Advice for Casual Broodmother Play

So I got an nice email from my buddy Dane, one of the gamestore players who competed with the online crew to loot the Dungeons of Dundagel.  In it he congratulated me on the publication of Broodmother Skyfortress and made the following request:

If it isn't already in your book, please blog tips to the used-to-game-but-now-have-infants types on how to run your module as a one-off with a scrounged together group of friends. I don't even have a system to run it in. I'm pretty sure I could make due, but if it goes well that scrounged together group might be willing to come back for regular murder-hobo shenanigans.

Although Broodmother was specifically designed to wreck existing campaign worlds, I think it can be made to work as a pick-up for introducing new people to the wild and woolly world of role-playing.  Here are my thoughts on how to make that happen.

1)  You need a system with a light touch.  Although designed with Lamentations of the Flame Princess in mind (a free no-art version of which is available here), there's no reason why you couldn't use any system from super-light options like Searchers of the Unknown to retroclones like Swords & Wizardry or Labyrinth Lord to maybe even D&D 5e.  Here's a reddit thread where using 5e with Broodmother has been discussed.

Dane, in your particular case I'd note that Labyrinth Lord is a retroclone of the 1981 Basic/Expert D&D we used in my Wessex campaign and it served as the mechanical backbone of that Mutant Future campaign we also played.  Of course, you can buy the '81 rules in PDF nowadays (here and here), if you want to go that route.

Mechanically, if you aren't using LotFP the only key modification you'd have to make is to the Armor Classes.  LotFP uses a base 12 ascending AC system.  For other AAC games, simply subtract 2.  For old descending AC convert by subtracting the number in the book from 21.   For example, the loathsome wretches who live under the castle would have old school ACs of 21-12 or AC9.

2) Unless you go with something like Searchers of the Unknown, I strongly recommend you make some pre-gen PCs.  I recommend ripping off cool characters from movies and TV and labeling the charsheets obviously.  For example, make a charismatic thief and write at the top of the sheet "This guy is like Starlord but with a sword."  Also, you'll probably want to make these people higher than 1st level.  The method I would recommend is for each PC roll 3d6 and assign the middle number rolled as the level.  If two or three numbers match, use that.  In future sessions replacement PCs can start out at 0xp.

3) Because dealing with the giants in the adventure requires imaginative thinking more than anything else, I suggest handing out some extra equipment of the sort that requires creative application.  Give each of your pregens something from the Deck O' Stuff and maybe even a random magic item.  If you do the latter, do NOT hand out magic swords or armor or zappy wands.  A potion or a scroll with a couple of spells or a weird miscellaneous item with dubious application is a far better idea.

4) Give the PCs a mission.  Killing all the giants should not be their task.  Surviving the cloud island and retrieving the macguffin works much better.  Give them a crappy wizard patron--call him Merdalf or Ganlin or Jerkminster if you like--who needs the party to retrieve a hunk of the Rod of Seven Parts or one fragment of the Key to Time or some dang thing.  That way if the campaign launches you have an overarching plot in place.  Nerdenkainen can even supply the method of getting onto the cloud (I suggest catapults), and you can just start the adventure somewhere on the outdoor map.

5) For what might potentially be a one-shot adventure and nothing more, you can ignore the angle where the giants are wrecking up the campaign world.  But I recommend you invent a couple of place names that they've already wrecked and mention them in your introduction to the adventure.  Steal some recognizable places from the Lord of the Rings flicks and/or Skyrim and/or Game of Thrones and barely re-skin them.  For example, change Rivendell to Elfindale.  If the campaign launches, make sure you roll out an adventure or two that addresses facts like the Last Elven House has been destroyed, the Great Elf Lord is dead and his people are now refugees.

6) Don't be afraid to kill the entire damn party.  In fact, make twice as many pregens as you think you'll need.  If the players can't take being murdered by hideous shark-elephant people in the spirit of fun in which it is intended, then their dispositions maybe aren't suited to play D&D.

Just Out of Reach

I was only briefly into computer RPGs for a few years in the 80's and 90's, but I learned some lessons about exploring virtual environments that are transferable to the tabletop.  Today I'm going to talk about one such lesson that I haven't yet fully incorporated into my DMing but that, decades later, still seems super important to me.

Back in the 80's the games I played featured two basic approaches to depicting the game world on screen.  The first is the approach employed by stalwarts such as Wizardry, The Bard's Tale, and Might & Magic.  The idea was a straightforward first person perspective, which ended up looking something like this:

I believe this is someone emulating M&M I in DOSBox.

This approach is brilliant in showing the cramped, claustrophobic conditions of many dungeon mazes.  And it easily calls attention to features such as the locked gate in the shot above.  The same deal also works for depicting crowded cities.  Good stuff.

However, this approach does not cut the mustard when one embarks on wilderness adventures.  Behold the majesty of a vast pine forest from the same game (or maybe a sequel, I dunno):

I find it a tad underwhelming.  At no point in such games can your character gaze out into the vast unknown and consider what dangers and wonders might lurk in the distance.  For that, you need the other approach, the overhead view used in games like Wizard's Crown, The Magic Candle, and the Ultima series.  Dig this screenshot:

Apparently the player has taken a moongate (portal thingy) to the island of Skara Brae.  Without a ship, he can only visit the town just to the north of him.  The other islands to the northwest and the shore to the southwest remain visible but tantalizingly unavailable.  Later, perhaps much later, the player will have to return onboard a ship to find out if anything worthwhile is to be found on those other islands.

Here's a similar situation.  The player can see the entrance to a dungeon just two squares southeast of their position, but they can't actually get to it.  The intervening mountains are impassable from all directions.  The player will have to use a ship to get there.  (Black squares appear on the map because those mountains are blocking line of sight.)

Also, I should note that both of these screenshots show the larger waves of the ocean towards the southwest.  Your character here is standing on a coast, peering out towards the horizon, the open sea calling to them.  How awesome is that?

Ultima uses first person perspective for most of the time you spend in dungeons:

The early versions of Ultima dungeons are crude, but they get the job done.  Especially in Ultima III and Ultima IV, where the dungeon soundtracks are hella creepy.

There are some rooms that are depicted in the overhead mode more typical of the wilderness and town areas of the game.  They don't provide the same sense of wide-open spaces, but it does allow for cute tricks like this:

There's no legit reason I can see why the party should be able to view that ladder down.  Those are impassable stone walls in between.  But you can see it.  And you need to go down.  So this screen drives you mad, at least until you figure out the way to open the secret door or whatever.

Or look at this one:

That blue and white stuff in the middle of the screen is 3 squares of lightning-based Energy Field, which in Ultima IV is completely impassable.  If you reach this point and can't cast Dispel, you're just plain outta luck.  Maybe you can get to those bottom three wizards and their treasure from another direction, or maybe you absolutely need to leave the dungeon, get the components to cast Dispel, and come back to this point just to continue your quest.  I can't remember.  Either way, the architecture of the dungeon itself is taunting you.

So what's the lesson here?

If you've ever had kids or spent time with little ones, you've probably encountered a scenario where the wee tot falls in love with some seemingly random object: a set of keys, the TV remote, a big wooden spoon, whatever.  If you try to take it away they flip out, even though it has no real use for them.  They see the thing, they want the thing.  A good deal of roleplaying adventure builds on primal impulses that simple.  Figure out ways to show the PCs something they can't immediately access and many of them will covet it in their hearts.  Make them come back with the right equipment, or find another way to the macguffin.  The basic principal here is dead simple: the delays experienced in reaching the thing that could be seen but not touched make the moment of achievement that much sweeter.

Over the years I've encountered numerous obstacles that allow something inaccessible to be viewed: 

• open chasms
• rushing water
• lava
• forcefields
• glassteel
• changes in elevations
• overpowerful guardians like golems or summoned entities
• bars or gates
• stuck/locked doors with windows

But don't forget the big difference between the use of this trick in the Ultima games versus it happening at your table: in Ultima there was usually one correct way to solve these problems.  The other methods failed or the interface wouldn't even allow them to be attempted.  Tabletop games shouldn't emulate this trait of CRPGs.  Otherwise, why have a DM?

Say you place something shiny just on the other side of a bottomless chasm.  You want them to find the long way around to the bridge and back over to the shiny thing.  But you forgot the party thief has a potion of gaseous form or some other cheap trick to get across.  Guess what?  Players are allowed to short circuit your little schemes.  If being thwarted like that is painful, you may not be in the proper mood for impartial refereeing.

Besides, the thief doesn't always consider how they are going to get back across after grabbing the shiny thing.  That, my friends, is comedy gold.

ADDENDUM: Check out Gabor Lux's follow-up

more Broodmother hype

Last I talked to James Raggi the print version of Broodmother Skyfortress was selling at a brisk pace and PDF sales have been sufficient that it's now #2 on the Hottest Titles list there, with Blood in the Chocolate at #3.  (Number one is one of those charity bundle deals where you get a bunch of stuff cheap and get to feel good about where the money goes.)  Thanks so much to everyone who has bought the book so far, including all the folks who had enough faith in me to back the project when it was just an idea I had.

If you are still on the fence about buying it, a few new reviews appeared:

Review by Bryce of tenfootpole.org

Review by Tenkar

And some fellow named Sean P. gives it 5 stars on DriveThruRPG.

While I've got your attention for the moment I'd just like to say holy crap, Ian Maclean's art, Alex Mayo's layout and Jez Gordon's maps really make my dumb ideas look great!  (Well, except for page 5.  Why did I let Raggi talk me into that?)

Anyway, if you're a fan of the ol' Gameblog here, please consider buying either the print+PDF edition or the PDF.

Broodmother updates

You can now buy my stupid adventure!

Print + PDF from the Lamentations store

I got a message from James today: his stock of books are selling fast.

PDF from DriveThru

The hard copies from LotFP will be shipped from Finland.  If you are willing to wait, copies should appear through normal distribution channels (retailers, Noble Knight, etc.) in January or February.

Kiel's adventure is available as well, here and here.

Also, here are two reviews for Broodmother: Tzi José Luiz (the Lonely GM) and Corey Ryan Walden of The Fiendish Almanack

A plurality of platinum and chromatic dragons

In my previous post I mentioned in passing that Uncle Gary's prototype alignment chart from Strategic Review #6 mentions Platinum Dragons, plural.  It also mentions the existence of more than one Chromatic Dragon.  I've not seen stats for non-unique dragons of these varieties, so I thought I'd do them up 1st edition Monster Manual style.

Chromatic Dragon
FREQUENCY: Very rare

source: dragoncityguide.net/how-to-breed-two-headed/

NO. APPEARING: 1-4
ARMOR CLASS: 0
MOVE: 6"/18"
HIT DICE: 14-16
% IN LAIR: 90%
TREASURE TYPE: H, S, T, U
NO. OF ATTACKS: 3-6
DAMAGE/ATTACK: 1-6 plus see below
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Breath weapons, poison and magic use
SPECIAL DEFENSES: Nil
MAGIC RESISTANCE: Standard
INTELLIGENCE: Genius
ALIGNMENT: Lawful evil
SIZE: L (80' long)
PSIONIC ABILITY: Nil
     Attack/Defense Modes: Nil
CHANCE OF:
     Speaking: 100%
     Magic-Use: 100%
     Sleeping: 10%

This wicked race of dragons haunt the most dismal of underground caverns, as well as residing on the first layer of the Seven Hells and adjacent planes.  Each chromatic dragon encountered will possess 2-5 heads, each of a different randomly determined color:

1.  White - bite 2-16
2.  Black - bite 3-18
3.  Green - bite 2-20
4.  Blue - bite 3-24
5.  Red -  bite 3-30
6. roll again.

Each head will possess 2 hit points for each age category of the dragon when targeted separately and each head will be capable of a single breath attack of appropriate type per day.  Additionally, chromatic dragon tails end in envenomed stingers inflicting 1-6 points of damage in a single attack and requiring a saving throw versus poison to avoid instant death.

Chromatic dragons possess 2 spells per head of increasing level.  E.g. a three-headed chromatic dragon will feature a head with 2 first level spells, a head with 2 second level spells, and a head with 2 third level spells.  Heads operate independently; a chromatic dragon can bite, breathe, and cast in the same round (providing it employs three separate heads to do so!).

Chromatic dragons interact freely with white, black, green, blue, and red dragons.

Mutants: 1 in 6 chromatic dragons encountered singly will be a mutant possessing a single head of metallic variety (dice for type).  These strange creatures are Neutral with respect to alignment and live as outcasts from all other members of dragonkind.

Platinum Dragon
FREQUENCY: Very rare

source: dragoncityguide.net/how-to-breed-platinum/

NO. APPEARING: 1-4
ARMOR CLASS: -3
MOVE: 9"/20"
HIT DICE: 19-21
% IN LAIR: 75%
TREASURE TYPE: H, I, R, S, T, V
NO. OF ATTACKS:  3
DAMAGE/ATTACK: 2-12/2-12/6-48
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Breath weapons + magic use
SPECIAL DEFENSES: Nil
MAGIC RESISTANCE: Standard
INTELLIGENCE: Supra genius
ALIGNMENT: Chaotic good
SIZE: L (72' long)
PSIONIC ABILITY: Nil
     Attack/Defense Modes: Nil
CHANCE OF:
     Speaking: 100%
     Magic-Use: 100%
     Sleeping: 5%

This most powerful species of metallic dragon seldom resides in normal terrestrial environs, preferring lairs in such exotic locales as behind winds, on clouds, or in the hollowed-out core of small planetoids.  All platinum dragons can freely traverse the ethereal and astral planes, while those of adult age category or older are able to assume human form at will.

Platinum dragons have three different breath weapons, each of which can be employed twice a day for six daily breath attacks in total.  One such breath attack is a cone of cold, 8" long and 3" at its widest.  Another is a cloud of vapor, 6" long, 4" wide and 3" deep, that forces any who fail their save to assume gaseous form for 12 full turns.  The final breath weapon is a cone (also 8" x 3") of sonic vibration; all those in the cone who possess hit points equal to or less than the dragon must save or suffer disintegration.  All saves versus platinum dragon breath are thrown with a -3 penalty.

For their first seven age categories platinum dragons gain access to 2 magic-user spells and one cleric spells of the commensurate level (e.g. a sub-adult would possess knowledge of 9 spells in total: 2 first level M-U spells, 2 second level M-U spells, 2 third level M-U spells, and a single cleric spell of levels 1-3).  Ancient platinum dragons can cast no additional spells per day, but may select their magic-user spells from any in the Players Handbook.

Platinum dragons enjoy friendly relations with gold dragons but remain aloof from the affairs of lesser metallic dragons.  While in human form they enjoy traffic with members of human and demi-human kind, providing their true nature is not revealed.

Do the alignment shuffle

"The Meaning of Law and Chaos in Dungeons & Dragons And Their Relationships to Good and Evil" first appeared in issue #6 of The Strategic Review, the predecessor to Dragon magazine, but I first encountered it in the first Best of Dragon.

This essay is part of Uncle Gary's efforts to formulate alignment as a key component to his unique cosmic vision for the game.  Personally, I'm not that into the Gygaxian system of Outer Planes.  And I've never taken alignment that seriously in my games as anything other than 1) a simple system for knowing whether the PCs can trust an NPC or monster and 2) a way of indicating which side someone would fight on when Ragnarok happens. 

But I find this chart from "The Meaning of Law and Chaos" to be a fascinating artifact from a transitional stage in Gygax's theory.  You can see Gygax moving from the intermediary five-fold system to his final nine-fold alignment plan right here in this chart.  But that's not what I find interesting today.  

What's intriguing here is the monsters that are in the wrong places.  With Good at the top of the chart, Evil at the bottom, Law to the left and Chaos to the right, some monsters appear in a different spot than one would expect from the alignment listed in their entry in the original Monster Manual.  To make it more obvious how the nine-fold system maps onto this diagram, I've added red lines subdividing it into 9 boxes.  

Under this scheme, the upper left box is Lawful Good and the bottom right box is Chaotic Evil.  Here's a comprehensive list of monsters whose position on this chart is at variance with the official listing in the MM.

Some Silver Dragons might be Neutral Good instead of Lawful Good
Some Hobbits/halflings might be Lawful Neutral instead of Lawful Good
Pegasi are Neutral Good instead of CG
Gnomes are definitely Neutral Good instead of "neutral to lawful good"
Bronze Dragons are Neutral Good instead of LG
Platinum Dragons (plural!) are Chaotic Good instead of LG
Sprites are Chaotic Good instead of N(G)
Rocs are Neutral Good instead of Neutral (smart enough to have a non-neutral alignment?)
Ents (treants) are Lawful Neutral instead of CG
Unicorns are also Lawful Neutral instead of CG
Dwarves are Lawful Neutral instead of LG
Mummies are Lawful Neutral not LE
Ogre Magi are Lawful Neutral not LE
Kobolds can be Lawful Neutral not LE

Werewolves are Lawful Neutral not Chaotic Evil (!)

Liches are Lawful Neutral or True Neutral (!!)

Centaurs are all True Neutral rather than neutral to chaotic good

Djinni are Chaotic Neutral or True Neutral, rather than Chaotic Good

White Dragons are Neutral rather than Chaotic Evil 

Assassins are True Neutral to Neutral Evil, rather than any evil alignment

Copper Dragons are Chaotic Neutral rather than CG

Hippogriffs are Chaotic Neutral rather than True Neutral

Brass Dragons are Chaotic Neutral rather than CG with N tendecies

Weretigers are Chaotic Neutral rather than N

Wyverns are Chaotic Neutral rather than neutral (evil)

Efreeti are Chaotic Neutral rather than neutral with LE tendencies

Gnolls are Lawful Evil rather than CE

Minotaurs are Lawful Evil rather than CE
Vampires are Lawful Evil rather than CE
Black Dragons are Neutral Evil rather than CE
Ogres are Neutral Evil rather than CE
Wererats are Neutral Evil rather than LE
Beholders are Neutral Evil rather than LE
Orcs are Chaotic Evil rather than LE
Green Dragons are Chaotic Evil rather than LE
Blue Dragons are Chaotic Evil rather than LE
Giants (no subtypes specified) are all over the map.  They can be any Good, True Neutral, or Chaotic Evil.

Some of the implications here are rather minor.  Making orcs chaotic evil doesn't change much, for instance.  But a few items above are pretty darn interesting, particular in the LN and CN sections.  Unicorns and treants as Lawful Neutrals certainly cast the fairy woods in a different light.  Perhaps LN mummies, ogre mages, werewolves, and kobolds are misunderstood by common folk.  Meanwhile gnolls, minotaurs, and vampires punch the clock at Lawful Evil, Incorporated.  And neutral assassins suggest that paid murder can just be a regular job.  Neutral Liches!

The lesson I take aware here is that a simple alignment change can lead one to reconsider the place a creature has in your campaign world.

I did a bad thing.