Optional Wound Point System

I have been playing with a  "wound point system" that I think may be simple to apply.  In most versions of the game Ive played, when you drop to zero you are unconscious and if you fall below zero you are either dead or at negative levels and dying ( depending what way you play this).  I didn’t like that there were no other options other than either you are in combat ( have hit points) or out of combat (zero or below).  I wanted there to be some options for suffering through sever wounds but still able to attack or defend, or  crawl around on the ground unable to fight but  maybe able to grab a potion from a pack and drink it, etc.  So here is what I came up with:

A character may go to negative their Con score  before they die. A character may go to negative half their Con score before they fall unconscious. For every negative point below zero the character attains, that character suffers a penalty to all rolls equal to that negative modifier and a penalty of -10 ft move per negative modifier. Furthermore, a character must make a Con save each round or suffer an additional negative modifier each round ( optionally a Death save).

A character with a 12 Con for instance can fall to negative 6 before falling unconscious and negative 12 before dying. If he gets hit and falls to negative 3 lets say,  all his rolls (attacks, saves, etc.) are at -3 and his move is reduced by 30 ft ( or if out of move ability he can crawl for 5 ft only).

Healing:  The wounded  character ( or another character) must spend one round per negative point bandaging/caring for the character who fell below zero per each negative point the fallen character has attained until that character reaches zero to stabilize them. If they do not spend the entire time required and have to stop, the negative conditions apply and continue to drop again as listed above starting the next round.

 Furthermore, for a more “gritty realism”  I would play that although the character has been stabilized to zero, they  still suffered mortal wounds. Therefore, the character has to recover for  1 day per negative level they attained  naturally until they are healed up (that many days) - cure light wounds not being affective enough to quicken this healing rate.

One option for players who don’t want to tie the wound modifier into the Ability but rather into the Class can base it on the Characters HD instead- so a fighter can go to -8, Cleric to -6 Thief to -4 magic user to -4, Dwarf to -8, etc. before going unconscious and double that until death. …..

Making Monsters Memorable

I remember when I first started playing D&D.  Like many earlier players of the day, my initiation took place in the Caves of Chaos, Keep on the Borderlands. I remember being so excited and scared about everything I encountered in those caves. I didn't know what a goblin or orc or a kobold was and everything around the next corner was a deadly threat.  I remember getting the snot kicked out my party by a group of 7 orcs. Orcs at the time seemed like the scariest thing imaginable. We ran......a lot.  In those days, when dungeons were new and monsters were still scary to encounter, even encountering an orc was a thrill.

But now it seems, the thrill of encountering most monsters these days is gone as seasoned players aren't as fearful of the monsters I set before them. Often I hear " oh, its a troll, get out the torches", " don't touch the rust monster with your metal weapons", and even worse...... "oh, its just more orcs".

Humanoids really weren't all that different back then either- an orc or kobold or goblin or gnoll were pretty much all the same- just a humanoid to kill- some types possessing more  hit points than others.  It was good to see later editions of the game try and give the humanoids each their own encounter personality such as Tuckers kobolds and Pathfinders goblins.

One thing Ive tried to do to spice things up for players, is to change up the abilities monsters have. It spices things up when they come across a gelatinous cube that's touch causes shock damage and can teleport about, or divide in two. Or the Troll that breathed fire and was only damaged by cold, or the kobolds who could spider climb. Ive seen even the most jaded character turn a deep shade of "what the fuc...", and suddenly that glimmer of fear the unknown is seen in their eyes.

Presented here is a table of monsters I mostly pulled from Basic/Expert book and a list of abilities those monsters might possess. Randomly roll for the monster then for its Special Ability or choose to suit your needs.  I don't suggest you do this all the time, but maybe once in a while to keep the players on their toes. Nothing is more fun than when your  players come upon a room of trolls, and roll their eyes as they order torches to be lit only to find out not only are those trolls immune to fire, but their breathing fire down on their asses....

Dungeon Master Screens

I thought it might be fun to post the evolution of DM screens. Not only from an artwork and context perspective, but also to show that they really haven't changed much in their design and function. I like when game companies put out screens for their games, and I think its a good idea for some producers of   mega adventurers or adventure series to put out screens that not only have artwork that sets the tone for the adventure, but also contains charts specific to the adventures ( wandering monsters, item effects and duration such as torches, costs of hirelings, simple tavern and supply shop prices, etc). I think mega modules like Barrowmaze would be awesome to have something like this as a supplement for their products ( Greg?...hint hint...)

AD&D

AD&D ( cover re release)

AD&D Second Edition

AD&D Skills and Powers 

D&D 3rd Edition 

D&D 3.5 Edition

Pathfinder ( D&D 3.75?)

D&D 3.5 Edition ( Goodman Games Products)

Castles and Crusades

D&D 4th Edition 

I must say, this is my favorite by far, even though its for 4th edition which I don't really play. Its made of hard plastic material, and looks awesome at the head of a table. Even though the set up for the DMs side is to contain cards and pieces for 4th edition ( which I don't have), the shelves are a great place to rest index cards containing character info, the 6 boxes at the base of each side are perfect for use in measuring turns and hours elapsed and torch/lantern duration ( just use 6 sided die in each side to represent turns and you move along, and a glass bead to represent when a light source burns out). The shelves are a good place to put a few miniatures, pencils or other game aids. But by far the coolest feature is that each inner tower doubles as a dice roller. Throw a die down the right tower and it will appear out a door on the DMs side. Throw a die down the left tower and it will roll out onto the players side. Very cool. Also, the whole set up looks awesome when incorporated with my Dwarven Forge or Hirst Arts Dungeon sets.  Though quite heavy, bulky ( and i found it can chip easily) so not good for easy transport. But definitely happy with this investment for sure.

Dungeon Delving- TRAPS!!!

When designing a dungeon, one has to come up with all sorts of interesting things to challenge the intended interloper besides just monsters. While monsters provide the staple for most any dungeon setting,  a healthy smattering of tricks and traps are a necessary addition as well, to keep the humdrum of sword swinging and spell slinging from becoming too stale. I love tricks and traps and I love to devise simple or cleaver such ways to challenge a good party of adventurers. From the simple pit trap to the poisoned needle lock to the pressure plate that releases the giant rolling bolder down the hall, traps ( and tricks) are classic tropes of dungeon design and execution.

The grandaddy of gaming supplements of this nature has to be Grimtooth's Traps, produced by Flying Buffalo back in 1981. These grimoirs contained some of the most creative and deadly traps Ive ever seen in one place ( with exception of the infamous Tomb of Horrors). The artwork in these books is awesomely twisted and convey a real sense of impending doom and just reading them used to make my skin crawl.

 Some of the traps are silly, some are cleaver, some are preposterous, but most are incredibly horrific. The books do a good job of not only providing clearly detailed drawings of how each trap works, but also along with the description of each trap, they rate each trap with a number of skulls to represent how deadly the trap is, from 1-6. The original Grimtooth's traps didn't give any game mechanics information, making these supplements compatible for most any fantasy gaming system. All you had to do was adapt the trap to your game and use the skull rating system as a means to gauge how deadly the trap should be.

Later on, Grimtooth's traps was re released by Necromancer Games. This version of the supplement contained game mechanics information that was compatible for d20/3rd edition Dungeons and Dragons.

I think these books are a must for any dungeon designer and even if you don't use them, they are a good read just the same.


Presented here are some of my own devious traps I designed and  have used in the past for some of my former players and their poor characters. My artwork isn't nearly as good as the artwork in Grimtooth's, but I think you get the idea how each trap works.

Id be interested in hearing if other people have these books and have used them. Also, what cool and cleaver tricks and traps have you designed for your adventurers?

1) Pandora's Box or The Lifetrapping Chest Trap- I originally designed this trap as a final encounter for my group to over come in order to reach their quest item. The trap consists of an iron chest that is permanently attached ( bolted?) to the floor. The chest is locked with a simple lock to deflect any suspicion. Inside the chest, on the bottom is the quest item ( or treasure if you will). Attached permanently inside the chest mid way facing up is a Mirror of Life Trapping. The Chest is hinged with a spring hinge. When the chest lid is opened, anyone viewing the contents of the chest must immediately save vs magic ( AD&D DMG pg 150) or disappear ( in a flash of light) into one of the mirrors cells. The lid will then automatically close. Those viewing the encounter will only see the person open the chest and look in and disappear. If the person makes their save, will see a flash of light and be stunned for a brief moment while the lid closes again automatically. If, through cautious exploration, the mirror is detected, then the mirror must be smashed in order to access the contents underneath. Now while this will also release any members of the party that got  trapped in the mirror, it will also release any other creatures previously trapped in the mirror as well. I suggest an angry Elemental, a nasty Type III demon and a hungry vampire. Oh, and lets not forget a lawful good Lammasu- one must always have hope <g>.

2) The Pillars Have Eyes Trap- This trap is well placed as the entrance to a wizards abode or other such individual that wishes to deter would be interlopers. A short flight of steps leads up to the  a door in an arched opening. Two simple stone columns adorn either side of the door. If detected, the columns and door detect as magic. Obviously a trap... but what kind? Well, once the trap is sprung ( by attempting to open the door without the password), the two pillars, which are polymorphed charmed Ropers (Monster Manual pg 83), revert back to their normal form and attack ( or if you prefer, have two Storopers instead MMII pg 115).

3) The Vaccuum Trap Or What Happens When You Put A Portable Hole into A Bag of Holding Again?-
This trap can be placed in a chest or behind a false door. The trap is simple. A thin line attached to the inside of the lid of the chest ( or inside of the false door)  dangles over an opened Bag of Holding. Attached to the end of this line is a folded up Portable Hole. The line is set  up in such a way that if the chest lid is opened ( or the door opened), the line will break and drop the folded up Portable Hole into the Bag of Holding. This immediately creates a dimensional rift in the Astral Plane and sucks everything within 10ft of the chest/door into it, the Bag of Holding and Portable Hole being destroyed in the process ( DMG pg 152). Now a cleaver adventurer who inspects this trap, may find a way to diffuse it and thereby gain a Portable Hole and a Bag of Holding ( and what ever contents the bag may have).

4) Cute and Cuddly and Metal Hungry Trap- This is a simple trap that I designed from a similar use used in module A3 of the Slavers Series of modules. Great for a wizard to keep in his lair or tower. Just fill a room with a few of the cutest cuddly creatures you like ( kittys, bunnies, chinchillas, whatever) and let the adventurers come upon them ( or have them roaming about the lair). The only hitch is that some of these cute little creatures area really small rust monsters disguised by permanent illusion. Unfortunately, this wont become apparent until after the kitties lovingly swarm about the fighters legs purring and turning his armor and weapons into rust.  But who's going to kill a poor cute little defensless chinchilla?

5) The Cuisinart Trap- This nasty trap is placed in a  hallway. The party comes to a pit in the hallway that takes up the entire space. The pit may be very deep with spikes or perhaps bottomless. Spinning over the pit, on a rotating axle are three very large circular steel blades each approximately 3 ft apart. They are so large they almost touch the ceiling and the edges of the pit and extend a few feet into the depth of the pit itself. The obvious means of passing through this trap, would be to jump or somehow pass between the spinning circular blades. The only problem is, these blades aren't real, they are illusions. The real blades are invisible and are spinning to the right and left of the center illusionary blade. If the group does some cleaver investigation ( 10 ft pole anyone) and determines the existence of the illusion and the invisible blades, this trap can be overcome, otherwise, their mincemeat. I always place a hungry monster at the bottom of the pit, awaiting their sliced and diced morsel to drop to them

6) Who Pulled The Plug Trap- This is a rather simple water trap I designed. The adventurers come to an empty room. As they move in to search, a pressure plate is activated that releases a stone door that drops down and seals the room. If the group searches the room, they find in the center of the ceiling 20ft over head is a metal ring attached to the ceiling. This metal ring is actually the stopper to a Decanter of Endless Water that is inserted into the ceiling upside down. Once the stopper is pulled out, the decanter releases a geyser of water into the room, knocking down anyone underneath (DMG pg 142, I bypass the command word to activate this ability, or have a magic mouth take care of that if your that particular). The room begins to fill up with water and perhaps a concealed door opens up and releases a nasty monster to keep the adventurers busy while the room slowly fills ( undead or an amphibious creature). Now, there is a way to escape, all the group has to do is find the damn stopper which has the command word written on the inside of it and use it to cease the flow of water. Shoving the stopper back into the decanter which will depress a release plate set at the base of the decanter that will cause the stone door to retract. Now if the adventurers have a Flesh to Stone Spell, or want to devise a way to chip into the stone ceiling and remove the decanter  ( assuming they figure out that's what it is) well then they got themselves a nice prize for their efforts.