D&D Calander

Reading this blog post over at mythopoeic rambling, prompted me to have some ideas for month names I might use in my up coming Kurahast campaign. Probably with some tweeks. A few of my month names are derived from his, but his calendar is done with greyhawk and old school D&D in mind and is also probably better done then mine. I just kinda came up with some quick easy to say names that are somewhat derived from real month names.

I put in parenthesis how the name seams to have been come up with to me. Like I said some are derived from his calendar.

1. The Month of Djinn                          (jan, jin, djinn)
2. The Month of Phantoms                  (feb, fan, phantom)
3. The Month of Armies                      (march, armies march)
4. The Month of Spells                        (april, A spill, A spell)
5. The Month of Maidens                   (may, mai, maiden)
6. The Month of Sand                          (june, dune, sand)
7. The Month of Lies                           (july, ju lie, lie)
8. The Month of Winds                        (august, a gust, gusty wind)
9. The Month of Kings                        (september, scepter, kings scepter)
10. The Month of Orcs                          (october, orctober, orcs)
    ~ The Day When All is Hallow
11. The Month of Death                        (november, necro-vember, necro)
12. The Month of Delight                     (december, de, delight)
    ~ The Mass of Wishes                     (lol, wishmass)
13. 
    

I guess I just made his more generic, but this is the way I will probably be using it. With more holidays added most likely. Now I don't even need to come up with separate constellations as the star signs could match the months names. But I might anyway.

About the reviews I do.

I originally started this blog to post about various projects or ideas I come up with about D&D or various rpg's. Then I began occasionally including some of my flash fiction. But it also became a place I could talk about the games and products that I am checking out, rather then just ranting at my wife about them.

But I have noticed that I have a tendency to only post good reviews and opinions and bouncing from topic to topic. Such as talking about Legends and Labyrinths and Adventures Dark and Deep. I think the reason my reviews tend to be good is that if I don't particularly have an interest in a product then I have no motivation to write about it.

I'm sure that at some point I will write about something that didn't live up to my expectations but first I have to care enough to have some expectations.

Anyway I just wanted to mention that no one, not Justin or Joseph or any has specifically asked me to post a review or a good review. Anytime I give an opinion on a product it is my real honest opinion.

If ever I am asked to post a review such as my upcoming review on "The New Death and Others" Then I will post clearly on that page that I have been asked to review it, but my review will still be an honest one.

Age of Fable

I recently began playing Age of Fable and it is alot of fun. I think anyone who enjoy fantasy rpg's will like it. Especially if you want to play something like D&D but don't have any players or Dm's around or only have a short amount of time.

Basically its alot like a choose your own adventure but with stats and die rolls. So far I have saved a talking frog, visited a kingdom in the clouds and floated back down for two days. Become an apprentice to a creepy gypsy and gotten a raven familiar and lots of other interesting things. Its very fantasy based with occasional joking references to table top rpg's.

Its free browser based and you can save you game. Its made by James Hutchings of teleleli.blogspot.com/

You really need to check it out even if just for five mins to see what its like. I don't know if everyone will like it since its mostly just reading and choose actions but if your into table top rpgs and reading or writing blogs then I'm sure you'll enjoy this reading. It also has some great artwork to go along with it.

Soon I am going to be reading and reviewing James' book "The New death and Others" But if Age of Fable is any indication I think I am going to definitely enjoy his books.

ADD Campaign log 4

We left off with Eloum, Philip and Kolas exploring the corridor with the honey combed wall. By this time Einar had figured out the locking mechanism on the trap door had a time release. They got it open and everyone except Frey entered.

Einar did not realize that the time release would not let them open it from the inside until it was too late and Frey had been out outside with his horse so he didn't hear anything about the time release. Einar and the others followed the corridor after noticing there was an extra set of half-orc tracks.

Once they found the room with the laboratory they spent some time confused by the strange creature that seamed to be attacked by both Kolas and the others as well as the now dead men in robes. Eloum heard whispering come from that room and they backed away from the honey combs to check it out.

They all met back up now and Thayd also found a concealed drawer in some of the furniture. Containing a box  with two bottles of trolls blood and two bottles of acid. (I added this in a twist in healing potions if the player drinks the trolls blood but not the acid then bad results will commence)

Kol threw open the door and ran in full speed.
 Charging right inside the enveloping interior of a Gelatinous Cube

They continued on to the corridor and Kolas went ahead of them to look into the honeycombs and was quickly attacked by robber flies. The first one coming out met one of Thayd's darts and the Kol was bitten several times. One of flies flew past Kol and into the Halberd formation, but it still managed to land a bite or two on Eloum.

Alot of darts were thrown at the first two or three flies and then Lotus moved up with her claws and eventually killed one. But not before Kol managed to net one and then get bite by the other. He was near death now and Eloum just barely managed to get to Kol's pack and find the Healing Vial in time.

It took the whole party another 15 seconds just to kill the one in the net they kept wildly stabbing at it, which upset Kol when he woke up and found he didn't get to try and keep the fly to sell.

They moved on checking the corridors and various rooms finding little of anything until they passed through an antechamber and into a hall with three doors. They approached the first door with Einar listening intently. He told them heard a faint sound of two coins clicking together.

Kol threw open the door and ran in full speed. Charging right inside the enveloping interior of a Gelatinous Cube. The coins that faintly clicked just once were floating inside this Gel that was now acidicly eating at Kol and his belongings.

A few darts were thrown into it quickly having their wooden shafts destroyed and the cube attempted to force its way out of the door. Luckily the halberds quite simply tore the thing apart, spilling its insides onto the floor. Eloum used his water skin to wash Kol off as best he could and changed all of his acid soaked bandages and new bandages as well. Most likely Eloum no longer owns a robe.

And thats were we left off this time with Eloum trying to save Kol's life from his plunge into jelly.


System: Adventures Dark and Deep by Joseph Bloch
Module: B1-B9 In search of adventure
Players:
Laisa = (Thayd) High Elf, Mage/Mountebank
(Lotus) Dark Terran (drow) Assassin/Necromancer
Me = (Eloum) High Elf, Mystic/Fighter/Savant
Brandon = (Frey) Gray Elf, Mage
Justin = (Einar)Wild Elf, Fighter/Thief
Mike = Kolass (Half-Orc, Fighter/Assassin)

Hirelings of Note:
Philip 1sp Man-at-Arms

Early look at Darker Paths 1 (Necromancer), by BRW Games.

I got the privilege of being one of the proof readers for Darker Paths 1, by Joseph Bloch of BRW Games and The Greyhawk Grognard. It has been announced that it is going to be released in October just in time for Halloween.


As I mentioned in my previous post, Darker Paths 1 is a Necromancer Class for ADD and any game compatible with the 1st edition of the world's most popular roleplaying game. Now for the juicy information.

For a second I almost started writing about technical information like how many spells the book had or how many pages long it was. But what I want to talk about is what this class is, what it is not and what I like about it.

The class is a commander of the undead, with the ability to command and eventually raise massive armies of zombies, skeletons and other creatures. It is a magic user but can command undead similar to a cleric. It was originally made for human characters but there are rules for playing a Drow as well, which is part of what I am playtesting. The class has a spellbook with new macabre cantrips and has rules for making magic items.

The class is not a mage with a dabbling in necromancy it is fully devoted to it. It also is not a Dr, Frankestien or golem crafter. Also the book has a nice intro and descriptions but it is not a bunch of fluff it has well written mechanics, style and crunch in there. None of the pages are wasted.

What I like about this product is that for me this is exactly the kind of necromancer I have always imagined should exist, he isn't loosely based on commanding death and the undead, he does it. Although there are summoning spells available he is not just a summoner he can animate corpses and try to take control of another necromancers minions. It's not just another evil cleric or a negative energy mage, I know I keep repeating myself but it is a necromancer, for once.

I don't know what the price is going to be yet but I'm sure it will be worth it. Especially for an Adventures Dark and Deep game, it is a great expansion. As for the artwork right now it has some great black and white old school art. None of it is silly or weird it all fits the theme and seams dark and imaginative. However If I am remembering correctly some more art is being commissioned at least for the cover.


Update: Turns out there won't be an included adventure, but that's probably a good thing as that means more time to make sure the rest of class is a good as it can be.

Why I think races should be their own classes.

The following conversation went through my mind as I contemplated why races are an additional choice on top of classes. Especially by 3rd edition.

Designers: You can pick what race you are as you determine what your character is.
Consumer: What exactly is a race?
D: its like a species or what kind of creature you are like human, or elf. You pick your race and then class like fighter.
C: Alright what is an elf in the game.
D: Well they are good at using swords, bows and magic and they live in the forest.
C: So all elves are good are good with bows, swords and magic even if they are a fighter or wizard.
D: Well no as a wizard they can still use bows and swords but as a fighter they don't get magic.
C: So not all elves get magic but they are all good with swords not matter what?
D: Yeah its part of their culture.
C: Then what if an elf was raised by humans?
D: The DM could rule you don't get that ability then.
C: So its really just training not what elves are, would he get the human adaptability though?
D: not likely they get so many other things.
C: like what?
D: they can detect secret doors and are better at moving quietly.
C: So now they are rouge like to?
D: no its just part of their racial traits like seeing better in low light conditions.
C: I thought they live in forests, what are they part nocturnal?
D: No they are just good hunters that are in tune with nature and fairies and the trees.
C: ok now they sound like a druid and why do they use steel swords if they are fey like.
D: Well um.. They also have elven mithril but anyway your getting it all mixed up, now their favorit class is wizard.
C: What? Wizard so these elves that are in tune with nature but use steel swords are also spending large chunks of their lives inside libraries and towers studying dusty tomes.

D: That's just one option anyway you can also be a dwarf.
C: Great everyone knows what a dwarf is like, resistant to magic and like to drink right?
D: well that's not in their traits, they are good at fighting giants and working with gems
C: So they are naturally good at fighting giants?
D: Yeah because of their size.
C: So all smaller races are good at fighting giants?
D: Wait no that was changed it is because they train to fight giants and goblins to.
C: So its just training again, what if a human trained against giants.
D: Well there is no giant slaying class although a ranger could train against them.
C: Do dwarves make good rangers?
D: They are best as fighters.
C: So they get bonuses to fighting.
D: No they get a +2 to con that helps but also they are good at stone work.
C: You said gems earlier, so they are biologicaly good with gems and stones?
D: No they are racially good with stones but the gems thing is just part of their craft.
C: This all mostly still sounds like training, what other races are there?

D There is the halfling.
C: The what?
D: Halfling they look like human children and make good thieves, weak but quick.
C: Sounds deceptive and dangerous so I guess no one trusts them.
D: Well they are also diplomatic and friendly.
C: Diplomatic and friendly thieves? I guess they would run the thieves guilds.
D: They are good thieves but they don't have their of civilizations and don't really band together.
C: So they are small and quick and thats about it? what if one was a fighter with an 18 str
D: They could only carry 3.4 as much and would need some adjustments to grappling and hitting and have to pay special prices for armor and their weapons deal less damage.
C: So they can be whatever class but then get additional penalties and adjustments, ok well are they hobbits or something.
D: No there are no hobbits but there are Gnomes.

C: So are gnomes like hobbits?
D: No, but they do have hairy feet like hobbits.
C: and halflings don't then.
D: Well some do we have even go over subraces.
C: Subraces?
D: yeah not all halflings and dwarves are alike.
C: What about humans?
D: their is only one type of human, we don't want to get racist here.
C (I notice they are white by default to) ok wel tell me about the gnome.
D: They make good illusionists.
C: So if they are wizards they make good specialists.
D: Yes exactly, and they start with spells.
C: just like all other wizards.
D: No I mean all gnomes start with spells.
C: Really even a gnome fighter raised by humans?
D: Yep still starts with spells.
C: Ok so gnomes are a naturaly magic race.
D: and good inventors.
C: What?
D: They are mechanically inclined as well and have good smelling so they are better at alchemy.
C: Mechanically inclined magic users...
D: yep
C: What bonuses do they get for it?
D: none but they also train against goblins and giants.
C: ok um big nosed magic users do they get the scent ability.
D: no
C: So they have a great sense of smell and fight stinky goblins but dont have scent does it help them spot.
D: No, but they get a +2 to listen
C: Lets just move on

D: ok there is also the Half-Orc.
C: half-orc, do they get along with humans?
D: not really.
C: orcs?
D: nope they usualy get abandonded by their parents.
C: but live? ok well tell me about them.
D: They are very strong and brutish
C: sounds intimidating do they get a bonus to cha
D: no they are strong and ugly so we penalized their charisma
C: but its says cha is not just physical looks.
D: right.
C: and a big strong brutish half-orc is less intimidating then a human
D: right
C: So what do they get
D: orc blood and darkvision
C: is that it they are strong but not intimidating and see in the dark.
D: yep
C: do they learn to be diplomatic.
D: no being half of two races doesnt help them be diplomatic, but it does help the half elf.
C: So the helf elf fits in better.
D: not really the elves look down on half elves.
C: and I bet they get elven blood and not much else. So each of these races is defined by their cultural training and almost not all by their biology.
D: Well yeah each race is a culture.
C: but having more humans cultures in the core book would be bad?
D: right.
C: and their are no default rules for like a gnome raised by elves in their culture.
D nope
C: you know they all kind of seam like humans but with cultural templates that just change stats and training.
D: No not all elves for example live thousands of years longer then humans.
C: so they reach much higher levels?
D: no.
C: do they level up really slow in game.
D: no

C: How was all of this decided upon
D: no one knows for sure but some of it is from older editions, some from random stories and people just guessing and throwing things in, and also legal reasons most likely.
C: and it would be worse to have racial classes.
D: of course because then you couldnt play a halfling barbarian
C: which they still suck at anyway.
D: well they do have favored classes that reduce the multiclassing penalty.
C: but, what don't matter if you stay in one class.
D: exactly
C: what about an elven sorcerer with levels in cleric and warlock.
D: they would have an xp penalty.
C: Even thought they are good at magic
D: yep they are favored class wizard.
C: even though they live in forests
D: yep
C:this all sounds really complicated how long does character creation take?
D: 30 mins
C: really!?
D: yeah just get opn your computer and run a program.
C: oh...
D: otherwise it would take hours.

C: So what if a charactor dies.
D: on no a good DM will balance all encounters to make sure that doesn't happen.
C: then there is no challang or earning anything in the game.
D: a good DM makes it feal challenging.
C: give me an example.
D: ok skill challenges
C: like what
D: you need to convince the king to listen to you roll a d20 for a diplomacy skill check.
C: that's it 3 hours to make a character who will never die and the challenges are handled by skill checks.
There has to be a better way to do this.

Civilization V, a year later.

I finally bought civ 5 and played through a full game on default settings, except I used the earthlike map instead of Continents. I'm sure that most anyone who is interested in the game already knows alot about it but here was my impressions. The new cultural system was solid and I won a cultural victory by playing much the same way I always do but it was nice being able to spend the culture points on civics.

With that said though I miss the old civic system still and definitely miss having the religions. I had a few problems with civ 4's religion system but not having it at all still kinda sucks to me.

The new,  one unit per tile thing felt natural but actually made waging wars easier for me. The cities were kind of tough but not having 30 units stacked on a single city made it much easier to wage war and yet felt more real. Surrounding the city and wail on it with archers instead of moving a giant stack in all at once just to stand a chance.

The tech tree was the only thing that felt oddly simplified to me. Many other things like the interface were simpler but didn't feel dumbed down.

The city states seam like a nice addition except that the map felt more crowded. I actually never built a single settler I took about 3 cities from city states and never allied with any for long. I got another settler for free at one point so I had about 5-6 cities and kept them for the whole game.

I'd say that Civ 5 is a nice remake and good entry point into the Civilization games, but it doesn't add anything new for me. Also it seams to take a decent computer to run well and there some major screen resolution issues that I just can't belive they haven't fixed yet. I keep editing an .ini file to try and get the game to display properly.

Also it plays the intro movie while the game loads so for a while the into isn't skipable and that can get annoying. But once the game is running its a solid civ game and keeps you addicted like all the others.

Announcement of BRW Games.

Joseph from The Grey Hawk Grognard has announced his new company, BRW Games. You can now get the playtest version of Adventures Dark and Deep from the new website and there will also be a new product release in October. A necromancer class compatible with any game that is compatible with the first edition of the worlds most popular roleplaying game.

The site also mentions plans to make board-games, war-games, novels, and a new campaign setting called Erseta. I can't wait to see what else Joseph makes, so lets wish him luck.

The Announcement was made on his blog and the ADD forums.

Interdimensional Invasion

Over at Hack and Slash there has been posted a nice set of tables you can roll on to quickly add a plane touched flavor to any monster. I really love tables like this. Useful tools that can make things interesting without any strain on a dm. The fact that I can just roll on it to incorporate it into my campaign is awesome.

A Annecetere and Cruori touched boar

Basically it has a set of five different planes and each one can add various effects to a creature. But even then each one can have slightly random effects based on another d6 roll. So right there is what 30 different possibilities not even counting that each plane touched creature can be touched by two or more planes including even all five.

I was originally just thinking of leaving a comment over there but I love what tools like this that are quick but have depth can do for a dm, but then again I like rolling on tables even for determining tavern patrons.

You check on the tables here.

Weapon Familiarity:

All weapons that your class has “access” to, are the weapons your character has “Basic Familiarity” with.
The primary weapon you begin play with will be considered “Familiar” choose one.
All other weapons are “un-familiar”
In game while in use of a weapon it can move from one position of familiarity to another.

If a weapon that you have “Familiarity” or are “Very Familiar” with has not be used for awhile it will drop back down to “Basic Familiarity.”

Un-Familiar                         -3
                                             -2
Basic Familiarity                -1
Familiar                               0
Very Familiar                    +1

(How quickly familiarity is gained or lost will be determined by the DM)
(Familiarity might even go beyond this point, again at the DM’s discretion.)

What this system does:

It removes the aspect of any class not having any access at all to certain weapons.
 It clearly shows the difference between having specialized or simply using a weapon.
It stacks with any other ability that gives weapon specialization.
It rewards players for sticking with one weapon even if a magic weapon of a different variety were
available.

Thus a fighter is neither proficient in all weapons or in three weapons, nor is a wizard forbidden from ever learning how to use a long sword.

The idea of being proficient with a weapon is left as a lifelong process not something learned before level 1.

Correlation between math grades and creative writing?

I have often wondered why so many writers such as myself find it so difficult to finish projects and yet clearly show at least a basic talent in their writing. I know that it isn't always fear or perfectionism or even writer's block. Well I can't speak for all the other writers out there but I think I have found my problem.

When in a fun class like Creative Writing I did great, but when in a boring class like math where I was suppose to do 60+ problems a day everyday, I just simply didn't do the work. Sure, I got great grades on the tests but I just couldn't imagine how doing another 60 problems on something I have already figured out would help. I could memorize most things anywhere from first try to 3-5 at the most but 60 or more just seamed so pointless to me.

Now of course I wish I had that skill, to just keep doing the problem even when it is boring. So I have two ideas, 1. I should do some writing even when I am not interested. That means write at least one project I care nothing at all about and also follow more writing prompts even when I don't like the prompt. 2. I think I might buy a highschool geometry book, some protractors and rulers and repeat that damned class at home.

Every time I should be writing and feal like I can't then I either write anyway or do 120 math problems.And maybe do at least 2-3 pages of math problems a day and if geometry isn't boring enough I'll try algebra 2.

I bet this will help me with my adventure planning for D&D as well, no more stopping for the night just because I don't feel inspired. Although I will be careful to avoid burnout but thats exactly the skill I hope to acquire a better tolerance of boring before burnout. Right now I go from weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee to damn I'm bored screw this.

So what is D&D anyway?

Over at Classic RPG Realms the author (chris, I think) has been posting some interesting articles about how his perception of what D&D was originally suppose to be has been changed quite alot by reading Rob Kuntz's interview and blog.

Now I Personaly always thought of D&D being about the social aspect and getting together to have a shared adventure, but also about the prospect of earning something through the challenge of that adventure. But what Rob Kuntz is talking about makes alot of sense. Apparently is was about creation even to Gary Gygax it was about creating your own world and your own adventures.

Makes me kind of glad now that I was always the type to jump around making my own rules and even my own world/game called sibra1. But somehow I think that by understanding this more players and DM's can stop arguing about editions and rules and what is d&d a wargame or about story or about roleplay, and just remember its about creating and having fun in your own world be it about war or drama or pink elephants.

No matter what edition or game you play you don't need to put another dollar towards any company you don't like and you don't need to prove that you know what old school was about. Even if you think you do know you should read the following interview and articles and also Rob's blog.

Rob's Interview
http://hillcantons.blogspot.com/2011/08/no-borders-or-limits-conversation-with.html

Rob's Blog
http://lordofthegreendragons.blogspot.com/

Reading Rob Kuntz (classic rpg realms)
http://classicrpgrealms.blogspot.com/2011/09/reading-rob-kuntz.html

ADD Campaign log 3

Last Time we left of with Frey having decided to camp out. This Time we picked back up right there. Frey and Einar were left back with the horse while the rest of us decided to seek out the Stirge nest. During our discussions about the threat and possible reward a wandering Dark Terran happened by.

Note: In my actual campaign setting there are no drow, but I have a race known as Dark Terrans with pale skin and white hair (occasionally black or grey for females). They come from a place known as The Dark Forest. They typically fight with claws mounted on gloves. Since they are dexterous and fight with two weapons I often use the Drow statistics as a quick way of incorporating them and allowing a player to choose a drow. A dark Terran was also featured in my recent flash fiction Nomads Alliance.

She introduced herself as Lotus and offered her assistance for a share in the "Treasure Rights". It's not uncommon for Dark Terrans to be spontaneous or unpredictable so it was agreed that she could with, but we were going to keep an eye on her.

We began searching out the Castle and found a decent share of coins and such missed by the first group that had come through. We also found "Brother Burk's" body. He was a character that was killed the very first time we entered Caldwell Castle. The goblins had drew a pentacle around him after his death because the monk scared the crap out of them.

Kol cautioned entered the Pentacle and looted the body. Nothing bad happened so they moved on. Eventually while searching a room we were attacked from behind by three older Stirges these ones were tougher and had sharper Probosces almost beak like.

Two of the Stirges managed to attach themselves, one to Lotus and the other to Philip. The one of Philip was killed, the other Stirge fled and the one on Lotus eventually released itself and was allowed to flee. We followed the blood back to the Stirge nest and found the door to that room open and clawed up.

We decided to Let Eloum and Lotus use their elven sneaking to enter the room. This completely failed and we stumble across three young Stirge. These ones had undeveloped wings and two dangling probosces. They came at our legs and attached themselves to both Eloum and Lotus..

Philip and Thayd killed the third while Kol used his net to entangle and manage to rip the Other two off of us. We used a leather chest found earlier and shoved the young Stirges inside. We found the nest up on the ledge, finished off the wounded adults and took four Stirge eggs.

We took the chest and eggs out to Einar and then continued searching the main floor. A heat wave rolled in and the horse suddenly panicked and ran inside the Castle. Kol manged to intercept the horse and almost had it calm when it was discovered that four harpys had landed on the roof and were trying to get in the sky lights.

We covered our ears and ran into a room closing the door. Kol and Thayd stayed in the back with Frey while Eloum Einar and Philip formed a line with their Halberds. This being a random encounter and harpys being higher level we expected casualties.

The Harpies entered and rushed the Halberd line, two critical hits were scored with halberds and two harpys went down. Kol missed with one blow gun needle and shot another into Eloum's neck. The third harpy stuck Eloum and was hit in return by Thayds and Frey's darts. Eloum resisted the points but was now unconscious at -9 hp. Philip dropped the third harpy as lotus moved up and began bandaging Eloum.

The forth harpy had entered and wounded Philip just before the third had gone down, it was now trying to flee but was picked off by darts and Halberds.

Eloum was fine and now conscious though injured and we finished searching the main floor and returned to Threshold after encountering a magic statue that gave us some hints about what was below.


This log is continued here as log 3.5


System: Adventures Dark and Deep by Joseph Bloch
Module: B1-B9 In search of adventure
Players:
Laisa = (Thayd) High Elf, Mage/Mountebank
(Lotus) Dark Terran (drow) Assassin/Mage
Me = (Eloum) High Elf, Mystic/Fighter/Savant
Brandon = (Frey) Gray Elf, Mage
Justin = (Einar)Wild Elf, Fighter/Thief
Mike = Kolass (Half-Orc, Fighter/Assassin)

Hirelings of Note:
Philip 1sp Man-at-Arms

Next ADD Campaign Log

ADD Campaign log 3.5

After returning to Threshold, Eloum and Frey and some others went straight to the church to rest. Thayd sold some gems to the bank while Kol found his connection with the Assassin's Guild and convinced them to buy the young stirges and eggs.

We also found a sorcerer to sell some harpy feathers too and that's what we made the most profit off of. Kol took the money to city hall and payed the taxes then paid the church for all of our healing. Then money was then divided up.

Eloum had some of his extra income donated to the Sorceress apprentices and then gave all the rest of his to a smithy for a down payment on a set of plate-mail which will take some time to be imported and finished. The slept that night with the intention of returning straight back to the castle in morning.

Kol snuck out and went into Fogor isle eventually negotiating purchase poisons with a man named Jeb and found out the Loggermans Courier was a distribution center for such things.

The next morning they set out. Kol was the first to go down the trap door, followed by Philip. He immediately checked down the corridor and half orc with a trident and net. After Eloum came down the trap door suddenly snapped closed sealing them off from the rest of the party.

Kol and Philip were suspicious of Krok as the half-orc introduced himself. But he agreed to help us find a way out. Kol made him lead the way ahead but told him to check in a door to the side. They entered a room that had too wizards working at a lab. They seamed nice at first until they shoved a knife into Kroks side.

Kol thought the wizards were suspicious of Krok or knew something and so helped them dispatch the half-orc and was then surprised when the wizards attacked him as well. The wizards fought like maniacs and Krok turned out to be something quite different then a hal-orc. He was still alive but unconscious until Kol's trident said otherwise.

We followed a corridor to the west after looting the wizards and their lab, we had to leave off her while investigating some honeycombed holes on the wall.



System: Adventures Dark and Deep by Joseph Bloch
Module: B1-B9 In search of adventure
Players:
Laisa = (Thayd) High Elf, Mage/Mountebank
(Lotus) Dark Terran (drow) Assassin/Necromancer
Me = (Eloum) High Elf, Mystic/Fighter/Savant
Brandon = (Frey) Gray Elf, Mage
Justin = (Einar)Wild Elf, Fighter/Thief
Mike = Kolass (Half-Orc, Fighter/Assassin)

Hirelings of Note:
Philip 1sp Man-at-Arms

Next ADD Campaign Log

ADD Campaign log 2

Last time we left off with the PC's returning to town after a near miss with some Stirges. Since they need ed to rest up and Eloum decided to change their arsenal (and since it had been more then a week since playing) we decided a month of time had past in game. Phillip was released for the month but expected to pick back up his duties.

Eloum and Einar shopped around for some new Halberds and got rid of Eloum's old Pike. Eloum paid for one for himself, Einar and Philip. Mean time Thayd went to Caldwell and asked him for the money to hire another person for their group.

Caldwell had already decided to plant an operative in the group (Kol) to make sure they were not wasting his money. This was also an introductory mission for Kol (The Assassin) to see if Caldwell could trust him.

An elaborate ruse was set up too convince Thayd that she had met and hired Kol at "The Old Dukes" Winery. This was almost ruined because Frey, who was given the original hirelings 50 silver, was already at The Old Dukes, trying to hire people.

The negations were successful though and only interrupted by a random run in with The Baron of Black Eagle.  Einar stopped by the market place to buy some whittling tools and then the next morning.they set back off for Caldwell Castle.

Once there they listened at the main door and for some reason, Frey decided to tie his horse to the door and pull it open. While tie-ing his horse to it a Stirge had noticed them and was coming out a window.  Kol threw his net and missed which landed on one of Einars dogs. Frey (the mage) moved up to attack with his staff and missed, followed by a dart missing from Thayd. She spent the rest of the fight missing with darts except one that hit Frey and another that Eloum.

Eventually everyone moved up with their Halberds and Kol with his Trident not to long after all the Stirges were dead. But with Frey at 1hp and Eloum at 0 and Frey having used his spell they decided to camp out.

No hits were landed from the Stirges, oddly.


One interesting thing about tonight adventures is that Kol was made by mike from a 1e AD&D players handbook and required basicly no conversion at all. His equipment was bought from ADD and his classes were filled in most of the way from ADD but everything from AD&D was fine and didn't need changed.


System: Adventures Dark and Deep by Joseph Bloch
Module: B1-B9 In search of adventure
Players:
Laisa = (Thayd) High Elf, Mage/Mountebank
Me = (Eloum) High Elf, Mystic/Fighter/Savant
Brandon = (Frey) Gray Elf, Mage
Justin = (Einar)Wild Elf, Fighter/Thief
Mike = Kolass (Half-Orc, Fighter/Assassin)

Next ADD Campaign Log

I wonder how much damage this does?

Seams like a 4th edition power, since he moved his opponent and then shifted five feet.

This Kid on the other hand is clearly Immune to all Damage Types.

Current Projects

Saturday I will be running another session of ADD and then posting the campaign log. By next Tuesday I am hoping to get an actual session of The Secret Fire going. In the Meantime I will be building a replica of Castle Caldwell via Minecraft.

Once the replica is made I will be posting screen shots and a copy of the save file both on my blog and on my google+ profile. The replica will be following the map image shown here rather then the standard map, but I believe it is close enough to the standard map but will be easier to follow along in Minecraft.

First Impressions: The Secret Fire

Tonight we made our first characters for The Secret Fire Roleplaying Game. Since we made three characters at once and this system has many interesting differences from any rpg I have played in the past, making the characters did take some time, but not more then the average rpg out there.

I'm sure that if you've read about the Secret Fire before, then you are already aware of its descriptors and energy points. If not then you can get more info here.

The lists of racial quirks was very interesting and fun. Laisa's halfling got "You think dwarves are ok, once you get them smoking." as one of her quirks. Somehow I couldn't find all of the information on the games alignment system but I can tell even that encourages roleplaying.

The actions you can spend energy points on are very loose and easy to bend to fit what you and your players think is reasonable. The combat system looks to be easy enough. My only concern was that the energy points might be a disassociated mechanic, but by thinking of them as your characters daily energy that is replenished by, well being himself, I think it isn't necessarily disassociated.

Many lists such as weapons are kept simple enough that you have the basic choices, which are enough, but can then move on. The Secret Fire is definitely a complete and great game but I like that it can also meld well with other rpg's.

One other thing I liked is the spell names and descriptions were done in a way that sparks my imagination.

At this time I can't think of anything specific that I don't like about the secret fire, but we will see after I actually play test it.

Battle for Wesnoth

Many of you have probably already heard of Battle for Wesnoth. I tried playing it awhile ago and somehow just didn't get into it. A few days ago however I gave it another try and I am actually kinda surprised that the game is of pretty good quality despite being free.

Basically its a turn based strategy game or rather like a war game. I am impressed by the amount of campaigns and story lines though. There is no one single campaign but rather many many campaigns that all tell stories about Wesnoth. But the storyline doesn't get in the way either, its just good dialog and then well designed maps.

The other thing I like about Wesnoth is that the gameplay is kept simple and easy to understand and yet it has plenty of depth for those who like to get into the real strategy aspects of it.

Well those are the reason I am having fun but if you want to know more features it has, which are plenty, here is a link.

Another Game

I know I have been talking alot about Legends and Labyrinths and Adventures Dark and Deep. I have even been thinking of buying The Secret Fire, but now I have found yet one more game that grabbed my attention. Adventurer Conquer King.

Some how I only heard about it yesterday and many of the things I read about it are exactly what I want in an rpg, such as the balanced and integrated economy or how each level of play is well thought out instead of just an after thought.

On a side note I am alos interested in playing or dming over google+ so if anyone wants too add me on there here is a link to my profile. If you need a google+ invite then just leave a comment below containing an email address and I'll send you one.

Have You Mastered Dungeons and Dragons?

You may think that you have mastered the game but here is a video on youtube that will show you how the game was meant too be played. Watching this group playing is guaranteed to teach you something about the game.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K37PrkmzgJw&feature=player_embedded

Product Idea

Using some of the research I did on Stirges, I am thinking about adding in some of my own ideas and maybe making a small pdf product centered around Stirges. Maybe some new species, behavior, ecology, life cycle.
I might even try too make a small adventure.

One of the idea's I had for the product was too include stat blocks for multiple editions of dnd. Possible making them designed too be balanced for Adventures Dark and Deep, Legends and Labyrinths and 4th edition, That would also make it compatible with 1st edition (I hope) and 3rd edition.

What would you like too see in a product like this? What would make it most fun and useful for you?

Legends and Labyrinths: Updated Funding goal and landmarks.

Justin has posted his new additional perks for those who are helping fund Legends and Labyrinths. So you get the perks based on how much you have helped fun with over at 8-bit funding and the additional landmark perks posted >> here.

If you don't know what Legends and Labyrinths is you can find out more information on the project page. If your interested in the project then by helping fund it you will help make the project better and gain access to some nice perks.

If you do know what Legends and Labyrinths is and would like too see some first impressions here is a link too Justin's blog were they talked about some first impressions, and here is a link directly too some of my first impressions.