Back on the Wave

It's been almost two years since Chicagowiz canceled his Dark Ages campaign on Google Wave. Then came the announcement of the complete Google Wave shutdown and there were no sites that fully support this technology. Dark times indeed.

Now, thanks to the guys from Wave in a Box (WIAB) and Michael's will to see a game using his Ultima RPG material, the old band is back together for some old school gaming.

One Page Dungeon: The Oracle of Pagebrin

Almost on the brink of the deadline (April 30th) and with the invaluable help of my wife (thanks a lot for the great input and edition!) I managed to finally complete my submission for the 2012 edition of the One Page Dungeon Contest. With more than 70 entries so far, I imagine the task for the judges will be a tough one. 

Legends tell about a magical place in a mountain range near the coast that houses the all-powerful Oracle of Pagebrin. Many adventurers have set forth with promises of untold riches and assurances that the oracle does not serve the darkness. Wary adventurers however reflect upon the implied fact that the oracle does not serve the light either...

The Oracle of Pagebrin.

One Page Dungeon Contest 2012

The 1PDC 2012 in on! Submision deadline is April 30.

I submitted to the 2009 and 2010 editions, and hope to find time this year.

Check the official site: http://campaignwiki.org/wiki/DungeonMaps/One_Page_Dungeon_Contest 

Also in Google+: https://plus.google.com/117300415578119692506/posts 

The New Death and others

I must confess I was a bit surprised when I was asked by the author to review this book. 

"The New Death and others" by James Hutchings is an interesting mix of dark fantasy short stories and poems, which I found irreverent, amusing and sarcastic. Every piece has an original point of view, sometimes corny, but always cynical. I really enjoyed it.

I'd give it a 4 out of 5 stars.

Maure Castle game in Google+ Hangout

Last Saturday night, and after a year, we got back together to play some Dungeons & Dragons. Thanks to Google+ Hangout, five players from four different countries (Uruguay, Panama, Mexico and Ireland) gathered around a virtual table. I think we're participating in a revolution on how RPGs are being played.

We also took the opportunity to test the Tabletop Forge app ( http://tabletopforge.com/). Everyone liked the app and we successfully used the dice roller and combat tracker, but had some issues with the battle map and one of the players had some problems with his Internet connection (Telmex: you suck!).

The party continued the exploration of the Chamber of Antiquities (Dragon #124), one of the many levels under the ruins of Maure Castle.

Kentsui Inowe, Human (Mnk14)

Quinath Leafholder, Elf (Ftr4/Wiz8/Sps2)

Kamar, Human (Ftr6/EWM1/Ken7)

Kir'Orist Mithalvarin, Elf (Clr9/Lor6)

Jerry, Human (Rog14)

Last session, a year ago, Inowe almost got killed by a creature they identified as a hordling and the party decided to go to the Free City of Greyhawk. There the group contacted former member Orist (cleric of Boccob) and hired the services of Jerry, a skilled rogue. Denar, a cleric of Heironeous, stayed in the city (the player couldn't join the game). The group returned to the castle and picked up where they left. From there they explored a meeting room with an ornated large wooden table surrounded by a dozen of also ornate wooden chairs that bore an stylized M. An iron door led to another room with five statues of armor-clad warriors surrounding a low pedestal. Atop of the pedestal was a crystal box with a sparkling ring inside. Quinath send an unseen servant to retrieve the box, but when it picked it up the statues animated and destroyed the servant. Inowe threw one of the chairs at the box and knocked it from the pedestal, leaving it out of sight. She then tried to hook it with her kama but to no avail. Seen that Quinath cast invisibility on his homunculus and fly on himself. The homunculus flew close to the ceiling (10' high) until it was above the box. Meanwhile Quinath flew also close to the ceiling until he saw the box. The statues animated and two of them closed on Quinath. One of them jumped and managed to land a blow with his bastard sword. Quinath cast levitate on the box and flew from the room, but not before one of the guardians hit him again. The box levitated to the ceiling and the homunculus pushed it towards the door. The guardians followed Quinath but Orist cast stone shape and made a semi-circular 6' high wall on the door to prevent that.

Jerry the rogue examined the box for traps while Kamar stood in guard in case the guardians decided to follow. Quinath cast Grease on the wall in case the guardians managed to climb across. Orist recognized the ring as a Dragon Eye ring. while at it one guardian managed to climb the wall but fell due to the Grease and was hacked down by Kamar. The same fate met the second guardian. Quinath then flew back into the room and cast Cone of Cold on the remaining three guardians. Two reached the wall and one managed to hit Quinath who cast Wall of Fire on them and retreated. Those two guardians climbed the wall and jumped on Kamar who managed to kill one. Orist cast Harm on the other killing him. The remaining guardian returned to his post by the altar and back to stone.

And with that ended the Hangout. :)

Blog word count

http://timc.idv.tw/wordcloud/en/

Answering Brendan's 20 questions

You can look at Brendan's original post here.

1. Ability scores generation method? 
• 4d6 drop lower.
2. How are death and dying handled? 
• You're disabled at 0 hp, unconscious at 1- and dead at -10 hp.
3. What about raising the dead?
• If you can find a cleric powerful enough and can pay him, you're back!
4. How are replacement PCs handled? 
• Just roll another and you're back in.
5. Initiative: individual, group, or something else? 
• Individual.
6. Are there critical hits and fumbles? How do they work? 
• 1 always misses. 20 always hits and you can choose double damage or roll damage dice twice.
7. Do I get any benefits for wearing a helmet?
• Yes.
8. Can I hurt my friends if I fire into melee or do something similarly silly?
• Yes you certainly can.
9. Will we need to run from some encounters, or will we be able to kill everything?
• It's your choice, you can run or you can try kill everything.
10. Level-draining monsters: yes or no?
• Yes.
11. Are there going to be cases where a failed save results in PC death?
• Yes.
12. How strictly are encumbrance & resources tracked?
• Resources closely tracked. Encumbrance more lightly.
13. What's required when my PC gains a level? Training? Do I get new spells automatically? Can it happen in the middle of an adventure, or do I have to wait for down time?
• You don't need to train to gain new level but you have to wait for down time.
14. What do I get experience for?
• Treasure, defeating monsters (killing, bypassing, negotiating), cool ideas.
15. How are traps located? Description, dice rolling, or some combination?
• Give me a description of what you're looking for and what you're doing, and I'll let you roll.
16. Are retainers encouraged and how does morale work?
• They are and the retainer's morale is the character's charisma score.
17. How do I identify magic items?
• Using them or by magic.
18. Can I buy magic items? Oh, come on: how about just potions?
• In 3.5 yes. In LL no, just potions.
19. Can I create magic items? When and how?
• Yes you can. At the appropriate level, in a proper lab.
20. What about splitting the party?
• Sure, be my guest. Mmmwhawhahaha!!

Read An RPG Book in Public Week

Happy GMs' Day!

A quick post just to wish a happy GMs' Day to all my fellow Game Masters! ;-)

Thank you Gary!

Era RPG

I'd like to share with you the ongoing work we're doing with my friend and fellow gamer Gerardo Tasistro on a new RPG called Era. It's not yet complete but feedback is more than welcome, so please feel free to comment. 

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1cRa0d97DqBEjS-TLu7EAHjeeVCaP7zbglv4vUicQuAs/edit

Spanish version of Labyrinth Lord - Take two

On September 2009 I embarked on the huge task of translating Labyrinth Lore Core Rules into Spanish (you can read about it here). The size of the task (almost 90k words), real life and lack of constancy on my part, took the project to a halt. If I had done a little every day maybe the project was complete by now.

Anyway, in the last days there has been a renewed interest (you can see the comments on the original post) on the project. So, if anyone like to jump in and help you're welcome!

And the Winners of the 2012 NYNG Challenge Are…

http://www.gnomestew.com/gnome-gnews/and-the-winners-of-the-2012-nyng-challenge-are

RPG wish list

The Dungeon Alphabet An A-to-Z Reference for Classic Dungeon Design by Michael Curtis

Loviatar issues #1 to #7 by Christian Walker

Old-School Gaming Box with Erol Otus Art! by John Adams

An urban RPG?

After reading this article on the WIRED magazine, my first thought was "Could this be the base for an RPG?". I'm no game designer, just a plain DM/player, so maybe I'm missing the point. Haven't even written a module, although I've submitted a couple of works for the "One Page Dungeon Contest" if that counts. :)

What are your thoughts?

The Legend Lives On!

Wizard of the Coast is going to reprint the 1st. Edition core books!

"In 1974, the world changed forever when Gary Gygax introduced the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game. The legacy of his innovative ideas and the extensive reach of his powerful influence can be seen in virtually every facet of gaming today.

To help honor his work and his memory, we created limited-edition reprints of the original 1st Edition core rulebooks: the Monster Manual, Player's Handbook, andDungeon Master's Guide. These premium versions of the original AD&D rulebooks have been lovingly reprinted with the original art and content, but feature an attractive new cover design commemorating this re-release. Available in limited quantities as a hobby channel exclusive in North America.

Your purchase of this monumental book helps support the Gygax Memorial Fund—established to immortalize the "Father of Roleplaying Games" with a memorial statue in Lake Geneva, WI."

Product Catalog

Gnome Stew's New Year, New Game Challenge: January 9-23

The guys at Gnome Stew have launched the First Annual New Year, New Game Contest:: A Challenge to GMs. Basically all you need is to write an entry of 200-400 words long addressing:

• What the game is about
• Why you’re excited about running it
• What system you want to use, and why
• What challenges running this game might involve

Check the New Year, New Game (NYNG) website for more details about how to participate.

Hollowpoint

My copy of Hollowpoint arrived safe and sound today! Nice size, well printed, excellent packaging and binding. I'm off to read it... ;)

Thanks Lulu and VSCA!

Happy New Year!

New Oerth Journal

Issue #26 is now available!

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/5851594/Downloads_Section/Oerth_Journal/OJ_26te.pdf

Enjoy!

Joe Black

This character was created for a Google+ Hangout game using the Hollowpoint set of rules (GM: John Johnson).

He's a 35 y.o. ex-military (sniper) member of the Monster Hunter International agency.

Traits:
1. Memento of your first monster encounter?
Werewolf tooth necklace.
2.  You don't have a lot of scruples, but you would "never do this".
Shoot women or children.
3. That one time in Utah you took a souvenir...
A bible. He collects bibles from motels.
4. This is a hard job, but you love it because "you get to do this".
Love to kill monsters more than people (but he'll do it if he has to).
5. You're a pro and you know you're a pro because you always "do this".
Always get the job done whatever it takes.

Skills:
Kill - 5
Dig - 4
Take - 3
Con - 2
Cool - 1
Terror - 0

Mission:
Primary Objective - Retrieve or destroy "The Nameless Book", an ancient arcane tome stolen from the Monster Hunter International's vaults.
Secondary Objective - Neutralize a former MHI agent known as "The Scorpion", who had gone rogue and supposedly took the tome.

Status:
Wounded on the shoulder (OUT).