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Author Topic: (AD&D) An Idea Wot I Had  (Read 831 times)

Werekoala

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(AD&D) An Idea Wot I Had
« on: December 12, 2011, 05:51:29 PM »
Actually I sorta started doing this 2-3 years ago when I was into my re-reading AD&D phase (And was playing via Skype in a game Sett ran at the time, when a bunch of us decided to see if AD&D was as fun as we remembered - it was). The back of the DMG has all the tables you could ever want for random ANYTHING, so I made a character, chose a map I had doodled together using Hexographer for another project, chose a hex and put him and his followers down in that hex. And started rolling.

Basically, it was a solo D&D game, where I would choose an arbitrary direction and, using the charts, play what happened. I used the rules for food, henchmen, weather - everything. I kept the results of each "day" in a journal-style log for my character, describing the weather, scenery, and encounters, etc. Got a couple of weeks into his expedition, but unfortunately my hard-drive crased about that time and it was all lost.

So, I have been thinking of re-creating the experience, maybe posting the adventure logs on here, or if I'm feeling really froggy, maybe as a blog.

Whaddaya think, sirs?
Lan Astaslem


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TristramEvans

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(AD&D) An Idea Wot I Had
« Reply #1 on: December 12, 2011, 05:55:10 PM »
I knew someone who played that way back in the 80s. I've heard it suggested that those charts were there specifically for that reason, but I doubt it kinda. But it's certainly a concept Tunnels & Trolls took and ran with.

Are you familiar with the Mythic GM emulator? I have a friend who swears by it and has a website shared with some friends where they all post regular campaign reports.
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Werekoala

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(AD&D) An Idea Wot I Had
« Reply #2 on: December 12, 2011, 06:29:32 PM »
I've heard of it but never used it or looked at it. Might have to give it a once-over sometime.

The results I got from the random tables weren't really all that bad - never got into a "dungeon" per se, all of it was wilderness up until the Great Crash, but on the whole it was pretty fun and interesting, as much as a solo game can be I guess.

Of course, I had to add in some "narrative" (gasp) elements to tie it all together. Half the fun was figuring out how to make some of the random bits "fit" into the overall "story".
« Last Edit: December 12, 2011, 06:31:42 PM by Werekoala »
Lan Astaslem


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daniel_ream

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(AD&D) An Idea Wot I Had
« Reply #3 on: December 12, 2011, 06:46:15 PM »
Quote from: TristramEvans;494832
Are you familiar with the Mythic GM emulator?


Sorry, I know you weren't addressing me, but is this web site publicly available?  I confess I just don't get Mythic.  I look at it and look at it and try to see the point, but for the life of me it seems you could just replace the thing with a Magic 8-ball.  I'd love to see examples of use in the wild because I honestly just don't get it.
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Silverlion

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(AD&D) An Idea Wot I Had
« Reply #4 on: December 12, 2011, 07:47:51 PM »
Sounds interesting. A lot of my Cyclopedia D&D world beside the basics of Thunder Rift itself were created using the random stuff online and off I've found. I think I'll drop Thunder Rift for the next group and just go with the world.
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greylond

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(AD&D) An Idea Wot I Had
« Reply #5 on: December 12, 2011, 07:47:59 PM »
We used to do this for small groups back when I first started playing. It worked very well with small groups of one or two players.

TristramEvans

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(AD&D) An Idea Wot I Had
« Reply #6 on: December 12, 2011, 08:13:26 PM »
Quote from: daniel_ream;494847
Sorry, I know you weren't addressing me, but is this web site publicly available?  I confess I just don't get Mythic.  I look at it and look at it and try to see the point, but for the life of me it seems you could just replace the thing with a Magic 8-ball.  I'd love to see examples of use in the wild because I honestly just don't get it.


I'll ask him for the address next time we game, it doesn't look like I have it bookmarked.
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JasperAK

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(AD&D) An Idea Wot I Had
« Reply #7 on: December 12, 2011, 11:16:40 PM »
Quote from: Werekoala;494829
So, I have been thinking of re-creating the experience, maybe posting the adventure logs on here, or if I'm feeling really froggy, maybe as a blog.

Whaddaya think, sirs?


I am always interested in how people use random charts. I'd be interested in seeing how you put that randomness together.
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Nerd Mike

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(AD&D) An Idea Wot I Had
« Reply #8 on: December 13, 2011, 02:30:14 PM »
If you're interested in getting some random guidelines and integrating them with your ongoing story, I highly recommend Instant Game. Ignore the gaming system that comes with it and just use the instant tables to generate the elements you need. Instant Game is intended for creating whole roleplaying worlds and plots out of thin air, but you can also use it just to help suggest elements for an existing world or campaign.

It might be worth a look (plus it's free).