"Idea" I have a habit of leaping onto a new idea before I've finished with an old one, and then I end up with several plates spinning at once. Inevitably, stuff falls down and I don't actually notice. I've been going through my old draft posts and various notes folders on Dropbox and Google Drive … Continue reading Late to the party: RPGaDay 2019 prompt 26
Category: d&d
Late to the party: RPGaDay 2019 prompt 25
"Calamity" So I've been working on a few ideas that involve huge calamities in the past - Cambria has a wholesale apocalypse caused by magic in the past, and now everyone lives in the ruins.Frostpunk is getting a One Page Campaign Opener after my RPGaDay posts run out, with a bit more details on what's … Continue reading Late to the party: RPGaDay 2019 prompt 25
Late to the party: RPGaDay 2019 prompt 23
"Surprise" or "Surprise!!!" So surprise rounds. Do I use them often? Usually not. A lot of the time, it just doesn't make sense. In D&D, players are on alert in a dungeon or the wilderness, they won't be surprised to find enemies behind a door or over the next ridge. They might be surprised at … Continue reading Late to the party: RPGaDay 2019 prompt 23
Late to the party: RPGaDay 2019 prompt 22
"Lost" So, somewhat ironically, I'm at a bit of a loss for what to write on this one.I very much have something to write that fits the topic, but I'm saving it for the last prompt. So, what to do? I don't usually plan for encounters to be lost. I've thought about doing it exactly … Continue reading Late to the party: RPGaDay 2019 prompt 22
Late to the party: RPGaDay 2019 prompt 21
"Vast" File this one with prompt 5 as well, however maybe a bit more to say here. So I can often have a problem in that I plan too much, or dream up settings and games that are just too big, too much going on, not enough for players to actually latch on to. I … Continue reading Late to the party: RPGaDay 2019 prompt 21
Late to the party: RPGaDay 2019 prompt 20
"Noble" I'm going to hijack this one and talk about coinage. Coinage in my games can be hit and miss.I've actually thought about it in-depth for The Old Crown, with pennies, florins and nobles and talents in circulation. In most games, I just handwave it as gold and silver. In my first game of Planescape, … Continue reading Late to the party: RPGaDay 2019 prompt 20
Late to the party: RPGaDay 2019 prompt 19
"Scary" I've never been too good at injecting spooky, scary or fear elements into my games, but I'm trying to do better. It's supposed to be a big-ish part of Ostromarka, since I wanted to throw a bit of a Cthuloid feel to it. If anyone has any tips for me, I'm all ears. I'll … Continue reading Late to the party: RPGaDay 2019 prompt 19
Late to the party: RPGaDay 2019 prompt 16
"Dream" One of my favourite ideas from Eberron is the Plane of Dreams, Dal Quor. The idea that sleeping minds reach out to somewhere like a low level form of folk magic, and that it mimics Astral Travel abilities. Just so cool. I was less pushed by the manifest zones on a material plane, but … Continue reading Late to the party: RPGaDay 2019 prompt 16
Late to the party: RPGaDay 2019 prompt 15
"Door" Well this one is going to be an easier one to write. Whilst I'm taking time off from my general projects to focus on these writing prompts, I am keeping up with a few of them.And one of those is Planescape. Sigil, City of Doors, is a fun thing to focus on. I've added … Continue reading Late to the party: RPGaDay 2019 prompt 15
Late to the party: RPGaDay 2019 prompt 14
"Guide" I wasn't too sure what to write for this one, but I think I'm just going to throw another two cents in on some of the latest D&D developments. There seems to be a bit of a backlash against the idea of removing racial Ability Score modifiers, seemingly because some people want to keep … Continue reading Late to the party: RPGaDay 2019 prompt 14
Late to the party: RPGaDay 2019 prompt 13
"Mystery" OK, so I'm terrible at writing mysteries in adventures. I either write them in such a way that only I get them, or they're really obvious. I have yet to find a happy middle ground. I do, however, love to play a good mystery game. Missing persons, kidnapped persons, treasure hunts with various clues, … Continue reading Late to the party: RPGaDay 2019 prompt 13
Late to the party: RPGaDay 2019 prompt 12
"Friendship" I spoke on prompt 1 before about RPGs and my school friends. A lot of my close friends come through RPGs.In school, I formed a group of friends around them (sort of a subset of the social outcast group we were all a part of).In university, the first club I signed up for was … Continue reading Late to the party: RPGaDay 2019 prompt 12
Late to the party: RPGaDay 2019 prompt 11
"Examine" So, since we're in 2020 and not 2019, we can look at some issues with a bit more information.In the last few days, I've been reading a lot about removing racial modifiers from D&D. It's not a new idea either, it's been around for a long time.A reallllly long time. I get why it's … Continue reading Late to the party: RPGaDay 2019 prompt 11
Late to the party: RPGaDay 2019 prompt 9
"Critical" I'm sure a lot of people will focus on critical hit rolls and such for this, and you could go on about them pretty easily, but I'l do something else. So I guess most people have heard of Critical Role, Matt Mercer et al's broadcast game of D&D via Twitch and YouTube.I came very … Continue reading Late to the party: RPGaDay 2019 prompt 9
Late to the party: RPGaDay 2019 prompt 6
"Ancient" So where do all these dungeons in D&D come from anyway? I've always liked the idea that they're some kind of ruin from a former inhabitant, but it seems odd that there'd be so many of them without some kind of fallen elder race who disappeared or them being to a different scale to … Continue reading Late to the party: RPGaDay 2019 prompt 6
Late to the party: RPGaDay 2019 prompt 5
"Space" Ah space. My old nemesis. I'll tell a couple of stories for this one I think. When I was working on the Ginnungagap, I started trying to think of justifications of why firearms might not do a lot of damage. My best answer was 'space'.If you're running around in a spaceship with some kind … Continue reading Late to the party: RPGaDay 2019 prompt 5
Late to the party: RPGaDay 2019 prompt 2
"Unique" I try to do something unique with each of my settings. Of course, eventually it's obvious that nothing you do is really unique, and it's all been done.But the operative word above is 'try'. The Old Crown started as a setting for 4e D&D, and it's morphed through FATE and could probably be run … Continue reading Late to the party: RPGaDay 2019 prompt 2
Planescape IV – draft rules for Factions part 2 – Doomguard
Time for one of the longest posts I've written! OK, so let's design some new Faction rules.We'll start with a look at the Doomguard, because I think this one is pretty easy - when we look at the rules from the Planescape Boxed set anyway. Eligibility: All races and alignments accepted - but not clerics … Continue reading Planescape IV – draft rules for Factions part 2 – Doomguard
Planescape III – draft rules for Factions part 1
The Factions are a huge part of the Planescape setting, but fitting them into the 5e rules is more difficult. One option we can go for is renown, as detailed on p.23 Of the Dungeon Master's Guide.The examples for renown focus on the group's available in the Forgotten Realms, and there's only five of those. … Continue reading Planescape III – draft rules for Factions part 1
Draft One Page Campaign Opener – Invasion from the Netherverse
High school. Jocks, nerds, cheerleaders, outcasts. Study for the test, write essays, detention.Oh, and monsters walking the streets at night. It all started with some of the kids having fun and messing with an old book they found in grandma’s attic. Soon enough, someone says ‘Klaatu Barada Nantucket’ and we lose our job at the … Continue reading Draft One Page Campaign Opener – Invasion from the Netherverse
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