level 0 Character Tumbler

[CptClyde]

Thanks to ToddLyons for pointing me to this blog post (http://www.infinitedragons.com/character-funnel/) concerning 0-level character funnels for BFRPG. It includes a nicely formated BFRPG supplement, complete with 0-level character cards. Amazing supplement! Why has this never been added to the showcase or downloads? Was it developed outside of this community? Could it be added here for easy reference? Is the creator a member here by chance?

[Dimirag]

Maybe the creator is not a member, if he is he may have not presented the supplement here.
For it to be on the Showcase Solo should give access to it to the supplement's creator (Solomoriah's giving Showcase access I think its a kind of "good material" seal from him).
For it to be on the Download page its another story, I think that's mostly if not exclusively Solo's realm, he says what goes in there based on his own criteria and judgement.
Finally, I don't know how Solo would feel about uploading external material without the creator's permission.

Surely Solomoriah will give his thoughts and opinions regarding this.

[Hywaywolf]

That comes from this thread in the Workshop. https://www.basicfantasy.org/forums/vie ... f=19&t=603

It got a lot of attention at the time. The BFRPG supplement for it is here ...

PDF: https://www.basicfantasy.org/forums/dow ... php?id=511

ODT: https://www.basicfantasy.org/forums/dow ... php?id=510


It then lost momentum like some ideas often do here. About 5 years later I borrowed/stole the basic concept and created a character generation funnel adventure similar to the Dungeon Crawl Classic funnel adventure. It didn't get much, if any attention, at all.

The Workshop thread is here: https://www.basicfantasy.org/forums/vie ... UaM#p60076

The PDF for it is here is here: https://www.basicfantasy.org/forums/dow ... hp?id=2277

The ODT version is here: https://www.basicfantasy.org/forums/dow ... hp?id=2276

[CptClyde]

Wow you are like a BFRPG community historian we're going back a long time (especially in internet years). Thank you very much for these links. I guess I assumed everything decent ended up in the showcase but apparently I need to do a deep dive into older threads in search of hidden gems like these. Your adventure looks great too at first glance. Thanks so much!

I am really starting to realize just how late to the party I am on this open source BFRPG phenomenon. Can't believe I never found this gold mine years ago!

[Hywaywolf]

Ha, I am nowhere close to the BFRPG historian. I just happened to have looked up that thread a couple days ago when someone posted on the BFRPG Facebook page about the Dungeon Crawl Classics character funnel and doing something like it with BFRPG. Its weird how this has come up from two different people from different directions almost simultaneously.

[Solomoriah]

I've never been a fan of character funnels (or tumblers, whatever). 1st level characters are weak enough... do we really need to kill a bunch of 0 level characters to make one? Only to have that 1st level dude die in his next battle?

But I realize they are popular. If a good one got finished, I'd publish it.

[CptClyde]

I can understand your feelings solomoria, but you gotta admit there is a lot of fun to be had watching like 3 PCs die in a single random encounter lol. These 0-level guys make for great backstory fodder for the survivors for sure. "I can't believe that bear killed Derek, Phil and Jen all in the first round! I'll never willinglyface one of thosethings again!". And I always allow for 2 first level pcs as well when playing deadly rules just so players can continue on.

[Hywaywolf]

I have played a character funnel a couple times and had a blast each time. Once was the DCC's funnel over a few game sessions. And another was a home brew version of one on Roll20.

Its both refreshing and frustrating to game with 16-20 pc's run by 4 or 5 players. When you are running 4 PCs you have a lot of options and then you have the other players who also have a lot of options. it gets a bit crazy until enough PCs get killed off and the players are forced to work together as a team. It looks like a lot of work for a DM, though. PCs were scattered all over creation doing their own things.

A couple days ago someone played the partially completed chargen funnel adventure that I expanded from ancienttoasters previous work. He was a solo player so he only ran 8 normal men through it. He isn't a member here so he didn't post his comments on the workshop thread. But he said it was fun and had some constructive comments to give me. Not sure I will actually work on it though. No one seemed interested back in 2017 when I posted it so if I do it will be just so I can say I have a completed project on here

[CptClyde]

But I realize they are popular. If a good one got finished, I'd publish it.

I don't really care what gets published and what doesn't, as long I can find this kind of content gold on the site when I need to. Which is sad I couldn't find this on the showcase. But I am curious what changes you'd suggest that could make it a "good one"? I thought it seemed pretty usable as is. But I may be willing to bring it that extra mile if there is something you are thinking it needs still.

There is one thing I'd add to this supplement (and already use when playing my hexcrawl rules):
Experience points for the death of party members! It would nearly guarantee any survivors would reach level 1 (and slightly beyond). I love this rule, and when coupled with the mental consequences of acquired fears/phobias it really starts to give characters some personality. It lets you take a freshly rolled new character with no real backstory and helps them develop one by the dice during play. THAT is the draw of OSR for me, the building of an interesting hero with a dramatic history from a hopeless peasant. I dislike the "new way" of making PCs where people often start with a fleshed out backstory (even though I was guilty of this myself in the late 90s).

I play the same style of hexcrawl in GURPS but there we roll on a list of random Mental disadvantages when a party member dies. Works very well and my list could be used here as well.
An example of it's use was when our 0-level "linkboy" peasant witnessed the death of a 3rd level fighter when fighting zombies, and his acquired random disadvantage was "Sense of Duty". Brilliant. We explained this story wide by him feeling a sense of duty to the party from that day forward since he felt guilty for cowering in the back instead of helping fight to save the fighter. He later became a cleric, and helped the party quite a bit..... until his violent demise at the hands of an orc ambush. I think that makes for good story and sometimes enjoy reading over the game notes/logs to reflect on this kind of drama. The deaths seem to enhance the story drama
But indeed, this style of play is not for everyone.

[toddlyons]

I haven't experienced it as a player, but it is indeed interesting to watch a bunch of random townfolk march into a meat grinder with their improvised weaponry, questionable skill, and absence of common sense. A quick and brutal death is completely expected for all of them, which makes it all the more amazing when a couple of these dorks sneak through to level 1.

I've watched CptClyde's videos of these as quickly as he's made them... and anticipate I'll probably watch them through again. I'm shocked how compelling it is. I've never understood the joy that some people get from Twitch until I saw this new approach to a game I've loved since childhood.

Anyway, I loved this supplement at first sight and knew CC would too.