Tabletop Gaming Feeds

A common criticism of later editions of D&D from fans of older editions is that they produce "fantasy superheroes." I don't agree with that characterization. In fact, I wonder why we don't see many rpg examples of fantasy superheroes because, like Stargazer here, I think it could be an interesting idea.

For clarity, I don't mean characters in a fantasy world that have secret IDs and codenames and fight crime wearing costumes--though I think a Zorro or Iron Monkey sort of frame of masked fighters for justice could easily fit what I am thinking of. Mostly, though, I'm just thinking of comic books like Battle Chasers or Dreadstar (the latter is really space fantasy, but its basic setup is a useful example) and animated series like He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (2002, particularly). Epic fantasy stories featuring super-powered characters. 

So what makes those examples "superheroic" in a way a 4e campaign isn't necessarily? In Superhero: The Secret Origin of A Genre, Coogan lays out his "MPI" definition of a superhero. That is, a superhero is a person with Mission, Powers, and Identity. He also has the fallback of "generic distinction" to catch characters (like the Hulk) that might fail by the initial test and to exclude characters that might seem at first blush to fit but are better accounted for in another genre.

Regardless of whether the fantasy heroes I'm thinking of would be superheroes in Coogan's estimation, I'm think about characters that:

• Have a mission, which might be something like "defeat Sauron," but could be something more like "overthrow the God-King who betrayed us." This wouldn't be the place for picaresque wanderings or "get rich or die trying."
• Have powers that are beyond reach of regular folks to a notable extent. Those powers would tend to require explanation and come with an origin of sorts. That could be as simple as "born an air bender," but whatever it is, it would set a character apart from most people. While this pillar is where there is the most overlap with modern D&D, I think D&D's approach to powers that largely makes then originless (other than being a particular class) and outside of spells, more an artifact of game rules than a setting element, fails to place it within the proposed genre.
• Have an identity, in the sense of being distinct, likely from other heroes in the party, but certainly from broader humanity. The difference between characters a normal D&D party is something like the difference between the members of the Fellowship of the Ring, but here the difference would be more like the differences between the members of the X-Men or Legion of Super-Heroes. I feel like a lot of identity is in a distinctive visual, but that probably comes from this subgenre being mostly a thing of visual media. Still, I feel like it would be something to think about in an rpg.

 Here is a d100 Atlantean Artifacts table tailored for a Castles & Crusades campaign set in Robert E. Howard’s pre-cataclysmic Thurian Age (the era of Kull of Atlantis). This blog post picks right up D100 Kull Era Atlantean Relics and Monster Encounter Tables For A Sword & Sorcery Sword of Cepheus 2nd edition Part IIIn thisNeedleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11243274667834930867noreply@blogger.com0

 The Necronomicon Ex-Mortis (loosely translated as "Book of the Dead"), also known as the Naturom Demonto, is an ancient, sentient tome of ultimate black sorcery. Bound in human flesh and inked in human blood, it acts as a gateway to the dark, chaotic dimension of the Kandarian Demons (or "Deadites"). This blog post picks right up 'Hail To The King Baby!' Ashley 'Ash' Williams From The Needleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11243274667834930867noreply@blogger.com0

 Here is a d100 table designed for Old School Renaissance (OSR) campaigns. It blends classic science-fantasy, cosmic horror, and ancient, decaying civilizations—perfect for dropping straight into your wilderness hexes, deep under-empires, or forgotten jungle ruins.The encounters are divided into active Encounters (01–50) and strange Ruins & Relics (51–00).d100 Serpent Men Encounters &ampNeedleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11243274667834930867noreply@blogger.com0

 To run a caravan in an Arduin campaign using ACKS II, you must merge David A. Hargrave's gonzo, trans-dimensional trade items with Alexander Macris's strict logistical and economic simulation. This blog post picks right up from Integrating Adventurer Conqueror King System II (ACKS II) with the legendary, chaotic, and maximum-gonzo DNA of Dave Hargrave's Arduin Grimoires - ACKS II Needleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11243274667834930867noreply@blogger.com0

 Here is a 2nd Edition Sword of Cepheus write-up for Ashley "Ash" Williams, custom-built to reflect his descent into a sword-and-sorcery, "weird science" planetary-romance, or dark fantasy campaign.In Sword of Cepheus 2e, characters utilize a streamlined 2d6 task resolution, slot-based inventory (you can carry items equal to your Strength), and standard characteristics. Below is Ash'sNeedleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11243274667834930867noreply@blogger.com0

By Demi ElGato
Possum Print Games
OSE
Level 1?

The Delta has long been a dangerous place. Most citizens tend not to stray too far from the port city of Mirkell. When times were not so tough, barges, caravans and other travelers braving the wilds of the province would be well staffed with armed guards. However, as coin purses lightened, the extra expense couldn’t always be justified. Opportunists, both men and monsters, take every chance for an easy payday, or an easy meal.

This 120 page adventure presents a small region with about ten adventuring sites (taking about forty pages), a couple of towns, and a few other locations.  I love the premise and setup of the region but the core dungeon locations are beset with clumsy writing and lacks a certain life to the encounters. 

Ok, look, I’ll get to the review, but I need a moment to diatribe first. In this we’ve got a new king, a Good Guy” “He established a parliament, limiting his own powers, and fully recognized the citizens of the Delta as members of the kingdom.” Kings don’t do this. Well, they do, but only when their barons have quite strong armies and are not pleased with the king. That’s just not what the job of king entails, giving away your absolute rights derived from god. But, then, also “Recently talks of secession have been heard in the Delta. King Nicolai will not abide such murmurings.” Well king dipshit, what the fuck does your parliment have to say about that? After all, you ceded rights to them. We’re gonna ignore this little bit of contradictory realpolitik for the rest of the review; it’s really the only truly dumb ass thing the adventure says. Not being internally consistent breaks immersion. Pick a direction and go, for real reasons that are relatable, not this scattershot shit. But, again, not a big deal, which is why I’m leading off with it and ranting about it ?

The really strong point to this adventure is the factions and their timelines. You’ve got loyalists and successionists, anti-humans, researchers, nihilist death cult, and the Old Guard Rich & Powerful. Oh, look, the Teamsters (The Delta works best when we say Union Yes!) want more money and better conditions. Oh, look, the old boys club isn’t happy about changes to the status quo. Oh, and some agtators who think the Delta would be better without a remote king. And the kings men who disagree. Oh, and now there’s a death cult type thing mixing in with crowds and throwing firebombs, literally and metaphorically. This amps up feelings on all sides. And mixed in to this we’ve got some rc town assholes and dedicated researchers and the usual array of bandits. There’s a rough timeline of events that can kind of help set the tone during the game, such as “A police force, only answering to the Noble Stewards, is established in Mirkell. The Secessionists have a protest outside of Town Hall in Mirkell. The Cult of Saint Hideo will begin attacking and burning barges on the river. The Segregationists will begin importing mass amounts of arms and armor.” This isn’t a set of specific events but it does outline the general situation and the vibe. I SUSPECT thats enough. Just reading that I can think of a lot of things I can drop in to a game as little side things, and that’s generally what I’m looking for from a designer: enough to get ME going to create and drop in things. We can see crackdowns, brutality both accidental and intentional, accidents that are real and imagined. What do you do when a crate of bows spills out of a wagon? “Uh, it’s for fishing” says the fisherman hailing it. It’s a great little set up thing and a good way to use a death cult. “Yeah, there were death cult agitators in the crowd.”  “Yeah, that’s what you WOULD say! Death cult! As if!”  I love it when the party explores “Big Als Fireworks & Open Barrel of Gasoline Emporium.” 

There are other tidbits here and there that are great as well. There’s a rival adventuring party that shows up form time to time in the wanderers table and in other places. “They are always kind and helpful unless given reason not to be. They travel with their mule, Bee,and little treasure (hoard type D).” Their mule, Bee. That’s a nice touch. Good grounding. And good job sprinkling them in to places to give the world that lived in feel. Good design. And, here’s a magic item “The Golden Eel Mouthpiece An exquisite, hollow golden eel. When held in the mouth, the wielder can breath underwater and swim twice as fast as usual. However, these effects only work in saltwater.” That feels real, yeah? The description, proper, is quite short but great, and while it mentions an effect it doesn’t belabour mechanics. Great magic item!

There are a few things that seem out of place, before I get to my major issue.

There are these graves of saints scattered around. Maybe twenty of them? Basically if you show up and do something for them then you get a magic item or boon or something. It feels a little … I don’t know, video-gamey? In that they are all basically the same mechanic? Or slight variations on the same mechanic? It’s like you’re touching all the totems on the map in Far Cry 19. And, then, one of them has a very specific morality test they ask you. “A poor beggar child is caught stealing bread. He is arrested by the town guard and hung for his crimes. Who committed wrong here? The child? The guard? The hangman?” Bonus test: this is a saint of the god Zakon, who believes that “cultural tradition and legal authority are inherently holy.” Make a guess. Did you guess? I SAID FUCKING GUESS! The child and guard are wrong but the hangman acted justly. I guess there’s room for interpretation in the holy tenets, even among the sainted of Zakon. 

All of the intro and supporting information (and there is a lot of it, given that only about forty pages are dungeon) in this is either easily ignored or pretty decent. I wish, perhaps, it were trimmed back. A LOT. But, it is what it is and it’s generally inoffensive when its not great.

The dungeons, though, are something else. Maybe, I don’t know, about twenty rooms in each of the ten dungeon locations? There’s something weird going on with the entries, but, also, it’s hard to point to what exactly. Here’s an example “Bloody Hall The scrabble on the floor here

makes quiet movement nearly impossible. The stalactites here are smaller and are not dripping.

There is a bloody Drag mark here, leading to Room 4. There is also a Pile of stones along the northern wall.” (Bold has more information) So, this should be pretty chill. Bloody drag marks. The text above is the “at a glance’ information, so, not exactly read-aloud. It’s just … blah. “There is a …” repeated multiple times. The tites are smaller and not dripping. “Here makes quiet movement …” I don’t know. Here is a blah Here is a blah Here is a blah. Here is not a blah. The core here, though, I think you can recognize from what I’ve pasted in, is not bad. Hard to be quite, tites, and bloody tracks.  Somehow, though, the language, and the follow up language, diminishes the interactivity in te room. Or the evocative nature? It’s weird. I’m not sure I see this too often.” It’s like having a decent idea and putting it down on paper in the most uninspiring manner possible while the concept still comes through. It’s not padded out in a meaningless way, maybe just in an … ignorant way? As in the designer didn’t know a better way to phrase what the room looked like in a more dynamic manner? And room after room is like this. The neato things going on are just so … BLEH. The follow on, for the bolded words, are fine, and the formatting is fine. It’s just all so, I don’t know, both padded out with pad phrasing and then, uninspiring? The formatting is fine. The interactivity is varied. I just have NO desire. 

The dungeons, and the adventure might be fine but I’d rather run something else. It’s all just cumbersome. The NPC’s are listed in the back of the book, and are relatively terse, but there’s no way I’m flipping back there to run them. The dungeon are ok, but lack enthusiasm. Even something like the stricture of the regions and adventures. There are hooks for the ten adventures, or, perhaps, ways to get involved. I’d just list them all up front, rather than right in front of the adventure, as shit going non in town or the village or something. Everything all at once, or tied to the timeline. Cut a shit load of text and instead focus on putting the NPC’s together with the timeline together with the hooks, to make the entire regional flow together better as a cohesive flow. 

This is, I think, the designers first real adventure/publication. And, given that, it shows. The rooms are not overly written, while the regions is perhaps a little excessively written. The rooms ARE padded out with simple language padding while the regional data has some decent specificity here and there. A strong focus on specificity in the region, trimming a lot of the boilerplate fantasy stuff, and reworking the rooms in the dungeons to eliminate padded out phrasing and bring in more adjective and specificity would make this pretty decent.

This is Pay What You Want at DriveThru with a suggested price of $7.77. The preview is 25 pages and mostly fluff. Page 19/14 has the factions and their timeline, which is the best of the more interesting possibilities with this. It should really have had a few dungeon pages as well. 

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/569417/danger-in-the-delta?1892600

I'm reading DC Comics' output from January 1980 (cover date) to the end of Crisis! This week, I read the comics on sale on July 18, 1985.

Talent Showcase #19: We arrive at the last issue of this title, and it doesn't really go out with a bang, but just with a kind of sense of obligation. There are more 1 page humor pieces than usual. There's a Western written by Rowlands about a writer who becomes his character, only to have the role taken up by a fan when he grows weary of it. That Darwyn Cooke is back with a story called "Private Eye" that already stands out visually, showing promise if not being terribly interesting otherwise. Dennis Yee is back with another installment of his Texan superhero team, the Desperados.

DC Comics Presents Annual #4: Maggin and Baretto/Ordway bring back Maggin's creation, Superwoman. Historian Kristen Wells, still eager to learn more about the mysterious Superwoman's career (particularly since she now knows she is Superwoman!), travels back to 1985. Baretto/Ordway show us that women history professors in the 29th Century dress like the movie version of an 80s pop star with a Mad Max theme. In fact, she and Stiletta in Hex may shop the same boutiques. Anyway, time travel being inherently risky, she loses her memory. As she struggles to regain it having various minor misadventures, Superman faces certain doom by Green Kryptonite at "Luthorcon III", in a deadly game of "monkey-in-the-middle" (like "keep away," I guess) between Luthor cosplayers who don't know that he's the real Superman or that the fake Kryptonite they had was secretly replaced by the real thing by the real Luthor. It's silly, but in a fun way, the issue's only flaw perhaps being it didn't need the pages allotted to it by annual length.
In the epilogue, we see Wells' colleague in the future (some point more in the future than when we last saw him) staring at a statue of Superwoman and wondering what was his friend's ultimate fate in the past. He's surprised by the appearance of Wells who has just returned from the 20th Century prepared to relate her adventures as a superheroine in the past. Maggin clearly hoped comics would chronicle those adventures, but that was not to be, certainly not with the dawning of the post-Crisis universe. Outside of one more tale--an obscure "imaginary story" by Moore in 1986 you probably haven't heard of--Wells hasn't really appeared again. 

Batman and the Outsiders #26: Kobra sends his agents to ambush the Outsiders as they go about their lives, and the goons all fail utterly. Batman even stops one agent from suicide using his cyanide filled tooth to interrogate him with "truth serum." Apparently Kobra's thought of that and given the goon a drug that kills him when a truth serum is introduced to his system. Either that or Batman misjudged the dose and killed him and is just covering up. Luckily with some forensic detective work and a knowledge of pine straw, they trace Kobra to the commune, realizing that Halo must be in his hands. They've barely started exploring the hidden (and now deserted) base when Kobra appears on a screen, boasting that he has taken control of the satellite missile defense program (thanks to the general he mind-controlled last issue) and is threatening to give it to the Soviets if the U.S. doesn't surrender Fort Knox to him.

Blue Devil #16: Mishkin/Cohn and Kupperberg/Farmer give us essentially the Blue Devil Swimsuit Issue as the whole cast goes to the beach. The fun doesn't last though as the Fisherman (in his first appearance since 1977, and his last pre-Crisis, outside of the Who's Who--see below.) shows up to rob the partygoers. Blue Devil manages to capture him while battling a horde of mini-monsters that rain down as a side-effect of cloudseeding. There might also be some effect of the weird, red skies (allow this to be an official Crisis tie-in) which the people of L.A. take in stride without all the doom and gloom hitting Gotham and Metropolis. Anyway, no sooner has Cassidy defeated the villain than he is recruited by Green Lantern to the go to the Justice League satellite.

Green Lantern #193: Engelhart and Staton/Patterson pick up where last issue left off. The 3 Lanterns on Zamoran have to leave because Star Sapphire hasn't really committed any crimes yet. On the way back to Earth, Stewart and Katma encounter a creature that looks sort of like a winged gargoyle composite being like the Super-Adaptoid or Composite Superman. He's Replikon, a guy who fought Hal Jordan before, as he wants to make the Earth into a replica of his destroyed home world so his species eggs can be incubated there. The fact that that would kill life on Earth is of no consequence. Stewart defeats him but then gets the Guardians' permission to make a planet suitable to the creature's needs. In doing so, he passes another test in his training. Katma Tui also tells him her backstory, and the two express their love for one another. They also get word the Guardians are becoming involved with this whole Crisis thing, with the issue telling us this is effectively the point where Crisis #1 comes in.
Meanwhile, Hal Jordan is sitting on Earth alone, regretting his life choices.

Infinity, Inc. #19: As the cover tells us, this is part of the last "Justice Society-Justice League Team-Up" in this continuity. It's also a Crisis tie-in and catches the title up to those events. Commander Steel and Mekanique show up from Earth-One and convinces the Infinitors (except Obsidian who has disappeared for Crisis) to help him take out the "criminals" who have usurped the name of the JLA. I have to say, repeated storylines regarding them getting duped into helping a badguy do not make the team look very smart. Once they have mostly helped him defeat the Detroit League, his behavior and the little details don't quite add up, so they realize they have made a mistake. Commander Steel orders Mekanique to attack them too. 
This issue also introduces Beth Chapel, the physician treating Jade's poisoning and former student of Charles "Dr. Midnite" McNider.

New Teen Titans #13: This is another of this month's Crisis tie-ins and the most continuity conscious. Wolfman starts where last issue left off and works his way up to the "present" (in terms of this month's issue of Crisis) telling us what the Titans did along the way. First, we see the Tamaranians coming for Kory slowed down by the anti-matter wave. After Cyborg finally has his talk with Sarah, he is whisked away by Harbinger and is missing for much of the story. The Titans deal with the time disruption, and we see their brief team-up with the Outsiders depicted in COIE #3 rescuing people from the anti-matter wave.
About a month after the issue's beginning, Cyborg is reunited with his teammates, and the heroes get a bit of respite from fighting the disaster in the nearly rebuilt Titans Tower. Suddenly, Captain Karras and his crew arrive, announcing that Koriand'r must return with them to Tamaran at once.


Sgt. Rock #405: This storyline was heavily advertised in comics leading up to its publication, but I've never read it before. "Angels with Black Wings" may well be the last in a long line of anti-racism stories Kanigher did in his career, many of which, unfortunately, haven't aged well. We'll see how this one goes. We start off with a double frame of sorts. The story opens in a postwar civil rights march where a black former soldier recognizes one of the police barring the marchers' way from the war. We then flashback to Rock and his Lieutenant meeting Captain George Dennis, one of the Tuskegee Airmen as Easy is camping near their airbase. The lieutenant means to keep his distance, but Rock is interested in how the airman got here. He also offers the first explanation I've seen of how he has a black man in his unit: paperwork mishap. Anyway, most of the issue is Dennis telling his story and the story of the Tuskegee Airmen to Rock. It's more didactic than the typical Sgt. Rock story, but we'll see how it develops in the next installment.

Saga of Swamp Thing #41: Moore and Bissette/Alcala bring Swamp Thing back to Louisiana, where a night-time soap about the antebellum South is in production at a plantation nearby. Abby gets a job there and is a witness to the growing darkness as the past refuses to stay the past, and ghosts begin to influence the behavior of the actors playing their parts. She asks Swamp Thing to look into it, and they arrive as the extras are conducting a voodoo ritual in the fields, and the stars seem prepared to re-enact a gruesome murder inside the old house.

Warlord #97: I reviewed this issue here.

Who's Who #7: It's fitting that Flash (drawn by Infantino) appears in Who's Who the same month his series ends. The Fisherman also happens to appear here, looking much more menacing under Luke McDonnell's pencils than he does in the pages of this month's Blue Devil. Beyond that we've got Felicity from Omega Men and the Floronic Man from Swamp Thing. The Forgotten Heroes and Forgotten Villains aren't yet forgotten as they get a page each. Both Firebrands from the pages of All-Star Squadron are here as well. Fire Jade (recently deceased) from Amethyst shows up drawn by Dan Jurgens. The entry on Firehawk doesn't really make a big deal of her romantic relationship with Firestorm, following the comic's lead in just kind of dropping the previous love triangle (or quadrangle, if we consider Firestorm is a composite of two people). She's drawn by Rafael Kayanan.

 For a Victorious role-playing game campaign (a system of Victorian-era superheroes and steampunk powered by the SIEGE Engine), setting a cosmic horror/sci-fi threat in the Bermuda Triangle fits perfectly into the "Gilded" or "Grim" settings.Historically, the late 19th century saw the birth of modern ocean liner routes crossing the Needleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11243274667834930867noreply@blogger.com0

 To bring the classic cosmic menace of a Kree Sentry (like Sentry 459) into your Cepheus Engine space campaign, we have to scale it as a highly durable, high-Tech Level (TL 15+) heavy security unit.A Kree Sentry on Guard. Source: Avengers Alliance 2 Wikia - FandomIn Cepheus Engine terms, this is a giant, heavily armored humanoid combat Needleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11243274667834930867noreply@blogger.com0

So for a couple of years, I've been slowly putting together an explanation of how I run tabletop roleplaying campaigns, and I finally got a good intro and summary that tie everything together and give me a foundation for organizing the details of what I do.

The Living World SandboxA Sandbox Campaign is a way to run a tabletop roleplaying campaign in which the players, rather than the referee, determine the campaign's focus. The referee creates the world, its characters, locales, and geography. During play, the referee role-plays the creatures and non-player characters and adjudicates the players' attempts as their characters. The players are free to pursue whatever catches their interest or go wherever they believe will further their goals.
A Living World Sandbox extends the Sandbox Campaign by bringing the setting to life. The goal is to let the players feel as though they have stepped through a wardrobe into a living, breathing world while pursuing the adventures that interest them.
A Living World Sandbox is not a game system. It is a way to organize and run a campaign. The referee presents a setting whose inhabitants have their own motivations, resources, relationships, and plans. The players decide what their characters attempt, and the referee uses the rules and the setting's established circumstances to determine what happens next.
The referee does not prepare a predetermined story for the players to follow. Instead, the referee prepares the circumstances, places, and people that make up the setting. The campaign develops from the interaction between what the players attempt and how the setting's inhabitants respond.
Because of this, a Living World Sandbox can be run using many fantasy roleplaying systems, including the original 1974 rules, AD&D First Edition, GURPS, Fantasy Hero, Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition, or others.
Some systems are easier to use than others. Generally, the more a system focuses on describing what characters can do rather than defining a story path or narrative structure, the easier it is to use for a Living World Sandbox. In my experience, most traditional roleplaying games lend themselves readily to this style of campaign.
How the Campaign UnfoldsThe referee describes the characters' current circumstances. The players respond by describing or roleplaying what they attempt as their characters. The referee decides what happens, using the rules when the outcome is uncertain, and then describes how the setting's circumstances change or role-plays how its inhabitants react.
This process repeats throughout the session and throughout the campaign
After the session, the referee considers what the players changed, who knows about it, and what the affected characters (or creatures) will do next. Those consequences become part of the circumstances presented during the next session.
The result is a continuing cycle of choices, consequences, and new circumstances propelling the campaign forward.
Elements of the CampaignA Living World Sandbox has four important elements:

• Locales where events and adventures can occur.
• Characters with whom the players can interact.
• Plans made by characters and factions.
• Natural or supernatural events that occur independently of those plans.

These elements do not need to be detailed in advance of play. The referee only needs enough material to begin the campaign and respond to the players' initial choices.
These elements do not need to be detailed in advance of play. The referee only needs enough material to begin the campaign and respond to the players' initial choices.
LocalesThe iconic adventure locale is the dungeon, a maze of rooms that may be empty or contain monsters, deadly traps, strange features, or glittering treasure. Dungeon mazes can be stacked upon one another to form multiple levels, with the danger of the monsters and the value of the treasure increasing as the characters venture deeper.
In the world outside of the dungeon, locales are just as varied. There are natural locales like creature lairs and hazardous terrain (deserts, icefields, and jungles). Some locales are built, like villages and towns, camps and castles. Some locales are old and no longer used, creating ruins that may be inhabited by monsters and their treasure.
At the beginning of a campaign, create or detail about half a dozen locales. These may be original creations or places taken from an existing setting.
About half should be places where the characters can seek adventure, such as dungeons, monster-haunted forests, abandoned mines, or ruined monasteries. The remainder should be inhabited locales that the party can use as bases or visit for aid and information. Examples include a large village, a castle belonging to a local lord, a roadside inn, a market town, or a druid circle hidden deep within the forest.
These locales establish the immediate geography of the campaign. They give the players places to explore, people to meet, and resources to use.
CharactersThe characters encountered during the campaign are the key element that allows the players to make their mark upon the setting. Some may become allies. Others will remain neutral unless circumstances change. A few will oppose the player characters from the beginning.
Prepare about a dozen notable characters. As a starting point, three might be potential allies, six might be neutral, and three might be potential enemies. These are only the characters' initial attitudes. Do not be surprised when the players, through good or poor decisions and roleplaying, completely rearrange the list.
Examples include:

• A village reeve.
• A castle lord.
• A master druid.
• The chief of an Orc tribe.
• A merchant who controls the local smuggling ring.
• A priest of an evil god who commands a band of outlaws.
• A disgruntled old farmer who knows everybody within a day's travel.
• An ambitious yeoman seeking adventure.
• A retired Magic-User who sells potions from a cottage at the end of the lane.

Create a few relationships among these characters, but keep their number low at first. The old farmer and the castle lord may have been rivals for the love of the same woman when they were young and remained enemies ever since. The young yeoman may yearn for adventure so he can gain the fighting skill needed to avenge his family against the Orc chief.
Just as the passages and chambers of a dungeon provide natural avenues of exploration, the relationships among the characters provide social paths for the players to follow. At the end of these paths may be allies, enemies, information, resources, and complications that lead to further adventures.
PlansThe inhabitants of the setting have lives of their own. They possess hopes, fears, ambitions, and plans for the future.
The players decide the plans of their own characters. The referee decides the plans of the non-player characters and factions. Together, these plans become forces that shape the campaign.
Detailing the plans of three to five important characters or factions adds enough complexity to fuel numerous adventures.
For example, an evil priest has taken up residence in the forest. His god has commanded him to exact vengeance upon the region. Two generations ago, followers of the goddess of justice purged the dark god's worshippers and drove them from the area. The priest has now attracted a collection of outlaws and desperate peasants and organized them into a gang of bandits.
Most of the wealth and supplies stolen by the bandits are given to the priest. He uses these resources to search the forest for the lost axe of Chernak, a legendary Orc chief who led his tribe into the forest long ago. The priest hopes to use the axe to gain the allegiance of the present-day Orcs. Together, the priest, the axe, and the Orcs will become his god's instrument of vengeance against the followers of the goddess of justice.
Some plans are modest. A farmer may want to purchase another field. A merchant may want to eliminate a rival. A young knight may want to earn enough renown to receive a fief.
Other plans may threaten an entire region.
Regardless of their scope, these plans represent what could happen, not what will happen. They are not plots that must be completed. The actions of the players may advance a plan, delay it, change it, or make it impossible.
When that happens, the referee considers the character's motivations, knowledge, resources, and current circumstances and decides what they will attempt next.
EventsEvents are natural or supernatural occurrences that happen for reasons largely independent of the choices made by the setting's characters (PC or NPCs). Some events may be anticipated or prevented through timely action, but a character's plan does not normally cause them.
Natural events can include droughts, floods, fires, disease, severe storms, harsh winters, or earthquakes that devastate the countryside.
Supernatural events might include the opening of a passage into the realm of Faerie, a surge in the local flow of magic that makes spells dangerously effective, the awakening of a slumbering taigh, or a conjunction that allows the dead to walk abroad.
Events should occur because they follow from the setting's conditions, not simply because the referee wants to create excitement. Their number should be sufficient to make the campaign feel like a living world, but not so great that the players constantly feel beleaguered.
Too many natural disasters will cause the campaign to become focused on people struggling against nature. Too many supernatural disruptions will make extraordinary events feel ordinary.
Use events sparingly enough that they remain significant.
Running the Living World SandboxOnce the groundwork has been laid, it is time to begin the campaign.
Three primary techniques help create the feeling that the players have stepped into the setting as their characters:

• The Initial Context establishes where the characters are and what they know at the beginning of the campaign.
• World in Motion manages how the setting changes as the campaign progresses.
• The Bag of Stuff provides material when the players do something unexpected, and the referee has no time for detailed preparation.

The Initial ContextThe players' choices as their characters propel the Living World Sandbox forward. To make meaningful choices, however, the players must understand their circumstances and their characters' place within them. Otherwise, their choices are little better than random dice rolls.This is particularly important at the beginning of a campaign, when there are no previous sessions or events for the players to use as reference points.
The Initial Context establishes the characters' circumstances at the beginning of the campaign and provides players with enough information to make informed choices from the outset.
The Initial Context does not have to be elaborate. It only has to be sufficient.
What is sufficient varies from player to player. I have had players create detailed histories and backgrounds. Others found a single sentence sufficient.
"Max likes to hang out at bars in Eastgate and gets involved in trouble."
That player decided to create a Human Thug for a campaign set in the City-State of Eastgate.
Most players find a paragraph or two of personal background sufficient, along with a handout describing the region, town, or city where the campaign begins.
When the players are uncertain about the available options, prepare three to five rumors, pieces of lore, problems, or contacts for them to investigate. Anything their characters would certainly know should be included in a short handout or explained by the referee.
Keep the handout as brief as possible while still covering what the players need to know.
Ideally, the Initial Context should answer the following questions:

• Where is the character starting?
• Who does the character know?
• What are the character's immediate goals?
• What social complications exist for the character at the beginning?

The answers do not have to point toward a specific adventure. Their purpose is to give the player enough context to begin making decisions as the character.The Pre-gameThe basic idea of the pre-game is to sit down one-on-one with each player before the first session and flesh out the character's background. This usually consists of discussion mixed with a little light roleplaying.
The referee might ask how the character knows a local merchant, why the character left home, what obligation they owe to a temple, or why a local lord considers them troublesome.
This technique reduces the amount of written material needed for handouts. Discussion and roleplaying often work better and are more enjoyable than reading a document, particularly for players or groups who want detailed backgrounds at the beginning of the campaign.
If this feels too formal, or if the time is not available, that is fine. The important point is that the Initial Context is sufficient for the group's time and interest.
Setting the World in MotionAfter each session, review the plans of the important characters and factions affected by what occurred.
Begin with what the players did as their characters. Then consider:

• Who knows what happened?
• What do they believe happened?
• How does it affect their plans?
• What resources do they have available?
• What will they attempt next?
• What signs of their response will the players be able to observe?

The distinction between what happened and what the inhabitants believe happened is important. Characters act upon what they know, what they have been told, and what they can reasonably discover. They do not automatically possess the referee's knowledge of events.
You do not have to manage the entire world at once, or even an entire region.
The players' choices usually affect their immediate social circle first. This includes the characters with whom they directly interacted, followed by those connected to them. Beyond that, your notes only need to be updated when you have the time or when events make those distant characters relevant.
For most purposes, characters more than two degrees removed from the player characters are beyond the campaign's social event horizon for a session or two.
As the player characters gain experience, wealth, allies, and authority, their actions will begin to affect a wider area. A fight in a tavern may concern only the owner, the local watch, and the participants. Killing a baron, destroying a temple, or founding a mercenary company may concern an entire realm.
After each session, review the relevant plans in light of what the players did or failed to do. Sometimes an NPC's existing plan will become impossible. When that happens, consider the character's personality and motivations and determine what they now want from the future.
This process helps the referee avoid forcing the players along a predetermined path. The non-player characters may pursue their own goals, but they need to respond to changing circumstances just as the player characters do.
When you suspect that your preferences are influencing the outcome too strongly, use a good set of random tables you like. Random results can help you create unexpected reactions, complications, decisions, or new plans that you would not have considered.
Balance random results with judgment.
Overreliance on judgment may cause the campaign to reflect the referee's biases. Too much reliance on random tables can make events feel disconnected from the personalities, motives, and circumstances already established.
The purpose of the random result is to address uncertainty, not to replace the setting's logic.
The Bag of StuffWhen acting as their characters, players do the unexpected all the time.
They may decide to visit a shrine you noted but did not detail. They may abandon the dungeon you prepared and explore the forest instead. They may take an interest in a nameless guard, travel down a road you never expected them to use, or attempt to speak with a monster you assumed they would fight.
When this happens, the referee must improvise.
The Bag of Stuff is a collection of locales, characters, plans, situations, and other material that can be pulled out and used to run part of the campaign without preparation.
The material does not need to be elaborate. It only needs to give you enough information to adapt the material, begin describing the situation, and roleplay with the players.
Once something from the Bag of Stuff enters play, take notes. It is now part of the setting. If the players return to it, you can develop it further between sessions.
LocalesPrepare or gather six to twelve generic locations that commonly appear in the campaign.
Examples include:

• A shop.
• A crossroads.
• A forest clearing.
• A section of swamp.
• A peasant's hut.
• A roadside shrine.
• A ruined tower.
• A small cave.
• A merchant camp.
• A manor house.

These locations do not need extensive descriptions. A sketch map, a short list of features, and a note about who may be present are usually sufficient.
When you use one, alter a few details to make it fit the circumstances. A generic forest clearing may contain an abandoned cart in one session and a weathered stone idol in another.
Take notes during play if the locale is likely to be revisited. Later, when you have time, develop it into something more distinctive.
CharactersA major section of these rules describes common non-player character types in the same general format used for monsters. These entries are useful when preparing an adventure or locale, and when you need to draw something from your Bag of Stuff.
When the players unexpectedly interact with someone, choose an appropriate NPC entry and change a few details.
Give the character a name, a mannerism, an immediate concern, and a reason for being present. That is usually enough to begin roleplaying the encounter.
If the character becomes important, make a note of what happened and develop them further after the session.PlansPrepare a short list of personality types, immediate concerns, and broad goals. Add to the list whenever you have a useful idea.
Examples include:

• Wants recognition from a superior.
• Needs money to pay a debt.
• Is concealing a past crime.
• Wants revenge against a rival.
• Is afraid of losing social standing.
• Wants to protect a family member.
• Is searching for forbidden knowledge.
• Wants to leave but lacks the courage.
• Is loyal to an institution but distrusts its leader.

These ideas provide a starting point for players interacting with someone you did not expect to become important.
As with locales and characters, use only enough detail to serve as a memory aid. The character's fuller personality and plans can develop through play.
Afterword on the Living World SandboxWhat started me on the path of running campaigns as Living World Sandboxes was a willingness to let the players trash my setting.
In the early 1980s, I gained a reputation as the referee who allowed the players to kill the king, build wizard towers, and become magnates controlling the underworld of a city-state. The referee who let his players trash his setting.
Much of this came from my background in early wargaming. My friends and I would set up scenarios and battle them out to see what happened. When I was introduced to Dungeons & Dragons, that same fascination carried over into my campaigns.
I built the world, detailed the characters, let the players decide where to begin, and then ran the campaign to see what happened. I had no particular destination or conclusion in mind.
My creativity was engaged not by writing stories, but by considering what could happen and then accepting the constraints of roleplaying the non-player characters under the same circumstances and rules as the players.
The results were often unexpected, surprising, and memorable for the entire group.
Across the decade, that remained the heart of the Living World Sandbox. The referee creates the setting and brings its inhabitants to life. The players step into the setting as their characters and decide what interests them and what adventures to pursue.
And they will trash your setting as a result.

 Because the Clement Sector leans heavily into grounded, human-centric hard sci-fi, "Dark Artifacts" in this setting aren't supernatural or magical items. Instead, they represent terrifying pre-Collapse human military experiments, highly illegal genetic or cybernetic technology, lost subsector projects, or deeply unsettling remnants found on worlds that look suspiciously terraformed by an Needleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11243274667834930867noreply@blogger.com0

 Baron Vraka the Unbroken views the upper levels of Quasqueton not as a monument to dead wizards, but as an encroaching geopolitical threat. The Orc Vanguard currently occupying Level 1 has begun choking off the ventilation shafts and blocking the surface access points that the Chitin Regime uses for light smuggling. This blog post picks right up from Meditations on the classic In Needleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11243274667834930867noreply@blogger.com0

Our Nimble game continued last night with the party leaving the city of Brookdale Mill to rescue the local patron fae Moonblossom who had been kidnapped by a band of goblins. Following the goblin's trail, the party came upon another sign of their aggression: a caravan wagon overturned and at least partially looted. Frea found some loose gold pieces and a cowering halfling, who introduced himself as Shag Marigold. Marigold says he's an artificer traveling to Ervessos to work for the nobility. He was robbed of a manastone, and the oxen that pulled his wagon was chased off.

The party promises to get him back the manastone, if they can (though not the gold). Aelarion used his Naturecraft to figure out the goblins' trail. It was a good thing he was so skilled, too, because the goblins had laid false trails that led to pit traps. The party found the ox in one!

Further into the woods, they came upon a ridge, and they heard raucous laughter. A stealthy reconnoiter revealed a group of goblins playing a "dodge ball" sort of game with stones and one goblin on a giant rat. The party tried to sneak around the ridge and surround them, but they flubbed their stealth rolls and the goblins are alerted. 

The party still held the high ground, and the goblins were at a disadvantage. Aelarion, Tamarra, and Pan blasted the goblins like proverbial fish in a barrel with spells. G'Mbalisto and Frea charged in for melee. 

The rat rider managed to charge up the ridge and smacked Pan, knocking him prone. The other goblins hurled the rocks they had previously used in the game at the party.

In the end, the party wins with very little injury. They even manage to nab one goblin to interrogate. He confusingly asserts that the faerie is "a power source" that "Greb" plans to use for "the juggernaut."

------

This adventure is still mostly the intro adventure in the Nimble's GM's guide, though I'm mixing in some other elements to make it more interesting (to me, at least!). We're still getting used to the system. Though its lighter on paper, combat is still taking us about as long as 5e. Of course, we had 10 years' experience with 5e, so no doubt there's plenty of room for improvement here.

Hello! Welcome back to my Sunday interviews, where I talk to artists and creators from Puerto Rico whose art or creative expressions are related to TTRPGs, gaming, fantasy, and sci-fi.

I must admit that I had wanted to interview Samuel for a while, even if he didn’t know it. Last September, I bought his fantasy comic at an event at the Cuartel de Ballajá. My son and I loved it; we read it and enjoyed it immensely.

We also bought two copies of his monster book, Saving Point: Monster Book Vol. 1 (one for me and another for my son). As a fan of RPG bestiaries, I found Samuel’s art and designs to be excellent. I want to use his creatures at the table soon. The stats in the book are very easy to drop into D&D 5e or adapt to any OSR system.

I highly recommend his published works, and I am eager to see the next installments in the series. Without further ado, I’ll share the answers that Samuel so kindly provided.

Introduce yourself! Who are you and what do you create?

Greetings, everyone. My name is Samuel Figueroa. I am an illustrator, graphic designer, and writer, originally from Cupey Alto, San Juan. If you go to my Instagram gallery (sadsamuart), you will realize that my passion and favorite subjects are creatures, fantasy, and science fiction. Since I was little, I have been a fan of nature and science, and as my decisions steered me toward creativity and illustration, it was inevitable that I would find joy in creating original worlds and strange creatures to populate them.

How would you describe your art?

Even though I would love to be a painter and create the kind of illustrations that often accompany fantasy stories and Western role-playing games (RPGs), my artistic development took me down the path of comics, manga, anime, and Disney. Comic artists like Joe Madureira, Mike Weringo, and Yukito Kishiro formatted my mind, and although my style is distinctive, a very personal mix, I always seek to connect with those who find those styles appealing.

How did you discover TTRPGs?

In high school, I had a friend with “advanced” knowledge of RPGs. While the only thing I knew was Zelda, he already knew about D&D and a long list of RPGs from that era, like Lunar and Final Fantasy. What he brought to school was what got me hooked on RPGs. From then on, it was the only type of game that interested me for many years, until it became clear that the genre was transforming and expanding with series like Mass Effect and Halo, among others. Very beautiful times.

Today my tastes are “set,” so it’s obvious that games like Pathfinder: Kingmaker and Baldur’s Gate 3 were purchases that took zero brain cells to add to my collection. Beyond what I learned in high school, my fascination with fantasy creatures and stories set in a medieval environment led me to collect books on creatures and mythology, including the D&D Monster Manual, Pathfinder books, Magic: The Gathering, and lore books. Now I am also soaking up the Warhammer 40K universe, to the horror of the characters in my own worlds. They know things will get complicated, having Warhammer as an inspiration.

Do you play actively? What are you playing right now?

As for games like D&D, I would love to say yes, but all the groups I have played with promise a campaign, and then it just ends up being one-shots. I have bought dice and books galore, but I haven’t found a consistent group to play a story from beginning to end. That pushes me toward digital, which is why the games I have played recently are Baldur’s Gate 3, Pathfinder: Kingmaker, Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous, Dragon Age: Inquisition, and Fallout 4.

What is the next thing you want to play?

Since I haven’t been able to have a complete D&D and/or Pathfinder experience, I think I would focus on getting that. I suppose D&D or Pathfinder is “vanilla,” considering all the variety out there today in RPGs and homebrews, but well… I want to enjoy the worlds that drove the industry and bounce ideas off players immersed in those worlds. I love seeing memes and videos from influencers who obviously play D&D frequently and offer a glimpse of their highly imaginative adventures.

What projects do you currently have available, and what are you working on right now?

Right now, I am developing the Saving Point series, a fantasy comic whose adventures center on a group of adventurers trying to recover a “lifesaving” sphere stolen from their village. Without it, warriors who die cannot be revived by magic, and in a world where humanity has few tools to compete with monsters and mythical creatures, being able to return to fight another day is essential. But that quest is just the beginning, and the group of adventurers couldn’t be more wet-behind-the-ears, more immature, or more vulnerable to the machinations of evil already in play.

The comics Saving Point #1 and #2 and Vol. 1 of the Monster Book are already available. I am working on the script for the 3rd comic and, simultaneously, developing creatures for the Saving Point Monster Book Vol. 2. I already have enough creatures to fill the book, published as previews in my Instagram gallery (sadsamuart), but I keep designing to include the most interesting ones in the final book. I would love to do a selection of minifigures, perhaps inspired by the classic Bandai “M.U.S.C.L.E. Men / Kikenshi,” but for now I am working on the project by myself; I won’t be able to move it forward until I finish comic #3.

Where can people find your projects?

Right now, what I have left online is available at the Tripleta Studio store. The first two comics were developed and illustrated in partnership with Rangely García, a talented Puerto Rican artist whose comedic sensibilities and art underscored the series’ beginnings. Once I finish comic #3, I will be preparing a selection of products to participate in convention activities again. Previously, the series lived alongside the Tripleta Studio selection, but due to events out of my control, I will now have to move it on my own until it picks up steam. It’s a big challenge, but I don’t see it as impossible.

Any final comments?

These past few years have been challenging for me personally, and economically for the island, and I must admit they have affected my plans for this year. But if no other unexpected blow comes along, I hope to fully invest in the comic and other Saving Point products, perhaps by bringing in a compatible artist to publish faster. My guiding star is the ambition to create a Latino Wizards of the Coast and to bring the imagination and local flavor of fantasy and science fiction to the world. If Japan can do it, so can we. Hopefully, the series’ success paves the way for much more.

Thank you again, Samuel. I am looking forward to seeing your upcoming projects and hope to promote them when they are available.

Thank you all for reading. I will see you next weekend.

Links where you can follow Samuel and see his work:

Art of Bayul on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bayularts

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sadsamuart

Saving Point at Tripleta Studio: https://tripletastudio.myshopify.com/collections/saving-point

(A Spanish version of this interview is available on Sunglar’s Musings.)

 D100 Primeval Monster & Hazard EncountersThe wilderness of the Kull era is untamed, featuring prehistoric beasts, dying elder races, and cosmic horrors that predate humanity.d100EncounterDescription & Threat Profile01–15The Serpent Man InfiltratorA single assassin disguised as a trusted ally or local noble. Tactics: It waits for a moment of vulnerability to strike with a poisoned Needleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11243274667834930867noreply@blogger.com0

Continuing from this thread, here's a few more random RPG pulls and my off-the-cuff thoughts on how they handle setting.

The Black Sword Hack by Kobayashi is a sword and sorcery RPG based on David Black's The Black Hack and is essentially Elric the RPG. It's fantastic. The majestic art of Goran Gligović makes the book shine.

Anyway... setting. In this book, the setting is strongly implied by the tone and themes with the names of locations and kingdoms scattered in random tables, such as a list of languages. There is no default map or specific setting details. Instead, you invent the setting as a group, using the setting elements of the game. For example, there's a "dusty, crumbling empire" called Askavian and a little set of events that could happen in relation to it. But that's about it. The rest is up to you.

The book includes a nice little example setting by Evlyn Moreau.

It's a good approach. If I remember correctly, Orkworld did a similar thing. In that game there is a map without names and you put the various setting locations wherever you want. Either way, these approaches are a hybrid between a written setting and tools for creating your own setting.

Heavy Metal Thunder Mouse by Derek A. Kamal with illustrations by Jacob Hunt is a game about mice and rats in motorcycle clubs. I think this is a FATE-based game and is explicitly called a storytelling game by the author. The way it handles setting is very simple: the game is set in Thunder City, a fictional city on the west coast (of the USA, I think). It's a commerce town, a young town, a place to seek your fortune. The first page of the game is a little map of Thunder City.

So that's a pretty straightforward way of handling setting. But since this is a storytelling game, they aren't overly concerned with laying out every street and dive bar. It's pretty open ended, I think. There's a lot of descriptions of motorcycle gangs, clubhouses, and so forth. Fun.

 

Quick note: This is something I do every Saturday on my Facebook Page, Sunglar’s Musings. Since I know not everyone is on Facebook and I wanted to close out the week here on the blog, I’m sharing my post from FB here.

To close out our week here on the blog celebrating Vampire: The Masquerade’s 35th anniversary, let’s look at my recommendations for playing VtM and exploring the World of Darkness (WoD).

(Note: The links below are DriveThruRPG affiliate links!)

The Classic World of Darkness

First, most obviously, Vampire: The Masquerade. I own the current 5th edition of the rules in digital format, but I feel like I would probably run a game with the 20th-anniversary rules. For those of you who have played both, which do you recommend?

• VtM 20th Anniversary Edition: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/94815/vampire-the-masquerade-20th-anniversary-edition?affiliate_id=3727
• VtM 5th Edition: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/256795/vampire-the-masquerade-5th-edition?affiliate_id=3727

Like I said earlier this week, if I were to run VtM, I would keep it an all-vampire affair. But if you want to mix your games, I have played Werewolf, Mage, and I really like Demon: The Fallen (I never actually played Changeling or Wraith).

• Werewolf 20th Anniversary Edition: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/112871/werewolf-the-apocalypse-20th-anniversary-edition?affiliate_id=3727
• Mage 20th Anniversary Edition: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/149562/mage-the-ascension-20th-anniversary-edition?affiliate_id=3727
• Demon: The Fallen: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/636/demon-the-fallen?affiliate_id=3727

My absolute favorite book for VtM, other than the core rulebook, has always been the lore-heavy Book of Nod:

• The Book of Nod: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/538135/vampire-the-masquerade-5th-edition-the-book-of-nod?affiliate_id=3727

A Savage Alternative

For something COMPLETELY different, I could easily see myself running a Vampire and World of Darkness campaign using (say it with me now!) Savage Worlds.

What would I need? The core rulebook, of course, and the Horror Companion. The rules in that latter book have most of what I need, including rules for Vampires, Werewolves, Demons, Ghosts, and magic for Mages.

• Savage Worlds Adventure Edition (SWADE): (A steal for $9.99 in PDF!) https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/261539/savage-worlds-adventure-edition?affiliate_id=3727
• SWADE Horror Companion: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/448302/swade-horror-companion?affiliate_id=3727

Finally, Contagion Savage Adventures is a setting for Savage Worlds that proposes a world not unlike the WoD—a world where mythical creatures fight a once-secret battle now out in the open. It is a very interesting setting, fully compatible with the Horror Companion above, and something I would definitely mine for a possible “Savage World of Darkness” homebrew:

• Contagion Savage Adventures: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/198324/contagion-savage-adventures?affiliate_id=3727

(Bonus tip: If you look online, you can also find a fan-made Savage Worlds conversion for Monte Cook’s World of Darkness. While it’s not exactly the original WoD, it has rules for the creatures in that book that give you great ideas for additional tweaks!)

Thanks for reading along this week! It’s been so much fun doing this themed week on the blog. Is this something you enjoyed? Let me know in the comments, and if it proves popular, I may try doing another themed week soon!

By Greg Daley
Tarichan Games
B/X
Level 3

In the delta city of Portic, the heralds walk the bridges and call for the brave to save the settlement from the pernicious Thieve’s Guild. Papyri offering rewards in the thousands of gold pieces are handed out to the armed, the weaselly, and the wise. Advertising had its effect and dozens of applicants turned up at the Lighthouse. Even after describing the undead infested island, and the underground trap maze expected to confront them, four groups of adventurers drew lots to select which night they enter. The party is assembled, with retainers in tow, as the sun sinks west on the third day. No one has yet emerged from the Odd’s Sink (the Island of the Death). Straps are tightened, supplies checked, and holy symbols kissed as the guards move the barricade on the pontoon bridge.

This 26 page adventure uses about sixteen pages to present forty rooms in two tomb/undead themed dungeons. It is … obscure? In a good way. Full of tomb encounters that are familiar and yet not boring old vanilla tomb encounters. This feels like a lived-in world. That needs an editor in charge of formatting and layout.

You’ve read the marketing blurb, above, and it sounds a little early days to me. Like, 1972 early days. But, let’s back up a minutes and cover what has lead to that marketing blurb, above. We’ve got an old city. The nobility want to revolt cause they don’t like the current .gov. Revolts cost money. They get a loan from the local Guild Bank. This is a legitimate front for the thieves guild, which the current .gov kind of telerates. Revolution successful, there’s a new .gov in charge. Oh, the nobles have a VERY large sum to pay back to the Guild bank. And don’t want to. And the new .gov HATES thieves. Thus starts a pogrom against the thieves and the guild bank, which has an air of neighborhood watch death squads to it, an/or citizen checkpoints/militias. The last of the guild has been tracked to the Isle of the Dead, a funerary isle for the city. Chill during the day for burials, at night the undead walk about and giant beam of blue light shoots up into the sky. And the last of the guild was seen descending in to a tomb tha the light shoots up from. NOW you can go to the lighthouse and apply to root out the last of the guild … and you’re third in line to do so after drawing lots. Needless to say, your turns pops.

There are two dungeons to explore, each with about twenty or so rooms with a “tomb” or catacombs theme to both of them. Supplementing this is a small handful of other encounters nearby. A ship anchored offshore that could be aligned with the guild. Another, with a letter of marque, bringing in smugglers and pirates. Not exactly an adventure locale but more support for play AFTER the tombs are entered and the party returns out again, either successful or taking a break before they reenter. IE: things to support downtime, and such. This is further supplemented by eight or so “events.” Each takes up about a quarter of a page and details some things that could happen to complicate things. If the party returns out of the dungeon then maybe they get approached by someone and a conversation is had and an alternative entrance is offered, or bribes, or so on. 

I’m hoping, from all of that, you take away of a kind of context tha the designer has provided for the adventure. A context that all directly relates to things going in the adventure that a DM can use to add interesting things going on in the real world, to riff on and further enhance play. Specifics. It gives the world a kind of lived-in feel. The dungeon encounters, also, have a kind of lived-in feel to them, but its done in a different way. One room is kind of partially flooded. Below the water, is a grate that shifts if any step on it. (That, alone, is pretty nifty room feature. The use of a shifting grate implies things that a static grate does not.) “The Red Tree brigade, who entered the vaults first, are still here. They move through the water, their mail and robes torn, the wizened and twisted shapes no longer alive. They thrash through the water toward the warm meat of the party. – Red Tree Brigade Ghoul (3) “ The flooded room. The grate in the floor. The SHIFTING grate, and then the former party. It’s layered, and feels real to me. And the adventure does this over and over again. I think tomb dungeons can usually feel boring. But this has more of an undercity vibe, with tombs, vibe thing going on. Not completely, but there’s enough that it does bring a freshness to it. Ye Olde Slamming Locke Door is present as a trap room in this, but the room fills with smoke, a real life hazard that is quite seldom used. And this in spite of the twenty-ish room size of each of the dungeons. 

And this thing is a PAIN. I mentioned “obscure”, yes?

It’s like, all over the place. Sometimes we get a “you” in the descriptions. “A set of creatures clunks toward you, heavily decayed, skull domes showing. …” Sometimes there’s a random monster stats in a room that IN NO WAY mentions a creature. The rooms are inconsistently written, not clear in many places, or similar features described different ways, in the same room, making you wonder if you’re missing something. The text is … obdurate. Lengthy, maybe with a touch of self-indulgence, but not falling in to any clearly recognizable sin, like backstory, trap and door porn, or explaining why. Maybe a little of the if/then style. It’s just hard to dig through it all. Hard, but not unrewarding.

I am waffling, back and forth, on the Tarichan adventures. Best. No Regerts. I’m going to Best this one, I think. But, also, you know what I really wish? That Daley keep writing. Keep working on his products. And every day go back and edit the manuscript to this adventure for ten minutes or so. Every day. Not with the intent to publish it again but just to rework it and try to clean it up. Call it a daley trip to the adventure formatting and writing gym. Just to kind of get in the practice of seeing what’s possible, without any pressure to produce.

Anyway, good little necropolis adventure. and, frankly, I think Daley is about at the point in which he’s on an auto-buy list.

This is $3.50 at DriveThru. The preview is fourteen pages, more than enough to get a sense of the piece. 

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/570696/wmc-vaults-of-urpiram?1892600

 Here is a comprehensive d20 table of complications, hazards, and unexpected operational twists to throw at your players once they breach the airlock or cross the threshold of a space wreck.d20 Space Wreck Complications & Environmental Hazardsd20Hazard CategoryDescription & Mechanical Impact1Structural DecompressionThe hull integrity is hanging by a thread. Any explosive weapon fire,Needleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11243274667834930867noreply@blogger.com0