Jim over at Lamentations of the Flame Princess posted his musings on D&D as a Horror Game which got me thinking a bit about where I want to go with Athanor mood-wise. In my mind, I wold love to have Athanor feel like a swashbuckling horror game -- romance, adventure, political intrigue, and nameless horror all intertwined. I was especially mindful of this since I had just been reading Fight On! # 4 this morning, and going thorugh the Tower of Duvan'Ku by the very same Mr. Raggi, and trying to figure a way to balance the feel of a horror adventure without it seeming so much like an intentional act of PC torture (which it struck me that the Tower could feel like) without much positive experience for the players.
Not sure that I have an answer, but having been out of the active DMing game for a couple of years, I find myself musing about this mood thing a lot, even though part of me know that much of the mood and feel of a campaign is actually out of the DM's hands and in the players'.
Friday, April 24, 2009
Draft: more classes for Athanor
Some preliminary notes on some character class options for S&W to fit into Athanor. No fluff yet, and certainly no playtesting to see how they work in real life.
The Rogue is stolen from Philotomy's thoughts on more brown-box style OD&D thieves, while the others are just me noodling around with customizing classes. Add these to the Mountebank idea I posted a while back, and those are my current thoughts for character options in Athanor.
THE RANGER
Class Abilities
Weapon/Armor Restrictions: Rangers may use any weapons and any armor or shields, but they gain no bonus to surprise when wearing armor heavier than leather.
Saving Throw: Rangers get +1 on saving throws vs. death and poisons.
XP Bonus for Constitution: This class bonus is due to a high constitution attribute.
Stealth: When actively hiding and moving with equally stealthy companions, a Ranger gets a +1 to surprise (3 in 6 chance). At level 9, this increases to +2 (4 in 6 chance).
Danger Sense: Rangers are only surprised on a 1 in 6.
Tracker: Able to track prey in the wild on a 3-6; this increases to a 4 in 6 at 5th level and 5 in 6 at 9th.
THE ROGUE
Class Abilities
Weapon/Armor Restrictions: Rogues may use any one-handed weapons, pistols, slings or crossbows and may wear leather armor, but cannot use shields.
Saving Throw: Rogues gain a +1 to saving throws vs. breath weapons and other effects they can dodge.
XP Bonus for Dexterity: This class bonus is due to a high dexterity attribute.
Stealth: When actively hiding and moving with equally stealthy companions, a rogue gets a +1 to surprise (3 in 6 chance). At level 9, this increases to +2 (4 in 6 chance).
Danger Sense: Rogues are only surprised on a 1 in 6.
Perceptive: Detect secret doors: 3 in 6. Listen at doors 2 in 6.
Mechanical Aptitude: Open locks of disarm traps on 2in 6. This increases to 3 in 6 at fifth level, and to 4 in 6 at 9th level.
THE SCHOLAR
Class Abilities
Weapon/Armor Restrictions: scholars tend to spend their waking hours in study of arcane lore, and as such tend to not have much training in weapons. Scholars may only use daggers or staves and are only allowed the use of leather armor, but cannot use shields.
Saving Throw: Scholars get +1 on saving throws vs. magic.
XP Bonus for Intelligence: This class bonus is due to a high intelligence attribute.
Read Languages: 3 in 6 chance of deciphering any unknown or magical language.
Mechanical Aptitude: Set or disarm mechanical traps on 1 in 6. This increases to 2 in 6 at fifth level, and to 3 in 6 at 9th level.
Activate magical or technological item: 2 in 6 chance. This increases to 3 in 6 at fifth level, and 4 in 6 at 9th level.
Lore: 3 in 6 chance of knowing useful information. Increases to 4 in 6 at 5th level.
The Rogue is stolen from Philotomy's thoughts on more brown-box style OD&D thieves, while the others are just me noodling around with customizing classes. Add these to the Mountebank idea I posted a while back, and those are my current thoughts for character options in Athanor.
THE RANGER
Level XP HD BHB ST
1 0 1 +0 16
2 2000 2 +1 15
3 4000 3 +2 14
4 8000 4 +2 13
5 16000 5 +3 12
6 32000 6 +4 11
7 64000 7 +4 10
8 128000 8 +5 9
9 256000 9 +6 8
10 512000 10 +6 7
Class Abilities
Weapon/Armor Restrictions: Rangers may use any weapons and any armor or shields, but they gain no bonus to surprise when wearing armor heavier than leather.
Saving Throw: Rangers get +1 on saving throws vs. death and poisons.
XP Bonus for Constitution: This class bonus is due to a high constitution attribute.
Stealth: When actively hiding and moving with equally stealthy companions, a Ranger gets a +1 to surprise (3 in 6 chance). At level 9, this increases to +2 (4 in 6 chance).
Danger Sense: Rangers are only surprised on a 1 in 6.
Tracker: Able to track prey in the wild on a 3-6; this increases to a 4 in 6 at 5th level and 5 in 6 at 9th.
THE ROGUE
Level XP HD BHB ST
1 0 1 +0 16
2 1500 2 +0 15
3 3000 3 +0 14
4 6000 3+1 +1 13
5 12000 4 +1 12
6 24000 5 +2 11
7 48000 6 +2 10
8 96000 6+1 +3 9
9 192000 7 +4 8
10 384000 8 +5 7
Class Abilities
Weapon/Armor Restrictions: Rogues may use any one-handed weapons, pistols, slings or crossbows and may wear leather armor, but cannot use shields.
Saving Throw: Rogues gain a +1 to saving throws vs. breath weapons and other effects they can dodge.
XP Bonus for Dexterity: This class bonus is due to a high dexterity attribute.
Stealth: When actively hiding and moving with equally stealthy companions, a rogue gets a +1 to surprise (3 in 6 chance). At level 9, this increases to +2 (4 in 6 chance).
Danger Sense: Rogues are only surprised on a 1 in 6.
Perceptive: Detect secret doors: 3 in 6. Listen at doors 2 in 6.
Mechanical Aptitude: Open locks of disarm traps on 2in 6. This increases to 3 in 6 at fifth level, and to 4 in 6 at 9th level.
THE SCHOLAR
Level XP HD BHB ST
1 0 1 +0 15
2 1500 1+1 +0 14
3 3000 2 +0 13
4 6000 2+1 +0 12
5 12000 3 +0 11
6 24000 3+1 +1 10
7 48000 4 +1 9
8 96000 4+1 +2 8
9 192000 5 +2 7
10 384000 5+1 +3 6
Class Abilities
Weapon/Armor Restrictions: scholars tend to spend their waking hours in study of arcane lore, and as such tend to not have much training in weapons. Scholars may only use daggers or staves and are only allowed the use of leather armor, but cannot use shields.
Saving Throw: Scholars get +1 on saving throws vs. magic.
XP Bonus for Intelligence: This class bonus is due to a high intelligence attribute.
Read Languages: 3 in 6 chance of deciphering any unknown or magical language.
Mechanical Aptitude: Set or disarm mechanical traps on 1 in 6. This increases to 2 in 6 at fifth level, and to 3 in 6 at 9th level.
Activate magical or technological item: 2 in 6 chance. This increases to 3 in 6 at fifth level, and 4 in 6 at 9th level.
Lore: 3 in 6 chance of knowing useful information. Increases to 4 in 6 at 5th level.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
More Musing on Mechanics
Thinking about characters and play, I find myself torn between two stances on ability scores. On the one hand, I like the fact that Swords and Wizardry gives very little mechanical advantage to characters with high ability scores, and little penalty for low scores. On the other hand, it seems like ability scores then become much ado about nothing if they do so little.
Likewise, I like the lack of skill systems, but I also like having characters define their characters a bit more, too.
Quite a conundrum.
Then I thought about an idea I had read back in the 1990s, which I vaguely recall being written by Jonathan Tweet (though I could be wrong) and borrowing an idea from games like Ars Magica -- any ability score above or below average (above 11 or below 9) has a "specialty" which can give a minor mechanical bonus in appropriate situations. Thus a high Strength might be "muscular" or "iron-thewed", and a low Strength might be "bookish" or "puny". Thus a character might look like this:
Str 8 (Bookish)
Int 14 (Well-read)
Wis 10
Dex 13 (Hand-eye coordination)
Con 9
Cha 15 (Authoritative speaker)
I might give minor bonuses when doing library research to such a character, or to talking to academics or wizards, or to scribing scrolls or manipulating traps, but I might give a penalty to lifting heavy things, forcing doors, or intimidating people.
Likewise, I like the lack of skill systems, but I also like having characters define their characters a bit more, too.
Quite a conundrum.
Then I thought about an idea I had read back in the 1990s, which I vaguely recall being written by Jonathan Tweet (though I could be wrong) and borrowing an idea from games like Ars Magica -- any ability score above or below average (above 11 or below 9) has a "specialty" which can give a minor mechanical bonus in appropriate situations. Thus a high Strength might be "muscular" or "iron-thewed", and a low Strength might be "bookish" or "puny". Thus a character might look like this:
Str 8 (Bookish)
Int 14 (Well-read)
Wis 10
Dex 13 (Hand-eye coordination)
Con 9
Cha 15 (Authoritative speaker)
I might give minor bonuses when doing library research to such a character, or to talking to academics or wizards, or to scribing scrolls or manipulating traps, but I might give a penalty to lifting heavy things, forcing doors, or intimidating people.
Sunday, April 19, 2009
An alternate spellcasting system (inspired by Chainmail), Draft 1
While thinking about Athanor, I found myself looking at the old Chainmail magic rules and thinking about using the Chainmail magic difficulty rules in Athanor in combination with modified spell lists. Using the Chainmail rules as a basis, I came up with the following table:
To use a spell, roll a d20 against the target number listed below:
Spell Spell Caster Level
Level Effect 1-2 3-4 5-6 7-8 9-10 11+
----- ------ --- --- --- --- ---- ---
1 I 16+ 14+ 12+ 10+ 8+ 6+
D 12+ 10+ 8+ 6+ 4+ 2+
N 11- 9- 7- 5- 3- 1
2 I 18+ 16+ 14+ 12+ 10+ 8+
D 14+ 12+ 10+ 8+ 6+ 4+
N 13- 11- 9- 7- 5- 3-
3 I 20 18+ 16+ 14+ 12+ 10+
D 16+ 14+ 12+ 10+ 8+ 6+
N 15- 13- 11- 9- 7- 5-
4 I n/a 20+ 18+ 16+ 14+ 12+
D 18+ 16+ 14+ 12+ 10+ 8+
N 17- 15- 13- 11- 9- 7-
5 I n/a n/a 20+ 18+ 16+ 14+
D 20 18+ 16+ 14+ 12+ 10+
N 19- 17- 15- 13- 11- 9-
6 I n/a n/a n/a 20+ 18+ 16+
D n/a 20 18+ 16+ 14+ 12+
N n/a 19- 17- 15- 13- 11-
Spell Effect:
I = Immediate -- spell takes immediate effect.
D = Delayed -- spell delayed to next turn
N = Negated -- spell does not work.
My thoughts on making this work:
- I think there needs to be some risk to failure, and thus some penalty for N results.
- I need to rethink spell lists and what level each spell is, since the removal of Vancian casting may change the balance of spells at each level.
- I also need to rethink the mountebank/rogue spell casting rules (or eliminate them and live with just fighters and magic-users, which is fine, too.)
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Athanor Update
Right now, I'm deep in the project of doing a literature review for my doctoral program, and I find that shifting between intense academic writing and writing for Athanor is harder than I thought. My mind is wrapped up in educational research right now, and while I could think of ways to apply that to gaming, I just don't want to. And my time is being squeezed by the American Educational Research Association national conference this week, and a statewide academic advising conference next week. I'm all conferenced out, and a bit overwhelmed by my academic life....
So my work on Athanor right now is focused on writing up a chunk of undercity as a dungeon. After I finish a couple of levels, I will start posting things again -- some scanned maps and some encounter keys. I tried something new with the maps. Inspired by a map by Gabor Luz in Fight On #1, I am doing freehand, grid-free maps sketched out rather than done as combat grids, so I'll be interested in what people think once I post them.
So my work on Athanor right now is focused on writing up a chunk of undercity as a dungeon. After I finish a couple of levels, I will start posting things again -- some scanned maps and some encounter keys. I tried something new with the maps. Inspired by a map by Gabor Luz in Fight On #1, I am doing freehand, grid-free maps sketched out rather than done as combat grids, so I'll be interested in what people think once I post them.
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Dragons in Zamora
I had originally thought that I was going to avoid dragons in Athanor. I had dinosaurs, after all, and lots of odd bits of monstery goodness. Who needs dragons. Then I thought better about it. What I used to hate about dragons in AD&D as a wee lad is that they were just another monster, and often far too easy to kill, especially for a large party, and so dragons left a bad taste in my mouth. I can't remember the last time I had a dragon in a game -- even games of Dungeons and Dragons.
So now, thinking more about it, I want dragons to be odd, creepy, and mysterious. All that to preface my brief notes on Dragons in the Campaign:
Dragons were manufactured in Ancient times as servitors of the Witch Kings of Ylum. Forged of magic and genetic technology, the dragons served as guardians of the Witch Kings, and either as land or aerial combat platforms. Durable, armored, and deadly, each dragon was a unique being, capable of cenuries of life and cunningly intelligent.
Most of the dragons have died in the centuries, but there are three dragons in Zamora. The first is the Tower Dragon, a 100-foot-long blue serpentine creature with long, lithe limbs, a huge crocodilian head with a mouth filled with foot-long teeth, and great cat-like eyes. The Tower Dragon sleeps most days coiled around the Tower of Wizardry, and is the pet and guardian of the Tower of Wizardry. The dragon cannot fly, but breaths lightning and is able to communicate empathically and to cause fear through telempathic broadcast. He moves seldom, but if moved to attack is an implacable foe.
The second is the Great Dragon, who arrived in Zamora with the Overlord. This great, winged dragon is 80 feet long, with three heads. One breathes fire, one breathes lightning, the third breathes frost. Its iridescent green scales are impervious to most weapons, and its wings seem to blot out the sky when the Overlord flies out over the city on its back. The Great Dragon sleeps for long periods of time, woken only to serve the whim of the Overlord.
The Shadow Dragon is a terror of the undercity. Only forty feet long, the Shadow Dragon is a master of darkness and a necromancer of no small ability. Ruthless and spiteful toward humans, the Shadow Dragon is an enemy of Vog Mur and maintains his own undead fortress below he city, from which he preys upon the living and amuses himself by he suffering he causes.
So now, thinking more about it, I want dragons to be odd, creepy, and mysterious. All that to preface my brief notes on Dragons in the Campaign:
Dragons were manufactured in Ancient times as servitors of the Witch Kings of Ylum. Forged of magic and genetic technology, the dragons served as guardians of the Witch Kings, and either as land or aerial combat platforms. Durable, armored, and deadly, each dragon was a unique being, capable of cenuries of life and cunningly intelligent.
Most of the dragons have died in the centuries, but there are three dragons in Zamora. The first is the Tower Dragon, a 100-foot-long blue serpentine creature with long, lithe limbs, a huge crocodilian head with a mouth filled with foot-long teeth, and great cat-like eyes. The Tower Dragon sleeps most days coiled around the Tower of Wizardry, and is the pet and guardian of the Tower of Wizardry. The dragon cannot fly, but breaths lightning and is able to communicate empathically and to cause fear through telempathic broadcast. He moves seldom, but if moved to attack is an implacable foe.
The second is the Great Dragon, who arrived in Zamora with the Overlord. This great, winged dragon is 80 feet long, with three heads. One breathes fire, one breathes lightning, the third breathes frost. Its iridescent green scales are impervious to most weapons, and its wings seem to blot out the sky when the Overlord flies out over the city on its back. The Great Dragon sleeps for long periods of time, woken only to serve the whim of the Overlord.
The Shadow Dragon is a terror of the undercity. Only forty feet long, the Shadow Dragon is a master of darkness and a necromancer of no small ability. Ruthless and spiteful toward humans, the Shadow Dragon is an enemy of Vog Mur and maintains his own undead fortress below he city, from which he preys upon the living and amuses himself by he suffering he causes.
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
More Plaza merchants
Sor Quiñones the Healer
Sister Quiñones is renowned as a healer and helper to the poor and hopeless. She sells her aid on a sliding scale, and is able to help the injured, sick and dying. Her healing involves salves, herbs, and medical aid rather than magical healing -- so it often take time and does not always work. But her aid comes as a welcome option to those who reasonably fear magic or who lack the money to hire a magic-user to help them. Sor Quiñones is a matronly woman in her mid-fifties with round cheeks, a rosy disposition, and hard eyes. She travels without guards and without fear.
Django Sheb, the Blacksmith
A Duma man in his mid forties, the Blacksmith is a remarkable metalworker. His items are durable and reliable, and it is said that he can work any metal. He seldom has much stock on hand, but will make any custom order for metal goods. He is proud, not very talkative, and works his booth all alone.
Sebastiano the Negotiator
Sebastiano sells the skill of his negotiators to help you make your point to others or to settle issues in dispute. His men are expensive, very persuasive, and very discreet. Sebastiano has a cold, unsettling look, despite his well-waxed mustache and beard, and his expensive clothing.
Chun Kao the Grocer
This Khitai merchant and his three daughters operate one of the largest tents in the Plaza. He sells all sorts of cactus, fungus, fruit and vegetables. The group are served by semi-intelligent mobile fungi called myconids who generally stand only about 2 feet tall, and who are said to be quite tasty. No one has seen a myconid in the wild, so no one can tell you where the come from except Chun Kao and his daughters -- and they avoid any discussion of such things.
Sister Quiñones is renowned as a healer and helper to the poor and hopeless. She sells her aid on a sliding scale, and is able to help the injured, sick and dying. Her healing involves salves, herbs, and medical aid rather than magical healing -- so it often take time and does not always work. But her aid comes as a welcome option to those who reasonably fear magic or who lack the money to hire a magic-user to help them. Sor Quiñones is a matronly woman in her mid-fifties with round cheeks, a rosy disposition, and hard eyes. She travels without guards and without fear.
Django Sheb, the Blacksmith
A Duma man in his mid forties, the Blacksmith is a remarkable metalworker. His items are durable and reliable, and it is said that he can work any metal. He seldom has much stock on hand, but will make any custom order for metal goods. He is proud, not very talkative, and works his booth all alone.
Sebastiano the Negotiator
Sebastiano sells the skill of his negotiators to help you make your point to others or to settle issues in dispute. His men are expensive, very persuasive, and very discreet. Sebastiano has a cold, unsettling look, despite his well-waxed mustache and beard, and his expensive clothing.
Chun Kao the Grocer
This Khitai merchant and his three daughters operate one of the largest tents in the Plaza. He sells all sorts of cactus, fungus, fruit and vegetables. The group are served by semi-intelligent mobile fungi called myconids who generally stand only about 2 feet tall, and who are said to be quite tasty. No one has seen a myconid in the wild, so no one can tell you where the come from except Chun Kao and his daughters -- and they avoid any discussion of such things.
Monday, April 6, 2009
Slow posting ahead...
Spring quarter is my worst time of the year. Work and school converge into a horrible morass which impinges on things like writing and gaming. And my time with my wife. So Athanor may be on the back burner for the next month or so as I write lesson plans for orientation, rewrite publications, work on a literature review, and try to keep up on my reading.
If only writing a game up counted for my school work...
However, if I get through this week's school frenzy, I have promised myself that I would get some gaming material written.
If only writing a game up counted for my school work...
However, if I get through this week's school frenzy, I have promised myself that I would get some gaming material written.
Friday, April 3, 2009
Dungeons, Adventures and Athanor
I have made some opportunities for traditional adventures in Athanor, including the presence of the undercity, the four scions of the Overlord and their fortresses in the vast expanse of ruins at the edges of the city. I have also made some opportunities for wilderness adventure (and further dungeons) in my wilderness map and slowly developing map key. But these only provide some of what I want happening.
Now I need to think about intrigues and backgrounds. In my past days of running superhero games, Storyteller system games, and action/adventure games using Feng Shui, I have GMed games with a strong plot and story element. And these went fine. But I want to give more freedom to my players in discovering and creating plots rather than having them driven by me. I'm just not interested in being the author of a semi-complete plot that the players play in right now. I want to watch what the players make out of the world.
So how do I get more sandbox-ey, but not focus on megadungeons, wilderness exploration, or heavy detail like the old Judges' Guild City State? I'll have to mull that over (somewhere between the lierature review, data project, readings, papers, orientation programs, publications I'm rewriting, and three conferences I'm attending this quarter.... For those of you considering full-time work while doing full-time graduate school, heed my advice: Don't do it!)
So many questions to get the game I want to run to actually take shape....
Now I need to think about intrigues and backgrounds. In my past days of running superhero games, Storyteller system games, and action/adventure games using Feng Shui, I have GMed games with a strong plot and story element. And these went fine. But I want to give more freedom to my players in discovering and creating plots rather than having them driven by me. I'm just not interested in being the author of a semi-complete plot that the players play in right now. I want to watch what the players make out of the world.
So how do I get more sandbox-ey, but not focus on megadungeons, wilderness exploration, or heavy detail like the old Judges' Guild City State? I'll have to mull that over (somewhere between the lierature review, data project, readings, papers, orientation programs, publications I'm rewriting, and three conferences I'm attending this quarter.... For those of you considering full-time work while doing full-time graduate school, heed my advice: Don't do it!)
So many questions to get the game I want to run to actually take shape....
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