Day 98: Ars Ludi again

Sometimes you read something that’s just… excellent advice.  Also, not something you would have thought of.  When you run into something like that there’s not much to do except to post it on your blog, and make sure you don’t lose track of the advice.

Ars Ludi on Character Monologues:

http://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/128/character-monologue-tell-us-what-its-like-to-be-you/

I’ve always used the phrases “Where are you right now?” and “What are you doing right now?” as cornerstones of how I run games.  I know I started using them naturally, but adding “What’s it like to be you right now?” to the mix really appeals to me in order to hit some notes I otherwise never hit at the table.

Day 83: Health & Hiatus

In the last month I’ve had some health and family issues come up at the same time. I didn’t want them to affect my gaming, but they’ve become serious and I have to put my family first, my health second, and gaming somewhere after.

I’m putting the Tag’s Folly 4e D&D game on an indefinite hiatus; I can’t say when or if I’ll be running it again.

I’m really, really sorry to have to do this.  I wanted to meet and provide GMing for gamers in Toronto, and I’m sorry that I can’t.

If anyone wants to GM in the world of Tag’s Folly, I’d be happy to give everything I’ve got done (which boils down to my blog, the encounter envelopes, and parts in my brain) and answer any questions.  I’ll let the canned items in the blog run out, which will take me to around post #100.

The game just needs more than I can give right now.

Day 81: Treasure and Experience

There have been some questions about rewards, since I’ve brought them up in the past as something I may tinker with.

On the experience end, I am working on something that will give extra XP for a faster game, since that’s more fun for me.  I’m not sure I want to incentivise talky encounters because they’re part of the game’s exploration agenda – which only has an indirect relationship to the advancement chart (i.e. finding new zones).

When it comes to treasure, the Wastes are as I design them, not tailored to PCs.  However, if you’re trying to go in a particular direction for loot, consider poking around in the Take 10 process and asking more questions.  Not questions like “where can i find a sweet +2 Longsword?” Instead, try for something in the fiction: “Who were the great warriors of the Big Tribe?” or “In the old Dominion, where were the major mining and metalworking centers?”

Remember that my resources to work on the game are finite, and that (short of mounting an expedition) the Take 10 process is probably your best bet for shaping what it is I’m spending my time on while prepping.

Day 71: Tension and Fissures

The four primary types of extraplanar spaces are Abscesses, Constructs, Echoes, and Fonts.

Abscesses are cursed places where the madness of the Gods of the Void seeps into the world.

Constructs are strange and wondrous, created by vast intelligences like the Nuclear Gods.  Some ancient empires have attempted to create Constructs of their own, usually resulting in vast devastation and collapse.

Echoes are realms of the dead.

Fonts are realms of abundant life.

Extraplanar spaces create a phenomenon known as Tension, which underlies most Tiefer magic.

A Fissure is an actual entrance that links an extraplanar space with real space.  Occasionally an abundance of Tension will cause a Fissure, but more commonly Fissures are opened by powerful monsters, demons, and madmen.

Day 68: 2 Diagrams

Here’s a piece of a diagram that I keep on gliffy.  I wonder what lies beyond?  What treasures and ancient secrets?  What monsters?  What magic items?

Here’s another diagram, that I made in Sumopaint.

I bet some information is missing from this one…