Sword & Planet: The Expert...

Good Morning, All:

This is the second of three posts that describe the basics of the character classes I'm proposing for a Planetary Romance campaign. This particular post describes the Expert, this being a character who resolves challenges through the use of agility and intellect. On those occasions when a protagonist of a Planetary Romance series has a companion for a time, that companion is often an Expert.

The Expert
As an Expert, you are the master of your craft, a truly skilled individual against whom few can compare. You may come from a number of professions, but when push comes to shove, your skill mastery is your saving grace.

Prime Attribute: Dexterity, Intelligence
Starting Hit Dice: 3d8, +(3x Con modifier)
Hit Dice/Level: 1d8/level (gains 2 hp/level after 7th)
Armor/Weapons Permitted: Light/Any two weapon groups (see Warrior for details).
Saving Throw Bonus: Experts gain a +2 bonus on Dexterity-based saving throws.
Skills: 4 + Int modifier

Table: The Expert

Level	HD	BAB	DEF	Special
1	3d8	+2	+4	Profession, Skill Mastery (1/rest)
2	4d8	+3	+4
3	5d8	+3	+4
4	6d8	+4	+5	Skill Mastery (2/rest)
5	7d8	+5	+5
6	8d8	+6	+5
7	9d8	+6		+6	Skill Mastery (3/rest)
8	9d8+2	+7	+6
9	9d8+4	+8	+6
10	9d8+6	+9	+7	Skill Mastery (4/rest)

Special
The Expert's core special ability is Skill Mastery.

Skill Mastery: At 1st level, the Expert selects one skill from among those he knows. Once per rest, when attempting a skill check with their skill of mastery, the Expert can elect to roll two d20s at the same time and take the better of the two rolls. This increases to twice per rest at 4th level, three times per rest at 7th level and four times per rest at 10th level.

Profession: At 1st level, the Expert selects one of the following professions. He immediately gains the profession's special ability, as weill as the profession's skill as a bonus skill.

• Assassin: The Assassin is an Expert at killing without being seen, be it for money, duty or honor.
• Diplomat: The Diplomat is highly skilled at negotiations, particularly with the aristocracy.
• Healer: The Healer is an Expert at tending to the wounds of others.
• Sage: The Sage is reknowned for their expertise on a single given subject.
• Warden: The Warden is an Expert at surviving in a specific terrain, and is trained in combating creatures from that area.

Table: Expert Professions

Profession	Skill	Special
Assassin	Stealth	Sneak Attack: When attacking a flat-footed opponent, the Assassin gains an additional +2 attack bonus, and his damage is doubled.
Diplomat	Persuasion	High Society: The Diplomat gains a +3 bonus on Bluff and Persuasion skill checks when interacting with members of the highest levels of society.
Healer	Healing	Improved First Aid: A Healer can apply First Aid up to an hour after combat, rather than be limited to immediately after combat.
Sage	Lore	Defining Interest: The Sage selects a defining interest, and all Lore skill checks related to this interest gain a +3 bonus.
Warden	Survival	Terrain Mastery: The Warden selects a specific terrain type: Aquatic, Desert, Forest, Hills, Mountains, Plains or Underground. He gains a +1 bonus on attack and damage rolls against creatures native to that terrain type, and gains a +2 bonus on Survival skill checks made in that terrain.

As before, I've chosen the professions based on iconic character concepts from Planetary Romance novels. These are not intended to reflect common character options from a fantasy setting, although you could expand the list in that direction if you so desired. It's important to me that I could identify at least one character in a Planetary Romance novel as fitting a given profession before I included it on the list. As always, please let me know what you think.

With Regards,
Flynn

Sword & Planet: The Warrior...

Good Morning, All:

This is the first of three posts that describe the basics of the character classes I'm proposing for a Planetary Romance campaign. This particular post describes the Warrior, this being a character who resolves challenges through the use of physical force and endurance. In the end, almost every protagonist of a Planetary Romance series is a Warrior.

The Warrior
As a Warrior, you are a true combatant, a force to be reckoned with on the field of battle. You may come from a number of professions, but when push comes to shove, your skill at arms saves the day.

Prime Attribute: Constitution, Strength
Starting Hit Dice: 3d10, +(3x Con modifier)
Hit Dice/Level: 1d10/level (gains 3 hp/level after 7th)
Armor/Weapons Permitted: All/All.
Saving Throw Bonus: Warriors gain a +2 bonus on Constitution-based saving throws.
Skills: 2 + Int modifier

Table: The Warrior

Level	HD	BAB	DEF	Special
1	3d10	+3	+7	Profession, Weapon Mastery (+1 atk, +0 dmg)
2	4d10	+4	+7
3	5d10	+5	+7
4	6d10	+6	+8	Weapon Mastery (+1 atk, +2 dmg)
5	7d10	+7	+8
6	8d10	+8	+8
7	9d10	+9	+9	Weapon Mastery (+2 atk, +2 dmg)
8	9d10+3	+10	+9
9	9d10+6	+11	+9
10	9d10+9	+12	+10	Weapon Mastery (+2 atk, +4 dmg)

Special
The Warrior's core special ability is Weapon Mastery.

Weapon Mastery: At 1st level, the Warrior selects one weapon group from the following list: Axes, Bows, Claw Weapons, Crossbows, Flails and Chains, Heavy Blades, Light Blades, Maces and Clubs, Personal Firearms, Picks and Hammers, Polearms, Slings and Thrown Weapons, or Spears and Lances. When using a weapon that belongs to this group, the Warrior gains a +1 bonus to attack rolls. This bonus increases to +2 at 7th level. At 4th level, the Warrior gains a +2 bonus to damage with a successful attack from a weapon of his chosen group. This bonus increases to +4 at 10th level.

Profession: At 1st level, the Warrior selects one of the following professions. He immediately gains the profession's special ability, as weill as the profession's skill as a bonus skill.

• Equestrian: The Equestrian is a skilled rider most at home in the saddle. Despite the name, the Equestrian's mounts are not necessarily horses or even horse-like, depending on the setting.
• Martial Artist: The Martial Artist is skilled at unarmed combat, and continuously hones his body to its peak physical condition.
• Mercenary: The Mercenary sells his weapon talents to those willing and able to pay for them, and is skilled at holding the line against attackers.
• Outlander: The Outlander is typically a tribal or nomadic warrior more comfortable with the wilds than the confines of civilization. Most Outlanders are accomplished hunters.
• Pilot: The Pilot is a master of his ship, whether the setting uses airships, sailing ships or dune ships (that "sail" across the surface of a silt-like desert on skids and/or runners.)
• Tactician: The Tactician is highly skilled at massive battles, and inspires courage to those around him.

Table: Warrior Professions

Profession	Skill	Special
Equestrian	Riding	Mounted Combat: Once per round, the Equestrian can negate an attack against his mount by making a Riding check against the attack roll.
Martial Artist	Athletics	Unarmed Combat: The Martial Artist can use his body as a weapon, inflicting 1d6 with a successful unarmed melee attack.
Mercenary	Streetwise	First Strike: Once per round, the Mercenary receives a free melee attack against an opponent that moves into the range of his melee weapon. This attack is resolved immediately, before the opponent finishes his action.
Outlander	Survival	Hunter: On a successful melee attack against a non-humanoid creature more than twice the size of the Outlander, he gains an amount of bonus damage equal to his level.
Pilot	Piloting	Shipborn: The Pilot gains a +1 DEF when fighting on a ship, and ignores any movement penalties for fighting on a slippery or pitching deck.
Tactician	Tactics	Inspire Courage: Once per rest, the Tactician can spend an action to inspire his comrades. For the next five rounds, all characters within thirty feet of the Tactician gain a +1 bonus to saving throws, attacks and melee damage.

I've chosen the professions based on iconic character concepts from Planetary Romance novels. These are not intended to reflect common character options from a fantasy setting, although you could expand the list in that direction if you so desired. For me, however, I wanted to stick with concepts that were closer to the source of inspiration. Please let me know what you think.

With Regards,
Flynn

Planetary Romance: Some Short Word Lists...

Good Morning, All:

As an example of Planetary Romance world development, I have decided to follow my basic advice from my previous post and construct some words for the updated World of Samardan mini-setting I'm developing as an example of this genre. The following small word lists will prove useful in naming places, creatures and people, as well as add flavor and consistency to the setting.

Note On Pronunciation
Consonants are pronounced as they are in English. Vowels are pronounced as they are in Spanish, and are never doubled. (The words in parentheses below refer to the general shape/position of the mouth, tongue and lips, if it helps.)

a: as in "father" (open, central, not rounded)
e: as in "ten men" (open-mid, front, not rounded)
i: as in "ski" (close, front, not rounded)
o: as in "note" (close-mid, back, rounded or semi-rounded)
u: as in "truth" (close, back, rounded)

Body Parts, Monstrous

English	Samardan
claw, talon	kun
fang, tooth	dant
feather	resh
hair (pelt)	kal
hoof	pesun
horn	kar
shell	dafan
stinger	tanga
tail	lang
wing	krel

Creature Classes

English	Samardan
amphibian	barma
bird	oneth
fish	pesh
insect	kit
mammal	burun
reptile	pacha

Colors

English	Samardan
color	hu
black	hel
blue	sul
brown	bur
gray, grey	dusar
green	aber
orange (color)	jus
purple	thul
red	arun
white	zuwel
yellow	pil

Natural World

English	Samardan
bay	wan
beach, shore	kosh
cave	nadra
cliff	kif
cloud	gayen
desert	serer
earth (land, ground)	dan
grasslands, plains, savannah	kampos
fire	agon
forest	mader
hill	digara
island	jazira
lake	tal
lightning	chana
moon (dancing twins)	rasakamari
moon (general term)	kamar
moon (red)	arunkamar
moon (white)	zuwelkamar
mountain	gara
rain	barich
river	gwach
sea, ocean	yam
sky	sama
snow	him
star	tar
storm	jayu
sun	sor
swamp, marsh	mer
thunder	don
valley	balem
volcano	agongara

Quantity/Size, Relative

English	Samardan
biggest, greatest	gran
bigger, greater	bar
smaller, lesser	mal
smallest, least	di
half	pal

Titles, Common

English	Samardan
low noble	Pansanu
medium noble	Koranu
high noble	Doganu
sovereign	Rajanu
member of martial peerage, knight	Jen
member of mystical peerage, sage	Sen

Whew! I suppose that looks like a lot of nonsense. Well, it does, until you use it. Here are some examples of how we can put these simple lists to use:

Place Names
Suppose I need to name a small fishing village known for the brilliant blue fish they catch off their coast. Instead of calling the village Bluefish, I can now name it Sulpesh. Because I know the root words, I have a clue as to something about the location, and once the players learn enough of the setting, they could, as well.

People Names
The name Cornelius means "horn sun," deriving from Latin cornu "horn" and Greek helios "sun". The same name in the World of Samardan would be Karsor.

Creature Names
Let's say that you wanted to use a wooly mammoth against your PCs, but didn't want to call it a wooly mammoth. Instead, we could use "greatest"+"pelt"+"fang"+"mammal" to get Grankaldantburun. Optionally, we could look up the meaning of the word mammoth, which apparently comes from Russian roots meaning "earth horn", and go with Dankar. Personally, I'm good with either Kaldant or Dankar, myself.

You can also use the "environment" descriptors to distinguish between two similar beasts that occupy different regions. The dankar of the plains, which is the smaller and less aggressive of the two (although that isn't saying much), would be the Kamposdankar, while the larger and more ferocious mountainous dankar would be better classified as the Garadankar.

All we need is a few more short word lists for some specific adjectives and such, and we'd have a pretty solid naming language (and no real need to move much beyond that.)

With Regards,
Flynn

Planetary Romance: On the Use of a Conlang...

Good Afternoon, All:

One of the defining elements of early Planetary Romance series is the introduction of small glossaries of unusual words, purportedly in the native tongue of the planet. Avid readers of the genre might recall items liked those mentioned in this Barsoomian Glossary, this Glossary of Persons, Places and Things in the Sage of Prescot of Antares, or this Glossary of Gorean Terms. It seems to me that any true Planetary Romance setting should follow in these popular examples, and come up with at least a minimal constructed language glossary for their setting. In a previous post on constructed languages from last year, I mentioned that I had begun the creation of a constructed language for my old World of Samardan setting. Personally, I enjoy creating conlangs (constructed languages), but given the depth that you can take such efforts, you could easily lose your world-building development time as you focus on your conlang development. Toward that end, I'd like to offer the following information for those who wish to pursue such a task and still keep their sanity (and that of their players).

First, there are only a few areas you really need to invented words in order to create the illusion of another world. Taking from the experts, we can see that those areas pretty much focus on:

• titles of nobility,
• animals/creatures,
• basic numbers,
• measurements of time and distance, and finally
• place names,
• people names,
• the occasional oath.

You don't need to be able to recite the Tower of Babel text or the Lord's Prayer in your newly invented tongue. That's going a little overboard, in my opinion (although I've done enough work on Samardan's trade tongue to get close in some regards, so I speak from experience.)

In closing this particular post, I'll leave you with an example of the work I did for World of Samardan, the most commonly used titles of nobility.

Common Titles (Original Version - World of Samardan)

• Sen: One who is a mentor, teacher, sage or a member of mystic peerage.
• Pansanu: One who holds the noble title of Lord.
• Jun: One who is a member of a martial order or peerage; a knight.
• Kulin: One who holds the noble title of Baron.
• Korin: One who holds the noble title of Marquis.
• Stran: One who holds the noble title of Count.
• Razha: One who holds the noble title of Duke.
• Nabil: One who holds the position of a Minister for a kingdom.
• Balidin: One who holds the noble title of King.
• Amandin: One who holds the noble title of Emperor.

Note: The feminine form of these titles is derived by applying the feminine -ba suffix to the end of the title. Example, a woman belonging to an exclusively-female martial order of peerage would be addressed by the title of Junba, while a Queen of Pain would bear the title of Balidinba.

Yes, it was confusing at first, and I'd recommend dropping your titles of nobility to three (low, medium and high) or four (low, medium, high, king/emperor) to avoid that in your own settings. However, once the players picked up on it, we were able to use the more common examples they encountered very easily, and it added a lot of flavor to the setting. It also removed much of the standard European cultural bias that went with the more traditional titles.

This is just something to think about.

With Regards,
Flynn

Happy Independence Day!

Good Morning, All:

I'd just like to take a moment to honor my nation's Independence Day celebration. Given that Americans enjoy their motion pictures, and I am no exception, I will likely honor the holiday with one of my nation's many great movies centered on our Fourth of July holiday. I'm inclined to watch Independence Day, Die Hard 3 or Live Free Or Die Hard. (We all have our own little traditions.) Ordinarily, I'd also plan to watch the fireworks tonight, but the drought here in Central Texas has been so bad that we have a burn ban that is causing most of the local cities and towns to cancel their public fireworks display.

But that's beside the point, which is to honor the efforts of veterans over two centuries ago who fought for freedom so that they and their descendants could live in a country free of tyranny, where we hold to the self-evident truth that all men are created equal under the eyes of the law, that we are endowed by our Creator (who or whatever that might be) with certain unalienable Rights, among these being Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. So, please join me in toasting those veterans of two centuries ago whose efforts created this country and forever impacted the history of our world through their heroic actions and deeds. Salute!

Happy Independence Day,
Flynn

Sword & Planet: First Thoughts on Skills...

Good Morning, All:

In my overview of the character creation process, I indicated that I would be using skills in these suggestions. In essence, a skill check is simply an ability check, with a bonus for being trained in the use of the skill. It's the same system as I currently use in MyD20 Lite, which is:

Skill Check: d20 + CLM + Stat Mod + 5 (for being trained) >= Difficulty

CLM (Class Level Modifier) is equal to half your character level, rounded down. Since I'm effectively making 3rd level characters into 1st level, that translates the CLM for Sword & Planet games to equal one plus half your character level, rounded down. I'll put that on the chart next to XP for easy reference.

The Difficult ratings for MyD20 allow for a lot of variety, but I think it can be simplified a little more for a Sword & Planet game.

Table: Skill Difficulties By Task Description

Description	Difficulty
Simple	10 (or Auto)
Average	15
Difficult	20
Very Difficult	25
Nigh Impossible	30

Of course, we will need to consolidate the skill list to only those things that a "man of action" should need. Any skill that requires downtime without leading to potential adventure needs to go, and such can be assumed by the GM based on character background and ability checks. Let's focus on stuff we can use that makes adventures move forward. With that in mind, I present the following short list of skills to choose from.

Acrobatics (DEX)
Athletics (STR)
Bluff (CHA)
Craft (INT)
Healing (WIS)
Legerdemain (DEX)
Lore (INT)
Perception (WIS)
Persuasion (CHA)
Piloting (DEX)
Riding (DEX)
Stealth (DEX)
Streetwise (CHA)
Survival (CON)
Tactics (INT)

Some of these could be collapsed even further, but I think I'm good with the list above. One of the biggest changes I've made, as you can see, is to move Survival from a Wisdom-based skill to a Constitution-based skill. Most Survival situations tend to deal more with endurance than insight, and I wanted to have at least one skill that was based on Constitution.

I've also shrunk all of the knowledge-type skills into one overriding skill called Lore. In most of the Planetary Romance novels I've read, those that had a lot of knowledge tended to be well-educated in many things, not just one topic in particular. In other words, if the author needed someone to provide information, it was the same character each time, even if the topics weren't really related except that they required extensive book-learning to pick up.

I've combined flying, sailing and land-based vehicle control into the single skill of Piloting, because most settings tend to emphasize one over the other two, and so one skill killed three birds, so to speak. Again, if a character (such as the hero of the tales) were talented in one, he was often talented in them all. Alternately, you could combine land-based vehicles such as wagons and chariots with Riding, and keep Piloting for water and air-based craft, since both typically use similar navigation techniques.

Intimidation, taunting and diplomacy all fall under the general category of Persuasion. Streetwise is kept separate to reflect the general ability to carouse and gather information, as well as "street smarts", which I think is distinctive enough in terms of character concepts to deserve its own skill. You could always combine the two if you feel differently, though.

I figure that I'm going to give skills out as follows:

Table: Number of Skills by Character Class

Class	Skills
Expert	4 + INT modifier
Mystic	2 + INT modifier
Warrior	2 + INT modifier

Bear in mind that, at the moment, I'm looking at having one of the skills being selected when a character takes a Profession. Alternately, I can allow the Profession to give a bonus skill and still allow more customization for characters with an extra skill option. So long as it doesn't take forever to build a character. It always seems that the more choices a player has, the longer it takes to create a character. I think every group has that one guy who agonizes over every choice and takes forever. I hate to aim such that I take that guy into account, but I think it's a good goal to keep in mind if I want this to be quick and easy, so we can get to gaming that much more quickly.

At any rate, this is the Skills section, briefly covered. Next up, I should probably go over the classes in a little detail, as well as the Professions I envision adding to them as options. Then I'll cover some basics regarding Equipment (including firearms of various sorts), cover Powers for Mystics and then jump in with some World of Samardan background pieces to cover the races as a lead-in to the mini-setting. At least, that's my intentions regarding rules.

Or should I just jump into the world, and cover the rules as I need them?

With Regards,
Flynn

Sword & Planet: First Thoughts On Combat...

Good Morning, All:

The combat system of D&D works well enough for most things, and having used it before in my World of Samardan campaign of years past, I know it is functional. However, there are ways you can tinker with the system to better reflect the Planetary Romance genre. Below are a list of some common problems in a Sword & Planet style game, and my proposed solutions for addressing them.

Problem: I'm Too Brittle At First Level
It's hard to be a hero at first level, when a single shot, lucky or otherwise, could potentially knock your character down and out of the game. If your character's hit point total lies within the conventional damage of most weapons, then your hero could easily fall. At that point, it depends on who hits first.

Solution: Who said Sword & Planet first level had to be D&D's first level? Nobody. When I started my World of Samardan campaign, all characters began play at third level. Since I can write the rules for this one, I'd probably record character levels such that the benefits of third level (hit dice, attack bonuses, etc.) are given at first level, and increments each level as the character advances. In other words, characters at first level would have three hit dice, and they'd max out at nine hit dice at seventh level.

Problem: Unnamed NPCs Won't Go Down Quickly
Part of the genre involves wading through mooks (goons, Extras, cannon fodder, meat shields, commoners, etc.) to get to the big fight scenes against the champion of the evil decadent monarch and save the princess. Sadly, that's often hard to do in D&D. The higher level the character, even NPCs, the longer it takes to wade through them, because they have a ton of hitpoints.

Solution: Use the Vitality and Wound Points system outlined in WOTC's 3E Unearthed Arcana. This has been demonstrated to be quite effective in WOTC's original D20 Star Wars system, Spycraft, and Traveller T20. Since we'll likely be using Old School monster stats (with a few modifications here and there), we'll have to come up with an alternative for Constitution scores for monsters (probably will either assume a base 10 modified by size or use some kind of simple calculation such as 8+HD.)

Problem: No One Wears Any Armor
Many Planetary Romance novels describe the locals as either naked or wearing little more than a translucent veil or a harness to carry things. Armor is often unknown and thus unworn, despite the fact that people seemingly get into sword fights all the time. In D&D, though, going without armor makes it very easy for you to be hit as characters advance in levels.

Solution: Use the Defense Bonus system outlined in WOTC's 3E Unearthed Arcana. We've seen this implemented in D20 Modern and True20, and works very well for covering settings where armor is not common. As a house rule, I suggest that characters get the best of either their armor bonus (if they wear any) or their class defense bonus, instead of letting them stack. It just works out better, in my experience.

Finally, I really enjoy the option known as Players Roll All The Dice, in which players always roll the dice to avoid being hit in combat, etc. In other words, any time I would normally roll a D20 against them, such as saving throws, attacks or spell resistance, they get to roll it instead. I like it because it keeps the players focused on the game when it isn't their turn, and gives them a sense of control over what is happening to their characters. (Oh, and it makes big combats go faster since there are multiple people rolling to resolve large group actions instead of just myself processing the attacks.) The jury is still out on that particular option, though.

What do you think? What would you do differently?

With Regards,
Flynn

Sword & Planet: Thoughts on Classes...

Good Morning, All:

When regarding character classes for a Planetary Romance setting, it quickly becomes obvious that the usual Fighter/Cleric/Magic-User/Thief selections detract from the setting and generally do not make sense when considering the source material and common characteristics of the genre. This puts us in the position of having to come at character classes from a different perspective. My personal favorite, in regards to character archetypes, are those espoused by the Generic Classes from WOTC's Unearthed Arcana. For purposes of discussion here, I'm going to call them Warrior, Expert and Mystic.

The Warrior
The Warrior is essentially the basic combatant of the trio of generic classes. Based on his selection of skills and profession, he can represent any of a number of diverse character concepts such as a crusader, a duelist, a hunter, a soldier or a tribesman. He prefers to address challenges through physical confrontation. His Prime Requisites are Constitution and Strength.

The Expert
The Expert can be a jack-of-all-trades or a master of a limited area of expertise. Based on his selection of skills and profession, he can focus on diplomatic matters, stealth, combat, wilderness survival, thievery, or any of a number of critical tasks. He prefers to address challenges through the application of skill and agility. His Prime Requisites are Dexterity and Intelligence.

The Mystic
The Mystic is a practitioner of mentalism and mysticism, and has an array of magical powers at her beck and call. Based on his selection of skills and profession, he can be a healer or an enchanter, a shaman or a cultist. He prefers to address challenges through magical means. His Prime Requisites are Charisma and Wisdom.

Before I go into any great depth regarding these three classes, I wanted to capture some of my thoughts on the character creation process, and the rules system in general.

At its core, the system that I would propose using is heavily inspired by various retro-clones, with a number of innovations as required to meet the needs of the genre. Many of the underlying suggestions for changes and such that I'm going to present may appear fairly radical. That's simply because they are. Very little of what I'm going to suggest will be new. However, these suggestions will often be fairly common variants in terms of rules or approaches that may lead people into areas they are not comfortable with, rules-wise. Let me state up front that I understand discomfort may happen, and there's no compelling reason that you have to do things the way I'm going to present them. You can always take what you like from the suggestions I am offering, and leave the rest behind. After all, for this mini-project, that's what I'm doing. Now, with that said, it's time to delve into character creation a little.

My overall concept of character creation is simple:

Character Creation Steps

1. Generate Ability Scores: Roll 3d6 six times and record them in order: Charisma, Constitution, Dexterity, Intelligence, Strength, Wisdom. (Or whatever order you want to arrange the stats in; I just went alphabetical for a change of pace.)
2. Choose Race: Select your character's race from those offered by the setting.
3. Choose Character Class: Decide if you are playing a Warrior, an Expert or a Mystic.
4. Choose Profession: Choose your character's profession. (This was inspired by FantasyCraft and Stars Without Number.)
5. Choose Skills: Choose your character's skills.
6. Choose Powers (Mystics only): Choose your character's starting powers from the Mystic power list.
7. Choose Equipment: Choose your character's equipment.
8. Determine Basic Stats: Determine your character's basic stats, like height, weight, personality, saves, etc.
9. Choose A Name: Name your character something appropriate to the setting.
10. Begin Play: Go forth, save a princess, adventure and earn some experience.

The concept of Professions was intended to replace subclasses, character kits, variant class features, 3E feats, prestige classes, paragon paths, what-have-you. In essence, you choose a Profession, which determines one of your skill selections and grants you a special class feature. That way, characters of the same class could still have slightly different abilities, but you don't have to spend a lot of time during character creation making a ton of different choices for your character (unless, of course, you have to choose powers as a Mystic.) I really don't want more than five or six different Professions per class, and will likely take my cue from the characters in various Planetary Romance novels I've read. The goal here is to give some diversity without burdening the player with too many options, thus avoiding "option paralysis" and spending an entire gaming session building a character.

So, what do you think of what you've heard so far? Do you have any thoughts, comments or suggestions you'd like to offer at this time? Before we can get too much further in character creation, though, I do want to take a few minutes to go over some combat system changes first. That, however, can wait until my next post.

Enjoy,
Flynn

Sword & Planet: An Overview...

Good Morning, All:

I'd like to spend some time talking about Planetary Romance or Sword & Planet gaming, as it is a favorite genre of mine. (Indeed, I once wrote a 72,000 word novel in this genre, but alas, I never went back to edit and publish it.) To begin our discussions here, I thought it best to start by defining the genre and identifying some common characteristics that would have to be addressed in a setting designed for this genre.

"Planetary Romance is a type of science fiction or science fantasy story in which the bulk of the action consists of adventures on one or more exotic alien planets, characterized by distinctive physical and cultural backgrounds. Some Planetary Romances take place against the background of a future culture where travel between worlds by spaceship is commonplace; others, particularly the earliest examples of the genre, do not, and invoke flying carpets, astral projection, or other methods of getting between planets. In either case, it is the planetside adventures which are the focus of the story, not the mode of travel." - From the Planetary Romance entry in Wikipedia.

The following are classic tropes or characteristics of the Planetary Romance genre. Within these trappings, however, adventures are typically of those formats already familiar to most gamers' experience: urban, wilderness, dungeons, ruins, political intrigue, mystery, etc.

• Space Princesses. Although Planetary Romance is based on the concept of Chivalric Romance, a vast majority of novels in the genre revolve around saving a space princess, the most beautiful woman on two worlds, from whatever dire straights in which she has managed to find herself trapped. She is often gorgeous, alluring, independent, intelligent and, all in all, the ideal woman, except that she keeps getting into trouble and requires saving. Most PCs have trouble with exploring romance within a roleplaying environment, but if this element can be captured in a game, it is well worth it.
• Pulp Action. Growing out of the adventure novels and pulp romances of the turn of the 20th century, Planetary Romance are filled with pulp action, such as swashbuckling adventure, imprisonment, forced gladiatorial combat, daring escapes, monster-killings, and duels with villains.
• Exotic Locales. Most often filled with untamed wilderness, Planetary Romance features exotic locations on another world.
• Alien Interactions. The cultures of the planet are often varied, and much of the literature explores cultural clashes between two distinct groups, or between the hero and a specific culture.
• Hostile Savages. A significant amount of the planet's common population are typically hostile savages living a tribal or nomadic existence, making the wilderness between "civilized lands" very dangerous for the average man. Despite this, the women are often highly attractive, and the men are fiercesome warriors.
• Decadent Monarchies. Pockets of civilization, often decaying, exist as isolated city-states ruled by despotic monarchs.
• Mysticism & Mentalism. The pulp concept of magic, centering around mysticism and mentalism, often makes an appearance in Planetary Romance. While telepathy, divination, enchantment and even illusions make their appearance in some Sword & Planet series, you will rarely (if ever) see examples of evocation, transmutation, necromancy and conjuration magic. (Necromancy and conjuration, in particular, tend to pull you into a Sword & Sorcery mode, which can happen in some PR series, but isn't a strong representation of the genre as a whole.)
• Lost Technology. In some examples of the genre, the remnants of some lost technology from a prior civilization still remains in use among the decadent pockets of civilization. These range from "radium pistols" and "crystal ray guns" to flying ships and anachronistic power supplies.
• Medieval Weaponry. Despite the possible presence of firearms or other high-tech weapons, most disputes among common men are settled by swords and occasionally other medieval weaponry. This is the tie-in that allows most fantasy players to more quickly adjust to a Planetary Romance setting, because it is in many ways similar to a Low Fantasy setting.
• Alien Interactions. The cultures of the planet are often varied, and much of the literature explores cultural clashes between two distinct groups, or between the hero and a specific culture.
• Action Heroes. While the main characters do not have to be heroes per se (and in some cases were criminals or anti-heroes intentionally), they do undertake heroic actions. When given a choice between acting in haste or acting with deliberation, success often goes to the one that acts quickly and decisively.
• Compentent Characters. Heroes are just plain better than the average Joe on the street, as are the major villains they face. The main villains are generally competent, and thus a challenge. Their minions, though, are often pretty easy to take down one-on-one.
• Individual Focus. Planetary Romance settings tend to focus on the trials and tribulations of individuals instead of those of the world. Villains don't want to destroy or take over the world; instead, they want much more personal and localized goals.
• Weird Monsters. Most of the monsters encountered in a Planetary Romance setting are unusual, having multiple pairs of limbs, large death-dealing natural weapons, and similar characteristics. They are almost always larger, meaner and stranger than anything commonly seen on Earth, but without the magical powers associated with many creatures of mythology.
• Dinosaurs Live. Despite the unusual nature of the wildlife on the planet, creatures recognizable as dinosaurs exist and terrorize the countryside. Some are even likely to be domesticated and used as livestock or mounts.
• Arena Combat. Gladiatorial games and arena combat often have a place in most Planetary Romance settings. Even major duels and challenges against leaders take on this kind of atmosphere.
• Chess Variants. Almost every major Planetary Romance series introduces some local variant of Chess, a tactical simulation similar to but often more complex than the game we know here on Earth. At least once over the course of the series, the hero plays in a living version of this game, fighting opponents to the death.
• Knocked Unconscious. Characters in this genre are rarely slain when fighting multiple humanoids. Often, they are simple beaten down and knocked unconscious rather than slaughtered out right, only to find themselves later in another situation from which they have to extricate themselves.

I found the following quote to be particularly descriptive of the initial stories set in such a campaign, and give us a good blueprint for the first few adventures to take place in such a setting:

"Burroughs established a set of conventions that were followed fairly closely by most other entries in the Sword and Planet genre. The typical first book in a sword and planet series uses some or all of the following plot points:

A tough but chivalrous male protagonist, from Earth of a period not too distant from our own, finds himself transported to a distant world. The transportation may be via astral projection, teleportation, time travel, or any similar form of scientific magic, but should not imply that travel between worlds is either easy or common. The Earthman thus finds himself the sole representative of his own race on an alien planet. This planet is at a pre-modern, even barbaric stage of civilization, but may here and there have remarkable technologies that hint at a more advanced past. There is no obligation for the physical properties or biology of the alien planet to follow any scientific understanding of the potential conditions of habitable worlds; in general, the conditions will be earth-like, but with variations such as a different-colored sun or different numbers of moons. A lower gravity may be invoked to explain such things as large flying animals or people, or the superhuman strength of the hero, but will otherwise be ignored. (A Princess of Mars, however, when it was first written did loosely follow the most optimistic theories about Mars - e.g., those of Percival Lowell who imagined a dying, dried-up Mars watered by a network of artificial canals.)

Not long after discovering his predicament, the Earthman finds himself caught in a struggle between two or more factions, nations, or species. He sides, of course, with the nation with the prettiest woman, who will sometimes turn out to be a princess. Before he can set about seriously courting her, however, she is kidnapped by a fiendish villain or villains. The Earthman, taking up his sword (the local weapon of choice, which he has a talent with), sets out on a quest to recover the woman and wallop the kidnappers. On the way, he crosses wild and inhospitable terrain, confronts savage animals and monsters, discovers lost civilizations ruled by cruel tyrants or wicked priests, and will repeatedly engage in swashbuckling sword-fights, be imprisoned, daringly escape and rescue other prisoners, and kill any men or beasts who stand in his way. At the end of the story he will defeat the villain and free the captive princess, only to find another crisis emerging that will require all his wit and muscle, but will not be resolved until the next thrilling novel in the adventures of...!."

My original Sword & Planet campaign was based in the World of Samardan, after which my personal publishing imprint is named. I imagine I'll use that world as the basis for the sandbox setting I'll develop as we discuss this genre in more exhausting detail. By the time I reach the end of this discussion, I hope to have some basic core rules for a gaming system established, as well as a region on Samardan for people to game in. We'll see how things go. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to share them.

With Regards,
Flynn

Caverns of Lakoma: A Dungeon Diagram...

Good Morning, All:

To conclude my series of posts on Caverns of Lakoma dungeon design, I needed to produce a map for Level One. As I may have mentioned, I suck at dungeon maps, and so I found myself in a quandary. In the end, I decided to utilize a principle described in a recent Gnome Stew article: Prep-Lite Maps. This is also similar to the diagram dungeon as presented in Sine Nomine Publishing's Red Tide. In essence, I built a flowchart of important rooms, and will simply make up any unimportant rooms as I have need. This is the result:

For those that would like to have all of the information on the Egyptian Great Plains gathered in one place, have no fear. I've created a simple PDF with the basics. Please review it and let me know if I need to add anything to it. You can find it here:
Egyptian Great Plains Minimalist Sandbox Campaign Setting

Thank you all for hanging in through this discussion, and I look forward to any additional input you might have on my quest for improving my minimalist campaign preparation process.

With Regards,
Flynn

Sword & Planet: After the Egyptian Great Plains is Complete...

Good Morning, All:

Sorry, I am going to make one more post to delay the final map update for the Caverns of Lakoma, and then I'll be able to wrap up the Egyptian Great Plains series of posts. I'm still trying to find time to work out the final map. I've got a simple flowchart done, and if push comes to shove, I'll post that on Wednesday. Hopefully, though, I have an actual map ready by then. And now, let's move on to the distraction for the day...

In the spirit of my favorite genre of science fiction, planetary romance, I've been contemplating doing a series of posts on the development of a Sword & Planet game/setting. We have a lot of people doing work on such a thing, but I haven't heard much in the last few months, save for Urutsk: World of Mystery (and the occasional rumblings elsewhere.) In my discussions, I'd like to talk about the rules of a system that might fit that kind of game (talking D&D/retro-inspired, instead of Savage Worlds, which could also work, but might not be as interesting to most of you). I'd also like to discuss basics behind a setting, and then do some prep work like I've done with the Egyptian Great Plains idea, with the intent of creating a nice Sword & Planet campaign for the future.

Anyway, I am open to suggestions, of course, but this is what occupied my thoughts most of this last weekend.

With Regards,
Flynn

Inspired by Red Tide: The Shadow Syndicate Encounters...

Good Morning, All:

I suck at maps, particularly dungeon maps. That's why I don't have Level One of the Caverns of Lakoma ready for posting today. Instead, I'm going to touch on another topic related to fantasy world-building and sandbox preparation. Sine Nomine Publishing, creator of the wonderful Stars Without Number, also published a fantasy setting called Red Tide, which offers a lot of resources for minimal prep work in running a sandbox fantasy campaign.

One of the resources I particularly enjoyed in Red Tide was the section that described twenty different NPC groups. Each group's description was a single page, on which was enough information to cover what you would need to use that particular group in your sandbox campaign with minimal effort. Each entry was formatted as follows:

1. Illustration. A small eighth-of-a-page illustration of a typical member of the group appears in the upper left-hand corner of the page.
2. Brief description. Under the illustration, there's a paragraph describing the NPC group in a nutshell.
3. Three groups. In the final section on the first column, Mr Crawford provides three different groups of escalating power levels: Weak (levels 1-3), Average (levels 4-6) and Strong (levels 7-9). Each simply lists the members of such a group, and provides some basic treasure for the group.
4. Stat Blocks. The top third to half of the second column contains a simplified list of monster stats for the different members of the groups defined previously.
5. Complications Table. The bottom of the second column on the page is filled with a chart of 6 up to 12 different complications that add flavor to a given encounter (or series of encounters) with this NPC group.

In terms of group strength, I did a relatively quick analysis, and determined the following:

• Weak: Weak parties tend to cover a range of 5-13 HD (average of 7, median of 7), and possess 2d6x10 gp in coin and/or goods. (This assumes a gold standard.)
• Average: Average parties typically cover a range of 21-45 HD (average of 33, median of 34). Their treasure troves seem to average around 2d4x1000 gp, 1d3 Gems, 1d3 Jewelry, two consumable items (50% chance each), and one magic item (50% chance). Treasure may vary, but that seems to work well overall.
• Strong: Strong parties fill a range of 31-96 HD (average of 72, median of 74). Their treasure includes 2d6x1000 gp, 2d4 Gems, 1d4+1 Jewelry, one magic weapon (50% chance), one magic armor (50% chance), two magic items (50% chance each), and two consumables (50% chance each).

This is such an easy format to use, I'm surprised no one came up with this idea before. I could easily see putting together a selection of these encounters for my own campaigns, one for each group or organization in the setting. It reminds me in some ways of one of the Forgotten Realms books, Lords of Darkness, in which stats for members of an organization were given for levels 1 through 10, except Red Tide's approach works better from the perspective of minimalist prep. It's a lot less work to achieve what would effectively be the same gaming experience at the table.

For example, let's say I wanted to create a One-Pager for an organization in the Hammersong’s Legacy Campaign Setting. Looking through the book, I easily see that I'm going to need to define some encounters for the Shadow Syndicate. Here's what I came up with...

Illustration
Since this is a personal project, I don't feel the need to add an illustration to my One-Pager. If I did, though, it would probably be that of a highly tattooed vagabond skulking in an alleyway with a dagger in hand.

Brief Description
New to the city of Fellgorge, the Shadow Syndicate is a brotherhood of thieves that is moving in on the territories formerly controlled by Fellgorge's native rogues’ guilds. Little is known of these mysterious intruders, although rumors run rampant with speculation. Whatever their origins, the Shadow Syndicate is well funded and operating with purpose and direction. Members of the Shadow Syndicate are organized in Pacts, who are led by Overseers. Pacts are grouped under a specific Lord of the Syndicate as Families, and Overseers form small councils that advice the Lord of the Family. The Lords form the governing body of the Shadow Syndicate called the Court of Shadows, who make policy decisions and settle disputes between various members. All that is known of the Syndicate's goals is that the Shadow Syndicate seeks to control all illicit activity in Fellgorge, and is not above intimidation, coercion, assault and even assassination to accomplish their goals. Their efforts are opposed by the local law enforcement as well as the local rogues’ guilds that are being displaced from their neighborhoods.

Three Groups

• Weak: 5 Common Thugs, 1 Overseer. 2d6x10 silver in coin and/or goods. (I use a silver standard in my campaigns.)
• Average: 15 Common Thugs, 5 Overseers, 1 Master Overseer. 2d4x1000 gp, 1d3 Gems, 1d3 Jewelry, two consumable items (50% chance each), and one magic item (50% chance).
• Strong: 30 Common Thugs, 10 Overseers, 2 Master Overseers, 1 Lord's Man. 2d6x1000 gp, 2d4 Gems, 1d4+1 Jewelry, one magic weapon (50% chance), one magic armor (50% chance), two magic items (50% chance each), and two consumables (50% chance each).

Stat Blocks

• Common Thug: AC 8 [11]; HD 1d6 hp; Atk: by weapon (1d6); ST: 18; SP: double damage with surprise; MV: 12; CL/XP: 1/15.
• Overseer: AC 7 [12]; HD 2; Atk: by weapon (1d6); ST: 16; SP: double damage with surprise; MV: 12; CL/XP: 3/60.
• Master Overseer: AC 6 [13]; HD 5; Atk: by weapon (1d6); ST: 12; SP: triple damage with surprise; MV: 12; CL/XP: 6/400.
• Lord's Man: AC 4 [15]; HD 8; Atk: by weapon (1d6); ST: 8; SP: triple damage with surprise; MV: 12; CL/XP: 9/1,100.

Complications Table

1d6	Complication
1	This band of Syndicate members is seeking to capture potential slaves to sell in distant markets. They already have 1d6 (Weak), 2d6 (Average) or 3d6 (Strong) prisoners.
2	This band of Syndicate members are pushing a protection racket, and looking for people to turn into examples.
3	This band of Syndicate members are smuggling items of great importance, and don’t want to leave behind any witnesses.
4	The Master Overseer of this group is actually a Manasan infiltrator (use the stats from the Hammersong’s Legacy Campaign Setting book.
5	This band of Syndicate members has been acting against a local Rogues’ guild, and will appear in the encounter in some form or fashion.
6	In the midst of an encounter with this band of Syndicate members, the local city guard will arrive and mistake the party for members of the Syndicate as well.

Hope This Helps,
Flynn

Caverns of Lakoma: Features and Rooms...

Good Morning, All:

I've been working a little bit on various rooms that I'll be placing on my map. Basically, I've organized my notes below in groups based on factions. These notes are not complete, and do not include empty rooms. I figure I won't need to detail unimportant rooms, since I can provide some information on the map itself. Also, these are simply a first run-through, using the answer I posted earlier this week as my guide. As always, if you have any comments or suggestions, I would love to hear them.

Caverns of Lakoma Features

Ceiling Height: passages ~7 ft, carved chambers ~9 ft, natural caverns 8+1d12 ft, unless otherwise indicated.
Illumination: Rooms occupied by living humanoids are lit by torches, while the rest are unlit, unless otherwise indicated.
Doors: Most doors are large stone wheels that require significant strength and effort to move.
Murder Holes: Spears driven through murder holes, or burning oil poured on invaders. Defenders above have almost total cover against invaders in the hallway below.
Lakoma Plague: Lots of signs of a plague-ridden community exist: piles of bones and dried bodies, painting on the walls, burned out sections.
Other Features: 3 in 6 chance that a man-made room has a small fist-sized ventilation shaft leading up to the outside (and possibly down to a lower level).

Rooms

The following are important rooms that need to be placed on the map.

Humanoid Raiders
Stables: Large cavern with stalls; smells of musk, waste and spoiled food. 15 mounts, 3 humanoid tenders that seek to raise alarm against any invaders. Tenders have 2d6 silver each.
Livestock Pens: Large cavern with multiple small pens; smells of waste and spoiled food. 30 small goats, 3 humanoid tenders that seek to raise alarm against any invaders. Tenders have 2d6 silver each.
Storage Room: Earthenware pots, bundles of trade goods.
River Crossing: Rope bridge, loud roar of water passing. 2 tribal warriors protect east side. Passing requires balance and slow movement to avoid falling in. River flows through lower levels before leaving cave complex.
Living Area: Numerous family chambers, public items scattered haphazardly. 6 tribesmen, 2 tribal warriors defending 20 wives, 40 children. 1d3 gems, 1d3 jewelry, 2000ss in goods and coin.
Shaman's Quarters: Numerous totems, unusual hides. 3 tribesmen, 1 tribal shaman, Arihapelo the Dragon. They act with caution. Arihapelo bears two potions of healing (cure light wounds), ring of fire resistance.

Cabalists/Demonic Cultists
Dining Hall: Carved summoning circle, filled with binding herbs. Halion (seducer demon). Bargains for freedom "to return home". May grant one wish if released.
Barracks: Bedrolls lay scattered on the floor, smells of sickly sweet incense. 6 fanatic cultists, 2 minor demons, 1 cabalist who attack on sight. Cultists have 3d6 silver each. Cabalist carries potion of healing (cure light wounds).
Well Room: Shaft in ceiling and floor (appears as well in ruins above, lowers to river below), roar of flowing water. 3 fanatical cultists, 1 minor demon who attack on sight, 1 fanatical cultist flees to raise alarm. Cultists have 3d6 silver each.
Kitchen: Two firepits, large clay pots with dessicated vegetables. 1 cabalist, 2 minor demons and Mubarak Khalil. Capture intruders to use as sacrifices. Mubarak carries 1d3 gems, 1d3 jewelry and the Rod of Infernal Dominion (summons demons once per day). Cabalist carries 4d10 silver.
Ramshackle Cell: Tattered wooden wall and door across living quarters. 2 merchants (1 wounded), 3 tribesmen unarmed and waiting to be sacrificed.

The Restless Undead
Great Hall: Multiple columns to support ceiling, smell of death in the air. 2 ghasts, 3 ghouls prevent passage to the next lower level from this room.
Haunted Hallway: Ghostly images of seriously ill women, children and elderly collapsed on the floor reach out toward the party for aid. Fear effect.
Storage Room: Partially sealed in, stones knocked outward. "The Chieftain" resides here. Beaten gold war mask (1500 silver).
Living Quarters: Bones on litters stacked high against walls. 3 ghouls, 1 ghast seek to feast on living flesh. Silver and gold trinkets worth 3d4x10 silver total among remains.

Random Other Stuff
Dining Hall: Barricade from old tables, hanging skeletal corpses. 3 bone-gnawers. 2d4x100 silver among remains.
Small Cavern: Tribesman corpse, long dead; sunlight from shaft above. 1 snake swarm. Corpse has 3d6 silver.
Living Quarters: Burned out, charred bones. 5 giant rats, protecting their lair. 1 jeweled dagger (175 silver), 5d6 silver worth of simple shiny things.

If you have any other suggestions to include here, I'm more than open to them. One of the keys to minimal prep is to use resources that are available to you, and suggestions are definitely a resource to be used as you see fit.

Enjoy,
Flynn

Caverns of Lakoma: Walking Through Design Elements...

Good Morning, All:

Using my list of good dungeon design elements that I had compiled earlier, I began to analyze my initial concept for the Caverns of Lakoma. As I went through each item, it inspired more thoughts and development, until I had a nice foundation for the first level of the dungeon. The following captures the core of that initial process.

Create a short background, no more than 2-3 sentences.
The Lakoma people carved an underground city over four levels deep from a pre-existing natural cave system. When they died from a plague brought by the Bedari, the spirits of the Lakoma remained behind to wander the halls listlessly. Over a decade ago, humanoids rediscovered the caves and have begun to use it as a base of operations. In recent months, diabolists traveling in exile discovered one of the hidden entrances, and now fight both the humanoids and the undead for a place within the Caverns of Lakoma.

Use the three factions rule. PC actions will tend to have long term consequences if factions are involved.
The three factions of the Caverns of Lakoma are: Lakoma spirits and undead, a tribe of humanoid raiders and a small cult of diabolists.

Create at least three named NPCS that can server as potential allies, good villains, and provide other opportunities for negotiations and roleplaying interaction. Each NPC should have an interesting personality trait.

1. "The Chieftain": A revenant who, in his living years, was once the chieftain of the Lakoma. He will not rest so long as non-Lakoma walk the halls of his underground city.
2. Arihapelo the Dragon: The leader of the tribe of humanoid raiders. The only force stronger in Arihapelo's life than his intense greed is his fierse pride.
3. Mubarak Khalil: The leader of the exiled cultists. Mubarak prefers the company of demons to that of mortals, and treats his followers as little more than slaves and potential sacrifices.

Define relations between the NPCs in a sentence or two.

• "The Chieftain" hates both Arihapelo and Mubarak, and wants them both dead or gone.
• Arihapelo wants to see Mubarak enslaved and his demons dismissed from the city, and wants to use "The Chieftain" to locate other treasures within the city.
• Mubarak seeks to magically bind "The Chieftain," and desires the treasures and magic held by Arihapelo.

Have multiple goals, to increase the diversity of experiences that can be had in the dungeon.
On this level:

• Rescue someone who is about to be sacrificed from diabolists.
• Recover stolen goods held by Arihapelo's raiders.
• Put the spirit of "The Chieftain" to rest.

Have a secret that the players can figure out about the dungeon itself, or some similar concept.
Perhaps the Lakoma tribe bound a great evil spirit in the depths of their city, and that's part of the reason their spirits cannot rest. Hmmm. It's a classic, been done to death, really, but there's a reason it works. I'll have to keep playing with this one.

Use interesting terrain to make things more memorable and more challenging.
Between the chimneys and chutes, the columns to support larger rooms, and the murder holes, about the only thing I really need now is an underground river with a rickety old rope bridge across it.

Provide a mix of intelligent opposition, to vary the player experience. At least one encounter should provide a tactical challenge, and thus become interesting through their choice of actions.
The different factions and how they interact with one another should provide the basis for some tactical challenges. Specifics will evolve as the room layout falls into place.

If monsters are not intelligent, make them interesting. Slimes are more interesting than low-level undead because we've seen so many of those.
The warping effects of the Great Evil trapped below should give me a great excuse to introduce some interesting unintelligent monsters here.

Provide at least one setup that can be exploited in combat by tactically minded players, such as a bottleneck, a ledge, a bridge, a fortified position, etc.
See the rope bridge idea mentioned above.

Provide an opportunity to spy on enemies for the stealthily minded players, such as a murder hole, a grate, a tiny tunnel, a scrying ball, etc.
See murder holes mentioned above.

Introduce memorable magic items. A rod of thunder and lightning is better than a +1 sword.
Perhaps a Seven Spirit Bag or something similar with an appropriately Native American flavor? I'll dig around in my old Legends & Lore.

Provide stuff to interact with for players who like to experiment. Add suggestions for possible reactions.
I'm honestly at a loss for what to put here. I will have to consider this element separately. About the only thing that comes to mind at first blush would be a trapped demon who bargains with them in an attempt to game freedom.

Introduce traps that address the potential for classic PC sneakiness, such as using amulets to emulate membership in one of the factions, to encourage thought and consequences.
Aside from the use of robes and masks to infiltrate the diabolists, I can't think of much in this direction off the top of my head. This might make for another interesting blog topic in the future.

Provide an opportunity for long-term change to the player characters, such as earning a title of nobility, finding a magic throne or fountain that permanently changes someone, etc.
Aside from the demon that could grant wishes, I can easily imagine the Great Evil trapped on the bottom floor providing opportunities for long-term change, such as membership in a secret society that fights the minions of the Trapped One, mutations via warping energies, and so on.

Provide useful room descriptions (probably using the format for Lairs from our earlier discussion on Hex Content templates). Use bolded text sparingly, to help with reading the important elements of an entry.
This will be evident in the text I create to describe the rooms. This one is pretty much a technical issue, not a creative one.

Usable map, with in-map notes to make it easier to run at the table.
Easy enough to work out, as the elements come together. Again, this is a technical issue as opposed to a creative one.

Multiple entrances and exits. (Think tunnels, shafts, chimneys and crawlways.)
For starters, we have:

• A ventilation shaft leading to the top of the mesa, disguised as wells for a ruined settlement above.
• A natural cave entrance.
• Two steep sloped passages connecting to the second level.

Despite the first run through on the list, it's obvious that I have a few areas to work on:

1. Opportunities for PC experimentation
2. Opportunities for PC sneakiness
3. The Map
4. The Room Write-Ups

My next post or two on this subject should wrap up the Caverns of Lakoma first level write-up, as I go into these elements and build up the One Page Dungeon for my notes on the Egyptian Great Plains mini-setting.

With Regards,
Flynn

Caverns of Lakoma: Some Background Notes...

Good Morning, All:

While the Pueblo Indians and their cliff-side dwellings were the initial inspiration for the Caverns of Lakoma (with a nod toward the old Judges Guild module Caverns of Thracia, I was intrigued to discover that there were once actual underground cities in Turkey. I particularly enjoyed reading of Derinkuyu, Kaymakli and Ozkonak. Apparently, though, there are many more of these underground cities in that region, and so these are going to inform my creation of the Caverns of Lakoma. While many of these cities are much larger than the four levels I'm using for my caverns, there are still plenty of details that are just too awesome not to include. Below is a short synopsis of the information I think is relevant to the setting I want to create as the final piece of Adventure Material needed before the Egyptian Great Plains sandbox setting is ready to begin use.

Caverns of Lakoma
The Caverns of Lakoma were originally based on a natural cavern system, before the Lakoma tribe discovered them and moved in, excavating as they went. While the caverns could house as many as 10,000 people, the Lakoma numbered only a thousand or so at the height of their civilization.

Features
Heavy stone doors seal off sections of the underground city. These have a hole in the center to view the other side, or to allow the doors to be rolled open or closed through the use of a bar inserted within. In some cases, the passages beyond the stone doors sometimes have murder holes and narrow chambers above them used for dumping hot oil on their enemies. Discreet entrances give way to elaborate subterranean systems with air shafts, waste shafts, wells, chimneys and connecting passageways. The upper levels were used for living quarters while the lower levels were used for storage, wine making, flour grinding and worship in simple chapels. Everywhere, walls have been blackened from the use of torches.

Passages tend to be fairly narrow affairs, steeply inclined to lead from one level to the next. Only one vertical stairwell exists in the complex, connecting the third and fourth floors.

Long, narrow tubes often connected rooms to different levels, primarily for ventilation but with the added benefit of communication. Unfortunately, these small shafts also allow snakes, rodents and insect vermin to travel throughout the underground village as well.

The first floor contains stables, cellars, storage rooms, etc. Both natural caves and a ventilation shaft that appears as a well amidst ruins on the surface.

The second floor contains an amphitheater where rituals were once held, and several underground tombs which contain dessicated bodies mummified by the dry conditions. Many wall paintings depict the spirits and gods worshiped by the Lakoma.

The third floor consists of mostly living quarters, kitchens and grain storage.

The fourth floor is primarily storage, particularly through the use of earthenware jars.

More inspirational material, particularly pictures of the interior of Derinkuyu, can be found here, here and here.

History
The Lakoma had not yet reached their prime when they were struck down by disease, a ravaging illness brought to their lands by travelers from a distant shore. Many tribes were hit hard by the disease, but the close quarters of the underground city proved devastating to the Lakoma. For over a century, the Caverns of Lakoma lay abandoned, save for a number of plague-ridden undead driven to haunt the halls of the city. Humanoid raiders moved into the caverns a few decades back, waging a battle with the undead as they expanded into the abandoned city. Two years ago, a cabal of diabolists seeking a location to perform their profane rites discovered an entrance into the caverns, and have claimed a portion of the ruins for themselves.

This simple history provides me with three factions to develop: plague-ridden undead and spirits doomed to haunt the city until the end of days, the humanoid raiders that have forged a home for themselves here, and the diabolists and their demon servants/masters. This should give me plenty of fodder for adventure opportunities and site design.

Next post, I will start working through the various elements of dungeon design, putting it all together to create the first level of a colorful site for exploration.

With Regards,
Flynn

Caverns of Lakoma: Let's Explore Dungeon Design...

Good Morning, All:

One of the last elements that needs to be done for prepping Adventure Material for the Egyptian Great Plains mini-setting would be the creation of the first level of the dungeon location I called the Caverns of Lakoma. As the Caverns may set the tone for the rest of the campaign, I want to make sure that I make it as well-rounded as possible. I have a fairly rudimentary list of suggestions for dungeon design in the MyD20 Lite Referee's Guide draft. There is also a great list of suggestions for One Page Dungeons to be found in this post on Quality Dungeons, which gives me pause for thought. I think I'll talk my way through this particular dungeon design here on In Like Flynn, and discuss each element in turn, to see how it would impact the design of the Caverns of Lakoma.

First, I want to compile a list of elements that make up a quality dungeon experience. There should be a number of similarities, simply because the list from MyD20 Lite was inspired by discussions of the first One Page Dungeon contest. Here's the new list, which will likely make it into the Referee's Guide in some form or fashion:

• Create a short background, no more than 2-3 sentences.
• Use the three factions rule. PC actions will tend to have long term consequences if factions are involved.
• Create at least three named NPCS that can server as potential allies, good villains, and provide other opportunities for negotiations and roleplaying interaction. Each NPC should have an interesting personality trait.
• Define relations between the NPCs in a sentence or two.
• Have multiple goals, to increase the diversity of experiences that can be had in the dungeon.
• Have a secret that the players can figure out about the dungeon itself, or some similar concept.
• Use interesting terrain to make things more memorable and more challenging.
• Provide a mix of intelligent opposition, to vary the player experience. At least one encounter should provide a tactical challenge, and thus become interesting through their choice of actions.
• If monsters are not intelligent, make them interesting. Slimes are more interesting than low-level undead because we’ve seen so many of those.
• Provide at least one setup that can be exploited in combat by tactically minded players, such as a bottleneck, a ledge, a bridge, a fortified position, etc.
• Provide an opportunity to spy on enemies for the stealthily minded players, such as a murder hole, a grate, a tiny tunnel, a scrying ball, etc.
• Introduce memorable magic items. A rod of thunder and lightning is better than a +1 sword.
• Provide stuff to interact with for players who like to experiment. Add suggestions for possible reactions.
• Introduce traps that address the potential for classic PC sneakiness, such as using amulets to emulate membership in one of the factions, to encourage thought and consequences.
• Provide an opportunity for long-term change to the player characters, such as earning a title of nobility, finding a magic throne or fountain that permanently changes someone, etc.
• Provide useful room descriptions (probably using the format for Lairs from our earlier discussion on Hex Content templates. Use bolded text sparingly, to help with reading the important elements of an entry.
• Usable map, with in-map notes to make it easier to run at the table.
• Multiple entrances and exits. (Think tunnels, shafts, chimneys and crawlways.)/li>
  

And as a reminder, here's the description for the Caverns of Lakoma:

0406 Caverns of Lakoma: A system of caverns four levels deep, these had been expanded into an underground village by the Lakoma tribe until they fell to a great magical curse and the caverns were abandoned. For more information, see the Caverns of Lakoma notes.

With my next post, I'll start working on the background of the cavern system, and identify the three core factions that will be present, at least on this first level of caves and such.

Enjoy,
Flynn

DCCRPG Beta now available!

Good Evening, All:

This is just a quick note to let everyone know that the DCCRPG Beta rules are now available for download. (I was number 122 to do so. Woohoo!)

http://www.goodman-games.com/DCCRPGbeta.html

Enjoy,
Flynn

Traveller to Savage Worlds: Starships & Spacecraft Conversion...

Good Morning, All:

With two of my players out for the summer, the others of my gaming group decided that they would like to play in a short mini-campaign based on my old Traveller adventures. Taking a few moments (okay, closer to a day and a half), I came up with a set of Savage Worlds conversions for Traveller's spacecraft and starships.

Here are the basic tables I designed for conversion, inspired by the numbers found in Slipstream:

Table: Tonnage Conversion

Tonnage	Toughness	Size	Handling
Under 100	12(2)	Small	+1
100	14(3)	Medium	+0
200	16(4)	Medium	+0
400	18(5)	Medium	+0
600	20(6)	Large	-1
800	22(7)	Large	-1
1000	24(8)	Large	-1
2000	26(9)	Large	-1
4000	28(10)	Huge	-2
6000	30(11)	Huge	-2
8000	32(12)	Huge	-2
10000	34(13)	Huge	-2
20000	36(14)	Gargantuan	-3
40000	38(15)	Gargantuan	-3
60000	40(16)	Gargantuan	-3
80000	42(17)	Gargantuan	-3
100000	44(18)	Gargantuan	-3
200000	46(19)	Gargantuan	-3
400000	48(20)	Gargantuan	-3
600000	50(21)	Gargantuan	-3
800000	52(22)	Gargantuan	-3
1000000	54(23)	Gargantuan	-3

Table: Weapon Conversion

Weapon	Damage	Range	ROF	Notes
Laser, 1-2	2d6	3/6/12	1	AP 6
Laser, 3-5	3d6	3/6/12	1	AP 6
Laser, 6-11	4d6	3/6/12	1	AP 6
Laser, 12+	5d6	3/6/12	1	AP 6
Laser, 50-ton Bay	6d6	3/6/12	1	AP 6
Laser, 100-ton Bay	8d6	3/6/12	1	AP 6
Particle Accelerator, 1-2	2d8	3/6/12	1	AP 7
Particle Accelerator, 3-5	3d8	3/6/12	1	AP 7
Particle Accelerator, 6-11	4d8	3/6/12	1	AP 7
Particle Accelerator, 12+	5d8	3/6/12	1	AP 7
Particle Accelerator, 50-ton Bay	6d8	3/6/12	1	AP 7
Particle Accelerator, 100-ton Bay	8d8	3/6/12	1	AP 7
Missile Rack, 1-2	2d10	6/12/24	1	AP 8; Shots 12; Reload 1
Missile Rack, 3-5	3d10	6/12/24	1	AP 8; Shots 12; Reload 1
Missile Rack, 6-11	4d10	6/12/24	1	AP 8; Shots 12; Reload 1
Missile Rack, 12+	5d10	6/12/24	1	AP 8; Shots 12; Reload 1
Missile Rack, 50-ton Bay	6d10	6/12/24	1	AP 8; Shots 12; Reload 1
Missile Rack, 100-ton Bay	8d10	6/12/24	1	AP 8; Shots 12; Reload 1

Using these tables, I came up with the following conversions, which I offer for those who might be interested in using them for their own Traveller conversions:

Close Escort (Type CE): Size 400 tons (Medium); Maneuver 4; Jump 4; Computer Model/6; Cargo 2 tons; Toughness 18(5); Crew 4+8; Handling: +0; Cost: MCr356; Notes: Armored, Atmospheric, Gig; Weapons: 2x triple laser turrets (Dmg 3d6, Rng 3/6/12, ROF 1, AP 6), 2x triple particle beam turrets (Dmg 3d8, Rng 3/6/12, ROF 1, AP 7).

Corsair (Type P): Size 400 tons (Medium); Maneuver 3; Jump 2; Computer Model/2; Cargo 160 tons; Toughness 18(5); Crew 5+5; Handling: +0; Cost: MCr180; Notes: Low berths (20); Weapons: 4x single laser turret (Dmg 2d6, Rng 3/6/12, ROF 1, AP 6).

Express Boat (Type X): Size 100 tons (Medium); Maneuver --; Jump 4; Computer Model/4; Cargo 1 ton; Toughness 14(3); Crew 1+1; Handling: +0; Cost: MCr70; Notes: None; Weapons: None.

Express Boat Tender (Type XT): Size 1000 tons (Large); Maneuver 1; Jump 1; Computer Model/3; Cargo 60 tons; Toughness 22(7); Crew 6+7; Handling: +0; Cost: MCr275; Notes: Low berths(20), Ship bay (600 tons); Weapons: None.

Free Trader (Type A2): Size 200 tons (Medium); Maneuver 1; Jump 2; Computer Model/1bis; Cargo 61 tons; Toughness 16(4); Crew 6+7; Handling: +0; Cost: MCr66; Notes: Air/raft, Atmospheric, Low berths(4); Weapons: None.

Fighter: Size 10 tons (Small); Maneuver 6; Jump --; Computer Model/1; Cargo 1 ton; Toughness 12(2); Crew 1; Handling: +1; Cost: MCr18; Notes: None; Weapons: 1x single laser turret (Dmg 2d6, Rng 3/6/12, ROF 1, AP 6) or 1x triple missile turret (Dmg 3d10, Rng 6/12/24, ROF 1, AP 8).

Free Trader (Type A): Size 200 tons (Medium); Maneuver 1; Jump 1; Computer Model/1; Cargo 82 tons; Toughness 16(4); Crew 4+8; Handling: +0; Cost: MCr37; Notes: Atmospheric, Low berths(20); Weapons: None.

Gig: Size 20 tons (Small); Maneuver 6; Jump --; Computer Model/1; Cargo 2 tons; Toughness 12(2); Crew 2+4; Handling: +1; Cost: MCr28; Notes: Low berths (3); Weapons: 1x single laser turret (Dmg 2d6, Rng 3/6/12, ROF 1, AP 6).

Jump Shuttle (Type JS): Size 200 tons (Medium); Maneuver 3 (or 1 with SDB); Jump 2 (x3, Jump 1 with SDB and x2); Computer Model/1bis; Cargo 2 tons; Toughness 16(4); Crew 3; Handling: +0; Cost: MCr94; Notes: None; Weapons: None.

Lab Ship (Type L): Size 400 tons (Medium); Maneuver 1; Jump 2; Computer Model/2; Cargo 24 tons; Toughness 18(5); Crew 5+15; Handling: +0; Cost: MCr161; Notes: Labs (100 tons), Pinnace; Weapons: None.

Launch (or Lifeboat): Size 20 tons (Small); Maneuver 1; Jump --; Computer Model/1; Cargo 13 tons; Toughness 12(2); Crew 2; Handling: +1; Cost: MCr18; Notes: None; Weapons: 1x single missile turret (Dmg 2d10, Rng 6/12/24, ROF 1, AP 8).

Mercenary Cruiser (Type C): Size 800 tons (Large); Maneuver 3; Jump 3; Computer Model/5; Cargo 80 tons; Toughness 22(7); Crew 9+20; Handling: +0; Cost: MCr237; Notes: Air/raft, Modular cutter (x2, with ATV Modules); Weapons: None.

Modular Cutter: Size 50 tons (Small); Maneuver 4; Jump --; Computer Model/1; Cargo 2.5 tons; Toughness 12(2); Crew 2+1; Handling: +1; Cost: MCr28; Notes: 30-ton Module bay; Weapons: 2x single laser turret (Dmg 2d6, Rng 3/6/12, ROF 1, AP 6).
Modules:
ATV module: includes either a wheeled or a tracked ATV, masses 30 tons. MCrl.8.
Fuel module: 30 tons of fuel tankage. MCrl.
Open module: Customizable frame with 30 tons of excess space which can be allocated to passenger couches, fuel, cargo, cabins or staterooms. MCr2.

Patrol Cruiser (Type T): Size 400 tons (Medium); Maneuver 4; Jump 3; Computer Model/3; Cargo 50 tons; Toughness 18(5); Crew 6+12; Handling: +0; Cost: MCr221; Notes: Atmospheric, G-Carrier, Low berths (4), Ship's Boat; Weapons: 2x triple laser turrets (Dmg 3d6, Rng 3/6/12, ROF 1, AP 6), 2x triple missile turrets (Dmg 3d10, Rng 6/12/24, ROF 1, AP 8).

Pinnace: Size 40 tons (Small); Maneuver 5; Jump --; Computer Model/1; Cargo 22 tons; Toughness 12(2); Crew 2; Handling: +1; Cost: MCr20; Notes: None; Weapons: 1x single laser turret (Dmg 2d6, Rng 3/6/12, ROF 1, AP 6).

Safari Ship (Type K): Size 200 tons (Medium); Maneuver 1; Jump 2; Computer Model/1bis; Cargo 2 tons; Toughness 16(4); Crew 6+8; Handling: +0; Cost: MCr69; Notes: Air/raft, Atmospheric, Caging Area (10 tons), Marine Caging Area (13 tons), Life Boat, Trophy Room (10 tons); Weapons: None.

Scout/Courier (Type S): Size 100 tons (Medium); Maneuver 2; Jump 2; Computer Model/1bis; Cargo 3 tons; Toughness 14(3); Crew 1+3; Handling: +0; Cost: MCr29; Notes: Air/raft, Atmospheric; Weapons: None.

Seeker (Type J): Size 100 tons (Medium); Maneuver 2; Jump 2 (although only enough fuel normally for Jump 1); Computer Model/1bis; Cargo 3 tons; Toughness 14(3); Crew 1+3; Handling: +0; Cost: MCr24; Notes: Air/raft, Atmospheric, Half-sized staterooms, Ore Bays (x2, 20 tons each), Prospecting Buggy; Weapons: 1x single laser turret (Dmg 2d6, Rng 3/6/12, ROF 1, AP 6).

Ship's Boat: Size 30 tons (Small); Maneuver 6; Jump --; Computer Model/1; Cargo 14 tons; Toughness 12(2); Crew 2; Handling: +1; Cost: MCr16; Notes: None; Weapons: 1x single laser turret (Dmg 2d6, Rng 3/6/12, ROF 1, AP 6).

Shuttle: Size 95 tons (Small); Maneuver 3; Jump --; Computer Model/1; Cargo 71 ton; Toughness 12(2); Crew 2; Handling: +1; Cost: MCr33; Notes: None; Weapons: 1x single laser turret (Dmg 2d6, Rng 3/6/12, ROF 1, AP 6).

Slow Boat: Size 30 tons (Small); Maneuver 3; Jump --; Computer Model/1; Cargo 20 tons; Toughness 12(2); Crew 2; Handling: +1; Cost: MCr15; Notes: None; Weapons: 1x single laser turret (Dmg 2d6, Rng 3/6/12, ROF 1, AP 6).

Slow Pinnace: Size 40 tons (Small); Maneuver 2; Jump --; Computer Model/1; Cargo 32 tons; Toughness 12(2); Crew 2; Handling: +1; Cost: MCr18; Notes: None; Weapons: 1x single laser turret (Dmg 2d6, Rng 3/6/12, ROF 1, AP 6).

Subsidized Liner (Type M): Size 600 tons (Large); Maneuver 1; Jump 3; Computer Model/3; Cargo 129 tons; Toughness 20(6); Crew 9+25; Handling: +0; Cost: MCr237; Notes: Launch, Low berths (20); Weapons: None.

Subsidized Merchant (Type R): Size 400 tons (Medium); Maneuver 1; Jump 1; Computer Model/1; Cargo 200 tons; Toughness 18(5); Crew 5+16; Handling: +0; Cost: MCr101; Notes: Atmospheric, Launch, Low berths (9); Weapons: None.

System Defense Boat (Type SB): Size 400 tons (Medium); Maneuver 6; Jump --; Computer Model/5fib; Cargo 5 tons; Toughness 18(5); Crew 10; Handling: +0; Cost: MCr777; Notes: Atmospheric, Heavily Armored; Weapons: 2x triple laser turrets (Dmg 3d6, Rng 3/6/12, ROF 1, AP 6), 2x triple missile turrets (Dmg 3d10, Rng 6/12/24, ROF 1, AP 8).

Yacht (Type Y): Size 200 tons (Medium); Maneuver 1; Jump 1(x2); Computer Model/1; Cargo 11 tons; Toughness 16(4); Crew 4+9; Handling: +0; Cost: MCr51; Notes: Air/raft, ATV, Double Sized Noble Suite, Ship's Boat; Weapons: None.

Hope This Helps,
Flynn

Sandbox Preparation: And Now The Map...

Good Morning, All:

To wrap up the initial steps of minimal sandbox preparation, I have provided the following map of the Egyptian Great Plains setting. It was designed using Hexographer, which I heartily recommend to anyone who, like myself, has problems creating their own maps. (We all can't be Rob Conley.)

I've taken the liberty of marking the rest of this map with the other locations I'd mentioned in a previous post. It makes for an interesting locale, if a little unbalanced in terms of locations of our points of interest. Still, I like what I see, and am pleased. What are your thoughts?

Now, the only thing left to do before this can roll into play is to develop the first level of the dungeon known as the Caverns of Lakoma. I'll start that next week, and take some time to explore some dungeon design principles along the way.

More Later,
Flynn

Sandbox Preparation: Adventure Material, All In A Day's Ride...

Good Morning, All:

This post should wrap up the initial work on Adventure Material for my example on Minimal Sandbox Preparation using the Egyptian Great Plains setting. In essence, what I'm doing here is applying the templates I've discussed previously to the individual entries within two hexes (one day's travel) around the Home Base, Ashaba.

Important Locations within a Day's Travel of Ashaba
0304 Carrion Fields: Scavengers feast on bloated, charred bovalo bodies lying in numerous circular burned patches the size of fireballs. Each beast's horn has been cut from its facial frill.

0406 Caverns of Lakoma: A system of caverns four levels deep, these had been expanded into an underground village by the Lakoma tribe until they fell to a great magical curse and the caverns were abandoned. For more information, see the Caverns of Lakoma notes.

0503 Wendigo Lair: Collapsed adobe building smells of death and decay. 4 wendigos. Aggressively attack. Four adventurers' packs, potion of healing, 5 medium gems, 30 silver.

0505 Ashaba (Small City, Pop. 8000): Dictatorship; Reaction To Outsiders: Indifferent; Resources: Slaves; Important NPCs: Nekhba, Nomarch of Ashaba (beautiful human female aristocrat), Renotep, High Priest of Meritesh (elderly human male priest of Meritus), Gahemun, Master Slaver (obese human male rogue). Lying along the Guidid Iteru (Badari for “new big river”), the small city of Ashaba is an oasis of civilization on the frontier of the Badari settlements in the New World.

0605 Wolfrider War Party: Wooded copse, abandoned campsite invite use. 10 warriors, led by Running Bovalo (scarred human male warrior). Ambush travellers, particularly merchants. Seventy pounds of trade goods worth 750 silver, and 150 silver in coin.

0606 Animal Pit Traps: Three large spiked pit traps, twenty feet deep, placed along game trails. If undiscovered, could cause falling damage, plus possible spear damage.

0705 Temple of the Sun (Temple, Pop. 40): Theocracy; Reaction To Outsiders: Friendly; Resources: Divine spellcasting; Important NPCs: Shaket, High Priestess of Vanuroth (fanatical human female priest of Vanuros), Mukantimana, Oracle of the Sun (sphinx). The oracle Mukantimana dwells in this remote shrine to the Sun Lord, offering prophetic insight to those who answer her riddles.

The only other obvious piece of work that needs to be done here would be to create the first level of caverns of Lakoma, the dungeon located at 0505. The other levels can wait until the players decide to investigate and explore that area, or can be developed as you have time after the game has begun. However, for simply preparing the setting to begin sandbox play, we should be almost ready to go.

Our next step, of course, is the Regional Map. By this point in time, it may practically draw itself!

With Regards,
Flynn