Tuesday, January 15, 2019

Gnome Titans on Tellene [Hackmaster]


So, a bit of reconstruction about the Gnome Titans, using existing sources. Externally, the Gnome Titans exist on Tellene because they were an import from Hackmaster 4e's Garweeze Wurld/Aldrazar, but since they exist on Tellene, they must have come from somewhere... there must be a point where they ceased being gnomes, and became TITANS!

The Hacklopedia says that gnome titans are from the Vrykarr Mountains (p. 137). When we look at the section on the Vrykarr Mountains in Kingdoms of Kalamar, we find


Vrykarr Mountains: This broad northern swath of the Ka’Asa range separates the Reanaaria Bay city-states from the Dejy steppes. Nestled in its worn alpine peaks are many cozy little valleys wherein gnomes can be found in large numbers. The scattered clans have a loosely organized government of twelve cantons that were originally formed some 300 years ago to rid the area of unsavory goblinoid inhabitants. A tireless vigil is maintained to ward off the many giants found in the upper reaches of the Vrykarrs. Occasional humanoid raiding parties are also encountered. Though not abundant in natural wealth, these mountains do yield gold, silver and gems to those who know its secrets.

From that, I would wager that the gnome titan "subrace" is only a few hundred years old, with its genesis about 300 years ago, and its third generation really coming into its own, now (per HOB 136, gnomish generations are 100-130 years long; assume the gnomes born 300ybp were the first raised as gnome titans, and their children would be born ~170-200ybp, the third generation being born ~70-40 ybp, making them "PC age" per the Player's Handbook, page 118). In older generations, you'd still see myopia and the ability to speak with animals (gnome titans live 380-450 years, on average), but by the current generation, that would be largely gone. Perhaps animal speech would be a Talent some have? Or even a proficiency, or an option for Bilingual Gnome Titans?

Their skill against giant-kin (more broadly based than the gnomish bonus), and slightly lesser skill against humanoids (+1 and higher per-level bonus v. gnomish +2) tracks with the section on the Vrykarrs... they eliminated a lot of the goblinoids a couple hundred years ago, but now contend largely with giants and the occasional humanoid. It looks like Skarna is a major trading partner (KoK, page 50), though they also had, at least at one point, relations with Thybaj (KoK, p. 52).

The core of their territory is likely the large river valley between 5* and 6* east, and 41* and 42* North; good place to set up a lot of Cantons. I base this on the fact that they likely live near the Counai Heights (noted for its giant population, KoK, pg 60), but figure they only spread east of 6* East once they get north of 42* N (past the Vry Naasu Highlands). They'd hold the eastern, higher parts of the Jenth ridges, but most of that territory is Thybajan. Want to meet a gnome titan? Ryrej and Slero, Fashyr if you don't want to get out in the sticks.

This is what I figure with a bit of digging into the HoB, KoK, and PH.

Thursday, January 10, 2019

Krond Heights, Goblin Deeps

And, just like that, I finished my next project for Kenzerco... the slightly less ambitious "Krond Heights, Goblin Deeps", covering the Krond Heights and the land beneath. An empire of goblins lives beneath the surface in the ruins of the first dwarven kingdom, contending with fungus-crazed morlocks, spider-obsessed kobolds, and warily dealing with the giants who live above. White Orcs and Sn'ogres of the glaciers, Capritaurs who fight gargoyles for the right to ancient Helvtian ruins, halflings who have enslaved themselves to goblins, and a war led by the last remnant of ancient dwarven people, using ratmen as fodder against the goblins.

A more modest length, only 29,000 words (about 50 pages in a word processor), it covers yodeling, the weird things that happen when goblins rule halflings, unnamed ancient terrors kept at bay by priestesses of the Riftmaster, unnamed ancient terrors who sometimes stop by to visit those priestess, and the sneaking suspicion that maybe you shouldn't trust the people whose kingdom you conquered a thousand years ago to make your tea.

Friday, November 30, 2018

North of P'Bapar, West of Dobyo: A Gazeteer of the Shadesh West

So, recently, most of my creative energy has gone towards my hopefully-soon-to-be-published work for Kenzerco, The Shadesh West.

As the title says, it concerns the Sanakir and Shashyf Hills, the Padiras River Valley, the Western Brindonwood, Mount Keypar-Urtha (the mountain that lies between the Padiras River and the Western Brindonwood), and Lake Tetzlmere, the long, narrow lake between Keypar-Urtha and Du'Kemp Swamp. Much of the area is underdeveloped, and it seemed like a fun area to expand, especially since it's so near to northern P'Bapar, where Frandor's Keep is located. Like the P'Bapar books, it will be released in several parts. I also converted an adventure, already set in the northern Sanakirs, which should be available as the rest of the material is released.

I'm really excited about this. As you may know, I first proposed this series to them in 2016, but didn't here much back from them until recently. Now, I've produced 55,000 words about goblins, orcs, werewolves, gnomes, hags, wyrms, and wargs. There are holy places, lesbian halfling communes, and an arm of a vast kingdom of goblins. Giant spiders do war with a lone dragon-kin.

I really look forward to being able to share it with you.

Friday, November 2, 2018

Sixteen Credits

A short filk about college debt I co-authored with Steven Brust.

I will admit to a degree of squeeing that I get to do this sometimes. My years of writing weird lyrics to existing songs pays off!

Wednesday, June 27, 2018

Hackmaster Surprise Example [Hackmaster]

(Another post from the KenzerCo message boards, here for easy reference)

Let's say 4 goblins ambush 4 PCs. The goblins will use standard goblin stats; he humans will be, for our purposes, a Man-at-Arms, a Brigand (with Improved Awareness), A Laborer, and a Sedentary ('cause they're all together in the HoB).

Goblins are in a prepared ambush, have their weapons ready, and are set to go. They will be rolling d3+3 for initiative (because Goblins have a +3)

The Brigand (B) and the Laborer (L) noticed the goblins; the Man-at-Arms (M) and the Sedentary (S) (engaged in a petty argument) do not.

Initiative rolls for the party are:
L d8+5 ("Can hear opponents in a concrete direction, but not see them", p 216 of PH)
B d6+2 (Same as the Laborer, but he gets 1 initiative die smaller from Improved Awareness)
M d12+4
S d12+3

Everyone rolls their die and gives their total. Initiatives are:

G1: 1+3=4
G2: 2+3=5
G3: 2+3=5
G4: 3+3=6
L: 4+5=9
B: 5+2=7
M: 9+4=13
S: 10+3=13

Because the Brigand rolled poorly, all the goblins will get to act before he does and, unless the first goblin hits someone, the goblins will all act before the party. If Goblin 1 hits someone, that person will go on 4 (the goblin's initiative) +2 (page 217, last paragraph of second column), or 6, which is the same time as Goblin 4. We'll say that the Sedentary got hit by Goblin 1. Goblins 2 and 3 fire normally on an entirely surprised party, but they miss. Goblin 4 also fires, but S is not surprised when he does so. If this were melee combat, surprised characters would be rolling a d8 defense die, with no bonus... but since the goblins are shooting at moving (walking) targets, the party still gets a d20 defense die (p. 218 of the PH). L & M might get the cover value of their shields, depending on their arc of defense (p. 224, 225 PH).

So, Goblin 1 hit S, whose new initiative is 6. S is a bit of a wuss, and starts screaming bloody blue murder (he's been ToPed, but you can still start screaming "I've been shot" while ToPed, IMO, which counts) on 6. This means he is "Raising the Hue and Cry" (p. 217 of PH), and everyone's initiatives drop by 2. This doesn't affect the goblins... they've all gone. With an 8 speed on a snapshot, the Goblins will be going again on 12, 13, 13, and 14. Normally, G1 would be able to fire on a surprised M with his second shot, but S's Hue and Cry means that the new initiatives are B 7 (it decreased by 2, but can't act before the second after the Hue and Cry), L 7 (dropped by 2), and M 11.

Now, with B moving towards them (and probably telling his friends where they are), the goblins might wind up changing their next actions entirely... if B and L start walking towards G1 on 7, G1 will have a couple seconds to drop his bow and ready his weapon... and he doesn't really need any, since he's got a Small weapon, which takes 0 seconds to ready. G1 drops his bow and draws his short sword on 7 (it's a 0 second action). G2, next to G1, also draws his short sword; G3 and G4, on the other side of the cavern, decide to keep firing. L & B reach their goblins on 9 (L is NOT readying his shield, since it will take too much time), and there's a brief reach comparison, which G1 loses (he's a goblin, they're humans). L and B start smacking goblins on 9; With a speed of 8, B will get his next attack on 17, and L will get his on 19 with his speed of 10. G1 and G2 will get their next attack on 18... since they had a shorter reach, they have to wait until second 10 to attack (p. 223).

On second 11, M gets to act. He stays put, standing over S until he's better, readying his weapon and shield. Readying a shield takes 1d4p+1 seconds; he'll have his shield readied on 15, but his sword will be readied on 12 (1 second ready time; p. 218). This means G3 (count 13) and G4 (count 14) will get shots on an unshielded M, who only gets to roll a d12 for defense (since he's standing over S). This is why you wear armor, kiddies.

At this point, everyone (except S) is up and engaged and the regular combat continues. Due to a rough roll on B's part, the goblins had 3 seconds of surprise... had B rolled a 3 (5 total), G1 would've been the only one with complete surprise. Had B rolled a 1 (3 total), he might have thrown a dagger on 3 (0 ready time, plus a snapshot), injuring one of the goblins, and catching THEM by surprise.

Tuesday, June 26, 2018

Oriental Adventures Styles in your AD&D campaign

So, I like the martial arts styles created in Oriental Adventures (and, subsequently, in the Complete Ninja's Handbook). While the Complete Fighter/Combat and Tactics styles are fine, they're also very generic, and don't add neat special abilities to warriors, like wizards and clerics get at higher levels. So, I started thinking about using the old OA styles in a non-Asian-flavored campaign setting. This uses the mechanics of OA Martial Arts, but presumes that practically everyone serious about combat will have a martial arts style. If your fighter favors a longsword, he might have a Weapon style that focuses on its use... or he may use a style that focuses on Blocks, and takes full advantage of his shield. Or a style that focuses on movement, unlocking feints, leaps, and superhuman speed.



Conversions from AD&D to Hackmaster [Hackmaster]

This is something I developed on the Kenzerco Message Boards, as "How do I convert material from AD&D to Hackmaster" is a not-uncommon question. These are not perfect guidelines by any means; they're a means to get you "in the neighborhood", balancing the different mechanics.

General Conversion Rule For Monsters:

Base HP: 10 + size modifier (0 for tiny, 5 for small, 10 for medium, 15 for large, etc), plus normal HD, plus any bonus HP the regular creature has.
Base Attack: HD of original creature
Base Defense/DR: Look at the AC of the original creature; decide how much is agility and how much is toughness. For agility, double that and make it a defense modifier. For toughness, apply the equivalent armor as DR (if they have a 2 AC just from toughness, don't give them an 8 DR, but the DR of plate)
Base Damage: Double what it was in AD&D.

As others will say, there's more art to it than science... while those guidelines above WORK, they need to be looked at and tweaked.

Sample Conversion using these guidelines:

The Ogre.  (They're a simple creature, and available in the free Hackmaster Basic PDF)

An Ogre in 2nd edition AD&D had 4+1 HD, an AC of 5, and did 1d10 damage (or "By weapon +6"). They are size L.

So, we know its HP are going to be 10+15+4d8+1, or 26+4d8. It's AC is 5, but that's going to be all toughness... the equivalent of Chain Mail. Looking at Chain Mail, they have a DR of 5, but -5 defense, +2 initiative, and +2 speed.

Their base attack is going to be +4 (for their HD). We can either call them 2d10p or give them a big weapon and add +12. I prefer the second method for ogres, so we know their strength will be prodigious... assuming the PH chart continues, they have about a 25 strength, meaning a +23 FOS.

A few other things... It's 8 intelligence, so we'll stick its wisdom there, too, giving it a -1 to attack, +3 to intiative, -1 to Defense and Mental Saves. No particular reason to Buff Dexterity, so we leave it at 10.5, for another +2 to initiative. The starting HP assume a Con of 11 (10, +1 because of it's 4+1 HD). That's low, but we'll leave it for now.

So, arming my ogre with a Bardiche (because, in Phantasie III, my brother's epic Ogre Fighter Fogey used a Bardiche), we get something like this...

Hit Points: 26+4d8
Size/Weight: L/650 pounds
Fatigue Factor: +0

Saves
Physical: +4 (base HD)
Mental: +3 (base HD, modified for wisdom)
Dodge: +4 (Base HD)

Attack: +4
Defense: -2
Damage Reduction: 5
Damage: By weapon +12
Speed: 16
Init: +7
Reach: 6'
Trauma Save: 5

This looks a little puny, so I'm going to buff it up... instead of counting it as 4th level, I'm going to count it as a 4 HD fighter, or 8th level, which will give it better saves and a bit of a reduction in speed and initiative. I'm also going to kick up its assumed Constitution, to 15, which gives it 4 more HP, a better TOP, and a bonus to Physical saves.

Hit Points: 30+4d8
Size/Weight: L/650 pounds
Fatigue Factor: -2

Saves
Physical: +10 (base level, plus con bonus)
Mental: +7 (base level, modified for wisdom)
Dodge: +8 (Base level)

Attack: +4
Defense: -2
Damage Reduction: 5
Damage: By weapon +12
Speed: 15
Init: +6
Reach: 6'
Trauma Save: 7

A fair bit stouter, my naked ogre with a big axe.

How does he stack up against a HoB ogre? Here's the same numbers, with the HoB number and commentary in parentheses

Hit Points: 30+4d8 (34+4d8; the HOB seems to assume a 19 constitution, not the 15 I went with)
Size/Weight: L/650 pounds (L/550#; mine may have a lower Con since he seems to be a bit of a porker)
Fatigue Factor: -2 (-2/-1)

Saves
Physical: +10 (+8)
Mental: +7 (+2)
Dodge: +8 (+4.... seems my calculations were a bit off, here)

Attack: +4 (+5)
Defense: -2 (-1)
Damage Reduction: 5 (4)
Damage: By weapon +12 (By Weapon +6; I aimed a bit high, it seems)
Speed: 15 (8)
Init: +6 (+4)
Reach: 6' (long; I think I'm on target, there)
Trauma Save: 7 (9)

So, the HoB Ogre assumes about 4 more points of Con than I did, but about 6 less points of strength. My calculations for saving throws a pretty off, which means I need to revisit them... probably make more sense to base those on HD, not level, since my first numbers were closer. Overall, I'm pretty satisfied with my quick-and-dirty conversion of the ogre, following the above principles. It's not perfect, and there are a couple of clear places where I made mistakes (WAY overinflated their strength and saves; my weapon choice leaves this ogre very slow), but close enough that I'd use it without problem.