Wolf-packs actual play review

On, Wolf-packs and Winter Snows, I love reading this game, just full of great writing and great ideas. On the Downside, I am underwhelmed by the skill system, just trying to roll a 1 or 2 on a d6 is not a great system. Just saying. Otherwise I just absolutely love it as much as I did when I first picked it up. I ran it for the first time a few years back. Ran a short two-shot in between running other games. The players agreed to play it because they were curious about it. They had fun, but thought the system could use more depth as far as character creation was concerned. Otherwise they thought it was a decent game but were not in love with the prehistoric setting like I was. 

Wolf-packs and Winter Snows: Equipment Printout for Players

Equipment

Item	Details
Alcoholic drinks	Can provide a day’s drinking water in a pinch, at risk of intoxication.
Bag of pitch	Can be thrown, potentially setting items or combatants on fire. Rare.
Basket	Useful for carrying supplies.
Bedroll	Helps you get restful enough sleep to heal.
Beeswax	A light weight item.
Blade venom [1]	A light weight and rare item.
Bound spell item[2]	Magicians only, rare item.
Chalk	A light item.
Cooking pots	For cooking, herbalism and things like that.
Coracle	A small wicker boat, large enough for a single person, a rare item.
Cordage	Fifty feet, a light weight item.
Cured meat	Enough for one person, for one day.
Diving materials	Scattered as part of a divining spell. A light weight item.
Drill	A light weight item.
Drum	Can be used to signal over long distances.
Equipment belt[3]	Can have up to two items tucked into it. A light item.
Fishing kit	Hook and line for catching fish. A light weight item.
Flute	Useful if you need to appear sensitive and artistic.
Hammock	Helps you get restful enough sleep to heal.
Healing kit	+1 bonus to Medicine skill rolls to treat injuries, rare item.
Heavy fur clothing	Mitigates the effects of cold weather.
Jewelry	A light weight and rare item, and a sign of high status.
Lamp	Burns animal fat with a wick. Has a d10 light dice. A light wt. item.
Needle and thread	Good for sewing things like clothes or wounds. A light weight item.
Pigments	+1 bonus to Art rolls to create items. A light weight and rare item.
Poison[4]	Five doses, A light weight and rare item.
Roots and grains	Five days of food for one person, must be cooked.
Rope	50 foot.
Sack	A light weight item.
Shovel	Used for digging.
Skis	Negate speed penalties for moving over deep snow.
Sled[5]	Counts as one item for encumbrance, even when fully loaded.
Stone working tools	+1 on Craft skills when flint knapping.
Ten-foot pole	Counts as two items for encumbrance.
Tent	Big enough for two people, protects against weather when sleeping.
Tinderbox	A light weight and rare item.
Torch	Has a d12 light dice.
Veil	Protects against insect swarms and snow blindness. A light wt. item.
Water skin	Holds enough water for one day.
Waxed cloak	Protects against wet weather.
Whistle	Used to signal over long distances, a light weight item.
Wooden spikes	Ten wooden spikes, for holding tents down or vampires.
Wood working tools	+1 or Craft skill rolls when working with wood.

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[1] Victim must make a Save vs Poison or take a d12 additional damage to Flesh.

[2] A single use item that holds a single spell that the magician knows.

[3] Items tucked into the belt may be drawn as a free action.

[4] If ingested make a Save vs Poison or take 2d12 damage to Flesh.

[5] Fully loaded a character can drag up to their Strength in encumbrance as one item.

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Crap on the Borderlands; The Gate

A quick random table for what's happening when the characters are at the gates.

Encounters at the Gate:

1	Caravan from Specularum (Horses, mules, wagons, men)
2	Courier dropping off messages
3	Patrol returning (1-5 routine, 6 Interesting tidbit)
4	Wagon of vegetables being searched upon entry by 3 guards and corporal/sgt.
5	Corporal of the guards and two guards chatting
6-8	Nothing interesting, 2 guards on duty
9	Stable boys playing; 1-3 Knights, 4-6 kick the ball, in the courtyard
10	Castellian, guards are being; 1-2 Disciplined, 3-6 Inspected
11	Adventuring group (always add to the tavern scene at night)
12	Caravan from Yavdlom (3d6 camels, 2d6 men)

B/X Skill System

A variant skill system for B/X based on the skill system created by Simrion over on the Dragonsfoot forum. http://www.dragonsfoot.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=15923

Player assigns the following points (3, 2, 1) to three categories to fill out their background knowledge. The other two categories the character has almost no knowledge of.

After gaining a level a player may choose to raise a subcategory of any skill, even one that the character does not have any previous skill. This represent the characters learning, either through contact with, conversations with others, or through study of the subject. They may never gain more than two raises in any given sub skill (which is always added to the main skill when making a check).

Roll a d6 to make a skill check, the skill total or less is a success.

Noble	ooo
		oo Heraldry, etiquette, law
		oo Court, fashion, fine art, dancing and faux pas
		oo Taxes, trade, bureaucracy
		oo Diplomacy, debate, oratory, plotting and scheming
		oo Warfare, strategy, engineering
Rural	ooo
		oo Animal Husbandry, herding
		oo Food processing, preservation, brewing
		oo Farming, plants, seasons
		oo Woodworking, crafting, repair, tanning
		oo Construction of houses, barns, fences etc
Urban	ooo
		oo Street smarts (spotting cons, traps, hucksters, thieves)
		oo Contacts
		oo Urban navigation, bureaucracy
		oo Professional craft, guilds, commerce
		oo Gambling, gaming, cheating
Esoterica	ooo
		oo Religious Philosophy, doctrine, scripture
		oo Arcane theory, philosophy
		oo Magical creatures, realms, astronomy
		oo Alchemy, magical items and substances
		oo History, ancient societies, mathematics
Wilderness	ooo
		oo Tracking, Hunting, stealth, skinning
		oo Foraging, trapping, water witching
		oo Shelters, fire starting
		oo Bush craft, camouflage, hiding
		oo Crafting