Orc Fist Gauntlets

Like a lot of my McGuffins, I really should give a bit more detail on the Orc Fist Gauntlets. Or I already have done so, and I've forgotten. And figure I should attempt to dual-stat for The Fantasy Trip and OSE. As most of my fantasy games run on the same world. Though the actual description works for both, but the effects will differ a bit due to the significant differences in how the game systems handle magic. And in trying to figure it out, the only real difference mechanically is Stone Flesh for TFT and +4 AC for OSE (4 protection is the same as half-plate in TFT, so figuring a bit of that for the OSE AC plate armor).

And thinking ahead, should the group get them, we have actually no human player characters: Elf, Halfling, half Orc/Half Elf, Lizardman and Goblin. Of those, I think we've already said the Lizardman has only 3 fingers and a thumb so probably cannot wear these. And he is the fighter. The Elf and half Orc I think can wear them, but I would think the Goblin and Halfling may have issues with the gauntlets being too large. So, to head off potential arguments, for those characters they will get most of the benefits but due to the size mismatch, still cannot wield weapons requiring more strength as the gauntlets are very clumsy when they wear them and prone to slipping. Modifying them to fit may work but also carries the risk of disabling the spells. 

Orc Fist Gauntlets

More than two hundred years ago, before the Terror Lands became the Terror Lands, roving Orc bands started gathering together to fight humans in a contest to control the lands. Orc Leader Vrhug amassed a veritable army or Orcs at the base of Wizards Mount, ready to cross the lands to strike at Edge City and the human kingdoms. Queen Dithea commissioned a Gnoll Shaman to enchant weapons. Of these weapons, the Orc Fist Gauntlets were specifically created to go against Vhrug and his Orc's Fist Sword. And the battles were fought and eventually pushed back the Orc invasion. The gauntlets and sword got lost over the ensuing centuries. While the sword has recently shown up near Windmere Crossing, the gauntlets were lost until recent rumors put them in the outpost of Stubboon's Final Stand.

A pair of well-made gauntlets of black hardened leather and red detailing, the gauntlets give the wearer strength to wield the Orc's Fist sword, itself an enchanted sword for Orcs that non-Orcs cannot easily wield. It also gives protection to the wearer and will glow with a runic red light when Orcs are within 100 yards. Unkown to Queen Dithea, the gauntlets have a similar affect as the sword: its magic does not work against Gnolls and in fact, acts as a strength reduction and makes the wearer easier to hit when fighting Gnolls. 

Orc Fist Gauntlets

The Fantasy Trip Version

These give the user a +2 strength when wearing them, as well as stone flesh giving +4 protection that does stack with armor and other spells. There is also a detect orcs spell that works for 100 yards. This will allow the user to wield melee weapons without penalty above their normal strength limits. However, when attacking Gnolls, it actually gives a -2 to strength and the wearer must roll 4 dice per attack against their dexterity. It does allow the user to wield the Orc's Fist sword without penalty that non-Orcs have.

OSE Version

Wearing these gives the user +2 strength with all its benefits, as well as +4 to their AC. As above, these benefits are reversed when fighting Gnolls. Wearing these gloves allows a non-Orc to wield the Orc's Fist Sword.

Orcs Fist Sword

Orc's Fist Sword

January Character Challenge

I am not sure I am up to the character challenge this year. I've created a lot of characters over the years and few have been used. And while it is fun to create characters, so far I am horrible at acting as NPCs and even forget they are in the game all too often. 

Late December Musings

That time of year again. 

After working with .NET Core more, which runs on Macs and PCs (and Linux too), I've been thinking of yet again working on a Traveller trade program that works on any platform. But that means it would be a web application, and I do not do well with making pretty views. But the theory would be that users would just download the code, and they could simply type `dotnet run` and go to site on their machine. Basically localhost:1234. But I also recognize that few people would want to do that, so another option is to figure out how to host it. And phase 1 would not even need data persistence: enter in the world's UWP and then I could generate the cargo lots for all the populations or one they specify. Anyway, thoughts on doing this again after so many attempts in the last 25 or so years! Probably because I have fun coding in .NET which is a good thing.

And I started turning into a jackass again at work. Part of that is the frustrations of dealing with a non-technical company. All my previous jobs have been in tech companies and this one actually makes stuff! But it all runs through IT now. Anyway, I started pulling the "I've been doing this a long time" thing and realized I was doing something I did more than 25, 30 years ago. Yes, I've been doing this a long time, but everything is different at every place, and even the technology changes. I've apologized to the junior dev. 

But I also feel I've done something similar with one of my gaming buddies. We were going to see about another shared universe for Space Gits and he put out a really nice idea and some concepts. I just had an issue with 1 part of the description where a sub-light sleeper ship finds a pair of worlds in another galaxy. Yes, that is possible, but he had a time frame of 400 years which, as the nearest galaxy is about 25K lightyears away, a sub-light vessel cannot get there in less than 25K years. He ended up removing the post and I feel he feels slighted or something. And me being an idiot with bad foot in mouth disease does not help. I did come up with some possible ways: wormholes, aliens doing something to speed things up, strange stellar currents that somehow manage to get things moving a lot faster than lightspeed. So, there were ways to do it as he posted, but I fear the way I indicated that it was impossible came across badly. 

Space Gits is also, in some ways, a variation on Traveller I feel. The life paths/previous history mechanisms are the same, though the rest of the mechanics are decidedly not Traveller. But as per the blurb in the intro, I feel it is taking aim at those of us who do like to calculate the fuel, plot the jump points, and deal with the crunch of Traveller:

Space Gits is a simple but fun science-fiction RPG for those that do not want to calculate space travel or worry too much about the minor things but just want to shoot aliens, discover new worlds and engage in space combat.

But this will let me use all those 0-Hr deck plans and ships as I am adding jump gates to this universe. But I am also adding DY-100 sleeper ships, because I do want to open that up in case he does want to run his concept (which I am hoping he does as all his games a fun to play in).

from here, which has a LOT of cool Star Trek deck plans and stuff!

And playing with a different kind of space map, as much as I love Traveller maps:

made with Hex Kit

And for those who celebrate - Merry Christmas!

AI image

Fantasy Trip Game Recap #7

There have been only about 6 or 7 sessions in this game we started last February. The length of time between sessions does make it difficult to keep track of things.

In our last session, our valiant heroes got rejoined with Axz (and still guessing at the name!). Apparently, Clyde and Susan, our hapless late teens who are all sorts of messed up from the cult, are now blissfully married under the auspicious of Bresselwyth's de facto leader, Ceteern Gur. A quick recap of the battle, the harpies saying they will quit taking the sheep if the corrupted magic can be taken away. Finding their horses and moving along. I still have 2 NPCs with them, the silent Sister Ishbarrah and Maria, the Lappin. The dwarf with the huge ram is not with them as the ram is getting some medical attention. 

Towards the end of the day, they see more light than there should be in the forest. Getting to the edge, they see that the forest in front of them has been decimated. Completely logged and barren. Hearing a voice crying for help, the find what seems to be someone half-stuck in a tree.

not completely done painting but good enough and I needed to figure out how to use this mini

Having no idea how to handle the dryad, which Deimos had a bit of knowledge of, they are trying to see what to do when the half-Orc, half-Elf notices something moving out of the ground in the cutting fields. And lo, there were two misshapen creatures, having dug themselves out of the ground, are now stumbling towards our group. A fight of course occurs, with the group trying to keep the dryad safe as they attempt to draw off the creatures. Between makeshift Molotov cocktails, excellent arrow-work, a vine illusion trapping one, and some fancy whip-work and pointy weapons, the creatures are defeated.

more minis that oddly actually fit the description from where this part of the adventure is coming from

While this was happening, a druid showed up and with a healing potion, managed to free the dryad from her now corrupted tree. Our group comes back, and we get a bit more of an info dump: the Cutting Fields are the result of over-logging as New Beryl is trying to rebuild in the midst of these corrupted lands. The creatures are parts from soldiers who have fought and died on these fields over the years, the bad magic making them rise again in odd combinations. He is heading the same way, so Dovak the druid joins the group (meaning now there are 3 NPCs I keep forgetting about in play!) Deimos and Dovak spend a lot of time talking, as Deimos may be learning one of his spells as they travel. 

They stay in Grant the first night, with Dawn singing for her keep. Most of the others sleep in the stables, and their horses are being well-cared for. George, the proprietor of the Red Rover Inn, had a full house thanks for her singing. Nothing much else happened and the group had a good night's sleep.

And pretty sure this is where we left off. I think I'll summarize the next few days as they have two very competent woodsmen with them. There may be some encounters but nothing major. The next session will open at the sight of the ruins of Stubboon's Last Stand. I've a few ideas there for that, as well as several maps I can actually lay on the table, though they are squares and not hexes. Or I could bring out the Dungeons and Lasers stuff as I have enough. But I need to design the castle and encounters in the next week or two.

I've moved the Yol'najj Forest here, so I am using that setting supplement for parts of this. The creatures have a table you can roll up for the number of arms and weapons which is interesting. But the image matches one of the minis pretty closely! I need to apply the points from helping the dryad and killing those things, as what the adventurers do can affect the magical corruption. 

Previous recaps here (and think I missed one)

S1: Sewers, found crypt, rescued Keg https://traveller-ct.blogspot.com/2024/02/to-sewers-once-more.html
S2: return for the crypt, find Ax (goblin rat catcher), Hexis has sword https://traveller-ct.blogspot.com/2024/03/fantasy-trip-game-recaps-two-for-one.html
S3: shopping, get medicinal weeds for sick child thieves, stay at Olmsted farm https://traveller-ct.blogspot.com/2024/04/saturday-fantasy-trip-recap-to-weeds.html
S4: back to Edge City, twin Elf children of possible royal descent. mission to head north for Orc Fist Gauntlets, fight a sect https://traveller-ct.blogspot.com/2024/07/battle-of-sects-followup.html
S5: escort Clybe to Bresselwyth, fight demon, meet Marian Harefolk, stay in goat town https://traveller-ct.blogspot.com/2024/07/battle-of-sects-part-3.html
S5: heading north, meet harpies, fight wolves, find strange green crystals in the wolves https://traveller-ct.blogspot.com/2024/09/meeting-harpies.html