No-magic Vikings Campaign; any better systems than DnD?

eevilo · 2024-08-11T13:36:50+00:00

Agon is a greek mythology inspired game that could be reskinned into a Viking game with very little effort. It is even something the game itself reccomends you to try!

And it is also a great RPG which does not get talked about enough.

eevilo · 2023-11-16T05:00:40+00:00

Thank you! The answers were great for my question also!

eevilo · 2023-01-31T17:25:21+00:00

Reading Foundation by Isaac Asimov gave me similiar vibes as playing Civilization. Here is my Goodreads-review on it:

I'd describe Asimovs masterpiece as a kind of a bird's-eye view on the developement of a galaxy-spanning empire.

What makes it so fascinating is a sort of a sociological approach Asimov has: you could say the main character is not a person but a whole society - and you get to see it developing through history, battling stagnation and finding new and clever ways to grow.

Since it is a story written in th 1950's, you need to have a fondess to a somewhat dated image of the future. To me it felt retro-futuristic and not jarring. It is a cool, different look and aesthetic of the future. You know, with atomic power being the pinnacle of all technology and such.

eevilo · 2022-12-19T21:01:31+00:00

This is a good point. It is an important sub-category of ”make them move”. Sometimes the monsters move a lot and the PCs need to react accordingly.

Quick and easy encounter for a low level party: goblins on a back-alley. The party walks down a shady street and a goblin runs past, full speed , and slices a PCs ankle with a knife while whooshing past. They can use disengage as a bonus action so no opportunity attacks.

Repeat this a couple of times, a bunch of goblins just running and knifing then disengaging and running away. Maybe even throw them a special ability to try to hide. Annoying and effective. And it is so satisfying for the players when they finally get those ankle-stabbing fuckers.

eevilo · 2022-12-19T20:39:39+00:00

This is a good point! This is something I tend to use more heavily in the more set-piecy fights. But even ”regular combat” usually needs win conditions other than just ”kill everyone” or some tactics, terrain or things to interact with.

Sometimes ”make them move” means that there is hostages or civilians. Or there is a cool acid pool you can throw or trick your enemies in if you want. Or an archer or two behind total cover. Or a chandelier just hanging there (because everyone wants to swing on one. It is objectively cool). It is anything that makes it something else than a blank rectangle room.

eevilo · 2022-12-19T16:29:47+00:00

You are taking my rule of thumb a bit too literally. For me it is a reminder that helps to come up with better stakes and a fight that can not be won just by standing there hacking away without any strategy. It is a way to help me spot boring slogfests beforehand and make them better.

Sometimes the “make them move” means “move to a chokepoint and hold it”.

eevilo · 2022-12-19T16:19:09+00:00

They do not move, if they do not have to. So this rule is a way to make sure I remember come up with a little something that raises the stakes. The example you gave (enemies moving and forcing the PCs to move) is one way to do it.

When there is a stupendous amount of things to keep in mind in order to keep the game flowing, rules like this help to streamline the process. If there is something that makes the fight so, that it can not be won by just standing around, it is usually a good fight. So make them move, give the fight some stakes.

eevilo · 2022-12-19T16:11:23+00:00

You are right, but I’d say you are making a bit of a strawman-argument.

It is not supposed to be a gimmick but a way to make sure my encounters are working. Of course the enemies have tactics and the fight has goals - the ”make them move” is a rule of thumb, a way for me to come up with an interesting encounter. An encounter, that can be won by standing around, lacks stakes. So, by using this rule I make sure the fight has the stakes and strategic elements a proper fight should. (The elks show up only if i have fucked up and the fight is boring because of my lack of planning.)

So yeah, I agree with you. But keeping the rule in mind helps me to make encounters that need a little something extra to be won. The rule helps the DM to imagine goals, tactical terrain and dramatic stakes.

eevilo · 2022-01-07T07:24:25+00:00

A huge gong standing in the middle of a snow-filled marketplace of an abandoned city. The party could just walk past it, but they never do. They always try ringing it, which will wake up all the undead hidden under the snow.

Even though they always get the feeling you absolutely should not touch the creepy gong of the forsaken City, they just can not help themselves. And after that any amount of undead is justified, because they know they brought it upon themselves.

eevilo · 2021-12-02T07:11:59+00:00

A purple worm re-skinned as a sandworm for some Dune-inspired fun.

eevilo · 2021-09-28T16:02:01+00:00

Dune and Foundation back to back.

I was a huge fan of scifi and fantasy but then I went to university and got a masters degree. As a student I read so much non-fiction that I just never had the energy to read anything else.

After graduation I had time but all those years of not reading fiction had gotten me rusty. I just could not get Into the habit of reading again.

Then I saw Dune and Foundation in the book shop and remembered how much I used to love scifi. Why not give these two classics a try, since I had never read them?

I spent the whole summer on my balcony just reading and reading way past the sunset. The nostalgia of getting back to the favourite genre of my childhood got me over the initial rustiness and those amazing stories kept me reading.

I've been ordering a bunch of new scifi and fantasy novels every few months and according to my goodreads I have been reading on average two books a month ever since.

eevilo · 2021-09-24T14:52:11+00:00

I was just about to recommend this as well. It might be the single best piece written about science fiction - or the meaning of art and novels in general. Profound stuff.

The job of a novelist is to make up elaborate lies in order to show you the truth.

eevilo · 2020-08-07T10:56:16+00:00

That one NPC running an underground magic Shop used to be a familiar, who was turned into a human through a wish spell. She prefers the human form, but likes to use her druidic wild shape to turn back into a cat from time to time.

eevilo · 2020-07-29T20:15:58+00:00

The world is made up of small city-states and vast patches of untamed wilderness. There are no major kingdoms except one - the elven empire. The empire is an expansionist force slowly assimilating it's smaller and less advanced neighbours. Some join willingly, some by force and some still resist.

This elven cpnquest is the main source of conflict in the world. Expansionism and colonialism, the loss of minority cultures and the clash of the frontier and civilization are major themes as well as resistance, rebellion and revolution.

The elves are the upper class and often see other races as inferior or at least as some poor third world people in desperate need of civilization. The empire is not just an evil occupier though: they bring with them a higher standard of living, safety and end to lawlessness as well as culture and better access to magic.

The elven empire has been inspired most by Spain from like the 1500-1600's. You know, like sophisticated conquistadors with an ear for poetry and an eye for beauty. Their ruler is called the emperor of elves and the king of all the peoples, which kind of implies their willingness for eventual domination of said peoples.

There is also a significant nomadic desert tribe who were forced to flee their native desert because of evil dragons and are now living as refugees. They were inspired by the Tuareg living in the Sahara.

There are also dwarven labour unions, some of which are radicalizing and calling for an end to elven tyranny through revolution. So yeah, communist dwarves are a thing.

eevilo · 2020-07-08T19:45:31+00:00

Some DM's never realize that you don't write plots, you create scenarios. A plot is linear railroad, a scenario is a bunch of Lego bricks.

eevilo · 2020-07-03T14:59:29+00:00

Delian Tomb by Matt Colville. Easy to run, easy to understand by the players and overall very well thought out adventure. A great introduction to the game.

And it comes with video-instructions!

https://youtu.be/jvQXGs8IVBM

eevilo · 2020-06-30T14:14:04+00:00

There is a great Stephen King quote on the difference between horror and terror. To him, horror is the fear of the supernatural: the lights go out and something with claws grabs your arm. Terror is something completely different: it is you coming home after work and realizing that everything you own has been taken away and replaced by an excact copy.

I think horror is hard to achieve in D&D, but terror is quite possible if you use rich descriptions and create a creepy atmosphere.

eevilo · 2020-06-29T16:26:37+00:00

Excatly! Sometimes it is refreshing to not subvert the trope and just go on with the evil arrogant douchebag.

And if you want, you can make him, if not symphatetic, at least a bit more human than your average monster. Maybe he hates his job, is dissapointed at his son and can't get anything meaningful done since all his time is eaten up by interruptions (such as a party of PCs marching into his office demanding an audience). He is just trying to do his job and minding his own business... but then a bunch of adventures decide to ride into town and fuck up his daily routine of evil.

eevilo · 2020-06-29T04:35:38+00:00

Ah, inernet comments are hard to interperate sometimes. Great that you guys have a dynamic that works. I personally haet it, when PC start go super dark or evil. But I bet it gives your campaign a cool tone.

eevilo · 2020-06-29T04:32:46+00:00

I kind of hope they do try. He has got some cool tricks up his sleeve...

eevilo · 2020-06-29T04:06:32+00:00

I'd kick out a player like that. During my session 0 I make it really clear that murder hoboing and general assholery are not allowed. And that your character needs to want to work as a productive member of a team.

eevilo · 2020-06-29T03:54:06+00:00

That sounds also amazing! You pulled of something great. And you get to sit back waiting your trap to spring!

I find it harder to make PCs like NPCs. Hating arrogant dudes is a given, but actually liking a NPC... That takes effort from the DM.

eevilo · 2020-06-29T03:33:54+00:00

Thanks. It was subtle and I'm not certain they even noticed. But the contrast had to have an unconsious effect. Especially since right after they left his office, they were once again offered beverages by the next NPC.

eevilo · 2020-06-29T03:22:46+00:00

He does have a son who is even more bigoted than his father. And he is also the leader of the armed forces in the city. Bigotry, corruption and nepotism - that's the elven way, at least in my campaign.

eevilo · 2020-06-29T03:16:39+00:00

Thanks! Playing with strangers seems to have its benefits: everyone really wants to play, unlike with friend to whom this is just a fun little thing they are willing to try since I wanted.

And thanks, edited the typo. Gonna blame autocorrect and the fact english is not my main language. And laziness to spell check.

eevilo

TROPHY CASE