Wik's page

I can't believe this one didn't make it. My GOD. The best contestant was just knocked out... yikes. My condolences, man.

I like how you tied this to someone else's work. It takes some humility to do that, and it's commendable.

One thing - if you refer to your own work as "Crap", it's not gonna help us much, eh?

I do like a plant-covered dwarven barbarian, and I also like how that is conveyed through flavour text over clunky rules (I realize it had to be done that way, but still - I hate seeing all these little things added just so that we can be 100% positive that he's "more plant than human" when simply SAYING that would probably be enough).

Quibble - I wish his stats while in Barbarian rage were better arranged.

All in all, I give it a low 80%. It's alright, but not perfect.

Yeah, I'm okay with this one. There's a lot here that I already love to use -

1) Sahuagin are much like Deep Ones from Lovecraft, and I like makign that connection. While I'm not an "Aquatic adventures" person, I do like running fights against amphibious beings, in a sort of "Shadow over Innsmouth" way.

2) The Paladin variant is great. In my eberron game, we have a warforged LE Paladin that's great - he's a minor villain, obsessed with the idea of death. HE's creepy, and the players love him.

3) I like how you tie this entry into your previous entry. That's cool.

4) Excellent word choice. I love seeing "Satraps". Period.

PRO/CONs for the win!

My first mechanical complaint! If Elsie is an old lady, why didn't you apply Old or Venerable stat modifiers? They're in the SRD!

It is a good point, but I guess you could say that'd be because there are no SRD age tables for Tieflings, and a tight reading of the SRD would suggest that they don't age, sort of what is implied for outsiders in general.

Can I just say - if I had only one vote, it'd be for this. The conflict between "good little boy", and "evil, conniving woman" is perfect. Plus, it makes PCs have to consider - is it right to kill this person? Or should we be non-lethal in our approach?

I'm not huge on psionics, but this really made me want to use her. It also made me look at the Soulknife again.

10/10. Nearly PERFECT. Loved it even more than your previous entry, which is no small feat.

Nice twist. I grinned. I think my players would be surprised if I ran this game.

First session, they'd kill the rider, and think they'd won.

Next session, the marauders would still be attacking. And they'd kill the rider again ("Didn't we kill him? Hey, wasn't the last one a half-orc? this is a half-elf?")

By round three, they might get it. And then they'd laugh, slap their heads, and have at it.

I like how you mentioned the succubus mother, and how "nothing's forbidden" in her land. Very good set up.

Yeah, I liked this one. Low-level CR is great, of course. Loved that.

I also liked how she had a good side - if she deemed that parents were going to be good, she was a great midwife. I like my villains to have a human side, and I can understand how this villain's mind works. That's really cool.

The tactics section was a bit weak, though. Didn't like that. I did like how you kept the stat block simple. I mean, CR 3, it's easy to keep things simple, but I still like how you paid attention that. Good work, I must say.

The fact that she is overweight, and has something involving children, had me thinking that she ate the children. I'm so glad you didn't go that route. This is so much better, that she keeps kids in an old mill (and her last name, "miller", fits that - very middle ages of you, where the last name of a person signified what trade they were in. So, while one particular judge complained of the real-world significance of the name, I see how you just tried to trace this back to the middle ages. Good form, old chap!)

My jaw dropped when I read this. I thought "This is... FIENDISH!"

Loved it. Plain and simple. The part about the knitting needles being wands? Priceless. The part that she uses the stolen hands (kudos on mentioning how she does it, that people just "wake up" with bloody stumps!) to scry on people and "gaslight" them into madness is just... sheer genius.

This would be a terrifying villain. I have a scenario already figured out in my head:

The PCs are hired to find out who's been stealing hands in this small town. So, they make their way to the local inn, run by none other than Elsie. As they investigate, she keeps chatting with them while knitting. And making them dinners, and generally being like a grandmother. And then, when they find out that it's Elsie (and if it were my group, that'd take a long time, simply because "it's too obvious!" that they'd discount it from happening) things would get terrifying quickly when she goes all fiendish and starts shooting off spells.

Yeah, brilliant. LOVED IT.

Alright. I too hated the suicide bomber part. I was reading it, getting more and more interested, and then... suicide bombers. That's not something I would put in my game, just like I'd never put a rapist, hard-core racism, or anything like that in my game. It's too "real" for me, and I don't like that.

You did a lot well, though -

1) You made this guy more than "and he fights like a demon from round 1 to 5". This is something that works very well as a "behind the scenes" villain idea, which is cool.
2) You went sorcerer instead of wizard, which is great for all of us DMs who haven't memorized all the spells in the PHB.
3) You gave him a GREAT name. "The Martyr Eater"? BRILLIANT.
4) This is the enemy that could be the centre of an entire campaign, which is something a lot of these villains lack. In fact, I think I could easily fit this guy into my Eberron game, and might do just that.

So, yeah, I like this one so far, except for that topical bit. I think Clark's right about the "modern" thing, though. Whether or not you decide to embrace that next round is up to you.

My big problem with this one was the "before the fight" tactics - how many rounds of buffing were involved? That's just a little too insane, I'm afraid.

Lizardfolk Druid is alright, I suppose. What I think happened was, after all the attacks of being too crazy with the blink dog idea, you went too far back on the pendulum this time around, and stuck in "safe" territory.

I'm ambivalent - I don't know if I like it or not. Nothing wrong with it, but nothing great, either.

I, for one, love the "M and M" titles, though. That was kind of cool.

Um. Wow.

I have to admit, I didn't like the first two submissions of yours, I'm afraid. But this one? Friggin' AWESOME.

Huge guy made of Alabastor? That's just COOL. The mechanics work, especially the nimbus mechanic (minor, minor, MINOR nitpick - you refer to the nimbus as being a "special quality", but it's listed and described as a "Special Ability". Not a big thing, it's just 0.2 marks off your technical mark, or 0.4 marks from that pesky Russian judge).

Not a big fan of this guy getting Blasphemy, but that's not your fault. It's just 3e rules getting in the way. Boo.

Not a big fan of the poem, I'm afraid. I think if you had done it in, say, a Haiku, I would've loved it. But you ate up way too much space.

All in all, I like this one, and were it not for the high CR (I never get that high in my games), I'd be using this guy next session.

Hm. I really liked Saran. This one, though... I dunno.

Reading this, I found a few run-on sentences, and just awkwardly formed sentences... the editor in me wanted to grab a red pen.

But then I remembered it's all about the idea, and this one did fit well. A religious cult that actually doesn't involve divine magic at all is a great twist, in my book. And the Elan connection is also good - especially the adventure hook about the guy who forgets about his previous opposition. Very "body snatchers".

I was gonna jump on you for the NPC being an Aberration, but then I realized that Elans are Aberrations. Completely forgot that. Whoops.

So, while I didn't really find anything that was bad about this entry (it is, actually, pretty good), it didn't "click" with me. I'd never use this guy in one of my campaigns. Sorry. :P

Yeah, I'm a bit underwhelmed by this one. I kept looking at it, waiting for the "wow" to kick in. But I just saw "Dwarf vampire. Druid."

No real fascinating Animal Companion. The Icy setting is good (I like arctic settings... what can I say, I'm Canadian!), but it really wasn't enough. I dunno if you could do it, but I think even some flavour text that set her apart from other Vampires would've worked - maybe instead of drawing blood, she drew warmth from those she inflicted, and her Vampire Spawn were somehow tied to that (those always searching for heat, but were denied it somehow).

I guess I just saw Game Rules (which seemed good, btw) and a fairly average story put together.

On the plus side, I do see this as a villain, and one that is probably a lot more plausible than many of the moustache-twirling villains we often see in D&D. The fact that PCs can empathize with her makes her a bit cooler, if you ask me. So, disagreement with Clark there - sorry, Clark. ;)

Also, I *love* how this is a low CR critter that is also a "local legend" - it gives lower level PCs something valuable to do in the game, rather than just fighting goblins who decided to terrorize some shoe merchant or something. Not every terror in the wilderness has to be a CR 17 beast. After all, isn't the Sandpoint Devil from the first Pathfinder around CR 6 or 7? Local Legends being fairly low CR work fine, for me.

Anyways, I'm not a huge fan of this one, but I still might put a vote in for you, simply because if you didn't make it through this round, it'd be an absolute shame. A tragedy, even. So there.

Great minds think alike.

I was thinking of doing something sort of similar.

My basic idea was to take d20 Apocalypse, and 3E, and sort of mesh them together. My basic ideas:

1) Set the world up as a generic fantasy world, and then subject it to a "magical apocalypse", with irradiatted zones - "Magical Fallout".
2) Have many non-magical classes (Fighter, Barbarian, Rogue, Spell-less Ranger, Samurai, Scout, etc...), and then a few magical classes. But make sure the class list is considerably different than classic D&D, so that the players subconsciously get the idea that they're in something "new".
3) Get rid of money, using the barter system detailed in d20 Apocalypse (you'd have to set up some rules for converting GP values into barter points, but it'd be worth it)
4) Take a template, and apply it to ALL monsters - these are the critters that have been warped by the magical forces, and are now evil. Fill the world with zombies, purple worms, owlbears, etc.

***

The other idea is going the "Rifts" route, and kind of just using D&D rules, a few choice things from d20 Apocalypse, and setting it up that PCs can take occupations or something so they can mesh with the setting (pretty much apocalyptic earth).

you had me at "post-apocalyptic fantasy"... and then you lost me at "rifts".

Post-apocalyptic D&D could be fun, though. :)

Glad to see you made it by. I really liked this one, and I'm interested in seeing your villain. Congrats.

I WAS disappointed that I didn't learn more about Monkey Goblins though... but I'm hoping that is going to be in the monster submission.

Seconded.

Re: Voting.

Now, I have to admit, there are a lot of entries that are better-written than this one. Or entries that have better names, are more cohesive as a unit, etc.

That being said, when I started thinking about which five domains I'd vote for, I used a simple rule:

Imagine these are all in a book. Pick the five you'd most likely use in a game, for more than one session (but maybe only two or three sessions; I wasn't expecting any of these to be the basis for an entire campaign!)

This one gets my vote for the simple reason that it is **COOL**. I can see myself running the PCs against Hobgoblin Slavers and Bandits, discovering all the dark secrets in Hope, and, of course, trying to stage a "Prison Break" that could be the basis of an entire campaign.

About four years ago, I ran a mini-campaign set in Carceri that was similar to this campaign - a prison plane where redemption or further moral decay were the only options. PCs were fallen paladins, murderers, conmen, and the like.

While that campaign was a LOT of fun, I think this setting would work a lot better than a Carceri campaign, for the following reasons:

1) Carceri is a planar game, meaning you have to expect fiends and the like; Saran tends towards more humanoid influences.

2) Carceri is set in the planes, meaning PCs could thereotically hail from Sigil, Krynn, the City of Brass, Athas, and a million Prime Materials. Saran, on the other hand, is tied to an empire, meaning you can give the PCs some common backgrounds, and there's a bit more room to explore theme.

3) Redemption (and possible "Parole") are not options in Carceri. There are no real cities in Carceri. Which makes Saran pretty cool, in my book.

In other words, I guess Saran just stood out for me a lot more than some of the other entries. It screamed "original, cool world", and the image of post-apocalyptic style elves and orcs is pretty nifty. While I would make a few changes were I to use it (I'd make Saran a bit more bleak in terrain, add in a bunch of ruined buildings from a now-gone empire, throw in a bunch of political exiles from the Empire, and make Hope only one of a number of large townships - first among equals, as it were), I still think Saran has got to be one of thre top three in terms of pure Coolness, Originality, and Play Value.

Unlike other responses here, I like the Scarlet Brotherhood-like racial purity you've got going. I can understand why it doesn't appeal to some folks, and maybe giving the country a bit more evil slant would make that more acceptable. *shrug* To me, it makes villains that much more despicable.

Thank you. You said it a helluva lot better than I did. I'm not a fan of Scarlet Brotherhood, or anything in that slant. It's really not my type of game, and when I come across a domain that sort of suggests this line of thinking, I blanche a little. Just not my cup o' tea, I guess.

It was not Daniele's intention to hearken back to racial purity ideas of the early 20th century or whatever, so let's not even go there. That kind of suggestion when the author is barred by the rules of the contest from defending himself is really unfair to the author.

You're absolutely right, and I regret making the comment. When I wrote it, it was just how I saw things - I didn't for a moment think that the author was saying "This is something I condone!". I just saw what I saw, and knew that, were I the GM, I wouldn't run it.

Looking back, yeah, I shouldn't have made the comment. I'm looking forward to being able to make my argument when Daniele can "fight back", as it were.

Again, full apologies.

Hunh. Didn't realize when I posted that it'd bring up such anger. I'm sorry to offend; that wasn't really my intent. I was just pointing out how I perceived things.

Anyways, full apologies. Wasn't meant to offend the writer (you got further than I did, after all!) just to mention what I didn't like about the submission.

We can argue about it back and forth after votes are tallied, but I'll keep quiet for now.

Sounds like a mix between Jakandor and Deserts of Desolation.

God, you know, you're right. Primarily the Jakandor bit.

As someone who LOVES Jakandor (yeah, I'm that guy), that really ups my level of interest in this one.

Really, though, it's #6 on my list. Though I really hope this one makes it through to the next round (in fact, I'd be surprised if it didn't).

Yeah, you got my vote. I really like the juxtaposition of crazy wildlife and dying godhead. And, in my experience, PCs fighting against an evil priesthood works wonders. In fact, everytime I introduce a clergy (in my current game, there's a fanatical LG clergy that PCs are fighting, even going so far as to side with NE villains to do it!) the players are more than willing to bust things up.

One neat idea I had would be if the head started sending out dreams (unbeknownst to the clergy) to people, trying to set up plans to kill it. Imagine the PCs' surprise when, after being set up to kill the "godhead", they find out at the very end that their patron is the godhead itself!

I'm going to be the contrarian here. While this is in my top ten picks, it didn't make the cut for one of my five votes.

My problem is this: this reads like someplace that a PC would want to stay the hell away from. There was no compelling reason for a PC to want to go there, and if he grew up there, his life's goal would probably be to get out and live someplace nicer. That would be the first module: "Escape From The Stained Peaks." "You and your companions are in the bar comparing skin lesions, when you decide to form a group and march the hell out of Zaraten Gura before you all die of poison or political intrigue. What do you do next?"

Wow. You and I are entirely different people. To me, what you're saying is "Mordor is an incredibly awful place; therefore, why would the hobbits want to go there?"

the whole point of D&D is fantasy adventure, you know, and the locales the PCs are in aren't usually vacation hotspots. I mean, look at STAP - the PCs spend a nice amount of time on the Isle of DREAD - not exactly Bermuda. And yet, the adventures work very well.

This write-up, to me, tapped into that. It was a place so menacing that characters KNEW they were in a bad place; as players, it's the type of thing we love.

I imagine, in my Eberron game, the characters don't really want to be in Karlakton (a city on the border of the Mournland that has undead police and a bunch of doomsday cults), but the Players are absolutely loving it.

While this entry isn't my favourite (that goes to the Prison Colony, and the Were-Elephants), it's easily on my top five. It's the best-written, and best thought-out entry of the 32, as well as one that could actually be inserted into a homebrew with comparitive ease.

Yeah, ain't it fun to speculate on the "what ifs"? I have a whole bunch of ideas, but I think in the end, mine got canned because of the "Just isn't cool enough" category, or maybe it was "too complex". Or too much of a niche.

All things I should've considered, but didn't. Hindsight 20/20, and all.

Heathansson wrote:

I think this would be a great place to do a Book of Nine Swords-driven campaign.

It definitely has bombastic cojones.
CG this up, sell action figures. Here's your damn Dungeons and Dragons movie. You wanna get the damn WoW people? Here it is.

And as he is a movie-maker/screenplay writer (Granted...along with the rest of Creative Juices 7) Hennet Boomer could even produce the movie. Sadly, probably with much better production quality than the D&D movies managed.

My vote is in for this great land of yours Great Pazuzu!

You know, I love PHB PSAs quite a bit, but I really didn't like this one. While I want Boomer to carry on (and I imagine he will, based on the PSAs), I'm not voting for this one. It just didn't connect with me, I'm afraid. And voting simply because I like the guy's work outside of Paizo isn't a good reason.

It'd be like voting for Rich Burlew if he showed up with a submission that was garbage. It's just not fair to those who have produced better pieces.

Hm.

I like the fact that we have Indian-style names, Ziggurats, and Jungles. Throwing things together like that really create something new, and it shows here.

It didn't click for me the first time, but when I read the judges' comments, I looked at it again, and caught some things that I missed. It's on my tentative list, now.

The thing that I really liked is the inclusion of a female-only sect of sorcerers. I like it; I've played with a lot of female gamers, and I know quite a few of them would love coming across this piece of trivia in the game world. I could see the problem with this turning into a simple rationale for "nice art pieces", but that's easily fixable if you make the garments of the sorceresses, uh, realistic and not "boobtastic".

That was the thing that really stuck out for me.

Like the names. Like the adventure possibilities.

The "Rainbow Serpent" doesn't mix well with me, though - not a fan of anything vaguely Coatl.

I like the idea of Living cities, but the organization of this (and much of the writing) just really discouraged me. It didn't click for me.

But the living city idea is AWESOME. need to steal it.

Erik - you and me are totally different gamers, then. I thought the Tibbit was the best (and only interesting, to me) race in the book, truth be told.

That said, this one just didn't click for me. There is depth, but nothing that really makes me go "hey, cool, I need to run this!" the names didn't Jive well with me, either.

The DM secrets idea, though, is probably the best I've seen so far, and I've read most of the entries now. I like how that was set up.

Hey, Wik, you might want to read my comments again. My main problems with this entry have to do with the aquality of the writing, not whether or not the place is a country or if there are opportunities for adventure.

It is, in my view, obviously a country, and it's one of the more interesting core concepts to boot. I honestly think it is such a cool concept that it's going to garner a lot of votes on the strength of the concept alone. But I don't think the writing is good enough, and so I'm withholding my recommendation.

Sorry, I was more referencing Baur on the "Not a country" bit. I was disagreeing with YOU on the use of real-world names (I like 'em!) ;)

I kind of agree on the writing just a tad, but the idea is so strong that it makes me want to see what else can come out of the designer. Really, this entry, along with Beria and Carnamach, are my faves so far. Of the three, this one is the poorest-written, but the idea just screams at me.

P.S. I ran a mini campaign in a setting somehow similar to this one, and it turned out GREAT. Personal experience tells me that domains such as this work great in actual play.

This one gets a "meh" from me. I just didn't excite me in any way. Sorry.

I also like it. All very good. The part that really stuck out for me, though, was "tribes of ogres trade with the dwarven towns, exchanging pelts for liquor." Reading that gave me an entire adventure idea, which is what these write-ups are for, after all!

On my narrowed-down list. One thing I really like - how Ogres and Bugbears are a big part of your realm. Both are races Dwarves get bonuses against, though we sometimes don't realize it.

Usual dwarf nations are plagued with goblins or orcs, and Giants. Here, we get bugbears (almost Orcish in size, but still goblinoids!), and Ogres (giants, but capable of attacking in larger numbers). Really, a great monster mix that lets Dwarf PCs shine.

Wow. two whole pages. Maybe there's love for this one after all.

If the judges say "I dislike it", I wonder if that'll actually encourage some of the grumpy voters to actually vote for it?

I really think this will fall into a gamer niche.

Everything being said, I can see this working in a Gazeteer - it'd really stand out, and probably stick in a player's mind. The numbers are a bit off (I think 9,000 Blink Dogs in any one place is a bit extreme), but that's all good. Really, I think it's an interesting idea.

But I don't think I'll be putting a vote for it.

Sorry. Gets a "meh" from me, and I'm all for Rome-style games usually.

What really killed me though is the idea of the human race slowly going extinct - it made me think too much of early 20th century racist thinking (and this was mentioned in the author's voice, not as a portion of the setting) and it really didn't fit well with me.

Yeah, I really liked this one. I could see myself, in fact, running a mini campaign based around this country - and this is the first one I've read that's provoked that response.

Severed Head needs a name. I think everyone's in agreement there. Also, while I understand there's space restraints, I would like to see the Domains of the Priests of the Fallen Deity.

Finally, I don't like how big the head actually is. Seems a bit cheesy to me. Personally, I'd for a regular-sized head. Mind you, that's more personal taste than anything else.

"Under new management" did bother me - I kept looking for the joke.

I did like the map in words - that worked perfectly well for me. I wish more entries had done this.

Some of the names could have been more "African". But then, most african names, if you translate them, would translate into things like "old port". So that doesn't really harm things.

Kraals are what stood out for me - they really struck a mythological chord. Personally, I'll be stealing that idea for my own campaign.

I disagree with the judge regarding "The untouchables" - I don't think it's a caste thing, and the name really fit the spell effect placed upon them. I really think the gifted Ivala make things cool - sort of like those who helped the Nazis in Occupied France. At least, that's what I thought of.

The Azul remind me of the Persians, or other Empire Builders. Which is pretty cool.

Nitpick - the Ukuke sort of jumped out at me - I didn't even notice them until I was almost done, when I said "who are the Ukuke?" They could have used perhaps a bit more information early on, I think. But, they're a cool addition - though, if this were in my own campaign, they'd be Were-Rhinoes.

I think this one might get a vote.

Some of the writing is shaky. What does "semi-nomadic" mean, exactly? If they wander, they are nomadic.

Lots of people are semi-nomadic. I can totally defend the author here. They're just people that are nomadic for only a part of the year - growing crops or fishing in the off-season.

I guess more info could be given, but still. No problem with that, here.

***

That being said, I'm neutral towards this one. Don't know why - it just didn't "stick"

I like this one - skeletons and zombies do the farming? That's pretty cool. And the names really click for me, though I laughed when I saw the umlaut (since someone was threatening to see Umlauts return if we banned the Apostrophe in a another thread).

The Undead lords are kind of cool, too. I first throught this was going to be another "dark land of dark darkingness", but it really came off as a viable fantastic nation that could be a potential ally despite the evil alignment. And the political possibilities!

It made me think of a cooler version of Eberron's Karrnath.

Names are good, and much of the format works for me as well. The only two miffs I have are:

1) You mention Sahuagin in the demographics (4% of the population?) which is a really cool idea - and it isn't touched upon anywhere else. Linking the idea of an undead pirate nation with sahuagin would be a lot of fun, and I think that'd be a lot better than "Rumors are brewing in the hill town of Karre that the industrious hobgoblins that live in the barrens to the north of Karistynia have recently been united under a new leader who apparently cannot stand the unnatural ways of the Freeholds. This feeling, coupled with his obvious desire for his neighbor's wealth, will likely lead to an invasion within the next year."

2) The duelists being mentioned just don't seem to fit for me. They kind of break the mood for me - too flippant and crazy.

Gets a "meh" from me. I hear "grand duchy" and I instantly think of BECMI's Karameikos. In fact, I was excited about this one, because I instantly thought of a throwback to BECMI and a bit of nostalgia.

But, nope. Just some hobgoblins, apostrophe names (boo!) and some dark stuff. I personally felt there was too much focus on GM Secrets, as well.

Sorry.

1) Didn't like the names. And it's supposed to be American spelling, so the "s" in Civilization is a no-no. But that's a minor point.

2) "Quanite society is polite and formal, but egalitarian with regard to race, gender and sexuality" - bothered me. How does "polite and formal" conflict with egalitarianism?

Nitpicks aside...

I do like the idea of a pacific-style island. And any place plagued by crazy weather is always fun. But, yeah, there's a little bit of boringness here - there's nothing that really screams "adventure!"

I'm ambivalent about this one, but I really like how it was set up for the most part.

Yeah, all due respect to the judges, but I think they're totally wrong on this one. The second I started reading this, I thought to all those great "penal colony" stories I loved as a kid - Barry Longyear's "Infinity Hold", or the movie "No Escape" with Ray Liotta. Both of which are organized locations with a story all their own.

Regarding the names - I personally like real-world names, like Abigail and Richard. I think it helps ground the fantasy just a little bit. While some of the names kind of blow (Treehugger, or Emperor Justice... and I can totally see "beating the Saran Wrap"!), they really didn't stand out to me too much.

I'll be voting for this one. I really see just a whole lot of adventure potential here.

You know, I really love this list. The cool thing is, I'm looking at the list, and I can't think of falling into any category (except for maybe the "underpriced" or "suck-up", though I doubt that really works, since it's already been stated that no item that catered to Pathfinder was seen as "Suckuptidute").

The funny thing is, a few days after submitting, I had a bunch of other ideas that were probably cooler. Ah well, c'est la vie.

So, I'm thinking maybe my item fell into one of those "special categories of dislike". Woot for being special, I guess. :)

Ha. I just sent mine in. Don't really know what I can add to the discussion. Mine's a pretty simple suggestion - with the PCs being hunted, while they chase the culprit.

Which is always fun.

God I love BATTLETECH. My group talks about getting into it every now and then, although only me and my brother have ever played it (although, when we played it, we played it OFTEN).

We were never very big on the clan stuff - we played pre-clan invasion, just because we felt it was cooler. I remember using my Crusader/Griffin combo to great effect in many fights... even against a buddy's Warhammer/Phoenix Hawk.

We used to play Mechwarrior games that were really just Battletech games with maybe one scene outside of the mechs, but it was still a lot of fun. Around this point, we were using the clans (as bad guys!). I was running a game for mostly Steiner/Davion characters (with the obligatory Kuritas), and we ran a whole "invasion" scenario. Whole lotta fun, there.

Personally, though, my favourite thing to play in Battletech wasn't the mechs, but the helicopters. That was always scary as hell - outgunned, outarmoured, and knowing that any second the enemy would hit your rotors and you'd fall to your death. But lots of fun.

I'm not sure at this pont. Currently, there's no rival party in Runelords' outline. It's a cool concept, but I'm wondering if having it appear three adventure paths in a row isn't too much? There'll certainly be a competitive element in some of the adventures in Runelords with rival characters (especially in "Hook Mountain Massacre") but there probably won't be any longer arcs.

You know, I'm no marketing guru or anything, but it could be kind of cool to have a contest where the winners could get their character as a member in the "official rival party" or something stupid like that.

Will the tradition of introducing the party's competition (Storm Blades, Jade Ravens, and I can't remember the names of the AoW ones) continue in Rise of the Runelords?

God, I hope so. Right now, my group is having so much fun competing with the Jade Ravens. The only one they like is the sorceress.

Keep in mind the Barlguras are up top and require a listen check to notice people coming through the mirrors. A naked paladin probably doesn't make a bunch of sound.

Yeah, I know. One of the big reasons I ended early was because the playoffs were on, and I only had about half the group giving me full attention. So, we ended early and watched Dallas get trounced (woohoo!). Plus, i jump at the chance to end with a cliffhanger.

Next session is going to be fun, though.

You need to have a dwarven ranger. I've always wanted to see a dwarven ranger.

Named Pablo.

Spells look great, but I think you're in the wrong place. This is the forum where we talk about a product that doesn't exist yet, and project all our fantasies upon said product.

You want the messageboard down the hall, to your left.

Or just have a 'base dragon' age progression, chose an energy type breath weapon, and an alignment, and have it look however you want. Keeps the PCs guessing and still gives customization.

For a campaign I did a few years back, I did just that. I even wrote up three dragon "classes" (small, big, and bigger). Dragons got Talents (like in d20 modern) to pick draconic abilities, and they could use their feats to boost their abilities. They chose what type of breath weapon/resistances they got, and everything. As a side effect, few dragons were casters... which I thought was a good thing.

A big change I do for dragons is have them connected to the natural world.

When a Dragon is mad, storms break out. My "dragon of mist" (I guess it'd be a silver dragon, that's the closest analogy) was a fisherman who tended towards human form. Wherever he was, though, light fogs would break out. Windows would always haze over in his presence. And, no matter the temperature (he lived in the tropics), people's breath would always mist up.