Oddly Alone

I was in the mood to run some Into the Odd. But lacking a group at the moment I decided to play Solo! So, using the Wilderness Sheets from Scarlet Heroes, the 'Getting Lost' table from the D30 Sandbox Companion and my own Odd Encounters, I set forth!

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First, let's meet our unfortunate victim hero of the story, Holnrich.

Holnrich (HP   6   Armour   0)
STR   7   DEX   15   WIL   4
Pistol (d6)
Knife (d6)
Bomb (d12)*
Saw



Day 1

Holnrich... wants to get home. At first, signing on with the private militia seemed like a grand idea! Escape mother's basement, see the world, shoot and/or eat strange creatures! A pity no one ever told him that the army life required dedication, nerves of steel and a work ethic somewhat akin to that of a bonobo. And so he snuck away from camp... In the middle of a swamp. Never fear! the labyrinthine streets of Bastion are far more complex than some wilderness! With some idea of where Bastion lies, Holnrich skulks out of camp on a morning thick with fog.

Most of the morning is eaten up with wandering, but luckily for Holnrich, the swamp eventually gives way to plains. Not entirely sure he's heading the right direction, (off by a few degrees, still in the right hex though) Holnrich still feels better without the leeches and the mosquitoes. 

Encounter Check: No wandering monsters,
Event Check: Venomous bite, no more exploring for the day.

Holnrich always was possessed of a certain sort of luck, his granduncle said. But then Granduncle was eaten by feral orphans from the Underground, so what did Granduncle Carlos know, really? Quite a bit, it seems, for one of the myriad pests from the swamp was carrying the White Shakes. A painful, if not lethal disease, by mid-afternoon Holnrich is shivering and groaning with pain. A small copse of trees and some tall grass make for shelter, and his threadbare militia coat serves for a blanket while Holnrich ponders his own mortality.

Day 2

With the dawn comes a new day... And new weather! Creeping from his make-shift shelter, Holnrich shakes a rat from his boot and creaks off.Light fog and the residue of illness combine to lead Holnrich off course, sadly, the ever-lucky Holnrich wandering in a Westerly direction until Holnrich's lost  wandering lost, deposits him in thick, black-barked forest.  This isn't right, the forest is NORTH of Bastion, while he Holnrich wants to go south!

As if things couldn't become any more distressing, through the boughs comes flickering torchlight. A friend or foe? Unsure, Holnrich draws his trusty pistol. Father always did warn Holnrich about trees and the clever Wywulfs that made their homes there. The light stops overhead, and whatever-it-is drops down before Holnrich. T'is one of the intelligent apes!

Augustus (HP   2   Armour   0)
STR   16   DEX   14   WIL   7

Musket, Pistol, Incredible Hat

Holnrich's father always said you could trust an ape with a hat! Stepping forward, Holnrich hales the primate, but is he a friendly sort of beast?

(Scarlet Heroes Oracle check: No, But (using the Oracular adjectives chart, I get "Abuse") )

This poor beast, having suffered the slings and arrows of his hairless cousins, is none too happy to see Holnrich. In fact, he's rather put out as Holnrich's stomping around scared off the truffle-hares that Augustus was trying to harvest the earcaps from. Oblivious to his new-found acquaintance's grievances, Holnrich asks for directions to Bastion. Or perhaps a map? Just some food or wine?

Will there be monkey business? Once more to the oracle!

Yes. Yes there will be monkey business.  The great ape points north, to a village of the Quiet Folk that he's been harrying in recent days. Serves Holnrich right, being born hairless and feeble unlike a proper member of the Primate court.

Grateful, Holnrich wishes the ape well and trots off to the north. He'd really have to buy an atlas when he returned to Bastion and learn his directions proper. Unfortunately, Holnrich's lacking sense of direction leads him astray... right onto path with a quiet Folk deadfall. The sharp crack as the log swings down catches Holnrich's attention. He tries to dodge but oh cruel fate, he is too slow.  The log sends Holnrich flying, inflicting 2HP damage!

Landing in a brambleberry thicket, Holnrich groans, laying there while he gathers his wits. No water, no wine, and is that blood on his jacket?! No... Just Brambleberry juice. Sighing at his misfortunre, Holnrich gathers himself up. Shame that the ape didn't warn him about the deadfall! He must not have known, poor fellow. Making a note to warn Augustus should he encounter the once again, slightly-limpy Holnrich toddles on his way, wobbling slightly from the blow he took.

But does he get lost from being dazed? Yes he does! And kind fates! He's pointed the right direction. Forest eventually gives way to plains, and to a rutted wagon road used by the Quiet Folk when forced to deal with outsiders. Ah, if only he could espy the smoke choked skies over Bastion once more...

Encounter check: none (lucky Holnrich)
Event check: none
Feature check: Road Inn!

Wandering in a daze, Holnrich at first thinks he's hallucinating when a caravansarai appears. He knows that inn! He relieved himself at its latrine before setting off with his mercenary group!

Sadly, Holnrich is void of cash. Perhaps he can sell his bomb? Into the caravansarai he slinks, carefully keeping watch for his recruiting officer. The man stayed over to enjoy the on-site brothel and buffet, after all.

Not spying the man, Holnrich heads for the innmaster's counter, and plops down his standard issue bomb, for surely it must be worth at least a portion of his recruitment dues?

Not the wisest move for Holnrich.

A look of alarm, and the innmaster goes for his gun... As do several of the patrons in the commons room. Does Holnrich get a chance to explain himself? To the Oracle!

No, But...  Holnrich's luck holds true. At the sight of all the iron pointed his way, he does what comes naturally... he runs. Bullets whizzing past his ear, Holnrich barrels down the Taxmaster's Road towards Bastion. Eventually running turns to jogging, jogging turns to limping, and as the sun dips below the horizon, Holnrich finds himself in the necropoli which skirt the Taxmaster's road, vestiges of whatever great empire flourished here before Bastion.

Well familiar with the threat of Ghoul and Spectre,  Holnrich draws his pistol, whispering half remembered prayers to some god or another as he stalks along.

Encounter check: Ghost, amorous (really? I wrote that encounter entry as a joke, dice...)

And as he skulks along, Holnrich catches sight of a tell-tale flicker of white amongst the tombs. A ghost? A corpse eater? The light draws closer, revealing itself to be... (random generation time!)

Quick and Random Amorous Ghost Generation!
Gender:
1-2 M
3-4 F
5-6 Eldritch
Prefers: Even- Men,  Odd- Women.
Understands no means no? Evens- Yes, Odds- No.
Appearance: Evens: 1: Hideous 2: Homely. 3-4: Handsome 5: Stunningly beautiful 6: Uncanny valley

Results: Male, prefers men, does not understand no means no. Lovely as the Uncanny Valley (sigh. Poor Holnrich).


Doll-like, the ghost drifts closer, cooing to Holnrich as it opens its lithe and jointed arms. Common sense says to run, but Holnrich isn't the most sensible individual... and fails his WIL save. The night (and scene) fades to black

...


The next morning Holnrich awakens, clothes scattered around the graves, dignity somewhere miles behind. Gathering his belongings, he limps towards Bastion. Holnrich will be walking tender for a few days, but at least he has an impressive story to tell at the beer-stand!

My Playspace.

The Scarlet Tales of Zellsa the Indecipherable.

Know, oh thou assembled! In the third reign of the Childlike Empress, but before the sacking of golden Jhadur was an Age undreamed of, when shining kingdoms stretched across the world like bright gems in a cloth of emerald and sapphire, cinnabar and gold. Hither came Zellsa the rogue, of greedy eye and hungry hands, to plunder the wealth of the earth with soft tread of his sandaled feet…

A New Beginning

Well, the unfortunate has happened. The folder containing my oracles and character sheet for Scarlet Heroes has vanished. Fearing it to be a victim of the Great Tidying Up of Wednesday, I’ve printed a new set of Oracles, and have opted, since this is the unfortunate season of new beginnings, to roll a new character!

First and foremost, we’ll generate his attributes. I’ll take the time honored method of going straight down the line and just seeing how the dice fall.

STR   13   +1

INT    15   +1

DEX   17   +2

WIS    08   - 1

CON   14   +1

CHA    09    --

Strong, agile, healthy as an ox and with all the sense that nature gave a stump! Unable to really decide on a race or class, I turn to the Quick Character Creation section of the book and grab my faithful D20…

11! A Human he shall be! With a Dex like that, I think I’ll make him a thief. Compulsive, a bit gullible, he’s able to get the job done but falls victim to his own shortcomings more often than not! I note down starting Hit Points, Fray Dice and Attack Bonus. For his initial trait we’ll go with the tried and true “Stealthy Burglar”. A Baggins he is! On that note, let’s work up a name. For this I’ll be using Zenopus Archives’ “Holmesian Random Names” chart. A toss of the dice gives me two syllables to work with, while further rolling produces “Zell” and “Sa”. Zellsa the thief is born!

Next comes his three free trait points. Stymied, I turn once more to the quick character creation chart, and trust to fate!

30: Charlatan

92: Tireless Endurance

52: Knows Many Harlots

Who-boy! I’m starting to get a better picture of Zellsa now. A thief, a paramour, and an oft-unsuccessful charlatan. How he’s stayed out of prison this long is anyone’s guess. All I’m left with is gear. Once again we go to the dice, and I get… 110GP. Zellsa is not a poor man, but he could do better.

A bit of shopping and scratchwork, and Zellsa is done!

Zellsa, Thief 1 (0/2XP)

HP: 4/4

AC:   7

AB: +1

STR   13   +1

INT    15   +1

DEX   17   +2

WIS    08   - 1

CON   14   +1

CHA    09    --

Traits:

Stealthy Burglar           3

Charlatan                     2

Timeless Endurance     2

Knows Many Harlots   1

Gear:

GP—45     SP—4     CP—

Enc— 28/100

Short Sword (+3 [1d6+2])

Dagger (+3[1d4+2] 15’/30’ (-2)) 

Backpack

Leather Armor (AC 7)

Silk Rope (50’)

Iron Spike (3)

Lantern

Flask of Oil

Armed and educated, now Zellsa’s adventure can begin!

In the mood to cover that classic trope of Dungeons and Dragons, the Dungeon, I flip back to the solo play dungeon section of the rulebook, and determine its type.  Tossing a D10 and D12 for type gives me…

08: Temple

11: Sacred Tomb

Next up, we roll a D12 to determine dungeon size…

5: 1D10+5 for a grand total of 9 locations!

Zellsa, fool that he is, has decided sneaking into the necropolis and looting the resting place of some religious order sounds far superior to honest work! But what sort of things might one find in the tomb? Luckily, we have a chart for that! Nine tosses of the faithful giant D20 renders…

03: Bathing Room

19: Vestry

10: Minor Shrine

07: Kitchen

11: Pilgrim Quarters

01: Acolyte’s Cells

05: Garden

10: Minor Shrine

02: Altar Hall

Not exactly what I think when I picture a sacred tomb.  Obviously, this is a place within the necropolis that’s important to its religion, so much so that pilgrims sojourn here.  Hm… What sort of religious order am I dealing with? First off, let’s see what color hat they wear! For this, I’ll roll a D6, with 1-2 being Lawful, 3-4 being Neutral and 5-6 being Chaotic. A quick roll and I get…

1, A lawful order!

But what manner of lawful order, gentle reader? A lawful order whose tomb is a site of pilgrimage. We’ll go with the tomb being attached to a small chapel, then! But to which god is the tomb sanctified? Chaotic Shiny to the rescue!

Navra, the Goddess of Victory, Archery and Creation, is surprisingly plain, with tanned skin, waist length, rippling black hair, and eyes the color of jade. She is average height and slender, and almost never frowns. She usually wears armor and a helmet dyed grey-blue and pale orange. She is also associated with solstices and sacrifice. She is often worshipped by commoners. Her surprisingly numerous followers can be primarily distinguished by their daily prayers. There are a small number of temples to her at crossroads. There are many myths involving her unhealthy relationship with certain mortals. She is the sister of Ineandon. She is known to sometimes place obstacles in the way of virtuous mortals.

And why, gentle readers, is this tomb so special? Well, considering that Navra’s portfolios are Victory, Archery, and Creation, we’ll say that this is the resting place of a great hero of Navra, a woodsman bearing a bow crafted by Navra herself.  It’s this bow that’s caught Zellsa’s eye. Why? For that I’ll turn to the Diablo II supplement forAD&D. We’ll call the item level 3 of 20, and a roll to determine its powers gives… 21! A Prefix and Suffix!

Normally, I’d roll for base item type, but since it’s a bow, we’ll just roll to find out what kind of bow it is. Rollin’ the bones!

19: Composite Bow.

Next I roll Prefix and Suffix. Each is a D60+30. A quick pair of rolls and I get…

Prefix: 85— Fine (+1 to Hit; Doubles damage on a natural roll of 19-20)

Suffix: 78— of Lightning (+2d6 Electrical Damage)

Fitting for a weapon crafted by a divine bowyer.

So! We’ve got ourselves a new character, a dungeon and loot for the end, should Zellsa be brave and lucky enough to claim it!

Will he be that lucky? Tune in later this evening to find out!

Flying Solo: The Quiet Year

So I recently came into possession of a copy of The Quiet Year and got the chance to sit down and play it solo. While I'm not entirely sure I did everything right, I had a lot of fun playing. 

Read on after the jump to see how it went.

Flying Solo Part One: New Kid in Town

Below you'll find an example of my solitaire system (mentioned here) at work. The entire affair took me about 45 minutes from start to finish, and all in all I am pleased with the outcome. I'm still new to play reports,  so forgive me as I try to find my stride. All in all, I'm satisfied with the system, a few things need tweaking, as the process sits somewhere between game and writing prompt. I'll work on that later.

How I fly Solo

There are no gamers in my area, not any more. Time and health prevent me from engaging in online play, so for the past few months I've been stuck in the role of game thought, not game play.

Recently, however, I decided to delve into solitaire roleplaying, and here's how.


For the actual mechanics, I make use of Black Stream: Solo Heroes from Sine Nomine Publishing. This product lays out guidelines to handle a solitary player and works with, essentially, any rules set. For the rules, I make use of BLUEHOLME Prentice Rules from Dreamscape Design. Normally I'd go with Swords and Wizardry, but the simplicity, and short level span, of BLUEHOLME gives me a bit more flexibility when it comes to solo shenanigans.

When jumping in to solo play, I took a look at the various tools to handle the GM side of things.  The 9Qs, the Mythic GM Emulator, various bits of homebrew and tomfoolery. While each had their strengths, none had exactly what I wanted.  Instead, I knocked together my own set of guidelines.

First and foremost, I am a sandbox gamer. Never was good at carrying an extended plot, and with solo play, it's a bit hard to keep the left hand ignorant of hte right hand's foibles. A sandbox, therefore, seemed key. To accommodate this, I used WizarDawn's World Map generator until I found something that sparked my curiosity.  I didn't worry too much at first about naming and planning everything, as that'll be filled in via the plots as they fall, and by my own curiosity. Thus armed with a world and a system to govern play, I strike out into the heady realm behind the screen... Plot.

(side note: I've mentioned before how much I love this site. Go check it out, tools, generators, delights of all kinds. A treasure trove for the fan of random tables.)

For plot, I make use of S. John Ross' "The Big List of RPG Plots". I copied each down onto a blank index card, and printed the actual contents of each plot entry or easy reference. To generate an adventure or twist, I just draw a card from the deck, flip it, and reference the entry. If a twist is needed, Ross was kind enough to provide suggestions, or for fun, I draw a second card. But who provides these hooks? The Cast of course!

Much like the plot cards, I created a deck of Cast cards using three generators, The Thieve's Guild Person and Name generators, and for the personality, I went with 101 Quick NPC personalities. The cards follow a simple format, as seen below.

Most of the template is self-explanatory. The Tell is a habit or trait that immediately stands out about the character, while the Attitude is the character's initial temperament when drawn, rolled on a D6. Certain personalities modify the chart, resulting in a higher chance of one reaction or another, while others  leave the standard spread alone. One character, the captain of the guard in the starting city, is presented below. 

 

An interesting  side effect of the generator I chose, green eyes pop up fairly often.  Now, while I could just roll with that, I decided to work green eyes in as a dressing element of the sandbox. To what end? No clue yet, still pondering.

Back on course, for encounters I'll be recording monster entries onto cards, assembling decks of "Wandering monster" encounters for hex types. This is no different than a regular table, just in index card form. Loot etc will be randomly generated as well.

All in all, this is the form of solitaire role playing that works for me. I suspect the results will read much like a cross between the Garret case files, and Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser. Truth be told, I'm okay with that. Once I'm done with the monster cards, I'll be giving this system a try. So expect, on occasion, for single-play reports to pop up.