A Life Full of Adventure

One thing I'm noticing as I re-read the Doomstones campaign is that it is much more D&D set in the WarHammer world than recent products. What I mean by that is there are quite a few magical items and there is very little mind-bending chaos. Sure, there is a whole region that the PCs travel through that is chaos-ridden, but it's mostly just backdrop. There really isn't the in-your-face, PCs vs chaos fighting for the very survival of the human race. It's mostly 'go to this location, explore, fight, find this item, go to another location' kind of adventure. It's the kind of thing I would have written, coming from D&D to WarHammer like I did. That's probably why I liked it so much back in the day. For convention play, I might have to tweak a few things to give players a real feel for the chaos of the Old World.

PC:  These bracers are found, far from the rest of the armor they belonged with. They are dark red and in good condition. Alternately, there may be a small spike in the center of the bracers, if the GM desires. Relatively weak-looking black straps hold them on. When donning the bracers, the character immediately feels stronger, almost indomitable.   Their clothing/armor may fits tighter and is definitely lighter. It is a good feeling, leaving the wearer with no desire to take the bracers off...possibly ever. GM:  These are Bracers of Daemon Strength. They increase the strength of the character wearing them by +2, up to a max of 9 S. Immediately after the character is used to the bracers and has fallen in love with them (so to speak), the chaos effect will kick in. Roll on the Warrior of Chaos Mutation table (WFRP pg 230). This mutation will slowly begin. The character will also begin to act in a way which represents one of the chaos gods. Choose one that fi...

In one of the last episodes of the GI Joe cartoon I watched, Destro had hidden his base of operations in an old Mayan ruin. Outside was an ancient stepped pyramid, while inside was a factory for weapons of mass destruction. I really like the idea of setting up shop inside ancient ruins. You'd think that good guys would be less likely to destroy the place trying to get at the enemy. The bad guy, however, has no such compunction. In order for this part to work, I'd actually have to have the fight effect the scenery. I suppose this happens more in games with guns than it does in fantasy setting games...except fireballs! There can also be old magic around for druids or wizards to tap into. Maybe they get a bonus to spells at the location?

(I'm going to change the sitting number from the number of the sitting's I've played to the actual number of sitting's the GM has run for this campaign. How's that for shedding egocentrism? ) Thursday night we played out sixth sitting of our biweekly WarHammer game. It was all action. We had a new player, which we didn't interact with until the end of a 3 hour sitting. He was, however, part of the initiative rotation and doing things the whole time. My PC Mordrin Skorkinson, Troll Slayer. All I really know about him is his name, his weapon, and his job. However, as far as I can tell, his job finished when we reached the gate of the city last night. From there I just had to wing it. He now wields a shiny sword taken from a slain hobgoblin. His previous weapon, an orc Choppa, is held in his left hand for lack of anywhere else to store it. His only other "possession" is the section of a tent he has wrapped around his middle as a kilt. My compan...

WarHammer Fantasy Roleplay slayers are dwarves who have been disgraced and seek death by the most violent means possible. They are constantly looking for a big, bad opponent that is worthy of bringing the dwarf their "mighty doom." In that regard, it seems silly to have them running from a scary opponent. This point, and my research of this point, let to this side-by-side comparison of first edition vs second edition. First edition: The dwarf starts with a Cool of 2d10+40, so anywhere between 42 and 60. That already means he's keeping his cool and not running away during Fear and Terror tests 42-60% of the time. The Troll Slayer (beginning career) has an advance scheme of +20 for Cool. Now the Slayer is not running away 62-80% of the time. That's much better. Second edition The dwarf starts with a Willpower of 20+2d10. (Keep in mind that WP replaces Cl in 2e). That means he's only keeping his cool 22-40% of the time. Now give the dwarf Stout Hearted, and that bum...

I was thinking about breaking down  Pie Week  for the blog here.  I got just enough interest in it from here and from Google+ that I decided to go for it. Day 2: Morning: Most people will probably sleep in a bit, followed by the awakening of those who need to get ready for a busy day. Vendors will set up around the archery site and the arena, mostly selling food, but also other local trinkets. Archery events commence again around 1 in the afternoon in a field. Everyone has the morning to themselves. Event 1: Archery - The Wild Boar Shot:  A life-sized wild boar target will be partially obscured by high grass. The archer has to shoot from behind a tree at long range. Six sharp arrows are allowed.  Points: Body - 3, Head - 2, anywhere else - 1 Event 2: Archery - The Distance Shoot:  This was a distance shot at a human-sized target different colors. The target was across a stream at long range. Six sharp arrows are allowed. Points: Gold (head ...

The question was asked, "Do you feel that "character advancement" is necessary for an RPG that is intended for campaign play. Or do you think that people are capable of coming up with their own goals?" I think the most important part of an RPG was mentioned in the very last part of the question: goals. The player, even more so than the character, needs goals.  In an adventure, the goal is usually stated outright or given to you in a way that it's rather obvious. We like to call them "plot hooks."  In a one-shot or a convention game, the goal is often listed so the player can see what it is before they even sign up. In a sandbox game, you often see multiple plot hooks thrown out until the party bites onto one. Either way, the party has an idea of what the goals are for the game.  There can be a couple different types of campaigns, too. There is one where the goal is obvious and stretches across multiple sessions. This campaign is almost just a lo...