Dungeon Crawl Classics Session Report: Twelve inside... two alive!

Sooo... The noobs came, TRIED to conquer the dungeon and just 2 came out alive. Aggeliki was my third player and she rolled 4 characters as well: Sephrat the farmer (with her little goose, Doroula), Graup the trapper, Nairam the herbalist and finally Tamtakus the halfling gypsy (Greek readers will understand the connection between the name and the profession... it's very funny!).

The whole session was a blast! We had a lot of laughs, funny deaths, some clever roleplaying and a bit of "noobish" behavior towards the end. Actually, some characters begun attacking each other as they thought that every hope was lost...

Let's see the "Book of the Dead" together:

Tamtakus speared to death by twenty clay soldiers in Room #8 as he fell from the gazing pool... Poor Tamtakus!

Nairam pushed to her death by Gloan... Hail to the evil dwarf!

Sephrat died during a fight between her and John towards the end of the adventure.

Myriam died in Room #3. She fell on the wall tried to avoid the fireballs of the barbarian statue, while having just 1 hit point... It was probably the funniest death of the session!

Joshua died bravely while fighting Ssisssuraaaaggg, the immortal demon-snake... His name will not be forgotten!

Antuan fell also by the poisonous bites of the immortal demon-snake...

Gloan the evil dwarf was speared to death by Sephrat... She got revenge for the death of her brother, Nairam.

Vosgoth was the first to enter the dungeon and the first to fall... He was impaled by the spear-throwing statues!

Toran was toasted by the barbarian statue's fireballs...

Simondel was another one brave adventurer fell to death by Ssisssuraaaaggg...

Graup and John were the only ones to come out alive...

All the animals were toasted by the barbarian statue as the whole group was trying to track the movement of the strange statue. The immortal demon-snake was pulled in the barbarian statue room and the fight took place right there... courage and foolishness together!

It was a great 4-hour session. "A Portal Under the Stars" is a very well made dungeon crawl with nice traps and interesting enemies. Give it a try with a horde of 0-level noobs or with a classic party of 1st level adventurers. It's highly recommended as we had fun and some nice role playing experiences!

Horde of Noobs

This Monday we are going to give a shot to a short dungeon crawl titled "A Portal Under the Stars". It's a great introductory module for new players and it's a part of Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG Adventure Starter (you can buy it here for $4.99. There is also another module inside for 5th level characters).

"A Portal Under the Stars" is designed for a horde of 0 level characters. 0 level? What is this? Actually a 0 level character, following "Dungeon Crawl Classics" rules, is an inexperienced person, a peasant, with very little opportunity for surviving even a low level dungeon. Today, two of my players rolled four 0 level characters each. Probably a third player will be added the next couple of days. We had a lot of fun rolling these "cannon fodders". The reason is easy to understand just by looking at them:

John, a cutpurse with a little dagger.

Simondel, an elven artisan.

Gloan, a dwarven herder with a mule(!).

Antuan, a caravan guard with a short sword (the "beater" of the party!).

Myriam, a confidence artist.

Joshua, a scribe holding a single dart.

Toran, a pitch digger with his shovel.

Vosgoth, a farmer with his lovely little duck.

Some highlights during character creation:

- Three of them have just 1 hit point!

- Three of them rolled "Seventh Son" on Luck Score table (this village has A LOT OF SONS!).

- Gloan is a dwarf of evil alignment!

I can't imagine how a party like that can survive through the dark portal.

Stay tuned for a funny (as it is supposed to be) session report!

STAND STRONG PEOPLE! YOU VILLAGE'S FATE IS IN YOUR HANDS!

GM Questionnaire

Zak, the guy behing the great blog "Playing D&D with Porn Stars", posted a questionnaire for Game Masters... so here are my answers!

1. If you had to pick a single invention in a game you were most proud of what would it be?

Probably my 3.5e prestige class "Dark Avenger".

2. When was the last time you GMed?

It was two months ago. My players were away during this time but... they are back again!

3. When was the last time you played?

Four months ago during our Dragon Age sessions.

4. Give us a one-sentence pitch for an adventure you haven't run but would like to.

You shall not pass! :-)

5. What do you do while you wait for players to do things?

Preparing stuff.

6. What, if anything, do you eat while you play?

Pizza or souvlaki... always!

7. Do you find GMing physically exhausting?

Of course not!

8. What was the last interesting (to you, anyway) thing you remember a PC you were running doing?

Our rogue tried to beat a huge guy alone... we bet against him and we won some money!

9. Do your players take your serious setting and make it unserious? Vice versa? Neither?

It depends.

10. What do you do with goblins?

I love those little greenskins... I use them even in Dark Sun!

11. What was the last non-RPG thing you saw that you converted into game material (background, setting, trap, etc.)?

Made an adventure out of "Conan the Barbarian" (the first movie) to test my homemade system of rules.

12. What's the funniest table moment you can remember right now?

Slaughtering an army of golbins... the last one started to cry!

13. What was the last game book you looked at--aside from things you referenced in a game--why were you looking at it?

"Lamentations of the Flame Princess" books... I fell in love with the sick artwork!

14. Who's your idea of the perfect RPG illustrator?

Yakinthos Rubus Sekeris... indomitable!

15. Does your game ever make your players genuinely afraid?

Sure... especially encounters with undead creatures of Cthulhu Mythos beings.

16. What was the best time you ever had running an adventure you didn't write? (If ever)

Playing the "Iriandel" module from Dungeon Magazine #83. Such a magnificent fairytale adventure!

17. What would be the ideal physical set up to run a game in?

Ahhh... a cold dungeon maybe?

18. If you had to think of the two most disparate games or game products that you like what would they be?

"Call of Cthulhu" and "Dragonlance" setting.

19. If you had to think of the most disparate influences overall on your game, what would they be?

Cthulhu Mythos and Middle Earth.

20. As a GM, what kind of player do you want at your table?

I prefer newcomers... I like the look of their faces after the first session!

21. What's a real life experience you've translated into game terms?

Sorry, it's private!

22. Is there an RPG product that you wish existed but doesn't?

I think no.

23. Is there anyone you know who you talk about RPGs with who doesn't play? How do those conversations go?

Most of the time I manage to "transform" them into... MY PLAYERS (muhahahaha)!

Random Table: Festivals

So, this is my first post offering gaming stuff... it's a simple random table of festivals. A party of heroes is arriving in a town. Give life to the exact moment by rolling just a d20...

Random Festivals Table (d20)

01. A religious festival to honor the gods.

02. Day of the dead.

03. Wedding day.

04. A feast for a heroic deed.

05. First/Last day of the summer.

06. First/Last day of the year.

07. A circus is in town.

08. Anniversary of the end of a war.

09. Athletic contests.

10. Agricultural fair.

11. Celebrating a victorious defence against invaders.

12. Trade festival.

13. The musical contest of bards.

14. Purification day.

15. Inauguration of the new town's Mayor/Leader/Chieftain.

16. Remembrance of a great hero's death.

17. Crowning of the new King (celebrating at each town of the kingdom).

18. Celebrating the erection of a major building.

19. Wine/Beer/Ale fair.

20. Flora and fauna day.

Review: The New Death and Others

This is going to be an odd review not because I am going to write strange stuff but due to the genre this book belongs to. It's not an adventure, a rules supplement or a role playing rules system... it's an anthology of short stories and poems. On the other hand, inside the 94 pages of this book there is some obvious role playing gamer-interest material incorporating in horror or fantasy stuff, so "The New Death And Others" is a product I have to review in Beasts & Dwellers blog nevertheless. I am not going to criticize the talent of the writer, but the inspiration this book may offer to the role players. And personally, as a Dungeon Master, I think that James Hutchings pleasantly surprised me.

"The New Death And Others" has some great ideas inside. Mr. Hutchings has an extremely creative mind and passion for writing. I fell in love with his poems based on well-known stories like "Under the Pyramids" (H. P. Lovecraft) or "The Mirrors of Tuzun Thune" (Robert E. Howard), but ever the shortest stories like "The God and the Poor" (it's just 16 lines!) offer an enjoyable reading. Some of the stories will make you smile with their humorous approach and others will give you a grimace. Some tales are light and some others more serious. And that's the strongest point of this book: variety! Everyone shall find something for his likings in "The New Death And Others".

In the pdf version I own the text is clear, the formatting does nicely its job and there are links for every story for fast switching. The cover illustration is magnificent and incorporates the main characteristics of the book: a taste of macabre and a lot of humor.

I have enjoyed reading this book. I fell in love with the twist endings and the strange characters. Make yourself a present and get it for just $0.99 from Amazon or Smashwords... it should cost more for what it is offering!

(Special thanks goes to the writer, James Hutchings, for sending me a copy of his great work.)

Pathfinder Beginner Box Revealed!

It seems like a nice product. I always liked intro boxes and this one is full of nice stuff. Can't wait for it!

Review: Lamentations of the Flame Princess (Grindhouse Edition)

I am a huge fan of old school role playing games. I love them. I adore them. "Lamentations of the Flame Princess" got my attention on first sight. I don't know if it was because of the great art or the odd title (no more "Monsters & Heroes"-like titles please… ok, except Beasts & Dwellers!), but I knew I had to buy it. And I got it immediately!

Ah! I mentioned… art! It's SICK! SICK! SICK AND GRUESOME! And I adore it! I have seen great "R-rated" art in "Vampire: The Masquerade" and "Call of Cthulhu" books but "Lamentations of the Flame Princess" is far beyond them. It's magnificent and… not for the weak!

"Lamentations of the Flame Princess" (LOTFP from now on) comes in a sturdy box including 3 books, a pack of tiny dice (I love them!) and 10 character sheets.

The first book called "Tutorial" is a great introduction to old school role playing games. There is a nice introduction and advice to new and old players alike. It includes two solo adventures: the first is quite simple introducing some basic concepts and the second is more of a "choose your path" adventure with an intriguing story, fights and enough of exploration (I played it twice… died during my first attempt!). There is also a 20-page (yes, TWENTY!) actual role playing experience that is well written and offers an enjoyable reading. The book ends with a nice chapter full of recommendations for known and lesser known authors. Overall it's a nice introduction to LOTFP and old school gameplay in general.

The second book called "Rules and Magic" is the backbone of LOTFP. It's the bigger book and offers all the rules you need to create characters and play the game. There are seven different classes: Cleric, Fighter, Magic User, Specialist (actually the Thief), Dwarf, Elf and Halfling. As you see, those are the standard classes of an old school role playing system. The rules are written simply and clear, covering most situations you will meet during a game's session. There is no a setting for LOTFP but actually a 16^th century European fantasy-like world with swords and magic. I like this fresh idea and it is incorporating nicely through the item and weapon lists and spell descriptions.

The third book called "Referee" offers advice to new and old game/dungeon masters. There is some great stuff in there: advice for creating adventures, campaigns, traps, NPCs, monsters, magic items and more. No more tables with thousands and thousands of numbers. Just advice! It's a great reading and gave me great ideas although I play role playing games for more than 15 years. In the end there is a great introductory adventure with advice to help new referees run it smoothly. "Referee" book could stand as a separate product and it is by far the "best dungeon master guide"-like book I have ever read.

"Lamentations of the Flame Princess" is a great product. If you love old school role playing games then go and get it now. If you are just a role playing player/referee playing DnD 3.5, 4e or Pathfinder then give it a try… it's a great addition to everyone’s collection!