Secret Santicorn 2019

First off, season's greetings to you, Walfalcon!

Secondly, I am sorry. This is almost, but not quite, unlike anything you asked for...

---

This is my submission for the OSR discord channel's Secret Santicorn, given Walfalcon's gift request:

Something punk rock AF. Possibly related to England in the early 80s. Possibly also related to ska/reggae. Alternatively, vaporwave content would be appreciated. Monster, dungeon, class, whatever.

With a sinking feeling, I looked to my 'most recently played' list - somehow I felt that Matt Berry's Kill The Wolf, The Goons' Unchained Melodies: The Complete Recordings and the Chicken Run soundtrack weren't going to cut it as inspiration.

Walfalcon, I'm afraid my knowledge of music and its underlying themes and memes is absolutely atrocious - my sole reference for punk is Patrick Moore letting himself go. And it's better than my understanding of vaporwave.

So I put Building the Crate* on repeat, ran with your 'related to England'** prompt and just hope that it might have some usefully punk-ish flavouring. (I fear, though, that I have simply equated punk with horror...)

It might not be a complete resource, but obviously that is to allow a GM room for their own creativity and not an end result of over-ambition and lack of focus. It's a toolbox, missing a few tools.

---

* Best track for when letting the momentum of creativity take you from absolutely nothing to at least something. Includes all the beats: the despair of a blank page, the little flicker of inspiration, the tentative examination of the idea, the snowballing momentum of getting idea onto paper, the gut-dropping doubt about 75% of the way through when the idea seems terrible, and the final flurry of wrapping things up 'cos it doesn't matter is something is terrible so long as there's something finished to hand in. This got me through so many university assignments. 

I am listening to it now.

** No, England is not the same as London, but it was the first simplistic map which sprang to mind.

---

The Underground Caverns of Nodnol

Keyed version here
Blank, unkeyed player version here
Paint.Net file with layers here

Sorry, I have filled out the details on nowhere near that number of rooms.


HISTORY

This cavernous network is home to a number of known, sentient humanoid cultures, and innumerably more known unknowns. It is centuries old at the very least, and very little is known of its creators. Some discovered journals belonging to some explorers of old refer to a nation known as 'elf-ants' rule the passageways. Other documents have been recovered which indicate they were written by these elf-ants themselves, though they speak only of petty politics amongst themselves, and never refer to their nature by name. For all we know, they may have simply been humans, though there are theories pertaining to their physical appearance that speculate the existence of multiple legs and a natural affinity for digging en masse. These theorists are plainly charlatans.

What is certain is that they view themselves as the natural overlords of this subterranean jungle, and that they no longer are. Just what happened to them may never be known. 


FACTIONS

The Bakers

This large clan of unabashed cannibals holds sway over the north-western regions of Nodnol. Even when there is other food available, the Bakers choose to capture, fatten up and eat humanoids, considering them to be a pastry delicacy. That is not to say that they eat anyone who passes through their territory, but many explorers and adventurers find themselves being sized up in a very different way to what they might be used to. 

Bakers conduct themselves in a very charming manner, keen to welcome visitors and open up avenues whereby they might source more exotic humanoids. The average Baker is considerably overweight and sparsely clothed - if at all - for the heat from their ovens has little in the way of escape, and visitors often wonder just how much hotter the ovens can be than the temperature outside.

Each family group within the clan is very proud of its man-sized ceramic oven, and will often decorate it with exquisite carvings which are, from one angle, fine art and, from another angle, recipes. Meal times are of great communal significance, and several families will sit around an enormous pie, measuring up to six feet in diameter, and eat together.

Best to bring sandwiches if you plan to stay under their roof, though.


The Cullers

Some adventurers over the last few years have seen fit to try and set up a base of operations whereby they might venture further into the depth of Nodnol. They quickly found themselves beset by raiders and attackers. Through strenuous and frustrating negotiations with the Jubilant, they ensured that they might have a neighbouring ally rather than enemy to the south, on the condition that they particularly seek out and destroy giant lion beetles, a forearm-long creature which feasted with special relish on the Jubilant Lot's fungi food source.

Over the last decade, this agreement became the prime objective of many of these adventurers and the family units which began to form, and now they find themselves dedicating most of their resources to dispatching these pests rather than seeking out whatever treasures the elf-ants may have left in the tunnels. Some resent this, others merely shrug and adapt.

While not necessarily flourishing numerically, the Cullers are among the most feared martial fighters in the caverns, and they conduct themselves in a fierce but shrewd manner. Do not be complacent about them - most of them have chosen to live in Nodnol.


The Hammersmiths

These, Nodnol's inhabitants most likely to be seen above ground, have little in the way of dealings with the other 'human' denizens down in the depths, and quite frankly who can blame them? They have more dealings with the outside world than the other communities because they are in possession of Nodnol's asset most highly valued in the overland circles - it's ore deposits.

They mine this ore, and from it fashion strong weapons and armour in great demand above ground. They seldom venture further into the deep of Nodnol because they seldom have need - they are able to trade most essentials and luxuries with surface merchants. The only time they will head down with be when they seek out further veins, and to do so they will clad themselves entirely in the finest armour, for they know the dangers below. 

They have no sense of sound whatsoever. Their forefathers' constant mining and forging in enclosed caverns meant that the Hammersmiths quickly evolved out of their systems any need for hearing, and they communicate in an athletic series of lithe actions quite at odds with their gruff demeanour. Some might even call it dancing.

Any visitor to Hammersmith territory will do well to protect their ears because the sound of mining and forging in enclosed caverns is really, really loud, and liable to cause considerable lasting pain to any unprepared for the echoing cacophony of hammers striking metal all around the underground clock - there is no day or night here, and it is far more efficient to have the forges in constant use through the organisation of shifts and rotas.

* ...these are just deaf dwarves, aren't they? I was even about to type that they can sense movement through the stone around them.

Beards are not highly regarded amongst the Hammersmith. Stray hairs drop in forges, and long beards get caught in armour casing.

And what's in cavern #8? Why is it not within the Hammersmiths' territory? They have never said.


The Jubilant Lot

While the sound of the Hammersmiths is one of industry and rhythm, adventurers can mark the presence of the Jubilant Lot by the sound of shrill laughter.

The laughter comes in many forms, some maniacal, some sinister, even occasionally delightful, but chuckles, cackles and guffaws ring our around the tunnels by the Jubilant Lot. Conversation with them requires patience and decent interpretation as discussions are punctuated by sniggers and giggles.

They are amongst the more anarchic and loose communities in Nodnol, and refer to themselves as the 'fun guys'. Fun is relative. They laugh uproariously through anything - death of a loved one, the loss of a limb, intimate evenings - and some even say that the air leaving a corpse comes out as one final titter. Nobody knows the exact cause of this remarkable affliction, but most point towards the Loowater Mushroom which makes up most of the Jubilant diet.

This of course makes it nigh on impossible to be surprised by a Jubilant raid - and the Hammersmiths will hire guards purely to sit and listen out for them - but they are also able to fight on through otherwise debilitating injuries, either feeling no pain or being powered on by some internal desire to see what the next moment holds. The more powerful the laugh, the more the laugher can endure before finally being silenced.

He who laughs last, laughs hardest.


The Scent Rats

The Scent Rats protest vociferously that they are human. They point to the artwork on their walls. They show the carefully archived and documented studies that they have carried out on the other denizens of Nodnol. They highlight their judicial system and positive behavioural reintegration schemes. They gesture to the Jubilant and Bakers and ask, really, are we counting them as human?

They demonstrate with a flourish their pride and joy - the aromatic minerals they take from the cavern around and carve with an artisan's pride into exquisite figures, making their territory the finest smelling and most hygienic of all of Nodnol, free of mould and damp. Such stony designs are highly sought after by certain members of overworld society (though not as desired as the Hammersmiths' weapons and armour because that is the way of the world), and many are freely given out to members of other Nodnol communities in an attempt to spread good will and encourage cleaner living.

But come on - they're walking, talking rats. They've got tails.


The Strict

Nobody knows much about the Strict. They keep to themselves and welcome no visitors. Rarely are they seen beyond their territories, and any interaction with them is brief and curt.

They are the palest of the sentient denizens, and extremely slim. Not skeletal, though they ought to be considering what must be an extreme paucity of food. They don't appear to hunt anything beyond their territories, and no evidence of Loowater Mushroom consumption is evident in their humourless faces. No one has ever reported seeing them eat anything. What do they live on?

They are extremely regimented and stern. They say only what they need to say, and in the fewest syllables possible. Cunning is the adventurer who can get one of the Strict to unwittingly reveal a secret. And there must surely be many secrets to reveal. 

Some adventurers have claimed to have had comrades fall in the caverns, and then seen very slim and almost... sleek... versions of those companions amongst the ranks of the Strict. 


NOTABLE LOCATIONS

1. The Crossing of Wrathful Kings

On of the few parts of Nodnol specifically mentioned in the ancient elf-ant documents. Apparently it led to a particularly lucrative or empowering spot, and whoever controlled the pass effectively controlled the entire cavern. Historical sources never explicitly explained why, but some sages have theorised some sort of magical device which allowed its controller to regulate the contents of the whole network.

As such, it was the scene of many a battle, with monarchs rising up and overthrowing each other, to be deposed themselves further down the line. Although we cannot be sure of specific timelines, it would seem that very few elf-ant rulers passed away peacefully in their sleep.


17. The Elf-Ant Castle

It must have been on a first-come-first-survived basis, but deep within Jubilant territory lies a most impregnable fortress dating back to the height of the elf-ant era. It is the key reason the Cullers remain trapped in this 'alliance' with the Jubilant instead of having overrun them years ago.

While it ensures their position of strength within Nodnol, the underground castle is wasted in Jubilant hands. What manner of treasures and historical documentation must there be in those halls. Surely the archives can't all have been used a bog roll. 


38. Netting Gate

This massive set of stone gates guard one of the known routes into Nodnol from the surface, but they have been stuck open throughout living memory. The area is noteworthy for being a rare example of cooperation between several of the underground communities. The cavern is littered with deeps pits containing nets into which many an unwary visitor or overland beast has fallen. The Bakers claim any humanoid victims, the Scent Rats any animal or beast, and the Strict take any clothing or valuables from either.


49. The Bakers' Treats

This enormous cavern houses some of the Bakers' most prized captives. The line between captive and guest is blurred, for a meal is not improved by starving the protein. The walls are lined with the most luxurious cages imaginable, with great beds and dining spaces, with the inhabitants attended to by courteous minders. The chubbier captives are the one who have been there the longest, and the closest to their dinner date. Very few are allowed to pass their use-by point.

These captives herald from all over the overland world, for an exotic individual is a prized meal indeed. They are often happy to recount their own stories of travel and excitement, for many have worked out that the more extravagant the tale, the better and more plentiful their future meals are.


63. The Axe Fool's Circus

Deep in Nodnol, in a cavern unclaimed by any of the major factions, lives a hermit who surrounds himself with tamed monsters of the deep. They roam freely, uncaged, yet do not strike him. He has never told anyone his secret, though he has always promised to do so if they let him relive his former days as an axe thrower in a travelling circus troupe. The thing is, his axes never miss...


MONSTERS

Elf-Ant Cast Off

"They were left behind, or were tough enough to outlast their masters."

Our only impression of what ant-elves looked like has been unquestionably tainted by these waist-high creatures, but we know from the records that they were regarded as vermin and inferior by these caverns' builders. Perhaps these beasts were the ant-elves' constructions tools, burying into the ground at their masters' instructions and leaving us this vast underground network. 

Be wary if you see more than a dozen - they usually herald a swarm, crawling over floors walls and ceilings in their hundreds.

Armour Class: as leather
Hit Dice: 1
Move: Standard, climb as standard
Damage: 1d4 (bite)
Quantity: 2d4
Swarm: When endangered, they emit a pheromone which attracts more of their kind which usually emerge from the earth nearby. Every other round, 1d4 more cast offs appear.



Gape

"Mind the Gape..."

Most inhabitants of Nodnol, in their own way, will warn you of the gapes, large but inconspicuous creatures whose ability to lie so perfectly still in wait can entrap even the most cautious adventurer. Their prey's last thoughts are usually 'Oh, of course that was a Gape', followed quickly by 'Aaargh'.

The most reported of their hunting techniques speaks of how they burrow their massive form into a widened nook in the ground, and then lie there with their gaping maw wide open, waiting patiently for any unwary victim. 

They will eat anything.

Armour Class: as chain
Hit Dice: 6
Move: Standard
Damage: 2d6 (bite)
Quantity: 1
Stationary hunter: When first encountered, the Gape can only be detected as a trap. If the 'trap' is triggered, the unfortunate PC must save to avoid being swallowed whole. Every turn they are swallowed, they take 1d6 damage. Up to three human-sized creatures can be swallowed at a time.



Punky Gibbon

"Don't, don't, don't do the punky gibbon."

Nobody knows whether these creatures are some sick creation of a bored sorcerer or if their defence mechanism evolved to shield their ancestors from the elf-ants wiles. Whatever the case, these ape-like beasts wander the tunnels of Nodnol in small packs leaving a trail of despair and misery in their wake.

Literal despair and misery, for anything with even the most simple connection to emotions finds itself reduced to a sorrowful state of gloom in their presence. They are not physically intimidating, but they don't need to be - the punky gibbon's food often looks on in resignation as it is torn apart and eaten alive.

Armour Class: as unarmoured
Hit Dice: 1
Move: Standard
Damage: 1d6 (bite or scratch)
Quantity: 1d6
Despairing aura: Any creature getting too close to a Punky Gibbon must save vs despair or sink into a sorrowful gloom, internally wailing at the pointlessness of it all. They cannot - or will not - resist anything, even if harmful to them.



The Many Faces of Nodnol

"All eyes are upon you..."

No one knows where in the depths these things came from, but they can't be natural, can they? Some of them can speak, and talk of and curse the elf-ants - but surely that would mean that they are centuries old at least. And are they not elf-ants, then? The end result of a magical cataclysm? A self-replicating hex?

What is known, though, is that they seek to amalgamate, not destroy. Some of the faces in this mass of flesh and... stuff.. are newer and younger. They approach slowly and envelope their target. Before long, the victim's face can be seen in the crowd, their individuality gone and replaced by a seething desire to bring all others into the fold. Some of these creatures are large enough to fill a cavern all by themselves, unable to move but able to entrap careless wanderers.

Armour Class: as chain
Hit Dice: 6+
Move: Half standard
Damage: special
Quantity: 1
Mass appeal: The many seek to add yet more to their number. Instead of attacking, their target must make a save against being enveloped. If they are still there after one combat turn, they are subsumed into the great collection and their face, shorn of all personality, is now visible to the party. There is nothing else left of the adventurer.

White Box: Fantasy Medieval Adventure Game character Sheet

I've become particularly enamoured with White Box: Fantasy Medieval Adventure Game in the last few weeks, and had some spare moments during a recent holiday to scrawl down a freehand character sheet. Still learning. 

Printable two to a sheet of A4.

The Village of Orlane

An online game running through Against the Cult of the Reptile God fizzled out fairly quickly, but not before I'd invested some prep time into it.

I didn't like the perpendicularity of the village of Orlane in the original module's map, so I scribbled my own unkeyed version for use. Hopefully I can run through the module again some time with another group.

Until then, here it the map of the village, should anyone wish to use it. I hope to get some use out of it some time in the future.

Wretches & Riches - version 0.41

This is the homebrew game I've been putting friends and family through. It started off as a GLOG hack with gradually more and more Knave and Black Hack elements introduced, then cut out, then sewn back in again. Then Into The Odd reared its head, and apparently it's taken on some Savage Worlds developments too. I've never read Savage Worlds, so others will be in a better position to compare them.

I've never found reading rulebooks easy. The information just doesn't get absorbed efficiently, and I really struggle to translate what I read to what the process might look like in action at the (physical or virtual) table. I wanted to a game which might be a bit kinder to those of us less academically-inclined folks. Pictures, diagrams and examples aplenty. Minimal modifiers.

Old School Compatibility

I wanted to keep it compatible with all the D&D modules out there so it couldn't stray too far from that framework, but it certainly pushes the boundaries. It's various versions have been through the Tomb of the Serpent Kings, the Stygian Library, Fever Swamp and various Trilemma adventures, and its currently running through Against the Cult of the Reptile God. From a GM's perspective, I'd say it has been simple enough to convert things, particularly monsters, on the fly.

Key points:

• Attributes are dice, not modifiers - ranging from d4 to a max of d12. Roll 3+ to succeed a check. Don't roll if it's too easy or impossible. Roll with advantage or disadvantage if there needs to be an adjustment made for difficulty. Opposed rolls if another party is involved (traps and the like can be interpreted to be another party).
  
  This means there's a tactile element to go with a character's attribute improvement.
   
• Four attributes rather than six: Might, Nimbleness, Discipline and Wits. Two physical and two mental. No charisma stat - if a player wants to roll during a conversation, the attribute is determined by the character's approach to the conversation (Might for intimidating, Wits to be charming, etc).
   
• Luck which is also a die - the player can choose to roll it with any other attribute die. Essentially players can choose to roll with Advantage, but if the Luck die rolls 1-3, it drops down a size.
   
• Inventory as HP - the more you get hit, the less you can carry and the less effective you are. Characters have twice as many burden slots as their highest attribute die, and these are used for noting equipment, spells and archetypal abilities. Each point of damage taken fills up a slot with an Encumbrance - any contents must be dropped or rendered unusable. If all slots are filled with Encumbrances, the character rolls on the Death / Reprieve table.
   
• Opposed combat rolls with both participants rolling a single die depending on their weapon. Highest roll inflicts the difference in damage (except in ranged combat - if the defender wins, they've just avoided damage). Armour reduces this damage to a minimum of 1. Shields don't reduce damage, but reduce the size of the opponent's die. If a character uses a weapon die higher than their Might die, then they roll at disadvantage. Allies can roll their dice together and take the sum for their side.
   
• Powerful but dangerous and unreliable magic where the player chooses how many magic dice to roll (equal size to the character's Wits die), and the number that roll 4+ is the level at which the spell is cast. Doubles reduce the Wits die and trebles cause a magical mishap which permanently takes up a burden slot (until the character performs a quest for a wizard or something like that).
  
  I like the idea that a character could decide to go out with a bang and cast at a level which, while dooming themselves, might well eliminate an army of opponents.
   
• Die-based hirelings for simple book keeping - just need to record their die, inventory (equal to die size) and what they're good at. If they need to do anything, roll their die as the appropriate attribute. If it's an area of expertise, roll the next die size up (if they need to roll at all). Getting injured drops their die size down. Use their die for any morale rolls.

Format-wise, it prints nicely as an A5 booklet. The first half accounts for character creation, and the second half encompasses the basic rules. Open up the middle page spread and that's the start of the rules, covering the main points of controlling a character.

Art from W M Goodes' work in the public domain, taken from A Comic Guide to the English and A Comic Guide to the Greeks. It captures the sort of tone I like in my games, and there's a load of good stuff. Any spare white space in further Wretches & Riches work is definitely going to get filled.

PDF of the game book is available here.
Google Sheets version of the character sheet is available here.

Boiling tar-exuding rubber monster

Needed a summoned monster for a magic-using sect doing their evil business underneath a tavern. I wanted to foreshadow its presence and nature, and as that is something in which I have little practice it needed to be about as subtle as a custard pie. As I sat with my notebook to hand, the well-travelled nearby roundabout entertained a young driver wishing to show off their manliness with a display of the squealies. I had my smell.

I had a Dyson map set up on Roll20 so I knew a token would be handy. In a attempt to shift away from the cartoony style used up to this point, and to fit in a bit better with the Dyson house style, I quickly scribbled down a few generic monster images. Turns out my default setting is to do a human or lizard with slightly exaggerated features. Will have to work on that.

I resolved to not get too drawn in to sketching out the whole thing. Sometimes less is more - too definitive a portrayal removes the mystique from an encounter, and it would allow for a bit more flexibility when describing the thing at the table.

---

Name: Monster 006 (boiling tar-exuding rubbed monster)

HD: 8

AC: As plate

Att: Bludgeon x2, +8, 2d8+4
or
Spew boiling tar, up to three targets in front must pass DEX save or suffer 4d8 damage (1/day), and d6 damage from anyone standing on it at the start of their turn.

Notes:
- Will inflate its body like bullfrog before exhaling a boiling tarry substance.
- Anyone striking it with a slashing or piercing melee weapon takes d6 damage as they get splashed.
- Stinks of burned rubber, can inflate itself to fill a confined space. Stretchable limbs give it extended reach.

---

I deliberately avoided naming it anything specific. I'd made the mistake of referring to a wine golem by its name earlier in the dungeon, and even in an online game I could sense the shift in player's approach to what had been a weird creature punching its way out of a storeroom barrel. Suddenly it was a quantifiable thing.

This thing, instead, remains labelled in a Roll20 folder as Monster 006.

Using OSR monsters in 5e, and simplifying 5e stat blocks

I typed out a pretty hot-aired response to someone on reddit, and it formalised a mental process I've been using which I'd like to get down on virtual paper. It's all very loosey-goosey, but it helps clarify my thinking.

---

Original Question:

Anyone have experience or tips for simplifying 5e monsters into a more OSR style? What are your favorite tips and tricks?

---

My First Response:

Alas, for I have forked out for the 5e Monster Manual, but I think it's probably easier just working from the older edition stat blocks - they're a heck of a lot easier to improv too.

I focus on working out a rough HD for the monster, from which I can get most of the important numbers.

AC = 10 + HD, unless you have a simple armour system, in which case use that.

Attack bonus = +HD
Attack damage for humanoids = nearest die to HD + 4 rounded down. Use the next highest die if the NPC is skilled at fighting.
Attack damage for monsters = [1/2 HD]d[HD] damage, can be split

# of hits until death = HD. If a damage roll is more than 10, count it as 2 hits. Ignore hits of less than 5 damage.

Target number for strong stat = 10 + HD
Target number for average stat = 10 + 1/2 HD
Target number for weak stat = 10

So a monster I used yesterday for four lvl 3 5e characters was a summoned rubbery monster. My entire notes for it, scrawled down a few minutes before the session, were:


Rubber/tar-demon - HD8

- Bludgeon x2 - +8, 2d8

- Spew boiling tar - Dex save or 4d8 damage

- For every slashing or piercing strike against it in melee, attacker takes d6 damage from spraying tar

- burnt rubber smell, gaping mouth, stretchy limbs & stomach expanding like a balloon before spewing


Kept the PCs going for a few rounds, bringing even the ridiculous AC20 raging half-damage-suffering Barbarian down to 5HP.

---

Original Poster's Response:

This is pretty great and I am stealing that monster; But I should have clarified that I meant how can I take an existing monsters stat block from the MM and boil it down into something like this. But it gives me some good insight on how to create my own monsters and I am sure it would be easy enough to adapt.

A few questions;

• How do you determine which die size to use for HD? Is it just arbitrary?
• I am terrible at math and don't understand this formula haha [1/2 HD]d[HD] ; can you clarify?
• I like the idea of number of hits before death, and that's a good formula and a way to let the players still roll damage, which is fun. I think I will adapt that but have you ever just used straight hp? Easy enough to roll up.
• Can you explain the target numbers for stats? Do you mean that if the monsters Strong Stat is it Strength, and it has an ability that requires a strength save from the player, the save is 10+HD?
• Do you bother with monsters having their own bonuses to Saving throws or Stats? Seems like no, and I agree really. You could follow the same formula from Strong/Average/Weak stat easy enough and even on the fly.
• Do you make your boss monsters the same way? Or make them more complicated?

Thanks for this! I am planning a werewolf encounter for tomorrow and I want to keep it fast and dramatic. It will write up my own stats based on this formula and the block from the MM.

---

My Incredibly Long-Winded Second Response:

Steal away!

• How do you determine which die size to use for HD? Is it just arbitrary?

I generally assume d8 as it averages out the big and small, but most of the time I don't actually used Hit Dice as dice at all. Especially so with 5e monsters, since they use so many more than the older editions.

• I am terrible at math and don't understand this formula haha [1/2 HD]d[HD] ; can you clarify?

I am certainly no mathematician either. I still have to stop and remember which way round > goes!

It simply means take the HD and halve it, and that's how many dice worth of damage the monster can do in a turn. The size of the damage die is roughly equivalent to whatever their HD is (so an HD8 monster would use d8, an HD11 monster would use d10 or d12 - usually d12 because 5e PCs are tough.)

Actually, I missed out extra damage on the formula - add half the HD in damage onto the roll, essentially accounting for the attribute bonus.

Split the dice as you wish, if you think the monster would have multiattack.

Another example: an HD6 monster would do 3d6 + 3 damage. This could be one attack using three dice, three attacks using one die, or two attacks using two dice in one and one die in the other.

• I like the idea of number of hits before death, and that's a good formula and a way to let the players still roll damage, which is fun. I think I will adapt that but have you ever just used straight hp? Easy enough to roll up.

I have done, and it probably works well enough with one or two monsters, but it can quickly get tricky keeping track of it all. Not difficult, necessarily, but you'll be scrawling down a lot of numbers which can make it harder to remember how well the monsters are each doing.

Using HD as number of hits, it meant that the session before I (as I say, not a mathematician and not great with numbers) felt pretty comfortable running a mass combat of four PCs and four of their NPC allies against some fifteen unique human foes each with a different spell. It just meant I used tallies rather than addition, which sped things up no end!

• Can you explain the target numbers for stats? Do you mean that if the monsters Strong Stat is it Strength, and it has an ability that requires a strength save from the player, the save is 10+HD?
• Do you bother with monsters having their own bonuses to Saving throws or Stats? Seems like no, and I agree really. You could follow the same formula from Strong/Average/Weak stat easy enough and even on the fly.

I don't sweat too much about all the different saves and treat most of them as strong - reasoning that HD is good stand in for 'how difficult is this monster?'. If the monster is forcing the PC to make a save, chances are it's using a 'strong' stat. So yeah, it's the Save DC, essentially.

I also find players don't worry so much about what a monster is weak at compared to what the PC is strong at. If they force the monster to make a save, it's d20 + HD. Mathematically it's the same (like Perception and Passive Perception).

If there is something obvious though, like a Wisdom save for an ogre, then I essentially roll with no modifier.

• Do you make your boss monsters the same way? Or make them more complicated?

Actually, that was the boss monster of sorts, albeit with a lot of those human enemies around. I probably would have put some more thought into it and its special abilities had it been alone, but the core numbers would have remained the same. Essentially, this HD system means I have a core base for monster onto which I can stick any special ability I like, which is what players actually remember from a fight.

• But I should have clarified that I meant how can I take an existing monsters stat block from the MM and boil it down into something like this. But it gives me some good insight on how to create my own monsters and I am sure it would be easy enough to adapt.

This has already become rather long-winded, and I might have to come back to it, but I'm pretty sure you could condense most of the monster stat blocks to something like the above. As I say, it's the special abilities which really make the monster, so take those and adjust things like DCs (and probably just summarise them - 5e is full of generally unnecessary legal-like clauses).

For a number to base the monsters around, I'd take the CR rating instead of HD, and just round up the fraction CRs to 1.

Let's try it. I've just leaned across, grabbed my monster manual and opened to a random page.

Barbed Devil - CR5

Okay, so let's work with that CR.

AC15

Attack bonus: +5

Damage: 2d6+3

Strong stat / DC: +5 / 15

Average stat / DC: +3 / 13

Weak stat / DC: +0 / 10

Not too far off the actual numbers. It doesn't do as much damage in the monster manual, but it's better against save effects.

Its special rules - Barbed Hide, Devils' Sight and Magic Resistance - can stay as they are. In fact so can the attacks.

So if I were to try and condense the stat block, I'd probably go for:

Barbed Devil - CR5

Attacks, either:

- claws and tail - 2 x +6, 1d6+3 ; 1 x +6, 2d6+3

or

- hurling flame - 2 x +5, 3d6 fire

Resistant to cold & mundane physical; immune to poison & fire; advantage against spells & magic

Barbed hide causes 1d10 damage to grapplers

Sees through the dark and magic dark (120ft)

To be honest, if you're looking to condense stat blocks down, just take the CR to guide you on stat DCs and the like, note down attacks and any abilities and resistances that differ from what you could work out in your head (for instance, do you need to write down that skeleton is immune to being poisoned and exhausted?). They won't perfectly match what's in the MM, but they'll be usable at the table.

It must be doable. A chap on the OSR subreddit condensed a whole load of Pathfinder monsters, and brilliantly so. His two-sentence summaries are excellent.

Sorry, quite a lot of hot air.

Inventory as Hit Points

Oof, it's been a little while. Life goes on.

Finally got an opportunity to play my heartbreak homebrew system - Wretches & Riches (W&R) - with some non-family members, running through a one-shot of Fever Swamp with a smattering of travelling mechanics from Into The Wyrd & Wild. A fun session, encountering a trapped witch and an old monastery, and some very informative feedback came from it with regards to the game system itself.

Probably the biggest change to this heavily mutilated version of Knave, which I'm curious to try plugging in to other D&D-based systems, was the idea of merging inventory and Hit Points (HP).

I'm as familiar with computer games as the next geek, so I'm familiar with the idea of a bar which can be depleted and replenished unless it drops down to empty, and have been comfortable playing RPGs with that mechanic. It's simple and pretty easy to grasp for non-gamers.

But it has the drawback of being a binary system, despite its quantitative measurement. You are either at 0 HP or you are not - you are either dead (or unconscious, system-dependent) or you are not. Thus you get scenarios in games like D&D 5e where a Fighter has taken a dagger to the gut and is dying, and a Paladin jogs over, with a pool of Healing Hands points, and decides to administer a single point of healing. The Fighter leaps back from death's door and starts cutting through swarms of goblins again, as spry as when they got up from a nice comfy bed that morning, none the worse from his experience other than a mental note to raise their shield higher next time. Not to worry though, really, because the Paladin has four more points of healing where that came from if the Fighter gets hit again.

W M Goodes

I can get my mind around the fact that HP does not have to represent actually getting hurt, indicating perhaps a close shave or an adventurer's expended effort to dodge a deadly blow, but I find this at odds with many aspects of D&D-based RPGs which deplete HP. Can you have a near miss with poisoned that doesn't lead to you not being poisoned? A disease which takes away HP but otherwise doesn't affect a character's ability to jump around in energetic ways?

So how to impact a character's efficacy?

I've become very enamoured with the inventory system popping up in a number of games at the moment, whereby you can carry your Strength (or Constitution) value's number of items - forces players to make decisions without adding a vast layer of complexity. Knave takes this a bit further by determining that magic takes up inventory slots too since a character has to carry spell books around. Suddenly a character's abilities depend upon what they can carry. A post on Buildings Are People then prompted me to think what else could take up inventory slots by suggesting that conditions like fatigue and hunger also weigh a person down.

I've seen a number of games (can't for the life of me remember which ones) indicate an ideal number of HP hovers around the 20 mark, and these simple inventory systems range up to about 18 to 20, system-dependent). So, why not combine the two?

Here's the slot section of a version of the character sheet we used for the Fever Swamp game:

Characters have a number of burden slots equal to 10 + their highest attribute (W&R's attributes are just straight modifiers), or equal to your highest 3d6 generated attribute. Burden slots carry a PC's equipment, magic spells (memorised or otherwise) and archetypal abilities - they represent what a character can mentally bear as much as what they can physically cope with, hence the possibility that they might carry as much as their Intelligence value.

Whenever that PC takes damage, they fill up that many slots with an Encumbrance. They can start with otherwise empty slots, but if these run out, then anything in further slots is either dropped (equipment) or rendered unusable (magic and abilities). Every rest allows the removal of one injury Encumbrance, or 1d4 injury Encumbrances if someone applies some healing herbs.

Other circumstances can grant an Encumbrance such as exhaustion or magical mishaps which might have their own additional effects. One exhaustion Encumbrance can be removed per rest, or all exhaustion Encumbrances are removed if the rest takes place in a nice bed.

Magic Encumbrances might wear off or require a spell or quest to get rid of them.

If all slots are filled with an encumbrance, the character has been killed (or is now subject to a roll on a horrendous death / spectacular survival table).

Thus characters start off more likely to survive their first levels than in many other OSR games, but being hurt will impact on their ability to function fully.

W M Goodes

W&R's combat system functions a bit differently from most D&D-esque games in that it's an opposed roll with the highest roller causing the difference in damage (reduced by armour) so that damage is inflicted more often but in smaller amounts. I would, however, be keen to see what ramifications this might have for play if it were attached to another system, and how other rules might need to be adjusted to accommodate it. I have, for example, considered removing the need to count torches, assuming that a character can carry flint and basic fuel and construct their own as they go - slots are more valuable. Certainly hirelings are going to be more valuable, and it would be another factor to consider when weighing up whether to call one's followers into battle - again, forcing players into choices.

What are your thoughts? Are there aspects of affect gameplay I might have missed with this concept. Is healing too slow? The Fever Swamp game involved quite a bit of speeding through overland travel days, so injuries weren't quite so impactful (though we did lose one PC to a warthog demon), but it might be a bit too much for a more hour-by-hour-based game.

A Tale Of... Session Report 14

More XP bait dangled before the players. They nibbled at it, saving me some effort in typing up events. And so follows a modified Discord chat describing the party's first foray into The Stygian Library:

CAST:

Alexander Bucciarati (lvl 2 rogue)

A man with a boat and a mission. He tells everyone about one but not the other.

Giro Beanna (lvl 2 barbarian)

A huge mischia player made even angrier by the loss of his mother to a magical beast attack. Carries a wooden chest on his back.

Salazar Caltata (lvl 2 rogue)

The scrawny fourth son of a nobleman. Good at hiding in a crowd. A snitch and a sneak.

Vero Anzano (lvl 2 ranger)

An old hunter with a mysterious past. Swamped under an enormous bear cloak.

APOLOGIES FROM:

Arabella Volhollen (lvl 2 fighter)

An archer with societal ambitions. Highly suspicious of and condescending towards pretty much everybody.

Manius (level 2 barbarian)

Alexander's crewman, a large former pit fighter with all the wits of one.

IN THEIR (SLIGHTLY EDITED) OWN WORDS:

Giro:Well [I] got gummed by a flying book and got dumber.

Alexander: We went and bought supplies for the trip into the library, Salazar finally got into the black market, then we entered the library. We found an index that gave us various clues about the location of the garden and we then set off deeper into the library. Along the way we met a ghost who had died with his companions in the library - he told us that the librarians took ghosts to use for some purpose and that he was hiding from them. After that we met a skeletal historian doing research; he gave a little more insight into various things. We then ended up splitting off with all of the present players going off and getting attacked by flying books that sapped intelligence scores

Giro:Also the index gave a few people some clues on their own endeavors, of which afaik the only ones that are known by the whole group being Giro looking into raising the dead
And we found out about the various types of Librarians Orders of Librarians:
Red - look after Library itself
Yellow - Look after the books
Black - Maintain the doorways/layout of the library
White - Shepharding of souls
Grey - Experimenting on souls
And we found a skeleton man who liked researching tactics - Anaxarqxus.

Vero: And we found out that the layout of the library changes, despite the efforts of the black order. [I] also got [my] intellect leeched by one of the books so now [I'm] as smart as Giro. But [I] also found a magical glass eye that detects... something? So that's nice.

Salazar: And that something is around [me]. On top of all this, Alexander won't show me what he is after, Giro wants to revive his dead mother, we are trying to find out about the garden, there are killer bees somewhere and Giro kicked down a door that is going to end up hurting us. Also Zoriane is being a bitch like normal and magical man is loving it.

Vero: The flying books were glowing as well.

Salazar: Books chained to the walls as well.

Giro: I figure the aura around Salazar is probably the magic from his big boy rich man jacket.
And [I] found a spellbook and stashed it in [my] bag.