Conan the Barbarian 2011: Fucking Awesome Trailer

Few words to say: fucking awesome.

I've really appreciated the snake-fight scene, reminding me a lot Frazetta's artworks.

Dungeon Crawl Classics: Homemade Playtest

I've run too my first DCC game with my group (5 people, shifting DM between game sessions), starting with a L0 character funnel.

I've talked them about DCC RPG since early February, and at first I've received some skeptical comments (luckily they changed their minds in the last months because I've kept on giving them more details about the game, so that they started reading about this game on their own).

BTW, we gathered around the table with the usual survival kit (cigs, booze, chips) and they started creating their own cannon fodder.. ehm, characters.

Just a few minutes to remember them the general rules, and each player created 3 PCs. Here's the group:

Player A: Halfling Gipsy, Farmer and Dwarven Blacksmith

Player B: Indentured Servant and 2 Elvish Artisans

Player C: Guild Beggar, Herder and Healer

Player D: Grave Digger, Dwarven Blacksmith and Caravan Guard

They all started in Spoonstone, an isolated rural village located in a valley far about 20 miles from the closest city, surrounded for 1/4 by a small river and for 3/4 by woods.

Only 3 roads connect Spoonstone with the rest of known world: the river itself (navigable with small ships), a path running parallel to the river and a path in the woods ending in a narrow mountain pass (try to guess where they're going to walk).

After character creation, they decided briefly the various relationships: Elvish Artisans (M/F twins) came to Spoonstone on the same caravan protected by the Caravan Guard along with the Halfling Gypsy, Farmer and Herder (Khain and Abel.. whoopie!) are young brothers, Blacksmiths are father and son, the Servant (group's traitor) was the Healer's assistant, Grave Digger and Beggar had no particular relationships.

The village had no particular defenses, just a couple of outposts at the sides of the village occupied by about a dozen people (city guards and foresters).

That's what happened:

- the Servant has met a group of goblin scouts the day before, and his life has been spared in exchange of his betrayal

- the Servant has put too sleep the guards on the woodside outpost (mixing herbs in their beers) and then he ran to the port

- after the sunset, he slipped away from Healer's house heading to the city port, only to see ships sinking thanks to a 4-5 goblins who crossed the river

- about 50 goblins arrived from the woodside, killing people in their houses and burning buildings

- the Beggar gives the alarm (killing an unlucky goblin with a lucky slingshot!!), and people starts running around

- all PCs (plus hen and dog) avoided a volley of arrows (damned d20!!) and headed to the mountain side, Servant was already there on a cart full of hay

- PCs followed the path to the Mountain Pass, chased by a small group of goblins (Farmer killed by an arrow)

- PCs reached the entrance to the Mountain Pass, Dwarven Daddy set the hay on fire with his flintstone and pushed it down the slope

- the flaming cart killed 4 goblins, group's shooters (Gypsy and Beggar) hit a couple of lucky shots

- PCs ran in formation, people with higher HPs at the extreme, weaklings in the middle

- hearing goblin voices coming from distance, PCs decided to set a trap for them

- PCs put some clothes around a couple of small rocks, Elves used their clay to made faces, Beggar's crutches used to simulate weapons

- Luck Check succeded by Player B (the plan's master) to cheat the incoming goblins

- Strength Check (to push rocks over the goblins) succeeded by Dwarven Son and failed by Dwarven Daddy

- Caravan Guard and Dwarven Daddy got killed, Herder pushed the rocks Dwarven Daddy couldn't and blocked the path, killing the other goblings

- no more voices, Grave Digger buried their deceased fellows

- group kept on walking, camped and got attacked by a pack of wandering wolves, Healer killed, Herder's dog rocks

- second day, group reaches a fork: 5 choose right, 3 choose left

- 3 out of 5 PCs fail a Luck Check about their choice: they're gonna regret it soon

- right path heads into a cave, they go in and easily beat a group of bats

- underground lake, they wake up a light green glowing giant toad with slimy tentacles

- gorgeous fight: Herder hits a Crit with Caravan Guard's short sword (cutting a monster's tentacle with a 7 on the table), Gyspy hits a funny 0 on Crit, Graved Digger after a fumble, Beggar dies a round after he used his oil flask against the monster, Dwarf hits the deadly strike

- adventure ends with only 6+2 survivors: Halfling Gypsy, Dwarf, Elf, Elf, Herder, Servant, dog, hen

Comments

1 - Generally speaking, morale was pretty high during the entire game.

2 - We agreed about having too many Crit Tables (better having just 2, one for creatures with limbs and the other for limbless creatures)

3 - We all loved the "You can do only what you can do" philosophy behind Skills

4 - No character was too weak or too strong

5 - At the hand of the game hen, dog, halfling and dwarf paid a tribute to Town Musicians of Bremen :mrgreen:

6 - We tried Luck Burn a couple of times (going heavy, at least 4 points burned), and it was fun too

7 - very eager to turn PCs into L1 characters