Nappendixia Campaign 3.0- Session 103 Gamma World

 Nappendixia Campaign Session Report

Session #-  103

Session Date-  7/11/25

Time Passed-  8 days, staying in 1:1 time

Roll Call-  

Cursed-  Pure Strain Human of the Ox Clan.  He is very charismatic but extremely clumsy.

Lorno-  Mutant Human of the Ox Clan.  He is massively tall and has vestigial wings, far too heavy to fly.  He also has mental powers, including a blast, invisibility, and the ability to enhance other mutant powers.

Johnny Mothra-  Mutant Human of the Puma Clan.  He is also a massively tall and winged mutant who can glide and leap above the forest canopy of his homeland.  He places his shots in the perfect spot, but has a huge metabolism and is always hungry.

Clint-  Mutant Human of the Turtle Clan.  Though he can pass as a pure human, Clint has the hidden powers of telekinesis and a heightened sense of smell.  However, he must be very careful to avoid cuts and wounds.  

Adventure Log-  The party had decided to rest for a week, heal, build a rough pen for the rokox, and try to find food and water stores.  They are able to find sustenance on several foraging runs, however on the 6th day of trying they are ambushed by some predatory mountain laurel armed with razor leaves and poison seed pods.  They irradiate one and chop the other with axes, taking a little damage from the fight, but gain some forest fruit that stays ripe for weeks.  They rest and heal as best as they can and on the 7th day penetrate the old metal ruins to see what ancient treasures it may contain.  They move through the part of the compound already explored by Johnny Mothra, using Cursed’s lantern and some torches prepared from nearby plants to light the way into the dark complex.  They move into the disheveled office to the west and examine the oval metal portal that leads north into the complex.  It has a heavy metal wheel that seems to keep it sealed shut.  Clint is able to unloosen it and it opens revealing dryer air running down a corridor ending in another door.  This door has some kind of keypad and card reader attached to its heavy metal surface and frame.  They try the level 1 card they had found, but get the response of “No Access” on the keypad.  Frustrated, Lorno braces his massive frome in the tight hallway and pushes with all his might- buckling the door and freeing it from the lock mechanism.  His large frame spills across the threshold and a single red light illuminates a large hangar shaped area.  In the large room there are several areas of counters and desks, some of them containing old computer terminals and other broken machines.  In the area of the red light, a metal warrior android looking like a titanium skeleton, wielding a 2 handed sword activates and immediately attacks, slicing Lorno as soon as he pushes through.  The party responds in kind, with the crash test dummy landing an effective vibro blade attack.  At the far end of the hangar, 3 more androids, one holding a nasty looking high tech rifle, the other 2 with vibro blades, led by a human decked out in golden metal high tech armor rush forward saying “slay the intruders!”  Cursed moves forward attempting to parley, and Johnny holds the fragmentation grenade ready in case negotiations fail.  He notices a nearby computer terminal with another of those ID cards sticking out of it and goes to retrieve it, finding a small lock box there as well.  The android with the rifle notices and fires a round at him, his aim is true, but Cursed had put his crash test dummy android on Guard mode, and it jumps in the line of fire and is turned to irradiated slag.  The enemies get closer and they notice the golden legionnaire has a grenade launcher affixed to his breastplate, and half the party is peppered with shrapnel.  Lorno fires his radiation blast at the golden warrior, and in a fit of luck manages to get just the right dosage to mutate him, causing his eyes to have heightened powers.  The legionnaire cries out in disdain, horrified that he has become mutated, hateful of all mutations.  At just that moment, Cursed is able to sway the androids into listening to him, a true pure strain human, and not a pathetic mutate like the legionnaire.  They agree, and turn to attack the golden warrior as the party uses this turn of events to slip out of the hangar and back through the sealed metal door.  They hear the explosion of another grenade before sealing it.  They take a few hours to rest and bind wounds, badly damaged from the big melee.  Cursed finds a .38 revolver and 200 domars in the lockbox, the ID card is a level 2.  Cursed and Clint go back into the hangar to see what happened, and they find the destroyed forms of the androids and the dead legionnaire, they notice he had a mesh of wires on his scalp that all braided together into one long wire the cam out of the top of his head.  At the rear of the hangar, where the second red light lit up they find a computer terminal with a companion wire the legionnaire could attach to, perhaps his way of communicating with the computer or other forces.  At the far end of the hangar they find another door leading north and avoid it.  They check the remnants of the combat and find a fusion rifle with 8 charges left, 1 working vibro blade, and a working battery from the other vibro blade.  They also find a pair of crossed halberds and silver helmets affixed to the wall in a  decorative manner, they take the items. And move back into the ruined office sealing the door and bracing the exterior door in the hopes they can rest and recover there, and further delve the complex in a week or so.  

Session Notes-  I’m finding that it’s best to decide at the end of each session if the party wants to stay in 1:1 time or freeze time until next session.  At least this makes sense until the party can find some kind of permanent settlement and better food and water resources.  I’m trying to find the balance also of making resource management a thing without it feeling cumbersome.  Trying not to over complicate things, I find that it’s best right now to work in weeks worth of food/water for each PC.  I don’t want this world to feel like resources and safe settlements are aplenty, but I know it gets tiresome in game to be regularly stymied by things like food and water.  Still finding that balance of adventure and survival.  Regardless, there is need to homebrew or at least figure out the specifics for all kinds of present but incomplete rules in 1e.  For example we found the rules for invisibility were very lacking, without GM ruling a PC could potentially be invisible all of the time, so we looked at the 2e rules for invisibility and there was a little more clarification, but still needed further GM ruling.  That just sort of seems to be the nature of Gamma World, it’s freeform, open to GM fiat, encourages GM to make their own die rulings up, and encourages story development, prepping encounters for PCs and scaling the difficulty of encounters.  Incorporating RAW and 1:1 time has felt clunky at best, but we are certainly having fun with things.  I can set up and play sessions very easily, the rulebook is very easy to reference and find rules, and the energy for the game remains high.  

Treasure and XP-  Monster-  3x Warrior Androids, Thinker Android, Legionnaire, 2x Predator Mountain Laurel= 357xp.  Treasure-  2x Silver Helmets, .38 Pistol, Fusion Rifle, Vibro Blade, extra Battery, 200 Domars, level 2 ID Card= 5150xp= 5507xp/ 4 PCs= 1377xp each

Graveyard-  Crash Test Dummy Android- irradiated by a fusion rifle in the forest ruins complex. (session 103)

Nappendixia Campaign 3.0- Session 102 AD&D

 Nappendixia Campaign Session Report

Session #- 102

Session Date-  7/4/25

Time Passed-  1 day

Roll Call-  Kenny- M/U8

Boyo- C8

Elaine- F6

Adventure Log-  Our heroes have recently returned to Bartertown and the Iron Quarter after waging a war to the east with the Slime Cultists.  (More on how that all resolved to come)  In the weeks leading up to Batertown Independence Day, Kenny has time to scry the lands surrounding and finds some big changes in the last months while the party was off to war.  

• His first significant scry is in the evening where he sees a streaking light rise from a mountain to the Southwest, it touches the firmament and is met with a second glowing streak. And both glowing streaks descend back to that same mountain.  He locates the source and it is the former hilltop lair of Nelson the Dragon, though slain months ago.

•  His second bit of intelligence from scrying is of the Megadungoen to the west.  The gorillamen have reconfigured their operations outside the megadungeon.  They no longer skirmish with the little wildmen.  They now have several billboards advertising the Megadungoen as an entertainment locale and they seem to be setting up facilities to accommodate visitors.

• His next scry reveals that in the forests to the Northeast, near the borders with Hartford, several vehicles are spotted, and one resembles the car Humungous is known to drive.  Several more troops from the marauders are spotted.  It looks like they have settled here in these forests.

• He looks to the west, at the edge of the desert and the end of the cubic gate line and sees that that station is still transformed into a spooky haunted house, constantly dark and stormy, with bats and wolves lurking about.  A vampiric presence is still strong here, possibly getting stronger.

• When looking to the north Kenny sees the Crevasse dungeon, and sees several piles of dead detritus on the grounds outside the crevasse.  More scrying reveals the Headhunter orcs have moved into the crevasse and are using it as a base of operations. 

•  Lastly, when scrying far to the north, deeper into the deserts north than he has ever scried, he spies a small desert village.  It seems to have a partial palisade and some degree of trade and travelers.  He decided to dispatch a patrol of horsemen to try to make it there to investigate.   

7/4/25-  The Bartertown Independence Day festivities are underway and Kenny, Boyo, and Elaine are checking things out outside the Iron Quarter.  Most of Kenny’s crew are working on various things in his tower and in the mythic underworld dungeons below, but these 3 are out and about enjoying the holiday.  The usual stands selling fireworks and crackerjacks are set up, and Auntie is on the main stage conducting the ceremonies and retelling the history.  Things are a little more somber this year as the recent Slime War has resulted in many casualties and there is a need for grieving and honoring the dead.  As the ceremony crescendos, and the spectators prepare for music and fireworks some strange and terrible happens.  Fully ¾ of the entire city of Bartertown, citizens, soldiers, merchants, begins to twitch and shake in a horribly inhuman way, limbs distending and ripping apart in an orgy of blood.  The blood thing monsters that were left to escape from Outpost 31 and subsequently Bartertown had returned and systematically taken over the town by devouring and reanimating slowly, silently, secretly over time.  Auntie herself grows and distorts into what looks like a massive 15 foot tall black widow spider/alien hybrid with chainmail dress, punk haircut and massive earrings.  She beings spewing acid from her mouth, melting the first 5 rows of spectators.  Everything erupts into total chaos.  The few remaining humans are almost immediately devoured by the blood thing monsters as they flail about with their 6 tentacles and blood spray.  The smaller creepy worm blood things also lurk about pouncing on humans and beginning to transform them into more blood things.  Kenny and Boyo see the overwhelming odds and know combat right now is not the right option.  They notice that Kenny’s tower is not being rushed or broken into.  The blood things are also curiously not bothering with the Chateau Amber, the 2 structures must somehow have enough mystical energy to ward off the blood things.  They also notice that the Iron Quarter’s Stone Manor, their main base of operations has been rushed through and stampeded through the first floor, but the second floor, containing the magic items room, the records and maps room, and the quarters of all the retired former adventurers goes untouched.  They are warded off perhaps by the manpower, or perhaps by knowing all of the magical and non-magical traps that have been set up there.  They are comforted slightly by their retreat as they jump in the Bronco and roar out the front gates of Bartertown, a once great town now in permanent control of these disturbing blood monsters.  They are comforted knowing the people in Kenny’s tower/dungeon are safe for now, as long as they can navigate the mythic underworld and find another way out.  They also feel like perhaps the stone manor can be saved, at least the things and people inside.  It could be accessed by the roof or perhaps by stealth and intrigue.  They roar out of the city hoping that Godhard and his people were also able to escape and meet up to decide how/where to find or make a safe settlement.  All of the Iron Quarters troops were lost as they were all infiltrated with the Blood things.  Curiously, the troops that Kenny kept inside his tower and dungeon were not afflicted and remained human.  The Iron Co. has also lost its source for recruiting new troops until they can find a new settlement to establish in.  

Session Notes-  This was a bit of an impromptu session I offered in between our current focus on Gamma World.  I wanted to give an update to the remaining players in the AD&D game to let them know how things have changed in our few months hiatus.  I just kind of went through the session reports and identified the bigger factions that had been generated over the last year or so of play.  Then I just kind of imagined that given certain time and resources how they would have reacted.  I kind of plotted this out on my main map, then made a one page kind of starter information sheet for each faction and where they landed, what they are up to.  This way as the players investigate the different factions I have a good starting point of gathered information.  I had wanted there to be a big combat of the players fighting their way out of Bartertown amid the chaos of the blood monsters, but I only had one player show up so we just kind of adjudicated it out without going round for round.  I wanted to mix things up and give them a bunch of new problems to chew on and prioritize, moving the threats around the board seems to have accomplished this.  It was perfect timing to have it happen on Bartertown Independence Day, a holiday we had already established in game.  I definitely wanted the impact of ignoring the escaped blood thing monsters as having the most serious implications.  They were able to slowly and carefully transform enough of Bartertown into blood things that they could strike overwhelmingly and take over the town.  Now to see if they just raze Bartertown to the ground, or will they try to do something with it, do they possess enough intelligence to become a faction or are they just a mindless virus bent on total destruction.  Only time will tell as we develop the campaign world one session at a time.

Treasure and XP-  none

Graveyard-  90% of the Iron Co. troop recruits lost to the Blood Monster Coup of Bartertown

Nappendixia Campaign 3.0- Session 101 Gamma World

 Nappendixia Campaign Session Report

Session #- 101 Session Date- 6/27/25

Time Passed-  12 days (party found shelter and are currently in 1:1 time)

Roll Call-  

Cursed-  Pure Strain Human of the Ox Clan.  He is very charismatic but extremely clumsy.

Lorno-  Mutant Human of the Ox Clan.  He is massively tall and has vestigial wings, far too heavy to fly.  He also has mental powers, including a blast, invisibility, and the ability to enhance other mutant powers.

Johnny Mothra-  Mutant Human of the Puma Clan.  He is also a massively tall and winged mutant who can glide and leap above the forest canopy of his homeland.  He places his shots in the perfect spot, but has a huge metabolism and is always hungry.

Clint-  Mutant Human of the Turtle Clan.  Though he can pass as a pure human, Clint has the hidden powers of telekinesis and a heightened sense of smell.  However, he must be very careful to avoid cuts and wounds.  

Jim Doggett-  Pure Strain Human of the Crow Clan.  Fledgling explorer and bowman, Jim wears a coonskin cap and represents his mountain people.  He is quick and agile, and highly intelligent in the ways of ancient artifacts.

Adventure Log-  the party collects itself after the fight with the Badders, and begins to introduce themselves and check out the items found at the base of the altar.  Clint conveys the location of the Deep Underground Tunnel he found leading out of the desert to the west, and Johnny Mothra tells about the Serfs who were so interested in mental mutants, and also the metal ruins structure he found in the forests to the east.  They know that the ancient road and any legends of New Dublin lead to the North, but they elect to head back east, 4 days to try to find the ruined metal structure in the forest Johnny found.  He thinks the fact that he found some old military medals the last time he was there could indicate more military stores such as weapons and foodstuffs.  It is also agreed that Johnny will hold the newly found grenade, due to his power to damage critical points in a structure.  They range for 4 straight days over the plains wasteland, encountering miles of dry desolate terrain void of any creatures or locales.  On the fourth day as they approach the forests 2 creatures emerge from the hedgerows aggressively.  They approach and appear to be metal constructs, man-shaped but obviously metallic in appearance.  They each wear a tattered jumpsuit and have various dents and bent outer parts sticking from their metal frames.  Each turns on a wicked looking Vibroblade and they do not seem likely to parley.  Despite this Cursed moves forward from the party and attempts to use his sway as a Pure Strain to influence the machines.  He is able to get one to obey his basic human commands, but the other is too fired in the circuits and slices him badly with the force blade.  The other party members react by attacking, Lorno invisibly smashes one, and Clint snatches its vibroblade with his telekinesis.  They smash the one robot, and interface with the obedient one to see if it can be commanded.  Jim successfully figures out how to use the vibroblades safely, finding them each to have a power cell lasting 20 minutes.  The broken android is strapped to the rokox for spare parts and the party makes off for the forest in the hopes of finding clean water and a place to safely heal and rest.  They find a clear stream in a forest hollow and make camp there for a week.  They stay hidden and barring a few aggressive plants they stay safe and heal.  They observe many types of very aggressive predatory flora that can climb, grasp, and even fly.  They talk with the robot about where its base of operations is located and he tells them of a location that matches the ruins Johnny found.  With the help of some pinetos, friendly forest plants that can move up and down plant stems and roots, they set out looking for food, using Clint's heightened smell to track down some lush fruits.  He is attacked by some poisonous plants in the process but survives.  After gathering a week's worth of food, they assemble at the ruined metal structure, keeping the rokox in the lower story, and setting up an impromptu camp in the ruins opening tunnel.  They find the door to be a simple warehouse door on a metal rolling track.  It was off its track when Johnny was last here, but it has since been reset.  The androids claim to occasionally be sent out of this access point on various missions.  The vestibule structure is a simple T intersection that ends each way in a ruined office tossed of all valuables.  In each office is a sealed metal hatch with a heavy crank that must be turned to open it.  They consider what to do next- rest, build a fort, attempt to raise the ox to the upper story, explore the metal hatches and the deeper recesses of the ruins-  all will be revealed next session.  

Session Notes-  I started the game going over each PCs stat bonuses and minuses, and how their mutant powers act and interact.  The powers are certainly up for some interpretation so I wanted it to be clear how I’m ruling each powers.  We did decide to amend one thing-  The Taller power.  2 Pcs have this power, and it produced PCs that were 5 and 7 meters tall, over 15 and 22 feet tall, making any kind of dungeon/cave/tunnel exploring nearly impossible.  We agreed to cut the height by 2/3rds but keep all the rules identical.  It just makes it feasible that these PCs could fit in a tunnel complex but still produced PCs that were over 9’ and over 10’ tall.  The players had the freedom to do/go wherever, and they chose to head back to ground already covered by Johnny Mothra to check out the forest ruins for items/weapons.  I had no problems adjusting, the random wilderness tables work great, and I’m particularly liking the pre-rolled Monster and Treasure lists in the back of the book.  I have mined the 2 1e Gamma World modules for content and ease of not having to roll out stuff myself, and all of that can be inserted on the fly or fit together in a loose order that creates some narrative.  We also have decided to fluctuate in and out of 1:1 time.  I don’t want it to be just so easy to find a safe settlement at the end of each session, I want to create the vast nothingness of the wasteland.  This session they ended at a ruins that could be secured, so it made sense to go into 1:1 time, they have time now to heal, and have a few minor problems to consider in downtime.  And I gave myself time to build out this ruins structure- make a map and stock it with threats and treasure.  So far we haven’t interacted too much with the Poison and Radiation charts, they can be quite lethal, but we will see how that plays out.

Treasure and XP-2 Warrior Androids 150xp, 2 Vibro Blades 600xp, Artifact Operation 200xp=950xp/5 PCs= 190xp each.

Nappendixia Campaign 3.0- Session 100 Gamma World

 Nappendixia Campaign Session Report

Session #- 100 Session Date-  6/13/25

Time Passed-  5 days

Roll Call- 

Cursed-  Pure Strain Human of the Ox Clan.  He is very charismatic but extremely clumsy.

Lorno-  Mutant Human of the Ox Clan.  He is massively tall and has wings.  He also has mental powers, including a blast and the ability to enhance other mutant powers.

Johnny Mothra-  Mutant Human of the Puma Clan.  He is also a massively tall and winged mutant who can fly and maneuver above the forest canopy of his homeland.  He places his shots in the perfect spot, but has a huge metabolism and is always hungry.

Clint-  Mutant Human of the Turtle Clan.  Though he can pass as a pure human, Clint has the hidden powers of telekinesis and a heightened sense of smell.  However, he must be very careful to avoid cuts and wounds.  

Jim Doggett-  Pure Strain Human of the Crow Clan.  Fledgling explorer and bowman, Jim wears a coonskin cap and represents his mountain people.  He is quick and agile.

Adventure Log-  Chapter 9

 Our story begins in the apocalyptic wastelands, somewhere in Nappendixia, at some time.  It is known that 4 clans inhabit the southern wastelands, The Ox of the plains, The Turtle of the deserts, The Puma of the forests, and the Crow of the mountains.  All of the clans in this area know and ascribe to the legend of New Dublin.  It is a legendary city of the old times filled with peril and treasures from the past, and also it is told that New Dublin is both the cause of, and the means of escape from, this blighted wasteland.  Each clan has ceremoniously dispatched members to go out and explore for the tribe, and hopefully find more information about New Dublin or possibly find the fabled city itself.  Lesser members of the clans, those with very obvious mutations, have more likely been outcast or told not to come back unless they have the key to finding New Dublin.  Nonetheless, each individual sets out in his home terrain with rough knowledge of a common rest point known to veteran explorers that lead to an ancient road once known as a Highway that will lead North, the rumored direction of New Dublin.

Desert Journey, Clint-  5 days of trekking through the desert, Clint manages to conserve water as best he can and use desert terrain to avoid 2 nasty looking moth creatures that showed signs of radioactivity.  He exits the desert and crosses a wide salt plain, endures a heavy downpour of rain that is fortunately not contaminated, and narrowly avoids a series of intense lightning strikes.  He stumbles across a metal hatch that pulses radiation upon opening, but resists it.  The hatch leads down to a tunnel about 1 story underground that leads back towards the desert and further east, his intended direction.  Taking it for several miles, he finds a closet that holds some potable water, then finds an exit to plains terrain and in short order finds the rest point.

Plains Journey, Cursed and Lorno-  As soon as Cursed notices the large flying bulk of Lorno, he realizes they are both traveling out of the Ox Clan lands and parleys to unite their efforts.  They begin traveling together and discussing the upcoming obstacle that marks the edge of Ox lands- an old highway overpass that lies crumbling in ruins, blocking access to the greater plains area.  Though having wings, Lorno cannot get enough lift to simply fly over the structure while carrying Cursed, but instead perform a series of wing assisted leaps that get them up and over the structure in 3 bounds.  They spy a distant storm to the west and the weather shifts and they are hindered by an intense heat wave that saps their water supplies.  They encounter a Rakox, a large shelled and horned ox-like creature known to be used as a beast of burden.  Cursed manages to approach it and tame it by sharing their dwindling water and his natural charisma.

Forest Journey, Johnny Mothra-  The forests that remain in the wastelands are by far the most dangerous terrain, the plants there have evolved and mutated into extremely hostile and predatory creatures making life for the animals of all types very difficult.  Johnny uses his flight to maneuver above the forest canopy for much of his journey, but during one of his rests in the upper story triggers a gout of poison from a particularly aggressive plant.  He is struck but resists the poison, finding it only mildly irritating.  While wiping it off with some nearby flora he discovers a flat, pitted old metal surface.  Probing along its area, a door is revealed, shut but it appears to be on rollers.  Johnny’s low strength is only able to pry it open .3m, and he squeezes his long lanky frame into a dark hallway that T intersects after 10m.  Constrained by the narrow doorway and negotiating the turns, he searches 2 disheveled office rooms and finds some paper, a spool of celluloid film, and a display case of old military medals circa 2040s-2100s, marking the location to possibly return to later.  After leaving the forest and entering the plains, he spies and hails 2 humanoid creatures in tattered uniforms.  They have carapaces and claws, but when Johnny regards them they speak to him telepathically.  They are sharp eyed and hold weapons ready, asking if Johnny has any mental powers himself.  He tells them he does have the ability to place his strikes in the perfect spot every time, and this arouses their curiosity.  They say they are known as Serfs, and invite him to come to their camp and learn more of each other's mental powers.  They agree to part ways, but Johnny notes how to return to this area in the future and makes it to the rest area.  

Mountain Journey, Jim Doggett-  After trekking many days down the mountain, Jim is beset by a wind and hail storm.  He is blown down a steep embankment by the wind and is banged up but survives.  Sprawled out on the rocky wash of cobbles, he spies a rusty metal cylinder partially protruding out of the surface.  He crawls into the structure to get out of the hail and inside is a long cylinder with rows of seats bolted to the side, and many compartments thrown open containing decaying bags and cases.  Most of the items are useless, but Jim manages to find 2 cold winter garments still in usable condition, and a bottle of liquor.  He searches deeper into the cylinder and finds a forward compartment that protrudes out of the rubble on the other side of the wash.  There are ruined panels of instruments and gauges here, as well as 2 skeletons, one wearing a captain’s hat with a metal star pin attached; he finds a working pen as well.  Jim feels the hand of fate, as the star is his people’s symbol- this is a good omen for Jim.  He tries to strip down the compartment for any usable parts, gaining some lengths of metal bar and strips of copper wire.  Unfortunately, in yanking the wires free, he unloosens an outside panel which gives way under his feet and again he goes falling down the mountainous terrain, taking more damage but surviving.  The storm abates and he finds the plains terrain and eventually the rest stop.  

All parties reach the rest stop on the same date.  They assess it to be a crossroads of a few rough trails that meet at some kind of stone altar, primitive in make.  Before they can search or parley to introduce themselves, 2 aggressive mutated badgers blind with rage burst from the underbrush and attack armed with axes and shields.  Clint manages to grab one with telekinesis and hold him fast while the others engage the other badger with ax strikes, arrows, and mental blasts.  The rokox is even convinced to attack with its horns, and the Badders are slain, butchered and eaten by the new found comrades.  They search the altar and find a secret movable stone where they find a sack containing 150 domars, a fragmentation grenade, an ID card and an odd book with pictures of some of the wasteland creatures they have encountered and a working compass.  The group pauses, refreshed from the food, but still in need of new water reserves.  They confer to see what they will do next…

Session Notes-  I’m very happy to be relaunching the campaign with session 100, quite a milestone.  We will be continuing with AD&D, however, I offered the players the option to try some Gamma World 1e for our relaunch and they jumped at the opportunity.  We got some new people interested also which is great.  So far I’m finding the system very loose, light, fun.  It’s a nice switch from the super crunch of AD&D, but it has its drawbacks- you end up having to make a lot of homebrew/ off the cuff calls, which is a big switch after years of trying to be as RAW as possible.  I found our first combat to be a little long, lots of misses and high hp for both PCs and monsters made it feel that way, I need to be more mindful of morale, there are actually some morale rules.  It was a great first session all around. I'm trying to make these session reports more concise, but they always get away from me.  More to come, Nappendixia is back!

Treasure and XP-  Badders- 46xp, 150xp Domars, ID card 200xp, pen and paper 50xp, grenade 250xp, compass 100xp, 400xp for exploration= 1196xp/ 5 PCs= 239xp each

My Mostly Complete 25-28mm Fantasy+ Collection

 

My Improved DM Setup

 I've been prepping for the return of the Nappendixia Campaign after a few months on hiatus.  In the interim I've taken some time to sharpen up my DM setup.  I find that in order to sustain my ability to run a long-standing campaign, it needs to feel as low stress and fun as possible.  I have found that having a well-refined and well-practiced DM setup really helps games feel like they flow and are fun for me to run.  I thought I'd give a little behind the scenes and show what I think is an ideal setup for running AD&D online.  I really like using a document cam mainly for showing dice rolls live and to show party marching order.  I have come to really enjoy rolling live dice on cam in games, it's so much faster than rolling with an online die roller, and more organic.  I like to try to create that "at the table" feel despite playing over Discord.  I pull up the cam image on Discord and enlarge the screen size, then click to the General channel which is where the players roll online dice, and we post pics and memes etc.  The camera quality is quite good, though some players play over their phones, so the visual component of the cam is lost on them, however I have several players that play on their PCs or laptops, and they appreciate the camera images quite a lot.

Here's a closeup of the document cam and the dice box I roll in and the felt mat I set up minis for marching order.  I use the dice on the felt mat to track turns and light source duration.  I'm left-handed so it's ideal to have that set up on the left side.  I keep a few homemade DM screens handy too.

Here's a wider shot.  On my main workbench I have my laptop and 2 additional screens, I generally keep one screen open with images I may want to share in the Discord chat, the 2 main screens open to Discord.  I keep a clipboard with that session's notes recorded and rulebooks on hand.  Behind me on a separate workbench I keep the campaign map and have a battlemat set up for larger combats or mass combats.

Here's the document cam set up to show mass combats.  I use my 2mm fantasy/ancients collection for mas combat and mostly 25mm models for marching order and 1:1 combat.  I keep the campaign map behind me off to the side making it accessible when I have to track movement across the game map.  I keep it under plexiglass and use small minis to track movement of different factions/monsters/armies on the map.

Here's the setup showing the wire, it's not ideal, but good enough.  With a little practice I've gotten good at adjusting the arm of the document cam to quickly get the combat framed.

So that's my setup, hope it inspires you to refine your setup or think about better ways to place your materials to ensure a fun, well-run game.

Outdoor Survival- Quick Review After a Few Run-Throughs

 Outdoor Survival- Quick Review After a Few Run-Throughs

I set up the Outdoor Survival and read through the rules and played out a few scenarios.  At a first glance, it’s pretty much a random simulation of how to perish in the wilderness.  There aren't a lot of strategy options, at least in the first few scenarios.  It looks great, the map is amazing and the counters and cards are sharp, of course the main allure of this game is it’s  connection to OD&D which makes it highly sought, but still reasonably findable on Ebay, I believe.  The loss of movement due to lowered food/water levels coupled with a randomized movement mechanic makes it so that your chit very quickly finds itself in difficult terrain with no way out before dying of thirst.  There is also a random encounter optional rule that makes resources sap even quicker statistically.  I certainly would give it a few more go-throughs, and it’s definitely worth owning and showing to other OD&D heads, but without tweaking the rules there’s little chance of completing the scenarios, although I have yet to try scenarios 4 and 5.  It was still fun, the turn sequence is super quick and the games play out (to almost always certain death) quickly.  I did have one chit that got super lucky and never got turned around from random movement who was able to survive Scenario 2.  I have also used this map to run a little OD&D and that was definitely fun and made picking this game up well worth it.  

•  By Boldvay