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Celaena Sardothien

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FGT 8/RGR 5
Overall Level 13
Lawful Good Human, HP: 87
XP Total: 102,000
TNL: 12,000

Str: 17/35(+2)
Dex: 16/45 (+2)
Con: 16/90 (+2)
Int: 13/20 (+1)
Wis: 13/90 (+1)
Cha: 11/25 (+0)

Special Abilities:
Fighter Party Boon
Fighter Personal Boon
Movement 40 ft dungeon
Movement 50 ft outdoors
Ranger Party Boon
Ranger Personal Boon
Favored Enemy #1: Drow
Favored Enemy #2: Illithids (mind-flayers)
Favored Terrain #1: Forests
Favored Terain #2: Subterranean

Traits:
Longbow Expert +3
Monster Slayer +3
Tough-Minded +3
Ruins Explorer +3
Arms Merchant +3
Animal Empathy +3

Saving Throws:
Death/Poison: 12 {10}
Paralysis/Petrify: 13 {11}
Spells/Rods/Staves: 15 {13}
Wands: 13 {11}
Breath: 15 {13}

Armor Class:
Undressed & prone 10
Undressed 09
Harnessed -1 (+2 mithril shirt/cloak)
Harnessed but Flat-Footed 0
Touch 6

Spells: none

Lv/Class-Based Attack Bonus: +13
Equivalent Base THAC0: 7
+2 Two-Handed Sword 1d10/3d6 vs large (m.THAC0: 03)
+1 Longbow 1d10 (m.THAC0 04)

+2 Two-Handed Sword:
   vs mundane foes 1d10+4+situational
   vs Large+ monsters 3d6+4+situational
   vs drow 1d10+16
   vs mind-flayers 1d10+19

+1 Longbow:
1d10+3+situational+situational
1d10+18 vs Drow
1d10+21 vs mind-flayers

+1 Obsidian Spider-Banes
vs mundane foe m.THAC0 4 (1d6+3)
vs spiders & kin treat spider AC as 9 (3d6+3)

Heroic Deeds:
   Known: 19
   Daily Risk Dice: 10

  1. Aim Carefully
  2. Blitz
  3. Brace
  4. Cleave
  5. Deft Blade
  6. Eagle Eye
  7. Hunter's Mark
  8. Improved Ambuscade
  9. Improved Cleave
  10. Indomitable Defense
  11. Primary Foe
  12. Show Your Specialization
  13. Skin of Your Teeth
  14. Stinging Second Attack
  15. Soul of the Warrior
  16. Staggering Strike
  17. Unbreakable
  18. Unusual Prowess
  19. Vicious Focus

Equipment:
2-hander has 7 uses of basilisk venom +2 blue cloak of protection (can change colors) black hydra scabbard
+1 boot knife (1d4+3)
Lesser Belt of Charisma (raises CHA 2 pts) bag of pocket dimension
a dozen arrows dealing +1d6 fire
daggers (pair, mundane)
ethanol (1 pt., 40-proof)
inflammable oil x 5
lenses of infravision
+2 mithril shirt
potion of extra-healing x 4
potion of invisibility x 1
+3 two-handed sword
longsword +2 (+4 vs halflings)
+1 longbow
+1 spider-banes (mated)

Contacts:
Dwargon
Vrakthis
Order of the Gauntlet

Phandelver Tabletop Campaign Character Sheets

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Phandelver Tabletop Campaign Character Sheets

Character Lev 9 HP Lev 10 HP Lev 11 HP Lev 13 HP
Celaena 63 69 75 87
Feyre 34 39 44 50
Lanky 41 44 47 53
Whiteheart 52 57 62 85
Character Lev 5 HP Lev 6 HP Lev 7 HP Lev 8 HP
Celaena 34 39 44 57
Feyre 20 23 26 29
Lanky 21 24 27 38
Whiteheart 27 31 35 47

Calculating experience values in Scarlet Horizons

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Update: I’ve converted the XP advancement system so that it’s not fractionally based.

Of course, treasure XP may still be fractional since 1 spent gp translates to 1 XP.


If I recall correctly, a day or two ago, I began spit-balling a way to determine fractional experience values for defeated monsters in Scarlet Horizons.

Here, I refine my thinking a bit more:

0.001 (per Hit Die) If AC < 7 add 0.00010 If AC < 4 add 0.00015 If AC < 1 add 0.0002 Special ability (attack or defense) add 0.0003 per ability/quality

I've attempted to apply this to aboleth spawn.

Heroic deeds, spells, and experience

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Steady progress is being made in developing the Scarlet Horizons setting and rules. I'm up to thirty-eight Heroic Deeds and five spells. I have sixteen character classes — four of them core classes, the others subclasses of one of the core classes.

Eleven character classes are at least marginally complete, and five others need my attention. In the rules I'm creating, I'm incentivizing multi-classing in a number of ways, and in some limited ways creating a disincentive: what long-term player wouldn't eventually want his PC to take 20+ levels in the Fighter core class, given the bonus hit point those levels offer?

It's now been three days since I did any work on furthering the escapades of Matthias d'Slaytonthorpe — scholar-mage and his cleric-mystic fellow Seeker — Aurioch 'Aury' d'Rosenberg.

It's all well and good to develop the Scarlet Horizons setting and rules, but I don't want to miss out on the actual game play. Our heroes have, after all, only recently survived an ambush by froglings in the bog southwest of Helix, near The Blackened Forest.

I'm going to have to figure out a way to convert defeated monsters and treasure into Experience. Matthias and Aury need a total of 2.0 Exp to attain 2nd level. Let's consider possible ways to translate defeated monsters into Exp.

Warning: spit-balling section below:

As a starting point, let's say that for each HD that a defeated monster possessed, we'll assign a starting fraction of 0.001; if the monster had any special resistances, we'd add 0.00025. And perhaps for each attack per round beyond one, we add 0.001.

If the monster was particularly weak or mediocre, subtract 0.00025.

Armor class below 7? Add 0.00010; below 4? Add another 0.00010. Below 1? Add 0.00015.

What does this give us in composite for a single frogling?

0.001 (per Hit Die)
subtract 0.00025 (weak vs robust creature HP/saves)
AC 6 (add 0.00010)
Special ability 'Jump' (add 0.00015)
Attacked as part of a group (add 0.00015)
PC(s) harmed by monster or compatriots at least once (add 0.00015)

This yields 0.0013. Multiplied times ten froglings: 0.013.

End spit-balling section

I did land on Fractional Experience values for defeated froglings.

Monday, November 27, 2023

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This evening, I worked on my Scarlet Horizons combination game setting/system. I added the Cleric core class, and I'm fairly happy with it. I'm also mostly finished with the writeup for the core Thief class.

Earlier this afternoon I was able to add several Heroic Deeds to a growing list.

Work was okay. I covered a 4 pm group. No major stressors.

I continue working to move old blog posts to my new domain: bryanmiller.us.

Squiffy game

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I'd estimate I'm probably halfway through the development of Glaive Seeker, a play-in-your-browser game I'm authoring with Squiffy for the player in my Earth Apotheosis game on r.rpol.net.

I've not been impressed with the robustness with which Squiffy handles variables. Twine seems more robust in that regard. In fairness, though, I just wrote a very brief example source file, and variable incrementing worked as expected. So perhaps I have syntax errors in the game I'm writing. I'm not experienced using Squiffy, after all.

I'm thinking that Twine is a more mature tool, certainly in terms of its age. However, in doing some reading about the new v3.01 Harlowe story format, it seems far more complicated than what I want to fool with or need. At the time of this writing, I'm thinking future games or tutorials might best be fit by the SugarCube2 format for Twine.

Incidentally, the nodes screenshot above was taken from a layout created using Twine. That's right, I'm using Twine to help visualize the flow of my Squiffy story.

I shared the above screenshot with my player on 9/16/2019 (note that this assertion conflicts with the date shown above this post's title; that's because Flatpress uses UTC time) in msg 120 of a private message thread and will be interested in the player's reaction.

Tekumel

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I've discovered Tekumel via The Petal Hack. The latter is around 68 pages in length. So far, I'm liking what I'm reading. As noted in previous posts, I'm looking for a system that feels right for solo playing.

Winsome - an Ironsworn derivative

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# Winsome (screen-readable)

A simplified hack of Shawn Tomkin's Ironsworn RPG.

Overview

This is an attempt to free Ironsworn from setting & complexity by thinning it from 34 moves to just 2, removing conditions, & replacing ticks with boxes, among other refinements. The genuine, ardent spirit of the game is the same, the mechanics essentially identical, but for fewer gears & a fresh coat of names. I nearly called it "Tinsworn".

Create your Character

Envision your character's role in the world, then write their name & title on your sheet, like "Anika, Huntress of the Briar", or "Tenzar, Space Marine of the Chaosphere".

Methods

Assign the numbers 3, 2, 2, 1 & 1 to these methods of interacting with the world. The higher the number, the better your character usually is at that method.

  • Agile: When you are quick, precise or nimble
  • Open: When you are honest, honourable or trusting
  • Forceful: When you are strong, imposing or brutal
  • Sneaky: When you are silent, secretive or deceptive
  • Aware: When you are wise, learned or alert

Resources

  • Luck (how fate can turn) starts at 2, its maximum is 10.
  • Wealth (the things you own) starts at its maximum of 5,
  • Happiness (how good you feel) starts at its maximum of 5,
  • Health (how much you thrive) starts at its maximum of 5.

When you need to lose a resource, but have none left, reduce one of the resources below it. When you have lost all of either health or happiness, you are either too sad, or too dead, to continue.

Promises

Your story begins with two promises: the first promise is Tough or Impressive, made to yourself. The second is Tricky or Difficult, made to someone else. Envision the moment you made the second promise, & play from there.

Risk

When you take an action which involves a risk of failure, envision your chosen method, as well as the outcomes you hope & fear.

Roll 1d6 for your chance, adding your method to the result. If the skills inferred by your titles apply to this action, also add +1 per relevant title.

Roll 2d10 to see your fates. If your chance exceeds at least one of the fates, your action succeeds & your hope manifests. Each time a fate wins, some of your fears manifest.

Add +1 to a relevant resource (or luck) for each time your chance exceeds a fate, then Resolve the outcome & lose -1 for anytime your chance was matched or beaten by a fate. When only one fate is beaten by chance, you needn't negate your success in the story, just complicate it somehow.

If your luck is higher than one or both fates, you may choose to erase it all to beat one or both fates, respectively. Reset it to your starting value, add any new luck you gain, & enjoy the upgraded outcome of your action!

Resolve

If both fates were beaten by chance, envision a positive outcome. If only one fate was beaten, complicate your success. If neither fate was beaten, envision a negative outcome. If you can envision an obvious outcome, that is probably what happens. If you need ideas/surprises, either use the first table to answer a binary question, or the second table for random inspiration. Either way, adjust the relevant resources according to either the nature of your Risk, or the theme of the outcome.

Choose Likelihood Roll 1d6
Probable 2+
Likely 3+
Possible 4+
Unlikely 5+
Improbable 6
Roll 1d10 Theme
1 Trust
2 Safety
3 Unity
4 Wealth
5 Surprise
6 Scale
7 Duration
8 Complexity
9 Happiness
10 Health

Progress

Any task/journey/battle or promise which can't be resolved in a single action requires progress on a track of ten spaces. Find an empty track on the back of this sheet (or draw your own), name the task, then envision the difficulty:

  • Tricky (1XP): Mark 4 progress per success.
  • Difficult (2XP): Mark 3 progress per success.
  • Tough (3XP): Mark 2 progress per success.
  • Impressive (4XP): Mark 1 progress per success.

When you complete a track, gain the related XP. When your XP track is full, you can erase it all to add another title based on your greatest achievement during that time.

Imagine your World

Describe the places you explore, as well as who & what you discover or encounter on your hero's journey. Envision your fluctuating resources as actual gains or losses to your equipment, your state of mind & being. Make promises, to yourself & others, then set out to achieve them. If you're playing alongside friends as allies, everyone shares one wealth value, & everyone gets XP when completing collaborative promises.

Friendship

When you form a valuable friendship, it influences you even when they are absent or deceased, mark 1 progress. When this track is full, you have too many valuable memories to risk further adventures. It's time for a new story.

This work is based on Ironsworn (found at www.ironswornrpg.com), created by Shawn Tomkin, & licensed for our use under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The same license applies to Winsome itself.

Still interested in solo gaming

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If you haven't read Part I (I confess, that domain is no more) of this, feel free to peruse it before returning here.

I mentioned previously that I've been reading Scarlet Heroes. This is a well-done Kickstarted project. The setting, in particular, is fleshed-out quite nicely, and gives an interesting Tolkienesque twist to the origin of elves -- or perhaps not so much their origins as their mortality and afterlife. As with many other rules systems I've read, I'm perusing this work to cherry-pick mechanics and kewl concepts.

With regard to my aspirations to start a solo game, I'm still leaning toward Brandon McFadden's Tiny D6 for a very simple combat mechanic. I like that there aren't modifiers to rolls that must be remembered. Combat using TD is simple: you get two actions, so you can move/attack, attack/attack, or move/move.

Be aware, as you continue reading, that some of what I write below constitutes deviations from Tiny D6 rules. In fact, I go more than a little far afield of the TD6 RAW. Hopefully, my infatuation with my own spin on this rules set won’t fall victim to Wandering Eyes.

If you wear light armor in combat but do not have the Light Armor Proficiency trait, then when you are struck in combat, make a Test with Disadvantage. If you succeed, the light armor absorbs 1 point of the damage. If, instead, you do possess the Light Armor Proficiency trait, make a standard Test (i.e., 2d6) and the armor absorbs 1 point of damage if your Test succeeds.

You may not purchase the Heavy Armor Proficiency trait unless you already have the Light Armor Proficiency trait. If you wear heavy armor during combat without the Heavy Armor Proficiency trait, every test you make during that combat is at Disadvantage and the armor absorbs 2 points of damage on a successful Test. If you have the Heavy Armor Proficiency trait and are struck in combat, a successful Test on 2d6 negates two points of damage.

I'm not a fan of TD's rule that heavy weapons all have a ten-foot reach. I would agree that some do (polearms, for instance, or a long spear). I would tweak the rules to say that attacking with a heavy weapon requires both your actions for a given combat round -- therefore you can't make two attacks in a round with a Heavy weapon.

Heavy weapons deal two damage on a successful hit, 3 points if all dice turn up '6'. Note: 3 points of damage isn't possible if your melee attack with a Heavy weapon is made at Disadvantage. If you use a Heavy weapon in combat without possessing the Heavy Weapon Proficiency [Weapon Type] trait, all tests are made with Disadvantage.

Heavy weapons require both hands to wield, so you can't use a shield with them. You start play with a Light Weapon Proficiency [weapon-type] trait, and one other trait of your choosing. You can only attain the Proficiency trait with a particular type of heavy weapon after attaining the Proficiency trait with its Light weapon counterpart. If you have Light Weapon Proficiency [Swords], then you may purchase Heavy Weapon Proficiency [Swords].

For the sake of simplicity in a solo-RPG situation, I would simply rule that, when using ranged weapons (bows, javelins), any target you can see is within range, and I would therefore eschew range penalties.

I really like the core dice mechanic in TD: roll 2d6. If either die comes up a '5' or '6', your Test succeeds. Disadvantage means you use a single d6, while Advantage means you use 3d6.

Shield use: when you use a shield in combat but do not have the Shield Bearer trait, you may Test 1d6 when hit in combat and if that test succeeds you may negate that attack; the advantage of using a shield -- even without the Shield Bearer trait -- is this chance that you avoid damage, without having to sacrifice one of your two combat round actions.

When using a shield with the Shield Bearer trait, you may Test 2d6 when hit in combat and if that test succeeds you may negate that attack.

Light armor: use is highly recommended to be paired with the Light Armor Proficiency trait. If you possess that trait, wearing light armor permits use of Evade; otherwise, it doesn't. If you wear Light Armor without the Light Armor Proficiency trait, checks for damage reduction via the armor are made with Disadvantage. Otherwise, when hit, make a standard 2d6 test to shrug off 1 point of damage — assuming you’ve not already avoided damage via Evade or Goblin Agility. Note: it is possible (with good die rolls) to ward off 1 point of damage with a shield, and another point via light armor.

Heavy Armor: Requires Heavy Armor proficiency. Does not permit use of Evade. When hit, make a standard 2d6 test to shrug off up to 2 points of damage. You cannot gain Heavy Armor proficiency without first becoming proficient in Light Armor. Wearing Heavy armor without the associated proficiency trait forces all rolls made in combat to have Disadvantage. Furthermore, even with the appropriate proficiency trait, wearing Heavy Armor causes Disadvantage on any Athletics/Acrobatics type checks. Note: it is possible (with good die rolls) to ward off 1 point of damage with a shield, and two more points via heavy armor.

When you use the special action Focus or Evade, it uses up one of your two actions for the round. Therefore, when using one or both of the above special actions, you cannot attack with a heavy weapon that turn.

Over the weekend, I've read Dirk Stanley's Mere Anarchy. Nice job, Dirk! Atmospheric and approachable. I especially like the tables for fleshing out dungeons, and could possibly incorporate them into a C# companion app for soloing.

Reading lots of gaming related works

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I'm reading the Desolation RPG pdf. I'm liking what I'm reading. This roleplaying game system uses a dice pool mechanic and, thus far, the system appeals to me. I'm also perusing Scarlet Heroes for any tres-kewl mechanics or ideas.

Thus far in my mental meanderings as I continue reading, I like the simplicity of Tiny Dungeon's combat system, the Fray dice mechanic from Scarlet Heroes, and the dark fantasy, post-magicolyptic vibe of Desolation.

I want to be able to solo-play with a system crunchy enough to satisfy my itch, but of sufficiently low complexity that I don't find it laborious to use. It's still early in my reading, but thus far [i]Desolation[/i] fits the bill. In addition to searching for an RPG, I've also been reading a lot of blog posts in recent weeks regarding rulesets for solo-play. I've perused DM Yourself by Tom Scutt, and am considering purchasing The Solo Adventurer's Toolbox by Paul Bimler.

The following text quoted from the Desolation core rulebook captures what would be an appealing setting for me, for solo adventuring:

Violence is a reality of life for most survivors of the Night
of Fire. Laws once existed to protect the innocent, but
they are gone — along with the nations that gave
birth to them. Criminals of every ilk roam freely or set up
their own kingdoms via intimidation and steel. Experienced
soldiers fight over the scraps of civilization, and even the timid
have been transformed into warriors through desperation. But
other survivors are not the only threat. The Weave has twisted
creatures into crazed beasts with innate magical powers. Even
the land, sea and sky seem to be fighting against survivors, with
natural disasters occurring more frequently than Before.

Here are aspects I know I want to include in my solo adventuring:

  • combat
  • some form of dice pool mechanic
  • post-apocalyptic fantasy setting (think Desolation)
  • low-magic due to eldritch holocaust (think Desolation's Night Of Fire)
  • a way to invest power into items without enchanting them
  • the Night of Fire twisted some creatures into crazed beasts with innate magic
  • some amount of dungeon- and hex-crawling

As I continue preparing for a solo campaign, I'm doing quite a bit of Googling and reading. Today, I've been reading some interesting things over on the Cannibal Halfling Gaming blog, about various games that are Powered By The Apocalypse. I really need to grab a copy of the core PbTA rules.

For possible inclusion in my solo campaign (taken from Good Strong Hands):

A failure earns you a box on the Skill track as you learn from your mistakes (XP for failure, pretty typical). A success earns you a box on the Spirit track as you’re bolstered (Spirit recharges pretty quickly, good to know). A success with a boon earns you a box on the Shadow track, as the Void takes notice of your heroics...

I continue journaling my journey toward a solo campaign here.

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