Microlite20 : the smallest thing in gaming

kensanata · Dec 9, 2006

Polearms

You all ignore "this weapon has reach" stuff when playing M20, right? I don't feel like simulating armies marching shoulder to shoulder using polearms. I think the chicos & chicas in Soulblade also like to use polearms, reach or no reach.

Bert the Ogre · Dec 9, 2006

This is FABULOUS! I'll do a rough sketch, or include maps from whatever source I find, and scan and email to either you or Snikle, then write up the adventure from my rough. Between the three of us, we should be able to create some great adventures, and post it on Greywulf's site.

If we create from scratch, WoTC's sharks, er, lawyers, won't be able to grumble about copyright. This will keep everything OGL, and all we have to do is include the OGL page on any document we write up.

I can also stick to seven page write-ups, leave the 8th page for the OGL, and have your maps as seperate D/Ls, sort of like the old seperate covers from the old modules from my day.

I've got my notes for the next adventure set up already, and I should be able to have everything ready by next weekend. The Micro-Format of 6-8 pages in large font, and the "pebble" stats for the monsters/NPCs lets me concentrate on the story and plot over giving up large blocks of space for all the "quick reference data" of WoTC's boulder stats.

greywulf · Dec 9, 2006

kensanata said:
You all ignore "this weapon has reach" stuff when playing M20, right? I don't feel like simulating armies marching shoulder to shoulder using polearms. I think the chicos & chicas in Soulblade also like to use polearms, reach or no reach.

Yep, You'll find no reach rules in Microlite20. That doesn't mean there's rules for weapons with no reach, but that there aren't any reach rules. When I say "no reach" I don't mean "no reach", I mean "no reach" as in "there are no reach rules", not "there are rules for using weapons without reach".

Is that clear?

That said, if someone comes at you with a polearm and you're wielding a dagger, he's likely to Hit You First. I'd give them a bonus to their initiative roll or something. But don't quote me and go and call it a rule or something, ok?

Interestingly, this would work with the Mass Combat rules. I could imagine a unit of 50 polearm wielding Fighters (16hp, AC 16, +4 Glaive 1d8+2) meeting a charging horde of 60 Orcs (5hp, AC 13, +4 Falchion 2d4+4) and getting a +2 initiative bonus as they ready against the onslaught. They could wipe out almost the entire Orcish horde in a single stand of glory.

I like!

(but it's still not a rule. And it's not a "no reach weapon". ok?)

EDIT: It sounds like you three are getting the act together regarding adventures too, so I'll step back and trust you're experienceness in all this. Kensanata or myself can post stuff up to http://home.greywulf.net/m20 ok (masterful wikiers that we are), and I'm more than happy for anyone else to post too - just hit "edit this page" and start typing

kensanata · Dec 9, 2006

I started digging up my old folders with RPG materials from my highschool years. Scanned them in and added them to my Flickr set. Just to give you an idea for the kind of stuff I used to do.

greywulf · Dec 10, 2006

kensanata said:
I started digging up my old folders with RPG materials from my highschool years. Scanned them in and added them to my Flickr set. Just to give you an idea for the kind of stuff I used to do.

I highly recommend a look at Kensanata's maps.

I want this beauty as a poster!!

Superb.

snikle · Dec 10, 2006

Yeah that one is very nice.

Bert, just send them to wulf, I will do some when I can, but I am pretty busy right now, and possibly about to get insanely busy if a side project of mine takes off that greywulf and I talked about last night.....which might play out nicely for m20.

and Bert, I would PM you, but you dont have it authorized, you got any IMs?

WSmith · Dec 10, 2006

greywulf said:
That said, if someone comes at you with a polearm and you're wielding a dagger, he's likely to Hit You First. I'd give them a bonus to their initiative roll or something. But don't quote me and go and call it a rule or something, ok?

In the first round of combat at least, I would let the polearm automatically strike first. There me sticking to the Olde Tyme D&D roots again!

greywulf · Dec 10, 2006

WSmith said:
In the first round of combat at least, I would let the polearm automatically strike first. There me sticking to the Olde Tyme D&D roots again!

Yep, doing it the old way is best

Who needs all those silly Reach rules when you can give give 'em a bonus to Initiative for having a longer weapon (or bigger size) and leave it at that. Fewer rules = good.

We only role initiative once in combat (unless something really strange happens), but after the first advantage of getting first strike is done, it's pretty cyclic anyhow.

kensanata · Dec 10, 2006

Options like letting polearm wielders attack from the second row, but giving them a penalty if the guy in front of them uses a weapon that needs to swing back (axe, bola, sling) or rules like you have reach but cannot attack a person next to you are too complicated for my feeble brain. First attack or +2 for initiative seem like two good options. Thanks for the feedback.

Bert the Ogre · Dec 10, 2006

snikle said:
Yeah that one is very nice.

Bert, just send them to wulf, I will do some when I can, but I am pretty busy right now, and possibly about to get insanely busy if a side project of mine takes off that greywulf and I talked about last night.....which might play out nicely for m20.

and Bert, I would PM you, but you dont have it authorized, you got any IMs?

Oops! Might have helped if I had read over the profile information a bit more.

I don't have PM here, so I added my Yahoo IM.