I was putting together a list of magical gun effects, when I decided it was much more interesting to have gun curses. Listed below are the kind of afflictions a witch might place on your gun. Guns can usually be cured by a gun doctor if treated within 1 to 2 weeks, but after that the curse may become permanent.
1 Humphrey's Snack Attack
Regardless of what kind of ammunition you load, the gun continues to shoot peanuts. These peanuts deal no damage, but they kind of sting at close range.
2 Skyward Sniper
Bullets fired seem normal, but after about a foot will start flying straight into the air, far off into space. Shots fired are impaired unless your target is directly above you.
3 Guntongue
The gun no longer fires bullets, but instead fires out a string or profane insults. Luckily, this hex is easy to remedy. You just need to clean the gun's mouth out with soap.
4 Isolda's Eternal Gunman
The gun is stuck in your hand by an unrelenting force. You can still use it, of course, but try using anything else with that hand of yours.
5 Thirsty Man's Madness
Your gun now squirts water. Also it's salt water so you can't even drink it.
6 The Friendly Assassin
Each time you intend to pull the trigger, you are compelled to shout a warning out to whoever may be around. It's usually something like, "GET DOWN," or "WATCH OUT."
7 Action Hero Hex
You are unable to pull the trigger without saying a witty one-liner. If the one-liner is terrible, the attack is considered impaired.
8 Lacracia's Turnabout Bullets
Bullets fired loop around and fly at whoever fired the gun. Particularly dangerous, unless you you're shooting people behind you.
9 Garden Gun
The gun fires seeds, which after a few months (with enough sunlight and water) will sprout a bullet flower.
10 Gunman's Impotent Rage
Bullets fired always peter out and fall to the ground after a few feet. The gun's still lethal within a yard or two, but outside of that even the peanut curse is better.
11 The Insatiable Monster Mouth
The gun fires normal bullets and operates fine, however you have no idea where these bullets come from because the chamber has been replaced with a mouth that constantly begs for water. No water, no bullets.
12 Pervert's Only Shot
The gun ejects a strange sticky substances that latches on the target and will attempt to reel them in like a fish. Certain particular weirdos don't even consider this one a curse.
13 Queen's Curse
The gun fires bees, which could be a useful method of attack if the bees weren't impartial and just as eager to sting you as anyone else.
14 Lacracia's Coward Bullets
Bullets fired only hit people who aren't looking at you. For anyone who can see you, the bullets pass cleanly through them.
15 Slippery Hand Hex
Every time this gun is fired, it falls out of your hands. It doesn't matter if you nail the damn thing to your wrist--it will find a way to wrestle itself loose and fall to the ground.
16 Underwear Snare
The gun will only work if you are stripped down to your underwear. You have no idea how the gun knows this, and for whatever reason it doesn't work if you're naked.
17 Poet's Curse
Everytime you fire the gun, you must recite the phrase, "I shoot the gun," and then follow it with a line that rhymes. It has to be a different line every time, or the gun misfires.
18 Beuracracy Bullets
Each time the trigger is pulled, a small contract ejects from the barrel that must be read, signed, and returned to the barrel. After this has been done, a bullet will fire within 3-6 minutes.
19 Nosey Neighbor's Nightmare
Each time the gun is fired, your nose gets longer.
20 Elzandra's Metronome
This gun sends out a never-ending clicking sound that repeates infinitely, and can only be fired to the beat.
Thursday, February 15, 2018
Tuesday, February 13, 2018
Into the Old West (ItO Old West Tables)
Here is your starting equipment table for Into the Old West.
Roll 2d6 for your hat as well.
| 1HP | 2HP | 3HP | 4HP | 5HP | 6HP | |
| 3-7 | Pistol (d6) Hidden Blade (d6) Bottle of Whiskey Sense nearby sorcerers |
Pistol (d6) Hidden Derringer (d4) Bottle of Whiskey Sense nearby Arcana |
Shotgun (d8) Bowie Knife (d6) Immunity to acid, lye, etc. |
Pistol (d6) Saber (d6) Immune to charms And poison |
Pistol (d6) Bottle of Whiskey Darkvision |
Longbow (d8) Hatchet (d6) Arcana |
| 8-9 | Rifle (d8) Bowie Knife (d6) Hound (3HP, d6 bite) Arcana |
Rifle (d8) Hatchet (d6) Hawk Arcana |
Rifle (d8) Protective Gloves Arcana |
Shotgun (d8) Pistol (d6) Cologne Arcana |
Shotgun (d8) Rope Grappling Hook Arcana |
Longbow (d8)
Hatchet Eagle Antidote |
| 10-11 | Saber (d6)
Bottle of Whiskey Hound Arcana |
Rifle (d8) Mule Arcana |
Hatchet (d6) Manacles Arcana |
Pistol (d6) Bowie Knife (d6) Ferret with telepathic Link |
Cutlass (d6) Shotgun (d8) Talking Parrot Minty Breath |
Saber (d6) Chain Never Sleeps |
| 12-13 | Pistol (d6) Perfume Salt & Pepper Arcana |
Pistol (d6) Bottle of Whiskey Rat Pickax |
Pistol (d6) Smoke Bomb Hound Shovel |
Rifle (d8) Locksmith Tools Game Set Cat |
Shotgun (d8) Hatchet (d6) Lyre Mirror |
Rifle (d8) Bottle of Whiskey Tallow 3 Candles |
| 14-15 | Pistol (d6) Cologne Spyglass Arcana |
Pistol (d6) Bell Rope Smoke Bomb |
Shotgun (d8) Darts 2 Dynamite |
Pistol (d6) Saw Animal Trap Spyglass |
Pistol (d6) Tallow Hand Drill Drum |
Saber (d6) Fire Bomb Mirror |
| 16 | Rifle (d8) Robin Potpourri |
Rifle (d8) Weasel 2 Dynamite |
Pistol (d6) Candle Crowbar Flute |
Pistol (d6) Bowie Knife (d6) 2 Candles |
Dual Pistols (d8) Magnifying Glass Lost Eye Darts |
Longbow (d8) Hatchet (d6) 1 Dynamite |
| 17 | Shotgun (d8) Hourglass Bottle of Wine Darts |
Pistol (d6) Tallow Glue |
Pistol (d6) Net Burnt Face |
Pistol (d6) Whip (d6) Cigars Lost Eye |
Rifle (d8) Guitar No sense of smell |
Shotel (d6) Shovel 1 Dynamite Glowing Eyes |
| 18 | Shotgun (d8) Bowie Knife (d6) Whisper of a Voice |
Pistol (d6) Net False Leg |
Pistol (d6) Paint Repels Animals |
Pistol (d6) Bottle of Whiskey Illiterate |
Saber (d6) Rope Debt (3g) |
2 Sombrero
3 Coonskin Cap
4-5 Straw Cowboy Hat
6-8 Bowler (Derby)
9-10 Felt Cowboy Hat
11 Slouch Hat
12 Tophat
3 Coonskin Cap
4-5 Straw Cowboy Hat
6-8 Bowler (Derby)
9-10 Felt Cowboy Hat
11 Slouch Hat
12 Tophat
And of course I would link you to this excellent resource on horses.
Rules for quick-draw duels and standoffs here.
Rules for quick-draw duels and standoffs here.
Monday, February 12, 2018
Mexican Standoffs and Quick-Draw Duels in Into the Odd
It occurs to me that making Into the Odd work in the old west basically only requires messing around with the equipment and starter tables. You could argue this is true with almost any setting. However, I've decided to go a step further and create rules for Mexican Standoffs and Duels. I tried to keep them as simple as possible to keep in the spirit of ItO.
Please note, these aren't a replacement for normal combat and shouldn't be used all the time. Standoffs can be a good way to start off a fight, but only when it makes sense. Duels are more involved affairs, and either incredibly deadly or hilariously awkward depending on the skill of the duelists.
Mexican Standoff
Each person involved secretly designates a target. Do this by writing them on an index card or something.
Each combatant then makes a DEX save and records the difference between their roll and their DEX ability score. We'll call this the DRAW. Anyone who fails their DEX save either hesitates or misses their shot.
Starting from the highest DRAW, the player reveals their target and rolls damage as normal. Anyone shot this way forfeits their ability to fire during the standoff, regardless of whether they were rendered unconscious or not.
This continues until everyone has fired or been shot.
Here is an example.
Four gunfighters stand in a circle: Lil Bob, Big Bob, Bobbina, and Dog Horseman. Each of them secretly designates a target, and makes their DEX save.
Lil Bob fails his DEX save right away, so he hesitates. Big Bob rolls a 4 vs a 10 DEX, so his DRAW is 6 (10 minus 4). Bobbina's DRAW is 8, and Dog Horseman's DRAW is 11.
Starting with Dog Horseman who scored the highest DRAW, he reveals his target which is Bobbina. He rolls damage, and Bobbina is shot. Normally, Bobbina would shoot next since she has the 2nd highest DRAW, but she can't because she was shot. Next, Big Bob reveals his target was Lil Bob and rolls damage. Lil Bob is shot, and never got to fire in the first place because he flinched.
From here on, combat would continue as it normally would, favoring the party of the person with the highest DRAW.
Duels
Duels use the concept of DRAW but in a different way. In a duel, two slingers face off until some external force compels them to shoot one another.
We do this in rounds. During the first round, both players simultaneously make a DEX save and record their DRAW. We continue doing this until either player fails their DEX save, recording their DRAW each time they roll.
After the first failed DEX save, both players build a dice pool. For each DRAW value that was recorded, find the closest die value that it exceeds, and add it to the pool. For example, if you have a 5, you would add a d4. If you have an 8, you would add a d8. Anything less than 4 is disregarded, and anything higher than 12 is considered a d12.
Both players roll their dice pool, and the highest scorer wins the duel and deals damage equal to the sum of the dice.
Here is an example.
Loose McGoose is facing off against Lucky O'Ducky. In three rounds, they get DRAW values as outlined below.
Loose McGoose: 4, 9, FAIL
Lucky O'Ducky: 2, 8, 7
McGoose's dice pool looks like this: d4, d8.
O'Ducky's looks like this: d8, d6
One die is missing from O'Ducky, because any DRAW lower than 4 disregarded, since there is (for our purposes) no die smaller than d4.
Both roll their dice pools.
McGoose rolls a 7, and O'Ducky rolls a 12. O'Ducky scores fortune's favor and shoots McGoose, dealing 12 damage.
Typically, a duel ends after the first shot, but a less honorable person may choose to continue firing. I leave that up to you.
FAQ
Q. What happens if both duelists roll the same amount?
A. They both take damage
Q. What happens if neither duelists scores a DRAW higher than 3?
A. They fumble around ineffectually or fire into the air.
Q. What if my character only has 3 DEX?
A. Try shooting people in the back instead.
Please note, these aren't a replacement for normal combat and shouldn't be used all the time. Standoffs can be a good way to start off a fight, but only when it makes sense. Duels are more involved affairs, and either incredibly deadly or hilariously awkward depending on the skill of the duelists.
Mexican Standoff
Each person involved secretly designates a target. Do this by writing them on an index card or something.
Each combatant then makes a DEX save and records the difference between their roll and their DEX ability score. We'll call this the DRAW. Anyone who fails their DEX save either hesitates or misses their shot.
Starting from the highest DRAW, the player reveals their target and rolls damage as normal. Anyone shot this way forfeits their ability to fire during the standoff, regardless of whether they were rendered unconscious or not.
This continues until everyone has fired or been shot.
Here is an example.
Four gunfighters stand in a circle: Lil Bob, Big Bob, Bobbina, and Dog Horseman. Each of them secretly designates a target, and makes their DEX save.
Lil Bob fails his DEX save right away, so he hesitates. Big Bob rolls a 4 vs a 10 DEX, so his DRAW is 6 (10 minus 4). Bobbina's DRAW is 8, and Dog Horseman's DRAW is 11.
Starting with Dog Horseman who scored the highest DRAW, he reveals his target which is Bobbina. He rolls damage, and Bobbina is shot. Normally, Bobbina would shoot next since she has the 2nd highest DRAW, but she can't because she was shot. Next, Big Bob reveals his target was Lil Bob and rolls damage. Lil Bob is shot, and never got to fire in the first place because he flinched.
From here on, combat would continue as it normally would, favoring the party of the person with the highest DRAW.
Duels
Duels use the concept of DRAW but in a different way. In a duel, two slingers face off until some external force compels them to shoot one another.
We do this in rounds. During the first round, both players simultaneously make a DEX save and record their DRAW. We continue doing this until either player fails their DEX save, recording their DRAW each time they roll.
After the first failed DEX save, both players build a dice pool. For each DRAW value that was recorded, find the closest die value that it exceeds, and add it to the pool. For example, if you have a 5, you would add a d4. If you have an 8, you would add a d8. Anything less than 4 is disregarded, and anything higher than 12 is considered a d12.
Both players roll their dice pool, and the highest scorer wins the duel and deals damage equal to the sum of the dice.
Here is an example.
Loose McGoose is facing off against Lucky O'Ducky. In three rounds, they get DRAW values as outlined below.
Loose McGoose: 4, 9, FAIL
Lucky O'Ducky: 2, 8, 7
McGoose's dice pool looks like this: d4, d8.
O'Ducky's looks like this: d8, d6
One die is missing from O'Ducky, because any DRAW lower than 4 disregarded, since there is (for our purposes) no die smaller than d4.
Both roll their dice pools.
McGoose rolls a 7, and O'Ducky rolls a 12. O'Ducky scores fortune's favor and shoots McGoose, dealing 12 damage.
Typically, a duel ends after the first shot, but a less honorable person may choose to continue firing. I leave that up to you.
FAQ
Q. What happens if both duelists roll the same amount?
A. They both take damage
Q. What happens if neither duelists scores a DRAW higher than 3?
A. They fumble around ineffectually or fire into the air.
Q. What if my character only has 3 DEX?
A. Try shooting people in the back instead.
Wednesday, February 7, 2018
Not Having Fun Anymore
The other night I ran a game of 5e for a group of almost entirely new players, and for the first time ever had a player get visibly upset and quit the game. I admit I wasn't at the top of my game since I don't play 5e and I find the official material to be virtually unusable at the table, but I was trying my best. I was annoyed mostly because he couldn't explain what I had done wrong. I'm a big boy and I remember sitting through countless critique days and having my paintings/drawings/prints torn apart by my peers. It takes a lot to get to me when it comes to my art, but what really gets under my skin is people not being able to articulate their criticism.
He eventually apologized, and while I think it would totally inappropriate to quote his apology word for word, it came down to expectations. When you watch Critical Role or listen to podcasts, the game appears one way. When you finally play it, it may end up wildly different.
It's something I understand on a personal level. I originally became interested in D&D when I was looking for difficult games to play. Of course there were the Souls games, the Dodonpachis of the world, and countless roguelikes--but what I was looking for was the feeling my father described when recounting D&D games he had played during his time in the Navy. The sense of danger lurking around every corner, poking every goddamn thing with a stick just in case, and going through entire packs of cigarettes out of stress.
When I finally joined a D&D game, of course it was nothing like that. The DM had cooked up pages and pages of plot and theatrics. I was compelled to build my character a certain way or be 'fucked' (his words). I'm not bashing that style in particular because I know some people live for that, but it wasn't what I was about.
Anyway, I'm not excusing said player's shitty behavior. He ruined my fucking night and killed a decently good buzz we had going. This whole thing has just been on my mind for a while. With a lot of people being introduced to roleplaying via streams and podcasts comes a whole new set of attitudes and expectations, and I look forward to more awkward confrontations in the future.
He eventually apologized, and while I think it would totally inappropriate to quote his apology word for word, it came down to expectations. When you watch Critical Role or listen to podcasts, the game appears one way. When you finally play it, it may end up wildly different.
It's something I understand on a personal level. I originally became interested in D&D when I was looking for difficult games to play. Of course there were the Souls games, the Dodonpachis of the world, and countless roguelikes--but what I was looking for was the feeling my father described when recounting D&D games he had played during his time in the Navy. The sense of danger lurking around every corner, poking every goddamn thing with a stick just in case, and going through entire packs of cigarettes out of stress.
When I finally joined a D&D game, of course it was nothing like that. The DM had cooked up pages and pages of plot and theatrics. I was compelled to build my character a certain way or be 'fucked' (his words). I'm not bashing that style in particular because I know some people live for that, but it wasn't what I was about.
Anyway, I'm not excusing said player's shitty behavior. He ruined my fucking night and killed a decently good buzz we had going. This whole thing has just been on my mind for a while. With a lot of people being introduced to roleplaying via streams and podcasts comes a whole new set of attitudes and expectations, and I look forward to more awkward confrontations in the future.
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