Random musings.

Imagine a party of characters made up of a Ferengi, a Klingon, a Romulan and a Vulcan.

Imagine how each character would approach a problem. Imagine what would motivate each character. Imagine how the party would resolve any interpersonal conflicts during an adventure.

A harmonious group is a boring group.

Adventure Design I: A basic lair.

First of a series on adventure design. I'm going to start with a very basic lair. Experienced GMs may wish to skip this one, but I do plan to build up concepts gradually.

First, I decide on the system, I'll use Basic D&D. I then come up with a concept. In this case, a small band of orcs. Their lair is in a cave. I'll arbitrarily decide on how many adventurers, and of what level. If I were going to make this lair for an existing campaign, I'd instead use the number of characters and their levels of the current players.
4 characters of level 1.

Next, I come up with a map. There's lots of mapping software on the web, and many maps from existing modules or geomorph resources could be used. In this case, I'll simply freehand a map on plain paper.

Map layout is pretty important. For example, a string of linear encounter areas is dirt simple, and very boring.

Instead, I'll break up the encounters by including branching paths.

I also added a sixth enounter area to break up the symmetry of the map.

I tend to number areas as close to how I think they'll be encountered by the party. Of course, since I've got branching paths, I can't do it perfectly. But I try to get it as close as possible, since it will make finding encounters in my notes a little easier.

I'm now ready to make a key. I'm going to put in some orcs, and keep the level range and number of characters in mind. Considering the low level, I'm going to use 50% of the total party level for an easy encounter, 100% of the party level for an average encounter, and 150% of the total party level for a hard encounter.

1. 2 Orc lookouts are guarding the entrance to the caves.

AC: 6, HD: 1, HP: 3 ea, Attacks: 1 weapon, Damage: 1d6, Save as: Fighter 1, Morale: 8, AL: C.

I tend to use just the relevant stats. I don't necessarily need the Treasure Type or Number Appearing for a key. I also like to decide by die roll or fiat how many HP the monsters have.

2. Central cave. There are 4 orcs here, roasting a giant lizard on a spit.

See encounter 1 for stats on the orcs.

A little flavor text, and I don't need to retype the stats for the orcs in this part of the cave.

3. Storeroom. There are sacks of mouldy grain, and dirty pelts here.

Not every location must have a combat encounter. 

4. Hoard. This cave holds the spoils that the orc raiders have taken. There is 500 gp worth of trade goods stolen from the nearby town here. 3 orcs guard the hoard.

5. Guard room. There are 2 orc guardians here, they are particularly tough, and have 6 HP each.

6. Chief's lair. The orc chief and some of his minions are here. The orc chief has 3 HD, and 9 HP, his minions are standard orcs, use the stats from encounter 1 for them.

The orc chief has a magical axe +1 to hit and damage. In his personal stash of loot is a potion of healing (which he may try to use during a fight), 36 gp in coins, and an ivory tusk worth 50 gp.

Done. A simple lair that should provide about 30-45 minutes worth of gaming, and only took about 15 minutes to write up. It's very simple though. In further entries, I'll punch the lair up a little.

Murder Hobos

I read an essay by Tracy Hickman that really struck me regarding D&D play styles.

I often think about an experience I shared with the players in one of my own games. I was the 'dungeonmaster' for a D&D game. We were playing 'Ravenloft', an adventure written by my wife and I about a vampire.
On the surface, this seemed like a typical old movie plot; Eerie eastern European location with lots of fog and fallen leaves. There was the obligatory castle high on the craggy cliff with the wolves howling in the woods. Sure enough, the vampire was up there in the castle.
To most of the players it seemed like a straight forward task: find the vampire and kill him.
However, Ravenloft had more to it than that. The plot of the story behind the game dealt with why Strahd von Zarovich, the Count of Barovia had fallen from grace to become the first vampire. As the game progressed, one of the players began discovering this background.
The vampire had once been a great and noble warrior. When he conquered Barovia and established the castle there he sent for his family to join him. There was a particular girl in the town that he wished to marry. In the end, however, the girl fell in love with the Count's younger brother. Strahd blamed his age for the girls rejection and vowed to live forever through the dark arts. He believed if he could rid himself of death that the girl would somehow find him attractive.
Of course, the brother was killed by Strahd. The girl threw herself from the cliffs of the castle but her body was never found. Strahd found that his pact with darkness had caused that he should not die but that he should not live either. Thus did he become a vampire.
At the end of the game, my friend held the sword which could destroy Strahd. As his companions fell upon the vampire, my friend found that he couldn't kill the monster. He saw all the sadness and tragedy which the mans life had once been. Ultimately his companions in the game were forced to finish the job.
After the game, we spoke. "He deserved to die better than that," my friend said.
"Yes," I replied, "But that is how it is with people who fall from greatness. He chose his end when he first chose to kill his brother. How could it be any different?"

http://web.archive.org/web/20110722122149/http://www.trhickman.com/Intel/Essays/Ethic3.html

How indeed. In my opinion, this was a rather poor way for Hickman to address the player's decision. The strength of this hobby is that players can explore for themselves what is good and what is bad. That player was justified in showing mercy to Strahd. Just as another player would be justified in striking Strahd down right away. Both would have a point, and the GM, favoring one interpretation or the other is, again IMO, bad form. This is a great oppportunity to examine morals and ethics within an RPG framework. Having the GM come down with a moral proclimation of what is good and what is bad robs the player characters of their agency. Why bulid up an interesting and potentially sympathetic villain if the GM is only going to expect a certain outcome? I will say that at least Hickman brought it up post-game with the player, instead of forcing a certain moral choice on the character in the moment.

The Orc Redeemed

Tolkien orcs are often brought up as the example of irredeemable orcs. Cannon fodder mooks for the big bad guy to fling at the heroes to die in droves.

Tolkien himself was never clear on just how evil the orcs were, or even gave a clear story on their origins.

But there are moments in the books when orcs and trolls show some amount of compassion and at least a notion of morality:

"Poor little blighter," said William. He had already had as much supper as he could hold; also he had had lots of beer. "Poor little blighter! Let him go!"
"Not till he says what he means by lots and none at all," said Bert. "I don't want to have me throat cut in me sleep. Hold his toes in the fire, till he talks!"
"I won't have it," said William. "I caught him anyway."

"It's my guess you won't find much in that little fellow,' said Gorbag. 'He may have had nothing to do with the real mischief. The big fellow with the sharp sword doesn't seem to have thought him worth much anyhow – just left him lying: regular elvish trick."

Maybe the orcs (and trolls) of Middle-earth aren't irredeemably evil. Maybe the influence of Morgoth, and then Sauron, and to a lesser extent, Saurman, reinforce their evil tendencies. They've been so long under the control of the bad guys, that they simply haven't had the chance for anything else.

"I'd like to try somewhere where there's none of 'em. But the war's on now, and when that's over things may be easier."
"It's going well, they say."
"They would.  We'll see.  But anyway, if it does go well, there should be a lot more room.  What d'you say? -- if we get a chance, you and me'll slip off and set up somewhere on our own with a few trusty lads, somewhere where there's good loot nice and handy, and no big bosses."
"Ah!  Like old times."
"Yes.  But don't count on it.  I'm not easy in my mind. As I said, the Big Bosses, ay, ay, even the Biggest, can make mistakes.  Something nearly slipped, you say.  I say, something has slipped.  And we've got to look out.  Always the poor Uruks to put slips right, and small thanks.  But don't forget: the enemies don't love us any more than they love Him, and if they get topsides on Him, we're done too."

Note that when Sauron is absent, the orcs and trolls tend to become 'mere' bandits and raiders, and show little ambition past that. The Goblin King was willing to parley with Thorin's company. Maybe just to find out more about their doings, but it does set the precedent that orcs can be parleyed with, even if they're not likely to show much mercy. Perhaps after Sauron's demise, if the orcs were left alone, they just might move on from the raiding lifestyle and adopt more 'good' habits and relations. Personally, I think it would take a long, long time, and one could hardly be faulted for being wary of orcs until they had proven themselves out from the long influnce of the evil powers of Middle-earth.

Leveling Items

An excellent idea that I first encountered in 1st edition Earthdawn, and have used in other systems, is the idea of leveling items. Magic items whose bonuses scale to the level of the owner. For example, a 2nd edition D&D character gains the Blacksteel Sword. This sword has a bonus to hit and damage based on it's owners level:

Level          Bonus to hit and damage
1-4            +1
5-8            +2
9-12          +3
13-16        +4
17-20        +5

Or, in Dungeon Crawl Classics:

Level          Bonus to hit and damage
1-2             +1
3-4             +2
5-6             +3
7-8             +4
9-10           +5

At certain levels, a specific power could be unlocked, that gives flavor and theme to the item.

Blacksteel Sword special powers
Level 3          +1 to saves versus magic spells
Level 6          Spellcasters struck with the Blacksteel Sword must save vs Will (spells) at DC 10+CL, or forget one randomly determined spell.
Level 9          Once per day, the Blacksteel Sword can cast an anti-magic shell, that lasts for 1d6 turns.
And so on...

This gives characters a reason to hold onto an item instead of trading up, and allows the game master to have much less items floating around in the campaign world.

DCC: Invasion of the Saucer Men

Rumors of bronze men who kidnap villagers are being heard in the town of Ravenshire. A saucer craft from the outer dark has crashed  near Ravenshire, and the saucer men are attempting to repair their craft and return to whence they came.
The craft requires rare minerals and crystals for repairs. Also, the saucer men require blood for sustenance. Thus, they send their bronze mechanical men to search for materials for repairs and people as food.

Intro encounter-
While searching for the bronze men, or travelling to their next destination, the party encounters a group of 3 bronze men carrying unconcious villagers back to the craft.
Bronze Man
Init +3, Atk  stun beam +3 ranged 10/20 (1d6+2 non-lethal damage) or claw +3 melee (1d6+2 dam), AC 13, HD 3d6, HP 10 ea, MV 25' Act 1d20
SV Fort +3, Ref 0, Will +-2, AL L
After rescuing and reviving the villagers, they can learn a bit about the attack. The bronze men attacked while they were herding sheep. They stunned the villagers.
A sucessful track roll vs DC 10 will lead the party to the crashed saucer.

1. Entrance.
The saucer has a single hatch that remains open so the Bronze Men can come and go. There are two laser beam turrets in the entrance room that will attack any intruders who are not saucer men or their servants.
Laser Beam Turret
Init +2, Atk  laser beam +3 ranged 10/20 (2d6+2 damage), AC 12, HD 2d6, HP 8 ea, MV 0' Act 1d20
SV Fort +2, Ref -6, Will 0, AL N
2. Room of strange rods.
There is a console in this room with 3 rods made of gemstone. If a character touches or handles a rod, roll on the following tables.
Ruby Rod: 2d6
2: Lose one point of Stamina permanently
3-11: Gain 1d10 temporary hit points.
12: Gain 1d4 permanent hit points.
Sapphire Rod: 2d6
2: Lose one point of Intelligence permanently
3-11: Gain +1d4 to spell checks for the next 24 hours.
12: Gain a permanent +1 to spell checks.
Emerald Rod: 2d6
2: Lose one point of Strength permanently
3-11: Gain +1 to hit and damage for 24 hours.
12: Gain a permanent +1 to Strength
After being handled 3 times, a single rod will burn out and go dark. It will not affect the character until it regenerates after 24 hours.
Removing a rod requires a Strength check at DC 25. The rod will go dark after being removed and have no special effects, but each rod is worth 100 gp.
3. Engine room.
This room is full of strange energies emanating from the cylinders that drive the saucer's otherworldly engines. Anyone tampering with the cylinders must make a Luck save vs DC 15 or take 2d4 electric damage. There are 8 cylinders, and each has AC 15 and 20 hp. Destroying a cylinder will create an explosion that deals 3d8+5 damage to everyone in the room, and has a 1 in 4 chance of setting off a chain reaction that will destroy the entire ship. Characters caught in this blast will be killed with no save, along with the saucer and everyone else inside.
4. Examination room.
There are various tables and examination tools here. A dwarf lies on one of the tables, dead and in the process of being dissected by two of the saucer men. A bullete is restrained in a cage. The saucer men will attack, and fight to the death. The bullete can be released by levers along the wall. Any character tampering with the levers has a 1 in 4 chance per attempt to open the cage and release the bullete. The dwarf's gear is here on another table. He had 3d6x10 gp in gems, quality chain mail (+1 non magical armor), a crossbow with 12 quarrels +2 of lycanthrope slaying (lycanthropes hit by these quarrels must make a Fort save vs DC 18 or be slain. A sucessful save means 3d6 extra damage), and a snuff box half full of snuff worth 12 sp.
Bullete
Init +5, Atk  melee bite +5 (2d8+4 damage) or claw +3 melee (1d6+2 dam), AC 18, HD 6d10, HP 45, MV 40' or burrow 20', Act 1d20+1d16+1d6 (bite, claw, claw)
SV Fort +4, Ref +2, Will +2, AL N
Saucer Men
Init +3, Atk  stun beam +3 ranged 10/20 (1d6+2 non-lethal damage) or claw +3 melee (1d6+3 dam), AC 15, HD 4d8, HP 20 ea, MV 20' Act 1d20+1d20
SV Fort +4, Ref 0, Will +5, AL L
5. Harvesting room.
This room has 2 saucer men feeding on blood taken from various humanoids. There is an orc, elf, and two humans in this room. They are half alive, and hooked up to machinery that drains their blood, depositing it into cansiters for the saucer men to drink from. If rescued, they are in no condition to fight, but can flee the saucer.
Saucer Men
Init +3, Atk  stun beam +3 ranged 10/20 (1d6+2 non-lethal damage) or claw +3 melee (1d6+3 dam), AC 15, HD 4d8, HP 20 ea, MV 20' Act 1d20+1d20
SV Fort +4, Ref 0, Will +5, AL L
6. Storage.
There are boxes, barrels and containers of all sorts. The items stored here are not understandable by the inhabitants of this world, buy may be of interest to a curious sage. Such a buyer will pay 3d6x100 gp for the documents and artifacts that can be transported out of the saucer. There are 2 Saucer Men and 2 Bronze Men here, guarding the lift to the bridge.
Bronze Man
Init +3, Atk  stun beam +3 ranged 10/20 (1d6+2 non-lethal damage) or claw +3 melee (1d6+2 dam), AC 13, HD 3d6, HP 10 ea, MV 25' Act 1d20
SV Fort +3, Ref 0, Will +-2, AL L
Saucer Men
Init +3, Atk  mental blast ranged 20/40, or claw +3 melee (1d6+3 dam), AC 15, HD 4d8, HP 20 ea, MV 20' Act 1d20
SV Fort +4, Ref 0, Will +5, AL L
SA Mental blast- Target must save vs Will at a DC equal to 1d20+4. Failure means taking 1d6 attribute damage to Intelligence.
The saucer man can either attack with claw or use it's mental blast per round.
7. Lift room.
This room has a pad in the center, with a regular, hexoganal pattern made of crystal. Anyone stepping onto the pad will be transported to room 8.
8. Bridge.
From this room, the Saucer Man leader coordinates his underlings. There is the Saucer Man leader, one Bronze Man, and one Saucer Man in this room. They will fight to the death.
Saucer Man Leader
Init +6, Atk  mental blast ranged 25/50 , and claw +4 melee (2d6+2 dam), AC 18, HD 6d10, HP 45 ea, MV 20' Act 1d20+1d20
SV Fort +5, Ref -1, Will +6, AL L
SA Mental blast- Target must save vs Will at a DC equal to 1d20+6. Failure means taking 1d6+1 atttribute damage to Intelligence.
The saucer man leader can make both a claw attack and a mental blast attack in the same round.
Saucer Men
Init +3, Atk  mental blast ranged 20/40, or claw +3 melee (1d6+3 dam), AC 15, HD 4d8, HP 20 ea, MV 20' Act 1d20
SV Fort +4, Ref 0, Will +5, AL L
SA Mental blast- Target must save vs Will at a DC equal to 1d20+4. Failure means taking 1d6 attribute damage to Intelligence.
The saucer man can either attack with claw or use it's mental blast per round.
Bronze Man
Init +3, Atk  stun beam +3 ranged 10/20 (1d6+2 non-lethal damage) or claw +3 melee (1d6+2 dam), AC 13, HD 3d6, HP 10 ea, MV 25' Act 1d20
SV Fort +3, Ref 0, Will +-2, AL L

DCC: MOTU continued.

Man-at-Arms from Masters of the Universe, in DCC stats.

Init +6; Atk  Mace  melee +5 (1d6+5); AC 20; HD 6d12; HP: 65; MV 30’;
Act 1d20/1d16; SA 1d8 deed die; SV Fort +5, Ref +2, Will +4; AL L.

Man-at-Arms is a loyal warrior of Eternia. He serves King Randor and often adventures with He-Man.
Man-at-Arms is skilled in weaponsmithing and the technology of Eternia.
Man-at-Arms gear:
Technoplate that grants AC 20.
Shock Mace +3 to hit and damage, in addition to his strength bonus of +2.
On a critical hit, in addition to any results from the crit table, the foe must also make a save vs Fort at DC 18 or be stunned for their next round. (Unable to take any actions)
Laser Pistol: 2d6 damage, Range 80/160/240. 6 shot clip. Carries a spare clip.

Man-at-Arms is a Warrior and may use Mighty Deeds of Arms. He adds his deed die to his to-hit and damage rolls.

DCC: Random ideas.

Stinkor from Masters of the Universe, in DCC stats.

Init +3; Atk Claw +3 melee (1d6+3); AC 18; HD 3d10; HP: 20; MV 30’;
Act 1d20; SP gas cloud; SV Fort +5, Ref +3, Will +2; AL C.

Stinkor is a competent warrior, but his greatest asset is his foul stench. Anyone attacking Stinkor in melee combat must make a Fort save vs DC 15 or be at -1 to hit rolls.
Once per combat (appx 10 minutes) Stinkor can generate a toxic cloud, 12' in diameter. Anyone in the cloud must make a Fort save vs DC 18 or be incapacitated for 1d4 rounds. The cloud lasts for 1d6 rounds. The cloud gives a -2 penalty to ranged attacks against targets in the cloud. Un-dead and mechnanical creatures are unaffected by either the stench or cloud.
Stinkor wields his natural razor-sharp claws and shield, and wears a breastplate with an integrated breath mask. Stinkor is immune to his own stench, but is susceptible to his own toxic cloud effect. The breastplate give him immunity to his toxic cloud, immunity to non-magic gas effects, and +2 to Fort saves versus magical gas effects.

2nd Edition: Dance with Death

Unlike previous editions, 2nd Edition focused on settings and characters, and continuity of characters. While it was, and still is, amusing and fun to have a D&D campaign with frequent mortality, (and I like it in Dungeon Crawl Classics) it's not so conducive to a lot of 2nd edtion games. There have been various house rules and official rules and optional rules to tamp down on the lethality of D&D, like the -10 hit points rule, or making death saves, but really all these rules are saying that we don't necessarily want characters to die when they're knocked down to 0 hit points. So why not just say that? There's an excellent aphorism "Don't call for a die roll unless you're willing to accept the result"
If a character is reduced to 0 hit points, they fall down and are no longer a participant in the combat unless they get healing. That character is not dead, but badly wounded and can be tended after the encounter ends.
So what about save or die? I'm not too concerned about effects like petrification, which is curable. I'm tempted to say that any instant death effects reduce the character to 0 hit points, and the aforementioned "fallen down" rule is still in effect.
That leaves disintegration. Well, my thought is to keep it rare. I still believe in having some monsters and abilities that are very dangerous, but not something for the characters to encounter in every adventure.

2nd Edition: Dragonlance

It's almost redundant to say that Dragonlance was both a megahit that rejuvenated TSR, and a point where Dungeons & Dragons made a turn away from it's previous tropes. Unlike modules like Keep on the Borderlands or Tomb of Horrors, the story was the focus of Dragonlance. Notably, this was around the time Bothered about Dungons and Dragons was putting pressure on TSR, and Dragonlance offered a setting that got away from the amoral gathering of treasure, the slaughtering of monsters, and the references to demons and devils. This asthetic would find their way into 2nd edtion as well. I'm not saying that Dragonlance was created in response to the criticisms against D&D, but it certainly was a convenient world for TSR to distance itself from those criticisms.

Unfortunatley, the original Dragonlance modules also removed a lot of the open ended gameplay. DL1 was certainly not a terrible module, but it was very linear. On re-reading my copy, I noted the use of the march of the Draconian army as a tool to herd the players to the ruins of Xak Tsaroth, and a pretty heavy hand in the resolution of the combat with the dragon Khisanth.

I lost interest in the Dragonlance modules after D3, Dragons of Hope. All the Dragonlance modules up to that point were pretty much similar in structure and play. There's a few interesting ideas, like the use of discrete events along with locations, or the politics of the refugee caravan, but these ideas, to me, were not fleshed out or used as well as they could have been. 

And then the novels came out. It was clear to me, even then, that Dragonlance was a much better series of novels than a series of modules. Later on, Dragonlance would get setting books that didn't tie into an overarching plot, and so become much more palatable as a game world. I think it's fair to say that Dragonlance was a kind of precursor to the settings that would come during 2nd Edition.

2nd Edition: The Companion

One thing that popped into my head today was the companion character. Usually an exotic humanoid or beast that shares some kind of close bond with the character.

Often the companion can only speak or communicate with the patron character. In the case of Chewbacca, no one seems to understand his specific language except for Han and C-3P0. Even if others could, they often go through the patron character since their bond means that the patron is more trusted.
Sometimes the patron can even see through the companion's eyes, or listen through their ears, in the case of The Beastmaster.

And the companion is often not human, or even one of the usual demihuman races, but something more strange and unusal, in the case of Dragonbait from the Forgotten Realms.

Game thoughts: My opinion is that the companion should be an NPC under the control of the patron character's player. This would make them synchrynous in how they and their relationship are played out. Plus the companion may be a beast that wouldn't be much fun playing all the time, like Kodo and Podo from The Beastmaster, but fun to pull out when a key needs retrieving or a bad guy needs distracting.

Thinking on it, we often 'adopted' interesting NPCs, making them companions to our regular PCs in our AD&D games. There were the henchmen rules, but we didn't necessarily think of it in rules terms. More like "This guy/girl/furry thing is cool. Let's take him/her/it with us!"

2nd Edition

I'd say everything's been covered regarding the OSR and editions of Dungeons and Dragons that run from the "White Box" up until AD&D. There's not a ton of stuff on 2nd edition, and since that's the edition I spent a lot of time with, I thought I'd start up some thoughts on the subject.

MTV played music videos instead of fake reality road trip shows, we watched Thundercats and Transformers and Star Wars. Our magic wasn't from a Dying Earth, but from a galaxy far, far away, or a land inhabited by Nelwyns. And we inherited D&D from some guys in Lake Geneva, who packaged their strange game with the funny dice, and sold at the corner hobby store, or the Sears catalog.

We didn't have a clue how the game was 'supposed' to be played. Sure, there were the books listed in Appendix N, and the examples of play, but we tossed the rules that didn't make sense at the time, and stuck our own "Appendix N" in there, of battle cats and skesis and luck dragons. I plan to post much more on the subject as I put my thougths together while creating my own 2nd edition style campaign setting, tentativley titled "Palace of the Sun and Moon".

Note that a lot of my 2nd edition inspiration comes from before it was published, as the media and games that influenced my tastes and found their way into my D&D campains predates 2nd edition by roughly a decade.

Interesting Environments

Warehouse
This room is full of boxes and barrel and bags of stuff. Every combatant is considered to have cover for ranged attacks. Whenever a combatant misses in combat, melee, ranged or damaging spell, there is a 1 in 6 chance of breaking a container and releasing it's contents into the room. Roll a 1d6 for what type of contents-
1. Oil. This barrel is broken open and the floor becomes coated with flammable oil. Any fire attack or spell has a 1 in 4 chance of igniting the oil. The fire will cause 1d3 damage to every combatant in the room on the first round, 1d6 damage on the second round, and 1d10 damage for the rest of the turn. At then end of the turn, the fire dies out.
2. Flour. A bag of flour explodes and coats the room. Sneaking rolls for theives is at a DC 20 for the rest of the combat, and invisible creatures lose their invisibility advantage for the rest of the combat.
3.  Apples. A barrel is broken open and it's contents of apples spill onto the floor. Each round, every combatant must make a Ref check vs DC 15 or be off balance, suffering -2 to attacks and checks that require movement or dexterity. A critical 1 on the Ref check indicates that the combatant has fallen prone.
4. Molasses. This barrel is broken open and spills it's contents of sticky molasses on the floor. Every combatant must make a Str test vs DC 15 or be off balance, suffering -2 to to attacks and checks that require movement or dexterity. A critical 1 on the test indicates that the combatant has gotten molasses all over their weapon and suffer the -2 to attacks (non-cumulative) until they spend a round wiping the molasses off.
5. Grain. This sack is punctured and it's contents of grain spill onto the floor. There is no effect on combat unless combatants can think of one. (The grain is fine for flinging into an opponents eyes)
6. Empty crate. Aside from wood fragments and splinters, there is no effect on combat.

Interesting Environments

Some environmental effects for DCC/D&D type games.

Mage Crystal
This room is lined with Mage Crystal, a bluish crystaline mineral that had odd effects on magic. Whenever a spell is cast in this room, or within 100' of the crystal, roll on the following table.
Mage Crystal effects- 1d6
1: Spell is absorbed by the crystal and has no effect.
2: Spell targets caster, for good or ill.
3: Spell targets a random target, for good or ill.
4: Caster is at -1d3 for spell check roll.
5: Caster is at +1d3 for spell check roll.
6: Every living creature within 20' of caster must make a Luck save vs DC 10 + Caster Level, or suffer a minor corruption.
Mage Crystal is rarely found in mines and caves, and is sometimes harvested and used by various persons. There must be at least a total of 10 cubic feet (can be spread around) of Mage Crystal for the effects to happen. Having a chip or stone of Mage Crystal on one's person does not affect spellcasting.

Thirty magic item drawbacks

Thirty magic item drawbacks

1: Only functions during the day
2: Only functions during the night
3: Only functions in direct sunlight
4: Only functions out of direct sunlight
5: Only functions underwater
6: Does not function underwater
7: Only functions for a specific race, roll 1d5

1: Elf
2: Human
3: Dwarf
4: Halfling
5: Other (goblin, orc, ogre, Judge's discretion)

8: While owned, possesor's hair grows 10x as fast.
9: While owned, possesor's hair falls out and does not grow back
10: Character's hair or skin color, or both changes
11: Berserker, character must make a Will save at DC 15 each combat or go berserk
Berserk: +1 to hit and damage, but must attack nearest target, friend or foe
Check at first round of combat. Lasts 1d6 rounds
12: Blood magic, Item requires a point of stat burn per day to function
13: Life magic, Item requires 1 xp burn per day to function
14: Owner cannot cast divine magic while possessing item
15: Owner cannot cast arcane magic while possessing item
16: Owner cannot cast spells of any kind while possessing item
17: A random spell must be cast on the item per day for it to function
Roll 1d5 twice and take the lower result for spell level,
and then determine specific spell randomly.
18: Item will not function against a specific race, roll 1d5

1: Elf
2: Human
3: Dwarf
4: Halfling
5: Other (goblin, orc, ogre, Judge's discretion)

19: Item has 2d10 charges. Must burn a charge per day to function
May be recharged with a method of the Judge's choosing
If item already uses charges, re-roll result
20: Item has a 5% chance per day, cumulative, of losing it's power
and becoming a mundane item
21: Item has a 1% chance per day, cumulative, of turning it's possessor into a wight
22: While owned, possessor glows with a faint light
23: Item has a 5% chance per day, non-cumulative, of striking it's possessor blind for
1d6 turns
24: Unlucky, possessor must burn 1 point of luck per day, or incur a -1 to all die rolls
25: Siren, item causes random encounters to occur more frequently (1 in 1d4)
26: While owned, item causes owner's skin to become scaly like a lizard
27: Owner is at -2 to hit and damage certain types of opponents, roll 1d8

1: Giants
2: Dragons
3: Lycanthropes
4: Manticores
5: Minotaurs
6: Ogres and Trolls
7: Basilisks and cockatrices
8: Medusas

28: Owner is at -2 to all saves
29: Roll 2 times, re-rolling results of 29+
30: Roll 3 times, re-rolling results of 29+

Surprise!

Simple surprise system I ad-hoced, and then wrote up rules for.

Surprise check.
At ease: 1 in 1d4
Prepared: 1 in 1d6
Alert: 1 in 1d8

Note that this sytem follows the dice chain, so a Judge can give a bonus for specific prepardness, like carrying weapons and armor in town, you might give the party a 1 in 1d5 surprise check.

House rules for DCC

Some quick house rules I put together. The reaction table is taken from the Moldvay Basic rulebook, and the encumbrance system is a variant on Delta's stone weight system.

Reaction check, 2d6.
Dice Roll Reaction
2 Immediate Attack
3-5 Hostile, possible attack
6-8 Uncertain, monster confused
9-11 No attack, monster leaves or considers offers
12 Enthusiastic friendship
Character makes sucessful intimidate, bluff, persuasion check: +1.

Morale check, 2d6.
First monster death
When leader is killed
When numbers are reduced below 50%
When there is one monster left
Dice Roll Result
2 Monsters flee in panic
3-5 Monsters withdraw
6-8 Monsters regroup
9-11 Monsters fight on
12 Monsters fight to the death, make no more morale checks
Chaotic: -1, Lawful: +1, Neutral: no mod
Failing a morale check: -1 to subsequent morale checks. (Cumulative)
Rally: Leader spends a full round action. Monsters make a morale check at +1. Once per encounter.
Flee: Monsters retreat by the quickest route. They move at full speed and incur retaliation attacks. Monsters get -1 to attack and damage rolls.
Withdraw: Monsters retreat in the same direction, supporting each other, and monsters in melee do not retreat if they will take retaliation attacks.
Regroup: Monsters move towards the nearest ally, supporting each other. Monsters in melee do not move if they will take retaliation attacks.
Fight on: Monsters do not retreat, and fight on as normal.
Fight to the death: Monsters do not retreat, and do not make any further morale checks. On their next round, monsters get +1 to attack and damage rolls.

Encumbrance
Characters can carry their Strength score in stone without encumbrance.
Over their Strength score = 1/2 movement.
Characters can carry 2x their Strength score in stone maximum.
Weights-
1h weapon 1 stone
2h weapon 2 stone
Ammo 1/10
Shield 1 stone
Padded Armor 1 stone
Leather Armor 1 stone
Studded Leather 2 stone
Hide Armor 3 stone
Scale Mail 4 stone
Chain Mail 3 stone
Banded Mail 3 stone
Half Plate 4 stone
Full Plate 5 stone

Torches, potions, lanterns, scrolls, rope, spellbook, bedroll, etc 1/5 stone
Gems, coins, pearls, nails, caltrops, darts, etc 1/10 stone

Key to the Corrupted Forest.

Corrupted Dryad.
A few months ago, a star fell from the sky and landed in the Goldenbeam Forest. This meteor is infused with chaos and has corrupted the forest around it. Spiders have grown to enourmous size, animals are tortured and mutated, and worst of all, the Dryad who watches over the forest has become twisted and evil.
Webwood.
The webwood area is infested with giant spiders. Travellers who brave this part of the forest will surely encounter a lair.
The giant spider lair is inhabited by 1d6 giant spiders.
Giant Spider
Init +1, Atk Bite +2 melee (1d6)+poision*, AC 13, HD: 2d6, MV 40' or Climb 40', Act 1d20
SV Fort -1, Ref: +1, Will 0. AL Chaotic
*Poision. When bitten, Fort save vs DC 12 or lose 1 point of Con for 1 week. Effects are cumulative, and a character that is reduced to 0 Con is dead as if they had been reduced to 0 hp.
The remains of the spiders previous victims are cocooned in the webs strung between trees. If searched, the characters will find 3d6 gems worth 15 gp each, a potion of healing, and boots of elvenkind.
Boots of Elvenkind. These boots give their wearer +1 to AC and allow the wearer to reroll one failed Sneak Silently roll per day.
The Great Rock.
This huge rock just out of the earth and towers over the nearby trees. As the characters investigate, they will encounter 1d6 dire wolves. These wolves have been mutated and driven to ferocity by the warpstone.
Dire Wolf
Init +1, Atk Bite +1 Melee (1d6), AC 12, HD: 2d8, MV 50', Act 1d20
SV Fort +1, Ref +1 Will 0. AL Chaotic
Dark Meadow.
This clearing has a small lake. The warpstone crater is in the meadow, and the warpstone rests in the crater. There are 1d4 Corrupted Treants here. They will attack and fight to the death.
Corrupted Treant
Init -1, Atk bash +2 melee (2d6+2), AC 16, HD: 3d8, MV 20' Act 1d20
SV Fort +3, Ref -1, Will 0. AL Chaotic
SD tough bark. Treants take -1 damage from most attacks, and +1 die chain from axes.
Treants take double damage from fire attacks. Torches deal 1d6 damage, and flaming oil deals 2d6 damage. Torch and oil attacks only have to hit AC 10, as they ignore the treant's rough bark skin.
The warpstone will be a difficult problem to deal with. Removing it from the forest will cure the forest over 1d4 weeks it will return to it's natural state.
While carrying the warpstone, the party will have a +1 to any random encounter checks, and the encounters will have very odd aspects. Like an ogre who believes the characters stole his girlfriend, or a dragon pesters the characters about his appearance. Be creative. For every full week the characters keep the stone, each must make a Luck save versus DC 10 or take a random corruption roll as if they had failed a spell check. (Regardless of class) If a character fails 3 saves total, they become corrupted in mind and will attack or otherwise harass the party. The character becomes an NPC under the Judge's control until they are taken from the stone's influence for 1d4 weeks.
Disposing of the warpstone will require a quest to be determined by the Judge.
Ruined Tower.
The dryad Goldenbeam is here, with 4 corrupted treants who protect her. They attack and will fight to the death.
Goldenbeam, Dryad
Init +1, Atk special, AC 12, HD 2d6, MV 35' Act 1d20
SV Fort +1, Ref +1, Will 0. AL Chaotic
Every turn Goldenbeam can attempt to charm a target. The target makes a Will save vs DC 12. If the save is failed, the target is under Goldenbeam's control, and will see their allies as enemies. Goldenbeam can only control one target at a time.
Corrupted Treant
See the entry for Dark Meadow for the corrupted treant's stats.
If the party manages to defeat Goldenbeam without killing her, and removes the warpstone from the forest, she will recover and send them each a token of her gratitude, a Leaf of Goldenbeam.
Leaf of Goldenbeam.
These enchanted leaves never wither, and while the owner has it in their posession, they may reroll one failed Fort save per day.
Inside the ruined tower is a bit of treasure that the treants have taken from their recent victims. 3d6x10 SP, 2d6x5 GP, a scroll with a random 1st level cleric spell, and a Lightning Spear.
Lightning Spear
This spear is +1 to hit and does 1d10 damage. Once per day, the spear can fire a lightning bolt at a target. The lightning bolt has a range of 100' and does 2d6 damage to one target, or 1d6 damage to two targets. The player may choose which targets. The lightning bolts hit without a die roll, but the targets may make a Ref save at DC 12 to take no damage.
Giant Oak.
This tree towers over the forest. It is a sedentary treant called Father Oak. Father Oak is guarded by 3 centaurs, who have all resisted the corruption so far. They distrust anyone approaching Father Oak, but if the characters seem to pose no threat, Father Oak will bid the centuars to stand down, and let them approach.
Father Oak knows of the corrupted stone, but he learned of it too late to warn Goldenbeam. He will entreat the characters to rescue Goldenbeam and the forest by taking the warpstone away. If the party agrees, he will give them a mort of treasure in good faith.
Oak Shield. This shield is +1 (total of +2 to AC) and once per turn, the wielder may force a foe to re-roll a sucessful attack roll.
Elixir of Lion's Breath. This elixir will raise the imbiber's Stamina by +1 permanently. (May not increase Sta above 18)
Tome of the Old Oak. This wooden bound manuscript will teach a wizard character a random 1st level spell. If an elf uses the book, they may roll twice and pick which result to use.

Adapting U2 and U3 for Dungeon Crawl Classics

I've decided to use the classic UK modules U2 Danger at Dunwater, and U3 The Final Enemy for my Dungeon Crawl Classics campaign. Should be fun to adapt them. My goal is to simplify them somewhat, while retaining the iconic bits. Should be fun.

Corrupted Forest

An example of a map with landmarks for navigation, but no hexes. The players will simply say "We go to the giant rock." or "Let's check out the webwood."

I'll post the key and encounter details after using this scenario in the game. Just in case any of my players are snooping around. :)

Lairs and Encounters

Riffing off of The Sky Full of Dust's excellent entries on Dynamic Lairs..

Abandoned Gold Mine

This mine was abandoned by the workers when giant ants invaded and made it their lair.

A. Entrance.

There is a 5 in 6 chance of encountering 1d6 workers and 1d3 warriors at the entrance to the mine.

1. This cavern is full of broken and scattered mining equipment. There are 2d6 worker ants here. A search of the room will yield some items that are salvageable: 20' of rope, 7 torches, 3 iron spikes, and 2 empty water skins.

2. This cave has 2d8 worker ants in it. There are 3d6x50 GP worth of gold nuggets scattered on the floor.

3. This part of the mine is where the ants store their food. The carcasses of several goats and sheep are here, and a few dead bodies. Among the bones are some bits of treasure from the previous owners. A potion of invisibility, a suit of leather armor +1, and a pair of foxclaw gloves.

Foxclaw gloves.

This pair of fox skin gloves function only when worn by a thief or halfling character. When worn by one of these characters, the gloves bestow +1 to Dexterity, and can extrude razor sharp claws that deal 1d6 damage in melee, and 1d12 damage on a sucessful backstab attempt. When first put on, roll 1d6 to determine what effect the gloves have on it's owner. 1: Charater's ears become fox ears. +1 to perception rolls based on hearing. 2: Character grows fox whiskers. 3: Character grows a fox tail. 4: Character's eyes become golden with slit pupils. +1 to perception rolls based on sight. 5: Character becomes hirstute with fox fur. 6: Character's feet become fox paws. Character gets +1 to sneak silently rolls. This change is permanent even if the character later passes the gloves on. Only roll once when the gloves are first put on by a thief or halfling character.

4. There are 2d4 warrior ants in this cavern, and 4 honeypot ants here. These ants store honey in their abdomens for the other ants. The honeypot ants are not warriors and are easily defeated. (No combat necessary) Characters who harvest this honey can obtain 4d4 doses. Each dose when eaten will heal 1d4 hit points worth of damage, and 1 point of stat loss, determined by the player. The characters must have a suitable vessel to take the honey with them, like a jar or the waterskins from area 1. A single waterskin can hold up to 6 doses.

5. Queen's lair.

The ant queen, 2d6 warrior ants and 2d4 worker ants are here. The workers and warriors will fight fiercely to defend their queen, no morale rolls are necessary, they will fight to the death.

Worker Ant

Init 0, Atk Bite +0 melee (1d4), AC 12, HD 1d4, MV 50' or Climb 50', Act 1d20 SV Fort +3, Ref 0, Will -3, AL Lawful

Warrior Ant

Init +1, Atk Bite +1 melee (1d6), AC 14, HD 2d6, MV 50' or Climb 50', Act 1d20 SV Fort +4, Ref +1, Will -3, AL Lawful

Ant Queen

Init 0, Atk Bite +3 melee (1d8), AC 16, HD 3d8, MV 10' or Climb 10', Act 1d20/1d16 SV Fort +5, Ref -1, Will +1, AL Lawful

Each ant has bits of gold nuggets embedded in their carapace. Characters who scrape the gold out will gain 3d6 GP worth of gold ore per ant.

Appendix N

Much has been said about Appendix N in the 1st edition DMG. And it's a good read. I purchased The Coming of Conan collection, the John Carter of Mars collection, and Tales of the Dying Earth in an interest in reading these stories that influenced the formation of Dungeons and Dragons. I especially enjoyed the Conan stories. Their simplistic approach is uncluttered and straightforward. Conan goes to a temple to steal something valuable, finds a horrible monster, kills it (or runs away. He did his fair share of booking it.) The End. :) But I also feel that a lot of the flavor of those early days of gaming is still left out. In his blog, Grognardia, James Maliszewski discusses the difference between Inspiration and Emulation, and I find myself agreeing with him. My Appendix N of Gameplay is influenced heavily by the Advanced Dungeons and Dragons Coloring Album. Not only because it's the first exposue I had to Dungeons and Dragons, but because it puts forth some themes and ideas that I find synonmyous with the gaming side of RPGs.

A group of adventurers meet at a pub to plan their foray into the underworld.

Ambushed by a bulette.

Clerics turning liches.

Save or die.

Mysterious benefactors.

Demons with sinister and mysterious purpose.

Pacts with otherworldly creatures.

Treasure!

Some things in RPGs would be boring or dumb (or both) to include in a book or movie, but are quite entertaining for the players in the context of an RPG. I have had a good chunk of a session taken up by players shopping for gear in town. (And I'm not alone in that experience) Or having the characters manage the details of an overland journey. (I like to call that type of gaming, Ogregon Trail. Har har.) Two non-book or non-film influences on D&D were Chainmail and Outdoor Survival. In my opinon, they're just as important as Appendix N in forming an opinion on how early D&D was played. There's far more to RPGs than emulating fiction. Take inspiration from it, but don't try to reproduce the exact circumstances of plot and characterization and drama when there are far more fun and interesting things to do with the gaming aspect of RPGs.

Sanbox without Hexcrawl.

I like hexcrawls, but for my upcoming Dungeon Crawl Classics campaign, I wanted a sandbox without the hexcrawl. There is a saying, The map is not the territory and that brought to mind the map that comes with module S2 White Plume Mountain.

I really like this map. It's interesting and evocative, and this style imparts a lot of information to the players. I plan to use this style instead of a hex grid. We'll see how it goes. My efforts probably won't be as good as Erol Otus, but hopefully they'll be good enough.