Let's Make Some Magic

So our session planned for 1/26 did not in fact occur. Kinda sucks, but I think it's for the best - that was not a particularly good day. We can always go shopping next time. The free mule, Kix, that I was going to gift to the players will just have to wait in the stable.

Anyway, in the meantime I have further developed the magic system in use in the Westerlands. I now know what it is, where it comes from, how it works, who can use it, and a list of spells for varying levels. The actual dicing mechanics of it have yet to be tried, but I'm pretty confident that their ability to work on paper will translate to game play. 

Thank you to Tyler for requesting the magic rules, his interest gave me the motivation to create it. Thank you to Laurie, Megan, Jo, and Melissa for being various versions of spell slingers because they give me a direction/characters to write for. And a big thanks to Nils for sending me the free Tunnels & Trolls PDF that really got my gears turning as to how to create a simple, yet varied magic system.

Much more to come as I get the finishing touches concocted and typed up.

Let's Go Shopping

Our next proposed game session will be 1/26. And, as was suggested last time, I have worked out Armor Class. While I was at it, I did weapons too.

**Update**
I've decided to add adamantine weapons and armor. Adamantite is basically the mithril of the world. The armor is nigh indestructible, the shields never break or dent, and the weapons never lose their edge. I have to figure out the pricing for it. I was thinking of +500 GP to the base price of the item, but even that might not be enough given how rare the material is.

Currency
Copper (pennies)	100	= 1 GP
Silver (dimes)	10	= 1 GP
Gold (dollars)	1
Gold Bar	1	= 500 GP
Shields		AC	Cost
Hide buckler		+1	5 GP
Wood		+2	10 GP
Iron		+3	20 GP
Bronze		+3	30 GP
Steel		+4	50 GP
Large shield		+5	+25 GP to base cost
(metal only)
Tall shield		+7	125 GP
(steel only)
*large shields act as tall shields to small characters
Armor		AC	Cost
Leather		+2	10 GP
Hide (boiled)		+3	20 GP
Studded		+3	25 GP
Scale Mail		+4	50 GP
Chain Mail		+4	75 GP
(long shirt)
Iron Plate		+5	100 GP
Bronze Plate		+5	150 GP
Full Chain Mail		+5	175 GP
Steel Breastplate		+6	200 GP
Full Steel Plate		+8	500 GP
(shoulders, arms, legs)
Melee Weapons		Damage	Cost
For melee attacks the player must be directly next to the target (next square)
1 handed
Unarmed		base	--
Blunt		+1	2 GP
Dagger/Small blade		+2	3 GP
Sword		+3	10 GP
Axe		+4	15 GP
Mace/Flail		+5	30 GP
2 handed
Hammer		+6	25 GP
Double Axe		+6	30 GP
Large Flail		+6	40 GP
Greatsword		+7	50 GP
Long Weapons	reach of 1 square between player and target
2 handed
Spear		+3	10 GP
Halberd/Trident		+4	20 GP
Polearms		+5	25 GP
Long weapons are used to unhorse without damaging the mount
They can be set against a charge to deal 50% damage to a mount and unhorse the rider (will roll for fall damage)
the following attack must be used to kill the damaged mount before an attack can be made against the grounded rider
If a rider is unhorsed without dealing damage to the mount, the player can attempt to capture the mount
with a successful roll (16 or higher on d20) after the battle
Ranged Weapons	Range	Damage	Cost
Sling	3 sq	+1	2 GP
Crossbow	5 sq	+3	10 GP
(cannot be fired
from mount)
Shortbow	6 sq	+4	10 GP
(can be fired
from mount)
Bow	7 sq	+4	20 GP
Longbow	8 sq	+5	30 GP
Greatbow/Composite	10 sq	+6	50 GP
Projectiles		Count	Cost
Bullets/Bolts		30	15 GP
Arrows		20	20 GP
Quiver/Pouch			5 GP
(holds 60 max)
In the beginning players have a 50/50 chance of a successful strike with ranged attacks
(roll a d10 to determine success)
As they progress in levels/skill they have 60/40, 70/30, 80/20, and 90/10
After reaching level 10 they have 100% accuracy, but enemy shields/cover are considered
Levels 10-12 get additional 1d4 damage
Levels 12-15 get additional 2d4 damage
Levels 15+ get additional 3d4 damage

Get Up, Come On Get Down With the Sickness

After much deliberation and conversation with my players, it has been decided that where you have werewolves you must also have vampires. Thank you Twilight and Underworld for the modern intertwining of age old legend.

It's not so simple, however, to just say "ok there's vamps and lycans". You have to establish where they come from. Is it magical or (super)natural? Is it considered a gift or a curse? And if there are monsters, it stands to reason there are also going to be monster slayers. After all, what is an RPG campaign without monsters....I'll tell you what it is, BORING!

So I'll be working into the world/story the introduction of both races. Each race has it pros and cons that come with "the blood". Each race has its prejudice and outright opposition toward each other, as well as, the stigma from the rest of the world. Whether players want to consider it a blessing or a curse to be bitten is up to them.

The logistics I've worked out so far are that a player is weakened when bitten (obviously) because they have been drained of blood/HP/Stamina. If bitten by a werewolf, they will uncontrollably turn with the next phase of the moon. I haven't decided yet if that will be the next full moon, or if it's sooner. The next moon phase would occur about once a week. I'm talking from new, to half, to full, to half again - I'm not figuring in all the various degrees and quarters. They player can either accept this change and the new stats that come along with it, or they must seek to heal themselves. If they cannot be healed, the change is inevitable. At that point they can keep player the character as a lycan, or they can say the lycan runs off, leaving the party for the pack, and they begin a new character.

If bitten by a vampire the character doesn't automatically change, like they do with a lycan bite. If the player wants to become a vampire and get the new stats, they must in turn feed off the blood of a vampire. If a player does not suckle from a vampire, they cannot fully turn. But they will still crave blood and be weakened by sunlight. This means that they will become night stalkers, drawn to attacking NPCs (or perhaps other party members) to feed their thirst. If the player cannot handle this monstrous, corrupt lifestyle, they must be healed. An obvious drawback of being a vampire is that they cannot be exposed to sunlight, and they must sleep in the dirt of their native territory. An easy solution to this is that a roaming vampire can carry a jar of their native dirt with them and sprinkle it over themselves when they bed down. However, there is a finite supply of this dirt, so they must go home to get more, or carry more for longer periods away.

Both races, as nocturnal predators, are fervently hated by sun priests/paladins and are exterminated at every opportunity. If their is such a player within the group already, they cannot coexist with a lycan or vampire unless the DM specifically allows for it.

Success?

So we gathered for the first game session Saturday. Ah, what a mess.

My first DM session was very similar to my first cigarette. I was hesitant, choked, but in the end worked through it so people would think I'm cool.

To start with I thought I'd lost half of my character mini files because my computer saved them in a miscellaneous folder I had created for individual pics. So when folks arrived I was scrambling to rebuild what was "lost". Thankfully I found the originals in the process.

My lovely assistant (aka wife) made sure people had their pizza and beer and kept them distracted with a board game while I got the minis arranged, printed, cut out, and pegged to play. All told I think we started about 90 minutes later than I'd wanted to. I'm honestly just glad people didn't say "screw this" and leave...ne'er to return.

The session was painfully rough shod as I flew by the seat of my pants when a gracious assistant DM (who actually knows what he's doing) pointed out that the numbers on the character sheet meant nothing based on the way I was telling people to play. So ultimately I said "Forget it. You all have 40 HP, the goblins each have 15 HP. Roll a d8 for movement. Roll a d10 for damage. You will hit and be hit. That is all." All but 2 of the players were as new to playing a tabletop RPG as I am to DMing, so mostly people just rolled with it (pun intended). The biggest objection of the evening was "What?! Goblins come from eggs?!" My tangent explanation just made people think I'm crazy. I'll better explain the zoology of my world later.

It was strongly suggested I come up with actual...what do you call them? Oh yeah, RULES! I couldn't agree more. The wife and I spent Sunday building weapons/armor tables and determining cost and currency. We'll deal with regular equipment later. We are currently operating with NO carrying capacity. Time will tell, but I think we'll slowly wade into just playing Castles & Crusades since the rules are already established.

Overall people say they had fun. I hope because it was simple and they actually enjoyed it. I guess I'll know if no one shows up next time. One friend did ask if she can bring people with her - I take that as a very good sign!

Next time: Gold, XP, and a shopping spree with bonus FREE swag from an apologetic DM!!