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 Recent Posts
There should be a button on the open design myspace page that works. Otherwise, the best bet is probably to shoot wolfgang an email-- the preferred method of payment is paypal, but he might have another idea. the open design myspace page is here and should be accessible to anyone. You want the third option down-- the one with the drop down menu for a standard or senior patronage. -Ben.
For those uncertain about _Wrath of the River King_, the 4E Open Design adventure, here's my review... Also, patronage closes Midnight, December 31, 2008. Don't dawdle unless you want to wait for the next project before you have access to _Wrath._ With that, here's my review: *** Disclaimer note: I was a senior patron and as such, I got to contribute and playtest portions of Wrath of the River King. Take that for what it’s worth. The first thing that hits you as you open it up is the front cover. It has a definite "Wild Things" vibe to it that's great. The fantastic Rackham art that had been shown as the preview cover is still there, on the inside title page. The layout is nice, the header font is very legible. Some of the art has a very medieval, woodcut, or Brothers Grimm theme to it, but that is probably both intentional and doesn't detract from the more detailed pieces-- if anything, they accent it. The introduction sets up the backstory, the conditions for the start of the adventure, and the points at which milestones are met. The whole thing is light on initial hooks to get things going, but we're looking at a sandbox style adventure. Wolfgang is known for preferring that format, and it's one that puts more responsibility on the GM. Chapter one kicks off with a great full page picture of a battle scene, providing some cool foreshadowing of things to come. It gives an overview of the village and region where the adventure begins, then launches into the encounters-- each one laid out in the 4E delve format. While I'm personally not thrilled with the limitations of the delve format in any product, it works here. The progression between the five encounters could be a bit more detailed, but again, that's the sandbox design. There are six chapters in total, with 27 encounters in 96 pages. Combat outnumbers skill challenges about 15 to 8, but there are four purely roleplaying encounters and easily 3 to 4 of the combat encounters could be resolved through roleplay rather than initiative. If you played absolutely every encounter in this great tale, starting at 4th, you'd be creeping up on 11th level. There's quite obviously a lot to work with here. Compare that with Keep on the Shadowfell, which clocked in at 80 pages (a chunk of which were fastplay notes) and 27 encounters—all combat. The lack of a specific map of the Greater Feywild area allows you to place regions as you please, configuring the sandbox to your whims. It's another way the adventure puts a little responsibility on the GM, but I like that option, as it plays to the mutability and random nature of fae creatures. Designer notes are scattered throughout, giving insights on particular encounters and possible twists to the encounters as written. The Birch Queen's Fair is a sandbox that promises to entertain a group for *sessions*, providing characters, side games, interactions and sites that will keep them exploring and looking for more. Which gamer has ever hated going to the RenFest? Now put their characters at one... There's also a new ritual and some excellent roleplaying opportunities salted with a couple combats. Like the Fair, the Court of the River King provides another interesting sandbox with lots of chances to interact, allowing players to make new allies or engage foes in courtly duels. The best part is that many of small choices sprinkled throughout the adventure can contribute to the encounters here. It builds up to a fine cinematic conclusion that just about any group hungers for and doesn't disappoint. I'm quite thrilled by the quality and looking forward to getting a table seated to try it. -Ben.
For those uncertain about _Wrath of the River King_, here's my review... Also, patronage closes Midnight, December 31, 2008. Don't dawdle unless you want to wait for the next project before you have access to _Wrath._ With that, here's my review: *** Disclaimer note: I was a senior patron and as such, I got to contribute and playtest portions of Wrath of the River King. Take that for what it’s worth. The first thing that hits you as you open it up is the front cover. It has a definite "Wild Things" vibe to it that's great. The fantastic Rackham art that had been shown as the preview cover is still there, on the inside title page. The layout is nice, the header font is very legible. Some of the art has a very medieval, woodcut, or Brothers Grimm theme to it, but that is probably both intentional and doesn't detract from the more detailed pieces-- if anything, they accent it. The introduction sets up the backstory, the conditions for the start of the adventure, and the points at which milestones are met. The whole thing is light on initial hooks to get things going, but we're looking at a sandbox style adventure. Wolfgang is known for preferring that format, and it's one that puts more responsibility on the GM. Chapter one kicks off with a great full page picture of a battle scene, providing some cool foreshadowing of things to come. It gives an overview of the village and region where the adventure begins, then launches into the encounters-- each one laid out in the 4E delve format. While I'm personally not thrilled with the limitations of the delve format in any product, it works here. The progression between the five encounters could be a bit more detailed, but again, that's the sandbox design. There are six chapters in total, with 27 encounters in 96 pages. Combat outnumbers skill challenges about 15 to 8, but there are four purely roleplaying encounters and easily 3 to 4 of the combat encounters could be resolved through roleplay rather than initiative. If you played absolutely every encounter in this great tale, starting at 4th, you'd be creeping up on 11th level. There's quite obviously a lot to work with here. Compare that with Keep on the Shadowfell, which clocked in at 80 pages (a chunk of which were fastplay notes) and 27 encounters—all combat. The lack of a specific map of the Greater Feywild area allows you to place regions as you please, configuring the sandbox to your whims. It's another way the adventure puts a little responsibility on the GM, but I like that option, as it plays to the mutability and random nature of fae creatures. Designer notes are scattered throughout, giving insights on particular encounters and possible twists to the encounters as written. The Birch Queen's Fair is a sandbox that promises to entertain a group for *sessions*, providing characters, side games, interactions and sites that will keep them exploring and looking for more. Which gamer has ever hated going to the RenFest? Now put their characters at one... There's also a new ritual and some excellent roleplaying opportunities salted with a couple combats. Like the Fair, the Court of the River King provides another interesting sandbox with lots of chances to interact, allowing players to make new allies or engage foes in courtly duels. The best part is that many of small choices sprinkled throughout the adventure can contribute to the encounters here. It builds up to a fine cinematic conclusion that just about any group hungers for and doesn't disappoint. I'm quite thrilled by the quality and looking forward to getting a table seated to try it. -Ben.
Any leads in there to get you Art submissions looked at? Specially by Kobolds? ;) From the submission page ... If you’d like to be considered, please send a sample file, a list of previous credits, and/or link to an online portfolio to Wolfgang, or query for details. -Ben.
Now I read through this and think... "Baaad Horse, Baaad Horse! The Thoroughbred of Sin!" -Ben.
He's kind of deep in the text mines, very busy cranking on Wrath of the River King (which is in layout) and Kobold Quarterly #8 (which is due out soon, I believe)... I'm not sure he'll surface, but I'm just a minion. -Ben.
Episode 2 came out today... Hope you enjoy... -Ben.
But given that the end result of RPGSuperstar is an Adventure contract, and an Open Call gets you an Adventure contract... I'm all for writing by any means. :) Are Pathfinder Society Adventures considered the same as Pathfinder Adventures? Really, does it matter? Tell you what, if Josh Frost wants a gung-ho writer ready to launch into PS#19, I'll happily leap right into that! -Ben.
How do you know if you advance? We find out on the 20th of January, when they'll announce it on the main RPGSuperstar page. Now you get 44 days of hemming, hawing, wondering if you accidentally allowed a typo to sneak in...like the rest of us. On the upside, Pathfinder Open call for #19&20 is announced in five days, and hopefully #21&22 will have a call before then-- which should give you opportunities to distract yourself. But Keith's right, you don't want to get caught short on time for later rounds...it's not a bad plan to start brainstorming villains now, and then scrubbing them later if you make the next round. -Ben.
Here's a little something something for the upcoming "Conquest of Middle Earth." I might have had something to do with it... -Ben.
having been a fencer for years...no. If anything, slight of hand makes more sense for a substitution, because it's more about making your opponent think your attack is headed in one direction when it will truly be coming from another. Acrobatics could maybe provide a synergy bonus, but... no. I like a simulationist take on things, and I know how irritating a "that's not how it works IRL" comment can be, but really, as a fencer for 20+ years, acrobatics are not a big part of most swordplay unless you're watching some really cool kung-fu. And then I'm all for it. -Ben.
You could compromise on the point-- create groups of PrCs within organizations that allow a member to shift amongst them without issue. For instance, an evil church might have Thaumaturgists, Loremasters, and Mystic Theurges in its ranks. A member might start as a MT, find that Loremaster also fits his plans to seek out old ruins, and later, after a brush with a connivving devil decide to pursue a Thaumaturgist path. Because all these sects exist within the church, shifting is a nonissue. However, late in his career, he finds he qualifies for archmage and considers taking a level. With this model, he couldn't until he completes the stories to gain the tutelage of a Lich Archmage who was once a follower of the Church. Now he might be approached by others seeking his knowledge-- generating more stories. An Elvish warrior college might offer Arcane Archer, Duelist, and Eldritch Knight. By defeating a student of a particular school, one could begin studying that school. A druidic circle could offer Hierophant, Horizon Walker, and Loremaster, permitting advancement between PrCs after successful quests. A thieves' guild might count Assassins, Arcane Tricksters, and Shadowdancers in its number. Assisting a particular master in a job might gain the favor to learn his techniques. This bundling allows for diversity and flavor while keeping dilettante attitude from running rampant. -Ben.
None of these are so plain that you couldn't easily tie an organization to them.Exactly -- you can easily tie any sort of "fluff" to them you want, but they should be interesting in their own right as well. The game designer doesn't have to have a particular organization being part and parcel of the description (e.g. "all arcane archers come from the country of Elwher and worship the god Apollo"); that should be up to the DM to decide. The issue that arises, though, is when the DM doesn't create any organization at all and just allows the character to advance within the Prestige Class without any stories or work. At that point, there's nothing "prestigious" about the class at all-- it just becomes a souped up variant of the base classes. It's incumbent upon the DM to create that backstory and properly incorporate the PrC (and hopefully the player builds on it), otherwise the DM's just reducing the story experience for everyone involved. Then we start to see the attitude of "PrCs suck" because of misuse... -Ben.
As the other guy said, out of all of the the prestige classes in the DMG, one (or maybe two) involve organizations (Red Wizard of Thay and maybe Assassin). Let's look: Arcane Archer -- This is obviously a racial PrC, intended for the elvish.
None of these are so plain that you couldn't easily tie an organization to them. The Assassin and Duelist, perhaps the Horizon Walker, could evolve without groups, but the rest are talking about special skills that don't grow naturally out of the skillsets of base classes. They imply special training and education, teaching the secrets of those new talents. To say that you just kind of "figure out" how to do those things robs the game of a lot of potential. It eliminates stories to find those experts, to establish relationships, to earn membership, to complete training. That's a whole story arc right there. -Ben.
So you make new feats or find the 3PP feats to fill the absences in what you're looking for in a character concept. Seven to eight options, possibly 10 or 11, is a lot of choices-- especially if you're willing to allow retraining. You've got a ton of possibilities for those feats, and with all the supplements out there, you can easily customize your character concept through feats. Saying you need a PrC to meet that need seems... excessive. How many powers and abilities are you looking for in a character? Are the powers driving the stories, or is the character development driving stories? -Ben.
I'm confused. What is it that people think prestige classes should be, if not special organizations, brotherhoods, fellowships, wizard circles or mystery cults? They have a focus or a goal or a role that makes sense in the greater storyline Joining a prestige class is supposed to be more than "Hey, I meet the requirements, hand me my ID card and the first level abilities manual." It should fit the *character* and their motivations; it should drive stories. It should have a place in the greater campaign world or it just seems anachronistic, like horns on a viking helmet. If driving stories and contributing the campaign is not the purpose, then what would you say is the purpose of a prestige class? -Ben.
I remember Mayfar and their Role Aids... with a restrictive GSl I do hope to see a day were Role-Aids are reborn.Oooh. You might want to sit down for this: TSR acquired the Role Aids IP from Mayfair, so that means that Wizards owns it now. Sorry.... There's always Flying Buffalo's Citybooks... those rocked. You can still pick those up, I know I managed a complete set. -Ben.
I've been a member of the OpenDesign projects since #3, and scooped up #2 when offered the chance. I've gotten to create NPCs, playtest, see my suggestions implemented. This is more than just another product, it's an opportunity to watch a craftsman at work and add your two cents. Where else do you get that chance? -Ben.
I've seen this as a matter of preference, but in a world where we show our work, it's essential. We use it *all* the time in Living Greyhawk. When you're cranking on a module that's going to be run at a convention by people who might be in a no-sleep-caffeine-induced-quasi-wakeful state, you want the statblocks to be clear and without question. On a similar point, having the bonus feats delineated ensures that your design accounting is on target. I was recently generating blocks for a LG mod and realized that I had a spare feat that I'd not allocated precisely because I used this sort of marker. Also, given the number of statblocks I've suffered through in the last year, I can certainly say that the Paizo statblock is far more legible and easier to format than what is used in LG. -Ben.
I guess I was looking at it from a logic point of view. Having something that slips in between the vest and cloak slots, and takes up neither, just doesn't seem right to me. It just seems like an unnecessary exception to make. But then, I'm an advocate of low-magic campaigns, so my opinion might be skewed that way. I specifically designed it to not require a slot-- yes, it probably could occupy a slot, but I thought it be more valuable if it didn't and I paid for it in cost.
Exactly. I thought about putting that sort of information into it, but then focused on descriptive explanation-- how it felt, what it was made of and how it was made. I thought that seemed more on par with the item descriptions in the SRD.
That would be interesting, but likely very expensive given the costs for adding to skills. This was meant to be a cost-effective item that every group would want to have at least a couple in their inventory. I think that is probably its biggest weakness-- it's not a "sexy" item, but rather fulfills one of those "must-have" positions that a character would keep throughout their career. -Ben.
Adventurer's Mark I chose a surcoat because it was the preferred place to put one's heraldry after a shield or a banner, and it is similiar to a vest, which has a form association with protection. It doesn't take a slot because I doubled the cost to have it *not* take a slot. (although I did make a small mistake here, the cost should have been slightly higher, but not significantly so. About 700gp.) With the expansion of cloak items, and the increased importance of the vest slot as a place for the "resistance" item, I felt it was necessary to make this an unslotted item to give it longevity. These weren't intended to be random powers, but a series of powers I'd found through experience that every cleric in a fighter heavy party tends to wish he had more instances to spread amongst his companions-- and help him be in many places at once. The protection from evil effect is meant to provide a combat bonus, giving a small amount of protective resistance, AC, and most importantly-- immunity to charm and domination for the duration. Again, in a fighter heavy party where poor will saves abound, this is an item that will be a lifesaver. The touch effects were the only thing I really struggled with in design. It's also an item that I can see as the symbol of membership to a Prestige Class organization, or knightly order. It's the sort of item that a GM can be comfortable handing out at a low level to augment a party without imbalancing it. This is the sort of item a character might get early in his career and keep for the length of it. Perhaps I went too far in the sense of anti-fluff. I wanted an item that showcased a valuable and appreciated set of powers for an adventurer without pinning it to a single group. In this sense, perhaps that hurt it more than anything else. Had it been called "The Mercenary's Mark" with a comment on hard marching soldiers that helped keep each other alive and minds unclouded, it might have done better. But honestly, if your character got one, would you ever give it up? If you could get more, wouldn't you? I feel like it's a solid item that was too pedestrian for the competition-- it fulfills a very real need found at just about every table, but it probably just wasn't sexy enough. -Ben.
Here's my item: Adventurer's Mark: This is a fine surcoat of heavy silk or linen with the customizable emblem of an Adventuring Company or noble on the chest-such as a lion rampant, or a dragon, perhaps some other coat of arms. Small, 1 pound weights are sewn into the hem at either end keep it hanging appropriately. It does not occupy a magic item "slot." It feels pleasantly warm to the touch, as if it had sat in sunlight for an afternoon, and leaves a lingering sense of safety and well-being. While worn, the Mark has many powers; each is activated by a mental command. Powers should be considered cast by the wearer of the Mark, so that all effects can be cast on the wearer or another via touch. Activating a power is a standard action that does not provoke attacks of opportunity. Cure Light Wounds: 2/Day
Faint Conjuration; CL 1st; Craft Wondrous Item, Cure Light Wounds, Endure Elements, Protection From Evil; Price 2880gp *** Any comments are appreciated. -Ben.
I would say that word count is not the main way people are getting auto-rejected. Two other mistakes are more common: using content not in the SRD and failing to provide any creation/costing info. When you say "creation/costing info," do you mean the line that details caster level, required spells, and cost... or do you mean the full calculation of the cost from the formulas in the SRD? If it's the first, I can stop worrying. If it's the second, I can stop worrying. Know what I mean? -Ben.
I'd give the Belt of Dwarvenkind a thumbs up-- utility, enhancement, abilities that are all useful in a slot that is otherwise usually only used by combat-centric types. The balance is there for the social effects. Boots of striding and springing are a simple and elegant item, providing tactical and practical use. The cost is acceptable, and it fulfills a certain mythic role. The decanter of endless water? This item has a lot of potential, though that potential could easily be turned anachronistic. I'd probably still let it in, given all that potential. Losers? Iron Flask-- Still a great mythic role, but that will save is too low. Anything you'd catch you could obliterate. Helm of Brilliance-- how does it feel to wear a bomb on your head? The badguys you'd face at the level you'd use it will have maximized fireballs, and you've got a 5% chance of glassing your party everytime you take a little fire damage. Restorative Ointment-- You can get 5 potions of CLW, and 5 potions in any combination of Remove Disease or Neutralize Poison. Is the flexibility really worth it? With the potions, you still get the CLW without sacrificing one of the greater effects. -Ben.
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