L5R 5e: The Game of Twenty Questions

This is for a character of mine in a game of Legend of the Five Rings fifth edition by Fantasy Flight Games, a fantasy game set in pseudo-feudal-Japan.

1. What clan does your character belong to?

The mighty Crab clan!


(Earth ring +1, Fitness skill +1, Status 30)






2. What family does your character belong to?

The Hida family directly descends from the great Kami Hida, founder of the courageous Crab clan. Among this illustrious lineage is the household of Hida Takeari, whose cherry blossom Yura gave him seven sons before she wilted: Uchihiko, Koreyasu, Motokata, Kazutaka, Tameaki, Nagaharu, the very recently deceased Munemoto, and Tomoteru. The latter was her favorite, perhaps simply because Takeari never took to him. That lasted the boy a short while, and then she was dead - marking the beginning of the season of his discontent.

(Fire ring +1, Command and Tactics skills +1, Glory 44, 4 starting koku)

3. What is your character's school, and what roles does that school fall into?

It is not simply that he was the youngest or that he was a bit different - he seemed proud of being different, or if not proud at least stubborn. But one's lack of graces forsakes not his birthright, and so buke he would be. His father, however, relished the opportunity to send him away to the Hiruma school. The son lost no sleep either at the thought of being gone.

(Air and Water ring +1, honor 35, 5 skills +1: Fitness, Melee, Ranged, Skulduggery, Survival. Starting Techniques: Rushing Avalanche Style, Striking as Water. School Ability: Flickering Flame. Starting outfit: traveling clothes, ashigaru armor, daishō, yari, knife, traveling pack, finger of jade)

4. How does your character stand out within their school?

At the Hiruma school, he found confidence in his own resilience and steadfastness in the face of adversities. For the first time, he started to believe he could act and behave as a samurai.

(Earth ring +1)

5. Who is your lord and what is your character's duty to them?

Upon return from the Hiruma school, he swore fealty to his Clan. He was recently assigned the duty of yōjimbō to his brother Munemoto, who with his last dying breath transferred his duty to his younger brother: complete the family business at court.

(Giri: make it to court and represent the Crab clan's interest against the Crane's. Island of Doctor Moreau meets The Hidden Fortress.)

6. What does your character long for, and how might this impede their duty?

He longs to die of old age while surrounded by children, grandchildren and the love of a woman he could never openly have. For painfully obvious reasons, this diametrically opposes his duty as a samurai.

(Ninjō: self-preservation, nurturing of his secret concubine and of their son)

7. What is your character's relationship with their clan?

Mutual strain stains the ties to his household and the clan at large. Much to blame is his own solitary disposition. His youth was rife with times where he would disappear from sight and make do in the brush with no supplies or help - there were no barbed retorts in those quiet times, only stirrings of small beasts and birds.

(Survival skill +1)

8. What does your character think of Bushidō?

When in school, he learned true strife, but he also learned much about love - not a child's infatuation, or a beautiful song, or the empty stage play of a samurai marriage, but the true, biting nature of intimate love. Without masks, without ceremony, and entirely behind closed doors. The prospect of dying embraced by just honor and glory seems cold and grey in comparison.

(Sentiment skill +1)

9. What is your character's greatest accomplishment so far?

He climbed countless trees and crossed many a treacherous creek as a child. The Hiruma school honed that talent, sharpening it like a katana blade.

(Distinction: Keen Balance)

10. What holds your character back the most in life?

He never quite learned to be subtle in public. True, his mother knew of that art, and so does the woman who bore him his son - but those delicate brushes of tact could not reshape the rock.

(Adversity: Bluntness)

11. What activity most makes your character feel at peace?

The bark of a bow-worthy tree will snap back just as hard as you bend it. The target of countless sharp jabs, he learned how to look for a weak spot, and hit back just as hard.

(Passion: Provocation)

12. What concern, fear, or foible troubles your character the most?

He has been called resilient, unmovable, tough - or is he just a much deeper well? And if rain should keep coming and pouring, will he not one day overflow?

(Anxiety: Ferocity)

13. Who has your character learned the most from during their life?

Countless men have once frequented geisha, but few fall in love. He found peace and held on for as long as he could, in the way that the roots of an ages-old tree stubbornly love the side of the mountain. And that woman taught him of the peace that Tea brings.

(Passion: Tea)

14. What do people notice first upon encountering your character?

The body of a Hida in a Hiruma scout: not a lithe, petite man, but one stocky and tough, yet much faster and nimble that strangers might guess.

But what sets him so much more apart are his thick frizzy curls, quite an oddity in Rokugan.

15. How does your character react to stressful situations?

After but a short time, you would learn how his eyes open wide, bushy eyebrows come up, and he gnashes his teeth.

16. What are your character's preexisting relationships with other clans, families, organizations, and traditions?

Knowing the gruel of the duty that would lay before him, she saw him off with the cups they would use to drink Tea, and a memento of his little boy.

(Starting item: Tea set and child's doll within)

17. How would your character's parents describe them?

As a young boy before Hiruma school, a girl promised to somebody else caught his eye. Much too stubborn he was - he would wander knee-deep in the taro fields, where the bonge would work, just to catch a quick glimpse of her face as a screen door was opened and closed, and the rest of the time he would work alongside them. Much too stubborn, that boy - and that doesn't leave room for much sense.

(Labor skill +1)

18. Who was your character named to honor?

The famed Hida Tomoteru, his great-great-uncle, was an outstanding warrior, commander and horseman. His steed was a sight to behold, and legend holds that it was part kami and would never die of old age. Family stories tell how when Tomoteru died gloriously in battle, he fell forward but stayed on the saddle, and the horse took off galloping like never before, kicking up dust and fog as it kicked off the ground and flew up into the heavens, taking its rider to Meido and then to Tengoku. The same stories tell that the horse then came back, and wanders Ningen-dō to this day, until it shall be found by a most worthy Hida.

19. What is your character's personal name?

Hida Tomoteru

20. How should your character die?

Things being as they are in Rokugan, I have a feeling that Tomoteru will not find the death he would wish for. I think, however, that he will not go quietly. He will rage against the dying of the light.

The mechanical rundown after session 1:

Hida Tomoteru - Hiruma Scout rank 1

air 2
earth 3
fire 2
water 2
void 1

skills: fitness 2  command 1  tactics 1  melee 1  ranged 1  survival 2  skulduggery 1  labor 1  sentiment 1

honor 40
glory 50
status 30
endurance 10
composure 10
focus 4
vigilance 2

distinction: keen balance
passions: provocation, tea
adversity: bluntness
anxiety: ferocity

kata: rushing avalanche style, striking as water
school technique: flickering flame

4 koku
tea set, traveling clothes, ashigaru armor, daishō, yari, knife, traveling pack, finger of jade

A hack for threefold saving throws

I am a big proponent of the following fan of possibilities:


1- a good thing happens
2- a bad thing happens
3- both the good and the bad thing happen


Because it presents an interesting risk/reward gamble or venus fly trap kind of situation to the players.

(Of course, for this to work, the good and bad thing must not cancel each other out or be mutually exclusive, because that makes possibility #3 a "nothing happens" situation, and in a game, you never want absolutely nothing to happen.)

However, traditional Saving Throws as in DnD are binary: either something happens or it doesn't. This is very simple, but it can make for boring results. A saving throw with threefold results, however, can interact better with the above venus fly trap.

That's why I'm a fan of the Playtest saving throw mechanic from the last page of LotFP supplement Eldritch Cock, which uses pools of D6s, is super easy to learn and has threefold results:

Full Success (possibility #1: good thing)
Partial Success (possibility #3: both things)
Failure (possibility #2: bad thing)

However, old habits die hard, so here's a method for achieving the same results on a d20 roll without having to change anyone's throw numbers (which has the added benefit of easing conversion and backwards compatibility):

Roll is over the throw number: Full Success
Roll is equal to five under the throw number: Partial Success
Roll is lower than that, or totals 1: Failure

Example: Donglar, a Thief (level 1 Specialist), touches a magical painting. He must save vs Magic (target number 14). Dice rolls of 15-20 will be full successes, 9-14 partial successes and 1-8 failures.

This can also be used to interpret risky casting if using the Weird Magic System (see first page of Eldritch Cock or Vaginas are Magic), etc:

Full Success: spell goes off
Partial Success: spell goes off + miscast
Failure: miscast


Happy Magical Catastrophes!

Off the Road to Compostela: The Fruitful Friar

The Fruitful Friar

Brother Symposius (real name Honoré de Gourmand) is a French Magic-User from Picardy playing the long con of masquerading as a friar. So long, in fact, that aside from his secret lack of Faith there is scarcely anything telling him apart from the real thing. He has the belly, the hair, the habit, the fondness for good wine and cheese, the less than perfect Latin, the bits of folksy wisdom anyone could get behind, the perfect practiced balance of joviality and distance - through them, this godless man has made a better monk than true devotion ever could.

Brother Symposius: unarmored, Move 120', 2nd Level Magic-User, dagger 1d4, morale 9. Knows three random spells plus Bathed every Veyne in Swich Licour, casts with Weird Magic System rules, can cast while holding a cross, in the manner of a Cleric

The Fruitful Friar drives a cart pulled by a donkey, loaded with spirits of above average quality of his own creation. He will sell them or trade them, though he will not part with his entire supply. He is willing to offer a free sample to anyone who makes a good enough impression. His wine has helped him make quick friends along the road, and as such he is likely to have stories and rumors of other notorious pilgrims.

The Fruitful Friar's wagon will also contain concealed supplies stolen from groups of parched adventurers previously met.

Bathed every Veyne in Swich Licour - Magic-User level 1, Duration: See Below, Range: 60'

This spell renders everyone but the spellcaster who has even a single drop of an intoxicant within the next hour, or has had one in the past 24 hours, absolutely, comically, cosmically shitfaced within one round. Their Dexterity and Attack Bonus are reduced by 4 and Saves and Armor are reduced by 2. If trying to resist the effect, they will instead act as if affected by a Chaos spell. This lasts for 2d4 rounds, after which the real fun begins (the penalties to Dex, AB, Saves and Armor remain; characters are always Surprised on the first round of combat):

Off the Friar's wagon (1d8)

1 Attacks the nearest person

2 Acts as if hopelessly devoted, platonically or otherwise, to the nearest person

3 Evacuates bodily fluids in every imaginable way

4 A near-comatose sleep only broken by Magic

5 A sleepwalking state in which the character is highly suggestible and prone to reveal secrets

6 Acts in an amorous way towards the nearest non-humanoid living being (vegetable or animal)

7 Idyllic Visions: believes himself to be in a locus amoenus surrounded by all he finds pleasurable. He will begin talking at length, to others or to himself, describing the place in great detail

8 Delirium Tremens: horrific visions of unassailable doom plague the character, who flees in a random direction on a successful Morale check, or otherwise curls up on the floor and rocks back and forth babbling of pleas and despair

This second stage lasts for 1d8 turns (full success on a Save vs Magic), 2d6 hours (partial success) or 1d6 days (failure), after which an Intelligence check is necessary to remember anything specific about what has transpired.

Off the Road to Compostela: The Four Suits

The Four Suits (Los cuatro palos)

The Four Suits are a group of four Spanish gentlemen traveling eastward. They are all level 2 classed characters. (Optionally, if the party is of the third or fourth level, they equal the level of the party, or are of level four if the party level is higher than four.) They are all healthy men of low nobility and slightly higher than average means, dressed in an antiquated Spanish style. If the language of the party is not Spanish, The Four Suits always speak it also, but to varying degrees of proficiency.

The Four Suits will purport to be escorting their "Cleric" Alberto de la Cruz to the Orient on a mission of Christian proselitism. The truth is much more mundane: they are ruthless and greedy adventurers who have become altogether too conspicuous to remain in Spain.

Alfonso de la Espada, Fighter, armor 10 (unarmored), MeAB of +2 over his level bonus
Fancy Sword (1d8, 100sp), Dagger (1d4), 1/4th of special deck (see below) of 40 Spanish playing cards (10 cards all of the same suit: Swords (Espadas)), large wineskin

Alfonso de la Espada is the one who speaks the language of the party the least. He is a fellow of alternating somber and fanciful moods, who always enjoys drinking wine and extoling the virtues of Spanish cuisine and Spanish women. When imbibing, he likes to sing.

Alonso de la Moneda, Specialist, unarmored, six skill pips over his level bonus. Skills of choice: Sleight of Hand, followed by Stealth and Sneak Attack
Fancy Short Sword (1d6, 75sp), Two Daggers - one hidden (1d4), one deck of 40 perfectly mundane Spanish cards, 1/4th of special deck (see below) of 40 Spanish playing cards (10 cards all of the same suit: Coins (Oros))

Alonso de la Moneda always speaks the language of the party very well. He is the group's "accountant" and has a prodigious memory and awareness when it comes to stealing, counting, appraising and especially gambling (treat as Int and Wis 16 for these purposes.) He cannot resist an opportunity to gamble and will insist that the party play a card game with them.

Fernando de la Luna, Magic-User, unarmored
Large tree branch used as a club (1d8), Dagger (1d4), 1/4th of special deck (see below) of 40 Spanish playing cards (10 cards all of the same suit: Clubs (Bastos))
Casts according to Weird Magic System rules, except the first X+1 spells he casts in a day will always go off as intended in addition to an accompanying miscast complication, where X is his level. He never prepares spells.

Fernando de la Luna speaks the language of the party passably. He does not advertise his magic talents unless there is a Magic-User in the party, in which case his great curiosity gets the best of him and he wants to discreetly talk shop.

Alberto de la Cruz, Specialist, unarmored, six skill pips over his level bonus. Skills of choice: Languages, Architecture, Open Doors, Climbing
Short Sword (1d6) and Dagger (1d4) - both hidden, 1/4th of special deck (see below) of 40 Spanish playing cards (10 cards all of the same suit: Chalices (Copas))

Alberto de la Cruz is dressed in the manner of a traveling Jesuit priest, but this is a ruse - he is but a clever swindler and thief. His skill for Languages and disguise contributes to his facade, but a clever PC might be able to see past it. He always speaks the language of the party very well, but he does not speak Latin.







The Four Suits are always friendly at first contact, jocularly complaining about the weather and road conditions and eager to share food, wine and tales over a fire. After the social preliminaries are well underway, Alonso de la Moneda will insist on a card game using his mundane Spanish deck. The game will always feature stakes and they will always be high. If the party suggests they use the other secret deck instead, the Four Suits must comply, as the risk is too exciting to pass up - but this of course depends entirely on the party having found out about the other deck. If the party wants to play for that deck, they will also comply, provided the party is willing to offer something of obscene monetary and practical value that will seriously hurt them if they lose.

If your table likes playing cards, you can break the fourth wall at this point, break out a deck and actually play out a game. If you win, the Four Suits won. Otherwise, the game plays out like this: the game is a trick-taking game played by two against two by the name of Truc. Alonso will always be part of the Four Suits' team. The game will be played as two to three hands, resolved by a two-out-of-three opposed Intelligence roll between the average of the two playing PC's Intelligence and the Four Suits' (15). If the Four Suits lose the first hand, Alonso will try to cheat (remember all those pips in Sleight of Hand?). If the party wants to re-up, go double or nothing etcetera, the Four Suits will always agree, as long as they think the party can afford to pay.

The Special Deck

The Special Deck detects as magical and gives a party certain benefits as long as they are within 10' of at least a fourth of it (10 cards of the same suit). The special benefits affect a minimum of two and a maximum of four characters, but the special benefits only apply if all possible PCs are participating in this - if the party is comprised of four PCs, they all have to be willing to do it or it doesn't work. If the party is using the deck in this manner, the conditions below apply (this applies to the Four Suits until they no longer own the special deck):

All saves are at a -1 penalty.

All skill checks at 0-in-6 are instead 1-in-6 and all at 6-in-6 are instead 5-in-6.

Whoever is carrying the ten Swords cards receives a penalty of -2 to armor and a +2 to their Melee Attack Bonus.

Whoever is carrying the ten Coins or the ten Chalices cards gets 6 extra skill pips.

Whoever is carrying the ten Clubs cards, if a Magic-User, must thenceforth use the Weird Magic System. They may choose to forego preparing any spells in exchange for having the first X+1 spells they cast in a day go off automatically in addition to an accompanying miscast complication, where X is their level. Normal risky casting rules apply after that.

If not a Magic-User, a character may cast one random spell per day, which will always go off with an accompanying miscast complication. They may use risky casting once after that.

Clerics get no extra benefits. Moreover, if there is a Cleric in the party, the penalty to saves is -2.

The party must own the entire deck for the benefits to apply.

The party may never again refuse to gamble. They are, however, aware of this.


A deck of 40 Spanish playing cards has ten cards of each suit with the values 1-7 and 10-12.

Lessons from my first Campaign

In 20 days the Nippur Sunnan campaign will be two years old and about to gear up for its 34th session. This is the first long campaign I've ever ran and as such it's taught me a thing or two about running these things. This post is not so much a detailed retrospective as a handful of things I am pleased with, along with other things that, well, live and learn.



So let us begin with the stuff that don't work for me, which may well be called rookie mistakes...

1- Session zero: using it to worldbuild together and mine ideas is all well and good and productive, especially when creating an original setting and houseruling, but the time is probably even better spent discussing playstyle and play expectations with the core group that you know is committed to playing for long. This is the kind of game I want to play. What kind of game do you want to play? is probably the single most important question when putting a table together, unless you know each other for so long that you already know the answer - even then, I'd double check.

2- Railroads are not fun for anyone - including the GM. On that note, if you railroad the party for the first four sessions and suddenly announce you want the adventure to turn into a sandbox starting with session five, expect mixed results - especially if you insist on portraying a GMPC present in most sessions all the way into the teens...

3- Pregens are no good. This is especially true in a campaign.

4- Don't pull punches. I've never pulled one I didn't regret.

5- Milestone XP is not a good idea - especially so if awarded early. It diminishes players' sense of agency about their characters' advancement and robs the game of the fun (and the terror) of playing a low-level character in a potentially deadly world. You only get to be level 1 once per character...

6- Off-game meta-chat about expectations: I underestimated the importance of having this on a continuing basis, especially when putting a new group together. Sometimes things do not happen organically and you need to hash them out.


Before this becomes a new-GM-self-pity-party (queue Bob Seger's "Turn the Page"), let's talk positives.

1- Sandboxes work better... that is, when you only plan ahead for the next session instead of the next couple sessions. The flipside of this is that the party needs to plan long term - but players are perfectly capable of doing that (again, if expectations are shared and clear).

2- Worldbuilding is incredibly fun. This game helped me imagine a land the size of a subcontinent, dotted with city states with distinct personalities. I can see myself returning to this setting after the campaign is over. Mythohistorical Ancient Mesopotamia is fascinating.

3- You don't need ideas if you got a gameable concept put down on a roll table. Instead of carefully hashed out ideas, prepping for a session by making an idea generator that gives you an array of obstacles to drop in front of the party can have really memorable results.

4- I would do anything for love, but I won't do 5E. Running a game for this long has allowed me to put together a small core group of players that I would play almost anything with. And it is pretty sweet to game weekly with a good group of friends.

Cliffs Notes for Systems I've played

To be updated as I get around to it...








Lamentations of the Flame Princess (free corebook, pdf/print) - houseruled B/X retroclone
d20 roll equal-or-over: attacks (ascending AC, unarmored is 12), saves
d20 roll equal-or-under: stat checks
d6 roll high: initiative (+Dex modifier)
d6 roll equal-or-under: skill checks
Stat mods affect: Languages/magical saves (Int), non-magical saves (Wis), Melee to-hit/Open Doors (Str), Missile to-hit/AC (Dex), HP gain (Con)
Classes: Fighter, Magic-User, Cleric, Specialist (skill monkey/thief), Dwarf, Elf, Halfling
Vancian Magic or original Weird Magic System. Cleric and Magic-User spells do not overlap
Treasure = XP. Silver standard
Simple, fast combat, easy to run
Slow healing, deadly, firing into melee is risky, firearms, chase rules
Setting: weird 17th century, Europe-centric, pseudohistoric
Awesome published modules, easy to adapt, high production qualities
Character generator


Blueholme (pdf/POD) - Holmes Basic retroclone
d20 roll high: attacks (descending AC, unarmored is 9), saves
d100 roll equal-or-under: Thief skills
Stat mods and what stats influence are different from later versions of DnD and sometimes from other Basics. Different mod spreads for different stats
Race and class interact in a manner similar to ODnD (demihumans have limited options)
Classes: Fighter, Magic User, Cleric, Thief. Multi-classing possible at the cost of more XP to advance. Races: Elf, Halfling, Dwarf, optionally any humanoid monster race
Vancian Magic
Treasure/monster kills = XP

Initiative determined by action type, Dex breaks ties

Relatively simple, has bestiary

Setting: traditional DnD fantasy

Well oiled system, fast and deadly old school play. Faithful retroclone with very minimal houseruling. Prentice covers character levels 1 to 3, Journeymanne 1 to 20 and the monster-as-PC rules

Character generator (nb: does not give correct saves, use corebook for that)

Empire of the Petal Throne (pdf/POD) - Old School science fantasy of Tolkienesque depth
d20 roll high: attacks (descending AC, unarmored is 9), 20 is a critical hit
d20 roll equal-or-over: saves
d100 roll equal-or-under: stat checks, spell success, skill checks
Stats are rolled on a d100, "Adventure" roll is done against the average of Str, Dex and Int and covers wrestling and cases otherwise not covered by the rules
Classes: Fighter, Magic-User, Cleric
Magic has limited per-day uses and chance of failure
Treasure/monster kills = XP
Relatively simple, side initiative (d6 roll high), rulebook written in true old school style, has bestiary, pantheon and extensive setting information
Setting: science-fantasy on vaguely Earthlike planet in pocket dimension, medieval technology, ruins/relics of high tech, intelligent monsters/alien beings, two moons, starless sky, great cities with involved bureaucracy, inspired by non-European cultures e.g. India
Slick system, plays fast and old school, can be adapted to Earth mythohistorical fantasy (Mayan, etc)


Myfarog 2.6/2.7 (POD, now oop) - original 3d6 system set in Antiquity
3d6 roll high: stat checks, skill checks (+stat, skill, trained/untrained, situational mods)
d6 roll high: initiative (+Dex modifier, weapon-based mods)
Five traditional stats, Willpower replaces Wisdom
Armor absorbs damage, Melee ability affects both to-hit and DV (= ascending AC)
Classes: tied into character background through animist or pagan worldview and sex. Warrior, Stalker (scout), Trickster (spy/thief), Civilian (peasant/make-your-own-class), Sorcerer, Berserk/Valkyrie, Bard, Bacchante/Maenad, Ranger, Wood Elf
Magic tied to Stamina (Sorcerer) or Godly Favor (Bard etc)
Combat/skill tests/roleplay = XP
Medium crunch, modular (differing levels of simulationist as desired), learning curve. Potentially a lot of rolling during combat
Simulationist, inspired by HEMA, survival, deadly combat, slow healing, stamina subsystem, bleeding rules, different weapons/armor/shields work differently, original damage mechanics, chase rules, setting matters, unique bestiary
Setting: European/Mediterranean Barbarian Antiquity, animism, pagan polytheism, Germanic tribes, pseudohistoric
Strongly tied into the setting but adaptable, good for historical/mythohistorical and general simulationist, great flaws system (in Curses and Gifts splatbook), moderately priced


Call of Cthulhu 7e (free quickstart, pdf/print) - Lovecraftian investigative horror
d100 roll equal-or-under: stat and skill checks
Skill-based, make-your-own-class is ubiquitous
Magic is rare, the supernatural is mostly on the GM side
No level advancement or stat improvement, skills checked successfully during an adventure have chance to improve
Slow burn, social interaction, both player and character skill important, Dex is initiative, deadly, sanity subsystem, luck subsystem, bonus/penalty die mechanic similar to advantage/disadvantage, "winning" unscathed is unlikely, easy to pick up mechanics
Setting: 1920s Earth with horrors lurking beneath the veneer of reality
Intuitive system, good published modules, strikes investigative tone well, genre needs buy-in
Character generator


The Black Hack 1e (pdf) - Major New School streamlining of Old School DnD
d20 roll under a stat: every roll except damage
Enemies (GM) only roll for damage. To-hit, defense, initiative are checked by the players only
Classes: Fighter, Conjurer, Priest, Thief
Vancian Magic
Goalpost leveling mechanic up to the GM, leveling increases HD and stats
Advantage/disadvantage mechanic, critical hits, quick death save mechanic, armor absorbs damage, damage dealt depends on class, usage die mechanic for supplies, fast HD-based healing, easy to pick up mechanics
Setting: traditional DnD fantasy
Fast play and combat, feels like old school with a bit less dying
Character generator


To Do:
Ruins & Ronin (S&W compatible)
The VSd6 systems: Alpha Blue, Crimson Dragon Slayer v1, The Outer Presence
LBB Traveller
Everyone is John
Don't walk in winter wood
FFG L5R


See also


Edited Oct 2 2021

Spoils and Fame as Level Advancement

Say you want to run a game based on a Warrior Ethos - Epic and Heroic in the literary sense. Think Homer, Beowulf, the Viking Sagas. Whether your game is set in Antiquity, a pre-Medieval age, a different planet or a pocket dimension, you're going for a certain genre here. A genre where a Hero and his Warband trudge the land looking for a Fame that will outlast their deaths. Tying level advancement to the genre/setting will help your table hit more of the right notes.


An Epic's version of an adventuring party, or an RPG version of an Epic, breaks down like this:

1. A Hero and his Warband share the spoils in return for shared loyalty on the battlefield. The spoils are the worldly manifestation of lasting Fame/Glory/Renown. (If this agreement breaks down, Achilles sulks in his tent, good luck getting any war done, thank you very much.)

2. The Warriors' Fame will outlive them, if their praise is sung and their spoils are well known. (Extra points if the spoils are passed down within the family, who will then do their part to ensure that the Fame stays alive.) Fame = Spoils (treasure) and Songs.

3. The greater the Fame, the longer the Warrior's Name will outlive him, but also, the greater the Warrior's potential for even more Fame before death. Fame = Heroic potential = Level Advancement.

Now to the bronze nuts and bolts. Here's how you tie this into your favorite system.

1- The XP requirements for the Player Characters can be kept the same, or optionally averaged among the party. XP gained is always shared equally among the party long as they adventure together - and it is in their interest to do so.

2- Treasure is XP (as in LotFP etcetera). Rewards count if they come from a patron who has Fame of their own among their party's society (Levels/HD) equaling or surpassing that of the party. Of course, these rewards usually come at a price paid in loyalty.

3- Items gained through defeating an enemy with Fame of their own always count for XP purposes, even if they have no other practical purpose or cannot be sold. Always assign "monetary" value to these items for XP purposes. Remember, there ain't no capitalism in this kind of world - battle treasures matter because of what they represent. Characters don't necessarily trade in their golden arm rings or their dragon gold for a meal; they are given a meal because the spoils make them heroes.

4- The more renowned an enemy, the more valuable it is to defeat him. Assign some multiplier to the spoils. A renowned enemy must have a name. A simple example: The party (level 1) is facing 6 HD Grendel-like Cadmun, who guards a hoard worth 1000sp in real or symbolic value. Cadmun's shield-breaking exploits are well known and feared, so the hoard's XP value is bumped up to 5000 ((6-1) x 1000). Or some other strange algebra - you're the GM. The important thing is the enemy's Fame in relation to the party's, for the same reason why Achilles killing Hector is more momentous than Hector killing Patroclus.

5- Songs are XP: If the party takes efforts to make their Fame spread, this is worth more XP. Every time the party has personally delivered the news of their exploits to somebody new and relevant ( = of Fame equal or higher to the party's), they gain anew a fraction of the XP from their exploits. Example: Beregond the Broad Shouldered and his battle-brothers (highest level = 3) reach King Dugild of the Bedes (level 5). Their best-singing Warrior delivers a harrowing tale of defeating the screeching, wild Cadmun. 5-3 = 2, so the party gains .2 (20%) of the XP they gained from Cadmun's hoard just by teling the tale. You can tie this to Charisma in some way if you want to further complicate the party's bookkeeping; again, you're the GM.

Are we coming dangerously close to killing = XP?

Homer never wrote a hymn about the tenth centaur Odysseus slew. The party cannot find a continent of gold-hoarding creatures and stay for a year amassing XP. After the first time you did Something That Kind of Heroic, that treasure is only worth treasure. Then again, what am I thinking? A GM of your caliber wouldn't put that in front of the players - what is this, World of Warcraft? (File under yet another reason against having a bestiary...)

Plus, "defeating" a creature can be done through ways other than killing it, and again, you do not need to defeat an enemy to squirrel its treasure away. There are plenty of Epics about tricksters and trickstery acts.

If your system has no XP

If your game uses some other gimmick, like milestones, pips, crystal-children heads, what have you, no worries. You can get a similar result by observing the same basic principle behind an XP table: A Hero becomes more Heroic by doing increasingly difficult feats. So, you can reach level 2 by doing two Heroic Things gaining you two Heroic Treasures; level 3 by doing three Heroic Things, and so on (think Hercules' Labors). Likewise, opportunities for Greater Glory may only come about if you sing of your exploits. Again, if you want harder math, be my guest.

Using this to play a Saga

Fame will ensure the childless don't fade (hello again Achilles), but you could also play out a campaign where your table plays characters of the same family throughout generations. Unless your table is into starting from scratch every time, you could make every successive generation start at a fraction of the level of the previous generation. Now go cannibalize someone else's ideas.

A variable Damage system

Whether damage in your game is deducted from stats or a pool of HP, the question is always "how much does it hurt?". Herein, some ideas.

Damage from hits

1d3: Fists, etc.

1d4: Improvised weapons, blades that are smaller than a forearm, small missiles.

1d6: Medium weapons (hand axes, maces, machetes), arrows.

1d8: Larger weapons (spears, swords).

1d10 or more: Large heavy objects.

Damage from creatures depends on their mass.

Damage from falling

1d6-3: From standing.

1d6: From a 5' height.

2d6: From a 10' height.

+1d6 For every additional 10' or fraction thereof.

Mental Damage

Stress, sanity loss etc can be reflected as damage to the mental stats (Intelligence, Wisdom, Willpower, Charisma etcetera) if your game does not have a specific sanity subsystem.

Magical Damage

Spells that deal straight hitpoint damage are mechanically powerful, but boring. Magic feels much more like Magic when it's unexpected. You can tweak your game to reflect this by making damage spells drain stats instead on statted characters, or drain mental, physical or mystical abilities on characters or non-statted creatures.

Making Damage specific

We abstract damage because it speeds things up, but it doesn't do much to encourage roleplaying the pain. A good table will work around this, but providing some hooks to get this rolling can't hurt (see what I did there?). Whenever a high number is rolled on damage from anything; or a character suffers a fumble or critical hit, lingering consequences will make these things actually matter. In other words, serious damage should make characters more flawed (= interesting) over time.

Battle wounds (1d6)

1 Limb disabled (1d4)

2 Damaged teeth or tongue impede speech

3 Horrible scars make the character less charming, but fearsome in turn

4 Dazed: dizziness, poor judgement, memory lapses, prone to reveal secrets

5 Serious bleeding: extra damage over time, enough to kill character if wound is not tended

6 Paranoia: the fight may be over, but not in the character's mind. Fear, mistrust, flashbacks and other erratic behavior.

One could get more specific: a limp, missing fingers, losing hearing or an eye, becoming irrationally hateful, hot-headed or melancholy... the list could go on. Make your own longer list: the party may hate you for this, but the players might not.

The Thulean Hack

THE THULEAN HACK

A bare bones d20 system for Barbarian Antiquity low-fantasy games, optionally in Imaginary Europe.


"System writing is like sex. It may have some practical applications, but that's not why we do it."


Apologies/thanks to David Black and the Cachets, who have not been asked if I could use their ideas for this.



1. STATS: Roll 3d6 down the line for Str, Dex, Con, Cha, Int and Willpower.

All checks in the game are roll equal to or under a number, usually an attribute, on a d20. A roll of 20 is always a failure, a roll of 1 is always a success.

The Power of Will: should the GM declare something is exceptionally difficult or foolish and thus deserving of a penalty, a player may roll their Willpower, and on a success, get to roll the check with no penalty. The party may only attempt this once per problem. After a success, a character may not do this again until the next in-game day or the next session (GM decides).

A Perception check is an Int check.

2. CLASSES: Warrior, Mage*, Trickster, Peasant*

If your society be animist, Mages are called Sorcerers; if polytheistic, Druids.
If your society be hunter/gatherer, a Peasant is called a Hunter; if agricultural, Farmer.

A Warrior rolls against their Str + 3 to hit during melee and their Dex + 1 for missile attacks. They also add +1 to their Shield bonus when rolling to defend and deal Critical Hits on a 1-2. They are good at challenging people to duels.

A Mage can cast Spells (see below) and is good at singing and appearing wise and knowledgeable. They can only wear Rawhide armor and may not use shields, or lose their ability to cast spells for a full day.

A Trickster is good at lying, spreading rumors, sabotaging, stealth and stealing.

A Peasant is good at all mundane tasks necessary for life in their low-tech society, and finding things that could be improvised as a weapon. A Peasant can carry a number of items equal to their Str + 2. A Farmer gets +1 to their to-hit chances with a spear. The same is true for Hunters and missile weapons.

Anything a character is "good at" is either rolled with Advantage or succeeds automatically (GM decides).

3. ARMOR AND SHIELDS: Armor absorbs damage, shields make you harder to hit. See below for details.

4. COMBAT, MORALE: A Morale check is a Willpower check.

5. COMBAT, INITIATIVE AND ACTION SEQUENCE: Players roll a Dex check. Those who succeed act before the enemy, those who fail act after.

Attacking, casting Spells and other interaction with the environment besides moving ends your round. There are no attacks of opportunity, but Initiative should be rerolled every round.

6. COMBAT, SWORD DANCE: To attack in melee, players roll a Str check, hitting on a success, except for Warriors who roll against Str + 3.

When defending in melee, players roll a Str check, dodging/blocking/parrying on a success. If they have shields, add a bonus to their chance to defend (small shield +1, large shield +2).

For a missile attack, players roll against Dex, except for Warriors and Hunters who roll against Dex + 1. To defend against missile attacks, roll against Dex + Shield bonus.

Warriors add an extra +1 to their shield bonus.

If the enemies have shields, add the number to the players' attack rolls.

The GM may add a penalty to defending checks if the players are outmatched.

The GM only rolls for damage during combat.

Damage is reduced by armor at the following rates: Rawhide 2, Boiled Leather 4, Iron Mail 6. Once a character has absorbed damage up to the maximum for their armor, they begin taking full damage again. This resets with an appropriate amount of rest.

The dice rolled for damage depend on the size of the weapon/monster. The GM is encouraged to improvise and come up with their own system.

7. COMBAT, CRITICAL HITS: If a player rolls a 1 while attacking (1 or 2 for Warriors), he deals a Critical Hit, which deals double damage. If a player rolls a 20 while defending (unless his target number is 19), he receives a critical hit.

A hit against an opponent who does not notice you is an automatic critical hit and ignores Armor.

8. DAMAGE: Damage is subtracted from your Con. When resting a full night, roll against your current Con, regaining 1d3 on a success or 1 on a failure. A full day's rest doubles the number.

9. DEATH: When your Con reaches zero, you are unconscious and helpless. If it goes into the negative, your spirit has fled; the party will tell the bees of your fate and sing your praises. Make your death scene a good story.

10. SAVES: Physical trauma that cannot be dodged does not get a save. Roll under Dex for things that can be dodged, Con for poison or diseases, Wil for illusions and Cha for charm. Other kinds of magic generally do not get a save.

11. ENCUMBRANCE: You may carry a number of items equal to your Strength, except for Peasants who add 2 to that number. Small shields count as two items, large shields as three. Common sense applies in the case of very bulky items.

12. SPELLS AND MAGIC: A Sorcerer must pick an Element (Earth, Water, Fire, Air) during character creation; a Druid must pick a Deity and describe its attributes and sphere of influence. When casting a Spell, a Mage rolls an Int check; on a success, the spell goes off. The Mage describes what the spell does before rolling the check. The effects must make sense thematically with the element or deity respectively. After a spell goes off, the Mage must roll a die ranging from a d4 to a d20, decided by the GM in accordance to how powerful the spell is. Their Intelligence is reduced by the number rolled until the next full night's rest.

If a character's Intelligence ever goes below 3, they gain a flaw, quirk or minor (or major) insanity.

Magical Items are objects inhabited by spirits, or imbued with the breath of a God. They never grant boring numerical benefits, but have special uses, like instilling terror into every horse in sight, or making people believe the bearer is constantly lying (unless he is lying, in which case they believe he speaks truth). Magical Items also possess personalities and memories, and if somehow communicated with, are likely an interesting source of historical knowledge.

13. DISEASE AND EXHAUSTION: These drain Stats until things have returned to normal.


That's that!


ADDENDUM: LEVEL ADVANCEMENT: This is moot if you are running a single self contained adventure; feel free to ignore it unless you are running a campaign and your table likes level advancement. You can use whatever leveling gimmick you like, but one tied to Reputation and Fame might fit the setting well.

Whenever a character gains a level, they increase a single stat by 1. If a Warrior is increasing Con or a Mage is increasing Int, they increase it by 1d2. No stat may go above 18.

Logical method: A random stat that has been checked against since the last level gain is the stat that increases.

No bookkeeping method: The stat that increases is totally random. If this happens to make zero sense, it can become a running joke, running jokes being one of the best things about campaigns anyway.


Edited Oct 12 2020

Pulled out of a Dark Crevice

In this post, a one-line description of every game I've ever run that wasn't a pre-written module. I try to be exhaustive and go in reverse chronological order, but strict records have not been kept and memory is a harsh mistress. Bonus points if you can spot the games you played in.



1- Travel to, from a cabin in the woods where a horrible change has befallen a family (multishot, Myfarog 2.6)
2- Go to the US immigration office, kidnap a Japanese child, crash and burn (Everyone is John)
3- Black Metal band tries to murder each other while in Buenos Aires (unfinished, The Coming)
4- I try comedically to make an Ancient Mesopotamian railroad into a sandbox after four sessions (campaign still ongoing, might elaborate later, Myfarog 2.6)
5- Go gather intel, ye Germanic folk (unfinished)
6- Reverse capture the merchant all want to see dead (twoshot)
7- Go gather more intel, your town depends on it, ye Frisian-like folk
8- Dying epically's oodles more fun when you're playing an army division
9- Hello ladies, we're Alpha Blue plumbers (self-explanatory)
10- Get horrifically mutated then do Downward Dog (Alpha Blue)
11- There's a meeting we want you to spy on (Myfarog 2.6)
12- Your city be occupied? Go rob a grave
13- What's that Pharaoh building in there?
14- Initiated in child-burning cult
15- What to do in SF when your RPG book by a Known Racist author is lost in the mail? (The Coming)
16- I make up a D100 system so guy can get eaten by lions (Don't Sleep! There are Snakes)
17- Join a caravan guard, they said; surely won't get disemboweled, they said (threeshot, Dark Sun LotFP)
18- Draj arena fighting is much like pro-wrestling
19- What do you mean my iron-bleeding trees are not real?
20- The masters are dead, all the water is gone - you see, I don't like sand
21- A small Cornish town with no pirates, no sir (LotFP)
22- Rob an old man in Antwerp, but something goes bump in the night
23- When your spaceship goes down, you go party (Alpha Blue)
24- Frank Chu wouldn't mind a bit of competition (The Outer Presence)
25- Rob an Amsterdam church? Sign me up! (LotFP)
26- Five Mayans attempt to subvert a four-century cycle (EotPT)
27- The Illiad, but something odd's happening inside that forest (LotFP in Homeric Greece)
28- Other Mayans go try to steal fire from blood-hungry priests (EotPT)
29- Mark Twain dupes two rubes into going back in time (The Coming)
30- The spaceship's still fucked - you attend one big menstruation party (twoshot, Alpha Blue)
31- When the Sorcerer-King's out, Templars are playing tag (Dark Sun LotFP)
32- Two horses, a bear and a guy who can't hear (Myfarog 2.6)
32- We were almost murdered by shadows and all I got was this lousy magic ring (twoshot)
33- Would you like to join a band of merry men?
34- To find the magic flute, you may have to get drunk off your ass


Many of these can be found on my channel.