Maps, Traps and Beasties

I've been running a home-brew dungeon crawl (Pathfinder rule set) for a few months now, and as such have been slowly researching and devising traps, set-ups and even the odd new creature.

As a result I've gathered a decent list of available resources, here are my favorite three

MAPS

A brilliant source I've found for generating random maps (complete with beasties, traps, and the like) can be found HERE. It Covers a range of settings (D&D 3rd/3.5 and Pathfinder are what I've looked at) and also allows for random creation of various portions of a campaign including random Inn's or NPC's. It's great if you're in a bind, or need something on the fly.

TRAPS

A major proportion of the traps I use can be found at "Mentats of Gaming presents: Trap-a-Day" and quite a few of those I've devised have been heavily influenced by their extensive list. You really should go check them out.

CREATURES (aka Beasties)

Honestly the best resource I've found so far is simply the Pathfinder Reference Document (PRD). Alternatively d20pfsrd is a non-official but extensive listing of pathfinder, well, everything. Cruising through both of these is easily done and if you can't find what you want they provide the official rules for creating your own creatures.

A couple of my own creations

So many of the creations I've come up with to date have been influenced so heavily by other peoples work that I don't feel comfortable posting them here and claiming that they are solely my creations. The following three entries however I am confident to post. You may have seen similar traps to those listed, but hey, nothing's original anymore.

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Skeleton Horde

“The floor is littered with humanoid bones, weapons and armour.”

Skeleton Horde: CR 3; Type magic; Perception DC 20; Disable Device DC 18;

Trigger location; Reset none;

Effect When the PC’s are within 10 ft of the bones five Burning Skeletons are summoned from the scattered bones, they rise in a single round.

Suggestion on successful Perception check:

Also read; “The bones seem to have a heat like shimmer about them and an intricate set of magical runes hum with power on the ceiling above.”

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Ceiling Net

Ceiling Net: CR 4; Type mechanical; Perception DC 26; Disable Device DC 20*;

Trigger location; Reset manual;

Effect Atk +14 ranged (grappled, Escape Artist DC 24 to escape); multiple targets (all targets in a 10 ft. square area)**. * If trap is disarmed the party may take one Large Net. This item is too large to be used as a single Net (as per the exotic weapon) but can be used as crude fishing net or to set up a similar trap to that disarmed. Otherwise, a Large Net can be quartered and mended into four Nets.  Quartering a Large Net takes 5 minutes with any slashing blade, and a further 30 minutes manually mending unskilled, or 15 minutes skilled per Net. Alternatively one cast of the Mending spell will “repair” one Net after the quartering process. **The net has 5 hit points and can be burst with a DC 25 Strength check (This check can be assisted); alternatively it can be attacked by a slashing weapon or by any spell which deals fire damage. Drawing a weapon while grappled by the Net Trap takes a full round action. Casting a spell while grappled by the net requires the caster to make a concentration check DC 15 + the spell's level or be unable to cast the spell. To damage the net the spell must be fire or acid based and targeted at the net. To do this the spell must target a square the Net covers, if a creature inhabits that square they take half damage from the spell (no save).

Suggestion on successful Perception check:

“Wire as fine as a human hair stretches the width of the corridor, waiting for the unwary to spring some hidden device.”

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Summoning Room

The cavernous room you find yourself in appears to have been built with magical precision. Unlike the surrounding corridors, the walls and roof are perfectly smooth seeming to shine with glass like polish. The floor is both beautiful and mind bending. Dropping away into the ragged crags of a natural cave, stalagmites reach up from an unknown depth. 

Glass, perfectly smooth and colourless, has been set an inch above the tallest rocky spire creating a surreal feeling of floating without the use of magic. At the western end of the room dozens of magical runes have been etched permanently into the floor, apparently for the purpose of summoning creatures from far and beyond. This is made evident by a large strange looking beetle only just visible as it moves toward you due to its shining, deep black carapace.

Scarab Beetle

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There you have it, three resources and three of my own small additions.

I hope you had fun reading and until next time

Frank out

Some examples of 'Rolling with the punches'

If you're reading this and haven't yet read "The Confidence Beast strikes...", please read that first.

Ok, you seen that bit now? Awesome! Here we go.

• Your +3 War-axe of disemboweling [If only that existed] got sundered?
  Get a mace and crush some stuff, maybe work with story teller towards adjusting any weapon specific abilities. Even start a MIGHTY QUEST for an epic new axe. 

• Evil Lich zapped you for -2 levels or perma stat damage?
  Have fun playing feeble for a while, lean on shoulders and hit up your fellow players for in-game support. Make some 'dumb' decisions (just for a short time) to demonstrate your sudden loss of intelligence. Perhaps negotiate a way to gain extra experience with your story teller through extra role-play or amazing acts of craziness/heroism. 

• Character death. I have to caution against a knee-jerk reaction to make something to fill your previous characters void, or investigate their death. It drags out things that possibly shouldn't be dragged out, and can leave you stunted in the scheme of the overall game. Apart from that have fun conceptualising, building and working towards a new character which you can bring into the game. Look at what’s around you and try to find something that will fit in. You could try causing some (small) waves that build extra story for the group.
  
  
• In regards to LARP, don’t worry too much about possible loss in usage for costumes or props. There will always be new uses for stuff, maybe by you or maybe by your friends. At the end of the day setbacks are just that, a setback, not the end of the world.

This is obviously very brief, but you get the picture. Take your setbacks or losses and use them to help build yourself into a better player. Or, if you are already an awesome player, use it to just experiment. Why not? Do it for science!

Frank out

The Confidence Beast strikes, it's a critical hit.

My workplace recently sent me on one of those touchy-feely courses, "Emotional Intelligence" they call it. Disappointingly, it was actually really good [I can be somewhat cynical].

About halfway through the day I started madly writing notes and expanding on ideas in regards to the course. The lecturer actually looked quite pleased, probably a good thing she didn't realise it was notes for this blog post. To be honest I kind of suck at note taking, but here is some of what I wrote down:

* Don't be too critical

* Roll with the punches

* Give some leeway

* Ask yourself ‘Why?’

* Keep asking until you get to the real cause

* Understand you can't please everyone

Now this all sounds pretty generic and pretty much like it should be attached to some cute cat meme. How could any of that possibly relate to gaming? Well let's give it a go.

1. Don't be too critical.
   As players a lot of people [myself included] tend to go over the top. Rethinking decisions, double guessing ourselves, re-tooling abilities, forever upgrading items, replacing items, arguing out of character with other party members about why Tasslehoff Burrfoot  is a legitimate source for the ongoing decision of "always turn left"... you get the picture. Don't be too critical of yourself. Try to understand that bad decisions are made by everyone, and the worst that can happen is more story arcs.
   So you forgot to learn how to speak Aklo, or you don't have that specific potion you all discussed because you REALLY needed that extra barrel of rum. Big deal, work it in. Don't over think the little things and you’ll probably find your games run smoother than if you go through everything you do with a fine tooth comb.
2. Roll with the punches.
   Things go wrong. Often, our role-play is a way to help cope with or temporarily forget the things that are going wrong in our real lives. So how do we cope when things go wrong in our gaming world as well? The best way I've come up with is to remember this; Nothing in a game ever goes ‘wrong’. It just doesn't go the way you planned.
   In table top gaming, I've found players much more resilient to events such as item loss, skill depletion, or even character loss. However the time, emotion, and often dollars spent that can be lost when a LARP character has everything ‘go wrong’ can make it somewhat of a stronger blow, eventually leading to players leaving whole games or even systems as they are unable to deal with the grief* of character loss. What you need to remember is that any loss in gaming is a new opening. We generally have a torrent of ideas going on all the time for our games; use the opportunity to try out something new and shiny.
   
   Some suggestions - HERE
   
   *SIDE NOTE! Yes, it is grief and the grieving process does come into play. We grow accustomed to our characters existing and can have a strong emotional attachment. Don’t just treat it like you don’t care when you do lose a character. Move through the process, talk to your fellow gamers. It might sound strange to have a wake for a lost character but if that character has been a part of your life and the lives of others for what is possibly years, do what you need to and help others do what they need in return.
   
   
3. Give some leeway.
   As stated in Roll with the punches, everyone makes mistakes. Our story tellers, our fellow gamer's and yes, even you. Give a little leeway for the mistakes of others. Generally people are trying to have fun by creating a good game dynamic. Most people don’t realise when they've dropped the ball or they beat themselves up with admitting it. Be respectful of others shortfalls too, no one is perfect and you should understand that. If you do have a major problem with how another player plays the game, or how your story teller runs game, please refer to 4.
   
   
4. Ask yourself ‘Why?’.
   When you do have a problem in game that is eating away at you, or that knocks for six [er, cricket reference, for those not familiar try ‘hits you out of the park’, for those still not familiar google is your friend] ask yourself ‘Why?’. Why is it a problem? This is the first thing you should always do. Don’t just react. Jumping up and down or going off without good cause makes you look bad and can destroy good games not just for yourself, but for others too.
   
   
5. Keep asking until you get to the real cause.
   This is really 4-part two. Sometimes, well actually most of the time, you need to ask ‘Why?’ two or three times. Not to the same base point, but to each step. Ask yourself why the problem makes you upset or angry, then ask yourself what where that feeling is coming from. Do that a couple times and try to do it without just answering over and over that it’s because your being attacked. Try to look a little deeper [see, touchy-feely inner emotion stuff, but it WORKS if you do it right] and make sure there really is something that they need to fix, not that you need to adjust to.
   If you check and it turns out that yes, the other person is doing something wrong, not just something you don’t personally agree with. Approach them with a level head and explain why what they are doing is wrong or needs adjusting. Even if they don’t adjust, at least you had valid reasons and can make the informed decision to take it further (go to your ST or in larger organisations ruling committees) or remove yourself from the situation. It may mean needing to find a new play group. However if something is bothering you for what seem like honest reasons and that thing isn't going to change, get out before you get jaded and perhaps before you spoil it for others that don’t share your opinion*.
   
   *DISCLAIMER! I am not talking about anything illegal or against organisation constitutions. If either of these things are occurring you need to report it to the proper authorities/groups. For anything illegal please contact your local law enforcement (i.e. theft of property/racial or sexual harassment or abuse) and for anything against a groups constitution please keep bringing it up with the groups committee/governing body or look up in your local region possible other avenues.
   
   
6. Understand you can’t please everyone.
   Your decisions in game affect everyone in the game. Even when you don’t think they can, they often do in subtle ways. This again is especially pertinent in LARP style games where you may be affecting people you only ever see at game or you never see as they game in other states or even countries, depending on the size of the LARP. As long as you are not maliciously targeting or trying to cause grief your decisions are yours and yours alone. Always think about how it may affect another player’s experience, but know that you can and eventually will make someone unhappy. The bigger the group, the more likely it is that this will happen. When it does happen, refer to 4 and 5 and ask the affected player to do the same. If you come up realising that you did in fact do the wrong thing admit it, try to fix it if possible, and move on. Don’t dwell, and certainly don’t take it too strongly to heart. These things happen and we all get to learn from it.

Well, another long serious post. Let me know what you guys think. Feel free to debate, argue, and call me a little crazy in the comments below. Be awesome to each other, and hopefully you’ll be back next post for more ramblings and opinions.

Frank out.

OMG CONVENTIONS BLAAAAARRRGGH

Hi there,

So you totally all deserve a new post, and that is totally happening. In fact, it actually kind of happened Friday last week, then I got all ramped up for AvCon and helped a friend sell artwork all weekend and basically... lost track of time. So, in about 5 to 10 minutes, THAT post will be posted, instead of this unholy mess of an explanation.

So yeah, convention was had, artwork was sold, cosplay was oggled at, and general tiredness was the result.
Hope you all had good weekends and if you game'd let me know what you did, be it tabletop role-play, board-games, or LARP.

Peace!

Frank out

Musings on Muses

"As you gaze upon the beautiful man in front of you his simple presence sets your mind ablaze with ideas and fills your heart with symphonies."

That seems to be the classical concept of a muse, at least as I was always taught. A divine presence, or seemingly divine, that shoots bolts of concept through you simply by being there. In reality, none of us have some magical being or object that when held grants us greater abilities to create. Most of us don't even have a mundane object that consistently helps, but what does spur on creative endeavour?

Anything and Everything. Over the last four to five months I've been discovering more and more that to be creative you must draw inspiration from everything around you. I’ve also learnt that when inspiration hits, don't ignore it. Jot down a note, write a paragraph, copy that link to an email. Whatever it may be grab it with both hands and don't let go, even if you have to shelve it briefly until a more appropriate time. [Please don't start writing a church scene for you next campaign half way through you Granma's sixth baptism]

You may be wondering how this relates to tabletop gaming, but really this is the essence of role-play both as the story teller* and the player. In any part of a game you are both constantly looking for invigoration and depth. Situations don't just happen in games, they are made by a unique mixture of planning and spontaneity, both of which need creativity flowing.

*At the end of the day Game Masters (Pathfinder) and Dungeon Masters (D&D) are also Story Tellers, WoD is just the only major system that calls them that.

As a story teller immense amounts of creativity are needed, even when telling a pre-written story. There are never enough details provided, players always come up with hinky scenarios ["I speak Ent, and we are in The Living Forest..." why did I ever let her commune with trees] and it's your job to have answers for those scenarios. Whether you're creating a new world, expanding on an established one, or warping what is known, you need inspiration.

Don't let it pass when you get it. No matter how crazy it seems [I smacked myself in the hand with a rubber band the other day and now have a new trap concept] or how long winded the initial idea may be it's worth holding onto at least part of it, let it take hold and grow. Over time, you may even find you slowly need less external influences, but always be open to finding a shiny new temporary muse.

As a player, it is quite often your job to come up with the aforementioned hinky scenarios. More often however, the need for muse is around character creation, direction, and growth. You need to think of yourself as a playwright, you just happen to only be in control of one of the characters. In fact with the right backstory or progression you could end up with you in charge of multiple characters story lines at the same time [NPC companions, how I love thee]. All while taking the supposed 'back seat' to the story teller. For all of this, you also need inspiration to help guide the direction you will take. Don’t limit yourself to your story teller’s expertise; the worst that can happen is that you can’t use a concept yet.

From experience your direction will usually deviate over time from it’s original path as your concept grows and becomes either more fully fleshed, or possibly even stripped back. Don't hold back from using whatever comes your way, and let it help shape your creative bubble. If the bubble gets too big (i.e. I HAVE A THOUSAND IDEAS AND ONLY ONE CHARACTER!) use it to make more bubbles. Build backup or future characters, design a wondrous or maybe not so wondrous item, or even try pitching an NPC concept to your story teller. Remember, you don’t have to be trying to take the reins of running a campaign to talk idea’s over with your story teller.

I think what I’m trying to get at through my ramblings, is that muses come in many forms. Music, movies, books, conversations, places, events, anything that gives you a light bulb moment is your own personal temporary muse. Don’t ever think that just because it was a small or inconsequential source that the creativity it spawned is also small and inconsequential. Grab your creative moment by the horns, wrestle it down, and give it a stern noogie till it agrees to be what you know it has the potential to be. Even if you’re not happy with the end result, the process is always worth it.

Frank out

You find yourself on blogger. You have a keyboard. What is your action?

::Type Intro::

Hi everyone,
I'll be using this as a place to dump musings, creations and basically anything that pops into my head that is tabletop gaming related.

For the quick run down, 
I've been gaming on and off since 2001, and gaming solidly since about 2010. Yeah, that about sums it up.

As for the long-winded run down...

My intro to the world of tabletop RPG was PC'ing in D&D 3.5 back in 2001. I D&D'd on and off for years before being pulled into WoD by the lovely ST Wild [Blog HERE , check it out] for an oWod Demon homebrew somewhere around 2009-ish.

That spawned a great interest in the d10 setting, it seemed so much easier. "Butt loads of d10's, pfft, this is childs play." Little did I know. From there I got pulled into various WoD games over the next 4 or so years including tabletop games of nWoD Werewolf & Demon. I also dipped my toes in the waters of Exalted and Cyberpunk.

In amongst all that I tried my hand at LARPs for nWoD Vampire and Changling. For all of this I was always the PC, never the ST, er GM, DM? *GAH*.

At some point in all of that I fell into yet more games run by Wild, for which I will be eternally grateful as it's where I discovered Pathfinder. For me it's my niche. It took everything I remembered of 3.5 and fine-tuned it. IMHO it has the tightest rule set I've used to date, with some of the richest and varied expanded background.

Which leads me to my current endeavors. I'm GM'ing for two Pathfinder groups, both tabletop. One running the paizo module "Crypt of the Everflame" for some long time role-players first time Pathfinders,  and one homebrew dungeon crawl. Mainly, 'cos everyone likes to hit things and find loot.

Throughout all of this I've also Talisman'd, Munchkin'd, MTG'd, video game'd, and a whole score of other geek related awesomeness has ensued.

So that's my background. I game with f[r]iends mostly. I love discussion, and more importantly learning new and cool things about different systems and settings. I try to build what I concept, but I don't always concept before I build. In the coming days I plan to post interesting things I find and think of in my travels. Hopefully you'll have fun reading my brain dumps.

Until my first real post,

Frank Out