Powerful day.

 3th day

9th month

24th year.

3 millennium

2+4=6

3+6+9=18

1+8=9

9*3=27

2+7=9

9/3=3

One eternity. Past, present, future.

I, won?

Well, I got the kill.

This is a continuation from the last posts on the Skeleton Caverns from Micro RPG. Go check them out.

I got the "rules as written" idea that I really had encountered all other monsters when it came to calculate weather or not the boss might appear, even if the encounters were spread across delves. The chapbook doesn't specify, so why make it difficult for myself!

Referring to the map of the last post, I encountered four skeleton archers in the first stone room, then six putrid rats in the second stone room, then encountered even more (six again) rats in the crypts, and then finally saw the foul necromancer who was behind all the trouble stand with a long knife raised above his head, pointing down towards the beautiful millers daughter who appeared to be drugged or some such.

As I launched forward the foul being thrusted the blade downwards and a bright flash threw me back so I hid the wall just next the the door which lead back to the crypt. As I came to, I saw the necromancer was now covered in white flames, and coming towards me. Scared as I was (lost all the WI tests) I chopped till the bastard dropped! Hoo-yeahh!!! Then I found three gold...

I had used 100 gold to level up, about two delves ago, and that new ST of four really payed off! Also, I got to use my relatively new crossbow even though the ranged step had me rolling for ones. Got a hit in twice! Money well spend.

I bit of an aside, I got the Deluxe Core Rulebook a few weeks back! I still went chapbook-rules-as-written till the end, but will be using the Deluxe together with Rules Of The House and some other addons, like my own house rules, for my next delve.

I've passed

How many alters does one Necromancer need?!

 Welcome back to the exciding adventures of what's his (or her, IDK yet) name!

It's been a while, but here is the second part of the expedition to the skeleton caverns.

As I had returned to town from the first foray in to the caverns, I bought a blessed suit of armor, and a shield. I lost my original character sheet, and assumed I got the cloak, but later found out it was the chainmail. To late to fix now, so I had a great axe, a cloak over my blessed armor, and a shield (perhaps great axe and shield seems odd, but my dude (or chick?) rock like that) as I went in the second time. I didn.t get to explore further then the second stone room before redrawing from the dungeon ones more, but am by now following the written rules (the I originally misunderstood do to 1.0 ed. mental disruption) and rolled for monsters every time I went in to a room - not just a "new" room. No Chapbook without a few misses, so I'm staying true!
In town I got a bit of ale, because my play piece get a bit shaken with a charisma of only 1.

Now we rock, smashing skeleton guards, and what not. We push two more rooms south, finding bloody alters in both of them. Interior designer wanted? Well, at least now I have a place to boss hunt. Three rooms next to each other with boss chances (crypt, alter, alter) make it simple. Go back and forth in the stone rooms until all other monsters have been encountered, then prance around in the crypt, and around the alters. Ceeelebrate good times come-on!

Now, that's a bit boring, so I will push further in to the inky darkness, hunting patiently the vile filth which hide there from the light of truth and justice. But I got a retirement plan now, so there's that.
I went back first, though. Can't live of bread crusts and ale alone, my sweet and beautiful wife tells me...

Carecter record for now:
Advancements: 0
Name: ?
Race: Human
Class: With a CH and DE of 1 I guess Lover is out of the question, so...

St 3
De 1
Wi 3
Ch1

Proficiency: St

Ranged: Great Axe (d6+1)
Armor: Cloak (+6h), Blessed Armor (+6h&w), Shield (+3h).

Items: potion, bread crust, 3x ale, 2x holy water.

Gold: 30

Health: 39 (24+6+6+3)
Will: 30 (24+6)

Oh, and I realized I shouldn't make an "E" room by 0.0 rules, but it doesn't do any difference no, so I leave it in.

Good health!
~J

Gay bartenders, and queer game designers, they are some of my favorit tings.

 I an going to attempt to run thru "Skeleton Cavern" from the queer game designer Noah Patterson's Micro Chapbook 0.0 line - full sole games on one sheet of paper.

FB link.

I had my kids walk these dark wet caves a bit some time back, but had not gone myself, till last night.
I feel like it's a right of passage I have yet to undergo, running this rules-as-written, with the necessary interpretations of minimalist designs.

I won't go to much in to the rules her, as that would practically give the game away, but just give a feel of the experience. Buy the thing, it's just 1$.

This is just the first foray in to the caves, and I will make a follow up post with the thing finished, when such is the case.

"An evil necromancer hides out in the darkness of Skeleton Cavern. Can you find him and stop his evil deeds?"

This was my starting point. To win a combat round you need to roll your strength or below with a d6. If you are a fighter you roll 2d6 and pick the best. To just auto win any of the 0.0 Chapbooks you build a strength 5 fighter. That's no fun, though, so I made a reasonable strong fighter (STRENGHT 3) with a good head on his shoulders (WITS 3) so I can hold myself in battle, and also deal with traps. I rolled 7 gold, so got an awesome weapon, and fine armor, yet nothing else.

In the first room after the entrance, I entered a stone tunnel, and from behind a bend 4 rats with wings flew my way. I got shaken up a bit (CHARISMA deal with bravery) but only lightly wounded. After this weird experience I find a healing potion in a backpack next to a recently diseased... something - rats had a meal, it would seem. Then I cut my hand, as the handle of the door at the end of the tunnel turns out to be made of wax, with a blade under! Well, beyond that damned door is a small chamber of gray stone, with one new door, but before I can exit, 4 skulls fly from the floor, trying to rip my flesh from my bones with surprisingly clean teeth. I think they floss, but though there's never a bad time for dental hygiene, this might not be the best time either, so I bash them in, receiving a few bites in the process and under a lot more pressure too. I find a bread crust laying around, and not one to waste food, I pack it up before leaving thru the eastern door, entering a crypt. 4 skeletons crawl from their resting place, with rusted spears and rotted shields, stop-motion'ing my way. I manage to defeat them, but I'm mentally beat, and pretty messed up physically as well. I do find 4 gold though! Having lost all my WILL I now take a +1 penalty to my dice, so my STRENGHT is practically become only 2. So time to, umm, tactically retreat a bit.

In the deluxe 1.0 rules backtracking give a 1/6 chance at encountering new monsters in the previous rooms, but no mention of such exist in the 0.0 chapbooks. I didn't roll for monsters this time, but think I will do normal monster rolls from now on. I don't know the intention of Noah. Did I mention he's queer? He mention it often, and I just want to help where I can. I'm like super nice, you know.

What I do know is that you auto-heal "in town". Noah was asked, so we know. And knowing is half... Oh, wait a minute! I will not settle for half! Want, take have. Life of a slayer is easy!

Well, bread and board is free. The 1.0 rules charge 1 gold - though I guess there's something to be done about that, if playing the "Evil Edition" *grin* Not that I would mess with the rainbow elf behind the bar in Lemon Woods. Had enough scratch marks for now, and he know how to draft that beer, even better then the previous dwarf.

Next time I will re-use the dungeon layout, but roll for monsters every time, even backtracking.

Oh and, if I had been playing 1.0 deluxe, I would have been better off with the monsters, as there can't appear more then the squares in the rooms! But hen the standard setup is 2d6 for rooms. Still. 1d6 is mentioned as an option! ^_^

 UNTILL WE... die?

Good health!

~J

Send the kids to play with human remains, and vermin in old crypts. Perfectly normal...

Today I had the first RPG game ever with my lads. My youngest is five, and my eldest nine years old, although my eldest is mentally behind my youngest both in intelligence and emotion.

I chose to run a Micro Chapbook by Noah Patterson, namely the Skeleton Cavern. It’s designed for solo play, and has random generation of the dungeon. It’s also a first for me, with this system, even though I’ve read the “Deluxe” offerings true the last couple of days, and got the basic ones of the 0.0 and 1.0 series as it wasn’t an expense, really, so might as well. So we went in together!

Just a quick little thing; It’s not more of an RPG then early CRPG's, but it’s fun enough, and my kids haven’t tried anything else - yet.

Instead of one adventure going in, I had them team up. They both wanted to be fighters, so yey(!), which means they basically have “advantage” on strength rolls - attacking, and forcing doors open. My wee one then wanted to put all his points in strength which made him some bad ass fighter to be sure, and my eldest went with wits - suppose he liked being the smart one in our fantasy, and good for him! Then they had to choose a race. Human, hobbit (well, it’s called halfling), dwarf and elf. Races add a point to one of the four stats. My young one wanted to be a shark… He got this pirate ship toy for Christmas with one of the pirates being what we would likely call a wereshark, so I figured that would be a strength bonus (the stats are strength, dexterity, wits and charisma),and when my big one wanted to be a fox… well, wits would fit fine, and it worked with the “build” of his in-game persona.

The only random roll in persona creation is for gold. Both rolled three on a 2d6! That’s a bad start, I tell you. Well, the shark got a short sword (insisting it was long) and a shield, and the fox got a dagger and a cloak. Cool looking to be sure. But then dad helped them pick it out with their limited funds, so how could it be any other way!

The character sheets in our local tongue are here, for what it’s worth,

The dungeon is generated by first rolling a d6 to find the size in squares (deluxe make that 2d6 FYI) and they are required by decree of the mighty N. Patterson to be orthogonally connected! I learned a new word - thankyou Noah. But hey, draw as you like, kids.

After this you roll for the number of doors, and if these are trapped, locked, the type of room, and the monsters present - there are monsters present in any room not yet explored, except the first.

First they went and found a tunnel into the mountain side, with a door at the end, and one on either side. The floor was muddy (we are not supposed to roll for that in the first room, but I forgot) which my youngest found glorious as he slid along on his shield. Good times. They chose a door to the west, and discovered the room had a stone floor, and there was a rat with wings flapping about in there. There may appear up to six of these abominations, but we rolled only one. Good start. They rolled to see if they lost their nerve, which they both did (my youngest protested this) and so lost some of the derived stat “will”. Then the shark attacked, won, and dad forgot to roll damage. After a round more I realized this, rolled, and we then nullified the second round as the critter was offed by that first cut.

They got two gold for their trouble (100g. can buy you a level), and then went through the western door, even though my young one wanted to go north, while still insisting that his big brother should choose, this time… well, west they went. The door was trapped, but my big guy took care of that with his wits, and they entered the smallest crypt one could imagine, with four skeleton archers rolling out of their cuffins. My big’un starts losing focus, and laughing happily continuously from now on, but we get through the battle by the, end with me running his persona as he wanted mommys tablet, from now on. But he had a good time. I think he got hyped by his disarming success. We did celebrate it! Or maybe it was my youngest idea that throwing his shield at the skeletons over and over was the best way of takeing them down, who knows. Oh, and they got one tiny gold coin for their troubles *sigh*.

The shark and fox are now all out of “will” which impacts their dice rolls. They are basically scared, or have lost hope. But we go back east, and up north, finding another crypt with four skeleton archers! Slams the door, back to town. Live to fight another day, you know. I guess they can heal at the inn, for a gold coin, bringing them to full fighting strength.

They both want to play again, and as long as they have fun, I’m glad!

Oh, yeah, and my young kid are so happy that there was mud in the first cave, so he could slide in it :D Good thing I forgot not to roll for type.

The map we ended the session with looks like this:

Happy New Year!

~J

Plagiarism is the Highest Form of Praise.

Funny thing. I was reading The Forgotten Temple of Tharizdun the other day (January 2018, actually, as this is a fixed re-post), and I thought I read something very similar before, then I realized where. Mechanized Men of Mars! I think it might be working best in Mechanized Men of Mars, but that could be because I read it there first, and not in the older source.


The Forgotten Temple of Tharizdun:

The Temple was built in a previous age, a secret place of worship to Tharizdun, He of Eternal Darkness. It drewthemost wicked persons to it, and the cult flourished for generations, sending out its minions from time to time to enact some horrible deed upon the lands around. However, a great battle eventually took place between Tharizdun and those opposed to his evil. Unable to destroy him, they were strong enough to overcome his power and imprison him somewhere, by means none have ever been able to discover. Thus Tharizdun disappeared from the face of the earth, and from all of the other known planes, and has not been seen again since. After a time his servants returned again to the Temple, deserted as it was of any manifestation of their deity. Amongst these wicked folk were many powerful magic-users and clerics. All sought with utmost endeavor todiscern what had happened to Tharizdun, so that he could be freed and returned to rule over them once again. All attempts were in vain, although the divinations and seekings did reveal to these servants of Eternal Darkness that a “Black Cyst” existed below the Temple. By physical work and magical means they delved downward to reach the Black Cyst. What they discovered there dismayed and disheartened them. In the hemisphereof black needlerock (floating as if by levitation) a huge form could beseen. Was this the physical manifestation of Tharizdun? None could tell. The misty form was black and indistinct and enclosed in vaporous purple energy as well. No ritual, no spell, no magic could pierce the enigma. As time passed, the seekers ritualized their attempts to determine if this was their imprisoned deity. An altar of black needlerock was constructed directly under the 12’ long form so that it seemed to rest upon the stone. As generations passed, various other things necessary to survival in the Black Cyst were formalized into a paeon of lament and worship for Tharizdun, and endless services to awaken the being were conducted by route. Then, as time continued to pass, even this ritual grew stale and meaningless. The clerics of Tharizdun began to pilfer the hoard of beautiful gems sacrificed to him by earlier servants -- 333 gems of utmost value, ranging in worth from 5,000 to 50,000 gold pieces each. Replacing these jewels with stones of much lessvalue, the former servants of this deity slipped away with their great wealth to serve other gods and wreak evil elsewhere. In the end only a handful of faithful clerics remained to repeat the daily ritual of attempted awakening. Some of this handful were slain by monsters, others eventually grew old and died. The last High Priest, alone, wandered off into the place reserved for his remains in the dungeon, foralone he was unable to take his proper place in the Undertemple. Thus, a century ago, the last servant of Tharizdun died, and the Temple was without inhabitant of human sort. Various wandering monsters eventually used the Temple as a lair for a time. Some moved on, some descended into the depths of the place, some were slain as is the wont of such creatures. Already dim in the recollection of humankind for decades, the Temple was forgotten by all but a few sages and savants generations before the last of its clerics was dead. Those creatures which dwelt in it from time to time knew not its nameor purpose. The placewas truly The Forgotten Temple of Tharizdun, and until exploring adventurers deem it otherwise, it will remain so.

Mechanized Men of Mars:

The vault of K’Ral was built in a previous age, a secret place of power and research for a long forgotten mad scientist. It drew the most unsavory persons to it, and the cult flourished for generations, sending out its minions from time to time to enact some horrible deed upon the lands around. However, a great battle eventually took place between the cult leader and those who opposed his sinister motives. Unable to destroy him, they were strong enough to overcome his power and imprison him somewhere deep within the vault. And sealed it for all time. His servants scattered across the lands. After a time his servants returned again to the vault, deserted as it was of any manifestation of their leader. Among these deranged folk were many highly advanced scientists and powerful mentalists. All sought with utmost endeavor to discern what happened to K’Ral, so that he could be freed and returned to rule over them once again. All attempts were in vain, although their scans and seeking did reveal to these servants that a chamber existed below the vault. By physical labor and mechanical means they delved downward to reach the chamber. What they discovered dismayed and disheartened them. In the center of the black obsidian, floating by some unknown force, was a huge sealed casket that could not be reached or touched by any means as though some impenetrable force field surrounded it. Noxious vapors and strange green energy radiated from within the area. As time passed, the seekers ritualized their attempts to determine how to free K’Ral. An altar of obsidian was constructed directly under the floating casket so that it seemed to rest upon the stone. As generations passed, various other things necessary to survival in the chamber were formalized into an array of futile effort and worship for K’Ral, and endless services to awaken and free him were conducted by the faithful. Then, as time continued to pass, even this ritual grew stale and meaningless. The followers of K’Ral began to pilfer anything of value and slipped away to serve other masters and wreak their misdeeds elsewhere. In the end only a handful of faithful servants remained to repeat the daily ritual of awakening. Some of this handful were slain by creatures, others eventually grew old and died. Thelast servant, alone, wandered off to the rejuvenation chamber,but without aid he was unable to operate the machinery and passed away. Thus, a hundred years ago, the last servant of K’Ral died and the vault was without inhabitant. Various wandering creatures eventually used the vault as a lair for a time. Some moved in, some descended into the depths of the place, some were slain or eaten by other creatures as so happens. Already dim in the recollection of men for decades, the vault was forgotten by all but a few learned historians.Those creatures which dwelt in it from time to time had no knowledge of the places name, purpose, or history. The place remained unexplored until a strange little man, Zeandr, a brilliant and crazed scientist infiltrated the dilapidated vault which had become an itinerant home for a tribe of Warhoon. He discovered how to operate the equipment, reactivated some of the machinery, and controlled the few mechanical men that were still in good enough repair to function. With these metal servants he chased off the Warhoon, then set about restoring the ancient laboratory and factory to manufacture new mechanical men. Zeandr could not figure out how to open K’Ral’s casket, despite many clever attempts. What he did discover though, were many ancient recordings and a scan of K’Ral’s mental faculties. Zeandr used these to wipe the brain of a slave (who bore a remarkable resemblance to K’Ral) and replace them with all of K’Ral’s memories, thoughts and attitudes. Zeandr thought for a time that he would be able to control this charismatic man and use him as a puppet. But the reborn K’Ral had other plans, with no knowledge that he was actually a fabricated copy, he proceeded to enforce his will on the mechanized men who were programmed to obey him unquestioningly. Soon he enslaved many other men and used the facilities of the vault to increase the manufacturing of mechanical men into an impressive army.

Funny to find that.

They made it their own, well :)


~J

Fire it up, fire it up... The Fireball spell.

I've been thinking about the Fireball spell, and how to apply its effect. It is quit deadly - for the user as well. Which of course is wonderful!

Let us read some of the descriptions to begin with.

OD&D/0 edition/3LBB
Fire Ball: A missile which springs from the finger of the Magic-User. It explodes with a burst radius of 2” (slightly larger than specified in CHAINMAIL). In a confined space the Fire Ball will generally conform to the shape of the space (elongate or whatever). The damage caused by the missile will be in proportion to the level of its user. A 6th-level Magic-User throws a 6-die missile, a 7th a 7-die missile, and so on. (Note that Fire Balls from Scrolls (see Vol. II) and Wand are 6-die missiles and those from Staves are 8-die missiles. Duration: 1 turn. Range: 24”

BASIC Moldvay (B/X)
Fire Ball
Range: 240'
Duration: Instantaneous
This spell creates a missile of fire that explodes into a ball of fire 40'diameter when it strikes a target. The fire ball will cause 1-6 (1d6) points of fire damage per level of the caster to all creatures within this area. If a victim of a fire ball saves vs. Spells, the spell will only do 1/2 damage. EXAMPLE: A fire ball cast by a 6th level magic-user will explode for 6-36 (6d6) points of damage.

BASIC Mentzer (BECMI)
Fire Ball Range: 240'
Duration: Instantaneous
Effect: A spherical volume 40' across.
This spell creates a missile of fire which explodes into a ball of fire of 20' radius when it reaches the desired range or strikes a target. The Fire Ball inflicts 1-6 (1d6) points of fire damage for each level of the spell caster. Each victim within the area of effect takes full damage unless a Saving Throw vs. Spells is made. Even if the Saving Throw is successful, the victims take half the rolled damage. For example, a Fire Ball cast by a 6th level magic-user explodes for 6-36 (6d6) points of damage. If the total roll is 24, all within the area who make their Saving Throws take 12 points of fire damage.

LABYRINTH LORD
Fire Ball
Level: 3
Duration: Instant
Range: 240'
A fireball spell is an explosion of flame that detonates with a low roar and deals 1d6 points of fire damage per caster level to every creature within a 20' radius. The caster points his finger and determines the range (distance and height) at which the fireball is to burst. A glowing, pea-sized bead streaks from the pointing digit and, unless it impacts upon a material body or solid barrier prior to attaining the prescribed range, blossoms into the fireball at that point. (An early impact results in an early detonation.) The fireball sets fire to combustibles and damages objects in the area. It can melt metals with low melting points, such as lead, gold, copper, silver, and bronze. If the damage caused to an interposing barrier causes it to shatter or break apart, the fireball may continue beyond the barrier if the area permits; otherwise it stops at the barrier just as any other spell effect does. All beings caught within the explosion are allowed a saving throw versus spells. A successful save reduces damage by half.

Right. As we see from the above (LABYRINTH LORD not being "canon" of course) the spell have a radius of 20 feet. As these spell effects were written with the dungeon in mind (likely exception BECMI version) we can determine the volume of the fire by calculating the area effect and then multiplying this by the height of the common rooms and corridors. The volume is not important unless the height of part of the effected area deviates from the norm, so let's start by finding the area effect in a "standard" dungeon.
I care not to do the math myself, today, even though I did somewhat when I thought about this post about a year and a half ago, as I will mess it up. So this online calculator gives me 1257 square feet which then would give me an effective area of 50 standard dungeon squares - based on the Haunted Keep from the Moldvay version of Basic, p. B57, which is 5x5' = 25 square feet.

To see how a fireball would behave in this dungeon level we will have to think about the effect of doors. I would rule that doors would delay the blast for 1 step of the expansion, as shown soon.

We will have our wizard fire from as far away as we can have him, placing him in the square marked "W" and have him fire with intend to detonate in the square marked "0" which will naturally need to have the door open. We assume the Thief make a smart little dingy doodah that make the door spring open after a short while (topic for a different blog entry) so the wizard can let go with no one prepared, and him as far from the blast center as possible given the dungeon layout.

We will now see how the blast expand, remembering the door that was opened is just that, and also keeping in mind that the pool in room #8 is 3' deep, should the fire reach there - we will then have to apply cubic feet, but let's see if that is needed.

If you do a count you will see that I don't have 50 squares, and this is do to the pools dept, and the trapdoor. I count those at 2 squares for the purpose of this exercise.

And I have made a minor mistake in the expansion above. The first hallway "7" should have been a 6, but as the second "7" would be "7" anyway it doesn't affect the final result.

I doubt the Wizard got to run far enough. Better roll low on damage, and make his save, eh?

I'm pretty sure that everyone in the tower here would succumb to the inferno, given the smoke, heat and lag of oxygen, not to mention that the fire will spread following the initial blast. And the wizard would be toast, even if he lived past his own spell, as he would then have to navigate the blazing corridor to get out, and we can assume he would not be thinking of the pit trap on the way. Oy!

Let's see the picture just with the inferno.

Damn...

There would be Dungeons where this spell would be useful, I'm sure, but let's look a bit on Franks version of the same *laughter diabolical*.

If we assume a corridor and room height of 10 feet - to make things simple, we get a volume of 12570 cubic feet for the pre-BECMI fireball. This is then 50 squares in the above example. But what about the BECMI Fireball, with the description "A spherical volume 40' across" we ask. Well, that gives us a volume of 33510 cubic feet according to this calculator. Divide that by 250 cubic feet of our dungeon square (5*5*10) and we end with an area of insane 134 squares! Try that in a dungeon, would you?

Oh well. Outside isn't much better given the risk of bush and forest fires, not to mention usage in a town. But as a battlefield and siege spell it's gold. And isn't that what it was originally? Right tool for the right job, children.

I'm burning the midnight oil here, and have work tomorrow, so leave this as is. Tear it apart, but put something better together.

Love and light,

good night.

~J

Warhammer to D&D conversions primer.

I have tasked myself with converting stats for Warhammer Fantasy Batles army listings, to Dungeons and Dragons B/X. This is something I have been thinking about for a long time - the Warhammer 40000 stats, actually, but never gotten around to given that it is ultimately irrelevant. Why not just nick what's interesting, and then assign the hit dice and special abilities that seems to work? Well, it's something to do, and it's interesting to see the result.

I am also at some point going to make a campaign setting based solely on info from The World of Warhammer: The Official Illustrated Guide to the Fantasy World. In this project I will leave the monster stats to a different model I am messing about with, and it will be fun to compare.

I have to set some guidelines to begin with to help gauge whether or not I am achieving my goal.
1.
A standard imperial soldier must be half a hit die (1-4hp) creature, to fit the mold of "Normal Man" with an occupation as soldier. He is yet to be a veteran with a full (1-8hp) hit die. If the conversion model doesn't give me that, it's bust.
2.
There need to be at least slight differences in the B/X stats when the Warhammer stat line differ, no matter how little.
3.
All Warhammer stats must matter to the B/X stat block.

The stat lines I will be testing on initially are those of an Imperial Halberdier and that of an Orc Boy.

Imperial Halberdier - WH stats from Ravening Hordes:
M4, WS3, BS3, S3, T3, W1, I3 A1, Ld7.

Orc Boy - WH stats from Ravening Hordes:
M4, WS3, BS3, S3, T4, W1, I2 A1, Ld7.

In the above, the Orc will have a better chance to survive a blow from the Imperial (the Orc gets wounded on a d6 roll of 5+) then he one from the Orc (Imperial falls on a 4+). The Imperial get first strike however, so the orc might never get to take a swing. This doesn't need to be modeled in B/X, but there need to be some difference.

Let's have a look on what we can do. Move will model just that in B/X. Hit dice determine your hit points as well as your base hit number. Ones hit dice should therefore be based on WS (weapon skill) and BS (ballistics or bow skill) as these are what determine how well you hit in Warhammer, possible S (strength) and T (toughness) because of the hit bonus and the hit points bonus. But there are individual damage, and we also have the + hit point bonus in the monster stat block, so I like to use S and T for that, and keep hit dice based on skill scores. W (wounds) will likely fit best as a hit point bonus too, while a bonus/penalty to individual initiative will fit the I (initiative) score fine. A (attack) is best used for just that, and the Ld (leadership) will be for morale - like in the Warhammer Fantasy Battles game proper.
Breakdown:
B/X        WHFB
AC          Actual armor
HD          WS, BS, and T and W for + bonus.
Move       M.
Attacks    A.
Damage   Weapon and S.
NA           N/A
Save as     Best fit for class. No class will normally be half of HD lv fighter.
Morale      Ld

Let's say that we have the calculation produce a x step number to avoid a 3 and a half hit die situation for instance. How would we make these charts?
Let's try.

Hit dice (step =Best version of WS or BS, with fitting to hit penalty to the inferior scores area).
Steps#
1. 0.5hd.
2. 1hd.
3. 2hd.
4. 3hd.
etc.

Hit point bonus for T(oughness) number.
1. -2
2. -1
3. Nil.
4. +1
5. +2
6. +3
etc.

Hit point bonus for W(ounds) number.
1. Nil.
2. +1
3. +2
4. +3
5. +4
6. +5
etc.

Move per M point.
1. 30/10
2. 60/20
3. 90/30
4. 120/40
5. 150/50
6. 180/60
7. 210/70
etc.

Bonus damage per attack based on S(trenght).
1. -2
2. -1
3. Nil.
4. +1
5. +2
6. +3
etc.

I now feel most Warhammer Fantasy monsters will pale in comparison to B/X ones with this conversion method, but let's run the above, and maybe a few more.

Imperial Halberdier - WH stats from Ravening Hordes:
M4, WS3, BS3, S3, T3, W1, I3 A1, Ld7.
B/X:
AC          7/6 (light armor (breast plate), and shield outside of close combat).
HD          0.5 (1-4hp)
Move       120/40
Attacks    1
Damage   1d10 (pole arm/no shield in close combat/always lose initiative)
NA           ?
Save as     F1
Morale      7

Orc Boy - WH stats from Ravening Hordes:
M4, WS3, BS3, S3, T4, W1, I2 A1, Ld7.
B/X:
AC          6 (light armor and shield)
HD          0.5+1 (2-5hp)
Move       120/40
Attacks    1
Damage   1d6 (choppa counting as a club)
NA           ?
Save as     F1
Morale      7
Orc Boyz suffers -1 to individual initiative, being somewhat clumsy and dimwitted.

Ok, I'm not satisfied with this. The orc win initiative over the Imperial soldier, simply because B/X have an ill thought out rule regarding pole arms. On the other hand the blow from the orc have a lesser chance of downing the soldier if he is a B/X normal man with an occupation as soldier, given that he would be assigned 4 hit points. The orc would roll his, so the return blow from the halberd is likely to slay it. It's interesting though.

Let's take an ogre. They can serve both the - Empire and the Orc Waaarg - in the Ravening horde list's, that is.
Ogre - WH stats from Ravening Hordes:
M6, WS3, BS2, S4, T4, W3, I2 A3, Ld7.
B/X:
AC          9
HD          0.5+3 (4-8hp)
Move       180/60
Attacks    3
Damage   1d6+1 (club)
NA           ?
Save as     F1
Morale      7
Ogres suffers -1 to individual initiative, being clumsy and dimwitted.

Again, it feels wrong. And too fast, right? But that's the conversion. And it does get 3 of those attacks.

Now let's take the Dragon for a fly.
Dragon - WH stats from Ravening Hordes:
M,6 WS6, BS0, S6, T6, W6, I3, A5, Ld8.
B/X:
AC          2 (dragon scales)
HD          5+8 (13-48hp)
Move       180/60 (ground movement - not sure how far they can fly as I don't have the full rules book anymore)
Attacks    5 (and fire - that I don't have a conversion for, yet)
Damage   d8+5
NA           ?
Save as    F3
Morale     8

I guess I do the Greater daemon of Khorn, a General/Elector Count of the Empire, and an Orc War Boss, were after I carbon freeze this sucker as it doesn't yield the desired results. WHFB stats will not be written as I don't wish to infringe on the copyright of Games Workshop. The above is in my mind fair use, but now the point have been made.

Imperial General.
AC          4 (heavy armor and shield)
HD          5+3 (8-43)
Move       120/40
Attacks    4
Damage   d8+1 (sword)
NA           1
Save as    F5
Morale     9
The General is quit able to employ ranged weaponry, yet focus more on directing the troops under his command, and personal defense if need be. Therefore he utilize missile weapons only as a 4hd creature.
The general have learnt to strike at the most opportune time, not only with his men, but also his blade. He enjoy a +3 to individual initiative.

Orc (not Black Orc) Warboss.
AC          5 (heavy armor)
HD          6+4 (10-52hp)
Move       120/40
Attacks    4
Damage   d10+1 ('uge choppa counting as two-handed sword)
NA           1
Save as    F3
Morale     9
The orcs are well able to throw stuff, and some may work a bow - somewhat. But staying back from a fight doesn't fit the greenskins view of a good time, and so the Warboss only do the ranged thing as a 3 hit dice monster.
Greenskin cunning is, well. I guess they do learn war. The War Boss receive a +1 to individual initiative.

BLOODTHIRSTER!
AC          -9 (HEAVY METAL) ok... its actually only freaking ac6 - 7 against magic.
HD          10+3 (13-83)
Move       180/60 - and can fly, bur again I fail to recall aerial movement in the 6th edition WHFB rules.
Attacks    8
Damage   d10+4 (Axe of Khorn counts as pole arm, and can harm any creature for full damage regardless of resistances or to-hit requirements)
NA           1
Save as    F5 (MU14 when magical)
Morale     12 (Ld is 10, but they never break combat).
Fast and deadly, Bloodthirsters have a +7 to individual initiative.

Fun as this was, I leave it for now. The "The World of Warhammer: The Official Illustrated Guide to the Fantasy World" project is still on, but won't be based on conversion models.


Have a good one.

~J

A long comment on the Black Razors suggested alternative takes the on Duke of Karameikos.

This is just shooting crap. But I was reading over at the Black Razor about alternative takes Duke Stefan of Karamaikos. There are plenty of interesting ideas, but the one that sparked my interest was the chaos cultist take - and just simply loving any quote from the old chaos books.
The post can be read here and it is recommended that it is read for the background for this post, as well as this post about the Black Baron. This post is pretty much an expanded comment on Jonathan's posts. Also, knowledge of the Warhammer universe is required to make any real sense of my scribbles this fine evening, so confusion are to follow, without it.

I was thinking of two scenarios. The first take is the most D&D game friendly, and it requires no knowledge of Warhammer lore. It is as follows.
Stefan has turned to chaos worship of some kind. The Baron of the Black Eagle have come to know of this, but keep it secret while he amasses his forces for the coming holy war. The Duke have intercepted communications meant for the Thyatian Empire but fear to move openly against the Baron, so close to his ascension to daemonhood, therefore he sent the demihumans such as orks, gnolls, and the like against the Black Eagle Barony, while the Duke himself play benevolent ruler - his people will pay back as sacrifices soon enough.
The Baron have turned tyrant in order to maintain order, and summarily execute anyone acting suspiciously to prevent chaos cults to corrupt the Barony from within, while waiting for aid from the Empire - aid never to come...
"All you have been told is a lie"

The second option with Chaos that sprung to my mind draws heavily on older (ignoring the last years of crap) Warhammer Chaos lore, and will make little sense to anyone not familiar with it - but no one read this blog anyway, so:
The Duke started to worship Slaanesh, the god/goddess of sensation. Any sensation is the purview of She Who Thirst. The whisper of the wind, the faint sent of a flower, the merest hint of a smile in the innocent eyes of a child, and the shine in a dew drop lift you to the heavens and beyond when you've surrendered your soul to Shornal. But then, any sensation - ones had, fate to nothing. You will always need new kinds of sensation to be able to stand existence. Before you know it you'll be blood eagle'ing people while sodomizing them in front of the ones they love simply to witness the pain in their loved ones eyes before they are plucked to adorn you neck in a string. And you must multiply that horror with 1000 to get just a cheap idea of what will be everyday life under the lustful gaze of a deamon Lord of the Prince of Chaos.
Duke Stefan is still relatively normal, though, only having toyed with the Prince of Chaos for a short time. The people doesn't know - yet.
The Traladara people of the conquered region now known as Karamikos has many cults in hiding.
Some, having cultivated their burning hatred for the invaders have accepted the demand from Khorn, the Lord of rage, fury, vengeance, blood, slaughter, honor, and discipline. Kharneth will aid those that slaughter in his name - reason irrelevant. Discipline have kept them hidden and organised. The wait have fueled their rage. Soon...
But some have given up hope, sinking in to misery, sobbingly accepting the hand of Grandfather Nurgle granting them tranquility in the security that they can decent no further, and that all will join them eventually, gladly helping cure their countrymens delusion through spreading the plague lords pleasings.
In the Empire of Thyatian, Tzeentch have been orchestrating the Karamaikan situation, unbeknownst to his three dark brethren. The coming bloodshed will be fueling the warp storm on which the Changer Of The Ways will ride over Mystara; another daemon world claimed by the Lord Of Fate.

In the Black Eagle Barony, Ludwig have known of the Traladaran peoples worship of Khorn and Nurgle for some time, but only recently got to know of his Dukes fall to darkness, now having intensified his purity raids on the Baronys populace as a result, while trying to come up with a plan of salvation.


Imagine the PC's being in Specularum as the blood crazed forces of Khorn approach from the one side, and the plague ridden host Nurgle near from the other. Duke Stefan deciding that only mass sacrifice to the Slaanesh may save his worthless hide, sending his loyal (and fallen) palace guard to torture the townsfolk - the still sane towns guard attempting to stop the travesty while still manning the walls soon to meet the foe outside.
The "evil" Baron riding to the rescue?

THATS THE COMMENT PART.


NOTES TO SELF.
I need to write up the daemons of the Chaos powers, adjusted to fit the level titles of B/X, so Imperial (Warhammer Empire) Captains being 4th level (Hero category in the version of the game I know) and Elector Counts being 9th level (Lord category). This will help gauge the power level of the daemons. A Captain can defeat one Flesh hound or Plague Bearer, but not a Keeper of Secrets - nor can an Elector Count.

Daemons of the olden days to consider:
Daemons of Khorn.
And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who would attempt to poison and destroy my brothers.
Bloodthirster (highly resistant to magic). Bloodtletter (resistant to magic), Flesh Hound (immune to magic).
Slaanesh:
To the pure, all things are pure.
Keaper of Seacrets. Demonette (save against magic every round to strike at these strange creatures), Steeds of Slaanesh (always strike first).
Nurgle:
Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
Great Unclean One (contract Nurgles rot if within ? distance and failing save vs. poison - every round), Plauguebearers (save vs. poison on any hit, or contract Nurgles rot), Nurglings.
Tzeentch:
The Lord will come like a thief in the night.
Lord of Change, Pink and Blue horrors (Pink Horrors turn to two Blue Horrors upon defeat), Flamers of Tzeentch (spew Blue Fire of Tzeentch which turn anyone hit in to a chaos spawn if saves are failed - save vs. dragonbreath, then vs. magic), Discks of Tzeentch, Screamers (blue manta rays that fly, basicly).


Ahh, a worthy project for my excellence.

Working explanation for sonic weapons in X-Plorers RPG

This is just a simple description of sonic weapons in the X-Plorers RPG that I came up with about two years ago, as it is really missing any explanation in the book. Later I found out they are apparently taken from the Star Frontiers RPG, but there they aren't described in any great detail either, so I still think it's relevant.

Here are the description in the game:

Sonic Weapons:
Sonic weapons are merely handles with an
activation switch. When the switch is activated, a “blade”
of concentrated sound extends to the appropriate length
(dagger: 20cm, mace: 50cm, sword: one meter). This is the
standard melee weapon of the future. Sonic weapons
require an EU clip, and expend 1 EU per attack (successful
or not).

Here is my addition:
The weapons sound part is held within a silence-force-field that prevent it escaping beyond the “blade” and also prevent disruption from surrounding noise, but doesn’t prevent any solid matter to pass. This force-field may be fully transparent, but can be of a color chosen by the designer too.
Sonic weapons use little energy when simply on. When the sonic beam is brought into contact with a target the sonic vibrations intensify.
Different types of sonic weapons function differently. Knives and swords have a frequency that tear, rather then cut apart the target of the strike, where sonic maces have a frequency that hit the target with a numbing “bass” force.
Riot control forces are often deployed with sonic maces, force screens and reflect armor.


And there you go. Now it doesn't aggravate me anymore :)


~J

No stars nor a moon to shed any light. --Dream--

I am between seven and nine years of age, as I have the first dream in this ongoing dream series of three.

I am laying in a boat. It is a narrow boat, and it seems long. My length considered, it is of course not. Only a little longer then the kid within it. But narrow. Seemed a Longboat to me.
The sky - should there be one, is black. No stars nor a moon to shed any light. Yet as my focus change, and my view assent my physical being, gazing down upon it and the boat, I see reflections of pale light in the water of the endless sea surrounding the vessel carrying my body. I feel stillness.

There it ends.
~J

If he were not the Emperor he would not have stepped aside --Dream--

Dream night to 6th. of Dec. 2008.

I set out on a ship from a harbor city in medieval Europe somewhere, with some other people I do not know.
We somehow sink and is then fished up by pirates, where after we get tied up in different ways, told by the captain that he would trust us, yet can't. This is where I first see myself, being one of the survivors of the previous ship, where I had not seen myself before, yet knew I where there.
The pirate ship attack and sink an other ship, where after I am let loose for some reason.
We then encounter a fleet from the great empire of China, and the pirate captain engage the Chinese fleet with hell-bent determination.
-jump scene-
I am on a vessel of the Chinese fleet after the pirates are no more. I'm standing by the captain, but start to wander about, where I encounter my TT. We are happy to see etch other, and we spend the time on board the vessel with etch other. We are happy. TT wore what I would deem to be royal clothing of Chinese design.
We approach a city by the sea, in China. The ship sail to a landing bridge, and we walk down the ramp - my love and I. We are there waited for by an entourage of soldiers and, what at the time were expected by me to be, their commander.
My TT is exited and run with a smile down the ramp and up the landing bridge where the "commander" and soldiers give way, and the soldiers start to walk down the impossible long landing bridge, towards the city. I walk down, a bit uneven about their presence, and the "commander" just start to walk after the soldiers though the soldiers are a bit ahead now.
At this time in the dream I know that the "commander" is actually the Emperor (dream still going on in the olden days). As I run up to follow my TT the Emperor turns his head slightly backwards, and step to the side so I can pass. As I pass him I hear a "voice-over" in the dream, like in some old adventure movie, telling me "if he were not the Emperor he would not have stepped aside" (exactly the words) and I turn my head back while still running ahead, and I see him smiling friendly.
I run past the soldiers that also step to the side so that I can pass them on the right, and I catch up with my love. We run through some streets in the city - the houses being a mix of Ancient Chinese architecture, and of medieval European architecture. After passing through a few streets we reach a plaza that is basically a big white tree with just a bit of space between it and the houses of the city, with a path circling around the plaza.
My TT hugs the tree. She is so happy to see it again, having so missed it. I sit with her, smiling.
I do not see the canopy.
After having hugged the tree for a while (oh so lovely she is) it open up three places, and we walk in to it (just like some old trees have a sort of a "cave" in them). Inside this "cave" that is well lit from the outside openings we see a smaller tree that is just springing up. It is about a meter, or such. 1.20m, maybe. We kneel down in front of it (just as we will sit there, our legs under us) and look at it and each other, and are smiling widely - happy.
I see the top of the tree. It is reaching the sky, the canopy unfolding in a wide beautiful green foliage.
I wake up, it being one a clock pm.
~J

Humanoid interconnection in B/X Dungeons and Dragons.

I was thinking about the relationships between the humanoid monsters – and certain animals in the monster listings of B/X Dungeons and Dragons. I'm all for changing it up, but if taken serious by the letter of the word, you are forced to have not just many of the different humanoids in your world – if you take one of them, but also to have them interacted at least in the past.

I was ones – before I had this sleepy blog, going to make a relationship chart of the monster list but found it a bit overwhelming as I started. Now let's try it a bit different.

We start with the first humanoid we encounter if we don't count the actual human entries, the Bugbear! In it's description it says “Bugbears are giant hairy goblins” which sends us to the Goblin! Apparently Goblins are “incredibly ugly human-like” so we now might have to include Humans, though we could get away with leaving them, as it's only to tell us how the Goblin looks. But then, we would include us, wouldn't we? Let's move on. Goblins “hate Dwarves and will attack them on sight” and they sometimes “will be riding a Dire Wolf”. Going to Dire Wolfs (under the Wolf entry) tells us only that they are “larger and more ferocious than normal wolves” relating them to Wolfs (shocking, I know) and that they are “sometimes trained by goblins to be used as mounts” so that snake bite it’s own tail. When going to the Dwarf entry then it tells us they “hate goblins, and will usually attack them on sight” which again lead back. There's no place like home, there's no place like home… This however does not conclude our little study, as we shall discover other ties to this little family. The next humanoid is the Doppleganger, but it mentions no relations to any humanoid in particular, so we can move on without it.

Next up is the Elf entry which doesn't mention relationships either, but we will return here in a bit.

Now we got the ghastly Ghoul! It have the ability to paralyze “any creature of ogre-size or smaller that they hit successfully (except elves)” mentioning both Ogres and Elves! The Elf no relationships mentioned – as we read, so we'll proceed to the Ogre! We here learn that “Ogres hate Neanderthals and will attack them on sight” and are sent running to the Neanderthal entry. And what an Entry! We learn that they “choose their leaders from a similar race that is much larger than the average Neanderthal” however with only a description of these, and no entry in the monster list. But there are more! They “often hunt cave bears and keep white apes as pets” which sent us to the entry for the White Ape which only refer back to the Neanderthal as they “sometimes are kept as pets” by them. The Cave Bear entry tells us that they live in “caves and "lost world" areas” which gives us no further relationships, but does force the existence of a “lost world” area on our world. As creatures that might live in such, doesn't absolutely have to, it's irrelevant for this investigation – no need to go write 488 Pearl Lane in to our world. Bach at the Neanderthal we read that they are “friendly toward dwarves and gnomes” and so we get to go to the Gnome for a visit. Now Gnomes are a “human-like race related to dwarves” but we already explored the dwarf. Related they are, though. They “like most dwarves, but war with goblins and kobolds” and they “will usually attack kobolds on sight”. Let's go see the Kobold shall we? Well, I guess they share feelings for etch other, as Koblods “hate gnomes and will attack them on sight” which is sort of common ground then. Cute. Let's return to our German friends for a spell, which also have less then fussy feelings for the wee Kobold. We now read that they will “attack ogres on sight” so we just get out of the way then, which if nice for them anyway as they also are “shy and will avoid humans” so it'll give them room. Humans are specifically mentioned, however, so we're definitely in!

Next is the Gnoll which is “rumored to be the result of a magical combination of a gnome and a troll” and the Troll will be touched upon later (if you'll imagine...) so we move on to the Halfling which again is silent on the rest of the Humanoids, and we then come to the Hobgoblin! Not much in the way of relationships, but it does tie them to our Goblin friends as they are “bigger and meaner relatives” and we move on.

The Lizard Man is coming up, and the data have it that it “will try to capture humans and demihumans” which does tie them to Humans specifically. So in it goes, though that brings no more.

Then we'll go to Lycanthropes which are a sickness or curse that I don't think we need to include simply because humans are the victims of it, and past the Medusa that are also just described in the human form, but not in a tie in way, and right to the Orc entry.

Of the Orc we are told that “there may be an ogre with them” which leads us back to them, and also that there is a “chance of a troll living in the lair as well” leading us strait away to the Ekspert Set's Troll description which tells us absolutely nothing but does tie in to a later entry as we shall see, as well as to the Gnoll mentioned earlier.

Pixies are next, and they are “distantly related to elves” so there.
Then comes Sprites that are “related to pixies and elves” but nothing else is added.

Now comes the Thoul! Now the Thoul is a “magical combination of a ghoul, a hobgoblin, and a troll” which is the tie in mentioned when I wrote of the Orcs! Everyone have however been explored, so no need to linger here.

The last Humanoid of the Basic set is the Troglodyte, but it has no ties to anyone else, so we'll leave it by the side.

The Expert set have many Human entries, but not many humanoids, and no with tie ins, though I would personally expect the Nixies to be in the extended Elf family – but it doesn't say.

As we see, we are locked in to a world of many, many humanoids, unless ignoring the text in part.



A more interesting exercise might be to actually chart which humanoid entries force what others, instead of the chaos above. Adding the Elf force you to nothing else, the Sprite force upon your world the Elf and the Pixie, where the Pixie only demand the Elf. Let's see for that chart, shall we – and I only list those who demand others added.

Bugbear: Goblin, Dwarf, Dire Wolf, Wolf.

Dwarf: Goblin, Dire Wolf, Wolf.

Ghoul: Elf.

Gnoll: Gnome, Troll, Dwarf, Goblin, Dwarf, Kobold, Dire Wolf, Wolf.

Gnome: Dwarf, Goblin, Kobold, Dire Wolf, Wolf. Goblin: Dwarf, Dire Wolf, Wolf.

Hobgoblin: Goblin, Dire Wolf, Wolf, Dwarf. Kobold: Gnome, Dwarf, Goblin, Dire Wolf, Wolf.

Lizard Man: Human.

Neanderthal (Caveman): “Similar race that is much larger”, Cave Bears, White Ape, Dwarf, Goblin, Dire Wolf, Wolf, Ogre.

Ogre: Neanderthal, “Similar race that is much larger”, Cave Bears, White Ape, Dwarf, Goblin, Dire Wolf, Wolf.

Orc; Ogre, Neanderthal, “Similar race that is much larger”, Cave Bears, White Ape, Dwarf, Goblin, Dire Wolf, Wolf, Troll.

Pixie: Elf.

Sprite: Pixie, Elf.

Thoul: Hobgoblin, Goblin, Dire Wolf, Wolf, Dwarf, Ghoul, Elf, Troll.



And there you go. If you add one from the list, to your world then you will see whom tag along. Good times ^_^

Let's post this!
~J

All religious people in jail!

Unbelievable. Two days ago I read in the newspaper, at work, about a church that closed itself after one of their priests had abused some people from the congregation sexually. Reading the article made it very understandable, but at first I commented on the title only with a bit of wonder about why they would close the whole Church - not having read it yet. This prompted one of my colleagues to strongly state that he wanted all Churches to be closed – by force, we understood. As I asked him why, he told me that they were harmful to people. After telling him how some of his own interest that do accept members down to at least three years of age (so no free chose, really) could be considered harmful to people (professional soccer, in this case) he got angry – of course, as he strongly disagreed. Then I asked him if people should be thrown in jail for attending Church after they had been closed, as you know they would be (even if we start with fines, money to pay will eventually run out, and people will still go) he said yes! I then started listing people at our work that would be incarcerated, or whom spouse would be – most of them present at this time but not saying a word, and asked if he really meant that. Shockingly he said “I thing so”! Then I asked him “are you so arrogant that you think that you know what is bast for people, and rally think you can jail them for disagreeing with you. Now he was about to loose it, so might be answering without thinking. But he said yes again! Still no one backed me up, and after he left there were just complete silence.

~J

Meaning of AC and HP - 1st attempt.

When people whom are not familiar with OSR games and Dungeons & Dragons' combat resolution system encounter it they may question the way it works. AC for a monster type doesn't always make sense – like a ghoul having AC6, or a Medusa AC8, and why doesn't wisdom add to the combat roll, given that being wise would help you to know when to strike. And dextrous charismatic swashbuckler types (not the level title) should get some form of attack bonus from high stats in those areas, no? Oh, and what's with those hit points anyway?

Saying that it's just game mechanics is fine. But I sat in the train and thought I'd like to BS it a bit better. This is what I came up with regarding the OSR games and B/X D&D versions – realizing that my stab at this is just as good/bad as anyone else's.

AC armor class.

AC is not only based on armor but a combination of armor worn as well as the general survival instinct helping you to dodge attacks. Therefore it is present even for unarmored characters where it is 9, and are modified by dexterity as well as armor.

AC can also be based on the creatures fierceness or a frightening special ability (like a petrifying gaze) making it harder to “go in” to land the hit.

This help explain the ghouls high AC. It's skin cant be that tough, but no one want to get close to those claws. And the medusa is served well by the attackers inability to look directly at it. And an ogres AC5? I'll take the skin could be as leather armor, but not chain mail. Those big crushing fists on an enraged stinking juggernaut might just make you hesitate a bit, though, adding the bonus of 2 or 3 to AC.

HP hit points.

Hit points symbolize the ability to withstand pain, resist strain, and perry at the last moment. Therefore constitution and class level affects HP. A fighter learn to dodge and perry better then a thief, and can resist more pain then a magic user. And someone with a high constitution can withstand shock better then someone with a low constitution. The attack and damage roll is therefore also modified by strength as strong attacks affect a person if it hits armor, and also course more strain upon the target if blocked or parried.

This works pretty well, and also make clear that it's not the ability to get a sword stabbed through the torso, and keep fighting. The explanation isn’t perfect, neither is the system. But I do think they boat work.

Weapon damage is based on weapon effectiveness and weight.

Given that they drain HP until the last moment this is the best I could come up with. It's more sensible with a wpn vs. wpn+AC with a set HP loss die per att, but then playability suffers. I might try to build it as an ivory tower pursuit some time though.

Space: Above and Beyond - Kill the right thruster you stupid tank!

I just finished watching the to part pilot of Space: Above and Beyond. It's the first time since 1996 when I'm pretty sure it ran on Danish TV, And it hooked me again. It's funny how much I remember from just those two episodes. Anyway, this entry isn't interesting to anyone, I guess. I just wanted to give the show a shout out. I watched it every time on TV at some time after 02:00 at night - no wonder it wasn't big over here :D Too bad it got cut before any wrap up. I think I read the reason in a magazine ones, but I can't remember it. It beats Star Wars and Star Track in my book. I ones had a facebook profile named Clear Sky Blue Sea, which is a positive rewrite of a term I heard in that show. Looking at the vid files I think it's s1e22: Sugar Dirt, but I will see in the days to come :)

Oh, and that theme music ^_^

How to win Dungeons and Dragons

This was written in a comment reply to The Iron Goat http://bxblackrazor.blogspot.com/2011/08/compression.html) on B/X Blackrazor

"That's one possible consideration of the original game designers: with unlimited levels, play can extend as long as one wants (i.e. until you get bored with your character) with always "something to look forward to." I'm not sure that's what I want in the game...though probably some type of End Game is desirable, to have an "overall goal" players can attain through the life of a campaign."

It made me think of the Frank Mentzer line.

Now I newer played the Immortals rules of the BECMI sets, but that has a clear end to the game – that no mortal will ever reach! Well, everything is possible, I guess…

On page 3 to 5 of the Immortals DM's Guide it state that you have to become one of the most powerful gods in the multiverse, twice.

This means first surviving to become a god in the first place.

I'll first quote the companion sets Players Guide page 2 to show what it takes:

“Paths to Immortality These paths will be explained in detail in the D&D Master Set, but you should know some general details at this time, so you can plan your character’s future. After reaching level 26 or greater, a character can gain Immortality by following one of four paths: 

A dynast is a character who builds a great and powerful empire. The dynasty must be vast, and must stand for a long time.

A hero (or Epic Hero) is a character who represents the ultimate ideals of heroism. The character must display the traits of the classic Epic Hero in every thought and action. Among other things, the character must travel to far lands and perform great and noble deeds. 

A paragon is a character who reaches the ultimate in his or her profession. The paragon must invent or discover new skills and knowledge, and must be renowned as a master professional. 

A polymath is a character who learns much about everything, not only in the original profession, but in all areas. The character must give up all known skills before gaining others, and becoming a member of a mysterious and unique brotherhood.”

Wow! Reading this I think: Paragon you can do, I guess. Hero is the simplest. I don't know how Dynast will be played out. I mean, how do you know if it will stand for a long time? And polymath is just brutal. Remember; you have to stay alive from level one again – as I read it.

The Masters set does go in to more detail on page 15 of the DM's guide, however.

For all the paths you need to first get some god to sponsor you. If the DM is nice this could be a breeze.

Now you have to do the following:

Gain 4'000'000 XP, unless you wish to be god in an area (sphere) that does not mach your class. In that case it'll be 6'000'000 XP!

Quest: Quest for an artifact. And it is written that it should take many in-game years.

Trail: Complete a trail fitting his class or sphere. For a Dynast this involve traveling in time to help decedents – no less then three different ones at different times! So I guess that's how you know...

Testimony: The Epic Hero must create a legendary weapon, but the Dynast must found a nation… Hero wins, no?

Task: The Paragon must become known as the most powerful within a 1'000 mile radius. He should challenge opponents of no less then level twentyfive, and might have them gang up on him!

This is hard and time consuming. And try to read this combined Quest and Task of the Polymath:

“Quest and Task: The Polymath must face the challenge to succeed in three additional lives as cleric, thief, and magic-user. The Polymath, during each of his three lives as another character class, must quest for and gain the same artifact. He begins each new career at first level, with no memories of his previous lives. The quests may not begin until the character reaches 5th level in each class. The first two times the artifact is gained, the Immortal reappears to the character within 10-200 days to claim it. The Immortal then reduces the character to first level and causes him to forget his past so that he may begin as the next character class. The third time the artifact is gained, the character may retain it, and the Immortal returns all past memories.”

So, a full weekend, eh?

Then after godhood, you have to play the Immortals set long enough to become member of the most powerful cast of gods. What then? Go back to LEVEL ONE and do it all again. And if you die at level two? Oh, your character didn't make it the second time, and you have to start ALL over to “win” the game.

I'd like to know if anybody ever won Franks version of D&D :D

I'll quote the Immortals set:

“The Secret of the Multiverse.
Immortals have imagined much of the following, and have in fact deduced most of the truth, but have never found real evidence to support their theories. They remain uneasy, intellectually capable but unable to fully accept their own deductions. Coming from a place now lost in the mists of forgotten time and memory, the first Immortals found the multiverse; they did not create it. They found it without order, and without purpose, so they made the achievement of these things their highest goal. The many planes of existence are still being explored by the Immortals. The Outer Planes seem to be innumerable. With each passing millennium, the Immortals grow ever more awed by the apparently infinite size and variety of this vast creation. Someone must have been here before, they reason. Someone or some group, or perhaps some thing, made all of this. The Immortals call them the Old Ones – beings to whom even the power of the Immortals is but a drop in an ocean. The Immortals are correct. With such power, the Old Ones knew that the Immortals would come. They saw this as an opportunity. For despite their unimaginable abilities, the Old Ones are tragically similar to Immortals in one respect. They cannot reproduce and the only way for other beings to achieve their level of power is through a test of time, experience, and will. Just as Immortals await and desperately desire the appearance of exceptional mortals, so do the Old Ones watch and wait for the greatest and best of all the Immortals. But knowing that Immortal power could transcend all boundaries, the Old Ones set a limit to restrict the Immortals to help them concentrate their efforts. This is the Barrier. Withdrawing themselves into the sixth and higher dimensions, the Old Ones created a type of wall between themselves and the rest of existence. Whenever an Immortal tries to pass beyond the first five dimensions, he or she enters a special realm. Immortals perceive this realm as a whirlpool of infinite size. made of a watery form of ether. Some Immortals have been lost in the huge swirling mass for many years; they are known to still live, but are missing, and presumed unrecoverable. The Immortals have made many attempts to explore, penetrate, and solve the mystery of this vast whirlpool, but have never succeeded. This swirling chaos is called the Dimensional Vortex. Perhaps even worse than the existence of the barrier is the simple fact that some creatures, presumably life forces but of a type different from all others, enter and leave the Dimensional Vortex. Simply called vortex creatures by Immortals, these beings are powerful and greatly feared. The Immortals believe that the vortex creatures are servants of the Old Ones, sent to observe, correct, or destroy. In creating the barrier, the Old Ones knew that its existence would produce certain odd effects – most notably the evolution of life forms with a new dimensional viewpoint, the Nightmare creatures. They saw this as another opportunity. Immortals have begun to look at Nightmare creatures as an alternate stock from which Immortals may arise once they have reached the level of evolution of the Normal dimensional creatures. The barrier will not be removed until this great experiment of the Old Ones has reached a conclusion, for it has been successful in creating new Old Ones. Approximately one Immortal per 10,000 reaches Full Hierarch status. Most of these beings are content in this exalted post. But some very few Hierarchs have become dissatisfied with their fate. They sought even greater power, and wondered about the paradox of the great barrier. Most of these overcame their concerns and curiosity, but a few—perhaps one of each hundred or two— chose to prove their ultimate superiority, on the remote chance that some greater power might be watching. They dispersed their life essences into their Home Planes, and reincarnated themselves as mere mortal humans once again. Most of these daring individuals perished in the process, for they indeed became mere mortals, with no better chance to survive and achieve Immortality than any other mortal man. Only a handful both desired and reached Immortal status a second time. And of these, only a few reached Hierarch status a second time. And finally, of these few, only two dared once again to seek more. They saw the coming of the blackballs as their punishment and final destruction, and the other immortals still believe that this is what occurred. But unbeknownst to all, they passed beyond the barrier, and exist now with the Old Ones. One success could have been chance, but the second arrival proved that the great experiment known as the Multiverse would serve its purpose. The Old Ones continue to watch and wait for other daring Hierarchs. And someday when they are satisfied, when their unknown goals have been reached— someday the Old Ones will return. 

Summary.
This set does not attempt to fully describe the Old Ones. We cannot even fully describe their servants, the Immortals, nor their vast realm of the Multiverse. And no future volume will provide details on the Old Ones, for their powers transcend the framework of any mere game. To reduce them to game terms would trivialize their power, which is of an order far greater than the Immortals'. The Old Ones are prepared to wait indefinitely, for Time has no hold over them. If any player character succeeds in the great journey, not merely achieving Hierarch status but proving his or her superiority by doing it twice – well, no higher goal can be attained, and no reward is too great. The player wins and his character vanishes. And that is the final end of this game. One fact remains for you, as Dungeon Master, to decide. Who are the Old Ones? Are they indeed the greatest and most powerful beings of all? Or perhaps, as they wait secure in their power, do even the Old Ones naively fail to see the most obvious fact of all? Can they really believe that no higher Being watches them? One who also watches... and waits…”

Just wow! But at least you know exactly how to WIN DUNGEONS & DRAGONS!!! And also that you will never be able to do it :D

An empty diner with light green walls lit by pale fluorescent light.

Have you ever watched one of those movies where the protagonist walks in a lifeless city, in the cold dark night, to an empty diner with light green walls lit by pale fluorescent light, walking up to the indifferent waiter/waitress, in silence getting handed coffee or soup in a cup as if it is always the same, paying without a word, sitting at a table by the panoramic window, looking over the beverage in a downward angle, expressionless, and thinking to your self that's the life for you, alone with no perceived effect on anyone elses existence?

~J

Support of hard pressed Israel.

It's always horrible when killing is taking place. But when the murderers parents are not only proud of the slaughter wrought by their children, against innocent victims, but doesn't even shed a tear that their sons too are now dead (from the security forces bullets) then it's sickening on a level of it's own. Many things can be said of Israel. But the abysmal darkness they are fighting does not make it easy to walk the straight and narrow.

~J