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.