting and piercing weapons; SV Fort +3; Ref +3; Will -2; AL C.

For some reason, ostrich skeletons are attracted to picnickers and love to disrupt joyful outings of all types.

Bag of the Fates

In honor of this beautiful dice bag, made for me by my brother at Vault 0, here is a magic item: 

Bag of the Fates

This pouch is found with an assortment of small stones within, each associated with good or bad luck. Larger stones are typically indicative of greater variations in luck.

This object is represented by a dice bag with a random assortment of dice therein. The owning player may choose to select a single die and roll it when the judge requires any roll. The result is added to the die roll as if it were spent Luck, although thieves and halflings gain no special bonus and this bonus cannot be spent to help the rolls of an ally (as with halflings, fleeting luck, or similar).

Once the owning player has gained a positive modifier, the judge may require that they select another die at any time and roll it, subtracting the result from a selected roll. The judge may continue requiring that the player select a die until the penalty equals or surpasses the previous bonus. At this time, selection again becomes the player's choice, and the die becomes a bonus until the player has again received more bonuses than penalties (the bag confers a bonus whenever the bonuses and penalties are in balance).

Only one draw can be made per roll, whether as a bonus or penalty, and the Bag of the Fates disappears once the last die is drawn, regardless of where the ledger stands.

Note that the player drawing from the Bag of Fate need not draw dice randomly; they may attempt to "game fortune" if they choose by selected larger or smaller dice on specific rolls. It is recommended that the judge keep track of the current tally of bonuses to penalties.

Something similar to the lovely dice bag pictured here is available to order from Vault 0. The embroidered raven design can be purchased; the "Crowking" with the crown was created as a unique artifact!

The Rusted Wyrm

When I was in the US last month, I picked up some awesome metal business cards from The Rusted Wyrm. Mostly, they just looked too cool to pass up. The picture really doesn't do them justice.

The sculpture that they get their name from? I have plans to provide DCC statistics for that! 

(You can see the sculpture in action if you follow the link above!)

Full Disclosure: Rusted Wyrm is owned by my brother-in-law. A stand-up guy, and one I am happy to suppport!

DCC Day: When Snowmen Attack!

 

        Saturday July 20th

12 - 4

At the 

Sword & Board

All Materials Provided!

Let’s Convert the Hawkmoon Bestiary: Sea Dragon, Stenchrunner, Swampsnapper, War Jaguar, and Wraith-Folk of Soryandum

This is a bit of a longer post, but the goal is to finish off creature conversions from the Hawkmoon role-playing game. Again, I am finding creatures which the 1e Fiend Folio seems to pay homage to. The stenchrunner is very different in some ways to the witherstench, but I would think the latter was inspired by the former. Similarly, the swampsnapper may well have provided the inspiration for the bonesnapper.

As always, I am adjusting material to meet DCC’s design, and using the Hawkmoon bestiary, rather then the original source material, as the basis of statistics.

Sea Dragon

Sea Dragon: Init +0; Atk claw +10 melee (1d8) or bite +10 melee (1d12) or tail lash +10 melee (1d20) or wing buffet +10 melee (2d12); AC 23; HD 8d12; MV 60’ or fly 120’ or swim 120’; Act 4d20; SV Fort +8, Ref +8, Will +8; AL N.

Although not true dragons, sea dragons are fearsome foes which are formidable on land, in water, and in the air. They serve the Runestaff, but are themselves thoroughly evil, and sometimes attack coastal settlements. Luckily, they are also weaker than true dragons, and lack both breath weapon and spells.

Stenchrunner

Stenchrunner: Init +0; Atk bite +0 melee (1d6) or claw +2 melee (1d4); AC 12; HD 2d8; MV 30’ or climb 30’; Act 2d20; SP stench, stealth +4; SV Fort +2, Ref +0, Will +0; AL C.

Stenchrunners are nocturnal baboon-like creatures with toothed bird-like beaks and long cat-like claws. They inhabit ruined cities, where they stealthily stalk and ambush prey. Their oily fur gives off a nauseating reek, and any other creature within 10’ of a stenchrunner takes an automatic -2 penalty to attack rolls, AC, and spell checks as a result, unless they have no sense of smell. When stenchrunners attack, they emit a horrible hissing sound.

Swampsnapper

Swampsnapper: Init +4; Atk bite +2 melee (1d8) or claw +3 melee (1d4); AC 14; HD 4d8; MV 30’ or or swim 30’; Act 2d20; SP stealth +10, leap; SV Fort +4, Ref +4, Will +0; AL C.

These fast-breeding marshland creatures have alligator-like snouts and squat, heavily bristled bodies. They can leap up to 10’ as part of a move, using their muscular legs for power and their long thick tails for balance. They vary greatly in color, but all can hide in marshy environments and move stealthily, often sneaking up and leaping upon prey. They lay heaps of eggs in mud nests, which hatch into young capable of hunting in 1d3 weeks.

Swampsnappers are evil-tempered, and once they have set their mind on eating a particular creature, nothing short of death can change it. Some magic, such as charm person and forget, may dull this instinct for a while, but never permanently. Luckily, swampsnappers are extremely stupid.

War Jaguar

War Jaguar: Init +4; Atk bite +7 melee (1d10+3) or claws +4 melee (1d5+3) or tail lash +3 melee (1d6); AC 16; HD 6d8; MV 40’ or climb 20’ or swim 30’; Act 3d20; SP rake, stealthy (+6 to surprise), tracking; SV Fort +6, Ref +4, Will +5; AL N.

War jaguars are enormous creatures with heads as large as those of oxen. Their backs are lined with a foot-high row of yellow spines, running down to their barb-tipped tails. Bred long ago in Asia Communista, they are incapable of breeding, but their natural lifespans are millennia long. Although magic may give limited control over these vicious animals, hungry war jaguars will sometimes attack their handlers and trainers when using more conventional methods.

 Wraith-Folk of Soryandum

Wraith-Folk: Init +4; Atk none; AC 10; HD 1d6; MV fly 30’ or swim 30’; Act 1d20; SP immaterial, carry, hide +10, ESP; SV Fort +0; Ref +4; Will +8; AL N.

Similar to the Great Good Ones, the Wraith-folk also gave up corporeal existence to survive the Tragic Millennium. They are immaterial, and therefore immune to most attacks, although some forms of magical energy may harm them at the judge’s discretion. They are able to carry creatures up to human-sized individually (or larger as a group) while flying or moving through water.  Because they exist in another dimension, they are difficult to see and can hide very easily. They have a limited form of ESP, by reading mental vibrations, which allows them to discern intentions and to tell friends from foes.

The Wraith-folk have no effective attacks, although they can give guidance and instruction to those they deem friends. Before they transferred to the other dimension, the Wraith-folk stored a great number of artifacts in a cavern outside Soryandum, guarded by the machine beast, which must be outwitted or otherwise dealt with before items can be removed. At the judge’s discretion, these artifacts may be technological in nature, magical, or some combination of the two.

 

Let’s Convert the Hawkmoon Bestiary: Mountain Giant, Ocean Ghoul, Octiguana, and Pteroon

Looking at the Hawkmoon RPG, it is pretty clear that, while some stats scale along the same lines as Dungeons & Dragons (at it appeared at the time) or Dungeon Crawl Classics, the correspondence is not always “1 to 1”.  Ultimately, it has to be our goal to make material usable for the game we are playing. In this case, I am adjusting material to meet DCC’s design, and that requires interpretation of the source material.

That the ocean ghouls use rapiers is interesting, because one would assume such weapons wouldn’t survive long immersed in salty ocean water. These rapiers are probably made of an unusual metal, and so would be of potential interest to elves. Although DCC doesn’t include the rapier as a standard weapon, I just gave it damage akin to a short sword.

Out of the Hawkmoon bestiary, the octiguana is my favorite creature, for reasons even I cannot explain. Maybe it’s just how easily I could see including them in almost any adventure. It may be my inherent cruelty as a judge, because I can easily see a PC foregoing attacks to escape the creature’s many arms, as more arms grip them and the creature gets ever-greater bonuses to its bite attacks.

Mountain Giant

Mountain Giant (8’ tall, 900 lbs.): Init +0; Atk huge club +10 melee (2d6+6) or hurled stone +5 ranged (1d8+4, range 60’) or huge bow +5 ranged (1d6+4, range 200’/500’/1,500’); AC 14; HD 5d10; MV 30’; Act 1d20; SV Fort +8, Ref +6, Will +5; AL C.

Oladahn: Init +2; Atk longsword +5 melee (1d8+1) or short sword +5 melee (1d6+1) or dagger +5 melee (1d4+1) or longbow +6 ranged (1d6); AC 14; HD 3d10+6; hp 26; MV 30’; Act 1d20; SP stealth +4, climb sheer surfaces +5; SV Fort +6, Ref +6, Will +6; AL N.

Mountain giants are mutant humans found in the Bulgar Mountains. They are very broad, and covered in wiry hair of any color natural to their base human stock. Their appetites are immense, and they practice cannibalism – going even so far as to eat weaker members of their own families when nothing better is available.

Oladahn, one of Hawkmoon’s companions, is a mountain giant who suffered a pituitary defect preventing him from growing beyond human size and strength. He fled the mountains to avoid being eaten by his Uncle Barkyou. Shorter than average for a human, Oladahn has rusty brown fur and wears leather armor.

Mountain giants from the Fiend Folio seem to be unrelated.

Ocean Ghoul

Ocean Ghoul: Init +0; Atk rapier +2 melee (1d6) or bite +0 melee (1d3); AC 12; HD 1d6; MV 30’ or swim 50’; Act 1d20; SP water dependency; SV Fort +2, Ref +3, Will +0; AL C.

These vile aquatic humanoids have webbed hands and feet and long tadpole-like tails. Their rubbery skin is a sickly blue-white hue, and their sharp-toothed mouths stretch nearly from ear to ear. They are found in shallow waters around reefs and rocky outcroppings, usually only attacking small vessels with raiding parties of 3d6 members. However, sometimes multiple bands work together to attack larger ships.

Ocean ghouls cannot live more than a few hours outside of water, and they dislike bright sunlight.

Octiguana

Octiguana: Init -2; Atk bite +3 melee (3d4) or arm +5 melee (1d4 plus hold, up to 10’ away) or tongue +8 ranged (hold and pull, range 30’); AC 15; HD 3d8; MV 40’ or climb 20’ or swim 30’; Act 2d20; SP arm attacks, hold, pull; SV Fort +2, Ref -2, Will -2; AL N.

Temple Octiguana: Init +0; Atk bite +1 melee (3d4) or arm +3 melee (1d3 plus hold, up to 5’ away) or tongue +8 ranged (hold and pull, range 20’); AC 14; HD 1d8; MV 40’ or climb 20’ or swim 30’; Act 2d20; SP arm attacks, hold, pull; SV Fort +1, Ref -1, Will +0; AL N.

These creatures are large black lizards with a collar of eight octopus-like arms around their necks. Each round, an octiguana can attack using 1d4 of these arms (as separate attacks) using a single action die. These arms grip opponents, making them easier to bite (+2 per arm), and can be escaped with a DC 14 Strength check per arm. Victims gain one free Strength check per round, but may use their action dice to secure more.

The octiguana’s tongue attack does no damage, but pulls its victim to the octiguana, allowing a free bite attack with a +2 bonus. The tongue can be severed with 10 hp damage, but any damage to its tongue causes the creature to release and retract its tongue, which it will not use again until healed. The tongue’s grip otherwise requires a DC 30 Strength check to break.

Smaller octiguanas have been bred for centuries in the blood pool of the Temple of Batach Gerandium, with stats as indicated above. Both types are carnivorous, and nearly always hungry.

Pteroon

Pteroon: Init +6; Atk bite +2 melee (1d6) or claw +4 melee (1d4) or wing buffet +5 melee (1d3) or shriek; AC 14; HD 2d8; MV fly 40’; Act 2d20; SP shriek (Fort DC 15 or be stunned and unable to act for 1 round, 30’ cone with 30’ base), stop to eat; SV Fort +4, Ref +4, Will +0; AL C.

Genetically altered bats native to Persia, these black creatures have long arms and bony claws in addition to their wings. Once a bat has killed a target, it must make a DC 10 Will save for each additional target it kills, or it stops to eat for 2d6 minutes or until interrupted. A body eaten by a pteroon without interruption cannot be recovered (rolled over), even if some remains are left. It the pteroon is slain or driven off, though, there is a chance that by some lucky miracle the fallen adventurer survived (as per normal rules).

These creatures stink of old blood and decaying flesh.

See also Doombat.

Let’s Convert the Hawkmoon Bestiary: The Machine-Beast, Mesmerose, and Minim

Looking at the Hawkmoon RPG, it is pretty clear that, while some stats scale along the same lines as Dungeons & Dragons (at it appeared at the time) or Dungeon Crawl Classics, the correspondence is not always “1 to 1”.  Ultimately, it has to be our goal to make material usable for the game we are playing. In this case, I am adjusting material to meet DCC’s design, and that requires interpretation of the source material.

Not everything in Hawkmoon requires a full statblock, or even a standard statblock. Some things just require the judge to have rules available for their effects. The Mesmerose in this post, and the Jeebies in the last, are good examples of this. Otherwise, these statistics are based almost entirely on Hawkmoon, which means that there might be some differences between them and the original Tragic Millennium stories. If a creature appears in Hawkmoon (or Stormbringer, when I get to it) that also appears in the Deities & Demigods tome, I will either do a separate conversion, or note that the source material doesn’t differ enough to make a separate conversion worthwhile.

The Machine-Beast

Machine-Beast: Init +0; Atk talon +8 melee (2d10) or bite +6 melee (2d10) or tail lash +6 melee (1d10) or crush +2 melee (5d10); AC 20; HD 12d12; hp 88; MV 40’; Act 3d20; SP construct, DR 20, sharp weapon-breaking plating, crush; SV Fort +12, Ref +4, Will +0; AL N.

“It crouched on metal feet, towering over them, its multi-colored scales half-blinding them. The length of its back, save for its neck, was a mass of knife-sharp horns. It had a body fashioned … like an ape’s, with short hind legs and long forelegs, ending in hands of taloned metal. Its eyes were multifaceted like a fly’s, and its snout was full of razor-sharp metal teeth.”

-          THE MAD GOD’S AMULET

There is only one Machine-Beast, which guards Soryandum, attacking anything entering the cavern except the Wraith-folk. A creation of the Wraith-folk of Soryandum, placed to protect their artifacts from outsiders, it can presumably be repaired by the Wraith-folk through proxies, so even though Hawkmoon rendered the creature blind when he encountered it, that may no longer be the case. Moreover, the mechanism itself may have some self-repair function which, over time, “heals” whatever damage it takes.

The metal plating of the machine-beast makes it difficult to damage. It subtracts the first 20 points of damage from any successful attack against it, regardless of the source. Worse, anyone who makes a successful melee attack against the machine-beast must roll a Reflex save, with varying effects based on the result: (5 or less) non-magical weapon shattered plus 1d8 damage from sharp protuberances, (6-10) 1d6 damage from knife-sharp horns, or (11+) no effect.

The machine-beast’s crush attack uses all of its action dice, but attacks all targets in a 15’ radius up to 20’ away from the machine-beast’s starting location. The machine-beast leaps into the air, attempting to land on its victim(s). It’s half-blinding scales make it more difficult to hit, and are already factored into the creature’s Armor Class. Although a construct, critical hits and mighty deeds can damage its functioning.

Mesmerose

Brilliant flowers made from what appears to be rainbow-hued crystal, these plants enthrall those who see them and fail to make a DC 15 Will save. Enthralled creatures can do nothing other than gaze upon the flower until they die of hunger and thirst or another creature intervenes (by pulling the victim away, interrupting their vision, etc.). A new save is required each time a mesmerose is glimpsed. In addition from offering some protection from being eaten themselves, this defense utilizes the creatures destroyed through privation as fertilizer when they decompose.

Intelligent creatures aware of the presence of mesmerose bushes may use them to capture intruders, although they run the same risk should they accidently glance at the plants themselves.

Minim

Minim: Init +2; Atk miniature spear +0 melee (1d3-2, minimum 0); AC 14; HD 1 hp; MV 20’; Act 1d16; SV Fort -4; Ref +4; Will -4; AL N.

Minim swarm: Init +2; Atk swarming spears and bites +2 melee (1d3); AC 16; HD 3d8; MV 20’; Act special; SP swarm traits; SV Fort +4, Ref +8, Will +0; AL N.

Hairy mutant humans with completely hairless heads, minims live in the ruins of Yei. They have neither language nor culture, and are not normally dangerous. Minims may watch intruders from behind cover, but these shy creatures do nothing else unless compelled to by magic or super-science. In this case, or if somehow otherwise provoked, they attack en masse as a swarm.