Ravenous Role Playing

This is the big announcement of the week. It’s already been talked to death around the RPG blogosphere, but I feel compelled to add my one word reaction to the announcement. That one word is, “Meh.” I may expand on that one word later, but that’s it for now.

Famous Swords and Current Whereabouts

This is a great list for an adventure seed. If you’re not following the Dungeon Dozen blog, I highly recommend you add it to your RSS feeds. I may only be linking to one or two of these a week, but a vast majority of them contain some great idea fodder!

How to write a free RPG – Chapter 5: System

Ah. Now, we’re getting into the part of creating RPGs that really gets my blood going. The system used in an RPG is probably the most scrutinized part of the entire creation, so it has to be done right. Of course, the rules need to be balanced, be presented in a manner that makes sense and capture the essence of the heart of the game. Click on to read more!

Sentient Doors

I love the idea of doors that were made as sentient beings to help their masters in some manner, but that have been abandoned for so long that they have gone slightly (or mostly) insane over the ages. This is a fantastic idea, and I’m totally stealing it for the game that I’m about to start running next week.

Crawling Without Hexes: the Pointcrawl

I’ve used this system for Cyberpunk 2020, and it works very well. If the players travel to a strange city, there’s no need to track down (or create) a random map of a city. Just define the points that they need to visit, throw in some distractions or obstacles, and then run with it. It works very well. Great post!

Medieval d6 Found

I knew that there had be gamers even before Gygax/Arneson came along to enrich our lives. This die was most likely used in some form of gambling, not in an RPG (though one can hope) and from the photo on the blog, it’s exquisitely made and has held up quite well over the centuries.

Welcome to 2012! Now to the First Friday Five of the year.

Give Them Something to Aspire To

What happens when characters become all powerful (or close to all powerful?) They tend to take control of (or are pitted against) powerful organizations. At least, if the GM sets things up properly for this happen, this is one of the possibilities. I’ve done this several times as a GM, and only once or twice as a player. I gotta say that it’s a blast on both sides of the screen. Check out the post for more details.

Utterances of the Malfunctioning Magic Mouth

Bwahahahahahahaha! Need I say more?

[GMing Advice] Run Your Game With Emotion

If a GM is passionate about the game he’s running, then the players are likely to follow. This includes fun, fear, anxiety, anticipation, hatred and so much more. Find your passion in the game, and the players will follow. I remember running a Vampire: Dark Ages game once when they came across a terrified little boy. I dropped so deep into the character that I actually started crying in fear in front of my players. This was a once in a lifetime thing for me. I’d love to try it again, but I’m not sure I can get that deep into a character again…. but you never know! My players were so drawn in by my portrayal of the child’s fear and his confession of what he was afraid of, fueled them to action against the Bad Guys. It was great! When the finally cleansed the little shire of the evil Baali, there was much rejoicing on the part of the players. It felt good to bring them through the dark moments and into victory!

Random Planetary Angel Generator

I’m almost a sucker for charts as much as I am for maps. These sets of charts are fantastic! You really should go check them out.

How to write a free RPG – Chapter 4: Setting

I told you I’d continue to link to this series as they were published. The next installment came out this week, so here’s the link! Enjoy!

First off… Welcome back to the Intertubes of the electronic work, Mr. Logos. For those of you that don’t know, the author of “A Character for Every Game,” Dyson Logos, has been away from us for a while and has recently returned.

Second off… No comments this week. Sorry. My two RPG groups have taken the holidays off, and I’m sating my RPG needs by alternating between working on my RPG’s Bestiary, and leveling my Skyrim character.

Enjoy the links!

Game Theory – Moral Dilemmas: Arranged Marriages
How to write a free RPG – Chapter 3: Writing and style
The Nuances of computer use in a simulated world
Dressed for the occasion
[Friday Map] The Ziggurat of Rhissel the Morning Lord

Sorry folks. Prepping for the upcoming Christmas weekend has left me short on time and energy. No comments this time around. Just some pretty damn good links. Enjoy!

thinking about magic again
How to write a free RPG – Chapter 2: Research
Spells as Treasure
The 1 Thing You Should NEVER Ask Your Players
I weep for the newbs

How to run a One Shot Session

Have a one shot that you want to run? Maybe it’s a new game. Maybe it’s a new world. Maybe it’s just an experiment with something to see if it resonates with your group. Whatever your motivation, check out the link above for some hints and tips on how to go about making the one shot session a success!

Don’t Waste My Time: Tips for Keeping Your Games Moving

There are a plethora of posts on this topic, and I think I’ve linked to no less than three of them in the past. However, this is such a pet peeve of mine that I will almost always link to good advice on how to keep the game going. Nothing aggravates me more than when a fellow player’s turn comes around and they start looking at the board for their next most at that time. Every player should be engaged in what is going on in the game (unless their character is absent for some reason) and have a plan of action ready. When I’m a player, I always volunteer to take the load of tracking initiative off of the GM’s shoulders. When I’m allowed to do this, I always tell people, “You’re on deck.” to let them know that they should start thinking about what they’re going to do. It really helps. For more tips in speeding up a game, check the link.

99 rites of fairy creatures

I love this post! It brings out the Old World feel of the fae that I think is missing in modern games, genres, shows, stories and more. There are many different ways to capture a member of the fae courts, and this list is a great one to pick from.

How to write a free RPG – Prologue
How to write a free RPG – Chapter 1: Inspiration

These two links together and as Rob posts more of these, I’ll link to them. Even though the title includes the word “free” in them, there is great advice for folks like me that hope to get paid for their efforts in the role playing publishing arena.

The Artifact Rant

Hear! Hear! Way to go Beedo! This post accurately sums up my feelings on artifacts as well. Magic items may become mundane objects of power in the game, but artifacts are those things that are game changers. They greatly affect the story, plot, outcome and course of a campaign. There’s no way they can’t. While on this topic, I think our Pathfinder group just came across an artifact. We’re not sure yet. I’m eager to get the holidays over with, so we can return to gaming in January and discover the potential and powers of the mysterious stone we rescued from a stone giant’s hands. It’s going to be a good time, I’m sure of it! If it is an artifact, it damn well better be a game changer, or I’m going to poo-poo all over Paizo’s message boards about how wimpy their artifacts are.

Wow. Welcome to the Dungeon’s Master edition of Friday Five. Three of the Five links this week are from this wonderful site. They had some wonderful content this week, so I couldn’t help but link to it!

Gaming in Silence

I’ve read short stories where people lacked a sense (usually sight) and they worked very well. I’ve also read short stories about people that couldn’t communicate (for a variety of reason) with their surrounding peers/environment. While this is a decent idea for a challenge, I don’t think it would work very well as a full-time concept for a character. The game is too verbally interactive to just cut someone’s legs out from under them like that. However, this blog post goes deeper than, “You can’t talk.” Quite a bit deeper. There are some great ideas in there, and I’ve used a few of them in the past (and had a few used on me) and they usually work well. Drop a click on the link and see what I mean.

Too Busy Looking at the Map to Notice the Monster

I primarily linked to this post for the first of the three charts at the bottom. The other two charts are fantastic, but the first one really got my juices flowing. Players will claim that their characters are ever vigilant during their 8 hour march through the boring countryside. I always call bullshit when someone declares that. There’s no way a person can stay focused on one thing (especially if it’s boring) for a solid 8 hours. There are going to be gaps in concentration for even the most guarded and experienced scout. Great work, Beedo!

Games that I’d like to give another chance

This is a great list of largely abandoned games or ones that have a really small niche market these days. If you’re looking for some alternatives to what you’re currently playing, I’d suggest checking out Tim’s list. Having said that, I’d advise you to avoid World of Synnibarr. It’s just too far out there, but that’s only my opinion on the matter.

Nationality and Character Backgrounds

I’ve always wanted to add this to my RPG, but once I saw it done in Arcanis (which I’m still muddling through,) I decided this was a bad idea. Why? It requires players that are learning a new system to also be intimately familiar with the new world they are being thrust into. This is something I would add on as optional rules or do it in a world the players are already familiar with to reduce the learning curve of the character creation system. It’s a great idea for tying people to a part of the world and to give them a sense of belonging, but it’s really hard to implement properly.

No New Magic Items

Wow. No new magic items. The Ye Olde Long Sword +1 Factory has shut down and people must make do with what they have on hand. That’s a grand idea for a campaign. I don’t know if it would work in a world setting for multiple campaigns, but for a single one… yeah, I could go for that as a player or a GM. Of course, it goes deeper than that. I’m not going to steal Ameron’s thunder. Go follow the link for more details!

Wow. Have a little holiday like Thanksgiving and the whole schedule gets blown. I’ve been so damn busy with things lately that I’ve totally forgotten about the really great blog posts that I’ve bookmarked. I intended to get these up last Friday and do 10 posts, but an extra post slipped in and then upgrading the server hosting this site (and others, too) took up most of my Friday. The next thing I know it’s Monday, and I haven’t posted in almost three weeks. Anyway… here are the links and my comments from the past two weeks:

Building a Mystery: Challenge the Characters

Want to run a good mystery-themed session and/or campaign? Good. They’re tough to run, and I’ve rarely seen one done well because the GM always thought we had some power/skill/ability/feat/talent/whatever that was vital to solving the mystery… and the entire group was devoid of said item. Ugh. What happened there? Lack of proper preparation! What preparation is necessary? Read on to find out!

Running the Game III: Rules and Combat

How do you run combat scenes? There’s lots involved there! Need a checklist of how to run a combat and what to prep for? Follow the link.

Character Poisoning

I had to link to this article for one phrase and one phrase alone, “Premature Imagination.” That sums up this post quite well. What the heck does that mean? Well, follow the link to see what Runeslinger has to say on the matter!

10 Adventure Hooks Found in the Library

Most hooks are found in the bar, some back alley or even a signboard. There are rumors, theories, maps with and ‘X’ on them and more. A great place for adventurers to get hooked into an adventure is the library. There’s so much to discover and unveil between the pages, on the scrolls and within the volumes found in the stacks. There are ten great hooks found in the post and many more can be derived from what you’ll find there.

It’s a Trap!

I love this post because it describes how traps used to be (which is the way I personally like it) and how they are now (which feels watered-down to me now.) For those folks trying to feel out the differences between the two methodologies, I’d highly recommend following the link.

How to Plot A Novel/Campaign in 5 Steps

As a role player, GM and novelist, the title of this post hooked me in immediately. I’ve read the whole thing several times, and I love what Callin has to say. Having said this, keep in mind that this is not the only approach at plotting. There are more ways than I can count, and I’m still discovering more. If you want another tool in your toolbox, follow the link and see what he has to say.

So You Want to Write RPGs

I have my own RPG (yeah, yeah, who doesn’t these days?) that I created back in the early 1990s. I’d love to polish it up and get it published. Is that realistic? Absolutely! Will I get rich off of my efforts? As this post outlines, probably not. However, the satisfaction of seeing my name on something that people are willing to shell out their hard-earned money for will make me giddy. Despite the bleak picture that Peter paints, I’m still going for it!

How Observation Changes Characters’ Behaviour

This is a fantastic post because of the twist that is involved. I’m not going to spoil it because Ameron sets it up and describes things so well. It’s good stuff. Check it out.

Old Testament Gaming

I love this comic, but not the use of Pathfinder as “Old Testament.” Don’t get me wrong. Pathfinder is a fantastic game, but it’s not “Old,” nor is it “Testament.” It’s a good message that would be great if a D&D Red Box were involved in the comic.

Family Feuds

Need to come up with a quick family with enough details to get you started on your creative endeavors? Check out this post and the charts that are included. Good stuff!

Back To Basics: Campaign Structures

Ok. Back to the GM and novelist angle again. This lengthy and complex post about plotting multiple arcs against one another while keeping it all straight falls square in the middle of the fantastic range for me. If you’re plotting a book or a twisted, multi-layered campaign arc… check out Mike’s post over at Campaign Mastery. Take your time. Read it several times. Absorb it. Learn it. Love it. It’s that damn good!

Random “Mr Jones” Mission Generator

I love this random mission generator for gritty urban scenarios. It’s short, sweet and to the point, but there are so many options that can come out of this table. Good work noisms!

Running the Game II: Notes and Organization

Ya gotta love staying organized. Ya gotta hate scrambling at the last second to prep for a game. Need some tips to shift from the last second prep anxiety? Follow the link!

Do You Do Things as a GM That You Would Hate as a Player?

There are times I GM a game in a manner that I dislike as a player, but not on purpose. I don’t catch myself doing it until one of players says something along the lines of, “Really? You’re making that rule call?” Then I step back and realize what I’ve been doing. I love being in games of a certain style and pattern, and I surround myself with players with similar tastes. Yeah, we’re all different in our own way, but we walk the same path (mostly.) This helps me run the games in the manner that best allows my players to enjoy themselves.

Characters with Secret Identities

This is a great twist for characters. It’s usually only done in four-color comic style games or dark and gritty superhero games, but this can apply to pretty much any game in any genre. The closest I’ve seen this happen in a fantasy game is where a player had a severe delusion that he was an assassin in the king’s employ, and only pretended to be a street urchin. That was a fun game!

8 Adventure Hooks for Campaigns on the High Seas

Most folks just use boats/ships in games as a way to get from point A to point B…. unless they go all out and do a high seas campaign. If you’re planning on doing such a game or feel a slight itch to do something like this, check out the post from Ameron and see what he has to say on the matter.

Masterwork Weapons

This post poses a great question that goes along the lines of “What if a weapon’s trait was the ‘mere’ fact that it was magical?” What if a magical weapon was nothing more than “magical” and had no other bonuses or powers beyond those inherent in being a creation of magic? It’s great food for thought for any GM and anyone, including me, designing a game. Great post!

Martin’s Mentions: Worldbuilding, Mapping Software, wikidPad, Scrivener, and More

Need a collection of electronic tools to keep your stuff straight? Look no further than this great list!

Where Did the Dungeons Come From?

There are many reasons folks dig huge holes in the ground and then abandon them. Need some of those reasons? Click the link!

The Architect DM: On Modern and Futuristic Settings

Much (too much?) has been spoken on how to build out fantasy setting items, but not much attention has been paid to modern and futuristic settings. Sure, we all live in the real world (mostly,) so advice on how to create the real world seems, well, superfluous. However, there are some things that need to be taken into consideration. To see what those things are, follow the link.

Do Character Powers Define Role-Play?

Yes and no. I had chosen to play a womanizing, highly-charismatic rogue once. We created our characters in the usual fashion (this was D&D 3.0 at the time) and then the GM threw in a twist. She tossed out, “You can remain first level, or you can take three more levels in a different class and never return to your original class. If you ever return to your original class, you’ll become an NPC.” Wow. What a twist! I loved it! In this case, I had the right stats (with a charisma higher than my dex and a decent con) to become a paladin. I came up with this wonderful back story on how I ended up moving away from my roguish ways and became a paladin. However, I still wanted to pay “special” attention to the ladies, so I decided that one of my churchly vows would be to put every woman I met on a pedestal and treat them as if they were a goddess. It worked. It worked really well, and I loved it. That was a fun character to play. Did my powers dictate my role playing? To a small extent, yes, but I still kept the “pay attention to the ladies” aspect of my character.

Sorry for the lack of posting. Work has picked up. It’s NaNoWriMo time. I’m prepping for my son’s 4th birthday party. I’m also still working my way through the Arcanis RPG book as well. Wow. What a month this is going to be. Here are the links for this week:

Handy Dandy Mini-Dungeon Chamber Generator
Your Players Are a Bunch of Tools
NPC Motivations
A Walk Down Memory Lane
DNAphil’s Digital Campaign Toolbox