Turning to the Summary Sheet, I wanted to do a couple of things with this. I knew I wanted the wanderers chart to be readily available. Given the map was a jpg form Hartin, I didn't think I could mess with it much. (Which answers a long standing question I've had about modding maps from cartographers, and the implicit pushback ones feels.) So, on to the summary sheet it went, along with them engaged in some activity. I keep two different "what are the monsters doing" charts on my DM screen; I feel like it gives the DM just a little more kick to riff off of.
(There's a current thread on "Why WOTC adventures suck on the GiantIP forums and in it someone mentions rolling Vistani Thugs in Strahds hidden treasure vault, pointing out how absurd it is. I thought "hostages of Strahd" while someone else thought "obviously robbing the place." Both of good examples of emergent play.)
I also wanted a little reminder of how saves and traps worked, since the OD&D/ BX way is easy to forget.
Finally, the monster stats proper. Ever since I saw it for the first time the Ready Ref Sheets way of treating monster stats has mightily impressed me. It tends to be the way I think about monsters during play, so of course I favored things that matched my views.
I can't find an google image to link to, but it's essentially the same as the monster summary sheet I included, except it has every OD&D monster listed. Just the basics of AC, HP, and a simple effect if it has one, without the longer "mechanics centric" view that other listings have. This more free form style tends to be how I run my monsters.
And then, of course, a little note at the bottom in order to get out in front of people by telling them explicitly what to do. "Print & attach to DM screen."
[You can follow along with this commentary; the previews show the entire adventure and I give them away on the Patreon. https://www.drivethrurpg.com/browse/pub/14160/Craig-Pike]
(There's a current thread on "Why WOTC adventures suck on the GiantIP forums and in it someone mentions rolling Vistani Thugs in Strahds hidden treasure vault, pointing out how absurd it is. I thought "hostages of Strahd" while someone else thought "obviously robbing the place." Both of good examples of emergent play.)
I also wanted a little reminder of how saves and traps worked, since the OD&D/ BX way is easy to forget.
Finally, the monster stats proper. Ever since I saw it for the first time the Ready Ref Sheets way of treating monster stats has mightily impressed me. It tends to be the way I think about monsters during play, so of course I favored things that matched my views.
I can't find an google image to link to, but it's essentially the same as the monster summary sheet I included, except it has every OD&D monster listed. Just the basics of AC, HP, and a simple effect if it has one, without the longer "mechanics centric" view that other listings have. This more free form style tends to be how I run my monsters. And then, of course, a little note at the bottom in order to get out in front of people by telling them explicitly what to do. "Print & attach to DM screen."
[You can follow along with this commentary; the previews show the entire adventure and I give them away on the Patreon. https://www.drivethrurpg.com/browse/pub/14160/Craig-Pike]