PC's dispositions through dice rolls in character creation (Classic Traveller, or any TTRPG)

There's absolutely zero neccessity to write a page long (or worse, more) background story for each PC (which I utterly dread) or to inject and inflate so much of the player's own ego in their PC (doubly so).

A wonderful no brainer lesson can be learned from Classic Traveller RPG. 

The first step is to look at the six basic characteristics: strength, dexterity, endurance, intelligence, education, and social level. By careful examination and consideration, the character can be given a rough personality... Almost any combination of traits can be justified in this way, and a hint of personality obtained. 

(Traveller, Book 0, p.24) 

The author goes on by giving several obvious yet rich enough examples. 

• High strength, high endurance, low intelligence: a muscle-bound oaf of stage and screen.
• High strength and lower endurance: a smaller, wiry person whose power comes from skillful application of leverage rather than sheer muscle.
• High education, low intelligence, high social status: an overeducated noble with a string of degrees, but who has forgotten anything he might have learned.
• High intelligence, low education: a self-educated individual, likely to be driven to succeed, and highly motivated towards whatever goal he sets himself.

This approach requires no extra game mechanics at all and is so straightforward and intuitve that it is applicable to virtually any ttrpg system running on attribute scores. Among other things, the best outcome is a PC's overall outlook can be presented succinctly in one single sentence. 

Adding this to the well-known practice to generate narrative through the PC's career in Traveller's character generation process, the player automatically obtains a vivid, fully fleshed-out, adventure-primed characters at the end of the procedure.  

I am still a bit surprised that this insightful step did not make its way into the LBBs (in particular Book 1) or The Traveller Book, of which the primary focus is placed on the PC's careers and skills. Perhaps it's because this Book 0 was written by Loren K. Wiseman instead of Marc Miller himself.

How to add ribbon bookmarks to a hardcover book: a step-by-step guide

For those who missed out on the Tales of Argosa kickstarter campaign or didn't manage to get a copy of the nice offset print version of the book (like me), here is a quick, cheap and easy way to add a ribbon bookmark or two to your hardcover print-on-demand (PoD) copy.

Well, the great thing about working on a PoD copy is you can customise and personalise the book to your heart's content without worrying about reducing the collection value of your precious offset copy.

Step 0  Gather what you need

(1) Your Tales of Argosa hardcover PoD

(2) Fabric glue: The best option here for its relatively quick drying (a few minutes), strong bonding (perfect on fabric), and elasticity (no damage on the book spine). However, super/instant glues are NOT recommended for the hard (to fold) layer on the book spine after drying. Hot glue might work, but can be tricky to apply for its very quick drying time and thick and hard to precisely control dose.

(3) Cloth ribbon: Your favourite pick. For more than one, colors in good contrast are preferred (e.g. scarlet and navy blue in my case. Gold and black also make a nice couple.) The most common width seems to be around 6mm. Can be found dirt cheap in any craft shop or on ebay.

(4) Double-sided tape: A short strip (~1 to 2 inches) is enough.

(5) A coffee stirrer: free in any cafe, or buy a bulk pack if you fancy making your own terrain models.

(6) A pair of scissors

Estimated time: 15 minutes

Step 1  Measure with the coffee stirrer
Open the hardcover book about in the middle. Insert the coffee stirrer into the slot between the outer cover and the inner spine. About 1 to 2 inches deep should be enough. Then make a mark on the coffee stirrer. 

Step 2    Prepare the ribbon strip(s)
Measure and cut a suitable length of the ribbon.
The ideal length = the length of the book + the depth of the mark on the coffee stirrer + 2 to 3 inches extra (the tail)

Step 3    Fix the ribbon(s) on the coffee stirrer
Cut and apply a strip of double sided tape on the coffee stirrer. Stick the (first) ribbon on the coffee stirrer. Pay attention to the direction (see Pic X). For each additional ribbon, apply a SMALL amount (long, 1mm thin strip) of fabric glue on the previous ribbon and press them together. Wait for the glue to dry (in my case 5 minutes).

Step 4   Install the ribbon(s) on the book spine
Apply a small amount on the surface area of the (topmost) ribbon adhered to the coffee stirrer. Spread out the book covers, and carefully slide the glued coffee stirrer inside the spine slot. Close the book and give some pressure on the spine and the ribbon for a minute or so. Then wait for the glue to dry up.

Step 5    Remove the coffee stirrer
The ribbon bookmarks should now be firmly in place. Gently pull out the coffee stirrer from the book spine. The double sided tape should remain on the coffee stirrer so no traces would be left on the ribbon(s) inside the spine. 

And voila! Have fun reading the book with the new nice bookmarks of your choice.

Solo Tales of Argosa Episode 6 "Dances with Wolves"

The execution in the outpost at noon did not proceed as planned. Instead the party and the guards spent a whole watch on chasing the runaways, and another one preparing the ambush. The criminals' plot to leave the hidey hole (chase event) in the dark was foiled, and all but one met their fate in the quick fight.

Part A   Looting
Those three cultists do not carry anything except for the swords stolen from the missing guards, which should be returned to the outpost people, the trio adventurers decide.

As for the fallen Doppelganger, Carry Loot A should be the most appropriate category because it's a rescue operation and valuable stuff with the monster seems rather unlikely.
Roll = 69 (Silvers equal 20 + sum of the digits of the dice i.e. 6+9) = 35sp   

The money may come from the missing guards the night before (most probably killed by the Doppelganger). Perhaps our PCs are not supposed to take it (right away at least).
Let's hand it over to the three guards. It seems LIKELY that the offer will be well-received, and hopefully we may gain some favour from the outpost community. 

Consult the Bones (1 Fate die locked to Y) = Y-N-N-Skull  [negative, with misfortune]  Oh, well ....
What's going on?    Deck of Signs: "Guardian", "Unafraid", "Corruption"

These guards unabashedly snatch the silver pieces and slide them into their pockets without the slightest hint of shame or fear, let alone any sign of thankfulness. Their somewhat scornful gaze is telegraphing the decision that we are in no position to take part in this kind of "searching". Alright. The sharp-witted Sulani is beginning to sense what life is like in the outpost. Grindle the Greedy is their leader, after all...

Since it's just a small amount of money, there will be no more (negative) consequences.

Part B    Investigation
In addition to looting, we need to see if there is any clue or information about the criminals' identity and affiliation. Those guards don't mind us doing this kind of unprofitable chore here.

Sulani makes an Intelligence check with her Divine Lore skill (+1), and she has a pretty high INT score (16). Roll = 7 (Great Success)  
Deck of Signs: "Obelisk", "Waiting", "Sacred"

Bulfin turns over the deadweight Doppelganger for the artificer's quick inspection. Under the clothing, Sulani spots a weird looking tattoo of an obelisk on its chest, which piques her curiosity immediately. She cuts off that piece of skin with her razor-sharp utility knife, drops it into her specimen tin box, and looks far more pleased than pocketing any 30sp. 

The artificer possesses certain general knowledge about obelisks in the Midlands (among other curious objects). She recalls sources talking about four rumoured locations of religious obelisks: the Ironhull Mountains, the Sunstone Ranges ("Random Encounters", The Midlands, p.120), the Spine of Ulgoth ("Random Encounters", The Midlands, p.123), and a peculiar one protected by the Morgak skorn tribe ("Morgak's Monolith", The Midlands, p.195).

IRONHULL MOUNTAINS or SUNSTONE RANGES
(19) A tall obelisk with ancient silver markings rises from the depths of a shallow crater. The floor of the crater is mirrored, reflecting the stars and moon overhead.

SPINE OF ULGOTH
(19) In a narrow but steep ravine is an pale stone obelisk, marked with primitive scrawl and discoloured runes. As one descends, the air turns unnaturally cool, causing breath to fog. Perhaps the obelisk marks a ley line junction, serves as a cursed altar, or conceals a stairwell spiralling deep into the earth.

(6) MORGAK’S MONOLITH
Rumours & Hooks: Ceremond the alchemist is looking to hire explorers to venture into the Wistwood to retrieve some shards of a magic obelisk. The stone is protected by the Morgak skorn tribe.

Hopefully we will gather more information after going back to the outpost, she shares with the two teammates.

Part C    A night in the wild
It is always dangerous to travel in the wilderness at night (should be around 9pm now), despite the half day's distance back to the outpost. So the small hut is their best option to stay over. 

To avoid attracting any wild beasts and arousing suspicion, the group bury the dead quickly in the backyard. Moreover, the captured (spellcasting) cultist has been tied up and, more urgently, gagged properly, in fear and trembling of more dark sorcery as witnessed earlier on. 

Not being in deep mutual trust, the adventurers and the outpost guards agree to divide the sentry duty evenly, with each pair in charge of three hours (till 6am next morning): 1st = Sulani, Guard #2;  2nd = Bulfin, Guard;  3rd = Cut, Guard #11

Any night encounter? Consult the Bones: Y-Y-N-Skull
Roll for Random Encounter (Plains, 1d12+8):

(18) Wolves: Two rival packs of 3d4 Wolves (70%) or 2d4 Dire Wolves (30%) are fighting over hunting grounds, growling and snapping at each other.

Which wolves (d10) and how many: Wolves (5), 1st pack = 3+3+2 = 7    2nd pack = 1+2+3 = 6
Wolves again!? [see Episode 4] 

Who are the sentry (1d3)? (2) Bulfin-Guard #8 (midnight-3am)
Distance: Close (at night)
Stance: Having been detected (interpretation of the Skull result)
Reactions: 1st pack = 9 (sniffing curiously), 2nd pack = 11 (friendly)   
What the hell are these loving wolves doing in the middle of the night??
Since both wolf packs are not hostile towards the party for the moment, Bulfin tells his Guard partner to wake up the others.

Part D    Dances with Wolves

Probably the friendly group wants us to fight the other group...? 
According to the rules, our party should pass a skill check, i.e. Int/Cha (Animal Lore*) or Int (Wilderness), to at least try to communicate with these animals with a certain degree of intelligence. Since no one has the Animal Lore skill, we adopt the latter option. 

Cut is aware that wolves are good at tracking, and so he comes up with a quick plan. He asks the party if they have any more dried meat, or even better, more beef jerky.
Consult the Bones: Y-nil-nil-Sun    
Yes, there is beefy jerky, though not too much.

Cut does a small test to see if these friendly wolves are the same ones he encountered earlier on during the chase. 
Int(Wilderness): Int (11)+1 vs Roll = 3 (GS)    
When he takes out a few bits of beef jerky, all the members of the friendly pack step closer drooling and tails wagging. The wolves in the other pack are looking even more curiously. Cut confirms that those friendly wolves are from the same pack. 

Then he signals Sulani to attack the opposing pack with her hellfire glass (the artificer's class ability).

Hellfire Glass Spend an action to hurl an explosive device up to Close range (an attack roll is generally not required; GM’s call), blasting a Melee area for 2d4 damage plus 1d4 every odd level beyond 1st (no save). Damage dice are exploding (p.7).

Since both wolf packs are not hostile to the party, the party automatically gets a surprise round.

Sulani targets at Wolf #1, blast area including #2,#3,#5,#6:
Damage = 4+1 = 5
Targets' HP revealed: Wolf #1=4, Wolf #2=4, Wolf #3=8, Wolf #5=5, Wolf #6=8
Results: Wolves #1, #2, #5 are killed, Wolves #3 & #6 are reduced to 3 HP.

End of Round Morale Check:
Due to the death of the pack's leader (#1), the pack makes a collective (WIL) morale check.
WIL (10) vs. roll (10) = Pass!

The remaining four wolves are shocked, but they choose to stay put and fight the sudden enemies.


Round #1
Initiative:
Sulani (Init = 15) vs roll (5), party goes first

Party's turn:
Order of action: Sulani, Cut, Bulfin, Guard #2, Guard #8, Guard #11

Sulani attacks Wolf #7 with her heavy hammer: roll (13) + 1 (STR) vs. AC 12, hit
    DMG = 8; target HD = 4+2 = 6, killed

Cut attacks Wolf #4 with his long sword (2-handed): roll (9) + 4 (STR & Class) vs. AC 12, hit
    DMG = 6+1 = 7; target HD = 1+2 = 3, killed

Bulfin attacks Wolf #3 with his great axe: roll 1 + 2 (STR & Class) vs. AC12, miss and FUMBLE
    FUMBLE: Wolf gets a free attack (bite): roll (5) + 1 (STR) vs. AC13, miss

Guard #2 attacks Wolf #3 with his long sword: roll (6) + 1 (STR) vs AC12, miss

Guard #8 attacks Wolf #6 with his long sword: roll (3) + 1 (STR) vs AC12, miss

Guard #11 attacks Wolf #6 with his long sword: roll (9) + 1 (STR) vs AC12, miss

Enemy's turn:

Wolf #3 attacks Guard #2: roll (19 NAT) + 1 vs. AC 14, hit
    DMG = 4, NAT19 effect: Knocked Over; Guard #2's HP = 6 - 4 = 2
The strong wolf leaps over and bites on the guard's thign. The guard cries out and falls in great pain.

Wolf #6 attacks Guard #8: roll (20 NAT) + 1 vs. AC 14, hit & CRIT
    DMG = 8, Guard #8's HD = 1, killled
The desparate wolf snaps on the guard's neck. He cannot stop the blood from springing out and collapses to the ground. 

End of Round Morale Check (half of group eliminated):
Wolves' Wil (10) vs. roll (11), fail   
The two surviving wolves flee the scene. The party decides not to pursue (nothing to gain anyway). Battle ends.

Aftermath

The party tends to the wounded guard and pulls the dead guard into the hut to avoid attracting the wolves' attention. 
Cut attempts to further pacify the friendly wolf pack with a few more bits of dried meat, and then hurls the rest of the food deep into the bush.

Will the wolves go away? [Goodwill + Winning the proxy battle = VERY LIKELY] 
Consulting the Bones (Judgement die locked to Y): N-Nil-Sun, the Judgement Y overides the Fate N, yielding a positive result, plus more benefit.

The wolf pack races off for the midnight snack in a victorious mood and do not return for the rest of the night.

To be continued ...

Solo Tales of Argosa Episode 5 "Six Little Lackeys Jumping on the Bad"

Previous, in Solo Tales of Argosa ...

The adventuring party and the three outpost guards chased the criminals (doppelganger, three runaway cultists) up to a suspicious lone hut. The pursurers have set up an ambush around the spot waiting patiently for the enemies to emerge...and they did!

Thanks for the favourable outcome of the last Chase Event (10: "Hidey Hole"), the chase was successful practically forcing the quarry into a cul-de-sac without their being aware of that. It's now time to seal the pocket.

Our battle plan: Take down the most dangerous foe (the Doppelganger, 4HD), and capture (at least) one Cultist alive.

[To simplify the presentation a bit, the roll results are final after applying the modifiers.]

Surprise (bonus) combat round

Cut, Bulfin, and Sulani work as a team to take on the Doppelganger, and let each outpost Guard (#2, #8, #11) deal with one of the Cultists (#1 [the spellcaster], #2, #3).

Cut, Bulfin, and Sulani jump onto the Doppelganger (AC 13) and strike at the monster in unison.

Cut's melee attack: d20 + 1 (class bonus) +3 (STR bonus) +1 (outnumbering) vs. AC13, with Advantage (surprise attack)
    Roll = 12, 18 (hit)   Damage (1d8+1 two-handed) = 5+1 = 6    A painful slash!

Bulfin's melee attack: d20 + 1 (class bonus) +1 (STR bonus) +1 (outnumbering) +1 (flanking with Sulani) vs. AC13, with Advantage (surprise attack)

    Roll = 10, 14 (hit)   Damage (1d12) = 11    A ferocious chop!

Sulani's melee attack: d20 +1 (STR bonus) +1 (outnumbering) +1 (flanking with Bulfin) vs. AC13
    Roll = 12 (hit), 7   Damage (1d8) = 2    A nice blow. Could be better.

Total damage caused by the party to the Doppelganger: 6+11+2 = 19
The Doppelganger's actual HP is now revealed: 4HD = 7, 7, 4, 4 = 22
Actual life remaining: 22 - 19 = 3        Severely wounded!

[My homebrew solo rule: To preserve surprise and fog of war in solo play, do not roll for the actual HP of the enemy until it suffers injuries over half of the nominal HD.  Any excessive damage will be wasted, even if the actual HP turns out to be unexpectedly low...
In this case, the maximal HP is 32 (d8 x 4) and so HP will be determined after 16 points are removed.] 

Encouraged by the successful attacks of the new guests, the guards also step forward to engage the cultists (AC 11).

Guard #2's melee attack: d20 +1 (class) +1 (STR bonus) vs. AC11, with Advantage (surprise attack)

    Roll: 6, 12(hit)    Damage (d8+1) = 5
    Cultist #3's HP revealed (1HD) = 3
    Cultist #3 is killed!

Guard #8's melee attack: d20 +1 (class) +1 (STR bonus) vs. AC11, with Advantage (surprise attack)

    Roll: 7, 2 (misses)

Guard #11's melee attack: d20 +1 (class) +1 (STR bonus) vs. AC11, with Advantage (surprise attack)

    Roll: 6, NAT 20(CRIT)    Damage (d8+1)+1 = 10
    Cultist #2's HP revealed (1HD) = 5
    Cultist #2 is killed!

Morale (WILL) checks for the enemies are called for. Doppelganger: W16 vs. 15 (pass), Cultist #1: W13 vs. 12 (pass)

Despite their two fallen comrades, the remaining enemies stand defiant. Combat continues.

Round #1    
Rolling for initiative: Sulani's Init score is the highest (15), so let her go first. Roll = 5 (great success)

Order of actions: Sulani, Cut, Bulfin, then the Guards.

Sulani's melee attack vs. the Doppelganger:  d20 +1 (STR bonus) +1 (outnumbering) +1 (flanking with Bulfin) vs. AC13
    Roll = 16(hit), 7   Damage (1d8) = 7

Her swift warhammer lands squarely right on the head of the faltering Doppelganger, bringing it down at once!

Cut, seeing nothing more to do with the fallen monster, dashes to the back of the cultist spellcaster, hoping to knock it out from behind.

Cut's melee attack vs. Cultist #1: d20 +1 (class bonus) +3 (STR bonus) +1 (flanking with Guard #8) -2 (knock out penalty) vs. AC11

    Roll = 17(hit)  Damage (1d8) = 5

    Cultist #1's actual HP (1HD) = 4

    Cultist #1 goes down, falling unconscious.

With a wide swing, the face of Cut's long sword connects to the back of the cultist's skull, sending the cultist jerking under protest and collapsing to the ground.

Battle outcome: Four enemies, three dispatched, one captured. All allies unscathed. A sweet victory.

To be continued....

Black Sword Hack & Tales of Argosa: a very cursory comparison

After watching the interview with Steve on Geekout Weekly, I took a quick look again at Black Sword Hack (Ultimate Chaos Edition SRD https://blackswordhack.github.io/ ), thinking about how it compares with ToA. This is not any review but just some quick thoughts.

1. Main differences: Usage die chain (as in the "hack" tradition), high(er) magic, law vs. chaos world setting (permeating in the world generators), milestone-based character advancement, simpler combat rules 2. Notable similarities (by no means exhaustive):

• Similar vibe: swords & sorcery theme, though more pulp and heavily based on the setting of Elric,
• D20 roll under, crits at 1 and 20,
• Low and flat HP curve,
• Magic is mysterical and dangerous,
• Relatively low and flat HP curve,
• The Doom die in BSH is reminiscent of Luck in ToA,
• "Twisted Science": shares a similar vibe with the Artificer in ToA,
• Regional Adventure Seeds: similar to the approach of the regional random tables in ToA (and The Midlands), thematic, and again more tied to BSH's own world setting,

3. Things that can be imported/inspirational:

• Attack Effect: can be used as examples of major/minor exploits,
• Runic weapons: can offer more inspirations for custom artifacts in ToA,
• City generator: Pretty useful as not necessarily tied to the "law vs chaos" theme,
• Traveller's Tales: can be used as a supplement for montages in ToA.,
• Very cool tips on solo/gm prep: Use your favourite S&S book/short story as a plot generator (random pick as spark words),
• Bibliography: the Appendix N of BSH,
• "Advice from the Great Old Ones": with very cool quotations from those authors with commentary on how to utilise the ideas in the game

Adventuria Online Roleplaying Game (on blogspot)

Recently I came across this very interesting thing in the blog sphere: a solo sandbox campaign playing on blogspot! Not playing video games these days. But it's such a neat and tempting idea to play games like this on my phone anywhere anytime, without anyone knowing that I'm busy adventuring! :-)
https://adventuriaorpg.blogspot.com/

ToA Crawler Screen & Event Screen

These two screens are collections of content from the Tales of Argosa book and are reorganised in a handy format (1 pager). 

The "Crawler" Screen is compiled to supplement the official GM screen, in particular for hexcrawling and dungeoncrawling. Contains: All the tables and rules summary for Hexploration and Dungeon generations (1 page each), plus a summary of the summary of the rules based on the official cheat sheet.

The Event Screen combines the tables for Travel Events, Random Encounters, and Dungeon Events (with rules summary). This  may be useful if you want to have a set of event tables at hand to save page flipping, or to prevent your (drivethru) POD hardcover from falling apart too soon.

This piece of equipment may require the player's successful Perc (Eagle Eye*) check to read the fine print.

ToA Dungeon Time Tracker, Wilderness Travel Tracker

Dungeon Time Tracker is a tool to help structure dungeon crawling sessions using the classic 10-minute dungeon turn (p. 133). One page is enough for recording 4 hours (1 watch) of delving. Space is provided for recording PC actions, dungeon events, dungeon tally, and other essential information. Torch warning is indicated at the end of the hour (every 6th dungeon turn). 

Wilderness Travel Tracker is a tool to help keep track of hex crawling following the Travel Procedure (p. 134). One page is enough for recording a whole day (2 shifts, 6 watches). Space is provided for recording travel information, actions, events, etc. 

ToA Unique Feature Cards

ToA Unique Feature Cards

Another set of cards. Like the Spell Cards there are both large and small versions.

Large (6 per page), Small (12 per page)

ToA Chase Mat

This Chase Mat is designed to keep track of a chase situation in a physical form.
The sheet is ideal for using tokens or miniatures (even coins, beads, cubes, meeples, etc.) to represent the participants. Alternatively, you can simply write down the participants in the space provided.
The layout of the mat should be self-explanatory if you are already familiar with the chase rules (ToA, p. 72), or please read on.

How to use

• Place the two parties in the white space of the respective (CHASERS, QUARRY) areas.,
• Place the selected leaders of the current leg in both groups in the “Leader” boxes.,
• After the opposed Con(Athletics) check, place the leaders of both groups in the shaded “Used” panel. After everyone in the group has led a leg, move all used (NOT “Out of Chase”) characters back to the white space and continue.,
• Place any participants falling out of chase in the darker "Out of Chase" panel.,
• Update the running total of gaps in the "Gaps" boxes.,
• See the notes at the bottom of the mat for the rules summary.,
• An example of using the mat can be found here.

There are two slightly different versions. One is plainer and has a bit more white space. The other has a "Used" panel to help facilitate leader rotation.

Download here (plainer version) and here (with "used" panel). 

Some thoughts and ramblings about my solo experience with Tales of Argosa

After a few (short) solo sessions of  Tales of Argosa, I would like to offer my humble opinions of the experience and the game system. You may consider this an incomplete "review" of Tales of Argosa focusing the solo perspective of a newbie.

1. There are surprise elements everywhere thanks to the tools, in particular the Bones dice, the Deck of Signs, and the plethora of random tables in the book. 
2. The Oracle tools do a fantastic job to ease the burden of bookkeeping and juggling with the  likelihood of random events. The tactile feel of rolling dice and drawing cards is far smoother than crawling on a dense table of raw numbers. "The Bones" and "the Deck of Signs" are such apt names for a sword and sorcery game.
3. The highly specific, thematic terrain-based and situation-based random tables in the ToA book (also the older LFG and The Midlands) work its magic in growing and shaping emergent stories in a sword and sorcery setting. Each entry presents a short scenario with a brief yet evocative description, and the details are often tied to the mechanics of the game system.
   I really, really love this treatment, compared with those countless (and run-of-the-mill) random tables that are not much more than random word lists for generic fantasy. Not saying that they are necessarily not useful. They may work, especially for relatively rules-light games, but it is oftentimes either a hit or miss, or may require additional effort to connect those extraneous materials with the more distinct vibe and cruchier mechanics of games like ToA. Plus I am still having a difficult time to embrace the equal and flat probability/equal distribution of the entries in many, if not most, of these random tables.  
4. So to answer two important questions for new players who want to solo ToA is:
   - Do I need extra tools, like Mythic, to assist my solo games of ToA? My answer is, well, "very unlikely".
   - Are the tools included in the book enough to support my solo (sandbox) campaign? My answer is: three YES plus a FORTUNE, if you get the reference. 😎
   Perhaps one additional feature that is desirable is a dedicated wilderness generator (especially for the Midlands), which I have something to experiement with. I'm very much looking forward to seeing some exciting designs in this regard in the author's planned boxed set for the Midlands (expected in around Q4 2025).
   
   Game on!

Solo Tales of Argosa Episode 4 "Cut to the Chase"

Previously, in Solo Tales of Argosa... 

Cut and his two teammates have joined in Grindle's pursuit of the fleeing gang consisted of a Doppelganger and the three criminal cultists.

Let the chase begin!

Since the overseer ranger comes into play, .it's time to flesh out his stats:

Grindle the Greedy. Overseer (outpost: Westguard), Lv6 Ranger (human, male, age 40)

S13 D13 C10 I10 P15 W10 Ch10 L8

AC 15 (specially reinforced leather armor & Lv4 bonus), 22 hp 

Short Bow (1d6+1, Shadeleaf Bow), Nat 19: Call to Arms: As weapon, plus 1d4 Guards coming to Grindle's aid 

Skills: Animal Lore, Wilderness Lore, Stealth, Watercraft, Deception, Acrobatics

Unique features (x2): Marksman (1: no penalty for excessive RNG, no reroll when fire into melee), Signature Weapon (Shadeleaf Bow: DMG die explodes.)

Abilities (Ranger): Steady Shot, Second Attack, Sharpshooter, Instinctive Rescue, Cover Fire, Nature's Venom

Oh I almost forgot about the ranger's trusted beast companion:

Robin Hoot. Owl. Beast companion of Grindle's.

S7 D16 C12 I6 P16 W15 Ch8 L8

AC 12 +1 (Grindle’s Perc), 18 hp

Rake 1d4+1 +4 (Lv6), Nat 19: Bloody eyes: target Blind until end of their next turn. Fly (Very Far). Advantage on sight based perception and sees with minimal light. 

These two NPCs should make a pretty competent duo. 

Chase Setup
Chasers: Grindle the Greedy (Lv6 Ranger/Overseer, with his beast companion), Guards #2, #8, #11 (Lv1 human, HD1), PCs: Cut (Lv1 Fighter), Bulfin (Lv1 Barbarian), Sulani (Lv1 Artificer)
Quarry: Doppelganger (HD4), Cultists x3 (HD1, one being a spellcaster)
Starting gap: 1d4(4) + 3 = 7        This doesn't look too good...
Terrain: Plain (right outside the outpost, 6-mile hexes)

[Chase rules summary: Choose a leader for the current Leg > Make an opposed Con(Athletics) check, bigger (success) margin wins > Adjust gap (+/-1, or +/-2 for great success (GS)) > PC Leader rolls for Chase Event. Chase ends when: i) end of the 6th Leg; ii) gap = 0 (Chasers win) or >10 (Quarry escapes); iii) no more valid chasers or quarry; OR vi) special result of a Chase Event.] 

[In what follows, I'd let Grindle (the Overseer) and the Doppelganger to lead the Chase first. Then the guards would compete with our PCs (through an opposed Con(Athletics) check) for taking the lead for in subsequent legs.]

Leg #1 (Length = 7)
- Leader: Chasers = Grindle    vs.    Quarry = Doppelganger
- Opposed Con(Athletics) check:
    Grindle: Con(10) - roll(10) = 0    vs.    Doppelganger: Con(12) - roll(9) = 3   
    Result: Quarry wins. Length +1 (now 8).
- Chase Event (1d20) = 5 "Random setback"

iii. Head Strike: The leader is struck on the head by an object; Con check or Stunned and drop out of the chase. 

Grindle makes a Con check and rolls 20(!!).
The Overseer ranger was hit hard on the head by a malicious flying rock. The world shuts down, dropping him out of the chase immediately. Robin Hoot, his loyal beast companion, stops flying to stay with his master. What a bummer! 

Leg #2 (Length = 8)
- Leader: Chasers = Cut    vs.    Quarry = Cultist #1
- Opposed Con(Athletics) check:
    Cut: Con(15)+Athletics(+1) - roll(18) = -2    vs.    Cultist #1: Con(10) - roll(9) = 1
    Result: Quarry wins. Length +1 (now 8).
- Chase Event (1d20) = 5 "Random setback"      ...Again!?

v. Hostile Third Party: A random PC is beset by a hostile random encounter. The character must make a Luck (Dex) save or drop out of the chase and deal with the random encounter.

Random Encounter (Plains) = 12 (Wolf packs: 8 Wolves & 6 Dire Wolves)    ...What!?

Cut's Luck(Dex) save: 11(+2) vs. roll(17), Failure!    Reroll = 11, Success!  (burning 1 Luck)
Urged by a sense of dread, Cut fishes a few strips of beef jerky out of his pouch and tosses them in the opposite direction. No, the hungry wolf pack is apparently unimpressed and it stays on course. "Aw hell no." He grabs the whole stock of dried meat, spins the loose bag a few times, and hurls it out forcefully far and high above the beasts. The meaty shower right over their head give the predators pause, buying just enough time for the fighter to break away and continue the pursuit. 

Leg #3 (Length = 9)
- Leader: Chasers = Bulfin    vs.    Quarry = Cultist #2
- Opposed Con(Athletics) check:
    Bulfin: Con(17)+Athletics(+1) - roll(7) = 11(GS)    vs.    Cultist #2: Con(10) - roll(15) = -5
    Result: Chasers win. Length -2 (thanks to GS)
- Chase Event (1d20) = 6 "Burst of Speed"    

Burst of Speed: If the party succeed on a Group Con (Athletics) check, they are inspired to dig deep and put on a burst of speed, changing the gap by one length.

    Guards #2, #8, #11: Con(10) vs. rolls(3, 1, 3), all three GS!!
    Cut: Con(15)+Athletics(+1) vs. roll(17) = -1, Failure
    Bulfin: Con(17)+Athletics(+1) vs. roll(12) = 6, Success
    Sulani: Con(11) vs. roll(1) = 10, GS
    i.e. Five Successes (with 4 GS) out of six, reduce Gap by 1


Leg #4 (Length = 6)
- Leader: Chasers = Sulani    vs.    Quarry = Cultist #3
- Opposed Con(Athletics) check:
    Sulani: Con(10) - roll(10) = 0    vs.    Cultist #3: Con(10) - roll(4) = 6
    Result: Quarry wins. Length +1
- Chase Event (1d20) = 10 "Hidey Hole"

Hidey Hole: The quarry locate a viable hiding place. If the PCs are the quarry they make a Group Dex (Stealth) check. If the PCs are the chasers they make a Group Perc (Detection) check. The GM may impose modifiers based on distances, terrain, lighting, senses, and other circumstances. If the quarry succeed they escape! If they fail they are caught. Either way the chase ends.

    The Chasers perform a Group Perc (Detection) check. Terrain is plains, time is shortly after noon, so no additional modifiers apply.
    Guards #2, #8, #11: Perc(12) vs. rolls(14, 4, 13), two Failures, one GS
    Cut: Perc(14)+Detection(+1) vs. roll(9) = 6, Success
    Bulfin: Perc(15) vs. roll(5) = 10, GS
    Sulani: Perc(10) vs. roll(7) = 3, Success
    i.e. Four Successes (2 GS) out of six, the chase ends!!

Being in the lead, the overconfident criminals believe they could outsmart the pursuers by disappearing through a concealed dugout inside a lone hut. However, the pursuers manage to pick up traces of cultist activities when searching through the hut. The adventurers and the guards decide to feign their retreat and set up an ambush. A watch has passed. The four criminals emerge from the small building, only to realise too late that they are surrounded by the same three guards and three strangers...

To be continued...

 

My new ToA journal is born today!

Another small addon today. Made a large ToA sticker and want to put it on a new dirt cheap notebook dedicated to my ToA games. I was struggling between two choices to stick it on. One is a black recycled fake leather with a more coarse surface, and the other one is blue and more rubber like plus a small pen holder on the side for my erasable black pen.

I finally decided on the blue one. 
By the way I like using those erasable pens. Darker and less effort than writing with pencils. No sharpener or a separate eraser needed.  The pen's cap is a special eraser without leaving crumbs. A 12 pen set costs 5 quid when I bought them. The notebook is 1 pound only. And I am happy.

And I just realise my notebook has a pocket built inside the back cover, and my mini character cards fit perfectly inside!!

Game on!

ToA Mini Character Sheets (bookmark & index card)

Two new sets of character sheets for Tales of Argosa in the size of bookmark and index card.

Download bookmark version here.
Download index card version here.

Giant sized Argosa hex mapboards (3' x 3')

A few weeks ago I made a big (about 3' by 3') physical mapboard version of the 6-mile hex map of Midlands using the file (4200 x 4500 PNG in 300 dpi) from the Community Content on the Pickpocket Press website. 

The image has been sharpened to bring out the hex grids more and sliced into 16 parts, then colour printed and laminated in matt pouches (the same goes for my Deck of Signs) to avoid sheen and make ink markings more durable. Finally, they are mounted on four A2 foam boards and trimmed along the edges.

You can get the (modified) map files here: full-sized, 2x2 (4 pieces), 4x4 (16 pieces suitable for A4/Letter).

ToA Card Sets (Monsters, Spells, Skills, Conditions)

Here are four sets of cards for Tales of Argosa to save the timing flipping back and forth and copying stats etc. during play. All the content comes from the ToA core rules. Thanks to Stephen Grodzicki for permission to use the material.

Monster Cards Link here

Spell Cards Link here (large) and here (small)

Skill Cards Link here

Condition Cards Link here