Goodman Games

In DnD basic there were guidlines for tracking how long it takes players to explore. Basicially, you would ask each player to describe what they are doing, one person might map the room, another might search for secret doors, and another might just stand guard at a door listining for approchinc monsters. Every one got to state one activitiy, than the DM explained what the result of each of those acitivities were, and each "encounter" turn that went that way was assumed to take 10 minuets. And if the party wanted to keep walking, you could look at the enconter speed of the slowest party member and thats how many squares the party could walk in 10 minuets if they didn't want to explore more carefully. It was a really neat way to help keep track of how long adventures were spending in the dungeion (and helped with tracking how long light sources had, and how long longer spells would still be active). It also ensured that every player was participitaing as each player got explicitily asked by the DM "what are you doing?" before resolving what other players claimed they were doing. That way, no player was ever just sitting at the table waiting for combat to start so he or she can do something, while some other player hogs all the exploration time by constantly talking about what his character is doing.

Will there be anything like this in DCCRPG? If not I will probably use the rule as a house rule, but it would be nice if something like it was stated in the core rules.

Last I read, the core book recommends using Avalon Hill's Outdoor Survival board game.

//H

*hits eBay before Marv can...*

Harley Stroh wrote:Last I read, the core book recommends using Avalon Hill's Outdoor Survival board game.

//H

Lol. I'll finally get to use that game for something!

My copy has to be 20 years old.

Harley Stroh wrote:Last I read, the core book recommends using Avalon Hill's Outdoor Survival board game.

//H

That's pretty hardcore. Does it talk about placing towns and fortresses? How about different cultures?

I'm very curious to see this now.

GnomeBoy wrote:*hits eBay before Marv can...*

Hah! I've already got one!

For folks not "in the know" Harley is, of course, making an OD&D reference. The original 1974 OD&D rules suggested that one use Outdoor Survival as part of the game, and as best as anyone can determine the only thing actually used was the mapboard. Dave Arneson used the map as his lands "to the south" in his Blackmoor campaign in the early 1970's.

Many have speculated that the only reason that OS sold any copies at all was its mention in OD&D. It certainly wasn't an exciting game. I tried playing it a few times and ended up with characters who were lost and wandering aimlessly around the map. Wheeeee!

finarvyn wrote:

GnomeBoy wrote: Many have speculated that the only reason that OS sold any copies at all was its mention in OD&D. It certainly wasn't an exciting game. I tried playing it a few times and ended up with characters who were lost and wandering aimlessly around the map. Wheeeee!

Hey, I bought it before I even heard of D&D. I used to have a closet full of Avalon Hill games. I was such a AH fanboy that I bought Magic Realm before I bought D&D.

finarvyn wrote:Many have speculated that the only reason that OS sold any copies at all was its mention in OD&D. It certainly wasn't an exciting game. I tried playing it a few times and ended up with characters who were lost and wandering aimlessly around the map. Wheeeee!

I bought it because I thought it would be educational. Didn't pick up on the OD&D reference until a decade-plus after I got the game. It wasn't that bad, although I did have lots of little guys wandering aimlessly and dying of thirst. I made a Terminator variant at one point that was really, really fun. Usually the Terminator tracked the little guy down, though. So at least the games were short.