Campaign Tools

Mountaineering in the Abstract for OSR Games

Posted by craddoke on March 18, 2017
Posted in: Campaign Tools, Sandbox-type Campaigns, Wilderness Exploration. 1 comment

Mountains: More than a Speed-bump, less than Survivalist Porn?

Recently, my AD&D 1E campaign involved some travel and exploration within a mountain range, including scaling one particular peak in search of a dragon’s lair. My preparation suggested two possible approaches to mountaineering by-the-book: the dry application of a movement speed penalty (DMG) or a hyper-realistic treatment that assumes both a detailed area map and skill system that I don’t use (Wilderness Survival Guide). Faced with those extremes, I decided to put together my own system that offered a bit more than a speed bump but still adhered to the “keep it simple” ethos of early editions and the OSR. I make no claims to realism or balance, but it worked pretty well for a couple of sessions and can probably be modified to cover other “hazardous terrain” situations.

Mountain Terrain Assumptions: Movement and Time

  • Movement across mountainous terrain: 1/4 Speed
  • Climbing Mountains (Average): 4 hours to tree line; 6 hours from tree line to peak

Mountain Exploration Process

Below the Tree Line

  1. In addition to normal encounter checks, roll a d6 for each hour of the climb
  2. On a result of 6, the party encounters a special event; roll 2d6 on the event table below
  3. Roll another d6 to determine which turn within the hour the event occurs

Above the Tree Line

  1. In addition to normal encounter checks, roll d6 for each hour of the climb
  2. On a result of 5 or 6, the party encounters a special event; roll 2d6 on the event table below
  3. Roll another d6 to determine which turn within the hour the event occurs
  4. Roll another d6 to determine if the special event coincides with an encounter

Special Event Table

2 Rock slide! All party members save vs. paralyzation or tumble 10′ (d6 damage); save again or continue tumbling d4x10′ (4d6 damage); repeat until dead or successful save.
3 Path split by chasm with no obvious means of crossing; width of chasm is 4d6x10′ (add another d6 for every result of 6); depth of chasm is 8d6x10′ (add another d6 for every result of 6)
4 Path split by chasm with weathered bridge (20% chance it is a rusted automaton collapsed to form bridge); roll d6 for each character crossing — on the second result of 6, save vs. paralyzation or fall unless secured (see above for width/depth of chasm)
5 Path obliterated by rock slide creating treacherous terrain; d6 for each character crossing and save vs. paralyzation for all fails or tumble 10′ (d6 damage); save again or continue tumbling d4x10′ (4d6 damage), etc.
6 Sheer wall impedes progress; thief or grappling hook needed to scale with rope required for others to follow (height of face: 4d6x10′, rolling again for each 6 result); if no means of ascent, an hour detour to find alternative route.
7 Sheer wall with overhang impedes progress; thief or grappling hook to scale (thief skill at -15%) and rope needed for others to follow (see above for height of face); if no means of ascent, an hour detour to find alternative route.
8 Cave with 60% chance of lair (roll on random encounter table immediately); 20% chance that cave is a shortcut to higher/lower area, cutting off one hour of travel.
9 Drop-off next to path leaving only a narrow ledge; roll d6 for each character passing and on third result of 6, save vs. paralyzation or lose footing; fall is 8d6x10′, rolling again for each result of 6.
10 Path split by swift-moving stream cascading down mountain; treacherous footing means d6 roll for each character crossing with every 2nd result of 6 requiring a save vs. paralyzation or fall (d4x10′ distance).
11 Exposed section of path where wind whips around mountain; cannot effectively communicate for d6 turns, otherwise safe.
12 Large rock dislodged from above path; randomly determine targets in character group and roll to hit as 7HD monster (can target any number of targets within 10′ of each other); 2d6 damage on hit and save vs. paralyzation to avoid fall (d4x10′ feet)

Notes on Table:

  • Improvise strength check if characters tied together with rope and some succeed and others fail required saves
  • Cross off events as used; replace table items as needed with new events between game sessions
  • Above tree line, roll for random encounter with special event (i.e., ambushes utilizing special event feature)

Some Considerations

All of this is meant to be random and loose — and that also means there will be a lot of minutiae to adjudicate in the moment. Still, I found this more satisfying than just making the trip take longer or needing to map out the entire mountain and place interesting features ahead of time.

Time Tracking Sheet (Curabel/AD&D 1E Campaign Tool)

Posted by craddoke on February 11, 2016
Posted in: Campaign Design, Campaign Tools, Curabel Setting, Dungeon Exploration, Meta, Sandbox-type Campaigns, Uncategorized. 3 comments

Earlier this week, Richard LeBlanc shared his OSR time tracking tool on G+. It was an excellent resource, but not quite what I needed for my current campaign. Using his sheet as a model, though, I decided to create my own version optimized for dungeon exploration in the ongoing AD&D 1E campaign detailed elsewhere on this blog (I will likely create another specialized sheet the next time the group embarks on wilderness adventures). Creating the tracker specifically for my campaign allowed me to highlight those exploration activities I find myself most often needing to record as well as add sections for tracking rounds.

CurabelTimeTracker

Link to PDF: CurabelTimeTracker

Link to Adobe Illustrator File: Google Drive

Here is a quick explanation of the document’s contents:

  • The header allows the DM to record the date (both real and according to the in-game calendar), adventure location, and campaign session number. My own inclination is to use a new sheet each session. I make a quick G+ community post with various bookkeeping information the day after a session, and this tracker has already proven easier to use then tally marks on notebook paper (not to mention the greater granularity of information).
  • Below the header is the first major section of the sheet (each section being indicated by double horizontal lines). This first area is for recording the time spent on activities typically measured in turn increments. As with Richard’s sheet, I use six-piece pies (each representing one hour of in-game time divvied up into ten minute turns). However, instead of generic recording forms that could used for any activity, I went ahead and created dedicated subsections for the specific activities I tend to track: Exploration (i.e., movement), in-depth area searches, casual examination of areas, resting, treasure collecting, destroying doors, memorizing spells, ten round combats, and spells. A few of the activities I am less likely to mark as distinct activities are grouped based on the typical time they take to complete.
  • Next, the middle section of the sheet has areas to record activities that most often take place in increments of one round (i.e., minute) divvied up into blocks of ten — which would be equivalent to a pie slice in the upper area. I wanted somewhere to record this information in the tracker document because these one minute activities tend to add up but often happen in fractions of one turn. A great example of this are listening checks — if you have six rounds of combat and four listen checks spread across a four-hour gaming session, that’s equivalent to a turn and there should be an easy way to track that alongside those activities that are normally a full turn in length.
  • Finally, the bottom section of the document has places for recording the use of limited resources such as light, rations, water, and spells. Light and spells are setup to allow turn-based recording, while the rations and water are simple check-boxes since they are normally exhausted at a rate of one per day for each adventurer.

Fully aware that this document is derivative of Richard LeBlanc’s original and specialized to reflect the peculiarities of my campaign, I still hope there are some who find it useful.