HYPERBOREA » Starting Up...

Tentacled Horror · 5/01/2016 4:08 pm

I picked up a copy of AS&SH and am eagerly awaiting its arrival. Its been one of those games I've wanted to pick up but just hadn't yet. In the meantime, I've managed to wrangle up a player to test the rules with - my wife. She agreed to test the rules with me - she doesn't always enjoy playing RPGs, but if she enjoys it, I think the gaming group would enjoy it. I've been a big fan of Howard and Lovecraft for a long while and chomped at the bit to get Carcosa - still sitting on the shelf, waiting for a good time to give it a try.
But what I'm asking, is what would be advised for a single-player game, Game Master and Player? I figure we'll try a couple of sessions, testing rules and combat. A few things that I was contemplating though, 1) 4d6, drop the lowest, in order and letting her roll seven sets of numbers to get a good build; 2) giving her a little bit extra money to procure hirelings and aid to go on adventures, to which I would supply a good selection of assorted NPCs in the starting point.

Has anyone tried to do a single player session before and if so, what would you recommend? Or any advice in general for AS&SH would be appreciated. I have played a limited amount of AD&D, but that has been a while.

Chainsaw · 5/01/2016 4:21 pm

Hey man. I will respond later tonight, once my toddler goes to bed, but until then, welcome aboard!

Chainsaw · 5/01/2016 8:02 pm

Tentacled Horror wrote:
I picked up a copy of AS&SH and am eagerly awaiting its arrival. Its been one of those games I've wanted to pick up but just hadn't yet. In the meantime, I've managed to wrangle up a player to test the rules with - my wife. She agreed to test the rules with me - she doesn't always enjoy playing RPGs, but if she enjoys it, I think the gaming group would enjoy it. I've been a big fan of Howard and Lovecraft for a long while and chomped at the bit to get Carcosa - still sitting on the shelf, waiting for a good time to give it a try.

So, again, welcome aboard, man. It's always fun to get a new game and test it out. I think you'll find that AS&SH is familiar in many ways, but also offers a few new twists and a nice synthesis of really cool literary inspirations into an amazing setting. The setting's really my favorite part of the game. I think the Gazetteer alone's worth the price of admission. By the way, good for you that your wife agrees to game with you! I'm jealous.

Tentacled Horror wrote:
But what I'm asking, is what would be advised for a single-player game, Game Master and Player? I figure we'll try a couple of sessions, testing rules and combat. A few things that I was contemplating though, 1) 4d6, drop the lowest, in order and letting her roll seven sets of numbers to get a good build; 2) giving her a little bit extra money to procure hirelings and aid to go on adventures, to which I would supply a good selection of assorted NPCs in the starting point.

Has anyone tried to do a single player session before and if so, what would you recommend? Or any advice in general for AS&SH would be appreciated. I have played a limited amount of AD&D, but that has been a while.

I think there's a pretty strong tradition of single player games in D&D, dating all the way back to Gygax himself running Kuntz through Castle Greyhawk many times back in the very beginning. Personally, I have run singe player games with my brother and friends many times in middle and high school. Admittedly, I haven't run a formal single player campaign in AS&SH, but capitalbill did help me play test some module stuff and controlled five characters at once. That perfectly well and I actually enjoyed it quite a bit.

If you think about it, the single player game really gives that player a hell of a lot more freedom to do whatever they want, to take the game whatever direction they want, without any consideration for what the other players require. If your wife wants to play a rogue, do a few classic tomb robberies, then join the thieves guild, pull a few cat burglaries in town and move on to assassinating an political figure, it's fine. You don't have to worry about how a party of 4-6 other characters fit in. Anyway, my point is that I think single player games can be really, really fun. In fact, I have almost talked myself into starting one!

As for your rolling method, that seems fine to me too. I usually let my players do something like three or four sets of 4d6/drop lowest/arrange to taste anyway. Also, I thought I remembered someone somewhere writing that back in the beginning Gygax let people roll as many times as they wanted to until they got a set of stats they liked. Now, they might have been rolling 3d6 straight down and also playing OD&D, wher stats don't matter as much, but still. In the grand scheme of things, an extra +1 here or there shouldn't make the difference in success or failure over the long run. Good ideas should make the difference. Oh yeah, a little extra money for hirelings is easy to arrange. Maybe her PC comes from a wealthy family, maybe she came across a diamond in the gutter, whatever. We almost always use hirelings.

These are just my opinions, but I hope it helps.

Tentacled Horror · 5/01/2016 9:42 pm

Thank you for the welcome Chainsaw - and I certainly appreciate the suggestions! I've been eyeing several of the classic style games recently, but AS&SH looked to be a step above the others. From everything that I've read and looked over, it certainly will be interesting. And yes, what little I had seen in the reviews about the Gazetteer, that may have been what pushed me over and made me get it. I had been wanting to run a solo game for her for quite some time, but after some thought, I figured AS&SH would be a good one to go for. Its a bit more free-form than what we are used to, so I think that might work as an advantage. Especially in a one-on-one style game.

The freedom alone, letting the player go where they want to and do what they please sounds nice to me. In some ways, that sounds like it fits the genre better than a larger party or war-band. And I'll certainly have to borrow that idea if she decides to become a thief!

For the ability scores, I agree, roll 4d6/drop lowest/arrange to taste or roll a few different sets, choosing the best. Something that I do prefer about the classic games is it wasn't about min/maxing... that really gets old for me, when a character feels like they need to be optimized and a -1 penalty is a death sentence. I know in past I had run a couple of characters (in 3rd edition D&D) and that was a difficult experience to say the least, keeping track of several different characters at one time. This would probably be an easier feat though in AS&SH. If she wants more of a party dynamic though after the first game or just feels one character lacking, that might be a good idea, letting her control more PCs. Hirelings sound like a good idea though, I'll probably give her more control over them.

And, I appreciate the suggestions and ideas

Handy Haversack · 5/02/2016 8:15 am

Hey, Tentacled Horror. Welcome to Hyperborea!

Sounds like a fun plan. I have found with new AS&SH parties, a war dog can make a huuge difference. They usually end up calling the dog party leader until someone makes 2nd level. So a pair of well-trained war dogs could be a real boon to any solo character.

As for hirelings, sure, those could definitely help. Or you could think about just having her roll up 3-4 characters and play them all if she's going to be controlling the hirelings anyway.

But my guess is that if you set things up so that she has a safe place to retreat to and rest up and give her PC a couple of war dogs, she'll have as high a chance of survival as any PC in Hyperborea.

Also, check out Jeff's adventure The Lamia's Heart, which is a "funnel" for 0-level thief types. Might be useful for your plans.

mabon5127 · 5/02/2016 12:24 pm

Tentacled Horror wrote:
I picked up a copy of AS&SH and am eagerly awaiting its arrival. Its been one of those games I've wanted to pick up but just hadn't yet. In the meantime, I've managed to wrangle up a player to test the rules with - my wife. She agreed to test the rules with me - she doesn't always enjoy playing RPGs, but if she enjoys it, I think the gaming group would enjoy it. I've been a big fan of Howard and Lovecraft for a long while and chomped at the bit to get Carcosa - still sitting on the shelf, waiting for a good time to give it a try.
But what I'm asking, is what would be advised for a single-player game, Game Master and Player? I figure we'll try a couple of sessions, testing rules and combat. A few things that I was contemplating though, 1) 4d6, drop the lowest, in order and letting her roll seven sets of numbers to get a good build; 2) giving her a little bit extra money to procure hirelings and aid to go on adventures, to which I would supply a good selection of assorted NPCs in the starting point.

Has anyone tried to do a single player session before and if so, what would you recommend? Or any advice in general for AS&SH would be appreciated. I have played a limited amount of AD&D, but that has been a while.

4d6 drop with 7 drop one in order is what we do.

I like the idea of the War Dog particularly for keeping the single character from being surprised in the wilderness....The dog is less likely to rob its master and disappear into the night.

You may consider maxing HP and or letting her start at 2nd / 3rd level.

Whatever you do let her be successful cuz well....wife!

Welcome aboard!

Morgan

Blackadder23 · 5/02/2016 5:57 pm

mabon5127 wrote:
Whatever you do let her be successful cuz well....wife!

This is why I won't let my wife play.

Who wants to sleep on the couch because a PC got energy drained, blown to bits by a booby-trapped idol, or had her entrails eaten by gnolls while still alive and screaming? It's just not worth it.

Tentacled Horror · 5/02/2016 7:56 pm

Thanks again guys for the advice. I agree Handy Haversack and Mabon, a war dog really sounds like a good idea. When we settle in to create her character(s), I'll certainly suggest that if not just give her one. It would go a long way in preventing spontaneously dying in the night.

Handy Haversack wrote:
Also, check out Jeff's adventure The Lamia's Heart, which is a "funnel" for 0-level thief types. Might be useful for your plans.

Is that only available in print from AFS Magazine issue 4?

Blackadder23 wrote:
mabon5127 wrote:
Whatever you do let her be successful cuz well....wife!
This is why I won't let my wife play. Who wants to sleep on the couch because a PC got energy drained, blown to bits by a booby-trapped idol, or had her entrails eaten by gnolls while still alive and screaming? It's just not worth it.

That... that would be a good point I would say

Ghul · 5/02/2016 8:08 pm

Welcome to the forums, Tentacled Horror! (And great handle, too!)

Cheers,
Jeff T

Ghul · 5/02/2016 8:10 pm

Tentacled Horror wrote:
Is that only available in print from AFS Magazine issue 4?

Yes, sir.

Chainsaw · 5/02/2016 8:11 pm

At first, to keep things really, really simple, you could limit yourselves to using actual hirelings (i.e., mercenaries [see Players' Manual pp 191-196]) rather than classed NPCs (like cleric, berserker, magician, etc). You lose party depth and flexibility that way, but you could always just start her out with a few potions or some limited use magical items that mimic the lost class abilities. I really don't think it will take you too long to master the basics and you can easily graft on some classed NPCs at that point if you want. The classes in AS&SH gain new abilities as they advance, but they're fairly simple and straightforward.

mabon5127 · 5/03/2016 8:41 am

Blackadder23 wrote:
mabon5127 wrote:
Whatever you do let her be successful cuz well....wife!
This is why I won't let my wife play.

Who wants to sleep on the couch because a PC got energy drained, blown to bits by a booby-trapped idol, or had her entrails eaten by gnolls while still alive and screaming? It's just not worth it.

Good point.

Handy Haversack · 5/03/2016 9:57 am

The last character Ms. Haversack made had two war dogs, known collectively as "The Scourge." Eurydice and the Scourge. Pretty badass.

Tentacled Horror · 5/03/2016 2:16 pm

Thank you Jeff - I'll have to pick up a copy sometime in the near future! And thank you for the welcome.

That is a good point Chainsaw, just running it with straight mercenaries, just simple extra hands to get the ball rolling and on with adventure, then add in some more interesting characters later on.

Handy Haversack wrote:
The last character Ms. Haversack made had two war dogs, known collectively as "The Scourge." Eurydice and the Scourge. Pretty badass.

That sounds like an intimidating character... The Scourge has a good ring to it though...

Scalydemon · 5/03/2016 8:15 pm

Welcome to the board!

I had fun running this solo designed high level thief adventure called White Fang from Dungeon magaizine #20 years back. Could be converted easily I assume http://www.waynesbooks.com/DungeonMagazine.html

Tentacled Horror · 5/12/2016 10:20 pm

Well, my box came in this afternoon and sat on my desk, staring at me and tormenting me whilst I was finishing up work. I got to open it just a while ago and I've got to admit, I've not seen something with that amount of quality in a good while. It certainly gave adventuring thoughts the likes of which I've not had in a good long while. I had high expectations and I was still blown away.

Scalydemon wrote:
Welcome to the board! I had fun running this solo designed high level thief adventure called White Fang from Dungeon magaizine #20 years back. Could be converted easily I assume http://www.waynesbooks.com/DungeonMagazine.html

Thank you Scaly Demon - for the welcome and for the Dungeon Magazine suggestion. That is certainly something that you wouldn't have seen in the waning days of Dungeon, a one-on-one adventure. But I'll have to look into that as well.

mabon5127 · 5/13/2016 6:25 am

Expectations blown away is almost a universal reaction! I'm surprised you could finish work first!

Morgan

Chainsaw · 5/13/2016 8:15 am

Tentacled Horror wrote:
Well, my box came in this afternoon and sat on my desk, staring at me and tormenting me whilst I was finishing up work. I got to open it just a while ago and I've got to admit, I've not seen something with that amount of quality in a good while. It certainly gave adventuring thoughts the likes of which I've not had in a good long while. I had high expectations and I was still blown away.

Nice! I felt the same way when I first opened my set a few years ago. Left work early, opened it, went to bar and read through it with a beer in hand.

Blackadder23 · 5/13/2016 8:48 am

mabon5127 wrote:
Expectations blown away is almost a universal reaction!

And rightly so. I believe these represent the highest quality items yet produced for the OSR*, and I expect the hardcover will set an even higher standard!
* - Excluding the writing for Beneath the Comet and some of the maps, of course. It would be unseemly to make such claims about my own work.