On Suspense And Random Encounters

This is an alternative way to handle rolling for encounters that focuses on building suspense. 

Throughout most of my GMing career I have used the tried and true 1-in-6 per 10 minute turn. It's simple, it works - but I have a few issues with it:

• You can go long stretches without any encounter. There are many published dungeons out there that, when you run them, you realize how much the encounters breathe life into the whole thing.
• While simple, the procedure does not provide the necessary build-up/release of anxiety needed for a more tense dungeoncrawl. I like to keep my players chewing their nails and weighing their risks, the flat 1-in-6 chance is too random for this.
• There is a lot of rolling if an encounter occurs. Need to roll for the contents of the encounter, their reaction to the party, their distance from the party, etc. 

I think most of these issues could be fixed quite simply while still maintaining similar probabilities.

 

THE SUSPENSE SYSTEM 
Art by Sergio Toppi

At the start of each turn, roll a pool of d6's to determine if an encounter occurs. The pool begins with 1 die. Keep the pool in a place that is visible to everybody and easy to reach. For maximum suspense, call out a random player to roll the pool each time.

At the end of each turn, add 1 die to the pool.

On doubles or triples, an encounter occurs. The dungeon will have two encounter tables - one for doubles and another for triples, consult the rolled result with the appropriate table. Triples are deadlier or more bizarre encounters that are more heavily stacked against the players.

After an encounter, reset the pool back to 1 die. Do not add a die at the end of this turn.

When the party takes a time-consuming action, add one die to the pool. If one player undertakes a time-consuming action, ask the rest of the party what they do while they're waiting for the first player to finish their action. The other player's time-consuming actions do not add more dice to the pool this turn.

When the party takes a reckless action, add one die and roll the pool. These could include busting down doors, lighting large fires, destroying a part of the dungeon - generally throwing caution to the wind to do something fast or easily. Warn the players that they are about to undertake a reckless action before they do so.

 

EXAMPLE RANDOM ENCOUNTER TABLE
Art by Sergio Toppi

 This example table is set in The Crypt of Eg - the resting place of the titular sorcerer-king. He was buried with his pets and experiments, which still lurk the haunted halls deep beneath the earth. You may have come here for his treasures, to settle an ancestral blood feud (of which he had many) and destroy his corpse, or to capture the fabled unicorn which is rumored to live here.

Doubles:

1. The click-clacking of bones on metal - 1d6 skeletal warriors shamble out of the shadows in a shield wall.
   
   
2. Snorting, grunting and squealing followed by an awful smell - an undead boar the size of a van comes stomping down the hall. Its eyes are clouded blind, but its sense of smell is impeccable and it still remembers hunger.
   
   
3. A relieved sigh and a sword being sheathed - a lone vengeance-seeker who desperately wants to get out of here, even if it means shame.
   
   
4. The sounds of crossbows being loaded - 1d8+1 malnourished unicorn-hunters point their weapons at you with shaky aim. "You best turn around - you're not getting a cut."
   
   
5. A wet sloshing sound - a giant ball of tongues rolls aimlessly down the halls, large enough to block a hallway. It is repelled by bitter taste and attracted to sweets.
   
   
6. Distant meowing - 3d6 pairs of cat eyes glow in the darkness. They will hiss and scratch at any Chaos-aligned characters.

Triples:

1. The sounds of a heated battle - 3d6 skeletal warriors fight 2d6+2 vengeance-seekers over a wooden chest. They haven't noticed you yet.
   
   
2. The sound of heavy breathing and boots running - 1d6 vengeance-seekers flee and shout for you to run. In 10 seconds, 2d4 undead boars will trample down the halls to give chase.
   
   
3. The sounds of angry shouting - a large clan of 1d12+3 vengeance-seekers argue over whether or not they should turn back or continue onward. They speak of seeing Eg on a horrible chariot carried by vicious creatures.
   
   
4. Trampling and screaming - a wounded unicorn is fighting 1d20+2 unicorn-hunters, who appear to also be fighting each other for a chance to land the final blow and escape with the slain unicorn.
   
   
5. The sound of running water that shakes the stones beneath your feet - a flood of saliva will come pouring down this hallway in 10 seconds.
   
   
6.  Growling and wheels on stone - a gilded chariot carrying the corpse of Eg himself, led by 4 undead lions who are fiercely loyal to their master.

 

DESIGN NOTES
Art by Sergio Toppi

Okay, talking more casually now - you may have noticed that encounters only occur on doubles and triples yet you will find yourself rolling 1d6 on occasion. This is intentional. I think a good dungeon crawl is comparable to a good horror movie. You build up suspense in the audience, then give them a moment of release afterwards before continuing to build up more suspense. I think the rhythm of the how the pool is rolled mimics that well, and the 1d6 roll when the pool is reset is that breather.

I think it's very important that the pool is not kept secret behind the GM screen and that players are made well aware when they're going to undertake a risky or time-consuming action that will contribute to the pool. The players cannot make an informed decision about what they are doing without information like this. It is fine that the players can gauge when an encounter is more likely to come, let them fret and sweat about it.

I enjoy making my encounter tables more specific. With a d6 encounter table size, you're bound to roll duplicates sometimes. During the session I cross out encounters which have already been seen and replace them with new encounters after the session. If I roll a duplicate during a session, I simply move to the next available table entry.

This system is largely inspired by Angry GM's Tension Pool with a few critical tweaks. I love the concept although it still doesn't quite get the rhythm I'm looking for and doesn't combine the roll for encounter and its contents like mine does. This is additionally inspired by Goblin Punch's Underclock. I think he has the rhythm right but I am a lazy GM and do not like tracking more things than I need to on paper like the clock values. Plus the mounting pool of dice adds a nice physical, tactile element the clock does not. Check out both of those posts, they're very good.

If you made it this far, it's too late to save you! I challenge you, dear reader, to make an encounter table like the one I made above. Hopefully you can see how you don't even need a fully fleshed out dungeon to make such a thing - and how an encounter table alone can serve as a springboard to making the rest of a flavorful dungeon.

Who Do You Write For?

It's in the title - when you sit down to write a post, who is it for? 

I had a conversation with friend of the blog Weird Writer (Roll To Doubt) today and it got me curious what others think:

I think I write for my younger self - it's why most of this is pretty in-depth theory. I first discovered OSR TTRPGs when I was about 16 or 17 with Into the Odd. The book has great advice, and I heard it but I didn't listen to it. I was at this robotics competition in upstate Arizona running a poorly adapted Tomb of the Serpent Kings I had made on the bus the way there. I ran the game on the crowded floor for a group of four or five people I don't really talk to anymore in between the hours-long wait between competition rounds. The environment was loud, I had to shout, my voice cracked often. The game ended unceremoniously when the bell rang and we had to go up and lose our competition. 

I remember being horribly anxious but something kept drawing me back. I suppose that's why I write the way I do - why I focus on theory and process and structure. While the experience sounds (and was) glorious, a good game benefits from a sense of structure. Otherwise it's just a passtime. Although, who is to say that a passtime isn't just as valid? This is a social activity first and foremost, after all.

I want to hear your answer in the comments or on your own blogs. 

Who do you write for? 

Art by me

 

In Favor Of Repetition

There's a temptation when making dungeons in TTRPGs to make every structure unique in some kind of way. The players are expecting something fresh - "They've already seen a temple, let's make a tower. They've already seen a tower, let's make a prison. They've already seen a prison, let's make..." 

It's an understandable impulse, however it's quite easy to write yourself into a corner by doing this. First, the impulse is rooted in overanalysis, which gets in the way of actually playing the game. Second, there's only so many structures out there.

Of course, you still want your players to feel they are exploring a living, breathing, varied world. So, how do we approach this problem?

By Jef Wu

Embrace the repetition. The fact is that a repeated kind of structure can actually passively reinforce themes and "gamefeel" within your world. As an example, let's take a look to The Legend of Zelda. In Breath of the Wild, almost every dungeon is set inside the innards of a great mechanical divine animals or a shrine. It sets a mood where the magic, the divine, and the bestial are inherently interlinked. Another example, Elden Ring. While there is more variety here, a large portion of the dungeons are castles or crypts - most in some stage of active ruin. It sets a far different tone, of a dying land where despite it all the imperial instinct still reigns. 

The developers know they do not need to reinvent the wheel with every new area. Despite the similar structures, the player is still entertained. Things are shaken up by how themes within the structure express themselves For example, the theme of water in the elephant beast Vah Ruta as expressed by the trunk-fountain puzzle mechanic present throughout the entire dungeon. Another example, the themes of amputation and grafting in Stormveil Castle as expressed by their enemies like birds with swords for legs and Godrick the Grafted.

When making a setting, it can be valuable to embrace repetition in this aspect. Choose two or three structures which you feel comfortable creating and show up often in play. Think about what their common presence says about your world. Think about what one says about the other. Differentiate the individual dungeons not by their kind of structure, but by their themes. When creating and stocking them, focus on expressing the themes through room contents, enemies, traps, puzzles, gimmicks, lore, random encounters, treasures, NPCs, etc.

Here is a small list of possible primary structure pairings and large speculations in what they may imply about your world:

1. Tombs and Towers. Perhaps the miserable dead roam the earth and people have taken refuge in sky-feifs ruled by warring wizard-kings. Or wizards cast devastating spells from their havens, turning the world to a blasted cratered land and humanity has had to hide in crypt-societies which commonly raid one another for ever-dwindling resources. Either way, the world will be a vertical one with soaring heights and shadowy depths.
   
   
2. Manors and Vaults. Perhaps the rich have turned monstrous (more than they already were), and cling to treasures now-useless to them, stored their manors and vaults. Or there was a great revolution and your player characters are assigned to go about toppling the last of the old money, holed up and ready to defend what they have. Either way, the world is (or was) an opulent one.
   
   
3. Trees and Temples. Perhaps the gods grant blessings in growing great trees in the earth, and their demigod children live in the boughs while strange priests roam temple halls. Or a vengeful god laid a curse upon the land for insufficient worship and the earth is overgrown - all remaining are signs of past worship warped to kill that which used to tend to them. Either way, the world is one where nature thrives - and maybe worship and nature are related in some fashion.
   
   
4. Beast-Innards and Butcheries. Perhaps once upon a time great beasts roamed the lands until man killed them and learned to live off them. Or the beasts still roam the land and man has split into game-hunting butcher-tribes, following the next hunt to prove their glory. Either way, the world is one where meat and the flesh is important.
   
   
5. Schools and Prisons. Perhaps the world is split into a caste system where the magic-users are taught and those deemed unworthy are sent to toil. Or magic-users were imprisoned long ago, and the schools where they were taught their wicked ways still hold secrets. Either way, education and crime will be themes in some sense.

- EDIT - 

It appears that I've accidentally started a small bandwagon! Check out other author's thoughts on this below, it's all worth a read:

• Spiceomancy: In Favor of Repetition
• Nothic's Eye: In Favour of Repetition
• Roll to Doubt: In Favour of Repetition 
• Nrdblog: In Favour of Repetition 
• Says Who: In Favour of Repetition 
• Seed of Worlds: In Favor of Repetition 
• Sundered Shields and Silver Shillings: In Favor of Repetition 

If you've made a post and I didn't include it, comment below - I'll read it and add it! 

Worldbuilding When You Have No Ideas

This is how you make a small setting in a day when none of your ideas feel good enough, or you can't come up with any at all. It is, in part, a variation on this post. Though I do not think you need to have read it to understand this one. I'll keep this quick.

By Ryan @__SolS on Twitter

This is what you will need to do:

Take a book, any book, and highlight six phrases per spread. These can be anything, as long as they stand out to you. They do not even need to be complete sentences. Do this until every spread in the book is highlighted in this fashion. Keep it cursory.

Flip to a random page, roll 1d6. Look for the highlighted phrase that matches the result. The first highlighted phrase on the spread is 1 on the die, the second 2, and so on... Write it down.

Do this three times. Write the phrases next to each other.

You will have a small, poemlike piece of nonsense that should only take a minute to form. For instance - taking from a large book of Shakespeare I own:    

We came into the world like brother and brother:
God give his lordship joy!
it were mortal poison, for thy sake!

Use the result as inspiration to answer a worldbuilding question below. Then roll another and repeat. 

The questions provided are split into three sections: The Town, The Wilderness, and The Dungeon. That is all you truly need to start a game.

The Town:

1. Where is the town? Why would you live here? 
2. What is the town known for by outsiders?
3. Who or what governs this place? How do they govern?
4. What is this town's biggest problem? How do they deal with it or hide it?

The Wilderness: 

1. What is the wilderness known for by outsiders?
2. What is the most beautiful thing in the wilderness? What about the ugliest?
3. Who or what calls the wilderness their home? How do they mark and protect their territory?
4. What resources does the wilderness possess? Who is actively looking to exploit this? 

The Dungeon:

1. Where is the dungeon? What did this place use to be? 
2. Why would you risk your life to be here?
3. Who or what guards the interior? What are their defenses?
4. What treasure lies here? Who is actively seeking it?

Answer the questions to the best of your ability. Chase whatever inspiration comes to you, no matter how silly you may think it. Do not worry about representing the rolled result as a whole in your answer - if something small stands out strongly to you, run with it. Use information from previous questions to inform the current question you are answering, if you think it is relevant. If all goes well, this should serve as a unique base for more solid prepwork.

From The Third Mind, by William Burroughs and Brion Gysin

 

Chemic Red (6 Magic Colors)

This is a list of new fantastical colors and their effects on painted objects. Most wizards make potions - some mavericks make colors. Just like eye of newt and finger of crow cast into a cauldron makes for a magical effect, pigments of crushed mandrake and dragon's foot also has a unique sheen and esoteric effect.

Some assumptions about paints, first:

• Each color has a list of materials required to make the pigment. The process of crafting pigments works the same way however crafting potions works in your games - no need to complicate systems unnecessarily.
• One dose = 1/4 pint of paint = 10 sqft of paint coverage.
• Skillful paintings made of multiple magical pigments may have an effect related to the pigments used and the themes of the painting - this is negotiated with the GM.
  
• These colors are not very lightfast or durable at all. Paints wear off after a day if applied hastily (in the dungeon or haphazardly applied to something not supposed to take paint). If applied carefully (requiring hours or days of labor, primer, and brushes), they last a year.

A portrait of a wizard, using the esoteric color spectrum
Art by Sergio Toppi

1. Bermite - A tender, airy red - like a feverish blush or bands of sunset. Requires glue of adder and crushed dragontongue - smells like dog breath. Notable use by the Goblin-King, who lost an entire battalion when their Bermite-colored cannonballs blew up in their faces; he still experiments with Bermite to this day despite his subject's concern.
   Surfaces painted with Bermite become extremely flammable.
   
   
2. Failure - A loathsome vibrating orange-brown - like flowing vomit or bundled hair left in the drain. Requires dung of basilisk and lots of tar - the pigment comes out in wet chunks. Notable use by the terrorist Narciso the Bold, who painted statues of heroes and kings of The Empire in the color of Failure.
   Anybody who looks at Failure for longer than a 10 seconds is hit with a splitting migraine and loses experience until the painted object is thoroughly destroyed. If you dislike experience loss, replace with Wisdom loss.
   
   
3. Myoon - A solid, impenetrable purple that dominates the space - like a cave's darkness or a troubled night's sky. Requires ground tooth of royalty and glue of unicorn - the pigment comes out in sheets which must be broken and crushed further for fine application. Notable use by the warlord Simone the Larger, who painted the shields of her legionaries Myoon to intimidate enemies and give allies the illusion of being safer than they actually are.
   Objects painted Myoon appear twice as large - WIS save to see through this illusion. On failure, treat the illusion as reality for 10 minutes. Confusion ensues as you drop Myoon colored objects you swear require a two-handed grip, etc.
   
   
4.  Bimse - A bleary electric green - like pharmaceutical signs on a foggy night or the reflection of traffic lights in the rain. Requires gold powder and mandrake paste - it smells lightly of mint. Notable use by "magic shops", selling false wares to know-nothings.
   Wizards know Bimse has no magical effects and is just a very strange artificial color. People unfamiliar with magic assume objects colored Bisme are wildly magical. Bimse objects can sell for a pretty penny to the right person - though they will doubtless be mad once they discover your deception.
   
   
5. Windt - A wild fluorescent purple - like UV lamps or the afterimages people leave behind when you haven't gotten enough sleep. Requires antlion venom and graven ash - making the pigment causes irritation to your eyes. Notable use by the Archdruid, a highwayman who has crafted the recipe to an advanced form of Windt that makes him only perceivable to felines.
   Whatever touches Windt slowly shifts to be windt-colored as well over the course of a day - this fades after a day no matter how carefully it is applied. It spreads in patches like a rash. Windt is completely invisible to wild beasts and dogs.
   
   
6. Wail - A gentle pink - like gourmet frosting. Requires ectoplasm and true lover's tears - it makes a distinctive squishing sound while pushing it with a brush. Nobody knows who made this, although it is the quest of countless exorcists to find who discovered this and punish them.
   Even a chip of Wail is horribly haunted. Objects painted Wail tend to move when nobody is looking. People who happen to have Wail on them are haunted by horrible dreams - often resulting in disturbing works painted with more Wail.