>>97887059
The GM canceled a few hours before start time and I am still mad about it. We could have started earlier too because I had the day off.

>>97887059
>Tell us about your current campaign and share a pic of the game table if you have one.
Sorry, I will never give details of my game on 4chan. I'm enjoying it a lot, though.

>>97887318
Eat shit, nigger.

>>97887059
After a game which was light on much to do at home, I added a lot of detail to my new home-base city, with the intention of the players having a bunch of adventure there in addition to hexcrawling about.

After going over the City-State material, I decided to run with a bunch of Melan Fomalhaut stuff instead, mashing a bunch of his urban dungeon stuff together and filling the undercity with it. So far, so good. Wednesday night games are short, but overall the group is good and we've been having a good time.

>>97887691
>I decided to run with a bunch of Melan Fomalhaut stuff instead, mashing a bunch of his urban dungeon stuff together and filling the undercity with it.
Are you using the City of Vultures stuff? It's really good shit. I'm a bit doubtful about Mirvander Khan and all the Deston stuff, it feels a little bit too "you are not allowed to fuck with the status quo" for me, but everything else is peak.

>>97887746
Only bits and pieces. I have the Gallery of Rising Tombs in there, and some of the flavour bits, but the overall political situation and base city infrastructure stuff I've largely passed on for other material. Oom the Many is a great idea that I was happy to use, though.

>>97887873
I really like the whole Rat God complex myself, I don't know if you're considering that part of Rising Tombs or not, but the whole idea of being able to contract the priests to get the rats to do stuff is classic S&S IMO.

>>97887691
Have you had a look at the Nocturnal Table? Great citycrawling content.

I have read the mechanics for exploration with random generation but things aren't quite clicking.

Is there a good example of play (video preferred) that covers the mechanics starting from leaving the town and ending at entering the dungeon? Preferably covering mechanics like travel time, random encounters, surprise checks, encounter distance, etc.

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it took a decade but you can now buy ASSH in Canada from retailers.

Anyway its pretty good.

>>97890278

>human only ADnD

Whats the fucking point

>>97890294
having a much a game in line with most actual fiction? There isn't nearly as many fantasy stories featuring parties of elves and orcs as D&D would have you believe.

>>97890294
Sword & sorcery, presumably.

>>97890278

i find it immensely amusing the zoomers have more or less popularized the nazi elements from the 1960s so now when you google hyperborea is just nazi shit

>>97890199
Depending on what type of campaign you mean, this might be a misapprehension on your part. In a megadungeon campaign that's "strictly orthodox" in the sense of adhering to Gygax's initial instructions, these should be no meaningful travel between the town and the dungeon; they are adjacent, so that the wilderness exploration mechanics do not come into play while trekking between town and dungeon.

Putting wilderness between the town and dungeon is a common rookie error, and is not good because first level characters are not up to coping with wilderness travel and exploration.

>>97890328

everything is nazi shit. physical fitness is nazi, having kids with someone who has a similar skin tone is nazi, wanting laws to be enforced is nazi, thinking theft is bad, rape is bad, etc etc etc is nazi.

>>97890333

well I mean, the nazis did support all of those things and hate all of those things. come to think of it hitler liked drinking water

>>97890343

thats why i only drink coke. you know what hitler didn't have? Diabetes.

and thats why I'm morally superior to anyone who isnt in danger oif having their foot rot off.

>>97890278
>it took a decade but you can now buy ASSH in Canada from retailers
Do you live in the ass end of nowhere? I saw that 2e book in my LGS before covid. The big fuckoff thick 600 pager. Wasn't prepared to drop the 89+tx on it though.
You can't mean 3e. It's only been in print for four years.

>>97890418

I live in Nunavut, yes.

>>97890436
KEK

>>97890445

You laugh but I have a 6-man group sith a waitlist

i wish alcohol wasnt banned

>>97890329
Interesting. Well do you know one that covers general wilderness travel anyway?

Random dungeons I understand (encounter and parlay reactions is a tad confusing but I get the gist)

>>97890496
Videos, no. I'm not much for instructional videos.
This post:
>https://rancourt.substack.com/p/a-survey-of-overland-travel
is full of examples of play from different systems, some of which aren't OSR at all; it's an autistically detailed comparative analysis of the different operations, but if you just pick the system you want to read about instead of reading the whole thing, you should get a decent overview of running wilderness travel in that system.

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>>97890328
>>97890278

>>97889185
Yeah, that one is part of my standard citycrawl package, along with S&W City Encounters and Chaosium's Cities.

>>97890436
Oh
My condolences

>>97890573
So to make sure I have the right idea
1) Move period of time, with navigation roll if necessary
2) Check for random encounter
3?) Roll for surprise
4?) Roll for Encounter distance
5) Roll for disposition or encounter
6) Either Parlay, combat, or flee

I am not sure if 3 and 4 should be swapped in order. Also if disposition/attitude is always rolled, or if it is supposed to be only on certain triggers.

Am I missing anything else?

>>97890741
Pretty much.
The important thing though is to remember that while these are random encounters mechanically, they're not in-setting.
They're world building.

Players encounter a herd of bison? There's likely to be villages/hunters/travellers nearby who can be traded and negotiated with, or recruited as hirelings.
Group of orcs? Maybe a raiding party. If they're caught unawares they might track them back to their lair. If they have a friendly encounter then the orcs might offer them some way to mark themselves so that other orcs of their tribe don't jump them on sight.
They spot a dragon at a distance?
They can likely ask around and learn about the local dragon..
And if no one knows what they're on about that means it's new to the area and that's a real fucking concern.

Bottom up world development. Or you can go the other direction, create the map first and then populate a random encounter table from it, making things top down. Either way, what's out there should feed into what they encounter.
4d6 Gnoll dickheads with a 3rd level Shamaness isn't a good random encounter. 4d6 members of the Scarlet Maw, led by slavemaster, leading enslaved humanoids from their trading fortress to the nearby drow trading cavern is.

Hexcrawling is effectively a subtle, ongoing way of creating plothooks outside of anything you have planned in the dungeons.
Not every encounter has to be important of course, sometimes 2d8 wild horses are just 2d8 wild horses, but it does help fill out the world if there's some meaning behind things.

>>97887059
>Tell us about your current campaign and share a pic of the game table if you have one.
You first, fag!

>>97890741
https://oldschoolessentials.necroticgnome.com/srd/index.php/Wilderness_Adventuring
>Also if disposition/attitude is always rolled
unless you have a good reason why not, roll it.

>>97890810
in my FAG the party is about to get a spelljammer and then they are gonna fight godzilla and then blast off into space

>>97890815
What if Godzilla doesn't want to fight?

>>97890827
he has been rampaging for a few months. wrecks an island, the goes undersea, rinse repeat. slowly heading towards the party's stronghold(s).
he will want to fight until he starts losing at least

>>97890294
>Whats the fucking point
Based setting

>>97890741
Yeah, you've pretty much got it (depending on game to some extent). Notably surprise has to be rolled before encounter distance because successful surprise modifies the distance, so in spite of your doubts, you've got that in the correct order.

>Also if disposition/attitude is always rolled, or if it is supposed to be only on certain triggers.
Gygax had unintelligent monsters always attack. Some editions will advise you only to roll for disposition if the unsure as a referee how it ought to go; e.g. if your party, deeply-laden with treasure, encounters a band of orc marauders, you probably don't need to check to see whether they'll try to slay and loot the PCs.

>>97887059
DO you guys allow combat fudging? Something I have always enjoyed, but I know there are mixed feelings about, is doing some bargaining with attack rolls. things like
>Can I go for an easier target like an arm but deal less damage, get a +2 to hit if I deal -2 damage
>Can I recklessly charge at an opponent doing +2 damage If I make it easier to hit my by 2 point?
>Can I try to disrupt his stance when I attack, giving him a -2 to hit next attack, but lowering my to hit by 2?

It can slow things down surely, But I have found it has made combat, especially low level combat a little more personalized and interesting. I ran Light of lost souls once at the local library, and it was very popular when I did that. OFC it was for three people, if it was like 8, that could be a lot to keep track of.

>>97894469
I allow players to describe context of their melee attacks, technique, stance, etc. but generally don't negotiate about mechanical effects. Determining if their approach is notably different than whatever else is happening in a 10 second combat round is important, but sometimes its not significant enough to have mechanical changes and just invites fucking about for bonuses.

>>97894469
Generally I don't permit this kind of thing, I feel the combat is too abstract for it to make sense. Some games do have built-in "attack postures" or similar which do something of the sort, though. LotFP has them, IIRC.

>>97890278
I like Hyperborea. A lot of great ideas on classes, spells, and equipment. The tone is great and the "human-only" fits the setting (and its inspirations).

>>97894610
True, but without an effect, even if slight, I dont find that players tend to describe or are inclined to think about there attack much. +/-2 is minor in the grand scheme of things, but I find its just enough crunch to get people invested.

But yah, on the con it can devolve into lawyering.
>>97894715
>too abstract
idk, just describing your general approach seems appropriate over a period of time, are you being agressive, cagy, primarily trying to occupy them rather than dealing excessive damage etc. Not speicficly "Im attacking their head/hand/foot" kind of thing.

>>97894469
>DO you guys allow combat fudging?
I don't. I've lost count of how many times I've had to say no to players who think combat is between their character and a sack of potatoes. It’s always the same: the enemy attacks and they go, 'Okay, I see his move and I do some HEMA crap to counter-attack,' while flailing around with nonsensical gestures. The only thing I can tolerate is an attempt to disarm, following the same principle as striking the head (I run 3LBB) but with even lower odds: a 5% chance to hit the hand, which must be unarmored anyway. Or, switching from melee weapons to brawling. Either way, these are rare situations that deserve very little attention and usually have to be handled by winging it.

>>97894469
Looks like the best option is always obvious with those. So there's no tactical depth to your hours rules. Meaning you're slowing the game down for no benefit, so I wouldn't use those rules.

>>97894788
>without an effect, even if slight, I dont find that players tend to describe
Excellent. Extra reason not to use those rules, then. Why would you encourage players to faggot your game up that way?

>are you being agressive, cagy, primarily trying to occupy them rather than dealing excessive damage etc
Ew. Gay.

>>97894995
>>97895011
Sorry for the double post. I got an error, so I reposted, and it looks like both went through. Now it won't let me delete either one of them. Annoying.

>>97894788
>True, but without an effect, even if slight, I dont find that players tend to describe or are inclined to think about there attack much.
Skill issue. If they aren't effectively doing anything different, tell them. They have to have accurate game world information. If you're just making shit up so they keep making noise you're actually lying to them and they'll keep doing the pointless shit. This is a bad approach and why
>fudging
is fundamentally flawed.
Encourage notable difference, if there isn't a notable difference tell them. They don't have to have rich descriptions every attack roll, once per combat or if their changing tactics is fine.

>>97895176
NAYRT but I agree with this and it's why I think abstract tactical stances are a better fit for D&D combat. Like, everyone can understand the concept of "fighting defensively" and it's nonspecific enough that it doesn't matter whether the player grasps the situation in detail.

>>97895176
>If you're just making shit up so they keep making noise you're actually lying to them and they'll keep doing the pointless shit. This is a bad approach and why
THIS
describe what you "want" out of your action and Ill tell you whats likely to happen. As you get more skilled ill be less soft with it, but players need to know how the game "works" outside of their sheet
>fudging
NEVER.

Had another fun session in the depths of the Well of Frogs this week. Wound up running an extra hour and a half because everyone was hooked on the life or death battle with the horde of frogs in the subterranean lake at the bottom. Edward Littlehands, who died last session, was replaced this session by Harry Bigfeet, and died this session after his controller said "he can't possible roll another natural 20 to hit me", and has been immediately replaced by Johnny Two-Lungs to continue the campaign. Despite being schooled in 5th ed, the player has been a great sport about his deaths.

Multiple other characters were swallowed whole, only to carve themselves out or be carved out by others.

Overall, I still don't think the Well is a top-tier adventure, but it only goes to show how great a time you can have with a solid crew and the innate stakes of the game itself.

>>97897017
>Overall, I still don't think the Well is a top-tier adventure
What don't you like about it? If you mentioned it before I didn't see it.

>>97895011
mh, im not sure about that. as a player you have limited information, and you dont exactly know if doing just a bit more damage will finish an opponent off, if disrupting thier attack would be more appropriate, or if dealing something at a higher chance is superior. It was more about hedging their bets and what they wanted to prioritize. gave them a choice instead of just maximizing damage output. Seemed to be pretty engaging for them instead of just deciding to attack, retreat, or do some scenery shenanigans (like rolling some barrels down a staircase).
>Why would you encourage players to faggot your game up that way?
dude, its not Shakespeare to say im being “aggressive/defensive/disruptive”.
Think I got the idea from a post here that referenced a blog that had "dueling rules" that followed the general idea.

>>97895176
>They don't have to have rich descriptions every attack roll, once per combat or if their changing tactics is fine.
That could be an interesting take. where the party can decide as a whole what method to take. kind of reminds me of charge rules in BECMI. Though I do have a it of a dislike for over fiddily specific rules (Yah you could say the same thing for what I did, but "get +2 to this for -2 to that seemed real easy to remember).

That also reminds me, Is the assumption for a lot of the late 80's era dnd that you have a party of like 8? cause the amounts of monsters described are getting into like skirmish wargame levels in the multiple dozens.

>>97898279
>Theorycrafting on /osrg/, inspired by a blog post.
Sounds like a bad idea to me

How many HD should a Blue Whale have? Dragon Turtle territory?

>>97898601
11+1

>>97898664
In the AD&D 1e MM, a large Sperm Whale is 36 HD.
I assume male, which reach 45 tons (females are way smaller).
A blue whale reaches 88 to 100 tons.

I think a sperm whale would be scaled down in BX because I assume a Dragon Turtle would be bigger, but I was curious to see what people think.

>>97898601
Sperm whales have 29-36 HD, and blue whales can be almost half again the size. So maybe 42-50 HD?

>>97898601
>B/X Sperm Whales have 36 HD.
If Sperm Whales have 36 HD, based on size alone, you could ballpark Blue Whales to have 72 HD (I personally scale HD as doubling for every tripling of weight), but the fact that Sperm Whales are carnivorous might be an argument to make blue whales have fewer HD than 72. Worth noting that no monster in B/X has more than 36 HD.


>MM Whales have 12 to 36 HD, and are further divided between carnivorous (bite attack) and non-carnivorous (fluke attack), with Sperm Whales being categorised as having 36 HD.
That implicitly means that Blue Whales, the largest non-carnivorous whales, also have 36 HD. Krill is vegan obvs.

So I would use the implied MM stats: AC 4, 36 HD, attack one fluke (5d8).

>>97898716
>Sperm whales have 29-36 HD
No? They explicitly have 36 in both B/X and MM.

>I think a sperm whale would be scaled down in BX because I assume a Dragon Turtle would be bigger
In B/X, if Sperm Whales have 36 HD and Dragon Turtles have 30, it's hard to argue that Blue Whales should have fewer than 36. Dragon Turtles have much better attacks, AC, and breath weapons anyway.

There's the oddity that Dragon Turtles have only 12 to 14 HD in AD&D, but since they have HP based on age like regular dragons, a B/X Dragon Turtle, which rolls HP normally, is not that much bigger than the largest AD&D one: 135 HP on average vs fixed 122 HP.

>>97898697
>Cook Bx 1981
Dragon turtle HD 30
Sperm whale HD 36
Blue whale ideally 42-50 like anon says
>Gygax Adnd 1977
Dragon turtle HD 12-14
Sperm whale HD 36
Who was in the wrong here?

>>97898822
Whales have a very generalized entry in the MM, which was greatly expanded in the DMG appendix.

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>>97898868
Right, I forgot about the DMG. Thanks!

Picrel

>>97898925
>black whale
>but right and sperm whales both have their own separate entries
>no blue whale
What the fffffuck did Gygax mean by this? Plainly obvious that he wasn't raised in Nantucket.

>>97887059
Currently playing my first-ever paladin in our weekly game (with the same DM who has run AD&D 1e for us since 1981). It won't be long until the rest of the party decide to investigate whether it's worth dragging an unconscious paladin around to get the benefit of protection from evil.

No table to share; we mostly play with just a lot of talking, no miniatures. Last time we got around a table with actual models, it looked like they were fighting 2 empty coke cans.

I 've already read what was wrong with recent adventure modules (e.g. Dragonlance), but is there a good place to read why the original rules are better than newer editions?
Already aware of player skill vs character skill (= just roll some dice).

>>97898835
Dragon Turtle has a much much better AC than the whale, and couldn't be harmed by normal weapons. Giving it more hit dice would have made it nigh-unkillable.

There are reasons the system isn't to be taken in isolated snippets.

>>97898279
>Is the assumption for a lot of the late 80's era dnd that you have a party of like 8? cause the amounts of monsters described are getting into like skirmish wargame levels in the multiple dozens.
holy fucking retard newfag, batman

>>97898601
>>97898697
>>97898716
>>97898748
>>97898822
>>97898835
>>97898868
>>97898925
>>97899564
Thank you anons for the insights.
Concerning the Dragon Turtle, I always found the Basic line one more appropriate to the usual imaginary compared to the AD&D line ones.