Actual Play Musing: A recent semi-TPK

Last night I killed two player characters. Well, I technically didn't kill them: one of them was left behind, polymorphed into a frog, while the other accepted the anger of their wizardly patron.

It was a campaign that originally began as repeated explorations into the city's necropolis (I reskinned parts of Barrowmaze for it). We had four player characters, but two of them (an assassin and a barbarian) only showed up infrequently: the other two (a monk and a berserker) sat firmly in the driver's seat.

For the last two sessions we've been taking a break from the undead-infested necropolis and participated in some good old urban investigation. A slave escaped from an eccentric noble's palace and kidnapped his daughter. The players quickly realised that the daughter and the slave were lovers, and through some colourful interactions found them hiding in the Lunar Garden. Before confronting them, though, they returned a diamond ring to the noble (which the couple stole and sold to cover their expenses).

The initial "I'm giving you this quest" scene and this one surely have communicated that Phlianos wasn't a simple noble: he was hiding in a completely covered sedan chair carried by 8 bald servants with visible incision marks on their craniums. Also, the spokesperson conversed with the lord, not willing to show his visage, through a serpentine thread (like a thin plastic tube or something) that entered his brain through the ear. At any rate, they were paid for a job well done - apparently, the diamond ring was of greater importance than the daughter or the slave.

Still, the party learned that the noble-sorcerer would use the gem as a phylactery to achieve immortality: something they thought they should stop. So they learned of a rival sorceress, contacted her, and told her of the news. The sorcereress told them to steal it for her, and gave them an amulet ("When you have the gem, think of this place, and call my name out loud").

The players went back to the sorcerer with a terrible excuse to sniff around. A terrible reaction roll followed, and the players - instead of chancing an escape (which, for the matter, would totally have been possible) - went for an all-out assault. Sadly, the opposition won initiative, and the berserker failed his saving throw: he was instantly transformed into a frog. The monk threw a flask of oil, but it had little effect. In the next round, he decided to call out the sorcerer's name - so he was instantly teleported back to a safe place, leaving the polymorphed berserker behind (it was apparent that the player actually wanted to grab the frog immediately after activating the amulet; its power wasn't known, after all).

Since polymorph lasts indefinitely and the polymorphed creature assumes the behaviour and mannerisms of the new form, the berserker was assumed dead, unless a rescue mission would be attempted with haste. The sorceress was also greatly displeased. I informed the player that grovelling would surely convince her to spare his life, but he refused and accepted an off-screen death.

I don't think my portrayal of the sorcerer patron/villain was insufficient: the servants and especially the wire-tube were surely enough that it wasn't normal. Also, if a wizard is about to achieve immortality, one can assume it isn't some lucky novice but one with levels and items to back it up.

My players might have misinterpreted the poor reaction roll (result 2). The spokesperson was just yelling a solid get-the-fuck-out (had they complied, they would've let them leave the premises unharmed, although followed by watchful eyes), but of course they had to reach for the flasks of incendiary oil. I even gave the enemy a surprise check (I figured the spokesperson was furious enough to miss subtle movements), but they made it, and... the rest you already know.

The last bit I wanted to mention (truth be told, it was the first thing I wanted to, but I needed some context) is that after the monk's player accepted an off-screen punishment of his character, he offered an alternative ending: one in which the monk didn't use the amulet, and instead he was also polymorphed into a frog - and so the two frogs lived happily ever after in the sorcerer's garden of fountains.

Even though it totally could've happened (had the player not activated the amulet, the sorcerer would definitely have used his wand another time), the important thing is it didn't. Even though I am totally into negotiating fitting epilogues, I am firmly against changing events, even those of little consequence, that have already been established.

As I have already said it, we aren't crafting a story together: we are recognising a story as we look back at the events that unfolded.

Review: Vigilante City (Core Rules)

This review is part of a series on thematic OSR games (as defined here). Also note that some of the links below are affiliate links (meaning I get a small percentage of the sale without extra cost to you).

Vigilante City is a superhero game inspired by the many animated series of the 90s. It uses the same basic system as Dark Places & Demogorgons, the publisher's previous game. This is going to be a rare 3-part review. First, I'm taking a look at the Core Rules; in the second part I'll create a few sample characters to showcase the versatility of the system; finally, I'll review the Villain's Guide, the game's GM's book.

Excellence from the Blogosphere (March-April)

Ehh, the last two months saw so many amazing blog posts that this compilation grew way beyond what it was intended to cover. If productivity persists, I will have to do this monthly instead. Note that I tired to use whatever nickname was associated with the blogger account of the author (where applicable). Without further ado, my favourite blog posts of the last two months (or so):

• Evelyn Moreau has collected her PDFs in one folder on GoogleDrive. There's also a post about Slumber City in the form of a few random tables.
• Tamás Kisbali over at Eldritch Fields posted some preliminary ideas about a Suspirian School of Ballet - a dungeon setting inspired by Suspiria done in the procedural format of The Gardens of Ynn. This is a project I'm following with hungry eyes.
• I'm normally not into excessive details, but Brian Richmond over at The Goatman's Goblet made a good random table for trees (!) usable in Dolmenwood (or other similar settings); could be used to inspire unique items of value or magic, for instance. As there is no comment section on the blog that I could find, I have to complain here about the lack of a comment section as well.
• Alright, the next one's from last October but an important one: funkaoshi over at Save vs. Total Party Kill (how badass, righ?) shared the steps how to use Feedly to keep up with the OSR blogs (based on a fairly comprehensive list in a shared spreadsheet).
• An even older post is from Throne of Salt: the DIY map. Also of note are Dan's notes, of which we have three volumes now: (1), (2), and (3). Dan also recently talked about some of the core features of his Mother Stole Fire setting, and also shared a layman's guide to hard sci-fi.
• Evan from In Places Deep shared an overview of the Nightwick campaign's cosmology (illustration included).
• Michael Raston over at The Lizard Man Diaries posted a neat alternative to the 2d6 reaction table.
• Dunkey Halton posted five intriguing paladin orders over at I Don't Remember That Move.
• After a long hiatus, Trent B shared a d100 table for events and ceremonies in an awful village in New Feierland.
• Scott Malthouse of Trollish Delver talked about the importance of Tunnels & Trolls - a game I'm not intimately familiar with, although I do plan on rectifying that
• Speaking of T&T, maxcan7 of Weird & Wonderful Worlds shared a nice cheat sheet, along with house rules and impressions. While you're there, check out this post titled Micro-Settings: great prompts if you're need of a weird setting.
• Reverance Pavane has reminded us about the most important table in Judges Guild's CSIO (and I can hardly fault him for thinking so).
• Luther Gutekunst over at Archon's Court recently reviewed four versions of the GLOG rules family. I also enjoyed the short posts on the Sunless Horizon setting, as well as the idea of a series of one-shots that affect one another, forming an anthology of sorts.
• Tom Fitzgerald of Middenmurk fame brings us 36 outlandish weapons, like the Dwergish Blunderbore or the Tourney Sword of Ys.
• Gundobad has made quite the splash with the fresh blog Gundobad Games. In particular, I appreciated an easy-to-follow procedure to create richer histories for sandbox settings.
• Jason Tocci shared 45 rumours, lies, and pieces of legend appropriate for a soulslike campaign (like Jason's Knave-hack called Grave).
• Brendan doesn't often posts on his blog, Necropraxis (at least not anymore), but when he does, it surely is worth reading. This February he proposed a simple approach to handle team actions.
• noisms is a busy blogger. Recently, he confirmed that the Fixed World project (here's a high concept post from a few years ago) is a go, and even shared a WIP description of an area. Not only that, but we also got an update on Behind Gently Smiling Jaws, a campaign setting set in an ancient crocodile's memory palace. Also, cockatrice variants, because they're cool.
• Over at Sword of Mass Destruction you can find, among other things, 22 escaped spells (in the GLOG-style), 21 minor spirits (great whenever you want to inject some animism into your setting), and a pitch for a sky-crawling setting book.
• Speaking of spirits, Bob Something of The Amateur Dungeoneers recently talked about an urban fantasy game using SWN as a base. In particular, he talked about spirits and ghosts (twice!), which - as a huge fan of Werewolf: the Forsaken - I found very intriguing. For a very different campaign pitch, check out Machinations of the Baroque Tyrant.
• Josh from Rise Up Comus posted a comprehensive manifesto for his upcoming game, His Majesty the Worm. We also get rules to create halfling characters in a Hobbit-inspired setting using Tarot cards (which are also featured in Josh's random encounter tables).
• Daniel Dean of Basic Red talked about rumours recently. Also check out this collections of links to FLAILSNAILS-compatible classes and races.
• Handy Haversack has a blog now! Check out his thoughts on G+, blogging, and +0 swords and this cult for AS&SH (or whatever) that is both setting-appropriate and mechanically satisfying.
• Allandros from Legacy of the Bieth did a similar thing with a cool "prestige class" for hunter types, oozing with flavour. It actually reminds me of RuneQuest cults, which is a great way to handle prestige classes.
• A Blasted, Cratered Land features a neat GLOG-variant: Mimics & Miscreants. FWIW, I got instantly hooked by these wound tables.
• Based on a Savage Worlds rule, Jack of Tales of Grotesque and Dungeonesque shared a house rule for 5E mechanising interlude scenes. It reminds me a little bit of Anima Prime.
• Cackleharm of The Manse is one of the few people who constantly and quietly produces good material. Some of it may be too silly or gonzo for a lot of campaigns, but the sheer amount of unbridled creativity packed in there is astonishing. Check out these horrible dimensions, this deep time generator, or these methods to "balance" magic in your game.
• You want vikings? Dreams and Fevers has you covered: setting and mechanics.
• Dave Sealy shared some random tables to generate Incursions in his hack of The Nightmares Underneath called The Long Bright Dark.
• Sean McCoy answered some questions regarding layout in RPGs.
• Trey over at From the Sorcerer's Skull shared a few simple tables to run your pulp sci-fi game on Venus, Mars, and Mercury.
• Chris McDowall talked about mecha rules for Into the Odd, and then expanded upon them a little.
• Anne from DIY & Dragons has been kicking around a few campaign concepts, ostensibly for 5E, which prompted her to take a deeper look at 5E backgrounds by first comparing it to other games' treatment of the same concept, then by examining what they backgrounds "do" in the PHB and the Ravnica book. Probably because the American frontier is very distant and magical to me, I adore this very American random familiar table for DCC. Her biggest work of the first quarter, however, is without doubt this detailed look at the GLOGosphere.
• Skerples of Coins & Scrolls has posted a very reasonable format for creature stats as well as a few unique beasts to go with it. There's also a great post on generating artefacts there as well.
• Jonathan Newell, author of Bearded Devil, has explained, in detail, his approach towards running city-based campaigns, specifically his baroque Hex campaign (cf. overview and maps).
• Michael Kennedy from Sheep and Sorcery has been writing about very interesting settings. I especially liked the old-school 40k-inspired INHUMAN and the Genesis-inspired Biblical sword-and-sorcery.
• Cavegirl is running a community project (The Harry Clarke Bestiary). She also lay down some alternatives to "gp = XP".
• Tristan Tanner from The Bogeyman's Cave talks about investigative horror adventures in terms of Hook-Research-Confrontation.
• Ben L. from Mazirian's Garden (another favourite blog name of mine) recently started a series on the "pleasures of the OSR", analysing some of the high concept goals of the games and where they might conflict each other. The first two posts deal with secrecy and discovery and emergent story and open worlds.
• Olav N. of the Triple Suns talked about a variation of the three clue rule. He also discussed how campaign structures in his home campaign form layers superimposed on each other.
• Melan from Beyond Fomalhaut also recently talked about multi-layered wilderness adventures, among other things.
• Not OSR in particular, but here ThePiachu briefly talks about time slots and pacing; even more noteworthy are these common problems with RPG PDFs.
• If you'd like even more highlights, check out Alex Schroeder's list.

AS&SH Average Damage per 2 Rounds

I have made another spreadsheet that I thought might interest others as well. This time I was calculating the average damage output of various weapons in AS&SH.

Here's a breakdown of what's in the spreadsheet:

• Average damage output was calculated for all FA/HD levels vs. all non-negative AC values.
• The numbers show average damage in 2 combat rounds (!) because the number of attacks often alternates.
• Each sheet contains details for a single type of weapon (such as bows, light/heavy crossbows, 1d8 melee weapons, etc.).
• "Dmg" is for the weapon's average damage, "To-hit" and "DmgB" cover bonuses from high attributes and weapon mastery, while "#Atk" and "#Atk7" show how many attacks are made in two rounds level 1-6 and 7-12, respectively.
• Melee weapon damages are calculated with fighter types in mind (other characters have the same attack rate throughout all levels).
• Four primary circumstances are covered: (1) no mastery, average attributes, (2) no mastery, high attributes, (3) mastery, average attributes, and (4) mastery, high attributes. Details are added in notes.
• The last four sheets cover the following special cases: (1) bow vs. damage reduction 1, (2) light crossbow vs. damage reduction 1, (3) bow vs. damage reduction 2, and (4) heavy crossbow vs. damage reduction 2.

Here are my findings:

• Weapon mastery is even stronger than I suspected. Without weapon mastery, it takes 2 rounds on average for a 1st level fighter to kill a zombie (HD 2, AC 8). With weapon mastery, it takes only 1 round.
• A fighter with a two-handed sword (3d4 dmg) has a lower average damage than a fighter with a longsword (1d8) having mastery (until level 6 at least). Note that these numbers don't take damage reduction into account (but also note that monsters don't usually have damage reduction).
• Crossbows are supposed to be better against armoured opponents, but the fact is they are outperformed by bows (provided the archer is stationary). Light crossbows outperform bows against medium armour only if the archer moves before shooting (thus having a reduced rate of fire). Heavy crossbows are even worse against heavy armour: they only outperform (moving) archers from level 7 and on.

Static Damage Reduction vs. OSR Damage Rolls

Under a Reddit post concerning damage reduction in OSR systems a commenter proposed the idea that maximum damage rolls could bypass armour, ensuring that even low damage weapons (such as daggers) wouldn't be rendered completely inefficient against armoured foes. The nerd I am, I made a spreadsheet to calculate the modified average damage outputs (a perfect pastime for a lazy holiday): column A shows the die size, columns B-M the reduced damage output corresponding to the roll, and column N the average. The first sheet assumes armour may completely negata a hit (cf. zero damage), while on the second a single point of damage always goes through. These rules are summarised in column P on both sheets.