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Any D&D/D20

Shadowrun

World of Darkness

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[Sirus]

OK, how do I do a forest, and without colour. My map's going to be in greyscale since I lack a particularly large assortment of coloured pencils and I can't draw for shit online.

There's quite a few ways, this is an okay reference if you want to make a reasonably simple and legible map, which is ultimately what you want in a game. Not sure if there's much more to say beyond "use lots of circly things".

Whatever that is, it isn't loading.

[Kagus]

Has anyone tried making maps via ingame editors for other games? I think the editors for things like Age of Wonders or Civilization seem like they'd be able to quickly get you a reasonably detailed and pretty map that you could snap a screenshot of and use as a world for a campaign, maybe with a bit of modification to add place/region names or whatnot.

Even lets you make alterations like ruins or blasted terrain to show off the unfolding events in the story, hehe.

[Mephisto]

Not I, but we did something vaguely similar back in my old college group. We sat down to a two-session game of Dawn of Worlds, and used the map and races we created in that as the world map and player races for our next game.

[BlackFlyme]

Anyone ever have an encounter subverted; accidentally or otherwise?

The boss we fought tonight was supposed to resurrect as some sort of undead once they dropped to -1, but nonlethal meant they just got knocked unconscious instead. Rather thankfully, as two players were blind and one was outright dead.

[Rolan7]

The riddle-ogre I mentioned earlier sorta came back, in that we rolled him again why traveling.  So a different ogre arrived, loudly lamenting the loss of his brother, before challenging us.

Once again we failed on the last question, arguably due to a technicality, and we had to slay this riddle-ogre too.
...Except that I chose to do nonlethal damage, and landed the KO.  I promised to take first watch, and watch the ogre.

He eventually stood up with much confusion.  I told him that our answer was technically correct (it was), and that he should leave with honor.  He hesitated, then left.

A lot more happened, but I feel good about that choice.
(our paladin *really* wanted to just stab him until he stopped breathing)

[smjjames]

What was the question and the answer you gave?

[Jimmy]

Anyone ever have an encounter subverted; accidentally or otherwise?

The boss we fought tonight was supposed to resurrect as some sort of undead once they dropped to -1, but nonlethal meant they just got knocked unconscious instead. Rather thankfully, as two players were blind and one was outright dead.

I had this happen with a boss encounter. The (heavily pregnant) high priestess cultist of Lamashtu was supposed to sacrifice their life and that of their unborn children to their god at the end of the fight in order to power a summoning ritual to bring forth a big bad demon. However, my group decided to deal her nonlethal damage to simply knock her out instead of killing her. Luckily one of my players decided to stab her unconscious body right in her big belly, upon which I had her spirit rise as a vengeful ghost, complete the summoning, and get grabbed and consumed by a demonic arm that shot out of her belly wound, then ripped her open from the inside as it emerged into the room.

Fun times!

[Yoink]

I'm sure that at this point the GM and me are going to make a half-troll from scratch.

Sounds hawt. And kinda painful.   

[deathpunch578]

I'm sure that at this point the GM and me are going to make a half-troll from scratch.

Sounds hawt. And kinda painful.   

finished that campaign a few months ago, it was really fun playing as a half-troll bard

[Yoink]

...Man, I'd had the tab with that unfinished reply open for a really long time.
Glad the campaign went well!   

[Liber celi]

Stuff I put in dungeons and potato celars and in my LotFP campaign

If any of my players stumble over this: turn around, fools

Spoiler: HAMELUNG (click to show/hide)

Sword. The pommel is a child's head in bronze. The crossguard ends in two screaming rat heads (in steel covered with bronze). Its name is engraved in the blade. Grants +1 DEX mod while wielded. Can automatically hit and kill 1 HP creatures, as many as the bearer's level.
Attracts 1 rat per day it has been in the possession of the party. The rats will follow the party. When killed, the ras will replaced the next morning. This world has so many rats, you can never drown them all. At 10 rats it's time to start rolling saves vs. disease. At 120 you're followed by a fur carpet crawling with parasites and few will want to talk to you.
When the party is completely killed, the rats will attempt to carry off the sword to the place where it was found.
If the bearer ever cheats a commoner out of their rightful pay, the weapon is stuck to their hand and you get to replace "rats" with "children" in the above text. Have fun.

Spoiler: Black-Glove (click to show/hide)

A silver ring. Found on the pommel of a dagger made entirely from an unknown, jet-black metal. It's secured there with a bit of golden wire but may be pulled off.
The black metal blade is very sharp and indestructible by earthly means. Therefore it receives +1 to hit chainmail, +2 to hit and damage vs. plate.
If the ring is ever removed from the dagger, the weapon instantly turns into a floppy, roughly dagger-shaped piece of flesh and broken bones. (Putting the ring back on turns flesh to metal again, but now the dagger is blunt, bent and useless.)
If the ring is worn it will turn the wearer's hand and wrist into animated, black, indestructible metal. This counts as a shield, gives you a better punch attack, allows you to coat your hand in acid before you give the mayor a high-five and so on.
The ring is very much not indestructible. If it's destroyed, the bearer's hand (or the dagger) will not turn to flesh. The hand will lose its magic mobility though, making it about as useful as an indestructible stump.
If the bearer's arm is ever severed behind the metal, ring or no, the metal hand will scurry off like a spider, very much afraid that legendary dwarves will again forge it into a weapon.

Spoiler: Eye of the Gallow-god (click to show/hide)

A noose of coarse rope, the size of an eye. Looking through it upon a living creature allows one to see the manifold potential wounds that this creature might suffer, but also fills the looker with a deep indifference and alienation to their own well-being. The player learns the current hit points of the creature. For the rest of the day, however, the player doesn't know the hit points of their own character. The Referee will have to roll all damage in secret and keep book.

[Jimmy]

Ooh, are we doing custom magic items?

Spoiler: Bedroll of Deep Slumber (click to show/hide)

Whenever a living creature falls asleep on this item, the bedroll's magic protects the sleeper from any and all harm. Until they would normally awaken (typically 8 hours) the sleeping creature is immune to damage, suffocation, extremes of temperature, or any magical effect that includes them as a target, be it beneficial or harmful. Ongoing effects, such as curses, poison or disease have their duration temporarily suspended for the duration of use. During this time, the wearer automatically fails any check to perceive their surroundings or wake up until their rest is complete, and their body, whilst immune to harm, can be physically moved to a location that might prove hazardous when they awake. This item may be used by the same creature no more than once every 24 hours.

[Kagus]

Stuff I put in dungeons and potato celars and in my LotFP campaign

If any of my players stumble over this: turn around, fools

Spoiler: HAMELUNG (click to show/hide)

Sword. The pommel is a child's head in bronze. The crossguard ends in two screaming rat heads (in steel covered with bronze). Its name is engraved in the blade. Grants +1 DEX mod while wielded. Can automatically hit and kill 1 HP creatures, as many as the bearer's level.
Attracts 1 rat per day it has been in the possession of the party. The rats will follow the party. When killed, the ras will replaced the next morning. This world has so many rats, you can never drown them all. At 10 rats it's time to start rolling saves vs. disease. At 120 you're followed by a fur carpet crawling with parasites and few will want to talk to you.
When the party is completely killed, the rats will attempt to carry off the sword to the place where it was found.
If the bearer ever cheats a commoner out of their rightful pay, the weapon is stuck to their hand and you get to replace "rats" with "children" in the above text. Have fun.

Spoiler: Black-Glove (click to show/hide)

A silver ring. Found on the pommel of a dagger made entirely from an unknown, jet-black metal. It's secured there with a bit of golden wire but may be pulled off.
The black metal blade is very sharp and indestructible by earthly means. Therefore it receives +1 to hit chainmail, +2 to hit and damage vs. plate.
If the ring is ever removed from the dagger, the weapon instantly turns into a floppy, roughly dagger-shaped piece of flesh and broken bones. (Putting the ring back on turns flesh to metal again, but now the dagger is blunt, bent and useless.)
If the ring is worn it will turn the wearer's hand and wrist into animated, black, indestructible metal. This counts as a shield, gives you a better punch attack, allows you to coat your hand in acid before you give the mayor a high-five and so on.
The ring is very much not indestructible. If it's destroyed, the bearer's hand (or the dagger) will not turn to flesh. The hand will lose its magic mobility though, making it about as useful as an indestructible stump.
If the bearer's arm is ever severed behind the metal, ring or no, the metal hand will scurry off like a spider, very much afraid that legendary dwarves will again forge it into a weapon.

Spoiler: Eye of the Gallow-god (click to show/hide)

A noose of coarse rope, the size of an eye. Looking through it upon a living creature allows one to see the manifold potential wounds that this creature might suffer, but also fills the looker with a deep indifference and alienation to their own well-being. The player learns the current hit points of the creature. For the rest of the day, however, the player doesn't know the hit points of their own character. The Referee will have to roll all damage in secret and keep book.

I feel like that last one is... Kinda lackluster. Getting the current hitpoints of something is generally only going to be situationally useful at best, and all depending on how the downside is handled, it's either a non-issue or prohibitively debilitating.

I also feel like the rats-children caveat could be hilariously exploited, say, by someone with a very high level of diplomacy. Presumably the children are the snot-nosed little disease magnets they usually are, and you still have to make saving throws.

Black-glove sounds fun, but I have to wonder how it works with polymorphing. Say, refolding your indestructible skin to now encapsulate the ring, protecting it. Or making your arm monstrously large and then just smacking the biggest bitches with your pimp hand of blackest night.

[SOLDIER First]

HAMELUNG: You can only ever autohit as many creatures as your level with the sword, ever?

Bedroll of Deep Slumber: Nothing says you can’t pull them out of the bedroll and then stab them.

[Kagus]

I feel like we need more artifacts like Lilarcor. Like, a grand and powerful enchanted talking sword, but while in your possession it automatically makes some diplomacy checks on behalf of the party.

The sword is very bad at diplomacy.