#dungeonsdragons — Public Fediverse posts

Heavy metal bard with party members.

#sketch-a-day #art #graphite #bard #lute #orc #elf #mage #archer #rogue #wizard #fireball #HeavyMetal #music #HalfElf #DnD #Dungeons&Dragons #fantasy

Lost Falls Hideout

The Silver Highlands are carved by countless mountain gorges and fast-flowing streams. Many of these dramatic gorges have small caverns etched by their streams.

About a day’s ride from Glen Alder is Lost Falls Gorge, so named for the cave at the head of the gorge with its pair of hidden waterfalls. A group of footpads has been camping out in the cave when not preying on travelers on the road to Paxton’s Crossing.

​The Hook

The players come across the site of a recent ambush. A carriage with a heraldic device on the door sits in the middle of the road, doors open and luggage ransacked. All bear sword cuts and arrow wounds. The bodies are still warm.

An obvious trail of broken branches, dropped loot, and scraps of silk leads up the mountain.

Lost Falls Hideout Key

Map A

Map B

1. River Gorge: The 10-foot-wide stream rushes down the steep gorge floor with tremendous force. Walking along or crossing it requires a medium-difficulty agility check.
   1. The gorge is 30 feet deep. The south wall can be climbed unassisted with a medium-difficulty agility check. The check has advantage if proper climbing equipment is used.
2. Lookout’s nook: A young ogre named Burka guards the path to the hideout. He is sleeping off a night of heavy drinking; only loud noises or physical harm will wake him up. Burka is gullible. An easy Charisma check convinces him the players are recruits; a medium check or bribe recruits him instead.
3. Waterfall chamber: The waterfall produces a deafening roar. Conversations require shouting or close proximity.
   1. An unfinished statue of a dancing elven maiden is embedded in the wall. It is animate and sentient.
      • The bandits bribe her with beer to serve as another lookout. She hates the taste. She is desperate for wine or engaging conversation.
      • Wine, whiskey, or engaging conversation (medium Charisma) earns safe passage. Otherwise, she starts screaming for the bandits out of spite.
      • Alternatively, if the players swear a faerie oath to move her to somewhere with more people, she will let the players pass. She is worth 100 gm to a noble in Sliberberg as is, or 130 gm if finished.
        1. Breaking the oath petrifies the oathbreaker’s feet
   2. The pool at the foot of the waterfall is waist-deep and freezing cold.
   3. The bandits keep their loot in a small waterproof coffer beneath the fall. The coffer has 20 gm in coins.
   4. The cave wall here is just barely climbable. A player who succeeds at a hard agility check can clamber up to location 6. Using climbing equipment such as grappling hooks or pitons will alert the bandits at location 6.
4. Storage alcove: The bandits keep their supplies in this small chamber: barrels of beer, boxes of rations, bundles of arrows, whetstones, and other assorted supplies. Connie’s luggage is stashed among the boxes.
5. The Bridge: A crude scrap-wood bridge crosses above the falls. It can support only three characters at a time; any more and it will break.
6. The Bandit Camp: Five bandits occupy a gallery overlooking the pool, arguing over stew. They are arguing about what to do with their prisoner. Three have longbows, and two have broadswords and bucklers. If they hear noise not associated with their camp or the waterfall, three of them go to 6.1, and two rush the passage down to the Waterfall chamber. The bandits have 5gms worth of coinage and small loot items on them.
   1. The bandits have a good vantage point to shoot down at players in the Waterfall chamber.
7. Gloomy Cell. Lady Connie is imprisoned here, wearing a ruined noble dress. She promises that either her father or her future husband will pay well if the players can deliver her safely to Dun Rowan.
8. Squeeze Shaft: A narrow chimney connects the surface to the Storage Alcove. The chimney is a tight squeeze requiring a hard agility check to make it through. Anyone wearing medium or heavy armor or carrying a backpack cannot squeeze through.
9. Shaft: A large shaft in the ground leads down from the surface into the Gloomy Cell. Anyone can climb down without difficulty.
10. Upper entrance. The upper falls drop from the surface to the stream above the bridge through a broad hole in the ground. The walls of the shaft are impossibly slick, requiring a very hard dexterity check to climb without the use of rope.

Ending the Delve

If the players deliver Lady Connie to Dun Rowan, her future husband rewards the players with 20gm each and invites them to the wedding feast. He may or may not ask them to deal with a troubling inheritance from his ancestors in the dungeons, but that is a delve for another day.

Tortuga Cleric

#sketch-a-day #art #graphite #tortuga #undead #cleric #DnD #Dungeons&Dragons #fantasy

Oddities on Parade: The Goblin Flimflammer’s Stall

1. Night in a box: A mortal day of Faerie’s night, sealed in a handy container. Opening the box blankets a single 6-mile hex in Faerie’s night for 24 hours. May contain other things from Faerie as well.
2. Somebody else’s name: A name that belonged to somebody you never heard of. It comes with a full identity and includes all associated titles, debts, enemies, and death threats.
3. Stolen Glory: A ring containing pilfered fame or infamy and stolen valor. Wearing the ring bestows the reputation contained within, for good or ill
4. Vials of Liquefied Genius: Each bottle contains a single moment of impossible insight. Tends to be addictive and may leave the drinker desperate for another taste.
5. Wings: Bird-like wings that slip on over the arms. Allow one to fly like a bird. Do not confer actual skill in flying like a bird or prevent crashes due to arm exhaustion.
6. Obligations: Paper contracts saying that you are owed obligations from various fey and other immortals. They may be more trouble than they are worth; buyers should inquire who owes them their newly purchased favor.
7. Somebody’s affection. A necklace containing all the love of a single person. Wearing the necklace causes that person to become obsessively, possessively, stalkerishly in love with you, which is never as harmless as it sounds.
8. Faerie Soil: Potting soil from Faerie. Any seed planted in the soil grows four times its normal size in 2 days. May cause sentience or mutations.
9. Faces: Beautiful handcrafted faces of wood and paper, worn like masks. They become your face for as long as they remain attached. Whether they can be removed afterward is between you and the mask.
10. A bag of endless fake gold: An endless supply of fake gold nuggets. The nuggets disappear at midnight. Use at your own risk.
11. Titles: Titles to various realms in Faerie. Come with insufferable subjects, ridiculous obligations, impossible dues, improbable income, and the occasional inconvenient quest.
12. Bottled Secrets: There is nothing more dangerous than a secret that is not your own. Buy at your own risk.

NEUER BEITRAG: Währenddessen… (KW 9)

Unsere Popkultur-Kolumne heute mit sehr unklarer Zielgruppe. Erst flüchtet Niklas mit uns in den Eskapismus und guckt animierte Rollenspiel-Nacherzählungen von Dingo Doodles. Wer danach noch Aufbleiben darf, guckt Brian Yuznas "Society" mit Christian.

https://comicgate.de/aktuelles/waehrenddessen-kw-8-11/

#DingoDoodles #rpg #FoolsGold #ActualPlay #DungeonsDragons #BrianYuzna #BodyHorror #Horrorfilm

NEUER BEITRAG: Währenddessen… (KW 9)

Unsere Popkultur-Kolumne heute mit sehr unklarer Zielgruppe. Erst flüchtet Niklas mit uns in den Eskapismus und guckt animierte Rollenspiel-Nacherzählungen von Dingo Doodles. Wer danach noch Aufbleiben darf, guckt Brian Yuznas "Society" mit Christian.

https://comicgate.de/aktuelles/waehrenddessen-kw-8-11/

#DingoDoodles #rpg #FoolsGold #ActualPlay #DungeonsDragons #BrianYuzna #BodyHorror #Horrorfilm

NEUER BEITRAG: Währenddessen… (KW 9)

Unsere Popkultur-Kolumne heute mit sehr unklarer Zielgruppe. Erst flüchtet Niklas mit uns in den Eskapismus und guckt animierte Rollenspiel-Nacherzählungen von Dingo Doodles. Wer danach noch Aufbleiben darf, guckt Brian Yuznas "Society" mit Christian.

https://comicgate.de/aktuelles/waehrenddessen-kw-8-11/

#DingoDoodles #rpg #FoolsGold #ActualPlay #DungeonsDragons #BrianYuzna #BodyHorror #Horrorfilm

My Favorite Games (2025 Update)

My best-performing video over the past year has been My Favorite Games. Well, I’ve played a number of new games since I posted that video, so I thought it was time for an update.

Introduction

The games included in this list are ones I have played over the past year since my previous “favorite games” video and they have to be available to pick up as physical copies. So, while I have played a session of a game called Nuts, by Skrat from the A Squirrel Plays channel, it’s not eligible. I also haven’t played a session of one of my favorite games over the past year because I’ve been running other things, so Basic Fantasy RPG doesn’t appear on it. Go check out those games, though, folks, they are way fun—and Basic Fantasy RPG has one of the best communities in the hobby.

10. Monty Python’s Cocurricular Mediaeval Reenactment Programme

I was given a review copy of this game by Exalted Funeral, but was so impressed by it I went out and purchased the Head of Light Entertainment Screen for myself. I’ll also be purchasing another set of their odd dice.

What can you expect in The Programme? You can expect Monty Python. The world is dangerous, the denizens will drive characters loony, and the mechanics are simple. But, the GM will play different personas, which impacts game play, and beshrewments can send the entire table into something completely different. Watch those demerits, and get ready for a good time! You can pick up The Programme at Exalted Funeral for $50, but I recommend also picking up the HoLE screen for $33, as  well as a set of their peculiar dice for $25.

9. Land of Eem

The Land of Eem has mechanics which bear a kinship to Powered by the Apocalypse games, with narrative twists and fail forward obstacles so the game is always moving. The world looks like someone combined the Muppets and Lord of the Rings, and it’s as subversive as you’d expect from The Muppets. If you’d like a game that’s light hearted and fast, but still has a good amount of depth, give Land of Eem a try.

There is a free QuickStart guide, but the beautiful Core Rulebook will set you back $40. I’d recommend going for the Deluxe Box Set—which includes a GM screen, a map, a terrific bestiary, and a mind-blowing setting book. That runs for $150.

8. Forbidden Lands

Forbidden Lands has wild lore, robust exploration, fun stronghold building, and a meta-narrative that’s there if a group wants to use it. The game also runs off of Free League’s excellent Year Zero dice pool engine, so game play is fast and dangerous. I ran a crawl of this a few months back because we had an off week and I wanted to toss something from Forbidden Land’s “Book of Beasts” at the group to see what they’d do. One character came out alive, mostly due to poor life-choices, but we had a blast getting to the end. This is a game I have not played enough.

If you want to pick up Forbidden Lands, you can pick up its beautiful box set for about $65. This set comes with a Player’s Handbook, a Gamemaster’s Guide, and a frame-worthy map. I’d have loved to have dice included in the box set but the two A5 books are hardbound stitched binding, have faux leather covers with gold foil imprints, and book ribbons. My only complaint about the game is I want to show off both the box and the books on my shelf.

Check this game out if you enjoy some grit that is challenging and fun. Oh, and it also has a fantastic FoundryVTT system.

7. Tales of Argosa

I just reviewed Low Fantasy Gaming’s successor, Tales of Argosa, on my channel. “Wow.” It carries over the low magic setting of its predecessor, while also incorporating a number of improvements to the system which were made in Pickpocket Press’ second game, Lowlife 20290.

Argosa uses a roll-under check system, which is my favorite way to play a game, but it’s combat system is the same d20 roll high many TTRPG players will find familiar. Despite the familiarity, Tales of Argosa stands out through a phenomenal exploit mechanic that is what 5e bonus actions should have been.

Tales of Argosa is very much an old school game but it’s not a retro-clone. Nor is it simple a distillation of modern mechanics which has old-school potency brought to the fore. It’s familiar, while being its own thing, and I love it. Check out Tales of Argosa if you’re looking for a game that’s fast and dangerous, but where the characters also aren’t overly squishy. You can pick it up at DriveThruRPG, a hard back copy costs about $45.

6. Shadowdark

Shadowdark is, at its core, a distillation of modern mechanics with some twists blended in to give it an old school feel. And the combination is brilliant. Torches run in real-time, so players can’t sit around dithering. Magic is roll-to-cast so a player has to question the wisdom of unleashing a spell in a particular moment. Sheets are spartan, so players need to spend more time interacting with the world instead of paging through their copious abilities. And initiative is always on, so attention seekers have to share the spotlight. I ran a Shadowdark gauntlet of zero-level characters last fall and it was amazing.

Shadowdark is an excellent bridge between old school and new school play. It’s terse presentation is clear and engaging, the artwork is a perfect vibe, and everything you need is in one book. Check this game out if you want to introduce folks who have only ever played Dungeons & Dragons 5e to some old school tropes. You can pick it up from The Arcane Library for $59.00. And if you’re worried about the game being supported, not only is Kelsey Dionne creating additional content, several other creators are following suit. There are new classes, the game’s been shifted to space, and monsters abound. This game is both good and popular. And it’s well deserved. Kelsey Dionne is an amazing person. Had I run Shadowdark more this past year I may have swapped it with the next entry on this list.

5. Into the Odd

When I first read Into the Odd I didn’t get it. It didn’t seem there was enough to it to function as a fun game! But I returned to it later and found I was more ready to comprehend how it’s designed.

The rules are so lite they can be missed with a blink! There are no to hit rolls, HP replenishes in each room, but the strength score drops when any damage taken exceeds HP and that remains. Movement is abstract. Keeping track of time is abstract. Wandering encounters help build an adventure’s fiction. And characters die, a lot. Into the Odd is a game where running and hiding from, tricking, or avoiding danger rewards a party with more dangerous spaces to investigate. Now, it’s not limited to dungeon or wilderness crawling, there are some lite rules for running a business or managing detachments of soldiers, so Into the Odd anticipates a widening experience as play continues. But it starts with crawling. And the lucky ones survive to delve a second time.

Into the Odd has become a favorite one shot game because I can have players roll their characters up at the table and be off and running in minutes. If you’re looking to try out a dungeon crawler, or looking or for some excellent tables to flesh out a world, check this game out. It’s a ton of fun and a nice change of pace. You can pick it up through Free League for around $45.

4. Sentinel Comics RPG

I first picked up Sentinel Comics RPG when it showed up in a Prime Day sale list for a ridiculous price in 2024. Since then it’s been listed for various sale prices, even as low as $9.99. This caused me to fear the system was going to be orphaned, which proved to be true. The game’s publisher, Greater Than Games, was recently shuttered in response to the tariff crisis. This is a shame because the game is phenomenal.

Sentinel comics is the first super hero game I played which felt like a comic book since the old TSR Marvel Game back in the 80s. Everything is narrative. If a player has a teleportation power and wants to use it for an attack they narrate how they do that. They don’t need a feat, there are no power points to spend, and there’s no formulas to tell people how much of an effect they can have. Instead, the player describes how they want to use their teleportation power, connects it to a quality the character has, and then adds in their current status. Each of these elements has a die assigned to them and, if a character does a “basic action” they use the middle value as the result. If they use one of their abilities, which are ways characters may use powers which have a bit of guidance, they use the dice that ability indicates. It really fast.

But what makes Sentinel Comics RPG shine is how barriers to success are dealt with. If a character is faced with any obstacle—a forcefield, a hostage being held, some bystanders standing under a falling building—they must be dealt with through an Overcome action. To deal with the obstacle the collected dice are rolled, and the result is read. But the way the results are designed means players will often have to accept a twist to be successful in the attempted action. A character might teleport through a forcefield, for example, not knowing that it was keyed to their dimensional signature. The character succeeds passing through barrier but it shocks them as they pass through and now they are hindered for a turn or two. The Overcome action is the heart of Sentinel Comics RPG.

If you enjoy Super Hero RPGs pick up Sentinel Comics RGP while you still can! As of this writing it’s on a fire sale for $20 at Greater than Games. Amazon also still has the excellent GM kit on sale for $25. The GM screen alone is worth it.

3. EZD6

EZD6 is a game of gonzo fun, present danger, and ridiculous moments. DM Scotty, who is the brains behind the game, designed it because he wanted a game that didn’t need math. It really is easy, I can have people versed in the rules in a few minutes, and if we forget anything during the briefing we can just tackle it when the situation arises.

For all its simplicity, however, character creation is fun. Different inclinations give the character a leg up in certain situations, hero paths grants some boons and abilities, and character aspects help flesh out their personality. Scotty has also created some additions to the system, including a full post-apocalyptic version, which extends the core ideas while keeping the simplicity intact. He’s currently working on a horror version, which I was able to play in, and it’s awesome.

If you want a game that is “grab and go” and sets the players imaginations free, EZD6 is a game I recommend. I love it. You can pick up a hardback/pdf combo at DriveThruRPG for around $25.

2. Cypher System/Numenera

Imagine a game where all the crunch was done before the roll. Everything in the game has a level, to make the level beatable players apply skills, spend points from their pools to give extra effort, or utilize a tool they have at their disposal. Once the final number is reached, it’s multiplied by 3, and that’s the target on a d20. Oh, and it can be played with any genre and in any setting, with minimal tweaks to the core system.

That’s Cypher System, and it’s amazing. Right now I’m using it to run a lunchtime super hero campaign once a month and have run a couple fantasy-themed one shots as well. I’m also looking forward to testing out more genres using Cypher System in the near future.

The Cypher System Reference Document contains all the mechanical information you need to run the game, and that includes their “white spine” genre books. So you can dive in to Cypher without having to lay down any cash if you want (but the books are beautiful, and look wonderful on a shelf). 

Cypher’s publisher, Monte Cook Games, also has some distinct IPs which are not found in the reference document. The best known of these set a billion years in the future in the Ninth World. Numenera is science fantasy at its finest. The world is a weird mix of high technology and mediaeval fantasy. The game is set just as civilization is growing back from whatever caused the last world to collapse, an unknown number of years ago, and there are hints everywhere that the current batch of humans haven’t been around on the planet all that long. My campaign’s been going on for just about two years and I love the weird things the party encounters.

If you want a flexible system with fast mechanics that’s designed to be narrative forward, check out Cypher System. The core rulebook is about $77 for the hardback and PDF. For Numenera I recommend the two book box set, which costs about $130 for the book/PDF combo. There are also some starter sets for both systems, which can be found on Monte Cook Games’ web site. These cost around $30.

1. Dragonbane

Dragonbane is one of the first products Free League sent me as a review copy, but that’s not why it’s on the top spot of this list. It’s in the top spot because Dragonbane is amazing. In fact, I love this game so much I’ve picked up a copy of the box set to give to one my friends.

Sometimes people will call the Dragonbane box set a “starter set,” because that’s what most box sets are these days, but that’s a misnomer. The Dragonbane box set is the entire game. It includes the full rulebook, blank character sheets, creature and character standees, some pre-generated characters so a group can dive right in, a full adventure book, a reversible battle map on which terrain can be placed (but it is paper, don’t draw on it), and a set of lovely emerald-green translucent dice. And how much does this cornucopia of TTRPG goodness cost? The core set can be purchased for about $56!

Why do I love Dragonbane? Well, it’s a skill based system with roll-under mechanics. Magic is rare, but powerful, and combat is fast and dangerous. The game is fair, but it’s unforgiving if players don’t learn to make good choices. Also, monsters are both unpredictable and deadly. All this combines to create a game where negotiation needs to be on the table whenever possible, and retreat needs to be an option. That might not sound fun to folks who are used to a “clear the room” mentality, but I have so much fun seeing what my group gets into. They’ve befriended a troll, gotten swept up into an ancient conflict, and have forgotten that they are just a bunch of armed people and have no actual authority to do any of the things they do.

They’re even beginning to learn how to keep their party alive, well…most of them.

If you want to try something that scratches a fantasy itch, has players roll the familiar d20, but which also breaks away from concepts like armor class or hit point bloat Dragonbane is a terrific go to. My group has been playing it ever since our Basic Fantasy RPG campaign wrapped up and it’s a ton of fun.

#DMing #DnD #DungeonsDragons #dungeonsAndDragons #fantasy #gaming #GMing #Review #RolePlayingGame #RPG #TTRPG

We Play Different Games

This is random TTRPG Thoughts #80
Written July 3, 2025

I am three days away from Sabbatical, tomorrow is July 4th, and Senator Murkowski of Alaska voted for a bill she knows will hurt Americans across the country but because she got some treats for Alaska its fine if the rest of the country burns. I’ve got a headache and the “stop shoving your politics down my throat” folks are already complaining. But I’ve got coffee and my brain is sparking into gear. These are random TTRPG thoughts.

1. Reading The Elusive Shift is becoming more and more fascinating. It also makes me even less interested in all the arguments about dice fudging, theater kid slurs, grognard insults, and the “proper way” a campaign should be run. Why? Because it seems like no one has said anything new about any of these topics since the 70s. I’ll still end up participating in this endless cycle of pontification, I’m sure. I’m human and that’s apparently what we do. But I’ll only end up boring myself.
2. Cypher System is going to have a revision that will be released in the middle of next year. I’m rather interested in what will be revised, and they have promised current books will still be usable, but a lot of folks in the cypher community are biting their metaphorical nails. I empathize with them. I mean, I’ve been back in the hobby only since 2020 and haven’t had to deal with an edition change (I don’t run 5e so the 2025 edition isn’t something with which I have experience). I don’t think the new Cypher System book will be an entire new edition, but past scars are difficult to forget. I mean, I’m a Philly sports fan, I get that.
3. I was able to interview Land of Eem’s Ben Costa and James Parks the other week and it was a wonderful conversation. Ben and James are great guys, and they have a new crowd funding campaign under way which touts a simplified version of the game for kids and the game’s first expansion! Check it out!
4. I try to not be binary about the vast majority of existence, but there are two types of people in the world. Those who understand that building a concentration camp in a swamp makes you the bad guys, and those who are wrong.
5. Free League’s Summer sale has started! Go check it out because they put out some amazing stuff and their discounts are steep.
6. Over the last week I’ve had several folks bring up the idea that role-playing games are “escapist.” They didn’t mean anything bad by it, they were just pointing out that when life seems bleak it’s good to have a space to go and forget about it for a while with friends. And, you know, that is not a bad thing and I both appreciate how needed those spaces are and that TTRPGs can fill it. But I also don’t think RPGs aren’t quite as escapist as some folks think they. Why is that? Well, the game emerges from our own personalities. There’s always a small bit of ourselves in the characters we play (which is true even for GMs and their NPCs)—and that’s true for everyone from story-minded role-players to the most meticulous of min-maxers. We can never escape from ourselves but we can, either by deliberate action or instinct, explore who we are. Just remember, I’m an introvert so I get excited by weird stuff like that.
7. As I was reading The Elusive Shift last night a thought emerged in my brain which I’d understood for a while but never articulated. Folks in this hobby do not play the same game, even if we’re using the same system. That’s because the game emerges from the group’s engagement with the world, and what exists in the world is a function of the GMs focus and tendencies. So, we can play a game of Shadowdark, Numenera, EZD6, or Dragonbane—but we never play |Shadowdark|, |Numenera|, |EZD6|, or |Dragonbane|. Now, there’s overlap between our games, it’s why we can play at open tables or conventions and people can have a good time, but we do not play the same games. I find that both liberating and humbling.
8. Have you ever had a week where you want to run a game, but you’re kinda fried and can’t even consider running your on-going campaign? That’s where I am this week. I don’t have the energy to prep for my regular Dragonbane campaign so I’m offering to run a simple pick up and play game, instead. I find running new systems invigorates me and helps motivate me to get back to my long-form campaigns.
9. The alternative for tonight is to play Dave Ward’s Plaguebound, where I get to play my imp-like character who is not a barbarian, but acts like one. This is also a compelling option because that character is an absolute blast to play. He’s pissed at the titular plague, which destroyed his home, and attacks it with relish. Looking back at my comment about not being able to escape ourselves, this character also makes me go, “hmmmm.”
10. I have had some of the most wonderful comments from people on my videos lately. Folks have suggested games, offered kind words, shared their own insights, and have been kind. I do not do DM Tales for validation, because I don’t need that sort of soul-crushing pressure on my life, but experiencing kindness and appreciation from folks is a good thing. I’m also gratified that the majority of folks who pop up on DM Tales are insightful, kind, and share their joy. Because that’s the type of audience I want to attract.

#DMing #DnD #DungeonsDragons #dungeonsAndDragons #fantasy #gaming #GMing #RolePlayingGame #RPG #TTRPG

Random TTRPG thoughts #55

It’s two days after Christmas, the little brought a cold home school so we feel a tad crummy but are otherwise functional, and it feels like the break is already over. But, I’ve got new games to read, and the coffee is brewed. These are random TTRPG thoughts!

1. I set up a Christmas-themed one shot for Cypher System yesterday, which we ran instead of Dragonbane since we didn’t know who could play. It was weird, fun, and the players rolled HORRIBLY. But in the end all we well.
2. I really want to play Sentinel Comics RPG before New Year’s Eve. I’ve got a GM Kit to break in!
3. The wonderful thing about getting new games is I have more books to read. The horrible thing about getting new games is I have to figure out where to slot them in the queue.
4. My Christmas-themed one shot was, according to one player, the basic plot of Red One. I’ve not seen the movie, but I have seen the trailers so I can’t say I wasn’t influenced.
5. I do enjoy teaching new games to people. It’s a fun part of being a GM.
6. I am ecstatic when a player stops looking at their sheet to see what they can do, and begins to tell me what they want to do. Those are great moments.
7. Alas, the giant candy cane spear never did hit its mark.
8. The Monte Cook Games character builder is pretty cool. I can’t wait until they add their custom IP to it!
9. Another fun thing about GMing is when players take it upon themselves to explain their actions, both successes and failures. Last night one player rolled a 1 on an action, triggering a GM intrusion. Instead of waiting to see what I said he asked, “Can I describe what happens?” I replied, “Sure!”  He’d been trying to toss a gravity cypher at the big bad, and described it being wrapped like a present. His character pulled the bow to activate it but, instead of tossing the device, he threw the bow. The cypher activated and he ended up stuck to the ground with glitter in his face. Amazing.
10. What games are you playing over the holidays?

#dd #DMing #DnD #DungeonsDragons #dungeonsAndDragons #gaming #GMing #RolePlayingGame #RPG #TTRPG

I picked up Into the Odd, Remastered when it was first released by Free League back in 2022. I read it right away but, at the time, I felt the game might be almost too rules lite. But that was a couple years ago and my tastes have changed. So I decided to revisit Into the Odd for Independent Role-Playing Game Month this year. I’m glad I did! Let’s take a look.

Core Mechanics

Into the Odd‘s core mechanic is the save. Players roll a d20 and attempt to roll equal to or under the most appropriate attribute for the check. A 1 is always a success and a 20 is always a failure.

Whenever a situation arises where a normal check isn’t appropriate, such as when a party makes a ruckus in a dangerous area, the Referee can make a luck roll using a d6. High rolls favor the players and low rolls trigger some sort of bad luck determined by the Referee. Checks for wandering encounters are a special form of luck roll. Whenever a party moves from one area to another in a populated region, such as a dungeon or wilderness, the Referee rolls a d6. A 1 triggers a random encounter, while a 2 gives a hint at a potential nearby encounter. I enjoy this mechanic, as it allows the dice to build up tension as a party explores.

Combat in Into the Odd is interesting because every attack hits. When an attack is declared the attacker rolls damage, from which the target subtracts their current armor score. If a character has not rested, or had either food or water, all attacks are impaired and damage is reduced to d4 damage no matter what weapon is being used. The reverse can also happen. When a character uses an attack the target is weak against the attack is enhanced and the damage is increased to a d12.

Hit Points are a character’s first pool of damage, for both PCs and NPCs. Once HP is reduced to 0 further damage is taken from a character’s Strength, and is considered a wound. Whenever a character takes damage to their Strength they must also make a Strength save or suffer Critical Damage. Characters in such a state must take a short rest and be tended to by an ally. If this is not done within one hour the character dies. Some creatures, however, can do horrific things to a PC if they ever suffer critical damage during combat–most of which present “colorful” ways to suffer an instant death. Combat is dangerous, and if it can be avoided, it is a wise option.

About Characters

Into the Odd may have the most simple character creation processes which has ever been devised for a tabletop role-playing game. Each character has three attributes–Strength, Dexterity, and Willpower. These scores are determined by a 3d6 roll, and applied to the attributes in the order listed. Each PC also begins play with 1d6 Hit Points.

Starting equipment is determined by taking a character’s highest attribute score and, using a table found on pages 10-11, comparing it to their starting Hit Points. Players see where the two values converge and write the equipment down on their sheets, adding any relevant information from the equipment list found on pages 12-13, and mark down any identifying characteristics which appear in the kit description. That’s it. If players would like, they can use the “Oddpendium” tables found in the back of the book to generate a character name, profession, and key capability. But it’s not necessary.

Characters advance by meeting one of the milestones listed on page 37. When a milestone is reached the player rolls a d20 for each attribute. If the result is greater than the current score, that attribute increases by one. Advancing characters also gain d6 hit points.

About Arcanum

Arcanum are the most sought-after items in the game, and are often the catalyst for any expeditions into the unknown. There are three levels of arcanum–normal, greater, and legendary–and both the powers and hazards associated with the arcanum increase with level. Some arcanum can be carried, while some legendary arcanum can be the size of a room.

These are also not simple “magic swords.” The abilities arcanum possess are unique, and are meant to be weird. There’s a list of arcana inside the book, but the “Oddpedia” includes two d100 tables for generating new arcanum on pages 134 and 135.

I like this design. It makes special items both weird and ripe with potential danger, and that is excellent flavor.

Beyond Delving

Into the Odd excels at exploration and dungeon crawling, but it also has some rules for what characters can do in-between expeditions.

As the characters advance their reputations will also increase, which will cause NPCs to treat them as “known figures”–though the type of treatment the PCs receive will depend on both their actions and the faction with which they’re interacting. If the party snatched a rare arcana from the grasp of a well-financed organization, for example, their “known” status may create enemies with which they’ll need to deal. A character’s reputation may also draw people who desire to apprentice with them. These are NPCs who are rolled up as characters and advance just like a PC does. In worst case scenarios, the apprentice becomes a nice back up PC if a player’s main character meets their demise. Depending how the main character perishes, it can also give the apprentice some motivations a player can use as role-playing fodder!

In addition to their reputation, characters may also invest money to start a new enterprise which can earn them profit. Enterprises cost 10 Guilders to establish and generate 1d4 Guilders income per month 1. The income is not automatic, however, as an enterprise will also suffer a threat which inflicts a 1d4 Guilder loss on the business if it’s not dealt with. If the loss is ever greater then an enterprise’s profit the business collapses, along with whatever money was invested in it. The nature of these threats isn’t specified in the rulebook, which gives a Referee a wide open space to create urban adventures as characters struggle to deal with whatever is threatening their business. Enterprises can also grow. Each month a business makes a profit their die type for both profit and loss increases one step–up to a d12. Threats to an enterprise can make for some wonderful adventure hooks!

If a party doesn’t want to be limit themselves to being small-business owners, they can further extend their influence by establishing detachments. Like enterprises, these cost 10 Guilders to establish, as well as 1d6 Guilders in upkeep each month. A detachment is treated as a single entity, and their base numbers can be increased by spending money on weapons and armor–for twenty times the listed equipment cost. Detachment attacks on individual targets are enhanced, doing d12 damage to their target, and they are immune to individual attacks unless they are explosive or “suitably large scale.” The rules for detachments are interesting, but could use a bit more fleshing out. Not much, as that would undermine the simplicity of the game’s design, but an example of play on how one might use detachments would be helpful.

Referee Stuff

Page 42 of Into the Odd is filled with materials for the Referee, what the game calls the Game Master. It begins with simple advice for running the game, including the basic duties of a Referee and how the save mechanic is meant to be used. It also includes advice for treasure, hazards, and designing encounters.

There’s also some bare bones advice on how to create creatures, followed by a few example monsters. When I first read the book I was a bit confused by the lack of a bestiary, but the more I have pondered the game the more I appreciate the design decision. Into the Odd is meant to be… odd…and providing too many typical tropes would have constrained the Referee from leaning into the oddness. Creating creatures is a simple process, and the example monsters serve as useful tutorials. They are more than enough to get started.

After the general advice Into the Odd has several pages on the game world, all described with its signature terse style. Each region in the world, including the main city of Bastion, is described much like an NPC. The flavor of the place is what matters, not the exact locations which can be found in each. This helps give some scaffolding for Referees to build their campaign, while also keeping the world open for them to develop as a result of play.

The final section in the book is the “Oddpedia,” which contains a number of tables a Referee can use to help resolve ways the game world responds to the character’s actions, but the tables are also a great resource for any other game a GM may want to run.

The Adventure

Pages 62-115 contain a sample adventure which functions as both an introduction for players and as an adventure creation tutorial for Referees. The adventure introduces a new town the PCs can spend time in, Hopesend, as well as a nice sized hex crawl which a party may traverse. The Sunken Marsh is a dangerous place, containing a number of mini-dungeons, is ripe with rumors, filled with potential random encounters, and descriptions for each hex.

The final part of the adventure, The Iron Coral, is a three level dungeon with sixty rooms to explore! Not only are the rooms presented using Into the Odd‘s terse style, they also include arrows pointing in the direction of the room’s exits and features. The dungeon’s maps are not a classic grid. Rather, they are presented in a hand-drawn style which indicates some of the basic contents of each room. It’s a beautiful design.

Between the intrigues of Hopesend, the hidden secrets of the Fallen Marsh, and the depths of the Iron Coral Into the Odd presents a wonderful sandbox for a starter campaign. It makes me want to run the system.

Layout

Into the Odd‘s interior design is unusual compared to other TTRPG books I’ve read. Margins are wide, which reduces the amount of text space on each page. This necessitates brevity for the throughout the book, which makes the game’s rules glanceable and allows the game to be easy to pick up and run. The few times this brevity works against the game, as with the rules for detachments, don’t out-weigh the benefits of this design choice.

The body text is a clean serif font while chapter titles are a decorative serif font with glyphs that are both tall and skinny. I’m a fan of the title font, it’s distinct and attractive.

I’m not certain how to describe the book’s artwork as anything other than “odd.” Most images seem to be composites of various elements, including photographs, which have been edited to share a similar color palette. Nothing feels quite “settled,” which is a perfect way to depict the game’s world. The more I examine the book the more I appreciate it.

There is only one heading level inside the book, their presentation contributes to the uniqueness of Into the Odd‘s layout. Headers are a bold san-serif font which are right-justified along the left page margin, and are presented with a significant amount of white space between it and the section above. The body text “below” the header it is set about 1/3 of the way across the page, beginning in-line with its heading, which makes tracking a topic’s beginning and end points easy. It also necessitates making rule descriptions even more terse than was already required due to the increased margin-size. Looking at the page, it seems almost as if the rules are laid out in a borderless table, with headings in one column and the associated text in another. I appreciate the bold design choice, and the skill it took to keep such terse descriptions useable for players and referees alike.

Book Design

Into the Odd is an A5 “digest” size book, weighing in at 146 pages. It’s a stitched binding hardback, so the book is durable. It’s also printed on flat paper and includes a book ribbon. All told, Into the Odd is a well-designed product with a great look and feel.

Conclusion

Is Into the Odd still too rules-lite for me? Not at all. The more I explore rules lite games the more I appreciate the concept. I’m bringing this game to a table as fast as I can because it’s dead simple and flavorful. If you want some old school danger with a fresh take on mechanics Into the Odd, Remastered is a great addition to your shelf!

Into the Odd Remastered can be purchased as a print book/PDF combination from Free League for $41.80 or as a PDF alone for $14.99 from DriveThru RPG. Check this one out.

1. In case you were wondering. 100 Pennies make a Shilling, 100 Shillings make Guilder. A Guilder is a lot of money. ↩

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