New Year's Grudges

Belated Happy New Year to all. Gaming-wise 2015 was good, though personally it pretty much sucked for me, my wife, and family. I hope 2016 is a good year for gaming and all things for everyone. We all deserve it.

One of the staples of swashbuckling fiction is revenge. Whether the motivation is personal (as in the unjust imprisonment of the Count of Monte Christo) or factional (as is the conflict between the King's Musketeers and the Cardinal's Guards in Dumas' fiction), the quest for vengeance is a frequent motivator of action for either the heroes or their adversaries. I leave the creation and management of grudges by the PCs to their respective players. But for grudges against the players I'm planning on trying out a technique for a Grudge Table as suggested by Bedrock Brendan on his blog.

Brendan was kind enough to give me some additional information on how he runs his Grudges. (Thanks Brendan!) He uses a 2d10 mechanic for his tables. While I could have used that method, I decided to adapt the tables to 2d6 since that is the base die mechanic in H+I. I also needed to change some of the results on the Random Grudge Table to reflect 17th century French swashbuckling rather than Wuxia inspired fantasy.


The Grudge Table is built up as the party incurs grudges, and its use is mainly just a way to see if and when they come up in play. The first Grudge created is entered in the table at Slot 1. When a new Grudge is created it is entered in Slot 1 and any existing Grudges are moved down one slot.

Once there are six or more Grudges a second table will be created in form like the first table. Enter the earliest remaining Grudge in Slot 1 on the new Grudge Table. One consequence of moving Grudges down one slot is that old Grudges will gradually come up less often as time passes.

Notice that the table rewards parties who make a point of not developing new grudges. To some extant grudges may be unavoidable but parties who just wade through enemies and kill them mercilessly will find their actions come back to haunt them on a more regular basis than those who do not. That said, as you will see below, avoiding grudges is not such an easy thing, nor is it always the best decision.

Dishonoring a gentleman or noble and killing or maiming an opponent may lead to the creation of a Grudge. Of course this presumes knowledge of the event and its circumstances is known or leaks out. Players should consider that henchmen, servants, and NPC comrades may talk and towns, villages, roads, and countryside are inhabited so third party witnesses may be present. Here are some situations where the GM should consider creating or roll for the creation of a new Grudge.

• Dishonoring a gentleman or noble (tying up one who has given his parole, commoners laying hands on a noble, etc).
• Killing or maiming an opponent who has surrendered or been reduced to Advantage 0.
• Killing or maiming an opponent in a dishonorable fashion, e.g. using a gun in a swordfight.
• Killing or maiming an opponent after refusing their surrender.
• Killing or accidently maiming an opponent in a duel or melee.
• Refusing to accept the word or parole of a gentleman or noble.
• Not offering an outmatched opponent the opportunity to surrender.

One dilemma characters face in a campaign like mine is that when they confront opponents whether they decide to kill or merely subdue and release is important. Killing a foe eliminates them as a direct threat. And that matters because enemies sometimes do come back and try to harm or kill you later. On the other hand, showing mercy avoids having to deal with relatives or friends seeking revenge down the road. So while parties don't want to go around making grudges left and right, being merciful also can have its consequences.

One thing some of my players struggle with is the difference between our culture which is, in theory, egalitarian and ideally merit based and a society that is hierarchical with a long tradition of privilege based on birth. So I added bullets for dishonoring nobles and for not accepting their word or parole. Parole is an interesting concept (often seen in Napoleonic fiction) that may be worth a post all its own. Suffice it to say that there is some cultural support and expectation that a noble or gentleman who surrenders should be given what we would consider very privileged treatment by giving his parole or word that he will pay his ransom and not try to escape.

In play, a roll on the Grudge Encounter table might be done once a week or once an adventure and it can also be included as a result on any customized normal encounter tables.

TABLE 1: GRUDGE ENCOUNTER

  (2d6)   Result

     2       Existing Grudge Slot 5

     3       Existing Grudge Slot 4

     4       Existing Grudge Slot 3

     5       Existing Grudge Slot 2

     6       Existing Grudge Slot 1

     7       No encounter

     8       No encounter

     9       No encounter

    10      Roll on Grudge Table II* (if any)

    11      Roll on Grudge Table II* (if any)

    12      Roll on Unknown or Mistaken Grudge Table

     *       Grudge Table II is a new Grudge table you build when you have > 5 Grudges. Until then it counts as No Encounter.

TABLE: UNKNOWN OR MISTAKEN GRUDGES

  (2d6)   Result

     2       Villain+Dueling Master (Very Eccentric Gripe)

     3       Villain Dueling Master (Personal Vendetta)

     4       Retainer Duelist (Generations old Family Vendetta or Eccentric Gripe)

     5       Retainer (Vengeance for Master)

     6       Retainer (Personal Vendetta)

     7       Mundane Character (Family Vengeance, Personal loss of fortune, love, or honor)

     8       Pawn (Vengeance for Faction, Family, or Friend)

     9       Minor Noble (Vengeance for Faction or Personal Reputation Sullied)

    10      Mid-Level Noble (Eccentric Request or Personal Reputation Sullied)

    11      Major Noble (Eccentric Gripe or Request)

    12      Grand or Royal (Reputation Sullied)
  

In the next post I will create Grudge Tables for my H+I campaign.

Requiem for a Cardinal's Guard - Duval Delsarte

Recently the supernatural claimed another member of the Cardinal's Guards. Duval Delsarte (the balding Guard in the center), was struck down by a creation of witchcraft. One of the five animated Scarecrows created by a Witch. The Scarecrows look like these creatures (from Dr Who) but with  glowing eyes. (I'll post stats for the Scarecrows sometime after the PCs finish dealing with the Witch.)

Which, fortunately for the players, did make the Scarecrows a little easier to see on a dark night in the woods. Delsarte was holding a bulls-eye lantern while Guy de Bourges lighted the makeshift torch he had created. He coolly stood his ground until the torch was alight. But alas, the Scarecrow smashed the Guard aside like a rag doll. Guy avenged the fallen guard by lighting the Scarecrow on fire. Through various means the players prevailed without further casualties, though the Witch escaped in the dark. They learned that grenades were very effective; fire was effective, clubs were somewhat effective, and rapiers and pistols were not very effective. Gaston, after repeatedly lunging to impale a Scarecrow through the chest said, "Grenades. And a bigger sword...or maybe an axe."

Here are the stats for Duval Delsarte (SR 6)

Location: Paris, Cardinal Richelieu's Red Guards

Personality: Likes a challenge.
Motivation: Maintain his sang froid.

Daring 2   Melee 1    Defense 1   Duelist 0
Lifeblood 4               Elite Pawn 4
   Rapier: 1d6 Damage; +1 Parry
   Dagger: 1d3+1 Damage; Range 5’; +1 Called Shot
   Wheellock Pistol: 1d6+1 Damage; Range 10’; Reload: 3MA; Misfire: 2
   Matchlock Musket: 2d6 Damage; Range 50’; Reload: 5MA; Misfire: 2-4
Maneuvers: Bladework+3, Brawling+2, Lunge+3; Dodge, Parry+1; Ranged Attack+0

Equipment: Rapier, (2) Wheellock Horse Pistols, Matchlock Musket, Tabard of the Cardinal's Guards {silver: 3 pistol balls, 2 musket balls }.

Repose en paix, Duval.

Red Fox Inn

For tonight's adventure, the PCs are starting out having lunch at a country inn outside of Paris. Bondy is a village seven miles northeast of Paris along the main road to Meux. The Red Fox Inn (l'Auberge du Renard Roux) is a pleasant roadside inn with whitewashed walls and airy buildings. The front gate is flanked by ivy-covered trellises. Behind the inn is a walled courtyard with a well, stables, and a chicken coop. The innkeeper is Lucas Figuier—a stout man with a jovial personality. His wife Marie is an amazing cook (Cook-3) and the inn is well known for its food.

For the look of the inn I searched through my file of inns and taverns and came up with the Broken Coin Inn PDF that I purchased from THE FORGE ®. The PDF includes both an exterior view of the inn as well as plans for the upper and lower floors.

One thing I notice about most inns created for Fantasy Roleplaying is that the inns are fricking huge with dozens of private rooms and tables in the common room. That is much larger than most taverns and pubs I recall seeing in Europe and for play, such a large location just lowers the odds that a PC will notice someone interesting or it ups the GM workload by requiring the GM to fill the inn with a hundred or so interesting NPCs. I have a lot of NPCs for Honor+Intrigue, but aside from a crowd watching a parade I see no reason to include one or two hundred of them at a single location. The Broken Coin Inn isn't too bad in this respect, but I wanted a smaller inn, so I cut out part of the left wing of the inn which reduced the dining area to a single table private dining room suitable for a conference of PCs and eliminated 2 bed rooms and 6 beds.

I also wanted the windows in the outside picture to match the windows on the floor plans. For some reason the artist and map maker got their signals crossed. The original exterior show 11 windows on the front upper story (5 left, 1 center, 5 right) and 12 windows on the front lower story (6 left, 6 right). The interior plan for the upper story only has 7 windows (3 left, 1 center, 3 right) while the lower story only has 11 windows (6 left, 5 right). Lots of windows are nice for the airy look I wanted and it was easier artistically to change the plan than the exterior view. So I added and moved windows on the floor plans.

While I was fixing that, I noticed that the stairs between the first and second floors were not too clear as far as direction so I added some arrows and the word UP to clarify.

Since I had decided to name this inn the Red Fox, I took the sign for the real Red Fox Inn & Tavern in Middleburg, Virginia. Here is the result.

What to do when you can't game?

I’ve had a series of sad life events this year and I just got hit with another very sad one right before Thanksgiving. As I result I’ve either been too busy, too exhausted emotionally, or just too unmotivated to take the time to post. Tom over at and a Brace of Pistols, has been having trouble collecting and posting his thoughts. His post on Gamer ADHD inspired me to write a bit  Here are four things I do when I can't game the way I might like.

[1] If I'm not in the mood long term or feeling burnt out, I switch to a different campaign or game system. Often this means returning to an existing campaign. I've switched between Call of Cthulhu (CoC) and whatever other campaign I happen to be running off and on, every couple of years or so since the mid 1980s. That gives me a chance to run a different style of game for a while so I have a chance to let my inspiration and enthusiasm for the other campaign(s) return. CoC may not work for you since you already have the weird and awful in Witch Hunter, but maybe something else you like could fill the same role.

Incidentally, because I run year’s long games and to switch campaigns when I need a change, I tend not to end campaigns. So in a certain sense, every campaign I’ve ever run is still ongoing. And I come back to many of those campaigns multiple times over the years. With the recent changes at Chaosium I’ve even toyed with the idea of looking at the new Runequest version and running a Gloranthan campaign. Since two of my current players are ran in the Griffon Mountain campaign back in the 1980s. I could go back to that campaign.

[2] If I'm feeling not in the mood but not totally burnt out and I want to stay with the same campaign, then I find some inspiring material to read or watch. Something that has the right feel for the campaign I'm running. Space Opera, especially expanded universe stuff, or WWII movies are good for Star Wars. Long before any official prequel stuff came out, my mental model was that the Rebellion was kind of like WWII (obviously the Alliance are the Allies and the Imperials are Nazis) and the Clone Wars were kind of like WWI.

So find some stuff that works for Witchhunter. Brotherhood of the Wolf, Captain Kronos, Last of the Mohicans (I like the Michael Mann version best), or The Mission are movies I might pick for inspiration.

[3] If I am inspired to create but unable to run due to no players, then I create stuff for the game.

• This may be new NPCs (one reason I have hundreds of them in H+I).
• It might be maps or locations.
• It might be new monsters.
• Often it is possible adventures. I have a big file of possible adventures.
• Some are keyed to particular PCs as something that the player might like or that fits the PC's Boons, Flaws, or Background.
• Some are keyed to a location - so I might create possible adventures for a new place in my world. Like if you have done stuff in some town, say Frankfurt, maybe you detail some stuff for another location like Aachen.
• Some are just stuff that sounds interesting. Lots of Adventures and Adventure seeds never get used. Which is kind of sad, but I like creating stuff and one never knows when pulling something out may be useful.

[4] Run stuff without your players. I recommend the Gamemaster Emulator - I use it for when I don't have any players available. Create a character of your own and use the GME to run something for your PC. Or use it to resolve in greater detail something that the NPCs are up to. Bonus you get some world in motion to provide rumors and such for the PCs when you and your players can get together.