Books I've Read in 2022

The one good thing about a daily commute is that I have between an hour and two each day just for reading.

Unfortunately, I've only got the idea of writing down everything I'm reading in August, when I realised that I've been reading Ward for so long that I don't even remember which book I've read before it and when. Therefore the list only contains books since August. But speaking of Ward...

Fiction Books

John C. McCrae: Ward

This superhero web serial is 1 944 784 words long, so I might have actually been reading it since the beginning of the year. And it's worth it. Along with the first part, Worm, it is an incredible study of characters and their motivations, as well as creative powers and power uses. If you read it, you will probably start to question whether you even like other superhero media at all.

Tad Williams: Stone of Farewell

This is the second book in the Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn trilogy, so I've started reading this book series a bit out of order. My excuse is that I've found it in the free books shelf at a train station before a long journey. Anyway, I quite liked this Tolkien-esque story but I have yet to procure the other two books for myself.

Martina Šrámková: Doba krkavců (Season of the Raven)

A dark fantasy about an ex-witch who tries to live a normal life, but cannot escape her past of a royal assassin. I'll return to it shortly.

Vladimír Šlechta: Krvavé pohraničí (Bloody Borderland)
Vladimír Šlechta: Krvavé pohraničí: Šílený les (Forest Gone Mad)
Vladimír Šlechta: Krvavé pohraničí: Orcigard

A loose series of books which share the location and world events, but none of the protagonists. All of them also read a bit like D&D adventures and could easily be adapted into a campaign.

One thing I'm noticing about Czech fantasy is that it's very dark, all of it. The protagonists generally eke out a victory in the end, but usually at an unreasonably high price, while the world keeps slowly turning to the worse.

In Season of the Raven, Jadwiga manages to save the duchess from painful death and her town from total destruction, but she is forced to seduce and kill again, something she has been running from for years. Also the once blooming economy of the duchy is basically gone due to the machinations of the big bad, and it's far from certain that the duchess will be able to regain control of the fanaticized populace.

In all of the Bloody Borderland books, the protagonist achieves a personal victory, but the world is worse off in the end. Bonus points for Orcigard, which is a prequel with a cast doomed by canon, so the "Everybody lives!" ending is rather bittersweet.

Another example might be Na ostřích čepelí (On the blade's edge) by Miroslav Žamboch, which is another author I like. The protagonist manages to get the settlers to their destination, except about half of the settlers are dead, the way back to civilization is destroyed, so they are completely on their own, and the love interest dies.

I don't think that any translations are available, though, so you will have to take my word that the books are worth the read.

Derek Landy: Skulduggery Pleasant: Resurrection
Derek Landy: Skulduggery Pleasant: Midnight
Derek Landy: Skulduggery Pleasant: Bedlam
Derek Landy: Skulduggery Pleasant: Seasons of War
Derek Landy: Skulduggery Pleasant: Dead or Alive
Derek Landy: Skulduggery Pleasant: Until the End
Derek Landy: Tanith Low in... The Maleficent Seven

Derek Landy is hilarious and very intelligent, as he never fails to remind the readers in his dedications. To his credit, he's right. ;)

His books are very funny, but also dealing with topics like PTSD, addiction, religious fanaticism, discrimination and racism, or shitty parents.

The books are actually so full of clever jokes and light-hearted snark that one might not notice the darkness creeping in until the heroine is suddenly day-dreaming about getting high the second she comes home, the author avatar has to be mercy-killed because he suffered a fate worse than death and the bad guy keeps winning. Then the protagonist switches sides and works with the bad guy, and then the world actually ends. Then it ends again, in an even worse way.

Yeah, I'm not sure why this series is apparently printed as children's books.

What I wanted to say by these long paragraphs is that the whole Skulduggery Pleasant series is great and you should go read it.

Gaming Books

Andrea Sfiligoi: 4 Against Darkness
Andrea Sfiligoi: 4 Against the Abyss

A solo game with wonderfully light ruleset that will let you play quickly and with a single d6. Though the rules are completely different, the feel of the game is like you were running an old-school D&D dungeon crawl.

If you're looking for a combat-based solo game rather than a narrative one, this one is surly a top choice.

Wizards of the Coast: Dungeons & Dragons 5e: Player's Handbook

I will also have to get the Game Master's Guide...

Swen Harder: Reiter der schwarzen Sonne (Knight of the Dark Sun)

A massive gamebook I've got for Christmas. Very nice so far!

4AD: Dragon Cult

Dragonslayer by Nolan Lu

 

First, here is a bigger table of dragons for Four Against Darkness:

d6	True Dragons
1	Two-headed swamp dragon. Their never-ending debate only lulls when they devour another hapless victim. Level 6 dragon, 5 Life, 2 attacks, 3 treasure rolls at +1. On each of its turns, roll a d6. On ⚀, the dragon breathes fire from its right head; all characters must make a level 6 breath Save or take d3 damage. On ⚅, the dragon breathes poison from its left head; all characters must make a level 5 poison Save or get Poisoned. Reaction: 1 sleeping, 2-3 bribe, 4-5 fight, 6 quest.
2	Flightless rotting dragon. Wreathed in offerings and grave goods meant to sooth its spirit. It didn't work. Level 6 dragon, 6 Life, treasure is sacrificial gifts worth 2d6 * 100 gp. Any character wounded by the dragon must make a level 4 poison Save or lose 1 additional Life due to an infected wound, and another level 4 poison Save or be Paralysed. Reaction: Always fight to death.
3	Four-winged storm dragon. Red lightning crackles across its scaly skin. Its every move reverberates with sharp winds. Level 6 dragon, 5 Life, 3 treasure rolls at +1. On each of its turns, roll a d6. On ⚀, the dragon claps its wings, causing a massive wind storm; all characters must make a level 6 hazard Save or take 1 damage. On ⚅, the dragon throws a lightning bolt at a random companion; the characters must make a level 6 magic Save or take 2 damage. Characters in heavy armour don't roll against either of these special attacks and take the damage automatically. Reaction: 1 sleeping, 2-5 bribe, 6 fight.
4	Crystal guardian dragon. A towering, winged figure, encased in glistening armour. It wields a gigantic sword of raw crystal. Level 7 dragon, 6 Life, 2 attacks, 2 treasure rolls at +2. Each attack of the dragon deals 2 damage. Once reduced to half Life, the dragon breathes a cloud of dust. The whole party must make a level 4 breath Save or be turned to crystal. Reaction: 1-4 threaten, 5 puzzle, 6 fight to death.
5	Divine serpent dragon. It has no wings, yet it coils through the air with an ease born of powerful magic. Level 7 dragon, 7 Life, 4 treasure rolls. On each of its turns, roll a d6 to see which spell the dragon casts: Word of Law: All characters must make a level 7 breath Save or take 1 holy damage. Heretic's Woe: A random character must make a level 5 magic Save or lose d3 Life. Heretic's Penance: A random character must make a level 5 magic Save or become Cursed. Cage of the Faithless: A random character must make a level 5 magic Save or fall asleep until the end of the encounter. Zeal of the Faithful: The dragon summons d6 cultists (level 4 minions). Immortal Glory: The dragon regains 1 LP. If at full Life, the dragon attacks normally instead. Reaction: 1 offer food and rest, 2 magical challenge, 3 quest, 4-5 sleeping, 6 bribe.
6	Starborn void dragon. The stars dance. The stars scream. The stars despise. This world is not worth even an afterthought. Level 8 dragon, 8 Life, 2 attacks, 2 treasure rolls and an Epic Reward. Before the fight begins, roll d6 to determine the special powers of the dragon: World Eater: The first time it is reduced to half Life, the dragon breathes in. The whole party must make a level 5 breath Save or lose 1 level. The dragon regains LP equal to the number of levels lost by the party. Blacklight: At the start of the encounter, the dragon breathes a beam of unseen light. The whole party must make a level 5 breath Save or be permanently blinded. Interstellar: Once reduced to half Life, the dragon breathes a cloud of interstellar gas. The whole party must make a level 3 breath Save or be frozen solid (and die). Starfall: Once reduced to half Life, the dragon flies high above and then plummets as a blazing meteorite. The whole party must make a level 4 hazard Save or take 3 damage. Starscream: At the start of the encounter, and then again when reduced to half Life, the dragon screams. The whole party must make a level 6 fear Save or take 1 point of Madness. Vacuum: Every round, the whole party must make a level 4 breath Save or take 1 damage from asphyxiation. Reaction: 1-5 sleeping, 6 fight to death.

When the party kills a true dragon, they may cut out its heart and take it back to Town as an additional treasure. There, a character may sacrifice the heart on the altar of the Dragon Cult to receive a random draconic gift. A character may only have a number of draconic gifts equal to their Level and should they roll one they already possess, no gift is gained from that heart.

d6	Draconic Gifts
1	Dragon Breath: Choose an element. Once per adventure, breathe to deal d3 damage, no roll required.
2	Dragon Roar: Once per adventure, roar with such ferocity that your foes immediately roll Morale.
3	Dragon Armaments: Your sharp claws and spiked tail count as martial weapons or a polearm, respectively (both grant +0 Attack), which cannot be disarmed, damaged or otherwise degraded. You may not wield anything to use them, though.
4	Dragon Eyes: You cannot be blinded (from darkness, curse, or such) and ignore invisibility.
5	Dragon Hide: Immunity to fire.
6	Dragon Wings: While in a room or outdoors, you are immune to traps and get +1 Defence, as you can fly out of the way.

A character who gains all draconic gifts transcends their humanity, becoming an ageless dragonkin.
 

A dragon heart from Elden Ring.

4AD: Traps

I have replaced the Room Contents result number 9 with "Roll for a random trap.", because traps are an interesting obstacle while empty rooms are boring.

First though, here is a generalized table of Saves, more or less derived from the non-specific rolls against danger present throughout the base rules of Four Against Darkness. A character's Saves depend on their class and Level, plus any bonuses from magic items. As with all risky rolls, a roll of ⚀ is always a failure.

d6	Save	Bonuses
1	Breath	All +L/2
2	Fear	Barbarian +L, Warrior +L/2
3	Gaze	Rogue +L/2; immune while blind
4	Hazard	Rogue +L, Halfling and Elf +1; armour light -1, heavy -2
5	Magic	Wizard +L, Elf +1, Barbarian -1
6	Poison	Halfling and Dwarf +L, Barbarian +L/2

A Cleric uses +L bonus for all Saves involving the undead; though frankly I may do away with Clerics, because I just don't like them.

From here.

 

Mark any traps on your map. They remain in the room and must be rolled against every time the party passes through there. A Rogue in the first row can attempt to disarm a trap before it hits anyone.

Obvious traps are, well, obvious and seen from afar. The party can choose to turn back rather than enter the room with an obvious trap, but if they want to cross the room, they have to bear the trap's effects.

If you encountered a treasure guarded by a trap (Room Contents #3), use the Obvious Traps table. Otherwise, roll d3 to see which table to use.

d6	Obvious Traps
1	Spiked pit: All characters trying to cross the pit have to make a level 4 hazard Save or fall in, taking 1 damage. Anyone who falls in must also make a level 4 poison Save or get Poisoned from the spikes.
2	Mimic. Does the chest... salivate? Level 4 aberration, 4 Life, 2 attacks, 2 treasure rolls. It's so bad at its job that the party can choose to ignore it. Reaction: Always fight to death.
3	Barricade: The path forward is blocked. If you want to go through, make a level 5 Brute check or use a Fireball to destroy it.
4	Magic field*: The whole party must make a level 3 magic Save or take 1 damage. The field is visible as an odd shimmering of the air.
5	Acid vent: A random character must make a level 3 hazard Save or have a random item from their inventory destroyed.
6	Dragon statue: The whole party must make a level 5 breath Save or take d3 damage.

d6	Hidden Traps I
1	Arrow trap: A random character must make a level 5 Defence roll or take 1 damage.
2	Poison dart: A random character must make a level 4 poison Save or get Poisoned.
3	Trapdoor: The character at position 1 must make a level 4 hazard Save or fall through the trapdoor, losing 2 LP. In addition, it will take another character to help the victim out of the trapdoor. If someone falls in a trapdoor and they are alone, they eventually die unless they can teleport out.
4	Agony rune*: A random character must make a level 2 magic Save or lose half their current Life (round remaining LP down).
5	Haunt*: A random character must make a level 4 fear Save or fall unconscious. An unconscious character comes round when they receive healing, or when taken out of the dungeon.
6	Giant serrated blade: A random character in the first row must make a level 5 Defence roll or take 2 damage.

d6	Hidden Traps II
1	Spear trap: Two random characters must make a level 3 hazard Save or take 1 damage.
2	Poison gas: The whole party must make a level 3 poison Save or get Poisoned.
3	Bear trap: A random character must make a level 4 hazard Save or take 1 damage. Until that damage is healed, they have an injured leg and take -1 to Attack, Defence and hazard Save.
4	Crossroads rune*: The whole party is randomly teleported. Roll a die over your map, the party reappears where it ends up. This might place them into a newly generated room.
5	Alarm: The light-bearer makes a level 3 hazard Save or sets off the alarm, forcing an encounter with wandering monsters. The monsters arrive aware of the party and roll their Reaction.
6	Giant falling stone block: A random character in the second row must make a level 5 hazard Save or take 2 damage.

*) Magic trap. Cannot be disarmed by a Rogue, but can be dispelled by a Wizard in the first row.

4AD: Magical Equipment

I've had rather little time lately, but I've picked up Four Against Darkness to play when on the train or in a useless Teams meeting. For those who haven't heard about it, it's a solo hack & slash dungeon crawler with procedurally generated dungeons and simple rules which requires only a single d6 (except for a few d66 rolls). It has lots of killing monsters and getting loot, but not really any role-playing unless you invent some yourself.

I especially like the dungeon generator. You have d66 small map pieces in the book and every time you arrive at the edge of an unexplored corridor, you roll for the next piece. It results in a much more interesting map than the many abstract dungeon generators seem to provide.

Anyway, I've already started house-ruling and tinkering with it. :)

From Dark Souls.

 

When you find a magic weapon as per the base rules, roll on the table below for a special effect in addition to the normal +1 Attack.

d6	Magic Weapon Enchantments
1	Flaming: Counts as fire damage where advantageous, serves as a lantern when wielded.
2	Crystal: Can be shattered for a devastating blow - roll 3d6 and keep the highest result.
3	Vorpal (if slashing): Die explodes on ⚅. Thunder (if crushing): On ⚅, the enemies are stunned by a thunderous blow and miss their next turn.
4	Slaying: Against specific monster type (d6), grants extra +1 Attack. Animals Aberrations Greenskins* Undead Demons Bosses
5	Runic: Imbued with a single spell that any class can use; roll randomly on the spell table. Recharges each adventure.
6	Cursed: Gives the same base bonus as other magic weapons, but also carries a curse. Once picked up (and if you're rolling on this table, you've picked it up), it must be always wielded and cannot be exchanged for another weapon. Bless spell allows the character to exchange the weapon, but doesn't remove the curse.

 
Unlike weapons, magic shields do not get a bonus to Defence, but they do get a special effect.

d6	Magic Shield Enchantments
1	Protection: Simply gives extra +1 Defence.
2	Parrying: When you roll ⚅ on a Defence roll, make a free bonus attack against the attacker.
3	Reflection: Once per adventure, reflect a spell or spell-like ability back at the caster.
4	Sentinel: Shatter to completely negate one attack of any kind, even against an ally.
5	Warning: The user can act before the monsters when the party is surprised.
6	Warding: Offers immunity to one damage type or effect (d6). Fire Poison and disease Paralysis and sleep Level drain Instant death effects Shaping**

*) Goblins, orcs, ogres, trolls.
**) Any magic that affects the physical form. For example polymorph, petrification, mutations, etc.