Questing with MicroBattle

Previously, I posted a short adventure wherein I used a variant of my MicroBattle rules. One reader asked about the rules so I thought I'd play an adventure and provide running commentary.

Character Creation

My goal is to create an extremely rules light experience, so that I don't have track a lot of information. As you see, I decided to keep characters very simple.

1. What profession is the character? I leave this very free-form, so that the rules can be used for any genre. When performing a task, a character's profession will give an advantage if it logically applies. For example, a thief will have an advantage when picking a lock.
2. What level is the character? Levels run from 1 (novice) to 5 (master). Naturally, I start characters at level 1. This will determine his/her expertise in the profession. A master thief will pick locks easier than a novice.
3. Does the character have any traits? These would be abilities outside of a profession or any flaws. I kept this simple:
1. Roll a D6. Add a boon (positive trait) on a 6 or a bane (negative trait) on a 1
2. Roll a D6, indicating the D&D attribute affected. 1 = Strength, 2 = Intelligence, etc.
4. How many wounds can a character take? Characters start at 4 wounds.

That's it. I do not bother with equipment; I just assume that the character has the standard equipment for his/her profession. Similarly, I don't have spell lists but just create spells in an ad hoc fashion. We'll see how that works soon.

For this adventure, I created two characters - Gregor a paladin and Belle a priest. They both start at level 1 and 4 wounds.

Gregor did not have a special trait, but Belle rolled a 6 and a 1. I interpret this to mean that she has exceptional strength for a cleric.

Note that it took longer to describe the process than it was to create my characters.

Adventure Creation

There are quite a few resources for creating adventure ideas but I decided to make a simpler, more generic version. It is not as specific as other randomizers, but it does provide a spark to my imagination.

When I rolled on the tables, I came up with Traverse Person Castle.

• Traverse means that the party has to cross something - essentially go from one end to another to reach their goal.
• Person doesn't seem to fit with Traverse. How can you travel across someone? So I interpret it to mean that they are travelling to find someone.
• Castle seems kind of dull to traverse. It could work but it wasn't clicking for me so I rolled again and got Desert. This is better.

The Quest

Gregor and Belle are novice members of the Temple. They have been assigned a quest to deliver a message to Herman, a hermit that lives deep in the desert.

Next time - The Adventure Begins!

I'll begin walking through their adventure