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D&D 5e Into The (Keep on the) Borderlands (B1&2) #032 Monster Mash.
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<blockquote data-quote="Goonalan" data-source="post: 8407755" data-attributes="member: 16069"><p><strong><span style="font-size: 26px">The Intro.</span></strong></p><p></p><p>Two things-</p><p></p><p>a) We're playing a version of what I call Graveyard D&D, a name and style of D&D I invented (I think) the rules of which are described below, don't worry it's pretty much regular D&D only with a slightly elevated chance of PC death.</p><p></p><p>And,</p><p></p><p>2) We're using Fantasy Grounds Unity (there will be lots of screenshots. promise) and because all of us (me & the players) are semi-retired, or else work from home, we're playing as and when we can schedule a session. </p><p></p><p>We've played three sessions so far, the first was on a Wednesday evening- 7 to 11, so far so normal. The second session was on the Friday morning following- 9.30 to 11.30, the third two weeks later on a Thursday afternoon between 2 to 5-ish. My point, there's no reason to the scheduling beyond our diaries- updates and the action may be sporadic.</p><p></p><p>In truth the ad hoc days and times of this game remind me most of the way I used to play D&D, back when I was a kid/teen, and also back when I left the armed forces and decided to take a year off from the world. I spent that year playing football, doing the bare minimum amount of paid work to keep the boat afloat, and... inevitably, playing a metric ton of D&D, my players were the teens on the street where I lived.</p><p></p><p>I was the guy that brought D&D into their worlds, yay me.</p><p></p><p>That was some great D&D, we even recorded some of the sessions using a clunky old Phillips tape recorder, you know the one- the size and heft of a large (and full) Tupperware lunch box. We had a hometown (Carse/Tulan of the Isles) and all of the PCs went on to have houses, wives/girlfriends, and/or lives...</p><p></p><p>Then the summer ended.</p><p></p><p>So, this is a bit about nostalgia. Funnily enough the Caves of Chaos featured back then also, who would have thought it.</p><p></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 18px">GRAVEYARD D&D</span></strong></p><p></p><p>I'm a DM, I read the modules, some of them are terrifying- by which, of course, I mean many of them make me gurgle with pleasure as I learn about the new ways that I am going to dismember a variety of unsuspecting PCs. That same feeling stays with me when I re-read and set up the module/dungeon ready to be played, the promised delight- it's so tantalising, so close...</p><p></p><p>And then the players come along, with their flash new shiny PCs and tear my world apart. My traps disarmed, my minions spent- my big bad finale guy now sans life, treasure, and dignity- they even took his skull! My hopes and dreams shattered. </p><p></p><p>Players!</p><p></p><p>So, I wanted things to be much more difficult- deadly.</p><p></p><p>I wanted to build a graveyard of dead PCs for every new module/dungeon that I/we played.</p><p></p><p>These then are the rules to what we call Graveyard D&D-</p><p></p><p>1) All starting PCs are approx. 3-5 levels below the written recommended PC level for the dungeon/module. So, the first time we played Graveyard D&D was a version of TSRs I1 Dwellers of the Forbidden City. The PCs started at level 1, not level 4-7 as recommended by the module.</p><p></p><p>2) Each player starts with one PC, when that PC dies they roll up two more PCs, when they die they roll up three more PCs, ad infinitum. The highest I've even got is a guy who rolled six PCs.</p><p></p><p>3) A player can go adventuring with as many PCs as he or she likes. So around the table there could be four players with seven PCs between them. The most I ever had was something like six players with 14 PCs in game, that didn't work.</p><p></p><p>4) When a PC dies his or her XP is divided up between the next PCs rolled up by that player. So, for example Jim rolls up Spikey Norman, who then dies with 400 XP to his name- he made it to level 2, hurrah. Jim then rolls up two new PCs- Bert Wibbly & The Black Duck, both PCs start with 200 XP each (400 divided by 2 = 200). Alas Bert (500 XP) and the Black Duck (700 XP) both also meet their maker. Jim therefore rolls up three new PCs, each of them starts with 400 XP (500 + 700 = 1200 divided by 3 = 400).</p><p></p><p>5) If the module has a bunch of pre-gens with it then the players don't even get to roll up new PCs, we're using these, except they're subject to the level conventions as above.</p><p></p><p>6) If there are pre-gen PCs available the players have to roll randomly to see who they get. They don't get to chose.</p><p></p><p>7) If there are no pre-gen PCs then new PCs are rolled as randomly as possible, usually (for me) a random roll for class and race, then 4d6 keep the best three for each stat.</p><p></p><p>8) Lots of the monsters/bad guys et al should be at the top end of their hit points, I tend to observe a 50% minimum rule, that seems to do the job.</p><p></p><p>9) The rest is by the module, or as you like it.</p><p></p><p>Obviously Graveyard D&D is best enjoyed with people of a like-minded disposition, if you can't laugh at the inevitable demise (repeatedly) of your latest favourite PC then, this isn't the game for you.</p><p></p><p>You've been warned.</p><p></p><p>Toodles.</p><p></p><p>Goonalan</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Goonalan, post: 8407755, member: 16069"] [B][SIZE=7]The Intro.[/SIZE][/B] Two things- a) We're playing a version of what I call Graveyard D&D, a name and style of D&D I invented (I think) the rules of which are described below, don't worry it's pretty much regular D&D only with a slightly elevated chance of PC death. And, 2) We're using Fantasy Grounds Unity (there will be lots of screenshots. promise) and because all of us (me & the players) are semi-retired, or else work from home, we're playing as and when we can schedule a session. We've played three sessions so far, the first was on a Wednesday evening- 7 to 11, so far so normal. The second session was on the Friday morning following- 9.30 to 11.30, the third two weeks later on a Thursday afternoon between 2 to 5-ish. My point, there's no reason to the scheduling beyond our diaries- updates and the action may be sporadic. In truth the ad hoc days and times of this game remind me most of the way I used to play D&D, back when I was a kid/teen, and also back when I left the armed forces and decided to take a year off from the world. I spent that year playing football, doing the bare minimum amount of paid work to keep the boat afloat, and... inevitably, playing a metric ton of D&D, my players were the teens on the street where I lived. I was the guy that brought D&D into their worlds, yay me. That was some great D&D, we even recorded some of the sessions using a clunky old Phillips tape recorder, you know the one- the size and heft of a large (and full) Tupperware lunch box. We had a hometown (Carse/Tulan of the Isles) and all of the PCs went on to have houses, wives/girlfriends, and/or lives... Then the summer ended. So, this is a bit about nostalgia. Funnily enough the Caves of Chaos featured back then also, who would have thought it. [B][SIZE=5]GRAVEYARD D&D[/SIZE][/B] I'm a DM, I read the modules, some of them are terrifying- by which, of course, I mean many of them make me gurgle with pleasure as I learn about the new ways that I am going to dismember a variety of unsuspecting PCs. That same feeling stays with me when I re-read and set up the module/dungeon ready to be played, the promised delight- it's so tantalising, so close... And then the players come along, with their flash new shiny PCs and tear my world apart. My traps disarmed, my minions spent- my big bad finale guy now sans life, treasure, and dignity- they even took his skull! My hopes and dreams shattered. Players! So, I wanted things to be much more difficult- deadly. I wanted to build a graveyard of dead PCs for every new module/dungeon that I/we played. These then are the rules to what we call Graveyard D&D- 1) All starting PCs are approx. 3-5 levels below the written recommended PC level for the dungeon/module. So, the first time we played Graveyard D&D was a version of TSRs I1 Dwellers of the Forbidden City. The PCs started at level 1, not level 4-7 as recommended by the module. 2) Each player starts with one PC, when that PC dies they roll up two more PCs, when they die they roll up three more PCs, ad infinitum. The highest I've even got is a guy who rolled six PCs. 3) A player can go adventuring with as many PCs as he or she likes. So around the table there could be four players with seven PCs between them. The most I ever had was something like six players with 14 PCs in game, that didn't work. 4) When a PC dies his or her XP is divided up between the next PCs rolled up by that player. So, for example Jim rolls up Spikey Norman, who then dies with 400 XP to his name- he made it to level 2, hurrah. Jim then rolls up two new PCs- Bert Wibbly & The Black Duck, both PCs start with 200 XP each (400 divided by 2 = 200). Alas Bert (500 XP) and the Black Duck (700 XP) both also meet their maker. Jim therefore rolls up three new PCs, each of them starts with 400 XP (500 + 700 = 1200 divided by 3 = 400). 5) If the module has a bunch of pre-gens with it then the players don't even get to roll up new PCs, we're using these, except they're subject to the level conventions as above. 6) If there are pre-gen PCs available the players have to roll randomly to see who they get. They don't get to chose. 7) If there are no pre-gen PCs then new PCs are rolled as randomly as possible, usually (for me) a random roll for class and race, then 4d6 keep the best three for each stat. 8) Lots of the monsters/bad guys et al should be at the top end of their hit points, I tend to observe a 50% minimum rule, that seems to do the job. 9) The rest is by the module, or as you like it. Obviously Graveyard D&D is best enjoyed with people of a like-minded disposition, if you can't laugh at the inevitable demise (repeatedly) of your latest favourite PC then, this isn't the game for you. You've been warned. Toodles. Goonalan [/QUOTE]
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