We Played Smart, Right Up Until We Didn't

Last night was another session of +Joe D 's Blood Island setting / house rules. It went well, right up until the end of the session.

On the outdoor trek to an "abandoned" tower, we either avoided or out thunk our wandering adversaries, including the well played use of a sleep spell and entanglement. I must say, entanglement is a damn powerful spell outdoors.

It was the door knocker at the tower that took the first and last casualty of the night.

"I raise the door knocker" are famous last words now. Not mine or my character's, but our one and only fighter's.

"It turns into a snake and bites you. Save vs poison or die."

One dead fighter.

There is a reason my magic-user doesn't like to touch too much. Unknown items lead to known death quite often ;)

Save or die is refreshing. All characters are immensely mortal.

Lets see who bites it next week :)

First Time Playing a Magic-User in Years (Blood Island)

It's been a while since I've played a magic-user in a D&D / OSR ruleset, or any ruleset for that matter. I tend to regard them as one trick ponies at early levels (sleep anyone?) who then need to cower in the back of the party and soak up expo, sleep, rinse and repeat. Not my usual idea of fun - YMMV.

Now, in +Joe D 's Blood Island setting / OSR houserules magic-users use both the M-U and Illusionist spell lists, including those in Unearthed Arcana. He also allows you to prepare more spells than you can cast, so at first level I can have 4 ready but only 1 spell to cast per day - one of those four. Yes, you get some versatility without gaining more firepower. It's a nice compromise.

Did I mention one of my spells is Phantom Armor, the illusionary AC 3 plate mail? Armor you can sleep in and still wake up rested and ready to prepare for a new day of spells.  At least until I get hit and it disappears ;)

Cover Your Damn Head Before You Catch Death! Further Thoughts on Helmets.

Below is one of those rules from the AD&D 1e DMG that wasn't found until we had been playing for nearly a year, and quickly decided not to follow after finding it.

It is assumed that an appropriate type of head armoring will be added to the suit of armor in order to allow uniform protection of the wearer. Wearing of a "great helm" odds the appropriate weight and restricts vision to the front 60" only, but it gives the head AC 1. If a helmet is not worn, 1 blow in 6 will strike at the AC 10 head, unless the opponent is intelligent, in which case 1 blow in 2 will be aimed at the AC 10 head (d6, 1-3 = head blow) (AD&D 1e DMG)

What are the odds of striking the head if a helmet IS worn? 1 in 6? Seems like it. I mean, the AC is given for a great helm in the example.

That would mean that every attack by the PCs required an extra d6 roll to determine if the head was a target or not. Not bloody likely to happen.

Was there a similar rule in previous editions (OD&D, B/X) or later editions (BECMI / 2e)?

I still prefer +Joe D 's house rules from Blood Island.

WTF Didn't I Think of This - Thank God I Had a F@cking Helmet On!

In the category of WTF Didn't I Think of This, we have +Joe D 's most awesome houserule for his Blood Island OSR rules hack / setting -

Thank God I Had a F@cking Helmet On:  If you are wearing a helmet and take a melee hit in combat (not including missiles/arrows unless large, like a boulder, nor does it apply to critical damage, backstab damage, magical damage, or damage from small weapons like daggers) that would reduce you to zero hp or less, hence dead, you can instead declare that the helmet took the brunt of the damage and you are at 1 hp, with the helmet irrevocably destroyed, whether it was magical or not. In addition you are unconscious for 10 minutes plus 1-100 minutes, and cannot be awakened before that time unless healed magically in some way.

That is a reason to wear a damn helmut.

Well done Joe. Well done.

There's Blood in the Water - Blood Island that Is!

Tonight (or is it now last night?) the regular Saturday Night group got to play test the latest incarnation of +Joe D 's Blood Island, which is both a setting and a set of OSR house rules (and may evolve into it's own full set of rules.)

In the previous incarnation of Blood Island, I played Gru, a Viking Berserker with a fondness for cheese dip. Not that there was any cheese dip to be found, alas.

Today I played G'Ru, a human magic-user with some flexibility in both spells prepared (not spell slots one can actually cast, which hues close to AD&D as far as I can tell) and spell lists. I have access to both magic-user and illusionist spell lists, including spells from UA - Phantom Armor kept my squish ass alive ;)

Great time, and I like Joe's variation on my variation of the Luck rules that I borrowed and hacked from the DCC RPG. I may need to use Joe's version instead, as it seems to be the proper evolution for the concept.

In any case, great game session, nice mongrelization of various OSR / Classic AD&D rules. I especially enjoyed the added granularity of using a D12 for skill checks, something that is losely based on LotFP Weird Fantasy's D6 skill check for specialists.

We're looking for more Joe. Consider this some motivation :)

Death in RPGs is Not an End But a New Beginning With Cheese Dip

Last weekend in +Joe D 's Blood Island game, my character Rath came to an end. He fought the good fight, but the life expectancy of a level 1 adventurer in ANY OSR game isn't all that high, and LotFP Weird Fantasy is probably more lethal than most.

So, what does one do when their character takes the big dirt nap?

Roll up a new one!

Seriously, I understand the loss of a character, even one that has only seen a few sessions use, can be annoying, even sad. I however, embrace it.

Besides, I rolled a new character with decent combat related ability scores, a 5 in INT and WIS, made him a berserker with a fondness for cheese dip and named him "Gru". Hell, he's practically written himself ;)

Into The Glory Hole Dwarven Mine - It's Not What You Think - Maybe ;)

+Joe D and I alternate campaigns on Saturday nights. Joe will take the reigns with his heavily houseruled LotFP Weird Fantasy Blood Island setting for a few sessions, and then I'll come in with my houseruled Swords & Wizardry Complete in the Wilderlands for a few sessions. It's been working well.

Last night Joe introduced us to the classic Judges Guild module - Glory Hole Dwarven Mine. I think I actually own this and have it packed away. I know this and Srcapfaggot Green were popular choices on the worst named RPG products post I did a while back.

How did we do? Barely a scratch on the party, thanks to a well timed charm spell by one of the casters. It was either that or a potential TPK, as the party is all 1st levels and even a small fire elemental would have turned us to toast.

All hail the hobgoblin that held the controlling stone - charmed, then slept and finally beheaded by my glass-steel axe. Huzzah!