The Worlds Clumsiest Fight.

Game night, and the party completed the dungeon (all except one friend who couldn't make it. It was suggested I take on his role but I just decided for an unexplicable reason he wasn't there) and defeated the guy at the end. It went well.

The party managed to set fire to a room filled with dry rags and two giant moths (it started as one moth which Multiplies on attack). Elisa (our thief) decided to set fire to one which then began bumping round the round. Crackly, smokey fun ensued.

There then followed a massively clumsy fight with three Skellingtons, with all sides swinging their swords about and missing each other. It ended with a magnificent spear chuck by Grumlore the Barbarian as one Skellington ran to escape, pinning him to the ground. Actually, despite the previous farce of a fight, Grumlore is pretty effective at killing things. He literally squashed a Skellington in a later battle and sliced a Skellington Chef in two.

It ended nicely, with all the prisoners being released and the main foe being killed. All the party suffered at his hands, but they just about pulled it off.

I'm excited because now this first dungeon is behind them, they can now go out and explore the world I'm putting together for them.

What I learnt.

It seems I becoming the sort of GM who is enjoys the role-play rather than the dice roll. If a PC tries to pull of something that should be completely dictated by a dice roll or correct round play, I'd much rather them just go for it for dramatic purposes and an exciting game.
Saying that, I enjoy rolling dice for fights. I try to get through this as quickly as possible as it makes for a more dramatic and fun fight. Again, I have a feeling I skipped a few rules but no-one complained.
I also really need a better way of keeping track of stuff, and making sure I have everything to hand.
I really enjoyed the night and came home with my head buzzing with stuff.

Crescent and Claw

Welcome to the continent of Crescent and Claw.
From the grim and dark city of Black Chuck beyond the Giant Hook Mountains, to the strange twin towns of Folly and Bitter End in the south, Crescent and Claw is a continent rich in the odd, the fantastic and the bizarre.
Get lost looking for the ruined city of Crow in the aptly named Forest of Crow.
Get shanghaied in the rain and rum lashed Port Fog.
Possibly get horribly murdered in interesting new ways in Black Chuck.
Treasure, excitement, magic and death await you. Probably death.

Show Your Working 02

It's been a few weeks since my last post as I have been on holiday and I can't really post too much about the stuff I've been working on as it directly relates to my campaign.
There will be some juicy stuff on its way, but in the meantime I thought I would share a little list of random scribbles I have in my note book and a further selection of inspiring pictures I have found whilst lurking around the greasier corner of the internet.




She of the White Crow
Triple death. Fire, drowning and stabbing.
Giants
The Great Administrator
Cosmic Centre
Crow of the bright eye, Crow of the Silver Sun.
A giant spider that eats Gems
The Deadly Nightsiders
The Underground Lair of Machine

Make of that list what you will.

Whilst I think on it, I'm also developing a ridiculous card game, so it might be fun to post my progress on that here as well. A man can have too much stuff to do.

What the hell is that?. 1.Skellington.

Despite looking like re-animated skeletons, Skellingtons are in fact their own species. Usually clad in whatever they've found lying around, their one unifying feature is their large, skeletal head with two tiny eyes buried deep within the eye socket cavities.
Skellingtons are not very bright (it's thought that their brains are tiny)and their instinct is to attack (often head first) if suprised or encounted.
No one is quite sure where they come from, but they usually show up in dungeons and graveyards, anywhere where rats are in plentiful supply. Signs of Skellington habitation is smalls piles of rat bones laying around. They're also fond of Silver, however they don't spend it on anything but they do like to eat it. Skellington feces is something to behold. They can obey simpler commands and are often used by those not wanting to spend the money on getting in intelligent guards.

AC: 6
HD: 1d8
Move: 90'
Attack: 1 (weapon) + Special
Dmg: Weapon (1d8 special)
Save as: Normal Man.

If Skellingtons are suprised, their first instinct is to charge head first at their attacker with their thick, boney heads.

Silver!

Tonight's second session was great.
Without the character gen we were able to dive straight in with things.
A Character "Caerphilly the Swashbuckler" received a fatal wound, failed two saving throws, so the other PCs carried him back up through the dungeon (they hadn't gotten that far in) and back to the Inn to see if there was a doctor in the village to help in. There was, but sadly it was too late and the character died.

The new character "Joe" is great, he seems to rush in without thinking. I hope he doesn't die though there's a high chance he will.

The rest of the group are also brilliant, with a bit more play time their characters are starting to come out. Grumlore the Barbarian is quiet yet slightly grumpy, Scape Goot the Wizard is getting more drinky and Elise the Thief really loves her silver and, as it turns out, is rather handy with a whip.
They seemed to enjoy rampaging round the rooms I've put together.
I had set up a room of jars, each containing a random nasty/pleasant suprise. As the first jar that was opened ( I say opened, Grumlore smashed the jar onto the ground) seemed to be full of silver, Joe decided this is what all the jars contained and with a shout of 'Silver!' he took his club and smashed a load of jars in one fell swoop. Chaos, as it does, ensued.

Things I've learnt.

Seeing the players actually going through the environment you're creating is the most fun thing to watch.

Unpredictability in players is good, do not be afraid of it.

Draw and create more things to give to the players, they seemed to like it.

Learn to listen to everyone talking.

If I stop worrying about what is happening, I can make stuff up on the spot and let the players run loose.

I must remember to write down stuff I've made up on the spot and weave it back into the game.


Trust in the basic framework.

Because the world I'm playing in is being made up as I go, it seems the best way to get information about it is to listen to the players. Tonight I discovered that Magic Users have Masters and that the main city (Crow) has a library (actually, I learnt this from an NPC but still…I hadn't thought about it before).

Just because a magical item is placed, don't assume the players will use it.

Don't make little happy noises when players head towards a room  that you really like. It sort of gives things away…

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We're not gaming for a little bit, due to holidays and the like, which means I can crack on with world building and thinking up more campaign ideas. Essential, this is all just means I get to make things up and do some drawing, which is part of the whole fun of this.

Lets meet the Gods! Brabb.

Brabb, The God of Alcohol.
Symbol: Empty Glass or Bottle
Patron saint of Inn Keepers.

Whilst there are a million and one small gods related to Beer, Cider, Wine, Hops, Grapes, etc… Brabb is closely related to alcohol in general. He is often represented as a red faced, large bellied, slightly disheveled character; something his followers have taken to heart. This makes them easy to recognise in Inns, Hostelries or gutters.
'Getting Brabbed' has fallen into common parlance, along with other such phrases such as 'I was out chasing Brabb last night', 'Brabb helped me home last night' and the less pleasant 'she was Blessed by Brabb' often used by un-gallant swines when describing drunken conquests.

Feast of Brabb
On the first day of this festival, Inns open their doors at midday and let people drink for free. Vast amounts of alcohol is consumed and the day usually ends in chaos. At midnight, till midnight the following day, not a drop of alcohol is allowed to be consumed or sold. Many Inn Keepers take this day off.

Followers of Brabb.
People tend to end up following Brabb by accident, but there are a few who do follow his teachings (The Book of Brabb is largely an incoherent ramble of stream of conscious mumblings that has not yet been properly deciphered) and choose to worship him by drinking large amounts of alcohol and falling over, safe in the knowledge that Brabb will keep them safe. Magic-Users who have Brabb as there Patron actually get better at spells the drunker they are.

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As I said in my previous post, my Spell Caster seems to be a big fan of the alcohol and I thought this might be an entertaining source of his power. It's also given me my first Deity, which is handy.

Show Your Working 01

I really like the idea of a blog being a place you can 'show your working' as it were.
So, in that spirit, here is a vague list of nebulous words that I came up when trying to think about the world I want to create in my campaign. After that, various images I've found from t'internet.

Bleak moors
Strange villagers
Great big forests
Customs and rituals
Cults
Demons and demonworshippers
Pagan gods
Witchcraft
Madness
Bodyshock horror
Spirits, ghosts
Lurking monsters
Endless beaches
Grey, rainy
Abandoned places
Old monuments
Fog
Mist
Ladies with scythes
Creepy Nuns
Mummers

If I'm honest, it's not the most original of lists, but there we go.

Apologies to any of the artists involved in making these. If you see them and they are yours, I'm happy to take them down and/or credit you.
I have lots more pics, so will probably do another post like this at some point.