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Traveller Informal Organized Play Brainstorm

May 4, 2018 / Stan Shinn

We’ve talked about setting up an informal Traveller Organized Play for members of Dicehaven who play one-shots in our home games or elsewhere. Here’s a brainstorm on what that might look like.

Organized Play Basics

Character Creation — Players create characters per the normal Mongoose Traveller 2e rules. Characters can be created either as a group or outside the game depending on the circumstances and GM guidance.

Story Setup — Player characters are mercenaries aboard a Free Trader starship owned by Delta Horizons, an intergalactic megacorp that contracts skilled workers to do exploration, security, bounty hunting, transportation, and other odd jobs. Players are expected to follow relevant Imperial laws and act for the common good and for the betterment of Delta Horizons.

Subsector Location — The events of organized play games usually take place in the same subsector as any ongoing campaign.

Missions — The GM of organized play games gives the crew of the week of a given Free Trader a mission from Delta Horizons.

Money — Expenses are not tracked and are assumed to take play ‘off-camera’. Although any character debt or other story hooks that came from character generation are in full effect, players don’t bother to track ship shares or do other accounting.

Ship, Expenses, and Salvage — The specific Free Trader ship and its name may very from game to game. Delta Horizons provides the ship and takes care of all reasonable expenses during missions. Any treasure, derelict ships, or the like are given over to Delta Horizons for processing and salvage.

Retiring Characters and Multiple Characters — Players can choose to retire a character at the end of game. Players can also have multiple, active characters in different organized play games.

Rewards

Story Hooks — The events of organized play games are assumed to take place roughly contemporaneously with any active Traveller Campaign. Therefore, organized play Traveller Games can become (1) news items which campaign characters can hear about, or (2) story hooks (for example, villains or factions which remain after the organized play game is ended) which campaign characters can encounter.

Study Period Reward — For each game the player plays, if their character survives, that character earns a successful Study Period (page 52 in the core rules), no EDU check needed. The character may use the Study Period per the normal rules (for example, to level up a skill) subject to the normal Limitations and Exceptions listed on page 52 in the core rules.

Possible Reward: Inspiration Points — We could choose to create Plot Points / Inspiration / Bennies, such that each time a player plays an organized play game, in addition to the Study Period, they also get a point which they can use as a bonus, perhaps as a (1) reroll, once per game, (2) a +1D bonus, once per game, and/or (3) a Boon once per game. These points could be used in non-organized play games, so that each Organized Play game you play would give you a mechanical benefit in a normal Campaign Game.

Redmark Session 34: The Lost Conclave of Dreams (Part 2)

April 26, 2018 / Stan Shinn

Redmark Date: Third Age—April, 1331

We join our intrepid heroes as the open the doors to a large ballroom. Though completely empty, faint music and laughter is present. Candle light flickered as the party entered the room and began to inspect the area. Quintos, upon examining one of the large mirrors lining the room was sucked into the mirror and was now looking OUT into the room. Noticing Ghost Dancer nearby, Quintos grabbed him and smashed out a mirror. Spectral creature were slowly approaching as the party went to work attempting to smash all of the mirrors in the room to destroy whatever portal was present. Ghost Dancer summoned a large bear to assist and while the bear continued to be transported inside the mirror’s extradimensional space, it was rather effective at destroying the mirrors from both inside and out. Marcus and Lundie struggled to smash the mirrors as they averted their eyes and unfortunately wound up taking out all sources of light in the room, making their task much more difficult. As the specters grew ever closer, the party was able to destroy the last mirror and with the mirrors went the threat of the specters.

Heading out of the ballroom and down a short hallway Quintos and Lundie entered an enormous library. Ghost Dancer approached a large study table and as he investigated a large blob of spectral goo appeared, along with dozens of smaller versions of this blob around the room. Thinking quickly, Marcus summoned his Spiritual Guardians and they dispatched several of the goops quite quickly. Lundie was not as fortunate and became captivated by the Undying Heresy, loudly preaching the greatness of this undying horror. Quintos and Ghost Dancer struggled with the monster and its minions but a few lightning bolts and eldritch blasts later it was defeated. Lundie managed to free himself of the trance he was in long enough to destroy a few of the blobs before the master blob was dispatched. While entranced, Lundie melded minds with a piece of the Heresy and was able to grasp some more understanding of what exactly happened in this place and what the reality of the heroes’ situation is – now that he knows that their time here was limited, and with a renewed sense of urgency the party struck out again. By needing to escape before sundown the party had only a few short hours to find an exit. Quintos, Ghost Dancer, and Marcus noted that when they defeated some of the smaller blobs they too gained some insight as well, as if the knowledge within these beings was transferred upon their destruction. Hopefully information all that was transferred…

Taking the stairs up to the second level, the party found themselves in a landing area with three doors leading different directions. Going through the western door they snuck into a large laboratory of some kind with all sorts of ghastly and unnatural experiments going on among the tables, burners and potions. As soon as the door was opened several undead beasts began their attack. A Wight glided forward and engaged the party directly while a skeletal mage attacked with spells from a distance. The largest threat though was an Arcane Horror – a creature of immense power, corrupted to the point that death would not defeat it. Being a powerful caster caused some problems for the heroes as they were targeted mercilessly and took heavy damage before finally subduing and removing the undead from existence. Just as the final blow was landed, a deadly presence approached from an open doorway. The area beyond looked to be somewhat similar to another library though more magic seemed to be present. A lesser lich flung spells and minions at the party in an attempt to slay them and free the creatures in this compound from their curse. Battling bravely, Quintos, Ghost Dancer, Lundie, and Marcus waded in as Ghost Dancer summoned a large ape to assist in their struggle. Ironically, it was this very ape that managed to wield an enchanted (and corrupted) weapon and slay the foul beast. The party was not able to find and destroy the phylactery so this beast will return at some point in the future, hopefully long after the heroes have managed to escape. Sensing the danger and imminent threat. Lundie and Marcus lead the party into a long segmented hallway. After only a few steps into the hallway dirt and sand began pouring from the murals on the walls into the hallway, filling it and causing the party to struggle to move. Thinking quickly, the group teleported to one end of the hallway.

Realizing that they could not afford any delays, they rounded a corner and came to a giant ghoul in a giant sized blacksmith’s room. Thinking quickly the party silenced themselves and managed to sneak around without being noticed. Following suit in the next room (the armory) the party again snuck by the unsuspecting enemies and into a long hallway. Investigating and ever searching for a means to escape the heroes opened a doorway and was spotted by two Wendigos. Realizing the danger, Marcus threw down caltrops, slammed the door shut again, and the party headed down the hallway away from the room. Unfortunately they hit a dead end and had to turn around. Sprinting at full speed, the party ran back past the still closed door and through the armory again – winding up back in the landing area with the staircase. Walking themselves back through the rooms they’d already explored the group wound up back at the long hallway, now halfway filled with dirty and sand. Deciding to head the way of the unexplored side, Lundie, Ghost Dancer, Quintos, Marcus, and the ape headed down the short hallway, turned to the left and stopped, stunned. They had found the medical area of the compound….

Redmark Session 33: The Lost Conclave of Dreams (Part 1)

April 26, 2018 / Stan Shinn

Redmark Date: Third Age—April, 1331

Leaving the small village where the party had freed the young green dragon, the party headed north in an attempt to reach the middle of the plateau. After several hours of travel, the party could see a large thunderstorm heading their way and decided to try to find cover. The rain came with a vengeance and the lower portions of the plateau became covered in water. Seeing that they now needed higher ground and cover, our intrepid travelers spotted what looked to be an overgrown hunting path leading up a small hill. Rain drenched the travelers, wind howled and lighting struck ever closer to their location. Seeing a small clearing with some kind of structure up ahead they made a run for it. Near the edge of the path Quintos spotted some very large creatures that appeared to be ants the size of house cats! As the lightning struck, the ants seemed to glow and electricity ran between them. Covering a large potion of the path and well into the trees on either side, the ants were suddenly a formidable foe. The group took turns one by one jumping over the ants and made it across with only one stumble… a painful one at that as lightning coursed through the party at that one mistake.

In the clearing the party spotted a large structure that looked to be somewhat similar to a church, somewhat like a small fort, and somewhat like a very large house. Seeing this strange place as their only option they headed to the door and found the door open. On the door, in a language that only Quintos could seem to understand was the phrase “Herein lies the treasure of 100 kingdoms.” Finding this interesting Lundie, Marcus, Quintos, Ghost Dancer, and The Duke headed inside.

Inside the front door was a beautifully hand carved small stone entryway. After some careful inspection Lundie noted that the very stones this structure was built from actually originated in Redmark! A larger, second door sat between the party and true respite from the storm, and without much effort they were able to open it and head inside. On the back of the door was another message in the same unfamiliar script, “Within these halls rests weapons to remove oppression, defend the feeble, and weaken the mighty. Enter with caution if you are not of like mind.” Inside the compound was a sweet smell of baked goods, distant laughter and revelry, and incredibly cleanliness.

Searching around the party stumbled upon a small sleeping quarters with some immaculately kept skeletal remains. Suddenly specters appeared and attacked the group. Reacting quickly and efficiently, the party dispatched the spirits, composed themselves and began searching the rest of the rooms they came across. Directly after the fight, the party noticed the absence of Ghost Dancer and began their search for their companion in earnest. In a small storage room the group found some potions of healing, then headed into what looked to be a musical performance room. After stepping inside, the heroes were assaulted by dozens of skeletons and some sort of magical leader who used music to both direct his minions and to distract, delay, and damage the heroes. Quick thinking and decisiveness lead the day as the skeletons were dispatched in short order only to have a more prolonged battle as more of the Died Piper’s tricks came to light. Shadows attacked the warriors, noises blared in their ears, and disgusting long, gangly fingers attempted to worm their way into the minds of those brave enough to stand toe to toe with this foul being.

One final blow from Marcus felled the wicked creature and the party decided to rest in a small stairwell within the room. Quintos read through a small journal that granted insight into what exactly happened in this beautiful place that turned each entity into some sort of undying beast. Before they could barricade the doors, a swarm of hungry ghouls burst through the door stench first. The party sprung into action and quickly took down all six of the lecherous, unnatural things. Having destroyed the bodies and finally closed themselves inside the stairs, the party were able to break away for an hour to truly rest. Opposite the entry door is a larger double door leading to a hall of former heroes. Inside were statues and plaques memorializing the fallen warriors of this compound. Lundie, after some careful searching, found a secret doorway at the back of this hallway and the party turned a small corner to find themselves in another small hallway. Here were two doors. One at the end, about 25 feet away and another midway down the hall, with just a small nondescript door. Opening the door, the party quickly realized their error as two large wights wielding large weapons laid into the group. The battle was incredibly tough and much damage was taken, but the heroes did manage to survive the ordeal and strike down the dead but still alive disgusting creatures. Further inside the small room was a shrine of some kind and Marcus and Lundie were able to sanctify the area and rest with guidance from some sort of goodly deity or instinct.

Fully rested, the party returned to the hallway and opened a large door into what appeared to be a ballroom. Nothing but tables, chairs, centerpieces, and chandeliers were in the room lined with mirrors. Out of the corner of their eyes, each member spotted movement…in the mirrors. That’s where we will pick up next adventure!

Wargame: Byzantines vs. Orcs

April 13, 2018 / Stan Shinn

Back on March 31st we played our first game of One Page Rules, using the Age of Fantasy ruleset. We fielded an army of Byzantine warriors versus an army of Orcs and Ogres.

Everyone fell instantly in love with the rules!

I plan on using those rules quite a bit for our wargaming since it seems to hit the perfect spot for (1) quick to learn even if you play infrequently, and (2) able to support multi-genres. I plan to add a few house rules and try them out for WWII, Warmachine, Starships, Middle-earth, Mecha, etc. So expect a lot of after-action reports and rules questions on the One Page Rules forums. Given I’m a Patreon backer I’ll also start helping out a bit with beta testing things.

There were a few things we got wrong at first (though it did not spoil the fun):

Initially we had the defender rolling Defense, and we misread the rule and though a ‘success’ meant you blocked the attack (since that is what a ‘Defender’ sees as success). Makes more sense how the rules work if you have the Attacker roll for defense we found out.
We forgot to move the attacker in melee back by 1″ a few times after they finished attacking.

We also have some additional rules questions which I’ll post when I get a second.

It was great fun!

Byzantine cavalry wheels and attempts a charge on the orc unit

Note the hairband used to denote casualties

We had 3 players — 2 dividing the Byzantine army, the other fielding the Orcs

Byzantine versus Orcs and Ogres

28mm Middle-earth Miniatures for RPGs and Wargames

March 30, 2018 / Stan Shinn

I am doing research on what manufacturer’s produce Middle-earth compatible minis with human males in the 28mm or 30mm height range.

Background: I have hundreds of D&D and Pathfinder miniatures (where human males are 28mm tall, sometimes closer to 30 or even 32mm tall). Some call it ’25mm Heroic’ but these larger minis look noticeably taller than the traditional 25mm counterparts. However, most of the Middle-earth miniatures lines are in the true 25mm size range, not 28 or 30mm.

I want to buy minis to use for Middle-earth wargames which will field around 100 models on the table using the Dragon Rampant rules. I am also starting an ‘Adventures in Middle-earth’ roleplaying campaign, so I’d like to use these same miniatures in both Middle-earth wargaming and in tabletop roleplaying games. So I’d rally like my Middle-earth armies to be in the 28mm or 30mm height range.

I asked on the “Wargaming in Middle-earth” Facebook group and got some great feedback!

28mm Metal & Plastic Miniatures

Northstar’s Oathmark miniatures range has a nice range of goblins, dwarves and soon will have elves as well. It is worth taking a look at Frostgrave stuff as well. These look to be the best looking manufacturer in this size range.

If you go hunting for Dark Age / Saxon cavalry there’s a load of great options out there in 28mm. Gripping Beast do them in metal and plastic.

Footsore Miniatures also have nice mounted Saxons.

I hear that there are plans to add goblin riders, but I’ve not seen official news on that.

Size Comparisons

There are some great blog posts showing the different sizes between GDW Lord of the Rings figures and models such as Oathmark:

Rebased Heroclix Models

I also plan to rebase some Heroclix Lord of the Rings models. I’ll touch up the paint jobs a bit. These are a quick, inexpensive way to get Middle-earth figures on the table that are the 28mm size range.