Making the rounds today but it is very cool. Cliff Chiang's mashup of DC women and the Runaways.
I love Black Canary singing and Z on bass.
Course I posted this to Amazon Princess, but given that it had Z in it I figured here is a good spot too.
Something nice till they completely reboot the DC universe. Again.
Other links:
http://cliffchiang.tumblr.com/post/6037210898 Cliff Chiang's tumblr.
http://dcwomenkickingass.tumblr.com/post/6037306593/omg DC Women Kicking Ass
http://girls-gone-geek.com/2011/05/31/dc-women-runaways-mash-up/ and Girls Gone Geek.
http://amazon-princess.blogspot.com/2011/06/cliff-chiang-bad-reputation.html Amazon Princess
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Long Weekend
Just getting off of a long holiday weekend. Lots of blog posts to read, picked up some games too.
More soon.
More soon.
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Zatannurday: Russel Platt
I have recently discovered the art of Russel Platt.
Here is his rendition of the Other Side's favorite Sorceress Supreme, Zatanna.
And one not safe for work, http://rplatt.deviantart.com/gallery/?offset=144#/d14qp56
This one is a bit too busty for my tastes, but I love the facial expressions on this first one.
Here is his rendition of the Other Side's favorite Sorceress Supreme, Zatanna.
And one not safe for work, http://rplatt.deviantart.com/gallery/?offset=144#/d14qp56
This one is a bit too busty for my tastes, but I love the facial expressions on this first one.
Friday, May 27, 2011
Thursday, May 26, 2011
You can leave your hat on: Magic Hats in FRPGs
“We’re up to our pointy little hats in demonic problems here.”
- Piper Halliwell, Charmed: A Knight to Remember
Few things stir up the image of a witch or wizard more than the conical hat. Even some of the earliest art for the D&D game shows wizards and witches in the classical pointy hat. The trouble is that for an item so tied to a magic using class, there is nearly nothing in any of the books about a magical hat. Heck even the D&D cartoon had a magic hat.
Well let's change that.
Magical Hats come in a variety of sizes and colors, but all share some commonalities. First the hat needs to be conical. The cone is symbolic of raising one's consciousness higher and wizards have discovered that other shaped hats do not hold the enchantments as well. (Modern wizards though have discovered that the Top Hat works very well, this may have something to do with the popular impression of magicians and top hats).
Magical hats do have two basic varieties. A "wizard's hat" is a simple cone with no brim. A "witch's hat" is also a cone, but has a wider brim. There is a 50% chance of either and they are other-wise identical. Wizards though tend to prefer their namesake hat and witches opt for the one most associated with them.
These hats provide no extra protection to the head, unless charmed to do so, and weigh less than 1 lbs.
Magical Hat (Holding)
This hat appears as a crumpled old wizards or witches hat. The inside though is an extra-dimensional space similar to that of a Bag of Holding. The user may store up to 10 lbs of mundane (non-magical) material inside. Regardless of the contents, the hat will only weigh 10-12 ozs. Typical uses are a place to store spell components and other minor items. The witch cannot pull the hat down over her head to protect it since the entire item must be enclosed. Any animal placed in the hat will suffocate within 5 mins much as a bag of holding. Magical Hats react the same to portable holes as do bags of holding.
This hat, despite it's name, can be used by any class.
Magical Hat (Holding, Greater)
This hat appears as anyother Magical Hat and represents 15% of their number. This hat can hold 25 lbs of materials as well as magical ones.
Hat of Focus
This hat aids the wizard or witch when they are performing spell research, learning new spells or otherwise engaged in any work requiring their focus.
This hat when worn will treat the wearer as if they had an Intelligence* score as one greater than they currently have. This does not change the number of spells they can learn or memorize based on their ability scores, but it does aid them with learning or creating the new spell.
*This can be substituted for Wisdom or Charisma as needed.
d20: This hat will add to the appropriate Concentration, Knowledge (arcana) or Spellcraft roll.
Hat of Focus, Spellslinger
This hat is similar to the Hat of Focus save that it adds +1 or +5% (where appropriate) to any one spellcasting roll. So this hat could add +1 per die in a Fireball's damage or -1 in a Saving Throw, but not both.
Hat of Focus, Dunce
This cursed hat looks exactly like the Hat of Focus and any detect magic will reveal that it is in fact a Hat of Focus. This hat though has the opposite effect and lowers the appropriate spellcasting ability score by 3 points.
Hat of the Archmage
This artifact is quite rare and very powerfull. Created by an ancient archmage that used to joke that he always had another idea under his hat, the hat allows the wizard (and only a wizard) to store a number of extra spells. It is rumored that this hat can hold 100 levels of spells that can be cast when the hat is opened and the proper spell is commanded to come out. The wizard can then cast spells into the hat to be used at a later time.
Another, similar item, is known as the Hat of the Queen of Witches and is only usable by a witch.
OGL Section
Section 15
"Magical Hats" Copyright 2011, Timothy S. Branann
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Test Review
Pale Demon by Kim Harrison
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Rachel is finally getting smarter, too bad so are her enemies.
Great road-trip style story and the ending is not what I had expected at all. I was just about ready to give up on the Hollows and now I can't wait for the next book.
View all my reviews
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Rachel is finally getting smarter, too bad so are her enemies.
Great road-trip style story and the ending is not what I had expected at all. I was just about ready to give up on the Hollows and now I can't wait for the next book.
View all my reviews
RPG Blog Alliance
So I am a joiner.
I joined the new RPG Blog Alliance.
In addition to the RSS aggregator there is a forum and a wiki.
Looking forward to seeing more on this site.
I joined the new RPG Blog Alliance.
In addition to the RSS aggregator there is a forum and a wiki.
Looking forward to seeing more on this site.
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Post 666
I have reached a momentous milestone here at the Other Side. This is my 666th post. I feel compelled (by the Power of Satan!) to post about something devilish.
I have talked about Hell before and some of it's inhabitants and some potential inhabitants. If I follow this logic then devils would be the ultimate foe for the elves. Not that I don't mind this idea at all. But I think I might focus it a bit more. Combine the story of Dante's Inferno, Milton's Paradise Lost and Lolth's shunning/betrayal and I can paint a pretty detailed idea of what Hell is in my world.
Hell is the ultimate prison for the fallen. Gods, Angels and other powers are cast out and into hell.
Let's start with a couple of Goddess that give me some problems.
Tiamat is a Goddess and Queen of all evil dragons. She has always been listed as having a domain on the first level of Hell. I have never really liked that to be honest. Tiamat is in Babylonian myth primal Chaos. If anything she should be in the Abyss. Using the new 4e cosmology that would place her in the Elemental Chaos, which is really the perfect place for her. In Dragonlance her home was always called "the Abyss". In my games I always called her realm Tehom, which means Abyss in Hebrew and is associated with the mythical Tiamat. So she really has no place in Hell. Who should replace her?
Lolth on the other hand is better fit. Her story is more in line with the casting out of the Angels into Hell. Though I am not sure I want her in Hell proper, maybe more of the Ante-chamber to Hell, near the Underdark. This would be similar to the first level of Hell that Dante claimed the Pagans went too. So I am trading a giant dragon for a giant spider. For a bit of tongue in cheek continuity I would make Tiamat and Lolth allies. They have different goals and motivations, but I see them as felling they have a common history so if it benefits them to share an alliance, then they would. Lolth's realm is still called the Demonweb and she still has a number of demons in her employ.
Devils in my Game
Demons are easy. They are evil, chaotic outsiders bent on destruction of everything. Devils are much more complicated. I say in my game Devils are only Fallen Angels. That means there are a finite number of them and once they are gone, that is it. There are a lot of creatures that are called devils, but most of them are demons pressed into service. Since they have been forced into service by the Devils they have changed, they can evolve into greater forms. Pit Fiends are those fiends that have reason up in ranks. The True Devils still look down on them.
Since I started this post, Dreams of the Lich House posted a bit about using Satan/The Tempter in your games. It is a good read. It also ties in nicely with the Milton/Dante-ish cosmology I want to use for Hell. I would keep the 9 layers. The top most being the "Ante-Chamber of Hell" and the rest each ruled by an Arch Duke. Also each Arch Duke is responsible for one of the Seven Deadly sins.
Glayssa was given Lust, Asmodeus' old sin since he is now in charge. His though is the sin of betrayal.
In the 4e cosmology Asmodeus was the angel guarding the prison that Tharizdun was held in. Tharizdûn corrupted him and Asmodues and his angels all fell. I have decided that Tharizdun is still chained, but the greatest deceit is that he is not where all the gods think he is. He is in fact buried deep in Hell where Asmodeus taps his power. This is how he has been elevated to near Godhood. Of course this might be Tharizdun plan to to trap Asmodeus in his thrall even more.
Chances are good that the Dragonslayers will run into the cult of Tharizdun sometime soon. I just need something to do with them.
I am not planning on the Dragonslayers going to Hell anytime soon, so this all might be for nothing.
I have talked about Hell before and some of it's inhabitants and some potential inhabitants. If I follow this logic then devils would be the ultimate foe for the elves. Not that I don't mind this idea at all. But I think I might focus it a bit more. Combine the story of Dante's Inferno, Milton's Paradise Lost and Lolth's shunning/betrayal and I can paint a pretty detailed idea of what Hell is in my world.
Hell is the ultimate prison for the fallen. Gods, Angels and other powers are cast out and into hell.
Let's start with a couple of Goddess that give me some problems.
Tiamat is a Goddess and Queen of all evil dragons. She has always been listed as having a domain on the first level of Hell. I have never really liked that to be honest. Tiamat is in Babylonian myth primal Chaos. If anything she should be in the Abyss. Using the new 4e cosmology that would place her in the Elemental Chaos, which is really the perfect place for her. In Dragonlance her home was always called "the Abyss". In my games I always called her realm Tehom, which means Abyss in Hebrew and is associated with the mythical Tiamat. So she really has no place in Hell. Who should replace her?
Lolth on the other hand is better fit. Her story is more in line with the casting out of the Angels into Hell. Though I am not sure I want her in Hell proper, maybe more of the Ante-chamber to Hell, near the Underdark. This would be similar to the first level of Hell that Dante claimed the Pagans went too. So I am trading a giant dragon for a giant spider. For a bit of tongue in cheek continuity I would make Tiamat and Lolth allies. They have different goals and motivations, but I see them as felling they have a common history so if it benefits them to share an alliance, then they would. Lolth's realm is still called the Demonweb and she still has a number of demons in her employ.
Devils in my Game
Demons are easy. They are evil, chaotic outsiders bent on destruction of everything. Devils are much more complicated. I say in my game Devils are only Fallen Angels. That means there are a finite number of them and once they are gone, that is it. There are a lot of creatures that are called devils, but most of them are demons pressed into service. Since they have been forced into service by the Devils they have changed, they can evolve into greater forms. Pit Fiends are those fiends that have reason up in ranks. The True Devils still look down on them.
Since I started this post, Dreams of the Lich House posted a bit about using Satan/The Tempter in your games. It is a good read. It also ties in nicely with the Milton/Dante-ish cosmology I want to use for Hell. I would keep the 9 layers. The top most being the "Ante-Chamber of Hell" and the rest each ruled by an Arch Duke. Also each Arch Duke is responsible for one of the Seven Deadly sins.
Layer | Name | Arch-Duke | Deadly Sin |
1 | Avernus | none | na |
2 | Dis | Dispater | Envy |
3 | Minauros | Mammon | Greed |
4 | Phlegethos | Belial | Sloth |
5 | Stygia | Geryon | Wrath |
6 | Malbolge | Glayssa | Lust |
7 | Maladomini | Baalzebul/Beelzebub | Gluttony |
8 | Cania | Mephistopheles | Pride |
9 | Nessus | Asmodeus | * |
Glayssa was given Lust, Asmodeus' old sin since he is now in charge. His though is the sin of betrayal.
In the 4e cosmology Asmodeus was the angel guarding the prison that Tharizdun was held in. Tharizdûn corrupted him and Asmodues and his angels all fell. I have decided that Tharizdun is still chained, but the greatest deceit is that he is not where all the gods think he is. He is in fact buried deep in Hell where Asmodeus taps his power. This is how he has been elevated to near Godhood. Of course this might be Tharizdun plan to to trap Asmodeus in his thrall even more.
Chances are good that the Dragonslayers will run into the cult of Tharizdun sometime soon. I just need something to do with them.
I am not planning on the Dragonslayers going to Hell anytime soon, so this all might be for nothing.
Once upon there was Irish ways and Irish laws.
One of my WIPs that is very close to my heart is a game of playing mythic Ireland.
Éire (also sometimes called Ériu in my notes) has been in my notes for many, many years and the system has changed based on what I have felt best suited it. Presently, and likely to be the final version, uses the ORCS system seen in Jason Vey's Spellcraft and Swordplay game. I chose that over say straight OD&D or some other clone because I like the feel of the game and it has some DNA in it that I really like.
Well the game has languished in the hell of my hard drive since the dawn of the d20 system. But last night I got inspiration from an unexpected source.
I was working with my son last night on his research paper on Ireland. We talked about the the Blight, the Troubles and even went back a bit to talk about St. Patrick and my personal favorite Finn MacCool. After telling him the story of the Salmon of Knowledge my son (whose name is Liam by the way) looked at me and said "this would make an awesome D&D game."
So I am rereading all my notes. Marveling at some, and wondering what the hell I was thinking with others.
No idea when I'll have it done. But I feel I should get it done soon. If for nothing else for my boys Liam and Connor, so they can learn a bit of their own heritage too.
Éire (also sometimes called Ériu in my notes) has been in my notes for many, many years and the system has changed based on what I have felt best suited it. Presently, and likely to be the final version, uses the ORCS system seen in Jason Vey's Spellcraft and Swordplay game. I chose that over say straight OD&D or some other clone because I like the feel of the game and it has some DNA in it that I really like.
Well the game has languished in the hell of my hard drive since the dawn of the d20 system. But last night I got inspiration from an unexpected source.
I was working with my son last night on his research paper on Ireland. We talked about the the Blight, the Troubles and even went back a bit to talk about St. Patrick and my personal favorite Finn MacCool. After telling him the story of the Salmon of Knowledge my son (whose name is Liam by the way) looked at me and said "this would make an awesome D&D game."
So I am rereading all my notes. Marveling at some, and wondering what the hell I was thinking with others.
No idea when I'll have it done. But I feel I should get it done soon. If for nothing else for my boys Liam and Connor, so they can learn a bit of their own heritage too.
Monday, May 23, 2011
Mongoose to end RQII
So Mongoose is planning on ending their run of RuneQuest II.
http://www.mongoosepublishing.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=47370
They are keeping the ruleset and publishing it under the name "Wayfarer".
Two things come to mind.
1. Don't we already have a FRPG call Wayfarers?, http://yeoldegamingcompanye.com/wayfarersmain.htm
2. Doesn't "Wayfarer" sound a bit like "Pathfinder"?
I have a love-hate relationship with Mongoose and no dogs in this race, so I am just an observers.
http://www.mongoosepublishing.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=47370
They are keeping the ruleset and publishing it under the name "Wayfarer".
Two things come to mind.
1. Don't we already have a FRPG call Wayfarers?, http://yeoldegamingcompanye.com/wayfarersmain.htm
2. Doesn't "Wayfarer" sound a bit like "Pathfinder"?
I have a love-hate relationship with Mongoose and no dogs in this race, so I am just an observers.
Sunday, May 22, 2011
The Dragonslayers vs White Plume Mountain, Part 4 Final
I was feeling a little sick over the weekend. Caught whatever my son had caught and only ate crackers for lunch. So my boys asked if we could finish WPM. I had a bunch of material worked out for the final part, combining the 2nd Ed. Adventure Dragotha's Lair and the WMP Web Enhancement Outside the Mountain. Since I wasn't feeling well I reduced Dragotha's Lair to a smaller area and removed many of the (redundant) undead.
They battled the Effrit on their way out of the mountain and he was quickly dispatched by couple of cones of cold. Dragotha did carry off the wizard, but a well rolled concentration check and a quick teleport spell the wizard was safe.
I kept the Hag, Thingazzard and had her using my own 3.0 rules for witches and she provided a good hazard on the way to Cave of Bones.
The Dragonslayers fought Dragotha in the end, taking some pretty serious damage almost loosing one of their elemental sorcerers. But in the end they triumphed. They collected the next part they needed, the Red Dragon tooth, and there are odd notes in Thingazzard's Book of Shadows about the Horn of Iggwilv and an item that might be what they need.
All in all the boys did good despite my general lack of energy. They may have gotten off a touch easier than they should have, so to compensate the amount of magic is not as great. Everyone managed to go up a level so next time we will decide what those levels will be. Liam wants his wizard to take a level of fighter so he can use the cool new flaming sword he found. I also suggested Bard.
Next up, into the deeps as the Dragonslayers enter the gnome vale and find The Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth.
They battled the Effrit on their way out of the mountain and he was quickly dispatched by couple of cones of cold. Dragotha did carry off the wizard, but a well rolled concentration check and a quick teleport spell the wizard was safe.
I kept the Hag, Thingazzard and had her using my own 3.0 rules for witches and she provided a good hazard on the way to Cave of Bones.
The Dragonslayers fought Dragotha in the end, taking some pretty serious damage almost loosing one of their elemental sorcerers. But in the end they triumphed. They collected the next part they needed, the Red Dragon tooth, and there are odd notes in Thingazzard's Book of Shadows about the Horn of Iggwilv and an item that might be what they need.
All in all the boys did good despite my general lack of energy. They may have gotten off a touch easier than they should have, so to compensate the amount of magic is not as great. Everyone managed to go up a level so next time we will decide what those levels will be. Liam wants his wizard to take a level of fighter so he can use the cool new flaming sword he found. I also suggested Bard.
Next up, into the deeps as the Dragonslayers enter the gnome vale and find The Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth.
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Zatannurday: Happy birthday Z!
According to the DC Universe (and DC Women Kicking Ass) May 20 is Zatanna's birthday!
So here are some of celebration posts:
http://dcwomenkickingass.tumblr.com/post/5677896286/zeebirthday
http://thehappysorceress.tumblr.com/
Here is Zee and friends enjoying a birthday cheesecake, which I like because that is what I have for my birthday too.
and more,
So happy birthday Zee!
So here are some of celebration posts:
http://dcwomenkickingass.tumblr.com/post/5677896286/zeebirthday
http://thehappysorceress.tumblr.com/
Here is Zee and friends enjoying a birthday cheesecake, which I like because that is what I have for my birthday too.
and more,
So happy birthday Zee!
Friday, May 20, 2011
Updated Plans
Not much to this post, I am looking over the Big PlanTM I have for my Kids' D&D games.
I detailed my plan first here and then updated it here. Since then I have played some of the adventures listed, just not in the order I had them.
Of the plan I have completed:
I detailed my plan first here and then updated it here. Since then I have played some of the adventures listed, just not in the order I had them.
Of the plan I have completed:
- B3 Palace of the Silver Princess
- X1 The Ilse of Dread
- S2 White Plume Mountain
- C2 The Ghost Tower of Inverness. I am going to be running this under the Doctor Who RPG as "The Ghost Tower of Inverness, Illinois" (the castle, the Ghost Tower)
- B2 Keep on the Borderlands. Been done a 1000 times. I want to run it under Army of Darkness rules.
- I6 Ravenloft. Will run this as Ghosts of Albion: Ravenloft for Ghosts of Albion.
Games I'll run under my Basic Levels plan:
- T1 Village of Hommlet (and come back to it later using the 4th ed version)
- B1 In Search of the Unknown (great dungeon crawl)
- L1 Secret of Bone Hill (been wanting to run this one forever)
Then on to some D&D4 adventures.
Basic Levels: Background and Themes
To continue on with my idea of Basic Levels for D&D4 I want to look at two features of the D&D4 game that came after the PHB was published. Backgrounds and Themes.
When you are 1st level in D&D4 you get to choose some skills to be trained in. This gives you a +5 in those skills. As you move up in level all your skills are your appropriate modifier + 1/2 your level. So regardless a 30th level character has +15 minimum on every skill and +20 (15+5) on trained skills.
A background is a bit of role-playing that asks what were you before you were an adventurer? Most times it gives you a +2 in two (or sometimes just 1) skills. So maybe a fighter was once the apprentice of nere'do well Bard and spent his childhood stealing magical items. He would have a +2 to Arcana and +2 to Thievery
Themes are new from issue #399 of Dragon Magazine (seems odd to call it a magazine anymore) and they are more or less like kits were in AD&D2. You choose a theme and it gives you some pluses to skills and then at later levels you can choose different powers at different levels. not exactly a sub-class but more of a flavor.
To do these in the Basic Level model players need to have fairly good ideas of what their character was (or is since we are starting them younger) and where they want to take their character.
At Basic Level 1 they get their Background and maybe training in 1 skill. If the class has a "default" skill then it will be that one; ie Religion for Clerics, Arcana for Wizards and Thievery for Rogues. Clerics get their Channel Divinity power (Turn Undead), but no spells yet (just like Basic). Wizards get a spell.
At Basic Level 2 they get training in two more skills (or maybe just one, still looking at the options). Clerics get a spell as do wizards. Rogues and Fighters fight get one of their combat styles.
The idea here is to build up that list of trained and background skills and introduce the Themes to the character. In the end you want all the elements in place for that 1st level character.
While I consider the details here are the past posts that have lead me to this point.
Plus it gives me a good excuse to use all of these together.
When you are 1st level in D&D4 you get to choose some skills to be trained in. This gives you a +5 in those skills. As you move up in level all your skills are your appropriate modifier + 1/2 your level. So regardless a 30th level character has +15 minimum on every skill and +20 (15+5) on trained skills.
A background is a bit of role-playing that asks what were you before you were an adventurer? Most times it gives you a +2 in two (or sometimes just 1) skills. So maybe a fighter was once the apprentice of nere'do well Bard and spent his childhood stealing magical items. He would have a +2 to Arcana and +2 to Thievery
Themes are new from issue #399 of Dragon Magazine (seems odd to call it a magazine anymore) and they are more or less like kits were in AD&D2. You choose a theme and it gives you some pluses to skills and then at later levels you can choose different powers at different levels. not exactly a sub-class but more of a flavor.
To do these in the Basic Level model players need to have fairly good ideas of what their character was (or is since we are starting them younger) and where they want to take their character.
At Basic Level 1 they get their Background and maybe training in 1 skill. If the class has a "default" skill then it will be that one; ie Religion for Clerics, Arcana for Wizards and Thievery for Rogues. Clerics get their Channel Divinity power (Turn Undead), but no spells yet (just like Basic). Wizards get a spell.
At Basic Level 2 they get training in two more skills (or maybe just one, still looking at the options). Clerics get a spell as do wizards. Rogues and Fighters fight get one of their combat styles.
The idea here is to build up that list of trained and background skills and introduce the Themes to the character. In the end you want all the elements in place for that 1st level character.
While I consider the details here are the past posts that have lead me to this point.
- Character Life-Span development, this was more for modern games, but certainly good for D&D too.
- Immortal Level D&D. My first post on mixing D&D4 with D&D Basic.
- Playing D&D with Kids. Where I first mention my desire to play both D&D4 and Basic D&D.
Plus it gives me a good excuse to use all of these together.
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Tell DTRPG About Your Character
One thing that I don't typically do is talk about my characters. Nothing puts up a wall between the gamer and a non-gamer faster than talking about your character. I'll talk about my kids playing, I talk about things my players did, but rarely will I talk about a character in public. I even rarely do it here, outside of the writeups I do, but those are more about stats than personalities.
Fortunately DriveThruRPG is not me.
They want to hear all about your character and are willing to give you prizes for it.
The Tell Us About Your Character contest is going on now and you have two weeks to enter.
I do like characters. I have extensive histories for characters that have only seen a couple of games. So I might enter this contest, but I wanted to let you all know about it. Hell, my for my main withc character I can tell you what she has done every year of her 40 year old life. But for this contest you need to be able to limit yourself to 400 words.
The prizes are also nice, an Android powered tablet, and gift certificates for 100, 50 and 25 dollars.
Well worth your time I think.
http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/rpg_character.php?affiliate_id=10748
Fortunately DriveThruRPG is not me.
They want to hear all about your character and are willing to give you prizes for it.
The Tell Us About Your Character contest is going on now and you have two weeks to enter.
I do like characters. I have extensive histories for characters that have only seen a couple of games. So I might enter this contest, but I wanted to let you all know about it. Hell, my for my main withc character I can tell you what she has done every year of her 40 year old life. But for this contest you need to be able to limit yourself to 400 words.
The prizes are also nice, an Android powered tablet, and gift certificates for 100, 50 and 25 dollars.
Well worth your time I think.
http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/rpg_character.php?affiliate_id=10748
Respect My Authoritah!
Well according to at least one obscure website I am an authority on the criminology of Elizabeth Bathory.
My Elizabeth Bathory page, designed to be used with an RPG mind you, was linked out by Criminal Justice Degrees.com, on their site of the 15 worse female criminals. http://www.criminaljusticedegrees.com/15-most-heinous-women-criminals
Of course this site is nothing more than a means to get people into a name collection system that many online degrees use.
Now my Bathory page gets about 1,500 hits a month with about 1,000 of those being new visitors, and so far this one has only contributed about 24 this week. But I still had to laugh.
My Elizabeth Bathory page, designed to be used with an RPG mind you, was linked out by Criminal Justice Degrees.com, on their site of the 15 worse female criminals. http://www.criminaljusticedegrees.com/15-most-heinous-women-criminals
Of course this site is nothing more than a means to get people into a name collection system that many online degrees use.
Now my Bathory page gets about 1,500 hits a month with about 1,000 of those being new visitors, and so far this one has only contributed about 24 this week. But I still had to laugh.
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Basic Levels: D&D4 by way of D&D Basic
Consider this quote from The Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell.
Depending on who you ask the raised power structure in D&D 4 is either a feature or it is "broken". D&D 4 characters start out as very capable. They have skills, powers and a variety of things they can do right away. To some this is a great thing, now all characters can do something. To others it is a sign of power creep.
I don't buy the power creep argument. In fact if you compare D&D4 to D&D Rule Cyclopedia you see that they have similar power curves. A 30th level D&D4 Wizard could go toe to toe with a 36th level D&DRC Magic User, and both may be on paths to immortality. In fact D&D 4 seems more like D&D RC IF you look at it from the point of view of D&D4 characters starting at about 4th to 6th level.
Let's compare a bit.
Here are the basic skills and powers of a 1st level D&D Basic/RC character.
Magic-User Level 1
Weapons: Dagger 1d4 (1 per attack)
Spell: Magic Missile (1 per day)
HP: 1d4 + con mod (4 to 7)
Not a lot.
How about 1st level D&D4 character.
Wizard (Mage) Level 1
Weapon: Dagger (1 per attack)
Spells: At will: Suggestion, Ghost Sound, Light, Arc Lightning, Freezing Burst.
Per Encounter: Charm of Misplaced Wrath, Burning Hands.
Daily: Fountain of Flame, Phantom Chasm
Skills: Arcana, Diplomacy, Dungeoneering, Insight, Religion
HP: 10 + con score (18 to 28 using the default arrays)
9 spells and four skills that this character knows out of the gate. And that is not counting any of the new backgrounds (which gives +2 to a skill or two) or other rules to help out the 4e character further.
Just as a quick and dirty comparison, a D&D RC Magic User would need to be 7th level and be able to cast 1 4th level spell to equal the D&D 4e 1st level Wizard (Mage). Now if you use the cantrip rules I created (or just ignore cantrips) then the character is more of a 5th level Magic User.
Fighters are not much different really.
In Basic/RC the fighter gets a sword and told which end is pointy and which end to hold on to.
In 4e fighters (Knights) get a sword and 3 different battle stances (think of them as advanced fighting techniques) that make them more than a guy with a sword. These stances imply martial training.
So the D&D 4 characters are not just "fresh of the moisture farm", they have training, they have skills. This is something the designers of D&D4 wanted and it was an implicit design philosophy.
But sometimes you want to build up to something special.
People have used this argument as a full on indictment of all of D&D4, but to me that is throwing out too much good stuff, but I also like the feel of the early editions, especially Basic D&D. SO why not have my cake and eat it too.
Basic Training and Levels
Basic levels are the "training" levels for character. They will break up the powers of the 1st level 4e characters into smaller chunks to represent training.
For my Hero's Journey game, the characters will start out exactly like they do for every single edition of D&D. Roll a 4d6, drop the lowest, arrange for 6 stats. I will use the "archetypes" from Basic and 4e and these will be the only characters allowed. So fighter, magic-user, thief, cleric. From here they can move on to other "full" classes. Fighter (and I might even call it "fighting man") wold lead to knights, paladins, rangers, fighters, marshals, and so on. Magic-Users lead to Warlocks, Wizards, mages, sorcerers. You get the idea. Or I could divide them up my how they train for their power, Martial, Divine and Arcane. I like that idea better.
There would be 3 basic levels. I would divide the powers and skills up so they are getting something new each basic level. So new skill, new spell or martial stance. I would include Backgrounds and any other ways to get skills at Basic 1. I would also include all the racial perks.
This is not without precedent, the old Cavalier had levels that came before 1st level so that you had to work your way up to them.
I'd have to put them up in a table so that by the time you completed Basic 3 and then moved to Level 1 you could gain the last powers needed to make Level 1 seem like a big leap.
Basic Levels as Normal People
Having basic levels also make for a good way to represent normal people. The village blacksmith isn't a 0 level human or even a 1st level Knight, he is something in between. Maybe he has some training, and he is certainly stronger than his fellows, so he could be a Martial Class, Basic Level 2. Or something.
This makes for a good way to emulate the NPC classes from the D&D 3.x DMG.
I think this needs more work, but I like what I have so far.
Why Do it?
Other than the reasons mentioned above there is also a pragmatic reason. To play T1, B1 and B2 as intended. Maybe that is what I can do. Not worry about XP, but level up on Basic Level after a completed adventure. I could also pull out the Black Box D&D I got at the last auction as a good intro set.
The more I think about it, the more I like it. Then they get to Level 1 and the Adventure arc begins.
ETA: Rob Donoghue had some similar thoughts earlier this month. Please also read his post.
http://rdonoghue.blogspot.com/2011/05/leveling-up-to-1.html
A hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder: fabulous forces are there encountered and a decisive victory is won: the hero comes back from this mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons on his fellow man.Think of the heroes of modern myth, Luke Skywalker, Harry Potter, even Bilbo Baggins and the kids from the Narnia books (well the first few). They follow this hero's journey more or less the same way. Even Darth Vader followed the same path, but failed the final tests. The point here though is not the journey (yet) but the beginnings. Anikin began as a slave, Luke a farm boy, Harry a baby and then a 10 year old boy with no idea of his potential. Each were a "chosen one" of their tales, but all had humble beginnings.
Depending on who you ask the raised power structure in D&D 4 is either a feature or it is "broken". D&D 4 characters start out as very capable. They have skills, powers and a variety of things they can do right away. To some this is a great thing, now all characters can do something. To others it is a sign of power creep.
I don't buy the power creep argument. In fact if you compare D&D4 to D&D Rule Cyclopedia you see that they have similar power curves. A 30th level D&D4 Wizard could go toe to toe with a 36th level D&DRC Magic User, and both may be on paths to immortality. In fact D&D 4 seems more like D&D RC IF you look at it from the point of view of D&D4 characters starting at about 4th to 6th level.
Let's compare a bit.
Here are the basic skills and powers of a 1st level D&D Basic/RC character.
Magic-User Level 1
Weapons: Dagger 1d4 (1 per attack)
Spell: Magic Missile (1 per day)
HP: 1d4 + con mod (4 to 7)
Not a lot.
How about 1st level D&D4 character.
Wizard (Mage) Level 1
Weapon: Dagger (1 per attack)
Spells: At will: Suggestion, Ghost Sound, Light, Arc Lightning, Freezing Burst.
Per Encounter: Charm of Misplaced Wrath, Burning Hands.
Daily: Fountain of Flame, Phantom Chasm
Skills: Arcana, Diplomacy, Dungeoneering, Insight, Religion
HP: 10 + con score (18 to 28 using the default arrays)
9 spells and four skills that this character knows out of the gate. And that is not counting any of the new backgrounds (which gives +2 to a skill or two) or other rules to help out the 4e character further.
Just as a quick and dirty comparison, a D&D RC Magic User would need to be 7th level and be able to cast 1 4th level spell to equal the D&D 4e 1st level Wizard (Mage). Now if you use the cantrip rules I created (or just ignore cantrips) then the character is more of a 5th level Magic User.
Fighters are not much different really.
In Basic/RC the fighter gets a sword and told which end is pointy and which end to hold on to.
In 4e fighters (Knights) get a sword and 3 different battle stances (think of them as advanced fighting techniques) that make them more than a guy with a sword. These stances imply martial training.
So the D&D 4 characters are not just "fresh of the moisture farm", they have training, they have skills. This is something the designers of D&D4 wanted and it was an implicit design philosophy.
But sometimes you want to build up to something special.
People have used this argument as a full on indictment of all of D&D4, but to me that is throwing out too much good stuff, but I also like the feel of the early editions, especially Basic D&D. SO why not have my cake and eat it too.
Basic Training and Levels
Basic levels are the "training" levels for character. They will break up the powers of the 1st level 4e characters into smaller chunks to represent training.
For my Hero's Journey game, the characters will start out exactly like they do for every single edition of D&D. Roll a 4d6, drop the lowest, arrange for 6 stats. I will use the "archetypes" from Basic and 4e and these will be the only characters allowed. So fighter, magic-user, thief, cleric. From here they can move on to other "full" classes. Fighter (and I might even call it "fighting man") wold lead to knights, paladins, rangers, fighters, marshals, and so on. Magic-Users lead to Warlocks, Wizards, mages, sorcerers. You get the idea. Or I could divide them up my how they train for their power, Martial, Divine and Arcane. I like that idea better.
There would be 3 basic levels. I would divide the powers and skills up so they are getting something new each basic level. So new skill, new spell or martial stance. I would include Backgrounds and any other ways to get skills at Basic 1. I would also include all the racial perks.
This is not without precedent, the old Cavalier had levels that came before 1st level so that you had to work your way up to them.
I'd have to put them up in a table so that by the time you completed Basic 3 and then moved to Level 1 you could gain the last powers needed to make Level 1 seem like a big leap.
Basic Levels as Normal People
Having basic levels also make for a good way to represent normal people. The village blacksmith isn't a 0 level human or even a 1st level Knight, he is something in between. Maybe he has some training, and he is certainly stronger than his fellows, so he could be a Martial Class, Basic Level 2. Or something.
This makes for a good way to emulate the NPC classes from the D&D 3.x DMG.
I think this needs more work, but I like what I have so far.
Why Do it?
Other than the reasons mentioned above there is also a pragmatic reason. To play T1, B1 and B2 as intended. Maybe that is what I can do. Not worry about XP, but level up on Basic Level after a completed adventure. I could also pull out the Black Box D&D I got at the last auction as a good intro set.
The more I think about it, the more I like it. Then they get to Level 1 and the Adventure arc begins.
ETA: Rob Donoghue had some similar thoughts earlier this month. Please also read his post.
http://rdonoghue.blogspot.com/2011/05/leveling-up-to-1.html
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Divine Intervention and the Nature of Dieties
How do you do divine intervention in your games?
Following up on the post about Clerics I have thought about how Gods interact with mortals. Typically I give any character a base 1% chance to get divine intervention when they ask for it. This is modified by how well they adhere to the tenets of their faith, the nature of their god, and even level (higher level characters can do more). Of course nothing comes without a price.
In my 4e game coming up I am thinking that that the players will be visited often by the Raven Queen's avatar, in the form of a young girl ala Death from DC's Vertigo line and borrowing heavily from Amber Benson's "Death's Daughter" books. I might even introduce her in the current adventure arc.
Presently the Dragonslayers are going after Tiamat. While they acknowledge that she is the "Goddess of Evil Dragons" to them that just makes her bigger and more powerful to kill. I am thinking I am ok with that for the most part. It could be that Gods in my game are beings that just got really, really powerful.
If that is the case why do they need worshipers? What purpose then is divine intervention for?
I had a character once who I took briefly into the Planescape setting. Basically he was a jerk and didn't think that gods were anything special (sound familiar?), just powerful humans (or humanoids). I later expanded his belief into an entire Plansescape faction, The Hermetic Order of Sigil, though he was not a member.
Interesting that all these years later I am still going back to the basic assumptions of my games and trying to figure out the underlying realities.
Following up on the post about Clerics I have thought about how Gods interact with mortals. Typically I give any character a base 1% chance to get divine intervention when they ask for it. This is modified by how well they adhere to the tenets of their faith, the nature of their god, and even level (higher level characters can do more). Of course nothing comes without a price.
In my 4e game coming up I am thinking that that the players will be visited often by the Raven Queen's avatar, in the form of a young girl ala Death from DC's Vertigo line and borrowing heavily from Amber Benson's "Death's Daughter" books. I might even introduce her in the current adventure arc.
Presently the Dragonslayers are going after Tiamat. While they acknowledge that she is the "Goddess of Evil Dragons" to them that just makes her bigger and more powerful to kill. I am thinking I am ok with that for the most part. It could be that Gods in my game are beings that just got really, really powerful.
If that is the case why do they need worshipers? What purpose then is divine intervention for?
I had a character once who I took briefly into the Planescape setting. Basically he was a jerk and didn't think that gods were anything special (sound familiar?), just powerful humans (or humanoids). I later expanded his belief into an entire Plansescape faction, The Hermetic Order of Sigil, though he was not a member.
Interesting that all these years later I am still going back to the basic assumptions of my games and trying to figure out the underlying realities.
Monday, May 16, 2011
I'm with D&D
This is not a big surprise.
I saw this banner again today on Christian Lindke's Cinerati blog about to uselessness of edition wars. The image is from TheWeem.com and it is to support D&D, any D&D, any edition. Even if your D&D is actually called Basic Fantasy, S&W or Pathfinder.
Enjoy your game!
I saw this banner again today on Christian Lindke's Cinerati blog about to uselessness of edition wars. The image is from TheWeem.com and it is to support D&D, any D&D, any edition. Even if your D&D is actually called Basic Fantasy, S&W or Pathfinder.
Enjoy your game!
Labels:
2nd ed,
3.x,
4e,
basic,
old-school
Spell Lists, by level or Alphabetical?
I was reading over the newest version of Swords &Wizardry over my brief lunch break today.
It is neat and has some cool ideas but one thing struck me.
Like Basic Fantasy and some others and most notably D&D 3rd Ed and Pathfinder, S&S IV lists all the spells in alphabetical order and not by class and level. While I get this is very good way to organize the spells, it doesn't quite feel old school to me.
For me I guess it is one of tone. If this were a 3.x era book then I would want the spells in that format. If it were an OSR book, then do it like they did it when Gary and Dave were still rollin' 'em.
What are your preferences?
Do you like books were the spells are divided up by cast then level or do you like the alphabetical approach?
It is neat and has some cool ideas but one thing struck me.
Like Basic Fantasy and some others and most notably D&D 3rd Ed and Pathfinder, S&S IV lists all the spells in alphabetical order and not by class and level. While I get this is very good way to organize the spells, it doesn't quite feel old school to me.
For me I guess it is one of tone. If this were a 3.x era book then I would want the spells in that format. If it were an OSR book, then do it like they did it when Gary and Dave were still rollin' 'em.
What are your preferences?
Do you like books were the spells are divided up by cast then level or do you like the alphabetical approach?
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Sorry, I was OUTSIDE!
Yeah it's springtime in Chicagoland, which means it is just as cold as winter, but we have a few more hours of daylight. I wanted to do some more White Plume Mountain today, but yardwork calls.
Though while cleaning out gutters today I did think of how first contact happened between the dwarves and human of my world. Much better than the first contact between dwarves and elves.
Going out to fertilize the lawn now. Who knows what I'll come up with then.
Though while cleaning out gutters today I did think of how first contact happened between the dwarves and human of my world. Much better than the first contact between dwarves and elves.
Going out to fertilize the lawn now. Who knows what I'll come up with then.
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Friday, May 13, 2011
13 Magazine for WGA
Just in time for Friday the 13th comes the newest supplement for Witch Girls Adventures.
13 Magazine
This is a fun little product.
Designed to be a magazine for young witches in the WGA world, it looks like any number of tween and teen mags that talk about fashion, boys and school. 13 is no different except the advice section deals with how to deal with your vampire boyfriend to a bunch of new spells no young witch should be without. IT looks like there will be regular features such as Aimee the Alchemist, Cryptid Database, advice from Denora the "Wicked Witch of the West Coast" and dating advice from Desdemond. Everything is presented with a little sidebar of notes for the Director of a WGA game on how to use.
I particularly liked the "First Jobs" article which dealt with baby sitting, but provided material to play or run younger witches than the core book had.
The layout is really good, full color and looking like a glossy fashion magazine. There are a few typos I noticed, but nothing that distracted me from the text or the fun.
If you like Witch Girls Adventures (and I do), then this is a good buy.
5 out of 5 stars
Again, I am inordinately fond of this game so anything new for it is great in my mind.
13 Magazine
This is a fun little product.
Designed to be a magazine for young witches in the WGA world, it looks like any number of tween and teen mags that talk about fashion, boys and school. 13 is no different except the advice section deals with how to deal with your vampire boyfriend to a bunch of new spells no young witch should be without. IT looks like there will be regular features such as Aimee the Alchemist, Cryptid Database, advice from Denora the "Wicked Witch of the West Coast" and dating advice from Desdemond. Everything is presented with a little sidebar of notes for the Director of a WGA game on how to use.
I particularly liked the "First Jobs" article which dealt with baby sitting, but provided material to play or run younger witches than the core book had.
The layout is really good, full color and looking like a glossy fashion magazine. There are a few typos I noticed, but nothing that distracted me from the text or the fun.
If you like Witch Girls Adventures (and I do), then this is a good buy.
5 out of 5 stars
Again, I am inordinately fond of this game so anything new for it is great in my mind.
Happy Friday the 13th!
Hey! It is Friday the 13th which is usually pretty good for me. We will see if that holds today. ;)
On the down side all my posts since Wednesday are gone, but I think I can bring them back if I want.
Hope your Friday is a good one.
On the down side all my posts since Wednesday are gone, but I think I can bring them back if I want.
Hope your Friday is a good one.
Thursday, May 12, 2011
Monster High
I blog about horror, monsters, vampires, witches and stuff like that. I enjoy webcomics like Eerie Cuties, Magick Chicks, School Bites and Shadow Girls. One of my favorite games is Witch Girls Adventures.
So it should be no surprise really that I know about the Monster High Dolls from Mattel. No, I don't own any of them (they don't have any witches from what I can tell) but I do get emails about them from readers letting me know about them.
But that is not why I am talking about them today.
I was reading this post from OUR VALUED CUSTOMERS about a father that wouldn't buy his daughter a Usagi Yojimbo doll. Being a parent myself I have spent a lot of time in the toy stores (really that is my honest reason!) and I have seen a lot of parents do some really dumb things and say some really stupid shit about toys their kids wanted to buy.
Though there is one that will always stick in my mind. I was at Target one day this last month or so. I forgot what it was I getting, but I was walking past the cash registers and there was this little boy, no more than 3 or 4 really. In his hand was one of these Monster Dolls. The look on his face as he looked down at his new doll and hugged it was priceless. He was so in love with his little monster girl. The mother, as any parent who has ever been in a Target, looked tired but she was obviously getting the toy for the little guy.
It really made me smile to see this little guy so happy and it made me feel good that this mother wasn't bowing to the pressure of buying a "Girl's Toy" for a little boy.
So it should be no surprise really that I know about the Monster High Dolls from Mattel. No, I don't own any of them (they don't have any witches from what I can tell) but I do get emails about them from readers letting me know about them.
But that is not why I am talking about them today.
I was reading this post from OUR VALUED CUSTOMERS about a father that wouldn't buy his daughter a Usagi Yojimbo doll. Being a parent myself I have spent a lot of time in the toy stores (really that is my honest reason!) and I have seen a lot of parents do some really dumb things and say some really stupid shit about toys their kids wanted to buy.
Though there is one that will always stick in my mind. I was at Target one day this last month or so. I forgot what it was I getting, but I was walking past the cash registers and there was this little boy, no more than 3 or 4 really. In his hand was one of these Monster Dolls. The look on his face as he looked down at his new doll and hugged it was priceless. He was so in love with his little monster girl. The mother, as any parent who has ever been in a Target, looked tired but she was obviously getting the toy for the little guy.
It really made me smile to see this little guy so happy and it made me feel good that this mother wasn't bowing to the pressure of buying a "Girl's Toy" for a little boy.
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
More reviews
A few reviews sitting in my queue.Find this at DriveThruRPG.
Fantasy Heroines Set
I love these paper minis from Arion games and this package is no different. I bunch of little paper people for your game. There are heroines of every class type here and the "cheese cake" factor is minimal (the paladin for example is in head to toe armor). Some mounted and some tri-folded versions as well.
There is only one thing missing from this package are full sized (or even half sized) page versions of the characters to print out and use with a character sheet. That would make these perfect in my mind.
4 of 5 Stars
Greek Woman
Two hi-res pieces of art (the same, one in b/w, the other in sepia) to be used with any project personal or comerical.
A very good piece.
5 of 5 Stars
Doctor Who: Aliens and Creatures
An excellent source of new things to run away from!
Actually this is a great product, full of all sorts of monsters, aliens and other creatures primarily from the new version of Doctor Who (but some old favorites are still there).
There is also an adventure book with two ready to go adventures using these new creatures; and plenty of ideas of how to use the others.
Some printing will be required for the cards, but that is minimal.
The same level of art, design and layout given to the core game is here, making it one of the more attractive games out these days. Perfect for the Doctor Who gamer and the Doctor Who fan alike.
5 of 5 Stars
Eden Studios Presents: Volume 3
While it doesn't come out as often as I would like, each issue of ESP is worth the wait. In particular here are Jason Vey's conversions of WitchCraft Gifted to be used in the Cinematic lines like Buffy or Ghosts of Albion.
More Cinematic Unisystem spells for Buffy/Angel (and Ghosts of Albion or Army of Darkness).
If you play Unisystem games then this is a great resource for you.
5 of 5 Stars
Book of Races
This book is filled full of new and interesting races, many of which are not your typical fantasy fare. While not all are great there are some gems and I appreciate the overall effort. There are races, new feats and paragon paths for 4e (not Essentials, but easily updated).
The art does tend to be all over the place and some of it is not great. But for half price and the chance to do something very different than the typical elf-dwarf-halfling trifeca, this is a good choice.
4 of 5 Stars
F-211 Copperhead
This is actually pretty awesome and one of the best things about PDFs. For one price (and lot of printer ink) I can have a fleet of little paper spaceships.
The design is very cool, brings to mind both the Vipers of BSG and the X-Wings of Star Wars, so that is a plus.
My suggestion is to take your time and let the paper dry before gluing. I smudged my first one.
5 of 5 Stars
Enjoy!
Fantasy Heroines Set
I love these paper minis from Arion games and this package is no different. I bunch of little paper people for your game. There are heroines of every class type here and the "cheese cake" factor is minimal (the paladin for example is in head to toe armor). Some mounted and some tri-folded versions as well.
There is only one thing missing from this package are full sized (or even half sized) page versions of the characters to print out and use with a character sheet. That would make these perfect in my mind.
4 of 5 Stars
Greek Woman
Two hi-res pieces of art (the same, one in b/w, the other in sepia) to be used with any project personal or comerical.
A very good piece.
5 of 5 Stars
Doctor Who: Aliens and Creatures
An excellent source of new things to run away from!
Actually this is a great product, full of all sorts of monsters, aliens and other creatures primarily from the new version of Doctor Who (but some old favorites are still there).
There is also an adventure book with two ready to go adventures using these new creatures; and plenty of ideas of how to use the others.
Some printing will be required for the cards, but that is minimal.
The same level of art, design and layout given to the core game is here, making it one of the more attractive games out these days. Perfect for the Doctor Who gamer and the Doctor Who fan alike.
5 of 5 Stars
Eden Studios Presents: Volume 3
While it doesn't come out as often as I would like, each issue of ESP is worth the wait. In particular here are Jason Vey's conversions of WitchCraft Gifted to be used in the Cinematic lines like Buffy or Ghosts of Albion.
More Cinematic Unisystem spells for Buffy/Angel (and Ghosts of Albion or Army of Darkness).
If you play Unisystem games then this is a great resource for you.
5 of 5 Stars
Book of Races
This book is filled full of new and interesting races, many of which are not your typical fantasy fare. While not all are great there are some gems and I appreciate the overall effort. There are races, new feats and paragon paths for 4e (not Essentials, but easily updated).
The art does tend to be all over the place and some of it is not great. But for half price and the chance to do something very different than the typical elf-dwarf-halfling trifeca, this is a good choice.
4 of 5 Stars
F-211 Copperhead
This is actually pretty awesome and one of the best things about PDFs. For one price (and lot of printer ink) I can have a fleet of little paper spaceships.
The design is very cool, brings to mind both the Vipers of BSG and the X-Wings of Star Wars, so that is a plus.
My suggestion is to take your time and let the paper dry before gluing. I smudged my first one.
5 of 5 Stars
Enjoy!
This is why I enjoy reading blogs
James at GROGNARDIA has posted a bit on his thoughts on White Plume Mountain. As many of you know I am currently running my kids through WPM as part of their Dragonslayers campaign.
Well reading the comments I see that there is another add-on for this called Outside the Mountain. Which has another legacy weapon, Frostrazor (don't like that name though).
It doesn't add a lot to what I already have, it's list Dragotha as a Black Dragon Dracolich rather than the Red Dragon Dracolich as everywhere else, but it is still fun to have.
I suppose one day I could run "Return to White Plume Mountain" but I think that when the Dragonslayers are done here then the old volcano will fade back into the mists and the local will not speak of the horrors of the mountain, but of the brave adventurers that conquered it.
Now if work would just let up I can get back to finishing this with my boys.
Well reading the comments I see that there is another add-on for this called Outside the Mountain. Which has another legacy weapon, Frostrazor (don't like that name though).
It doesn't add a lot to what I already have, it's list Dragotha as a Black Dragon Dracolich rather than the Red Dragon Dracolich as everywhere else, but it is still fun to have.
I suppose one day I could run "Return to White Plume Mountain" but I think that when the Dragonslayers are done here then the old volcano will fade back into the mists and the local will not speak of the horrors of the mountain, but of the brave adventurers that conquered it.
Now if work would just let up I can get back to finishing this with my boys.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Review: Vornheim
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 |
Vornheim the Complete City kit is a massively huge city setting so strange, exotic and new that your players might not ever want to leave. Designed by artist Zak Smith/Zak Sabbath (of "I Hit it With My Axe" and "D&D With Porn Stars" fame) and playtested in his rather unique blend of oldschool D&D and 3rd edition with his equally unique group it is not too much to state that you have not seen a city like this before.
Vornheim reads like a city designed by M.C. Escher and H.P. Lovercraft on a bender. Streets bend and twist on each other and I swear so do the inhabitants. This comes I feel from Zak being a artist first and a game designer second. Compared to other city books there is a lot that this book doesn't do and lot of other things it does.
What doesn't it do. Well for starters no where is it defined where this city is. It could be anywhere, from anywhere. Secondly do not expect a lot of details. The author has very specifically left a lot to the designs of the individual DMs out there. So while some people are mentioned (I rather likes the three witches) there are a lot of details left to you.
What does it do. It is a framework and notes of a great city. There is a fantastic set of superstitions listed and there are NPCs, monsters. Stats are given in a simplified version of the d20 rules, favoring an old-school bent, but there are plenty of conversion notes for every edition of the Worlds Oldest FRPG.
There are tables after tables of things that can happen in the city beyond just random monsters, but also legal issues, things you might find, people you could encounter. The place is huge.
The layout is simple and dense. There is a lot of text in the 70+ pages and the whole thing has this real cool retro vibe to it. Almost like it had been published in the 70's (was Zak even alive then?) and it works great.
The art is Zak's own and it has it's own surreal weird style that really sets the stage for this place. The city map itself is massive and reminds me of an old medieval tapestry. Yes, that does appear to be Mandy Morbid on the cover too.
Visit the Immortal Zoo of Ping Feng, or the Library of Zorlac or just "crawl" across the city.
Vornheim the City is not for the faint of heart and Vornheim the book is not for the DM that is afraid of a little prep time (though with the tables you can be using it in minutes) or bringing his/her own ideas to the table.
I have to admit I am rather impressed.
5 out of 5 stars.
Monday, May 9, 2011
Tale of the tape...er Story of the Stats
Going over my visit stats for April. Looks like the A to Z blogging deal did pay off.
In general my visits were much higher for April compared to previous months.
Maybe I am just getting better at writing.
In general my visits were much higher for April compared to previous months.
Maybe I am just getting better at writing.
All things witchy
Started on the most recent Rachel Morgan book today, Pale Demon. Just a bit into it and Rachel is already in a mess not of her choosing. So it was with witches on the mind that All Things Urban Fantasy posted their top 10 favorite witches, http://allthingsurbanfantasy.blogspot.com/2011/05/top-10-list-mk-hobsons-favorite-witches.html.
Oddly enough I only agree with some of them. I liked Howl (of Howl's Moving Castle), Endora (Bewitched) and Angelique (Dark Shadows) but the rest were only ok. Well, Maleficent and Baba Yaga are cool.
Have a lot of work to do tonight, so this is a brief one.
Oddly enough I only agree with some of them. I liked Howl (of Howl's Moving Castle), Endora (Bewitched) and Angelique (Dark Shadows) but the rest were only ok. Well, Maleficent and Baba Yaga are cool.
Have a lot of work to do tonight, so this is a brief one.
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Zatannurday: Mother's Day
Tomorrow is mother's day. And for Zatanna that means dressing weird and finding out her memories had been messed with thanks to dad. She must have learned that trick from him.
Anyway, what do we really know about Zee's mom? Not much. Her name was Sindella and she was one of the Homo Magi race; an offshoot of Humans that can perform magic at will more or less. In DC that means that Zee is a magician (father's side) and a witch (mother's side). Here is the costume that she showed up in one day when she went to join the Justice League.
This is from right around 1978-79 I think, Justice League of America #161. This may be the worse costume I have ever seen Zee in. Normally turning evil makes you hotter, but I think she got it wrong here. Maybe she was stoned again. Anyway.
Turns out it was the same costume that her mother wore when Zatara met her. We find out later (#163-165) what was going on that her mother wasn't really dead, but a super powerful magic battery and being used as such. Now she really is dying and Zee is a good replacement.
You can tell he is evil by the beard and calling Zee a half-breed.
Zee is only about 20 or so here and spent her life without a mother, her mother does what any mother in this situation would do. She sacrifices herself so that her daughter may live free.
Course she grows up and gets involved with John Constantine a lot, but hey.
This does bring up an interesting idea. Let's say Zee was in her 20s at the end of the 70s (that would make her a HUGE Ramones fans in my mind) and use the Constantine idea that she ages at the same rate as the real world, then she would be in her early 50s now. Since she is a member of the Homo Magi race, a notoriously long lived one, then she could still appear to be in her early 30s easy.
Let's hope John Zatara II has better luck with his mom.
Anyway, what do we really know about Zee's mom? Not much. Her name was Sindella and she was one of the Homo Magi race; an offshoot of Humans that can perform magic at will more or less. In DC that means that Zee is a magician (father's side) and a witch (mother's side). Here is the costume that she showed up in one day when she went to join the Justice League.
This is from right around 1978-79 I think, Justice League of America #161. This may be the worse costume I have ever seen Zee in. Normally turning evil makes you hotter, but I think she got it wrong here. Maybe she was stoned again. Anyway.
Turns out it was the same costume that her mother wore when Zatara met her. We find out later (#163-165) what was going on that her mother wasn't really dead, but a super powerful magic battery and being used as such. Now she really is dying and Zee is a good replacement.
You can tell he is evil by the beard and calling Zee a half-breed.
Zee is only about 20 or so here and spent her life without a mother, her mother does what any mother in this situation would do. She sacrifices herself so that her daughter may live free.
Course she grows up and gets involved with John Constantine a lot, but hey.
This does bring up an interesting idea. Let's say Zee was in her 20s at the end of the 70s (that would make her a HUGE Ramones fans in my mind) and use the Constantine idea that she ages at the same rate as the real world, then she would be in her early 50s now. Since she is a member of the Homo Magi race, a notoriously long lived one, then she could still appear to be in her early 30s easy.
Let's hope John Zatara II has better luck with his mom.
Friday, May 6, 2011
Clerics in D&D
There has been a lot of talk of clerics and their value in a D&D game. This ranges from the the old school of whether or not the Cleric is an appropriate trope for a fantasy game to the new school of whether a cleric is needed in a game that also has healing surges.
Here are some posts to illustrate what I mean,
http://www.wizards.com/dnd/article.aspx?x=dnd/4ll/20110426
http://www.wizards.com/DnD/Article.aspx?x=dnd/4ll/20110503#74170
http://lawfulindifferent.blogspot.com/2011/04/god-i-hate-clerics.html
http://daegames.blogspot.com/2011/04/who-wants-to-play-cleric_26.html
http://theresdungeonsdownunder.blogspot.com/2011/05/making-cleric-cleric-blank-religion.html
I am firmly in the camp of Clerics are as much a part of D&D as Fighters, Wizards and Thieves.
My first character ever was Father Johan Weper, Cleric of the God of the Sun, Hunter of the Undead. He was a bit of a generic cleric to be honest, and I choose the sun god because I thought that as a quasi-medieval priest the sun would be a major feature of all the is holy, bright and good. Plus I had been reading a bunch of Greek Myths and I though Apollo would make for a good god. But the real reason I choose the cleric; Turning Undead. That was an AWESOME power in my pre-teen mind. So that has colored my views of the cleric ever since.
In real life I am an atheist, but I like the play the religious character. So clerics, witches, druids, all fascinate me. But clerics are where it all started.
Clerics as Occult Researchers
In nearly every other game I have ever played there have been occult researchers. There is usually someone that is the pary's muscle, the magic-guy, the sneaky guy and then the smart guy. Sometime the magic guy and smart guy are the same, sometimes though they are not. The Cleric takes on the roll of the Smart Guy or the Occult Researcher. The books, the ill fitting glasses, and the wisdom to know what to do is the roll of the cleric.
It is fairly well known that the idea behind clerical undead turning came from Peter Cushing's Van Helsing characters in the various Hammer Dracula films. Why not extend the metaphor to include the rest of Van Helsing's portfolio. As a class that puts a high value on Wisdom then the cleric should be a font of knowledge. Sure, this can also be done by the Magic-User / Wiazard, but the cleric's input should not be understated.
In D&D 3 and 4 knowledge of the undead fall within the Knowledge (Religion) or just Religion category. These characters tend to have more training in this area than other characters. While wizards are typically the font of magical knowledge, clerics should be the source of knowledge beyond the ken of mortal man and into the realm of the gods.
Clerics as the Party Leader
The cleric also can serve the roll as the leader. While the cleric can run the gamut of influential high priest to crazy street prophet to diabolic cult leader, players typically take on the roll of the cleric of the local church, usually good. Certainly that is what D&D4 wants you to do and that is fine. This type of cleric also works as the default leader, whether he/she is or not. So if this is the hand you are dealt, then play it because clerics make great leaders. Under most circumstances they access to power, money, a hierarchy and can expect a modicum of respect from the locals. All this adds up to instant authority figure. Even if they are not.
Cleric as the Party Medic
The obvious role. Clerics have healing magic in earlier editions of the game, have spontaneous healing spells in the 3.x era and can activate healing surges in 4th. The role of the cleric cannot be overstated. Parties with out a cleric die.
During my run between 1st and 2nd Ed I created a Healer class. It shared a number of features that my Witch class did including the ability to heal by touch as she went up in level. Completely unneeded in 3.x of course, but in 2nd Ed it was quite a game changer. I also made an NPC healer a pacifist. She would never raise a weapon to any creature, unless of course it was undead and then she went all Peter Cushing on them. But running that class and character (she was the only character I ever made for that class) showed me how important the healing aspect was. There was not just the regaining hit points, there was the player morale. Also since the character was an NPC it was easy not to have her fight, but the Players really did everything they could to protect her.
BTW. Her name was Celene Weper and she was the youngest daughter of Father Werper above. Yes clerics in my world get married and have kids, since it is a life affirming thing.
Plus keep in mind that Clerics as Healers has a long tradition even in our own world. If ever a character decided to become a pure healing cleric and take an oath of non violence then I would give them XP for every hitpoint cured and a share of combat XP. I would also give them 2x the starting funds (even though they would give what they don't spend back to the church) to represent the investment their churches/hospitals have made in them. After all, can't send a healer out into the world with shoddy armor. Reflects bad on their organization.
Clerics as Combatants?
It almost seems counter to the above, but clerics are the second best major class when it comes to fighting. Only fighters (and their related classes) are better. The get good saves vs. magic due to their high wisdom, or Will saves for the same reason and their saves are pretty decent to start with. Plus they have one thing fighters don't have, the ability to use magic. So what you say, so can Wizards and even your favorite witch. Yes, but can they do it in field plate armor? Clerics can. Sure they do not get the combat spells the wizard gets, but they have a few good ones too. Creeping Doom is a nasty little spell for Druids. Finger of Death and reversed Heal spells can also ruin someone's day.
In games without Paladins, Clerics are the "righteous fist of (their) god". Wizards don't smite.
Clerics can also be one of the few character types that can actually kill monsters with out the moral hnagups. Even fighters, who get paid, and thieves, that might be working as assassins, don't get the same kind of "get out of jail free card" as do clerics operating within the doctrines of their faith and church. Think back to the Crusades and the Inquisition, the faithful got away with murder, torture and even more horrible crimes in the name of their God and the law had little to say about it or were in collusion with them.
Clerics might then be one of the more well rounded characters in the group.
Here are some posts to illustrate what I mean,
http://www.wizards.com/dnd/article.aspx?x=dnd/4ll/20110426
http://www.wizards.com/DnD/Article.aspx?x=dnd/4ll/20110503#74170
http://lawfulindifferent.blogspot.com/2011/04/god-i-hate-clerics.html
http://daegames.blogspot.com/2011/04/who-wants-to-play-cleric_26.html
http://theresdungeonsdownunder.blogspot.com/2011/05/making-cleric-cleric-blank-religion.html
I am firmly in the camp of Clerics are as much a part of D&D as Fighters, Wizards and Thieves.
My first character ever was Father Johan Weper, Cleric of the God of the Sun, Hunter of the Undead. He was a bit of a generic cleric to be honest, and I choose the sun god because I thought that as a quasi-medieval priest the sun would be a major feature of all the is holy, bright and good. Plus I had been reading a bunch of Greek Myths and I though Apollo would make for a good god. But the real reason I choose the cleric; Turning Undead. That was an AWESOME power in my pre-teen mind. So that has colored my views of the cleric ever since.
In real life I am an atheist, but I like the play the religious character. So clerics, witches, druids, all fascinate me. But clerics are where it all started.
Clerics as Occult Researchers
In nearly every other game I have ever played there have been occult researchers. There is usually someone that is the pary's muscle, the magic-guy, the sneaky guy and then the smart guy. Sometime the magic guy and smart guy are the same, sometimes though they are not. The Cleric takes on the roll of the Smart Guy or the Occult Researcher. The books, the ill fitting glasses, and the wisdom to know what to do is the roll of the cleric.
It is fairly well known that the idea behind clerical undead turning came from Peter Cushing's Van Helsing characters in the various Hammer Dracula films. Why not extend the metaphor to include the rest of Van Helsing's portfolio. As a class that puts a high value on Wisdom then the cleric should be a font of knowledge. Sure, this can also be done by the Magic-User / Wiazard, but the cleric's input should not be understated.
In D&D 3 and 4 knowledge of the undead fall within the Knowledge (Religion) or just Religion category. These characters tend to have more training in this area than other characters. While wizards are typically the font of magical knowledge, clerics should be the source of knowledge beyond the ken of mortal man and into the realm of the gods.
Clerics as the Party Leader
The cleric also can serve the roll as the leader. While the cleric can run the gamut of influential high priest to crazy street prophet to diabolic cult leader, players typically take on the roll of the cleric of the local church, usually good. Certainly that is what D&D4 wants you to do and that is fine. This type of cleric also works as the default leader, whether he/she is or not. So if this is the hand you are dealt, then play it because clerics make great leaders. Under most circumstances they access to power, money, a hierarchy and can expect a modicum of respect from the locals. All this adds up to instant authority figure. Even if they are not.
Cleric as the Party Medic
The obvious role. Clerics have healing magic in earlier editions of the game, have spontaneous healing spells in the 3.x era and can activate healing surges in 4th. The role of the cleric cannot be overstated. Parties with out a cleric die.
During my run between 1st and 2nd Ed I created a Healer class. It shared a number of features that my Witch class did including the ability to heal by touch as she went up in level. Completely unneeded in 3.x of course, but in 2nd Ed it was quite a game changer. I also made an NPC healer a pacifist. She would never raise a weapon to any creature, unless of course it was undead and then she went all Peter Cushing on them. But running that class and character (she was the only character I ever made for that class) showed me how important the healing aspect was. There was not just the regaining hit points, there was the player morale. Also since the character was an NPC it was easy not to have her fight, but the Players really did everything they could to protect her.
BTW. Her name was Celene Weper and she was the youngest daughter of Father Werper above. Yes clerics in my world get married and have kids, since it is a life affirming thing.
Plus keep in mind that Clerics as Healers has a long tradition even in our own world. If ever a character decided to become a pure healing cleric and take an oath of non violence then I would give them XP for every hitpoint cured and a share of combat XP. I would also give them 2x the starting funds (even though they would give what they don't spend back to the church) to represent the investment their churches/hospitals have made in them. After all, can't send a healer out into the world with shoddy armor. Reflects bad on their organization.
Clerics as Combatants?
It almost seems counter to the above, but clerics are the second best major class when it comes to fighting. Only fighters (and their related classes) are better. The get good saves vs. magic due to their high wisdom, or Will saves for the same reason and their saves are pretty decent to start with. Plus they have one thing fighters don't have, the ability to use magic. So what you say, so can Wizards and even your favorite witch. Yes, but can they do it in field plate armor? Clerics can. Sure they do not get the combat spells the wizard gets, but they have a few good ones too. Creeping Doom is a nasty little spell for Druids. Finger of Death and reversed Heal spells can also ruin someone's day.
In games without Paladins, Clerics are the "righteous fist of (their) god". Wizards don't smite.
Clerics can also be one of the few character types that can actually kill monsters with out the moral hnagups. Even fighters, who get paid, and thieves, that might be working as assassins, don't get the same kind of "get out of jail free card" as do clerics operating within the doctrines of their faith and church. Think back to the Crusades and the Inquisition, the faithful got away with murder, torture and even more horrible crimes in the name of their God and the law had little to say about it or were in collusion with them.
Clerics might then be one of the more well rounded characters in the group.
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Happy Birthday Adam Hughes
Today is Adam Hughes birthday. I have posted his Zatanna pics before, but here is an awesome Batwoman.
How cool is that. I love the pic of The Question/Renee at the bottom.
How cool is that. I love the pic of The Question/Renee at the bottom.
Noble Knight Games is really Awesome
I love my FLGS. I do. I would rather buy from them for just about everything.
But every once in a while I find something somewhere else I want and I go with that store.
9 times out of 10, I get what I want. But sometimes I take a risk and it doesn't pay off.
But then sometime the company I buy from makes it right and everything is great again.
Recently I have been going on about Quest of the Ancients. I have a 1st Edition but not the 2nd Ed. I saw Noble Knight Games had one for sale at a great price so I grabbed it. Normally I wouldn't have, QotA is fun, but it's not great and I have the 1st ed. Getting the 2nd ed would only be worth the satisfaction of my curiosity. If I had seen at the store, I would have just spent a couple minutes flipping.
So I bought it anyway, knowing the risk. And I ended up with a 1st Edition.
I contacted them and they bent over backwards to make it right. They didn't have a 2nd ed in stock, but they were completely awesome with want I did get.
I had ordered from them in the past and ALWAYS got great service and exactly what I wanted. This aberration did nothing to make me think less of them. Just the opposite, it made think more highly of them and I am more likely to order from them in the future.
I have a great local game store that can get me anything. But those are planned purchases or stop in at the store and impulse buys. Noble Knight is great when I am browsing on the net, come across a game I have never heard of or had forgotten about and then go over and see what it would cost. If I like the price then I can get it.
So if you are unlike me and don't live within easy distance of a fantastic game store, then please give Noble Knight Games a look.
But every once in a while I find something somewhere else I want and I go with that store.
9 times out of 10, I get what I want. But sometimes I take a risk and it doesn't pay off.
But then sometime the company I buy from makes it right and everything is great again.
Recently I have been going on about Quest of the Ancients. I have a 1st Edition but not the 2nd Ed. I saw Noble Knight Games had one for sale at a great price so I grabbed it. Normally I wouldn't have, QotA is fun, but it's not great and I have the 1st ed. Getting the 2nd ed would only be worth the satisfaction of my curiosity. If I had seen at the store, I would have just spent a couple minutes flipping.
So I bought it anyway, knowing the risk. And I ended up with a 1st Edition.
I contacted them and they bent over backwards to make it right. They didn't have a 2nd ed in stock, but they were completely awesome with want I did get.
I had ordered from them in the past and ALWAYS got great service and exactly what I wanted. This aberration did nothing to make me think less of them. Just the opposite, it made think more highly of them and I am more likely to order from them in the future.
I have a great local game store that can get me anything. But those are planned purchases or stop in at the store and impulse buys. Noble Knight is great when I am browsing on the net, come across a game I have never heard of or had forgotten about and then go over and see what it would cost. If I like the price then I can get it.
So if you are unlike me and don't live within easy distance of a fantastic game store, then please give Noble Knight Games a look.
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Hunting trolls should be like this...
Trolls are ubiquitous in FRPGs. Just go to Chapter 2 of The Hobbit and you will see why.
The trouble is they are so ubiquitous that they often get forgotten as a real threat. Not surprising really. When you live in a world of dragons, demons and other horrors, the simple troll can seem, well, quaint.
Well they shouldn't be. Trolls were once the "demons" of the world. They were the monsters.
To help us remember that there is a new film out of Norway (where Trolls still sleep) called "Troll Hunter"
http://www.trollhunterfilm.com/
http://monsterbrains.blogspot.com/2011/05/troll-hunter-directed-by-andre-vredal.html
And here is one of the trolls,
That's a troll worthy of your characters.
I have always preferred the the more Scandinavian Troll over the green rubbery one from the Monster Manual. I like trolls that look like they are made out of rock and earth. So for that, here is the Troll I have used in Basic Era format.
Earth Troll
Armor Class: -1 [20]
Hit Dice: 10d8* (50 hp)
No. of Attacks: 2 claws / 1 bite
Damage: 1d6 / 1d6 / 1d8+3
Special: Darkvision 90 ft., regeneration, vulnerability to sunlight
Movement: 30 ft., burrow 40 ft.
No. Appearing: 1 (1-3 in lair)
Saves: Fighter 10
Morale: 8
Treasure: None
Alignment: Chaotic
XP:
Earth Trolls are relatives of the normal troll and make their lairs deep within the subterranean realms of the earth or in dense forests where the sunlight is easily avoided. Most creatures avoid Earth Trolls, as they are completely malign and evil, attacking any living creature, especially when hungry. They are quite fond of humanoid flesh and usually stage raids upon surface dwellers every month. Because of this, they are often encountered in large surface caves in the sections well outside the reach of sunlight.
Earth Trolls are 10 feet tall and weigh about 1,200 pounds with females being slightly larger. They resemble their smaller relatives in most respects, but some accounts have them appearing as rather large and misshapen gnomes. The Earth Troll’s hide is stone gray or brown, its hair is black or brown, and its eyes are dull brown. Like its counterpart, the Earth Troll’s arms and legs are long and thin. Its arms end in sharpened talons, and its legs sport great three-toed feet. Earth trolls will attempt to dress or adorn themselves in whatever rags, hides and bits of clothing they can find.
Earth trolls are a little smarter that their more common cousins. While they still do not have concept of strategy, they are smart enough to speak and to use some simple weapons.
Earth trolls speak the language of all trolls, some have been known to speak orc or goblin as well.
Earth Trolls attack any living thing that enters their territory, usually doing so for food. They will band together for very simple ambush tactics but that is about the extent of their strategy and planning. Most of the time an earth troll will flail relentlessly at its foes with its powerful claws until either it or its opponent is dead, but some have been known to use a large club and others even a spear or sword.
Regeneration: An earth troll heals only if it is underground and touching dirt or earth. If in contact with the earth it heals 3 hit-points per round. If contact is lost, say the troll is levitated or flying, then the healing stops. Trolls turned to stone heal hit points (but not lost limbs).
Vulnerability to Sunlight: An earth troll exposed to natural sunlight (not merely a spell or magical item that replicates sunlight) is instantly turned to stone (as if by the flesh to stone spell) if it fails a Petrify save. This effect is permanent, but can be dispelled if the earth troll is removed from the sunlight and stone to flesh is cast on it.
--
Section 15 Copyright Notice
Open Game License v 1.0a Copyright 2000, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.
System Reference Document Copyright 2003, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.; Authors Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, Skip Williams, Bruce R. Cordell, based on original material by E. Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson.
Liber Mysterium: The Netbook of Witches and Warlocks is Copyright ©2003, Timothy S. Brannan and the Netbook of Witches Team.
Basic Fantasy Role-Playing Game Copyright © 2006-2008. Chris Gonnerman.
Labyrinth LordTM. Copyright © 2007, Daniel Proctor. Author Daniel Proctor.
"Earth Troll" Copyright ©2011, Timothy S. Brannan
The trouble is they are so ubiquitous that they often get forgotten as a real threat. Not surprising really. When you live in a world of dragons, demons and other horrors, the simple troll can seem, well, quaint.
Well they shouldn't be. Trolls were once the "demons" of the world. They were the monsters.
To help us remember that there is a new film out of Norway (where Trolls still sleep) called "Troll Hunter"
http://www.trollhunterfilm.com/
http://monsterbrains.blogspot.com/2011/05/troll-hunter-directed-by-andre-vredal.html
And here is one of the trolls,
That's a troll worthy of your characters.
I have always preferred the the more Scandinavian Troll over the green rubbery one from the Monster Manual. I like trolls that look like they are made out of rock and earth. So for that, here is the Troll I have used in Basic Era format.
Earth Troll
Armor Class: -1 [20]
Hit Dice: 10d8* (50 hp)
No. of Attacks: 2 claws / 1 bite
Damage: 1d6 / 1d6 / 1d8+3
Special: Darkvision 90 ft., regeneration, vulnerability to sunlight
Movement: 30 ft., burrow 40 ft.
No. Appearing: 1 (1-3 in lair)
Saves: Fighter 10
Morale: 8
Treasure: None
Alignment: Chaotic
XP:
Earth Trolls are relatives of the normal troll and make their lairs deep within the subterranean realms of the earth or in dense forests where the sunlight is easily avoided. Most creatures avoid Earth Trolls, as they are completely malign and evil, attacking any living creature, especially when hungry. They are quite fond of humanoid flesh and usually stage raids upon surface dwellers every month. Because of this, they are often encountered in large surface caves in the sections well outside the reach of sunlight.
Earth Trolls are 10 feet tall and weigh about 1,200 pounds with females being slightly larger. They resemble their smaller relatives in most respects, but some accounts have them appearing as rather large and misshapen gnomes. The Earth Troll’s hide is stone gray or brown, its hair is black or brown, and its eyes are dull brown. Like its counterpart, the Earth Troll’s arms and legs are long and thin. Its arms end in sharpened talons, and its legs sport great three-toed feet. Earth trolls will attempt to dress or adorn themselves in whatever rags, hides and bits of clothing they can find.
Earth trolls are a little smarter that their more common cousins. While they still do not have concept of strategy, they are smart enough to speak and to use some simple weapons.
Earth trolls speak the language of all trolls, some have been known to speak orc or goblin as well.
Earth Trolls attack any living thing that enters their territory, usually doing so for food. They will band together for very simple ambush tactics but that is about the extent of their strategy and planning. Most of the time an earth troll will flail relentlessly at its foes with its powerful claws until either it or its opponent is dead, but some have been known to use a large club and others even a spear or sword.
Regeneration: An earth troll heals only if it is underground and touching dirt or earth. If in contact with the earth it heals 3 hit-points per round. If contact is lost, say the troll is levitated or flying, then the healing stops. Trolls turned to stone heal hit points (but not lost limbs).
Vulnerability to Sunlight: An earth troll exposed to natural sunlight (not merely a spell or magical item that replicates sunlight) is instantly turned to stone (as if by the flesh to stone spell) if it fails a Petrify save. This effect is permanent, but can be dispelled if the earth troll is removed from the sunlight and stone to flesh is cast on it.
--
Section 15 Copyright Notice
Open Game License v 1.0a Copyright 2000, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.
System Reference Document Copyright 2003, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.; Authors Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, Skip Williams, Bruce R. Cordell, based on original material by E. Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson.
Liber Mysterium: The Netbook of Witches and Warlocks is Copyright ©2003, Timothy S. Brannan and the Netbook of Witches Team.
Basic Fantasy Role-Playing Game Copyright © 2006-2008. Chris Gonnerman.
Labyrinth LordTM. Copyright © 2007, Daniel Proctor. Author Daniel Proctor.
"Earth Troll" Copyright ©2011, Timothy S. Brannan
DriveThru May deals
Here are the products you can get from DriveThru RPG for 20% off.
Weird War II Player's Guide [Pinnacle Entertainment]
Adventurer's Guide to Cthonia [Alea Publishing]
ArcheTech Special Report: An Assortment of Armor [Cracked Mirror Publishing]
Wu Xing: The Ninja Crusade [Third Eye Games]
Martial Cultures: the Daikort Pack [Chaotic Shiney Productions]
Legend of the Five Rings (4th Edition) [AEG]
Fuzzy Heroes (2nd Edition) [Inner City Games]
Ave Molech (2nd Edition) [Morbidgames]
Book of Alignment (OGL/Pathfinder) [Emerald Press]
The 20% Code is: MayDaysAtTheDriveThru2011
ALSO I have a special code so you can get every game on the list above for FREE.
To get that code here is what I need:
In the comments section please post an adventure idea that uses elements from all these games.
Please include your contact in the post (such as email if it is not on your profile) so I can email you the code.
AND to make it more interesting, I am going to give the code out to TWO people that post their ideas to my blog.
Have fun!!
Weird War II Player's Guide [Pinnacle Entertainment]
Adventurer's Guide to Cthonia [Alea Publishing]
ArcheTech Special Report: An Assortment of Armor [Cracked Mirror Publishing]
Wu Xing: The Ninja Crusade [Third Eye Games]
Martial Cultures: the Daikort Pack [Chaotic Shiney Productions]
Legend of the Five Rings (4th Edition) [AEG]
Fuzzy Heroes (2nd Edition) [Inner City Games]
Ave Molech (2nd Edition) [Morbidgames]
Book of Alignment (OGL/Pathfinder) [Emerald Press]
The 20% Code is: MayDaysAtTheDriveThru2011
ALSO I have a special code so you can get every game on the list above for FREE.
To get that code here is what I need:
In the comments section please post an adventure idea that uses elements from all these games.
Please include your contact in the post (such as email if it is not on your profile) so I can email you the code.
AND to make it more interesting, I am going to give the code out to TWO people that post their ideas to my blog.
Have fun!!
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Updates and something to read.
Been away from my blog for a bit, with a bunch of the posts I had on auto-post.
First thanks for the replies on the A to Z post yesterday.
I enjoyed posting these. It was a challenge to come up with some of the letters, but most were fairly easy and worked into my regular posting habits to be honest.
I have some reviews coming up, some thoughts I have on the Cleric class and some more ideas.
I also want to take this time to point out something my friend Jason Vey is doing over at his Blog, the Wasted Lands. He going over the 1st Ed AD&D rules in detail, starting with the DMG. If you want some insight to what many consider the greatest RPG ever, then please read go over to his blog, http://wastedlandsfantasy.blogspot.com/ and have a look and post.
Here are the first 6 parts.
Part 1, http://wastedlandsfantasy.blogspot.com/2011/04/advanced-dungeons-dragons-first-edition.html
Part 2, http://wastedlandsfantasy.blogspot.com/2011/04/reading-advanced-dungeons-dragons-part.html
Part 3, http://wastedlandsfantasy.blogspot.com/2011/04/reading-advanced-dungeons-dragons-first.html
Part 4, http://wastedlandsfantasy.blogspot.com/2011/04/reading-advanced-dungeond-dragons-part.html
Part 5, http://wastedlandsfantasy.blogspot.com/2011/04/reading-advanced-dungeond-dragons-part_29.html
Part 6, http://wastedlandsfantasy.blogspot.com/2011/05/reading-advanced-dungeons-dragons-part.html
I had wanted to do something similar, where I read all the DMGs over the last few years. But I want to see what Jason does first. His point of view is a bit different than my own; he is very much into the history of the game and comes from a very pro-Gygax point of view (not that I don't). I think he has a good insight to the game and his posts are interesting to read.
So have a look while you are waiting for me to post something of substance.
First thanks for the replies on the A to Z post yesterday.
I enjoyed posting these. It was a challenge to come up with some of the letters, but most were fairly easy and worked into my regular posting habits to be honest.
I have some reviews coming up, some thoughts I have on the Cleric class and some more ideas.
I also want to take this time to point out something my friend Jason Vey is doing over at his Blog, the Wasted Lands. He going over the 1st Ed AD&D rules in detail, starting with the DMG. If you want some insight to what many consider the greatest RPG ever, then please read go over to his blog, http://wastedlandsfantasy.blogspot.com/ and have a look and post.
Here are the first 6 parts.
Part 1, http://wastedlandsfantasy.blogspot.com/2011/04/advanced-dungeons-dragons-first-edition.html
Part 2, http://wastedlandsfantasy.blogspot.com/2011/04/reading-advanced-dungeons-dragons-part.html
Part 3, http://wastedlandsfantasy.blogspot.com/2011/04/reading-advanced-dungeons-dragons-first.html
Part 4, http://wastedlandsfantasy.blogspot.com/2011/04/reading-advanced-dungeond-dragons-part.html
Part 5, http://wastedlandsfantasy.blogspot.com/2011/04/reading-advanced-dungeond-dragons-part_29.html
Part 6, http://wastedlandsfantasy.blogspot.com/2011/05/reading-advanced-dungeons-dragons-part.html
I had wanted to do something similar, where I read all the DMGs over the last few years. But I want to see what Jason does first. His point of view is a bit different than my own; he is very much into the history of the game and comes from a very pro-Gygax point of view (not that I don't). I think he has a good insight to the game and his posts are interesting to read.
So have a look while you are waiting for me to post something of substance.
Monday, May 2, 2011
Question for the Regular Readers
So.
Did you like the A to Z blogging Challenge?
Why did you like it/not like it?
If you were avoiding it, then why?
Thanks!
Did you like the A to Z blogging Challenge?
Why did you like it/not like it?
If you were avoiding it, then why?
Thanks!
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Gen Con Registration is live
And has been for a about 100 minutes now.
I was here, of course and still did not get into three of the games I really wanted.
My Gen Con tradition is to play Victoriana, but that game was sold out, and I tried to get into the Dresden Files game, but they were all booked too.
I did not see anything that looked "OSR Sponsored" (whatever that means) so if you are running an old-school game then let everyone know.
Here are my games, they are selling pretty fast.
RPG1120388 Obsession (Revised) Thu @ 7:00 PM 4 hrs
Location: Crowne Plaza :: Grand Central Blrm D :: 8 Cost: $4
RPG1120389 Dinosauria! Fri @ 1:00 PM 4 hrs
Location: Crowne Plaza :: Grand Central Blrm D :: 6 Cost: $4
RPG1120390 Dinosauria! Fri @ 7:00 PM 4 hrs
Location: Crowne Plaza :: Grand Central Blrm C :: 3 Cost: $4
Dinosauria! is completely new with new characters designed to get people up and going fast. The 1:00 pm will be "kid friendly" and the 7:00pm one will be more older kids and adults.
Obsession is revised version of the adventure I ran last year. If you played last year then this one is not very different except for some details and the starting of the adventure.
Hope to see you all there!!
I was here, of course and still did not get into three of the games I really wanted.
My Gen Con tradition is to play Victoriana, but that game was sold out, and I tried to get into the Dresden Files game, but they were all booked too.
I did not see anything that looked "OSR Sponsored" (whatever that means) so if you are running an old-school game then let everyone know.
Here are my games, they are selling pretty fast.
RPG1120388 Obsession (Revised) Thu @ 7:00 PM 4 hrs
Location: Crowne Plaza :: Grand Central Blrm D :: 8 Cost: $4
RPG1120389 Dinosauria! Fri @ 1:00 PM 4 hrs
Location: Crowne Plaza :: Grand Central Blrm D :: 6 Cost: $4
RPG1120390 Dinosauria! Fri @ 7:00 PM 4 hrs
Location: Crowne Plaza :: Grand Central Blrm C :: 3 Cost: $4
Dinosauria! is completely new with new characters designed to get people up and going fast. The 1:00 pm will be "kid friendly" and the 7:00pm one will be more older kids and adults.
Obsession is revised version of the adventure I ran last year. If you played last year then this one is not very different except for some details and the starting of the adventure.
Hope to see you all there!!
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