Going through the continuous sheet feed paper. Inspired directly by Grome from the old Elric series. That series probably had the biggest effect on my 80's gaming. The below is done without any changes to the original text outside of correcting some spelling errors. Looking through it, I can see many bits where I threw some lore into the setting. Strangely enough, I didn't really go into the god's apperance, powers, etc... I was rarely one of those who wanted to stat out a deity for the party to whomp on.
Gromass the Earth Lady
Goddess of Earth and Strength
Lesser God
Like a few of the other gods, Gromass took no initial interest in the world of Scarlore. Eventualy however, as the other gods grew more amused in their games and even managed to defeat the avatars of the God-Slayer using mortal pawns, Gromass grew more and more interested in the affairs of the world.
Seeking a domain to make her own, she found only the cold and powerful earth lain unclaimed to. Using the earth elementals and the other beings who relied upon the earth for strength and protection, Gromass soon created an empire which she has used to join in the gods games.
Gromass is unlike many of the gods in that she does not actively seek to engage her priests with those of the other gods, but allows the other gods to attack and test her strength. Then she allows her own might to be demonstrated by declaring total war on the faction that has dared to attack the very earth itself.
In today's world, Gromass still seeks to win the game of the gods by having the next mortal worshipper to slay the godlsyaer. Thus far she is doing poorly in her efforts to produce a champion and this has merely lead to earthquakes which rage across the entire planet. Her domain gives even Death and Atroy cause to fear for while Death is eternal and Atroy is patience itself, if her anger remains unchecked, Gromass could destroy Scarlore itself without meaning to.
Alignment: Gromass is true neutral and merely concerns herself with the building and crushing of her enemies. Her worshippers must also be true neutral and must do her goals by whatever means possible.
Requirements: Con 9, Wis 9
Symbol: Mountain
Colors: All hues of brown.
Special Abilities: 1)Due to dense and hard earth like skin, +1 to ac but -1 to CHA due to the skin's denser and more condensed appearance. 5)Avoid the effects of earthquake spells by making a saving throw vs. death magic. 7)Track any creature that has crossed the ground by making a successful intelligence check with no penalties as the earth itself tells the caster. 15)Gain stone giant strength for 1 turn once per day. 20)Cast earthquake spell once a day with no loss of spellpower.
Spheres: Major Access to Astral, Combat, Divination, Elemental and Summoning. Minor Access to Charm, Creation, Guardian and Weather.
Weapons: All blunt weapons. Non-Weapon Proficiencies: Survival, mountains. Recommended: Riding land based, animal handling, animal training, religion and herbalism. Armor Allowed: May wear any but prefer the most heaviest and strongest armor available to represent their strength. May also use shields.
Priest of Gromass tend to be violent and dangerous when spoken to. They have the tendency to see everything as a deadly challenge and attack it with a strength and unknown strength which seems to develop from the very ground they stand upon. Priests of Gromass wear earth tone colors and paint their armor to resemble their surroundings. Priests of Gromass work well in groups as long as all within it know who the leader is and that the leader is the strongest member of the church.
To these priests, strength is everything and they use their abilities to further the will of their god by seeking out a new champion to crusade their cause. Many belief that only one chosen by the god Wrath can truly slay the avatar of the God-Slayer and so they await with eager anticipation the next champion of Wrath's to step forth.
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Filarsis the Forger: 2nd edition AD&D Deity
Way back in the day I designed my own campaign world. I mean like in the late 80's or so. It was based on the 2nd edition rule set of Advanced Dungeons and Dragons, heavily modified with Arduin and Role Aids and house rules. Stuff was printed out on sheets of continuous feed paper! That cracked me up. I haven't seen that sort of paper in many years.
While cleaning I recently came across some of the gods of the setting. I figured some people may get a kick out of it. I haven't cleaned it up or revisited it so it's done as a straight out retyping from some 20+ year old creation. It's done up, I believe in the full 2nd edition methodology with Spheres and weapon and non-weapon proficiencies.
Filarsis the Forger
God of Armor and Weapons
Greater God
When the gods began their wars, they found that their weapons were weak. They approached Filarsis, the master forger, the one god who used his skills in the chaos of the world to create and forge. It was Filarsis who showed men the secret of making metal arms and armor. It was Filarsis who the Dwarves turned to in times of need.
Filarsis is the Forger of all things. Not only weapons and armor, but buildings and worlds themselves. Filarsis has the keen insight of a skilled architect which sees everything he does as a failure which must be surpassed by something even greater.
It is his duty to make the magical items that are found in the world. His most powerful one thus far some would say is the Black Blade. As the ages continued, Filarsis saw that some used his gifts to the point of abuse. It was these gods whose priests are limited to using certain armor and shields. It has nothing to do with the mortals, but the gods themselves.
Filarsis allows certain gods to advance their worshippers and increase their weapon skills or armor, but not often. It is Filarsis that the mortals curse when something breaks but it is also Filarsis that the mortals cheer when something is discovered.
Alignment: Filarsis is Lawful Neutral and his priests must be of any neutral alignment.
Requirements: Str 9, Wis 10
Symbol: Two hammers crossing behind an anvil.
Colors: Steel and grey.
Special Abilities: 1)Gain the Weaponsmithing, Armoring, Blacksmithing and Leatherworking proficiencies at +2 to all checks.
4)Discover basic purpose of any weapon and its basic powers.
6)Make quality weapons or armor that will not break unless struck by a magic artifice or other harsh treatment.
10)Make magical items +1 for every four levels of the priest up to a maximum of +5.
15)Forge Armor from unusual materials such as adamant, dragonskin or others.
Spheres: Major Access to All, Creation, Divination, Guardian, Numbers, Protection and Summoning.
Minor Access to Combat, Law and Wards.
Weapons: May use all weapons and make new ones.
Non Weapon: Bonus Armoring, Blacksmithing, Weapon Smithing and Leatherworking. Recommended: Bowyer/Fletcher, Local History, Religion, Smelting, Stone Masonry.
Armor Allowed: May use all armors.
The priests of Filarsis are inventors and warriors. They spend their days fighting and their nights designing. Their weapons that they create are theirs and theirs only. If any dare touch them, they will be cursed.
These priests are often sought out by other sects as they are potentially one of the mightiest of all. They are found in every climate from sandy desert to arctic snows. They are adept at either city of wilderness survival as they can build their own small civilization if the need arises.
All Filarsis priests are aloof and independent. They enjoy the sense of power that their lord has given them, although they acknowledge that there are greater gods than their own. They admire the strengths of the other gods, but find that there are too often too many flaws with them as well.
While cleaning I recently came across some of the gods of the setting. I figured some people may get a kick out of it. I haven't cleaned it up or revisited it so it's done as a straight out retyping from some 20+ year old creation. It's done up, I believe in the full 2nd edition methodology with Spheres and weapon and non-weapon proficiencies.
Filarsis the Forger
God of Armor and Weapons
Greater God
When the gods began their wars, they found that their weapons were weak. They approached Filarsis, the master forger, the one god who used his skills in the chaos of the world to create and forge. It was Filarsis who showed men the secret of making metal arms and armor. It was Filarsis who the Dwarves turned to in times of need.
Filarsis is the Forger of all things. Not only weapons and armor, but buildings and worlds themselves. Filarsis has the keen insight of a skilled architect which sees everything he does as a failure which must be surpassed by something even greater.
It is his duty to make the magical items that are found in the world. His most powerful one thus far some would say is the Black Blade. As the ages continued, Filarsis saw that some used his gifts to the point of abuse. It was these gods whose priests are limited to using certain armor and shields. It has nothing to do with the mortals, but the gods themselves.
Filarsis allows certain gods to advance their worshippers and increase their weapon skills or armor, but not often. It is Filarsis that the mortals curse when something breaks but it is also Filarsis that the mortals cheer when something is discovered.
Alignment: Filarsis is Lawful Neutral and his priests must be of any neutral alignment.
Requirements: Str 9, Wis 10
Symbol: Two hammers crossing behind an anvil.
Colors: Steel and grey.
Special Abilities: 1)Gain the Weaponsmithing, Armoring, Blacksmithing and Leatherworking proficiencies at +2 to all checks.
4)Discover basic purpose of any weapon and its basic powers.
6)Make quality weapons or armor that will not break unless struck by a magic artifice or other harsh treatment.
10)Make magical items +1 for every four levels of the priest up to a maximum of +5.
15)Forge Armor from unusual materials such as adamant, dragonskin or others.
Spheres: Major Access to All, Creation, Divination, Guardian, Numbers, Protection and Summoning.
Minor Access to Combat, Law and Wards.
Weapons: May use all weapons and make new ones.
Non Weapon: Bonus Armoring, Blacksmithing, Weapon Smithing and Leatherworking. Recommended: Bowyer/Fletcher, Local History, Religion, Smelting, Stone Masonry.
Armor Allowed: May use all armors.
The priests of Filarsis are inventors and warriors. They spend their days fighting and their nights designing. Their weapons that they create are theirs and theirs only. If any dare touch them, they will be cursed.
These priests are often sought out by other sects as they are potentially one of the mightiest of all. They are found in every climate from sandy desert to arctic snows. They are adept at either city of wilderness survival as they can build their own small civilization if the need arises.
All Filarsis priests are aloof and independent. They enjoy the sense of power that their lord has given them, although they acknowledge that there are greater gods than their own. They admire the strengths of the other gods, but find that there are too often too many flaws with them as well.
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
Forgotten Realms Kindle Books $2.99 Sale?
Elaine Cunningham, author of several Forgotten Realms novels, twitted that while organizing links to her material, that Evermet was $2.99 in Kindle Format. For those who know me, $2.99 is my 'sweet spot' as a purchaser. I have a few used book stores around me and while I can't always select what they have, there are enough books on the dollar spinner racks to keep me busy, well, forever. These are all 'luxury' purchases if you will.
So I went to check it out. While I've read several of Elaine's books, that one I had never gotten to. Sure enough, $2.99. I also picked up some others.
Prince of Ravens: I like Richard Baker's work. Not too crazy about taking a character from one era of the Forgotten Realms to another, but I'll give it a try. Odd how that happens eh? Drizzt, Elminster and Jack too? Wonder if maybe they shouldn't have split their reader base? Ah, what do I know.
The Masked Witches: Alright, I liked the book description. I figure for the price I'll give it a shot.
Charon's Claw: I think the last R A Salvatore book I read was The Orc King and I read it at Borders while waiting for my girlfriend. I suppose I could go to the library for some of this material but again for the price...
Shadowbane: Eye of Justice: Magic swords and vigilante killers? Okay, I'll try it out.
Mind you, they had more than these but I figured that was enough for me. Good hunting!
So I went to check it out. While I've read several of Elaine's books, that one I had never gotten to. Sure enough, $2.99. I also picked up some others.
Prince of Ravens: I like Richard Baker's work. Not too crazy about taking a character from one era of the Forgotten Realms to another, but I'll give it a try. Odd how that happens eh? Drizzt, Elminster and Jack too? Wonder if maybe they shouldn't have split their reader base? Ah, what do I know.
The Masked Witches: Alright, I liked the book description. I figure for the price I'll give it a shot.
Charon's Claw: I think the last R A Salvatore book I read was The Orc King and I read it at Borders while waiting for my girlfriend. I suppose I could go to the library for some of this material but again for the price...
Shadowbane: Eye of Justice: Magic swords and vigilante killers? Okay, I'll try it out.
Mind you, they had more than these but I figured that was enough for me. Good hunting!
Monday, January 7, 2013
Random Observations on 4e
Over on RPG.net, there's some talk about Paizo Pathfinder and WoTC 4e.
http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?670531-Comparing-the-D-amp-D-and-Pathfinder-Product-Lines-to-Discern-Why-4E-Failed
Here's what I posted there and my take on it.
Why 4e 'failed'? Well, it failed WoTC that's for sure. For anyone else it would probably have been like Nirvana but here's my 'gamer' theories.
1. Reputation. Firings every X-Mas. Taking down the DDI and claiming about 6 different reasons why but boiling it down to "thieves in the temple!", calling your consumers thieves on the PDF front and taking your toys and going home with them. Minor things but...
2. PDF Consumption. While we can say that the DDI takes the place of PDF that's not quite true. After WoTC sold out of PHB2 they claimed to have suffered damages by PDF files that were released into the wild that were legally bought and cancelled that line of revenue NEVER to replace it directly.
3. Adventure Support. There was one print adventure path and it was not viewed well. There was Dungeon online and it's one adventure path... also not viewed well. In print adventurers, especially towards the tail end?
4. OGL. While Paizo is the big dog, they've done a lot of enhance the OGL and have been very friendly towards 3rd party publishers. This includes putting their products on the front page of their own web site and talking them up. WoTC took interest in the GLS out back and shot it in the face. When Necromancer Games goes, "I will support 4e or nothing at all" and it turns out to be nothing at all? You know WoTC done fucked up.
5. Setting Support: That solution they had of fire and forget wasn't going to make a lot of people happy.
6. Setting Support 2: Trashing the Forgotten Realms YET AGAIN did nothing to help convince older players that may be coming back that this is what was needed.
7. Rule Mastery Failure. The first printings of the first few books are compatible with later books but there are a ton of errata's and updates and the monster math changed greatly from the original MM to MM2 to MM3. People felt robbed. It's been a while but I also believe there was some flubbing with the new introductory boxed set with the Larry Elmore cover of classic days.
8. Essentials or "Which way am I walking?" Initially announced the changing of product lines to smaller books that lasted for about ten seconds.
9. Release Schedule Panic: People like some steady releases and like to know when they're coming out. Cancelling books left and right and reshuffling them looks like something a small third party company would do, not the leader of the pack.
10. Novel/Tie in Support. The comics weren't bad but not huge sellers. Their book selection has bounced a bit and while there were a few series set after the Spellplauge, it was nothing like it was when it was at its peak.
11. Dungeon and Dragon Utility = m'eh: When they took the DDI off the download, I still had like two months on it. I was NOT impressed with it as it lost a lot of utility it used to have. I understand that came back but in the meanwhile, for a while Dragon and Dungeon were simply put, not good values in and of themselves. The adventurers were okay, the format kept changing, the focus keept changing, the magazines had articles late, and hey by the way, for "your convenience" we've gotten rid of the compiled issue and you have to download articles individual one by one. I think they've back pedaled on that one too.
12. DDI Misses: I went to an interview with the guys doing the DDI before 4e launched. You can read about it on EN World from back in the day. But there were a ton of things that were supposed to be there at ground zero that I think are only NOW starting to pop up like the VTT.
13. Miniature Mishaps: Hey, we're going to introduce two brand new races to the game and make almost all the miniatures for at least one of them super hard to get. Sure, you can sub for them but really, is that what the consumer wants to do? What? They don't want to pay inflated prices for repaints? What? They're not happy with the massive drop in quality that accompanied several price increases? They want to know why the adventurers never have miniatures to go with them and that those miniatures come out months or years later? Foolish mortals! It's hard keeping communication lines open in a big company. We have no idea what games are being written or what core races are in the book.
14. Holding back material to boost further sales. In the 3.5 era, the PHB2 was a massive seller. MM2 and others... not quite so much. In order to boost sales of future core books, Gnomes, barbarians, frost giants, and a host of other material was deliberately split from the 'normal' core material and put into future volumes. Nothing like forcing people to pay for a few monsters more eh? Anyone remember the old 1st edition Monster Manual where you had Orcus and Asmoedus? Dispather and Demogorgon? Stop holding back the goodies dudes.
WoTC as a company has been handicapped in competitng in what is a niche industry. Their main benefits are useless when the main competition has access to all the same resources as you. Wayne Reynods? Monte Cook? Other fan favorites? Being the people who saved D&D only gets you so far when you showcase that hey, you're not a niche industry provider, you're a corporate entity that must met X, Y, and Z goals and your lengths gone to to protect your IP are hurting you among the people in the niche fandom. You know, the very same people you're trying to sell to? Yeah, them!
But again, those are gut shots from a fan, nothing more.
http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?670531-Comparing-the-D-amp-D-and-Pathfinder-Product-Lines-to-Discern-Why-4E-Failed
Here's what I posted there and my take on it.
Why 4e 'failed'? Well, it failed WoTC that's for sure. For anyone else it would probably have been like Nirvana but here's my 'gamer' theories.
1. Reputation. Firings every X-Mas. Taking down the DDI and claiming about 6 different reasons why but boiling it down to "thieves in the temple!", calling your consumers thieves on the PDF front and taking your toys and going home with them. Minor things but...
2. PDF Consumption. While we can say that the DDI takes the place of PDF that's not quite true. After WoTC sold out of PHB2 they claimed to have suffered damages by PDF files that were released into the wild that were legally bought and cancelled that line of revenue NEVER to replace it directly.
3. Adventure Support. There was one print adventure path and it was not viewed well. There was Dungeon online and it's one adventure path... also not viewed well. In print adventurers, especially towards the tail end?
4. OGL. While Paizo is the big dog, they've done a lot of enhance the OGL and have been very friendly towards 3rd party publishers. This includes putting their products on the front page of their own web site and talking them up. WoTC took interest in the GLS out back and shot it in the face. When Necromancer Games goes, "I will support 4e or nothing at all" and it turns out to be nothing at all? You know WoTC done fucked up.
5. Setting Support: That solution they had of fire and forget wasn't going to make a lot of people happy.
6. Setting Support 2: Trashing the Forgotten Realms YET AGAIN did nothing to help convince older players that may be coming back that this is what was needed.
7. Rule Mastery Failure. The first printings of the first few books are compatible with later books but there are a ton of errata's and updates and the monster math changed greatly from the original MM to MM2 to MM3. People felt robbed. It's been a while but I also believe there was some flubbing with the new introductory boxed set with the Larry Elmore cover of classic days.
8. Essentials or "Which way am I walking?" Initially announced the changing of product lines to smaller books that lasted for about ten seconds.
9. Release Schedule Panic: People like some steady releases and like to know when they're coming out. Cancelling books left and right and reshuffling them looks like something a small third party company would do, not the leader of the pack.
10. Novel/Tie in Support. The comics weren't bad but not huge sellers. Their book selection has bounced a bit and while there were a few series set after the Spellplauge, it was nothing like it was when it was at its peak.
11. Dungeon and Dragon Utility = m'eh: When they took the DDI off the download, I still had like two months on it. I was NOT impressed with it as it lost a lot of utility it used to have. I understand that came back but in the meanwhile, for a while Dragon and Dungeon were simply put, not good values in and of themselves. The adventurers were okay, the format kept changing, the focus keept changing, the magazines had articles late, and hey by the way, for "your convenience" we've gotten rid of the compiled issue and you have to download articles individual one by one. I think they've back pedaled on that one too.
12. DDI Misses: I went to an interview with the guys doing the DDI before 4e launched. You can read about it on EN World from back in the day. But there were a ton of things that were supposed to be there at ground zero that I think are only NOW starting to pop up like the VTT.
13. Miniature Mishaps: Hey, we're going to introduce two brand new races to the game and make almost all the miniatures for at least one of them super hard to get. Sure, you can sub for them but really, is that what the consumer wants to do? What? They don't want to pay inflated prices for repaints? What? They're not happy with the massive drop in quality that accompanied several price increases? They want to know why the adventurers never have miniatures to go with them and that those miniatures come out months or years later? Foolish mortals! It's hard keeping communication lines open in a big company. We have no idea what games are being written or what core races are in the book.
14. Holding back material to boost further sales. In the 3.5 era, the PHB2 was a massive seller. MM2 and others... not quite so much. In order to boost sales of future core books, Gnomes, barbarians, frost giants, and a host of other material was deliberately split from the 'normal' core material and put into future volumes. Nothing like forcing people to pay for a few monsters more eh? Anyone remember the old 1st edition Monster Manual where you had Orcus and Asmoedus? Dispather and Demogorgon? Stop holding back the goodies dudes.
WoTC as a company has been handicapped in competitng in what is a niche industry. Their main benefits are useless when the main competition has access to all the same resources as you. Wayne Reynods? Monte Cook? Other fan favorites? Being the people who saved D&D only gets you so far when you showcase that hey, you're not a niche industry provider, you're a corporate entity that must met X, Y, and Z goals and your lengths gone to to protect your IP are hurting you among the people in the niche fandom. You know, the very same people you're trying to sell to? Yeah, them!
But again, those are gut shots from a fan, nothing more.
Monday, December 31, 2012
2012 Lookback aka "Not in the Face!"
2012 was a year that put a lot of challenges to me.
For one, my job kicked into overtime. There were bits that I could have done better but I've tried to run the show as a guy who keeps things moving as opposed to smashing one particular group over another because the blow back for such deeds is usually not worth it.
I initially wanted to pull back and do less in terms of the amount of hours I worked. Turns out this year I've worked more hours than I ever did in the past. Working seven days a week was not an unusual thing. Wasn't necessarily a bad thing either but I did fool myself into thinking I was making more than I was. Damn you taxes! Anyway, that cut seriously into my 'me' time.
This meant less reading, less gaming, less painting, less watching movies, less going out, less socialization, and well, more being a sarcastic crab ass just when I thought I'd reached the pinnacle of my skills in that field.
I don't know what 2013 will bring in those regards but I'm going to try and achieve a finer balance in the home life and work life.
Another problem with the dreaded mom. She visited my sister for a few months and neither one of them is used to the other. This lead to some interesting situations and while I tried to give my sister some advice, it was too couched in my smart ass ways for her to take it as seriously as she could have.
And then there are other complications with my mother's health right know which I'm not going to delve too deeply into but suffice it to say it's been stressful for both my sister and I, and I'm sure much worse for my mother herself.
Thankfully, my boss has been very supportive in terms of allowing me to move my time around. Mind you, as it's only recently been an issue and I've been doing a LOT of overtime, we'll see how that scales in 2013. Hopefully things continue going well in the field at least.
Fiction wise, while I enjoyed several books, none really 'broke' out for me. I can name some characters and some bits, but for the most part, it's mostly a blur of 'grimdark' or pseudo grimdark where the author didn't really have the stones to push it to that next level.
Not that they necessarily need to. Even the most harsh of novels and deeds and characters can just get boring after a while. You have to wonder why not one just goes, "Really? Really?"
In terms of gaming it's been a bad year. I've hung out with my friends on numerous occassions and played in the Shackled City. One of my friends has had a few near TPKs and some interesting times with it but again, it's not his DMing style or skills that have kept me from the game, it's been work.
One of the things that's odd, is that the guys I play with went from 4e to Pathfinder without missing a beat. It was like returning to visit a really cool old friend. Turned out some interesting learning experiences for me with the cleric and wizard I played as they were different enough from their 3.5 versions that there were some, "Oh that's cool".
In terms of 5th edition or Dungeons and Dragons Next... no habla. I've thought WoTC has done a terrible job with the mantle of D&D for a while now and well, I figure I'll just let the new edition surprise me.
In terms of new games or games outside my range... didn't happen. There were a ton of games I wanted to check out and play like Goodman Games Dungeon Crawl Classics. No time. I even have the Adventurer Conquror King first book and will soon have the companion. Again, no time.
Strangely enough, that hasn't stopped my supporting of the Kickstarter model. For me, it's a preorder system. I know some people have pointed to KS itself and their words of wisdom that it's not a preorder system despite the fact that KS itself says you HAVE to deliver the goods or pay the money back. So it's not a preorder system but you have to deliver something? Yeah, we'll see how that plays out.
I initially thought that RPGs were money went to die in terms of the KS model. Still do. Way too many projects absurdly late on these things. So late that if these were people you know, you'd be wondering why they're walking across the street pretending they don't hear you.
But now I'm starting to think most niche things, like miniatures as well, are going to have further problems. While Coominiornot has done some good things with Zombicide, their second project is late. Will their third and fourth be late? Reputation is going to start being a HUGE thing on KS, especially if you switch backers and partners to try and look like you're now 'professional' while still not delivering on the previous KS. It'll be interesting to observe while I can.
For miniature games, one of the people I know from my friend's old store, Black Sun Games, has been a machine. Me? I've gotten like two games of Song of Blades and Heroes in. Over the course of the year. Can you say pitiful? What's worse is the amount of money I keep spending on the hobby like I'm really going to delve into Warhammer with my Elves or Deepwars with the Dark Mariners or any of the other games I'm painting or backing.
For painting? Again, time not there. I bought an air brush and while I love using it to lay down base coats, I haven't had enough time to do anything else with it. No time to practice and no time to try out different techniques. I'm happy if I can do three layers and a wash or two.
In terms of buying locally from say, stores like Games Plus, man did that take a hit. I deliberately went then on their Thanksgiving Saturday bit to throw some money their way because I'd be spending so much on the whole KS model. Ouch. My wallet is still recovering.
I know I sound like I'm bitching a lot. On the other hand, I could afford to spend money on my hobbies. My mom is still kicking and while not doing well, is on the road to recovery. Her being sick has actually brought my sister and me a little closer. Work is busy but I'm glad to have a job where I can work overtime and still get paid for it. There are many good things about life and while I've had some challenges, I'm hoping to make life more to my liking in 2013. I hope everyone else has that opportunity as well.
Not onwards 2013 and remember, "Not in the face!"
For one, my job kicked into overtime. There were bits that I could have done better but I've tried to run the show as a guy who keeps things moving as opposed to smashing one particular group over another because the blow back for such deeds is usually not worth it.
I initially wanted to pull back and do less in terms of the amount of hours I worked. Turns out this year I've worked more hours than I ever did in the past. Working seven days a week was not an unusual thing. Wasn't necessarily a bad thing either but I did fool myself into thinking I was making more than I was. Damn you taxes! Anyway, that cut seriously into my 'me' time.
This meant less reading, less gaming, less painting, less watching movies, less going out, less socialization, and well, more being a sarcastic crab ass just when I thought I'd reached the pinnacle of my skills in that field.
I don't know what 2013 will bring in those regards but I'm going to try and achieve a finer balance in the home life and work life.
Another problem with the dreaded mom. She visited my sister for a few months and neither one of them is used to the other. This lead to some interesting situations and while I tried to give my sister some advice, it was too couched in my smart ass ways for her to take it as seriously as she could have.
And then there are other complications with my mother's health right know which I'm not going to delve too deeply into but suffice it to say it's been stressful for both my sister and I, and I'm sure much worse for my mother herself.
Thankfully, my boss has been very supportive in terms of allowing me to move my time around. Mind you, as it's only recently been an issue and I've been doing a LOT of overtime, we'll see how that scales in 2013. Hopefully things continue going well in the field at least.
Fiction wise, while I enjoyed several books, none really 'broke' out for me. I can name some characters and some bits, but for the most part, it's mostly a blur of 'grimdark' or pseudo grimdark where the author didn't really have the stones to push it to that next level.
Not that they necessarily need to. Even the most harsh of novels and deeds and characters can just get boring after a while. You have to wonder why not one just goes, "Really? Really?"
In terms of gaming it's been a bad year. I've hung out with my friends on numerous occassions and played in the Shackled City. One of my friends has had a few near TPKs and some interesting times with it but again, it's not his DMing style or skills that have kept me from the game, it's been work.
One of the things that's odd, is that the guys I play with went from 4e to Pathfinder without missing a beat. It was like returning to visit a really cool old friend. Turned out some interesting learning experiences for me with the cleric and wizard I played as they were different enough from their 3.5 versions that there were some, "Oh that's cool".
In terms of 5th edition or Dungeons and Dragons Next... no habla. I've thought WoTC has done a terrible job with the mantle of D&D for a while now and well, I figure I'll just let the new edition surprise me.
In terms of new games or games outside my range... didn't happen. There were a ton of games I wanted to check out and play like Goodman Games Dungeon Crawl Classics. No time. I even have the Adventurer Conquror King first book and will soon have the companion. Again, no time.
Strangely enough, that hasn't stopped my supporting of the Kickstarter model. For me, it's a preorder system. I know some people have pointed to KS itself and their words of wisdom that it's not a preorder system despite the fact that KS itself says you HAVE to deliver the goods or pay the money back. So it's not a preorder system but you have to deliver something? Yeah, we'll see how that plays out.
I initially thought that RPGs were money went to die in terms of the KS model. Still do. Way too many projects absurdly late on these things. So late that if these were people you know, you'd be wondering why they're walking across the street pretending they don't hear you.
But now I'm starting to think most niche things, like miniatures as well, are going to have further problems. While Coominiornot has done some good things with Zombicide, their second project is late. Will their third and fourth be late? Reputation is going to start being a HUGE thing on KS, especially if you switch backers and partners to try and look like you're now 'professional' while still not delivering on the previous KS. It'll be interesting to observe while I can.
For miniature games, one of the people I know from my friend's old store, Black Sun Games, has been a machine. Me? I've gotten like two games of Song of Blades and Heroes in. Over the course of the year. Can you say pitiful? What's worse is the amount of money I keep spending on the hobby like I'm really going to delve into Warhammer with my Elves or Deepwars with the Dark Mariners or any of the other games I'm painting or backing.
For painting? Again, time not there. I bought an air brush and while I love using it to lay down base coats, I haven't had enough time to do anything else with it. No time to practice and no time to try out different techniques. I'm happy if I can do three layers and a wash or two.
In terms of buying locally from say, stores like Games Plus, man did that take a hit. I deliberately went then on their Thanksgiving Saturday bit to throw some money their way because I'd be spending so much on the whole KS model. Ouch. My wallet is still recovering.
I know I sound like I'm bitching a lot. On the other hand, I could afford to spend money on my hobbies. My mom is still kicking and while not doing well, is on the road to recovery. Her being sick has actually brought my sister and me a little closer. Work is busy but I'm glad to have a job where I can work overtime and still get paid for it. There are many good things about life and while I've had some challenges, I'm hoping to make life more to my liking in 2013. I hope everyone else has that opportunity as well.
Not onwards 2013 and remember, "Not in the face!"
Friday, December 28, 2012
Pre-January Kickstarter Updates
So it's almost January. I'm waiting on a few things to go on in my personal life so I have a little nervous energy to burn and some time to kill. Let's see what's what eh?
DeepWars - Guardians of the Abyss Mini-Kicker: No clue what's going on which is okay as I told the guy to hold my stuff. I received the goods from the last one on time and in great shape. Hell, I've even assembled a few of the pieces and will start to paint them soon (ish) hopefully.
1650's rulebook: Late. Few updates. Great looking stuff when it does update.
Blackwater Gulch - Gangfights in the Old West and Blackwater Gulch: Rebels & Reinforcements show that I am a moron. The material from the first one is late. To help compensate for these issues, the guy running it gets help. Looking at the other KS the company he got to help do it is NOT assuring as many of those projects are running late too. Ugh I say.
Imbrian Arts Miniatures is one of those other KS I've backed that I believe is using the Troll Forge material from the guy running Assimilation Alien Host. See why I might be worried about the constraint issue. If he can't fulfill the stuff NOW he is MORE work going to make that happen faster? Still, if the new help takes care of that it can easily work out. Depends on where the actual constraint is.
Kingdom Death : Monster is still running right now. I think I'm going to pass. I bought the Flower Knight because despite the stupid name, it is a massively intricate piece but I think they're simply a little too large for standard game play. It's also WAY off in the future. Like almost 2014 so another reason to wait it out.
Midgard RPG Miniatures : Tempted but have so many other miniatures I'm playing with right now... Still, I'll see where it comes along in the end. I think part of the problem is that Mike's been previewing some of the stuff for so long that there's no "ooooooos" and "aaaahhhs." We've seen the sculpts before, sometimes months ago.
Pirate Goblins Box Set: Late. Updates infrequently. Miniature painting requests not filled. M'eh? I didn't pop down a lot for this one but unless the guy really blows the doors off the hinges I'm not thinking that he'll be getting more funds.
Reaper Miniatures Bones: An Evolution Of Gaming Miniatures : Good updates, good community, funny videos.
Red Box Games' Fantasy Miniatures!!! Late. Updates semi-frequently. Hit big by the delays from the Assimilation bit. Mold errors, constraint issues, and hey, he's going to do another KS before shipping out all the orders from the first one. So we'll see how that goes. I hope to support it but until I as a customer feel confident that it's not going to only result in more delays... I mean logically, if Ed is having a hard time meeting demand now and has a ton of work from other vendors already coming in and his own work, how can giving Ed MORE work result in quicker turn around? Doesn't happen too often but as I've mentioned, he is getting help so again, we'll see.
Tectonic Craft Studios New Line of War Games Terrain : Late. I've ordered some material from the website just to get a feel for it. It's okay. I can complain about Games Workshop as loudly as anyone but man, looking over their Storms of Magic terrain and I think Tectonic is going to have some problems. His pieces are on par with those of Games Workshop in terms of cost and I've used the Games Workshop stuff. It looks better, is easier to assemble and easier to paint. I'm not saying Tectonic doesn't have a place at the gaming table, but man, if people are buying his stuff to avoid GW as opposed to actually looking at the pricing.... Mind you not every piece is on par and GW is more expensive then Tectonic on several pieces but they are not crazy with the fantasy terrain like they are with the 40K stuff.
Tentacles & Eyeballs: An RPG Horror Miniatures Set got hit by Wizards of the Coast. At Gen Con, I saw Gale Force 9 with some of their licensed miniatures. Anyone who wasn't expecting something like this could happen was living in a pleasant dream world. He's made up a lot of ground and already sent out goods to the lower level pledges. I'll be curious to see what he comes up with for the larger ones.
A Gallery of Rogues is a NPC collection. I'll probably be backing that one before it ends. I like Jim and I like the artist he picked here.
Dwimmermount: An Old School Fantasy RPG Megadungeon : So late it in and of itself isn't worth smacking around any more. But the latest update notes that the guy doing the calculations forgot to take the holidays into account. What? Really man? For reals?
It Came from the Stars: Bringing the Weird to Pathfinder RPG is another one I'm just like, "whatever." It's fun to read the updates that are rare though. Take this one from the comments section from Oct 27th, "I'll be starting layout of the GM section next week!" and then the update section, "from December 15th, "I'm expecting the GM's section to be finished within the next couple days.". Wow. Again, "really?" At this point, I can't imagine what this book would need to do in order for me to back any future projects by this company/individual.
King for a Day: Jim has learned a few lessons here. The first is starting a new kickstarter when you haven't fulfilled your previous one will lead to some upset customers. The second is even if it's just a page layout sample or art sample or bit of writing from the book, people want updates. Looking forward to seeing the final PDF and eventually the book.
Midgard Tales: 13 Pathfinder Adventures is one I haven't been paying attention to because the guy doing it has done this before Kickstarter was even around with the patron system. When I do look, hey, looks like a three month delay. Ugh. I hope the extras are worth it because I feel that patrons are paying a premium for the 'experience' of playtesting, getting contact with authors, etc... and I've mentioned before, I just want the finished product. The rest is nice for those who are involved with the gaming community, but at this point of social interaction, a lot of that is already happening without the cost. Very disappointed. Mind you, I'm disappointed not because KS has shown itself to be a timely way to get product or anything but because I expected better. Maybe the final product will be fantastic and the 'freebies' make up for the quarter delay.
Player's Companion for the Adventurer Conqueror King RPG another one so late I'm not going to bash it. It has fans and I did get the core book as I ordered the higher end package so that I'd have it in preparation for the companion. I've already forgotten most about it as I haven't played it and only read it so on the shelf the companion will go when it does arrive.
Steampunk Musha: Victoriental Adventures: Late. Last update over a month ago. Needs to update more frequently.
Razor Coast: Let me do a copy and paste from old RPG.net...Hmmm... the Rappan Atthuk thing pissed me off as it was late but it was being sold at Gen Con with no option for pick up. And their other KS is late too I believe. I'm a Paizo subscriber so I'd get a discount and the PDF if I ordered through them. Plus xx off shipping. The charging people for shipping a while before actually you know, shipping it also feed into the being pissed bit. "We're charging you s&h but won't actually ship it for... months?"
Having said that, it looks like it's going from 150 for the player's guide and source book to 225 for 'signed' editions with an exclusive module. Where's the mid point where they don't sign it? $75 bones for me is way too rich for something like a 36 page adventure. I'll wait and see if anything 'essential' comes unlocked but it would have to be MUCH more promising than RA. The May timeline... Too early for Gen Con but if it follows the previous ones and is a few months late...
Okay, I think that's it for me. Rant mode off!
DeepWars - Guardians of the Abyss Mini-Kicker: No clue what's going on which is okay as I told the guy to hold my stuff. I received the goods from the last one on time and in great shape. Hell, I've even assembled a few of the pieces and will start to paint them soon (ish) hopefully.
28mm
Demons & Devils - Center Stage Miniatures: I'm happy with the updates so far. They've got some time left. HOWEVER, it could just be me mind you, I'm disappointed when they post pictures to face book and their own website before giving the people who helped fund the miniatures some exclusive time. Boo to you.
1650's rulebook: Late. Few updates. Great looking stuff when it does update.
Assimilation
Alien Host : Updates are slow but I'm actually more worried about the guy's 'real' bussiness if you will. Some other KS that I'm backing seem to have listed him as a constraint not in a he's being evil way but life is getting in the way thing. Hopefully when he gets his new help he'll be able to straighten that all out because too much success as a reason still only goes so far.
Blackwater Gulch - Gangfights in the Old West and Blackwater Gulch: Rebels & Reinforcements show that I am a moron. The material from the first one is late. To help compensate for these issues, the guy running it gets help. Looking at the other KS the company he got to help do it is NOT assuring as many of those projects are running late too. Ugh I say.
Imbrian Arts Miniatures is one of those other KS I've backed that I believe is using the Troll Forge material from the guy running Assimilation Alien Host. See why I might be worried about the constraint issue. If he can't fulfill the stuff NOW he is MORE work going to make that happen faster? Still, if the new help takes care of that it can easily work out. Depends on where the actual constraint is.
Kingdom Death : Monster is still running right now. I think I'm going to pass. I bought the Flower Knight because despite the stupid name, it is a massively intricate piece but I think they're simply a little too large for standard game play. It's also WAY off in the future. Like almost 2014 so another reason to wait it out.
Midgard RPG Miniatures : Tempted but have so many other miniatures I'm playing with right now... Still, I'll see where it comes along in the end. I think part of the problem is that Mike's been previewing some of the stuff for so long that there's no "ooooooos" and "aaaahhhs." We've seen the sculpts before, sometimes months ago.
Pirate Goblins Box Set: Late. Updates infrequently. Miniature painting requests not filled. M'eh? I didn't pop down a lot for this one but unless the guy really blows the doors off the hinges I'm not thinking that he'll be getting more funds.
Reaper Miniatures Bones: An Evolution Of Gaming Miniatures : Good updates, good community, funny videos.
Red Box Games' Fantasy Miniatures!!! Late. Updates semi-frequently. Hit big by the delays from the Assimilation bit. Mold errors, constraint issues, and hey, he's going to do another KS before shipping out all the orders from the first one. So we'll see how that goes. I hope to support it but until I as a customer feel confident that it's not going to only result in more delays... I mean logically, if Ed is having a hard time meeting demand now and has a ton of work from other vendors already coming in and his own work, how can giving Ed MORE work result in quicker turn around? Doesn't happen too often but as I've mentioned, he is getting help so again, we'll see.
Relic nights
just did a mass number of updates. Coolminornot is fairly good with keeping people in the loop so I'm not actually too worried about it.
Sedition Wars:
Battle for Alabaster : hit by the supplier bug of China. When you put things outside of your personal sphere of control, don't be surprised when... you have no control. I'm not saying you can't use such vendors or anything of that nature. Competition and costs will determine where you go but when you get hit by months of delays, remember to factor those costs into your savings.
Tectonic Craft Studios New Line of War Games Terrain : Late. I've ordered some material from the website just to get a feel for it. It's okay. I can complain about Games Workshop as loudly as anyone but man, looking over their Storms of Magic terrain and I think Tectonic is going to have some problems. His pieces are on par with those of Games Workshop in terms of cost and I've used the Games Workshop stuff. It looks better, is easier to assemble and easier to paint. I'm not saying Tectonic doesn't have a place at the gaming table, but man, if people are buying his stuff to avoid GW as opposed to actually looking at the pricing.... Mind you not every piece is on par and GW is more expensive then Tectonic on several pieces but they are not crazy with the fantasy terrain like they are with the 40K stuff.
Tentacles & Eyeballs: An RPG Horror Miniatures Set got hit by Wizards of the Coast. At Gen Con, I saw Gale Force 9 with some of their licensed miniatures. Anyone who wasn't expecting something like this could happen was living in a pleasant dream world. He's made up a lot of ground and already sent out goods to the lower level pledges. I'll be curious to see what he comes up with for the larger ones.
A Gallery of Rogues is a NPC collection. I'll probably be backing that one before it ends. I like Jim and I like the artist he picked here.
Dwimmermount: An Old School Fantasy RPG Megadungeon : So late it in and of itself isn't worth smacking around any more. But the latest update notes that the guy doing the calculations forgot to take the holidays into account. What? Really man? For reals?
It Came from the Stars: Bringing the Weird to Pathfinder RPG is another one I'm just like, "whatever." It's fun to read the updates that are rare though. Take this one from the comments section from Oct 27th, "I'll be starting layout of the GM section next week!" and then the update section, "from December 15th, "I'm expecting the GM's section to be finished within the next couple days.". Wow. Again, "really?" At this point, I can't imagine what this book would need to do in order for me to back any future projects by this company/individual.
King for a Day: Jim has learned a few lessons here. The first is starting a new kickstarter when you haven't fulfilled your previous one will lead to some upset customers. The second is even if it's just a page layout sample or art sample or bit of writing from the book, people want updates. Looking forward to seeing the final PDF and eventually the book.
Midgard Tales: 13 Pathfinder Adventures is one I haven't been paying attention to because the guy doing it has done this before Kickstarter was even around with the patron system. When I do look, hey, looks like a three month delay. Ugh. I hope the extras are worth it because I feel that patrons are paying a premium for the 'experience' of playtesting, getting contact with authors, etc... and I've mentioned before, I just want the finished product. The rest is nice for those who are involved with the gaming community, but at this point of social interaction, a lot of that is already happening without the cost. Very disappointed. Mind you, I'm disappointed not because KS has shown itself to be a timely way to get product or anything but because I expected better. Maybe the final product will be fantastic and the 'freebies' make up for the quarter delay.
Player's Companion for the Adventurer Conqueror King RPG another one so late I'm not going to bash it. It has fans and I did get the core book as I ordered the higher end package so that I'd have it in preparation for the companion. I've already forgotten most about it as I haven't played it and only read it so on the shelf the companion will go when it does arrive.
Steampunk Musha: Victoriental Adventures: Late. Last update over a month ago. Needs to update more frequently.
Razor Coast: Let me do a copy and paste from old RPG.net...Hmmm... the Rappan Atthuk thing pissed me off as it was late but it was being sold at Gen Con with no option for pick up. And their other KS is late too I believe. I'm a Paizo subscriber so I'd get a discount and the PDF if I ordered through them. Plus xx off shipping. The charging people for shipping a while before actually you know, shipping it also feed into the being pissed bit. "We're charging you s&h but won't actually ship it for... months?"
Having said that, it looks like it's going from 150 for the player's guide and source book to 225 for 'signed' editions with an exclusive module. Where's the mid point where they don't sign it? $75 bones for me is way too rich for something like a 36 page adventure. I'll wait and see if anything 'essential' comes unlocked but it would have to be MUCH more promising than RA. The May timeline... Too early for Gen Con but if it follows the previous ones and is a few months late...
Okay, I think that's it for me. Rant mode off!
Thursday, December 27, 2012
Honor Among Thieves: Book Three of the Ancient Blades Triology
Writing wise, the book continues to follow the previous established pattern. If you enjoyed the first two books, this one follows through in that manner. The material continues to expand the setting, has large scale conflicts, and some 'fantasy revolutions' in technology and portents for future material set in this series.
Again, perhaps because I read it prior to this one, I find myself doing some contrast to Riyria Revelations by Michael J. Sullivan. In the third book of that series, the elves have their time and quickly wipe out most of the resistance. In Honor Amongst Thieves, the barbarians have free access to the lands and quickly decimate most of the opposition leaving only one city, the Free City of Ness, left to resist.
One of the problems with some campaigns is that they become like glass. You want to look at them and admire them. To insure that they're is a continuous flow of one thing to another. Authors know better. Smash the setting. Unleash the hounds of war. If you don't like the way it goes down, next campaign do another variation of the campaign. Mind you, that's easier to do with a new group as the old group, at least in my experience, is often interested in seeing how things 'went down'.
Another interesting aspect is the rise and fall of characters. Malden, who started off as a simple free lance rogue, gained membership, and in this volume, not only becomes the guild master, but then the 'mayor' of the free city. Mind you, at the end of the volume, he's back to being a freelance rogue but the shifting nature of power, especially social power, is made clear here.
Sir Croy, whose been fairly boring in some instances, by design I suspect, has his chance to shine through. He rises from being an exiled knight to becoming the regent of the kingdom. It's not what he wants mind you and his interest in it is slim compared to the longings of his heart, but he is a duty bound man who does not run from his responsibilities. At the end of the novel, while he has indeed lost his heart's goal, his political position and social status are higher than they were at the first novel save for one important thing that I'll mention later.
Cythera on the other hand, whose initial role was a ward against poisons and curses, comes into her own as much more than the rival love of the main male characters. Her mother, who laid the protections against curses on her, now trains her to be a witch. However, as her father was the most powerful of sorcerers, she's inherited that talent as well and winds us using a bit of that. Now in this setting, sorcerers are demon bound and their use of such magics mark them. In this instance, she gains some gray hair.
Open Ended. While the bulk of the story is resolved, there are many parts that are not. This is a good thing as it evolves organically from the story. The barbarian invasion force splits due to differences between brother and sister. This leaves the main invading force of barbarians defeated, but a goodly sized portion still in control of several fallen cities. This leaves the series open for future investigation as to what will happen with the mingling of different cultures there. This doesn't count the pass open from the destroyed mountain either. More barbarians could wander forth. More trade could be established.
More interestingly to me at least, is the fate of the ancient blades. The barbarian war chief, Morget, found some very potent dwarven weapons last volume. One of these, an axe, is apparently able to smash through the ancient blades themselves. This is fascinating. I'm always advocating that new methods and new techniques should be able to overcome things of the past. If the modern world ran like most fantasy stories, someone would unearth a copy of MS-DOS and destroy the modern Internet with it's ancient and archaic powers. On the other hand, those ancient blades were craft with magic for a specific purpose. With only one left at the end of the series, wielded by a rogue who doesn't know how to fight even, the author sets up a return of demons and sorcery for future volumes and the creation of new blades even.
Mind you, not all the loose ends are so interesting. Elves were introduced to the setting, or reintroduced to the setting, and not a peep out of them. Some of the elements, like the introduction of a canon by the dwarf Slag, may seem awesome at first and indeed, worthy of a player character doing, but with the nature of the setting showcasing so much that appears to take place in several different eras in terms of how it might be first introduced, still feels somewhat forced. Minor things for me but others might be more irate about it.
Honor Among Thieves is a good source of inspiration for role playing games like Dungeons and Dragons or Rolemaster where the character is the star of the story and not necessarily just the mechanics of the character.
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