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This is a short compilation video, and it's the first in a series that I'm going to try and use to get my players to pay attention to the setting's history. This is the world I'm going to be running Kingmaker in here shortly. Video History of Brittanis, Part I If you happen to like it, check out the link to my blog under the Youtube video.
http://theactionpoint.wordpress.com/ I'm a published Freelance RPG writer for the now-defunct Iron Kingdoms d20 RPG; I'm a combat veteran of 2 tours in Iraq and (so far) 5+ years in the US Army. I'm a gamer and Game Master of 19+ years. I've found that my military experience as well as running games for military folks has shaped my views of RPGs, and GMing in general, over the past 5+ years. This blog is my way of getting my ideas and words out there to people who might want or need a fresh way to look at gaming, or to provide tools and good advice to new or experienced GMs. I hope you enjoy. I think it's going to be a fun ride. --Jason
One of my favorite aspects of the Pathfinder series thus far is the artwork, esp. WAR's iconics. But it occurred to me that after issue #12, there will be no new iconic to put on the cover. Who gets the coverspace at that point? And is there someone slotted to do those covers yet so we can check their portfolio out (MIGHT I SUBTLY SUGGEST ANDREW HOU?!?!)
I have recently spent a great deal of time wandering the internet looking for homebrew stuff people have put up on the net. There is some super-cool stuff out there and I wanted to gather some of it together and, being the GM that I am, rape and pillage it for stuff I can use in my campaign. Then all my bookmarks got eaten. So now I'm back to square one, and I figured maybe we as a community could put our stuff out there to share with folks who maybe AREN'T in our gaming groups. Get some exposure for our ideas, and share our stuff. Anybody got one?
This thread is needed, so I'll post it up because I cant seem to find it elsewhere. My question is this: I am soldier stationed in Iraq, and I want to compete, but the schedule is just too heinous considering our mission tempo. Is this going to be the only RPG Superstar competition or will there be others in the future I will be able to compete in while stateside? Just as a suggestion... once per quarter or bi-annual might be good.
I've been gaming since I was 10. Thats something like 17 years now. Most of the time (90% or more, I'd say), I've been the guy behind the screen. Over the years, I've developed some "staples" or things that generally make an appearance in my game no matter what, especially if I have players from previous games or whatnot, so they get the injoke or wonder about the ongoing mystery. First: Supernatural entities. I have a spirit of healing/beauty, one of undead/disease, one of chaos/destruction, and one of law/evil/warfare. Normally, theyre Gods in my fantasy games, but theyve appeared in GURPS, RIFTS and Iron Kingdoms games in one way or another as angels, demons, infernals or whatever. Same names or slight derivations, personalities, etc. Second: Old Gurdy. NPC spellcaster. Always the "either enigmatic or slightly insane" guy, quoting prophecy or utter noonsense. Usally appears in the early campaign and returns later FAR more powerful. PCs have seen him die a dozen times, but he always comes back and never ever talks about how it works. Again, multigenre, multicampaign world. Third: Frothing Otter. The McDonalds of the gaming world. Franchise tavern/inn chain, hiring twins/triplets exclusively to maintain the illusion of the same people working there all the time. Open 24 hours, caters to adventurers with easily-repaired furniture. Multigenre, multiworld. I know you experienced DMs out there have some of these, even if you dont realize it. By necessity hese are probably some of the best ideas you work with because they keep coming back again and again, and they wouldnt if the players didnt enjoy them. What are yours?
I've been playing TWMPFRPG since I was 10. I am now 27. Most of that time has been behind the DM screen. I'm good at it. But I find myself face to face with something I've never honestly done before: one player. I'm in Iraq. I am on a small base, and I've scouted for other players. there aren't any, so additional recruitment is not an option. I have one player. I am planning on making a DMPC for the one character, but I'll probably make it something like a sidekick or henchman, so the focus can remain on the player himself. I need your help, fellow Paizonians. How should I handle this? Tips? Tricks? Anybody know of any GOOD one-on-one adventures? What to do? What NOT to do? HELP!!
Okay, this is likely to get all long and rambly-like, so I'll state my purpose before I begin. I'm desigining a new homebrew world. I have a concept I'm toying with, and that I really like, but I want to toss it out here for the Lords of the Boards (tm) to check out and critique, give me your thoughts on, etc. When working out the concept of the world, I knew I wanted a Realm of Faerie. Not a kingdom on the Prime MAterial, but an actual other plane (or dimension, if you will) that holds the denizens of Faerie, the Fae Courts, all that. But i knew I did NOT want it to be "just another" plane, so I was kinda stumped. Along came Dragon Magazine for inspiration. I dont remember what issues it was, but there was a pair of articles on the "elemental archons" or something of the sort. Basically they are super-powerful elementals who rule over their lesser counterparts and war continually amongst one another. This nugget stuck in my head and merged with the Realm of Faerie idea, and the following was concept was born. The Elemental Planes do not exist like they do in TWMPFRPG. All four of them exist simultaneously in separate areas of the Realm of Faerie. Each element is bound up in the kingdoms of one of the four Faerie Courts, ruled by the Spring Prince, the Summer Queen, the Autumn King and the Winter Queen, and each has control over and responsibility for one of the primal elements of creation: air, fire, earth, and water, respectively. What mortals refer to as "elementals" are actually spirits of Faerie called to the Mortal Realm for some reason or another. Each of the Fae Courts scheme, plot and machinate against each other constantly, though each is doomed to rise and fall in influence with the seasons of the Mortal Realm. True Fae, meaning those native to the Faerie Realm, are primal beings, spirits representing the building blocks of Creation, and as such are almost completely alien to mortal minds. Their minds literally do not work like ours, and though they may seem mortal at times, they are foreign beings inherently. Lesser Fae are those who exist in the Mortal Realm, and are far more familiar to denizens of that plane: dryads, satyrs, pixies, etc. They are fae, but mere shadows of their Greater kin. Elves were once Greater Fae, denizens of Faerie, but for some reason lost to the mists of time were exiled from that realm as a race, stripped of their fae status and exist now as shells of what they once were, though they show some of the grace and abilities of their ancestors.
Alright. Now that the fluff is explained, here's what I am considering doing, crunch-wise. 4 "subraces" of elves: fire, earth, air, water. Elementally-attuned, maybe genasi-like. Likely LA +1. I'm limiting planar travel severely, but Faerie is going to be one of the main ones with access to the world. All elementals have a humanoid (or mythical of some type, if larger) form, so instead of calling an amorphous "creature of fire", you're calling a specific Fae, though stats will likely be unchanged. I am almost certainly going to use the Summoning a Specific Creature rules from UA. Eladrin=Sidhe, though with alignment and ability tweaks to reflect their elemental attunement. K. thats about all I can think of for now. Let'er rip!!
I know this is looking way ahead, but I wanted to put the idea out there early: Once a couple of APs have gone by, is there a chance of compiling the non-adventure material and publishing it together? Even perfect-bound, all that stuff in one place instead of scattered would be a worthwhile investment.
The two other "religion" threads got me thinking, and I believe this a separate enough topic to warrant its own thread... Is the world of Pathfinder going to have one single unified pantheon, with each race paying homage to the same gods (or demon lords, as the case may be), or is each race going to have its own separate pantheon? The assumption of the World Most Popular RPG seems to be the latter: it has Gruumsh, Corellon, and Yondalla as racial deities in the PHB. There's my question, and I will voice my opinion on the subject: I hope Pathfinder has only one pantheon. Each race using different names and perhaps focusing on different aspects of each god, but still a finite number of gods existing. It's a slippery slope, and the fifty-plus major, minor and demigods of the Forgotten Realms is to me far, FAR too many. Thats's my tuppence on the subject. What's yours? SPC Jason Dawson
Okay, here's my problem. Long story short, I began to run AoW before I enlisted in the Army and got through WC with a GREAT group of characters, one played by my wife. Had a blast, intended to continue the AP, but my ship date to Basic Training got pushed up and had to skeedaddle due to the call of Uncle Sam. That campaign, sadly, ended. Now I'm in a new city (Ft Hood,TX: home of the 1st Cav Division)and running a game again. I want to run the AoW, but my wife has already run through WC, so I really dont want to use that again. What I need is a way to get all the pertnient info the PCs gather in WC to the PCs. I have debated a written "this is what you know" handout, but I think that tactic wont work really well with the group I am running. I want to run an encounter or two to make this happen, and I need some creative suggestions. I could have allustan do it as a "here's the situation", but I'd like to be more creative. Any suggestions?
I'm an experienced GM of 10 yrs+ and I find myself having GMs block, so I figured I'd come here to ask my fellows in gaming for help. Here's the situation I'm in: I have recently moved to a new town several hours away from my old gaming group, and as such am having to start over in terms of players. I have NPCs and plaotlines to spare, but it's been FOREVER and a day since I have dealt with players who dont know each other in game AND out. So I find myself in a situation I dont have any ieas on how to fix: getting a group of players as well as characters to begin bonding as a team and maybe building some friendships. I really DONT want to do the "a dark-robed stranger approaches you in a bar" or things like that; I'd like to do something unique or at least very memorable to get the players in on the action immediately. I'm running a fairly generic homebrew world, nothing too out there and I'm running very few house rules because I have two neophyte players. What I need help on are the "party gathering" ideas. Any assistance would be appreciated. |
