We had a half group on Sunday so it was mainly role-play, but it was still fun. They helped out the goliaths and gained their trust through helping their sick and injured. Then it went in an unexpected direction, the tiefling decided they should seek help from her people to stop the Grave Dancers Union. This required a trip up the river that would take several days to complete.
Kalik Kalir, chieftain of the goliaths, allowed the pc's the use of two of their watercraft to speed them on their journey. Along the way they stopped at a couple of places where the group had assisted the locals before, to see how they may hamper the Grave Dancers efforts in the region. At Laketown, an old woman sold Jinx (the tiefling) a beautiful cloak, will play a part in the adventures ahead, only I know bwahahaha (and I am not telling).
Eventually they make it to the Starfel, where seventy-five years ago a fiery rock fell from sky and smashed the tiefling capital into the ground. Many say this was punishment from the gods for their dealing with fiends while some tieflings believe the gods where aiming for the drow living in the underdark below. Upon arrival Jinx sought the location of the tiefling ambassador she had rescued. This seemed a good place to stop, we will see in two weeks where this leads them.
Take care folks!!
Monday, August 1, 2011
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Where will it go from here?
Saturday here, and I am getting stuff together for tomorrow's 4E dungeons and dragons game. The group is headed to the goliaths settlement in the middle of the swamp and I can see a few different ways this session can go. The two main directions are that they arrive and help the tribe, then head back to the Lost Village or they help and then enter the Tomb of the World. So I will be assembling the bare essentials that will need for whichever path they choose. Basically enough preparation so that I can wing it if they go in a different direction.
The befriending part of the game is the common denominator here, so a skill challenge should be in order. I am thinking of also adapting something from the DDI article "Surely You Joust!", turning it into a contest of strength and skill. The next step is to do some basic groundwork in the different ways this can go after they have won the respect of the goliaths. Which means what are they going to find if they get into the tomb or what is waiting for them back at the village. Whatever happens I know it will be fun and challenging. I hope to post more after we have played, so I hope to be posting something tomorrow evening. Take care guys!
The befriending part of the game is the common denominator here, so a skill challenge should be in order. I am thinking of also adapting something from the DDI article "Surely You Joust!", turning it into a contest of strength and skill. The next step is to do some basic groundwork in the different ways this can go after they have won the respect of the goliaths. Which means what are they going to find if they get into the tomb or what is waiting for them back at the village. Whatever happens I know it will be fun and challenging. I hope to post more after we have played, so I hope to be posting something tomorrow evening. Take care guys!
Sunday, July 17, 2011
How to rescue a dwarven woman for comedic effect
So another Sunday night 4E game has came and went, tonight was great because it was a pivotal point in the game. They have returned to the Lost Village, where they began this adventure, I think it was nine to ten months ago? Time has moved on in this small swamp village and I made sure to remind them of that fact. Brock, our dwarven shaman inquires about his sweetheart Sherry only to find she has disappeared in the swamp in search of smugglers. Eberk, part time meat shield and full time minion to Jinx discovers his adopted father has been run out of town.
Which way will the group go hinges on what happens next, and they did not disappoint splitting up into three groups to get information on what has been happening. The Bronzeknuckle brothers have taken over the village, keeping the Grave Dancer's Union (a mercenary adventuring group) out of the area. The Grave Dancer's are moving closer to retrieving a dangerous artifact from the midst of a large tribe of goliaths who reside at the center of the swamp, by tampering with their food and water. Eberk's father got into an argument with the Bronzeknuckles over the dwarven soldiers that were brought in to keep the peace, which led to his exile from the area.
The most immediate problem to be taken care of was the disappearance of Sherry, so they soon came by information where she may be. It looks like she has run afoul of smugglers whom the group has dealt with before. Also, this was the direction they took because Eberk's player was not able to make it, therefore when he returns we shall deal with the absence of his father.
I ran the trip through the swamp like a skill challenge, and when they arrived they used all their skills to slip onto a boat, past a couple of guards and rescue the fair Sherry. Oh man there were some mishaps, bad rolls but they all became part of the fun and in the end they had to run back into the swamp. Not back to the village, no. They are headed for the goliaths, to help them in their time of need.
I am very much looking forward to the next game, in part because of my great group of players as well as how they react to what I throw their way. Take care, everyone!
Which way will the group go hinges on what happens next, and they did not disappoint splitting up into three groups to get information on what has been happening. The Bronzeknuckle brothers have taken over the village, keeping the Grave Dancer's Union (a mercenary adventuring group) out of the area. The Grave Dancer's are moving closer to retrieving a dangerous artifact from the midst of a large tribe of goliaths who reside at the center of the swamp, by tampering with their food and water. Eberk's father got into an argument with the Bronzeknuckles over the dwarven soldiers that were brought in to keep the peace, which led to his exile from the area.
The most immediate problem to be taken care of was the disappearance of Sherry, so they soon came by information where she may be. It looks like she has run afoul of smugglers whom the group has dealt with before. Also, this was the direction they took because Eberk's player was not able to make it, therefore when he returns we shall deal with the absence of his father.
I ran the trip through the swamp like a skill challenge, and when they arrived they used all their skills to slip onto a boat, past a couple of guards and rescue the fair Sherry. Oh man there were some mishaps, bad rolls but they all became part of the fun and in the end they had to run back into the swamp. Not back to the village, no. They are headed for the goliaths, to help them in their time of need.
I am very much looking forward to the next game, in part because of my great group of players as well as how they react to what I throw their way. Take care, everyone!
Saturday, July 16, 2011
The Nature of Celebrity?
I am gonna ramble a bit here, please forgive me. I have met celebrities in my time, and what I have discovered is that they are just regular people. My artist friends are "celebrities" in a way, but other than incredible talent, they are just like the rest of us. I know folks who resemble or look far more attractive/sexy than current sex symbol celebrities, the only difference is the "celebrity" has far more exposure.
Some people seem to feed off the attention, for them they put on their public face and perform for the masses. I have at least one friend like this, and when we are at a convention and a fan stops him, he puts on his "face" and usually the fan gives me a look like "Why are you here?". I try to ignore it, but more often than not I will let him do his thing just catch him later.
Everyone has something they can do exceptionally well, they just need to recognize it. Back in school I was friends with a very pretty girl, and we would talk quite a bit. I discovered that while she was very attractive, she did not feel like it and was very insecure. Years later, she still is and I have a hard time being around her for very long because of it.
So, I think we can agree that movie stars are attractive and sexy, artist and musicians are amazing, but what is there if that is taken away? Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, hell just a disfiguring car accident can change that, where will the celebrity be then? I feel this reality show business is out of hand, people need to stop stalking celebrities, but also celebrities need to stop using their status to get away with stuff.
Alright, I will stop there. Take care guys.
Some people seem to feed off the attention, for them they put on their public face and perform for the masses. I have at least one friend like this, and when we are at a convention and a fan stops him, he puts on his "face" and usually the fan gives me a look like "Why are you here?". I try to ignore it, but more often than not I will let him do his thing just catch him later.
Everyone has something they can do exceptionally well, they just need to recognize it. Back in school I was friends with a very pretty girl, and we would talk quite a bit. I discovered that while she was very attractive, she did not feel like it and was very insecure. Years later, she still is and I have a hard time being around her for very long because of it.
So, I think we can agree that movie stars are attractive and sexy, artist and musicians are amazing, but what is there if that is taken away? Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, hell just a disfiguring car accident can change that, where will the celebrity be then? I feel this reality show business is out of hand, people need to stop stalking celebrities, but also celebrities need to stop using their status to get away with stuff.
Alright, I will stop there. Take care guys.
Saturday, July 9, 2011
Making maps, just like in school!!
So, this past week, I have been drawing maps in notebook of graph paper. Currently I am transferring the map I drew for my Sunday game to a big piece of Gaming Paper. I mark off the "edge" of the map, each square equaling a square on the the final map. Once I finished the "Lost Village" map, I began playing around with designing space station floors. It has been a lot of fun, I should see about putting up a picture of it when I am done.
I like to do a light drawing on the gaming paper in pencil, I double check and fix any problems, then go over it with markers of different colors. I made a swamp map this way and it turned out pretty well, and has been used a few times since that initial game.
Also, if anyone has advice for me, I want to pop these mage knight and horror clix figures off their bases and put them on metal washers, or something like that. The mage knight ones I may repaint first, since the paint job on them looks pretty rough. Any help will be greatly appreciated, take care guys!
I like to do a light drawing on the gaming paper in pencil, I double check and fix any problems, then go over it with markers of different colors. I made a swamp map this way and it turned out pretty well, and has been used a few times since that initial game.
Also, if anyone has advice for me, I want to pop these mage knight and horror clix figures off their bases and put them on metal washers, or something like that. The mage knight ones I may repaint first, since the paint job on them looks pretty rough. Any help will be greatly appreciated, take care guys!
Monday, July 4, 2011
It's been a long time (btw, Happy fourth!!)
Sorry folks, been awhile but I am back, also my Sunday night game is still going! some close calls but no fatalities, though they had to leave the human capital of Galen to return to the Lost Village down South. For any newcomers, My Sunday game is a 4E sandbox that has been going for nearly a year I think and I hope to take the players to level thirty.
On free rpg day, I ran the free adventure/introductory kit for All Flesh Must Be Eaten entitled "The Waking Dead". There were three people there to try it out and we had a lot of fun, especially myself when I got to describe some of the zombies, hehe. All Flesh does not use maps and minis (though you could, I suppose), so it was a bit of a change. I would love to run a one off or a small campaign for it in the future, possibly a Halloween game is in order!
Now, with summer comes some free time with the kids, which means trying to play some of these games I have purchased and have not played. First in line was Dungeon Twister (http://www.dungeontwister.com/us/lejeu/index.html) and it was fun. Next was Z-G, which has been out of print for awhile (2001 in fact) here is the link to the board game geek page http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/1820/z-g .
Origins happened just last weekend and once again the family and I went with the day pass. My oldest son found and purchased some Z-G figures in the dealers room, so I assume he had fun when we played the week before. I picked up some old Mage Knight stuff (oh man, some of the paint jobs, rough!) also picked up Telestrations, like playing telephone but drawing instead of whispering to the person next to you. It was a great party game, and if you are into those kinds of games I would call it a must have!
I am still wanting to run a sci fi savage worlds game, using Interface Zero as a basis. So many games, so little time!! Alright, I will stop there and hope to be back in a couple of weeks.
On free rpg day, I ran the free adventure/introductory kit for All Flesh Must Be Eaten entitled "The Waking Dead". There were three people there to try it out and we had a lot of fun, especially myself when I got to describe some of the zombies, hehe. All Flesh does not use maps and minis (though you could, I suppose), so it was a bit of a change. I would love to run a one off or a small campaign for it in the future, possibly a Halloween game is in order!
Now, with summer comes some free time with the kids, which means trying to play some of these games I have purchased and have not played. First in line was Dungeon Twister (http://www.dungeontwister.com/us/lejeu/index.html) and it was fun. Next was Z-G, which has been out of print for awhile (2001 in fact) here is the link to the board game geek page http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/1820/z-g .
Origins happened just last weekend and once again the family and I went with the day pass. My oldest son found and purchased some Z-G figures in the dealers room, so I assume he had fun when we played the week before. I picked up some old Mage Knight stuff (oh man, some of the paint jobs, rough!) also picked up Telestrations, like playing telephone but drawing instead of whispering to the person next to you. It was a great party game, and if you are into those kinds of games I would call it a must have!
I am still wanting to run a sci fi savage worlds game, using Interface Zero as a basis. So many games, so little time!! Alright, I will stop there and hope to be back in a couple of weeks.
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Jinx Hellstrom: 20 years into the future
Tonight's game had the PC's being snatched forward in time an indeterminate amount of time. Brock is tasked, by the girl he has a crush on, to take a magical device back to his present and "Stop the rain." among other things. Jinx, a tiefling, is confronted by one of her own race for "betraying her own people", he even slaps her when she interrupts him. Abruptly a dark shape swoops down through a great hole in the ceiling and grabs the people from the future and flings them off a nearby balcony. Upon landing the group can see they are up against a purple dragon!
Shortly after engaging the dragon, a fomorian slavedriver named Kurd drops in through the ceiling and attacks the group from the rear. Soon after the minions (four of them)approach and two illithids creep around the edge of the fight. It was a hard fight (dazed conditions are a pain) but they managed to pull through. It was very satisfying, I feel I am a step closer to learning how to balance an encounter. I do not want them shrugging their way through it, but I do not want them to be dying all over the place.
My approach this time was to look at what minis I had and see what worked with the story I wanted to tell. Next I used the monster builder to find appropriate stats and changed them when necessary. I then looked through my map collection for closest to what I wanted and used a few dungeon tiles to represent various aspects of the terrain, like holes in the floor and piles of debris. I was very happy the way it turned out and am looking forward to the next game in two weeks. Take care everyone and see you later!
Shortly after engaging the dragon, a fomorian slavedriver named Kurd drops in through the ceiling and attacks the group from the rear. Soon after the minions (four of them)approach and two illithids creep around the edge of the fight. It was a hard fight (dazed conditions are a pain) but they managed to pull through. It was very satisfying, I feel I am a step closer to learning how to balance an encounter. I do not want them shrugging their way through it, but I do not want them to be dying all over the place.
My approach this time was to look at what minis I had and see what worked with the story I wanted to tell. Next I used the monster builder to find appropriate stats and changed them when necessary. I then looked through my map collection for closest to what I wanted and used a few dungeon tiles to represent various aspects of the terrain, like holes in the floor and piles of debris. I was very happy the way it turned out and am looking forward to the next game in two weeks. Take care everyone and see you later!
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