[Sundays Kinda-Campaign] Have you seen Corrie?

So this past week, I went back to Sunday at Cultivate Coworking, I ran a short adventure where Corrie was missing.

Coriander "Corrie" Gardner is another halfling from the Gardner clan. She and her siblings run a bakery in town. Corrie has gone into the forest to harvest a unique bark with a very unique flavor.

So enter adventurers...

In the end, a "poor" little bard stayed for five days and learned the mating rights of the evil dryad...

The Gardners did not find any potential bridges/grooms, but they paid for the return of their sister.

[Sundays Kinda-Campaign] Hope's Birthday Special

So Hope from Sunday at Cultivate Coworking was having her birthday, so I offered to run something special for her. The basic of the adventure had the clods... I mean who could not love the clods. Take over a local druidic sanctuary. Since the "campaign" is located on the edge of civilization, there are very few druids so the clods took the place and made it their own...

The PCs had to travel through defended locations to free "Grandfather" a giant mushroom. Did I say that Hope's character Portabella is a spore druid...

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[Sundays Kinda-Campaign] Modron Madness

A few weeks ago, I came up with an idea where the PCs went and investigated a rogue modron's wrongdoing. The final battle featured the PCs fighting against quadrones... Creatures who look like... DICE!

Hard to show but the center was an arch opened to the plane of Mechanus but opened only from one side. They had to go into Mechanus to close the portal.

After a lot of teeth-gnashing, and the death of one of their own, they managed to close the portals.

Note: Modrons are the laziest miniatures to use... they look like dice!

Labor Day After Action Report:Citadel by the Sea

This past Labor Day Weekend, I put together a game of D&D inspired by a classic adventure. This time, I ran an adapted version of The Citadel by the Sea by Sid Fisher from Dragon Magazine #78 (October 1983). While looking at many classic adventures, I wanted something that could be completed in about 8 hours.

The biggest change I made to the adventure was to move it from "Generic Setting" to Olympia. This is a story of a cursed location abandoned, conquered by barbarians, then abandoned again. The adventure has a few different twists that made it interesting: diversions and a backstory that can be uncovered (none of my players could read the language but they had enough information that it did not really matter).

To fit into my timeframe, I had to remove a whole dungeon level. It was a tough decision because it has a few cool things, but I wanted to make sure we could get through everything.

In the end, the PCs returned with the spearhead they were sent to fetch and received their payment, but angered their employer. I used a number of my 3d printed models to use, including the warehouse boxes and bags. Those things looked really good.

[July 3rd] UK1 - Beyond the Crystal Cave 1e to 5e AAR

Before I go any further on this, let me give HUGE thanks to ActionMan, Chad, Dennis, Jesse, Justin, and Justus for participating in this event. It was a great way to spend my post-July 1st (Canada Day) and pre-July 4th. You guys really made this event memorable.

On July 3rd, I brought together a small group of players at my home, most of whom I never met before. And ActionMan.

Why?

To run an adventure set in Ozaka, and iron out the few issues with the character sheets and find out how the iconics would play in a setting different than a "regular" convention environment.

I chose a classic 1e adventure, UK1 Beyond the Crystal Cave. As the number indicates, this adventure was written in the UK. If you have never player any of their modules, they had a VERY different vibe than the Gygax-created adventure, with a different mixture of whimsical and grounded fantasy. It is odd to describe, but in many way, the adventures suit my style and preferences a lot more. This one is a strange sandbox and it is likely to play VERY differently from play-through to play-through.

Although there is a 5e-port available on DM's Guild, I chose to do the conversion myself and it worked out fine. I spent a few hours adding some notes. I have no intention of selling my port as I'm sure the existing one is decent.

So what happened?

Sent by Lord Azaki to investigate the appearance of a strange grey bubble where a hill used to be present, the party explored the homonymous Crystal Cave and the odd garden beyond. Of course, since I had to add some tie-in with the First Ones, because they are just so fun and exciting to run.

Now, I will be honest and say that this adventure contains a bit of a "gotcha" at the end (depending on the PCs' actions), which normally irks me because they rob players of some agency. This one though, does it in a way that is interesting and that creates more role-playing opportunities, leading the character to more adventure, more discoveries. So I have to say that I quite like

It has a charm all its own and I encourage you to try this one if you have a chance. I was so pleased with it, I think I may try to run more of that series but adapted to 5e.

The adaptation to Ozaka gave it a different spin a "regular" game setting would not have had.

If I have to give a rating to this adventure, I'll give it a 4/5 as written.

[Release] Drow of the Demonweb on DM's Guild

One of the many things to come out of the Chaos Tide Campaign was the creation of a lot of material. A Lot. Enough to fill a 200 plus page book.

And that was only the setting.

Now next year, WotC will republish Planescape but I hold little illusion that what they will produce will be as underwhelming as their latest offerings: Dragonlance and Spelljammer. Not wanting to wait, I created my own material based on those classic 1e and 2e versions.

This book is one that contains such material, most of which was used during the campaign with a number of additional characters I never got to use.

I posted many pictures of the Demonweb on Facebook, with the extraordinary locations I used. The creatures in this book increase the variety of drow and drow-related creatures available to the GM.

For the Demonweb or your regular campaign.

The book contains a wealth of material to create drow-themed encounters.
- Nine new monsters, including unique characters, new demons, and demonic spiders
- Eight new magic items, with their own history
- Eleven locations in the Demonweb
- Over forty NPCs: some drow allies, some prisoners, some merchants, some slaves.

You can get it on DM's Guild. It has also been added to the Avernus Product Bundle at 50% of with many other planar-themed products.

Chaos Tide Rising - Part 4

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

Demonweb (Abyss)

The Demonweb is the 66th layer of the Abyss, a plane of chaotic evil.

Traveling on a straight path without any curves, with most drow greeting them with "Welcome to my parlour."

Finding a resting spot in the Demonweb turned out to be rather difficult, as one encounter followed the other, draining resources after resources. Seeing their nervous gazes as they wondered when I would finally relent.

I did not relent.

I made them pay for invading the Spider Queen's domain.

Another place they refuse to go back to.

The base of House Tekenafin

The base of House Tekenafin

Frost Giants in the Demonweb

Lair of the demon Arachneus

Ecklavarda's Enclave... so many drow

SHARKENBEARS!!!!

Outlands

The Outlands were known as the Concordant Opposition, is a plane of neutrality as the center of the Great Wheel.

The Outlands were little more than a traveling in-between. The PCs did not spend much time here. It was a way to allow them to travel from one Gate Town to another. But they didn't like most of my cities.

One important event was the battle at the town of Glorium just outside the plane of Ysgard where they fought multiple attacks by Frost and Fire giants with their winter wolves.

Frost Giant Raiders attack an Outlands settlement

The battle of Glorium

Chaos Tide Rising - Part 3

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 4

Arborea

Arborea is the planed of chaos and good, it is the home of the Elven and Greek Pantheons. This was perhaps the nicest of all the places the PCs could go. The finale of the campaign took place here, where the PCs faced a large force of slaadi.

Here, the PCs fought the ancient black dragon Mavrosko.

Mavrosko revealed!

Slaadi force appear

Slaadi force appear!

Avernus (Nine Hells)

Arvenus is the first layer of the Nine Hells, a plane of lawful evil.

A massive blue poppy field that can be turned into a vile mind-drug and have to escape a massive demonic invasion.

The PCs were invited here by an Erinyes general named Ralamiel who wanted to make a deal with them. She made great deal by trading the souls of not one but TWO PCs!

Demons in the fields of blue poppies.

Vrocks performing the dance of ruin. The dance of ruin was a staple of the vrocks in 3.x, and I thought giving them back this power would create a unique encounter.

Azzagrat (Abyss)

The Azzagrat is the 45-47th layers of the Abyss, a plane of chaotic evil.

The capital of Grazz't's domain of Zelatar where horrors and casual abuse is ever-present. As a writer, I love Azzagrat. Everything is a mockery of what they are. It is just vile and disgusting, where the appropriate cohabits with the unacceptable. Right is wrong and wrong is right. Good is bad. And evil is good.

Add Graz'zt to it and you know my favorite Dark Prince of them all!

Battle in the Demonic orphanage

Chaos Tide Rising - Part 2

Part 1 | Part 3 | Part 4

Game Play

After a few stumbles and some turnover, a solid group emerged that explored the many nooks of this Planescape campaign. Ah life...

The campaign starts a few months after the Battle of Pikemaster at the climax of Having completed Witches of Pikemaster and the Baron once again calls upon adventurers to address new problems plaguing his barony. The four Merchant Houses in town all had caravans disappear.

After investigating a few sites near Pikemaster, the PCs discovered two items that sent them their way: a strange flesh key and a ball of obsidian. When those two items joined, away they went to the outer planes, starting with Limbo.

From Limbo, the party discovered there was a Chaos Tide rising. This tide rises every few centuries, bringing horrible effects: the Times of Trouble on Faerun, the Five-Day Eclipse in Akhamet, the Gigantomachy in Olympia, etc... In short, whenever this happens the repurcussions are massive and dangerous.

The most fun I had was to introduce my party to these classic locations where the world around them sought to destroy, corrupt, kill, and those are just the best possible outcomes. With high-level characters, you need to do

Limbo

Limbo is the plane of pure, raw chaos. Home of the slaadi and githzerai.

Having to concentrate to keep the plane from crushing you was fun to run, forcing the players to fight against their environment. Literally. If they don't concentrate, Limbo swallows them in its Primal Soup, which deals them damage EACH ROUND.

Even the oasis of peace are not. I portrayed the Githzerai more like they were initially presented in the original Fiend Folio from 1981. In that book, they are isolationists and slavers. To consider them allies is potentially risky because they are not a force for good.

The slaadi were an ever-present threat throughout the campaign. I printed so many of them, creating a massive force of them. So. Many. Slaad. If I have one regret is that I did not include a faction of slaad willing to deal with the PCs. I presented them as monsters who did not think much for themselves.

The players hated limbo and wanted to leave it as soon as they could, never to return unless forced.

Chaos Tide Rising - Part 1

Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

The Plan and the Constraints

Having completed Witches of Pikemaster, I was left with more story ideas and material to write a sequel. A sequel for high-level characters that would take the PCs through the many of the outer planes. There have been a few campaign set in the outer planes, such as the Planescape setting. While most are fine, none feel great. Adventures? Yes, they are many but there are not many campaigns.

So I had this idea for a campaign and I wrote up over 180 pages of material for it. It included dungeons, wilderness areas, NPCs, unique monsters, and a lot of planar information.

What I wanted to do was:
- Create a campaign that would have the PCs travel through the planes for a common goal.
- Have each plane be its own chapter, with unique challenges created by the environment or the inhabitants. The PCs may travel between one plane and the other, slowly advancing each plot. Basically, create a Planescape version of The Masks of Nyarlathotep.
- Serve as an introduction to many planes I knew (most of) my players never visited.
- The planes should each be their own environment, not just a copy of the Prime Material with angels or demons. The plane itself should be an obstacle or at least a concern when adventuring there.

That was the initial plan. I gathered the party for this.

Factions

The campaign had MANY factions involved. Many in fact. So many that I had to trim down the numbers to avoid creating a complete mess. Here are some of the major factions and how they got involved.

- Slaad The campaign really started with the "birth" of Gooz, a slaad of an unknown type. Throughout the campaign, the slaad were violent opponents. I added a new type of slaad, the brown (or mud) slaad, inspired by a 3.5 monster. Instead of hostile powerhouses, mud slaadi are weak and pathetic, dealing retributive damage when struck.

- Demons of Graz'zt Many demons in the service of Graz'zt are trying to stop/ control/ understand what is happening. They served as both enemies and occasional enemies of convenience.

- Devils A faction of devils managed to get their hands on one of the mcguffins and they wanted to turn it over to the PCs. However, they would not merely give it over, they had to get something out of it. They served as allies of convenience.

- Drow The drow also sought to understand what is happening. However, they are divided in many factions that work at cross-purpose and limiting their overall effectiveness. They were dangerous defending their holdings, but did not do much outside the Demonweb.

- Elves The elves were, for the most part, completely ineffective overall. They felt something was wrong but did not organize well. They were a friendly but

- Giants The giants of Ysgard, led by Uthgar-Loki, were one of the most active factions of the campaign, traveling the planes looking for something that was stolen from them. (Yes, it was the mcguffin the devils took from them.) The frost giants in particular were active, with the other giants being less interested in participating in the hunt. They served as direct opponents.

- Githyanki The githyanki appeared late in the campaign as a force trying to take control of the situation. With their typical tactics of killing everyone first... They were another faction of opponents.

- Githzerai The githzerai appeared early on. Their interest in the plot was cautious. The PCs did not stay long in Limbo for me to really involve them. I planned to use them as untrustworthy allies, friends with an agenda.

- Vikings The vikings were a faction that began as straight opponents but after a while, the PCs befriended them and used them to travel the planes.

DND Holidays Game Day After Action Report

On Dec 27th, was the first Holiday D&D Game Day where I hosted a small game day where we played D&D all day.

The format was simple: three GMs, three adventures, three hours each. Sitting back, I believe that without consulting each other, each of us ran an adventure that focused on one of the three pillars the game: combat, exploration, and social.

The first adventure was run by young up-and-comer GM ActionMan who presented our team of adventurers with a heist-style job in a tale of revenge and plunder. Many choices were presented and we succeeded in leaving with money in our pockets and our hirer happy, her revenge fulfilled.

The second adventure was Will's season-appropiate tale that put us face to face with many favorites of the holidays. Filled with Will's very unique humor style, we laughed while trembling in fear.

The final adventure was mine and the PCs had to go up into the mountain to find a rare flower to cure a young woman from a strange curse or disease. A tale of travel and exploration... They made it and only realized what it was... They played the adventure without a single combat! The traps took care of them really well and sank their resources and hurt them.

As I write this, I realize that I have not taken a single picture of the event. Oh No!

So, it was great to see faces I haven't seen in months, if not longer, and meeting new faces. I think this event may become a yearly tradition! I had a lot of fun and I saw smiles all around, after the painful frowns.

Again thanks to everyone who participated as a player and as a GM.

[Release] Races of the Planes: Githzerai

Now, you may know that I am working on a plane-hopping campaign, something that harks back to the days of Planescape - or perhaps more accurately to the days of its predecessor: the Manual of the Planes or the Tales from the Outer Planes. Therein, you got your party to go from one plane to another solving problems.

This adventure/campaign is going to be a loose sequel to Witches of Pikemaster which was published earlier this year. As I was writing WoP, I had a number of additional ideas and elements I had to cut in the interest of brevity. However, all that research would not get wasted as I came up with a number of potential products that would go great with it.

Race of the Planes: Githzerai is just the first of a number of small products meant to accompany this new campaign. Yet, they can easily be added to your home campaign. To add a touch of planar flavor. This product was purposefully kept short and small because of the vast amount of lore out there, and each edition giving them a slightly different flavor. Either clarifying or expanding the lore. I opted to let each GM define the full racial flavor and background.

Initially appearing in the Fiend Folio the githzerai were psionic slavers who hated both the mind flayers and their githyanki cousins. In time, the slaving aspect was drop to focus more their introspective aspect.

Want to get it for 50% off? Races of the Planes: Githzerai has been added to the FOE Character Option Bundle, giving you access to new character races, such as the Amazons, the Princesses, and now the Githzerai. A lot of goodies! And if you bought some already, you may actually get it for free or almost free! Check it out.

This product is now available on the DM's Guild.

Vanishing Ziggurat Reaches Silver Bestseller!

I remember the day well, when I came up with the wacky idea that became the Vanishing Ziggurat I had two girl scouts and dozens of boxes (the boxes that contain the boxes for the cookie) just piling up in the garage. After playing with them a little, I found a way to stack them up to form a massive 3D ziggurat. At that time, I had only a few notes containing ideas of what I wanted to add in there: constructs, undead, fiends, some social encounters, and a few treasures for this dungeoncrawl.

I took the ziggurat first to my local FLGS (before it became much less "F" to the "G"s) and ran it there. Met a few great people and had a fun time of it. Then later, I took it to a few con, including Hypericon 2019 here in Murfreesboro TN. There, I used the ziggurat in a simplified (and lower-level'd) version set in Akhamet.

The ziggurat adventure is a dungeoncrawl. But one that is not simply door-monster-treasure. It asks a number of questions, many of which tie it into other FOE product.

One of its biggest successor is a minor tie-in with the awesome Witches of Pikemaster where a character from Vanishing Ziggurat makes an appearance. Its a fun tie-in if you played both but not one that is the core of the adventure.

Did I mention that both Vanishing Ziggurat and Witches of Pikemaster are currently on-sale on the DM's Guild? They are during the October monster fest sale!

Anyway, I guess the most important part is to thank all of you for your continued support. I am always amazed and touched by it.

Thank you.

[Release] Courtiers: Envoys and Peacemakers on DM'S Guild

So what is this you ask? How did that come about? Why do I need this for my game?

Well "Courtier" is a full 20-level class that allows you to create a jack of all trade focused on Charisma. It occupies a role between the bard and the rogue: it is less magically-focused than the bard and more "trick"-based than the rogue. Closer to a non-combat rogue from Pathfinder v1 (before it was retooled). 

These tricks allow you to do minor dips and get a number of special abilities that include some minor spellcasting abilities, to mirror abilities of other classes, to getting a yojimbo, to the ability to gain resistance to some damage types. The trick here is that courtiers are great toolboxes that give you a lot of customization options. And if a trick no longer applies or lost its shine, you can swap them out when you gain a new level. 

This product was designed during the writing process for the upcoming Ozaka setting. Now this idea of playing a courtier or noble is not new to me and my games. Years ago, I wrote Gostor Nobles for Pathfinder v1. It was based on the original class by PCI. 

While there is no doubt that Courtier inherits some ideas from that product, it is at the same time something different. Whereas Nobles put the character in the role of a member of a ruling elite, Courtier makes the character someone in the employ of a powerful. 

Why are not all courtiers nobles? Well... that's where character creation and the background feature of 5e comes into play. Was your character born into abject poverty and clawed his way to this position? What if you were a charlatan who impersonated a diplomat and you turned out to be really good at it? I never hid the fact that I love 5e's background feature and that your background comes into play during my games. So one of the design changed was to focus on separating the background from the class and to let the character build and tell his own story.

Why do I need this for my game? Well... a courtier gives you a lot of versatility in how you decide to built your character and your bard does not have to do all the talking anymore. 

Courtiers will be present in our iconic characters coming in 2023. Not sure which just yet. But there WILL be a courtier. Want to know more? It is currently available on the  DM's Guild.

Oh! And a big thanks to the British Shark and John Ridley (Inspector97) for the interior art!

[Patreon][Cleric] Fire Domain

Continuing me series on the elemental cleric domain for Ozaka. This time everyone's favorite: FIRE!!!

Who else to represent this than Rhym's very own Juri-sho (yes, I know she is a sorceress... but isn't a sorcerera funky shugenja?) with Irene Campos's awesome art.

Check out the FOE Patreon! It is available for free!

[Die Inspired] Finale Madness!

Yesterday, the Game Keep held the finale part of Die Inspired's Convoy to Straith. This is the same game I have been posting about since mid-April (See this post and these updates May 8th, May 25th, andJune 25th).

I have yet to catch my breath...

Just as I thought the craziness was cranked up to eleven, the team cranked it up to FIFTEEN! I mean, without going into details, they used a few tools to help speed up the process and it worked... The pressure rose and things got worse and worse as more people died.

Again, most of the encounters were pretty simple (as I posted in a previous Old Pro Tricks on simple effective scenes) and... deadly.

Epic things leading to incredibly entertaining - but sad - deaths. As we tried to reach the find a way to leave this accursed island, things got from wild, to crazy, to insane, to COMPLETELY MAD! The breaks we took barely managed to cut the tension. I found myself holding my breath multiple times and my blood pressure shot through the roof!

As we died, everyone stayed to hear who would live, how they would live, and what would happen.

Even after sleeping over it and write about it... My pulse races and my breath quickens.

Yeah. It was that good.

I am sure I said this before, but I am not one who listens to actual play online. I just don't like them. But I will definitely tune in for this. I'm curious about how the games went for the other early groups and I will want to see those "simple effective scenes" again and how they will work those into post-production.

One of the things that was very interesting to see were the many ways people tried to survive: some use great teamwork, others focus on their own resourcefulness, other had a game plan. Everyone worked together during the event itself.

Ma' Hawkins didn't raise no stupid boy!

Edit I edited this post at the request of the Die Inspired crew.

[Die Inspired] Made it to the finale

Much to my surprise, I made it to the final event of the first season of Die Inspired! It's seems like so long ago that I sat down to create Jim Hawkins, the halfling son of the owners of the Admiral Benbo Inn.

I am really happy that I was able to use my 3-point background to create someone who is unique, easy to slot into any campaign, and really fun to play. I had a blast playing Jim, pulling from that background all the time. "Ma' Hawkins didn't raise no stupid boy." I will be using it on ALL my characters going forward and asking the same of my players.

Also in character-building, I went with a combination I felt was a little different that the more iconic role. Jim is a lightfoot halfling bard 3 (college of lore) whose background is Guild Merchant. Not typical but something I thought fit the character, and something I was able to bring in multiple times during the game. Yes, my membership in the Guild of Culinary Delights came up quite a few times. My spell list included a few utility spells that came in handy multiple times - and that failed as many times.

As I prepare for the final event, I can only hope Jim will be able to survive to escape his current predicament.

And predicament it is.

Tomorrow is the final - and fatal - day. Wish Jim luck!

[Die Inspired] Staying Alive (for now)

On the 15th, I participated in the third session of Die Inspired's big campaign and well I managed to survive it. Events are definitely moving forward as we head towards the end.

Again, the "simple effective scene" principle they used applied once more... (see my post on this here) Though I take it with the two previous sessions everyone was pretty gun-shy but that did make for some tense and interesting roleplay.

One fun fact is that after the previous two dates, we were now overly cautious when faced with a challenge, even when the challenge was not overly deadly. (It was, but the threat was less immediate than the previous two games) That's why I always "you train your players." It will be fun to see the face of poor GM Roscoe seeing how we overcomplicate something that should be easy... I've been there too.

But the big kicker is how everything came to a head at the head, which left us, the players, on a cliffhanger. I mean hold-your-breath-until-next-game type of thing and left me chomping at the bits for more. I was actually annoyed that we stopped instead of continuing... I just want to go back and see what happens and how things play out.

Now to wait for the next game... guh... so long!!! Jim Hawkins still lives!

[Die Inspired] The Wild Ride Goes Bananas!

NOTE: I wrote this after the game on May 1st. I thought I had it scheduled to publish... BUT NO. So here it is with a delay.

---

Well this past Sunday was the second date of the craziness that is Die Inspired's campaign. My first post on it described it as A Wild and Crazy Ride and Day 2 delivered in the craziness department.

Having survived the deadly events on the ships, we made landfall. But that provided us no security. The type of work changed from Day 1 whereas we now had to cooperate as a team to tackle the island itself. All thirteen of us.

Yes. The ominous number proved prophetic...

The first combat was BRUTAL with the monsters scoring a critical hit against a player that left him dead.

ON THE FIRST ATTACK.

*Squelch* Ouch.

We were on-notice and things did not really look up from there for us. We left the beach having lost a few people. One was rescued by a great bit of teamwork, one I am really looking forward to seeing how the final cut will look like. If you ever saw "A Million Ways to Die in the West" (the funny part at the start of the movie), well... it was a little like that. You know when you wince in pain when something really bad happens?

Yeah. That.

Now just for the record, I wish to state that my natural halfling sense was to get provisions, reload the boats and leave this accursed place. I was, of course, outvoted but I just want to put that here. So my (inevitable) ghost can haunt the others for not listening my wisdom.

We were not so gung-ho for the second scene. What started as a fun time in the jungle ended up with screams of panic, body parts getting thrown left and right, showers of gore, and the frantic fleeing of adventurers through the forest.

That's glossing over many details, ranging from hilarious to scary to nervous chuckle-able to odd to flat out worrisome. I was on the edge of my seat for most the encounter, scrambling through my sheet for find what the best option for myself and for others It was glorious and memorable. Shouts of joys. Animal screeches. War cries. Squeals of squeamishness. All broke the deceptive tranquility of the jungle.

No wait, that last one, the squeals were all me.

Not everyone made it. Instead many shone bright and then got squished on the forests of Black Glass Island, often with memorable squish (there weren't as many notable quotes for the ending.).

I am surprised and very happy to report that Figjam "Jim" Hawkins made it through. This time. I'll be back in two weeks to see where this goes. As a halfling, I curious to see what is coming up next...

The scenes set are simple but extremely effective, not requiring extensive descriptions or specific elements to paint the picture. It allows the players to tweak or add to make the scene work: A beach, a ship, a jungle-covered island. Their maps served to enhanced the picture, creating an effective and clear picture of what is happening without having to over-describe everything. I cannot say how much I appreciate that. (I will write further about my thoughts regarding creating these sort of scenes in a future post)

I admit that I am growing increasingly curious to see the finalized product. How it will look when everything is put together and finalized? Really building my interest in it... and I never watch/ listen RPG podcasts and web series, but this one I'll want to see what everyone did.

The game flow was much improved as not only the GM and DI crew, but we players got used to the formula and upped our game. Perhaps it was due to there being fewer players? As a player, I felt much more involved in the game as it seemed it was my turn more often. It is always fun to feel like you are in the thick of things at the heart of the action and get to act and react based on what is happening. I felt there was much more interaction and cooperation between players all around the room this time, not just in small nearby groups. This also added to the dynamism of the game.

One thing the crew did that was pretty cool was to bring guest-star GMs to run the monsters, allowing the Main GM (Roscoe IIRC) to focus on herding the cats and added to the flow. A great idea.

I will provide more insight after the next game. "Jim" Hawkins the ship's cook made it to round three!

Halfling's luck.

Dragonlance: First Thoughts

In case you have not seen it, WotC has given us a trailer for their new Dragonlance campaign setting for 5e. I've stated on this blog about my love for that setting and even if it is not really "realistic," it is fun to play in. I failed miserably at my last attempt to run the Classics with it (see this post here and part 2) The different races and classes you could play made for something different than "straight Tolkien port." The gully dwarves are funny. The elves ridiculously isolationist. The Irda are cool. Even the 3.x version that allowed draconians was fine.

Except kenders.

I hate kenders.

So... Looking at the trailer, I struggled to find Dragonlance in there. It LOOKS like it. I am very wary of what I saw for the following reasons.

- I could not find any of the CORE element that made Dragonlance unique: the clear-cut struggle between good and evil. A struggle that is mirrored "As above so below," as the gods themselves fight each other. Dragonlance is NOT a setting where you deal with many shades of grey. There are many other settings for that. Evil is so clear and power that without heroes who rise to the occasion, the world will be plunged into eternal darkness. The "we fight for each other" is well and good but does not provide a sense of anything unique; it is generic D&D at its best.

- Dragonlance has known heroes who are part of its draw. None of these characters appear here. They are just missing. Nowhere to be found. Who are these new characters? What's unique about them? How do they align with the classics? Everyone has a favorite in the Innfellows (I'm partial to Goldmoon), or one of the villains: Kitiara, Soth, Raistlin, or even Toade! It's like having a Batman movie with no Batman, no Robin, and no Bruce Wayne... I fear that the classic characters were omitted to avoid paying anything to Hickman and Weiss.

- The draconians are only in the background. They should be front and center! They are this world's unique and premiere monster PCs will engage with throughout their careers. I want to see them do something cool.

This trailer has not won me over, but neither did it turn me away. I'm curious to see what the final book will contain and whether it has any value to me. I can't put a Fry meme saying "Shut up and take my money" with this one.

Not just yet.