DwD Studios

Simple and to the point-definitely a BareBones solution. Also, a VERY good reason to keep a second, hidden Birth Name, lie about the year and say of your birth, burn discarded hair, etc.

I hope you find it useful. It is very flexible so will fit many situations.

Also as a wizard, it is good to host the anual wizard's meeting at your tower. Serve porkchops, supply toothpicks. :)

Never know when those might come in handy.

Reminds me of a really nasty situation I was going into with a character one time. It was something like a big demon invasion and I had to go barter for a cease fire. I was a total non caster back in this particular AD&D game, like a thief or Fighter thief or something. Anyway, before I went I cut off my pinky finger, so if the high cleric cast a divination and figured I was dead, he could ressurect me off the finger. The GM thought it was hilarious, insane, and brilliant. Mostly it was just desperate. hehehe

Neollithicwolf, you don't know desperate until you go into battle so far above your weight class it isn't funny-

-and trust your fate to a Ring of Spell Storing with Contingency and Reincarnation. We had one for all three part members (I think some mad Jester God created them, not sure) all the henchmen fled and it was the Wizard, Cleric and Monk against three Frost Giants-one of them a Shaman- and two Zombie Wargs...it was over in 5 rounds. :( Alas for us...

Half an hour later as the Frost Giants settled in for dinner (our corpses) The Shaman suffered a sudden crippling spinal injury at the tentacles of an Otyugh application of Kung-Fu, a Polar Bear disintegrated the Zombie Wargs with a Holy Symbol-and I in my Angry Mallard form glided onto the nearest outcropping and Fireballed the rest with a Scroll.

Strangest Victory Parade EVER. :)

LOL@order99. Are all your games in Discworld? You're on a roll. :P

I blame my players, they are a strange and fey lot. And when one of them usurps GM duty in order to give me a break it gets far, far stranger...oh well, they've been far worse. FAR WORSE-

We tried the Warhammer Fantasy RPG for awhile. I envisioned a rag-tag bunch of traveling misfits ready to Smite Chaos and encounter corruption...they all chose to play Halflings. So much for Grim and Perilous adventure, eh? By the time we sorted out the Starting Career rolls, we had:

Halfling Ratcatcher
Halfling Smuggler
Halfling Gravedigger
Halfling Hypnotist

BTW, all Halfling PCs start with the Cooking Skill by default. So rather than find an excuse for adventuring together, our intrepid Halfling band met each other by chance outside of a Credit house, each with a dream of opening a Meat Pie Shop-so they pooled their starting funds and became partners-

(I began to experience a sense of trepidation)

-The opening scene found our intrepid 'heroes' gazing forlornly at the empty shack they had used every last penny to buy rather than rent-shelf after empty shelf gazed back at them...

Abel-Well, at least we have a roof, all free an' clear.
Murd-Yeah, free to starve without proper stock te' run the place!
Kell-Now flour's cheap enough, I can get a fortnight's for the pence we've left...but who's gunna buy pies wi' no fillings?
Cappy-Relax gents. I...got..A PLAN-

-and then the player looks straight at me and starts whistling the Sweeny Todd Overture. :O

I ran to the kitchen in desperate haste...ten minutes later however I returned to the table with my weapons of choice (a hot steaming pot of Jamaican Blue coffee and a Threepenny Opera CD), tossed my copy of Something's Rotten in Kislev back in my attache case and began a Cold Open Improv.

(I never get to run published materials with these guys, it's NOT FAIR)

I bore witness to ghastly doings for the next few weeks as my players proceeded to make the Chaos Gods themselves sit up and take notice...it all ended in vigilante justice and a Flour Explosion that sent half the Boardwalk flying into the river. A sad, cautionary tale that ended in tears, alas.

Is there such as thing as GM PTSD? :(

Did I ever show you my blog post called Offroad vs. the Rail?

Some have found it informative in that matter.

Wait, there's a Rail? A Road? A tiny Goat trail? Must ponder this further...

UPDATE-Dear Gods, I think one of my Players is lurking on this very Forum! I just received a call concerning Sympathetic Magic. They want to know if they can craft a Blood Ritual to transfer DP from one PC to another. Why on Earth-

NO. NEVER. I KNOW WHAT THEY ARE UP TO!!! I know their ways! I'll bet they plan on Tithing DP to the Artificer and tapping him like a keg of Ale... NOT ON MY WATCH. If the Soldier wants flying Platemail with Lightning Gauntlets he's just going to have to convince the Artificer to spend his own STR!

Just in case my players are listening in-if you want a Ritual like that to exist, it's a bet that some more powerful and smarter Wizard already figured it out LONG AGO-and since this Playtest does not involve a God-king ruling a nation of listless peasants and kept in line by an Elite Force of Spell-resistant Flying Armored Juggernauts with Heat rays....and Thought Police enforcing Happiness and Cheer with Magic Mirrormasks and Cloaks of Invisibility to trail suspects...and-

And far, far below the streets a desperate, weakened band of Rebels place bits of their own souls into the Last, Best Hope, a mighty bronze Colossus with the power to shatter entire Nations-a young orphan girl fastens the golden loops around her throat, lays across the Altar and calmly awaits the knife that end her pain, and give spark to the Champion of Desire....

UM. And, um, since none of that will be in the Playtest, it stands to reason that nobody could make that Ritual work. So THERE! I'm off to bed-

(A land ruled by a God Emperor and his Magic Templars would be AWESOME)

Shut up, the Voices In My Head don't get a vote.

(Your Players would loooove it)

SHUT. UP. Im going to stop typing now and go to-

(You could mix Star Wars all up in your Conan, and drench it in Nausicaa Valley of the Wind,,,it would taste like Belgian Chocolate Caramels with sea salt)

NNNNGGGGRRGHHAAAAAGHHH!!!!!

Okay, no bed. COFFEE. Coffee and Anime. Maybe we won't use Discworld after all-sigh.

(BareBones Pulp tugs on pants leg and looks up with big, puppy-dog eyes)

No, I haven't forgotten. Let's Playtest the system down to bedrock and you will be all the stronger for it when I edit you, 'kay BBP?

Why do I read this stuff? Too much inspiration and NO Sleep makes Order99 cranky... :(