Daniel Fowler – Page 7 – The Gauntlet G+ Archives

Witness Him!!!

What your character doesn’t know, wont hurt him.

What your character doesn’t know, wont hurt him… as a character, it makes him or her a lot more interesting. We have talked about player secrets and we have talked about meta-gaming before but I think there is something to be said for embracing the ignorance of your character. Also I am stuck at home and bored so its rant time.

We general assume that your character is a reasonably competent adventurer. he might even be aware of tropes enough to view the apparently un-animated, pirate skeletons surrounding a treasure chest with suspension. But sometimes “facts” are presented to him in a misleading way, like a failed spout lore or an outright lie by an NPC or fellow player. The failed lore shouldn’t be questioned. You know for a “fact” that the troll is dead forever and you should collect its valuable corpse. There certainly is no reason to watch it, or check on it, or get rid of it before going to sleep.

The lying NPC is a little tricky. Unless you have some sort of detect falsehood skill it should relay be up to the DM as to weather the NPC is convening, obviously lying or to give you outside reasons to suspect there is a problem. If the good king publicly tells you a story leading to a quest, you should probably just act like you believe it. “The kingdom needs a brave hero to fight through the crypts of DoaGat and recover the crystal chalice from the litch king”.

If the shadowy, crouched over, shifty eyed adviser gives you a secret mission that looks suspicious, you might proceed but keep an eye out for new info. “The king wished me to give you this secret mission. The town of GoodBread is suspected of harboring a cult of witches. Go there and burn it to the ground, kill anyone you find, we can not risk one witness.. er I mean escaped witch.”

of course the king is a dictator and may only want the chalice to launch an undead army at his neighbors. The visor might just be a creepy old dude who is right about the cult, or possibly mislead, or just so worried about it that he is willing to take the most extreme measures to protect the kingdom. These are all interesting discussions that can happen latter throughout the story. Asking “is this true” about every given statement from every NPC is going to get annoying and lead to long hours of non-adventure. Going on and adventurer then getting tricked and finding out you have a new enemy and the stakes are even higher sounds a lot more interesting.

Lying/misleading party members are even better. I do not mean out of character secrets or note passing, I mean when some character pockets an item of loot instead of sharing it, or misleads another character to get them to cooperate on a task they otherwise wouldn’t. “yes mister paladin, I stole to earn my bread as a child, and that is why the guards want me. But I have changed my ways and those prisons are notorious for their brutality. Surly the lord of light would not want you to let them lock me up in such a dark hole.” When another character tries to mislead yours in the fiction, that player is asking you to role play and possibly create an interesting story. You can always learn the truth later, get even, or permanently change the nature of your relation ship. It can even be a great way to change your character. “McLoot tricked me into helping him rob a nobleman’s house, but the deed is done and it secretly excited me!”

Its fine to say, “I don’t think my character would believe this because…” or “your going to have to try harder then that” or “can you show me any proof” or “i will believe you if…”, just not “no”. “no” is boring.

I go through a lot of casual gaming apps but this is the most amazing thing I have seen so far.

I go through a lot of casual gaming apps but this is the most amazing thing I have seen so far. EZPZ RPG delivers on everything it promises. Effortless RPG. You install this game, chose a character then turn it off. Your character is fighting monsters. You don’t have to look at the game again, your done. There are stats and loot and levels and monsters and bosses but its all handled for you in real time, even when your unconscious. If you want to monitor it you can but you are essential just watching a chat room with a noisy chat bot.

You are already giving the required effort and time (zero). So why not install it and be rewarded for your non-effort? Of course your character will never be as great as mine because I started earlier and both of them will grow at the same rate.

Actually I uninstalled the game about 2 hours later but I like to think that my guy is at least level 20 by now. To be fair you can make some loot decisions and you have to sign in at least once every 2 days, but as a fun time-waster this app fails completely to actually waist time, or be fun. Why would anyone play this let alone pay fore it? Am I wrong? is this the future of RPGs?

Title

The Awakened

When you are awakened from your eternal rest, take Animated as a class move.

Animated:

You are disconnected from the regular cycle of life and death. Your body is animated by your will but its biological processes are frozen. you do not need to consume food, breath air or sleep but normal healing methods do not benefit you. damage can be repaired by darker magics or by mundane repair.

you may also chose the following as advanced moves:

Ever Living:

You do not visit the black gate when you die instead roll 2d6:

on a 7+ your spirit finally finds peace in obliteration.

on a 6- you earn an XP and return to consciousness with d8 HP

Creepy Crawlers

You may detach animated limbs, eyes, ears or other anatomy to do your bidding. Gain the Item: Animated Anatomy(3 uses). when you use this ability mark off a use and write down a new item. these items can be carried, traded, released, or recycled to regain uses. destroyed items are permanently lost. this does not cause you damage but might be inconvenient.

Dustin Fowler and I came up with an idea for a fun little game during a long drive. Basically one of us gave the…

Dustin Fowler and I came up with an idea for a fun little game during a long drive. Basically one of us gave the other a lame super power and the other tried to come up with how he would build a great business out of it. I am probably not the only person who has looked at some comic book character with a “lame” power and said “I could rule the world or at least make millions with that.”

Its not exactly RPG or story game related but its very nerdy and we had fun with it. Here is a quick write up of the rules we agreed upon. Maybe some Gauntleteers will have fun with it after a game ends early.

I’d appreciate any feedback and I never thought of an answer for my “long fingers business” that did not involve fighting crime or robbing people. leave a comment if you can.

Chest of Arcane Reagents (5 uses, 2 weight) 100gp

A strange collection of rare materials used by proprietors of magic or other strange arts. when you reach into this collection you can mark off one use and produce a small vial or handful of a rare or obscure substance. You may never pull the same substance out of your (or anyone’s) chest of reagents a second time.

These substances are not directly useful as a weapon but might have value in adding a ritual or intricate plan. they might confuse or delay a foe or cause an interesting but subtle effect.

Examples:

vial of dwarf tears

a handful of Fire Bat Quano

a bottle of Ogre breath

and so on…

Some of the DW character sheets come with the gear choice of 13gp. I have always thought this to be a little…

Some of the DW character sheets come with the gear choice of 13gp. I have always thought this to be a little silly. its not a lot of gold so its not that interesting. we normally start in a dungeon and by the time we get to a town the characters are lugging 2-3K worth of loot. I don’t think anyone has ever picked it. so what is the point of having 13 coin.

On a completely unrelated matter I am scanning the equipment section of the DW manual and I noticed the following line:

“A nights “companionship” 20 – Charisma coins”

the lowest starting charisma is 8, you do the math.

anyone got a better reason?

Make an item that sucks!

+2 fire swords are very useful but not very interesting. I had some ideas for interesting magic weapons but was just inspired by the section title. Lets think of some magic items good/bad/cursed, weapons/items/traps that use suction. reserve monsters submissions for the Mandatory Fun Club

The shield of suck (1 armor, 1 weight)

Something useful: any weapon that strikes the shield will stick to it permanently.

something interesting: I mean permanently, it can never be removed and its weight is added to your load while you carry the shied.

something else interesting: you may end up stuck to the end of a much stronger/bigger creatures club. have fun with that.

The bag of sucking

something useful: if held open this small water skin will suck down an endless amount of liquid or gas. If let go the opening will naturally close in on itself.

something interesting: The bag is perpetually empty, its contents can never be returned. if held open in a confined space you might accidently suck up all the air.

The Cave Leech

something useful: allowing this horrible creature to attach to you will immediately draw out all poison/toxin as if you had drunk an anti-toxin.

something interesting: each time the cave leech is used it grows in size, weight and smell. It also makes disturbing slurping sounds while feeding. roll a d6 when making camp following a feeding, on a 1 the cave leach bursts

something else interesting: the cave leach is the natural prey of the cave scorpion and its secretions attract and excite them.

see what yall can come up with.

When you are Legolas and need to do anything that can be conceivably done with a bow and arrow. Roll + Dex

When you are Legolas and need to do anything that can be conceivably done with a bow and arrow. Roll + Dex,

take a +1 for each if your character is:

balanced on something mobile or unsteady

*doing a backflip

*is an elf

*is Legolas

*has a bow

*is firing at point blank range

*is firing at long range

on a 10+ chose 3,on a 7-9 chose 2:

*your target is instantly dead or whatever you wanted to happen happens.

you kill an additional d4 enemies by accident

the laws of physics break down

that shot immediately sets up your next shot, take +1 forward

I am going to try to run a play by post DW game here.

I am going to try to run a play by post DW game here. I have never done this so there will probably be problems and we may have to change the rules mid way. Hopefully we will have some fun and if nothing else learn how to do it better next time. The current rules are geared towards avoiding arguments and keeping things organized and moving. It will also help if everyone is familiar with the basic moves, character classes and rule set. If not just describe what you want to happen and the DM will try to interpret it in DW terms.

Rule 1:

The DM (me and possibly a few others I nominate) is the final arbiter of all choices and outcomes. If you don’t agree with something you can make a suggestion but that’s it. All dice roles are handled by the DM if necessary. We will discuss character advancement if and when it happens.

Rule 2:

The characters belong to everyone. When a character is asked for action or dialog, “Barbarian: what do you do about the slowly lowering roof?” anyone can post a response. Please use the +1 button to recommend an outcome. The DM will eventually choose one (not necessarily the most popular but hopefully the most interesting) and the story will move on. After a little while the other responses will be deleted so that other people can read through the story. Also, if you are discerning realities or some other action that might end with you having some number of choices, go ahead and list your choices in order of which you most want.

Ex:

Frofar: I look around the cave. is there anything valuable here? is there anything here not what it seems? what happened here recently

DM: You find a catch of gems worth 30 gp. while searching for more you find a loose stone hiding an alcove with a web covered lever.

Rule 3:

do not volunteer character action, wait for the DM to ask a character a question. If you think its time for the thief to take action and no one can come up with a good response for the barbarian, make an out of character suggestion.

Rule 4:

posts should identify their point of view. These include (DM, Character Name, OOC).

Ex:

DM: Grobar, the orc presses this knife against your throat. You smell rotting meat on his breath. What are you going to do?

Grobar: Slam the back of my head into his face

Grobar: Stomp his foot and grab for the knife.

OOC: Does Grobar still have the cerberus coin?

DM: yes, he has the coin

Grobar: I yell out “wait! Only I know where the treasure is burred.”

DM: The orc howls in pain and yanks its foot away. Both of you fall to the ground in a grapple. Brogar, this is your chance to save your brother but the is tangled up with the orc, you can swing at them and possibly hit your him or leap into the grapple and possibly get knifed.

It should go without saying that only DMs should use the DM point of view. Also any unidentified posts will be assumed to be out of character unless their point of view is obvious.

Rule 5:

Your suggestions can and will affect the fiction. If you say “Drothar pulls out his lucky boot knife and flings it at the kobold” and the DM chooses your response. It is assumed the Drothar had a lucky boot knife. The next question might be why is it lucky. If your standing on one side of a canyon and say “Crofar leaps and grabs an overhanging branch to swing across.” Then there was a branch and the other side was close enough to swing across. Sometimes misunderstandings may arise in which case the DM will inform you that you are in a desert, there is no tree and the distance is too far to leap through normal means. But if you sell the idea of heroically swinging the Story can always adapt. Attempts to pull a bazooka out of a hat will be ignored.

Obviously there will be some delay between DM posts and I will wait a minimum of an hour to pick a response. I suspect most will take 4 or 5 especially during working hours. But if a lot of good suggestions pop up immediately we will move on.

In the spirit of DW this adventure is not completely mapped out but exists in a world with a few landmarks and some named characters.

The starting party will consist of:

Fafinir Foesmasher,

Race/class: Male? Dwarven Barbarian from the blasted north

Drive: Teach someone the ways of your people

Starting moves: unencumbered unharmed, Herculean appetites (Conquest, Pure destruction), the upper hand, muscle-bound, what are you waiting for?

Equipment: Rations(5), dagger, Troll tooth necklace, Axe, adventuring gear(5)

Mouse

Race/class: female Halfling thief

Drive: Avoid detection or infiltrate a location

Starting moves: Trap expert, tricks of the trade, backstab, flexible morals, poisoner (oil of tagit)

Gear: oli of tagit (3), rations(5), leather armor, 10 coin, dagger and short sword, throwing daggers(3), healing potion

Halwry

Race/class: male? Elf mage

Drive: Discover something about a magical mystery

Starting moves: arcane learning. Cast a spell, spell focus(The storm), black magic

Starting gear: Rations (5), arcane treasure (glass pendent containing a thunderstorm), bag of books (5), staff, antitoxin(1)

Look: purple skin

Story begins:

DM: Your characters find themselves in a room at the Dripping Barrel tavern and inn. Located in the middle of Whickinton a small settlement on the outskirts of the mysterious Wax Forest. The people of this town make there living gathering the unusual flora and fauna of this forest as well as the waxy substance that seems to spread over all of it and for several meters around its boarder. While the edges are fairly safe, you have heard that it is incredibly dangerous to travel deeper into the forest and no one has ever reached its center and returned. While most people shun the forest as unnatural, many wizards and institutes of higher learning value the forest life for its strange properties.

DM: The door to your room suddenly shatters inward. Mouse, you are on watch while your friends slept. What did you notice about the townsfolk that set you on your guard and what are you going to do about the three men rushing into your room?