Thieves' Cant

I'm Taking My Talents to South Beach

2010-07-27T17:36:00.001-04:00

Or maybe not.

However, I will no longer be blogging here. I'm done. For those of you who followed Thieves' Cant over at wordpress and here, thanks for your readership and interesting comments.

There are so many good bloggers/blogs out there, I find myself with little to add to the discussion. At least not on a 3-5/week amount. And if I have a blog, that is how often I want to update it. So, ultimately the blog 'makes me feel bad' because I neglect it.

I'm fortunate with my job and a bit of burgeoning freelance work that my writing calendar is filled up for the foreseeable future . . . which also makes it easier to let go.

That being said, I want to remain a part of the community, be it RPGBN, the general blogosphere or gaming in general.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that I've noticed a lot of blogs, smartly, gathering writers. I'd like to throw my hat into that ring. If you have a predominantly 4e or Pathfinder blog and you are looking for a 1/week column, drop me a comment and let me know. I'd like to see Thieves' Cant live on somewhere . . . if just because the title fucking rocks.

Then again if that is not to be, who knows when I may pop up again.

Again thank you.

PS - I'm not totally abandoning the interwebs. @thelastrogue on twitter if you are interested.

Today was a Good Day

2010-07-14T21:56:00.000-04:00

Today was a good day.

I teach college courses as an adjunct professor. It pays the bills. However, due to a variety of reasons, I was only set to teach 1 course. After today, I’m teaching a total of 4 and have an interview for a full-time position.

The Fey Folio: Clans of the Fey Realm is generating some good buzz. I’m super proud of that product – maybe even more proud of it than the 4e version because of the ‘art’ of making good Pathfinder foes.

My article, All the Rage, has found a home on Kobold Quarterly’s website – it seems to be drawing some quality praise. I love that article. Look for part 2 soon.

Started a new Pathfinder game online. Had some technical difficulties (my fault – but fixable) and lucked into a group of enthusiastic fun players. I plan on posting their characters tomorrow. I also realized I may need to work on my organization for the game . . . but again that is a post for another day.

Lastly, I found out last night I’m going to have a daughter.

Thank you July 14th.

(Any other Pathfinder posts I do will be at my other blog: The Masterwork Scroll -- blogger hates me.

Now With More Ennie Cred

2010-07-12T09:52:00.000-04:00

So many things to discuss:

First off the Fey Folio recieved two Ennie nominations – or real close, I got honorable mentions, which, in my humble interpretation, means that the Fey Folio was the 6th best e-book and the 6th best monster manual-type book. Hell, in the latter category, the Fey Folio was selected in with the likes of the awesome Pathfinder Bestiary, etc. My thanks to the judges.

Ok, I’ll stop blowing my horn, but I am fairly proud of that work. Check it out on the cheap at RPGNow.

Second thing on the agenda: If you are reading this blog, I am guessing you have some level of interest in the D&D, the dungeons and the dragons, if you will. So why not play?

How does Wednesday nights, from 6-10:30 Eastern time sound? Pathfinder? Skype + Gametable? I’ve got a ranger, witch, and bard lined up, . . . what class do you want to play? Check here if interested.

Thirdly, yes that is a new blog. I’m trying some different stuff out there, stuff that avoids discussing 4e, which will more often than not be the focus of this blog. If you Pathfinder is your thing, I really think you may dig on that blog.

Adios.

Who Wants to Play D&D Online?

2010-07-09T10:30:00.001-04:00

I do! I do!

Thus I will be starting a weekly, Wed. night game using Skype and Gametable. Details here.

Finding the Path to PCGen

2010-07-05T08:48:00.000-04:00

Going a bit old school today. Well, not really I guess – I’m just talking Pathfinder.

At heart I’m a gaming schizo.

Love 4e, and enjoying the heck out of my campaign currently.

Love Pathfinder, and will be running an online game soon.

Developing a strong interest in Wyatt’s NAA D6 project and Savage Worlds . . . want to test them.

Have Warhammer Fantasy 3rd Edition sitting on my shelf in that big glorious box just staring me down.

Eagerly awaiting Mutants & Masterminds 3rd edition.

Been fidgeting with my own design.

Yes the list above is a testament to my inability to remain focused on any one gaming system for more than a minute or two.

However, I’m lately on a Pathfinder kick (good thing too, as I’ve been given the opportunity for a large 3rd party freelance project within the system). I just wanted to post this short blurb to send Pathfinder gamers to check out PCGen.

PCGen is free software that, get this, generates PCs (or NPCs). I’ve been fiddling with the newest version for a bit now, and let me say it ROCKS! It has access to the Pathfinder rules, and I suggest you grab it. Most of you probably already are aware of the system, but I thought it deserved a mention.

Tomorrow back to the rules tweaks.

Rules Tweak #4 - Got to Eat

2010-06-28T17:50:00.000-04:00

This is an oldie but a goodie from the guys over at the At-Will blog. They have so many sweet additions to the 4e ruleset it is hard to quantify. What I am stealing here though isn't that exciting. It is very mundane, but in a good way. Remember my point with this series was to discuss ways to make 4e a bit more gritty, a bit more mundane in truth, to strip away some of the high fantasy fare for a more earthy feel. Again, with the end goal being to use these houserules in a 4e Dark Sun game. Anyways, enough from me.

Here is my slight, slight, slight tweak of Ration Points from the At-Will blog
------------------

Ration Points

Rations represent the basic necessities needed to live –food, water, and the means of getting or storing these items.

Ration Points are used to abstract and collect what the players need to survive into on eas-to-track resource. Instead of spending more time than is necessary with everyone doing seperate book-keeping, Ration Points lump all that book-keeping into one resource.

Ration Points operate on these two simple principles:

Each Ration Point lets the party live comfortably for one day.

Each day the party loses one Ration Point.

To acquire Ration Points:

 Forage (using an acceptable DC for level) per Ration Point

 Buy them (1 Ration Point is equal to 1 gp per party member)

 Any other way the characters are determined to be clever…(i.e. roleplaying out hunts, stealing, or, gulp, cannibalism)

As long as the PCs currently possess Ration Points they suffer no consequences. The first day the party spends without Ration Points, and every day thereafter, they lose two healing surges. These healing surges cannot be regained until they the party has spent consecutive days with Ration Points equal to the number of days without. So if the party went three days without Ration Points, they’d need three days with Ration Points to regain the healing surges lost.

After 3 days without ration points the PCs are weakened until all healing surges are regained. Also, in the case that the PCs have no more healing surges, they instead suffer HP damage in an amount equal to what their healing surge would normally heal.

Hear Me!

2010-06-23T15:42:00.001-04:00

Another short blog post today –

I had the pleasure of being on the Power Source Podcast recently. We discussed a lot of things, an in-depth discussion of the Fey Folio, notwithstanding. I highly recommend you check it out.

(Sometimes my voice fades a bit, but not often. Let me stress that was my fault . . . I was a podcast virgin. I was clumsy.)

But aside from self-promotion, let me give you a few solid reasons you should check out the Power Source:

1) Talking about 4e by people who play 4e, and sometimes have written for 4e. The host, Jared Glenn, has written for Dragon Magazine and has published some really sweet 3rd party stuff for 4e. However, Jared like’s to bring in a lot of cohosts, some of which are well-known to the gaming community for their efforts outside of publishing (Chatty DM, Jeff Greiner) and then those who are better known for their written work (Dave Noonan).

2) A very in-depth discussion of recent releases by WotC with an emphasis on DDI articles. This discussion of WotC’s digital content fills a fairly large hole in the podcast world, and, in my estimation is one of the two best things about the podcast.

3) It is community driven. Questions are asked by the community and answered on the podcast.

4) Campaign Advice. Each month the Power Source focuses on a different type of campaign and discusses adventures, heroes, villains, and arcs for each.

5) The other top two thing – the community-added bumpers at the end of the show. It was here I first heard Aberrant Rules, a great collection of houserules.

Anyways, the podcast is fun, quirky, and while they can go on in length they do so because of the enjoyment people get from discussing the game.

Rules Tweak #3 - Stunting

2010-06-22T11:59:00.000-04:00

Back with the rules tweaks. Make sure to check out the previous ones or today’s post may lose you.

Today, I’m continuing on with ways a player may spend their Fate Points.

Let’s take a second here to acknowledge that this idea is really not mine, it is Ryven Cedrylle’s. Check him out at the At-Will blog, his twitter account, and on the Power Source Podcast (more on this tomorrow).

So let’s just jump in, shall we:

For 1 Fate Point a character may stunt a power. These power stunts allow a single power to be used in a unique manner in addition to their normal usage. Our cleric from last time, Gordian, normally uses gaze of defiance as an attack power, he wants to use it in this encounter to also add bonuses to his ability to demoralize a foe with the intimidate power. This bonus should be higher than the normal +2 he could make, but can be left up to the DM. Regardless of the bonus, until the end of the encounter, Gordian may use gaze of defiance as normal, or may use it to instigate an intimidate check.

In Ryven’s example, he gives an assassin using executioner’s noose to swing around like Spider-man. You can see there are quite a few ways to use this power.

Next time will get into some rules that have less to do with characters and more to do with environment and combat.

Achievements in Dungeons and Dragons

2010-06-16T09:55:00.002-04:00

Ok, I’m going to put off rules tweak one more time. I promise.

Today I wanted to talk about achievements very briefly.

You know achievements right? They are those things in video games and MMO’s that acknowledge you did something ‘cool’ – like killing 450 beetles or something.

Well, with just a minor tweak, I think that achievements have a place in the world of tabletop RPGs. As with most of my slight rules tweaks (I guess I am kind of continuing on the series), the goal behind achievements is to fuel a player’s immersion into his character. However, achievements also come with some solidly mechanical benefits.

Instead of telling you how to craft them, let me give you two examples from my current game.

Lady’s Man
When you fail a Bluff or Diplomacy check against a female target, you may immediately roll again. If this second roll works, you gain a pity success, and for all practical effects are to be considered as having succeeded the original roll.

Starts Strong
Any time you roll a critical hit on your first attack during an encounter, you deal an additional 1[w] damage.

Pretty simple right? The first one was given to Imilio, a virtue of valor bard. He has flirted with every female NPC. At first his rolls were comically bad, but he remained persistent, to the point where it seemed appropriate to give him this little bonus. It is not powerful enough to break the game, and it really adds flavor to his character.

The second one belongs to Ghesh are dragonborn paladin of Bahamut. He just joined are group last session as a replacement for a fallen halfling. On his very first attack, he critted and did upwards of 40 points of damage (3rd level character), nearly killing his foe in one strike. Considering it was his very first impression on the group I gave him the preceding bonus. Again, not gamebreaking, but flavorful.

Anyways, I hope this helps someone out there – do you guys do anything similar?

Let's Put Regis Philbin in Your Next RPG Puzzle

2010-06-15T13:05:00.000-04:00

I’ve really been living up to my moniker lately as I’ve been stealing from everywhere.

Namely podcasts – my recent rules tweaks have been inspired/ripped from the wonderful 4e podcast, The Power Source.

However, despite my promise to continue on with that series today, this blog post is borrowing heavily from the 3.5 Private Sanctuary. The most recent podcast was, ostensibly, about defining roleplaying – but there was a large tangent that essentially broke down into the following claim about RPGs or, at the very least, D&D:

When it comes to roleplaying Strength, Dex, and Con we rely on the rolls. If you have an 18 Strength you can lift the boulder – it doesn’t matter if you are a sickly 4’1 pre-teen girl with a broken arm. The stats back you up . . . however, when we roleplay the Int, Wis, Cha attributes we often ask more of the players than the characters. For example, even though your bard has an +18 bluff, it is not inconceivable that if the player is saying outrageous things or stumbling over his words he may suffer a penalty. Or, perhaps as a better example and the one they focus on in the podcast, when a group interacts with a riddle or a puzzle, the wizard with 20 intelligence does not automatically solve it. Instead the group must piece things together as players, and thus they often rely on the wit of the player as opposed to the character.

--

A couple quick caveats: Is this a big problem? No, probably not.

Is the above example universal? No. Lots of GMs allow the roll of the die to supersede the roleplaying of the character. If you have a 21 intelligence, then maybe the GM allows you to roll your way to a solution regardless whether or not you can tie your own shoe laces.

---

The fun of a puzzle is diminished, I’d argue, when you can just blast it away with a roll of a die. The same goes with NPC interaction. If we just relied on the die roll, there’d be no need to ever speak a line of dialogue. You could just say, “I bluff him. I rolled a 32.”

One prevalent solution to this is allowing slight buffs to the roll depending on how well things are played by the player. The player who weaves an interesting and believable lie gains a +X to his Bluff check. The player who raises his voice and pounds the table gains a similar bonus to intimidate and so on. Perhaps, someone does such a commendable job roleplaying, the DM allows for an automatic success. I tend to think these solutions are both widespread and satisfactory.

But I do not feel the same situation deals with puzzles.

The game loses a bit of luster when the riddle is solved by a check. The elaborate runes carved into the doorway are deciphered with a skill roll or two. Often times puzzles are meant to challenge the players – and thus leaning to heavily on character options can bypass that ‘fun’ (if these challenges do not engage your players then this point is moot. Let them roll and move on.)

At the same time, as much time as you, the DM, invested in writing up an engaging puzzle, your player’s invested much more making an attachment to a character they’ve created. Thus, I’d argue it is poor DMing to block the options wholly from the field of play.

So what to do? Rely on Regis of course . . . introduce lifelines (Copyright Who Wants to be a Millionaire of course)

Instead of granting outright success for a high mental attribute, give unique bonuses. Now, in all honesty, I’m not even finished with the podcast yet – these ideas hit me and I wanted to get them down. They are rough to be sure. However, that is where you come in. What other ideas do you have? How does your game table broach this subject? Let me know.

LIFELINE #1 “Eliminate Some Wrong Answers”

Sometimes during puzzles players jump to the immediately wrong conclusion with fervor and conviction. Only then does the DM realize how is puzzle’s answer could be misconstrued in such a way. One use of a lifeline is to eliminate these wrong answers when a player makes an appropriate mental check. “Dergar the Red, you realize you’ve been thinking about it all wrong. The answer to the riddle can’t be the moon, these derro ruins are underground, and the derro never leave for the surface. Their comprehension of moon, of any light source must be something native to the Underdark.”

It’s best if in your elimination of a wrong answer you also drop subtle clues to the real answer.

LIFELINE #2 “Phone a Friend”

The player who succeeds on an appropriate mental check has access to a computer or a book for 20 seconds. This is obviously a lifeline that will only help with certain puzzles . . . riddles, word games, or just general reference to history. Also, it assists people when they know what they are thinking of but can’t quite get the word out.

The fun here is the time limit. The player is still participating in a game of sorts, instead of just being spoon fed the answer.

LIFELINE #3 “Ask the Crowd (DM)”

The player who succeeds on an appropriate mental check may ask the DM a yes or no question. Any question? So it could even be: Is the answer turning the dial to the right, then pull the lever with the blue gem?”

In a way this one works like a save point, it allows the player to venture an answer without it counting against the limit or time, or being wrong in general. Crafty players are going to ask very good questions, thus making this a potentially powerful use of a lifeline.

Ok, that’s what I got right now. Hope you guys like and I hope you guys contribute a few more ideas to this.

Feral Vampires

2010-06-14T20:42:00.000-04:00

Pretty sweet cover, huh. Get in close. See those nasty vampires jumping around? I love the look of those bloodsuckers. But 4e doesn't do vampire spawn (what those are) very well. So to the drawing board, I went.

My main goal was to create vampires for that specific encounter. The picture inspired me to focus on that nasty leaping one. I wanted a power that could do that. I've got til Thursday to fix the rough draft below up. It is a bit simple right now, but sometimes, heck often times, that is a good thing.

As for the rules tweak series -- starts again tomorrow. I just finished a big freelance project and I can contribute a bit of time to that series again.

Here is the vamp . . .

Vreeg, Derro Necromancer

2010-06-09T08:55:00.000-04:00

Well, as I am still under a pile of projects, I thought today would again be best served by a quick, small blog post. Behold Vreeg the big bad holding my characters back from 4th level in my Curse of the Crimson Throne conversion.

He has a robe of bones in the book, so to simulate that he will be fighting with some undead at his side. The blood frenzy will be used early, and he will then hang back and assault the PCs.

Head of Cabbage

2010-06-08T10:46:00.000-04:00

Taking a break from my rules tweak segment because I've a lot of projects to work on today. However, I wanted to drop something in here.

This is my 4e version of Cabbagehead, an ogrekin baddie from Paizo's Curse of the Crimson Throne AP. My player's have two encounters to get through before leveling to 4th . . . one of them is a combat centered around this guy, 2 dogs, and a lot of pits (Encounter level 3). The next is Derro Necromancer, his derro sycophants, and some undead . . . but chances are they may be waiting for the party (stealth is not thier thing).

Anyways, here is cabbagehead

Rules Tweak #2 - This I Believe (and thus am rewarded . . .)

2010-06-07T15:42:00.000-04:00

Ok I am going to attempt to be concise.

Last time I mentioned a bit about character creation; I discussed my desire that the process contains elements that evoke roleplaying and immersion into the character. To this end I introduced my cribbed version of roleplay hooks.

Well, I’m not done yet. I also want to do away with alignment. I’ve never, ever liked alignment; for the longest time I’ve instead used a variant of the World of Darkness (older edition) Nature & Demeanor. It’s served its purpose well. However, recently (and provoked by something elsewhere on the web if not actually stolen from there) I’ve realized that even this Persona element has faults I want to avoid. Enter then Beliefs, Goals, and Traits.

(These rules and tweaks are just my interpretation and implementation of other’s hard work. In this case everything has been inspired, stolen, or just ever-so-slightly-tweaked from the depths of Ryven Cedrylle’s mind. He occasionally blogs for At-Will (a great blog for house rules and rule expansions) and often has a segment at the end of the Power Source Podcast called Aberrant Rules. In my humble estimation it is a must listen to.)

BELIEFS
Beliefs are quite simply concepts that a character holds to be true or values that they hold dear. A cleric of Erathis may possess beliefs like civilization is the potential of humanity, barbarism is one step from devil worship, and religion is the best vehicle for education. These concepts help shape the outlook a character has on life, elements that, when combined with hooks and backgrounds, establish that character’s past and the way it influences them.

GOALS
We all have goals. Mine today are blog, finish freelance project, clean house, make dinner for wife, etc. Some goals are broader range – publish a novel, find a better job, get a house with at least 2 acres of property, etc.

Now the goals for adventurers may not be as pedestrian, but then again they might. Taking our Cleric of Erathis, let’s name him Gordian, we’ll examine his goals: retire into a high position at the church, free his brother from imprisonment, and open a school for wayward youths.

In many ways goals act as future hooks and measure of roleplaying guideline. We can assume that a character who wants to attain a measure of respect in the church when he retires is both pious and adheres closely to Erathis’ tenets (then again he may be a devious heretic who wants to play the game . . .). But these goals also inform the DM – Oh, we have an imprisoned brother! He is going to need property and funds to build that school?

TRAITS

Traits are personality elements. Charming, Helpful, and Calm, for example. But those are a bit bland. We can imagine better ones or scour the internets for lists of traits (oddly enough, Jeff Greiner of The Tome Show fame recently started a website for 4e players that has such a list as its first feature).

But let’s put our thinking caps on for Gordian and give him really particular traits: Bookish (Gordian’s big into studying the history of civilization and always has some book or another in his bag), Ragged Scar (a result of a highway robbery, Gordian carries a jagged scar on his cheek), and Teacher (Gordian’s always pictured himself running that school, and he has the bad teaching habit of explaining everything to everyone even when they do not ask).

I feel that this gives us a much better picture of who Gordian is as opposed to saying he is good.

!!! Important note !!! These may change! A character’s goals may shift, a belief may be shattered, a new trait may be garnered. How this is handled should be story appropriate. A character shouldn’t suddenly abandon a belief, but if over the course of the game that becomes evident in the roleplaying then lose it, replace it, or alter it as needed.

So What of It?
Now as you can see, I’ve opted to make each player choose 3 elements in each Persona category. But what effect do they have on gameplay. You may say, “Hell, even when a player chooses good as his alignment it doesn’t keep him from stabbing goblins for fun and taking their loot.” I agree. I like mechanics to inform, assist, and reward roleplaying; I know many do not, and there are logical arguments as to why. I will simply say for my game, for my enjoyment, and for the people I play with, a reward system for roleplaying enhances the fun of the game even more.

So the reward system is?

FATE POINTS
When a player does something that his character would do (as defined by these 9 Persona elements), he may be worthy of a fate point. Now I wouldn’t recommend handing them out willy-nilly style, as certain players will constantly be reaping these points, but I wouldn’t be stingy either. Perhaps, 3-5 points per session at max. I will test and report as I use this further.

So the obtaining of these points represents the player’s ability to ‘get into character.’ In Gordian’s case if the player made sure to point out to the DM that he is reading a book on the structure of hobgoblin society each night as they camp, the DM could award a single Fate Point (rewarding the Bookish element).

If in combat Gordian’s group is attacked by a youthful group of street thugs, the DM may want to award 2-3 points if Gordian argues to keep them alive and then scolds them at length on the failings of their chosen path (rewarding both his desire to teach wayward children and his pedagogical leanings).

Pretty simple right? (Easy to say now, of course at the game table a lot is going on. House rules, mine at least, always seek to add complexity . . . be aware.)

So now Gordian has 3 Fate Points. What can he do?

1. For 1 Fate Point a character may add a +1 bonus to any roll he just made. This is cumulative and multiple points may be spent.

2. For 1 Fate Point a character may reroll any NON-COMBAT roll and gain a +2 bonus on that roll if it somehow plays into one of his 9 Persona elements.

a. Example: Gordian and crew have captured a slavering orc who attempted to burn down a small village. Filled with rage at this attempt to undermine civilization, Gordian attempts to intimidate the orc into reporting his tribe’s hideout, but fails. However, he quickly spends a Fate Point alerting the DM to his jagged scar. The DM agrees the wicked wound is definitely intimidating; Gordian rerolls and gains a +2 bonus.

3. For 1 Fate Point a character may declare something to exist within the game world if it can tie back into his Personal elements somehow. One on hand a gaming group must be careful of overuse, but using a Fate Point in this fashion cannot overrule common sense or destroy what the DM’s already declared as fact. For example, a Fate Point cannot place an ocean within the deserts of Athas. Nor can it kill Elminster in the Forgotten Realms. On the other hand it opens the game to a wide range of fun, exciting twists and turns.

a. Example: Instead of using the example above, Gordian instead uses his Fate Point to pray to Erathis for guidance. Gordian’s player tells the DM that Erathis has told Gordian the orcs dwell in the caverns beneath an old monastery 3 days to the northwest of town and that this particular orc is the son of a witch doctor and may serve as some use as a hostage (a DM would be within his rights to ask for 2 Fate Points here as two truths were allowed).
(What rocks about this is the unpredictability it brings into the game. Player’s gain a level of control and, thus, immersion into the world. But even better is the twists it allows of the game. The DM may very well allow this, and should, but he can define the monastery as haunted by the ghosts of its past monks or better yet, that the son of the witch doctor is valued not because of familial ties, but because he serves as the vessel for a minor demon the orc shaman has summoned.)

4. Veto of Fate Points exists, as well, within DM control. A DM may twist a fate point expenditure back on the group, or put a certain chain of events into play, based on a character’s 9 Persona elements.

a. Example: Using the last above example, a DM may veto that knowledge by saying Gordian’s Bookish trait allows him knowledge that his prayer must’ve not been successful, since it is well-documented that the Fanged Spider tribe lives near the shores of Coldwater Lake.

Using this veto power grants the affected player a single Fate Point. And it also forces the players to think on the fly, while giving the DM the power to protect some of his more cemented or planned features within a campaign or adventure.

The final use of a Fate Point, a power stunt, will be discussed next time.

Also, in closing, let me stress again these rules and tweaks are just my interpretation and implementation of other’s hard work. In this case everything has been inspired, stolen, or just ever-so-slightly-tweaked from the depths of Ryven Cedrylle’s mind. He occasionally blogs for At-Will (a great blog for house rules and rule expansions) and often has a segment at the end of the Power Source Podcast called Aberrant Rules. In my humble estimation it is a must listen to.

Thanks. Until next time keep out of flanked position.

TLR

Rules Tweak #1 - Hook 'em

2010-06-04T09:59:00.001-04:00

So continuing the Dark Sun theme . . . I’ve been busy putting together the house rules and ideas I want to implement come August. My little outline looks something like this (actually it looks exactly like this) --

House Rules for Dark Sun

Character Creation

Hooks

Gain a Free Feat

Persona

Beliefs, Goals, & Traits

Fuels Fate Point System

Dark Sun is Dangerous

Ration Points
Gritty Healing Surges
Injury Mechanic
Critical Fumble
Broken Weapons

Tweak WotC option?

Heroes are the power, not Magic Items

Magic Items as representation of personal skill
Healing Surges as a Resource
Never Give Up

A subset of Fate point system
Like Limit Breaks

So without further ado let’s break these bad boys down.

CHARACTER CREATION

I like to set one session aside for character creation whenever possible. I also really, really, REALLY like the collaborative character creation presented in the DMG 2. I’m not going to go through that piece by piece. Just read it.

However, let me say that the reason I like all that stuff that frontloads the DMG 2 is because it puts an emphasis on that most hotly debated of words, roleplaying. So, when I began to brainstorm some of the things I wanted to incorporate in my Dark Sun game, this desire was my compass.

To some degree WotC has a mechanic that encourages this – backgrounds. A player gets a little outline of their past (with some prompting questions they should answer) and a small mechanical boon. Dark Sun takes this a notch further with themes. Check out this article by Dungeon’s Master to get a sneak peek at the characters. Pay particular attention to the extra encounter powers; these are granted by the themes.

But I want more, of course. Thankful WotC has me covered. SRM (Stephen Radney-McFarland, I think), author of the Dungeon article “Save My Game,” has a sweet little piece about hooks. Check his blog here for the full details, but allow me to summarize:

Hooks are essentially backgrounds for characters that pertain uniquely to the campaign you, the DM, has crafted. For example, if I’m running a campaign that I know will be very heavy into aberrants, I may have a hook called Unspeakable Ritualist that is available to arcane casters and details their possession of a book of odd rituals or their knowledge of a mentor who teaches these things; perhaps I would have a hook Fled the Deep available to dwarves who’ve lost a clan to alien horrors that welled up from beneath their mountain home. Get the point?

These hooks create a little extra tie and immersion into the campaign the DM is running; it gets people on the same page, and creates some connections amongst PCs. One little wrinkle I’ll be adding to this is that each hook also offers a small bonus feat. These will not be combat feats, or if they are they will have very limited usefulness. The key here is flavor. For Unspeakable Ritualist I may attach the EXPERT RITUALIST feat; for Fled the Deep maybe BATTLE HARDENED (check the compendium for details on these).

These feats shouldn’t make things too unbalanced, especially in regards to combat. What they do, however, is make the players feel like they are good at something from the word GO. Additionally, the hooks themselves often create more questions than they answer, thus enticing the player to get a bit more involved in crafting his character’s personality.

Hmm. I am already pushing past 500 words here. Let’s stop. I want to commit a whole post to my ideas on Persona (Beliefs, Goals, & Traits) replacing alignment and the Fate point system they feed.

Oh, the Agony! (Dark Sun Style)

2010-06-03T14:22:00.000-04:00

I’m stung by the swirling sands of Dark Sun once more. Beyond a shadow of a doubt, Athas has been my favorite stomping ground for D&D since I first started rolling die. Now as WotC gears up for the big 4e version of Dark Sun, I hear the siren’s call once more beckoning me back to the rugged world . . . or perhaps it is just a belgoi tinkling its damn bell . . .

Regardless, inspired by this RPG.net thread, I’ve served up some quick Dark Sun ideas.

First is the Agony Beetle. This from the RPG.net thread and paraphrased from the 2e AD&D Dark Sun Monstrous Compendium “Terrors of the Desert.” –

{A tiny black 1" beetle that psionically lives off the pain of its victims. It latches on the victim, then waits till they're asleep, held, casting spells, or doing anything else involving concentration, when it activates its Spinal Tap ability. The Spinal Tap ability inserts a tendril into the victim's spine (without them feeling anything due to its anesthetics). The victim is overcome by pain and unable to resist as the beetle drain their Constitution into PSPs for itself. This is guaranteed to kill a victim who is alone.

The beetles live near water sources, where they latch on to prey. They need only plain for sustenance. They're also commonly found in torture chambers. Some rumors say the beetles originally escaped from a Sorcerer-King's torture chamber, but the entry states it's more likely they were drawn there. Dark Sun's cannibalistic Halflings use them in slings or through them onto someone's clothing. Agony Beetles make for bad eating}

Now statting up a single beetle isn’t likely right for 4e design – best left in the capable hands of a DM (though I can think of lots of devious ways a single beetle may be used). However, a swarm of them . . . now that’s more like it.

Does a few things it should: 1) Kills you if you are alone. 2) Feeds off pain. 3) Can make you feel pain (aura + Wave of Pain).

May tweak it in the future, and, as always, if you want the XML let me know. Though it should not be hard to simply copy this or make it in your own DDI Adventure Tools thingamajig.

But we are not done yet - What about some more agonizing stuff . . . like terrain?

SMATTERING OF AGONY BEETLES

A few agony beetles scuttle here and there about the earth.

Effect: The squares occupied by these dastardly black-shelled bugs echo suffering and pain at those who stand within. Creatures occupying this terrain suffer an additional 2 points of damage per tier whenever they take damage. Bloodied creatures double this penalty. As a standard action, a creature may stomp out the pests scuttling about their feet thus ending the effect.
Usage: Thematically works great with cannibal halflings (see below) and agony beetle swarms. However, agony beetles are a common, if deadly, pest throughout Athas. In encounters, this terrain effect maximizes artillery units as they can stand back, gaining the bonus of the effect, and none of the risk.

Encounter Idea:

Cannot take credit for this idea (check the rpg.net thread linked above).

Halflings of Athas have long made use of the animals around them. They harvest poison and food, use the bones of great beasts as weapons and their hides as armor. They’ve found a use for the agony beetle as well -- ammunition. Halflings use these beetles as sling bullets. While the beetles cannot latch on to targets at such velocity, every two successfully fired into a square creates the above terrain feature.

This is a great way to spice up an encounter, giving it both a dynamic evolution and a bit of Athasian spice!

Writing for Pathfinder & 4e: My Final Thoughts

2010-06-02T09:23:00.002-04:00

Ok. I’m writing about 3rd party products and D&D again. I’ve done this before, but never articulated it the way I want to.

The reason I’m writing is because of this excellent blog by Rob Donaghue.

He says,

“See, there are a lot of things the current structure makes impractical for third party publishing; classes, races, paragon paths, epic destinies, feats, powers and magic items [4] most notably. These are all the elements which, if someone wants to use, they can't use the Character Builder.”

This has long been my point:

THE CHARACTER BUILDER IS AWESOME!

When a 3rd party product comes out with character stuff (look to the above quote for examples) it doesn’t matter how well-written the material is. The majority of 4e players make use of DDI; thus no matter how sweet a 3rd party publisher’s stuff is, the ability to use it is hindered by the smooth interface of WotC’s digital tools.

Thus, it won’t sell.

Therefore, crafting 3rd party products for 4th edition players is a poor business model (caveat being markers, minis, and game accessories).

Rob goes on to the logical conclusion here:

“But that does leave a few things on the table. To break it down a little, let's use the one specific example: Monsters.

“Monsters are the first thing that spring to mind. Monsters are mechanically self-contained, and the fact that WOTC hasn't built an integrated encounter builder (yet) means there's no real overhead difference between using a WOTC monster and a third party monster, excepting the ease-of-use issue of copying and pasting out of the compendium”

Right. Monsters. Great idea (hint/beg: check out my Fey Folio). Copy and paste are work well enough, but some readers have already suggested to me that WotC’s Monster Builder creates the same issues for 3rd party products that the character builder does.

Enter XML files. The WotC Adventure Tool possesses the ability to import XML files (the monsters). So what’s to stop a 3rd party publisher from releasing those XML files with the product?

No seriously, I am asking – maybe nothing. If so that is a great, great incentive to offer potential customers.

Now Rob goes on to talk about just creating monsters doesn’t cut it. They have to be above par, and he outlines some good reasons why. But what I find particularly interesting is the following (still from Rob, different post though):

“Given that adventures are also usually smaller and less expensive, that makes them low-volume, low-margin products. Plus, (and this is more 4e specific) they compete with free material from sources like dungeon magazine. At first glance, that may seem like a reason for an independent person to bother with getting into, but I'd argue that the reality is the opposite for two reasons.

First, while the market for PDFs is not universal, I think people are a lot more open to trying electronic products for things they consider "disposable", like adventures. Second, while a larger company cannot reasonably consider producing a three to five dollar product and still making their nut, a lone enthusiast can do that and make a fair return. The appeal of the 4e [1] market is that even a small slice of it is pretty large on the scale that small game publisher's operate on. Of course, nothing is ever guaranteed, but the point is that as a small publisher looking to publish electronically, the "adventures don't sell" adage is less of a barrier than you might think.”

Again, Rob expounds on this better in his post, but I wanted to bring it up to agree with it.

A great example is the recent release by Emerald Press, “The Key of the Fey.” It is a low-level adventure with some unique angles (play as mercs not heroes) and it possesses everything you need within in it. That last bit is key to 4e supplements: it must contain a lot, because it must be aimed at being of immense use to a DM. Adventures fit this mold, Nevermet Press’s “The Desire” does, and so does the “Fey Folio.” Each of these products offer more than just an adventure or monster manual, they offer ecology, plot hooks, and advice, they are like mini-campaigns.

So in Review

The spots that seem best primed for 4e supplemental material are:

1) At the table products – I didn’t delve into this much, but fairly priced maps, tokens, counters, and minis will always have a place in the world of D&D. Especially in 4e, with its ‘reliance’ on cards, tokens, and various tracking needs.

2) Adventures. Yes, Dungeon has adventures. Re-read Rob’s post on adventures; he makes a damn good point though about pushing the envelope. Hell, even WotC even recently admitted they need help producing ‘better’ adventures. There is space out there for adventures that are formatted more conveniently, that can entertain story spaces Dungeon cannot, and that can fill a void no DDI tool can easily annihilate.

3) Monsters, skill challenges, DM-ready to use stuff. I touched on this the most, but these things are always useful. DM grab-and-go items. Themed monster booklets (by type or tier, for example) with XML files ready to be imported, skill challenges that can be copy and pasted right into a DM’s notebook, terrain powers, fun encounters, etc.

Pathfinder

Now take everything I said about 4e and flip it.

Ok, not totally seriously, but there are two big differences.

Pimp my Character

All that character stuff you cannot do in 4e is super, super welcome in Pathfinder.

Super Genius Games knows this. They’ve made enough sweet character supplements (gear, feats) and new classes that if a DM were not happy with the PF magic classes, he could run their classes instead. The beauty of Pathfinder is that it is analog. Thus it is open to the plethora of options that 3.5 was. Technology is not a barrier for a well-written 3rd party product to entice a player. You want to play a Death Mage, you say, simply download the cheap PDF and let’s go. Game’s in an hour!

That will not happen in 4e so readily.

Also, WotC seems to realize its stranglehold on classes and races. Probably why it has pushed so many of them, and so many builds, out at such a steady pace. To feed the demand.

Paizo’s not doing that (upcoming APG notwithstanding). This is fertile ground for 3rd party support. So many class options exist and are creatable for this ruleset (see the recent Strategists and Tactician’s Guide) that it will be a long time before Super Genius, 4 Winds Fantasy, and others exhaust the possibilities of races, classes, and gear.

Keep Your Adventures to Yourself

The other big difference, I’d argue, is that there is no place for 3rd party adventures in Pathfinder. Paizo does this better than anyone else. Gorgeous adventure paths, succinct and fun modules, and an already near-infinite supply of Pathfinder Scenarios, means that GMs have a nearly inexhaustible supply of ready-to-go, top-notch material at their hands.

To try and out-adventure Paizo would be foolish. They’ve got the chops, and legions of fans who really buy into their setting, and who eat up those APs.

One place a wily producer might sneak in is cheap, simple adventures. If there is a knock against Paizo’s adventures, it is that they are often heavy (emotionally, plot-wise, and time-wise) and pricey (though worth every cent). A short, fun adventure designer could exploit a possible need.

Monsters

This holds true just as much as it does in 4e. Gamer’s love monsters. Good art. Good mechanics. Good story. Get that going and regardless of the system you’ve got a shot.

And with that, I promise this is the last time I’ll discuss 3rd party products and D&D.

Derro

2010-06-01T08:13:00.001-04:00

So my group has switched back to 4e (less prep time, they enjoy the ease of use of the characters, etc) but we are still playing Paizo’s Curse of the Crimson Throne.

So that means from time to time, I’ll throw up some of the conversions I am doing for you guys to take a look at. Now truth be told another blog, Long Live Korvosa, has beaten me to the punch somewhat in these conversions. They seem to have trailed off a bit as of late, but if you want to see some different takes on the creatures and traps that populate this wicked Adventure Path, check them out.

First things first though . . . . the derro (hopefully these baddies pop up in Monster Manual III)

This version is essentially a low-level grunt, uses poison and relies on one neat trick.

I’m not entirely sure I am happy with the end result – namely dazing darkness still bothers me a bit. It works for my game, but is essentially just a way to shoehorn some classic derro spell-like abilities in.

I'd love to upload the XML file too, but I'm not sure if blogger really can do that . . . if you want it, let me know.

Campaign Spark - A Blue Dragon Egg

2010-05-25T10:20:00.000-04:00

So way back when before Paizo started running their RPG Superstar contest, they ran a one-time deal: pitch us an adventure outline based on a few things (town named Azurestone, wilderness adventure, etc).

I was fortunate enough to be one of the ten finalists out of little more than a 150 contestants.

The reward? Write a full blown adventure proposal.

I ultimately lost out to David Schwartz’s piece: the well-written Flight of the Red Raven (this was the title of the piece regardless the winner).

These past few days I’ve been cleaning up some files on the ol’ computer and came across my adventure outline. I liked what I wrote, though I also see some of the inherent failings. Ultimately I had a good idea that I didn’t live up to in the plotting of the piece. I went way too heavy in combat encounters for a 32 page module.

Running parallel to this urge to clean the files on my computer has been an urge to start crafting a 4e campaign for when my current Pathfinder campaign ends.

Why not merge the two together?

While I’ve lost the adventure pitch for this piece, I’ll put a summary here and expand throughout the course of this blog. Kind of a behind the scenes of prepping a campaign.

Let me stress that this adventure idea is just that – an adventure. It may lead into the campaign arc, but it is not the end-all-be-all of the upcoming campaign.

Bluesky Vale is a bustling little artist’s community. Founded by a legendary bard, the town his home to a legendary school of the arts and is renowned for the many splendid paintings, sculptures, and songs of its inhabitants. Nestled against the shores of Lake Iriel, Bluesky Vale is an idyllic and peaceful community.

However, what secures that peace is truly unique. Resting in the center of town is a magically preserved blue dragon egg – the scion of the ruthless blue, Shassurtha, that lays claim to the Three-Spear Peaks a few days north of town. Fear of this egg being destroyed has not only kept the dragon from destroying the town, but has also held in check kobolds, bandits, and other monstrosities from savaging the village for fear of attracting the mighty Blue’s wrath.

But things are about to change.

A village rapscallion with dreams of grandeur has cut a bargain with the mighty Shassurtha for a legendary item that will win him respect and fame. All he has to do is steal the egg for her . . .

Tomorrow I will go into the backstory of the town a bit more and the adventure synopsis. After that, I’ll start tying it into the main campaign arc and populating our lovely homebase for the PCs.

Picked Pockets - Spirits of Eden

2010-05-14T09:45:00.000-04:00

I am a big game jumper. Sometimes I am dissatisfied with 4e, sometimes with Pathfinder . . . sometimes I want to sulk in the World of Darkness, other times I want to watch my friends die in Warhammer . . .

I think Wyatt best sums up how changing a game doesn’t mean you hate it.

By the by, if you read this blog, but not his, you need to readdress your reading priorities.

Picked Pockets - RolePlaying Pro

2010-05-12T09:45:00.000-04:00

Going to Spain tomorrow. Won’ t be back until 5/22. Then that weekend is burdened with 3 freelance projects (2 greenlights, 1 query).

However, as I want to keep up on the blogging. I wanted to leave a few quick hit blogs in absentia.

These blogs won’t be anything too involved, but will likely be 4e centric (it is what is on my brain right now). As a matter of fact they will be links to archived stuff of 4e blogs I always find useful.

TODAY = HOUSE RULES

Injuries and Wounds

Healing Surges (uses)

Roleplaying Pro is the site behind these great ideas; they seem to have recently lost a bit of steam, or I’ve just become less aware of their recent postings. Either way - too bad – they rock.

Hip Deep in Gnomes and Faeries

2010-05-07T09:45:00.001-04:00

Took a week off to work on some project before I go to Madrid for a week . . . So this is the beginning of roughly 10 posts or so that will be posted in my absence.

First off all good news for Pathfinder fans: The Fey Folio (#1 at EN World’s RPGnow site!) will be published for Pathfinder as well ~ the process of converting and transitioning these from 4e is interesting to say the least. But I’ll leave that little snippet at that for now.

To say I’ve been up to my eyeballs in fey lately is an understatement.

1. Wrote the Fey Folio

2. Converting the Fey Folio

3. Playtester/Senior Patron (looks like some of my baddies, ideas will be in the final version) on Wolfgang Baur’s Courts of the Shadow Fey (4e)

4. A Senior Patron (absentee unfortunately) on Tim Connor’s Tales of Old Margreve.

Oh . . . and my dog looks like a sad gnome.

----

Moving on . . .

One thing I wanted to discuss with my selection of creatures for the Fey Folio is where they came from – my last post deals with that a bit, and if you’ve read those links and have the product, I doubt it is very obtuse to you how things came to be.

So instead let’s talk about the philosophy behind the Fey Folio and other things I’ve brewing.

KEYWORD – STORY

Read the Jack-in-Irons entry of the folio. Now read the dullahan, fachen, spriggan, and GM section (including the skill challenge).

I’d like to think there is a lot of material to work with there.

My goal, and my desire, for ‘monster manual’ type products is to go a bit deeper than simply presenting stat blocks and tactics for creatures you may fight. I want them to feel rounded; I want them to be wellsprings from which a story, adventure, or campaign could emerge from.

Jack-in-Irons’ unique story and his connection to many of the other fey allow me to do that. The DM who uses this material gets a story upon which to seat a lot of these fey. Interrelations are explored, desires of the creatures are given, and items are included to help the GM make use of this book as more than a collection of bad guys.

-----

A recent reader mentioned how sweet it would be if I could release the xml files to these monsters so that someone could incorporate them directly into the monster builder.

I agree. That would be sweet. However, I imagine that some form of legality must be navigated to do that. It may be something I broach with the publisher, or wait to hear from WotC for. If allowed, I could see this being the new wave of 4e publishing.

However, I know the total epic sweetness of DDI’s suite of tools may deter some buyers of 3^rd party products that aren’t adventures. I still implore you to check out the Fey Folio. It is a PDF, so cutting statblocks and pasting them into your pages, or, however, you run your game, should not be too difficult. Also, at most it would take 5 minutes to plot the info yourself into DDI’s Monster Builder.

-----

Let me leave you with a review from everyone’s favorite internet persona – Wyatt Salazar . . .

Till next time.

Where the Fey Come From

2010-04-28T09:45:00.001-04:00

So tomorrow (or later tonight) I wills start in earnest in my explanation of how I transformed Celtic, Slavic, and even Filipino myth into 4e monsters and story devices. But for today I will just show you where I started . . . where all good research does . . .wikipedia!

Below is a list of some of the monsters included and links to their Wikipedia origin. For those of you who have purchased the Fey Folio (thanks!) you’ll note some deviations from the standard mythology in the included monsters . . . there are good reasons for that, one’s I’ll touch on tomorrow.

For now expand your knowledge of folklore and faeries . . .

Fachen

OH - also a really kicking review of the Fey Folio can be found here. If you're still hesitant to indulge in sweet fey goodness maybe this can help assuage your fears.

Fey Pimp

2010-04-26T09:45:00.001-04:00

What is the point of having a blog if you can’t indulge in a little shameless self-promotion from time to time?

I authored a product for Alluria Publishing; it is a self-contained Monster Manual, Fey Folio I: Unseelie Court (and the first review)In addition to describing all types of cruel and mischievous fey humanoids, it also has a sample campaign, skill challenges, an interwoven story to keep the entries somewhat cohesive, and a few magic items your PCs may want.

I am proud of the product, in part because I think the writing is solid. In part because I really pushed the boundaries with some of the stat blocks regarding creative use of actions. And in part because the ART FUCKING ROCKS! (Done by Vasilis Zikos)

Anywho, I hope you check it out, I don’t think you will be disappointed.

And while this supplement is for 4e fans . . . I’ve got something cooking for Pathfinder fans on the horizon.

One last note – this week will be full of self-promotion, no small amount of self-aggrandizement, and surely shitloads of hyperbole. J

In truth, the next few blog posts will give some behind the scenes info on the creation of the fey folio . . . what myths didn’t make it in, how D&Dized certain legendary races, etc.

Until then.

Fluffing That Pillow

2010-04-23T09:45:00.001-04:00

Running a published adventure should be like fluffing a pillow.

The pillow is already made. You could lie right down and rest your sweet little face on it, no real problem. But for maximum comfort, you need to position that downy sack of feathers just so.

When running a published adventure, you could just dive in, run it as written and stick to the script. But players are not privy to the script. They have goals, aspirations, and machinations all their own that may (see also: likely) not exist within the confines of your purchased module.

I really like Paizo modules. They seem to take this well-known fact into account with most of their published adventures. NPCs, plot hooks, bestiaries, and the like litter their pages as ancillary material to the main thrust of the adventure plot. This gives GMs fertile ground in which to, as Fleetwood Mac says, go their own way.

Now what the GM does with this material is obviously up to them.

I’m running Curse of the Crimson Throne, a gritty, urban adventure, and I am using the loose ends to offer a counterpoint to the darker tone of the published adventure.

My group is relatively beer & pretzels. They like the dark mystery that is building up, but they also want to let loose a bit of steam. Thus when the first big loose end came up (a mob beating up a noble that the group dispersed), I turned that into a light-hearted sidetrek. The mob became a group of drunken louts that nearly fouled up a later mission by the PCs (but ultimately got slaughtered by the PCs – seeds for future sidetreks) and the saved noble is fulfilling the overly thankful, sniveling, comic relief. This saved noble has also asked the group if they’d be interested in helping a noble friend of his, one that some research has shown comes from a fallen family that is rumored to dabble in dark sorcery.

None of this is actually included in the adventure module, but it has provided some of the best and funniest moments of the campaign so far.

How do you guys change written adventures to better suit your PCs? Any particular examples? I’d like to hear . . . that way I can steal those ideas. I’m a rogue, after all.

Interconnectivity (or, Yeah, I know him too!)

2010-04-22T09:45:00.001-04:00

I am a bit geeked. Yes, I’m also a bit of a geek . . . but if you are reading this blog, so are you.

My RPG ‘freelancing career’ definitely deserves those sarcastic quotes. I’ve been fortunate to do a bit of work with Nevermet Press. I have one published article in Kobold Quarterly and a few on the website. I finished in the top ten of an adventure writing contest at Paizo once . . .

Not too much to write home about. However, this weekend, if all continues apace, I will have my first solo authored PDF product out for D&D (4e in this case). The product is a variant monster manual, thus full of cool art and useful to anyone who games (monster manuals are in every gamer’s wheelhouse).

I’m proud of the work I did for this PDF. I feel like the writing is fairly solid and if you read through the PDF (as opposed to simply cherrypicking the included creatures) you’ll notice a subtle story woven through. The creatures included in this product interact with each other, their stories intertwine. My hope was that this level of interconnectivity would help spur a GM’s mind; failing that, I hope the writing is simply up to snuff and that the reader enjoys it.

-----

Interconnectivity . . . the refusal to leave loose ends, and, even more pointedly, the conscious decision to connect the loose dots into a cohesive picture.

In gamemastering, I think focusing on this level of connection is a way to reward players, ease the burden of GMing, and create a tighter setting.

REWARD PLAYERS – Most DMGs, blogs, and veteran players can speak to the importance of drawing inspiration for your game from the player-character’s backgrounds. Did the player of a wizard have a rival for his mentor’s tutelage? The thief was betrayed by his father you say? The paladin’s women has decided to devote her life to her god and taken a vow of chastity . . .

Players love being rewarded for taking the time to develop a character. Players are smart and hopeful; they know these loose ends are there to make the game more fun, and to, hopefully, put some emphasis on their character’s own story. Picking up on these cues and making them occasional points of emphasis in a campaign is just smart gamemastering.

But what if, using the examples above, the thief’s father was also the father of the paladin’s wife? Suddenly everything becomes more murky, more difficult to navigate, and, thus, more rewarding to deal with. The thief may very well want blood, but the Paladin cannot allow that to happen regardless of past ills if he hopes to return to his love at some point. How do the player’s navigate this? To make matters worse, the roguish father may be running a con on the group, one his son can immediately sniff out, but one that plays to the paladin’s sense of honor . . .

Making NPCs from a PC’s past interact in different ways with the group rewards the player because it encourages more vivid roleplaying sessions, more character immersion, and a challenge outside of combat or skills that must be navigated.

EASE THE GM BURDEN – This one is simple. If you GM like me, you keep that notebook full of NPC’s met, threads of each character’s personal ‘story’, etc. BUT, instead of having unique individuals populating each character’s own arc, being interconnective (not an actual word, but bear with me) asks you to have serious overlap amongst those characters. Overlap means less NPCs to track, less NPCs to track means less work AND, the hidden bonus, less background NPCs often means the NPCs who do get on stage are often more unique or interesting.

A TIGHTER SETTING – By now you may guess where I am going here. Interconnected PC backgrounds allow for more richly detailed world settings/NPCs. Instead of splitting your creative juices amongst 5 different NPCs, cities, cultures, or what-have-you’s, you instead are splitting your mana only 3 ways.

This means a few things:

1) It is a lot easier to work in 3 things than 5, thus character background elements will reoccur more often, and give a bit more payoff.

2) I’ve always believed in a minimalist approach to creating a believable setting. By hitting the shared background elements (or NPCs) of a characters’ lives, the GM can bring forth descriptions/emotions/reactions that effect more than one PC. Instead of the thief listening to his father tell the tales of his city, he can instead listen to how he tells them to the paladin, and how they are completely false.

When the things a PC ‘knows’ are challenged or shared, they become more than description. The world becomes a living, breathing thing – and actions are sought from the player’s.

Does the thief let his dad tell these lies? Does he interject? Does the paladin even care?

Perhaps, that paladin is too worried about the sudden appearance of his church’s new inquisitor . . . who just happens to be his wizard friend’s old rival . . .

Interconnectivity baby.

Classes of Monsters

2010-04-20T09:45:00.000-04:00

Monsters.

They hide under the bed. They lurk in the shadows of your closet. They’ve fangs, claws, and muscles. They are quicker, stronger, more savage than anything you know.

In short, monsters ROCK.

But when I cast my mind about monsters I see very few actual groups:

SEXY UNDEAD – Vampires and ghosts. Possessing spirits, too.

HORRIFYING UNDEAD – Mummies and Zombies and Skeletons

CREATURES OF MYTH – Dragons, Giants, Golems, a few odds and ends (look in your Monster Manual).

FEY – Mean leprechauns, sprites, brownies . . . other malicious tricksters.

DEMONS/DEVILS – Hellraiser to succubus.

CTHULU - Alien beings.

ALIENS – Beings that are aliens.

FROM THE DEEP – Nessie and her ilk.

What am I missing? I feel like I am there is some category I am overlooking.

Hmm. While you are pondering monsters you should check out Nevermet Press. They are running a contest with a lot of freebies you can win. All you have to do is describe a monster . . . can you break from these categories?

GM versus Players, Round 3

2010-04-19T09:45:00.001-04:00

Rolling along . . .

Let’s finish this mini-series, shall we?

Last time we discussed ‘coolness’ – now let’s focus on the concept of power.

D&D, and its clones, really hammer home the concept of power and acquisition. Levels are gained and their accumulation determines the power a character is capable of. Running parallel to level advancement is the attainment of magical items.

Again, these things are inherent to D&D and I imagine a lot of people, including myself, would argue these basic concepts, along with killing monsters, make D&D the great game it is.

Vampire operates differently.

Experience is gained, but its value is not seen through level advancement. The acquisition of power comes much slower instead. Points are spent to advance traits, skills, attributes, disciplines, etc.

Items are different too. Not many +2 Longswords floating around in the World of Darkness – guns, cars, businesses, other items, sure.

My player’s are the classic D&D ‘type;’ they love gaining levels and items. These benchmarks provide a feeling of accomplishment and success. When a player goes up a level and finds that ring of invisibility in the dragon’s loot, he knows he’s done well. He has achieved something for the way he has played his character.

The key, then, is to port this sense of accomplishment over to Vampire.

Power – Vampires are physical specimens, can take a bullet or two, and possess unique super powers (Disciplines). So . . . technically they are powerful. However, the World of Darkness is full of creatures as powerful and many that are more so. Whereas D&D is setup for the players to fight foes they can constantly conquer, Vampire is an open sandbox in which the PCs are thrown to the sharks. There are no kobolds walking around, no clear delineations as to which beings are weaker than the PCs.

Except for the common mortal. One way to give my players a sense of strength is to really play up the hunts and their interactions with mortals. In other words, mortals are a great place to blow off some steam. Let them crush weak human wills with dominate and majesty. Let them savage gangs, cops, whomever with celerity and vigor. Against most mortals, vampires are unstoppable monsters. This is the ONE PLACE your vampire players can really cut loose . . . let them. (Though it doesn’t hurt to occasionally throw in a lupine or hunter . . .)

The other key is making other power feel like D&D power. Political power, financial power, allies, wits, make all of these things contribute visibly to a player’s success. Train your players to understand that these fields of the game are in many ways like magical power, to hit bonus, and AC in D&D. They are fundamental to cementing your character as a powerhouse.

This last thought ties into the whole need to conquer concept from our graphic two posts ago. While the PCs will feel like they are gaining things from XP, the amount is going to pale in comparison to the average D&D game. Knowing this, I intend to play up things like haven, status, and contacts – more ethereal concepts, but conquered bits in their own right.

I feel the key here will be making sure my players are overcoming something to gain something. The Ventrue dominates the human – the human owns a clothing store – the Ventrue now has access to the cutting edge of men’s fashion . . . the Nosferatu gets his hands on the Primogen’s business ledger, he blackmails the Primogen to blood bind his rival, etc and so on.

Boiling all this down – Just make sure player’s feel like they are accomplishing something and being rewarded. Yes, the rewards are more esoteric, but if you give them value, a fundamental, positive effect on the game world (just like that +2 longsword does) I think the player will grok the sense of accomplishment and realize what established the reward.

I want to get into the details of my WoD campaign and talk about some other RPG things I’ve got going on. I hope this series made a little bit of sense or helped someone a bit . . . either way it was useful for me to write this all down.

GM versus Players, Round 2

2010-04-16T09:45:00.001-04:00

Last post, I used some really sweet graphics (see also: a table) to show you how this GM’s mind was taking into consideration both what I wanted from a game and what I imagined my player’s wanted . . . I then proceeded to spend roughly 1,000 words detailing how to achieve everything within the “Want Box” except for three things.

From my last post . . .

The chore, loved as it is, is to blend this above paragraph with all the things the players want. How do I keep my cherished grit and tight grasp on power but still make the PCs cool as the Jonas Brothers at a 6^th grade dance? How do I make them feel ‘powerful?’ I do I fulfill their need to conquer, to gain importance and stature?

MAKE THE PCS ‘COOL’ –

Another hidden benefit of playing Vampire is that being a bloodsucking prince of the night comes pretty stuffed-to-the-fucking-gills with cool. The player is undead. He hunts mortals. He can instill fear in most mortals with but a smile.

Vampires are also stylish, sexy, suave . . . they prowl the cities by night, they are like sharks . . . and sharks are cool (why else so many Jaws movies?)

Let this information wash over you, let it sit like Head & Shoulders in atop your head . . . rinse, repeat … and here we go “Then why the fuck are you sweating making the PCs feel cool, Rogue?”

Because 85% of the people they deal with are cool-ass vampires. Being cool is standing out . . . c’mon you remember high school, right? Being cool is half mysterious, half different. Just ask the kid who wears his ballcap sideways and walks like he has Slinky legs.

The coolness factor can be achieved in two ways:

1. Before Story – I need to make sure the character has chosen a concept, a clan, and a character that is going to fulfill the actions the player is going to want to achieve. Vampire, again, does a good job with this . . . the prelude allows for some serious GM probing into a player’s character creation and really enforces a collaborative environment that I feel helps iron these kinks out early.

2. During Play – Got to, got to, got to make sure the player’s feel like their characters are respected. Amongst other vamps, they are the unknown, the center of attention – some want to manipulate them, some want to see them removed, some want to make sure they join the ‘right’ team, etc. Despite the preponderance of more powerful supernatural entities than the PCs, the story must be about them.

They must be the heroes . . . or anti-heroes . . . or villains.

Combat effectiveness can help increase coolness, but it is far from the end all be all. Let the player’s engage in witty repartee with the Prince of the city. Let some rabblerousing vamps be impressed with a PC and woo them to their side.

A setting should be living, breathing, and full of motion. NPCs are constantly doing things . . . but the key to making your player’s feel cool, is the knowledge that all of this comes back to them.

OTHER QUICK POINTERS:

a. Just like describing an epic combat, make sure characters are also achieving similarly impressive things elsewhere. If your Mehket vampire is chasing down a hunter on motorcycle, describe the burst of celerity rushing through his undead body and make snatching the mortal a vivid moment.

b. Play to the player. If you Player A is going out of his way to look for guns, keep a gun cabinet, dominate a gun shop owner . . . take fucking notice. Have a mortal challenge him to a duel or contest, have that gun shop get investigated for selling illegally. Have an old, classic, antique pistol show up . . . with silver bullets (Cue spooky music).

c. Be prepared to cut slack. World of Darkness is not forgiving, but a good GM should be at times. If you are going to take the time to fudge the die in your player’s favor every now and then anyways, why not allow for the occasional spectacular success too? Player’s enjoy doing something well more than skating by on GM’s good graces.

Instead, take a player who’s had a rough night of dice-tossing and find excuses to make them succeed . . . bonus die, story reasons, etc. Being a GM is unique, on some level you have 3+ of your friends vying for your attention . . . if you can keep your output level and fair, not just in terms of attention, but in terms of communication and realization of what each player/character wants, and helping them obtain that want, they’re going to feel attended to, their ideas validated, their character . . . cool!

Ok, I will deal with the other two issues Monday.

GM versus Players, Round 1

2010-04-13T21:58:00.000-04:00

My mind is awhirl lately with RPG possibilities . . . recently a Pathfinder query of mine got picked up b a 3^rd party publisher (they are reviewing the piece now) and I just submitted two other Pathfinder pieces for another company – bottom line Pathfinder’s been on my mind a lot again. But, I also have Warhammer Fantasy Roleplaying 3^rd edition sitting on my shelf like some enormous monument of gaming – the box is big, people. And for anyone whose read this blog lately, I’ve been immersing myself in the ‘new’ World of Darkness stuff.

This progress is coming along nicely. I had some issues with the covenants and political factions in Vampire: The Requiem but have decided to really use their open backstory and sandbox approach to minimize the importance of those factions and to sneak a little bit of Vampire: The Masquerade into the game. More on this later.

However, as I plan the game I realize that what fuels my desire to play V: tR or any RPG game is likely different than what fuels my players’ enjoyment of a game. Now, this realization is not as novel as theorizing the existence of Obama clones or discovering the cure for gonorrhea. Robin D. Laws has long talked of certain player types . . . and we are all familiar with players who prefer powergaming or being dramatic or what-have-you.

But putting that idea to use is important. I’ve played with relatively the same group of players and I know what they enjoy out of a game. Hell, I enjoy some of the same things; still, without a doubt, I’ m the avant-garde one. I push for games besides D&D, I push for one-shots, I write house rules, deal with the online community of gaming more often, and I’m the one who actively amasses a library of RPGs, many of which will likely not be played.

Ultimately, what I want out of a campaign can often be different than what the players want. On some level the very fact of playing a GM or a CHARACTER is going to dictate that the person accepting that role is going to be getting/seeking a different reward from the game than the other.

But let’s chart it, eh? Note that something one side of the chart is not diametrically opposed to something on the other . . .

MY WANTS	PLAYER WANTS
Gritty, story-driven campaign	Coolness factor
A sense of threat & constant challenge to the PCs	Things that make them ‘powerful’
A consistent world that holds to some kind of ‘reality’	Some form of leveling up. They want to feel they’ve gained something.
Sandbox	Freedom
Beer	Beer

Now may my players want other things? Of course. This list is composed from experience, from noting the things that I see my friends really dig into. I won’t know everything unless I ask them what they want; and I will.

But let’s start crossing off some of these points.

MY WANTS	PLAYER WANTS
Gritty, story-driven campaign	Coolness factor
A sense of threat & constant challenge to the PCs	Things that make them ‘powerful’
A consistent world that holds to some kind of ‘reality’	Some form of leveling up. They want to feel they’ve gained something.
~~Sandbox~~	~~Freedom~~
~~Beer~~	~~Beer~~

Gaming has always been a social function for us. Snacks, beer, chatter . . . these things will be at our table. This is a mutual want, and easy to cross off.

So is my desire for a Sandbox environment. I’ve been running D&D lately (4e & PF). In both cases the games become a bit linear. I take fault for a percentage of this. I over-prep stuff to the point of practically writing an adventure. As many of us know the majority of D&D adventures have railroad-y elements in them. But D&D is a game that thrives on the structure of adventure group gets mission, completes mission, which A. means they get new mission or B. leads them to a new mission. Sometimes there are even myriad missions, but ultimately they complete them and in that manner the story progresses.

Nonetheless, as I am crafting my World of Darkness Vampire game, I am keeping freedom in mind. The game kind of begs it to be honest. Vampire games seem to operate more on the personal desires of the PCs and the reactions to the world than on a completion of tasks engine. I feel comfortable that this issue is thus taken care of.

MY WANTS	PLAYER WANTS
~~Gritty, story-driven campaign~~	Coolness factor
~~A sense of threat & constant challenge to the PCs~~	Things that make them ‘powerful’
~~A consistent world that holds to some kind of ‘reality’~~	Some form of leveling up. They want to feel they’ve gained something.
~~Sandbox~~	~~Freedom~~
~~Beer~~	~~Beer~~

My wants are easy to eliminate. I am playing Vampire: The Requiem. It is gritty. It runs on the Storyteller system. The players are vampires cast into the hard-edged world of the undead where trust is more precious than gold and horrors and humans alike may seek their death. The system is balanced, in that the acquisition of power is more of a story thing than the earning of experience. It takes a lot of time to become the most ‘physically’ powerful vampire . . . thus the world confirms to a sense of inherent reality. There are no farm boys who attain 10^th level in 8 months, who go from chasing their family dog to cleaving an axe forged by dwarven gods through the adamantine scales of a demon-possessed dragon. The power creep, the power curve is a much more subtle thing in Vampire . . . the focus gets shifted away from the mechanics due to this . . .

See it is easy to reach my desires! The chore, loved as it is, is to blend this above paragraph with all the things the players want. How do I keep my cherished grit and tight grasp on power but still make the PCs cool as the Jonas Brothers at a 6^th grade dance? How do I make them feel ‘powerful?’ I do I fulfill their need to conquer to gain importance and stature?

Well, I’ve the answers, but since I am already over 1,000 words let’s put it off until tomorrow.

Loving the Part that Bothers Me

2010-04-10T00:02:00.000-04:00

I am currently ripping through Vampire: The Requiem and the World of Darkness rulebook. I’m finding a fairly even mix of things I really enjoy and things that give me pause.

In all fairness, Vampire: The Masquerade was the 2^nd or 3^rd rpg I got into (D&D was the first – surprise!) and many of hesitations about giving myself fully to the new Vampire stem from this past love of the Masquerade. The story in Masquerade was solid, haunting, and fresh – it humanized vampires in a way, I’d argue, most vampire fiction fails to, it had interesting clan structures, an interesting genesis story, and enough intrigue to make the Cold War look like neighborhood kids calling each other ‘boogerbutt.’

V:tR loses a lot of the setting material that really pulled me in back in the late 90’s. Gone are the Tremere upstarts, gone is the Caine mythos, gone is the concept of generation. However, it is not just what V:tR loses but some of the concepts it gains leave me lukewarm – some covenants (political factions) seem to smallish or ill-defined as to why a vampire would care to join them, too many bloodlines for too many niches . . . when you have a bloodline of vampires exclusively to deal with vampires who are institutionalized that may be a sign to reconsider how you are using bloodlines.

But still, this is the game I will be running next. The rework of the rules, the alterations to the disciplines, the streamlining of the clans, the concept of blood potency, these are excellent additions to the game. Also the writing in the book feels like White Wolf – it inspires gameplay and sets the atmosphere well.

Oddly enough the greatest compliment I can pay the book is the reason it ditched my beloved Masquerade storyline – it is a toolkit, a sandbox. There is no overarching backstory, that is for the GM. And all those bloodlines . . . pick and choose which, if any, fit your campaign. Oh . . . do you need new bloodlines? Powers? Etc. WW has done prepared you for that too.

I am eager to jump in and see how the game plays compared to the Masquerade version. Detroit (by night, of course) is already forming in my mind . . . from an Invictus prince to a Circle of the Crone firebrand, I’ve no doubt that I can tell intriguing games, cinematic, gothic games, games that my players want . . . and speaking of player’s wants, more on that next time.

To Game Darkly, Savagely, or Mutantly? Or All Three

2010-04-06T14:37:00.000-04:00

I am gaming like its 1997!

By that I mean, I am playing in a game of Vampire: The Masquerade, and I have a tattered copy of the Shadowrun rules (2e) sitting on the nightstand beside my bed.

I’ve not yet tackled the Shadowrun book (though I do have many warm memories of playing it back in the day) as I’ve been absorbed by the Vampire stuff. I forgot how solid the story was that supported the game. I know the whole Caine, generation, Gehenna – thing wore some gamers out after awhile, but I still have fond memories of it . . . so much so that I bought the new World of Darkness rulebook and Vampire: The Requiem.

Detective's Flask

2010-03-19T23:14:00.000-04:00

Not to infringe on the wonderful items put up at Sea of Stars (look -->), but here is one I’d been fiddling with for a bit . . .

Detective’s Flask

Aura faint divination; CL 1^st

Slot –; Price 500 gp; Weight 1 lb.

DESCRIPTION

This simple steel flask is popular amongst city watch, bounty hunters, and, of course, detectives. The flask itself is sturdy and capable of holding liquor of any flavor, be it Dwarven Stone Whiskey or Orcish Rotgut.

Portability aside, the Detective’s Flask is popular for its invigorating qualities. Once per day a draught from the flask confers a +5 morale bonus to the drinker’s next Intimidate or Streetwise check; alternatively, the drinker may reroll a failed Perception or Sense Motive check from the last 24 hours. This reroll gains a +5 insight bonus. Only one of these benefits may be conferred per day.

The magic is in the flask itself. No matter the liquid put in, the effect is the same.

CONSTRUCTION

Requirements Craft Wondrous Item, guidance; Cost 250 gp

I’ve got another I’ll put up later.

I Cast Cone of . . . Sonic?

2010-03-10T19:53:00.000-05:00

You know one feat I’ve always disliked – Energy Substitution.

Effectively it allows you to turn a fireball into a frostball for no penalty in level, unlike many metamagic feats.

My issue with the feat is not its game elements per se. If people want to swap energy types so they can best tackle the creatures they may face, more power to them. What I don’t like is that it cheapens the spells as written . . . lightning bolt, burning hands, cone of cold, etc . . . These are some iconic spells in my mind, and by swapping them out for sonic bolt or what have you, it interferes with my view of the D&D world.

The way I see it, wizards always have the option to research new spells. The spells that come in the PHB and similar books are the spells that already exist. It is much, much easier (in my mind) to learn fireball, as it has been around eons, than it is to modify the spell into lighting ball. Thus explaining why it is written the way it is.

My second issue is that the feat robs one of the premier casting archetypes. The pyromancer, the ice mage, etc. These wizards may have some options for overcoming resistances and the like, but Energy Substitution is always better.

In my PFRPG campaign there will be no Energy Substitution feat. The spells that exist, exist for a reason . . . they are tried and true. However, I’ve added the following metamagic feat for those who wish to really specialize in an energy type.

Scouring Spell (Metamagic)
You can cast spells that can bypass even the most powerful of energy resistances.
Benefit: A scouring spell ignores 5 energy resistance of the same type of damage dealt by the spell. For every spell slot a level higher than the spell’s actual level, the amount of energy resistance ignored is raised by 5.

For example: A Fireball slotted as a 5th level spell (instead of a 3rd) would ignore 10 points of fire resistance. Thus a creature with Resist fire 10, now has no resistance to fire. One with a resist of 20 now has a resist of 10. And so on.

*****
I am sure I am overlooking some 3.X feats that may do similar or better things, but again this is for my PFRPG game. Don’t hesitate to point me in the direction of some similar metamagic feats, however.

Keep your eyes open for some more feats in the near future.

Game Night #2 ~ Monkey Business

2010-03-08T15:35:00.002-05:00

Session 2: “Monkey Business”

(Running Paizo Publishing’s AP: Curse of the Crimson Throne #1: Edge of Anarchy)

CAST OF HEROES:

Pint Hornswaggle – Halfling Rogue/Wizard 1/1

Imilio Phillips – Human Cleric [Cayden Cailean] 2

Smog Whisprunner – Human Spell-less Ranger 2

Beebop – Gnome Summoner 2

Finding Zellara’s head amongst Lamm’s other ‘keepsakes’ immediately introduced a round of speculation amongst the PCs. The most common conjecture was that some woman in disguise or illusion had hired manipulated them into killing Lamm . . . but they didn’t know why.

Torn between storming back to Zellara’s and confronting the traitor or returning the most important piece of the wealth they found, the Queen’s brooch, the PCs opted for answers first and money second.

HAVOC ON THE STREETS

Emerging from the filth of the old fishery, the PCs were nearly overwhelmed by the chaos that tumbled down the avenues and alleyways of Korvosa. Buildings burned, mobs chanted, and guards, Hellknights¹, and Sable Company members², strove to limit the rioting.

In the hour it had taken the PCs to rid the world of Gaedren Lamm, the King of Korvosa had passed.

Shouts ranged from doing away with the harlot queen, to calling for a return to Cheliax³ . . . all in all, the city was not handling the news well, and they definitely not handling themselves in any orderly manner.

This was driven home as the PCs approached Zellara’s. A young foppish noble was cornered by a half-dozen dockhands. The laborers swung clubs at him and with each increasing yell and swing their bloodlust increased.

The PCs, showing some measure of restraint⁴, managed to intimidate the upset workers into a retreat, but not before drawing scowl’s from the group and accusations of being Queen’s men. The noble, one Amin Jalento, thanks the PCs profusely and gives them 5 platinum as a show of his gratitude.

The PCs wind their way through the streets a bit more, asking for info about the King’s death (heart failure or assassination, the rumors run rampant) and helping out where they can.

When they arrive at Zellara’s, she is waiting and tells them the truth the instant they show up.

“I’m a ghost.” The news is a bit of a revelation to say the least, but she explains she thought that sympathy was the best way to get their help. The PCs take it in stride; the whole night is full of odd portents they decide. Before she disappears, Zellara promises to keep an eye on the players and assist them as she can.

The PCs hole up over night and hope the rioting dies down.

SHOPPING INTERLUDE

Before visiting the Queen to return her brooch, the PCs sell off some of their items. Along the way they meet Grau, a guard so drunk he’s mistaken Smog for a friend. After settling this confusion, the PCs help the young man get back to his station, but also learn of a love triangle involving Grau, Sabina (the as-of-yet unmet bodyguard to the Queen), and an unnamed 3^rd person.

The PCs pawn what items they can, but it is tough going as the riot has caused most vendors to close shops. Though the immediate chaos begins to dwindle by nightfall, the PCs still spend most of the day at the stores.

FOR THE QUEEN

After arranging a meeting with Queen Ileosa, the PCs show up to her audience hall. Sabina expresses her gratitude on behalf of the queen and praises the group as heroes . . . immediately leading Imilio to flirt with her. She rebuffs him quite rudely.

As the meeting goes on with the stunningly beautiful queen, she thanks the PCs and asks for their help during these troubled times. Smitten by both her good looks and the 1200 gold pieces she’s just given them, they immediately agree to be of aid.

Again, Imilio flirts with her⁵ . . . the Queen whose husband passed the night before. She ignores the invitation and leaves the PCs with Sabina to work out the details of what needs to be done. Sabina is kind at first, making sure the PCs are comfortable before assigning them to Citadel Volshyenek to work under Field Marshall Cressida Kroft.

However, before they leave, Sabina turns to the gnome and all of her affected charm disappears as she leans in closely and says, “If you do not bow in the presence of the Queen next time, I shall immediately slice the hamstrings that allow your child-sized legs to bend.”

Refusing to bow to such intimidation, the PCs let Sabina in on the fact they know about her Grau . . . to which she gives little concern and ushers them out. Their relationship is cool, icy even as they part ways.

MONKEY BUSINESS

As the PCs make their way to the Citadel they are interrupted by the body of a guard flying past them and smashing into a fruit stand.

APES!!!⁶

With a small crowd running from a pair of escaped apes, the PCs jump into the rescue. Despite Imilio dropping an obscuring mist that hindered the PCs more than the apes, the PCs made short work of the rampaging monkeys thanks to a peppering of arrows and Rocksteady’s ability to hold the frontline.

TO THE BUTCHER SHOP

As our session ended the PCs spoke with Cressida Kroft, beautiful⁷, if tired woman, who was friendly to the PCs and glad to have them aboard.

“Adventurers are just what I need right now. My guards are stretched thin, and if you’re up to it, I’ve got more than enough work for you.”

With the promise of room and board at a local tavern and steady, payment (they’d seen how the crown paid once already), the PCs readily agreed.

“Good. How do you feel about hunting down a traitor?”

And so session 2 ended ---

One thing I need to mention though is that during this session the PCs met:

1. Queen Ileosa, ruler of the city.

2. Sabina, Queen’s bodyguard and leader of the Palace forces

3. Field Marshall Kroft, a general-type in charge of overseeing the forces that keep the city safe.

Smog linked these together and tried to sell the group on the idea that some Amazonian plot was afoot . . . they ignored him. Hilarious.

--------------------------------------------------------

1 – Hellknights are mercenaries belonging to the Order of the Nail. They’ve been hired on by the crown to keep things flowing smoothly in the city; however, they hold the letter of the law with unyielding strictness and most live in fear of them.

2 – The Sable Company is Korvosa’s elite military unit – a group of well-trained griffon riders.

3 – Cheliax is the country to the south; they’ve a long history with Korvosa, and most Korvosans have some measure of Chelaxian blood.

4 – My player’s are definitely more kill first then ask questions.

5 – This should go without saying . . . when Imilio talks to a woman he is flirting. So far in the campaign he is 0/3, but stay posted . . .

6 – Instead of two escaped Apes, the encounter as written included an otyugh rising up from the sewers. Otyughs get enough play later in this AP, so I wanted to have something fun and goofy . . . the whole night was kind of a goofy night, and this combat was the only one that escalated.

7 – Yes, Imilio flirted with her. You should know this by now.

Dream Spider (Pathfinder Conversion)

2010-03-04T09:19:00.003-05:00

Dream Spider

This child-sized spider’s blue-and-yellow-striped abdomen shimmers as it scuttles along a gossamer web. A drop of thick purple venom drips from its mandibles.

Dream Spider CR ½

XP 200

N Small Vermin

Init +2; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; tremorsense; Perception +1

DEFENSE

AC 13, touch 13, flat-footed 11 (+2 Dex, +1 size)

hp 5 (1d8+1)

Fort +3, Ref +2, Will +1

Immune mind-affecting effects

OFFENSE

Speed 20 ft., climb 20 ft.

Melee bite +3 (1d3 plus poison)

Special Attacks dream web

STATISTICS

Str 10, Dex 15, Con 12, Int -, Wis 12, Cha 11

Base Atk +0; CMB -1; CMD 11

Feats Weapon Finesse^B

Skills Climb +10, Perception +5, Stealth +6/+10 (in web); Racial +8 climb (can use Dex mod), +4 Perception, +4 Stealth (in web only)

ECOLOGY

Environment tropical forest or any urban

Organization solitary, pair, or nest (3-8)

Treasure special (see Edge of Anarchy –it’s a drug, folks)

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Dream Web (Ex) A dream spider’s webs are not as strong as similarly sized spiders, but do have strange effects. When touched, these iridescent webs cause strange hallucinations and creatures touching the web suffer 1 point of Wisdom damage (Fort DC 11 negates this loss). Every square of webs that are burned create a noxious gas that covers a 10-foot radius. Creatures in this area suffer 1d4 points of Wisdom damage (Fort DC 11 for half). This cloud remains only for 1 round. The save DC is constitution-based.

Poison (Ex) Bite – injury; save Fort DC 11; frequency 1/round for 2 rounds; effect 1d4 points of Wisdom damage; Cure 1 save

Dream spiders are native to the jungles of Golarion; however, thanks to their hallucinogenic venom, these spiders have found a home in drug dens all across the Inner Sea. The drug (detailed in Edge of Anarchy) causes its imbiber to enter a blissful stupor, where they see flashes of insight, madness, and ecstasy.

When pressed into combat, these creatures prefer to lure opponents into their webs. Often times an opponent becomes drugged and disabled, allowing the dream spider to devour its prey at its leisure. A dream spider, like most animals, will scamper away if threatened, however.

Game Night #1 ~ Something Fishy

2010-03-03T20:36:00.005-05:00

Session 1: “Something Fishy”

(Running Paizo Publishing’s AP Curse of the Crimson Throne: Edge of Anarchy)

CAST OF HEROES:

· Pint Hornswaggle, halfling rogue

· Imilio Phillips, human Cleric of Cayden Cailean

· Beebop, Gnome Summoner

· Smog Whisprunner, human ranger (archery)

HOOKS:

Curse of the Crimson Throne starts off interestingly enough . . . the PCs all have ties to a despicable, vile old rogue named Gaedren Lamm. Each of these connections comes through in the form of a trait that grants the player a small bonus, but a large hook into the game world. This sure beats the hell of starting off in an in.

The hooks for the PCs were:

· Beebop – Despite studying in the Acadamae¹, Beebop has developed a nasty shiver habit. Shiver is a hallucinogenic drug that is derived from dream spider venom . . . it is also a drug that Gaedren Lamm pushes, and has caused much strife in our gnome summoner’s young life (see also: expulsion from school).

· Imilio – Imilio’s father was duped by Gaedren Lamm into selling fenced goods through his auction house. Once the law caught on this led to a swift reprisal . . . effectively ruining Imilio’s family name, family fortune, and causing the young rake to find his way. This way has led to four things: an intimate knowledge of Korvosa’s many taverns, an intimate knowledge of Korvosa’s young ladies, Cayden Cailean, and a burning desire to avenge his family name.

· Pint – Despite visiting spending more times amongst Korvosa’s criminal element, Pint always avoided the temptation of shiver and other drugs. His brother did not. Falling quickly into debt and addiction, Yuril Hornswaggle became Lamm’s lackey . . . a move that has caused the halfling to steal from his own family. Yuril has gone missing, but Pint knows who is truly behind the disappearance.

· Smog – Smog grew up as one of Lamm’s Lambs, a group of child thieves and cutpurses. His early years were filled with beatings and berating at the hand of Gaedren, they were also filled with nights sleeping on cold streets, and the death of too many friends, most fed to Gobblegut, Lamm’s pet croc. Smog finally escaped Korvosa but the damage had been done. Growing increasingly angry and insular, Smog mastered the art of killing so he may one day revisit the injustices he saw back upon Lamm a thousandfold.

To pull these hooks together, each PC receives a mysterious Harrow card². These harrow cards contain messages that promise the PCs their shot at revenge on Lamm, if they meet this evening.The PCs of course do follow the instructions, meet the message-writer (a fortune teller named Zellara), and promise to vanquish Lamm that evening³.

THE OLD FISHERY

Zellara’s instructions lead the PCs to an old fishery that abuts the Jeggare River.

The fishery is rundown and decrepit. On either side it is bordered by abandoned warehouses; a rickety dock wraps itself around the building leading to the back. Despite these options, the PCs, of course, jimmy open the front window and enter.

This would have been fine – Pint was scouting ahead and making excellent stealth rolls; so good in fact the guard dog did not even here him – but, then the halfling abruptly opened a door without listening on the other side and startled a middle-aged man scribbling papers and his guard dog.

The man immediately began shouting for help, while the dog lunged at the halfling.

So began a long encounter encompassing much of the building. It essentially went down like this:

1. Dog holds off PCs for a few rounds while the middle-aged man, Lamm’s right hand guy, rounds up his thugs and the children.

a. The dog was ultimately killed by Imilio, but not before it had dropped Rocksteady, Beebop’s eidolon. Of course, it had a lot of help from a critical fumble from Smog that planted an arrow in the eidolon’s back . . .⁴

2. The PCs rush into the back room and engage in battle.

a. The right-hand man lobs a few acid flasks to little effect before being put down by Smog’s arrows.

b. A half-orc bandit nearly crushes a wounded Imilio, except for a critical fumble leaves him dazed . . . long enough to be put to rest by Smog’s arrows.

c. Imilio convinces the kids to turn on the last remaining bandit, a gnome named Hookshanks. Between the party ganging up on him, and Beebop’s steady supply of summoned monsters keeping him locked in one position, he finally met his end at the tip of Imilio’s blade.

3. The PCs spoke with the children to learn of the Gaedren’s whereabouts . . . they pointed downwards, as in underneath the fishery. They showed the PCs how a series of chains lowered into Gaedren’s room.⁵

The PCs regrouped for a second before clambering down the chains into Gaedren’s lair. This did not work out so well for the big guys in the group; while Pint and Beebop landed safely on solid ground, Imilio and Smog landed in the drink . . . a pool of water containing Gobblegut, an ornery croc.

Gaedren Lamm stood at the far side of the room firing off shots at the short heroes (including a nasty critical that resulted in a bout of filth fever for Pint⁶), while Gobblegut tore Smog and Imilio a new one, including knocking Imilio out of the fight with one powerful clamp of its jaws.

However, the battle soon turned as the Smog freed himself from the pool and added his bow to the attacks . . . Gaedren, cursing the hero’s names the whole time, tried to make a run for it, but the old man was much, much to slow to outrun the dog, summoned by Beebop, that tore out his throat.

The rest of the night went quickly as the PCs checked the rest of the fishery (disturbing some centipedes that nearly killed them . . .) and scoured the place for treasure.

In the end they found quite a haul⁷, including Zellara’s harrow deck, but they also found Zellara’s severed head . . . we ended the night with that WTF moment.

---------------------------------------

1 – The Acadamae is Korvosa’s school of magic.

2 – A harrow card is, for all intensive purposes, a tarot card.

3 – I am glossing over Zellara’s motivation (her son was murdered by Lamm, and her heirloom harrow deck stolen) and the fact that she gives the PCs a free harrow reading – it foretold of doom.

4 – Big thumbs up to Paizo’s Critical Fumble and Critical Hit decks. What was hilarious about this failure was that it was the very first attack roll of the campaign.

5 – I made a mistake as to where I put this . . . it should have allowed the PCs to arrive somewhat more stealthily (and definitely avoid falling into Gobblegut’s pool . . . .). Still, it worked out fine.

6 – A Critical Hit deck result that worked perfectly . . . Gaedren’s lair is FILTHY, DIRTY, DISGUSTING – so to have a PC contract filth fever there works great.

7 – They always say take a published adventure and make it your own . . . you can do this in a number of ways. Even small ways. For example, one of the listed treasure pieces is a crown worth 300 gp . . . well, I added an inscription detailing it as a dwarven crown of the Orkcleaver clan . . . One of my player’s most famous characters being the founder of that clan. Fun.

Reefclaw (Pathfinder Conversion)

2010-02-25T09:32:00.000-05:00

REEFCLAW

This horrifying creature has the chitinous head, claws, and front end of a lobster, but the lower end of a spiny eel. A row of bright red spines runs down its back.

REEFCLAW CR 1

XP 400

CN Small aberration (aquatic)

Init +5; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; low-light vision; Perception +1

DEFENSE

AC 14, touch 12, flat-footed 13 (+1 Dex, +2 natural, +1 size)

hp 11 (2d8+2)

Fort +1, Ref +1, Will +4

Resist cold 5

OFFENSE

Speed 5 ft., swim 40 ft.

Melee 2 claws +2 (1d4 plus numbing poison)

Special Attacks death frenzy, constrict 2d4, grab,

STATISTICS

Str 10, Dex 13, Con 12, Int 5, Wis 12, Cha 13

Base Atk +1; CMB +0 (+4; CMD +11

Feats Improved Initiative, Weapon Finesse^B

Skills Swim +13; Racial +8 Swim

SQ amphibious, ferocity, tenacious grapple

ECOLOGY

Environment any

Organization solitary, school (2-5), harem (6-12)

Treasure none

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Death Frenzy (Ex) When a reefclaw is killed, its body spasms horrifically. Immediately upon dying, the reefclaw makes a full-round attack action against creatures it threatens. If more than one creature is within reach, each attack’s target is determined randomly.

Grab (Ex) If both the reefclaw’s claw attacks hit a single target it may, after dealing damage, attempt to start a grapple against medium-sized or smaller creatures as a free action. This does not provoke an attack of opportunity.

Numbing Poison (Ex) Claw – injury; save Fort DC 12; frequency 1/round for 6 rounds; effect -2 penalty to Strength checks and grapples in rounds target failed save; Cure 1 save

Tenacious Grappler (Ex) When grappling, a reefclaw does not gain the grappled condition.

Aggressive abominations, reefclaws are the scourges of fishermen who ply shallow rivers and lakes. Their appetite knows no bounds, and they will prey on fish or fisherman alike. Many an old salt has a tale or two about these critters and their brush with them.

Stubborn and relentless, these eel-like beasts refuse to give up on a chosen prey. They will pursue one foe until it drops; additionally, so voracious are their appetites that schools of these creatures rarely converge on a single, shared target, instead each seeks its own meal.

1. Looking for Ferocity, Amphibious, Constrict? To save space, Paizo has made these universal monster rules . . . you can check them out in your own PF Bestiary or online at www.d20pfsrd.com
2.This is a fan conversion of Paizo IP. This is originally found in Pathfinder #7, "Edge of Anarchy." This conversion is in no way official, nor is it representative of Paizo Publishing at all.

What a Bunch of Characters

2010-02-22T21:05:00.000-05:00

In 4^th Edition Dungeon & Dragons, there is a large emphasis on roles. As the designers themselves have stated, this is nothing new. They been around in earlier editions, just unspoken. In other places, such as World of Warcraft they’ve been keenly articulated and circulated, and gamer’s vocabularies possess and understand tank, controller, striker, DPS or what have you.

The emphasis on or understanding of, roles is a useful tool for group dynamics. It helps players fill a niche . . . We’ve got a cleric, but no real ranged threat in the group? I’ll play a ranger. It also helps characters find ‘their place’ in the game. It seems to me that most of us have our pet characters. Some of us love tanking being up front – bashing and being bashed. Others love the eventual might of magic, the wizard archetypes who fling terrible spells and can fly, teleport and break all kind of ‘rules.’ Personally, I love the rogue and the cleric classes. Both are support characters, albeit with different angles (healing/buffing versus skill-monkeying).

Unmentioned above is the fact that sometimes roles can be a straightjacket, when the pressure is on the player to fill a certain role despite playing the type of character they’d want to. And there’s not much worse than getting a few levels in and realizing you hate/dislike/are willing to kill your new character.

The reason this topic is on my mind is because my characters (Pathfinder game - Curse of the Crimson Throne) arguably have managed to play the types of characters they enjoy, create them independently from each other with no real awareness of what roles have been filled, and then, in the heat of battle, slowly molded the odd group dynamic to fill those roles. This has shown me two things:

1) The roles will be filled. D&D is a game of teamwork regardless of which edition you play; players seem to intrinsically understand they must each be adding to the whole and finding ways to contribute . . . hence they seek ways to fill the roles.

2) Damn it. I lost my train of thought. Hmm . . . guess that means it is time to introduce my cast of characters and how they fill the roles.

***********************************************************************************

Beevok – Beevok, a gnome summoner, is a walking contradiction. On one hand he is in thrall to shiver, a violently addictive hallucinogenic drug common on the streets of Korvosa; on the other hand he demands control over his surroundings. He has mastered his innate spark of magic to summon an otherworldly eidolon, a stone-skinned, muscular entity he affectionately refers to as ‘Rocksteady.’ Yet, he’s been unable to turn that same level of passion and diligence to fully kicking his habit for shiver.

At the table, Beevok operates as the group’s tank. He hangs back from the fight and sends Rocksteady wading into melee. Alone, Rocksteady is a more than capable melee combatant, but Beevok makes sure to support him with a steady stream of summoned monsters (currently his favorite being a Celestial dog).

Beevok, does have a high Use Magic Device skill rank, and thus could be capable of taking on some healing or ranged striker roles depending on what wands, etc. he equips, but as of now, he is more than content to sit back and let his Pokémon . . . I mean Eidolon do its thing.

Imelio Phillips – Imelio is a drunkard, gambler, womanizer, scoundrel, con man, and a cleric of Cayden Cailean. Brought into the PCs struggle because his once wealthy family has had their name disgraced by an enemy of the other PCs, he has proven to be more trouble than aid. Often drunk and lecherous, Imelio has fumbled spells in combat, hit on the Queen of Korvosa, and generally convinced the group to stay up late carousing while he partied on their coin . . .

Still, they realize his usefulness. He is essentially a jack-of-all-trades. On one hand he is the healer, and though he’s far from the best healer around (he is completely confounded by the halfing’s spreading filth fever, for example) his cure light wounds and channel energy ability have proven useful. Additionally, Imelio believes in being in the thick of things, whether this is from a sense of adventurous rush or drunken tomfoolery has yet to be seen, but it stands true; Imelio is quite skilled with a rapier. Lastly, Imelio has loaded up on social skills, and serves as the face of the group.

So, despite being a drunken fop, the party is keeping him on board, perhaps seeing his potential . . .

Pint Hornswaggle – A pragmatic halfling, Pint is a clever rogue who’s ever on the lookout for number 1. He sells this selfish streak as logic, essentially knowing when to fold. Despite possessing the smallest stature, it is Pint who arguably makes the hardest decisions for the group, such as leaving Imelio for dead when they thought he’d become alligator bait.

At his core though, his selfish nature is more a mask for someone who’s had to survive the rough streets of Korvosa and seen the city swallow too many friends in the past. Pint would rather make the tough decisions a hundred times over, he’d rather be the bad guy to everyone, rather than form friendships he knows the city will eventually rob him of.

Thus, Pint has attempted to become self-reliant and always ready to run. He’s become a ranged expert in combat, and a skill monkey outside of it. Trusty shortbow at his side, Pint prefers to stay at a distance and pepper foes with arrows, but has recently turned his sharp mind towards the study of magic as well. Picking up a level of wizard, has doubled Pint’s effectiveness in both areas. Now things he cannot skill his way out of, he may have a spell to aid him . . . now things he cannot shoot, he can blast.

Smog Whisprunner – Silent and deadly, Smog at times comes across as a loner. His past would back this up, a pickpocket and street waif, he spent his childhood cutting purses and running from guards who’d lock him up and thugs who’d cut his throat and take his coppers. When Smog grew older, he left the city, but the promise of revenge brought him back. Possessed of a certain bloodlust against the city he feels robbed him of a normal childhood, this human ranger means to inflict some damage while here.

Smog is the damage dealer of the group. He sits back and fires his composite longbow with deadly accuracy; he is mobile enough to avoid most incoming attacks and doesn’t hesitate to move around the battlefield seeking the optimal shot. Rarely pressed into melee combat, he is no slouch if need be, and keeps a greataxe strapped across his back to relay this message to any would be foes.

One thing is becomingly increasingly clear, however, is that Smog cares more than he likes to let on. If Pint is the brain of the group, the one who demands they do things safely and logically, Smog is the heart, the one who argued they rescue the cleric, the one who has little time for plans and safety when the rush of adventure is about them.

NEXT TIME à Campaign Journal Part 1 “Something Fishy”

PS - Art is admittedly ripped from google image searches . . . will post links to artists or sites soon.