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.

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.

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.

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.

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:

1. Double damage vs. poisonous creatures
2. Glow (as per light spell) 3 times/day
3. Walk on water for 1 turn 1 time/day
4. Know Direction 3 times/day
5. On to-hit roll of 20 damage caused (excluding +2 bonus) is healed in wielder
6. Wielder gains 60′ infravision when holding sickle sword
7. Cause fear to all within 10′ of the wielder when drawn
8. On to-hit roll of 1 cause 1d4 points of electrical damage to wielder
9. +2 reaction penalty when drawn
10. Requires save vs. magic to draw
11. Constantly emits low hum (-1 penalty to surprise rolls)
12. Specific monster gains +1 to-hit vs. wielder due to racial hatred of the sword

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.

My son’s cleric/magic-user watched the door while the others checked out the inside of the tower. They spotted two sets of spiral stairs, one heading up and one heading down. They went up. The levels above showed signs of previous exploration, though when they spent a turn digging through a ruined laboratory the dwarf found a short sword in a drawer. He gave it to the native man-at-arms, who stuck it in his belt as a back-up weapon. Climbing another few levels, they encountered a clan of chattering monkeys. The druid once again made use of the Speak With Animals and brokered a truce with the monkeys. The party asked if the monkeys had ever been to the lower levels but were told they were afraid of “the scary bone monkeys” and never went down. (This refered to the undead monkey skeletons my son’s ranger ran into previously.) After some more exploration, they decided to head down the stairs that led below the surface.

They found themselves in a basement level with water pooled at one side of the room but otherwise empty. Afraid to enter the water, they searched the floor, walls, and staircase for secret door without luck. The dwarf even spent a turn trying to “disbelieve” the water without success. My son’s elf finally decided to walk into the water, which was only a few inches deep, and search the wall for secret doors. Lo and behold, he found one. A keystone trigger opened a sliding panel to reveal a 20′ corridor also flooded with a few inches of water. They went down the passage and, with some difficulty due to the swollen timbers, forced open the heavy wooden door at the far end.

They found a passageway heading left and right. Heading left, they entered a 20′ by 20′ room with a large glass mirror on the far wall and an arched doorway to the left leading out. A Detect Magic spell by the elf revealed two things: A) the mirror was not magical and B) the sword that the dwarf had found in the lab and lent to the native was. After making sure the native understood that the sword was just a loaner, they tried to check behind the mirror. They found nothing on the wall or on the back, but as one of them was a dwarf and another was a halfling, and the mirror was 6′ tall and 4′ wide, they were not able to do a very thorough job of it.

Heading through the passageway, they found themselves in another 20′ by 20′ room, this one occupied by a 5′ diameter stone pool of water. A 3′ pedestal in the middle of the pool was topped with a golden carved creepy-looking snake. The elf’s Detect Magic, just about to expire, showed that the snake and the water were both enchanted. He approached the water but when he got close found himself oddly terrified of the snake and could go no closer. He cast Protection From Evil and tried again. This time he was able to get to the edge of the pool. He tried to grab the snake but found that it was attached to the pedestal. So he took a drink of the water and apprehensively waited to see what would happen. Surprisingly, he found that he felt much stronger than he normally did and was told that he had experienced a +2 increase to his strength.

At this time I informed the players that our pre-determined time allotment was nearing its end and that any characters who had not returned to town by the end of the session would find themselves in terrible shape. Virtually no one survived out in the jungle on their own for very long. So the party decided to head back for town.

On the way, while camping after a day’s march, they were attacked by a group of pale-skinned vaguely human-looking humanoids. Four of the creatures were visible but others were heard in the trees. Unsure of what they were faced with, the druid cast an Entanglement spell and three were tangled tight. Five others were partially entangled and howled in rage, trying to fight their way through the branches and vines that kept them from their targets. The characters leaped into action, and soon all the attackers, hampered by the entanglement, were dispatched.

The rest of the trip to town was uneventful, though the river crossing once again found the dwarf’s canoe in trouble for a while. While they returned safely, they found no gold and are more destitute than before. They don’t know who was shooting at them outside the tower, and they don’t know what those nasty creatures who attacked them were. I’m also wondering if they’re going to be successful in keeping an eye on that native with the sword. We’ll see next time.

Line of the game: (After complaints about the great deal of time spent hiring men-at-arms, haggling over canoe rentals, and crossing the river) “Well, at least we’re still alive!” –by my daughter.

* I will have more information on our alternative experience/advancement system and the Jungle Minions up on the blog soon.

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.

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.

His ranger was dismayed to discover that the trolls are keeping a closer eye on their hoard now that he’s stolen some of it while they were away from their lair, but was excited to check out a little more of the tower he’s been exploring and managed to get back to town with another ivory tusk. Another NPC bit the dust, this time a thief who fell victim to the undead monkeys within the tower when the characters failed to take sufficient precautions.

That evening my wife and daughter rolled up PCs and we had our third-ever whole-family game. The two new PCs joined my son’s ranger and yet another NPC and headed into the wild. After some tense moments when they became disoriented in the trackless jungle, they managed to find their way back toward town and drove off some jungle goblin raiders near town. Unfortunately, the next morning they ran into more goblins and were wiped out.

The first time we all played together, the party was captured out by goblins. The second session we all played together was a successful rescue mission with new PCs. And now the third time was a TPK. Though I want the threat of danger to be very real and want 1st-level characters to be justifiably frail, the death rate is discouraging. My son, in particular, was pretty upset about losing the ranger that had done so well in the first two sessions.

He and I have discussed this extensively and we are going to be making a few tweaks to improve the survivability of PCs. I’m going to up the binding of wounds from 1d4-1 hit points per battle to 1d6, and the overnight healing is going to be upped to 1d6 hit points as well. I think this is in keeping with the sword & sorcery vibe I’m going for. Battles are savage and death is not uncommon, but soon the characters are back into the thick of it. So we’re going to give it a try.

I’ve got another change, much more significant, in mind as well, but I want to think on it a bit. The goal is to increase survivability at the first couple levels without altering game balance or making mid-level characters TOO powerful. I also want the risk of PC death to remain significant, and even a threat to well-played characters. It’s a fine line and one that I think a lot of people have trouble with.

My design never really progressed very far, and I fear that most of the potential players would rather adventure in a more “standard” fantasy world than the lethal Lost World sword & sorcery environment I was planning for Forbidden Jungle. Rather than water it down with high fantasy, I’ve shifted gears and am starting to work on a new, more traditional campaign setting.

Though I am disappointed that Forbidden Jungle won’t see the light of day, at least for the time being, I am actually quite excited about the new world. Like Forbidden Jungle, it’s something that I’ve wanted to do for a long, long time. Hopefully I’ll be able to make some real headway in the next few days and will unveil things shortly.

Now that I’ve made the decision, it feels like a weight has been lifted and I am ready to charge in on the new project.

I know that a number of readers have expressed a great deal of interest in Forbidden Jungle, and I’m sorry if you’re disappointed. I am quite disappointed, myself. Hopefully, the new campaign will take shape as I intend and it will be a worthy substitute.

UPDATE: Now that I’ve started on the new setting, a brainstorm has led me to wonder if many elements from Forbidden Jungle can’t be worked into this new world. Much of it would fit very nicely, and doing this would eliminate the risk of the Forbidden Jungle becoming stale after a while, something I’ve felt was a bit of a risk.

At the same time, I don’t want to sell any of the Forbidden Jungle ideas short by editing them down to fit within another environment. This new campaign is going to be intentionally smaller-scaled, and I don’t want the Forbidden Jungle to just become a single encounter area. A couple of the ideas I was working on simply won’t fit within the space I’ve allotted for the new setting, so they’d have to be trimmed way back or ditched entirely. I’m not sure if I want to do that, but I also know that it might be the only way Forbidden Jungle sees the light of day for years. Or for ever.