Gang warfare

Large gangs cannot be effectively fought by police using normal, civil rights focused procedures. Large gangs are alternate governments, with their own laws, taxes, police, courts, intelligence, and military forces. They are insurgencies. They must be fought with heavy handed policing in conjunction with military force. Anything less is a waste of men, money, and time.

Fighting a gang is fighting a civil war.

The Glatisant: A Questing Beast Newsletter

 The Glatisant: A Questing Beast Newsletter

This is Ben Milton's regular posting place for (mostly) OSR RPG happenings.  Ben is the author of Knave and Maze Rats, two hugely influential and useful mini-RPGs.  He's also the guy behind the Questing Beast channel on Youtube.

If you're at all interested in tabletop role playing games, check out Ben's newsletter and channel.

Depletion hit dice

Several OSR style role playing games employ usage (or depletion) dice to track inventory items like torches and arrows.  It's not really simpler than actually tracking individual items, but it can be more fun.

How the mechanic works:  You assign a die type (d4, d6, d8, d10, d12, d20) to the supply level of the item.  After you use some in an event (like arrows in a combat encounter), you roll the die.  On a 1-2, the die size drops one level to show depletion of that resource.  When a d4 reduces, you're out of whatever it was tracking.  This could also be used for item durability.

My new take on this idea:  Use depletion dice for hit points.

A minor hit reduces on a 1, average on 1-2, major on 1-3.  

Reduction from a d4 causes unconsciousness or death.

Level        1   2    3    4    5      6      7      8      9    10

Fighter   d4  d6  d6  d8  d8  d10  d10  d12  d12  d20

Cleric     d4  d4  d6  d6  d6    d8    d8    d8  d10  d10

Thief      d4  d4  d6  d6  d6    d8    d8    d8  d10  d10

Wizard   d4  d4  d4  d6  d6    d6    d6    d8   d8     d8

FM 22-102 Wall to Wall Counseling

I was there. I was there thirty five years ago. I was there the day the humor of Enlisted Men prevailed.  In 1989, on the slopes of Mount Teufelsberg, the Wall to Wall Counseling manual was written.

Field Manual Headquarters Department of the Army

22-102 1 April 1989

'Skipjack' dice resolution

In role playing games, you use the dice to determine success or failure, and degrees thereof.  In modern d20 systems, you roll a 20 sided die (d20), add bonuses, and see if you meet or exceed a target number.  Rolling a 1 always fails, rolling a 20 always succeeds.

I don't like having to do math every time I roll the die.

There is a popular alternative method - roll under.  With this, you use some target number (normally based on your character's attributes), roll a d20, and try to get less than or equal to the number.  Very simple.  But if you want to have a variable difficulty, you still need to add or subtract from your target number.

I don't like having to do math every time I roll the die.

A closely related mechanic is called blackjack resolution (or under-over).  You need to roll equal to or less than your target number, but higher than the difficulty.  You don't have to do math when you roll, you just look at the die and compare it to the two numbers.

Now we're getting somewhere!

I like blackjack resolution, but I also like to make everything possible.  If the difficulty is too high, the player will be unable to succeed - and then what's the point of rolling the die?  I also like to keep everybody involved.  So, I use what I call skipjack.  (What can I say, I like tuna.)  It's like blackjack, but instead of a fixed difficulty number, you roll a difficulty die.  The greater the difficulty, the larger the die.  (0, d4, d6, d8, d10, d12, d20)  Now the player rolls a d20, and the game master rolls the difficulty die (or vice versa).  The d20 still has to show less than or equal to the player character's appropriate attribute, but higher than the difficulty die result.  The difficulty can vary, but nothing is impossible.

Players rolling to defend themselves feels really good.

This opens up a few opportunities.  For example, magic armor could us a larger die size, or allow a roll with advantage (roll twice, take the better result).  Stacked defenses/difficulties could grow the die size, or just roll separate dice.  Character level could determine their die size when defending.

Note:  It's important, when using a roll-under mechanic, to start your characters out using a more limited attribute range than the traditional 3d6 (3 to 18).  That method leads to way too much variability in starting power levels.  Instead, I use 2d3+6, giving a starting range of 8 to 12.  This is identical to a starting bonus of -2 to +2, which falls in line with the old D&D standards.  I also allow characters to add half their level to their attribute, when doing something related to their class (profession) or background.  This adjusted number can be written on their character sheet, so no math is involved during the game.

"THE FLAMINGOES ARE THE BOUNDARY MARKERS."

I just ran across the tale of Steve and the Antler Guy.  This is much too funny not to share.

Imagine that this is your neighbor.  How would you react, given that the entire rest of the neighborhood thinks he's just a great, friendly guy?

"It's hard, living in suburbia. It's harder when your neighbor is an eldritch abomination."

High praise indeed!

 "An enemy of global communism"

Happy New Year 2024!

Wishing the new year will be kinder to you all.

Remember, this is an election year here in the USA.  The Democrats will, once again, cheat with both hands to steal the election.  They can't allow the populace to elect the wrong people, after all.  Even though they have decided to elect a new populace.  Being upset at this behavior is like being upset at dogs barking at a squirrel.

Don't get mad.  Get even.  It's more productive, and settles the nerves.

Now go read more books by independent and small press authors.