Ambition and Avarice

Ambition & Avarice is Greg Christopher's latest creation and it's available for download at RPGNow.com (click on the image to get it free!). After reading it, I made a short list of the things I liked and didn't liked, along with a couple of questions/observations and posted it on G+. I added Greg's answers to this post.

Liked: layout, art, rest dice, race advantages, classes (mundane, magical, expertise, identify), dungeon throws, character points, min. STR required for some armors, armor penalty to sneak, you dared with grapple rules, detailed hazards and survival, spell names.

Didn't like: civilized vs. uncivilized races, the "ignores the armor class bonus of any non-metal armor" in some swords*, lack of random encounter distance.

Questions:

- Do you lose your attack when you're doing an aimed attack and your target dies?

GC: You would lose your attack with the aimed shot, yes.

- Did you considered using material components for spells?

GC: And I absolutely hate material spell components just because they are such a chore for the mage players. But that is personal preference, I can see the logic of having them.

*I would've liked it if blunt weapons also had similar traits (ie: maces & hammers against rigid metal armor).

GC: That is interesting to consider with the blunt weapons. I hadn't considered that before. Hrm.... 

Great job! :)

The Ooze Pits of Jonas Gralk

Wheee! I won The Ooze Pits of Jonas Gralk  from Purple Sorcerer Games (click on the image to get it from RPGnow) in Tenkar's Tavern "DCC RPG Corruption Contest" with this entry.

Thanks again to Erik for putting up another cool contest!

Once I have it and read it, I'm going to GM it in a Google+ Hangout. Yes, I know I said the same when I won Attack of the Frawgs, and still haven't GMed it. But I will, promise!

DCC RPG Contest

August DCC RPG Contest @ Tenkar's Tavern - Get Some Corruption and Maybe Win a Prize!

Roll 1d6 to know which of the senses is corrupted:

1-Sight: Your eyes double in size and the optic nerve grows like snail antennas.
2-Smell: You grow an elephant nose but can't breathe through it.
3-Hearing: You grow necomimi.
4-Touch: A hand grows from each of your finger tips.
5-Taste: You get Gene Simmons tongue.
6-All of the above.

LotFP - Thelian Islands Campaign

On August 24th we got together again on G+ for our #5 game. It was a game in which the dices didn't favored me, but I had a lot of fun anyway.

We got back to the village in  our new longboat, baptized "The Fanged Glacier". Everyone was shocked to see us in such a wonderful ship, and Signy said it was "a gift from the Polar Bear", which caused the envy of her, now, former mentor. 

Antii, with after some beers and trying to attract some followers, told what they've found, and how they've fought the ghouls, skeletons and rats, making him the main character of the tale. He also talked about the luminous fungi and the spinning statue. With a +4 bonus I had to roll under my Charisma score (11), but rolled an 18, so no followers for Antii. I guess he went over the top with his tale. Annar and Signy, on the contrary, managed to have attracted a follower each, a young boy and a girl respectively.

The next day everyone said goodbye to their loved ones before leaving the island. Antii's dad gave him his "lucky coin", a worn out gold coin like the ones the group had found the previous days. With a leather chord he tied it around his neck. Many of the survivors from the merchant ship, attacked by the hobgoblin raiders, joined the party as crew for the longboat. Supplies and goods for sale were loaded on the ship, and we set sail to Bear Island, 800 miles away to the SW.

The Fanged Glacier

The first ten day of the voyage were uneventful, until we sighted a merchant ship. We approached and exchanged some good and information before continuing. Four days later we were attacked by four giant eels. We managed to kill three of them (Antii missed every swing at the creatures) and drove away the remaining badly wounded, losing only two crewmen. Two of the dead eels were brought on board, cut into pieces and salted. Before reaching our destination we came across some tritons, who kept their distance, and also dolphins and a giant manta-ray.

After 30 days at sea Antii and Annar went to find a place with good booze and bad women, while Signy went to try speak with the authorities of the city, and Hrok sought someone to sell his mushrooms. Everyone also sold his share of the salted eels for 75 sp + 1d20 sp (I rolled a 19!). At the tavern, having plenty of beer, Antii bragged about he repelled the hobgoblin raid and the giant eels.

- "OK", said JoetheDM, "roll 1d20, only on a 19 or 20 you fail to get laid."

- "Oh no! I rolled a 20!", I said to my dismay.

(laughs)

- "Well, if you roll low you vomit on the girl, if you roll high you fall asleep fail to get a boner."

- "I rolled low..."

(more laughs)

Meanwhile, Signy was received by the shamans of the Bear Clan in the best part of the city, where she warned them of the hobgoblin plans to attack the trade routes, and Hrok, who had found that he needed to go to some caves to sell his mushrooms, drank all he could without being bothered. Signy introduced  her acolyte to the shamans and an initiation ritual was performed.

Signy (right) and her acolyte after the ritual.

The group has now several places to go: continue West to Cowl Island, explore Bear Island, joins a raid against the hobgoblins, or go to the contested Blood Island with its thick forests and a fabled pyramid. To Blood Island it'll be. Antii bought a suit of chain mail and a sword, just in case.

"The Caves of Chaos" - FLAILSNAILS game on G+

The party:

Walt Thisslefoot - Halfling thief
Padre Bob - Dwarf cleric
Finloss - Half-elf fighter/thief

The group was part of a caravan that arrived at night to the Keep. When asked to be let in, it was told that the doors were closed and no one was allowed inside. The group insisted and finally offered a warehouse to spend the night, but no wandering around was allowed. Some kind of illness have befallen on the people of the Keep, they were told. When they offered their help, they were taken to see the Castellan of the Keep. He told them that some witch that lived in some caves up North, had put a curse upon the Keep. Now with almost half of the garrison ill, he couldn't go after her. If the group was willing to help, he would offer a generous reward, plus a 50% discount for a month in everything the group purchased from the keep. He also offered to take what we needed from the armory. After a bit of discussion, the party agreed and left to rest and prepare.

The next day the party set off to find these cave, which they did without getting lost or coming across any trouble on the way. After waiting some moments at the mouth of the canyon, they decided to explore the first visible cavern entrance at ground level to the South. Walt and Finloss moved as quietly as possible, followed at some distance by Padre Bob. They entered the cave unhindered and proceeded South until an intersection, then turned right (as suggested by Padre Bob to keep right). They turned right again at a T-intersection and surprised 6 goblins in a room. They decided to get some information about the witch without fighting, but the goblins drew their crude swords and one of them started banging the NW corner of the room calling for someone. Padre Bob entered the room and tried to stop the goblin, but they attacked. Two went after Walt, two after Padre Bob and one charged at Finloss. At that moment the NW corner of the wall opened and an ogre emerged.

Finloss taking advantage of his spear impaled the goblin and then kicked the dead body from his weapon, then moved to help the dwarf, who had managed to kill one goblin. Walt was hit but also killed one. The remaining goblins retreated (the dwarf smashing one dead) to the walls giving room to the brute, who smashed Padre Bob with his club. Finloss backstabbed the ogre with his magic spear, said the command word "DOWNBOY!", and the creature fell to the ground pinned under the tip of the weapon. Walt took advantage of that, and wounded the fallen ogre. Padre Bob healed himself.

Before the brute could get up, Finloss drew his magic sabre and slashed at its throat, killing the ogre and almost severing his head. Seeing his backup dead, one goblin surrendered and the other tried to flee. Finloss threw his spear at it, wounding but not killing it. The half-elf panicked as the skewered goblin was running away with his magic spear. Padre Bob threw his war hammer at the goblin, killing it. "Have you lost something elf?", mocked the dwarf.

We tied the remaining goblin up, and Walt intimidated him to tell all he knew about the witch. He vaguely spoke about some "dark robed ones to the west", but tried to buy his freedom by offering the goblin's treasure hidden at the bottom of a barrel of water. We also searched the ogre and found more coins on his bag (some of them were counterfeit; gold painted lead coins), and also a keg of brandy the dwarf claimed.  We then explored the ogres' cave, that led to the canyon outside, the opening hidden by some bushes. Buried under some bones we found 6 magic arrows (arrows +1), a small glass jar with a clear liquid (Potion of Invisibility) and a scroll case (2 clerical scrolls).

The party left with the treasure, planted the ogre's head on a spear at the entrance, freed the goblin (probably Padre Bob killed it latr) and went back to the Keep.