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This blog is simply an outlet for some of my thoughts and ideas on tabletop role-playing games.

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An Encounter with Goblins

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What follows is a case study. It began with a random encounter result of goblins. Then the LEDGE method (outlined  here ) was applied. It produced a module-worthy encounter. It was then run in actual play. This is a recap of that play identifying the critical parts of the encounter through the lens of the LEDGE method. Unbeknownst to the party, one of the NPCs they disclosed their quest to was secretly a spy. Because of this indiscretion, the enemies in the following encounter knew the PCs were coming and had set up an ambush. The party consists of: Kizya , Female Human Champion ( 7th level Fighter ) Zoltar , Male Human Magsman ( 8th level Thief ) Nadja , Female Human Magician ( 6th level Magic-User ) Jada , Female Half-Elf Prefect Thaumaturgist ( C5/MU5 ) Zogath , Male Half-Orc Curate Myrmidon ( C4/F6 ) Viktor , Male Human Myrmidon ( 6th level Fighter ) Nadja also made the mistake of drinking liquor at the tavern from the bartender’s personal stash and is suffering fro...
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[AD&D] Stealth Sans Skills

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A question that comes up a lot is how do you handle stealth for non-thieves in AD&D? A lot of people expect there to be some kind of default probability, less than that of a 1st level thief, but some sort of probability in the same vein as the Thief Abilities. Some veteran AD&D players simply allow the surprise check to work as a de facto stealth check, with Thief Abilities representing skill above and beyond that. But that seems to raise more questions than answers. How exactly is Move Silently or Hide in Shadows supposed to be integrated with the surprise system? There is something in the PHB to suggest that being silent would boost the surprise probability from 2 in 6 to 3 in 6, as would being unseen, and both would boost it to 4 in 6. So what do you do? Call for a hide in shadows check, a move silently check, and a surprise die roll just for a thief to sneak about? I can understand how the extra stealth skills of a thief would enhance the surprise ability, leaving the a...
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5 Steps for Selling 5E Players on Your 1E Game

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A great RPG adventure can transcend the particular rule set you are using, but at the end of the day, you have to settle on some particular set of rules, RPG, and edition to use. It's usually wise for GMs to go with a system they're familiar with and comfortable running. Long time, old-school GMs have had decades to gather experience creating and running adventures, and there's no reason those great adventures would be unappreciated by newer players. Thus we arrive at the question of, if you're a DM who works best with 1E, how do you get players who prefer 5E to give your game a try? Here are my 5 steps for breaking down the barrier. STEP 1: If these gamers don't really know me, a quick introduction, one that puts them at ease. But the real key is to find out what they get out of RPGs in general and/or 5E specifically. " Hey, I've got some adventure ideas I've been working on that have me pretty excited, and I'd like to try to run them, but...
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