Characters and Monsters from other material

[tagnetti]

Hi Guys, Are you finding it easy to convert from other D20 products when it comes to this. I have some creatures in mind and they are not in the Conan book. Is there a formula or method to making an accurate conversion? Or perhaps a site that is already working on this type of thing. Particularly I'm looking at, Beastmen, Mammoths, Mastadon, Iceworms, Frost Giants and Mountain men.

Also I was given some other good ideas and was trying to think of a clever way to make the group have to cross an ice bridge and give them some appropriate challenge in doing so, what types of checks or things do you see making a trek across an icebridge eventful, I guess balance checks with slippery surface?

Thanks again

 

[Iron_Chef]

Also I was given some other good ideas and was trying to think of a clever way to make the group have to cross an ice bridge and give them some appropriate challenge in doing so, what types of checks or things do you see making a trek across an icebridge eventful, I guess balance checks with slippery surface?

Thanks again

Balance checks for an ice bridge? Yes, and not easy! Maybe DC 15 to walk at half movement, DC 20 to move normally, DC 25 to charge or DC 30 to run. Loud noises could cause falling icicles in a cave (treat as warspear with +0 to hit, determine target randomly between everyone within 10 ft. of noise origin). If outside, use a sleet storm (as spell in D&D PHB), or for a heavy snowfall (not sleet) give everyone a 20% miss chance as snowflakes and frosty breath obscure vision. Hypothermia rules are in the D&D DMG. Have everyone take 1d6 subdual damage each round from extreme cold (undead, constructs and cold subtype creatures like Yeti or Ice Worms excluded).

There are some great ideas for terrain modifiers to combat in FFG's Path of the Sword (in the back).

 

[tagnetti]

Thanks that is great. FFG ? Not sure what that is? Your ideas are very helpful though.

 

[Iron_Chef]

Thanks that is great. FFG ? Not sure what that is? Your ideas are very helpful though.

Fantasy Flight Games. They put out a bunch of cool d20 hardcovers and mini-adventures: The Legends & Lairs series.

Some examples:
Path of the Sword (fighters)
Path of Magic (wizards)
Path of Faith (clerics)
Path of Shadow (rogues)
Spells & Spellcraft (all spellcasters, lots of cool stuff for familiars, too)
Monster's Handbook (designing new and tweaking old monsters)

 

[tagnetti]

Thanks

 

[slaughterj]

Also I was given some other good ideas and was trying to think of a clever way to make the group have to cross an ice bridge and give them some appropriate challenge in doing so, what types of checks or things do you see making a trek across an icebridge eventful, I guess balance checks with slippery surface?

Thanks again

A meta-consideration with this sort of "threat"- If characters can fall to their doom by failing a Reflex save / Balance skill check, costing them a Fate point to avoid that result, it might not be very well received, since it is a passive threat and success really doesn't garner them much (e.g., compared with using a Fate Point to Mighty Blow the big bad guy of the adventure and get his loot, etc.) compared with the failure result - sure, saving your character's life is important, but any Fate point will do that in any situation, and will do it in a more significant fashion (e.g., being left from dead after being in the grasp of a Man-Ape or the subject of a mage's insta-kill spell). Just something to think about when confronting your characters with passive / environmental threats / challenges.

One way to maybe make it more exciting (?) would be to allow others to catch the first one before he plummets to his doom (assuming the first guy fails his check, if the check is hard to make), and let the players think of ways to make the passage easier (use some equipment they have? scout out another route? get McGuyver-ish in their thinking?).

 

[Yuan-Ti]

One way to maybe make it more exciting (?) would be to allow others to catch the first one before he plummets to his doom (assuming the first guy fails his check, if the check is hard to make), and let the players think of ways to make the passage easier (use some equipment they have? scout out another route? get McGuyver-ish in their thinking?).

Good thoughts. Another way is to give them 2 rolls.

GM: Make a balance check.
Player: Uggh! I rolled a 5 +2 = 7.
GM: Your character slips, flailing in all directions and finds himself sliding toward the edge... Make a balance check. Does anyone want to help him out by trying to grab him or throwing him a rope?

That way you can make it dramatic but less likely a player will fail (they have two chances to avoid falling off the bridge). Plus, as DM, you don't have to reveal the DC. Give the first roll a high DC (it's tough to keep your feet, DC 15) but the second one lower (it's easy to keep from falling off, DC 10, with a +2 bonus if someone tries to grab the fallen player).

GM: Okay, you rolled an 7 +2=9 and a +2 for Simon reaching for you, is an 11. As you try to stop your slide, you actually drop off the edge just as Simon's hands grab your wrist! With a little assistance from the others, he manages to pull you back up.

Put some drama in it without making it very likely someone will have to spend a fate point to avoid falling or, worse, that someone's character is remembered as "that Barbarian who slipped and fell off the bridge to his death."

 

[tagnetti]

Excellent ideas and I will implement them, I like the assist. I just want to add some twists to the game that have not been in games I played in for straight D&D. I love the ideas you guys have. Will help nicely.

 

[Fearguis]

I have a similar situation in mind for my game. You might want to consider my version, as well. Anyone that falls off of my ice "bridge", plummets into icy water. So it's not instant death, but they will have to make Fort saves against subdual cold damage. They risk passing out and drowning, unless someone helps them out...

 

[tagnetti]

I wrote it up last night and that is a last resort if they bomb on the others. Thanks.

 

[Iron_Chef]

I wrote it up last night and that is a last resort if they bomb on the others. Thanks.

Please post the ice bridge encounter write-up here when you have time. Always looking for new encounter areas, particularly ones that make combat more interesting/exciting.

 

[tagnetti]

Well Here is how it played out,

Travelling through the Nordheim region my (not dressed for the weather) group of escapees had just made their hourly fortitude save for cold and came to a bridge that crossed a 30 section of sheer drop to a mixture of water and sheets of ice 25 feet below. This was the first of two crosses they would encounter. The DC on this was pretty easy Balance check of 15 if they lost their balance I gave them a DC10 to have them slip and their armpit basically ram into the rope holding them up. No one did worse than tha. Oh yeah it was only 2 foot wide. I thought about incorporating wind but did not.

Then I came to the entry to a cave with an old wooden door under about 5 ft of ceiling from the outside of the mountain. When they opened the door with force rather than picking the lock. It created an avalanche that caused the slide to bury a few ,thankfully in towards the door,(That hurt a bit, but was very unexpected by the group). They then had only one way to go, so pressed on, meeting a new adventurer to our campaign and after freeing him they came across an ice bridge.

The ice bridge was great, 3 feet wide no holding on and a 25 ft chasm. Some thought of jumping and oh how I hoped they would try(It would of been Ballsy) However they did not. The first 2 made it across safely DC 15 at half speed so 2 rolls were required, 30at normal movement. However the next player slipped and then needed a DC 10 to kind o lay their and not slide with another DC 10 to get up. ( easy Right?) Wrong. He started slipping off now this was a 50' drop to doom. So I had him role a DC 5 to quickly pull a light weapon and ram it into the ice to hang on. No problem right? Wrong He fumbled. I had another player DC 10 roll to dive and grab him then a DC 20 to get him up to his chest. The other player(the one hanging then rolled DC 15 to get himself up, I was feeling generous) Now This was just very funny because they had all made it eventually minus one and he fell, then was sliding off and then couldn't roll to get up. So the person that came out to help him up kept falling and they ended up helping each other at times. It was very funny!! The players loved it. I started out awarding +2 to rolls for assists ,but if the player layed out and dug in and grabbed for a hanging player I gave a +4.

It worked out well and taught them that enemies are not the only encounters they will face, atleast that is the way I like it.

So please let me know if you try something similar and how it plays out

Tom

 

[Fearguis]

In a game like this, I really think you need to have something else to do other than fight. Your example is a good one. Although combat is what Hyborians do best, unless you're in the middle of a battlefield, it's unrealistic to have a fight around every corner. Using skills to solve problems is a great alternative.

What I am planning for my campaign, (which should start this week), is to base each adventure around a certain number of skills. (This is just for my knowledge. I'm not telling the players they're going to play "The Lair of Use Rope") But my plan is to take 2 or 3 skills from the book, learn their use by rote, so that I'm completely familiar with them, and then base the adventure around them so that the players will learn their use, as well.

In the past, most of our games have been fairly generic when it comes to skill use. For example, if a character bought a horse, I would typically say, "Ok, so you ride the horse the next 3 miles, and it saves you 2 hours travel time..."

My new philosophy is "As you start down the dirt path on your new gelding, you find the path blocked by a rushing creek. (Ride DC 10 to cross)" Or, "You have been ambushed by bandits who jump up and spook your mount (Handle Animal DC 15)". To say nothing of what I'll do to them when it comes to mounted combat.

Thoroughly exploring the different aspects of skill use, weather conditions, hunger, thirst, lack of shelter, etc. will really bring the game alive. (At least that's what I'm hoping. It may just cause my players to start throwing their dice at me)


By the way, anyone who has any ideas for challenges, post them here, or start another thread on it. I'd love some new material...

 

[tagnetti]

I really like what you are looking for here. I am basically trying for the same thing in order to incorporate Adventure into the game. It seems like all the games I have participated in lack that badly. I really want to work on incorporating those types of things that use the whole rulebook. Not just combat. Another part I really want to work on is overall story and laying clues that players need to decipher in order to figure out what to do next. Since I went to school for computer animation and game design and currently work as an instructional designer, I often work on leading people to their own solution.

There is a really cool game maker that is free called RPG maker and although it is old school, I was thinking of using it just to set up my towns and the unique characters within, with plot points and such.

I hope that others will post unique ideas they have here as well.

 

[Fearguis]

You got a link for that thing? RPG Maker on Google brings up all kinds of crap...

 

[Yuan-Ti]

Some great ideas here, guys! And thanks for posting the results of your encounter, T!