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 18

"Plenty" Sometimes it seems like there's not enough time in the world.And then sometimes it's more like there's just too much to do so all that time is more than filled up. Flash back to ten years ago, and I had plenty of time to do anything. I was working sure, but outside of that … Continue reading Late to the party: RPGaDay 2019 prompt 18

Late to the party: RPGaDay 2019 prompt 17

"One" My kid just turned one. I made a running joke that he must now be a level 1 goblin, because whatever it is he's speaking it isn't Common, and occasionally there's some weirdly scary noises coming out.We've yet to work out what class, but given his love of being outdoors I would have to … Continue reading Late to the party: RPGaDay 2019 prompt 17

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 10

"Focus" Sometimes I find it difficult to focus on one project at a time.OK, it feels good to finally say it! I've been building the Old Crown since 2010 ish, Ginnungagap since 2015, FATEPunk somewhere between 2013 and 2015 (I forget when I started thinking about it).The Endless Sea is only a couple of years … Continue reading Late to the party: RPGaDay 2019 prompt 10

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 8

"Obscure" I'm a big fan of an obscure setting or roleplaying rules set. I picked up a copy of Qin the Warring States when it came out. The setting is very cool and the rules are outstanding, but I've never found anyone to play a game of it.There's a yin/yang aspect to the die rolls … Continue reading Late to the party: RPGaDay 2019 prompt 8

Late to the party: RPGaDay 2019 prompt 7

"Familiar" So everyone who reads this is probably going to write something about the D&D Wizard spell find familiar. That's what I was planning too, but I want to write something different instead. So instead let's talk about the familiar and the uncanny. Some of what I bring up here might tie in with other … Continue reading Late to the party: RPGaDay 2019 prompt 7

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 4

"Share" This is a tough one. I thought about pulling some stuff together on GM Binder, but I'm really not there with most of it, and even trying to make it look vaguely nice too was a hassle.I thought about trying to collaborate on something, but that would involve finding someone who wanted to, and … Continue reading Late to the party: RPGaDay 2019 prompt 4