Pie to the face?

Players were asking about different improvised weapons, and the question came up: what about a pie to the face?

Wastelanders Reckon Time By The Loglow

We skipped the regularly scheduled game this month, due to a random smattering of real-world demands and responsibilities. Rather than the usual synopsis, I thought I would share some thoughts about timekeeping in my world, After The End.

City Stats: The Valley

I’ve been fiddling around with GURPS City Stats and GURPS Mass Combat a bit, trying to get some solid stats around the valley where the action has been taking place, and the forces available to the Mayor. If nothing else, I figure I can get an idea of how many people are guarding that big bridge to the north.

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Gamma World Confessions

I mentioned that we’re heading in to a campaign that’s loosely rooted in the classic Gamma World, so I feel like I should confess: I’m pretty sure I’ve only played a few hours of the game, once, decades ago.

Sarge Gets Paid! (Or, how the ground rules change the product)

We’ve had Sarge’s second session, finished the quest, and made it home safe with all the loot… without having to carry that improvised loot sack very far at all. We scrounged up a wheelbarrow. The bard turned the disposable loot into coin, we shared it out without much trouble, and Sarge went shopping.

There is no quest that pays off like the first quest. Looking at it one way, we didn’t make all that much in absolute dollars, but the difference it’s made in Sarge’s kit is remarkable. But what got me thinking is exactly what kind of difference it made.

Ditch the Stash!

It wasn’t always so, but these days, my players display a strong aversion to encumbrance. Orvynth, the party’s new Knight, is riding the breakpoint: with their backpack, they’re at Light, but without it, they’re unencumbered. The plan, I’m told, is to leave the backpack behind when it’s time for action. Last session, before they entered the nordalf warren, they left the extra gear behind. But I wonder, what would happen if the party gets ambushed on the trail? (Not that that would ever happen, of course… [innocent look] but one wonders.)

On the other side, Orvynth’s player has started a Dungeon Fantasy game, using the classic PDFs rather than the DFRPG rules. Coincidentally, I’m playing a Knight in a party of, shall we say, more cerebral sorts. Being the big guy, I got volunteered to carry the loot. At this moment, we’re between sessions, and Sarge is hauling a tent that we’ve repurposed into a big loot bag. He has it thrown over his left shoulder, gripping it with his left hand, with his dueling halberd in his right. We’ve already survived one ambush – that’s where we got the loot. What happens if there’s another one? How quickly can Sarge get up to fighting speed?

As is my usual way with GURPS, I find that there’s my immediate, knee-jerk answer, and then there’s the little details that make all the difference…

Idle Thoughts

A couple of follow-ups to recent post…

How Forced Is This March, Anyway?

Now that our heroes are going to be getting down to the real wilderness adventure, I’ve started taking a closer look at how much ground they’ll be able to cover.

They’re lucky enough to be heading out towards the end of summer, so there’s no shortage of daylight. At this time of year in Nordlond, they have about 14 hours to work with. For now, at least. If they take more than a couple of weeks to finish their quest, they’ll start to see the days getting shorter.

This group has two outdoorsy types with points in Survival, Blixa and Slingshot, so according to GURPS Dungeon Fantasy 16: Wilderness Adventures (page 23), they should be able to travel for 12 hours a day. Without at least one of the two, that would drop steeply as they lose time to disorganization.

However, Blaadao is not the most vigorous elf, and has Extra Sleep 1. Ordinarily, given the “one hour adventuring day” of most campaigns, I wouldn’t even allow it. But in this campaign, I’ve declared an intention to have more adventures outdoors. This is where he earns those two points. Either the group hangs around every morning, burning daylight and not getting closer to their goal, or they start out the day with their wizard short on sleep.

I’m curious to hear which strategy they choose…

 

This Ain’t No Hayride

When the party started planning their big wilderness adventure, they immediately obtained a wagon. I’m sure the whole group envisioned something like a Conestoga wagon or something in the style of “Little House on the Prairie“. One of the players even asked if it came with a cover. (Happily, I had the historical presence of mind to say no.) I believe there was even a bit of jockeying for a good spot riding on the wagon, rather than walking.

Upon reflection, and with a bit of casual historical research: not so much.

In Hindsight: Undead

Last session had a whole lot o’ undead. For the most part, the party handled them through Turning. Once again, The Kid, a nymph bard, was faced with things that are unwilling to negotiate. This has me fretful on a couple of fronts.