Dragon Age Hero Lab Files

Due to licensing issues, there will never be an official Dragon Age RPG package for Hero Lab. I’ve started work on a user-generated package. It’ll be the summer before I really get into working on it, as I’ll have less other projects and real life issues intruding upon my time. I’ll be making the files available from here.

Speaking of Dragon Age, Green Ronin released the Open Beta content for Boxed Set 3, and although I’ve only given it a cursory glance, there’s some nice content in there, including content from the Dragon Age 2 video game. Plus, rules to take players all the way up to 20th level! Huzzah! You can get it here.

Left 4 Dead Redux #1 Alternative Systems

I’ve decided to write versions of Left 4 Dead Redux #1 for the following systems:

• Open d6
• FUDGE
• GURPS
• d20 Modern

I should have them done for about the same time that the Savage Worlds version is published online.

Savage World Left 4 Dead Redux #1 Thumbnails

Why am I sharing these before I post the whole adventure? Because I’m evil, that’s why. MUHAHAHHAH! And mine is an evil laugh!

 

Left 4 Dead Redux #1 Submitted To Protodimension Magazine

Savage Worlds Left 4 Dead Redux #1: The Cabin In The Woods is now complete and has been submitted to Protodimension Magazine. With luck it will be accepted and published in the next issue. If it is, then I’ll publish the adventure here in the original layout as soon as the issue including it goes live. If it’s not accepted, then you guys will get your grubby little mitts on the adventure much sooner. Either way, you’re lucky, because you get to play it!

Savage Shadow World Cover Teaser

Just a teaser I like to start projects off by making the cover page because it makes the product more real to me, clearly identifies in my head, and makes me focus on working on it.

 

 

Savage Shadow World Conversion Details

One of my most favorite RPG settings of all times is the Shadow World setting. Years ago (really it’s decades ago) I ran a campaign with it using Rolemaster 2nd Edition. When I originally bought the Shadow World boxed set, I had been playing Fantasy Hero, but started to become enamored of the Rolemaster System. Truth told, Shadow World is what caused me to buy into Rolemaster, and I’m glad it did, because I loved the system. It wasn’t quite as crunchy as the Hero system, and at the same time wasn’t D&D. I wasn’t a fan of D&D at the time simply because I didn’t really like class-based systems, as I felt they were restrictive (and too mainstream – I was a hipster in that way before hipster-ing became cool. Ironically). I loved the flexibility that Rolemaster gave me to allow any character access to any skill, even spells, which made more sense to me than restricting access to gameplay functions based on arbitrary class boundaries.

So, here I sit now post-OGL, looking forelornly at the Rolemaster and Shadow World books on my shelves, and I’ve find myself wanting to play in that fantastic setting again. It’s been a long time since I’ve played Rolemaster, and to use it I’d have to delve back into the books and re-learn the system, then teach the system to anyone else that I’m playing with. While I would really love to do that, the chances of that happening are quite slim. The current game systems I’m playing are Dragon Age, Pathfinder, Savage Worlds and D&D 4e. I’m gaming mostly with my kids, some friends locally, and online with a few groups. My life is much too busy already with work, school and gaming to add another system to the mix, and I really enjoy the systems that I’m playing right now. So, of course, the simplest answer is to convert it to one of these systems, and the prime contender is Savage Worlds.

One thing that a conversion does is change the feel of the setting based upon the mechanics of the conversion system. Rolemaster is a gritty and realistic system whereas Savage World is a “high-octane” pulp action-based system. They’re very different systems, and much of the experience of these systems is how they get things done. Whilst Rolemaster has extended options for combat and is much more simulationist, Savage Worlds is designed to be fast-playing and cinematic. Rolemaster has a large selection of skills and abilities tied to racial and career packages, whilst Savage Worlds has a limited number. What is interesting is that both systems hold to an exploding dice roll mechanic that allows for better than average results to occur when attempting tasks.

So, the first step in the conversion will be recreating all of the races and character creation options, and the bestiary from the Shadow World Boxed Set (as I don’t currently own the most recent version of the setting – yet!). Then I’ll move on to the individual adventure modules. Given that I’ve got a lot of projects on the go right now, it will most likely be the summer before I have anything major to share. It’s going to be an interesting challenge to make this happen, because there’s so much disparity between Rolemaster and Savage Worlds, and I need to find a way to convert the power levels of the level-based Rolemaster to the attribute-based Savage Worlds. It might not even be possible, but I’ll give it my best shot.

Left 4 Dead Redux #1 Teaser: Front Page

It’s almost finished with. I promise! See! Look! Don’t it look pretty?

Left 4 Dead Redux #1: The Cabin In The Woods Front Page

Pathfinder-ized Drow War Campaign Resources

One of the campaigns I’m currently running is a Pathfinder version of The Drow War by Mongoose Publishing. This is a three-book campaign, written by Adrian Bott, that runs a party completely through from 1st-30th level Epic play. Because this is an out-of-print campaign, and I’m running it online using d20Pro and Ventrilo, I’ve had to rebuild a number of the maps, as well as update the NPCs to Pathfinder. Rather than hoarding all this to myself, I’ll be posting them online here as each adventure is completed in a downloadable archive file. I’m currently cleaning up the first archive and will be posting it as soon as I can. It will include large PNGs of the maps, Hero Lab portfolio files and exported d20Pro import files for the adventure, and d20Pro maps that include already imported characters. To run this in d20Pro, you’ll need to set up a custom campaign for Pathfinder and use the Pathfinder Data Set.

Savage Blake’s 7

It seems that there’s a Law that requires everything to be converted to Savage Worlds at sometime. Therefore, I feel compelled to add another pet project to the list – a Savaged version of the universe of Blake’s 7, set 23 years after the very final episode of the series where (spoiler alert!) Kerr Avon shoots Roj Blake and is himself killed or captured by the Federation.Under the iron grip of President Servalan, the totalitarian New Federation has eliminated Blake and his resistance from official history records, but there are some who remember still, and the Resistance begins anew. While fleeing from enemy forces on an obscure planet at the edge of the galaxy, a Resistance cell discovers a mysterious base that may hold the key to stopping Servalan and restoring long-lost democracy and peace to the human race.

My 32 Cents for GMs

This started off as responses to a post in a group on Facebook, where I posted some of the rules of how I GM, so I thought I’d collate them here for future reference and for others to read.

So, here’s some initial advice for those who GM, based on my own personal experiences:

1. Remember that everyone has to have fun, and that includes the GM.
2. Remember that the rules are, as Barbosa says “…more like guidelines…” and feel free to use or not use them as you see fit, as long as everyone is having fun.
3. Remember that it’s only a game, but the only way to lose is to not have fun.
4. Reward the players. Often. Especially if they do what I call “Awesomesauce Moments”. These are moments where the players do something so spectacularly incredibly brilliant/hilarious/messed up that everyone ends up rolling on the floor laughing or talking over each other excitedly. You’ll know these moments when you get them. Revel in them, because they become the moments you’ll still bring up amongst yourselves 25 years later.
5. Give the players every opportunity to hang themselves. Always give them a way out. Let them choose if they want to take or it or not. And don’t be afraid to hang them. All choices have consequences, especially those in a game.
6. If you’re using a published adventure, don’t feel constrained by what it says. Break it, reshape it, ignore it. Make the adventure your own by customizing it for your group.
7. Let the players get away with murder. Literally. At least for a little while, and then start to mess with their sense of morality and then send in the authorities to chase them down This ties into the consequences of character actions. Characters don’t operate in a vacuum, like in many computer games, where they can get away with looting and murdering with abandon. The best character moments are often when the player does something that causes a chain reaction that leads to high drama and tension.
8. Know that it’s okay to not know everything about the rule system or adventure. Be as prepared as you can be, but don’t feel that you have to be perfect. It’s okay to kludge things. And it’s okay to change your mind on things, as long as it makes sense to do so.
9. “Role, don’t roll” as much as you can. Interactions between characters are strongest when it’s a dialogue between characters, not a series of dice rolls. Fudge stuff as you need to. Move the story along.
10. Follow the sage advice of Bill S. Preston, Esq. and Ted. “Theodore” Logan: “Be Excellent To Each Other”. This is also akin to Wheaton’s Law: “Don’t Be A Dick”. Or as my grandpa used to say “Civility costs nothing when you are nothing”.
11. Rely on your players to help support you. Assign one of the the task of rules support to look up rules while you continue to move the story forward, one to act as party “banker” to keep track of party loot, and one or two to chronicle the sessions you play. That will help you out a lot and allow you to focus of facilitating the game.
12. Find tools that you can easily use to help you automate games or keep track of information. You’re going to create a lot of information as you play, and it’s always a good idea to keep track of this. Some people use text documents, others use wikis, others use simple pen and paper. Find what works for you and go with it.
13. Shoot for the moon. Aim high with what you want to do, but know that it’ll take a while to create the campaign that everyone will still be talking about 10-20 years later. Also know that it’s not just your game, but everyone’s game, so everyone should be involved in the creation of the shared experience.
14. Prepare and review. Prepare for the adventure by knowing ahead of time what you’d like to happen, but know that players often put the kibosh on that. At the end of a session, review what happened and note what went well, and what didn’t and keep them for consideration in the future.
15. Find out what the players want to accomplish short term and long term for the game, and also what their characters want in the same way. This way you’re creating not only opportunities for characters but personalized experiences for the players.
16. Don’t railroad, but guide and herd. Let player choices organically grow the direction of games, but if you have to hit a particular plot point, make sure that you do it sneakily by guiding the players towards it, and making them make the choice to follow it. There will be times players don’t see the path, so shine a light near it and let them walk of their own accord.

I’m sure I can rustle up some more, but what would you suggest for GMs, both old and new?