music for dungeon crawling

Cheesy title aside, Brian “Lustmord” Williams’ dark ambient Heresy album has become one of my favorite dungeoneering soundtracks.  Not only is the music appropriately creepy, but it’s even based on field recordings made in caves, crypts,and other subterranean locales.

Albums by Peter Frohmader’s early projects Kanaan and Nekropolis are among my favorite examples of music that exists on the nebulous border between those ill-defined genres krautrock and space rock.  The first Nekropolis album, Musik aus dem Schattenreich, is particularly nice, dark atmospheric music for forays into dark places underground.

David Hykes and the Harmonic Choir’s beautiful debut Hearing Solar Winds is one of the few albums I’ve heard that sounds so simultaneously beautiful, soothing, weird, and alien sounding.  Great for inspirational listening to in the dark, or adding ambience to gaming scenarios set in temples, monasteries, and other places where guys in robes might be chanting or praying…

Soup-n-Slay Success!

I invited a bunch of people to our place last Sunday for a hot soupy meal and some dungeon-crawling White Box fun.  Only a few braved the cold and wet weather, but the low turnout didn’t prevent us from having a great time!  Mrs. Gnombient, Barrataria, and a friend from the library (who shall be hereforth known as Miss N) were the players.  Miss N had never played any RPGs before but was curious after hearing me rant and rave about gaming for the last two years.

The party that left Humbleton to explore the ruined monastery in the hills consisted of two fighting-women (Crimses and Gulshod), the wizard Trindo the Furry (referring to his golden-furred complexion, perhaps a result of a magical experiment gone awry?), and two adventurers-for-hire, the brothers Blundo and Crundis.  The impetus for this foray wasn’t gold or glory, if that weren’t enough; Crimses had a set of complex legal documents showing proof of her family’s ownership of the land upon which the monastery was built, and she was determined to “evict” whatever tenants still called it home.

The party encountered some bandits camping in the ruins, preoccupied by tormenting some person tied up in a sack.  Most of the villains were sent to the Dreamlands by Trindo’s well-placed Sleep spell, and the fighters captured the last remaining bandit at swordpoint.  After their foes were securely bound, the adventurers woke and eventually released from the sack the strange, red-coated human captive, who spoke not a word of Common.

Our heroes decided not to spend any more time outside, but head into the monastery.  For the remainder of the evening’s session they explored the single above-ground storey of the building.  Through clever scouting they avoided an encounter with one or more giant spiders, but were beaten up pretty badly by a small swarm of stirges.  They found a staircase and trapdoor leading down to what looked like the cellar.  They also, after some careful searching, opened the secret passage leading from the chapel down into the crypt.  As night fell the party holed up to camp, allowing Trindo to re-memorize his spell and the group to rest before descending into the crypt…

Referee’s notes:  Attentive readers may notice that this seems like the same adventure I ran a few months ago for a different group.  It is, and it isn’t.  Many of the skeleton details are the same (Monastery of St. Finlay guarding gateway to underworld, etc.) but the meat of the adventure was different: the buildings are still standing this time and the dungeon levels are different.  There were no returning players from the other game, so there weren’t any “continuity issues.”  I told this group nothing about the broader world other than the few bits needed for the adventure, nor did they ask.

The “Dungeon Motivations” table really came through this time.  Crimses’ “complex legal documents” was the most unusual; the other characters were motivated by friendship/loyalty and peer pressure.  In the end, it seemed like something that the players could have cooked up on their own to explain their characters’ connection to one another.

The Deck of Stuff was popular, and it was nice to see the players putting some of their random items to use.  Mrs. Gnombient/Crimses used her “sack of 200 marbles” to good effect…

I started working on a variant of the “Tress tints” & “complexion” table in JG’s Ready Ref Sheets (p. 6) the day before our game, but it wasn’t quite finished by table-time.   I gave the players the option of rolling on the Ready Ref version to determine their characters’ appearances, which proved to be another entertaining new facet of character creation.\

Soundtrack:
Titan – A Raining Sun of Love and Light for You and You and You (pregame)
Jordi Savall – La Lira d’Esperia
David Hykes & the Harmonic Choir – Hearing Solar Winds
Lustmord – Heresy

Mini-review of Traveller Supplement 4: Central Supply Catalogue

I’ve already made clear my lack of enthusiasm for the Official Traveller Universe in other posts around here.  With that in mind, this was one of the first Mongoose Traveller supplements I was really, really looking forward to: a totally setting-free collection of equipment lists.  Hardcover, 192 pages, $34.95.  (“Credits to Burn,” anyone?)

I admit it, I’ve turned into a cheapskate when it comes to buying gaming books.  Most of the time I’m content to go without, relying on a mix of DIY, improvisation, and whatever free homebrew resources I can find on the web.  With the exception of mags like Fight On! or Knockspell and the occasional OSR supplement, I don’t buy new gaming books very often; when I do it’s usually something I’ve been hotly anticipating for a long time (like the BRP Big Yellow Book), something I just can’t find in used condition, or something I can buy “for free” with a gift certificate.  Fortunately, I had a Barnes & Noble gift card for this particular instance, so the price tag was reduced a bit and shipping was free.

Here’s the actual Table of Contents:

Introduction…. 2
Rules & Background…. 3
Personal & Light Support Weapons…. 28 (melee and firearms)
Support & Artillery Weapons…. 108
Personal Protection…. 132 (describes various types of armor)
Survival & Field Equipment…. 154
Electronic & Medical Equipment…. 166 (including some heavy equipment and robots)
Subsistence & Living Expenses…. 182 (which mostly consists of cybernetic augments)
Index…. 188

There are a ton of weapons in the book.   The weapon section is well-illustrated, and there are some cool mock advertisements for various weapons mixed in.  Had I seen this in junior high, this could possibly have been my favorite gaming book ever.  Unfortunately, the grown-up me was a bit disappointed with the ratio of weapons to other equipment, especially since the description on Mongoose’s website (and on the back cover of the book) suggests that this is the be-all, end-all of equipment catalogs:

Whether you are looking for a new set of wheels, a more powerful gun, sophisticated bugging equipment or the finest in evening wear, this book has it all.

What it should say: “Whether you are looking for a new melee weapon, a powerful gun, sophisticated bugging equipment, a more powerful gun, medical or survival gear, or an even more powerful gun, this book has it all.  If you want a new set of wheels, you’re out of luck — stay tuned for Supplement 5: Civilian Vehicles or Supplement 6: Military Vehicles, only $24.95 each.”

I really want to like this book.  What it does, it does very well.  If I were running a more violent Traveller game — a mercenary, bounty hunter, or military campaign — I’d probably be way more excited by this book than I am.  (Maybe this means I need to start jacking up the body count!)  Even though I’m disappointed that Supplement 4 doesn’t quite live up to its own back cover blurb, I’ll withhold final judgment until after I’ve had a chance to put the Catalogue to use…

In my next mini-review, I’ll look at one of two other recent gift-certificate Traveller acquisitions,  Book 5: Agent or Book 6: Scoundrel.

this just in: being sick is no fun

I was blindsided by a particularly nasty cold last weekend, and I’m just now feeling like a normal human being again.  I don’t know if I should blame the sick, crying toddler who antagonized us on our 12-hour flight back from Munich or a local source, but either way — this cold was one of the worst I’ve had in quite some time.  I even had to call in sick to both work and Tuesday night BSF…

If that weren’t bad enough, I also had to cancel what was shaping up to be an excellent White Box session last Sunday afternoon, which would have been attended not only by the regulars from the previous foray but also Mrs. Gnombient and BB from the Traveller game.  Of all the weekends to get sick…

If there’s a silver lining to this week of forced rest, it’s that I got a few more potential plots figured out for Traveller and did some more prep for the next White Box game, so the next time either rolls around it’ll be even better (I hope).

I feel mostly-recovered  and ready to face the world.  Just in time too: I have a gig tonight, Bible Study bright and early in the morning, then work both tomorrow and Sunday afternoon.  Some real posts from me soon, I promise!

Nice to be home…

The wife and I just returned from a two-week touring blitz through Germany. Lots of castles, churches, history museums, charming little towns, and amazingly beautiful countryside bedecked in autumn colors. The scenery and various historical exhibits provided plenty of Twilight: 1634 story material and game ideas. (Don’t be surprised if, once I return to a non-jetlagged-zombie state, T:1634 is the focus my game-related writing here for the next few days…)

We had a lovely time, but it’s nice to be back in SF. Maybe some gaming this weekend, more from me soon…

traveller solo game report, 10/16/09: to Krakennus and Lighthouse

It had been nearly two months since our last session, but once we knocked the dust out of our memory banks things went smoothly… 

Fresh from their heroic defense of the Queen of the Sapphire Throne on Nimiria, Riis and the crew left the planet with a hold full of exotic goods: snow-worm pelts, teeth, and meat, and a fine vintage of iceberry wine from the royal vineyard.  Knowing that the wine would fetch a good price on hedonistic, booze-loving Krakennus, Zinfield’s Folly travelled coreward and arrived at Krakennus City without incident. 

Riis made inquiries and was directed to the firm of Zarlec & Sons, an interstellar importer of booze and other substances.  Impressed by the wine and Riis’ tale of how the crew acquired it, Zarlec agreed to purchase the entire cargo and asked Riis to participate in an advertising campaign for the wine.  Zarlec also provided Riis with some additional choice bits of information:  contact info for a local arms merchant and the name of a “helpful” customs agent on Oriax, a planet known for its ultra-tight security and restrictions on imported goods. 

After purchasing some crates of small arms (for eventual resale in the Prophet Pentad), Riis advertised his ship’s availability to the Temple of J’Garsha and the Greenies (a revolutionary “back-to-the-land” political organization), and managed to procure some passengers. 

With a ship full of intoxicated, orgiastic J’Garshan pilgrims, the Folly makes the run to Lighthouse, a crossroads and waypoint for adventurers, mercenaries, and pilgrims travelling through the Great Nebula that runs through the subsector and separates the Prophet Pentad from the rest of the populated systems.  Lighthouse itself is a space station controlled by the Church of the Cosmic Eye, a psionic cult that believes that somewhere in the Nebula lies the key to the next step in the evolution of human consciousness.  The priesthood of the Cosmic Eye are easily identified by the eyepatch worn over their right eye, which is sacrificed upon initiation and replaced by an orb of unknown substance.  According to the cult’s belief, the new eye enables the priests to psionically “see” safe paths through the turbulent cosmic storms raging in the Nebula.  These “Nebula seers” have provided a steady income for the Church, hiring themselves out to cargo and passenger ships travelling from Lighthouse to the Pentad and back…

Having been asked by the Scout Commandant on Nimiria to locate a missing Lt. Thifo, Riis made inquiries at the Lighthouse Scout station turned up a few shreds of information.  After following up at the Church of the Cosmic Eye’s Seer Office in the starport (where his questions were met with similar results), Riis decided to hire a Seer to guide the Folly into the Nebula and the unknown in search of the wayward Scout…  

Notes:  Another session where we had a fun and productive time just talking.  Listening from the next room, my wife at one point even asked us if we would be rolling dice at all.  Patience, meine Frau!  I predict an increase in die-rolling in the next couple sessions. 

I found myself once again playing fast-and-loose with the trading aspect of the game.  Part of me is tempted to try and craft an alternate trade mechanic that doesn’t involve UWPs (which I don’t use), maybe I’ll do some brainstorming and see.  After all, trade does seem to be a major aspect of the game up to this point; while I think I’ve been fair in my judgments, I don’t want it to feel like trading results depend on my own whims… 

Another element I felt was lacking were flavorful random encounter tables, especially for space travel. I have resolved to do some brainstorming and compiling before the next session, which will hopefully be in three weeks once I get back from Germany.

New monster/NPC race: the Draala

The Draala is my White Box-ified homage to the humble (yet oh-so cute and cuddly) Dralasite, an alien player character race from TSR’s 1982 space opera RPG Star Frontiers.  Star Frontiers was the first game that my elementary school gaming group really obsessed over, and I think I played Dralasite characters 99.9% of the time.  So without further ado…

DRAALA: HD 3+3; AC 13; Atk: pseudopod fists or 1 weapon; Move 6/9/12 (depending on the number of “legs” used); Alignment: Neutral; Special: elasticity; camouflage; infravision (90’); psionics (telepathy, empathy); resistance to piercing weapons (1 hp damage); control gelatinous cubes, oozes, puddings, etc.

 Draalas are highly intelligent amoeboid creatures of vaguely humanoid shape (3 to 4 feet tall), who may sprout up to 6 pseudopods for purposes of locomotion or grasping/using tools.  They have tough, greyish, rubbery skin which is very elastic, capable of stretching into a variety of shapes.  The greyish color provides excellent camouflage underground (1 in 20 chance of detection if hiding) and a measure of protection against non-magical piercing weapons, which only do 1 point of damage on a successful hit. 

Draalas communicate with one another as telepaths/empaths; Draalas can communicate in these modes with other beings as well, although some speak Common (5% chance) or languages of other subterranean creatures living nearby (25% chance).

Draalas live in small, close-knit “ranch” communities (15-20 members) in deep caverns (often near geothermal steam vents), where they cultivate a wide variety of delicious and nourishing oozes, puddings, and slimes.  A typical community will have at least 50-100 of these creatures herded into various corrals.  Adventurers may also encounter smaller groups of 1d4+1 Draala herders elsewhere in the cave system, tending to a grazing herd of 20-30 oozes or puddings.

In addition to their “livestock,” Draalas will have a number of specially-bred, semi-intelligent Giant Puddings or Giant Gelatinous Cubes (+2 HD) that act as guard creatures.  Draalas are able to summon and control any pudding, ooze, or gelatinous cube, which will defend the Draala to the death or perform any other action as directed.

White Box Vol. 2: Monsters update

I have most of the entries compiled for my monster booklet, with plenty of creatures culled from D&D books and some from Gamma World, Arduin, Tekumel, JG materials, and other sources…  This morning I was thinking about my Traveller campaign and had a moment of clarity:  taking my cue from Chaosium’s classic Thieves’ World box set, my new plan is for the Monster Booklet entries to be dual statted for White Box and Traveller.  Whee, more fun with conversions!!!

another sci-fi megadungeon

Last night I read “The Chateau d’If” by Jack Vance in the collection The Narrow Land.  It’s a 1950 short story about a guy who goes looking for adventure and gets caught up in a body/mind-swapping racket of sorts, where people can (for a fee) trade in their old body by swapping minds with someone else.  Perhaps the most interesting moment in the sci-fi tale came when the protagonist describes just a few levels of the Empyrean Tower, a Babel-esque construct of 900 floors built “from the conglomerate resources of the planet’s richest wealth”:

“The 221st Level housed the finest hospital in the world.  The staff read like the Medical Association’s list of Yearly Honors.  Level 460 held an Early Cretaceous swamp-forest.  Full-scale dinosaurs cropped at archaic vegetation, pterodactyls slipped by on invisible guides, the air held the savage stench of swamp, black ooze, rotting mussels, carrion.

“Level 461 enclosed the first human city, Eridu of Sumer, complete with its thirty-foot brick walls, the ziggurat temple to Enlil the Earth god, the palace of the king, the mud huts of the peasants.  Level 462 was a Mycenean Island, lapped by blue salt water.  A Minoan temple in an olive grove crowned the height, and a high-beaked galley floated on the water, with sunlight sparkling from bronze shields, glowing from the purple sail.

“Level 463 was a landscape from an imaginary fantastic world created by mystic-artist Dyer Lothaire.  And Level 509 was a private fairyland, closed to the public, a magic garden inhabited by furtive nymphs.

“There were levels for business offices, for dwellings, for laboratories.  The fourth level enclosed the world’s largest stadium.  Levels 320 through 323 housed the University of the World, and the initial enrollment was forty-two thousand; 255 was the world’s vastest library; 328 a vast art gallery.”

Is it me, or does the Empyrean Tower sound like a land-locked version of the Starship Warden?

White Box Vol. 1: Men & Magic

Inspired by Geoffrey’s post (here or here), I decided to prepare my own “personalized” White Box players’ booklet — no monsters, treasure, or other referee resources, just the character stuff, spells, and basic game rules — using the Word-doc version of Swords & Wizardry: White Box.  The PDF is posted in the White Box resources section.

Now I’m working on Vol. 2: Monsters & Treasure, with an emphasis on the “monsters.”  I’ve been compiling and adapting baddies from White Box, Gamma World, Empire of the Petal Throne, Arduin, Runequest, and other old-school resources, but it’s far from finished…