Simple DND

Came across this website. As its name suggests, it promises to simplify D&D, boiling down the Red Box to its very basic components for fun and easy play. I haven't had a chance to read through it all yet, but I like what I've seen so far and it really suits my idea of what classic roleplaying should be.

SIMPLE DND

Conflagration Weed

http://io9.com/this-bizarre-aragonite-flower-grows-from-the-damp-cei-1639745761

At first glance, these strange lifeforms appear to be some form of aberrant, darkness dwelling plants. In actuality, they are closer related to sponges and coral. The organisms grow very slowly by leeching minerals from the rocks. They grow in long thin, branches that can be anywhere from 1cm to 1m long. At a certain point, the branch will begin to form a pod surrounded by sharp spikes. These pods are filled with the spores of the creatures. They are also filled with phosphorus and other chemicals, and when touched, the pods will explode, driving the spores into the nearby rocks.

While the pods are generally quite small, they will eventually fill a room. Even a small pod will do d4 (or equivalent damage), a room with thousands can easily become an exploding deathtrap. Delvers also sometimes call them Fireburs, Needleweed or Deathspores.

The Santaur

A little late for Christmas, but holy Krampus would this thing scare the crap out of the players during the annual Holiday themed adventure. 

The Sword and the Sorcerer, 1982

Taking a bit of a break through the Holidays, but I also had to work. Needless to say, it was rather dull so I entertained myself on my Boxing Day shift by watching The Sword and the Sorcerer, one of the now-classic fantasy films of the early eighties. Keeping in mind that "classic" doesn't necessarily mean 'good'. 

 

The film is pure cheese, but redeems itself primarily by not taking itself at all seriously. The hero, Talon is a complete rogue with a heart of gold and a truely remarkable head of hair. Played by Lee Horsley, Talon is the kind of angst-free, lighthearted hero that we don't see anymore, and maybe needs to make a comeback.   

Oh that hair!

He is the heir to a lost kingdom (of course) turned mercenary who agrees to fight the evil King Cromwell, not for the money, but for one night with the beautiful Princess Alana played by one of my personal favourites, Kathleen Beller.

Can you blame him?

Gamewise, there isn't much here except for the Sorcerer Xusi,played by the great, Richard Moll. Xusi would make a great model for a Big Bad; an ancient, evil Sorcerer King from some long forgotten race...

The funny part is that poor Xusi is completely extraneous to the plot. He is awakened from some sort of magical tomb by Cromwell at the beginning of the movie. In one of the better bits of fx, he lies sleeping in a blood-filled casket that appears to be made of living faces and likes to magically rip the heart out of people.

After using the sorcerer's magic to conquer a couple of kingdoms, Cromwell quickly decides that he doesn't need the potential competition and has Xusi stabbed and thrown off a cliff. This all takes place in about the first ten minutes of the film. Don't worry he gets better, but he doesn't appear again until the very end for the final showdown. That reveal, where he literally bursts out of his own skin is particularly good and gruesome.

That's the Sorcerer. The Sword part is even better. The hero Talon's legendary weapon is called the Tri-Sword which turns out, is exactly what it sounds like:

You can take my kingdom, but you will never touch my hair!

The two side blades can even be shot out of the sword like a crossbow quarrel, which is kinda awesome in a really cheesy way. Also, there is a long dagger hidden in the hilt. I think this thing would be a perfect fit for a certain style of Old School game.

Hair of the Hero
Certain wizards can style an adventurer's hair into a luxurious mane of manliness. This will provide a bonus to charisma and strength until the hair is cut.

Tri-Blade 
This is a difficult weapon is difficult to master. Unless the welder is proficient, they will suffer a significant penalty to hit. Once proficient, the weapon does triple long sword damage! The side blades can be shot out to a range of 50' and will do short-sword damage when they strike their target. There is also a long dagger concealed in the hilt. Only one such sword is known to exist. It is magical and when struck against another magical sword, will produce cool light and sound effects. 

IN CLOSING

In  2010 they made a squeal (promised at the end of the 82 film) starring a pre-crazy Kevin Sorbo, which I'm going to have to track down just to see how it stacks up (not well by all accounts).

and finally, once again, Ms. Kathleen Beller:

Sigil of the Pacmen.

The rune carved into the wall warned of a terrible creature. A devourer of souls that traveled through the maze swallowing everything in its path; fruit, ghosts, little shiny pellets.   

DIE Alone: Arduin and the Howling Tower

I decieded to go even old-schooler with my next DIE Alone adventure and break out an old Arduin adventure: The Howling Tower.

Problem is, I know next to nothing about Arduin and a lot of the monsters listed are unique to the game. Luckily, others have done some of the work for me and I've found
Jeff's Game Blog
Fire in the Jungle
Hall of RPG Oddities
and I also found this in the Way Back Machine! 

Haunted Sword for Sale!

A family in Texas is selling their haunted heirloom for the low, low price of $150!

Buy it Today! 

That I desperately want this sword is a given. That the picture above is an unforgettable NPC just waiting to happen is also a given.

However, it has also gotten me started thinking about the idea of 'magic items'. Ever notice that no book character ever has more than one, yet every D&D character above level 3 is walking around with at least a magic weapon,  a suit of armour, maybe a ring or two and an extra large bottomless purse, just in case? Plus they can head down to the local temple or magic shop to pick up an extra potion or two, or maybe an enchanted koala because it that would be fun at parties.

This is the Loot aspect of the game, and I get it, collecting cool and powerful stuff is fun. It also reeks of Monty Haul* campaigning and video-game mentality neither of which I don't enjoy that much. As a result, I am going to skew DIE Alone away from magic items. Not sure of all the details yet, but I have now made it a hard rule that magic-items cannot be 'bought' in-town.

The Nightmare Chair

Link

The party opens a door to find a small room with only a single only a dusty chair, surrounded by nothing but old bones and dust... surely one of the tired adventurers will want to have a seat?

This cursed artifact was created by ancient Phobicnauts to draw forth the deepest and most terrifying fears of their victims. When seated in the chair, the victim will firmly believe that their greatest nightmare is unfolding in front of them. This nightmare rises in shadow form around the chair, and will torment them endlessly. Those not seated in the chair will only see a change in their companion, changing from sudden rigidness to powerful screams and thrashing, though no amount of conversation will persuade the person in the chair that the shadows are not real. Furthermore, touching bare skin with the victim may cause the would be rescuer to see fearsome shadows of their own.

The person seated in the chair can not, or will not willing stand up and will react with violence if forced. Destroying the chair has a 25% of doing severe physiological trauma to the person seated.

Caverns of Questemundo: Post Wrap

In Search of the Unknown is about as generic old-school as it gets. The dungeon has no logical

Our hosts, Rogain and Tadalafil in happier times.

design or layout except to mess with diligently mapping players; rooms have random effects and it was written a long time before 'dungeon ecology' was even a consideration. I framed the caverns as a B&B for two retired adventurers that failed when they tunneled into the 'Downlow' cavern complex. It added some fun, and even some context to things like the random taxidermy room ("The Sportsman Suite"), the Room of Pools ("A jacuzzi to suit every lifeform!"), the large kitchens and even the irritating opulence that usually turned out to be illusionary.  It was fun for a trial run, but I can't see myself breaking out the adventure again even for nostalgia's sake.

I'm happier with how the DIE Alone rules played out. My novice hero, Thakko even came close to death twice; once saved by the use of his BS Point to re-roll a damage that would have killed him, and secondly when he avoided become a zombie on a lucky roll. He returned to Onderdunk twice more to be Healed at the Temple and stock up on Prescription Leeches.

My next step is going to be to write down the stats of the monsters encountered so far into a file so that it is consistent in further adventures. 

Taking an idea that I am unabashedly stealing from Sooga Games marvelous game, Into the Odd, I am basing DIE Alone experience on Quests Completed. Individual achievements in-game are rewarded with BS points, but only a successfully Completed (or survived) Quest awards the player with a point that can be added anywhere on the Hero's Sheet. I am also going to try another idea for Skill rolls.

Once I've drawn up some fresh Things to Kill and fleshed out items available for purchase, Thakko's next challenge is going to be Arduin Dungeon #2, the Howling Tower. 

Chickensaurus

Link!

Chickensauruses are giant, unstoppable vegetarian predators that can be found close to civilized regions. They have been known to ravage entire villages in their unending and devastating search for corn and other crops on which to feast. 

If defeated however, they are said to be delicious. 

Chickensaurus

MSG: 8.4.6

Traits

-Giant

Damage

Peek +8

Kick +10

Wing Buffet +5

Armour

Feathers -8

Midas Spiders

Why is this spider encased in gold?

I realized this afternoon that Gold Spiders are very boring and attempting to come up with a semi-plausible explination as to why a spider might be encased in gold was cheeseball at best. So it was tie to get a little more old-school.

Midas Spiders
Thought to have been created by some ancient, avarice witch, the venom of this extremely rare arachnid can transform those it bits into a statue of solid gold! Naturally, it is extemely sought after and even the rumour of a Midas Spider can send adventuerers flooding into the area seeking the prize of a lifetime.

Naturally, finding and keeping a Midas Spider is extremely difficult. They tend to live only in the deepest and darkest reaches of the underworld. They are extremely vicious and will attack almost anything that crosses their path as their venom has been known to bring down (and transmorgify) full grown landsharks, bearowls and even a behemoth.

If captured, the spider will thrash itself against its container until it escapes, or dies. Only a few are said to know the secrets of catching a Midas Spider, and they are most certainly not telling. Still, most adventurers who are successful in searching out this rarest of spiders can usually be content in carrying home a full golden statue of a team-mate or follower.

The Caverns of Questemundo: A Day in Town

Oh sure, it looks peaceful now.

Thakko made it to the town of Onderdunk wounded, but satisfied at his first successful looting. With thirty two lucre in his pocket, he first sought out the local medical professionals.

Temple of Helminth

Patron god of adventurers and other fools.

Being healed by Friar Jabrony cost him three coins. He also decided to stock up on some of the many herbs, balms and other ointments for sale to those who venture deep into the Downlow Realms.

-Placebo Potion. Heals one Condition.

-3 Prescription Leeches. Each Heals one Wound level.

He the sought a place to lay his weary head

The Meat and Shield Inn

 A tavern run by Grunth the retired warrior. A simple bed and a warm meal cost him 2 lucre. He had an ale, but his adventures had taken their toil, and he soon found himself feeling ill, and it was another day before he felt up to venturing out into the town.

A lot of good adventures started here.

The Nine Foot Pole

A store that catered to looters, run by a gruff and one-armed man named Ruffus.There he purchased

-Thief Tool: Reduces any Trap roll by one Difficulty. One use only

-A sack of 6 Ironcakes. Difficult to eat, but even harder to digest. Can eat one per day. In a pinch, can also be burned as a firelog.

-A rusted iron bracers (Armour now -2).

All this left young Thakko with only one lucre left. This he decides to keep for luck and sets out on the next leg of his adventure. 

 

Game Notes: Equipment List

I realize that I now need a standard equipment list. Something I can pull from. Rather than spend a lot of time on this right now, I’ll add to it as I go.

Potions

-Placebo Potions (cures one Condition per dose) 3Ł

-Prescription Leech (Heal one Wound per leech). 2Ł

Supplies

Thief Tool: Reduces any Trap roll by one Difficulty. One use only. 5Ł

Ironcakes. Eat one per day. 2 for 1Ł

Rusted Bracers 3Ł

Lodgings

Poor                      2Ł for a common bed or straw mat. 1Ł for stable or floor.

                                2Ł for a meal of hard cheese, harder bread and a dip of the communal pickled egg jar.

                                1Ł per mug of ale.

Average               4Ł for a straw, but clean bed in common room. 5Ł for a private room.

                                5Ł for a decent meal, includes one ale. +1Ł for a better meal.

                                2Ł for an ale, grog or wine.

High                       10Ł+ for a private room.

                                10Ł for a good meal and two drinks. +5Ł for a small feast

                                Booze ranges from 3Ł for ale, to pretty much anything requested.

Two Quick LEGO Links

This is a great MOC by Stuart Delahay. I prefer to think that the Oni is just giving the lost hero some directions.

Oni-ni-kanabo, by Stuart Delahay

The D&D Kre-0 line completely missed the point. Luckily, some in the LEGOmaniac community are working to correct this. Case in point, here is the Iron Builder D&D Mixels Contest!

Grey Riders

http://www.dudeiwantthat.com/style/costumes/alien-mind-control-mask.asp

The otherworldly beings known only as 'Greys' are from a world with much less gravity than our own, and find prolonged walking or movement difficult. To compensate, some will choose a much stronger and larger humanoid to serve as a mount, a process that requires them cutting into the unfortunate's skull and implanting new cybernetic wiring. The victim's head is then encased in a control seat that allows the rider to sit comfortably, and control the mount's body as one might control exo-armour or a power walker. Those who have witnessed the process say that transformation appears to be intensely painful and is ultimately fatal to the mount as much of their head and grey matter is carved away in the process.

The rider has complete control of their mount, and can use it to walk, manipulate objects. They are quite common in grey hivecolonies. If forced to venture outside the colony the mount will usually be hidden under a long cloak and will be wearing at least light armour and armed with a thought-scrambler wand.

The Movie Sucked, but the Monsters Were Cool

Just saw last year's Riddick movie. It was absolutely terrible. Like, really really terrible. And the whole 'Riddick cures lesbianism' thing? I'm pretty sure it doesn't work that way. And the 'keep it warm for me' line at the end was so creepy it made me gag and pretty much guaranteed I'll never watch another Riddick film again. Which sucks because I really liked Pitch Black! I could write a lot more about how bad I thought the rest of the movie was, but in the end its really just my opinion. If you liked it, who am I to argue?

Love the Sackhoff! Hated this movie.

Still, the monsters of the riddickverse are interesting. Not the dingos-dongos. They were intensely generic and boring, but they might make a good visual or random encounter in a sci-fi game. Not in one of my games, but maybe in someone else's.  

Yep ... its just a dog. It was like they weren't even trying.

However, the bioraptors from the Pitch Black, and mud-demons from Riddick were actually pretty awesome. Both combined genuinely interesting, and alien (yet describable) characteristics.

Artist Link

Bioraptors / Night Raptors

Warrior Monster (Medium to Hit)

MSG: 5.3.3 (average size)

Traits

-Flight

-Nightvision 

-Omnivorous

-Vulnerable to sunlight, does +5 Damage

Damage

Tail +4

Teeth +4

Armour

-4

*All stats are for an average sized raptor. It can be found in larger and smaller versions. Smaller raptors swarm like locusts and can through their prey in seconds. 

 

Artist Link

Mud Demon

Warrior Monsters (Medium to Hit)

MSG: 5.3.4 (average size)

Traits

-Poison. If the mud demon makes a success hit and damage with its tale, make a Bod roll -2 or suffer a Grievous wound. For immature demons (1m long or less), the Bod roll is -4!

-At close range, gain two attacks per turn

-As their name implies, mud demons prefer to live in shallow water and/or marshy areas. They are never found far from water or deep mud.  

Damage

Stinger +3

Teeth +4

Kick/Claws +3

Armour

Skin -2

*All stats are for average sized demons. Both smaller and larger versions exist. As they grow, their poison becomes less toxic. 

Unicorn Skull

Its a real thing. National Geographic and everything!

Complete unicorn skulls are rare. Most are hacked apart for their horns and by some mystical process skull without its horn becomes magically inert, though still highly useful in the intimation of movie executives (+5 to all relevant rolls).

A skull with the horn still attached however, has many uses: paperweight, conversation piece, a really cool hat rat, but it can also be used in summoning ceremonies and for crafting the virgin-finders used by the bigger asshole class of priest, some sacrificial cults and fraternities.

Random Generators

Half the fun of solo playing is building the world that the Hero inhabits. What was going to be a quick stop-over in a nearby town has gotten me thinking about the possibilities.

To start, I used the Bazaar generator from Chaotic Shiny, the town of Onderdonk has the shops and market stalls, and then the dojon generator to create the inn that Thakko would visit. This got me thinking about what was going on in the town; who the people were and what sorts of mischief Thakko might encounter while he was there. This lead me to start building a few random tables I can use here, and later on.

Random Generator Sites

Donjon

ChaoticShiny

Abulafia

 

Town Event Table

10% Chance of Event upon visiting any given town. On a success, roll D20

1              Royal Visit

2              Tourney

3              There has recently been a murder or violent crime

4              Town is being threatened by a group of bandits who have their hideout somewhere nearby

5              A prominent townsperson has recently disappeared

6              Invasion (Roll D6)

1                     Zombies/undead

2                     Aliens

3                     Another town

4                     Raiders

5                     Gnorks/Gnoblins

6                     A local, indigenous tribe

7              The town is under a mysterious curse

8              Fair or Holiday

9              Caught in the midst of a mob/guild war

10           Drought

11           Severe Storm

12           The townspeople are part of a cult that practises bizarre, sacrificial rites

13           The town is under the thrall of a mighty wizard

14           Townspeople are nervous and hostile to outsiders

15           Townspeople are weirdly friendly

16           Supernatural/Monster Threat (Roll D6)

1                     Vampire

2                     Werewolves

3                     Undead

4                     Giant Beast/Monster

5                     Giant Insects

6                     Pod people

17           Market Day. Double number of normal merchants

18           Local resource (crop, mine, fishery etc) has recently dried up under mysterious circumstances  

19-20     Roll twice and combine results

Link to Owner

Drunkenness Table

Each time the Hero ingests an intoxicating substances, make a Bod roll (equal to or less than). If the roll fails (above the Bod stat) consult the chart below. For most substances there is no modifier for the first use (if so, it will be noted). However, for every subsequent use, add the modifier. This stacks, so a Hero drink their fourth ale (+1) would have a +3 penalty to their Bod roll.  

Effect Table (D10)

1              Sick – requires Healing or a potion to cure otherwise suffer penalties all day.

2              Violent Sick (miss one day Adventuring and loose another day’s gold to the innkeeper)

3              Talk too much. Someone in the bar overhears a secret

4              Get in a Fight

5              Arrested. Wake in the drunk tank. Loose half gold to bribe guard to let you out

6              Lose all your gold

7              Wake up…(Roll D6)

                1     On the tavern floor       2     In another town

                3     Outside of town            4         In the gutter

                5         In bed with an unattractive partner

                6     In bed with an attractive partner

8              Put on a show

9              Blackout completely. No memory of the night before
10            Roll twice and combine results

The Caverns of Questemundo: Part the Two

Game Notes:
I am running a variant of In Search of the Unknown. Once you get past the shockingly sparse dungeon, the empty rooms, the little to no treasure and the needlessly complex tunnels and tricks that are seemingly designed just to completely fuck mess with the poor jabroni who got stuck with the mapping this week, it actually runs pretty well for a first solo run. I've been revamping the map as I go so that it resembles something that an actual person might build. The monsters rarely make sense in an OSG like this,  but things like the Dire Cheese (instead of a goblin) and the Lunatic (instead of a berzerker) came from the room descriptions and setting rather than using the generic wandering monster that I rolled up.

-Secret Doors are found on a Medium roll, if Hero is looking. Hard if he is not.

-Roll for Wandering Monsters every second room. They appear on a 1-2 on a D6 roll.

So far I have been using General Checks (Easy, Medium and Hard) for things like finding Secret Doors, Disarming Traps etc, and using Saving Rolls (Roll equal to or under Bod) for things like resisting poisons and trying to open locked doors.

The other thing I am going to try is rolling two dice every combat turn. One for our hero and one for the Monster.

_______________________________ 

After his rest, young Thakko girdled his loins and set forth. He soon discovered the bedchambers of the Wizard Tadalafil; a glorious room covered in frescoes of nude, mustachioed men cavorting with centaurs and satyrs. He found little except a painful stinging needle guarding an empty drawer, and a seemingly useless illusion of a grand treasure.

He did find a number of books which he kept, having found little else so far.

Gnorc x2

MSG: 2.1.2

Short sword 2

Rusted armour 1

He soon found himself in a corridor lined with small suites, each ornately decorated, if fallen into decay. In a room befit for a lady, he found a mother of pearl comb and a pair of sturdy boots to replace the gong encrusted ones he wore.

After locating stairs heading to a lower level, our young barbarian stumbled across a nest of sleeping Gnorcs. He prevailed but received a Grievous wound for his efforts. With no means of healing his wound, he decided to take his meager loot and return to the village of Onderdonk to seek healing and fresh supplies.

Loot:

12 Lucre.

4 books (rolled D6 to see how much each was worth for a total of 13Ł)

Comb worth 5Ł

Two short swords taken off the Gnorcs for 2Ł.

Total: 32Ł

It now occurs to me that I'll need to come up with an equipment list for purchases.No sense re-inventing the wheel, this website has a (bizarre) bazaar generator among some other goodies. 

http://chaoticshiny.com/index.php

This one is good has some good stuff as well:
http://donjon.bin.sh/

WEG Starwars is back (kinda)!

This Image has nothing to do with roleplaying or Starwars,
but wouldn't it be cool if it did?

WEG Starwars may be my favourite game of all time, followed closely by WEG Ghostbusters.

In these hazy days of old school nostalgia, it was only a matter of time before someone has applied this to the classic (and best!) Star Wars RPG. Its genuinely too bad that someone tattled about the hardcover on Lulu.

Get it while it's hot!

And in the meantime, load up on these free d6 goodies from Drivethru RPG. 

The Caverns of Questamundo: Part the One

Ever since he could remember, Thakko wanted to be a barbarian. Raised in the small village of Slow Kitten tucked away in a sunny, forgotten valley of the Small Mountains, young Thakko would devour any news he could find of the exploits of the more famous, and notorious adventures of the day: King Krudd, The Dog, Crazy Kra, Nonose the Leper and Bastard Mary, all the while dreaming of the day he too could venture forth to battle foul beasts, best brave warriors, defeat mad sorcerers and of course, rescue innocent, yet nubile and willing slave girls.

Secretly and patiently, he saved every lucre he could spare from his job as an apprentice gong-farmer until the day he could afford a battle axe of his very own. Under the cover of darkness, he snuck away from his village and made his way towards the Cliffs of Questemundo, the closest entrance to the mysterious and subterranean world of caves, tunnels and dungeons known as the Downlow.

There, after days of searching, he found a door half buried and covered in brush. Digging it free, he smashed the rusted lock to begin the adventure of his dreams....

The Caverns of Questemundo: Part the One

Dire Cheese

MSG: 2.1.2

Bite: +1  Armour: -2

A small complex built in ages past by a warrior known as Rogaine and the wizard Tadalafil. The purpose of the stronghold remains a mystery; some say that the two adventurers were looking for a base of operations, others say that they wished to hide their love from the world, still others say that they had wanted to open a charming little bed and breakfast, the answer may never be known. What is known is that they dug too deep, and broke through into the Downbelow, which allowed the caves to be swarmed with monsters, and then forgotten...

... until today.

Thakko began by entering down a long corridor flanked by small alcoves. He found little of interest until he came upon the remains of an ancient battle; four long-dead warriors found scattered across the floor and there he experienced his first real looting. Though it only netted him seven meagre lucre, he was everything he ever dreamed.

Bored Skeleton (x3)

MSG: 1.1.1.

Attack:1 Armour: 1

Moving on, he discovered the complex's kitchen, and was there attached by a Dire Cheese, formed by the actions of stale magics upon a particularly sharp wheel of Colby.

He emerged victorious and unscathed and celebrated with a light snack of his vanquished foe on crackers.

Exploring further, he entered the wizard's storeroom, and disturbed three skeletons who up till then been peacefully fossilizing. Luckily they were unarmed, but still dealt the brave lad a serious wound before he could lay them low.

Lunatic MSG:2.1.2 Attack-Toenails 2. Armour: Filth 2

Victorious, but wounded he bravely ventured on finding a library though its collection of crafting manuals and scrolls depicting young men in athletic competitions proved of little use to the novice barbarian.

In a locked and forgotten cell, he discovered a man forced to eat only the mushrooms that grew between his toes, and as a result had gone completely insane. 

Then entering into a room where crystals grew from the circular opening ceiling, he was enveloped in a warm light, and found himself ....

... suddenly back in the main dining lounge. Somewhat confused, it was there he chose to rest.   

DIE Alone: The Scrolls of Ruledom III: The Doing of Stuff

There are two ways to go about performing actions in DIE Alone. 

The first way is outlined in the rules and pertains primarily to rules. If something is Easy, then you must roll 1-3 on D6. Medium 4-5 of Hard is a straight 6. As your own Gamemaster, it is up to you to choose what level the Difficulty is. Reading a spellbook might be Easy for a Mage, but Hard for a Warrior, etc. 

The Second is when something directly pertains to the character. In this case, you have to roll equal to, or under the Character's Stat. A character with a Smarts of 2 trying to resist a 'mind control' spell means that you must roll a 2 or below on one D6. 

As I've said, I'm making a lot of this up as I go along so playtesting will determine which works better and under which circumstances, but I think that both will come to play a roll. 

DIE ALONE: The Scrolls of Ruledom II: Prepare for Battle!

DIE Alone Combat

In Combat, the Hero always goes first unless surprised or ambushed. A successful 'hit' requires an Easy roll unless the target is a Warrior or blocking, in which case it is Medium. If a Warrior is blocking, then it is Hard to strike.

A character that Blocks cannot Attack their next turn.

If the Hero was successful in striking their opponent, then roll for Damage.

Then its the the Opponent's turn. Rolls to see if they have struck the Hero. Roll Damage of required. That's it.

Ranged Combat
Ranged Combat is played out the same way, unless the range is 'Far' in which case the Difficulty goes up one level. If one character does not have a ranged weapon, then they really should try to hide behind something.

Multiple Opponents
For every opponent beyond the first, the Difficulty to hit them is increased by one. Once the Difficulty reaches Hard, all further opponents are Hard to strike.

Damage
Whenever Damage is inflicted, roll D6. The attacker's weapon add positive modifiers to the roll, while the defender's armour adds a negative modifier to the roll.
Result
0  No Wound
1-3  Minor Wound
4-5 Serious Wound
6+ Grievous Wound

Minor Wounds are automatically healed after Combat is over. Serious Wounds require Healing or a short period of rest (a night's camp). Grievous Wounds require Healing magic or trained medical attention.

If in battle, a Hero with Minor 2 suffers two Minor Wounds, and then suffers a 3rd Minor Wound, then the damage automatically goes to a higher level (Serious). This applies to all MSG levels, so if the Hero already had suffered a number of Serious Wounds equal to their Serious MSG, then that Hero would not suffer a Grievous wound.

Taking equal to the number of Grievous Wounds means that the Hero is now OOF, and likely suffering serious injury. For minor characters and monsters this usually means death, but it is now up to you to determine if their is any way for the Hero to survive.

Accouterments
Whenever any Weapons and Armour are found during an adventure, roll D6.
1-2 = 1
3-4 = 2
5 = 3
6 = Reroll, result is *. If 6 is rolled again = 4.

Princess Leia in Gold Bikini Playing in the Ocean

This may very well be the single greatest picture ever taken. 

DIE Alone: The Scrolls of Ruledom I: The Makings of a Hero.

IMDB for Image Source

I have come to the sad fact that my gaming group days are far behind me now. Jobs, wives, kids and distance has split my old group, and the only gamer I know in this city now plays mostly on-line.

I am also currently working two jobs on a twisted, rotating schedule that is absolutely killing me. However, it has occurred to me that this does not mean that I have to hang up my dice-bag forever.

I dug out some old homebrew rules that I think can be slapped over any existing game product and started modifying them. My intent is to run as many old school game adventures as I can, solo.

I call these rules "DIE Alone" and I'm generally making them up as a go along. They work on a simple idea:  Using a single six sided die (D6) anything that my intrepid Hero encounters will have a Easy, Medium or Hard difficulty.  For Easy you have to roll 1-3. For Medium 4-5 and for Hard you have to roll a solid 6.

Obviously, it gets a little more complicated, but not much. I have chosen the single D6 as I think it will be easy to carry one D6 in my pocket as opposed to a full set of ppolyhedrals. If I need anything else, I can use the dice app on my phone.

To create the Hero for this journey you start with a name. I am thinking a brave and resourceful barbarian, so I will name him Thakko. This also determines his starting Skill of Warrior. (See Below for other Skills and what skills do.)

Stats.
Stats in Die Alone will act like Saving Throws in the game. There are three Stats: Brains, Bod and Vibes. Roll D6 and distribute the points as you choose. No Stat can be 0.
1-3: 4 points
4-5: 5 points
6:    6 points.

I have rolled 3, so I distribute the points as follows: Bod 2, Brains 1 and Vibes 1.

MSG.
MSG stands for Minor, Serious and Grievous and determines how much damage the Hero can withstand. Using the same chart as Stats, determine how many points you have the distribute between the three categories. I have rolled a 4 (5 points) so I distribute the MSG as
Minor 2 (Mild Damage wears off after the fight)
Serious 2 (Serious Damage requires a period of rest to recover)
Grievous 1 (Grievous Damage requires immediate Healing! Loosing all of your Grievous Points means that the Hero is now OOF [Out of Fight] and requires immediate Healing or can end up unconscious or more likely, dead.

Accouterments
Heroes begin with a weapon and armour.Weapons add to Damage rolls. Armour subtract from them. Using the same chart, you now have that many points to distribute between a starting Weapon and Armour. Rolling a 4 and +1 for being a Warrior still means that I distribute 5 points:
Axe 4
Loincloth 1.

It doesn't matter what the weapon or armour is. As Thakko is a Barbarian, I choose that he starts with an Axe, but it could just as easily be a sword, spear or hammer etc. Weapons and armour in DIE Alone will vary widely in damage and strength

Traits
Every Hero starts with a single Trait. This is a power or bonus that adds one time, 1 point to any Stat, MSG, Weapon or Armour that you choose. As Thakko looks like he needs a little help staying alive, I spend the Trait on his Grievous points. If it helps, call it Barbarian Vigor.

BS Point
BS points can be use in a variety of ways throughout the game, but primarily be spent to re-roll any failed die roll. More on them later. I tried to come up with a good acronym for BS, but then I thought, forget it.

Thakko
Skill: Barbarian (Warrior)
Bod 2          M 2        Axe 4             Trait                                            
Mind 1         S 2         Loincloth 1     Barbarian Vigor (+1 to G)
Vibes 1        G 2                               BS 1

He may not be around that long....

Skills
Warrior: Warriors are Medium to Hit in Combat. Add +1 to all found Weapon and Armour Rolls.
Wizard: Wizards have any easier time studying Magical texts and items. They can also cast spells
Thief: Thieves have any easier time finding and disarming traps. Can also 'Sneak'
Monk: Monks can increase their Unarmed Combat. In combat, instead of attacking, they can Heal one point of MSG of their own, or an Ally. Can also cast 'Plead' magic.

Races
Humans Nada
Elf +1 to Mind, -1 to MSG Roll
Dwarf. +1 Bod. No starting BS points
Gnome: Start with 2 BS points. -1 to Stat roll
Hobbet +1 to MSG of choice. -1 to Weapon and Armour Roll
Orc: +1 to Weapon and Armour Roll. Starting Mind cannot be more than 1.

Drillbra

IMDB Machine Girl

This terrifying weapon was crafted by the mad wizardess Ptosiss of Ghazongahz.

Usually hidden under robes, the Drillbra is a particuarly gruesome and deadly short range weapon.

The stories tell that Ptoiss crafted the Drillbra to protect royal woman from unwanted attentions when their husbands (or life partners), were away crusading, adventuring, delving or golfing. It is thought that Ptosiss made only the weapon one that she wore throughout her life. When she died, it was confiscated by the Elven Empress and is now displayed in her Museum of Mutilations.

However, sailors from across the sea tell of an island known as Vulvaria where a race of warrior woman, whose champions wear individually crafted drillbra and continue to wage a constant war against the forces of the phallus.

Inchworm Rider

An Inchworm Hero prepares for battle!

The Inchworm Rider is a clockwork steed once ridden only by the most decorated of Gnomish Heroes.

Through the ingenious use of springs, wheels and gears, the Rider is propelled and wound by a gentle rocking motion of the person in the saddle. Once the internal mechanisms is wound tightly enough, the inchworm will propel itself for miles, even up inclines or over rough terrain.

Stories tell of thousands of Riders, each individually crafted and outlandishly decorated in the typical Gnomish style. Unfortunately, many where destroyed in the Gnome war against the Gremlins, which pushed the Gnomes from their underground homes and the skills needed to craft a new Rider were lost. But a few were spared and are jealously guarded by the few remaining Gnomish Aristocratic families. Still, it is not unheard of to see one harnessed to a gnomish wagon or found buried in an ancient ruin. Worth a pretty penny too, if one can find the right sized buyer.

Rutabaga Men

Rutabaga Men are created when crops are planted into cursed soil. The root grows evil and twisted, until finally it bursts forth from the earth and begins to wreck havoc across the countryside. 

Witches have a thousand uses for their cursed, vegetable flesh and will hunt them down to carve up their flesh for potions, elixirs, rituals and a reportedly, very delicious stew.

What is it?!