Haven't played anything in quite a while, most of this year. Tried a few times and it felt contrived. Was busy for a while with work and general life chaos, etc. But honestly, I didn't feel much inclined to try and get something together. My game-writing also declined for a while, though there were a couple of milestones reached (i.e. some good tables) - so I'm beginning to wonder: have I become an "ivory-tower" theorist?
Gaming exhaustion, that's the conclusion I've come to. I am liking the results of what little time I do spend on world-building, table creation, etc... but actually sitting down and playing something seems totally alien to me. Weird. Probably just a phase. Again.
If I remember correctly, it would have been somewhere in 2004 that I started getting back into game-invention (not the invention of games, but invention within the system of a particular game) - Rolemaster and Traveller. 6 years. Stumbling across the blog-o-verse certainly kicked things to a new level for me... and now? I dunno. So to those of you who read this, I'll apologize. Been quiet around here and may very well stay that way. And I am moving, so the ol' double-whammy of nothing to post & no internet (for a while) may prevail.
Take care!
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
[OT] small story
Some backstory: My old band is playing a festival here in Lexington. We are scheduled to play between two bands, the name of the first I cannot remember, the second being Death (from Detroit, not Florida!).
I was passing this information to the guitarist, said something like "We're between... something and Death...", to which he replied "Aren't we always?"
Just thought it was funny.
I was passing this information to the guitarist, said something like "We're between... something and Death...", to which he replied "Aren't we always?"
Just thought it was funny.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
out of it
man - it's been a minute since I've posted here, and I think I might really kinda be out of it for a while. I started my own gaming 'renaissance' in 2006, but right now, the other parts of my life demand a renaissance, and I'm just not finding myself inspired by gaming. So, I think this blog may lie still for a long time, perhaps at some point I may get back into the swing of things - I don't know. But I'll probably still be lurking around and dropping asinine comments on ya'll good and interesting blogs sometimes.
take care.
-Greg
take care.
-Greg
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
AD&D thought of the day
1st level magic user. Plenty of fun as is, however, I've been thinking about a way to let starting wizards make temporary magic items. How's this...
1. cast a Nystul's magic aura on an object, lasts 1 day/level
2. cast a Find Familiar (doesn't count against the 'once a year' stipulation). Casting time is 1-24 hours. The familiar is bound to the object with the aura on it.
3. cast whatever spell you want the object to store or use after that.
It will have as many charges as the caster's intelligence-level (diminishing returns)
kinda cute.
1. cast a Nystul's magic aura on an object, lasts 1 day/level
2. cast a Find Familiar (doesn't count against the 'once a year' stipulation). Casting time is 1-24 hours. The familiar is bound to the object with the aura on it.
3. cast whatever spell you want the object to store or use after that.
It will have as many charges as the caster's intelligence-level (diminishing returns)
kinda cute.
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Talislanta needs your help & Flash Gordon
Totally unconnected, and in place of blogging anything of substance...
There was an hour long animated Flash Gordon 'movie' on TV in the 80's and it's pretty cool. Stays pretty true to original source, wasn't made specifically for kids (read: has dancing girls). Worth an hour's watch
AND here's a quote from Talislanta.com
I'd help if I could, can you?
There was an hour long animated Flash Gordon 'movie' on TV in the 80's and it's pretty cool. Stays pretty true to original source, wasn't made specifically for kids (read: has dancing girls). Worth an hour's watch
AND here's a quote from Talislanta.com
Talislanta.com In Need Of File Storage!
By MARQUES | Published: MAY 28, 2010
Our current web host only allows for a single master account for FTP’ing. We are now in a position where we really need access to multiple FTP accounts and we’re convinced there is noway to work this out with our current webhost. Is there any chance that somebody out there can help us by providing file hosting and access for Talislanta.com? Our current set of files is around 15GB’s. This will grow as the Talislanta Download Archive comes online and continues to expand. I’m not certain what our monthly bandwidth usage is but I can check with Adam if needed. Any help or suggestions would be most appreciated!I'd help if I could, can you?
Saturday, May 22, 2010
just found Frederik Pohl's blog
Here and read it top to bottom, back and forth. Love it when random wanderings lead to treasures such as this!
Monday, May 3, 2010
It's the little things...
I'd like to thank the people responsible for the Basic Fantasy RPG, for OSRIC, Labyrinth Lord, Swords & Wizardry, and also those who've taken the opportunity created by the initiative of the cloners to make the gaming environment become robust and diverse in the last two years.
Great time to game!
Great time to game!
Friday, April 30, 2010
Saturday, April 24, 2010
12 touchstones of old-school modules
Decided to reprint this cool list from ENWorld and Knights & Knaves. Enjoy!
1) environmental hazards -- slippery floors, rooms that flood, narrow ledges over steep drops, rooms that are excessively hot or cold, rooms or corridors filled with poison (or otherwise magical) gasses, etc.
2) combat encounters should generally be with baseline (or near-baseline) monsters with difficulty enhanced by the circumstances of the encounter (i.e. monsters have set up ambushes, monsters forcing the PCs to fight in unfavorable surroundings, teams of similar (or dissimilar) monster-types working together, etc.) rather than through templates or class-leveling
3) at least one encounter that if played as a straight combat will totally overmatch the party, but which can be avoided or circumvented by some clever means
4) at least one puzzle, trick, or obstacle that requires the players to figure it out, rather than being solvable by a die-roll
5) at least one item, location, or creature that causes some kind of significant permanent effect (permanently raise/lower stats or hp, permanently change race, gender, or alignment, permanently grant or take away magic items, etc.) determined by a random roll on a table -- with possibilities for both good and bad effects, depending on the roll
6) at least one item of treasure that is cursed or has other detrimental side-effects on the owner/possessor
7) some sort of "false climax" where inattentive players will think they've won the adventure and either let their guard down or go home, while clever players will realize this couldn't have really been the climax
8) at least one disorienting effect. teleporter, mirror trap, [swiveling] floor, or maze like monster. up is down too.
9) an area where resources are an issue. wet torches or wind blowing them out. oxygen low or having to hold your breath to swim [through] a tunnel.
10) an area that has items of value. but they are too large to transport. or cause someone to have his hands full at an ambush.
11) a creature that appears to be something it is not. Some examples: Lurker above, mimic, [cloaker], wolf in sheep's clothing, doppelganger, gas spore (perhaps my favorite), etc.
12. One encounter (no more, no less) that makes absolutely no logical sense, that the DM completely leaves up to the players' imagination to explain.
(1-7 are from T Foster
8-10 are from Diaglo
11 is from Xyanthon, and
12 is from rogatny,
original research-fu courtesy of piper)
1) environmental hazards -- slippery floors, rooms that flood, narrow ledges over steep drops, rooms that are excessively hot or cold, rooms or corridors filled with poison (or otherwise magical) gasses, etc.
2) combat encounters should generally be with baseline (or near-baseline) monsters with difficulty enhanced by the circumstances of the encounter (i.e. monsters have set up ambushes, monsters forcing the PCs to fight in unfavorable surroundings, teams of similar (or dissimilar) monster-types working together, etc.) rather than through templates or class-leveling
3) at least one encounter that if played as a straight combat will totally overmatch the party, but which can be avoided or circumvented by some clever means
4) at least one puzzle, trick, or obstacle that requires the players to figure it out, rather than being solvable by a die-roll
5) at least one item, location, or creature that causes some kind of significant permanent effect (permanently raise/lower stats or hp, permanently change race, gender, or alignment, permanently grant or take away magic items, etc.) determined by a random roll on a table -- with possibilities for both good and bad effects, depending on the roll
6) at least one item of treasure that is cursed or has other detrimental side-effects on the owner/possessor
7) some sort of "false climax" where inattentive players will think they've won the adventure and either let their guard down or go home, while clever players will realize this couldn't have really been the climax
8) at least one disorienting effect. teleporter, mirror trap, [swiveling] floor, or maze like monster. up is down too.
9) an area where resources are an issue. wet torches or wind blowing them out. oxygen low or having to hold your breath to swim [through] a tunnel.
10) an area that has items of value. but they are too large to transport. or cause someone to have his hands full at an ambush.
11) a creature that appears to be something it is not. Some examples: Lurker above, mimic, [cloaker], wolf in sheep's clothing, doppelganger, gas spore (perhaps my favorite), etc.
12. One encounter (no more, no less) that makes absolutely no logical sense, that the DM completely leaves up to the players' imagination to explain.
(1-7 are from T Foster
8-10 are from Diaglo
11 is from Xyanthon, and
12 is from rogatny,
original research-fu courtesy of piper)
Thursday, April 22, 2010
AD&D Druids 2
Telecanter asked "So, any ideas on mechanics or guidelines to emphasize this view of druids in play?" to last post, and as usual, some half and quarter -formed ideas at best. Druids and bards both have proven to be character classes I have much difficulty 'fitting in' - finding an interpretation I'm comfortable with - probably because they are the ones that imply a closer relation to earth history and culture than the others, so there's more baggage attached to them that way than I should bother thinking about...
The only tinkering I've done with the druid class was for Tunnels and Trolls, a system I have an easier time inventing with. Essentially, though, all I did was port over the 1e druid and throw a few more spells into the mix (spells to compel truth, to enforce pacts and agreements (kinda geas-light), and a couple of others that downplayed the nature side of the character type, played up their ability to act as judges)
So, ideas on playing up the traditional social roles of druids (in a totally fantastic 1e society/world anyway!)...
By the book, every druid will have a charisma of 15 or more. Perhaps the druid should start off with henchmen - traditionalists who rely on the character for guidance. At 15 charisma, maximum henchmen is 7, so maybe d4 or d6 henchies? Some players like having henchmen, some don't - and there's obviously some other issues with this, namely - that's potentially a pretty powerful gang for a 1st level character to command!
But this could be used to show from the start that druids are social, and could serve as a sort of foreshadowing to the intricacies of advancing through the ranks of the druidic 'church'.
The church? The whole hierarchy of druids thing. Without going into the difficulties involved in trying to play the 'organization' by-the-book, consider that each 12th level druid will have 'an entourage of three underlings'. The 12th level druid with the least experience points has an entourage of 3 1st level druids. I assume that as these low level druids rise in experience, they are passed to those 12th level druids with more experience than their previous supervisor. Perhaps then, the freshly rolled druid begins the game with a 12th level "patron"?
Well - for what purpose(s) does this organization exist? Are there more druids in the world than can be accounted for in the organization? Open questions. Let's assume that the answer is no for the time being, that all druids exist in underling/supervisor relations. Doing the mathematics to find out how many druids exist should be possible, but it not the kind of thing I want to go into right now (ever?) - I guess it seems more important to me to try to define the goals and purposes of those who follow The Great Druid. What druids in general strive for is spelled out somewhat (paraphrasing: "..to strengthen, protect, and revitalize... living, growing things."), but how specifically.
The biggest chicken-bone to me, at this point, becomes druids vs clerics. While I don't like the idea that druids are just "clerics but different", the problem that comes up is they know that the gods exist. So how do they get along with clerics? Would not (at least some of) the gods hold a druid's refusal to worship them as an affront? What has prevented wrathful, emotional gods in a pique from wiping druidism of the face of the green earth? Does the druid see a cleric's miracle cynically, or do the gods and their worshipers fit into the 'natural order of things' (as a druid sees it)?
Obviously, as much as a cleric is powered by something (gods & demons, etc) so to is the druid (nature & elements (?)), and if clerics and druids are to co-exist, the nature of their relationship, and the messy cosmological questions that arise need to be addressed.
In a way, Moorcock's multiverse seems a good place to find a 1e druid, dedicated to Balance with a capital B, pacting with Beast & Elemental Lords...
Sorry - no real suggestions worth much here, just a bunch of questions mostly. I'll have to keep working on this more...
The only tinkering I've done with the druid class was for Tunnels and Trolls, a system I have an easier time inventing with. Essentially, though, all I did was port over the 1e druid and throw a few more spells into the mix (spells to compel truth, to enforce pacts and agreements (kinda geas-light), and a couple of others that downplayed the nature side of the character type, played up their ability to act as judges)
So, ideas on playing up the traditional social roles of druids (in a totally fantastic 1e society/world anyway!)...
By the book, every druid will have a charisma of 15 or more. Perhaps the druid should start off with henchmen - traditionalists who rely on the character for guidance. At 15 charisma, maximum henchmen is 7, so maybe d4 or d6 henchies? Some players like having henchmen, some don't - and there's obviously some other issues with this, namely - that's potentially a pretty powerful gang for a 1st level character to command!
But this could be used to show from the start that druids are social, and could serve as a sort of foreshadowing to the intricacies of advancing through the ranks of the druidic 'church'.
The church? The whole hierarchy of druids thing. Without going into the difficulties involved in trying to play the 'organization' by-the-book, consider that each 12th level druid will have 'an entourage of three underlings'. The 12th level druid with the least experience points has an entourage of 3 1st level druids. I assume that as these low level druids rise in experience, they are passed to those 12th level druids with more experience than their previous supervisor. Perhaps then, the freshly rolled druid begins the game with a 12th level "patron"?
Well - for what purpose(s) does this organization exist? Are there more druids in the world than can be accounted for in the organization? Open questions. Let's assume that the answer is no for the time being, that all druids exist in underling/supervisor relations. Doing the mathematics to find out how many druids exist should be possible, but it not the kind of thing I want to go into right now (ever?) - I guess it seems more important to me to try to define the goals and purposes of those who follow The Great Druid. What druids in general strive for is spelled out somewhat (paraphrasing: "..to strengthen, protect, and revitalize... living, growing things."), but how specifically.
The biggest chicken-bone to me, at this point, becomes druids vs clerics. While I don't like the idea that druids are just "clerics but different", the problem that comes up is they know that the gods exist. So how do they get along with clerics? Would not (at least some of) the gods hold a druid's refusal to worship them as an affront? What has prevented wrathful, emotional gods in a pique from wiping druidism of the face of the green earth? Does the druid see a cleric's miracle cynically, or do the gods and their worshipers fit into the 'natural order of things' (as a druid sees it)?
Obviously, as much as a cleric is powered by something (gods & demons, etc) so to is the druid (nature & elements (?)), and if clerics and druids are to co-exist, the nature of their relationship, and the messy cosmological questions that arise need to be addressed.
In a way, Moorcock's multiverse seems a good place to find a 1e druid, dedicated to Balance with a capital B, pacting with Beast & Elemental Lords...
Sorry - no real suggestions worth much here, just a bunch of questions mostly. I'll have to keep working on this more...
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
AD&D Druids
I don't like the idea that druids have 'patron deities' in the same way as clerics. No thanks - that's cleric stuff (and not much to my liking for them anyway). This was one of my beefs with the Greyhawk setting - though there's plenty of other things I do like about the setting.
No, druids retain the old ways - which is to say a belief system (and source of power) more cthonic, deistic... to them, the forces of the universe are not anthropomorphic - I like to consider them to be perhaps more Nietzschean (in the "beyond good and evil" sense), not seeking a balance between good/evil, law/chaos - just disregarding them as meaningful constructs whatsoever. Where druids interact with society, I like to play them as chroniclers and overseers of oaths and pacts - where they are rulers they apply reason evenly, but rarely are rulers.
In my effort to not be quite so consumed by the internet and to read physical books more regularly again, I lit upon a book called "The Druids" by Peter Berresford Ellis which was a good read, an attempt to examine the role(s) druids played in their time, while admitting the representation historically skewed by Roman conquerers and Christian converters... I thought it was an interesting read. In general it portrayed druids as taking on a number of important social roles, moreso than overtly religious duties (though reliable details of druidic cosmology/philosophy/etc are few and far between).
(I could not find much critical assessment of this book on the web, but here's a page that someone put up - a review which I find myself largely in agreement with.)
The AD&D druid has always been one of my favorite classes to play, but one I've always wanted to find a better fit for when thinking about settings and campaigns and such. Still working on it.
No, druids retain the old ways - which is to say a belief system (and source of power) more cthonic, deistic... to them, the forces of the universe are not anthropomorphic - I like to consider them to be perhaps more Nietzschean (in the "beyond good and evil" sense), not seeking a balance between good/evil, law/chaos - just disregarding them as meaningful constructs whatsoever. Where druids interact with society, I like to play them as chroniclers and overseers of oaths and pacts - where they are rulers they apply reason evenly, but rarely are rulers.
In my effort to not be quite so consumed by the internet and to read physical books more regularly again, I lit upon a book called "The Druids" by Peter Berresford Ellis which was a good read, an attempt to examine the role(s) druids played in their time, while admitting the representation historically skewed by Roman conquerers and Christian converters... I thought it was an interesting read. In general it portrayed druids as taking on a number of important social roles, moreso than overtly religious duties (though reliable details of druidic cosmology/philosophy/etc are few and far between).
(I could not find much critical assessment of this book on the web, but here's a page that someone put up - a review which I find myself largely in agreement with.)
The AD&D druid has always been one of my favorite classes to play, but one I've always wanted to find a better fit for when thinking about settings and campaigns and such. Still working on it.
Friday, April 16, 2010
What would you do for your game?
From: Ugliest tattoos
Would you go this far? I would not.
HOWEVER...
When I was a youngin' I read and re-read the Lord of the Rings obsessively. Many times.
Then when I was 17 (and smoking a lot of pot) I decided I'd give myself a tattoo. Hmmm.... what to do, what to do... where to put it...
Long story short (-1 ball point pen, -some India Ink, -1 needle and a little thread) I went with Gandalf's mark on the rock near Weathertop (The Khuzdul 'G' rune with dots in the cardinal points) on the back of my left hand.
As it turns out, I did not have much native talent for tattooing. It's faded over the years and most people do not notice it (home made cheapie tattoos like this do not last well unless you go over it a few times at least).
Dedication. Jeez...
While not blogging...
I spent a lot of time poring through old messages on some of the larger, older D&D message boards. A lot of good stuff there, also a lot of drama (as per usual it seems, *ack* dragonsfoot *ack* (strictly a read-only board for me)). Anyone else do this?
For example: take one poster who has been around for a while and who you think is insightful/interesting, and then do a search for their posts. Go back to their first post, and find the thread titles that seem interesting... Obsessive? Creepy? I dunno - no harm done, and some really great ideas! I've done the same thing with some blogs too - particularly Jeff's Gameblog - go back a few years and it is still the best damm blog evah!
(also interesting in dredging through message boards is how conversation topics come up every few years)
I think I'm past the initial 'honeymoon' period of having a relatively stable internet connection - I'm maturing! It's a natural process, I am told... I think I'm past that stage where clicking links and reading everything all the time triggers that node of your brain that appreciates learning new things (often a 'false positive' on the internet...), so now... hmmm?
What to do with this internet?
BTW: does joethelawyer's wonderous imaginings crash anyone else's computer? It's strange and I cannot figure out why...
For example: take one poster who has been around for a while and who you think is insightful/interesting, and then do a search for their posts. Go back to their first post, and find the thread titles that seem interesting... Obsessive? Creepy? I dunno - no harm done, and some really great ideas! I've done the same thing with some blogs too - particularly Jeff's Gameblog - go back a few years and it is still the best damm blog evah!
(also interesting in dredging through message boards is how conversation topics come up every few years)
I think I'm past the initial 'honeymoon' period of having a relatively stable internet connection - I'm maturing! It's a natural process, I am told... I think I'm past that stage where clicking links and reading everything all the time triggers that node of your brain that appreciates learning new things (often a 'false positive' on the internet...), so now... hmmm?
What to do with this internet?
BTW: does joethelawyer's wonderous imaginings crash anyone else's computer? It's strange and I cannot figure out why...
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Title? OK: delicious avacado
Sometimes you just have to get away from the internet for a while - at least, sometimes I do. Otherwise I begin to get obsessive (in a less-than-optimally-healthy way) - so I've had a blog-sabbatical, and I feel refreshed. Got back to reading real books, and man did I get some good ones - Moorcock's Byzantium Endures, the first book of The Black Company, M. A. R. Barker's Man of Gold, Encounters with the Archdruid by John McPhee (who is our greatest living author if you ask me - his works, regardless of subject, have never failed me). Currently reading Moondust (talking to the astronauts who walked on the moon) and Under the Black Flag, "the romance and reality of life among the pirates". Next up is one I'm particularly excited about Ardneh's Sword by Fred Saberhagen - apparently a bridge story between Empire of the East and his Swords series... some of my favorite stuff!
Several gamish things have transpired while I've been unblogged. Acquired Rob Kuntz's Bottle City (and it is magnificent!) and the Ready Ref Sheets (finally). Thanks to a tip from Tavis I signed up for Paperbackswap a while back, and it's come through with the Rolemaster Companion II (in fantastic condition) and a late printing of the original cover AD&D Monster Manual (in bad shape, but FREE!). So at this point, I've regained all the 1st edition AD&D books that I want - Huzzah!
Started running a couple of friends through a dungeon a while back, but we haven't had time for any sessions recently. It was going well though, and hopefully we'll be able to restart in the near future. I talked them into testing out a dungeon, the kind of dungeon that is on the other side of a cursed scroll that teleports the reader and party somewhere obtuse. It's been a while since I ran AD&D, so I used the sessions to identify some of my rough spots, started to figure out how I want to handle things (initiative, higher level spells and some powerful magic items, etc... things I never really had the chance to adjudicate BITD).
Now I'm working on a small 'setting' - sort of a mini campaign area. It's been fun building things from scratch - generating a lot of information randomly and then building connections between them. The whole thing started out when I decided to generate some intelligent magic swords. I ended up with a powerful Holy Avenger that spoke several bizarre languages, and so to justify the sword's esoteric linguistic capabilities, designed its history. This established the presence of some powerful evil monsters (namely manticores and ogre magi). Anyway, I've been working on really fleshing out the populations in this area and it has been a lot of fun putting faith in the dice and establishing some story-threads afterwards.
The first Trollszine was published and proved to be a popular download. Felt great to have that come out - I have to admit that the whole Outlaw Press meltdown left me feeling very much like withdrawing from the internet gaming world - it was just such a let down and filled with personal acrimony and, frankly, that's not the kind of thing I need in the main distraction I have from real life (which all too often already has enough negativity to deal with). I got really wrapped up with that, and I think I needed to take a step back - so that's what I did.
If it wasn't for Joesky the Dungeon Brawler and Vaults of Nagoh, I don't know what I'd do!
Take care!
-G
Several gamish things have transpired while I've been unblogged. Acquired Rob Kuntz's Bottle City (and it is magnificent!) and the Ready Ref Sheets (finally). Thanks to a tip from Tavis I signed up for Paperbackswap a while back, and it's come through with the Rolemaster Companion II (in fantastic condition) and a late printing of the original cover AD&D Monster Manual (in bad shape, but FREE!). So at this point, I've regained all the 1st edition AD&D books that I want - Huzzah!
Started running a couple of friends through a dungeon a while back, but we haven't had time for any sessions recently. It was going well though, and hopefully we'll be able to restart in the near future. I talked them into testing out a dungeon, the kind of dungeon that is on the other side of a cursed scroll that teleports the reader and party somewhere obtuse. It's been a while since I ran AD&D, so I used the sessions to identify some of my rough spots, started to figure out how I want to handle things (initiative, higher level spells and some powerful magic items, etc... things I never really had the chance to adjudicate BITD).
Now I'm working on a small 'setting' - sort of a mini campaign area. It's been fun building things from scratch - generating a lot of information randomly and then building connections between them. The whole thing started out when I decided to generate some intelligent magic swords. I ended up with a powerful Holy Avenger that spoke several bizarre languages, and so to justify the sword's esoteric linguistic capabilities, designed its history. This established the presence of some powerful evil monsters (namely manticores and ogre magi). Anyway, I've been working on really fleshing out the populations in this area and it has been a lot of fun putting faith in the dice and establishing some story-threads afterwards.
The first Trollszine was published and proved to be a popular download. Felt great to have that come out - I have to admit that the whole Outlaw Press meltdown left me feeling very much like withdrawing from the internet gaming world - it was just such a let down and filled with personal acrimony and, frankly, that's not the kind of thing I need in the main distraction I have from real life (which all too often already has enough negativity to deal with). I got really wrapped up with that, and I think I needed to take a step back - so that's what I did.
If it wasn't for Joesky the Dungeon Brawler and Vaults of Nagoh, I don't know what I'd do!
Take care!
-G
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Why was Star Wars cool? One man's opinion:
Bear in mind that I was 6 or 7 when I saw it.
Anyway - the trash compactor. And the incidental music during the trash compaction.
Why did that particular scene ring the badass bell in my head when I saw it? Maybe that is just where the backlog of mind-blowings caught up with me. Maybe it's the peek into the implied backdrop (of course a Death Star will generate garbage - wonder what they do with it?). Pretty prosaic epiphany...
The Jawa music too was cool.
Anyway - the trash compactor. And the incidental music during the trash compaction.
Why did that particular scene ring the badass bell in my head when I saw it? Maybe that is just where the backlog of mind-blowings caught up with me. Maybe it's the peek into the implied backdrop (of course a Death Star will generate garbage - wonder what they do with it?). Pretty prosaic epiphany...
The Jawa music too was cool.
Friday, March 5, 2010
FLGS breaking news: The Griffon, South Bend Indiana
I grew up gaming in the Griffon Bookstore and have nothing but love and respect for the people that run it. Even did a brief email 'interview' with them a while back... I don't live there anymore, but a friend of mine sent me a link to an article in the newspaper there which confirms a long held suspicion of mine... The mild-mannered propriator of the Griffon might really be a Jedi.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Trollszine #1 is go!
TROLLSZINE #1
We got it on Flying Buffalo's page at RPGnow! Woot! (Couldn't do Lulu because Lulu don't like Mac generated PDFs)
It's free! And it's good!
Table of contents ...
Trolls Talk - by Dan Prentice
Trolls Regenerate - by Ken St Andre
The Trollgod Rants 1 - by M. E. Volmar
Selling Used Equipment - by Gary McCammon
Funny Shaped Dice and Massive Monsters - by Dan Prentice
Aeulungs Tale: Chapter 1 - by Tom Grimshaw
The Trollchefs Cookbook - by Salvatore Macri and Dan Prentice
Grumlahk - by Jeff Freels
The Trollgod Rants 2 - by M. E. Volmar
Roadhouse - by Greg Backus
TrollsZine Competition
The Blood War at Saxon - by Tom Grimshaw
Item! Item! - by Greg Backus and Dan Prentice
Dare to Daro - by Dan Prentice
Delverton: The Smithy - by Lee Reynoldson
The Game of the Sphinx - by Mike Tremaine
Going Solo - by Dan Prentice
The Restless Mausoleum - by Salvatore Macri
Good stuff - go get it!
We got it on Flying Buffalo's page at RPGnow! Woot! (Couldn't do Lulu because Lulu don't like Mac generated PDFs)
It's free! And it's good!
Table of contents ...
Trolls Talk - by Dan Prentice
Trolls Regenerate - by Ken St Andre
The Trollgod Rants 1 - by M. E. Volmar
Selling Used Equipment - by Gary McCammon
Funny Shaped Dice and Massive Monsters - by Dan Prentice
Aeulungs Tale: Chapter 1 - by Tom Grimshaw
The Trollchefs Cookbook - by Salvatore Macri and Dan Prentice
Grumlahk - by Jeff Freels
The Trollgod Rants 2 - by M. E. Volmar
Roadhouse - by Greg Backus
TrollsZine Competition
The Blood War at Saxon - by Tom Grimshaw
Item! Item! - by Greg Backus and Dan Prentice
Dare to Daro - by Dan Prentice
Delverton: The Smithy - by Lee Reynoldson
The Game of the Sphinx - by Mike Tremaine
Going Solo - by Dan Prentice
The Restless Mausoleum - by Salvatore Macri
Good stuff - go get it!
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
More Outlaw Press BS
Not only does Shipman decide to auction off his collection of collectible T&T stuff (and, by the way, the description he gave of the product is now gone, where he once purported it to be Ken's old copy) - he then rewards the bidding winner with a new copy of it instead.
Wow. He really must think he's teflon. Just wow...
Wow. He really must think he's teflon. Just wow...
Thursday, January 28, 2010
stopping solo play
I'm sorry Timeshadows I'm gonna have to stop running this for the time being. I think I'm probably gonna be off the internet for a while - there's a lot of personal shit going on over here right now and I just don't have the headspace right now. Thanks for playing though, it's been fun and helpful. Real world just took some ugly turns and I think I am not going to be on the net so much.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Monday, January 25, 2010
Good Ken St. Andre podcast
The Trollgod chats it up for a good hour or so.[EDIT: fixed the link noisms, oops!]
Saturday, January 23, 2010
(solo playtest) HT:7 Timeshadows
X). While watching the statuette, cautiously collect the coins only on the ground, and if successful, then go up the new stairs.
Roll 2d6 for amount of gold pieces collected. (Rolled 10).
Up the stairs, you arrive in the main room of the mausoleum, a small stone building with an open passage facing the town center. There are tattered tapestries and faded frescoes on the walls - it seems obvious that this place sees little traffic, just enough to keep a few torches lit.
A) go down to the shrine
B) go out to the town center.
Roll 2d6 for amount of gold pieces collected. (Rolled 10).
Up the stairs, you arrive in the main room of the mausoleum, a small stone building with an open passage facing the town center. There are tattered tapestries and faded frescoes on the walls - it seems obvious that this place sees little traffic, just enough to keep a few torches lit.
A) go down to the shrine
B) go out to the town center.
Friday, January 22, 2010
balance vs trade-offs
Trade offs win again!
There's a lot said (pro and con) about "game balance", and I think that most of the arguments in the pro column use 'character-power-equanimity' as a benchmark. I sit pretty comfortably in the con column here. I like the fact that there's not a strict 1:1 relationship between benefits/restrictions, possibilities/limitations of early D&D classes (and races if they are decoupled in that version).
The idea that a 4th level thief should be (by some metric I don't think I've understood) 'just as good' in some way as a 4th level Cleric/Fighter/etc is. In the end, I don't get it. Different classes are different...
The thought process leading up to this match up was to open up the PHB Attacks/round for fighters to the other classes too. On an abstract level, I like it
...but does this 'rob' the fighting man of something too iconic, class defining? I dunno - not so much for me. Fighting men will still be more effective in their attacks (to-hit progression, strength bonuses, etc) than the other classes, and I like to think of thieves and assassins (especially) as being more 'fighter-ly'... Moreover, fighters have the 'attack as many <1 HD as levels' thing which no other classes get... I dunno - just an idea, something nice to have around if some 12th level wizard thinks they should have gotten better at fending scaly goblins off with their dagger... at least I'll have a little logic already in place...
So, anyway - balance vs trade off? I doubt that anyone chooses their character's class based solely on the criteria of multiple attacks at higher level.
Ugh. another ramble.
There's a lot said (pro and con) about "game balance", and I think that most of the arguments in the pro column use 'character-power-equanimity' as a benchmark. I sit pretty comfortably in the con column here. I like the fact that there's not a strict 1:1 relationship between benefits/restrictions, possibilities/limitations of early D&D classes (and races if they are decoupled in that version).
The idea that a 4th level thief should be (by some metric I don't think I've understood) 'just as good' in some way as a 4th level Cleric/Fighter/etc is. In the end, I don't get it. Different classes are different...
The thought process leading up to this match up was to open up the PHB Attacks/round for fighters to the other classes too. On an abstract level, I like it
| Class | 1/round | 3/2 rounds | 2/round | |
| Cleric | 1-9 | 10-17 | 18+ | |
| Druid | 1-8 | 9-13 | 14 | |
| Fighter | 1-6 | 7-12 | 13+ | |
| Paladin | 1-6 | 7-12 | 13+ | |
| Ranger | 1-7 | 8-14 | 15+ | |
| Thief | 1-8 | 9-16 | 17+ | |
| Assassin | 1-7 | 8-14 | 15 | |
| Magic User | 1-10 | 11-20 | 21+ | |
| Illusionist | 1-10 | 11-20 | 21+ | |
| Monk | 1-3 | 6-8 | 9-10 |
...but does this 'rob' the fighting man of something too iconic, class defining? I dunno - not so much for me. Fighting men will still be more effective in their attacks (to-hit progression, strength bonuses, etc) than the other classes, and I like to think of thieves and assassins (especially) as being more 'fighter-ly'... Moreover, fighters have the 'attack as many <1 HD as levels' thing which no other classes get... I dunno - just an idea, something nice to have around if some 12th level wizard thinks they should have gotten better at fending scaly goblins off with their dagger... at least I'll have a little logic already in place...
So, anyway - balance vs trade off? I doubt that anyone chooses their character's class based solely on the criteria of multiple attacks at higher level.
Ugh. another ramble.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
(solo playtest) HT:6 Timeshadows
x). Take a torch and head for the stairs, padding quietly but quickly up.
You hear no noise from above and climb the wide stairwell, adding none. You find yourself facing another set of stairs leading up, on the far side of a small shrine room. Against the right wall is a pedestal holding several unlit candles and a small statuette - a forearm and hand clenched in fist, the thumb sculpted to extend and become a serpent rearing to strike. You see several coins on the pedestal and scattered on the floor nearby.
A) Go up the new stairs
B) Go down the old stairs
C) Collect coins
D) Light candles
E) Examine shrine & statuette more closely
X)
You hear no noise from above and climb the wide stairwell, adding none. You find yourself facing another set of stairs leading up, on the far side of a small shrine room. Against the right wall is a pedestal holding several unlit candles and a small statuette - a forearm and hand clenched in fist, the thumb sculpted to extend and become a serpent rearing to strike. You see several coins on the pedestal and scattered on the floor nearby.
A) Go up the new stairs
B) Go down the old stairs
C) Collect coins
D) Light candles
E) Examine shrine & statuette more closely
X)
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
(solo playtest) HT:5 Timeshadows
A). Stick to the space behind the statues and go the exit.
You pad your way quietly, stickling close to the wall, and come to a short passage leading to a larger hall. The unoccupied hall, lit by several torches at 20' intervals, extends to your left, and contains many plaques, honorariums, statues and scenes of relief carving, detailing the lives and adventures of the First Lords of the Keep. From your position, you see a stairwell leading upwards in the center of the opposite wall, and suspect another passage in the same wall, on the far side of the chamber.
A) Take a torch and examine the details of the chamber
B) Make for the stairs
C) Approach the far side of the room for a clearer view
X)
You pad your way quietly, stickling close to the wall, and come to a short passage leading to a larger hall. The unoccupied hall, lit by several torches at 20' intervals, extends to your left, and contains many plaques, honorariums, statues and scenes of relief carving, detailing the lives and adventures of the First Lords of the Keep. From your position, you see a stairwell leading upwards in the center of the opposite wall, and suspect another passage in the same wall, on the far side of the chamber.
A) Take a torch and examine the details of the chamber
B) Make for the stairs
C) Approach the far side of the room for a clearer view
X)
Saturday, January 16, 2010
(solo playtest) HT:4 Timeshadows
X + A). Wait to make certain I am not being watched by local guard, then arm myself (if possible) with a broken piece of wood, and make my way outta' there.
You find the remains of a frame beneath the pallet, and extract a sturdy board (use as a 2-die club).
Not long after you see the guard nodding into sleep, you widen the hole and begin to crawl through, into a cramped darkness. After a long gradual tendency to the left, and an abrupt turn right, you see a circle of dim blue light ahead.
You cautiously approach, and find yourself looking down into a room - the floor seven feet below, the ceiling four or five above. You cannot see much of the interior of the room immediately though - the tunnel ends behind a large statue with broad shoulders. The source of the dim blue light is unknown to you, but fills the room with steady light. You can see other statues along the walls - tall mustachioed warriors in mail with broadswords point down before them.
You quietly climb down from the hole in the wall and peer around the beltline of the statue you stand behind. There is a 7' long sarcophagus of marble in the middle of the chamber and a considerable layer of dust. A crystal set into the lid provides the steady glow - by which you see an open exit on the far side of the small room. The statues line all of the walls.
A) Stick to the space behind the statues and go the exit.
B) Walk across the room to the exit.
C) Examine the sarcophagus.
D) Go back to your cell.
X)
You find the remains of a frame beneath the pallet, and extract a sturdy board (use as a 2-die club).
Not long after you see the guard nodding into sleep, you widen the hole and begin to crawl through, into a cramped darkness. After a long gradual tendency to the left, and an abrupt turn right, you see a circle of dim blue light ahead.
You cautiously approach, and find yourself looking down into a room - the floor seven feet below, the ceiling four or five above. You cannot see much of the interior of the room immediately though - the tunnel ends behind a large statue with broad shoulders. The source of the dim blue light is unknown to you, but fills the room with steady light. You can see other statues along the walls - tall mustachioed warriors in mail with broadswords point down before them.
You quietly climb down from the hole in the wall and peer around the beltline of the statue you stand behind. There is a 7' long sarcophagus of marble in the middle of the chamber and a considerable layer of dust. A crystal set into the lid provides the steady glow - by which you see an open exit on the far side of the small room. The statues line all of the walls.
A) Stick to the space behind the statues and go the exit.
B) Walk across the room to the exit.
C) Examine the sarcophagus.
D) Go back to your cell.
X)
Friday, January 15, 2010
(solo playtest) HT:3 Timeshadows
Make a L2 SR on IQ.
(Rolled 9, failed) The pallet is a nest of nest of spiders, and you have disturbed a large one which scuttles out to attack you. You are weaponless, doing 1d6 plus adds in melee. If the spider succeeds in damaging you, make a L1 SR on Strength, and reduce you strength by the amount the save was failed by for this combat.
[Round 1:] Spider(MR 7(1+4) = 7 damage) You (d6+6 = 13 damage) - spider takes 6
[Round 2:] Spider(MR 1(1+1) = 5 damage) You (d6+6 = 11 damage) - spider crushed!
Behind the pallet, there is a crack in the wall where it joins the floor. The spider you killed came from there. Examining it closer, you see it is a hole large enough to worm into.
Do you
A) Contort yourself into the hole in the wall?
B) (return to options from HT:2, but keep option of returning to spider's hole)
X)
(Rolled 9, failed) The pallet is a nest of nest of spiders, and you have disturbed a large one which scuttles out to attack you. You are weaponless, doing 1d6 plus adds in melee. If the spider succeeds in damaging you, make a L1 SR on Strength, and reduce you strength by the amount the save was failed by for this combat.
[Round 1:] Spider(MR 7(1+4) = 7 damage) You (d6+6 = 13 damage) - spider takes 6
[Round 2:] Spider(MR 1(1+1) = 5 damage) You (d6+6 = 11 damage) - spider crushed!
Behind the pallet, there is a crack in the wall where it joins the floor. The spider you killed came from there. Examining it closer, you see it is a hole large enough to worm into.
Do you
A) Contort yourself into the hole in the wall?
B) (return to options from HT:2, but keep option of returning to spider's hole)
X)
Thursday, January 14, 2010
File under "Constant Vigilance"
The continuing story of James Shipman and Outlaw Press
A fantastic summary of the whole story up to JAN 7 2010 far more coherent than I could have done and a fantastic set of links. Thanks mxy!
And today, was informed by Lulu (along with several others) that all things Tunnels and Trolls were being removed from storefronts, due to "litigation". Ugh. Lulu's policy is "pull first, ask questions later", and I can see the wisdom of this policy - so no feathers ruffled on that account.
Shipman's created a really absurdly hostile atmosphere to work in.
A fantastic summary of the whole story up to JAN 7 2010 far more coherent than I could have done and a fantastic set of links. Thanks mxy!
And today, was informed by Lulu (along with several others) that all things Tunnels and Trolls were being removed from storefronts, due to "litigation". Ugh. Lulu's policy is "pull first, ask questions later", and I can see the wisdom of this policy - so no feathers ruffled on that account.
Shipman's created a really absurdly hostile atmosphere to work in.
(solo playtest) HT:2 Timeshadows
You are transfered to a few guards inside the gate, and walked to the town's center - where stands the Keep, a magnificent fountain of sculpted marble undines, a mausoleum bearing former lords of the Keep, the headsman's block, and behind that, a squat stone building holding trapdoor entry to the prisons.
Inside sits the half-lame jailer, who takes possession of your goods without much thought. Guardsmen keep their short swords hedged at your throat. You judge resistance futile and refrain from it. The jailer looks you over briefly and says to himself "...doubtless Uraja will put your head on my block, if Darhas don't free ya first..." while you are locked into a windowless cell. In the cell is a straw pallet against the wall and an empty basin - and you noticed four other cells down here. The jailer returns slowly to ground level, leaving a guard below with you.
A) Wait to see if anything happens.
B) Plead with the guard.
C) Try to lure the guard close enough for ambush.
D) Investigate your cell.
E) Call out to see if other cells are occupied.
X)
Inside sits the half-lame jailer, who takes possession of your goods without much thought. Guardsmen keep their short swords hedged at your throat. You judge resistance futile and refrain from it. The jailer looks you over briefly and says to himself "...doubtless Uraja will put your head on my block, if Darhas don't free ya first..." while you are locked into a windowless cell. In the cell is a straw pallet against the wall and an empty basin - and you noticed four other cells down here. The jailer returns slowly to ground level, leaving a guard below with you.
A) Wait to see if anything happens.
B) Plead with the guard.
C) Try to lure the guard close enough for ambush.
D) Investigate your cell.
E) Call out to see if other cells are occupied.
X)
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
(solo playtest) HT:1
OK - if you're game!
I'll give an X) option when I'd like to broaden the decisions, otherwise I'd ask you to stick to the scripted choices. Gracias!
You have arrived at the town's south gate. There are a few shanty shacks in the near distance huddled up against the town wall - which stands 16' tall, in general disrepair. The Keep looms above, from near the town center, its south face painted a pale (and now faded) orange. Two guardsmen stand watch, outside the gate.
What has brought you here?
A) You arrive at dusk with the nervous merchant
B) You arrive at dusk, captured and in chains
C) You arrive at night to try a stealthy entry
D) You arrive at night with your gang to raid the merchant's guild
E) You proceed to the guardsmen and offer a password to them
I'll give an X) option when I'd like to broaden the decisions, otherwise I'd ask you to stick to the scripted choices. Gracias!
You have arrived at the town's south gate. There are a few shanty shacks in the near distance huddled up against the town wall - which stands 16' tall, in general disrepair. The Keep looms above, from near the town center, its south face painted a pale (and now faded) orange. Two guardsmen stand watch, outside the gate.
What has brought you here?
A) You arrive at dusk with the nervous merchant
B) You arrive at dusk, captured and in chains
C) You arrive at night to try a stealthy entry
D) You arrive at night with your gang to raid the merchant's guild
E) You proceed to the guardsmen and offer a password to them
mythic underworld: Evolution vs. Intelligent design
Intelligent design wins again! (wait... has it won in real life? no, but they keep on trying... )
Fungi, slimes, oozes. Plants & animals. Bugs, rats, bats. Bears, wolves, lions.
VS
Sarcophagi, boxes, cases, chests. Barrels, urns, stone basins.
Cages, pits. Shelves, alcoves. Statues, idols, statuettes.
calling this on a draw on account of time-out.
Fungi, slimes, oozes. Plants & animals. Bugs, rats, bats. Bears, wolves, lions.
VS
Sarcophagi, boxes, cases, chests. Barrels, urns, stone basins.
Cages, pits. Shelves, alcoves. Statues, idols, statuettes.
calling this on a draw on account of time-out.
Four doors at the Four Winds bar
Having seen sarkos
Been a BOC fan for 25 years, how many BOC-isms have slipped into my games? Not enough. There's a semi-consistant workshop of the telescopes, and astronomy plays an ambiguous but powerful force.
Characters have been attacked before by flaming telepaths... by goblins of Circe...
surely there's an arch-devil known by the title 'The Harvester of Eyes'...
...storms at land, storms at sea...
...gonna have to stat up a screaming diz-buster one of these days...
Cities on flame (with rock & roll)
Early BOC (the Stalk, Forrest Group/Soft White Underbelly) has got fantastic, elusive, evocative moments totally in-keeping with their development
Been a BOC fan for 25 years, how many BOC-isms have slipped into my games? Not enough. There's a semi-consistant workshop of the telescopes, and astronomy plays an ambiguous but powerful force.
Characters have been attacked before by flaming telepaths... by goblins of Circe...
surely there's an arch-devil known by the title 'The Harvester of Eyes'...
...storms at land, storms at sea...
...gonna have to stat up a screaming diz-buster one of these days...
Cities on flame (with rock & roll)
Early BOC (the Stalk, Forrest Group/Soft White Underbelly) has got fantastic, elusive, evocative moments totally in-keeping with their development
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
