Post by Deleted on Oct 1, 2017 16:54:55 GMT -5
To begin!
When I first bought the TLBBs in 1975, I didn't have any background information on how D&D was run. A few guys (that's correct, no girls, though not by choice) in the Chess Club at High School had heard vague reports of it but that was it. So, in many ways my campaign was wide open. In others, very by-the-book.
Obviously, my refereeing style has changed a lot over the years. This is due to changes in me, and my experiences; and also from exposure to other D&D campaigns, rules editions, and other role-playing games.
So, this brings us to the first "new" thing I've added since I eagerly ran my first game (and got dice thrown at me).
Fame & Fortune!
I believe I swiped this from TSR's "Top Secret" but I've seen variations of it used in other games as well. At first I taught newcomers dying early and often was merely a part of the OD&D experience. Then groups became smaller, a bit older, met less often, and game for shorter amounts of time (... I mean really ... we're just meeting for 3 hours?!? I've got the whole weekend free!).
So, I introduced Fame & Fortune points (F&F). These are basically "get out of jail" free points, to be used as the player saw fit. New players roll d3+1 and received the result as F&F points. When reduced to zero points or below (negative hp up to CON) they could expend a point and restore themselves back to 1 hit point. There are limited ways to add points: increase in level adds a single point to the player's current total. Wishing for more also adds 1 point.
Conceptually, these points were intended to represent divine favor for the PC in much the same way additional hp/HD were also supposed to do. In practice, once or twice a wily PC managed to "sell" a different use to the Divinities (me, in this case!). Transporting the party members out of a certain TPK, for example.
When I first bought the TLBBs in 1975, I didn't have any background information on how D&D was run. A few guys (that's correct, no girls, though not by choice) in the Chess Club at High School had heard vague reports of it but that was it. So, in many ways my campaign was wide open. In others, very by-the-book.
Obviously, my refereeing style has changed a lot over the years. This is due to changes in me, and my experiences; and also from exposure to other D&D campaigns, rules editions, and other role-playing games.
So, this brings us to the first "new" thing I've added since I eagerly ran my first game (and got dice thrown at me).
Fame & Fortune!
I believe I swiped this from TSR's "Top Secret" but I've seen variations of it used in other games as well. At first I taught newcomers dying early and often was merely a part of the OD&D experience. Then groups became smaller, a bit older, met less often, and game for shorter amounts of time (... I mean really ... we're just meeting for 3 hours?!? I've got the whole weekend free!).
So, I introduced Fame & Fortune points (F&F). These are basically "get out of jail" free points, to be used as the player saw fit. New players roll d3+1 and received the result as F&F points. When reduced to zero points or below (negative hp up to CON) they could expend a point and restore themselves back to 1 hit point. There are limited ways to add points: increase in level adds a single point to the player's current total. Wishing for more also adds 1 point.
Conceptually, these points were intended to represent divine favor for the PC in much the same way additional hp/HD were also supposed to do. In practice, once or twice a wily PC managed to "sell" a different use to the Divinities (me, in this case!). Transporting the party members out of a certain TPK, for example.