Long story ahead. I've never considered myself a particularly good improvisational player or DM. I like preparation and considered courses of action, and am generally most comfortable in that style of play.
Which is why tonight's game was an amazing and challenging experience.
For the last 18 months or so a friend and I have been designing a homebrew system, one with a level of crunchiness fairly similar to 3e. Tonight I suggested we try the game stripped down to its mechanical core for a totally extemporaneous one shot I would DM. The core components are the resolution method (a variant dice pool), attribute scores, skills, and a momentum system. We invented a skill-based alchemy system (limited powerful potions plus impromptu "cantrip potions"), magic system (noun-verb plus spell points), and martial maneuver system (invent a style with three basic approaches to combat) during the 10 minutes of character creation, and figured out the rest as it came up. This may reflect a certain narrowness in my RPG experience, but I don't usually think of improvisation in RPGs as referring to the system being played.
The abbreviated story hour, for those interested.
[sblock]
A dwarf necromancer, dwarf barbarian, and a human herbalist set out from the border of dwarven caverns and a gnomish surface village to determine why the village had not been heard from since a joint underground/overground assault on both lands. The dwarves had successfully repelled the attack, and our heroes are among the few still fit for fighting. While approaching the cavern's mouth, they encounter the remains of a group of fleeing gnomes. Only one survived, but the attack left him blinded and borderline incoherent. The herbalist's powerful healing potion critically healed the lone survivor (it was an amazing roll), who reported an ambush by several orcs, as well as some beast that could not have been hiding with the orcs, yet had been utterly unseen.
While the necromancer created a zombie from a nearby orc corpse to swing around wildly to make sure such a creature was no longer present, the herbalist discovered a small patch of slime that seemed to have chameleon-like properties on whatever it covered. He could not quite place its origin, but the barbarian's knowledge of his people's glorious battles made it clear this was from a Chameleon troll, a fearsome and stealthy opponent whose defeat guarantees glorious remembrance for the victor. Probably free ale too, so there's something for all manner of hero.
The grieving gnome received a little booze from the herbalist's own still, and was left to tend his dead as the party moved onward. Emerging into the village, the slaughter appeared to be nearly total. A few cowering gnomes hid in view of the party, but they were too afraid to speak, and at most made pantomimes that suggested they believed they were being watched even now. While surveying the damage, the wind brought the briefest hint of orcish voices to the necromancer's ears, and quieting his compatriots they were able to discern: "...something something something the beast" with their seriously minimal knowledge of the language.
Preparing for a surprise assault, the necromancer created a "fast zombie" with an incredibly lucky roll, and the party moved to the outskirts of the village. The zombies rushed to their sanctioned brains, that of 5 orcs huddled near a wall. One orc, brandishing a giant axe, wickedly cut the fast zombie and knocked it down. Due to unfortunate perception checks, no one noticed that the orcs were huddled around several bound gnomish children, and so the herbalist was lucky when his vial of powerful poisonous gas missed its intended square by several meters.
Combat was fierce, and the fast zombie lost its head cleanly when the orc in charge decided shoulder-height lateral motion is most appropriate for axes. In a truly flashy moment, the barbarian charged an orc that dodged at the last moment, only to find the true intent all along was to grab it around the neck and use the barbarian's momentum to toss it into the mind-affecting poison, leaving him utterly incapacitated.
The herbalist used a smoke bomb to hide his movement to the back of the combat, between the orcs and the gnomes. Moments later, he modified a vial of liquid fire from a burst to a sticky napalm and set the fiercest orc burning. The barbarian quickly cut the orc's unsuspecting throat and in a smooth motion pushed him into one of the other orcs, setting him alight as well. The orcs began to flee, and made cries that were obviously for help.
The necromancer animated the fierce orc's corpse, and was rewarded with a fast burning zombie and set off in pursuit of the fleeing creatures. The herbalist started to attend to the gnomish children, those still alive, when he noticed a small swirl in the rapidly diffusing remnants of his poison. Though curious, it was not so curious as when the incapacitated orc moved. Or not so much moved as was moved, as suddenly the orc itself was swung in a wide arc that knocked the herbalist back. Heroically he shielded the gnomes he had under each arm, and took the sole brunt of the assault.
The troll, though not agile, was very difficult to discern. The herbalist quickly made a tarry pitch which made it easier to pinpoint the creature. The poor poisoned orc was little more than a meat club, and while the necromancer and one zombie kept the fleeing orcs busy, the rest piled upon the mighty creature. The fire zombie soon fell to the troll's vicious high-momentum multiattacks, and the rest were hard pressed to remain on their feet. The tide of the battle finally changed when the herbalist made a minor fire concoction which caused some ongoing fire damage and partially blinded the beast, while the necromancer created a clutch spell which suppressed the monster's fearsome regenerative abilities. The troll's end came from the barbarian's axe in a severing blow which saw him drop the orc-club and finally shudder lifelessly to the ground.
The village thus saved, the heroes turned to attend to their wounds and those of the surviving villagers.
[/sblock]
This was probably the most successful one shot I've ever run, and knowing myself I am surprised how successful it was given that the system (to a significant extent), the characters, the plot, the monsters, and the action were all produced without preparation. It is also a testament to the players, who really stepped up to plate for a style of play much different from our usual.
I don't think this adventure surpasses or even matches what many of the talented DMs on the board do regularly in a similar style of play, but like a nice used car it was "new to me." In short, I grew a little bit more mature as a DM, roleplayer, and designer tonight, and you just can't complain about that. Sometimes it's worth going for broke. Happy gaming, folks.
Which is why tonight's game was an amazing and challenging experience.
For the last 18 months or so a friend and I have been designing a homebrew system, one with a level of crunchiness fairly similar to 3e. Tonight I suggested we try the game stripped down to its mechanical core for a totally extemporaneous one shot I would DM. The core components are the resolution method (a variant dice pool), attribute scores, skills, and a momentum system. We invented a skill-based alchemy system (limited powerful potions plus impromptu "cantrip potions"), magic system (noun-verb plus spell points), and martial maneuver system (invent a style with three basic approaches to combat) during the 10 minutes of character creation, and figured out the rest as it came up. This may reflect a certain narrowness in my RPG experience, but I don't usually think of improvisation in RPGs as referring to the system being played.
The abbreviated story hour, for those interested.
[sblock]
A dwarf necromancer, dwarf barbarian, and a human herbalist set out from the border of dwarven caverns and a gnomish surface village to determine why the village had not been heard from since a joint underground/overground assault on both lands. The dwarves had successfully repelled the attack, and our heroes are among the few still fit for fighting. While approaching the cavern's mouth, they encounter the remains of a group of fleeing gnomes. Only one survived, but the attack left him blinded and borderline incoherent. The herbalist's powerful healing potion critically healed the lone survivor (it was an amazing roll), who reported an ambush by several orcs, as well as some beast that could not have been hiding with the orcs, yet had been utterly unseen.
While the necromancer created a zombie from a nearby orc corpse to swing around wildly to make sure such a creature was no longer present, the herbalist discovered a small patch of slime that seemed to have chameleon-like properties on whatever it covered. He could not quite place its origin, but the barbarian's knowledge of his people's glorious battles made it clear this was from a Chameleon troll, a fearsome and stealthy opponent whose defeat guarantees glorious remembrance for the victor. Probably free ale too, so there's something for all manner of hero.
The grieving gnome received a little booze from the herbalist's own still, and was left to tend his dead as the party moved onward. Emerging into the village, the slaughter appeared to be nearly total. A few cowering gnomes hid in view of the party, but they were too afraid to speak, and at most made pantomimes that suggested they believed they were being watched even now. While surveying the damage, the wind brought the briefest hint of orcish voices to the necromancer's ears, and quieting his compatriots they were able to discern: "...something something something the beast" with their seriously minimal knowledge of the language.
Preparing for a surprise assault, the necromancer created a "fast zombie" with an incredibly lucky roll, and the party moved to the outskirts of the village. The zombies rushed to their sanctioned brains, that of 5 orcs huddled near a wall. One orc, brandishing a giant axe, wickedly cut the fast zombie and knocked it down. Due to unfortunate perception checks, no one noticed that the orcs were huddled around several bound gnomish children, and so the herbalist was lucky when his vial of powerful poisonous gas missed its intended square by several meters.
Combat was fierce, and the fast zombie lost its head cleanly when the orc in charge decided shoulder-height lateral motion is most appropriate for axes. In a truly flashy moment, the barbarian charged an orc that dodged at the last moment, only to find the true intent all along was to grab it around the neck and use the barbarian's momentum to toss it into the mind-affecting poison, leaving him utterly incapacitated.
The herbalist used a smoke bomb to hide his movement to the back of the combat, between the orcs and the gnomes. Moments later, he modified a vial of liquid fire from a burst to a sticky napalm and set the fiercest orc burning. The barbarian quickly cut the orc's unsuspecting throat and in a smooth motion pushed him into one of the other orcs, setting him alight as well. The orcs began to flee, and made cries that were obviously for help.
The necromancer animated the fierce orc's corpse, and was rewarded with a fast burning zombie and set off in pursuit of the fleeing creatures. The herbalist started to attend to the gnomish children, those still alive, when he noticed a small swirl in the rapidly diffusing remnants of his poison. Though curious, it was not so curious as when the incapacitated orc moved. Or not so much moved as was moved, as suddenly the orc itself was swung in a wide arc that knocked the herbalist back. Heroically he shielded the gnomes he had under each arm, and took the sole brunt of the assault.
The troll, though not agile, was very difficult to discern. The herbalist quickly made a tarry pitch which made it easier to pinpoint the creature. The poor poisoned orc was little more than a meat club, and while the necromancer and one zombie kept the fleeing orcs busy, the rest piled upon the mighty creature. The fire zombie soon fell to the troll's vicious high-momentum multiattacks, and the rest were hard pressed to remain on their feet. The tide of the battle finally changed when the herbalist made a minor fire concoction which caused some ongoing fire damage and partially blinded the beast, while the necromancer created a clutch spell which suppressed the monster's fearsome regenerative abilities. The troll's end came from the barbarian's axe in a severing blow which saw him drop the orc-club and finally shudder lifelessly to the ground.
The village thus saved, the heroes turned to attend to their wounds and those of the surviving villagers.
[/sblock]
This was probably the most successful one shot I've ever run, and knowing myself I am surprised how successful it was given that the system (to a significant extent), the characters, the plot, the monsters, and the action were all produced without preparation. It is also a testament to the players, who really stepped up to plate for a style of play much different from our usual.
I don't think this adventure surpasses or even matches what many of the talented DMs on the board do regularly in a similar style of play, but like a nice used car it was "new to me." In short, I grew a little bit more mature as a DM, roleplayer, and designer tonight, and you just can't complain about that. Sometimes it's worth going for broke. Happy gaming, folks.
