Sellswords of Darkness: Ruminating on the Storytelling System

My good friend John W. pointed out to me tonight that I should use the Storytelling system (nWoD) instead of the Storyteller system (oWoD).  And I'd been batting this around in my head a bit and was glad to hear John's POV.

I think I translate most of it and ditch quite a bit of the rules changes.  I might lower the standard TN from 8 to 7.  Which would make most Class TN come in around 5 or 6.

Any opinions?

Sellswords of Darkness: Tweaking Storyteller

It's been over a decade since I've played (Rob H.'s Vampire: the Masquerade) or run (Aberrant) the Storyteller system.

There are some things about versions of it I remember hating (1's cancel Successes depending on version) and things I think could be problematic for what I'm trying to do (Health Track).

So standard TN is 6.  If a task is harder you need more Successes.

1's DO NOT cancel Successes, and you only botch if you have more 1's on your roll than Successes.

10's count as 2 Successes.

I've decided to alter the Health Track so it works like FATE.  If I get hit for 3 points of damage I fill in box 3.  If I get hit for 3 again, I fill in box 4 (it "pushes" damage to the next highest open box).

Soak will be half your Stamina plus Armor.  No rolling Soak.

Damage will be half the value listed plus Successes.  So, if I have a Dagger that does 1+Str (3) then I do 4 divided by 2 or 2 points of Damage plus Success.  I've always felt that Storyteller and D6, as presented, have too much dice rolling.  If I'm rolling a pool of dice for Task resolution, I shouldn't also have to roll damage and then my opponent roll Soak.  And then Storyteller adds various types of damage to track, as well.

So, no difference in Aggravated, Lethal or Bashing damage.  It's all the same and it can kill you.

D&D Next: Witengamot Quietus

Witengamot Quietus

Medium Humanoid (Human)
Armor Class 15
Hit Points 43 (4d10+5)
Speed 40 ft.
Senses darkvision 30 ft.
Str 11 (+0)   Dex 13 (+2)     Con 12 (+1)

Int 15 (+2)   Wis 16 (+3)     Cha 10 (+0)

Alignment neutral evil 

Languages Common, Infernal 

TRAITS

Power Points: Twice per encounter, the witengamot quietus can increase a psionic bolts damage by 10 or target an roll additional 2 creatures.

Stealthy: The witengamot quietus has advantage on any dexterity check to sneak or hide.

Telepathy: The witengamot quietus can communicate telepathically with any creature within 100 feet of it that can understand a language.

ACTIONS
Melee Attack—dagger: +4 to hit (reach 5 ft.; one creature). Hit: 2 (1d4) piercing damage.

Ranged Attack—psionic bolt: + 5 to hit (range 100/300 feet.; one creature). Hit: 10 (2d6 + 3) psychic damage.

ENCOUNTER BUILDING 

Level 5                      XP 400

The quietus are the vanguard for the Witengamot to make it's presence felt as it targets a region it plans to usurp.

Sellswords of Darkness: Vampire and the Gray Mouser

There are certain games I'd like to run or stories I'd like to tell, that at one time or another I felt I was not ready for and am still slightly intimidated by.

So, I decided I'd start talking about them and see if that will motivate me to do something with the ideas.

For well over a decade I've had this idea about running a Fritz Lieber inspired Sword & Sorcery game using the Storyteller System (oWoD).

Before and even after DnD 3.X came out, I'd always wanted a skill based fantasy RPG with simple classes.  Basically, the original thought was inspired by Cyberpunk 2020, a universal skill list and mechanic with very basic advantages from your "Class".

However, I really like dice pool based games and felt that the oWoD really got how to present character generation and made it simple yet enticing.  Those little dots made a big impact on me.

So, I figured I'd take most of say Vampire: the Dark Ages (minus Virtues, Blood Pool, Disciplines and probably Humanity) and go from there.

Standard Target Number (TN hereafter) of 6.  However, a Class could lower the TN for certain skills.

The Classes and their benefits are as follows:

Fighter:  Archery, Melee and Ride have TN 4.

Thief: Legerdemain, Subterfuge, Stealth and Dodge have TN 4.

Cleric: Theology and 2 Knowledge Skills have TN 4.  Can work Miracles.  Miracles are a Wits+Theology roll and are driven by the player creativity.  They are focused on defensive magic.

Mage:  Occult and 1 Knowledge have TN 4.  Can cast Spells.  Spells are a Int+Occult roll and are driven by player creativity.  They are focused on offensive magic.

Ranger: Archery, Hearth Wisdom, Survival and Stealth have TN 5.  Can cast 1 Hex per scene.

Paladin:  Leadership, Melee, Ride and Theology have TN 5.  Can work 1 Miracle per scene.

Barbarian:  Alertness, Athletics, Dodge and Melee have TN 5.

Bard:  All Knowledges have TN 5.  Can 1 work 1 Miracle and cast 1 Spell per scene.

Monk:  Athletics, Dodge and Brawl have TN 5.

Druid:  Hearth Wisdom, Animal Ken, Survival and 1 Knowledge have TN 5.  Can cast Hexes.  Hexes are Perception+Heath Wisdom and are drive by player creativity.  They are focused on elemental magic.

Races:

Elves would get +1 to any Social Attribute.

Dwarves would get +2 to Melee.

Halflings would get +2 to Dodge.

Gnomes would get +1 to any Mental Attribute.

Humans would get +1 to any Attribute.

More soon.

Happy GM's Day

Happy GM's Day!

I'm a Game Master and I'm going to tell you some of my secrets:  

I get nervous before every session I run.  20 Years after the first time I ran a game, it still happens.

I love being a GM because I like telling stories, but I love becoming NPC's more.  I love making up gestures and catchphrases and unusual behaviors.  

I like that moment when everything seems to click and the group's mind's eye is all watching the same scene.  Those are the moments I live for as a GM.

I've grown to enjoy World Design, but it's a skill I'm still exploring.

I'm far more comfortable being improvisational than having a strict outline for the evening.  I make a rough road map, but we could end up anywhere before the night's over, and that's ok.

I have to consciously choose focusing on the game, instead of the rules.  I'm a game designer by instinct, but I've discovered that it's more fun for the groups I've played with to simply play, than to let myself fret over the rules.  

As I get older, I want faster character creation and straight forward rules.  That's why I dove into the OSR.

My greatest enemy is Game Master ADD.  

DrivethruRPG has a GM's Day Sale!

And you can find it here!

Ironcloaks Status Update

We finally finished the saga of the Alabaster Bouquet this past Thursday.  We've added a few players over the last few weeks and I think the game is starting to gain the momentum I'd hoped for.

I'm anxious to continue, as my notes for the next chapter are geared toward filling out each character's past a bit and working on their goals.

It was revealed that our Monk's character would die at the hands of the Master of Dim Mak, so we will see where that takes him.

I'm hoping to work on a couple of major arcs that take time to simmer while dealing with smaller, more personal stuff to drive the plot for at least the next several sessions.