Zeroes to Heroes - Part 3 - Building the Team

 Natrius and Zook sat at a table at the back of the blacksmith's shop. They sat in silence while drinking from their mugs. A few moments later, they heard footsteps, and Daniel's niece, Govi appeared, taking a seat next to them.

"How is he?" asked Natrius.

"Breathing," said the young woman. "He drank some soup, but that's it."

With a sigh, Natrius turned to the gnome sitting across from him. "We need to move quickly then."

"Very true," said Zook, "but first, we need a team. If we're traveling those roads, we'll definitely need some muscle." 

They both looked to Govi, who was in excellent shape, with defined muscles.

(Q)  Will Govi go with them?  (Likely)  No.

Unfortunately, the woman shook her head. "I'm not leaving Uncle Daniel." She then raised her eyes to the shop. "Besides, someone has to run this place."

Natrius nodded. "We understand." He turned back to Zook. "Who else?"

"Well," said Zook, "the farmer's a big buy?"

(Instead of tying out full scenes here, I'm going to just have a few quick scenes of each interaction.)

(Q)  Does Loffo agree?  (Likely)  No.

Sitting in the tavern, the big man shook his head. "Farm needs Loffo. Loffo no can leave."

Zook nodded. "Well, there's the gravedigger, Ivor."

They found the gravedigger straightening a gravestone. The tall, lanky man in a cloak noticed the two and smiled.  "Gentlemen, what a lovely morning, is it not?" 

"It is," said Zook. 

Ivor nodded to the other man. "Natrius, sir, those dyes of yours worked perfectly for Mr. F'bassio's pigments. Again, my thanks."

"You seem to really love your job," said Zook. "I don't know if I could work around the dead all the time."

"These?" He stamped the ground. "These are but empty shells. When we die, our essence moves on, wherever that may be. My job is to treat the shells, either by shovel or torch."

Zook snorted. "That seems disrespectful to the dead."

"Why? They're dead." Ivor brought his arms wide. "All this is just to serve the living. It's all part of nature."

"Well as interesting as this is," said Zook, "we may have need of your services. Daniel, the blacksmith has fallen ill and we're traveling to another town for help. We could use your physical presence."

(Q)  Does Ivor agree?  (Likely)  Yes.

"Mr. Daniel is sick?" Leaning on his shovel, Ivor thought of this. "I'm afraid I haven't been in many fights, but just tell me when you plan to leave."

"Really?" said Natrius. "You're not bothered we're disrupting the nature of life?"

"Well he's still alive, is he not?" asked the tall man. "If there's a way to help him, then it's best we make haste."

"Thanks," said Zook. "Come by the shop in the morning."

"Well," said Natrius," that's one. Who's next?"

Later, they entered the bakery.

"Kerri!" said Zook.

Kerri, a young woman with broad shoulders and brown hair tied back, smiled. "Mr. Zook." she turned to her customer. "You cake'll be ready by the end of this week."

"But I need it tomorrow morning," said the old lady.

"Madam," said Kerri, "I need time to bake the cake and then decorate it, especially since it's so large."

"So what," said the lady, "you have it when you open tomorrow morning or else. It's not like you do real work here."

The lady stormed out while Kerri kept the smile on her face. "What can I get for you, Mr. Zook? A cake in an hour?"

"Not at all," said the gnome. "Daniel, the blacksmith has grown sick and we're heading out of town to find a cure. We can use some help, specifically your muscles."

(Q)  Does Kerri agree?  (Likely)  Yes.

Staring out the door where the old lady had left, Kerri picked up a rolling pin. "I'm in."

"What about her cake?" Natrius pointed to the door.

Kerri shrugged. "She was going to complain no matter what. I can use the vacation.

Zook grinned as they left the shop. "Perfect. Well, that's half our team. I can probably convince the captain to spare a couple of guards."

Natrius nodded. "That still leaves two slots. So who else?"

Zook rubbed his chin.  "You know, it wouldn't hurt to have a few less than savory fellows helping us, you know, to look out for trouble, pick locks, be sneaky, that sort of thing."

Natrius blinked. "You want to hire thieves to protect us?"

Zook shook his head. "No, not thieves, but a few who are close enough to that lifestyle can help us."

"Spare a coin or three?"

They looked over to see a young woman sitting on the bench.

"Solgi," said Zook, "you break into anymore houses?"

The woman shrugged. "Either the house or a cell. Either way, I sleep under a roof."

"Wait," said Natrius, "you break into houses?"

Solgi nodded and grinned. "It's fun."

The two men looked at each other, and then Zook spoke. "How'd you like to earn a few coin, doing just that, being sneaky?"

(Q)  Does Solgi agree?  (Very Likely)  Yes.

"What do you need?" She asked.

"We're going to another town to help the blacksmith, who's been poisoned. We need someone who's got an eye for the shadows.

"Sounds like fun," she said, "count me in."

(It occurred to me that Vina, the former bandit could be useful as well.)

(Q)  Does Vina agree?  (Very Likely)  Yes - Random Event.

(Event)  "Distant, NPC."

(Q)  Does Vina have a pleasant thought towards this NPC?  (50/50)  Yes.

(Q)  Can this person help?  (Likely)  Yes.

"I heard you were heading to the towns." Vina, the village master of tops tournament approached. "Do you have an actual plan or are you just going to hit each town?"

"What do you have in mind?" asked Zook.

"Oasis Brook," she answered. "I have a friend there who can get us what we need, and she can make sure we don't get ripped off in the process."

Zook held out his hand. "Welcome to the team." He turned to Natrius. "Well, now we just need to get supplied and our quest awaits!"

 By the way, the last two, which I simply rolled up are:

Milo

Not exactly a guard, but more of a village guide who keeps an eye out for trouble, he's better at talking his way through situations than fighting. 

Str -1, Cha +1.  Skills:  Persuade, Intimidate. 

Jaree

A guard in training who's skilled at throwing things, but who jumps way too easily.

Dex +1, Wis -1.  Skills:  Proficiency in Simple Weapons.

Next time, out hopeful heroes go shopping!

Zeroes to Heroes - Part 2

 Zook stood in the village court, watching as Chief Notty dealt with case after case that morning. Or rather, it seemed as much even though only a few cases were brought before the chief. It was just one of those slow weeks.

"So let me get this straight," said the chief to the man in cuffs standing before him, "you were cheating in the tops tournament by using a metal top instead of a wooden one." He turned to glance at Zook, who merely shrugged. Then he addressed the man again. "You realize the spent more making your little toy than what you would've gained from the prize money, right?" When the other man didn't reply, Notty sighed. "Fine, you forfeit your entrance free and are hereby banned from few tournaments. Oh, and pay a 5 gold fine for wasting my time. Guards, get those cuffs off of him and get him out of my sight."

The chief turned to the gnome standing beside him.  "What's next, Mr. Zook?"

Zook stared at the parchment before him. "It looks like Solgi was brought in again for squatting in an empty house."

Notty rolled his eyes. "She gets money from begging and spends it in this village. Can't we do something to help her?"

Before Zook could reply, a man burst into the court. "Sire, I need your help."

Zook looked to the man. "Natrius? What's wrong?"

Grasping his chest and wiping the tears from his eyes, Natrius addressed the two. "It's Daniel."

Hearing the gnome gasp, Notty turned to Zook. "Who?"

Zook raised his hand high above his head. When the chief stared at him, the gnome made a muscular pose attempt.

"Oh," said Notty, "the blacksmith."

Welcome back!

Last time, we learned that our uber-muscular blacksmith named Daniel has an embarrassingly low strength. Well, a few people on the Mythic Discord suggested to turn it into the plot of an adventure, and I think that's a brilliant idea. So this will be about a group stepping out of their comfort zones to help a friend. 

Just a warning though, if you're expecting an action packed, hack and slash adventure, you might be disappointed. Remember, these are Level 0 characters. They have a ways to go until they become heroes. Not only that, they can't even walk into a shop and buy thousands of gold in weapons and armor. They'll have to move a step at a time to succeed.

And that's assuming they survive in the first place.

So let's get to it.

I'm not sure what happened to Daniel, so I'm going to let Mythic help me.

(Q)  Did Daniel get injured?  (50/50)  No.

Okay, so it's either a disease or poison.

(Q)  Was it caused by a person?  (Likely)  Yes - Random Event.

(Random)  "Strange, Help."

Sounds like it wasn't completely deliberate.

"It's food poisoning," Natrius said. "Evidently, when a group of merchants came through a couple of weeks ago, they traded some food from their home. I looked it over and found out they use a spice native to their land that can be poisonous if you don't slowly build up a resistance to it." Pulling out a small sack, he revealed pieces of multi-colored bread. "Daniel was one of two people who tried it, and it just took effect. This morning, while bending a piece of metal, he collapsed and has been unconscious ever since."

Leaning forward, Notty eyed the other man. "Tell me, Natrius, how do you know all of this? I thought your skills were limited to dying fabrics."

"More or less," said Natrius, "but I've worked with my share of dangerous plants and even learned a bit of medicine, just in case."

"How bad is it?" asked Zook.

Natrius covered the bread again and returned it. "According to my studies, he won't last more than a couple of weeks. His size and health are the only reasons he's lasted this long."

"Wait," said Notty, "what about our healer? Can't he do anything?"

Natrius shook his head. "I'm afraid he was the other who ate the bread. He wasn't so lucky."

"So what do you suggest?" asked the chief.

"We need either the antidote," Natrius answered, "or a really strong healing potion."

"And I'm guessing neither are in supply here," said Notty. 

"I'm afraid not, sire," said Natrius, "but we have to do something. Daniel is my closest friend."

"Well that's easy!" Zook perked up. "We just hire a group of adventurers. They're always looking for quests like this."

"Normally, I'd agree with you," said the chief, "but the problem is every adventurer is elsewhere, exploring dungeons, hunting dragons, and the like. We haven't had a group in this village in weeks."

Zook then got a sly grin on his face. "Then we'll do it."

Notty furrowed his brow. "You'll do what?"

"I was once a hireling," Zook answered. "I'll put a group together, and we'll travel to the next town to find either the potion or the antidote."

"The roads aren't safe though," said the chief, "and we can't spare a lot of guards. That would leave us open to attack."

Zook moved his hand aside. "Not a problem sire. I've got the skills we need."

The chief frowned. "What skills? You don't know any spells?"

"Give me a chance," said the gnome, "I can do this."

(Q)  Does Chief Notty agree?  (Likely, just to get the adventure going)  Yes - but BARELY!

Notty sighed. "Something tells me you'll go anyway." He paused in thought. "Fine, you may form a group of 8 individuals; you and 7 others." He looked up. "Make that 6 others, plus you and Natrius."

Natrius looked up.  "Me, sire?"

"Yes, you," said the chief. "Mr. Zook'll need your skills with medicine."

"But I don't know how to, what do you call it, adventure?" He held up his hands. "Last time I left the village, it was in a carriage with three guards."

"Best I can do for Daniel," the chief said.

"One other thing," said Zook, "we could use some money for supplies."

"I'm afraid we don't have much with business being slow.," said Notty. "I can't do much."

"We'll take whatever you can spare," said the gnome, "but the more you give us, the better chance we have to succeed."

Let's see if Zook can convince the chief to offer some gold.

(Q)  Does Notty give some gold for supplies?  (Zook's +1 vs. Notty's +3 = -2 or Very Unlikely)  Yes.

"Fine," said the chief. "I'll open the coffers and give you 200 gold." As the gnome's grin grew wider, Notty held up a hand. "That's total, to be divided among your group." He then jabbed a finger. "But once you're done, Daniel owes me a sword that'll cut through an anvil. Am I clear?"

"You got it!" Zook jumped up, tapping Natrius on the back and leading the reluctant other man out of the court.

Next, we build the team.

Zero to Hero - Maybe!

 

I recently read the book, NPCs, by Drew Hayes, which is an awesome book, by the way. It starts with a group of adventurers who enter a tavern, get some drinks, and drop dead. Learning that the king is expecting this group (and this king gets rather cranky when he feels ghosted), four background characters step forward and take the group's place. However, since they're not skilled at adventuring, they have to learn as they go, and they even end up switching roles as they learn more about how to adapt their skills to fit their roles.

I decided this seems like a fun way to run a Dungeons and Dragons game. I'd fill a village full of Commoners, each with their own skill sets and personalities, let the players choose the characters, and once they reach Level 1 (assuming they survive), assign them classes, etc.

Unfortunately, I don't have the time to join or even start a group as I don't have the same nights off each week. It just wouldn't be fair to a group to cancel because suddenly I have to go into work at 4 the next morning.

Because of this, I'll use Mythic to run a solo game, with my controlling all of the characters.

Here's how it works:

I created a village with a bunch of Level 0 characters. These characters have no class and at times no race (those with a race don't get any modifiers). Each also gets 4 Hit Points and Armor Class 10 (+/- and modifiers). Abilities average at 10, with 0 for +/-. That means if a character has a + for an Ability, they have a - elsewhere. Also, I don't know if I'll play exclusively D&D for game rules or use it and Mythic (I know Mythic will be used for the story though), but luckily, jumping back and forth is relatively easy. While D&D mostly resolves events by rolling 1d20, Mythic uses Percentage Dice. Converting one to the other won't be a problem. 

Finally, each character will have 2-3 Skills or Proficiencies in certain areas, while receiving a +1 bonus to those (and only those) areas. 

Hopefully by the end of the quest, I'll get 4 characters who can take the roles of heroes. Hopefully they survive.

So let's get started!

This adventure starts in the village of Briskhill. Here's a map to give us an idea where we are (Pleas ignore the descriptions. I realize my handwriting is less than legible.  (Okay, I've had instruuctors turn my papers upside down while trying to read them):

Briskhill Village lies in a valley, between roads that lead to a number of towns and cities. Originally created as a trading post, it developed its own community and acts as a stop for adventurers traveling to larger locations. Also, since it lacks mines, trading occurs quite often. 

To the south of the village is Glimmer Forest. While the trees don't grow very tall (Most are as tall as the average human), they regrow rapidly. And while the residents don't understand why, they do take advantage, using the lumber for structures, objects, and even trading for metals. The wood from the lumber itself doesn't show any magical properties, though it is quite sturdy.

In the center of the village is Central Pond, where residents fish while gathering around the bank for different events.

One event that takes place every few months in the village is Tops Spinning. Anyone wishing to enter the contest pays and Entrance Fee (5 sp). In return, they get a block of wood that they can carve in whatever shape for their top that they choose. Competitors then spin their tops on one of the selected tables, tournament style. The winner gets 25 gp while the runners up get 10, 5, 2, and 1 gp prizes. In addition, people gamble on winners.

Briskhill Village is run by Jerey Nottbary, a halfling former merchant who helped established the village. While too old to work a normal job anymore, he does give advice to merchants who wish to start their trade in the village. Generally cheerful and charming, he's known as Chief Notty to the people who live in his village.

(Going by the Lord British Postulate), I'm only assigning him basic stats:

+3 Intelligence, +2 Wisdom, +2 Charisma. Skills in Persuasion, Insight, and Perception.

Now let's look at some of the other residents of this village (They'll be more later on). Hopefully, a few of them will become heroes in the near future. In most cases, I used a combination of D&D's rules and Mythic's 1 Page Character Crafter to create them, with 1 Page Mythic filling in the blanks. Note that if an Ability isn't listed, it's treated as 10 (0 modifier)

Mr. Zook

Zook (The villagers call him Mr. Zook) is a halfling who serves Chief Notty as Court Wizard. However, he possesses no actual magical ability. Instead, he has an amulet that glows in the presence of magic. Also, he has knowledge of magic and a a bit of showmanship, throwing his hands in the air to try and tricks others into thinking he's casting a spell. Mostly, he tries to protect the Chief while also making sure people don't cheat in the tops tournaments.

(Deciding that Zook is my main character, I wanted to know more about him so I made a few rolls. First, since I couldn't decide on a clan name, I decided he didn't have one, but I wanted to know why.)

(Detail)  What happened to Zook with his clan?  "Emotion, Deception."

(Q)  Did this have something to do with a female?  (Likely)  "Yes."

Zook was banished from his village after things went very bad with a woman he was trying to court (He never mentioned the details, but apparently, he thought highly of her at the time).

(That helps. Now I want to know about his history with magic.)

(Detail)  How did Zook get his amulet?  "NPC, Control"

(Detail)  What happened?  "Nature, Harm, Fight."

(Q)  Was this harm deliberate?  (Likely)  "Yes."

Needing a way to survive, Zook served a wizard for some time. At one point, the wizard tried to burn down a forest so he could get his tower constructed. The wizard entered the forest, but screams were heard. Zook rushed into the forest but only found his master's bloody cloak and amulet. After getting the cloak cleaned and fitted for his size(It's not magical), he donned it and the amulet and eventually found his way into the court of Chief Notty.

Mr. Zook.  Male Gnome.  -2 Str, +1 Int, +1 Cha. Skills:  Arcanum, Deception.

(Zook's amulet can Detect Magic up to 10 feet. However, every time it detects a spell, roll 1d10. Rolling equal to or less than the Spell Level causes the amulet to explode).

Govi

Govi has lived in Briskhill all of her life. Her parents died when she was very young, so now she lives with her uncle Daniel, the village blacksmith, and works as his apprentice. Govi is in excellent shape and works hard, but outside the shop, she tends to trip over her own feet. Also, she doesn't like verbal interaction much and can be terse, blunt, and brutally honest.

Govi:  Human female. +1 Str, +1 Con, -1 Dex, -1 Cha.  Skills:  Athletics, blacksmith tools.

Vina

Vina is a former bandit who's trying to get away from her former life. Unfortunately, a life of impulsive decisions and knee-jerk reactions didn't go well for her. Trying not to stand out, she lives by sweeping and cleaning shops. However, she earns most of her money competing with her top, which is shaped like a crystal shard. Having won a number of tournaments with it, she calls it her lucky charm.

Vina.  Female Human.  Dex +1, Wis -1.  Skills:  Sleight of Hand.

(Vina also possesses her top, which she named Thresher. It gains a +3 when she's gaming.)

Natrius

Known by his friends as Nate, Natrius is the village dyer. An expert on using plants to create different colors, he supplies the villagers, usually for buildings, signs, and even writing ink for the court. Natrius learned (the hard way) which plants also are useful and dangerous, a side effect of his profession.

Natrius:  Human male.  Str -1, Con +1.  Skills:  Nature, Medicine.

Fara

Fara is the bartender of the village's only tavern. Having watched a few tops tournaments, she got an idea to increase business. When traveling merchants and adventurers enter her tavern, she's play to their pride, encouraging them compete, while conveniently leaving the details, such as that it's not fights or athletic contests. She also collects wagers, so she does her best to get newcomers to compete, knowing they usually lose in the process.

Fara:  Human female.  Str -1, Cha +1.  Skills:  Persuade, Insight.

Loffo

Loffo is Fara's closest friend, whom she sees as a younger brother. He works the farm, where he spends most of his days. While not very bright, he does know how to grow crops quite well. However, he also helps Fara in another way. Being a huge, hulking person, he tends to intimidate anyone stepping out of line in the tavern. But Fara also points to him when convincing outsiders to compete in the tournament, though they don't realize until too late that he has his own set of tops. Loffo doesn't mind this as Fara keeps him fed and lets him sleep in one of the bunks for free.

Loffo.  Male (unknown race):  Str +1, Int -1.

Hollyn

Hollyn is an orc who works as a woodcutter. 

(That's all I've got, so far).

(Q)  Did something bad happened to her in her past?  (Likely)  "Yes."

(Detail)  What happened to her?  "Competition, Setback, Harm."

When she was younger, Hollyn hunted with her clan. Several others tried to sabotage her, and in her anger, she killed them. Deciding that was the perfect time to see new sights, she traveled until settling in the village.  She gets along with the other villagers pretty well, though when not doing business, she keeps to herself.

Hollyn:  Female orc:  All stats 0.  Proficiency:  woodcutter's ax.

Oskar

Oskar is the tavern cook, working for Fara and sleeping in a bunk for free. 

(That's all I've got. Let's see what else I can come up with)

(Mind Descriptor)  "Insight, Old."

Oskar is middle-aged but still in good shape. He's learned a variety of cooking recipes over the years, and his delicious foods have made him quite popular. Knowing he brings in business, Fara pays him well and gives him a lot of freedom with his cooking.

Oskar:  Male dwarf.  Con +1, Dex -1.  Skills: Perception, Proficiency:  chef's tools.

(This next one threw me through a loop.)

Daniel

Daniel is Govi's uncle and the village blacksmith. A huge man, he's quite skilled at shoeing horses, making weapons, and shaping armors. 

When I rolled up this character, I got the following Descriptors:

(Identity)  "Strong"

(Mind)  "Social"

(Body)  "Strong"

(Talent)  "Strong"

(Sure sounds fitting for a blacksmith, right? Weeeelllll . . . )

Daniel:  Human Male:  Str -3

(Yep, -3! So what does that mean? Well thanks to several people on the Mythic Discord, I came up with an idea, which is where are adventure starts.)

Well, next time . . . 

Mythic Supers Rules

 Here are the rules I use when running games with supers, using Mythic:

Simplified Mythic Supers Rules

Abilities

Characters have 5 Abilities:

• Body:  Anything strength-related, including Melee Combat and Toughness.
• Agility:  Anything requiring speed, including Ranged Combat and Reflexes
• Mind:  Anything requiring brains, including Computers, research, and Sneakiness.
• Talk:  Interactions.
• Heart:  Powers.

Rules and Options:

• Stats for Abilities range from + to - with 0 being average.
• Characters gain 3 Ability Points per Level.
• Level 0 characters get 0 AP.
• Starting characters can trade points from one ability to another.

Skills

• Characters can trade 1 AP for 3 Skill Points.

Body:

• Strength: Any non-combat physical rolls.
• Melee Combat:  Attack and Damage.
• Toughness:  Resisting Physical Damage.

Agility:

• Athletics:  Running, jumping, rolling.
• Ranged Combat:  Attack and damage.
• Reflexes:  Avoiding ranged attacks.

Mind

• Brains:  Anything requiring thinking.
• Sneak:  Anything less than honest.
• Wits:  Able to see sneakiness.

Talk:

• Pursuade:  Make someone calmer and cooperative.
• Question:  Gather information, formally, or general dialog.
• Bluff:  Deceiving others.

Heart

• Damage:  Anything that causes harm.
• Escape:  Movement and Defense.
• Effect:  Everything else.

Character Creation

• Distribute Ability Points.
• Choose Powers (if any).
• Create background, appearance, etc.
• Save the world! (Or destroy it!)

 

Mythic - Discworld Rules

 Here's a summary of the rules I use for my Mythic Discworld games. They can also be used for any fantasy game; just change the races as you see fit.

Simplified Mythic Discworld Rules

Abilities

Characters have 3 Abilities:

• Do:  Anything physical, including Combat and Toughness.
• Think:  Anything mental, including Stealth and Magic.
• Talk:  Any interactions.

Rules and Options:

• Stats for Abilities range from + to - with 0 being average.
• Characters gain 2 Ability Points per Level.
• Level 0 characters get 0 AP.
• Level -1 characters get -1 AP.
• Starting characters can trade points from one ability to another.

Skills

• Characters can trade 1 AP for 3 Skill Points.

Do:

• Athletics: Any non-combat physical rolls.
• Combat:  Attack and Damage.
• Toughness:  Resisting Physical Damage.

Think:

• Brains:  Anything requiring intellect.
• Wits:  Stealth, Bluffing, and Awareness.
• Magic:  Casting and resisting.

Talk:

• Charm:  Make someone calmer and cooperative.
• Question:  Gather information, formally, or general dialog.
• Wealth:  Buying and selling.

 

Races

Level 1 Characters or higher get +1 to an Ability.

• Dwarf:  +1 Do.
• Troll:  +1 Do.
• Golem:  +1 Do.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

• Gnome:  +1 Think.
• Goblin:  +1 Think.
• Igor:  +1 Think.
• Werewolf:  +1 Do.
• Vampire:  +1 Do.
• Orc:  +1 Do.
• Human:  +1 to any Ability.

 

Classes, General

Examples: 

• Warrior, Guard, Watchman, Thief, Assassin, Fool, Acrobat, Conman, Thig, Bandit, Merchant, Expert, Driver, Hunter, Gambler.

 

Magical Classes

• Magical Classes can Cast Spells.
• When created, Character sacrifices 1 Ability Point,

Examples:

• Wizard, Witch, Druid, Alchemist, History Monk, Sorcerer.

Spells

• No Spell Slots.
• All spells require a Magic roll.
• Rolling Exceptional No results in -1 RS.

Types of Spells:

• Damage:  Fireball, Lightning, Thorns.
• Escape:  Teleport, Danger Sense, Shield.
• Effect:  Heal, Forget, Levitate.

 

 

 

 

Character Creation

• Choose a Race.
• Choose a Class.
• Distribute Ability Points.
• Choose Spells (if Magic Class)
• Create background, appearance, etc.
• Venture forth!

 

 

Experience

• When a character succeeds with a Clash or Ability check, the character receives an Adventure Token.
• AT can be spent to gain a +1 RS at any time.
• However, a character rolling an Exceptional failure receives a Negative Adventure Token, which cancels out 1 previous AT.
• After gaining a total of 3 AT, a character can attempt to advance by making a Fate Roll.
• The Difficulty is the next Level.
• Failure means the character can try again next time 3 AT are rolled.
• Random events mean the character must perform a task first.

 

Money!

• No coins are kept on record for currency.
• Instead, characters purchase things by making Talk rolls.
• The Difficulty base is 0 but is modified by its bonus.
• The Bonus is modified by the number of uses.
• So a sword with a permanent +2 bonus (+2 x +3 for perm bonus) would have +6 Difficulty.
• AT can be spent to improve chances.
• If Exceptional No is rolled, a character cannot make another roll to buy something until gaining another AT.

 

Total Part Kill - Mythic's Player Emulator

 Most Roleplaying games have one Dungeon or Game Master and one or more Players. With solo games like Mythic and Two Hour Wargames, you have players, but the game systems and dice determine the outcomes.

Well Mythic has something new from recent games. I haven't run games in years, mostly because my friends and I all went in separate directions, and also because work and other activities make forming a game group more difficult nowadays. And yet I miss those games. Watching Players maneuver their characters through different adventures, watching them solving puzzles. Eradicating an entire party while the players stare with dropped jaws ----- oh wait, did I say that last part out loud? I would never, in a million years . . . . okay I performed one TPK once, but they knew it going in.

Anyway, Mythic Magazine #41 has a new option, the Player Emulator. Instead of running your party and the dice and charts run the game, you are the Game/Dungeon Master and the game runs the players. I really wanted to give this a try, and for extra fun, I figured I'd post my results as I go.

While I'm using a generic fantasy world, I'll use my Discworld rules for creating characters and monsters, and with the Player Emulator creating Play styles for each player. To keep things simple, I've kept player and character names as close as possible.

A quick recap of my character rules:

Characters have 3 Abilities:  Do (anything physical, including combat), Think (anything mental, including magic and thieves skills), and Talk (any interactions). Characters get 2 Ability Points per level, + a bonus for Race (which I run fast and loose with). Level 2 characters on can exchange 1 Ability PT for 3 Skills Points, which allow for specializing.

Level 0 characters and creatures must have Abilities that equal 0. 

Finally, Magic Classes can cast spells but must sacrifice 1 Ability PT at the start.

Anyway, here are my first victims, I mean PCs:

Marek:  Male Human Mage.  Level 2.  

Do: 0, Think:  +2, Talk: 0

Skills:  Magic:  +2 Damage, +1 Effect.

Player:  Marco

Play Style: Fight (He will have his character attack as much as possible.)

Wallace:  Male Human Warrior.  Level 2.

Do: +2, Think: +2, Talk: 0.

Skills:  Weapon Damage +2, Shield +2.

Player:  Wally

Play Style:  Shoot First (Similar to Marco).

Rosse:  Female Elf Rogue.  Level 2.

Do:  0, Think: +2, Talk: +2.

Skills: Wits +3.

Player:  Rose

Play Style:  Thinker.

I'm using Mythic's One Page Location Crafter, along with the Dungeon Generator, for the dungeon that they're exploring. The board and minis are from Mage Knight. I don't have a lot of monster minis (well none that wouldn't obliterate a party of lvl 2 characters) so I'll use poker chips for threats. Finally, I'm adding a few little traps I thought of or used in past DnD games.

The Dungeon

Grimble, the goblin sorcerer put together the dungeon. Hearing about evil overlords dispatching hapless heroes with underground monstrosities, Grimble decided to try his hand. Unfortunately, he's still new at this so we'll see how successful he is.

The 3 enter the dungeon here. Rolling on the Location Crafter, I get Expected, Return. I decided this is simply the entrance. Nothing out of the ordinary. I'll let them travel a bit before torturing them.

The party encountered their first trap. It's a step-activated panel that sends the victim hurtling to the ceiling, where he strikes another touch-activated panel that sends him back to the original, and so on. Mythic decided that, despite the picture, they can't go around. I decided that trying would trigger hidden panels on the sides as well.

Approaching it carefully, Rosse managed to disarm it. Okay, they got past their first test. Fair enough. What's next?

LC decided the party encountered an object, which I decided was a treasure chest. 

Rose passed her Sense roll, meaning she'll got with the more sensible approach.

Rose:  "I think I can disarm this, but a chest all by itself seems too suspicious."

Wally:  (Passing his Sense roll, which is impressive, since I gave him a penalty for his Play Style)  "I could bash it, but I think it might make things worse."

Marco:  "Agreed, let's keep going."

Oooh, I've been waiting for this one! 

The party approached a pit. A sign next to the edge read, "Only by staring into the darkness within can one hope to cross."

I'll let Rose make the Sense check for the part:  (Pass!) 

Wallace:  "My deepest, darkest secrets? Back when I was 8 and out of underwear -"

Rosse:  "Wait, and please for the love of Vulcan, never ever finish that sentence."  (Kneels down and stares into the pit.)  "It looks shallow."

Rosse makes a Do check to leap into the pit (Easy):  Pass!

Wallace makes the check:  Pass!

Marek rolls:  Fail!

Marek falls and suffers -1 Rank Shift Damage.

Standing, they realized the pit was only waist-deep. Unfortunately, Marek tripped hurt his ankle by landing wrong. Still, they were able to cross without difficulty and move on to the next room.

LC determined the next room had 3 opponents. Rolling on 1 Page Creature Crafter, I got 3 Cave Cats. Now these aren't house kitties simply living underground. The size of cheetahs and just as fast, they used the caves and their construction to their advantage.

I gave them the following stats:

Cave Cat:  Level 0. Do:0, Think: +1, Talk: -1. 

I had the cats perform a sneak attack and they passed. I decided this gave them a +1 on the first round of combat.

The d6 helped me keep track of injuries in RS.

Fortunately, the heroes managed to avoid the cats enough to win the fight, though Marek suffered injury and is now at -2 RS and Rosse suffered -1 RS. With the battle over, the group tends to their injuries. Rosse recovered but Marek still had to deal with -1 RS.

The next room was empty except for a single object. I thought a door to the next room would work, but with a catch. The door had 3 differently-shaped locks and 3 keys scattered in the room. The puzzle was to find the keys and open the door.

Together, they located all 3 keys and Rosse figured out which keys to place in which locks. Which is good because failing would cause spikes to shoot out of the walls.

Passing that challenge, they moved on.

Entering the next room, the party encountered a pool of water blocking their path. The water sparkled and something appeared to be at the bottom.

Marek: (Lowered to one knee to look)

Rose:  Sense check:  Passed!  "Wait! The pool is a trap." (looks up)  "There!"

Just then, several stalactites dropped from the ceiling.

These are called Clingers and use the pool to lure victims to drop their guard before falling and piercing them.

Clingers:  Level 0. Do: 0, Think: +1, Talk: -1.

Since the party saw them coming, they lost their +1 first-round advantage. Combat then went on normally.

Unfortunately, things didn't go so well for our heroes. Marek missed with a magic bolt spell and got stabbed (Exceptional Failure). Wallace took out most of the Clingers while Rosse mopped up the rest. Marek survived, but was still wounded so the group chose to backtrack and leave the dungeon for another day.

Wallace gained 3 Adventure Points.

Rosse gained 4 AP.

Marek gained 1 AP but lost it due to getting Incapacitated.

Overall, it was a fun little trial. They figured every challenge I threw at them which is fine because I still have a few more ticks up my sleeve (like the wall of water and glass wall on the other side of a pit).

But those are for next time.

Time for a Slobberknocker - Legends of Wrestling

I recently got back into the Legends of Wrestling game from Filsinger Games. It's a card and dice game with wrestlers from all eras, even way back in the early 20th century. Heck, it even includes a few from the late 19th century! That doesn't mean you won't find wrestlers from recent years as well, and some sets feature wrestlers all from the same era (like Legends V, which is about the 90s, and has Davey Boy Smith, Curtis Hughes, and Big Van Vader).

Personally, I'm a fan of technical wrestling, especially the Vintage era (early 20th century, up to the 50s), so a lot of the wrestlers I use are from that era. I don't have the main box set because I already have the rules to play the game. 

Instead, the sets I use are:

Legends III (AWA)

Legends IV (Hardcore)

Legends VII (Vintage)

Cauliflower Alley Club II

George Tragos Award sets I, II, IV.

Olde Wrestling I and II (and indie fed that acts like a vintage one)

A few Special Edition cards.

LOW is played using d6. Each card has stats and moves on the back, and you roll to see what each wrestler does and how his opponent reacts. For throwing opponents into the ropes, fighting outside the ring, etc., you refer to game charts. The main rules also have several special matches, such as tag team and battle royals.

My fed is called the Shooters All-star Grappling Alliance, or SAGA for short. It's based off an idea years ago where my friend and I split a fed, with each of us picking a show. Mine was called Saga. Once we decided to run our own feds, I just kept the name but spelled it out to mean something. 

This is my return card. I stopped in 2022 because I kept getting sidetracked with other projects, games, etc. My last card had John Pesek defeating William Muldoon in less than a minute to win the World Title, though I decided it was because Muldoon landed wrong and got hurt). Originally, it was supposed to be a big feud, but now I just gave them a rematch.

I did use Mythic GME here and there, mostly asking, "Did Wrestler A attack Opponent B or C?" "Will there be a rematch?" Stuff like that.

Here's the card:

Heat Plex

The Tri-Town Arena

Morgantown, NC

 

Dark Matches:

A. Matt Cross defeated Pampiro Firpo in a Blood Rumble qualifying match.

B. Nicolas Valentino defeated Marion Fontaine in a BR qualifying match.

 

Actual event:

 

Gordon Solie invited Jim Ross to the commentating table. Shon Maxx, the current COO of SAGA (though he prefers CMM or Chief Mischief Maker), joined as color commentator. However he said the main job was theirs; he just wanted a front row seat to the action.

 

1. Paul Orndorff Pinned Masa Saito after a Jumping Piledriver.

 

2. The Stranglers defeated the Flying Redheads when Evan Lewis made Billy Red Lyons tap to the Strangler's Headlock. Lyons hurt his neck and is out for 2 cards.

 

Several wrestlers were shown drawing their numbers for the Blood Rumble. Commissioner Teddy Long supervised to make sure no one pulled any little tricks.

 

 Judge Hugo Black, Representative Gavin Volstead, and Senator Cameron Sheppard all seemed disappointed by their numbers. but then Volstead reminded them that they didn't actually have to fight each other. Black them pointed out that if they worked together and won the Rumble, they could pressure Long into giving them shots at the World and Tag Team titles.

 

3. The Monsters (Gorilla Monsoon and Butcher Vachon) beat Thunder + Lightning (Thunderbolt Patterson and Lightning Rod Fenton when Monsoon pinned Fenton.

 

The Great Gama and the Terrible Turk drew their numbers. Both grinned widely but said nothing. 

 

4. William Muldoon defeated John Pesek to regain the World Title, 2 falls to 1 in a Vintage Rules match. Muldoon pulled out a quick pin for the first fall. Pesek made Muldoon tap to win the second fall. And Muldoon pinned Pesek after 15 minutes of back and forth action to win the third fall. After the match, neither man offered to shake hands. Instead, they exchanged angry nods of respect.

 

Farmer Burns, Frank Gotch, and George Hackenschmidt drew their numbers. Burns expressed concern because it was his very first SAGA event. But after seeing Burns' number, Gotch tapped him on the shoulder and told him he'd be all right.

 

5. Blood Rumble - Winner gets a shot at the World Title at a future event:

 

 

- Sheppard was #1. His ally, Hugo Black, was #2. The two stood in the ring and waited for the next opponent.

- Henry Irslinger was #3. They double-teamed him, but he held them off.

- Volstead was #4. They triple-teamed Irslinger and eliminated him.

- #5 was Jeff King. Again, they triple-teamed and tossed him out.

- #6 was Fritz Von Goering. He held on for a minute but lost the numbers game and was tossed out.

- George Hackenschmidt entered at #7 and cleaned house. He easily tossed all 3 men out.

- #8 was Matt Cross. He and Hackenschmidt shook hands and grappled, with Hack tossing him out.

- #9 was Boris Malenko. He attacked Hack immediately, and the two fought back and forth.

- #10 was Nikita Koloff. He helped Malenko attack Hack and they wore him down.

- #11 was Baron Von Rasche. Before he could enter, Hack eliminated Malenko and Koloff. However, Malenko grabbed his chain, jumped onto the apron, and choked Hack. The Baron threw Hack out, and Malenko and Koloff used their chains to brutalize Hack. Frank gotch ran out and saved his friend, and he led Hack to the locker rooms.

 

- #12 was Jim Londos. Baron attacked him immediately, and the two fought back and forth.

- Ox Baker entered at lucky #13. He helped Baron go after Londos, who did his best to fight back.

- #14 was Frank Gotch, who walked out only once he knew Hack was okay.

- Londos eliminated both Baron and Ox. He and Gotch then exchanged moves for a minute.

- Abdullah entered at #15. He quickly bloodied both Gotch and Londos.

- Tim Curtis entered at #16. Abdullah went right after him and quickly sent him flying.

- Dan Severn entered at #17.

- Abdullah eliminated Gotch after blinding him with an eye rake and clotheslining him over the top rope.

- Severn eliminated Londos with a German suplex over the top rope.

- Greg Valentine entered at #18. After shrugging off Abdullah's attacks, he hoisted the bigger man over the top rope and to the floor.

 

- Bob Roop entered at #19. 

- George Tragos entered at #20.

- Valentine was eliminated by Severn.

- Roop was eliminated by Tragos.

- Dick Hutton entered at #21.

- Nicolas Valentino entered at #22.

- Great Gama entered at #23.

- Severn suplexed Valentino over the top rope.

- Gama used the Gama Throw to toss out Tragos.

- The Crusher entered at # 24. He went right after Gama, and the two went back and forth.

- The Terrible Turk entered at #25. He and Gama fist-bumped and double-teamed Crusher. After a few minutes, Turk helped Gama eliminate Crusher.

 

-Turk tossed Hutton into the third row.

- Cowboy Scott Casey entered at #26.

- Wilbur Snyder entered at #27.

- Stanislaus Zbysko entered at #28.

- The Destroyer entered at #29.

- Martin "Farmer" Burns entered at #30.

 

- Turk sent Casey flying.

- Snyder locked Turk in an abdominal stretch. He then turned it into a waistlock suplex and flipped Turk over the top rope.

 

- Severn reversed a turnbuckle charge and flipped Gama out of the ring.

- Destroyer used a Sensational Suplex to eliminate Severn.

- Burns used the Iowa Backdrop to eliminate Destroyer.

- Zbysko easily tossed out Snyder.

 

-This left Zbysko and Burns. For several minutes, they fought back and forth. Burns then attempted to lock in a half nelson, but Zbysko powered out, grabbed Burns in a hammerlock, and then choke slammed him out of the ring.

 

Winner of the Blood Rumble:  Stanislaus Zbysko (I guess I better get used to writing that name!)