FaeCraft Incoming!

FaeCraft is off to the printer and we anticipate it's appearance in July! Matt and I are very excited. The book feels tighter and the production seemed smoother, which hopefully reflects our process and better communication. 

Together the two volumes provide a really nice tool, a neat subsystem, an evocative medium, and a really fun time! I am proud of them!

Folding Tables

And in that Dungeon

There was a monster 

Wait, what Dungeon?

So, I had to come up with a good name for the table style I have been writing about lately. I started with Kitchen Table ... Dropleaf was a possibility , but I have settled on Folding Tables for now.

There are several parts to a Folding Table.

1.

The number of items is larger than the dice or die used on the table.

2.

Items on the table are eliminated or scratched off as they are encountered or used.

3.

Modifiers are applied to the roll to reflect the game state, the narrative position, where the characters are etc. 

Examples are in previous posts. The table is not a static thing, the table is not an artifact, the table is not sacrosanct. The table is mutable, the table is not the answer, the table is part of the process.

Monsters, Wandering

So, how do the monsters wander and what are their habits in their habitats? Let's take Level One of Salt Palace, which my open table group has just cleared out; I don't think they will mind some sharing of secrets...

14 caves, caverns, and spaces, Jaquaysing around, containing an ecology of spiders, giant shrews, zombies, and skeletons. The D6 monster table looks something like this:

1 Spider

2 Giant Shrew

3 Skeleton

4 Spider Nest

5 Zombie

6 Zombie Spider

7 Skeleton Crew

8 Giant Lizard

An astute observer would see that there are 8 possibilities on a D6 table. They would be correct. This is a variation of the flexible table several posts ago. On the diagram of the level are a series of modifiers ranging from -2 to +2. These are applied to the monster roll. The initial set of spaces is at a -2, transitioning to a -1, then 0, then +1 and +2 on the periphery, at interstitial areas, and at connection points with other levels or zones of the dungeon ecosystem. They are NOT assigned to rooms, but to areas, often overlapping. 

Upon the initial descent it is highly likely the brave adventurers will encounter spiders of varying description (after the -2, a roll of 1 to 3 yields spiders), giant shrews, and the occasional skeleton. As the various parties push further into the dark, modifiers shift and the mix of monsters follows suit. The adventurers can feel things changing, meet more undead in one direction, find a nest of spiders in another, and surprise a giant lizard as they go deeper into a tunnel.

That procedural dynamism is one thing that brings the place to life, and the overlapping zones allow flexibility, especially in an Open Table. Does the group tonight have more lower level characters? Push the negative modifier further ahead. Big party? Pull it back.

Further, I can carry that modifier onto the monster, thereby ratcheting the challenge up or down. If they are in a +1 zone that Spider card gets fierce, adding +1 to everything: 3 or 4 HD, +1 damage, and more chances of dangerous additional abilities. 

And, of course, there is a higher chance of treasure... +1.

How I Make Monsters Now

They have to be simple, clear, visually accessible, and fast to run without a lot of details, or just the right amount of details.

NPCs can be different from monsters, or not, so they may be more complex, nuanced. We can return to them another day!

 For my stripped down running of the game, they have to be on note cards. It helps to have some procedural surprise built in for me as a player in the game. It really helps to have just a couple of numbers to keep track of during an encounter. For example, spiders in my current dungeon crawl...

First roll determines hit dice: two, three, or four

The next roll is the number of spiders, which riffs off of the hit dice. There are probably fewer bigger spiders or more smaller spiders, and the number is probably a d6 or maybe two.

The attack damage is directly related to the hit dice, with bigger spiders doing the bigger damage. 

Armor class is 10 plus their hit dice, and that number is the same DC the characters need to beat to avoid paralysis.

Finally there are a series of quick yes or no questions. Rolling a D6 5 times quickly with a 1 to 3 being NO and a 4 to 6 being YES, we quickly determine what kind of spiders these are, how they behave. They could end up being camouflaged zombie spiders in a web network or ambush spiders who can shoot entangling webs. I can be as surprised with the encounter as the other players!

These are all dials of course, so if the party is in hot pursuit of another creature, the wandering spider may be just a distraction. If the dice indicate that the room is inhabited, then it may be a bigger group of spiders that the party has to contend with. If the party decides to leave, I note it down on my map as a discovery in the world that has been made, so that future explorers may encounter the same thing.

Monsters can also be easily dialed up. For example, the other night the party encountered a spider web covering a entrance to a great canyon. These are proper giant spiders, none of that 4 HD nonsense. So a quick doubling to 6 HD makes them a real menace that needs careful planning: AC 16 2D6 damage...

Yikes 😳

The party returned to the canyon with the fireball scroll, and, that worked well. What they have realized since is that without the spiders, the giant moth population has really escalated!

FaeCraft Sample Characters

Below are a few characters from FaeCraft that can be dropped into any game. They are presented in different ways to showcase different playstyles and systems. All were generated using the Procedural Character generation system included in the book! 

What does it all mean?!? Stay tuned!

Puff

Ibex Fae Dreamer, 4th Level

HP 23

Proficiency: 3

DreamCraft Abilities: Threadwork

Skills: Light Armor, Appraisal, Jump

DreamCraft Powers: Alter Memory, Dream Step, Healing, Tug

Fae Abilities: Shape Shift (Ibex), Pierce Veil, Herd Step

Possessions: WhisperSledge, Memory Net, Leather Armor

Boots

SkinCraft Giant Fae Bear

AC as chain | HD 7 | Att: Spear +3, Hurl Boulder +3 (4D6), Bellow (Frighten)

• 19 Ft. tall/long

• Fae Abilities: Shape Shift (Bear), Pierce Veil, Hunter's Step

• Shapechange to a Crocodile when in running water

• Giantcraft: Twist the Land, Long Sleep

• As Crocodile: Fearsome Strength, Night Vision

• Skills (+3): Sailing, Sneak/Hide, Medium Armor

• Vulnerable to Darts, Slings etc

Rez

Small Mouldcrafter

Three Sparrows and a Bat live in a grotto near the Old Mill. Polite entreaties for concoctions of mushrooms and magical tourniquets will avoid barrages of flying debris and debilitating fogs of drowsiness. Negotiations and transactions are always handled by a small servant of stone and knotted vines. With time and the offering of arcane trinkets, more powerful concoctions of mold-laden insects may be unveiled.

Salt Palace West-March-Dungeon-Crawl

So, I've been at this gaming thing a while and thought I would start up a classic dungeon crawl that harks back to the games of my misspent youth. A massive dungeon, a mega dungeon, mysteries untold and perched on the edge of the darkness and possibility is a wee village, a safe place to return to, a haven, and a place to resupply. 

Every time we play it is a new group, they form in the village, stock up, decide their destination and head down into the ice caves, the eponymous Salt Palace. Each game they push a little farther, uncover a little bit more, dig into secrets, scrape up treasure, amass experience, and then return to the village. The story is evolving.

They are casual games, ones where people can play as they wish, can drop in, can play regularly, see old friends, and make new ones. The makeup of the group changes constantly, and it doesn't matter your level, your experience, your familiarity, or any of that. You're there for the play! As for mechanics: a streamlined rule set, Knave and CraftWork, virtual play, minimal props, dice and pencil and paper.

Let me know if you want more details! I'm happy to share any and all of it.

That Vision Thing

Continuing the thread of contemplation on vision loss, blindness, and gaming, I posted a comment on a Sly Flourish YouTube video about being a blind DM. It was in response to another commenter who was curious about what that was like. Here is what I said...

'I am a blind DM as well. Lots of description, theater of the mind, players owning the dice rolls, and probably not too different from many tables with or without disabilities. Since I started as a DM in the mid-70s, I have constantly adjusted my style, aids, props etc, as we all do, and as I have lost vision, the adjustments continue.'

I have written about my play aids and so forth, but in essence It has been a slow reduction of the footprint of stuff at my end of the table. Some of what is driving this is philosophical or stylistic shifts, but the bigger driver is vision loss. Without the loss of vision would I have changed my approach to the same degree? 

My relationship with, and reluctant acceptance of, the visual constraints of my disability is complicated. How can I keep doing what I love, cooking, gaming, walking, doing things with family etc in ways that are not visually dependent? There is a shifting constellation of letting go, adoption, adaptation, denial, and stubbornness. Finding success and continuity in one area seems to translate into confidence and acceptance in other areas. My adaptations In my choices and approach to gaming seem to leak into other areas of my life, building patterns for continuity and confidence.