roleplay-geek

Tuesday, 7 May 2013

Monster Mini Box - Level One

DMG - Appendix C
Random Monster Encounters

I was originally going to post this on Thursday but the sad news of Ray Harryhausen's death (at the age of 92) has spurred me to post early. Everyone who roleplays today owes a great debt to his pioneering work bringing some of movies greatest monsters to the silver screen. For those abut to roll, we salute you.

My recent DIY Gelatinous Cube post got me thinking "how much moolah would it take to put together a monster minis collection for each level of Random Monster Encounter (as per Appendix C of the Dungeon Masters Guide)?

For those who just want to slobber over pictures of old school minis I've put a pinterest board together showing all the options.

Giant Ant - (Qty 1-4)

Otherworld Miniatures has their DV6a pack of 3 worker ants (£9) or the slightly bigger DV6b Two Soldier Ants (£9)
Bugs n Bees are a toy company but they make an entirely passable set of plastic Giant Ants in a big pack of 72 for only $5.99

Badger - (Qty 1-4)

Dark Sword have a fierce looking pair of Epic Honey Badgers ($12.99)
Reaper Miniatures do the Angry Badger ($2.43) and Badger: Familiar ($4.93)

Dark Sword - Epic Honey Badgers

Fire Beetle - (Qty 1-4)

Otherworld Miniatures has their DV4a Fire Beetles as a 3 pack (£9) or a 15 pack swarm (£37.50)

Reaper Miniatures do a metal 2 pack of Fire Beetles ($7.99) which they've recast in their Bone Material so should be available soon at a much lower price.

Manes Demon - (Qty 1-4)

Fractured Realities - Not heard of this company before, but they make a 6 pack of some really useable small mane demons ($10.99)
Centre Stage Miniatures are also an outfit new to me but they are another crowdfunding success story - their 28mm Demons & Devils Kickstarter reached its funding level within 7 hours!! - which contained some nice manes demons (price TBC)


Mega Miniatures Dwarves (Bob Olley)

Dwarf - (Qty 4-14)

The DMG is not too specific about what types of Dwarves so I'm guessing it's a war party of some variety. I have plenty of dwarves but if I didn't I would look no further than:

Mega Miniatures (via Hurlbat Games Ebay Store) have the old school Metal Magic Fantasy Dwarves range (24 minis) sculpted by master dwarfsmith Bob Olley (£15)

Ear Seeker - (Qty 1)

This creature is too small to be represented by a miniature.

Elf - (Qty 3-11)

Again the DMG lets us down without going into any detail, so this will probably be a war party again, but why would you encounter a war party of elves in a dungeon, there's still gotta be some logic to it. You could just assemble a group from player character miniatures, but it is nice to have a group all wearing the same sort of armour and having the same style.

Mirliton SG have some nicely generic and lightly armoured 5 packs of Wood Elf Archers, Swordsmen and Spearmen (€8.16 per pack) or if you want Evil or Dark Elves they have their 5 packs of Shadow Elves with swords and shields (€8.16)

Mirliton SG - Wood Elf Swordsmen

Kallistra have some 8 packs of similarly generic looking Wood Elf Swordsmen and Archers (£9.50)

Gnome - (Qty 5-15)

Help me out DMG!! what are these gnomes of which you speak. I'm going for some sort of war party (if gnomes even have those).

Stonehaven Miniatures succsessfully Kickstarted an anime looking Gnomish Adventurers set which has stretched quite a ways expanding the range. Sadly their webstore doesn't seem to include these new minis yet (If I can help throw some webskills at the problem, let me know guys!!) but you can still take advantage of the Kickstarter pricing.
Reaper Miniatures do some nice gnome character figures, but I particularly like their nasty looking 06201: Bloodstone Gnome Pulgers 9 pack - but pricey ($39.99)

Goblin - (Qty 6-15)

At last we hit a proper dungeon bash monster, as so many companies do goblins it would be futile to list them all but I like:

Mirlton SG do their GO002 Goblins with Mixed Weapons 5 pack and GO005 Goblin Archers (which look like Nick Lund's old Chronicle/Grenadier range) for a reasonable €8.16 each.
Reaper Miniatures have their 4 pack of Pathfinder Goblin Warriors ($10.99), if you like the smaller gremlin style, I know I do.

Halfling - (Qty 9-16)

I'm beginning to hate you DMG. Seriously why would Halflings be a wandering monster have we just wandered into their village?... in a dungeon!!

Mirliton have their very useable HM001 Halfmen with Swords 10 pack or HM002 Halfmen with Bows 9 pack (€9.16 each)

Hobgoblin - (Qty 2-8)

Otherworld Miniatures do some nice oriental looking Hobgoblins available as the 18 miniature BS3 Hobgoblin War Party (£55) or in 3 pack blisters; HG1, HG2, HG3, HG4 and HG6 - 2 Hobgoblin Guards (£7.50)

Otherworld Miniatures Hobgoblin Warriors

Humans

Random encounters with humans can be one of 4 different sub types

Bandits - (Qty 5-15)

Mega Miniatures - Thieves Guild
Sculpted by Joseph Ochman

Mega Miniatures have their Metal Magic Thieves Guild range sculpted by Joseph Ochman. A Bargain at £15 via Hurlbat Games ebay store .

Berserker - (Qty 3-9)

Mirliton (an Italian company who seem to have the entire Grenadier range) do a great 5 pack of Barbarian Berserkers (€8.16)

Brigands - (Qty 5-15)

Mega Miniatures Metal Magic Castle Guard range sculpted by Joseph Ochman. I'm starting to sound like a stuck record (that's OSR!!) A bargain at £15 via Hurlbat Games ebay store.

Character - (Qty 2-5)

This is actually supposed to be an NPC adventure party. Clearly dungeoneering is a competitive business, perhaps someone should form a Guild or something.

Mega Miniatures Metal Magic Swords for Hire range ($12)

Kobold - (Qty 6-18)

Dragon or dog varieties, I'm not fussy either way.

Centre Stage Miniatures has a pack of 5 kobolds ($11.95) which they could really do with adding a photo of to their website (painted would be best). Heck if they sent me a set for free I'd paint them and send them the photos!! (I can paint... sort of)
Otherworld Miniatures has their 26 figure BS4 Kobold Tribe Boxed Set (£42.50) or you can buy them in small 5 miniature packs (KB1, KB2 & KB3) for £10 each and the KB4 Command Group for £11.

Otherworld Miniatures - BS4 Kobold Tribe
Reaper has recast their 3 metal kobolds ($5.99) as a 6 pack of Bones plastic kobolds (£2.30) which you can bolster with their 2 pack Leader and Sorceror ($7.49) and the Kobold King ($4.99)

Orc - (Qty 7-12)

Pig-faced orcs only, the GW slack jawed ones need not apply for this job.

Fractured Realites have 4 different 4 packs of PORCs (each priced at $15.99) but sadly one of these packs has all their porcine features hidden under cow skulls. Minimum cost $47.97 or £31.06
Otherworld Miniatures sell a 25 strong tribe of orcs (£70), a 9 strong Warband (£27) and a 3 strong group of crossbowmen (£10). All minis modelled by ace sculptor Kev "Goblin Master" Adams (Get well soon Kev). Minimum cost £37

Piercer - (Qty 1-3)

No commercially available miniatures, I guess I have to make my own then, this will be a fun project (stay tuned).

Giant Rat - (Qty 5-20)

Otherworld Miniatures do their beautiful 5 pack of DV3a Giant Rats (£11) sculpted by Jo Brumby. A boxed set of 20 is also available for £32.50 saving you some money.
Lead Adventure do a 10 pack of really ferocious looking PA26 Giant Rats (€14.95) guaranteed to scare off any meatshields (and some PCs for that matter).

Nasty looking Giant Rats from Lead Adventure

Reaper Miniatures have recently recast their metal Giant Rats ($5.99) as a 6 pack of Bones Giant Rats ($3.49) but also do two scary looking Barrow Rats ($8.99) a 4 pack of Dire Rats ($6.99) and their 2 pack Rat Swarm ($5.99) which should meet all your rodent needs.

Rot Grub - (Qty 1-3)

Scibor do some Rot & Grub resin bases (€7.52) which would fit the bill, but honestly how hard can it be to model some grubs on a base out of modelling clay?

Shrieker - (Qty 1-2)

I already have these but I know many out there don't and no dungeon would be complete without fungi.

Otherworld Miniatures do their wicked 3 pack DM11 Shriekers and Violet Fungi (£11)

Otherworld Miniatures - Shriekers and Violet Fungi
Centre Stage Miniatures have their Shrieker and Deadly Fungi (£7.25)
ScotiaGrendel still do their generic resin Fungi (£8) having a patch of fungi appearing as a piece of scenery which is a monster rather than a single miniature has always made more sense to me.

Skeleton - (Qty 1-4)

I have plenty of skellies, but if I didn't, I would go for:

Denizen Miniatures have been selling their Legion of the Damned Skeletons (£1 each) for years and I own a few so have a particular fondness for them. Frankly their website sucks (Chub, I'd love to help you out with this.) but you can see the whole range at the Lost Minis Wiki. They are true 25mm and slightly smaller in comparison to other manufacturers but they have honest old school charm and realistic action poses.
Steve Barber Models channels Ray Harryhausen with his awesome GMH4 Children of the Dragon's Teeth 6 pack (£7.99)

Steve Barber Models "Children of the Dragon's Teeth" skeletons

Zombie - (Qty 1-3)

I mostly have modern zombie miniatures, so these I actually need.

Mega Miniatures have the very decrepit Metal Magic Medieval Zombies for $12.
Mirliton SG have two packs of zombies with hand weapons (UD020, UD021) for €8.16 each

Few... That was a monster bit of research!! (geddit) The upshot of which is that it's going to cost a shedload of dosh, between £300 ($470) and £400 ($625) just to stock level 1. This kind of backs up my love of paper minis, but they just don't have the same weight.

Mega Miniatures is closing down!!

After 10 years of operation, they have decided to close their doors and will begin selling off their moulds on 1st June 2013. Hopefully they will be snapped up by another miniature companies and these OSR mini ranges will live on under new ownership. I'll try to update this post when I find out who has bought which ranges.

Indian Robot Endhiran

My head is sore (as are my sides) after watching this action sequence montage for Bollywood's take on The Terminator and Matrix franchises, Indian Robot Endhiran.

Monday, 6 May 2013

Power Corrupts: Side Effects for Magic Users gaining levels

"This is Corruption"
Doug Kovacs 2011

On the internets today, my eye was poked by an awesome image by fantasy artist Doug Kovacs. It masterfully illustrates a wizard passing through the various stages of his career and gradually changing as he becomes corrupted by his growing power. This also rekindled my love of the old AD&D 3 Stage Miniatures (of which I've written before).

Hack and Slash, Trollsmyth and Grognardia all write about spell casters gaining temporary side effects as a consequence of casting or memorizing the spell. However, I feel that this would become onerous to track in game and doesn't really reflect the concept illustrated in the image, namely the chronic effects of exposure to thaumaturgic energies and their corrupting effect on the flesh and mind.

This is not a new idea, in fact it's a defining feature in most fantasy literature, be it Saruman's corruption by Sauron or Raistlin Majere's racking cough and golden skin. So why should there be a free lunch in RPGs?

I can't think of a good reason not to to do this, so here's a little table of random levelling effects.

D20	DESCRIPTION	EFFECT
01	NOT YOUR DAY	Re-roll twice (ignore all results of 1 or 20) apply both effects, you retain the right of choice.
02	HAIR LOSS	The hair on your head falls out. You're permanently bald, deal with it.
03	MAGICAL BURNS	You have been burned by the thaumaturgical energies. Permanently lose 1 CHA, 1 DEX or 1 CON (your choice) which cannot be healed by any means.
04	ASTRAL SMOKE INHALATION	Your lungs have become scarred by smoke inhalation. Lose 1 CON permanently and develop a wracking cough which cannot be healed by any means.
05	DEFORMED SKIN	Your skin has become: scaley, changed colour, become translucent, become hairy, become leathery, developed warts or lesions, veined, liver spotted (you choose). This change is permanent and cannot be healed by any means.
06	DEFORMED EYES	One of your eyes has: changed colour, changed shape, become sensitive to light, or a particular spectrum of light, become bloodshot, enlarged. This change is permanent and cannot be reversed by any means.
07	DEFORMED HAND	You have, lost a finger or thumb, arthritis, paralysis, had your hand replaced by that of a beast, lost your whole hand (You choose).
08	SOUL TAINT	Your soul has become tainted and you have become less empathetic as a result. You permanently lose 1 WIS and 1 CHA which cannot be healed by any means.
09	VOID MIND	Part of your mind has been lost to the void. You permanently lose 1 INT which cannot be healed by any means.
10	DEFORMED FACE	You have: lost an eye, lost your nose, unexplained nose growth, lost your sense of smell or taste, developed facial scars, lost an ear, mishapen skull, lost teeth, developed fangs, facial droop, developed a wild expression (your choice). Lose 1 CHA permanently.
11	WITHERED LIMB	Your arm or leg has become withered (you choose). Permanently lLose 1 STR, 1 DEX and 1 Move which cannot be healed by any means.
12	HEARING LOSS	A magical explosion has permanently damaged your hearing and cannot be healed by any means. Lose all bonuses to hearing checks.
13	STOLEN YEARS	You have been permanently ravaged by Time. Add 10 years to your current age. This change is permanent and cannot be reversed by any means. You can never be rejuvenated below the age of 10. This effect can be taken multiple times and the effects of old age should also be applied as specified in the game rules.
14	STOLEN LIFE FORCE	Part of your life energy has been eroded. Lose 1 STR permanently. Cannot be healed even by magical or divine means.
15	SOUL CONTRACT	To save your own life you had to sign a soul contract. Your soul will be collected in 20 years unless you can find a way to break the contract. If you already have a soul contract it just got 5 years shorter.
16	SANITY LOSS	Your mind has become ravaged by the unspeakable horrors which lurk beyond this mortal realm. You permanently lose 1 WIS which cannot be healed by any means.
17	SIGHT BEYOND SIGHT	Everytime you look at someone: they age before your eyes, you see their death, you see their skeleton, you see their alignment aura, you see the face of a deceased loved one (you choose).
18	FRACTURED MIND	Your mind has become trapped straddling two universes. Whenever you are required to make a binary decision (Yes/No, Left/Right, Up/Down, Kill/Don't Kill) you must roll a d6 to determine your state of mind; 1-4 Your decision is unnafected, 5 You must change your mind to the opposite choice, 6 You become catatonic.
19	MALODOUROUS	You smell of: sulfur, stale urine, faeces, rancid milk, orc, a week old corpse (you choose). This change is permanent and cannot be reversed by any means only masked by strong perfumes.
20	GM'S CHOICE	GM rerolls and chooses the effect for you.

3 Stage AD&D Miniatures

(R to L): Citadel (ADD11) Female Wizard (Lvl 1)
Ral Partha (01-331) Illusionist (Lvl 2), Illusionist (Lvl 3)

Friday, 3 May 2013

The Droste Effect: Has anyone used it in a game?

After downloading Tiles of the Dead: Games Room (Crooked Staff Publishing), I'm now thinking about running a one session game devoted to the Droste Effect.

Packaging for Droste Cacao

What is the Droste Effect?

Simply put the Droste Effect is a particular form of recursion when an image appears within itself. It is named after a Dutch brand of cocoa powder which used the effect in it's advertising but has been used by artists from M.C.Esher to Jan Van Eyck for hundreds of years.

Scenarios which use a Droste Effect are largely going to be dependant on the exact characters in the game but everyone needs at least two things:

A Focus - This is essentially a portal to each level of recursion, deeper and deeper down the rabbit hole. The floorplan I mentioned above has a typical RPG table (complete with character sheets) which acts as its focus, but this could just as easily be a photograph (or a woodcut) on a mantlepiece, a window or even the PC's own shadows cast in their torchlight.

Whatever you choose, as soon as the players notice the Droste Effect in the image then they should feel that the world has gone a bit wonky for a moment. How long it takes for them to work out that this a'int Kansas anymore depends largely on how obvious you make the differences between realities or how quickly the next recursion happens.
A Pivot Point - The Droste Effect revolves around it's pivot. Locate the pivot point within the scenario and the players just have to work out what the correct outcome is and "hey presto" the Droste Effect will resolve itself and the world resets with no lasting effects on the PCs. Get it wrong and you need to find the focus again and enter the next level of recursion.

Some Scenario Ideas

Mirror, Mirror - A great way of introducing a Droste Effect into any game is to use a mirror as portal to a mirror universe. PCs will find that adventures in a mirror universe will have a peculiar set of complications; backwards writing, driving on the opposite side of the road, guns with ejection ports on the other side throwing hot casings into your eyes, you can see where I'm going with this.

Evil Kirk - Throw the players off by replacing one of their PCs with an Evil version of themselves. To make it harder for them to spot, just replace one of their personality traits with it's diametric opposite. Your normally grumpy or pessimistic Dwarf, becomes cheerful and eternally optimistic, just see how long they can last before they drag him kicking and screaming back to where he came from. The pivot for this could be that all the PCs have to become Evil for the Droste Effect to collapse. A more sadistic DM would make sure that injuring your Evil counterparts had some sort of penalty like reflective damage.

Uppa, Groundhog Style - Whatever the genre, the groundhog day scenario forces the players to repeat their actions until they hit on the right solution (aka the pivot). This could become tiresome for players until they work out what the pivot is, so make sure that you let them fast-forward through the non-relevant bits. This is probably the closest to a traditional Droste Effect as each day is one level of recursion.

Everyone is Everyone Else - When the PCs encounter the Droste Effect, make each of them pass their character sheets to the player on their left. They must now try to play the character in front of them in the style of the characters owner. Best played in an established group where no-one takes themselves too seriously. Each time they encounter the Droste Effect they pass their character sheets to the left until everyone has had a turn, the pivot for the scenario is simply that everyone must play everyone else until their original character sheets come around. Of course once they work this out they will try to quickly resolve the Droste Effect by "Goal Hanging" so you make it harder by moving the focus around making it more of a treasure hunt.

One of our PCs is missing - Each time the PCs encounter the Droste Effect one of their number is missing and they will remain trapped in this Droste until they locate the missing PC. You could rehash another meme (Final Destination), by making the missing PC die in interesting ways just as they are found, thereby triggering a new Droste Effect. The pivot is that you must prevent the missing character from dying.