An adventure for FF Freeform

Orzan's Twist

A scenario for SKILL 7 adventurers. For basic rules, see Fighting Fantasy for your freeform game.

1.

Orzan's Twist in a long cave that provides a winding link between two valleys in the Clattering Hills. The Twist allows passage between two villages that would otherwise be four days weary climb apart. Perhaps the characters are soldiers with an important message, carrying magical ingredients to a sorcerer, or charged by townsfolk to open the quickest path through the hills.

In addition to normal equipment, characters begin with at least one light-source each: lantern, candle, or torches.

2.

As they approach the cave mouth deep in a ravine, they encounter two HALF-WOLVES. If the adventurers are not cautious, the wolves attack with the advantage of surprise (a free attack). Although the players won't be able to see from a distance, the wolves are chained here to guard the cave entrance on behalf of the goblins lurking further within.

HALF-WOLVES, Reaction: Hostile
SKILL 6 -- STAMINA 5
SKILL 5 -- STAMINA 4

The wolves are likely to be defeated, especially if they are caught at the end of their chains. Their barking and howling will surely alert any other creatures inside the cave!

3.

After various twists and turns, the adventurers reach a clear parting of ways. One side (go to 4) seems to lead upwards, and the sandy floor is less scuffed. The other is darker and deeper, and characters who test for Skill may notice the path is well-trodden by a variety of creatures (go to 5).

4.

Eventually, the passageway leads to a pit. A narrow crack far overhead admits some light, but it is unreachable. Test Skill to climb down; 1 STAMINA damage if any adventurer slips and falls. At the bottom of the pit among the remains of small animals and other vermin are the bones of a warrior in rusted armour.

Underneath the corpse is a fine-looking wooden hunter's bow. Any adventurer may take and use the bow, but unknown and unseeable, the bow has a crack in the core and after ten uses it will break the next time it is drawn (a character who tests for LUCK on the last draw will finally notice this). Nearby is a small flask of useable lantern oil (the lantern, though, is broken).

5.

The passage opens into a large chamber with many ledges and alcoves. A goblin gang (12 GOBLINS) camps here. The goblins are unfriendly but not necessarily hostile. They are more afraid of the two dry-ghouls skulking in the heart of the caves.

GOBLINS (10)
SKILL 6 -- STAMINA 6

GOBLIN LEADER
SKILL 7 -- STAMINA 8
Tougher and brighter than the average goblin. Mainly concerned with guarding his loot and planning next raid outside.

GOBLIN WITCH
SKILL 5 -- STAMINA 4
A minor magician at best, the witch has a collection of petty spells and curses that can trip and irritate targets, but she has nothing that will seriously harm stronger monsters like the ghouls. Her main skill is fortune-telling, mainly telling the goblin leader what he wants to hear.

Clever adventurers may even find a way to persuade the goblins to gang up on their mutual foes. See 6 next.

6.

Here, the passageway simultaneously dips sharply and turns, creating a disorienting corkscrew like formation, the cave's famous "twist".

In the center of the twist lurk two noxious DRY-GHOULS, semi-mummified horrors, who have found the caverns a convenient lair and trap for wandering prey. The ghouls are nasty, intelligent, slow moving, vulnerable to fire, and any character hit three times by their claws will be paralyzed!

DRY-GHOULS, Reaction: Hostile (hungry)

Mikence
SKILL 9 -- STAMINA 10

Tromp
SKILL 9 -- STAMINA 11

These ghouls are stronger than the adventurers. Remember that the simplicity of the rules means that characters can try anything to gain an advantage, from rope traps to spear walls to throwing burning oil.

Add 2 LUCK each for defeating these vile creatures. At the bottom of the Twist, the ghouls have stashed a well-made dagger with a silver-bound handle, two fine hunting spears, and copper and silver coinage from various realms amounting 3-18 silver pieces. Feel free to add other treasures of your own devising.

Fighting Fantasy for your freeform game

Fighting Fantasy (the minimal gamebook rules) could be enough of a framework for rule-light, freeform gaming, with a little judgement and tweaking.

Core Rules

Choose your character type, such as WARRIOR, SORCERER, or ROGUE.
Your initial SKILL is 7.
Your initial STAMINA is 1d6+6
Your initial LUCK is 1d6+6

Choose three Special Skills to complete your character, and note any equipment your GM allocates (usually a weapon, a backpack, some coin and rations, and optional potions).

Now, since most of the FF rules are easy to remember, you can start playing.

Test for Skill when character abilities and Special Skills are on the line.
Test for Luck when chance and happenstance are the deciding factor.
Roll probability (x in 6) when the chance of success depends on a variety of factors, including the external circumstances and the soundness of the player's plan.

In combat, the highest roll plus SKILL hits, and the standard wound is 2 STAMINA. Bigger creatures can ATTACK more than one target per round, but never roll more than once.

Apply modifiers freely as the conditions and tactics on the battlefield change.

Playing FF as a Freeform Game

From then on, the GM is free to work like the author of an adventure gamebook to develop and extend the rules according to the direction the game takes.

Experience

At certain key points in the campaign, characters advance 1 SKILL and 2 STAMINA. Advances in LUCK are rare and memorable.

At first, SKILL 7 characters will be able to defeat only weaker creatures (goblins, orcs, rat men, wolves); choose their foes carefully, and encourage "inventive" tactics. Common Trolls have SKILL 8. In this world, many stronger creatures become deadly terrors, dreadful, lurking threats to be avoided or outwitted, at least until the adventurers gain a few SKILL points.

Humans have a maximum of 12/24 in SKILL, LUCK, and STAMINA. Dragons are always terrifying.

Combat

STAMINA damage is weariness as well as wounds and shock. Player characters are truly injured at zero STAMINA.

Most weapons begin at 2 damage, but over time the characters may discover finer weapons, or come across armour with a x in 6 chance of stopping a point or two of damage.

Arrows (test of Skill to hit) become an important strategy to wear down a foe before closing for battle.

Magic

Add a MAGIC score (or another custom score, like RESOLVE, if your campaign requires it). Design a list of spells, set the cost in MAGIC, and continue. Perhaps learning spells leaves little time for sword-play (-2 SKILL in battle).

The Green Dragon in its lair

Under pandemic restrictions, the Tinkerage is confined to home and taking the opportunity to play Green Dragon style scenarios with two novice, or beginner, players. Overall, this has gone very well. Green Dragon play is designed to get up and running fast, and adventures are full of encounters, battles, and dramatic turns.

Here are the current conventions, in a nutshell.

Characters are simple, and fit on a single index-card:

• Type: this is a short description of background and calling, such as Knight of Chalice, Elven Archer, Mysterious Witch-doctor.
• Attribute: a significant characteristic, such as Tough, Intelligent, or Agile.
• Skill: the character’s signature skill, such as sword and shield, archery, or knife-fighting.
• Special: a character”s outstanding feature, often inventive and unique, such as a talent for detecting lies, talking to animals, or magical tricks and curses.
• Each character begins with 3 Hits.

All aspects of the character, including equipment, are chosen by the player, and approved or modified by the GM.

The rules are a familiar version of roll and read with two regular dice. In this simple method, the player declares an action, the GM assesses the likely outcomes, and the dice roll. Any roll of 6+ is close enough to go as expected. Lower rolls are progressively worse than expected, higher rolls, from 9+, are better and better!

The only new rule is the addition of Luck points the younger players can spend to overcome unreasonably bad results that can lead to frustration rather than engagement. We will experiment with a small luck pool, starting with 1 point per session. (Sessions are usually short.)

Addendum; Easy battle pieces

Pitched battles run quickly in this system, but younger players appreciate a figure that they can focus on and to visualize the situation. Any handy chess pieces work well, but the Tinkerage has been experimenting with custom printable tokens folded into standing playing pieces.

1 - Locate some suitable icons, with clear, distinctive graphics. The icons site game-icons.net is a great place to start.

2 - In Google Draw, or a suitable app, set up your printable pieces, using an approximately 1” x 4” grid, with four 1” squares (in fact, slightly less than 1” sits neatly on a standard battle map). The two center blocks will represent the facing side and back of your playing piece. The icons are up to you and the players, but for the facing side I used a portrait style icon, and for the rear side icons representing the character’s battle gear.

3 - Print, cut out, and fold the pieces into a triangle. Use a small coin (a US penny is perfect) to weight the base, with a piece of clear tape wrapped over to hold the paper together. 

Now, choose any adventure or propose your own, and begin.

He do the NPCs in different voices

If you're interesting in the craft of the GM as much as solo gaming and its possibilities, then it's well worth your time to check out Trevor Devall's Me, Myself, and Die! channel on YouTube.

In his own words, "Voice actor Trevor Devall plays tabletop RPGs solo-style, fulfilling the roles of both player and GM." And while the Tinkerage has plenty to get on with other than watching other people play, Devall conducts his solo sessions with such tremendous verve and skill, as well as drama and humor, that they make for entertaining viewing for their own sake.

Devall, as it happens, is a talented voice actor, and not everyone will master the accents and tones he uses to build character, but it's worth noting how Devall makes every NPC unique with an accent, a description, a particular attitude or affliction that is simple and memorable.

The same goes for scene description. In his GM role, Devall doesn't layer in unnecessary or additional detail, but skillfully focuses on and repeats the key details that make the location distinct.

The last GM trick to borrow is what I as a writer would call "blocking". Me, Myself, and Die! is often very funny, but Devall alternates humor and drama, even pathos and moments of contemplation. Some sessions and games aim for a particular tone, be it comedic or grim-dark. Good GM-ing reminds us that varying the tone always hightens the contrasts and makes the action more memorable.

I'm not sold on Savage Worlds as a system, and prefer to Play All the Books for solo-inspiration, but Me, Myself, and Die! is a great illustration of what effective GMing can mean for any game session, and I look forward to the next series.

Craft and Luck at the Green Dragon

[Since the Blogger app caused an inadvertent repost of Narrative Adventures at the Green Dragon pub, the Green Dragon discussion continues with a close look at resolution. This minimalist mechanic is "balanced" because all outcomes are weighted around the middle – a fair roll indeed!]

Let us look at the table used to assess a character's skill and luck in a doubtful situation. This well worn table, somewhat revised, is consulted whenever characters take action according to their particular skills and abilities in a risky situation.

The player rolls two common tavern dice, and the professor interprets the result:

2-3... Horrible. This is often counted as a fumble or serious misfortune. In battle, the character may be severely wounded or even defeated.
4-5... Poor. An error or mishap. In battle, the character's guard is down and they may be wounded or forced to retreat.
6-8... Tolerable (6) to Fair (7) to Skillful (8). A tolerable to good outcome, usually interpreted broadly as the expected or middling result. In battle the character stands their ground and may wound their opponent.
9–10... Fine. A very good to excellent effort. In battle, a strong hit.
11–12... Marvelous to Exceptional. An outstanding result, often described as uncanny or elvish craft, combining exceptional skill and good fortune. The outcome is always decisive.

NOTES

• The professor rarely provides an adjustment, but often rules precisely according to the situation, especially in the 6–8 range. For instance, if a skilled hunter rolls a "5" while tracking a stag, this may not mean utter failure, but rather the tracks become muddled or pass through a tangled briar.
• When a character has a substantial advantage, the professor grants them an additional die to roll, and the player chooses the best pair. In the case of a crucial disadvantage, the professor chooses the worst pair instead!
• A 6 on any die is called the "crown" and grants an immediate advantage in the situation, in addition to the benefit of the current roll. Two "crowns", being a 12 in total, are greatly valued.
• A 1 on any die is called the "evil eye" and imposes a disadvantage in the situation, which may affect the next turn. Two evils eyes, 2 in total, are greatly feared as more than a mere mishap.
• Rolling a 1 and a 6 means the situation holds steady!

On some rolls, a "hazard" is included, representing the number to be rolled to avoid some threat or overcome a particular difficulty, thus:

7. Doubtful
8. Daunting
9. Desperate
10. Sheer chance!

If the player fails to roll greater than or equal the hazard, this does not always mean their character failed (unless, perhaps, they rolled 2 or 3), only that the danger was too great. For example, if a character is fording a raging river with a hazard of 8 and rolls 7, they are taking every precaution but still find themselves swept off their feet by the current.

Narrative adventures at the Green Dragon pub

#Repost#

A speculative sketch, loosely inspired by the (rumored?) free-form, improvised gaming of early designers and players. 

What if other great world-builders took this path?

A game and story at the Professor's table

Professor T--'s group meets at the Green Dragon pub at least once a week. They play a curious game, which resembles more a story or a piece of theatre, inspired by German "free" Kriegsspiel, and best described as a sort of guided adventure in an imaginary realm.

Materials required are: plentiful supplies of paper (exam booklets are common), pens, pencils, common dice, and occasionally chess pieces and chequers, to mark the places of all the participants in a combat.

Each of the players brings a notepad and a sheet of paper dedicated to their "character". On this sheet are many notes, including the character's name and particulars, their salient characteristics, story and lineage. There is also space for lore regarding the history of each kindred, intermixed with notes on quirks, such as the dwarfs' ability to light fires wherever needed, and snippets of common knowledge, including fragments of elvish legend. Room is set aside for lists of gear and other trinkets that the character carries. We have seen characters described as elves, dwarfs, burglars, woodsmen, rangers, knights, hunters, and wizards, among many others!

The professor also arrives with several notebooks, closely filled with extensive notes, glossaries, and background materials, and many maps and sketches.

When play begins, the professor outlines an intriguing situation, continuing an adventure that clearly started some time ago. Each player replies with their preferred course of action, and the professor then responds with whatever happens next, prompting another player to reply, and so on. Journeys, skirmishes, traps, discoveries, and many curious encounters are all resolved by discussion, plain common sense, and the turns of the story. If the players are wise and attentive, they will usually overcome such difficulties. If they are foolhardy or proud, then their situation will deteriorate.

From time to time the outcome of some action is at issue or more than reasonably uncertain, and then the professor will call for a roll of the dice, and perhaps consult one or more of the many small tables scattered among his notes. One table, labelled "Luck or Craft", is often referred to, thus:

2-3... Horrible
4-5... Poor
6-9... Tolerable -- well
10-12... Marvel. elvish! [sic]

When the dice roll, ones are to be feared, and called "the evil eye". Sixes are highly prized, and sometimes called "the crown".

A thoughtful player who demonstrates the great resolve (or skill) of their character, is sometimes permitted to roll three dice and tally the best two.

Brief and intense fights take place from time to time. Such skirmishes rarely continue for more than a few "turns", with the rare exception of protracted battles. The professor is not sentimental about armed combat, and such scenes are short and deadly. The players will usually prevail (although combat always involves rolls, and so an element of risk), but if they misjudge their position, challenge dreadful foes, press their luck too far, or succumb to blood-lust, even the strongest will fall, memorably.

Another curious table, much used, is kept at hand during such battles:
5... goblin, spider, wolf
6... orc or grt. goblin
7... man-at-arms, grt. orc
9... troll, giant, fell beast
10... capt., wyrm, wraith
12... drake, horror

Now and then, the professor will make a "secret roll" of his own design, to judge how things go by chance, or to see if the characters blunder into, or across, something unseen, or are taken by surprise, or put in an interesting situation by happenstance.

Character may indeed be dazed, poisoned, wounded, enchanted, wearied, and so forth, and must make note of these effects and bear the consequences until the matter is resolved.

When the adventure (or chapter) is concluded, it is time to rest, tend to wounds, and divide any treasures found.

Solo tinkering — Play all the Books

The Tinkerage has been experimenting with solo roleplaying as a way to test some of the freeform, light and Play the World concepts with house rules and designs.

One unexpected benefit of this approach, which could be brought to multiplayer games, is that you get to play not just your own system but ALL the RPG systems, and so one's collection of gaming books acquires new life when you're not tied to a single rules set. So far I've used Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay to generate careers and encounters, BareBones Fantasy to generate missions and locations, Blacksand for Advanced Fighting Fantasy for urban design, adapted Traveller to set up combat ranges, and so on. Now, all the careers, classes, spell-lists, and random mission, encounter, and reward generators scattered across a shelf of game books and systems become relevant and useful again, and help to generate a world and adventures I would never have picked from my own head.

The "system" is free-flowing and based on roll and read principles with other ideas I’ve used here, but structured enough to generate variety and surprises.

For characters, I pick or adapt a handful of basic characteristics from any system that inspires or feels right. In this case, Strength, Dexterity, Intellect, and Will. I roll 2d6 for each characteristic, and a 9+ is "+1" and an 11-12 is "+2"; a 5- would be "-1", but for the sake of playability I would discard a character with a net negative set of characteristics.

Then, from the career or class description (I used a Soldier from Warhammer, rolled at random) I choose a suitable 4-5 skills or talents, and allocate 6-7 points, with +2 the highest single rating.

The player character has 3 Hits, but experimentally I converted each "Hit" to 1d6 hit points, so rolling for a total from 3-18.

For example:
Corporal Angfire, Peasant, Soldier
Strength 6, Agility 9 (+1), Intellect 9 (+1), Will 8
3 Hits (12 hp)
+1 Fight, Cool, Dodge
+2 Marksman

In play, whenever the character is in a spot, a point where I, as player or GM, can't easily judge the outcome, I roll 2d6, and add any modifiers for the character:

• On 7+ the outcome is a bare success, enough to keep the scene moving. The character may still be in trouble.
• A roll of 9+ is decisive.
• 5- is a setback or failure. A hit in combat. 
• A 2-3 indicates severe negative consequences, such as a heavier hit.
• The target roll occasionally shifts to indicate situational risks or advantage, but it is is never less than 5+ or more than 9+.

Most combats are skirmishes, and so only the character rolls to attack and/or defend. If the combat were to be more dangerous or against a single, determined opponent, both sides would roll and compare totals.

As I said, the character's Hits are tallied by hit points, and so damage is also converted to a d6 roll, with armour reducing the hit points lost by a small amount (1–2 points for light to medium protection). Ordinary creatures and opponents just have a fixed number of Hits to take them down.

There are two other rolls I use to represent the uncertainty of a scene in a solo game:
Probability - what are the chances? (1d6):
Very likely 2+
Likely 3+
Possible 4+
Unlikely 5+
Very unlikely 6+

Situation - how good or bad is the current situation? (1d6):
1- Very Bad
2 - Bad
3 - Doubtful
4 - OK
5 - Good
6 - Excellent

So with a light framework and some inspiration it’s possible to play all the books.