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| Ho! Ho! Ho! I'll swallow your soul! |
Showing posts with label Orcus. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Orcus. Show all posts
December 24, 2010
December 13, 2010
My Players are Awesome
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| Ha freakin' ha. |
We had our last session for 2010 last Friday and my players surprised me with a bucket load of Christmas gifts.
- Dungeon Master For Dummies
(Smart-asses. Yes, that is the correct title; I'm not sure why it's not Dungeon Mastering for Dummies)
- A LEGO Jester
(I use a Red Jester from the Tome of Horrors II as a reoccuring character in the campaign.)
- An Orcus and his followers mini gift pack (an Aspect of Orcus as well as a ton of Orcus priest minis)
- AND Oh-hell-no-you-didn't-fuck-yeah-you-did!:
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| Orcus impresses Snow White and Sleeping Beauty with his "wand." |
August 25, 2010
Frog God Games, the OSR, and a big ol' "Huh?"
Ok, so first off, I'm a hardcore Necromancer Games fanboy. Without a doubt, they have
made some of my favorite RPG products. So when Bill Webb (a.k.a. Tsathogga), an NG co-founder, announced its resurrection as Frog God Games, I was stoked. I still am. Bill had been more of the silent partner at NG (Clark Peterson, a.k.a. Orcus, being the more vocal spokesman), so it was interesting to see Bill grab the wheel.
Recently, FGG made some big news by announcing they'd be producing a new edition of OSR favorite, Swords & Wizardry. The OSR community rejoiced.
Then folks found some interesting text on FGG's About Us page and there has not been much rejoicing. I have put the entire text so you, Gentle Reader, can see the whole context. I have underlined the shit-storm causing text, though:
----
"Who We Are
We consist of old grognard gamers, including a brilliant layout guy, and a cartographer who was not even a gamer when we recruited him. We have more than a few writing credits to our name, and have decided after dealing with publishers, printers and middlemen to head off on our own and make some books. We have developed friendships with, and worked with the best and most famous writers in the industry. We are the real deal.
Who We Aren't
We are not the guys who are going to offer bargain basement junk for a quick buck. We won't sell you hand drawn maps and clip art laid out by amateurs and posted up on Lulu.com as a cheap book that you look at and discard.
We won't fill your players coffers with millions of gold pieces and powerful magic items either, at least not without great efforts. Our encounters won't be "balanced" to make sure no one dies, and a 3rd level monster may or may not have 50.2 gp (like its supposed to in certain rule books). Death will be frequent, but fair, and players who fail to use their heads will surely lose them.
After all, Tsathogga's special attack is "eats 1d6 adventurers per round". Adventurers taste like chicken....errrr, flies."
---
That text has been on the FGG site from day one. I know that because I read it then and thought it was odd. No one took notice in the OSR-o-sphere until the recent FGG/S&W announcement (understandably so, since FGG had only talked about Pathfinder products up to that point).
So what do I think of this? That text had me scratching my head when I first read it and does so now. Bill Webb has stated on the NG forums that he plays 0e D&D via Swords & Wizardry (available, uhm, on Lulu: link). He has stated he has committed to articles for Knockspell, a well-known OSR magazine.
I think the words were very poorly chosen, to say the least. But Bill seems to have inadvertently lumped in the very game he plays. That tells me this isn't simply "the OSR was crap until now!" It will be interesting to hear his explanation. I get why fans are upset, but I want to hear his response.
If nothing else, I think James Raggi's response kicks ass: link
Recently, FGG made some big news by announcing they'd be producing a new edition of OSR favorite, Swords & Wizardry. The OSR community rejoiced.
Then folks found some interesting text on FGG's About Us page and there has not been much rejoicing. I have put the entire text so you, Gentle Reader, can see the whole context. I have underlined the shit-storm causing text, though:
----
"Who We Are
We consist of old grognard gamers, including a brilliant layout guy, and a cartographer who was not even a gamer when we recruited him. We have more than a few writing credits to our name, and have decided after dealing with publishers, printers and middlemen to head off on our own and make some books. We have developed friendships with, and worked with the best and most famous writers in the industry. We are the real deal.
Who We Aren't
We are not the guys who are going to offer bargain basement junk for a quick buck. We won't sell you hand drawn maps and clip art laid out by amateurs and posted up on Lulu.com as a cheap book that you look at and discard.
We won't fill your players coffers with millions of gold pieces and powerful magic items either, at least not without great efforts. Our encounters won't be "balanced" to make sure no one dies, and a 3rd level monster may or may not have 50.2 gp (like its supposed to in certain rule books). Death will be frequent, but fair, and players who fail to use their heads will surely lose them.
After all, Tsathogga's special attack is "eats 1d6 adventurers per round". Adventurers taste like chicken....errrr, flies."
---
That text has been on the FGG site from day one. I know that because I read it then and thought it was odd. No one took notice in the OSR-o-sphere until the recent FGG/S&W announcement (understandably so, since FGG had only talked about Pathfinder products up to that point).
So what do I think of this? That text had me scratching my head when I first read it and does so now. Bill Webb has stated on the NG forums that he plays 0e D&D via Swords & Wizardry (available, uhm, on Lulu: link). He has stated he has committed to articles for Knockspell, a well-known OSR magazine.
I think the words were very poorly chosen, to say the least. But Bill seems to have inadvertently lumped in the very game he plays. That tells me this isn't simply "the OSR was crap until now!" It will be interesting to hear his explanation. I get why fans are upset, but I want to hear his response.
If nothing else, I think James Raggi's response kicks ass: link
April 8, 2010
Cloudy with a Chance of Orcus – Whiteboard Uses for RPG Gaming
In my post about the showdown in the Upper Temple of Orcus, Omote noticed a strange “map/poster” sitting on an easel in one of the pictures:
That is a piece of extra shower board/tile board/Melamine. Before I started using my massive battle map, I used two pieces of “whiteboard” purchased on the cheap from Craig’s List. The lady selling them didn’t know they weren’t real whiteboards (neither did I). Anyhow, they were cheap and these extra pieces are damn handy. Oh, the easel is my wife’s, but I long ago commandeered it for my own twisted purposes.
Various uses:
- Mapping - I stand in front of the whiteboard and draw an overview dungeon map as the party explores. This makes me feel like some strange, Gygaxian weatherman, but it works very well. It makes the mapper’s job easier and gives all the players a sense of where their characters are. It may sound like extra work, but it actually speeds up play because the players don’t need to question me as much about dungeon details.
- Initiative Tracking – I often write the initiative order on the board so that everyone in the group has a clear idea of when their turn is coming up.
- Extra Battle Room – I bust out these pieces when the battle spills over the area on the large battle map. It happens more than you’d think in a dungeon the scale of Rappan Athuk
[especially if the DM (uhm, me) doesn’t start drawing at a good point on the large map].
- Artwork – My girls love to draw on these surfaces.
March 31, 2010
Showdown in the Upper Temple of Orcus – Part II: Grinding
[general Rappan Athuk spoiler warning]
[photos compliments of Dave the Knave]
We left our heroes facing down a hezrou demon. Apart from some pesky green gargoyles, he was the only threat since the party had routed the babau doormen and slaughtered the Orcus priests and their bodyguards. To clarify something, the party had long ago found the magical backdoor into the Upper Temple of Orcus and used it for this assault.
Most of the party knew the hezrou had successfully summoned something in the previous round, given his shit-eating grin. So what had he summoned? Dretches. Lots and lots of dretches. 33 to be precise. Given the party’s fodder count, I figured the hezrou would respond in kind and opt for the dretches rather than another hezrou.
What followed was a real grinder of a session. It was fun, but damn if 3.5 D&D combat isn’t as slow as hell. Thankfully, Sam came packing the tequila to ease the pain….
Rather than bore you with a lengthy play-by-play, here are the highlights:
- The dretches’ physical attacks and the hezrou’s unholy blight and chaos hammer abilities thinned out the ranks of the NPC fodder, but the PC heroes were doing fairly well.
- When the hezrou broke out the ol’ blasphemy, the players started to sweat. All remaining NPCs were paralyzed and a most of the PCs were weakened and dazed.
- Roxxor the “chaotic awesome” half-ogre barbarian did a great Frazetta painting impression by taking to the central platform over the lava pit and chopping down dretches with ease. Alas, he was outnumbered, and, once paralyzed by the blasphemy, was shoved into the lava. He quickly became “chaotic ash.”
- Things looked bleak for the heroes, but here is how they saved their bacon:
1. The cleric cast magic circle against chaos and consecrate, creating a bubble of protection from which the group could operate.
2. The shaman (ala Green Ronin’s The Shaman's Handbook) used his rebuking ability to gain control of the dretches that were within the consecrated area.
3. The shaman sent the dretches into melee with the hezrou, who,so enraged by their insolence, focused his attacks on them rather than the party.
4. The wizard was able to fire off a caster level 16 (!) dismissal scroll (previously procured from a loot stash in the dungeon’s lower levels) and, wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am, the hezrou was sent back to the Abyss, cursing the heroes with his middle fingers in the air.
- On top of that, the dragon shaman’s (ala the Player's Handbook II
) vigor aura ability kept many of the disabled NPCs from outright dying, so a few members of the fodder brigade survived the battle.
The party has seized the temple. Now the question is: can they hold it for 24 hours?
We left our heroes facing down a hezrou demon. Apart from some pesky green gargoyles, he was the only threat since the party had routed the babau doormen and slaughtered the Orcus priests and their bodyguards. To clarify something, the party had long ago found the magical backdoor into the Upper Temple of Orcus and used it for this assault.
Most of the party knew the hezrou had successfully summoned something in the previous round, given his shit-eating grin. So what had he summoned? Dretches. Lots and lots of dretches. 33 to be precise. Given the party’s fodder count, I figured the hezrou would respond in kind and opt for the dretches rather than another hezrou.
What followed was a real grinder of a session. It was fun, but damn if 3.5 D&D combat isn’t as slow as hell. Thankfully, Sam came packing the tequila to ease the pain….
- The dretches’ physical attacks and the hezrou’s unholy blight and chaos hammer abilities thinned out the ranks of the NPC fodder, but the PC heroes were doing fairly well.
- When the hezrou broke out the ol’ blasphemy, the players started to sweat. All remaining NPCs were paralyzed and a most of the PCs were weakened and dazed.
- Roxxor the “chaotic awesome” half-ogre barbarian did a great Frazetta painting impression by taking to the central platform over the lava pit and chopping down dretches with ease. Alas, he was outnumbered, and, once paralyzed by the blasphemy, was shoved into the lava. He quickly became “chaotic ash.”
- Things looked bleak for the heroes, but here is how they saved their bacon:
1. The cleric cast magic circle against chaos and consecrate, creating a bubble of protection from which the group could operate.
2. The shaman (ala Green Ronin’s The Shaman's Handbook) used his rebuking ability to gain control of the dretches that were within the consecrated area.
3. The shaman sent the dretches into melee with the hezrou, who,so enraged by their insolence, focused his attacks on them rather than the party.
4. The wizard was able to fire off a caster level 16 (!) dismissal scroll (previously procured from a loot stash in the dungeon’s lower levels) and, wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am, the hezrou was sent back to the Abyss, cursing the heroes with his middle fingers in the air.
- On top of that, the dragon shaman’s (ala the Player's Handbook II
) vigor aura ability kept many of the disabled NPCs from outright dying, so a few members of the fodder brigade survived the battle.The party has seized the temple. Now the question is: can they hold it for 24 hours?
March 26, 2010
The Showdown continues...
[general Rappan Athuk spoiler warning]
The Showdown in the Upper Temple of Orcus continues tonight. Last time, the players spent a decent amount of session time prepping for the battle, so we didn't get too far into it. However, they did make it into the temple with their army of NPC fodder. Since this is the party's second assault on the temple, its inhabitants have changed. A sizable portion of clerics and Orcus thugs were quickly wiped out by the party's wizard's well-placed, and empowered, fireball. Some Green Gargoyles did manage to get the jump on the party's rogue (who took to the air via a potion of flying).
Also...a Type II demon (a.k.a. a Hezrou) was waiting for them and appears to have successfully summoned something.... the party finds out what tonight.
Also...a Type II demon (a.k.a. a Hezrou) was waiting for them and appears to have successfully summoned something.... the party finds out what tonight.
February 26, 2010
Showdown in the Upper Temple of Orcus
[general Rappan Athuk spoiler warning]
Tonight’s session promises to be a great one.
The History: A long time ago, the party cleared out the Upper Temple of Orcus. Due to clever preparation and brilliant tactics, the party handled the temple like pros. However, they got cocky. Shortly after the temple battle, and before the party could sanctify it permanently, a group of specters nearly wiped out the entire party. Only two characters survived.
Now, after a long time of strengthening new characters and amassing loot and supplies, the party aims to clean out that temple once and for all. They plan on freeing a mass of adventurers they found who were turned to stone by basilisks. What is the price for being freed? The adventurers “get” to help cleanse the temple. "Army" might be a better term than "party" at this point.
The Problem: The only way to sanctify the temple for good is to cast hallow on it. Hallow takes a day to cast. That’s right, the party has to hold the temple for 24 hours.
This is going to be one for the record books.
Tonight’s session promises to be a great one.
The History: A long time ago, the party cleared out the Upper Temple of Orcus. Due to clever preparation and brilliant tactics, the party handled the temple like pros. However, they got cocky. Shortly after the temple battle, and before the party could sanctify it permanently, a group of specters nearly wiped out the entire party. Only two characters survived.
Now, after a long time of strengthening new characters and amassing loot and supplies, the party aims to clean out that temple once and for all. They plan on freeing a mass of adventurers they found who were turned to stone by basilisks. What is the price for being freed? The adventurers “get” to help cleanse the temple. "Army" might be a better term than "party" at this point.
The Problem: The only way to sanctify the temple for good is to cast hallow on it. Hallow takes a day to cast. That’s right, the party has to hold the temple for 24 hours.
This is going to be one for the record books.
February 22, 2010
General Rappan Athuk Spoiler Warning
Perhaps I should have made this clear from the onset, but this blog will occasionally reference details about my group's exploits in Rappan Athuk
. If you haven't played through it, you may find the occasional spoiler here. There aren't likely to be many as I'm too lazy to write up big session reports. I do write small blurbs now and then, though. A few of my players read this blog (much to my delight), so I won't be offering up anything their PCs haven't already stumbled upon.
Anyhow, you've been warned.
. If you haven't played through it, you may find the occasional spoiler here. There aren't likely to be many as I'm too lazy to write up big session reports. I do write small blurbs now and then, though. A few of my players read this blog (much to my delight), so I won't be offering up anything their PCs haven't already stumbled upon.Anyhow, you've been warned.
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