Another post from me today, I have recently joined a roleplaying group which is quite good, have our ups and downs, but mainly its cool, but i work shifts! which excludes me from a lot of the games, roughly half!!
And to top that all off i am supposed to be running a game on sundays, which i thoroughly enjoy but the shifts interfere with that also! but come the new year i will be trying to fit shifts and holiday time around playing dates! so there is hope yet!!!

Right , A few weeks ago I, along with another player were asked if we would like to come up with some interesting ideas for rpg settings, pubs, safehouses, and the like!

well i see this as my opportunity to let loose! already have some patrons drawn up and names of pubs, plans and more and more ideas popping into my head by the minute! but i have a problem! i need somehow to be able to draw! i can use a pencil about as good as my girlfriend is at driving!! so i need ideas!! help!

Friday Night Link Madness 3

This week.....art.

http://www.epilogue.net/index.php
online community devoted to fantasy and sci-fi artwork

http://www.deviantart.com/
another community for artists to show off

http://forum.rpg.net/forumdisplay.php?f=12
rpg.nets artist and writers forum, plenty of people posting links so you can check out their work

Systems

So its been a while since my last post, but I thought I would discuss something that i'm struggling with now.... rpg systems, build or re-use?

One of my previous posts was regarding OGL systems such as D20 OGL and such like.
At the moment im working on the system for Skyfell and its just spiraling out of control everytime I touch it. When you design your own system you try to make 3 things happen:

1. Make it a fair system - don't weight it too much towards the GM or the players
2. Make it interesting - nothing worse than a system that people don't get or find clumsy
3. Make it work - The system has to cover anything that might be required of it... and thats a lot!

After that you need to make sure that its tested and that its useable in play, otherwise you may have just wasted a lot of time and a lot of paper.
With all this to consider, OGL systems seem much more attractive, all the basics have been covered by the people who wrote it originally, and that is a heck of a bonus.

Musings

Ok, so as a player in ravenpolars marvel game, i am enjoying it a lot, considering this is my first experience of playing a game without dice.

a momentary lapse of play led myself to a rather rash decision in the previous game which i believe took away some of the spirit of the game, i do of course fully apologise for said actions and will of course try and make sure that my play is better at all times!!

right that out of the way, i am running a game which i think is going well, and im enjoying running, but im not sure how to keep my players interested! im new to the gm scene so please any ideas please henceforth and throw them at me!!

Friday Night Link Madness 2

This week......GMing


http://www.plotstorming.com/
Writting plots, campaigns or worlds. Some good advice here for all.


http://forum.rpg.net/forumdisplay.php?f=11
RPG.net's game design & development forum


http://www.treasuretables.org/
Daily advice for GM's

Jeff's Gameblog: Times, they are a-changin'

One of the best RPG blogs around seems to be holiday for a bit....

Jeff's Gameblog: Times, they are a-changin'

Friday Night Link Madness 1

In an effort to make sure that this blog gets more updates, more regularly, i'm going to start a series of posts where a bunch of links around a subject get posted. Kinda like Jeff's Gameblog has every so often.... So here's part 1

Mapping

http://www.zombienirvana.com/
Zombie Nirvana - great blog with video's on mapping in Photoshop, just follow the instructions and Photoshop becomes a lot easier.

http://www.enworld.org:80/forums/showthread.php?t=109865
Great fourm thread on EN-World thats a tutorial on mapping in Photoshop.

http://home.paonline.com:80/zaikoski/ak/TOOLS.HTM
Hex mapper - great for the old style feeling, very simple program.... and its FREE!!!!

http://www.dungeoncrafter3.com/
Dungeon crafter 3 - great tile based mapping and again its free!

http://www.vterrain.org:80/Packages/Artificial/index.html
List of terrain tools and packages and what they can do

http://www.cartographersguild.com:80/
And finally the Cartographer guild - nice site to show off, get help and discuss mapping

Enjoy

Top 10 Campaigns

So I just found a post on Treasure Tables (http://www.treasuretables.org/2007/11/ranking-your-favorite-campaigns-what-makes-you-tick-2006#more-910) about ranking your 10 best campaign games, itself a repost of a post on another blog http://www.abuliasavant.com/?p=171

Well..... Here goes



System - Game - (GM) - Date

1. Vampire - Gary by Night - (Ed) - Early 90's


2. Werewolf - Rage across the world -(Me) - Early 90's


3. Marvel Super Heroes Saga - State of Love and Trust - (Me) - 2007


4. Pendragon - [Pelaine] - (Ed) - 80's


5. Stargate - SG18 - (Me) - 2005


6. Feng Shui - Hong Kong Era - (Owen) - 2001??


7. Shadowrun - Various - (Ed) - 80's


8. Twlight 2000 - Polish hunters - (Danny) - 80's


9. Sla Industries - Karma Kills - (Ed) - 2000


10. TMNT - Otherside - (Me) - Late 80's

So thats my list, written in under 10 minutes without much analysis while putting names down.

So analysis, what does it show?

Im not at all surprised that 8 of the games were run by me or a great mate of mine called Ed. I enjoy GMing and Ed has been a gaming buddy since I was 14 and he runs some damn good games, especially when he puts in the prep time.

And again no surprise that Ed's Vampire game ranked highest, it was a truely amazing game that ran from the release of the original Vampire RPG for several years. It also may have helped that my character, Lukas, ended up as Prince of Gary, but hey what do you expect :)

I'm not surprised that D20 systems have very little showing, only my own Stargate game is on the list and I guess this is due to the fall out I had with the D20 system. Its just too much pain after hitting level 10 or so. Fiddly mechanics and trying to track 101 feats just feels like accounting, not roleplaying.

Surprising is that the Marvel game im currently running is up there. This is a very new game with only 2 sessions gone so far and yet im enjoying it immensely.

So what are your top ten?

WoAdWriMo

So the last post I did was about NaNoWriMo which a write a novel in a month competition where people try and complete a 50,000 word novel in the 30 days of Novemeber. Kinda tough going, but fun for those that manage it.

In a simular vein there is WoAdWriMo, Worldwide adventure writing month. Basically write an RPG adventure in a month... in the case of 2007, the month of June. I was lucky enough to get my entry in 3 days into the start and handed in my finished article just within the final deadline.
It was tough going but so much fun to actually get something out of it. It really does give you an idea of the pressures that professional writers face day to day, from initial ideas to finished page.
If you ever get the chance try one of the one-month-writeathons... you won't regret it.

If your interested the final adventures from this years WoAdWriMo are posted here... http://www.treasuretables.org/woadwrimo-adventure-downloads
Mine is called "SkyFell" and is based upon the campaign world that I am in the process of writing

NaNoWriMo

Feel like stretching those literary muscles?.......

http://www.nanowrimo.org/

Write a 50,000 word novel in a month, starts 1st November so get cracking.

POD Publishing

No comments for now on this, just a link to a helpful thread on RPG.net wherein those more experianced than I discuss various POD printers and recommend their favourites.

http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?t=351660

RPG writing for fun and profit

Or just for profit......
If you want to make a living at writing, take a look at the following link, a great resource of advice for would-be RPG writers.

http://www.charke.ca/My%20Writing/WritersResourcePage.html

OGL systems

So when your writing your RPG, which system do you use?
One of your own or someone elses?
With OGL things have become a lot easier in using the second option. Lots of systems are now available for you to use without paying huge sums of money to another company.

Here is a thread on RPG.net with lists and links to many of those available. Check out whats available and then you can really consider if its worth spending all that extra time making your own system.

http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?t=359474

Here is a website that lists lots of free RPGs, including open license ones.

http://www.darkshire.net/~jhkim/rpg/freerpgs/bykeyword/open-license.html

nbridge25 intro

Well then, i`am nbridge25, i have been gaming for about 6/7ish years, have enjoyed all sorts of games from Runequest, Star wars, SG1, Abit of Shadowrun and others such as feng shui, spycraftand lately D&D 3.5, which is not too bad i suppose!!

I have also run a few games, lately myself and another friend have been creating a game which appears to be quite fun at first glance! so will let you know how it goes.

But we do need some help publishing so here we are!

I have had a look at Skyfell and it looks interesting, could be a really good system and lots of fun to play so am looking forward to test play!

give us a clue!!

send us a post!!

Publishing Options

So from a conversation between the three of us, the questions arose on what the options are for publishing. Here are the answers that I gave the others.....

1. Sell - Sell your game/setting/book to Wizards, Mongoose or one of the other companies
2. Self Publish - Get a ton of money and spend it on publishing the book
3. POD Publish - Print books on demand as needed
4. PDF Publish - Publish electronically on the net in PDF form

So 4 options, with 4 outlooks, upsides and downsides.

1. You sell it, its no longer yours, they can do what they like to it. Also very difficult to do. Wizards, Mongoose and White Wolf probably have hundreds of submissions a month from budding writters. Competition will be very stiff.
2. Print a load of books and you may end up with your attic, garage and garden shed full of books you can't sell. Very expensive until you get to higher numbers of books printed, think 1000+ books before the cost per book is worth it.
3. Pretty good perks for a beginning writer, but beware of poor quality printing and high cost per book for every book, it don't get cheaper the more you print. Also long lead times on the first printing have been an issue with some POD printers.
4. Fast, easy and cheap. PDF files can be created for free with downloadable programs. sales may be anyware from low to not quite so low, especially for first time publishers. Ideally best suited to support of an in-print book.

So thats the options I came up with, any more, feel free to post 'em.

RPG Book Layouts

So what shold you expect to see when you open an RPG book or how should you lay out your books if your a publisher?
There are many examples out there, pretty much every company follows a few simple rules though and I have been trying to follow them with Skyfell. So here for you all is the short list of what should be in a book and in what order... feel free to disagree with me, there is no right or wrong here but I would be interested in others thoughts on the matter:

1. Table of Contents
2. Fiction (if you need it)
3. Overview
4. Setting
5. Rules
6. Campaign Ideas including adventure seeds and first level scenario(s)
7. Maps
8. Index (A must for all books!!!!)
9. Character Sheet

Sky-What???

So whats SkyFell?
Its basically a setting that I have been working on for the last 10 years in fits and bursts with various people giving feedback and guidance here and there. If you read the fiction posted below you can get the general idea behind the world, but essentially its a low fantasy setting that find itself spun around after the world is hit by a rock from up above.
This created a new strange island in the middle of the biggest ocean, and the 3 main races find that strange things begin happening around the island to anyone who visits.

Thats the general jist.... i'll leave it like that to stew awhile before revealing too much info :)

Hello there..

Well, I guess I'll say Hi. I'm Crowley and I've been RPGing for a number of years now. Played a small selection of games (SG-1, ShadowRun3, Star Wars (D20), D&D3.0/3.5 and RuneQuest, wanna play ShadowRun4) and find that I like the Modern/Fantasy/Future styles better.

I've written a few scenarios for D20 SG-1 and am tempted (when I get the time) to have a go at a few standalone D20 Star Wars ones.

As RavenPolar has said, the point of this is to discuss, mash ideas around and playtest stuff. So lets jump in and start those ideas and stuff coming :-)

SkyFell - Intro Part 1

This is a little snippit that I wrote long ago by way of introduction to my home grown RPG. Feel free to mock my bad fiction skills.....

The Burning
By Gannon Fellstaff of the Deltrib.

0.
How it happened, no one yet knows......
Why it happened, no one yet knows.......
When it happened, no one forgets......

1.
"The day the sky burned was pretty much just a normal day, at least for the likes of me.
I was minding my own business, wandering the streets of Bravyet after a very nice lunch at the 'Playful Mare'.
I'd decided not to waste much more of my pittance of pay on another round of ale and that I should really walk off the 4 tankards that I'd had with the meat pie. You never could be sure of those meat pies, they had a tendancy to have rich gravy just to cover the "meat" from being identified and as such ale was a requirement just to wash it down
People were just being their usual noisy selves and the air around the marketplace was filled with all sorts of shouting, laughing, arguements and singing. I love the marketplace, the noise of the people and animals, the smells of fresh food and flowers, the sight of people busy with their lives and the clash of colours and hues.
I was just walking and minding my own business, not a care in the world........ then it got quiet and dark."

2.
"I remember it started to get dark very quickly and I just shrugged it off, thinking the sun had gone behind a cloud untill I heard it, or rather didn't hear it.
The marketplace was quiet, the people stopped talking and shouting, the animals stopped barking and bleatting, the air became still. I looks up to see everyones face was turned to the West, over my shoulder, I followed thier gaze, I still wish I hadn't.
The Western sky was grey, deepening until it was jet black as my eyes moved southwards.
Then I noticed the shaking of the ground, the sway of the trees, the rattle of the marketstands.
Things got loud again, pretty quick.
People shouting, screaming, crying. Animals whining, scared and helpless.
Deep in the centre of the black, a pin prick to begin with, a small shaft of orange light piecered the sky.
Watching, the glow grew and flared until a ball of fire was streaking across the sky, moving northwest.
Seeing the trail of fire in the sky as it swept north over the horizon, made my eyes tear, the shear intensity of the light and the burning of the sky was imprinted and ingrain in my skull for the rest of my life.
After the mass moved past the horizon the shaking became worse until it exploded with a gut-wrenching tearing of the earth."

3.
"I remember the return of the noise and light.
Some people started to scream and shout, asking what, why, how and what just happened, liek anyone in the back end of Bravyets merchant quarters had any idea. If they did they were liars anyway.
Others fell to there knees like it was some kind of sign of God or something, praying or begging for salvation, deliverance or something.
Most people were just stunned by what they had seen, unable to think of what to do so they just stood slack jawed......myself included.
I never seen the sky on fire and I doubt I ever will again.
That was the day of The Burning."

Signing in.... The group

So what the heck is this all about then eh?

Well recently I have been bugging some friends about getting back to gaming (mainly tabletop RPG) and have found that they were pretty much as enthusiastic as I was.
Off the back of that as well is my long desire to write and maybe publish a game or two. Since 2 of the three guys here are already published to a small extent (in IRM, a short lived gaming magazine) I figure we can make this thing work.

So here we start with the first few posts, not knowing what to say or how to start off.
Whats gonna be posted?
Well, like the subtitle says ideas, game posts, various writings, links, suggestions and gumph as we play, design, write and hopefully one day publish games. You may find all sorts of gaming related stuff here so keep a look out for the stuff that interests you and ignore the mad ramblings inbetween

Hello and Welcome

Well, here we go.....
New month, new group, new blog.....