Ian Hewitt's page

If you google the name of the play, someone has also proposed a plot for the play if you want to get that detailed.

Thanks so much for the advice! I wonder if you could link me to the plot of the play... I haven't been able to find it.

Did any PCs attend the premier of 'The Harpy's Curse' at the Sandpoint Theatre?

I have a bard PC with the Eager Performer Campaign Trait, so she has a strong motivation to attend the play, network meet with diva Allishandra and the rest of the actors. Has anyone tackled this?

Expedition, the D&D3.5 hardback, was co-written by the Paizo gang and seems like they are putting their stamp of Greyhawk.

I wonder, if the PCs see through Gallancz' disguise and confront him and/or Ricard... do they fess up? Do they have a cover story? Do they bribe/threaten/trust the PCs with the secret?

I would love to hear other DM's experiences with this module.

For example, the text "the Gallancz facade is easily penetrated..." but doesn't give any advice as to how Gallancz and Damaris might react if confronted or questioned by PCs on their deception.

Has this come up for anyone?

I know it's not Paizo, but it's pedigree certainly is... has there been any discussion of the module here? Where would be the appropriate place to ask a few questions?

I'm a fan of Erik Mona's 'dragonchess' game as played in the Green Dragon Inn (Expedition to the Ruins of Greyhawk).

Are there any other examples of dice/card/board games, or encounters featuring games, that the PCs can actually play in character...

Can anyone help to jog my memory... it could have been in Dungeon or one of the earlier AP's but I remember an encounter where a building - or perhaps many buildings - are on fire and the PCs were required to be really creative in fighting the fire.

Does anyone know what I'm talking about?

Can anyone point me in the right direction?

Many thanks.

I'm having similar problems. I'm almost 5th level, I'm almost out of time but I cannot get the damn fog to lift. I know where the Abandoned Hut and Temple of the Elk are supposed to be, but they don't show up on my map?

I'm enjoying the hell out of the game, but 2 simple questions...

How does Amiri rage? I can't find any way of activating her ability.

How does the Power Attack feat work? I see it as an icon on my character portrait but cannot figure out how to use it.

I'll echo everyone who has wished for kid friendly games. Aged 8 or so, and up. I wouldn't alter the rules, just the story content and themes.

To those wishing for alternate paladins I'd recommend Monte Cook's Champion character class from Arcana Evolved. Monte also designed a great variant paladin in The Book of Hallowed Might, including Neutral-Good and Chaotic-Good paladins.

My own wish would be for an aquatic campaign path. But not one designed for surface dwellers who are well equipped with water breathing and free action - but an all-underwater campaign with aquatic-only PCs. Maybe they get to poke their heads above the water briefly, but the entire game might take place far below the ocean waves.

Anyone who is familiar with The Pinnacles of Azor'Alq forum game on Canonfire will know what I'm wishing for...

It sounds like Castles & Crusades to me... which is about as New-Old Skool as you can get, right?

Yes please!

I am in GMT but can hopefully make my hours match with a little pre-planning. I have no experience playing online, but I looking to get some experience so I can hopefully run my own game in the same fashion.

How soon do you expect the game to begin?

Excuse the dumb question... but if the DM runs Skype/Maptools on a Mac but all of his PCs are on PCs - that won't be a problem, will it?

Has anyone experienced using Skype to play their games?

Is it even plausible for all of the players and the DM to be on Skype and still run a good game? I would foresee the following problems:

1) Dice rolling. There are enough online dice rollers, but I would be happy to trust players with their own dice even if the dice are not actually on camera. Provided they trust me likewise, of course...

2) Character sheets. I already use Obsidian Portal as a base for my campaign, so digital character sheets are taken care of.

3) Mini's and battle mats. I am a big fan, but I can't see a way around this one. Either I, as DM, set up a battle mat that can be viewed my camera (which is practically impossible without a separate webcam).

Or perhaps there is some program for shared documents, something like d20Pro, but I feel they lack the spontaneity of a sharpie and battle mat. I have no talent when it comes to setting up digital battle mats.

4) Lastly, does skype even support conference calls? Or would all my players need to gather behind one webcam, with me behind another?

I'd really appreciate hearing from anyone with any insight/advice.

Cheers

Has anyone ever produced a cheat sheet for Skill conversions between Pathfinder and Monte Cook's AE? Or is there anyone out there kind enough to summarize the differences between the Skill chapters?

It seems to me that the Pathfinder skills are more akin to AE than to 3.5.

I honestly thought it was in Dungeon... but perhaps it was in Dragon. That would make more sense given that it was a pull out adventure. I think it was for mid level characters 5th -7th or so...

It's not much to go on is it?

Here's what I remember... it was a pull-out module in the center pages, on glossy paper in the Second Edition days when the magazine was stapled on news paper.

The adventure featured a dungeon, a bridge over a river/canyon, there may have been a dramatic fight on that bridge...

Does anyone have any idea what I'm talking about..?

The first PC is posted on the site, Selar a 5th level sibeccai Rogue/Silvertongue Charmer who finds himself slapped in chains and condemned into slavery.

Just 10 days left to send me your character ideas.

Thanks for your interest everybody. Apologies, but I do not check this thread as often as I should. A more reliable way of getting in touch is through my game's forum at Obsidian Portal.

@Gandal... Arcana Evolved is just a tweak from 3.5, but the differences are so slight I wouldn't worry about it. I also am working to include most significant rules on the game's wiki. The campaign setting is loosely Arabian, more often than not, dark and rough. Mature themes. A familiarity with my inspirations is not necessary.

@Pixel... the game will take place on the Obsidian Portal forum. I already have one game ongoing there, so everyone is welcome to take a look and now what you're getting yourself in for. Our previous games are archived under the Adventure Log tab.

And yes... ProfessorM... I am still looking for players for this (and my ongoing game), so I'll look forward to hearing from you all.

I am looking for new players for my PbP.

Take a look at our game's forums and sound off if you are interested...

http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaigns/the-world-of-llowellen

I have a dedicated PbP website on the Obsidian Portal site and I will run any game or campaign that enough people request of me.

Come see me on my forums...

http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaigns/the-world-of-llowellen

Thank you for your interest. Gandal and Edgar, I look forward to hearing from you.

Havoc, I am trying to find some players for my Play by Post game. Please feel free to check out the link at the top of the original post.

The game beginning Sep 22 uses a hybrid of Pathfinder and Arcana Evolved for its rules, but the setting is inspired by a dark blend of Al Qadim and Dark Sun.

The new game begins on the 22nd, I will take as many players as would like to play, but once the game begins no new players will be accepted.

I have an ongoing game that has room for 1-3 new players, you can find all the info by following the link at the top of the page.

Or email me at ianehewitt@hotmail.com

Thanks all, you have no idea how difficult it is to find quality players - especially online players!

www.obsidianportal.com/campaign/the-world-of-llowellen

A short Play by Post game for as many PCs as wish to join.
Begins 22 September 2011

It was a dark, hot room with no ventilation, that bumped and rocked gently as the great wagon was pulled steadily across the desert by giant tortoise-like beasts. The wagon was heavily laden with it’s human cargo, as others in the caravan were burdened with building supplies.

The slaves were secured with elven hair ropes and shackles; men and women alike were manacled at the wrist, ankle and collar. They had enough reach in their manacles to reach a shared chamber pot in the middle of the slave hold, further ridding them of any dignity they may once have had.

The caravan labored under the flag of Merchant House Summonel, a company that had fallen on ill luck and bad times. It was heavily guarded by hired mercenaries; sibeccai outriders, mounted on two-legged lizards capable of crossing the dunes at a great gallop; and lines of troglodyte ghilman bearing shield and spear.

Among the slaves was the witch Meloria. Meloria had, until recently, been an adviser to a Merchant-Captain employed by this very same Merchant House. Meloria’s caravan had been attacked by pirates, and she was lucky enough to have fled into the desert. But there her luck ran out, she was found by a separate caravan and press-ganged into the slave hold. Her pleas for release fell on deaf ears.Mysticsibeccai

Now, she and her fellow slaves were bound for the brickyards of Yhakkoth.

The World of Llowellen is looking for players to join a Play by Forum game hosted at Obsidian Portal.

http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaign/the-world-of-llowellen/wikis/main-pa ge

Interested players can investigate the campaign setting in a sandbox style or participate in an ongoing campaign path.

"As the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion..."

- President John Adams, The opening words of the Treaty of Tripoli

I'll echo what Daniel said before: the biggest stars in this film were the costumes, set dressing and the city of London itself. I've lived in London, and walked across Tower Bridge, wandered the streets and this was one of the best renditions of olde London that I've seen on screen.

Holmes and Watson were solid characters. Fair representations of the source material, if a little campier, but certainly not arm-chair detectives. Holmes was always a boxer and martial artist in the stories. Sorry. Holmes' fondness of narcotics is implied, but certainly not explicit.

It does have a few warts, Ritchies' boxing match is cool, but it is discordant and the fast-cuts particularly in the first act are a little distracting. But these are small points, especially if this film is held up against the average comic-book superhero flick.

It's a fun popcorn movie.

Cheers

I wrote my own obituary and then posted it, via blogger, a couple of weeks in the future. I keep it a couple of weeks in the future.

If anything should happen to me... you'll be able to read it, in a couple of weeks at ianehewitt.blogspot.com

I've been looking around for a really good ship/boat template scaled for D&D Miniatures. I have the Gamemastery Waterfront pack in my cart, but haven't been able to find any really good screen shots for it yet.

The ship featured in the GameMastery Flip-Mat looks nice but too large of a boat for my needs - and I need more than one to stage some great ship-to-ship scraps.

I remember seeing a game being played at Gen Con with what looked like constructable, thin wooden pieces... does anyone, who can send me a link, have any idea what I'm talking about?

Or any good suggestions?

Any chance of seeing a sample of this in the store blog?

I'd love to see a sample screen shot of the boats, I'm getting ready to run some upcoming sand-ship action (Open Design's The Sand Pirates) and I'm hoping this map-pack will fit the bill.

It's even sitting in my shopping cart right now...

OK this is completely NOT political correct...

but winning an internet argument is like winning the Special Olympics. At the end of the day you are still a retard.

And let me apologize to everyone in advance... lol but ifyou want to argue about it and hope to win... read the above statement again!

lol

oh by the way... yes on occasion I hitch a ride on the short bus too!

I'm not looking to pick a fight, and I recognize your disclaimer, and as someone who counts more 'retards' and 'special' people among his friends and co-workers than not, I find this incredibly offensive.

Detestably so.

Cheers
Ian

I'm searching high and low for a good Kraken mini. I'd love to find one for an upcoming set piece battle... does anyone have any good recommendations?

Cheers
Ian

Bram Stoker's Dracula Soundtrack

Move along please, nothing to see here.

'Pretty Vacant' by The Sex Pistols for Palin.
'Knockin on Heaven's Door' by Dylan for McCain

'We Are The Champions' by Queen for Obama
and 'Ooops, I Did It Again' by Britney Spears for Obiden

I'll get you next year, hope all went?

My friend and I once tried to have a light-saber fight with a pair of those tube-type light bulbs you find in class rooms and offices. It wasn't the smartest idea we had ever had and it ended with predictable results - don't it at home, kids.

Fighting with faux weapons is always a great deal of fun however! As you can see: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVm1lLdKCu0

That's a really incredible photo... what's the CR on one of those?

Sarah who?

I did exactly this in a long-term 2e campaign that DMed. My greatest resource was a Dragon magazine - I do not remember the number, but it would have been in the 1990's and it was a Castles-special.

There were a couple of castles detailed with floorplans, and several articles - IIRC - with new equipment and spells, magic items and the like, but the greatest article had tables of encounters that would happen at the castle. Things like, food stores have gone bad, bad morale among the villagers, bumper crop in the village, War! and the like. This pretty simple article inspired tons of material for my game and I'd use it again if I could find it.

They might be some conversion required here and there, but that just adds to the fun!

I have just recently concluded DM-ing 3.5 Irilian campaign (taking the PCs from 1st to 7th). I have now ran that adventure in every edition of D&D and it remains a wonderful time. I took more than a few liberties with it (for the purposes of my home world I transplanted Irilian into a Dark Sun-esque/Mesopotamian land with sibeccai as the dominant race and Unseelie fey as the ruling classes), but kept it otherwise very close to the original.

It is true that it is huge in scope and it did detail a city and an adventure path over six issues, but in the old-school style the entire compilation would run way under 32 pages.

I blogged my campaign and you can read it at ianehewitt.blogspot.com - just look for the Genesis tag in the left-hand menu.

The Eagle Hunt was also a gem that I ran in 1e and 2e but I haven't dusted it off more recently than that. If I recall, there was a chance that the heroes might end up transplanted into Mega-City One (as a way to plug GW Judge Dredd RPG of the day, I'm sure), but I never went there... my players were too busy escaping from the dungeon they accidently flooded!

It simply cannot be stated enough times, so I'm adding my voice to the chorus: Kobold Quarterly is the future of RPG magazines - regardless of where the mighty Baur decides to take it.

I'll be reading and if I could extend my subscription through the next sixty years or so, then I would!

I read somewhere - and I can't remember where, apologies - about the expiration of the d20 License. Does someone want to jump into this quagmire and explain what this does to third-arty publishers?

I barely grasp the difference between the d20 License and the OGL, and I do understand that Pathfinder is basically a rebranding (with a few tinkers along the way) of D&D 3.5... but what will be the fate of the small, nay, the tiny third-party publishers? Will intrepid folks still be able to publish their homebrewed 3.5 pdf's on EN World and such places? Or will that trickle dry up and fade away because of legal issues or even a shift of interest?

Has anyone here played through Wolfgang Baur's Oasis of the Blood Moon (from Six Arabian Nights)? I will be quickstarting a new campaign very soon with Oasis as my opening act. I would curious to hear from anyone who DM-ed or played through on any advice or troubleshooting that you might be able to offer.

Has anyone ever had, or been to, a geek-themed wedding or wedding reception? Not necessarily d20 themed, but geek themed in general.

I'm planning just such and throught I would plum the boards for any suggestions and advice.

Cheers!

take the tipping out of the equation, and enforce a normal minimum wage scheme on restaurants/bars, and you can kiss the good waiters/bartenders goodbye. NO ONE but the bottom wrung would put up with the job if it only paid $10 an hour....

If that is indeed true, how do you explain the equal and/or superior quality of customer service outside of the United States?

I'll make two points in the ongoing debate here. Firstly who thought that it would be an improvement upon existing customer services to have recorded messages that actually call you on the phone? It is bad enough to be dragged away from your own family and your own business by some random marketing call - but it is worse still to discover that the caller is not a human.

The inventor of that particular customer service should be condemned to burn in a fire.

Secondly, I'll pose a question. To those who have experienced both, what noticeable differences are there in restaurant customer service between the US and the UK?

I am British but have lived in the US for eight years so I've noticed a few. Notably, the tipping culture. There is no tipping culture in the UK comparable with the US and that leaves me feeling wrong-footed all the time while Stateside. There is something inherently evil about tipping I feel, because it is both rude and bad practise not to tip, and yet it is unethical to be coerced into supporting a flawed system that perpetuates lower than minimum wages for certain professionals. It is funny to watch British wait staff start jumping when they hear an American accent though as they clearly have learned that Americans will pay over the odds for them to do their job adequately.

I have also learned that to get a good cup of tea you need to be in the UK, but to get a good cup of coffee you should be in the US.

I would watch it.. sounds cool, but for reasons I cannot fathom my Java-wossnames no longer work on my computer and I keep discovering new websites and links that no longer work.

Shame.

We just fluffed and drew a big blue river across the length of o battlemat last night. I'm here to buy another one, but in the meantime I will certainly try Keraptis' advice and if that doesn't work... what kind of abrasive cleaner do you recommend Lilith?

If ever there was a post in need of an update?

Did you survive the experience?

Cheers
Ian

ianehewitt.blogspot.com

It's funny to reflect back upon the meta-game mechanics, such as this, that we once accepted in terms of game balance. One might argue that players deserve 473 magical weapons if they defeated that many heavily-armed drow opponents...

Cheers
Ian
ianehewitt.blogspot.com