In case you missed it and you enjoyed the first DnD podcasts here’s the next installment – PAX 2011 Live D&D Game, Part 1
Category Archive: 4th Edition
Nov
10
May
09
Blender Update 5/9/2011
I really should change the name of these posts but this at least keeps them all the same. I could I guess globally swap the name out and I might at some point. Let’s see what’s changed… Modified the damage tracks and recovery methods to further differentiate Physical from Fatigue to Mental damage. Physical …
Mar
28
Blender Update 3/28/2011
Not much to report lately but I’ll offer what I’ve got. Work has been kicking my ass along with doing things around the house that I just haven’t had the time to do much. But with that said, I’m going to be adding in a Dodgy Bastard Knack that can be bought by a character. …
Feb
15
Blender Update 2/15/2011
The biggest thing is possibly that I’m thinking of changing the name to Lights, Camera, Action! - The Gaming System to stress the more ‘action movie’ feel the system is going for. As an example I’m stressing limited use of pointless encounters. Sure they make sense sometimes, specifically perhaps for a dungeon crawl type …
Jan
30
Castle Ravenloft and Kids
Over this last weekend we, my boys and I, played Castle Ravenloft the Boardgame. I have one son about to be 9 and 2 sons that just turned 7. We played the introductory mission as a group, the ‘find the stairs and escape out of the dungeons’ one. With a Fighter, Rogue, Ranger and Cleric …
Jan
25
Game Math Part 6
Work has continued on my game math and things are still looking ‘okay’ for the most part. I just realized on the drive to work this morning though that I don’t have any mechanism to reward good strength stats in melee. With fixed damages for the sake of the math and balance, it’s going to …
Jan
17
Nook Color
After a lot of consideration I picked up a Nook Color this weekend. I had it rooted roughly 30 minutes after actually using it for the first time, and 20 of that was to check out the stock OS on the device. A stock Nook Color is funcitonal if you want it to read books …
Jan
09
Game Math Part 4
The search for a game math mechanic that I’m happier with continues. Unfortunately the single die roll which determines attack and damage doesn’t work well for me. The math extremes are between the top and bottom are just too extreme. It’s a lot like the issues with the One Role Engine and it’s derivitives, there’s …
Jan
05
Game Math Part Three
I’ve been noodling the math some more. I’d come up with a scaling damage system that seems workable but I’ve hit a bit of a snag. To sum up the system, your level of ability at something is set by a dice pool. The more dice you have in the pool the better you are …
Dec
29
Doing the Math
If you happen by here from time to time you might notice I like to run the numbers with the mechanical bits, especially when something feels off about it. There is some iffy math in Savage Worlds for instance in that certain options are a bad idea although some become good when combined with …
Dec
28
Dice Mechanics Redux
As I mentioned awhile back I’ve been tossing around a dice mechanic for a game system. There’s a rather extensive set of design goals I’ve got floating around in the back of my head. Here’s some random thoughts on existing mechanics that keep them floating. Disclaimer: I like my systems to be mathematically balanced. Some people don’t, …
Dec
23
Castle Ravenloft Alternate Rules
I found this post on some alternate rules that you can use for Castle Ravenloft. These are rule changes and tweaks fostered by the gaming community to help with some of the… idiosyncracies of the existing rule system and by all accounts make the game even better. Your results may vary but I’m linking it …
Dec
20
Castle Ravenloft Howling Hag
What with work and a birthday party for the boys we again side tripped into another Castle Ravenloft adventure. We only had time for one as I was busy triaging an issue in London but it was quite entertaining. The adventure is The Howling Hag where some old lady is cooking up a nefarious ritual …
Dec
16
Castle Ravenloft Custom Cards
No they’re not anything I’ve done, that credit goes to someone on Board Game Geek but they’re pretty cool even if I didn’t have anything to do with them. You can download the PDF’s and print them yourself or there’s a way to get real cards as well and save yourself an ass load of …
Dec
13
Ravenloft Gameplay Continued
We continued our foray into Castle Ravenloft The Board Game this last weekend. With only three people anything else was pretty much out. We played three different scenarios, Daylight Assault, Final Transformation and Destroy the Dracolich. Daylight assault didn’t go well for us. The object was to collect 12 treasures and escape with them but …
Dec
10
Dice Mechanics
I’ve been thinking about dice mechanics and what I like and dislike about them. By dice mechanics I don’t mean the guys in little overalls who fix your craps dice but rather the ways various roleplaying games introduce randomness into their systems. The number of systems that I know about and this doesn’t include all …
Dec
06
Castle Ravenloft Game Play
This weekend instead of having a session of Gamma World 4E I brought out Castle Ravenloft The Board Game and we played Adventure 2 and 3, the first two multiplayer adventures. I’d already played Adventure 1 which is a solo adventure of the “Escape the castle” kind. Adventure 2 was a “Find the Chapel …
Nov
29
Castle Ravenloft – New Adventures
Played a solo game of Castle Ravenloft yesterday, first time playing and was immediately struck by expandable by the consumer the game would be. Sure enough a quick search this morning and there’s a bunch of new adventures, heroes, magic items and the like available. You can get started over on this thread on Board …
Nov
23
Gamma World: Molemen?
Session 2 of the Gamma World 4E mini-campaign – We pick up with our Gamma World Heroes as they wake up to the dawn of a brave new world, literally after the F3 class Flux Storm that descended on them as they defeated the huge bag lady in Novac. After getting acquainted with the effects …
Nov
19
Savaging Gamma 4E
After some casual thought I believe it would be possible to Savage (the general term in use to denote converting some system to Savage Worlds) Gamma World 4E. I was able to convert several sample origins and origin powers without significant roadblocks. The purpose of this thought exercise is that after using Savage Worlds, a combat …
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