Did you hear that?

It's quiet, too quiet. With all of the extra time I had to prep and the limited scope of the campaign, the aftermath of the first play session has been very easy.

Normally I would be scrambling to figure out how  the NPCs would react to the actions of the PCs.  Instead, I am spending prep time focusing on small details, more creative traps, better way to describe settings and monsters. Books on my gaming shelf that haven't seen the light of day for a long time are getting pulled out and perused for ideas. IT has been quite liberating.

Procrastination is my enemy. Waiting until the PCs have gotten close to an area of the dungeon to write up descriptions and stock it will only lead to pain. Right now, I feel ahead of the game.However, in one session the players could take a direction I haven't planned and literally be in uncharted territory. Granted, I have been using quite a few randomly generated maps.  I even have a couple extras lying around, but they are not stocked. I don't want to improvise a new level of the dungeon. Oh, there are tricks to slow down a party's progress: I am not afraid to employ them. I just need to stay focused not resting on my laurels.

I have 3 above ground levels completed, 3 underground levels completed and 3 underground levels started. That feels like a lot, but considering how much time is really spent in the dungeon, it will get used up pretty quickly. Restocking helps this quite a bit, no level is ever truly cleared out.

I just need to stay focused.

Oh hey, the other day I was in my local super giant shopping place while a song was playing in the background. You can find the video here.  I am not Rick rolling you! When designing an NPC bad guy or dungeon level around the phrase "The King of Wishful Thinking" what would you build?

Session 1; Castle Falconflight

Despite an impending ice storm we finally got to kick off the game. I spent the day before, which I had off from work, planning, finishing a few more rooms, and printing character sheets. My printer started acting up, but was I was able to trouble shoot it and finish up with just a couple of minutes to spare before I had to make the after school run to pick up the kids.

Here is the first play report. I will be following a format similar to the one that +Peter V. Dell'Orto uses over at Dungeon Fantastic. I just really like the way it is laid out.


Characters
Batista; Human thief, 300 points
Ori; Wood elf scout, 300 points
Unnamed; Dwarf Cleric 300 points
William; Human knight 300 points
Drav; Dwarf wizard 300 points

The group started out at their residence, The Inn of the White Wyvern. This large inn has been the base of operations for different adventuring groups for years and years. William spent some time chatting up the locals for information about the Castle and dungeon below it. He was able to find out that "the dungeon is picked clean, and a waste of time," and " fire is especially dangerous in the dungeon." this last tidbit sent Drav, the fire mage into a bit of a tizzy. William also spent some time in town, looking for other adventuring groups, observing what equipment they were taking with them, and the injuries they had suffered when they returned. This information was all rather generic, though they did see that parties returned with a myriad of wounds.

The group started out for the castle in the early predawn hours. They traveled over the river, and through the woods. The party found the valley of Castle Falconflight with little trouble. They were a bit surprised to discover a ruined village to the east of the castle. Ori scouted into the village while the rest of the party stayed hidden among the trees. Ori unable to find any signs of recent activity in the village motioned for the group to join him.  After a close stealth roll or two, the group gathered in a broken down house.   The house provided a bit of cover from the castle. The group declared the house to be its "out of the dungeon" rally point. If the group gets separated, go to the house and wait for the rest of the party to come and get you.

From their vantage point the group could see that the portcullis, while still standing, was off of its rails. Vines and other plants had overgrown the lattice work of the gate preventing anyone from seeing inside. They could also see that in many places the walls of the three story structure were broken. In some places repairs had been made, but none recently.  Ori was sent to scout the parameter of the Castle walls. As he made his way from cover to cover, he discovered a tree that seemed to be dead, while all the others around it were in good health.  Investigating further he found the area around the tree to be quite cold. Just as he was about to return to the group to share this information he was hit by a blast of frost. A Frost snake had made its lair in the roots of the tree, for 5 damage. Ori turned and loosed the arrow he had knocked before setting out, hitting the six foot snake in the eye, killing it instantly.

He returned to the party and explained what happened. Drav wanted to take time to field dress the snake so he could harvest its organs for sale back in town but, the group disagreed. Drav eventually draped the carcass over a tree branch, out of the reach of any scavengers, to be picked up on the way home.

Ori once again set out to complete his circuit around the castle. On the corner turret furthest from the village he found a section of the wall that was completely broken obviously used as an entrance by many. There a large numbers of tracks were found going into and out of the castle.

While Ori was gone, the others discovered  a small opening in the wall, hidden in the shadow. It would be a squeeze, but they should all fit though.  Ori returned and told them of the entry way, the group decided that the less used gap in the wall was a safer way to go.

Using stealth the group made their way to the gap in the wall. All made the DX check to slither through. Once inside William lit up a torch. Ori finally remembered to first-aid himself, taking care of most of the damage he suffered in the snake attack.

In a long narrow hallway, arrow slits on either side, the group must make its first real decision, left or right? After investigating the arrow slits on the inside wall, discovering  a courtyard with a keep in the middle, the group heads back towards the front  gates of the Castle. The first door they discover is checked for traps, but finding none, Batista sets to picking the lock. Easily making his roll, he opens the door and finds a closet full of fine chairs, all rotted and moldy. Batista was quite discourage that the closet did not hold all the wealth of the castle. Continuing on to the south west corner turret,a skeleton is seen lying on the floor, in front of a door. While Batista set to disarming a poison trap, The unnamed Cleric checked to see if the body had been given proper burial rites.  It had not so he performed the rites claiming  a set of lock picks (found on the body) as his proper payment for the service of last rights. A loud drumming could be heard, but the group was unable to triangulate from where the sound was coming.
The room behind the trapped door proved to be empty, except for footprints and scat of a few small woodland creatures.

The corridor turned to the West, so the group followed it. Behind a door they discovered a set of spiral stairs leading both up and down. A discussion of whether to try to clear the level, or head down the stairs resulted in Drav being out voted so the group headed down the stairs.  Half way down, William lit a second torch to placed it in a wall sconce.  At this point, the group started marking the walls with chalk making it easier to track where they had been and the line of retreat.

Further exploration of the lower level brought them to a set of barracks. Across the  hallway the group found a passage blocked by a locked iron gate. Batista's tries to pick the lock were unsuccessful. A bit further down the hallway Batista finds a large key ring in the Jailer's quarters.  He attempted palming it so that no one else could see it.  He fooled every one except the Cleric.  Batista announced that he will give the lock on the iron gate a second try. Using slight of hand he opened the lock with the key. With a great flourish and loud announcement of his success, Batista lead them down the corridor into a jail. The cells are all locked, and empty. Batista makes quick work of the locks. In one cell they found that the door also had a key hole on the inside of the door.  Thorough searching discovered  the cell has trap doors in both the ceiling and floor.

Due to some good mapping by William's player, they realized that the jail was directly under the keep. Opening the ceiling trap door, they discovered a ladder of iron rungs set into the wall of narrow vertical passage. Seeing it as an opportunity to avoid crossing the open courtyard to get to they keep, they started up the ladder.  Batista went first, followed by the dwarves, who needed a boost to reach the first rungs of the ladder, then William, and Ori bringing up the rear.

At the top of the ladder, after opening another trap door, they discovered a chamber pot. Batista spent a long time examining the chamberpot, but in the end decided it was just a regular, old pot.  The room the chamberpot was housed in was quite small, really only room for two people. Exiting the room they found themselves in a a bed room. All of the furniture was smashed. Moving on, they explored a large sitting room with a spiral staircase leading down. From two small balconies  they discovered  they were on the highest level of the keep. A second bedroom was also located. Ori watched the outer walls of the castle while the others searched. Spying movement on top of the Southwest turret, he went to tell the others, but when they returned, whatever it was, was gone. Hearing the drums again, they failed to locate them, again.

The party continued down the levels of the keep.  The second level being servants quarters. The ground floor housed a great hall and a kitchen. A small bit of treasure in the form of spices was found in the larder just off the kitchen.  Ori was peering out the back door of the keep, trying to locate the source of the drumming, when an ork stepped up to the ledge of the Northwest turret.  It dropped its pants to urinate over the ledge.  The ork spotted Ori (after a critical stealth failure). The party retreated back up the keep to the second floor and waited to see what the orks would do.  They didn't have to wait long.  The orks crossed the courtyard to head up the stairs. As soon as the first ork was in view Ori loosed an arrow into the eye of the charging ork, killing it instantly. The second ork grabbed the falling body and threw it at Batista, who was waiting near the stairs with his saber in hand. The throw was short. In the melee that followed the party made pretty quick work of the orks, most falling in two or three attacks. Only one ork manged to survive as it surrendered.

It was getting late so the party stripped the armor and weapons off the orks. Gathered the few little things they had found and headed back to town.  They forced the remaining ork to carry the loot, then set it free before they arrived at the Inn.


Notes:
Overall, the night was a success. The adventure started out a bit slower than I would have liked, but that was entirely my fault.  Castle Falconflight is a well known dungeon.  It just made sense that a lot of the areas were already picked clean. The group established a good marching order, some rally points and discovered an entrance to the next level down. I awarded four experience points as the meager treasure was not enough to cover the party's expenses.

I have already restocked the rumor chart and explored areas of the castle. The next session is scheduled for just after the New Year.

Deja vu all over again

Two weeks ago I posted final prep for the game was in full swing. It was my turn to GM. I would be sending a group of adventurers to the Ruins of Castle Falcolnflight in search of treasure, fame and more treasure. Circumstances changed and we played a different game that night.

Now, once again I am beset with the "first night of a new campaign" jitters. This time my worries are all from a different source.  Two weeks ago it was the material of the game that was giving me butterflies. Thoughts of the party racing beyond the finished map, not having enough monsters, etc filled my head.

This time around I am more worried about the running of the game. Areas of concern include

• Having a large group
• having two new players
• working from minimal notes
• introducing new concepts to the players

Eight players is a lot. IT is a good problem to have.  I would rather have too many players than not enough. The challenge for me will be to establish control. Not of the characters or players, but of the room. I will need to establish leadership. Some of this leadership is already in place through out implied social contract. The rule being, the GM is in charge. However, with a group this large I will need to have a bit tighter control than usual. I don't want the night to be a shouting match of the players trying to get my attention. I do want all of the players to be involved and active. 

Two new players. Awesome! I don't know them, not as awesome. They are friends of friends, so I know they will be good guys. They have a long RPG history, that too is good. I don't need to spend time talking about the basics of  table top gaming. I don't know if they have any GURPS experience or not. Not an insurmountable problem, but it does take a while to get used to a new rule system. I am looking forward to them joining the group. New blood will bring new ideas, and hopefully some new jokes to the table.

With the scope of the megadungeon, I have kept my notes on each room pretty bare bones. I have all the stats for the doors etc and a one or two sentence description of the room. The plan is to expand the description at the table, making notes if I add things to the room. I need to spend some time re-reading my collection of GMing articles about describing locations and evoking responses from players.

Player mapping, a more adversarial GM, and open rolling are three things that will be different from my last campaign. None of these is a groundbreaking advancement in the world of gaming, but there are concepts that are a bit different than the group is used to. I am sure they are up to the tasks at hand. 

One of the Player Characters

Most of my playing group is not all that familiar with GURPS. because of this, I offer to build characters for the players. A two edged sword for sure. My building the characters for them doesn't really help them get to know GURPS better, but It does save time at the table.

When I build a character for a player, I try to offer them three variations on a theme, based on information they have given me about what they want to play. Sometimes this is just a couple of weapon choices, or a different spell list. It might be different perks and power-ups. Or maybe it is an added lens. This helps give the player a bit of ownership of the character.

Here are the options for a player looking for a barbarian character. I chose to go with added lenses. This was done to help separate the character from the knights in the group.

Name:
Race: Human

Attributes [190]
ST 18 [63] (ST includes +1 from 'Extra ST')
DX 13 [60]
IQ 10
HT 13 [30]

HP 27 [17]
Will 10
Per 12 [10]
FP 13

Basic Lift 72
Damage 1d+2/3d

Basic Speed 7 [10]
Basic Move 8 (Basic Move includes +1 from 'Gigantism')

Ground Move 8
Water Move 1

Social Background
TL: 2 [0]
Languages: Common (Native) [0].

Advantages [105]
Barbarian Damage Resistance (2) (Tough Skin) [6]
Barbarian Damage Resistance (Crushing) (2) (Limited (Crushing only); Tough Skin) [2]
Combat Reflexes [15]
Extra ST (1) (Affects displayed ST score; Size) [9]
Hard to Kill (2) [4]
High Pain Threshold [10]
Lifting ST (1) [3]
Outdoorsman (4) [40]
Trading Character points for Money ($1000) [2]
Very Fit [15]

Perks [2]
Weapon Bond (Two-Handed Sword) [1]

Disadvantages [-40]
Bloodlust (12 or less) [-10]
Gigantism [0]
Low TL (-1) [-5]
Overconfidence (12 or less) [-5]
Phobia (Machines) (12 or less) [-5]
Sense of Duty (Adventuring companions) [-5]
Social Stigma (Minority Group) [-10]

Quirks [-5]
_Unused Quirk 1 [-1]
_Unused Quirk 2 [-1]
_Unused Quirk 3 [-1]
_Unused Quirk 4 [-1]
_Unused Quirk 5 [-1]

Packages [0]
Barbarian (Dungeon Fantasy) [0]
Barbarian Advantages (Dungeon Fantasy) [0]

Skills [48]
Animal Handling (Dogs)  10 [2]
Brawling 13 [1]
Camouflage 14 [1]
includes: +4 from 'Outdoorsman'
Climbing 12 [1]
Disguise/TL3 (Animals)  8 [2]
includes: -2 from 'Gigantism'
Fishing 16 [1]
includes: +4 from 'Outdoorsman'
Forced Entry 13 [1]
Hiking 12 [1]
Intimidation 10 [2]
Lifting 12 [1]
Mimicry (Animal Sounds) 12 [1]
includes: +4 from 'Outdoorsman'
Naturalist (Earth) 12 [1]
includes: +4 from 'Outdoorsman'
Navigation/TL3 (Land) 14 [2]
includes: +4 from 'Outdoorsman'
Observation 11 [1]
Running 12 [1]
Stealth 13 [2]
Survival (Woodlands) 15 [1]
includes: +4 from 'Outdoorsman'
Swimming 13 [1]
Throwing 14 [4]
Tracking 15 [1]
includes: +4 from 'Outdoorsman'
Two-Handed Sword 17 [16]
Weather Sense 10 [2]
Wrestling 13 [2]

Stats [190] Ads [105] Disads [-40] Quirks [-5] Skills [48] = Total [300]

Hand Weapons
1  Greatsword  LC:4  $800  Wgt:7
    Swing  Dam:3d+3 cut  Reach:1,2  Parry:13
    Thrust  Dam:1d+4 cr  Reach:2  Parry:13

Armor & Possessions
1  Canteen  $10  Wgt:3
1  Double Mail Hauberk  $1040  Wgt:88
2  Iron Spike  $2  Wgt:1
1  Mail Coif  $55  Wgt:4
1  Torch  $3  Wgt:1

A nice solid barbarian, nothing fancy, but still effective.  I haven't done any background or chosen any quirks, leaving that for the player.  

The Second option is actually a swashbuckler, with a barbarian lens.I did this for the weapon master and the speed. While working through the Swashbuckler template, I made sure to keep the barabarian aspect of the character in mind.

Name: 

Race: Human

Attributes [160]

ST 13 [30]

DX 15 [100]

IQ 10

HT 13 [30]

HP 13

Will 10

Per 10

FP 13

Basic Lift 34

Damage 1d+1/2d+1

Basic Speed 7.5 (Basic Speed includes +0.5 from 'Extra Basic Speed')

Basic Move 8 (Basic Move includes +1 from 'Extra Basic Move')

Ground Move 8

Water Move 1

Social Background

TL: 3 [0]

Cultural Familiarities: 

Languages: Common (Native) [0].

Advantages [143]

Acute Vision (1) [2]

Ambidexterity [5]

Barbarian Damage Resistance (Crushing) (1) (Limited (Crushing only); Tough Skin) [1]

Combat Reflexes [15]

Extra Attack (1) [25]

Extra Basic Move (1) (Affects Move) [5]

Extra Basic Speed (+0.5) (Affects Speed) [10]

Extra Enhanced Parry (Broadsword) (2) [10]

High Pain Threshold [10]

Luck [15]

Outdoorsman (1) [10]

Signature Gear (Matched Broadswords) ($2,500) [5]

Striking ST (2) [10]

Weapon Master (Broadsword) (one specific weapon) [20]

Perks [3]

Dual Ready (Broadsword/Broadsword) [1]

Off-Hand Weapon Training (Broadsword) [1]

Weapon Bond (Broadsword) [1]

Disadvantages [-50]

Code of Honor (Pirate's) [-5]

Greed (12 or less) [-15]

Impulsiveness (12 or less) [-10]

Overconfidence (12 or less) [-5]

Sense of Duty (Adventuring companions) [-5]

Vow (Never refuse a challenge of combat.) [-10]

Quirks [-5]

_Unused Quirk 1 [-1]

_Unused Quirk 2 [-1]

_Unused Quirk 3 [-1]

_Unused Quirk 4 [-1]

_Unused Quirk 5 [-1]

Packages [0]

Barbarian Advantages (Dungeon Fantasy) [0]

Swashbuckler (Dungeon Fantasy) [0]

Swashbuckler Advantages (Dungeon Fantasy) [0]

Swashbuckler-Barbarian (Dungeon Fantasy) [0]

Skills [49]

Acrobatics 15 [4]

Brawling  16 [2]

Broadsword 20 [20]

includes: Extra Enhanced Parry (Broadsword)

Carousing 13 [1]

Climbing 14 [1]

Fast-Draw (Knife) 16 [1]

includes: +1 from 'Combat Reflexes'

Fast-Draw (Sword) 16 [1]

includes: +1 from 'Combat Reflexes'

First Aid/TL3 (Human) 10 [1]

Fishing  11 [1]

includes: +1 from 'Outdoorsman'

Gambling  9 [1]

Gesture 10 [1]

Intimidation 9 [1]

Jumping 15 [1]

Naturalist (Earth) 9 [1]

includes: +1 from 'Outdoorsman'

Scrounging 10 [1]

Search 9 [1]

Stealth 14 [1]

Streetwise 10 [2]

Survival (Woodlands)10 [1]

includes: +1 from 'Outdoorsman'

Swimming 13 [1]

Throwing  15 [2]

Tracking 10 [1]

includes: +1 from 'Outdoorsman'

Wrestling 15 [2]

Stats [160] Ads [143] Disads [-50] Quirks [-5] Skills [49] = Total [300]

Hand Weapons

2  Thrusting Broadsword  LC:4  $2400  Wgt:6  

    Swing  Dam:2d+6 cut  Reach:1  Parry:16 

    Thrust  Dam:1d+5 imp  Reach:1  Parry:16  

Armor & Possessions

1  Heavy Leather Leggings  $60  Wgt:4  Location:legs  

1  Heavy Leather Sleeves  $50  Wgt:2  Location:arms  

1  Legionary Helmet  $150  Wgt:6  Location:skull, face  

1  Lorica Segmentata  $680  Wgt:26  Location:torso  

Again, background and quirks are left for the player. The image of a duel wielding barbarian is pretty iconic. The swashbuckler template added a lot of dimension to the character.

The final option for the player is a barbarian from the far east.

Name: 

Race: Human

Attributes [162]

ST 17 [63]

DX 13 [60]

IQ 10

HT 13 [30]

HP 22 [9]

Will 10

Per 12 [10]

FP 13

Basic Lift 58

Damage 1d+2/3d-1

Basic Speed 6 [-10]

Basic Move 7 (Basic Move includes +1 from 'Gigantism')

Ground Move 7

Water Move 1

Social Background

TL: 3 [0]

Cultural Familiarities: 

Languages: Common (Native) [0].

Advantages [130]

Chi Mastery Damage Resistance (1) (Chi; Tough Skin) [3]

Chi Talent (1) [15]

High Pain Threshold [10]

Luck [15]

Outdoorsman (4) [40]

Rapid Healing [5]

Recovery [10]

Signature Gear (Poleaxe) ($1,000)
Trading CHaracter points for money ($500) [1]

Trained By A Master [30]

Perks [3]

Sacrificial Parry (Polearm) [1]

Weapon Bond (Polearm) [1]

Disadvantages [-50]

Disciplines of Faith (Chi Rituals) [-10]

Easy to Read [-10]

Gigantism [0]

Phobia (Crowds) (12 or less) [-15]

Sense of Duty (Adventuring companions) [-5]

Social Stigma (Minority Group) [-10]

Quirks [-5]

_Unused Quirk 1 [-1]

_Unused Quirk 2 [-1]

_Unused Quirk 3 [-1]

_Unused Quirk 4 [-1]

_Unused Quirk 5 [-1]

Packages [0]

Barbarian (Dungeon Fantasy) [0]

Barbarian-Martial Artist (Dungeon Fantasy) [0]

Skills [60]

Animal Handling (Dogs)10 [2]

Blind Fighting 10 [1]

includes: +1 from 'Chi Talent'

Body Control 11 [1]

includes: +1 from 'Chi Talent'

Breaking Blow 9 [1]

includes: +1 from 'Chi Talent'

Camouflage 14 [1]

includes: +4 from 'Outdoorsman'

Climbing 12 [1]

Disguise/TL3 (Animals) 8 [2]

includes: -2 from 'Gigantism'

First Aid/TL3 (Human) 10 [1]

Fishing16 [1]

includes: +4 from 'Outdoorsman'

Forced Entry 13 [1]

Hiking 12 [1]

Intimidation 10 [2]

Judo 13 [4]

Karate  13 [4]

Kiai 12 [1]

includes: +1 from 'Chi Talent'

Mimicry (Animal Sounds) 12 [1]

includes: +4 from 'Outdoorsman'

Naturalist (Earth) 12 [1]

includes: +4 from 'Outdoorsman'

Navigation/TL3 (Land) 14 [2]

includes: +4 from 'Outdoorsman'

Observation 11 [1]

Parry Missile Weapons 12 [1]

includes: +1 from 'Chi Talent'

Polearm  17 [16]

Power Blow 9 [1]

includes: +1 from 'Chi Talent'

Pressure Points (Human) 9 [1]

includes: +1 from 'Chi Talent'

Running 12 [1]

Stealth  13 [2]

Survival (Swampland) 15 [1]

includes: +4 from 'Outdoorsman'

Swimming 13 [1]

Throwing 14 [4]

Tracking 15 [1]

includes: +4 from 'Outdoorsman'

Weather Sense 10 [2]

Stats [162] Ads [130] Disads [-50] Quirks [-5] Skills [60] = Total [300]

Hand Weapons

1  Poleaxe  LC:4|4|4  $1087.5  Wgt:15  

    Swing/cut  Dam:3d+5 cut  Reach:2,3*  Parry:12U  

    Swing/cr  Dam:3d+5 cr  Reach:2,3*  Parry:12F  

    Hook  Dam:1d+2 cut  Reach:2,3*  Parry:9U  

Armor & Possessions

1  Cloth Armor Suit  $300  Wgt:24 

1  Light Scale Suit  $1230  Wgt:108 

This guy knows just enough about the power of chi to hurt himself. Given time he will be a force to be reckoned with.

I know which one I would want to play. Which one would you choose?

A lot more planning, and a little more scheming

Well, the extra 2 weeks of prep time are about half gone. I have been pretty busy with real life stuff so I haven't done as much as I wanted. Time has been spent adding to the monster files, working on characters for the new players, stocking dungeon levels, and building some NPCs.

I added almost 50 monsters to the files in one marathon prep session. Most of these were pulled from old adventures that I had run before. Here are a couple of my favorites.

Golem, Rope

ST	15	HP	10	Speed	5	Class	Construct
DX:	12	Will:	10	Move:	4	Source
IQ:	2	Per :	10	SM:	-2
HT:	10	FP:	10	DR:	3
Dodge:		Parry:
Melee	Level	Damage
Grapple	ST	Margin of victory
Traits:	ST +10 (one attack, grapple), homogeneous, fragile(unnatural), unhealing,
Skill:	Wrestling 15
Notes:	Usually left as a trap, the rope golem will wait to be picked up by unsuspecting delvers

Rage Drake

ST	30	HP	30	Speed	6.75	Class	Animal, reptile
DX:	12	Will:	14	Move:	8	Source	Revenge of the Giants adv.
IQ:	4	Per :	14	SM:	2
HT:	15	FP:	15	DR:	5
Dodge:	11	Parry:
Melee	Level	Damage
claw	12	3d cut
Raking leap	12	3d cut, rof 4, all out attack,
Traits:	Claws, bad temper, super jump 1, 2 extra legs, no fine manipulators, horizontal, wild animal
Skill:	Brawling 12, jumping 12
Notes:	Can be domesticated, but should never be trusted

The addition of two new players brings the total to 8 possible players on any given night.  That is a lot. It's going to be tough to make sure every one is heard, understood and has some spotlight time. However, with that many players they should be able to cover most situations. With some of the players attendance being spotty I think it will all work out.

The current roster looks like this;

1. Human Thief
2. Human Knight
3. Dwarf Cleric, specializing in one of Buff, Turning, or Healing
4. Human Fire wizard
5. Dwarf Knight
6. Scout, maybe an elf, maybe human, maybe something else, depending on what the players chooses.
7. Human Barbarian (this character is either a swashbuckler with the barbarian lens added, a Barbarian with a Martial artist lens added, or a straight up barbarian, depending on what the player chooses.)
8. Human wizard

I see this as 3 fighters(two knights 1 barbarian), 2 ranged ( the fire wizard and the scout,  and 2 support (the cleric and the other wizard).

Four and a half levels of the dungeon are completely finished. Still have a ways to go before I feel super comfortable. I think my final goal is somewhere around 14 levels.

Tonight I may stat up a dragon, a very old dragon.

New Challenges

Well, I did not get to kick off the game as planned. A series of things led to the group playing a different game last week.  The group decided to start playing a earlier in the evening. An old player from out of town was back, and two new players are joining the group.

The group decided to move our start time up by an hour. Long run, this is a good decision.  Unfortunately, I had an appointment I could not change with the short notice. This along with a renewed focus on getting stuck in, will lead to more quality "game" time.

It was awesome to see an old friend.  It looks like he will be taking a job in another state. Whatever gaming group he ends up with will have a great player.

The new players are going to fit in well, I think. One GMed the game we ended up playing and did a good job.  I really enjoyed my character. A paladin, not to bright but very devout, seeing the world in stak contrast of black and white.

I don't know if the game we played on Thursday will be one of the regulars that we play. Right now we run an every other week schedule between two games. The other GM said he wanted to finish up his adventure, the new game was fun and players are excited to get to my game, so we will see what happens. we might go to a three week rotation or a just drop one of the other games, saving it for oddball weeks when one of the regularly scheduled GMs cant make it.

So, moving forward, I find myself once again with an extra two weeks to prepare, but with a new dilemma. I will have 7 players. I am trying to figure out a good way to make sure everyone gets some spotlight time and protect everyone's niche.  Advice is welcome.

Tomorrow is Game Day

After about 6 weeks of planning, we will finally get to play Spiderweb in the Corner. This was longer than anticipated but the game will be better for it. In the extra 3 weeks I was able to reach several goals that I would not have if we had started when originally planned. I was able to complete a much larger Rumor Mill. I added quite a few monsters to the Monster Files. I was able to stock an additional level and a half in the dungeon.

Today is crunch time. I still have quite a bit to finish before the game can start.

•  I am building the characters for a several of the players. I have at least one done for each of them. I prefer that each player has three characters to choose from.  Usually each of these is from the same template, but with some variations like different weapons or spell choices. For example the player wanting the cleric will have the choice of three spell lists. The player wanting a super strong dwarf fighter, is only getting one character, he was pretty specific about what he wanted. I still need to build 3 or 4 characters, but that should go pretty quickly using GCA.

• Along those same lines I need to build a couple of hirelings for the PCs.  None of the characters has any allies so this will also be a quick romp through GCA.

• My printer will be working overtime.  I need to print out all of the PCs character sheets, quite a bit of the room descriptions and stats, and a bunch of the monster cards.

• I need to firm up how I want to take notes. I have never taken notes with the intent of using them to write a game report.

The list of things I would like to finish is a bit longer

• I need to finish filling out the Random monster encounter chart. The chart is big, 108 entries. If its not done before the game starts it won't have a huge impact on the game, but I will be a bit disappointing.

• Another level of the dungeon stocked would make me a lot more comfortable. It is doubtful the players will get further than is prepared, but more is better in this case.

• More Monsters. There are never enough monsters.

• A playlist of background music.  I haven't done this in a long time, but in the past it has been a great addition to a campaign.

• I use a homemade GM screen. I would like to find some suitable art to post on the outside.

• Assemble some paper miniatures.  I am a huge fan of paper miniatures. I would like to have a miniature for each of the PCs and all of the encounters. This is extreme low priority because the player's house we meet at is chock full of miniatures.

• I want to brush up on some of the rules, mostly around combat, injury, and magic. I feel pretty confident about getting it right, and knowing where to look, but the review wont hurt and I would hate for a PC to get shorted because I missed something.

Thankfully I have today and tomorrow off from work, and other than 2 meetings, all day tomorrow is free. So with some diligence and perseverance, I should be able to finish all of the must be done items, and several of the want to finish items.

On a completely unrelated note, Steve Martin's album "The Crow" is pretty good, maybe better than "Rare Bird Alert"

Rolling Dice

In past campaigns I have used a GM screen to hide all of my dice rolls. I fudged the dice. This was done for a lot of different reasons; keeping the party alive, saving a PCs life, ensuring NPCs live long enough to share information, enhancing plot, minimizing poor player choices. Those days have come to an end.

When Spiderweb in the Corner finally gets kicked off next Thursday, the majority of rolls will be made in the open. No more hiding behind the GM screen. No more fudging. This will help keep the old school, adversarial feel that I am going for.

Flipping through GURPS Dungeon Fantasy 2 Dungeons I found only a half a dozen places where rolls are suggested to be made in secret. I'm sure I missed some, but they will will be addressed when they come up.

• Watches - Here the purpose of rolling in secret is so that the PCs don't know when an attack is coming. I think this roll can be made in the open with little or no difference. If the players start taking crazy actions because they know the result of the roll, then it may need to be made in secret. In my group,  the opportunity to blame another PC for allowing the attack to happen on a failed watch roll, will just add to the fun.

• Cartography - This one may need to stay in secret. One aspect of this game that I am looking forward to is the player's mapping. I have never gone this route before, always providing at least a stick map of the areas they have been through. With SitC, I am going to make the players map everything on their own.

• Hidden doors - This roll can be made in the open. If a player declares that he is searching for hidden doors, he will be able to roll for himself. I will not tell the players any of the penalties or bonuses, and my standard response is and has been "You are relatively certain that there are no hidden doors in this room." this gives no indication of whether the gamer failed, or that there really are no hidden doors. If a player rolls a critical failure, I usually say "you are very certain there are no hidden doors in this room." or "You are convinced there is a hidden door somewhere in the room." and encourage the person to role play that fact to the rest of the group.

• Traps - While DF2 assumes that the party is always looking for traps, I generally do not. If the players do not either add it to the SOP of the group, or state that they are specifically looking for traps, they will go unnoticed until sprung. If the players do state that they are looking, then the situation will be handled in the same way as a hidden door.

• Danger sense - This one can be rolled in the open. Better to let the player know it was his own fault that he fell in the pit, with spikes, and fire ants. The problem here is that by having the player roll, he has some clue that there is danger about. This has to be handled in character.  If the player starts making crazy changes in the way the character is acting, then I will have to start rolling this in secret.

• Recognition - Used to identify monsters, etc. in a dungeon. I think this one also can be rolled in the open. With my group, knowing that they are being lied to about the monster won't change their actions. If it starts to make a difference, then I will take this roll back behind the GM screen.

I am looking forward to all of the open rolling. In the past, fudging dice rolls always felt like cheating.  It feels more honest to roll in the open.  As a bonus, I suspect will be feeling less guilt when I kill off characters. (Note I said when, not if)

Prep work update: more monsters are ready, and the random monster encounter chart is about half finished. The big push is to get more rooms done.  I have been stocking them in an order I think the players will go, and all GMs know the PCs never do what you expect them to do.

Another Monster

I present another monster conversion, The Reek.  Taken from GURPS third edition Fantasy Bestiary these piles of slime are often found in caverns.

I converted several different versions but my favorite is the Mana Enhancer. It increases the local Mana level by 2 to Very high, which makes all spell casting failures a critical failure.  And, it reduces IQ for spell casing by 10.

Reek, mundane

ST	-	HP	15	Speed	1	Class	slime
DX:	-	Will:	-	Move:	1	Source	Fantasy Bestiary p 58
IQ:	-	Per :	-	SM:	var
HT:	5	FP:	-	DR:	-
Dodge:	0	Parry:
Melee	Level	Damage
Contact	-	1 point per turn in contact, DR protects for turns = to DR
Binding	-	Once in contact roll vs ST to break free.
Traits:	Homogeneous, diffuse, fragile (unnatural), chameleon 2,
Skill:	-
Notes:	Some reeks can climb and will fall onto victims from above.

Reek, confusion

ST	-	HP	15	Speed	1	Class	slime
DX:	-	Will:	-	Move:	1	Source	Fantasy Bestiary p 58
IQ:	-	Per :	-	SM:	var
HT:	5	FP:	-	DR:	-
Dodge:	0	Parry:
Melee	Level	Damage
Contact	-	1 point per turn in contact, DR protects for turns = to DR
Binding	-	Once in contact roll vs ST to break free.
Confusion	HT-2	Affliction, Hallucinating
Traits:	Homogeneous, diffuse, fragile (unnatural), chameleon 2,
Skill:	-
Notes:	Some reeks can climb and will fall onto victims from above.

Reek, Decay

ST	-	HP	15	Speed	1	Class	slime
DX:	-	Will:	-	Move:	1	Source	Fantasy Bestiary p 58
IQ:	-	Per :	10 (detect)	SM:	var
HT:	5	FP:	15	DR:	-
Dodge:	0	Parry:
Melee	Level	Damage
Contact	-	1 point per turn in contact, DR protects for turns = to DR
Binding	-	Once in contact roll vs ST to break free.
Traits:	Homogeneous, diffuse, fragile (unnatural), chameleon 2, detect (food)
Skill:	Cast Decay food at 15 magic p 77
Notes:	Some reeks can climb and will fall onto victims from above.

Reek, Glue

ST	-	HP	15	Speed	1	Class	slime
DX:	-	Will:	-	Move:	1	Source	Fantasy Bestiary p 58
IQ:	-	Per :	-	SM:	var
HT:	5	FP:	-	DR:	-
Dodge:	0	Parry:
Melee	Level	Damage
Contact	-	1 point per turn in contact, DR protects for turns = to DR
Binding	-	Once in contact roll vs ST to break free.
Glue	-	Emanation, area of effect, sticky, limited area (only a trail behind it. 12 hexes long)
Traits:	Homogeneous, diffuse, fragile (unnatural), chameleon 2, vibration sense ( only glued hexes)
Skill:	-
Notes:	Some reeks can climb and will fall onto victims from above.

Reek, Daze

ST	-	HP	15	Speed	1	Class	slime
DX:	-	Will:	-	Move:	1	Source	Fantasy Bestiary p 58
IQ:	-	Per :	-	SM:	var
HT:	5	FP:	-	DR:	-
Dodge:	0	Parry:
Melee	Level	Damage
Contact	-	1 point per turn in contact, DR protects for turns = to DR
Binding	-	Once in contact roll vs ST to break free.
Daze	ht-6	Affliction , contact agent
Traits:	Homogeneous, diffuse, fragile (unnatural), chameleon 2,
Skill:	-
Notes:	Some reeks can climb and will fall onto victims from above.

Reek, Pleasure

ST	-	HP	15	Speed	1	Class	slime
DX:	-	Will:	-	Move:	1	Source	Fantasy Bestiary p 58
IQ:	-	Per :	-	SM:	var
HT:	5	FP:		DR:	-
Dodge:	0	Parry:
Melee	Level	Damage
Contact	-	1 point per turn in contact, DR protects for turns = to DR
Binding	-	Once in contact roll vs ST to break free.
Love	ht-3	Affliction, delusion (I love this reek), irritant (euphoria)
Traits:	Homogeneous, diffuse, fragile (unnatural), chameleon 2,
Skill:	-
Notes:	Some reeks can climb and will fall onto victims from above.

Reek, Rust

ST	-	HP	15	Speed	1	Class	slime
DX:	-	Will:	-	Move:	1	Source	Fantasy Bestiary p 58
IQ:	-	Per :		SM:	var
HT:	5	FP:		DR:	-
Dodge:	0	Parry:
Melee	Level	Damage
Contact	-	1 point per turn in contact, DR protects for turns = to DR
Binding	-	Once in contact roll vs ST to break free.
Rust	-	Contact agent, Metal only, 1d against the objects HP. Every 5 points reduces metal DR by 1
Traits:	Homogeneous, diffuse, fragile (unnatural), chameleon 2, detect metal
Skill:
Notes:	Some reeks can climb and will fall onto victims from above.

Reek, trip

ST	-	HP	15	Speed	1	Class	slime
DX:	-	Will:	-	Move:	1	Source	Fantasy Bestiary p 58
IQ:	-	Per :		SM:	var
HT:	5	FP:		DR:	-
Dodge:	0	Parry:
Melee	Level	Damage
Contact	-	1 point per turn in contact, DR protects for turns = to DR
Binding	-	Once in contact roll vs ST to break free.
Slime	ht-3	Affliction DX-1, Area of effect 4 yards, disadvantage total Klutz, only when victim is touching ground, persistent
Traits:	Homogeneous, diffuse, fragile (unnatural), chameleon 2,
Skill:
Notes:	Some reeks can climb and will fall onto victims from above.

Reek, Manna damper

ST	-	HP	15	Speed	1	Class	slime
DX:	-	Will:	-	Move:	1	Source	Fantasy Bestiary p 58
IQ:	-	Per :		SM:	var
HT:	5	FP:		DR:	-
Dodge:	0	Parry:
Melee	Level	Damage
Contact	-	1 point per turn in contact, DR protects for turns = to DR
Binding	-	Once in contact roll vs ST to break free.
Traits:	Homogeneous, diffuse, fragile (unnatural), chameleon 2, Mana damper 3, area of effect 4 hexes, emanation
Skill:
Notes:	Some reeks can climb and will fall onto victims from above.

Reek, Mana Enhancer

ST	-	HP	15	Speed	1	Class	slime
DX:	-	Will:	-	Move:	1	Source	Fantasy Bestiary p 58
IQ:	-	Per :		SM:	var
HT:	5	FP:		DR:	-
Dodge:	0	Parry:
Melee	Level	Damage
Contact	-	1 point per turn in contact, DR protects for turns = to DR
Binding	-	Once in contact roll vs ST to break free.
Wild magic	HT-6	Affliction, reduced IQ -10 only for spell casting.
Traits:	Homogeneous, diffuse, fragile (unnatural), chameleon 2, Mana enhancer 2 levels
Skill:
Notes:	Some reeks can climb and will fall onto victims from above