Dunder Moose, Dungeon Design, and Inspiration

Dunder Moose, Dungeon Design, and Inspiration

I follow very few TTRPG content creators both in terms of blogs and Youtube channels, but one of said few that I do follow (and you should too) is This is Dunder Moose, whose recent podcast episode on dungeon design with a variety of guests was a blast to listen to.

Aside from getting some insights in what makes a dungeon good, I understood the following - I am so goddamn incompetent and inexperienced. Yes, I've been playing GURPS for 10+ years and D&D for about the same time, and I feel confident with the ruleset. However, when you see Mr. Moose show a dungeon layout and the panel discussing it and pointing out the flaws, or when the host or viewer asks a question, and all the guests answering it in turn, I try to put myself in their place. What would I say if I were a guest on the panel there? I'd just go "uuuhh, huh-huh, what?" like Butt-Head. That's be a complete embarassment.

There really is a world of difference between somebody who's been playing for a relatively long time, but with a more-or-less fixed player group, and somebody who's been playing with different people and has been playing a lot. While I may point out some obscure-ass rule interactions and inconsistencies, I absolutely lack some of the fundamentals. This is something, I believe, you cannot improve in any way aside from just getting off your ass and running a game.

Thus, I think it's time for me to do exactly that - get off my ass and run a proper game. Surprisingly, I found two (!) TTRPG clubs in my city. I might check those places out and see if there is any interest in GURPS there. If not, I will run an online game via a VTT, but no earlier than December, but finding players may also be a problem - not only is this GURPS, but also with lots of houserules (like most GURPS games), and an inconvenient timezone. Well, doesn't hurt to try.

So yeah, my two points here are that you should check out Dunder Moose's channel regardless of what system you play/run, and that you should just play the game.

Integrated Creation Income

Integrated Creation Income

Permanent creation in GURPS is something that is often difficult and/or unsatisfying. Normally, matter created via Create advantage stays around for 10 seconds, and then you have to spend character points to stabilize it. In the majority of cases, these 10 seconds really aren't worth the points you spent on Create, which isn't that cheap of an advantage. I've already written up two "abilities" that would help with that - Permanency Points (based on Impulse Points) and Creation Income (based on Independent Income). However, I woke up in the middle of the night with a thought - "What if Creation Income was integrated into the Create advantage?" After all, you've already spent the points on Create, why is it required of you to spend more points?

How Does Detect Even Work?

How Does Detect Even Work?

So, I got into another rules argument (first with a friend, then with myself) that left me buttblasted and made me once again realize one of the flaws of GURPS - it's been made by multiple authors, like Freddy Krueger, the bastard son of 100 maniacs. My friend pointed to one of my Detect-based spell builds and said "What the hell is going on here? First it says that it detects every appropriate object nearby, but then  it says that a successful roll detects the nearest one." I already started typing up a response, saying "Eat sh-" but then I thought "Wait a second, he might be right. I better research the topic before telling him to kick rocks." Oh boy, I was expecting a mess, and my expectations were exceeded.

Wizardry: Complete Scoundrel Spells II

Wizardry: Complete Scoundrel Spells II

Evacuation Rune is a very complicated spell. At first, I wanted to skip this spell, but then decided that if you massage RAW a little bit, you can get something workable.

Fatal Flame makes a creature explode upon death.

Mimicry is basically the Mimicry advantage.

Scry Location is a variant of Scrying that is tied to a location instead of a creature. In addition, the sensor cannot move, and a failed casting makes it impossible to scry on anything within a mile for a day.

Siphon lets you drain charges of a magical item to replenish your own magical energies.

Spell Theft lets you steal an ongoing spell effect. Yeah, One Power, Spells, -50% is a bit off, but I don't care.

Wizardry: Complete Scoundrel Spells I

Wizardry: Complete Scoundrel Spells I

It really seems that the dice want me to complete the "Complete" series of books. Complete Scoundrel is next in the queue (with only Complete Champion left), and this one has a relatively short spell chapter, but an interesting one.

Animate Instrument makes an instrument play by itself.

Aquatic Escape is a spell that quickly transforms you into a small fish for a short time.

Assassin's Darkness is a spell that creates an area of darkness that you can see in normally.

Blockade creates a short-lived block of wood. Originally, this was a 5-by-5-by-5 feet cube, but I had to include an alternative hexagonal version to make it work better on combat maps in GURPS.

Catapult is a spell that I find interesting - it lets you throw an object/weapon using Innate Attack (Projectile) instead of the usual skill, and possibly with higher ST than you have.

Create Fetch is an interesting spell that is somewhat similar to Create Servant from GURPS Magic. And yes, the HP casting cost is intentional.

Enlarge Weapon increases a weapon's SM by one. Prepare to unzip those scaling rules.

Wizardry: Miscellaneous Spells IV

Wizardry: Miscellaneous Spells IV

I do have another book with spells in the queue, but before I go there, I have to add some miscellaneous spells.

Analyze Portal is a complex spell that really shouldn't be one. I had to stretch RAW a bit here to get the desired effect.

Detect Gems is a simple detection spell that detects gems. I need it because the gold dragon has it as an innate spell-like ability, and I see no reason for it not being a generic spell available to wizards.

Shape Metal is a metal version of Stone Shape.

Arena: Let's try out Expanded ANTOG

Arena: Let's try out Expanded ANTOG

Not that long ago, A New Take on Grappling from Pyramid #3-34 got expanded. Let's give it a run. For this example, I'll do something relatively simple - a one-on-one fight between a sumo wrestler (after all, the Grand Tournament is in two weeks or so) and an orc with a knife. I will be using the optional rule that deemphasizes ST outlined at the end of the document.

Sumotori

ST 14    HP 18      SM+0

DX 11   BS 5.5     thr/sw 1d/1d+2

HT 11   FP 11       BL 39 lbs.

             Basic Move 5

             Dodge: 8

             Parry: 10 (sumo wrestling)

Sumo Wrestling-14

Typical Grappling Contest Scores: Sumo Wrestling (ST/HP-based): 21/23.

Punch (11): thrust 1d-1 crushing, Reach C.

Kick (9): thrust 1d crushing, Reach C-1. Roll against DX on a miss or dodge to avoid falling down.

The sumotori is naked, and hence has +1 to Escape rolls.

In addition, he's wearing a mawashi (the belt) that counts as a good handhold if you manage to grab it. It probably should also give DR to the groin, but that probably won't come up.

Orc

ST 13    HP 13      SM+0

DX 12   BS 6     thr/sw 1d/1d+1

HT 12   FP 12       BL 34 lbs.

             Basic Move 6

             Dodge: 9

             Parry: 9 (knife); 10 (wrestling)

Knife-14; Wrestling-14

Typical Grappling Contest Scores: Wrestling (ST/HP-based): 20/20.

Large Knife swing (14): swing 1d-1 cutting, Reach C-1.

Large Knife thrust (14): thrust 1d impaling, Reach C.

Punch (12): thrust 1d-1 crushing, Reach C.

Kick (10): thrust 1d crushing, Reach C-1. Roll against DX on a miss or dodge to avoid falling down.

The orc is wearing regular clothing.