#RPGaDay 2016 Day 23: Share One of Your 'Worst Luck' Stories

Again, today's post has to do with Hackmaster.  This is not so much a 'Worst Luck' story as it is a 'I Rolled Poorly but Everyone Had a Good Laugh" story.  After our campaign using the original Hackmaster rules, we started a new one using Hackmaster Basic.  I created another thief who had somewhat better skills.  One skill that I purchased was monster lore.  We were on a boat and were examining an empty crate.  The crate had been used to smuggle a giant scorpion, which was now loose on the boat.  Our PCs did not know what the monster was yet.  I rolled against my monster lore skill to try and deduce what the monster was from looking at the crate.  I failed miserably and the GM told me that I definitely thought that the monster was a manticore.  We proceeded to run around the boat shouting "Manticore, there is a manticore on the loose!"  That became our rallying cry for the rest of the campaign.

MANTICORE!

#RPGaDay 2016 Day 22: Random Events that Keep Happening

I was involved in a Hackmaster campaign.  We started with the original Hackmaster rules and my character had horrible skills.  Well, he did have an excellent skill in Dig Proper Grave due to his time on a prison work crew.  He was a thief and all of his other skills where horrible.  Every adventure he would try to steal something or pick a lock.  He never rolled well enough.  Dice are supposed to be random, right?  My thief couldn't hit a skill roll once.  He couldn't pick a pocket even though he and his mark were waist deep in sewer water.  He always rolled so poorly that the GM had to introduce an NPC who could get all the thief stuff done for us.  It was pretty embarrassing to have to rely on the bar maiden to pick a lock for my thief.

#RPGaDay 2016: Day 5 What Story Does Your Group Tell About Your Character?

Today's topic is what story does your group tell about your character?  Probably that my thief was always looting bodies in the middle of battles.  Even though the fight would not be over I would go ahead and check the pockets of the slain foes.  Hey, it's what a thief does!

#RPGaDay 2016: Day 4 Most Impressive Thing Another Character has Done

Today's topic is the most impression thing another character has done.  I was in a Hackmaster campaign where we were fighting against some cult of undead evil.  Our party was down in a crypt facing off against a group of skeletons.

Skeletons are no joke in Hackmaster!

Our group was low level and outmatched.  We must have been playing Hackmaster Basic because I remember rules for exploding dice.  Our dwarf cleric smashed into the first skeleton with his mace.  He kept hitting the max on his exploding dice rolls for damage and dealt over 40 points to the skeleton, which immediately crumpled to the ground.  Instead of running we figured we had a shot so we stayed to fight the rest of the skeletons.  Of course the dwarf cleric was killed and we all ran away, but his mighty blow was talked about for ages.

#RPGaDay 2016: Day 3 Character Moment you are Proudest of

I was playing a thief in a Hackmaster campaign.  My character had the boating skill, which I justified by saying he grew up in a fishing village.  Our party had to spend the night in a city.  The government of the city had this crazy rule where once you entered the city you were issued papers, and you could not leave the city without your papers.  It was very clear to us that our GM was going to do everything in his power to relieve us of our papers.

The party was due to leave via boat the following morning.  My plan was to go aboard the ship and get hired by the captain.  I would stay on the ship until we left and then I wouldn't be in a position to have my papers stolen.  The GM said the captain didn't want to hire me because I didn't have the proper training.  I lifted up my character sheet triumphantly and said, "I have the boating skill!"

I earned a few gold working on the ship and the GM said I earned no xp for the venture because I was a thief and had actually worked for a day's wage.  It was a victory in my book.