New Article: D&D Adventure Format

There's a bombshell of gaming gossip over at Wizards. One of my favorite D&D designers of all time, Bruce Cordell has written a new article for the Design & Development column. You shouldn't need an Insider subscription to read this. As a main designer of 4th edition D&D, Cordell surprisingly admits in this piece that he does not like the current tactical adventure format and that he is not alone at Wizards.

"The tactical format makes it difficult to generate a compelling adventure narrative with the richness and flexibility of past adventure formats.

Yes, I said it: I don’t care for the tactical two-page spread.

And it’s not just me. Discontent over the current format has gathered in dark dungeon corners, whispered across game designer cube walls, and cropped up on internet blogs.

The takeaway is that the tactical format boils adventures down to just key encounters, which tends to railroad adventure design. It also means that adventures tend to be fairly Spartan affairs, because too little space remains to include extra notes on exploration, or explanation of cool bits of lore, or character story."

Hear, hear. This actually started in 3rd edition, my most reviled example being the slightly similar "Delve" format that was used in the last Greyhawk module ever produced, Expedition to the Ruins of Greyhawk). Needless to say 4th edition took the ball and ran with it. Cordell's article is a vindication to those out there who felt 4th edition lacked the D&D feel. Don't believe me? For answers to his dilemma he goes back to the classics for examples of how to format compelling adventures.

"1st Edition adventures I looked at included Tomb of Horrors, White Plume Mountain, Isle of Dread—and other classics. I also reviewed such modules as the Desert of Desolation series (which included I3: Pharaoh) and the Dragonlance modules (e.g., DL1: Dragons of Despair)." 

Good choices, Bruce. That's why I like ya! So now having looked back nostalgically at D&D (something that is still trending over at Wizards since last year) they came up with a new hybrid format apparently. Next month an adventure for eDungeon called Going Ape will showcase their new format. While I don't run 4th edition personally, I do applaud the courage of Bruce and others to finally recognize that the way a lot of people still to this day prefer D&D adventures to be written is still viable. So in the very least I will take a peek at what they come up with.

Sea Princes #9: Testy Moments

Last time in the adventures of the Sea Princes crew, the away team from the Bird of Prey discovered a charnel pit of baboons and beneath it emerged a few gigantic bombardier beetles bent on adding to the pile. Things looked bleak, but it wasn't half as dicey compared to what happened next...Here are our protagonists:

Victor Emmitt Hammond (fighter, beetle slasher)

Araxo Tydan (rogue, hardly brasher)
Cuahtehmoc aka "Cuahto" (ranger, archer basher)

Brother Pickles (cleric, skillet smasher)

Angered by the close-shaving arrow shot, Cuahtehmoc turned, oblivious of the beetle threat and rushed the foolish archer "Bullseye" Arborius and hacked him upside the head with his maca. The blow sent him reeling backwards and into the water of the inlet. Then one of the beetles trundled up to take a bite out of the Olman from behind. A frantic battle erupted and the shouts had Vic and his female crewmate, "Scar" Medorga turning the rowboat back around to help. Araxo held onto the red stone figurine and defended himself, falling back toward the inlet while Cuahto covered their rear and fought the one on him, yelling for Bullseye to use his bow.

Bullseye however, had nearly died from the punishing strike by Cuahto and claimed it was best to flee from the giant insects, so he quickly waded toward the rowboat. During the chaos of battle, a devil on the shoulder of Cuahto that looked strangely like Victor Hammond, told him he should've finished off the bumbling archer while no one was around to witness it. Unfortunately the danger at hand stayed his hand. Bullseye scrambled onto the boat, even as Cuahto unsuccessfully grabbed at him out of frustration to pull him back into the water. Vic and Scar figured the archer had been wounded by the beetle and before any protests could be made, the agitated beetles crawled to the bank and pressed the attack, one even sprayed acid on Araxo and Cuahto. Victor and a battle hungry Scar joined in with their flashing blades and in short order the beetles were laid low, yet everyone was worse for the wear. Scar would not allow a hand to be laid on the injured archer until they were back on the ship. Tensions were high between the rangers on that short ride.

Back on board the captain complimented the crew on the search and he had his resident chronicler, Hilgarde of Hokar look at the red figurine. Brother Pickles set to healing the exhausted team while the ship's surgeon took Bullseye to rest and tend to his wounds separately. Everyone conferred on the origin of the burned baboon pit and the idol. Some assumed the beetles were the origin of the fire, though they showed no affinity to fire only carrion. With the help of another Olman deckhand they learned the idol was of Huhueteotl, Olman god of fire and time. According to legend, sacrifices to this god are made into volcanoes but in other parts of the jungle they are done as well, all to appease the deity so that he doesn't stop time. Captain Rennaud was impressed by the tale and the next day he learned from Hilgarde that the idol was able to protect its bearer from flames. He allowed its finder, first mate Tydan to award it to one of his team. In a shrewd play for more allies, Araxo granted it to Scar for her bravery in battle. She was overjoyed and promised to make up for Araxo's gesture somehow...

As the voyage to Sasserine continued, whispers of the true cause of Bullseye's serious wound spread. Two of the archer's comrades, the surly Megaron "the Bold" of Port Torvin and "Handsome" Griff Aldagar approached their commanding officer Araxo, and asked him to keep his savage friend away Bullseye or else. Megaron related this not so subtly, having a chip on his shoulder for Araxo, a fellow Torvinite but Griff was much more genial, smiling the whole time he made implied threats. After all, he carries the biggest sword on the ship. When Cuahto found out about this, he was even more riled up and directly confronted the pair as they worked the rigging, leading to a rather tense scene for the rest of the crew. The bosun quickly got everyone back to work, but the mood was not so joyous for the rest the day and night before the Bird of Prey finally arrived at Anna Taskerhill's home town of Sasserine.

Game note: For a short session, it seemed we got alot of good subplot drama brewed. Next session I plan to make heavy use of the players guide to Sasserine from Paizo's Savage Tide adventure path. I can't remember where I got it, but I want to say it was Gencon. This is the thin book with the female pirate on the cover. Take that, Dan!

New Item: d12 Hour Power

Today I have a long but humorous rant:

For as long as I can remember, we gamers are probably more familiar than most in our society about need for caffeinated drinks to extend both our work and play (I prefer gallons of tea). Now however, it seems that within the last decade or so, advertisements are all over the place for these energy boosting products that claim no side effects. Is our culture really that strung out that simple caffeine drinks are not enough to get through the day? Is being an insomniac desirable? (If I don't get 8+ hours of sleep I'm useless) This stuff is a big market apparently because the makers of these energy products keep trying to one-up each other. Check it out, first there was a five hour energy "shot". Then to our convenient stores came six hour power. Not to be outdone, someone made a drink that works seven hours. Then someone figured drinking wasted too much energy so they came up with eight hour capsules. Hell, another guy said, if eight hours is good, nine hours has to be better. Scoffing at a mere nine hours, another genius finally concocted ten hours of power. That's nearly half a day! Can it possibly get any better than that?! Mad scientists haven't reached that plateau quite yet, but in the world of D&D it can! I present to you, from the alchemy labs of Greyhawk City's University of Magical Arts....

Searching mega-dungeons and slaying monsters
all day is a breeze with d12 Hour Power!

Yes, D&D potions are the original energy shot with no side effects. Looking back through my books the spells and potion types change over the editions but at certain points d12 hour "buffing" potions was very possible. 1st edition AD&D (and I assume 2nd edition) Strength spells for instance lasted 6 turns/ level. For those who don't recall, one turn was equal to 10 minutes, so a 12th level magic-user could effectively buff someone for 12 hours! Even potions in 1st edition were modestly noted as lasting 4 turns +1d4 turns of duration (50-80 minutes). Then 3rd edition came along and had a slew of buffs for all character stats and they started at the equally eye-boggling 1 hour per spell level and this time potions had full effect of the spell that made it. This of course meant virtually permanent stat boosts for everyone with a mage. Luckily for DMs 3.5th edition fixed this broken system and knocked their durations down to 1 minute/ level. I have no idea if 4th edition currently has buff spells/potions like this, but I'm sure they don't need it and if they do I wager they only last per encounter.

Back to d12 Hour Power, why not have a moderately powerful potion like this for fun? It could be the creation of a chaotic-neutral wizard who mixed and distilled one too many potions of speed or the special brew of an over-achieving deity's temple. If anything it's a good excuse to break out those often neglected d12-sided dice. And hey, they come in a variety of fruity flavors:

Brown Kara (Strength)
Golden Galda (Constitution)
Sour Crabapple (Dexterity)
Dark Chokecherry (Wisdom)
Apricot-Peach (Intelligence)
Blue Usk (Charisma)

Disclaimer: d12 Hour Power is not proof against Dispel Magic or anti-magic effects. Potion effects are not cumulative with other spells or boosting drinks. Although there are no side-effects, monsters, NPCs and some PCs may try to kill you for your potion.

Update 4/12/2021: Well I'm quite shocked most of these links still work. I had to remove 9 and 10 hour energy links. I guess those got shut down by the FDA haha. Anyways, this was a fun random article. Wish I had done more like it.

GH Comic #310: Pact of Greyhawk

You think you know your Greyhawk history? Well, it's time for another trip into the past. This is what really happened...

Enjoy!

CLICK HERE FOR THE COMIC

Sea Princes #8: Goin' Ashore

Last session was a shortened one unfortunately, and one player was sick, but there was still some good plotlines laid down for the future of the Hold of the Sea Princes campaign. Narratively I think I can make the session seem like more than it was. Last time, the crew of the Bird of Prey came upon the friendly port of Fort Blackwell. Here are our intrepid characters:

 

Victor Emmitt Hammond (fighter, courtin' in the rain)

Araxo Tydan (rogue, schemin' in the rain)
Cuahtehmoc aka "Cuahto" (ranger, trackin' in the rain)

Fort Blackwell, an outpost of the Sea Princes is situated on the tip of the Amedio Jungle's cape, known locally as the Hook. Its harbor is protected by a sea wall, and ships wishing to enter are subjected to searches. Usually it is said more contraband leaves this port than enters it. Needing to only resupply after a harsh trip from Narisban, Captain Rennaud gave most of the men shore leave here knowing there was nowhere else for them to go but into the jungle. Notably, two left off this list was pressed ganged kidnappers, Tater and Gunt (Gunther, whose teeth were knocked out by Vic). Scowling on deck, they were approached by their captor-officer Araxo Tydan. Things were somewhat smoothed over as the rogue started to forge some allies among the crew. This "good-will" was also extended to Araxo's bunkmate, the ship's surgeon Caine the Despised, a half-elf that no one liked for his foul bed-side manner.

On shore, Victor Hammond escorted Anna Taskerhill on a walk of the small town of Blackwell (population 1100) to see its taverns, inns, provision shops, shrines and so forth. The temperature was still warm and the steady rains still came in intervals as it had for the last week. Seeking shelter from the downpour at one of the inns, the pair weren't seen again until dawn...

Meanwhile, Araxo and Cuahto walked the town as well, but they sought to make some shady contacts in the port for a side smuggling venture. Their luck proved to be bad as everyone they talked to seemed to be carrying about their business. Eventually at the Rusty Nail tavern, the pair met overdressed, loud mouthed owner Al Swearengen (no relation to the guy from Deadwood) who knew of Count Tydan but not so much the Bird of Prey. This Holder took the time to chat with smooth talking Araxo about possibly moving some (illicit) product through his shop, yet in the end the loud manager insisted he needed to see a sample first (of which they had none yet). So, the two left with at least an opportunity to sell some contraband the next time they're in Fort Blackwell. Assuming they can get by the harbor-watch.

Setting off from Fort Blackwell (Drowsy Mr. Hammond was given a stern look from Quartermaster Rotario), the Bird of Prey with its passenger, caught a good wind and stayed close to the Amedio shore on its port side as it entered Jeklea Bay on route to Sasserine. One hundred miles out, look outs noticed a strange sight on the jungle coast: smoke coming from a narrow burned-out inlet. Feeling confident in home waters, the Blackguard decided to investigate the Burn. Leftenant Tydan was given the command of an away-twan of his choosing. Victor Hammond and Cuahto of course were picked along with much reviled archer Bullseye and quiet, chip-on-the-shoulder warrior "Scar" Medorga, the only female member of the crew. Scar jumped at a chance for some action while always-serious Bullseye was met by jibes and taunts from both the PCs and the NPC crew for his ineffectual archery skills so far.

A rowboat was taken ashore where they soon found the trees blackened and smoldering as if a lava flow had cut a swath through the jungle. Not being anywhere near volcanoes, they dismissed this theory. Off to one side of the bank they spotted a dry side ditch piled with dozens of charred bodies. Araxo, Cuahto and Bullseye got out to check them out, while Vic and Scar looked on to the end of the Burn. After some bickering between the rangers it was determined the bodies were common baboons. Araxo wandered off into the burn pile seeing one baboon that was not fully burnt, yet missing its legs, and clutching something tight in its dead hand.

Stooping down to get what it held, Araxo found to his chagrin, that the baboon was still alive as it opened its eyes, screamed hysterically and bit him on the hand. Cuahto jumped to his aid and split the creature's skull. A late arrow from Bullseye zipped by an angered Cuahto to hit the dead baboon. In the distraction Araxo found the simian held a red stone figurine. He didn't have time to study it however, for the pile of crispy baboons erupted upwards and from the ground came the giant bombardier beetles...

(to be continued)

Game notes: Kudos go out to Dan (Victor Hammond) who printed my south seas map in color, on a single sheet of heavy paper that looks to be close to 24"x24". He said it could be done bigger if I wanted but my text resolution didn't scale up well enough. Mapping lesson learned there, but in this this case I'm more than happy with the size. The map is just as gorgeous in print as I imagined it would be. Too bad I can't sell them!

 

"Why Greyhawk" Explained on Podcast

Recently I've been involved in a gaming podcast with my long-time gaming group, called Gamerstable. Inevitably the subject of Greyhawk came around and yours truly weighed in on the pros and cons of sticking with this published game setting for so long. I think I did a decent job explaining myself.  I have a feeling Greyhawk will come up again, since it has been in our lives for such a long time. Anyhow, give it a listen, and please give some feedback for me and guys either on this post or on the Gamerstable site itself. Agree, disagree, any commentary is appreciated. Enjoy.

CLICK HERE FOR EPISODE

GH Comic #309: The Wizards Two

Is it just me or does  Rautheene
 look like Katy Perry?

Yup, it's yet another Dragon Magazine related comic from the twisted mind of Mortellan. This time we poke some harmless fun at Ed Greenwood and some of his classic articles and characters. Enjoy!

READ THE COMIC HERE