I wanted to test the U13/L7 system in play, but I wanted to experience as a player. I also wanted to see how the system worked with more than one player, so I invited Frank to play with me. Frank and I live hundreds of miles apart, so we were playing by e-mail.
Seeing that no one else knows the system yet, my idea was that we would play a GM-less game. Two grown adults should be able to explore a randomly generated wilderness without needing a GM. Any questions that would need a GM would be answered by the dice.
The basic idea was that we would be exploring an unknown wilderness. We’d use the tables in Wilderness Hexplore (Revised) to generate the map as we explored. If an encounter was indicated, we would use the encounter tables in 1991’s Dungeons & Dragons Rules Cyclopedia.
The Dice as GM
The process is pretty simple, and can be compared to a game with a GM. In a normal game, any given scene can be described like this:
- The GM describes a situation
- The players ask any questions to clarify their understanding of the situation
- The GM answers those questions
- The players states their actions
- The GM de termines what happens next (sometimes based on a die roll)
In a wilderness based GM-less adventure the process is almost the same. Once the players enter a hex:
- The players roll dice and consult tables to determine the situation
- The players ask any questions to clarify their understanding of the situation
- The players roll dice to answer those questions
- The players say how they react
- The players roll dice to determine what happens next
An example:
- The dice indicate that there’s a river in the hex.
- The players ask if the river is flowing slow enough for them to ford. (Note: when the dice are the DM the questions should always be a “yes or no” type question. It should be phrased in such a way that the player’s desired answer is “yes.”)
- The players make a standard roll, but it’s not based on any skill. On a “success” the answer is “yes.” The roll could be either a bonus or penalty roll if the player feels that the “yes” answer is particularly likely or unlikely.
- The players say that they’ll ford the river.
- The players make a wilderness survival roll to determine if they’re successful.
That’s all there is to it!
How it went
As you can see from the map, we only explored 5 hexes before something happened. We’ll get there in a minute.
Frank’s character was a cleric named Desmond, whilst I played Galeas the fighter.
Hex 10,10 is where we started. The “henge” icon represents the magical portal that we could use to travel between the wilderness we were exploring and our home city.
Day 1
| Time | Hex | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 7 AM | 10,10 | Terrain: Light forest with road Encounters: None We arrived through the portal. We found ourselves in a spare forest, and saw an ancient roadway running east-to-west. Desmond suggested going west and Galeas agreed. |
| 9 AM | 09,09 | Terrain: Heavy forest with road & river Encounters: 3 bears The forest became more dense, and the road was bisected by a river. A collapsing stone bridge spanned the water. Upstream we spotted a group of large bears in the river, presumably looking for fish. We kept our distance, and so did the bears. We continued to follow the road. |
| 11 AM | 08,09 | Terrain: Heavy forest with road & river Encounters: 1 human magic-user The forest was still dense, and the road once again was bisected by another river. We encountered a human female. We chatted for a bit (see below), and invited her to join us. She declined. The area seemed peaceful and safe so we took a break for lunch. Desmond wanted to fish for lunch, but I was opposed to the idea (see below). We left at noon. Because the day was half over, I suggested we start heading back. In order to explore new territory we decided to follow the river south, then we’d head east back to the portal. |
| 2:30 PM | 08,10 | Terrain: Lake Encounters: Giant fish Because we’re no longer on a road, it takes 2 ½ hours to traverse a hex instead of two. We found ourselves on the shore of a large lake. In the lake were fish the size of orca. “You’re going to need a bigger pole,” Galeas said to Desmond. We followed the shoreline until we could head to the east. |
| 5 PM | 09,10 | Terrain: Heavy Forest Encounters: None There wasn’t anything of interest here. Just as well, as the day was getting late, and we still had 2–3 hours ahead of us. |
| 7:30 PM | 10,10 | Terrain: Light forest with road Encounters: None We arrived back at the portal, and passed through it back to our home city. |
Talking to an NPC
Something strange happened when we met the magic-user in hex 08,09. We rolled standard reaction roll and it came back “favorable.”
Frank had Desmond try to start a conversation with her. In a GM-run game there’s nothing weird about that, but how do you have dialog with dice? I started to wonder if Frank understood what we were doing.
Frank then asked her if there was a city nearby. This is 100% reasonable, but I didn’t know how to handle it. Because the map isn’t generated yet we can’t look at the map to see if there is. Do we roll to see if she says “yes” or “no”? But who’s to say that she’s telling the truth? So do we roll again to see if she’s lying? What if the dice do say there’s a city? Do we just place one on the map somewhere? I still don’t have a good handle how to deal with that situation. Frank was gracious enough to let that drop.
I suggested asked her to join us. I’m a fan of henchmen and hirelings. So Frank started to try to ease her into the idea. “I don’t want to seem too eager” he told me. I tried to reiterate that the dice don’t care.
When we rolled her response to joining us we got a 1–not just a “no” but a “hell, no!”
Disagreeing about Fishing
In the same hex Frank wanted Desmond to fish. Mechanically this would be easy to do—just make a Wilderness Survival roll.
Logically it made no sense to me. First of all, we hand no need. We were already carrying 7 days of food on us. My second objection was that we had no fishing gear. Desmond’s idea was to stand on the river bank and try to clobber passing fish with his staff. My third objection was the time involved: I figured a fishing would take at least an hour, more if he caught some then had clean it and to start a fire to cook it. I wanted to make sure we got back to the portal before nightfall.
I was thankful when he dropped it, though dismayed when he suggested it again at the lake. I had to convince him that you can’t net an orca in a large sack.
Day 2
The second day was just bookkeeping. Mainly Desmond went to the shop to buy a hammock, a tinderbox, and a bear trap.
Day 3
Day 3 started a lot like Day 1. Then everything feel apart.
| Time | Hex | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 7 AM | 10,10 | Terrain: Light forest with road Encounters: None We went through the portal and decided that today’s plan would be to go to 09,09 seo that Desmond could set his bear trap. After that we would follow the river north to explore 09,08, then southeast to explore 10,09. From there we would head due south back to the portal. |
| 9 AM | 09,09 | Terrain: Heavy forest with road & river Encounters: 4 bears (2 cubs & 2 adults) We hoped that the bears wouldn’t be around. The dice disagreed. Not only did the dice say the bears were present, they said that the bears were hostile and only 30 yards away. Oh, and we were surprised! |
Against the Bears: The Plan
Before we even discussed a plan, Desmond set the trap. He shouted out a warning to me: “Live trap! Watch out!” He also prepared his mace and shield.
We decided that the cubs would flee and we’d only be facing two adults.
I suggested that I would cover Desmond with my bow why he dig up rations in his pack. We would then drop the rations to distract them and run like hell.
Against the Bears: The Action
I guess Desmond didn’t like the plan. But instead of suggesting a counter-plan, he just cast a Darkness spell on me.
Let me say that again. I suggested a plan for us to work together. Desmond acted on his own plan without asking my input. Furthermore, his action was to surround me in a bubble of supernatural darkness that was 120 yards across. I was effectively blind, in rough terrain and with a deadly bear trap somewhere near me.
Thanks, Desmond. With friends like you, who needs monsters?
Aftermath
I decided, though I never told Frank, that the only thing I could do was to wait in place (moving as little as possible) for the duration of the spell–about two hours. Once he could see, Galeas would deal with the bears if he had to (though hopefully they’d be gone by then). Then he would return to the portal and go home. He would never speak to Desmond again.
Frank kept asking question, but they were the wrong questions. He asked things like “Do the bears enter the darkness?” We wouldn’t know that—all we would know was if it sounded like they were entering. He did ask the right question at some point, but the email chain was full of unrelated chatter and the question got lost without being answered. At one point he said he was walking out of the darkness, but I don’t see where we ever rolled to see if he made it out and if the bears were there when he got out.
At some point Frank just sent me an e-mail saying “you and the bears are dead.”
“Okay,” was my reply.
Playing with Myself
For the most part, I enjoyed the adventure. Clearly, though, Frank and I don’t play well together. So I’m going to try this again, but without Frank. I’ll make it a small series of posts here.
