A Life Full of Adventure

Every-other Saturday I play with a group on Google+. We have been playing in Dwimmermount, but sometimes, for various reasons, that game doesn't happen. We thought we'd have a backup game ready. Another player wanted to run T&T. Here's a write-up from the first session. My PC Our PCs don't have names. They awoke with some amnesia and one PC refused to take a made-up name, so we all go by "The Strong One," "The Smart One," or "The Tough One." I'm the tough one. Encounters and dungeon dressing We awoke in a chamber with large air, fire, water, earth murals. So far that doesn't mean anything to us. We fought some skeletons that were following us and more that were held in a large broom/restocking closet. I gave them the chance to surrender, but they didn't seem interested. We fought little wooden posing mannequins, but all I could picture in my head was Little Wooden Boy from The Tick cartoon (pictured below). We ar...

I just filled my last gaming slot for SnowCon 2013. I'm in all RPGs; I play plenty of board games the rest of the year. Here's my schedule: Saturday 9:00 - 1:00 Running Dwimmermount using Ambition & Avarice 2:00 - 6:00 Playing Serenity: The Whitefall Tempest 7:00 - 11:00 Playing The Tick: A Filthy Return Sunday 9:00 - 1:00 Playing D&D Next Playtest Adventure 2:00 - 6:00 Playing Advanced Hackmaster I should be a good time, if a bit of a short convention!

I think Larry Elmore sends out far too many Kickstarter updates trying to get the average Joe to spend a ridiculous amount of money...HOWEVER... I really do believe this sketchbook at $50 is a no-brainer for any gamer who can afford it. If you haven't pledged yet, the book is up to 336 pages. In my opinion, the rest of the stretch goals are gravy compared to the increasing page count. So, do what I did: Pledge $49 and ignore the attempts to get you to spend more. By the time August rolls around it will be well worth it. http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1488741362/larry-elmore-art-the-complete-elmore-artbook

It has been decided that on nights our Dwimmermount game cannot be held, for any reason, we will delve into the madness that is Tunnels & Trolls. I have an older version of the game (5.5, it appears), but I have not read it yet. Therefore, the book has made it to the side of my bed, and I should be able to look it over tomorrow. We already rolled up stats, and I have a pretty decent constitution at 19. Now I just need to read the book and the GM's home-rules blog to figure out exactly what my stats mean. It should be fun.

May you get enough loot to level up!

A while back I posted about my friend's home-brewed world for D&D 2e. I have some of his notes. Since so much has to do with Dragons, I thought I'd share what I found about the Wyrm Lords: (I'm still trying to get him to give me a name for this world, making tagging and finding these posts easier...) The Great Wyrm Lords Silver – Tundra of Northland Red – Mountains Black – Swamps of the west Green – The forests/taiga Gold – Deceased. Destroyed in the revolution Gray – Coastal areas Blue – The oceans Yellow – The deserts White – Tundra of Southland They once ruled the whole known world using humans, dwarves, elves, and Halflings as servants and food (a delicacy). About 700 winters ago, a small force of Drakoons lead the humanoids in revolt against the Wyrm Lords who had become complacent in their 900 winters rule of domination. The 10 Drakoons and their humanoid armies drove the Wyrm Lords from the Eastern lands. The 10 Drakoons began to divide the east under th...

I've had a couple experiences now playing games via Google Hangouts and Roll20.net . What I like about the system is that you can pre-load your maps and set up a fog of war. You also assign each character a token, along with each NPC/monster. You can also set up tables and the like in rooms. Since the WarHammer adventure I'm most familiar with is The Oldenhaller Contract right from the back of the 1st edition book, I've been thinking about loading the maps and getting a group together. What's good about this adventure is that you can complete it in a sitting or two. There doesn't have to be any long term commitment from the players. I think it would be great practice getting me used to running Hangout games instead of just playing them, and also great practice using the software. I wouldn't expect to be ready to go before next summer, due to school, but it's exciting to think about. If you want to leave any tips, feel free.

Or your city? Or your adventure? My friend is taking his time in coming up with just the right name for the D&D world he created. He told me that naming a whole world is a big deal. I had thought about that earlier and was ready with the response: "Seriously? Ours is called Earth." When naming your world, do you take time to methodically pick the perfect name that integrates perfectly with the setting you have created? Or, do you grab the first generic term that seems appropriate? I'm interested in this process.

I was at the gas station today when I saw a random object on the ground near the pump. Naturally I started thinking about gaming. What if the party just randomly found an item on the ground while they were walking toward a completely different goal? What if it quickly became apparent that this item was valuable? What if amazing things started happening as soon as they took possession of the item, so much so that they might not even want to look for the owner, let alone give the item back when they found the owner? Now, what if "random" encounters started happening to them? Groups appear out of (seemingly) nowhere, demanding the return of the item. More of one creature type than another always ends up showing up in the middle of night watch. Other seemingly unconnected events happen to the party. The party can ignore these events (well, deal with them and ignore the larger consequences) and continue on their original quest easily enough...just with a few distractions her...

OK, so these aren't random and weren't asked to be when the meme started. These are the 7 rpgs I have played the most since I began gaming. They are in order of the ones I've played the most, starting at the left. This is also the order I have DMed the most, up through Basic. I haven't GMed Earthdawn, Shadowrun, or C&C. I think the only game I've run that's not here is Ambition & Avarice .

This design caught my eye when I was on the main page in Blogger. It seemed very season-appropriate. The only thing I wonder about is how the white type on red background effects readers. Let me know.

A while back I posted about my friend's home-brewed world for D&D 2e. I have some of his notes. It's about time for the write up on elves: (I'm trying to get him to give me a name for this world, making tagging and finding these posts easier...) Elves The Elven Kingdom has no name. It’s largest “city” is called Aveneliest. The Elves searched for their past for many years, and have since cultivated a large forest of the greatest trees seen in the known world. The Elves have become a peaceful and fanciful race. They commune with nature. It is said that they have regained their contact with the lost faerie kin as well as the power Sylphs of Wood, Wind, Water, Fire, and Earth. An Elf will only fight in self defense or if someone is harming nature and the natural balance of things. (Note: Another commonly held myth is that Elves will go berserk if they see a living being’s freedom being restrained. This is usually scoffed at by most scholars.) Elven subraces (only...

A couple weeks ago I saw a #7randomcomics meme going around Google+. I like pictures of books/gaming material/comics, etc. so I decided to grab my phone and join in. These were the last 7 comics I had read. I do have some non- KODT comics, but they are buried away. I haven't "collected" comics in many, many years, and I wasn't much of a collector even when I did. These, though, I don't want to live without.

Last night I was finally able to play in a WarHammer Google+ Hangout game . This is significant for me, as WarHammer Fantasy Roleplay is my game of choice. As fun as Dwimmermount or Barrowmaze are using the Labyrinth Lord ruleset (and they are fun), my heart will always belong to WarHammer. One significant change for me was that this was the first time I had ever played under the second edition rules. I can probably run first edition without a book at this point, and I own second edition, but I had never played. Some things threw me, but the group was nice enough to walk me through. Here's a bit of a recap: My PC: I haven't written too much of a background to date, but I am playing a Troll Slayer. Sufficed to say, all I really felt I needed to know going in was my name, what weapon I could put in my hand, and where the nearest monster was. I'll try to come up with more before the next sitting. My companions: A Brettonian Knight An Elf Student A Dwarf Prieste...

A week or so ago, James at Grognardia challenged everyone to snap a picture of their go-to RPG reference books they keep close at hand. Mine aren't too close at hand, and half are hidden/obscured by a filing cabinet. I did gather all my WarHammer Fantasy Roleplay stuff together, though, to take a picture. It's my favorite game, and I have a fair amount of books. I didn't include anything in binders. Yesterday I found a few books that didn't make it into the picture. They are the 2e books Karak Azgal, Spires of Altdorf, and Ashes of Middenheim. Feel free to link to your bookshelf photo!

My PC: Spade the fighter of somewhat dubious fighting ability (when the stats don't lead anywhere else, you can always be a fighter...I don't have a PR bonus, though). When he's not fighting to pay the bills, he's a hobbyist archaeologist. I thought it fit the Dwimmermount premise. My henchman: Ranaulf. He didn't do anything notable this time out. Encounters and dungeon dressing: The oil we burned off from under the door was back by the time we returned. We soaked up a path through the middle using dungeon dust, dirt, and debris. The cavern we were looking for was on the other side. There were more little creatures (the emaciated gremlins) in the caverns. They ran when we slayed 3 of them in the first round. We found gremlin(?) treasure hidden in a hollowed out stalagmite. Actually, a hireling found it. He's a good one, that hireling. We found the key to the treasure room bricked up in a semi-worked part of the caverns. We ignored the rest of the c...

I don't run too many sci-fi or space opera type games, but I am gathering idea for the day I initiate my Cascade Failure adventures. Here are some ideas I got from Prometheus: Have a group android (in CF, it could be a Golem). That android may be completely trustworthy, or it may have its own agenda. It should definitely start out trustworthy, at least, giving the others no reason at all  not to trust it. Alien or parasitic infestation is always a good fall back trope. I bet that would freak our your PCs. In any game, in any movie, when the round object is rolling right at you... don't run directly in its path; run perpendicular! Seriously people. I'm getting sick of this.

The questions was raised in a Google+ Community about how each of us GMs handle the Skaven "conspiracy," (that is, the fact that the general populous isn't supposed to know they exist, though there are many veterans returning from the field and many people who know dwarves).  Here's how I do it: I have Skaven well known by adventurers, but only a bedtime story to the normal populous. Adventurers try not to worry the populous by pretty much not talking about it. There's more than enough other stuff to worry about in the world. It's like a "don't ask/don't tell" policy. The people who know about them don't tell about them. The people that don't know about them don't ask about them. It's a sort of willful ignorance. However, I have a feeling that, deep down, every citizen of the Empire knows that Skaven really exist.

as·per·gil·lum . noun: a brush or instrument for sprinkling holy water Morning star :  A weapon consisting of a heavy ball set with spikes, attached to a staff and NOT suspended from one by a chain. The Morning star is a rigid weapon, sometimes called a holy water sprinkler. Every cleric should have one of these, with extra vials of holy water...just in case.

I"ve wanted a nice header image for a little while now. I thought I'd try to get a piece of Eric Quigley's , but his stuff that match what I'm looking for is all copywrited by someone else. I'm looking for something a bit lighter (brighter), a panorama of possible adventure. What I have above is pretty good, though it doesn't fit the space perfectly and is a bit darker in color than I would have liked. Otherwise, it's a pretty good piece from a cartoon that really inspires me. If you have any suggestions, I'd love to hear them.

As a first level (fantasy) adventurer, I don't want to fight any more kobolds and giant rats. I'd rather fight ________.

A while back I posted about my friend's home-brewed world for D&D 2e. I have some of his notes. Here's the write up on humans: (I'm trying to get him to give me a name for this world, making tagging and finding these posts easier...) The humans developed two main kingdoms. The western one is an entirely militant type of state, for they are constantly fighting the forces of various Wyrm Lords. These people are called Wolgarians. They have an elite knighthood of Drassnor riders. A Drassnor is a dragon-like creature, only a mammal instead of a lizard (Note: to know more, ask the DM). The eastern kingdom is a place of learning and merchantry and is called Vaselhof. Vasalviars (as they like to be called) are ruled by a conclave of wizards and sorceresses. Vaselhof is the land the Dragon Lords truly fear for they have not learned yet how to counter the devastating power of human magi.

Sorry, I see it was rude of me to post a numbered map without a key.  We have what type of building each is, the career of the person there, and most people named.  The people in italics are PCs in our WarHammer games. 1) Random PC house —“Public” 2) Rural House --Private a. F’lore —Dragonslayer Dwarf b. K’nar —Paladin of Arianka Elf c. K’shan —Wizard Elf 3) Prospector’s —Lewis  4) Noble’s Estate —Private a. James—Noble (Retired Mercenary) b. Agatha--Spouse c. Julie--Child d. Adam--Child e. Patrick—Squire (acts as Man at Arms) f. Toby—Servant 5) Barn to Noble’s Estate—Private 6) Hobbly General Store a. Samuel—Storekeep b. Edith—Spouse c. Jody—Daughter 7) Milliner’s a. Geary—Owner/Operator b. Dawn—Spouse c. Marc—Son d. Brett—Son e. Marie—Daughter 8) Remote Cabin a. Frederick—Trapper 9) ...

Apparently I have never shared my drawing of Hobbly on this blog.  Hobbly is a small frontier town set in  The Empire, The Old World of WarHammer Fantasy Roleplay. A friend and I spent a day drawing it up and then populating it. Hobbly is the place I start all my new games. Just about every PC who has ever played under me has spent at least a little time in Hobbly. This means I have built up quite a rich little history of the town. I want to start sharing some of that on this blog in the same way that other bloggers share their creations. For now, I'll just throw up the photo. If I can get it to "Click to zoom" then I'll leave it at that. If I can't, then I'll add a link to a Google Doc.  In the future, I'll post the list of the population (over 400...at least before the last big battle in town, but more on that later). I'll also post some nearby adventure locales, and some of the history of the town, as lived by the PCs. And with some color t...

Hey, Saturday. I'm tired. Have a Bloodthirster of Khorne.  (I wish I knew where the Bloodthirster mini I painted ended up...).