Exploration

An issue I have had with solo dungeon crawls is that usually there doesn't seem to be much reason where the dungeon decides to unravel. You usually move to a unexplored edge and lay a new tile/card and then you have a new part to the dungeon. Conceivably you could just move in one direction forming a huge snake of rooms and tunnels.

Another solution is to use an existing drawn map and trigger random events/encounters as you step into each room. But I find that the feeling of mystery and exploration is lost in this method.

After wrestling with this is a bit I've come up with a solution I think that I like. In the detail deck are 3 aces and 4 kings. The aces represent dead ends while the kings represent "splits". Whenever a king is drawn the path is divided or split. When this happens 2 detail and 2 obstacle cards are place faced down on one path and the another 2/2 cards are placed faced down on the other path (see below). So you can choose to follow one path but either that may lead to a dead end (ace) or you will miss out on whatever are on those cards. This could be the Boss monster, adventuring goal, treasure etc.





Another idea I have for ensuring a dungeon doesn't snake it's way off your table or desk is to have a general idea of the dungeon/cavern structure. Maybe a d6 role on a table. 1-3 square (no more then 7 cards across and 7 up), 4 rectangle, 5 L shape, 6 something else. I might try to think of some rule to have path connect to earlier ones.

OSH with the Solo Deck Part 1 - Creating a Hook, and New Location Mechanic

I apologize for the delay in posting. I've been promising that this would be coming soon but unfortunately how my life is right now 'soon' is longer than I would like it to be. I've finished up some projects I've been working on so my schedule is freeing up a bit more so hopefully I can start knocking out some posts on a semi-regular base for a little while.

(some people have mentioned that they have had trouble commenting on my posts. I've tried to solve it so hopefully it works now. If not please message me and I will try and get it straightened out.)

So. I've been messing around with my solo deck idea some more. I've been using it in conjunction with Old School Hack - a great homage to basic D&D in a a super sleek rules lite format. For those who want to GM OSH, I think my deck design system is perfect for on the fly gaming. Check it out: http://www.oldschoolhack.net/

There are several reasons I decided to use this:

A) I love old school D&D

B) Three categories of monsters that can be tweaked with small variances. Also easier to set up the difficulty level of a obstacle deck.

C) I want a rule set that's super easy and straightforward so as to not burden a solo session with too much number crunching.

D) Love the light and "this is not that serious" feel which I think is a great for  short dungeon crawl.  I've played 2 sessions that were both no longer than 1 hour each.

E)The arena system which I'll show how I use with the detail cards.

F) Awesome points can be used to encourage a more bold and daring play style, as well as more interaction with the world of your dungeon. This was originally of course designed for group play but I think this can work for a solo session too. I'll explain more soon.

I've also been reading and been inspired by some mechanics from some other RPG's: On Mighty Thews, Dunjon, Minimus, Storming the Wizard's tower and others.

Here is a quick overview of how I'm setting up my sessions. Later I will give a more detailed play report. I recommend downloading the free pdf of Old School Hack if you haven't already at this point. I have a few sections listed below that I copied from the OSH SRD.



Read my earlier posts that give some details on my solo adventure deck system at http://solodungeoneer.blogspot.com/2012/01/random-thoughts-about-gm-less-play.html

This is for those who are looking for a solo dungeon crawl experience that's closer to a gm led session and less like the number crunching and randomness of the solo rules from the DMG 1ED. 


1) I got this idea from On Mighty Thews (this is optional but I find that this can help quickly create the world and context for your adventure in map form) Take a sheet of paper and roll 4 different results on the Mythic Description table found at the Mythic Yahoo Forums (join if you haven't already). Each word represents is a "pole" which you will place an inch or two in from each corner. Random results: ancient, mundane, rare, cold. Each word describes one of these four kingdoms. Build a description for each kingdom based on the word.

Upper right: Ancient civilization elves that live in huge cities on the sides of cliffs in the northeastern region of our world.

Upper left: Mundane civilization of humans. The area is know for trade. The kingdom is along the coast. Many merchants and traders and a large powerful imperial army.

Lower left: Rare, black moors of the southwest. Life is harsh and dangerous here. Few people are able to live and it is economically depressed. Many wild lands.

Lower Right: Cold frozen south lands. Again very bleak are made of huge vistas of ice fields and mountainous crags. Dangerous as hell. A few keeps and dwarven miner camps exist here.

And there is your world. I'll show a picture from the next session. Mark a few cities or mountains or locations to flesh it out so you have a rough version of a world map. Should take about 5 minutes.

2. Choose or roll a d4 for the kingdom where your dungeon crawl takes place. Come up with a reason why your there.

Like: times are tough in the black moors. You're desperate for some money and a place to lay your head. A small village of old people are in dire need of an adventurer. What's the hook? roll on the mythic event meaning chart. Example: Decrease/ Rumor. Old people seem to be disappearing - why?

Now come up with a specific location. I've been using Mythmere's Adventure Design Deskbook chart for the adventure location. I may provide a more simple table of my own soon. The 'Adventure Design Deskbook" is kind of hard to come by unless you buy Mythmere's new Tome of Adventure Design.

Results: the Isolated Spire of the Flaming God.

These two results are the hook. Old people are mysteriously burning in there beds as they sleep at night. Rumor has it that in the mountains to the west a fire god is ridding the valley of its humans through his magical powers to expand his domain. Save the old people from certain death!

3) Time to make your deck. write out 20 - 30 obstacles on blank cards and 20 - 30 details on your playing cards (using 2-10. kings, queens, jacks, aces, jokers will represent special cards with a specific function which I will discuss later). I'll show what I mean when I write up a session report.

I have some new ideas and mechanics that I will try to explain in detail in my upcoming posts. Here is the first new mechanic that will be used in conjunction to the detail deck:

Locations:

Numbered cards in your playing deck (2-10) indicate combat arena.

Old School Hack uses 5 arena types that affect combat (taken from the Old School Hack SRD):

Weapon Types and Arena Types
LIGHT WEAPONS 1 point of damage

Smaller and quicker than other melee weapons. Using a light weapon allows you to roll 3d10 instead of 2d10, ignoring the value shown on the lowest die.

Examples: shortswords, rapiers, one-handed maces, daggers, truncheons, nunchucks, clawed gloves

+2 BONUS WHEN USED IN
TIGHT ARENAS

Narrow places that often limit your mobility somehow.
REACH WEAPONS 1 point of damage

These are usually pole-arms or cool chain-based weapons. It’s easier to keep your enemies at bay, so wielding one improves your Armor Class by one category.

+2 BONUS WHEN USED IN
HAZARDOUS ARENAS

Places where footing is difficult or visibility is limited and requires care.

Examples: quarterstaff, poleaxe, spear, flail, net-and-trident, sword-and-chain
RANGED WEAPONS 1 point of damage

You attack earlier in Combat order, and can attack an opponent that’s in an adjacent arena as well as the one you’re in.

+2 BONUS WHEN YOUR TARGET IS IN
OPEN ARENAS

Stark, wide-open areas where there is little to no cover.

Examples: long or shortbow, blowgun, sling, bola, crossbow, throwing spear
HEAVY WEAPONS 2 points of damage

Nice and big, so they do an extra point of damage if you manage to hit with them.

Examples: bastard sword, warhammer, battleaxe, falchion, spiked ball-and-chain
VERY HEAVY WEAPONS 2 points of damage (sometimes 4)

Frickin’ huge and powerful, requiring both hands (no shield). They also do an extra point of damage; beating an opponent’s armor class by 5 or more does
two extra points of damage.

Examples: caber, spiked club, zweihander, double-headed axe

+2 BONUS WHEN USED IN
DENSE ARENAS

A crowded environment that has lots of fiddly but smashable bits that might get in the way.

NEUTRAL ARENAS
A bland or ambiguous environment that’s hard to define. No weapon type gets a bonus in a neutral arena.


Each card number from 2-10 will indicate arena type. For example:

2, 3 = Tight

4 = Hazardous

5, 6 = Open

7 = Dense

8 - 10 = Neutral


This will be randomized before each session via a table so when you are writing your details on the cards you will have no idea what arena you are assigning a detail to.


Some Examples:


Fire and Tight arena = a small circular room with a very small space around the central oven.
Cracked and Dense = a courtyard of crumbling statues
Smoke and Dense: The inside of a burning barn.
Descending tunnel and Open = Huge slope descending in a massive cavern.
Temple and Neutral = ruins of a temple chapel that has been scavenged clean.

I think this is a helpful little mechanic that not only aids combat variance it also adds a whole lot of flavor to a session. Meaning, basically that every new location detail drawn is combined with an arena to create the actual location your PC arrives at obviously justified by the context of the adventure. This can be evocative and I think really aids the atmosphere of the story. It also specifies and kicks your detail/location into high gear.

Locations now actually have an affect on game play and are not just for the atmosphere of the dungeon crawl. They are also a lot more specific and help create a location much faster 'on the fly'.


In my next post I will discuss another idea I have for a mechanic that encourages interaction with the environment.

Update on my Solo play design

So I've been testing out my solo card system that I wrote about in January. I'll write more soon to detail new mechanics and ideas that I've been messing around with. Here's a small teaser of sorts:

Check these out:

http://www.amazon.com/Learning-Advantage-Blank-Playing-Cards/dp/B001UG392E/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1332100815&sr=8-1

I've been using these blank playing cards and I find they work very well. I can write on them with a dry eraser marker and I'm able to wipe them clean. Sometimes when I shuffle the cards, the ink smudges a bit but it always seems legible.

I also have a deck of playing cards from Dollar Tree. I think since they are so cheap they are actually made out of plastic and they too can be marked on with a dry eraser.

http://www.dollartree.com/catalog/search.cmd?form_state=searchForm&keyword=playing%20cards&x=0&y=0

The blank cards are used for my obstacle deck while the playing cards are used for my detail deck. The numbers and suites will add new elements to the details. Such as location/arena type(connected with old school hack - you'll see what I mean by this in my next update), as well as initiative and if an encounter happens right away or later. I'm planning on having the numbers and suites randomized each time via a table so when creating the cards you will never be able to anticipate results.

If you don't know about Old School Hack, you should. Could be the best 'rules lite' rpg I've ever read. It's free so check it out here:

http://www.oldschoolhack.net/

more later soon...

PS. I've been having issues with people being able to leave comments so I will try to get that worked out before my next post.

Random Thoughts About GM-less Play

If you're interested in playing adventures on the fly or without a GM, there's a requirement to kind of just dive in and trust what's coming at you much like improv. Saying yes, setting up the player, trust - these are words you'll hear in a improv class and while I haven't played any group gmless play, I've tried playing solo on the fly and I'm sure that these improv "rules" are essential to making a gm-less/ on the fly (with a gm as well) group session successful.

But is it practical to just wing it? I'm looking for some sort of structure that can prompt or help details to emerge without it being forced. Without structure there's just too much chance for it all to fall apart especially if the players are not 100% committed. I do love random tables and I think that they can work well but sometimes it just - yes - feels random and the success of a story evolving in a engaging way must depend entirely on the luck of the roll for successful elements to emerge. I prefer more creative control. What if you could design adventures and have them still be entirely surprising and unpredictable?

What I like most about WOTC's Castle Ravenloft(board game) is the dungeon tile deck. Essentially an entire adventure is programmed/ prepared by what tiles are in the deck. Shuffling the deck, obviously keeps the players from guessing what's around the corner and when the big boss fight happens. While I really love this mechanic about the game, I think WOTC kind of missed the boat on this one though - there's so much more possibilities. Essentially you shuffle a bunch of the random dungeon tiles (which can only affect game play by either prompting 1 monster to appear or 1 monster and a trap to appear) with a end tile (for the boss or ending of the adventure) shuffled into the last 3-5 random tiles.

This could be better:
A) toss some "story" tiles in there where where some kind of event connected with the plot occurs to build dramatic tension or create difficulty for the characters. By appropriately placing story tiles you could create some sort of narrative arc.

B) If the characters have to make a choice on a certain tile maybe that requires placing another "story tile" later in the deck that is connected with the choice made. Or maybe the deck forks into two separate decks. Maybe even the party splits up.

Recently, I stumbled across the adventure funnel: a brilliant simple adventure design template

Check it out:
http://xbowvsbuddha.blogspot.com/2006/10/adventure-funnel.html

The reason this works well, is exactly why all modern drama works well. Characters face obstacles - bumping up against problems and forces that are trying to stop them. This is what helps make a story engaging.

So what does all this have to do with gm-less play?

Here's some thought's I've been messing around with inspired by the adventure funnel and Castle Ravenloft:

1) Come up with an adventure hook.
2) Character defines their objective/goal
3) players ask themselves "what could get in my way"? "what obstacles will I face" or "what am I afraid of happening"?
4) Very quickly and without much thought, write out a bunch of answers on note cards or small pieces of paper. Maybe 20 or 30. Get a good variety of different things. The differences can be subtle too. This will be your adventure deck.
5) shuffle them together and then remove half of them.
6) Add 3-5 cards into the mix with "random" written on them.
7) Add a boss/climax of narrative card in
8) Maybe a few cards that give you some rest of a break from all the conflict (positive random cards)
9) Begin the narrative and try to achieve your characters goals.
10) draw a card. This is your first encounter/obstacle/problem that you have to deal with. How do you deal with it?
11) Whenever you draw a random card, create an obstacle using the mythic rpg event meaning table

Example:

A rescue adventure. A PC's village has been over run by trolls. Most of the villagers are enslaved and taken to a cavern deep in the hills south of the village.

Objective:
Find and help the villagers safely escape the troll lair.

Obstacles:

Troll guard, Spotted!, they know they are being followed, dark cavern, lost, can't find tracks, storm outside, troll beast dogs, trolls are outrunning you, villager/villagers are beginning to be massacred/eaten, no food, wolves at night, bandits, cave snakes, cave gate, large gap - no bridge, startled, giant bats, giant rats, giant troll pet

end/boss/climax cards: troll lord, escape

Some obstacle random cards I might draw based on my mythic results (I roll this when I draw them so it is indeed random and in line with the logic of wherever the story might be at that time): Oppress/Military (Troll sentry's are everywhere!), Triumph/Weapons (A troll flame thrower blasts down the tunnel directly at me!), Starting/ Pain (poisonous gas chamber)

some positive random cards I draw: Release/Dreams (here is my chance to silently wake the villagers while not getting any attention), arrive/ dispute (the trolls are arguing and distracted, I can sneak by).

Obviously you don't want too many randomly good cards because the whole point is to creatively find solutions to the obstacles.

The narrative is about connecting dots. But for gm-less play, you're at least not entirely winging it. You have a structure and there are elements that you respond to in order to move the story forward.

I've tried this a few times solo and have found that I really get caught up in the story. Having half the deck disappear of what you'll expect to confront and then adding some random obstacles feels right and similar to life. I know when I'm dealing with something I dread, there are obstacles I can predict (but not entirely sure what) and then of course there's random shit that I never would have expected both positive and negative.

What I'm still thinking through:

a way that choices affect the deck later on, determining balanced ability checks/ encounters without "cheating". I also think you could divide an adventure up into two parts and creating two different decks for each part. For example.
Chapter 1: Finding the troll lair.
Chapter 2: Rescue!


I've also thought about a details/location deck that you draw simultaneously from.

For example:

I know I'm going to the troll cave so I write (in stream of conscious) a bunch of cave elements or details in the adventure:

Damp, dark, underground river, vines, old skeletons, rotting flesh, troll shit, howling wind in tunnel, troll grunts, trolls sniffing, child crying, slimy rock, tight space, bon fire, troll drums, crazy troll ritual,
ancient ruins, captured wizard (can he help?), broken club, rocky ledge, light up ahead, pitch black, jeweled necklace, sacrifice, torture, trolls having sex...etc

Obstacle "giant bat" gets drawn with "tight space"
or "lost" and "child crying"
or "troll beast dog" and "rocky ledge"
or "trolls sniffing" with "troll lord"

its up to you to justify this in the narrative, connect the dots and make a story. This took me about 4 minutes to write out all the elements and "plan" my adventure.

I may try to detail a solo session soon.

any thoughts...?

Geomorphs!

A week back, I received this awesomeness in the mail from inkwell ideas. While the Dungeonmorph dice look great, I decided to go with the geomorph cards. The cards are 2.5" and come in packs of 90 which include the Adventure, Explorer, and Spelunker geomorphs originally created for the dice. The design of these are beautiful - reminds me of the original D&D geomorph sets.

This is a great deal for about 20 bucks including shipping. The variety of dungeons you can create with these cards are endless. You can get a pack here:

http://www.dungeonmorphs.com/

I'll be looking to use these for a solo dungeon crawl. Maybe use the cards in a dungeon stack similar to Wrath of Ashardalon by laying out each new card as I reach an unexplored edge. I'll generate room contents with the Moldvay Basic D&D dungeon generator.



Also for those on a budget:

These are the original designs that started the Geomorph craze a few years back. Check them out at Dyson Logos:

http://rpgcharacters.wordpress.com/maps/geomorph-mapping-project/

I printed all 17 sheets of these off at Kinkos on 100 lb card stock for the princely sum of $3.50.