Having not played anything for quite a while, and after listening to my friend Bill go through the same situation, I decided I needed to force myself to play. I have spent far too long looking for a system to use, a setting to play in, and frankly just wasted MONTHs thinking about playing but not actually doing it. Then yesterday I came across this video on the 'Tube and it really got me thinking:
And he was right, just freaking do it. His experience is just like mine, I worry too much about the system, making it look cool for you (and me) to look at, making pretty maps, character sheets, etc....
SO, like him I initially thought about using Shadowdark, going as far as creating two characters. I hated it, all the fiddly bits of if I have this ancestry I get a +1 here to do this, if this class a +1 to that, a +1 here for this...ugh
So I went back to White Box. ;-)
I made two characters quickly, omg so quickly. I love WB.
Then, I decided that two characters will never survive and I needed some companions, so I opted to use a method Bill shared with me a few days ago from Chaoclypse's substack, a really neat and quick method for generating quick companions:https://chaoclypse.substack.com/p/system-neutral-rpg-companions Within minutes I had a fighter and a porter to join our adventure:
I decided to utilize a small thing I tossed together, just a few paragraphs for a base of operations but I did not want to get bogged down with this so I limited the time I spent and also how detailed this was:
I decided I wanted to explore a small barrow and what better tool to use than the great Barrowmaze Complete book I got a few years ago. I tracked combat on top of a Lowes gift card I got for Christmas and some extra tiny dice I had laying around. Improvise and continue was the motto here.
We ventured into the Barrowlands, and quickly we ran into an encounter. What follows are my notes on the game, taken as I played. They are not neat, organized well, or meant for any one else but me to track the progress of my game, I merely post here to show others how I played and how it is great to just stop thinking about playing, and actually sit down and do it.
All told, I spent about two hours creating (then recreating) characters, collecting my tools, and running through the session. I randomly determined which barrow we discovered and then used the entry in the book to describe it. I did reduce the number of badguys because wow, 6 mimics with each almost having 20 hit points is a little overpowered for my band of two adventurers and two companions.
All told, I had fun, it was easy to get going and I could easily continue this if I so wish. My little video on this session:
The creatures that stalk the shadowed glades and swamps of the forest beyond the wall are surprisingly cunning and clever, they will use the forest terrain against you and trap you in situations with extreme difficulty for paths of escape. Though they appear as beasts, assume all you encounter are intelligent and by design...perhaps a chaotic design, but a design nonetheless, bent on one goal: your destruction.
This design is also one of the faults of the chaos. One must suppose the demons and devils of chaos did not inherently design something that could aid explorers, yet they did. Found within the remains of a slain Skuggadyr is a small phylactery with a thin connection to chaos but also containing the soul of someone consumed by the chaos. These small phylacteries are a newer discovery and the possibilities of their use is still being explored.
Fearsome beasts wander the land beyond the wall, only the most stalwart and hardy men will stand to the horrors seen in the RætinnSkógur (officially, locally known as the 'Rotted Wood' or Black Forest). The Dunvaigh is one such beast. Appearing like a 12-15 foot tall moose of gigantic proportions, with black and fetid flesh rotting and falling in clumps, this monstrosity hunts for living creatures to consume.
General Grivek is the commander of Grimwall Keep, leading the unrighteous men seeking repentance as they struggle against the forces of chaos. While service at the Keep is a something most men would shy away from, the General has taken up the mantle with an eye towards righting the wrongs of his past. He instills trust, honor, and bravery in the men who seek redemption, and sends those who are not fit onto the Blade of Saint Kifferagh in the Keep's central chapel.
Little is known of the General's past. Rumors say he was responsible for a heinous blaspheme that resulted in the deaths of hundreds (some tales inflate this to the thousands), including his own wife and children. The General is mum on the truth of his past and let the men of the Keep speculate, knowing at times that silence and imagination can be your strongest ally.
Whatcha think? Looks like a suitably horrible place to exist.
A terrible fortification out on the far edges of the frontier, a place only desperate men (beasts?) are sent to redeem themselves and make amends for their past sins? Of course, tossing bad, and possibly irredeemable, people together into a miserable place only fosters the right conditions for the vilest things to happen. These people struggle to find a way to survive in the middle of a cataclysmic disaster on a level never before seen. The forces of chaos stir over the wall, summoning the worst from the dark planes to man the rosters of their dark force. The Devil himself is said to wander the forests, eating the hearts of men and committing atrocities against those he finds in his lands. He twists and contorts their minds until they serve him without regard for themselves.
Grimwall Keep serves as the defense against this evil, all while being manned by some of the worst of us. Can mankind survive?
Updated the image a little, one section was just bugging me like crazy so I redrew part of the keep. ;-)
Every good group of heroes need a bunch of baddies trying to destroy the world, right? How about some weasels, badgers, and rats? Plus a vile swamp lord?
By special request for Bill and Felbrigg, I have delved into a grimdark version of the images I posted awhile ago. I imagine this as a sort of 'adult' version of Redwall, perhaps combine Joe Abercrombie's novels with Redwall? I don't know. Anyway, here are some cool images.
Actually, now that I think about this, that sounds really, really cool. I am not a big furry guy (I think its weird, but you do you) but the idea of an adult fantasy Redwall/First Law mashup sounds pretty badass to be honest.
Yes, I occasionally still do draw maps! I through this together this week, and decided to color it out and play a little with shadows and highlights. I like to think the little huts are recently added additions by the crew hired by the new king or duke who wants to repair the damaged wall surrounding the gatehouse. Keep those pesky orcs on the other side of the wall!
Below are a couple of variations for those so inclined.
Been playing around with different card cards and I decided to rework my old White Box character cards. I am really liking the direction on this one. The top one would fit on each side of an index card. The one below fits three to a letter sized page (works perfect in Goodnotes for me). Still playing around with it...you can see the HP, AC etc are different as I am trying to figure out which I prefer.
North of the village of Scar, a terrifying new creature was spotted. The bulbous Viscooth (so named by a local named Timblot Smithers) has ravaged the scattered farms, tearing through their fields and eating everything. Mr Smithers has declared his entire crop was fouled by the fearsome creatures. Mrs Kimmour's youngest daughter was startled by a pair of Viscooths and narrowly escaped to their abode. The sheriff has made inquiries into the creatures' lair but so far came up empty-handed.
Mr Smithers has offered a reward of 50gp if the creatures can be ran off. Local sage Humbolt the Knowing has offered up 80gp if a sample of the creature can be brought to him for study.
Sometimes I just hate our hobby. Many of us are creative types and we generate so much amazing things that my attention I end up getting lost and halting all activity as I ponder what might I do next. Seriously, it is a struggle. I recently discovered Tricube Tales, which I absolutely love. So after looking at numerous systems, settings, rules, etc, I thought perhaps I would go back to my story of Rufus and Silas but use Tricube Tales. Converting them to these rules will be interesting.
