Make Better Encounter Tables

Pokemon is 30 years old this week! It's also probably the 28th or 27th anniversary of a girl in my class giving me a Valentine's card that said "you're cool even though you talk about Pokemon all the time." 

But you know what isn't cool? Bad encounter tables! And Pokemon is loaded with them. I'm not going to wade into whether or not Pokemon is or isn't OSR - but both of these posts made think about a specific area that Pokemon has been lacking in for most of its existence. 

Let's take a look at the encounter table for Route 1, the very first place a new player would step into the tall grass and encounter a wild Pokemon.

Birds and rats. Okay, we're keeping it light as we ease you into the game. Let's check our next route:

A new type of rat. And another bird. We don't encounter a wild bug Pokemon until our third route! And that's still still less likely than running into one of those rats or birds you've already seen.

Things don't really heat up until Virdian Forrest where you encounter an evolved Pokemon for the first time (Medapod/Kakuna) and a maze full of bug catching weirdos who want to impede your progress. 

Lack of encounter variety is simply boring. There's only so many times you can throw your Bulbasaur or Rattata against hardening Kakuna before you wished you could simply fumigate Viridian Forrest. This is why (almost) every cave environment in Gen 1 is an absolute slog. It's just Zubat after Zubat (unless it's Digletts.)

But do these tables tell us something about the world?

So the first thing that stands out there is the presence of Pikachu, everybody's favorite little guy. But the next thing that leaps out to me is the lack of Rattata, Nidoran, Pidgey and Spearow. Surely they would be at home in a place like Virdian Forest? 

Unless an invasive colony of Pikachu's forced them out.

Pokemon distribution in Gen 1 (and 2 and 3 and...) has often been a sore point for fans. There's a reason so many Pokemon hacks take a crack at adding some variety or logic to where Pokemon are placed on the map. Just taking a look at what Routes have what Pokemon really makes you wonder both

A) Why some of them are only found in one (or very few) places

B) Why some of them are everywhere 

C) Why certain Pokemon are encountered later instead of earlier

It totally makes sense from a game design perspective why you'd place Paras, Jigglypuff, Clefairy and Jigglypuff after Brock: they all have abilities that would make that first gym battle incredibly easy for the dim bulbs who picked Charmander. But Ekans? C'mon. I should've been able to catch a snake as soon as I got my Pokeballs. 

I won't harp on this because I could totally fall down a rabbit hole of micro obsessing over Pokemon ecology and the implied state of Kanto into Generation 1...so let's just look at some lessons we can learn from Pokemon's handling of encounter tables for our own tabletop gaming:

1. Encounter tables should be diverse: If you're making a d10 encounter table and 3 of the options are the exact same thing, you done goofed. 

2. Encounter types should be varied: in 30 years the only thing we can do with Pokemon when we encounter them is run away or battle them. And Pokemon only respond one way to your presence - fight or flight. 

Give your players a little more than that! Encounters should respond to player behavior and other cues like their species, manner of dress, and languages spoken. I don't think we need full on reaction tables, just play it by ear.

3. Encounters should tell us something about the world and environment: If there's only of something somewhere, with a 5% chance to encounter it, you better know why. Is it endangered? Perhaps it's an alpha predator that doesn't like sharing territory.

4. They should be asymmetrical: Why should I let Mewtwo beat my Pokemons ass one by one? We are in a cave, just jump him. 7 v 1.

Encounters don't need to be fair they just need to be interesting. Did you know that in the OG Gen 1 games your opponents had infinite PP for their all Pokemon's moves? Stack the deck against your players and give them every opportunity to use their resources to do the same to the encounters you set up.

5. Make resources matter: Raise your hand if were out of Pokeballs the first time you encountered a Pikachu in Viridian Forest. It's not punishing your players if you put an encounter on your table that requires a resource they may not have - or might not want to give up. 

Do you give the wounded trader your potion of healing? Is a days worth of rations worth it for *that player* to befriend a Dire Wolf? Make them think about it, but don't make them suffer. There's nothing fun about truly unobtainable rewards.

That's all for me on Pokemon for now. 

POKEMON Inspired Encounter Table

1. Territorial Striges: 1HD. Carnivorous birds who prefer the flesh of young animals and small children. 2d20 appearing.

2. Jelly Siren Concert: 2HD, resistant to physical attacks. Gelatinous songstress who grows irate when it's magical song inevitably puts its audience to sleep. Constitution check to resist. 1 appearing.

3. Ember Elemental Traffic Jam: 2HD, fatally weak to water. A school of Ember Elementals cries out for help as a river blocks their path forward. Their tears are lava. 1d4 appearing.

4. Mimic Trainer: A Wizard (4HD, spellbook containing 6 spells, treasure: 3x capture crystals, 2d30 foreign coins, a small pewter badge) is struggling to help their pet Mimic (3HD) take on new shapes. To a passerby on the road, she looks like a madwoman arguing with a shoe. A Dire Rat (2HD) sleeps near her camp 

5. Napping Bear: A sleeping Bear (6HD) of massive proportions blocks the only easy path forward. 

6. Lucky Duck: A duck (2 HP) crosses the road carrying a bundle of scallions in its mouth.

7. Goblin Scytheman:  A Goblin (4HD) carrying an ornate Scythe challenges passersbys to a friendly duel.

8. Hungry Travellers: A trio of travellers - Hai (exuberant young boy in a hat), Ganjo (stoic but flirtatious young man), and Ame (Friendly young girl tending to mysterious egg) are prepping a meager meal of rice and pickled vegetables. 

There's a bunch of ways to connect the principles I laid out to these encounters. 

-Perhaps the Hungry Travellers will shsre information about the Abandoned Den where they found that egg if you share food. 

-The Sleeping Bear might but what diverted the normal migration of the Ember Elementals. Leave some pink jelly nearby too.

-The "friendly" Goblin has allies laying in wait nearby.

-The Duck might make great soup or be on its way to something interesting.

New Item: Capture Crystal  

Capture Crystals are arcane devices crafted by skilled artisans of a foreign region. 

An apple sized sphere carved from red and white crystal. When thrown at a creature rendered unable to fight but still alive, it has a chance of being captured. 

Roll 5d20. If the creature has 2HD or less, it is captured if at least three dice read under 15. For creatures with 3-4HD, 4 dice must read under 15. For creatures with 5HD all 5 dice must read under 15. 

You gain advantage on one dice roll if the creature is burned, confused, or paralyzed. You gain advantage on two rolls if it is frozen or asleep. A crystal shatters if a capture attempt is unsuccessful.

These crystals can only be used on non-intelligent, wild creatures. They don't work on anything they wouldn't be considered some sort of beast, animal or magical construct. 

Once captured, a creature can be easily transported and summoned at will. Capture crystals bestow them with a modicum of loyalty to their trainer and the ability to follow rudimentary commands and instructions. 

A crystal can only store one creature at a time. They can be reused if a creature dies or is released. 

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There, I nerded out about Pokemon. Here is to 30 more years! 

RIP Super Sentai

After 50 years, Super Sentai is officially over.

I'll be honest, I'm not exactly shedding any tears. Me and Sentai - hell, me and Tokusatsu as a whole - never really clicked. It's one of those things people generally assume I would be into because of how much superhero slop I consume.  I've tried - Sentai, Kamen Rider, Ultra Man, Garo - I really have attempted to give various series a shot at one point or another. It just doesn't work for me unless it's tickling my specific childhood nostalgia for Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.

But that doesn't mean seeing a pillar of the genre come to an end isn't a bit weird. It's like if DC said they were really gonna cancel Batman. It's just one of those things that is kind of hard to believe. But by all accounts it does seem like Super Sentai will return. Some day. I think it's admirable that they are willing to put the franchise on the back burner while they figure out how to make it relevant again. 

And I do think it's interesting that Super Sentai and Dungeons & Dragons are both facing public crises of relevancy as they hit their 50th anniversaries. 50 years is a long time to expect people to care about anything, much less something that has been kind of forced into walking a very specific tightrope.

I'm sure there's a scholar of both franchises that could probably dive into a deep explanation. I'm just here to chat shit.

One thing I will say in favor of Sentai is that I've always thought it was incredibly gamesble. The concept just lende itself so well to tabletop - color coded roles for your players, magical armor and weapons, power ups, monsters of the week and a big bad with a plan to takeover the world.

Sadly I've found the few Toku inspired games I've read through incredibly disappointing. And I'll give a particular negative callout to Renegade's Power Rangers Roleplaying Game. I was so excited to buy that book and then just gutted as I read through the poorly edited PDF. I could forgive it for just being a d20 system in a trench coat, but not giving you guidelines for creating monsters in the first release was just absolutely grimy.

So while the dream of a dedicated tabletop game is probably a little far (for me at least) maybe there are some bits that can be slotted into your general fantasy tabletop adventure.

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The Metalizer

A metallic, palm sized device containing a removable golden coin stamped with the image of a legendary beast. Known coins include The Griffin, The Auroch, The Dire Wolf, The Unicorn and The Dragon. Rumors insist that coins bearing a Scorpion, Sphinx and Oni have also passed through the hands of coin collectors and metallurgists.

When activated, the wearer gains access to an enchanted set of arms and armor. Without coins, however, the Metalizers are nothing more than fancy belt buckles. 

Metalizers and their coins sometimes turn up in bazaars and treasure caches, but almost never together. They are more likely to be passed down through family lines or from teacher to student at certain martial academies.

At least one known Metalizer is said to be in possession of a warrior known as The Green Hunter, who gained its powers after slaying its previous owner. His coin bears The Dragon and it is said he can breathe fire and has cut down 50 warriors. He has lain claim to the area known as the Wester Quarry ceasing all productivity in the region. The bounty for his defeat bears 4000 gold pieces.

Common weapons include: spears, bows, swords, daggers that are also flutes and axes that are guns 

All Metalizer armor functions as magical chain mail, while all Metalizer weapons function as magical (+1) weapons of their type. While a Metalizer is active its user gains an additional 10 HP. 

Metalizers are believed to carry 3 charges that can be activated to summon their armor and weapons. The charges replenish every 24 hours. Metalizers deactivate if the user suffers a critical hit from a sufficiently powerful enemy or force (the damage is halved.)

These devices and their users are frequently sought out by agents of the Solum Court, an interdimensional cult who believe the existence of life outside their home realn challenges their religious dogma. It is rumored that at some point in the distant past, a party of Metalizer wielding warriors fought off an invasion by the Solum Court but even folklorists have never verified these stories. 

      Eyewitness rendering of Solum Court agents

It has been claimed that other objects similar to Metalizers - collectively dubbed Changers by scholars of cryptomagicka - exist in various forms. Citing folk legends and cave etchings, these scholars have claimed these objects can appear as rings, bracelets, crowns, staves, blades, shields and orbs. Their alleged origins are as varied as their shapes. Cults, Divine Pantheons, Dragons, Shamans and beings from other worlds are all said to be responsible for their creation. 

Perhaps many such devices do exist. We can only hope they end up in the hands of just, responsible heroes. 

Dungeon Weapons

Hello dungeoneers and other assorted nerds. Back at you today with a musing of sorts. 

Finally started up a new job that gives me a lot of time for vibing out to music and podcasts, so I've been indulging in the absolutely fantastic BLOOD WORK. For those not in the know, it's a podcast about the economy of violence. There's a two part episode on the history of the car bomb that is particularly fascinating and was the impetus for this post. 

In the episode, the car bomb is described as "a weapon that evolved to thrive in the urban environment." And because I'm a huge fucking nerd I immediately wondered 

"Is there a type of weapon that specifically thrives in the dungeon environment?" 

I've been thinking a lot about dungeon based play the last year or so. After a West Marches style game that fizzled out (maybe I'll write about that one day) I started thinking about limiting the scope of the games I invited people to play. More one-three session scenarios, that sort of thing. But in the back of my mind there's a part of me that just wants to create a weird dungeon and invite various people I know to put parties together and attempt to defeat it. 

I even toyed with the idea of cribbing from the old TSR tournament scoring system and simply seeing what party had the highest score the end of a calendar year. Again, I'm trying to limit my scope here so that particular idea got shoved in a box. But thoughts about dungeons still remain.

When I think about dungeons it's usually in the context of "how can I make this kill my players?" Traps, wacky mechanics, wandering monster tables and the like. My mind never really goes to "how can the players take this dungeon?" 

There was a thread recently that asked the question of how an army could clear out a dungeon. The overwhelming consensus was that they couldn't, that the standard dungeon environment would essentially be a death trap from any large, conventionally operating military force.

But that's not what an adventuring party is. The standard adventuring party, competence not withstanding, is more akin to a group of special forces mercenaries or burglars. Your job is to get in, grab as much loot as possible or maybe kill the necromancer filling the countryside with pesky zombies. Hence me wondering about weapons evolved for this environment.

In OSR design spaces I see a lot of talk about ten foot poles and hireling management but I see considerably less about what, if anything, gives players a decided qualitative edge over the denizens or occupying powers of a dungeon.

Taking a look at the OG equipment list from Men & Magic by Gygax and Arneson, there's some stuff that immediately sticks out to me. 

Why not use that belladona to poison some wine and offer it to those Goblins instead of dealing with a fight. 

Rope is incredibly cheap! Snare, deadfall and bow traps should be standard ways to deal with wandering monsters in parts of a dungeon the party isn't ready to full explore. I'm sure they could be constructed with rope (or fishing line) ten foot poles, spears and some iron spikes.

If it'll work on a tank, it will work on some orcs marching through a dungeon

The story of Tucker's Kobolds is the stuff of legend now, and I guess what I'm saying is that players should attempt to be the kobolds. Oil is cheap and players could probably aquire barrels of it if need be. It shouldn't be out of the question to clear a dungeon floor by burning out it's inhabitants. My party used a similar tactic in a West End Star Wars session last year when negotiations with some Hutts went south. Won't come out of your swamp manse? Fine! We've got no problem repurposing our land speeder exhaust port into a flamethrower.

There's a diabolically upsetting combination of oil and animal companions laid out in this old Hill Cantons post. I would probably throw up a little if any of my players ever suggested it but I'd be hard pressed to challenge its efficacy against low level, generally disorganized enemies.

And that's to say nothing of 5e including Slings, Nets, Ball Bearings, Caltrops, Acid & Alchemist's Fire (aka a premade fantasy Molotov) as standard gear you can purchase right out of the Player's Handbook. There's some pretty filthy violence player characters in most D&D-likes can get up to without drawing a weapon. 

And then there are the tables and settings that are more permissive with access to black powder and fire arms....

I've always thought the classical old school hand cannon would make an amazing part of a party's kit. 

In all my musing I don't think I really found the car bomb of dungeon weaponry - short of just bringing a donkey driven cart carrying barrels of oil and alchemist's fire with you down into a dungeon (something just as likely to immolate your entire party as it is to help you clear a floor). Send this blog post to your players and maybe they will. And then you can hate me for it.

That's all from me today. 

Have fun, stay safe, look out for each other.

And listen to BLOOD WORK.