But it's not D&D. No, I'm planning to run the excellent, brand new retro-clone of The Fantasy Trip called Heroes and Other Worlds (http://heroworlds.blogspot.com/).
Check it out - it's only 24 pages after all.
In case you're unfamiliar with it, the game is a 1970s fantasy game almost like an alternative OD&D. Originally designed by Steve Jackson, it uses 3d6 for most rolls, characters have 4 stats (originally 3 but one is added in H&OW) and there are two "classes" - adventurer and wizard. Adventurers have Talents, so they can easily be thievish or rangerish or whatever you like.
So download the rules (or use your tattered copy of Melee/Wizard/TFT) and make a character, and we can start wandering around the lands of Kaereth (http://megahex.com/kaereth-map).
edit: direct link to the Heroes and Other Worlds PDF here (http://dc455.4shared.com/download/6v7mMO25/HeroWorlds_rules_v1_7.pdf)
I'm game. I've run a couple games of Legends of the Ancient World (the other TFT clone), but I've always wanted to try it as a player. Let me read it over tonight.
Let us know what you think, Techno! For the record I didn't have anything to do with this retro-clone. But it does make it easier to start up a game. Or at least I thought it might, but around here at least the enthusiasm hasn't quite caught on yet.
I'm willing as well. I had all the TFT stuff in my youth, and kick myself for not hanging on to it. Let me DL and read these rules and get back to ya :)
Ok, read it over, a couple of initial questions.
On p.8 under "Common Skills", it says "The game assumes all characters can ride animals, climb, swim, run, leap, read, write, and speak their own language. No skill for any of these common talents is offered, but if necessary you may test against ST for physical tests and IQ for mental tests". All well and good, but this means that those common skills never get any better (except by raising ST or IQ). It doesn't seem logical that I can get better at the more exotic stuff but not at riding a horse or climbing.
Advancement seems particularly generous. When I go up a level, I get to raise an attribute, AND get a new skill, AND possibly raise every skill I already have. That's a lot or good stuff happening at once, especially considering the scale of the numbers in this game.
Well, for my character, I'm thinking either a rangery type or a magic guy. I've already got them worked out in my head, just haven't decided which way I want to go. I'll post one of them later today.
Quote from: Technomancer;521473Ok, read it over, a couple of initial questions.
On p.8 under "Common Skills", it says "The game assumes all characters can ride animals, climb, swim, run, leap, read, write, and speak their own language. No skill for any of these common talents is offered, but if necessary you may test against ST for physical tests and IQ for mental tests". All well and good, but this means that those common skills never get any better (except by raising ST or IQ). It doesn't seem logical that I can get better at the more exotic stuff but not at riding a horse or climbing.
I see what you mean, but I don't think it will be a problem in actual play, especially as ST and IQ will regularly go up.
Quote from: Technomancer;521473Advancement seems particularly generous. When I go up a level, I get to raise an attribute, AND get a new skill, AND possibly raise every skill I already have. That's a lot or good stuff happening at once, especially considering the scale of the numbers in this game.
I agree. I'm not crazy about adding levels to the game myself and might have to take a look at the whole advancement thing.
Quote from: Technomancer;521473Well, for my character, I'm thinking either a rangery type or a magic guy. I've already got them worked out in my head, just haven't decided which way I want to go. I'll post one of them later today.
Sounds good! I'd like to keep it to humans only unless that's a dealbreaker for anyone. My mind is in a kind of Vancian mode right now (nothing to do with spell-casting rules!) so a band of ill-assorted ruffians doing picaresque things in exotic lands seems to be on the cards.
I was thinking of a wiz, but I'll play an adventurer no prob Tech, run with your wiz. I'm just psyched to play anything even approximating TFT again :D I'm working now but can try to have a character posted this evening.
Quote from: Sigmund;521484I was thinking of a wiz, but I'll play an adventurer no prob Tech, run with your wiz. I'm just psyched to play anything even approximating TFT again :D I'm working now but can try to have a character posted this evening.
Cool.
Just a heads up that I'm in Japan so there might be times when we're not in sync (probably in your evenings when you feel like posting :D)
I actually post more in the morning/afternoon than I do the evening here. I don't anticipate any problems.
Is this a pbem game?
I was thinking play-by-post on this site.
I am up for it. I am UK based. I can post most days. Got a play structure in mind?
I usually post in the morning too (Eastern Standard Time).
Sigmund, I had a backwoods healer/hedge wizard type in mind, so if you wanted to play something more utilitarian or combat oriented I don't think we'd be stepping on each others' toes too much.
It's ok, I'll play an Adventurer... have a roguish feller in mind :)
Shall I try a wizard? Nah, looks like a warrior would make most sense.
Quote from: tzunder;521514I am up for it. I am UK based. I can post most days. Got a play structure in mind?
Play structure? It will will a sandbox-style game in that the players can choose what to do and where to go. I'll throw out some hooks and you can take it from there. World exploration, ruin-looting, making coin anyway you can is kind of the thing I have in mind.
I'll assume that the party members have sufficient reason to adventure together and some common motivations.
Once we have some characters I'll start a new thread, post some set-up information, and we'll begin.
The world is pulp fantasy with no Elves or Dwarves, but set in a fallen empire with lots of scary ancient magic, decayed cities and effete aristocrats holding their noses against the barbarians at the gates.
Am I reading this right, that items in my backpack do not count as items when determining how much I can carry, only the backpack itself counts as one item? Obviously the GM would have to look it over and ensure I wasn't cramming the backpack too full.
Also, a set of clothes is one item. Does that include shoes or are those a separate item?
Haven't written anything down yet, but have the rules printed and have been looking over the skills. I'm thinking a smart, stealthy locksmith is the way I'm going. Urban type, if ya get my drift ;)
I am interested in a game with clear standing orders per character so the ref can keep the story going if needed in player absence. I would like the ref to run all combats based on our preferred fighting styles and standing orders. I would like s party leader who has final say until such time as we vote in a new one, kill the old one or split. I would like an agreement that characters will die, no cry babies. I can give examples of such standing orders. I want a game where the story moves fast and fluid and we don't spend weeks playing out five minutes of game time.
Is this sandbox in that if we introduce a fact or setting detail then the default gm response us "okay, and...".... or are we exploring your world and we don't mess with it?
No great wish to be leader.
Now shall I be one of the barbarians or a freed slave pit fighter or a scion of the old nobility?
Quote from: tzunder;521667I am interested in a game with clear standing orders per character so the ref can keep the story going if needed in player absence. I would like the ref to run all combats based on our preferred fighting styles and standing orders. I would like s party leader who has final say until such time as we vote in a new one, kill the old one or split. I would like an agreement that characters will die, no cry babies. I can give examples of such standing orders. I want a game where the story moves fast and fluid and we don't spend weeks playing out five minutes of game time.
Is this sandbox in that if we introduce a fact or setting detail then the default gm response us "okay, and...".... or are we exploring your world and we don't mess with it?
No great wish to be leader.
Now shall I be one of the barbarians or a freed slave pit fighter or a scion of the old nobility?
I agree on keeping the game running fluidly and not bogging down for weeks on a conversation in a tavern. I will run it on the level of "you go to the market place and hear the following rumors....X....Y....Z....You see the following interesting things....A...B...C" Then the players can pick up the ball on an individual detail, or not.
I'll post 5-6 days a week, at least once, probably more, but I won't post at length or constantly.
I'm happy to run the combats myself and then give you the rundown. I'm no killer GM, but the chips will fall where they may and it only takes 5 minutes to create a new character with this system.
Feel free to introduce setting elements. Maybe not new races, but "remembering" that you have visited this town before and met the local lord, or making up your character's deity, that's great.
Finally, don't overthink it! Let's spend 10 minutes a day on this, create a story and roll some dice...I love the clatter of d6s!!!
Sounds good to me.
Quote from: tzunder;521667I am interested in a game with clear standing orders per character so the ref can keep the story going if needed in player absence. I would like the ref to run all combats based on our preferred fighting styles and standing orders. I would like s party leader who has final say until such time as we vote in a new one, kill the old one or split. I would like an agreement that characters will die, no cry babies. I can give examples of such standing orders. I want a game where the story moves fast and fluid and we don't spend weeks playing out five minutes of game time.
I'm not sure what all this is about. Clear standing orders? How about if I just post what my character does when I decide? I'll be checking in almost every day, so I don't think I'll be holding anything up. And I'll run my own character in combat if that's ok, although I don't mind if the GM runs more than one round at once to speed things along.
I think it's likely one character will emerge as a leader during the course of the game, but they will in no way have any say, final or otherwise, what my character does. That being said, in the event that I am unable to check in for a day or two, I have no problem with the GM NPCing my character if it is necessary to keep from holding everyone else up.
Character death, no problem there. That's just part of life as an adventurer.
@ The_Shadow, one more question about gear before I post my character. Part of the back story I wanted for my character is that he took his former master's spell book when he fled (more on that later), so I want to check with you and make sure that's ok to include with his gear. I won't be using it to give myself any advantage whatsoever, it will just be there for story purposes as the means by which he learns new spells when he levels up (the idea being that he will be studying the book in his off time).
If you are using the rule that new spells can only be acquired through quests or finding a teacher, then disregard that last.
Sounds good to me too.
Alwyn Black
ST- 10
IQ- 11
DX- 12
EN- 9
Move- 6
HP- 10
Level- 1
XP- 0
Coins- 3
Skills:
Swords +1
Detect / Disarm Traps +1
Pick Locks +1
Stealth +1
Gear:
Short Sword (60)
Dagger (10)
Leather Backpack (10)
Belt Pouch (2)
24 X Caltrops (2) **
12 X Chalk (5) *
Small Mirror (25) *
Lock Pick Set (10) *
Leather Sack (5) *
Messkit (5) *
Waterskin (5) *
Bedroll (5) *
Travel Clothes (4)
Commoner Clothes (4) *
Leather Gloves (5) *
Leather Shoes (10) *
Travel Cloak (10)
* in back pack
** in belt pouch
Tactics:
Alwyn will try to evade detection, and if possible catch enemies by surprise. Otherwise, he works with his comrades to move into melee range and flank or surround enemies when possible and otherwise attempts to use his DX and sword skill to finish off opponents as quickly as possible.
Story:
Alwyn grew up in the city where he learned, in the poorer areas where he lived, to survive by his wits and a healthy dose of self-preservation. His black hair and beard along with his preference for darker clothing earned him the moniker “the black” which he has since shortened to “Black”. With both his parents dead and only a brother he has not seen in years left as family, Alwyn has decided to seek his fortune as an adventurer since stealing from other folks has never sat well with him. He is a generally cheerful and curious fellow, unless treated poorly, when he will turn much more cold and unfriendly.
Starting money roll: 18 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3417006/) X 10 = 180
Quote from: Technomancer;521701I'll run my own character in combat if that's ok, although I don't mind if the GM runs more than one round at once to speed things along.
@ The_Shadow, one more question about gear before I post my character. Part of the back story I wanted for my character is that he took his former master's spell book when he fled (more on that later), so I want to check with you and make sure that's ok to include with his gear. I won't be using it to give myself any advantage whatsoever, it will just be there for story purposes as the means by which he learns new spells when he levels up (the idea being that he will be studying the book in his off time).
If you are using the rule that new spells can only be acquired through quests or finding a teacher, then disregard that last.
It's understandable if you want to run your guy in combat. But I think all players need to take the same approach - either we go on autopilot when combat starts (perhaps with standing orders governing what to do if your HP get to a certain threshold etc) or we all take turns rolling and posting.
As Technomancer isn't keen on the former, what say you Sigmund and Tzunder?
With regards to the spell book, feel free to include it in your gear. It contains your initial spells, plus 1d3 other ones which you can learn one at a time when you level. Beyond that you'll have to find new spells in the course of play. The spellbook counts as an item of encumbrance.
In order to answer I need to know how long a combat takes.
If it's 5 turns, and that's going to take 5 days then it's a deal breaker for me.
I would usually write my standing orders like this:
QuoteCombat: Defensive stance with opportunistic lunges.
Against ranged attacks, in turn, gain cover, use Tactics to seize initiative, then return missile fire.
Against melee attacks, stand ground, deploy sword and shield, attack biggest foe whilst defending wizard, when hit use Block with shield, losing movement.
Against combined, find cover, use Tactics to seize initiative, then defend with sword and shield as in melee above.
Then I'd be happy to read the battle report, hopefully with florid language, and if it ends with "YYYY struck the troll and then took a mortal blow from the goblin spearsman and died shouting out
Vengeance!" then so be it. I'd rather that battle reports are
Florid Description [game mechanics in brackets]
More florid stuff [more game mechanics]
Ditto exploring buildings and dungeons, we should pause at interesting break points but I don't want to map empty room after empty room, hint: have no empty rooms!
So in short, I don't want a combat to last more than a real day, so if anyone wants to run it turn by turn they'll have to do so inside a 24 hour period, which is a lot of work for the player and GM concerned.
Are we using ST as the characteristic that tales damage or creating a HP stat?
It'll make some difference since by having a separate HP stat then ST rolls don't detoriate as you take damage.
BUT the bigger difference is that if we use HP and it's ST+EN then we have a bigger pool of damage we can take before we're dead.
However since NPCs and monsters have the same enhanced pool (or do they?) then it makes combat longer, so I vote that we don't use HPs and accept a higher kill rate, which is old skool after all..
I prefer to use HP as a separate stat, based on ST only.
1: Could we use Dropbox for shared files? Or have you an alternative preferred option.
2: Here is my character and a potential Excel spreadsheet character sheet we might share.
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/435076/Bedlam%20Iceseraph%20and%20Character%20Sheet.zip
or not..
I honestly don't care either way. Also, I pretty much have my character made, just have to now type it in to a .doc and then post it. I have a doc appointment now, but hopefully will have him posted later today.
Quote from: The_Shadow;521790It's understandable if you want to run your guy in combat. But I think all players need to take the same approach - either we go on autopilot when combat starts (perhaps with standing orders governing what to do if your HP get to a certain threshold etc) or we all take turns rolling and posting.
As Technomancer isn't keen on the former, what say you Sigmund and Tzunder?
With regards to the spell book, feel free to include it in your gear. It contains your initial spells, plus 1d3 other ones which you can learn one at a time when you level. Beyond that you'll have to find new spells in the course of play. The spellbook counts as an item of encumbrance.
I agree that one post per person per round would really slow things to a crawl. Like I said, I don't mind if The_Shadow runs several rounds of combat at once. I do the same in my pbp games, asking players for general tactics at the start and stopping for input only when conditions on the battlefield warrant it (such as when a PCs HP gets below 1/2, when the enemy a PC is fighting is killed, when reinforcements arrive, etc). And seeing Tzunder's list of standing orders, it doesn't look that bad, kind of reminds me of the Dragon Age tactics menu. I think I can live with something like that, I just don't want to be locked into a course of action if a sudden change of tactics is called for, especially since my character isn't the most combat-oriented.
Cool deal on the spell book.
As far as dice rolling, how do you want to handle that? Do you want to make all rolls, or do you want us to roll for ourselves? If the latter, do you need us to use any online roller where we can link to the roll, or just the honor system.
I'm going to type up my character and post him here in a few.
Fellows:
Check the bundle that I posted the link to, it has a nice spreadsheet character sheet I just knocked up.
I am all for the GM rolling for me, and when we need to roll, using the honour system, but I'm like that, YMMV..
Javid Olseth
ST 8
IQ 16
DX 10
EN 8
Move 5
HP 8
Level 1
XP 0
Coin
Start 4d6=2,2,4,1=8x10=80
End 15
Skills
Naturalist +1
Physicker +1
Spells
Light
Pain Channeling
Gear
Dagger (10)
Sling (2)
20 Sling Bullets (1)
Belt Pouch for money (2)
Belt Pouch for bullets (2)
Water Skin (5)
Peasant Clothes (2)
Marching Sandals (10)
Bedroll (5)
Canvas Backpack (5)
-Master Sergi's spellbook (0, special)
-Travel Rations 1 week (5)
-Hemp Rope (5)
-Mess Kit (5)
-Needle and Thread (1)
-Wolfsbane (5)
Tactics
-Normal: Stay out of melee range and attack with sling
-Enemy in melee range: try to escape without leaving himself open to attack; if unable to escape attack with dagger
-Attacked by ranged weapon or magic: Get out of attacker's line of sight, counterattack with sling from behind cover if possible
-Ally injured: Approach and render aid if he can do so without exposing himself to unreasonable danger
Story
Javid hails from the small backwoods village Haran, apprenticed to Sergi, the healer. He did chores and tended his master's small herd of goats in exchange for training in the healing arts. In addition to being a healer, Sergi had some knowledge of the ways of magic, but after the Witch Wars, the locals were extremely suspicious of magic, and so he kept this knowledge hidden.
Javid discovered one of Sergi's hidden spell books and began practicing in secret, learning how to make glowing lights appear from nowhere. He showed this trick to a friend, who told the village leaders, causing them to become suspicious of Javid. He was discovered while trying to heal one of Sergi's injured goats with a more powerful spell. Worse, it was a spell that transferred the injury from one creature to another, and when the elders saw him return the goat to health by killing a rabbit, they suspected magic of the worst kind.
Javid fled to Sergi for protection, but angered by his apprentice stealing his book, the old healer threw him out. Fearful of what the villagers would do to him, Javid fled with Sergi's book and became a homeless wanderer. He has been able to earn a few coins here and there by practicing what he knows of healing, but he fears staying in one place too long for fear that word of what happened in Haran will catch up with him.
However Javid ends up meeting the others is fine with me, perhaps healing a minor injury one of them sustained.
Name Bedlam Iceseraph
Class Adventurer
Race Human
ST 13
IQ 8
DX 13
EN 8
MV 7
HP 13
Level 1
XP 0
Coins 0
Armour Cloth Protection 1 DX penalty -1
Shield Buckler Protection 1 DX penalty 0
Weapon Broadsword DMG 2d6+1
Skill/Spell Name Modifier
Tactics 1
Swords 2
Bows 1
Stuff
Cloth
Buckler
Broadsword
Backpack
Standing Orders
Exploration: Bedlam is keen to gain loot and treasure to build a nest egg and attract a wife. He explores vigorously and will go the extra step to find and get stuff.
Combat
Against Ranged: Find cover, try and steal initiative with Tactics, return missile fire. Shorthand: Defensive.
Against Melee: Draw weapons and shield, try and steal initiative with Tactics, concentrate attacks on most deadly opponent, then leader. Shorthand: Aggressive.
Against Combined: Follow ranged orders until possible to enter melee. Fight from cover. Shorthand: Defensive.
Notes
Bedlam is tall, angular build with long red hair and green eyes. A third son of a Northern family that worships the cruel sun god Ileforid, an unjust sun god that takes the form of a teenage boy with the traits of a snow fox surrounded by an aura of light. The North is cold and icy and a third son will never inherit and must make his own fortune. A dour man in the day, Bedlam is a raucous party animal when drinking or smoking the wide range of herbs prevalent in the decadent Southern lands. He seeks his wealth so as to marry his childhood sweetheart Ingrid Snowblender, a noted and haughty witch.
(http://dl.dropbox.com/u/435076/Bedlam%20IceSeraph%20small.jpg)
Picture by John Ossoway
Also no problem meeting the others, happy to assume we are adventurers thrown together by fate.
Tzunder, great spreadsheet and nice character. Thanks! We can use dropbox, and I might post some background or setting info at my website (see sig). There's not much there right now, but there is a broad-scale map of the setting.
Techno, your character is cool with me.
Let's get started. Hopefully others will join in along the way.
I've started the play thread here (http://www.therpgsite.com/showthread.php?t=22282). Have at it!
Please PM me your email address so I can invite you to the shared Dropbox folder. Also if you don't have a dropbox.com account then sign up below:
http://db.tt/78RodM1
PM sent.
I can't use Dropbox at work (where I am now) as it seems it requires downloading and installing something, at least for Linux anyway.
Yup, dropbox requires a client for all OS.
But you can also access it thru the web interface at dropbox.com, so if you PM me your email I'll invite you to the shared folder and you can use the web interface at work, and maybe the client at home.
It's safe and reliable, I've used it for years now.
http://db.tt/78RodM1
PS: I use a Mac at work and Linux at home.