Friday, November 14, 2008

So we're all ready for tomorrow? Same time, around 12pm-1pm...

Saturday, November 1, 2008

Sunday, October 12, 2008

Friday, September 5, 2008

Next session?

When would be a good time for people to play next?

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

okay, so maybe Monday (Labour Day)?

We may have a game coming together on Monday with:

Kevin
Craig
Becky
Rob (blipvert)

I'll be NPC'ing Brandur's character on his okay...

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Aug. 31st session postponed...

Brandur's not in province, Craig can't make it on Sunday, and no one else wants to play (or is able to make it for Sunday).

Maybe I'm too old to bother playing D&D anymore.

=\

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

FANEXPO 2008!

http://www.hobbystar.com/fanexpo2008/

Woo, this weekend! Who's going?!

Me and Kev are going.... Craig, I know you may be there with your friend Leah; we should try to meet up...

Does Jesse still read this blog?

Thursday, August 14, 2008

Saturday instead of Sunday?

How do you guys feel about playing next session on Saturday instead of Sunday?

That would be August 30th, from 1pm-5/6pm?...

Any forseeable problems?

edit: yeah, nevermind... just a thought. -hugh

Sunday, August 10, 2008

Winnipeg

I'm heading out for two weeks to Winnipeg, and unfortunately that means I'll need to miss the session.

Friday, August 1, 2008

PC portraits?

Hey guys, here's a couple sites that have some PC portraits, if you wanted to give the other players a more visual idea of what you look like. I myself am interested in how you see yourselves... especially Neveah, the Gold Elf Ranger, as Gold Elves tend be racist, haughty, and prefer clean robes and such... much like the Noldor elves of Lothlórien in The Lord of the Rings mythos... so it would be interesting to see how a Gold Elf Ranger would look.

If you let me know via comment or MSN (hugh_g@hotmail.com), I can print out a copy in colour, and even size it if you wanted to attach it to the appropriate box on your character sheet.

http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/arch/pc
http://www.tgeweb.com/ironworks/baldursgate1/portraits_01.shtml

That's just to get you started, there's a ton of fantasy art out there...

Brandur, I can see you having a bit more trouble finding something, as you're a non-standard race... although kobolds are pretty popular these days. I always liked the kobold from the 2e Monstrous Manual:

Monday, July 28, 2008

Some things we got wrong, rulewise:

The Ranger's Twin Strike power has no modifier for its damage: it's just straight-up weapon damage, no STR/DEX mod.... although Neveah will still get +2 for her Eldarin Soldier feat with her primary weapon.

While a Fighter can make a basic melee attack on marked enemies if they shift away (or if the marked enemy attacks someone else), it's not considered an actual "Opportunity Attack", but a basic attack that's an immediate interrupt. Therefore, when my bad-guy chain fighter was shifting away multiple squares as part of his awesome-o daily power, he wasn't actually provoking an opportunity attack and could have kept shifting and making attacks at the other guys (i.e. not being stopped by the Kurgan's Combat Superiority class feature). Bastards, it was an awesome power...

Not sure if Kurgan was adding this, but he gets a +1 for using his scimitar (favoured weapon style) in addition to normal attack modifiers, and a further +1 (WIS) when making opportunity attacks.

Rogue has to stay within cover in order to make use of Stealth/Sneak Attack in combat.... although I'm pretty sure Yuzzy did, for the most part. Sneaky little bastard.

So yeah, I'm going to keep my eyes on you guys... you pretty much breezed through those combats, with only one PC dropping out of 3 encounters. No pulling punches next time. ;)

Heh, and don't forget that the black-robed female wizard at the final fight managed to escape (barely). So not only does she know exactly what you look like... she knows you're heading into Deepingdale towards Highmoon. Heh heh heh... at least the authorities in the Dalelands aren't as easily bought as they are in Sembia.

So it sounds like next session is going to be August 31st. Sorry it can't be sooner, but I can only play on the weekends, Brandur's game is most Saturdays, I'm heading out of town a couple weekends in August, and the GeekCon coming up in a few weeks... maybe by September I can make it every 2-3 weeks so we don't lose steam. I'll also have a few pre-genned PCs on hand, in case we have some one-time players show up.

Sunday, July 27, 2008

campaign kick off completed

So that went okay - the starting characters managed to escape Sembia, and they've tripped across some kind of plot discovered by a crazy scholar in Saerloon, involving areas of Wild Magic and cultists.

Although our heroes seemed to be wanted men (and woman) in the corrupt land of Sembia, they've fought off some mercenary bounty hunters and crossed over the foothills of the Thunder Peaks and made it to Highmoon, a major town in Deepingdale. From there, they have choices to make: Do they attempt to seek out the ruins which the mysterious scroll wrote about (which may be a great source of power)? Do they try to shake the last couple days out of their minds and seek more mundane work? Do they dare brave the lands of Sembia where they are hunted as fugitives, in seek out the mad scholar to find out what he was writing about in his hurried scratching on the scroll? More importantly, where's the other 25gp he promised them for delivery of the message to the now-deceased Inius?!?

Here's the PDFs to the DMG and MM, try to not memorize the DM-specific stuff... although to be honest, since I run published modules, I tend not to pull too much content from either... at least for now.

http://www.filemojo.com/019563120250628/DungeonMastersGuide4ed.pdf

http://www.filemojo.com/019479520774919/MonsterManual4ed.pdf

Maybe you guys want to make a quick new post each about your characters, what they look like, what they're about, where they're from?

Thursday, July 24, 2008

celly

Directions and details

So Sunday, 27th.... shooting for noon, but I realize that's optimistic.... bring your PHB if you got one - I'm printing a couple booklets of the portions of the PHB that deal with character creation/races/classes, so those without a text can reference it as you roll up your guy.

I have AC (well, it's for the bedroom but I'll blast it and keep the door open), and a fan.

I also have the PHB on PDF, so it can be a takeaway for later reading if you care about the ruleset beyond when you're actually playing, if you want to bring a laptop or even a USB key.

Bring $10 or so for pizza or whatever. I have a few Strongbows and Guinnesses, but if you plan on getting crunked, then BYOB. Don't have an iPod docking station, or iTunes on the compy... so if you want music other then breaks, 90's indy rock, hiphop, or Queen then bring it on CD or USB.

So yeah, my building sucks in that there's no visitor parking. Sherbourne is one subway station east of Yonge/Bloor ("A"), walk south a couple blocks. The red circle on the map is my building, the green line is sometimes-filled free parking curb-side, and the green square a block or so north is pay parking (about $4 for the day, I think?).



Click picture to expand


Oh yeah, I have about 7 sets of dice, but most of them are unlucky... so if you have you your own, bring 'em; the dice gods hate me.

Monday, July 21, 2008

Alignment in 4E

Hey guys - So we'll be playing this Sunday the 27th, yes? Everyone still in?

So they've taken out the 3^2 axis system and replaced it with a simple choice between 5 alignments:

Good: Protecting the weak from those who would dominate or kill them is just the right thing to do. If you're Good, you believe it is right to protect and help those in need. You're not about to sacrifice yourself to forward this view, but sometimes you'll put the needs of others before yourself. Generally you follow rules and obey authority, but you're aware that power tends to corrupt and you will break local or national laws if it's for the greater good. If a law is unjust or exploitative, you feel no obligation and will actually probably fight against the power structure as a rebel.

Lawful Good: An ordered society protects us from evil. Lawful Good characters put law and order on the same level as "doing the right thing". While they believe that rules and structure in society prevents its citizenship from harming each other, they also understand that it is important to protect the weak and downtrodden - even if it means that those helping must sacrifice themselves. When a leader exploits the system for their own gain, or laws protect an elite or upper class while harming the lower, the Lawful Good character will recognise that as an evil tyranny and be morally bound to fight it. When this happens, however, they will differ from the Good character by attempting to work within the system (or at least break as few laws as possible) to right the injustices.

Evil: It is my right to claim what others possess. If you're Evil, you generally always put yourself first. You may not go out of your way to harm others, but if someone or something stands in the way of you getting what you want, you have no problem doing whatever it takes to accomplish your goals. The Evil character will use law or social structure for gain, so it can put them in a position of power. They have no problem with slavery or unfair political systems, as long as they are able to benefit from them.

Chaotic Evil: I don't care what I have to do to get what I want. Chaotic Evil characters have complete disregard for others. They are the typical sociopaths - the center of their own universe, with the only thing mattering being the pursuit of personal power. They will frequently steal, kill, and betray in order to acheive this. Those of the chaotic evil alignment are generally unable to cooperate with others, even other mosters that are choatic evil. They are unable to be trusted and are willing to kill or be destructive for no other reason than whimsy.

Unaligned: Just let me go about my business. If you're Unaligned, you don't actively harm others, but you won't put yourself at risk for others without some promise of reward. You care about your own freedoms, but don't necessarily care much about protecting the freedoms of others. However, some Unaligned are not simply self-serving and justify their actions by taking a balanced view - neither siding with good or evil for more philosophical reasons. While the causes of the neutral world view can come from either camp, the actions of the two types of Unaligned generally will be similar; they will neither be overtly good nor evil, and instead serve themselves without doing much harm to the people around them.


So that's that. Keep in mind that alignment has been demoted to a cue for behaviour and roleplaying, and is no longer restrictive in the game mechanics.... so there are no penalties for switching alignment or acting out of alignment. For example, while I may make you change your alignment from Good to Unaligned due to your actions over a few sessions, there are no penalties to XP or otherwise for such a change. Also, there are no alignment restrictions for worship - so you can be a Lawful Good Cleric of Bane (the god of tyranny) or even a Chaotic Evil Paladin of Tyr, and there is nothing in the rules to prevent you from using spells and powers and whatnot.

So anyway, gaming this Sunday, to start early afternoon - shooting for 12pm, but I know that's a pipedream for some.... that's fine in any case, since it's a chargen session and some people will be faster than others at it. Next post will be directions and other meta-details.

Monday, July 14, 2008

Religion in Forgotten Realms.

So here's the major deities of Forgotten Realms, with a basic description of their portfolio. I've included all the Greater Gods, with some of the more popular Intermediate Gods. This is just a taste, as I'm leaving out the Lesser Gods and the race-specific deities. If you want to revere a race-specific god, then you can flip through the FR book at character creation.

Don't sweat the alignment too much - I'm going to be using 4E alignment/deity rules, which is a little continuity-breaking, but whateves - I don't want to houserule anymore than necessary, as I feel I'm going to have my hands full just running core. I'll detail how they've changed alignment in 4E next post.

Bane (Greater) - aka the Black Lord, the Black Hand, the Lord of Darkness. Lawful Evil. Portfolio of strife, hatred, tyranny, and fear. Symbol is green rays squeezed forth from a black fist.

Chauntea (Greater) - aka the Great Mother, the Grain Goddess, Earthmother. Neutral Good. Portfolio of Agriculture, plants cultivated by humans, farmers, gardens, summer. Symbol is a blooming rose on a sunburst wreath of golden wheat.

Cyric (Greater) - aka Prince of Lies, the Dark Sun, the Black Sun. Chaotic Evil. Portfolio of Murder, lies, intrigue, deception, illusion. Symbol is a white jawless skull on black or purple sunburst.

Gond (Intermediate) - aka Wonderbringer, Lord of All Smiths. Neutral. Portfolio of artifice, craft, construction, smithwork. Symbol of a toothed metal, one, or wood cog with four spokes.

Helm (Intermediate) - aka the Watcher, the Vigilant One. Lawful Neutral. Portfolio of guardians, protectors, protection. Symbol is an eye with blue pupil on the front of an upright war guantlet.

Ilmater (Intermediate) - aka the Crying God, the Broken God. Lawful Good. Portfolio of endurance, suffering, martyrdom, perseverance. Symbol is a pair of white hands bound at the wrist with a red cord.

Kelemvor (Greater) - aka Lord of the Dead, Judge of the Damned. Lawful Neutral. Portfolio of death, the dead. Symbol is an upright skeletal arm holding the golden scales of justice.

Lathander (Greater) - aka the Morninglord. Neutral Good. Portfolio of spring, dawn, birth, renewal, creativity, youth, vitality, self-perfection, athletics. Symbol is a sunrise made of rose, red, and yellow gems.

Lolth (Intermediate) - aka Queen of Spiders, Queen of the Demonweb Pits. Chaotic Evil. Portfolio of spiders, evil, darkness, chaos, assassins, drow. Symbol is a Black Widow spider with a female drow head hanging from a spiderweb.

Mystra (Greater) - aka the Lady of Mysteries, the Mother of All Magic. Neutral Good. Portfolio of magic, spells, the Weave. Symbol is a circle of seven blue-white stars with red mist flowing from the center.

Oghma (Greater) - aka the Lord of Knowledge, Binder of What is Known. Neutral. Portfolio of Knowledge, invention, inspiration, bards. Symbol is a blank scroll.

Selune (Intermediate) - aka Our Lady of Silver, the Moonmaiden. Chaotic Good. Portfolio of the moon, stars, navigation, navigators, wanders, questers, good and neutral lycanthropes. Symbol is a pair of female eyes surrounded by seven silver stars.

Shar (Greater) - aka the Mistress of the Night, Lady of Loss, Dark Goddess. Neutral Evil. Portfolio of dark, night, loss, forgetfulness, unrevealed secrets, caverns, dungeons, the Underdark. Symbol is a black disk with a deep purple border.

Silvanus (Greater) - aka Oak Father, the Forest Father, Treefather. Neutral. Portfolio of wild nature, druids. Symbol is a green living oak leaf.

Sune (Intermediate) - aka Firehair, Lady Firehair. Chaotic Good. Portfolio of beauty, love, passion. Symbol is the face of a red-haired, ivory-skinned beautiful woman.

Talos (Greater) - aka the Destroyer, the Storm Lord. Chaotic Evil. Portfolio of storms, destruction, rebellion, conflagrations, earthquakes, vortexes. Symbol is an explosive lightning strike.

Tempus (Greater) - aka the Lord of Battles, Foehammer. Chaotic Neutral. Portfolio of war, battle, warriors. Symbol is a blazing silver sword on a blood-red shield.

Tymora (Intermediate) - aka Lady Luck, the Lady Who Smiles, Our Smiling Lady. Chaotic Good. Portfolio of good fortune, skill, victory, adventurers. Symbol is a silver coin with Tymora's face surrounded by shamrocks.

Tyr (Greater) - aka the Even-Handed, the Maimed God, the Just God. Lawful Good. Portfolio of Justice. Symbol is a balanced scale resting on a warhammer.

=====================

So that's it. There's other ones, but those are the main racially-independent ones. If you're planning on being a cleric or paladin, it would be a good idea to become acquainted with the main gods and decide on the type of god you'll end up revering, if not picking one right away. Game-wise, it doesn't really affect the rules, but it may affect how the game progresses, story-wise.

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

huzzah, D&D for all!

Hey guys,

So everything worked out and I have a new job come Aug. 15th! Yaaaaaaaay! Thanks for not getting too pissed that I had to bail.

So we're starting in Deepingdale, which is a heavily wooded area of the southern part of the Dalelands. It's capital is Highmoon, boasting the largest population of Deepingdale at ~5200. Tolerance and good-naturedness is the rule of Highmoon and the rest of Deepingdale, especially to adventurers - as the questing heroes are usually the ones who resolve the earth-shattering crises in the region. Deepingdale in general is known for its especially good relationships with the elves in the area.

To the east is Archendale, a trade-based dale and one of the most "modern". It focuses on military strength and economic power, and in times of need a large portion of militia come from this area.

To the southeast is Sembia, a very political and rich merchant-controlled nation where the clink of coin rules over all... think the Italian city states of the early Renaissance. While they're not necessarily "evil" like the Zhentarium (an evil Cyric-worshipping nation to the north of the Dalelands), Sembia can still be considered an antagonistic force - they don't have the Dales best interests at heart. In fact, Sembia's captial city, Ordulin, was actually a Dale city called Moondale a few centuries ago... but due to economic and trade dependence and political manuevering, Moondale was annexed by Sembia in a peaceful takeover. This still serves as a warning and a caution to the other Dales to be careful of their southern neighbour.

To the west, past the Thunder Pass road through the natural border of the Thunder Peaks, lies nation of Cormyr. This nation is generally a good aligned heavily-wooded region with chivalric Purple Dragon knights, royal War Wizards, and classic fantasy tropes. It's ruled via monarchy and is heavily governed by law (for example, all weapons must have restraints called "peace-strings" in urban cities, and all adventuring requires an offical adventuring license). For a historical analog, think feudal France in the late Middle Ages.


(Click to expand, Deepingdale is directly under the 1st red 'D' of 'The Dalelands'.)

So the first session will be chargen, some background fluff, some talk about your characters backgrounds, and some pre-genned combat encounters to get your feet wet... just to warn, you will be railroaded for the combat in this session, just so I can get you into the game in a predestined starting place... but once we get that out of the way this first session, I try to run as "sandbox" of a game as possible within reason, and let you go where you want... so be ready (come 2nd session) to have motivations and actually talk out what you want to do, where you want to go, etc. And no, you won't be starting in a tavern. ;)

Anyway, next blog I'll outline the common pantheon for Forgotten Realms, and those among you that have a feeling your PC will be religiously inclined (clerics, paladins, or just a lay worshipper) can take a look at what's out there - if you don't already know about FR's gods.

Wednesday, July 2, 2008

Game postponed... (ohg nos)

Hey guys,

So some shit went down at work, and I have to do work-related stuff all through this weekend....

I know, I'm a shit, but it has to be done. It's going to determine whether or not I have a job the following week. Kinda important.

Sorry to bail at the last minute, but it's better that I have a job so I can buy new books and minis at a later time, then running a char-gen session only to be homeless by the end of July.

I'm thinking the 27th, as Kev and I both have shit on the weekends of the 12th and 19th.

Sorry all, I suck ass. It works in Craig's favour, anyway...

Saturday, June 28, 2008

Shug has a small penis

It's true,  he had sex with a girl once and she told me.

Look I made a post!



So we still on for July 6th at noon or what?