Bathtub 1925 World Series

I'm working on my own rules for very quick play dice baseball games. I have the general concept sketched out and was ready to test it. Initially, I did a couple of quick test games using made-up teams. It showed promise but lacked a little drama because individual players did not have a role. Inspired by Fast Inning Baseball, I added a rule where star players can affect the game. I was ready for a test but I wanted to use real teams. I decided to "bathtub" the 1925 World Series with a best of 3 games series.

The Series

The 1925 World Series featured the National League champions Pittsburgh Pirates vs. the American League and defending World Series champions Washington Senators.

Game 1

Pittsburgh 5 - Washington 3

Pitt        0-1-0-4

Wash    1-0-0-2

This shows the bathtubbed box score. I do not play all 9 innings. Instead, I play early, middle, late, and 9th innings.

Kiki Cuyler breaks a 1-1 tie with a grand slam in the 9th. The Senators' comeback attempt fails. Stan Coveleski takes the loss.

Game 2

Washington 7 - Pittsburgh 6

Wash    2-2-1-2

Pitt        2-1-2-1

Goose Goslin (Wash) and Pie Traynor (Pitt) trade homers early. Goslin drives in 2 runs in the middle innings. Pittsburgh ties it up on a 2-run homer late. In the 9th, Washington rallies for 2 runs. This time, the Pirates' comeback attempt fails. Walter Johnson gets the win.

Game 3

Washington 6 - Pittsburgh 5

Pitt        2-0-1-2-0

Wash    3-0-1-1-1

The Senators get a 3-run homer early. Pittsburgh scores 2 in the 9th to take the lead. Washington ties it up in the bottom of the 9th, then scores a run in extra innings. They win the game and the series!

Evaluation

How did my rules work?

• Very fast play, but still gave an interesting narrative
• Much less chart flipping than Fast Inning Baseball
• Perhaps a bit too much scoring, but not totally unrealistic
• I liked how star players get a nod. However, there were crucial moments where I did not roll a star player. In these cases, the result is a generic player. I'd love to give credit to the person who knocked in the series-winning run. Thinking about using FIB's player finder.

Halfway to Nowhere

I am at the halfway point of my vacation and I have done nothing.

OK, that's not really true. It just feels that way because I have not played any games worth posting. 

What I haven't done

As my vacation began, I had a few game-related items on my to-do list.

• A Memorial Day Civil War battle
• The next expedition into the Caves of Chaos
• The next mini campaign in my Twelve Foes of Rome series

What have I done?

As I mentioned, it's not really true that I've done nothing. I made some progress in other areas.

• Completed some yard work
• Worked on a couple of shields
• Dabbled with some baseball rules

Shield Work

Here they are so far. I cut everything out; I just need to glue everything and then add covers.

I experimented with a design change. I used to use PVC pipe for my handles. Being round, they had a tendency to twist. This time, I'm using square dowels. They should not twist. I used a Dremel to round the edges for the handhold.

Baseball

I've had a hankering for baseball, but I haven't been feeling Fast Inning Baseball, which was my jam last year. I've been hunting around for alternatives, but found nothing that  I like.

Now, I'm dabbling with some ideas of my own. The key concept is to resolve an inning using an opposed die roll (inspired by DBA).

We Remember

May God bless those who gave their all for our country.

Kobold Caves

My Keep on the Borderlands Campaign

The continuing adventures of Aldric the fighter, Corvin the mystic, Rook the rogue, and Lothariel the elven pathfinder

After exploring the region around the Keep, our heroes discover the caves. They rest for a night without incident. The next morning, they begin their delve.

Notes:

• As I mentioned last time, I'm not going to do a full blown narrative. Instead, I'm just publishing my notes.
• I'll be making a number of changes to the caves to make them more interesting for my solo play:
• While I'll use the general creature in each cave, I may add or swap out ancillary encounters.
• I'm not using the maps from the published module. I often don't even map in solo play; I'll just have a series of encounters leading to the big boss. If I do map, I won't stick to the originals.

Our heroes enter the cave. It spirals downward into the bowels of the earth, with passages randomly leading out from the main tunnel.

Here are the party's encounters:

• Kobold miners – A hits. A and R hit. The rest flee
• Pit trap! A and R fall in. Bandage R
• More miners – L gets hit. Wipe them out. L recovers.
• Fire beetles – R gets hit. C and A stomp them. C heals R.
• Kobold guards – wipe them out in 1 turn!
• Kobold priests – A fried. C heals A. A, R, and L get hit. L and R hit. R takes out high priest. A, R, and L recover.
• Salamander – A, R, and C take heat damage. R hits. C’s luck negates a hit. A, R, and L hit and kill it.

Note: In my mind, the kobolds tunneled down until they met the salamander, which they worshiped as a god. I nerfed the salamander's stats to make it a suitable boss for a party of 1st level characters.

Image created by Chat GPT

The party loots the cave, retraces its steps, and returns to the Keep.

Note: I'm not keeping track of treasure, but I added the "looting" part just for narrative purposes.

Pontic Problems

The Twelve Foes of Rome Campaign

The next chapter of the campaign.

Another sire of the famed Bellicosus family has a chance to win renown. This time, the Senate sends him east to deal with King Mithridates of Pontus.

Battle of Bithynia

Mithridates invades Bithynia. Bellicosus defends this Roman ally.

The forces involved:

• Bellicosus: 2 legions (elite, armored), cavalry, and allied spears
• Mithridates: Cavalry, pikes (armored), spears, slingers, and scythed chariots (elite)

Note: Camera was charging so I scribbled down a battle map then transcribed it.

1. Roman cavalry advances but gets cut down by slingers.
2. The Pontic cavalry takes out a Roman legion but is spent.
3. The scythed chariots flank and rout the other legion.

Battle of Chalcedon

Bellicosus retreats to Chalcedon and sets up defenses on and around a hill outside the city.

Same forces as above but one legion is downgraded from elite to normal and the Romans get a hill.

Note: I probably should have downgraded the armor instead of elite. Or better, I should have put the spears on the hill so it could take advantage of the defensive bonus.

1. The scythed chariots and Roman cavalry take each other out.
2. Roman spears defeat the slingers but Mithridates rallies them. A legion defeats the pikes.
3. This time, the slingers defeat the spears.
4. Pontic cavalry rout a legion.

Aftermath

A disaster for Bellicosus, who earns the sobriquet "the Least." It will take a better general to defeat Mithridates.

Explorations

The Keep on the Borderlands Campaign

I'm changing the way I document the campaign. No more narrative, just some notes. I'll explain why below.

I just use the characters' first initials. For reference, the party consists of Aldric the fighter, Corvin the mystic, Lothariel the elf, and Rook the rogue.

The Second Foray

March N through woods. No event.

Turn W. Enter fens. Camp for the night.

R is on guard. Hears something and quietly warns the others. Lizardmen attack.

Hard fight against lizardmen. Kept hitting but had trouble penetrating the lizardmen’s tough skin (DR prevented damage). Ultimately, they cut down the enemy. All but C wounded. Used heals and bandages.

Return to Keep – no encounters.

The Third Foray

Head S, past the area where they fought the bandits. No encounter.

Turn E, into grasslands. Meet some human farmers. Get supplies. Spend the night safely.

Turn N. Meet a hermit. Encounter a mountain lion. Just then, hermit backstabs C, who goes down. A and L drive off the lion. R struck down by hermit. A wounds hermit, who runs away.

Revive and bandage C and R. Return to Keep.

The Fourth Foray

Travel N through woods then W into grassy plain. No encounters.

Travel E through woods. No encounters,

Turn S into hills. Run into a goblin band. C runs amok. Then A and L finish them off.

Turn W into wooded hills. Discover a ravine and the Caves!

My campaign map

Next time, they begin to explore the Caves of Chaos!

GAME NOTES

I decided to get a little lazy, primarily due to the way I am playing and recording results. Previously, I played on the tabletop and recorded notes in a journal. Then I transformed the notes into a narrative that I posted.

However, I also used the computer for some recording - specifically the game map. Then I thought, why not just put the characters on the computer. I can just play at my desk (using dice - I'm not going totally digital), I started a Word journal with my game notes. I figure it will just be easier to copy my notes to this blog.

The Dark Wood

Keep on the Borderlands Campaign

In the tavern at the Keep, our heroes learn that bands of monsters have been raiding in the area. It is said that they have a lair somewhere nearby. Reputedly, there is also plenty of treasure. This piques the interest of our heroes. They decide to find the lair, end the monster threat, and pocket the treasure.

The party begins exploring the region around the Keep

First Foray

The party begins its exploration. They head west into some woods. They find an area where thick spider webs run from tree to tree.

"Be careful," Lothariel warns. "There are tales of spiders the size of a large dog. Their poison can even incapacitate a human."

Not long afterwards, they hear clicking from the trees. There is one of the giant spiders!

It leaps at Aldric. Lothariel looses an arrow; it strikes the creature right in the eye. It bounces off Aldric's shield. The fighter rushes forward and stabs the monstrosity. It dies.

Suddenly, another spider lands on Aldric's shoulder. It bites him, but he shakes it loose before it injects its poison.

Rook rushes to help. The spider turns and bites him. Aldric tries stabbing it but also gets bitten. Finally, he slashes the monster, chopping deep into its vitals. It also dies.

The party finds the spider's lair. There are skeletons strewn about. One was a human fighter. He has a battered shield, but Aldric takes a liking to it.

"With a little love, this will be a fine shield," he declares.

With Aldric and Rook badly wounded, the party heads back to the keep. Corvin stocks up on medical supplies for a longer journey.