Dolmenwood: Thinking About Random Encounter Tables

I've been thinking about random encounter tables for Dolmenwood recently. Greg and I have always had in mind something a bit more specialised and interesting than the standard charts by terrain type. The creatures which may be met in the wood vary by time of day, season of the year, and distance from civilisation. Here are some initial thoughts as to how this might work.

First of all, the top-level categories of creatures one might encounter in Dolmenwood:

1. Animals (great and small)
2. Fairies
3. Monsters and fabulous beasts
4. People

Those seem nicely broad. For each category, I'm envisaging a table for daytime encounters and one for nighttime encounters. I like this kind of little nod towards versimilitude that can be encoded in random charts. Similarly, creatures which are only encountered at a certain time of year may be listed as options (e.g. "12. Root Thing (autumn) or Giant Spider").

The type of creatures that may be encountered also depends on time of day and activity, as follows.

Daytime, on the road:

People are by far the most common creatures that travel on the roads in the daytime. Monsters and fairies tend to avoid such places, while normal animals may wander past once in a while.

1. A
2. A
3. A
4. A
5. F
6. M
7. P
8. P
9. P
10. P
11. P
12. P

Daytime, in the wilds:

Once adventurers step off of a main thoroughfare, anything can happen. All types of creature may be encountered with equal probability.

1. A
2. A
3. A
4. F
5. F
6. F
7. M
8. M
9. M
10. P
11. P
12. P

Nighttime, camping with a fire:

Normal animals are, for the most part, afraid of fire and will not come near. Monsters are bolder, while intelligent beings may be attracted by light and voices.

1. A
2. F
3. F
4. F
5. F
6. M
7. M
8. M
9. P
10. P
11. P
12. P

Nighttime, camping without a fire (or wandering):

Dolmenwood at night is a strange and uncivilised place, where monsters and fairies are the most active creatures. People are rarely encountered, without firelight to attract them, and many animals are inactive.

1. A
2. A
3. F
4. F
5. F
6. F
7. F
8. M
9. M
10. M
11. M
12. P

More to come as my thoughts develop further...

Wormskin Issue Three: Now in Print!

Click here to get it!

As we have delicious colour illustrations, this time we thought we'd try out the colour printing option at Lightning Source. It's turned out lovely! Some photos:

Wormskin Issue 3: Out Now in PDF!

Weepest thou for fear or for joy? It matters not!

Click upon this image, if thou darest.

(Wormskin issue three is currently available in its pure, digital form (aka PDF). Print editions coming soon!)

The Island: Character Classes

Continuing on from my recent campaign idea The Island, a bit about the rules I have in mind...

I'm imagining a simple, Labyrinth Lord base, with human-only PCs. (Some kind of monstrous race may exist on the island -- to be determined. Magical creatures certainly exist, but will be rare and unique. There are no human-friendly, non-human races.)

Classes available:

Warrior
Defenders of human settlements from the monsters of the wild. Created using my work-in-progress The B/X Warrior.

Traveller
Those who forsake a settled life in favour of wandering. Created using my The B/X Rogue. The set of talents available may need some tweaking, to emphasise this class' role as an explorer and adventurer, as opposed to a thief or criminal.

Priest
People who devote themselves to the worship of one of the island's four elemental deities. This class is closer to the classical magic-user than to the cleric, but I envisage it having access to miracles, as well as arcane magic. Something like this:

• A magic-user class foundation, with only elemental spells.
• Each priest is a devotee of one deity and may learn and cast spells of the associated element.
• By praying at the shrines located around the island, a priest can gain different blessings, which are cast as spells. A priest can have at most one blessing per experience level. A blessing is lost after casting.
• The shrines on the island all grant the blessing of cure light wounds, but some offer other clerical spells as well. In this way, a kind of exploration / shrine collection game is possible. (Some shrines may be lost in the island's wild, southern regions and the subject of myth and rumour.)

Wormskin Issue Three: Cover

Thee milking ov thee Gorgon hath borne delicious fruit.

The layout of issue three is nearly finished. It cannot be too many more turnings of the Earth until Wormskin 3 will be unleashed.