Taking Stock …

Posted on December 31, 2011 by Tolrendordm

The New Year approaches, and with it comes the traditional time of reminiscing about the year just gone, and crystal ball gazing into the many possibilities of the coming one…

I started this blog back in January 2011, with no specific targets in terms of the amount of posting I would achieve, but a few loose goals as to the type of posts I was planning to write. Looking back, I can see that I have covered most of my key topics, with the exception of RPG Technology.

What I definitely haven’t achieved however is a consistent level of posting!! I have some mitigating reasons for this, as do many people I’m sure, but the point still stands. It was ok for the first few months, and then life intervened with long periods of no posting at all!

Thus, looking forward to 2012, it seems clear that I need to structure things differently and give myself some realistic targets to achieve. It has become apparent I don’t have the time or energy to post at the frequency so many other bloggers manage (kudos to them!!), but what I’d like to acheive is consistency and quality. I would like to post regularly at a sustainable (for me) frequency, and I want my posts to be strong in content that is (, or may be…,) useful to other people.

My new plan is that I’m going to start a small number (4?) of monthly columns, which will give me the target of a set number of quality posts per month. Any extra posts, whether on similar, or completely different, topics, will be seen as an added bonus. Hopefully, with a bit of forward planning, I’ll be able to achieve a small pipeline of posts available to cover the periods where other commitments get in the way…(we’ll see!)

Initial ideas for these columns are:

  • Map of the Month – it doesn’t take long perusing this blog to work out that RPG Cartography is one of my primary loves! This column feeds straight from that, presenting my favourite efforts, discussing current projects, or highlighting some of the great work that is out on the Internet (most of which is far greater in quality than mine …).
  • RPG Tech Talk – a look at the technology tools available for us gaming geeks. The column will cover the tools I use, other tools out there, and discussion of my technology wishlist!
  • Content Corner – one of my main goals for this blog was to publish my own D&D content. This column will be my outlet for that. Expect new monsters, location write-ups, encounters, skill challenges etc. One idea is that I’ll get more achieved in the short term by publishing snippets of content, rather than attempting larger-scale projects.
  • Campaigning with Kids – my main actual role-playing activity at the moment is running a 4E D&D campaign for my 12 year-old daughter and 10-year old son. This column will cover this learning experience … 🙂
  • Wizards Watch – my opinion piece! I play 4E pretty exclusively as I’ve only got the time for one system, so this my place for reviews and commentary on what’s coming out from Wizards of the Coast.

Ok, so that’s ended up at 5!! Can I sustain 5 solid posts a month?? I realise this is nothing compared to a lot of RPG blogs out there, but I’m trying to be realistic for me.

Anyway, its a target, so wish me luck. These columns will debut on the site over January, and we’ll take it from there … if anyone has any comments, or ideas/topics you’d like me to cover, feel free to let me know!

A Happy and Prosperous New Year in gaming to you all!

Posted in Miscellaneous | 4 Comments

A Merry Gaming Christmas …

Posted on December 25, 2011 by Tolrendordm

So what gaming goodness did Santa bring you, and what did you give a fellow gamer??

Well, from the list from the left, I was lucky enough to receive Player’s Option: Heroes of the Feywild! Very much looking forward to perusing this in depth – I’m sure I’ll be posting some comments here in the coming weeks!

I also had the pleasure of seeing my son open his new Lizardmen Warhammer Fantasy army set. Lots of fun assembling and painting, and of course battling, ahead …

So we can’t complain in this household, how about you??

I hope you’ve all got some fun gaming activities planned for the holiday period! In my kids’ 4E campaign, the PCs are currently halfway up an evil sentient tree in a dark Fey forest, trying to rescue a unicorn foal. Looking forward to the Boxing Day session…

Meery Christmas All, and Happy Gaming!

Posted in Miscellaneous | Leave a comment

Wizards Watch: Fey Paragon Paths

Posted on December 24, 2011 by Tolrendordm

The Feywild is one of the best additions, IMHO, to the 4E D&D cosmos. My current campaign strongly features the overlap of the normal world and its Fey and Shadow ‘mirrors’. Right now, some of the PCs (run by my kids), despite only being 2nd level, have ventured into a dark Fey forest to attempt the rescue of a unicorn foal…

… which is why yesterday’s publication of ‘Paragons of Fey Valour’ by Claudio Pozas caught my eye. The article presents 3 paragon paths linked to the Feywild. Normally, I have to admit, paragon path articles tend to leave me a bit cold, and are quickly browsed at best. As I’ve posted before, in my opinion, there is already far too much 4E player content around!

However, I found this a great article. The first path, ‘White Horn Knight’ has great possibilites for my campaign, and matched my PC’s interests, so that obviously helps, but what I really liked was that the paths had really clear story and adventure hooks, and powers that really support the flavour of the path. All three paths generated ideas that even if they do not suit my PCs when they reach the Paragon Tier, will be useful to me as a DM as adventure hooks, or flavoursome powers for my villains!!

Claudio is one of the designers of Player’s Option: Heroes of the Feywild, so if this article is representative of the content of the book, I can’t wait for my copy to arrive (very soon now…)!

Posted in 4E D&D, Columns, Reviews, Roleplaying with Kids, Wizards Watch | 1 Comment

Cartographer’s Annual 2012

Posted on December 23, 2011 by Tolrendordm

Yes, it’s that time of year again! The 2012 Cartographer’s Annual for 2012 from www.profantasy.com has been announced … and I’ve subscribed already.

For anyone that uses Campaign Cartographer software, I can’t recommend this product enough. Over the last few years Profantasy have been doing this, its completely changed my mapping skills and enjoyment. For £27.95 (night at the pub…??), you get a 12+ (it normally a baker’s dozen of goodness) issues of great content – styles, symbols, fills etc., – and always a guide on how best to use the new goodies.

If you  love mapping, just get it!

Posted in Cartography | Leave a comment

The Monte Cook Question

Posted on September 27, 2011 by Tolrendordm

There seems to have been a fair bit of discussion around the web over Mike Mearls’ annoucement that Monte Cook was rejoining the R&D team at Wizards of the Coast. What did it mean? Where are they going this time? Well, Monte’s first column is up today, so what does it mean… ??

Most people seem to think it proves there’s a brand new edition on the way … others question whether Monte (who after all co-designed 3rd Edition) is going to bend it all back that direction…

Well, I’ve got a lot of time for Monte Cook – I’m a subscriber to Dungeon-A-Day, which was started up by Monte before he turned it over to Super Genius Games (and in which he used to write a regular ‘musings about DMing’ blog, actually quite similar to the Legends and Lore column), and I’ve got his Ptolus setting, which just has to rank as one of the greatest ever city settings. So I’m looking forward to the columns …

… BUT, you know what, I kinda hope there’s not too much change on the way! I like 4E! I liked Basic D&D as well…and AD&D, and 2nd Edition!! 3E and 3.5E I can’t comment on, as I never played them.

I don’t get to play (or write for) D&D nearly as much as I’d like, so really despite the several years since the 4E release, I feel there’s a huge amount more to explore…and really I can’t be bothered with all the change that a new edition would bring. I think the core rules engine is pretty solid, and the tactical nature of combat is cool. There’s a load of flavour possibilities and role-playing options to work with, despite what the nay-sayers say.

Wizards, here’s my take: Looking forward to what Monte has to say, but please, don’t listen to everything the moaners have to say.  There’s a lot of people out there (I believe) that are pretty happy with what they’ve got…

Now, if you would just concentrate on producing more cool adventures and settings, rather than endless player options … 🙂

Posted in 4E D&D | Leave a comment

Maps for Players

Posted on September 18, 2011 by Tolrendordm

The Havenscoast Project

One of the things I always like to do in a campaign is have a map of the region that I can use as a handout for the players. I believe this helps them visualise the area and encourages them to seek out adventures based on the interesting places they can see.

This was always to my mind a classic part of the whole role-playing experience back in my AD&D days, and there is no reason why 4E adventuring needs to be any different.

Of course, cartography being one of my favourite pastimes, I always like to create a player handout with the feel of an actual in-game item. In the early days of the Cartographer’s Annual from Profantasy Software, in fact way back at Issue 6, some great tools were offered to help with just that. The main intent of the issue was to create maps that looked like they had been drawn on ancient parchment or paper, complete with ink stains and blots, ragged edges and previous use marks. One of the example maps also had a great set of overland map symbols that were designed to look hand drawn. You should check it out!

Anyway, the Havenscoast Project seemed like a good place to try out these tools, so here is my effort, a regional map as if drawn by a Camlan (the major city of the region) cartographer, on an old, re-used piece of parchment – hopefully just the sort of map a player character might come across…

The Havenscoast: Players' Map

Click on the image for a full-size high-res version. Comments and suggestions welcome. Its the first map I’ve tried using this style, and I’m pretty pleased with it, but I’m sure there’s plenty of room for improvement!

Posted in Area Map B4: The Havenscoast, Cartography, The Havenscoast Project | 2 Comments

Well …

Posted on September 15, 2011 by Tolrendordm

… that went well, didn’t it – NOT!

There was me in my second to last post, looking forward to the Havencoast project i.e. converting one of the best detailed areas of Tolrendor from its AD&D 2E days into 4E. Lots and fun posting…

And then 4 months passed 😦

Oh, I’ve got excuses:

  • Moved house – temporarily and unwillingly due to a major leak and insurance fun …
  • Work intruding – I work in IT in the banking industry, so you can imagine how much fun that is at the moment …
  • My mother visiting from NZ for 3 months – all good times of course – but it doesn’t leave much spare time!
But at the end of the day, that’s all they are, excuses!! Still disappointed I haven’t kept up the posting. In fact I’ve hardly done anything gaming at all. Kids are upset with me about that as well 🙂
But hopefully things are on the up. My friend is here next weekend from Bangkok, and D&D is on the agenda!! We only have a day or so, so it’ll be some ‘dip-in’ stuff – back to Restwell Keep and the Chaos Scar. Looking forward to it!

Anyway, hopefully this won’t be the last post for 4 months…

Posted in Chaos Scar Campaign, Miscellaneous | Leave a comment

Area Hex Maps – A Guide…

Posted on May 12, 2011 by Tolrendordm

The Havenscoast Project

 
Before moving on with more detailed maps, or indeed the first written content, I thought it would be interesting to talk (ramble?) a little bit about my hex mapping techniques.
 
As I’ve posted before, I use Campaign Cartographer 3, from www.profanstay.com almost exclusively for my mapping. I know there are a lot of people out there that think this product has a steep learning curve, and is awkward to use with its CAD-based slightly non-intuitive interface. Well, I agree to a certain point, even though I’ve had a fair bit of CAD experience in my professional career.
 
However, with some perseverance I think the results are worth the effort, especially if you subscribe to the Cartographer’s Annual, a monthly goodie bag that provides new mapping styles, symbols  and other cool stuff, along with comprehensive mapping guides. It was the July 2010 Annual issue that provided a mapping style for overland hex maps and got me going!
 
There are other simpler and still excellent hex mapping programs out there – for example Hexographer. I have this also, and have tried it, with good results. However, having spent quite a lot of time getting proficient (at best…) with CC3, and also because I also want to use a range of mapping styles, I’ve stuck with it!
 
So here is a simple guide (Area Hex Map – Mapping Guide) on how I produce Area Hex Maps like the Havenscoast one. It assumes a reasonable level of CC3 understanding, as its more about how I organise layers/sheets etc to get the effects that I want. Hope someone finds it useful 🙂
 
Any questions, I’m happy to answer comments!
 
 
Posted in Area Map B4: The Havenscoast, Cartography, RPG Technology, Self-publishing, The Havenscoast Project, World Building | 3 Comments

Old School Notes, 4E Style

Posted on May 8, 2011 by Tolrendordm

The Havenscoast Project!

Recently, as part of the RPG Bloggers Carnival for April, I posted about the maps I used to create by hand many years ago, and the complex organisation system I developed. Most of the maps I shared were from a specific area (World Map 1; Area Map B4!) of my home-brew world, Tolrendor, known as the Havenscoast.

To create that post, I had to delve through reams of my old notes, which was great fun. This material was all created over twenty years ago, so I decided it would be a cool idea to update it all, both by re-drawing the maps using Campaign Cartographer 3 (CC3), my mapping software of choice, and by updating to 4E Dungeons and Dragons, the current rule-set I’m using.

In the interests of achieving something, I’m going to (initially) constrain myself to this particular area, and I’m going to concentrate on previously created material. This is not necessarily a direct conversion however, as I’m going to re-flavouring some aspects of the world in 4E style. I’m not setting myself any timescale targets either, but hopefully I’ll be posting on this project once a week.

As with most of my D&D creations, it all starts with a MAP!  So here is one I prepared earlier (i.e. for the background of the site), a re-creation of my original hand-drawn Area Map B4, using a Hex style in CC3:

 

The Havenscoast

 
 
I look forward to creating and sharing further maps and material as the project develops!!  
Posted in 4E D&D, Cartography, D&D Nostalgia, Self-publishing, The Havenscoast Project, Tolrendor Gazetter, World Building | 11 Comments

Waiting for Shadow …

Posted on May 7, 2011 by Tolrendordm

May 17th, 2011. The release of the Shadowfell: Gloomwrought and Beyond boxed set. I’ve had this on pre-order from pretty much the same day Amazon (at least in the UK) had it on their site!

Lots of pre-release reviews are starting to come out (e.g. Here, and here , and here  and here… ) and from what I’ve read so far it doesn’t look like I’ll be disappointed! Ever since the 4E cosmology came out I’ve been fascinated by the Feywild and Shadowfell concepts, and its good to see WOTC are supporting these well.

I’m far more excited about this release than the recent Heroes of Shadow release, as I’ve posted here: Player’s Options, Why Worry? And yet, I wouldn’t mind betting that the internet furore over S:GaB will be significantly less than it has been over HoS! In fact, probably so much so that I find myself wondering why WOTC does not concentrate far more on DM aligned products such as settings and adventures than the continuous stream of new player options.  They might get better press 🙂

I can understand the thinking that there are more ‘players’ out there than ‘DM’s’, given the normal 5:1 ratio of the standard adventuring party. However, I’m sure in most groups there is more than one at least part-time DM, and in any case in my experience it’s the DM types that spend the most on D&D products anyway. 

In my case, I have purchased a large number of DM aligned 4E products (Forgotten Realms, Dark Sun, the Planes supplements, the Draconomicons,  the Demonomicon, all the DM Guides, the Monster Manuals, the Rules Compendium etc…), but few Player aligned products (Player’s Handbook 1 and 3, Martial Power). This is obviously partly because I’m a DM through and through, but also because though I definitely enjoy the ‘flavour’ aspects that these options bring to 4E, I have access to all this material through D&D Insider. In reality, this material is also used so infrequently i.e. in a typical campaign the players are going to use it one (or perhaps a few more, depending on the mortality rate…) time when creating a character, and minimally each time they level up and need to choose a new power/feat/etc. It just doesn’t seem to warrant the shelf space 🙂

So it seems to me that the D&D Insider model is actually a better delivery mechanism for player material, whilst traditional printed material is better for DM aligned products? What do you think?

In any case, I can’t wait for May 17th … and I’m looking forward to the Feywild Box Set, at your earliest convenience, Wizards! 🙂

Posted in 4E D&D | 1 Comment