Mini-Review: Decahedron

Posted on December 19, 2012 by Jeffrey Tadlock

Decahedron is the first issue of its free fanzine from DwD Studios. The inaugural issue supports their recent RPG release BareBones Fantasy, a rules-light fantasy genre roleplaying game. Haven’t heard of BareBones Fantasy yet? Don’t worry, we will be taking a closer look at that system in an upcoming post at The Iron Tavern.

Decahedron is a short 10 page fanzine and is available for free. One of the driving goals is to provide a location for fans to get their content published and out to the community.

The first issue weighs in with six articles and a high resolution map on the back cover. The map is a typical dungeon map with 25 rooms for the crafty GM to populate and drop into his campaigns. The inclusion of a map is supposed to be a regular feature for future issues. So even if you aren’t a BareBones Fantasy RPG player or GM, it could still be worth your time to grab a copy of the fanzine just for the map.

First up in this issue is a table of 100 descriptors for use with your character in BareBones Fantasy. A portion of creating your character in BBF is to note a descriptor, or short phrase that describes a focus or trait of your character. Something like “follows a strict diet” or “drinking songs invariably evolve into sacred hymns”. This table has 100 such descriptors to either get your creative juices flowing or to roll randomly on.

A new spell called Commune is included in a feature called Grimoire. The entry contains plenty of crunch to be dropped into your BBF game if you are looking to add new spells to your game.

The next article was Game Options. This article covered the process that evolved into coming up with the rules for two-weapon fighting in BBF. I found this article particularly enjoyable for a couple of reasons. First, I still envision being able to play a dwarven berserker type that wades into battle with two axes. It is sort of a test as to how well a system is going to suit me! This optional feature looks promising, striking a balance between offense and defense. Second, I enjoyed reading the thought process of what discussion went into crafting the crunch for this optional mechanic. Definitely a good read!

A short adventure from Matt Jackson makes its way into the pages. Only taking three pages of print, a map, adventure hooks, and encounter descriptions are all included. It looks like a fun adventure to drop in as a side encounter for an ongoing BBF campaign or perhaps as a one-shot to demo the game for folks at a convention.

And finally the issue closes out with a new creature from Larry Moore and a new character race by Mike Wikan. Both are one-page articles that seek to add more options to the BBF game.

The art in this fanzine is excellent. DwD Studios is picking up the tab on the art contained within to help keep the fanzine free for people.

Check the fanzine out even if you are new to BBF. Even if BBF isn’t your game, the map at the back is sure to be useful. The adventure within could always be adapted to your game of choice as well.

Traps for DCC RPG

Posted on December 14, 2012 by Jeffrey Tadlock

photo courtesy Christian Haugen

I have been going through some of my writing folders and finding some of the gems that have yet to see print.

Today it is a series of traps I wrote up to go along with the Critical Hit Trap Table I wrote back in early August. I actually have cleaned that table up a bit since its original publishing, I will post that update in the near future.

The traps below all use Attack rolls, making them perfect candidates for use with the critical hit trap table!

The Traps

Spiked Step: A pressure plate is engineered on a step (find / disable trap DC 15) on a flight of stairs, when depressed multiple spikes punch horizontally outwards (Atk +4, dmg 1d6) from the step behind the person’s leg.

Pit Trap, Spiked: A 10′ pit is concealed with a faux stone cover (find / disable trap DC 12). PCs that do not find the trap must make a DC 12 Reflex save or fall into the trap for 1d6 damage. The pit has numerous spikes at the bottom. 1d4 spikes could impale the falling character (Atk +3, dmg 1d4 per spike).

Poison Needle Lock: An intricate lock (pick lock, DC 16) that is also protected by a poisoned needle (find / disable trap DC 13). A failed pick lock or disable trap check will trigger the needle (Atk +6, dmg 1d4 plus poison: DC 14 Fort save or -1d4 Stamina).

Scythe Hall: Four slender scythe blades are recessed in the ceiling of this hall in 5′ intervals (find DC 20). A portion of the floor under the fourth scythe is weighted in a manner to cause all four scythes to swing downwards at the same time (find / disable trap DC 18). Failure to find the trap or disable it triggers the trap, each scythe targeting the character in that square (Atk +8, dmg 1d12)

Falling Block: A large stone block is rigged above the doorway of a closed door. Opening the door without finding the hidden lever (find / disable DC 15) triggers the trap. The large block falls from the ceiling potentially crushing the character opening the door (Atk +15, dmg 4d6).

Poison Arrow Trap, Repeating: Failure to find or disable (find / disable DC 16) this trap results in one arrow being fired every round for 6 rounds. (Atk +6, additional +4 if standing in doorway, dmg 1d6 plus poison: DC 13 Fort Save or -1d3 Stamina)

Grimoires for DCC RPG

Posted on December 12, 2012 by Jeffrey Tadlock

What follows is a write-up I did a couple of months ago on Grimoires. It is time it saw the light of day!

About the Grimoire

Wonderful opportunities are often lost when characters find a grimoire of a vanquished wizard or left long forgotten in a subterranean tomb. All too often the Judge simply says “you find his grimoire, it has, uh… a red cover and some pages in it. It is sort of thick… and smells old.” He then rattles off a list of spells it has or maybe makes the character spend some time and resources to read the magic within before rattling off the spells within.

Grimoires have a myriad of appearances and they have history. Who used to labor over this book? Who made the notes and diagrams within? Who eventually created this book after long hours and days of research that finally resulted in a usable spell?

The grimoires detailed below are a tool for the Judge to use when he needs to drop in a found grimoire. The books have names, sizes and enough description to make them different from each other. Each grimoire also has a short history with it, sometimes with the name of the previous owner and others with a vague look at its history. Finally each grimoire has a list of spells it contains, each from the DCC RPG rulebook.

These are tools. The judge is free to modify as they see fit. Too many spells in the book or ones you do not like? Replace with what you feel is more appropriate or perhaps more of the pages are damaged than I thought, rendering some of the spells unusable. The history portions should fit in with a multitude of campaigns, but freely adjust to something more appropriate for your campaign or use the details here to start off a new quest. Use these tools in their entirety or modify as needed to fit your campaign.

The Grimoires

Manual de Rattus
Dimensions: 9″x12″x1.5″
Weight: 3lbs
Description: Fine fur of a rat, dusty brown with flecks of white, cover this grimoire on the front and back cover. A cured rat’s tail acts as a leather thong to clasp the book closed, wrapped around a small brass post on both the front and rear cover.

The pages within the tome are thin sheets of leather, the writings of magic scrawled across the vellum-like sheets. The contents appear to be a mix of half-finished formulas and diagrams amongst what certainly appear to be complete spells. The majority of spells appear intact, though some damaged and torn pages litter the book.

History: Master Endgellan, a naïve wizard who sought the power of the rat-men from ancient times, previously owned this grimoire. Master Endgellan long-sought the location as proof of this ancient races existence and finally recovered it from the long lost burrows far beneath the Old City. Within months of discovery Master Endgellan succumbed to disease before unlocking the secrets of this tome.

Spell List: Level 1: Animal Summoning, Spider Climb, Ward Portal Level 2: Monster Summoning, Strength Level 3: Haste

Grimoire of the Void
Dimensions: 6″x9″x1″
Weight: 1lb
Description: The cover of this grimoire is composed of a fine-grained soft leather, blacker than the black between the stars. The cover of this pitch-black grimoire appears to absorb the light of an illuminated room, casting it into shadowy light regardless of light source.

The pages within the grimoire are also black. The legible writings are a cross between white and silver in color easily viewable even in darkness. There appear to be several complete spells amidst the partial work of the book. A large amount of the notes in the grimoire appear to be diagrams of the stars at various points of the year. Several constellations depicted in the tome do not exist in the present day sky.

History: Few have been able to retain ownership of this tome for more than a year or two. Finders are frequently puzzled by this grimoire for its innate ability of the book to seemingly absorb light. Upon further study over time the owners of this tome are driven to madness and frequently choose to abandon this grimoire of their own accord before unlocking its secrets.

Spell List: Level 1: Chill Touch, Force Manipulation, Patron Bond Level 2: Detect Invisible, Phantasm, Scorching Ray Level 3: Dispel Magic, Planar Summoning Level 4: Wizard Sense

Ironbound
Dimensions: 1.5’x2’x4″
Weight: 15lbs
Description: This massive grimoire is immense in size and weight for a wizard’s tome. Thick iron bands edge the corners of this red leather grimoire and two thick clasps with locks keep the tome shut (Pick Lock DC 18). The iron bands have bizarre etchings in them, a series of intricate patterns and symbols.

The pages have rust-red gilded edges and the paper appears woven with thin strands of metal that glint under any source of light. The words of the spells are written with great care, extremely neat and legible.

History: Arcane master Tzekien Carlastra had a deep interest in the manipulation of the elements. His studies were meticulous in nature and he always sought to retain control of his magic and not fall whim to the powers that he called upon. Tzekien managed this delicate balance between knowledge acquisition and self-control for many long years. His career was ended when an elaborate heist was planned in a raid on his laboratory that resulted in his untimely violent death and the disappearance of his primary grimoire.

Spell List: Level 1: Ekim’s Mysical Mask, Flaming Hands, Read Magic, Magic Missile Level 2: Fire Resistance, Scorching Ray, Shatter, Phantasm Level 3: Fireball, Gust of Wind, Lightning Bolt Level 4: Control fire, Transmute Earth Level 5: Magic Bulwark

The Black Flower
Dimensions: 7″x7″x1″
Weight: 1.5lbs
Description: A black lotus upon a white background decorates the cover of this square grimoire. The cover of the tome is soft like the petal of a flower, though not nearly as fragile. An almost sweet, though stale, smell rises from the open pages of the grimoire.

The grimoire’s pages are surprisingly thin and quite fragile in appearance, though only in appearance, as the pages are quite resistant to tearing. The stale, sweet smell is quite strong near the pages themselves. The pages are full of writing all the way to the edges. The ink used is slightly raised and black as pitch on the white pages.

History: This grimoire was lost to the Cult of the Black Lotus decades ago. Previously having belonged to one of their high arcanists, the grimoire disappeared shortly after his assassination from within the cult. The tome never surfaced after the assassination and its disappearance a mystery to those of the Cult of the Black Lotus.

Spell List: Level 1: Feather Fall, Mending, Ropework, Sleep, Color Spray, Chill Touch Level 2: Levitate, Locate Object, Spider Web, Wizard Staff Level 3: Demon Summoning, Lightning Bolt, Slow Level 4: Control Ice

Grimoire of the Root
Dimensions: 9″x12″x2″
Weight: 4lbs
Description: This bark covered grimoire emanates a distinct cedar smell. The grimoire is quite rough to the touch and has several thin vine-like tethers keeping the tome shut. Of a manageable size the heft of this volume seems added to by the thick bark cover of the grimoire.

The pages inside are quite rigid with very little give. They feel more like smooth balsa wood than paper. The words scrawled across the pages are carved into the pages as opposed to written upon the pages.

History: The grimoire formerly belonged to a neophyte follower of the world root. The tome became ownerless due to an unfortunate accident to neophyte follower involving sudden flames and destruction of the follower’s laboratory. The grimoire found its home with another world root follower, but was eventually misplaced becoming lost for several years.

Spell List: Level 1: Charm Person, Comprehend Languages, Magic Missile, Mending

Rolemaster: Playing with Magic

Posted on December 5, 2012 by Iron Tavern Guest Blogger

The post below is written by UbiquitousRat, a guest blogger for The Iron Tavern.

Having played a few sessions with the new Rolemaster playtest rules it’s probably time to tell you a little about how the new system’s magic has been working out.

Spell Law, as described in the earlier article, presents magic through three distinct yet interconnected Realms of Magic. These are the Essence, Channelling and Mentalism realms. In our campaign we have five heroes, four of whom have access to spells; the Ranger and Paladin are both of the Realm of Channelling, the Dabbler is of Essence, and the Mentalist is (unsurprisingly!) of Mentalism.

Low-Level, Low-Power… Yet Useful…

We’re playing at Level 2 right now, having taken the heroes quite quickly up from Level 1. This means that the spells available to our heroes are relatively limited in power.

In Rolemaster you can have a maximum number of Ranks in a Spell List equal to twice your current character Level. Thus, at Level 2, our heroes can potentially know each Spell List up to the 4^th Level Spell. Casting spells above your character level is harder but possible, so some of the heroes have taken advantage of this. It’s important to realise, however, that each Spell List must be developed in the same way as any other skill: by spending precious Development Points as you ascend the Levels; this increasing your Rank in each Spell List can be expensive, especially for professions like the Ranger or Paladin who pay more than, for example, the Mentalist per Rank.

So, how useful is the magic proving? In short, very useful.

There has not been a single session so far in which each spellcaster has not opted to use their Spell Lists at least once. Magic in Rolemaster augments the abilities of the heroes, so it is sometimes a minor benefit… but any benefit is precious, especially at low-level.

An example:

Lykos (the Mentalist) is absolutely dreadful in a stand-up fight: as the son of a merchant family with minimal interest in the matters martial, the character can barely manage a Short Sword with a +10 bonus. In combat, however, Lykos has been standing back and using his Mind Attack spell list (which he has 3 Ranks in).

Mind Attack includes three great spells for combat: Jolts I, Hesitation, and Minor Pain. The first of these, most commonly used by Lykos, stuns the target should they fail to resist it. This means they can’t act for a round… which allows Lykos’ compatriots to clobber them without much threat of reprisal. It might not seem like much but in a fraught and dangerous fight, Lykos can actually deliver this spell repeatedly against a lone target with little trouble, effectively neutralising them. The other spells, while more potent, deliver similar augmenting effects: Hesitation slows reactions in Initiative, and Minor Pain zaps 25% of the target’s Concussion Hits. Ouch!

Risky, but Not That Risky

The other main thing to note about magic is that it always carries the risk of a Spell Failure, and thus a roll on the Spell Failure tables to see what happens… but only rarely disrupts play in a significant way. Thus, even with riskier higher-level castings, the players are able to make an attempt and judge the risks for themselves. We’ve had one disastrous moment when the Ranger found himself reasonably harmed by a spell failure, but nothing (yet) big enough to really deter spell use. This has meant that the guys feel their spell lists are worth the investment.

No Pesky Spell Limits

Finally, it’s worthy of note to say that the artificial spell limits of old D&D, such as so many spells per day, is not a part of Spell Law. The limit is set by your Power Points total, which you can invest in to improve and which is easily managed.

Certainly, sooner or later, your hero will run out of juice and have to stop casting. This is good game design which simply forces players to manage a resource. Yet you don’t ever feel desperately short of a spell unless you’ve been utterly reckless with your casting.

Magic used when needed, wisely and with care, is a constant support to the group. So far, at least, we’ve not come close to running out of Power Points.

Verdict?

We remain positive about the new Rolemaster. There are little niggles, such as the Initiative system, which we opted to simplify using the options in the game, but on the whole it’s playing well.

As for magic… well, it’s potent in a non-flashy kind of way.

Just take it from us that a well-placed yet seemingly innocuous power can prove decisive. And, to our minds, that’s the stuff that good roleplaying is made of.

Game on!

Revised Bio:

Holiday Gift Guide 2012

Posted on December 3, 2012 by Jeffrey Tadlock

With gift giving season in full swing, The Iron Tavern releases its inaugural Gift Giving Guide for the 2012 Holiday Season. If you have a gamer on your gift buying list or are a gamer looking for some ideas perhaps there is something on this list you do not have yet.

Pathfinder Beginner Box

Leading off the list is Paizo’s Beginner Box. It was about this time last year that The Iron Tavern was playing this game frequently. I used it as an introduction of an eight year old to the game and he was soon running his own games based on the rules in this boxed set.

This is the strongest boxed set offering to get new people into RPGs since the old D&D Basic Red Boxes. Others have tried, but Paizo has succeeded with this release. With easy to read, colorful rule books, flip mat, monster tokens, and dice this box has what a new gamer needs to get started playing the game. The Beginner Box can also offer an easier point of entry to the Pathfinder rule system if the size of the core rulebook has made you hesitant.

Give this generation of kids the same chance to start gaming as you had. Get this boxed set under the tree for a youth on your Christmas shopping list.

Midgard Campaign Setting

For the established gamer or even a new gamer looking for a published campaign setting to start out in, the recently released Midgard Campaign Setting from Kobold Press is a great offering. This is Open Design effort to bring Wolfgang Baur’s home campaign world over the years to life. The result is a wonderful balance between providing the framework for an interesting world and leaving room for the GM to create within.

With the Seven secrets of Midgard revealed up front a GM is brought up to speed on what makes Midgard unique quickly. Ley Lines, clockwork races, airships, and more all add to the setting.

The book is a wealth of adventure ideas for a GM whether they choose to use the campaign setting in its entirety or not. This book is sure to provide a GM with inspiration for their own homebrew setting or a home for their players. Certainly one of the top campaign settings available today.

Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG

Need a break from your regular d20 game? Maybe a change of pace? Or simply yearning for the dungeon crawling days of our youth? Take a look at the Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG from Goodman Games. Best summed up from the product page:

You’re no hero

You’re an adventurer: a reaver, a cutpurse, a heathen-slayer, a tight-lipped warlock guarding long-dead secrets. You seek gold and glory, winning it with sword and spell, caked in the blood and filth of the weak, the dark, the demons, and the vanquished. There are treasures to be won deep underneath, and you shall have them.”

I have been playing this game since mid-summer through a series of one-shots and a campaign I am running on Google+. The game has proven very fun. The randomness of magic, critical hit tables, fumble tables, and more really push the established gamer out of their normal routine. The result is great roleplaying and exciting encounters.

Never Unprepared

Never Unprepared – The Complete Gamemaster’s Guide to Session Prep is the latest release from Engine Publishing. The book is a handbook to preparing for gaming sessions a GM when time might be limited. Many of us have jobs, families and other responsibilities that all make claims to our time. As GMs we need to do more than just show up to game night, we have to have a session ready to run.

This book helps break down the elements of session prep into manageable chunks. Many of these chunks can actually be done while waiting in line at the store, driving to work, showering, or a myriad of other places. Leaving a handful of tasks that require more blocks of time. This book helps make the most of these blocks of time. Several of the tips in this book can be applied to other areas of your life as well – either as an aspiring writer or simply getting home projects done.

GMs tend to focus their buying on RPG materials that provide content or rules for their systems of choice. Never Unprepared fills a niche often overlooked by GMs and makes a great gift for your harried GM.

Chessex Battlemat

There are many battlemat options out there and I have tried a lot of them. From Tact-Tiles to flipmats a good old fashioned wet-erase battlemat remains high on my list of preferred battlemats. They roll up and handle transportation to the game well. Wet-erase lends itself well to pre-drawing the maps prior to the game session without fear of smudging. Nothing seems to beat my Chessex Battlemat.

The Chessex mats come in three different sizes from their smaller Battlemat to their mid-sized Megamat to the super-sized Mondomat there is a mat that fits your need. While a good many of GMs have battlemats already, if your GM lacks one, the Chessex battlemat is an old reliable mat that will be there for you when you need it.

Forbidden Island

The last entry in the Holiday Gift Guide is actually a board game. There are always those nights where the game gets some last minute cancellations and the remaining members of the group needs something to do. Forbidden Island is a cooperative game that is easy to learn. Designed by Matt Leacock for Gamewright the game has been a success anytime I have broken it out.

Your group of explorers must recover the four lost artifacts from the flooding island before it sinks. Working together the players recover the artifacts and meet at Fool’s Landing to be flown off the island. As the game progresses the island begins to flood even faster.

I have played this game with non-gamers at family gatherings and with kids as young as 5 and had a great time. I enjoy the collaborative nature of the game and there is enough strategy to keep it entertaining.

Wrapping it Up!

And that is this year’s 2012 Holiday Gift Guide from The Iron Tavern! I think there is something in the list for varying types of gamers on your list – from seasoned veteran to someone new to gaming.

Mythic Adventures Playtest

Posted on November 19, 2012 by Jeffrey Tadlock

Last Wednesday Paizo released the much anticipated Mythic Adventures playtest. The book is not due out until a Gen Con release in August 2013, but true to Paizo fashion they allow plenty of time for playtesting new rules.

I must preface the comments in this post as being based on a read through of the playtest document and not actual play. My comments are more an overview and overall impression of the new rules and less a dissection of what does and does not work at a finely detailed level. For people seeking to playtest the rules in their game, please read the announcement post and follow the directions there for a proper playtest.

Mythic Adventures will add significant power to your Pathfinder game through the additions of a mythic tier. Many D&D gamers are familiar with epic level rules that kick in beyond typical levels in D&D play. The mythic rules are a little different in that you could start a campaign with mythic powered at level 1 or your could apply them partially through a campaign or you could even apply them temporarily during your campaign.

I readily admit I have rarely had any interest in epic level play. I typically feel a D&D or Pathfinder character starts to become a little too superhero-ish in the mid-teens levels of play. It is fun for awhile, but mainly as a pinnacle of a character’s adventuring career. Playing extended campaigns at “epic” levels is not an area I have historically had a lot of interest in.

This is one of things about the Mythic Adventures rules that is really unique. They offer a way to apply these power boosts right at level 1. No need to play through 20 levels of play and then become “epic” or “mythic”. No need to build pre-gens at levels 20+ just to start there with “epic” or “mythic” level characters. I think the way Paizo has figured out a way to layer these mythic rules into play is quite significant.

I also like that for people like me, that don’t necessarily want to play a whole campaign at “mythic” levels can craft ways to add these rules in on a temporary basis. There are some examples of this in the playtest. A perfect way for players or GMs like me to make use of these rules without committing to an entire campaign at “mythic” levels.

Another tool for the GM is the option of only applying mythic rules to particularly noteworthy opponents or creatures. They could be applied to a human adversary or even an animal-like adversary if the GM saw fit.

There are a multitude of ways to use the mythic adventure rules in your game even if you do not want to commit to an entire campaign at that power level. Very flexible, much more flexible than I thought the rules would be.

The playtest is freely downloadable from Paizo for those that wish to see the details of the rules. So I am only going to hit some of the highlights without going into significant detail.

The mythic rules use ten tiers to scale the power level of the mythic character upwards. These tiers do not necessarily correlate to character (i.e. you could have a 10th level fighter that is only at the 2nd level mythic tier). Tiers are gained by lesser and greater trials.

Each mythic tier grants base mythic powers that are independent of the mythic path you choose. Base powers include things that make you more difficult to kill, flaws, mythic power itself, initiative bonuses, and more as you advance.

There are six main mythic paths a character can choose to apply to their character. Each is geared towards a specific genre of class. The mythic path is what more specializes your mythic power to your class abilities. The paths can include access to mythic flavored spells, feats, and such. Paths also include mythic abilities a player can choose as they advance tiers.

The playtest document also includes many examples of lesser trials mythic characters can choose from to gauge their advancement. The GM is welcome to create their own as well.

Tips on running a mythic game gets a chapter in the playtest document. These tips help show how versatile the system is. From running a game where only creatures can be mythic to temporary use of the rules to running a whole campaign with mythic characters and creatures.

Some example mythic magic items and monsters also get a couple of chapters in the playtest. Mythic magic items and monsters open up whole new realms of play to design in and craft clever challenges for your players.

The playtest document wraps up with a short adventure allowing a GM to tryout the playtest rules with their group. It also is another example of the flexibility of the rules for those GMs that only want to dabble in the mythic realms of power instead of running entire mythic campaigns.

The playtest document weighs in at 52 pages. The layout is excellent, even Paizo’s playtest documents ooze quality. There is some artwork peppered about in the document in the form of sketch art.

When I first heard about Mythic Adventures I was a little skeptical. But after reading through the playtest document I certainly admire the framework. It appears to be extremely flexible for GMs and players and has made itself readily usable by new campaigns and old campaigns already well under way. I am anxious to see how it evolves over time. It looks quite promising even at this early point in the playtest process.

Tales from the Sunken City

Posted on November 16, 2012 by Jeffrey Tadlock

I have been running a Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG campaign online via Google+ Hangouts and Roll20. The game has been going since the first of August and we typically play for 2 to 2.5 hours on Tuesday nights. We have had a couple of canceled sessions due to crazy lives, but have had a pretty stable campaign overall.

I started the campaign with The Perils of the Sunken City from Purple Sorcerer Games, a 3^rd party publisher for the DCC RPG system. Several of my players were familiar with the Goodman Games modules already out which was a factor in choosing to start with the Purple Sorcerer Games products.

I liked the initial setting because it included a decent sized, but financially poor city and a large area of swamps to the South of the city. The swamps were vast portions of the city reclaimed over the centuries as the city was forcefully migrated northward by nature. The setting also includes a “sending stone” which acts like a randomly teleporting stone. Prospective adventurers place their hands on the stone and they are transported to some location. I thought this would allow me to use a myriad of modules that might not otherwise link together well.

Essentially, the modules offered a starting point with enough detail to hit the ground running, but enough white space for me to shape it into anything the players or I wanted.

The first module went quite well with some overland exploration in the swamp followed by a rather lethal dungeon for the ending of the adventure. The Perils of the Sunken City served quite well for a 0-level funnel and really helped shaped the character development of those that survived.

With the group surviving their first foray into the Sunken City they returned as heroes to the little settlement just outside the city walls proper. The group took about three months of in-game time to determine their path forward (i.e. class) and spend their hard fought gold. Two of the players also selected their patron from an entity featured at the end of the module. I ended up doing a complete patron write-up for that patron which both players have been using.

From here I wanted to run The Ooze Pits of Jonas Gralk for the group. It made use of the same sending stone for a start and further reinforced my base of the Great City and the Sunken City in the swamps to the south. I blended the storylines a bit and offered a possible option for controlling the sending stones instead of submitting to its randomness via an item that would be found at the end of The Ooze Pits of Jonas Gralk.

It took us six session (2 hours each) to play through The Ooze Pits of Jonas Gralk. I am sure other groups have played through this faster. I tend not to steer players too much, so I let their investigations go and handle things on they fly when they take actions outside what might be outlined in a module. If they want to chat with someone they encounter, I am always happy to carry on that conversation instead of brushing it aside. I think that is a good thing as long as it helps get them information they desire. But it does add time to play through the module. In fact, though we are pretty much done with the module as written, they have a few things they still want to wrap up.

Choosing to start with the Purple Sorcerer Games Sunken City line has proven to be a good start for us. I feel like we have a solid set of characters now, some backgrounds and themes starting to show through and the start of a campaign world to play in. With the use of sending stones it will also be relatively easy to work in other adventures from other publishers as well. There is a whole area of exploration behind how the sending stones came to be and are they really limited to just taking you to portions of the swamp?

For those interested I do keep an Adventure Log at the Obsidian Portal site I use for this campaign. While I don’t post detailed session reports here, I do try to keep the adventure log updated. Feel free to check it out. I caution you that you will run into spoilers for The Perils of the Sunken City and The Ooze Pits of Jonas Gralk over there as you read about our group’s adventures.

Rolemaster: Taking a Stab

Posted on November 14, 2012 by Iron Tavern Guest Blogger

The post below is written by UbiquitousRat, a guest blogger for The Iron Tavern.

We’ve had two sessions playtesting the new Rolemaster so far. Each session has, quite deliberately, focused on the combat system. That’s not to say that the adventure is merely a vehicle for testing rules, because it isn’t… but that we’ve given the combat rules a pretty cool test drive. This article summarises what we’ve found out.

The new Rolemaster deserves these three words: Fast, Dangerous and Fun.

FAST

Firstly, once you get your head around the concepts that drive the combat rules, it plays pretty quickly. We were totally surprised by this.

Now, don’t get me wrong: Rolemaster is a detailed system which is modelling fantasy combat with a lot of options. It’s no abstract engine which hand-waves the details. That said, Rolemaster is relatively quick… quicker than D&D 4e, GURPS and Pathfinder.

Why is it quick? Easy: you are making a single dice roll on a table, looking it up and applying the result; if you Crit, you make a second roll. That’s actually less fiddly than the usual D&D-esque “roll to hit, roll to wound”. It’s consequently pretty slick and fast to administer.

DANGEROUS

Rolemaster combat is deadly. We’ve noticed (at low-level play) that you either get steadily chipped away at, incurring an increase in penalties to your actions from the low-level pain… or you take a Crit and really get hammered!

The players have been enjoying the fights much more than they did playing, for example, D&D 4e. The reasons are mixed but include the fact that, if you get lucky, you can smash a foe with a single Critical Hit… and get to hear the amusing epitaph that the Crit table generates. This adds laughter and detail to what, in other games, is often just a simple bit of extra maths. Rolemaster Crits add flavour… and danger!

Risky fights are more pleasurable than easy fights. One of the criticisms levelled at so many fantasy games at my table is the fact that, with modern cinematic effects, the foes really aren’t so much of a challenge. Rolemaster combat, being dangerous no matter what the foe is, ups the stakes… and thus ups the joy.

Three Ghouls against four Heroes is not much of a fight in many games. For our group of Level 1 heroes this was a major battle. Getting one character seriously injured and another hurt enough to have to seriously consider withdrawing is actually more fun than some might think.

Following their victory last session the players have decided to leave further investigation of the tomb they had discovered for a month or so… because, in Rolemaster, it takes time to heal your now three-fingered weapon hand, or your broken ribs.

FUN

Rolemaster has injected a great deal of fun back into the fight scene. As a GM who finds it hard to juggle all the details of a combat scene, I appreciate the help that the system gives me.

From asking the players to declare their intentions BEFORE they roll Initiative, through structuring their actions through the 10-second round, to the imaginative and amusing Crit results… the system provides me with plenty of hooks for describing the action.

In fact, most of the time, the players are either describing their actions in loads more detail than they used to with other games… or I am reading them a tasty description from the Crit tables.

Pace, danger and description all boost the fun for our group. Rolemaster gives you this… once you let it. That’s so much better than when we were playing D&D.

CAVEATS

It would be remiss of me not to place some caveats on my comments because, like any game, Rolemaster is not for everyone.

If you like cinematic action with high-magical powers and amazing feats then, frankly, Rolemaster is not for you. This is a more grounded system, modelling a form of “fantasy realism” (if such things can exist). Being able to regularly hit with a weapon is a pretty neat skill, you know.

If you don’t like detailed rules and don’t care what the difference between a Spear and a Short Sword is then, really, Rolemaster isn’t for you either. This system makes using a Dagger a very different experience to being able to reach the foe with a Spear at 13’ and, consequently, not be at much risk from them.

If you don’t care if wearing a Breastplate and no arm or leg armour makes a difference then, again, you don’t need to use Rolemaster. It’s great wearing Plate armour… unless the enemy strikes a Crit to your arm where you have no protection. Rolemaster has this covered, but only if you want it. If it’s easier to just call it “Armour Class” then that’s fine, as far as it goes.

If you aren’t bothered about the tactics of combat then, again, Rolemaster is probably not worth the effort. This system encourages Spear users to rank up behind another friend and poke the bladed tip from over their shoulder. It’s a game which rewards covering your buddies with your large shield, not just yourself. Rolemaster provides encouragement for spell-casters to deliver non-flashy but highly useful stunning spells to their foes.

Frankly, if you’re just happy with “roll to hit, roll to wound, subtract Hit Points” then, really, Rolemaster is too much for your needs.

SURPRISED?

We were pleasantly surprised. In truth, having wrestled a little with the paradigm-shifting first combat in session one, we found ourselves really enjoying session two.

Rolemaster seems to require an assumption-smashing change of mindset if you’ve played other fantasy RPGs. This is quite painful in some ways because change is always difficult for players. However, once the shift is made, and the players get the new regime, Rolemaster fights really take off. After just one fight we were far more comfy with the rules and had far fewer look-ups in the books.

I was surprised and, I can tell you, also relieved. My players were not entirely sure about those huge Combat Charts when they first saw them… but now we’re pretty much enjoying the easy detail that they deliver.

Game on!

Bio

UbiquitousRat is a long-time roleplayer and gamesmaster who has a history with gaming going back to 1979. In 1994 he joined Games Workshop, spending 12 years in the gaming industry at the coal-face of tabletop wargaming. In 1998 he founded the Friday Night Roleplay group at his home in suburban Nottinghamshire, UK, and ever since has been the primary GM. The group was involved in the playtest of Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 2^nd Edition and Warhammer 40,000 Roleplay, as well as giving air to the development of 6d6 RPG. The core five players are all looking forward to the new Rolemaster and everyone is excited to be sharing

Review: Elminster’s Forgotten Realms

Posted on November 12, 2012 by Jeffrey Tadlock

WotC and Me

I have not purchased a Wizards of the Coast product for several years. Recently they have found a way to get me to pry the dollars from my wallet to fork over to them. First it was the 1^st Edition reprints. I actually wasn’t going to buy them, but while at Gen Con I found the trio of books at a price that bettered even Amazon’s price. I couldn’t resist.

Then Ed Greenwood’s Elminster’s Forgotten Realms book caught my attention. This book is an edition neutral book full of fluff written by Ed Greenwood about the Forgotten Realms. This book made my pre-order list at Amazon. I am not sure if I have ever actually pre-ordered a D&D book, even in my 3.x days.

The Book

Elminster’s Forgotten Realms is a hardcover book coming in at 192 pages. The book retails for $39.95. The book is described as providing an insight into the Forgotten Realms world from the creator of the setting, Ed Greenwood. The book is system-less in nature, so whether you play any number of D&D editions or have converted the Realms to another fantasy RPG system there should be something in this book for you.

Ed Greenwood wrote the book with cover art by Jesper Ejsing. Interior art comes from a variety of artists including Ed Greenwood, Wayne England, Tyler Jacobsoon, Beth Trott, and more.

The book has six major sections covering all matters of Realmslore. These sections do not include the foreword, introduction, or afterword.

First up we have Life in the Realms which covers an array of topics. A brief portion covers viewpoints on the Realms from a racial perspective. Along the way we learn common Realms terms for common expressions. This chapter continues with information on events and festivals, theater in the realms, medicine, illness and medicines, drugs, poisons, and current news and rumors.

The next chapter discusses Laws and Orders. This chapter is a discussion of class and nobility, justice, property law, trade laws, handling the guilty, who enforces the laws, pacts and alliances, and more information on the infamous Zhentarim.

The book takes a closer look at where people in the Realms live. Not as in region, but what are their actual homes like, the local Inns and Taverns, food, drinks, and even fashion.

Money drives any society and this is where the next chapter takes us. This chapter covers work, day jobs for adventurers, guilds, trade and merchant princes, coinage by region, trade goods, and information about the slave trade within the Realms.

The next chapter is the longest in the book, with a look at Gods and Followers. The early parts of the chapter address how people in the Realms worship, why evil is allowed to exist when good deities have a known presence, charity, temple income, and priesthoods of the Realms. The priesthoods section is the longest and covers many of the major deities within the Realms.

The final chapter is in regards to The Art, or magic within the Realms. The prevalence of magic is covered, information on bloodlines, alchemy, bardic magic, elven music, spellsong, and more.

Amidst all of the chapters are images of notes written by Ed Greenwood regarding the Realms and submitted to editors over the years. These are a very interesting look into how the Realms grew over time.

My Thoughts

I really enjoyed my read through of this book. The book’s style is probably the closest I will ever get to sitting down at a table with Ed Greenwood in a tavern and listening to him spin his tales about the Realms. The tone of the book seemed very conversational to me.

The book is edition-less, so fans of 1e, 2e, 3.x, or 4e D&D who are fans of the Forgotten Realms are sure to find this a fun read. However, if you prefer books heavy on crunch, this may not be the book for you. There is not a single stat block, spell block, feat, or anything at all resembling a game statistic in the book. I find that a good thing, but if you buy books for crunch only, you will likely want to pass on this one.

The artwork in the book was decent and had its up and downs. Only a few pieces felt particular evocative to me. Art is such a subjective area of critique though, that I am sure there are others that feel differently from me. It wasn’t that the art was bad, just the majority of it did not strike a chord with me.

The primary highlight in this book for me were the pages that showed Ed Greenwood’s old notes. I could just imagine him with stacks of notes in his house that he typed up into some presentable format and sending them off. Over and over and over. The depth of the Realms and the campaigns Ed ran for his group just astound me.

One has to wonder why the Realms is steeped in such lore. The typed page from Ed on page 85 of the book provides insight for this I believe. The note for the page from Ed notes that for players that have read every book, module and more for D&D tend to turn the game into a wealth of metagame knowledge. He notes that drowning them in so much Realmslore that one cannot possible track it all the DM has brought things back into real roleplaying. I found that an interesting way to combat the metagame knowledge of players.

While I enjoyed the entire book, a couple of sections did stand out to me. From the Laws and Orders chapter there is a section on becoming a noble in Waterdeep. It was an interesting section. The detailing of how the Phull and Zulpair rose to power in Waterdeep was particular insightful.

In the same chapter I also found The Secret History of the Zhentarim a good read. I have tended to use Zhentarim in several of my Forgotten Realms campaigns in the past making this section stand out to me. The included typed diagram from Ed in this section was wonderful!

The book is full of nuggets of information to help a DM run a Forgotten Realms campaign. Even if you do not run the Realms for your campaign, there are many ideas that can be stolen for your own world.

Summary

I had been looking forward to the release of this book. It did not let me down and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and getting an even better feel for the Realms as Ed Greenwood wrote it. If you are a Realms fan I highly recommend adding this book to your collection. From the conversational style, to the intricacies of the Realm the reader can learn about, it is a very strong offering from WotC for Realms fans!

DCC RPG – Ice Golem

Posted on November 7, 2012 by Jeffrey Tadlock

Winter is Coming II

Last fall @twwombat ran the inaugural Winter is Coming blog festival. The Iron Tavern participated in the festival with The Linnorm Ice Throne, a powerful artifact for the Pathfinder system, and A Winter Chase, a winter time chase using the Pathfinder chase rules.

This year @MarkMeridith has continued the festival with Winter is Coming II over at dicemonkey.net. The Iron Tavern is once again participating with today’s post!

In the spirit of winter and the cold weather I post some example Ice Golems for the Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG system. Golems are highly customizable in DCC RPG, but these two examples should provide some basis for judges wanting to add some winter themed fun to their DCC RPG campaign.

Ice Golems

Golems are a popular guardian for powerful mages. Not needing sleep or food, golems offer several attractive options for a mage seeking to guard his workshop. In the winter wastes of the north, ice golems are a popular choice for the enterprising wizard. The cold environments easily sustain the golem’s ice flesh.

Crafting an ice golem is still a somewhat difficult task, requiring a mold to be made to freeze the water into the desired size and shape the mage desires. Once a mold has been made though, multiple ice golems can be crafted from the same mold and water for freezing is typically plentiful.

A mage can create varying sizes of ice golems. Depending on the mage’s talent an ice golem can be imbued with various special qualities. Rituals are used to create ice golems with special qualities. Mages of the north keep these rituals as guarded secrets.

Sample Golems

Ice Golem, Large: Init -2; Atk fist +8 melee (dmg 2d6+6) or icy breath; AC 13; HD 10d8+10; MV 20′; Act 1d20; SP icy breath, double damage from fire-based attacks; SV Fort +5, Ref +2, Will +4, AL N

Icy Breath: (cone, width 15’, length 15’, 6d6 dmg, DC 15 Fortitude for half damage) An ice golem can use its icy breath attack every 1d5 rounds. Using the icy breath weapon consumes the ice golem’s action for that round. Targets caught in the breath weapon’s cone-like shape can attempt a Fortitude save for half damage.

An icy breath attack also has a chance to extinguish any open flames (torches, candles, etc). If an open flame is in the area of the attack there is a 60% chance the open flame will be extinguished.

Double Damage, Fire-based Attacks: An ice golem is especially susceptible to fire-based damage. Fire-based attacks do double their normal damage on a successful hit.

Ice Golem, Medium: Init -2; Atk fist +5 melee (dmg 1d10+4) or icy breath; AC 12; HD 5d8+5; MV 20′; Act 1d20; SP icy breath, double damage from fire-based attacks; SV Fort +4, Ref +1, Will +3, AL N

Icy Breath: (cone, width 5’, length 10’, 4d6 dmg, DC 13 Fortitude for half damage) An ice golem can use its icy breath attack every 1d6 rounds. Using the icy breath weapon consumes the ice golem’s action for that round. Targets caught in the breath weapon’s cone-like shape can attempt a Fortitude save for half damage.

An icy breath attack also has a chance to extinguish any open flames (torches, candles, etc). If an open flame is in the area of the attack there is a 60% chance the open flame will be extinguished.

Double Damage, Fire-based Attacks: An ice golem is especially susceptible to fire-based damage. Fire-based attacks do double their normal damage on a successful hit.