RPG Thoughts

I wanted to roll some dice last weekend but did not feel like setting up a minis battle. Instead, I decided to do an RPG session.

When last we met our heroes, they had returned from an adventure in the woods. Their master, Groombal, intimated that some great evil was afoot in the woods. I had intended a sequel, but did not have all the miniatures I needed. Well, that led to some pondering.

Back to Cards?

While I love the look of miniatures, I have concluded that they don't work well for my RPG sessions because I usually don't have painted figures for the monsters I need. As a result, months go by without a session.

I really need something I can pick up and play. This has led me back to the idea of creating monster cards. I did a little experiment.

I took the goblin picture from some paper figures I purchased from Okum Arts. The art doesn't really match the background, but this is the concept I have.

I had previously made some cards, but I had so much info on it that it was rather busy. This time, I simplified to Attack factors (to-hit/damage), armor, and health.

While I like the look, I just don't have much time to work on it, so I ginned up some quick versions on index cards so I could play an adventure. More on that later.

Back to D12?

While working on the cards, I also began to ponder the monster stats. In particular, I thought about experimenting with a D12 again. This would give some more granularity in combat.

• With MicroQuest, which uses a D6, the target number varies depending on whether the enemy is higher level, lower, or the same level.
• With a D12, the modifier could be the difference between levels.

My biggest problems was that my armor classifications (light, medium, or heavy) worked better with a D6. Then I thought that a system that uses D12s for to-hit rolls and D6s for damage might work.

I haven't tried it yet, but am planning on it.

New Campaign

Well, I don't want to re-stat my current characters for a new system, so I am leaning toward starting a new campaign with new characters. However, I'm feeling lazy so I don't want to think up new adventures. Solution - buy a pre-made module.

But which module? Initially, I was leaning to something old school. I even picked up the Temple of Elemental Evil on PDF. Then I remembered that I picked up D&D 5E Essentials last year. It includes a campaign (Dragon of Icespire Peak) for characters starting at level 1 and going up to level 8. I think I'll do that instead.

Converting from D&D

In general, I think I can easily convert from D&D to my rules using these guidelines.

• Divide levels or hit dice by 2. For example, a HD 10 monster would be level 5 in my rules
• AC 11-12 = light armor, 13-15 is medium, and 16+ is heavy
• Generally, hit points = level (in my rules) x 2

I also expect to make changes to the campaign.

• I don't care much for D&D's polytheistic pantheons. I'll replace it with a monotheistic one.
• I prefer a more human-centric setting. There will be elves and dwarves but they will be more like Celtic myth - rare and mysterious. Thus, some of the non-human NPCs will become human.
• I also prefer a lower-magic setting. There will likely be fewer magic items, and fewer spellcasters.

New Characters

For this new campaign, I'll need a new adventuring party, and it should be a full 4+ characters. Here's my thoughts so far.

My main character will be a knight errant (paladin). He is accompanied by

• his squire (a fighter)
• his confessor (a cleric), and
• an archer (actually a rogue)

And a Quick Adventure!

I actually ran a quick adventure last weekend. Tweedle and Dunh ventured back into the woods, where they ran into 2 blights. Tweedle was seriously wounded (down to his last hit point) so retreated from the woods and returned home.

But stay tuned. They have an important mission, and will return to the woods.