Well

So, I tried to get some ideas for revenge quests from friends on FaceBook and only my aunt answered. It was a pretty good one though.

You were made evil by your nemisis. Your friends are taking you to the dungeon to the magic potion/spell/rune to make you you again.

Have to say I was a little dissapointed that my gamer friends on FB didn't give me anything, but my one aunt, who is not a gamer, did.

May try to repost and tag some people in it and see what happens as I know FB sometimes is very wanky.

On another note, I have been trying to design my own monsters stats from the ones my daughter gave me that I wrote about in another post. It's harder in some aspects than I thought and easier in others. I think that I will put her monsters on hold for the time being and just focus on this game. Maybe find out if I can even use the monsters that I found, or if I have to create new but similiar ones.

Quests

Quests. Quests. Quests.

Stuck.

How about the one where the PCs rescue... no.

Been there, done that.

Go to {this place} and collect... no.

Boring.

Rid the world of the evil... no.

Played too many times.

What would entice a group of fighters, warriors, healers, wizards, into a dangerous dungeon. A place where they know for A FACT that the likelihood of them returning is next to zero. A princess? Possibly if they have a great affinity for the kingdom from where she comes from. To collect a shit ton of gold and jewels? Get a good halfling rogue and that is just a matter of time, without the danger of almost certain death. Rid the world of the evil God or Goddess who is going to rid the world of all good. Possibly. There is a personal stake in this one.

Revenge.

That is almost always a good one. Can always figure out plenty of reasons for revenge. Very much a personal stake in this one. And good friends will always stand by to help in vengeance.

The rape of a sister.
The stolen lands and lies that caused the imprisonment of one of the parties whole family.
To find and kill a mob of Nuglub Gremlins that murdered an entire village, that are working for the mysterious dungeon lord.
The kidnapping and murder of one of their own party.

This could be good. A game of revenge. Could work.

New Monsters?

I told my daughter about my blog and she was commenting on the monsters. She thought they were cool. Then she started coming up with monsters that took every day animals, some even cute little things, and turned them into horrible death dealing monsters.

• Fire Spitting Rabbit
• Boiling Water Spitting Tiger
• Sharp Toed Hippo - who's toe nails are metal blades
• Acid Laced Sugar Glider - if it touches you, will poison you (she said kill, but have to be able to fight a little bit)
• Killer Mermaid - who can walk on land
• Laser Eyed Bearded Dragon - who shoots lasers out of his eyes
• Death Bringer Komono Dragon - eats people 
• Poison Kitten - has poisonous claws and also has thumbs to be able to grab
• Skull Chomping Chinchillas

Such an imagination! I may use some of these. I did notice that I didn't have any dragons in my monster list. I can see more research on the way on how to build stats for a monster. I know I've seen it on the Paizo web site. 

Player Character

Player Characters, or PCs. There are so many different ways to do this. I thought at one time I would probably stick with the basic core races and classes that are familiar in most games be them board games or RPGs. The Races would include Dwarfs, Elves, Gnomes, Half Orcs, Half Elves, Halflings, and Humans. The classes would be Barbarian, Fighter, Monk, Ranger, Rogue, Wizard, Bard, Cleric, and Druid.

Boring! Right? Same ole same ole.

I am currently playing Decent with the guys. It's the campaign version (which is fun so far). The character I am playing is not one of the races above. It's a lizard looking thing and its name is Ispher. I say it's a female who is waring lipstick, but the guys swear it's a male and it's blood around it's mouth. Pffft! They are probably right but, hey, it's my character. I've always played women, so this is a different thing for me.





So now I am thinking that I wouldn't have to use the core races from above. Shake things up a bit and go for completely different PCs. Or maybe a mix of the old tried and true characters, and throw in a few new ones. I think I have a few days of research coming up to look into some new types of characters.

There are two different ways that I could do the character cards. One is to have one card with a race and class already combined on the cards and the players are dealt a certain amount of cards and they choose which character they would like to play. The second would be to have two sets of cards, one of races and one of classes. The players would be dealt a certain amount of both and can choose from those by mixing and matching to get the right character they would want to play. This is an idea I got from the game Small World, where there are two cards for the characters being put into play.

I am really leaning towards the two card option. I've noticed while playing games that I am sometimes not too happy with the characters I've been dealt. Like I said before, I am not too comfortable with magic yet. So when I am dealt a lot of magic type characters I don't feel as confident as I am with a fighter of some sort. There are also a couple of the guys who always play the healer, or always play the wizard. When they are dealt the fighters, they are not as happy in game play as when they are the class they really like.

What the cards will look like will be for another time. I have to get more into the rules and how the game will play out before I decide on that.

Spells

A spell deck. I am not one to do spells when I play RPGs. I am usually just a fighter and don't get into magic. Mostly because I am so new to gaming that I am just trying to learn the games that, lets be honest, are very hard to learn. To some who have been playing D&D since its conception thing that games are pretty easy to learn or to play. They can pick up a game very easily. However, someone like me who is very new find it quite over powering sometimes. So with just trying to learn all the game rule, tricks, terminology and such, I have just avoided anything magic. The rules and regulations that go along with magic and spells is just way beyond what I can comprehend and remember at this point. 

So this being said, I know this part of the game is a necessity. I am also aware of the thinking - what kind of game would it be it if didn't have magic spells? Below is my pitiful attempt at some spells. This is a section that I will definitely be revisiting. 

There are two different ways I can see of doing spell card decks. One would be to have the cards listed as the different schools of magic (which I took from Paizo Pathfinders) which from what I can see there are eight. This, of course, would then create a huge amount of decks. Or I can just pick a few commonly used spells and just have a spell deck. 

The eight schools of magic are:

• Abjuration: protective spells
• Conjuration
• Divination
• Enchantment
• Evocation
• Illusion
• Necromancy
• Transmutation

Some common spells:

• Revive - resurrect the dead
• Remove curse - can be used on card holder or another player
• Speed boost - increase speed by X (die roll?)
• Shield of protection - protects from either death or harm (?) for X turns 
• Explosion - knocks ALL figures back X spaces (maybe in certain direction based on roll?)
• Revert - transfer all magic effects back to caster
• Blind - blind a target for X amount of time
• Disarm - disarm target of weapon for X turns
• Slow fall - slows a fall as if from only a few feet
• Fireball - tiny ball of fire that explodes X distance
• Invisibility - invisible for X time but if attacked becomes visible
• Lightening - bolt of energy
• Meteor Storm - X meteors fly and explode like a fireball
• Polymorph - change target into another form of living creature
• Teleport - to transfer someone or thing to another place
• Cure light wounds
• Cure critical wounds

This is a subject that I will definitely need to look at more closer. 

Runes?

So, I googled the definition of runes and got this: "A poem or incantation of mysterious significance, especially a magic charm." Makes my list of runes not a list of runes. I completely copied them off some MMORPG sites, mulitple ones, that all seemed to have the same list of runes for their characters. However, after knowing exactly what a rune is, this list is somewhat skewed and not quite right. So, I guess I can't call these my runes or the rune deck. It's just some ideas for .... a deck. A deck to help regenerate, recoup, fix and revive.

Ok, so maybe they are all runes, but not in the exact definition of the word. It would all depend, I think, on how they are worded on the cards. Some I think could be defined as a .. kinda... rune, but I think at some point may be moved to another deck named something I'm not quite sure yet. Maybe even a few different decks depending on whether the "rune" takes care of weapons, health, skills, or true magic charm.

I think I will sperate the ones I have into catagories to make it easier down the road if I do decide to do sperate rune decks.

Combat Runes:

• Penetrate armor
• Extra attack damage
• Faster speed
• Chance for a crit with lower die roll
• Critical damage if "XYZ" is present
• Penetrate/remove magic spell

Health Runes:

• Energy regeneration
• Health regeneration
• % health regeneration (based on dice roll?)
• % energy regeneration (based on dice roll?)
• If successful hit, recieve certain percent of hit points for temporary increase of own hit points.

Magic Charm Runes:

• Temorarily increase the weapon of choice
• Temorarily increase a skill
• Temorarily increase an ability
• Resist magic
• Immune to poison

I will have to look for some more ideas because this seems a little small for a rune deck. But it's a start. If yo can think of some more, leave me a comment.

General Game Play

These are some of the ideas I have for the general flow of the game. Not rules, but some of the things I want involved in the game. Again, not all of these will be possible in the board game, but at this point I am just brain storming. Trying to get as many ideas for a great game as I can. Whittling it down later will be the hard part, I know. But, I would rather have too many ideas than not enough. So, here goes.

Characters with different abilities and powers - a given in both RPGs and board games. After all it's what makes the game interesting.

Multiple types of die - do I stick with the basic role playing dice set, or do I create a whole new type and set of dice specific to this game? While the specific dice I could make more catered to the game, having each player have "their" dice might be interesting. But then I run the risk of the gamers don't have their dice with them thinking they don't need them. Would I have a few "sets" of role playing dice included? Though it seems like a cool idea for a player to be able to use their dice, it seems the best thing would be a set of dice

Having a Game Master/Overlord - While I do see the need for this it just seems unfair that one player has to not play the game and just "oversee" it. In an RPG, yes you definitely need one. But in a board game, is there really a need? The type of game I believe this is going to be, I think I may need to have one. But I think it will most likely be an "overlord" type person who plays the bad guys. Then at least they are involved in the game.

Having set hit points for player or the chance to increase these through a deck card or some sort of experience points awarded.

Definitely not having the fighting streamlined. It will not be easy to hard. There will be areas that the fighting will be tough and then the next fight be easy. All depends on the luck of the roll or pull of the card.

Monsters will have set hit points.

PCs will be able to find or draw to improve their character.

PCs will be able to collect loot/money to use later.

Dungeon gets more difficult as players explore different levels.

Will the PCs also gain experience or just only draw weapon and rune cards to strengthen and level character?

Minis are a MUST.

There will be a set scenario and/or ending goal.

The players will work together to achieve this goal. Will not be a game where the players are playing against each other.

Players can die, but have a chance to regenerate. Will loose gear, weapons, loot/money, some sort of penalty.

PCs can not attack or steal from each other.

Quests.

General lists

Today I am going to continue with ideas. Some I think will be very hard, if not impossible, to create with a board game. Especially if it's a game that I would anticipate being able to be played in an evening. Although  recently I was involved in a great game of Decent that took us through two gaming sessions. We took pictures of the board and we each had our own pictures of our own pieces. It was exciting to play a board game over two separate sessions. And the guys seemed to think so as well. We also got together on New Years Day and did an all day-er (is that even a word?). We played a game of Arkham Horror that we normally can finish in a few hours. However, on New Years Day we started the game at 1:30 and we finally finished it at around 8:30. We had a couple of gamers that couldn't show up until later in the day and it was very easy for them to just grab a character and jump on into the game. I thoroughly enjoyed myself. Some of the guys however were getting a little punchy. But that's OK. It WAS a long game. So I would like to be able to keep a game finishable in a few hours.

So, some more lists.

Environments:

• Underground rivers and streams
• Chasms with rickety bridges
• Cave ins
• Stairs on walls
• Rope bridges
• Stepping stone lakes/ponds/pools that are made of acid, lava, poison or ice
• Mazes (on grander scale than the room version)

Peoples:

• Player Characters (of course)
• NPCs
• Monsters
• Vermin
• Pests
• Walking dead
• Ghosts

Decks:

• Room and environment deck/tiles
• Lever deck - deck that causes things to happen
• Shadow deck - drawn when searching shadows, could have traps, items, secret doors, lurking monsters.
• Monster deck - with stats
• Character deck - Predetermined or two decks, one with races and one with classes
• Event deck - wandering monsters, unpinned room features
• Runes
• Weapons
• Scrolls - with spells and other pieces of knowledge
• Movement - not too sure on this one

Rooms and Room Characteristics

Now that I have some ideas for monsters, the next thing I was looking at was what kind of rooms and what are in these rooms that the players would be doing. What would make the game interesting? What will keep the game from becoming boring and repetative? What could be just a little bit different than every other board game/dungeon crawl? What will keep the game different every time it's played? How to change it all around? Once again the Internet was my friend and I searched around some forums and found some "wishes" that people had for dungeon crawl board games. What I found was quite extensive and, surprisenly, repetative in what people were wishing for in games. I know not every idea can be used in one game, but there are lots of ideas to choose from. Got any more ideas for the perfect room? Leave me a comment.


Some ideas for some rooms in my dungeon:

• Torture chambers
• Rooms that rotate
• Rooms that the tiles would be swapped to change look of room
• Event rooms (pull lever and XYZ happens)
• Puzzle rooms
• Pressing rooms that the walls come together or roof lowers
• Moving room where the whole room relocates to another part of dungeon

Some ideas for the characteristics of some of the rooms:

• Doors to unlock, burn down, or burst through
• Pits to push opponents into (or for PCs to fall into)
• Shadows to investigate for loot, bodies, or to hide
• Traps to other levels, to isolate players from others possibly with a monster of their own
• Portcullises that need keys that are hidden in other rooms or on monsters
• Trap doors that lead to a secret room
• Teleporter to link two rooms, randomly relocate one or all members, or can be put wherever needed when room is too cramped on the table and need to conserve room
• Secret doors
• Pools and fountains
• Moving stairs
• Ice or glass floors where players will slip or slide in direction pushed or were moving
• Dead ends
• Mazes
• Scything blades where a lever or trap square activates and deactivates
• Wards that are magic locks that need magic to open

Things in the rooms:

• Chests to open for loot or traps
• Ladders
• Tables to hide behind or push around to block things
• Alters (if I decide to add the element of religion)
• Destroyed tables, ladders, chests, etc
• A fire in a fireplace
• Statues
• Animate furniture to help or hinder
• Torches
• Corpses to search for loot or information/XP

Some items to look for in rooms:

• Potions in chests 
• Maps
• Riddles
• Weapons
• Runes
• Spells

Monsters

These are some of the monsters I've looked at adding to my game. They are all able to be underground as my game will an underground/dungeon setting game. I've tried to get a nice spattering of different types as well as different difficulty levels. I wanted some that can be by themselves, some gangs, monstrous, some with lots of treasure, and some with some really special abilities that would make the gamers go "WTH!". I tried to figure out some monsters that had some abilities that maybe haven't been used (or not a lot) in board games. I know I am probably being naive because I haven't played a lot of these types of board games, but from looking around the Internet at some, these are going to be interesting to make playable in a board game.

I do need to mention that I did get all these monsters from Paizo Pathfinders game system. So I would imagine that I will have to change out some of the stuff because of licensing and stuff. Not sure if open licensing thing applies to this. Something to look into.

Okay, MONSTERS:

Blood Golem: . He is a CR5 character with AC 16 and hp 38 (7d8+7).

What I thought was interesting about him was that when his HP raised to max for HD, he splits  into two. He has blood consumption if his 2 slam hits succeed.

He's a large monster at 10' long and weighs in at 700 lbs.





Two headed Troll:  He's CR8 with AC 21 and hp 103 (9d8 + 63)

This guy has regeneration. So this lovely fellow can not die unless he's hit with something that will stop his regeneration and then he can die normally. 

He's a large monster standing 10' tall and around 200 lbs. 





Troglodyte: This monster is a CR1 with AC 15 and hp 13 (2d8 + 4)

Not a very powerful monster, but one that I can throw out a bunch of them at one time and have a big ole cluster without overpowering the PCs. I thought it would also make a good first monster when the PCs aren't as powerful as they eventually will get with cards and things added to their inventory. 

This is a medium monster at 5' tall and 150 lbs.


Skulk: Has a CR1 and AC 12 with hp 16 (3d8 + 3)

Can mimic his surroundings so can blend in making him hard to see. This is another low powered monster for early game play or throwing a large tribe of about 9-16 of these little baddies.

Skulks are medium monsters that stand 6' tall and are skinny at 140 lbs.











Cave Scorpion: It also is only CR1 with AC 12 and hp 16 (3d8 + 3)

Might not be such a big baddie, but he can sting with poison, has two claws to pinch with, and has awesome looking armor. They love Dwarven meat.

They are man sized and look like piles of stones when at rest.


Giant Scorpion: These are CR3 with AC of 16 and hp 37 (5d8 + 15)

These guys can not only sting you with poison, but can grab, but can also sting while they have the opponent in their claws. 

These are large monsters that are 16' long with the body being 8' and the tail that curves above their bodies being 8' long as well. The average weight is 4000 lbs.


Red Cap: CR 6 with AC 20 and hp 60 (8d6 + 32)

I read a book with one of the main bad boys being a Red Cap. I thought it was completely mad up fey, but then read this. So, of course, I have to add one of these as well. Their red cap is where their powers lie and can do some fast healing with it. They also have a wicked weapon. 

They are small fey only standing 3' tall.



Amphishaena:  CR 4 with AC 19 and hp 45  (6d10 + 12)

What dungeon or underground cavern is complete unless they have a snake or two. And how much better would it be if the snake was two headed? Am I right? But be careful because it can split in half and become two snakes. It also has a nasty bite with some poison. The good news is they are not constrictors and if their eggs can be found they are worth lots of money. 

These are 14' long and can weigh in the hundreds.


Titan Centipede: CR9 with AC of 21 and hp 135 (10d8 + 90) 

Big bad nasty. He can bite and poison and trample with no checks.. just plough on through. And centipedes are just nasty and creepy so make a good boss monster in my opinion.

These bad boys are Colossal at 64' long and weighing in at 125 tons. They take up 30 square feet of map space.


Crypt Thing: CR5 with AC 19 and hp 52 (8d8 + 16)

This keeper of the crypt can teleport all creatures to random area. I thought this would be a cool feature along with the changing tiles. Imagine fighting a creature only to be suddenly somewhere else completely, possibly with even a worse foe to attend to. They can also teleport themselves. But maybe, just maybe, if the PCs make it back to the crypt thing, they might not attack it? Might they learn something from it?

These monsters are just average human sized.


Crysmal: CR3 with AC 17 and hp 26 (4d10 + 4)

This one is just cool for treasure hunters. Be careful though because it can launch it's tail and hit not only the target, but those in adjacent squares, and the tail grows back. They can also teleport themselves somewhere else. They can sense gems so if the PCs are carrying them they might want to watch out. The joy of these is that when they die they are filled with gems to be collected.

They are small at 2-4' and weigh 60 lbs.






Goblin Dog: CR1 with AC13 and hp 9 (1d8 + 5)

Not good for those that are allergic to dog dander...well with this one anyone is allergic. Even though this isn't a dog, it's indeed a rodent, it will make for another interesting pack encounter

They are medium sized at 5' long and 75 lbs.









Decapus: CR4 with AC 16 and hp 45 (6d8 + 18)

What could be creepier than coming in contact with an octopus looking monster under ground? With 10 long tentacles and a hold that can constrict someone. Not only that but they can mimic voices. Make sure it's who it is before running off to investigate.

These bad boys are medium size with 8' leg spans and weighing in at 200 lbs.




Destrachan: CR 8 with AC 19 and hp 90 (12d8 + 36)

How scary would a blind monster with claws, a mouth full of teeth, and a sonic blast that can do two separate types of damage? They can be destructive or cause intense pain just with their sonic blast. plus it can bite and claw. They are also immune to attacks that use sight. Not fun ones and can run in packs.

These are large monsters that are 10' from tip of nose to tip of tail and are heavy at 4000 lbs.


Drider: CR7 with AC 20 and hp 76 (9d8 + 36)

Think giant spider with human torso. Not only can they attack with a mace, but can bit with poison, shoot out a webbing, and cast a bunch of different spells. These bad boys/gals can do a lot of different damage and a PC would not know what to defend against next. Females are more black widow looking and their faces are still lovely while the males are more tarantula with a spiders face. Can anyone say arachnophobia? 

They are large and can be 6-7' and 250 lbs.

Gibbering Mouther: CR 5 with AC 19 and hp 46 (4d8 + 28)

Oozing mess of eyes and mouths. Definitely one that you could not sneak up on. Even though they are slow, they can bite, grab, drain blood, engulf someone, emit maddening sounds, manipulate the ground, and stream an acidic spit. One a PC would not want getting a hold of them.

Medium sized about 5 times the size of a dog and about 250 lbs.



Gorgon: CR 8 with AC 20 and hp 100 (8d10 + 56)

An under ground metallic bull that breathes a petrifying green breath. No waving a red cape at this monster. If it can be killed it's dung can be profitable as well as it's horn that when powdered can be worth up to 250 GP or be used in making magical items.

Large monster that is 6' tall 8' long and 4000 lbs.


Nuglub Gremlin: CR 2 with AC 18 and hp 19 (3d6 + 9)

A trap making gremlin that loves to kill. It can bite and claw and grab and trip. It thinks it can do some magic but is woefully bad at it. It can aslo heat metel and snare someone and have a shocking grasp. Ugly mean little things that just love to kill.

Small fey that is only 2 1/2' tall and only 25 lbs.




Gug: CR 10 with AC 24 and hp 127 (15d8 + 60) 

To many joints allow this monster to squeeze into some pretty small space. They are a savage fighter and have a 15' reach. They can bite and rend and have 4 claws to do major damage. They have an awesome blow, great bull rush, power atttacks and lunges. However, if their hp get down to half they do have the tendency to flee.

Large monster that stands 16' tall and can weigh up to 2000 lbs.




Half-feind Minotaur: CR 6 with AC 17 and hp 57 (6d10 + 24)

This natural cunning monster is fond of mazes. It will live in, or create, mazes to confuse and baffle their victims before hunting them down and attacking them with it's great axe. If the great axe don't get you then it will bit and gore you with it's powerful charge. 

Large monster that's over 7' tall and weighs 350 lbs.




Purple worm: CR 12 with AC 26 and hp 200 (16d10 + 112)

A worm that is really rather stupid, but can bite and grab and sting and swollow someone whole. Even though the PC may be able to cut themselves out of the belly of this beast they are still in the worms mouth to try to escape from there as well. Their bellys are full of gems and valuable minerals. Might a swollowed PC who escapes also come out with a treasure as well? 

Gargantuan sized at 80' long and 5' in diameter and over 40,000 lbs.


Slurk: CR 2 with AC 15 and hp of 17 (2d10 +6)

A frog experiment gone bad by the dwarfs. Not only can it bite but can squirt slime up to 30' away as a touch attack. When the slime hardens it is like being caught in cold tar. It also has a greasy substance on their bellys that make the terrain very slippery for 10 minutes. Also, watch out for the tusks. 

Medium monster at 5' long and 500 lbs.


Picture credits:
Blood Golem: No artist listed from http://narutogenerations.forumotion.com/t80-golem-contract if artist is know to someone let me know so I can give credit.
Two-Headed Troll: "Kip the Bold" from http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?14695-Two-Headed-Troll
Troglodyte: Ben Wootten http://benwootten.deviantart.com/art/Troglodyte-105169248
Skulk: Eric Polak 
Cave Scorpion: http://www.ffodyssey.com/ff11-bishop/pic/ff11/496.jpg
Giant Scorpion: Dan Scott http://danscottart.4ormat.com/concept-art#27
Red Cap: Can't read the artist please let me know so I can give credit http://www.gobbocast.com/?p=344
Amphishaena: Article by Paul Young at http://screenrant.com/mythological-greek-creatures-movies-pauly-161830/ Again if you know the artist let me know.
Titan Centipede: No artist listed on blog, let me know. http://knighterrantjr.blogspot.com/2012/11/rats-with-2000-copper-pieces-are-alive.html
Crypt Thing: No artist listed on blog, let me know. http://dreadgazebo.net/fourth-edition-the-book-of-vile-darkness-fourthcore-and-the-future/
Crysmal: Florian Stitz http://fstitz.deviantart.com/gallery/
Goblin Dog: nJoo http://njoo.deviantart.com/art/Goblin-Dog-68121582
Decapus:Christopher Burdett  http://christopherburdett.deviantart.com/gallery/34096255
Destrachan: Todd Lockwood http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Destrachan
Drider: Male - rbash https://ssk-denver.obsidianportal.com/characters/drider-scouts
             Female - Emerson Ward http://emersonward.com/?page_id=16
Gibbering Mouther: Again no artist listed on blog, let me know. http://www.bogleech.com/dnd/mouther.html
Gorgon: No artist listed on blog, unless blogger was artitst, either way let me know. http://tnori.zhmp.net/index.php?n=Monsters.Monsters
Nuglub Gremlin: Picture is taken from a core book, not sure if Pathfinder or D&D and I beleive the artist is Damien Mammoliti. 
Gug: No artitst listed, again let me know http://tnori.zhmp.net/index.php?n=Monsters.Monsters
Half-fiend Minotaur: http://auggiesgamesonline.3dcartstores.com/Pawn--Half-Fiend-Minotaur-198_p_7139.html
Purple Worm: http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/105429/Stock-Art-Purple-Worm?term=purple+worm
Slurk: Purple Duck Games