Skull Mountain: Session 27

The 27th session of my SKULL MOUNTAIN megadungeon will be running Sunday, May 22, 12:30 to 6 PM, at King's Hobby Shop in Austin, TX. If you'd like to join the game, you can sign up at The Austin D&D Meetup, or just show up.

Here's the standard blurb:

Two days north of the last outpost of the Sparn Empire, through the cannibal haunted jungles of Brool, across the piranha teeming river, a great boulder-strewn crag rises from the mists. An enormous, leering reptile skull sits atop the rugged formation. Some say the skull is an odd natural formation, while others insist it is the petrified remains of some primordial unhuman god. Whatever its origins, the whispered tales of Skull Mountain all agree on one thing: incredible treasure and unmatched glory await those bold and foolish enough to penetrate the mountain, unravel its dark secrets, and brave its untold dangers. Of course such treasure and glory will only accrue to those who can return alive!

This is an OD&D/Swords & Wizardry scenario for beginning or experienced players with low to mid-level characters. New characters will be created at the table before play begins. Returning characters who are entered in the Skull Mountain Book of Names are also welcome.

Hope to see you there!

Kid's D&D In Print / Skull Mountain Update

If you liked my Kids' D&D rules (here), be sure to download the free PDF of Encounter Magazine #4. It has an awesomely slick-looking magazine-layout version of the kids' rules and a polished version of the kid's adventure to go with it.

UPDATE: Surfing the blogosphere, I noticed a few recent reviews of Encounter #4 and my kids' rules article. Here are the links...

Risus Monkey

Chicago Wiz's RPG Blog

Hill Cantons

Also... My ongoing Skull Mountain megadungeon game slogs on!

The 25th session will be running Sunday, April 24 at noon at King's Hobby Shop in Austin, TX. You can sign up at the Austin D&D Meetup Group, or just show up at noon.

The Contemptible Cube of Quazar

Somebody out there has posted it:

THE CUBE

If you run it, I want a full report!

EDIT: For monster stats, see the Swords & Wizardry Monster Book.

Homebrew D&D for Kids

UPDATE: A few people have asked for a PDF of my rules for kids:

 HERE IT IS!

(Scroll down the page for a PDF of the Kid's Character Sheet.)

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Having nothing better to do the Friday after Thanksgiving, I whipped up a quick dungeon and house-ruled a kid-friendly version of basic D&D. Fun was had by all as knights, wizards, elves, and dwarves braved the strange caverns to rescue the enchanted sword of the faerie queen.

Below are some photos from the session, as well as my new house-rules for kids, a kid-friendly character sheet, the map of the dungeon, and even the encounter key!

CHARACTER CLASSES FOR KIDS' D&D
There are four character classes to choose from in Kids' D&D: knight, wizard, elf, and dwarf. The knight and wizard class titles may be changed to “warrior princess” or “enchantress” respectively if the player so desires.

KNIGHT Special Ability: In combat a knight gets 2 attacks every round. Starting Equipment: Plate mail, shield, sword, torch. Armor Class: 2

WIZARD Special Ability: Each day, a wizard can use his staff to cast two spells per level of experience. At 1st level a wizard gets two 1st level spells, at 2nd level he gets two 2nd level spells, and so on. Starting Equipment: Staff, dagger, torch. Armor Class: 9

ELF Special Ability: Each day, an elf can use his wand to cast one spell per level of experience.  At 1st level an elf gets one 1st level spell, at 2nd level he gets one 2nd level spell, and so on. Starting Equipment: Chain mail, bow and arrows, magic wand, torch. Armor Class: 5

DWARF Special Ability: When searching, a dwarf will automatically find any secret door in the area (i.e. less than 40' away). Starting Equipment: Plate mail, shield. axe, torch. Armor Class: 2

CHARACTER CREATION
There are no ability scores in Kids' D&D. To create a character, choose one of the four character classes, name the character, and draw a picture of the character (not necessarily in that order). Then, on the character record sheet, note the character's level (1), hit points (roll d6), armor class (2, 5, or 9), and saving throw (15). In the appropriate space, note the character's special abilities and equipment, then fill in the “TO HIT” ARMOR CLASS table at the bottom of the record sheet. The character needs a 10 to hit AC 9, an 11 to hit AC 8, a 12 to hit AC 7, and so on.

For a printable PDF of the Kids' D&D character sheet, CLICK HERE.

INITIAL HIT POINTS AND SAVING THROW
At 1st level all characters roll 1d6 for hit points, with an additional d6 each time a character gains an experience level. All characters begin with a saving throw of 15, which improves by two each time the character gains an experience level.

EXPERIENCE POINTS AND LEVEL ADVANCEMENT
Experience points are gained at a rate of 100 x.p. per HD of monster defeated and 1 x.p. per g.p. value of treasure found. After each adventure, earned x.p. should be divided evenly among the surviving characters. An experience level is gained when a character accrues experience points equal to his current level x 1000. Thus, a 1st level character would need to earn 1000 experience points to achieve 2nd level. A 2nd level character would need an additoinal 2000 experience points (for a total of 3000) to reach 3rd level.

LEVEL ADVANCEMENT TABLE

Character's Level	Experience Points Needed
1	0
2	1,000
3	3,000
4	6,000
5	10,000

SEARCHING, LISTENING, AND OPENING DOORS
A roll of a 1 or 2 on d6 will indicate success when a character attempts any of the following actions: listening at a door, opening a stuck door, searching for hidden items or secret doors. (NOTE: If the searching character is a dwarf he will automatically find any secret doors in the immediate area. For every failed attempt to open a stuck door, the DM should make a secret check for wandering monsters.)


MOVEMENT
When miniatures are used, the movement rate for all characters is 3 squares (i.e. 15') per round on a 1” grid or other playing surface where 1” = 5 feet. The movement rate in squares per round for monsters is equal to their base move rate divided by 3. For example, a goblin with a base move rate of 6” would move 2 squares, or 10' per round; a giant ant with a move rate of 18” would move 6 squares, or 30' per round.

SPELLS FOR WIZARDS AND ELVES
Spells for wizards and elves are drawn from the spell lists of both clerics and magic-users. The DM may limit available spells to a few per spell level, based upon their understandability and ease of use by new or young players.

RECOMMENDED SPELL LISTS BY LEVEL

1 cure light wounds light sleep magic missile

2 find traps invisibility speak with animal web

3 fireball fly lightning bolt remove curse

4 charm monster neutralize poison polymorph wizard eye

5 hold monster telekinesis teleport wall of stone

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MAP OF THE DUNGEON

ENCOUNTER KEY

1. 2 giant ants and a cauldron that produces a magical face in the smoke that rises from within. Once per day the face says, "Ask me three yea or nay questions."


2. 5 giant rats. In one corner is a barrel of cider. On top of the barrel is a coiled 50' rope and a bottle labeled "cure for poison." Leaning against the barrel is a sack full of apples, and a sack with 250 silver coins.


3. A golden living statue wearing a gold key on a chain about its neck. He will give the key to anyone who asks for it nicely. The key unlocks the door to room #4. In the corner of the room is a burning brazier. Anyone who approaches it and says, "Use your power, O magic brazier," will be affected by its power. Roll d6: 1). heal 1d6 damage, 2.) turns character into a small animal, 3.) character loses all hair, 4.) character's skin turns color, 5.) character falls asleep for 10 min., 6.) a pouch containing 20 g.p. appears.


4. The door to this room is locked. Inside are 4 goblins, and an owl bear chained to the back wall. There is also a giant centipede hiding in a crack in the north wall.


5. The secret passage leads to the treasure pit. The treasure consists of the faerie queens sword, 2 bags of gold (100 coins each), and a chest containing 200 silver pieces and 10 ruby gems (worth 20 g.p. each).

SKULL MOUNTAIN: SESSION 5

The fifth session of my SKULL MOUNTAIN game will be running this Sunday at Dragons Lair Games in Austin, TX. If you'd like to join the game, you can sign up at The Austin D&D Meetup, or just show up at 1:00 PM on Sunday, September 19.

Here's the "Kill Sheet" from session 3 (at the Central Texas Mini-Con). Seven characters and 4 retainers entered the dungeon that day; 1 player character and two retainers made it out! But man! Look at all the loot Zerhain the Lucky walked away with!

From The Scrolls of Skrel, Excerpt B

The Elves of Planet Eris

The elves are known as the people of the four stars, for it is said they hail from the stars of Failias, Goirias, Murias, and Findias. On planet Eris, these stars are visible in the northern sky. The elves are a divine race, knowing no death due to length of years or passing of the æons. They came unto Eris twice. The first invasion, in the 11th Æon of this world was repelled by the demons of the icy wastes on the plain of the southern tower. When they returned in the 31st Æon, they drove the giants to the far reaches of the north, and the elves finally established their dominion over all of Eris. But their supremacy was short-lived. The divine race was vanquished in the 33rd Æon, when earthmen first appeared on Eris. It is believed that the “pure remnant” of these conquered immortals retreated beneath the land and sea to a parallel inner world. Certain of their progeny, however, persist on the surface world as half-elves (the product of a visitation of a divine elf upon a human female), or, as changelings (full-blood elves that are swapped at birth with human children). While commonly shunned when their faerie natures are first discovered, the most gifted of these half-elves and changelings come oft into the service of human princes and emperors as expert hirelings, sages, and advisors. The balance of their kind, however, must make their way in the world of men by cunning and wit. And it is from this pool that the typical elven adventurer is generally drawn.

The article above was found among the Scrolls of Skrel, a lesser scribe at the Last Outpost of the Sparn Empire in the 66th æon of Eris.

SHEBOYGAN

The Magnum Opus of 70's Sci-fi Wargames

Back from the Jungle

I made it out alive! I'm back from the jungles of Costa Rica.

Regarding the Central Texas Mini-Con: The con is still on, but due to low registration for the event, my SKULL MOUNTAIN game is cancelled. I'll still be attending as a player in Alex's Mentzer Basic "Egyptian Tomb" game. If your interested in playing there may be a seat left. Contact Alex via the Mini-Con thread at the Dragonsfoot forums. SKULL MOUNTAIN will return in September for the Austin D&D Meetup that is being planned for September 19 at Dragon's Lair games. I'll post sign-up links as soon as they are available.

When not carving my way through the treacherous jungles, I used my two-week vacation to do an intensive study of the LBB's and create this map of the Sparn Empire of Planet Eris (the setting for my SKULL MOUNTAIN game and, of course, home world of the vile wizard, Quazar!). 

I Shall Return...

...For Day 2 of the Central Texas Mini-Con!

In the mean time, I'll be braving the jungles of Costa Rica: battling blood-thirsty snake-cults, delving for lost jewels in the misty depths of the ruined ape city, outwitting relentless cannibal hordes, and fending off swarms of poisonous man-eating frogs! 

Well, if I have enough spare time, that is, I'll be doing all those things in my notebook, as I update Skull Mountain for it's next session on Saturday, August 21, 2010 at Scholz Beer Garten in Austin, Texas for Day 2 of the Central Texas Mini-Con.

Sign up at NTRPG.com. It's FREE!

BUMP for the Central TX Mini-Con

Day 1 of the Central TX Mini-Con is this Saturday, July 31, 11AM-10PM. Thought I'd give it a bump. 

Here's the link to get registered. It's FREE! 

http://ntrpgcon.com/index.php?option=com_dtregister&Itemid=65 

Here's the tentative schedule: 

Alex Johnson: Running a Mentzer D&D Basic/Expert one-shot 

Norman Harman: Running a Labyrinth Lord, modified B2 "Keep on the Borderlands"

 

Jimm Johnson: Running OD&D/Swords & Wizardy, "Skull Mountain" megadungeon

 

Additional Game(s): Depends on turn out 

Sign up while you still can!!!

Austin, Texas Old-School Mini-Con

July 31 & August 21, 2010, 11:00 AM to 10:00 PM 

at Scholz Beer Garten in Austin, Texas.

Several games of the OD&D, BD&D, and AD&D varieties will be featured, including a session (or two) of my OD&D/Swords & Wizardry "Skull Mountain" game.

Sign up Here:

http://ntrpgcon.com/index.php?option=com_dtregister&Itemid=65

Quick Update: Skull Mt. & Fight On!

Just a quick update-- more when I have time. My SKULL MOUNTAIN megadungeon game forges into its second monthly session. (See my current sidebar for info.) And the much anticipated (and cleaned-up version of) The Contemptible Cube of Quazar (a one page dungeon) is now available in issue #9 of Fight On! magazine.