Here I am at the airport about to pick up my daughter up. With the American Thanksgiving upon us I was thinking about what I was thankful for. Then, as a gamer I was wondering what I was thankful for. The list really is quite long. Allow me to try to write the whole thing down.

As a gamer, I am thankful for:
- Gary and Dave for creating the whole thing in the first place.
- The maker of the first d20 so we don't have to use chits anymore.
- All the later designers that saw D&D and thought how would it work with sci-fi, superheroes, steampunk, cartoons and many others.
- My next door neighbor that introduced me to D&D so long ago as a kid.
- The group at college that showed me a world beyong D&D.
- Wizards of the Coast for giving the game new life and releasing the system free for everyone to do with as they saw fit.
- All the third party companied that took the game in a different direction, blazing a whole new trail in the gaming world.
- Steve Jackson. (everything he's done is worth being thankful for)
- Paizo taking an extraordinary chance on their future and the loyalty of their fan base and then releasing a new compatability license for others to use freely.
- Living in this great country where I can start up a a company without much trouble and create my own material.
- The community of gamers at ENWorld. You guys and gals really are great.
- And last but certainly not least, my wonderful girlfriend who enjoys gaming with me. Life is much happier with her.

While this list is no where near exhaustive, I have to end it here.
Happy Holidays everyone.

dmccoy1693

hi everyone

What do you think about owening a dragon in you quests?

it's a debatable queston as thier super powerful and can tackle any problems.

it a new quest i'm making a lord has a dragon and gives it to one of the adventurers to keep.

so what do you think about it?

PLEASE COMMETTE ON THIS BLOG AND MY OTHERZ OR ILL CRY

ANDO

ando2009

I know that this subject may have been done to death, but I just want to get my thoughts out there - so I can get it off my chest so to speak.
I started playing D&D at a wargames club where the majority of the action was tabletop wargames. My firs ever adventure was Bar Room Brawl (White Dwarf 11 Feb/Mar 1979) run by another early adopter). We started playing it as a sort of skirmish wargame, and that first scenario was just that - a D&D skirmish - no purpose just a fight in a tavern. And so D&D began, a skirmish game where you got to call your character a cool name. Mine was Luke de Lacey a flamboyant and reckless fighter (well OK maybe not so cool). In a later incarnation Luke de Lacey was high level cleric who cast Flame Strike with a flick of the wrist that has remained as the standard flourish for anyone's cleric casting that spell.
But at its heart we were playing a wargame still with the DM taking on the role of the opposing general in head to head confrontation with his players. In fact in one case one DM took the name Deathtrap Dungeon (of Tunnels and Trolls fame) literally - the PCs entered, the roof collapsed and the DM had 'won'.
But slowly we began to roleplay and we got a fair DM who wanted to create a challenging dungeon but not necessarily kill off entire parties (though we the players managed to do that for ourselves - as we randomly teleported - it had a complicated teleport system, we never really figured it out completely - about his huge dungeon taking on creatures well out of our league).
We graduated beyond the dungeon crawl and went on epic quests, via Monty Haul campaigns. Characters made friends, became enemies, got married and were elevated to Demigodhood (I sort of managed this in a non-Monty Haul Campaign - that was hard work, as it should have been).
But then, hmmm I see a theme developing, along came computer games and our game play changed - sod characterisation we go for power ups and cool abilities - 3.0 and beyond cater to this adding evermore powers until all the character development going on was to do with 'builds' and mini-maxing. Don't get me wrong it was there before, but maybe not so much a part of the rules.
I like D&D but how can you encourage role playing in the terms of its feat/class ability system. Well you give rewards for role playing - experience and perhaps more abilities. And that will be the subject of my next post.

whizz

Fellow role-players, here is my update for the latest Pathfinder: "Holy Steel" teleconferencing game, which I ran using Skype on Sunday, 22 November 2009:

"9 to 12 January 1229 B.C.E.:" The adventurers known as "Holy Steel" had traveled from the "Vanished Lands" to the distant empire of Khemet (New Kingdom Egypt). While visiting the court of Pharaoh Ramses II, Drow Ranger "Faelonia" [Dexter V.H./absent] had disappeared, but her companions tried to continue their mission.

In the capital of Pi-Rameses (Per-Ramesse), "Ibrahim" [Byron V.O.] remained under house arrest while awaiting his kenbet (trial) for treason. The pesedjer Ghazi/Khery-heb (human Paladin/Wizard) and his follower Nebkar hoped to clear their names to prevent a potential coup by Prince Sethemwie.

In the marketplace, "Milos" [Beruk A.] watched for Assyrian spies. The pesedjer khebenti (human Rogue/Gatecrasher) and qedeshot (Bard/Battle Dancer) Nialla also tried to trace the illicit trade in relics looted from the pyramid of Unas.

Khery-heb "Derek" [Paul J.] rode southeast into the desert to join an expedition to find the smugglers and evidence linking them to the cult of Set. After a few days of wandering, metallic dragons Quenamun and Thilgatha found the arcanist and reunited him with the team.

Caracal-woman Shikari (feline humanoid Ranger) Raziya [Byron/Non-Player Character] led the way from a temple of Sekhmet near the Great Bitter Lake southward, toward the Gulf of Suez and the Sinai. Derek disguised himself as a nomad, and Eseteri Kahin (Elf Druid) Arianna warned of winter storms.

Nubian archer Djekari [Beruk/N.P.C.] helped scout ahead, while Guti shaman (barbarian healer) Vian noted that the sacrilegious smugglers would probably stop at an abandoned fort ahead. Thilgatha flew over invisibly and confirmed that the ruins were empty.

Furred Raziya found tracks leading to the southwestern tower. Nimble Derek climbed up and looked over rugged landscape that Djekari pointed out resembled a hieroglyph of a snake strangling a bird! Wise Vian said this was a sign they were on the right track.

Derek and Djekari followed the snake-shaped path toward the gulf. The duo heard the clink of chains, while Raziya smelled charcoal and spotted something moving in the shadows behind them. The group slid off the road and found three men.

One was struggling with saddlebags filled with metal (presumably ill-gotten treasure), and another fumbled for weapons. The third man, also dressed as a Bedouin, greeted the newcomers. Mighty Djekari ordered them to cease whatever they were doing, and when they continued, he fired a warning shot with his longbow.

Vian cast Sanctuary on herself, and Thilgatha merely growled at the smugglers. Raziya fell back toward the road to serve as rearguard, while Arianna and Quenamun readied Bless spells. Derek's Telekinesis failed, but he sensed magic.

The talkative trader stepped forward and leveled a Baleful Gaze at Djekari. The enraged Barbarian drew his falchion and sprung forward. Vian cast Protection From Evil on Djekari, and Quenamun saw through the trio's illusion. The dragon told her allies that they were actually devils in disguise!

The spiny-armored Outsiders attacked. One swung a chain whip at Derek, missing, but the third summoned two Erinyes, or winged Furies. Raziya continued climbing back toward the fort, while Arianna successfully cast Freeze on one pale Baatezu, immobilizing it in ice.

Quenamun changed to her full gold dragon form, and Derek drew two swords for a Power Attack on the chain-wielding devil. Vian threw magic stones with her sling, while Thilgatha cast Tasha's Hideous Laughter on Hell's cavalry. One Baatezu summoned a monster with the head of a bat, the body of a wolf, and the limbs of a baboon.

Since she didn't see anything on the road, Raziya circled to a ledge and dropped onto an Erinye. Arianna cast Arc Lightning at the winged ladies, and Quenamun's flame breath killed one of the devils. Derek finished off the evil beast encased in ice.

Thilgatha's slowing breath forced the Furies to land. One Erinye whipped her hair at Quenamun, and the other shot flaming arrows at Thilgatha, who maintained her Alter Self spell. Arianna's Flamestrike destroyed the last devil and its steed, later identified as a Narzugon and a Greater Barghest, respectively.

Before the hunters could celebrate their victory, however, Raziya noticed more than a dozen Dark Stalkers approaching from the ruined fort, and Quenamun spotted sails on the water!

Djekari recalled that Milos had given him a Memory Crystal, which he could use to gather evidence proving that the cultists of Set who had looted Unas' tomb were in league with devils and foreigners. But first, "Holy Steel's" junior members had to surivive the encounter with smugglers....

Sometime later and far to the northeast, the [Boston-area D&D4e] "Faith-Based Initiative" found magical mirrors, Goblins, and Draconians in the Grugach (Wild Elven) town of Cherba. The wanderers also met Tinker Gnome Artificer "Wirth" [Brian W.] and hiked past a Gokuri army and over a massive bridge to Rathlo, an Orcish outpost at an entrance to the Underdark....

Byron, thanks for the notes for "Ibrahim" and "Arianna!" Paul and Beruk, I look forward to seeing you at the next regular D&D4e "F.B.I." game, which is now scheduled for Monday, Nov. 30. Dexter, I hope you'll be able to rejoin us at some point, and let me know if you'll be joining Damon F.P. in his visit to the Boston area in a few weeks!

In the meantime, I hope that all of you have a happy and safe Thanksgiving! -Gene

>>Pathfinder: "Holy Steel" team roster (as of autumn 2009/"winter 1230 B.C.E."):

-"Faelonia Telcontar" [Dexter V.H.]-female Drow (western Dark Elf) Ranger/Aristocrat, ambassador, and champion of Vulkan; NGl, Level 12/2

-"Rellim Dorathan" [Mark M./Non-Player Character]-male Quelanthi Fighter/Cleric of Aerdary (High Elf: Labelas), friend of Faelonia; CGn, Lvl. 5/5

-"Noony..."-male Svirfneblin "scout" (Deep Gnome Rogue) and follower of Faelonia; NGc, Lvl. 8

-"Argentis"-female young adult silver Dragon Sorcerer, companion of Faelonia, along with wolf Facon and hawk Azrael; NGl, Lvl. 5

-"Dalis"-Heart Bow, Protector of the Wild, intelligent artifact currently borne by Faelonia, along with the Bracers of Air Control, NGl

-"Ibrahim al-Sufaia" [Byron V.O.]-male Suthern human Ghazi/Khery-heb (Egyptian Paladin/Wizard) of Isis and former "Dragonslayer"; age 27, LGn, Level 13/3

-"Nebkar 'Neb' Khaneferu"-male Suthern human sailor/Ghazi (Paladin) of Ishmas, former follower of Jaguar Woman Ranger "Grace" [Carolyn M.P.] currently attached to Ibrahim's team; LGn, Lvl. 1/7

-"Arianna Leafsplitter"-female Sylvan (Wood) Elf Druid and follower of Ibrahim; TNg, Lvl. 9

-"Quenamun"-female young adult gold Dragon Cleric of Bahamut and steed of Ibrahim, along with Blink Dog "Bink" [Stuart C.G./N.P.C.]; LGn, Lvl. 6

-"Akhu"-male Custos (enchanted khopesh), former Paladin of Ishmas/Isis and mentor to Ibrahim; LGn

-"Milos Valoren" [Beruk A.]-male Barbari human scout [Rogue/Fighter/Gatecrasher from Ted A.H.'s D&D3 "Solar Gods: the Ether Wars"] and former "Liberator"; age 27, CGn, Lvl. 10/3/3

-"Thilgatha/Rhiannen?"-female young adult copper Dragon Fighter and companion of Milos; CGn

-"Nialla Burkin"-female Suthern human Qedeshot/Battle Dancer (Bard/Monk), former crewmember of the "Dragon's Bane" and follower of Milos; NGc, Lvl. 8/1

-"Vian"-female human Guti shaman (Cleric) and follower of Milos; CNg, Lvl. 3

-"Djekari"-male Nubian human archer (Barbarian/Scout) formerly stationed at Fort Tharvu, exile from Egypt and newest follower of Milos; CGn, Lvl. 2/6

>>Associates:

-"Lord Mage Derek Ranell" [Paul J.]-male human Wizard from a Prime Material plane parallel to the "Vanished Lands" (Paul J.'s "Crossroads of Eternity"); contact of Ibrahim and Faelonia; age 30, NGc, Lvl. 16

-"Onslow"-male Demi-Elf (Half-Drow/human) Barbarian from the "Crossroads of Eternity" [Paul J.'s D&D3.75 campaign] and late follower of Milos; CNg, 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

Crazy Monkey's Asylum is a small forum community dedicated to Play-by-Post roleplaying. Here's a glimpse of what's going on this week.

Pathfinder!

Pathfinder is the new hotness, with Monkey running a chat campaign Monday nights and another PbP starting up soon. Click on the links for more details.

The Un-Named Universe - Monkey's chat campaign.

Slavers of Cheliax - A new PbP campaign GMed by msb31671.

Other Grooviness

There will be plenty of new stuff going on in 2010 so stay tuned to this blog for all the juicy details.

crazy_monkey1956

Hi all, and welcome to Chapter Two of my ENnie-nominated novel Game Night.

Hope you like it!

<< Chapter One (The Gate)

Jonny

The story continues as our heroes enter the Far Lands and have their first encounter with the inhabitants of that fabled realm. What might they learn? What clues what might they find? What are the odds on it not all ending in tears?

Read on...

Chapter Two

Tallenna sat back against the tree's cool bark and studied the text before her. To one not versed in the ways of magic, the pages of her spellbook would have gone beyond the merely incomprehensible into realms both chaotic and disturbing. Texts of three different languages fought for space on the smooth vellum, each built upon a different alphabet, and one running left-to-right, one running right-to-left, and one running top-to-bottom. Symbols too crowded into the sprawling mass, spidery traces that spoke of power unleashed.

To an outsider her book was an object to be feared and perhaps mistrusted. But to Tallenna it spoke of home, of the Institute that for more than two thousand years had sat watching the River meet the Western Ocean. The words of the book flowed into her mind, spells as yet uncast settling into their long-worn places, soothing, calming, the reassurance of the known banishing the stresses of the day.

And there had been stresses.

After leaving the Gate the path had forked, and then forked again, and then forked again twice more, and at each fork they had argued – until after three lefts and a bitterly chosen right they'd found themselves lost in the forested canyons that lay beneath the ridge upon which the Wall sat.

The Sun had nearly set by time they'd found a suitable clearing in which to spend the night. While Tallenna took first watch and the chance it offered to memorise the morrow's spells, Yann put up his hide yurt, Hill erected his one man tent, Draag activated the trans-dimensional coffin he claimed to have liberated from a lich's tomb, and Stone simply dropped to the ground.

They slept now, quiet, save for Shovel's snores and occasional snuffles.

Finally, the spells were home once more in Tallenna's mind, and she judged it time for second watch. She nudged Stone awake and whispered, “Your watch.”

The fighter nodded and sat up.

Tallenna slept, and the spells slept with her.




The folk reckoned Takes to be the bravest and quickest of them all; for had they not named him “Quick Fingers Shiny Takes” in honour of his prowess?

Some were jealous, true, but even they recognised that he, alone among the folk, had the skill and courage to face the big people who'd spent the afternoon blundering through the canyons.

He edged closer to their camp, carefully pushing fronds aside until at last he could see them. They slept not in the trees, as the folk did, nor in nests of stone as the tall folk did, but on the forest floor, in nests of hide and fabric.

One of them was awake, but motionless, spark-less eyes staring from a blank face. Takes edged forward, creeping through the darkness, a silent footstep followed by another, and then another.

A twig crunched beneath his toes.

The big person turned, looked, focussed.

And looked some more.

Takes froze, preparing to run, his heart thumping in his chest.

But the big person simply watched, calmly.

The AllFather pauses for a moment, and then speaks. “Perhaps it might help if I recap things. What appears to be a two-foot tall, bipedal monkey has entered the camp, has walked past you and the horses, and is currently attempting to undo the ties at the entrance of Hill's tent.”

The Sleeper nods. “Okay”.

The AllFather is silent for several seconds, and then resumes. “He has now managed to get the entrance open, and is climbing through the slit.”

“Right.”

There is silence around the table, a silence that the Sleeper begins to think might be directed at him.

“So we're waiting, right?” he asks. “We're waiting until the moment's right to strike, yeah?”

The Warrior leans in close to him, ignoring the AllFather's angry glare. “No. We're waiting for you to wake us up, imbecile!”

“Oh. Right.”

Hill was midway through a rather delightful dream involving him, a pair of large and furry feet, and the rather attractive she-halfling that the feet had belonged to when Stone's shout echoed around the camp.

He rolled over, bounced off Shovel's still sleeping form, sat up, and found himself looking at a simian face that displayed surprising innocence given that said simian currently had both its arms buried deep in Hill's backpack.

“Oi!” he shouted. He was later to reflect that this was probably not the most intelligent way to initiate inter-species contact; but to be fair, as an attempt at communication it was probably both more effective and less hypocritical than his next utterance.

“That's my sodding backpack, you thieving midget!”

The monkey stared back at him. The flexing of the backpack's canvas stopped, and then started again, but barely perceptible now – as though the monkey thought that as long as it rifled through Hill's stuff very, very slowly, Hill might somehow not notice.

Shovel snuffled out of sleep, looked up at the monkey, looked back at Hill, and gave out a whine that blended confusion with a dash of jealousy.

“I didn't invite him in,” said Hill.

They turned to face the monkey.

The monkey stared back.

And stared.

And stared.

And stared.

And stared.

“Perhaps we should cast for initiative?”

Four sets of knuckle-bones roll across the table's marble surface.

“Five!”

“Two.”

“Three.”

“Two.”

Pause.

“Sorry. Um. Right.”

The Sleeper casts his knuckle-bones across the table.

“Um. That's...”

“Three.”

“Yeah.”

Hill dived forward at the monkey, grabbed it, and then rolled into the tent's central pole, initiating a confusing sequence of events in which – in no particular order – the monkey squirmed free, the tent collapsed, Shovel snapped at the monkey but ended up with a jawful of tent, Hill attempted to stand up, but tripped over the tent pole, and the monkey slithered through the collapsing entrance slit and ran away – leaving behind a chaotic, heaving mound that was three-parts tent, two-parts dog, and one-part angry halfing.

Muffled shouts found their way to Hill's ears through the folded canvas.

Yann: “I think it's frightened!”

Draag: “It should be! Now – where? What? Dammit!”

Tallenna: “If you'll just get out of the way I'll cast a charm on him!”

Draag: “No wait, I've got it. Yes. No–“

Yann: “Careful!”

The shouts continued, fading in and out as Hill squirmed through the folds. Thirty or so claustrophobic seconds later he found the entrance slit and hauled himself though, followed a moment later by a panting Shovel.

Hill quickly took in the situation – Yann crouched at the edge of the clearing, Tallenna crouched warily beside the camp fire, Stone standing tall beside Tallenna – and very quickly realised what was missing.

“Where's Draag?”

Yann pointed down the track that led out of the clearing. “Somewhere down there.”

“Where's the monkey?”

“About two seconds in front of Draag.”

Hill pulled his saddle out of the remains of his tent, plopped it down onto Shovel's back, and began tightening the various cinches and buckles. “Upset, was he?”

“Who?” asked Tallenna. “Draag or the monkey?”

“Either.”

“Well Draag was – he tried to grab it on the way past and ended up with a face-load of dirt. He headed off after it swearing vengeance.”

“Yeah, 'cous there's so much glory in taking down a two-foot tall, unarmed monkey.”

“You know Draag.”

“Did it get anything of yours?” asked Yann.

“Dunno,” replied Hill as he tightened the last buckle and then vaulted onto Shovel's back.

“Thought I'd catch up with it and ask.”

“I'd hurry.”




Greenery flashed by above Hill's head. There were many times in his life when he felt it was better to be a halfling than a man, and hurtling down a narrow forest track containing a multitude of what humans would call “head-high branches” was one of them.

The Draag-sounding shouts from further up the track were getting louder, or more enraged, or both, and were accompanied now by a roaring that grew in intensity. Hill urged Shovel into what a horse might have termed a gallop, and the dog responded, with only a moment's delay, into something that was, if not quite a gallop, at least on the enthusiastic side of canter.

The trail twisted, turned, twisted again, and then – just when it was in danger of appearing indecisive – ended, plunging down a short narrow ravine and opening up onto a small gravel beach that sloped down to a narrow, but fast-flowing river.

It was a setting that could have been made for the phrase “dead end”, a situation which seemed to please Draag – who was standing in front of the ravine's mouth – considerably more than the monkey, who was backed up against the roaring waters of the river.

“We've got the little bastard cornered!” Draag shouted. “Block the way in, and send the dog in to herd him to me.”

“Maybe we should try talking to him?”

Draag looked back over his shoulder and gave Hill a filthy look. “It's a monkey! What are you going to discuss? Bananas? Just send the bloody dog in!”

Hill whistled at Shovel and waved indecisively to the left of Draag. “Go on boy!”

Shovel looked back, confused. He whined, and then sat down.

“Useless!” tutted Draag.

“Does he look like a sheepdog?”

“No, but then he doesn't look much like a riding dog, either!”

“Well there's no sheepdog in him!”

“I think we've established that!”

The AllFather sighs, and look down at his notes. The writing on the etched granite tablets looks so neat. “Contrary to appearances,” it reads, “the O'Lammpa are actually an intelligent, sentient race, who can provide valuable information about the Far Lands and their inhabitants.”

There is a rattle from across the table.

“Two successes on a grapple,” announces the Warrior.

The monkey dodged past the prostate form of Draag – who having slipped on a moss-covered rock was now lying half in the river, head in, flailing legs out – and ran straight at Hill. This was an entirely new situation for Hill, whose standard combat technique was a stiff headbutt to the nuts followed by a hard stamp on any outstretched feet. Funnily enough, this proved to be the monkey's standard combat technique also.

Several seconds later, Draag crunched to a halt next to Hill. “Where'd it go?” he demanded, either oblivious to, or uncaring of, the fact that the halfling was lying in a foetal position with his nuts firmly clutched.

Hill detached a hand, and waved it weakly back up the ravine. “That way!” he croaked. Draag crunched away.

“Four successes!” announces the Warrior.

The AllFather sighs. “You spot the monkey hiding in the bushes to the left of the path. It looks terrified.”

“I've had enough of this!” says the Warrior. “I'm activating DeathSinger's flame ability.”

The Lady leans forward. “Is it really worth wasting a charge on one small monkey?”

“It is a point of honour and prestige. We need to show the inhabitants of the Far Lands that we are not to be trifled with.”

The Jester smirks. “Because it wouldn't do for the monkeys to not respect us now, would it?”

“Exactly.”

The Warrior rolls his knuckle-bones across the table, counts, and pauses. “One success?” he announces with more than a hint of wary suspicion.

“He had cover, so you've missed,” the AllFather tells him. “But you have set the bushes in front of him on fire. You see him running away down the path.”

“Then I'll fire again.”

The knuckle-bones bounce and skid across the table, and finally come to a halt; a halt which the Warrior's scowl reveals is not to his liking.

The Jester leans forward, the smirk resumed on his face. “None, none, none, none, none and, yes, that would be another none. I make that none in total?”

“You set some more of the bushes to the side of the path on fire,” says the AllFather.

“I'm going to get up if I can, and stagger after him,” says the Jester. “Before he sets the whole damned forest on fire.”

The AllFather nods, and then speaks. “The monkey scampers away across a fallen log set across the river and disappears into the bushes on the far bank.”

The Warrior sits back, hands spread, exaggerated confusion upon his face. “How can the path have crossed the river when it was leading away from the river?”

“It curved round.”

“You didn't say that!”

“Well I didn't say it was going in a straight line either. If I stopped to describe every twist and turn of every path or route the game would take forever!”

The AllFather looks at the hourglass that sits atop a pillar at the side of the room, eternal sands endlessly falling through its narrow chamber.

“Somewhere to go?” asks the Jester.

“No, it's just that I was rather hoping to get this whole story arc wrapped up this session.”

“Why?” asks the Dealer.

The AllFather pauses for a moment, troubled, unsure of whether to talk, and uncertain of what to say. “Well I'm heading off to this aeon's Conference of Pan-Multiversal Supreme Beings, and it would just be nice to be able to tell the others all about it.”

“Well you don't have to have everything finished to tell them about it,” the Lady points out.

“No, but you know what they're like.” The AllFather looks down, embarrassed. “Especially that cocky one with his oh-so-logical mortal realm.”

“The one with the good-looking son?” asks the Lady.

“That's the one. I ask you, what's so impressive about round worlds and–“ the AllFather makes quote marks with his fingers, “‑celestial mechanics.”

“Internal consistency?” suggests the Jester.

“Making belief in a supreme creator a matter of faith rather than fact?” adds the Dealer.

The AllFather glares at the two of them in turn. “Well that's as maybe, but does he have to be so smug about it? I swear, if he tells me once more about how he created his entire realm in six days, I'll...”

He breaks off. “Anyway, back at the camp–“

The Warrior breaks in. “Camp? I was heading off across the log after the monkey!”

“But the monkey's long gone!”

“How? I was right behind it! It's not my fault you chose to pause the game to spend five minutes whining about how other people have better realms than you.”

The AllFather sighs. “Fine, you're right behind the monkey. But the log is quite narrow, and very slippery, and it really is a raging torrent underneath it.

“Whatever. I'm walking onto the log.”

“You'll need two successes to make it across.”

The knuckle-bones dance across the table and into an extended period of silence. Five faces look at the AllFather waiting for judgement.

“Okay. One success. Well you make it a little way onto the log, but are then halted by a particularly slippery spot. You think you should be able to retrace your steps.”

“I'll continue!” declares the Warrior, casting the knuckle-bones once more. “Cursed bloody things!” he shouts when he sees the result. He picks the knuckle-bones up and throws them down in front of the Sleeper, dragging the Sleeper's knuckle-bones over to him as replacements.

“Getting superstitious, are we?” asks the Jester in a cheery tone.

The AllFather looks pained. “You're wobbling very badly and need to regain your balance. You need one success.”

“Fine!” snaps the Warrior. The knuckle-bones bounce angrily across the table, but when they rest it is clear from his scowl and the Jester's smirk that the result is not what he hoped.

“So I suppose I'm in the river now, am I?” shouts the Warrior.

“No,” replies the AllFather, “you've slipped off the log but one success will mean that you've managed to grab hold of it as you fall past.”

The Warrior scoops up the knuckle-bones and again throws them across the table.

The Jester leans in to count the result. “Now you're in the river!” he declares.

Still clutching his halfling-hood, Hill reached the end of the path just in time to see Draag first wobble one way, then the other, slip, make a desperate attempt to catch the log as he fell past it, miss, and finally plunge into the river, the splash of his entry nearly swallowed by the raging torrent's foamy spray.

He rose, sank, rose again – right hand still defiantly clutching his night-black sword – and then sank a final time.

Shovel trotted up and looked at his master.

Hill stared at the foaming waters for a moment, shrugged, and then whistled at the dog. “Come on boy, let's get back.”

* * * * *

Has the raging torrent done what a thousand swords could not? Has Draag breathed his last? Will anyone besides the Warrior care and who will be brave enough to tell him?

Stay tuned...

If you want to be informed when the next instalment of Game Night is published, you can follow me (Jonny Nexus) on either Facebook or Twitter. Or to just be kept informed of each chapter when it comes out, you can follow the @GameNightNovel twitter feed.

And if you don't want to wait until next week to find out what happens, you can buy the book in paper form from Amazon and all good games shops.

Buy Game Night on Amazon.com for $9.99

Buy Game Night on Amazon.co.uk for £7.99

In the UK and Ireland, your games shop can order it from Esdevium, with a stock code of MOP001. Elsewhere, they can order it from Indie Press Revolution.

Alternatively, if you'd like to get a copy of Game Night straight away, there's a PDF version available from the EN World PDF store for $5.99. We hope to have an ePub version available shortly.

Jonny Nexus

I love playing D&D in Greyhawk. There's just this old school nostalgic feeling playing in Greyhawk. Takes me back to the days of yore.

Dangermouse1

I reviewed Fantasy Craft on this site.

http://www.enworld.org/forum/reviews...ml#post5006250

pawsplay

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 devise 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