Interest check: Old-school fantasy

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Which adventure campaigns interest you (select as many as you like)?

  • Stonehell

    Votes: 7 46.7%
  • Anomalous Subsurface Environment

    Votes: 5 33.3%
  • Maze of the Blue Medusa

    Votes: 3 20.0%
  • Hot Springs Island

    Votes: 5 33.3%
  • The Old Ways (my own incomplete creation)

    Votes: 8 53.3%
  • Something else (describe below)

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    15
That's a great idea!

I just got a look at your character. That's absolutely fine, or you can be present in the current tavern scene. However you prefer at this stage is fine by me.
I just finished up with Thad's equipment - added a nonstandard item (the chisel) but figured it would cost as much as a hammer or mallet. He'll show up the next morning.
 
OK, let's start with the XP. It's been a long while since I've done this.

The OSE rules specify that you get XP at the rate of 1 XP per 1 GP of treasure value that is brought back from the adventure. They also state that you get a modicum of XP for every adversary you "defeat"; this includes intimidation and outsmarting. I'm not going to include making friends, however, so the first groups of kobolds were not "defeated."

Going through the timeline...

You defeated the following:
  • 5 Pig Faces
  • 3 Spitting Cobras
  • 8 Bandits
For treasure, you returned with the following:
  • 1 large crystal eye
  • 5 silk dresses
These are divided by the surviving party members evenly, including retainers. This includes:
  • Hildegard
  • Bron
  • Bellitus
  • Ingrid
  • Hearthglow
  • Ruul
So here's the breakdown:

Pig Faces: 10 x 5 = 50
Cobras: 16 x 3 = 48
Bandits: 10 x 8 = 80
Crystal eye: 5 = 5
Dresses: 10 x 5 = 50

Total XP: 233 XP
Individual XP: 39 XP

Wow, that's harsh...let me know if I'm missing anything.

By the way, when it comes to converting your treasure items into cash, you can just let me know when you're in town and I usually won't bother to role-play that.

Now, as for awarding GP, remember that the green retainers only got a half share and you got a total of 55 GP. That means there are a total of 9 shares (2 for Hildegard, Bron and Bellitus and 1 for Ingrid, Hearthglow and Ruul). That gives about 6 GP per share, so Hildegard, Bron and Bellitus all earn 12 GP and the green retainers each get 6 GP. That leaves one free GP which you may want to spennd on room and board or something like that.
 
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The SP100 from the bandit's trap, although I don't think that'll raise the bar much.
Hmm, the OSE rules don't say anything about traps, but I'll count the trap as a special ability of the bandits. That adds 24 XP to the total, which gives each of you 4 more.

I'll look into this whole traps thing. It seems weird that you could go through a dungeon of traps and get no XP. I suppose if there's no treasure, it's a pretty questionable enterprise. Hmm.
 
Most of the XP comes from treasure in the older adventures, and the bulk of treasure was usually in a monster's lair. I don't know if any of the rooms the group went through qualified as a lair, but if all we encountered were wandering monsters, then unfortunately it makes sense that the group didn't get that much.

Or maybe Stonehell is just stingy with treasure? Only one way to find out, I guess.
 
Or maybe Stonehell is just stingy with treasure?
That particular area in Stonehell is probably intended to be a little light on treasure, because it is supposed to be the area most picked-through.

FYI all of the monsters you encountered were wandering except for the cobras.

Oh, I forgot to award money for the scavenged weapons. The armor would have been, as you guessed, unsellable. The rest was worth about 78 GP...new and retail. These were used, mediocre and resale. I'll give about 1/4 value, so let's round that to 20 GP. Let's just say +5 GP and +3 XP per PC for that.

Of course, if you want to keep some of those, let me know.
 
Okay so we got pretty hurt twice due to pits so next time in I think we need more pit protection gear and more generally a bit of climbing gear. Refill a bit on ranged stuff, i.e. javelins and oil.

Would it be worth hiring a dwarf for better room trap odds or an elf for secret doors (and possibly hidden treasures)?
 
So we have Egare's pole still I believe thanks to Tessa in #681.

It's a pity we don't have enough gold to comfortably get a grappling hook. However the new characters have largely restocked us on the essentials and nicely fill in gaps in our party so the only thing I was thinking of hiring was a dwarven footman for 5GP if we can get one for the sake of room traps. The new wizard gives us mental manipulation, what does Ridgel have?

Any other suggestions, probably leaving out something obvious.

Also just going over the OSE books it really is a great game isn't it. All the little details and things that hint at something. Like I just took note of the wolfsbane in the equipment section. I know some of you grew up with B/X but coming to later it's cool all the little things there are to discover.
 
So I realized I forgot how spells are selected in this game? Do I roll for Ridgel or just pick. Also I said get oil but never specified how much. Ridgel will buy 2 more torches and 6 more vials of oil.
 
An idle thought: is anyone interested in playing this online in realtime? I don't know about you guys, but my schedule has opened up a bit the last couple months. I could easily fit a session of this in once a week, or whenever everyone could get together. My thought is that it would supplement, rather than replace, the PbP, but that really depends on how often we can get everyone together.

I know not everyone is a fan of webcam gaming, although I've had good experiences so far. Also, we've got at least one player in the UK, so it would have to be on a weekend day when the Americans can get on in the afternoon and the Brits can join in the evening. So if it can't be done, I won't feel bad, but I would feel bad if I didn't ask.

Depending on the responses I get here, I may ask the same question for the DCC game. So if you're in both and you'd prefer one over the other for live gaming, let it be known.
 
Hate to be a buzzkill because I'd really love to do this but I'm unavailable before 8pm Pacific time everyday of the week.
 
I probably wouldn't be able to do anything realtime anytime soon, sorry.

Question regarding the Divine Riot - can I get the names of a few of the gods and their particular aspects, so I know who Hekima would be calling upon in the moment for a given spell or action?
 
I don't think I would be able to do a realtime session, either.
 
I could probably make it work if this ever came up again. 9pm Pacific would be doable for me, I'd just hit the hay early.
 
Oh what the heck, I didn't get any notifications for these responses. Or I missed them. I thought you were all ghosting me on that question...I feel so much better!

Bummer that some of you can't make it but hey, that's life. I thought it was pretty unlikely that everyone could do it but I figured it couldn't hurt to ask. I was going to pose the same question to our DCC group if this one couldn't happen for reasons unrelated to any common players - another unlikely prospect.
Question regarding the Divine Riot - can I get the names of a few of the gods and their particular aspects, so I know who Hekima would be calling upon in the moment for a given spell or action?
You could...if I had invented them. I don't have any creation myths or other similar kinds of scripture, so it's an open field. This is one of those areas where I'm totally fine with player authorship at this stage of a campaign. I'd be inclined to edit an idea that was tonally out-of-step or otherwise clashed with any existing aspects of the setting, but the field is currently pretty open.

If it helps, the Divine Riot still has something like 287 recognized distinct deities, plus a whole lot of aspects and avatars of those guys - hence the name. Feel free to be irreverent, whimsical and arbitrary. There might be one god for wagon wheel rims and another for the spokes. Maybe there's a big debate about whether they are avatars of the same god or not. You could pray to Our Lady of Aphorisms. etc.

I have a habit of not taking deities very seriously. In one of my campaigns, a character accidentally ended up becoming a paladin for the God of Muffins, who sat naked and hulking on a throne of bloody bones. His arch enemy was the Lord of Pies, and that guy was far worse. But everyone thought the Pie God was such a nice guy, always giving away free meat pies to the poor. Nobody ever wondered what was in those pies until one day when the dead started to walk...
 
Hmmm Lamentations rules and now this:

I expect that ancient locks were much easier to pick than a modern tumbler-based mechanism
You expect! So you admit to running a dungeon game without reading the classic monograph:

6129gSML52L.jpg

This destroys my sense of immersion! :angry:
 
So I realized I never saw an answer to how spells are selected for wizards at 1st level. Ridgel still doesn't have any at the moment.
 
So I realized I never saw an answer to how spells are selected for wizards at 1st level. Ridgel still doesn't have any at the moment.
My bad! Let me go check...

<two hours pass>

So, there are two options. I had forgotten this, but you're actually the first PC with spells, so this is when it came up.

The default OSE rules say that either you or me picks your starting spells, and you pick more as you level. The numbers and levels of spells you know is equal to the number for each level you can cast. Very simple.

The advanced genre rules bring in a more AD&D approach. You start with more spells (depends on you INT, but four is typical), and you learn new spells by finding them and trying to copy them into your book (from scrolls and other books). I don't think you learn any automatically.

If you don't have a preference, I lean towards the latter. But if you (or anyone else) doesn't like that system, I have no problems going with the simple default system. Either way, you can choose your starting spells.

Here is the table for starting spell count based on INT (if you're OK with the second system):

INTStarting 1st level spellsChance to successfully copy
3120
4-5130
6-7235
8-9240
10-12350
13-14370
15-16475
17485
18590

Incidentally, it would be helpful if you added your character to the roster here. That way, I can look up that sort of thing for you.
 
My bad! Let me go check...

<two hours pass>

So, there are two options. I had forgotten this, but you're actually the first PC with spells, so this is when it came up.

The default OSE rules say that either you or me picks your starting spells, and you pick more as you level. The numbers and levels of spells you know is equal to the number for each level you can cast. Very simple.

The advanced genre rules bring in a more AD&D approach. You start with more spells (depends on you INT, but four is typical), and you learn new spells by finding them and trying to copy them into your book (from scrolls and other books). I don't think you learn any automatically.

If you don't have a preference, I lean towards the latter. But if you (or anyone else) doesn't like that system, I have no problems going with the simple default system. Either way, you can choose your starting spells.

Here is the table for starting spell count based on INT (if you're OK with the second system):

INTStarting 1st level spellsChance to successfully copy
3120
4-5130
6-7235
8-9240
10-12350
13-14370
15-16475
17485
18590


Incidentally, it would be helpful if you added your character to the roster here. That way, I can look up that sort of thing for you.
Second system works for me. I'll try and update the roster today.

Spells are Sleep,Charm Person, Detect Magic.
 
My bad! Let me go check...

<two hours pass>

So, there are two options. I had forgotten this, but you're actually the first PC with spells, so this is when it came up.

The default OSE rules say that either you or me picks your starting spells, and you pick more as you level. The numbers and levels of spells you know is equal to the number for each level you can cast. Very simple.

The advanced genre rules bring in a more AD&D approach. You start with more spells (depends on you INT, but four is typical), and you learn new spells by finding them and trying to copy them into your book (from scrolls and other books). I don't think you learn any automatically.

If you don't have a preference, I lean towards the latter. But if you (or anyone else) doesn't like that system, I have no problems going with the simple default system. Either way, you can choose your starting spells.

Here is the table for starting spell count based on INT (if you're OK with the second system):

INTStarting 1st level spellsChance to successfully copy
3120
4-5130
6-7235
8-9240
10-12350
13-14370
15-16475
17485
18590


Incidentally, it would be helpful if you added your character to the roster here. That way, I can look up that sort of thing for you.
Added his spells to the roster but came up with another question. Is read magic a spell that I need or innate for mages? If so I'll swap detect magic for read magic.
 
That's a good question. I've never really liked how read magic works. It seems really onerous to take up a slot like that. So let's say "no." However, I'll say that you can read any scroll you like, but knowing what it does beforehand requires an hour or quiet study per spell level.

Magical runes and that sort of thing would be more skill-based i.e. are you high-enough level to cast the spell in question (or its spell level equivalent)? If the answer is "yes," then you will have some degree of insight, and if you can cast the actual spell, you automatically recognize it.
 
So many games but dang never did OSE. Curious about it. How many we have? Does the party need a certain class?
 
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