Greetings from somewhere in the tabletop multiverse!
Having a family, with a three-month-old baby, really changes your priorities. So blogging has been on the back burner for a while. Being realistic, I am going to guess that it will continue like that for a while longer, despite my efforts to correct it and get back to writing. Oh well, we will see how it goes moving forward.
Tabletop games. Right. Especially Tabletop RPGs. That's what this blog is about, lest I forget. So I guess I might as well get back on topic again.
As you might imagine, having a little baby hampers my ability (or rather the time I have availiable) for playing tabletop rpgs, or other games, with my friends like I used to. It is a shame, but it is also a part of life. I do still read a lot of rpg books, talk rpgs with my friends, and work on my own rpg when I have the time, and energy, to do so. It is not quite the same as sitting down and actually playing though. The 5e D&D game on Saturday is on a mini-hiatus atm, while our GM is dealing with some technical issues. I'll get back to talking more about that game another time.
Back in 2016 I wrote a post on this blog about 11 tabletop horror games for Halloween which you can check out if you want some ideas for games to play. I highly recommend it.
A friend of mine will be doing his annual halloween game this year as well. As per what has become the custom, we'll be playing the Slasher Flick rpg. My participation in this years game depends largely on my little baby however, and how much energy I have. We shall see what happens. It's a fun game though. I might write a review on it at some point down the line.
I think that is all for me for this time.
See you all next time!
Visar inlägg med etikett Thoughts. Visa alla inlägg
Visar inlägg med etikett Thoughts. Visa alla inlägg
lördag 27 oktober 2018
tisdag 10 juli 2018
Thoughts & Updates
Today I greet you once more from somewhere in the infinite expanse of the Tabletop Multiverse!
I hope my greeting finds you all well, and in good spirit. My hope is that you are all enjoying the summer (provided that it is summer where you currently are), and if not that whatever season you are in treats you kindly.
Over here, it's been unusually warm, something I have understood has been a rather common occurrence in many places this summer. A bit of rain wouldn't go amiss, but there's not much we can do besides wait and see what comes.
Again, I apologize for my absence. Most of my time have gone towards other things. In fact, I have barely even been able to play any tabletop rpgs in this time! Hopefully things will start to get better on that front soon enough.
I have found some time to work on my own tabletop rpg however. I love working on it, and I love the project, but I am not going to lie and say that it doesn't feel a tad overwhelming at times. It is not enough to dissuade me from working on it however, which is good. I guess it is the price you pay when you are trying to make a tabletop rpg from scratch, all by yourself.
I am lucky that I have a few friends online who are willing to help me play-test it. Though they are forced to wait long times for it between play-testing sessions, as there is still a lot of work to do on the project. My hope - I guess I should say "dream" really -, as I have mentioned before, is to be able to have it published some day. I know it is a competitive market, and I know it can be difficult, but I am not expecting to make a lot of money from it. I am just trying to chase a dream I've had for a very long time, and make it come true some day. Any money I am able to make off of it, will be a bonus, and will be going towards supporting my family as money is tight.
Anyway, with working alone on it, and the size of the project, I am not expecting it to be done any time soon. Probably not even this year. But I'll keep people updated on the progress through this blog, if anyone is interested.
I am hoping to return with more reviews, and thoughts, on tabletop role-playing games, and gaming, as I go along as well.
For now, I wish you all well, and I hope I'll see you all soon again, somewhere in the vast expanse of the Tabletop Multiverse.
Until next time!
I hope my greeting finds you all well, and in good spirit. My hope is that you are all enjoying the summer (provided that it is summer where you currently are), and if not that whatever season you are in treats you kindly.
Over here, it's been unusually warm, something I have understood has been a rather common occurrence in many places this summer. A bit of rain wouldn't go amiss, but there's not much we can do besides wait and see what comes.
Again, I apologize for my absence. Most of my time have gone towards other things. In fact, I have barely even been able to play any tabletop rpgs in this time! Hopefully things will start to get better on that front soon enough.
I have found some time to work on my own tabletop rpg however. I love working on it, and I love the project, but I am not going to lie and say that it doesn't feel a tad overwhelming at times. It is not enough to dissuade me from working on it however, which is good. I guess it is the price you pay when you are trying to make a tabletop rpg from scratch, all by yourself.
I am lucky that I have a few friends online who are willing to help me play-test it. Though they are forced to wait long times for it between play-testing sessions, as there is still a lot of work to do on the project. My hope - I guess I should say "dream" really -, as I have mentioned before, is to be able to have it published some day. I know it is a competitive market, and I know it can be difficult, but I am not expecting to make a lot of money from it. I am just trying to chase a dream I've had for a very long time, and make it come true some day. Any money I am able to make off of it, will be a bonus, and will be going towards supporting my family as money is tight.
Anyway, with working alone on it, and the size of the project, I am not expecting it to be done any time soon. Probably not even this year. But I'll keep people updated on the progress through this blog, if anyone is interested.
I am hoping to return with more reviews, and thoughts, on tabletop role-playing games, and gaming, as I go along as well.
For now, I wish you all well, and I hope I'll see you all soon again, somewhere in the vast expanse of the Tabletop Multiverse.
Until next time!
fredag 3 november 2017
Greetings once more!
Greetings once more from the Tabletop Multiverse!
Apologies for my absence, but it has been a very busy time for me between work, getting married, putting a lot of effort my tabletop RPG project, and much more.
I hope I will be able to return to posting on this blog again now. Exactly how often I will be able to post remains to be seen, and will most definitely depend on what is happening IRL for me.
This will most likely be a short post - meant more as a sign of life than anything else really.
So this means no new RPG-related news from me in this.
In my absence I did take the time to pledge for a Kickstarter from Free League - their new game Forbidden Lands which I think looks amazing. :) I really can't wait to give it a try once it arrives!
As I mentioned earlier, I have been spending time working on my own tabletop rpg project as well. I've been developing a game system as well as a world. It is far from finished yet. I guess you could say it is still in alpha. I do enjoy the challenge and the process of writing it though. It would be a dream to get it published some day for others to enjoy as well, but at the moment I am far away from being able to do that.
I'll return and write more about the project and what I am doing in a future post.
For now, it is time for this weary traveler of the Tabletop Multiverse's many winding paths to go rest his head for a bit and enjoy that thing widely known as "sleep".
Until next time!
Apologies for my absence, but it has been a very busy time for me between work, getting married, putting a lot of effort my tabletop RPG project, and much more.
I hope I will be able to return to posting on this blog again now. Exactly how often I will be able to post remains to be seen, and will most definitely depend on what is happening IRL for me.
This will most likely be a short post - meant more as a sign of life than anything else really.
So this means no new RPG-related news from me in this.
In my absence I did take the time to pledge for a Kickstarter from Free League - their new game Forbidden Lands which I think looks amazing. :) I really can't wait to give it a try once it arrives!
As I mentioned earlier, I have been spending time working on my own tabletop rpg project as well. I've been developing a game system as well as a world. It is far from finished yet. I guess you could say it is still in alpha. I do enjoy the challenge and the process of writing it though. It would be a dream to get it published some day for others to enjoy as well, but at the moment I am far away from being able to do that.
I'll return and write more about the project and what I am doing in a future post.
For now, it is time for this weary traveler of the Tabletop Multiverse's many winding paths to go rest his head for a bit and enjoy that thing widely known as "sleep".
Until next time!
söndag 12 mars 2017
Player influence on the setting & GM dice rolling trends
Greetings from somewhere inside the infinite expanse of the Tabletop Multiverse.
There's been a trend in the last few year - or longer? I'm honestly not sure - to make the GM's side of playing RPGs more 'lightweight' and streamlined, putting more of the focus on the players and giving them a greater influence in helping to build the world they are playing in. Some games even put the dice rolling in the hands of the players in order to free up the GM to focus more on the storytelling.
Generally speaking I am ok with this. Though I am not sure I understand it fully. As a GM, I am generally able to focus on the storytelling anyway. The rolling of dice has never really struck me as something that detracts from that. Though others might view it differently, of course. To me, it just feels like a natural part of it, that the GM rolls for the NPCs etc.
Then again, I fully agree that dice rolling should NEVER get in the way of the storytelling. Generally speaking, unless it actually matters you don't really need to roll dice for it. I am not going to make my players roll dice for walking down the street or do something that is routine for them unless there are external factors - like stress, gunfire, slippery surfaces, jumping over a chasm, or other things - that warrants them actually making rolls.
Having players be part of the world-building process through the medium of their characters is also something that feels kind of natural to me. It generally helps to build a fantastic world in the end, that will be more memorable to all due to the natural connection that the players, and their characters, feel to the world having had a part in shaping it. Also as a GM I find that it can be beneficial as it helps bring the world to life and someone else might think of something cool that you didn't think about. Only thing to keep an eye on is really to make sure that what they, the players, want to put into the world actually fits with the setting. If you can't justify a giant mech in your fantasy setting, don't put it in just because a player thinks it would be cool. Just saying. Then again, you might be able to re-flavour it into something that could fit a bit better. Taking the mech from the example above you might be able to re-flavour it into a golem or magical construct of some sort. In the end, you as a GM have the final say, and responsibility, to make it all fit together.
If you haven't tried letting your players have a say in the world-building, I would recommend it. At least give it a try and see what you think.
Granted, I don't always do that either. I think it depends a bit on who the players are, and also some projects you want full control as a GM. For example, I am not going to let the players help me design a dungeon for a dungeon crawl. I want it to be a surprise and give them the full experience of the dungeon crawl.
I think player influence is good, but I am personally not convinced by the whole 'putting all the dice rolling in the hands of the players' thing. Granted, there are games out there who does it really well and have a well thought out system and mechanics for it. I enjoy those as well, but I think my preference will always be for the GM to be able to roll dice as well. If that makes me 'old school' by today's standards, then so be it.
Nothing can make the players nervous like the GM suddenly rolling a few dice, silently nod to him- or herself, and then continue on with the storytelling as if nothing had happened.
Then again, to each their own. I would highly recommend you try a few different systems out to see what kind of system you and your players like best. That goes regardless of whether you are relatively new to the whole tabeltop roleplaying thing, or if you have played for years but mostly stuck to the same small group of games. Nothing wrong with the latter, but it can always be good to try and experience new things.
Until we meet again, somewhere in the vast expanse of the Tabletop Multiverse.
There's been a trend in the last few year - or longer? I'm honestly not sure - to make the GM's side of playing RPGs more 'lightweight' and streamlined, putting more of the focus on the players and giving them a greater influence in helping to build the world they are playing in. Some games even put the dice rolling in the hands of the players in order to free up the GM to focus more on the storytelling.
Generally speaking I am ok with this. Though I am not sure I understand it fully. As a GM, I am generally able to focus on the storytelling anyway. The rolling of dice has never really struck me as something that detracts from that. Though others might view it differently, of course. To me, it just feels like a natural part of it, that the GM rolls for the NPCs etc.
Then again, I fully agree that dice rolling should NEVER get in the way of the storytelling. Generally speaking, unless it actually matters you don't really need to roll dice for it. I am not going to make my players roll dice for walking down the street or do something that is routine for them unless there are external factors - like stress, gunfire, slippery surfaces, jumping over a chasm, or other things - that warrants them actually making rolls.
Having players be part of the world-building process through the medium of their characters is also something that feels kind of natural to me. It generally helps to build a fantastic world in the end, that will be more memorable to all due to the natural connection that the players, and their characters, feel to the world having had a part in shaping it. Also as a GM I find that it can be beneficial as it helps bring the world to life and someone else might think of something cool that you didn't think about. Only thing to keep an eye on is really to make sure that what they, the players, want to put into the world actually fits with the setting. If you can't justify a giant mech in your fantasy setting, don't put it in just because a player thinks it would be cool. Just saying. Then again, you might be able to re-flavour it into something that could fit a bit better. Taking the mech from the example above you might be able to re-flavour it into a golem or magical construct of some sort. In the end, you as a GM have the final say, and responsibility, to make it all fit together.
If you haven't tried letting your players have a say in the world-building, I would recommend it. At least give it a try and see what you think.
Granted, I don't always do that either. I think it depends a bit on who the players are, and also some projects you want full control as a GM. For example, I am not going to let the players help me design a dungeon for a dungeon crawl. I want it to be a surprise and give them the full experience of the dungeon crawl.
I think player influence is good, but I am personally not convinced by the whole 'putting all the dice rolling in the hands of the players' thing. Granted, there are games out there who does it really well and have a well thought out system and mechanics for it. I enjoy those as well, but I think my preference will always be for the GM to be able to roll dice as well. If that makes me 'old school' by today's standards, then so be it.
Nothing can make the players nervous like the GM suddenly rolling a few dice, silently nod to him- or herself, and then continue on with the storytelling as if nothing had happened.
Then again, to each their own. I would highly recommend you try a few different systems out to see what kind of system you and your players like best. That goes regardless of whether you are relatively new to the whole tabeltop roleplaying thing, or if you have played for years but mostly stuck to the same small group of games. Nothing wrong with the latter, but it can always be good to try and experience new things.
Until we meet again, somewhere in the vast expanse of the Tabletop Multiverse.
måndag 27 februari 2017
A good actor has left us
Greetings from somewhere in the Tabletop Multiverse.
Today's post will be a short one, unfortunately. But I will hopefully return soon with more.
As many of you probably know, Bill Paxton passed away yesterday, at the age of 61.
Why am I bringing this up here? Well, because Private First Class William L. Hudson is one of my favourite characters of all time, in one of my favourite movies of all time. I am a big Alien fan, and the second movie 'Aliens' is my favourite movie of the bunch. One of best things about it was Bill Paxton's portrayal of Hudson.
So many memorable quotes and scenes came from that character.
I've even made a couple of characters for tabletop RPGs that were directly inspired by that character. In fact I am about to play a Hudson-inspired character in a few weeks time. Should be fun! :) Though I had no idea this would happen when I first created the character, I am now even more determined to try and make it justice.
I know that Bill directed and played in other movies as well, and I have loved his roles in those too, but being the big Alien fan that I am, and considering that the second movie 'Aliens' is one of my favourite movies of all time, the role of Hudson is one that I will always associate with Bill Paxton, and it is the first thing that comes to my mind when I think of the actor.
He also remains one of only two actors to have been killed by an Alien, a Predator and a Terminator. The other one being Lance Henriksen.
So, I salute you Bill Paxton. Thanks for giving the world William L Hudson and many other memorable roles and movies. You will be missed.
Until next time.
Today's post will be a short one, unfortunately. But I will hopefully return soon with more.
As many of you probably know, Bill Paxton passed away yesterday, at the age of 61.
Why am I bringing this up here? Well, because Private First Class William L. Hudson is one of my favourite characters of all time, in one of my favourite movies of all time. I am a big Alien fan, and the second movie 'Aliens' is my favourite movie of the bunch. One of best things about it was Bill Paxton's portrayal of Hudson.
So many memorable quotes and scenes came from that character.
I've even made a couple of characters for tabletop RPGs that were directly inspired by that character. In fact I am about to play a Hudson-inspired character in a few weeks time. Should be fun! :) Though I had no idea this would happen when I first created the character, I am now even more determined to try and make it justice.
I know that Bill directed and played in other movies as well, and I have loved his roles in those too, but being the big Alien fan that I am, and considering that the second movie 'Aliens' is one of my favourite movies of all time, the role of Hudson is one that I will always associate with Bill Paxton, and it is the first thing that comes to my mind when I think of the actor.
He also remains one of only two actors to have been killed by an Alien, a Predator and a Terminator. The other one being Lance Henriksen.
So, I salute you Bill Paxton. Thanks for giving the world William L Hudson and many other memorable roles and movies. You will be missed.
Until next time.
lördag 18 februari 2017
The Norsemen Cometh
Ah. I'm glad you could all join me around my campfire. Traversing the many paths of the Tabletop Multiverse, one needs to set up camp from time to time and hope that the warmth and light of a well-lit campfire will bring other travelers to it. Shared merriment and good company is invaluable, in my opinion.
Lately I have been thinking a lot about the Norse-inspired part of the world I am creating. And, more precisely, the pantheon, mythologies, and traditions that shaped that society into what it is. I have come to the conclusion that I want to choose my path once an for all, when it comes to that. So far I have had three distinct paths I could have taken with it (in no particular order, really):
A) Go with the actual pantheon (as far as we know and understand it today) and mythology that existed. Granted, we don't have a 100% complete picture or understanding of it, but you can probably fill in the 'blanks' with stuff that at least seem to fit. And if not, then just remember that this is a fantasy world so things might have evolved slightly differently anyway.
B) Take what we know about the gods from the post-Ragnarok world - essentially those few who survived Ragnarok - and use that as a basis for creating something new. This is a very interesting option as well, and not one I believe I have seen done very often, if at all. It probably has been done but in that case I either haven't seen it or can't remember seeing it. Anyway, I find this to be an interesting option as well as it gives me more freedom compared to option 'A'. If we know little about the Norse pantheon, we know even less about their beliefs about the world post-Ragnarok.
A) Go with the actual pantheon (as far as we know and understand it today) and mythology that existed. Granted, we don't have a 100% complete picture or understanding of it, but you can probably fill in the 'blanks' with stuff that at least seem to fit. And if not, then just remember that this is a fantasy world so things might have evolved slightly differently anyway.
B) Take what we know about the gods from the post-Ragnarok world - essentially those few who survived Ragnarok - and use that as a basis for creating something new. This is a very interesting option as well, and not one I believe I have seen done very often, if at all. It probably has been done but in that case I either haven't seen it or can't remember seeing it. Anyway, I find this to be an interesting option as well as it gives me more freedom compared to option 'A'. If we know little about the Norse pantheon, we know even less about their beliefs about the world post-Ragnarok.
C) Ignore everything and start over. Basically this is about creating a whole new pantheon and mythology that could work in a Norse-inspired fantasy setting. Or at least for the part of the world that actually IS Norse-inspired.
I've always had a big interest in the Norse era. I hesitate to call it the viking age as that is a very limited time-frame framed between two events that took place on British soil - essentially the time between the first and last 'viking' raid on British soil. However the culture was around before and after that as well, in one form or another. Sure, they were Christianized around the end of the viking age, but still. Anyway, I am not here to discuss the Norsemen of old in any great detail. Just to say that I enjoy learning about them - how their society works, the lives of the everyday people, the mythology, their traditions and culture, etc.
Now, what I am trying to create with the Norse-inspired part of my world-building isn't a faithful re-creation of Norse society and beliefs, because frankly I can't and it wouldn't fit into the world as a whole anyway. What I have done instead is something that is based on Norse society and their way of life. Granted, I know I am far from being the only person in history that has done something like this. Still, it is a fun little project and I have been enjoying it very much.
No, my norsemen don't wear winged or horned helmets, other than possibly for ritual purposes (possible if I go with option 'C' above. We shall see).
No, I'm not calling them "Barbarians".
As for the options listed above, I have lately been working on options 'B' and 'C'. There's still much work to do, followed by a lot of thinking and tweaking. But as it stands one of those options will most likely be the one I will end up going with.
No, I'm not calling them "Barbarians".
As for the options listed above, I have lately been working on options 'B' and 'C'. There's still much work to do, followed by a lot of thinking and tweaking. But as it stands one of those options will most likely be the one I will end up going with.
Well then, I see a new sun rise above the infinite horizon of the Tabletop Multiverse. Time to put the campfire out for this time, and continue on my travels. Well met travelers, and until we meet again I wish you all happy journeys.
Until next time!
Until next time!
lördag 21 januari 2017
Another broadcast from somewhere in the vast Tabletop Multiverse
Greetings from the far reaches of the tabletop multiverse. I hope I am finding you all in good health and a merry mood! :)
It's been roughly two weeks since my last transmission... eh, blog post. It's been busy weeks, but also good ones.
Sadly nothing new to report from the 3.5 game I wrote about in my last post (you can read about that here). It has been on a sort of unplanned mini-hiatus since then, due to IRL things popping up for various people and having to postpone it until next time. I am hoping we can get back to it in the coming week though.
In the meantime I have actually finished a second D&D 3.5 character - a catfolk, knight/bard/inventor/rifle-user (it's my DM's world and my character belonging to a knightly order essentially has turned him into... that. XD lol ). It seems like it will be a fun character to play though. It's going to be a Saturday game, that will be a bit on/off, so not every Saturday. Essentially, I have no clue how often we'll play. I am just going to wait for my GM to tell me when we play. I am looking forward to it though, and to trying out playing this character. I had a lot of fun playing my Shugenja character in the other 3.5 campaign, and I am sure I will enjoy playing this one as well.
One of the 'features' I am looking forward to trying out with the new catfolk character is the fact that he delivers most of his spells via the medium of magical bullets from his flintlock rifle. Now, I have played a 'gun mage' before, in the Iron Kingdoms RPG, though I have a suspicion that this catfolk character is going to be less broken in combat than my IK character was. XD lol I won't go into too much detail about it. It is possible that in a different campaign that character would have been less broken in combat. After all, when I played her we were all new to IK, including the GM!
It can be difficult getting new games off the ground though. I have a Mutant Chronicles campaign sitting there waiting for an opening (using 1st and 2nd edition MC), as well as some other ideas that probably will have to wait even longer. The problem is all the players need to find the time for it, but generally when some have time other's don't. Though I guess this is an issue all GMs & DMs face at some point in their lives. There's no rush for me though. We'll get around to it whenever we get around to it. The campaign isn't going anywhere.
Right. I think that will be all from me for today.
Until next time!
It's been roughly two weeks since my last transmission... eh, blog post. It's been busy weeks, but also good ones.
Sadly nothing new to report from the 3.5 game I wrote about in my last post (you can read about that here). It has been on a sort of unplanned mini-hiatus since then, due to IRL things popping up for various people and having to postpone it until next time. I am hoping we can get back to it in the coming week though.
In the meantime I have actually finished a second D&D 3.5 character - a catfolk, knight/bard/inventor/rifle-user (it's my DM's world and my character belonging to a knightly order essentially has turned him into... that. XD lol ). It seems like it will be a fun character to play though. It's going to be a Saturday game, that will be a bit on/off, so not every Saturday. Essentially, I have no clue how often we'll play. I am just going to wait for my GM to tell me when we play. I am looking forward to it though, and to trying out playing this character. I had a lot of fun playing my Shugenja character in the other 3.5 campaign, and I am sure I will enjoy playing this one as well.
One of the 'features' I am looking forward to trying out with the new catfolk character is the fact that he delivers most of his spells via the medium of magical bullets from his flintlock rifle. Now, I have played a 'gun mage' before, in the Iron Kingdoms RPG, though I have a suspicion that this catfolk character is going to be less broken in combat than my IK character was. XD lol I won't go into too much detail about it. It is possible that in a different campaign that character would have been less broken in combat. After all, when I played her we were all new to IK, including the GM!
It can be difficult getting new games off the ground though. I have a Mutant Chronicles campaign sitting there waiting for an opening (using 1st and 2nd edition MC), as well as some other ideas that probably will have to wait even longer. The problem is all the players need to find the time for it, but generally when some have time other's don't. Though I guess this is an issue all GMs & DMs face at some point in their lives. There's no rush for me though. We'll get around to it whenever we get around to it. The campaign isn't going anywhere.
Right. I think that will be all from me for today.
Until next time!
lördag 7 januari 2017
A new game
Greetings friends! Good to see you all again on this side of the new year. Let's hope this will be a really good year for all!
Recently, I got involved in a D&D 3.5 game which has its basis in a fantasy version of the Chinese story Romance of the Three Kingdoms. I don't think we are trying to faithfully follow the story, mind you. It is more the setting we are using, with some minor tweaks. Never the less, it looks like a very interesting setting and I think we will be in for a fun ride! :)
Anyway, we are using the Oriental Adventures books for it, and I am playing a female Shugenja character. A class which I have never played before. We've only had one session of it so far, which ended up being roughly 6 hours long. I have to say that for that session at least, I was really enjoying playing a Shugenja!
At the start of the session we had our first battle. My Shugenja had a bit of a difficult time noticing what was going down though, because of some really bad dice rolling. Eventually though, she noticed something and went downstairs to see what was going on. Now, before the session I wasn't sure how I was going to enjoy playing a Shugenja. But once we got the session going and I got into my first combat, I felt much better about it. Her beam-type attacks and the flaming sphere really showed me she could be fun to work with. I do think though, that she will be better against several enemies rather than targeting a single enemy. We shall see though. She also has some out of combat utility spells that I am hoping she will find uses for. Though that will depend on what kind of game it evolves into being. If it is a game that focuses a lot on combat I might not be able to 'waste' the spell uses outside of combat, in which case I might have to re-build her a bit. But we shall see how it goes.
I think I will have a lot of fun with the character, though I am still trying to figure out her personality and such, and I need to get around to actually writing down a backstory for her. So far, all I know for certain is really that she is 20 years old, she's from Japan, she's a Shugenja, and she is nobility. She is also travelling with two other characters, one PC and an NPC, both of which are Samurai. I'll see if I can return with a better description of her here on the blog once I have her more fleshed out as a character.
Anyway, that will be all for me for this time.
Until next we meet, somewhere in the tabletop multiverse!
Recently, I got involved in a D&D 3.5 game which has its basis in a fantasy version of the Chinese story Romance of the Three Kingdoms. I don't think we are trying to faithfully follow the story, mind you. It is more the setting we are using, with some minor tweaks. Never the less, it looks like a very interesting setting and I think we will be in for a fun ride! :)
Anyway, we are using the Oriental Adventures books for it, and I am playing a female Shugenja character. A class which I have never played before. We've only had one session of it so far, which ended up being roughly 6 hours long. I have to say that for that session at least, I was really enjoying playing a Shugenja!
At the start of the session we had our first battle. My Shugenja had a bit of a difficult time noticing what was going down though, because of some really bad dice rolling. Eventually though, she noticed something and went downstairs to see what was going on. Now, before the session I wasn't sure how I was going to enjoy playing a Shugenja. But once we got the session going and I got into my first combat, I felt much better about it. Her beam-type attacks and the flaming sphere really showed me she could be fun to work with. I do think though, that she will be better against several enemies rather than targeting a single enemy. We shall see though. She also has some out of combat utility spells that I am hoping she will find uses for. Though that will depend on what kind of game it evolves into being. If it is a game that focuses a lot on combat I might not be able to 'waste' the spell uses outside of combat, in which case I might have to re-build her a bit. But we shall see how it goes.
I think I will have a lot of fun with the character, though I am still trying to figure out her personality and such, and I need to get around to actually writing down a backstory for her. So far, all I know for certain is really that she is 20 years old, she's from Japan, she's a Shugenja, and she is nobility. She is also travelling with two other characters, one PC and an NPC, both of which are Samurai. I'll see if I can return with a better description of her here on the blog once I have her more fleshed out as a character.
Anyway, that will be all for me for this time.
Until next we meet, somewhere in the tabletop multiverse!
onsdag 16 november 2016
Progress
Greetings fellow citizens of the Multiverse!
Again, sadly, IRL stuff has taken hold of my time and I have been unable to write in here as often as I might have liked.
I have been getting some stuff done though. I have FINALLY been able to make a map that I am half-way decently satisfied with for my world-building project. It is a map of the northern-most continent, and I am very happy to have it mostly done. I am still tweaking it and changing bits and pieces here and there, but the general lay-out of it should be ok. I've been wanting to have these maps done for quite some time now as I feel that they (this map and other ones I have in the pipeline) will help me visualize the world more clearly. It is one thing having a bunch of pages of written text, but once you see it come alive on a map it really helps bring it all to life. At least for me it does. Also the maps help me to keep track of things.
As the eagle-eyed reader might have noticed, yes, that means I have been spending time learning to use Campaign Cartographer 3+. It and I are slowly coming to an understanding. It still has a few things about it that annoys me from time to time, but then again no program can do everything. And honestly, half the times it is probably (it is) I who have done something wrong and the program is simply doing what I just told it to do.
Overall I would say that CC3+ is a very good program for map-making. I do think I will need to sink some more money into it in the long-run if I want to be able to make all the maps properly that I want to make. Though that is for later.
On the world-building front there has also been a bit of writing done. Not as much as I would have liked perhaps, but then again a lot of that time has gone into the map-making instead, so I guess it is for a good cause.
I really can't wait for the time when I have the world at such a stage that I can try playing some kind of tabletop RPG in it with friends. :) Which tabletop RPG that might be though, I haven't got a clue yet. I might even end up running with the home-made rule-set I have been working on. In a way, I am kind of hoping that I can do that. It would be fun to try out a rule-set that has actually been made for that world. But we shall see.
Time for me to sign off for now.
Until next time!
Again, sadly, IRL stuff has taken hold of my time and I have been unable to write in here as often as I might have liked.
I have been getting some stuff done though. I have FINALLY been able to make a map that I am half-way decently satisfied with for my world-building project. It is a map of the northern-most continent, and I am very happy to have it mostly done. I am still tweaking it and changing bits and pieces here and there, but the general lay-out of it should be ok. I've been wanting to have these maps done for quite some time now as I feel that they (this map and other ones I have in the pipeline) will help me visualize the world more clearly. It is one thing having a bunch of pages of written text, but once you see it come alive on a map it really helps bring it all to life. At least for me it does. Also the maps help me to keep track of things.
As the eagle-eyed reader might have noticed, yes, that means I have been spending time learning to use Campaign Cartographer 3+. It and I are slowly coming to an understanding. It still has a few things about it that annoys me from time to time, but then again no program can do everything. And honestly, half the times it is probably (it is) I who have done something wrong and the program is simply doing what I just told it to do.
Overall I would say that CC3+ is a very good program for map-making. I do think I will need to sink some more money into it in the long-run if I want to be able to make all the maps properly that I want to make. Though that is for later.
On the world-building front there has also been a bit of writing done. Not as much as I would have liked perhaps, but then again a lot of that time has gone into the map-making instead, so I guess it is for a good cause.
I really can't wait for the time when I have the world at such a stage that I can try playing some kind of tabletop RPG in it with friends. :) Which tabletop RPG that might be though, I haven't got a clue yet. I might even end up running with the home-made rule-set I have been working on. In a way, I am kind of hoping that I can do that. It would be fun to try out a rule-set that has actually been made for that world. But we shall see.
Time for me to sign off for now.
Until next time!
söndag 30 oktober 2016
Map-making for my World-building
Greetings and welcome once more to the tabletop multiverse.
In today's post I will be going back to discussing my world-building project, and map-making for said project to be precise.
In the last few days I have been practicing my map-making skills and learning how to use Campaign Cartographer, or Campaign Cartographer 3+ to be precise. As I am learning more and more about the program I am coming to the realization that it is a really good program for map-making, albeit a bit much to learn for a newbie map-maker such as myself. In the beginning I think I was struggling a bit with my own wish to be good at it straight from the get-go, and to be able to make really good maps, and especially the maps that I wanted to make, right from day 1. Of course I know that something like that isn't really possible, and I have moved away from that into finally actually practicing with the program and making practice maps. I still feel like I am learning something new every day I practice with it, which I suppose is good, and there are still a lot of question-marks that I need answered before I start going into making the actual maps that I need.
As I said before, Campaign Cartographer 3+ is a really good program, and it had better be considering the price. I am still a novice at the whole map-making thing and so I realize that I am probably making a lot of mistakes, and doing things the wrong way, when I really don't need to. If anyone out there is really good at using that particular program feel free to send me a message. I could do with some advice in finding good tutorials etc, as well as some pointers.
So, why am I so into making maps at the moment, you may ask? The reason is quite simple really. I have a lot of written material for my world-building now. Probably enough to fill 3 or 4 different continents, at least mostly, with cultures, civilizations, races, etc. Now I need the maps to get a better visual on how everything fits together. I have it in my head, but I think it will be immensely helpful to have visual maps to look at as well. I don't need anything super-detailed, but enough for me to get a view of the general layout of various regions, where the mountains and mountain-ranges are, the woods, rivers, lakes, major cities and towns, etc, and how it all relates to one-another.
I am sure I will get to that point eventually. I just need to learn how to do it first, and how to make decent looking maps that will work for what I need them for.
A couple of things I miss in Campaign Cartographer - though it might just be that I haven't found those specific functions yet - is a way to just mark something and then click to see what is effecting it at the moment, what sheet and layer it is on, etc. Sort of just to get a good view of it as I have on several occasions been bewildered as to why an item or thing on the map is behaving the way it is, or why a command suddenly isn't making it do what it did before any more. Another thing I am missing is a measuring device. Something along the lines of what AutoREALM has where you can measure distances in feet, meters, miles, kilometers, or even things such as 'days travel by horse' or 'days by sailed galley'. I know this exists because I have tinkered and experimented with AutoREALM a bit in the past, but not many maps have really been produced from it and in any case no maps that have had any real purpose or seen any use.
That's about it for this time, I think.
Until next time.
In today's post I will be going back to discussing my world-building project, and map-making for said project to be precise.
In the last few days I have been practicing my map-making skills and learning how to use Campaign Cartographer, or Campaign Cartographer 3+ to be precise. As I am learning more and more about the program I am coming to the realization that it is a really good program for map-making, albeit a bit much to learn for a newbie map-maker such as myself. In the beginning I think I was struggling a bit with my own wish to be good at it straight from the get-go, and to be able to make really good maps, and especially the maps that I wanted to make, right from day 1. Of course I know that something like that isn't really possible, and I have moved away from that into finally actually practicing with the program and making practice maps. I still feel like I am learning something new every day I practice with it, which I suppose is good, and there are still a lot of question-marks that I need answered before I start going into making the actual maps that I need.
As I said before, Campaign Cartographer 3+ is a really good program, and it had better be considering the price. I am still a novice at the whole map-making thing and so I realize that I am probably making a lot of mistakes, and doing things the wrong way, when I really don't need to. If anyone out there is really good at using that particular program feel free to send me a message. I could do with some advice in finding good tutorials etc, as well as some pointers.
So, why am I so into making maps at the moment, you may ask? The reason is quite simple really. I have a lot of written material for my world-building now. Probably enough to fill 3 or 4 different continents, at least mostly, with cultures, civilizations, races, etc. Now I need the maps to get a better visual on how everything fits together. I have it in my head, but I think it will be immensely helpful to have visual maps to look at as well. I don't need anything super-detailed, but enough for me to get a view of the general layout of various regions, where the mountains and mountain-ranges are, the woods, rivers, lakes, major cities and towns, etc, and how it all relates to one-another.
I am sure I will get to that point eventually. I just need to learn how to do it first, and how to make decent looking maps that will work for what I need them for.
A couple of things I miss in Campaign Cartographer - though it might just be that I haven't found those specific functions yet - is a way to just mark something and then click to see what is effecting it at the moment, what sheet and layer it is on, etc. Sort of just to get a good view of it as I have on several occasions been bewildered as to why an item or thing on the map is behaving the way it is, or why a command suddenly isn't making it do what it did before any more. Another thing I am missing is a measuring device. Something along the lines of what AutoREALM has where you can measure distances in feet, meters, miles, kilometers, or even things such as 'days travel by horse' or 'days by sailed galley'. I know this exists because I have tinkered and experimented with AutoREALM a bit in the past, but not many maps have really been produced from it and in any case no maps that have had any real purpose or seen any use.
That's about it for this time, I think.
Until next time.
fredag 14 oktober 2016
Another world-building post
Greetings!
Welcome to a short-ish post today.
Yesterday evening I was on a bit of a writing-binge for my world-building, and I managed to get about 10 pages written on a new continent + a new country for one of the old continents I have been working on for a while. It might not sound like a lot to some, but add into it the creative process, researching some things, etc, and it quickly adds up. This new continent I am working on is shaping up to be quite different than the other continents. I won't say how exactly, but I am forced to think of ways it fits in with the rest of the world around it. It is going to work though, and I am sure it will be an interesting addition to the rest of the world.
My biggest issue is just the shear amount of ideas that I have for the world. I am probably going to have to save some of them for another world or another project instead, but it can be difficult sometimes to decide which ideas should go in and which ideas should be put on hold for something else. I have ideas for other worlds, and projects as well, so I might need to start working on one or two of them in parallell to my work on my main world, to give myself a natural place or two for ideas that don't quite make it into my main world.
As for the nation I wrote a few pages on, I am happy that I was finally able to do so. I have been meaning to for a very long time, but other things have always demanded my attention instead. I have never gotten around to sitting down and writing about it, so I am glad that it is finally underway.
Some times I miss not really having anyone to bounce ideas off of on a regular basis. My girlfriend helps out as best she can, but that is still on a pretty irregular basis. At the same time though, I am very grateful for her help and the inspiration she gives me.
Today I am going to continue work on the new continent as well as the country I was working on yesterday. I will also be working on some other bits and places if I have the time to do so.
Until next time!
Welcome to a short-ish post today.
Yesterday evening I was on a bit of a writing-binge for my world-building, and I managed to get about 10 pages written on a new continent + a new country for one of the old continents I have been working on for a while. It might not sound like a lot to some, but add into it the creative process, researching some things, etc, and it quickly adds up. This new continent I am working on is shaping up to be quite different than the other continents. I won't say how exactly, but I am forced to think of ways it fits in with the rest of the world around it. It is going to work though, and I am sure it will be an interesting addition to the rest of the world.
My biggest issue is just the shear amount of ideas that I have for the world. I am probably going to have to save some of them for another world or another project instead, but it can be difficult sometimes to decide which ideas should go in and which ideas should be put on hold for something else. I have ideas for other worlds, and projects as well, so I might need to start working on one or two of them in parallell to my work on my main world, to give myself a natural place or two for ideas that don't quite make it into my main world.
As for the nation I wrote a few pages on, I am happy that I was finally able to do so. I have been meaning to for a very long time, but other things have always demanded my attention instead. I have never gotten around to sitting down and writing about it, so I am glad that it is finally underway.
Some times I miss not really having anyone to bounce ideas off of on a regular basis. My girlfriend helps out as best she can, but that is still on a pretty irregular basis. At the same time though, I am very grateful for her help and the inspiration she gives me.
Today I am going to continue work on the new continent as well as the country I was working on yesterday. I will also be working on some other bits and places if I have the time to do so.
Until next time!
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