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DiaD - Realistic, interesting Travel Rules for RPGs

  Following the Die in a Ditch (DiaD) design rules, this sub-system for overland travel enables interesting, story-driving choices around what gear and supplies are carried, and where, when and how to eat, and rest in camp. Basically, for each hour of travel each player rolls a dice pool based on how difficult that travel is based on a number of factors - for each die that rolls a 1 a hitpoint is lost. Hitpoints are gained through eating and also gained by sleeping at least 6 hours in camp. Prerequisites to this sub-system: 1) Low overall hitpoints , and an understanding that as well as tracking physical damage, hitpoints also track the energy, motivation and morale of characters. In my system each PC starts with 8 hitpoints of Flesh (that track physical damage) plus 8 hitpoints of Grit (that tracks energy, motivation and morale). c.f.  https://lastgaspgrimoire.com/2013/04/13/id-hit-that/   2) Low magic , rare magical healing. This sub-system is pointless if PCs have cheap access t
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DiaD - Quick, varied and interesting Random Encounters

Each hour of in-game time the GM rolls one of each die type (i.e. d4, d6, d8, d10, d12) to determine what, if anything, happens.   d4 - Faction d6 - Encounter Type d8 - Strength d10 - Placement d12 - Weather With practice the dice can be rolled together and interpreted pretty quickly. Generally lower number are worse for the party. Some initiative is of course required of the GM to interpret the inputs. Ignore any combinations that don't make sense or are irrelevant, and don't hesitate to replace any results with an outcome that makes more sense, or is more interesting - especially if this is an occurrence that has been foreshadowed, encountered already earlier and not fully dealt with, or driven by some other on-going process or threat (perhaps tracked by Apocalypse World Threat Clocks or a similar mechanic).  The d6 roll for Encounter Type is most important, and in some cases (i.e. Evidence, Trace or Nothing) does not require further interpretation of the other die sizes (ex
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Crianlarich Munro summer wildcamp

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Summer 2021 Well after having to postpone a couple of times due to my kids getting Covid pinged I went on my trip last week. My plans changed a little both beforehand and during! Summary score for those that simply can't stand the suspense: Munros targeted: 7; Munros achieved: 3. Ticks removed: 2; ticks fully fed: probably about 7... In the interest of time and convenience (it still being only 9am!) I got a minicab straight from Glasgow airport to Tarbet, thence the ferry to Inversnaid (the ferry wasn't running to Rowardennan otherwise I might've tried for Ben Lomond first). At Inversnaid I was a minute or so northbound on the West Highland Way when on the spur of the moment and imbued with Rob Roy spirit I decided to try a higher and wilder route north - firstly heading east for a mile on the Great Trossachs path and then crossing the bridge at Rob Roy's Carpark (I guess he probably drove some kind of 4x4 back in the day...) and heading north up the Inversnaid Nature R
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One Page Dungeon Contest 2020: The Hexwastes!

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I've just submitted my entry to the 2020 One Page Dungeon contest. My entry for 2020 is entitled The Hexwastes. I hope you'll take a look when it's released. If you'd like to flex your creative muscles and submit something that will definitely get published to the wider world, and possibly win a prize [stop press: including actual cold hard cash it seems!]... then you've got until the deadline on 15th July 2020. All details here: https://www.dungeoncontest.com/ In any case head over there and connect on the official social media and you'll be notified when all the entries are released to the public, after the judges have made their decisions. There are always quite a few really excellent entries, and lots more that are certainly intriguing. All genres are catered for, they are intended to be RPG system-agnostic and they are all released for free use under the Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 3.0 license*.. Compendiums of each previous year's entries
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d20 reasons why adventurers won't get a long rest

d20 reasons why adventurers won't get a Long Rest Just because the adventuring party have managed to find an appropriate place and sufficient time doesn't necessarily mean they are going to get a full night's rest - if you've ever slept outside, or even just somewhere new, you will agree. Here are d20 reasons why they will not be getting their full allocation of HP restored this night:  Birds or bats call and swoop, putting you on edge. Nearby livestock low, munch and shuffle within earshot, disturbing your rest. The loud call of a distant wild beast wakes you with a start. Probably just a fox or an elk or something. The wind gusts into surrounding foliage and your bedclothes, nudging you awake. Irregular rain showers wake you up due to the noise and occasional drips. The ground underneath you becomes wetter and wetter until it is water-logged and starts to seep into your bedclothes. Someone in your party is snoring again . For some reason the usual breathi
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2018 Review of the year outdoors - part 2

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2018 Review of the year outdoors - part 2 (of 2) Continuing on from the first part of the year here .   June - Lee Valley As the weather was very nice I decided to go for a long run out of London along the Lee Valley, and see how little equipment I could get away with for a night's sleep. I managed to get everything into a lumbar pack (aka "bumbag", [or “fanny pack” for the Americanists, if you really insist]), although I did have to strap the bedroll underneath. The morning after. Everything packed away into a small pack and bedroll. I didn't even take an insulated sleeping bag, just a waterproof-breathable "bivvy" bag, a thin foam ground sheet and a ultralightweight comfort pad constructed using black balloons. Yes really . With an extra layer of clothes on top of my running clothes I was fine, despite a very short light shower in the night, and the attentions of some annoying flying insects. The minimalist sleeping set up   But rea
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