Lighting as Dungeon Encounter: Two Methods

Brendan at Necropraxis recently had a great post on using the random encounter die as a time-tracker — instead of just triggering wandering monsters, the encounter die could also lead to torches burning out or lanterns running out of oil.

As initially written, he advises just ignoring such results for the first two or three turns when it would seem unreasonable for new light sources to be dying. But it got me thinking, “What if there were a simple way to simulate time passage in the check itself?” Two ways popped into my mind, actually.

The Night Children: Hobgoblins in the Age of Ruins

Hobgoblins are by far the most sinister and devious of the Night Children, possessing a sharp, cunning intellect to rival that of mankind. They commonly employ ranged weapons, such as bows, and many display knowledge of spellcraft — traits unique among least demons. Because of this wit, hobgoblins are frequently encountered as leaders among large groups of goblins and orcs; on rare occasions even the mostly solitary bugbears and trolls can be found serving hobgoblin masters.

Despite this accumen for command (or perhaps because of it), hobgoblins almost never gather in large groups of their own kind. They are most commonly encountered in small bands, traditionally referred to as “haunts,” consisting of a hobgoblin warlock, 3-4 warriors of diverse and complimentary combat styles, and a small swarm of common goblins. These groupings have such a fearsome reputation for brutal efficiency that itinerant human mercenaries and mages have emulated their structure since time immemorial, recruiting desperate, foolish, and greedy peasants in place of goblin swarms. This is why decent folk refer to those who choose to engage in such activities as “hob-os.”

Hobgoblins are also the only Night Children that actively seek out and summon their demonic superiors. Some sages believe that all of these traits, taken as a whole, suggest that hobgoblins are the larval stage in an unfathomably long and hideously alien lifecycle that culminates in the ascension of a demon prince.

Awesome original art by one of my players, Alex Rivera

Hobgoblin Warrior: Init +2; Atk sword +d4+1 deed melee (1d8+1) or bow +d4 deed missile (1d6); AC 15 (chain mail); HD 2d8+2; MV 30′; Act 1d20; SP infravision 60′, -1 attack in bright light, mighty deed of arms, vulnerable to fire; SV Fort +1, Ref +2, Will +0; AL C.

Mighty Deed of Arms: Hobgoblin warriors have a d4 deed die (at least) and are capable of performing deeds as members of the warrior class.

Vulnerable to Fire: Hobgoblins take an additional 1d6 damage from fire, and have a 50% chance of catching fire whenever they take damage.

Hobgoblin Warlock: Init +1; Atk balefire missile +3 (1d12); AC 10; HD 2d6+2; MV 30′; Act 1d20; SP infravision 60′, -1 attack in bright light, spellcasting, summon balefire, vulnerable to fire; SV Fort +0, Ref +1, Will +2; AL C.

Spellcasting: Hobgoblin warlocks may know wizard spells as high as 3rd level. They have a bonus to spell checks equal to HD+1.

Summon Balefire: Hobgoblin warlocks can summon and hurl orbs of sickly green flame called balefire. Though it appears as fire, balefire is deathly cold and does no damage to demons of any sort (Night Children included). In addition to attacking with balefire, warlocks can make a spell check against DC 14 to transform all natural flame in a 30′ radius into balefire.

For Savage Worlds:

• Use the hobgoblin stats from p. 127 of SW Fantasy Companion
• Night Children traits
• Warriors have Fighting d10 and Parry 7, as well as 2-3 combat edges up to seasoned rank
• Warlocks have Spellcasting d10 and can hurl balefire at a -1 caster check (2 spell points) and transform fire at a -2 caster check (2 spell points), in addition to any other spells known

Hopping Death: Frog-Men for DCC

I’ve got mad love for frog-men; I know I’m not alone in this, both Wampus Country and the HMS Apollyon feature notable frog-man races. Much like the rat-men I’ve previously covered, frog-men as a traditional fantasy gaming adversary have roots in British game publishing (though the credits actually indicate Luke and Gary Gygax created the race). I like to use them in classic chaotic humanoid mode, generally filling the niche of a rival faction in swamps otherwise dominated by lizard-men or rat-men.

I’m sure I’m not the first person to take a crack at statting them for DCC — Attack of the Frawgs certainly must have done so, and also I haven’t picked up Critters, Creatures, & Denizens which might have covered them as well. I got the inspiration to use a deed die for one of their abilities from Sepulcher of the Mountain God (which I’m running a slightly modded version of this weekend). I think it’s a neat alternative to low-DC saving throws for special abilities on low-level monsters.

deviantART by Deimos-Remus

Frog-Man: Init +0; Atk bite +1 melee (1d4), tongue +1d3 deed melee (1d3), or as weapon +1 melee; AC 13 + armor; HD 1d8; MV 15′, Jump 30′, Swim 30′; Act 1d20; SP camouflage, hop attack, tongue;  SV Fort +0, Ref +2, Will -1; AL C.

Camouflage: Frog-men easily blend into their swampy environment and always have at least a 20% chance to surprise even characters actively on the watch for them. Against less vigilant or swamp-savvy adventurers the chance of surprise is 50%.

Hop attack: After jumping at least 15′ into an attack using a piercing weapon, frog-men gain +1D to hit and score a critical on a natural 22-24.

Tongue: Frog-men use their powerful tongues in combat against foes in melee range. In addition to bludgeoning damage, frog-men roll a d3 deed die when attacking with their tongue. A frog-man may attempt to either disarm or trip the opponent on a successful deed roll (per DCC RPG pgs. 89-90).

The Ace of 3d4 Goblins: Playing Card-Based Random Encounters for Dungeons, Part 2

So you’ve decided to use playing cards instead of dice to determine random encounters in your dungeon. The next step is to create an encounter table that corresponds to your cards, so that a single draw not only tells you that there is an encounter, but it also tells you what is encountered.

Going with six cards corresponding to encounters but assuming that you don’t have an easy way to distinguish between Jokers, you’ve got 5 spots to fill. That’s not as much variety as you see on a typical dungeon encounter chart, so that’s a tradeoff — but maybe not all that much of a tradeoff.

There are all sorts of dungeon encounter tables out there using all sorts of dice, but I’m going to state with no supporting evidence whatsoever that 2d6 tables are a fairly common option. Looking at the distribution of 2d6, the five most common results (5-9) will come up 66.7% of the time, so you’d end up with one of those five results well more than half the time anyway.

At this point, it’s just a simple matter of filling out the encounters, remembering that the Joker encounter can come up twice. A simple first-level dungeon might look something like this:

• Joker — 4d4 kobolds
• Jack/Spades — 1d3 giant spiders
• Queen/Spades — 2d4 orcs
• King/Spades — 2d4 skeletons
• Ace/Spades — 3d4 goblins

Personally I’d add a little “dungeon dressing” to the mix, but I would assign that to a different suit. It increases the overall chance that something is encountered, but  it doesn’t cut into the odds of running into a standard wandering monster. If the PCs keep revisiting the same dungeon level and the same dressing result keeps coming up, it’s clearly an adventure hook waiting to happen.

• Jack/Clubs — Whispering voices seem to come from the shadows
  
• Queen/Clubs — The low rumbling of earth shifting is heard overhead
• King/Clubs — A wailing spirit appears but ignores the PCs
• Ace/Clubs — The temperature drops suddenly, forming frost on stone and metal

You can also use this method to incorporate special hazards/effects that can potentially occur after a certain amount of time. To riff on one of my dungeon dressing effects from above, PCs exploring a mine could be risking a cave-in. You could note that for every Diamond face/ace drawn, the PCs hear rumbling and you make a mark in your notes. When the fourth Diamond comes out, a cave-in occurs around the PCs.

Finally, if you want to spice things up with an encounter that’s really tough for that dungeon level, such as an ogre in an otherwise 1st-level dungeon, it’s important to remember that encounter must always correspond to the ace of spades.

And Don’t Forget the Joker: Playing Card-Based Random Encounters for Dungeons

I’ve previously posted about methods using playing cards for wilderness and night travel hazards; now I’m going to take a look at using the same method for the most classic hazards of all — dungeon random encounters. There’s going to be a tiny bit of math in this post, which is to say there will be numbers, which is likely far more intimidating to me than it is to you.

First, let’s get a baseline for how common dungeon random encounters are using traditional dice-based methods. DCC RPG doesn’t provide any rules that cover this, so let’s assume the tried-and-true standard from Labyrinth Lord (i.e., B/X): For every two turns elapsed, the DM rolls 1d6 and an encounter occurs on a 1. This works out roughly to a 16.7% chance of an encounter per two turns, or roughly 8.4% per turn.

When looking at the probabilities of the cards, I’m going to assume 54 cards in the deck (Jokers left in), since that’s what I’m using for wilderness hazards. Ideally I’d like to draw a card every turn rather than every other turn; it just seems simpler to me. Check off a box for light sources, draw a card and check for encounters. Also, I don’t intend to reshuffle the deck until the PCs leave the dungeon. This means going through the full deck equates to 9 in-game hours spent dungeoneering, which makes for a really convenient way to know when the party is starting to need serious rest.

The chance of drawing any one card from a 54 card deck is 1.85%, therefore the closest results I can get to the 8.4% chance provided by the d6 are 7.4% if four cards generate encounters or 9.3% if five cards generate encounters. Of those two, I would lean toward the four-card option for simplicity sake — a face card or ace from a single suit corresponds to an encounter. Easy.

But I’m not going with either of those options. Instead, I am going to say that, at the very least, a face card or ace from a single suit and the two Jokers correspond to encounters.  This ups the chance per turn to 11.2%, an increased likelihood of 33%. Besides just wanting to beat up my players, why am I doing this? I am doing it because under the card method the chance of further random encounters changes as one draws the cards that correspond to encounters.

Using the d6 method, the odds of a random encounter on any given two turn sequence never increases or decreases. Using the card method, however, if two of the six encounter cards come out on the first two turns of exploration, then the chance of an encounter on the subsequent turn has dropped to from 11% to 7.7%. The statistical pendulum can also swing the other way, of course; if the PCs have still only faced two of the six encounters 20 turns into dungeon exploration, the chance of a random encounter on turn 21 has increased to 11.8%. If they get all the way to turn 40 and luckily manage to avoid any further random encounter beyond those first two? The chance of a random encounter on turn 41 is 28.6%.

This is one of the things I love about the card method: Given enough time exploring the dungeon, the number of random encounters is both finite and inevitable. There are only so many beasties that are wandering a given level of the dungeon at a time, but hang around down there long enough and no matter how careful you are, you’ll eventually attract their attention.

Next time I’ll look at another reason I like the card method — the same card that determines there is an encounter can also determine what is encountered.

The Unholy Aristocracy Revisited: d100 Demonic Titles

I did this once before as a d30 table, but that was clearly not a diverse enough set of options. Roll d100 for each column; there’s a 50% chance that the gender form of any title is inverted.

D100	Title	of Domain
1	Ajaw	Vultures
2	Anax	Wasps
3	Archbishop	Floods
4	Archon	Locusts
5	Ard Ri	Gluttony
6	Ayatollah	Greed
7	Baron	Sorrow
8	Basileus	Vainglory
9	Boyar	Forbidden Knowledge
10	Bretwalda	Deceit
11	Caliph	Scorpions
12	Cardinal	Sloth
13	Censor	Wrath
14	Chancellor	Filth
15	Count	Lamentation
16	Daimyo	Envy
17	Danshaku	Lust
18	Despot	Sores
19	Duke	Flies
20	Earl	Worms
21	Emir	Spiders
22	Emperor	Tumors
23	Father	The Unspeakable
24	Freiherr	Pride
25	Fuhrer	Usury
26	General	Fornication
27	Governor	Blood
28	Grand Vizier	Massacres
29	Grobfurst	The Stillborn
30	Hakushaku	Violation
31	Hou	Ooze
32	Huangdi	Darkness
33	Imam	Dragons
34	Imperator	The Unclean
35	Jarl	Rage
36	Jun	Scarabs
37	Kaiser	Sorcery
38	Khagan	Bats
39	Khan	Bile
40	King	Blasphemy
41	Knyaz	Rats
42	Korol	Undeath
43	Koshaku	Bones
44	Kung	Dread
45	Legate	Misery
46	Lictor	Lizards
47	Lord	Rot
48	Magistrate	Swine
49	Maharajah	Famine
50	Malik	Toads
51	Margrave	Slugs
52	Marquis	Agony
53	Master	Slime
54	Minister	Snails
55	Monarch	Ravens
56	Monsignor	Crows
57	Morza	Pestilence
58	Mufti	Jackals
59	Mullah	Lies
60	Mwami	Skulls
61	Nan	Madness
62	Nomarch	Vomit
63	Overlord	Corruption
64	Overseer	Warlocks
65	Padishah	Serpents
66	Pansoh	The Flayed
67	Pasha	Puss
68	Patriarch	Slaughter
69	Pharaoh	Drought
70	Pope	Wild Beasts
71	Praetor	Mutation
72	Prefect	Malformities
73	Prelate	Poison
74	Prince	Boils
75	Progenitor	Syphilis
76	Provost	Lunacy
77	Raja	Lepers
78	Reeve	Phlegm
79	Ruhtinas	Fire
80	Satrap	Excrement
81	Seneschal	Rust
82	Shah	Maggots
83	Sheikh	Grubs
84	Shishaku	Cannibals
85	Shogun	Plagues
86	Sovereign	Murder
87	Sultan	Nightmares
88	Tlatoani	Hate
89	Tonghou	Unknowable Geometries
90	Tribune	Lice
91	Tsar	Ghouls
92	Vicar	Contempt
93	Viceroy	Ecstacy
94	Vidame	Impurity
95	Viscount	Despair
96	Vizier	Atrocity
97	Voivode	Temptation
98	Vojvoda	Gnats
99	Warlord	Imps
100	Zi	Hail

You Will Taste Man Flesh! Orc Summoning for DCC Player Character Wizards

In Tuesday’s post, I made a few references to orcs being organized into evil armies by chaotic wizards. There is probably nothing in role-playing less in need of mechanical support than how a villainous wizard gathers an army of orcs. You want a bad wizard, you make a bad wizard; you want him to have orcs, he has orcs. The only time you could possibly have even the most remote need for a system to support this is if that foul mage is one of the player characters.

But why shouldn’t she be? We’ve had spells in D&D for a long, long time implying that other party members wouldn’t automatically turn on the wizard if he raises a few undead servants. Isn’t it equally possible that the party might be willing to put up with a little orcish brutality if it gives them a few more meatshields? So just in case that comes up, here’s a 5th level wizard spell for DCC RPG. I don’t know if this is really balanced with other 5th level spells, but hey, orc army!

Summon Orcs
Level: 5 (Wizard)
Range: Varies
Duration: Special
Casting Time: 1 week
Save: None

General: The caster calls a band of orcs to serve his sinister plans. The orcs summoned will serve the wizard until they die or until their master suffers a decisive defeat in battle (judge’s discretion). However, the wizard must set the orcs about some task that shows the promise of regular bloodshed and savagery.

To cast the spell, the wizard must have a permanent dwelling worth at least 10,000 gp. Once successfully cast, the wizard must be at the dwelling when the orcs arrive or they will wander off. The wizard need not wait around for new orcs if he already has orcish servants residing in the area around the dwelling. The orcs that arrive will be equipped with the equivalent of leather armor and a long sword.

Neutral wizards suffer a -4 spell check penalty when attempting to cast this spell; lawful wizards cannot cast it at all. If the wizard’s patron is strongly associated with orcs, they gain a +4 spell check bonus. A +1 spell check bonus is gained for every full 100 orcs already under the wizard’s command as the strengthening horde attracts ever more minions.

Manifestation: Roll 1d3: (1) The area around the dwelling grows foul, as foliage falls from dying trees and water becomes brackish; (2) A sigil of balefire appears in the sky above the dwelling; (3) Thunder clouds darken the sky above the dwelling, rumbling and crackling with lightning and dropping acid rain.

Corruption: Roll 1d6: (1) The caster’s nose transforms into a pig-like snout; (2) The caster grows boar-like tusks that just out from his lower jaw; (3) The caster’s skin takes on a sickly green-gray palot; (4) The caster permanently loses 1d4 Intelligence and begins to speak in simpler, cruder manner; (5) The caster develops a strong craving for raw meat, and will eat it at every opportunity; (6) The caster’s develops an aversion to bright light, suffering a -1 to all actions in direct sunlight.

Misfire: N/A

1: Lost, failure, and worse! Roll on the corruption table.

2-11: Failure, spell is lost for one month.

12-15: Failure, spell is lost for one week.

16-17: Failure, but spell is not lost.

18-19: The wizard summons CL in orcs. They arrive in 1d3 weeks.

20-23: The wizard summons 1d3 x CL in orcs. They arrive in 1d3 weeks.

24-25: The wizards summons 2d3 x CL in orcs. They arrive in 1d3 weeks.

26-28: The wizard summons 2d3 x CL in orcs, one of which will have 3d8 HD, along with 2d3 dire wold mounts. They arrive in 1d5 weeks.

29-33: The wizard summons 2d3 x CL in orcs with 2d3 dire wolf mounts; one orc will have 5d8 HD. They arrive in 1d5 weeks.

34-35: The wizard summons 2d6 x CL in orcs with 2d8 dire wolf mounts. One orc will have 5d8 HD, and another will have 3d8 HD. They arrive over the course of 1d6 weeks.

36-37: The wizard summons 2d12 x CL in orcs along with 1d10 x CL dire wolf mounts (there cannot be more wolves than orcs, however). One orc will have 5d8 HD, and two will have 3d8 HD. They arrive over the course of 1d6 weeks.

38+: An orcish horde of 2d16 x CL orcs are drawn to the wizard, along with 2d10 x CL dire wolves (again, no more wolves than orcs). One orc will have 5d8 HD, and four will have 3d8. They arrive over the course of 1d6 weeks.

The Night Children: Orcs of the Age of Ruins

deviantART by DKuang

After the swarming masses of goblins, orcs are the second most numerous and commonly-encountered breed of Night Children. Though all least demons are prone to mutation and malformation, the physiognomic diversity displayed by orcs is staggering. In fact, some sages with a particularly keen interest in styxozoology have suggested that rather than the five commonly accepted varieties of Night Children (goblins, hobgoblins, orcs, bugbears, and trolls), there are in actuality hundreds of different breeds, and that it is only through uneducated and ill-informed peasant tradition that all brutish warrior-types have come to be collectively categorized as orcs. To date, however, field research has proved too formidable and mortiferous to conclusively support this thesis.

Douglas Chaffee

Whatever physical characteristics they display, there are a few traits common to all orcs: They are strong, dim-witted, and voracious. On their own, orcs deploy little-to-no strategy in their attacks, rarely even showing enough tactical accumen to utilize ranged weapons. Under the command of clever hobgoblins or sinister mages, however, orcs can easily transform into a terrifyingly adept army; they even seem to spontaneously gain great skill at weapon and armor craft in such circumstances, only to lose the ability to construct all but the crudest armaments if the leader is removed. Unlike goblins, many orcs are capable of crudely speaking the languages of men despite their lack of intellect. Orcs have no capacity for magic of any sort.

Perhaps the most frightening characteristic of orcs is their unholy hunger. Even in the midst of battle, orcs will often disregard immediate danger to gorge upon the entrails of a fallen foe before resuming their assault. This demonic appetite causes orcs to exude an aura of dread, which is why even a well-armed force of common men will falter and flea at the sight of an orcish warband.

by neisbeis

Orc: Init +1; Atk* bite +1 melee (1d4) or as weapon +1 melee; AC 11 + armor; HD 1d8+1*; MV 30′; Act 1d20; SP infravision 60′, -1 attack in bright light, lesser fear, unholy hunger, vulnerable to fire; SV Fort +2*, Ref +0, Will -1; AL C.

*Orcs can vary wildly in size; these stats represent a roughly man-sized orc. Particularly large orcs will have an additional +1 to hit and damage in melee, to hit points, and to Fortitude saves. Likewise, particularly small orcs (about the size of a dwarf) receive a -1 to the same traits.

Lesser Fear: Whenever henchmen, hirelings, or other 0-level NPCs encounter orcs, they must make a morale check against DC 11 or attempt to flee. If the orcs have been organized under an intelligent leader such as a hobgoblin or wizard, the DC increases to 13.

Unholy Hunger: If an orc is in the vicinity of a fallen and helpless foe, they must make a Will save (DC 11) to take any action other than ripping open the enemy’s gut and devouring a few handfuls of organs before returning to combat. The orc suffers a -1 penalty to AC during the round it spends stuffing its gullet. Once a foe has been gutted it no longer poses a temptation to other orcs.

Vulnerable to Fire: Orcs take an additional 1d6 damage from fire, and have a 50% chance of catching fire whenever they take damage.

For Savage Worlds:

• Use the orc stats from p. 138 of SWD
• Night Children traits
• Lesser Fear causes extras to make a Spirit Check or panic
• Unholy Hunger requires the orc to make a Spirit check at -1

Rat-Man Priest of Pestilence: DCC Monster

Just to be clear, this was a pre-scheduled post. If you are actually reading this on Thursday evening, there is a distinct possibility that I am currently out having dinner with the lovely Mrs. Elise Carr. Now, onto something a bit less attractive …

deviantART by daarken

Rat-men priests have the same stats as standard rat-men with the addition of the following magical abilities. They often use maces instead of short swords.

Blessing of the Plague Demon: Once per day, the priest can grant a blessing to all rat-men in a 30′ radius. The blessing lasts 1d4 rounds and provides +2 damage and a +2 bonus to the DC to resist rat-men’s disease (making the DC 14).

Choking Cloud: Rat-men priests can cast this spell with a +3 spell check bonus.

Summon Rats (3/day): The priest can cast a spell that brings forth either 1 rat swarm or 1d3 giant rats. That rats will emerge from the earth within 30′ of the caster; a swarm can be directed to emerge in a 20′ x 20′ space already occupied by the rat-men’s foes.

Unholy Nobility: D30 Demonic Titles

Sure, there are the big bads everyone knows — Orcus, Demogorgon, Asmodeus — but sometimes a lesser-known hellish bureaucrat is called for. Here’s a random table to help with those occasions. Roll 1d30 for each column to determine the fiend’s rank and sphere of influence. There’s a 50% chance that a demon is depicted as female, and the title’s form should be changed accordingly.

D30	Title	of Domain
1	Prince	Boils
2	Morza	Pestilence
3	Despot	Sores
4	Duke	Flies
5	Emir	Spiders
6	Caliph	Scorpions
7	Marquis	Agony
8	Count	Lamentation
9	Viscount	Despair
10	Baron	Sorrow
11	Viceroy	Ecstacy
12	Earl	Worms
13	Padishah	Serpents
14	Pharaoh	Drought
15	Maharajah	Famine
16	Khan	Bile
17	Sultan	Nightmares
18	Shah	Maggots
19	Chancellor	Filth
20	Lord	Rot
21	King	Blasphemy
22	Tsar	Ghouls
23	Malik	Toads
24	Ajaw	Vultures
25	Shogun	Plagues
26	Overseer	Warlocks
27	Master	Slime
28	Scourge	Deceit
29	Father	The Unspeakable
30	Boyar	Forbidden Knowledge