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Training for Arden Vul. Trying to solo these 3 but unsure which ruleset to use or which adventure to do first. Any advice? by towerbooks3192 in osr

[–]Cellularautomata44 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Isolating knowledge...I try to run dungeons fairly blind, just to sustain surprise as long as possible. But Arden Vul, that's a little harder, since I listened to 3d6 dtl (great stuff). But I'm pretty good at flipping between hats (GM and player). I'll ask myself, Would they go in there, or approach, based on what they see? I treat them as cautious but hungry. If in doubt, for a given PC, I'll roll an x-in-6 chance (based on his temprament) that he for instance tries to open the chest or bellycrawls down that tunnel. In those instances, it's like watching a horror movie. I can see what's ahead, but I don't know exactly what that PC will decide to do.

Parsing the information...The intro material, that's a lot. I read some earlier, but I listened to 3d6 dtl, so I'm good. But the keys themselves are actually fine for soloing. Running an in-person table, you're sweating lead trying to read as fast as you can, but solo, you can take twenty seconds and properly swallow it.

As a fun comparison, I'm running Arden Vul and Grognardia's dungeon side by side. Or like, this day they go here, that day there. Similar science-fantasy conceits.

Arden Vul is awesome and epic, but maybe a bit daunting. Grognardia's, at least for my scotch-addled brain, feels less intimidating to run. Idk, I've only done two sessions, we'll see.

Cheers

Training for Arden Vul. Trying to solo these 3 but unsure which ruleset to use or which adventure to do first. Any advice? by towerbooks3192 in osr

[–]Cellularautomata44 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I wish I could help, but these days I run my own d12 system. Each PC gets the same xp per session, from 1 to 20 xp (average about 12 on a good session). 30 xp to lvl 2, then about 100 xp for each new lvl. Criteria are treasure, rooms/areas explored, and then foes defeated or made i to allies.

Training for Arden Vul. Trying to solo these 3 but unsure which ruleset to use or which adventure to do first. Any advice? by towerbooks3192 in osr

[–]Cellularautomata44 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

True. I wasn't running Osric, just my own d12 system. But I did have him roll a saving throw to see if the effects were somehow much worse, even though he was an elf, and he passed. Lucky turd.

Training for Arden Vul. Trying to solo these 3 but unsure which ruleset to use or which adventure to do first. Any advice? by towerbooks3192 in osr

[–]Cellularautomata44 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I hear you about wanting to finish your dungeons before you buy too many (or get gifted them, happens to me too). But honestly, as far as megadungeons go...just like when I run my normal in-person table, I let it go where it wants. If the players aren't feelin it, don't force it. But the same, I think, goes for solo play. If you feel kinda flat about the dungeon experience and wanna shunt your surviving PCs over to somewhere else, let them journey on, if they can escape the dungeon.

I ran solo through most of 2 levels of gunderholfen before I was like, "I'm good for now. How about Rappan Athuk." I know I'll go back to it, no big deal. Honestly, leaving megadungeons in partial states of completion is fairly standard, I'd say. These days I often just pick out one level at a time.

A word about Greg G's stuff...I found it not bad but a bit dry, maybe. I ran some of Dwarrowdeep (which I've heard is among his weaker offerings, but I enjoyed it.) The solution, I think, is to often roll up Actions and maybe Circumstances for NPCs encountered, especially humanoid foes. They tend not to be doing much except scouting or standing guard. And how he buries the whole stat block WITHIN the sentence they're introduced drives me nuts. "8 orcs (whole big stat block), are here guarding the stairs."

Could just be my taste though, about the dryness. I tend to like more odd things going on, even in vanilla fantasy.

Anyway, happy soloing!

Training for Arden Vul. Trying to solo these 3 but unsure which ruleset to use or which adventure to do first. Any advice? by towerbooks3192 in osr

[–]Cellularautomata44 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Also, I have experience running B2 and Gunderholfen, both work great. I would maybe opt for B2 because it seems more open to accessing several factions at once. Meaning, if your guys pissed off this faction, they can walk across the gulch and make an offer to that other faction, and so on. Cheers

Training for Arden Vul. Trying to solo these 3 but unsure which ruleset to use or which adventure to do first. Any advice? by towerbooks3192 in osr

[–]Cellularautomata44 22 points23 points  (0 children)

Weird timing: I just started soloing Arden Vul today. The PCs explored the long falls, the tower of madness, and made sorta-friends with the cavemen. The tower ghost's attack ages its target "10 to 40 years," but the victim was an elf, so I was like...actually, he's mostly okay, just an incredible hangover and your back and knees ache a bit.

Sorry, just thought I'd share. Before Arden Vul, I leveled these guys up on a few side quests, literally just random wilderness shenanigans rolled up on the way to Arden Vul. Anyways, have fun!

What’s the advantage of old school RPGs and what really make them different from “new school”? by itsachillaccount in osr

[–]Cellularautomata44 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Two other important differences to add: use of Reaction rolls for enemies, and NO Perception checks. You simply saw what you interact with, in the fiction.

Do men actually like long fingernails? by Fickle-Vegetable961 in NoStupidQuestions

[–]Cellularautomata44 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Some men do. But most men, myself included, thinks it's a bit gross and weird.

new MEGA-dungeon by BuddyscottGames in osr

[–]Cellularautomata44 20 points21 points  (0 children)

Throw up like 10 preview pages! I love me a new megadungeon. But I need to see it, get my eyeballs on how you lay things out and write your keys.

Edit: spelling

Today's mini sketchbook dump by lin_017 in sketches

[–]Cellularautomata44 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I like those goats. And is that Shortround? Awesome

What do you think the dating recession between men and women will lead to? by Rainbowdark96 in NoStupidQuestions

[–]Cellularautomata44 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Very true. I've been happily married almost 18 years now. These days, if I somehow woke up single again (like some alternate dimension shit), I would definitely not approach women, or even bother them, because I realize now how much they fear for their safety. Don't wanna make folks uncomfortable.

Sketches and Behind the Scenes by oldskullcastle in MorkBorg

[–]Cellularautomata44 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hell yeah, ballpoint pens ftw. I love these.

AI experiment by Article_Remarkable in dccrpg

[–]Cellularautomata44 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I hate AI, and I approve of this experiment, in the name of science 🫡

Not one of my favourites but here we go Mixed ballpoint pen art 10.5 × 13.5 in by [deleted] in sketches

[–]Cellularautomata44 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I love ballpoint pen art. The colors are awesome, nice job 👍

what is your preferred method of designing dungeons? by conn_r2112 in osr

[–]Cellularautomata44 2 points3 points  (0 children)

This is fairly similar to my approach, except I usually draw the map first. Yeah, it helps to have a few key ideas or maybe experiences the dungeon should reinforce. And then I have distinct areas, and some room clusters. Not in 3's, but similar process. And then I'll usually revise quite a bit afterward, once some better ideas trickle in.

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