The blog will be going through a restructuring as it complies with the new specifications of the RPG Bloggers Network. The layout also needs a change and I'm thinking of adding a few things to the blog.
So for now, the Questing GM will be taking an extended rest after spending all his dailies almost on every post.
Thanks to everyone who has accompanied the Questing GM on his quest so far and I apologise for any inconvenience caused.
August 31, 2008
August 29, 2008
Word of Wizards (WoW) - 29/8/2008
It looks like there's some heavy updates coming from WoTC at the end of the month. So first things first,
1.Excerpts from the Adventurer's Vault
Battle Standards
Reagents
I dig the idea of battle standards, they are kind of something like Warlords on a Stick which you can plant them around but I'm not so sure about the Resistance 50 that it grants (EDIT: It has been pointed out that the banner HAS Resistance 50 and does not grant it). This will fit nicely in the Scales of War adventure path.
Reagents are pretty interesting but looks pretty absusive as well because they seem pretty cheap. Low-level Swordmages will have no problem buying Creeping Gatevine at 200gp which will give them an extra mile with their Aegis of Assault.
Don't miss out on the other tidbits of wondrous items and rings in those excerpts as well.
2.Excerpts from the Forgotten Realms Player's Guide
Swordmage
The Great Dale
Elfharrow
Nothing new or has changed for the Swordmage from what we've seen earlier in the RPGA preview material. This excerpt shows us 2 new higher leveled powers (Level 27 Encounter & Level 29 Daily).
By comparing the player's guide and campaign guide excerpts of both the Great Dale and Elfharrow, I think that some information should have crossover between the books.
There are also geographical entries for the locations in the player's guide excerpt which expands more or less what's written in the campaign guide. So DMs would also need to check it for any extra information on the region.
3.Digital Insider #4: Death of a Dragonborn
Randy Buehler's rambling about his dragonborn character and it's subsequent demise. However, I wouldn't have posted this up if there weren't something interesting in his ramblings.
After that he went down to business and commented about the recent restructure at Wizards.
And a little bit on their Tiny Adventures
I've been playing this slavishly and am a victim of the data loss he was talking about. Give me back my 5th level Fighter!
4.Dragon: Characters of War
Last month, we were told that Dragon will be providing supplementary articles on the Scales of War adventure path. Well, it's finally here at the end of this month's Dragon.
It provides numerous character backgrounds that also give crunchy benefits as well. Most of them, except for a few, are pretty minor which adds a skill or two into the character's class skill list and gives small modifiers to those skills.
There are 3 backgrounds for each race and each class. It doesn't say how many a character can pick but I'm guessig that they can only take 2; one for class and one for race.
Overall, it's a useful little supplement. Not exactly the campaign background that some people (myself included) were hoping for, but still pretty handy to have. I'm probably going to make all my players choose them for their characters during chargen before we start the adventure path (someday).
5.A Letter to Mr. Goldfarb
Ok, this has been going on for a while in the online community. While this blog would like to refrain from politics (especially American, considering the situation now as it is in my own country), but Senior Vice President of Hasbro, Wayne Charness, has written a letter to Mr. Goldfarb to voice their displeasure about his recent statement.
Who's Mr. Goldfarb?
Well, he is part of the staff in John McCain's campaign for the US presidency and was the brilliant mastermind who wrote this,
This is what Wizards had to say,
God bless America.
6.Design & Development: Forgotten Realms
I cannot agree with everything they have said and done to the setting but after reading this, it does make it easier to swallow the changes that has been made.
Not as easy and refreshingly quenching as water down the throat. More like the bitter traditional medicine, that my mother used to make, but at least she tells me that it is good for me.
Even so, it's still too much to swallow and leaves a bad aftertaste.
1.Excerpts from the Adventurer's Vault
Battle Standards
Reagents
I dig the idea of battle standards, they are kind of something like Warlords on a Stick which you can plant them around but I'm not so sure about the Resistance 50 that it grants (EDIT: It has been pointed out that the banner HAS Resistance 50 and does not grant it). This will fit nicely in the Scales of War adventure path.
Reagents are pretty interesting but looks pretty absusive as well because they seem pretty cheap. Low-level Swordmages will have no problem buying Creeping Gatevine at 200gp which will give them an extra mile with their Aegis of Assault.
Don't miss out on the other tidbits of wondrous items and rings in those excerpts as well.
2.Excerpts from the Forgotten Realms Player's Guide
Swordmage
The Great Dale
Elfharrow
Nothing new or has changed for the Swordmage from what we've seen earlier in the RPGA preview material. This excerpt shows us 2 new higher leveled powers (Level 27 Encounter & Level 29 Daily).
By comparing the player's guide and campaign guide excerpts of both the Great Dale and Elfharrow, I think that some information should have crossover between the books.
There are also geographical entries for the locations in the player's guide excerpt which expands more or less what's written in the campaign guide. So DMs would also need to check it for any extra information on the region.
3.Digital Insider #4: Death of a Dragonborn
Randy Buehler's rambling about his dragonborn character and it's subsequent demise. However, I wouldn't have posted this up if there weren't something interesting in his ramblings.
The good news is that I’ve gotten my hands onto a playtest copy of Player’s Handbook II, so I’ll probably be using one of the new classes from there. The bad news is that none of that content has been coded into the Character Builder yet and building characters is so much easier using our D&DI tool.
After that he went down to business and commented about the recent restructure at Wizards.
We are actively recruiting for a number of open positions, and the total number of positions eliminated was actually smaller than the number of open positions we are looking to fill during the rest of this year.
And a little bit on their Tiny Adventures
Since Thursday, we have switched hosting facilities completely and then been subjected to a freakish hardware failure at our new digs which cost us Sunday connectivity plus two days of data. We’re still working out some of the kinks, and we’re not willing to distract the D&DI team in order to help, so we appreciate your patience.
I've been playing this slavishly and am a victim of the data loss he was talking about. Give me back my 5th level Fighter!
4.Dragon: Characters of War
Last month, we were told that Dragon will be providing supplementary articles on the Scales of War adventure path. Well, it's finally here at the end of this month's Dragon.
It provides numerous character backgrounds that also give crunchy benefits as well. Most of them, except for a few, are pretty minor which adds a skill or two into the character's class skill list and gives small modifiers to those skills.
There are 3 backgrounds for each race and each class. It doesn't say how many a character can pick but I'm guessig that they can only take 2; one for class and one for race.
Overall, it's a useful little supplement. Not exactly the campaign background that some people (myself included) were hoping for, but still pretty handy to have. I'm probably going to make all my players choose them for their characters during chargen before we start the adventure path (someday).
5.A Letter to Mr. Goldfarb
Ok, this has been going on for a while in the online community. While this blog would like to refrain from politics (especially American, considering the situation now as it is in my own country), but Senior Vice President of Hasbro, Wayne Charness, has written a letter to Mr. Goldfarb to voice their displeasure about his recent statement.
Who's Mr. Goldfarb?
Well, he is part of the staff in John McCain's campaign for the US presidency and was the brilliant mastermind who wrote this,
It may be typical of the pro-Obama Dungeons & Dragons crowd to disparage a fellow countryman's memory of war from the comfort of mom's basement, but most Americans have the humility and gratitude to respect and learn from the memories of men who suffered on behalf of others. John McCain has often said he witnessed a thousand acts of bravery while he was imprisoned, and though not every one has been submitted into the public record, they are remembered by the men who were there (one such only recently reported by Karl Rove though it escaped mention in any of Senator McCain's books). But as Swindle said, this is a "desperate group of people trying to make something out of nothing." (emphasis mine)
This is what Wizards had to say,
Recently a soldier who saw your comments online said, “Wizards of the Coast (the makers of D&D) has sent care packages to the troops on many occasions, providing free gaming supplies in support of our men and women serving the country overseas to help them decompress after hours. McCain's people should really check their facts before they spout off. Does John McCain have no idea how many GIs play D&D?” (emphasis mine)
God bless America.
6.Design & Development: Forgotten Realms
I cannot agree with everything they have said and done to the setting but after reading this, it does make it easier to swallow the changes that has been made.
Not as easy and refreshingly quenching as water down the throat. More like the bitter traditional medicine, that my mother used to make, but at least she tells me that it is good for me.
Even so, it's still too much to swallow and leaves a bad aftertaste.
August 28, 2008
D&D in 1985
Being born far away from the land where D&D began, I was surely not under the influence of fearul parents who were afraid that their son was becoming a devil worshipper or prone to domestic violence and suicide.
Instead, playing D&D back in primary and secondary school did make me a little like the cool kid because I was really doing different things from the rest of my schoolmates. Rolling strange dices, reading strange books, playing a strange game and telling strange stories to not-so strange people.
Ok, that sounded kind of strange.
But if I was born a little earlier and in the United States, this sort of thing would get me on television!
Thanks to The Escapist (no, it's not the same magazine where Zero Punctuation is) to let me imagine what it was probably like.
Part 1
You should read what happened to these people ever since the broadcast.
Part 2
It's really stranger than it looks.
Instead, playing D&D back in primary and secondary school did make me a little like the cool kid because I was really doing different things from the rest of my schoolmates. Rolling strange dices, reading strange books, playing a strange game and telling strange stories to not-so strange people.
Ok, that sounded kind of strange.
But if I was born a little earlier and in the United States, this sort of thing would get me on television!
Thanks to The Escapist (no, it's not the same magazine where Zero Punctuation is) to let me imagine what it was probably like.
Part 1
You should read what happened to these people ever since the broadcast.
1. Pat Pulling went on to become a "consultant for Satanic crimes investigation" across the country (do a Google search for Michael Stackpole's "Pulling Report" for details), and died of cancer in 1997. By then, her BADD group had dwindled down to just her as it's sole member.
2. Gary Gygax was later removed as head of TSR Inc. by Lorraine Dille Williams, granddaughter of the "Buck Rogers" franchise owner, and died in 2008 of heart failure.
3. Dieter Sturm left TSR Inc., is very much alive, and became an Oscar-winning FX artist.
4. Dr. Thomas Radecki. Well.......
Stick around for the CBS News segment on him (from 1995) I added on at the end of this video. The p'wnage is truly epic.
Part 2
It's really stranger than it looks.
August 27, 2008
Make Some Noise for your Game
I'm a great proponent of using music in my games and have been collecting all sorts of tracks from PC/Console games, movie soundtracks and sound effects for several years. It's nice to have music and sound effects in your game because it becomes an added 'voice' in describing where the players are or what are they doing.
However it becomes quite a hassle to try to organise and play all the sound effects and music together without it sounding too repetetive. Sound effects files tend to be short and when played on the loop sounds monotonous and boring. It gets even harder trying to mix it with music because all you hear by then is the sound effect turning into a beat for the music.
Then came along Syrinscape, a cool tool that I found over at ENWorld.
It is a simple sound effect and music mixer/player where you can organise the timing and volume of the sound effects that you want. It's free to download (but requires a free account) and allows a certain degree of customability to add in your own music and effects as well.
This is very impressive as a DM/GM's tool because once you've arranged the timing of sound effects to how it should be played with the music, you could just leave it on its own as it loops (which you can also decide to turn off). Stopping the music and effects is also just a click of a button away instead of having to close all the players playing each track simultaneously.
Here's a short video of how it works and you could see how easy and useful it is!
(taken from the Syrinscape website)
Speaking of sound effects. The Gnome Stew is organizing their first contest where the prize is 5 studio-quality sound effects of your choice! You should really check it out here!
As for music, Stargazer's World has just gave a plug to a German group that compose tracks for roleplaying; Erdenstern. You can download some of their free tracks at their website. Don't worry, they don't sound like Rammstein.
However it becomes quite a hassle to try to organise and play all the sound effects and music together without it sounding too repetetive. Sound effects files tend to be short and when played on the loop sounds monotonous and boring. It gets even harder trying to mix it with music because all you hear by then is the sound effect turning into a beat for the music.
Then came along Syrinscape, a cool tool that I found over at ENWorld.
It is a simple sound effect and music mixer/player where you can organise the timing and volume of the sound effects that you want. It's free to download (but requires a free account) and allows a certain degree of customability to add in your own music and effects as well.
This is very impressive as a DM/GM's tool because once you've arranged the timing of sound effects to how it should be played with the music, you could just leave it on its own as it loops (which you can also decide to turn off). Stopping the music and effects is also just a click of a button away instead of having to close all the players playing each track simultaneously.
Here's a short video of how it works and you could see how easy and useful it is!
(taken from the Syrinscape website)
Speaking of sound effects. The Gnome Stew is organizing their first contest where the prize is 5 studio-quality sound effects of your choice! You should really check it out here!
As for music, Stargazer's World has just gave a plug to a German group that compose tracks for roleplaying; Erdenstern. You can download some of their free tracks at their website. Don't worry, they don't sound like Rammstein.
August 26, 2008
Gygax Controversy at GenCon
Apparently a controvery has stirred in this year's GenCon and it has caused an uproar in the online RPG community. I really have nothing to say about it but just want to give everyone a retrospective of what is going on.
It all started with a rumor that people at GenCon were sighted wearing t-shirts that said, '4E killed Gygax'. The rumor went to say that a company was responsible for selling them during the convention itself although the name of that company was not known.
Then this thread came along where people voiced their displeasure about a company showing Gygax's memorial service at their booth to draw customers in. It came to a point that the company was named and they were misunderstood for being the one who were selling the t-shirts. The rumor began to spread along with the name of that company.
The name of that company is Dragon Roots. They are a magazine company who just published a tribute issue to Gygax and they did sold shirts related with Gygax. However, it was not the '4E killed Gygax' one.
Nevertheless, the rumor continued to spread and it's editor-in-chief received all the firing of disgrunted fans who accused his company for selling the shirt. So to clear his and his company's name from being the culprit, he decided to open a thread at ENWorld to set the record straight (you should also check out their website to see what they have to say).
It is now clear that Dragon Roots did not sell the '4E killed Gygax' shirt but it has started a whole new discussion on whether such a shirt was deemed appropriate. Opinions about the shirt range from the disrespectful to the distasteful to the humorous.
This has also bought the attention of various bloggers who have shared their point of views about this controversy. Here are some of the things they have said,
Still, the questions remained. Who did sell the shirts? It doesn't matter.
It is still a dedication to man whether for good or ill. It shouldn't matter how we say it. It is the thought that counts.
Afterall, he is just like us and wants to be remembered as 'the guy who really enjoyed playing games and sharing his knowledge and his fun pastimes with everybody else.'
I would like to dedicate another moment of silence to him because I didn't get to at GenCon (and also because I was at a loss of words when I first heard news about his death) and hopefully prudence is the best choice in regards to this issue.
Roll high, game long!
It all started with a rumor that people at GenCon were sighted wearing t-shirts that said, '4E killed Gygax'. The rumor went to say that a company was responsible for selling them during the convention itself although the name of that company was not known.
Then this thread came along where people voiced their displeasure about a company showing Gygax's memorial service at their booth to draw customers in. It came to a point that the company was named and they were misunderstood for being the one who were selling the t-shirts. The rumor began to spread along with the name of that company.
The name of that company is Dragon Roots. They are a magazine company who just published a tribute issue to Gygax and they did sold shirts related with Gygax. However, it was not the '4E killed Gygax' one.
Nevertheless, the rumor continued to spread and it's editor-in-chief received all the firing of disgrunted fans who accused his company for selling the shirt. So to clear his and his company's name from being the culprit, he decided to open a thread at ENWorld to set the record straight (you should also check out their website to see what they have to say).
It is now clear that Dragon Roots did not sell the '4E killed Gygax' shirt but it has started a whole new discussion on whether such a shirt was deemed appropriate. Opinions about the shirt range from the disrespectful to the distasteful to the humorous.
This has also bought the attention of various bloggers who have shared their point of views about this controversy. Here are some of the things they have said,
4E killed gary gygax...That is simultaneously the most silly and ignorant thing I have heard so far this year. Hats off to whomever came up with the idea, and watch your back, based on the mileage so far, your bones may soon become a new set of dice! - The Fine Art of the TPK
1. Yes, it’s tasteless, and yes, it’s funny. It’s 2008, get over it. If you live in a flyover state that has a lower than usual irony/postmodern humor quotient, watch a Comedy Central roast or something.
2. 4e didn’t kill Gary, it just makes him roll over in his grave. Bonus Gamespy Interview quote:
GameSpy: Have you had a chance to play or even look at some of the current Dungeons & Dragons games?
Gygax: I’ve looked at them, yes, but I’m not really a fan. The new D&D is too rule intensive. It’s relegated the Dungeon Master to being an entertainer rather than master of the game. It’s done away with the archetypes, focused on nothing but combat and character power, lost the group cooperative aspect, bastardized the class-based system, and resembles a comic-book superheroes game more than a fantasy RPG where a player can play any alignment desired, not just lawful good. - Geek Related
Come on people, have a sense of humor, it’s in bad taste, but let’s not get up in arms about it – it doesn’t disgrace his memory or really even make fun of him. In fact, it just barely makes sense, which is the thing that makes it just a little, tiny bit funny. If we can’t laugh at our own, who can we laugh at?
By the way, commenter Rechan has the comment of the day, with “My question is, “Did 4e take Gary’s stuff”?” Well played, sir. Well played. - Pen & Paper Portal
If the people who did print the 4e Killed Gary Gygax shirts want to stop by and set the record straight, they’re more than welcome to. Something tells me, however, they’re probably enjoying the controversy. ;) - The Gamer Dome
Still, the questions remained. Who did sell the shirts? It doesn't matter.
It is still a dedication to man whether for good or ill. It shouldn't matter how we say it. It is the thought that counts.
Afterall, he is just like us and wants to be remembered as 'the guy who really enjoyed playing games and sharing his knowledge and his fun pastimes with everybody else.'
I would like to dedicate another moment of silence to him because I didn't get to at GenCon (and also because I was at a loss of words when I first heard news about his death) and hopefully prudence is the best choice in regards to this issue.
Roll high, game long!
August 22, 2008
A Word with Wizards
After the recent annoucement that WoTC is going through an organizational alignment, some of the casualties have already appeared. They are Linae Foster, Licensing Manager and Mike 'Gamer Zero' Lescault.
It looks like WoTC is really going through a bad time and my sympathies are to those real people who's makes a livelihood in the gaming industry. It's not all fun and games, it's a business and things can be rough. That is why I sympathize.
I really wish them all the best and I would like to particularly praise Linae Foster for her great work in keeping fans like me informed about what is going on with the GSL.
I don't think you'll be reading this, Linae, but you were my last chance of any hope left to see any good public relations practices coming from WoTC. There has been some crisis that WoTC could have just solved with a little more and better communication and only so far, I've seen you step up to it and telling the stakeholders, the 3rd party publishers, what is going on. I really would like to know why you were given the boot for your extra effort and initiative that I thought was the courtesy that we, as customers, deserved.
Shame on you, WoTC and I have a new bone to pick with you.
When you put out a press releases that says;
I thought that it was pretty clear that you were going to cut up someone else's pie and leave the 2 brands alone. As much as reality bites that someone has to get the hurt, but that last sentence was an assurance that we wouldn't see anyone who will be taking it from our side. Instead, you went ahead to get rid of the 2 people who worked with those brands, to make it even worse, who had played the role of being communicators for your otherwise, faceless company.
Mike 'GamerZero' Lescault has been an icon in bringing new information to us gamers about our beloved game. If there's any new goodies to spill, he was the man that we would see in his videos talking about D&D.
Linae Foster, for reasons as I have already mentioned earlier, and why of all times did you think she was disposable when the revision of the GSL was coming up? Sure, Scott Rouse is in charge but my first-hand information came from her.
Now who's going to do all the talking and who will represent WoTC if we wanted to hear some answers from?
Public Relations 101. It's one thing to say that you're sorry and we could have forgiven you, but it's an whole entire thing to blatantly lie.
I'm really dissapointed, WoTC. You keep our hopes up and carelessly dash them down.
The postponement of DDI could have been said earlier before we had to find out that you weren't ready on the launching of 4E. You made that release bittersweet instead of making it all the more sweeter. You let the anger festered across the boards and community about what's up with DDI before Randy Buehler showed up about a month later to tell us that Gleemax was going down.
Although I commend on you picking up the pieces after that to keep us informed about DDI but you could have saved yourself a whole lot of resentment if you hadn't just hide in some corner, leaving us to guess what you were actually doing.
The changes made for 4E Forgotten Realms became a heap of miscommunication as no one knows what was really going to happen. But that's not the point. It was more important to tell us WHY it was changing. It doesn't make sense, WoTC. If you are trying to make 4E FR open for new gamers (see, I'm just guessing, are you?), does that mean all the loyal fans who have supported you for some 20 years doesn't even deserve a statement to tell them why are you doing this?
No, WoTC. You do not say that you replied us at the designer's thread. If we were the 'best supported product line' for WoTC, you make an open statement on your website in the FR section about this if you see angry and confused fans, which you pretty saw it coming. You let us in on the all the details (novels, campaign setting, the magic system, backward realmslore compatability of products between the editions, the 100 year leap, the spellplague) of how things are going to change and be honest that not everyone's going to like it.
If NDAs is making everyone tight lipped then get someone who can at least feed with something that is not vague and misleading.
You can't spin it that it's going to be exciting if we really don't feel it in the end.
One last thing. I might be insensitive about this but I find it really ironic that you wouldn't put out a statement regarding the company's loss of an employee in a tragedy but think it's alright to release a press statement about the company is going to cause employees to lose their jobs?
That shows how much you care about your staff, I guess; good riddance.
If this is just a rant or a troll to you then take it as you will. I'm really sad to feel like this for a company which I have tried to play along on its side in terms of corporate-customer relations for years.
Your products are great, WoTC but your communication policies is on the other end of the spectrum.
If the D&D brand name is moving away to another company along with it's designers, I would have no qualms of leaving you behind, WoTC, as a friend who feels betrayed that you will take great care in the transition, and continue to invest in the growth of the business, specifically innovation for our Magic and Dungeons & Dragons fans.
It looks like WoTC is really going through a bad time and my sympathies are to those real people who's makes a livelihood in the gaming industry. It's not all fun and games, it's a business and things can be rough. That is why I sympathize.
I really wish them all the best and I would like to particularly praise Linae Foster for her great work in keeping fans like me informed about what is going on with the GSL.
I don't think you'll be reading this, Linae, but you were my last chance of any hope left to see any good public relations practices coming from WoTC. There has been some crisis that WoTC could have just solved with a little more and better communication and only so far, I've seen you step up to it and telling the stakeholders, the 3rd party publishers, what is going on. I really would like to know why you were given the boot for your extra effort and initiative that I thought was the courtesy that we, as customers, deserved.
Shame on you, WoTC and I have a new bone to pick with you.
When you put out a press releases that says;
“Organizational change is always difficult on those impacted,” said Leeds. “But we will take great care in the transition, and continue to invest in the growth of the business, specifically innovation for our Magic and Dungeons & Dragons fans.”
I thought that it was pretty clear that you were going to cut up someone else's pie and leave the 2 brands alone. As much as reality bites that someone has to get the hurt, but that last sentence was an assurance that we wouldn't see anyone who will be taking it from our side. Instead, you went ahead to get rid of the 2 people who worked with those brands, to make it even worse, who had played the role of being communicators for your otherwise, faceless company.
Mike 'GamerZero' Lescault has been an icon in bringing new information to us gamers about our beloved game. If there's any new goodies to spill, he was the man that we would see in his videos talking about D&D.
Linae Foster, for reasons as I have already mentioned earlier, and why of all times did you think she was disposable when the revision of the GSL was coming up? Sure, Scott Rouse is in charge but my first-hand information came from her.
Now who's going to do all the talking and who will represent WoTC if we wanted to hear some answers from?
Public Relations 101. It's one thing to say that you're sorry and we could have forgiven you, but it's an whole entire thing to blatantly lie.
I'm really dissapointed, WoTC. You keep our hopes up and carelessly dash them down.
The postponement of DDI could have been said earlier before we had to find out that you weren't ready on the launching of 4E. You made that release bittersweet instead of making it all the more sweeter. You let the anger festered across the boards and community about what's up with DDI before Randy Buehler showed up about a month later to tell us that Gleemax was going down.
Although I commend on you picking up the pieces after that to keep us informed about DDI but you could have saved yourself a whole lot of resentment if you hadn't just hide in some corner, leaving us to guess what you were actually doing.
The changes made for 4E Forgotten Realms became a heap of miscommunication as no one knows what was really going to happen. But that's not the point. It was more important to tell us WHY it was changing. It doesn't make sense, WoTC. If you are trying to make 4E FR open for new gamers (see, I'm just guessing, are you?), does that mean all the loyal fans who have supported you for some 20 years doesn't even deserve a statement to tell them why are you doing this?
No, WoTC. You do not say that you replied us at the designer's thread. If we were the 'best supported product line' for WoTC, you make an open statement on your website in the FR section about this if you see angry and confused fans, which you pretty saw it coming. You let us in on the all the details (novels, campaign setting, the magic system, backward realmslore compatability of products between the editions, the 100 year leap, the spellplague) of how things are going to change and be honest that not everyone's going to like it.
If NDAs is making everyone tight lipped then get someone who can at least feed with something that is not vague and misleading.
You can't spin it that it's going to be exciting if we really don't feel it in the end.
One last thing. I might be insensitive about this but I find it really ironic that you wouldn't put out a statement regarding the company's loss of an employee in a tragedy but think it's alright to release a press statement about the company is going to cause employees to lose their jobs?
That shows how much you care about your staff, I guess; good riddance.
If this is just a rant or a troll to you then take it as you will. I'm really sad to feel like this for a company which I have tried to play along on its side in terms of corporate-customer relations for years.
Your products are great, WoTC but your communication policies is on the other end of the spectrum.
If the D&D brand name is moving away to another company along with it's designers, I would have no qualms of leaving you behind, WoTC, as a friend who feels betrayed that you will take great care in the transition, and continue to invest in the growth of the business, specifically innovation for our Magic and Dungeons & Dragons fans.
August 21, 2008
The Word of Wizards (WoW)
If you haven't notice by now. My post are sometimes just a compilation of information from various sources gathered all in one place. So I've decided to start a regular column to update on what is new from WoTC's side of things and named it the Word of Wizards (WoW), which is something I made up by accident in a previous post.
So here's what's been up in WoTC's site since the dust have settled after GenCon.
First is the good bits.
Excerpts from the Adventurer's Vault.
Figurines of Wondrous Power
Weapons
Excerpts from the Forgotten Realms Player's Guide.
Elfharrow
Rituals
RPGA has announced a new style of organised play called D&D Delve Night. Every week, participating organisers are given an encounter that is supposed to last about an hour of play. 4 encounters make up into a whole adventure. This intention of doing this appears to be something similar to Friday Night Magic. Just having players come together and have fun for a couple of hours.
It sounds interesting so far and I'm thinking of bugging my FLGS to do this (since he already has Friday Night Magic going on) or become a participating organiser myself (if time permits).
Now for the bad news.
The Gamer Dome and The Geek Life Project shared this press release on their blogs yesterday.
Let's hope nothing bad happens out of this.
So here's what's been up in WoTC's site since the dust have settled after GenCon.
First is the good bits.
Excerpts from the Adventurer's Vault.
Figurines of Wondrous Power
Weapons
Excerpts from the Forgotten Realms Player's Guide.
Elfharrow
Rituals
RPGA has announced a new style of organised play called D&D Delve Night. Every week, participating organisers are given an encounter that is supposed to last about an hour of play. 4 encounters make up into a whole adventure. This intention of doing this appears to be something similar to Friday Night Magic. Just having players come together and have fun for a couple of hours.
It sounds interesting so far and I'm thinking of bugging my FLGS to do this (since he already has Friday Night Magic going on) or become a participating organiser myself (if time permits).
Now for the bad news.
The Gamer Dome and The Geek Life Project shared this press release on their blogs yesterday.
Wizards Announces New Organizational Alignment
Wizards of the Coast today announced new organizational alignment to focus on key growth strategies for core brands.
“As a company, we will continue to be the leader in entertaining the lifestyle gamer,” said Greg Leeds, President of Wizards of the Coast. “Re-aligning resources ensures we achieve this goal for our most powerful brands.”
While restructuring results in some job eliminations, Wizards of the Coast is actively recruiting to fill open positions in multiple areas of the company.
“Organizational change is always difficult on those impacted,” said Leeds. “But we will take great care in the transition, and continue to invest in the growth of the business, specifically innovation for our Magic and Dungeons & Dragons fans.”
Let's hope nothing bad happens out of this.
August 20, 2008
Play by Facebook (PbF)?
Scout Rouse has just annouced a new Facebook application called Tiny Adventures. You begin to play by selecting one of their pre-gen characters. Then you decide which adventures to go for where you face a series of encounters to complete the quest while getting loot, XP and gold along the way. Levelling up and updating your character as you progress through different adventures. I'm not a fan of Facebook games before but I decided to give this one a whirl anyway.
So I selected to be a Dragonborn Fighter whom I named as Tharex and for my first adventure I've decided to take on a quest called the 'Curse of the Wolf Moon'. Tharex has to travel through Felltooth Wood and Felltooth Mountain to reach the legendary Mirror Lake. There to find the blessed wolfsbane which grows in the spray of the Singing Falls. It's the only cure to save a town that is recovering from a werewolf attack.
So Tharex begins the adventure, armed with a dagger (what kind of Fighter starts his career with a dagger?), and rusty armor, by walking through the forest when he is ambushed by a Fire Bettle. He dispatches the bettle in the most heroic fashion (with a dagger) and found a morningstar to replace his flimsy dagger.
Deeper in the forest, Tharex was caught by a trap set up by some goblins. When they came out from their hiding spots to poke their big sticks at Tharex, he managed to kill one of the goblins with his morningstar which scared them off. Thanks to his armor, Tharex came out unscathed. So he took his time to release himself from the trap and continued on.
As Tharex enters into the mountain canyon, he is ambushed again by goblins who throw rocks at him. Tharex makes a succesful Dex check and throws one of the rocks back at the goblins, hitting one of them square in the face and tumbled down to Tharex's feet. The rest of the goblins ran away. By then, I was starting to feel fearless of ambushes despite how low Tharex's Perception must be.
Tharex's journey was put on halt due to a storm later on. Fortunately, he was able to find shelter in a cave and stumbled upon a stash of supplies which appeared to be left behind by some not so fortunate traveler. He found some gold and a potion of Glibness which gives him a +5 to CHA for 4 encounters!
Tharex reaches the Mirror Lake and begins his search for the wolfsbane. As he searched, he is attacked by a couple kuo-tas that carried tridents and nets that sprung out from the lake. The mighty Tharex slew both his attackers, looted their bodies for gold and found a Potion of Reflexes that gives him a +4 to DEX for 4 encounters. Sweet!
At the edge of the lake, Tharex notices 2 dwarves arguing amongst themselves. Tharex was able to use his charisma to defuse the argument to avoid any attention and settled their dispute. The dwarves then thanked Tharex with a Addergrease Leather armor but it could not be worn by Therax.
Therax continued his search and was bitten by a poisonous snake but his fortitude managed to save him from its harmful effects.
Finally, Tharex found the wolfsbane herbs but had one final obstacle to overcome; the thunderous waters of the Singing Falls. It was too dangerous to swim through the jagged rocks, so Tharex had to brave through the pounding waters by following a wet and slippery path. His powerful athleticism and strong physique managed him through and he was able to obtain the wolfsbane.
After through many trials and tribulations, Therax returns back to the village and lifts them from their woes with the healing abilites of the wolfsbane. He is admired and remembered as a hero and rewarded greatly with gold and...
Another dagger.
The encounters are played descriptively and uses a random number generator which adds in your character's modifiers to see if you succeed in the encounter. Between each encounter is a 8 minute wait, so you could surf around somewhere else before you get back to it. It was a nice little experience that spend about an hour or so and I do see it's potential for being addictive. I look forward to bring Therax to his next adventure.
If you have a Facebook account (You must login to your account before you can play this), I suggest you do give this a little spin. It's really nice to be a time-filler between things or if you are already playing Mob Wars. Bring some friends along too!
So I selected to be a Dragonborn Fighter whom I named as Tharex and for my first adventure I've decided to take on a quest called the 'Curse of the Wolf Moon'. Tharex has to travel through Felltooth Wood and Felltooth Mountain to reach the legendary Mirror Lake. There to find the blessed wolfsbane which grows in the spray of the Singing Falls. It's the only cure to save a town that is recovering from a werewolf attack.
So Tharex begins the adventure, armed with a dagger (what kind of Fighter starts his career with a dagger?), and rusty armor, by walking through the forest when he is ambushed by a Fire Bettle. He dispatches the bettle in the most heroic fashion (with a dagger) and found a morningstar to replace his flimsy dagger.
Deeper in the forest, Tharex was caught by a trap set up by some goblins. When they came out from their hiding spots to poke their big sticks at Tharex, he managed to kill one of the goblins with his morningstar which scared them off. Thanks to his armor, Tharex came out unscathed. So he took his time to release himself from the trap and continued on.
As Tharex enters into the mountain canyon, he is ambushed again by goblins who throw rocks at him. Tharex makes a succesful Dex check and throws one of the rocks back at the goblins, hitting one of them square in the face and tumbled down to Tharex's feet. The rest of the goblins ran away. By then, I was starting to feel fearless of ambushes despite how low Tharex's Perception must be.
Tharex's journey was put on halt due to a storm later on. Fortunately, he was able to find shelter in a cave and stumbled upon a stash of supplies which appeared to be left behind by some not so fortunate traveler. He found some gold and a potion of Glibness which gives him a +5 to CHA for 4 encounters!
Tharex reaches the Mirror Lake and begins his search for the wolfsbane. As he searched, he is attacked by a couple kuo-tas that carried tridents and nets that sprung out from the lake. The mighty Tharex slew both his attackers, looted their bodies for gold and found a Potion of Reflexes that gives him a +4 to DEX for 4 encounters. Sweet!
At the edge of the lake, Tharex notices 2 dwarves arguing amongst themselves. Tharex was able to use his charisma to defuse the argument to avoid any attention and settled their dispute. The dwarves then thanked Tharex with a Addergrease Leather armor but it could not be worn by Therax.
Therax continued his search and was bitten by a poisonous snake but his fortitude managed to save him from its harmful effects.
Finally, Tharex found the wolfsbane herbs but had one final obstacle to overcome; the thunderous waters of the Singing Falls. It was too dangerous to swim through the jagged rocks, so Tharex had to brave through the pounding waters by following a wet and slippery path. His powerful athleticism and strong physique managed him through and he was able to obtain the wolfsbane.
After through many trials and tribulations, Therax returns back to the village and lifts them from their woes with the healing abilites of the wolfsbane. He is admired and remembered as a hero and rewarded greatly with gold and...
Another dagger.
The encounters are played descriptively and uses a random number generator which adds in your character's modifiers to see if you succeed in the encounter. Between each encounter is a 8 minute wait, so you could surf around somewhere else before you get back to it. It was a nice little experience that spend about an hour or so and I do see it's potential for being addictive. I look forward to bring Therax to his next adventure.
If you have a Facebook account (You must login to your account before you can play this), I suggest you do give this a little spin. It's really nice to be a time-filler between things or if you are already playing Mob Wars. Bring some friends along too!
GenCon 2008 Round Up!
So GenCon is over and all our fellow bloggers are back from their best 4 days of gaming.
Of course, being someone from Borneo I never had the chance of attending a GenCon. It would surely be nice to go attend it at least once for the experience, but while I wait for that unfulfilling dream to come true (someday), I can only have everyone's word (and my own imagination) about how awesome it is or what was it like to be there.
Never fear though. With RPG bloggers that you can find here, someone is bound to post something about it for sure. So here's a mini blog, or should I say, post roll that shares their experience about this year's GenCon (and nothing better than link-love).
RPG Blog II: Post-Gen Con 2008
A Butterfly Dreaming: I'm back
MadBrew Labs: GenCon2008 Aftermath
Neitherworld Stories: A Weekend in Indianapolis
ChattyDM: YA5WKEPACLB*: What Gen Con 2008 meant for me (that's the short version)
ChattyDM: Gen Con 2008 Rambling (Semi-Live blog) (of course he wouldn't be called the chatty DM if there wasn't a long version, EPIC long I might add!)
StupidRanger.com: Gencon 2008 Wrap-Up!
EDIT: StupidRanger.com: Gencon 2008: StupidRanger's Wrap-up
Critical-Hits: GenCon 2008 Coverage (check here often for more updates!)
WoTC GenCon 2008 Blogs
Still haven't had enough?
You can read even more shorter recollections HERE!
Other coverages for the event;
WoTC GenCon Coverage: Thursday Highlights
WoTC Gencon Coverage: Friday Highlights
WoTC GenCon Coverage: Friday Highlights Part II
WoTC Gencon Coverage: Saturday Highlights
This Just In From GenCon (podcast)
OgreCave.com (check it out before the news get pushed to the bottom)
Need something visual?
Tabletop Gaming News (photos & videos)
Critical-Hits GenCon photos (Updated daily!)
And here's some moving pictures.
GamerZer0 - GenCon 2008 Intro
GamerZer0 - Randy Buehler on D&D Insider
GamerZer0 - Dragon and Dungeon Magazine
GamerZero - Ken Troop on D&Di Updates and Community Feedback
One Lucky Guy
Other Video Coverages:
OboeCop's Video Coverage
The rest of GamerZer0's videos
Sadly, this year's GenCon is the first without its founder; the great Gary Gygax. A moment of silence was dedicated in his memory and there was even an memorial event commerated to him.
This story brings back good memories of the man when he was still alive. You must read it! It's filled with Gygaxian goodness!
Now I'll just have to wait for GenCon 2009.
August 17, 2008
The 8th ENnies Award
So after months of nominations and voting (and a minor hiccup), the results for this year's ENnies Award are finally in!
I'll leave it up to the Critical-Hits to annouce the results who did a live coverage on the event (and they even got pictures too!).
But here's a rundown of the major winners in this year's ENnies, taken from Geek Related.
Here, let’s start by me giving you a medal summary, Olympics style!
1.Paizo Publishing - 7 gold, 1 silver
2.Wizards of the Coast - 5 gold, 5 silver
3.White Wolf - 4 gold, 5 silver
4.Green Ronin - 2 gold, 2 silver
5.Malhavoc Press - 1 gold
6.Pelgrane Press - 2 silver
7.And then Pelgrane,Pinnacle, Goodman, Fat Dragon, Kenzer, Lone Wolf, and Exile with one silver each.
All I can say is that it looks like it's a big year for Paizo, with WoTC doing their thing followed by the underdogs of White Wolf.
Congratulations to all the winners for their wonderful products that they have dedicated so much to produce for us forever unsatisfied RPG gamers. This one is from us and you deseved it.
August 16, 2008
Path Finding into Pathfinder
The RPG bloggersphere has been quiet lately with some of us getting busy at GenCon.
As I sit here all the way from the other end of the action while reading rerun posts and eagerly waiting for someone to live blog from Indianapolis, a couple of hype and rave have cried out. Which caught my attention about something called Pathfinder and that a little company called Paizo were giving out free pdfs. So I went over to their website and downloaded my own personalized copy (which is a very nice touch) to see what this is all about.
If you haven't heard of the small publishing company known as Paizo, then you definately haven't heard of their pet project; Pathfinder. So with a little google-fu and good old handy Wikipedia, I will take you up to speed on what this is really all about.
Here's a little brief history about the company.
Paizo is the company that printed, until recently, our beloved Dungeon and Dragon magazines in dead tree format, which was established by, former employee of Wizards', Lisa Stevens in 2000. They managed to adopt the magazines through licensing from Hasbro when it decided to cut off Wizards' arm off from the printing business back in 2001.
Since then the company has endeavoured to increase the popularity of D&D's staple periodical among the fanbase. In 2003, Paizo introduced, what would be their greatest business model, the Adventure Path series in Dungeon (Shackled City, The Age of Worms, Savage Tide). It was a phenenomenal success among fans and had shifted the appeal of the magazines which turned the company into a winner of 12 ENnies and the 2004 Origins Award for Best Gaming Related Periodical.
The company has also grown rapidly with new (some unsuccessful) magazines under its publication and diversified into board gaming.
All seems to be going well for Paizo but this is where Pathfinder's story begins.
In 2007, Wizards of the Coast, as part of their Digital Initiative, have decided not to extent Paizo's license to publish Dragon and Dungeon as Wizards wanted to consolidate it IPs in anticipation for the release of 4E. Paizo, which was beginning to ride the wave of the success they had with the Adventure Paths, were being kicked out of the door of Wizards' brand name and left to decide what to do next as the company hanged in the balance.
Paizo buckled up and responded that they would continue to do their core business and what they do best; publishing magazines. Paizo had set out to make a magazine that 'marks the beginning of a new era in fantasy roleplaying' and 'with the experience of three popular Adventure Paths behind us, our peerless editorial and art staffs understand exactly what gamers need to run a challenging, exciting campaign experience,'. Paizo unveiled their newest creation in April 2007 and aptly named their new '96-page, perfect-bound, full-color softcover Adventure Path book printed on high-quality paper that releases in a monthly volume'; Pathfinder.
But the story doesn't end there.
Since then, there was no turning back for the company as Pathfinder has expanded from a monthly magazine to an entire product line. On August 2007, Paizo annoucned the title of its campaign setting as Pathfinder Chronicles and sets every adventure path in its Pathfinder magazines and Gamemastery magazines in the world of Golarion.
With the pending arrival of 4th edition and the Game System License (GSL), an effort seen by some to rein in tight control on thrid party publishers that have flourished since the OGL movement, Paizo puts its feet down and draws the line. In March 2008, Paizo reveals the Pathfinder RPG, making a stand on the side of the Open Gaming License (OGL) and refusing to join the 4th edition bandwagon, as it begins its 10 month long of open Alpha playtesting.
The aim is to create a new game that is ensured with backward compatability to the OGL d20 system and is expected to take the OGL to new heights while fixing and improving the mechanics of the 3.5 edition.
When the Alpha playtesting began, it was meet with criticism and skepticism. But on July 2008, Erik Mona, Paizo's publisher, annoucned that the free Alpha pdf document have been downloaded by more than 25,000 people, showing that there is a niche of RPG gamers who still prefer the 3.5 edition and are still looking for an outlet for the edition and system to grow further.
Paizo has also brought in the assistance and expertise of renowned 3rd edition desinger, Monte Cook (co-creator of 3rd edition D&D and author of 3.5 edition DMG) as a rules consultant who should know the in and out workings of the system that Pathfinder is trying to improve.
Other big names that are gracing the Pathfinder team is Sean K Reynolds (Co-author of 3.5 Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting) who will joining as a developer for the Pathfinder adventure paths. As for Pathfinder Chronicles, they will be worked on by master worldbuilders such as Keith Baker (creator of Eberron) and Ed Greenwood (creator of Forgotten Realms), as well as recognised designers and developers, Stan!, Wolfgang Bauer, Jeff Grubb and Owen K.C Stephens and many others.
Now we're finally there.
At this year's GenCon, the Pathfinder Beta is released as the second phase of open playtesting begins that is made available for free as a pdf and for sale as a softcover book. It would continue to be developed with input from gamers all over the world until the final product will be launched in next year's GenCon, August 2009.
As I look through the first few pages of Pathfinder Beta (yeah, I'm one of the few people who do actually read the front page!), Jason Bulmahn, the lead designer, lays it out clearly the design goals of the game. To improve the game by streamlining what was too complicated in the 3.5 system and add more new options wherever it was lacking.
I really like where they are going with this and it stirs something inside of me that does not want to say that 3.5 and the OGL is dead. It goes to show how much more potential there is left for the 3.5 edition before we go onboard the 4E bandwagon like faithful fanboys that obeys the Word of Wizards (wow, I just made another meaning for WOW!). The answer to a better 3rd edition is not 4th edition. It's another revision and there's where I see Pathfinder is headed.
I'm still going through the book slowly but so far, I like what I'm reading. At over 400 pages (plus an additional web-enchancement), this is going to be a heavy read but I really respect the layout, format and artwork that the book has presented itself. It does not even feel like a playtest document at all! This is absolutely superb quality.
Contentwise, I've liked what they have added and changed to the races and classes and there are also these sidebars which ask players to give their input on certain issues (e.g, how many HPs at 1st level?) which makes this a really interactive playtesting session between designer and the players. This means alot to me, as a player, after being fed whatever that comes out of Wizards' latest R&D and having to learn how to live with them. I do feel that Paizo wants to listen to what I have to say, as a player, who is going to be the one who uses the product in the end.
As for support, there's nothing to worry about. As the Beta playtest runs, Paizo will be sure to keep us updated and posted about any changes they have tweaked (Prestige Classes, Cursed and Intelligent Items and GMing rules) which will be made available in .pdfs and it's free! They have already started their own Pathfinder Society, which is the equivalent of RPGA's Living campaigns of organised play.
And of course, for a great lover of fluff, they have a wiki set up as well as a product line planned to supplement the Pathfinder Chronicles campaign setting (Pathfinder Companion).
So if you haven't picked up your copy and still think that there is something for you in 3(.5)rd edition, give yourself and Pathfinder a chance. At least it's free!
If you like it then there's alot to look forward to in the coming years.
Now I just need someone who will playtest this with me...
As I sit here all the way from the other end of the action while reading rerun posts and eagerly waiting for someone to live blog from Indianapolis, a couple of hype and rave have cried out. Which caught my attention about something called Pathfinder and that a little company called Paizo were giving out free pdfs. So I went over to their website and downloaded my own personalized copy (which is a very nice touch) to see what this is all about.
If you haven't heard of the small publishing company known as Paizo, then you definately haven't heard of their pet project; Pathfinder. So with a little google-fu and good old handy Wikipedia, I will take you up to speed on what this is really all about.
Here's a little brief history about the company.
Paizo is the company that printed, until recently, our beloved Dungeon and Dragon magazines in dead tree format, which was established by, former employee of Wizards', Lisa Stevens in 2000. They managed to adopt the magazines through licensing from Hasbro when it decided to cut off Wizards' arm off from the printing business back in 2001.
Since then the company has endeavoured to increase the popularity of D&D's staple periodical among the fanbase. In 2003, Paizo introduced, what would be their greatest business model, the Adventure Path series in Dungeon (Shackled City, The Age of Worms, Savage Tide). It was a phenenomenal success among fans and had shifted the appeal of the magazines which turned the company into a winner of 12 ENnies and the 2004 Origins Award for Best Gaming Related Periodical.
The company has also grown rapidly with new (some unsuccessful) magazines under its publication and diversified into board gaming.
All seems to be going well for Paizo but this is where Pathfinder's story begins.
In 2007, Wizards of the Coast, as part of their Digital Initiative, have decided not to extent Paizo's license to publish Dragon and Dungeon as Wizards wanted to consolidate it IPs in anticipation for the release of 4E. Paizo, which was beginning to ride the wave of the success they had with the Adventure Paths, were being kicked out of the door of Wizards' brand name and left to decide what to do next as the company hanged in the balance.
Paizo buckled up and responded that they would continue to do their core business and what they do best; publishing magazines. Paizo had set out to make a magazine that 'marks the beginning of a new era in fantasy roleplaying' and 'with the experience of three popular Adventure Paths behind us, our peerless editorial and art staffs understand exactly what gamers need to run a challenging, exciting campaign experience,'. Paizo unveiled their newest creation in April 2007 and aptly named their new '96-page, perfect-bound, full-color softcover Adventure Path book printed on high-quality paper that releases in a monthly volume'; Pathfinder.
But the story doesn't end there.
Since then, there was no turning back for the company as Pathfinder has expanded from a monthly magazine to an entire product line. On August 2007, Paizo annoucned the title of its campaign setting as Pathfinder Chronicles and sets every adventure path in its Pathfinder magazines and Gamemastery magazines in the world of Golarion.
With the pending arrival of 4th edition and the Game System License (GSL), an effort seen by some to rein in tight control on thrid party publishers that have flourished since the OGL movement, Paizo puts its feet down and draws the line. In March 2008, Paizo reveals the Pathfinder RPG, making a stand on the side of the Open Gaming License (OGL) and refusing to join the 4th edition bandwagon, as it begins its 10 month long of open Alpha playtesting.
The aim is to create a new game that is ensured with backward compatability to the OGL d20 system and is expected to take the OGL to new heights while fixing and improving the mechanics of the 3.5 edition.
When the Alpha playtesting began, it was meet with criticism and skepticism. But on July 2008, Erik Mona, Paizo's publisher, annoucned that the free Alpha pdf document have been downloaded by more than 25,000 people, showing that there is a niche of RPG gamers who still prefer the 3.5 edition and are still looking for an outlet for the edition and system to grow further.
Paizo has also brought in the assistance and expertise of renowned 3rd edition desinger, Monte Cook (co-creator of 3rd edition D&D and author of 3.5 edition DMG) as a rules consultant who should know the in and out workings of the system that Pathfinder is trying to improve.
Other big names that are gracing the Pathfinder team is Sean K Reynolds (Co-author of 3.5 Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting) who will joining as a developer for the Pathfinder adventure paths. As for Pathfinder Chronicles, they will be worked on by master worldbuilders such as Keith Baker (creator of Eberron) and Ed Greenwood (creator of Forgotten Realms), as well as recognised designers and developers, Stan!, Wolfgang Bauer, Jeff Grubb and Owen K.C Stephens and many others.
Now we're finally there.
At this year's GenCon, the Pathfinder Beta is released as the second phase of open playtesting begins that is made available for free as a pdf and for sale as a softcover book. It would continue to be developed with input from gamers all over the world until the final product will be launched in next year's GenCon, August 2009.
As I look through the first few pages of Pathfinder Beta (yeah, I'm one of the few people who do actually read the front page!), Jason Bulmahn, the lead designer, lays it out clearly the design goals of the game. To improve the game by streamlining what was too complicated in the 3.5 system and add more new options wherever it was lacking.
I really like where they are going with this and it stirs something inside of me that does not want to say that 3.5 and the OGL is dead. It goes to show how much more potential there is left for the 3.5 edition before we go onboard the 4E bandwagon like faithful fanboys that obeys the Word of Wizards (wow, I just made another meaning for WOW!). The answer to a better 3rd edition is not 4th edition. It's another revision and there's where I see Pathfinder is headed.
I'm still going through the book slowly but so far, I like what I'm reading. At over 400 pages (plus an additional web-enchancement), this is going to be a heavy read but I really respect the layout, format and artwork that the book has presented itself. It does not even feel like a playtest document at all! This is absolutely superb quality.
Contentwise, I've liked what they have added and changed to the races and classes and there are also these sidebars which ask players to give their input on certain issues (e.g, how many HPs at 1st level?) which makes this a really interactive playtesting session between designer and the players. This means alot to me, as a player, after being fed whatever that comes out of Wizards' latest R&D and having to learn how to live with them. I do feel that Paizo wants to listen to what I have to say, as a player, who is going to be the one who uses the product in the end.
As for support, there's nothing to worry about. As the Beta playtest runs, Paizo will be sure to keep us updated and posted about any changes they have tweaked (Prestige Classes, Cursed and Intelligent Items and GMing rules) which will be made available in .pdfs and it's free! They have already started their own Pathfinder Society, which is the equivalent of RPGA's Living campaigns of organised play.
And of course, for a great lover of fluff, they have a wiki set up as well as a product line planned to supplement the Pathfinder Chronicles campaign setting (Pathfinder Companion).
So if you haven't picked up your copy and still think that there is something for you in 3(.5)rd edition, give yourself and Pathfinder a chance. At least it's free!
If you like it then there's alot to look forward to in the coming years.
Now I just need someone who will playtest this with me...
August 15, 2008
Coming Out to Smell the Roses
Phew, I've been shutting myself for the past week, writing for this blog's first series (part1, part2, part3). It's been some pretty hard work and I'm just glad that I've been to finish writing it. Thanks to everyone who has been reading it, especially to Jonathan (from the Core Mechanic) and Anonynos for their comments and discussion.
For now, it's time to come out and smell some roses.
I don't know what's with me and Wizards but it seems I've been having a bad case of timing with them for the past few months. Everytime when I'm too busy to come online, they like to make some big changes in my absence. Hmm...maybe I should stop haunting their website all day because everyone's at Gencon.
So, here are (a rehash of) some of the big news that is happening in Wizards'.
1. WoTC to revise D&D 4th Edition GSL and SRD
Got this heads up from The Gamer Dome, you can see his comments there. Just one question, who is Clark Peterson?
It's good to see that WoTC is still paying attention to the 3rd party publishers and still wants them on board to make 4E everyone's game. But we'll still have to see what are the real changes being made. I think WoTC will have to give in a little bit on this one to the publishers.
Stay tune for Critical-Hits' interview with WoTC about the revision.
2. New 4E Errata Released (8/11)
This one courtesy of Critical-Hits.
Like the first major errata before this, the Stealth-Perception skill mechanics has gone through an overhaul.
These are quite some dramatic changes to the core rulebooks. As they have entered into the third round of printing, there are concerns whether these erratas will be included in the newer printings of the core rulebooks or not.
3. More Insider Stuff
It seems to be making good progress (or at least that's what Randy Buehler is telling us) so far. With some minor and improvement to the D&D Compendium, they have added the Monster tab and are also including material from Dungeon and Dragon magazines into their database. They are also opening up their communication channels regarding any problems with the compendium. So meet Cort Odekirk, who will be taking questions and try to answer them here.
I personally praise WoTC for this PR effort and I'm glad that even Odekrik agrees that we could all use a little bit of communication,
There are more questions answered about the pricing structure. So please check it out to find out more.
They are also adding a 3rd Bonus Tools and planning on a 4th.
4. Excerpts, excerpts and more excerpts.
September is another big month with big releases if you checked out the Previews for August and Beyond. WoTC is teasing us with more sneak peeks of future products again and this time for everyone.
From the Adventurer's Vault
Airships
Alchemy
From the Forgotten Realms Player's Guide
Warlock (Dark Pact)
Amn, War Wizard
5. Ritually Speaking...
This one thanks to the Core Mechanics. Dragon has added a significantly large number of new Rituals and I'll let this quote from Jonathan do the talking.
6. Siege of Bordrin's Watch
The 2nd adventure for the Scales of War Adventure Path is up in Dungeon. This time the players get to defend an ancient dwarven fortress located at an important pass of the Elsir Vale by infiltrating into a tunnel to take out the advance army.
Yeah, that's what I'm talking about. Underground tunnel warfare! Getting right into the action, war is coming in full swing. So be sure to check it out and download it while it's still free!
For now, it's time to come out and smell some roses.
I don't know what's with me and Wizards but it seems I've been having a bad case of timing with them for the past few months. Everytime when I'm too busy to come online, they like to make some big changes in my absence. Hmm...maybe I should stop haunting their website all day because everyone's at Gencon.
So, here are (a rehash of) some of the big news that is happening in Wizards'.
1. WoTC to revise D&D 4th Edition GSL and SRD
Got this heads up from The Gamer Dome, you can see his comments there. Just one question, who is Clark Peterson?
It's good to see that WoTC is still paying attention to the 3rd party publishers and still wants them on board to make 4E everyone's game. But we'll still have to see what are the real changes being made. I think WoTC will have to give in a little bit on this one to the publishers.
Stay tune for Critical-Hits' interview with WoTC about the revision.
2. New 4E Errata Released (8/11)
This one courtesy of Critical-Hits.
Like the first major errata before this, the Stealth-Perception skill mechanics has gone through an overhaul.
These are quite some dramatic changes to the core rulebooks. As they have entered into the third round of printing, there are concerns whether these erratas will be included in the newer printings of the core rulebooks or not.
3. More Insider Stuff
It seems to be making good progress (or at least that's what Randy Buehler is telling us) so far. With some minor and improvement to the D&D Compendium, they have added the Monster tab and are also including material from Dungeon and Dragon magazines into their database. They are also opening up their communication channels regarding any problems with the compendium. So meet Cort Odekirk, who will be taking questions and try to answer them here.
I personally praise WoTC for this PR effort and I'm glad that even Odekrik agrees that we could all use a little bit of communication,
Basically I think we can only benefit from strong communication between the devs and the people who are using the product (or at least the subset that likes to post on forums about it), I get a feel for people's concerns and response to the features we are building and you get an inside look and the what and why of the things we build.
There are more questions answered about the pricing structure. So please check it out to find out more.
They are also adding a 3rd Bonus Tools and planning on a 4th.
4. Excerpts, excerpts and more excerpts.
September is another big month with big releases if you checked out the Previews for August and Beyond. WoTC is teasing us with more sneak peeks of future products again and this time for everyone.
From the Adventurer's Vault
Airships
Alchemy
From the Forgotten Realms Player's Guide
Warlock (Dark Pact)
Amn, War Wizard
5. Ritually Speaking...
This one thanks to the Core Mechanics. Dragon has added a significantly large number of new Rituals and I'll let this quote from Jonathan do the talking.
There's a new (well written) article from Peter Schaefer entitled "Ritually Speaking" that includes 33 new Rituals. Considering the PHB only contained 49 Rituals, this is a 67% increase in the total number of rituals in the game. So, grab this quick before they make you pay for it. All in all, this is a very nice addition to the existing RAW ritual set. Here's a summary list in the same format as the one in the PHB (click to make it bigger):
6. Siege of Bordrin's Watch
The 2nd adventure for the Scales of War Adventure Path is up in Dungeon. This time the players get to defend an ancient dwarven fortress located at an important pass of the Elsir Vale by infiltrating into a tunnel to take out the advance army.
Yeah, that's what I'm talking about. Underground tunnel warfare! Getting right into the action, war is coming in full swing. So be sure to check it out and download it while it's still free!
Forgetting the Realms? Part 3
This is the series where I reminisce about what I loved and hate about the old Realms and what are my thoughts on the new coming edition.
With the new edition of the Realms (now already on sale), my buying decision for it will be based on what I've heard about it and whether there will be more similarities with what I liked or it will contain stuff that I didn't like about the Realms.
To summarise the previous two entries, let's start with the good bits.
I loved the Realms, first and foremost, was because of the rich background that the setting came with. As someone who drowns himself with fluff, I was not one of those players who didn't enjoy reading through the tons of realmslore. In fact, I could actually spend more time reading about the Realms than actually running it and just have as much fun.
As a DM, despite there being so much already established and described in the realmslore, there is still alot of potential to create and write new adventures or campaigns in the Realms. This is mostly made possible by challenging the DM to expand on or change what has been written as the status quo which makes the campaign setting all the more sweeter.
I ended my favorite part about the Realms with that it doesn't stop there. The Realms continues to become more detailed and more alive as more and more new realmslore gets added for free on the WoTC website and on the new sourebooks.
For the second post, I went on to grumble about the things I really hated about the Realms and it mostly involves trying to actually run the Realms properly.
First on the firing line was the deities. It was too excessive to the point of redundancy and from my point of view, I really don't see why there should be so many of them. Never mind trying to keep track which god is worshipped for which portfolio, they were also annoying movers and shakers of the Realms that just interuppted the happenings of the mortal realm. Then I mention about the changes in the cosmology, trying to reinvent the wheel which just made things unnecessarily.
My biggest frustration with the Realms is that novels are canon. They were not only unavoidable, they were also an indirect source of material to be used. They actually expanded the setting more than the actual sourcebooks which made them compulsory on your book list of FR-related stuff.
Novels were also ways for designers and authors to claim ownership over the Realms from the players. Each time as I set out to run a campaign about a favorite region, the novels preceeds me and forces me to scrap out entire campaign ideas because they've been there, done that.
So for this post, I'll say what will be the criterias that would make me buy the new Realms and how what I've heard about it so far has either met them or went the opposite direction.
1. It has to be as recognisable as the Realms that came before it. More Realmslore!
With the new present Realms moving forward a hundred year into the future, alot of things have changed along the timeline. This is not a good sign. All we know what happend is the Spellplague with the death of Mystra and the failing of the Weave and the merging of Abeir-Toril which were mentioned in the Grand History of the Realms. WoTC does not seem inclined to explain what had happened in between that 100 years and they want us to pay our attention to the new Realms 100 years from now.
100 years is too much, in my opinion. It's almost as good as new and completely strange again. The Realms has had a tradition of a long history and leaving a gap between that 100 years after the most dramatic change to the setting just alienates me from the setting. What is there to cover up in those 100 years? I can't believe that WoTC has decided to just take away 100 years worth of realmslore so that they can squeeze in the changes of the 4E rules.
2. Streamline the deities and cosmology.
In The Grand History of the Realms, there's already signs that WoTC is leaning towards cutting down the number of gods for the benefit of the setting. Though I must say that the means are not entirely subtle and somewhat uncreative considering how detailed and imaginative the realmslore can get.
Still, it serves my purpose but I still get the feeling that they are killing the gods that shouldn't be killed. I thought the Triad were cool and while they have their overlaps, I still think they are pretty functional and it's not cool when you have them fighting between themselves over Tymora because of Sune (it's like a really bad soap opera!).
The ones that I felt needed the culling were actually from the racial pantheons and most of the Faerunian lesser gods. The cosmology gets changed (AGAIN) to connect the Realms with the 4E cosmology (Prime, Feywild, Shadowfell, Elemental Chaos, Far Realms and Astral Sea). I don't know if the designers gave a proper explanation on how the cosmology changed, but from how they changed the Great Wheel to the Great Tree, an answer is pretty unlikely. Now my only wish is they are going to explain where the gods are going to live (so I know they stay out of the mortal realms).
3. I can still use my old books in term of fluff-usefulness. Just update the crunch.
I guess, this is probably too much to ask seeing how different 4E is compared with 3E but at least I was hoping that the designer would think up of something to try and save as much of the 3E bits as they can. With the new magic system, I can understand why they needed the Spellplague, Mystra's death was the symbolic death of the Vancian system. But with the 100 years jump, WoTC's answer of retaining some of the old Forgotten Realms flavor is pretty clear.
4E Realms has been a victim of the 4E Core Rules Streamlining rays. The designers had basically went on a 'Seek and Destroy' mission, they remove every obstacle in the Realms so that the 4E Point of Light could slide into it perfectly like a matching jig-saw puzzle. While I do like the Point of Light approach to world design, I would have much prefer it if they did the Point of Light FR-style like using a grimer tone or mood in potraying the Realms rather than arbitrarily stamp on the setting with drastic changes in the storyline and workings of the setting.
I'm dissapointed with the WoTC designers. There could have been some other material that they overlooked that could be used to emphasise that FR has a Point of Light feel to it too, Like the Moonsea, the Underdark, the Western Heartlands, Westgate, Scardale. Was 100 years really the only option left?
4. No more canon novels!
Chris Perkins posted in his blog on 2007 that canon novels will continue in 4E.
NNNNOOOOO!!!!
However to be a little optimistic, if the authors stop writing RSEs or write plots that could change the course of the region (like wars, disasters involving mass murders etc.) and just stick to character driven novels, I could still live with that.
Hopefully the Living Forgotten Realms organised play will give players and fans a little more control on what happens in the Realms rather than just the novels.
Now, the question remains. Will I still buy the new Forgotten Realms?
It's not straightforward but my answer would be 'Oh well, what the heck, Yes.'
Sure, things have taken a turn for the worst than what I have expected but the WoTC designers had intended this edition of the Realms to start with a clean sheet. Maybe there is something really new (and hopefully shiny) installed for me in this new Realms and maybe it's time for a paradigm shift in approaching it.
While I'm not sure if this Realms is going to be as rich as previous editions of the Realms since everything that is supposed to be old is actually quite new in terms of realmslore. I'm guessing that some of the staple background realmslore will come in from the DDI as the months and years go along with this edition, which means if I'm not subscribing then I can forget about playing in the Realms.
Still, I'm willing to give it a try. Give myself a chance to try something new.
But in my mind, the old Realms that I had grew to love over the past years is dead and buried in the sands of time. Goodbye my olde Forgotten Realms, you won't be forgotten but surely missed.
August 13, 2008
Forgetting the Realms? Part 2
This is the series where I think back and talk about the things that I loved and didn't love so much about the Forgotten Realms as well as what do I think about the new upcoming edition. It is meant to be a personal reflection on whether I should or should not buy the 4th rendition of the campaign setting which will be available at GenCon.
I've started off with what I loved about the Realms but it doesn't mean that I'm a realmslore-munching fanboy (although it's the first thing that made me fell in love with the Realms). But I would like to describe my relationship with the Realms as bittersweet.
Now that the sweet part is already mentioned, it's time to carry some troll clubs and move on to the bitter bits.
1. The Cosmological Mumbo-Jumbo
While I fully admit that the vibrant range of regions each with its own distinct geography, history, culture, people and adventuring opportunities is what really attracted me to the Realms, the whole cosmology and the amount of deities that are found in the setting is a divine turn-off for me.
Although it probably makes sense that with a setting as diverse as the Realms, it probably should have an equally diverse range of gods as well. However, that doesn't mean that every rock, tree and bird deserves to have a dedicated god watching over them.
There are 8 pantheons.
57 deities in the Faerunian pantheon.
10 gods from the Mulhorandi pantheon.
6 from the Drow Pantheon.
14 from the Dwarven pantheon.
12 from the Elven pantheon.
8 from the Gnome Pantheon.
6 from the Halfling Pantheon.
And 6 from the Orc Pantheon.
Which all adds up to a total of 119 deities!
I was inclined to the thought that gods were about quality over quantitiy.
The 3E & 4E PHBs only needed 19 gods! (including racial and evil ones) That's 100 too many on the job.
Come on, you wouldn't need that many if you tried a little harder instead of delegating godhood and divinities to someone else so they can do the job for you.
Oh wait, I forgot to mention Mystra and her pocketful of epic-leveled monstrosities (Elminster, I choose you!).
Many of the Realms gods were pretty redundant because they constantly overlapped each other in certain portfolios anyway. You don't need 2 gods for magic (Mystra, Corellon Larethian), 4 gods for Death (Kelemvor, Osiris, Segojan Earthcaller, Yurtrus) and 6 gods for War (Tempus, Anhur, Clangeddin Silverbeard, Corellon Larethian, Arvoreen, Ilneval).
I completely lost interest in the godly affairs of the Realms but they just don't like to stay in their demiplane and listen to the daily prayers and worships or accept the sacrifices they are given. Instead they go running around making things happen among themselves that have rather huge impacts on the setting itself.
During the Silence of Lolth, I made all female drows retire from my campaign because I don't need a helpless priestess who can't get her spells. That doesn't make them frightening villains anymore. Then it ended up taking along Selvetram and Vhaerun with her. No more drows period.
When Obould was being 'blessed' by Gruumsh in the Lone Drow, we were kept waiting to know whether he was the first orc to be Chosen and argued amongst ourselves for a pretty long time (but we don't have to worry about that now, don't we?)
What's the point of instigating these problems that just meant extra work for the DM who has to think up of a workaround and provide an explanation for the players?
Why doesn't Wizards give us an answer? I was just as baffled as my players when these events started occuring.
What's wrong with the Great Wheel? Why turn it into a Tree? It just made planar travel so much more complicated and inconvenient.
2.Novels are canon
Yes, believe it or not, novels are accepted as canon which means what happens in the novels written in the Realms, happens in the campaign setting as well. This is the most frustrating aspect of the Realms for me because it has created many trouble, less than saving them
My first stance about novels set in the Realms was the school that said, 'If you don't like it, you don't add it into YOUR Realms,'. It worked pretty well for awhile until I realized that the sourcebooks started echoing what the novels said.
It would be pointless to defy the sourcebooks at that point. If you didn't buy them for more information or realmslore to know more about a particular region then why bother to play in the Realms in the first place?
So I started to think that considering the small amount of sourcebooks that Wizards' put out every year about the Realms, the novels were actually the real sourcebooks that get published in larger numbers within shorter time periods.
So not only did I had to invest in sourcebooks for updated crunch, I needed to build a collection of novels for updated fluff as well.
While reading the novels were sometimes fun if written by a good author, it was a more painstaking process of extracting information about the favorite color of Alustriel.
Also reading fantasy novels is normally an inspirational resource for DMs who are looking for ideas for adventures or even campaigns. It's the reverse when you are reading Realms novels though.
The first campaign that I was encouraged to run in the Realms when I first cracked open the FRCS was to have my players fight against the returning Shades. Exploring the alien and mysterious intentions of the Shadovars after they've been altered for centuries in the Shadow Plane made a pretty good premise for a campaign.
Then, you had the Return of the Archwizard trilogy which picks up on that premise and turns into a cannonical trilogy. I let Wizards' scrap my whole campaign plan.
Then I moved on to the Silver Marches.
Check my FRCS. Neat, there's an Orc King who is coming back with a horde, attacking a confederation of Humans, Elves and Dwarves. Sweet! What a big classical war campaign this would be. This is going to be more epic than Lord of the Rings with more magic involved! Can't wait to pit my players with a real bad-ass Orc King! This is going to be a blast!
Ok...moving on. Maybe I'll try the Dalelands. According to the FRCS, there's an incursion of drow coming to the surface. Some are just trying to live peacefully while some are trying to know more about the secrets of the mythal at Myth Drannor and use it against the Dalelands. The elves are making a return from their Retreat and the Zhentarim are a constant threat looming on the north. Excellent! Sounds like a kitchen sink-type campaign waiting to be run here and I'll make my heroes try to find a way and revive that ancient city back to its former glory.
Oh, I'll get to use the 2E books I read about Myth Drannor and Cormanthyr. What's this? Oo, A prophecy. Nice, nice. This is really shaping up to be a roller coaster ride of a campaign that really potrays the ancientness of the Realms.
It's sad really, I would have really loved the novels, all the ones I read were great, but as I finish reading each one, I also bear a grudge against them.
That's it for part 2, so it's time to share your own pet peeves that you have about the Realms.
I've started off with what I loved about the Realms but it doesn't mean that I'm a realmslore-munching fanboy (although it's the first thing that made me fell in love with the Realms). But I would like to describe my relationship with the Realms as bittersweet.
Now that the sweet part is already mentioned, it's time to carry some troll clubs and move on to the bitter bits.
1. The Cosmological Mumbo-Jumbo
While I fully admit that the vibrant range of regions each with its own distinct geography, history, culture, people and adventuring opportunities is what really attracted me to the Realms, the whole cosmology and the amount of deities that are found in the setting is a divine turn-off for me.
Although it probably makes sense that with a setting as diverse as the Realms, it probably should have an equally diverse range of gods as well. However, that doesn't mean that every rock, tree and bird deserves to have a dedicated god watching over them.
There are 8 pantheons.
57 deities in the Faerunian pantheon.
10 gods from the Mulhorandi pantheon.
6 from the Drow Pantheon.
14 from the Dwarven pantheon.
12 from the Elven pantheon.
8 from the Gnome Pantheon.
6 from the Halfling Pantheon.
And 6 from the Orc Pantheon.
Which all adds up to a total of 119 deities!
I was inclined to the thought that gods were about quality over quantitiy.
The 3E & 4E PHBs only needed 19 gods! (including racial and evil ones) That's 100 too many on the job.
Come on, you wouldn't need that many if you tried a little harder instead of delegating godhood and divinities to someone else so they can do the job for you.
Oh wait, I forgot to mention Mystra and her pocketful of epic-leveled monstrosities (Elminster, I choose you!).
Many of the Realms gods were pretty redundant because they constantly overlapped each other in certain portfolios anyway. You don't need 2 gods for magic (Mystra, Corellon Larethian), 4 gods for Death (Kelemvor, Osiris, Segojan Earthcaller, Yurtrus) and 6 gods for War (Tempus, Anhur, Clangeddin Silverbeard, Corellon Larethian, Arvoreen, Ilneval).
I completely lost interest in the godly affairs of the Realms but they just don't like to stay in their demiplane and listen to the daily prayers and worships or accept the sacrifices they are given. Instead they go running around making things happen among themselves that have rather huge impacts on the setting itself.
During the Silence of Lolth, I made all female drows retire from my campaign because I don't need a helpless priestess who can't get her spells. That doesn't make them frightening villains anymore. Then it ended up taking along Selvetram and Vhaerun with her. No more drows period.
When Obould was being 'blessed' by Gruumsh in the Lone Drow, we were kept waiting to know whether he was the first orc to be Chosen and argued amongst ourselves for a pretty long time (but we don't have to worry about that now, don't we?)
What's the point of instigating these problems that just meant extra work for the DM who has to think up of a workaround and provide an explanation for the players?
Why doesn't Wizards give us an answer? I was just as baffled as my players when these events started occuring.
What's wrong with the Great Wheel? Why turn it into a Tree? It just made planar travel so much more complicated and inconvenient.
2.Novels are canon
Yes, believe it or not, novels are accepted as canon which means what happens in the novels written in the Realms, happens in the campaign setting as well. This is the most frustrating aspect of the Realms for me because it has created many trouble, less than saving them
My first stance about novels set in the Realms was the school that said, 'If you don't like it, you don't add it into YOUR Realms,'. It worked pretty well for awhile until I realized that the sourcebooks started echoing what the novels said.
It would be pointless to defy the sourcebooks at that point. If you didn't buy them for more information or realmslore to know more about a particular region then why bother to play in the Realms in the first place?
So I started to think that considering the small amount of sourcebooks that Wizards' put out every year about the Realms, the novels were actually the real sourcebooks that get published in larger numbers within shorter time periods.
So not only did I had to invest in sourcebooks for updated crunch, I needed to build a collection of novels for updated fluff as well.
While reading the novels were sometimes fun if written by a good author, it was a more painstaking process of extracting information about the favorite color of Alustriel.
Also reading fantasy novels is normally an inspirational resource for DMs who are looking for ideas for adventures or even campaigns. It's the reverse when you are reading Realms novels though.
The first campaign that I was encouraged to run in the Realms when I first cracked open the FRCS was to have my players fight against the returning Shades. Exploring the alien and mysterious intentions of the Shadovars after they've been altered for centuries in the Shadow Plane made a pretty good premise for a campaign.
Then, you had the Return of the Archwizard trilogy which picks up on that premise and turns into a cannonical trilogy. I let Wizards' scrap my whole campaign plan.
Then I moved on to the Silver Marches.
Check my FRCS. Neat, there's an Orc King who is coming back with a horde, attacking a confederation of Humans, Elves and Dwarves. Sweet! What a big classical war campaign this would be. This is going to be more epic than Lord of the Rings with more magic involved! Can't wait to pit my players with a real bad-ass Orc King! This is going to be a blast!
Ok...moving on. Maybe I'll try the Dalelands. According to the FRCS, there's an incursion of drow coming to the surface. Some are just trying to live peacefully while some are trying to know more about the secrets of the mythal at Myth Drannor and use it against the Dalelands. The elves are making a return from their Retreat and the Zhentarim are a constant threat looming on the north. Excellent! Sounds like a kitchen sink-type campaign waiting to be run here and I'll make my heroes try to find a way and revive that ancient city back to its former glory.
Oh, I'll get to use the 2E books I read about Myth Drannor and Cormanthyr. What's this? Oo, A prophecy. Nice, nice. This is really shaping up to be a roller coaster ride of a campaign that really potrays the ancientness of the Realms.
It's sad really, I would have really loved the novels, all the ones I read were great, but as I finish reading each one, I also bear a grudge against them.
That's it for part 2, so it's time to share your own pet peeves that you have about the Realms.
August 11, 2008
Forgetting the Realms? Part 1
If you had known about the recent controversial changes that is installed for us in this edition of the Forgotten Realms from the previous (3rd) edition, you are either a longtime fan who feels disgusted by them or a follower of the changes who is getting excited.
For the latter, Critical-Hits is quite keen on buying this book and many of the comments that follow his post all seem to agree on one thing; FR was too overwhelming as a setting that is filled with too many uber NPCs who were stealing the limelight from the PCs. With the upcoming 4th edition version of the Realms, the WoTC designers has made it their mission to remove these barriers of entry to allow a free flow of new players by letting them into the 'brand new' Realms and share the fun.
As for the former, if you've been following this thread over at ENWorld, you would see how other gamers see it from the other side of the spectrum. There have been many displeasures and dissapointment going around about the changes and how WoTC had implemented them.
I'm one of them. Having run several FR campaigns occasionally over the course of years since the 3.0 period, it was a tremendous shock to read the last few pages of the Grand History of the Realms during the end of the 3.5 era. I was distraugh with fear of the changes that came so sudden which almost made my love for the setting was all but for naught.
It was just not the right way to end it. The status quo was being broken so unimaginably that it destroyed everything I've ever held dear for a campaign setting (despite my short years of playing with it), just like that, in just a few short sentences. There were so many things happening and there was too little explanations about why these are happening or why they were neccesary.
It had offended something inside of me as a supporter of the setting who had accepted every RSE novels as canon, even though I didn't buy ALL of them, which was not respected in turn by not giving me, at least, a more appropriate warning sign.
If this is what it has done to someone who has only been playing in the setting for only several years, imagine what it would do to grognards who have been playing since the grey box?
With the coming of the new edition Realms in just a few days, I'm quite torn between to buy or not to buy.
More importantly, do I still want to play in the Forgotten Realms anymore? Is it time to put my attachments down and put it to rest as a good old memory? Is it time to really forget about the Forgotten Realms?
I'll be recollecting some of the things that I really liked and don't liked about the previous editions of the Forgotten Realms as well as the new edition, that would be the running topic of this blog's first series. This would mostly be a personal reflection on whether or not I will subscribe to the new design ideology of the new 4E Realms or enough is enough for this disgrunted fan of his beloved setting.
So for starters (and this post), here's what I liked about the Forgotten Realms.
1.Realmslore
I'm a sucker for fluff. So you can bet that when I first read about the Forgotten Realms and dabbled a bit into the realmslore, it was like having a fluff-gasm.
Being 12 when I was first exposed to the Realms, I've never found a fantasy setting that is so enrich and detailed with history, characters, landscape, culture, color, and vivid descriptions as the Realms. There were real superheroes (Elminster, Khelben, the Seven Sisters, Harpers) that worked in mysterious ways and real Big Bad Evil Guys (Zhentarim, Cult of the Dragon, Church of Cyric, Red Wizards, the Drow, The Twisted Rune) that worked in more mysterious ways.
There were so many additional flavors in the setting that it would take a fantasy connoisseur to sample and appreciate every one of them. Every piece fitted so well together that it created a living, breathing, vibrant yet coherent world.
Every now and then when you think you know it all, you'll be surprised when you dig up something new that you hadn't known before about the realms. That discovery in itself is a very satisfying experience even without actually playing in the setting.
Ed Greenwood's imagination was truly beyond my own and I admire his dedication and love for the Realms by the amount of realmslore he has written along with creative and respected authors (Sean K. Reynolds, Steven Schend). Their writings is what I cherish most about the Realms. The Volo's Guide To series is still my most favorite books from the setting and I still flip them through every now and then to see the Realms come alive.
As for the gaming table, I immediately pounched on the FRCS when it came out for the 3rd edition. My initially thought of getting it was because I was running out of time to do my own homebrew (and because there was a real AWESOME Canadian doing his). My plan was to buy a well developed setting so that I could plug my players into them without spending too much time on the fluff and concentrate more time on actually running the crunchy adventures. The Realms had met my expectations and 'beyond' them.
This is the first reason why I loved the Realms. I fell in love with everything about it as a setting that was waiting to be explored in every wonderful corner of Faerun; the countryside of the Dalelands, the unforgiving wilderness of The North, the endless roaming along the Sword Coast, the hostile jungles of Chult, the deep dark caverns of the Underdark, the sands of the Old Empires, the open plains of the Shaar and the spirtual homeland of Rasheman.
The Realms was ancient and diverse, yet it was bubbling with new excitement and had a piece for everyone.
2. The Endless Possibilites
This was something that I felt the 3rd edition FRCS did right. After introducing all the spectacle of the Realms to a new fan like me, the FRCS immediately offered plot hooks to draw the new players into it all. Afterall, for a published setting, it was important to involve the players.
As much as the Realms had color, there were just as much adventuring opportunities! The setting is populated with ancient, forgotten, lost and mysterious ruins that almost all of them carry a bit of realmslore with them. From all the rich history and background, it added a whole lot more depth to every dungeon crawl. It's never just your average dungeon crawl in the Realms!
Exploring through the ruins of an ancient city is different when you are exploring through the ruins of Myth Drannor while uncovering the secrets of its mythal. At the same time, defending it from the Drow and beware of the hidden Cult of the Dragon and the phaerimms underneath the city.
Or you could just walk into Undermountain and it was already a campaign all by itself!
There were lost treasures and artifacts that is literally littered to be found and even finding a piece of ancient knowledge was a great reward in itself.
The setting wasn't all about your everyday dungeon crawls either. With the plethora of organizations in the Realms, each with their own agendas, there were many opportunities to run intrigue based campaign as well. It would be interesting to run a Harper campaign during the schism with the Moonstars or fighting against a particular known evil. Or where the players are agents of the Black Network could make a good evil power struggle campaign. Or to go even further, playing an all elf campaign were every PC is a member of the Eldreth Veluuthra.
The Realms was already a well established setting, yet it beckons to you with more. It is a sandbox for players to try all sorts of campaigns, feel and playstlyes.
3. There's Always More
When I jump on the FR bandwagon during 3.0, I was already behind in terms of realmslore that came before during the 2nd edition. Just go back to the Classic Downloads of the previous edition and you'll see there is already a boatload of fluff that addresses various subjects and regions of the Realms. Trust me when I say that all these was just the tip of the iceberg.
Even so, the Realms continued to expand during the 3.x days. New updates would be bought in to replace old fluff as new sourcebooks were released.
There was great online support for the setting as well. The WoTC site would regularly be updated with new and interesting realmslore and there was a whole slew of articles about magic books, perilious gateways and portals, personalities, dragons, bard tales, news from Waterdeep and adventure locales.
I particularly remembered enjoy reading Rand's Travelogue as each update expanded something more about a region in the FRCS.
You couldn't get enough from the setting as it keeps getting larger than life.
Oh, did I mention that the Realms even had its own Monster Compendium? (take that, Eberron!)
Well, that's all for now until the next post in the series. If there any great things that you love about the Realms, be sure to share them in my comments.
August 10, 2008
Let's not Forget August
Wow, time really flies and it's already August! 4th edition is already 3 months old.
First of all, WoTC's Previews for August and Beyond is up. You should most certainly check it out for the upcoming releases WoTC has to offer for D&D.
Also, there are two important things happening this August which is already marked on my calendar. First, is gaming's promised land; GenCon.
Second, is the more or less anticipated release of the 4th Edition Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide.
In case some of you haven't noticed, Amazon.com has posted a different cover for the campaign guide than what is posted on WoTC's site.
From,
To..
I'm glad that they've taken Drizzt off the cover. Despite how much I love Drizzt as a character and his novels, I still think that they should be self contained. However, his popularity during 3.x has made him an icon for FR that puts him on the same level as Elminster.
What happened to Elminster? Is his old bones still busy making leeway with the ladies or the Spellplague has made him an uncool character?
He was synonymous with the Realms when I first came to know it.
Remember, this is STILL the Realms and it's not all about dual-wielding scimitars (and Elminster can still wipe the floor with Drizzt anytime, heheheh).
But before you get your hands on it, did you miss the excerpts?
Chult
Church of Shar
Elfharrow
Eminence of Araunt
Loudwater
Loudwater NPCs
Luruar
The Great Dale
The Warlock Knights of Vaasa
First of all, WoTC's Previews for August and Beyond is up. You should most certainly check it out for the upcoming releases WoTC has to offer for D&D.
Also, there are two important things happening this August which is already marked on my calendar. First, is gaming's promised land; GenCon.
Second, is the more or less anticipated release of the 4th Edition Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide.
In case some of you haven't noticed, Amazon.com has posted a different cover for the campaign guide than what is posted on WoTC's site.
From,
To..
I'm glad that they've taken Drizzt off the cover. Despite how much I love Drizzt as a character and his novels, I still think that they should be self contained. However, his popularity during 3.x has made him an icon for FR that puts him on the same level as Elminster.
What happened to Elminster? Is his old bones still busy making leeway with the ladies or the Spellplague has made him an uncool character?
He was synonymous with the Realms when I first came to know it.
Remember, this is STILL the Realms and it's not all about dual-wielding scimitars (and Elminster can still wipe the floor with Drizzt anytime, heheheh).
But before you get your hands on it, did you miss the excerpts?
Chult
Church of Shar
Elfharrow
Eminence of Araunt
Loudwater
Loudwater NPCs
Luruar
The Great Dale
The Warlock Knights of Vaasa
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