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Geez, all this lovely stuff is coming to a head just as I've been finishing up the AD&D Deck of Encounters Set 2 in preparation for posting. If something decisive happens with the forum or the thread before I'm ready, I'll follow wherever Inklesspen goes!
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Jun 25, 2020 17:55
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PurpleXVI posted:I know Inklesspen hangs out on the tradgames Discord where most of this thread's posters are also present. Scroll up a bit for the link. Thank you! I just meant that I'll follow and post if Fatal & Friends moves to some other forum. (I asssume nobody wants me to dump pages and pages of encounter reviews in a Discord channel.)
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Jun 25, 2020 19:50
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It is a violation of the paladin’s code to refuse a challenge from The Deck of Encounters Set Two Part 1: Introduction The Deck of Encounters, Set Two posted:The dungeon hall is silent, except for the dripping of water. You start to signal your friends when you hear something growl ahead in the darkness. It shuffles closer as you raise your axe… The basic idea of the deck, as I understand it, is for the DM to be able to sort the cards as desired (probably by terrain, danger level, or both), and flip through or randomly draw encounters to use in their game-in-progress, thus giving much more intricate random scenarios than a random encounter table would. Again, that’s my understanding. Last time, not all the card designers seemed to be on the same page as me. And also, some of the cards just sucked. So once again, as I read each card, I’ll be mentally choosing to keep it (placing it a deck to use in an AD&D 2nd Edition game that I’m theoretically running), pass (not use it in my customized encounter deck), or put it to you, the jury, to argue its merits. There are also a LOT of cards that declare that you’ve been hired by someone to do something. They tend to be unusable as random encounters, because they’ll be labelled “Mountain” or whatever and then start by saying “you are in the mountains to retrieve a mountain goat for your friend, the wizard Maribelle.” And that’s just not going to be true. Still, I can imagine wanting to assemble a second deck of short adventurer odd-jobs for whatever reason. Such cards I will set aside as quests. What other new gimmicks are there this time? Well, Deck of Encounter Cards have always had an “Add’l Info” space, in which they refer you to another AD&D book for more information. In Set One, the cards really only referred you the Monstrous Manual. By Set Two, however, TSR had a new concern: moving copies of the Complete X’s Handbooks, specifically the inaugural Fighter, Thief, Wizard, and Priest editions. As such, they have worked in at least one encounter that involves every single kit introduced in those books. Kits were a new idea that amount to sub-classes, with widely varying mechanical significance. Most often, they provide very minor bonuses and maluses, but there are exceptions. Thus, every time a card refers me to a book to look up a certain kit, I’m gonna do that, come back, and summarize the kit for y’all as well. I mean, surely there’s important information there to run the encounters. They wouldn’t urge me to go buy extra books for no reason, right? Come back next time as we start in on card 13 (the first twelve containing a checklist and general information). We will experience these random encounters the way Gygax intended: systematically. Dallbun fucked around with this message at 22:52 on Jul 9, 2020 |
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Jul 9, 2020 20:34
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The 3.5 Manual of the Planes did a good job making Mechanus more gameable. Modrons are endearing, but it's nice to have other ineffible manifestations of Law around, too.
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Jul 10, 2020 01:37
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It takes two slots to gain proficiency in The Deck of Encounters Set Two Part 2: The Deck of Warrior Kits Cards 13 through 120 were written by Andrew P. Morris. I can’t find any evidence that they worked on any other roleplaying games. 13: Turnabout Here’s what a card looks like:   Strawman misandrist amazons aren’t a trope that I, as a cis male DM, am particularly comfortable introducing. I do appreciate the possibility to force someone else into the role of diplomat if the party’s normal face is male, but there’s nothing here to make the negotiations particularly interesting anyway. (Female PC: “Sorry, our bad. We cool?”) I’ll pass. KIT CORNER: Amazon (PHBR1 Complete Fighter’s Handbook) A female Warrior from a matriarchal society gains Riding and Animal Training, and a +3 to hit and damage on her first blow against males (4th-level or below warriors, or 7th-level or below other classes) who aren’t familiar with her personally, or with female warriors in general. However, she gets a -3 reaction roll adjustment from NPCs from male-dominated societies unless or until they come to respect her. Also, her weapon choices are restricted: she needs to take Spear and Long Bow, and can only become specialized in them. There are alternate options for non-human races: for instance, Dwarven Amazons forgo ranged weapons and take Axe and Hammer, and their riding proficiency is for war swine! Yes. I appreciate that they added a note saying you don’t have to be an Amazon to be a female warrior: “If a player wants to have a female warrior character, the DM should try to accommodate the player whenever possible, and shouldn’t have to resort to making the character an Amazon… In just about every real-world history and mythology, you’ll find female warriors in male-dominated societies…” A reasonable enough kit if you really like playing out the trope of people underestimating you and then you kicking their asses. 14: The Blood of My Friends (With the blood of my friends like this, who needs the blood of my enemies?) There’s a storm, the PCs are in a tavern, there’s a clap of thunder, and the doors swing open as a “scantily clad, unwashed, muscular man” enters. A barbarian, if you weren’t up on your fantasy tropes. Here to eat, drink, and friggin’ carouse, while shoving smaller, less alpha males out of his way. When the barmaid informs him that one of the PCs ordered the last of his favored alcoholic drink, he strides over to said PC, throws a few gold on the table, and tries to pry said drink from their hand. Oddly, only positive things are likely to come from this. If they let the barbarian have his way, he ignores them afterward and someone just got a very good return on their beer money. If they brawl with him and win, he’ll become very friendly, because he appreciates strength. Cool enough. Keep. This guy probably needs a name, though. KIT CORNER: Barbarian (PHBR 1: The Complete Fighter’s Handbook) The Conan kit, by the description. You need a Strength of 15 or higher, and must take proficiency in Battle Axe and Bastard Sword, or whatever the fashionable barbarian weapons are in your particular campaign. They also can’t start the campaign with “armor heavier than “splint mail, banded mail, or bronze plate mail” (the last of which gives one worse AC than standard plate mail). You can pick up better stuff later, though, so whatever. What are your benefits? Well, you get a bonus proficiency in Endurance. Also, because barbarians are such an impressive, striking specimen, they produce strong reactions. When they roll an 8 or less on their Encounter Reaction roll (“including Charisma and racial bonuses”), they get an extra +3 bonus (which actually lowers the final number), but when they roll a 14 or higher after adjustments, they get an extra -3 penalty (which raises the final number… look, it’s AD&D). That seems questionably useful, because there’s no difference between, say, a result of 3 (Friendly) and a result of 6 (Friendly). Still, if you get a high-Charisma Barbarian, they could make an impressive face for the group. A Charisma of 18 gives you a Reaction Adjustment of +7- such a character would never actually receive the penalty under normal circumstances, and always receive the bonus instead. And if they approach NPCs in a friendly manner and the DM is playing the chart straight, they’d get a Friendly response back 85% of the time. Friendly Barbarian - OP Character build? 15: Force of One The PCs are setting off from a city when a fully-armored knight rides up and joins them. He is Mangnon, Protector of the Living, and he’s an egotistical cavalier who completely believes that the PCs will not survive their journey without his help. He’s vain and leaves his helmet off to better show off his face. He is, however, a competent warrior (F4). So you just get a free guest NPC for a while, huh? I guess that works. Keep. KIT CORNER: Cavalier (PHBR 1: The Complete Fighter’s Handbook) A shining knight. It’s different from a Noble Warrior kit in that the latter are interested in perpetuating the status quo, and this one is more about questing for good. This kit tries to disassociate being a mounted knight from being a Paladin, stressing that Paladins might look very different from the chivalric model, depending on their culture. Uh, sure, but Paladins do wear heavy armor, and literally get a magic horse. Cavaliers must be Good, and to have 15 Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution (!!!), and 10 Intelligence and Wisdom. They have to take Lance and Sword as WPs, and get Riding and Etiquette as bonuses. They need to buy a lance, a sword, and the best armor they can afford to begin with. And finally, they have to deal with AD&D Paladin-style bullshit by following a strict Code of Chivalry, the details of which I will not get into here. On the plus side, they get progressively better bonuses to hit with the lance, sword of their choice, and horseman’s mace, flail or pick, capping out at +3 at high levels. Nice! They also get immunity to the fear spell, a +4 bonus to other mind-affecting spells, a free horse, and a reaction bonus from the Good and malus from the Evil. Can’t say I like the execution of this one. It’s a type of very Good warrior that’s hard to qualify for, and who gets powerful abilities in exchange for constraints on their behavior, and they get a horse. The conceptual space is exactly the same as a Paladin. 16: Coup d’Etat The PCs are accosted in the woods by bandits in the foliage with crossbows. They are led by a “raven-haired man and woman” (clearly related), who inform them that this is indeed a robbery, and to hand over their weapons and coinage. They can keep their jewelry because those often have sentimental value. They are stocking weapons and provisions to overthrow the local ruling tyrant. Could I get a couple of names for these outlaw leaders? No? Well, otherwise this is an okay hook. It shouldn’t be a problem to point out a local ruler and saying they’re terrible to the common folk. Keep. KIT CORNER:Outlaw (PHBR 1: The Complete Fighter’s Handbook) This is in the book as Pirate/Outlaw, but there are enough differences between the two that it’s easier to discuss them separately. Outlaws may need to take certain weapon proficiencies, probably Robin Hood-y ones, depending on the campaign and their motif. They get Direction Sense and Fire Building as bonus NWPs. However, they are wanted by the authorities for the whole campaign or until the status quo dramatically changes. It was clearly important that I reference the PHBR1 when reading this encounter, so I could know that every one of the 52 outlaws is very good at figuring out which direction north is. 17: Matter of Custom So the PCs are hanging out in a small town when they’re mobbed by terrified villagers begging them to stop “it.” “It” turns out to be a shaven, heavily-tattooed, unusually-armed man eating a whole turkey in the common room of the inn. “The man is simply a warrior from another culture who has travelled to a strange land.” Oh well that’s nice, I guess we should “He is [sic] does not mean any harm, but the party’s customs are different enough that he is easy to offend, in which case he will enter a berserk rage and slaughter all in his path.” Hmm. So I’m supposed to play up this cultural difference for comedy, but maybe also have him kill some innocent people? And I have no particular context for his culture, and he has no name? I’ll just... pass. KIT CORNER: Wilderness Warrior (PHBR 1: The Complete Fighter’s Handbook) No, not a Barbarian. No, not a Savage. No, not a Ranger. (Well, okay, you might also be a Ranger.) This is a Wilderness Warrior. Someone who grew up in a tough terrain like a desert, swamp, or frozen tundra. Your culture is assumed to be foreign, but not necessarily intimidating, to the area the game is set in. You need at least a 13 Constitution. You have to spend a couple of weapon proficiencies on culture-appropriate weapons, and to start with appropriate equipment. You get a +5 on your Survival proficiency for your native terrain, and there’s no real downside except roleplaying that you’re a foreigner. Of questionable utility in most campaigns, but it’s also not intrusive or fiddly. Play Dark Sun and convince your DM to give you a +5 to Survival (Desert), and you’re golden.
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Jul 10, 2020 16:33
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A first-level thief has a 30% chance of successfully decoding The Deck of Encounters Set Two Part 3: The Deck of Thief Kits 18: Crowd Pleasers There’s a travelling group of entertainers going through the town the PCs are in - minstrels, a storyteller, a juggler, etc. The most impressive are young twin boy acrobats, who put on a dazzling show. Later, while the storyteller has the stage, they go through the crowd picking pockets. Yes, that is a great thing to do immediately after making yourselves very memorable. If they’re caught (and they’re level 1 thieves, so this seems pretty likely), the troupe will kick them out - they didn’t know anything about it. Presumably if they had, they would have done a better job. Keep. KIT CORNER: Acrobat (PHBR 2: The Complete Thief’s Handbook) Run off and join the circus. You need 14 Dex and 12 strength to qualify for the kit. You receive bonuses to the jumping, tumbling, and tightrope walking NWPs (+1, +2 if unarmored and unencumbered). They’re not listed as bonus proficiencies, though, so I guess you still have to pay for them? Except the book also specifies that those proficiencies are so essential to the kit that the PC should have them even if the GM isn’t using the non-weapon proficiency system. So I dunno. (Side note: if your DM is using kits but not NWPs, then I have no idea what they’re doing.) At the DM’s discretion, they get +5% Pick Pockets, Climb Walls, and Move Silently, at the cost of -5% Find Traps and Open Locks. It’s very unusual for a thief kit to come out ahead on points, so that’s nice. Also, they have no other disadvantages. And as an extra bonus, you get to call yourself a thief-acrobat and feel satisfyingly retro. 19: An Ounce of Prevention The mayor requests the PCs visit her in her new home. She’s worried that it’s not as protected as she was promised. She wants them to use their contacts to track down a burglar to hire to break into her house. I guess the PCs have a reputation for being capable and also disreputable - fair enough! If the PCs don’t have a better idea and just poke around, they’ll eventually be approached by a young elven burglar (T8) named Caradin, who will accept the job. Then she’ll genuinely rob the manor, of course. “The mayor is displeased, but prosecutes her builders, not the thief.” So... what anti-theft protections was the manor supposed to have, anyway? Not too bad. Keep. KIT CORNER: Burglar (PHBR 2: The Complete Thief’s Handbook) A thief with a 10 Strength and 13 Dexterity must take Alertness and Looting as NWPs, and in return get absolutely no benefits or drawbacks. Wait, what? There are a lot of suggestions in this kit, and discussion about what’s useful for breaking into houses, but… is this really the best use of the kit mechanic? Fine, fine. Optionally, the burglar gets 5% Open Locks and Climb Walls, and -5% Read Languages and Pick Pockets. Now we have truly justified the kit’s existence. 20: The Enforcers The PCs enter a small town where a gang of six half-orc thugs quickly inform them that the place belongs to Black Karvin. The PCs will be let in but kept an eye on. Black Karvin is a stereotypical petty dictator who has no stats listed, and whose only muscle is the six half-orcs, so he’s jonesin’ for an overthrowin’. If the half-orcs are taken out, Black Karvin will try to get out of town and return when the PCs are gone “with six even better-paid enforcers.” I like it fine. The thugs are all level 3, so a level 1 or 2 party will have to do something at least mildly clever or strategic about the situation rather than muscling through. I’d drop the racial angle, though. They really do not all have to be half-orcs. If you need to make them all the same race, make them gnomes or something; that would honestly be more terrifying. Keep. KIT CORNER: Thug (PHBR 2: The Complete Thief’s Handbook) You are a violent sort of thief, most likely to take people’s things after hitting them over the head. Sounds like perfect PC material to me. You need a 12 Strength and Constitution, and cannot have an Intelligence above 12 because stereotypes are always true in AD&D-land. The book also notes that “Thugs are usually male, but this may be otherwise in your campaign (particularly if your world sports an Amazon tradition).” Gotta get that word count up somehow! You need to take Intimidation as an NWP, but get an extra weapon proficiency slot. You also get +1 to hit, no questions asked (nice!), but only have 30 bonus points to add to your thief skills at 1st level, instead of 60. Ouch. Hopefully that won’t make it too much harder to get into position for backstabs. No adjustments to thief skills even under the optional rules.
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Jul 11, 2020 16:56
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Night10194 posted:In every age, in every place, the hatred of gnomes will remain the same. I like gnomes fine, I just want to play against thug type!
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Jul 11, 2020 17:06
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The only thing that AD&D players hate more than kender is The Deck of Encounters Set Two Part 4: The Deck of More Thief Kits 21: Picking Fences The PCs are pickpocketed in a busy bazaar, but when they pursue and catch the “clumsy” thief, he’s already passed a valuable item to an accomplice. They can use intimidation to get the partner’s name, but once they track that person (a rug merchant) down, they’ve already sold the stolen item to a fence. When they track down the fence, he’s not easily intimidated because he has “plenty of bodyguards,” but will offer to sell the item back to the PCs at close to twice its original value. I doubt the players are going to let this go. It would require a lot of prep work for me to figure out the bodyguards’ stats, the layout of the store and possibly the fence’s home when the PCs decide to raid it, etc. So I dunno. Maybe pass. KIT CORNER: Fence (PHBR 2: The Complete Thief’s Handbook) Fences sell stolen goods. It’s a weird choice for a thief kit because there’s no particular reason they need to have any D&D thief skills, though the book makes a valiant effort to justify it by suggesting that they may get very good at opening and disarming chests that other thieves will bring to them, rather than risk opening them themselves. A fence needs to take Appraising and Gather Intelligence as NWPs. They get a +3 bonus to reaction rolls from NPC thieves who recognize their profession. And under an optional rule, they get +5% Open Locks, Find/Remove Traps, and Read Languages, and -5% Move Silently, Climb Walls, and Hide in Shadows. On the downside, the fence is relatively prominent in the underworld, and may be harassed by authorities, especially if they’re not a major force. Also, they’re kind of bound to their home city and business and can’t necessarily leave for long. “The DM may wish to keep PCs from being active Fences because of this; the Fence's life is much more business than adventure.” Maybe we should take a step back and wonder whether this is a useful kit to present to players at all? 22: Spy’s Disguise The PCs have recently done something laudable and are invited to a party in the governor’s castle (the governor has a castle?). They might notice one of the guards disappear upstairs regularly. He’s a spy who’s trying various keys on the lock in the governor’s study. Eventually he’ll give up and pick it, then “rifle through the governor’s military secrets” for maps and battle strategies. If attacked, he’s got a poison blade. Thwart the spy and be rewarded with honors and “permanent luxurious living quarters.” Now that’s a classy reward for little work! Not sure I understand the political role of the “governor” here, but whatever. Replace it with a “warlord” or “baron” or “daimyo.” Also, finding that spy seems... a little bit too easy? But it opens up some plot options for getting involved in higher-level politicking and stuff, which is cool. Keep. KIT CORNER: Spy (PHBR 2: The Complete Thief’s Handbook) A spy steals secrets. And possibly sometimes hearts. They need an Intelligence of 11, and must take the NWPs Disguise, Observation, and Information Gathering. In return, they get to write “Spy” on their character sheet. No bonuses. No penalties. Nothing. Unlike the Burglar, they don’t even have any adjustments to their thief skills under the optional rules. Don’t ask me, okay? I don’t write this stuff, I just ramble on about it. 23: Vengeance and Lace In a tavern, the PCs witness a cutscene where a “flamboyantly dressed woman” is “being hassled by a pair of half-orcs,” then iajutsu-s out a pair of short swords and stone cold kills them both dead. Then she cleans her weapons, tosses some coins on the bar, comes over, introduces herself as Lace, and offers her services to the party (for pay, obviously). She’s a level 4 swashbuckler-kit thief, which could be a great addition to a low-level party. Her friendship-unlockable backstory is that she was born to a wealthy family but was denied any inheritance due to the “laws of primogeniture,” meaning her brother got everything and she intends to go challenge him to a mortal duel some day to reclaim it. There’s some usual D&D racist undertones in that introduction - like, it’s okay that she killed those assholes, they’re just half-orcs. I might rethink that part, but otherwise keep. KIT CORNER: Swashbuckler (PHBR 2: The Complete Thief’s Handbook) “He is a sophisticated city-dweller, the epitome of charm and grace.” Which is why you need 13 Strength, Dexterity, Intelligence, AND Charisma to take this kit. Yeesh! You need to take Etiquette and Tumbling as NWPs. You get an extra weapon proficiency in stiletto, main-gauche, rapier, or sabre, though you need to use half your proficiency slots on those weapons as you gain levels until you’re proficient with all four. This is very odd, especially because you get to use the Fighter THAC0 table for your initial weapon of choice! So if I choose sabre, I’m sure as heck not gonna use a main-gauche if I can help it! Swashbucklers also get a special “disarm” technique that others don’t, which gives you -4 to hit and a +1 initiative penalty, but if you hit, you send your opponent’s one-handed weapon (or wand, etc.) flying 2d6 feet in a random direction. I imagine that just how powerful this is depends on how much the DM wants to push back against it, but it seems pretty good. You also get a +2 reaction adjustment with “members of the opposite sex,” because I guess we’re in the realm of fantasy where everybeing is straight. NO EXCEPTIONS. The nominal disadvantage is that “trouble seeks out the Swashbuckler” - like someone finding them to challenge them to a duel at an inopportune time, or the PC getting drawn into a winsome sexual interest’s troubles. It says the DM should throw more ”good-natured bad luck” at this character. Yeah, seems like a real downside - I was playing AD&D because I wanted to lie low and not have adventures.
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Jul 12, 2020 17:01
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PurpleXVI posted:I'm imagining that this is to some extent kayfabe but most of the petitioners aren't in on it, so every couple of weeks all the wild animals, dragons, wyverns, etc. meet up to plan the current "season" of Exciting Shurrock Life to keep the adrenaline pumping but make sure no one actually gets hurt in a way that isn't just dramatic and memorable rather than outright fatal. You just sold me on Bytopia. Or, uh, half-sold me.
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Jul 12, 2020 21:45
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The forum must pray for a few hours each day to receive The Deck of Encounters Set Two Part 5: The Deck of Priest Kits 24: Calm Before the Storm The PCs are on the road and run into Jaffe, a “sparsely-clothed” human male not carrying a whole lot (in short, a monk). He offers that they sit down and share a wineskin, and if they take him up on it and chat, turns back around and starts travelling with them, because what he experiences is more important than where he’s going. Jaffe is gregarious and tells “exotic myths and legends.” He’s difficult to anger but violent with his fists if attacked, cheerfully saying that bloodlust is his worst trait. He leaves when the PCs reach their destination. I guess I’m still on board for random guest NPCs. It does commit me to providing a couple more encounters before the PCs reach their destination, though. Keep. KIT CORNER: Fighting-monk (PHBR 3: The Complete Priest’s Handbook, mislabeled here (and every other time in the deck) as “PHB3 (Wizard)”) The OTHER Monk. The Kung Fu Monk. They’re “most appropriate for an oriental-flavored campaign,” but I’m sure you can convince your DM to let you play one. I have faith in you. A Fighting-Monk can’t own more than they can carry on their back, can’t wear armor, and if they had “Medium Combat Abilities” (the decent THAC0 progression, like the Cleric), then they’re limited to three Major accesses to spheres (one of which must be All, which is terrible), and two Minor. If you were supposed to have more, you give them up. Ouch. Also, you need a 12 Dex. What cosmic power do you get in exchange? Tumbling as a free NWP; in-class access to ALL non-weapon proficiency groups (I have no idea why, but that’s cool); the ability to specialize in Unarmed Combat styles as per the Complete Fighter’s Handbook; two free Weapon Proficiency Slots with which to do so; and the ability to bank your unused 1st-level Weapon Proficiency Slots and use them later, which apparently other characters are not allowed to do. Huh. So what does the Fighter’s Handbook have to say about Unarmed Combat styles? Well, you can specialize in Punching or Wrestling, which interact with the PHB unarmed fighting rules and therefore make me want to bang my head against a wall; or Martial Arts, which is like Punching+. Basically, you’re going to be doing fairly low damage (though a good strength helps a lot) but occasionally KOing or completely incapacitating your opponents. These chances rise considerably as you dump more proficiency slots into increasing your specialization. The mileage you get out of this depends on how willing your DM is to let you put a hydra in a chokehold or knock out a golem with a punch to the vitals. This being AD&D, if you want to stop being a Fighting-Monk and start being a Fighting-Cleric with a decent AC, it’s an enormous frigging rigamarole: The Complete Priest’s Handbook posted:If a fighting-monk wants to abandon this kit, he must go through a difficult process in order to do so. He must not use any of his unarmed combat techniques for three whole experience levels' worth of time. Once he's reached that third experience level, he has forgotten his unarmed combat techniques and may resume the wearing of armor; and, if he renounced some of his spheres of influence when he became a fighting-monk, may now resume those lost spheres. AD&D, why you gotta be like this? 25: Status Quo The PCs are hired to escort a priest to a needy mountain village, probably in a direction they're heading anyway. The priest is a total snobbish rear end in a top hat and refuses to do any manual labor on the trip, and he’s well aware that the PCs only get paid if he arrives safely. When they eventually reach the town, it turns out the town was not consulted about this placement, and like all sane people they immediately hate the guy and refuse to keep him. The PCs have to escort him all the way back to earn their fee. Making this encounter fun-annoying instead of annoying-annoying might be a little tricky, but hand-waving away large amounts of travel time would probably help. This guy could also have potential as a recurring NPC. Keep. KIT CORNER: Nobleman Priest (PHBR 3: The Complete Priest’s Handbook) This priest is rich, pampered, and probably going to get accosted by Robin Hood as they’re passing through Sherwood Forest. No requirements, but they get Etiquette, Heraldry, and Riding as bonus NWPs. They start with extra gold, but must use it to buy armor, a weapon larger than a dagger, and a fully-equipped horse (oh nooooo, what a drawback). They gain a significant reaction bonus from nobles, and can demand shelter from anyone in his own land. As a restriction, they must buy the highest-quality goods, which means everything they buy for themselves costs double (to add engraving, imported materials, etc). 26: Frostbite The PCs run across the site of a recent battlefield in a snowy region. Both sides appear human, but apparently divided by gender, since all the women are dressed similarly and the other side is all male. While they’re Nice to have an amazon who’s not being a jerk to the PCs for gender reasons. And snow amazons are cooler (ha) than tropical amazons. So sure, keep. KIT CORNER: Amazon Priestess (PHBR 3: The Complete Priest’s Handbook) AD&D 2nd Edition was still experimenting with kits at this time, and hadn’t developed the technology that would allow them to apply to more than one class. So priests get a separate kit from the Amazon (Warrior). However, the mechanics are the same: bonus Riding and Animal Training, +3 to hit and damage for their first attack against people underestimating them, and a Reaction malus from most people in patriarchal societies. It feels a little bit less appropriate for a priest than for a warrior. 27: Public Enemy The PCs have been hired by the governor to locate a dangerous assassin who’s supposed to be hiding in a small village. They’re warned that the dude is very persuasive. Actually, the guy is a dissident priest who spoke out against the totalitarianism of the government. The villagers are hiding him and will not reveal where he is unless the PCs “ask the right questions” and convince them that they’re not there to hurt the dude. (Or unless a hapless 0th-level villager fails their save against charm person, presumably.) The concept is sound, but the details are… absent. And more to the point, it’s a quest, not a random encounter. KIT CORNER: Peasant Priest (PHBR 3: The Complete Priest’s Handbook) This priest is a champion of the common man! There are no requirements to take the kit, though the DM can insist that your starting weapon proficiencies be peasant-y. You get Agriculture or Fishing, and also Weather Sense or Animal Lore as bonus NWPs. You have to stay poor (presumably because you’re always donating to the less fortunate). Specifically, other than weapons, peasant priests can’t own stuff worth more than 10 to 15 gp, or have equipment worth more than 75 gp total. Wait, does that apply to armor? Am I going to be in hide armor the whole campaign? Wait, does that apply to magic items? Uh... In return, you get a +2 reaction adjustment with all peasants, and those in your own community definitely have your back. That’s nice, but can I wear chain mail, please? Dallbun fucked around with this message at 15:54 on Jul 13, 2020 |
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Jul 13, 2020 15:40
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Conjuration/Summoning specialists are barred from learning spells from The Deck of Encounters Set Two Part 6: The Deck of Wizard Kits and Fascism 28: A Little Knowledge The PCs are chilling in a tavern when a scholarly man emerges and approaches them. His name is Mordechai, an academician (he’ll explain what that means). He wants to spend time with an adventuring party, and will pay for their expenses during the time he’s with them. He’s kind of a pain, because he doesn’t like to be wrong and will steadfastly ignore contrary evidence. He’s particularly bad at negotiation. If they don’t drop him earlier, he’ll depart after a month with “a few parting tidbits of wisdom.” Fine as a guest NPC. He’s a level 4 wizard, too, so he’s not useless - though he does have only 6 HP! Ouch, that’s real bad, even for a 2E mage. Keep KIT CORNER: Academician (PHBR 4: The Complete Wizard’s Handbook, mislabelled here (and every other time in the deck) as “PHBR4 (Priest)”) These are those scholar wizards who read musty old books. They need at least a 13 Intelligence, and an 11 Wisdom for some reason. They also must take weapon proficiency in one of Dagger, Dart, Knife, or Sling, which is weird because that is literally 80% of all weapons that wizards have access to. (There are no academicians who only know how to use staves. What are you, crazy?) They also get a -1 to hit for their first attack against any given opponent, and are encouraged to roleplay being an insufferable know-it-all. In return, they get a bonus proficiency in Reading/Writing, a +3 reaction bonus with other aspiring scholars and distant correspondents, and bonuses to all Intelligence and Wisdom checks - either a flat +1, or scaling with their race and age according to an overly detailed chart (capping out at +4 to Intelligence checks and +3 to Wisdom checks for 351+ year-old elves). 29: The Spirit is Willing The PCs find an unconscious old woman lying by a rock in a hilly area. Shallow breathing, healing spells have no effect. She’s actually a mystic who’s deployed her spirit form, and will return in 22 hours. Seems like kind of a dangerous place to do that? And she doesn’t even have a sign like Granny Weatherwax. So yeah, the PCs can react as they would, but if they kill her through a funeral pyre or whatever (who would do that to someone who’s still breathing?), she’ll probably haunt them. It’s okay. She doesn’t even have a name, personality, or reason that she’s astrally-projecting, though, so there’s really no follow-up once she wakes up. Eh. Jury? KIT CORNER: Mystic (PHBR 4: The Complete Wizard’s Handbook) Mystics use arcane magic as a path to self-enlightenment. Good luck with that. They need a 13 wisdom, and can’t specialize in necromancy, conjuration, or invocation. They start with the Astrology and Religion NWPs for free, but their weapon proficiency options are even more restricted than usual: dagger, dart, or sling. The text says you can only ever “buy (and use)” those weapons, as well as knives. A mystic with a staff? Preposterous! As an aside, isn’t it a weird AD&Dism for wizards to use darts and slings? Does that have any fictional precedent? You get to choose one special power, usable once/week: a componentless feign death; the spirit form from the encounter, which can fly at a speed of 24, go as far as you want, and is invulnerable to pretty much anything other than dispel magic, which sends it back to your body (it looks like a mist with your shape, though, it’s not invisible); or a special levitate which doesn’t give you attack roll penalties. Only one of those powers seems like it would give the DM headaches. Take that one. The downside is that you have to meditate for two hours every day. The same two hours every day, like the first two hours after dawn or whatever. Otherwise you memorize spells like you’re one level lower. What a pain. 30: Merchants of Violence A small city is trying to foster good relations with a “civilized” orc settlement nearby. The orcs have asked for the right to trade within the city walls as a show of good faith. Seems fair. But the mayor is fearful that “the orcs will lose control and cause harm to the town and its people,” and hires the PCs to hang around the city for the duration, just in case there’s trouble. Not in any official capacity. So the PCs are being employed as a secret police force for a bigoted mayor to keep an eye on peaceful merchants who he fears will behave like racist stereotypes. Our... heroes? Anyway, the orc merchants sell their wares, then after hours head to a tavern and do become “drunk and destructive.” But c’mon, it’s a D&D tavern! That’s just what you do, right? Anyway if the PCs intervene and stop them, the town guards come by and arrest the party, but that’s just for appearances sake, and they’re released after a night in a cushy jail cell. I mean, I like the random establishing of a local mercantile orc village on the world map, but I don’t know about the encounter itself. Pass probably. 31: Mistaken Identity Not to be confused with Mistaken Identity, Versions 1, 2, or 3 from the DoE Set 1. This is a different Mistaken Identity. The PCs enter a “small town or city” ruled by a “despotic governess” who recently received a prophecy that she’d be violently overthrown by a group of travellers kinda sorta matching the PCs’ description. So the PCs are spied on by some incompetent spies who are good at escaping. “The party should quickly perceive that someone is watching them, but it should be difficult to uncover who.” The spies will spill the beans if caught. Otherwise the party is accosted by “a patrol from the governess’s army” (you know, the army of this small town) “and must talk their way to freedom.” Right. Talking their way to freedom is what will surely happen. Could be more interesting, but I like the high potential for a self-fulfilling prophecy here. Keep.
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Jul 14, 2020 15:22
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One gold piece equals two electrum pieces, each of which equals five silver pieces, each of which equals The Deck of Encounters Set Two Part 7: The Deck of Taxes and Fees 32: The Measure of a Man The PCs are in a small town and an official comes to tax them 2 gp for each weapon they have that’s 2 feet or longer. They will not stand for even nonviolent resistance, threatening to tax magical items as well. The next day they’ll be taxed again for the same reason. “This will happen every day until the party leaves town or thinks to ask for a receipt of some sort.” Ehh, too straightforward to be amusing, really. But I could see keep, assuming there's some adventure reason that the PCs are running around town actively every day. That way this official can keep interrupting other events. I wouldn't use it if that's all that was happening each day. 33: Over the Barrel The PCs enter a walled city with a crime problem. Shortly, they’re accosted by an official who claims they violated some ordinance, but it’s obviously a trumped-up charge. He’s trying to extort a favor (“community service”) from them. Specifically, he wants them to infiltrate the local thieves’ guild and report “complete details of the guild members’ illicit exploits” for two weeks. He has no idea where or how to locate them. Uh… no? gently caress you? Actually, I would enjoy playing this guy as an official in over his head, grasping at straws. And the other cool thing is that the card specifies that “the guild in question is newly formed, and the novice abilities of the dozen or so members make spying on them quite easy.” The PCs wandering into a kerfluffle between an incompetent city government and an equally-incompetent thieves’ guild? Sounds like fun to me. Keep. 34: Armed and Dangerous The PCs come to a town where the locals shy away from them, the constable and town watch follow them, and eventually they’re arrested and placed in jail. Basically, this community greatly distrusts murderhobos for some reason, and the constable will give them a lecture about how they don’t tolerate ruffians, etc. Eventually they’ll be released, but their weapons will only be returned when they’re leaving town completely. If this is a drastic departure from usual cultural attitudes, then I feel like they need some kind of… backstory? Without an idea where the town is coming from, I’m not sure that I’d want to run this. Even if the PCs go along with being arrested (which seems unlikely), then what? They get released, say "well, let's never go there again," and leave? The game-time seems like it could be better spent. Pass. 35: License to Fill A merchant hires the PCs to “watch a site in the bazaar” for her because she plans to open a new booth there. I guess this is some first-come, first-served claim-staking deal? But I don’t completely get it, because the constable comes and wants to know why they’re “lying in wait for the merchant who has just purchased a new plot.” And if merchants own individual plots, why do you need someone stationed there? Anyway, the encounter is supposed to be a bureaucratic runaround where the PCs don’t have the paperwork to be employed as laborers and need to get it, and in the meantime they fail their task and someone else claims the spot. (The constable promises to leave someone there, but doesn’t.) Doesn’t seem like fun. Pass. 36: Departure Times The PCs approach a walled city. There’s a 2 sp toll per head to enter, but as they come in they hear another group of adventurers being charged 20 gp per person to leave. This is apparently a “major contributor to the town’s economy,” and the law will insist that they pay. They’ll be pursued relentlessly by trackers if they escape town without paying, at least until they’re a week’s travel away from town. I’m not sure this makes any sense, or is particularly fun to play out. Pass unless I wanted to lean into it and play up the insane fanaticism with which they enforce this law that prevents people from leaving.
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Jul 15, 2020 14:55
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Zereth posted:No, see, the guards need to be a threat to those people, specifically the PCs, to actually enforce this fee. A typical P group who's made it past the "low level scrubs" phase is absolutely capable of just going "lol no" and blowing the gate off the hinges and leaving anyway. I didn't check the suggested level range of this card, but it probably is aimed at low-level scrubs. Still doesn't necessarily make it fun, though. If you're going to do it, I agree with leaning way into it like The Skeep suggests.
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Jul 15, 2020 21:25
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A lawful character will take 5d4 damage if they attempt to read The Deck of Encounters Set Two Part 8: The Deck of Roadies and Guards 37: Company of Four The PCs run into a group of four kobolds on the road, who are lugging along musical instruments. If the players aren’t total psychos who kill humanoids on sight, the kobolds explain that they’re travelling musicians. They’ll offer to hire the PCs as bodyguards, which they need because they’re weak and the subject of vicious race-hatred. The kobolds pay well, but bodyguards will have their work cut out for them, because the kobolds have odious personal habits and their lyrics are often insulting to various demihuman and humanoid races. Hey, they gotta follow their muse, okay? Solid. Keep. 38: First Impressions The PCs hear three muggers and a victim in an alley near the docks, and if they go in to help, nine other men will follow them to block off their escape. They’re actually a press gang for the navy (all level 2 fighters). If they knock out any PCs, two press gangers will try to drag them away. The low-level PCs still have a good chance of winning, since each enemy will run away as soon as they take any damage. (Hey, they’re like 4E minions!) “Tracking down kidnapped companions will be hampered by the 'see-nothing, hear-nothing' attitude of the people who live near the wharf.” Fair enough. Let’s make like pirates and pick a fight with the Navy. Keep. 39: No Honor Among Thieves The town is astir because the ruler’s daughter lost an expensive necklace that the ruler gave her, and nobody can find it. When the PCs try to leave the town, guards will take them aside and frisk them, which they’re doing to everybody. Kindly, at your request, they'll even make sure that the three guards patting them down are your same gender! The thing is, none of the PCs have the necklace. The card doesn’t suggest any other events that tie into this mini-plot. So there’s no conflict. It’s just a bit of verisimilitude, I suppose, showing that not EVERYTHING in the world revolves around the PCs. Still pass though, I don't want to create a red herring subplot that I have zero ideas prepared for. 40:The Truth in Rumors The PCs are in a tavern in town, and a storyteller relates to them the story of “Edrake the rake,” the lover of a wife of a duke, who stole her ruby torc that symbolized her position, and then absconded. This is not a famous old story, it’s based on recent events. And the bard was Edrake, and he slips the torc into a party member’s belongings, “confident on retrieving it later after leaving town.” The party is stopped and searched when heading out of town, and the torc being on them lands them in hot water. Wait. Back up. Why on earth would Edrake have thought he could get the torc back? Either it’s going to end up back in the hands of the duke, or in the hands of heavily-armed wanderers! Slipping it to the PCs makes no sense at all unless he’s just trying to take the heat off! Which I guess is OK, but then he probably shouldn’t be telling them the story and begging them to make the connection between himself and his bard persona! This premise is just nonsense. Pass. 41: Genuine Draft The party is accosted by a military group near a city, and the sergeant tells them that there’s a mandatory one-month military service for all residents in the area. If they protest that they’re not residents, she doesn’t believe them, or at least pretends not to. Seems like she’s angling for a bribe - you can pay 200 gp to have someone else serve in your stead. Otherwise, she orders her twenty soldiers to capture their group. Bear in mind this is a low-level encounter - no fireballs, presumably. Heavy-handed, but sure, let’s throw a hella-corrupt military into whatever area the PCs are in. And if the PCs fight, they just have to break the soldiers’ morale to win, they don’t need to kill all twenty first-level fighters. Keep. Dallbun fucked around with this message at 18:00 on Jul 16, 2020 |
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Jul 16, 2020 16:02
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My secondary skill is The Deck of Encounters Set Two Part 9: The Deck of Culture and Hangers-On 42: Blade of Vengeance The PCs walk into a town that’s preparing a lot of food for a festival celebrating a long-dead local hero. In fact, the PCs are asked to help with their choice of the parade, banquet, or dance. When the festival begins, the mayor gives a little speech. The mayor is also supposed to meet the parade at the end of the route, but the PCs notice the glint of steel beneath a float, which is an assassin intending to kill him “to avenge an ancient wrong caused by the local hero.” I could use a couple details about this hero and the grudge, but I can’t get angry at an encounter that invites the PCs to help organize a festival. Keep. 43: Into the Drink The PCs are leaving a tavern when a very drunk man accosts them, says he’s been admiring their talents from afar, and asks to join them. He’s adamant that he’s quite talented in stealth and combat, but his efforts to prove it will result in slapstick. The city watch will eventually pick him up to take him to the fantasy drunk tank or whatever. While being dragged away, he “offers to meet them when he is released to discuss the share of any future treasures.” Sure, why not. Keep. 44: Youthful Ambitions When the PCs are leaving a small town, a twelve year-old jumps out and threatens the PCs with a wooden sword - really, he’s trying to impress them with his adventuring prowess so they’ll take him with them. Logical arguments will not sway him, but the card suggests that redirecting his heroism would be effective: “Perhaps you should remain here to better protect your parents’ farm.” He will not actually be happy on the road, and if he is taken along, his angry parents and other townsfolk will pursue them. Keep. 45: Observer The PCs are near a national border, and see someone waving in the distance. It’s a courteous foreign woman who isn’t completely fluent in the local language, and who asks to accompany them for safety in numbers. She avoids sharing anything about who she is or where she’s from. She’s from the nation across the border (which makes it weird that none of the PCs can place where she’s from). “She assumes there are hostilities between her country and the party’s - which may be true, which is why she’s hesitant to speak about it.” Wait, what? Is it so unknowable whether the two countries are feuding or not? Also, she’ll be surreptitiously writing notes on the local culture, “conjectures about local customs,” etc. in a book at night, but she’s not a spy - “her interests… are purely personal.” OK, but… this country shares a border with yours. Probably your two cultures are fairly familiar with each other? Honestly, I’m just kind of confused by this whole thing. Pass. 46: The Small Con The PCs are shopping in a bazaar, and are approached by a (apparently) nine year-old boy who explains that he was left behind by his weaver parents who came to market to hawk their wares. (It’s clear from his story that he wandered off, but he insists that they forgot about him; cute touch.) His aim is to get them to let him spend the night with them, fill his pockets and abscond, because he is a halfling con artist. Ah yes, just like in Deck of Encounters 1, a con artist encounter that hinges on halflings being indistinguishable from human children. That is not okay, for multiple reasons! Just.. make it an actual human child! Then this encounter is fine. Keep.
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Jul 17, 2020 15:01
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Night10194 posted:So they're playing the level drain card, but you're level 1 and likely to stay there forever so...aren't those just one-hit kills? They're level 1 characters, anything is a one-hit kill
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Jul 17, 2020 22:43
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Gary Gygax pitched a sequel to the Dungeons and Dragons cartoon, wherein a group of kids are sucked into The Deck of Encounters Set Two Part 10: The Deck of Crimes 47: The Price of Valor Outside a tavern, six rear end in a top hat rakes try to pick a fight by intentionally bumping a PC and claiming insult. It goes pretty much like what you’d expect. Pass just because it could so easily be one sentence on a random encounter table. 48: False Hope In a tavern, a PC is slipped a note telling them to go to a nearby alley at midnight to learn more about [insert quest that the PCs have been discussing here]. Their contact will be a woman in scarlet robes. They’re instructed to go alone, because she’s easily frightened. If they go, nobody will actually show up at the alley all night, but they’ll be jumped on the way back by five muggers who try to beat them up and take their money. They have some silver and a silver brooch worth 25 gp on them. The main sticking point I see is the implication that the PCs were discussing their quest out loud in the tavern, for people to overhear. Maybe they were, maybe they weren’t? But actually playing out tavern conversations wasn’t usual at my table, and I wouldn’t want to dictate any of their character actions. Still seems mostly functional, though, I guess? Keep? 49: Sight of Death The PCs wander into an idyllic small village, when a dark-cloaked figure jumps out from under a porch, stabs a shopkeeper, and bolts. Eventually he’s found hiding in some stables, and the PCs are rounded up by the constable to give testimony. However, the nearest Justice is a wandering paladin and won’t be back through for two weeks. Also, the man “has been identified as a member of a rather powerful guild of cutthroat thieves. To avoid the risk of vengeance from fellow guild members, the characters are secreted away in a deep basement, along with another witness, an elderly woman named Kalenya.” The woman will spend the whole time forecasting doom and death. “This encounter may lead to the encounter, Cry for Silence.” Fairly nice. I can take or leave the gang of thieves, honestly - if I was a player, I would not feel threatened by any organization that this fool was a part of. But even if you don’t make the PCs hide in a basement, I love the idea that they might need to hang out in this random village for two weeks so they can give testimony. Plenty of opportunity for good slice-of-life roleplaying there. Keep. 50: Cry for Silence So the PCs are hiding in a basement with a pessimistic old woman named Kalenya. Five thieves will murder the guards and sneak in on the eighth night and try to kill all the witnesses. When the Justice arrives, they may accuse the PCs of trying to break out, if Kalenya doesn’t speak up for them. Uh, this is fine as a second part of the earlier encounter card, but in no way does it stand on its own. So pass on putting it into an actual deck of encounter cards. You could set it aside as an addendum for when you draw the first card, I suppose? 51: Friend or Foe The PCs are in a city, and a young man runs past them, pursued by an older one accusing him of theft. If the PCs pursue the thief, he’ll lead them on your standard merry chase, but dump the goods before they catch him. Then he’ll protest his innocence. He’ll also be thankful if they let him go, and keep an eye out for ways to help them while they’re in town. Thanks, Aladdin! Meanwhile, if they return him to the merchant, he’ll have the kid arrested and give them a 50% discount on his wares (what wares? unspecified.) Short, serviceable. It would be nice to know what kind of merchant this is, and what the guy stole, though. Let’s say… fine hats. Keep.
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Jul 18, 2020 14:14
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Everyone posted:Honestly a lot of the ones you've Passed on could be Keeps with a little extra development. It's true. I'm coming from a very lazy DMing perspective - I want cards that create interest without me having to do much work. Unless the card grabs me, in which case I'm fine with doing some work. This one didn't grab me, but it clearly grabbed you. It's all very capricious.
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Jul 18, 2020 15:35
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Half-orcs are prohibited from reaching beyond level 4 in The Deck of Encounters Set Two Part 11: The Deck of Trivialities and Healing 52: Sleep Tight “This encounter takes place in a remote inn far from any measure of civilization.” (Other than... an inn.) Basically, it’s a crossroads inn, servicing travelers. It’s run-down and well-used, but the proprietor family is friendly, and the food and drink is good. The beds, however, are infested with vermin that will spread to themselves and their clothing. Annoying but harmless in a larger sense. “The PCs get bedbugs.” Is that an amusing roleplaying prompt, or the most crushingly boring encounter ever devised? Jury? 53: Tourists “Deep in the heart of one of the region’s largest cities, the party is hastily endeavoring to complete a mission of great import.” Okay, I’ll put this in my “City Encounters When the Party is in a Big Hurry” deck. Anyway they’re accosted by five travellers who need directions to various places. They’re very apologetic for taking the party’s time, but also persistent. The PCs’ situation would have to be quite specific for this to be consequential or entertaining. Pass. 54: Medic! The PCs are approached in or near civilization by a wounded warrior in banded mail, who politely requests directions to the nearest temple that sells healing, but declines to give more information. If they follow her she reconvenes with four other wounded/unconscious comrades. They’ll be grateful for help getting to medical aid, will happily pay 30 silver if the PCs provide magical healing, and will gratefully join them as henchmen or something if the PCs heal them and refuse payment. They don’t have names, but even that is less important than the screamingly obvious question of how they got wounded. Give me a sentence at least! I can throw it out if I have a better idea, but then at least I have a default! Eh. Fine. Keep, there’s almost certainly some threat nearby that I can tie this in to. 55: Honor at a Price Leaving an expensive shop, a PC collides with a dandy flanked by two anxious-looking bodyguards. Unless they apologize profusely, he’ll slap them in the face with a glove and demand a d, d, d, duel! (Obviously one of the bodyguards will stand in as his champion.) If the PCs do win, the dandy will honorably apologize, pay for healing, and offer an additional 20 pp as recompense. I immediately feel sorry for these poor beleaguered bodyguards, and I’m sure the PCs will too. That provides a fun dynamic to an otherwise straightforward encounter. Keep. 56: The Survivor In a cold, snowy hill area, the PCs find two dozen dead orcs. “Although one has a dagger buried in his breast, and a few are surrounded in pools of blood where their flesh has been chewed to the bone, most of the orcs appear unharmed.” Except for being dead. Actually, one is barely alive, and she’ll be understandably grateful if saved. Her war band got lost in the arctic and were starting to resort to cannibalism. Considering they’re all dead now, she’s inclined to follow the PCs for a while. Keep. Nice potential henchman. Dallbun fucked around with this message at 16:04 on Jul 19, 2020 |
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Jul 19, 2020 15:49
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The material component for a monster summoning spell is The Deck of Encounters Set Two Part 12: The Deck of Orcs and Kobolds (which is why nobody plays with material components) 57: The Value of Gold The PCs are hired as caravan guards for a merchant shipping food and weapons. Folks are worried about rampaging orc tribes. On the fifth day of travel, the caravan is attacked by, uh, a rampaging orc tribe. It’s supposed to be surprising when they fire flaming arrows at the wagons, because the caravan master assured the PCs that they’d try to take the goods intact, but apparently the orcs have learned that it’s more effective to just loot the coinage. OK, whatever. This is still a pretty boring quest. 58: Family Matter A well-dressed half-orc, a big man about town, invites the PCs to a fancy dinner before approaching them with a business proposition. “He tells them that he is extremely displeased with a particular individual whom he would rather see… not living.” Specifically, it’s the former chieftain of a “recently conquered orc tribe” who sold out the tribe for gold. (Including the patron’s human mother, who lived with the tribe; the guy will not reveal this, nor that he is the chief’s bastard son.) He offers “hints about the chief’s probable hideouts” and 100 gp reward each. The details here are a bit unclear. What exactly is this former chief doing now, and who did he strike this deal with? I like parts of it, but it would take some fleshing out to use. And I want to be able to use the card as soon as I scan it, without having to stop and furrow my brow. Pass. 59: The Champions “This encounter takes place near a small, peaceful community.” The town council delicately approaches the PCs about fighting a representative from a “nearby band of terrorist orcs,” who have “finally agreed upon a settlement to end an age-old land dispute.” That settlement being a duel of champions. So, tell me, “peaceful community,” might this “age-old land dispute” involve your ancestors coming in and settling the area that the orc tribe had been (seasonally or permanently) inhabiting, and fighting off the “terrorist” orcs when they tried to interfere? Is that possibly what’s going on here? The card says that the orcs are duplicitous and nineteen more orcs run out from hiding to attack, giving the PCs moral justification to slaughter them all, but if you played the orcs as earnest, wouldn’t it be more interesting? And wouldn’t it be SO TEMPTING as a player to throw the fight and watch the town council squirm and try to find justification for reneging on the deal? Keep, but the orcs are genuinely trying to end the blood feud. 60: An Unusual Request The PCs are employed by a dwarf to go find a band of kobolds who have been raiding merchant caravans… and hire them to go annihilate a local goblin tribe, instead. Privateer logic. The PCs may be able to lure the kobolds out into an ambush, or track them back to their lair. They won’t accept the request if they were humiliated in some way by the PCs in the process of finding them/getting their attention, but if approached as respectfully as possible, they’ll agree. A fine quest. 61: Missile Ambush While traveling across plains, 10 kobolds leap out of hiding and attack with slings! They’ll flee if charged, or if they take some sustained fire. If the PCs pursue, they’ll follow the kobolds around a bend... where 15 more kobolds hiding behind a small hill leap out and attack with slings as well. The only treasure is a “key forged of electrum” which is worth 10 gp. I can’t say no to kobolds exhibiting base cunning.  Keep. 62: To the Victors Go the Spoils In a dungeon, the PCs run across 15 kobolds looting some goblin corpses. They fling the treasure at the PCs as a distraction, and try to flee into “gloomy, twisting passages.” If the PCs force a fight, they’ll surrender when more than 75% are killed. (I’d be surrendering long before that, I think…) If captured, they’re all about escaping or calling for help. The treasure is 17 gold and 23 silver, btw. There’s also a potion of diminution on one goblin that the kobolds didn’t find. Randomly having gold literally flung in characters’ faces is cute. Keep.
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Jul 20, 2020 15:20
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One less-popular type of polearm is the The Deck of Encounters Set Two Part 13: The Deck of Goblins and Hobgoblins 63: The Little Trolls The PCs are travelling through a swamp and encounter a rickety bridge over an extra-deep part of the swamp. It was built and protected by twelve goblins who hide in the underbrush and under the bridge until the PCs are on it, at which point they demand a 10 gp/head toll or attack if denied. If they seem to be losing the battle, the goblins under the bridge collapse the supports on it and send the PCs into the water. It’s a friggin’ toll encounter, and I had enough of those in the last deck, but it has a few cute details. I guess. Keep against my better judgement. 64: The Rights of Miners The PCs are in a mineral-rich hill country, and are approached by miners who want them to bodyguard them as they contest valuable copper ore from a group of goblin miners who claim it as well. Cool, cool. I like the very real possibility that the goblins are the rightful possessors of the copper under the ancient Right of Dibs. Then it becomes a tower defence game. The PCs get 100 gp per day they successfully defend the miners. The first two are quiet, but on the third, “18 goblins rush into the mines in a surprise attack. The goblins are only interested in supporting their claim, swooping in to attack for only 2-4 rounds before bolting. The attacks come once a day at varying times. If, at the end of one week - and seven attacks - at least two-thirds of the miners still live, the goblins give up their hold on the mine. Conversely, if the miners’ numbers ever drop below 66%, they pack their gear” and abandon the mine themselves. Cool, but can I use my gold to construct automatic crossbow turrets? No, seriously, I would want to go ALL IN on this if I did it, with a map and defences that you could construct each day and specialized goblin variants and tactics. Just for a laugh. But I’m intending to have this be one of many possible encounters in a deck, and as written… multiple goblin combats is fairly boring stuff, honestly. Pass, I guess. 65: Little Slavers The PCs are going down a well-travelled road when 25 goblins approach cautiously but peacefully. A common-fluent translator says they have merchandise to offer - that merchandise being “eight chained demihumans” of various races, for 100 gp each. “Freeing them will earn considerable gratitude, while keeping them as slaves will force the party to face reactions based on society’s view of slavery in the campaign world.” And also we’re gonna have to have a serious out-of-game chat about group expectations. I mean, murdering slavers and freeing their victims is good fun - that’s why the A series of modules are classics. If that’s a theme I want going in my campaign world, I can see keeping it. Honestly, I’m probably not running that kind of game though, so pass. 66: Wrong Place, Wrong Time The PCs wander past a small village that is on fire. Hobgoblin bodies everywhere. Equipment piled up and set on fire in the center of the village. While the PCs are investigating, 14 hobgoblin warriors on horseback return to the town from a raid and descend upon the PCs, thinking them responsible. Sure, but who destroyed the village? It’s important! You can fit some more useful detail in there instead of writing things like “As the party looks about the ravaged landscape, they notice another cloud - this one of dust - rising in the distance.” Focus on playability! Fine, though, keep. All I need is some other violent group in the area to tie this back to. And if there isn’t one of those, what kind of game am I running? 67: Spear of Death In a dungeon, the PCs run into a rival party of 12 hobgoblins. One of them has a magic spear, and at the start of battle will raise it high, recite an incantation (in Hobgoblin) “for the spirit of the great Kaladok to guide his arm,” and charge into battle in a berserker rage. If he falls, another hobgoblin will try to grab it and repeat the process. In fact the spell does nothing - it’s just a spear +1. If you specifically want to drop a +1 weapon into the game, this is an acceptable way to do it. Keep. 68 Second Chance The PCs are crossing vast plains, but are being pursued by nine hobgoblins. When they catch up, they close to melee range… but then one of the hobgoblins turns on the others, creating bloody confusion and making the others easy pickings. The turncoat was originally human. “However, he was slain while exploring with another adventuring group. With no priests on hand, a wizard comrade was forced to reincarnate him. An outcast of his home society, he chose to live with the hobgoblins, until their insidious habits nearly drove him insane.” (Karl just wouldn’t stop picking his nose in public, or what?) He doesn’t want to be friends or travel with them or anything, and just departs. Uh, as written, the PCs are kind of bystanders in this whole thing. It feels like there should be some kind of hook here. Pass, though I’d like to hear folks’ ideas for where to go with this.
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Jul 21, 2020 14:22
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Night10194 posted:I'm basically always up for murdering the hell out of slavers and freeing their captives, personally. Hmm, on second thought, you're probably right. I guess passing on that was like passing on an encounter where you fight nazis because I'm not sure I want nazis in my game world. I can make room for some nazis so the PCs can fight them. Same logic should apply to slavers.
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Jul 21, 2020 15:07
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Rangers can choose a favored enemy at 1st level, such as Goblins, Dragons, or The Deck of Encounters Set Two Part 14: The Deck of Gnolls and Trolls 69: Lost Cause The PCs draw near a cabin where they might be able to take shelter, but it is in the process of being ransacked by a dozen gnolls who throw a dude out the front window at the most cinematically-opportune time. They’ll also take an (unconscious) mother and son as hostages if the PCs fight them and seem to be winning. Geez, oddly intense for a random encounter. Keep? 70: Splitting Hairs The PCs come upon a “score of gnolls” (30, specifically) fighting each other for some reason. If they hang back, “only 2-12 gnolls will remain standing” at the end. They’re fighting over a brooch of shielding that is worth dying over for some reason. Maybe they live in fear of magic missiles? Maybe the sale of it would fund someone’s retirement to Gnoll Havana? The broach was thrown clear in the fighting, though. No major problems, though it's kind of an easy magic item get. Keep. 71: A Most Dangerous Game The PCs are traveling through rough terrain when they’re overtaken by a “hardy-looking,” bastard-sword armed woman. If conversed with, she’ll share that she’s tracking a “gnoll brigand” in the area who killed her brother. She’s not interested in help. The PCs will find her body later, and then be ambushed by the gnoll a little while afterward. It is a single, standard gnoll. Attacking a whole party of adventurers. It’s a low-level encounter, I know, but still seems pretty foolish. The woman’s family will be grateful if her body is returned. It would be easier to track down her family if the card gave her a name. Grim, but I feel like I have to keep this just because it’s a woman alone in the wilderness who’s not actually a monster, and coming from the first Deck of Encounters, that’s pretty refreshing. 72: The Desert Thorn The PCs are asked in a town to kill a vicious desert troll that terrorizes the desert nearby. They’ll have to track it somehow, or bait it out by splitting into smaller groups - the card doesn’t go so far as to say the troll won’t attack a large group, but that would make sense. Eventually the troll, camouflaged, will attack one of the bait groups, focusing on killing one target at a time. 600 gp reward. It’s a boring quest but fine. 73: Deadly Pair The party camps in the wilderness and two trolls attack in the night. “If the party has not thought to set a watch,” haha, stop right there, card, that’s ridiculous. Anyway, one troll will try to make noise to lure away a sentry and jump them, while the other sneaks into camp for murder. They’ve got no treasure or anything, though the card reminds us that fresh troll blood is worth moolah. Pretty thin content. Pretty much just “1d3 trolls” on a random nighttime encounter chart. Pass.
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Jul 22, 2020 17:25
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Leraika posted:The card itself says you can't help her. Dallbun fucked around with this message at 22:24 on Jul 22, 2020 |
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Jul 22, 2020 22:18
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Leraika posted:To put it another way, I've no real interest in a card that introduces a woman and then expects her to get murdered because that's what the card's about (per the synopsis; I certainly don't have it in front of me). That is definitely a fair description.
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Jul 22, 2020 22:25
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Leraika posted:I don't think 'woman alone in the wilderness who only exists to get slaughtered' is much of an improvement, honestly. Hard pass from me. For the record, this is also very fair. Everyone remembers the moral panic in response to the publication of The Deck of Encounters Set Two Part 15: The Deck of Mers and Fishmen 74: Momentary Solution The PCs are on a ship not far from a port, and see a man out to sea, waving - but they’re not overboard, they’re a merman. This guy wants to trade, basically - his peoples’ legends say they once had legs to walk on land, but “a mysterious power changed their form.” He wants to trade his wand of fire (with 76 charges!) for a potion of polymorph self, and he can meet them back there later if they need to go find one to trade. Wouldn’t a polymorph spell from a mage work just as well? Apparently not, because he specifically won’t accept one of those. For… reasons? Other than the odd potion focus, seems OK. Keep. P.S. The wand of fire is good, but can we hold out for something better, like his voice? 75: From Beneath the Sea Port city, dockside tavern at night, the PCs are waiting for their ship to depart the next day. Sailors burst in shouting about “creatures from beneath the waves.” Oh no! Sixteen sahaugin are attacking, and they’re already fighting a bunch of sailors! Well, that’s… not super interesting! One of them is wearing a helm of comprehending languages and reading magic, though, and the card says they’ll relay any strategies the PCs shout at each other to their fishy allies. Kind of lame fight, kind of really good treasure. But at least it sets up an ongoing conflict, if you eant to run with it. Keep. 76: Boarding Party The party’s ship takes some damage on rocks, and they need to land and make some repairs. “After a day of bailing water,” they near land; however, the party is then attacked by sahaugin with nets and crossbows. Nice saltwater-proof crossbows you’ve got there, sahuagin. I guess it’s okay, if you don’t have another mechanic in place that allows for the possibility of random ship damage while travelling. Keeps things potentially eventful. Keep. 77: Food Fight The party stops in a crossroads inn that is clearly fuller than usual - the staff are frazzled, etc. There’s a short cut-scene where a “gruff dwarf” spits some cold stew into the face of a companion, who throws the gruel at her but misses and hits a half-orc, and then a food fight is on throughout the whole tavern. (Is it a tavern, or an inn?) It probably ends with everyone laughing, unless someone accidentally gets hurt. Random, inconsequential, cute. Keep. 78: Curfews of the Mind The PCs are heading to their lodgings after carousing when they are accosted by uniformed guards who are on the lookout for “unhumans.” If there are any nonhuman party members, they’re arrested for being in violation of curfew, as are any human “treacherous sympathizers.” Humans might be able to talk their way out of it; nonhumans would have to fight. Still, even if arrested, nonhuman characters will be released in the morning with a warning. This is, like, the first sign that the party is supposed to have encountered that the local government is repressively anti-demihuman? I’m not sure I buy that. You might do this level of fantasy racism as a THING in your campaign, but I wouldn’t do it as “a thing I drew from a deck of cards just now.” Pass. Dallbun fucked around with this message at 18:35 on Jul 23, 2020 |
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Jul 23, 2020 17:29
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“Art objects” include such treasure as paintings, sculptures, and The Deck of Encounters Set Two Part 16: The Deck of Skeletons and Ankhegs 79: Kiss of Death The PCs are trekking through snowy terrain when they come upon half-buried bones from some kind of large humanoid (a hill giant). If they dig them up, they’ll find the skeleton is completely intact, there’s no meat on them, and it’s still clutching a war club. The wind howls and the giant skeleton rises and attacks them. “...in the nearby cave of its ages-dead master is a small wooden chest holding 1,200 sp.” Could use just a couple more cool details. But it’s still a keep. 80: Final Turn While traveling through a dungeon, 18 skeletons rush the party and attack. Actually, they’re fleeing in the PCs’ direction because they were turned by another cleric, whose body the PCs can find a little ways away, having been just killed by the two skeletons that resisted turning. He’s got a platinum holy symbol worth 250 gp. It’s dangerous to go alone, dude. Keep. 81: March of the Dead The PCs set up camp for the night, set up their watch rotation as you do, and then around midnight hear the sound of marching. It’s just an entire undead army headed their way. Hundreds of skeletons and zombies, not in formation but all headed directly toward some distant objective. The PCs have ten rounds to get out of the way, and anything they leave behind will get trampled - otherwise, twenty-odd skeletons will attack them but the others who don’t draw quite as close will ignore them. This tickles me. I can just imagine some necromancer villain with their real time strategy game UI selecting “attack move” with this army of cannon fodder and then turning their attention to micromanaging their death knights or whatever. Keep even though I’m gonna need to think fast, because there’s no way the PCs don’t follow this army to see what’s going on. 82: The Guide The PCs get lost in the mountains, and stumble on a hospitable small mountain village. They’re not willing to send a guide with the PCs, but will direct them to a nearby aarakokra community who are fairly peaceful. They turn out to be very bribeable with gold and gems, and one in 10 of them speak Common, so it should be a fruitful relationship. I would play up the relationship between the human village and aarakokra one - have regular trade, maybe a shared festival or two where they host the other community, etc. Keep. 83: Terror from the Ground The PCs have been travelling across farming country, and receiving good hospitality because people like having heavily armed wanderers around in case of bulette attacks. And what should suddenly burst out of the ground as they’re passing a random farm but… Anyway it grabs a farmer but will drop them if attacked, and can be driven off by taking it to half HP. The farmer’s family will be very grateful, etc., and “the farmer demands that the party members take his great grandmother’s locket, a gold-and-diamond inlay piece worth 300 gp.” Nice tidbit there. Keep.
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Jul 24, 2020 16:19
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With AC 6, two attacks, and an additional rake if their claw attack hits, a domestic cat is deadlier than The Deck of Encounters Set Two Part 17: The Deck of Bats and Bears (Bug- and non) 84: Cloud of Darkness In a small forest down, everyone is freaked out because there’s been a dark cloud over the lake every dusk since summer began, and an ancient prophecy written by the seers who settled the town foretold that a cloud of blackness over the still waters “means imminent destruction.” Everybody is preparing for the end times, stocking up at Costco, that kind of thing. It turns out it’s just bats who have settled the underside of the north bridge in large numbers, and who emerge at night to feed on insects in great numbers. The villagers will pay the PCs some if they settle this mystery. Okay, but just because the dark cloud is bats doesn’t mean that destruction is not imminent. I would definitely have the town be reduced to a smoking crater the next time the party passes through. Keep. P.S.: The card provides stats for Bats (5000). They each have one hit point, AC 8, a THAC0 of 20, and deal 1 damage. Clearly, this is relevant information for the encounter. 85: The Book’s Cover The PCs are going to an “eerie, frightening forest castle” to meet with “an important, yet supposedly disturbed, vassal, Baron von Vladerik.” Wait, a vassal? Like, their own vassal? Or they have a lord and this is their vassal? This is a low-level encounter, though. Why are they here again? Anyway, a hunchbacked assistant lets them in while “another servant, the lovely Menya,” shows them into the foyer and offers a bit of refreshment while they wait for the baron. She’s polite but doesn’t have anything interesting to say. They hear footsteps approaching, a bat flies into the room, and then the man himself “dressed in exquisite fineries,” comes in. The bat is just a pet, and the baron is “quite normal and willing to deal with the party members.” Deal with them about what, again? A statblock is given for the bat, for some reason. I am not 100% sure that I am capable of running this encounter without making the NPCs into Riff-Raff, Magenta, and Dr. Frank N. Furter. That is not necessarily a minus. Regardless, the card isn’t quite playable as is. You can’t even really use it as a quest, because the reasons for the PCs being there are pretty… unclear. I have to pass. 86: Lumbering Death The PCs are travelling through the mountains and there’s a storm but hey, there are some caves that they can make it to to take cover in! How convenient! “However, as they begin to set up camp , the characters hear a low growl come from one of the small chambers around the corner.” Which the PCs definitely did not explore before they began setting up camp. Whatever. Anyway it’s a bear and the bear is pissed at the intrusion and also because it’s protecting a bear cub. There’s like 90 gp worth of treasure and some mundane equipment in the back from previous victims. This thing hits every mountain cave trope and every bear trope simultaneously, with no twists at all. Pass and I’ll immediately forget that it ever existed. 87: Entrapment The PCs are in a dungeon and find two bugbears in cages who ask to be freed. If the PCs won’t, the bugbears will call them cowards, and then bargain with a magic wand that they claim is of fireballs, and that they heard the command word for but cannot use (because they’re not wizards). If freed they’ll “attack unarmed or flee, depending on the party’s apparent strength.” Just how weak does your party have to seem for two unarmed bugbears to try to pick a fight with you? If they flee they’ll throw the wand away in hopes that the party goes after it instead of them. It’s actually of paralyzation, and the command word will have to be identified. Sure. Keep. 88: Bigger and Better Prey The PCs are in a dungeon and find some short humanoid skeletons still wearing weapons and armor. Marks on the floor suggest that they’ve been dragged into the room. I have no idea why that matters, because a naked goblin bolts into the room and tries to bolt the door behind him, but is pursued by six bugbears that were hunting it. If they protect the cowering goblin it’ll be able to lead them to the bugbears’ lair, which has like 300 gp of coinage and If you run this encounter, that goblin is probably going to end up being adopted by the party. So if you don’t have enough random weirdos following the PCs around yet, then keep. 89: Sound of the Dying The PCs hear a cacophony echoing through the dungeons, and can trace it back to eight bugbears getting blotto on “a dozen open casks of wine and ale.” They are no threat whatsoever, but if the PCs threaten them, they’ll start shouting insults and eight sober bugbears will run in and fight. Seems more likely that the PCs will want to party with the bugbears than kill them, really. Keep. 90: The Birthing In a dungeon, the PCs run into a carrion crawler laying eggs in the corpse of a bugbear. She summons her mate pheremonally when disturbed. The mate has undigested bracers of defence AC 6 in its innards. Very plain, but I enjoy an occasional spot of dungeon ecology. Keep. Dallbun fucked around with this message at 01:24 on Jul 26, 2020 |
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Jul 25, 2020 15:46
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Gary Gygax randomly created the original version of the Temple of Elemental Evil by using The Deck of Encounters Set Two Part 18: The Deck of Centaurs, Centipedes, and Claws 91: Axeman The PCs are in a forest. A man carrying an axe runs past them politely, says they never say him, and dives into the bushes. Shortly afterwards, eight centaurs ride by in fast pursuit, soon backtracking to interrogate the PCs about whether they saw the man, who was “caught putting axe to a sacred tree.” They’ll be pretty suspicious if the PCs claim not to have seen him. They’ll try to take all the human males in the party as prisoners if they don’t have better leads - guess they didn’t get a good look at the guy. Pretty meh. Why was this guy trying to cut down a sacred tree in centaur territory? Why would the PCs cover for this dude, anyway? The hooks just aren’t interesting. I’ll pass. 92: The Mare So… the PCs are camping in a forest when a “young, female centaur” shows up, beckons them with a finger, and leads them on a little chase through the forest, staying ahead of them but just within sight. Acting, in short, coquettish. Then when the party gets tired she lets them catch up and will follow them around but only “giggles coyly” in response to questions. Then six angry male centaurs find them, seeking the female, who is their leader’s daughter. “At first, the centaurs refuse to believe that nothing other than harmless games has been played, but If the party speaks convincingly, and if they entertained the female enough to have her speak in their favor, the centaurs will let the party continue on their way.” So much centaur sexual politics. So much more than I wanted. It feels like Piers Anthony wrote this encounter card. I will pass. 93: Cannibals In dungeon tunnels, the PCs run into twenty giant centipedes just tearing into each other in frenzied cannibalistic feeding. Because they’re starving, and I guess it just now reached a head? They’ll certainly turn on new prey when the PCs arrive, but if anyone dies, they’ll then fight over who gets to feed on that corpse first. Their hunger also means they won’t flee, period. There’s a little treasure around - coinage and one third of a potion of extra-healing. Feels a little forced, but the visuals are evocative. Keep. 94: One Hundred Legs Farmers approach the PCs because a herd of centipedes is sweeping through the countryside eating livestock. Their pattern is easy to ascertain, though unspecified by the card (maybe the closest farm to a central lair?). They rush the livestock when they strike. The farmers will reward them in 50gp and a couple of gold candlesticks if they act especially quickly and prevent further damage. Keep. 95: The Guardian Loosed The PCs are in a tavern and approached by a very embarrassed wizard. He was “attempting to program” a crawling claw he created, but it got loose and hid, and he is understandably afraid it’s going to leap out at him and strangle him to death, because, you know, crawling claw. He’s offering 1,000 gp or 10 levels worth of spell scrolls, which sounds like a good deal to me. The problem is that the gameplay once you get to the wizard’s tower isn’t there. There’s no map or anything. The card just says “It takes some searching to find the claw,” but in the end it’s just crawling under the wizard’s bed. Could be amusing, but how do you make the problem-solving engaging? I don’t know. Jury? 96: The Patient Killers The PCs are passing through marshlands and need to cross a stream with no bridge. While they’re wading through, 11 crocodiles swarm them. And thaaaaaat’s pretty much the encounter. Everyone who’s not “extremely perceptive” is supposed to be caught blind-sided, which presumably means a surprise round for the crocodiles. And it’s a low-level encounter, meaning PC levels 1-4. Eleven crocodiles with a surprise round, with enough freedom of movement that the card notes there may be multiple crocs attacking each victim? The squisher party members are goners. The low-AC, high HP types might have a chance to escape, but not to win. I don’t foresee any fun here. Pass.
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Jul 26, 2020 14:57
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There’s been some discussion about the most useful way to utilize the Deck of Encounters - as pre-game prep material, inspiration, or as something to be utilized during the gaming session. Here’s what the deck itself has to say on the topic:Using These Cards posted:This, the latest DUNGEON MASTER DECKS™ accessory, can be used to spice up your campaigns in any number of ways - as a random encounter generator, as building blocks in a larger campaign, or to design an entire campaign. So they were presenting it as all things to all people. Of course, back in Deck One, the card writers were DEFINITELY not always on the same page about how the cards would actually be used. The perspective I’m taking is that I’m an AD&D 2E DM who wants to use the cards pretty much as written, and mostly as in-session random encounters. I mean, I figure I’d draw cards during a group bathroom/snack break; I don’t need to run the card while I’m reading it. But I’m a lazy DM, dammit, and I want to get maximum milage out of this Deck of Encounters, not Deck of Hooks or Deck of Encounters That You Really Need to Flesh Out More Before Use. I’m against expanding on a card if the idea really grabs me, but it’s not my default expectation. All along, Cythereal’s Manual of the Planes reviews were secretly The Deck of Encounters Set Two Part 19: The Deck of 97: The Patron The PCs are preparing to leave town on some kind of quest when their quest-giver approaches them and asks to go with them. “The patron promises that his or her presence will not affect the party’s payment.” It’s actually a doppelganger who will try to seduce There’s no particular motive given, but doppelgangers gonna doppelgang, I guess. Despite some holes in the premise, I suppose it’s playable. It’s conceivable that the “patron is hot for adventurers” excuse might even hold up until the first murder. But I’m not sure it’s fun. You really don’t want established NPCs to randomly be replaced with murderous doppelgangers, because you want your players to keep interacting with NPCs. Pass. 98: The Prisoners After beating some “monsters who might have prisoners,” the PCs find just that: “two men and one woman of whatever race is the most prevalent in the party” (jermlaine, I assume). They praise the party and promise rewards once they’re returned to their families. They’re actually doppelgangers who had recently been found out, and not killed for some reason, by the monsters the PCs killed. Their sudden and inevitable betrayal will take place the very first night. One will “assume the form of the most trusted slumbering character” and offer to take next watch after the current watchperson. This runs straight into gameplay problems: the DM would never normally play out one PC taking over the shift of another PC in the middle of the night, so OBVIOUSLY something is seriously wrong, but then the player kind of has to find an excuse to figure out why it’s wrong. Not to mention that the player of the trusted sleeping character probably won’t be playing their character right now. If the DM is on the PCs’ side, this it could be a fun encounter. If the DM approaches it adversarially and gets all snippity about in-character knowledge, things could get ugly. But I guess that’s true most of the time. So keep? 99: First Claim “Having received a tip that a large underground collection of caves is filled with treasure-rich monsters, the party has finally found the caverns.” What source is this again, exactly? Because this is actually a dwarven mine, and the forty dwarven miners will not be amused by visiting murderhobos. They’ll have to talk fast, give gifts, and/or be lectured at about “following unsubstantiated rumors” before they’re allowed to leave. Kinda like a boring fetch quest quest with no conflict or payoff. Pass. 100: Rowdy Dwarves In a tavern, there’s a group of ten, uh, rambunctious Khazâd. They’re so loud that it’s disruptive, and the bouncer is thrown onto the party’s table when he tries to intervene. The dwarves will then taunt the PCs. They’re really gunning for a tavern brawl, it seems, but won’t use weapons unless provoked, and will pay damages in the morning. Uninspired, but there’s a little detail to work with, and it’s fine as a roleplaying opportunity. Keep.
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Jul 27, 2020 15:25
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Old elves don’t die, they simply retire to The Deck of Encounters Set Two Part 20: The Deck of Elves and Gastly Ghoulies 101: The Beauty of Nature The PCs wander into grey elf territory in a forest, and of course four grey elf sentries reveal themselves and inform the party of this. However, unlike those rear end in a top hat wood elves, they’re quite friendly. They will insist the PCs visit the tribe, have a good meal, and “listen to several stories about the lands into which they have passed.” This translates to “lengthy lectures about the value of nature and how humans are destroying it.” “No debate on this subject is tolerated unless it comes from another elf or someone who displays tremendous intellect.” Ribbing environmentalists is a lot less amusing in 2020 than it presumably was in 1994. I’m gonna pass. 102: Hidden Retreat The PCs are in the woods, deep in elven territory, apparently by accident. As they draw obliviously nearer to a wood elf camp, wood elves keep an eye on them and eventually reveal themselves to insist that they turn around. If they don’t, the wood elves fight them like the xenophobic border patrol rangers that they generally are. They explicitly have mercy, however, and don’t finish off people who fell unconscious but didn’t die. (Instead they, and any corpses, will be dumped on the outskirts of the wood). The only real twist here is that “[The wood elves] speak in an elvish dialect so thick that only hue elves and half-elves who were raised in elven communities can understand the threats to leave.” I’m imagining the DM playing these elves with some kind of super-thick New York accent or something. Not great, because if the PCs are even semi-reasonable, they’ll just turn around, and that’s the end of the encounter. It’s the same deal as card #16, “The Hostile Forest,” from the first Deck of Encounters. Is there nothing more interesting that you can do with Wood Elves? Even thick elven dialect can’t save this. Pass. 103: Mysterious Structure A town’s mayor asks to speak with the PCs. Over refreshments, he explains that several of his associates have been found murdered while working late hours in the old municipal hall, which is rumored to be haunted. He wants them to determine the cause of death. “He quickly dismisses the possibility of assassins, for he is sure he has no enemies.” Well, that’s the most suspicious point here. Actually, it’s two gargoyles. That’s all. Implicitly they only animate late at night. They try to pick off loners. Meh. Trying to properly build up suspense while describing this old building, and play out an investigation, is way too much effort when the payoff is “two gargoyles.” Kinda like the crawling claw encounter, which in the end just wasn’t worth the effort. Pass. 104: Together in Undeath The PCs are passing through a small community and everyone is super warm and friendly except one guy in the corner, who is distant and depressed. His wife was “apparently attacked by wolves while riding alone one day.” Now he goes to her grave in the cemetery every evening to bring her roses and read her love poems. One night he does not return. That makes sense, because (to those of you new to the Deck of Encounters) cemeteries are horrible deathtraps that should never be visited by anyone with any common sense. The PCs are asked to join in the search. The dude has been turned into a ghoul by his own wife, who was killed by two other ghouls who inhibit the graveyard. There’s 345 gold in it for the PCs from the couple’s parents and the town as a whole if they get rid of them all. Frigging graveyards, man. I dunno. Keep? 105: Field of Death The PCs pass by an ancient battlefield. It’s long-since been picked clean. Which is why it’s weird when they’re suddenly “overcome by the stench of death.” It’s coming from three ghasts who live in the moors, who are now stalking the PCs through the fields of bones. There’s some coinage in their lair, scavenged from the battlefield. Nice evocative backdrop for a random monster fight. Keep.
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Jul 28, 2020 15:42
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mllaneza posted:And by the way, I don't think you've gotten enough love for the clever intros to each part of the review. They add a lot and are very much appreciated. Gnomes can be wizards, but they must specialize in The Deck of Encounters Set Two Part 21: The (Complete) Deck of Gnomes and Halflings 106: Practical Joke The PCs are travelling through hills despite having been warned that they’re haunted. At night, the person on watch is approached by a silent “beautiful or handsome ghost,” who beckons for them to follow; if they don’t, it dissipates, but if it does, it leads them into a big pile of crap. Other visions will appear, such as an army of elephant-riding ogres (which will disappear before they hit the camp), or a large hill giant who tries to stomp on them… but then disappears. They’re all illusions from a bunch of gnomes, and in the morning, their leader marches them into camp to apologize to the party. Your tolerance for gnomes, illusions, and whimsy may vary, but I guess I have no reason to throw it out. Keep. 107: Tiny Threats In a dungeon, there’s a room filled with debris, rocks, and It’s ok, but pretty empty. And maybe let the PCs react to the gremlins instead of having a forced combat? Keep I suppose. 108: An Artist Scorned In a town with a halfling shire nearby (is “shire” the generic term for a halfling settlement now?), a merchant approaches the PCs and explains that he commissioned a halfling woodcarver to make something for his daughter’s wedding… but time is running out. “Knowing nothing about the little fellow’s culture,” he’s offering 100 gp to these The halfling is friendly but turns gruff when the commission is raised, saying he refuses to let the marchant make a profit off his work. If told why the artist actually wants the work, he’ll be happy to complete it. So, wait... if he thought the merchant was an art speculator…and he hates that… then why… did he take the commission… in the first place? I guess you could change it so that the halfling hasn’t yet agreed, but even then it’s just too boring as a quest. Pass. 109: Unrequited Love The party notices a young man tailing them in the city. If confronted, he apologizes and says he wanted to observe them before hiring them. He recently bought an old house and it’s haunted. He’ll pay 200 pp for it to be cleared. Yep, it’s haunted by a, uh, haunt: another young man, who just wants someone to find his spouse and tell her he loves her. He’ll insist on possessing someone to accomplish this, and attack if they refuse. The woman is long dead, but that doesn’t change his goal - he’ll just need a speak with dead spell. “This will be quite difficult and expensive, since the loved one died 106 years ago.” No kidding - checking the Player’s Handbook, a 20th-level priest can only chat with a spirit who’s been dead a maximum of 100 years. You’d need a 21st-level priest! Could be interesting. Keep. P.S. According to the PH, speak with dead “does not function underwater.” What ridiculous shenanigans happened in some ancient D&D campaign to make them put that rule in place? 110: A Familiar Imp The PCs are passing through a fairly barren area with only a few ravens around. Actually it’s just a single disguised imp, the familiar of a local tower-dwelling wizard. It’ll turn into a spider and attack the party at night, fleeing if discovered and the fight isn’t going its way. (You’ve only got 14 hp, dude - if the fight isn’t going your way, you’re more than likely dead.) When it returns to its master, the card notes that “unless the party was intentionally destructive, the imp will simply be rewarded for its work, and nothing more will happen to the party.” Question - what would the party have been destructive towards in this empty, almost lifeless plain? (Also, why is the imp being rewarded for picking a fight with a party of adventurers, something that most tower-dwelling recluse wizards might try to avoid?) Basically an imp attacks, and that’s an annoying encounter under the best of circumstances. Pass.
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Jul 29, 2020 16:01
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PurpleXVI posted:Just want to chime in and say that despite my lack of replies, I am genuinely enjoying both the Degenesis and Deck of Encounters reviews, I just don't often have anything interesting to add as commentary. Everyone posted:On the other hand, if they capture and "interrogate" it, it can lead them to the tower of a (presumably) evil wizard. In which case possible new spells and magic treasure. I'd Keep it. Sure, it's a random attack, but it's a random attack that potentially leads into other stuff.
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Jul 30, 2020 14:20
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The Hackmaster 4th Edition product “The Deck of Ways to Screw Over Yer Players” was a parodic recreation of The Deck of Encounters Set Two Part 22: The Deck of Animal People that start with J, L, and M 111: The Deceivers The PCs are traveling across plains and are trailed by threatening jackals, who bay at the moon and get a little closer to the campfire than one might expect. That goes on for a few nights, then the night watch is approached by a man and a woman “strolling across the plains” towards them, gesturing peacefully. They say they’re lost and need a place to camp. That’s just to get within arm’s reach, though. They’re jackalweres who will drop their disguise and try to silence the guard “before the alarm can be sounded.” Pretty straightforward, and I'm never too big on "don't trust the NPCs, they'll try to murder you!" as a theme. Pass unless I specifically want the PCs to be on edge and suspicious in whatever part of the world they're visiting. 112: Ambush in the Marsh The PCs are ambushed in a marsh by a dozen lizard men who want to eat them. They call for reinforcements (another 12 lizard men) if pressed. If they’re all killed, they can be tracked back to their lair, which ~240 gp of coins and a potion of human control (dwarves). Also, if you want to, you can skin them to make AC 6 scale armor later, which is… horrifying and gruesome? Word of advice, intelligent hunting humanoids: do not hunt armed travelers for food. That is not a sustainable food resource! Hunt them for other reasons if you must, but if you get hungry, eat a gator or something. Anyway, a biome-appropriate straightforward standard combat encounter is not interesting enough. It's another card that could be replaced by the words “2d10 lizard men” on an encounter table. Pass. 113: Baying in the Night In a dense forest at night, the PCs hear the baying of wolves, and it moves closer. The card devotes many words to the idea of “five crazed werewolves attack!” If you kill them and track them back to their lair (“the cabin of a recent victim”), there’s 3 gp (wooooooo!) and a scroll of protection against lycanthropes. I guess that didn’t work out for this poor schmuck, huh? Just another forced combat, really. Pass. 114: Beneath the Streets The PCs are invited to dine with a city council member, who explains that the city is overrun with rats rising up from the sewers. (You’d think the PCs might have noticed that before being told, really). The mayor has ordered a cleanup, but this counselor is independently offering them 1,000 gp to sewer delve and destroy the rats below. It’s a dark, dungeon-y sewer, and going through, the PCs attract the attention of four wererats “who have made a home among their smaller cousins.” One of them has a brooch worth 25. It belonged to the council member’s son, whose son was killed by the wererats “while playing in the sewers.” Looks like helicopter parenting has some advantages after all. So is the idea that the counselor knew about the wererats and just didn’t tell the PCs for… reasons? There’s also no reason given as to why the rats in the sewer are overflowing. There’s no particular indication that it’s because of the wererats - summoning rat hordes isn't something they usually do. All I can think of is the Rat Faucet from Kingdom of Loathing. But eh, sure. It can be a little quest. Maybe I’d even have an idea for a larger rat plot. 115: Breeding Time The PCs are in town and are approached by “a representative of a large portion of the population” (hooray for detail!) who wants to hire them for 5,000 sp to retrieve a young woman. See, a minotaur who lives in a cave nearby “has recently decided it is time for him to mate,” and, uh…. sent his followers to kidnap “a local sweetheart.” Which they did. So, uh... Look, this is a scenario explicitly, specifically about minotaur rape. Pass. P.S. The minotaur’s weapon is a bardiche +1 “that lets the user move in complete silence,” and that’s pretty sweet, if sort of a slap in the face to the party thief. Just imagine a fighter sneaking silently behind a monster while their back is turned, clenching a six-foot-long axe. Dallbun fucked around with this message at 16:46 on Jul 30, 2020 |
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Jul 30, 2020 14:27
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A Wisdom of 19 confers complete immunity to cause fear, charm person, command, friends, hypnotism, and The Deck of Encounters Set Two Part 23: The Deck of Nymphs, Ogres, and Oddballs 116: Old Rations The PCs find an old storeroom in a dungeon, slightly cold and filled with the smell of rotten food. Not from the food - that’s long gone. From the brown mold growing all over one of the old crates. If they’re not cautious, the mold will absorb their heat or that from their torches, and grow/cause damage appropriately. Nothing of value in there. Nothing much happens here, but it’s so quick and inoffensive that I’ll keep. If nothing else, “brown mold room” is potential fuel for PC shenanigans in the dungeon. 117: Beauty and Death In the woods. The PCs hear beautiful singing in an unknown language. It’s a nymph by a pool, just about to disrobe and enter… so if you make your save vs. blindness and are dumb enough to keep staring silently, it’s save or die time. If startled, she dimension doors out but leaves behind a silk robe worth 50 gp, “a gift from an admirer.” How much of an rear end in a top hat do you have to be to pawn someone’s bathing robe that you stole? 100% straightforward nymph encounter, straight off the random encounter table. Which is to say, weird old D&D sex monster. Meh. Pass. 118: Chain Gang The PCs hear distant struggles, and arguing in Ogrish. It’s six ogres chained together. They’ve clearly escaped from somewhere that is not specified, and can’t agree on where to go from here. The card says it’s “a rather humorous scene.” If they notice the PCs they’ll gesture for help, but the card says that if the ogres are freed, they’ll “attack them in vengeance for what was done to them by other demihumans. Yet, if the characters do not help, the ogres will attack in vengeance for what was not done!” Haha, those funny evil ogres nursing their unreasonable grudges! Better to just kill them all, amirite? Obviously, I’d play these ogres as not automatically murderous. And then if I’m willing to introduce ogre slavery or prison labor exploitation as a lovely-rear end thing going on in my setting… then sure, keep. But for personal comfort reasons, I’m probably not doing that, so pass. 119: New Taste The PCs have been hired to get piercer corpses by a “local eccentric” who… wants to use them to make an awesome wine sauce. Tracking them down in the nearby natural caverns takes several weeks (!), but they finally find one in a very normal piercer environment. Once they get back, their patron has been forbidden by the city from messing around with monster corpses without a license, and “without the funds from her research,” she cannot afford to pay the party. Wait, who’s her patron? Take or leave the end twist, but it’s amusing to have a Dungeon Meshi-style quest. 120: The Pet The PCs visit an old friend for dinner. The friend invites the PCs to their home afterwards to show off a stirge that they’re keeping in a cage. It was a “humorous gift from an eccentric associate.” Does this eccentric associate… regularly send thinly-veiled assassination attempts by post? Afterwards they hang out and talk about adventures and play music, and a servant eventually knocks over the cage accidentally while bringing drinks. “The friend quickly relates that his attachment to the pet is far weaker than the attachment to his own life,” and doesn’t get upset at the servant for freeing it or the PCs for killing it. So you know, don’t make things too dramatic or interesting or anything. Now, a stirge in a cage as a ill-considered rich-person novelty is a great idea, but you want it in a crowded dinner party where the PCs need to pull a heist, or where you intend things to descend into chaos for some other reason. I’m not sure it carries the encounter by itself. Jury, how would you spin this?
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Jul 31, 2020 15:08
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AD&D 2E’s THAC0 system was much more streamlined than 1E, which resolved attack rolls by using The Deck of Encounters Set Two Part 24: The Deck of More Fighter Kits Cards 121 through 216 were written by Paul Riegel, who it appears did at least a little other work for TSR - the Greyhawk module WGM1: Border Watch, for example. 121: Encounter at the Oasis The PCs are in a desert, short on water, and find a watering hole with a small herd of camels nearby. It’s “controlled by the Brotherhood, a group of camel beast-riders who are sworn with religious fanaticism to the Albar, their leader.” Camel beast-riders. Okay. I mean, I know camel-mounted warriors are a thing, but “beast-riders” is perhaps a bit of a high-falutin’ term for them, don’t you think? Anyway, all eight riders are away from their tents when the PCs arrive, giving them a chance to loot some small amounts of coinage if they want to act like computer-game RPG protagonists. However, the riders will return soon. If the PCs aren’t thieves or total jerks, the Brotherhood will be friendly enough, and even if they stole, the riders will accept an apology and “a healthy tribute to the Albar.” I’m not sure I need the only Middle-East-inspired people in the deck so far to be war-camel-riding religious zealots. Besides, to make these dudes interesting I’d have to come up with their own strongly-held idiosyncratic religious beliefs on the spot. I’ll pass. KIT CORNER: Beast Rider (PHBR1 Complete Fighter’s Handbook) This fighter is from a tribe that takes a certain animal as their totem and is very good at forming bonds with it and riding it… “even if it’s a type of animal not normally considered a riding-beast.” It requires a Charisma of 13, which you’ll need because you also get a -3 Reaction modifier in most societies, and the DM is supposed to be constantly having people give you grief for being an uncivilized weirdo. Also, if your mount dies you take 2d6 damage and must save or act as if feebleminded. Finally, you have to start with hide, leather, or padded armor, but can pick up metal armor later in your career. In exchange, you get Animal Training and Riding as bonus NWPs, a +5 bonus to reaction rolls with the type of animal they choose, and start with a mount of the appropriate type that they have a weak telepathic bond with. It’s supposed to be possible, but kind of a pain, to get a new one. The entry includes a list of mounts that are considered appropriate, though the DM has to approve your choice. Under no circumstances should you ever choose loving camel. Start with elephant or fire lizard, and when the DM rejects it, bargain down to smilodon or unicorn. Kind of a weird kit, since your mount has to be appropriate for your whole career. It’s no problem if you’re starting at higher level to give your Fighter a griffon, but if you’re starting at level 1, your riding boar buddy is going to get outclassed pretty quick. Overall kind of cool, though. 122: War Party The PCs turn a narrow mountain pass and stumble into “two groups of humans fighting, one side just finishing off the other.” The winning side is led by a berserker who mistakes them for enemy reinforcements and leads the charge against them. If they’re quick they can escape, but it’ll take a riding check if they’re mounted. The berserker goes after the mightiest-looking warrior. Ehhhhhh. Who are these people? Why were these two groups even fighting? And you have like a fourth of the card blank. Give me something a little more inspiring. I guess I'll keep it because it's pretty simple to slot in two antagonistic local factions... not like they even need to be human... but I'm not super impressed. KIT CORNER: Berserker (PHBR 1: The Complete Fighter’s Handbook) If you have a 15 Strength, your fighting man can be a berserking man. They get Endurance as a bonus NWP. They get a +3 Reaction bonus from civilizations that have Berserkers, and a -3 from, uh, everybody else. They can’t start with the heaviest armor, but they can buy or acquire it later. And they can It’s way too fiddly, but that’s AD&D for you. I guess it serves its function. 123: Playing Hooky The PCs are passing through a town whose major export is gladiators (to compete in a nearby city). There’s a gladiatorial school there, but apparently the students are indentured or enslaved, because the city guard interrogates the PCs when they’re staying there, looking for “escaped ‘trainees.’” Later the group is approached by several “armed and well-trained gladiators” who want to hide out with them. They’ll ratchet up the pressure if the PCs refuse, eventually trying to kill them to take their places. Then the city guard will come back around, following a tip, and be extra “rude and inquisitive.” I see fun roleplay with the PCs putting disguise skills and magics to use, improv-ing backstories for the gladiators and claiming they’re previously-unseen members of the party / henchmen / whatever, etc. Or maybe just hiding them in a bag of holding. Keep, let them make some ex-gladiator buddies. KIT CORNER: Gladiator (from PHBR1: The Complete Book of Fighters) You need to take short sword, trident, and net as weapon proficiencies. You get Charioteering and Tumbling (from the Rogue list) as bonus NWPs. They have to buy their starting armor from a special list of Gladiator armor in the book, because this is ADVANCED Dungeons & Dragons, and it’s unacceptable to call Thracian armor mere “leather.” They get a free weapon specialization in their choice of bow, cestus, dagger, drusus, lasso, net, scimitar, short sword, spear, trident or whip, so that’s nice. Their main negatives are supposed to be that they’re famous and recognizable, and that they’re always getting hassled by promoters and managers. To make up for the gladiator’s benefits, “the GM should make it clear that these promoters are mostly of the sleazy variety who will cheat, rob and betray him at the drop of a hat.” I don’t even know what to say there. 124: Company of the Red Wing A small town has hired eponymous mercenaries to protect it and provide security. “The mercenary company is a well-disciplined military machine, but it was not trained or equipped for this mission. This has led to a split in the company between the mercenaries and myrmidions.” Wait, what's the difference? Are those two parts of the same company? It's not clear. And what's the threat from the outside or inside that the villagers are so worried about? Presumably mercenary companies don't come cheap. Anyway I guess the mercenaries are thuggish and everyone is afraid of them. The PCs see several terrorizing the townsfolk, demanding free beer from the bartender, and so on. They might extort the PCs for a “nonresident fee.” If they report the offenders, they’ll get in trouble with their unit commander. They might also pick a fight. This could have used a second draft, but it’s basically sound. Keep. KIT CORNER: Myrmidion (from PHBR1: The Complete Book of Fighters) A myrmidion is a professional soldier who goes around soldiering. They need 12 Strength and Constitution. They get free NWPs in Fire building and “Ancient History (specifically Military History),” presumably because they are all aspiring to rise to the rank of Major-General. They also get a free weapon specialization (nice) and begin with an employer. On the other hand, their military bearing and disciplined manner makes them extra recognizable (the kit notes that there are plenty of mercenaries with bad posture and poor presence; they just don’t have the Myrmidion kit), and they begin with an employer, which means the DM gets to boss you around. Screw the man! Be an Outlaw instead! “Memorable and distinctive” seems like a weird drawback for a character who’s likely to be travelling with a bunch of D&D weirdos, but whatever. 125: One Stands Alone A small bridge over a ravine between two mountains. “The PCs may have heard tales of a crazy old warrior who stands guard over the bridge,” or they might just be passing through. The latter seems more likely, because this is a random encounter and I DEFINITELY did not seed this information. An old warrior is protecting the bridge and is attacked by four trolls (who “come every day to raid”). He’s clearly nursing some old wounds and isn’t going to make it, though the outcome is pretty foregone to begin with given that he’s got no fire or acid. So yeah, the PCs are probably going to want to help. The interesting bit here is the Arthurian warrior, but he’s not given a name or a personality or anything, really. Bit of a shame. Kind of cool imagery, though... Keep and I'll just roll with it. KIT CORNER: Noble Warrior (from PHBR1: The Complete Book of Fighters) The Noble Warrior is probably a knight-type person if you’re in a medieval milieu, but might be different in other types of campaigns. They are distinguished from the Cavalier in that they are probably a brutal rear end in a top hat like most historic warrior caste people. “Noble” here means “rich,” not “good.” They need to take their noble weapon proficiencies, generally lance, long or bastard sword, and horseman’s flail or mace, and get Etiquette, Heraldry, and Riding as bonus NWPs. They start with 225 extra gold, get a +3 reaction modifier from folks of their culture, and can get shelter from lower-status people (or, at higher levels, from their patron). However, they have to have a liege lord, and they pay an extra 10% for each experience level on the price of pretty much anything they buy to represent buying things of the best quality, tipping, etc. (Honestly, I’d be happy paying that just so I can be constantly describing how my food, lodging, and equipment is much better and classier than everyone else’s.  ) If they can’t pay, they start getting negative Reaction Adjustments, because nobody respects a poor noble, I guess.So… wait, why WOULD this guy be guarding a bridge himself?
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Aug 1, 2020 15:57
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Thieves begin with a base 20% chance to decipher The Deck of Encounters Set Two Part 25: The Deck of Even More Thief Kits 126: A Little Help for the Baron “The town is rife with rumors about some sort of great meeting of minds at the baron’s castle.” Then the baron’s “new security specialist,” Margali, seeks out the PCs to come be special guards at the castle for the guests. She’ll pay them what needs to be paid. What she knows and that they don’t is that one of the guests has a price on their head and is being targeted by assassins. The assassins will sneak over the wall the first night to kill their target. Hmm, the situation is a little vague. We’re not told who’s being targeted, by who, or why. There’s no mini scenario for the combat, so I have to make up how they attack, the relevant layout of the keep, etc. It’s just a lot of mental work for me for a really simple premise. Pass. KIT CORNER: Troubleshooter (PHBR2 Complete Thief’s Handbook) This character is a security consultant/white-hat hacker - they try to break into places to figure out how to improve security. They must take the Observation NWP, and they get the special benefit/hindrance of incredible coincidences. The book describes it in terms of Murphy’s Law, that anything that can go wrong for them, will. This is supposed to be useful professionally, because they’ll just happen to encounter improbable weaknesses in security. “The DM is encouraged to bring it in at his discretion during play, for maximum excitement and role-playing fun. Fill the character's life with astronomically improbable events and bizarre coincidences.” So, basically, the Troubleshooter is… a PC? Under the optional rules, they get +5% Open Locks and Find/Remove Traps, and -10% Pick Pockets. So that’s... exciting. 127: Simple Escort Mission The PCs are in a city, and approached by a merchant who offers to hire them to escort his wagon to another town. He’ll pay well. Unfortunately, They’ll be stopped at their destination by guards who question them about all this poison that’s recently been showing up in town. (Lots of demand, is there?) “The smuggler lies, declaring the PCs have been in his escort for some time.” Why on earth would he lie about that? Anyway, he’ll meet a group of leather-clad men at some point and give them a sack full of poisons for a purse of gold, then they’ll move on to the next town. Not a huge fan of this as written, but it wouldn’t be hard to make this guy a little less of an idiot. I guess we can keep it as a quest for less scrupulous groups. KIT CORNER: Smuggler (PHBR2 Complete Thief’s Handbook) “Smugglers must be exceptionally alert; they therefore get a +1 bonus to their surprise roll.” Absolutely everything else in the entry is flavor, suggestions, and description of how smugglers operate. So... at least it’s all upside? Under the optional rules, they get +5% Move Silently, Hide in Shadows, and Detect Noise, at the cost of -5% Pick Pockets, Open Locks, and Climb Walls. So if you want to min-max your sneakery… here you go. 128: Far from Sherwood Forest Heading down a well-traveled forest road, the PCs encounter a net trap. The lead PC can make an INT-10 check to notice it, because this is AD&D, folks, and when we want to see if the PCs notice something we just wing it. The net will fall on the PC(s) in the lead - if they’re mounted they have to make a riding check to stay on, otherwise they get no save and for three rounds get no DEX or shield AC, and are -4 to hit. Then they’re attacked by 20 bandits. With 20 THAC0 and 6 HP each. Four with shortbows, the rest with assorted melee weapons. This is a “medium” danger encounter, which means mid-level PCs. These Merry Men are about to be the Minced and Mutilated Men. “Bandits attack!” I’m sorry, AD&D 2nd Edition, I’m just not interested in taking up our game time with this! Maybe when I was younger and had more of it. But for now, pass. KIT CORNER: Bandit (PHBR2 Complete Thief’s Handbook) Bandits rob people traveling through the wilderness. They need at least 10 Strength and Constitution. They need to take proficiency in the knife and in a bludgeoning weapon, but since that fills both of the thief’s base weapon proficiency slots, they get an extra one to use for anything. They also need to take the Survival NWP. They take a -2 reaction penalty to non-bandits who recognize them as a bandit, and in exchange they get the raw power of “+1 on their attempt to surprise in a wilderness setting.” Under the optional rules, they get -5% Pick Pockets, Climb Walls, and Read Languages; +10% Find/Remove Traps; and +5% Hide in Shadows. Plus a bonus +5% to Move Silently, but only in the wilderness. Why doesn’t the Hide in Shadows bonus have that restriction, then? Whatever. Dallbun fucked around with this message at 04:51 on Aug 3, 2020 |
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Aug 2, 2020 15:45
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Each day, you must pray to receive The Deck of Encounters Set Two Part 26: The Deck of More Priest Kits 129: Old Man in the Woods Hemmingway’s lesser-known sequel. The PCs are in a wooded area and find a mumbling old man with long stringy hair frantically searching through the saddlebags of horses. Also there are several armed men around him, recently-killed, and the old man is also wounded but apparently not slowed down by that. (He’s a level 6 priest, by the way; I assume spiritual hammers and dust devils did these guys in.) He’ll find a book and sit down to read. He won’t notice the PCs unless they actively approach him, in which case he’ll badger them for their whole life stories, wanting to know everything about their adventures, “until they reach the next town and its library.” Pretty low PC involvement. The only real choice is “how much do you want to interact with this dude?” But keep, could set up a useful NPC to pull back in later. KIT CORNER: Scholar Priest (PHBR 3: The Complete Priest’s Handbook, mislabeled here and elsewhere as PHBR3 (Wizard)) An academic researcher who can cast flame blade, essentially. More likely to talk than fight. You need an Intelligence of 13, and need to take Scribe as your secondary skill of those are the rules you’re running with. Contrariwise, if using NWPs, you get Reading/Writing as a bonus one. You must always have writing materials with you and if you lose them, have to replace or regain them ASAP. Your main benefit is that you can spend Weapon Proficiency slots on Non-Weapon Proficiencies, which is honestly pretty cool in the pre-Skills and Powers days. You also get “a +3 reaction bonus from other scholars, admirers of scholastic concerns, writers, journalists, and people who imagine that they are scholars.” But if that person is another scholar, there’s a one in six chance that that turns into a -6 adjustment because the PC disagreed with their pet theory. (In the fantasy academic journals or whatever?) This means that RAW, there’s a not-insignificant chance that any scholar they meet will attack them immediately. 130: Meeting with a Lady The PCs are traveling over a little-used mountain path when they are surrounded by female warriors led by an Amazon Priestess. They’re trespassing. No NPCs along the way bothered to tell the PCs why nobody uses this pass. The priestess is fine with women, but will only let men through if they’re vouched for by women and also agree to fulfill a quest for her. This is basically the same as #13: Turnabout. Is there nothing more interesting to do with the concept of amazons? Until there is, I’m just going to pass. 131: To Help Your Fellow Man A frozen wasteland, which the PCs are traveling through “in search of a man who has information necessary for them to complete their quest.” I’m just going to pretend you didn’t say that, card, and we’ll move on. The PCs hear screams. It’s because a man is getting mauled by a polar bear. I suppose that’s a good reason to scream. The bear is very angry, but if it’s distracted from its victim, the victim will get up and try to stop the PCs from attacking the bear, “up to and including getting in the way of their attacks.” Because... he’s a pacifist priest. He’ll help them if the bear is driven off, though. I’m not... 100% certain that this is an accurate depiction of pacifism. But keep, you could always play it less as “pacifism is dumb!” and more “this particular individual is well-intentioned but also kind of insane.” KIT CORNER: Pacifist Priest (PHBR 3: The Complete Priest’s Handbook) Be a fantasy Gandhi or Reverend King. The kit has no requirements. “Nor are there special rules for abandonment of the kit, if the character eventually feels that he needs to be wielding force to achieve his ends.” How unexpected for AD&D! I would have expected the system to hammer you for a behavioral infraction. The book immediately points out that this character does not gel well with most AD&D parties and expectations, and suggests thinking carefully before allowing it, and maybe designing the adventure around the pacifist character. (For example, making it an escort quest.) “However, it is inevitable that in combat situations the player of the pacifist priest will feel left out (he can't fight); additionally, he'll feel compelled by his philosophy to argue with the other PCs, to chide them for their violence, which will get on their nerves. Therefore, the DM should keep such quests short, so that the pacifist priest doesn't drive the other characters to the point that they'll kill him.” WELL then. So what do you get for being true to your character concept even in the face of your party members wanting to throttle you? You get a +2 Charisma (to a max of 18), and also a +2 Reaction adjustment to anyone “not utterly opposed” to your philosophy. Examples of such utter philosophical antipathy include clerics of war gods, or “warlike nonhuman races like orcs, ogres and trolls.” An orc would punch Gandhi, no problem. It’s official. You can’t wear armor, or use “weapons, spells, or any other tactics” to deliberately harm pretty much anyone. “If he ever violates this decree, his god will not punish him (because the pacifist's oath is one he took for himself, not for his god), but his own guilt will deprive him of all magic spells for the span of one month. (If the DM wishes, if the priest is a follower of the god of Peace, the god can instead punish him as a "Betrayal of Goals" from the Role-Playing chapter.)” THERE’S the AD&D I know!
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Aug 3, 2020 15:29
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Ghost Leviathan posted:And now I'm picturing the Pendragon system applied to academia. What's the academic equivalent of Hate (Saxons)?
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Aug 3, 2020 17:32
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Falconier111 posted:The Game of Life: Star Wars Edition. I want to see this deep dive.
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Aug 4, 2020 00:22
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