Wot's Saga - ep1

Looking for answers...
by Joe Todd Stanton

So last time I made the Knave character of Wot the Angry Wombat. In the meantime I've been hunting around for an OSR-y module I could run through to test out Knave and MGE (Mythic GM Emulator). The lovely folks over at the OSR Discord also pointed me at a couple of nice modules. The winner for me was the Tower of the Stargazer because of the beautiful terse-key.. that and it was dirt cheap at RPGNow.

This leads to Wot going to explore a wizards tower.

Yep, Wot's going to need some companions in stupidity for their little jaunt. Thankfully I found another tool for Knave - a Knavish generator. Thanks to this I have been able to make 3 more knavish vagabonds in a matter of seconds! So let's meet the party!

Hoo, Wot, Ware, and Wen.

Yes, I think reading Wind in the Willows to my daughter is having an effect on me :)

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So around here I started to get a few problems. I am not 100% sure where the problem was, but I suspect I was trying to use the MGE in a way not intended for it. Basically the MGE inserts some directed randomness into any narrative you are creating. It acts like a fancy magic-8-ball by answering yes/no questions and every now and again throwing a curve ball into the proceedings.

The play through i started was actually quite fun.

The problem was that it felt like the MGE was "fighting" against the module. I kept getting results of extra scenes and new NPCs appearing. It was a fun, but the quartet of characters actually never got inside the tower! They headed back to town to deal with the fallout of finding a dead master-thief outside the tower (who happened to be a rival of one of the characters!) There was a thieves-guild and a contest in the sewers for the rank of new "master thief".

But, this has nothing to do with the tower of the stargazer. <sigh>

I think that the situation I had wasn't really a player in search of a GM, but rather I was trying to GM a module and needed the characters to be puppeted in some pseudo-random way. The MGE doesn't do that - it tries to take control of the narrative and creates interesting scenes that build on what has happened... So the random entry of the dead thief happening to be the "rival" snowballed into an entirely different direction!

But, I did a little google-fu and asked in a few discord channels for some assistance, and finally got pointed in a new direction of a Player Emulator by Katamoiran RPGs. It is a cute little randomiser that does some of the same things that the MGE does, but it doesn't try to touch the world, but only gives some direction to the "players" behavior. It has a few cute "meta tags" like the player is on the phone and not paying attention, or a player trying to be overly dramatic and making self-sacrificing and self-suffering characters..

But... it might do the job better than the MGE! I guess I might see over the week till new years!

Knave and MGE - Meet Wot ep-0

Angry Wombat is not impressed by your newfangled ideas
Luka Rejec

So.. with christmas season causing havok with my players - extra work in restaurants, family meet ups and the like - I thought it might be fun to give something a try... trying out a new system. Specifically Knave. I was pointed at Knave & hacks on the OSR discord, while i was spitballing ideas to make 5e a little simpler. Knave looks to be a very light system that has compatibility with "generic" D&D.

But wait, didn't you just say that your players are busy? Why yes I did. Thats what the MGE means in the title. I'm also going to give the Mythic Gamemaster Emulator a whirl at the same time. I mean, so many of the OSR books I have are full of random tables, having one more set of random tables to inject a little crazy doesn't seem like it'll be a problem :)

So where will I start? Well, Luka just made an awesome little pic for me (above) so I need to run this character through his paces... I really liked the simple race options, and since wombats a tough little  nocturnal buggers, I'm going to make him, effectively, a dwarf - so reroll strength or constitution, and darksight 50'.

So... Knave character creation:

Stats:
Str - 4,4,3 - Bonus +3, Defense 13
Dex - 2,2,2 - Bonus +2, Defense 12
Con - 5,3,2 (5,4,3) - Bonus +3, Defense 13
Int - 5,3,3 - Bonus +3, Defense 13
Wis - 5,3,1 - Bonus +1 Defense 11
Cha - 4,3,2 - Bonus +2, Defense 12

Gear
Auto: 2 days rations, Weapon (Spear)
Rolls (6d20)
Armor (7) - Gambeson
Helmet (1) - none
Dungeon Gear (1, 8) Rope 50', Grappling Hook
General Gear (14, 15) Pick, Cooking Gear

Traits (i'll pick these, as I have a strong image of Mr Angry Wombat, with a couple of rolls)
Physique: Stout
Face: Round
Skin/Hair: Bristly
Clothing (fur): Stained
Virtue: Stoic. Vice: Iracible
Speech: Blunt
Background: Herbalist
Misfortune: (5) Cursed
Alignment: (1) Law
Name:  Wot.

...and thats it. Surprisingly quick. Maybe 10 min tops. I like it already!

Next time I'll pull out a simple(ish) OSR module and start a run with the Mythic GM Emulator to help. Any ideas for a module?

Rumination on my Table

What are we playing again?
Gambling Den - Jean Eugene Buland

So.. Every table is different. Each group of players bring their own experiences and expectations to the game. I've been running games for something like 30 years (why did I fall into the role of the eternal-DM?) so I've seen a lot of different combinations.

This is one of my first all-newbie groups.

It started last year when Stranger Things was airing its second season. One of my classmates said hey, one of these days I'd like to try D&D. I of course offered to run a game. A couple of others in the room asked to join in as well. Hey, instant group!

I was nervous. I'd run games for my friends in school and uni. I'd run games for colleagues while working at a computer-games company. But this was an assortment of folk taking part in a culinary school elective class.

Are they geeks like me?

I tried to ask what kind of D&D they wanted to play. The full experience! The pure game! Well, I didn't want to get into the nitty gritty of rule sets or rules variants. So I found the new hotness of the D&D 5e starter set and ran them through "The Lost Mine of Phandelvar". Pre-made characters and all.

It was a hit. Human Noble Fighter, Dwarven Soldier Cleric, Halfling Criminal Rogue, and Human Hero Fighter. Nessa, Hendrik, Arry, May. They rescued Sildar, went to town and gathered folk to rescue cousin Gundren, planned a decisive attack on Cragmoor Castle, and dived into the Lost Mines. Along the way Arry gained revenge against his nemesis, they made arrangements with criminals, and eventually drove off the dragon of Thundertree.

The game paused over the summer as we scattered around to world to work at various restaurants. We came back with winter approaching and a few questions arose - can we play some more?

The things that my players loved most of all was getting into their character's stories. Not in a I want to develop a big backstory, but how would my character react to these events. Often the players chafed at the pre-made backstories. But they also enjoyed how they fit into the adventure. They had hooks into the game world they could pull at when they couldn't imagine anything else to do. So some pre-made hooks for RP are important

My first tentative steps into letting the players make their own characters was a bit of a failure. I showed them the 5e Player's Handbook... Classes, Specialisations, Feats, Spells, Skills, Equipment Lists! Umm... you know we have to work on those days... maybe we can start next month..

So I decided to do a little pruning. Taking inspirations from B/X Essentials I used as many options as I could to streamline choices. Offering a choice when the option isn't understood is a false choice. This leads to dissatisfaction. I only wanted to offer a few, clear and understandable, choices.

As said before in Meet the Characters I used random character generation. This made the basics into a kind of mini-game - lets make a story around the results of these die rolls - which is the perfect kind of fun to have while everyone is full of munchies and wine. And I reduced the class choices, solve problems with Violence, Magic, or Cunning. After reading the DMs guide I transformed skills into keywords of class and background. Since one of my players is excited by exploring magic (possibly finding a magic school) I had to do something about the magic system. I got rid of the horror of 5e spell slots etc by using the magic system from Wonders & Wickedness: much simpler and full of more "magical" magic :)

But... the actual system is still in flux. So far we've only played a couple of session. One of those wasn't even D&D. I'll have to give some more thought in how to run the characters in play... and more importantly, how do they level up?

Any ideas?

Fabled Firebeasts of the Forest

Crowded Temple interior.
(BigMarket by Ben Mauro Design)

A good night's rest, and invigorating brew of tea let the girls consider their choices. But the morning pass through the markets made them depressed. Buying a single wagon and supplies to take back to the village of Highpass would set them back a few hundred gold.

Then they would need to hire a trustworthy driver, and hopefully leave enough gold to do this a few times... And to make it worse, their sacks of furs were not of much interest in the local market. If they got lucky they might make 20 gold.... nowhere near enough.

Vijaya suggested they take up Mogali's offer.

Fish, fruits, and fabrics filled the floating markets in the shade of the Temple of the Hundred Summer Gods. The face of a god was carved into each pillar, and together they support the ancient stone and iron domes. In the gloom beneath teem beggars and bandits, cutthroats and children. All living in the harmony of the Hexad traditions. Mowgali holds court amidst salvaged finery and opium smoke.

Archana is deeply suspicious of the smiling crime-boss. He offers to use the furs to swindle some foreigners out of some coin... and the base offer for the girls is 10%... negotiations start in earnest! The local thugs are taking bets, and Mogali brings in a tea-set to make everyone comfortable. In the end they agree to start a relationship with Mogali, trying to smuggle trade goods and "artifacts" into the city. For this arrangement they get 50% of the sale of the furs, but they will do their own sale.

"Remember, you are now children of the Turquoise Waters. We are your brothers and sisters. We will shelter you. But in return you will provide for your family". Mogali embraced and kissed each of the women on their cheeks. "Come, I will introduce you to a most cunning man who knows many secrets!"

The temple hides an entry to the undercity. Ancient neighbourhoods buried in layers under the traffic filled streets . In a workshop, hidden from the prying eyes of the Cats, lives Nagarjuna. He knows many secrets that trespass on the monopoly of the Violet Citadel. Now he practices the arts of kemia for the outcasts and homeless.

After hours mixing root vegetables and toxic sediments, the transformation is complete. A pale red glow coming from the furs lights the room. Of course the glow washes off in water...

That evening, the girls wind their way through the twisting corridors of the undercity. An unremarkable staircase leads to the basement of an opium house in the foreign quarter of the city. There they meet a translator and two men. They look strange. Tight black coats, high collars, heavy boots, gold buttons and twisted ropes hanging from their shoulders. Their pink skin was slick with sweat even in the cool afternoon. The translator carries out much of the negotiation, assisted by the exaggerated mime of Vijaya.

About to be swindled and doesn't know it.

A tale of elemental creatures birthed in distant volcanoes. Herds of sheep blackened by the fiery breath of ember-wolves. Herders chased by mountain ash-elk. The foreigners are entranced by the tales of hunters rushing to preserve hides before they dissolve in the damp snowy nights. Both men are salivating at the sight of the glowing prizes.

Note - this was the part I detested. Trying to work out the outcome of a price negotiation is always hard at the best of times.... I estimated each "sack" held 10 hides. in Yoon-Suin a hide goes for 5 silver... so 15 gold for the lot at base prices. I proposed the "pitch" as a performance w/ advantage: Vijaya rolled a crit. For that I estimated that the foreigners considered the hides as a "common magical item". 100g each hide, So being the cheap bastards they are, they offered 750g for the lot.

Archana knew this would not be enough (the 50% cut),  so tried to push for 5000g. But she failed her roll. With the foreigners getting ready to leave, Vijaya wanted to try one more ruse. Telling the foreigners that the creatures only spawned during eruptions.  With a disadvantaged roll she managed a 19, then added her charisma bonus and charlatan background.

I ruled that the foreigners would be willing to pay their full price on their original estimate... 3000g

When the girls returned to the temple and showed their take to Mogali, he was very impressed. He happily divided the chest of gold, and even generously offered to keep their share for safekeeping against the untrustworthy inhabitants of the city". The girls regretfully declined.

The next day was spent looking through the markets for horses, supplies and wagons. They managed to buy their dream wagon (it even had a canvas cover to protect the driver from rain or sun), tools, and food supplies to send up to Highpass. Matron Rha Ki introduced them to a trustworthy caravan driver. The girls hired him to make the 2 week round trip to deliver the cargo and pick up something to sell back in town. They paid cash up front for a month.

Next, they plan to take a look at the hiring auditions at the Violet Citadel

* * *

That was the end of session 1.

I quite enjoyed how it came out of a couple of random dice rolls, a few scribbled lines in my notebook, and a random encounter. I did notice that i was REALLY stressed about how to value the "improved furs". I should have figured out they would do something like that.

Note - I have to bring back Puukas, their friendly street cat, and Nagarjuna the alchemist. I enjoyed both those characters. Mogali was supposed to be a "friendly uncle", but for some reason all my players consider him to be "the evil mastermind".... Not sure what to do about that.