So I was browsing Star City Games and I found this article and its resulting disscussion. It's about a person discouraging a high level of optimization in the casual format he created. That set off a fairly large online discussion where people with different play styles collided; sounds familiar? While I can use this to springboard into a dozen different topics, I'm gonna focus on one specific thing; the pros and cons of centralized and/or local rulings.

Centralized rulings are when a central authority creates the rules. In Dungeons and Dragons, the RPGA would be the most obvious example. Local rulings is just a weird term I made up to mean House Rules. You know, when a group creates their own rules to modify the game more to their liking. Through out D&D’s history, both approaches have been used in varying degrees. Each approach has its advantages and weaknesses.

The main strength of centralized rulings is commonality. Commonality is very important. Having a focused set of ideas is required in order to construct something with a solid foundation. Enworld exists because we have something in common; D&D. We all agree D&D is a fantasy roleplaying game and we all like fantasy roleplaying so we formed this community around that. It’s important to have a common basis to work with.

Centralized rulings does have its flaws though. If you don’t like what the centralized ruling is, you options are limited. Many don’t like 4th Edition because thy disagree with the rules WOTC made. Centralized rulings are also lead to less flexibility. A common basis isn’t common if no one follow it. Centralized rulings does place limits on what you can do.

The alternative is local rulings aka “House rules” or “DM’s judgment.” The strengths of this approach is flexibility and customizability. With this approach, you can get exactly what you want because you make it yourself for yourself. Some people enjoy the “do it yourself” approach.

Local rulings also have their flaws. Making your own rules requires that the rule maker have both the skillset and the time to do so. Not everyone has the time to devote to tinkering nor the ability to do it well. You also have to deal with everyone having different opinions on how to do something. What do you when your friend wants to play a Dwarf in your Dwarf-free game? If you’re gonna customize your game, you’re gonna have to re-explain it every time you get a new player and that can get tiring. Local rulings requires work; too much work for some people.

Obviously, this issue is fairly complex. D&D has never been completely one or other. It has always been some combination of the two. 3.5, despite being hailed for it customizability, probably wasn’t designed with the Batman Wizard or Codzilla in mind. 4th Edition, despite being considered limited, does satisfy a good deal of players and is an another option for play groups to choose from. It’s definitely not as black and white as I may make it appear to be. I wrote it that way to help explain the concepts.

What type of rulings you want to accept depends largely on your goals and gaming philosophy. The author of the mentioned article, being a founder of the format, always had the option of simply banning the elements (aka certain Magic cards) that he felt was hurting the format. Yet he choose not too. He felt that even though those elements were easily abuseable, that banning them would deny people who weren’t abusing them the right to use those elements. It’s suppose to be a casual format, and in the spirit and intention of being a casual format, less formal rules are better. If you know your goal, you can pick the best approach for it.

MichaelSomething

When Raven Crowking announced that he was making his own RPG, I made a promise to myself that I would write a review of it once it finally came out. Lo and behold, he did so here I am. After reading through it, this is my review of Raven Crowking’s Fantasy Game (RCFG). To state the obvious, it’s a role playing game written by Raven Crowking.

On one level, the RCFG is simply yet another Fantasy Heartbreaker. That means that while the creator did pour his heart and soul into the project and came up with a few innovative ideas; it is mostly a rehash of traditional D&D concepts. Seriously, I felt like I read it all before. I think he typed it all up himself but it’s hard to tell since it’s so much like previous D&D material. The heartbreak occurs when the game is ignored by the public due to a combination of no brand name and being very similar to D&D itself. Most RPG players will generally go “why play this when we can just play D&D instead?”

On another level, RCFG is like Pathfinder. It may be very similar to D&D, but that is entirely intentional. It contains a lot of subtle changes you won’t notice unless you look for them or see them in actual play. It also has the much more realistic goal of attracting a small subset of roleplayers who feel disenfranchised with D&D as done by WOTC.

Looking at the system itself, the first thing that sticks out is how old-school it is. Every class gains minions/followers, literature is regularly quoted, and a third of the book is just for spells :P The art, layout, and general voice of the whole work is all about the old-school sensibilities. Yet if you look, you can see influences of new-school design ideas. Martial characters can regularly choose talent/options; abilities actually scale well, and there are even mechanics that resemble/simulate healing surges and skill challenges. You’ll also notice the level of detail for things. I’m surprised (in a good way) by rules for cover fire; then I’m amazed at why I haven’t seen them sooner. There’s also rules for guns and siege weapons if you’re into that type of thing. It certainly cover its bases.

The combat system deserves special mention for being a fairly unique system. For one, all characters can naturally use different attack styles, focusing on hitting, damage, defense, etc. depending on the weapon. This reduces the need for feats, which don’t exist in this game (by the way). Initiative is rolled every round to determine how many actions a character has (higher int = more actions). Creative use of skills in combat (or stunting) is strongly encouraged. I’m not gonna explain every detail of the combat system. It’s fairly unique but not too hard to learn if your willing to read through it.

If you are planning on reading through it, I suggest you start on page 96, the "Exploration and Adventuring" chapter. That and the following sections put considerable focus on things like adventuring advice, RPG philosophy, the concept of magic, and stuff of that ilk. You know; fluff. If you’re the type who has to have reading material in their RPG games, this is the place for you. There are also plenty of asides and boxes that explain the idea behind the rule or game theory and are also worth checking out. For example, there one section that has rules for sacrificing people to pay the EXP cost for spells (heh heh heh). It’s a solid, if basic, treatment of traditional fantasy adventure.

That last sentence basically sums up RCFG to a large extent. If you’re looking for that type of thing, you could do a good deal worse. Chances are, you’re not gonna end up playing this game. I’m not saying it’s a bad game for playing. I just can’t say how well it plays until I actually play it. I know I’ll never find three to five players who both know about RCFG and are willing to play it. If you manage to do so; you sir, have a higher diplomacy score then I do. Most likely, you’ll probably just read it and maybe steal a few ideas for your own game. If you don’t mind the Déjà vu, there is a good deal of ideas to mine. It’s also solid RPG reading material.

One thing I would like to note is that the version I’m reviewing is the “Pre-Release Release” or Alpha version. That means it’s not done yet so expect revisions and additions in the future. However, it is largely complete; except for an introduction and maybe a clearer explanation of the morale rules. It may require minor tweaks unless a problem arises during play. On the whole though, it covers everything an RPG should cover and then some.

The last thing I would like to note that is largely a one man project. Putting out a two hundred page plus Open Gaming Licensed project for free (say that five times fast!) takes a lot dedication and hard work. Say what you will about the project; simply getting this far is worth some credit and he’s not even done yet. It seem Raven Crowking is planning to put out a Monster Book as well as an “RCFG Game Master’s Handbook” sometime in the future. Looks like he’s not done yet; not by a long shot…

MichaelSomething

A Battle of Wits

Set-Up
Skill Challenge Level: Variable
Complexity:3
Number of Successes:9
Number of Failures:3
Primary Skills: Bluff, Diplomacy, Insight
Important NPCs: Your foe, a mysterious man dressed only in black; the hostage(s)

Let’s suppose you and your opponent were unable to act against each other due one or the other having a hostage. You are unable to reach an arrangement, and therefore, are at an impasse. To break this impasse, your foe challenges you to a battle of wits; for the hostage(s); and to the death. He pours two glasses of wine and then pulls out a small vial before saying the following. “This is Iocane powder. It is odorless, tasteless, and dissolves instantly in liquid, and is among the more deadly poisons known to man.” He then takes both glasses and turns his back towards you. A moment later he returns both glasses to a nearby table. “All right; where is the poison? The battle of wits has begun. It ends when you decide and we both drink, and find out who is right, and who is dead.”

Skill Challenge

Bluff (DC Hard): A well placed lie is always useful when playing mind games. However, this masked man is no fool and will not be easily tricked.

Diplomacy (DC Hard or Normal): Talking is always an option when dealing with people. If the PC(s) use diplomacy in order to discern clues about which cup is poisoned use the hard DCs and limit them to two successes with this skill. The masked man is not willing to give away much if any information. If the PC(s) persue a peaceful compromise to end the impasse use the normal DCs. If four successes are achieved this way, the skill challenge immediately ends due to the PC(s) and the masked man reaching an agreement of some type.

Insight (DC Normal): By observing the masked man, you can learn his dispostion and motives. Up to three successes can be achieved this way. After each success, give the PCs one of the followin tibits...

1. The masked man is still willing to persue a peacful solution to the situation. The PC(s) learn that Diplomacy can still be used to achieve a compromise.

2. The masked man is both smart and wise. The PC(s) learn that Bluff is set at the Hard DC.

3. The masked man is quite calm and relaxed for a life or death situation; perhaps too relaxed?

Nature (Normal DC): Knowledge about the poison may be helpful. The PC(s) can learn where the posion comes from as well as other trivia related to it. The DM generally should customize the information to suit his/her campaign world. A successful check does not count as a success (or failure) but does add a +2 bonus to the next Insight check made.

Streetwise (Normal DC): PC(s) can use their knowledge of local culture (or any knowledge skill, depending on how the PCs justsify it) to figure out the masked man's mindset. A successful check does not count as a success (or failure) but does add a +2 bonus to the next check made.

Of course, the DM can allow other skills to be used if PC(s) can jusify their reasoning for using it well enough and/or roleplay it out in an entertaining manner.

Ending the Challenge

Success: The PC(s) successfully aquire nine successes trying to figure out which cup is poisioned, they instead figured out that battle of wits is a shell game. In that event, the PC(s) and the masked man are back at square one. If the PC(s) aquire four diplomacy checks trying to reach a peaceful settlement, then they do so. The terms of the agreement is left up to the PC(s) and DM to decide.

Failure: If the PC(s) have drank from any of the glasses; they gussed wrong. Both cups of wine were poisioned. The masked man has developed an immunity to the posion. By drinking from any wine cup, they fell for the trap. The posion takes its full effect on the PC(s).

Experience Points

If successful, the PC(s) earn expereince points equal to defeating three monster at the level of the Skill Challenge.

Customizing the Skill Challenge

Based upon a Dungeon Master's needs, the DM may need to alter the Skill Challenge. He/she may remove the option to come to a compromise via diplomacy. The DM should also consider what to do if the PCs complete the skill challenge and return to the previous impasse. Lastly, the DM may wish to alter the effect of the poision. The Skill Challenge assume the poision is strictly instant death but it can easily be changed to do other things like drain healing surges, curse a PC, or be a very slow acting poison requiring a rare herb to cure (and requiring adventuring to find).

MichaelSomething

If there’s one thing I find strange, it’s 3.5 (as in the 3.5 Edition of Dungeons and Dragons) players who don‘t like 4E as well as the 3.5 Bard class(I imagine it's a small group if it exists at all but just go with me for a moment). As a person who played a 3.5 Bard from levels one to nine; I feel that it is my duty to defend this classic class. The Bard may seem like it doesn’t fit in 3.5 but I must disagree with them. In fact, the Bard is the embodiment of the 3.5 philosophy! To reject the Bard is to reject 3.5 itself! The reasons for this are varied and many; and listed below…


1. The Bard defies the rigidness of the “role.” While all 4E classes are designed to fit snuggly into one of the pre-defined roles; the Bard rejects them wholesale. Who’s to say what the Bard can and cannot do! The Bard is capable of doing fighting, healing, arcane support, or skill use during a single session, nay, a single hour even! The Bard is also free to pursue any specialty s/he pleases! Thanks to the endless supply of 3.5 Prestige Classes, it is possible for a Bard to transform themselves into whatever they desire! When you are a Bard, there is no limit to what you can do!

2. Bards have freedom of character! While every 4E class is a cappable action hero, the Bard is capable of rejecting that premise for an entirely different one! For Gygax's sake, you walk into dungeons and SING at people. Who can take that seriously?

3. The Bard's power level is completely customizable! While 4E classes are generally designed to all be within the same level of effectiveness, the Bard can become as powerful or as weak as the player desires! The Bard may appear weak to some players but this can easily be addressed! WOTC has released over a dozen splat books over the life of 3.5. Almost every book contains an option that can increase the Bard's power level! You simple take more options until you reach the level of power that you desire. It's perfect for rewarding players who enjoy examining the system or those who have large RPG book collections.

4. The Bard class caters to different play styles. While every 4th Edition class is designed to be usable by every player in nearly every campaign, the Bard is a totally different play experience for those who seek soemething new and refreshing. While some people may never feel the need to play a Bard, it is there for those who wish to experience a more artistic character.


It should be clear that the Bard is a vital part of 3.5! I say one cannot truely understand 3.5 until they played a Bard for themselves. The Bard is the embodiment of freedom in character creation. It will always be a part of Dungeons and Dragons. After all, someone has to provide the soundtrack...

MichaelSomething

There I was, playing the Song of Ice and Fire RPG at an older friend's house. It was a standard warm-up session. Characters were rolled up and we when through a combat and some social action to get used to the system. I was very tire so I couldn't really get into it, but it was fun and I was looking forward to future sessions. The Song of Ice and Fire is a good change in pace for those who tire of D&D but still enjoy fantasy roleplaying.

Afterwords, we hung out and talked about stuff to pass the time before we parted ways. Inevitably we talked about RPGs, including D&D. Since we were all talking about it, the older friend decided to pull something out of his gaming closet to show us. What he showed us was the White Box. THE. WHITE. BOX.. Also known as OD&D; the first and original Dungeons and Dragons product. I never thought I would actually see it. I felt like I was staring as some lost ancient treasure. This thing was in mint condition too. It wasn't worn down to torn as all. It looked like it opened for the very first time. It was shocking and incredible at the same time.

The first thing I said was, "Wow, you should sell that thing! You would make a killing!" The older friend responded by saying, "yeah, relatively speaking." He knew he could get a nice hunk of change by selling it online. He said he got that during his college days. If he wanted to sell it, he would have done so earlier. However, as a collector's items, it could very well be considered priceless.

The White box consists of a white cardboard box with several small booklets in it. Each booklet covered a different part of the rules. One of the booklets that caught my eye was the one for BlackMoor, the original setting. I grabbed a random book and began to read and look through it. I was only able to read a part of the first intro page. If given enough time, I might have read all of it. It must really be an enjoyable read.

My younger friend (and the Game master for the game) was also awe-stuck by The White Box. I can clearly remember him saying that it was awesome. I feel the same way. To be in the presence of the White Box is to stare at a piece of history. It goes far beyond cool. In fact, calling it cool would severally understate how amazing it is. Diaglo is right; all others pale in comparison to OD&D.

MichaelSomething

Being an online community, one of the favorite pasttimes is to argue about all sorts of issues. If you look back, you can find threads where people discuss everything including Magic Items, the failures of an RPG company, historicial resources, and even why Flumphs are the best monsters ever. However, there is a vital issue that has always been ignored. In all my time here at Enworld, I never saw a single thread discussing this issue that needs to be talked about. Since no one else will ask this question, I will. In the name of the D20 I ask... What is tax deductible?

In the US, business expenses are generally tax deducitible. Can a person working in the RPG industry deduct the cost of RPG purchases from their taxes? If so, which purchases are deductible and which are not? What does it take to qualify yourself for getting these deductions? Do you require a full time position at an RPG company or can a freelance writer make these claims? Can getting a single article published be enough to get in on this action? Is it possible to write off an Enworld Community Supporter Account as a business expense? How can a person make it so that the gaming stuff they buy is also a tax write off?

I guess only an accountant can truely answer those questions. I'm sure we have some accountants here on Enworld who can provide some insights. If we have lawyers here, we surely must have at least one accountant who enjoys being an elf once in a while. I know I'm not an accountant. If I was, I would know the answers to the questions I'm asking.

MichaelSomething

Avast! Today be International Talk like a Pirate Day! The day were you well, talk like a pirate! This is the day where we all can be swashbucklers and make scurry dogs walk the plank! The day where booty grabbin' is perfectly acceptable and "r" become the most used letter of the alphabet.

Normally, September 19th is the only day where one can talk like a pirate with built in justificiation. However, I get to talk like a pirate on a semi-regular basis! How do I accomplish such a feat, you may ask? It because I roleplay a pirate in one of the D&D campaigns I playin! Since I've been doing it for months I like to think I got a good grasp of the concept. To celebrate International Talk like a Pirate day, I'll be giving you some advice on how to roleplay a pirate!

1. Talk like a pirate! You can't be a pirate without the proper lingo! The International Talk like a Pirate day website (click the link above to access) is a great place to start learning how. It be full of all sorts of Pirate knowledge that will transform even the biggest landlubber into a fearsome terror of the seas!

2. Dress up like a pirate! Sounding like a pirate is great and all, but there's so much more you can do. By wearing pirate clothes, people will look at you and think, "that be a pirate, ARRRRR!" Why, even a humble eyepatch will do wonders for getting that pirate mode established! If ye be wantin' more, ye have plenty of options so why not go all out? Handhooks, stuffed shoulder parrots, a pirate hat, and a badanna are just a few of the options aviaible to you! Consider going to a costume shop and buy a premade pirate costume if ye need one quickly. Roleplaying a pirate will be much easier once you look like a pirate!

3. For those of you who which to mechiancally represent your pirateness, that be an easy task. No matter the edition, you be wantin' to play some combination of Fighter and Rogue. It be the perfect combination of fightin' and style required for being a pirate. Once you be gettin' into the higher levels, ye should consider takin' the "Dread Pirate" Prestige Class from the Complete Adventurer if 3rd Edition be your game. 4th Edition players would be wise as the seas to check out the "Sword Coast Corsiar" from the Forgotten Realms Player's Guide.

If you follow this advice, you'll be a Man (or Women) of the Sea in no time flat!

MichaelSomething

Well I DM’ed two and half more sessions of The Forgotten Portal adventure. I should have blogged after one session but I forgot to. Oh well. In case you have no idea what’s going on, the short story is that my players have to get through a dungeon to kill some guy, save a village, and maybe get some stuff in the process. You can read the previous entries if you’re interested in things like the plot.

What amazes me is how quickly they were able to progress through the second half of the adventure. It took four sessions to get through the first half and only two sessions to get through the second half. That’s a big change. Part of it could be the group being able to assemble and start quickly. Another factor is the fact that the challenges they faced included puzzles as well as combat. Combat always has the chance to just drag on an on. Puzzles, even when there’s errors, tend to not take too long.

And I made my share of errors, believe you me. I didn’t pre-read the adventure closely right before I ran it. When you’re running an adventure that is heavy on the puzzles, you need to pre-read it to understand all the details about it. I didn’t, so I had problems understanding what the characters had to do as well as telling them the information that they needed to know. That really was a pothole on the road to adventure.

I also had some problems running the combats oddly enough. I just have trouble keeping track of all the different modifiers and “fiddley” bit. However, when it comes to board gaming, I enjoy complex games with lots of fiddley bits. I play Agricola and Le Harve for Gygax’s sake! Why can’t I run a 4E combat?!? I don’t know. Maybe it could be because when I DM, I can’t focus on just the game mechanics. I have to focus on a bunch of other things during a session (you know, like that plot). I don’t get every detail but I like to imagine that I get close enough for jazz.

Even though running the adventure has some bumps along the way, it also had it’s share of cool, fun stuff. Highlights include players finding their characters prone on the ceiling, accidentally pulling the correct chain (instead of one triggering a trap) on a suicide attempt, and a Princess’ Bride reference. “The game” encounter really stands out to me since it really benefits from 4th Edition focus on tactical movement. The final battle was fun too. I got to throw a bunch of hell Panthers right around the defenders and on the party bard. I managed to get that bard to spend eight healing surges in that battle alone. Have you ever had an encounter where anyone spent eight healing surges? Yet they managed to win even though there was only four of them. They are (mostly) good optimizers.

Now that I’m done Dming for the moment, I’ll turn over the reigns to my friend. This campaign was originally his and I bet he’s ready to step behind the screen again. He plans on starting things over by having everyone write up new 7th level characters. I wrote up a hybrid Paladin/Warlord and I think she’ll turn out to be a good character. Expect a blog post detailing her backstory some time in the future (if I don’t forget to do it).

MichaelSomething

Even though I should be writing more productive things, I’m short on blogging material at the moment, so it’s time for more character fiction! This fiction is designed to supplement a campaign so don't be suprised if you're wondering what's going on.
　
Aronat walked into the blacksmith’s area. Despite the fact that he walked through those doors a thousand times, he felt as if this was the first time he entered it. In stead of the well organized blacksmith’s shop, it was where a battle has taken place. Blood stained the wall and debris was scattered on the floor.

“Some of the Orcs must have made it here.” Aronat thought to himself as he surveyed the area. He was the only one here. Normally the master blacksmith would be advising the cleanup after an event like this; but not today. Today he was in mourning. Aronat knew that Sunlance has died in the attacks. Although Sunlance lacked the eyes of the master and technical expertise Aronaut had, her lost was still quite painful; for Sunlance was the shop’s heart.

“Time to clean up,” Aronat said to himself as he grabbed a broom and placed Ichigo next to an undamaged part of the walls. The first step was to sweep up the place. As Aronat sweep a voice called out to him. “What are you doing?” it quietly asked. Aronat ignored the voice and continued sweeping. A couple of minutes later he heard “What are you doing”, but it was a bit louder this time. Aronat kept sweeping. After a while, the voice had enough of being ignored. It shouted with all it’s might, “WHAT… ARE… YOU… DOING?!?”

“Oh, Ichigo, it’s you,” Aronat quietly acknowledged. Normally Aronat was more then happy to converse with Ichigo but not today.
“I can’t believe you,” Ichigo said in disgust. “So many people are dead! So many lives are lost! So many hearts are broken! Yet all you can do is SWEEP THE STUPID FLOOR!?!”
“Of course not,” Aronat responded, “I’ll also need to clean the blood off the walls.” Ichigo screamed in frustration.

Aronat grabbed a bucket and walked towards the small water reserve that was held in the shop. As he looked over the water, he saw that it was contaminated with blood. He grabbed another bucket and headed over to the well. A short while later, he returned to the shop with two buckets full of clean water. Hopefully, it would be all he needed to clean the shop.

“What is wrong with you?!?” Ichigo screamed. “Of all the things to do now, you’re Frak’in (I use a curse word here but you all know about Eric’s Grandma) cleaning! Those monsters must be stopped before they can hurt any more people!”
“So what would you do if you were the one in control? Run off and single-handily take on an entire encampment by yourself? Do you honestly think you can take on a hundred orcs by yourself?”
“Anything has to be better then staying here and sweeping the stupid floor!”
“Yet the floor needs to be swept.”
“Screw the floor! Worry about it later!”
“This could be the last time I can worry about this floor.”
“Good! Let someone else worry about the floor.”
“But you see, no one else will. Times are changing, Ichigo. We are entering an age of darkness. I have no idea when we will see the light but I know this; to see that light we must do our part. It is obvious I will be in active service from now on. The Master will have to run the shop by himself until new appertenices can be brought in or trained. With things heating up, he’ll be busier then ever.”
“We both know if anyone can handle, the Master can.”
“He wouldn’t have to if it wasn’t for me.”
“Huh?”

“I should have said no to Captain Leafrunner. I should have never volunteered for that mission. I should have done my duty. If I was here I could have protected SunLance. I could have saved her! Instead I went on some dumb adventure. I killed her!”

Aronat collapsed to the floor as he began to cry. “Oh SunLance!” Aronat cried, “You were truly the brightest light in the village! You were always the most popular. Your smile was as warming as the sun. Everyone loved you. You were pratically the Master’s adopted daughter! Even my stupid sword likes you more then me! Why did you have to die.” Aronat sopped as he punched the wall in anger and pain.

Ichigo was stunned into silence. He was always the loud, emotional one while Aronat was quite and thoughtful. To see his partner break down like that was an unusual event. Aronat was always clam and looking for the best way to solve the problem. Now there he was overwhelmed with grief and pain. All he could do was watch Aronat cry. After Aronat punched the door of the Master’s office; Ichigo noticed a small letter for Aronat from the Master.

“Hey Aronat, I think the Master left a letter for you,” Ichigo stated.
Aronat wiped the tears from his eyes as he grabbed the letter. He opened it and began to read from it…

Dear Aronat,

As I suspected, you are here cleaning up. As always, you are focused on ensuring things are working well. I thank you for taking the time to clean up after the attack. I can always count on you to get things done. However, there is one thing I would like for you to do right now. I want you to attend Sunlance’s funeral. If you hurry you can still make it. It is important to do things like that. I know that you are worried about how the shop will do. Well don’t be. I’ll be fine by myself. We must do what is most important. Right now the most important thing to do is say goodbye. You need to do this, even if you don’t want to. I’ll see you there.

With love and sorrow,
Master Blacksmith Moon Whispers

P.S. Sunlance had a gift for you in the third drawer on the left of her desk.

Aronat sprinted towards Sulance’s desk and pulled out the contents from the drawer. After a short but frantic search, he discovered an anklet with a sun emblem on it.

“Strange,” Aronat wondered, “It seems the sun emblem is forged from material coming from you, Ichigo. Why would she do such a thing? And how did she talk you into it in the first place?”
“Well she asked real nicely, okay! She said it was important and needed to be done! Now drop it!” Ichigo yelled.

Aronat knew not to press the issue further. He was still curious on why SunLance would pull a stunt like that. Giving Aronat jewelry made from Ichigo is like giving a guy a watch made his brother’s finger bones. However, they both knew that Sunlance would never act in malice. This must be a good reason for doing this, even if none of them knew it at the time.

“Come Ichigo, we must go,” Aronat quietly said as he put on the anklet.
“I thought you wanted to clean up the place.” Ichigo bitterly stated.
“That’s not important now.”
“So you finally agree with me on that.”
“Yes.”
“So let’s go prevent another tragedy like this from happening!”
“We will, but not today.”
“What could possibly be more important then that?”
“I must say goodbye first.”
“Oh, I see. I guess that is important too.”

Aronat picked up Ichigo and left the blacksmith shop. He began walking towards where everyone was mourning. Now it was his turn to mourn.

MichaelSomething

This is my 50th blog post! Huzzah! This is a milestone if there every was one! Time to celebrate. Normally for these types of things, you're suppose to do a big event or something special. I originally planed on doing a blot post about making a F.A.T.A.L character as a ridiculous promotional stunt. My experience on the internet taught me that doing things that are torturous to yourself always draws a decent crowd. However, to get the F.A.T.A.L. rule set, I need to use a torrent. I’m not comfortable using torrents so I decided to not do it. Another reason is that it’s the F.A.T.A.L. rule set! It’s considered the most horrible RPG game ever to be created! Forgive me for not wanting to subject myself to reading it. That means I’ll have to do something else.

First off, I can make a few announcements. In case you haven’t noticed, I’ve been making a few additions and changes around here. I added an intro page and new categories to make navigating my blog easier for you. Expect more improvements to randomly pop up in the future. Making these improvements means that the blog have been too meta-ish lately. Sorry about that but rest assured, more RPG-related stuff will come soon.

Now I would like to give you some random and pointless statistics about my blog. As of Augest 28, 2009, my blog is Enword’s 6th largest blog (in terms of number of blog posts). That means my blog is larger then about 97 percent of other Enworld blogs. Off the 232 blogs here on Enworld, about half of them have less then 5 blog posts. All my blog posts take up about 2.7 percent of the total number of blog post here on Enworld. Isn’t math fun?

For those of you who managed to get this far (or managed to just skip here), you efforts won’t be in vain. I also decided to celebrate my 50th blog post with a contest! This is your chance to win some RPG related material! Here are the rules…

1. Make a comment here on what I should do for my 100th Blog Post Celebration. If you can’t think of something for that, a suggestion on what else you would like to see on my blog will be fine as well.

2. At the end of October, I’ll select some winners. Winners will be selected by random selection (aka I roll some dice) and/or by the suggestion I like the best.

3. I’ll make a Blog Post announcing the winners. The winners will PM me their addresses (since I’ll need to know your address to send you your prizes) as well as what they want from the prize pool. I only got one copy of each listed prize, so it’s first come, first serve. The lower you place, the more alternatives you should have. I then mail what you picked to you.

4. The prize pool currently is: The Advanced Player’s Guide, Khyber’s Harvest, Punjar: The Tarnished Jewel, Hearts of Choas/Immortal Heros, Pathfinder’s Bonus Bestiary, and The Village of Hommlet (4th Edition Version).

5. I’m playing this by ear, so expect changes as they are needed. This includes changing rules, upgrading/changing prizes and other adjustments. As this point, I don't think I'll need to change much but you never know. Note that I don’t exactly have a large budget for this so expect modest prizes at best.

Lastly, thanks to all of you who read my blog so far. It’s nice to have people read what you wrote. I hoped you all enjoyed yourselfs so far. I’m looking forward to the next 50 blog posts.
　

MichaelSomething

In terms of the Enworld blogging community, I imagine that I have roughly the same position as Vigilante in the old Justice League Unlimited show. Of a colorful, if minor, member who contributes his talents in useful ways but is in no way the main attraction. Well that ends today! I read The Huffing Post Complete Guide to Blogging recently and I am prepared to utilize the blogging advice it contains to become a BLOGGING GOD! HAHAHAHAHA!

At the very least, I can gain some useful tips to improve the blogging experience for both you and me. Some of the advice is obvious. Regularly producing great content is always a good idea but easier said then done. It’s also suggest I do more communicating and promoting. I guess no matter what you do, shameless promotion will always be needed. It also has some nice suggestions that I will use to make some adjustments and tidying up (FYI, expect a few changes in the future). I’m not gonna tell you what those suggestion are thought (if you’re that curious, read the book yourself).

If you plan on reading the book, then good for you! It’s a book that lives up to its name. It really is something you should read if you’re serious on being a blogger. If you’re interested in learning about blogging, you’ll find good stuff too. Of course, the technical advice should be obsolete in about five years but that’s technology for ya.

MichaelSomething

Today, I am a true Geek. Add “Geek 1” to my level entry. If there was ever any doubt (then again, isn’t having your own RPG-themed blog proof enough that you’re a geek?) cast them aside; for I have attended the World Boardgaming Championships (WBC). Every year during the first week of August, people far and near converge towards Lancaster to play board games.

The 2009 WBC is first one I decided to attend. I only went for one day of the week plus long even so I could sample the boardgaming goodness. I wanted to see what the WBC was like; to experience the event and get a general feeling of what it is like. I was “testing the waters” if you will. I also wanted to blog about it

The first thing you’ll notice is the scope of the event. There was over a thousand people playing in over 140 tournaments over eight days. About five events (on average) were being started every hour for twelve hours a day. The WBC requires a convention center to hold it all in. It takes a while to figure out where everything is. The organizers deserve credit for making it all happen.

The first anyone needs to do is sign in. It’s a quick, if annoying, process. The entry fee was more expensive then I thought it would be. An event this size has to has its costs though. There is a discount if you pre-register and I think it’s cheaper per day if you buy a multi-day pass. I also got a high quality physical copy of the schedule/program as well as a snazzy badge holder. It has a built in pocket and everything! They also took my picture in the odd event that I placed in one of the gaming tournaments. And of course, there were forms to fill out. There’s always forms to fill out.

After that I decided to try my luck in a few of the gaming tournaments. I entered the Dominion and Stone Age events. The Dominion evemt was packed with over a hundred people entering it. The game is only one year old and it’s already massively popular. It’s very easy to learn yet crunchy enough to satisfy the hardcore. The game is also very quick. My group completed its game even though someone has to go to his room to get a copy, discovered that he brought the wrong box, and had to go back to his room to get the correct copy; during an hour long round. I enjoy playing it even though I’m not very good at it and got last place in my group. I did no better in the Stone Age tournament. I didn’t win but I got to relax and enjoy the game and the people who played it. After both tournaments, we filled out more forms so the WBC could compile useful boardgaming statistics.

When I wasn’t being fodder in the tournaments, I was simply hanging out. I walked around and checked things out like the vendors and demos. I chatted with my board gaming comrades who also came to the event and a few random strangers I bumped into. I decided to go off premises to get food since the whole area screams “shop around here and eat in our restaurants.” If I had the time, I could have checked out all the things Lancaster has to offer. Instead, I decided to spend a lot of time in the open board gaming section.

The section reserved for open gaming was a small theater. There were about 50 tables set up for people to just hang out and play. What was really cool was that there was a library of board games you could borrow; which ensured there was always a game to play. There were plenty of games you could just hop in on. The first chance I had was a game of Agricola with some children. I decided to join a group of Agricola players closer to my own demographic type instead. Highlights of that game includes some strategy discussion, people complaining about their bad board positions, a person getting a successful Mansion played (that’s hard to do), the last place person having the Wet Nurse (IMO the most broken card there is), everyone calling my farm “perfect” and me winning the game. Needless to say, I enjoyed it.

The next tournament I wanted to enter was a night time Agricola heat. Instead I decided to skip that to play a game of Battlestar Galactica (BSG). That game was about as fun as getting assaulted by Cyclons every thirty-three minutes for days on end. I could never imagine that a game of Battestar Galactica couldn’t be fun. One guy bailed out on us before the first turn and we had two newbies, one of whom couldn’t even read the cards/board because he got the wrong glasses. A good game of BSG requires that everyone knows the rules because of all the subtle backstabbing required. It normally takes two to three hours to complete but we were so slow we only got a quarter of the way done in two and a half hours. We all just voted to crash the stupid ship into the sun. After that game, it was late at night so I had to end my time at the WBC.

I learned a lot at the WBC. First, get some good directions from an actual person at a visitor’s center because online directions are wrong. If the WBC is being held at the same place next year, it’ll be next to the giant amusement part called Dutch Wonderland (in case you want to go yourself). Second, pace yourself. You can literally spend 15 hours everyday for a week doing nothing but playing boardgames. Unless you’re abnormally active, you’ll wear yourself out quickly. Prioritize the most important events and do other stuff if you got the energy to do so. Third, consider leaving the building once and a while. The WBC is fun and all but there’s more then life then playing board games (a strange thought, I know). At the very least, go out for food instead of eating the convention stuff. Forth, go for the gold. If you’re going to the WBC, why not try to win a championship for your favorite game? It is called the World Boardgaming Championship after all. And last but not least, have fun!

I definitely had fun there. The WBC was great and there was so much stuff to do. I never even went to the seminars available! I will be going there again next year, and for more then one day. I plan on being a champion next year. One of my friends told my I gots what it takes. I can hang with the best of them. I got the talent and I got the skills. I’m gonna be a contender baby!

MichaelSomething

Well it seems that Paizo has sold out their PatherFinder Roleplaying Game Core RuleBook; a week before it’s even out. This means that there is huge demand for it. While many people are congratulating the people at Paizo, I was initially baffled by the news.

Okay, imagine you want to open a restaurant but the bank wouldn’t give you the loan you needed for it. However, the bank would give out a loan to a person opening a gas station. Therefore, you decide to open a gas station with a restaurant attached to it. You get the loan you needed (because you have a gas station) and you get to do what you wanted in the first place (which is run a restaurant). Now, what if it turns out the gas station is the bigger draw then the restaurant; even though you’re a top chef who won numerous cooking awards?

The lesson here? Don’t try to combine stories from Diners, Drive-in, and Dives with RPG industry analysis. The question here? Why is the Core Rulebook vastly more popular then their (very good) adventures and other RPG accessories? It’s a bit of a puzzle to me. Well if people simply wanted quality products, then surely all of their other stuff would have sold better? I guess people really do want to keep the 3rd edition rule set alive and they buy Pathfinder as a means of doing so. This must be proof that the core rulebooks really are the big sellers of an RPG system.

Now, where can we fine proof on how many of the Core Rulebooks sold? According to their announcement, it has sold “preorders more than five times greater than for any previous product in Paizo's seven-year history.” That includes Dungeon Magazine, right? Well Dungeon 142 includes a “Statement of Ownership, Management, and Circulation.” According to that, they sold on average about 32,000 magazines per months. Of those, 23,000 are though “Non-USPS paid distribution” and 8,500 are though “Paid/Requested Outside County Mail Subscriptions.” Depending on what percentage/sub-group of those sold magazines can count as pre-orders, the number of sold core rulebooks can be anywhere from 40,000 to 150,000 copies.

Another thing to consider is that Paizo will bring over 1,000 copies of to GenCon 2009 (look for a coment from Erik Mona). If they expect to sell 5 percent of their stock at GenCon, that means they produced about 20,000 copies. I could never imagine a company selling such a percentage of it’s product just at GenCon. It must be lower then that. If it’s between one to two percent (a more likely scenario), the total number of copies could be anywhere from 50,000 to 100,000 copies.

Yet another number to consider is that the Beta Playtest has been downloaded over 50,000 times. If we assume that one out of five downloader become buyers, that means 10,000 copies sold. When it comes down to it, all we can do is guess at how many copies have sold. Whatever number of copies they sold, I can say for sure that Pathfinder is a success.

Since the Pathfinder Core Rulebook is such a hot item, how long will it take to sell out at GenCon 2009? I bet they sell out the first day, before lunch. Is it an outrageous guess? Well Pathfinder has outrageous demand! I just hate to be at GenCon trying to get one of those books. I hope those buyers have a good combat maneuver bonus.

MichaelSomething

The purpose of this Blog post is to be my links page, where I post links to all sorts of cool stuff. Think of it as a resource guide or a Blog roll-type thing. After each link, I’ll write a few words about what the site is and/or my opinion about it.

I also complied this huge list of links as a potential tool for my FLGS, The Games Keep. More will be added as I come across them/think of them.

Dungeons and Dragons links

Enworld - Enworld is one of the largest (if not the largest) D&D websites there is. It’s a message board plus reviews, blogs, groups, marketplaces, news, and so much more.

MichaelSomething's Blog - A totally awesome RPG-themed blog you should really see (and tell your friends and family to see!).

Goodman Games - The leading third party publisher of 4th Edition D&D. They also have a ton of adventures and stuff for 3rd Edition D&D as well. Their Dungeon Crawl Classics line is a good source for adventures.

Paizo - Paizo began as the second party publisher who produced the Dungeon and Dragon magazines. Today they’re known for their online store, excellent customer service, great adventures/fluff books, and now the creators of Pathfinder; the (hugely popular) rebirth of the 3.5 D&D rules.

Wizards of the Coast presents Dungeons and Dragons - The official page of the latest edition of the world’s most popular role playing game. There’s tons of stuff here if you’re willing to look for it. The pod casts, RPGA, and the Test Drive of 4th Edition are good places to start.

Kobold Quarterly - A print magazine for Dungeons and Dragons. If five ENnie nominations and praise from Ed Greenwood can’t convince you that this is good, then you aren’t the target audience. Also the home for Open Design, where patronage and D&D adventure writing cross over.

RPG Bloggers - This is a massive network of RPG Blogs. There’s more RPG stuff then you can fit in a Bag of Holding!

RPG.net - Where you can find info on practically every RPG ever published; including D&D.

Magic: the Gathering links

Star City Games - A very large and popular Magic site. It’s had an extensive online store, subscription-fueled in depth strategy articles, and they host huge tournaments too!

Wizards of the Coast presents Magic: the Gathering - Let me assure you, there is plenty of cool content once you dig through all that multi-media intro junk. The “Making Magic” column is especially worth reading if you have any interest in game design.

The Magic Show - The best weekly show on the Magic card game you can find on Youtube.

Board Gaming links

Board Game Geek - If there’s a larger/better website for people who like board games, I’ll be very surprised.

Boardgame Players Association - Another website for board game lovers. They host the World Board Gaming Championships.

Webcomics

Order of the Stick - A popular webcomic that creates a world based on the 3.5 D&D rules set. There's also a nice forum and a few articles to read.

ErfWorld - A webcomic based on SRPG conventions.

Flintlocke's Guide to Azeroth - A webcomic based in the World of Warcraft MMORPG. This is one of the funniest thing I ever read. Be sure to read the sequel too!

MichaelSomething

Karl, the guy who owns and runs my FLGS, The Games Keep, future greatest gaming store in America, has agreed to do a cameo role as the Great Eagle Lord during the next session of my D&D campaign. To make sure he knows what’s he talking about, I’m making him a handout that explains the general situation. Here it is.

1. You will be playing the role of The Eagle Lord, or the spirit of the Eagle Lord to be exact. You have come to the material plane to advise the party. I’ll be playing the roll of the great Blessed Bird, your animal companion. I’ll play a supporting role to fill in details or take over when you need to deal with customers.

2. Your general history (as well as the village’s) is told below. Feel free to re-tell this to the Party if you want to.
Long ago the people of the land worshipped devils and made sacrifices of blood in order to appease them. One day, a great warrior named Karl The Eagle Lord left his home village. He spent many years searching for a way to defeat the devils and stop the blood sacrifices. After countless adventures and trials, he found a great blessed bird. With the aid of the blessed bird, Karl returned to his homeland and defeated the devils. From one blessed bird came many others and from them a great age of peace and prosperity came to the land.

3. Be sure to explain that it will be up to the party to protect and guide the last blessed bird. The party is destined undergo a series to trials and challenges that will test them in order for the last blessed bird to ascend to the higher level of being required to stop the devils and save the day. As this point, I plan on having the egg they’re carrying hatch. Ask the party to name the bird then.

4. You need to tell the party that they need to go explore the lower areas of the temple and go through “The Nine Trials.” They are nine rooms of traps, challenges, and puzzle that simulate the very challenges the Eagle Lord himself had to overcome so long ago. They need to gather a feather from each of the trials because it may be useful later. Also, the traps have been made more lethal.

5. The party needs to find Tlacocelot and stop his reign of terror by any means possible. After he is foiled, it will become clear what needs to be done next.

6. If the party offers you the +2 Javelin with your name on it freely, act very glad to have it back. Ask them to place it in your tomb. The tomb will open when you command it to be so. You will also reward them for their kind action. I’ll handle that part.

7. Last but not least, you are (the spirit of a) 30th level super epic ranger. You are totally awesome. Feel free to play that up as much as you want.

After meeting the Eagle Lord, they'll gain access to a new epic destiny, The Eagle Lord.
　
The Eagle Lord

There is no such thing as impossible. I’m proof of that.
Karl the Eagle Lord

Prerequisites: 21st Level

The legendary Eagle Lord, great father of the blessed bird, conqueror of the devils, he who has triumphed over the gods themselves. All know of his adventures and of his greatness. Some say his deeds were great there could never be another Eagle Lord. You are proof that they are wrong.
You will walk the steps that The Eagle Lord once walked. You will undertake the same trails that The Eagle Lord once undertook. If you defeat all the challenges that lay before and give rise to the next great blessed bird, you can become the next Eagle Lord.

Immortality?

After you pass the trails of the gods, give rise to the next great blessed bird, cleanse the land of devils, and triumph over darkness, you will become the New Eagle Lord. For the rest of your living days, you will rule over the people, starting a new age of peace. Your kingdom could be as small as a village or as grand an empire. When your final day has come, you will not simply die. You will ascend to the heavens; to your rightful place among the court of the Gods.

Eagle Lord Features
All Eagle Lords have the following features.

Flight of the Blessed Bird (21st level): You and up to four of your allies can ride upon the Blessed Bird. It can travel up to 1,000 miles a day and can take you to a different plane once a day.

Rise Above the Challenge (24th level): Whenever you engage in a skill challenge, you automatically start with two successes.

Talons of The Eagle Lord (30th Level): Twice per day as a free action, you may spend a healing surge to treat the result of a d20 you just rolled as a 20 instead of gaining hit points. If you use this feature for a daily power, you spend two healing surges instead of one.

Eagle Lord Powers

Song of the Blessed Bird Eagle Lord Utility 26
You call upon the Blessed Bird to aid you in this challenge.
Daily Conjuration
Minor Action
Effect: You call upon the Blessed Bird. It appears in an adjacent space. The Blessed Bird is not affected by attacks and can move 5 squares on your turn. Once per round, an adjacent ally may do one of the following as a free action: take an extra move action this turn, spend a healing surge, re-roll a d20 roll, or gain a +4 power bonus to all defenses until the end of his next turn.


Oh yeah, I forgot to mention this material is for my next session of DMing "The Forgotten Portal" adventure. 　

MichaelSomething