tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1389986049507804094.post2260318789320098825..comments2024-03-25T21:52:03.310-05:00Comments on Hill Cantons: Information as Treasure Type: Building Dynamic Sandboxes Part IIIChris Kutalikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01414743509426875792noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1389986049507804094.post-52413402268384668482016-05-11T08:41:03.208-05:002016-05-11T08:41:03.208-05:00This is great! I was thinking... since it's a ...This is great! I was thinking... since it's a d6 roll followed by a d2 roll and a d3 roll and another d6 roll, it could be combined like this in order to make fewer rolls:<br /><br />Roll 1d36:<br /><br />1-30: Treasure only<br />31: Treasure & One roll on Info-Treasure<br />32: Treasure & Two rolls on Info-Treasure.<br />33-34: One roll on Info-Treasure<br />34-35: Two rolls on Info-Treasure<br /><br />Or w/ 2d6:<br />2: Treasure & One roll on Info-Treasure<br />3: One roll on Info-Treasure<br />4-10: Treasure only<br />11: Two rolls on Info-Treasure<br />12: Treasure & Two rolls on Info-Treasure<br /><br />Both of these variants have the exact same probabilities as your original treasure table but... should be quicker.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1389986049507804094.post-70593989050671452152016-01-25T17:38:10.651-06:002016-01-25T17:38:10.651-06:00I would agree that this is one of those topics tha...I would agree that this is one of those topics that should be included in the OSR's uncompiled but being written DMG.<br /><br />Two examples from recent play, semi-successful and unsuccessful:<br />1. Too obtuse or of not obvious utility: diary of a noble woman revealing affairs and the illegitimacy of a near by ruler. PCs didn't give it a second glance and didn't even take it with them (encumbrance!). The world goes on; they've got plenty of other hooks so no loss there. It took all of 5 minutes of my writing so even if I don't re-introduce it in another form (would that be a quantum plot hook?) no big loss.<br /><br />2. Giving up the game too soon. On a pilgrimage to an abandoned/clandestine temple of Loki (to rid themselves of one of their starting catastrophes I saddle all my PCs with) the PCs discovered the passage to the secret inner fane of the temple, an extra-planar tesseract where there was no Loki (or even Norse) flavor at all; instead they found traps of temptation and golden apples. They deduced then one of the campaign conceits that Loki was really just Dischordia in drag. Is that an oops or a feature? I wonder if this is how GRR Martin feels about all the fans that deduced the R+L=J mystery?<br /><br />add: I definitely give XP for discoveries. My house rules proclaim that they have to declare the quest for the unknown, but I've handed it out anyway. Bad DM.redbeardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04600098550347299095noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1389986049507804094.post-50761933943003660662016-01-24T12:19:40.556-06:002016-01-24T12:19:40.556-06:00I award actual XP when my players follow up on a r...I award actual XP when my players follow up on a rumor, whether to confirm or disconfirm its veracity. Maybe it's a bit of a cheat on my part, but it does help keep ears perked in the taverns and drive exploration.SurrenderMonkeyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01867098480604057724noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1389986049507804094.post-36896680001425077862016-01-23T13:11:20.360-06:002016-01-23T13:11:20.360-06:00Chris, cool post. Based on my readings of the HC c...Chris, cool post. Based on my readings of the HC campaign's progress, I would say that you've hit the sweet spot re: slowly revealing the mysteries of the HC.Christian Kolbehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03808999032249180746noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1389986049507804094.post-5579298658494112792016-01-23T13:11:15.619-06:002016-01-23T13:11:15.619-06:00Chris, cool post. Based on my readings of the HC c...Chris, cool post. Based on my readings of the HC campaign's progress, I would say that you've hit the sweet spot re: slowly revealing the mysteries of the HC.Christian Kolbehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03808999032249180746noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1389986049507804094.post-36091691321341427032016-01-22T10:20:07.823-06:002016-01-22T10:20:07.823-06:00But do you award XP for this treasure-type using a...But do you award XP for this treasure-type using a bit standard, or a byte standard?John Higginshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06522143715905888511noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1389986049507804094.post-44812747424417910422016-01-21T23:55:47.976-06:002016-01-21T23:55:47.976-06:00Have you looked at the Trail of Cthulhu mechanics ...Have you looked at the Trail of Cthulhu mechanics for managing information and research, Chris? Might find some worthwhile ideas to exploit there.<br /><br />Allan.grodoghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11800184312511280050noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1389986049507804094.post-58034326808869171522016-01-21T20:20:22.419-06:002016-01-21T20:20:22.419-06:00I'm assuming something rather common like &quo...I'm assuming something rather common like "I'm a gonna let you finish..."Chris Kutalikhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01414743509426875792noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1389986049507804094.post-26730335654159471872016-01-21T15:21:23.115-06:002016-01-21T15:21:23.115-06:00This comment has been removed by the author.Carrollesquehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01415705525024381233noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1389986049507804094.post-607787022038059452016-01-21T15:20:33.146-06:002016-01-21T15:20:33.146-06:00Red Herrings seem like a bad idea, especially if y...Red Herrings seem like a bad idea, especially if your players spend a good long time following up on a road that leads precisely nowhere. Seems like a recipe for frustration.<br /><br />"Misinformation" might work better, like in the "Bree-yark!" example. It might cause the players to get into a bit of a snafu, but it won't completely derail them onto a pointless side-quest.Carrollesquehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01415705525024381233noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1389986049507804094.post-51122021823816278822016-01-21T14:58:37.738-06:002016-01-21T14:58:37.738-06:00One day, after all these generations of exploratio...One day, after all these generations of exploration, we will discover the true meaning of "Bree-yark!"Vance Ahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03911245780875316627noreply@blogger.com