Take-aways from running quick pick-up games

Occasionally, when I have a free-ish evening and the urge to play, I run an impromptu pick-up game over at the OSR discord server. The first time I ran the Secret Hide-Out of Glaxorzis, that Sorcerous Creep! for a party of three players, the second time The Outpost of Stone & Silver for a single player controlling two characters, and the most recent game was a delve into A Single Tomb, Unplundered for three players. UPDATE: one of the players wrote an in-character session report!

The games were all ran on a super short notice – announced circa 30 minutes before starting time (the server has a pick-up-gamer role you can ping).

The setup is quite simple, so that we can get to the good stuff right away:

1. Searchers of the Unknown

a. Again and again, SotU proves to be the best lingua franca minimalist D&D for such quick games. If a person has played any kind of D&D, they are able to pick up right away. Of course, on the DM-side, it requires an experienced judge, who already has a bunch of rulings and tools and procedures memorized.

b. A little extra thing I introduced this time was MAGIC WORD based spellcasting. It worked quite well, although no combination spells were attempted, only single-component magics.

2. Pregens!

a. Pregens are a must for such quick games. I guess you can also do the Flailsnails thing and let the players bring in any character they want (esp. if the “setting” is kitchensink), BUT, and this is my next point:

b. PREGENS ARE THE SETTING! A lot can be conveyed about the game’s broader setting by the roster of pregens. If the pregens are “elf magic-user”, “dwarf fighter” and “human thief”, that’s a vanilla D&D sort of world. SotU doesn’t use classes, so instead I add a randomly generated two-word description to each character: “ruthless hero”, “vampiric acolyte”, “wild nymph”. They confer the vague vibe of the setting, help the players get into it + I also let them use these descriptors for in-game bonuses and in-setting knowledge. The equipment list is another setting-conferring element (“broadsword” and/or “energy rifle”? “chain armor” or “Kevlar vest”?)

c. In case of character death, left-over pregens can be used as backup.

3. Dungeon crawling (using a dungeon I already have), starting at the entrance

a. That’s where it’s at.

b. I use my own dungeons, so prep is minimal.  

4. Short session, aiming for 90 minutes (usually ends up being closer to 100-120)

a. Enough time to crawl through 4-5 rooms, have a fight, screw around with some stuff. You have to run a tight ship, sometimes cut down on random encounters to highlight the keyed stuff, but, overall, a satisfying amount of fun game stuff can happen in this timeframe.

5. Tech: Discord voice chat, tldraw for shared whiteboard 

tldraw has everything you need to quickly map stuff, record marching order, etc. Very handy tool.

Low-level games are fun. But so are mid-level games! This third time around, I went for levels 4-5 and gave the pregens more power and some cool toys. Good change of pace.

Below is how I explain the rules and the list of pregens from the third game:

[Dungeon] A Single Tomb, Unplundered... (Egyptian-style tomb for levels 4-6)

There are many Egyptian-style tomb dungeons like this, but this one is mine... 17 rooms, one level, I think it turned out quite good. 8 pages for the main text, so you can print it as a booklet (but print the cover on a separate sheet).

I wrote the bulk of this back in 2023, but somehow never got around to share it. I used OSRIC for the stocking. And I wanted to do something NOT for levels 1-3.

GRAB THE PDF HERE

d30 ancient Near Eastern treasures

Adapted from the list of wedding gifts that Tushratta, king of Mittani, gave to Amenhotep III, as dowry for princess Tadu-Hepa. From the Amarna letter EA22 (The El-Amarna Correspondence. A New Edition... p. 160-183). Modified as needed...

1. Whip, overlaid with 5 shekels of gold. A large banded agate is inserted into the pommel. A banded agate seal is strung on it.
2. Horse adornments, genuine banded agates mounted on gold: 88 stones per string. 44 shekels worth of gold.
3. Set of bronze torques.
4. 12 good, sharp arrows.
5. Iron-bladed dagger; its haft decorated with ebony calf figurines, overlaid with gold; the pommel is of a precious stone. 6 shekels of gold has been used on it.
6. Longbow, overlaid with 4 shekels of gold.
7. Iron mace, overlaid with 15 shekels of gold.
8. Pair of gloves, trimmed with red wool.
9. Two multicolored shirts.
10. Horse-shaped bottle, made of iron, with eagles of gold and genuine lapis lazuli as inlays. 300 shekels in weight.
11. Golden fly whisk (3 shekels in weight), along with its linen cloth.
12. Hand-bracelet, of iron overlaid with gold, adorned with lapis lazuli bird inlays. 6 shekels of gold has been used on it.
13. Necklace with 35 genuine lapis lazuli stones, 35  dark red translucent stones, and one genuine banded agate in the center; all mounted on gold with a reddish tinge.
14. Head-binding, of gold, twisted like a torque. 14 shekels in weight.
15. Spoon, overlaid with lapis lazuli and dark red stones; its handle – an alabaster female figurine, with lapis lazuli inlays. 6 shekels of gold used on it.
16. Pair of leather shoes, studded with gold ornaments. Its buttons are of a translucent dark red stone. 13 shekels of gold have been used on them.
17. Pair of shoes, of blue-purple wool. Ornaments of gold and a genuine lapis lazuli inlay in the center. 4 shekels of gold.
18. Garment of blue-purple wool, Hurrian-style, for the city.
19. City shirt, Tukriš style, and a pair of red wool sashes.
20. Spear of bronze, with a double overlay of gold (10 shekels worth).
21. Helmet container, of malachite, overlaid with 4 shekels of gold.
22. Plaque with winged disks and Deluge monsters, of ebony, overlaid with 30 shekels of gold.
23. Set of salt containers, in the shape of bull-calves and lions, of a dark red stone.
24. Silver brazier, 66 shekels in weight.
25. Ebony chest without a lid, adorned with a winged disk and overlaid with 2 shekels of gold and 40 shekels of silver.
26. Colored loincloth.
27. Pair of wool leggings.
28. Stone container, with myrrh-scented oil.
29. 20 arrows to be shot flaming.
30. Shield, its middle overlaid with 10 shekels of silver.

[LotFP] Napoleon's Egyptian campaign as a sandbox setting?

I have this idea in the back of my mind. A pseudo-historical exploration/adventure sandbox game.

Take Napoleon's Egyptian campaign (1798-1801).

The player characters are soldiers, officers, personnel in Napoleon's army. They learn about the riches of the land - the tombs to plunder, the treasures to find. Henchmen/replacement characters are local guides, guards, workmen, and lower ranking soldiers and camp personnel.  Each night, they sneak out of the encampment, risk being shot as a deserter, to reach the Valley of the Kings and get some of the sweet ancient gold. Avoid guards, Mamluk patrols, sandstorms. Gather information from locals, try to decipher hieroglyphics. Or perhaps the players choose the "legal" route, and get an official commission from Vivant Denon.

Monster-wise, as much as I like Hammer Horror/Universal Monsters, I'd like to break away from the standard "fantasy ancient Egypt" routine. Mummies and scarabs are tried and true, but perhaps some other things can be introduced. This is a hard task. Something to think about.


So, I'm not working actively on this. Just slowly accumulating ideas...

1d6 Rumors

1	Napoleon entered the Great Pyramid and came out pale and shaking. He’s seen a vision of the future.
2	One of the officers found a gold bracelet, but the next day, he was found dead, strangled, in his own tent.
3	All the nearby tombs are already robbed. You need to venture deep into the desert to find riches.
4	Scrapings of mummies have healing properties.
5	A man named Vivant Denon is researching the tombs on Napoleon’s behalf. He knows more about these monuments than anybody else, and is ready to pay for artifacts.
6	The ancient tombs are always bigger than they seem!

And some standard spells, now noted down as Egyptian incantations (pulled from historical sources):

1d3 Spells

1	Unseen Servant O shabti, allotted to me, if I be summoned or if I be detailed to do any work which has to be done in the realm of the dead, if indeed any obstacles are implanted for you therewith as a man at his duties, you shall detail yourself for me on every occasion of making arable the fields, of flooding the banks or of conveying sand from east to west; 'Here I am', you shall say.
2	Speak with Dead My mouth has been given to me that I may speak with it in the presence of the Great God. My mouth is opened, by mouth is split open by Shu with that iron harpoon of his with which he split open the mouths of the gods.
3	Protection from Evil May I have power in my heart, may I have power in my arms, may I have power in my legs, may I have power in my mouth, may I have power in all my members may I have power over invocation-offerings, may I have power over water ... air ... the waters ... streams ... riparian lands ... men who would harm me ... women who would harm me in the realm of the dead ... those who would give orders to harm me upon earth.