- Preparing for the birth of a child
- Watching MLB playoffs
- Selling some stuff on ebay
- Balazar campaign
- etc.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Final Vinyl
I have had ideas for a dozen new posts on this blog, but for the past month or so writing them has taken a back seat to...
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Balazar: Guidelines for play
I've written here about the Balazar campaign nearly weekly for the past couple of months. The campaign's wiki is up and the game will start soon, so new info about it will go on the wiki from now on. The last thing I wanted to mention here on the blog is that I wrote up a "Guidelines for play" article on the wiki, available here.
This is the executive summary:
It's important to understand that this campaign is NOT about having fun with friends and creating memorable stories together. It's about the DM controlling and intimidating his friends in a way that he couldn't otherwise do. It's about chest-thumping and fulfillment of "control freak" impulses through the safety of the Internet.
Retaliatory DMing is to be expected. The players should always be worried about doing what the DM wants them to do, otherwise he'll make something up on the spot to screw over their characters.
Furthermore, the DM shall demonstrate his brilliance and creativity in such a way that his friends should be ashamed of the pathetic games and campaigns that they usually waste time on. This is the one true way. The players should be honored that the DM is delaying the writing of his novel to run this campaign for them.
Let it be known that the DM slyly made Tunnels & Trolls the campaign's rules system and is forcing the players to use it. He only plays RPGs from the 1970s and he rebels against mainstream things such as D&D. When everyone sees how awesome T&T is, they'll realize how awesome the DM is.
Lastly, the DM will get angry if the players don't participate regularly. He feels the campaign should be their top priority. When the DM sends a note to a player inquiring about their laziness, it should not be thought of as a friendly reminder. He's calling the player out and trying to make them look bad.
This is the executive summary:
It's important to understand that this campaign is NOT about having fun with friends and creating memorable stories together. It's about the DM controlling and intimidating his friends in a way that he couldn't otherwise do. It's about chest-thumping and fulfillment of "control freak" impulses through the safety of the Internet.
Retaliatory DMing is to be expected. The players should always be worried about doing what the DM wants them to do, otherwise he'll make something up on the spot to screw over their characters.
Furthermore, the DM shall demonstrate his brilliance and creativity in such a way that his friends should be ashamed of the pathetic games and campaigns that they usually waste time on. This is the one true way. The players should be honored that the DM is delaying the writing of his novel to run this campaign for them.
Let it be known that the DM slyly made Tunnels & Trolls the campaign's rules system and is forcing the players to use it. He only plays RPGs from the 1970s and he rebels against mainstream things such as D&D. When everyone sees how awesome T&T is, they'll realize how awesome the DM is.
Lastly, the DM will get angry if the players don't participate regularly. He feels the campaign should be their top priority. When the DM sends a note to a player inquiring about their laziness, it should not be thought of as a friendly reminder. He's calling the player out and trying to make them look bad.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
The Legion of the Incarnate Destiny of the Red Moon Goddess
The expedition of Lewis & Clark was called the Corps of Discovery, so I tried to come up with something similar for the title of the Balazar expedition and the campaign wiki. Various combinations of the synonyms of "corps" and "discovery" failed to produce anything that sounded good to me. So then I riffed off of the idea of "Manifest Destiny" to come up with the Emperor's official title for the expedition:
The Lunar military has a more utilitarian name for it: The East Legion. This shorter name also works better for the URL of the wiki:
I put links on the wiki to the posts on this blog that concern the campaign. In the near future I'll add a section about "what the characters know" to provide more context for helping the players decide the expedition's mission plan. Then I'll add a section where PC info can be placed.
More than anything, I just wanted to post this painting. It synthesizes perfectly the mood and themes of the campaign's inspirations: gritty and austere, yet colorful and wondrous.
The Legion of the Incarnate Destiny of the Red Moon Goddess
The Lunar military has a more utilitarian name for it: The East Legion. This shorter name also works better for the URL of the wiki:
I put links on the wiki to the posts on this blog that concern the campaign. In the near future I'll add a section about "what the characters know" to provide more context for helping the players decide the expedition's mission plan. Then I'll add a section where PC info can be placed.
More than anything, I just wanted to post this painting. It synthesizes perfectly the mood and themes of the campaign's inspirations: gritty and austere, yet colorful and wondrous.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Balazar: Mapping
In a previous post I wrote how it is assumed the expedition forages and does opportunistic hunting as it travels the wilderness. But...to actually increase food stores, the expedition, or a part of it, must stop and hunt.
Similarly, it is assumed that that the areas adjoining the expedition's path are minimally scouted and surveyed for mapping. For example, high grounds are usually found to get a view of the surrounding wilderness. But...to effectively map surrounding areas, the expedition, or a part of it, must stop and survey into those areas. Often, hunting and surveying can be done simultaneously.
For game purposes, this means the entire 5-mile hex being traversed while in a travel mode will be revealed on the campaign map, unless circumstances dictate otherwise. It does not mean that all encounters or encounter areas located in that hex are found. "Search Mode" travel increases the chances of finding these things.
The campaign starts in the Balazaran citadel of Elkoi. The Lunar Empire maintains a garrison there, even though it is not officially part of the empire. The natives in Elkoi tolerate the Lunar presence due to the trade and wealth it brings, especially metal weaponry. This incites a measure of jealousy and anger from the other clans towards the Elkoins.
A major decision to be made near the beginning of the campaign is which way does expedition go from Elkoi...
To the north via boat, through the Elf Sea and beyond?
To the east on the trail through the plains, towards the other Balazaran citadels of Trilus and Dykene?
To the southeast through dangerous wilderness, towards the mountains and the dwarves?
Similarly, it is assumed that that the areas adjoining the expedition's path are minimally scouted and surveyed for mapping. For example, high grounds are usually found to get a view of the surrounding wilderness. But...to effectively map surrounding areas, the expedition, or a part of it, must stop and survey into those areas. Often, hunting and surveying can be done simultaneously.
For game purposes, this means the entire 5-mile hex being traversed while in a travel mode will be revealed on the campaign map, unless circumstances dictate otherwise. It does not mean that all encounters or encounter areas located in that hex are found. "Search Mode" travel increases the chances of finding these things.
The campaign starts in the Balazaran citadel of Elkoi. The Lunar Empire maintains a garrison there, even though it is not officially part of the empire. The natives in Elkoi tolerate the Lunar presence due to the trade and wealth it brings, especially metal weaponry. This incites a measure of jealousy and anger from the other clans towards the Elkoins.
A major decision to be made near the beginning of the campaign is which way does expedition go from Elkoi...
To the north via boat, through the Elf Sea and beyond?
To the east on the trail through the plains, towards the other Balazaran citadels of Trilus and Dykene?
To the southeast through dangerous wilderness, towards the mountains and the dwarves?
The terrain of this western edge of Balazar is well known to the Lunars. Determining what lies to the east is one charge of this expedition. (click to enlarge slightly)
Monday, August 24, 2009
Fifteen years...thirty decks: Jokulhaups
Random deck from the Vault:
3x Jokulhaups
4x Lightning Bolt
1x Pyrokinesis
4x Wildfire Emissary
1x Orgg
1x Ihsan's Shade
2x Animate Dead
1x Necromancy
1x Abandon Hope
1x Hymn to Tourach
1x Demonic Consultation
4x Soul Burn
4x Paralyze
4x Dark Ritual
3x Mana Vault
1x Nevinyrral's Disk
4x Sulfurous Springs
1x Thawing Glaciers
2x Ebon Stronghold
2x Dwarven Ruins
6x Mountain
9x Swamp
Ah yeah. Here it is. This is the deck I most commonly played in tournaments at the height of the Grand Forks competitive Magic scene in my first year of college. I don't recall ever winning a tourney with this deck, but it did okay against top competition.
Sadly, this is a watered-down version of the deck. The Abandon Hope used to be a Mind Twist before I sold it. The most glaring deficiency of this version is the lack of creatures. It used to have 4x Hypnotic Specter, but I moved my only playset of them to the Zur's Weirding deck, which I coincidentally just posted about recently. I really should move the Specters back to this deck.
My brother and I had a catchy phrase for when we were the first to use an awesome card in the GF scene: "Pioneered it." To boost our egos occasionally, we still remind each other of the cards we pioneered.
3x Jokulhaups
4x Lightning Bolt
1x Pyrokinesis
4x Wildfire Emissary
1x Orgg
1x Ihsan's Shade
2x Animate Dead
1x Necromancy
1x Abandon Hope
1x Hymn to Tourach
1x Demonic Consultation
4x Soul Burn
4x Paralyze
4x Dark Ritual
3x Mana Vault
1x Nevinyrral's Disk
4x Sulfurous Springs
1x Thawing Glaciers
2x Ebon Stronghold
2x Dwarven Ruins
6x Mountain
9x Swamp
Ah yeah. Here it is. This is the deck I most commonly played in tournaments at the height of the Grand Forks competitive Magic scene in my first year of college. I don't recall ever winning a tourney with this deck, but it did okay against top competition.
Sadly, this is a watered-down version of the deck. The Abandon Hope used to be a Mind Twist before I sold it. The most glaring deficiency of this version is the lack of creatures. It used to have 4x Hypnotic Specter, but I moved my only playset of them to the Zur's Weirding deck, which I coincidentally just posted about recently. I really should move the Specters back to this deck.
Jokulhaups was my favorite card for a long time...maybe still is.
My brother and I had a catchy phrase for when we were the first to use an awesome card in the GF scene: "Pioneered it." To boost our egos occasionally, we still remind each other of the cards we pioneered.
Pyrokinesis? Pioneered it.
Next deck in the series: d30 = 5, Mark of Eviction #1
Next deck in the series: d30 = 5, Mark of Eviction #1
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Balazar: Wizards & Warriors
Around midnight last night, I got the urge to roll some dice through my dice tower. So I rolled up thirty Tunnels & Trolls characters to serve as the Balazar campaign's expedition.
View the entire list here.
Some interesting attribute sets there. Let me know which one you'd like to be your main character.
For the player's convenience and my own curiosity, I've identified the top attribute sets for potential warrior and wizard character types, in my opinion. Feel free to ignore my recommendations.
In T&T, beginning attributes for humans are TARO (Triples Add and Roll Over), which explains why some scores are higher than 18. I should point out that attribute scores in T&T are "relative" and with no maximum. For example, a 50 Strength character isn't necessarily five times as strong as a 10 Strength character. Instead, a higher score simply gives greater chance of success when performing actions: approaching infinity but still at the mercy of a botch.
The top warriors are generally those with the highest Combat Adds. Combat Adds are a measure of the character's combat ability, before considering what weapons or armor are used. They are calculated:
+1 Combat Add for each Str, Luck, or Dex point above 12.
-1 Combat Add for each Str, Luck, or Dex point below 9.
Constitution is also somewhat important for warriors, since the character's "hit points" are equal to their Constitution score. Also, Strength and Dexterity together determine what kind of weapon and armor the character is able to use.
The top attribute sets for wizards are a little more difficult to determine. Intelligence and Dexterity determine what level of spells the wizard can learn. (A beginning wizard must at least have an Intelligence of 10 and a Dexterity of 8.)
Strength is essentially "mana points". Therefore, Strength is obviously important, but I tend to favor Intelligence and Dexterity for beginning wizards, because Strength is easier to increase as the character rises in levels. Furthermore, there are other ways to reduce the Strength casting cost of spells, such as by wielding an enchanted staff (which are relatively easy to acquire or create).
For the Balazar campaign, the main PCs will start at level 3. This means that the players will immediately raise their PC's attributes twice (going from level 1 to level 2, and then from level 2 to level 3) according to the chart in section 2.14 in the T&T 5th Edition rulebook.
Warriors can start with any weapons and armor allowed by their Strength and Dexterity. Wizards start with all 1st Level spells, and then will receive an allowance with which they can buy higher level spells, an enchanted staff, and other weapons and armor.
Wizard's beginning allowance of gold = 5000 + (100 x 3d6) [That 3d6 roll is TARO]
Some useful info from section 2.2:
Level 2 spells cost 500gp each.
Level 3 spells cost 1000gp each.
A standard enchanted staff costs 100gp.
A Deluxe enchanted staff costs 5000gp. A Deluxe staff "has a name, is semi-sentient, and is almost indestructible."
View the entire list here.
Some interesting attribute sets there. Let me know which one you'd like to be your main character.
For the player's convenience and my own curiosity, I've identified the top attribute sets for potential warrior and wizard character types, in my opinion. Feel free to ignore my recommendations.
| could be a fine… | Str | Int | Luck | Con | Dex | Cha | Adds | |
| warrior | 23 | 5 | 15 | 12 | 6 | 7 | 11 | |
| warrior | 17 | 10 | 14 | 13 | 10 | 15 | 7 | |
| warrior | wizard | 12 | 14 | 17 | 9 | 13 | 11 | 6 |
| warrior | wizard | 17 | 12 | 9 | 11 | 12 | 11 | 5 |
| warrior | 12 | 6 | 9 | 12 | 16 | 13 | 4 | |
| wizard | 10 | 13 | 9 | 11 | 13 | 10 | 1 | |
| wizard | 11 | 24 | 7 | 22 | 10 | 5 | -2 | |
| wizard | 7 | 15 | 5 | 16 | 15 | 12 | -3 |
In T&T, beginning attributes for humans are TARO (Triples Add and Roll Over), which explains why some scores are higher than 18. I should point out that attribute scores in T&T are "relative" and with no maximum. For example, a 50 Strength character isn't necessarily five times as strong as a 10 Strength character. Instead, a higher score simply gives greater chance of success when performing actions: approaching infinity but still at the mercy of a botch.
The top warriors are generally those with the highest Combat Adds. Combat Adds are a measure of the character's combat ability, before considering what weapons or armor are used. They are calculated:
+1 Combat Add for each Str, Luck, or Dex point above 12.
-1 Combat Add for each Str, Luck, or Dex point below 9.
Constitution is also somewhat important for warriors, since the character's "hit points" are equal to their Constitution score. Also, Strength and Dexterity together determine what kind of weapon and armor the character is able to use.
Is this the 23 Strength character? Mongo the Mighty?
Is this the 24 IQ, 5 Charisma wizard? He must have ensorcelled those two babes by casting Yassa-Massa on them.
The top attribute sets for wizards are a little more difficult to determine. Intelligence and Dexterity determine what level of spells the wizard can learn. (A beginning wizard must at least have an Intelligence of 10 and a Dexterity of 8.)
Strength is essentially "mana points". Therefore, Strength is obviously important, but I tend to favor Intelligence and Dexterity for beginning wizards, because Strength is easier to increase as the character rises in levels. Furthermore, there are other ways to reduce the Strength casting cost of spells, such as by wielding an enchanted staff (which are relatively easy to acquire or create).
For the Balazar campaign, the main PCs will start at level 3. This means that the players will immediately raise their PC's attributes twice (going from level 1 to level 2, and then from level 2 to level 3) according to the chart in section 2.14 in the T&T 5th Edition rulebook.
Warriors can start with any weapons and armor allowed by their Strength and Dexterity. Wizards start with all 1st Level spells, and then will receive an allowance with which they can buy higher level spells, an enchanted staff, and other weapons and armor.
Wizard's beginning allowance of gold = 5000 + (100 x 3d6) [That 3d6 roll is TARO]
Some useful info from section 2.2:
Level 2 spells cost 500gp each.
Level 3 spells cost 1000gp each.
A standard enchanted staff costs 100gp.
A Deluxe enchanted staff costs 5000gp. A Deluxe staff "has a name, is semi-sentient, and is almost indestructible."
Friday, August 14, 2009
Fifteen years...thirty decks: Zur's Weirding
My brother and I often discussed the possibility of using Zur's Weirding as the centerpiece of a tourney-quality deck. We always came to the same conclusion:
Any great deck with Zur's Weirding in it would probably be better without Zur's Weirding in it.
Nonetheless, we built various decks around the card. One of my favorites featured discard effects and creature recursion. Around the same time period, I built a creature control and recursion deck based around Necroplasm. Neither deck was super great, but they used many of the same cards so I combined them to create this "fun" deck.
3x Zur's Weirding
4x Elves of Deep Shadow
3x Birds of Paradise
3x Spike Feeder
1x Golgari Grave-Troll
3x Putrefy
4x Shambling Shell
4x Last Gasp
4x Brain Pry
4x Hypnotic Specter
3x Necroplasm
2x Plague Boiler
2x Simic Growth Chamber
2x Dimir Aqueduct
10x Swamp
8x Forest
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