tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817710432110712270.post9016978093078871869..comments2024-03-28T15:32:19.036-04:00Comments on Dungeon Fantastic: Reading Tables, Not Rolling on ThemPeter Dhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14246000382321978462noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817710432110712270.post-64036400921064339782015-07-07T16:14:52.056-04:002015-07-07T16:14:52.056-04:00I think they're inspirational, but if I use th...I think they're inspirational, but if I use them, I only roll to get my imagination going. I want the results to make sense to me, and too often completely random tables give silly results in aggregate.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817710432110712270.post-90144499259122180932015-07-07T07:52:15.616-04:002015-07-07T07:52:15.616-04:00Out of all of those, I only have Vornheim. I liked...Out of all of those, I only have Vornheim. I liked it a lot, but I've yet to roll on any of the tables except maybe when I was doing a review of it. I like the dice-drop concept, but I don't use it the way it's suggested. I'd bust that out for a Judge Dredd game in Mega-City one but I don't run enough city games for it to really matter . . . it's very inspirational in concept but it hasn't actually been all that useful in actual play at my table.Peter Dhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14246000382321978462noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817710432110712270.post-88147486373807988502015-07-07T07:50:17.584-04:002015-07-07T07:50:17.584-04:00Douglas Cole has raved about d30 Sandbox Companion...Douglas Cole has raved about d30 Sandbox Companion. I've seen good reviews of the d30 DM Companion, too. I have neither - I'd only read them, and not use them. I'm not sure I want more tables to read and not roll on, especially ones that inspire sweeping campaigns I'll never have time to run.<br /><br />C&TA was tough for me as a kid - I wanted to use it, but the weird rules nexus it lives at was hard for me to know how to handle. So generally I just skipped it.Peter Dhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14246000382321978462noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817710432110712270.post-8251517649924474662015-07-07T07:48:23.419-04:002015-07-07T07:48:23.419-04:00I agree on that last point totally - it's been...I agree on that last point totally - it's been my experience, too.Peter Dhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14246000382321978462noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817710432110712270.post-3945767892912063652015-07-06T22:25:13.150-04:002015-07-06T22:25:13.150-04:00Use, read, and mine. Rolling and running with the ...Use, read, and mine. Rolling and running with the results is the best way for me to come up with something original.<br /><br />Some other good sets of tables that no one has yet mentioned (I use all the ones mentioned, other than the Monsters and Treasure Assortment):<br /><br />Alderac's Ultimate Toolbox<br />Midkemia Press's Cities <br />Kelli's Encounters Reference<br />Matt Finch's Tome of Adventure Design<br />Zak S.'s VornheimCharles Saegerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00368131505593336249noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817710432110712270.post-90195101882557160912015-07-06T17:39:10.867-04:002015-07-06T17:39:10.867-04:00I have actually used the old Monster and Treasure ...I have actually used the old Monster and Treasure assortment on many occasions for quick fleshing out of a dungeon after I placed the specific things I wanted to place. <br /><br />I also use published tables as a base for creating my own tables (e.g., I want a random monster table for a *particular* forest on my map, so I'll use tables from other sources and then tweak them). <br /><br />Mostly though, I read them for inspiration. My go-to source for this is the 1e AD&D DMG, but I also really like the d30 Sandbox Companion and the d30 DM Companion.<br />Chris C.https://www.blogger.com/profile/08655640273250716377noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817710432110712270.post-30576395240663491942015-07-06T14:06:10.165-04:002015-07-06T14:06:10.165-04:00You've touched on aspects of my abiding fondne...You've touched on aspects of my abiding fondness for the old Judges' Guild books and the genesis of DF8. I do love me some big random tables, but like you, I rarely actually roll dice at them. I like huge lists of possibilities, but I'm more likely to be driven by whim than real randomizers. But for some reason, if one is writing a game book, it's much easier to sell those lists if you put numbers in front of them corresponding to die rolls.Iron Llamahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08593249565706623705noreply@blogger.com