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Showing posts from January, 2019

A Designer's Work Is Never Done

Hello again! I know it's been a while since my last post, which is the result of two things: being very busy, and troubles with getting the Welcome to Newbieville campaign going. Today I'll get you up to speed on what's going on lately, starting with the aforementioned Newbieville D&D  game. Newbieville was supposed to start two Sundays ago. Unfortunately, due to issues ranging from anxious children to scheduling miscommunications, that session had to be canceled. Tried again this past Sunday, and a combination of severe weather, car problems, and work schedule changes resulted in only one player arriving. I mention this because two weeks ago—back when it hadn't been so long since I'd posted—I was planning on having my next post be the big fancy kickoff for Newbieville. After the first missed session, I had a busy week, and figured that it would still make a good next post while being only a little late. Then this past Sunday happened, and Newbieville still

Back to Building: Planar Architecture Revisited

Hello again, everyone! It's been a while since I've posted my worldbuilding ideas, so I thought I'd head back to that for a bit. Today, we're gonna talk about the planes of existence. I wrote before about how there's a fairly ridiculous number of planes in "stock" D&D  worlds, and how I'd rather there be a smaller number. I've had that notion percolating in my brain for a bit, and I've got some ideas. The core of my ideas is this: what if the "material plane" was not technically a plane of its own, but rather the area of overlap between the other planes? Let's break it down. First, imagine a multiverse with only four planes. One is the Feywild, which I imagine as being full of life-force and nature magic and enchantment and so forth. I mean, it's literally named after the "fey" which is another word for faerie-type creatures. Another is sort of the dark mirror of the Feywild called the Shadowfell. This i

This, That, and the Other

Today's post briefly addresses a variety of topics, so let's get to it. Dragon Heist First and foremost, I don't have a session summary of my Thursday night Dragon Heist  game this week, because I wasn't there. Not long before the game, I was in a fender bender with a hit-and-run driver. I'm okay, and there's no damage to speak of, but it shook me up a bit and I needed some quiet time at home rather than a trip out to be around people. Hopefully next week I'll be able to get you up to speed. On the other hand, my wife's work schedule (and the fact that we only have one car) is complicating that particular game night, with the possible result that I'll only be able to attend partial sessions in the future. Stay tuned, but be prepared for the possibility that I might not be able to keep that up. Newbieville In other D&D  news, I've started gathering players for my newbies-only game that I've talked about before. Sadly, there are alr

Welcome to Newbieville

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Greetings! A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about the fact that soon I'll be starting up a new Dungeons and Dragons  game specifically for new players. I'm hoping to put together the group sometime this week, so I've gotta get this thing put together. Time for some more thinking out loud! Okay, like I said before, I'm running a homebrew game in which the PCs will all be fresh new adventurers moving to a small town where they hope to begin their adventuring careers. I've since decided that I'd like the campaign to have a little bit of a "finding a your place" theme. The town (which for now I'm nicknaming "Newbieville") is new and still trying to get established. The players are new to the town and new to adventuring, trying to find their place in life. I figure this means that Newbieville is partially under construction: when the PCs arrive, there's a functioning tavern/inn and a bakery and lots of carpenters and whatnot, but mayb

WDDH #3: Home Away From Home

Hello! After a hiatus for the holidays, my Waterdeep: Dragon Heist  group is back together for another session, so I've got the recap for your reading pleasure! Obviously there will be spoilers, so keep that in mind. If you're reading for the first time and want to start with the first session, you can find that recap HERE . Ready? Here we go! The Party : Jabin Co Aldo  —  Tiefling  aethermage  noble (my character), one of the sons of Marco Volo. Ion Marko —  Half-orc bard entertainer, one of the sons of Marco Volo. Scritch —  Kenku monk urchin, long-time friend of Ion. Agar —  Human monk acolyte, one of the sons of Marco Volo. Skystone Bloodlake —  Tabaxi ranger guild artisan (jeweler), goes by "Sky" for short, friend and traveling companion of Agar. The Session : The previous session had ended with the survivors meeting up with Volo for the promised payment, only to have him pull a bait-and-switch and instead transfer ownership of Trollskull Manor to Jab