Small Targets

[JLV]

Somebody actually worked out some pretty decent rules for "swarms" in TFT (or perhaps it was in Chris Brandon's TFT retroclone, Heroes and Other Worlds; or maybe Dark City Games? Right now I'm on some pretty serious flu meds and can't seem to remember which it was...).

Anyway, whoever did it made it work, made it fun, and made it resolve quickly and yet still reflect the same kinds of results that the more clunky "one at a time" rules provide.

If I can figure it out, I'll try to provide a better answer...

[Skarg]

Originally Posted by Senturian

I realize this thread isn't about rats, but they were mentioned and brought up a few questions.
how many rats fit in a hex?, how many can or would attack in a 5 second turn?
I can't see it being 50.
Maybe 50 in a megahex, so 7?,
hey, you might actually survive!

Excellent question - there is no stated limit, and it could be very many. Even mice can be terrifying... So it's up to the GM to decide what they do (which may be different from what they could conceivably do, which also makes a world of difference, which is one part of what makes real rat swarms terrifying - they mostly don't swarm or attack anyone, but if they did, people could be easily overwhelmed in seconds).

More developed systems for swarm creatures would probably be a good thing, because they're usually supposed to be nuisance creatures, yet it really is a matter of how they concentrate whether they are nuisances or buzz-saws.

Originally Posted by JLV

Somebody actually worked out some pretty decent rules for "swarms" in TFT (or perhaps it was in Chris Brandon's TFT retroclone, Heroes and Other Worlds; or maybe Dark City Games? Right now I'm on some pretty serious flu meds and can't seem to remember which it was...).

Anyway, whoever did it made it work, made it fun, and made it resolve quickly and yet still reflect the same kinds of results that the more clunky "one at a time" rules provide.

If I can figure it out, I'll try to provide a better answer...

Oh good! Looking forward to seeing those. (And get well soon, in any case!)

[JLV]

Originally Posted by Skarg

Oh good! Looking forward to seeing those.

Thanks, Skarg! And here's the info:

It's in Chris Brandon's Heroes and Other Worlds game, and the specific rules are on page 93 of The Tome of Treasures and Terrors (which is a separate book of 430 pages chock full of monsters and creatures (including many of your old D&D favs) converted to TFT stats. It has rules and tables for treasures as well, so it's a pretty awesome GM aid, any way you cut it. Well worth picking up to expand your repertoire (at least pending an authoritative Bestiary from SJG). I might also mention that Magi Carta, another separate book, contains many, many spells (including almost all of your favs from D&D) converted to TFT-ish stats, and is also well-worth the investment. Finally, there are a number of adventures and sandbox hex-crawls available too, all of which are pretty much in TFT-ish terms for your use (though he eschews the hex maps, sadly).

You can find them at LuLu (both PDF and hard-copy versions).

Speaking of hex maps, and in a somewhat unrelated note: Dyson's Delves has just posted a new map, called "Lair of the Octopus Sorcerer," which is a hex map done by the same guy who did the Melee and Wizard playmats. I would ask everyone to stop by and encourage him to publish more TFT-suitable maps for us. The best part? It's free! He does incredible work, and is well worth a visit, regardless of any hex maps he provides!

[JLV]

Here's a better link to the HOW stuff; this one gets you to a page that also has things like Raedwald on it -- which is an amazing low-magic setting that has some incredibly cool "alternate magic systems" in it (which still fit into the TFT paradigm very nicely). I think this page is pretty complete, since it show both Raedwald and Blades on it.