Cue the drum roll, the build up of suspense, for today’s “sure is late mister”, #RPGaDAY2020 topic…

“I’ll send an SOS to the world
I’ll send an SOS to the world
I hope that someone gets my
I hope that someone gets my
I hope that someone gets my message in a bottle, yeah
Message in a bottle, yeah”

Ok now that’s out of the system, and I’ve hopefully planted an ear worm, let’s get on with the real post.

For me I think a message is another way to deliver a secret or clue to the party. Whether it is something scrawled on a wall in paint or giving it a more sinister tone blood, to a messenger person running up and handing over a scroll. Although the messenger person could be replaced by a pigeon/owl/bat etc.

But to steal, sorry be inspired by something from Greek legend and movies like Jason and the Argonauts statues could come alive and have the Gods talk to a chosen one. Or like the famous seen from the Bible have a flaming bush.

Which ever way the message is delivered to the party, it will be something that may or may not help them with their current adventure, maybe even send them off in a new direction distracting them from their current task.

Once our campaign starts back up again. I have a message from the past that the party will discover in the form of a journal at a long lost dwarven mine. The plan is to have two copies of the text to give to the players. If one of the party discovers it that does not know dwarven then they get the dwarven rune version of the text. Which will just appear as jibber is to them. However if a dwarf or some-one who can read dwarven discovers it, they get the English version of the journal, with instructions that they need to paraphrase the contents of the journal to the rest of the party (if they wish to share it with them).

The journal will warn the party of the perils they will be facing if they choose to progress deeper into the mine. I borrowed the idea from Tolkien and Lord of the Rings when the Fellowship of the Ring come across The Book of Mazarbul. I hope that the players get and like this little Easter egg.

See you in tomorrows post.

The latest word of inspiration for #RPGaDAY2020 arriving late is…

Below I present to you my outstanding stack of RPG books to read.

You can see why a delay between the US getting Tasha and the UK isn’t raising my blood pressure. I have a nice stack to get through.

Is it day ten or two?

Depends on the number base you are using I suppose.

The inspiring word for this tenth day of waffle for my #RPGaDAY2020 is…

Sadly I’m taking this post very materialistically and treating this as my RPG wants. Or basically wish list.

Mordenkainen’s Tome of Foes has been on my wish list for yonks. But I’ve never pulled the trigger and purchased it. It has really cool chapters giving more in-depth cultural backgrounds for halflings, gnomes etc. Plus even more monster stats to use.

Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything is out at the start of December in the UK (from the 17th November in the US). It’s joined by the wilderness DM screen which is also on my wish list.

Cyberpunk Red is out soon. But I’m looking forward to getting this. I love the theme, the starter set looks good (although not got to the table yet). So getting the full rule set is a no brainier.

The chase cards for the Pathfinder RPG are not on the list any more. They were yesterday when I did the above image. But then I caved and ordered them!

Also not shown but on the list are the Wizkids dinosaur miniatures, their sea creature miniatures, and I want some Stirge miniatures. Skeletons and zombies of various creatures are always on the list to build up the undead horde. Plus any scatter terrain that can be re-used with other systems, not just D&D.

The ultimate item on the wish list is a 3D printer. But that’s a dream purchase.

This wasn’t a great post (but then neither have the previous ones) hopefully things will improve.

With the real world recreating the celebrations at the end of Return of the Jedi or after the house fell on the wicked witch of the East. It’s time to once more pour cold water on all that joy and happiness with another one of my blog posts.

Today’s delayed due to leaves on the track #RPGaDAY2020 pause for thought and reflection is…

Going with the blindingly obvious first thing that came to mind the “light at the end of the tunnel” that is full of hope and optimism. I usually then follow it up with the pessimist part of “is usually a train or oncoming lorry”.

But I’m going to take the quick and obvious approach for today’s theme and present the D&D 5e cantrip Light. This cantrip can be cast by Bards, Clerics, Sorcerers, and Wizards.

Dram my Halfling wizard had Light as one of his cantrips. Not having dark vision meant he needed something to help him see in the dark. It meant I saw this as more a utility spell.

“A cantrip is a spell that can be cast at will, without using a spell slot and without being prepared in advance. Repeated practice has fixed the spell in the caster’s mind and infused the caster with the magic needed to produce the effect over and over. A cantrip’s spell level is 0.”

That description of what a cantrip is from the Players Handbook makes it sound like a utility spell. It’s certainly something Dram would have to use a lot.

As the world waits in anticipation for a winner to be declared in the US Presidential race and the ensuing chaos.

It’s once again time to marvel at my ramblings and that anyone could find them of interest.

Today’s better late than never #RPGaDAY2020 word of invocation is…

It was bound to happen at some point during this series of posts that one (if not more) of the days themes would stump me.

Today is one of those days.

It’s come earlier than I thought it would but now it’s happened.

I looked at the Monster Manual, Volo’s and Mordenkainen’s writings. Nada.

I tried cheating by seeing what others had written. Apparently the is a creature/monster called a shade. But it’s a homebrew.

I miss remembered the Styes in Ghosts of Saltmarsh as the Shades. My memory mixing it with Terry Pratchett’s Discworld and a part of Ankh-Morpork known as the Shades.

Although the Shades would make a brilliant inspiration for a town or part of a city in any campaign independent of the setting.

The Shades is a poor part of Ankh-Morpork that if it was described as rough and dangerous would make it sound like a safe place to visit!

So populating these slums with “colourful” NPCs. People that are struggling to survive day to day, that would kill you for the shoes you are standing in, and the shirt on your back. A place where the police walk around in gangs for safety.

Having a party stumble into The Shades thinking they had reached safety after some sort of encounter such as being chased by a gang or horde of some sort. It’s almost like a horror movie. The ‘final girl’ runs screaming from the woods having survived the killer’s attempts to kill her, to the house with lights on. She bangs on the door. There is no answer. She bangs some more,louder more frantic. Expecting the killer to appear any moment. The door opens. Standing there is a friendly, safe face. But we the audience know that the girl has just gone from the frying pan into the fire. Somehow this person is related to the killer and will try their best to kill the girl.

That’s the best I could do. Add an ‘s’ and talk briefly about a fictional slums from an amazing series of books. Hopefully I can do better tomorrow.

Wow my commitment to doing this belated #RPGaDAY2020 is amazing me. Surely I’ll get bored with it soon, or skip one because it’s too hard!

Today’s word to inspire is…

This is a post of few words. It’s a photo post. Each photo is entitled “A couple of …”

And I’m back.

Bored yet?

Today’s belated #RPGaDAY2020 themed post is…

Forests are everywhere in RPGs and the tales that inspire them. From Hansel and Gretal, Snow White, Little Red Riding Hood to Robin Hood.

The first combat encounter from the D&D Starter Set adventure Lost Mines of Phandelver that new players have is an ambush in woods on the way to Phandalin. A woods is a type of forest!

However for a long time I was flummoxed with a way to have trees on the battle map.

I looked at stuff for war gamers and the options were way out of my budget. Three trees on a base were twenty or thirty pounds or more. And I would need several. The cost soon shot up.

I tried using these “mini” trees (above right). They were cheap but just not the right scale. They looked too small.

I had some 3D models that looked ok in the photos from the various free 3D model websites. But my source of getting stuff printed had moved away.

Luckily I eventually stumbled across these plaster tree stumps (above left). They were affordable (I forget the actual cost, I think they came out less than thirty). Plus to the right scale.

What I like about these is that they show where the trees are, but don’t block what is going on the battle map. The canopy is implied.

Plus they are generic enough that I can use them with the Last Days skirmish game as well, plus any RPG that needs trees.

If I need to have a mini in the canopy of the tree, then I can (and need to get some) use those platforms that are used to show a mini is flying/swimming.

For me these partial tree stumps are a great solution for the RPG session.

This isn’t the greatest post of all time it’s only a…

Ok I apologise for that.

If it helps I do feel a little sleazy and dirty having typed it.

Today’s belated inspiration reminds me of the campaign I am running (and currently on hold, well you know why).

In my campaign which is set around the Moonshae Islands and the Sea of Swords, while reading the section of the Sword Coast Adventurer’s Guide about the Island Kingdoms, in the Mintarn section there was mention of the red dragon Hoondarrh aka the Red Rage to Mintarn. It spoke of how the people of Mintarn paid a tribute to the dragon to gain it’s mercy. I ran with that idea as an adventure hook for the campaign.

The following are basically the notes I wrote in my post mortem posts summarising what happened during the three or four sessions story wise when the players picked up on that adventure hook.

The party of adventurers had ended up on the island of Mintarn via the fishing town Queen’s Cove.

The party was hired to escort the towns contribution to the islands tribute to the Red Rage to Mintarn. Their journey started off eventfully with Sahuagin attacking just before dawn. They also had to clear the road from a fallen tree, and discovered an abandoned guard tower. At Mintarn they were rewarded handsomely for their efforts, and got a chance to spend their reward in a bustling market.

In Mintarn they joined up with a ships captain who had fallen on hard times and his dwarf ships wizard to help them gain a new boat. After defeating some pirates, raiding the warehouse, the party and their ‘new friends’ stole the boat. After hiding the boat the party returned to the tavern. Oh the boat belonged to Angrath the minotaur pirate.

That little helpful deed gave them a boat and two new members to the party.

With a taste for blood and the prospect of winning money the party took part in a historical recreation of an infamous halfling battle at the Mintarn arena as part of a celebration organised by the Tyrant of Mintarn. Which was gatecrashed by the red dragon Hoondarrh, demanding that their tribute is delivered early. Afterwards the Tyrant recruits our party to deliver the tribute to Hoondarrh.

After having a hearty breakfast our ” heroes” were escorted by the City Watch to their newly acquired ship. Waiting for them onboard was Hoondarrh’s tribute, complete with two knights guarding it.

Before setting sail the party were informed Valdor had been kidnapped, and that the Tyrant was in the process of finding out by whom and where he had been taken.

Our party set sail, and after a slight detour during the night, the ship was attacked by sahuagin.

The battle was long and bloody. Eventually our “heroes” won through.

The sahuagins “boat” was searched to no avail. So it was set on fire!

After that it was pretty uneventful as the party delivered the tribute and returned to Mintarn.

I thought I was going to struggle with todays theme. But it was a lot easier than I had anticipated. Especially after yesterdays toughie.

Today’s belated #RPGaDAY2020 theme is…

I thought what can I write about vision? It’s going to be boring writing about dark vision etc in D&D. Then it clicked this is not just D&D. It can be any RPG.

I then thought about Vision the character from the Marvel comics.

I’ve been a Marvel fan since I could read. In fact the UK Marvel comics are the earliest memories I have of reading. The reprints I read had stories from Spider-man, Hulk and Fantastic Four in them. I loved them. I don’t think it would be inaccurate to say Stan Lee and his creations gave me a love of reading, and helped me to improve my reading skills at a young age.

I think I am right in saying that there is currently no official RPG out for the Marvel Universe. So if I wanted to set a campaign in that universe and have Vision appear as an NPC I would have to home brew it using one of the many generic systems out there, such as FATE, WOIN, Genesys, etc.

Back in the 80’s, of which I was a teenager for. TSR produced a Marvel Superheroes RPG. Naturally I had a copy of the base set for it. And you would be right in guessing that I never got to play it.

However in the Avengers Assembled module there were amongst others, stats for Vision.

This is a useful jumping off point, especially the powers for creating Vision as an NPC in a modern system.

My early gut feeling is that I’d try and create Vision as a Nemesis adversary in the Genesys RPG system using the expanded adversary creation rules in the Expanded Players Guide. These make creating an adversary a fairly quick process.

Whilst the Flying and Ghostly special abilities map nicely across to the Flight and Phasing powers (with maybe minor tweaks/restrictions to make them act like the powers they are being mapped to). The other powers do not.

The Solar Beams power I’m tempted to treat like an activated Arcane Bolt Rune from the Realms of Terrinoth source book. So it would be basically a weapon/equipment. However I would like to put a restriction on it’s use. After all this drains his energy. I’m thinking that when vision uses his Solar Beams he incurs some strain.

I’m not sure what Talents I’d give Vision. My current thinking would be Density Control and Attack would be new talents. Ideally there might be something close to how they work already. If not then they would have to be created from scratch. But like the Solar Beam their use would have a strain cost as well.

I think Power Source would be a passive talent that heals strain. I like the idea of using strain to track Visions power. It acts just like we need it to for the power side of things.

Finally I would use the Super Characteristics rule from the Superheroes Tone section of the Core Rulebook. This allows for the choosing of two characteristics that become super powers. I’m not sure how this would effect the Adversary Power Levels, if at all.

The above have been some early thoughts for how I would create a Vision NPC for a Marvel Superheroes based campaign. What system would you use to run such a campaign and why?