Monster files

In yesterdays post I talked of my dislike of using computers at the gaming table. All of my prep work for things that will be used at the table get printed out and stored in binder or folders. Until now that is. I am trying something new.  In GURPS Dungeon Fantasy books monsters are presented using the same format. I made a blank template following that same format, with a couple of minor changes.

Name:

ST		HP		Speed		Class
DX:		Will:		Move:		Source Book
IQ:		Per :		SM:
HT:		FP:		DR:
Dodge:		Parry:
Attack	Level	Damage
Traits:
Skill:
Notes:

It is formatted to fit on a 4x6 index card.  The cards will be stored in a small file box with dividers for each letter of the alphabet.

I am working my way through all of my GURPS books, my collection of old Dragon and Dungeon Magazines, as well as several old 2nd edition AD&D books, pulling out monsters I like, converting the ones I need to, and printing out a card for each one. This has been a huge undertaking. In the long run it will be worth it. All of the monsters will be filed in one place. I will be able to use this for years to come. It is pretty easy to transport. Each card records the book and page number the monster came from, so I can look it up later if needed. At some point I am planning to print a picture of each monster on the back of it's card.


I am using three different styles of encounters in the game.  First will be set encounters. The second are area monsters. The third will be wandering monsters

Set encounters will take place in a set location. For example, one room is home to a Wight.  The Wight will stay in the room until acted upon by the PCs. This will often be encounter where the monster is either trapped in a room, or makes a certain room its home.

Area encounters will take place over a larger area.  An Orc tribe occupies several room in the same general area of the dungeon. Within the area the Orcs may move around, set watches at different places etc. They, for the most, part will stay in one section of the dungeon.

Wandering monsters are just that, monsters that wander around the dungeon.  For these I will be constructing a chart, and rolling randomly to see what shows up to harass the PCs.  I plan to make this chart quite long. Something about 100 random monsters showing up appeals to me.  I am taking care to make sure that the random monsters still fit the feel of the dungeon.


Prep work update:  More monsters were built, a couple of rooms were stocked, and I have an idea about lighting in the dungeon that I still need to develop a bit.

Computers, Tablets, and Phones,.....Oh my!

I don't like computers, tablets or phones at the table. It is as simple as that. I only have so much free time. When I sit down to play a RPG, that is where I want my focus to be. Electronic devices are a distraction. Computers, tablets and phones make it too easy to be doing something else, surfing the net, reading, playing other games etc. RPG are a social game that already serve as an escape from reality.  Additionally, I find it to be rude to the other players and GM, not unlike taking a phone call during dinner, or at a movie theater.

I am guilty of sending and receiving texts while playing and have on occasion used my tablet to reference some  of my PDFs. While the first was and is rude, sometimes you just have to communicate with your wife. The second, was, in my opinion, ok.  It was game related, did not involve the internet in any way, and was done behind the GM screen.
Over time it has become part of our group's unwritten Social Contract, that laptops are not welcome, internet use is not needed, texting is kept to a minimum, ringers are set to vibrate, and you excuse yourself from the table if you have to take a phone call.

Rest assured that my little rant has more purpose than making me feel better.  It also helps to explain some of my game prep processes.

 I do a lot of the work on the computer. Spreadsheets, word processors and the internet all play important parts in planning a campaign. But, when it comes time for game play, it all gets printed out, and put either into a binder or a file folder. Old fashioned? Probably. The way I like to do it? Definitely. The best way to do it? For me yes, for you maybe not.

So now, when I write about some the ways I do things, you will know why I don't just put it all on a thumb drive and take that to the game with me. Instead I make my son lug a milk crate of books and a box or two of other miscellaneous GMing supplies into my friend's basement every other Thursday.

This was originally going to be a post on the new file system I am working on for the NPCs and monsters in my game, oops. I guess that will be a separate post.

The Characters

I just finished building the last of the PCs for the group.  Character generation was a 50/50 split.  Half of the players built their own characters, the other half had me do it for them.  Those that had me do it are pretty new to GURPS, and were not able to be there the night we worked on the characters.  They told me what they wanted, race, template, etc and I just plugged it into GURPS GCA. I try to make choices that the player can live with, and always give them the option of changing out after a couple of sessions if the character isn't meeting expectations. Whenever I can, I give each player three characters to choose from. Each one will have a different main weapon choice, and there will be some slight variations in the disadvantages and skills.

For this game I gave the players 300 points, -50 in disadvantages and -5 for quirks.  This is more than standard starting points for a Dungeon Fantasy game. I wanted the players to have room to choose a second lens if they wanted, or one of the more expensive races templates. Plus, it is pretty easy to just add more Orcs to the encounters to make up for the extra points.

Race choices for the game were limited a bit.  The players could choose from the following

• Dragon-blooded
• Dwarf
• Elves (Half Elf, High Elf, Shadow Elf, and Wood Elf)
• Gnome
• Halfling
• Half Orc
• Human

I had originally planned to allow Goblin PCs, but took them off the list.  For the Old School feel of the game, goblins need to be monsters.

Template choices were

• Artificer
• Assassin
• Barbarian
• Bard
• Cleric
• Druid
• Holy Warrior
• Knight
• Martial Artist
• Ninja
• Scholar
• Scout
• Swashbuckler
• Thief
• Wizard

I also allowed for characters made without a template, but they would be limited in the power ups and improvements they could make after game play started. (no one took this option)

The Starting roster for Spiderweb in the Corner will be

• A Dwarf Cleric (not sure which of the spell lists he will choose)
• A Dwarf Knight with ST 20 and +2 Striking St (I was asked to make a super strong dwarf fighter)
• A Half Orc Barbarian spear wielder
• A Human Wizard with most, if not all, of the fire spells
• A Human Thief
• A Human Knight, or maybe he was dragon blood, the player went back and forth and I don't remember what he settled on.

I usually don't allow that much overlap in the characters (2 knights and a barbarian) but really, you can never have too many fighter types.  Like I said, there are always more Orcs in the dungeon.  The only thing they are really missing is a Scout, they may be a bit weak in the ranged attack department.  I will probably have a hireling or two for filling the gap. Of course the will need to be paid, may be of questionable quality and loyalty, but if they can keep the pointy end aimed in the right direction its better than nothing.

None of the characters chose a second lens, for which I am grateful, At least at the start of the game I want to keep an eye on niche protection (fighters being the exception).  Also, I don't think anyone chose from the template's power up options.  A lot of stats and skills were increased above the template starting level. To be honest, I if I were a player, that is what I would have done too.

Overall I think this is a good mix. I am looking forward to the PCs getting names and personalities. A couple of the players made character choices that they don't normally pick. The guy who usually plays a fighter chose a thief, and the guy who usually plays a more timid type of character chose a knight. It will be interesting to see how they adapt their play style to fit the different role in the party.

Prep work update: The characters and one hireling are stated out and ready to go. I finished re-reading Dungeon Fantasy Monsters I. Next I want to get a couple more rooms ready and put together a couple more monsters.

The Setting

Looming before you on a small rise nestled between two towering mountain peaks, the ruins of Castle Falconflight stand ready for you to plunder. It's builders dead for hundreds of years, it has succumbed to the ravages of wars long forgotten. The cold grey walls are crumbling in places. In others you can see different repairs that have been made over time. Directly in front of you stands the Gatehouse, three stories of arrow slits and murder holes made all the more intimidating by the chilling fog rolling down from the mountains.

Above is the first bit of canned text that the players will hear when they approach the ruined castle. As a side note, I am not a huge fan of canned text, so I will probably just paraphrase the text when game time rolls around.

The Setting
The setting for Spiderweb in the Corner is pretty generic. It is a medieval/fantasy setting.  The campaign will take place in just a small number of locations.

The Town
 The home base for the game will be the river town of Megetrs. I found the map through a random Google search. It is a good fit for my game for a few different reasons.

1. The town is large enough to support the commerce the PCs will bring in.  The river trade will allow for merchants in the city to buy and sell a bit more freely. 
2. THe town has a place of higher learning. This will help the PCs out by providing sages and scholars for them to consult with.
3. The river will also allow for NPCs to come and go.  THe town is used to people staying only a short time, and pays little heed to strangers. This will be handy if/when a group of rivals or other treasure hunters show up.
4. The background that was laid out in the blog post that I gleaned this from is pretty neat and may come into play if the players seek out regular contacts, etc in the city.
5. The large number of Inns on the map allows me to set different levels of upkeep for the players. Some will want to stay in the low cost areas of the city, while others may want to stay at the finest hotel the city has to offer.

The Inn

While I have allowed for the PCs to stay where ever they like in the city, I am going to make The White Wyvern Inn a very attractive choice. I have had the map for some time and never had a great chance to use it.  I dont know if it will get a lot of use in this game either, but I figured why not throw it in.

Out side of the Inn, the Tree of Sorrows serves as a memorial to fallen comrades.  Adventurers returning to the city, where ever they may have come from, leave a token of the party members who did not come home.  Over the years as the tree grew many of the items left, shields, tabards, holy symbols, etc have grown into the tree itself. A Dragon Magazine cover served as the inspiration for this idea, rather than a trophy rack for a dragon, the tree is a living memorial to friends lost.

The Dungeon

Since I know some of my players are reading this blog, I wont go into a lot of details.  The dungeon itself is under  a ruined castle. The dungeon has several entrances, lots of tunnels and rooms  on many different levels filled with big scary monsters. and maybe a little treasure.

Like I said, the setting is pretty generic. Once the PCs start to explore and learn more, I will share what I can here.

Prep work update:  I just found out that I wont beable to start teh game until the 5th of December. school concersts and the Thanksgiving holiday will prevent us from getting together. This is kind of a mixed blessing.  I love to get as much ground work done as early as I can, and this delay will allow me to get a lot more done.  However, I am excited to get rolling.  I have orcs just chomping at the bit to kill some treasure hunters!

Foundations for the Setting

Several factors went into designing the setting.

1. Prep time
2. Available resources
3. What I wanted

Prep Time
My work schedule actually leaves me with quite a bit of time to work on game prep.  My usual system for starting a new campaign follows a series of steps.

1.  I start planning before the end of the last game.  In this case I saw that my Shadowrun game was going to fade out pretty quickly. The players didn't have the buy in I wanted, and we were looking for different thins from the game. At the same time my son approached me about running a second game for him and his friends. I gladly said yes and started planning that game. That game became Spiderweb in the Corner.
2. I front load as much of the work as I can.  For the last few weeks I have been mapping, making monsters, designing traps, building NPCs, etc. I prefer to have as much work done as I can ahead of time. This allows me to focus on the fall out of the PCs actions after the game has started.
3. Then in the last few days I review and fine tune as much as I can.  That is where I am today.  I still need to make a few PCs, for the players who didn't have a chance or want to build one themselves. I also need to populate a few more rooms in the dungeon to be comfortable.  I don't think the players will get that far, but I want to be ready.

Available Resources
Like most game masters I have accumulated a large pile of gaming goodness that I have never had the chance to use.  That coupled with the resources on the net and so forth, I felt like I had more than I needed to build the setting.  I pulled things from all over, maps from other settings, random generators from the web, ideas from blogs, ideas from old copies of Dungeon and Dragon magazines, and one that I am really excited about from a book on tape I am listen to as I commute to work.  Some specific things I am using are

1. Castle Falconflight from 0one Games.  This will have some above ground encounters as well as serve as the first entrance to the deeper levels for the players. One thing I am looking forward to is re-stocking this area after the players have gone through it.
2. Dungeon Fantasy rules set from GURPS I have been a GURPS fan for a long time.  I love the rules and the way they play on the table.  The Dungeon Fantasy series distills all of the massive options GURPS offers down to what you need to run an Old School Game.  I may not use all of the books from the series.  Summoners, Clerics, and Psi probably wont make the cut.  Summoners because I don't want PC necromancers. Clerics because I don't anticipate needing that level of detail in the religions of the game. This might change if the player of the Cleric wants to get deeper into the rules and setting.  And Psi, because I just don't want to add them to the mix for the PCs.  Not saying the monsters or other bad guys wont have mind powers, but I know the PCs wont.
3. ronjon I generated the dungeon map using this random generator.  I then modified the maps a bit, making sure they had elements I want in them.  Things like more ways to change levels, longer hallways, and less rooms leading to other rooms.  I may come back the random encounter generator to help fill out my Wandering Monsters chart.
4. Dungeon Fantastic has been the biggest inspiration in the development stages of the campaign.  Peter V. Dell'Orto has done an outstanding job of sharing his insights and planning processes. I learned a lot from his series on Megadungeon design, and the play reports are just good old fashioned fun to read.

There are others, but I have used them to a lesser degree.

What I Wanted
There are a few things I wanted from this game.

1. It needs to be episodic. The group I play with often has a player or two missing on any given week.  By making sure every session ends with the PCs in town, the players missing the next week are much easier to handwave away.
2. It needs to have a narrow focus. My last game was too large in scope for the people I play with.  I built the game with a sandbox mentality.  The players were not looking for that style of play. That is neither good nor bad, it just didn't match up. With the narrower focus, the players should feel more in control of the setting.  Don't mistake the narrow setting for a railroad.  Within the setting they are free to do as they please.  Within the setting there is no reason to roam afar. There is no reason to go to the next town, or go visit the King or whatever. The premise of the game is the PCs want the loot.  The loot is in the Dungeon.  To get the loot the PCs must go and explore the Dungeon. How they explore, where they explore etc. is up to them.
3. It needs to have balance. In the last game, a few of the PCs tended to hold the spotlight more often than the others.  This was a failing on my part as the GM. I am going into this game with that as a key factor in the design of the encounters, traps and treasure.

That is the ground wok for the game. Future posts will go into more detail about the setting itself, the social contract, and the things that happen behind the curtain.

The Beginning

I am currently preparing to run a mega dungeon titled, Spiderweb in the corner.  It will be run using GURPS Dungeon Fantasy.

Why a new campaign?
Until recently I was running a GURPS/Shadowrun conversion, that, while fun, really wasn't what I had hoped it would be.  I had designed it as a sandbox style game,with hopes for lots of intrigue and interaction . Most of my players weren't looking for that style of play.  They really enjoy a more hack and slash game. Over on his blog Dungeon Fantastic, Peter V. Dell'Orto, had an excellent post on this subject, find it here. Rather than force that game into a different mold, I opted to change out.

Why a Mega Dungeon?
The group I play with attendance is spotty. Episodic games work well. Playing a mega dungeon allows for that. One of the ground rules for the campaign is that each session will end with the PCs back in town.  They will not camp in the dungeon. I have two reasons for this. One, it just makes it easier when players can't show up. Two, it gives the opening and closing scenes the feeling of opening and closing credits in a movie or television show, further reinforcing the episodic nature of the game.

I have never run a purely mega dungeon game.  I have run a more standard fantasy game, that had some large dungeons in it, but never a pure mega dungeon. It is something that has always interested me, and I think it will be fun.

So there it is in a nutshell.  Further posts will describe my development process, the resources I used, the social contract and expectations of the game, and game play reports.