Year: 2013

A Use for Bookshelves: Rumor Tables

Bookshelves are one of my favorite pieces of set dressing for dungeons, as my website’s background attests to. They can come in many shapes and sizes, hide secret doors, contain hidden treasure, don’t take up much floor space, and can go just about anywhere without being out of place. Bedrooms can have bookshelves, dining rooms can have bookshelves, dens, and parlors, and even kitchens can have bookshelves. But in game terms, bookshelves have always presented me with one major problem:

What’s on them?

Players often want to search bookshelves thoroughly, looking for something valuable, and I frequently don’t have anything to give them. More than once I’ve had shelves filled with burned or waterlogged or shredded books, just to avoid the player’s inevitable questions about what the books say. Even the most dedicated game master can’t detail the contents of every bookshelf. Even coming up with titles would be a foolish waste of time.

But what, aside from spellbooks, are players really looking for on bookshelves? Useful information. Information such as:

  • Quest Hooks
  • Locations of treasure
  • Hints about defeating monsters
  • Hints at how magic items they might discover work.
  • Hints about how to bypass traps.
  • Clues to help them understand information gained elsewhere.
  • Secrets they can exploit.
  • Context for the current area, which may or may not be useful to them.

Each bookshelf should be associated with a small table. The table ought to be sized to the number of books on the bookshelf. So a small row of books atop a fireplace mantle might have only a 4 entry table, while a wall-spanning bookshelf would have a table of 12 entries or greater. I, personally, would use a linear probability table (rolling a single die, resulting in equal probability for all possible results) to keep things simpler on the GM side. However, someone willing to put in a little more work could use a bell curve probability table (rolling multiple dice, so results in the middle are more likely; and high or low results are less likely) to represent that some information would be featured more predominantly in multiple books, while other information would be hard to find.

For every 3 exploration turns (30 minutes) that a single player spends perusing the books, roll on the table and tell them the piece of interesting information which caught their eye. The player may repeat this process as many times as they like, receiving a new roll for each 3 turns spent. But the longer they peruse, the more difficult it is to find new information. Any time the GM rolls a result which has occurred already, the player finds nothing new.

If the player wishes, they can read the entire bookshelf all the way through, gaining all of the information it holds. This requires a number of turns equal to the maximum die result, times 100. So for a 1d12 book shelf, it would take 1200 turns, or roughly 8 and 1/3rd days. A generously short amount of time, if you consider how many books are typically contained on a bookshelf, and how long it takes to read a book.

Additional players working together can shorten the reading time proportionally. While it takes 1 reader 3 turns to get a roll on the table, 3 players could get a roll in 1 turn, etc. And of course, random encounter checks should be rolled normally during any period of reading. Otherwise, the choice to sit still and read is one without risk, and you may as well just hand over a list of rumors for every bookshelf encountered.

As an example, here’s a table for a standing bookshelf in an ancient alchemy lab.

  1. The crushed roots of the White Tulily plant, when added to water, create an effective healing potion. [An unlabeled white flower is growing in the neighboring greenhouse.]
  2. A living stalk of Orcish Ivy, which grows only in the nearby Hills of Doom, is more valuable than a fistfull of diamonds.
  3. While the gemstones growing from its branches are quite tempting, the Demonsprout is a deadly, poisonous plant. To be handled with caution. [A sketch here matches a plant sitting on a nearby table.]
  4. The wizard who formerly owned this lab makes mention of a stash of scrolls kept in a hollow board on one of the benches, “just in case.”
  5. While Essence of Squirrel is generally quite useless, those bathed in it will not be attacked by dire squirrels. Several jars of it are kept handy, as this monster is somewhat common in the area.
  6. “The pit trap installed on the other side of the western door has proven quite useful, having caught 3 thieves in the space of two months!”
  7. The lake outside was once called “Lake Elenekish” [While not terribly useful on its own, the players might learn elsewhere that there is a great treasure at the bottom of Lake Elenekish, with no reference to where that lake might be found.]
  8. Journal Entry detailing how the Alchemist’s ungrateful apprentice stole 3 of his most valuable potions, and fled. The alchemist’s only satisfaction is that she appears to have fled into the den of the deadly Oliniphus. While he dares not try to retrieve the potions, at least his apprentice got what she deserved.

Magical Marvels: Hat of 5 Birds

The hat of 5 birds is a curious magical object usually discovered in the form of a blue speckled egg with “Hat of 5 Birds” written in golden letters around it. No instructions on how to use the hat are provided, but some sages may be familiar with the necessary procedure.

If the egg is cracked atop a person’s head, then within the space of a week, five small birds will make their nest amongst the person’s hair. They will fill it with twigs and leaves, turning the person’s head into a tangled mess which will quickly become extremely unhygienic and smelly. Unfortunately, if the nest is removed or significantly tampered with at all, the hat is destroyed and the birds will return to the normal existence of their kind. So anyone desirous of gaining the benefits of the hat must endure the scorn of anyone who finds the smell of bird droppings offensive.

The five birds will follow any mental command they are given by the hat’s wearer. They can retrieve small objects, scout new areas, serve as spotters or guards, or perform any other task the player can think up. Note, however, that the birds are still birds. They gain no special intelligence, and cannot communicate complex ideas. They can mentally share information with the hat’s wearer, but they can do this only when perched within the nest. So they cannot, for example, be left in one room as a guard, and telepathically warn their master when danger is approaching. They must first make their way back to their master’s head, possibly being attacked, or blocked by closed doors.

Note also that the birds still need rest and food. This does not need to be tracked exhaustively, but if 2 birds are told to keep watch all night, then only 3 birds ought to be available for tasks during the day.

If the player chooses to command the birds to attack, the birds will most likely be ineffectual. They are, after all, very small birds. They will only hit on an attack roll of 20, and will only ever deal 1 damage. On the other hand, if the player commands the birds to defend her, they will do so valiantly. Each bird can absorb 1 attack directed at any player they are commanded to defend. Regardless of the attack’s effectiveness, the bird will be killed. The birds cannot defend against attacks unless they are commanded to defend a character before an attack roll is made.

If any of the birds are ever killed, a new bird will come to nest after 1 month’s time.

REMINDER: The second annual Papers & Pencils reader survey is currently open! Please take a moment to fill it out.

Link: Dungeon Robber

About 18 months ago, I backed the Random Dungeon Generator as a Dungeon Poster on Kickstarter. The poster itself was completed and delivered promptly, and now hangs proudly on my wall. Since the poster, and Paul’s DM Notebook, were my primary interests in backing the campaign, I didn’t pay much attention to the continued updates about the other backer rewards Paul was working on. I had a vague notion that he produced a game which used the poster as a board, called “Dungeon Robber,” but I didn’t think much of it.

A few weeks back when I received a new update on the project, I read it out of curiosity. What could possibly be new with a kickstarter that ended so long ago? Turns out, Paul had created a browser-based version of the Dungeon Robber game. Since it’s much easier to pick up and play a browser game than it is to learn a board game, I decided to give it a whirl.

Vecna’s balls, people! Dungeon Robber has got to be one of the best dungeon crawling video games I’ve ever played. It’s fast paced, highly lethal, and addictive. Don’t check it out if you’ve got work to do, because it’s browser-based crack.

Play this game. And don’t forget to read Paul’s blog if you don’t already.

The Nope Slayer Class

The Nope Slayer is a variant of the Lamentations of the Flame Princess Fighter class. It is the same as that class in all respects, except as noted here. (If needed, a free no-art version of the LotFP core rulebook is available as a downloadable pdf file).

To be a Nope Slayer is to be afraid, but fight on. To face one’s greatest fears every day, stare them in the face, and shout “NOPE!” before either flailing wildly in an attempt to destroy them, or flee for one’s very life.

At first level, a Nope Slayer must select 3 “Nopes.” These Nopes represent the character’s great fears, and can be anything which the GM agrees a person might reasonably be afraid of. Examples of Nopes could include; spiders, snakes, water, heights, darkness, magic, undead, bats, and batmen. Anytime one of their Nopes is encountered, the Nope Slayer must make a morale check. 2d6 v. 5 + Wisdom Modifier + 1/5th Nope Slayer level, rounded down. If the Nope Slayer rolls above their morale, they must flee wildly from their Nope, abandoning their compatriots and likely becoming lost in their attempt to save themselves.  If they roll under their morale, then any die rolls made in an effort to defeat the Nope are doubled. (Or halved, in the event that it is preferable to roll lower rather than higher).

Once a morale check against a Nope has been failed, it cannot be attempted again until the following day. However, even after a successful morale check, another check may be called for if the GM determines the frightfulness of the Nope has escalated. For example, a player may succeed on her morale check to fight the dog-sized spiders, but the GM may insist on another check when the party encounters an elephant sized spider.

Note also that rolls are only doubled when the character is specifically attempting to overcome their Nope. A player who selected “the dark” as one of their Nopes would not double all combat rolls while in the dark. Instead, they might be twice as capable of finding firewood. Though, I suppose they might double their combat rolls if facing a creature who was able to create areas of magical darkness.

REMINDER: The second annual Papers & Pencils reader survey is currently open! Please take a moment to fill it out.

Deadly Dungeons 24: Pools of Dimensionally Attuning Paint

So your players have fallen down a pit. Maybe they spun the stone disk in The Flippy Turny Fally Room. Maybe they came upon their fate some other way. What matters is that you don’t want the pit to be terribly deadly, but you would like the pit to present the players with new challenges.

The fall from the room above has the players skidding out of control down a twisting, greased chute. Suddenly, it branches into three paths, and the players become separated from one another. Have each player roll 1d6 for their characters, with hirelings and animal companions rolled separately. The results of their rolls determine which of the three chutes they careen into, and consequently, which pool of colored paint they land in a moment later.

1-2, Blue
3-4, Pink
5-6, Yellow

The paint is thick, goopy, and very difficult to get off. Otherwise, the players appear to be unharmed. As they regroup and make to examine their surrounding, note that the only exit from the room is a “brightly colored door.” This phrasing is important, because each player will see a door which matches the color of the paint they fell into. If the players are clever, they will ask specifically what color the door is, and the GM should reveal this tidbit of information. If the players don’t think to ask for details, though, they’ll be taken by surprise by what happens next.

The door opens normally, and regardless of what color paint the players fell into, the room beyond looks the same to all of them. It is empty and nonthreatening, with a single exit. However, once a player walks through the door, they are sorted into one of three parallel pocket dimensions, associated with their color. Each pocket dimension consists of only a handful of rooms (perhaps 3-5, not including the first room which is identical across all three dimensions). A Wall of Force prevents anyone who has walked through the door from walking back into the paint pool room.

The party has been forced to split, and whatever oddball groups of players have ended up together must face the next few challenges alone. As GM, be sure to note any hirelings or animal companions who are separated from their employers / masters, as the fighter’s squire will probably be much less willing to help the creepy old wizard.

Note that if the players discover the trick before entering the room, they will likely try to keep the party together either by having everyone dunk themselves in the same color, or by having everyone clean themselves. The latter should be difficult and take quite a long time, but both should work. If the players do succeed in cleaning themselves, roll randomly to determine which of the three paths they’ll go through.

REMINDER: The second annual Papers & Pencils reader survey is currently open! Please take a moment to fill it out.

Deadly Dungeons 23: Flippy Turny Fally Room

The room is circular, with at least one exit aside from the one the players entered through. The ceiling must be slightly higher than the room’s radius. The walls, floor, and ceiling are all of flagstone.

In the center of the room is a chest-high obelisk, perhaps 8 inches on each side. Atop the obelisk is a Y shaped piece of brass. There is an axle between the prongs of the Y, which supports a rotating stone disk with a flagstone pattern carved into it. When the players enter the room, the flat sides of the disk are oriented up and down.

The flagstones of the walls also have an odd pattern to them. Every 3ft or so, there is a perfectly circular stone, creating a sort of “polka dot” effect. This element of the room is purely decorative, but serves as an important red herring to obfuscate the room’s trick.

Rotating the disk atop the obelisk has no effect, until it has been rotated a full 180 degrees. So that the side which once faced up, is now facing down. A loud “clicking” sound will reverberate through the room, and the entire floor of the room will flip over, revealing an identical floor and identical obelisk on the other side.

Any occupants of the room will, of course, be dropped into a pit.

If the walls around the edge of the room are examined, players may notice vertical scratches on the walls near to where they meet the floor. If the players follow the scratches around the room, or specify that they are examining the wall 90 degrees from the room’s entrance (where the axle would be mounted) then they will find that the scratches have made a sort of half-circle.

There is no visible gap between the walls and floor which is any more pronounced than the gaps between any of old, cracked and worn flagstones. However, water or sand could be used to discover that the small space between the wall and floor doesn’t “fill up” as it ought to.

This room COULD be used to drop players into a deadly pit, but I would recommend against it. Because, while I don’t think this room robs the players of agency, it IS a little bit cheap. (I considered having the players sense a slight wobble as they stepped into the room, but that just felt painfully obvious for a trap which must already rely on a red herring).

Instead, this room ought to drop the players into a new section of the dungeon. With their pre-explored escape route forever lost to them, exploring the dungeon will take on a new sense of urgency. How long will their food rations last? Can they find a safe enough place to rest each night? Will they ever see sunlight again?

On Monday I’ll post my recommendation for a good room to drop the players into.

REMINDER: The second annual Papers & Pencils reader survey is currently open! Please take a moment to fill it out.

Picture Thursday 33: "Dungeon" by Sebastian Wagner

If you aren’t in love with this image, you’re bad and wrong and we should probably not play games together.

In seriousness, there’s a lot I love about this image. The greens and blues are both colorfully eye catching, but also muted and somber. I can easily imagine this place shrouded mist. The vast amount of empty space surrounding the two figures makes me think of an eerie silence. The forest would be oddly quiet here, I think, with only the faint rustling of branches to let them know they haven’t gone deaf. And then there’s the dungeon entrance. I don’t know what’s down there, but it’s giving off a blue light. And that’s creepy.

Check out Sebastian Wagner’s DeviantArt for more!

REMINDER: The second annual Papers & Pencils reader survey is currently open! Please take a moment to fill it out.

2nd Annual Papers & Pencils Reader Survey

With another year passed, it’s time for another reader survey!  Perhaps this ritual of mine is a little strange, but it’s fun to learn about the people who read my blog. And even if I lack the mathematical knowledge to draw sound conclusions from the data, I can still muse over what type of people my writing attracts, and what they think about what I do. So I hope you’ll take a moment to fill it out.

It’s quite simple to do. You just need to visit:

The Papers & Pencils 2013 Reader Survey

There are only 11 required fields for the form to process. If you’re feeling particularly generous with your time, though, there are some optional questions at the bottom which I’m very interested to see the answers to. The survey will remain open until the weekend of the 24th, at which time the polls will close and I’ll post the results. All of which are anonymous, of course.

If you read and enjoy Papers & Pencils, I would like to ask you to take a few minutes to do this. It should only take a short time, and the more responses I get, the more reliable my eventual data will be. Last year, 38 people generously filled the form out. After a year of growth, I’d love it if we could hit 50 responses.

Thank you for reading.

Magical Marvels 13: Snowstorm Blade

When found, this weapon appears to be nothing more than a very elaborate hilt. It has a silver cross guard in the shape of a lightning bolt, a grip wrapped in blue-dyed leather, and a pommel circled with brilliant blue sapphires. One might at first suspect that the blade has simply broken off, but any cursory examination of where the blade ought to be will reveal no trace that a blade was ever there.

If the sword is held aloft, a bolt of lightning will arc from the sky towards the hilt. If the bolt reaches the hilt, a 3ft long blade of jagged ice will slowly begin to form over the course of 1 minute. However, if there is anything in between the hilt and the sky (such as a roof, or a monster) then the lightning will strike that instead, dealing damage as normal. (6d6 damage, save v. breath for half). Lightning cannot be called for while the blade exists, nor can it be called for more than once per minute.

Note that while underground, holding the hilt aloft will cause a lightning bolt to strike the surface directly above you, potentially causing harm the player will not be aware of immediately.

Once the ice blade has formed completely, it functions as a longsword. Upon a successful hit, however, the ice blade shatters into a cloud of snow. Creatures with 5HD or or lower are frozen completely solid, and could easily be kicked into tiny pieces. Creatures of 6HD or greater take 6d6 frost damage, and are frozen to the ground until they can make a successful strength check to dislodge themselves. In particularly hot environments, a cumulative +2 each round would be appropriate.