[silly contest] D&D on the road

[BiggusGeekus]

A buddy and I are driving from Houston, Texas to Washington, DC (if you read the Off Topic forum, you're probably aware of this).

The Challenge:

Design a scenario we can play for about two days of driving. The player can be assumed to be the driver. The DM can be the passenger/navigator/police scout. We will not have our books. We can probably mange to bring paper, pencil, a d20 and a d6.

This must be as close to d20 as possible under the circumstances.

Any setting is permitted, but the more generic things are the better. We won't have our FRCS on hand to let us know who's in charge of Amn or whatever.

You are allowed to switch settings when the driver and the passenger switch spots.

The Prize:

You get my .sig file while I'm gone. True, I won't be posting. But with 4,000 posts you never know when my .sig will turn up. I'll keep it going until Friday the 9th of December. I'll be getting back Dec 7 so that should give you a couple of days. I will host any .sig there is as long as it conforms to ENWorld protocol. If you want "Biggus is a dork" as my sig, that's a-ok!

I will be the judge of who is the winner unless we can prevail upon Crothian or another acknowledged ENWorld judge to do the honors. Given how low the stakes are, I suspect you'll be stuck with me. However, the offer remains open.

The Deadline:

Ah. Here's the catch. This contest will be open for less than 24 hours. at 4pm Eastern Standard Time (i.e. Washington DC time) the contest will be closed. Yeah, it's short notice.

-BG

PS I just want it said that the State Highway Patrol of all states between Texas and Washington, DC are the unsung heroes of law enforcement. Please don't ticket us!

EDIT: true to my word, I'll be giving KB the win on this. KB, let me know if you want me to change the sig to something else. It's your space for the next week!

 

[Griffonsec]

Hey, just a little thought on gaming in the car (from one who does it ALOT), dice kinda suck unless you have a chair that folds into a table or something (my passenger seat does).

A system I've used in the past is have the person running the game come up with a number, ie on a d20 he would chose a number from 1-20, and keep it secret. The player then comes up with his number and tells the GM. Then add the numbers together. If the resolt is higher than the maximum possible, subtract the highest number possible from the total.

Ok, that doesn't make much sense, so an example or two:

d20: GM chooses 8, player chooses 11. Result is 19.

d20: GM chooses 17, player chooses 7. Result is 4. 17 + 7 = 24 - 20 = 4.

Once you get used to it the system is quick and easy, and no pulling off to the side of the road every time someone loses a d20 in the seat cushion.

 

[JoeBlank]

Given the limited dice, I would consider True20, but if you are not familiar with the rules or can not download and print them from the pdf then that is probably not the way to go.

Your a smart, creative guy. Just freeform it, make it up on the fly.

In the alternative, I bet you are familiar with the Murchad's Legacy campaign setting.

Get is little tray or box in which to roll the dice. And passenger does all the rolling.

 

[Kahuna Burger]

In terms of scenerios, since the DM is going to be handling all the mechanics anyway, this seems like an excellent opetuinity to play out the kind of storyline that usually doesn't work in RPGs - the amnesia/awakened powers/channelling sort of thing. You could have the player come up with the basics of the character - stats, early background, basic skills, and personality. Then comes either the short term amnesia, the close encounter of a demonic/celestial kind, or just being thrown into a new and stressful situation. The player, without knowing his BAB, feats, spells, supernatural abilities, etc, just does what he can and discovers his talents as he goes along. He decides to grab the sword, you can say "You don't remember ever holding a weapon like this, but it feels right in your hands" or conversely, "you fumble akwardly with the weapon, and your blow is clumsy."

The character could "really" be an assassin, or a monk, or a psion/caster. The latter would encourage a lot of role playing, as you can spontaneously cause appropriate spell effects that the player can then try to do again on purpose. (I would use psionics or a spellpoint system for maximum "repeatability" and you can give rp cues to how much "power" the character feels he has remaining.)

Lets see, two basic setups - the mind wipe : You are in a holding cell with a headache. Graffiti on the wall looks to make this Thay; thats where the Princess Brothel is. Have you ever been to the Princess Brothel? You don't know. You know its on the second floor of the Rusted Guantlet, but you can't remember specificly being there. Actualy you can't remember specificly being anywhere except maybe your old classroom at the manor....

or, the empowerment: You run from the orcs, holding your baby sister in your arms, trying not to hear the cries behind you. Your Pa said to run, you know you're too little to fight, but still you feel like a coward. Only the life of Lil Sue makes you not go back to sacrifice your own. There's only one place to go - the ruined temple. They say its haunted, they say its dangerous, and many a child or even adult has been lost there, but there's danger behind you too.... Worming between tumbled pillars, trying to find a small enough space that the orcs can't follow - then suddenly you are falling, falling, splashing, falling through the water, which seems strangly lit, not from the outside but as if the liquid itself is glowing. You try to swim, try not to let go of the baby, but your lungs burn and eventually you must breath in the water.... and the water is Light and Glory and Strength and everything changes....

Damn, now I have to find someone crazy enough to play that sort of scenerio in a play by post....

 

[diaglo]

break out the choose your own adventure books. the DM reads while the player drivers.

 

[BiggusGeekus]

The player, without knowing his BAB, feats, spells, supernatural abilities, etc, just does what he can and discovers his talents as he goes along. He decides to grab the sword, you can say "You don't remember ever holding a weapon like this, but it feels right in your hands" or conversely, "you fumble akwardly with the weapon, and your blow is clumsy."

Hmmm. That's a good idea. Especially since the DM is going to be fudging things a lot. That way if a mistake is made it's easier to cover it up.

Diaglo,

That's tempting, especially with the Lone Wolf books online. The DM could have more flexibility with the rules and outcomes (like those two or three times where having the Sommersword is a disadvantage). But I don't have the books anymore and printing them all out isn't likely to work either. Each book is 300 pages or so!

 

[diaglo]

Diaglo,

That's tempting, especially with the Lone Wolf books online. The DM could have more flexibility with the rules and outcomes (like those two or three times where having the Sommersword is a disadvantage). But I don't have the books anymore and printing them all out isn't likely to work either. Each book is 300 pages or so!

are you headed thru Hotlanta on your way? stop by and borrow some of mine.