Ok, so we'll reschedule the google+ game for Friday night 8pm.
I'll host it. If you are tech savvy and know how to record google sessions please drop some knowledge on me.
If you haven't created your character yet you can send me your scores via Secure Dice, 3d6 in order (Str, Int, Wis, Dex, Con, Cha), and 3d6 for gold. Use LL+AEC. Try not to multiclass. If I've left anything out please let me know. kilted dot yaksman at yahoo dot ca
For those of you who chimed in a couple days ago, can you please confirm if you are good to go or not? Just so I have a rough idea of numbers.
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Barrowmaze Custom Dice
I received the custom dice today for the Barrowmaze II Indiegogo campaign today in the mail.
I've already bagged them up. Hey, it's exciting and it's also one less job to do down the road.
I've already bagged them up. Hey, it's exciting and it's also one less job to do down the road.
Monday, May 28, 2012
Quote of the Day
This from the comments of Mearls' most recent article: I don't want this crap. Consider me now an official 4e grognard.
Tonight's G+ Game Postponed.
A couple folks can't make it and I'm fighting a cold so I'd like to postpone tonight's game either to Thursday or Friday night. Same time 8pm. Let me know in the comments what works.
Sunday, May 27, 2012
5e: Dump/Add
I'm going to get my first chance to play the 5e playtest on Tuesday night. In the meantime I've been reading and thinking about the game in different ways and wondering 1) how I would have to change it to make it palatable, and 2) after that process would it even be worth playing it?
WotC designers want a game that isn't about resource management. They want a game where a lot of the details are simply hand-waved. That isn't cool.
So I've put a list together, let me know if I've interpreted the documents incorrectly.
The following items would need to be dumped:
1. At-will spells or spell-like powers (esp. at-will Light/Detect Magic - trying to get rid of resource management)
1b. I would accept very minor non-combat at-wills (ignite a torch/candle/pipe, close a door, call for staff, etc)
2. Inflated Hit Points (PC and Monster)
3. Death Rules
4. Backgrounds and Themes - esp. as restated feats.
5. Stonecunning, as it stands (resource management)
6. Ability scores for monsters - change that to a standard roll based on HD (or something).
7. Healing surge hit dice/Full HP after a rest
8. The word "orison" it makes people sound like weenies - and no laser clerics.
9. All DC mechanics
10. Any bonus to hit (or damage) for doing nothing (picking a class, picking a race, missing an attack roll).
The following items would need to be added:
1. Hit Dice for monsters. It is crazy not having explicit HD for monsters.
2. Ascending and descending AC (like S&W). New Schoolers can just ignore it, and it saves conversion between editions as they know we don't want to play the new crap anyway.
3 I strongly agree with the post at Weird Opera. The most important thing they need to add to the game is fear of death. In my opinion, without fear of death the game has ZERO meaning.
So this is just a preliminary list. I'm sure I will add to it after Tuesday.
WotC designers want a game that isn't about resource management. They want a game where a lot of the details are simply hand-waved. That isn't cool.
So I've put a list together, let me know if I've interpreted the documents incorrectly.
The following items would need to be dumped:
1. At-will spells or spell-like powers (esp. at-will Light/Detect Magic - trying to get rid of resource management)
1b. I would accept very minor non-combat at-wills (ignite a torch/candle/pipe, close a door, call for staff, etc)
2. Inflated Hit Points (PC and Monster)
3. Death Rules
4. Backgrounds and Themes - esp. as restated feats.
5. Stonecunning, as it stands (resource management)
6. Ability scores for monsters - change that to a standard roll based on HD (or something).
7. Healing surge hit dice/Full HP after a rest
8. The word "orison" it makes people sound like weenies - and no laser clerics.
9. All DC mechanics
10. Any bonus to hit (or damage) for doing nothing (picking a class, picking a race, missing an attack roll).
The following items would need to be added:
1. Hit Dice for monsters. It is crazy not having explicit HD for monsters.
2. Ascending and descending AC (like S&W). New Schoolers can just ignore it, and it saves conversion between editions as they know we don't want to play the new crap anyway.
3 I strongly agree with the post at Weird Opera. The most important thing they need to add to the game is fear of death. In my opinion, without fear of death the game has ZERO meaning.
So this is just a preliminary list. I'm sure I will add to it after Tuesday.
Friday, May 25, 2012
Barrowmaze II Campaign Update
Just a quick update to let everybody know the Barrowmaze II campaign is moving into the final stretch.
If we hit 6k I will craft a new firld of Barrow Mounds and create a Random Barrow Mound Crypt Generator that will allow Maze Controllers :) to create their own on the fly.
If we hit 7k the ToH-style illustration booklet will kick-in. I know from more than a few emails that people are interested in seeing this happen (as am I).
I have some thoughts of my own to help get us there, but if you have a killer idea please share.
Also, I thought it might be fun to run a couple google plus games in the next couple weeks for the folks that have pledged to the campaign. Let me know if you'd be interested and we can start the ball rolling.
Thursday, May 24, 2012
5e Playtest Materials
Ok, so at long last the 5e playtest materials are finally available. I've given all the materials a cursory read.
At a glance this looks like a min-maxer's paradise. Bonuses are too abundant for my taste.
Also, HPs are way out of whack for me. It would be very hard to die in this edition given the HP and the death rules.
I really hate that the monster stat blocks don't have Hit Dice. I don't want all my baddies having exactly the same hit points, that's just gamey.
The stat blocks are cumbersome, as they felt the need to include ability scores for things like oozes and centipedes. Really?
Backgrounds and themes look redundant to me.
There are also stat discrepancies between the character sheets and the equipment list (this might just be me, but I don't think so).
How WotC would expect you to play an Old School style with this game I have no idea. It would have to be so heavily houseruled that you might as well play something else.
It still has feats, healing surges by another name, etc. that simply do not interest me one bit.
I'd play this as a one-off but it is too far removed from TSR D&D to be useful to me.
At a glance this looks like a min-maxer's paradise. Bonuses are too abundant for my taste.
Also, HPs are way out of whack for me. It would be very hard to die in this edition given the HP and the death rules.
I really hate that the monster stat blocks don't have Hit Dice. I don't want all my baddies having exactly the same hit points, that's just gamey.
The stat blocks are cumbersome, as they felt the need to include ability scores for things like oozes and centipedes. Really?
Backgrounds and themes look redundant to me.
There are also stat discrepancies between the character sheets and the equipment list (this might just be me, but I don't think so).
How WotC would expect you to play an Old School style with this game I have no idea. It would have to be so heavily houseruled that you might as well play something else.
It still has feats, healing surges by another name, etc. that simply do not interest me one bit.
I'd play this as a one-off but it is too far removed from TSR D&D to be useful to me.
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Peace in Our Time? Ok, Maybe Not...
Just wanted to post this for the peeps, in case you missed it. Good on Ethan Gilsdorf for asking the question. Gildorf's a good guy and met with one of my classes virtually last year. Anyway, I'm not quite sure what to take from this answer. Mearls could have slam dunked it, but didn't.
Gilsdorf: When I contacted you last fall, you and your colleagues at Wizards spoke about how the major goal for this rules revamp was big picture, brand and relevance stuff — how to unite all the warring tribes; end the editions wars; get older, lapsed players to play again; and get younger generations excited about D&D. The changes you’re talking about here seem a little smaller-scale. Can you point to some bigger-picture ways you are addressing these issues?
Mearls: The really big questions are, in some ways, still up in the air. Right now, we’re sort of heads down, focusing on small details for the playtest. We have some fairly big ideas we’re working on in terms of RPGs as a whole, but that stuff is still fairly far off on the horizon. Right now, we really are down in the weeds in terms of details, and you’re right that the stuff we’re talking about right now is fairly small in terms of the big picture. However, that big picture still isn’t in focus. I think a mistake we made in the past was to try to make these big, grandiose statements, but in doing that we lost track of the core elements of what people enjoy about RPGs. We also ended up touting things that we couldn’t actually execute on, and no one wants that to happen again.With all that said, we’re definitely thinking big picture. That work is taking place, but it’s not ready for prime time.
Gilsdorf: When I contacted you last fall, you and your colleagues at Wizards spoke about how the major goal for this rules revamp was big picture, brand and relevance stuff — how to unite all the warring tribes; end the editions wars; get older, lapsed players to play again; and get younger generations excited about D&D. The changes you’re talking about here seem a little smaller-scale. Can you point to some bigger-picture ways you are addressing these issues?
Mearls: The really big questions are, in some ways, still up in the air. Right now, we’re sort of heads down, focusing on small details for the playtest. We have some fairly big ideas we’re working on in terms of RPGs as a whole, but that stuff is still fairly far off on the horizon. Right now, we really are down in the weeds in terms of details, and you’re right that the stuff we’re talking about right now is fairly small in terms of the big picture. However, that big picture still isn’t in focus. I think a mistake we made in the past was to try to make these big, grandiose statements, but in doing that we lost track of the core elements of what people enjoy about RPGs. We also ended up touting things that we couldn’t actually execute on, and no one wants that to happen again.With all that said, we’re definitely thinking big picture. That work is taking place, but it’s not ready for prime time.
Monday, May 21, 2012
Barrowmaze Character Sheet
Zhu Bajie is crafting a swanky Barrowmaze Character Sheet for inclusion in the Barrowmaze II Indiegogo campaign. He has sent me some of his preliminary work-in-progress pics and they look great. When he is done this will be something to behold and a joy to play with at the table.
Both were rotated and saved vertically (but once uploaded changed to horizontal for some reason).
Anyway, here are a couple WIP images. If you haven't contributed to the BM campaign there's still time.
Both were rotated and saved vertically (but once uploaded changed to horizontal for some reason).
Anyway, here are a couple WIP images. If you haven't contributed to the BM campaign there's still time.
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