Random Tavern Names

Last weekend I decided to try my hand at making a tavern name generation table. Well, it actually consists of three tables. Is that too complicated to use outside of a computer application? What is too complex for dice tables? I don't know the answer to that, but maybe you do. Let me know in the comments.

I had a good time making this and combing adjectives and nouns that I thought could be fun. I looked at a lot of traditional English pub names for inspiration (which was also fun). I am thinking about following up with some tables for finding out more stuff about the tavern. Things like rumours, house special, quality of accommodations and other customers. I don't think I will need two d100 tables to make those work. I didn't really need them for this one, but I just couldn't fit all the words I wanted on d66.

Random Tavern Name

1. Roll d100. If result is even roll once on the Table 1 and add to name, else proceed to 3.
2. Roll d100 on Table 2 and add result to name.
3. Roll d100 on Table 3, if result 1-60 then continue to 5.
4. Roll d100. If result is even roll once more on Table 1 and add to name, else continue to 6.
5. Roll d100 on table 2 and add result to name.
6. Add "The", "Ye", "Inn", "Pub" and similar words to taste.

Table 1

1	Abandoned	21	Batty	41	Curious	61	Fancy	81	Faithful
2	Dashing	22	Bawdy	42	Caged	62	Red	82	Gentle
3	Jumpy	23	Wandering	43	Illustrious	63	Festive	83	Yellow
4	Absent	24	Bent	44	Purring	64	Fierce	84	Gleaming
5	Keen	25	Dead	45	Greedy	65	Vulgar	85	Graceful
6	Dancing	26	Timid	46	Charming	66	Determined	86	Green
7	Purple	27	Mad	47	Cheerful	67	Discreet	87	Grey
8	Drunken	28	Black	48	Delicate	68	Furtive	88	Gusty
9	Magic	29	Bloody	49	Shivering	69	Dusty	89	Golden
10	Dazzling	30	Blue	50	Chubby	70	Eager	90	Happy
11	Ambitious	31	Blushing	51	Silver	71	Nimble	91	Haunted
12	Amused	32	Wicked	52	Kind	72	Educated	92	Heavenly
13	Old	33	White	53	Clever	73	Sharp	93	Lucky
14	Angry	34	Brash	54	Cowardly	74	Elegant	94	Hollow
15	Jolly	35	Brave	55	Moaning	75	Orange	95	Friendly
16	Sleeping	36	Bright	56	Stormy	76	Last	96	Husky
17	Arrogant	37	Broken	57	Mysterious	77	Lazy	97	Ignorant
18	Juicy	38	Brown	58	Crooked	78	Lively	98	Iron
19	Thirsty	39	Plucky	59	Cultured	79	Enchanted	99	Imaginary
20	Bashful	40	Burly	60	Cynical	80	Exotic	100	Jealous

Table 2

1	Pig	21	Dragon	41	Custard	61	Dancer	81	Shield
2	Dog	22	Unicorn	42	Sausage	62	Knight	82	Night
3	Cat	23	Goblin	43	Ale	63	Knave	83	Day
4	Stag	24	Kobold	44	Cheese	64	King	84	Hound
5	Cock	25	Orc	45	Wine	65	Queen	85	Potato
6	Fox	26	Beast	46	Pot	66	Lady	86	Bone
7	Bull	27	Elf	47	Kettle	67	Lord	87	Pie
8	Duck	28	Gnome	48	Boot	68	Harlot	88	Star
9	Toad	29	Dwarf	49	Throne	69	Mage	89	Moon
10	Elephant	30	Basilisk	50	Tavern	70	Monk	90	Steed
11	Lion	31	Ghost	51	Wheel	71	Saint	91	Lute
12	Wolf	32	Man	52	House	72	Robber	92	Drum
13	Rat	33	Soul	53	Inn	73	Baron	93	Thief
14	Snake	34	Angel	54	Flag	74	Wife	94	Bard
15	Ox	35	Devil	55	Mug	75	Sailor	95	Cave
16	Shark	36	Beholder	56	Bottle	76	Adventurer	96	Wish
17	Fish	37	Giant	57	Potion	77	Piper	97	Lie
18	Horse	38	Slime	58	Drink	78	Hunter	98	Leftovers
19	Badger	39	Nymph	59	Stop	79	Fool	99	Coin
20	Lamb	40	Witch	60	Chair	80	Beggar	100	Bed

Table 3

1-20	Add “and” to name.
21-40	Add “and the” to name.
41-50	Add “or” to name.
51-90	N/A - No further rolling needed.
91-95	The sign is broken and no further title can be made out.
96-100	As 61-90, but the sign is a picture/carving and features no writing.

Categories: fantasy, flavour, tables, taverns

A quick look at Unbelievably Simple Roleplaying

Even though I have found some great free introductory RPGs for my forthcoming RPG primer I am still on the lookout for other games that might fit the bill. This lead me to Unbelievably Simple Roleplaying (USR), a ten page set of rules from blogger Scott Malthouse (Trollish Delver).

What is it?

USR is a generic and rules-light role playing game with a focus on being easy to learn and play. It comes as a ten page PDF and is available for free. There is some mention of the system being used to power future products

How does it work?

Unbelievably simple is the name of the game. All characters are made up of 4 stats; Action, Wit, Ego, and Hits. During character creation players assign one of several die sizes to each of the first three and then roll the dice selected for Action and Wits to determine the value of Hits. The only other step for creating a character, other than applying personal details, is to choose three Specialisms. These are just player-defined skills or abilities and they give players a +2 bonus when they are relevant during tests.

Actually playing the game is no more difficult than making a character. One player takes on the traditional role of GM and the others proceed through the usual back and forth that makes up traditional table top role playing. The GM decides when something requires a a die roll (Test in mechanical terms) and the players will roll a die based on the relevant stat. Specialisms or equipment might provide a bonus if they are relevant to the test, otherwise it all comes down to the roll. USR also makes use of something called Narrative Points to give players a touch more control over their fate. If you are familiar with the benefits provided by Fate Points, Bennies or Hero Points then you should have a good understanding of what these do. Players can cash in their Narrative Points to add something to a scene, get a one time bonus or maybe even a re-roll.

I like the system. It's simple and straightforward. USR fills the same niche as games like Risus or Microlite and probably rests somewhere between the two in its level of crunch. Of the three, USR is probably the best match for my needs in a simple system. That said, it doesn't do much that engages my interest as a veteran of many RPGs..

Final thoughts.

The system is as simple as the name of the game would have you believe. The actual game, however, isn't well suited for beginners if there is not an experienced GM to show them the ropes. USR suffers from the same classic mistake as so many other simple and free RPGs that I have looked have: the rules and writing make a half-hearted attempt to explain the nature and structure of role playing and then just continue on with the expectation that the reader understands. It just is not friendly to someone that has never played a tabletop RPG before. This same problem is aggravated by the lack of any kind of play example to aid a potential player in figuring things out.

Another thing I found very jarring about the rulebook is that it just kind of ends. I don't know if the author decided that ten pages was their limit or what, but they really need to put some better thought into bookending their work. A page or two of an example session, a short adventure or some examples of applying USR to different settings/genres would be a much better way to close out the rules. Even a simple thank you for reading section would do wonders in this department. In its current form I was left wondering if I was missing part of the rules.

Right now USR suffers from a feeling of being incomplete and it needs at least another few pages to address my concerns above. Those complaints aside, the game is good enough to recommend alongside Risus or Microlite for anyone interested in super-lightweight role playing games. I look forward to seeing USR power a more complete product.

Unbelievably Simple Roleplaying is available for free at DriveThruRPG.

Categories: Free RPG, Review, Trollish Delver, Ultralight RPGs, USR

Fudge Dice & Hex Crawling

You might not know this about me, but I love a good hexcrawl. I think there is something to be said for a game in which the players just strike out across the world to see what they might find. If you're not familiar with hexcrawling then head over to The Welsh Piper, he has done a great overview.

Over the last couple of weeks I have been racing to put together a zombie hack for the always enjoyable Fate System. One thing that I really wanted to put into the game was some way to put together a city for survivors to wander their way through. This thought lead me to placing a hex overlay over top my city of residence and to the realm of hexcrawling.

The Collaborative Spirit of Fate

One of the really special things about Fate and the various games that use Fate is that they have a strong collaborative spirit. In Dresden Files the players populate a city with plot elements and characters. In Diaspora they create the very planets that they will visit. Just using a random table to populate hexes doesn't mesh with this collaborative philosophy that Fate has.

If a game of Fate is going to stay true to this collaborative spirit then the players need to be more involved with the hexcrawl.

  Hexcrawlin' With Fudge Dice

1. The players should choose a starting hex. This is their hex of origin, where they start the game from or where their Headquarters is.
2. Count the hexes adjacent to the origin and build a pool of fudge dice. The pool should have 3 fudge dice for each hex.
3. Roll all of the gathered dice.
4. Each player, in turn, selects a die and places it into an adjacent hex or notes the face value in the hex. Repeat until all of the dice have been used.
5. Each of the adjacent hexes should now have a number of +, -, and ■ in them.

You should now have something like this:

You may want to click to enlarge.

The blue hex in the middle is our origin/hq hex. In case you're curious, there is a university at that location. I've highlighted the surrounding hexes in red. Unless you're at the edge of a map, one of the hexes is unreachable, or one of the hexes is already explored you are always going to have 6 of them. That means most of time the group will need to roll 18dF. You might want to do things in such a way that each player rolls 1dF on their turn until 18dF have been rolled if you don't have enough dice.

I went and rolled this out and, as luck would have it, I rolled six of each face. I placed them each into different hexes, as you can see above.

The last step is to define what those results actually mean. I suggest that each result corresponds to a fact of some kind about the hex. + results are things that are potentially beneficial to the player. - results are the opposite, potentially negative things. ■ are neutral, something that could go either way or that is indifferent. You may wish to make  ■ results environmental factors. Players can combine like results together to write a fact that is more "powerful" or significant.

For a great collaborative experience you should write out these facts as a group, but if you want a more surprising game you could have the GM fill out the facts secretly. If you would like a middle ground then you could opt to have  ■  results be GM secrets and allow the players to fill in + and - normally.

Facts for the above map (starting with the topmost hex and proceeding clockwise):

1. There are friendly survivors here. There is a food source here. One of the friendly survivors is a carrier. There are many scavenged out buildings.
2. The coast guard regularly returns here to rescue survivors. The roads here have been barricaded.
3. A friendly group of survivors is trapped in an apartment building here. There are damaged boats here.
4. Zombie hoards roam this hex in large numbers.
5. There is a hospital here. The hospital is occupied by a dangerous cult. A burst water main floods the streets.
6. Zombies roam this hex. A fire has damaged many of the buildings here.

I stuck with the zombie apocalypse theme mentioned above, but this method could work with any setting. Actually, I think it would work much better with other settings. Zombie apocalypses are somewhat limited in their options.

You could also go a more traditional route and have positive, negative, and neutral encounter tables that you roll on after the values have been distributed on the hexes. This would require coming up with a new set of tables for every crawl, unless you made them very generic.

Categories: Adventure, Fate, Fudge, Game Design, Hexcrawl, Welsh Piper, Zombie

Apocalypse Prevention Inc

My drivethrurpg library has gotten immense. There has to be at least two hundred different pdfs in the thing. I don't know how it got this big. I might have a problem. Scratch that, I know I have a problem. Recently my drivethrurpg habit has been replaced with a Kickstarter habit, but that is neither here nor there.

The reason I bring up my pdf library is not to boast about the size of my digital bookshelf. I mention it because out of all two hundred of those products I have not left a single review. Not one, despite my efforts to keep an RPG blog going for almost three years now. The time has come to remedy this oversight. I'm going to make an effort to review some of these products, even if it's just a few words and this effort starts today!

Apocalypse Prevention Inc

What is it?

Apocalypse Prevention Inc, or API, bills itself as an action-horror RPG with a dash of humour. It's a small press affair from Third Eye Games and looks pretty slick. The PDF is in black and white and a little sparse in the art department, but the overall layout is nice.

Players take on the roles of agents working for the titular organization, a kind of privatized version of the Men in Black. These agents spend their days policing the supernatural world. They greet travelers from other dimensions, solve supernatural crimes and deal with dangerous entities. Apocalypse Prevention Inc has access to technology above the modern level, as do demons and other outsiders. This means that future-tech like cybernetics are relatively common place in the game, which at time doesn't mesh well with the intended horror elements. (It comes across a little campy.) That said, cybernetics and future tech are fun, so you won't hear any further complaint from me.

How does it work?

The game begins with players creating their characters. API use a point-buy style system that has players selecting a race and then buying attributes, skills and gifts. There are a good number of races to choose from, everything from fire demons to changelings, but the game makes it clear in the lore that most of the time players should be creating human characters. This feels like a mixed message to me; you don't say that the majority of the organization is filled with humans and then dangle a half dozen alternative choices in front of the players. It doesn't help that there are rules for creating a random demonic race for players to use (Not that I'm complaining, I love random tables.) This all ties back into my feeling that the game doesn't quite match the tone that the author was going for.

Attributes and Skills are exactly what they sound like and there isn't much to say other than there are enough of them to make characters feel diverse, but not so many that they lose their importance. Gifts are where things get interesting. These cover everything from magical ability to cybernetic implants and they are where most players are going to spend the most time agonizing over choices.

One place where the character creation in API veers off from the traditional path is with something called Passions. These passions are an aspect of the character's personality and life that drives them and they are used as an experience mechanic throughout the game. If a player plays their character according to their listed Passion then they earn experience. It's a good mechanic for encouraging players to take on a more active role and it's one that has become relatively common, in one for or another, since API was published four years ago.

The actual game mechanics are really straightforward: roll 1d20 and add relevant attribute and skill. There is an separate combat section which covers things like teamwork and special maneuvers and this is important in a game where players primarily spend their time hunting down demonic creatures. The system reads and plays very much like a lighter version of d20, something closer to Savage Worlds in crunch, maybe a little crunchier. It's a good, simple system and those familiar with d20 and similar systems will catch on very quickly. The game isn't trying to do anything special with the system and, frankly, it doesn't need to.

Final Thoughts

Apocalypse Prevention Inc does what it sets out to do. It provides a great framework for players interested in playing enhanced agents that hunt monsters and any GM that picks up this book is provided with everything they need to start that campaign with minimal effort and planning. The system that runs the game will be familiar to anyone that has played a traditional tabletop rpg and should be easy to pick up for those that haven't, but it doesn't do much that is new or interesting.

The strength of API really lies in the engaging setting that frames the rules. It's fun and should instantly appeal to anyone that loves a good old fashioned monster hunt. It is Men in Black meets Buffy the Vampire Slayer and if that idea grabs you then you will like API. If it doesn't then you aren't going to find much that will hold your attention in this game.

You can pick up Apocalypse Prevention Inc at drivethrurpg.

Categories: Apocalypse Prevention Inc, Review, Supernatural, Third Eye Games

Online Conventions

It seems that with the success of G+ role playing and the Roll20 Kickstarter that online tabletop role playing is more popular than even. They have become so popular that web-based game conventions are being planned to bring us all together, regardless of physical location. Sounds like a great idea to me, I rarely make it out to conventions because they are expensive, usually require taking time off work and Lady Boulder isn't exactly interested in the experience.

July 9th – July 15th

It started with ConstantCon, which was more a way to organize G+ role playing games than it was a convention in the traditional sense. It didn't take long for other people to realize that there might be a way to host a more traditional convention through these same digital means. Inspired by the ConstantCon idea, Indie+ moved onto the scene and may be the first online-only RPG convention. Indie+ is coming up soon and takes place from July 9th to 15th of this year. It's already looking to be a fun experience with a few confirmed panels and a growing number of scheduled games to join.  I am a little worried that they didn't schedule far enough in advance and will come up short for panels and games. Hopefully they will keep growing right up until the date of.

Indie+ may be the first such convention, but AetherCon was actually advertised earlier. AetherCon has partnered with Roll20 and is shaping up to be a pretty traditional affair with panels, tables, tournaments and everything else you would expect to find at a meatspace convention. Despite the confusing nomenclature of halls and tables, the convention is taking place entirely online and will be free for any gamer to enjoy. The list of confirmed games and panels just keeps growing for AetherCon and I believe that by the time November rolls around it will be at least as big as my local gaming convention, if not bigger.

Categories: AetherCon, ConstantCon, Convention, Indie+, Roll20, Virtual Tabletop

Santzi's Verbal Duplicity

I whipped up this quick spell for this contest. I think I could probably have gotten away with making it a level 1 spell, but I feel that it could be surprisingly useful.

Santzi's Verbal Duplicity

Level: 2
Duration: 30 minutes per level
Range: Earshot

This spell is cast on at least one pair of earrings. While wearing these earrings whatever the wearer speaks is magically altered to sound like something else (that makes sense) to anyone that isn't also wearing an earring that has been enchanted in this manner. Wearing these earrings really does let someone say one thing and mean another. The wearer may also communicate normally while wearing the earrings if they wish.

Categories: Barrowmaze, Contest, DnD, Labyrinth Lord, Magic, Spell

Post Free RPG Day 2012 PDF Roundup

That's right, that time of the year has come and passed once again. There were a lot of goodies available at game stores around the world and I hope that you were able to get out to one of them to try your luck.

For those of you that were not able to make it to your FLGS this year (or just didn't get as much loot as you would have liked) I have compiled this handy list of links so that you can go download what you missed.

BattleTech: A Time of War

What's this? A BattleTech RPG? Yes, that's exactly what this is. I'll be honest, I didn't even know this game existed until I saw this on Free RPG Day. A lookup on RPG Geek revealed that this game has been around since 2009! For Free RPG day we got a Quickstart edition of the rules that includes short mission (read: adventure) and some characters to throw at it.

If you like what you see in the Quick Start then you should know that the full rulebook is on sale right now for $15.

Brass & Steel

Brass & Steel is a brand new steampunk RPG from Pamean Games that bills itself as a hybrid of tabletop and live action role playing. If that sounds like something you might enjoy then you're going to love this free Quickstart edition.

The Quickstart rules come with an adventure, but it isn't your typical tabletop fare. No, The Case of the Croquet Mallet is a one-night LARP adventure for 12 players and 2 storytellers. Dust off your monocle and glue some extraneous cogs onto everything in site to prepare for this one.

If you like the cut of Brass & Steel's jib then you can pick it up for the very reasonable price of $10.

Conspiracy X

If memory servers, and it rarely does, then Conspiracy X used to be a GURPS setting. Nowadays they are using Unisystem. I'm not a fan of the system, but I am a fan of conspiracies and secret wars. Conspiracy X takes inspiration from all of your favourite alien and supernatural conspiracy stories.

If you like the idea of playing a man in black then you should definitely check out the free introductory game kit they handed our for Free RPG Day. It has all the rules you need to play through a two session adventure.  The full product is also half price right now.

Cosmic Patrol

Cosmic Patrol is a new game from Catalyst that I don't know a lot about. From the looks of the free quickstart rules they gave out for Free RPG Day it looks to be a game set a pulpy retro-future of which the likes of Buck Rogers would be at home in.

Looking through those same rules also reveals that Catalyst is trying their hand at a more new-school style of RPG. You know, the kind that has been all the rage since Fate RPG went mainstream.

Pathfinder

There were three adventures for Pathfinder RPG this year. Paizo published an adventure called Dawn of the Scarlet Sun, which you can download here. Next up is Shadowsfall: A Temple of Orcus from Jon Brazer Enterprises. Finally, we have Undying Legacy of the First Ones. That last one was actually Kickstarted so that it could be given away on Free RPG Day, a worthy Kickstart if I have ever seen one. Also, if you like what you see of NeoExodus then you should be aware that there is also a free setting primer.

Shadowrun

Can you believe that Catalyst Games Lab had not one, but three different products for Free RPG Day 2012? This is a company that deserves your support, people. They're genuinely trying to get more people involved in gaming.

The final item they had was the Shadowrun 4 Quickstart Rules. This has actually be available for quite some time now, but that's no reason to keep you away from ruining some poor decker's day. Just like with the other Catalyst games, the full version of Shadowrun 4 is on sale right now for just $15.

Warhammer 40k: Only War

Not content with just Dark Heresy, Rogue Trader, Deathwatch, and Black Crusade, Fantasy Flight Games is releasing yet another Warhammer 40k RPG. Am I the only one that wishes they would just release a universal 40k RPG?

In any case, Only War is the latest and it seems to be focused on the Imperial Guardsman. If that sounds interesting to you then head on over to FFG and download Eleventh Hour, an introductory adventure that will give you a taste of what is to come with the forthcoming Only War. If that isn't enough to tide you over then you can always put down $20 to get a copy of the beta rules. You will get a credit towards the final product, but paying for a beta still leaves a sour taste in my mouth.

Not yet available digitally:

• Dead in the Eye (D&D 4e Adventure) - Unlikely to see this since WotC did not publish last year's adventure digitally either.
• Dungeon Crawl Classics Adventure - We probably won't see this one either seeing as how Goodman didn't publish last year's adventure for download.

• Harn setting material with world map

• Slavers of the Sunken Garden (PFRPG) - Probably won't be available for free as the publisher's website has a pre-order priced at $18.99 

• Castles & Crusades Adventure - I don't know if we will end up seeing this or not. Here's the free quick start rules to tide you over in the meantime.

Categories: Battletech, Brass and Steel, Conspiracy X, Cosmic Patrol, Free RPG Day, Only War, Pathfinder, Shadowrun

Characters as Dice

Today I was thinking about dice. Specifically, I was thinking about ways to use dice in an RPG that I haven't seen before. One of the most credible of these ideas was to use the dice as the character sheet, at least to an extent.

The Idea

I envision a character being made up of a handful of dice, probably six-sided. Each face on a die could represent a different aspect of the character, such as a skill or ability. 

Imagine a die flattened out:

   1
   2
   5
2 3 4
   6

Each side could be assigned a different icon which translates to a character skill or element of the character. If you can't get stickers to do this with then you could always write out on a piece of paper what each side means.

For example:

1 Stealth
2 Knife
3 Knife
4 Acrobatics
5 Acrobatics
6 Persuasion

A character has one of these dice for each level that they are. They roll 1 or more of these dice and the corresponding face determine their action/outcome

The GM can set difficulty in the number of faces that need to come up across all dice rolled with the desired effect. For example, if a player is trying to defeat a monster the GM can state it is a difficulty 2 monster, meaning there needs to be two matching faces. The player rolls 2d6 and gets Knife twice. They narrate that they stabbed the monster, defeating it. If they rolled persuasion twice they might have narrated that they were able to talk their way out of the situation or distract the monster for a turn.

Players choosing which of their dice to roll in any given situation is part of the strategy of the game. When building their character/leveling up they need to assign skills/abilities to their dice as well. So if one player were to place acrobatics on all the faces of one die they are guaranteed to always be at least somewhat successful if they role that die for acrobatics. Another player might spread acrobatics across 3 dice, two on each die. This character would be less likely to roll acrobatics in any given situation, but they have the potential of rolling up a larger set and thus beating more difficult challenges.

Powers/Sets

Further extending this system could be special abilities for characters that require a certain set or sequence to appear on rolled dice. For example if a character rolled 3d6 and got Stealth, Knife, and Acrobatics this might activate their Backstab power.

Complications

If a player doesn’t roll exactly what they want they could narrate their success, but incorporate a complication. The GM might also add in the complication depending on the group play style.

Races/Classes/Archetypes

With a dice system like this it is easy to implement things like Races or Classes. All you need to do is add another die to the character. An archetypal die might have predefined faces rather than player selected faces. After all, an elf is always an elf.

Using something like a racial die could be a good idea as it would give players an extra die to roll at the beginning of the game, assuming that 1 level = 1d6. Mind you, a starting character could always just have a number of bonus dice depending on the desired power level of the game.

Final Thoughts

You know, I really like this idea. I don't think I would like to play a regular game this way, but as a quick sit down and play kind of game I think it is a cool idea. It might be fun long term for groups that are more interested in narrative-based play, but for any group that likes numbers and mechanics I fear it would be a little too light to keep them engaged for long.

Categories: Dice, Game Design, Idea, RPG