LotFP House Rules 2: One-Shot this Weekend

As I mentioned recently, I've been thinking of running a small adventure using the LotFP rules. Well, the thinking has becoming doing now, so here are the house rules we'll be using. Note that, for the sake of simplicity in this one-shot, I've not messed around with any of the classes.

Classes

• Humans only.
• Clerics are witch-hunters or crusaders.

Skills
Some additional skills. All characters have a base 1 in 6 chance of success. Specialists can add extra skill points as usual.

• Medicine: identify herbs*, spend one turn with first aid kit (counts as specialist's tools, 10 uses) to heal 1d3 hp of freshly accrued damage. The skill can only be used for healing if the patient has at least half of his maximum hit points.
• Arcane dabbling: use wands & scrolls. If the skill roll fails, the item is used (scroll destroyed, wand charge used) with no effect. If the skill roll fails with a 6 (or double 6), the item backfires, creating a detrimental effect (sometimes the opposite to what was intended).
• Sense magic: spend one turn to detect whether a single object, creature or 10' square area is magical. Further turns may be spent to determine the following things, in order: the type of magic, its potency (approximate spell level), the age of the enchantment.

*Bushcraft can also be used to identify herbs.

LotFP House Rules

Following my purchase of the Lamentations of the Flame Princess Weird Fantasy RPG (reviewed here), I have of course been thinking about what kind of game I would run with it at some point.

The main idea that's popped into my head is to run some games in the Wormwood campaign setting that Greg Gorgonmilk and I are working on (and which is planned for publication at some point). Wormwood is still in development, so its final form is still in flux, but it's shaping up to be a creepy, quirky, pseudo early modern period fairytale setting, which seems perfect for some LotFP-style adventures!

Like any DM worth his salt, I have thus -- as first order of the day! -- been thinking up some house rule tweaks to emphasize the desired tone.

Towit:

More Skills
The LotFP skills system is just begging to be expanded with a few setting-specific additions. I'm thinking about:

• Medicine: identify herbs, minor healing capability.
• Arcane dabbling: use wands & scrolls. Chance of things going badly wrong if the skill roll fails.*
• Sense magic: spend one turn to detect whether a single object, creature or 10' square area is enchanted.
• Appraisal: accurately value treasures.
• Lore: know stuff about history or legend.
• (Maybe) Performance: influence people by making beautiful music, telling gripping tales, dancing like a sylph, etc.

(The latter two were inspired by Beedo's post about an LotFP bard / skald.)

* Note that all characters would thus have a 1 in 6 chance of being able to read the magic words on a scroll and unleash the arcane energies locked within. For your average adventurer this would, of course, be highly risky though, and probably only a last resort.

Class Cuts?
I would run the setting human-only, so that cuts out the dwarf, elf and halfling classes. Aside from that, I've got this thing about stripping down classes to their bare essentials, and the flexible simplicity of the skill system sort of encourages this.

A couple of further ideas I've been considering:

1. Remove the specialist class and simply give all characters a certain number of skill points per level. That way, a fighter could have a sideline in sneakiness or a magic-user could dabble in bushcraft.
2. Remove the cleric class and replace divine magic / favour with a "piety" skill. I don't yet have a clear picture of exactly how this would work, but I'm envisaging some kind of system where characters can pray at shrines in order to receive blessings from saints or deities, which could then be used like spells.

Putting both of those together, one would end up with only two classes: Fighter and Magic-User. I'm not sure if I'd go that far, but it's an interesting idea to think about.

Impressions: LotFP Rules & Magic Hardcover

I recently received a copy of the Rules & Magic hardcover of James Raggi's Weird Fantasy RPG. I'd skimmed through the free (art-free) PDF version in the past, but, obviously, now owning it as a physical book, I wanted to give it a proper read through. I'm sure almost everyone reading this is already familiar with this rule book, so this won't be an in-depth review. I did however want to write a little something about it, and point out a few things which stood out to me, and my overall impressions. I've only completely read the rules section of the book so far (the magic section still awaits), but I did read it in its completeness, "cover to cover", without skipping over any bits like "oh yeah, whatever, I know how to roll ability scores".

Bullet list ahoy:

• I really like this rules set. It strikes a delicious balance between cleaving to tradition and adding its own little twists. A lot of the twists added are in line with my own philosophy and taste. I could definitely envisage running a campaign using these rules.
• It was fun to actually sit down and read an RPG rule book straight through. I seldom buy new rule books. I'm a massive proponent of Labyrinth Lord / Basic D&D, which I know like the back of my hand, so only ever skip around in the books to look things up.
• The prose is written in a style which is at once very clear and very atmospheric. A job well done. I would guess this is at least in part due to the fact that this text has gone through several (2? 3?) editions by this stage.
• Having said that, I did notice a couple of editing / proof-reading errors. (One unfortunately in the first couple of pages, which set me on edge a bit.)
• The firearms appendix at the back is super useful. A lot of research has obviously gone into it, but it presents game rules which seem easy to use, without getting too bogged down in historical realism. I would definitely allow firearms if I were to run a game with these rules.
• The art is of a very high quality, and does a lot to convey the kind of atmosphere James is trying to promote. There are a lot of black & white pieces scattered around, which have a nice slightly sketchy quality to them, with some pleasant use of thick black lines. In the middle there are a bunch of gorgeous colour plates, most of which I'd seen before -- I guess from following James on G+. I must say though, I was very surprised to find them all clumped together in the middle of the book. This struck me as odd, but I can only assume it was due to some technical reason as part of the printing process. I'd been expecting them to be distributed through the text, like the colour plates in the AD&D 2nd edition books were.
• The one picture I didn't like is the one of the elf -- too silly.
• The book itself, it goes almost without saying, is also of very high quality. I'm really glad I waited for a hardcover version of this to come out.

As an addendum, I also read the important bits of the Open Game License. You know, those 2 pages of tiny text at the back of most OSR stuff. I was delighted to discover the following:

Open Content: All text not specified as Product Identity.

Product Identity: All images, graphics, layout design and the LotFP and Lamentations of the Flame Princess names.

So that means that the entire text, apart from the use of the words "LotFP" and "Lamentations of the Flame Princess" is Open Game Content, and can thus be used in other OGL products (or used as a basis for house-ruled versions of the game). Kudos to James!

Just ordered...

James Raggi's latest. Very much looking forward to reading and running them. In fact a future campaign I'm currently contemplating sounds like it'll be the perfect setting for the Monolith.

I wish Death Frost Doom was available in print still :(

The Grinding Gear: review

(Thanks to Daddy Grognard for the image)

Last night I ran the third and final part of James Raggi's "The Grinding Gear".

Some spoilers follow, so if you think you might play this adventure at some point, it's advisable to not read any further in case you spoil the surprises for yourself.

Despite James' advice that the module should be played in one single session if possible (and we did try!), we ended up playing the adventure in three parts, due to real world time constraints.

In the first session a small group of three adventurers explored the abandoned inn and the surrounding buildings in great detail, and ended up finding the entrance to the dungeon. The second session saw a large group of six PCs delving into the dungeon, making their way through the 1st level and finding the entrance to the 2nd. Last night's session concluded the adventure -- they found their way to the end of the 2nd level of the dungeon, and managed to escape with their lives (and some small amount of treasure).

The three sessions totalled about 20 hours of play. Admittedly, the first session involved about an hour of introduction, explaining the basic rules to a new player, and equipment buying for the others, as did the second session when two new players joined us. Nonetheless, even subtracting this "setup" time and time we took for breaks, the adventure itself must have taken us a good 16 hours to play through. Therein lies its biggest flaw, in my opinion; but I'll come to that later.

Overall I have to say I was very impressed with this adventure, and really enjoyed running it. For referees who like to present a challenging and mysterious environment and enjoy watching their players trying to puzzle it out (and knowing that there really is a rationale behind it all!), this module is a real treat.

I loved the background premise, of a trap-filled tomb designed by a devious engineer and tinker with a love / hate relationship with adventurers. My players never quite worked out what the "point" of the dungeon was, i.e. that it had been expressly designed to punish the foolish or rash, and to reward the clever and methodical, but they got a very clear feeling that there was a deliberate intelligence behind everything they were encountering, and indeed were constantly on their toes, expecting to encounter the dungeon's "caretaker" at any moment.

The pace of the adventure is very slow, encouraging a savouring of small details and the pervading sense of malice and mystery. It rewards in-depth exploration of even areas which at first appear to be meaningless. For example, even for a group who were to figure out early on how to get into the tomb, exploration of the apparently empty and abandoned surface area is essential. Fortunately for them, my group didn't explore the statue hiding the dungeon entrance until last, being put off by the pile of dead bodies around it, and went over the abandoned inn buildings in great detail. I dread to imagine the fate of a party who were to go straight for the statue and simply jump head first into the dungeon!

Some highlights of running the module for me were:

• The revelation that the PCs were trapped, at the point where, after exploring every inch of the 2nd level which was shown on the fake map, they decided to head back to the surface to rest. This really had impact, especially as it dawned on them that they didn't have much water with them (and then they realised why I'd been mentioning all along when they felt hungry, and making them cross off rations and water supplies).
• That they ignored the organ trap, going straight through the door without touching the instrument, only to return and end up activating several of its nasty side-effects by playing random tunes on it.
• Their realisation, upon reaching the first of the real electrocuting cage puzzles, that they had no memory of the landlord's wife's name (I'd even shown them a little handout of the smashed funeral urn twice!). In the end they managed to work out her name by trial and error, "hangman" style, which surprised me -- I really thought that would be their end.
• That they fell for the final trick -- a heavily armoured fighter leapt into the sarcophagus, smashing its precious contents. The evil DM part of me was extremely pleased by this. At this point the first line of James' introduction rang true -- "is it OK to have a reasonable expectation for failure in a fantasy role-playing adventure?". Sure, the PCs escaped with their lives (which was looking like a far from certain proposition at several points), and took a small quantity of valuables with them, but they clearly understood that a rash action had robbed them of the tomb's principal reward.

So, all in all, a thoroughly enjoyable module to run.

The only flaw of the module as written, I feel, is that it's just unrealistic to run it in a single session as is advised, and that it's unfair to stretch it out over several. As I mentioned above, it took us about 16 hours altogether to play through it, and I really can't imagine how it'd be possible to play through it in a single session -- even a whole day session of 8 or so hours (which is what I'd originally arranged).

Given that rushing the adventure -- especially the apparently uninteresting early parts -- would also be unfair, this leaves me slightly unsure of how to remedy this problem. For those of high constitution, an all-nighter or all-weekender would work well, but me and most of my players don't have the time or energy for such intense bouts of RPGing.

I'd be truly interested to hear if anyone has actually run this module in a single session. The introduction implies that at least the author did!

So, in conclusion, two points:

Firstly, this module presents a very special type of adventure which one would seldom create on ones own, and in that sense I would wholeheartedly recommend other referees to purchase it.

However, while we got a great deal of enjoyment from the module, personally I don't feel like I'd run it again as written. More likely I'd try to come up with a shorter adventure of my own with the same premise -- one that could really be played through in a single session.

LOTFP: Weird Fantasy RPG without XP & levels

From the world of drifting semi-conscious morning thoughts comes this proto-system for playing James Raggi's weird fantasy RPG without the normal D&D concept of levels and experience points. This is an idea I've been thinking about for some time, and the following is my first rough attempt at a system for it.

To Start With
Start your PCs off with the equivalent abilities of whatever level the referee deems a suitable starting "power level" for the campaign. They may be novice adventurers (1st level), or may be more capable in their chosen professions.

Advancement
Instead of characters' skills and abilities automatically improving through the course of their adventures, this system assumes instead that long periods of time are required to hone skill -- the typical timespan of an adventure (a few days or weeks perhaps) not being sufficient. Of course time is also money, to at least some degree.

It is thus envisioned that characters will advance in more meaningful ways -- deliberately choosing to hone the skills they feel they need to achieve their goals (whatever those may be), rather than simply getting "free stuff" when advancing in level. In situations where a campaign goal is pressing urgently upon the PCs, personal advancement may simply not be an option -- in this case other possibilities must be explored by characters (acquiring the aid of NPCs who do have the required ability, for example).

Mechanism for Advancement
The basic mechanism is that a certain time period must be spent in training of some kind, and that a roll of Xd6 against a relevant attribute (roll under or equal) determines whether the training was successful. The number of d6s rolled is determined by the level of the ability which the character wishes to advance to (i.e. the step above his or her current ability level), making it more and more difficult to advance as the character's ability improves.

The training roll can be attempted any number of times, although each attempt entails a length of time.

How Many d6s?

• A fighter can improve his or her attack bonus by +1 by rolling Xd6 against STR, where X is the equivalent fighter level for the next step up in attack bonus. (For example, a fighter with a +3 attack bonus, the equivalent of 2nd level, would have to roll 3d6 equal or under their STR in order to advance.)
• A specialist can improve any skill by rolling Xd6 against a related attribute (referee's call), where X is one greater than the current level of the skill. (For example, a specialist with 3 in 6 stealth would have to roll equal or under their DEX on 4d6 in order to advance.) The exact nature of specialists' training is open to negotiation -- this makes some skills easier to train than others (it's easy to imagine how a character could improve at foraging and hunting, but how exactly does one improve at searching?).
• A magic-user or cleric can advance one spell-casting level (a step up on the "spells per day" chart) by rolling Xd6 against INT (for magic-users) or WIS (for clerics), where X is the highest spell level castable by the next step on the chart. (For example, a magic-user able to cast three 1st level spells, two 2nd and two 3rd per day, the equivalent of 6th level, would have to roll equal or under their INT on 4d6 -- as the next step includes 4th level spells -- in order to advance.)
• Depending on how the referee handles known spells for magic-users, they may be required to make a roll against INT on Xd6 to learn a new spell, where X is the level of the spell.

How Long?
This is very open to each referee's and each campaign's requirements, but a rough idea per training attempt might be:

• Fighter attack bonus: one month.
• Specialist skill: one week.
• Spell-casting level: one month.
• New magic-user spell: one week.

In the long term this will, of course, mean that higher levels of expertise are harder to reach, as the training roll increases in difficulty, requiring on average more attempts to succeed.

Training time must be spent pretty much devoted solely to that activity. In periods of down-time between adventures, PCs may have other responsibilities, and thus may not typically have the time required for training, without making special arrangements.

Other Factors
Special circumstances may give a bonus to a training roll (i.e. effectively increasing the relevant attribute for the purposes of the roll). The referee may grant a bonus from things like expert tutelage (which will naturally cost money) or consulting tomes or libraries (for spell casters).

Training Through Adventuring
Over the course of a long adventure (weeks or more) during which a character has regularly and intensively practiced a skill, the referee may allow a training roll to be made. A short jaunt into a dungeon would not usually qualify, but a three week long military campaign (in the case of a fighter) may.

The assumption is that "adventures" are, in general, short bursts of intense activity dotted through the normal lives of PCs.

What About Hit Points and Saving Throws?
Good question... I'm not sure about that yet. Any ideas?

One could of course simplify this whole thing into a "roll to advance a level" system, but I quite like it being a bit more fine-grained than that.

Carcosa one-shot

Coming tomorrow evening, to a gaming group near me...

A dino joy ride in the transparent wastes of Carcosa.

Featuring:

• "What went wrong" by Jeff Rients.
• A Carcosan mini-adventure by an as yet undisclosed OSR superstar.
• Free mutations all round! (Courtesy of Mutant Future)

The Grinding Gear: referee's report part 1

So, the Grinding Gear by the inimitable James Raggi.

I like it a lot.

In the message I sent around looking for interested players, I specifically stated that it was a trap / puzzle heavy module, and a very challenging one at that. I'm glad I did this, as the players came prepared with that knowledge, and took things methodically and cautiously.

We started early (10am!) so as to have plenty of time to play through the module, and even then the players only got to the first room of the dungeon after 7 hours! That included about an hour of introduction, general chat and equipment buying, and I guess my DMing style is reasonably slow-paced (I like to savour those feelings of mystery when the players don't have a clue what's happening), but I was still surprised how long the surface area took to explore.

I think this is the one thing I'd change about the module -- the extent of the surface areas. I did actually foresee this issue, and removed one floor of the inn, conglomerating the 1st and 2nd floors into one. I think if I were to run it again for a completely new group, I'd consider trying to further reduce the surface area, in order to get into the dungeons proper a bit more quickly. Not that it ever got boring -- there are enough interesting clues and odd items littered around the empty inn to keep interest up -- but I think it would have been nicer to get into the real "meat" of the adventure a bit sooner.

As it was, at the point of finding the entrance to the dungeons, the PCs had been seriously wounded by multiple encounters with the stirges on the surface, and decided to retreat to civilisation at this point, ending the session there. The idea being that the PCs would return to the abandoned inn with reinforcements at some later date.

I look forward to seeing how they fare with the rest of the module! I think they have a feeling for its deviousness now, which should set them in good stead for what's to come.

So how was my experience in terms of this being the first ever purchased module I've run? I enjoyed that as well. There were a few moments where I briefly had the fear that I'd totally forgotten to mention some important fact (which is far less likely with material one has written oneself), but on the whole I found the module was written well enough and concisely enough (a very manageable 16 pages total for the whole adventure) that I didn't have to worry about scanning through pages of descriptive text to find the important bits.

A very impressive adventure overall.

I definitely hope to run more modules by James Raggi, and would definitely be up for running other pre-written modules, as long as they were written in a similarly concise style.

I tell you what -- I've got the urge to run the Tomb of Horrors now! :)

Two firsts

I am about to perform two gaming related activities for the very first time this morning.

1. Run an adventure module which I bought rather than writing myself.

2. Run an adventure written by James Raggi.

Seriously, I've never run a pre-written module before, ever! (Actually, thinking about it, I seem to remember running the sample adventure in the Mentzer basic set... but apart from that.)

It's also going to be the first session of D&D (well, Labyrinth Lord) I've ever run where the PCs have firearms.

I shall post a report of how it went later...