Valeros: "Hey, girls! Where are you going? I was just getting comfy! Its not like the bogeyman is hiding in here..."
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You could also look into some of the software out there specifically for this. My group uses Fantasy Grounds and Skype to play, and it works exceptionally well. Check them both out on the web for more information.
Might I suggest checking out or at least talking to these guys. They are a print shop that has taken on gaming printing as a specialty. http://www.gamer-printshop.com/index.html
CHINA MIEVILLE!!!! That's right, I'm yelling. And for those of you David Gemmel fans out there, you must have missed the message that he is no longer with us. http://u.tv/newsroom/indepth.asp?id=10912&pt=e Not sure how to create fancy links
In a home brew I dabbled in, I had this set up to handle this problem exactly: Treatment of the Dead and Funeral Rites The treatment of the dead varies considerably among the population of Eldarr, depending on the religion that the fallen follows. For the followers of the AllFather and the Mother, it is considered to be a grave insult to the dead to perform their funeral rites differently than is expected for their religion. The worshipers of the AllFather consider the soul to be something apart from the body, and to be a gift bestowed by the AllFather himself. As such, funerals are performed by a priest of the AllFather. The priest needs to perform the last rites for the fallen to enable a conduit for his soul from earth to Heaven. If the last rites are not performed, the soul is believed to be caught in Purgatory and unable to pass to Heaven. If a soul is caught in Purgatory, it is considered to be vulnerable to being taken by the forces of Hell. The body is then entombed with their ancestors (possibly a carryover from the worship of the Mother by the inhabitants of early Eldarr) and a marker place over the tomb denoting the name of the fallen. These markers vary from a simple headstone of wood for a commoner to an elaborate mausoleum for a king. The individual possessions of the dead are passed on to the family of the fallen, and failing that, become the property of the Church of the AllFather to help in the fight against evil. For the worshipers of the Mother, the soul is immortal and death simply a passing from one world to the next and the places of the living and the dead are continually exchanged. As such, the possessions of the dead are considered needed by the fallen in the afterlife, and are buried with the fallen for use in the afterlife. The warriors are buried in their chariots with all their weapons, animals, and household possessions, as well as their rank insignia. The tomb is then covered with a funeral mound, known as a tumulus, and often a statue is placed on top. It is considered to be a grave misfortune and ill luck for the body of a fallen worshiper of the Mother to be burned, and worshipers will go to great pains to ensure that a dead body is not burned, as the body is needed in the afterlife. For the followers of the demons of Hell, the body is commited to the flame and burned. Fire is seen as a symbol of the fires of Hell, and is thought to pass the body and soul to Hell that much quicker, and as such into the possession of their fell demon patrons. The possessions of the dead fall to whoever is strong enough to take them and keep them from being taken.
Thanks, Vic. It would be a real shame in this world of electronic media to lose the gold mine for the game represented by Dungeon. The longer they are available, the better for the game and the better for the writers that contributed their blood, sweat and tears.
I am sure this has been answered elsewhere, but what does that mean after the apocalypse (the ceasation of publication of Dragon and Dungeon) for finding back issues? Will we still be able to purchase pdf back issues from Paizo as stock runs out of the print back issues?
... I would never have thought Orcus was red. He isn't, he's just embarrased that he hasn't made an appearance in an adventure path yet!
I am planning on attending this year, and it will be my FIRST (yes, I am a Gencon virgin. There, it is out there for all to see. Feel free to ridicule me!) Any advice from the Gencon veterans out there?
War/strike force/seige breaking with a bit of a political backdrop would be incredible. A 3-adventure arc would be super. Oh, and also.......................MORE STYES PLEASE!!!
One of the more computer savvy players in our group has set up a discussion forum on his own. It works great...we keep world info (player guide type of info) with the various subcategories (cultures, races, class info, etc), house rules, player character info (history, goals etc), and general discussion (play times, funnies, etc) all in their own categories. The players and I are addicted...we all check it at least daily, and everyone is quite active. Wouldn't do it any other way now, and is much faster/more flexible than a website/emails/etc.
- Greyhawk : 42
One for homebrew
Thanks, Vic. My fat fingers missed. I did mean 114. Thanks for the quick response. I will be ordering it when it is up!
I went to pick up the back issue for #116 in anticipation of STAP, and found that it was currently unavailable. Will it become available again, or a pdf version come out soon?
We tried Teamspeak, but found that the voice quality was significantly better with Skype.
Sure! Email me at tom.staples@mosaicco.com and we'll set it up. I may have an opportunity to bring you in to play one of the characters if someone can't make it, which seems to happen in the summer months.
My gaming group has been using Fantasy Grounds with skype for the last 8 months, and it has been working flawlessly. We researched teleconferencing and VOIP options from top to bottom, and Skype was the best option for us. The biggest limitation with Skype is that you are limited to 5 lines, so you are limited to how many player can join. Computer headsets are worth their weight in gold, and have the player with the fastest connection (definately not DM as Fantasy Grounds can bring his gateway to its knees) conference everyone in. Fantasy Grounds has worked exceptionally well for us. It is a little more work for the DM in preparation, but once you get used to it it isn't bad at all.
Well, here is what I am thinking. All of your comments have been great, and I think I will incorporate a bit of all of them. Economics will play a very important part of my world, so all of these ideas will help. With magic, what I am thinking is to have a new kind of crystal as described above. These crystals are kind of like batteries...you need them in addition to the regular components to cast magic. The crystal is the source of the energy that drives the magic...the components, gestures and incantation are the conduits that release the energy. When you buy a crystal, it is fully charged, so you have a 0% chance of the crystal failing following the release of the magical energy from it. With each successive use, there is a culmulative chance (likely 1% per use, haven't decided if higher level spells will use more energy or not) that the crystal will 'burn out' (become unusuable) with the expenditure of that spell. The user then needs to purchase another crystal to fuel his spells. Since they are cotrolled by a relative few, the ability to purchase these crystals and the value at which they are traded will depend on your (or your nationalities) relationship with the crystal supply controllers (I'll call them the dweebs for now). If a country is on good terms with the dweebs, the supply of crystals is consistant, so the prices remain relatively cheap. If a country is on poor terms with the dweebs, the supply is low or inconsistant, so the price is substantially higher. If you mix that in with certain groups controlling components (guano, diamonds, pearls, etc as has been suggested - thanks, guys!) to try and keep their fingers on the magic economy, you have a rather dynamic set of circumstances and an economy around magic that can have significant impacts on the economies/well being/power of various nations. Different locations of the world will be high magic (good access to crystals AND components) and low magic (poor access to either), giving very different flavors between regions, based upon a completely new fantasy economy. This will make for different role playing experiences (and DMing flavor) in different regions of the world. Also, think of the prospecting adventure opportunities looking for new sources of crystals or components! Thoughts, comments, queries? Your advice has been immeasurable!
I figured out how to change my profile name. I am so techie!!! More fantastic ideas. I am interested in having the resource of magic (whatever that may turn out to be) something that is desired by many. Sure, you can live without it, like we can live without petroleum, but life is so much more pleasant with it. That is why I came around to magic. The rich nations (the ones with trade/resource advantages) can afford to have more magic, so their society becomes more 'comfortable' and dependant on that resource. Now, lets say that the control of the supply of that resource is in the hands of a select few, or a rogue state (going with the oil metaphor here). That makes for an interesting set of dynamics politically/economically/socially. I see it making an extremely interesting world that the players will understand and feel comfortable with, drawing them further into the dynamics of the world. Keep the ideas coming!!!
I figured (and hoped) you would weigh in, Lilith. Your world-building ideas are always great, and on a similar wavelength to me. Excellent suggestions, but I am still interested in the magic/mana. Has anyone tried to develop or had experience with a mechanic like this?
I am in the midst of investing my soul into a homegrown campaign world for D&D, and I came upon this idea...Has anyone tried to develop some mechanic/commodity that drives the politics and economies of their world? Take for example oil in today's world, gold in the 15th century, or spice from Dune? One idea I am throwing around is magic...could it be controlled by a select few within a specific geography? Perhaps a race of dweebs inhabiting a mountainous region with active volcanoes that produce crystallized magic that is used to fuel spells or items, for example. Thoughts/ideas/comments/experiences are welcome |