Musings 6,000 Miles From Home

       Sometimes it's good to get away for a while, from both your comfortable corner of the world, where you know all the sidewalk cracks and routine faces like the back of your hand, and also from your complacent notions and assumptions, where those familiar mental avenues invariably lead you to your incontestable brilliance (in your mind's eye, at least).  I have never claimed to know a lot;  however, I can unquestionably at times get set in my ways.  As I write this, I have spent nearly half a year "getting away for a while." I'm currently residing in South Korea, having left behind my carne asada burritos, delicious local IPAs, cozy brown recliner aside my shelf of gaming books only an arm's distance away, and my hilarious group of Labyrinth Lord and Dungeon Crawl Classics gaming buddies back in sunny Southern California. These magic items have been replaced by extreme weather (it's only a little after nine o'clock in the morning now, and I'm already sweating my nards off),  spicy food creatively prepared from nearly every component of an animal's anatomy, watered-down beer or rice fermented alcohol, a mattress that might as well be made of stone, and a new group of fellow expatriate gamers who have introduced me to gaming systems and philosophies both foreign and intriguing. Sometime's it's good to get away for awhile.
     Admittedly, this isn't the first time I've lived in this country (or abroad, even).  This is actually my fourth year in South Korea--after a two-year hiatus back home in the US.  Actually, I got my feet wet gaming here with 4th edition.  It never really did that much for me, but it did lead me to the discovery of earlier editions of the game, and for that, I'll always be thankful.  This is how I eventually found my niche with Basic D&D and AD&D, eventually leading me to Labyrinth Lord.  While I have run a few sessions of LL here, I've spent more time playing in other people's games.  So far I've played games of Burning Wheel, Mouse Guard, Apocalypse World, Call of Cthulhu, and most recently, Dungeon World. Some I've enjoyed, and some I've found overly complicated. But Dungeon World is a piece of pure brilliance in my opinion.  Will I be a convert, completely changing my gaming system of choice?  No.  Will I take advantage of the neat quirks and mechanics and apply them to my own?  You betcha. While the purpose of this blog is not about discussing travel and experiencing new cultures, I'd just like to say that it's inevitable that by doing so, you will change as a human being.  You begin to lose your "frog in the well" mentality. And while I have had many real-life experiences running the gamut from mind-numbing frustration to holy-guacamole-this-is-amazeballs wonder--some days are reminiscent of a scene right out of Lost in Translation-- my experiences from a purely gaming perspective have not taken a back seat at all during this time, and have, in fact, run parallel with them. My only explanation for this is that while living abroad, one is almost forced to change one's mindset on a daily basis, allowing an influx of new ideas and influences to be absorbed into a mind that would normally eschew them.
      "What's so great about Dungeon World, anyway," you ask?  Well, a lot of things.  But what I am really excited about borrowing and  incorporating into my Labyrinth Lord and Dungeon Crawl Classics games has to do with the idea of 'failure', or rather, spicing things up a lot more when the dice rolls don't go your way, making 'failure' an interesting component to the game. I'm not going to go into detail about the mechanics but  essentially, there is a target number needed to succeed in a skill or attack.  When hitting the target number or above, you achieve your goal -- you stab the ogre, find the secret door, or seduce the busty barmaid.  Rolling below that number, on the other hand, is where things get interesting; hitting a little below the mark grants you success. But not completely --  you hit the ogre, but damage your weapon; you find the secret door, but make a helluva lot of noise; you seduce the barmaid, but her big, hairy, and barrel-chested lover breaks down the door and comes after you with an axe, etc.  Rolling really low, well, that's where you actually gain XP.  Now I can't see myself incorporating that last bit. As we already know, most XP is gained from finding treasure (in Labyrinth Lord, at least), and I'd like to keep things that way.  Nevertheless, I think I will start incorporating a similar mechanic in my games where a result of 1-3 -- or 4...or 5, if there's good beer flowing at the table -- below the target number for a skill check grants a success, but with an evil little twist.  Fumbles will, of course, still only happen on critical failure -- a 'natural 1' in my games.
        ...Whew, are you still there?  If you've made it this far, I applaud you.  I'm aware that this is an awfully long post to explain one tiny little change I will apply to my own games, but I've been making a lot of subtle changes as of late (you can see a bunch of new editions to my list of House Rules here: http://ominousentries.blogspot.kr/2014/02/house-rules.html ), which got me thinking. These changes must stem from the fact that I've been taken out of my homespun surroundings, allowing me to add new and commoving constituents to a previously all-too-familiar homebrew. I can only await the changes to come in another six months time.

The Heptad (The Gods of Law for 'Sorrowfrost' a Labyrinth Lord Campaign)

I've got a new group of players, and I was inspired to make a new world for them to run around (or, at least, a realm of a new world: The Free Realm of Sorrowfrost).  I've got maps and dungeons too, and I'll be posting those as well.  This is the first time I've come up with a pantheon, but I'm having fun with it.  It's nothing too crazy; I actually told myself I wanted to make this world a fairly "standard" fantasy affair since my new group of players are first-timers (squee!)

The Temple of The Heptad (in Fairview)

  

The Temple:

Monsignior Leywin, an elderly priest of the Church of The Heptad, revered for his devotion, kindness, and wisdom, serves as the spiritual leader for the inhabitants of Fairview. Beside him, a tall and stern man of dark skin, amber eyes and brooding face, dressed in shining plate male along with a beautiful longsword at his side, can be seen accompanying Monsignior Leywin at all times. This is the paladin, Sir Leoril Tarmikos.  A holy warrior under an oath of silence, he is sworn to protect Monsignor Leywin and the other acolytes of the Temple of The Heptad.  The temple welcomes those who are weary and in search of physical and spiritual sustenance.

The Heptad:

Formed from the eternal Maelstrom Storms of Chaos in the Age of Entropy, these Gods of Law are the creators of our world and its first beings, each having given a part of themselves - from with which we are all made .  Each day of the week is in recognition of one:  Sun, ‘The One of Light and illumination’, who grants blessings of divine wisdom and foresight; Mourn, ‘The Orb of Night’, who grants blessings of health; Tyoos, ‘The Opportunous One’, who grants blessings of luck and second chances.  Wynd, ‘The One of Nature and Mysteries’, who grants blessings of understanding and arcane intellect; Thors, ‘The Hero’, who grants blessings of strength and skill; Frie, ‘The Shielded Mistress’, who grants blessings of quickness and defence; Sityr, ‘The Seductive Dancer’, who grants blessings of charm and bewitchery.      

Praying to The Heptad:

Those of any alignment may pray for a blessing to one of The Heptad each day, but those of Chaotic alignment suffer a -5 penalty to their prayer check; The Heptad will seldom answer to those attuned to Chaos - they are in perpetual war with the Chaos Lords and, thus, are usually unwilling to grant aid to anyone sharing the alignment of their adversaries.

Characters may only attempt to pray to one of The Heptad once per day.  In order to pray to one of The Heptad, one must be in a temple or church of The Heptad, or wearing a symbol of The Heptad.  Clerics of The Heptad may pray anywhere and receive a +2 bonus when praying.  When praying, choose one of these Gods of Law, and attempt to roll your Luck score or under.  If you succeed, roll on that god’s Blessing Table.  If you pray to one of The Heptad on their day of recognition (praying to Mourn on Mournday, for example), you get a +2 bonus to your Luck roll.  If you pray to one of The Heptad on a day which is not of their recognition, then there is no bonus to your Luck roll. If you fail, you must wait another day to pray for a blessing.  A roll of a natural ‘1 is an automatic result of 00% - for whatever reason (the gods can be fickle at times), this God of Law desires to aid you as best they can.  A roll of a natural ‘20’ grants a disapproval.  Roll on ‘The Heptad’ Disapproval Table (located after ‘The Heptad’ Blessing Tables).

‘The Heptad’  Blessing Tables:

* blessings last for 24 hours unless noted otherwise.

*some blessings are for specific classes, and will be noted under each god’s

table.

*options with ‘or’ must be chosen by the player upon receiving blessing

*hp gained may go over total hp, but are lost after 24 hours.

Sun “The One of Light and Illumination”

Non-clerics: 01-75%: +1 WIS; re-roll one WIS check

             76-99%: +2 WIS; re-roll one WIS check

             00%: +3 WIS; automatically pass one WIS check

Clerics: 01-75% +1 WIS (bonus spells may be applicable);

                     re-roll one WIS check or Turn Undead check

        76-99%: +2 WIS (bonus spells may be applicable);

                     re-roll one WIS check or Turn Undead check

         00%: +3 WIS (bonus spells may be applicable);

                    automatically pass one WIS check or Turn Undead check

                     *cannot Turn Undead higher than cleric’s level allows; still must

                      roll for amount of HD turned*

Mourn “The Orb of Night”

All Classes: 01-75%: gain 1d3 HP; re-roll one saving throw.

            76-99%: gain 1d6 HP; re-roll one saving throw.

            00%: gain 1d10 HP; automatically pass one saving throw.

Tyoos “The Opportunous One”

Non-thieves: 01-75%: +1 Luck; re-roll one attribute/skill check

             76-99%: +2 Luck; re-roll one attribute/skill check

             00%: +3 Luck; automatically pass one attribute/skill check.

Thieves: 01-75%: +1 Luck; re-roll one attribute/skill check;

                   +5% to any thief skill (cannot exceed 99%)

         76-99%: +2 Luck; re-roll one attribute/skill check;

                   +10% to any thief skill (cannot exceed 99%)

         00%: +3 Luck; automatically pass one attribute/skill

                check; +10% to all thief skills (cannot exceed 99%)

Wynd “The One of Nature and Mysteries”

Non-magic-users/elves: 01-75%: +1 INT; re-roll one INT check

                         76-99%: +2  INT; re-roll one INT check

                         00%: +3 INT; automatically pass one INT check

Magic-users/Elves:    01-75% +1 INT (bonus spells may be applicable);

                                   re-roll one INT check or an enemy must re-roll

                                   one passed saving throw against your spell

                       76-99%: +2 INT (bonus spells may be applicable);

                                    re-roll one INT check or an enemy must re-roll

                                    one passed saving throw against your spell

                       00%: +3 INT (bonus spells may be applicable);

                                  automatically pass one INT check or enemy

                                  automatically fails one saving throw against your spell

Thors “The Hero”

Non-fighters: 01-75%: +1 to hit *melee or ranged* (not damage);
re-roll one to-hit roll

               76-99%: +2 to hit *melee or ranged* (not damage);
re-roll one to-hit roll

               00%: +3 to hit *melee or ranged* (not damage);

                         automatically succeed one to-hit roll

Fighters:    01-75% +1 to hit and damage *melee or ranged*;
re-roll one to-hit roll

             76-99%: +2 to hit  and damage *melee or ranged*;
re-roll one to-hit roll

             00%: +3 to hit and damage  *melee or ranged*;

                       automatically succeed one critical hit (x2 damage).

Frie “The Shielded Mistress”

Non-dwarves : 01-75%: +1 to DEX (bonus AC may be applicable);
enemy re-rolls one to-hit roll against you

               76-99%: +2 to DEX (bonus AC may be applicable)
enemy re-rolls one to-hit roll against you

               00%: +3 to DEX (bonus AC may be applicable);

                      automatically negate one enemy’s successful to-hit roll.

Dwarves:    01-75% +1 to DEX or STR (bonus AC or to-hit/dam may be

                       applicable); enemy re-rolls one to-hit roll against you

             76-99%: +2 to DEX or STR (bonus AC or to-hit/dam may be

                        applicable); enemy re-rolls one to-hit roll against you

             00%: +3 to DEX or STR (bonus AC or to-hit/dam may be applicable);

                    automatically succeed one critical hit, causing (1d4):

                    1: x2 damage, 2: x3 damage, 3: x4 damage, 4: x5 damage.

Sityr “The Seductive Dancer”  

Non-halflings: 01-75%: +1 CHA (bonus CHA factors may be applicable);
re-roll one CHA check or one enemy/NPC reaction roll

               76-99%: +2 CHA (bonus CHA factors may be applicable);
re-roll one CHA check or one enemy/NPC reaction roll

               00%: +3 CHA (bonus CHA factors may be applicable);      

                      automatically pass one CHA check

Halflings: 01-75% +1 CHA or DEX (bonus AC or CHA factors may be applicable);
re-roll one CHA check or one enemy/NPC reaction roll

          76-99%: +2 CHA or DEX (bonus AC or CHA factors may be applicable);
re-roll one CHA check or one enemy/NPC reation roll

          00%: +3 CHA or DEX (bonus AC or CHA factors may be applicable);

                 automatically pass one CHA check; re-roll ANY die one time

                 (to-hit, saving throw, attribute/skill check, damage, etc.)

'The Heptad’  Disapproval Table:

01-30%:  ‘The Heptad’ will not answer your prayers for 1d3 days.

31-59%:  ‘The Heptad’ will not answer your prayers for 1d6 days.

60-74%:  ‘The Heptad’ will not answer your prayers for 1d4 weeks.

75-90%:  ‘The Heptad’ will not answer your prayers for 1d4 weeks, and you must

            donate ¼ of your wealth to a Church or Temple of The Heptad before

            your 1d4 week result.  Failing to do so will result in losing 1

            permanent random attribute point/day.

91-95%:  ‘The Heptad’ will not answer your prayers for 1d4 weeks, and you must

            donate ½ of your wealth to a Church or Temple of The Heptad before

            your 1d4 week result.  Failing to do so will result in losing 2

            permanent random attribute points/day.

96-99%:  ‘The Heptad' will not answer your prayers for 1d4 weeks, and you must

            donate all of your wealth to a Church or Temple of The Heptad before

            your 1d4 week result.  Failing to do so will result in losing 3

            permanent random attribute points/day.

00%:  ‘The Heptad'’ have glimpsed into your future and see that you may be

       tempted by agents of Chaos. They are compelled to end your mortal

       life with a preemptive strike. A blast of holy fires from the

       heavens, reaching you even if you’re indoors, causes you Xd10 damage.  

       (X = 1d10; a result of ‘4’ would be 4d10 damage, for example.)  If you   

       survive, then perhaps they were wrong in their judgement.