Search found 43 matches

by Johann
Wed Oct 26, 2022 11:13 am
Forum: Everything Else
Topic: Muster - Advice for playing D&D in the wargaming way
Replies: 0
Views: 68290

Muster - Advice for playing D&D in the wargaming way

Eero Tuovinen has finally finished writing Muster - A Primer for War. Advice for playing D&D the wargaming way ! I excitedly reported on the project in an earlier thread . It is now available for free at DriveThruRPG . (It's technically pay-what-you-want so you can tip him, but he's made it clea...
by Johann
Wed Dec 23, 2020 3:09 pm
Forum: Everything Else
Topic: Muster: a friendly primer to old school D&D
Replies: 8
Views: 26029

Re: Muster: a friendly primer to old school D&D

I'm happy to report that Muster: a friendly primer to old school D&D has been funded! This is great news, not least because the resulting primer will be made freely available on the net (via Creative Commons, most likely), so everyone can discuss and use it! I'll let you know when it's out. Merr...
by Johann
Mon Dec 21, 2020 9:57 pm
Forum: Everything Else
Topic: Muster: a friendly primer to old school D&D
Replies: 8
Views: 26029

Re: Muster: a friendly primer to old school D&D

I thought 80 PCs over 8 years is kind of light. I mean, if you are running an 8 year campaign (much respect!) then of course you probably have mostly high level PCs who don't die much. But if you do 4-5 funnels, that right there would be 10-15 deaths apiece...60ish? Sounds like one year of con game...
by Johann
Sun Dec 20, 2020 8:06 am
Forum: Everything Else
Topic: Muster: a friendly primer to old school D&D
Replies: 8
Views: 26029

Re: Muster: a friendly primer to old school D&D

only 80 PCs in 8 years? Including funnels? :lol: Yeah, it's high. :oops: About half are casualties from funnels and most of the rest died at level 1 or 2. Still, we've lost characters at all levels (8th being the highest so far). That said, this level of lethality is not at all necessary for a warg...
by Johann
Sat Dec 19, 2020 11:35 pm
Forum: DCC RPG General
Topic: How DCC protects against railroading
Replies: 4
Views: 13430

Re: How DCC protects against railroading

The deed dice and flavor tweaks to the demi-human classes are also big selling points. [...] After awhile slogging through kobolds and goblins gets a bit stale.... Agreed on both counts. Dyson's Delve, for instance, is free and easy to run even with no prep, but also a bit pedestrian (certainly com...
by Johann
Sat Dec 19, 2020 3:14 pm
Forum: DCC RPG General
Topic: How DCC protects against railroading
Replies: 4
Views: 13430

How DCC protects against railroading

I posted about DCC here around the time it came out and blogged about it for a bit ( Three Things I love about DCC and some reviews ). I chose DCC for my wargamey sandbox DCC-in-the-Wilderlands campaign which I've been running for eight years (150+ sessions and 80+ casualties, half of which are from...
by Johann
Wed Dec 16, 2020 10:12 pm
Forum: Everything Else
Topic: Muster: a friendly primer to old school D&D
Replies: 8
Views: 26029

Re: Muster: a friendly primer to old school D&D

Eero has provided a major update to the project yesterday! :smiley: It links to his blog, where he covers Muster’s substance in broad strokes and the manuscript outline , among many other things. This is shaping up to be a thorough treatment and the “playing well” section alone will be well worth it...
by Johann
Tue Dec 15, 2020 3:58 pm
Forum: Everything Else
Topic: Muster: a friendly primer to old school D&D
Replies: 8
Views: 26029

Re: Muster: a friendly primer to old school D&D

Glad you like it! There should be a major update very soon. I'll keep you posted and also hope to write about why I chose DCC for my wargamey D&D campaign.
by Johann
Fri Nov 27, 2020 9:47 pm
Forum: Everything Else
Topic: Muster: a friendly primer to old school D&D
Replies: 8
Views: 26029

Muster: a friendly primer to old school D&D

Finnish RPG designer Eero Tuovinen is setting set out to write Muster: a friendly primer to old school D&D at IndieGoGo. This is a project very much in the vein of Matthew Finch's seminal Quick Primer for Old School Gaming and Jason Cone’s unforgettable Philotomy's Musings . Eero’s been blogging...
by Johann
Mon Oct 27, 2014 5:11 pm
Forum: Characters
Topic: Are wizards too powerful in your campaign?
Replies: 26
Views: 129013

Re: Are wizards too powerful in your campaign?

I've changed the way spellburn works in my house rules: Spellburn Spellburn is not fuelled by ability points. Instead, the amount of spellburn increases the natural fumble range (i.e. a spellcheck with 4 points of spellburn fumbles on a roll of 1-5 rather than on a 1 only). Hence, the maximum amount...
by Johann
Mon Aug 04, 2014 10:52 pm
Forum: DCC RPG General
Topic: Peril on the Purple Planet Kickstarter now LIVE!!!
Replies: 25
Views: 81473

Re: Peril on the Purple Planet Kickstarter now LIVE!!!

Is this going to be available at retail at some point?

(I'd love to back the Kickstarter and help attain the final stretch goal, but international shipping & handling is killing me.)
by Johann
Mon Jun 09, 2014 11:24 pm
Forum: Judges' Forum
Topic: Player Betrayal
Replies: 7
Views: 24596

Re: Player Betrayal

If the player is being a jerk, that needs to be addressed person to person. If the character is being a jerk, that can be dealt with in-game, either by the consequences of their actions taking them down a peg (or all the way down), or by the other characters dealing with it how they see fit. Amen t...
by Johann
Sat Dec 21, 2013 3:12 pm
Forum: Characters
Topic: Elves Live So Very Long, And Yet...
Replies: 21
Views: 51222

Re: Elves Live So Very Long, And Yet...

Wonderful ideas, Johann. Do you have your house rules compiled somewhere? Yes, I do. However, they're constantly in flux and have not been tested. I ran several DCC funnels earlier this year but at the moment we are playing Warhammer 1e. A DCC campaign is up next spring and I'm currently preparing ...
by Johann
Fri Dec 20, 2013 2:40 am
Forum: Characters
Topic: Elves Live So Very Long, And Yet...
Replies: 21
Views: 51222

Re: Elves Live So Very Long, And Yet...

Here's how I handle the immortality of Elves in my house rules: Elves, also called ‘The Fair Folk’, live in fantastic palaces and halls in an invisible otherworld. This world can be reached through fairy rings, enchanted trees or certain lakes and woods, especially at dusk and dawn. Elves are lithe ...
by Johann
Thu Nov 14, 2013 12:37 pm
Forum: Rules discussion
Topic: Reasoning behind quirky critical hit tables?
Replies: 1
Views: 7173

Re: Reasoning behind quirky critical hit tables?

The reason I'm asking is - apart from curiosity - that I'd like every class to have its very own table (just like thieves and elves who get the 'sneaky' Critical Hit Table II -- I really like this concept!). This reduces page flipping (or the number of handouts) and gives every class something speci...
by Johann
Sat Nov 09, 2013 10:05 am
Forum: Rules discussion
Topic: Reasoning behind quirky critical hit tables?
Replies: 1
Views: 7173

Reasoning behind quirky critical hit tables?

Hi there! I positively adore DCC's critical hit tables, but I don't quite understand their various quirks. :oops: 1) Why do some results on Table V have an expanded range (8-12 and 13-14)? 2) Why are the tables not sorted by increasing lethality (cf. Table V's result for a 17 - instant death - which...
by Johann
Tue Oct 08, 2013 11:57 pm
Forum: Judges' Forum
Topic: Firearms
Replies: 20
Views: 39117

Re: Firearms

Thus the smaller the damage die, the more likely to run up a higher amount of damage (or else just 'wing' the target). Despite your example of an open-ended d3 scoring 20 points of damage, the above is not correct. Your chance of scoring 20 points of damage is higher with an open-ended d6. For a qu...
by Johann
Tue Oct 08, 2013 8:19 am
Forum: Judges' Forum
Topic: Firearms
Replies: 20
Views: 39117

Re: Firearms

I think my best idea was open ended damage die rolls. A gun does 1d4 damage, but if you roll a 4, you roll again and add them together. Repeat as needed. Thus the smaller the damage die, the more likely to run up a higher amount of damage (or else just 'wing' the target). So a more deadly weapon wo...
by Johann
Mon Oct 07, 2013 11:00 pm
Forum: Judges' Forum
Topic: Firearms
Replies: 20
Views: 39117

Re: Firearms

Have you noticed this?
TIME TRAVELER
Time traveler: Init +3; Atk laser sword +8 melee (2d6) or
blaster +8 missile fire (3d6, range 400’) [...]

-- DCC RPG, p. 429
Not exactly what you're looking for, but a good starting point.
by Johann
Thu Sep 26, 2013 10:59 pm
Forum: Judges' Forum
Topic: Abuse of Runic Alphabet
Replies: 26
Views: 76793

Re: Abuse of Runic Alphabet

The player may be trying to pull a fast one but (a) he did ask and (b) in my experience such matters are best resolved outside the fiction.

And IF you do it inside the fiction, remember to give him fair warning (like Joe does, for example).
by Johann
Tue Sep 10, 2013 6:20 am
Forum: DCC RPG General
Topic: DCC protects against railroading … but can it do a sandbox?
Replies: 21
Views: 35671

Re: DCC protects against railroading … but can it do a sandb

Thanks guys - especially Skars and ragboy! It's fascinating and heartening to read about your campaigns.

(Makes me wanna check out the Prison of the Squid Sorcerer -- it sure sounds as if it'd be perfect to drop into a sandbox.)
by Johann
Sun Sep 08, 2013 2:15 am
Forum: DCC RPG General
Topic: DCC protects against railroading … but can it do a sandbox?
Replies: 21
Views: 35671

Re: DCC protects against railroading … but can it do a sandb

This summer I've been running DCC in a relatively open setting (I say "relatively" because, while there's a large dungeon with many possible avenues of exploration, the outside world is horribly underdeveloped). The campaign has worked well, and has largely been driven by player choice (t...
by Johann
Sun Sep 08, 2013 2:03 am
Forum: DCC RPG General
Topic: DCC protects against railroading … but can it do a sandbox?
Replies: 21
Views: 35671

Re: DCC protects against railroading … but can it do a sandb

As I've mentioned when this has been brought up previously, I balance Spellburn by increasing the chance of corruption proportionately for every point of spellburn used. I have found this to be a natural deterrent to the MSTR (Massive Spellburn Then Rest) tactic. I think this is an excellent idea! ...
by Johann
Thu Sep 05, 2013 3:48 pm
Forum: DCC RPG General
Topic: DCC protects against railroading … but can it do a sandbox?
Replies: 21
Views: 35671

DCC protects against railroading … but can it do a sandbox?

I’m currently preparing a sandbox DCC campaign set in the Wilderlands of High Fantasy so the following thoughts are theoretical and not based on actual play . Take them with a grain of salt. (I've been pondering this for a while but now a cool thread called DCC needs an overland adventure and epic c...
by Johann
Thu Aug 29, 2013 3:39 am
Forum: DCC RPG General
Topic: That's a Nice Looking Bookshelf
Replies: 12
Views: 23525

Re: That's a Nice Looking Bookshelf

My Jeff Easley edition finally arrived today (including the awesome Stefan Poag artbook). The cover is absolutely gorgeous! The purple sky suggests both weird fantasy and/or planetary romance (providing a nice Princess of Mars vibe), the hoverdisk could be a spell or piece of technology (Science Fan...

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