Healing for fun and profit

First, to all 3 of my readers, Thank you! I used to write thinking I was ranting at the wind and the wind didn't care. This is not the case. I recently discovered that I can track page views on the blog. I'm not looking to become famous but it is nice to know someone is out there.

I asked what I should write about on twitter and the response came back that I should tackle healing in RPGs.

Most of the games I've run and played in, we never delved into the descriptive or story elements of healing. The farthest I ever went was to describe the smell of a cure light wounds potion as smelling of oranges. I never gave it much thought. But why not focus on the little story elements, seriously why not?
If you to want add something different to your games why not make things grittier? Whenever a character takes a healing potion have them make a fortitude or constitution check to see if they can keep it down. No one said the potion has to taste good. If they blow the roll they don't get the benefits of the potion. This may sound mean spirited, but it's only a suggestion. You could turn a complete 180 from gritty and make more video game-esque. Try the Zelda version, and have them meet a fairy in the woods that will heal their injuries. Personally I feel this is a bit too lenient, but you all should know by now I'm not a big fan of things being too easy for the characters.

Enough flittering around the edges, lets get down to it.

Think of things that restore your energy. Orange juice, Redbull, Coffee, Candy. Start there if you are needing descriptions for healing potions. I've never gone into in depth descriptions of potions, even though they are one of my favorite items in a fantasy RPG. You can also not have the healing effect happen immediately. Maybe the effects are staggered across several rounds, or hours even. It could work out as a reason to slow the party down, and give you time to think. Maybe the PCs find a strange charm, yes it heals a character, but it can also have a negative effect, like attracting wandering monsters.
So you're not playing a fantasy game? Healing doesn't have to be magical. Maybe a doctor in a science fiction setting gives you a pill, and your character spontaneously grows a new kidney (wink, wink). There is a series of books by Rick Shelly about the Dirigent Mercenary Corps, his version of healing technology is pretty nifty. He has large tubes you place someone in, and nanobots/nanites mend your wounds. Running  a modern Urban game you say? Think about what you can find in your local drug store. Liquid bandage, Nicotine patches, Energy drinks, just about anything can be used to give the characters a few extra hits. Maybe a faith healer, really can heal the sick...

Healing can turned into a story element very easily. You just have to quit ignoring it, and give it a little thought. Look around you for inspiration.

Now go out there and give the PCs back some of their hit points back in an interesting way.

On the subject of Bennies.

It would seem to me, the gaming world is distilled into two camps. Those that like bennies, and those that vehemently oppose their use. I am on the fringe of the latter. Every time I've tried to use them, the players hoard them like a dragon hoards gold. In a Pathfinder game I ran, I tried using Hero Points (a/k/a Bennies in disguise). Even though it allowed for a reroll. Even though it allowed for acquisition of small common items. The players ignored them. Did they think if they collected enough of them, I'd let them bypass a tough encounter? or just skip to the end of the game? I'm still not sure. They certainly weren't considering them as a way to steer the story.
Bennies should not be used to TAKE narrative control of a story. The GM/DM has already laid out the direction of the story. If you're playing in a game, and you don't like the direction the story is going, either quit the game or grow set and talk to the GM/DM about it. If he is unresponsive, run your own game. You might have gathered from reading some of my past posts, that I'm a big believer in players running the games they want, not hijacking the GM/DM's plot. This stems from having too many players look at me and say "I just want to play, being a GM is too much work." ***calming breaths Tem, that is a different rant for a different time***
Back on topic...
All too often, players need to be reminded that the life of an adventurer is a hazardous and sometimes fatal undertaking. Bennies give false hope. They promise a change of bad luck frequently without actually delivering. The player spends a bennie, rerolls, and blows it a second time. Then they whine. Can't stand whining. I've had a PC, sitting on 3 hero points like a hen on eggs, die while attempting to tumble past a Slaad. I pointed out he had the option of using a hero point to reroll, and he looked me, straight faced, and said "Why don't you just let me do it?" If I were a more violent man, I might have gone to prison after the homicide trial. Instead, I let the Slaad kill him on his 3rd attempt.
Bennies, Hero Points, whatever you choose to call them need to be integral to game play. Not added as an after thought. FateCore is on the right track.
I'm not a big fan of letting players try and get out of the bad choices they make, never have been. Way back when (the 80's) during the 1st edition days, if you made a bad choice, your character paid the price. then you rolled up a new character and remembered not to do that again. The PC thought process has devolved since then. There is a pervasive attitude of entitlement among players lately. They want to be awesome. That's great, but in order to be awesome, you must overcome the obstacles placed in your way. The first time, not through the overuse of second chances. That is how great stories a made. Remember folks, appease the dice gods, and your dice will perform for you.
Maybe, if the players would use the bennies for more of their intended uses, I might be inclined not to malign them. However, I've not seen any evidence of that changing anytime soon, so I will not be using bennies in my games, if I were actually running any.
Anyhoo... You guys keep the debate alive. Have fun with that. I'm gonna stand back here in the past and keep the archives, for when the youngsters realize us oldschoolers were right. :-)

Thanks for listening.

It all starts with a half formed thought.

I was getting a bit bored with the Bloodrose campaign, so I started thinking of revisiting old ideas. One such idea involved Tiamat imprisoning Iuz in order to take over his earthly realm...
That was it, that was as far as thought had taken me.
Slightly irritating that.
Leavin' me hanging like it did. I do what I usually do in these circumstances. I start searching for premade adventures to string together into a general campaign arc. I don't really like using the premade stuff, but sometimes they come in handy for stirring up ideas and directions you've never thought of going. Keep in mind I still had no answers to some mildly important questions. Why did Tiamat need Iuz out of the way?  What was her ultimate goal? How did she imprison him? Where?
I wasn't getting anywhere when I finished stringing together the premades, so I tucked it in an  envelope and told myself I'd come back to it later. Recently, I revisited everything I had written down for what I was calling "Tiamat's War".
So, now I'm sitting here with some half formed thoughts, this is when I let the brain of the chain and write down whatever makes the grey matter tingle. What follows is the thought process. At least most of it, I'm leaving out the brief research forays onto Wikipedia.

We start with a powerful entity imprisoned by a different powerful entity. (The original concept)

Demon Queen imprisoned by Great Old One. (yes those Great Old ones...)

Great old one using the resources of her realm to search for the Kingdom Stones, in  order to restore the sorcerer kinds to their rightful lands.

Scylandra (Demon Queen) is daughter of the Sisters of Madness (Baba Yaga and her 2 sisters)

Oooo, I get to use Baba Yaga's hut!

Who knows about the Kingdom Stones?

Hidden Prison (privately funded by a cabal of evil dukes) is a prison for political dissidents.

PCs must get to the prison before the cultists, so they can question a specific prisoner.

Among the prisoners is a God/Demi-God that has forgotten who he is. (I know I've heard of this story somewhere else, but I'll be damned if I can remember where)

Maybe he's just crazy? Maybe he knows where something g is hidden. (the Kingdom Stones)

There you have it, this is all scribbled on a legal pad that I carry around with me. These ideas will continue to percolate for a while, and I'll add to them as inspiration strikes. Eventually, it might work itself into a full fledged campaign.

Maps for all

In my long time GMing various games, I have created a lot of maps. LOTS OF MAPS.
Most are for some form of D&D. I have started scanning them to create an electronic archive of sorts.
I'll post them here for anyone to use if they so choose.

The Gods of Nohj

Still putting things out there for the Play by Post game. Preparing other material to post for it. Here are the Gods of Nohj. Let me know if you want to see something specific.

The Gods as they are known

Horag – the Dreaming God – Lawful Neutral

Domains: Mysticism, Oracle, Rune

Rane – Goddess of the Fields – Sister of Rale – Neutral

Domains: Sun, Plant, Creation

Rale – Harvest Goddess – Sister of Rane – Neutral

Domains: Plant, Moon, Balance

Synea (Seenay) – Goddess of the Hearth – Lawful Good

Domains: Community, Law, Earth

Kreel the Traveler (Warlord of the Gods) – Lawful Neutral

Domains: Travel, War, Law

Fuern (Fwearn) – The Phoenix – Neutral

Domains: Fire, Purification, Renewal

Cilmorn (Silmorn) – The Shield Bearer – Lawful Good

Domains: Protection, Strength, Healing

Thrake the Tinker – God of Traps – Chaotic Good

Domains: Artifice, Knowledge, Trickery

Timmul – God of Illusion – Lawful Neutral

Domains: Air, Illusion, Magic

Aramarthion – God of Magic – Lawful Neutral

Domains: Magic, Spell, Summoner

Blaer (Blar) – God of Madness – The Winter Wind – Neutral Evil

Domains: Cold, Madness, Water

Braznus – God of Thought and Reason – Chaotic Neutral

Domains: Mentalism, Mind, Pride

Samhain the Reaper – God of Death

Domains: Death, Undeath, Darkness, Time

The Legends of Nohj

In preparation of running a play by post game of Pathfinder, I will put some of the legends and tales of my world out there, so folks can read them and decide if this is someplace they'd like to explore.

Azorath

 Long ago during the first War of the Courts. Exeter Daegle distinguished himself at the Battle of Titan’s Reach. Winning the day against the surge of Trolls and Goblins. The Queen of the Winter Court awarded him with a magic blade to match his warriors’ spirit.

   Such is the nature of the Unseelie Queen, that no gift from her is not without price. The War Blade attracted many a good warrior to Exeter’s banner, rendered him vulnerable despite his Brilliant armor. Exeter, mighty champion of the Winter Court met his end during the Battle of the Phoenix Plains. The Warblade was lost for many years after that battle. It showed up again in the hands of Mandros Throhm, yet it disappeared once again, when he fell at the Battle of Skeleton Springs.

   Many righteous warriors have accepted the fate Azorath inflicts, some have escaped with their lives, and some have not.

   The blade was last seen in the hands of Mordacai Drax during the battle to establish Drake’s End. Mordacai fell to a green drake’s razor sharp claws that day. And no living soul has laid eyes on it since.

   Be you a strong soul, willing to make the deal, go seek the Warblade. But beware, many a stout heart have come before you.

Bazkoare the Heroes’ blade

  In eons past, when Dragons ruled. The Mistress with Five Faces sought dominion over all dragon kind. To this end she bent the mighty magics she controlled, and crafted with those magics the Dragon Crown. With the power to control any dragon, She of Five Faces thought herself unstoppable.

  The Platinum King of Dragons Titan learned of the Crown and tried to assure his brothers and keep them from despair. Titan set out to destroy the Dragon Crown, but even he, with all his great power could not get close to the crown for he would fall under its power. The Platinum King decided to enlist human aid, and set about crafting a blade of such power, that he could send a human against the Dragon Crown to destroy it.

  Titan applied his will to the task of crafting a blade. After a year and a day, he had produced a platinum blade representative of his power, and he would make a gift of this blade to a human champion.

 Bazkoare Kirin proved worthy to wield the Platinum King’s blade. For many years Bazkoare fought battles against the forces of She of Five Faces. Many times was he wounded, many times was he on death’s door. The power of the platinum blade healed him, so he might continue the fight. Eventually it came to pass that Bazkoare found himself facing the evil Queen herself. An epic battle ensued. Try as she might the Queen was unable to strike down Bazkoare; such was the power of the Platinum blade. With a mighty stroke, the Queen lashed out once again, and this time, mortally wounded the human champion for good dragons. Knowing he was the only hope of saving the dragons, Bazkoare rallied all his strength, and struck one last blow. Such was the force of the strike, that he sundered the Dragon Crown.

  In a tremendous flash of released power, the Dragon Crown shattered into three parts. The power released struck the lesser dragons dumb. Only the most aged and powerful of dragon kind kept their intelligence, the younger dragons reverted to a primitive mind and became as animals. The great power was too much for Bazkoare; only his spirit remained, inhabiting the blade that has saved him so many times before.

  The three pieces of the Dragon Crown were lost into the world. She of Five Faces sought them for many years, and she seeks them still. Once a generation the Evil Queen summons a foul champion to seek the Dragon Crown and restore her power. 

Evil does not die

   There are names so black and evil, that even mothers don’t use them to scare children. These names, no one utters for fear that which is named will hear and come smite those who dare utter it. Names so black, speaking them as a curse will make the offender pause. Nemerothys is one of those names. I spoke it once so you know the evil by name, but I will not speak again, I refer to it  in other terms so as not to invoke it’s wrath.

   No soul within living memory can tell you the name given to it at the beginning. Only what the world knows of it know. All the powers of Wizard, refined by the powers of Undeath, almost god like in it’s capacity for evil. It seeks power over mortal man, but it trapped but the true gods.

   It is a Lich, a being powerfully evil. So much will power dedicated to not dying. Death has no dominion over it. It’s plans are unknown to mortal men. Some men call it Master, and do it’s bidding. Men have fought it, and died trying.

The Lich is said to have been around since before the time of Madros Throhm, since before the lesser dragons were struck dumb. It is ancient beyond time, and it haunts us still.

The Darkness in the East

   Many years ago, before Mandros Throhm founded his empire, the wizard king Zehrahnd ruled the lands to east. Over the mountains we now call Cilmorn’s Shield. He was not a despotic ruler, but firm with those under his protection.

   Zehrahnd used his magics to build himself a tower and establish Citadels at the edges of his realm. Wealth flowed through lands and his people prospered. Of course, such an abundance of wealth and prosperity cannot go unnoticed for long.

   It started in the southern reaches of Zehrahnd’s lands. Slowly at first. A darkness was growing. The Darkness gathered it’s power and bided it’s time. For many years the Darkness blighted the southern lands, turning everything around it into fetid swamps, and rotting bogs. The darkness attracted all manner of fell creatures to it’s side, and the land suffered.

   Evil has no patience, and is not generally weak. The darkness that slithers is no exception. It did not wait long, it struck with great force, in the blackest night of the year.

   Zehrahnd was a powerful wizard, but the Darkness is an ancient evil, known consort to She of the Five Faces. The wizard king did not withstand the onslaught for long. In the end Zehrahnd fled his tower, blackened as it was by the attacks.

   Before he met his end, Zehrahnd fashioned a blade to be the instrument of his revenge. Crafting the weapon is eventually what killed him. He put every last ounce of his strength and power into the making of the blade, so that one day he might be redeemed and his lands restored to their former glory.

   Throughout the long years since his death, the world has forgotten Zehrahnd and his kingdom. But the darkness that slithers remains in the east, a threat hanging over the head of us all.

   The Brave men of Drake’s End hold back the tide of darkness and keep us all safe, and I hope they always will.

The Sidhe

In the time before they ascended to the courts, the Sidhe ruled what we now know as the Gnoll lands. Truly their influence can still be seen, numerous tombs still dot the landscape. The Sidhe were masters of powerful magics, and a very curious people.

Who is ultimate responsible for the deal, is lost in the sands of time, but some of the most powerful wizards of the Sidhe struck a terrible bargain with the powers of Fate. They agreed to trade their passion for eternal life. The Fates saw an opportunity and asked if they would like even greater power. In their lust for power, the Sidhe wizards readily agreed, and did not foresee the mistake that cost them so dearly. Fate is fickle, cruel, and petty. So did the Sidhe become much as the power they wished to master.

We know of two of the Sidhe that resisted and fought the deal. So great was their power, that when they fought the change, their very essence distilled down into symbols of the resistance they offered.

Sarakina became the Emerald Blade. A weapon of pure willpower. The blade of Strength is said to be so perfect that a person can see the reflection of their truest self in the mirror of the blade.

Sheeg, one of the Sidhe's most powerful warlords did not wish to give up his passion for war. It was all he had to let him know he was alive. His rage at the deal being forced upon him was so great and so focused, he too became a weapon. The Red Blade of Hate. Only those fully possessed of self discipline dare wield the red Blade.

The Gamer's Ode to Bull Duram

I believe in...

Rulings not Rules

THAC0

Str, Int, Wis, Dex, Con, Cha

Save vs. Paralyzation/Poison & Death magic

               Rod, Staff, or Wand

               Petrifacation or Polymorph

               Breath Weapon

               Spells

I believe in Pig Faced Orcs, Level titles, the 10 foot pole, and that Knowledge skills diminish player creativity

I believe Vecna did it on purpose

Scantily clad elf chicks

Barbarians should not wear armor

There should be a Dragon at the end of every dungeon

Dividing up treasure back at the inn, rather than in the dungeon

I believe in Long, Slow, Deep, Wet Dungeon Crawls, that last for 3 days.