I’m an unashamed fan of the idea of clocks within RPGs, if you’re not familiar with this concept the clock (a concept I encountered first in Apocalypse World) is simply a method of tracking how many intervals of time have to pass before an event occurs. Clocks tend to be represented in Apocalypse World and other such games as a circle divided into segments.
In the clock to the left there are eight segments, each time certain criteria were met you–as the GM–would fill in one or more segments, when they are all filled in the event (whatever that might be) occurs in your games.
In this small, booklet PDF I thought I’d try something a little different, so–instead of another tavern–this PDF describes a small, wishing well that was once the site of a horrible miscarriage of justice that locals remember with a yearly festival.
After putting my last tavern mini-booklet on the blog I got some great feedback and some brilliant ideas from people, one of my favourites was an idea from Robert Langford who suggested a tavern with a sinister motive. So without further ado, I present to you the Prince’s Arms.
I’m glad to see people seem to be liking the PDF I posted up earlier today, I’ve already had some great feedback regarding it, I’ve taken that feedback and printed it to PDF using a book fold.
I’ve been tinkering around with layouts for future RPG PDFs I might like to make using Word 2013, yes I know it’s not exactly a publishing power-house but it’s a program I’m comfortable with.
To test out one of the layout templates I’ve made I decided to create a simple tavern, a simple two page A5 PDF providing some details on the Cask & Bottle tavern in the fictional town of Tadbury. I wanted to put it on the blog to see what people thought of it and get some (hopefully constructive) feedback.
Few things are more challenging than the perils faced by mountaineers exploring dangerous rocky terrain, and when you add in wintery or sub-arctic weather it just increases the danger.
Forests have long held a special place in our hearts, represented untamed nature and a glimpse into the past before concrete and asphalt covered much of the civilised world. In D&D the forests are the domain of the Elves and fey creatures who can be whimsical allies or deadly threats.
Below is a D20 table of people, creatures and events that your PCs might encounter whilst exploring the dark reaches of the forest.
The subject of this post is to provide a fun little mini-game for running barroom brawls quickly in RPGs, this topic was suggested by Jason Connerley of the Nerds RPG Variety Cast and makes use of the excellent hex-flower creations of Goblin’s Henchman.
If you want to know more about hex flowers click here.
Essentially the mini-game works like this, the player party has a number of check boxes representing how long they can stay in the fight, the NPCs involved also have a number of check boxes.
The Player party has one checkbox for every player involved.
The number of checkboxes for the NPCs varies depending on the size of the establishment – 1D4 for small establishments, 1D4+2 for medium establishments and 1D4+4 for larger places.
Please note: The boxes do not represent the strict number of people nor HP, they are an abstract measurement of how you are doing in the fight.
If the NPC boxes are all checked before the PCs then the player party has triumphed, if the PC checkboxes are filled first then the PCs are all knocked out or subdued.
Please note: This game does not provide guidelines for what happens when the PCs lose or win the fight, that is down to the individual GM and the needs of their campaign, the purpose of this mini-game is to simulate a chaotic, quick, interesting pub brawl.
How to Play the Game
Once you’ve worked out the number of check boxes for PCs and NPCs, place a counter in the middle of the hex below. Each player then takes a turn to roll 2D6 moving the counter as indicated, each time the counter lands in a new space read the description and follow the action given then move on to the next player. Simple.
Hex Flower Key
But what happens if I go off the edge?
Should you dice roll result indicate that you have gone off the edge of the hex then you re-enter on the opposite side, a couple of examples are shown below:
Please feel free to leave comments and constructive criticism either on these blog or via voicemail on our podcast, the episode where we discuss the creation of this mini-game can be found here.
The icons used in the hexflower and for the header image of this post were taken from Game-Icons.net
Many thanks to Goblin’s Henchmen (the creator of the Hexflower idea) for pointing out I’d forgotten to mention what happens when you go off the edge of the hex.
In this episode Hannah has hi-jacked the mic again, we’re out by a campfire in our back garden creating a random table to add some more interest to random extras and NPCs that the player characters might come across in your game.
Below is the table that we have come up with so far, rolling on each of the columns will give you a very brief description and background element for each random red shirt or hireling you need to define.
1D12 Roll
Descriptor
From
Love/Hates
Because of
1
Old
Local
Food
An incident during childhood.
2
Young
Distant Lands
Drunkeness
That’s how they were raised.
3
Tall
City
Monsters/Aliens
Trauma from a previous mission.
4
Short
Country
Travel
Reminds them of a lost love.
5
Lithe
Coast
Magic/Technology
An incident with a friend or family member.
6
Pretty
Island
Fighting
Of a misunderstanding.
7
Ugly
Mountains
Diplomacy
A natural weakness or allergy.
8
Confident
Colonies
Quiet Missions
A supernatural curse.
9
Nervous
Homeworld
Heat
It relates to a hidden, dark secret.
10
Courageous
Ship Raised
Cold
Of an ancient prophecy foretelling their doom.
11
Intelligent
Alien World
Water
Trauma from a previous mission.
12
Cautious
Mines
Him/Herself
An incident during childhood.
Image was taken from https://publicdomainvectors.org/en/free-clipart/Red-T-shirt/58719.html.
