1001 Bobs

For quite some time now I’ve found the format in which adventure design is presented to be outdated.  Sure the Delve format had a large impact in the last few years since its debut in some of Wizards of the Coast’s later 3.5 D&D adventures. Even that, however, stuck to the format of a book be it in hard copy or pdf format.  Dungeon-a-day.com is actually the most recent example of a very forward thinking designer pushing the bounds of what is possible. Dungeon-a-day.com offers a hyperlinked website with new encounters updated every weekday. The site features fresh new content from the mind of Monte Cook and its presented in a much more modern format.

But where too next? Where can today’s modern web tools such as XHTML and HTML5.0 push design forward?

I recently read two very informative articles by two of RPG Blogging’s rising stars, Phillipe Menard (aka @ChattyDM) and Dave Chalker (aka @DavetheGame) that explored some of the possible scenarios that set my mind aflame.  Here were two popular vocal proponents advocating the same revolution in adventure design that I had been craving.

(continue reading…)

Castle Shadowcrag © Wolfgang Baur, 2009

Wolfgang Baur is running another round of Open Design so this is the perfect time to get in on it.  This time is a little different as there are three proposals for people to vote on and any one or even all three can progress should they achieve enough funding.  I’ll outline below all 3 proposals, but only one is being written in 4e ~ Courts of the Shadow Fey! The Scathsidhe return from both the Ennie nominated Castle Shadowcrag and Wrath of the River King.

(continue reading…)

RPG Blog Carnival

Just sliding in under the gun, here is my entry in the Steampunk RPG Blog Carnival, being put on by Mad Brew. When putting together my last game prior to the launch of 4e, my players decided to go with an Iron Kingdoms game. It was an intriguing setting that I’d never played so I was game. Unfortunately we only play once a month at most so it wasn’t too long before 4e came out and I was hooked. Deciding not to abandon the campaign we’d already started and given that the characters were all still 1st level we converted. It wasn’t too difficult to find resources on Privateer Press’ boards for fan conversions.

So for the carnival I thought I’d post up some links and feedback on the resources I found and how they played in the game before it ended in a TPK (my only one ever). Though it is a story for another day, I will say that it was not because of the 4e Iron Kingdoms fan resources used.

Trollkin ~ link

Trollkin were one of the easier conversions but I think Steamworks over at Privateer Press’ boards did a great job of bringing in the eating habits of these big thugs and their survivability. Their powers seem a little too close to dwarves in the end, but definitely playable.  Our player didn’t take it but a feat that grants 5 temp hit points for every healing surge spent seems like a bit much. I think I’d tone that down a bit, but overall well done.

Gun Mage ~ link

Gun mages are definitely one of the coolest elements of the setting and one of my players definitely wanted to keep that style of character in the conversion.  Again Steamworks came through with what I found was the most balanced conversion of the class.  There are a number (you can find them in the general list of links below) but his was well put together.  The damage is a little on the high side but overall it was balanced in play as an Arcane Striker. The class has only been built for heroic play but in the end that was perfect for our use.

Firearms ~ link

I’m not sure if Scott’s work was out while we were playing, but having seen a number of firearms rules I think those he posted at A Butterfly Dreaming are the best available.  They are balanced, creative, and definitely useful. I will likely include them in my Zobeck clockwork game in the near future.

General Link List

Steampunk has definitely invaded my gaming group as they are all enjoying games in that vein. Despite the lack of official or 3rd party published resources, there is a large fan following. I’m sure that many more blog posts will join those resources in this month’s carnival roundup.

Alya Portrait by Apis Teicher

Inspired by the work of The Core Mechanic, Mad Brew Labs, At-Will who have started a project they call Portrait of a Villain, as well as by Sly Flourish‘s Twitter DM Tips, I’ve decided to create a twitter project of my own.  For the moment I call it Twitter Villains, though I might migrate it into a broader project in the future. I have lots of ideas on creating more than just villains in 140 characters or less. This is also an attempt to tighten my writing skills and garner interest in my blog.

With Twitter Villains, I’ve posted my first one on twitter already under my account ~ twitter.com/erekose13. I’ll post a log ever once in a while though you can always follow the twitter column under the tag #villain. The format for each post will remain the same: #villain Name; description; motivations & goals.  Stats are purposely not included anywhere as they would defeat the purpose of a twitter column.  Though popular posts might garner a full treatment here on the blog.

Without further ado, here is the first twitter villain:

#villain Elegast; quickling w/billowing smokelike hair who hunts fey on the mortal world due to a misguided love of the fomorian Lord Gryme