D.I.Y. D&D

As I mentioned in my last post, our group has started to use a homebrew D&D that has four inspirations/motivations behind it: 1) a pretty simple system where the rules are not burdensome or even all that important (more rulings than rules and a system that I would be comfortable completing winging it with); 2) a system that incorporates my experiences with D&D CharacterSheet(particularly my experiences from “back in the day”); 3) a system that fits my particular group of ratlings, er, players (most of whom didn’t start playing until the d20 version of D&D); and, 4) a system that lets us use a character sheet as simple as the one to the right (based on the Notebook character sheet for Basic Fantasy RPG). To be honest, it was this last one that was the initial impetus for all this.

The result is a set of three little 5.5″ by 8.5″ booklets…did I mention that an homage to the roots of this little hobby as a motivation? No, well, it is just a bit of an added bonus. The first booklet, Rats & Ratlings, is 23 pages and contains all the core rules including classes, races, equipment, combat, and exploration. The second, Gods & Gophers, has the divine spells used by clerics (clocking in at 19 pages). The third, Mice & Magic, has–as you might have guessed–the arcane spells used by magi (clocking in at a whopping 36 pages). And yes, we got cute with the names of the booklets, alliteration, and the rodent motif for out gaming group.

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Death is not the end, my friend

Death of a campaign, that is. Yep, death is not the end, again. (Apologies to Filthy Thieving Bastards)

Throughout the months of June and July we had various scheduling issues where we did not have everyone at the table for five or six weeks in a row. None of us really wanted to continue our Savage Worlds Known World campaign without the full crew. So we started playing an alternating series of short adventures depending on who was available what night. Rachel and Todd composed one group and Bridgett, Rachel, and RJ composed the other. By the time we got to where everyone would start to be available again at the same time, the players all decided that they wanted to move on to something new instead of trying to pickup with the Known World campaign. That decision was a little disappointing…okay, maybe a bit more than a little disappointing. The Known World campaign had been going so well and had turned into a rather cool little bit of alternative fantasy…shipwrecks, dinosaurs, pteranomen, and some nasty evil baddie lurking around the edges of it all…but it was probably going to be difficult for the players to continue that campaign with the same vigor and enthusiasm after being away so long. And so, sadly, we lay to rest our Savage Worlds Known World campaign.

We also started to move away from Savage Worlds at this time. We did a little Dungeon World since I was curious about it but quickly moved to some good old-fashioned D&D…sort of. I ended up putting together my own little Old School Renaissance (OSR) set of rules that harken back to MY experiences with D&D back in the 70s and 80s, is a little more tailored to the playing styles of our current gaming group, and–so far at least–has been pretty easy to convert material from most versions of D&D. I also have shamelessly “borrowed” things from some of our other favorite systems like Savage Worlds (e.g., cards for initiative…which we all find fast and easy) and even some ideas that have been around for awhile in lots of games but were nicely formalized in Dungeon World (e.g., “tags” and the idea of success, failure, and success with complications).

So far, it has been working pretty well for us…which is all that really matters, right?

The Race to the Pyramid

Here is the latest session write up of our Savage World Known World campaign (supplied by Rachel). This session was a continuation of the party’s ongoing struggles against a tribe of pteranomen (basically humanoid pteranodons). In out prior session, the pteranomen had defeated the party and taken them hostage. The party ended up being split up quite a bit after most of them had escaped their captors. Moe had been dropped off a cliff and into the ocean below…again. Erica and Niccolo were trapped in a cave with the only exit blocked by at least a dozen pteranomen. Mick was safely hiding at the top of the mountain with Meravanni and Quintus had burrowed off.

That’s pretty much where we pick things up below the break.

Todd had to work late and so was a couple of hours late and RJ played Niccolo until he arrived.

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It’s all over but the crying!

Here is the write up of the eleventh session of our Known World campaign, written by Todd. When we last left our adventurers, they had recently survived something of a night-time attack and Rizzo was missing. They found her–or Niccolo had–just as she leaped to her death from the cliff trail that the party was traveling along. They all reached the location where Rizzo was seen to have leapt from and found a cave. As they approached, Quintus and Niccolo spotted some movement in the cave.

While the party is still on the Isle of Dread, I don’t think there are actually any spoilers for any published adventures but just in case, there might be spoilers for the original X1 or for the more recent version in Dungeon Magazine #139.

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Rock and Head and Roll!

Here is the writeup from our tenth session of our Known World campaign. This writeup is from Bridgett who is playing Moe. The party is continuing their trek across the Isle of Dread and there continue to be potential spoilers below the break for the original Isle of Dread (X1) and the more recent version in Dungeon Magazine #139. When we last left the party, they had just exited a short-cut through the mountains.

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Oh no! Catfish, crustaceans, and crabs!

Here is the latest from our Known World campaign from RJ…I believe it was our ninth session. The party is continuing their trek across the Isle of Dread and there continue to be potential spoilers below the break for the original Isle of Dread (X1) and the more recent version in Dungeon Magazine #139. When we last left the party, they had discovered a passage through some mountains and were planning on continuing their journey.

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And we’re walking…

Here is the write-up of our eighth session of our Known World campaign. This is from Rachel who is playing Mick. When we had last left our band of adventurers, they had traveled for a couple of days through the jungles of the Isle of Dread and had reached a wide swath of grasslands at the edge of some mountains. Niccolo had spotted a cave mouth, presumably the tunnel they were seeking but between them and it were dozens of terror birds!

There are spoilers below the break for X1 Isle of Dread as well as the re-imagining of that classic module in Dungeon #142. I’ve added, of course, my own re-imagining to each. As always, my GM comments are in [brackets and italics].

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Insula Metus: A Walkabout

Here is the write-up of our seventh session of our Known World campaign. This is from Todd who is playing Niccolo. When we had last left our band of adventurers, they had escaped the island of Carcerus but were essentially lost at sea with no food or water. Each had succumbed to exhaustion, exposure, and starvation…except for Mick had earlier succumbed to some grievous wounds.

The party was rescued by a passing ship, the Sea Wyvern. We took the opportunity at the start of this session to backtrack a little bit and let the PCs interact a bit more with the crew of the ship and to ask whatever questions that the players might have about Insula Metus, the Isle of Dread.

There are spoilers below the break for X1 Isle of Dread as well as the re-imagining of that classic module in Dungeon #142. I’ve added, of course, my own re-imagining to each. As always, my GM comments are in [brackets and italics].

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Da Boat Da Boat

I’m assuming that RJ, who has provided this write-up of our sixth session of our Known World campaign, is making a play on “ze plane, ze plane” from the old tv show Fantasy Island. Not sure the choice is completely apt as the island, Carcerus, the PCs had found themselves on was anything from one of their fantasies. đŸ˜‰

When we last left our band of adventurers, they had found the thing that they sought after most…a boat. Mick was still down and out from a previous fight and the others were still feeling many of the effects of their recent adventures. Plus, their pursuers did not seem to be too far behind them and, after having slept for who knows how long, they had no idea how much time they had left.

There are still some spoilers for N4 Treasure Hunt below the break and my GM comments, as usual, are in [brackets and italics].

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The day in the life of a bodyguard

Here is the write-up from the fifth session of our Known World campaign. This one is from Bridgett who is playing Moe. When we started playing the one-shot that turned into this (potentially mini, potentially not mini) campaign, Bridgett said that Moe was working (apparently for free) as Erica’s bodyguard. Thus the post title.

When we last left the party, they had snuck into the “palace” and had begun exploring it. They had made it through a couple of wings before narrowly escaping being caught between two sets of opponents while the players had violated the number one rule, never split the party. After rejoining and fearing the reinforcements of their opponents, they hurried to the location of the hidden entrance to the catacombs following Demenus’ lead. After finding the entrance and opening it, they had started heading down as orcs began battering on the door.

Although I’ve made a number of modifications, there are certainly spoilers for N4 Treasure Hunt below the break. As always, my GM comments are in [brackets and italics].

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