Friday, September 20, 2019

DUNGEONPUNK RPG

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/209450/Dungeonpunk









DUNGEONPUNK

The stinking dirty giant rotting cities built upon many layers of ancient ruins. The pitiful and weak people hiding in dread behind great stone walls from the chaos outside. All surrounded by the dark and unforgiving wilderness of a dying world.

Far and wide the stony mysterious remnants of some lost foreboding and ancient powerful civilization peak forth from the ruins scattered across the realms waiting centuries to be explored! Ancient and forbidden monster and forgotten nameless demon filled dungeons deep and full of marvelous plunder. The omens have been read and the signs in the stars tell of this age of adventure!

The desperate, brave, pious, and insane adventurers in search of magic and treasure so that one can gain fame, comfort, drink, and pleasure! The fools that delve deep and fear not stirring up of the ancient powers that hide away in the darkness, least they die invisible and forgotten after time! No not these brave and foolhardy ones! Their names shall be remembered and etched in the tales and legends of many generations!

So one may take the sword, dagger, staff, and mace and go forward! Forget not your trusty backpack and equipment for adventure! It is time for one to begin their adventure and not die forgotten by time!




DUNGEONPUNK

So you want to be an adventurer eh?

DUNGEONPUNK game that takes minutes to make a character and provide hours of fun. The only dice you need for this game is a 20 sided dice. When you want to do something you roll a Dice. The higher you roll the better the outcome. How high you need to roll is determined by your described skill and the amount of difficulty from 1 (easy) to 20 (nearly impossible) assigned by the game master. A natural “1” is a complete failure and a natural “20” is a complete success. A set difficulty class is DC for short. The set difficulty may be lowered IF the character has a skill or tool to make it easier. Any other dice will do as long as everyone is using the same dice but the D20 is the king.

Destiny Points

You may roll again if you spend a Destiny Point if you do not like the outcome of the story. You may spend as many Destiny Points as you want as long as you have them to do more powerful attacks or effects. You may only spend Destiny Points on powers and abilities that you have.

  • Destiny Points can also allow one to shrug off damage results in combat. Most of the time it takes only one Destiny point to shrug off most damage.
  • More powerful attacks may require you to take more than one Destiny Point away to shrug off damage or effects.
  • Each Player gets 5 Destiny Points to start.
  • Most of the time you get your Destiny Points back after a good night’s rest, recovering 1 an hour.
  • When you are out of Destiny Points you are very much alive BUT the random dice roll controls your fate.




WRITING INSTEAD OF ROLLING A CHARACTER

When you want to make a character you need to forget all that you know about attributes, hit points, and anything else you have learned from other RPGs. Remember what you have learned on Free Form RPG boards on the Internet. If they work there they will work here. There is a dice roll mechanic but it exists “outside” the game itself. The players write up Characters on a piece of blank paper and give the Characters reasonable powers and equipment based on the power level being played. The game master will have the final say on “how powerful” your character is. One may also put his character in a small handmade journal with a leather cover. There the player may track his character's adventures and tales!




FIRST PICK ONE OF THE FOUR CLASSES





FIGHTER

You are a heroic (or not) warrior of old. Your primary purpose is fighting and killing the enemy. You can wear all armor and use all weapons! You have Piecemeal or Leather Armor, Old Helm, Backpack, Sword (or whatever) and Shield, (Spear and Shield or Dual Weapons or Longbow and 20 Arrows or Staff or Pole Arm and no Shield or Two Handed Weapon and no Shield Giant Battle Axe and no Shield)




ROGUE

You are the sneaky stealthy type that prefers to let the fighting be done by others. You can Pick Locks and Disarm Traps if you spot them. You also have the ability to Sneak and Hide which allows you a free attack and move if you succeed to a distracted or unwary victim. You are always dabbling in Ancient Lore and Tales to try and find where tombs and dungeons full of treasure are to plunder. You have Leather Armor, a Dark Cloak, Backpack, Lock Picks, Blackjack, A Short Sword or Twin Daggers or Short Bow and 20 Arrows.




WIZARD

You are a practitioner of the ancient arts of sorcery and magic. Wizards either have been trained by ancient schools of magic or their magic awakened in them naturally. There are no two Wizards alike in the world. Most wizards are full of ancient and forbidden lore. You can pretty much do any spell that comes to mind at the cost of 1 Destiny Point at a far range that last a few rounds. You may actually do a spell that harms at close range at a cost of 1 Destiny Point with more added to create more damage and to effect more than one victim. One must roll a dice for each spell and roll high. Magic can be dangerous and backfire so don't roll a “1”! Most Wizards have spells that do damage like a magic missile, or spells that control the mind like charm, or even more powerful spells such as fireballs and lighting bolts! You have a Spell Book, Backpack, Staff, Dagger, Robes, Large Hat.





HEALER

You are a priest or cleric of the olden gods. You have been trained in the ways of combat and divine magic. Magic works exactly as it does for a Wizard except that most of your spells involve healing and helping as well as turning away undead and foul demons. Some healers can even raise the dead if powerful enough! You have Mace (or chosen weapon of your god), Shield, Piecemeal or Leather Armor, Old Helm, Backpack, Holy Book, Holy Symbol.



MAKE UP A DESCRIPTION OF AT LEAST 25-30 WORDS

You must include your character's Name, Class, and a short description of what he can do. You must have at least 5 (equal to your Destiny) descriptors, skills or spells. Other strange races are allowed as well such as Dwarves, Halflings, and Elves as long as they fit in the description. There is no limit to the choices!

For Example:
Gonar Brightshield the Fighter is a Strong and Tough Fighter from the ancient wastelands. He is very tired from years of battle and wishes to settle down to farm and read.

So the example says he is an experienced strong tough fighter who is a literate farmer.







PICK YOUR OTHER ADVENTURE EQUIPMENT






You get to carry an additional five items of equipment. The list will get larger as the game progresses. Don't see something? Add it in.





Acid Flask
Antitoxin
Axe
Bandages
Bedroll
Bell
Blanket
Block and Tackle
Boots
Caltrops
Candle
Canvas (10')
Chain (10')
Chalk
Chest
Cloak
Crowbar
Firewood
Fishing Net
Fishing Kit
Flask
Flint and Steel
Grappling Hook
Hammer
Hat
Healing Potion
Holy Symbol
Holy Water
Hour Glass
Iron Spike x5
Ladder (10')
Lantern
Large Sack
Lock
Manacles
Map
Mirror
Musical Instrument
Oil
Parchment (10 sheets)
Pen and Ink
Pick
Pole (10 ft)
Pot
Preserved Ration per day
Ration per day
Rope 50'
Saddle
Saddle Bags
Scale
Scroll Case
Sewing Kit
Small Sack
Soap
Spade
Stakes, Wooden x5
String 100'
Tankard
Tent
Toolkit
Torches x10
Water Skin
Wet Stone
Whistle
Wine Skin
Wolfsbane






 DON'T FORGET THE MUSIC!!!!

GAME MASTER SECTION

One person has to be the DUNGEONPUNK Game Master which is basically the teller of the story. He makes up the story, setting, and all the people that the players meet including the villains. Use what you know!

If a character tries to do something and is able to do with ease the charter succeeds. If there is a pivotal time in the adventure the Character rolls the dice. The roll is not modified in any way. The result is read from the vantage of the skill of the character. For example if a skilled person and an unskilled person both roll an 4 it would mean different things for each Character. A skilled person may have his result described far better while an unskilled would not have done as well. A bad roll is not always a failed attempt to do something. It also can be a change of plot against the positive flow of the Story. This is actually a good thing as it makes very exciting stories. A Destiny Point can let there be another roll to see if there can be a better outcome but even with more chances your Destiny can still be bad!
COMBAT

Each player declares what they are doing based on their descriptions and power levels. Each player rolls and attack and defense plus any other rolls they are doing. The higher result usually wins unless the other player pulls a cool stunt or is just far more superior. Destiny Points can be spent if one does not like the results.
Damage is judged from the weapon used, the protection offered from cover, armor, and stamina and the result of the Plot Roll. Make it dramatic!

Remember in fantasy novels that during combat there is always a lot of collateral damage. Windows broken, buildings leveled, wagons thrown about, explosions, people injured and killed, and whatever else can go wrong.

The effects of combat damage can be very detailed from a detailed description of each body area injured to a simple Uninjured, Scratch/Beat Up, Injured, Severely Injured, Incapacitated, and Dying. Use descriptions INSTEAD of numbers. It all depends on how you want to run the game.
It is up to the players and the game master as well as the dice to figure out where your character stands.

You have to decide how much damage or effect was done according to the power and skill level described in the character’s text minus any relevant defenses.

As stated before, Destiny Points can also allow one to shrug off damage results in combat. Most of the time it takes only one Destiny point to shrug off most damage. You still get wounded but it just does not effect you as much. More powerful attacks may require you to take more than one Destiny Point away to shrug off damage or effects.

For instance, falling out of a two story building may take 2 Destiny while getting caught in an explosion may be 2-5 Destiny to still be able to function.

When you are out of Destiny points then your life depends on the roll of the dice only! Be careful how you use your Destiny points!

Mental states can be done this way as well. Insanity and addiction has been a part of many fantasy stories!




NORMALS, MINIONS, AND GOONS





Normals – Normal people are simply wiped out if they decide to engage in combat with DUNGEONPUNKS. Roll a 1D20 and that is how many fell in a single round.

Minions – Minions are weak bad guys that are wiped out in usually one hit and many times multiple bad guys are wiped out a round! Most won't have many skill or powers but will have weapons and possibly armor and magic items. Example include Goblins, Orcs, Kobolds, Skeletons, Zombies and other terrible creatures from Dungeons Deep. May have 1-5 Destiny.
Goons – Goons are more powerful bad guys that work for large organizations and more powerful bad guys. Some goons will even have powers or magic items but are still quite weak compared to a SWORDPUNK. Some examples include ogres, trolls, giants, chimera, gorgons, hydras, vampires, and more. May have 1-10 Destiny
Masters- Masters are the lead bad guys that are very powerful and may lead large organizations and have armies of goons, minions, and normal. These may be evil wizards, dark lords, dragons, vampire lords, and more! They may have 10 or more destinies. Most likely more!

REMEMBER! Make up new monsters as you need them. Let the party think that they know then show them they don't know!




DELVING THROUGH DUNGEONS DEEP

The characters are delving through dungeons deep and deadly. Have weird traps and tricks. Most will be interesting but some are deadly, killing the player right away! Beware! In some cases, a completely deadly trap may do 5 or more Destiny points, effectively killing any weakened character. As one goes deeper into the levels of the dungeon, it gets more deadly.




WANDERING THROUGH WILDERNESS WILD

The dark wilderness is even more deadly than the dungeons the farther out that you go! There are points of light.




TREASURE

Each encounter with monsters and traps has the chance to bring piles of gold and treasure! Each encounter may have up to 100 gold pieces per encounter per level. Some items such a gems and jewelry may be worth even more. Make it up as you go.



MAGIC ITEMS

The greatest of treasures are magic items from the long lost age! There could be magic potions of various effects, magic rings, amulets, weapons, and armors! There are some magic items that are one or more uses then you throw them away and there are some magic items that are unique and each item being more powerful the deeper in the dungeon you are!




EQUIPMENT

There is only a small equipment list and nothing else listed. Is that a problem? Not for a DUNGEONPUNK Gamemaster! Make up additional equipment and prices as you go. Prices may be different depending on how far into the wilderness you are!




EXPERIENCE

As you play, you get better. After a few encounters one may add a point to their destiny total. At the starting 5 Destiny you are considered a low life. When you get to 10 Destiny you are considered a local hero. At 20 Destiny you are considered a national hero. When you get to 40 Destiny you are considered a Legend. Normally you have as many descriptors, skills or spells as you have Destiny.




MAKE IT UP AS YOU GO

You are a DUNGEONPUNK Gamemaster! Make the game up as you go. Make up new monsters, traps, and magic items. Don't like these four classes? No problem! Make up new classes! Any character tying to do something? Let them roll and see how they do. No modifiers are needed! Roll high is good. Roll low is bad. Roll a “20” something great happens. Roll a “1” something terrible happens. Between than make up the difficulty depending on the Character. For instance if a there is trying to pick a lock with his lock picks then make the difficulty lower. If a fighter is trying to use a dagger to pick a lock then make it harder. Sometimes you need to roll for them when they don't know what's going on. Sometimes you need to roll just to make them paranoid.




DUNGEONPUNK GAMEMASTER SCREEN

As a DUNGEONPUNK Gamemaster one must create a badass Gamemaster screen! Make it look cool with at least three panels, Decorate it with fantasy art and make it functional! Creativity is the key!









Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Primordial Freeform/Rules Light Role Playing Games the Movement


So it looks like there are people doing (some have been doing it for decades) the Freeform Rules Light stuff like my DUNGEONPUNK RPG!  Nothing is original under the sun anymore but many of these methods we're back in the day. 

What pioneers that Wesley and his Braunsteins were that inspired Dave Arenson to create Blackmoor that later in inspired Dave and Gary Gyax to create Dungeons and Dragons. 

They played loose and free as there were no rules, they made it up and it was fun so they kept doing it. All they did was roll a dice to decide! 

I call that style PRIMORDIAL Role Playing!

So who is out there promoting, playing, and writings PRIMORDIAL RPGs? 

There is RPG Tinkerage which has inspired me to write Tales From the Green Dragon Inn and even write more DUNGEONPUNK RPG stuff.  His site always has great little tidbits of rules and such. My only problem is the blogger doesn't post enough! He always has something interesting. 

https://rpg-tinker.blogspot.com/



There is Darkworm Colt and his fantastic take on the early days of PRIMORDIAL RPGs.  I have been visiting his site over and over mining it for various ideas and inspirational contents.  Many stories if how they did it BEFORE there were rules! True PRIMORDIAL RPGs talking! There are also a few mentions of Sword & Backpack which was more of a reminder of my old Novel system and one of the inspirations for DUNGEONPUNK RPG. 



https://darkwormcolt.blogspot.com/


Let's not forget to celebrate Sword and Backpack which is a work of genius in it's Freeform simplicity. Not just that but it's punk rock presentation that somehow also captures the fantasy game. I would love to see more love spread towards this little game.  It's so similar to my Novel RPG system that it partly inspired me to write my Freeform fantastic system DUNGEONPUNK RPG. 






https://swordandbackpack.tumblr.com/post/47031468824/sword-backpack-rpg-is-here-here-it-is-the




There is Into the Odd which is such a cool ass game! I can't stress how cool and simple this game is yet so deep of a story. Then the offshoot inspired by such as Maze Rats and such. 










http://www.bastionland.com/










There is Chirine the ancient one. This guy has a treasury of PRIMORDIAL Role Playing techniques from the original gamers Dave Arneson and MAR Barker. Most of his site is dedicated to Tekumel and is rather daunting but worth the time to take a look at how fantastic a world can be made. Imagine being an actual character in a world equivalent to another Tolkien and Middle Earth and that's what MAR Barker and Tekumel is.  His video on how they played back then is great! Very interesting videos and such. 

http://chirinebakal.proboards.com/
https://chirinesworkbench.blogspot.com/

We can't forget to mention the documentary The Secrets of Blackmoor as it shows "The Blackmoor Bunch" and how they rolled back then. 

https://www.secretsofblackmoor.com/




Are there any others that I missed? Are their games sites and blogs that are also talking about the PRIMORDIAL style of Role Playing?