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A Random Article

By Alcritas

As I began to write this article, I found myself repeatedly plunging into incomprehensible technical nonsense, as I tried to explain how to create various outcomes. Well, no more! The random node, well done, can make your scenario very interesting, and very re-playable. My experience with the random node.

Kalloskagathos

I used the random node A LOT in this scenario, most notably to place the party in 1 of 16 different scenarios. As you enter the manor, a node is called that checks if you’ve picked a specific scenario to enter, if not it picks a random version for you. The entire concept of the scenario is based around this random pick, and it is one of the parts of Kalloskagathos that I think works very well. I also used the random node to alter the influence of Theodorus’ lab within the scenario. In most versions, you’ll encounter Theodorus in his lab, and after you’ve killed him one of three outcomes will occur — 1. Nothing happens, 2. Theodorus turns into a Lich, but then falls apart again, 3. Theodorus turns into a Lich and fights the party. Once I finally got this to work, I liked it a lot. It varies up the scenarios a bit, and even after you’ve played through the scenario a bunch, you never know quite what will happen.
Unfortunately, I also proved that the random node can be used to diminish the quality of a scenario in Kalloskagathos. A lot of the evidence that was hidden was tied to random nodes before you could find it — whenever you searched the flower pot where Isabella’s letters were located, you only had a 35% or so chance of finding them. In concept, this was intended to make the scenario more realistic — things that are hidden aren’t easily found. In retrospect, I think it does help the realism, but at a huge cost of playability, potentially making the scenario very frustrating. My advice — DON’T hide things with the random node, unless they are TOTALLY optional.

Of Good And Evil

Most of the random node use in Of Good And Evil is tied to sound effects encountered at various portions. The sounds of battle at both the Slith and Godan Fort, as well as the dripping sounds in the Mushroom Caves and Foreboding Tunnel are both set on a timer, which checks a series of random numbers every four or five moves, and for every “hit” plays the corresponding sound or sounds. I like this technique, but I advise making the hit chances low (5–15%), or you’ll overdue it. Spy’s Quest uses this technique while the party is outdoors, playing random bird chirps. Personally, I DIDN’T like this use, after thirty seconds it got old, but I was stuck hearing it through the entire scenario. A Sound FX node should look like this:
Town Event Timer calls node # 1 every 7 (or so) moves
  1. If SDF X is at least 1 go to 2, otherwise do nothing (You may or may not need this node, allows you to turn on and off the sounds whenever you desire — e.g., sounds of battle don’t occur until after the Slith Fort is under attack.)
  2. If Random Number is less than X% then go to 3, otherwise go to 4
  3. Play Sound, go to 4
  4. If Random Number is less than X% then go to 5, otherwise do nothing (End Chain)
  5. Play Sound (End Chain)
Redemption
The biggest change in use of the random node in Redemption was incorporating to reveal towns randomly. The Troll bridge, the small respite, and many of the ambushes in the Konax Caverns are all triggered via random nodes. I made this work by hiding all of those towns initially, and then calling very simply random specials on the squares near them:
  1. If Random Number is less than X then go to 2, otherwise do nothing.
  2. Reveal Town

What else can you use the random for? Providing a comprehensive list would be impossible. This is literally one of the few places in designing BOE scenarios where your imagination is essentially your only limit. Rather than fruitlessly trying to list potential ideas, I’ll leave that up to you, and just provide some basic models to get you started.
Each example below presumes the scenario designer wants an equal probability of each distinct outcome. If not, adjust the chances accordingly.
Two Alternatives
  1. If Random Number is less than 50 go to 2, Otherwise go to 3
  2. Set SDF X to 1.(End Chain)
  3. Set SDF X to 2 (End Chain)

Three Alternatives
  1. If Random Number is less than 33 go to 2, Otherwise go to 3
  2. Set SDF X to 1 (End Chain)
  3. If Random Number is less than 50 go to 4, Otherwise go to 5
  4. Set SDF X to 2 (End Chain)
  5. Set SDF X to 3 (End Chain)

Four Alternatives
  1. If Random Number is less than 50 go to 2, Otherwise go to 3
  2. If Random Number is less than 50 go to 4, Otherwise go to 5
  3. If Random Number is less than 50 go to 6, Otherwise go to 7
  4. Set SDF X to 1 (End Chain)
  5. Set SDF X to 2 (End Chain)
  6. Set SDF X to 3 (End Chain)
  7. Set SDF X to 4 (End Chain)

Five Alternatives
  1. If Random Number is less than 20 go to 2, Otherwise go to 3
  2. Set SDF X to 1(End Chain)
  3. If Random Number is less than 50 go to 4, Otherwise go to 5
  4. If Random Number is less than 50 go to 6, Otherwise go to 7
  5. If Random Number is less than 50 go to 8, Otherwise go to 9
  6. Set SDF X to 2 (End Chain)
  7. Set SDF X to 3 (End Chain)
  8. Set SDF X to 4 (End Chain)
  9. Set SDF X to 5 (End Chain)

Six Alternatives
  1. If Random Number is less than 33 go to 2, Otherwise go to 5
  2. If Random Number is less than 50 go to 3, Otherwise go to 4
  3. Set SDF X to 1 (End Chain)
  4. Set SDF X to 2 (End Chain)
  5. If Random Number is less than 50 go to 6, Otherwise go to 7
  6. If Random Number is less than 50 go to 8, Otherwise go to 9
  7. If Random Number is less than 50 go to 10, Otherwise go to 11
  8. Set SDF X to 3 (End Chain)
  9. Set SDF X to 4 (End Chain)
  10. Set SDF X to 5 (End Chain)
  11. Set SDF X to 6 (End Chain)
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