A little more background info to think about. We're going to be playing in the Pathfinder setting, with some ties to Greyhawk (spells and deities, primarily).

Here's a map of the region. And I'm adding some nation info to the googledocs. So, check that out and decide where your character is from.

You may or may not know

I am working on a new game of my own. It is not in any existing world that I know of. It is an idea I have had for a while and I am now putting it into motion. The thing is, I'm not the best of players, so game design isn't hard, but the logistics are giving me trouble. For example, I have the maps made up for the towns and the individual houses, inns, temples, etc. And I also have the basic story (in my head, working on getting it on paper). The major issue I am running into is the rules. I suck at the rules (as many of you well know). I am making my way through the DM guide again, but am still having troubles understanding some stuff. I have been asking help of our 2 favorite DM's currently, but I know some of you have ideas and help that you may be able to lend. So, in that vein, I have created a new blog

A Whole New World

Kind of catchy, ain't it? You can almost sing it. :D
Anyway, it is for helping me get on my way, and also for telling me what you like and what you don't like in a game. Not so much rules-wise, but in general.
The game I am making is very character driven and has a lot of chances to gain experience from solving puzzles, character interactions, as well as the usual dungeon crawling.
So, that's it. I have sent you all invites so you can post there as well if you have an idea, so feel free. (sent most invites to circdesign emails, except Nates.)
Oh and I know that not everyone will be able to play, but I'm also thinking of a two party angle so we can get everyone in on some level of the game.
Thanks, and I hope to see you there.

elaboration

I've outlined races, flaws / traits, and deities. Here's the other stuff.

You'll build your characters with the 3.5 Players Handbook rules. Any class in the PH is fine. You'll be starting at a low level, it'll either be lvl 3 or 4, but i'm not sure yet. Anything that isn't in the PH needs to be run by me. Special feats, equipment, spells, etc.

Let me know what I'm leaving out.

deadline!

So far, I've got Degolar, Leelu, Lummox, and Aerin as interested parties. Excellent.

How about submitting your character ideas/backstories by April 1st? I know it's april fools day. This isn't an april fools prank though. I really am intent on running a summer game.

I got a call from Phill last week. The adventure is in, so I'm going to start pouring over it. Yay!

I'm Not An Addict...

... I swear. Anyway-- initial impressions: there seems to be a lot of overlap between classes and between races. Very similar powers and concepts and so forth. My theory is that slightly different classes are 4e's answer to multiclassing. Can't multiclass? Don't worry there's another base class that just happens to be halfway between the two classes you wanted-- without the penalties. All in all, I think that is a fair way to do it. Am I wrong about what is going on here?

So, um . . . Ravenloft?

Next game April 4?

files to help with character creation

I've got some files that I want you to be able to view. (traits / flaws, race backgrounds, core deities). I don't have all of your e-mail addresses, and I've posted the files on googledocs. Send your e-mail address to:

dm *at* circumstancedesign *dot* com

And I'll invite you.

Also, I think Degolar has a good idea about classes. If you have an idea for what class you're interested in, please send me a message. Generally, no one wants to be the cleric, so that's what I'm most worried about.

starting points for guidelines

I'm working on the guidelines. They're almost done. Right now, they include:

• Race
• Class
• Backstory
• Religion (if applicable)
• Traits / Flaws (if chosen)
  

I'm not going to give you specifics about some things. (like level, or starting gold). Right now, I don't really care about whether you're carrying a winter blanket or ring of protection. I'm more interested in your character's story, and how much I can believe in your character.

The traits and flaws are from Unearthed Arcana, but I don't expect everyone to have that. I'll give you a list with descriptions of those. They're primarily to give you a starting place to roleplay. Your character may be feeble or abrasive, and you can play off of that in your character's actions, as well as get bonuses or penalties in-game.

There are a few variant human races (like 'sub-races', if you want to call them that). These are regional races, and I'll give more information about those, too.

summer sidequest!

I'm going to break my DMing hiatus and run a short game this summer. May-August. Four sessions. Here's the twist. Our current pool of players is too big for everyone to play in. We've got 10 potential players.

1. Dave
2. Rachel
3. Tiger
4. Jason
5. Brett
6. Nathan
7. Eric
8. Matt
9. Chris

So what I'm going to do is give you guys some guidelines to develop a character and I'm going to pick the best 6. Those six will play. I'm sure this'll piss people off, but 10 is an unmanageable size. I think most of you'd agree. If you're interested, let me know in the comments field.

Videos for Your Inner Game Geek

... or for your outer game geek, I suppose.

The Legend of Neil, for those of you who are original NES fans... or fans of auto-erotic asphyxiation.

and

The Guild....

Confirming Game Tomorrow

Just to confirm, game on tomorrow normal time (630ish), I certainly hope you can make it Nate, but it sounds like tomorrow works into people's schedules and the next few won't very well...

See you tomorrow, fresh (well 3 hours after) Watchmen which I am certain will rock hard.

And um...-5 xp to Halthor, because I can.

panDeMonium

This totally looks like our DM (S not J).


















I can see him saying, "Pass the bamboo, ho ho ho."


edited



















Tell me that's not dead on.

I never thought I would say this

But I kinda agree with Gabe.

Disturbing Turn of Events

The Party:
Exploring further into the crypt hidden deep beneath Ravenloft, the all-but-invisible slip of shadow that is Oban ranges ahead of the group scouting for hidden dangers, or unnoticed treasures as the case may be. Appearing as nothing more than a mobile blot of shadow the halfling creeps forward when suddenly he staggers out from the shadows and to your collective horror, it appears that his skin has corrupted into the decay of undeath! Dropping his axe he leaps at the party with fingers hooked like claws, a feral, hungry light all that illuminates his now-dead eyes!

Oban:
As you move stealthily down the dank and dusty corridor you are suddenly overcome by a brief wave of disorientation and when you recover you find yourself laying on the rotting boards of a casket in an earthen chamber. While you gather your wits you realize to your discomfort that you are naked, and perhaps even worse, you hear several loud snuffling noises like some sort of animal testing the air. Coarse dry groans and hisses start to fill the air as the smell of death reaches your nostrils!

Going to see Watchmen hopefully Saturday afternoon and then me and Maro will caffinate up for a night of D&D! Hope to kill you all then! Also, I forbid you all from getting sick!

Strahd Eternal Effervescent

We had the poll a while back, but no clear decision. Nate never voted and Fuck All can't make any of the dates, but other than that the 14th and 21st seem to work equally well for all (including some extras). I'm going to call it in favor of the 14th. See you then.

When's the next game?

Next weekend?

Reiterating an Old Point.

Even though there has been some discussion here lately about Ptolus and 4e and the like, I think I should remake a point that I made a long long time ago. To wit: this probably isn't going to happen anytime soon. I simply don't have the time to DM anytime in the near future. This is more painfully apparent to me now than it has ever been before.

In less than a month I have to take the Multi-State Professional Responsibility Exam.

I have to make sure to graduate by not failing any of my classes and keeping up with my Law Review duties.

I have to take the Bar Exam in July. In the meantime, I have to study for the bar exam. That means, of course, that I will have to review and then be tested over EVERYTHING that I've learned in the past three years. Plus a few things that I haven't actually had classes in.


And, of course, I have to find a job.

I think all of these things will preclude me from doing anything game related (other than a possible turn as player or DM in a one-shot Saturday night game at some point), well into 2010. So, I'll be running no campaigns. I just really don't have the time. I shouldn't even be thinking about D&D right now.

Ugh.

Edited the Video

Sorry Big T. I am teh suxors.

Resources..., or How Big of a Geek am I?

So, there remains a split of opinion on 4e vs. Ptolus. Of course our options are not limited to those two. As you can see... I have resources. On the left you will note the growing collection of 4e stuff, including the first three modules. Of course, there's quite a bit of 3.0/3.5 stuff in the middle, including a bunch of modules and Ptolus. I probably should stop buying RPG books now, as I've got enough adventures to last for years and years of gameplay... but I just love collecting them. I think it is highly unlikely that I will ever DM a Basic or Expert game, but those books remain in the collection (I've had them longer than any of the rest)-- as do the Basic and Expert adventures. I wondered what the collection would look like unpacked and all in a row... not actually quite as unreasonably large as I expected. (Though this must not be all of it-- for instance there are no Star Frontiers books pictured here-- I wonder where the hell those are?)

A Poll

What Do You Want More?
	Ptolus
	4e
	Other
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