Warwell's Wargames

Horses do not exist in this setting so there is no cavalry. To make things more interesting, I added a variety of foot types. These are the unit available to the Legion.

For battles, I will randomly determine the Legion's make-up.

As Geoff suggested, I will hide enemy troops types until Legion troops make contact. This will introduce an additional element of fog of war.

For now, I'm going to use my current armies of counters. Eventually I want to make counters representing all the different troop types.

I plan to make enemy counters two-sided. One side will show the troops in formation and in such a way that I can distinguish the type. The other side will have a generic block of troops representing an unknown body of enemies.

I plan on streamlining abilities so I can fit a character's stats on one line of an index card.

MQ22 mashed characters into 6 levels. This means I had to convert from D&D to MQ levels. Not that it was difficult; I generally just divided by 2. But it dawned on me that I don't to convert because I derive target numbers from relative levels.

I may still have character levels cap out around level 10 or so. In AD&D, that's about when characters become eligible to settle down and run a fief.

I will still likely create my own leveling charts, probably based on quests completed rather than killing stuff or finding treasure.

MQ22 dispensed with ability scores. I assumed that fighters are strong, sages are intelligent, and rogues are dexterous. But this negates some opportunities for characterization. For example, I found it amusing that my character Tweedle turned out to be a bit rash.

A previous version of MQ allowed for strengths and weaknesses. I will resurrect this mechanic in some fashion to add a little flavor. I think I will assume that characters are average for all characteristics and then roll to see if they have a strength or weakness.

A Burial

After defeating the ghoul, the way is open to the upper level.

"Let's go," a grim but determined Killian commands.

"Wait!" Martin interjects. "If we leave Gruff's body, he will turn into a ghoul. We need to cremate him, quickly!"

The party finds a fireplace, and then sends their comrade off to the heavens.

With that sad duty performed, the remaining party members head up the stairs.

The banshee attacks Haiden. She hits and he slumps to the ground. He is severely wounded.

Killian reacts. "Grab Martin and get out of here! I'll hold off the banshee!"

Haiden crawls over to Martin and begins pulling him towards the exit.

Meanwhile, Killian grabs a holy water phial. The banshee rushes him. At the last second, he splashes holy water in her face. She screams in pain and rage, then disappears.

"Is it dead?" Haiden gasps.

They hear ghostly wails and screams.

"I don't think so," Killian replies. "But she is hurt. We better get out of here before she comes back."

Killian picks up Martin then helps Haiden hobble through the halls of Axeholm. Fortunately, they do not meet any resistance, and they escape from the haunted stronghold.

That night they make camp. Killian heals Martin, but the cleric is barely conscious. He will need rest to fully heal.

Ultimately, they make it back to Phandalin.

One day, Winston, Killian's confessor and former comrade in arms, sees Killian praying in the temple they've been building.

Winston approaches. "Do not blame yourself, my son."

Killian looks at him and wanly smiles. "I don't know if that's possible, Brother. But that's not what's on my mind. I am thinking of Axeholm. But not about what happened. I'm thinking about what will happen. You see, I have a clever plan..."

Haven't we heard this before?!

Why yes. Back in February I began the Axeholm adventure. But now that I making changes to MicroQuest, I decided to experiment using my Icespire Peak characters. I figured I should start the adventure from scratch.

I'll elaborate some of the changes to the characters in an upcoming post. For now, let me mention a change in how I run the dungeon.

In February, I experimented with a map-less dungeon. Essentially, it took a certain number of encounters for the party to reach a major milestone, such as reaching a boss. Honestly, it felt a little flat.

This time, I decided to use a simplified version of the dungeon map. As you can see in the picture, I divided the lower level into 5 distinct wings. I decreed that each wing will have up to 2 encounters.

You can also see my character sheet in the picture. I managed to streamline it so I could fit the entire party on one index card!

The party (colors) vs, ghouls (black)

Haiden and Gruff manage to kill 2 each.

In the great hall, 2 stirges attack the party. One latches onto Gruff but Martin manages to kill it while Haiden knocks down the second.

An arrow trap drives them back before they can reach the stairs to the upper level. Gruff is now badly wounded but Martin partially heals him.

In general, this is a major goal for my designs. I prefer games where I don't have to refer frequently to the rules or to charts. I also want to minimize math. I don't want to add a bunch of modifiers to determine results, especially since I tend to roll for all characters simultaneously.

I have a bunch of D6's lying around. I want to use them. I also have some D12's and sometimes consider using them instead. Something to consider.

Actually, an index card, but you get the idea. Currently, I have each character on an index card, but I am not keen on shuffling among them. I'd like to minimize the stats for each character so that I can fit the entire party on one side of an index card. This may be a tall order, in which case I'll go up to a 4 x 6 inch card.

Although I have complained about the Dragon of Icespire Keep module, I like the idea of using published D&D modules. Therefore, I'd like to be able to convert easily from D&D to my system. Details to be determined.

Where do I go from here?