This is my sword. There are many like it, but this one is mine...
A few weeks ago, freelance RPG writer, Matt James, put a call out on Twitter. Matt was looking for 4e bloggers that might be willing to review his upcoming offering, "Soldiers Of Fortune"; a gaming supplement set in Wolfgang Baur's, Kobold Quarterly's campaign setting - Midgard. I initially jumped at the chance, because I've known Matt from Twitter and from having him on the DM Roundtable which I help host.
Matt was quick to send me a review copy of the supplement, and then I promptly set to...well, sitting on it. There are a number of reasons for my hesitation, but most of them had to do with my lack of experience in reviewing this kind of material. While I'm eager to share my thoughts about products I actually use (usually dungeon terrain and other types of physical objects), I have much less experience reviewing written words. That lack of experience combined with a product I wouldn't necessarily immediately have use for myself (or so I thought at the time), made me drag my feet. However, I have finally shaken off that bit of writer's block, and so a little late to the party, I provide this review. Matt, I ask your forgiveness for my hesitation. Please don't assign me to KP duty.
As I stated above, this supplement is probably not one I would have initially picked up on my own. My own campaigns don't have a strong militarized element, and that is what Soldiers Of Fortune is all about. If you want to know how to incorporate guards, soldiers, mercenaries, and armies into your 4e campaigns, this is definitely the tome for you. However, even if you (like me) don't have a strong military component to your campaigns, you can still find something useful in this supplement. In fact, there are SO MANY interesting and useful tidbits, I'm going to give you 20 reasons (in no particular order) to immediately go out and buy Soldiers Of Fortune. Free 3-Day passes to anyone doing a push-up after reading each one:
01) Clear and well thought treatise on the reasons for going to war.
02) Plot hooks that are specific to the subject matter of the book, but general enough to drop into any campaign setting.
03) Clear examples on how the various races of the Midgard setting view the life of a soldier.
04) Numerous Skill Challenge examples that work great in just about any military adventure.
05) Clear examples (in the form of "Edicts") that show how armies work and how military campaigns are conducted in the Midgard setting.
06) Numerous "call-outs", little boxes of extra text that help tie either real-world or campaign setting information in to the general information provided by the supplement.
07) Interesting NPC generals and leaders suitable for use in any campaign.
08) An entirely new background theme for military characters - The Mercenary.
09) An entire career's worth of new Powers: At-Wills, Encounter, & Dailies.
10) A slew of new feats for military characters.
11) Powers & feats specifically related to the use of siege engines.
12) Military themed Paragon paths.
13) A host of new magic items including War Banners and new Martial Practices.
14) A complete adventure for five - 7th level players.
15) New monsters. Many of the new monsters are related to the Midgard campaign setting, but could easily be re-skinned to suit any campaign.
16) New minion & minion aura rules to facilitate large combats (but see my notes below).
17) A boat load of new templates for various military types.
18) The entire supplement is laid out in an attractive way with sparse but relevant art and maps for the included adventure.
19) A fantastic section on siege engines and how to use them. This section (for me) is worth the price of admission alone.
20) Clearly written by someone who has been in the military and is able to apply that knowledge to the game, without speaking down to those of us without that experience.
With all these great reasons to buy Soldiers Of Fortune, there are a couple of things I would have like to have seen that are not included. The supplement is certainly complete without them, but I think it would have floored me had they been included.
01) Rules for large scale combats. The 4th Edition of Dungeons & Dragons has been lax on this point, and this book would have been a natural place for those rules. It's quite possible, though, that there's enough material on that subject to warrant a second book. Soldiers Of Fortune - The Field of Battle would be a great title for that, by the way. Just sayin'.
02) Clearer rules for when characters NOT of a military nature find themselves conscripted into an army. How can the Rogue, Wizard, or Druid get along if left with no other choice but to find themselves drafted? I think that would have been a great addition.
Again, these are minor points. Overall, even though I don't run a military styled campaign, there is plenty of material in Soldiers Of Fortune to warrant its cost. Every DM needs to have these rules in their 4e arsenal.
Soldiers of Fortune is available at the Kobold Quarterly Store in both PDF file and hard copy versions. I do suggest you pick up a copy.
At ease, Soldier.
Until next time...
Game excellently with one another.
Showing posts with label Publications. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Publications. Show all posts
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Dungeons & Dragons Essentials - Monster Vault: An Un-Review
Greetings!
While I don't really do reviews on this site, I have promised my readers in previous posts to give you my comments about the various Dungeons & Dragons Essentials products that are coming out this year (and into next year). Yesterday in the mail, I received my order from the Nobel Barn of two of the Essentials titles: Dungeon Tiles Master Set - The City, and The Monster Vault.
I'm actually not going to review the first one. Everyone has done un-boxing and review posts over the tile sets. The only thing is that like all the tile sets, you really need to get TWO of them to have an effective set. This is my opinion, of course, but with the tile pieces often doing double duty (sewers on one side, walkways on the other), to construct anything really effective, you need a couple of sets to do that. Enough said.
Let talk about the Monster Vault, instead. Like other Essentials reviews I've done, I'm not going to tell you how I feel about the monster stats, the quality of the module, or that kind of stuff. Instead, I want to talk to you about the things I fell in love with, and why I think this is one of the best sets I've seen in a LONG time.
So let's get right to it. The Monster Vault contains three elements: A digest-like monster manual that contains descriptions of the monsters, a set of monster counters, & an adventure suitable for 4th level characters. Let's take each of these in hand and discuss:
The Module - I thumbed through it. Looked pretty icy (the setting, not the style). There seemed to be a dirigible at the end, which I thought was pretty cool. Modules are modules for me. Most of the stuff WotC puts together for adventures are pretty workable, so I really don't have much to say about it. Looks like it was designed to be run after heroes complete the module in the DM's Toolkit. I believe the stories are set in the same land (Nentir Vale), but I don't believe the stories are linked.
The Counters - Oh my Heavens, the counters! So far, we've seen three different Essentials products come with a selection of counters. The Starter Set (otherwise known as the "Red Box"), came with a few counters to cover basic heroes and the monsters in the introductory adventure that was included. The DM's Toolkit also came with a nice selection of monsters, enough to provide counters for every creature (and I think every NPC as well) for the adventure included in that boxed set. Between the two sets, I had enough counters to nearly fill a re-purposed and almost 1/2 gallon plastic gellato container.
The counters contained in the Monster Vault flat out blew that away. I haven't done a careful check, but I suspect there's at least one counter to represent every creature listed in the Vault. It was 10 sheets (if I remember correctly) of medium, large, & even huge creatures. In addition to that, there were huge sized "adapter rings" for converting large creatures into huge ones. It was an interesting innovation. Admittedly, the rings look like giant tractor tires, but still, it's a pretty cool idea, since the large counters fit neatly inside them. So many counters. By the time I had gathered them all, my poor gellato container was overflowing. I had to remove the large and huge counters and place them in the Monster Vault box. Now, of course, my OCD is going to require that all of these counters get sorted. I'm looking to coin collecting tools to help organize these. When I've done some more research, I'll have a post devoted exclusively to storing and managing your counters. I can't say it enough. With all three boxed sets (Starter, DM Toolkit, and Monster Vault), you get a metric f-ton of counters. I really can't get enough of fiddly bits like this. It is a good thing.
The Monster Manual - Let me begin by just re-quoting myself from Twitter last night: "Okay, Monster Vault. I am in love with you. Best Monster Manual since the original 1st Edition AD&D one". I meant it, too. Like the rest of the Essentials line, the Monster Vault book is a monster manual that presents in the same digest form as the rest of the books in the Essentials line. That's just the sexy outer form, though. The real reason I'm gushing, is how the material inside the book is presented. Others have written about this, but I finally saw it for myself. WotC has returned to giving us some background for the creatures we use in the game. I haven't seen a Monster Manual do this effectively since the ones written for the 1st Edition. Seeing a monster manual do more than just give pages & pages of stats was refreshing. There's enough background material on most of the monsters to build entire campaigns around. I was most impressed. I now have a monster manual I can enjoy reading, instead of just referencing.
Finally, I really like the appendices in the back of the book. A section on just animals. Why, this is AWESOME! Also a table of monsters by level? STUPENDOUS! Of course, like the rest of the Essentials books, they didn't skimp on either the glossary or the index. Kids, this is a complete book.
Conclusions - If you don't get any of the other Essentials materials, do yourself a favor and pick up the Monster Vault. It's utility is bar-none, and the monster manual contained within is the best written one in years. I look forward to it providing loads of campaign ideas and monster goodness for years to come.
Until next time...
Game excellently with one another.
While I don't really do reviews on this site, I have promised my readers in previous posts to give you my comments about the various Dungeons & Dragons Essentials products that are coming out this year (and into next year). Yesterday in the mail, I received my order from the Nobel Barn of two of the Essentials titles: Dungeon Tiles Master Set - The City, and The Monster Vault.
I'm actually not going to review the first one. Everyone has done un-boxing and review posts over the tile sets. The only thing is that like all the tile sets, you really need to get TWO of them to have an effective set. This is my opinion, of course, but with the tile pieces often doing double duty (sewers on one side, walkways on the other), to construct anything really effective, you need a couple of sets to do that. Enough said.
Let talk about the Monster Vault, instead. Like other Essentials reviews I've done, I'm not going to tell you how I feel about the monster stats, the quality of the module, or that kind of stuff. Instead, I want to talk to you about the things I fell in love with, and why I think this is one of the best sets I've seen in a LONG time.
So let's get right to it. The Monster Vault contains three elements: A digest-like monster manual that contains descriptions of the monsters, a set of monster counters, & an adventure suitable for 4th level characters. Let's take each of these in hand and discuss:
The Module - I thumbed through it. Looked pretty icy (the setting, not the style). There seemed to be a dirigible at the end, which I thought was pretty cool. Modules are modules for me. Most of the stuff WotC puts together for adventures are pretty workable, so I really don't have much to say about it. Looks like it was designed to be run after heroes complete the module in the DM's Toolkit. I believe the stories are set in the same land (Nentir Vale), but I don't believe the stories are linked.
The Counters - Oh my Heavens, the counters! So far, we've seen three different Essentials products come with a selection of counters. The Starter Set (otherwise known as the "Red Box"), came with a few counters to cover basic heroes and the monsters in the introductory adventure that was included. The DM's Toolkit also came with a nice selection of monsters, enough to provide counters for every creature (and I think every NPC as well) for the adventure included in that boxed set. Between the two sets, I had enough counters to nearly fill a re-purposed and almost 1/2 gallon plastic gellato container.
The counters contained in the Monster Vault flat out blew that away. I haven't done a careful check, but I suspect there's at least one counter to represent every creature listed in the Vault. It was 10 sheets (if I remember correctly) of medium, large, & even huge creatures. In addition to that, there were huge sized "adapter rings" for converting large creatures into huge ones. It was an interesting innovation. Admittedly, the rings look like giant tractor tires, but still, it's a pretty cool idea, since the large counters fit neatly inside them. So many counters. By the time I had gathered them all, my poor gellato container was overflowing. I had to remove the large and huge counters and place them in the Monster Vault box. Now, of course, my OCD is going to require that all of these counters get sorted. I'm looking to coin collecting tools to help organize these. When I've done some more research, I'll have a post devoted exclusively to storing and managing your counters. I can't say it enough. With all three boxed sets (Starter, DM Toolkit, and Monster Vault), you get a metric f-ton of counters. I really can't get enough of fiddly bits like this. It is a good thing.
The Monster Manual - Let me begin by just re-quoting myself from Twitter last night: "Okay, Monster Vault. I am in love with you. Best Monster Manual since the original 1st Edition AD&D one". I meant it, too. Like the rest of the Essentials line, the Monster Vault book is a monster manual that presents in the same digest form as the rest of the books in the Essentials line. That's just the sexy outer form, though. The real reason I'm gushing, is how the material inside the book is presented. Others have written about this, but I finally saw it for myself. WotC has returned to giving us some background for the creatures we use in the game. I haven't seen a Monster Manual do this effectively since the ones written for the 1st Edition. Seeing a monster manual do more than just give pages & pages of stats was refreshing. There's enough background material on most of the monsters to build entire campaigns around. I was most impressed. I now have a monster manual I can enjoy reading, instead of just referencing.
Finally, I really like the appendices in the back of the book. A section on just animals. Why, this is AWESOME! Also a table of monsters by level? STUPENDOUS! Of course, like the rest of the Essentials books, they didn't skimp on either the glossary or the index. Kids, this is a complete book.
Conclusions - If you don't get any of the other Essentials materials, do yourself a favor and pick up the Monster Vault. It's utility is bar-none, and the monster manual contained within is the best written one in years. I look forward to it providing loads of campaign ideas and monster goodness for years to come.
Until next time...
Game excellently with one another.
Tuesday, November 09, 2010
Ye Olde Provisions Shop - Supplies, Part 3
My Good Readers,
Here is the final post regarding the Supplies card series for Dungeons & Dragons Essentials®. I appreciate your patience, as I've had to break up these general supplies into three posts. The reason for this is that the tool I'm using to create the cards (Go Deck Yourself), has a limitation on the number of cards you can produce per PDF. This final deck should download about as quick as the last one, being nearly the same size.
Remember to right-click on the link below and choose "Save Link As" (or Save Target As) to download the PDF file.
Supplies: Flash through Torch
In a few days, I'll be posting a final note on these cards, and a more detailed explanation on how to best use all the cards.
Until next time...
Game excellently with one another.
Sunday, November 07, 2010
Ye Olde Provisions Shop - Supplies, Part 2
Greetings, Readers!
Here is the second post to continue the supplies card series for Dungeons & Dragons Essentials®. I appreciate your patience, as I've had to break up these general supplies into three posts. The reason for this is that the tool I'm using to create the cards (Go Deck Yourself), has a limitation on the number of cards you can produce per PDF. While the first one was pretty hefty, this second one should go a little quicker. One more post will follow this one, about the same size as this one.
Remember to right-click on the link below and choose "Save Link As" (or Save Target As) to download the PDF file.
Supplies: Candle through Fine Clothing
In the next couple of days, I'll be finishing with the general supplies and providing a nice summary post on how to best utilize these cards in game play.
Until next time...
Game excellently with one another.
Here is the second post to continue the supplies card series for Dungeons & Dragons Essentials®. I appreciate your patience, as I've had to break up these general supplies into three posts. The reason for this is that the tool I'm using to create the cards (Go Deck Yourself), has a limitation on the number of cards you can produce per PDF. While the first one was pretty hefty, this second one should go a little quicker. One more post will follow this one, about the same size as this one.
Remember to right-click on the link below and choose "Save Link As" (or Save Target As) to download the PDF file.
Supplies: Candle through Fine Clothing
In the next couple of days, I'll be finishing with the general supplies and providing a nice summary post on how to best utilize these cards in game play.
Until next time...
Game excellently with one another.
Friday, November 05, 2010
Ye Olde Provisions Shop - Supplies, Part 1
Greetings, Readers!
I apologize for the delay this last week, but I return once again to continue my series of equipment cards for Dungeons & Dragons Essentials™. Now available are Supplies. I've broken up this general supplies into three posts. The reason for this is that the tool I'm using to create the cards (Go Deck Yourself), has a limitation on the number of cards you can produce per PDF. This first one is pretty hefty, so I apologize in advance for the download size. The other two posts that will follow this one, are not quite so large.
Remember to right-click on the link below and choose "Save Link As" (or Save Target As) to download the PDF file.
Supplies: Adventurer's Kit through Arcane Implement, Wand
In the next couple of days, I'll be finishing with the general supplies and providing a nice summary post on how to best utilize these cards in game play.
Until next time...
Game excellently with one another.
I apologize for the delay this last week, but I return once again to continue my series of equipment cards for Dungeons & Dragons Essentials™. Now available are Supplies. I've broken up this general supplies into three posts. The reason for this is that the tool I'm using to create the cards (Go Deck Yourself), has a limitation on the number of cards you can produce per PDF. This first one is pretty hefty, so I apologize in advance for the download size. The other two posts that will follow this one, are not quite so large.
Remember to right-click on the link below and choose "Save Link As" (or Save Target As) to download the PDF file.
Supplies: Adventurer's Kit through Arcane Implement, Wand
In the next couple of days, I'll be finishing with the general supplies and providing a nice summary post on how to best utilize these cards in game play.
Until next time...
Game excellently with one another.
Monday, October 25, 2010
Ye Olde Provisions Shop - Ranged Weapons
Greetings, Readers!
I return once again to continue my series of equipment cards for Dungeons & Dragons Essentials™. Now available are Ranged Weapons. Because there's not as many items in this deck, I've combined both the Simple and Military Ranged Weapons into a single deck.
Remember to right-click on the link below and choose "Save Link As" to download the PDF file.
Ranged Weapons
Coming up this week, I'll be doing the actual equipment cards. There's quite a few of those, so I'll probably do them in two different decks.
Until next time...
Game excellently with one another.
I return once again to continue my series of equipment cards for Dungeons & Dragons Essentials™. Now available are Ranged Weapons. Because there's not as many items in this deck, I've combined both the Simple and Military Ranged Weapons into a single deck.
Remember to right-click on the link below and choose "Save Link As" to download the PDF file.
Ranged Weapons
Coming up this week, I'll be doing the actual equipment cards. There's quite a few of those, so I'll probably do them in two different decks.
Until next time...
Game excellently with one another.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Ye Olde Provisions Shop - Simple Melee Weapons
Greetings, Readers!
As promised, our merchants have been busy building weapon shops all over your campaign setting. Linked below are another set of cards you can use to determine what weapons can be found in what shops. Using these cards works just the same as using the armor cards; which are described here.
Large City Draw 36 Cards.
Small City: Draw 24 Cards.
Town: Draw 18 Cards.
Village: Draw 12 Cards.
Hamlet: Draw 06 Cards.
I've changed the distribution a bit on weapons, as it was my feeling that weapon shops would probably carry more weapons than an armor shop would carry armor. Of course, your campaign will vary, so adjust the number of cards in your "inventory" deck to suit your needs.
You can link to this set of cards by CLICKING RIGHT HERE. For easier opening, I recommend right-clicking on the link and choosing, "Save Target As".
I'd love to hear your comments on what you think of the utility of the cards. Let me know what your're thinking!
Until next time...
Game excellently with one another.
As promised, our merchants have been busy building weapon shops all over your campaign setting. Linked below are another set of cards you can use to determine what weapons can be found in what shops. Using these cards works just the same as using the armor cards; which are described here.
Large City Draw 36 Cards.
Small City: Draw 24 Cards.
Town: Draw 18 Cards.
Village: Draw 12 Cards.
Hamlet: Draw 06 Cards.
I've changed the distribution a bit on weapons, as it was my feeling that weapon shops would probably carry more weapons than an armor shop would carry armor. Of course, your campaign will vary, so adjust the number of cards in your "inventory" deck to suit your needs.
You can link to this set of cards by CLICKING RIGHT HERE. For easier opening, I recommend right-clicking on the link and choosing, "Save Target As".
I'd love to hear your comments on what you think of the utility of the cards. Let me know what your're thinking!
Until next time...
Game excellently with one another.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Ye Olde Provisions Shop - Armor & Shields
Man, everyone needs provisions. Armor, weapons, implements, equipment. All that stuff needs to be acquired so that you can take on the bad guys and win the day. However, when you roll into town, how do you know whether or not a merchant has a specific item? More importantly, how can you make sure the DM knows whether or not a merchant has that certain item? Are you really going to make your poor suffering DM come up with all these tables just to see if a merchant has that suit of chain mail you need?
Friends, I have an answer for you, and it comes in the form of a set of cards you can download right here at Initiative or What?. These cards are free, and were created using a great site called Go Deck Yourself. That site has some great templates for creating cards for just about any tabletop game, and all for free. I've probably talked about them before (spoiler: they're awesome), so I won't go into that here. What I want to speak about more specifically is how to use the cards.
Before I go any further, let me link up the cards I currently have available for download. CAUTION!! This a pretty hefty PDF file (a little over 17mg), so download with care. ARMOR & SHIELDS SHOP.
Okay, I'm not going to brag about the cards. I specifically designed them to be simple, and to easily communicate all the vital information you need for that type of item. FYI, all the stuff you see here is coming out of the 4e Essentials rules. In this case, they're right out of Heroes of the Fallen Lands™.
Now, here's how you use them:
You're the DM. You have different communities of different sizes, with correspondingly differently sized shops. So, let's say the town has an armorer (smithy, metalworks, what have you). After the cards have been cut out, shuffle them and draw a number of cards that correspond to the city's size. You can go with my suggestions, or you can use your own system:
Large City Draw 36 Cards.
Small City: Draw 24 Cards.
Town: Draw 12 Cards.
Village: Draw 06 Cards.
Hamlet: Draw 03 Cards.
The cards drawn represent the assortment of armor (and shields) that particular shop has on hand that day. Of course, popular merchants will get shipments in all the time. My own recommendation is for each week of game time, shuffle the deck again and draw the same number of cards. That way, a new selection is always available. If you're an especially benevolent DM, you might even hand the player the card of his choosing, to keep for his records. If the player trades in that card for something better (a suit of magical armor, perhaps), then you can slip it back into the deck "shop", for future shopping.
Over the next several days, I'll be making additional equipment cards for the items that can be found in the Essentials rules. That way, no matter what kind of item your heroes are looking for, you will be sure to know how to find it (at least the ordinary stuff, anyway).
Until next time...
Game excellently with one another.
Friends, I have an answer for you, and it comes in the form of a set of cards you can download right here at Initiative or What?. These cards are free, and were created using a great site called Go Deck Yourself. That site has some great templates for creating cards for just about any tabletop game, and all for free. I've probably talked about them before (spoiler: they're awesome), so I won't go into that here. What I want to speak about more specifically is how to use the cards.
Before I go any further, let me link up the cards I currently have available for download. CAUTION!! This a pretty hefty PDF file (a little over 17mg), so download with care. ARMOR & SHIELDS SHOP.
Okay, I'm not going to brag about the cards. I specifically designed them to be simple, and to easily communicate all the vital information you need for that type of item. FYI, all the stuff you see here is coming out of the 4e Essentials rules. In this case, they're right out of Heroes of the Fallen Lands™.
Now, here's how you use them:
You're the DM. You have different communities of different sizes, with correspondingly differently sized shops. So, let's say the town has an armorer (smithy, metalworks, what have you). After the cards have been cut out, shuffle them and draw a number of cards that correspond to the city's size. You can go with my suggestions, or you can use your own system:
Large City Draw 36 Cards.
Small City: Draw 24 Cards.
Town: Draw 12 Cards.
Village: Draw 06 Cards.
Hamlet: Draw 03 Cards.
The cards drawn represent the assortment of armor (and shields) that particular shop has on hand that day. Of course, popular merchants will get shipments in all the time. My own recommendation is for each week of game time, shuffle the deck again and draw the same number of cards. That way, a new selection is always available. If you're an especially benevolent DM, you might even hand the player the card of his choosing, to keep for his records. If the player trades in that card for something better (a suit of magical armor, perhaps), then you can slip it back into the deck "shop", for future shopping.
Over the next several days, I'll be making additional equipment cards for the items that can be found in the Essentials rules. That way, no matter what kind of item your heroes are looking for, you will be sure to know how to find it (at least the ordinary stuff, anyway).
Until next time...
Game excellently with one another.
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Integrating the Sandbox
I currently run two games as a DM. The first one is my Dead Orcs Society game. That game has a fairly linear story line. I don't like to use the term railroad, but the story arc is pretty well defined, and it would throw things out of kilter if the PCs decided they wanted to go off and do something weird. It's not a bad thing, because my players recognize this, and so we're all in mutual agreement with regards to how that game is going.
That game, however, is not the one I want to talk about today.
My second game, my "small group" game, features just my wife (@FELTit), and another couple we're friends with. When I started that game, I wanted it to be more of a sandbox game. I wanted the PCs to be able to choose from several different paths. The game would play itself out based on what quests the PCs encountered.
The only real issue I had with this idea, was that I didn't know how best to communicate to the PCs, where the quests were located. The MMO method, where quest givers have a brightly colored exclamation point above their head, doesn't really translate well to the table top. In addition, I didn't want to feel that I was leading my PCs on by having them just "bump into" the various quest giving NPCs. I saw two issues. The first one, is that the "oops, I just ran into you, here's what I want you to do" method is a bit contrived. The second issue, is that the method has a tendency to make the PCs jump at the first thing that will put coin in their purses.
The method I hit upon was to use a newsletter. With a newsletter, I could present information about all the adventures in a veiled way. The articles are written in such a manner, that the PCs are encouraged to follow their own leads. Additionally, a newsletter isn't out of the question for a "points of light" campaign (which mine is). The Old West (before the advent of the telegraph) was a similar "points of light" situation. However, the Pony Express existed at that time period and enabled communities to communicate with one another. I see no real reason a small printed newsletter couldn't be transmitted to various communities in my own campaign area in the same fashion.
I think I've hit on a pretty effect method of driving PC activity. However, don't just take my word for it. Have a look yourself. Download the .pdf of the first newsletter RIGHT HERE. (right click on the link & go to "save link as". It will download the .pdf directly). In order to make a little better sense of the newsletter, here's an accompanying map to the region (click the map to get a larger image):
If a lot of the info in that newsletter seems familiar, it should. Most of the adventures hinted at in the newsletter are from the "Chaos Scar" series published online by Wizards of the Coast. Some things have been changed, of course, for my own campaign; but all the 1st level Chaos Scar adventures (I believe) have been represented.
As the heroes in my campaign continue to advance in level, new editions of the newsletter will be released. In fact, it's quite probable that the heroes themselves will (at some point) end up as subjects in the very newsletter they use to find their next job.
Let me know what you think!
Until next time...
Game excellently with one another.
That game, however, is not the one I want to talk about today.
My second game, my "small group" game, features just my wife (@FELTit), and another couple we're friends with. When I started that game, I wanted it to be more of a sandbox game. I wanted the PCs to be able to choose from several different paths. The game would play itself out based on what quests the PCs encountered.
The only real issue I had with this idea, was that I didn't know how best to communicate to the PCs, where the quests were located. The MMO method, where quest givers have a brightly colored exclamation point above their head, doesn't really translate well to the table top. In addition, I didn't want to feel that I was leading my PCs on by having them just "bump into" the various quest giving NPCs. I saw two issues. The first one, is that the "oops, I just ran into you, here's what I want you to do" method is a bit contrived. The second issue, is that the method has a tendency to make the PCs jump at the first thing that will put coin in their purses.
The method I hit upon was to use a newsletter. With a newsletter, I could present information about all the adventures in a veiled way. The articles are written in such a manner, that the PCs are encouraged to follow their own leads. Additionally, a newsletter isn't out of the question for a "points of light" campaign (which mine is). The Old West (before the advent of the telegraph) was a similar "points of light" situation. However, the Pony Express existed at that time period and enabled communities to communicate with one another. I see no real reason a small printed newsletter couldn't be transmitted to various communities in my own campaign area in the same fashion.
I think I've hit on a pretty effect method of driving PC activity. However, don't just take my word for it. Have a look yourself. Download the .pdf of the first newsletter RIGHT HERE. (right click on the link & go to "save link as". It will download the .pdf directly). In order to make a little better sense of the newsletter, here's an accompanying map to the region (click the map to get a larger image):
If a lot of the info in that newsletter seems familiar, it should. Most of the adventures hinted at in the newsletter are from the "Chaos Scar" series published online by Wizards of the Coast. Some things have been changed, of course, for my own campaign; but all the 1st level Chaos Scar adventures (I believe) have been represented.
As the heroes in my campaign continue to advance in level, new editions of the newsletter will be released. In fact, it's quite probable that the heroes themselves will (at some point) end up as subjects in the very newsletter they use to find their next job.
Let me know what you think!
Until next time...
Game excellently with one another.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Things Are Afoot - A Brief Update
Greetings, All!
I really hate these "just another update, no real stuff" posts, but I thought I'd take the opportunity to let my readers know what's going on with yours truly. I'm formulating some more interesting topics even as I type this, so stay tuned.
Gaming Front:
As usual, I'm running my monthly "Gaia's Calling" campaign for the Dead Orcs Society. We're deep in the middle of Thunderspire Labyrinth. It's getting to the point soon, where I'll have to be seriously home-brewing some stuff. Don't worry, you folks will be included on some of that development fun.
I've also started another 4e game with my wife (@FELTit) as well as another couple. This "small group" (no cool name yet), has been introduced to another section of my campaign setting (on the other end of a Shattered Continent). I'm trying to run this as a sandbox. We'll see how that goes.
I'm also in what was supposed to be a monthly online game with some folks in Ohio. That's been on hiatus a couple of months, so I'm not sure what's up with our DM for that one.
Finally, still having a blast participating in an bi-weekly campaign run by @NewbieDM. Our Fellowship of the Tweet group is a blast. Having said goodbye to the ill-fated Toma Tinbottom, I'm looking forward to stretching the legs of CHAZ STANDISH - FIGHTING MAN!
Blogging Front:
I continue to try to post (on average) once a week to this blog. I've just finished up a series on using the Swarm monster type for specific types of humanoid crowds (check the archives to the right for those posts), and hope to jump into another topic, next week.
Really not sure what to do about my 4e Conversion for Tomb of Horrors. I had the opportunity to view the DM Rewards version Wizards put out. It's actually pretty good and pretty faithful to the 1st Edition version. Of course, I don't agree with everything they did (and I think they soft balled it some. I think what I'll probably do is do a series of posts on those rooms that I would change, instead of duplicating WotC's efforts (which are really better than I expected) entirely.
Totally enjoying my "bi-weekly, but currently running every week, but will go back to bi-weekly" DM Roundtable discussions. It simply amazes me when so many creative minds get together and talk about DnD. I'm grateful to my companions @ThadeousC, @DMSamuel, @SarahDarkmagic, & @KatoKatonian for providing such awesome discourse. Come listen to us! We even have occasional special guest celebrities such as Mike Shea from Sly Flourish!
Other Places to Find Me:
Did you catch my spot on that amazing podcast, "The DM Guys"? Fellow bloggers @DaveTheGame, @chattydm, & @NewbieDM chat about different RPG topics. Those guys run a classy show. Can't thank them enough for that opportunity, and hope to be invited back again.
Hey! I did a guest post for @ThadeousC on his blog, "This is My Game". You can catch my guest "Ritualistically Speaking" article there.
Well, that's the news as fit to print for now.
Until next time...
Game excellently with one another.
I really hate these "just another update, no real stuff" posts, but I thought I'd take the opportunity to let my readers know what's going on with yours truly. I'm formulating some more interesting topics even as I type this, so stay tuned.
Gaming Front:
As usual, I'm running my monthly "Gaia's Calling" campaign for the Dead Orcs Society. We're deep in the middle of Thunderspire Labyrinth. It's getting to the point soon, where I'll have to be seriously home-brewing some stuff. Don't worry, you folks will be included on some of that development fun.
I've also started another 4e game with my wife (@FELTit) as well as another couple. This "small group" (no cool name yet), has been introduced to another section of my campaign setting (on the other end of a Shattered Continent). I'm trying to run this as a sandbox. We'll see how that goes.
I'm also in what was supposed to be a monthly online game with some folks in Ohio. That's been on hiatus a couple of months, so I'm not sure what's up with our DM for that one.
Finally, still having a blast participating in an bi-weekly campaign run by @NewbieDM. Our Fellowship of the Tweet group is a blast. Having said goodbye to the ill-fated Toma Tinbottom, I'm looking forward to stretching the legs of CHAZ STANDISH - FIGHTING MAN!
Blogging Front:
I continue to try to post (on average) once a week to this blog. I've just finished up a series on using the Swarm monster type for specific types of humanoid crowds (check the archives to the right for those posts), and hope to jump into another topic, next week.
Really not sure what to do about my 4e Conversion for Tomb of Horrors. I had the opportunity to view the DM Rewards version Wizards put out. It's actually pretty good and pretty faithful to the 1st Edition version. Of course, I don't agree with everything they did (and I think they soft balled it some. I think what I'll probably do is do a series of posts on those rooms that I would change, instead of duplicating WotC's efforts (which are really better than I expected) entirely.
Totally enjoying my "bi-weekly, but currently running every week, but will go back to bi-weekly" DM Roundtable discussions. It simply amazes me when so many creative minds get together and talk about DnD. I'm grateful to my companions @ThadeousC, @DMSamuel, @SarahDarkmagic, & @KatoKatonian for providing such awesome discourse. Come listen to us! We even have occasional special guest celebrities such as Mike Shea from Sly Flourish!
Other Places to Find Me:
Did you catch my spot on that amazing podcast, "The DM Guys"? Fellow bloggers @DaveTheGame, @chattydm, & @NewbieDM chat about different RPG topics. Those guys run a classy show. Can't thank them enough for that opportunity, and hope to be invited back again.
Hey! I did a guest post for @ThadeousC on his blog, "This is My Game". You can catch my guest "Ritualistically Speaking" article there.
Well, that's the news as fit to print for now.
Until next time...
Game excellently with one another.
Tuesday, June 08, 2010
Tomb of Horrors Update - 06/10
Greetings, All!
This is just a brief update to let you know I've added a couple of additional documents to the Tomb of Horrors collection I'm building.
In addition to encounter areas 1 & 2, I've also completed an introduction and encounter areas 3 & 4.
Feel free to click on the "My Publications" link on the right hand side of this page. You'll find all the Tomb of Horror stuff there as well as a lot more 4th Edition crunchy goodness.
As always, I appreciate any comments you might have.
Enjoy!
Until next time...
Game excellently with one another.
This is just a brief update to let you know I've added a couple of additional documents to the Tomb of Horrors collection I'm building.
In addition to encounter areas 1 & 2, I've also completed an introduction and encounter areas 3 & 4.
Feel free to click on the "My Publications" link on the right hand side of this page. You'll find all the Tomb of Horror stuff there as well as a lot more 4th Edition crunchy goodness.
As always, I appreciate any comments you might have.
Enjoy!
Until next time...
Game excellently with one another.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Tomb of Horrors - 4e (Areas 1 & 2)
Greetings, Kids!
If you'll remember a few weeks back, I posted my desire to retool the famous (infamous?) module by Mr. Gygax himself, The Tomb of Horrors.
Admittedly, it's a daunting task, because a number of rules changes have occurred since the module was first written. In addition, Wizards of the Coast is planning on launching their own retooling of this classic. However, after looking at the blurb for the product, I think they are going to try and treat the adventure as a mini-campaign setting (I have no evidence to support that idea, but that's how I interpreted it).
I'm not going that route. Instead, my intent is to try and do the best I can to remain faithful to the module as it was originally written - deadly, confusing, and occasionally unfathomable.
To that end, the first encounter (areas 1 and 2 on the original key) is complete. You can find that link here:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/31336546/ToHEnc01-02
I'll also post that link into my publications page so you can find it there as well.
Now the hard part.
I'm interested in feedback. Let me know what you think. No guarantees I'll agree with your assessment, but I'm interested in making this as cool as possible. Also, if there's any advice out there on better fonts, templates, or other design elements of the documents themselves, I'd be interested in that as well.
Also, as the spring and summer continue, I'll be doing 3-D builds of these encounters using Hirstarts blocks, so look forward to that.
Until next time...
Game excellently with one another.
If you'll remember a few weeks back, I posted my desire to retool the famous (infamous?) module by Mr. Gygax himself, The Tomb of Horrors.
Admittedly, it's a daunting task, because a number of rules changes have occurred since the module was first written. In addition, Wizards of the Coast is planning on launching their own retooling of this classic. However, after looking at the blurb for the product, I think they are going to try and treat the adventure as a mini-campaign setting (I have no evidence to support that idea, but that's how I interpreted it).
I'm not going that route. Instead, my intent is to try and do the best I can to remain faithful to the module as it was originally written - deadly, confusing, and occasionally unfathomable.
To that end, the first encounter (areas 1 and 2 on the original key) is complete. You can find that link here:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/31336546/ToHEnc01-02
I'll also post that link into my publications page so you can find it there as well.
Now the hard part.
I'm interested in feedback. Let me know what you think. No guarantees I'll agree with your assessment, but I'm interested in making this as cool as possible. Also, if there's any advice out there on better fonts, templates, or other design elements of the documents themselves, I'd be interested in that as well.
Also, as the spring and summer continue, I'll be doing 3-D builds of these encounters using Hirstarts blocks, so look forward to that.
Until next time...
Game excellently with one another.
Monday, January 11, 2010
It's A Trap! Compilation Complete!
Greetings!
If you're following me on Twitter, you already know this; but I finally finished the 4e Heroic trap compilation that I previously published as a series of articles right here on this very site.
I had some problems with making the trap information readable here on the site, so the handy .pdf document that I've compiled and placed here:
should be easy to read and use.
Hopefully, you'll find some use for some of these traps. If you happen to use one (or a version of one) in your campaign (regardless of which game you play), I'd love to hear about it.
Until next time...
Game excellently with one another.
Tuesday, January 05, 2010
Enhancing 4e Skills
Greetings!
Just a quick post to let everyone know that I managed to condense the last few blogs on skills into a nice easy to read .pdf file for download.
It's free!
Get the document here: http://www.scribd.com/doc/24836641/Enhancing-4e-Skills
Until next time...
Game excellently with one another.
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