Grid Crawl … or something

Wacky idea of the week …

So I’ll admit it, this mapping idea is pretty out there.

Starting point
It started when I saw this public post by Ray Otus on MeWe (I don’t know how to link to a post in MeWe, so here’s a clipping):

.. and, it got me thinking about how to present Fighting Fantasy (FF) type books (and then modules/adventures) in a cross-referenceable grid. Since FF books have 400 entries, I thought I’d use something less ambitious to test this idea out, like my 1988 Dungeon:

Original map
So here’s the normal 1988 Dungeon map:

Grid Crawl map version
And now here’s the same map present in a ‘Grid Crawl’ format:

To make this, I simply put a mark between interlinked rooms/locations.

Navigation
Once you get your eye in, it’s fairly easy to navigate this map.  Say you are in Location 3, you either read up and down Column 3 (or side to side along Row 3) to see which rooms/locations you can travel to, i.e. from Location 3 you can get to Locations 1, 4, 7, 9 or 21. Rinse and repeat to navigate the dungeon. Clearly, this is a completely abstracted point crawl version of the 1988 Dungeon presented in two dimensions. And to be fair, this is just a test, to see what the outcome was like.

Edit – Here’s also a ‘grid crawl’ version of the famous ‘point crawl’ in Slumbering Ursine Dunes; the only obvious advantage is that it dispenses with the need for two 13s on the original point crawl map:

Analytics / other things
The heat map on the right shows the nodes of connectivity. Also, the number at the bottom right gives a measure of non-linearity of the adventure (Jaquay(ing) Number ??? … for more on this please see this post, which also pointed me to this post).  For example, completely linear adventure, e.g. Room 1 leads to Room 2, leads to Room 3 etc, would have a ‘Jaquaying Number’ number of 0.

What next
It’s probably abstracted beyond the point of being useful (when starting from an already completed map). But, in theory, it means you could easily generate and run a point crawl with a very simple mechanical setup, or use a simple program to make a dungeon. I suspect, this could form the bones of some sort of program led adventure.

If nothing else, it’s just another way to do a map! Go figure …

Feedback
I’m just putting this out there for people to make of it what they will. RPG’ers are creative lot, there might be some sort of nifty social encounter mechanism hiding in here somewhere, or way to use it as some sort of AI engine etc …

So, if you have any feedback (or better ideas), I’d be glad to receive them.

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Tuesday Toot!! | Portable Pocket of Pickpocketing

Tuesday Toot – G+ is closing gone. When it was alive things happened. Things unexpected. Great things. Whilst my creative output is only modest, I thought I’d hold something up into the living light, something that came about purely because G+ existed … This is a toot to G+.

The Master’s Hoard is a compilation of quirk-some magic items which I posted on my G+ page over a period of weeks. The compilation of magic items can be downloaded for free here: Link

:: Portable Pocket of Pickpocketing ::

Summary
Allows the possessor to reach into someone else’s Bag of Holding

Detail
The item looks like a pocket-sized bag or large handkerchief with a rip/tear in it.

It is believed that these items are faulty (or damaged) Bags of Holdings. It is also possible that they were made deliberately. Please note, all references to ‘Bags of Holding’ in this item write up include ‘Portable Holes ‘.

The ripped portion of the item is inherently unstable, and is seeking to ‘anchor’ itself in the ‘non-dimensional space’ of a normal Bag of Holding.

Mechanic – When the item is within 60 feet of a (normal) Bag of Holding, the rip in the item will automatically form an inter-dimensional conduit (i.e. link) leading into that nearby Bag of Holding.

In this way, the item will allow the user to reach into the linked Bag of Holding. Things can be taken out, or placed into the linked Bag of Holding. The hole is too unstable to allow living beings to move through it.

This item could be used as a ‘shortcut’ entrance to one’s own Bag of Holding, or to allow two people to share the same Bag of Holding.

Predictably, thieves prize these items as they can ‘pick-bag’ a person’s most treasured possessions in relative safety. The thief might even plant ‘evidence’ in the linked Bag of Holdings to implicate others.

Sometimes these items will have thieves cant sayings embroidered around the rip, a translation might read.:

“Money is a miser’s passion, not a thief’s”

“Hunger makes a thief of any man”

“The traveler with empty pockets will sing in the thief’s face”

The item tends to link to the nearest Bag of Holding, if there is a choice.

When not linked to a Bag of Holding, anything put inside the item falls through the rip. However, anything held partly in/out will look odd. The bit poking through the rip will look ghostly transparent.

The two main limitations of the item are:

(i) when the item links (or detaches) from a Bag of Holding, there is a slight tug on the Bag of Holding that the perceptive might notice;

(ii) other than moving away from the location, there is no way to readily detach the item from a linked Bag of Holding.

One might imagine a ‘Big-Bad’ pulling the characters’ own items out of their Bag of Holding and using them against the party – even handing these out to his goblin henchmen like candy!

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Kung Fu Pig | … a solution at last !!!

We’ve all been there; the perennial problem of what to do about the Kung Fu Pig?

Typical Problems We’ve All Encountered
The PCs have polymorphed the ‘Big Bad’ (a monk) into a pig; and/or the old chestnut of the Were-Boar in Oriental Adventures; and/or Miss Piggy in Toon. Combat is imminent, but what to do about your swinish martial artist?

Solution:
Fear not, your faithful servant offers the following fight mechanic for your consideration:

Step 1: Locate your “Pass the Pig” novelty dice (yes, the porcine shaped ones):

Step 2: Briefly reminisce about playing ‘Pass the Pig’ as a kid, but move on.

Step 3: Each combat round, cast the pigs onto the table with grime-faced aplomb, and use these to determine Piggy’s actions (see below)

In essence, one pig-die represents the onkier’s defensive strategy (or lack of it), and the other pig-die the porker’s offensive strategy (or again the lack of it)

Roll Outcomes:

Combos:
Simply sum the results of the two pig rolls. Except, for double offensive moves, then (a) multiply the To Hit modifiers; and (b) add the damage (DA) modifiers.

Cheat Sheet
Below is a cheat sheet to save everyone (except me) some time:

The first number is the ‘To Hit’ modifier for both the pig and its opponent. The number in parenthesises is the damage (DA) modifier for the pig and its opponent. The pink zone (bottom right 3 x 3 grid) is the double offensive zone.

Further reading
For those that care about porky probability, please see: https://pubsonline.informs.org/doi/pdf/10.1287/ited.1120.0088

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Tuesday Toot!! | Can’t Remember the Name But the Fangs look Familiar

Tuesday Toot – G+ is closing closed. When it was alive things happened. Things unexpected. Great things. Whilst my creative output is only modest, I thought I’d hold something up into the living light, something that came about purely because G+ existed … This is a toot to G+.

Background:
This is a video demo of a monster spotting (recognising) widget:

The idea is that maybe a PC knows something about the monster they have just encountered. This information might be useful. The idea is to give PCs like a low level magicuser something useful to do.

This Widget was put up on G+ and automates the process I submitted to ‘& Magazine’.

Screen capture:

& Magazine
This widget is based on ‘& magazine’ issued 12; pages 35-39;  “Can’t remember the name, but the fangs look familiar”. Link: http://www.and-mag.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/and-mag-i12.pdf

Widget
The Excel widget can be found here:  Download

FYI – Table of the mistakenly known things:
For the hell of it, below is the full list of mistakenly known things:

1	has acid attack
2	is an astral creature
3	blood cures wounds
4	body parts are useful (e.g. make armour or weapon)
5	breaths water
6	cannot cross a chalk circle
7	cannot cross running water
8	cannot lie
9	causes rotting flesh
10	charms at will
11	climbs walls
12	has cold attack
13	is controlled by speaking its true name
14	can curse
15	is delicious to eat
16	can dodge missile weapons
17	drinks blood
18	eats brains
19	has ESP
20	is an ethereal creature
21	explodes if killed
22	fears its own reflection
23	has a fire attack
24	can grant wishes
25	has been cursed
26	has no reflection
27	has weak spot (e.g.soft underbelly)
28	hates holy symbols/can be turned
29	hides in shadows
30	can drain HPs
31	is hurt by acid
32	is hurt by blunt weapons
33	is hurt by cold
34	is hurt by fire
35	is hurt by holy water
36	is hurt by light
37	is hurt by lightning
38	is hurt by silver
39	is hurt by water
40	is immune to acid
41	is immune to charm type spells
42	is immune to fire
43	is immune to good-based magic
44	is immune to lightening
45	is immune to magic
46	is immune to magic weapons
47	is immune to missile weapons
48	is immune to non-magic weapons
49	is immune to cold
50	is immune to evil-based magic
51	is immune to holding type spells
52	is immune to wands
53	has infravision
54	is a prankster
55	brings bad luck if killed
56	has level draining
57	can levitate
58	has lightning attack
59	likes alcohol
60	likes to play riddles
61	loves gems
62	loves gold
63	is a lycanthrope
64	is magic casting
65	has magic resistance
66	is a master pickpocket/thief
67	is a messenger of a god
68	can mimic voices
69	is a mind reader
70	must give safe passage if asked
71	is only hit by magic weapons
72	is only hit by strong magic weapons
73	only pretends to sleep
74	is never surprised
75	is not harmed by bladed weapons
76	is not harmed by blunt weapons
77	can only be finally kill with a Wish
78	can only attack if attacked
79	is only hurt in the ethereal/astral plane
80	can only see moving objects
81	has a petrification attack
82	is poisonous
83	is prone to bickering
84	is psionic
85	can regenerate HPs
86	has a secret attack
87	can sense an enemy
88	can shape shift
89	shuns light
90	can spot illusions
91	has telekinesis
92	can teleport
93	has troll-like regeneration
94	has ultra vision
95	is undead
96	has parts useful as spell components
97	has very good hearing
98	has a very good sense of smell
99	is very vulnerable to magic
100	has weak limb joints

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Random Encounter gone Fighting Fantasy | … making Gonzo FFonzo?

Wacky idea of the week …

This might appeal to DMs that lean into the ‘gonzo’, and for those looking for a snippet of teen gaming nostalgia …

Looking for an ‘out there’ random encounter … then reach no further than your collection of Fighting Fantasy books. Flip the pages at random and select an encounter from that page (or roll a D400; D4&D100) … improvise as necessary.

If it’s a transitional-type encounter, play out the pages until you do get to an encounter; or flip until you see a picture you like.

A selection of ‘Random Encounter’ source books: 

Dungeons

          

Forest

Desert / Temple

Swamp

Island

Tundra

Travler

Roadwars

 

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Simple Excel Mapper update | Icons added

Tuesday Toot – G+ is closing closed. When it was alive things happened. Things unexpected. Great things. Whilst my creative output is only modest, I thought I’d hold something up into the living light, something that came about purely because G+ existed … This is a toot to G+.Simple dungeon mapper

This is a throwback and an update. This is a simple mapper I made using Excel and its ‘conditional formatting’ option. It’s basic but free.

I’ve updated this mapper to include a few icons. It’s a thing I’ve been meaning to do for a while.

Original Video Demo

This video keeps chugging on YouTube, it consistently gets 10 to 20 hits a day.

Update: Icons added

Basically, any image can be placed on the map, so I incorporated some CC ones, made them small to use as icons:

    

These icons allow a greater deal of customisation. Feel free to use your own.

Download:

XLS Mapper

Screen Capture:

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Aadercap | The Harry Clarke Bestiary

Aadercap

Come closer …

When a psychic dies, sometimes there are enough malign thoughts to coalesce into a being of sorts. The entity resembles an impossibly dark fluid-like mass, with slit eyes and massive maw.

Aadercaps want thoughts, it needs them to grow.  Its name in the corrupted form (i.e. Headercap) comes from its tendency to wear its victims’ heads on its body, like a macabre meat cap. This because, direct contact with the brain stem leads to visceral memory adsorption.

Stats
They have the same stats as a goblin, except:

Hit dice – Each time it consumes an intelligent creature’s thoughts, it gains one hit dice. However, the new HD total cannot be more than +2 of the victim’s HD/level. So, devouring endless Kobolds only leads to a 3 hit-dice Aadercap. Therefore, it needs to dine on more powerful creatures to become more powerful.

AC – as leather; gaining one class type/grade improvement per HD gained.

Attacks – 1 x bite (damage like a two-handed sword); 2 x claw (as dagger).

Special attack – for each HD it can do a special attack (the set regenerating after rest):

:: Charm/hypnotise
:: Fear/project nightmare
:: Telekinesis
:: Telepathy
:: Sleep
:: Hold person/fright
:: Anti-charm/Animosity to friends
:: Invisibility
:: Soul bite – ingest victim’s intellect, wisdom or charisma points

So, a 3HD creature can do any three special attacks per day.

Ascension
At 10 HD the Aadercap either dies (see below) from the accumulation of its malign thoughts; or it manages to transcend into the ethereal plane to digest its accumulated memories; excreting what remains into the prime material plane as base and virulent prejudices.

Death
If killed or dies, roll a die equal to its HD and subtract a D4. If the number is negative, the creature is dissipated and dead. If positive, the Aadercap regenerates later having that number of HD.

This work is Creative Commons under https://creativecommons.org/licen ses/by/4.0/

For more information, please see: https://cavegirlgames.blogspot.com/2019/04/community-project-harry-clarke-bestiary.html

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Tuesday Toot!! | Pouch of Offensive Coin

Tuesday Toot – G+ is closing gone. When it was alive things happened. Things unexpected. Great things. Whilst my creative output is only modest, I thought I’d hold something up into the living light, something that came about purely because G+ existed … This is a toot to G+.

The Master’s Hoard is a compilation of quirk-some magic items which I posted on my G+ page over a period of weeks. The compilation of magic items can be downloaded for free here: Link

:: Pouch of Offensive Coin ::

Summary
Coins placed in this accursed pouch acquire an offensive illusionary quality, making spending the affected coins nearly impossible. The illusion is not visible to the bag owner. Only charitable use can remove the illusion

Detail
The money pouch (sometimes a money belt) is well made. It often has a bawdy scene embroidered on the outside in silver thread and the phrase:

“If money be the root of evil, then least be charitable the shoots therefrom”

This pouch acts like a small bag of holding, but accepts coins only. Other items are rejected by it. Coins placed in the pouch will appear to disappear, as if falling down a long dark well, but the coins can be readily retrieved again.

To the owner of the pouch (and friendly eyes), the retrieved coins will appear bright and shiny as if newly minted, as if magically cleaned by the pouch. The affected coins will look more valuable.

However, the coins will appear completely different to anyone potentially receiving the coins in payment/gift.

That is, casual viewing by a third party (i.e. who are not actually being paid with the affected coins), will not note anything unusual about the affected coins.

The affected coins are now covered by an enchantment/illusionary veneer. The illusionary veneer adapts itself to be as offensive as possible to the potential recipient of the coin (but again this illusionary veneer is not visible to the bag owner). The illusion has the ability to catch the eye of a potential recipient, even in very low light.

The illusionary veneer can take many forms.

It might contain a vulgar image, perhaps of a body part, it might look like it is covered in blood or faeces, it might contain a blasphemous image, unholy symbol, unlucky portend, libelous/propaganda statement, or simply look like the coinage of a mortal enemy (e.g. Orcish coin).

Basically, anyone except the truly emotionless (like the undead) will be offended by being offered the coins in payment.

At best the potential recipient will angrily refuse payment, and ask the character to leave, or at worse become immediately violent and attack the coin giver.

The coin recipient will of course assume the coin giver knows what offensive image lies on the coins. Any denial by the coin giver will likely offend the potential recipient even more.

The illusion/enchantment can only be removed when the coins are freely given/spent in charity. Thereafter the coins are normal again.

Melting down the affected coins causes the coins to explode, doing 1 damage per coin to anyone nearby. The coins are atomized in the explosion.

It is speculated that the item was created by a paladin sect who wanted to ensure that coins once acquired, could only be put to good use (i.e. once placed in the item, coins are all but useless for any other purpose than for charitable use). To most others, the item is an accursed monstrosity.

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Hex Power Flower – Weather

EDIT: For more on Hex Flower design, please see my    ‘Hex Flower Cookbook‘

:: My ‘In the Heart of the X’ weather HF

Here’s my simple weather HF:

Examples in use to generate 7 days of weather:

You can find the PDF here:   Weather Hex Flower

I’ve used this weather HF in some of my one-page exploration tools:

          
Part of Weather & Sea Travel              &  Wilderness Exploration

:: This is an interesting monochromatic take on the HF

It was posted on the For Glory #1, The Hexanomicon Kickstarter by Ariel Churi ; which of course must be filled with great stuff if this didn’t make the final cut …
;O)

I’ll defo be watching for any future KS! I like the latency of the 8, 9 option, and the instructions are super clear. If you have a problem with DCC D7’s, use can use a D6+D8, which will do the more or less the same job (it will have a slightly flatter bell curve)!

:: Fun weather HF online widget (https://dvdagames.github.io/react-hex-flower-engine)

 ::  4 Hex Flowers for the 4 Seasons

It is an idea I toyed with for a while, but Korbi has done it and brought the concept into full technicolor reality! And nice it is too! In that way a more generic weather HF is replaced with 4HFs, each tuned to a temperate climate season. There are just too many creative people out there!
:O)

If I were tempted to tweak it (why tinker you might rightly ask!), I might use a D6+D8 Navigation Hex like below and rotate the HFs to have the dominant weather on the bottom of the HF (rather than the right and bottom).

:O)

Background

If you’ve got no idea what this post is about, the below links give some context:Here’s a link to the original posting about using the 19 Hex Power Flower as a Hex Crawl Engine:
HPF – What the Hex’s Next?This is a link to more kinds of 19 Hex Power Flowers (with some being quite silly/fun):
Hex Power Flower (HPF)This is a link to the ‘theory’ (or at least rational) behind this idea:
2D6 + 19-Hex Power Flower

Edit: As some have asked, I made a template Hex Flower. Please let me know if it is useful (and/or needs changes)

Setting specific example 

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