- 9 and 30 Kingdoms talks a bit about mapping. I'm okay with players mapping or not mapping. It's up to them, as long as their characters can do it. If they try to use it to detect secret rooms, eh. I have lots of filled-in blocks of stone between hallways to avoid explaining line-walls that don't have any clear thickness. So it generally doesn't work. They do help to keep you from getting too lost.
- Not gaming, but this post explains historiography. I first ran into the concept in college and I wish I'd understood it earlier.
- Next game date is unclear.
Friday, August 29, 2025
Sunday, August 24, 2025
GURPS DF Session 212, Felltower 136 - Steel Knights
Date: 8/24/2025
Weather: Warm, dry.
Characters
Chop, human cleric (362 points)
Duncan Tesadic, human wizard (346 points)
Hannari Ironhand, dwarf martial artist (360 points)
Persistance Montgomery, human knight (332 points)
Thor Halfskepna, human knight (358 points)
Vladimir Luchnick, dwarf scout (318 points)
The PCs started out in town, gathering rumors and taking delivery of some items ordered way back when.
The goal was to take out the iron golems, as they called them, first encountered years ago.
The armed up, with a lot of blunt weapons to potentially avoid breakage, and headed down.
Long story short, this did not work out.
The PCs found the room alright, and forced the door. Beyond it were three golems - with the appearance of knights. They were made of dull steel, two with sword and shield and one with a poleaxe. The PCs let loose with a Stone Missile and Thor and Percy moved in. The Stone Missile hit one square and dented it, but didn't stop it. Vald pinged arrows off of the golems to no visible effect. Neither did Percy - he smacked one three times, two hits, one block. His flail almost broke on the first hit, averted by Luck, and the second hit broke his flail. A Fireball didn't do much better, and the golems breathed poison gas - averted by everyone having Resist Poison, and one breathed fire and set Thor alight and wounded him badly. Resist Fire saved him.
The PCs pulled back, and the golems closed the door on them.
The PCs tried again - buffed Thor, readied Lightning, and opened the door - why? To retrieve the broken flail that Percy had dropped when it snapped in half.
Lightning didn't do much better, inflicting damage but not stunning. But the golems rushed forward, and engaged. Thor rushed them back. In a tough and short brawl, while Duncan used Apportation to get the ball and chain portion of the flail, Thor held off the golems. But then suddenly, after lots of critical successes by the PCs and none by the golems . . . they got a few. Whack. Off came Thor's leg. Then he fell, and his left arm was lopped off.
The PCs desperately managed to snag Thor's limbs - he grabbed his own leg, Percy his arm and shield - and beat a hasty retreat, chased by the golems that suddenly seemed willing to pursue. They were chased to a nearby intersection, and left the dungeon directly.
Notes:
It was a funny session more than a fun one - it cost $3200 to fix Thor's lost limbs . . . all to rescue half of a nicely made but no longer enchanted broken morningstar. Heh.
Percy broke his morningstar on his first swing at a golem. He used Luck, and rolled twice more. The next two didn't cause breakage. I said, just keep the last roll for the second swing that he hit with. The players argued that Luck needs three rolls. Okay, I said, nevermind, I was being generous, but fine, roll for the second breakage roll. 1. The flail broke. Insistance on the rules overcoming GM generosity . . . heh.
MVP was Percy for Leadership. Otherwise XP was 0.
Next game . . . TBD.
Weather: Warm, dry.
Characters
Chop, human cleric (362 points)
Duncan Tesadic, human wizard (346 points)
Hannari Ironhand, dwarf martial artist (360 points)
Persistance Montgomery, human knight (332 points)
Thor Halfskepna, human knight (358 points)
Vladimir Luchnick, dwarf scout (318 points)
The PCs started out in town, gathering rumors and taking delivery of some items ordered way back when.
The goal was to take out the iron golems, as they called them, first encountered years ago.
The armed up, with a lot of blunt weapons to potentially avoid breakage, and headed down.
Long story short, this did not work out.
The PCs found the room alright, and forced the door. Beyond it were three golems - with the appearance of knights. They were made of dull steel, two with sword and shield and one with a poleaxe. The PCs let loose with a Stone Missile and Thor and Percy moved in. The Stone Missile hit one square and dented it, but didn't stop it. Vald pinged arrows off of the golems to no visible effect. Neither did Percy - he smacked one three times, two hits, one block. His flail almost broke on the first hit, averted by Luck, and the second hit broke his flail. A Fireball didn't do much better, and the golems breathed poison gas - averted by everyone having Resist Poison, and one breathed fire and set Thor alight and wounded him badly. Resist Fire saved him.
The PCs pulled back, and the golems closed the door on them.
The PCs tried again - buffed Thor, readied Lightning, and opened the door - why? To retrieve the broken flail that Percy had dropped when it snapped in half.
Lightning didn't do much better, inflicting damage but not stunning. But the golems rushed forward, and engaged. Thor rushed them back. In a tough and short brawl, while Duncan used Apportation to get the ball and chain portion of the flail, Thor held off the golems. But then suddenly, after lots of critical successes by the PCs and none by the golems . . . they got a few. Whack. Off came Thor's leg. Then he fell, and his left arm was lopped off.
The PCs desperately managed to snag Thor's limbs - he grabbed his own leg, Percy his arm and shield - and beat a hasty retreat, chased by the golems that suddenly seemed willing to pursue. They were chased to a nearby intersection, and left the dungeon directly.
Notes:
It was a funny session more than a fun one - it cost $3200 to fix Thor's lost limbs . . . all to rescue half of a nicely made but no longer enchanted broken morningstar. Heh.
Percy broke his morningstar on his first swing at a golem. He used Luck, and rolled twice more. The next two didn't cause breakage. I said, just keep the last roll for the second swing that he hit with. The players argued that Luck needs three rolls. Okay, I said, nevermind, I was being generous, but fine, roll for the second breakage roll. 1. The flail broke. Insistance on the rules overcoming GM generosity . . . heh.
MVP was Percy for Leadership. Otherwise XP was 0.
Next game . . . TBD.
Friday, August 15, 2025
Random Links for 8/15/2025
Some stuff I found interesting to read this week.
Why Magic Users Suck at Fighting. In general, I think is a perfectly reasonable explanation. It's hard to do two hard things well without a large time investment in each. The dedicated fighter and the dedicated magic-user should be more effective in their niche than a person who does both equally, given the same constraints of time, resources, etc.
OLD DM TRICK #3 - I don't know, this doesn't seem like it would work, especially if anyone maps or the party spreads out a bit.
Of Periwigs and Pallid Masks - while pre-1776 colonial America seems like an interesting place for a Call of Cthulhu campaign . . . all you get is early pre-1776 divisions and violence and political splits. That might help give players a hook, but I don't think you get to have colonial America without all of the politics that made it a rebellion. It's not like one thing happened, simplified text in school textbooks aside, that suddenly made it all explode. Still, given a group of players with a similar interest in history, it could be interesting.
Sharp Practice: The Relief of Dojjibotti! - I love minis, and I love Indian Mutiny mini battles. They're so visually interesting and the conflict is both messy and easy to understand.
Why Magic Users Suck at Fighting. In general, I think is a perfectly reasonable explanation. It's hard to do two hard things well without a large time investment in each. The dedicated fighter and the dedicated magic-user should be more effective in their niche than a person who does both equally, given the same constraints of time, resources, etc.
OLD DM TRICK #3 - I don't know, this doesn't seem like it would work, especially if anyone maps or the party spreads out a bit.
Of Periwigs and Pallid Masks - while pre-1776 colonial America seems like an interesting place for a Call of Cthulhu campaign . . . all you get is early pre-1776 divisions and violence and political splits. That might help give players a hook, but I don't think you get to have colonial America without all of the politics that made it a rebellion. It's not like one thing happened, simplified text in school textbooks aside, that suddenly made it all explode. Still, given a group of players with a similar interest in history, it could be interesting.
Sharp Practice: The Relief of Dojjibotti! - I love minis, and I love Indian Mutiny mini battles. They're so visually interesting and the conflict is both messy and easy to understand.
Sunday, August 10, 2025
When is next Felltower?
The next Felltower session is up in the air. It was supposed to be today, but unfortunately we had too many people unable to attend after all.
It's unclear when it will be.
It's unclear when it will be.
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