Speaking of "The Hobbit"

I saw The Hobbit a couple of nights ago and I'm a little disappointed, but mostly liked it. They cut out stuff from the book that could have gone well and added stuff that really didn't help the story. Radagast mostly. Beautiful backgrounds, tho. The Stone Giants were cool but part of the scene wasn't really needed. The Riddles in the Dark scene should have been longer. Fellowship of the Ring was much better done.

Linear mapping

A couple of posts ago I talked about Regional mapping. Regional mapping is usually when you're making a large playground to game in. There's a different kind of mapping. Linear mapping. You can use linear mapping almost like a flow chart. Grab a handful of sheets of blank paper (10) and we'll draw a map out. Let's use The Hobbit as an example. In the book The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkein, Bilbo Baggins goes on an adventure. That adventure takes him far to the East of his little Shire. In almost a straight line.

If you've never read the story of The Hobbit, stop reading this post right now and go to your Public Library or local bookstore and get a copy.

It's almost required reading for playing D&D.

Go ahead. This post will still be here when you're done.

If you're through reading The Hobbit...

You can spread your blank sheets across a table, one right next to the other, left to right. Horizontal or landscape would be best. You can draw a little picture or whatever next to each, if you like. Here's the setup:

Map 1

Start: Bilbo starts his adventure at Bag End (put that on the left side of the first sheet)

Stop: And comes to the edge of civilization at the Green Dragon Inn (put that on the right side of the first sheet)

Map 2

Start: After travelling for a bit, Bilbo, Gandalf, and the Dwarfs encounter some Trolls (put that on the left side of the second sheet)

Stop: Then when they get away from the Trolls, they make it to Rivendell (put that on the right side of the second sheet)

I'll stop there to explain a few things. You'll notice each map has a start point and stop point. The first map's starting point is Hobbitton at Bag End and stops at the Green Dragon Inn in Bywater. And the second map's starting point has the Hobbit, Gandalf, and Thorin and Company travelling for a bit before they encounter the Trolls and then off to stop at the Last Homely House in Rivendell. You could easily have the first map go all the way to just before the Troll camp. I wouldn't think it could make too much of a difference. But the Green Dragon Inn is a nice stopping point. Then Bilbo's adventure begins. And it makes a good spot for each "encounter" the Company has.

Also, you can draw a line between the Start and Stop points if you'd like.

Let's move on to the rest of the maps:

Map 3

Start: Bilbo, Gandalf, and Thorin and Company leave Rivendell and up to the mountain pass where they see Stone Giants in the lightning and encounter the secret Goblin entrance (Left side)

Stop: After the Company is caught by the Goblins, they are taken to the Great Goblin (Right side)

This one is like Map 2 above. There's a space where they travel after Rivendell that could be put at the end of Map 2 instead. It's up to you.

Map 4

Start: The Company escapes the Goblins but Bilbo falls and meets Gollum (Left side)

Stop: Bilbo gets away from Gollum and finds the back door (Right side)

Map 5

Start: Bilbo catches up with the rest of the Company and are attacked by Wargs and Goblins (Left side)

Stop: The Company is flown by Eagles to the Aerie (Right side)

Map 6

Start: Eagles fly the Company to the Carrock and then meet Beorn (Left side)

Stop: Beorn gets the Company to the edge of Mirkwood (Right side)

Map 7

Start: After travelling a ways through Mirkwood, the Company encounters Spiders (Left side)

Stop: The Company is caught by Wood-Elves (Right side)

Map 8

Start: The Company is imprisoned by the Elvenking (Left side)

Stop: Bilbo helps the Company escape and float down the Forest River in barrels (Right side)

Map 9

Start: The Company (in barrels) is gathered by raft men and pulled ashore (Left side)

Stop: The Company enters Lake-town (Right side)

Map 10 - turn this sheet vertical and start at the bottom

Start: The Company leaves Lake-town traveling North and they find the secret entrance of the Lonely Mountain, Bilbo goes inside and Smaug flies to Lake-town (Bottom side)

Stop: The Dwarfs go inside the Lonely Mountain, find the treasure of the Dwarfs, and the Battle of Five Armies occurs outside the Lonely Mountain. (Top side)

Here on 10 sheets, you've just mapped out the 20+ major locations and encounters of The Hobbit. And did it without having to map out the whole region or world.

And you can do the same for your adventures and campaigns. You can make notes on the back of each sheet or make separate pages with stats for encounters and descriptions of each area.

Now go grab some paper and map out an adventure or two or 20.

The implications of the Half-Orc (Mature topic)

W A R N I N G

You shouldn't read this post if you are immature, easily offended,
or too young to see an R-rated movie.

You have been warned.

Orcs are ugly.

Butt-ugly.

I can't imagine someone in a Medieval Fantasy tavern, no matter how many pints of ale, looking across the room and thinking: "wow, that Orc is Hot!"

I guess it's possible.

Charm Person, various illusions, Polymorph or other spells, or aphrodisiacs and magic potions from the Book of Erotic Fantasy would probably increase the chances for the Orc.

But without those, either a blind person mated with the Orc, or the Human parent was raped.

Raped. Probably after their town was pillaged.

I have a feeling that that implication wasn't thought through with the first couple of editions of D&D.

It was probably best that kids don't think about that stuff.

Just an observation.

A Hireling "Unit"

I've been working on an idea for a Hireling "Unit" or mercenary "Squad" put together much like a military squad, but with adventuring in mind. I figure it can be put together with two "fire-teams" of sorts. One team geared at combat, and the other more for support. So I had to think about what's really necessary in a dungeon adventure. Most D&D parties I've seen are about 4 players or so. Give or take. So I want this group or unit to be more in addition to a group of adventurers but to not overwhelm the player-characters.

One of the Hirelings would have to be an unofficial leader or squad leader.

I'm going to start with:

Spearman
 - NPC Warrior
 - spear or pike
 - this character doesn't have to be much more civilized than a caveman
 - pokes his spear into dark corners and can keep some large creatures at bay
 - may be a woodsman

the second I think should be:

Skirmisher
 - NPC Warrior
 - sword and shield
 - this is a general sort of fighter
 - close combat bodyguard
 - maybe served with an infantry unit but didn't see much fighting

a third could be:

Archer
 - NPC Warrior
 - bow with quiver of 20 arrows
 - long range fighting
 - not very good at close range
 - flaming arrows a specialty

The last of the combat oriented team is:

Scout
 - NPC Warrior or Commoner
 - can maybe pick up a short sword or at least a dagger
 - a quick runner
 - some tracking ability

Then the support team would consist of:

Healer
 - NPC Adept
 - walking staff with feathers and charms
 - Herbalist, Shaman, and Sage
 - for when there's no Cleric
 - can cook
 - a frog or ferret pet

Squire
 - NPC Warrior, Aristocrat, or Commoner
 - will lift a sword for honor even if he doesn't know how to use it
 - will follow most powerful or prestigious character
 - for general portage and care of any horses
 - knows heraldry
 - treats everyone like they are nobles (i.e. good for public relations)
 - can be chronicler/scribe and mapper in a dungeon

Burglar
 - NPC Expert
 - somewhat expert lockpicker
 - when there's no Thief or Rogue
 - not much use in battle unless he can sneak up on a monster

Torchbearer
 - NPC Commoner
 - leads the way
 - so everyone else can keep their sword hand free
 - can swing a torch like a club

And last but not least, in the Wilds, you may need:

Guard Dog
 - sense of smell for tracking and alertness
 - barks a warning
 - bites when threatened
 - attacks with teeth and claws on command
 - smells like a wet dog when it's raining

This team would be very good for working for a Wizard or Warlock or a retinue for a Warlord. All members of this team should be able to stand guard duty. Several could hunt for food.

Making Tables for your game

Making Tables for your game

Random Tables

There's only one kind of table that's truly a random table - and that's a table that only uses one die. Let me show you a 1d6 table:

1 Halfling

2 Half-Orc

3 Human

4 Elf

5 Dwarf

6 Gnome

In the table above, there's a chance that any roll could produce any result. A 1 in 6 chance for each item on the table. Now let's expand the table to a 2d6.

2 Half-Elf

3 Halfling

4 Gnome

5 Human

6 Half-Orc

7 Human

8 Half-Orc

9 Elf

10 Human

11 Dwarf

12 Human

Here, the odds of getting any roll have changed. Now, you're looking at Craps odds. If you've never heard of Craps, look it up - it's a very interesting game that a lot of people have somewhat success at. But I recommend you roleplay instead of gamble - Casinos don't stay in business by their customers winning.

The breakdown is like this:

2 6th Most

3 5th Most

4 4th Most

5 Third Most

6 Second Most

7 Most Likely

8 Second Most

9 Third Most

10 4th Most

11 5th Most

12 6th Most

When you put your table together, you can use these odds to place your table entries from most likely to least likely. You'll never have a truly random roll, because the chance of both dice showing up with the same numbers on each dice AND showing up at the end of the spectrum (1s or 6s) at the same time is now worse than the chance of the total of the dice averaging out - which is 7.

Each slot should be a 1 in 11 chance (there are 11 slots on that table) - but it's not.

It's skewed in favor of an average roll.

You can get a 7 on the roll with a 1 and a 6, a 2 and a 5, a 3 and a 4, a 4 and a 3, a 5 and a 2, and a 6 and a 1. If you used different colored dice, that would make more sense. There are 6 combinations that can give a 7 so it's a 6 in 36 chance of getting a 7.

Now, you can get a 6 on the roll with a 1 and a 5, a 2 and a 4, a 3 and a 3, a 4 and a 2, and a 5 and a 1. You only have a 5 in 36 chance of getting a 6.

But you have the same chance of getting an 8.

If you put the same item on your table in both the 6 and the 8 spot, now you have a 10 in 36 chance of rolling that item (and the best bets in Craps, if you ignore the payout amount - which would be smart)

Now a roll of 5 would have combinations of 1 and 4, 2 and 3, 3 and 2, and 4 and 1. You have a 4 in 36 chance of getting a 5.

And the same chance of getting a 9.

To get a roll of 4, the combos are 1 and 3, 2 and 2, and 3 and 1. So you have a 3 in 36 chance of getting a 4.

The same chance for a 10.

For 3, the combos are 1 and 2, and 2 and 1. A 2 in 36 chance of getting a 3.

Same chance to get an 11.

And now the rarest roll is a 2 - SnakeEyes. A 1 and a 1. There is only 1 in 36 chance in getting a 2.

And the same chance to get a 12.

So let's look at the table again:

2 - 1 in 36 chance

3 - 2 in 36 chance

4 - 3 in 36 chance

5 - 4 in 36 chance

6 - 5 in 36 chance

7 - 6 in 36 chance

8 - 5 in 36 chance

9 - 4 in 36 chance

10 - 3 in 36 chance

11 - 2 in 36 chance

12 - 1 in 36 chance

So now, it's all in how you arrange the items you place in each slot on the table.

Taking a look back to the original 2d6 table above, you can now see how important each slot is.

2 Half-Elf - 1 in 36 chance

3 Halfling - 2 in 36 chance

4 Gnome - 3 in 36 chance

5 Human - 4 in 36 chance

6 Half-Orc - 5 in 36 chance

7 Human - 6 in 36 chance

8 Half-Orc - 5 in 36 chance

9 Elf - 4 in 36 chance

10 Human - 3 in 36 chance

11 Dwarf - 2 in 36 chance

12 Human - 1 in 36 chance

So, to total those up, you have:

Human at a total of 14 in 36 chance (4 + 6 + 3 + 1) - almost half

Half-Orc totals at 10 in 36 chance (5 + 5)

Elf at 4 in 36 chance

Gnome at 3 in 36 chance

Both Halfling and Dwarf at 2 in 36 chance each

And Half-Elf at 1 chance in 36.

Doesn't look so random now, does it?

This is how you can build a table for encounters and such. If you wanted to make a Creature Encounter table, you make your list of creatures and then assign points to each creature based on how many there are or how often it's seen, how important it is, etc... and get a total of 36 points, and then assign the creatures to slots on the table based on how many points you've assigned to each. A '4 in 36 chance' is 4 points, a '6 in 36 chance' is 6 points, etc...

Here's a real world example:

Around the house here (I live in a rural area), these are the ground critters that I see (not including flying birds or squirrels):

Coyote

Deer

Turkey

Rabbit

Opossum

I just saw a nice herd of about 15 Deer the other day, about a week before there were about 10 Turkey, I see 3 Rabbits regularly, an Opossum or two fairly often, and I hear what I figure is about a pack of 5 Coyote at night.

I could build an encounter table using these animals:

15 Deer (I'll make this 16 just to round out the table)

10 Turkey

3 Rabbits

2 Opossum

5 Coyote

That gives me 36 points to distribute across the table.

2 - Rabbit

3 - Opossum

4 - Deer

5 - Coyote

6 - Turkey

7 - Deer

8 - Turkey

9 - Deer

10 - Deer

11 - Rabbit

12 - Coyote

And that would be the encounter table for ground critters in my area.

You can do the same for just about any kind of table.

Easy Regional Maps

Here's an easy way to make regional maps. You'll need 9 pieces of blank paper. If you can get them 3-hole punched, it's better. The first thing to do is label the maps. The first sheet is the center map - label it CENTER somewhere on the page. After that, everything is labeled by compass points. Label one NORTH. Another SOUTH. Then one EAST and one WEST. Then label the other pages by the other compass points. NORTHWEST, NORTHEAST, SOUTHWEST, SOUTHEAST. Lay them all out on a table with the center in the middle and all of the others around the middle sheet by their respective compass points. North at the top, South at the bottom, you know the drill...

Your scale could be just about any: "1 inch = 1 mile" up to "1 inch = 10 miles". I wouldn't go any smaller than that because then you lose the details and everything is just a pinpoint. On an 8 1/2 by 11 sheet, 1 inch to a mile gives you 8.5 miles by 11 miles per sheet, 1 inch to 5 miles is 42.5 miles by 55 miles, and 1 inch to 10 miles is 85 miles by 110 miles. It just has to be big enough for you to visualize and understand and small enough to fit your region into the mapping area.

Your starting point is the center sheet. This is where the adventurers begin. Draw on it how you like but you'll probably want to make a Map Key or Map Legend if you use symbolic imagery on the map. Or you can just write the name of the location in large or small lettering. For example, you can write the words MYSTERIOUS MOUNTAINS or THE DARK FOREST or LAND OF EVIL across three different sheets this way. Or just Halflingshire, Spider's Lair, Ancient Crypt or Dragon's Peak or whatever in one small corner of one sheet. And just keep adding locations until you've got what you want. You can put a dot where a small location is. The maps don't have to be pretty - the players should never see this map. This is for the DMs use only. You can even use colored pens or pencils to show green for a forest or grasslands or blue for water, etc...

Then when you have it all drawn or written out or even left parts blank to fill in later, you can put these in a binder and have your adventure ideas in the binder with each map sheet where they belong. Then, if you have an NPC merchant that moves around a lot, you can move his or her information to a different map sheet and the players/characters can catch up with the merchant at a later time. It's also helpful for moving monsters around if there's an invasion or exodus or some such.

Flesh out each section of the map with campaign information and you can be ready if your players move off of one map sheet and onto the next.

You can even photocopy these sheets and put background information on the photocopies such as: "the Elves built here before the Goblin War" or "this is how far the flood came" or "the Battle of Five Leaders was fought here".

D&D Blogging

Welcome to my D&D Blog. I'll be posting ideas here about Dungeons and Dragons and related interests. Feel free to comment.