Phil C.'s page

I'm sure this question has been asked, but would any prominent cartographers feel like stepping forward and giving some ideas of how one actually goes about creating Dungeon quality maps? That is, do you use Photoshop and layers? Do you draw things by hand? Do you start out with a beige background, a grid over that and then draw on top of that? How does all of this work? I guess a minor tutorial is what I'm looking for.. I think it would be tremendous fun to do. Thanks.

Ok, so in the Lizardfolk lair there's a guy infected by a slow worm. He's in 6c, I believe. When you kill him, he explodes with worms and everybody runs off to the tell the Shaman and the King. Here's what I'm confused about:

One of the lizardfolk in 6c is an unsuspecting host of an undead parasite. [...] In a few days he'll succumb to the parasites and turn into a spawn of Kyuss, but if killed by the PCs he falls dead and one round later the desperate worms crawl out of his flesh and die on the floor. Any other lizardfolk that see the worms are horrified, remembering the loss of their eggs two years ago, and flee to tell the shaman and king what happened (to the point of ignoring the PCs). [...] A DC 20 Heal check reveals the infestation for what it is. Remove Disease or a similar effect can save the lizardfolk. If the PCs cure him, any lizardfolk in the area are impressed enough with their actions to encourage the PCs to seek out the shaman Hishka to report their findings.

So, wait; what are the King and Shaman's reactions? The shaman wants peace, but as detailed in his section, at the cost of killing the King. Does the King react violently either way? Is the only way to get peace by killing the King? Also, if the lizardfolk is already dead, how does the heal check work? Is it suggesting that the PCs would heal him when the battle stops, or do a Heal check to see what's going on?

How was this handled in your campaigns? Or how would you handle this?

I read your editorial piece in the new Dungeon and I thought to myself, "I have connection to none of these things." I had never heard of Dragotha, I never played in the Tomb of Horros. The first Forgotten Realms thing I bought was the revised campaign setting in the late days of TSR. For me "classic" D&D (from middle school, when I was in my height of playing) is the original Dark Sun adventure series, Dragon Mountain, Undermountain, and Player's Option books. While I understand your desire to design the classic D&D campaign, for me it doesn't have that same feel. This isn't classic D&D. For me, until 3e came out, this was the D&D of the old guys who wouldn't leave the old game behind (though, oddly, the same guys entrenched themselves even deeper when 3e came out).

Now this isn't a negative critique. The Age of Worms is awesome, as I wrote to you a couple of months ago. I just wanted to remind you that D&D isn't the same thing for all people and I, for one, miss some of the more epic things that TSR was trying to do in the late days (even if they weren't exactly succeeding at them). I feel like the Greyhawk setting is generic and my love of D&D wasn't forged in the dungeon crawl style, but rather in a Dragonlance or Dark Sun style of epic adventure. While I love the Age of Worms, it really never tugged any of those heart strings that connect me to the old games.

Keep up the good work. Go Vikes. ;)
-Phil

Hey-

So I've been DMing for a long time, but I've never been very good at running published adventures. They have a tendency to seem contrived and I have a tendency to pause during them and re-read descriptions and stuff. I'm used to being able to write down stats on a page, sketch out a basic map with some basic info on it, and do most of it from the noggin', as I see it. Players love that style, but frankly I just don't have the time to do it anymore. These styles also convert poorly. ;)

But that's where I need help; how can I make an adventure seem fluent, natural, home-brewed? What are good ways to remember all of the necessary information so I don't need to go reviewing room descriptions half-way through an adventure? How does one go about making a published adventure seem like it's ones own? Give me some help here. I worry that I won't be able to do the Age of Worms justice if I don't put some serious thought into how I'm going to run them successfully.

Thanks,
-Phil

Hey guys-

So I've been DMing since I was knee-high to an Arcturan Megagrasshopper, but I have this one, tiny issue. The issue is I can't recall having ever actually successfully run a published adventure. I was trained in the hardcore DMing camp, which is all about originality. This is wearing a bit thin as I grow older and busier. I don't have much time to sit and homebrew a campaign, I'm busy (and I'm out of liver of knewt).

So I'm left in an apprehensive spot. As stated above, I have never had success with published adventures. They've always felt foreign, contrived, etc. Or, in my opinion, they've just been bad adventures. But then I started reading the Age of Worms. I want to run them, but I'm nervous about doing them justice or about them falling flat on their face because I goofed it up somehow. Working from a homebrew script gives a guy a lot of freedom to function with story, and pretty easily from memory. One of the major issues is that I have trouble concentrating on published material. I find myself not remembering something important and having to read descriptions again, etc., this obviously wastes time, makes me look totally unprepared, and the game quickly breaks down into tangenting. Frankly, in the past, the games have not been fluid like my other games are. I don't get the same reactions that I'm used to illiciting from players, and this is all frustrating.

But let's face it, that liver of knewt shortage is pretty bad and I'm also extremely busy, so there's hardly any way that I can run games if I can't run published adventures. So, help me out here! What are some tricks for running published adventures and making them seem fluid, alive, homebrewed? What are some good tips for preparing the adventures so that I'll remember the details I need and won't end up having to re-read or stop play? How can I really make these adventures seem like they're right out of my noodle?

Thanks a lot,
-Phil

I am a big fan of the online content! However, I noticed that you're putting more than one thing on a page. Wouldn't it be more conveniant for DM use if you were to put one map to a page? What's the concensus on this?

Also, I hadn't really been paying much attention, but is it standard that the online content isn't released until the month after it's been sent out to subscribers? I know you're busy, but the sooner the better, if you know what I'm saying..