[magic item] Sendrick's Firestarter

Sendrick is a human magic-user who specialized in cantrips, and the domestic use of  magic. His utility belts are widely sought after, his tools are praised by many master artisans - and even more so by apprentices. He lives on a farm with his family, and some students in the sunny south near the Old Troll Hills.

Sendrick's Firestarters
Wooden chips of various colors (all hand-painted) with carved magic symbols. When placed near flammable material the firestarter will - on command - ignite a small magic flame that will get a fire going even during a storm. The firestarter lasts for 1d6 minutes after which a non-magical fire will continue to burn until put out.

[magic item] Whip of Infernal Wings

This whip is made of ancient demon hide, the aura of fear still noticeable when touched. The handle is reinforced with rings of metal that has been forged in fires of the underworld then cooled in the fresh spring snow on top of the Lingering Mountains.
It is a +1 magic weapon with special powers that must be activated with command words. It is nigh unbreakable, resistant to spells, fire, cold, and electricity. The command word to bestow the resistance on the wielder has been lost. The commands for the other special powers are simple words from the demonic language of Kth, and can be found in most libraries, and greater spell books. Wether the weapon is intelligent, and the essence of the demon is bound to it, is not known, although there are rumors. Terrible rumors. Rumors that are too easily dismissed once the power of flight is gained...

1. Flight, similar to the spell, except that only a destination has to be given, and the demon powers of the whip will carry the wielder (if holding on to the handle), and/or anything attached to the whip to the specified destination. Can only be dispelled by 9th level magic, or demon power.
2. Cause Fear*, as the spell. See Remove Fear spell (BFRPG).
3. Flame, causes fire damage, and additional +1 damage against creatures vulnerable to fire. Can be used to ignite all sorts of flammable stuff, too.
4. Strong Grip, the handle sprouts and grows - for example, around the wielder's hand and arm, not letting go until the release command is spoken.

Of course, the whip can be used to entangle enemies on a successful attack roll.  I guess, that's what whips are for. At least in the movies. And hell, yeah, this is a powerful magic item. No restriction on the powers, as in daily uses. It's a fantasy world. But of course, if you utter the wrong command words, or misspell the demonic language, strange things might happen. But you want the power of flight, right?

An empty room for the weary dungeoneer

Yeah, I've been reading those megadungeon, 2.000 copper pieces, and empty room blog posts recently. Now, there are some bloggers who pick up the empty room-meme. Here's my take.

1. An empty room, especially one with a lockable door offers shelter for the player characters. That's where they can hide. After all, if the monsters know, that the room is empty, they might not bother going there. Except to hide away from other monsters, they want to evade... So, do not bash in the door. Let your thief unlock, and lock the door, instead.
2. An empty room can be filled. Move some of the furniture in there, like that cozy armchair from the hallway. Put it in front of the fireplace, get the fire going, and prepare a cup of tea. Let your cleric create food, biscuits if possible. Enjoy tea-time.
3. You know, when you finally conquered the dungeon, drove away goblins, and chased nasty spiders out, or to the lower levels - do some spring-cleaning and move in! What, you never thought about that one? With housing cost, and real-estate prices rising everywhere? Get a dungeon!* It's like a hobbit hole, especially if you like visitors. You can lock doors, and barricade entrances to the lower levels, or some portions of the dungeon, so you don't have to worry about the whole area. Nor, will you have to go around dusting all those shelves, remove spider webs and so on.
4. Use empty rooms to build camp. If several rooms are available set up different camps. Leave supplies, and some tools there. Spare weapons, and healing potions, for example. Secure the rooms with traps. Of course, you can. Everybody does that in a dungeon.
5. Should you happen to find 2.000 copper pieces use them to play games, seed a trail through the dungeon (luring monsters where you want them to go), throw them down into that fountain, and make wishes. What's the fuzz about 2.000 cp in an empty room? There are so many uses you can put both to. Don't complain, play!
6. Build a nest for love birds. I mean, really, isn't it sort of romantic to slip away with your flame into the dark dungeon, and occupy that empty room? Share ideas on how to furniture it together. Find the best, and safest route in and out of the dungeon.
7. Fill it with lots of colourful balloons, or squishy balls. Dive in. It's fun. Monsters are gonna love it, too. Just wait until the word has spread, and you've got the rest of the dungeon for yourselves.

Enjoy your empty rooms.

*Actually, that makes for a nice encounter. NPC parties who occupy the dungeon to prepare to move in. And who will get all that treasure?

[magic item] Rod of Powerful Thought Waves

This rod is made of the gnarled wood of an old blood-tree found in the northern marshes beyond the darkscape. Carved bone from the skull of a dragon form the handle, and the head is a ball of rare metal that fell from the sky. The rod can be used as a club +1 (+3 vs. skeletons). One of its powers allows the wielder to send his thoughts out as a wave that travels up to 30 miles. Any sentient, or magical being will receive the thought.
A command word must be thought for the power to work and the rod must be in reach though it needn't be touched . It can be used to command armies, send messages, and drive people insane.

On creating your own material for role-playing games

I am happy with a simple set of rules for which it is easy to create new material. I do not mean new character classes that do the superduper stuff, or recreate fictional character cliches such as the ranger class.

I like to write text and thus create new artifacts, spells, places, riddles, landscapes, and cities, and their inhabitants. That's why I write magic items. They appear before my inner eye, and I write about them. Or sometimes I sit down to write, and when I begin the description of a place, some people, or an item forms in the text.

Reading published source books on magic items and such things rather bores me. When I read a set of rules all those spell descriptions, monster stats, and magic item tables rarely receive a glance from me. Especially with all those retro-clones, and their originals. I owned lots of equipment source books for all kinds of systems. They are as fascinating as catalogs for musical equipment, I know. You can rummage about and think of how this guitar, and that amp might fit and feel, but in the end its wasting time on fantasies. Worse still, rpg equipment books are doubly a waste of time, because they're catalogs for a virtual world. So, it's fantasizing about non-existing stuff for a rather non-existing character in such a game world. It can suck you in, I know.

My point is, I don't like reading that stuff from published books. I enjoy writing it, and reading it from time to time. Funny, eh?

I've come to appreciate the Basic Fantasy RPG because it is free. I own a printed copy from Lulu, but nonetheless it's available for free. There is no need for me to buy equipment source books. And there is no need for me to read the spell section, monster section, or magic item section in the BFRPG. I can skip it, and use the rules section. Or I could edit the BFRPG odt-document and throw that stuff out. The tiny OGL 0e heartbreaker that I mentioned quite frequently in the last few articles follows a similar approach. I wrote it from scratch, left that boring spell stuff out, and put some ideas on how to tweak the system in.

Anyway, I can understand it if people do not like reading about my magic items. And it would be beside the point to argue that these items are quite unique, and ought to be published professionally with nice illustrations. ;-)

I enjoy writing text, even though it is hard work.

AutoWrite 50 - Apfelerkenntnis

"apfelerkenntnis" (ald)

[magic item] Memory Tablet of the Eye

The memory tablet is about one square foot in size, one inch thick. It has a crystal surface embellished with precious metals, and it is framed in dark red wood. When the command word is spoken the crystal surface captures an image of what lies in front of its surface, and stores it. Command words can be used to hide the image, or delete it. The captured image is lifelike, and eerily enough reacts to light. So, if the image was taken in a dark room, it can be lit by holding a light source next to it.

OSR and lethality - One does not simply walk into 'Megadungeon'

'One does not simply walk into that place of darkness!' Boromir actually has an old school perspective, while Aragorn and the rest are a bunch of new school story-tellers who rely on their DM's good-will (read DM's fiat) when setting out as nine companions and with no hirelings to invade the realm of darkness and destroy the enemy's artifact of power, firmly believing that, because they are the player characters, they ought to succeed for the sake of the story. And of course, the DM being a new school type himself lets the old school guy die.

Suggested Reading
Over at the Basic Fantasy RPG Blog there is an article on 'What is Old School?'. A good read on the effects of long and detailed character generation in some systems, game balance and some thoughts on the Basic Fantasy RPG, as well. (Tolkien obviously spent a lot of time on character creation.)

*

I read another post on the fighter class with statistical data on the chances of survival in different editions of the D&D game. (I cannot find the link anymore. It's on the great 1d8 blog.) Way-back editions were rather dangerous (lethal) systems for player characters while the 3+ editions seem to be piece-of-cake/god mode-variants where players can drive their characters through hordes of enemies. It seems to me to be a mixture of hubris-inspired day-dreaming, video game aesthetics, and ignorance. I understand the video game experience, and day-dreaming is important. The ignorance part bothers me. Players have to accept boundaries, at the table, in their off-table lives, and within the game world. Ignoring the boundaries of another character (PC, NPC, or monster) leads to conflict.
There is one thing I do not like about AI in computer games. These AI controlled characters act like players, attacking everything on sight. It is such a bad thing, that there are no encounter reaction tables for player characters.

Lethality should make you pause, and think for a while.

Walking into the dragon's den is trespassing, intrusion of its territory, and is easily interpreted as threatening. So, why wonder, if the dragon attacks? Leave him alone, you plate-mailed magic-sword wielding bullies. And you dwarves! Thinking you can claim your old gold, and defeat the mighty Smaug by brandishing your old grudge, and a hobbit-thief alone? And who slayed your dragon, anyway?
When you delve into the dungeon, be prepared, or else leave the site to live another day, and find suitable adventure elsewhere. (Remember how Boromir did not want to delve into the Megadungeon of Moria?)

On your next encounter evade, move along. Take a walk on the sunny side of the street, instead.

Lose balance to find balance.

Notes: 

• I love Tolkien's work, and I like the Jackson-cum-Henchmen&Hirelings-interpretation of The Lord of the Rings, and The Hobbit. 
• And I defend DM's fiat over exacting rules enforcement. The rules are made for the gamers, not the other way around. 
• And I like different playing styles: old school types, and new school types.
• Also, I do like Aragorn, and the Companions' bold effort to sneak into Mordor. In fact, they did not behave like players in some games. They snuck. Players don't do that.
• I yet have to find out what that last cryptic sentence means to me. I wrote it with some blurred idea on game balance in my mind. 
• I know that my LotR/TH example is not quite appropriate as the stories were written by an author, and not invented during play.
• There is no real problem here. Move along. Play a game.

Wie ich Mitglied des Internationalen Ordens von Risus wurde...

Risus - The Anything RPG ist ein sechsseitiges regelleichtes Rollenspielsystem von S. John Ross für Spieler mit Witz, Humor und schlechter Laune. Die schlechte Laune ist keine Voraussetzung, aber sollte man sie haben, wir man sie mit großer Wahrscheinlichkeit während der Lektüre der Regeln, der Charakterschaffung und des Spiels los.

Für alle, die lieber auf Deutsch, Japanisch oder Esperanto lesen, gibt es eine entsprechende Übersetzung.

Der Risus Companion

Ich habe schon eine Menge Material für Rollenspiele gelesen. Der Risus Companion zählt zu den unterhaltsamsten Texten des Rollenspielbereichs.
Der vierundsechszigseitigen Risus Companion ergänzt und erläutert die sechs Seiten Regeln. Außerdem gibt es jede Menge Lesespaß, eine Anleitung zum Strichmännchenzeichnen und alles Wissenswerte über Klischees. Wer irgendwann ein Seminar oder Workshop zu Klischees besucht oder hält, kommt am Risus Companion nicht vorbei. Er kostet (als PDF, mit der Erlaubnis zuhause zu drucken) inkl. der Mitgliedschaft im Internationalen Orden von Risus $10 (Das sind zur Zeit des Schreibens etwa 7,70 Euro.)

Spielmechanik

Spieler bestimmen bei der Charakterschaffung mehrere Klischees für ihre Spielfigur. Zehn sechsseitige Würfel dürfen verteilt werden. Ein Klischee mit dem Wert (3) gilt als professionell. Sollte während des Spiels eine Würfelprobe fällig werden, weil die Spielfigur eine Handlung probiert, die unter ihr Klischee fällt, so würfelt der Spieler eine entsprechende Anzahl Würfel gegen einen vom Spielleiter bestimmten Schwierigkeitswert (z.B. 10). Die Würfel werden addiert und die Handlung gelingt sofern der Wert erreicht oder übertroffen wird.

Beispielsweise könnte man einen solchen Charakter entwerfen:
Red N. Axela
Rollenspielhausregelbastelblogger (2)
E-Gitarrist (4)
Pizzabäcker (1)
*irgendwasanderes (3)

Um einen lesenswerten Rollenspielhausregelartikel (Schwierigkeit 10) zu verfassen, würfelt Red mit zwei sechsseitigen Würfel. Schwierigkeit 10 ist selbst für Professionelle eine Herausforderung, daher sagen wir mal, Red wolle nur einen Rollenspielhausregelartikel verfassen und lassen das lesenswert weg. Dann sind wir bei Schwierigkeit 5, und er hat mit seinen zwei Würfeln auch 'ne Chance. Hauptsache was veröffentlicht, wa?

Man kann angeblich einen Charakter innerhalb von zwanzig Sekunden schaffen. Solange man in der Lage ist, mit dem ersten Blödsinn, der einem einfällt, loszuspielen, ist das möglich und sehr unterhaltsam. Der gemeine Rollenspieler wird sich mit den Entscheidungen wohl etwas schwerer tun.

Was freut mich an Risus?

Risus ist unterhaltsam, leicht und eignet sich für sämtlichen erdenklichen Unsinn. Das macht es zum Kandidaten für kommende Spielabende mit Nicht-Rollenspielern, denen es als lustiges soziales Würfelspiel vorgestellt werden kann.

Außerdem darf ich nun als Mitglied das I.O.R. Wappen auf meinem Blog zeigen. Ausjemalt ha'icks selba mit GIMP. Ich zeige es hier noch einmal extragroß, damit seine ganze Umwerfigkeit deutlich wird.

"Imprimatur Domi" lat. - Es werde zuhause gedruckt!

Bzw. die Erlaubnis zuhause zu drucken -

nachdem man den Risus Companion erworben hat. 

Zum Wappen

Ich sehe mittlerweile einen Spielleiter hinter einem grünen Spielleiterschirm an einem Tisch, auf dem drei Würfel liegen (4,6,5) und an dem drei weitere Spieler sitzen. Der Spielleiter hält einen Würfel (3) in der rechten Hand. Vielleicht jubelt er, vielleicht will er die Spieler erschrecken oder hat sie schon erschreckt und freut sich nun darüber, oder er bewirft die Spieler mit Würfeln während er sich hinter dem Spielleiterschirm versteckt. Egal, jedenfalls sah ich in dem Wappen, bevor ich mit der Ausmalerei begann, ein Risusmännchen der Sonne gleich hinter dem Horizont erscheinen, weswegen ich mich auch für diese Farben entschied.

Wie wurde ich denn nun Mitglied im Internationalen Orden von Risus?

Ich bestellte nach reichlicher Überlegung den Risus Companion. Dann war ich drin.*

* Von dem geheimen Initiationsritual will ich an dieser Stelle nicht sprechen.