Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="froggie" data-source="post: 3133219" data-attributes="member: 2936">This is what I didAs my good friend Gary said—“I hate the "motorcycle helmet law" approach WOTC takes. Adventuring means danger, a chance to get killed without bubble-wrap over all the sharp corners in the dungeon, and DMing means creativity and judgment. By and large, D&D players are smart enough that we don't need child safety locks. It almost seems like WOTC is afraid to get sued if a character is killed. I want the Holodeck Safety Protocols off.”Style of PlayI am a “First Edition” style DM. My style of play can best be described as a “hex-crawl”. Travel and exploration is the name of the game. I do not direct what you do and where you go. You as players select that. I as a DM simply react to your wishes. Certainly I toss in plot hooks and scenarios from time to time, but I will not direct your movements or actions—this is not the Forgotten Realms. It is also important to note that the world is what it is—there is no “level of the world”. It’s possible that a first level party will stumble onto an ancient red dragon. Likewise a 10th level group might find a single kobold. Knowing when to run is a good thing. Dungeons are usually very nasty places. Take great care when exploring them. They are also the best place to find treasure and earn experience points. Adventurers guard their locations well.The world itself is a grim and terrible place. Civilized areas are few and not always friendly. Magic items are not for sale, and a priest who can raise the dead is a rare thing indeed. Orcs might be friendly, whiles elves might slit your throat for trespassing. Certainly anyone found in the wilderness is a foe to be reckoned with, else they are lost and soon to die. NPCs are by and large low-level; a 7th level character is a god among men. As you will note below, advancement is slower than in 3E. You should expect to die, a lot. Know when to run, and know when to hide. Basic Rules/Modifications1.    PCs may use only the rules/feats etc. found in the WOTC PHB or in the Wilderlands Players Guide.2.    No psionic PCs exist.3.    No books are allowed at the table except those two books.4.    PCs should be rolled up at the first session using 4d6, discard the lowest method.5.    Any race/class is allowed, but Amazons and Altanians are not treated well by the world’s inhabitants, so keep that in mind. Basically think of these races as American Indians in the old west.6.    Please do not play wholly evil characters. 7.    If you change classes, you may not advance in the previous class anymore (no jumping back and forth to min/max). I allow a maximum of three classes per PC. There is a feat in the Wilderlands Players Guide that allows the "normal" rules to apply for one class.8.    Magic is much rarer than in many games. Magic item creation feats cost 5x the xp and gold as in the book to use. Items beyond potions and scrolls take special materials that usually cannot be simply purchased.9.    No armor greater than +5 AC can be purchased initially (dwarves can purchase +7). Only a few cities have the technology level to make fancy metal objects. Exotic weapons (unless race specific) cannot be taken initially.10.    All PCs get maximum hp at 1st level, and may reroll 1’s and 2’s (2’s only the first time) when they advance in level.11.    Experience points are awarded at the end of each session only. I use story award experience—not the CR system or anything like it. Points are given for use of your brain as much as your sword. Advancement is instantaneous--no training is required.Alternate Experience ProgressionI do not like the change to the experience charts in the Third Edition rules, and believe that level advancement occurs too fast, particularly at low levels, depriving players of the formative levels with their characters. I use this XP chart in lieu of the one in the Player’s Handbook. The formula for determining XP is ([prior XP goal] + [2000 x the prior level number]). Thus, to go from 3rd level to 4th level, the new XP goal is 6000 (the prior goal for 3rd level) + 6000 (2000 x 3) = 12,000 XP for 4th level.I have 8 players (sorcerer, sage, thief, wizard (all 3rd), cleric, fighter (2nd), and alchemist, fighter (1st)), and I am notoriously cheap on xp (like 5-10% compared to standard). I also use geometric xp tables from the Wilderlands players guide. Advancement is every 8-10 sessions. I have the players vote for MVP and #2 MVP. MVP gets a 200 xp bonus, and 2nd gets a 100 xp bonus. Works out to about a 15-20% bonus for the session. I find it works quite well too...folks try to play as a team.My regular xp is as follows:CR x 100xp/players each, half if not killed, 1/4 if PCs run away, 1/2 for traps. No xp for monsters of CR <3 less than the PCs, unless "in bulk".Each Wilderness Hex or dungeon room explored-5 xp each PCMinor plot theme deciphered/uncovered, solving riddle/puzzle etc. 50-100 each, like finding the dungeon entrance or solving the mathmatical puzzleMajor of same--150-500 each, like killing the BEBG after several sessions, rescuing the princess, etc.Good/Creative idea (like tactics etc. that are really smart, e.g surprise me) 25 individual xpGood roleplay--25-100/session each.This works out to between 500 and 1500 xp/session typically. I do not escalate for PCs being higher levels...except CR factors go up. Makes for a good 1E level of advancement, and player skill grows at the same rate as character skill...I mean these guys are good.28 sessions later, the survivors (4 are 3rd level, and the rest are levels 1-2 (depending on when they died). I think they have 4 permanent magic items (a +1 ghost touch axe, an amulet of protection from petrification, a minor robe of blending, and an amulet of +2 hide/move silently). They also have accumulated several potions and scrolls. Oh, and I charge 10x the xp for magic item creation. Maybe 5000 gp in treasure as well (from MATT!!). They have been playing in Thracia and Barakus (Maps 1-2 area). Home base is Dankina and Valon. Biggest bad guys include a medusa and a hill giant. They spend a lot of time on exploration and discovery (hence the sage). Weird for me, I am used to a lot more "hack" focused players. I bet the average age is 40 too...real groggy.</blockquote>

Verification