Whimsical Magic / Whimsical Adventure
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- finarvyn
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Whimsical Magic / Whimsical Adventure
I know we've had several "types of magic" threads hereabouts, but it's been a while and I have something on my brain so here goes another...
I'm currently reading Howl's Moving Castle, which I realize isn't in Appendix N, but other books of a similar style are. (The Harold Shea books, for example, and The Face in the Frost and even Eyes of the Overlord.) What I'm noticing is that some of these stories are more "whimsical" in nature, or more like a fairy tale, with witches and curses and things that inconveniece a character without actually harming him/her.
PEASANT: "She turned me into a newt!"
SIR BELVEDEIRE: "A newt?"
PEASANT: (pause) "I got better."
I'm wondering if the DCC RPG really is designed to do that.
Seems like DCC is very action oriented, very combat-intense like a traditional D&D game. Characters go places, fight things, take their stuff. The kill is more important than the stun and capture. Dark crackling magic is common, and the tone seems to fit Howard and Leiber and their style of storytelling.
OD&D's Men & Magic says (on p.11) that "the charisma score is usable to decide such things as whether or not a witch capturing a player will turn him into a swine or keep him enchanted as a lover."
Should something like this be more integral to the philosophy of the DCC RPG?
Has anyone spent much time with whimsical adventures? Are there any good ones already written that I might use for my group? I'd like to step away from the "kill it" adventures to try something new, but am not sure what's out there or if the rules are really ready to handle that style of play.
Thoughts or suggestions?
I'm currently reading Howl's Moving Castle, which I realize isn't in Appendix N, but other books of a similar style are. (The Harold Shea books, for example, and The Face in the Frost and even Eyes of the Overlord.) What I'm noticing is that some of these stories are more "whimsical" in nature, or more like a fairy tale, with witches and curses and things that inconveniece a character without actually harming him/her.
PEASANT: "She turned me into a newt!"
SIR BELVEDEIRE: "A newt?"
PEASANT: (pause) "I got better."
I'm wondering if the DCC RPG really is designed to do that.
Seems like DCC is very action oriented, very combat-intense like a traditional D&D game. Characters go places, fight things, take their stuff. The kill is more important than the stun and capture. Dark crackling magic is common, and the tone seems to fit Howard and Leiber and their style of storytelling.
OD&D's Men & Magic says (on p.11) that "the charisma score is usable to decide such things as whether or not a witch capturing a player will turn him into a swine or keep him enchanted as a lover."
Should something like this be more integral to the philosophy of the DCC RPG?
Has anyone spent much time with whimsical adventures? Are there any good ones already written that I might use for my group? I'd like to step away from the "kill it" adventures to try something new, but am not sure what's out there or if the rules are really ready to handle that style of play.
Thoughts or suggestions?
Marv / Finarvyn
DCC Minister of Propaganda; Deputized 6/8/11 (over 11 years of SPAM bustin'!)
DCC RPG playtester 2011, DCC Lankhmar trivia contest winner 2015; OD&D player since 1975
"The worthy GM never purposely kills players' PCs, He presents opportunities for the rash and unthinking players to do that all on their own."
-- Gary Gygax
"Don't ask me what you need to hit. Just roll the die and I will let you know!"
-- Dave Arneson
"Misinterpreting the rules is a shared memory for many of us"
-- Joseph Goodman
DCC Minister of Propaganda; Deputized 6/8/11 (over 11 years of SPAM bustin'!)
DCC RPG playtester 2011, DCC Lankhmar trivia contest winner 2015; OD&D player since 1975
"The worthy GM never purposely kills players' PCs, He presents opportunities for the rash and unthinking players to do that all on their own."
-- Gary Gygax
"Don't ask me what you need to hit. Just roll the die and I will let you know!"
-- Dave Arneson
"Misinterpreting the rules is a shared memory for many of us"
-- Joseph Goodman
Re: Whimsical Magic / Whimsical Adventure
I like what you said, for a change of pace in campaign.
E.G. The party heads to woods to fight and dispatch an evil witch. They fail and they all get turned into pigs, or charmed, or petrified. Why not send another 15+ 0-level people, as in a funnel, to try and win with numbers what skill couldn't achieve?! Then the players could decide to keep the previous character, nerfed back to lvl 1 maybe (their energy were spoilt by the witch curse), or one of the surviving 0s, updated to level 1.
E.G. The party heads to woods to fight and dispatch an evil witch. They fail and they all get turned into pigs, or charmed, or petrified. Why not send another 15+ 0-level people, as in a funnel, to try and win with numbers what skill couldn't achieve?! Then the players could decide to keep the previous character, nerfed back to lvl 1 maybe (their energy were spoilt by the witch curse), or one of the surviving 0s, updated to level 1.
Author of Arcanix RPG - fantasy medieval d6 system
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learn more : http://arcanixrpg.webs.com
Re: Whimsical Magic / Whimsical Adventure
Welcome to the era of modern FRPG... stick around, you might like it. You might want to try: the Disc world novels, the "Iron Druid Chronicles" & "Stardust" by Gaiman, and the anime series: "Avatar" & "Mushi-shi"finarvyn wrote: ... What I'm noticing is that some of these stories are more "whimsical" in nature, or more like a fairy tale, with witches and curses and things that inconveniece a character without actually harming him/her.
Nope. Not without serious DM intervention/ invention.I'm wondering if the DCC RPG really is designed to do that.
Yep, plays just like a video game. (IMO) If D&D had stayed with that & not evolved into a more whimsical style... it would have died a quiet death in obscurity.Seems like DCC is very action oriented, very combat-intense like a traditional D&D game. Characters go places, fight things, take their stuff. The kill is more important than the stun and capture. Dark crackling magic is common, and the tone seems to fit Howard and Leiber and their style of storytelling.
Absolutely... witches, Gods, the power of a dying creature using their last breath to curse a callous noble or adventurer... these are storytelling basics IMO.OD&D's Men & Magic says (on p.11) that "the charisma score is usable to decide such things as whether or not a witch capturing a player will turn him into a swine or keep him enchanted as a lover."
Should something like this be more integral to the philosophy of the DCC RPG?
I think most of my games would fit your definition of "whimsical." I think there are 4 ways to tell if you are in a whimsical game:Has anyone spent much time with whimsical adventures? Are there any good ones already written that I might use for my group? I'd like to step away from the "kill it" adventures to try something new, but am not sure what's out there or if the rules are really ready to handle that style of play.
1. The players & their PC's are more like tourists out on holiday who get caught up in large events; rather than rampaging Visigoths out to bathe in blood & treasure.
2. Practical every-day magic. In this whimsical setting, folks find ways to use magic to enhance their lives. Think about it for a second: even an NPC with an INT of 6-7 knows that if they could just learn the Cantrip or Unseen Servant spell, they could employ them selves as a great Butler, or use those spells to run an Inn, etc... But not in an environment where practicing magic exposes one to odd/ arcane radiations, or vindictive/capricious patrons.
3. In a whimsical style game there is the expectation that the players will succeed if they try hard enough. In DCC RPG... all you can hope is that your dice karma holds out for one more session.
4. Witches & Wizards are not assumed to be Evil. They are respected members of the comunity like anyone else.
Apparently I had a few thoughts...Thoughts or suggestions?
- geordie racer
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Re: Whimsical Magic / Whimsical Adventure
The best one I've seen is Matt Finch's d20 module 'The Goblin Fair'finarvyn wrote:Has anyone spent much time with whimsical adventures? Are there any good ones already written that I might use for my group? I'd like to step away from the "kill it" adventures to try something new, but am not sure what's out there or if the rules are really ready to handle that style of play.
Thoughts or suggestions?
An adventure for characters of 4th-6th level, with humerous twists.
"By the dark of the gibbous moon, the fantastical folk of the fey realms gather for one day at the Goblin Fair: to bargain with merchants of the unique, the rare, and the bizarre; to duel with centuries-old enemies by starlight; to dally with faerie maidens by moonlight; to trade and quarrel, feud, parlay, revel and frivol. Ogres and dryads, hags and giants, elves and goblins, centaurs and hedge fey, they gather under the darkling green boughs of the Oldainahan Forest.
"The wizard Brandon Mistcloak has been trapped by his enemies in his manse Sparrowspell. The key to his rescue is the enchanted book, Taig Tell. He offers mysterious and wonderful rewards for the return of the Book. Will the party enter the Oldainhan on the trail of an enchanted book to win the wizard's reward? A trail that leads to...
"The Goblin Fair"
Sean Wills
- JediOre
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Re: Whimsical Magic / Whimsical Adventure
I have one suggestion:
UK1 - BEYOND THE CRYSTAL CAVE
This is an old TSR module and it relies on little to no killing. I would place it in a more whimsical approach.
UK1 - BEYOND THE CRYSTAL CAVE
This is an old TSR module and it relies on little to no killing. I would place it in a more whimsical approach.
- finarvyn
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Re: Whimsical Magic / Whimsical Adventure
Very cool! I just looked on my shelf and realized that UK1 was one of the old TSR modules I bought in an e-bay auction years ago and never played. Heck, I'd forgotten that I even owned it. Sometimes my "library" of stuff amazes me.JediOre wrote:I have one suggestion:
UK1 - BEYOND THE CRYSTAL CAVE
This is an old TSR module and it relies on little to no killing. I would place it in a more whimsical approach.
Marv / Finarvyn
DCC Minister of Propaganda; Deputized 6/8/11 (over 11 years of SPAM bustin'!)
DCC RPG playtester 2011, DCC Lankhmar trivia contest winner 2015; OD&D player since 1975
"The worthy GM never purposely kills players' PCs, He presents opportunities for the rash and unthinking players to do that all on their own."
-- Gary Gygax
"Don't ask me what you need to hit. Just roll the die and I will let you know!"
-- Dave Arneson
"Misinterpreting the rules is a shared memory for many of us"
-- Joseph Goodman
DCC Minister of Propaganda; Deputized 6/8/11 (over 11 years of SPAM bustin'!)
DCC RPG playtester 2011, DCC Lankhmar trivia contest winner 2015; OD&D player since 1975
"The worthy GM never purposely kills players' PCs, He presents opportunities for the rash and unthinking players to do that all on their own."
-- Gary Gygax
"Don't ask me what you need to hit. Just roll the die and I will let you know!"
-- Dave Arneson
"Misinterpreting the rules is a shared memory for many of us"
-- Joseph Goodman
- JediOre
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Re: Whimsical Magic / Whimsical Adventure
Libraries RULE!finarvyn wrote:Sometimes my "library" of stuff amazes me.
- GnomeBoy
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Re: Whimsical Magic / Whimsical Adventure
Marv needs a librarian. Perhaps Conan is free... or at least reasonably priced.JediOre wrote:Libraries RULE!finarvyn wrote:Sometimes my "library" of stuff amazes me.
...
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Gnome Boy • DCC playtester @ DDC 35 Feb '11. • Beta DL 2111, 7AM PT, 8 June 11.
Playing RPGs since '77 • Quasi-occasional member of the Legion of 8th-Level Fighters.
Link: Here Be 100+ DCC Monsters
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- finarvyn
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Re: Whimsical Magic / Whimsical Adventure
Maybe, but I'm afraid he might trash the place. Barbarians aren't known for being kind to books, in spite of the "Conan the Librarian" reference.GnomeBoy wrote:Marv needs a librarian. Perhaps Conan is free... or at least reasonably priced.JediOre wrote:Libraries RULE!finarvyn wrote:Sometimes my "library" of stuff amazes me.
Marv / Finarvyn
DCC Minister of Propaganda; Deputized 6/8/11 (over 11 years of SPAM bustin'!)
DCC RPG playtester 2011, DCC Lankhmar trivia contest winner 2015; OD&D player since 1975
"The worthy GM never purposely kills players' PCs, He presents opportunities for the rash and unthinking players to do that all on their own."
-- Gary Gygax
"Don't ask me what you need to hit. Just roll the die and I will let you know!"
-- Dave Arneson
"Misinterpreting the rules is a shared memory for many of us"
-- Joseph Goodman
DCC Minister of Propaganda; Deputized 6/8/11 (over 11 years of SPAM bustin'!)
DCC RPG playtester 2011, DCC Lankhmar trivia contest winner 2015; OD&D player since 1975
"The worthy GM never purposely kills players' PCs, He presents opportunities for the rash and unthinking players to do that all on their own."
-- Gary Gygax
"Don't ask me what you need to hit. Just roll the die and I will let you know!"
-- Dave Arneson
"Misinterpreting the rules is a shared memory for many of us"
-- Joseph Goodman
- GnomeBoy
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Re: Whimsical Magic / Whimsical Adventure
Do you think he gets mad at them because he can't read...?finarvyn wrote:Maybe, but I'm afraid he might trash the place. Barbarians aren't known for being kind to books, in spite of the "Conan the Librarian" reference.GnomeBoy wrote:Marv needs a librarian. Perhaps Conan is free... or at least reasonably priced.JediOre wrote:Libraries RULE!
...
Gnome Boy • DCC playtester @ DDC 35 Feb '11. • Beta DL 2111, 7AM PT, 8 June 11.
Playing RPGs since '77 • Quasi-occasional member of the Legion of 8th-Level Fighters.
Link: Here Be 100+ DCC Monsters
bygrinstow.com - The Home of Inner Ham
Gnome Boy • DCC playtester @ DDC 35 Feb '11. • Beta DL 2111, 7AM PT, 8 June 11.
Playing RPGs since '77 • Quasi-occasional member of the Legion of 8th-Level Fighters.
Link: Here Be 100+ DCC Monsters
bygrinstow.com - The Home of Inner Ham