One Thousand and One Nights and One Night
a role-playing game campaign design ’zine Vol.: 1, Issue: 17, November 15, 2007
Nostalgia! So Sweet!
This issue I am presenting a game
that I ran over a decade ago. I asked
my friend GT about it just recently
and he said “Oh, the one where you
tried to kill us all? Yeah, I
remember that one!” It was a game
of Aftermath! (FGU) and even
though I was a killer GM, the group
still had a good time. Speaking of a
killer group, the Thanksgiving
Holiday is coming up and I’m
spending time with my family. I hope you and
yours have a fun, safe and sane time, too.
Quote of the Month
I heard this quote on Criminal Minds (CBS)
recently and thought it was appropriate:
“Fairy tales do not tell children that dragons
exist. Children already know that. Fairy tales
tell children that dragons can be killed.” G.K.
Chesterton
What I’m Reading
I picked up a used copy of Keep on the
Borderlands (WotC) by Ru
Emerson, a Greyhawk Classic
series book. Wizards had fantasy
writers tell tales on all the old
AD&D (WotC) classic modules,
like B2 Keep, as well as T1 Temple
of Elemental Evil (WotC) and G1-
3 Against the Giants (WotC), plus
some others. I plan on collecting the lot from
used bookstores over the next few months.
Keep on the Borderlands is a pretty good
adventure and the author has a good take on
the module. As I was reading, I decided to stat
up two minor characters that are present
throughout most of the book. They are elves
named Willow and Mead. Introduced as friends
of the protagonist Eddis, they originally are
searching for bandits that attacked their
mother’s clan. Willow is a Ranger and Mead is a
Mage and they are half-brothers but look alike.
(continued on Second Column)
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What I’m Reading (cont.)
Here are D20 stat blocks for the two elves:
Mead, male elf Wiz 2, medium humanoid (5'3",
110 lbs); HD 2d4+4; hp 9; Init +2; Spd 30 ft;
AL CG; Armor: AC 12 (+2 dex), touch 12, flat-
footed 10. Attacks: Base Atk +1; Melee: Dagger
+2 (+1 BAB, +1 str) (1d4, 19-20/x2); Ranged:
Longbow +3 (+1 BAB, +2 dex) (1d8, 20/x3).
Saves: Fort +2, Ref +2, Will +4. Abilities: Str 12
(+1), Dex 14 (+2), Con 14 (+2), Int 15 (+2), Wis
12 (+2), Cha 14 (+2). Languages: Common,
Elven, Goblin, Sylvan. Skills and Feats: Know
(arcana) +4, Know (dungeoneering) +4, Know
(nature) +4, Listen +4, Move Silently +3,
Search +9, Spellcraft +5, Spot +4, Point Blank
Shot, Scribe Scroll. Spells (4/3; save DC 12 +
spell level, 0% arcane spell failure chance):
spells in spellbook 0-Dancing Lights, Detect
Magic, Light, Mending, Arcane Mark, Daze; 1-
Charm Person, Sleep, Magic Missile, Enlarge
Person, Feather Fall, Hold Portal, Protection
from Evil, Floating Disk. Possessions:
woodland garb, 3 daggers, longbow, quiver and
20 arrows, traveling spellbook, various other
dungeoneering and outdoor gear, some coin.
Willow, male elf Ran2; medium humanoid
(5'3", 120 lbs); HD 2d10+2; hp 12; Init +2; Spd
30 ft; AL CG; Armor: AC 14 (+2 leather, +2
dex), touch 12, flat-footed 12. Attacks: Base Atk
+2; Melee: Longsword +3 (+2 BAB, +1 str)
(1d8, 19-20/x2); Ranged: Longbow +4 (+2
BAB, +2 dex) (1d8, 20/x3). Saves: Fort +4, Ref
+5, Will +1. Abilities: Str 13 (+1), Dex 14 (+2),
Con 12 (+1), Int 14 (+2), Wis 12 (+1), Cha 14
(+2). Languages: Common, Elven, Draconic,
Orc. Skills and Feats: Handle Animal +3, Heal
+3, Hide +6, Knowledge (dungeoneering) +4,
Knowledge (nature) +4, Listen +8, Move
Silently +7, Ride +3, Search +8, Spot +8,
Survival +5, Swim +4, Use Rope +3, Point
Blank Shot, Rapid Shot, Track, Favored
Enemies: Humanoids (human) +2.
Possessions: woodland garb, longsword, 2
daggers, longbow, quiver and 20 arrows,
various other dungeoneering and outdoor gear,
some coin.
published in association with the Corvis Babbage Cliological Society
’zine art is either open source or through fair use of copyrighted works
One Thousand and One Nights and One Night
a role-playing game campaign design ’zine Vol.: 1, Issue: 17, November 15, 2007
When I was a Killer GM
Back in 1993, I ran a game of
Aftermath! (FGU). Now, I
know some will think I’m
lying but I actually used the
system and got the group to
use it as well. Aftermath!
(FGU) is complex and often
deadly but still very workable.
And I was a killer GM.
I ran the game based on Footfall (Del Rey) by
Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle. Larry had
been a guest at VikingCon, a now defunct SF
convention at Western Washington University
(my alma mater) in Bellingham, Washington,
and used that time to learn about the town,
which he proceeded to put in the book and
destroy with … well, you really should read it.
The story is that aliens who look like elephants
invade Earth and drop a big rock on the planet,
causing major destruction.
In the book, the US wins. In my game, no one
does. 10 years after the rock hits Earth, the
survivors are still trying to
survive. I set the game on a train
trip from Spokane to Seattle,
Washington. And there were
bandits, ala the Road Warrior
(Kennedy Miller), between them.
The PCs were hired as guards,
and they were guarding “military
supplies.” The train was about 10
cars long, plus an old engine and a caboose.
First, I’d like to admit to ass–hattery on
occasion and sometimes when I’m a GM, too.
This, however, went well beyond that. I was the
ultimate killer GM. I kept them on their toes
the whole time, hacked on them mercilessly
again and again, and they still forgave me my
trespasses afterwards.
So the PCs start in the caboose of the train as it
leaves on the Spokane–Seattle run. Normally,
the train takes 8 hours or so to go the distance,
sometimes longer. Someone tipped the bandits
that the train was carrying military hardware. A
(continued on Second Column)
Content © Wooden Leg Named Smith Productions 2007
Website: 1001nightsand1night.110mb.com
Page 2
When I was Killer GM (cont.)
Seattle Spokane
Dead–man’s curve
bunch of bandit gangs joined forces to stop the
train. They pulled out the stops–lots of men,
chase cars, even some alien hover vehicles and
scrounged heavy military hardware.
Once out of Spokane proper, the bandits struck!
They machine–gunned the engineers and
guards in the engine and started shooting up
and boarding the rest of the train. The PCs felt
a lurch as the train started to accelerate. I had
them make some rolls and a few remembered
the dead–man’s curve near Ellensburg. The
math inclined few calculated they had about
three hours until the train would hit that curve
and they were about 10 cars away, with bandits
in between!
The majority of the PCs started scrambling
towards the engine, fighting bandits the whole
way and trying not to get gunned down. Over
the course of the game, they came to some very
definite opinions about me and they all started
with BASTARD! First, “military supplies”
applies equally to MREs as to weapons, and
yes, the train was filled with food, not guns!
Second, don’t open your mouth and say “Hey, I
haven’t been hit yet!” ‘cause it’s not going to
help you. And third, the dead–man’s curve
wasn’t the real limit they were racing against, it
was the M1 tank that blew the engine up and
derailed the train 10 miles from the curve.
No PC ever reached the engine. The closest they
got was 2 cars away. The game ended with the
train derailed, no spare ammo, and all but two
PCs dead or unconscious, with only one PC
actually standing as the bandit hordes raced
towards them. It was the most brutal campaign
but everyone admitted it was fun. Everyone.
published in association with the Corvis Babbage Cliological Society
’zine art is either open source or through fair use of copyrighted works