Fallout Zones (S4E17)

Lair Of Secrets

#Games and Gambling #Lifestyle #Roleplaying #Role #Joss #Whedon #Firefly #Serene #David Moore #Hobbies #Podcasting #SciFi #Play #RPG

1:03:29

Finally, we find out who is unbeatable, unhateable, and unbreakable in the final five episodes of Battle Camp Season One. Host Chris Burns is joined by the multi-talented comedian Dana Moon to relive the cockroach mac & cheese, Trey’s drag debut, and the final wheel spin. The Season One Winner joins Chris to debrief on strategy and dish on game play. Leave us a voice message at www.speakpipe.com/WeHaveTheReceipts Text us at (929) 487-3621 DM Chris @FatCarrieBradshaw on Instagram Follow We Have The Receipts wherever you listen, so you never miss an episode. Listen to more from Netflix Podcasts.…

about a year ago 38:55

MP3•Episode home

Fallout 2d20 uses zones instead of conventional battle maps or theater of the mind to describe where your characters (and their enemies) are in the game world. In this episode, we talk about how Fallout zones work, offer advice on how to use them, and take a peak at some other games that use zones.

After fighting our way through the wasteland, we geek out about Alien: Isolation, the excellent survival horror game now available on the Switch, and the Foundry Virtual Table Top.

Fallout 2d20 Campaign Page: An overview of the campaign, plus links to episodes and related game resources.
Fallout 2d20 Resources: Links to community forums, wikis, rules, podcasts, and cheatsheets.

Chapters

0:00 Intro – Welcome to the Lair of Secrets
1:00 What Are Fallout Zones?
3:45 How Zones Improve Tactical Combat
9:30 Obstacles, Cover & Hazards in Zone-Based Play
15:20 Zone-Based Games – Fate, Shadowdark, Alien, and More
19:45 Jump Scares – Playing ALIEN: Isolation in the Dark
26:30 How Alien: Isolation Preps You for Running an Alien RPG
31:10 David’s New Obsession: Foundry VTT
34:50 Foundry vs. Roll20 – Which Virtual Tabletop is Better?
37:45 Final Thoughts & Sign Off

Listen to the Episode

Watch to the Episode

Watch Fallout Zones on YouTube.

Show Notes

Main Topic

Overview of zones in Fallout 2d20
- What and why?
  - Abstract way of representing regions and distances in a game.
  - Half-way between battle map and theatre of the mind … sort of.
  - Great for RPGs featuring more abstract locales.
  - Lets you avoid infinite 5-foot-squares.
- Fallout 2d20 zones
  - Reach – Arms reach (within close, but not an actual zone; minor action to close; confusing wording)
  - Close – Any distance within the zone you’re in.
  - Medium – Distance of one zone
  - Long – Distance of two zones
  - Extreme – Distance of three or more zones
- How do they impact movement / weapons?
  - Difficult terrain: “A zone may be filled with difficult terrain, slowing anyone attempting to cross it.” Fallout 2d20 core rules (p. 38)
  - Obstacles are similar in that they hinder your movement, but they exist between zones—attempts to move from one zone to another where an obstacle is present may slow your progress. Fallout 2d20 core rules (p. 38)
  - Hazards are parts of the environment that inflict damage to creatures caught in them. A hazard may be present in a specific zone, or it may be spread among multiple zones. Fallout 2d20 core rules (p. 39)
- How to Represent Zones
  - Theater of the Mind
    - How far can you take it in theatre of the mind?
  - Visual Zones
    - Use index cards or draw out boxes representing zones.
  - Battle Maps
    - Create your map. Draw lines on it indicating zones
- Outside Example:
  - Zone 1: The near battlefield, on the shores of a stream.
  - Between zone 1 and 2: the stream that must be crossed
  - Zone 2: The field on the far side of the stream
  - Zone 3: A stand of broken boulders & battle tank
  - Zone 4: The edge of a forest. Hulks of buildings looms in the distance
- Inside Example:
  - Zone 1: The Library
  - Zone 2: The Entrance Hallway
  - Zone 3: The Kitchen
  - Zone 4: The Basement
  - Zone 5: The Balcony and second for overlooking the dining room
Prior experience with zones in other systems
- FATE
- Index Card RPG
- Professor DM / Dungeon Craft
- Alien (Year Zero system)
- Forbidden Lands
- Adjacent
  - Shadowdark
Fallout scenarios we ran
- The Lab (small scale zones)
- Surface Fight (open range)
- The Dungeon (larger, longer-range zones)
Advantages & Disadvantages
- Advantages
  - Makes range more abstracted; in Cyberpunk RED, if I want to give the solo a chance to use his sniper or assault rifle skills, I probably need to scale up my map.
  - With zones, the distance gets abstracted … and the map doesn’t even need to exist.
- Disadvantages
  - Breaks your brain a little.
  - Can be hard to conceptualize (particularly if you come from a minis-based game.
  - Reach vs. Close
  - Building-as-a-zone vs. floors as a zone

Banter

ALIEN: Isolation
- Released 10 years ago
- And now it’s out for Switch!
- How to play: On the sofa, in the near dark, with AirPods in.
FoundryVTT
- My favorite so far
- It has lived up to the hype I have heard from others
- Easy to pick up and start running with
- Very extensible

Featured Image Meta

The muddled background is the local map for Vault 88 in Fallout 4. Credit: Bethesda.

Feedback

We love feedback! You post a comment below or connect with us using these channels:

The post Fallout Zones (S4E17) appeared first on Lair Of Secrets.

113 episodes

Fallout Zones (S4E17)

Lair Of Secrets

published about a year ago

MP3•Episode home

After fighting our way through the wasteland, we geek out about Alien: Isolation, the excellent survival horror game now available on the Switch, and the Foundry Virtual Table Top.

Fallout 2d20 Campaign Page: An overview of the campaign, plus links to episodes and related game resources.
Fallout 2d20 Resources: Links to community forums, wikis, rules, podcasts, and cheatsheets.

Chapters

Listen to the Episode

Watch to the Episode

Watch Fallout Zones on YouTube.

Show Notes

Main Topic

Overview of zones in Fallout 2d20
- What and why?
  - Abstract way of representing regions and distances in a game.
  - Half-way between battle map and theatre of the mind … sort of.
  - Great for RPGs featuring more abstract locales.
  - Lets you avoid infinite 5-foot-squares.
- Fallout 2d20 zones
  - Reach – Arms reach (within close, but not an actual zone; minor action to close; confusing wording)
  - Close – Any distance within the zone you’re in.
  - Medium – Distance of one zone
  - Long – Distance of two zones
  - Extreme – Distance of three or more zones
- How do they impact movement / weapons?
  - Difficult terrain: “A zone may be filled with difficult terrain, slowing anyone attempting to cross it.” Fallout 2d20 core rules (p. 38)
  - Obstacles are similar in that they hinder your movement, but they exist between zones—attempts to move from one zone to another where an obstacle is present may slow your progress. Fallout 2d20 core rules (p. 38)
  - Hazards are parts of the environment that inflict damage to creatures caught in them. A hazard may be present in a specific zone, or it may be spread among multiple zones. Fallout 2d20 core rules (p. 39)
- How to Represent Zones
  - Theater of the Mind
    - How far can you take it in theatre of the mind?
  - Visual Zones
    - Use index cards or draw out boxes representing zones.
  - Battle Maps
    - Create your map. Draw lines on it indicating zones
- Outside Example:
  - Zone 1: The near battlefield, on the shores of a stream.
  - Between zone 1 and 2: the stream that must be crossed
  - Zone 2: The field on the far side of the stream
  - Zone 3: A stand of broken boulders & battle tank
  - Zone 4: The edge of a forest. Hulks of buildings looms in the distance
- Inside Example:
  - Zone 1: The Library
  - Zone 2: The Entrance Hallway
  - Zone 3: The Kitchen
  - Zone 4: The Basement
  - Zone 5: The Balcony and second for overlooking the dining room
Prior experience with zones in other systems
- FATE
- Index Card RPG
- Professor DM / Dungeon Craft
- Alien (Year Zero system)
- Forbidden Lands
- Adjacent
  - Shadowdark
Fallout scenarios we ran
- The Lab (small scale zones)
- Surface Fight (open range)
- The Dungeon (larger, longer-range zones)
Advantages & Disadvantages
- Advantages
  - Makes range more abstracted; in Cyberpunk RED, if I want to give the solo a chance to use his sniper or assault rifle skills, I probably need to scale up my map.
  - With zones, the distance gets abstracted … and the map doesn’t even need to exist.
- Disadvantages
  - Breaks your brain a little.
  - Can be hard to conceptualize (particularly if you come from a minis-based game.
  - Reach vs. Close
  - Building-as-a-zone vs. floors as a zone

Banter

ALIEN: Isolation
- Released 10 years ago
- And now it’s out for Switch!
- How to play: On the sofa, in the near dark, with AirPods in.
FoundryVTT
- My favorite so far
- It has lived up to the hype I have heard from others
- Easy to pick up and start running with
- Very extensible

Featured Image Meta

The muddled background is the local map for Vault 88 in Fallout 4. Credit: Bethesda.

Feedback

We love feedback! You post a comment below or connect with us using these channels:

The post Fallout Zones (S4E17) appeared first on Lair Of Secrets.

113 episodes

#Games and Gambling #Lifestyle #Roleplaying #Role #Joss #Whedon #Firefly #Serene #David Moore #Hobbies #Podcasting #SciFi #Play #RPG

All episodes

Lair Of Secrets

1
Fallout 2d20 Chapter 5: Thriftway Throwdown (S4E23) 1:41:30

5 days ago1:41:30

1:41:30

The crew infiltrates a raider lair to rescue a kidnapped girl, navigating irradiated sewers, sentry turrets, and a heavily armed Thriftway gang. Steve NuGunnar faces off against his nemesis Thriftway in a brutal final encounter to reclaim his prized NuRay 3000. Fallout 2d20 Campaign Page: An overview of the campaign, plus links to episodes and related game resources. Fallout 2d20 Resources: Links to community forums, wikis, rules, podcasts, and cheat sheets. Chapters 0:00 Intro & Recap 2:10 Turret Ambush! 4:59 Raider Chase Begins 7:35 Ghoulardi Loots, Team Pushes Forward 14:00 Echoes and Radiation 20:00 The Showdown Chamber 28:00 Frag Grenade Chicken Toss 36:00 Raider Meltdown in the Water 45:00 Lucky Buck and the Leg Blasts 54:00 Ghoulardi’s Sniper Shot 1:03:00 Nuka Cherry Rage Shotgun 1:12:00 Raider Wrath and Ramming Speed 1:20:00 The Last Shot at Thriftway 1:27:00 Terminal Hacking Mini-Game 1:39:00 Brotherhood Logs & Power Armor 1:41:00 Cliffhanger Ending Listen to the Episode Watch to the Episode Watch Fallout 2d20 Chapter 5: Thriftway Throwdown on YouTube . Show Notes Recap of the mission: tracking the kidnapped girl from Covenant Opening battle: turret gun ambush and team tactics Nurse 17 charges into the fray armed with teddy bears and tea party rage Lucky Buck’s accidental luck-fueled sharpshooting streak Ghoulardi’s chicken-stuffed frag grenade attack Steve NuGunnar confronts Thriftway for the NuRay 3000 Girl rescued from a makeshift cage by Nurse 17 Fallout-style terminal hacking minigame live! Discovery of Brotherhood T-60 power armor and terminal logs Time freezes, leaving the team mid-victory… Featured Image A view of sewers from Fallout 4. Feedback We love feedback! You post a comment below or connect with us using these channels: Email Bluesky Discord DiceCamp (Mastodon) YouTube Twitch The post Fallout 2d20 Chapter 5: Thriftway Throwdown (S4E23) appeared first on Lair Of Secrets .…

Lair Of Secrets

1
Support Your Local Convention: ShadowDark, Mothership, & Gaslands Recaps (S4E22) 35:55

10 days ago35:55

35:55

On this episode, Ken recaps running ShadowDark , Mothership , and Gaslands Refueled at a local RPG convention. We also delve into how to support your local conventions ( MEPACon in the Pennsylvania, and Who’s Yer Con? in Indiana). Chapters 0:00 Intro & MEPACon Setup 2:10 Venue Upgrade & Con History 4:00 ShadowDark: Morka Norden Recap 7:00 Learning from Live Play & Light Mechanics 9:30 Mothership Funnel: Decanted Breakdown 13:00 Emergency Decanting & Medical Mishaps 17:00 Engineering, Design Tweaks, & Player Strategy 22:00 Gaslands: Straight to Hell Tutorial 26:00 Concrete Jungle & Advanced Play Challenges 30:00 Why Local Cons Matter & Final Reflections Listen to the Episode Watch to the Episode Watch Support your Local Convention(S4E21) on YouTube . Show Notes MEPACon RECAP What is MEPACon? MEPACon stands for “Mid-Eastern Pennsylvania Gaming Convention” Located near Allentown, PA About 30 minutes from Ken’s house. Held every six month, in spring and fall Not sure on the exact head count, but Ken’s thinking 150 people. Probably more. Moved to Delta Hotels by Marriott, which is a MUCH better hotel than the previous one (which is being torn down) Ken ran four games: Decanted: A Mothership funnel … that failed at being a funnel. Except, maybe not? Morka Nordan : A ShadowDark adventure ripped from Ken’s lunchtime adventure Got used to the digital tabletop handling all the light stuff. It’s harder to do in the real world. This is the game where Ken realized just how many ShadowDark mistakes he’d made with his lunch time game. Two Gaslands Refueled games Straight to Hell: A 2-hour intro game Concrete Jungle: A 2-hour race/battle royal game that probably needs to be 4 hours. And maybe I just need to run three 2-hour slot tutorials during the weekend to build up a base of experienced players. Supporting Your Local Conventions Importance of local conventions for playtesting, community, and outreach Thoughts on prepping for Who’s Yer Con and leveraging past games Reflections on building in-person player communities post-pandemic Feedback We love feedback! You post a comment below or connect with us using these channels: Email Bluesky Discord DiceCamp (Mastodon) YouTube Twitch Featured Image Meta An old-time ariel map of Allentown, PA. The post Support Your Local Convention: ShadowDark, Mothership, & Gaslands Recaps (S4E22) appeared first on Lair Of Secrets .…

Lair Of Secrets

1
Fallout 2d20 Chapter 4: Shotgun Justice (S4E20) 1:42:46

19 days ago1:42:46

1:42:46

After some bartering in Covenant, the Wastelanders continue their quest to hunt down Thriftway’s raiders. The Wastelanders’ goal? Recover Steve NuGunner’s NuRay 3000. Oh, and a girl who was kidnapped from Covenant by the raiders. Fallout 2d20 Campaign Page: An overview of the campaign, plus links to episodes and related game resources. Fallout 2d20 Resources: Links to community forums, wikis, rules, podcasts, and cheatsheets. Chapters 0:00 Intro & Wasteland Recap 5:15 Covenant Refuge and Raider Fallout 13:10 Upgrades, Bartering & Lars’ Plea 20:40 Junkyard Clues & Mole Rat Mayhem 31:25 Tracking Raiders & Teddy Bear Prep 40:10 Ambush in the Wastes: Sneak or Shoot 52:45 Sewer Entrance & Guard Elimination 1:00:50 Shotgun Justice & Laser Luck 1:17:35 Sewer Showdown & Whip Disarm 1:33:55 The Turret Twist & Fallout Cliffhanger Listen to the Episode Watch to the Episode Watch Fallout 2d20 Chapter 4: Shotgun Justice on YouTube. Show Notes The wasteland adventurers delve deeper into the irradiated heart of the wasteland as Steve NuGunner, Lucky Buck, Goulardi , and Nurse 17 arrive at the battered settlement of Covenant. After narrowly fending off raiders, they resupply, regroup, and are thrust into a high-stakes mission: rescue a kidnapped girl taken by Thriftway’s Enclave-aligned raiders. Nurse 17 gets upgraded with stealth and speed, becoming a teddy bear-draped death machine, while Steve is laser-focused on retrieving his beloved NuRay 3000. Following tracks to a junkyard-turned-camp, the group uncovers clues leading them to an ominous sewer entrance. Their infiltration escalates quickly as stealth gives way to gunfire and buzzsaws. From sneak attacks to shotgun justice, the team cuts through the raiders, pushing deeper and deeper into the base. Along the way, they interrogate a survivor, sprint into potential traps, and navigate the green-tinged threat of an oncoming radiation storm. The episode crescendos with a chase into the sewer depths—just in time for the hum of an auto-turret coming online. Featured Image Meta A man aims a shotgun in a screenshot from Fallout 4 . Feedback We love feedback! You post a comment below or connect with us using these channels: Email Bluesky Discord DiceCamp (Mastodon) YouTube Twitch The post Fallout 2d20 Chapter 4: Shotgun Justice (S4E20) appeared first on Lair Of Secrets .…

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1
d8 ShadowDark Mistakes We Made (S4E19) 33:01

5 weeks ago33:01

33:01

On this episode, we talk about the top mistakes we made running ShadowDark (aka “how Ken accidentally enabled hard mode for his campaign”). Our mistakes include “overly complicate torch management”, “create deadlier rat diseases”, “don’t use Luck points”, and more! Looking for more ShadowDark content? Check out these Lair episodes: d12 Ways ShadowDark is Awesome! (S4E15) Shadowdark Impressions (Campaigns & Coffee) Chapters Listen to the Episode Watch to the Episode Watch d8 ShadowDark Mistakes We Made on YouTube . Show Notes 1. Overcomplicate Torch Management You don’t need to do torch gymnastics to light a new one. If your old one is burning down, and the players want to start a new torch, they do it. The timer is reset to 60 minutes, and the old torch is discarded. Keeping fractional torches around (“But we had 15 minutes left on this torch!”) is a natural impulse given the importances (and potential scarcity) of light, but fractional torches make things complicated. And the mechanic isn’t meant to be complicated. A reasonable house rule I’ve seen for torches that go out less than halfway through their burn cycle is to round down to 30 minutes. Keeping track of “half torches” is still work, but less work than breaking it down further. That said, if you’re under threat, then yes, there are torch gymnastics. There’s a DC 12 Dexterity check to ignite a torch under such conditions. – If it’s dark, same DC, but with disadvantage. We’ll talk more about that in our ShadowDark house rules episode coming up. (Sly Flourish – https://slyflourish.com/shadowdark_house_rules.html) 2. Create even deadlier rat diseases The common rat in ShadowDark is infected with a fast acting disease that immediately saps the adventurer’s Constitution. Depending on how you interpret the rule, it either prevents all healing until the adventurer makes a saving throw OR the adventure can’t recover their lost Con until they make a saving throw. Ken chose the latter. 3. Don’t use luck points For Ken’s first few games, he didn’t use Luck points at all. Which, given how deadly ShadowDark is, can be a pretty big difficulty upgrade for players. Running the same scenario at a convention (and swapping in a Seer character from Cursed Scrolls #3 ) revealed just how helpful Luck tokens are (the seer being able to create Luck tokens 3x per day). 4. Get Spell Mishaps Wrong Ken’s game made spell failure MUCH more dangerous by rolling on the mishap chart whenever a spell casting attempt failed (and not just on critical fumbles, as per the rules). This makes it much more likely your 1st level character is going to get killed when failing to cast a spell. 5. Don’t Plan for Carousing Carousing is a big part of the game. During downtime, players can spend gold to have adventures in town, earning XP, acquiring allies (and maybe an enemy). But to do it, they need gold … so it helps to make sure that they’ll actually have that gold when they got home. Also, read the carousing and “learn skills” downtime activities before you start the adventure, so you know what the players can do at the end. 6. Get Stuck in D&D 5e Mode ShadowDark is a cousin of D&D 5e … and 5e has a rule for everything. It’s easy to bring in default 5e assumptions (I’m looking at you, opportunity attacks) rather than looking for the ShadowDark equivalent. 7. Stress about when to level up Do you level up at session’s end or in the middle of the session? This is more a preference than a mistake (though your mileage may vary). Leveling up is super easy in ShadowDark , but it does slow things down a bit. 8 Wasting time looking up rules that don’t exist ShadowDark is a rules-light game. D&D or Pathfinder fans may come in looking for detailed rules for, well, just about everything. Most of the time, ShadowDark doesn’t have them. Like “Learning” during downtime. The book provides some guidelines for what they can’t do (learn another class’s or ancestries’ unique talents) and two examples of what they can (a new language, how to ride a sandworm using a harness). There’s no big list of skills (but though you could steal from backgrounds). Don’t worry. Just roll with it. Feedback We love feedback! You post a comment below or connect with us using these channels: Email Bluesky Discord DiceCamp (Mastodon) YouTube Twitch Featured Image Meta The background image is the map from Lost Citadel of the Scarlet Minotaur , featured in the ShadowDark quick-start rules . The post d8 ShadowDark Mistakes We Made (S4E19) appeared first on Lair Of Secrets .…

Lair Of Secrets

1
Fallout 2d20 Chapter 3: Raiders & Rumors (S4E18) 1:05:45

6 weeks ago1:05:45

1:05:45

Our group of wastelanders (and one former Vault dwelling weapons tester) defend the fortified town of Covenant from raiders in the latest chapter of our Fallout 2d20 Actual Play campaign . The raiders defeated, the group gains access to Covenant, where they uncover rumors about a ghoul named Thriftway dealing in slaves for the Enclave . Fallout 2d20 Campaign Page: An overview of the campaign, plus links to episodes and related game resources. Fallout 2d20 Resources: Links to community forums, wikis, rules, podcasts, and cheatsheets. Chapters 0:00 – Intro: Welcome to the Wasteland 1:00 – Raiders at the Gates: Defending Covenant 4:30 – Entering Covenant: A Safe Haven or a Lie? 9:45 – The Barter Extravaganza: Caps, Junk, and Haggling 26:00 – The Junk Jet Temptation: A Heavy Investment 31:30 – Thriftway’s Shadow: Raiders, Slavery, and the Enclave 44:10 – The Alarm Sounds: Lars Returns, Badly Wounded 50:15 – A Mission Forms: Tracking Thriftway and Saving the Girl 1:03:30 – Outro: Next Stop – The Hunt Begins! Listen to the Episode Watch to the Episode Watch Fallout 2d20 Chapter 3: Rumors & Raiders on YouTube. Show Notes Raiders at the Gates – The team helps Covenant fend off a raider attack and earns the town’s trust. Covenant’s Secrets – The town appears friendly, but there’s an undercurrent of unease, especially toward ghouls. The Great Barter Session – A deep dive into Fallout’s economy as the group haggles for ammo, supplies, and a stealth module for Nurse 17. The Junk Jet Temptation – Lucky Buck eyes a bizarre but deadly weapon. A Growing Threat – The group hears rumors that the Enclave is buying slaves from Thriftway, but his location remains unknown. A Sudden Attack – Lars, a local mechanic, returns badly injured, revealing that raiders took his daughter. A New Mission – With a lead on Thriftway, the party gears up for a rescue operation. Featured Image Meta A raider base in Fallout 4 . Credit: Bethesda. Feedback We love feedback! You post a comment below or connect with us using these channels: Email Bluesky Discord DiceCamp (Mastodon) YouTube Twitch The post Fallout 2d20 Chapter 3: Raiders & Rumors (S4E18) appeared first on Lair Of Secrets .…

Lair Of Secrets

1
Fallout Zones (S4E17) 38:55

7 weeks ago38:55

38:55

Fallout 2d20 uses zones instead of conventional battle maps or theater of the mind to describe where your characters (and their enemies) are in the game world. In this episode, we talk about how Fallout zones work, offer advice on how to use them, and take a peak at some other games that use zones. After fighting our way through the wasteland, we geek out about Alien: Isolation , the excellent survival horror game now available on the Switch, and the F oundry Virtual Table Top . Fallout 2d20 Campaign Page: An overview of the campaign, plus links to episodes and related game resources. Fallout 2d20 Resources: Links to community forums, wikis, rules, podcasts, and cheatsheets. Chapters 0:00 Intro – Welcome to the Lair of Secrets 1:00 What Are Fallout Zones? 3:45 How Zones Improve Tactical Combat 9:30 Obstacles, Cover & Hazards in Zone-Based Play 15:20 Zone-Based Games – Fate, Shadowdark, Alien, and More 19:45 Jump Scares – Playing ALIEN: Isolation in the Dark 26:30 How Alien: Isolation Preps You for Running an Alien RPG 31:10 David’s New Obsession: Foundry VTT 34:50 Foundry vs. Roll20 – Which Virtual Tabletop is Better? 37:45 Final Thoughts & Sign Off Listen to the Episode Watch to the Episode Watch Fallout Zones on YouTube . Show Notes Main Topic Overview of zones in Fallout 2d20 What and why? Abstract way of representing regions and distances in a game. Half-way between battle map and theatre of the mind … sort of. Great for RPGs featuring more abstract locales. Lets you avoid infinite 5-foot-squares. Fallout 2d20 zones Reach – Arms reach (within close, but not an actual zone; minor action to close; confusing wording) Close – Any distance within the zone you’re in. Medium – Distance of one zone Long – Distance of two zones Extreme – Distance of three or more zones How do they impact movement / weapons? Difficult terrain: “A zone may be filled with difficult terrain, slowing anyone attempting to cross it.” Fallout 2d20 core rules (p. 38) Obstacles are similar in that they hinder your movement, but they exist between zones—attempts to move from one zone to another where an obstacle is present may slow your progress. Fallout 2d20 core rules (p. 38) Hazards are parts of the environment that inflict damage to creatures caught in them. A hazard may be present in a specific zone, or it may be spread among multiple zones. Fallout 2d20 core rules (p. 39) How to Represent Zones Theater of the Mind How far can you take it in theatre of the mind? Visual Zones Use index cards or draw out boxes representing zones. Battle Maps Create your map. Draw lines on it indicating zones Outside Example: Zone 1: The near battlefield, on the shores of a stream. Between zone 1 and 2: the stream that must be crossed Zone 2: The field on the far side of the stream Zone 3: A stand of broken boulders & battle tank Zone 4: The edge of a forest. Hulks of buildings looms in the distance Inside Example: Zone 1: The Library Zone 2: The Entrance Hallway Zone 3: The Kitchen Zone 4: The Basement Zone 5: The Balcony and second for overlooking the dining room Prior experience with zones in other systems FATE Index Card RPG Professor DM / Dungeon Craft Alien (Year Zero system) Forbidden Lands Adjacent Shadowdark Fallout scenarios we ran The Lab (small scale zones) Surface Fight (open range) The Dungeon (larger, longer-range zones) Advantages & Disadvantages Advantages Makes range more abstracted; in Cyberpunk RED, if I want to give the solo a chance to use his sniper or assault rifle skills, I probably need to scale up my map. With zones, the distance gets abstracted … and the map doesn’t even need to exist. Disadvantages Breaks your brain a little. Can be hard to conceptualize (particularly if you come from a minis-based game. Reach vs. Close Building-as-a-zone vs. floors as a zone Banter ALIEN: Isolation Released 10 years ago And now it’s out for Switch! How to play: On the sofa, in the near dark, with AirPods in. FoundryVTT My favorite so far It has lived up to the hype I have heard from others Easy to pick up and start running with Very extensible Featured Image Meta The muddled background is the local map for Vault 88 in Fallout 4 . Credit: Bethesda. Feedback We love feedback! You post a comment below or connect with us using these channels: Email Bluesky Discord DiceCamp (Mastodon) YouTube Twitch The post Fallout Zones (S4E17) appeared first on Lair Of Secrets .…

Lair Of Secrets

1
Fallout 2d20 Chapter 2: Covenant Clash (S4E16) 1:03:44

8 weeks ago1:03:44

1:03:44

As our Fallout 2d20 Actual Play campaign continues, the party treks across the wasteland toward the settlement of Covenant . Along the way they encounter dangers both grotesque and ridiculous, from gutting radioactive bugs for dinner to dodging their own teammate’s grenades. And yeah, Steve’s still trying to recover his prototype laser pistol from the bandit leader known as Thriftway … Fallout 2d20 Campaign Page: An overview of the campaign, plus links to episodes and related game resources. Fallout 2d20 Resources: Links to community forums, wikis, rules, podcasts, and cheatsheets. Chapters 0:00 – Intro: Welcome Back to the Wasteland 1:04 – Meet the Survivors: Ghoul Chemists, Security Officers, and a Nurse Handy 3:15 – Scavenging, Cooking, and Campfire Debriefs 7:40 – Lucky Buck’s (Un)fortunate Grenade Luck 12:30 – Wasteland Travel & Gunfire in the Distance 18:05 – Sneaking Into Trouble: Raiders at Covenant 22:50 – Explosive Ambush: Baseball Grenades & Laser Blasts 30:20 – The Last Stand: Raiders’ Final Moments 37:45 – Covenant Welcomes the Survivors 45:10 – What’s Next? The Mystery of Thriftway 55:20 – Outro: Join Us Again in the Wasteland! Listen to the Episode Watch to the Episode Watch Fallout 2d20 Chapter 2: Covenant� Clash on YouTube. Show Notes Picking up from last time: The team emerges from their bloatfly battle at Taffington Boathouse, scavenging for supplies and making camp. Character Highlights: Ghoulardi , the chem-crafting ghoul, prepares a fine (if unsettling) wasteland feast. Steve NuGunnar , still haunted by the theft of his NewRay 3000, is determined to reclaim it from Thriftway. Nurse 17 plays both den mother and war machine, tending to the team and disarming Lucky Buck in the most literal sense. Lucky Buck , ever a source of accidental chaos, makes up for past grenade mishaps with a well-placed explosive. Svenghoulie , the enigmatic wasteland ghoul, provides a Molotov cocktail mid-battle as a thoughtful gift. Tense Wasteland Travel: Gunfire in the distance signals trouble near Covenant. Raider Ambush at Covenant: The team executes a surprise attack, eliminating hostiles with a mix of precision, explosions, and mechanical saws. A Welcome at Covenant: The settlement’s guards thank the party for their assistance, allowing them entry. On the Horizon: The mystery of Thriftway and his stolen tech looms large, promising more danger ahead. Featured Image Meta The town of Covenant, as depicted in Fallout 4 . Credit: Bethesda. Feedback We love feedback! You post a comment below or connect with us using these channels: Email Bluesky Discord DiceCamp (Mastodon) YouTube Twitch The post Fallout 2d20 Chapter 2: Covenant Clash (S4E16) appeared first on Lair Of Secrets .…

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d12 Ways ShadowDark is Awesome! (S4E15) 33:25

10 weeks ago33:25

33:25

On this episode, we delve far from the light to geek out about Shadowdark . The old-school-inspired RPG strips Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition to its essentials, and then adds in some modern sensibilities. We talk about our favorite mechanics, how it’s impacted our other games (looking at you D&D 5th Edition!), and our players’ penchant for wandering off into the dark. PLUS: Squishy wizards! Unlimited spells (if they don’t kill you!) Morale failures! AND the upcoming Western Reaches Campaign Setting Kickstarter (link in the comments) Chapters 0:00 – Intro: Straight into the ShadowDark 1:30 – Rolling Old-School Attributes (3D6 in Order!) 4:10 – The Darkness is Your Enemy: Why Light Matters 7:30 – Inventory Tetris: The Beauty of Gear Slots 10:00 – Squishy Wizards and the Horror of 1 HP 13:00 – No XP for Combat? Time to Get Creative 15:20 – Skills? Where we’re going, we don’t need skills! 18:00 – Morale Checks: Making Enemies Run in Fear 20:30 – Unlimited Spells (But at What Cost?) 23:00 – Clerical Penance: Displease Your God and Suffer 26:00 – Rolling on the Chaos Tables: Why Randomness is Fun 28:40 – Limited Rules, Maximum Improv 31:00 – Excited for Western Reaches—More ShadowDark Content! 32:30 – Final Thoughts & Where to Find Us Online Listen to the Episode Watch to the Episode Watch d12 Ways ShadowDark is Awesome! on YouTube Show Notes Old School Attributes. Roll 3d6. In order. Re-roll if you all your stats are under 14, re-roll. No one can see in the dark But the monsters can. Where do the monsters lurk? Gear Slots Carry a number of items equal to your STR stat or 10. All gear besides typical clothing fills one gear slot. Gear that is hard to transport might fill more than one slot. Squishy heroes A wizard with 3 hit points? Good luck. Skills Easy? You do it. (It’s infectious … started doing that in D&D too) Hard? You roll? Something make it easier? Advantage, Harder? Disadvantage Morale Enemies who are reduced to half their number (or half their hit points for a solo enemy) flee if they fail a DC 15 Wisdom check. Large Groups. Make one check using the leader’s WIS modifier. Throwback to old school D&D Your spells can kill you Dare to roll on the spell failure charts Magic missile bathes you in purple light? Unlimited Spells Just. Keep. Casting. But do you risk it Clerical Penance Inadequate or subversive penance (such as donating your sacrifice to a party member) only displeases your deity further and makes the spell loss permanent. Embrace the Random Talents depend on a die, not choice Limited rules. Maximum improv. Stripped down version of 5e removes a lot of the game’s specific rules. Improvise when the specific is needed. The rules system can fit in your head once you play it enough It’s in the Goldilocks zone of size The Western Reaches Kickstarter! Shadowdark RPG: The Western Reaches Setting ShadowDark Quickstart Shadowdark RPG Quickstart Set (PDF) Feedback We love feedback! You post a comment below or connect with us using these channels: Email Bluesky Discord DiceCamp (Mastodon) YouTube Twitch The post d12 Ways ShadowDark is Awesome! (S4E15) appeared first on Lair Of Secrets .…

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Fallout 2d20 Chapter 1: Wasteland Wake-Up (S4E14) 1:26:01

11 weeks ago1:26:01

1:26:01

We kickoff our Fallout 2d20 campaign with the protagonists (not sure we can call them “heroes” just yet) waking up in the Wasteland. Fallout 2d20 Campaign Page: An overview of the campaign, plus links to episodes and related game resources. Chapters 0:00 – Intro & Audio Shenanigans 3:15 – Meet the Survivors 8:40 – Escape from the Hospital Basement 14:55 – Reg the Super Mutant Chef 22:10 – Journey Through the Wasteland 29:30 – EyeBot Encounters & Enclave Paranoia 35:50 – The Boathouse Discovery 42:15 – Bloatfly Swarm Attack! 49:40 – Lucky Buck’s Unfortunate Grenade Fumble 55:20 – Steve Learns About Boats & Water 1:02:45 – Looting the Boathouse & Finding the Note 1:10:30 – What’s the Deal with Thriftway? 1:18:15 – Closing Thoughts & What’s Next Listen to the Episode Watch to the Episode Watch Fallout 2d20 Chapter 1: Wasteland Wake-Up (S4E14) on YouTube. Show Notes Intro Banter & Setup: The team settles in, adjusting audio, discussing wildlife encounters, and reflecting on the horror of screech owls. Meet the Survivors: Ghoulard i – A grizzled ghoul with a quick wit. Nurse 17 – A pre-war Nurse Handy bot obsessed with Goldfish crackers and proper nap times. Steve NuGunnar – A Vault-Tec security veteran, utterly baffled by surface life. Lucky Buck – A shockingly lucky Brotherhood of Steel initiate with questionable grenade etiquette. Cryogenic Awakening: The group escapes a hospital basement, encountering a radroach-dissecting super mutant chef named Reg, who warns them to leave before his kin arrive. First Steps in the Wasteland: The survivors are joined by Svenghoulie, a ghoul carrying grenade-stuffed rubber chickens. The Journey to Covenant Begins: Along the cracked highways, they dodge a suspicious EyeBot blaring patriotic music and explain the concept of boats to a bewildered Steve. Bloatfly Brawl at the Boathouse: The team arrives at a seemingly abandoned boathouse, only to be swarmed by oversized, irradiated insects. Lucky Buck’s Unlucky Grenade Incident: Attempting to clear the infestation, Buck fumbles a baseball grenade, obliterating the bloatflies—and nearly taking Steve with him. Looting the Wreckage: The team scavenges supplies, discovering food, weapons, and a note pointing them toward Covenant and a mysterious Thriftway. Closing Thoughts & Next Steps: The session ends with a healed-up Steve demanding answers about Thriftway, as the group prepares for what lies ahead. Featured Image Meta Cryo-chambers from Fallout 4 . Credit: Bethesda. Feedback We love feedback! You post a comment below or connect with us using these channels: Email Bluesky Discord DiceCamp (Mastodon) YouTube Twitch The post Fallout 2d20 Chapter 1: Wasteland Wake-Up (S4E14) appeared first on Lair Of Secrets .…

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The D&D Attention Economy – Greyhawk ’76 (Ep. 7) 5:55

12 weeks ago5:55

5:55

Ken elaborates on the Attention Economy – how many things people need to keep track of – for D&D 2024 , and how it differs from the 2014. (and yeah, this explains his initial reaction to the Blade Ward cantrip back in Episode 5 ). He reviews the idea of the Action Economy (how many things a player can do in a round), how it relates to the Attention Economy (how many things a player needs to keep track of), and the implications for speed of play. Chapters 0:00 – Intro – What is the Attention Economy? 1:15 – Action Economy vs. Attention Economy 2:45 – How D&D 5E Streamlined Play 3:30 – High-Level Play and Complexity Challenges 4:20 – D&D 2024 – Exciting or Overwhelming? 5:10 – Final Thoughts & Experimenting with the New Rules Listen to the Episode Watch the Episode Watch The D&D Attention Economy – Greyhawk ’76 (Ep. 7) on YouTube . Feedback We love feedback! You post a comment below or connect with us using these channels: Email Bluesky Discord DiceCamp (Mastodon) YouTube Twitch The post The D&D Attention Economy – Greyhawk ’76 (Ep. 7) appeared first on Lair Of Secrets .…

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Enemy Mine – Greyhawk ’76 (Ep. 6) 8:03

13 weeks ago8:03

8:03

Ken recaps his group’s second session using the D&D 2024 rules, with specific looks at Blade Ward (spiffy spell, won’t save you from critical) and Mastery (a character ability that unlocks special characteristics of weapons). Chapters 0:00 – Welcome to Greyhawk ’761:10 – The Burrow Boys Arrive: Ogres, Halflings, and a Goliath3:20 – Trickery and […] The post Enemy Mine – Greyhawk ’76 (Ep. 6) appeared first on Lair Of Secrets .…

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Shadowdark Impressions (Campaigns & Coffee) 22:06

14 weeks ago22:06

22:06

After venturing into the dark with only a torch to guide their way, the Campaigns & Coffee crew talks about their experiences playing the ShadowDark RPG (where they ARE very likely to be eaten by a grue). They discuss the dungeon-delving, old-school-inspired game’s real-time torch mechanics, its focus on fast-paced and high-stakes decision-making. They also […] The post Shadowdark Impressions (Campaigns & Coffee) appeared first on Lair Of Secrets .…

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The Lair’s Guide for New Game Masters (S4E13) 25:43

15 weeks ago25:43

25:43

On this episode of Lair of Secrets, we present the our guide for new Game Masters, packed with advice, tips, and encouragement for those ready to take the GM seat. We explore choosing the right game, gathering players, preparing efficiently, and rolling with mistakes while ensuring a fun and engaging experience. Chapter List 0:00 – […] The post The Lair’s Guide for New Game Masters (S4E13) appeared first on Lair Of Secrets .…

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Build Better Cities – Campaigns and Coffee 34:55

21 weeks ago34:55

34:55

Building immersive cities for RPGs takes center stage on this episode, with inspiration from real-world examples like San Antonio’s Alamo and Chicago’s reversed river. We dive into tools and techniques for making cities that evolve, feel lived in, and resonate as characters within campaigns. From quirky city rivalries to handling disasters, this episode offers creative […] The post Build Better Cities – Campaigns and Coffee appeared first on Lair Of Secrets .…

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I Hate Blade Ward – Greyhawk ’76 (Ep. 5) 3:05

21 weeks ago3:05