tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-392427526916288536.post1346957604025957685..comments2024-03-18T07:25:03.802-07:00Comments on Against The Wicked City: The long haul: time and distance in D&DJoseph Manolahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05387275537008858939noreply@blogger.comBlogger30125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-392427526916288536.post-65296828396536934402022-09-30T09:22:30.697-07:002022-09-30T09:22:30.697-07:00"from raw recruit to grizzled veteran over th..."from raw recruit to grizzled veteran over the course of surviving a one-year tour."<br /><br />Sure, but that just means "Normal Man" to "1st-level Fighter" - at least back when D&D had level titles...<br />Redwoodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10532917611648185870noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-392427526916288536.post-22966800500369507482018-09-27T02:14:31.793-07:002018-09-27T02:14:31.793-07:00@Nerdsammich I think that model works better for f...@Nerdsammich I think that model works better for fighter-types than for mages, and I'm not even sure how well it works with fighters. Is a veteran soldier a good model for a 10th-level fighter? Or would the 10th-level fighter be something like a US Navy SEAL or British SAS commando, a 30-something career professional who's spent years of specialized training on top of being a professional soldier?<br />(Look at the list of the 17 SEALs killed in a 2011 Chinook crash. One was in his 40s, 13 were in their 30s, 3 were in their 20s. It's not an old man's gam, but it's not a kid's game either.)BubbaDavenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-392427526916288536.post-18131288944251172182018-09-12T15:43:05.943-07:002018-09-12T15:43:05.943-07:00I know this is rather belated, but time-per-level ...I know this is rather belated, but time-per-level estimates need to take into account what the party it's doing with their time. After all,soldiers in the Vietnam war went from raw recruit to grizzled veteran over the course of surviving a one-year tour. Were not late medieval mercenaries considered veterans after a single summer's campaigning? I can see the constant action of professional adventuring leading to gaining levels pretty quickly, seen in that light. Nerdsamwichhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08002567496899633391noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-392427526916288536.post-45430405918800607032018-03-12T06:04:39.199-07:002018-03-12T06:04:39.199-07:00Flashing Blades - for three musketeers style adven...Flashing Blades - for three musketeers style adventure - had tools for this sort of thing as well. PCs could have careers and if military could be engaged in a yearly campaign - all of which could be used to generate adventures. I played in a longish campaign that took characters through at least 10years. I think we even did a 20 years later reunion miniseries for the campaign. The game is often on special so could be a good investment for loads of inspiration and tools for this sort of thing. Alistairhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04631364538623314004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-392427526916288536.post-86230085048614786752017-10-04T03:06:51.502-07:002017-10-04T03:06:51.502-07:00The OGL-derived Slaine rpg also distinguishes the ...The OGL-derived Slaine rpg also distinguishes the "adventuring season" vs. "wintering at home" season.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01281583503329096880noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-392427526916288536.post-45319347402006127382017-01-25T21:25:02.266-08:002017-01-25T21:25:02.266-08:00Good post ! Dave Morris once wrote that each month...Good post ! Dave Morris once wrote that each month of travel should be rendered by 30 minutes of real-time role-playing. <br />However, role-playing each facet of the intricacies of a travel (ex : food management) can become boring for both players and GM. The RPG "The One Ring" (a recent system set in Middle-Earth) has an abstract travel system Worth looking at, where the main functions of a long-distance journey (foraging, scouting...) are dispatched between the members of the company. mundialecterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10204293820750293401noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-392427526916288536.post-45048906684179149662017-01-25T19:41:36.767-08:002017-01-25T19:41:36.767-08:00I don't remember if LOTFP does, but Dragon mag...I don't remember if LOTFP does, but Dragon magazine #268 had AD&D2e business investing rules in an article titled "Ill Gotten Gains," by Kevin Haw.Stephenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17718188146918003275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-392427526916288536.post-1481582237928821532017-01-25T19:38:59.145-08:002017-01-25T19:38:59.145-08:00And now I see that Lee mentions Birthright below.....And now I see that Lee mentions Birthright below...that's what happens when I don't read all the comments before posting.Stephenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17718188146918003275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-392427526916288536.post-86893467106279841092017-01-25T19:37:59.750-08:002017-01-25T19:37:59.750-08:00Birthright had something similar to this, where if...Birthright had something similar to this, where if characters were rulers, adventures could arise from them deciding to personally respond to monthly events, and the DM was encouraged to track the length of the adventure to see if it went into the next month.Stephenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17718188146918003275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-392427526916288536.post-33297118996711696072017-01-25T18:47:20.401-08:002017-01-25T18:47:20.401-08:00Logistics gets the scope/weight of long distance t...Logistics gets the scope/weight of long distance travel to sink in for some playe, feeding a party of 7 PCs, a dozen henchmen, 20 or 30 hirelings, and all the animals required to haul all that stuff is different than keeping everything on a character sheet.JDsivrajhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10674833512849495283noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-392427526916288536.post-35725301851877785762017-01-25T05:19:05.828-08:002017-01-25T05:19:05.828-08:00D&D as seasonal raiding could work really well...D&D as seasonal raiding could work really well, actually. Just hand the players a map and say to them: 'OK, the winter is over, the ships have been repaired, and you're ready to set off. Who will you try to raid and/or trade with this year?' Joseph Manolahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05387275537008858939noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-392427526916288536.post-75675119066862209292017-01-24T18:41:16.906-08:002017-01-24T18:41:16.906-08:00You're on to something with that hapless trave...You're on to something with that hapless traveler table idea. "Under-equipped expedition mishap table" is a totally Rientsian name, too, so awesome! I could really do something with that. <br /><br />I'm pretty sure I love logistics more than any of my players, but then my favorite book as a kid was Robinson Crusoe.frijoles juniorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01423720423119688947noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-392427526916288536.post-64641682960445943092017-01-24T17:47:54.113-08:002017-01-24T17:47:54.113-08:00Another good post Joseph. To expand on your though...Another good post Joseph. To expand on your thoughts, Viking society provides a historical example that is simiilar to Pendragon. Real life Norsemen would sometimes disappear for 6 months to over a year for raiding and trading expeditions. Chaosium's 1985 Runequest 3 Vikings supplement encouraged that style of play. Sailing off to raid and trade needn't mandatory. Characters would decide whether to go raiding and trading or stay home and play politics and work on improving their steading. Gaston's Hathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06153032266563901843noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-392427526916288536.post-22754764053566393682017-01-24T16:37:47.094-08:002017-01-24T16:37:47.094-08:00I'd never thought about pegging assumed age pe...I'd never thought about pegging assumed age per level and working backwards from there, but it makes a lot of sense. You'd normally expect someone who's fought his way up from being raw recruit to becoming a lord (or high priest, or master mage) by their own hand to be in their mid-30s at earliest, but in D&D-land it can easily happen in a few months, which can be a bit odd at times. I agree that two years per level seems about right.<br /><br />Doesn't LOTFP have rules for making business investments?Joseph Manolahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05387275537008858939noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-392427526916288536.post-6674235038152450352017-01-24T16:32:43.281-08:002017-01-24T16:32:43.281-08:00On encounters: yeah, I'd just replace regular ...On encounters: yeah, I'd just replace regular encounters with a much more infrequent chance of much more significant encounters, and assume that the regular '1d6 wolves' and '2d4 goblins' and whatnot have the sense to leave a large, well-equipped expedition well alone.<br /><br />On logistics: unless your players really love that stuff, I'd just let them pick a destination, tell them how much time and money it will take to organise an expedition to get there, and have done with it. Maybe assemble a hilarious 'under-equipped expedition mishap' table and give them the option of under-spending if they really want to, at the cost of rolling on the table with an ever-bigger modifier depending on just how badly they've skimped on the necessary gear and personnel...Joseph Manolahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05387275537008858939noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-392427526916288536.post-44634714858881960202017-01-24T16:02:35.303-08:002017-01-24T16:02:35.303-08:00Yeah, finding a better path should definitely be s...Yeah, finding a better path should definitely be something PCs can/should pursue, slashing travel times and expedition expenses. You might even have one whole adventure for which the 'treasure' is just finding information on a route which will let you get to another adventure site in, say, three months rather than nine...Joseph Manolahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05387275537008858939noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-392427526916288536.post-25297835421087945612017-01-24T09:44:26.908-08:002017-01-24T09:44:26.908-08:00Like how video games have fast travel checkpoints....Like how video games have fast travel checkpoints. Once they've cleared out an area, they should be able to jump between the points simply by paying time unless there's a plot point involved.ben turnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08515047730144410576noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-392427526916288536.post-90601577758052070212017-01-24T05:09:43.105-08:002017-01-24T05:09:43.105-08:00Kingmaker added monthly campaign turns to the game...Kingmaker added monthly campaign turns to the game. My favorite AD&D setting, Birthright, used quarterly turns, with 3 possible (monthly) actions per quarter. "Adventure" was just one of the possible actions on the list. I would have liked it if some of the turns would have been longer in time, like the Winter Phase described above, so that fewer things might be happening so quickly.Leehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13103472744612438430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-392427526916288536.post-89398816484924623242017-01-24T04:09:19.770-08:002017-01-24T04:09:19.770-08:00Great Post. I've actually been working on a fa...Great Post. I've actually been working on a fantasy Lewis and Clarke adventure but hadn't codified or thought of the long travel nearly as eloquently. Ahimsahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05376285902328215363noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-392427526916288536.post-44028300020149616422017-01-23T20:19:30.626-08:002017-01-23T20:19:30.626-08:00It also opens up the brand-new game objective of c...It also opens up the brand-new game objective of creating a "safe pathway" between two distant locations. Noisms posted a little while ago about finding a new approach for overland travel that wasn't just a hexcrawl. This is certainly a candidate.Danielle Ostermanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05688510764917107213noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-392427526916288536.post-29694119906836612122017-01-23T18:06:10.100-08:002017-01-23T18:06:10.100-08:00The part of the long journey I'm most struggli...The part of the long journey I'm most struggling to wrap my mind around is encounter frequency. Bardaree Bryant mentioned my problem in the initial comment. <br /><br />It's obviously undesirable to make 6 checks a day for months. Are the steppes so depopulated there's no need to check more than once a week? <br /><br />Another thought is maybe at the "lower resolution" months go by mode, you use a higher level wilderness encounter chart because this is assumed to be the "best of" encounter among a handwaved-away number of more usual and more easily managed encounters? If it's something like the latter, it suggests ammunition consumption is another component to consider when trying to work out just how much it would cost to mount an expedition to Wyoming from Texas.<br /><br />Which brings up the other point I struggle with on a long journey - logistics. Asking players to work it out themselves seems like a recipe for hilarious planning shortfalls and all your mules starving in the pass like some hapless Oregon Trail teamster. While I as DM might enjoy inflicting a chance of Girardia on my stream-drinkers, that level of detail seems entirely out of place in any game that isn't just about the trip.frijoles juniorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01423720423119688947noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-392427526916288536.post-75994919363556700382017-01-23T16:04:25.013-08:002017-01-23T16:04:25.013-08:001. My campaign with a tentpole dungeon: 3.3 years ...1. My campaign with a tentpole dungeon: 3.3 years in real time, 7 months in game time, 7th level (which is good leveling for the real time scale but weird for the game time scale). A good game-time system would have characters fighting advancing age as they reach 9th level, one where super-high archmages are NPCs who gained their levels by constant study, and the big monsters are still threats - suggesting an average of 1 level/2-3 years or so.<br /><br />2. The travel would also be an adventure of sorts.<br /><br />3. Most urgently needed is a system to handle investment of treasure and turning experience to levels in the off seasonRoger G-Shttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08594440701279968693noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-392427526916288536.post-33579067545499401962017-01-23T15:01:11.817-08:002017-01-23T15:01:11.817-08:00Yeah, that's the sort of thing I'd like to...Yeah, that's the sort of thing I'd like to open up time for. In this post 'Game of Thrones' era, the opportunity to dabble in a bit of dynasty building should be a pretty easy sell for a lot of groups - but it requires *time*. You don't get that if they're always down a cave!Joseph Manolahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05387275537008858939noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-392427526916288536.post-78331714026782265122017-01-23T14:56:16.209-08:002017-01-23T14:56:16.209-08:00Yeah, I think that the option to be able to go lon...Yeah, I think that the option to be able to go long-term could be really nice to have. Normally, everything is either an IMMEDIATE CRISIS or it's irrelevant; but if the pace is a bit slower, then things that take months or years to come to fruition can actually become relevant to the campaign...Joseph Manolahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05387275537008858939noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-392427526916288536.post-13320682242068670172017-01-23T13:49:39.920-08:002017-01-23T13:49:39.920-08:00I've been pining for long-form play like this,...I've been pining for long-form play like this, but haven't boiled down the core concepts I'd need yet. I've definitely been thinking along some of these lines, though...Magushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04807974921087213718noreply@blogger.com