RPG Software and Semi-Structured Data

My work has me dealing with a lot of data. Customers send us data and we use our software systems to help us analyse it. Now there are two types of data customers send us: Structured Data which is easy to input into our software systems, and Semi-Structured Data, which requires some messy work on our part to convert it to Structured Data.

Now 90% of the data that comes in is semi-structured, which means that it's harder for us to plug it in to our software. Why is that?

Because computers only know how to work with structured data, while people can just as easily work with semi-structured data. Not only that, but keeping your data fully structured takes a good deal of effort, so most people don't take the trouble until they are forced to.

RPG Management Software

So what does this have to do with Roleplaying Games? Because there are all these Virtual Tabletop and Campaign Manager computer programs out there. They can help you manage your game, but on the other hand, they often force you to move your game material from semi-structured to structured. When they do that, they are incurring a cost on you in order to get the benefit the software provides. And sometimes the cost exceeds the benefit.

Just look at your character sheet. In most cases, you don't even need a printed character sheet. You can just write down your character on a cocktail napkin and play just fine. But then, when you need to put your character into the Virtual Tabletop, suddenly it complains that you didn't fill in your saving throws or some other field. Or you are playing a homebrew class that isn't supported. Or you have an item that doesn't appear in the master list of items.

I'm not saying that you can't write the software in a way to allow semi-structured data. But it's not the most natural choice and anyway many of the features you will want to implement may require you to impose structure.

So, next time you're writing or considering using RPG software, keep this trade-off in mind. One of the great things about Pen & Paper Roleplaying Games is that they can be run quickly and easily with semi-structured data. So when your software imposes structure, you need to ask yourself "Is it worth it?"

Well? Is it, punk?

WFRP Empire Campaign Session 17: Halfling Boudoir Busters

Picking-up from last session, the party decided to send a few members up to the door of the reputed necromancer Italka's stronghold to request a parley.

Said door happened to be unlocked with two Goblin guards sleeping on the floor. The party first attempted to strong-arm them into taking us straight to Italka. But one of our Dwarves lost his cool and the cheeky bastards sounded the alarm before dying horribly.

The party decided to make their stand in the adjoining room, rather than in the hallway. We barricaded the doors with the room's tiny furniture, but when Seigwart smashed his way into the closet full of tiny ladies' frilly things, they heard a squeak from under the bed. A female halfling was hiding there, but much too terrified to converse. She indicated that Italka is away.

A wild melee ensued with goblins smashing down the barricaded door and pouring through the other. Well, things really heated-up when a fully armoured Chaos Warrior came running in. He and Sigyn took one look at each other and both went berserk(Sigyn as a result of her magic sword which is dedicated to some other Chaos god). Well, the party took some hits(especially my PCs) but made it through.

When the Chaos Warrior finally fell, Siegwart asked Sigyn if she was OK. She replied in a spooky voice "There is no Sigyn, there is only Midgarðsormr", continuing to insist on the new name even after the berserker rage has left her.

DnD Next: Joseph and the Technicolor Broadsword

So D ran a mini-session for us with DnD Next which will likely become a longer campaign. The PC roster was:

• Sir Manly of the Divine Turnip(my character)
• Halfling Paladin
• Born to a noble family
• After a local farmer found a turnip in the shape of a popular Halfling saint, Manly pledged himself to the service of the relic, carrying it as his oracle and holy symbol
• A Half-Ogre Smith
• Captured and enslaved by Dwarves at a young age
• They eventually let him go as he seemed relatively harmless and was getting too big for working in the tunnels
• A Drow Ranger

• Lawful Neutral and good with a bow

The party headed South with a caravan of wagons from Icewind Dale on a diplomatic mission to Hetman Nixon, Lord of Watergate. Their goal: to convince the lord to send food relief to the Northern realm so that the Northern border may be maintained against ice demons.

Sir Manly offered to use the power of the Divine Turnip to interpret Hetman Nixon's dreams. A skill-check later, the Paladin received divine inspiration and gave the interpretation. Nixon was partially convinced, but insisted that, as payment, the party return after the grain was delivered and serve a year in the Watergate militia.

On the return journey, the caravan was ambushed by Yetis. The Half-Ogre smashed them all to bits, with an arrow or two to help from the Drow Ranger.

Cyber-Mods for Kill, Cyborgs! Kill!

 Oh, boy. You know when you've put a lot of time into a project and you just need like a few good hours of no distractions to go over everything and you'll have a completed first draft? And those few good hours just aren't happening? (I haven't had time to blog lately, much less edit/complete an adventure module)

Anyway, that's sort of where I'm at with KCK. But I still haven't stat-ed up the PC cybermods, so let's make it happen. The system, is old school DnD, with slight modifications for a Cyberpunk setting.

Note that this is a first draft, so ideas are welcome.

• Reflex Boost
• Dex is increased by 1d6+3 points for 5 minutes. Cannot be used again until character has rested for at least 1 hour.
• Side Effect: whenever characters smells a strong smell they make a willpower save. Failure means that they will do their best to ingest the source of the smell as fast as possible(gaining the Dex bonus until it is ingested). If they are restrained and cannot ingest the object, they will fall into a severe lethargy, being unable to do anything for 4d6 hours.
• Neural Augmentation

• Int is increased by 1d6+3 points, permanently.
• Side Effect: character has difficulty relating to people. Cha is reduced by the same amount.
• Pain Editor
• Cannot feel pain at all. If incapacitated, due to injury, make an additional Fortitude save. Success means character is not incapacitated.
• Olfactory Boost
• Character has an excellent sense of smell and gets a +2 bonus to not be surprised, as well as a bonus to tracking and other relevant skill checks.
• Powerful smells require a fortitude save to prevent dizziness, vomiting, difficulty breathing, etc.
• Microwaver Implant
• Short range ray mounted in chest.
• 1d6 burn damage. Roll 1d6 for each piecor of electronic equipment(including cyberware) to see how it malfunctions
• 1-3 no effect
• 4- don't work for 1d10 rounds
• 5- activates erratically
• 6- completely fried
• Micro Missile Launcher
• Mounted in shoulder. Cavity opens and a missile missile protrudes and fires, guided by eye movement tracking.
• Holds a single missile. +4 to hit. 1d8 damage per HD of target.
• Reloaded manually
  
  
• Backscatter X-Ray Eye
• 10m range. Spot hidden weapons, cyber-mods, etc. See what's on the other side of thing walls.
• +4 Bonus to search for hidden objects.
• -1 to initiative due to tendency for eyes to wander
• DataTerm Link
• Port in back of neck. Neural computer interface.
• +4 to hacking checks and other complex computer interactions.
• Internal disk for storing downloaded data.
• Sub-Dermal Micro-Recorder
• Audio recorder implant.
• Electromagnetic cloaking fools metal detectors.
• Contraceptive Implant
• Activated/Deactivated via voice recognition of pre-programmed keywords(have fun choosing your own!)
• Storage Space
• A small compartment, opened and closed via voice recognition of the pass-code. What does it contain?

Undead Stats for Death Frost Doom

Here are the undead stats I used for Death Frost Doom, although only the first two made it to actual play. I was going for something a little more horror-movie like and a little further from standard DnD undead.

Revenant(slow moving corpse)

Move: 30
2d8HP(1d8 for child)
FDM: 1
AC 5
Attack: bite +1 1d4+1(+0, 1d4 child)

Contagious bite

Ghul(hungry flesh-eating corpse)

Move: 120
1d8HP
FDM: 1
AC 12
Attack: bite +4 1d6+2

Wiht(long haired, pale, silent warrior)

Move: 120
3d8HP
FDM: 3
AC 15
Attack: mace +8 1d6+3+drain
Only hurt by silver/magic

Cyris

Move: 120(240 flying)
9d8HP
FDM: 9
AC 13
Attack: claws +13 1d4+3, 1d4+3 or by weapon
Only hurt by silver/magic
Repelled by Garlic
Turn to gaseous cloud...

Death Frost Doom: Post-Session Retrospective

Map by Claytonian

So, I wanted to take a look at what worked and what didn't in the recent session where I ran Death Frost Doom for our group. This is my first time running a horror game, as well as my first time running a published module(as opposed to creating my own sandbox), so this was definitely a learning experience for me. Oh, and once again: spoiler warning!

Didn't Work: Pacing

I think this was the biggest issue with the session. We jumped right in and were at Pepe's(Zeke's) place within 5 minutes after character creation. But, despite the quick start, there was a lot of material before things heated up with the undead outbreak: Zeke, the hanging tree, dead body, the well, the weird stuff in the cabin, and exploring the dungeon underneath and I sensed the players were getting bored. So how could I have improved this?

• Start out with a bang: maybe start-out the trip with a bear attack or some-such event, since I know there won't be any more combat till the end
• Cut out some material: each of the elements of the module are great, but when your players are intent on exploring everything methodically, it can get a bit slow. I would maybe cut it down to Zeke, the body outside the cabin, and the magic picture inside the cabin. Also, perhaps provide a more direct path to the plant-monster.
• Emphasize more which direction the susurrus seems to be coming from so the players see a clear alternative to covering every single room of the place
• Ideally I would shoot for about 1/2 hour of build-up before they hit the zombies. And maybe re-arrange the place so the party can barricade themselves into a dead end and have more of the Duvan'Ku material there, before they make a break for it, rather than loading it all at the beginning of the module.

Worked: Swashbucklers & Seamonsters Firearms Rules

The S&S Firearms rules worked well. Firearms were a bit more deadly than other weapons, but the reload time meant that mid-combat reloading wasn't really an option.

Didn't Work: Reading Screw-Ups

The module(or at least the first edition of it) doesn't separate at all between player text and DM text. Now, I tried to prepare so as to minimize reading during actual gameplay, but DFD has enough tricks and complex set-ups that it just isn't always an option. So passages like this screwed me up a couple times:

The altar itself is waist-high on a human, with inscriptions inlaid with gold along the base reading (in the language of Duvan’Ku), “We hail the Lords of Death and Give Offerings to the Masters of Chaos.” Write this down and hand the note to the player who reads the inscription. If he reads it out loud, word-for-word, to the others, then everyone within earshot must make a saving throw versus spells. Go around the table,
starting at the reading player’s right. If that PC made their save, continue on until somebody fails a save. The first character to fail the save immediately intends to sacrifice one of the other people there on the altar.

I read the first part, started reading it to the players and then was like, "oh wait, I'm supposed to write this down for you", at which point no one was falling for it. It would be better to just have a small handout to cut-out and give to the players. This screw-up on my part was probably the only thing that kept them from making it to the Greater Tombs.

Horror in the Hills of Basque Country a.k.a Death Frost Doom

So I finally got to run this for our group. Basically Death Frost Doom re-skinned for a trio of Basque Pirates starting an extended shore leave. The system is Labyrinth Lord, borrowing simplified saving throws and ascending AC from DCC RPG, and equipment/occupations/Death & Dismemberment from Swashbucklers & Seamonsters. There are many DFD spoilers ahead, in case you plan on playing it any time soon.

Los Desgraciados

The party consisted of three natives of Esquiule:

• Agurtzane- the lovely Ship's Doctor, wielding dual blunderbuss pistols--a regular Pirate foil to Dr. McNinja
• Franzisko- Pearl Diver with a crowbar for opening giant oysters and a diver's helm with a hand pump to supply air from above
• Eder- the ship's quartermaster, sporting a cutlass, dual pistols, and a keg of good rum

The Diver's Helm proved the most useful item, being used for well-diving, poison spore disposal, and even saving him from a ghul that leapt on him when he peeked out of a hole in the ground.

Pepe

Our unfortunate heroes left town quietly in the early morning, when most of the inhabitants were still hung-over on garlic-flavoured ale. They headed up the taboo mountain and towards the end of the first day met Pepe, a strange old mountain man who they suspect is a serial killer. While Eder munched on the mystery meat he gave them(the others refused to ingest it), he told them about the cursed tower and that they should stay away from it. He told them that he spends much of his time carving grave-markers for the poor souls who died there without a proper burial--the party wasn't sure to believe him, thinking perhaps the grave markers are for his victims.

As it grew late in the day, they politely rejected his offers to board them for the night. Instead, they started back down the mountain, doubled back and continued a little ways up, camping in a secluded spot.

The Tower

After a short hike the next morning they crosses a ridge and saw ahead of them the remains of the tower and a graveyard. They messily bled a tree, burned a frozen corpse, went down a well of freezing water, and then made their way to the tower. After getting sent 7 hours into the future, one at a time, the party found the dead man's equipment and started feeling a bit positive about the expedition, despite the many ominous signs.

Sourcing the Susurrus

The party made their way down into the cult-area. Eder almost died from poison spores when he decided to start smashing things, but the helmeted Franzisko dragged him out of the spore-cloud and Agurtzane performed a successful tracheotomy to bypass his swollen air passage. Franzisko and Eder acquired cursed items.

The party found various creepy things, looted quite a few crypts and eventually fought the plant producing the susurrus. They then spent time clearing out the hole in the ceiling, which is when a Ghul jumped on Franzisko's head, but ended up falling past down him down into the unknown. They then baited a couple other Ghuls to follow it.

Things Heat Up

The party quickly found they were trapped, with an unlimited supply of zombies(they killed 5) approaching below and Ghuls up above. They declined sacrificing a party member, instead hoping to outrun the Ghuls by pure speed. They quickly found themselves with about 300 ghuls chasing them down the mountainside!

The good Doctor was first to fail her stamina test, but she managed to hide while the other two led the ghuls further.

Eder was second to tire, but he didn't manage to hide from the ghuls in the relatively open ground. He was torn apart horribly, but his meaty bits distracted most of the Ghuls, leaving a mere 70 Ghuls chasing Franzisko.

Franzisko made it to Pepe's place and started a forest-fire and the two were soon fleeing side-by-side through the forest. Franzisko eventually managed to outrun the Ghuls and hide in a tree. Later that night 3 ghuls started climbing his tree, but he jumped to a different tree and outran them.

Dealing with the Outbreak

Franzisko got back to town in the morning, telling everyone they must leave, but not detailing why. The next day Agurtzane arrived, having walked halfway around the mountain. They convinced their families to leave, but the rest of the town was slower to listen.

They made their way to the big city, sold their treasures. Franzisko survived surgery to cut-off the areas effected by zombie bites. While there, they heard rumours of Equiule, that it burned down in a forest fire and that the survivors were apparently driven half-mad with hunger and are attacking travellers in that area.

Taking Stock

The party did pretty well, considering. The undead hordes were released but without a general to lead them in an organized conquest. Their hometown was destroyed, along with all their childhood friends, but they escaped with their families. They achieved their goal of finding riches, with only one party member killed and another cursed.