To me this sounds like a good band name, the Swamp Doctors, it's also a current group name my new players have adopted for themselves. I've just started a new campaign today with a group of almost all new players, and it's awesome.
This was one of the best games I've ran in a long time. It was fast-paced with plenty of dramatic successes and failures.
The new game is modern fantasy and were using the Villains and Vigilantes system with some modifications and house rules. Most of it is every day earth, but with an underlying tone of darkness and supernatural elements. I gave the players the option to choose some of their powers as well as roll some randomly. They either came as innate magical qualities, spells, or devices of some sort.
Here's what we ended up with:
-This is my girlfriend Rachel's first full campaign. She's playing as a siren with sonic powers and seduction-like mind control. She also has the skills of a master thief.
-Doug used to GM for his old group, he's possible more excited about this game then I am. He's playing as a well-groomed business executive who's both telekinetic and telepathic. He's also a burn victim and is terrified of fire. With heightened intelligence he gets just a shit-ton of skills to train in.
-My buddy Danny has been wanting to play for a while. As far as I can tell, He's some sort of Werespider with blade-like arachnid limbs that can erupt from his back. For his weakness he chose a fear of hospitals, doctors, and medicine in general due to the fact he was forced to have surgery that gave him magical eyes that induce fear and shoot lasers. He's also a detective.
-Danny's girlfriend Katie is also playing. She's essentially a mermaid without the tail with poisonous fish spines and the ability to breath underwater. She can't be separated from water for too long, however. Her other weakness is electricity and she's also trained in a lot of treasure hunting skills.
I tasked them with stopping a zombie apocalypse in the middle of the New Orleans French quarter. In V&V hand-to-hand attacks can be difficult without training so most of the zombies weren't a problem for the players.
They had to spend a lot of time figuring out how people were becoming infected. This lead them to a hospital where they decided things would be easier if they stole scrubs and pretended to by doctors to get a hold of an ambulance.
The player's finally tracked down a voodoo cult in the middle of the swamp who was responsible for spreading infection throughout the city. This is when things got tough for them. There were several cultists with swords as well as the brainwashed twin sister of the NPC who gave them the quest.
This cult was being led by a decrepit voodoo priestess being kept alive by fusing herself with the plants of the swamp. The priestess also had tow pet alligators defending her. One of them bit Katie and dragged her unconscious body underwater. Thankfully she can't drown and the water helped wake her up.
Somehow the player's managed to separate the grandmother from her roots and vines, killing her in the process as well as ending the infection and causing the structure they were in to collapse right after they escaped.
As reward I was going to give the players a vehicle of their choosing, but instead they chose to pimp out the ambulance they stole which is way cooler. They also deciding to leave the city of New Orleans for a while, and wait for the heat from the destruction they caused to die down.
I'm excited for the ensuing road trip game coming up. I think they will be going to the mountains or the coastline. Either way I have some planning to do.
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Friday, September 9, 2011
Zombie Invasion Event Table
Hey, two posts in one day, I guess I'm just in that kind of mood. Anyway, here's some sweet stuff that might happen during a zombie apocalypse. Combine it with this Link to get just a ridiculous amount of options for a zombie game.
1- Mini horde d4+1 zombies
2- group of people getting attacked and surrounded
3- person watching loved one getting turned
4- random citizen is kicking ass (they've got a gun, throwing knives, chainsaw, bat, etc.)
5- a clearly bit person is asking for help
6- mini horde of d4+1 but some other creature is leading them (mage, vampire, scientist, etc.)
7- zombies surrounding vehicle or building with people
8- larger horde, they just keep coming, gotta run for it, or kill maybe like d20 + d10
9- person is asking for help (50% chance bitten but they're hiding it)
10- zombie ambush (they are stealthy, compete with character's perception)
11- zombies are trying to get past some natural barricade between you and them
12- regular people are looting this area (40% chance this attracts some zombies)
13- this areas pretty on fire (80% there's zombies here, either way there's some looting or an obstacle of some sort)
14- this areas flooded (80% zombies, still looting and obstacle)
15- several obstacle like features (dead weight cars, tables, chairs, rubble, broken electronics) 80% zombies
16- the zombies here are dogs, or maybe some other animal
17- these zombie employ unusually smart tactics
18- start fighting some zombies, then some you were sure were dead come back and attack
19- these zombies are all really hungry, weak but desperate
20- talking zombies, but doesn't talk to you, maybe about you though, or gibberish
Random Zombie Table
I'm starting a modern fantasy game tomorrow. The players are starting in New Orleans during a voodoo zombie invasion. Here's what I'm rolling on in case I need zombie with a little flair.
1-still has some semblance of humanity (they still look human, child with stuffed animal, etc.)
2- fast, aggressive zombie, charges and mauls
3- slow, stupid zombie
4- heavy charger zombie
5- zombie clumsily using a weapon
6- former wealthy person (more money, nice clothes, jewelry, etc.)
7-stealthy stalking zombie
8- pincushion (d4 weapons sticking out of them)
9- far gone zombie (rotting and gross, horror check)
10- obviously some former occupation (cop, UPS guy, chef, construction worker, etc.)
11- trap zombie (looks like corpse)
12- spitting/leaking (acid, blood, mucus)
13- getting pecked at by birds as it walks around
14- mutilated (roll d6: 1-missing arm, 2- crippled legs, 3- no lower body, 4- no jaw, 5- organs spilling out, 6-roll twice)
15- occupied (feeding, banging head against wall, etc.)
16- super fat zombie, vomits (attracts horde)
17- screamer
18- jockie zombie
19- smells like gas
20- further mutated (extra limbs, heart on face or other shuffled organs, plants growing out of body, etc.)
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Saponmancy
Numerous magicians have learned to use their alchemical knowledge to create soap and bathwater in the same way one would brew a magic potion.
These "Saponmancers" will often combine a variety of salts, soaps, perfumes, and powders to create concoctions that can bestow many possible effects for those who bathe in them.
Saponmancy can be a very lucrative, and secret college of magic. Well trained practitioners will often start their own bathhouses or spas and keep their recipes well hidden, for fear of competitors. Admittance to these businesses is often very expensive, and as such are mostly used by the wealthy and noble class.
Very rarely, these spas will become a visiting place for creatures from higher planes looking for a place of magical rest, very similar to the bathhouse in Hayao Miyazaki's "Spirited Away." These creatures could be anything from local spirits to angels or demons. Because even the Lord of the Nine Hells needs a break now and then.
Saponmancers are trained magic users and alchemists. As such, many are familiar with ways to use their powers in deadly ways. They are often skilled at creating explosives using the highly combustible fats and oils used in making soap, and many specialize in poisons that can affect entire water supplies and that are absorbed through the skin.
Some even delve into necromancy using grave wax, or the soap made from the fat of corpses for their bathes.
Gaining the effects of a Saponmancy bath usually takes at least 10 minutes of soaking as the ingredients used are diluted. The effects last 24 hours unless stated otherwise. Higher concentrations or certain catalysts allow the bather to absorb the effects more quickly and even instantaneously, but usually with harmful side effects.
Saponmancers use several specific ingredients for the water to achieve certain affects. Usually many other secret ingredients are required as well.
Here's some options for random Saponmancy baths or soaps
1- Blood Lily, gives the bather a d4 increase in Strength or a similar stat
2- Catnip, gives the bather a d4 increase in Dexterity or a similar stat
3- Ginkgo Biloba, gives the bather a d4 increase in Intelligence or a similar stat
4- Whitestripe Bamboo, gives the bather a d4 increase in Constitution or a similar stat
5- Cherry Blossom Petals, gives the bather a d4 increase in Charisma or a similar stat
6- Vanda Orchid, gives the bather a d4 increase in Wisdom or a similar stat
7- Ginseng Root, gives the bather a faster reaction rate, any reflex save or something similar such as a roll to dodge will increase by d8.
8- Dong Quai, gives the bather an increased resistance to disease, any save against disease is at a plus d8, the bather can also save immediately on any disease they have already contracted. If this does not cure the disease it will not worsen for 24 hours.
9- Venus Fly Trap, the bather gains a "trap sense" within 15 feet of them. This is a general feeling of unease, but the player may not necessarily understand what the feeling is about. Rolls to find traps are at a plus 10.
10- Valerian Root, puts the bather in a deeply relaxed state but inattentive state, this acts as a sleep spell and lasts just as long. High concentrations last longer, even to the point of putting the bather in a coma.
11- Devil's Mint, puts the bather in a highly suggestive state, they will do what is commanded of them by anyone for the next hour. They get saves against anything they would not normally do. Skilled Saponmancers can even concoct a bath of Devil's Mint where the bather will only listen to them.
12- Crane Flower, gives the bather a general proficiency with "Eastern" weapons such as katanas, shurikens, nunchaku, bladed fans, sai, etc. If the bather already knows how to use these weapons they get a decent bonus.
13- Rue, the bather breaks out in painful blisters all over the exposed parts of the body, the bather loses roughly 10% of their health and can not gain it back until after 24 hours. This health cannot be recovered by any other way accept by Sopanmancy.
14- Aloe, the bather recovers all lost hitpoints
15- Sea Salt, the bather gains waterbreathing for d6 hours
16- Grave Wax from an individual, the bather gains memories as if they drank from a Goblet of Atli
17- Grave Wax from numerous individuals, if the bather is living this has no effect, if the bather is a corpse they rise as a zombie after an hour of total submergence.
18- White Lotus, the bather gains an aura of nobility for d4 hours, others will instantly recognize the bather as a member of some higher order or class depending on the local society, how they react is up to the individual
19- Grey Ooze Soap, the bather's flesh and bones melt away and they take on a semi-liquid state for d4-1 hours, while in this form they can not carry equipment and can generally only interact with the environment by making slam-like attacks. But, they can squeeze through the smallest cracks and take no penalty for doing so. When the user reforms they will be naked as they will have dropped all of their equipment.
20- Hydra Oil, the bather cannot be killed by decapitation for the next d4 hours. Instead when their head is cut off they will grow three new heads, these new heads will also be affected by the Hydra Oil bath. After the bath wears off, excess will shrivel away leaving the bather with a single head again.
These "Saponmancers" will often combine a variety of salts, soaps, perfumes, and powders to create concoctions that can bestow many possible effects for those who bathe in them.
Saponmancy can be a very lucrative, and secret college of magic. Well trained practitioners will often start their own bathhouses or spas and keep their recipes well hidden, for fear of competitors. Admittance to these businesses is often very expensive, and as such are mostly used by the wealthy and noble class.
Very rarely, these spas will become a visiting place for creatures from higher planes looking for a place of magical rest, very similar to the bathhouse in Hayao Miyazaki's "Spirited Away." These creatures could be anything from local spirits to angels or demons. Because even the Lord of the Nine Hells needs a break now and then.
Saponmancers are trained magic users and alchemists. As such, many are familiar with ways to use their powers in deadly ways. They are often skilled at creating explosives using the highly combustible fats and oils used in making soap, and many specialize in poisons that can affect entire water supplies and that are absorbed through the skin.
Some even delve into necromancy using grave wax, or the soap made from the fat of corpses for their bathes.
Gaining the effects of a Saponmancy bath usually takes at least 10 minutes of soaking as the ingredients used are diluted. The effects last 24 hours unless stated otherwise. Higher concentrations or certain catalysts allow the bather to absorb the effects more quickly and even instantaneously, but usually with harmful side effects.
Saponmancers use several specific ingredients for the water to achieve certain affects. Usually many other secret ingredients are required as well.
Here's some options for random Saponmancy baths or soaps
1- Blood Lily, gives the bather a d4 increase in Strength or a similar stat
2- Catnip, gives the bather a d4 increase in Dexterity or a similar stat
3- Ginkgo Biloba, gives the bather a d4 increase in Intelligence or a similar stat
4- Whitestripe Bamboo, gives the bather a d4 increase in Constitution or a similar stat
5- Cherry Blossom Petals, gives the bather a d4 increase in Charisma or a similar stat
6- Vanda Orchid, gives the bather a d4 increase in Wisdom or a similar stat
7- Ginseng Root, gives the bather a faster reaction rate, any reflex save or something similar such as a roll to dodge will increase by d8.
8- Dong Quai, gives the bather an increased resistance to disease, any save against disease is at a plus d8, the bather can also save immediately on any disease they have already contracted. If this does not cure the disease it will not worsen for 24 hours.
9- Venus Fly Trap, the bather gains a "trap sense" within 15 feet of them. This is a general feeling of unease, but the player may not necessarily understand what the feeling is about. Rolls to find traps are at a plus 10.
10- Valerian Root, puts the bather in a deeply relaxed state but inattentive state, this acts as a sleep spell and lasts just as long. High concentrations last longer, even to the point of putting the bather in a coma.
11- Devil's Mint, puts the bather in a highly suggestive state, they will do what is commanded of them by anyone for the next hour. They get saves against anything they would not normally do. Skilled Saponmancers can even concoct a bath of Devil's Mint where the bather will only listen to them.
12- Crane Flower, gives the bather a general proficiency with "Eastern" weapons such as katanas, shurikens, nunchaku, bladed fans, sai, etc. If the bather already knows how to use these weapons they get a decent bonus.
13- Rue, the bather breaks out in painful blisters all over the exposed parts of the body, the bather loses roughly 10% of their health and can not gain it back until after 24 hours. This health cannot be recovered by any other way accept by Sopanmancy.
14- Aloe, the bather recovers all lost hitpoints
15- Sea Salt, the bather gains waterbreathing for d6 hours
16- Grave Wax from an individual, the bather gains memories as if they drank from a Goblet of Atli
17- Grave Wax from numerous individuals, if the bather is living this has no effect, if the bather is a corpse they rise as a zombie after an hour of total submergence.
18- White Lotus, the bather gains an aura of nobility for d4 hours, others will instantly recognize the bather as a member of some higher order or class depending on the local society, how they react is up to the individual
19- Grey Ooze Soap, the bather's flesh and bones melt away and they take on a semi-liquid state for d4-1 hours, while in this form they can not carry equipment and can generally only interact with the environment by making slam-like attacks. But, they can squeeze through the smallest cracks and take no penalty for doing so. When the user reforms they will be naked as they will have dropped all of their equipment.
20- Hydra Oil, the bather cannot be killed by decapitation for the next d4 hours. Instead when their head is cut off they will grow three new heads, these new heads will also be affected by the Hydra Oil bath. After the bath wears off, excess will shrivel away leaving the bather with a single head again.
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Tell me what you think of this Campaign idea
Summer approaches, and while I'll be working (probably washing dishes so that's awesome) the lack of school means my friends and I should have a lot more free time and thus more time to game.
James is working on a post-apocalyptic psy-GURPS campaign that is partly based off of the webcomic Freakangels. It sounds really cool, I'm excited about it. And if you don't know what Freakangels is you need to.
I think some of my other friends are considering possible D&D campaigns, which is great. I of course have a lot of fun with that game. But I also have a current D&D campaign going, and while I love the world I've been building I can't help but think things would be better with a little more variety in our gaming selection.
So I'm looking at other options, but I don't want to half-ass this and I really want to get some feedback.
There's an idea I've had for a while for an urban fantasy setting. The time period is contemporary but the characters would be dealing with the supernatural. They players would be free to create wizards, sorcerers, or any other type of spellcaster but they could also be pretty much any supernatural race. It would be to their benefit to play something that can easily blend in with normal humans, but If they want to just be a winged serpent or some giant sentient beetle or something I'm cool with that.
Here's the twist, if you want to call it that, the campaign is going to be tied to a restaurant all of the pc's work at. So in addition to being a devilish fireslinger, they'd also be a part-time fry cook, or something like that. But they're far from the only restaurant in town and I'm thinking they might spend a lot of time dealing with their competition.
If they want to do this legitimately that's fine, they're are adventures for that. Questing for rare ingredients is a staple for any fantasy adventure. But I'm guessing things are going to get underhanded. Sabotage, kidnapping, curses, illusions, maybe even outright murder all seem like some excellent fun.
I'm sort of in love with this idea. Mixing the mundane with the fantastic is to me the heart of urban fantasy. These wizards, selkies, and demons are all trying to just earn a buck and live like the rest of us but they do so with magic, and that's fun.
I'm sure there's game systems out their that are built for this type of role playing and if you know of any of any feel free to let me know along with why you think it's good. But I'd prefer not having to buy or learn something new. So right now I'm looking at Villains and Vigilantes.
It's a superhero rpg and it has sort of vague, rather underdeveloped rules for spellcasting characters like Dr. Strange. But my group has used it for supernatural campaigns before and it works well. Mechanically there is no real difference between pyrokinesis as a super power or as magic so using the regular super powers would work fine for our purposes.
V&V offers some serious variety. Most of it is developed randomly, but from that entropy you can really develop any theme and it will work in game fairly well. Plus the benefit of playing with your friends is often trust. I trust my group enough to forget about acquiring their powers randomly. If they really want to play an ice mage I'm okay with just giving them ice powers instead of them having to roll for ice powers.
But if you think there's something that is going to work better, let me know. I'm open to trying something new.
James is working on a post-apocalyptic psy-GURPS campaign that is partly based off of the webcomic Freakangels. It sounds really cool, I'm excited about it. And if you don't know what Freakangels is you need to.
There might be a few orgies.
So I'm looking at other options, but I don't want to half-ass this and I really want to get some feedback.
There's an idea I've had for a while for an urban fantasy setting. The time period is contemporary but the characters would be dealing with the supernatural. They players would be free to create wizards, sorcerers, or any other type of spellcaster but they could also be pretty much any supernatural race. It would be to their benefit to play something that can easily blend in with normal humans, but If they want to just be a winged serpent or some giant sentient beetle or something I'm cool with that.
Here's the twist, if you want to call it that, the campaign is going to be tied to a restaurant all of the pc's work at. So in addition to being a devilish fireslinger, they'd also be a part-time fry cook, or something like that. But they're far from the only restaurant in town and I'm thinking they might spend a lot of time dealing with their competition.
If they want to do this legitimately that's fine, they're are adventures for that. Questing for rare ingredients is a staple for any fantasy adventure. But I'm guessing things are going to get underhanded. Sabotage, kidnapping, curses, illusions, maybe even outright murder all seem like some excellent fun.
I'm sort of in love with this idea. Mixing the mundane with the fantastic is to me the heart of urban fantasy. These wizards, selkies, and demons are all trying to just earn a buck and live like the rest of us but they do so with magic, and that's fun.
I'm sure there's game systems out their that are built for this type of role playing and if you know of any of any feel free to let me know along with why you think it's good. But I'd prefer not having to buy or learn something new. So right now I'm looking at Villains and Vigilantes.
It's a superhero rpg and it has sort of vague, rather underdeveloped rules for spellcasting characters like Dr. Strange. But my group has used it for supernatural campaigns before and it works well. Mechanically there is no real difference between pyrokinesis as a super power or as magic so using the regular super powers would work fine for our purposes.
V&V offers some serious variety. Most of it is developed randomly, but from that entropy you can really develop any theme and it will work in game fairly well. Plus the benefit of playing with your friends is often trust. I trust my group enough to forget about acquiring their powers randomly. If they really want to play an ice mage I'm okay with just giving them ice powers instead of them having to roll for ice powers.
But if you think there's something that is going to work better, let me know. I'm open to trying something new.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Fire Safety and Random Tables
I used to spend a lot more time developing adventures, too much time even. Not only does a GM not need to have every detail meticulously planned out, but there adventure is usually better if they wing it at least a little.
But it takes time and experience to develop this skill and to become comfortable enough to try it.
I don't like just winging it though. I've ran complete improve games and sometimes they are pretty good, but they can also be a complete mess.
To help create a balance of structure and on-the-spot creativity I've been developing a lot of random tables.
I used to hate the idea of random tables, and I'm still hesitant to use other people's. I always thought it would be better just to always think of everything myself, but I would often have trouble figuring out where to put everything.
I know I would want a pit full of snakes and falling icicles but I wouldn't always know what hallway to put them in or what room they would fit in.
So now I let fate decide, I write up everything I want in a given situation and put it on a table I can easily roll on. Depending on what I'm doing I may have to roll everything before the actually game but sometimes I don't have to roll until actual play. I usually need to create a basic layout of what I'm doing as well.
This system may require some tweaking throughout and sometimes I'll forget randomness and still plan somethings, but that's usually when I'm sure I know what I want.
But this is dealing with entropy in a creative system so of course you're not getting an exact science.
In the next post I'll talk about how this system actually worked in-game.
But it takes time and experience to develop this skill and to become comfortable enough to try it.
I don't like just winging it though. I've ran complete improve games and sometimes they are pretty good, but they can also be a complete mess.
To help create a balance of structure and on-the-spot creativity I've been developing a lot of random tables.
I used to hate the idea of random tables, and I'm still hesitant to use other people's. I always thought it would be better just to always think of everything myself, but I would often have trouble figuring out where to put everything.
I know I would want a pit full of snakes and falling icicles but I wouldn't always know what hallway to put them in or what room they would fit in.
So now I let fate decide, I write up everything I want in a given situation and put it on a table I can easily roll on. Depending on what I'm doing I may have to roll everything before the actually game but sometimes I don't have to roll until actual play. I usually need to create a basic layout of what I'm doing as well.
This system may require some tweaking throughout and sometimes I'll forget randomness and still plan somethings, but that's usually when I'm sure I know what I want.
But this is dealing with entropy in a creative system so of course you're not getting an exact science.
In the next post I'll talk about how this system actually worked in-game.
Friday, April 8, 2011
Ancient Artifacts- The Goblet of Atli
My buddy James is really into Norse mythology. I'm more of a Greek man myself, but they are pretty awesome nonetheless.He is taking a class on the subject so he's always reading a different myth. I usually hear about them in some way.
Here's one he told me the other day: There once was a king named Atli, or maybe Atil, but Atli sounds much better to me.
Atli was a greedy king and he often coveted the wealth of his wife's brothers. So Atli killed his brothers-in-law, claiming their wealth for his own.
When his wife learned of this she was furious. For revenge, she killed Atli's sons. She then tricked Atli into eating his son's roasted hearts and drinking from cups fashioned from their skulls.
A Goblet of Atli is no one single object, but a way to prepare a skull as a drinking container to gain certain magical benefits.
Anyone who drinks from a Goblet of Atli can learn one thing that was known by the skull's previous owner, but this can only be done once per day.
This preparation will be a spell or ritual. The level should be similar to the level of the deceased, the time required should take anywhere from 1-8 hours depending on how high the deceased's intelligence score is.
You can use the Goblet as a hint for players when they get a bit lost, or a quest hook to offer them new options.
I've also made a handy d20 chart for when player's drink from a Goblet of Atli but you have no idea what they should learn. This will also help from the Goblet just becoming an instant answers item.
1: Something everyone in your world already accepts as fact and would have a really hard time arguing otherwise, example: the sky is blue, grass is green or whatever. This could be anything the skull's old owner used to think of as an obvious fact, so it could be some delusion they suffer or some prejudice like the devil speaks through the chirping of birds or all elves are cheaters
2: The drinker learns of a belief or moral philosophy that the skull's owner believed in like lying is wrong or don't kill. Again, this isn't really that applicable to a game, but represents getting slightly deeper into the subject's psyche
3-7: Some random tidbit of information like the location of an object, the name of a pet or person, etc. This could be useful or not depending on the GM's mood.
8-12: Same as 3-7, but this is much more likely to be something the players could actually benefit from
13-17: General knowledge of some skill that the skull's owner was pretty good at, this could be anything from baking to spell casting. The drinker gets a plus 1d4 bonus to checks related to that skill for the next hour
18: A secret of some kind, something a person would almost never share otherwise.
19: The drinker is concentrated enough to pick from any of the lower options but most roll again to see if they can pick specifics. On a 13 or greater they can, otherwise the GM picks, so they could pick a skill roll a 16 and pick whatever they want, but if they roll a 9 you pick for them.
20: The drinker can seek out any type of information that the skull's owner knew of. This can be anything, if they pick something the skull does not know of they can pick again until they find something available.
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