29 May 2026 Ending the Seige

     We are on our 24th session of a Castles&Crusades game set in Greyhawk, and it's been great so far: super easy system to use on my end as a GM, and more challenging--in a good way--for my players. The magic system is stable (I'm looking at you, Dungeon Crawl Classics!) and the characters are not overpowered in the least (that's right, 5e!) which has required the lads to be a bit more strategic and cautious. All in all, we are rolling right along.

    At the end of our game last night, Ed mentioned that he didn't love the Siege Engine mechanic because it seems like you have to roll really high to so something simple. For example, Ed's dwarf was trying to jump from a boat to the shore. The dwarf was fully armored, it was pouring rain, so I said we'd make Dexterity check to see if he could do it. Seemed reasonable. In order for the dwarf to do this successfully, he had to roll above an 18 or above since Dexterity was not a primary attribute. Because he had help--his companions were with him, giving him a shove/hanging to to him in cased he slipped, I didn't add a CL to it. Nor, as it turns out, did we remember to add the dwarf's level to his roll, which is a part of the mechanic. 

    Ed--who is one of my best friends, who is deeply committed to gaming, and who is a hideous rules lawyer--pointed out that he didn't love this part of the game, and upon reflection, I think I agree. The Siege Engine was created in the very early 2000s, and has remained a constant over the past decades as a core part of C&C. It is mathy, with primary, secondary (optional tertiary) rolls that require applying a CL, adding levels and modifiers, then beating a target number. It's not that it doesn't work; it's more that it isn't as good as the D&D difficulty class system. In D&D, the game master states a DC, and characters use whichever attribute is appropriate to roll above. The only thing you add is your attribute modifier (and your proficiency bonus, but that's not in C&C). Same with saving throws, which may have class or racial bonuses that are applied to saves: roll a d20, add mods, beat the target. Easy. [C&C has 13 different saving throws. No gracias!]

    I don't think that would break the game, but is it solving a real issue? Kind of. I like rules-lite, mechanics-in-the-background systems, so simplifying this game even further is appealing. My fear is that there would be a downstream issues that I am not anticipating. For example, without primary and secondary target numbers, would it somehow make saving throws (which I hate) janky? I need to noodle this more. 

1-3 May 2026 Adventure Idea: The Red Queen

     I need to looks this up, but as I recall, in Aihrde, the Red God Ornduhl put gems and jewels in the earth that can corrupt those who find them. Ornduhl is the greed of the All Father personified, and it was under his influence that the first goblins were made from dwarves who fell under his sway. 

As is told, Ornduhl mined all the deep places of the world and set there precious metals and gems of his own design. These he buried in the rock so that none might find them, for they were his most precious creations. But more, he imbued the precious metals with his own desires, casting enchantments upon them, so that any who handled them ran the risk of being cursed with the desire to possess it ever after. These precious gems, gold and silver veins, and other metals lay hidden from all for many ages (Codex of Aihrde, pg. 199). 

    I am trying to find any information about a region of the map of the world of Aihrde called Damenfaur. So far, I can't find a thing. But I'm trying to place something far enough away from the core areas (the lands of Ursal) so I can world build without stepping on anyone's toes. 

    My thought: there is a large farm in an agricultural area (sort of Anglo-Saxon vibe). On one of these farms is a little girl named Margen. Margen is the daughter of a thrall who died giving birth to her. Margen has known nothing but cruelty, want, and indifference her entire ten years of life. She is barely fed, treated slightly better than the dogs, and is either tormented for sport or completely ignored. She is, literally, no one, has no one, and is cared for by no one. Her life is horrible.

    One day Margen, after being soundly cuffed for spilling a pail of goat milk, runs off into a stony field to cry tears no one will ever see or care about. While she is standing there, miserable and alone, a new emotion begins to arise in her young mind: hatred. Hatred for those who hurt her, hatred for those who ignore, and hatred for everyone she has ever met. As she stands there, turning red with rage and black with hate...she notices an unusual glint in the frozen ground beneath her holed shoes: the glint of a gem! Falling quickly to her knees, she begins to claw at the hard dirt until she uncovers something utterly beautiful: a many faceted, richly red gemstone the size of her fist. Where this treasure came from she does not know, but to Margen, this is the most important moment of her sad life because this gem begins to speak to her. 

    The gem warms Margens heart, and for the first time in her life, she feels love. She begins to sob even harder as the gem fills her mind with visions of ample food, warm clothes, a soft sleep pallet by the fire, and the smiling faces of people who understand her, care for her, and wish to hear her thoughts and desires. All this, the gem whispers, all this for you, Margen, but first... 

    Margen can feel the gems power burning around her, then in her. The gem fuses to her right hand and begins to emit an hellish, pulsing light. Margen returns to the farmhouse, then enters into the main room where the large family and their servants are eating their dinner. There are bright flashes of blood red light, screams of pain and horror, then silence. Moments later, Margen emerges. Her tattered frock has changed to a long crimson cape that she wraps around her thin body. Her eyes, too, glow with the red fires of Orndul while behind her, those who tormented her or ignored her lay dead...for a moment. With a flick of her gem-fused hand, those whom Margen slew raise again to serve her. 

   Six months later, in [someplace] rumors have began telling of a great evil that has been born in [someplace]. A creature calling itself the Red Queen has been destroying thorpes, villages, and towns with armies of the ravening dead. Worse still, these armies are now moving toward [someplace]...

    Fun, right? So what's the adventure? The party can be hired as spies by a local ruler to go and learn what is really going on. They could be part of a militia that encounters the forces of the Red Queen and get stranded in lands she has conquered. They could simply be curious, or be sent on an errand by a patron. Whatever it takes to get them into the area where Margen and her forces are becoming more powerful. So...a point crawl? 

    In any event, I'm kicking this idea around. 

3 May 2026

    Thinking this through a bit. This isn't an adventure, it's a campaign, or a very long scenario with overland travel, point-crawl encounters, random encounters, and some kind of exploration/crawl at the end. One of the problems I have re: designing is my canvas is always too big! This would be like 30 pages were I to write it all down. Maybe I will, just for fun, but I have found that I don't really enjoy writing adventures that other people will read. I like making them for my players, but it's a bit tedious to do for (possible) public consumption.