OSR D&D - Guns

So, guns have always had a weird place in D&D. Lots of the "Appendix N" inspirational materials had them, whether as one-off, almost magical items, or a regular feature of their setting (John Carter of Mars, frex, wouldn't be seen dead without his pistol). But, when looking for ways to implement them into D&D, options are limited.

And I can kinda see why - D&D has always ostensibly been more of a "Swords and Sorcery" kinda deal (until 3rd Ed pushed the whole thing into full-on High Fantasy), and a default part of that is, well, swords. Guns feel too modern, and for some people, seeing an Elf with a gun brngs back unfortunate Shadowrun flashbacks. But, due to D&D's tried-and-tested melting pot approach to its sources, the level of technology presented (like full plate armour) means that guns are pretty feasible. But you mention it in th wrong circles, and you'll be strung up by your dicebag before they have a two-hour long conversation about whether or not shuriken should exist in the Ancient Greek campaign setting, or whether Dwarves could build a spacerocket.

Gamers are like that.

There are plenty of D20 supplements with rules for guns (D20 Modern, for a start), but for genre imitation, guns feel like they should be a little more powerful than the "does 1d8 damage, is about as easy to dodge as a punch" model supported by these games.

As it's the most appropriate (and closest to D&D at its heart), let's take a gander at the Pathfinder SRD. It has rules for three levels of technology - emerging guns, advanced guns, and guns everywhere. I don't fancy changing up the entire face of the game, so we'll stick with Emerging - guns are rare, having just started moving out of the realm of cannon and arbuesque.  Maybe there's a secretive guild of alchemists and engineers who have fiddled up the first production line, or maybe they're a new Dwarven invention. Regardless, the first examples are starting to become publicly available, and are filtering down to the "adventuring" classes.

So, our basic, archaic guns are the pistol, blunderbuss, and musket. There are a few variations on these which I won't be including (the sword cane gun, for example), but these are your "standard" guns for this time period.

Your basic pistol stats for Pathfinder: costs 1000gp (!), 1d8 damage, x4 damage on a critical, 20 foot range increment (guns get 5 range increments, with a -2 penalty to the attack after the first), targets Touch AC in the first range increment and resolve normally after that, misfires (breaking the weapon) on a one.

Now, one of the things that a lot of people have commented on is that the misfire rate of even the earliest firearms wasn't as bad as rated here, and the guns would rarely explode on a bad shot. You ran the risk of powder burns, but that was about it - if your gun exploded, you were doing something terribly wrong. Pathfinder has a misfire rate for each weapon (normally 1 in 20), and on a misfire, a weapon gains the Broken Condition (which ups the misfire rate by 4, making it normally a roll of 1-5 on the D20). That seems a little harsh, cause once it's broken, another misfire means the gun goes boom, hitting you and anyone next to you for the damage value of the weapon.

That doesn't mix with the reality too well, but helps keep the guns "balanced" with bows and other ranged weapons. But it's such an artifact of these kind of games, I might need to include it. Well, in keeping with the idea that the OSR is less about balance and more about fun, I propose the following stats (for OSRIC, but pretty adaptable):

Weapon Type	Damage vs Small/Medium	Damage vs Large	Rate of Fire (Shots per Round)	Range (-2 to hit per increment)	Encumbrance	Cost
Pistol	1d6	1d4	1	20ft	4	300gp
Blunderbuss	1d8	1d10	1	10ft	8	550gp
Musket	1d10	1d10	1	40ft	9	650gp
Bullet + Powder	-	-	-	-	3 per dozen	1gp

Here's some rulings (as I'll be using them) which might prove useful for guns:

• The blunderbuss can be loaded with a bullet or shot, which fires as a 15ft cone, range increment 15ft - the user can make an attack roll against all targets within that range, at a -2 penalty. This can either be pre-made (same cost and encumbrance as bullets) or improvised, scraps of metal, nails, etc. which is free, if you can find it, but gives a -2 penalty to-hit and damage. Repeated use of such materials can cause damage to the weapon.
• All firearms require a full round to reload, limiting them to one shot per round (regardless of any bonuses to Rate of Fire).
• At point-blank range (i.e. melee combat range), a pistol may be used with a penalty of -1 to attack rolls, while the longer, less maneuverable blunderbuss and musket suffer a -4 penalty.
• If the opponent is unaware, bound, or unconscious, (where "coup de grace" rules would be appropriate) they make a Save vs. Death Magic - should they fail, they are dying (should you use those rules) or dead. If they pass, they take double damage from the attack.
• Misfires occur on a natural roll of 1 on an attack roll. Roll 1d10 on the Misfire chart below:
• 1 - Backfire - you must have overpacked the gun, or just straight-up done goofed. The weapon explodes, dealing its damage to you, and one die-step less to those in melee range of you (so a pistol would damage you for 1d6 damage, and everyone else for 1d4).
• 2-4 - Powder Burn - you weren't as careful as you should have been when loading the weapon - the shot goes off as normal, but you suffer 1d3 damage from the powder on your clothes and skin igniting.
• 5-6 - Dud - the powder doesn't light. It will take a full-round action to clear the weapon, and another to reload it.
• 7-8 - Jam - some delicate part of the weapon's mechanisms isn't working as intended. The weapon is unable to fire until someone with the skills to repair it can take a look and fix the problem.
• 9 - Hang Fire - the powder doesn't catch as quickly as you thought - perhaps it's a little wet in parts, or there's a slow-burning clump in it. Nothing happens - DMs, describe it much like a jam or a dud shot. In the next round (in the Fast segment, or at the highest initiative, or whenever), or the end of the current round, whichever seems more fun, the gun goes off as normal. Pray you hadn't started clearing the "jam"...
• 10 - Burnout - too much powder, methinks. The weapon lets out a massive gout of flame, burning out some delicate mechanism and making the weapon useless until repaired. However, anyone within melee range (including you) must make a Save vs Breath Weapon or catch fire.

I'll probably come back and review these rules soon - let me know what you think!

EDIT: First edit thanks to Butch, adding Hang Fire as a result... that's gonna fuck with my players something awful. I love it!

Have You Heard The Blessings Of The Plaguefather?

So, another bout of the Dread Lurgy as laid me low this weekend. But have no fear - I am currently working, in between illnesses and sleeping.

I'm preparing my entry for the Grand Original Map Contest over at Tenkar's Tavern. I don't want to give away too many details, but a conversation with my girlfriend about Mellified Man and insect worship will play a very strong part in the adventure...

Stay tuned for more details!

SHOCK HORROR NEWS - WotC Re-Release ALL THE PDFs

Yep, they're re-released all the old D&D .pdfs, including a whole host of new ones, over at www.dndclassics.com.

At the start of the lifespan of 4e, WotC removed all the PDFs from their website, citing piracy and other issues as the reason they withdrew. 4e's sales suffered, especially as Paizo continued to release PDFs of all the new Pathfinder content.

I, for one, applaud this move - it's good to see that the OSR movement as picked up enough steam to be picked up by a company currently facing a lot of problems and sniping from all corners.

This should be interesting. I expect WotC's stock to rise in the next few months, just in time for the release of D&DNext...

EDIT: Apparently, there are some issues with PDFs people have purchased previously not being available, but WotC are stating that they intend to release the remaining PDFs "in waves"... time will tell if they hold to their promises!

Hidden Weapons: Some Ideas for D&D

So, I caught a recent thread somewhere about weird and wonderful weapons, and something that came up was that many Indian weapons had sections that could "break off" to provide a backup weapon. For example, most polearms were built with a removable dagger in the handle, presumably to allow for close-quarters fighting in a pinch. Another was the mace with a sword hidden in the handle and shaft - great if your weapon gets stuck, or you need a sharp implement fast.

It's something that isn't well represented on the tabletop, so I had a few ideas about how to implement such things:

• Polearms with hidden blades allow you to switch from a reach weapon to a close-combat dagger as a Free Action (instead of a Free Action to drop the weapon, and a move action to draw another one). Useful for swarms of small enemies who can get right on top of you.
• Maces (I'd also allow clubs, greatclubs, morningstars and most other blunt weapons) with blades hidden within the handle allow you to switch from Blunt/Bashing damage to Slashing damage as a free action once per encounter - useful if you get swallowed whole by some huge beastie and need to cut your way out. Should you roll a Critical Failure in combat, causing you to lose or damage your weapon, you can negate the failure by switching to the other weapon (though the attack is still considered a miss).

I might throw together a few more ideas shortly...

Random Table: You Find Some... Meat

Yes, I'm in a weird Random Table mood.

Many humanoid creatures are known for not being too choosy what they eat. They can survive on the barest of rations, heartily supplemented by scraps of meat they find or take from kills and dry in their lairs.

Should your players locate such a lair, and such a food supply, roll on the table!

1. Dog/Wolf - stringy, tough, tasteless
2. Horse - succulent, tough, smells good
3. Rat - not as bad as you'd think, brownish, chewy
4. Small Bird (pigeon, chicken) - white meat, gamey
5. Large Bird (ostrich, roc) - strong taste, white meat, soft
6. Snake - white, fishy, 25% chance of being poisonous
7. Boar - strong-smelling, tasty, sweet, dark red meat
8. Cow - you know beef!
9. Rabbit - gamey, tough, tasty
10. Monstrous Humanoid - tough, smells terrible, full of protein
11. Human/Demi-Human - roll on table below
12. Magical Creature - varies, roll on table below

Sub-Table: Human/Demi-Human Meat
1. Human - tastes just like pork
2. Elf - light, almost white meat, delicious
3. Dwarf - tough, dark, chewy, tastes faintly of alcohol
4. Gnome - tough, salty, gives off a mild magical aura
5. Halfling - light, tender, soft
6. Half-Orc - tough, tastes weird, full of protein

Sub-Table: Magical Creature
These meats have not only been dried, but preserved with various magical reagents to keep some of the animal's natural magical properties. If you roll these while stocking a dungeon, try having some of the smarter monsters eat these before battle.
1. Salamander - slimy, chewy, grants Fire Resistance 5 for 30 minutes
2. Displacer Beast - tasteless, stringy, grants +2 dodge bonus to AC for 30 minutes
3. Blink Dog - stringy, tangy, grants Dimension Door 3 times within 30 minutes
4. Darkmantle - rank, slimy, overpowering, grants +3 bonus to Hide and Move Silently for 30 minutes
5. Phase Spider - white, gritty, grants See Ethereal for 30 minutes
6. Remorhaz - gritty, always warm, slimy, grants Burning Hands 3 times within 30 minutes
7. Frost Wurm - crunchy, always freezing cold, grants Cone of Cold 3 times within 30 minutes
8. Gorgon - very tough, crunchy, grants a +3 bonus to Fortitude saves/Save vs. Paralysis for 30 minutes
9. Lesser Demon/Tiefling - grants a +1 profane bonus to-hit for 30 minutes
10. Lesser Celestial/Aasimar - grants a +3 bonus to all saving throws for 30 minutes
11. Chaos Beast - grants 1 random mutation (make yourself a table, or borrow one from somewhere)
12. Doppelganger - grants Alter Self 3 times within 30 minutes

Remember - many of these creatures are sentient, and knowingly devouring their flesh is considered an Evil act.

Random Table: Weird Spell Components

Say you have an eeeevil Wizard as your next bad guy. You want to make him pretty powerful, so you give him a few weird and wonderful spells from a few weird and wonderful splatbooks. But, your players want to take the or their own, and they've bypassed the magic puzzle-lock to get to his spellbook, disarmed the traps that surround it, and dispelled the Explosive Runes on every page.

They want magical power like the Big Guys? Then they need to make a little sacrifice... literally. This table also makes a great resource for those raiding the potion cabinets of a variety of evil necromancers, mad scientists, etc.

Each ingredient here gives some sample spell-types it will be useful in. Capitals denote specific spells, domains or spell schools.

Where a specific class or race is mentioned, the higher the HD, the more powerful the effect.

1. The blood of an innocent, sentient creature, bathed in the light of the moon (lycanthropy, Divination, sympathetic magic)
2. The heart of a freshly-fallen Paladin (courage, strength, corruption)
3. The eyes of a Wizard who specialises in Divination, torn out while they were in a Seer's trance (True Seeing, Divination, sight, Metamagic)
4. The tongue of a Bard, preserved in oil from a poisonous plant (lies, deception, poison, Glibness)
5. The severed member of an Incubus (or similar 'male' sexual demon), preserved in Abyssal fluids (Evil, seduction, Charm, corruption)
6. Dwarf blood, permeated with the wyrd energies of the Underdark (transformation, strength, Earth, Evil)
7. Scales taken from a Metallic Dragon (Scalykind, appropriate elements, courage)
8. The bones of a true King (Charm, royalty, binding)
9. Hair (at least 5 foot in length), taken from a corpse (Necromancy, beauty, Death)
10. The powdered spikes of a Spinagon, bathed in the energies of Limbo (pain, damage, Evil, transformation)
11. The pickled tentacles of some Far Realm beast (insanity, Chaos, planar magics)
12. Water exposed to the Negative Energy Plane for a year and a day (water, Evil, chaos, Time)

Another Technical Delay...

This time, self-imposed - I have updated the old Notebook O' Doom to Linux.

I now have it up and operational, which will mean that regular posting should be resumed shortly.

What I've got in the pipeline:

• A few mini-dungeon maps I've been doodling
• A short adventure for Microlite20, which I've ran with a couple of groups
• Some more Microlite20 House Rules and Advances
• A few reviews
• Possibly the start of a series of adventures for the Kobold Ascension Fight campaign (system still undecided)
• Some more MiniSix40k stuff
• The Warrior's Guide To Being a Fighter

And many, many more!

These Look Awesome! Otherworld Miniatures Dungeon Adventurers on IndieGoGo

Wow. Just... Wow.

These look amazing!

"Since 2006, Otherworld Miniatures has been producing 28mm fantasy miniatures for gamers, painters and collectors, inspired by the iconic imagery of the early roleplaying games. So far, we have just made the monsters, and with a range of nearly 400 creatures in our catalogue, we think that the time has come to introduce some player character models.
We could grow the range slowly, making a couple of figures a month for a few years, but we’d really like to be able to release a substantial range into the marketplace from the start. Unfortunately, the costs of such a project are significant, so we’re asking for your help. With the aid of our backers, we plan to release this range, initially with a boxed set of 12 Human adventurers, quickly followed by sets of demi-humans, female adventurers and hirelings and henchmen, over the course of the next few months. The range of boxed sets will be complemented by individual blister-packs featuring variant models with different armour, weapon and equipment options.
The figures will be sculpted by a variety of talented sculptors, including Kevin Adams and Patrick Keith, with others joining the project later. The miniatures will depict archetypal fantasy adventurers, human and demi-human, male and female, wearing practical clothing and armour and carrying realistic weapons and equipment. They will be posed for exploration, not combat. And these characters won’t be muscle-bound superheroes waving Vorpal Swords in the air - they’ll be grim-faced dungeoneers, a little bit down on their luck, and ready for action on your table-top!"

Now how awesome does that sound? I'm really looking forward to the Female Adventurers - the female Dwarf Fighter should be pretty sweet!

Those are the only greens available at the moment, but looking at how closely they hew to the concept art:

I'd say we're in for a treat.

TSR 2019 - The Dungeoneer's Survival Guide: A Review

While searching for some good OSR references, specifically for writing a dungeon, I stumbled across TSR2019 - Dungeoneers Survival Guide. This book is a veritable treasure trove (no pun intended) of info for writing a dungeon, or indeed any type of game with a focus on being underground.

The first couple of chapters talk about the book, including introductions by the two main writers - who show a lot of enthusiasm for the project. Not just the "Hey, isn't this a great idea?" kind of self-aggrandising enthusiasm, but a love of what they're writing and a clear joy at getting to write it. It's something that's not seen to often in big-company games now, which is a real shame.

The next chapter is pretty awesome - "Overview of the Underdark". Here, you'll find a brief (yet surprisingly full) description of the processes that occur underground, and the various ways these form into dungeon features, and ways to use them. Form the simple stalagmites and stalactites, through underground lakes and lava pockets, deadly gas build-up, and cave-ins, these descriptions paint a vivid picture of the dangers one might face from the environment alone, never mind monsters! A lot of these features will be going into the next dungeon I write...

Next is a couple of chapters dedicated to new rules covering the ins and outs of dungeoneering, from movement rates for various conditions, fighting in enclosed spaces, using ropes as levers and walkways, and a whole host of Non-Weapon Proficiencies to round things out. These are great, ranging from hunting and creating weapons, to things like Fungus Identification and Blind-Fighting. To me, these add an extra layer of specialisation for characters who intend to spend most of their time underground - sure, not too useful in a city-based campaign, say, but if you're about to head through a full-campaign megadungeon, these little tricks could save your life.

(Interesting Trivia Time: Did you know that non-weapon proficiencies were only introduced to the game by Oriental Adventures? I didn't.)

The new rules also help to add a little layer of vermilisitude to quite a few common dungeon-crawl activities - so much so, I'm already thinking of ways to implement some of them in other games (like Microlite20). They do suffer the usual AD&D problem of varying from elegantly simple to byzantine (sometimes, within the same ruling!), but they make for a pretty thorough groundwork to make your own rules from, or to act as examples and guidelines rather than proper rules. It also has a lot of information about non-Thieves performing actions normally covered by Thief Skills, and info on how to adjust those skills up or down depending on the circumstances. Again, very in-depth, with enough info to allow you to make an educated guess whenever you may need to. A personal favourite of mine are new rules for Hirelings and "cabin fever" - while one might expect PCs to be fine with spending months underground, crawling through ancient catacombs and deadly traps with the only emergence to go and spend their hard-earned cash, the average Henchman just wants to go home. The rules cover everything from them becoming suicidal/homicidal, to charming them into staying, to how much extra cash you might need to convince them!

The equipment section is where this book really stands out. It has everything you could think of taking into a dungeon with you, and quite a few more that I wouldn't have expected (who expects to need a fold-away canoe in a given adventure?!). Each piece of equipment adds some extra rulings, or adds to existing ones in interesting ways. While these are mainly useful to dungeon crawlers, most of the equipment could easily find another use to clever PCs (especially Thieves, as a lot of the stuff here covers stealth, mobility, and bypassing problematic obstacles).

The section covering monsters is interesting - it's got some information about the various humanoid races that live under the earth, from the classic Drow, to the little-used Duegar and Derro, the aquatic Kuo-Toa, and the abominable Illithids and Aboleths. Each of these only gets a bout half a page, but they make a great overview of the objectives of each of these races, and a great resource for new GMs.

Finally, the book contains a whole setting, a nice mapped-out chunk of the Underdark for the taking.

(Again, interesting fact time - this book is the first official use of the phrase "Underdark" in D&D literature. Neat! Next, to the Shadowdark!)

The maps are fabulously detailed, but still leave a lot of areas relatively free to interpretation. Some of the set-ups (like the massive "drain", controlled by Kuo-Toa who can change the flow of water into the lower levels) are fantastic, and even without set encounters, can provide a wealth of cool things to do in the setting.

The maps are done in a strong, isometric style - it take some getting used to, but the effect is great for conveying a truly multilevel area, rather than a "staircase down to the next level" type deal. They can, however, be a little bit cluttered, and the isometric view doesn't help any there.

As a final point, I should note the artwork - it's fantastic. Yes, it's all black-and-white, and not of the finest Photoshopped-half-to-death-with-titties-and-lens-flare-everywhere quality that modern D&D artwork is - but it's some of the most inspiring artwork I've seen in a long time. It really captures some of the feel of the classic dungeon crawl, even the faintly ridiculous Valkyrie-esque helmets the women wear (and, for a game frequently lamented as sexist, there's a lot of women here, being active, contributing to the group dynamic in each photo - not too bad!), the classic Fighter with the handlebar moustache and an outfit straight out of Golden Axe (see above illustration). The artwork presents a less-heroic feeling, that death and disaster could be right around the corner, but perversely, that the rewards could be so much greater... it really tickles a desire to write up a mega-dungeon, run it in OSRIC, and let my players taste some old-school beatdown - none of this "storygame" bullshit...
 
All in all, a very strong book, even to modern eyes. There are one or two little niggles with the rules, however... but I'm still planning to use it when I finally get around to writing that mega-dungeon...

The Lowlife's Guide To Being A Thief

 "There's only two types of thief, boy - the good ones, and the dead ones."

-Ari Blackhand, Head of the Valerian's Reach Thieves Guild

After the success of The Gentleman's Guide To Being A Bard, I thought I'd try my hand at another little "D&D general" guide, this time focusing on one of my personal favourite Classes - The Thief/Rogue/Expert/Whatever.

Thievery has been around since the first man who looked to his brother, and thought "His rock looks better than mine!" - most agree it's the second oldest profession (and, indeed, members of the oldest profession frequently use such methods as well!). The Thief fills a certain societal niche - lower than the common man, for cutpurses and muggers, but somewhat more upwardly-mobile than the beggars that fill their streets.

There are a dozen archetypes of the Thief - the black-clad assassin, the dashing rogue, even the jack-of-all-trades Bard started out life as a Thief sub-class. But the main points are being light of feet and fingers, stealthy, and quick-thinking.

1. Know Your Role
You're not tough enough to be a front-line fighter, even though you might be good with a sword - your role in combat is to assist - set up flanking manuvers (for your tasty Sneak Attack bonus), pelting foes with ranged weapons, and acting as a "backup" when the Fighter goes down. As a player, you should be maximising the amount of times you can use your Sneak Attack - so, set up ambushes, adjust the lighting, set or re-set traps, get yourself and others into flanking positions, and generally think like a sneaky bastard.

Outside of combat, you are the skills guy - you check for (and disarm, hopefully) traps, you pick locks, you charm your way past guards, and generally make yourself as useful as possible. Again, play to your strengths - know which skills you can use more reliably than others, and know which party members are better than you (and defer to them when needed). You're also the best Scout in most parties - your stealth and perceptive abilities are second to none, so make sure you go ahead of the group to get the lay of the land, and report back with a multitude of ways in which you can turn the fight in your favour.

For Old-School games, the Thief is also one of the few Classes that most demi-humans have unlimited advancement in (depending on the game) - while not useful for most games (which never reach past the 10th-level mark), anyone planning on playing a demi-human in a long-running campaign could do worse than to dual-class with the Thief. Those Thief Skills can be put to great effect by most Classes, and it's always good to have a back-up trapfinder! Plus, once you hit the level cap for your other class, you still have somewhere to put (half) your XP, instead of it going to waste.

2. Play To Your Strengths

Goddamn stupid sexy midget...

Your stats play a vital role in ensuring you are the best Thief you can be.

Whatever system you're using, Dexterity is key. For older systems, it affects your Thief skills percentages, making it a vital component of being a great Thief - but, random generation might screw you over. For the more modern ones, it can affect your key skills which revolve around mobility and balance - and trust me, you're going to need them! Dexterity can also affect your ability with ranged weapons - something we'll get on to later.

Intelligence isn't too big a deal in older systems - it can affect how many languages you can learn (and a good Thief should have ways to communicate privately!), and might be used when determining traps or lies (both pretty useful), but these can also be covered with good role-play and thinking like a Thief - trust no-one, everything's trapped, and remember, it's not paranoia if they are out to get you. In newer editions, it can affect how many extra skill points you get - though Rogues do get a huge amount, so it's not essential. Then again, more skills is never a bad thing, so a decent Int score is always a good investment.
                                                                                                                       
Charisma can go either way - depending on whether you're a skulking ruffian, or a smooth-tongued trickster. If you plan on spending all your time hiding in the shadows, leaping out only to delicately plant a knife between someones shoulder blades, forget it. Otherwise, it lets you lie, bluff, cheat, and seduce your way past obstacles you couldn't hope to fight otherwise - and makes the Thief all the more pragmatic for it.

OSR gamer, remember - while you have stat minimums for Dexterity (and various others, for various products), low Dex isn't a total killer. With planning, proper equipment, and the support of your party (and a good line in GM bribery) you can be just as effective as any other Thief. OSR games expect a lot more creative thinking and less system mastery than modern games - so be careful, be paranoid, and you should be just fine.

3. Vital Skills
Again, this one comes down to what kind of Thief you plan to be. Make sure you try and spread a few points amongst all of your skills, even a few ranks here or there - the Skills you get are some of the most useful in the game.

Disable Device and Open Lock are the archetypal Rogue Skills - traps and locks are your forte.You want to make sure they're bought up ASAP - this is where your first skill points of each level should go. It's also a little bit harder

Hide, Move Silently and Sleight of Hand are almost as archetypal - though a bit easier to get through items and other means. Pop a few points into these, more if they fit your character concept (say, a stealthy assassin over an adventuring locksmith). Each of these will see some use, regardless of what type of Rogue you make.

Balance/Climb/Jump are good for the acrobatic cat-burglar type, but can be something of a trap choice - they hold limited utility, and can be easily increased with magic and items. Don't spend too much on these (unless you have skill points to spare, somehow).


Bluff and Diplomacy can be absolute game-changers, if you play your cards right. Even non-Charisma-based Rogues will find a use for these skills in everything but the most hack-and-slash game. Even then, Bluff can be used to Feint, to allow for more Sneak Attack goodness! And, with enough Diplomacy, you can turn enemies from hating you to being your best friend with a Standard Action - not too shabby!


Use Magic Device is a godsend in "Caster Edition" 3.5 - use your ill-gotten gains to pick up a few wands or scrolls to enhance your stealth and combat abilities (Cat's Grace, (Improved) Invisibility, True Strike for Sneak Attacks, the list goes on!) - you won't be as flexible as a full-caster, but you'll be amazed at what you can pull off with the right wands in your belt.

The OSR Thief has his skills all set out on a table - and get very little say in how they advance. But, pick your strongest skill, from racial and other modifiers, and try and use it as much as possible. Climb Walls is an invaluable skill in dungeons - while anyone can climb, you can tackle sheer surfaces that would make lesser men weep. Racial bonuses and Dexterity modifiers can only net you a few extra percent - your main concern should be gear to help you with whatever you may need to do.

Bad Guys Wear Black

 4. The Clothes Make The Man

One of the things which defines you more than any other character is your equipment. I mean, sure, the Fighter is all about his armour and his weapon, but your gear is far more variable.

First things first, an old chestnut - daggers are a trap. Yes, they're small, easily concealable, and can be thrown, but their damage is pitiful, and they're not as adaptable as a good short sword. Unless your campaign is set under martial law, most places will allow you to carry a sword on your hip, so there's less concern regarding hiding a weapon. Daggers do, however, make a decent emergency back-up, climbing tool, spare tent-peg, useful trap detector/trap setting tool, improvised lockpick/Slim Jim, shaving kit, and cutlery. Carry a few just in case, just don't rely on them.

Thieves should also have a good way with ranged weapons - that Dexterity score affects how well you can use them, and you might as well play to your strengths of stealth, scouting, and not being in the front lines. Crossbows are a classic old chestnut for a reason - they are easy to use, hide, and need less room to use than a bow. They also complete the classic "Thief" look well.

Second, armour. You need something that will not give you a penalty to your Dexterity (this includes Medium and Heavy Armour). Even with the appropriate Armour Training Feats, the penalties are still present - thus preventing you from fulfilling your role for the party. Now, if you're about to enter a full-scale battle, where your stealth and agility means next to nothing, then sure -strap on the heaviest armour you can wear and hope for the best. But until then, stay loose and flexible - it's better to never be hit than to be able to shrug off the blow. Light, leather armour (studded leather, preferably) is your best bet.

Third - if you plan on sneaking, go the whole hog. Blackened armour, weapon-black, padded shoes - anything to eak out an extra little bonus or two. You don't need to wear these all the time, but when you are planning to sneak, they can be a godsend!

Finally, the little extras. As I've said before, Complete Scoundrel for 3.5 has a great equipment section for Thieves - with everything from hollow weapon-pommels and wand bracers to shoe-knives and grappling arrows. A quick read through should get some ideas flowing...

For OSR gamers, The Complete Thief's Handbook is an awesome resource, covering equipment from climbing pinons to silenced armour and even more!

Planar Undead: The Flame-Wreathed

Another little Planescape goody: a series of Planar Undead creatures, starting with the Flame-Wreathed.

Originating from the pockets of Negative Energy that hover near the border of Fire and Ash, the Flame-Wreathed are horrid, flame-covered corpses, shedding ash as they walk, animated by some horrendous primal force of destruction.

Roughly as intelligent as a zombie, these Undead creatures find themselves drawn onto the Prime Material Plane by Necromancers looking for truly terrifying Undead to cause destruction. On the Planes, the constant supply of Negative Enegry and Elemental Fire preserve their bodies, leaving them somewhat immortal, and highly resistant to the effects of time. On the Prime Material, however, their forms start to burn out (slowly), with those specimens summoned for extended periods of time slowly becoming skeletons, blackened bones visible through the pure flames.

Some believe this is the fate that befalls Ash and Fire Genasi when they are subjected to large amounts of Negative Energy, though no proof has so far been found.

Frequency: Rare 
No. Appearing: 1d2
Size: Medium (or as base creature)
Armour Class: 4
Hit Dice: 2+2
Movement: 50’
Attacks: 2 (1d8)
Morale: -
Intelligence: Low
Alignment: Neutral Evil
 

Flame-Wreathed share the same immunities as most Undead creatures, as well as being immune to the effects of fire and fire-based spells, taking no damage. They do, however, take double damage from cold-based spells, and quadruple damage from Holy Water.

When attacked by a Flame-Wreathed, make a Save vs. Spells or be set on fire.

Burn The Soul: as beings of Death and Elemental Fire, their flames will still cause half-damage to those who are immune or resistant to fire. Their touch also burns victims through to the soul, causing them to lose an Experience level when struck unless they make a Save vs. Death Magic.

The Creeping Death: Blackened Ooze

The shambling thing before you resembles a moving pit of tar. As it roils and churns, pulling its indeterminate bulk towards you on foul pseudopods, sharpened points of bone and debris emerge, only to be sucked back into its horrid mass the next second.

You hope the noise it made was just the wind howling through its oddly brittle, porous frame - otherwise, it was a howl of anguish and hatred.

Oozes are a common enough feature of many dungeons. Some live in commensal relationships with other creatures (like humanoids feeding them scraps in exchange for their protection). Some, however, form far more sinister relationships - like the Blackened Ooze.

When an ooze devours Undead, most are simply digested and excreted as with most meals. But, when an ooze eats many such creatures, and lives in an area that is cursed to produce Undead (whether by Divine edict, or perhaps a natural conduit to the Plane of Negative Energy), these horrific creatures can be formed.

Hulking, oily-black beasts, the are tainted with the energies animating the Undead, and end up stuck in some bitter mockery of life - a half-dead state. Their digestive processes begin to shut down, leaving them only just capable of digesting flesh and other organic matter, but little else. The bones and weapons of their kills may break, leaving the surface and innards of the creature filled with razor-sharp spikes and slivers of bone.

Some Necromancers claim knowledge of how to create these foul beasts, and will use them to devastating effect in contained areas.

Blackened Ooze

No. Appearing: 1d2
Size: ~9ft Diameter (Large)
Armor Class: 3
Hit Dice: 6
Movement: 70’
Attacks: 2 (Slam 2d6, Bashing and Piercing Damage)
Morale: -
Intelligence: Animal
Alignment: Neutral

Blackened Oozes have an immunity to paralysis, charm and sleep effects. Healing Spells and effects (such as Cure Light Wounds, or a Paladin's Lay on Hands) act as their reversed equivalent (so, Inflict Light Wounds, or Harm for Heal), causing damage instead of healing. Those reversed spells (Harm and Inflict X Wounds) may act as Healing Spells, at the DM's discretion. They can also grapple and overwhelm opponents, who take 1d8 damage per round they are grappled.

One particular Necromancer (whose name has been lost to time) was interested in using these beasts as guardians for her lair, and began to create a large number of them. She also experimented with way to increase their intelligence, to better understand her commands and make for a more effective "watchdog" system. After many years of "breeding" these twisted mockeries of nature, she finally produced a single specimen capable of independent reasoning.

She noticed something strange - unlike other oozes, which split and create a "new" organism, this ooze maintained control over its separated pieces. A quick thought led her to implant a section into a test subject, and lo and behold - the ooze could control the victim, after a fashion. They began to exhibit great sickness, then "died" - only to be raised as a peculiar ooze-filled Undead, totally in thrall to the original. These "Blackened" would form the core of her Undead army, and she terrorised the local populace for many years.

As she researched ways to extend her life, she came to a compromise - she would mentally dominate the ooze, allow it to enter her body, and use magic to stave off it effects - hopefully allowing the symbiont to enhance her body, and extend her lifespan until she could achieve true immortality through Lichdom, or some other Necromantic process.

Sadly (for her), the plan was not to be. She did not realise quite how strong-willed the ooze had become, and instead of infecting her, it simply absorbed her, both bodily and spiritually, into itself - becoming more intelligent, and also quite mad. It had become so accustomed to the Negative Energy that once fed it, it was unable to leave its lair without causing itself great damage, starving itself f those foul energies - but it's working on it. And it may still send its "servants", Undead imbued with its horrid essence, out into the world to do its bidding, and collect the ritual components it thinks it might need to allow it to leave the cold embrace of its home.

Now, this foul creature lurks in the depths of her old lair, under a local dungeon, biding its time until it decides to leave its lair and cause havoc across the land. Locals who have somehow survived encounters with it refer to the creature as "The Creeping Death", a name whispered in the darkest of legends.

The Creeping Death
No. Appearing: 1
Size: ~25ft Diameter (Colossal)
Armor Class: -4
Hit Dice: 12
Movement: 120’
Attacks: 4 (Slam 2d10, Bashing and Piercing Damage)
Morale: 15
Intelligence: High (15)
Alignment: Chaotic Evil

The Creeping Death is a Spellcaster, and may use any Necromancy spells you think it should have. It also shares all immunities with both Undead and Oozes.

When a character is implanted with a lump of the Creeping Death, they must make a Save against Death Magic every hour, or lose one point of Constitution. Once this drops below a quarter of its original score (rounded up), the character begins to show signs of the possession - coughing up black, tarry blood, an unstoppable rage, an inability to feel pain, and a much-toughened physique. Once the character is reduced to 0 Con (or killed normally), they will reanimate within (original Constitution score) minutes, as one of the Blackened. These creatures are totally in thrall to the Creeping Death, and follow its commands without hesitation or error.

Blackened

No. Appearing: 2d4
Size: Medium (as base creature)
Armor Class: 5
Hit Dice: 2 +5
Movement: 40’
Attacks: 1 (Slam 1d6) or by weapon
Morale: -
Intelligence: Mindless
Alignment: Neutral


Blackened share all immunities with other Undead creatures (and are, to all intents and purposes, zombies).

New OSRIC Races: Goliaths and Gnolls

I'm hitting up the wilderness for these two races: the deep forests and sandy deserts for the Gnolls, and the mountains for Goliaths. These Humanoids have been known as enemies (and allies) of the demi-human races in the past, but more and more of them have been entering the fringes of civilisation, looking to further their destinies as great heroes and vile villains.

Gnoll
Gnolls are fast, powerfully-muscled ambush predators, but lack the ability to communicate well outside their species. They tend to group together in loose "packs", which act as both extended family units and their own sub-cultures. While many Gnoll packs fall to chaos, evil, and the worship of Demons, some tread a more neutral line, trying to live in harmony with the forests and nature. Others abandon their packs, or are exiled or abandoned. Such Gnolls either live as bandits, chipping in their lot with criminals, or take up the mantle of adventuring to give their life some purpose.

Summary of Gnoll Racial Abilities
+1 Dexterity, +1 Strength, -2 Charisma

Gnolls have a very acute sense of smell - this lets a Gnoll character track as a Ranger, regardless of class, with a base 70% chance in natural and wooded areas, and a 50% chance in urban areas. Certain factors (such as a target's particularly distinctive smell, or a countermeasure such as peppermint oil) can raise or lower these values as the GM sees fit. Should the Gnoll advance as a Ranger, the chances are increased to 90% and 65% (as the Ranger Class Ability).

Languages: Gnoll, Common, Orcish, Troll, Hobgoblin.

Alignment Restrictions: Gnolls cannot be Lawful, but may be Good. NG, NE, CG, CN, and CE are all possible Alignments for a Gnoll Player Character.

Multi-Class Restrictions: For armour, the more restrictive of any two class requirements apply to a multi-classed Gnoll.

Class Options: Cleric (Evil Deity only), Fighter, Ranger (see below), Thief, Cleric/Thief, Fighter/Thief, Ranger/Thief

Gnolls may advance as Rangers, with the following rules:

• Gnolls may ignore the Good Alignment restriction, and be Rangers of Good or Neutral Alignment (but not Evil).
• A Gnoll Ranger's Damage Bonus vs Humanoids also includes Demi-Humans.
• Gnoll Rangers do not get access to M-U/Druid spells at 8th Level.
• A Gnoll Ranger's followers may not include Good creatures (such as Unicorns), regardless of the Gnoll Ranger's Alignment. They may, however, attract non-Evil Gnolls with class levels.

Low-Light Vision: 60ft

Starting age:
• Cleric 20+1d4
• Fighter 15+1d4
• Ranger 20+1d4
• Thief 13+2d4

Racial Limitations:
Minimum/Maximum ability scores (after adjustment for race); if the ability scores rolled do not fall within these limits, then the race of Gnoll is not a valid choice for the character:
• Strength 6/19
• Dexterity 6/19
• Constitution 3/18
• Intelligence 3/15
• Wisdom 3/17
• Charisma 3/12

Level Limitations:
• Assassin N/A
• Cleric 8
• Druid N/A
• Fighter 10
• Illusionist N/A
• Magic User N/A
• Paladin N/A
• Ranger 8
• Thief 7 (Dex 17), 6 (Dex 16 and below)

Thief Skill Adjustments:
Move Silently +10%
Hide in Shadows +5%
Climb Walls -5%
Hear Noise +5%

Goliath
Goliaths are known for their prodigious strength and hardiness, born as they are from the bloodlines of Stone Giants, but they suffer some of the slowness of mind that their Giantish ancestors also face, and their large frames make them somewhat clumsy. A largely nomadic race they tend to make their camps on or near mountains where Dwarves or Gnomes dwell, leading to lots of interactions with them as they use their superior muscle to help out their smaller neighbours. Competitive to the end, a Goliath will stop at very little to gain the upper hand in even the slightest conflict.

Summary of Goliath Racial Abilities:
+2 Strength, +1 Con, -2 Dex, -1 Int

Languages: Goliath, Common, Dwarven, Orc, Gnomish, Hobgoblin. A Goliath may learn a maximum of three languages, regardless of intelligence.

Multi-Class Restrictions: For armour, the less restrictive of any two class requirements apply to multi-classed Goliaths for the use of class abilities, except that thieving abilities can only be used when wearing armour useable by Thieves.

Class Options: Assassin, Cleric, Fighter, Thief, Assassin/Fighter, Cleric/Fighter, Fighter/Thief

Starting age:
• Assassin 20+1d6
• Cleric 18+1d4
• Fighter 12+2d6
• Thief 11+1d4

Racial Limitations:
Minimum/Maximum ability scores (after adjustment for race); if the ability scores rolled do not fall within these limits, then the race of Goliath is not a valid choice for the character:
• Strength 8/20
• Dexterity 3/16
• Constitution 8/19
• Intelligence 3/16
• Wisdom 3/18
• Charisma 3/18

Level Limitations:
• Assassin 10
• Cleric 8
• Druid N/A
• Fighter 10
• Illusionist N/A
• Magic User N/A
• Paladin N/A
• Ranger N/A
• Thief Unlimited

Thief Skill Adjustments:
Climb Walls +10%
Move Silently -5%
Hide in Shadows -10%

The Retaking of Hallowfort: An Adventure for 1st Level PCs (A Primer)

So, a little primer on what I'm currently writing:

The Retaking of Hallowfort is an OSR adventure for 1st-level PCs. The action revolves around the ancient, abandoned Dwarfhall of Hallowfort - once a proud defensive structure, leading to a Dwarven settlement and mine, now a broken shell of its former self - the Dwarves have long gone, forced out by tribes of humanoid raiders, and repurposed as a hovel for monstrous humanoids of all types.

However, they're not the only ones interested in reclaiming it - a settlement of Humans and Elves in a neighbouring city wants a stake in it, for the natural resources it might contain; the Dwarves want to reclaim it as their heritage, and for the religious artifacts contained within; and a group of Kobolds scout it out for reasons unknown, but many suspect the involvement of a Dragon.

The adventure can be dropped into any existing campaign setting (and edited to suit, with tips to help it fit somewhat better), and while the stats will be OSR-compatible, I'll maybe include a note on using Microlite20 (what I'm playtesting it with now).

While the bulk of the adventure revolves around the dungeon of Hallowfort, the adventure will contain information on the surrounding area and influential NPCs from all 4 sides of the story.

As you might be able to read, I had wanted diplomacy to be a strong option in every aspect of the adventure - so, each NPC will have a list of dispositions, accepted bribes, and other such information for those players who don't want to be risking life and limb for the entire adventure (and, with the numbers that will be present on all four sides, and all-out battle would most certainly end badly).

The Gentleman's Guide to Being a Bard

So, I sat down to watch Comedy Central's How To Be A Gentleman, and realised after about ten minutes that I could have spent the time used far better, by ripping my testicles off and feeding them to passing stray animals.

(Which is a shame, because it has Murray from Flight Of The Conchords in it. Poor, poor Murray)

Instead, I thought I would purge the psychic garbage acquired by that god-awful excuse for a TV show, and write up this handy guide!

Being a bard is more than trying to have as many half-human offspring as you can. (I've lost count of how many players have "excused" their Half-Elf character by having a Bard as one (or both!) parents).Playing a Bard is about being the party "Face", about talking your way out of any situation, lying through your teeth, and, most importantly, trying to have sex with one of everything.

ONE. OF. EVERYTHING.

Step One: Know Your Audience
This applies to all Bards - if you want to be a smooth-talking mofo, you need to learn your campaign setting, inside and out. When you're flattering the Orcish Warrior-Tribesmen of Kurst, you'll need a different tact than when you want to con the Royal Treasurer of Chantry-Post out of an extra 10% of your fee.

Different cultures have different standards of beauty, taste and decency, and you need to know them - involving yourself in politics and social conflict is just as dangerous as physical battle - while, by the rules, D&D punishes being bad at fighting far worse than being bad with people, in the right campaign, it's a death sentence. Like anything involving the complicated politics, backstabbing and double crossing of the Drow - one wrong word, and all your family will be poisoned. Stick to what you know - or, better still, learn about them. Ask the DM for as much info as he will give, or steep yourself in the lore of a setting to get an idea how a character from there would react in such a situation - though be careful not to get yourself into metagaming territory.

A high Charisma score can only get so far - as a somewhat strict GM, if I knew that a Bard character was dressed like a foppish noble, the Orcs would kick the shit out of him before they'd listen to him, regardless of how good a speech he can give with rolls. Should he (somehow) manage to roleplay it out convincingly... well, that's another matter.

Step Two: Dress To Impress
You'd be amazed at what a decent set of duds can do for you. For a start, should you roll up to a noble's party wearing your leather armour (with the dried-in Kobold blood and the edging frayed due to Gelatinous Cube damage), don't expect a warm welcome.

A goodly part of your cash income should be set aside for clothing - everything from a beggar's cloak to a nobleman's robes. And, if you're hob-nobbing in high society, I might also advise making hygiene a strong point - soaps, razors, and perfumes should always make an appearance on your shopping lists.

I would be inclined to provide a small bonus to a player who spent some time ensuring his character was appropriately dressed, for certain situations. Say, an extra +1 to Reaction bonuses, or Diplomacy checks. This might rise to +2 if they have spent time grooming and otherwise preparing themselves (or if they spent a lot of money on their clothes and scents).

Remember as well - many Bards are played as very attractive, so possibly consider adding an extra bonus when dealing with those who are of the right orientation!

Step Three: Specialisation Is For Insects
You're not as good in a straight up fight as the Fighter. Your spell selection isn't as good as the Magic-User, and you're not as talented as the Thief.

This is fine, because you're none of those things. You're all of them.

When the Magic-User would be crawling back from a physical fight, you whip out your sword and go to town. When the Thief gets stuck with a trap, or caught in a lie, you have spells to help you out. And, when the Fighter would be trying to kick down every door and person in your way, your social skills and Thieving abilities come into play.

You are naturally a multi-role support specialist, so try and stick with options that allow you to do a little bit more. Filling in for any other character in a pinch will make you very popular amongst your group.

In old-school games, your high Charisma also allows you to hire a wider variety of Hirelings - so you can ensure that not only are you prepared for every eventuality, but you have a team to fill out any roles you might not be able to!
 
Step Four: Never Fight Fair
At least, if you can get away with it. Use trickery and misdirection, throw sand in their eyes, use Bluff to feint at an enemy, use Diplomacy to finish a fight before it starts, have a spring-loaded knife in your shoe - do whatever it takes. While you can fight, you're not a front-line Fighter, and you should use every trick in the book to level the playing field.

Your weapon selection is somewhat limited, but you might want to ensure you have both a melee and ranged option. Small hand-crossbows make for great covert weapons, but a bow can be used as part of a disguise - whether as a hunter, archer, mercenary, or (with a bit of luck), an Elf.

For close-up work, daggers lack a decent punch. Take a short sword, or preferably a rapier. Carry a few spare daggers just in case you need a backup, an improvised ranged weapon, or cutlery.

For 3.5, you want to look through the equipment books for anything that might give you the upper hand - hidden blades, disguised weapons, items that enhance your Sleight-of-Hand, Bluff, and Diplomacy skills, extra sneaky spells, whatever you can!

Step Five: Don't Spend All Your Time Whoring
Now, whoring is important - but, when the party are in the local tavern, you have a job to do. You're the Social Character, so go and be social! Whether it's chatting to the locals about goings-on in town, getting rumours and hints, buying drinks to ensure loyalty to you and yours, or hiring Henchmen, the tavern is your playground - make the most of it.

And yes, when you're done, then you can go whoring.

Step Six: Go Big or Go Home
How many Bards have you heard tales about who stuck to the back of the group, never really said anything, and made themselves as inconspicuous as possible? Very few, I'm betting.

Take chances. Make your name known. Take risks that will make your character known in gaming groups for years to come, as "The Bard who rugby tackled the Evil Overlord off a bridge mid-speech" or "The Bard who seduced a GOD", or "The Bard with a high enough Charisma, Diplomacy and Bluff to let him get away with digging up the Pope and putting him on trial for his sins."

Yes, this really happened.

Bards are not just heroes - they're Heroes, capital H. Use every little trick in the book to go down in history, and drag the bastards kicking and screaming with you.

Required Reading
For D&D 3.5 - Complete Scoundrel. The equipment list is both exhaustive and awesome, full of lots of little fun tricks. The character options (including Skill Tricks) can add an extra layer of versatility to your character (always a good thing for Bards!), and, rather unusually, it provides information for making a scoundrel as any Class - from Paladins to Wizards, so long as they're cheeky and awesome.

UPDATES: What I'm Doing Now

So, I have a few wee projects on the go, so there might be some quiet times ahead. Here's what's up and coming...

• Converting the Binder class from 3.5 to Microlite20 (Binders are strange arcanists who bind the spirits of great heroes, dead gods, and eldritch abominations into themselves, to access a variety of abilities and powers. A very flexible, highly useful class, who can fill any given role in a party, but not as well as a specialist).
• A Dungeon for use in both the Risus Dungeon Crawl and OSRIC/OSR/AD&D games, with maps and new creatures and such. This one's gonna be posted as each individual floor, then collected and published as a PDF, maybe two - one without any system, and one specifically for OSR gaming.
• A new Goliath race for OSRIC.
• Those bloody Tau Careers for Rogue Trader.
• Some new Unknown Armies stuff (currently trying my hand at fiction once more, we'll see how it goes).
• A couple of reviews/"Let's Read" articles.

And, no doubt, a few more bits and pieces here and there.

Watch this space!

Dungeon Design in 4e - Considerations

So, I do like 4e.

Sure, it's not as "D&D" as the other editions, but it's a shit-ton of fun, and the focus on combat really frees up the skill system to be a very loose, fluid thing - which I like, a lot. While 3.5 had a lot of rules on how to use certain skills in certain situations, 4e only has a few - the rest are up to the players and DM to work out.

But, while doodling some dungeon maps up, I realised a few things about making dungeons for 4e.

First, is space - you need a lot of it. Older editions were rife with 10ft wide corridors, 10'x10' rooms, etc. But, due to the way 4e combat works, with powers that push, pull, and rely on movement, such corridors become very limiting on what actions a PC can take. And that goes against 4e's ethos in a big way. 4e's heroes are cool, larger than life combatants - forcing them to cramp their style is tantamount to hamstringing them!

So, I need to design dungeons which have less corridors, maze-like sections, and true curves, and instead focus on having larger areas interspersed with interesting scenery. This is kinda rubbish, as I like the little fiddly bits! It also means sticking to regular shapes - everything kinda has to be measured in 1"x1" squares, so no circles/curves. I feel that that will strip a lot of the dungeon's vermilisitude.

So, we go from this:

If I ever meet Dyson Logos, I'm going to blow him.

... to this

I know it's from Gamma World, but I'm still just not feeling the love.

Second is the sheer time that combat takes - 4e has no wandering monster rolls, because frankly, each battle against level-appropriate threats can take upwards of an hour to resolve. I played OSRIC, and watched 10 PCs (in Dangerous Brian's Expeditionary Campaign) take on similar numbers of bad guys - and the fights never took as long as when we played 4e. Part of this was down to player choice - there's just a bit too much of it. While in OSRIC, you either shot/stabbed/lobbed/generally attacked, or maybe cast a spell, your options were limited - but you had a lot more say in how you performed them. In 4e, even a Level 1 character can have up to 7 specific attacks listed, and more options besides. As many of them rely on the aforementioned pushing/pulling/movement, pre-planning often leads to you being unable (or, at least, making it unwise) to use certain Powers. People get in the way, monsters dodge out of reach of certain Powers, etc., and it can lead to some stage-fright when you finally get around to your turn. How this affects dungeon design is that each combat has to really matter - it should further the plot/story, because it'll take fucking hours, so it better be worth it! And, to be honest, I don't like running a dungeon with a plot in mind - there's just too much that can occur within a dungeon, too many places where the plot will be lost, that it's not worth losing out on the feeling of adventure, the spontaneity, the sheer fun of a dungeon by meticulously planning every aspect of it. It's just not fun. Stock it and let the players choose how to encounter it. Don't force them to take certain paths, or make enemies appear at set places like videogame spawn points. Just roll with it.

Thirdly, is the matter of Experience Points. In 4e, XP is meticulously balanced by encounter - so, for each fight, you have an Encounter Budget, based on the number of enemies/traps there are. This is the main way of gaining XP, and can make dungeons into hack-and-slash blenders. In OSRIC, XP was garnered through collecting loot - gold, silver, copper, gems, whatever valuables you could make off with. Players prised elaborate candelabras off walls, bought mules to carry their treasure back from dungeons, pulled of heists that would make the Leverage team dizzy. Fighting wasn't worth it - you gained a piddling amount of XP for risking your life (and, your chance to reach a higher level - a lot harder to do in OSRIC than 4e). When fights occurred, most were simple survival - and good players planned ahead, made choke points, set their polearms for a charge, or fired missile weapons and burning oil from behind cover. There was less mechanical variety in combat, but a lot more choice.
So, when making a 4e dungeon, you have to plan each encounter out to ensure it's within the correct scale, and that the players level at the right points. A good DM also includes plenty of chances for the individual players to shine - if someone made a Wizard and took all the Powers and feats to make him tackle multiple enemies at once, throw her a cloud of minions every few fights, so she gets to nuke huge groups of bad guys. If someone made an agile, acrobatic Rogue, then don't make everything about corridors - throw in poles to balance on, traps to spring-vault over, and walls to run along.

Despite all this, I do like 4e - just as a player. Running it can be somewhat fraught with problems (or me, at least). It does have some awesome stuff (the feeling of being a hero, rather than a very lucky chump; the Powers system; the flexibility regarding skills and terrain use), and the player options are both mechanically interesting and very flavourful - but as a DM, it's kinda fiddly. I'd rather doodle up a dungeon in half an hour than dick around with Dungeon Tiles and make sure everything's alright for everyone.

Yep, I'm officially a grognard (despite not being around when AD&D was released). God help me.

X is for XP

Ah, the Experience Point - a humble, satisfying way of tracking your character's improvement and advancement. Way back in the mysteries of time, you spent a penny, you got a point - truly, simple days. It encouraged a lot of planning and thoughtful exploration - while you did get experience from defeating monsters, the risk : reward ratio was way too high, and combat too deadly, to make it a viable option for levelling. Instead, you planned ways to get rid of monsters, not defeat them, or avoid them entirely, to get your hands on the cash. And, while you used it to replace weapons, buy equipment, and research spells, you still had a lot left over for whoring and drinking.

Now, you have kids boiling anthills and rampaging through dungeons without a care in the world, hoping to level up to get their hands on the new and exciting class features at the next level, so they can further rampage and gain XP. Cash is used mainly to buy magic weapons, to enhance your killing prowess - those poor whores will be going hungry!

I have to admit, I prefer the older edition way of doing things - you gained XP from adventuring, not fighting. I am thinking, should I ever run an old-school game, to maybe add in some new forms of XP:
Spending money grants you experience, as always.

• Fighting should still grant a decent amount of experience points - after all, combat and epic battles are the stuff that great adventures are built on. But I like the idea of making it a risky proposition, s not too much XP.
• I'll maybe add something regarding traps - disabling a trap using Thief skills grants no XP, but is a hell of a lot more reliable. But, if you puzzle out a trap and think of a unique, clever, or entertaining way of getting around it, you gain a little bonus XP. Good to ensure that everyone can get some XP from traps, not just the Thief.
• Maybe an Exploration Bonus - for every 100ft of dungeon you faithfully map, the party gains 5XP. Not mapping or just sketching will grant nothing. Every Secret Door found will grant a bonus (like Traps), and maybe some set XP rewards for finding certain things (say, the Defiled Altar to St Cuthbert gives 10XP for finding it).
• Bonus XP for doing interesting things - reconsecrating that Altar might be worth another 10XP, maybe more to a Cleric of St Cuthbert.

It also opens up something I've been wanting to write up - a system like the Warhammer 40k RP games, where Experience is used to buy advances, and you go up in Rank depending on how you choose to spend your XP, not on how much you earn. It allows for a class-based system with so much more variety than the D&D Levels and Feats.

Of course, a lot of games now don't use XP at all, and have a variety of advancement schemes - FATE being one that instantly springs to mind, with its lack of XP, GM-designated advancement periods, and the ability to gain new Aspects through gameplay (where appropriate). But, I find that, as a player, I like having something to work towards - and XP are a great way of tracking that, and always give something to look forward to.

Valerian's Reach - A City To Be Used

So, inspired by reading through Dyson Logos' amazing maps and geomoprhs, I want to create a city. I've wanted to run a "Thieves Guild" game for a while, and I almost got one going before real-life interjected. So I wanted a city that could handle (Non-Modern) Urban Fantasy, for a game more focused on politics, inter-faction battles and the occasional bit of cat-burglary. I also want something I can easily drop into any number of campaigns with very little tweaking (I know, I don't ask for much). I'll start with a brief overview of the main groups within the city, and build it up from there.

To start, Valerian's Reach was a small port town beside a large ocean. But local Princes granted areas of land around the town to various Nobles and Barons, so a fair amount of trade lines and caravans were set up. Over time, Valerian's Reach grew out from its humble beginnings, eventually enveloping the Noble lands and making them part of the city proper. Now, it's the main trade area of the country, and is always growing.

Due to the influence of a few corrupt Nobles, the city has slowly descended into lawlessness - the black market is so thriving, it practically outpaces normal trade in the area. And while each Noble family ensures that their "lands" are kept pristine and well-guarded, they need someone to do their dirty work within the city - while some have their own street-gangs and mercenary bands, some need other assistance - enter the Thieves.

As with most large cities, Guilds have popped up to ensure fair treatment and a share of resources amongst those in similar professions - the Guilds of Sailors, Merchants, and Smiths are particularly well represented due to connections to various Noble Houses. However, some of the other gangs, sick of the sheer brutality and scheming of the Noble houses, banded together to form an unofficial Guild of Thieves. It's pretty much an open secret - the Guard knows about their existence, and by extension, so does the local government, but they're too valuable to keep down - mainly through their use as tools of the Noble Houses, and for the amount of information they hold on everyone in the city. A few well-placed communications to other cities, and they'd be at under siege for years, for crimes against trade, religion and decency.

The Thieves are mainly after their own goals - mostly, the accumulation of wealth and power, hopefully enough to outpace the Nobles and make the Port their own. Some are even double agents, working for the Guild under the cover of some minor retainer within a Noble House. Any who are found by their employer are often executed, or at least excommunicated and branded as Thieves. Take a note - if you see someone with a Thieves Brand, they're probably not very good at it.

As mentioned, the Black Market of Valerian's Reach pretty much holds the city together - it underpins all transactions, and account for something like 90% of the city's holdings. From slaves to assassins to necromantic ritual components, if it's not welcome in other places, you can buy it here - for the right price, of course.


Races

Unlike most places in Delraith, which are segregated by race/origin, Valerian's Reach is highly mixed and cosmopolitan. Most of the population is human - from areas around the continent, and further afield (like the Southern Reaches, the Western Plains, and even a few who claim to come from somewhere referred to as "The Pole States"). There are few Elves or Dwarves - those who live here are outcasts from their own race, trying to find a place to fit in, frequently dropping to criminal activity as a result. More 'civilised' goblinoids, like Hobgoblins and the less-warlike Orcish tribes, are fairly common - mostly as private guards and mercenaries (House Cassimere is known for having an entire Hobgoblin tribe on retainer). Halflings, cropping up wherever there are humans, are a regular enough sight. Less common, but more noticeable, are the black-skinned Drow - outcast Elves who talk rarely of their past, their origin, or of their kin. Many take the opportunity to become bandits, raiders and pirates - their great dark ships cutting a fair sight on any horizon. There are also a number of individuals from more unusual races - like Thraka, the Half-Ogre guard (used in large battles/riots, more like a walking artillery piece than a true Guard), K'ski'f, Illithid Black Market Merchant/Loanshark (you really don't want to get behind on your payments... or ask where he gets his stuff), and Saris Windstrider, an Air Genasi warrior-poet who resides with House Belladonna.

Noble Houses

House Cassimere (The House of War, The Armourers) are a House built on bloodshed and battle - many of the armies and adventurers of Delraith are supplied from the forges of Cassimere, regardless of allegiance. Those with the greatest coin are friends of the House - indeed, it is relatively easy to get anything made for you in the Iron Citadel so long as your money is right. The Head of House is a position filled democratically (much like the head of any big business), rather than through family lines.

House Belladonna (The Wenches, The Courtesans, The House of Diplomats) are mostly known for their use of politics and subtle manipulations to get what they want. Most of their most prominent members are women, but a small core of men are around for use when dealing with some of the more "traditional" Houses. Many a Bard or entertainer throughout DelraithDrow (and due to their natural enmity, they are careful not to work with each other), Halflings, and a few Goliath Stone-Speakers (storytellers, passing down oral history and great deeds through song). There are a few members who are either kept under wraps or disguised for their own sake (like the changeling Annah, who has several civilian identities, and acts as a spy when necessary, or uses her natural shape shifting gifts to be a very popular handmaiden).

House Sharn (The Black House, The Merchants of Death) originally started as a cabal of necromancers - but have expanded out to become one of the forefront producers of magic items and spell components in the city. If you need anything magical, or dark, or disgusting, you want an agent of Sharn. While necromancy was their main focus previously, more and more practitioners of other magics flock to their banner, forming something of a Magocracy within the House - those with the most knowledge of the Arcane become the new leaders. While there is no small amount of nepotism in who is chosen, anyone can apply and challenge the current Head of House, so long as they can prove themselves in test of sorcerous might. Due to the leaders having more magic-sense than business-sense, many hire up outcasts from House Nisseer, or pinch them before they can join, to shore up the holes in their business strategy. Rumour has it some of the higher-ups are actually Undead, such as Vampires and Liches (or it could just be that Valin The Charming is really hot, and old Ressigar does look skeletal under the right light...)

House Nisseer (The Traders, The Mercantile House) are a collective of traders, merchants, and craftsmen - they supply the essentials to Valerian's Reach. Many of the black market routes were originally set up by members of this house, even though they are now owned by others (though many still pay some small share back to the House). They hold charge of large swathes of The Docks, tithing those who come to trade to ensure "safe passage and guaranteed peace to trade". Some even claim they have trade links that stretch beyond this world - and having K'Liv, the unnaturally tall, blue-grey tinted trader in their ranks (actually a Mercane) helps to fuel the speculation that they might have some links to the Planes Beyond (what can I say, I like having an option for Planescape!).

Fashions and Customs

There are few temples within the walls of Valerian's Reach - few self-respecting Gods would want anything to do with such a hive of scum and villainy. But, some persist - Addrig, Minor Deity of Thieves, Gamblers and Scoundrels has quite the following, her temple being almost as large as a Nobilite mansion. It's also a favoured meeting place for Thieves Guild members (after all, there they are just parishioners - and the Nobles haven't yet got the power to ban religion). There is also a small temple to Varily, God of Truth and Valour - a missionary place, dedicated to helping those few honest folk who still make their home in The Reach.

Most weeks, there will be a minor celebration - from racial ones (like Winterfast, the Halfling coming-of-age parties where, each winter, those who turn 14 need to abstain from food for a month, barring what they can catch themselves - and should they succeed, the taverns will be full of Halfling families and friends looking to feed them back up), to religious (Addrig's Day, where worshippers play games and engage in acts of daring and games of chance).

While its cosmopolitan nature is shown in the dress sense of its peoples, there is still a standard "Reach look" - normally, darkened leathers or cotton, heavy cloaks (to keep out the worst of the coastal winds), and heavy hoods (to keep out the worst of the Guard's stares). Standard "thief/rogue/bad guy" clothing, if you will. Those of Noble birth are frequently seen wearing ostentatious displays of their wealth - fine silks (a favourite is the Phase Spider silks often touted by Drow merchants, known for its many and varied colours and magically-reactive sheen), jewellery of gold and gems, and the odd magical adornment (for example, many of the House Belladonna girls are seen with items that can create small illusions, such as changing their hair colour or skin tone, to subtly adjust themselves to be most attractive to a given client, and the bizarrely well-kept facial hair of the men of Cassimere is tempered with a combination of depilatory cremes, magically-enhanced razors, and the odd touch of magic). Many Thieves looking to disguise themselves (or to throw off the scent of the Guards) will take on such adornments, pretending to be wealthy eccentric Nobles to distract from their true intentions.

Next up (when I get scanner access) will be a map, a few important NPCs, and some more Noble Houses.