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Super-Earth
- Joined
- Feb 19, 2019
England, 1627. The Price Revolution has brought fresh misery into the lives of the peasantry. With the near-doubling of the country's population over the past century, and increasing supply of precious metals from the New World, the cost of living has increased dramatically, with the prices of some goods multiplying fivefold or sixfold. Food is so expensive that many starve to death, or find themselves eating the heretofore unthinkable.
In this time of desperation and uncertainty, a band of rootless drifters—scoundrels, vagabonds, and tomb robbers to a one—arrives in the village of Edington, pursuing rumors of treasures hidden within its supposedly haunted priory. Little do they know, they are about to find themselves at the center of events born of terrible sorcery and otherworldly forces, events that threaten to transform the society they know forever...
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Hey everyone! This is my interest check/recruitment thread for a friendly play-by-post game of Lamentations of the Flame Princess, a D&D retroclone you may or may not be familiar with, using Rafael Chandler's adventure module No Salvation For Witches. If you've played LotFP or read any of its published materials before, you'll know it's basically old-school D&D rules with an eye toward the weird and horrific, which this adventure definitely falls under; if you haven't, but the above sounds intriguing, have no fear! You're more than welcome to try your hand, and if you've played any version of D&D at all, the rules should feel quite familiar for the most part.
To those unfamiliar with old-school style games, there are some conventions that might take getting used to. Play tends to be a lot more lethal and unforgiving than in recent D&D; emphasis is on player creativity and lateral thinking to solve problems, rather than characters' mechanical abilities (a good mantra is 'if you have to roll dice, you've already failed'). Rather than telling a story about your characters, the goal is to simulate a part of their lives as they live them, which means events might happen that seem arbitrary or meaningless in the moment; as in real life, only in retrospect can things be made sense of as anything like a narrative. Character death is a real possibility that should be taken seriously—but that's what makes it fun when you do succeed!
This is Blue Moon, so it probably goes without saying that adult content will feature heavily in this game (if the cover art above wasn't enough of a hint, the acronym of the module's title is NSFW). However, I wouldn't go in expecting smut, or an overtly sexy tone—not that there can't be sex and sexy situations if you want them, but your characters may have to do some work to make them happen. Or they may not, who knows?
If you want to give this a shot, all you have to do is submit a character! The rules of Lamentations of the Flame Princess, including character creation, can be found here in free PDF form. However, because I know just diving into a new system rulebook with no guidance is often overwhelming, I'll outline the (really quite simple) character creation process in the spoiler below (I'll assume you're familiar with basic vocabulary from D&D, if you're not and need more help please let me know).
First, roll 3d6 6 times, in order, to determine your character's Charisma, Constitution, Dexterity, Intelligence, Strength, and Wisdom. After recording all rolls, you may swap two scores of your choice, once. Then, record the modifiers of your scores: 3 is -3, 4-5 are -2, 6-8 are -1, 9-12 are 0, 13-15 are +1, 16-17 are +2, and 18 is +3. Add up all your ability modifiers; if they total less than 0, you may discard the character and start over. Ability score checks in LotFP are d20 equal to or under your ability score.
Important note: in LotFP, your "mental" stats—Charisma, Intelligence, and Wisdom—have no bearing on your character's actual mental faculties or personality. Charisma is purely a measure of their ability to attract and manage hirelings, not their persuasiveness or attractiveness. Intelligence is purely a measure of prior education and knowledge, not reasoning or learning ability. Wisdom is strength of will and connection to the greater spiritual forces of the universe, not understanding of other people or sensory acuity. So, if you roll a character with low Charisma, that doesn't mean they have to be unattractive or socially awkward, and a character with low Intelligence doesn't have to be stupid, just uneducated.
Next, choose your class: fighter, cleric, magic-user, or specialist (skill-focused characters, can be thieves but don't have to be). The book also has elves, dwarves, and halflings, but we're not using them for this game.
Roll for your starting hit points. Fighters roll 1d8, everyone else 1d6; add your Constitution modifier to the roll. Each class has a minimum number of hit points at 1st level; if your total including your Con modifier would be less than this, you start with the minimum. Clerics and specialists have a minimum of 4 hit points, fighters of 8, and magic-users of 3.
Record your attack bonuses. As adventurers, you're all somewhat more skilled in combat than the average commoner, and have a base attack bonus of +1, except for fighters, who start at +2. Your melee attack bonus is base plus your Strength mod; your ranged attack bonus is base plus your Dexterity mod. Attack rolls in LotFP are d20+your attack bonus equal to or above the target's armor class.
Record your saving throw values. These are dependent on your class; check the table in the classes section of the rulebook for your values (fighters, be careful: your class table includes the stats for a classless 0-level character in the first row, so skip those). Saving throws in LotFP are d20 equal to or above your save value, so a lower save value is better. You add your Intelligence modifier to your saving throws for saves against spells cast by magic-users (not clerics); you add your Wisdom mod to all saves against non-spell effects.
Choose your alignment: Lawful, Neutral, or Chaotic. Alignment in LotFP has nothing to do with your beliefs, actions, or character—it's a purely cosmic, metaphysical thing, indicating basically what supernatural powers have dominion over your soul. You might be a good and righteous person who was born cursed and marked by demonic powers, and thus Chaotic despite your desperate wish to be otherwise, or you might be a heartless rogue who finds themselves an unwitting pawn of a divine destiny, and thus Lawful. If you're a cleric, you're automatically Lawful; if you're a magic-user, you're automatically Chaotic. Almost everyone else is Neutral, but you can be an exception.
Roll for your starting equipment budget. LotFP assumes a silver standard for currency (good ol' pounds sterling in this case). You start with 3d6 x 10 £ to spend on equipment. Purchase your equipment from the tables in the book, which your're on your own with unless you have specific questions cause I'm not copying all that shit here. Keep in mind that firearms rules, and the associated armor options, are in play for this game, so check the back of the book for that stuff. If you're a magic-user, you get your first spellbook for free. Any extra money you keep as coin.
Record your inventory and calculate your encumbrance. LotFP uses a slot-based encumbrance system. Every 5 normal items you carry gives you 1 point of encumbrance. At 0-1 encumbrance, you're "unencumbered" and especially fast; at 2, you're "lightly encumbered", which is what you'll be accustomed to as normal movement from modern D&D. Any more encumbrance will start to slow you down. Small items can stack in a single slot, so 20 arrows in a quiver is 1 slot (coins stack up to 100, but you'll want a container for them). Items listed in the equipment tables in italics are non-encumbering; track those separately, they don't count. Items listed in bold italics are oversized; each oversized item adds a point of encumbrance all on its own.
Record your armor class. AC in LotFP is base from armor (12 for unarmored) + Dexterity bonus. Your "unadjusted" AC, used mostly when surprised, is just your armor AC, no bonus from Dex or a shield if you're using one.
If you're a magic-user, you know Read Magic. Roll a d20 3 times, and I'll tell you what other spells you know.
If you're a specialist, spend your skill points. Skill rolls in LotFP are d6 equal to or under your skill rating, which goes from 1 to 6 (non-specialists have 1 in every skill). You start with 4 points. Spend points 1-for-1 to increase your ratings in any skill you want. Defaults include architecture, bushcraft, climbing, languages, search, sleight of hand, sneak attack, stealth, and tinkering. If you want to have other skills, let me know and we'll figure out how they work if they're acceptable.
Tell us your name and a little about yourself, as outlined below!
Important note: in LotFP, your "mental" stats—Charisma, Intelligence, and Wisdom—have no bearing on your character's actual mental faculties or personality. Charisma is purely a measure of their ability to attract and manage hirelings, not their persuasiveness or attractiveness. Intelligence is purely a measure of prior education and knowledge, not reasoning or learning ability. Wisdom is strength of will and connection to the greater spiritual forces of the universe, not understanding of other people or sensory acuity. So, if you roll a character with low Charisma, that doesn't mean they have to be unattractive or socially awkward, and a character with low Intelligence doesn't have to be stupid, just uneducated.
Next, choose your class: fighter, cleric, magic-user, or specialist (skill-focused characters, can be thieves but don't have to be). The book also has elves, dwarves, and halflings, but we're not using them for this game.
Roll for your starting hit points. Fighters roll 1d8, everyone else 1d6; add your Constitution modifier to the roll. Each class has a minimum number of hit points at 1st level; if your total including your Con modifier would be less than this, you start with the minimum. Clerics and specialists have a minimum of 4 hit points, fighters of 8, and magic-users of 3.
Record your attack bonuses. As adventurers, you're all somewhat more skilled in combat than the average commoner, and have a base attack bonus of +1, except for fighters, who start at +2. Your melee attack bonus is base plus your Strength mod; your ranged attack bonus is base plus your Dexterity mod. Attack rolls in LotFP are d20+your attack bonus equal to or above the target's armor class.
Record your saving throw values. These are dependent on your class; check the table in the classes section of the rulebook for your values (fighters, be careful: your class table includes the stats for a classless 0-level character in the first row, so skip those). Saving throws in LotFP are d20 equal to or above your save value, so a lower save value is better. You add your Intelligence modifier to your saving throws for saves against spells cast by magic-users (not clerics); you add your Wisdom mod to all saves against non-spell effects.
Choose your alignment: Lawful, Neutral, or Chaotic. Alignment in LotFP has nothing to do with your beliefs, actions, or character—it's a purely cosmic, metaphysical thing, indicating basically what supernatural powers have dominion over your soul. You might be a good and righteous person who was born cursed and marked by demonic powers, and thus Chaotic despite your desperate wish to be otherwise, or you might be a heartless rogue who finds themselves an unwitting pawn of a divine destiny, and thus Lawful. If you're a cleric, you're automatically Lawful; if you're a magic-user, you're automatically Chaotic. Almost everyone else is Neutral, but you can be an exception.
Roll for your starting equipment budget. LotFP assumes a silver standard for currency (good ol' pounds sterling in this case). You start with 3d6 x 10 £ to spend on equipment. Purchase your equipment from the tables in the book, which your're on your own with unless you have specific questions cause I'm not copying all that shit here. Keep in mind that firearms rules, and the associated armor options, are in play for this game, so check the back of the book for that stuff. If you're a magic-user, you get your first spellbook for free. Any extra money you keep as coin.
Record your inventory and calculate your encumbrance. LotFP uses a slot-based encumbrance system. Every 5 normal items you carry gives you 1 point of encumbrance. At 0-1 encumbrance, you're "unencumbered" and especially fast; at 2, you're "lightly encumbered", which is what you'll be accustomed to as normal movement from modern D&D. Any more encumbrance will start to slow you down. Small items can stack in a single slot, so 20 arrows in a quiver is 1 slot (coins stack up to 100, but you'll want a container for them). Items listed in the equipment tables in italics are non-encumbering; track those separately, they don't count. Items listed in bold italics are oversized; each oversized item adds a point of encumbrance all on its own.
Record your armor class. AC in LotFP is base from armor (12 for unarmored) + Dexterity bonus. Your "unadjusted" AC, used mostly when surprised, is just your armor AC, no bonus from Dex or a shield if you're using one.
If you're a magic-user, you know Read Magic. Roll a d20 3 times, and I'll tell you what other spells you know.
If you're a specialist, spend your skill points. Skill rolls in LotFP are d6 equal to or under your skill rating, which goes from 1 to 6 (non-specialists have 1 in every skill). You start with 4 points. Spend points 1-for-1 to increase your ratings in any skill you want. Defaults include architecture, bushcraft, climbing, languages, search, sleight of hand, sneak attack, stealth, and tinkering. If you want to have other skills, let me know and we'll figure out how they work if they're acceptable.
Tell us your name and a little about yourself, as outlined below!
Tell us your character's name, a few sentences about their immediate look or first impression, and a few sentences about where they're from and what kind of person they are behind what they show the world. Assume you've been traveling and working with the rest of the party for a while, and will already know them at the start of the adventure. If you're new to LotFP, I suggest not getting too attached to your 1st-level character—they might not last long, depending on how cautiously and cleverly you play.
I'm looking to run this for three or four players; I've found that's the ideal range for these sorts of games. Feel free to go ahead and submit a character if you feel like it, or ask me any questions about the game or the rules. Hope to see some interest!
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