Second Thoughts About Gamma World 1e

Gamma World 1e is an early TTRPG product.

It shows.

I had plans to run Gamma World 1e sometime this year. To kick the tires on the system, I made a couple of characters for the 2026 Character Creation Challenge. There were issues.

I no longer have plans to run Gamma World 1e for the foreseeable future.

I wonder if my players would revolt if I dropped their OSE characters into Gamma World?

There are loads of things missing from the rule book. No starting equipment. No starting funds. No equipment lists to use the non-existent starting funds on. Good luck figuring out what a new character starts off with!

There is the argument that Gamma World 1e emphasizes the magic items technological artifacts acquired from dungeon delving exploring post-apocalyptic ruins. This argument misses the point. The rule book does not reveal what a character has going into their first ancient ruin.

Equipment and related rules could be imported from D&D or AD&D, but Gamma World 1e was released as a separate game system. I would feel differently if it were marketed as a D&D or AD&D supplement, but it wasn't. As it stands, both gamemasters and players were expected to already own and have a working knowledge of D&D or AD&D before picking up this product.

It is obviously possible to work around these flaws. Folks have been running Gamma World 1e since it came out in the days of yore. On the other hand, my criticisms come from a round of character creation. It's certainly not ready to go straight out of the box. Running a game of Gamma World 1e potentially calls for more work than I'm willing to invest in it at this time.

All this gets Gamma World 1e kicked firmly into the "later, maybe" of the "games I'll be running anytime soon" category for me. That's a pity. I enjoy running older games from time to time. It satisfies my limited sense of nostalgia and helps to preserve the memory of these games. At this point, I'm wondering if the lack of complete rules contributed to Gamma World 1e remaining a niche product in the TSR lineup and a relative footnote in TTRPG history.

2026 Character Creation Challenge Speed Run: Another NPC Adventuring Party for OSE

Entries for January 13-18.

This is another rival, but not necessarily evil, party of NPC adventurers for use in our ongoing OSE Advanced Fantasy campaign. The previous bunch were made up of traditional character classes and backgrounds. This one experiments with some of the new stuff introduced in various issues of Carcass Crawler. I used Necrotic Gnome's NPC generator to create the initial stats and modified them to fit, since it doesn't offer the full range of options I was trying out. I also used Fantasy Name Generators to inspire the names. As before, all alignments are listed as to be determined (TBD).

This was the only photo with my copies of Carcass Crawler that I had handy.

Cleeg, Goblin Assassin

Level 3 Assassin (NPC)
Armour Class 7 [12] (leather armour + shield)
Hit Points 7
Attacks 1 × dagger (1d4)
THAC0 19 [0]
Movement Rate 90' (30')
Saves D11 W12 P11 B16 S13
Alignment TBD
STR 10 INT 9 WIS 7
DEX 9 CON 9 CHA 10
Items None

Cleeg is underwhelming as an assassin, but the talents from his goblin heritage go some way to making up for that. He mainly serves as a scout while looking for a chance to strike from the shadows. Cleeg's biggest worry is that somebody will discover that he owes his training not to the Assassin's Guild, but to a secret cabal of goblins who operate in competition to them.


Vester Costigan, Mutoid Thief

Level 3 Thief (NPC)
Armour Class 2 [17] (leather armour)
Hit Points 8
Attacks 1 × two-handed sword (1d10+1) or sling (1d4+1)
THAC0 19 [0]
Movement Rate 90' (30')
Saves D13 W14 P13 B16 S15
Alignment TBD
STR 12 INT 9 WIS 11
DEX 18 CON 9 CHA 12
Items Two-handed sword +1, Sling +1
Special Scales

Vester is descended from a noble family that was on the losing side of a secession dispute. They ended up being imprisoned and experimented on by the new court wizard. Another regime change resulted in them being released. With nowhere else to turn, the surviving Costigans came to live in the hidden spaces of the capitol. Vester dreamed of becoming a great warrior, but found himself employed as an enforcer by the Thieves' Guild. He finds the life of an adventurer to be more to his liking.


"Crown of Thorns" Mycelian Cleric

Level 3 Cleric (NPC)
Armour Class 4 [15] (chainmail + shield)
Hit Points 9
Attacks 1 × mace (1d6+2) or 1 × spell
THAC0 19 [0]
Movement Rate 60' (20')
Saves D11 W12 P14 B16 S15
Alignment TBD
STR 16 INT 11 WIS 15
DEX 9 CON 12 CHA 11
Spells cure light wounds (cause light wounds), light (darkness)
Items Chainmail + 1

"Crown of Thorns" isn't their name, but simply what others call them. Exactly how Crown joined a major church and rose up to be an adventuring warrior-priest is something that they are keeping to themselves. However, his status is accepted without question by members of his church. Crown normally casts the reversed form of light to counter their sensitivity to bright light. They are also seeking leads on something called an "umbrella" to help with sunlight exposure.


Ornella, Tiefling Bard

Level 3 Bard (NPC)
Armour Class 2 [17] (chainmail)
Hit Points 15
Attacks 1 × sword (1d8+2)
THAC0 19 [0]
Movement Rate 60' (20')
Saves D13 W14 P13 B16 S15
Alignment TBD
STR 10 INT 10 WIS 9
DEX 16 CON 11 CHA 14
Spells entangle, speak with animals [See Advanced Fantasy]
Items Sword +2 (Venger) [See Advanced Fantasy]

Ornella sees herself as a warrior poet. She's not far off with her swift movements and prized magical sword. That stated, she's still a hit whenever she performs with her lyra.


Caeda Varajor, Wood Elf Ranger

Level 3 Ranger (NPC)
Armour Class 6 [13] (leather armour)
Hit Points 12
Attacks 1 × two-handed sword (1d10+3) or spear (1d6+3)
THAC0 19 [0]
Movement Rate 90' (30')
Saves D12 W13 P14 B15 S16
Alignment TBD
STR 16 INT 9 WIS 14
DEX 15 CON 10 CHA 14
Items Ring of Spell Turning, Two-handed sword +1 (+3 vs Regenerating Creatures), Spear +1

Caeda has used a bow since childhood, but prefers the heft of a greatsword in battle and the solid feel of a spear while hunting. The forest is home to her, but the dungeon is a relatively new experience. Her only failing is that she sometimes gets in over her head.


Ashlee, Dragonborn Fighter

Level 3 Fighter (NPC)
Armour Class 2 [17] (plate mail + shield)
Hit Points 17
Attacks 1 × Rod of Lordly Might as mace (1d6+2)
THAC0 19 [0]
Movement Rate 60' (20')
Saves D12 W13 P14 B15 S16
Alignment TBD
STR 16 INT 11 WIS 9
DEX 10 CON 12 CHA 12
Items Rod of Lordly Might [See Advanced Fantasy]

Ashlee is a proud and brave warrior who seeks glory and wealth as an adventurer. Unfortunately, her family are a line of professional soldiers. There's no overt pressure for her to conform - the real black sheep are the ones who turned to mercenary work - but the support Ashlee receives from her family is less than enthusiastic. This bothers her, but not enough to turn her away from what she sees as her calling.


Another six characters done, thirteen remaining!

2026 Character Creation Challenge Speed Run: NPC Adventuring Party for OSE

Entries for January 7-12.

Sometimes a GM needs a NPC adventuring party handy. They could be rivals, allies, enemies, or just passing through. These are for use in our on-and-off-again Old School Essentials Advanced Fantasy Nostalgia Tour campaign. Note that all alignments are listed as to be determined (TBD) since I won't necessarily know what role they'll be playing until I drop them into the campaign.

Full disclosure - the stats for these characters were produced using the NPC generator on the Necrotic Gnome website. Some were modified afterward to better suit what I had in mind. Others stuck with whatever was determined by the generator, even if it's counter intuitive. That's especially true of some of the weapon selections. I usually prefer to create characters by hand, but I've been wanting to test out the Necrotic Gnome generators. I also used an online name generator, either using names as is or as inspiration. All of the narrative backgrounds are my own creation.

OSE Generators (Necrotic Gnome website)

Fantasy Name Generators

Zath, Half-Orc Barbarian

Level 3 Barbarian (NPC)
Armour Class 4 [15] (chainmail + shield)
Hit Points 17
Attacks 1 × hand axe (1d6)
THAC0 19 [0]
Movement Rate 60' (20')
Saves D10 W13 P12 B15 S16
Alignment TBD
STR 15 INT 9 WIS 12
DEX 9 CON 14 CHA 6
Items None

Zath is not the most charming, graceful, or intellectual sort, but he's robust and has the cunning to know that strength lies in numbers. Unfortunately, this particular party has fallen on hard times. His trusty sword broke awhile back, forcing him to rely on his hand axe. Gethwine's magical greatsword is a tempting replacement, but Zath doesn't like his odds against her. If somebody offered him a deal that looks better than the what he has going on right now, he'd seriously consider it.


Edraele Rosatra, Elf Magic User

Level 3 Magic-User (NPC)
Armour Class 12 [7] (unarmoured)
Hit Points 5
Attacks 1 × dagger (1d4) or 1 × spell
THAC0 19 [0]
Movement Rate 120' (40')
Saves D13 W14 P13 B16 S15
Alignment TBD
STR 11 INT 15 WIS 13
DEX 3 CON 12 CHA 13
Spells light (darkness), magic missile, phantasmal force
Items None

Edraele's arcane talents are limited by her complete lack of the litheness associated with her people. She is able to carry out the movements necessary for spell casting. Her stiff gait is distinctive and her clumsy nature got her kicked out of magic academy. Edraele's family connects could get her a position as an academic, but she is determined to prove herself on her own merits.


Reinhold, Human Cleric

Level 3 Cleric (NPC)
Armour Class 5 [14] (chainmail + shield)
Hit Points 10
Attacks 1 × mace (1d6+1) or 1 × spell
THAC0 19 [0]
Movement Rate 60' (20')
Saves D11 W12 P14 B16 S15
Alignment TBD
STR 10 INT 10 WIS 13
DEX 7 CON 8 CHA 6
Spells light (darkness), remove fear (cause fear)
Items Mace +1

Reinhold had his heart set on becoming a warrior priest. Although he's not the quickest or most hardy, he passed the tests and received training in the arts of fighting. His superiors had one piece of advice for him, though - don't try evangelizing. He doesn't have the personality for it.


Meldris Doriana, Half-Elf Ranger

Level 3 Ranger (NPC)
Armour Class 6 [13] (leather armour)
Hit Points 12
Attacks 1 × long bow (1d6)
THAC0 19 [0]
Movement Rate 90' (30')
Saves D12 W13 P14 B15 S16
Alignment TBD
STR 11 INT 8 WIS 9
DEX 15 CON 9 CHA 10
Items None

Meldris' passion for archery is her defining trait. Drawing and releasing an arrow is a mediative experience for her. However, this party isn't what she was hoping for - most of her share of the loot is going to spent on replacing her arrows. Cutting her losses and looking into alternatives is awfully tempting.


Sir Michael Gerard, Knight

Level 3 Knight (NPC)
Armour Class 2 [17] (plate mail + shield)
Hit Points 17
Attacks 1 × dagger (1d4+2)
THAC0 19 [0]
Movement Rate 60' (20')
Saves D12 W13 P14 B15 S16
Alignment Chaotic
STR 17 INT 9 WIS 9
DEX 9 CON 15 CHA 12
Items Dagger +2 (+3 vs orcs, goblins and kobolds)

Michael's sword fell down a bottomless chasm. That leaves him with nothing but his trusty poniard, much to his irritation. The idea of taking Gethwine's magical greatsword sorely tempts him, but Michael knows such an act would be dishonorable. Being hungry, tired, lost, and looking at a payout of a few coins isn't the glorious campaign he was looking for.


Gethwine of Kinkirk, Fighter

Level 3 Fighter (NPC)
Armour Class 5 [14] (chainmail)
Hit Points 18
Attacks 1 × two-handed sword (1d10+1)
THAC0 19 [0]
Movement Rate 60' (20')
Saves D12 W13 P14 B15 S16
Alignment Neutral
STR 11 INT 13 WIS 12
DEX 10 CON 10 CHA 10
Items Two-handed sword +1 (Flaming)

Hailing from the north, Gethwine is barbaric in appearance and temperament. Striking out to see the lands beyond her home seemed like a good idea at the time. Now she's having doubts. Zath and Michael covet her magical greatsword. And this party's ill fortunes are waring her down. There has to be a better way to make a living.

Six more down, nineteen to go!

2026 Character Creation Challenge Speed Run: Starfleet Task Force 777

Entries for January 3-6.

Are ships characters? I pulled this stunt last year, more than once, and nobody showed up to stop me.

All ships are stated out for Star Trek Adventures 1e.


Historical Brief

Records of Task Force 777 date back to the United Earth Starfleet and continue to its current incarnation. The first Task Force 777 was a relief force formed in the aftermath of the Earth-Romulan War. The designation was deliberately outside the format used during the war to avoid confusion with combat formations. Ships rotated through Task Force 777 as they became available or were needed elsewhere. It was disbanded as larger scale rebuilding efforts came online with the formation of the United Federation of Planets.

At least three different Task Forces 777 operated during the 23rd century. One was formed in the 2340s to respond to various emergencies emerging on the Federation's outlying settlements and outposts. Another operated during the Federation-Klingon War (2256-57) as a reserve and rear area security force, but is known to have seen front line combat. The third was created in 2393 to assist in repairing the damage caused by the Praxis disaster.

A Task Force 777 existed during the Federation border conflicts of the 2340s-60s. It mainly operated to provide security to vulnerable settlements and installations. It also provided emergency relief to stricken colonies and engaged in combat on occasion.


Task Force 777 (2380s)

Starfleet's current Task Force 777 was formed during the Dominion War (2373-2375) as a reserve and rear area security force. Task Force 777 was often called to respond to emergencies far from the front lines as it was the only substantial Federation Alliance force available. This sometimes resulted in facing grim odds against Jem'Hadar or Breen raiders. Happily, it also led to two first contact scenarios as Task Force 777 was called in to investigate odd sensor readings.

The mission and composition of Task Force 777 was changed after the Dominion War to assist in rebuilding. Its mandate was broadened to include relief and emergency efforts of all kinds as the years went on. This mission continues in the 2380s.

Task Force 777 is mainly deployed in situations that would overwhelm a single starship. Additional ships are rotated through Task Force 777 as needed. Only the ships permanently assigned to Task Force 777 are described below. These ships are intended to provide a wide variety of capabilities.

USS Vasquez

USS Vasquez, Galaxy class, NCC-71874

USS Vasquez is an example of Dominion War emergency construction. None of the things that define the Galaxy class were part of its original construction - no carpets, no wood paneling, none of the luxuries intended to support years-long deep space exploration missions. The ship was all gunmetal interiors, additional fusion powerplants, extra phaser arrays, and rough edges. After the Dominion War, the ship was refitted to peacetime standards, but the rough edges were never really buffed out.

USS Vasquez is the command ship of Task Force 777. It provides plenty of capability on its own and coordinates the efforts of the other ships.

I named this ship in honor of Vasquez Rocks - a location long a part of Star Trek.

USS Edmonton

USS Edmonton, Parliament class, NCC-70419

A support ship is required for Task Force 777's current mission. A California class was considered, but all ships of that class are fully committed to second contact missions. USS Edmonton provides additional support for relief and emergency missions.

Edmonton was the first name of a Canadian population center that caught my eye.

USS Katherine Johnson

USS Katherine Johnson, Nova class, NCC-73216

USS Johnson is Task Force 777's dedicated science ship. It provided analysis and research facilities when needed. Otherwise, the ship is detached to perform long term observation of phenomena along Task Force 777's patrol route.

Katherine Johnson was one of the first African-American women to work at NASA. Her calculations - often manual - were essential for Projects Mercury, Apollo, and the Space Shuttle program. She received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Silver Snoopy Award, a NASA Group Achievement Award, the Congressional Gold Medal, and was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame (posthumously) in recognition of her accomplishments.

USS Jeanne de Clisson

USS Jeanne de Clisson, Defiant class, NCC-74300

USS de Clisson is Task Force 777's dedicated combat ship. It provides area security, carries out patrols, and escorts any transport convoys supporting Task Force 777. This results in a surprising number of hostile encounters due to the value of relief and medical supplies. Fortunately, the reputation of the Defiant class often acts as a deterrent.

Jeanne de Clisson, also known as the Lioness of Brittany, was a French/Breton noblewomen who turned privateer after her husband was executed by King Philip VI of France. She led her three ships from her flagship My Revenge in a campaign of commerce raiding against the French. She regularly killed off almost the whole crew of the French ships she targeted. It was her practice to leave at least one sailor alive to carry word to King Philip VI.

Would Starfleet name a ship after somebody like Jeanne de Clisson? I can see the arguments against it, but this is a Defiant class starship.


Four more down, twenty five to go!

2026 Character Creation Challenge Speed Run: Gamma World Goodness

Entries for January 1-2

It's the middle of the last week of January. Is it too late to catch up? Let's find out!

Gamma World 1e box cover art.

Gamma World 1e is an early TSR product that didn't fall far from the D&D tree. It's a sci-fi dungeon crawl set generations after the Shadow Wars. The post-apocalyptic setting explains where all the high-tech ruins come from. Mutants and robots replace fantasy monsters. Mutant powers replace magic. Technological artifacts replace magic items. It borrows heavily from James M. Wards' earlier work in Metamorphosis Alpha.

I might run it down the road. It will likely hit the table as the X-Men meet Mad Max with a dash of Gene Roddenberry's Genesis II mixed in. My usual approach of familiarizing myself with a game involves reading the rulebook and generating a character or two.

The Gamma World 1e rulebook is as poorly organized and incomplete as I've come to expect from products of its era. What equipment do starting player characters have access to? How much starting funds do they have? The book doesn't say.

Let's take armor as a specific example. The Gamma World 1e book only lists a single price for armor, but the armor class table describes various types. Even if technological artifacts are eliminated, that still leaves a range of armors available. Are furs and skins, cured hide, plant fiber, and piece metal armors all the same price? Even if they are, those accustomed to D&D may assume that more protective armors come with offsetting factors like weight. Surprise! Gamma World 1e doesn't seem to have encumbrance rules.

It's going to take some work to get this game table ready. The designers seem to assume that the GM already owns D&D or AD&D and will pull any rules not covered in the Gamma World 1e book from them. I'll likely look to OSE as an additional source.

For these reasons, the following characters don't have equipment listed.


Tom "Spacewalker" Christian

Pure Strain Human is the problematic term for humans genetically identical to those from before the fall of civilization. They don't get cool mutant powers. They do get a charisma bonus, some familiarity with advanced technology, and a better chance of passing as authorized personnel to automated checks when possessing the correct (stolen) credentials. I guess future AI is sometimes smart enough to question why the person with the identification of a high ranking scientist or military officer has too many arms of green, photosynthetic skin. On the other hand, those same AI don't seem concerned that the person in front of them don't match their identification, so maybe they're not that smart.

Mental Strength 11
Intelligence 10
Dexterity 13
Physical Strength 13
Charisma 18
Constitution 13

Hit Points 45

No mutations.

The stats are fairly straightforward to anybody familiar with any version of D&D. Mental Strength is used with attacking or defending against what D&D would refer to as psionics. Hit points are determined by rolling a d6 for each point of Constitution.

Tom Christian was born in village established within the security perimeter of an automated farm. He grew up tending crops and tinkering with agricultural machinery. The elders told stories of how one of Tom's ancestors walked the void above the skies (she was an orbital construction worker). Tom took the name Spacewalker when he came of age and left the village to seek his destiny. Nobody actually calls him that.


Bartholomew "Bart" Allen

Humanoids are what Gamma World 1e calls mutated humans. Since the game runs on 1960s-70s sci-fi tropes, mutations are more likely to result in strange powers than debilitating conditions. Although debilitating conditions are still possible. I used the rules that allow for choosing mutations rather than randomly determining them. However, the number of mutations is always random.

Mental Strength 14
Intelligence 14
Dexterity 17
Physical Strength 11
Charisma 13
Constitution 14

Hit Points 56

Physical Mutations
Increased Speed
Regeneration

Mental Mutations
Molecular Understanding
Planar Travel
Teleportation

Defects
Increased Metabolism (D)

This is an attempt to model a superhero speedster using the Gamma World 1e rules. Increased Speed is an obvious choice. Teleportation and Planar Travel simulate extreme speed and access to other realms unlocked by that speed. Molecular Understanding models a speedster "vibrating" to do more damage.

Regeneration allows for faster healing, but the amount of healing is based on the character's weight in kilograms. I couldn't find rules to determine such a thing in the book. Porting rules from AD&D doesn't work without conversion, since those are in pounds.

Increased Metabolism (D) requires a character to stop every fifth combat turn to eat. There are also comments about having to carry around more food. While the cost of a week's travel rations is given, I couldn't find out how much they weigh. And, again, there don't seem to be encumbrance rules in the game anyway. Also, the prices of other sources of food - a meal in town, for example - are not presented.

Bartholomew "Bart" Allen was born to a modest trading community. His powers made him a useful messenger and scout, although his enormous appetite was a concern during lean years. In time, Bart decided to strike out on his own. At speed.


Two characters down out of thirty one. More to come!

2026 Character Creation Challenge - A Late Start and New Plan

There's been a dearth of 2026 Character Creation Challenge entries on this blog. I have a plan to fix that. Is it a good plan? Ask me in February.

I'm mostly recovered from an illness that put me down for the last days of 2025 and much of 2026 so far. And by "illness" I don't mean "had the sniffles" or was a little tired. I was either sick in bed or indulging in prayer while on the toilet. I didn't test positive for either the flu or the infamous thing with the number in it. Plans for New Year's were abandoned and I'm behind on everything.

Regarding the 2026 Character Creation Challenge, I reviewed the rules and I have developed a plan. The only relevant requirement is 31 characters - one for each day of January. So I'm going to churn out and post multiple characters per day until I make the target number.

That means two things - simpler systems and groups of characters. Simpler games that I'm already familiar with makes character creation easier. Making multiple characters based on a theme - an adventuring party or spaceship crew, for example - also speeds things up.

That's the plan. Let's see how long it survives contact with reality.

Lost World Island Life, Part 2 - Remodeling X1 The Isle of Dread

Our break from playing X1 The Isle of Dread has been extended by the holiday doldrums. That's my term for the part of the year where gaming plans are disrupted by late year holidays and associated family obligations. But there is a bright side - this extended break gives me more time to prepare for next year's games.

The first post in this series features commentary on converting the module to Old School Essentials Advanced Fantasy and an overview of the sessions we're played thus far: Lost World Island Life, Part 1 - Running (Some of) X1 The Isle of Dread in OSE.

This post covers the ongoing process of addressing the issues I found while running the module. Or, to put it another way, changing the stuff that didn't land well with me or our group.

Gaps in the Module

There aren't many ruins on the Isle. Given its long history and the lost world vibe of the module, I feel that there should be more signs of prior habitation littering the place.

The "Lair of the Lizard Men" (encounter key #11) seems small for a self-sustaining community. The lair in question has 14 inhabitants. This makes the number that can be encountered randomly (2-8) represents a significant portion of the Isle's lizardfolk population. I've decided to expand this encounter and place it within a set of overgrown ruins.

Black, green, and red dragons are all listed on the random encounter tables. No detailed information about their lairs is presented in the module. Any adventuring party encountering a dragon would take a keen interest in tracking down its lair to loot its hoard. I'm making a set of simple dragon lairs appropriate to each type's preferred terrain. Along with that, I'm also rolling up a treasure for each dragon encounter ahead of time.

Indigenous humans and zombies can be encountered randomly on the Isle. The southern villages are explicitly described as isolated from and unaware of happenings on the rest of the Isle. This suggests the existence of other tribes with their own zombie masters in the wild central and northern areas of the Isle.

Finally, the boss monsters of the module - the Kopru - come out of nowhere from the players perspective. In fact, the module instructs the GM: "the players should not be told who or what the Kopru were; this is part of the taboo - for more details, see page 20" (X1 The Isle of Dread, page 23). Page 20, by the way, is a map of the Phanaton Platforms. Not very useful for details on why the GM should keep the Kopru a secret from the players. This may result in the Kopru being nothing more than a weird monster encounter at the bottom of the Isle's one dungeon as published. I've decided to go against the module's advice and drop hints of the Kopru throughout the Isle's ruins.


Examining Other D&D Material for Inspiration

C1 The Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan

I briefly pondered dropping The Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan somewhere on the Isle, but decided that it would be overkill. Using the Shrine would certainly solve the whole lack of ruins issue. Unfortunately, it would also put an extensive dungeon complex in a hexcrawl that's already dragging for our group. This kind of adventure module inception is the kind of thing that kills off campaigns. Besides, we previously played through B4 The Lost City and I don't want to do another pyramid/ziggurat adventure so soon. Best to let The Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan breathe on its own by running it some other time.

Manual of the Planes (2008, 4e)

This version of the Manual of the Planes presents the ideas that the Isle of Dread originates from the Feywild and moves across worlds and planes from time to time. Of particular interest is the stirring description of the place:

"The Isle of Dread is a vast tropical island of volcanic origin set amid stormy seas. Jagged reefs guard the approach to black sand beaches. If a boat does somehow make it to the shore in one piece, its passengers then face a solid, lush green wall of tropical vines and trees. Great knifelike peaks of obsidian rise beyond the treeline. Travelers venture into that jungle at their peril. Of all the savage and secret places of the Feywild, the Isle of Dread is the most mysterious."

So I'll be stealing bit of that description. Moving on:

"The entire Isle of Dread worldfalls constantly and unpredictably from the Feywild to the mortal realm - and it shifts to even stranger planes at times. Some sages argue it is everywhere at once, and some argue it is nowhere at all times. As a result of its constant travel, the Isle is populated by all manner of savage beasts.

This does explain where some of the weirder folks and critters came from.

"It also hosts several tiny camps of shipwrecked sentient beings."

Oh, I'll be making use of this.

"The Isle is steaming hot. Reptilian beings fare better at exploring its secrets due to the climate."

The one Dragonborn in the party: "I don't know why the rest of y'all keep complaining. I love the climate here."

The description varies from the module here:

"Those secrets appear to be endless. An ancient yuan-ti temple is at the center of the jungle. North of the temple, several primitive races live in splendid stone ziggurats of unknown origin. Eagle-eyed explorers can just barely make out a thin tower, a needle of phosphorescent crystal, rising from the peak of one of the central mountains. On the southern coast several bands of stranded mortals have found each other - and discovered, to their shock, they all originate from wildly different moments in history. Some have reported sighting giant, terrible lizards racing on two legs through the jungle."

As previously stated, our group ran through B4 The Lost City. I'm not eager to wander back into another ziggurat. I'm also not shoving yuan-ti onto the Isle. While they are thematic to the lost world jungle island theme, the Isle doesn't lack for monsters calling the place home.

The crystal tower has possibilities, though.


The Isle's History - A Working Model

Ancient Lore

The Isle is not a natural part of the Prime Material Plane, but a piece of the Feywild that has become detached from time and space. The Isle appears on multiple worlds and planes at once. It also returns to the Feywild on occasion. Any pattern to its movements and how it began its journeys is unknown to any but the gods.

Rise of Civilization on the Isle

An indigenous human culture came to dominate much of the Isle before falling into stasis. Much of their history is preserved only in carvings. They had a wide range of accomplishments, including advanced necromancy and the creation of living statues.

Conquest

The Kopru arrive and use mind control to take over the human leaders. Much of human civilization is altered or destroyed to suit the Kopru. Human come to worship the Kopru and follow dark practices at their command. The Kopru and their human slaves chronicle their achievements in stone. These statues and carvings also extend the range of Kopru mind control powers.

Revolution

Humans rebels use a combination of living statues and zombies - both immune to mind control - to destroy most of the Kopru statues and carvings. With Kopru mind control over most of the Isle broken, much of the human population rises up in revolt.

Most Kopru flee the Isle as the capitol - now transformed into something more suitable for the Kopru - burns. Some use portals to escape to alien realms. Others simply hurled themselves into the sea. The capitol on the central plateau is completely razed except for a hidden temple. The last of Kopru on the Isle shelter there with the last of their human worshippers and slaves.

Rebuilding and Retreat

Human civilization flowers again after a period of rebuilding, but much knowledge has been lost. Wildlife and intruders push the indigenous humans south. They leave their cities and towns behind. Their last great project is the construction of the wall separating the southern peninsula from the rest of the Isle. Protected by the wall, the surviving humans settle into a tribal existence sustained by the lands they still control.

Human settlements survive in the north and central areas of the Isle. Some are indigenous in origin. These are reliant on their zombie masters to maintain a defense against the dangers of the Isle. Others are shipwreck survivors or lost explorers.


Isle Politics

Aranea
A handful of explorers searching the Isle's ruins for arcane knowledge. Their current lair is directly over the remains of an indigenous human city once ruled by the Kopru.

Indigenous Humans - Northern and Central Isle
A few villages in defensible positions are scattered throughout the Isle. They have their own matriarchal governments and zombie masters, but each has diverged compared with the southern villages in various ways. Their reactions to outsiders range from wary to hostile.

Indigenous Humans - Seven Southern Villages
Long isolated by the great wall built by their ancestors, their only contact with the rest of the Isle are their forays to the tar pits. They seek trade with the mainland and are friendly to outsiders.

Indigenous Humans - Taboo Island
The last remaining worshippers of the Kopru on the Isle. Their main concerns are survival and expanding their numbers. They occasionally conduct raids on the Village of Mantru.

Indigenous Humans - Village of Mantru
Descended from survivors of the capitol's destruction. Long isolated from the rest of the Isle, their culture has diverged from the other indigenous humans. Their primary concern is defending themselves against the Kopru worshippers.

Kopru
The last survivors of the fall of their civilization on the Isle. Currently hiding in their final redoubt with their few human worshippers. They dream of summoning more of their kind and reconquering the Isle, but that is far beyond their current capabilities. At present, they seek to expand the number of humans under their control. Once they command a significant human population, they plan to send them to recover lost Kopru artifacts and knowledge scatter around the Isle.

Lizardfolk
A small self-supporting population of hunter-gatherers. They are isolationist except for small parties that wander the Isle in search of prey. They are not inclined to provoke groups large or powerful enough to pose an existential threat.

Non-Indigenous Individuals and Parties
These range from shipwreck survivors to rival adventuring parties who are exploring the Isle for their own reasons.

Phanaton
Originally a small party sent to hunt the Aranea. Since expanded into a self-sufficient population due to mission creep. They have an interest in finding allies and trade partners.

Rakasta
A small party of warriors and their retinue seeking glory and trade opportunities. Sort of like a Viking expedition, but with more fur and a Middle Eastern flair. They raid weaker groups for loot while offering to trade with stronger or wealthier groups.


Gap Filling Plans and Customized Encounters

Base more encounters, including random encounters, in and around overgrown ruins with hints of the Isle's history. In some cases, this will simply be an effort maintain the module's lost world flavor. "You encounter (random monster) in some overgrown ruins."

To present hints about the Isle, the party can find the corpse (maybe zombified) of an explorer. Examination of the body reveals several documents protected from the elements. The explorer's journal chronicles the events of their expedition and records the locations of nearby ruins. The other documents are notes on the Isle's history from various scholarly sources.

Add a ruin infested by reptiles and dinosaurs for more a lost world vibe. This area hosts significant clues to the Isle's history. The ruins are partly overgrown by jungle and partly sinking into a swamp.

Expand the lizardfolk settlement and detail the randomly encountered dragon's lairs.

Place indigenous human villages in the northern and central Isle.

Add the tower described in the Manual of the Planes to a mountain on the northern-central part of the Isle. It can serve as an additional challenge after dealing with the Kopru.

Add a castaway camp near a shore location.

Add a group of Cynidiceans from the Lost City. They belong to the Cult of Zargon and were sent to prevent the destruction of his horn. Since they already failed that mission, they now seek the destruction of the player characters. They may end up running afoul of one of the many other groups on the Isle.

Add a rival adventuring party. They're led by a necromancer after the arcane secrets held by the zombie masters and in the Isle's ruins. This group was hired by the Cult of Zargon, but that agreement didn't survive the storm that swamped the ship they were all sailing on and resulting struggle to survive. The two groups split apart and are now hostile to each other.

2026 Character Creation Challenge - Introduction

I've decided to take part in next year's Character Creation Challenge. The previous one was fun, but it was type 2 fun. Better in retrospect than when I was actually stuck in the middle of it. I go into why it was that particular kind of fun in this post: 2025 Character Creation Challenge - After Action Review.

What's the Character Creation Challenge? Here's where I introduced the last round: The 2025 Character Creation Challenge, Introduction.

The up to date post from TardisCaptain about the 2026 Character Creation Challenge is on the far end of this link: 2026 Character Creation Challenge.

My planning for the challenge has progressed from "better than nothing" and "concepts of a plan" to the "half-baked harebrained scheme" phase. I have a provisional list of games, ideas for some characters, and a few ideas from the last time that I'm repurposing for next year's go around.

Provisional List of Games:

13th Age (1e)
Ashen Stars
Conan
D&D 4e
Deep Dark Blue (Fate Core)
Five Parsecs From Home
Gamma World (1e)
Ghost Worlds (Fate Core)
Infinity of Ships
Lancer
Mothership
Night's Black Agents
OSE Advanced
Star Trek Adventures (1e)
Star Wars (West End Games)
Tachyon Squadron
Timewatch

This list is "provisional" because I may add or subject games depending on how things are going and whatever whim I'm following at the moment.

As an example of a new take on a slightly used idea, "create a starship crew" worked great for Star Trek Adventures last time. But I don't want to do it again for the Star Trek setting. So I'm thinking of extending the idea to Ashen Stars, Five Parsecs From Home, and West End Games' Star Wars RPG.

As with the previous time around, I'll be posting each character here on this blog, on the RPG.net forum thread dedicated to the challenge, on Bluesky, and on Mastodon.

For anybody contemplating taking part in this madness, here's a couple of handy links.

TardisCaptain's FAQ on the challenge: Character Creation Challenge.

My lessons learned post regarding the last round: 6 Lessons I Learned from the 2025 Character Creation Challenge.

Let's see where this goes next month.

RPGaDay 2025 Final Week Roundup

The RPGaDay 2025 challenge is over until next year. Here's one more compilation with extra remarks. Additional commentary is in italics. For background information on RPGaDay, see this introductory post. Here are links to the week one, week two, week three, and week four roundups.

Day 25: Challenge

A challenge can be a duel, a contest of wits, a wager, a tournament, et cetera. Whatever the form, it should give participants chances to shine and moments where they're stumped. Challenges best reflect the character of those taking them on.

The biggest challenge in doing RPGaDay is coming up with something to fit the daily prompt. It's easy enough early on, but inspiration doesn't come so quickly after the halfway point. My workaround was to look up the definition of the word used as the prompt. It was just enough to get the creative juices going.


Day 26: Nemesis

The Nemesis System gives NPCs in "Shadows of Mordor" personality. They recall past encounters, hold grudges, gain new traits, etc. Warner Bros owns the patient, but it appears to only cover video games. Will TTRPG space roll those dice? Dunno.

A good break down of the Nemesis System as it's used in "Shadows of Mordor" can be found here: The Nemesis System (link to IGN).

It could be argued that this could all be accomplished by GM fiat. While true, such an argument ignores the long tradition of random tables and rules that govern what happens in game. A system helps to ensure impartiality and allows players to see patterns in the system. GM fiat can be a little too random and arbitrary for players to feel that they have an effect on things.

I really need to get around to writing a post about the Nemesis System and TTRPGs at some point. Any interest?


Day 27: Tactic

A tactic is a means for achieving a goal. Tactics rarely survive contact with the table on both sides of the screen. It's not a bug, it's an intended feature. Keeps everybody on their toes.

GM plans fall apart due to the players. Player plans fall apart due to the GM. I figure that it's fair all the way around.


Day 28: Suspense

"It's the suspense that gets me" - Bugs Bunny, "Easter Yeggs" (1947). Generating suspense takes disciplined play. The reward is tantalizing uncertainty. The sense that something is about to happen, but not knowing what.

Suspense is the feeling that keeps players on their toes. Like the atmosphere in horror games, it takes focus to establish and maintain.


Day 29: Connect

More of this hobby takes place over an internet connection than ever. My introverted, possibly neurodivergent self welcomes it. On the other hand, TTRPGs are an activity where I'm willing to come into close proximity to other people. I'm conflicted.

Gaming over an internet connection is still personal interaction. In person gaming has more fidelity - expressions, gestures, and tone of voice are easier to perceive. It also lacks the convenience of using a device in the comfort of one's home. Which one gets used by a particular group often comes down to circumstances and personal preference.


Day 30: Experience

My first TTRPG experience involved a GM who carried his gaming stuff around in a hand-me-down white Samsonite hard shell briefcase. His D&D/AD&D campaign featured a Learjet and a red convertible. I think it was a Cadillac.

Yeah, the first campaign I played in was gonzo. In the defense of everybody involved, we were all still in grade school.

I sometimes consider getting a white Samsonite hard shell briefcase out of nostalgia. Those things are awkward and heavy, though.


Day 31: Reward

The true reward is the friends we made along the way. And the tales we get to share. Plus the loot our characters found. And the levels they gained. But mostly the friendship thing. And the stories.

The real, true reward is getting to the end of this challenge. It's fun and gets me back into the habit of writing, but the end of it frees up time and attention.

RPGaDay 2025 Week 4 Roundup

Welcome to the week four compilation with extra remarks for the RPGaDay 2025 challenge! Additional commentary is in italics. For background information on RPGaDay, see this introductory post. To see my responses to the daily prompts as I post them, please see the dedicated RPG.net forum thread, Mastodon, and Bluesky.

Day 18: Sign

Signs advertise the local tavern or smithy. Modern & sci-fi facilities use signs to guide folks. Warning signs in unfamiliar languages could be counterproductive. Skulls decorating the "stay off the bad guy's lawn" sign get the point across.

To elaborate on these points and an extra:
The colored animal tavern or inn sign is practically a trope for fantasy TTRPGs at this point.
Most large, modern spaces have signage so people aren't milling around and bothering folks for directions.
Figuring out how to discourage people in the far future from poking around places like nuclear waste disposal sites is a tricky problem. Future folks might see the warnings and come to the conclusion that something valuable is buried in those places. Which defeats the whole point.
Decorating things with skulls should be a cause for reflection.
Signage in secure installations could be designed to be altered quickly to confuse intruders, directing hostile personnel straight into ambushes. Digital signs with wireless access would be really handy for this. On the other hand, they could also be hacked.


Day 19: Destiny

No destiny survives contact with the tabletop. The Chosen One dies in a random encounter. The prophesy flies apart on takeoff.

Twist things around to fit. Another Child of Destiny. The oracle spoke metaphorically. Edit to keep the game going

Folks like to complain about things like "player agency" when I make posts like this. I'm convinced that "player agency" is the new "railroading" - a vaguely defined term that people can throw at things they don't like, but can't really articulate an argument against. Just like railroading, I say that most players prefer riding the train for awhile to wandering the desert without direction.


Day 20: Enter

How things enter a game say much about that thing. Quietly? Openly, though the front door? Violently? Or surgically, precisely? A big guy doesn't have to kick the door in, but it helps establish them as the opposition.

This is a distant cousin to the "when in doubt, have a man come through the door with a gun in his hand" quote attributed to Raymond Chandler. His advice has to do with spicing up detective fiction. This has to do with the player's first impression of an NPC.


Day 21: Unexpected

The novelty of the unexpected is overrated. Betrayal? Inevitable. Plot twist? Wears thin. Enjoy the unexpected when it works, but don't rely on it. Focus on core elements - strong characterization, compelling narratives, and engaging the players.

Mister Johnson - the shifty corpo that nobody trusted at all - sells out the player characters! Why are the players yawning?

Surprise is difficult to pull off. It can be done, but it needs foreshadowing. Unfortunately, dropping those hints could tip the gamemaster's hand.

There's also the issue of overuse. Too many unexpected twists may lead players to start looking for them. The surprise wears off in the face of weariness.


Day 22: Ally

I'm coming around to running NPC allies mechanically. I blame Ken Hite and the Network system in Night's Black Agents. Players invest points in an NPC ally, who provides useful services to the PC.

Here's a link to the Pelgrane Press site that goes into more detail on Network.

I really need to circle back to GUMSHOE at some point.


Day 23: Recent

Recent games: Our group is dipping our toes into Tachyon Squadron for Fate Core. We're taking a break from "Nostalgia Tour" - an Old School Essentials campaign that's all classic D&D/AD&D modules. What's next? Still in the idea stage.

We deliberately take breaks from the Nostalgia Tour. Long campaigns tend to wear folks down. It also gives us the chance to try other games.


Day 24: Reveal

Slowly reveal the big bad with rumors and conflicts with their minions. Minimize contact with the PCs to delay proactive actions like attacking the big bad as soon as they show up. Their gloating speeches can be done remotely.

Trotting out the big bad within attack range of the player characters is asking for combat to start. Use encounters with their minions and officers to offer up challenges before such a confrontation. The big bad can write messages to threaten and provoke. Or call in a setting that supports long range communications. Just keep them out of reach until the finale.

Fate Core and Tachyon Squadron - First Impressions

We're playing Tachyon Squadron for Fate Core while taking a break from the OSE Nostalgia Tour campaign. Military sci-fi featuring space fighters using a more narrative system seems like a nice change of pace. But I had to learn the system before we could jump into it. Easy, right?

On Fate Core

I had no prior experience with any version of Fate. Trying out the game as somebody else runs it would've been the ideal way to familiarize myself. Unfortunately, no such opportunities were on my horizons. I had to build system mastery on my own.

I had some reading to do.

In my misspent youth, I could devour a whole book in a day. Those days are a long way gone in my rear view mirror. It took awhile, but I read through both books. What I should do now is go through them again and make notes. But that's a lot of time and study for a relaxing hobby. I'll be winging it from this point forward.

Fate Core splits the narrative load between the gamemaster and players. This is different from older TTRPGs and those that follow in their footsteps. Many GMs and players resist the whole notion of sharing the narrative. GMs because they're accustomed to having near total control over everything in a game that isn't a player character. Players may resist since they aren't used to thinking in terms of narrative aside from their own characters. The learning curve for those not familiar with narrative play can be steep.

On the other hand, Fate has been around long enough to spread its influence around TTRPG design spaces. A fair amount of the 2d20 system from Modiphius borrows from Fate. Determination in Star Trek Adventures, for example, appears to be modelled on how Fate points are spent. The advantage/disadvantage mechanic many know from the world's best marketed TTRPG feels similar to maximizing/minimizing dice rolls in Fate. Elements of the system may seem awfully familiar to any TTRPG player.


On Tachyon Squadron

I've been shopping for a space fighter TTRPG for awhile. Many titles caught my eye, but I kept seeing recommendations for Tachyon Squadron wherever I went looking. Now that I've read through it, I can see why.

Fighter combat in Tachyon Squadron is built around the Maneuver Chart. It organizes all participants in initiative order. Those higher on the chart (usually the player characters due to their bonuses) get to stomp on the plebians beneath them. This is both typical of initiative systems and neatly models how energy states work in dogfights. Certain actions allow movement up and down the chart, simulating combat maneuvers. Overall, it's a clean and neat way of modeling a dogfight without having to set up a miniatures wargame in the middle of a TTRPG session.

Everything else in Tachyon Squadron runs using a streamlined version of Fate Core. Space fighter pilots spend a surprising amount of time running around away from their fighters in the source materials. Having a system that can handle both violent and not so violent interactions equally well is nice.

Finally, Tachyon Squadron deals with the stresses of being a space fighter pilot. Getting into dogfights, gun fights, fist fights, and dealing with whatever the plot happens to be is stressful. De-stressing in a positive way costs a Fate point and some of a pilot's limited free time. De-stressing in a way that lands a pilot in trouble earns a Fate point, but the trouble will be there to be dealt with and the miscreant behavior still takes up time. This models all the drinking, gambling, and other misbehavior common to space pilots.

I may report back once we're done kicking the tires on all this. Unless it turns into an utter disaster. In which case, I'll pretend this whole thing never happened.

RPGaDay 2025: Week 3 Roundup

It's time for the week three compilation of my responses to the RPGaDay 2025 challenge! This post includes additional commentary that won't fit into the confines of social media. That commentary is in italics. For background information on RPGaDay, refer to my introductory post. To see my responses to the daily prompts on the day of, see the dedicated RPG.net forum thread, Mastodon, and Bluesky.

Day 11: Flavor

Folks prefer organic over boxed text. Working details into the flow of the game is fresher than reading novel excerpts at glassy eyed players. Cook flavor into play.

Remember boxed text in classic AD&D adventure modules? Remember enjoying boxed text in classic AD&D adventure modules? I don't. Reading boxed text and having boxed text read at me was an excruciating experience. Especially when the module designer got cute and included some key detail at the very end. The kind of detail that would've been the first thing anybody on the scene would've noticed.

A far better way of conveying flavor to the players is for them to interact with it. Short, punchy descriptions that they can act on in the moment. Clear communication in the gamemaster's own voice beats droning through something that somebody else wrote.


Day 12: Path

I discuss the path forward with our group. Where we think the current campaign is headed. The games we're interested in playing later. Ideas for what to do next. Talking about the path ahead maintains interest and generates enthusiasm.

I've learned - through painful experience on both sides of the gamemaster's screen - to value transparency when talking about the games we play. Clear communication sets expectations. It lets participants know what's next, what's around the corner, and what's down the road. It's difficult to get folks to buy into something without a back and forth on what that thing is.


Day 13: Darkness

Darkness - the absence of light - symbolizes depression, a lack of enlightenment, and evil. Let's subvert that! Darkness is a good place to hide, be left alone, or find quiet. A somber tone need not characterize those who are in it.

Equating darkness with serious mental struggles, ignorance, and the enemies of good has unfortunate implications. Emphasizing the positive aspects of darkness flips that narrative on its head.


Day 14: Mystery

How I run a mystery is informed by GUMSHOE. Players ask questions? They get answers. Players need to know something to move the game forward? They get what they need to know. Moving the mystery along is better than watching it grind to a halt.

I talk about GUMSHOE elsewhere on this blog. In fact, I wouldn't shut up about it for awhile. It's a system I really need to get back to running.


Day 15: Deceive

As a gamemaster, I don't deceive players about meta stuff like the campaign premise. The old switcheroo easily goes bad. In game? Things like NPCs lying through their teeth (or equivalent) to the player characters is fair and expected.

There's a difference between one participation lying to another at the table and a gamemaster-controlled character deceiving player characters within the context of the game. Folks who showed up expecting one kind of game may not welcome something completely different. And this honesty needs to go both ways. A player who promises to engage with the premise and fails to do so should expect to get called out.

On the other hand, players and player characters aren't exactly shocked when NPCs to try to deceive them. It's accepted and expected behavior.


Day 16: Overcome

There are many things to overcome to get a game together. Rules. Character generation. Adventure creation. Campaign management. But the biggest challenge to overcome is scheduling. Somebody needs to write a guide.

Going through a core rulebook to gain enough system mastery to guide players through character creation and play is a time consuming process. Absorbing the setting information needed to write adventures and come up with campaigns is also a pain in the rear. It's less reading for pleasure and more like academic study. I have to take notes and review them. Test time comes when our group is sitting around the table.

On scheduling, with all the "how to play" articles and videos out there, I'm surprised "how to handle scheduling for your TTRPG game" isn't its own sub-genre of TTRPG advice by now. There's a clear need for it.


Day 17: Renew

Everybody's got to refresh, renew, recharge. Long campaigns. Repetitive play. Grindy mechanics. Take a break. Try a new game. Reconnect with the source material by consuming genre content. Take a walk. Touch grass.

I'm not fond of "touch grass" as a saying, but it is important to go outside, move around, and stop to smell the roses from time to time. Putting a long campaign on hold for a palette cleansing run through another system or genre can help to maintain interest in gaming over the long term. When I start running out of juice as a gamemaster, I put away the game materials and either read a book on a non-gaming topic, watch a movie or TV show, or play a video game. It's a good break and can spark creativity.

RPGaDay 2025: Week 2 Recap and Commentary

Welcome to my RPGaDay 2025 week two compilation post. As I've done before, this post also includes additional commentary that's too verbose for the character limits of social media. The additional commentary is in italics. For information on RPGaDay in general, see this post. Want to get my responses to the daily prompts fresh on the day? See the dedicated RPG.net forum thread, Mastodon, and Bluesky.

Day 4: Message

Casting a hook involves sending messages to the players. Distress calls. Bounty posters. Orders from above. Notes left at taverns. "Go here for adventure" is always the meaning.

My group seems to prefer mission-based campaigns. Even when I'm running an open-world game, I send "adventure here" messages to give players a sense of direction. They don't have to take the bait in that case, but I offer it as an option. Mission-based games provide a sense of clarity. Some might criticize them as railroading, but I go with what works for our group.


Day 5: Ancient

Ancients are handy in fantasy settings for explaining where all the ruins come from. Sci-fi precursors are handy for (not) explaining how physics are being defied in the setting.

The real fun is subverting the "everything comes from ancients" thing.

Example: Technology in Mass Effect? Precursors. Subversion? There are older precursors that those precursors got their tech from. And killed them. And they're coming back to kill everybody.

I offered ancients as a reason for all the dungeons adventurers delve their way through awhile back. It makes sense and goes back to sources like Tolkien and Howard. Sci-fi precursors is something I'd like to muse about on this blog. Unfortunately, every draft thus far is too long and meandering for me to post.


Day 6: Motive

Not every villain has a "realistic" motive. Reasonable motives make a character understandable. But plenty of folks have selfish drives, petty goals, and cheerfully sacrifice the long term to get what they want. They accumulate vast wealth, maybe get into politics. Their complete lack of empathy becomes everybody's problem. A perfectly realistic villain motive.

I haven't given up on smart villains entirely. However, criticism of stupid, short-sighted, or pointlessly cruel bad guys as "unrealistic" ring hollow for me these days.


Day 7: Journey

Have an off ramp for that epic journey. Maintaining interest in a sprawling hex crawl, mega dungeon, or what Ken Hite calls a "trip up the Nile" is hard. Folks can burn out partway through. Have a way for the journey to be interrupted or take a IRL break.

I considered referencing the band Journey, but Polyhedral Nonsense took the idea for a ride and went further than I could have. Go give it a read.

I also toyed with a rant tearing down Campbell's hero's journey, but that would run longer than I have time for.

I really was going to do something with the band Journey. And I really do have issues with Campbell. Maybe that would be another good post idea.


Day 8: Explore

Going boldly is baked into many TTRPGs. Over and under. What's behind a door or beyond the stars. The familiar masking the unfamiliar. Things passing unnoticed in busy places. Stepping into these spaces is a basic part of the hobby.

It's difficult for me to think of a TTRPG that isn't fundamentally about exploration in some sense. That doesn't mean that they aren't out there. Indy TTRPG space is too big for me to keep tabs on.


Day 9: Inspire

Inspiration is hard to simulate. "Your song or speech stirs the hearts of your allies" is functional, but vague. A mechanical bonus is dry and unsatisfying. Modeling a deeply emotional response and its effects is an uncracked design challenge.

Think about times when something inspired you. Breathing and heartrate go up. The feeling of something new and exciting opens up in front of you. Evoking those emotions and how they influence a person's behavior is difficult to do in a game.


Day 10: Origin

The origin of D&D in wargaming is well established, but how modern #ttrpgs came to be is a longer story. Genre emulation, crafting games around telling stories, and developing play outside of the tactical murder hobo came later. Understanding that is important as the hobby continues to evolve in new directions.

There have been various revolutions in how TTRPGs work and what they do. Pushing miniatures around tactically is still part of things, but it's no longer the beating heart of the hobby. How those changes came to be seems as worthy of study as the early days of D&D.

Lost World Island Life, Part 1 - Running (Some of) X1 The Isle of Dread in OSE

I asked our group what D&D adventure module they wanted after B4 The Lost City. D&D module X1 The Isle of Dread was the strongest contender. We're about a quarter of the way through it. Seeing a long series of sessions between where we are and any possible end point, I put a pin in it. We'll be taking a break from the fantasy tropics for awhile and come back fresh later in the year.

My working folder, some notes, a previously owned copy of X1, and my copy of the OSE Referee's Tome. Note the price tag on the module. Remember when Half Price Books had TTRPG stuff for dirt cheap?

Conversion from D&D to OSE

The stats for most of what's in X1 The Isle of Dread are already in Old School Essentials. And converting between the two systems is as straightforward as it gets. I'm not sure it will continue to be this easy when I start adapting AD&D adventure modules.

My conversion was incomplete when I starting running the module. I concentrated on getting everything in the waters around the island done first. Next came everything in the southern half of the island. I left the northern areas, including the plateau, for later. This turned out to be a good thing, since I'll be adding a few things to the north and central areas in response to what the players are engaging with. More on that down below.


Preparing to Depart

I linked the two adventure modules together with the party's need for an active volcano. The party killed Zargon, B4 The Lost City's big bad boss monster, but needed to destroy his horn to keep him from regenerating a new form. Immersion in lava was the only known method, but I ruled that no sources were available in the area of The Lost City. (There is the option of placing an active volcano in B4 The Lost City as written. I choose not to for this campaign.) Fortunately, the party learned from their trusty Gnome contact Wigglewort that a newly discovered island to the south might have exactly what they needed. And he just happened to be organizing an expedition there, but sure could use the aid of an adventuring party to map the place and look for trading opportunities...


Sea Cruise

Roped in by Wigglewort's offer to help solve their problems in exchange for going on a hex crawl, the party boarded his ship for a more than three hour tour. The few small islands sighted along the way were ignored in favor making steady progress towards the mysterious isle. The couple of random encounters provided little challenge for the party of dungeon-hardened adventurers. The ship did sustain light damage from the weather, but nothing that the crew couldn't repair once they found a place a source of wood and a place to beach the hull.

The party choose to circle the isle rather than immediately making landfall. Wigglewort suggested making contact with the villages marked on his map. The indigenous people might make good trade partners and their villages would be a useful base to explore the isle. The party agreed and the ship sailed down the eastern side of the isle. This was uneventful, as the party cautiously avoided all the tempting opportunities to leave the ship and get into trouble.


Pirate Bay

The ship and party were welcomed by the indigenous people of the southern peninsula. Wigglewort found that they were already prepared for trade with the wider world. Bargains were struck between the Gnomes and villagers as the party collected rumors to guide their next moves.

The indigenous people told of pirates raiding their villages. The raiders came in canoes, wielded weapons of steel, and carried off many villagers to a fate unknown. "Sure would be nice," they didn't quite say, "if some adventurers would come along to track the pirates down to their island base, crush them, and save our fellow villagers."

Not being the types to ignore an obvious hook, the players began planning the operation. The villagers were able to supply the rough location of the pirate encampment. The plan was to have Wigglewort drop them off away from the pirate camp and scout the place out. The adventurers would then determine if a siege, infiltration, or assault would make the most sense.

The party was able to slip on the island, avoid pirate patrols, and approach the camp from the landward side. The first attempt to infiltrate the camp at night was successful in giving the adventurers a good idea of the layout and defenses. It also quickly escalated into full blown battle after they were discovered. The party gave much better than they got and pulled out before taking too much damage. They spent the next day resting, healing, and laying low from pirate attempts to locate them.

The next night saw the party launching a determined assault on the camp. The pirates, having failed to find the party during the day, were clearly making preparations to leave with their prisoners. The party wiped out the pirates and rescued the prisoners.

The party used a pre-arranged signal to summon Wigglewort and his ship. The rescued villagers and everything of value were packed up. A giant squid attack interrupted the trip back to the villages. The beast was driven off, but more damage was done to Wigglewort's ship. It would definitely need repairs before sailing back to the mainland.


In the Jungle (and Other Terrain)

It was at this point that we finally got to the meat of the adventure - a hex crawl. The Isle of Dread is one of the first hex crawl adventure modules. This makes it notable, but it suffers from not incorporating lessons from later decades of TTRPG development.

The party would have plenty of time to explore the isle while Wigglewort and his Gnomes repaired the ship. The indigenous villagers took the party as far as the tar pits they used as a resource. The players decided to focus on the south. It was closest to their effective base of operations. They'd also sighted some active volcanoes in the area while on their way back from dealing with the pirates. Just the thing for dealing with Zargon's horn!

I'm not going to offer a blow by blow account of the party's explorations of southern isle. The highlights included chucking Zargon's horn in an active volcano after the cleric had a nightmare about his followers heading to the isle in pursuit of it. They also encountered a Living Iron Statue guarding some ruins, a patrol of Lizard Men, and some Phanaton gathering fruit. Things were capped off when the party ran into some Rakasta. Things were amiable enough for the cat warriors to take them back to their camp and begin laying down the groundwork for a trade deal with Wigglewort.

The Isle of Dread relies on random encounter tables. There are relatively few keyed encounters on the overland map. This does insure that every group's experience with the module is unique. However, results from the random encounter tables require some finesse. Since the tables cover huge areas of the isle, many creatures will end up in the wrong biome. It doesn't make sense to me for Lizard Men to be wandering around an open plain, for example. This could be addressed with more fixed encounters or tables for each biome, but either would add page count to what is a slim product by modern standards.

Sometimes the dice are cooperative and the results are underwhelming. I don't assume that any random encounter will automatically be hostile. I use the reaction tables to set the mood of whoever is encountered. Since our group doesn't simply charge everything they run across, this makes some encounters non-events.

Example #1:
"You see some animals in the distance."
"We avoid them."
"Cool. Next hex."

Example #2:
"You encounter somebody capable of talking."
"We talk to them."
*Rolls neutral or friendly reaction.* "They engage in conversation."
*Have a role playing encounter.*

There aren't necessarily bad results, but might not be what the module designers intended.

Worse, from the players' perspectives, non-event encounters don't really earn gold. Which means little XP from such encounters in Old School Essentials. I do give out some XP for RP, but the gold value of treasure is the main source of XP income in the game.


Putting a Pin In It

At this point, we were roughly a quarter of the way through the module. Things seemed to be running long and we decided to take a break. I wonder how many groups have made it all the way though this module? Is it a campaign killer? Do groups get part way through the isle and lose interest?

The lack of keyed encounters make the isle feel sparsely populated in a way that random encounters don't address. The place could easily support two or three times the number that are in the module. I'm using our break to add some fixed encounters to fill in some details that seem lacking.

The first are signs of the civilizations previously inhabiting the isle. There are hints in the module as written. Who built the stone wall separating the indigenous villages in the southern peninsula from the rest of the island? The Kopru are stated to have ruled a kingdom in the past, but the only remanent of it is on the "Taboo Island" at the end of the module. Adding ruins of defunct human and Kopru civilizations would add a sense of history to the place. Some of them could be mini-dungeons suitable for a single session.

Second are clues to foreshadow the final encounter with the Kopru. As written, they are just kind of hanging out in their lair at the bottom of the dungeon they are in. Without more context, players may not realize that they are more than random monsters. A few statues - defaced so the Kopru's appearance comes as a surprise - and some inscriptions telling their tale would build up suspense. These would be found to the north of the isle, closest to the Kopru encounter.

Finally, indications of prior visitors. Not all of the current inhabitants appear to be indigenous to the isle. The populations of Aranea and Phanaton seem too small to be self-sustaining. And the Rakasta camp is explicitly stated to be temporary. These folks and others had to come from elsewhere. Over the seas is the most plausible explanation, but a more fantastic one is suggested in the Manual of the Planes (2008, 4E). I'm still playing with the idea.

RPGaDay 2025: Week 1 Recap and Commentary

As I've done for previous years, I'll be compiling each week's responses for RPGaDay in a post on this blog. Each post also features additional commentary that wouldn't fit in the character limits common to social media. That commentary is in italics. What is the RPGaDay challenge? See this post. Want to get my responses fresh on the day? Look to the dedicated RPG.net forum thread, Mastodon, and Bluesky.

All of this year's prompts in the form of a bookshelf.

Day 1: Patron

The hooded figure in the tavern? Mr. Johnson in the cyberpunk bar? The shadowy organization? The mysterious contact? Have them be upfront, supportive, and entirely trustworthy. Throws players for a loop after decades of getting stabbed in the back by the obviously evil corporate interstellar overlord vampire.

The sudden, but inevitable betrayal was a worn out trope before the turn of the millennium. There is a grain of truth to it - the petty, selfish, and greedy are rarely good managers or leaders. The majority of villains should be too shortsighted and self-centered to realize that good talent is both hard to find and can find work elsewhere. However, having an employer - even one with an MBA or "evil" in their title - who values the ability to get things done and rewards consistent results could be a welcome change of pace. Or it could throw the players off balance. Either is good.


Day 2: Prompt

Murder hornets? Yesterday's news. Radioactive wasps? That's where it's at (link to a Popular Science article about a hornet's nest found in a former nuclear weapons site).

Folks who follow my socials know I shared a link about this last week, but it's good enough for a repeat.

Radioactive wasps are a versatile prompt. Superhero origin - radioactive bug bites are an established source of superpowers. Kaiju origin - radiation is an established source of giant monsters. Weird element in a modern campaign - radiation is an established source of weirdness in both fiction and reality. An enterprising GM might be able to work it into a fantasy campaign with a little work.


Day 3: Tavern

Strict "no adventurers" taverns are local watering holes, have exclusive clientele, or don't want to pay the insurance premiums.

Taverns catering to the adventurer market feature quest boards, private meeting areas, and back rooms selling specialty gear.

"Travelers" taverns will serve adventurers, but prefer traders and pilgrims as they are less likely to wreck the joint.

Most adventures will find themselves in a tavern at some point. However, not all taverns serve the adventurer demographic. Low level adventurers tend to be frugal - there's not much money to be made there. Adventurers who survive to reach high levels tend to set up their own hangouts, even if the game doesn't overtly support domain management. The middle levels are where money can be made. They spend freely on rich food, strong drink, and a certain quality of entertainment while waiting for the next adventure hook to present itself. Unfortunately, they also bring trouble in various forms - the attentions of dark powers, political upheavals, assassins, and former romantic partners. Sometimes all at once. Sometimes all in the form of the same person. Sometimes that person is a party member. Also, the watch is rarely up to the challenge of breaking up a brawl involving adventurers outside of genre-aware locations. All in all, it might not be worth the money. So it does make sense that some places will look to other markets.