Here There Be Dragons...Year of the Dragon

"I love it when a plan comes together." - Hannibal Smith

Liam and I (well, mostly Liam) have been working really hard on "Here There Be Dragons..."

Early this year we sat down and went through every monster book I own and what Liam liked the best was the classic Monster Manual from 1st Ed AD&D.  Can't blame him, that book is what got me hooked.
We decided after gaming one day that HTBD should be stated out for OSRIC to capture that same feel.

Well here is the part where I take my own advice.

April 17, 2012 WotC will as you all know by now re-release the classic hardcover AD&D books.
April 23 is St. George's Day, the patron saint of England and of Dragon Slayers (ok that last bit I made up).

So given that this is the Year of the Dragon, I think it makes sense for Liam and I to double down and get this thing done.

I know I have other projects in the works and they are moving along.

There is a ton to do on it.  We have a few score new dragons lined up, some art.  Maybe some spells.
It is not going to be a big book.  No cover art as of yet. No publisher either.
But this is pure old-school DIY.  My son loves dragons and wants to see more of them in his game.

I hope we can make the deadline and get you "Here There Be Dragons..." in time for the 1st Edition releases.

Quintessential D&D for D&D.Next

Remember my idea back from the late Summer, the one I was calling Quintessential D&D where there are five linked adventures that used all the rules of all D&D?

Here are the links to bring you all back up to speed.
http://timbrannan.blogspot.com/2011/08/quintessential-d-half-baked-ideas.html
http://timbrannan.blogspot.com/2011/08/half-baked-adventure-idea.html
http://timbrannan.blogspot.com/2011/08/so-building-off-of-my-half-baked.html

With me?  Ok good.
It dawns on me that with what I am hearing about D&D5/D&D.Next that this is the perfect segue into the new rules.

So the characters play through the worlds, they collect the Three Great Books of Gax, fight the dragon guardians and reset the universe.  Reset it to what though?  Easy, reset it to 5th edition.

With the new change in the rules I am not 100% sure I am going to finish up my 4e game.  Or if I do, it will be largely altered to fit into the kinda game I want to run (I still want Drama Points in D&D.)

Stepping away from this for a bit it occurs to me that this would also make a great play-test platform for D&D5.

In the mean time here is an interesting retrospective bit on "Could WotC Support ALL D&D".  What a difference seven months can make.

Year of the Dragon

Today is the start of the Chinese New Year, the Year of the Dragon.  And what a year it is turning out to be so far.

"May you live in interesting times." goes the old saying (which may or may not actually be Chinese in origin).

We are certainly living in interesting times now.  Never has there been such unprecedented access to games of any generation.  So of course I have indulged, maybe even over-indulged.

There has been an interesting side effect to this. The editions war have hit home.  In February  we are ging to playing: D&D4, Pathfinder, Basic D&D, and we want to try out some 1st Ed AD&D as well.  This is not even taking into consideration our semi-regular D&D 3.x game. And everyone here has an opinon on what works and what doesn't.

I have talked to some of the new D&D5 playtesters and so far 5e/D&D.Next does not appear to be what most people think it is going to be.  Well, I say "most" people, I guess I really should be saying "loud" people.
I do have renewed hope for the next version of D&D.

I fear no matter what both the 4e and the OSR crowds are not going to like it; each thinking this new game looks too little like their own and too much like the other.

While there are plenty of doom-and-gloomers out there, I want D&D to succeed. I would love to see a new Golden Age in fact.  We have everything we need really, we just need to get the world to see D&D (and by extension all RPGS) as a good low cost alternative to MMORPGS/Computer games that the whole family can enjoy. (see this bit here)

Get the families.
That is where the money and future is.

Adventure crowd sourcing

Afternoon all.

I am looking for good 1st level adventure for about 5 characters that can be run in a little more than an hour.

I have some ideas, but want to know what my options are.

Any version of D&D is fine since I want to try it out on a few different versions.

Zatannurday: More Scarlet Witch

To follow up on last week's post, here are few more pics of Zatanna and the Scarlet Witch.

First up, one that was posted midweek and pointed out to me by Martin R. Thomas.  http://braveandboldlost.blogspot.com/2012/01/zatanna-and-scarlet-witch.html

A color version of one of last weeks.

And some Deviant Art pics



SCARLET WITCH - ZATANNA by *J-Estacado on deviantART


Magical Time by *petercotton on deviantART


Zatanna Vs. Scarlet Witch by ~DarthTerry on deviantART


Fishnets and Hexes by ~mrfuzzynutz on deviantART

And Hermoine showing how it is done.


hermione scarlet witch and zatanna csbg by ~stejam13 on deviantART

If I were an OSR publisher...

Then I would be looking at my upcoming catalog and seeing what I have that is remotely AD&D like and get it out in time for the reprints.

Think of the ads you could use.  You never have to claim compatibility except where the OGL is concerned.
"Love the new reprints of the Classic game?  Well you will also love..."

I have had the chance to talk to some younger generation gamers and many (but not all) are of the mind to get these, just to see what they are all about.

This could be one of the biggest PR opportunities to come in a very long time.

GM Questionnaire

Notice: I am not taking down this post because I feel it is more important to leave it up, but also update everyone on what is happeing now as February 11, 2019. Please see this newer post first. http://theotherside.timsbrannan.com/2019/02/i-am-going-to-talk-about-zak-today-and.html

Zak posted this GM questionnaire.  Here are my answers.

1. If you had to pick a single invention in a game you were most proud of what would it be?
Depends I guess.  The magic system in Ghosts of Albion is my pride.  The revised horror/fear and insanity system for True 20 that might never see the light of day (NDAs) was also really nice.

2. When was the last time you GMed?
Last weekend, Sunday Jan 15.  D&D 3.x

3. When was the last time you played?
Wow. Been maybe 6 months. Pathfinder.

4. Give us a one-sentence pitch for an adventure you haven't run but would like to.
Ghosts of Albion: Visit to Castle Dracula

5. What do you do while you wait for players to do things?
If it is truly "free time" I prep for the next adventure/encounter.

6. What, if anything, do you eat while you play?
Maybe chips, trying to cut back on snacks at the game table.

7. Do you find GMing physically exhausting?
No.  Sometimes mentally, but I GM little kids.

8. What was the last interesting (to you, anyway) thing you remember a PC you were running doing?
My son figured out a way to immobilize a bunch of monsters and keep them from attacking the party without  killing them.  He played a great Lawful Good Paladin.

9. Do your players take your serious setting and make it unserious? Vice versa? Neither?
Sometimes.  I allow jokes to lighten the mood as needed.

10. What do you do with goblins?
Goblins are one of my my most useful races.

11. What was the last non-RPG thing you saw that you converted into game material (background, setting, trap, etc.)?
Hammer Glamour. I have the best NPCs.

12. What's the funniest table moment you can remember right now?
It happened to me.  We were playtesting some new auto-combat software and the black dragon kept attacking my assassin.  The trouble was the software didn't recognize the fact that my assassin was already dead and at -40 hp.  It knew how to deal with 0 to -10, but beyond that, not so much.  The dragon kept attacking my poor dead character over and over.

13. What was the last game book you looked at--aside from things you referenced in a game--why were you looking at it?
4e Book of Vile Darkness.  I looked at for a game, but opted not to use it.  I guess purely non-research was the Dresden Files game.

14. Who's your idea of the perfect RPG illustrator?
Wow. No idea to be honest.  I am kind of art blind really.  I can name dozens of designers and scores of authors, but maybe 2-3 artists.  Sorry.

15. Does your game ever make your players genuinely afraid?
Yes.  I can scare anybody and never resort to any blood and gore.

16. What was the best time you ever had running an adventure you didn't write? (If ever)
Running the Gygax classics with my boys.

17. What would be the ideal physical set up to run a game in?
In my game room.  It is very-nearly perfect, I just need a fridge for sodas.

18. If you had to think of the two most disparate games or game products that you like what would they be?
D&D4 and Spellcraft & Swordplay.  I enjoy them both and their common points make them seem even more different.

19. If you had to think of the most disparate influences overall on your game, what would they be?
Led Zeppelin albums, Hammer movies, Shakespeare, "Man and his Symbols" by C.J. Jung, comics and Clark Ashton Smith.

20. As a GM, what kind of player do you want at your table?
Enthusiastic.  I can deal will all sorts of play-styles, but i want people to really want to be there.

21. What's a real life experience you've translated into game terms?
The entire campaign of The Dragon and the Phoenix was inspired by real-life events.  The birth of my children revitalized my desire to play older games.

22. Is there an RPG product that you wish existed but doesn't?
Hmmm.  Not really, everytime I think there is something that needs to be written I find it online somewhere.

23. Is there anyone you know who you talk about RPGs with who doesn't play? How do those conversations go?
My wife tends to humor me.  People at work think I mean computer games.  People I went high school and college with I think scratch their heads.
Addendum: Why doesn't my wife play?  She has tried on many occasions in the nearly 2 decades we have been married.  It's just not her thing. She goes to Gen Con with us every year and she has fun, but RPGs just don't click with her, much like card games don't click with me.