Cracking Open Crusty Books

Today I was rearranging my office.  I needed to make it a bit more productive friendly.  Plus, changing up the furniture situation is always a good thing.  Gets the creative juices going.  When I finally completed moving things around I started thumbing through my Monsters & Treasure Assortment: Sets One - Three: Levels One - Nine.

I've had my copy since 1980 I think.  So when I say I cracked open a crusty book, I mean it.  So with this in front of me craving to do some random table plundering I asked Ivy for a title of an adventure.  Which she gave me, which I will not give here yet.  Cause I haven't finished it and I think it's fun.  As soon as she said it I got a couple of ideas.  Plus I had one of my older maps in the hopper for a long time and thought it would be a great time to use it.  

Not one of my best, but I think it suits the adventure I'm writing.  

How I Used the Monster & Treasure Assortment

So back to the Monster & Treasure Assortment.  I decided I'm making the ground level, 1st level.  So I rolled 2d4 to determine the number of critters.  I rolled a total of 4.  Then went to the First Level Monster table and started to roll.

Monsters

(32) Black Widow Spider - 1

(59) Bandits - 4

(67) Centipedes - 3

(55) Gnomes - I rerolled this.  There is nothing wrong with being a gnome, except they are gnomes.

(70) Giant Gecko - 1

Treasure

I decided to roll 1d4 for the number of treasures.  I rolled 3.  Then I went to the front page of the book where some of my favorite tables are located.  There are three 1) Treasure is contained in...   2) Treasure is guarded by...  3) Treasure is hidden by/in...  Love these tables.  For the latter two tables I roll one die larger than needed so if I roll above the table that means the treasure isn't guarded or the treasure isn't hidden.  For example, the Treasure is Guarded by table is 1d16. So I roll a d20, if I get a 17 or above the treasure is not guarded.

Treasure Contained in...

1. Loose

2. Small Coffers

3. Metal Urns

Treasure is Guarded by...

1. None

2. Spring darts in the front

3. None

Treasure is Hidden by...

1. Under a loose stone in the floor

2. Illusion to change or hide appearance

3. Disguised to look like something else

With those determined I rolled on the treasure table.  First off, no electrum.  I've got issues with electrum.  It makes me angry.  And I am okay with it.  I run a silver standard game anyways, to if the e-word pops up I changed it to silver.  

Treasure

1. 100cp

2. 350sp

3. +1 leather armor

I scanned in my worksheet to give you a peek at what it looked like.  

So with these building blocks I number my map and begin detailing my adventure.  There will be a small 2nd level.  I am thinking of making it a 3rd level place to make a young party poop in their pants.  Probably one or two creatures at the most with a treasure of some sort, rolled on the 3rd level table.  

Dungeon Room & Hex Crawl Encounter Card

For a while now I've been using a pair of simple d12 tables to help me randomly create content.  I always had them in a notebook I could only find half the time.  Or had them in a file on my home computer, but when I went to the bookstore never had access to them.

My solution, as it is for many things these days, create a card and laminate the bastard.  Now I can keep one of these in my computer bag and whip it out when needed.  And if I spill my coffee drink all over it will be the one safe thing on the table. 

I did a batch of these cards today.  I have no plans for them yet.  Maybe someone can come up with a good idea. 

The picture shows the front and back of the card.  Very simple format.  I fiddled with textured background and sepia and other crap I didn't like.  I kept it simple and straight forward.   +William McAusland's art is the only ornamentation the card needed.

Free Gem Generators

A while back I wrote about gems and for some reason found myself on that post again.  I'd forgotten about the gem generators I found.  I thought I'd share the two I use.

The first is from PBE Games, they have a Gemstone Generator where you select the value of the gemstone and variance.  I believe the variance is there to narrow or expand the value of the gemstones generated.  You generate 10 gemstones per push of the button and you get a nice  description of each one.

huge cracked blue jasper (60 GP)

small dull black jasper (50 GP)

tiny pink rhodochrosite (32 GP)

tiny discolored pale blue tourmaline (100 GP)

large white jade (250 GP)

pale yellow amber (400 GP)

tiny green chrysoberl (150 GP)

huge chipped purple amethyst (100 GP)

large flawed deep green jade (100 GP)

blue azurite (10 GP)

The second generator is from Chaotic Shiny Productions, home of the best gaming generators.  +Hannah Lipsky created her own Gemstone Generator.  This generator is different from the one that is part of her Treasure Horde Generator.  Still my favorite generator of all and still using it to this day to help with inspiration when creating treasure.  This gemstone generator allows you to select how many gems you'd like appraised.  Instead of giving you a value there is information about the gem.  Like what people have come to have it represent or where you are most likely to find them.  If a GM says there are five gems in the chest and wants to give them a little more detail, push the button and you'll get something like this...

The gem is forest green. It is rare. It is prized for its religious associations. It is associated with courage, stress, optimism, wealth, and rejuvenation. It is primarily found in the west.

The gem is striated cerise. It can also be found in shades of red-violet, fuschia, white, and heliotrope. It is relatively uncommon. It is commonly cut with many facets. It is prized for its hardness. It is associated with a specific bloodline, psychic abilities, fortitude, a certain historical figure, and communication. It is primarily found in the desert.

The gem is peach. It can also be found in shades of blood-red, yellow, amber, and yellow-orange. It is commonly cut with many facets. It is associated with masculinity, doubt, a certain religious figure, strength, and physical strength.

The gem is vibrant lavender. It can also be found in shades of persimmon, red-violet, and heliotrope. It is uncommon. It is commonly cut marquise-style. It is associated with earth, harmony, and peace.

The gem is pale white. It can also be found in shades of ochre, tan, yellow-green, green, and bistre. It is associated with sleep, creativity, and magical abilities.

Both are fantastic tool to use in your game.  I highly recommend going through Chaotic Shiny's list of generators.  They are lot of fun and can be a valuable to a busy GM.

Tavern Cards

Who am I talking about?  Hannah Lipsky of Chaotic Shiny Productions.  She has put together a very cool Kickstarter.  Tavern Cards.  With a deck of cards you can flip them over and instantly generate a fun and interesting tavern.  And there is always a need for taverns.

Before I get into the product itself I want to sell you on Hannah and her company.  I've been a big fan of her program generators since she started.  I've promoted them here several times and would gladly do it again.  I've wrote to Hannah briefly through email and she has it planned out and knows the pitfalls of a Kickstarter.  She plans to keep it straight forward so she can deliver her very cool product on time.  With all the recent negative posts about Kickstarters and how people have been throwing their money into a hole.  I have no trouble backing this project because I'm very confident in Hannah's ability to produce her tavern cards.

The tavern cards will all be unique.  And probably my favorite thing is they will be done in the style of a tarot deck.  So if you are a tarot deck collector like me you gotta get a pack or two or three. 

Each suit creates a different aspect to the tavern.

So you can see Hannah's Tavern Cards can be used in multiple ways.  Its a very cool idea.  While I enjoy a good computer generator there is something about having that tactual experience.  Plus you'll have a ton of cool art to go with it.

Stretch goals.  No Kickstarter would be with them.  Hannah I think has been very smart with the stretch goals.  This is where many KS projects go to grass.  They promise these fantastic stretch goals to get more money, but fail to plan the costs and the reliability of the people who would produce them.  Hannah's got her stretch goals already calculated into everything.  She has even done Extensive Math!  Its in her update section where she breaks down the cost of everything.  Love it.

Back to the stretch goals.  An unnamed stretch goal is the first level, then Pirates!  Yeah, I want to see them.  Then another mystery level and the last stretch goal written is High Fantasy deck.

The price point on these decks are great.  Get in early and they're even better.  Here's the basic break down $13 for 1 deck (or $11 if you are an early backer), $24 for two decks (or $20 if you are an early backer), or $35 for 3 decks and at this level that unlocks all the booster and stretch goals.  Then from there the goals get high with signed pictures and decks and enough decks to squash a owlbear.

So head on over to the Tavern Card kickstarter and back Hannah in her project.  I'm in for the $35 backer.  You'll be jealous of me if you don't.

Call Me Iron Tom

My pirate name is:

Iron Tom Bonney

A pirate's life isn't easy; it takes a tough person. That's okay with you, though, since you a tough person. You can be a little bit unpredictable, but a pirate's life is far from full of certainties, so that fits in pretty well. Arr!

Get your own pirate name from piratequiz.com.
part of the fidius.org network

Town Name Generator

I found this Town Name Generator messing around on the web.  I'll add to my gaming links section.  It looks like it can be used for fantasy or modern.

Saturday Night Random Dungeon

It's going to be a quiet night here at the Manor.  Sitting around watching a little TV and listening to some iTunes while I mapped out a dungeon.  I am going to use Mythmere's Adventure Design Deskbook and the Ultimate Toolbox to create the dungeon and background.  Then I may use Mythmere's second volume of the Adventure Design Deskbook to create some critters.  I think I have other generators around that I will use to create NPCs and whatnot.  So this will be a completely randomly generated dungeon.  It will either be cool or a hot mess.

And I wanted to thank everyone for participating in the Show Me Your Dice Marathon.  A lot of gamers exposed their dice for all to see.  Not a bad turn out for being the opening days of Gen Con.

Three Sure Beverages

This blog is brought to you by Random Blog Post Topic Generators from The Rusty Battle Axe.  I rolled and thus the title.  


1. Swamp Bottom Wine
This grog is barely drinkable to outsiders, but to those who live along the vast swamps it is a staple of every meal.  The swamp berries grow in abundance and their fermentation time is short.  Though Swamp Bottom Wine is an acquired taste it is still offered in a wide variety of tavern for a cheaper alternative wine.  The most unscrupulous tavern owners will 'water down' some of their more expensive wines with it.  The alcohol content is slightly higher than a normal wine.  Average price for a bottle is 5cp compared to an average bottle of wine at 50cp.  


2. Goblin Snot
Most people believe the origins of this drink started with the dwarves, but it was actually developed by the nomadic hill barbarian tribes.  Although this drink has has many versions through out the years it still has one thing consistent, it will knock your boots off your feet.  This such a powerful drink that the dwarves have integrated drinking an entire bottle in a single sitting as one of the steps to move onto manhood.  It is highly flammable.  Though it was once a thick green liquid the newer version finds it less repulsive.  Because of the fermentation process, which includes dabbling in the dark magics Goblin Snot is illegal in some areas and most tavern owners are reluctant to carry a barrel of it because of its volatile nature.  Plus the extreme cost.  Goblin Snot is sold in small shot glass doses at 1gp minimum and can be as high as 10gp.  Kegs of Goblin Snot are not sold, but auctioned off to selected merchants.


3. Umber Beer
Also known as Red Beer.  This beer is made in the northern mountain region usually fermented by the faithful of the magic god.  The signature of a good Umber Beer is the amount of flavored sediment or sand floating around.  Some people find the grit to their disliking, but those who enjoy Umber Beer seek more.  It has an average alcohol content, but it is more flavorful and sought after by many higher end taverns.  Umber Beer usually sells for twice to three times as much as an average keg of beer.

Can you really have enough wweird drinnks in a fantasy tavern?  I don't think so.

Fantasy Business Name Generator

Mike over at his 1d8 blog has a cool and useful Fantasy Name Generator.  Fifteen random business names appear. 

The Mithril Moor
The owner Cyril of the Blight Hand is renown for slaying fifteen owlbears during the defense of the Ogden Moor.  The dwarven mine was abandon several years ago when the moor was infested with these creatures.  Cyril and his men purged the moor and opened the mine for his fellow dwarves to begin mining the precious veins of mithril.  As a reward, the dwarven king granted Cyril a percentage of mithril.  He now employs a master smith who forges the metal into artifacts of war.  Though his prices could bankrupt a barony, The Mithril Moor is where champions from every land come to purchase arms and armor.  Though he no longer considers himself a man of battle, when an adventurer enters his shop and speaks of fantastic creatures and mysterious places, a glint of possibility returns to Cyril's eyes. 

The Blue-Eyed Druid Shop
No one really knows the identity of the shop owner.  Most customers believe its Howard, a simple man who has a knack for gauging how much a customer will pay for an item.  His behavior can be erratic he is mostly friendly.  Though the sign outside has a man standing in the forest with blue eyes little of that translates to the shop.  BEDS as the locals call it is a pawn shop.  Howard prefers to buy and sell magical items, but he will dabble in odd, historical or collectible items.  Because it is located next to a guard tower Howard has little problem with theft.  Plus several rumors surround the old shop, that the true owner would hunt the offender and suffer a horrible death.

The owner of the Blue-Eyed Druid is a sect of mages.  They use the money to finance their experiments.  There are a total of ten mages and all take turns 'being Howard'.  This is why if the players come in one day he may act strangely different from a few days before.  

Okay, I am done for now.  When I find these generators I could play all day doing this. Thank you Mike for the generator.

City Encounter Generator

Hi folks, hope everyone is enjoying the holiday.  I thought I would do a quick post about another generator I recently found that I think will be helpful.  Johnn Four has a City Encounter Generator available on-line.  He has a free PDF download, 650 Fantasy City Encounters Seeds & Hooks is where I got the link and I believe is what the generator is based off of.  Go check it out.  Its the right price after maxing out your account for the holiday.

Fantasy Henchmen and Hireling Generator

I was messing around on the web the other day and I found this completely fantastic site, Meatshields!  I've been messing around with it and found it very useful.  It's made for old gamers like us.  Very cool.  The artwork by Toren Atkinson is perfect.  I'm sure others have spotted this before me, but I thought I would put it out there.  I know I have it bookmarked. 

Kingdom Builder

A couple of weeks ago Hannah "Swordgleam" Lipski of Chaotic Shiny Productions asked me if I would do a review on her most recent generator, the Kingdom Builder Generator Pack II and I quickly said absolutely. It's no secret that I am a fan of Chaotic Shiny's products. I did reviews for Tavern Tables and Treasure Hoard Generator, both excellent tools to add to a GMs arsenal. I'm here to tell you the Kingdom Builder Generator Pack II is probably the best one yet.

Like all of Hannah's generators this one very simple to use and provides an amazing amount variety. It uses a nine tab strip across the top to find what you are in most need of to complete your kingdom. And like her other generators you can print and save your results. It generates a lot of good stuff so you're going to want to.

I've broken the review down into the sections of the generator followed by some examples of what you can expect.

Kingdom & Hooks
One push of a button and the outline for a new kingdom is ready. This tab combines most of the other generators and creates eight categories that outline the kingdom.

Kingdom Name: Straight forward results. Some are one work where some are the Holy or the Glorious. Most of the names are pronounceable, but I have to admit there are a few names that came up I think I would hurt myself if I tried to say them.

Ruled By: You would think with a name like Kingdom Builder that you would get a list of kings? No so. There are some interesting variations. In five generated kingdoms I got a philosopher-queen, two kings, an elected official and a minister. I like these variations because it gives a GM a shot of inspiration about the kingdom. A kingdom ruled by a minster would be a very different place than one ruled by a philosopher queen.

Prominent Places: Five randomly generated names for places are listed here. This section helps flesh out the geographical features of the kingdom. There is a tab dedicated to this feature where you can generate up to fifty places. There is a feature where you can select random names or nonsense names or word names. Examples of the random names generated are Crorrana Fen, Nodan Glen, and the Taenen Wilds. Some of the names are difficult to pronounce, but you can generate more than enough to choose from. The word names are putting two known words together. Here are some examples, Starrock Peak, Steelwine Sea, and Pickwaste Canyon. Some humorous results were generated also like Meatlawn Tarn, Wifebank Plain and I kinda like this one Gloommilk Crossing. So like most of the named sections, pick and choose what you like. If nothing else it will get your wheels churning and inspire other names you might not have thought of before. The other feature in this section is you can specifially choose what geographical location you would like named. So if you have a forest, swamp or settlement you're just having trouble coming up with a name with one push of a button you can have five to fifty suggestion waiting for you.

Laws: Two to four laws of the land are generated here. This is a great feature. It lists the crime committed and the penalty of the crime. An example of one is 'the penalty for a previously convicted criminal who steals a sheep is execution'. Wow, that's some hardcore justice there. Law has its own tab and here you can generate from five up to fifty laws. It's a nice addition that can get a GM started on a law system in a kingdom. I'm not sure how often the penalty for a wizard wounding a sheep is public humiliation will come up, but it's there if you need it.

- A landless person who slanders a priest is thrown into the stocks.
- A military officer is caught smuggling wine he will pay a small fine.

Recent Events: Five randomly generated events of what is going on in the kingdom. These generated events give the kingdom a life, a movement that things are happening within the kingdom. I really like this section because not only does it provide further geographical locations it also can be a great source for adventure hooks. There is an Events tab that can create up to fifty events. And each generated event comes in two parts that could either be separate or with some imagination linked together. Here are some examples of what could be headlines in your kingdom. It doesn't take much to see how these could turn into great adventures.

- Near the northern castle a new species of trolls may have emerged and the popular religion is losing followers.
- Several people have vanished near the southwest plains and an important politician has gone missing.
- A giant has been spotted in the southern barony.

Notable Individuals: Three to four interesting characters a generated with each kingdom. These could be high profile NPCs the players interact with or are working in the background. The details of the individuals vary a great deal. A combination of any of the following could be included, profession, friends and relatives, physical description, rumors, and where he or she can be found. Some examples:

- Bat, the Flamboyant, suspicious scholar who is openly feared by the commoners. He has been quickly gaining enemies. He can usually be found at a friend's house. He is stocky with an obvious birthmark and dark skin. The dashing guard captain Anou' is his friend. The secretive priest, Possor, is his advisor.
- Cra'elae, the shadowy, alcoholic adventurer who recently had a sudden change in alliance. She has just gained a significant ally. She can usually be found in the affluent part of town. She is muscular with a pierced nose and tanned skin. The proud magistrate Orachn is her opponent.

As you can see there is fodder in there for interplay among NPCs. This is one of my favorite elements in the Kingdom Builder Generator.

Army: Every kingdom needs an army. There is some great stuff included with the personality of the army itself. What they are known for, what weapons they prefer and an estimate of troop strength. I like that it also includes what tactics they favor and if there are any current issues with the troops.

- Caenmor's army relies heavily on powerful infantry and the use of slings. They are known, to a lesser extent, for using orcs. They are famous for their terrifying armor and flashy tactics. Each corps contains 15 battalions of 350 soldiers. Currently, they are are having supply-chain problems.
- Fraz's army is famed for its quick moving infantry and the use of dirks. They have a highly informal chain of command, with ranks based on family connections.

Current Fashion: This is a nice touch for role-playing. Not normally a consideration when drudging through the intestines of a mountain, but what's more embarrassing than using last year's 10' pole. Keep up on the trends of what people are wearing so maybe you can be one on the useless people who gain notoriety by doing nothing. Seriously though, I like this addition. It adds an element I rarely think of when gaming. This is also another one that has its own tab so you can generate five to fifty styles if you wish.

- The fashion features crude, form fitting dark gold and dark blue garments. Tops are typically cropped with plunging necklines. Bodices are also customary. Diadems are popular accessories. Embroidery and pockets and chiffon are staples of the style. Upper and lower classes wear very different clothing.
- This style emphasizes pleated, billowing pale violet garments. Top are typically long sleeved with high necklaces. Brooches and headbands are popular accessories. Bright green, violet and gold are also common colors. Young adults and elderly wear very different clothing.

There is one more tab that no kingdom can be complete without. Flags. I could go into a whole Eddie Izzard skit about flags, but I won't. If you have seen Hannah's random generator for coins the flags work on the same concept. You can specify what type of flag you want whether is square, swallowtail, or gonfalon is your choice. With all the options included in this one you can pretty much make any map you want. And you can also import you own pictures to customize your flag even further.

There is so much talk about building a campaign world, the time and work that a GM is required to put into it before one session is played. The Kingdom Builder Generator can get things started by producing kingdoms even before you have a map drawn. Game system neutral so it can be used for Swords & Wizardry, OSRIC and 4th edition D&D if you so choose. Hannah's asking price for this is $3.95. With the number of hours this will save you when creating a world this is a steal. Its real simple, if you are currently building or plan on building a campaign world get the Kingdom Builder Generation Pack II.