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

Related to my previous post on hit points healing needs to be discussed. I like the 4th edition idea of surges. It gives the party more staying power without the reliance on a combat medic i.e. cleric. I'm going to use them in my 3.9 game (heavily modified 3.5).
This obviously has the effect of freeing up the cleric to a certain extent to be free to smite evil or whatever his religion feels is a worthy pursuit for a devout follower.
I'm going to try the 4th edition mechanic to start off with see how it works. If it doesn't then I'll modify as needed. My thoughts are to call it taking a breather - a full round action which does provoke an attack of oppoortunity - my reasoning behind this is that to truly rest you need to be unthreatened and able to relax (well sort of!). If this attack succeeds the surge is lost.

whizz

Starting Hit Points

One of the big problems I’ve found playing D&D in all its forms is surviving the lower levels. Partly this is to do with low hit points and partly to do with playing styles and how they’ve evolved over the years. The low hit points at 1st level thing is easy, like many house rules and the Pathfinder system (and for that matter DDO) simply add the characters constitution score to their starting total.
But why do we need these extra hit points. Well first of all back in the beginning (1979 for my group), you developed a character and became attached to it - you cared if your character was killed part of the way through 1st level, yeah it was easy to roll up another character but “You killed Kenny goddammit” could be the response to character death. This wasn’t just the response of a child as we started at 15 or 16 and still felt this way about character deathuntil our late teens, not mature perhaps but not children either.
So you protected your character, you ran away, characters supported each other, the mule holder (sorry cleric) cured you (a 1st edition cleric could do little else useful), so if you died it was usually after a struggle to stay alive.
Was this fun (the 4th edition mantra). Well yes actually. You got a sense of achievment after a long struggle.
Then came computer games with its save points and ease of play. Failed the encounter - nevermind - just load the last saved game and try again. So you fight to the bitter end - knowing that it doesn’t really matter.
And back to pen and paper - we’ve forgotten how to retreat, plan, co-operate even - us gamers with 30 years experience. And its hard to go back - so give em more hit points at lower levels and help them survive. Otherwise it definitely isn’t fun any more.
So all characters add their constitution score to their starting hit points - simples!

whizz

Not every great book turns into a great movie, and just as evidently, not every great movie turns into a good video game. Each medium, from silent movies to flash movies, has its own unique characters. Therefore, it should not be surprising to reflect that in the case of RPGs, some stories are more gameable than others, and indeed, system matters.

Any kind of story involving a solo character has to be altered for an RPG. Even if you only have one GM and one player, the narrative process is different in first person than as an author, standing outside the game, and the interactive process means the GM can not simply lead the player through an odyssey. Similarly, stories involving characters separated by time and distance are problematic, since the characters are unable to interact and hence the structure of an RPG works uncomfortably with them. Things improve immensely if players can interact using the game rules in some fashion even when their characters are apart, but it is still a difficult issue to address because of the moving spotlight.

Action-oriented, character-driven, scenic, comedic, horror, and romantic stories work relatively well in RPGs. Erotic stories and moral tales are hard to pull off, because creating those emotions interpersonally is very intense, hence the lack of soft-core porn RPGs, serial killer RPGs, and RPGs centered on identifying and preventing child abuse. Existential stories, surrealism, and the like are hard to pull off because they are often predicated on alienation, whereas RPGs are predicated on identification and immersion. Hence, you would have to engage in pretending to be someone who is disengaged, which is certainly doable but makes the game more work and may make it harder to share the experience. I can read existential terror or a nihilistic crisis right off a movie screen our in a book, but it's hard to peel that off a person in front of you and then know what to DO about it.

GMs and players don't often have months to develop an entire milieu, the way a novelist or playwright might, and there is no backtracking to pull the world together if certain dramatic needs are identified later. Thus, genre-based games, games based on licensed properties like Star Wars, or games that are sequels or new editions are easier to game than truly original work. From a new player standpoint, games that use familiar tropes and a familiar world are more accessible than very strange situations and a strange world. At the same, a game set in something too familiar is boring, because the imaginary reality is not as stimulating to create. Thus, an ideal RPG setting tends to have a modernist theme or a post-modern "playing with text" kind of feel, as opposed to being a fairy tale, a piece of surrealistic fantasy, a docudrama, or a realistic psychological portrait set in the real world. If we want to think about a cop with PTSD, we are often as, if not more, satisfied reading about it than imagining ourselves as that cop. To make it interesting, we have to put the cop back on the streets and into danger, turn him into a vampire, or decise a less likely but still realistical scenario like a moral redemption or emotional decay to explore.

Similarly, characters should be easily grasped, since the players will have less time to acuaint themselves with each other's characters than the fictional characters in a book. A novelist might write that two characters are best friends and put their relationship in display at the beginning of the story, but in an RPG, the players would have to develop the backstory in conjunction with the GM to get a similar result. Thus, stereotypes are the norm in gaming. That should not be read as an endorsement of lazy, offensive, or trite stereotypes, but as an acceptance that recognizable character types are a good starting point. Complex, unusual characters need to have ways of interacting with the world, hooks and styles and habits, that are memorable, so we can become familiar with them over time. RPG characters should have really good names.

The supremacy of fantasy and superhero genres is probably not just an accident of history and geekdom. The genres are self-sustaining because they make for good games. Both involve team play, in which vast geographic differences can be used if the characters are sufficiently mobile, while powers such as telepathy can make it possible for characters to be apart but interactive. Since dialog is snappy and pithy, and themes fairly tight, the moving spotlight is not much of a problem. Both are action-oriented and romantic. Both are morally fierce. Both exist in a world that resembles Earth, but fantastically transformed. And you never need to justify having a really, really good name.

pawsplay

Television and other fiction can be a great source of ideas for stories. I've used Star Trek episodes for adventure ideas, and I've used the Babylon 5 TV series for a campaign setting. In both cases, I adapted a science fiction series to a fantasy campaign world. The same idea can be done with movies or books.

A very important thing to remember is that you should not expect to reproduce the show in the game. Your game can get the PCs in the same situation, but you should not expect the same outcome. Otherwise you risk a railroad. The whole point of this is to set a situation up, and see what the players and their PCs do. Otherwise, you might as well pop in the DVD and watch that instead.

For one campaign, I decided to adapt the show Babylon5 to D&D. What I did is a good demonstration of how to transform the elements of a show to something different.

Here's an important point, don't tell your players what you're doing, and make sure you change enough things so it isn't obvious. Your campaign will be better for it, and it'll help prevent railroading tendencies if you relate too closely to the show. It will also stop them from googling up spoilers.

******* spoiler alert *****
There may be some spoilers here as I talk about the show.
******* spoiler alert *****

Babylon5 is a space opera. I decided to make my D&D setting a sailing "opera". Space and the age of sailing are kind of similar. So I used a program to generate a watery world with lots of islands. The islands being "planets".

I mapped out all the major alien races to the D&D races. I also renamed them, so in the game, there were no "Minbari" or "Narn". I had the elves designated as the Minbari equivalent, and the dwarves as the Narn, and the gnomes as the Centarui. This led to some surprise for the players as the dwarves had recently overthrown an occupation and enslavement by the gnomes. This radically altered their perception of the world. It wasn't the same old game.

The series made a big deal about telepaths, and how human telepaths had to be registered. In my game, I decided that telepath mapped to arcane magic users. Dwarves had no telepaths, so they had no arcane magic users (which was also a nod to previous D&D editions). Humans just recently discovered Magic, so I let them be wizards, but no sorcerors. Instead of PsiCorp, the organization that all humans telepaths were required to register with, I made the "Circle of Magic" a wizards guild.

The show took place on the space station Babylon 5. I decided to rewind the clock and start my game before the Earth-Minbari war that later inspired the station to be built. Partly because if my PCs were to run B5, they'd need to be leveled, and party because doing so would encourage more deviations from the show.

I also decided to follow the human side of things, so my starting party was required to be all human and all serving on a military ship. This set the tone for character creation. The players accepted this as I had got their buy in to play a naval campaign, where the PCs served on a ship. We'd all recently seen Master and Commander, so they were inspired. They'd also never see the series, so was pretty safe from spoiling it.

With this in place, the first few adventures were missions where the ship sailed somewhere, and the PCs were sent in as an away team (similar to star trek). The PCs were junior officers or enlisted. I gave them some meta-game guidelines on behavior (as in don't be over-bossy just because you're an officer to another player). They handled it well.

I also brought in back-story elements where the humans have first contact with the elves and it starts a war. This in turn led to the Battle of the Line, an major event in the campaign and it surprisingly followed the series outcome.

Now one reason I was able to follow the series more closely, and it was risky, is because the character creation phase required the players to effectively make PCs that would follow orders and likely end up in the same scenarios. If I had let them "pick anything", I would have run a different campaign in the same universe. In the same vein, the PCs could have grown dissatisfied with the military and turned pirate, which would have led to a different outcome.

This is something you have to accept as a GM, you can't mirror the show exactly. Your goal should be to capture the flavor and style of the show, not the exact recipe.

The trick to transforming a show is to adapt the ideas and material to fit your game and setting. There's a wealth of shows to steal from, and the act of transforming it will actually reinvigorate the idea. Otherwise, you might as well just buy the "Knight Rider" RPG and be done with it.

Feel free to put some comments with show treatments turned into D&D fantasy campaign. Knight Rider may actually be a good example of a challenge:

There's this good agency, that's got this wagon, except it's really a wizard who's been polymorphed. And it talks, and sometimes the wagon, I mean wizard can cast spells, like Magic Missle and Turbo Boost to help out the PCs.

Not all shows make good campaigns. But sometimes an episode might work...

Janx

Fellow role-players, please note that the D&D4e "Vanished Lands: the Faith-Based Initiative" fantasy game of this past Monday, 16 November 2009, was actually Session 61, not 60.

As your Player Characters approach 10th Level and D&D4e's paragon tier, keep in mind my requirements for attaining what used to be known as "name level" in earlier editions of "Dungeons & Dragons":

-Establish a network of allies, companions, contacts, followers, and a patron. Borrowing terminology from GURPS, an ally is someone who is an approximate peer (such as former and current P.C.s) who can aid you in specific tasks. A companion can be a significant other, an animal, or a family members who is financially or emotionally dependent on your character(s).

Contacts are N.P.C.s who are specific to certain locations and who can provide information and help with buying and selling goods. Followers are N.P.C.s who follow your character's commands. A patron is someone of higher social station who serves as a mentor to your P.C., giving training, favors and material support, and orders. "Kurick" has done an excellent job of building a network.

-Lead a subteam and demonstrate improvement in teamwork. This is often the most challenging criterion. The "Pathfinder: Holy Steel" teleconferencing team has done this a few times, but that hasn't been an option during most of the "F.B.I.'s" travels.

-Join an organization. This is to prove that your P.C. is developing and becoming more integrated into my "Vanished Lands" fantasy campaign setting. Although Lawful characters such as Paladins will have an easier time finding something to join or start, even Chaotic ones such as Rogues and Bards can find a loosely affiliated thieves' guild or a Bardic college. A recent example is "Dante" joining the "King's Cavaliers."

-Gain renown in your chosen field. As your P.C.s reach mid- to high levels, they should become known to others in their occupational classes as well as to the general public. Fame (or infamy) is a mixed blessing, but one that most experienced adventurers acquire. "Kimo" has worked up to guest lecturer status at Hesolin's Magisterium, and Kurick has encouraged Bards.

-Use signature items or abilities. The figures of fiction, legend, and myth are remembered for certain weapons, wondrous items, and tools, not everything they were carrying. Certain skills, feats, and spells may also qualify. "Val's" Eldritch Blasts and shoe fetish qualify.

-Provide up-to-date notes. At minimum, I should have copies of your P.C. record sheets, but journals and contributions to the Yahoo/eGroups message board and "Files" section, painted miniatures, and group discussions about treasure, tactics, and gaming in general are also welcome. Everybody has fallen behind in this.

Although I don't expect every P.C. to follow all of these house rules, paragon tier should reflect character development, improved intraparty interactions (both in and out of character), and tying each P.C. and the party into the world.

Yes, I'm responsible for providing the setting, major plot threads, and opponents, but I also expect role-players to take some initiative as their P.C.s become heroes, doing more than merely slaying monsters and taking their stuff. I don't award individual experience points anymore, but the following criteria should still apply:

-attendance/participation
-cooperation/teamwork
-creativity
-notes/e-mail
-role-playing/combat

In my 27 years of Dungeon Mastering, most parties haven't reached this point, partly because of player or D.M. creative fatigue, intraparty squabbling, and natural conclusions of storylines. There's nothing wrong with a party winding down after turnover or to play something different, but I'd like everybody to be satisfied when it happens. Happy gaming, -Gene

>>D&D4e "Vanished Lands: the Faith-Based Initiative" Boston-area party, as of November 2009:

-Paul J.-"Rache Calistonson"-male Renshai Barbarian (Scandinavian-style Dervish) and former member of the "Broken Chains"; LGn, Lvl. 9

-Alex J.-"Kof" (short for "Marikof Lichbeard"), male Hill Dwarf Paladin of Otih, god of the sun and justice, with boar steed; LGc, Age 71 (35 human), Lvl. 9

-Beruk A.-"Kimo Adele Okono," male Zarendo Islander human shaman (proto-East African Wizard), with monkey familiar Zibu and Kitsune Tsukai (fox-woman Sorcerer) Kirara Swift-tail; NGl, Age 19, Level 9

-Greg D.C.-"August Rilde," male Hifalendorin/Barbari human scout (Rogue); TN, Age 21, Lvl. 9

-Brian W.-"Wirth Kesselring," male Tinker Gnome Artificer; CGn, Age ??, Lvl. 9

-Sara F.-"Tonks Cinderclaw," female Gokuri Dragonborn Fighter; CGn, Age 21, Lvl. 9

-Dave C.-"Kurick Stormborn," male Skaevingol (Viking-style) human Warlord; CGn, Age 21, Lvl. 9; with hirelings Roga Far-runner and Ortol the Grim, and panda steed "Sir Fluffles von Cutenfur" (back in the Gusorin Confederation)

>>Associates and Guests:

-Paul J.-"Dante Nentor," male Hifalendorin (proto-Western European) human Ranger; NGc, Age 19, Lvl. 9

-Brian W.-"Val Shriboe," male Gokuri Tiefling (devil-touched) Warlock, with Imp assistant Szaboch; LNg, Age ~50, Lvl. 9

-John C.M.-"Harald Grimson," male Skaevingol (Viking-style) human Warlord; NGl, Age 21, Lvl. 5

-Josh C.-"Guthfrith," male Grugach (Wild Elf) Cleric of Wotan (Odin, the allfather); CNg, Age 31 (16 human), Lvl. 1

-Anna G.-"Jan," male Skaevingol human Cleric of Ismiltar, matron of magic; LGn, Age 20, Lvl. 2

-Dexter V.H. (teleconferencing team)-"Bellanora," female Mountain Dwarf Paladin of Vulkan (Moradin); LGn, Age 45 (21 human), Lvl. 1

-Byron V.O. (teleconferencing team)-"Isen Dukan," male Shan Sao Wu Jen (eastern Halfling Wizard), member of "Gan Fen Dao"; CGn, Age 30 (18 human), Lvl. 1

-Rich D.-"Xit Tuphain"-male Shengtese human Xuitein (eastern wandering Monk); LNg, Age 26, Lvl. 8

>>See other files for the latest party rosters and updates for the following games:

>>Fantasy campaigns
-Gene D.'s D&D4e "Vanished Lands: the Faith-Based Initiative"
DnD3VanishedLands : Heroic campaigns in Boston

-Gene D.'s Pathfinder: "Holy Steel" teleconferencing team

-Gene D.'s D20 "Gaslight Grimoire" (steampunk/fantasy)
-Paul J.'s Pathfinder ("D&D3.75"): "Crossroads of Eternity"
-Brian W.'s Savage Worlds: "Fierce Frontier" and other games
-Dave S.C.'s Dungeons & Dragons Fourth Edition "Attos"
-Lord of the Rings Online multiplayer online game

>>Comic book superheroes
-Gene D.'s D20 Mutants & Masterminds 2e: "Drake's Port" scenarios
-Paul J. and Josh C.'s D20"M&M"2e games
-City of Heroes: "Dimensional Corps Online" supergroup

>>Space opera RPG
-Dexter V.H.'s D20 Star Wars: Saga Edition "Revenge of the Sith"

edemaitre

hint

• never attack the characters with a monster that will owen them to hell
• never indores to many magic items 1 or 2 is enough
• dont give the players so easy challenges that the quest goes for five minutes
• try to obtain maps or make one
• dont give them tonnes of treaure or money!!! (ruins the fun of gain levels)
• make sure quest is not to short or too long

rules

1. please dont let the player run the game even if that mean telling them to shut up
2. please dont make it so compleces that they ask you some many quest (hurts your head bad)
3. never give up because you can start a new campaign or quest
4. make it interesting and fun
5. (dont take bribes of any sort from any players even if thier hot girls

remember keep on gaming and having fun


Ando

ando2009

Fellow role-players, here is my update for Session Yb-4b.61 of my D&D4e "Vanished Lands: the Faith-Based Initiative" fantasy campaign, which I hosted in Needham Heights, Mass., on 16 November 2009:

In one ancient world, there was a region where strange majicks and demihuman races thrived. The "Vanished Lands" were blessed by the gods and cursed by prophecy. Travelers became adventurers, and adventurers strove to be heroes in the face of many perils and wonders.

After other bands of mercenaries and diplomats fought humanoids in the northwestern borderlands, sailed the pirate-infested Sea of Nagendwa, and wandered the hostile Halmed Desert, the "Faith-Based Initiative" gathered on the Plains of Sathendo to defend the peoples of the barbaric Gusorin Confederation....

"21 to 25 May 1229 B.C.E.:" After many travels, the "Faith-Based Initiative" had returned to the foothills of the Bamor Mountains while searching for the Helm of Gunnar, the last of three Barbari artifacts. At the edge of the Wisaelf Forest, the adventuring party explored the deserted Grugach (Wild Elven) town of Cherba in the hopes of finding a way into the Underdark.

"Rache" [Paul J.] had recently joined the group after Ranger "Dante's" departure, and "Kof" [Alex J.] was wary of Bakemono (eastern Goblins) and other fey folk. "Kimo" [Beruk A.] uncovered three magical mirrors in one talan (Elven treehouse), and "August" [Greg D.C.] was surprised by the image of a huge red dragon! They hastily put a cloth back over that mirror.

"Tonks" [Sara F.] climbed up to the flets (arboreal platforms) after guarding the steeds, and "Kurick" [Dave S.C.] happily shook one mirror, which showed multiple Bakemono stuffed into a small space! Tiefling Warlock "Val" [Brian W.] had stayed behind at the town of Oakheart to be with Ariadne, a Grugach Bard.

Renshai Barbarian (Scandinavian-style Dervish) Rache noted that the third mirror showed an elegant hallway in Alfhileno, capital of the Waletku kingdom of the Elves. August observed that since it was directly across from the dragon mirror, the item was probably used for scrying.

The human Rogue also asked the Goblinoids a few questions in Bamoric and learned through lip reading that a Draconian had put them into the mirror and was going to return to Cherba. The group prepared an ambush for the agent of the nefarious kingdom of Gokuri.

Stealthy August helped Rache hide, while Zarendo Islander human shaman (proto-East African Wizard) Kimo cast Invisibility on himself. The Wizard's monkey familiar Zibu also served as a lookout. Noisier Kof, Tonks, and Kurick hid in a nearby house, where they waited for a few hours. Eventually, the beating of leathery wings signaled the arrival of the Draconian spy.

Skaevingol (Viking-style) human Warlord Kurick helped Rache with Warlord's Favor, and August readied a crossbow given to him by Dante's infamous father, Tergan. Dragonborn Fighter Tonks charged across a rope bridge, followed by Kof on his boar steed. The Dwarf Paladin phased through the wall.

Rache leapt into battle with a Howling Strike, but Kimo's Glitterdust spell missed. The Draconian swung a greatsword and also missed, while August heard another humanoid approaching outside and shot at it.

Scaled Tonks knocked out her fellow reptile-kin, whom Kurick tied up. Kimo moved to cover the mirrors and remove them because the second Sivak was firing flaming arrows into the thatched roof! Robed Kimo restrained the flying archer with Bigby's Icy Grasp.

August and Rache climbed onto the roof. The Barbarian then launched the Rogue toward the Draconian! August swung at the Sivak with his ninja-to before both fell two stories to the ground (August was protected by Cat Step Boots). Kimo used Bigby's Icy Grasp to extinguish the fire, as Kof cast Benevolent Transposition to swap places with Kurick, leaving the scruffy Warlord with the prisoner.

Kof and August asked the Draconians a few questions before slaying them. Tonks grabbed the mirror with a view of the Seelie Court. August left the Bakemono mirror in a refuse pile, and Kurick took the red dragon mirror, which righteous Kof later smashed with his enchanted axe. Kimo cast Animal Messenger to warn Val that Cherba was still dangerous.

The "F.B.I." then spent the next two days traveling northeast. The mercenaries rode from the Wisalef Forest into the rugged Bamor Mountains, avoiding the volcanic Mount Gruldar (and the Temple of Elemental Evil) on the way toward Skull Mountain, a landmark in tales of Prince Gunnar, whose helm they sought.

One night while Rache and Kof were on watch, a diminutive Gnome quietly approached them and introduced himself as "Wirth Kesselring, Ph.D., D.D.E." Kurick was particularly delighted to meet the Tinker Gnome [Brian], who explained that he was "dragon spotting."

Wirth eventually introduced his companions: Fjodr Sergeyvich, a gruff Mountain Dwarf Ranger; Lissa Highstepper, a friendly Halfling priestess of Barandorbis, god of thieves; and Ingrid Celedhira, a formal Grey Elf (Eladrin) Bard. They shared the camp for a night.

Since the "F.B.I." was heading deeper into chromatic dragon territory than Ingrid preferred, Artificer Wirth bade her and company a fond farewell. Dante and Kof were initially reluctant to have Wirth join them, as Kimo scanned for magic.

Fjodr told Tonks and her team that the Underdark was reachable if they followed the road to Rathlo. August warned Ingrid about Draconian and flying monkey spies and gave her a letter to relay before the parties separated.

The terrain grew rougher, and the "F.B.I." eventually came to a fortified bridge over a river of lava. Tonks disguised herself, and Wirth was unceremoniously stuffed into a sack. August and Kurick negotiated with the Oni (Ogre Magi) guards for swift passage, signing a contract in blood agreeing to deliver slaves on their way back from visiting some Duergar (Gray Dwarves).

As the humans, Dwarf, Dragonborn, and Gnome hurried across the massive stone span, Kimo noted that it would take more than a dragon falling on it to destroy the magically reinforced bridge. The infiltrators then climbed off the road as an army approached from the east.

Winged monkey and Draconian scouts flew overhead, followed by columns of Nezumi (rat folk) and Bakemono light infantry. Hundreds of armored Minotaurs, Wolven, and Tsucharim humans rumbled past the "F.B.I.'s" hiding place, commanded by an ancient black dragon and its Nannuattan (eastern Dark Elf) masters. Wirth took notes.

Sometime later, the weary wanderers were back on the road to Rathlo. The path was lined with impaled corpses of humans, demihumans, and humanoids (but no Nannuattan). Filthy Orcs and Hobgoblins brawled in the street, blocking the entrance to the mountainside town.

Kimo, Tonks, and Wirth tried to keep a low profile as August, Kurick, Kof, and Rache haggled with Yadlar, an Orc who agreed to show them around. At the "Matted Hair" pub, Yadlar explained the way into the Underdark -- the maze of caverns deep beneath the Bamor Mountains....

Since most of the Player Character records I have are from three levels ago, please remember to give me up-to-date copies -- nobody will level up again until I get all of them! I look forward to the Super MegaFest and resuming the Pathfinder: "Holy Steel" game this coming weekend, and note that we'll be skipping the session on the Monday after Thanksgiving. Be seeing you, -Gene

>>D&D4e "Vanished Lands: the Faith-Based Initiative" Boston-area party, as of November 2009:

-Paul J.-"Rache Calistonson"-male Renshai Barbarian (Scandinavian-style Dervish) and former member of the "Broken Chains"; LGn, Lvl. 9

-Alex J.-"Kof" (short for "Marikof Lichbeard"), male Hill Dwarf Paladin of Otih, god of the sun and justice, with boar steed; LGc, Age 71 (35 human), Lvl. 9

-Beruk A.-"Kimo Adele Okono," male Zarendo Islander human shaman (proto-East African Wizard), with monkey familiar Zibu and Kitsune Tsukai (fox-woman Sorcerer) Kirara Swift-tail; NGl, Age 19, Level 9

-Greg D.C.-"August Rilde," male Hifalendorin/Barbari human scout (Rogue); TN, Age 21, Lvl. 9

-Brian W.-"Wirth Kesselring," male Tinker Gnome Artificer; CGn, Age ??, Lvl. 9

-Sara F.-"Tonks Cinderclaw," female Gokuri Dragonborn Fighter; CGn, Age 21, Lvl. 9

-Dave C.-"Kurick Stormborn," male Skaevingol (Viking-style) human Warlord; CGn, Age 21, Lvl. 9; with hirelings Roga Far-runner and Ortol the Grim, and panda steed "Sir Fluffles von Cutenfur" (back in the Gusorin Confederation)

>>Associates and Guests:

-Paul J.-"Dante Nentor," male Hifalendorin (proto-Western European) human Ranger; NGc, Age 19, Lvl. 9

-Brian W.-"Val Shriboe," male Gokuri Tiefling (devil-touched) Warlock, with Imp assistant Szaboch; LNg, Age ~50, Lvl. 9

-John C.M.-"Harald Grimson," male Skaevingol (Viking-style) human Warlord; NGl, Age 21, Lvl. 5

-Josh C.-"Guthfrith," male Grugach (Wild Elf) Cleric of Wotan (Odin, the allfather); CNg, Age 31 (16 human), Lvl. 1

-Anna G.-"Jan," male Skaevingol human Cleric of Ismiltar, matron of magic; LGn, Age 20, Lvl. 2

-Dexter V.H. (teleconferencing team)-"Bellanora," female Mountain Dwarf Paladin of Vulkan (Moradin); LGn, Age 45 (21 human), Lvl. 1

-Byron V.O. (teleconferencing team)-"Isen Dukan," male Shan Sao Wu Jen (eastern Halfling Wizard), member of "Gan Fen Dao"; CGn, Age 30 (18 human), Lvl. 1

-Rich D.-"Xit Tuphain"-male Shengtese human Xuitein (eastern wandering Monk); LNg, Age 26, Lvl. 8

>>See other files for the latest party rosters and updates for the following games:

>>Fantasy campaigns
-Gene D.'s D&D4e "Vanished Lands: the Faith-Based Initiative"
-Gene D.'s Pathfinder: "Holy Steel" teleconferencing team
-Gene D.'s D20 "Gaslight Grimoire" (steampunk/fantasy)
-Paul J.'s Pathfinder ("D&D3.75"): "Crossroads of Eternity"
-Brian W.'s Savage Worlds: "Fierce Frontier" and other games
-Dave S.C.'s Dungeons & Dragons Fourth Edition "Attos"
-Lord of the Rings Online multiplayer online game

>>Comic book superheroes
-Gene D.'s D20 Mutants & Masterminds 2e: "Drake's Port" scenarios
-Paul J. and Josh C.'s D20"M&M"2e games
-City of Heroes: "Dimensional Corps Online" supergroup

>>Space opera RPG
-Dexter V.H.'s D20 Star Wars: Saga Edition "Revenge of the Sith"

edemaitre

After a conversation with Jenn from Trapcast (I highly recommend listening to this podcast if you currently are not), I finally have my Role Playing School of Thought written down.

Role Playing School of Thought? What are you talking about? Take a look at Dungeons and Dragons and by extension Pathfinder. Its a combat game some minor support for Role Playing. The school of thought is more 'Freeform.' Your ability to convince a non-hostile NPC to join up with you without paying them is largely dependent upon your own abilities as a player rather than anything your character can do. The downside of this is that you really can go sessions or even whole campaigns without any role playing beyond the basic "you look like a trusting person, join us," (as exemplified in the original The Gamers movie).

Compare that to indy RPGs (or story games, as they prefer to refer to themselves), they tend to build in mechanics that empower their players to directly alter the way the story flows. They also tend to possess more complex social combat systems. This is a more codified school of thought. The downside to this is that it forces you to role play. This reminds me of an old girlfriend of mine that went to visit one of her friends and dragged me along. When I got there, I met my girlfriend's friend and boyfriend. After a quick introduction, we were told that we both liked football and then then left in the same room while the girls went and talked. My conversation with that gentlemen was just as forced and non-enjoyable as a forced session of role playing.

So where do my thoughts lie? To sum it up, I would have to describe it as "Inspirational." In my gaming career I have known only a handful of players that got into the culture of elves to fully get into the role of an elf and buckets full more that treated elves as humans with long lives and pointy ears. I do not find elves or dwarves or many of the other standard fantasy races ... inspiring. My favorite role from the 3.5 era, the Hellbred. A race of people that was so incredibly evil but is given one more chance to alter their eternal destination, is it possible to not get into that character every single session and have it drip with inspiration? Hardly.

So why rebuild role playing from the ground up when you can work with the existing role playing structure, modifying when necessary, to achieve a more balanced end. Sure the rules could support better role playing, but you could work with the existing rules to achieve the desired outcome.

How would you define your own school of thought on role playing?

Dale McCoy is President of Jon Brazer Enterprises. Visit our website to find out about Book of the Faithful: The Power of Prayer, our first Pathfinder Compatible product.

dmccoy1693

I'm in the final stages of assembling my PDF. If you have never done such a thing before, you probably have only a slight sense of the actions that lead up to that phrase. For me, the process went something like this.

A while back, I had an idea for a Pathfinder-compatible, PC-oriented product, basically some character options to add on to the game. First, I thought carefully about the scope of the project. I also had to devise a design philosophy; what power curve, what campaign assumptions, what style, what kind of players would be interested, and so forth. Then I sketched out an outline and wrote up some rough sections of the book. Eventually, I had a pretty good idea of the structure, and I put out the call for art for each section. At that point, I had to settle on a house style of art, to make sure my project didn't look like a complete mishmash, which meant ruling out some perfectly good artists and clip art that just did not go with the style I was looking for. Considering the scope of the project, my rates were necessarily low and I opted to purchase only a lease on using the art, not the rights to it, and I decided to take care of the art early on rather than later, in order to give the pierces time to trickle in and solve any issues with art suitability.

Then came the process of finishing out each section in painstaking detail. Meanwhile, one section disappeared and two new ones appeared, based on what I was able to make work in terms of design. I asked one piece of art to be altered and for some minor touchups to be done, and had to get a batch of art resent in a file format I could use without a design studeo. I learned more about my word processor than I ever thought I would need to know, and I performed some layout experiments. I spent a couple of hours reviewing every plausible font. I experimented with image resizing, cropping, contrasting, and positioning within text.

Eventually, the main writing work was done and I was looking at editing. I carefully reviewed my work to see if I used OGC that needed to be included in my copyright notice. Along the way, I found pronoun problems and cut-and-paste errors, and I went through the whole thing again because I was paranoid about more. I struggled with using second person voice versus the Pathfinder standard of he or she in class descriptions.

And now I'm almost done. I need to retouch the writing on one of the sections, then badger people I know or random strangers on the Internet to help me proof, for free, and run some playtests. If that works out, it's time to put it all together and stare at the thing. I just printed some tests of the layout I like and decided on a font size, with the help of my assistant (namely, the other parent of my children, who has the misfortune of being a gamer married to a part-time designer).

In the meantime, I've emailed three sites to get instructions on how to get set up to sell through their PDF shop. I've also sent an email to a publisher about one of their OOP products to get a clarification on their copyright notice and Product Identity in an OGL product (yeah, that's going to get a reply).

Still mostly undone: clip out some banners to advertise the product on on various websites.

pawsplay

Crazy Monkey's Asylum is my little home on the interwebs, focused primarily on Play-by-Post roleplaying.

The end of the year slow down is upon us, but we still have some grooviness happening in the world of PbP, a chat campaign, and some big plans for the coming year. Here's a peek.

Pathfinder Chat Campaign

Pathfinder is Paizo's new RPG, a revision and major update to the 3.5 d20 rules. Monkey is running a chat campaign on Monday evenings, with several interesting twists. The campaign mixes in Modern elements, and touches of Planescape and Spelljammer, all in a universe that has yet to be named...that's your job!

Click here for all the juicy details.

And the best part is, you don't need to own the Pathfinder RPG to play. You can use the Pathfinder SRD.

Duet Campaigns

One player, one GM, all fun. The Asylum provides a forum for anyone to set up and run a Duet. If you have to an itch to run something, check out the forum.

Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition

The most popular game on the Asylum (and lots of other places) right now is, of course, D&D 4E. We have six D&D 4E PbPs at the moment and always welcome more. If you want to run one, I'll set you up with your own forum, where you run the show. Click here to check things out.

Coming in 2010

The Asylum has big plans for 2010, including:

Moonlight Drive Chapter 2: Ashes to Ashes - The second installment of a Vampire: The Masquerade Chronicle, set in Chicago, 1992.

Primordial Chapter 2: The Mystery of Creation - Player characters are the fledgeling gods of a new world, a world that is theirs to mould and shape as they choose. But, the titans have other plans for the new gods and the world itself may not be as willing to be moulded as the new gods were led to believe. Player characters use D&D 3.5 rules to create Divine Rank 0 20 HD Outsiders, who then gain epic class levels and divine ranks as the game progresses.

A New PbP From Monkey

Possibilities include:

N.I.G.H.T. - A Ninjas & Superspies campaign based on G.I. Joe with a heavy dose of Ghostbusters and other zaniness.

Dark Day 2012 - The long awaited Nightbane campaign that will feature a second Dark Day that will either spell the world's doom or the end of the war.

A Promise Kept - A Changeling: The Lost story.

Rite of Passage - The opening chapter of a Werewolf: The Apocalypse chronicle set concurrently with Moonlight Drive, with the action taking place, at least initially, in New York City.

Chosen of the Hart - A Blue Rose Duet in which the player character is chosen to be the next Sovereign.

The Un-Named Universe - The setting of my chat campaign and a tabletop Duet with my wife may see more action via a PbP or a second chat campaign. More details to come.

More Surprises

Monkey has a few surprises in store for 2010. Sign up for the Asylum now so you don't miss anything.

crazy_monkey1956

hi guys and girls

I would like to know how is the woman in the full plate on the back of the d&d pathfinder book?

If you cloud find her stats, classes and what not that would be awesome as i need to use her in a pathfinder quest.


My next blogs on what makes a good dm and how to not over do the game that you have created or using.

thank you for reading

please commette

ando2009

The following are homebrewed spells at my main offsite blog. I designed these for various nefarious reasons, usually in conjunction with peculiar SLAs or spells needed for certain villains.

MY SPELLBOOK IS HIDDEN HERE.

I'll attempt to keep this list up-to-date and more or less in level order, but the link above will always have the most current items (in chronological order, alas).

Make Minor Transient Undead (Sor/Wiz0; Necro [Evil])

Field of Sticky Fingers (Brd1, Sor/Wiz1; Conj (Creation))

Sicken (Sor/Wiz1; Necro)

Yes, most of these spell names are pretty dull. In the text, I usually suggest a few alternate names-- sometimes evocative, sometimes snarky. Also, you might find the odd bit of fluff or descriptive text, just for grins.

the_orc_within

(updated 19 Nov 2009)

Here's a list of 3.5e items I've posted to my offsite blog to be gawked and pointed at. Beware: they tend to be lower-power, fairly "niche", and/or a little tongue-in-cheek.

ALL MY TREASURE IS BURIED HERE.

I'll attempt to keep this list updated, but the above link will always be current.

Distillates of Inoculation (alchemical)

Rauhakk's vampiric leather armor (magical armor, cursed, unique)

Owbra skin (material)

Unholy Rotten Egg (magical weapon, thrown)

-

the_orc_within

Following is a list of short-short stories and vignettes (typically <1000 words) posted to my offsite blog, for your perusal and my embarrassment. The genre is fantasy, and I write them just for fun in spare minutes, mainly to highlight some creature, item, etc. mentioned elsewhere in the blog.

ALL MY SHORT STORIES ARE HERE.

I'll try to keep this list updated, but the above link will always be current.

A Midnight Encounter at Greybald Hill

The Unfortunate Story of Rauhakk the Tanner

Voila!

the_orc_within