Monstrous Monday: IG-Series Droid for White Star

IG-Series Droid

Armor Class: 6 [13]
Hit Dice: 3
Total Hit Bonus: +3

Attacks: Laser pistol (1d6+1) or laser rifle (2d6)

Saving Throw: 10
Special: See below
Movement: 12

HDE: 4

"The IG-series was a series of droids. The InterGalactic Banking Clan maintained an army of IG lancer droids. One model of IG was a set of five identical assassin droids manufactured by Holowan Laboratoriesduring the final decades of the Galactic Republic. Only moments after their activation, those robots slaughtered their constructors and escaped their laboratories to roam the galaxy.

One of them was IG-88, who functioned as a bounty hunter during the Galactic Civil War."
IG-series droids can detect life forms at a range of up to 60 feet. Because of this they cannot be surprised by living creatures. They are also capable of seeing in total darkness at a range of 60 feet.

   

Thinking About an Unpopular "Old School" Opinion

Earlier this week the above tweet was posted to Twitter. I respect her opinion, but here is mine:

Death represents failure and TTRPGs used it before video games co-opted it. If there is not chance of failure or risk or death then why not just read a novel or watch a TV show? 

One of the things I've begun to notice when I run a game is that if there is no chance of failure or loss then what was the point of the encounter? In my opinion newer editions of DnD need encounters to deplete player resources, but not necessarily kill them. I'm not saying DnD 3.5-5 doesn't allow for PC deaths, but I don't think that real danger is as much of a threat than it is in earlier editions. 

For instance, the 5E CR system is broken. First, it borrowed a name from an earlier edition, but doesn't mean the same thing. Second, if you have highly skilled Players then you better not use a solo on those characters, the game expects you to use minions to drain resources so the solo can live more than 2 rounds. Sadly, I learned this in a Tarrasque battle. Mike Mearls has even said he wished they had chosen a different name than "Challenge Rating" for 5E and so do I.

I think DnD 4E is probably the most balanced edition created thus far and partly because of that it failed. Not everyone wants to play a Wizard, but in 4E everyone was some kind of Wizard. Essentials (4.5E) tried to fix it but it was too little too late and a new edition is ALWAYS more profitable.

Every player and every group brings certain expectations to the table, but the internet makes sure that instead of just respecting how we enjoy ourselves, it has to make sure that it points out that we are, in fact, doing it wrong.

Fiona, apparently, finds PC deaths an impediment and not a moment in a game. My groups don't find it an impediment, we joke about it, lament the dead character, and it almost always becomes a permanent fixture of our shared experience.

In the end, the important part of it all is having fun.

At the Table

With DnD being more popular than ever it seems people are talking about consent, session zero, and gatekeeping quite a bit.  It got me thinking about how things are done at our tables and decided to share those with you.  Keep in mind there is no wrong way to play and what works for us might not work for others.

Without further adieu here is our only rule:

Real life trumps role playing.

That's it. Pretty simple. It's all we need. Y'all have a good evening.

Dungeon Crawl Classics: Lightning Giants

According to Sargoo the Sapient lightning giants were originally storm giants who due to age or illness have their flesh and blood violently and painfully explode around them and only leaving a sentient lighting bolt. Sargoo further postulates that lightning giants only have a matter of hours (2d6) before their form is pulled into the sky, ending their existence.

Giant, Lightning (30' tall, 500 lbs.) for Dungeon Crawl Classics

Init +6; Atk lightning bolt +26 melee (7d8+12, range 300'); AC 20; HD 18d10; MV 60’; Act 4d20; SP immune to electrical damage, spells (+12 spell check: fly, haste, and lightning bolt , crit on 20-24; SV Fort +15, Ref +10, Will +10; AL C.

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Playing vs Game Mastering

I'm pretty lucky in the fact that, at the moment, I'm playin in three very good games, two DnD 5 and one Vampire: the Masquerade 5.

Something occurred to me while playing last night. I'm not used to all the free time at the table as a player.

I've been primarily the Game Master for close to 27 years, and obviously that means that I was 100% involved with someone the whole session.

Depending on my mood, I'll draw while the spotlight is off of me and I've tinkered a bit with my phone, but I find that the former still keeps me focused on what's happening while the latter causes me to miss things.

What's funny is that I've always been a bit annoyed when players who aren't in the spotlight seem disinterested and it's taken me this long to sympathize with them.

I guess an old dog can learn some new tricks.

BX What If?

Recently, Mark Hunt released BX Gangbusters, a version of Gangbusters using BX DnD's rules. This led me to discover that he did something similar earlier this year with Tall Tales BX Wild West.

While I know we've seen different genres powered by Swords and Wizardry, I don't recall BX being used in different genres.

Additionally, it made me wonder what would our hobby look like if earlier versions of DnD had been available to build games on? Would Call of Cthulhu be a class and levels game? TSR's Marvel Super Heroes? The World of Darkness?

Or would these designers embrace their individuality and keep their own systems?

I don't know for sure.

I do know that TSR tried using ADnD 2E's system with Buck Rogers and Gamma World, but was that too little too late?

And, of course, we had the d20 glut after DnD 3.X and the OGL and maybe that would've occurred 15 to 20 years earlier?

I find it an intriguing game of "What If"?

Regardless of any of that though, I urge you to check Mark Hunt's BX Gangbusters and Tall Tales BX Wild West.

Review: Frayed Ends for Shadow of the Demon Lord

Robert Schwalb released Frayed Ends for Shadow of the Demon Lord on Monday. Rob and Schwalb Entertainment have been juggernauts with releases, often weekly, and the support has made Shadow of the Demon Lord a phenomenal game.

Rul, the setting of Shadow of the Demon Lords, is a dark realm that is about to face its end. One side effect of the horrors that adventurers face is Sanity loss. Frayed Ends provides six random tables filled with random Quirks to relieve a character's mind of the madness they have endured. In the core rules, a player would work with GM to determine what Quirks would develop from gaining madness. These tables replace that interaction.

First you roll a d6 to determine what table to use. Then you roll a d20 to gain a Quirk.

Let's say that my d6 roll is a 3 and my d20 roll is a 7, my result is "You believe you can fly and might try to prove it when given a chance."

Or this time my d6 is a 2 and my d20 roll is a "Whenever you see a shiny object, you must get a success on a Will challenge roll or, when you are next able, be forced to move toward that object."

I like the Quirks as an option for the GM and player to fall back on in case ideas are not forthcoming.

I recommend Frayed Ends and Shadow of the Demon Lord.