You return to the party with magnificent facial hair.

Absent Characters

I run a game on Roll20 every Saturday night. My players are all adults; they have careers, and most of them have kids. I understand that not everyone will make every game, and I don’t pressure anyone to prioritize role playing over real life, and especially over family. I get it, I am a husband and father and sometimes you just can’t give up 4-6 hours on a weekend night.

Absent players can be a problem however. I have tried in the past to build campaigns structured in such a way that allow room for a player to not be present, but their character to still be accounted for. Sometimes we assume they are present but just off camera. If the fiction allows it they may be off doing something else or somehow incapacitated. A good friend of mine runs AD&D 2E  and when a player is absent (or even away from the table) they are considered to be swallowed into a negative energy matrix, re-emerging when they rejoin the game.  In my western game Last Pale Light, an absent player can even earn XP if they let us know this is what their character is going to be doing.

I have on occasion had to put certain plot elements on hold, or planned stories and encounters that involve one character and never used the elements because the player was absent. This is how it goes; I cannot worry too much about it, especially when running a game every week.

I do like concrete mechanics accounting for absent characters however. The negative energy matrix might be a bit meta for A Gimble in the Wabe. So in true D&D fashion I’ve come up with a random d12 table.

Lost in the Woods

When a player is absent, the character is assumed to be lost in the woods. The very plants of the Tulgeywood are sentient, and the forest is full of mischievous animals, faeries and other creatures. Sometimes the trees lead you down a path you didn’t expect. When the player returns to the game, they roll on the following chart to determine what happened to the character while they were lost.

What happened when you were lost in the woods? Roll 1d12

1	You have no idea, but you have lost your shoes and your pockets are full of moss.
2	You got into an angry and misguided bet with a raccoon haberdasher. Make a CHA save vs DC 10 plus your proficiency bonus. Failure means you have lost your hat or helmet. Success means you now have a sweet coon-skin cap.
3	You woke up underneath a magic tree covered in the sticky juice of its fruit. Make a CON save vs DC 10 plus your proficiency bonus. Failure means you age 2d6 years. Success means you now have 1d6 pieces of magic fruit. When eaten make the CON save again; fail and age 2d6 years succeed and the fruit grants the benefit of a long rest.
4	You return to the party with magnificent facial hair. If you already had facial hair, it’s gone.
5	While you wandered the woods a finch fell in love with you. It will follow you until the end of the next adventure. It will do anything you ask but it cannot stop twittering its devotion to you, making it hard to sneak or hide.
6	You fought in a battle between the forces of the Hart and the Cougar. Roll 1d6. 1-2 you fought for the Hart Army, 3-4 the Cougar. 5 you were simply caught in the middle. 6 is your choice. Make a STR save vs DC 10 plus your proficiency bonus. Success means you gain your proficiency bonus x 100 XP. Failure means you return to the party with 1 HP.
7	You were seduced by a faerie. Decide if you want to make babies then make a DEX save vs DC 10 plus your proficiency bonus. Success means you get your choice, failure the opposite occurs.
8	In your wanderings you came across a flower that changes your gender when eaten. You must eat it, make a choice.
9	You found an amazing clump of peat. Squeezing it in your hands while reciting a couplet about a mundane item or weapon will make the object appear. The peat only works once.
10	You danced with the Fey for what seemed like years. If only you could remember what happened. Make a WIS save vs DC 10 plus your proficiency bonus. Success means you gain your proficiency bonus x 100 XP. Failure means you can’t remember a thing.
11	You were tricked by Brownies into harvesting mushrooms. Roll three times on the mushroom table and gain one dose of each result.
12	You undertook a quest on behalf of an earnest shrubbery. Gain one random magic item appropriate to your level.

Once upon a time ...

Last Saturday we started our 5e game in the faerie tale world of the Tulgeywood (renamed from the Alfenwood because Jabberwocky). I had three players show up and we spent most of the evening making characters. I want to do session recaps on the blog like I did for our Ravenloft game, it’s good for me as a DM to remember what happened and it’s fun to go back and read about the campaign afterwards.  This will hopefully be the first of many posts following the party as they fight the sinister forces of the Goblin Wood.

The purpose of the game is to play with the 5e rules and explore a bit of High Fantasy, a realm to which I seldom venture. In this world, good and evil are very real things. Goodness embodied by the Faerie Queen, and Evil by the Jabberwock. The characters are expected to serve the Faerie Queen. I am trying to hew as closely to 5e as written, but I had to limit races, classes and make up my own backgrounds to to fit the setting. Determining how well 5e holds up to homebrewing/houseruling is part of the purpose as well.

In the recaps I will make comments on the action and game (probably using my curmudgeonly old school voice) which will be denoted by italics.

Session One

Character Creation

I made a players guide for the Tulgeywood that includes races, classes, backgrounds and some information on the setting.
A Gimble in the Wabe Player's Guide Google Doc

The party so far consists of:

Tekka the Warlock (Tim)

Tekka is the Half-Elf daughter of Isonash a Southron Hunter and Sennara the Elf Maiden. She has a twin brother named Pasco. As a young child, Tekka was raised by her mother in an Elfin gwel. The Elfs recognized her potential for magic and encouraged her to make a pact with the Archfey, the spirit of the Tulgeywood. After she made the pact and completed her Elfin education, she returned to the Maze Marsh and spent her youth hunting and learning the ways of the Utari in the company of her human father. Tekka has not yet undergone the Utari rite of passage to become a woman and his still considered a child.

Pasco the Bard (Drew)

Pasco is the twin brother of Tekka, son of Isonash the Man and Sennara the Elf. He spent his childhood with the Elfs and displayed an aptitude for learning and music. They taught him to sing the ancient Moon Songs and the history of the Tulgeywood. Once grown, he returned to the Maze Marsh with his sister, and lived amongst the Utari storytellers. From them he learned to play instruments and perform the stories that tell the history of the Southrons. Pasco has not yet undergone the rite of passage to become a man and is still considered a child.

Bata The Druid (Zac)

When the Utari Hunter Isonash returned to the Marsh from living with his Elf Maiden, he never took a Southron Bride. He did have a relationship with a Dryad and the fruit of this union was Bata. Bata the Man-Fey was taken by his mother to the Faerie Queen and given to her care as an infant; he has never known the Dryad that bore him. At the Queen's court, Bata was raised as a Druid in the care of Shimrood, a Treant and head of the Druid Order. Once he physically matured Bata was sent south the Maze Marsh in order to learn from his father and siblings the ways of the Utari and to undergo the rites to become an adult.

Yes they are all related, how’s that for a bond…

At some point these characters will have to choose to undertake the Utari right of passage. For a woman this means stealing a Grey Bear cub and raising it to adulthood then slaughtering it for its meat and hide. For a man this means removing the heart from a crocodile and offering it to the Reed Witch.

Character creation steps in 5e are all wrong. We tried to follow the book with the first two characters, and it resulted in players redoing skill selection because of choosing background last. Also, choosing race and class before rolling ability scores is so unnatural that the player that made the third character (Zac) actually asked if he could roll abilities first to draw inspiration. Future characters will be made in the following order: 1. Roll ability scores 2. Choose Race 3. Choose Background 4. Choose Class

We also dispensed with the bonds, flaws, etc. I used custom backgrounds to suit my campaign (there is a lot of implied setting in the default backgrounds) and couldn’t be bothered to make all the tables. Maybe I’m missing something by skipping this part of character creation but I suspect not.  My players have been doing this for 20+ years and don’t need charts to make a realistic or memorable character.

Session Recap

The game began at the Kings Day festival, held at the end of the warm season (Grillib) and the beginning of the cold season (Brillig). The folk of the Tulgeywood gather in moots to trade crops and crafts, honor the dead and remember the fallen King of Beast by wrestling matches. The party of two twins and their half brother travel north from the marsh to the wood in order to join a moot and celebrate King’s Day.

I figured the best way to try out a new version D&D is to jump immediately into grappling rules.

The wrestling challengers were a wolf, elk, and bear. Tekka decided she would wrestle the wolf. They circled each other and Tekka successfully grappled the beast. She was surprised when the wolf spent it’s next action to bite her. Perhaps this fairy tale is not so sweet…

Her brother Pasco, remembered that he could inspire her and began to play his shawm. Tekka used the inspiration to pin the wolf.

I made a ruling here to determine if something was pinned. Once an attacker has a target grappled they can pin it (make it prone) with another grapple action (Contested ability check). Turns out this ruling was right on the money, since per the actual rules an attacker with someone grappled could use an action to “Shove” in the same way, which when successful makes the target either prone or five feet away.

Tekka’s was next challenged by the bear, and she accepted. After a long match of back and forth with neither able to pin the other and Pasco using up all his inspiration they called it a draw. The bear gave Tekka an old claw as a mark of respect.

The party then partook of the Queen’s Cake baked specially for the King’s Day celebrations. Each of them found a golden acorn in their cake, a sign that they had been chose to serve the Faerie Queen. Accepting tradition, they said farewell to home and began their journey to the Glade, where the Queen rules from the Mushroom Tower.

I called it a night, Bata’s player was sad that he didn't get to hit anything with his shillelagh, but it was late and I’m an old man.

We are all (I think) looking forward to the next session. I’ve decided to call the game.

A Gimble in the Wabe.

Fairy Tales for Fifth Edition

A bit of lore for my upcoming 5th Edition game. Apologies to Zak S for the Queen of Hearts bit.

Once upon a time the first woman wandered the world alone. One night she slept under the boughs of the Tumtum tree and dreamed a dream of light and living things followed by a nightmare of darkness and death. When she awoke she had split in half, one side the Faerie Queen resplendent in silver and green and the other the Queen of Hearts, terrible in a vampires red beauty. The Queen of Hearts shied from the morning light and fled to the darkened east, while the Faerie Queen caused the Tulgey Wood to grow around her, stretching from the mountains to the western sea. The Faerie Queen wondered her woods alone until she came upon the Wabe and there she danced a dance to praise the moon and sun. When her dance was done she was no longer alone, for from the Mountains the Beast King had seen her dance and became enraptured of her beauty. They kissed beneath the stars, and from them sprang the fey of the Tulgey Wood; Pixies and Brownies, Satyrs and Sprites,  Nyads, Dryads and countless other creatures. The animals of forest and mountain and the fey of the Tulgey wood lived happily ever after under the reign of the Faerie Queen and the Beast King.

Except that ever after wasn’t forever.

The first betrayal was the Jub Jub bird who flew above all else and came to believe that it was superior to the groundlings. The Jub Jub bird longed to make a nest above the clouds and chose the moon as a home. It broke the crystal sphere around the moon and caused the Elfs to fall from the sky to the forest floor. The Queen accepted the Elfs into her realm and gave them leave to live in the trees.

The next betrayal was the Bandersnatch, who grew so frumious that the Queen allowed the Elfs to live in its trees that it began to eat all the other creatures. First it ate the squirrel and hare as was its right, then it ate the boar and hart and the Queen accepted its hunger. Then it ate the fox and wolf and the King admonished it, then it ate the lion and bear and the Queen commanded it to eat only the nuts and berries of the wood. The Bandersnatch by now had grown monstrous large, and full of vengeful hunger. It broke the Queen's commandment and ate the elf and faerie. The Moon Wizards opened a door at the edge of the wood, and the Beast King wrestled the Bandersnatch down and threw it out of the Queen's Realm.

The Bandersnatch sulked in exile and roamed the world outside the wood nursing vengeance in its heart. In exchange for their mountain home, it revealed to a Prince of Men the path opened by the Moon Wizards to the Tulgey Wood. This Prince, fleeing the darkness to the East led his people to the wood and the Faerie Queen accepted them. However, men are doomed to darkness and although they were fleeing from strife they could not escape it. The Prince declared himself the King of Clubs, and fought against the foes that pursued them to the wood. They raised stone castles and towers across the Tulgey Wood and waged war against the evil Queen of Hearts. They lost, and the Vampire Queen of Hearts took the King of Clubs head back to her castle. The Club Kingdom fell and its people dwindled to shadows in the ruins. Those that did not become ghost and wraiths took shelter in the Northern Fells and Southern Swamps swearing fealty to the Faerie Queen.

All the while the Bandersnatch lay in the darkness of the mountain, hatred and hunger for revenge against the Beast King and his Queen burning in its belly. The Queen of Hearts learned of the Bandersnatch from her Club thralls and ventured to its cave. She convinced the Bandersnatch that its hunger would be sated only by devouring the Jub Jub. This was the last betrayal. Driven mad by frumiousness and the honeyed words of the Heart Queen it climbed the tallest peak of the mountains and leapt to the Jub Jub’s nest on the moon. In its hunger and fury the Bandersnatch raped and devoured the bird. And then fell to torpor its cavernous hunger temporarily sated by the the pregnant Jub Jub in its belly. The Queen of Hearts stole upon the Bandersnatch while it slept, cut the Jub Jub from its belly and then removed the egg from the mangled bird. She sent her Slithy Toves to carry the egg to the Tulgey Wood and set Mome Raths to guard it. They built a secret nest at the Wabe and from the egg sprang the Jabberwock.

The Jabberwock was born of lies and betrayal, hatred and hunger. It grew into a great green serpent, pale and hideous in might and malice. The Queen of Hearts nursed it with blood from her breast and tried to bring it under her will but the Jabberwock proved too mighty to tame. The Vampire Queen abandoned it to the Wabe, but not before she sang it a song of deceit enchanting the creature to consume and defile the Tulgey wood. The Faerie Queen heard this song from across the woods, and for the first time in her life she grew afraid. Comforting his wife and Queen, The Beast King vowed to slay the Jabberwock and set off with a mighty host to face the creature at the Wabe.

Long did the Beast King and Jabberwock struggle, wrestling at the Wabe while the host of the Faerie Queen faced the Slithy Toves and Mome Raths. Great are the tales of valor of the Battle at the Wabe; how the Chief of the North Men hew the heads of a hundred Mome Raths, The Witch woman of the Marsh succored the Beast King's wounds when he was first cast down by the Jabberwock, how the Moon Wizards held the Wabe against the Slithy Toves. The valor of the free people of the Tulgey Wood was not enough however, The Jabberwock overcame the King of Beast casting him down thrice and on the third time the King died. The Queens host fled the field and would have been overcome but for the valor of Nicnevin the Elf Maid who held the rear and made a stand in the ruins of the Knaves Tower at the river crossing.

The assault of the Jabberwock ended at the river. All the wood east of the Sweetail fell under darkness. The trees became black and twisted the animals corrupt. The Jabberwock defiled The Wabe and the body of the Beast King. From the defilement sprang forth the goblins and they multiplied in sick fecundity amongst the brambles and shadow until the Tulgey Wood was split, the Faerie Queen's Realm of Light to the West and the Jabberwock and the Goblin Wood to the East.

The folk of the Tulgey Wood held onto hope however, bound together in their struggle they pledged fealty to the Faerie Queen. From the Animal Princes to the Moon Wizards and tribes of men, all still ight together to preserve what remains of the Queen’s Dream against the evil of the Jabberwock.

The End.

No time to grab the gun they already got your wife and children

"I'm a ninja I'm a hoodie ninja

You're off guard ninja star now you're injured

Tough luck nun chuck break your fingers

Gotta bolt cause I don't wanna linger"

- MC Chris Hoodie Ninja

I decided we needed a Ninja class in my cyberpunk game Hackers & Handguns. The Pacific Rim including California is controlled by the Imperial Japanese so Ninja are plausible. Also, it's cyberpunk and Japanese fetishization is expected. And really, do I really need an excuse for Ninjas?

No, I don’t.

Ninja

Level 1 – Ninjitsu, Ninja may use either STR or DEX for melee modifier. +1 to hit, damage, AC and HP. Unarmed strikes as per Kung Fu (1d6 exploding damage)., 50% chance to move unseen, scale shear surfaces, avoid fall damage, and create disguises. These skills increase 5% per level but cannot be used if wearing anything heavier than light armor.

Level 3 – Assassin, +1 to hit, damage, AC and HP. Strikes while hidden do x2 damage and automatically cause wounds.

Level 6 – Master of the Hidden Door, may make a melee attack from short range. May defy gravity for 1 round.  

Level 9 – Ninja Magic, you have mastered Kuji-In, use is instantaneous but cost 1d6 exploding damage

·        Rin – Strength – Advantage to next attack

·        Pyōh – Channel – Advantage to next skill/ability check

·        Tōh – Harmony - automatically win next initiative

·        Sha – Healing –heal a wound

·        Kai - Sense of Danger – aware of all enemies up to extreme range

·        Jin - Reading of thoughts – ESP for one round

·        Retsu - Control of space and time – reroll a failed saving throw

·        Zai - Control of sky and elements – make an elemental attack at any range for 1d6 damage. Does not miss.

·        Zen – Enlightenment – Invisibility

Hot Bargains At the Cotillion!

They make a deal when they come to town

The Sunday swap meet is a battle ground

-Nirvana "Swap Meet"

The Swap Meet

Most of the combat zone districts have a swap meet. These ad hoc markets are set up for small time merchants to peddle goods ranging from meals of street fried “food” to high end electronics and other wares of dubious origin. Vendors at a swap meet pay a percentage of their take to whatever local gang provides protection at the meet. Ostensibly the local toughs prevent theft or outright raids but they are often pursuing their own larcenous schemes.

The Combat Zone 5 swap meet is known as the Cotillion and is run by a combat-wheelchair bound gentleman named Jubal Sevier, he is suspected to be the leader of the Chrome-Cowboys gang. The Cowboys run the protection racket at the Cotillion, and also host formal dances at the swap meet every Saturday night.

Almost anything can be purchased at the Cotillion, but it requires both luck and skill to actually find what you are looking for.

When attempting to buy something at the swap meet roll 2d6 plus INT or CHA bonus.

2-3 – you don’t find what you are looking for and you end up spending 1d6x10 bits on crap you don’t need

4-6 – you don’t find it

7-9 – you find it but it’s in bad shape (-1 to modifiers for arms/armor) or it’s overpriced (x1.5 to cost)

10-11 – You find what you are looking for

12+ – You find what you are looking for and get a deal on it, subtract a percentage equal to PROF from the price

Swap Meet Encounter Table

1 - Local gang toughs looking to prove themselves

2 – Pickpockets

3 - Prostitute

4 – Thief trying to sell merchandise stolen from the Swap Meet

5 – Small time drug dealer

6- Wandering food vendor

7- Skeezy chick handing out coupons for a vendor

8- Unhinged psycho will either attack or offer to sell the cyber limb he just “found”

9- Corporate scouts looking for new designs or talent

10 - A mix up results in meet security attacking you

11 - A shady merchant offers to sell you something unbelievable if you will just follow them down this alley to an abandoned warehouse

12 – 1d6x10 bits worth of unattended merchandise

It's big and it's bland full of tension and fear

"Fashion - Turn to the left

Fashion – Turn to the right

Fashion

We are the goon squad and we're coming to town

Beep-Beep - Beep-Beep"

-David Bowie “Fashion” from the album Scary Monsters 1980

Mirrorshades, neon mohawks, bespoke ballistic fiber suits and avant-garde facial reconstruction…

In the world of Hackers and Handguns  you are judged not so much by what you do, but how you look while you doing it. Sometimes what you’re wearing means more than what you’re packing.

Fashion is rated on six tiers; cost is paid every six sessions. (Note that the cost of implants is not included, but accessorizing the implant is.) If costs are not paid, go down a tier.

1. Derelict

These people are either so impoverished they have no other choice, or intentionally flaunt the importance of appearance.

Appearance: Genuinely homeless, probably smelly

Cost: 0

Reaction Roll Modifier: -3

2. Basic

These people just don’t get it. Perhaps they look the way they do because they are required to wear a uniform by their occupation; or they are just oblivious to the power of fashion and dress for “comfort”.

Appearance: Corporate-Industrial uniforms, obvious unadorned armor, muted jumpsuits or worn leisure wear.

Cost: 25

Reaction Roll Modifier: -1

3. Ready- To-Wear

Following trends from last seasons and buying off the shelf fashions, or adopting the outré style of a subculture after it has become mainstream.

Appearance: Store bought business casual or corporately coopted outré fashions.

Cost: 100

Reaction Roll modifier: 0

4. Stylish

Keeping up with the latest designs and trends from musicians, holo-vid stars, and fashion houses. Some articles may be tailored, some store bought, but all are the latest in mainstream design.

Appearance: Tailor made or store bought but well-fitting attire that follows the latest fashions, accessorized cybernetic implants, trendy plastic surgery.

Cost: 1000

Reaction Roll Modifier: +1

5. Haute-Couture

You are the Goon Squad. The design houses drape you in their latest creations; you probably don’t wear something more than once unless you are making a statement. You define what fashion is.

Appearance: Unique clothing made for you by the best designers in the world. The best plastic surgery and most cutting edge implants.

Cost: 10000

Reaction Roll Modifier: +3

6. Outré

Members of various sub cultures who genuinely adopt the attitudes and clothing of the group. It’s a blurred line where a sub culture is “legit” and where it is full of “posers”.  Outre fashions often influence haute couture, and usually end up as Ready to Wear once the trends become popular.

Appearance: Varies wildly between sub cultures

Cost: Also varies, typically between 100-1000 but sometimes outré includes found or scavenged articles.

Reaction Roll Modifier: +1 within the group, 0 for tolerant groups, -1 for the masses, -3 for opposed groups.