Why OSR(ish)?
If you have played any OSR based games before, then most of what you will read in the Adventuring chapter will be generally familiar. I've tried to take the general concepts and ideas that are common amongst various OSR systems and distill them down into simplified rules.
Why am I focusing on this OSR concept though? Well, this is my first game design, and I am new to this. I might as well start from a solid foundation, but it is mainly because there is a breadth of content out there for these system and play settings already. This is a passion project for me and I can fully recognize that I am not going to be able to write dozens of adventures, supplements, and random generation tables. Those are already being made and have been made for nearly fifty years. I'm aiming for general OSR compatibility to leverage that content that is already out there.
The OSR (and NSR) communities have really caught my attention over the past year or two since the OGL debacle. I find the approach to play in those games is really appealing to me and I appreciate how the math is structured, and how general play is approached. The emphasis in many of those systems on resource management, compromise, "low number" math, and "rulings over rules" really appeals to me and I think it is really conducive to a West Marches style game.
Now, I don't think what I have below is inherently a "rulings over rules" approach, as there are plenty of rules here, but I wanted to break things down into what I felt were the most logical terms and conditions that relate generally back to our own world when trying to develop rules. I wanted to create enough rules to make sure everyone could easily understand the game, but at the same time, not need to go back and look something up back in the book.
This is perhaps most clearly represented in the adventuring phases in a day.
Phases
Phases of the adventuring day is something that is very common in many OSR systems. Some systems use hours, some use varying phases. I broke this down into the four most common terms that we use in our natural world: Morning, Afternoon, Evening, Night.
I also wanted to make sure that I do not reference time in any more specific detail than those four phases. I've found in most cases getting into any finer detail (for traveling) just adds unnecessary complexity that bogs down the gameplay at the table.
Refuges
One idea that I am developing to my game is the concept of a "Refuge", a set of secure supplies and a safe place in the wilderness where players can rest and recuperate. As I mentioned in the Principles and Concepts post, the world is dangerous and managing risk and reward is a strong component of this game. It is hard to heal and players in fact won't be able to heal when they are in the wilderness adventuring, unless they can find a safe harbor that has a bed (i.e. a town) or a refuge. A Refuge is an expendable resource that players can setups a key strategic points in the world that might be the different between life and death.
It costs a lot of time and resources to setup a Refuge so characters will have to determine how to best deploy one.
Player Roles
Finally, another idea I am trying to play around with is the Player Roles. This is not a new concept for many classic games. Many will designate a player at the table to draw the dungeon map or to summarize the adventure. The more administrative work I can offload from the GM to the players I think is good, as it will incentivize players to remain engaged with the game even if their character is not active. This is a problem that I have seen across game tables, so I am hoping i can "kill two birds with one stone" here to offload some responsibility from the GM and also give something to the players.
I want to bring this into the game world though as well, to possibly incentivize players who may not want to do something like that. The preliminary set of roles I have defined can also apply to the characters as well as the players. It is the hope that this will provide a small bonus in the game that will encourage players to want to take on these roles at the table.
Google Docs - v0.1 - Adventuring
Adventuring
One of the most important things an adventuring party will do is to explore the wilderness around them, spending days or weeks outside the safety of their town.
An Adventuring Day
The adventuring day is divided into four Phases.
- Morning
- Afternoon
- Evening
- Night
During each Phase, the party may take one of the actions listed below for the location they are currently in. At the start of each action, the GM or a member of the party shall make a dice roll to determine if an encounter occurs during that Phase's action.
Available Actions
- Travel
- Explore
- Forage
- Setup Camp
- Interact
Travel
The party travels to an adjacent location to one they are on. Locations and features such as terrain, mountains, rivers, etc. are revealed on the adjacent location and may be revealed on further locations per the GM’s discretion based upon sight or weather. For example the characters are likely to see a very high and well known mountain peak on an adjacent location if the weather is clear.
Explore
The party explores the current location/hex revealing up to a total six (6) features such as ruins, towns, caves, hidden groves, etc per the GM’s discretion. One feature may be revealed per attempt.
Note: Locations do not necessarily contain six features and a search could turn up no additional features. The GM may decide whether to keep the amount of features per location hidden.
Forage
The party may choose to forage for plants, search for food or seek out fresh water if they are available on the current location. Items may not be available depending upon the terrain and the GM’s discretion.
Foraging for Plants
Foraging is searching for plants or herbs useful for the creation of potions, salves, or used in magic. Some plants are only available in certain climates or locations.
Searching for Food
Party members are required to consume one (1) ration worth of food per day. The party may choose to spend one phase searching or hunting for food.
Party members are also required to drink one unit of water per day.
Roll 1d6 to determine how many rations or units of water the party is able to recover while searching. The party may choose to spend more than one Phase searching for food.
Terrain Modifier
| Terrain | Rations | Water |
|---|---|---|
| Grassland | 0 | -1 |
| Forest | +2 | +1 |
| Coastal (Fresh) | +1 | N/A |
| Coastal (Salt) | +1 | -1 |
| Desert | -1 | -2 |
| Mountainous | +1 | 0 |
Setup Camp
The party sets up camp to prepare for a rest. The party must rest for at least one Phase per day or they will gain one level of Fatigue.
If the party is undisturbed they are able to rest and party members lose all their Fatigue at the start of the next Phase.
If the party is disturbed during their rest with an encounter or with another disturbance such as severe weather, they may only detract 1d4 Fatigue for the party. Fatigue may be recovered in any combination per the party members.
Interact
The party may choose to interact with one feature that they have discovered inside their current location. This could be dungeon delving, approaching a town/village, lair exploration, a long NPC interaction, etc…
Note: When interacting with a feature such as a dungeon the time spent exploring the dungeon can usually take place during this same phase unless your players explicitly state they will spend more than one Phasethere.
Getting Lost
If the party is traveling through the wilderness to a new location, they have a 1 in 6 chance of getting lost.
- After the GM describes the general information in the location, the party must roll a 1d6. On a roll of 1 the party arrives at the new location, but becomes lost.
If the current location contains bad weather, or rough terrain add an additional point to the d6 roll. (e.g bad weather is a 2 in 6 chance, bad weather and bad terrain is a 3 in 6 chance.)
If the party is lost, they must spend an additional Phasetrying to find their way, rolling a 1d6 with the appropriate modifiers for weather and terrain. Should the party fail their roll again, each character gains a level of Fatigue, and must attempt to find their way again at a future Phase.
Note: The party does not need to attempt to find their way immediately after becoming lost. The may choose to setup camp or forage, but they may not leave their current location to explore, find new locations, or Features, until they find their way.
Fatigue
If characters are unable to sleep, are deprived of a critical resources or challenged with an extreme condition such as weather, they will become Fatigued. When a character gains Fatigue it is added to one of their inventory slots. If they have no open slots available, they must drop a piece of equipment to free up an inventory slot.
Setting up a Refuge
A Refuge is a secure set of supplies that players may create and place in the wilderness that will allow them to complete a rest to recover their Characteristics in addition to Breath.
A Refuge can be a cave, an old hunting cabin, a secure room or any other location the players can secure. A Refuge may prove to be the difference between life and death when adventuring deep into the wilderness.
Players will have to construct supplies from their town and bring them to the Refuge.
A Refuge is an expendable resource and each time the players use it, they expend some of those resources.
- A Refuge requires 100 Coin to establish and 50 coin for each Refuge Material cache.
- A Refuge is 5 Inventory slots to transport and includes all basic necessities such as pots and pans, medical supplies, tools, bedding, etc.
- Refuge Materials are 2 inventory slots each and contain all of the basic materials for food, equipment repair, etc.
Players can spend one (1) Refuge Material per person per day to do the following:
- Rest and regain 1d4 points to all Characteristicsbelow their max value.
- Repair Equipment and regain 1d4 points to Armor, or repair any damaged Adventuring Equipment.
- Repair weapons and regain 1 damage dice level for any damaged weapons
- Cure one persistent ailment such as poison, bleeding, etc.
Advanced Adventuring
Traveling in the wilderness can be done either through a Hexcrawl, or a Pointcrawl depending upon the style and preference of the players.
Hexcrawl Procedures
The overland world outside the town is divided into a map covered with hex.
Characters may travel through one hex during each Phaseand at most four Hexes in a day.
If characters do not rest at least once per day, or if they are out of water or food, they will gain Fatigue in one of their inventory slots.
In traditional RPG systems each hex consists of an area six (6) units across. This can be miles, kilometers or any other distance appropriate for the scale of your current play setting.
Terrain, weather or other environmental factors may hinder or inhibit characters’ movement, induce Fatigue, or cause them to become Lost.
Pointcrawl Procedures
A Pointcrawl can be used as a preference over hexcrawl system or when locations/destinations are known in the world or when players are interacting with Features inside a hex.
Imagine a point crawl similar to a mind map, where important locations are identified as points or nodes. Those locations are connected with lines, that can range from roads, paths, overland travel, etc.
In general the adventuring rules apply similarly to a point crawl or a hex crawl.
The GM may apply a Phase cost for travel ons a route between points.
For example, traveling from a mountain fort to the town in the valley may cost 2 Phases.
Player Roles at the Table
Player roles are assigned both the player and to the character when an adventuring party leaves town.
Each roll will have a purpose both within the game world and at the table for various aspects of the game.
Each role should remain the same through the duration of an expedition. If a character is Incapacitated or killed during an adventure another character or hireling may pickup the responsibility.
The Commander
The Commander is responsible for keeping players and characters on task during the game. Group decisions should be arbited by the Commander with the party and the Commander will convey the group’s decision to the GM. The Commander shall be the individual who will make a final decision on any stalemate or undecided actions from the party.
The Commander conveys the marching order while adventuring to the GM.
+1d4 to the Rally ability once per Combat encounter.
The Historian
The Historian is responsible for chronicling the party’s adventures, securing that information, and ensuring that the knowledge of adventures make their way back to the town.
Only the information that is recorded by the Historian may be added to the town’s archives for shared knowledge of the world.
The Historian is also responsible for providing a summary of the previous game session for all players at the table.
- +1d4 to Skill Checks or Saves related to historical, learned, or intellectual knowledge.
Dungeoneer
The Dungeoneer is responsible for recording and drawing any dungeon maps and recording any information while delving.
- Once per session they receive a +1d4 to a Skill Check or Save while in a dungeon.
The Navigator
The Navigator is responsible for documenting the party’s over-world travels, rolling for weather, setting up camp, foraging, and rolling to see if the party may be lost.
- Once per session they may re-roll to determine if a party is lost.
The Lorist
The Lorist keeps track of world lore, rumors, objectives, factions, hirelings, and any other actionable information.
They are responsible for keeping track of any debts owed by the party, including payment to hirelings, and distributing any treasure that may be found.
- +1d4 to Skill Checks or Saves related to historical, learned, or intellectual knowledge.