This marks my 1000th post here at the Other Side.
That's a lot of text. ;)
I hope you all have been enjoying this as much as I have.
This has been a great ride and more emotionally satisfying than I would have thought it could have been. So here is to my next 1000 posts! I hope they are every bit as fun to do and I hope you enjoy them as much.
Monday, January 30, 2012
Sunday, January 29, 2012
The Dragonslayers vs. The Lost Caverns of the Tsojcanth, Finale
Last night the Dragonslayers (aka my kids) finished up the Greater Caverns to discover Iggwilv's greatest treasure and fight Drelnza. I was considering to bring her back, but she was so completely destroyed that I just can't imagine how she would do it.
The boys did great really, I am very pleased how they played. I was amazed how well my youngest did. He figured out the secret of the central doors really fast and had a really good sense of direction. We used minis of course, but not for the entire dungeon, just the battles. They got the Lanthorn, the Prison, and all her books of magic. Everyone leveled up one level.
Of course the boys had a great time and we even got to play past bedtime. They woke up today and wanted to get right back into it. That is the sign of a good adventure.
Now I need to figure out what the guys are going to do next. I'd love to move on to the Forgotten Temple of Tharizdun, but I am anxious to get them to the big battle against Tiamat.
For that I am considering using the old H4 Throne of Bloodstone, but not sure yet.
Here are the previous posts in this series.
Tomorrow. Something special!
The boys did great really, I am very pleased how they played. I was amazed how well my youngest did. He figured out the secret of the central doors really fast and had a really good sense of direction. We used minis of course, but not for the entire dungeon, just the battles. They got the Lanthorn, the Prison, and all her books of magic. Everyone leveled up one level.
Of course the boys had a great time and we even got to play past bedtime. They woke up today and wanted to get right back into it. That is the sign of a good adventure.
Now I need to figure out what the guys are going to do next. I'd love to move on to the Forgotten Temple of Tharizdun, but I am anxious to get them to the big battle against Tiamat.
For that I am considering using the old H4 Throne of Bloodstone, but not sure yet.
Here are the previous posts in this series.
- http://timbrannan.blogspot.com/2010/11/getting-back-in-to-it.html
- http://timbrannan.blogspot.com/2011/06/dragonslayers-vs-lost-caverns-of.html
- http://timbrannan.blogspot.com/2011/07/dragonslayers-vs-lost-caverns-of.html
- http://timbrannan.blogspot.com/2011/12/return-of-dragonslayers.html
- http://timbrannan.blogspot.com/2012/01/dragonslayers-and-books-of-vile.html
Tomorrow. Something special!
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Drive by posting
Can't spend a lot of time here I have kids that willing got off the Xbox and Skyrim because they want to play some D&D with their Dad!
But I wanted to point a blog today that has absolutely NOTHING to do with writing, games or horror or anything like that.
My friends Jody and Beth used to be suburbanites with my wife and I till they decided to pack it all up and go live off the land. Please have a look at their blog, http://cdrvalleyfarm.blogspot.com/.
While my experience with farm life is a vague idea that is where my food comes from, my wife grew up with Jody and Beth, so I get what they are trying to do out there.
So stop by for something different and leave a comment or two to encourage them to post more.
But I wanted to point a blog today that has absolutely NOTHING to do with writing, games or horror or anything like that.
My friends Jody and Beth used to be suburbanites with my wife and I till they decided to pack it all up and go live off the land. Please have a look at their blog, http://cdrvalleyfarm.blogspot.com/.
While my experience with farm life is a vague idea that is where my food comes from, my wife grew up with Jody and Beth, so I get what they are trying to do out there.
So stop by for something different and leave a comment or two to encourage them to post more.
Zatannurday: Year One
So what can we say one year later? Well we saw one Zatanna comic wrap-up (her self-titled series) and another come up (Justice League Dark). Her TV portrayals were limited to cartoons (though she was mentioned in the last season of Smallville) with here Silver Age counterpart appearing in "Batman The Brave in the Bold" and a younger version in "Young Justice".
My most popular post was the one on Adam Hughes, http://timbrannan.blogspot.com/2011/03/zatannurday-adam-hughes.html but I think that is entirely due to the art on the page and image searches.
My most linked to post was the one where I mentioned she was going to be in Young Justice, http://timbrannan.blogspot.com/2011/10/zatannurday-its-in-cards.html
The most commented one was the posting of Christie Zulo art, http://timbrannan.blogspot.com/2011/04/zatannurday-z-is-for-zatanna-and-zullo.html
This was also the last posting I did for the A to Z challenge and the one that convinced me that the A to Z challenge was worth doing. The first post actually got more comments, but those were comments about the whole idea and less about post itself.
I am very pleased with how all these posts turned out. Plus it has given me something to look forward to each week and give people something new on Saturdays, a day that had been pretty dead on the ole Other Side.
So here is to another year and plenty of magical Zatannurday posts!
Friday, January 27, 2012
Willow & Tara: World of Darkness (old)
I have been going over a ton of my old books and looking at what I want to keep, what I want to give to my kids and what I want to get rid of. I cam across some old World of Darkness stuff the other day and I am not 100% sure what I am going to do with it yet. Most likely sell it all in my local game auctions. But considering that I have wanted to do some posting on my girls, I thought this would be a good choice.
I never really got into the original World of Darkness. I did have Vampire the Masquerade and I recognized why and how it was good, but at the time I had also just discovered WitchCraft, so that was the game I had chosen to scratch my Modern-Supernatural itches.
Though I did really like Mage. A lot. I really like Sorcerer's Crusade, I thought it was a really cool idea and much more interesting than Mage the Ascension. That lead me to Sorcerer: The Hedge Wizard's Handbook, which is not part of Sorcerer's Crusade, but part of modern Mage. But I am glad I made that mistake, since I really liked this book and it made me look again at the World of Darkness.
For Willow's and Tara's stats in the old World of Darkness I am opting to use Sorcerer: The Hedge Wizard's Handbook instead of Mage proper for a couple of reasons.
First, it is obvious that in the first five seasons of the show Willow learned magic from books and self study. Tara learned from her grandmother and mother. Plus, Season Sux (what I have been calling it that for years) aside, neither Tara nor Willow achieve the power levels in Mage. Sorcerer handles everything nicely. I also happen to like Sorcerer a little bit better than Mage anyway. Now of course in my own games, especially in "Season of the Witch" the girls do achieve Mage like power levels. I'll detail that on a future posting when I talk about new WoD.
What works nice with this version is that it mirrors my WitchCraft/early Buffy stats, and then once I got the characters on my own I took them to Ghosts of Albion, and even the "new" Mage..
Of course I never did use these versions. I did use the Mage: The Awakening versions in one game way back when it first came out, but that is about it.
Willow Rosenberg
Atributes
Abilities
Tara Maclay
Atributes
Abilities
I never really got into the original World of Darkness. I did have Vampire the Masquerade and I recognized why and how it was good, but at the time I had also just discovered WitchCraft, so that was the game I had chosen to scratch my Modern-Supernatural itches.
Though I did really like Mage. A lot. I really like Sorcerer's Crusade, I thought it was a really cool idea and much more interesting than Mage the Ascension. That lead me to Sorcerer: The Hedge Wizard's Handbook, which is not part of Sorcerer's Crusade, but part of modern Mage. But I am glad I made that mistake, since I really liked this book and it made me look again at the World of Darkness.
For Willow's and Tara's stats in the old World of Darkness I am opting to use Sorcerer: The Hedge Wizard's Handbook instead of Mage proper for a couple of reasons.
First, it is obvious that in the first five seasons of the show Willow learned magic from books and self study. Tara learned from her grandmother and mother. Plus, Season Sux (what I have been calling it that for years) aside, neither Tara nor Willow achieve the power levels in Mage. Sorcerer handles everything nicely. I also happen to like Sorcerer a little bit better than Mage anyway. Now of course in my own games, especially in "Season of the Witch" the girls do achieve Mage like power levels. I'll detail that on a future posting when I talk about new WoD.
What works nice with this version is that it mirrors my WitchCraft/early Buffy stats, and then once I got the characters on my own I took them to Ghosts of Albion, and even the "new" Mage..
Of course I never did use these versions. I did use the Mage: The Awakening versions in one game way back when it first came out, but that is about it.
Willow Rosenberg
| Nature: Sage | Society: None |
| Demeanor: | Mentor: None |
| Concept: Wicca |
Atributes
| Strength: 1 | Charisma: 2 | Perception: 2 |
| Dexterity: 2 | Manipulation: 2 | Intelligence: 5 |
| Stamina: 3 | Appearance: 3 | Wits: 3 |
Abilities
| Talents | Skills | Knowledge |
| Alertness 1 | Leadership 2 | Computer 5 |
| Instruction 2 | Research 5 | Enigmas 2 |
| Intimidation 1 | Survival 1 | Investigation 2 |
| Medicine 1 | ||
| Occult 3 | ||
| Science 4 |
| Paths | Backgrounds |
| Conjuration: 3 | Arcane: 1 |
| Enchantment: 2 | Library: 5 |
| Ephemera: 1 | Relic: 1 (Doll’s Eye Crystal) |
| Hellfire: 3 | Status: 2 |
| Herbalism: 2 |
|
Counterspells |
|
| Warding |
Tara Maclay
| Nature: Sage | Society: None |
| Demeanor: | Mentor: None |
| Concept: Wicca |
Atributes
| Strength: 2 | Charisma: 3 | Perception: 3 |
| Dexterity: 1 | Manipulation: 1 | Intelligence: 3 |
| Stamina: 3 | Appearance: 3 | Wits: 4 |
Abilities
| Talents | Skills | Knowledge |
| Alertness 1 | Animal Ken 2 | Cosmology 3 |
| Expression 1 | Research 4 | Enigmas 2 |
| Instruction 2 | Survival 2 | Investigation 2 |
| Linguistics 2 |
||
| Lore 1 |
||
| Occult 2 |
| Paths | Backgrounds |
| Conjuration: 3 | Arcane: 2 |
| Enchantment: 2 | Library: 5 |
| Healing: 2 | Status: 4 |
| Herbalism: 3 | |
| Counterspells | |
| Warding |
Thursday, January 26, 2012
DriveThru Reviews
These are more like "Drive By" reviews since I am posting rather fast today. Also a mixed bag of stuff.
Power Pics Heroes 1 -Female Speedster
Great concept really. Provide the art and a paper mini for the games and let the imagination flow. You don't even really need or want stats with this since the purpose is fit the character to your game. I found that most of these can be used in every supers game and even some pure sci-fi ones. Well worth the price.
5 out of 5 stars
OSRIC Book of Assassins
What you get: A 26-page book on Assassins and subclasses for OSRIC and compatible games. The sub classes are interesting enough to keep my attention (I liked the Ninja and the Bounty Hunter).
What struck me as odd though was how it was written. I am not 100% sure English was the first language of the author. There were some very awkward word choices and sentences through out. It also uses a 3rd party skill system that I didn't have. With the OGL the best to do would be include it.
The layout is clean but uninspired (a single column of text) and there is no art at all.
The concept is good, the execution of it though is poor.
2 out of 5 stars
Baba Yaga: Queen of the Wicked Fens
Good little Baba Yaga workup for any level/tier of play. Lots of attention to the myths of Baba Yaga were paid attention to, but their could have been more. The art is only ok, and I would have liked to have seen more of the magic items and stories surrounding her.
This plus a quick web search though will produce a lot of any game.
3 out of 5 stars
Mutants & Masterminds Threat Report #39: Eris
My favorite Threat Report so far for M&M3.
All of these Threat Reports present a fully detailed NPC for your use in your game and all the stats you need. PLUS a .POR file if you are using Hero Lab. Import the file in and alter as needed.
At 99 cents this is a steal.
5 out of 5 stars.
Power Pics Heroes 1 -Female Speedster
Great concept really. Provide the art and a paper mini for the games and let the imagination flow. You don't even really need or want stats with this since the purpose is fit the character to your game. I found that most of these can be used in every supers game and even some pure sci-fi ones. Well worth the price.
5 out of 5 stars
OSRIC Book of Assassins
What you get: A 26-page book on Assassins and subclasses for OSRIC and compatible games. The sub classes are interesting enough to keep my attention (I liked the Ninja and the Bounty Hunter).
What struck me as odd though was how it was written. I am not 100% sure English was the first language of the author. There were some very awkward word choices and sentences through out. It also uses a 3rd party skill system that I didn't have. With the OGL the best to do would be include it.
The layout is clean but uninspired (a single column of text) and there is no art at all.
The concept is good, the execution of it though is poor.
2 out of 5 stars
Baba Yaga: Queen of the Wicked Fens
Good little Baba Yaga workup for any level/tier of play. Lots of attention to the myths of Baba Yaga were paid attention to, but their could have been more. The art is only ok, and I would have liked to have seen more of the magic items and stories surrounding her.
This plus a quick web search though will produce a lot of any game.
3 out of 5 stars
Mutants & Masterminds Threat Report #39: Eris
My favorite Threat Report so far for M&M3.
All of these Threat Reports present a fully detailed NPC for your use in your game and all the stats you need. PLUS a .POR file if you are using Hero Lab. Import the file in and alter as needed.
At 99 cents this is a steal.
5 out of 5 stars.
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Clarification on 5e
Just a reminder.
I don't recall ever seeing anywhere that D&D 5e would be compatible with AD&D only that you could play the same style as you did with AD&D 1.
I can just see a lot of people throwing fits about this. To my knowledge we are still looking at ascending armor classes (easily converted if you passed 3rd grade math) and 3e style saves or 4e style defenses.
I am sure we will all know more in the next few days, but the things I have been hearing lately are in my mind good (and good for my group of players) but certainly not going to make everyone happy.
I don't recall ever seeing anywhere that D&D 5e would be compatible with AD&D only that you could play the same style as you did with AD&D 1.
I can just see a lot of people throwing fits about this. To my knowledge we are still looking at ascending armor classes (easily converted if you passed 3rd grade math) and 3e style saves or 4e style defenses.
I am sure we will all know more in the next few days, but the things I have been hearing lately are in my mind good (and good for my group of players) but certainly not going to make everyone happy.
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