Hey Tore Nielsen, what do you think?

Hey Tore Nielsen, what do you think?

House rule of the day: stealthy monsters

House rule of the day: stealthy monsters

These days, I find I ask for less and less perception checks. I decide if something is detectable based on what the characters do. If there's an ambush, I consider if the monsters are good at sneaking, and I let the fiction unfold.

If a player asks the right questions, they might detect the ambush. Look up and see a grey slime about to drop, be quiet and realise the birds are suddenly silent, cast detect magic and spot the invisible stalker. All the same thing to me.

If needed, I roll for the monsters (I make up a stat and do a d20 check). I reckon this goes contrary to the players-roll-for-everything principle in The Black Hack, which some people expect MM to be following. Does it strike you as a contradiction?

I find that MM has spoiled me.

I find that MM has spoiled me. When I have to pick out gear for a character, I find myself wishing I could just roll on some tables.

I made a quick and dirty screen and reference sheets document for this weekend's convention.

I made a quick and dirty screen and reference sheets document for this weekend's convention. It's a Word document that I couldn't properly convert in PDF, but in case you have a use for it, here is a link: https://www.dropbox.com/s/m5t6amniucuuuhn/MMScreen.docx?dl=0

Edit And the PDF, courtesy of Art Braune​: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BxHKe4JbIMLQZl9kc1FiRXR0Q2drWE5wOU1acVo0ZGJodkxn/view?usp=drivesdk
https://www.dropbox.com/s/m5t6amniucuuuhn/MMScreen.docx?dl=0

A VERY rough idea.

A VERY rough idea.

Suppose that you had a hack about bands, where venues/audiences were statted like monsters, and a concert was like a fight? 'Damage' taken would be to composure, equipment, or rep.
The band as an entity would have a number of hit points (based on player level, I guess)

The SarcastoTron
A hipster club set up in a Victorian tenement. IPA and tattooed people on their smartphones.
HD 1, Armor D10, practiced indifference D6/D6/D6, Faulty wiring D10

Hell's Bend Roadhouse
A roadhouse in the boonies, frequented by rowdy motorcycle enthusiasts. It's kickin' off.
HD 4, Armor D4, thrown bottles, body slams and shouts of "f*****s!" D10

The Warbucks SellOutstravaganza
A huge music festival with a fuckton of people and a fuckton of bigger artists.
HD 9 Armor D4, Complete disconnect from audience 2D8, "Fuckit, Taylor Swift is playing the other stage bro" D6/D6/D6


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1yvQV7J47o

The current resting rule requires a CON check before characters can recover one hit die worth of HP.

The current resting rule requires a CON check before characters can recover one hit die worth of HP. This check can be made with advantage or disadvantage, depending on campsite quality.
In a game earlier tonight, it occurred to me that I could just apply adv/dis to the HD roll, bypassing the CON check entirely. It's simpler, but it downplays the importance of Constitution, a stat that doesn't get much use.
What say you?

Eric Nieudan I

Eric Nieudan I
I'm curious where the inspiration for the Risk die came from? Seems like it would be useful in all sorts of situations.

House rule of the day: shooting in a mêlée

House rule of the day: shooting in a mêlée

When you shoot, throw, or cast as physical spell at a group of targets (including a mêlée with allies in it), you get advantage to your check. If you succeed, you damage a randomly selected target.

I'm tempted to include this rule in the book. I like that it emphasises strategic thinking outside of combat: maneuver the enemy into a choke point, engage them from a distance, and don't assume archers will be able to pick off targets once everyone else is hackin' and slashin'.

Secondary motivation: I've lost too many elves to natural 1s in the depths of Dwimmermount.

How badly do things break if I roll risk dice like TBH rolls usage dice: drop a die size on a 1-2?

My FLAILSNAILS unconversion guidelines

My FLAILSNAILS unconversion guidelines

This may be of use to some of you. I've just started running open games for the French crowd (might do it in English as well soon-ish), and this is how I plan on converting characters on the fly.

- Have six D&D-like stats? Keep 'em if they were rolled old school style. Otherwise roll 3d6 in order and arrange the results to make your character look like your character.
- Your traits are your race, your occupation, your origin, etc. Have two on the house.
- Your special powers and abilities will be considered on a case to case basis, but not before they become relevant in play. I may ask you to limit their use to a number of times per day (equal to your level, if you have one).
- Your magic spells and incantations work one of two ways: exactly like they're handled in your original system (Vancian magic works fine, but mana points and other shit should too), OR as if they were MM spells. In which case, choose one spell per level. Level-less? Use the medium level for this adventure.
- Money should be converted to a wealth dR according to the table in Extra Shot.
- Gear shouldn't be an issue. I'll give you a dR for some items, and the quantities can be adapted using this handy table that Whidou made with his math brain:
dR4 = 1,33
dR6 = 3,33
dR8 = 6
dR10 = 9,33
dR12 = 13,33

Some less setting-specific rules for using weapons above your combat training.

Some less setting-specific rules for using weapons above your combat training.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4XPsApBrOnLazg5RUpoeTF5LWM/view?usp=sharing

What is the highest level you've played MM at?

What is the highest level you've played MM at?

I created a House Rules section for us to share our rulings and other additions.

I created a House Rules section for us to share our rulings and other additions. In my case, it'll be useful to ask your opinion on ideas that might make it in the final book. Here's one:

Surprise rounds
There are two ways I do surprise in my games. The first way I can handle this is auto effect: the player failed at a WIS check, or the attacker was undetected somehow. The attack succeeds and the character takes damage, is affected by a spell, etc. This is pretty harsh and I almost never do it.

Soft surprise is another way to handle characters being caught flat footed by sneaky opponents. The character gets their turn as they react to the attack, but they have to roll with disadvantage.

So how do you handle surprise in your games?

I meant to speak a little bit about the second session of the 'one-shot' demo I ran for the French crowd.

I meant to speak a little bit about the second session of the 'one-shot' demo I ran for the French crowd. Only two players could make it, and that brought an interesting dynamic to the game.

The characters weren't equipped for a fight, but that didn't stop them from running into danger head on. I almost killed David Subrenat's peasant kid character (he was put out of action and came back level zero for the rest of the session) in an innocent encounter with a food stealing crow goblin.

The finale was an assault on a skyship about to leave Port-Conquest. The players took insane risks, and managed to swipe the item and leave the place on the back of an ox. The action scene was short but dripping with adrenaline (at least on my end).

Laurent Gosse's ex-Shaolin monk tumble around the bridge, risking a fall into the void or a crossbow bolt into the face with every die roll. It was possibly due to the one-shot finale effect, but I found it interesting to see so much daring in an old school game. I'd never be able to stake the life of my character on the toss of a d20 like that.