of Dice and Dragons

19 January 2006

Encounter Idea No. 3 - The Runaway

The third in the encounter series - sorry it’s a bit later in the week than normal.

As the party is sitting at their favorite watering hole a teenager comes through the door, scans the room and heads for the party’s table. The teenager is running away from home and has singled out the party as their most likely method of obtaining it.

There is no shortage of twists you can use for this and some can lead to long term story arcs.

- The teen has heard the stories of adventures and wants to “catch on” with the group to seek fame and fortune
- The teen is nervous, he’s actually trying to avoid his parents as they have apprenticed him to the local baker (or some other non-glamorous occupation)
- The teen is brandishing a map claiming it leads to a lost treasure and wants the party to help him
- The teen is a member of a powerful family (i.e. royalty, trading faction, guild house) and commands the party to accompany him on his travels

Got an idea to add? Login and add away.

Be sure to check out these additional encounter ideas

January 19th 2006 Posted to Encounter Ideas by Scot Newbury

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12 January 2006

New Online Role-playing Resource added

I mentioned in an earlier post about using anagrams for your role-playing naming needs (read the post) which can be a lot of fun but what if you need a name in a hurry?

Grab a name book? Given that those names are modern and common they won’t really work for most role-playing systems (a dwarf named Chuck?).

Use a name of one of your favorite literary characters? If the name is recognized your players might set their own expectations of how the encounter will turn out.

Re-use a name? Same as above but with the added issue of confusion with previously introduced NPCs.

So, if you need a quick name for your upcoming session or to help flesh out a new NPC, organization or location check out Seventh Sanctum. The have a large selection of generators and are not just limited to names either. They also have generators for settings, organizations and equipment, it’s well worth a visit.

January 12th 2006 Posted to Online role-playing resources by Scot Newbury

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10 January 2006

Heroforge 4.0.4 Released

Heroforge, the popular Excel-based character management tool, has been officially released in its newest version. Originally created by Chris Mathieu and supported by Shannon Greene, Heroforge has become one of the most popular and most downloaded free character management tools for everyone’s favorite third edition d20 fantasy roleplaying game. This newest version was created by the Heroforge Project, a community of over 500 individuals who volunteered their time, energy, and programming skills to revitalize and update Heroforge for use with both PC and Mac formats.

Heroforge 4.0.4 is now fully compliant with revised 3.5 edition rules and with the requirements set forth for RPGA Living Greyhawk players. Individuals who utilize Heroforge for character management will still be required to own any source books that the program covers (including core books) since the program will not replace the need for those books. Instead, the program will serve as a supplement to the books and allow for easier and faster character management but still maintain a need to own the books for reference purposes.

Heroforge 4.0.4 may be downloaded at the following websites:
http://d20zines.com
http://4thsphere.com/
http://www.dguys.net/heroforge/
http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/NorthAustinGamers/files/Tools/
http://homepage.mac.com/groups.heroforge/FileSharing1.html
http://www.nidome.org.uk/Heroforge
http://www.spellbooksoftware.com
http://www.tassek.anang.com/heroforge/
http://www.xvart.com/Heroforge

Heroforge 4.0.4 is also available in Bit Torrent format at:
http://www.nordvinland.net:6969/

The Heroforge Project community may be found at: http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/Hero_Forge/ (membership subject to approval).

January 10th 2006 Posted to New and Noteworty by Scot Newbury

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9 January 2006

Encounter Idea No. 2 - The Cat

Here’s the second in my year long weekly series of encounter ideas for your role-playing enjoyment, this week we encounter the cat.

While the party is sitting at the favorite watering hole, inn or simply walking down the street a cat wanders by. The cat might be a calico, a persian, a short or long hair, it might even be black. Most will either dismiss it or if your players are a bit paranoid a familiar to a wizard (if you’re playing a role-playing system that includes them) or maybe an omen of things to come - which of course it is.

Depending on your mood or what your players decide the cat might:
- belong to a child who come by a few minutes later looking for their “lost kitty”
- have a collar with an amulet that one of the characters recognize, either the amulet itself or the emblem on it
- it really be a wizard’s familiar and the party discovers there’s a handom reward for its return
- be a member of the royal or ruling family that’s been cursed and while is in cat form can speak to the party and asks for help
- just be a stray wandering by

Got another idea - register with the site and post away.

Be sure to check out these additional encounter ideas

January 09th 2006 Posted to Encounter Ideas by Scot Newbury

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7 January 2006

Use those index cards

They’re inexpensive, portable and hold up well - so why don’t more gamers and GMs use them?

Almost every role-playing game lends itself to their use. Spellcasters can put spell information on them while those that use weapons can use them not only to list their weapons but also any special features and ammunition. They’re also great for those that have a range of attack options; list out each attack type along with all the appropriate modifiers so you can speed up combat.

Got a character with different attack types and options? Go grab a pack of colored index cards to make finding things easier.

Speaking of multi-colored index cards they’re great for the GM. Set up a different color for each item you need to track. Yellow for NPCs, green for locations, blue for creatures and white for character information. During a session you can grab a card and clip it to your GM screen so it’s easy to see the information.

So go ahead, grab a pack of index cards and streamline a few things during your sessions.

January 07th 2006 Posted to General Gaming Tips by Scot Newbury

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