Forbidden Jungle
Let’s say, hypothetically speaking, that I was working on a project that involved a large wilderness hex map. And that this map exceeded 99 columns and/or rows, meaning up to three digits for each.
What sort of hex numbering scheme do you prefer?
The typical 1079 is out as there are too many rows and/or columns for two digits each unless separate maps (east and west halves, for instance) each had their own set o four-digit (two plus two) hex ID numbers. So there would be a hex 1079 on the east map and also a hex 1079 on the west map. Which I don’t like, but call that option ‘A.’
A few ideas I’ve been looking at:
Option A — 2 separate 4-digit numbers with duplication (1079, 1079, and 4593)
Option B — 3-digit rows and columns (010079, 010169, and 045183)
Option C — 3-digit rows and columns with a dash (010-079, 010-169, and 045-183)
Option D — 3-digit rows and columns with another separator (010’079, 010’169, and 045’183)
Any other ideas?
I’m not a fan of the “count your own rows and columns” systems like on the old Greyhawk maps and I do want a hex map, not a hexless map with a hex overlay.
Tags: Forbidden Jungle
Readers have probably figured out that I am quite streaky when it comes to posting here, ripping off a post a day for stretches lasting weeks or even months, then going almost totally silent for periods just as long. That is no way to run a web site, and I apologize. I knew when I started this that I didn’t really have time for it, and I was right.
Anyway, my game playing, sadly, runs in the same sort of cycle. When other demands aren’t hogging all of the discretionary time (and then some), we usually make an effort to play more and, as a result, I end up creating all sorts of new material and posting some of it here.
Over the past few years, I’ve waffled on just what we’re going to play when we have time, and just how we’re going to play it. My initial plan to play Labyrinth Lord by the book and Swords & Wizardry White Box heavily house-ruled gave way to reality and the lack of time to play two different systems, let alone one that required a lot of tinkering. So we decided to go All Labyrinth Lord All the Time, with the idea that we’d incorporate a number of house rules and ideas that we had planned to use in our modified S&W White Box game.
My guess is that what happened to us happens to many gamers. Once we started tinkering, we couldn’t stop. A plan to make some adjustments led to the need to create modified rule outlines and accompanying tables, and once we crossed the line into creating our own material we failed our save vs. “houseruling.”
Our separate experiment with Five Color Magic resulting in a desire to incorporate this system into our game, and at that point, needing a fully-written player’s guide, we were looking at a totally separate system. Which is what I had been trying to avoid.
So here we are in 2011 and I am again looking at the options and wondering how to proceed.
Do we play a mostly-by-the-book Labyrinth Lord? If so, with or without the excellent Advanced Edition Companion? The advantage here is that it’s virtually 100% compatible with nearly everything else out there, including most OSR clone material and original TSR D&D material.
Do we play a heavily-modified Labyrinth Lord? If so, do we worry about our modifications breaking easy compatibility with standard LL? Giving thieves d6 hit dice or letting clerics use swords is no big deal. Re-organizing all spellcasters into five color-based classes or changing all monsters to use a one-roll lower-damage attack is. This is closer to what we want but not nearly so compatible.
Or do we play our homebrew Five Color Wizards & Warriors game, with two only two classes and five versions of each? We are 90% done with the rules guide, and we’re liking what we see. The problem, of course, is that no one else plays this game. The only ready material that exists is what we’ve written, and a lot of what I create won’t be terribly useful to blog readers, at least not as-is.
The freedom to create your own professional-looking material is a blessing and a curse. Back when the options to “publish” your own stuff was limited, my willingness to tinker was was limited to a few sheets of houserules that I’d photocopy. Things are so much better now that you can incorporate your changes directly into the text of the rules and print them up nicely, but that capability removes a reason to minimize your alterations.
What’s the best way? Whichever way gets you the game you want to play the most and gets the most use.
For us, that looks like our homebrew game.
We’ll always have the option to play another system, of course, but we’re going to throw our effort into this. Our playing has languished and that needs to change. I think our little creation gives us the best chance to do that, so that’s the plan.
What I post on the blog will probably remain fully-compatible with standard systems so as to be most useful to readers. I’m also left with the dilemma of how to proceed with the Forbidden Jungle. I’ve got a fair amount of work into it already and it’s looking pretty good (if I may say so myself), and I know that there are at least a few readers interested in seeing more FJ material. But how to make that material most accessible to those not playing my own little game? Not to mention the possibility of considering it for publication some day.
We’ll see.
UPDATE: I should add that the dilemma of “which game to play” is sometimes a contributing factor in our lack of playing. Without a clear direction, our effort has sometimes been splintered between things and we haven’t settled down and just done it. Time to do so.
Tags: Five Colors, Forbidden Jungle, kilgore edition, Labyrinth Lord, Swords & Wizardry
The winners of the 2010 One Page Dungeon Contest have been announced and I’m honored that The Heart of Darkness is listed among them. After last year’s honorable mention, I’m very flattered to have scored again.
It’s the winner of ‘Best Mini-Campaign,’ and that’s exactly what it was meant for. I hope it inspires some great adventures. Honestly, I didn’t really expect a huge outdoor setting to get much consideration in a dungeon design contest.
I’ve looked over at least a few of the other winners, and I can say that they’re top-notch. A free PDF of all 18 winners is available, but I’d also recommend the .zip file of all 63 entries available here. A wide range of gaming, either to be used directly or as inspirational material, for a few minutes of download time. Check ‘em out.
Tags: Forbidden Jungle
For our adventures in the Forbidden Jungle, we’ve had to modify our Labyrinth Minions system to include the native tribesmen who are hiring themselves out to hunters, explorers, and adventurers.
There is a steady stream of people from the settled lands across the sea arriving in the crowded town at the mouth of the huge river which snakes up into the Heart of Darkness. Many of these (which we call “old worlders”) arrive with hopes of gold, ivory, and glory but soon find themselves with nothing but a rusty sword and an empty stomach. They are only too willing to hire themselves out as porters, torch bearers, or men-at-arms to an expedition.
Also, the word has spread among the native tribes that gold can be earned by working for these crazy old worlders. So there is usually no shortage of natives looking for work as well. Unlike most campaigns I’ve run, in the Forbidden Jungle there is no shortage of potential hirelings.
And it’s a good thing, as the Forbidden Jungle is a deadly place. The natives know and accept this with a grim determination. The newcomers maybe don’t, but with no family on the continent there is no one to complain if someone heads out on an expedition but never returns. Most of the old worlders who don’t return are never missed by anyone. It’s sad, but the jungle has no sympathy.
Here is the modified version of the Minions sheet:
Jungle Minions
Free PDF
The native tribesmen are more lightly armed and armored than the old-worlders but are a bit hardier in the environment as reflected by their slightly better hit points. The scale mail for the tribesmen can represent either new world scale mail or perhaps some special tribal construction.
Tags: Forbidden Jungle, Kreations, Labyrinth Lord
Sickle Swords of the Exiles
These weapons are cast of copper or bronze and usually heavily stained or tarnished by the ages. Often they have various runes or hieroglyphs inscribed on the blades. These slashing weapons have always been associated with a people known as “the exiles,” though who these exiles were, where they came from, or what happened to them is a mystery.
The sickle swords of the exiles function as +2 long swords and are 75% likely to also possess a minor power. This power is not always beneficial. Some possible powers include:
- Double damage vs. poisonous creatures
- Glow (as per light spell) 3 times/day
- Walk on water for 1 turn 1 time/day
- Know Direction 3 times/day
- On to-hit roll of 20 damage caused (excluding +2 bonus) is healed in wielder
- Wielder gains 60′ infravision when holding sickle sword
- Cause fear to all within 10′ of the wielder when drawn
- On to-hit roll of 1 cause 1d4 points of electrical damage to wielder
- +2 reaction penalty when drawn
- Requires save vs. magic to draw
- Constantly emits low hum (-1 penalty to surprise rolls)
- Specific monster gains +1 to-hit vs. wielder due to racial hatred of the sword
Tags: Forbidden Jungle
The family reconvened for another foray in the Forbidden Jungle with new PCs they had rolled up since the previous TPK. My wife had a halfling druid (great move for the environment) while my daughter went with a dwarf fighter she had rolled up on her own one day. My son, meanwhile, took advantage of the fact that the rules for multi-classed characters using our new XP and advancement system* were finally coalescing and created an elf cleric/magic-user.
They decided to spend a day searching for hirelings as their previous trek into the jungle ended badly at the hands of goblin raiders. Being short of funds, they could only afford to hire two men at arms, an old worlder with leather, sword, and shield and a native tribesman* with scale mail, spear, and shield. I explained that the tribesman’s scale was in rough shape, and my daughter wondered if it might not be stolen. I did nothing to discourage the thought.
Rumors floating around town centered around a tower across the big river, off to the southeast. My son’s previous character, the ranger detailed here, had been to this tower but had told the boatmaster he had not been able to locate it. Despite the ranger’s story, the amount of loot he brought back out of the jungle had set the townsfolk a-talking. So the party decided to set out in search of this tower. They rented canoes and paddled across the river. The elf had trouble and was nearly washed out to sea, but after an hour of fierce effort they were all safely across and the canoes hidden.
After an afternoon of jungle trekking, they set camp for the night. Being as everyone was in good shape and the weather was good, they decided not to set a fire. All three PCs have infravision (simply good night vision in our game) and the three of them decided to take turns on watch. Shortly after the other bedded down, my daughter’s dwarf spotted a man and a mule loaded with packs and tools making their way southward. As the dwarf had surprise, he quietly watched as the man stopped and set up camp. Soon the man was snoring away. The dwarf let him sleep and waked the halfling druid for her watch.
The druid (played by my wife) cast a Speak With Animals and asked the mule what was going on. The mule complained about being awakened but informed her that they were headed toward the sea. Apparently the previous place had not worked out, though the halfling didn’t understand exactly what that meant. The halfling thanked the mule and let the strangers sleep. At the crack of dawn the man awoke, grumbled about his sore bones, and set off toward the south with his mule in tow.
The party continued on their way through the jungle, taking cover when a group of five elephants rumbled past. The old worlder man-at-arms, a newcomer to the new world, wanted to take one down for the ivory. Fortunately, both the elf and the halfling talked him out of trying. Soon they stumbled upon the tower they sought, but while they looked it over they were surprised by something in the trees.
An arrow flew into the tree next to the old-worlder’s head, and not waiting to see who was shooting at them, the party ran for the tower. A huge set of bronze double doors, one of them slightly ajar (from the ranger’s previous visit), was visible through the vines overgrowing the tower, and they fled inside. The native tribesman, slowed by his scale mail, lagged behind and was narrowly missed by another arrow. But soon they were all safe inside.
Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Forbidden Jungle, session
With all due credit to all those who have written up sword & sorcery serpent people in past, here are some of the primary movers and shakers in the Forbidden Jungle:
Snake-Men
No. Enc.: 1d8 (3d6)
Alignment: Chaotic
Movement: 90′ (30′)
Armor Class: 5 [14]
Hit Dice: 1
Attacks: 1
Damage: 1d6+1 or by weapon +1 (due to strength)
Save: F2
Morale: 9
Hoard Class: IV (XIX)Snake-men are an ancient race of serpent people that inhabits the heavy, trackless jungle. Whether a cursed mix of human and snake or a part of the natural world, none can say. The more advanced groups of snake-men often inhabit ruins, and relics of what appears to be a lost snake-man civilization are to be found overgrown in the depths of the jungle. Snake-men appear as scaled humanoids, about five and a half feet tall with a tail. They have the heads of snakes, flicking tongues, and clawed hands.
Snake-man claws are formidable weapons, but more civilized tribes make use of weapons and favor curved scimitars and long bows. In melee, a to-hit roll of 20 indicates that the snake-man has also bitten his opponent for an extra 1d6 damage. Some snake-men are said to be poisonous.
Snake-men can be fighters, clerics, magic-users, and thieves. Snake-man women can also be druids and illusionists.
Snake-men are susceptible to all magic which affects normal snakes. Cold does double damage to them, but they get a +1 bonus to saves vs. fire or heat.
Half-Snakes: These appear to be some sort of snake-man/human crossbreed, and might more properly be called “quarter-snakes.” They appear to be more human than snake, and 10% of them can pass for human if they avoid close inspection. They can be assassins, fighters, and thieves.
Snake-Lords: The upper nobility of the snake-men consists of 20′ long snakes with a human-ish upper torso with arms. These fearsome creatures have 4-7 hit dice, venomous bites, and an innate ability to charm person if eye contact is made with a victim. They are 80% likely to be magic-users of 4th-9th level.
Snake people are a staple in so many genres of fiction that it’s tough to nail them down. They’ve been done to death many times over and yet never grow too stale. I wanted a simple archetype snake people for the Forbidden Jungle, and I think this will do the trick.
As our campaign develops, there will no doubt be some alterations to the details. I want something 1HD as we use the mook rules allowing fighters 1 attack per level against 1HD or lower creatures. But I also want a little extra bite (pardon the pun) to differentiate them from orcs. And the fact that classed snake-men will not be uncommon, serving as leaders, spies, and assassins, means that some of the villains will be tough foes, indeed. And there will always be exceptional examples of these beings, snake-men who do not fit any molds or conform to any standard rules.
Tags: Forbidden Jungle
Realized that my post of my One-Page Dungeon (which isn’t even a dungeon) is part of what vanished into the ethereal plane this week. Here it is again:
The Heart of Darkness
One Page Dungeon
As a side note, I’ve made several significant changes to this one-pager as we’ve begun playing. The most immediately noticeable is the scale of 15 miles per hex. My plan had been to map things out using 1-league (3 mile) sub-hexes, with 1-mile detail hexes only when/where necessary. However, I decided to go with an “everything conforms to hex sides” plan but was stuck with river hexes three miles wide. So I decided to go back to the good old “5 miles per large scale hex” scale, making the area covered by the one-page map only a third as big. I think, as it’s all heavy jungle, that it will still provide far more than enough territory for the low- and mid-level adventuring this eastern section of the Forbidden Jungle is intended for.
Tags: Forbidden Jungle
