Houserules: In-person Only Edition

Lots of gaming takes place online, and there are lots of tools suitable for facilitating this play.

Still, in-person games provide the opportunity for manipulatives to be used at the table.

In my case, I am thinking of mechanics lifted from other sources, using items many gamers' homes already contain.

Dread is a horror role-playing game that makes use of a Jenga tower.  The mechanic of pulling and stacking bricks to build tension works in more traditional RPGs.  But when the tower inevitably collapses, it isn't automatic death of the PC, merely something BAD happening to the party as a whole.

Another idea is one I learned of yesterday.  At the blog Daddy Rolled a One, he discusses using cards to mimic wandering through dark twisty caves.  He cites the source of the idea as the YouTube Dungeoncraft Channel, so between the two, you'll get a solid idea of what I am going for.*  

While this trick could be mimicked online using a dice roller or other random generator, there is something more visceral with pulling a card from a spread and revealing it.

The last tangible I want to write about are Scrabble tiles.  I can't lie, Scrabble is one of my favorite board games, but is hell to play against people who cannot spell, have limited vocabularies, or both.

Anyhow, Gnomish Puzzle Locks appear in my megadungeon, and amount to a grid with a bowl of letter tiles underneath them.  Clues exist, but rarely in the same room.  

Players fit the Scrabble tiles to the grid.  Letters glow faintly (sometimes) when in the correct location.  When the final gridspace is filled, either the lock opens with a click-hiss OR the PC manipulating the letters gets an electric shock (meaner versions are actually Chain Lightning).

I wouldn't be much of a DM if there weren't enough spare letters in the bowl to spell out several different words, though.  Maybe wrong words trigger different results.

As I type this, the old computer game Betrayal at Krondor comes to mind, with its Moredhel Wordlock Chests. These chests were kind enough to have the riddle-clues written on them, so maybe I could take that route: riddle-clues in obscure languages in the room (or near it) of the Gnomish Puzzle Lock. Statues and giant brazen faces intoning riddles works as well.

Are any of these silly? Maybe.

Are any of these fun? Yes.  Yes, they are.

*Since I learned of it from a blog, you can guess my preferred method of information gathering.  Still, the Dungeoncraft Channel gets high marks from several sources, so if you like videos and D&D or other rpgs, check it out.

Ironguard Keep: the Beginning

Ironguard Keep was an online (Discord voice) game in the (mostly) 5e ruleset.  I enjoyed the campaign, limited though it was.  I like to think my players did as well.  So, I have decided to trickle out the campaign logs for those interested in such things.  

Keep in mind that the earliest sessions' notes were just bullet statement checklists, and that wine, beer, and/or Kahlua factored into this DM's thinking, improvising, ruling, and remembering events.  To make for more interesting reading, I have fictionalized the bullet lists.

Prologue - 

A century ago, Ironguard Keep was founded and its construction began, in order to keep Chaos at bay.  It’s founders were the surviving members of the first recorded band of heroes to strike down the Chaos Temples.  What few realize is that Ironguard Keep is built upon the remains of earlier constructions - the cycle of Law vs Chaos is far older than most realize.  As Ironguard Keep grew, the nearby town of Kingsbridge grew as well, on both sides of an ancient bridge that was attributed to the time of the World Emperor.

50 years before today, another bold band of heroes went forth to strike down the Chaos Temples.  While the Chaos Temples were cast down, those that returned from the Swamp Temple were fewer and forever changed.   Their leader, the paladin Sir Gerrard of the Flame, was not with them, and the survivors refused to speak of his loss.  Caradoc, their fighter, and Merric Glitterdust, their Gnome were also lost, but the survivors spoke of their noble sacrifices in hushed tones.  They carried the body of the Halfling, Harold ‘Harry’ Brandybuck (of the Buckland Brandybucks), with them.  The cleric Sister Boronwe had lost her faith and was blinded, and the Elf, Moonshade, remained mostly silent and nursed his missing arm.  The only ones mostly unchanged was the wizard Gargamel Stargazer and his shieldman Kataan.

After returning to Ironguard Keep, Gargamel Stargazer constructed and settled in the Tower to the North, keeping his retainer Kataan and Kataan’s wife with him.  Moonshade escorted Sister Boronwe to Skara Brae to stay with the Sisters in the temple there, and then disappeared from history.  Harry Brandybuck is buried in the cemetery of Kingsbridge,  near the Cenotaphs of Caradoc and Merric Glitterdust. 

Someone named Old Man Kataan lives in the Swamps to the south of Ironguard Keep.  It is uncertain if this is the same Kataan.  What is certain is that Old Man Kataan might be senile, but he is still quite capable.

Session One - 4/18/20 

PCs - 

Klayton Mueller, Human Warlock 1

Yelrah, Half-Orc Barbarian 1

Albrecht Schulze, Human Sorcerer 1

Maria, Half-Elf Druid 1

The members of the party had individually signed on as caravan guards for the monthly supply run from civilization to Ironguard Keep, out on the borderlands in the Troll Hills.  Arriving at the Keep, the PCs declared their names and professions to the guards and scribe at the gate, then collected their wages from the caravan paymaster.  Coin in hand, Albrecht headed to the chapel and the other three to the Lion's Den.

At the Chapel, Albrecht met with Chaplain Alain de Blanc (and the acolytes Hans Gruber and Lucette Beaumont), where he learned of the rising chaos and the threat it poses civilization.  Albrecht then spent an hour in prayer and some gold on a healing potion.

The other three began gathering information immediately.  Klayton bought a round for the house, and was rewarded with an older, off-duty guard named Bruno telling the tale of how Kingsbridge came to be a (mostly) uninhabited ruin.  Bruno was speaking from experience, as he was a youth when it fell, and one of the few survivors.  

Yelrah, in turn, ended up arm-wrestling a large human with flame-red hair named Connor Mcleod (DM note - Connor is a proper 1e or 2e firbolg, not one of those goofy looking 5e firbolg).  Connor lost, and with a laugh, shared information about the surrounding areas, chiefly that he had encountered strange beasts not seen in years.  That, and the humanoids are on the prowl on this side of the river.

Connor Mcleod - A proper firbolg, from one of the 2e monster books.

Maria learned a few details about the tower visible from the Keep, chiefly that it once was a wizard's tower, but is now abandoned.  In addition, over the last 20-30 years, a variety of flying creatures have made a lair there, the worst being a dragon that hasn't been seen in decades.  

Towards evening, Albrecht joined the others at the Lion's Den, where they collectively heard the Song of Swords (DM note - yes, all 12 swords are in my world, somewhere; Maria's player borrowed the trilogy and enjoyed it).  After that, they decided that abandoned towers weren't going to explore themselves, so they agreed to set off the next day. 

The band set off in the morning, encountering the latest flying inhabitant of the tower, a fearsome manticore! (DM note - first 5e combat I've run).  Of course, battle ensues, with the manticore firing off a volley of spikes that nearly slay Klayton outright.  The rest of fight is ranged attacks and hiding in among trees and bushes.  Ranged attacks including Eldritch Blast - Klayton used the once-per-session d30 for damage here and between that, more traditional Eldritch Blasts, and some Magic Missiles from Albrecht, the manticore died.  (This was the beginning of the DM's education about Action Economy).

Beast slain, the PCs skin it and collect some spikes for potential later use.  Maria especially wants to make a cloak from its pelt.

Moving forward, the band continue to the tower, and find it without issue.  It is a standard 4-story round tower, with a 1-story rectangular cottage attached to it.  The party find the entrances sealed, so force one and find themselves inside the cottage.  The servants' room indicates a hasty exit, as beds are unmade, chests open, and drawers emptied on the beds.  Pantry and kitchen reveal nothing but a trapdoor into a cellar.

The cellar contains a mostly empty wine rack and crates that hide an open secret passage, which the party choose to explore another day.  Within the crates are fine china packed in straw, several bolts of silk, a fancy ivory statue of a woman fighter, and a scroll tube.  As can be expected, the party claim them all, but leave the dishes behind.  Klayton takes the remaining 6 bottles of wine.

Back on the ground floor, explorations/looting continues.  In the bottom floor of the round tower is a large round table and several finely crafted chairs.  In the center of the table is a silver tray with a fancy ewer and eight matching goblets upon it.   Using magic to read the etchings on the ewer (because none of the PCs can read Draconic) they learn the words: Wine, Ale, Hot Water, Cold Water.  Upon each goblet are the words Full and Half.  Strangely, no one claimed these or even uttered the words.

A set of stairs ran up, so the party followed it into a library/study, complete with desk and
robed skeleton behind it. Investigating the skeleton revealed arrows sticking out of it, a
fancy belt, and fancy ring. The arrows were determined to have once been magical
AND poisoned. A 50ish year old map was recovered and claimed by Maria, while
Yelrah claimed some gems and Albrecht a scroll (of Web).

The session ended due to time (3, rarely 4, hours a week was the plan), with the PCs in mid-exploration.

Monday MtG: Marisi, Breaker of the Coil

Marisi, Breaker of the Coil

I gave up alcohol and sweets for Lent, so buying gaming-related things as a present for my March birthday is my excuse for another round of Magic singles.  Particularly, all the monarch and goad cards my collection is missing.

RGW, or Naya, decks have been attempted before.  I ran Marath, Will of the Wild (as a Deathtouch machine gun), and a terrible try at a political deck headed by Gahiji, Honored One.  Marath worked better than Gahiji, but neither scratched that itch, so they were scrapped for parts.

Now, though, I have Marisi.  I suspect it will do poorly in a creature-light environment, but that environment will hopefully be the exception, not the rule.  Gahiji will be in the 99, as will Jared Carthalion, Heir Apparent.  

Monarch and Goad are like peanut butter and chocolate.  I haven't been this truly excited for a new deck in a decade.  All the others, good and bad, have been workmanlike and there.  This deck, though, promises to be fun.  

To keep the deck an honest build, I researched it the old-fashioned way: sifting through my collection, seeking what might work.  Eventually, I will check some decklists somewhere, but not until the deck is initially ready to go.

My preliminary draft features far too many 6cmc cards, well over a dozen.  I have a few oddballs, as well, cards I don't think I have ever sleeved: Total War, Sworn Defender, and Serene Master.  In theory, at least, they should play well in a creature-heavy environment.

To better encourage combat, I've added some group-huggy cards: Crescendo of War, Evolutionary Escalation, and Keeper of Progenitus. Some players dislike hugs, because it too often results in kingmaking.  Which is funny, because Monarch.  Combat also means combat instants.  Master Warcraft, Blood Frenzy, and my baby, Hunter's Insight.  A special word about Blood Frenzy; aside from its sweet Paolo Parente art, it doubles as creature destruction - ideally, it takes out two creatures.  Granted, Blood Frenzy is a pale imitation of Berserk, but it is also far cheaper than $20+ USD.

This deck features some overlap with my Xenagod deck, notably Xenagos, God of Revels himself.  Because of this overlap, I am avoiding infinite attacks, although Scourge of the Throne and its thematically fitting Dethrone mechanic can allow for a spare attack or two.  Aurelia, the Warleader serves a similar purpose.

All the gold cards makes me strongly consider adding Urza's Filter to the deck.  It is competing with Commander's Sphere, Arcane Signet, Chromatic Lantern, and Mana Geode, so I don't know if it will make the final cut.  Still, it is a thought, and an excuse to sleeve it up and run it.

While the deck isn't much for extra single draw, beyond Monarch, it does mass draw fairly well.

Dirty tricks are sometimes necessary to win, and many Magic players argue that infect is the dirtiest trick of all.  Especially when Hydra Omnivore or Kediss, Emberclaw Familiar is involved.  In my colors, the only way to see this dirty trick through is with Triumph of the Hordes and Grafted Exoskeleton; the former made my first draft of the deck, and the latter is available in my box.  

The cards have arrived! 

Being foil only (a dumb, dumb, dumb choice, WotC), Marisi (and Pramikon and Xyris) arrived seriously warped.  A sleeve and some weight will help, but they are done.  At least when they are commanders, their warping won't result in what amounts to a marked card.

Anyhow, I am at 150ish cards, so cuts will be deep.

Decklist

In the Dungeon, No One Can Hear You Scream

Dungeon maps walk a fine line between art and usefulness, especially in published products.  In an effort to make them visually appealing, dungeon maps can lose their usefulness.  Which is odd, because the map is for the DM to guide the PCs, providing the players input about what their PCs see, smell, feel, taste, and hear.  Ideally, the only person to see the map is the DM, so making it pretty rather defeats the purpose.

A portion of the map from Judges Guild's Tegel Manor

Tegel Manor was printed back in 1977.  Aside from its hook - a PC won the deed in a fixed card game against one of the living Rumps, so must clear it to claim it - Tegel Manor has an awesome map.  The segment above is a bit blurry, but you can see words in the hallways.  If you squint just right, you can read some of them: Crying, Quarreling, Rolling, and Creaking.  

The idea being that as PCs walk through those passages, they hear those unexplained sounds.  My question is, why don't more published adventures do this?

If you aren't published, but you still craft your own adventures, why don't you do this?  

Appealing to all the senses is a fiction-writing trick that DMs should make more use of.  Maps are another DM trick that do see regular use, but the maps are often near-useless without the key spread throughout the book.  While you can use the Tegel Manor method of random sounds (and sometimes those are great), a better use of sound in the dungeon (and on the map) is to foreshadow what lies in which direction.

Presume the adventuring party has reached a T-intersection, and are faced with the decision to go left or right.  A steady distant rumbling can be heard to the left, and what might be singing can be heard to the right.  Now the players have an interesting choice to make: rumbling or singing.

Writing these two words on the map itself makes life easier for the DM and more realistic for the players.  Without those two words, the players are likely to be annoyed when they go left and suddenly find themselves in a chamber with a deafening waterfall or when they go right and encounter harpies.  

Some DMs can and will quickly improvise as the PCs move towards the room with the waterfall or the harpies, often with a ham-fisted 'you can hear a noise that gets louder,' after reading the key while the PCs stand in the door way.  Spare yourself and your players the headache, and add foreshadowing words to hallways.  Especially sounds.

This much clearer segment of the map from Melan's excellent Castle Xyntillan uses this method, not only with noises (singing, in this case), but other notes.  Granted, Castle X is an homage to Tegel Manor, but the map is so useful that it is worth copying the technique in its own right.  As an aside, Castle Xyntillan is worth the shipping price from overseas and wait time to receive it.  No where before have I seen a catalogue of PCs and NPCs that died during playtesting and where/how they died; this alone is worth a read.

Another way to make use of sounds in the dungeon is to add them to the wandering monster/random encounter table.  Here is a rough example.  Note that some critters won't make noise, but will have other tells.

d8	monster	sounds
1	gorgon	snorting, clipclopping
2	hobgoblin patrol	steady tramp of boots getting closer
3	giant rattlesnake	a rattling
4	sprites	giggles and laughter
5	ghost	weeping and wailing
6	giant bees (or stirges)	buzzing
7	zombies	moaning
8	roll on the sounds subtable

d6	sounds
1	terrified begging that descends into screaming
2	laughter that turns into weeping
3	echoing voice calling for help
4	roaring
5	dripping
6	crashing

For giggles, items 1-3 on the sounds subtable are in one or more PC voices.  

Combining the two methods works as well: words on the map and a random encounter table that adds sound effects.  

In short, use the empty space on the map and expand your random encounter tables.

It sounds good to me.

Late Night Link

Now this is a fascinating page: Links to Wisdom

It is a large list of links regarding different aspects of roleplaying.  

The links run to a variety of blog articles that quite thoroughly explore various houserules pertaining to whichever broad category you're exploring.

Overall, it reminds me a bit of Blogs on Tape, but far more extensive.

So, if you're in need of some houserules, check it out.

Monday MtG: Kami of the Crescent Moon

Kami of the Crescent Moon 

I built Kami as a gift for my niece.  She fell away from Magic when she went off to college, so I never got around to actually giving her the deck.  If there is a gift for proper use of Blue countermagic, she has it, to my regular chagrin.

Anyhow, I recently found the deckbox (a gift deck deserves a proper deckbox) in my games closet (in contrast to my kids' games closet), so here it is. (decklist)

The Trinket Mage package contains mana and answers, and with all the bounce in the deck, it is likely to fetch several artifacts by game end.  

Sometimes, I consider Temple of the False God a trap or at least a player skill check; yes it provides 2 colorless when tapped, but only with five or more lands already in play.  There are several games through the years where Temple was the fourth land and I stalled on it, staring at an effectively useless land.  Browsing proven decklists shows that Temple, despite its 2 mana, is rarely an inclusion.  Maybe I should take a hint.

As the deck is no longer going where intended, I could ramp up its game by adding Laboratory Maniac, Arcane Denial, Jace, Wielder of Mysteries, and Narset, Parter of Veils, among other cards.  Honestly, I am surprised that Arcane Denial isn't already in there.  Howling Mine and the like, as well as the Blue Wheels might be pushing it, though.  Rhystic Study is a shoe-in, if I have a spare - because buying one is not in the cards due to its average $30 price tag, a price driven by how Rhystic Study fits in any blue deck and is also another player skill check.  

Better players always pay the Rhystic Study tax, because letting opponents have free cards is bad.  I am not a better player, because I rarely, if ever pay.  Part of that is because not every deck running Rhystic Study is full of game-winning cards (although in my main meta, that is the way to bet - so I should start paying the tax), but most of it is that perhaps my decks don't ramp hard enough or because I want to play MY cards now, not next turn or later.

For more proof of my not being a better player, I always take the land with Tempting Discovery (often for Strip Mine or the like), and my piles for Fact or Fiction and its cousins are terrible.  Although not quite 'pile of 0 cards and pile of 5 cards' terrible.  

I broke down and ordered more singles, to include some additions/improvements for this deck. In addition, my Tatyova deck is coming apart, so I can add Lab Man and Jace to this deck. Between these two sources, this deck should improve a bit.  If nothing else, Temple of the False God is assuredly on its way out.  

In short, this is a commander deck that I maintain, despite my finding it difficult to win with.  If I were a better player, I would use it to teach myself how to run countermagic properly.

Dreams of Adventure

Bryce at tenfootpole.org has some new reviews up.  I mention this, not because all of the adventures are good, but because the reviews are entertaining to read in their own right.  Language warning, though.  

Maize and Monsters (Swords and Wizardry)

Zaratazarat's Manse (OSE)

Down and Out in a Schleswig Sanitarium (Mork Borg)

Tower to the Abyss (5e)

The Laboratory of Melifex the Mad (DCC)

I'm sharing these because I have a dream to self-publish adventures.  When that dream reaches fruition is unknown, but if it does, I want it reviewed by Bryce.

Mostly, I want to dodge the pitfalls that he colorfully describes.  Adventures for sale are NOT literature, but tools for others to use, like a textbook.  But a good, useful textbook.

I suspect we've all encountered terrible textbooks in our educations.  Especially teacher-made textbooks and study guides.  Published adventures, regardless of genre or ruleset, should follow the same model of easy use for whomever picks it up.  That is how I want to write.

From Bryce's comments, adventure layout and basic contents should be a snap.

12-size font that is readable, not artsy.  Times New Roman or Sans Serif, maybe.

Two columns.

Evocative, terse writing that shows and not tells.

Good use of bold, italics, bullets, and white space.

Clear, usable maps that match the key.

Pertinent artwork.More pages spent on the adventure proper than the rest of stuff combined.

Ample treasure if writing for a game that uses GP=XP as a design choice.

Appendices at the end for new magic, new monsters, and in-game history and lore that has no bearing on the adventure at hand.

That all looks doable, if only because I can follow a checklist like a boss.  My only issue will be coming up with something clever that is at least somewhat original, but certainly usable.

This Dungeon Checklist from Goblin Punch provides some adventure-design guidance, but in the end, a decent adventure still depends on its writer.

If you enjoy buying pdfs and prints of adventures, either to use straight-up or to mine for ideas, I strongly recommend Bryce's reviews before buying.  His favorites, the best, and the no regerts categories have all taken my money in the past.