Mar 26, 2011
Mar 25, 2011
One Page Module 3: Nobody Lives Forever
Introduction
Aetas Senectus, an aging local noble, has converted his castle into an Elf spider cult stronghold in exchange for physical immortality. Each day a thimble-full amount of blood drawn from Vecchirage, an ancient great spider, keeps the sixty eight year-old man alive. Adamo Senectus, a distant, power-hungry relative, funded in part by an anti-spider cult religious group, has hired a party to clear the castle so that he may assume control. It won’t be easy, local vendors and recently fired house servants say they have seen several well-armed Elf guards when delivering rations at the castle gates. The twice weekly delivered ration sizes, themselves, are enough to feed thirty men. If the party can clear the castle of all spider cult influence and prove Aetas’ death, Adamo will reward the party with 50 acres of farmland and 500 silver pieces each. Or will he? For each room without a letter, roll on Random Encounters Table.
Random Encounter Table (2d4)
2 Nude Elf female corpse with 1d4x10 silver in mouth.
3 Horribly disfigured corpses suspended in webs.
4 Eerily empty Room with decaying furniture and paintings.
5 Roll on Spider Table
6 Web-filled room; Save Versus Petrify or Paralyze or character is stuck.
7 Elf Spider Guardsman (LL p.74) with sword.
8 Elf Spider Cleric (LL p.74) with mace.
Spider Table (1d4)
1 Harmless Baby Spiders (100’s of them)
2 Giant Crab Spider (LL p.97)
3 Giant Black Widow (LL p.97)
4 Giant Tarantula (LL p.97)
Rooms
A Private Library/Rooms of Aetus Senectus: A surprisingly quick man, he will attempt to outbid Adamo going so far as to double Adamo’s price if the characters agree to work against him. If physically threatened, he immediately activates a smoke screen and descends three stories into the underground river, where he has a boat waiting in which he plans to escape.
B Vecchirag & Master Cleric: Ancient and withered spider Vecchirage can offer no resistance, nor communication with party. She is a gray spider nearly one foot in length with a red “v” shape on her abdomen. Master Cleric Pulkrah is a beautiful scantily clad cleric who will give in to any demands as long as Vecchirage is saved. She has no significant fighting or magical capabilities other than caring for Vecchirage. The Edderkopp sits on a stone dais nearby.
C 4 Cells with Humans unknowingly impregnated with spider eggs. One in two chance their chest bursts open with baby spiders each turn. Meanwhile, they complain of a “cough” and general discomfort.
D Staircase progressing through all vertical floors
Magic Sword: The Edderkopp
The Edderkopp is a cursed +2 magical long sword. The blade shimmers silver-gray, the cross guard is formed in the shape of two spiders, the grip appears to be spun in spider silk, and another spider adorns the pommel. Once a character’s hand touches the grip, the sword is magically bound. Two spiders embedded on either side of the cross guard drive their fangs deep into the character’s wrist, piercing all armor types, draining a pint of blood and causing 1d8 damage. Any fresh blood touching the blade is immediately absorbed. The sword spiders must consume one pint of blood per day, otherwise they take the blood from the character, causing 1d8 damage each time. If the Edderkopp strikes a spider, one half of the damage is dealt to the character. Once a day the Edderkopp can cast Hold Person. When the spell is cast, streams of adhesive silk shoot from the blade tip en-wrapping the target.
Note: LL p.# = Labyrinth Lord Basic page numbers for reference. Written by Dylan Hartwell at www.digitalorc.blogspot.com and released under the Creative Common License.
Mar 21, 2011
Magical Weapon: The Edderkopp
The Edderkopp is a cursed +2 magical long sword. The blade shimmers silver-gray, the cross guard is formed in the shape of two spiders, the grip appears to be spun in spider silk, and another spider adorns the pommel. Once a character’s hand touches the grip, the sword is magically bound. Two spiders embedded on either side of the cross guard drive their fangs deep into the character’s wrist, piercing all armor types, draining a pint of blood and causing 1d8 damage. Any fresh blood touching the blade is immediately absorbed. The sword spiders must consume one pint of blood per day, otherwise they take the blood from the character, causing 1d8 damage each time. If the Edderkopp strikes a spider, one half of the damage is dealt to the character. Once a day the Edderkopp can cast Hold Person. When the spell is cast, streams of adhesive silk shoot from the blade tip enwrapping the target.
Mar 17, 2011
Appendix Z
Photograph by author, 2011
Movies
28 Days Later
The Beyond
Cemetary Man
City of the Living Dead
Dance of the Dead
Dawn of the Dead
Dead Alive
Night of the Creeps
Night of the Living Dead
Planet Terror
Prince of Darkness
Reanimator
Return of the Living Dead
The Walking Dead (TV series)
Games
Last Night on Earth (board game)
Zombies! (board game)
Zombie Dice (iPod)
Left 4 Dead (Xbox 360)
Skippy’s Revenge (card game)
Mar 15, 2011
One Page Module 2: Rites of Passage
Note: This is the second One Page Module (OPM) in what I hope becomes a series. You can download the PDF by clicking here, or by visiting the "What I've Created" list on the top of this blog. You can also find One Page Modules by clicking on the "OPM" label. This adventure is designed for a solitary level one fighter. Enjoy!
Warrior cultures use rites of passage to test their young. Still other cultures use them as a test for military service or even more exclusive groups. In this module a single character must brave the unknown dangers within a cavern and return triumphant, ready to take their new place in society. Any 1st level character who survives the Rites of Passage automatically advances to second level.
1. A 10’ statue of a warrior holding a long sword above their head stands at the cavern entrance. “Warrior’s Challenge” is written in glyphs at the statue base.
2. Smells of mold and decay accompany the sounds of dripping water. Scattered about the floor are dozens of bodies in various stages of decomposition. Most appear human or demi-human. There is a small circular opening nearly five feet off the ground on the North side of the chamber.
3. A small, tubular tunnel with occasional dried bones descends at a slight angle until it terminates in a den of 7 Giant Rats. A small opening behind the rat’s nest looks into the trap mechanism of chamber 4.
4. Trap: Bricks fall from ceiling. The character must save versus petrify or suffer 2d6 damage.
5. Dead silence. Various human-sized bones haphazardly litter the floor.
6. 5 Giant Centipedes slithers along the dry cavern floor.
7. A cloaked figure quickly moves into the chamber to the right (chamber 8). The figure is a magically generated mirage.
8. Trap: A large rock rolls out from a hidden location. The character must save versus petrify or suffer 2d6 damage.
9. A Stone Toad sits atop a gray marble sarcophagus. The character must make a strength check to slide the lid off. Inside is a human skeleton clutching the magical sword Svaerdod. Once the sword is removed, the skeleton dissolves into dust, a powerful wind reeking of decay blows through the cave for 2 rounds, and the 6 bodies located in cavern room 2 becomes zombies.
The Svaerdod
The Svaerdod The Svaerdod is a +2 silver blade long sword used in various rites of passage rituals. Once a character touches the Svaerdod, all human and demi-human corpses in a 50’ radius become a zombie. The zombies are drawn to the Svaerdod and will immediately attack the new owner. If all of the zombies reanimated by the Svaerdod are destroyed, the sword disappears.
Giant Stone Toad
No. Enc.: 1
Alignment: Neutral
Movement: 90’ (30’)
Armor Class: 5
Hit Dice: 2
Attacks: 1 (bite or spit acid)
Damage: 1d4+1 or 2d4
Save: F1
Morale: 6
Hoard Class: None
XP: 38
Giant Stone Toads appear to be Giant Toad statues, but are living creatures that have developed a stone-like defensive exterior. These toads are capable of spitting poison corrosive acid 10'.
Written by Dylan Hartwell at www.digitalorc.blogspot.com and released under the Creative Common License.
Your Homework Assignment Answers
Click on the image above to enlarge and see the answers to the gamer "homework" assignment I posted yesterday.
Monster: Giant Stone Toad
Giant Stone Toad
No. Enc.: 1
Alignment: Neutral
Movement: 90’ (30’)
Armor Class: 5
Hit Dice: 2
Attacks: 1 (bite or spit acid)
Damage: 1d4+1 or 2d4
Save: F1
Morale: 6
Hoard Class: None
XP: 38
Stone Toads appear to be Giant Toad statues, but are living creatures that have developed a stone-like defensive exterior. These toads are capable of spitting corrosive acid 10'.
Mar 14, 2011
Your Homework Assignment
I teach intermediate math in a public school. Sometimes my hobbies and my profession overlap in pleasing ways. Above is a worksheet I do with my students during our unit on probability (I’ll post an answer key if I get enough hits of interest). In the past, I’ve developed history and math games for classroom use. I’ve never used a role-playing game, but have often wondered if it wouldn’t be a fantastic teaching tool, especially for gifted students.
We gamers know well that role-playing games ask players (and especially Game Masters) to employ reading, math, writing, logic, acting, and more. Many of these skills are not only on daily classroom tests, but state and national tests as well. Also, if you look at Blooms Taxonomy, which organizes actions into levels of cognitive sophistication, it is clear that role-playing games employ what we in the education business call “high Bloom Scale activities”. That is, the highest sophistication of thinking, characterized by verbs such as “create”, “synthesize”, and “analyze”.
Armed with the above notions, a PDF of Mentzer’s Basic, and some lesson plans, I approached our gifted teacher and pitched the idea of using role-playing games in her gifted classroom at our building. She and I have a wonderful working relationship and often use each other’s lesson plans, so she was excited to hear me out. During my pitch, she nodded and agreed and thought it sounded wonderful. That is, until she saw the cover of the PDF, at which point there was an immediate and emphatic negative reaction.
I find it interesting that the description of the game’s characteristics were met with enthusiasm, but immediately dismissed when the product was named. Granted, this is only one person and far too small of a pool to create generalities, but it makes me suspect that “D&D” has not only a connotation of “geek” but remnants of “dangerous”, perhaps from the Satanism scare of the 80’s.
I also suspect my own story here isn’t always the case with non-D&D games. At Gen Con and Origins I heard from several proud vendors about how their products have met with success in the classroom. These, however, are often board and card games. I wonder what would have happened if I made the same pitch above using GURPS or some other system with less cultural baggage.
This negative connotation with D&D is unfortunate and entirely unnecessary, but entrenched and pervasive. I understand fantasy isn’t for everyone. I also understand role-playing games are time consuming and, at times, awkward. However, these often aren’t the reasons for dismissal. That’s too bad. I’m not suggesting that role-playing games should be brought into every classroom. I am only lamenting the connotations of a game I enjoy and wonder if I wouldn’t be able to enjoy it more often and with a greater variety of people if it weren’t for those connotations.
Mar 12, 2011
One Page Modules
A (Somewhat Late) Introduction to My One Page Module Series
Last week I started a new series called "One Page Modules" (OPM). I plan to key 21 first level and 22 second level one page adventure modules. If I can keep it up, I then plan to key 23 third level OPM's. Each OPM will contain maps, keys, descriptors, and several unique scenarios and items for your fantasy game. I'm building them using Labyrinth Lord, but am not afraid to include module-specific alterations. You can access them under the "What I've Created" list on the top right side of the blog. You can also find them by clicking on the "OPM" label.
Quick Note About Motivation
At this point I only have 29 followers and my stat tracker shows less than 3,000 hits in the past six months, so it should be clear that I'm not writing these modules to bring in readers or play some weird stat building game (I already did that). I'm doing this because I love playing and it's a great way to both organize and share what's going on in my mind. I treasure and value feedback, but I'm not counting on it. I'm just following my own twisted inclinations.
Anyway, we'll see how it goes.
See you in the caverns.
Last week I started a new series called "One Page Modules" (OPM). I plan to key 21 first level and 22 second level one page adventure modules. If I can keep it up, I then plan to key 23 third level OPM's. Each OPM will contain maps, keys, descriptors, and several unique scenarios and items for your fantasy game. I'm building them using Labyrinth Lord, but am not afraid to include module-specific alterations. You can access them under the "What I've Created" list on the top right side of the blog. You can also find them by clicking on the "OPM" label.
Quick Note About Motivation
At this point I only have 29 followers and my stat tracker shows less than 3,000 hits in the past six months, so it should be clear that I'm not writing these modules to bring in readers or play some weird stat building game (I already did that). I'm doing this because I love playing and it's a great way to both organize and share what's going on in my mind. I treasure and value feedback, but I'm not counting on it. I'm just following my own twisted inclinations.
Anyway, we'll see how it goes.
See you in the caverns.
Mar 11, 2011
Potion: Potion of Contemplation (Pozi-Dsfida)
Ancient Elves of New Amur used this magical green liquid to enter a deep and dangerous trance. Elders used the Pozi-Dsfida as both a religious ritual and as a personal test. The trance length and lethality vary for each individual. Once a player consumes the Pozi-Dsfida they make a Poison or Death savings throw. If they fail, the character is trapped in a preservative coma-like trance for eternity. If the savings throw succeeds, the Labyrinth Lord rolls 1d6 and consults the table below to determine trance duration. Those who awaken from the trance gain 1d4 levels immediately.
Mar 10, 2011
Why I Blog
An interesting post over at Cyclopeatron about what makes blog posts appealing got me thinking about why I take time to blog about gaming. Divining human motivations is difficult; especially when the self is the subject, but I keep thinking about this, so maybe a post will purge my mind. I ask myself: Why do I post? My answer isn’t different from the gestalt of comments on Cyclopeatron, but it’s mine: I blog for many reasons; enjoyment, collaboration, learning, habit, and a desire to affect culture.
I enjoy talking about many parts of gaming such as history, mechanics, and advice on running and playing role-playing games. I like creating monsters and dungeons and various pieces of art and other props to accompany my imaginings. I enjoy seeing what other people have to say about my stuff and, likewise, look forward to posts that pique my curiosity and interest so that I can provide a little friendly feedback.
Another important reason for maintaining a gaming blog is to collaborate with others whom I would never have likely met otherwise. As much as I enjoy gaming conventions, I rarely make new friends there. Instead, I go with my existing friends and we remain somewhat insulated. I don’t have any gaming stores close to me, so that avenue is also closed. Through my blog I have seen projects such as the One Page Dungeon and Petty Gods project that fairly well sum up my sentiment here. As a result of blogging I often take from other blogs and post my own projects. For six months I have remained motivated to start, finish, and brainstorm over eight projects.
For me, running Digital Orc has in many ways increased my learning in variety of areas including skills outside of traditional gaming. Before my blog I knew nothing of GIMP and had never joined a discussion board. I was ignorant of calculating multiple dice probabilities in cloud-shared spreadsheets and I had never attempted to build an electronic art portfolio. I have now done all of these things and more as a result of my work here.
I’ve kept a journal with regularity for more than a decade, so the writing habit is firmly entrenched and easily carried over into the digital format. However, I now also check my blog statistics and scan Google Reader out of habit. I do this because I’m curious about whether people care to read what I’ve posted and because it’s an objective number. I also do it because it’s easy. My smart phone lets me post, read, and analyze anywhere and at anytime. When I see that less than ten people end up reading one of my posts I’m humbly reminded of the quote, “Never before have so many said so much to so few.” While I tinker with the layout of my blog and the quality and content of the posts certainly varies over time, I don’t write posts primarily to generate readers. For example, if I see that many people visit my blog because of the search terms “girl” and “cyberpunk”, I’m not going to write post after post about cyberpunk girls if I’m not interested (though, I kind of do enjoy drawing cyberpunk girls). I find that people’s comments inspire me to write outside my own interests far more than blogger analytics.
My final reason for blogging includes what Nietzsche might have called a cultural will to power. Through blogging I can gain entrance and impact various cultures in which I participate. Blogging is a portal of power through which one can make a difference. This concept is becoming equally vested with certain social networking and computer concepts such as friending on Facebook and the Twitter-related program Klout. I don’t believe cultural will to power can always be measured by the number of followers or readers, but it’s a good place to start. Grognardia can start a meme that reverberates for months in the OSR. The Underdark Gazette can start a fad that finds it’s way down to a little-visited blogger like me. But aren’t memes a two-way street? In some ways, perhaps they are. That, however, is another post.
A cultural reason for blogging includes posterity. When I look at my two year-old daughter, I wonder; what is left of my ideas after I am gone? Will gamers loot my blogger corpse as they push further into the dungeon of life, deriving use and pleasure from some of my original content or ideas? I’d like to think so. Sometimes, that’s enough.
Mar 9, 2011
Monster: Golym Zul-Dukh
No. Enc.: 1
Alignment: Chaotic
Movement: 120’ (40’)
Armor Class: 3
Hit Dice: See below
Attacks: fist/vomit rot grub/trample
Damage: 2d8/special/3d6
Save: F10
Morale: 12
Hoard Class: None
XP: 2,500
The Golyum Zul-Dukh or “Great Goblin” is a physically large and powerful undead monster created by a necromancer using the combined elements of reanimated Goblins. It is also referred to in some dark magic texts such as the Uk-Ketabb as Uz-Hasn, roughly translated as “The Horrible”. Decomposing corpses are magically bonded together to form a roughly Goblinoid form, which is then animated with a necromancy spell. Golym Zul-Dukh follow only rudimentary commands from the necromancer. They are normally used as guards or fighters. Golym-Zaduk may attack by vomiting 5d4 Rot Grubs onto characters. See Labyrinth Lord Basic for Rot Grub information. Vomit range is 15’. Because of its Goblinoid constitution, the Golym Zul-Dukh suffers -2 penalty to attacks and saves when fighting in daylight. Golyum-Zaduk vary in strength proportionally to the number of Goblinoid corpses used in its construction. The table below indicates the number of hit die as a function of the number of corpses used by the necromancer in this terrible monster’s creation. It is possible for chaotic player characters in possession of the Uz-Hasn spell (most likely taken from the Uk-Ketabb) to create a Golyum-Zaduk as permitted by the Labyrinth Lord.
One Page Module: Brother's Keeper (Update)
I cleaned up the text, reformatted the map, and published this one paged module (tagged "OPM") as a PDF instead of Word. You can get it by clicking here or by going to the "What I've Created" list on the side of my blog. Brother's Keeper is a fairly simple dungeon crawl designed through Labyrinth Lord Basic (LLB), but it could easily be used in nearly any system. It also has rudimentary aspects of a storyline that a Game Master could easily embellish or ignore altogether. Enjoy.
Mar 8, 2011
One Page Module 1: Brother's Keeper
1. Powerful odor of burning flesh. Coins and a leather purse lay scattered about an otherwise empty cavern entrance. Treasure: 700 SP, 20 GP.
2. Powerful odor of burning flesh. Signs of scuffle including blood
3. Powerful odor of burning flesh. Two dead Orcs are scattered on the cave floor. One is badly burnt and still smoldering. The other has no marks on body. Both Orcs have short swords and leather armor and 35 SP between the two of them.
4. Powerful odor of burning flesh. A bearded human in black robes lies in a pool of warm blood. He has a recent slashing wound to his neck and body. Concealed in his robes are a silver dagger, spell book, and green potion (Gaseous Form). Shifting light and scuttling noises emanates from cavern room 5.
5. Powerful odor of rotting meat. 8 Fire Beetles in crude floor to ceiling fence system tied with leather thongs.
6. Empty. Players may hear rustling sounds from cavern 7.
7. 4 Stirges in crude floor to ceiling fence system tied with leather thongs.
8. Frightened Kobold war party of 9. They want to leave the cavern. Some argue they should “head back to help their trapped brother”. Treasure: 300 SP, 30 GP.
9. Floor declines, dripping water from the ceiling has created several large stalactites. Pools of cold fresh water are scattered on the floor. 4 Giant Centipedes scuttle in the dark corners.
10. A rock rolls out from a hidden location, and the characters must save versus petrify or suffer 2d6 damage.
11. Camouflaged pit trap 10’ deep.
12. Orc war party of 6 moving noisily deeper into cavern.
13. Large, mostly dry cavern. Smoldering campfire surrounded by small dirty bedrolls. Poison dart on entrance (1d4 hp) save vs. poison or die.
14. 3 Human zombies shamble about a large cavern with several inches of standing murky water. Three half-eaten Orcs, two decayed human corpses, and 4 freshly eaten Kobolds litter the floor. Treasure: 700 SP, 4 Gems (on well-dressed female) amongst the Orcs and Kobolds.
15. Orc families (2 children, 1 adolescent female, 2 middle-aged wives, 1 old grandmother). They are frightened because of a recent zombie attack in which they say their matron leader was killed. Treasure: 700 SP, 4 Jewelry (silver and gold necklaces and earrings).
16. Disorganized and frantic Kobold war party of 10 huddling in small group. If party makes successful listen check, they hear the Kobolds arguing to leave the caverns. 800 SP.
17. Powerful odor of rotting meat. 8 Fire Beetles are feeding on several carcasses of various humanoids. 500 SP, 20 GP can be found in and around the various rags that were once clothes amongst the corpses.
18. A single, battered chest sits in a far corner armed with a poison needle trap, save versus poison or die. It is empty.
Written by Dylan Hartwell at www.digitalorc.blogspot.com and released under the Creative Common License
Artifact: Uk-Ketabb
The Book of Blood, or Uk-Ketabb, is a powerful magic tome. The interior pages appear blank until human or demi-human blood is spilled onto the cover. When this happens the blood runs into the pages forming words or images. The writing immediately begins to fade and is completely illegible after 1 turn (10 seconds). At least one cup of blood is needed for this transformation.
Each application of blood causes different spells and information to appear (see table below). Sometimes the book contains powerful spells and potion recipes, at others unknown languages, and still others it might provide insightful histories. The book is dangerous; several magic-users have died using this unworldly tome. Others have vanished. Several have gone mad. Read magic is not required for most of the material in the Book of Blood. Therefore, anyone may attempt to use the Uk-Ketabb, but only magic-users with the appropriate level can cast spells from the book. Any spell is immediately memorized and available for one use.
For each application of blood roll 2d10:
2: Spell: Limited Wish
3: Recipe for potion of healing (1d4HP) from common herbs.
4: Reader immediately advances 1d4 levels.
5: 1d4 Wraiths appear and follow basic commands of reader.
6: Spell: Fireball
7: Spell: Control Weather
8: Spell: Invisibility
9: Spell: Locate Object
10: The Uk-Ketabb immolates causing 1d4 damage to the reader.
11: Unknown language.
12: All characters within twenty feet lose 1d4 hit points.
13: 2d4 Skeletons attack reader.
14: Human fighter appears wearing unfamiliar clothes and speaking an unknown language.
15: 3d8 zombies attack the reader.
16: Reader immediately changed to first level (re-roll introductory HP).
17: Reader rolls 1d6 to determine alignment: 1-2 Chaotic, 3-4 Neutral, 5-6 Lawful.
18: Reader is instantly transported to an unknown dungeon.
19: Demonic images appear which cause fear.
20: Save vs. spell or reader explodes in flames.
Mar 5, 2011
Module DDD Cover
(click to enlarge)
Finally, I finished the cover for my new module I've been working on! It is completely original. In no way have previous modules for various fantasy games influenced my thinking. (click to enlarge)
In case you can't read the small print. Here is the tantalizing descriptor:
This module includes a cover charge of $25 which does not include the price of one drink, which is mandatory. Inside are maps to the VIP room and a description booklet which form a ready-made scenario for Dirty DigressionsTM Basic Set. It has been specially designed for use by 20-year old basemen dwellers so that they may begin to fantasize with a minimum of preparation. Within are many features to aid novice spectators and Dirty Digression Masters; legends, history, and outfit descriptions, a list of dancers, tips on how to tip and getting effective lap dances plus an interesting area for characters to debase themselves (in the Club) before setting out to get married in the Caves of Chaos!
Mar 4, 2011
3 Tables of Module-Naming Awesomeness
Thus, was born: Three Tables of Module-Naming Awesomeness! It’s easy. You simply decide if you want a totally awesome, questionably awesome, or unkewl module name, make three rolls, put the names together, fill in the blanks and you’re finished! (No need to thank me.)
For example, names of total awesomeness would be The Black Assault Incident, The Adventures of Endless Blood, and Lamentation of the Lost Warlords. Man, I don’t know about you, but I’m ready to play those games already!
If you wanted to tone it down a notch, you could go for questionable awesomeness such as The Shadowy Island Occurance, The Exploits of Purple Scale, or Lamentations of the Hairy Toughguys.
If you wanted to go far into realms of unkewlness, examples might include The Chubby Nacho Incident, Lamentations of the Fiber Nugget, or The Peril of Butt Hobbit.
Start (1d6)
1: The Peril of ___
2: The Adventures of ___
3: The Exploits of ___
4: Lamenations of the ___
5: The ___ Incident
6: The ___ Occurance
Total Awesomeness! Part 1 (1d10)
1. Black
2. Bloody
3. Dark
4. Deadly
5. Dragon
6. Endless
7. Evil
8. Gray
9. Hidden
10. Lost
Total Awesomeness! Part 2 (1d20)
1: Assault
2: Blood
3: Castle
4: Caverns
5: Descent
6: Dragon Inn
7: Journey
8: Keep
9: King
10: Knight
12: Legion
13: Lord
14: Night
15: Revenge
16: Scourge
17: Shadow
18: Sword
19. Terror
20: Warlords
Questionable Awesomeness! Part 1 (1d8)
1: Froggy
2: Gary’s
3: Hairy
4: Misty
5: Murky
6: Purple
7: Shadowy
8: Sinister
Questionable Awesomeness! Part 2 (1d10)
1: Eye
2: Frog
3: Gash
4: Island
5: Orc
6: Queenie
7: Sapling
8: Scale
9: Toughguys
10: Wolfpack
Unkewl Part 1 (1d8)
1: Butt
2: Chubby
3: Fiber
4: Fluffy
5: Happy
6: Randy
7: Stuffed
8: Tickling
Unkewl Part 2 (1d12)
1: Butt
2: Fart
3: Hobbit
4: Leaf
5: Nacho
6: Noodle
7: Nugget
8: Rabbit
9: Scab
10: Tadpole
11: Toenail
12: Walrus
Monster: Mud Monster of New Amur
Alignment: Chaotic
Movement: 60’ (20’)
Armor Class: 5
Hit Dice: 2
Attacks: 1
Damage: 1d6 or weapon
Save: F2
Morale: 12
Hoard Class: None
XP: 40
Found in stagnant water, Mud Monsters are fetid reanimated corpses surrounded by viscous mud. Mud Monsters often surprise their prey by rising silently from underfoot (automatic surprise), sometimes grabbing ankles and pulling their target down into the mud (strength check). In standing combat, they tend to use hand-held weapons to close distance and grapple, attempting to suffocate their foes. Roll strength check to break grapple, otherwise the character drowns in 1d8 rounds. Mud Monsters follow only basic commands from the necromancer who raised them. Mud Monsters sink below the water’s surface during the day, rising at sundown each evening until they are destroyed. If exposed to sunlight, they immediately evaporate into dust.
Mar 2, 2011
Gaming Rules: Fun & Learning
Picture: One of my students doing algebra using the Hands-On game.
I teach middle school math and am tasked with teaching students to solve basic one and two variable equations. This is a perennially difficult and abstract skill to get across. One way I try is through games. I use several games, but Hands-On Equations I use most often (see picture above). This game has a board, six-sided red/green die, and blue and white pawns. Students follow a series of rules to isolate variables (blue and white pawns) and determine their numeric value (cubes). There are only a few rules, but most importantly, students must perform a specific check method. I’ve discovered that without the check method, which I will also call informative feedback, the game is not an effective way to learn or practice linear algebra. Students can move their pieces every which way without learning true solutions. Most board games have similarly constrictive rules in that they greatly reduce a player’s choices, but in so doing streamline play and increase clear informative feedback. This includes directions such as “put your game piece on this square”, “you may move your game piece x square in this direction”, etc. However, I don’t think many board games have an instructive feedback “check” that lets them know if the player is following the rules and has won or not. For example, my pawn might end up at home base winning me the game, but I have no way of formally proving I followed all the rules to get there. It is frequently up to humans to read, interpret, and apply the rules. This is also the case with many table-top role-playing games. Both are significantly different that most video games.
Contrast board games and Hands-On Equations with a typical video game such as World of Warcraft or Fallout 3. There are still constrictive rules, but the instructive feedback is automatic, consistent, and indiscriminate. In this way, video games, at least in part, are effectively viewed through a Behaviorist praxis. Hands-On Equations does not have an “official” video game, but I’ve found web-based games that do essentially the same thing. The online video game is, in my opinion, far more effective for learning than the “old-school” pawns and board system. I suspect it is because of the immediate instructive feedback.
If such a system is more effective for learning linear algebra, is it more fun? When I polled some of my sixth grade students, the results were split fairly even. Nineteen preferred the physical game and seventeen preferred the online video game. When I asked for reasons, the group that preferred the physical game said they liked the freedom and ability to manipulate pencil, paper, pawns, cubes, etc. The other group said they liked knowing if they were doing it correctly right away. I was pleasantly surprised that so many of these young people didn’t automatically go for the flashy video game. I was also pleased to see that many of the students recognize the metacognitive value of immediate instructive feedback.
Is there something here that I can apply to table-top role-playing games for pure enjoyment? I believe so. Would gamers present similar results? Again, I believe so. There are several applications and computer programs that facilitate or drive the gaming process. D&D 4th Edition has many online gaming elements and will probably have more as time goes on. Dice, monster, and other role-playing apps are also increasing in number and users. On another note, there is also an Old-School Renaissance which tends to favor, not only older editions of various role-playing games, but a more concrete and tactile method of playing.
I am using generalizations and bifurcations, but in some cases the latter need not be so. In many examples the work of combat flowcharts and character generation can be done in a timely and effective way using computers for later sessions without any computers. For example, I often use online Labyrinth Lord character generators for game sessions, but prefer for there to be no computers present, whatsoever, at the game table.
What about fun? The information presented here suggests that Dungeon Masters should ask their players questions such as their preference on using miniatures, computers, cards, and other technologies at the game table. Some may prefer the timely feedback that comes from computers, keeping game play consistent and faster-moving. Others may prefer a more concrete approach. This idea may seem obvious, but ask yourself if you assess your player’s playing style and concept of fun. Answer each of the questions below for each of your players yourself, then ask your players the questions and compare the results. You might be surprised. I know I was.
Questions
Do you like the use of miniatures?
A. Always
B. Sometimes
C. During Combat Only
D. Rarely
E. Never
Should computers and smartphones be used at the game table?
A. Always
B. Sometimes
C. Rule Disputes Only
D. Music Only
E. Rarely
F. Never
What percentage of game play should be combat?
A. 100
B. 75
C. 50
D. 25
E. 0
How often should players make rolls?
A. Very Often
B. Frequently
C. Occasionally
D. Rarely
E. Never
If you enjoy combat, what is a fun number of encounters in a two hour session?
A. >10
B. 6-10
C. 3-5
D. 1-2
E. 0
Do cards (index or otherwise) increase game enjoyment?
A. Usually
B. Sometimes
C. Rarely
D. Never
How many props should a Dungeon Master use in a session?
A. >10
B. 5-10
C. 3-4
D. 1-2
E. None
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