I’m currently playtesting a brand-new megadungeon in the works, that will be the main feature of book 3 in the Cha'alt trilogy. The megadungeon is called Cremza'amirikza'am, of course. The Lost City is a ruin on the surface of the planet. Below the eroded city walls and crumbling buildings is the entrance. After attacking several small, robed humanoids and driving them down into Cremza'amirikza'am, the PCs went in after them. The staircase went on for what seemed like hours, descending down into the bowels of Cha'alt. Meeting an ooze along the way, the PCs eventually came to the first floor of the dungeon, an octagonal chamber with a door ajar. A magenta-violet light saturated the atmosphere and little aquatic insects and jellyfish looking creatures swam through the lurid illumination. The second battle of the session was with a trio of monks wearing vials around their neck - the vials contained a glowing yellow-green liquid. In both battles, the PCs came out victorious. Neither battle lasted more than 3 rounds. Even though it waited patiently in the wings, Crimson Escalation did not come into play. Another playtest thumbs-up, in my opinion. When creating a fresh mechanic or sub-system, you don’t want it constantly making demands. Occasionally, such things should remain in the background. As mentioned in my latest video, I’m channeling Buffy the Vampire Slayer, From Beyond, and Event Horizon… along with all my other influences and pop-culture references. Cha'alt is still a gonzo parody, after all. A couple interesting tidbits of note…
Another playtest session tomorrow. Wonder what’ll happen?
VS
p.s. I’ve still got luxurious hardcover Cha'alt and Cha'alt: Fuchsia Malaise books for sale right here. And I’m also running an old-school, OSR, and traditional RPG convention next July in Madison, WI. It’s called VENGER CON.
Back To The Megadungeon published first on http://www.rssmix.com/u/8261174/rss.xml via Tumblr Back To The Megadungeon
0 Comments
Where to start with my very recent (as of this morning) revelation? Ok, so apparently there are two distinct types of immersion… The old-school immersion uses the player-character as an alter-ego to experience the game world as yourself, but with a sword, blaster, spells, etc. Let’s call this “me with an axe” immersion. The new-school or modern immersion uses the player-character as a role, totally separate from oneself, that one can inhabit like an actor. Let’s call it “me as someone else”. That’s why, when I’m talking about immersion and how old-school systems and play-styles facilitate immersion better than modern D&D (3rd and 4th editions specifically), lots of gamers get bent out of shape. To them, immersion means something completely different. For modern D&D gamers, immersion is fostered by giving you a character in which to lose yourself - heavy background, lots of lore, character options, and death is (and should be) rare. According to them, old-school D&D is not ideal because it creates the other kind of immersion. Both immersions are a type of escapism, self-discovery, and fun… but they go about it in entirely different ways. If you want to watch my video about all this immersion stuff it’s right over here - please like, comment, share, and subscribe! Thanks, VS p.s. This is how you order your very own luxury hardcover Cha'alt and Cha'alt: Fuchsia Malaise books. That link takes you to VENGER CON, my old-school RPG convention next July in Madison, WI. Immersion Revelation published first on http://www.rssmix.com/u/8261174/rss.xml via Tumblr Immersion Revelation The full title of this blog post should be Crimson Escalation while playtesting the Cremza'amirikza'am megadungeon, but I think that might break the internet. Speaking of internet breakage, I didn’t want to overpromise on this little mechanic until I had properly playtested it. Even though I’ve only tested it once, I believe this could be the single greatest combat-related system improvement since 5e came out with Advantage and Disadvantage. I’m calling it Crimson Escalation. In the simplest terms, it’s a progressive critical-hit range. The first round, crits happen on a natural 20. The second round, crits happen on a natural 19 or 20. Third round, it’s a natural 18-20, etc. Some optional fiddly-bits could be added, but that’s the basic premise. As I theorized, here are the results…
I assumed that last one (heightened tension) might be the case, but as mentioned, I didn’t want to promise it before seeing for myself.
When I was asking for feedback on social media, a couple people wondered if PCs would delay their action in order to attack later in the battle, which didn’t make any sense to me then and still doesn’t now.
Another point was raised about reinforcements - if a couple fresh goons rush into the battle halfway, how do you account for that, regarding crits? Personally, I’m not going to track multiple crit ranges during combat, so everyone’s at the same range.
As soon as the Cha'alt After Dark PDF is released, I’m asking my layout team to include Crimson Escalation in Crimson Dragon Slayer D20. I’m not going to wait for next year’s revision - it’s that good.
I’m not going to go into detail about delving into the Cremza'amirikza'am megadungeon below The Lost City, but I’m going for a mix of Stuart Gordon’s From Beyond and my Metebelis III interpretation of Lovecraft’s dreamlands. It’s still very much a work-in-progress.
However, the session culminated in an epic battle between a local warlord death-priest and his guards versus the two 3rd level PCs (both fighters). It lasted 5 rounds, which is kind of the max for a routine (but still thrilling) combat, according to my sensibilities. As you’d expect, there were multiple crits. It was an exciting battle as we anticipated the outcome - the longer combat lasted, chances increased that it would get exponentially bloody!
A short combat is usually a round or two (usually over in 10 minutes). Medium combat is somewhere between three and five rounds (somewhere around 15-25 minutes). Anything more than five rounds is long (at least a half-hour) and considered too much, unless it’s some kind of major boss battle.
A primary reason I enjoy old-school D&D is shorter combats. That leaves more time for adventuring… and even more battles each session! Dear God, when I think back to my time running 4e and 60-90 minute combat [shuddering]. Never again.
Anyway, my mind blew-up (in a good way), and this is my life going forward - Crimson Escalation now and forever, hoss!
VS
p.s. Want the deluxe Cha'alt and Cha'alt: Fuchsia Malaise hardcovers? Boom! Want to attend VENGER CON next July? Shazam!
Crimson Escalation published first on http://www.rssmix.com/u/8261174/rss.xml via Tumblr Crimson Escalation It’s something I’ve been thinking about for a few years and just kept putting it off, waiting for the right time… Well, it’s time. Next year (2022) on Friday July 22nd, Saturday July 23rd, and Sunday July 24th will be the first ever Venger Con! Here’s the link with all the details. It’s my first time using the Tabletop Events platform, so if I made a mistake, let me know and I’ll rectify it. It’s going to focus on old school, OSR, and traditional RPGs - without politics or “safety tools”. My goal is to not only provide space for excellent gaming, but also to foster gaming excellence. There will be morning workshops on how to do everything (such as GM, be a player, and write adventures) like a fucking boss. I considered lowering the age requirement to 16, but for right now, it’s 18+. Each standard admission badge (100 max) is $100 and that’s for the entire weekend. The hotel is nice and conveniently located. We have a large room, a medium-sized room that can be divided in half, and a smaller room for all of our gaming needs. There might be a handful of vendors and special guests, but primarily Venger Con is about gaming - getting the most out of our games, making incremental improvements, and showing the world just how awesome old-school gaming can be! Thanks for checking it out, asking questions, commenting, and continuing to support me and my work. Venger As'Nas Satanis
|
About UsMy passion for gaming is something which will keep me happy and energetic all the time. I love sharing my review on games so that my readers can get better gaming experience. I love writing and sharing knowledge with others. |