Author: Maezar

Three exciting developments from my home-brew FotF games.

Three exciting developments from my home-brew FotF games.

Three exciting developments from my home-brew FotF games.

1. Class Points (Mettle, Cunning, Favor, Power) can now be burned.

2. Debilities exist on top of burnage, and they require rest in a settlement to get rid of (or special potions or magic items)

3. The following d12 table of “Worse Outcomes, Hard Choices”

1. The impossible happens…

2. Out of the frying pan, into the fire…

3. A new hazard is added to the environment.

4. An ally is now threatened/at a disadvantage

5. Success will require self-sacrifice…

6. Success will cost resources or gear

7. You are disadvantaged. Take -1 forward.

8. Change of location/positioning, for the worse.

9. You missed an important detail.

10. Treasure is sacrificed (new or existing).

11. A new danger replaces the old.

12. You burn or exhaust…

1) Strength

2) Intelligence

3) Wisdom

4) Dexterity

5) Constitution

6) Charisma

7) Luck

8) Lose 1d4 HP instead.

9) Class Points (Favor, Mettle, Power, Cunning)

10) Duration or re-roll

11) Carrying Capacity

12) Roll twice and SUFFER.

In other news, I’ve got one group (Fighter, Magic-User, Cleric, Thief) who are committed to exploring what happens when we push beyond 10th level!

I knew this day would come. I’ve now got a group where EVERY player has burned their luck down to 5, 4 or 3.

I knew this day would come. I’ve now got a group where EVERY player has burned their luck down to 5, 4 or 3.

I knew this day would come. I’ve now got a group where EVERY player has burned their luck down to 5, 4 or 3.

I feel like I should offer them some way to redeem themselves, but then, they spent it, so…

Thoughts?

Here’s another tool we use in our “almost GM-less” Freebooters campaign.

Here’s another tool we use in our “almost GM-less” Freebooters campaign.

Originally shared by Maezar

Here’s another tool we use in our “almost GM-less” Freebooters campaign. It’s a nodal dungeon record. We enter the map at a random location, roll to see what we find, then roll for the number of exits (and their directions) and repeat until the dungeon is fully explored, making notes as we go.

When a monster is encountered, we roll a d12. If the number corresponds to a monster already on the list, we re-use it! If not, the new monster is added to the end of the list.

It’s important to note that this is strictly nodal; there’s no intention to represent size, distance or anything more than rough general spatial relations. I’ll post an example of a filled-in level too.

Here’s a PDF. I print these at Staples on 11×17 card stock. They fold in the middle with room for hole punching.

http://www.mysticworks.com/freebooters/downloads/Nodal-Dungeon-Record-by-Maezar.pdf

Here’s another tool we use in our “almost GM-less” Freebooters campaign.

Here’s another tool we use in our “almost GM-less” Freebooters campaign.

Here’s another tool we use in our “almost GM-less” Freebooters campaign. It’s a nodal dungeon record. We enter the map at a random location, roll to see what we find, then roll for the number of exits (and their directions) and repeat until the dungeon is fully explored, making notes as we go.

When a monster is encountered, we roll a d12. If the number corresponds to a monster already on the list, we re-use it! If not, the new monster is added to the end of the list.

It’s important to note that this is strictly nodal; there’s no intention to represent size, distance or anything more than rough general spatial relations. I’ll post an example of a filled-in level too.

Here’s a PDF. I print these at Staples on 11×17 card stock. They fold in the middle with room for hole punching.

http://www.mysticworks.com/freebooters/downloads/Nodal-Dungeon-Record-by-Maezar.pdf

I’ve been running a new Freebooters on the Frontier group that is 75% GM-less.

I’ve been running a new Freebooters on the Frontier group that is 75% GM-less.

I’ve been running a new Freebooters on the Frontier group that is 75% GM-less. We do zero prep and use random results for virtually everything. The characters have now reached 7th level and the game is rich with twisting mysteries, multi-dimensional NPCs, and fantastic stories.

Last week I took our in-session notes map and drew this nodal map. MOST play has been in the dungeon levels beneath “The Caves of Kinlye,” which I’ll map and post separately.

PS: We’re now using my modified playbooks with the early playtest materials for FotF 2E and it’s going great.

With a little help from Jasper from anydice.com by Catlike Coding, I now offer Freebooters players the option of…

With a little help from Jasper from anydice.com by Catlike Coding, I now offer Freebooters players the option of…

With a little help from Jasper from anydice.com by Catlike Coding, I now offer Freebooters players the option of generic “quick start average ability scores.” In contrast to the “Heroic” numbers that one finds in the orthodox Dungeon World sheets, these represent the average spread that occurs when you roll 3d6 six times:

7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14

Heritage/Race moves will probably add two points (total) to these scores before play begins, and Freebooters characters get to add an ability score point at even levels, so a human character will see their “prime requisite” score reach 18 at level 6 or 8.

Oh, and anyone who uses these scores ALWAYS still rolls Luck on 3d6.

Greetings Magic-Users, apprentices and other magical beings!

Greetings Magic-Users, apprentices and other magical beings!

Greetings Magic-Users, apprentices and other magical beings!

I’ve been thinking lately about Spell Components. Here are some comments off the top of my head.

1. Spell components should be limited in use to one per spell. Allowing two per spell might be possible with an advanced move. More than two components per spell would be out of the question in my games.

2. The cost of spell components seems too low given their power over the dice. In fact, as time goes by, I’m tempted to increase the cost of all POWER-affecting items: components, staff, orb, and wands.

3. Magic-Users with the time and materials should be able to manufacture spell components using the CRAFT downtime move. Need to think about the possibility of discovering spell component SUPPLIES in the wild or in dungeons (magical monster guts yay!)

4. Remember to include spell components when the treasure roll indicates, “A useful item.”

5. I like the idea of other items acting as batteries of spell power, e.g. a magical talisman or crystal serving as “Spell Components, 5 uses”

6. Other classes should be able to buy/find/craft plusses to their power pools!

Looking forward to your thoughts.

It never occurred to me before, but is the inclusion of “+LUC” under “Make a Saving Throw” redundant to the move…

It never occurred to me before, but is the inclusion of “+LUC” under “Make a Saving Throw” redundant to the move…

It never occurred to me before, but is the inclusion of “+LUC” under “Make a Saving Throw” redundant to the move “Get Lucky”, which gives rules for how to use Luck to make rolls?

If you don’t know the key differences between “Freebooters on the Frontier” and orthodox Dungeon World, I imagine…

If you don’t know the key differences between “Freebooters on the Frontier” and orthodox Dungeon World, I imagine…

If you don’t know the key differences between “Freebooters on the Frontier” and orthodox Dungeon World, I imagine you’ll have a harder time accepting my conclusion that this idea is a good one… Check out this amazing DW hack by Jason Lutes at Lampblack & Brimstome. Fans of old school gaming really enjoy it.

Originally shared by Maezar

Feel free to throw dice at me, but with our games being very campaign-oriented (vs. one-shot/short multi-shot), we’ve started playing Freebooters with 2d12 instead of 2d6!

The finer granularity leaves more “headroom” for Freebooters’ inevitable stacking of ability score bonuses, move effects, class bonuses, spell effects, magic items, and other boons (and banes) without the game becoming unplayable due to characters never failing at their “main thing” (or ANYTHING as players learn to game the system.)

Some aspects of the base AW engine (such as “6– / 7–9 / 10+”) needed to be re-scaled, but leaving class abilities and move effects as written for 2d6 makes a long-term game more fun and challenging. The scale for ability score modifiers took some time to tune; it is NOT a doubling (not even close). And in fact, we ultimately settled on a core mechanic that looks right but is in fact more “cruel” (mathematically speaking): 12– / 13–19 / 20+. This results in a feel that’s more OSR-like, with some cool side effects too, such as a more even progression of character level across repeated sessions.

You may have seen my recent 2d6 AW math charts. Here is one showing how things work with 2d12, plus a set of pie charts to help you immediately visualize the feel. Remember, we’re getting a lot of play from the spaces between the plusses and minuses!

I’m hoping to publish my “d12 World” conversion kit this summer.