Tag Archives: Flavor

RPGs

What is the OSR?

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Three little letters seem to cause such a fuss. Here is a list that I will add to as my brain spits out new words and phrases to fit the acronym. When I get enough for a table or two, I will post a new article. (Be afraid, be very afraid.)

I invite others to submit their O.S.R. words, please submit them in the comments, in three word groups in order as seen in my examples below. NOTE: It doesn’t have to relate to RPGs, or at least not in an obvious way.

Obstinate Stinky Referees

Old Senile Roleplayers

One Shot Roleplaying

One Save Rule/Roll

Only Singing Roleplaying

Odiferous Slimy Raconteurs

Ornery Statistics Regulators (My personal favorite so far.)

Original System Resolutely

Obtuse System Rules

Obtuse Seething Revolutionary

Obverse Signage Regulations

Onomatopoeia Serving Rhetoric

Oranges Simmering Resolutely

Obtuse Seething Ridiculousness (A recent Kickstarter comes to mind, in addition to many other efforts to define three letters.)

Overpaid Senior Regulators

Ostracons Scoured Regularly

Ostrogoths Serving Romans

Ovulating Soothsayers Ruminating

Oscillating Sonorous Regurgitation

Ossified Spider Riders

Order Shiny Rings

Orthodontists Skewering Rodents

Overt Slimy Renters

Oysters Salaciously Rotated

Ossuaries Shattered Regretfully

RPGs

Stymphalian Birds

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The sixth labor of Herakles (AKA Hercules) is dealing with the Stymphalian birds. They were birds were man eaters with beaks of bronze and metallic feathers they can launch like arrows. Herckles destroys or drives them off and they are encountered later by the Argonauts.

SOURCE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stymphalian_birds

THE ORNITHES STYMPHALIDES (or Stymphalian Birds)  were a flock of man-eating birds which haunted Lake Stymphalis in Arkadia. Herakles’ destroyed them as his sixth labour, employing first a rattle to rouse them from the thick vegetation of the lake, then shooting them down one by one with bow and arrow or a sling.

…

The Stymphalides were sometimes identified with the arrow-shooting Ornithes Areioi (Birds of Ares) encountered by the Argonauts in the Black Sea.

SOURCE: http://www.theoi.com/Ther/OrnithesStymphalides.html

If you search for Symphalian birds, you will find pictures of ancient Greek pottery, Roman mosaics, and lots of modern interpretations. Deviant Art has quite a few examples.

One artist describes the birds as having poisonous dung. Knowing the way that much ancient mythology was cleaned up for presentation in the Victorian Era, I can believe this. However, I have not yet found a source to back this idea.

Here is my efforts to stat them as per AD&D.

NAME: Stymphalian Birds
FREQUENCY: Rare to Very Rare
NO. APPEARING: 3-30
ARMOR CLASS: 6
MOVE: 3″/18″
HIT DICE: 1
% IN LAIR: 60%
TREASURE TYPE: D
NO. OF ATTACKS: 2
DAMAGE/ATTACK: 1-4/1-6
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Launch feathers as arrows
SPECIAL DEFENSES: Metallic Feathers
MAGIC RESISTANCE: Standard
INTELLIGENCE: Low
ALIGNMENT: N
SIZE: S
PSIONIC ABILITY: N/A
Attack/Defense Modes: N/A
LEVEL/X.P. VALUE: (Added in MM2, also in FF):
CLIMATE/TERRAIN: They nest in trees surrounded by swamps and marshes.

 Swords & Wizardry (So I can use them in my hex for the OSR Tenkar’s Landing Crowdsourced Sandbox Setting.)

Hit Dice: 1
Armor Class: 6/[13]
Attacks: 2
Saving Throw: 16
Special: Launch bronze feathers as arrows.
Move: 3/18 (when flying)
Alignment: Neutrality
Challenge Level/XP: 2/30

RPGs

Ancient Greek Tomb – Alexander The Great’s Mother?

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An interesting find was in the news at the end of September, 2014. An ancient and well preserved Greek tomb was found that dates to the time of Alexander the Great and some suspect it might be that of his mother.

This applies to this blog because of the pictures and sketches and how they illustrate such things for extrapolation into game play. One gets a sense for how a 2,400 year old tomb would really look, and the condition of its contents. Of course, magic and technology in the game world can change that.

One article here with a picture of sphinxes guarding the entrance, the caryatid columns and a sketch of the layout of the tomb in 3-D.

 

Tomb Entrance
Tomb Entrance

Tomb Sketch - 2 Chambers
Tomb Sketch – 2 Chambers

Another article on Yahoo, here, with a video and a the same sketch as above but showing the third chamber.

I grabbed a screenshot of it below.

 

Tomb Sketch - 3 Chambers
Tomb Sketch – 3 Chambers

RPGs

Tenkar’s Landing – OSR Crowdsourced Island

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I took the plunge and signed up for a hex in the Tenkar’s Landing Crowdsourced Island. There is a G+ community for the endeavor.

It will be interesting to see how this all comes together.

So far, it is decided to use 6 mile hexes, any flavor of the Swords & Wizardry Rules, but keeping it light on the “crunch” for easier use by any rules set.

Erik has given the general background of the island and will provide some other information.

One person has already done a map of their hex with fishing villages.

There are still several hexes left.

I claimed a swamp hex, so it will be interesting how the whole thing meshes with the rest of the island and map.

RPGs

Nuclear Chili

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Way back in high school, I was either a junior or senior.

I made chili for supper one evening during the school year.

My family was big on chili and making sure we all knew how to cook.

We always made a big pot of chili. We were a family of six and my two brothers and I were teenagers and eating everything in the house.

I kept adding chili powder and other things to it. I added chili powder to taste.

After it simmers awhile the degree of oomph to it increases.

It was good and we all ate a couple bowls.

Later that night my brother, Robert, woke up in pain and ended up in the hospital.

It was discovered that he had an ulcer.

Robert blames the ulcer on me.

I told him that I saved his life because my chili irritated it before it got bad so it could be taken care of before it got bad.

Robert didn’t see it that way.

Robert said, “You nearly killed me with that nuclear chili.”

The term stuck, even my Mom refereed to it that way.

Ah well.

I have only made that style of chili a half dozen or so times since then. The first few times I made it, I was still married and didn’t make it that spicy. I think my reputation is worse than reality. I mention nuclear chili and the boys are like, “Oh Yeah!”, and my ex was, “Don’t you dare.”

Kind of like Jimmy Stewart in “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance.” See the movie to avoid spoilers.

I’m trying to think of another example. In D&D if you have someone who is feared for some legendary feat, but it didn’t quite happen that way, that’s what I mean.

There is no exact recipe. I just brown some hamburger, use some canned beans and some chili beans, then add a chopped onion or two depending on size, and add other spiced or other tings that are good in chili. It is season to taste. If I can’t eat it, I’m not wasting money. I got canned beans to make it quicker. For the beans and other ingredients and a few other groceries, I spent over $60 to get ready to make it for Sunday, when my son, David, and his girlfriend, Cassandra come over to play.  Dang is food getting expensive.

I can remember when bread was four loaves for a dollar and when it went up to three loaves for a dollar, it was a big deal. Especially for a family with growing boys.

I also make homemade corn bread to go with it. YUM!

Chili will fit right in, there are in the midst of a battle with some Kobolds and they have a scroll with several Stinking Cloud spells….  :/

RPGs

The Good Guys Are Not Stupid Wimps

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Rick Stump over at Don’t Split the Party has an excellent article:

Good Isn’t Stupid, or weak, or nice.

Paladins don’t have to be simple, weak minded, naive fools. They can have depth and edges to them that makes them both interesting and far from an easy kill.

They should be a threat to evil and a threat to anyone who stands in their way.

Just as the evil villain is a threat to the forces of good.

Any DM who allows paladins, and any player who has, is, or wants to play a paladin should read this.

RPGs

How Many Hours of Daylight?

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Recently in play, the question came up of when does it get dark?

I had to make up something.

It happened to be early summer in the game, so I could use the approximate times from this time of year.

However, time progresses quickly in the game, so it is now mid-Autumn, so there is less daylight. When the players are running around outside, the amount of light tends to be important. Rather than make something up on the fly and it be radically inconsistent with past rulings, I built a chart for use at the game table.

I have put together a sunrise/sunset and hours of daylight for each day on my game calendar – Calendar And Random Generation.

I use twelve months with twenty-eight days for simplicity of generating random date. This is a game, so it does no have to have total verisimilitude with reality, just enough to make sense.

Google is your friend for esoteric information, but I wanted a chart I could print out for the game table and have ready without having to have my tablet or laptop available.

I picked a location that was in a temperate zone analogous to the current area in use in my campaign. I looked for sunrise and sunset times for Spring and Autumnal Equinoxes and Winter and Summer Solstices. I then determined how many days were between each and the difference in times between each and determined the number of seconds sunrise and sunset was earlier or later depending on the season. In reality, there is not exactly 59 seconds earlier sunrise each day, but again, this isn’t reality.

Of course, closer to the poles have more light certain times of year. I don’t know the formula but each degree of latitude N/S is approximately 69 miles for an Earth-sized planet. You can add or subtract minutes to the rise and set times based on the formula. I am sure Google has it. Based on Sturgis, MI and Kansas City, MO being about 2.7 degrees apart, the Spring Equinox sunrise time in Kansas City, MO is about 24 minutes earlier than Sturgis, MI. Sunset the same day is thus also earlier in KC. It is close enough to a 24 minute difference on the Autumnal Equinox and the Solstices, that one can extrapolate about an 8 minute difference for every 69 miles north or south. If you want to get fancier with your own calculations that’s cool. If you want a table for a world that is messier and more like reality, that’s your choice. I made the choice to spend as little time on this as possible at the table.

I have shared a PDF of my efforts – Sunrise & Sunset Times.

RPGs

Play Time – June 1, 2014

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My son and his girlfriend came over and we played all day and until 10:30 pm.

Most of it was role playing as they managed to catch the baron in a gap in his schedule and they presented him a magic longsword, shield and silver circlet they recovered from one of the tombs they looted. It surprised me that they did not keep the magic items, since one of them is a half-elf fighter/magic user, she could have used the bonuses. They were thinking larger and wanting favor. They also gave a 5,000 s.p. (I use the silver standard) necklace for the baron’s bride to be. I determined that the sword and shield belonged to a long-dead knight, and named them “Foe-Bane” and “Defender”, which I determined before they decided to give them away. The captain of the guard would not allow a gift until either the town wizard or the town sage ruled on them, because security was so tight.

After they found out what they were, they go to see the baron, and get in to talk to the captain. The captain has heard of these items as a boy. He sends word and the baron is available. So now they get to meet the baron. I rolled and the baron was available. I rolled again and he invited them to the wedding, etc. The baron did advise them to get better clothes, since they were running around in their ratty battle worn and blood stained clothes.

It is funny how I determined the course of events, and how they decided to insert themselves into the narrative. The King and court, ambassadors, nobles, etc. all showed up because the bride is the king’s niece, and he was he guardian as she was orphaned young. The king elevated the baron to a marcher lord over the peninsula and the ancient city. The baron’s role of keeping the nasties from going north into the kingdom has expanded to subdue the nasties and expand the kingdom.

The PCs were able to watch the ceremony through the doors of the temple.

They managed to get to meet the baron and his new bride after the ceremony, and were then introduced to the king and queen by the baron, and spoke with a couple of other powerful NPCs.

There are now so many plot hooks and red herrings that they know about, that the players can’t do more than I am ready for without abandoning their plans and leaving the area for parts unknown. Since they have declared their plans, “To take over the world.” With their cleared kobold warren as their base, I don’t see them going outside the present boundaries of the sandbox.

This is great as it further limits my focus. I need to fill in a few things here and there, but it feels so much more manageable now that I know where they plan to go.

It is so cool and fun to know that they have enjoyed our sessions and want to do more.

I can’t wait to do more planning and preparation AND the next session!