Raemann's page

Update to the earlier post(s)

We are playing down at the Comic Quest on Thursday nights from 6PM till 9PM. It is coming along, slowly, but that is better than not at all. we have 4 of us playing and others are asking about the games so it looks good. At the moment we are going through "The Smuggler's Shiv" which is part one of the "Serpent's Skull" series. I plan to do modules until we can get enough folks to run Pathfinder Society tables. Three of us are DMs so we got the start we just need the numbers.

Well Well! Week three of gaming at the Comic Quest in Pathfinder. It has been kinda different - My wife, Tammy and I were the only ones there for the first two weeks, but we didn't let that stop us. We each ran character that we shamelessly overpowered and then took on various foes within the Beginner's Box. Taking turns attacking monsters and one another, whenever the initiative went to the monsters, we had some good fun despite being low in numbers. This past week we hooked up with another couple that gamed with us before they went off to IU to school. We started the Smuggler's Shiv, part one of the 6 part "Serpent's Skull" series. Everyone had fun and I had a couple more people ask me about the game and about Pathfinder. It seems like there are a number of people looking to get into Pathfinder gaming and there are a number of "home games" out there. I want to play at my place on the weekends, primarily because I have so many options in my gaming center that I have built, but also because Saturdays are locked up by other games that got there first. I still want to have out Thursday Comic Quest gaming so that we can - at some point - switch that totally to Pathfinder Society play. It would be nice to have 5 or 6 tables going there and the ability to see everyone in the surrounding area that games.

The folks at the Comic Quest mentioned a "Game Day" that some Paizo folks called them on. I hope to assist that in whatever way I can. So I plan on getting back in touch with Tracy. More later as it all develops!

What rules did he use to support that? Because only BAB and feats/class features grant extra attacks with manufactured weapons.

Edit: Um...x3 is the critical hit multiplier on a bow attack.

SEE!! I SAID THAT- people went off road on me. On a positive note we had more fun than I have ever had when a rule issue broke out. People were laughing about Clark "Goblin" Kent - the mild mannered Monster by day...

I think that it woulda been nice if a more in depth discussion coulda been made of such things in the Beginner's Box or even in the general rules. I remembered that from the Con and not the book.

So,

Where is that rule? What book?

You know I used to think that someone had simplified this, but it appears not.
We just had the debate of debates with all parties in the store tossing in their two cents. it was surreal...

I saw a post where a guy asked to get the number of attacks thing answered and he seemed more confused at the end than he was at the beginning. I know that I was... he asked,

"But if the monster uses a full round action to attack it gets to attack with ALL listed forms of attack unless they are separated with the word OR?"

PUHLEASE! that is insane

Either the (@$%#$+ thing attacks three times in a round with claw, claw bite or it doesn't - SAY THAT.

We spent an hour and 40 minutes arguing over how since a goblin has Ranged short bow +4 (1d4/×3) that he can shoot three times in a round. My position running the game was, "No way, he is CR 1/3 and has 135 XP". People didn't know for certain and after an hour of searching the core rule book, all three bestiaries, the advanced players guide and a number of web sites I moved play on by saying, "I invoke the mantle of Gygax!"
"Since it is a flippin level 1, CR 1/3 monster it gets one attack a round"
"If you folks want a steroid one I will make one up, adjust the CR and the treasure and the XP to boot and let you fight that".
Of course, to this day no one can determine WTF the writer of this conflagration meant with the X3 - so we just ignore it.

I suppose someone out there knows, but I like the world I live in and since I am essentially omnipotent in it - I say he gets 1 attack a round!

But, in truth - I really wanna know the answer, so I don't run a game at a major event and get busted out as a cheater or some such (#@%%^.

Jeff, Tracy,

I dropped by the Comics Quest store in Evansville, there on Morgan Avenue. They were very busy with a tournament for Pokemon. Seems they have some tournaments from time to time and if folks host a tournament there is a small fee. I got to talk to the owner and he was very friendly and helpful. He seemed open to having a PFS session or sessions there at his establishment. He also suggested that although he did not have anyone playing Pathfinder Games that he did sell allot of the books so he figures that someone is playing ... someplace. As a matter of fact he thinks that one of them was needing more people in their game.

He was open to my placing fliers about the store and getting a spot on his web site once we have dates that we are going to run things. So, I am going to get some fliers together, draw up a few things and then get my little add on for the Beginner's Box and trot down there to set up shop. I am hoping that others might wish to join in and go to a full fledged run of the Ssssserpent'ssss Sssskull Sssseries. Looks good, just have a bit of work and some negotiating to do and BAM - we may have the beginnings of a lodge right here in E-ville.

Raemann raemann@aetherealplane.com

The Aether Web
The Aether Blog

Update: 03-07-2012

I dropped by and talked to the proprietor of the Comic Quest and we agreed upon having Thursday be the best day to meet for Pathfinder Gaming. I am putting together some Beginners Box stuff and then hope to start doing PFS scenarios in preparation for running some things at Gencon this fall. I also hope to attract the attention of other folks interested in PF RPG or PFS and those which already have a game going in their homes. Monty suggested that there were folks in that had a "basement game" going already. I think they met on the weekend. My wife and I are committing to gaming there in public on Thursday nights in hopes of better establishing a solid presence for a Pathfinder Lodge.

Raemann raemann@aetherealplane.com

The Aether Web
The Aether Blog

Hello guys!

I was looking for a quick reference sheet that I as a new Pathfinder DM could use for encounters. I was thinking about making one myself, but if it's allready done it would just be a waste of time.

So, anyone who could point me in the right direction? (apparently my google-fu is weak).

Better late than never I say.

I use this one site with my iPad and it ownZ cause it is free and comprehensive and very navigable. D20 Pathfinder SRD.

Web Site
Blog

Jeff, Tracy,

I dropped by the Comics Quest store in Evansville, there on Morgan Avenue. They were very busy with a tournament for Pokemon. Seems they have some tournaments from time to time and if folks host a tournament there is a small fee. I got to talk to the owner and he was very friendly and helpful. He seemed open to having a PFS session or sessions there at his establishment. He also suggested that although he did not have anyone playing Pathfinder Games that he did sell allot of the books so he figures that someone is playing ... someplace. As a matter of fact he thinks that one of them was needing more people in their game.

He was open to my placing fliers about the store and getting a spot on his web site once we have dates that we are going to run things. So, I am going to get some fliers together, draw up a few things and then get my little add on for the Beginner's Box and trot down there to set up shop. I am hoping that others might wish to join in and go to a full fledged run of the Ssssserpent'ssss Sssskull Sssseries. Looks good, just have a bit of work and some negotiating to do and BAM - we may have the beginnings of a lodge right here in E-ville.

Raemann raemann@aetherealplane.com

The Aether Web
The Aether Blog

Jeff,

I wanted to say - Thank You.

So many times we get the help we want and don't acknowledge the kindness of others. I took your advice and contacted Tracy. I appreciate all of the points that you made. You are helping myself and my wife make the smooth transition to Pathfinder. Having her on board my gaming experience has made it all the better. (shameless plug for points just in case she reads the thread)

Over the years (since 77) I have ran a number of games, crafted a world and played in Europe and America. So what. Now that I am gaming again and in Pathfinder RPG I feel a bit daunted and excited at the same time. Though I /flex when it comes to telling the story I find equal challenge in the chore of actually getting into the scene. You know, I want to move from running games in DnD etc and play in the Pathfinder arc, however some challenges exist:
1) I need more people to form a group locally. Though my wife is an avid player she needs a bit of help out there in the cold cruel reaches of Golarion.
2) I wanted to participate at Gencon and well, other cons to be honest, however, in order to do that I really need to know the right people. Like the person that organizes alla the tables, preps the modules, etc..
3) I like to perform and I agree with a point another person made, "GMs need to run thru their modules well ahead of the con. I have been in performances and we rehearsed. I believe that IF DMs engage their players like they are an audience - and active audience that directs the story arc - then more people would play
4) Finally, I have had to "go back to school". It never fails that I am in a game and some fellow goes, "Well, if you look on page 328, paragraph 2, table 13-11a you will find that I can indeed make my wall of stone form horizontile as long as some portion touches the floor ..." I actually love it when people do the unexpected, however in order to RP offa that I need to have the rules written well in mind.

So, any Masters out there needing an over the hill Padawan?

In the Evansville area there is a store called "Comic Quest" that has a gaming room. I have put a call for gamers on their bulletin board, but I believe the folks there are in other milieus. The place sells a few Pathfinder books and such, but I do not believe they have any special arrangement. I have tried to locate a venture captain in the area and cannot. I communicated with other VCs around Indiana and in Illinois on how to get the ball rolling. Good luck to you, at this point I don't care who the VC is just so long as we deploy a lodge here and can organize serious play.

In my effort to find folks in the Evansville, Indiana region I have added to my blog on the Border Aethereal.

http://aetherealplane.com/border/?page_id=154

When you are playing at the convention and all of the like minded players are gathered around the multitude of tables you take it for granted that EVERYONE plays the game. Well, out here in the weed you have to do a bit of tracking and divining to get folks together.

Sometimes I speak to people that say they played other games and quit because of one reason or another. I was impressed to discover how many people have played and would again save for the various "stigma" they had attached to gaming. Things like, "I am too old...". Right, I am in trouble then. I remember talking to Gary Gygax years back and he just kinda gave a look when I asked him about age. If you get the chance to talk to Larry Elmore you will find that he is quite young at heart, where it counts. Actually he seems a bit mischievous, but that might be presumptuous on my part. Other folks suggest that it was boring and unfulfilling.Welllll...

I tell stories. That has always gotten me into trouble. Except when I am in the Nation. You know, the Image A Nation.People want to go there. They yearn to go there. They remember it from their childhood. A place where their dreams bore them aloft to such grand adventures and joys.But they got older, or someone hurt them in some way, or they just gave up on dreaming. Now they pay bills, go to work, maintain their bodies and sit in mild despair pining over they know not what, yet suspect. Then I ask them about RPGs and relay the excitement and intrigue within the Pathfinder games and, for a moment, their eyes alight and their faces glow as their minds are taken once again to the Nation - if for only a moment. Then they make excuses as if fell creatures held weighty chains in distant reaches and they were not their own masters.

These I would save. Come back into the light and play. Leave the drudgery of you limited existence and daily dose of "Grown-up Ridlin" to embrace fun, excitement and intrigue once again. Time is fleeting, fun does not have to be.

I currently run 2 campaigns using D20pro. The games can defiantly become very mechanical if you let them. But that goes for tabletop games as well.

I have found that with the rules complexity of Pathfinder using a VTT can be very slow and cumbersome in some places. But overall I have enjoyed the games I am running.

The only real downfall I have found in running games online using a VTT is that you get a lot of flakey people.Since there is virtually zero accountability online people feel that they can commit to a game and never show up, or come to a game late or skip a few sessions and come back. To me it is the human element that is the worst part of using a VTT online.

D20 Pro has links into and out of Hero Labs and the updates in Hero Labs are on time with not only the core books and their updates, but even the various module series'. That way when we create characters we can get the feats from the particular module and add them right in to the new character and then transport the character and its image over to D20 Pro in a Pathfinder Template.

Without exaggeration this has taken the character creation and deployment process from an hour and a half (for new folks) to 20 minutes for other new folks. In addition they can update their character sheet there at the house during the "dinner period" and I have all of their stats and such up to date - fast - quick and inna hurry. Then they get to take home a very well populated and developed character sheet.

Yeah VTT is handy. I find it best to run it on my i7 Windows 7 (64) and link into that box on the iPad using a screen scraper. You get the fast response of the quad -duo and mobility of the iPad. As for maps - you just drop a 32" flat screen under a lexan tabletop and u never draw out a map again. I build my maps in the Campaign Cartographer and that tool is second to none.

Overall I think that VTT is best used to improve the experience rather than to expand it. Unless you already have a relationship with the people that are going to play the game with you it is likely that you will experience the foolish behavior mentioned above by my learned friend "Bugkilla"

Reality Check

I have played PnP (pen n paper) since Greyhawk - 1970s. I started playing Everquest when it came out and moved to WoW. If I gotta tell you what WoW is then you likely do not have much time in MMORPGs.
Therez my story -

It is all about two things. Money and control.

It costs money to create a viable game online. Investors want to make money from their stake. Creditors want to get paid and the guy that runs the game wants to see a larger population this month than he had last month. In regards to control, the game is basically an internet or a microcosm of it. There are (the vendor hopes) millions of people on it. They come up with 'sploits, trix, bots and schemes. No matter what you do the landscape changes so fast that it soon becomes a process of tactical maneuvering on the part of the "GMs" in order to ensure that the game is as "fair" as it possibly can be.

On day one it starts out and the GMs display their righteous vengeance on all they which use foul language, bully the weak (both physically and mentally weak)or "grief" the populace. Soon however the number of complaints overwhelms the GM team and if sheer numbers don't decrease their "righteous fury" then the suits on the top floor will. The suits will not wish to do anything that will run off potential paying customers.

So in time what you will have is a place that is as much a business as it is outside the bounds of your lofty precepts. Face it, you cannot control the "Wildernet" and if you could you cannot trust the guys holding the bag.

Didn't a guy named Judas hold the bag?

I spoke to Mark (the VC from Indy) over email some time back (before the last GenCon) and he got me to thinking about a few things. I was unable to get my crew put together because we were remodeling the bath. Now that I have finished that chore it is time to get serious about PFS gaming in Eville.

I have a Pathfinder's Page on my Blog at:

The Border Aethereal Pathfinder not D&D

I will be running through the series listed there.

- Serpents Skull
- Carrion Crown
- Jade Regent

There are a number of other points on the page and I welcome responses there on that page or via email (posted on the above page).

As I stated in another post regarding this topic I am populating a team to run these games / series and although I may fill up I will work to ensure that everyone looking for a game gets into one that they can enjoy.

At some point I want us to have a legitimate Pathfinder's Society here in Eville. One step at a time though.

Yea, I'll actually see if I can swing by Comic Quest sometime and get more details their. Currently my work has been messing around with my days off, so it's been hard figuring out my free time yet. I'm actually a very good GM (or so I have been told), and I"m also pretty open with ideas about characters and such. I will be the first to admit that I am by no means an EXPERT on every class and such, but I feel I do a pretty good job all the same.

As I said, I'll try to make my way over to Comic Quest sometime during this week and try to post something, but if you like, feel free to e-mail me or contact me on my facebook page and we can try to work something out.

I posted the following on another thread asking about Pathfinder Games... Incidentally, I placed a paper on the bulletin board at Comic Quest. I run all my games at my place - better resources - less distraction. I have two people that are certain and a third that is a maybe. It will be first come - first served, but I will work to get as many games rolling as I can.

Other post: Asked if there are any Games in Eville -

Short answer: Yes. I am starting a game.

Yes, I have room for up to 3 people.

I will be running the Pathfinder Adventure Paths beginning with the "Serpent's Skull" series once I have a populated group.
If anyone would like more information on this series feel free to check it out on my blog at http://www.aetherealplane.com/border/?page_id=154 - Or right here on Paizo's own page. My email and info is on the blog, however.

There is a link to the free overview of the series which Paizo publishes and maintains all rights to.

I am also laboring to put together a chapter here in Evansville for I know for a fact that at least one other game exists here in town. However, the fellow running that game may not be interested in posting for more folks; he may not be well known. Ideally we can find some 40 or 50 people in the region to allow people that like to have different DMs from time to time to move about and discover the richness of gaming with folks having the most in common with themselves.

I've been looking for a consistent Pathfinder group in the Evansville/Newburgh IN. area for almost two years now. I'm starting to question whether anyone plays here or not. If you're from Evansville or Newburgh and are looking for a new player for your game, please write a response. I'd be more than willing to join.

Short answer: Yes. I am starting a game.

Yes, I have room for up to 3 people.

I will be running the Pathfinder Adventure Paths beginning with the "Serpent's Skull" series once I have a populated group.

If anyone would like more information on this series feel free to check it out on my blog at http://www.aetherealplane.com/border/?page_id=154 - Or right here on Paizo's own page. My email and info is on the blog, however.

There is a link to the free overview of the series which Paizo publishes and maintains all rights to.

I am also laboring to put together a chapter here in Evansville for I know for a fact that at least one other game exists here in town. However, the fellow running that game may not be interested in posting for more folks; he may not be well known. Ideally we can find some 40 or 50 people in the region to allow people that like to have different DMs from time to time to move about and discover the richness of gaming with folks having the most in common with themselves.

I believe what you're referring to is the Single PDF version download, correct? We are resolving the issues with the map links (which will be remedied by the end of the week) because there was some complaint about the map tags not working correctly for iPad (but yes, they will take you to the descriptions). If it's the Interactive Maps PDF, I'll need to take a closer look.

First, let me say that I am not being critical, rather I am simply pointing out a fact.

It is November of 2011 and the interactive maps in the Brinewall Legacy do not work. Not only do they not work there aren't any images on them. They are simply a blank sheet of paper with hard links to places that not only do not exist on the iPad, they cannot be created on the iPad.

Please send me a bump on this if you ever get it working. Working on the iPad that is. I have subscriptions and am a PFS member so if this is something that is going to be the standard for the future... Please fix it or simply send out standard PDF maps. At least I can scroll through a standard map during the sessions.

I have a problem and I hope I can glean some helpful advice from our outstanding community.

The Harrow deck is going to play some part, large or small, in the upcoming adventure path.

The problem I have lies with one of my players. This player says the deck makes them uncomfortable because of its similarities to a Tarot deck, which the player opposes on religious grounds.

I realize that this trail is cold as a dead fish, but here goes. I happen to be a member of a rather conservative new testament church. That said I happen to have been playing D&D since 1976 in one form or another. I wasn't always a thoughtful or sympathetic person so I need to point out that at times people have gotten my dander up demanding that I too edit my games to deal with religious dogma. If there is one thing that I have a talent for - it is total separation of Church and Game.

However...

The issue here is really not the cards - frankly I wont be using them, and not because they are purported to be linked to EEEeeeevil, rather I am not having some writer tell me what goes in my game - I devised a deck back in '82 and it has worked great so ... Jog On...

No - The issue here is that you have a friend. You have already decided to respect their point of view or to try to sway them to a different point of view on this topic.

I caution you all for the following reason - This game is all about relationships & rhetoric, people play the game and they become important to one another forging relationships. Some of the folk that play the game, though giants in many mental capacities, are rarely solid in the area of self image and inner personal strength. In fact many people turn out to be a tad vulnerable. Now they are likely in your home, playing your game and eating your food using your toilet. In short they hold you in a special place in the grand scheme. You are a reference for them in a number of defining interpersonal reference points.

Take care what you say in reference to this issue.

The person has pointed out their vulnerability in asking you in the first place. How you deal with this issue could either endear them to you or endanger your future dealings. Deep down I think that you, knowing and caring for the people in your group far more than myself or any of the other trolls on the web, are equipped to answer this question despite any apparent misgivings or concerns.

Having spent some time looking for an organized PFS I have not been able to find an organized group anywhere in the Evansville area. In an effort to avoid stepping on any toes I ply this post that if there exists any person or persons currently hosting such an official group that I might come to and join them rather than creating a new and unique group. If there be any that already form even a informal group please respond as I am not as much interested in being the leader as I am in seeing such a group form and flourish.

.

Out of all of it Pen and Paper has one supreme advantage still over any digital comer. That is the long campaign. Adventure Paths from Paizo would be a good example of the kind of game that Pen and Paper can do that the other forms have difficulty in achieving. In...

I liked this point that you made and I really liked the last point that you made about people that wouldn't be caught dead with a dice bag in their hands. You made me remember the key feature of PnP being it's appeal to the unchallenged mind. They who find unimpressive stories, quests and gear-popping the rave were never candidates for true dungeon crawl in the first place. But, I am a hopeless fan of the human potential and so I wait for the masses to embrace the joys of mentally stimulating challenges.

Someone else warned me that I was a tad naieve?

I loathe MMOs with a passion, as it is NOT an RPG in any shape or form. You level up and increase numbers. That is IT. There is no real interaction, no character development beyond the crunch and appearance, no story to speak of, no continuity, and no goal beyond higher and higher numbers.

Back in the day we called it "Monty Haul" - When all people were capable of internalizing was getting loot. Their capacity to express themselves so limited or stifled that they only responded to a "gift giving" session.

*** The greater point I sought to make, which has not yet been addressed is the way people in these games address one another. Since they are not face to face they, in many cases, treat others quite poorly or behave in ways that would get them smacked were they in a live setting.

I have been gaming RPG since 1977. That sentence is one that I see on many message boards and blogs intermixed with another, "computer gaming (mmorpgs) are replacing pen and paper games".

Nope, not gonna happen and I will tell you why.

From the very first time that I played D & D I noticed that in order to achieve my own successes I would need to assist the group in their own individual goals. Additionally as a group we needed to remain focused (at least a little) on the overarching task which we faced in the module at hand. Working together elves, half elves, gnomes, humans and even half orcs, discovered that all things could be overcome. Face to face either across from one another at the kitchen table or later on in our own basements and across the world in Germany for a time we forged kingdoms, characters, epochs and real life friendships. The real people that, admittedly, possessed numerous quirks, idiosyncracies, unique interpersonal faults and what have you all learned to see the light shining from someone else within the group. And similarly the group, although willing to tease its own, was quick to defend those brighter points of its members should any outsider seek to mar or undermine their real life character. in short as we game, we become family. Face to face with one another. Aware of our individual weaknesses and individual strengths yet seeing therein the benefits of that person as an acquaintance, then friend and at times, a brother or sister.
At my gaming table and before the reaches of the great Sardistian Continent of Maenatae I have forged friendships, played cupid, improved my marriage, and seen good friends become husband and wife in lasting relationships which faced adversity far greater and more trying in real life than any dragon might show a party of stalwart adventurers. My crews have fashioned their character both on and off paper and looking one another in the eye went out after they left my home to face a world that often considered them misfits or geeks together. Stronger now paired with like minded and creative souls who, while different than the populous, yet were they in many ways better than their critics. Now armed with assistance of numbers and seeing that within this collective there exists a people divers, talented and valuable they no longer fear their detractors realizing that regardless what others may say that on Saturday from noon till midnight over at Ray's place we will all come together as equals and sitting around that table as friends we will test our intellects which others bemoan and see what we are truly made of. In that setting everyone is valuable, every person was welcome and we, in our little microcosm were able to set aside the pain of racism, bullying and mistreatment to, for some, have the notion that perhaps other people can indeed be fun to spend time with.
However, consider then gaming over the internet. I will limit this discourse to that which I personally have experienced. Everquest and World of Warcraft. In these milieus it seems that the bullies have found a field ripe to their harvest. In that wicked land I have heard every form of hatred and filth spewed out at other persons without restraint and without compassion to a point where it often sickens me. Everything from foul references to people's mothers to open suggestions of illicit and illegal sexual activity. Demeaning and degrading - debasing those incapable of enhancing one's experience without care to their person or even their existence. Hateful people allowed to run free deriding others because the "GM" or game masters focus on cash and not on the experience. I have grown so disenchanted with their oversight of the game that I refuse to allow someone to refer to me as a GM - I am a "DM" - A Dungeon Master, a guide to the world that lies at the boundary of the imagination. An Awakener. He that teaches the soul to see before that time when death makes it a necessity. An encourager of humanity and its vibrant and hopeful cheerleader waiting for each member patiently. Realizing that every flower does not bud at the same pace yet realizing also that each holds its own unique beauty and special fragrance once allowed to reach maturity.

Indeed friends, we are in no danger of departing for we have in our midst the element which history has witnessed time and again as the underpinning of our race. Humanity. We seek to encourage and to enhance and to build bridges to the minds of others. and such behavior has its rewards today as it did yesterday as it will tomorrow.

I don't know if you have found anyone, but I would certainly like to hear about Pathfinder play in Eville. I and my wife have played RPG since '77 (me) and '87 (her). Send me a holler if you or anyone else plays this fantastic game.

raemann@aetherealplane.com

Well...

I suppose DMs are like any other creature, and to me it is DM ... GM is what u have in World of Warcraft or Everquest. DMs have a varied list of talents and in that regard some have more talents than others. Add to that the fact that there are people with 3 talents that use all three and those with 5 which use only two. Finally DMs are susceptible to the "Woes of the Real"; those things that happen to them in every day life that they have to carry about with them... baggage. If you add then the DM's capacity, output and psyche then you have a pretty good idea of what your experience will be when you show up at his house on a Friday afternoon to romp through the weeds.

I do not play as much as I want to any longer. Work and life ... excuses, excuses. I can tell you that when I run my games I make certain that everyone knows that I am in charge, to the extent that I will not let any one person ruin everyone else's experience. However, I have never had to make that point more than once to a newcomer because the veterans typically would protect their experience for themselves. So when you are starting up a new game you have to play the "dad", but after that it rather runs on solar power (it does not require you to be "draconian").

In reference to limits, I refuse to set boundaries rather I let the milieu set the boundaries. I have the luxury of having writen over 200 modules for my own world and in addition to that I have eight 2 inch binders full of narratives on towns and villages that people have played in since 1976. The game systems change and I change the core rules, but I always play in the land that I know. This one rule is what I believe has made my adventures so successful over the years. If the DM knows the place - and I mean REALLY knows the place - then he does not need to provide "random" encounters. I know that when you travel from Beaver Claw to the Fatted Calf Inn that there is 30% likelihood that you will run into a solitary undead creature in the first stages of that scenario and an 80% chance in the final stages. I know because I have ran 5 or 6 different groups through that thing over the years. But then limits were the topic so I like to let people decide the place in which they want to campaign. If your party is in the ruins of Bastian Abbey at level 5 then I am totally OK with that and will not try to steer you off. However I will leave little clues in the first stages of this level 18 campaign, like a level 12 party destroyed gear strewn about the entry courtyard to the city. If you are smart then you grab the stuff you see and sell, leave and sell that on the road to some other adventure. If you are not then in a few months another party comes across the corpses of a group of adventurers that certainly were unprepared to enter the confines of this wretched place. Bottom line: In real life we make choices and face challenges based on laws that can be interpreted and expected to perform according to experiences that we have previously encountered. No one fears that a bunny will attack and kill them while they are hunting squirrels, so don't pull that Monte Python trick on your people if you are the DM, it is only funny to you.

People stay with THEIR DM (they become possessive of a good DM) because they determine that the world that this person weaves has rules, challenges, excitement and intrigue, but most of all it is a place that they feel they have a chance to live or die on their own merits and not that of a die roll.

Gorbacz wrote:

Not to rain on your parade, but Neogi are closed content as well :)

Of all the $#$%! What about Myconids? Now WoTC is REALLY starting to P*** me off!

I guess I can play the wet blanket...

I would suggest creating all of your own creatures, all of your own political and racial groups and simply use other people's work for "inspiration". Yes that means completely re-writing. However, which would you prefer? Make subtle changes that most people can recognize as a creature that has a copyright or is protected only to find your life's work tied up on probate for 900 years. OR, spend some time researching and creating something that no one can take from you later.

I have set numerous copyrights for publications and I can assure you that when people try to make minor changes to a protected concept it very rarely works in their favor. from where I sit your choices are start over or send a box of candy to WotC. They like those spicettes I hear.

Raemann