https://forums.obsidianportal.com/categories/general-discussion/p39/feed.rss Wed, 16 Sep 2026 03:38:59 +0000 General Discussion Discussions on Obsidian Portal Community Forums en-CA https://forums.obsidianportal.com/discussion/1497/worse-monsters-in-dungeons-and-dragons Tue, 24 Aug 2010 04:53:59 +0000 Embirsiphone 1497@/discussions https://forums.obsidianportal.com/discussion/1508/what-s-your-take-another-writing-game Fri, 27 Aug 2010 19:31:04 +0000 Embirsiphone 1508@/discussions
Like how you'd describe a lobby or a fight, or even better a fight IN a lobby.. or any number of scenarios.. it's just pure curiosity on my part. Mostly because I kind of want to get my hands on these books and run a game for them someday but as of right now i have no clue how i'd go about doing so. So write away my friends and ease my curiosity please :D]]> https://forums.obsidianportal.com/discussion/1484/spicing-up-encounters Thu, 19 Aug 2010 18:44:25 +0000 gnunn 1484@/discussions
"Minions are Spice":http://critical-hits.com/2010/07/22/minions-are-spice/

"Minions of Differing Flavors":http://critical-hits.com/2010/08/19/minions-of-differing-flavors/

While Chris discusses these spicy minions in a 4e context, I was inspired to spice up the encounters in my own 3.5e game in a similar fashion. For me, the spicing-up has mostly taken the form of playing around with a creature's standard tactics, description or other rules in order to make things more interesting

Here are some specifics I have worked in to my game: During my last session, my party battled an infestation of mimics at an arcane library. If caught in melee, the mimics would use their standard grappling attacks as described in the MM. However, at range, they took to throwing books at any intruders. Furthermore, I included an advanced huge-sized mimic, which would pick up anyone who engaged it in melee, and throw them at their companions the next round. This amusing tactic played out with a summoned giant mantis to wonderful effect.

Then today, I created a special little table in preparation for some vampire hunting my players are setting out to do. I have decided that, similar to in the movie, The Lost Boys, vampires in my campaign do not go out quietly, or in the same fashion every time. I came up with a table for vampiric death-throw effects that will accompany their burst into gaseous form. They can do anything from dissolve into a pile of ash, to bursting into a swarm of flies, to coating their destructor in a fountain of blood requiring a save vs. being sickened.

I am interested to hear how others have bent the rules, reskinned or tweaked creatures and settings in order to spice up their encounters.

P.S. I also find it amusing that I took this break to write about spice while I have been sitting around reading Dune.]]> https://forums.obsidianportal.com/discussion/1482/top-10-movies-pretty-off-topic Tue, 17 Aug 2010 19:06:00 +0000 JimTriche 1482@/discussions
Here's mine in no order:

Sweeney Todd

The Shawshank Redemption

Casablanca

The Wizard of Oz

Secondhand Lions

The Boondock Saints

Gone With The Wind

Clerks

Memento

A Clockwork Orange

What are yours?]]> https://forums.obsidianportal.com/discussion/1504/world-creation-help Thu, 26 Aug 2010 07:17:50 +0000 Embirsiphone 1504@/discussions https://forums.obsidianportal.com/discussion/1503/link-7-reasons-why-a-zombie-outbreak-would-fail Thu, 26 Aug 2010 02:11:49 +0000 DarkMagus 1503@/discussions
"I'm in ur post, hotlinkin' ur URLs":http://www.cracked.com/article_18683_7-scientific-reasons-zombie-outbreak-would-fail-quickly.html]]> https://forums.obsidianportal.com/discussion/1496/let-s-play-a-game Tue, 24 Aug 2010 02:50:11 +0000 Silence_Eve 1496@/discussions
What were are going to do is create a story using random phrases; how we do it is copy the previous statement and build from it...and so on and so forth. ((I've wanted to do this for awhile))

Game on!! ^^]]> https://forums.obsidianportal.com/discussion/1335/facepalm-learning-from-your-mistakes Wed, 19 May 2010 15:44:50 +0000 gnunn 1335@/discussions
Last night I spent about an hour, after I was done with my game prep, writing up a recap of last week's session. I was about a paragraph away from finishing when my roommate and I started some bonding time talking politics and playing video games...

Then, it's 1am.

I pop back onto my computer to wrap up the last paragraph or so of my session recap... go to click on the tab for it at the top of my web browser... accidentally click the "x", effectively closing the tab and instantly losing an hour's worth of writing.

*Result 1:* NO RECAP FOR YOU!
*Result 2:* Tired and grumpy Gnunn
*Lesson Learned:* Do all future write-ups in Google Docs or some other program with an auto-save feature before uploading to OP!

P.S. I thought about calling the thread Critical Fails... but it seemed cliche and overused for a gaming board... So, I chose to go with a title that is cliche for the whole internet!]]> https://forums.obsidianportal.com/discussion/1491/random-d-d-moments Sun, 22 Aug 2010 03:51:51 +0000 Silence_Eve 1491@/discussions
I'm here to question everyone's complete random moments in any campaign. Whether is was hilarious, tragic, or just morbid, please share with us. In game fails are welcome, and I plan to turn this into a game at some point.

I suppose it is my duty to start, though I actually have two...

The first one, well, let's just follow one rule: Never anger the DM.

In my very first campaign, we had a rather large group and I was probably more involved with in the campaign than I should have been. My boyfriend at the time (we shall name him 'Giggles') had angered Embirsiphone (our DM) repeatedly with stupid comments. So, as punishment, he was forced to undertake the Golden Rod of Pain...yeah. Well, we rolled afterwards and it turned out that he was gay...he never played again...

Lesson learned.

In one of our later campaigns, I had been gone for a rather long time and was unable to join the players. Since my character at the time was not being trusted (because she had given away mission secrets to the enemy) they kept her out of the loop. Never, EVER, leave an insane woman out of the loop. When I joined the game again, I decided to get back at them by messing with one of the player's heads...didn't go so well. I had gone off and randomly made out with a tavern patron, causing my companion to react violently in a jealous rage. Everything happened a little quickly, and let's just say...no one survived. It turned out that the tavern was owned by a guild we were trying desperately to gain an alliance with, and because of me, they wouldn't take part in our personal mission. When our leader told me what I had done, my only response was that it was their fault for not telling me anything. However, they still keep me out of it, so I kinda left the group to find my lover and was followed by one of the other players...a girl just can't get a break.]]> https://forums.obsidianportal.com/discussion/1494/i-have-a-game-idea Mon, 23 Aug 2010 04:18:51 +0000 Bwade 1494@/discussions
Have you ever read the Animorphs series of books?
Did you ever think that the alien plots weren't dark enough?
Did you ever think the heroes weren't heroic enough? Badass enough? Harsh enough?
__Did you ever think you could do better?__

If you answered yes to these questions, I may have a campaign for you. Just trying to guage responses here.]]> https://forums.obsidianportal.com/discussion/1492/dragon-race-help Sun, 22 Aug 2010 20:55:11 +0000 Embirsiphone 1492@/discussions
I think the book also included certain feats that required you be what she was as well.. to get wings and stuff..

It'd appreciate any help you guys can give me.. if not I'm gonna have to recreate the race on my own..]]> https://forums.obsidianportal.com/discussion/1478/intellectual-property-formatting-and-gsl-fansite-stuff Sun, 15 Aug 2010 19:54:31 +0000 Gloomshroud 1478@/discussions https://forums.obsidianportal.com/discussion/1448/the-gibson-institute Thu, 29 Jul 2010 17:42:46 +0000 JimTriche 1448@/discussions
"The Gibson Institute":http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaigns/the-gibson-institute]]> https://forums.obsidianportal.com/discussion/1366/papercraft-dungeon-sets Wed, 09 Jun 2010 15:56:19 +0000 gnunn 1366@/discussions
My papercraft addiction has grown to the point that last night, when I should have been making notes on upcoming encounters for tonight's game session, I instead built a complete layout of the known portions of the dungeon my players are currently exploring. I justified this by telling myself, "They said they are going to backtrack and search the rest of the complex for loot, so rather than drawing it room by room, it's best to just set it up!"... right!? besides, I have a great big table that can fit the whole thing at my new place.

Anyway, I am not a rich man, which is why I go with "folded paper":http://www.fatdragongames.com/ rather than "sculpted plastic":http://www.dwarvenforge.com/ for my dungeon sets. As such, I have also made a couple discoveries that help me keep my cost down when creating mounted dungeon tiles & set pieces.

* empty grocery store pizza & cereal boxes make excellent backing for overlays. I mount most blank floor tiles on foam core, but usually put furniture, rubble, doors and other accessories on the free leavings of my breakfast habits. Unfortunately, while mounting the dungeon images to the obnoxious, printed side of said boxes produces a nice, neutral backing for your finished tiles, the printed surface does not like to hold glue. When it dries, it will often warp, causing your carefully applied binding to crack, popping the dungeon tile off of it's backing and unleashing the horrible eye of Capn' Crunch from its eternal bondage. I am currently experimenting to see if mounting on the unlaminated inside of a box will produce more permanent adhesion.

* 2 inch binder clips make excellent supports for raised platforms! I have a few papercraft columns I built from a Fat Dragon set, but last night I needed more. I have been unsuccessfully scouring art and craft stores for 2" spools or dowels to use for this purpose. Then, last night I realized a bag of large binder clips of dubious origins came with us in the move. I popped the little flippy-doohickeys out of their sockets, stood the clips on end and stuck loops of painters tape to the top... Voila! sturdy supports for that upper level balcony!

So, do any of you utilize nerdly origami in your game sessions? If so, for what purpose? What are your best practices for making dungeon sets on a budget?

...dang this post is long!]]> https://forums.obsidianportal.com/discussion/1451/stealing-jim-s-idea-for-a-repository-of-sorts Fri, 30 Jul 2010 00:40:41 +0000 gaaran 1451@/discussions
P.S. I'm not trying to steal Jim's thunder :), but I think this would be fun to have for multiple genre's: Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Cyberpunk, Horror... A community created list of plug and play elements that we can all contribute to.]]> https://forums.obsidianportal.com/discussion/1459/fallout-pnp-and-warfare-tried-them Thu, 05 Aug 2010 14:36:46 +0000 Teknophyl 1459@/discussions https://forums.obsidianportal.com/discussion/1452/contest-winner Fri, 30 Jul 2010 06:18:18 +0000 Duskreign 1452@/discussions https://forums.obsidianportal.com/discussion/1442/one-off-design Tue, 27 Jul 2010 17:24:48 +0000 gnunn 1442@/discussions
Here are the things I already intend to do:
0. Run the adventure in my existing Westerlands campaign setting (D&D 3.5)
1. use pre-gen characters... possibly allowing the players to pick their feats &/or assign skill points... or maybe roll their last level.
2. start at level 6... a little robustness to the characters with some cool powers, but without so much variety as to bog things down.
3. Jump right to the chase... I have a very straightforward story in mind. The characters have shipwrecked on an island. They wake up with minimal gear, but the detritus of the wreck around them... including adventure supplies, weapons, etc to select from. In the distance, they can see smoke from a village. When they arrive, they find that the villagers have ships that can take them home, but that BBEG is preventing anyone from leaving the island... Start quest to eliminate BBEG.
4. Use plenty of handouts from treasure cards to tactical/rules cheat-sheets in order to help speed combat.

My biggest specific question is about pacing. How many encounters should I plan for in order to provide a full experience while still making the quest achievable over the course of an evening? My regular campaign has frequent cliff-hangers because of our short play time, but I'm running this one-off on a weekend, and so can take a longer.

Any advice from those of you who have run one-offs before?]]> https://forums.obsidianportal.com/discussion/1439/high-magic-campaigns Mon, 26 Jul 2010 05:14:28 +0000 kenurion 1439@/discussions https://forums.obsidianportal.com/discussion/1410/thoughts-on-my-plot-outline-it-s-really-long-sorry Fri, 02 Jul 2010 05:47:40 +0000 gaaran 1410@/discussions
The ultimate end to this story will be to confront Vecna in his tower at the center of the plane of Pandemonium. He has designs on usurping the power of the Gods, taking it all for himself, and to do it, he'll use anyone, step over anyone. Trapped within his tower on Pandemonium is a great Primordial known as Timesus the Black Star, and Vecna is using its power to fuel his own.

The PCs begin the story with Ember being sent to Highmoor, into the care of Alecar. Their first night in town however, the Archbishop is murdered, and Alecar is asked to investigate. He hires Solaren to help, and they managed to find the villain behind it.

The first enemy the party will face is Garreth, once a proud member of the council of elders, he found a mysterious black scroll in his chambers one night (a scroll of Mauthereign, open grave 215) and after reading it, he began to become a little... off. First he simply became irritable, then prone to violent mood swings, and finally we see him as he is today, plotting assassinations and taking control of the council. Eventually, if he wasn't stopped he would eventually invite the Cult of Vecna into power in the council, and it would be a dark day for Luness. For now, he is simply power hungry, and following the tenets of Mauthereign, committing evil to show evil the wrongness of its ways. That is why he wishes to take over Cumberland, and then he would set his sights even further if he were not stopped. Garreth fled after being convicted of murder. He has gone to join Cumberland to stamp out Luness, who has betrayed him.

From there the PCs will have to contend with the Cult of the Yellow skull (storm tower), which is being used as a tool of Mauthereign to collect the 13 golden skulls, and destroy them, freeing the demonic essence within them (they really only want to destroy the one that has trapped an aspect of Orcus within it).

The PCs are then asked to take the golden skull they found in the Storm Tower to the Luminaries to see if they know of a way to destroy it. They offer to take it and try to find a way to do that, but in the mean time, they hire the party to investigate Slaughterguarde, cue The Shattered Gates of Slaughterguarde adventure module.

After returning to Fallcrest, the party dicovers the town to be in bad shape. It's quiet, subdued and empty feeling. The Temple of the Yellow Skull has been sending raiders to find the remaining skulls that are supposedly dotted around the country-side, and anyone that gets in the way (or even SEES the cultists) is brutally attacked. Captain Faringray once again calls on the PCs for help to take them out at their temple once and for all. Discarded in the bowels of the temple they find another of the black scrolls (although the party doesn't realize it, but this one failed, as the Prelate had already fully succumbed to the evil in his heart).

After dealing with the cult of the yellow skulls, the party is invited by Panzanzabon to join the adventurer's guild. While enjoying a rest and stories of the Unvanquished company, an emissary of bahamut is sent to Fallcrest to inform the PCs that Garreth has returned, and he has an army behind him. Cumberland, Garreth, and the Golbin King have joined forces and are coming through the mountains to attack. Their first target appears to be Wellspring, so that's where Luness's forces are going to gather, and the PCs have been asked to go with them. Cumberland moves to attack, along with Garreth and the Goblin King.]]> https://forums.obsidianportal.com/discussion/1384/dreams Fri, 18 Jun 2010 05:45:17 +0000 BrokenClock 1384@/discussions
I was having a lot of difficulty finding a reason for all the character's to come together and then I realized I could just make quick little dream videos to give them each their own unique quest and a little bit of foreshadowing.

I highly recommend making some for your players as it makes them feel more immersed in their characters and special because you've dedicated some of your time just for them and I think that's important, because in a team of five adventurers, people get the sense that they as individuals are not that important.

The whole processs took 15 minutes and a little knowledge (and I mean a little) of Windows Movie Maker, which I believe comes with all Windows.

Just a suggestion.

"Example":http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaign/govaga/adventure-log]]> https://forums.obsidianportal.com/discussion/1357/getting-my-campaign-to-featured-status-level Thu, 03 Jun 2010 02:56:01 +0000 Hardhead 1357@/discussions
"Here's the link.":http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaigns/world-of-crucible

So, thoughts? Don't pull any punches here. I need criticism to improve.]]> https://forums.obsidianportal.com/discussion/1406/character-info-problems Mon, 28 Jun 2010 20:42:12 +0000 atem55 1406@/discussions
I have created my campaign, added a intro ,updated the log a couple of times etc.

I've also added my 5 PC's to the characters section and changed ownership to the registered individual, however, the player is unable to see the character sheet 'crunch' that i have added for him. I, as the GM, am also unable to see the sheet unless i paste it into the 'Secret GM only' section, is this right? Or am i doing something wrong? The exact same code is pasted in the player section as is in the GM section, but he can see nothing :(

Any help would be much appreciated.

Thanks.]]> https://forums.obsidianportal.com/discussion/1393/new-friendly-d-d-3-5e-campaigns-looking-for-players Tue, 22 Jun 2010 00:12:11 +0000 DarenVanir 1393@/discussions https://forums.obsidianportal.com/discussion/1405/when-are-we-getting-an-alternative-to-textile Mon, 28 Jun 2010 10:22:16 +0000 CoolasaCucumber 1405@/discussions
When is this coming?]]> https://forums.obsidianportal.com/discussion/1399/a-neat-use-for-the-campaign-forums Thu, 24 Jun 2010 21:45:17 +0000 Hardhead 1399@/discussions
It also let's the players that like that kind of thing roleplay their characters just idly chatting without boring the players that are a little more action oriented. "Here's the link":http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaigns/world-of-crucible/forum in case anyone wants to check it out.]]> https://forums.obsidianportal.com/discussion/1413/looking-for-players-for-game-in-ewing-nj Sun, 04 Jul 2010 20:07:51 +0000 yamis 1413@/discussions
My friend and I want to get a game going where he lives - located in Ewing NJ 08628. We're looking for players and maybe a DM as well. There is plenty of room.
game could be 3,5 or 4th ed. would be held weekly on Saturdays - starting around 5pm till 11pm?

Now a little background on me - been playing since 1st edition (started 22 yrs ago) and have played all editions - up to the current 4th.

If you think you'd to join up - shoot me an email at ajmiller3rd@yahoo.com

Take care,

Al]]> https://forums.obsidianportal.com/discussion/1401/game-demos-in-the-santa-cruz-ca-area Fri, 25 Jun 2010 11:20:10 +0000 Fluke 1401@/discussions
Anyway, my friend owns a game store in Scotts Valley and is running a Demo day this saturday, the 26th. It's mostly gonna be board games and CCGs (not gonna be demoing any RPGs since it would take too long but he does sell RPG books). If anyone in the Santa Cruz area is interested please PM me for more info.]]> https://forums.obsidianportal.com/discussion/1365/armchair-titans-podcast Tue, 08 Jun 2010 20:28:00 +0000 gnunn 1365@/discussions
The "Armchair Titans":http://www.armchairtitans.com is a group of Seattle-based improvisers, mostly from Wing-it Productions (Creators of Jet City Improv) who have created a D&D 4e podcast with an emphasis in comedy at the gaming table.

I haven't had a chance to listen to the podcasts yet, but I can tell you from acting with & hanging around these folks, they are some mighty funny and talented individuals!]]> https://forums.obsidianportal.com/discussion/1394/plot-or-therefore-lack-of Tue, 22 Jun 2010 05:25:24 +0000 Dericious_Ramen 1394@/discussions
Anyways, I will go ahead and discuss the overall issue. Plot. Plot, as everyone knows, is a storyline. Said storyline involves a conflict (usually) and in tabletop gaming it guides the players to a route of entertainment. However, most campaigns I have played that have a plot are rather dull. I'm constantly being forced down a certain path by dumb world occurances, and occasionally the party actually wanting to move foward. On the opposite end of the spectrum, there is the lack of plot. To me, this seems most interesting, as it allows for players to roleplay there lives without a major conflict. No plot allows the players to make their own pace and play at their own without feeling forced to do anything. But, like the idea of a plot, has its problems. A lack of plot makes players feel their characters lives are meaningless and un-eventful.

Now, I am currently running an exploration based campaign. I have a map (A huge one) segmented in hexes (Each hex being 2 days of travel). I have masses of notes and planning assembled in a single binder for EVERY feature on the map. I have a history of hexes, in summary. I have adventure hooks in every town and city, random strangers that offer quests, random encounter tables (Seldom used), and even a calander of events in just about everywhere there is to go. The main actions of the campaign thus far is to adventure. The players plan themselves what route they take through the unknown. Along the way are many mini-conflicts and side quests. However, there is no major plot. SO far, this has not made much of a problem - but I don't want it to turn into the boring meaningless world of the other campaign I'm involved in.

So, my question to the community, how do I introduce a plot in a campaign with none? How would I do this without making players feel forced to accomplish something?

And for some other feedback, how do you run plot in your campaign? How do you organize adventures, and link everything to a common goal?

Much appreciated,
-Ramen]]>