empire-of-thieves
The Empire of Thieves
D&D 5E maps, Midjourney art, & house rules
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USS Cygnus in Traveller
I have always been low-key obsessed with the USS Cygnus from the Disney movie "The Black Hole" and want to build it in Traveller using High Guard rules. But how big is it? After searching for a while, I found the above image on the web, the diagram accompanying a scale model. I guessed that the original paper was 11 inches high, a standard dimension for printed stuff in the U.S.. From there I figured out how many pixels 11 inches was and converted the rest of the image to meters.
The Cygnus is around 1,100 meters long, with the main hull 140 meters wide by 755 long. Assuming two decks, that means over 200,000 square meters. I'm thinking when all is said and done we're looking at 120,000 tons. A healthy ship! Now to map it out.
Speaking of Traveller, please look for my ongoing "Lost Ships" series on DriveThruRPG.
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New Traveller Adventure on DriveThru
I've jumped into publishing on DriveThruRPG.com this past six months, with over a dozen PDFs available for sale! Most recently I published Lost Ships #1: Laboratory Ship Salvage, an adventure for Traveller. I hope to publish a series of these adventures, all surrounding ships that for whatever reason have been lost. I have a million ideas!
I also hope to start making MODs for Fantasy Grounds for Traveller, but I am behind in my MOD-making for Savage Worlds and am feeling my interest in my current big project, Orange Hexagon, starting to wane and I want to stop my work on it at a good ending.
Check it out!
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AI vs. Artists
The rise of the AI art program has real artists freaking out. I agree with a lot of the arguments but not with some of them. Here's what I think:
Copyright is Copyright: No living artist's work should be included in the AI's reference library without their permission. Not an "opt out" thing, either.
Support Artists: OK, all things being equal we should always hire an artist rather than using an art resource. The problem is that we do not always have the budget for that. It's always been that way. I have books of stock art from the 1930s. How is AI art any different than finding royalty-free art on the internet? People disinclined to hire artists have always had other resources.
Brainstorming Tool: While the art coming out of Midjourney (for instance) blows me away, what I really appreciate about the medium is being able to concept an idea and see what it looks like, quickly. The image above was Midjourney's take on what my home city of Minneapolis would look like if painted by famous Mexican muralist Diego Rivera. I promise you, no one can or will hire a human artist just to imagine that.
The thing a real human artists brings to your project that an AI cannot is a sense of collaboration, a meeting of multiple imaginations. The result may not be as slick as an AI can do, but it will be a lot more human and real humans will respond to that rather than some cold, polished image that no human had a part of.
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Vow of the Black Gun
I'm working on a character idea for Traveler, a thief. I want this guy to have a philosophy that surrounds his larceny. I call it the Vow of the Black Gun.
The Vow stipulates that criminal enterprises, most specifically the services and equipment thieves use, not be sullied with honesty. If you buy (for example) a grappling hook in a store, that grappling hook must be considered tainted because it was purchased rather than stolen. Using the hook in a mission would be bad luck.
No equipment or service used in a crime can be purchased legally, borrowed from a civilian, rented, or accepted as a gift.
Exception 1: Equipment or services purchased from other criminals using stolen money. Similarly, if an accomplice has a dishonestly obtained item they can loan or give it to the character.
Exception 2: Items can be crafted by the character themselves but the tools and raw materials must have been dishonestly obtained.
Exception 3: Food and shelter must be obtained no matter what, obviously, but it's good luck to steal it and bad luck to buy it honestly.
So the Vow is more of a philosophy than a religion. When the thief breaks the Vow he thinks of it more like drawing bad luck onto the enterprise. Like someone avoiding the number 13 out of superstition. Same thing.
While mostly superstition, the Vow offers a practical side. Never walking into a store to buy something used in a crime creates a separation between the thief's public persona and their criminal one. Secondly, it encourages the thief to treat equipment as being disposable with no direct connection between item and person.
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The Empire of Thieves... Now on DM's Guild
Just wanted to mention my exciting new foray into the goldmine of DM's Guild products. Here's my first, Secrets of the Chessmaze! Only $1.99. It will also be on Fantasy Grounds if you want to get the map already formatted for that platform.
Who will survive the dreaded Chessmaze?
Introduction: Place this battle map in any campaign where a surreal landscape might be encountered. The map can be used without any special powers but look for some suggestions on magical effects that characters trigger when interacting with… the Chessmaze.
A plot-free battle map for characters of any level.
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Orange Hexagon catch-up
I switched jobs recently and was unable to finish my Fantasy Grounds module for Orange Hexagon: Evil Jug Band!, which is my most recent title. But now I finally uploaded it!
The adventure details a perilous tavern filled with scoundrels and subsonic behavior modification. Twenty-four NPCs make this a steal at $3.99 on DriveThruRPG and 399 points on Fantasy Grounds. You can find all of my Orange Hexagon titles on DriveThruRPG and Fantasy Grounds.
By the way, I'm trying to spend more time on the Unofficial Savage Worlds Discord server, so if you are on there hit me up!
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Mild Psychic Powers in Savage Worlds
So I'm blazing ahead with my Orange Hexagon campaign for Savage Worlds. It is ostensibly set in a close analog to our world, specifically Dust Bowl Oklahoma. However, I do want some psychic powers in it. Right now I feel like the regular powers are too much. It is basically an analog of their regular magic, which is itself unbalancingly powerful (based on a campaign I'm playing in which has a Legendary shaman who can whip anyone in the game) so I decided to tone it down.
Here's what I'm thinking:
Sixth Sense: +2 to Notice rolls to avoid surprise.
Mesmerist: +2 on Persuasion rolls when rerolling with a Bennie
Mind Reader: +2 on judge intent rolls when rerolling with a Bennie.
Illusionist: +2 on “slight of hand” rolls when rerolling with a Bennie
Clairvoyant: +2 on Notice rolls to sense what is going on in nearby rooms, behind closed doors, etc. when rerolling with a Bennie
Telekinetic: +2 on throwing (Athletics) rolls when rerolled with a bennie.
Pyrokinetic: +2 on Survival or other rolls to start fires.
Is this too weak to make anyone want to take it as an Edge? Maybe, but what if it was a stepping stone to "real" psychic powers? Once heroes arrive at this point where they are "slightly" psychic, they can continue their studies.
Also I was thinking of "gifting" one of these powers to a hero who suffers and survives major psychic trauma.
By the way, the art is made via Midjourney.
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Review: Goodman Games' Original Adventures Reincarnated
As an old gamer who cut his teeth in the '80s with the D&D sets, I have a tremendous amount of nostalgia for those classic B-and X-series adventures. That's why I was excited to discover Goodman Games' Original Adventures Reincarnated series. It consists of 6 classic adventures that get a full treatment -- not only a reprint of the classic adventure, but a 5E remake and tons of extras like interviews with the original designers and expanded dungeons with all-new encounter areas. They call it a"Fifth edition conversion and classic homage" and it checks out.
My favorite so far is #4, The Lost City. As I mentioned in the past, the module's signature underground city was a huge influence on my Empire of Thieves campaign. In Goodman Games' revival, large amounts of new material have been offered, including a more complete description of the cult's influence on the city's society and expanded coverage of the city's goblin neighbors. They describe an empty dungeon that had been left by the original designer Tom Moldvay for dungeon masters to fill out.
I do want to ding Goodman Games for a couple of things. First, I don't know what the licensing and profit realities are, but I found the printing of the interior pages a little cheap. Most of the pages are 1-color, with color plates from the original module and classic blue maps. The various books have ribbon placemarks but I would have rather found a different value-add.
That said, I really like the books and hope to own all of them. These books are huge! The one I'm describing has over 300 pages and is hardcover bound. With all the extras, you really get a lot of value of out of them. If you are a fan of classic adventures, they are a must-have.
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Starbuck Avenger, Good at a Bunch of Stuff
I wanted to rap about my post-apocalyptic super character, Starbuck Avenger, who I have been playing for almost 2 years twice a month. The campaign is a Savage Worlds Adventure Edition (SWADE) post-apocalyptic setting in rural Missouri along the Mississippi River. He's got 34 advances so he's an absurd level of Legendary.
Attributes: Agility d12, Smarts d12, Spirit d6, Strength d10, Vigor d12
Skills: Boating d8, Electronics d8, Fighting d12, Notice d12+1, Persuasion d6, Repair d12+2, Shooting d12, Stealth d10, Survival d8 (among others)
Edges: Dodge, Jack-of-all-Trades, MacGyver, Mechanically Inclined, Quick, Rapid Fire, Scrounger, Steady Hands, Weapon Master
Hindrances: Loyal, Vengeful
Pace 6, Parry 9, Toughness 8 (12 with armor!)
Starbuck is first and foremost a weaponsmith, having forged his own armor (+4) as well as his greataxe ("Excalibur", +1 to hit and damage, AP 2, no penalty to Parry) among other projects.
His favorite toy is a Blaster Rifle that he successfully hacked, and he recently used it in a fight against mounted bandits, taking down 8 bandits and 6 horses.
His side project is a speedboat, Avenger-1. It has a best quality large outboard motor, a ham radio, and a trolling motor that he modified to be extra stealthy. He has a vehicle workshop in an old gardening shed. There are a couple of busted jet skis, a big lawnmower, a golf cart, and a few other projects.
Starbuck is the party's backup Face, and with a d6 Persuasion he's barely competent at it. However, he's twice used Jack-of-All-Trades to learn a language really fast. He's also tough enough to work "first contact" without backup.
Finally, I really like the Midjourney-created picture of Starbuck, other than the mangled hand. It really evokes the feel of the guy.
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Monteriggioni, Perfect D&D Town
I love this walled Italian town. Called Monteriggioni, it looks it has over a dozen towers and three dozen buildings, and was even mentioned in Dante's Divine Comedy. When I see this town through a D&D lens I wonder how many people could have actually lived there vs. how many people it took to defend. Maybe it was one of those situations where the peasants could find protection within the walls when the region was under attack.
Assuming three shifts of two guards per tower, and assuming 17 towers at its peak, we're looking at 100 guards just for the towers alone... seems like a lot. And another issue from a D&D perspective... how to stop flying creatures from attacking? If all of those guards had longbows or heavy crossbows (or ballistae!) they might be able to protect the town from manticores or something, but a dragon? Forget it.
That said, I think it would be a fun town to convert to D&D for use as a minor outlying town...l
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Orange Hexagon: The Bunker Now Published!
My first title on DriveThruRPG and Fantasy Grounds Forge! It's a one-shot for Savage Worlds Adventure Edition. I charge $2.99 per version.
The dust and despair that cloaked the Oklahoma Panhandle in the 1930s served not only to rebuke humanity for our arrogance but also gave ordinary criminals an excellent cover in which to operate. Case in point, the four ordinary thugs who came across a certain bunker out in the wasteland, marked only with a years-old peeling sign depicting an orange hexagon.
The bunker was armored in steel plates, but the door opened on its own to accept visitors. Soon the criminals learned that the bunker somehow tested visitors, passing judgement on them with terrible mental shocks, and trapping them inside until they solved the puzzle.
The criminals hunkered down to wait in ambush for the next set of visitors... the PCs!
I'm excited to post more stuff of my own!
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6 L5 PCs vs. a CR9 Demon
In the Empire of Thieves, the PCs are continuing to clear the Xeg Citadel of enemies. However, they ran up against a demon on level 6 -- a Glabrezu.
I chose this demon because I had 4 PCs and 2 NPCs, all 5th level, and this aligned with Xanathar's CR table. In fact, it said I should select a CR9 baddie for them to go up against.
I played this guy really smart -- he kept Darkness spells going, nullifying sneak attacks and advantage. He used Power Word Stun and Confusion effectively. His magic resistance and Dispel Magic at will makes him hard to combat with spells.
In the end the demon won. There were 2 L5 Rogues (wood elf Thief and kenku Arcane Trickster), a triton L5 Druid, a human L5 War Cleric, and a human L5 Drunken Master monk. There was also a triton L1 Fighter/L4 Rogue/Swashbuckler, who was killed.
So even though the PCs lost, I feel that this was a good test of the CR system. The PCs were disorganized, had no strategy, and attacked piecemeal. The rogues would disengage and leave people to get all four of the demon's attacks. The cleric used all of her spell slots to heal rather than fight. The Druid got lit up in bear form and reverted back to triton form, and then turned into a spider to escape the melee. Bye bye shape change power.
One fun aspect of the fight was that there was an exchange of magic items. The wood elf thief grabbed the demon's Ioun Stone of Fortitude (+2 con) but later on, the demon snatched the dead PC's Ring of Spell Storing. But that isn't his only magic item. He has a Belt of Dwarvenkind, a Ring of Radiant Resistance, a Brooch of Shielding, and a Wand of Paralysis. He also has some potions and scrolls.
So next fight will be a little different!
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Map of Manhattan Circa 1662
This map (via MapPorn) really looks like a medieval village, protected by walls and a little star fort. Who knew that little town would grow into one of the greatest cities on earth? This map was drawn from historical sources in the 1940s -- maybe that's why it has kind of a modern feel?
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Interrupting a Long Rest
I got to cross off a bucket list item last night while DMing the Empire of Thieves. The party had beaten a group of specters and a wraith and decided to bunk down in the dungeon for a long rest, blocking the door with a piece of furniture. The phase spiders popped in and bit some folks. The druid got hammered and turned into a spider to escape the melee, and the others scrambled to safety with spiders harassing them.
The dungeon is a free-standing 8-story tower, 60x60, surrounded by a moat filled with swarms of quippers. They have not yet figured out how to lower the drawbridge, so the only escape is to make a DC15 Acrobatics roll to worm through an arrow slit. The triton druid had a head start on the others and was able to swim across the moat in a single round without the quippers even noticing.
The wood elf rogue got bitten twice by quipper swarms as he swam to safety. The triton fighter-rogue rolled a 1 on his "splashless" dive attempt and nearly hit a floating body, but was able to avoid harm with a Dexterity save and swam across the moat. The kenku rogue was the last to escape, and was avoiding phase spider hits as he clung to the rope outside the tower before swimming to safety.
It was so great! Not only was there a panicked scramble, everyone was covered in wounds -- including the fighter/rogue who had 26 points of energy drain damage from the specter fight already. The long rest is one of those conventions that is absolutely vital for fun gameplay but also is fun to subvert once in a while.
Don't take a long rest around phase spiders!
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AI-Generated Street Maps
Midjourney is kicking all kinds of ass for making real-seeming street maps. Take this set of maps, keywords street map of a dystopian dustbowl town in 1937. It's for my upcoming Orange Hexagon campaign for Savage Worlds Adventure Edition on Fantasy Grounds.
Right now, the tech makes it look 90% good, but once you delve in deeper and look closely, it all falls apart. The street names are nonsense. The backfill patterns are odd... like captures from historical maps, which I guess checks out.
The past year we've seen a radical improvement in the performance of AI art and writing. I expect those nonsense labels and street names to start making sense sooner or later.
AI-generated quickie maps are great for one-shot adventures but I also see how artists get upset over the seeming appropriation of their work. More to the point, they fear that their work will be devalued. If it takes 5 hours of work for a human to make a map but an AI can do it in 30 seconds, that human artist is toast.
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The Final Citadel
The party is puzzling how to get into Xeg Citadel. This is the central fortress protecting Xeg Village, but hasn't been occupied in 15 years. It is a magically protected Dwarven fortress placed in the middle of a moat stocked with quippers.
The drawbridge is up, and can only be controlled by a magical orb. The Orb of the Citadel grants complete control over the citadel and its defenses. However, it is tied to the fortress and if it ever leaves for more than 48 hours, it teleports back to the chapel.
Which is what happened 15 years ago. A force of around five dozen men departed to fight the Dark Council and were obliterated.
Only problem is, how do you get in to get that all-important orb? The walls are DC16 and much higher than 150 feet. There are 2 arrow slits per wall per level, but they are covered in Dwarven steel shutters and are quite narrow besides.
The party has little choice but to climb the tower or use magic. The top of the tower is a dome with a trebuchet on it, able to command the entire cavern. There are also gargoyles, which were part of the citadel's original defenses, as well as cockatrices, which are new! I'm hoping then send a scout up ahead to secure the top, because that means they will likely get routed and may even plummet down to the quipper pool!
The 8th floor is guarded by a iron golem, which also rotates and tensions the trebuchet. The 7th floor is the Lord's suite, and is guarded by a minotaur skeleton that has a magical maul that does an extra 1d6 poison damage per hit. The 6th floor is a study and chapel. The 5th floor are bedrooms. The northernmost bedroom had a shutter left open, and phase spiders have infested the level. The 4th floor is fighting practice and guard quarters, and is protected by flying swords and animated armor. The bottom 3 floors are guarded by specters and a wraith, the remnants of the servants abandoned inside the citadel and unable to get out.
The party needs to figure out how to mobilize their entire force rather than approach the tower piecemeal. If one rogue climbs up the side, he stands a good chance of getting slaughtered. But how do you get your cleric in splint up the wall? What about the sorcerer's NPC bodyguard?
What I think will happen is that the druid will turn into a giant spider and simply climb the wall, with one or two of the tougher folks following along either by climbing or with the help of magic.
Anywho, when this dungeon is conquered, I'm taking a break from DMing and I am ready! It's been 1-2 times a month for around 2 years.
#dungeons and dragons#dnd campaign#underdark#d&d 5e homebrew#dnd5e#mapping#battle map#d&d campaign#d&d homebrew#d&d 5th edition#d&d 5e
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The Ammo of 1937
I am delving into real-world guns for my upcoming Savage Worlds campaign. It's gonna be "Cthulhu Dust Bowl" in theme.
I want PCs to be entranced by a wide range of interesting guns. It turns out there are a million kinds of obscure calibers that you can buy. I downloaded some 1930s ammo catalogs and was blown away by the sheer variety of it. Not only are there all the different calibers, but also rimmed ammo for revolvers and ACP ammo for automatics. You have different types of bullet shapes and constructions. And on top of that, you have competing brands of the exact same bullet -- for instance, buying Colt ammo to go with your Colt revolver.
Obviously I need to make some RPG-focused concessions. There may not be any real difference between a Colt New Service and a Colt Lightning. They're both double-action .45s! I want to meticulously research but also be ready to pare down to only the classics.
I went with the above list. Small cheap automatics and revolvers -- the sorts used by criminals -- run .32 or smaller. Incidentally, for a long time before World War II, the .32 was seen as the ideal cop round because it didn't shoot through walls and hit bystanders. Of course there are .38s and .45s. But what about .44? The original .44 Special was not a widespread success but it became a quiet hit with firearms customizers culminating in the 50s with the .44 Magnum.
9mms are rare in 1937 Dust Bowl Oklahoma. However, a few Lugers are floating around and some wildcatters have modified 1911s and other automatics for this new round.
This is still the era of the cowboy gun, and pistol/rifle hybrid cartridges like the 32-20 and 44-40 were still a thing, useful because cowboys' Winchesters could fire the same rounds as their revolvers.
Finally, the big guns: .30-30 and .30/06, rifle cartridges are the next best thing to elephant guns. The thirty-thirty gets used in a bunch of carbines and rifles, and it even gets wildcatted into revolvers with performance comparable to .357 Magnums. The latter round was invented in 1930 so would hypothetically be available but wasn't in any of the catalogs I looked at.
Importantish calibers like .30 Mauser, .40 S&W, and .38-40 were left out as being too similar to certain others. Or maybe I'll add them later!
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