tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-78429305551611021722024-03-05T07:18:33.805-05:00Being GiantAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17960874265925545983noreply@blogger.comBlogger61125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7842930555161102172.post-38558788231083734482014-01-25T11:06:00.000-05:002014-01-25T11:06:05.062-05:00Creation and DestructionThis blog has been largely abandoned by its author. The period of incoherent rambling is over for now. I have started a new project and have decided to give this new project a fresh space of its own.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://encyclopediaobscure.blogspot.com/">The Enyclopedia of the Obscure</a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17960874265925545983noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7842930555161102172.post-87195888964563565762013-10-24T07:05:00.001-04:002013-10-24T07:05:09.904-04:00Player versus Player ConflictWalt at Gnome Stew posted about <a href="http://www.gnomestew.com/gming-advice/fair-or-foul-intra-party-fights/" target="_blank">intra-party conflict the other day</a> wondering whether it is okay to stop it or should it be allowed to take its course.<br />
<br />
A quick caveat: I am not talking about characters having disagreements or role-playing tensions between them. This post is specifically about using game mechanics to harm, hamper, or kill another character.<br />
<br />
While obviously this is a social contract issue and is highly game and group dependent, I almost never allow it. Some games invite it - like <i>Paranoia </i>- but my experience has been that it is usually destructive, especially if the people at the table do not know each other well.<br />
<br />
Additionally, while intra-party conflict is sometimes defended as just being role-playing ("it's what my character would do!") what I have witnessed is intra-party conflict is a tool that players who want to remove agency from other players use to accomplish their goals (i.e. bullying).<br />
<br />
Again, this is group dependent, if this is not a problem you have ever experienced, then enjoy slaughtering each other. The one thing I might stop and ask though is: is everyone having fun?<br />
<br />
The problem with intra-party conflict in my model above is that it can be initiated unilaterally. One character just takes a swipe at another and there is nothing that another player can do to stop it.<br />
<br />
This is such a minefield of social variables that I find it simplest as the referee to just say no. The costs are small (characters cannot escalate a disagreement to physical force even if realistic). The benefits: no one walks away from my game feeling hurt, bullied, or otherwise upset.<br />
<br />
Fortunately almost nobody reads my blog so it is unlikely that I will have to defend this position against the inevitable backlash this sort statement gets so I will leave you faithful readers with a few tenants of my games:<br />
<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>No hurting other player characters. My game is not your forum to play out your bully fantasies.</li>
<li>No stealing from other player characters. We are here to play together, I won't let you steal from another player's wallet and I won't let you steal from their character either.</li>
<li>Only the player of a character may decide that character's actions, it is not your character so stop trying to tell them what to do.</li>
<li>Decisions are not made by talking loudest or most.</li>
<li>Play fair.</li>
<li>Make sure everyone has a chance to participate.</li>
<li>Make sure everyone is having fun.</li>
</ul>
<br />
<br />
Those tenants revolve around the ideas that one player may not take the agency of another player, and that the aim of the game is fun.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17960874265925545983noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7842930555161102172.post-88370322161694523542013-10-15T06:58:00.001-04:002013-10-15T06:58:31.140-04:00Free-form SkillsI'm reading <i>Unknown Armies </i>and it is fantastic. It isn't a sword and sorcery game but it would good to stretch myself from time to time. Very much reminds me of my favorite China Miéville novel - <i>Kraken</i>. I was a little startled when I discovered the skill system operates a lot like what I've finally settled on for my S&W games.<br />
<br />
I've talked from time to time about adapting the <i>Stars Without Number</i> skill system for fantasy games. Well, it's too much work to detail a bunch of skills and packages. Instead of a fixed skill list I've decided to just say: all adventurers have basic scouting style skills (camping, fire-making, first-aid, etc.) and whatever skills are appropriate to their class (e.g. fighters can repair and maintain weapons, use sophisticated battlefield tactics, and the like). Additionally I have players define a few skills that the character has. These can be as broad or specific as the player likes.<br />
<br />
Maybe up to 4, or three plus an advanced one. These can be anything that seems setting and character appropriate. The more specialized the skill is the lower the difficulty of your rolls (e.g. a character with survival would have to roll to make a trap, a character with trap-making would only need to roll to create something unique or especially dangerous).<br />
<br />
The skill-check is resolved with a roll of 2d6, stat bonuses add to the roll if applicable. 6 is an easy roll, 8 is a typical challenging task.<br />
<br />
The first level of a skill gives a +0, every level thereafter a +1. Skills are only improved with time, effort, and training.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17960874265925545983noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7842930555161102172.post-26709558548221879012013-10-09T16:00:00.000-04:002013-10-09T16:00:00.518-04:00Why Have Rules At All?While explaining the appeal of rules-light games to a friend who generally prefers a crunchier game, my friend asked me "then why have rules at all?"<br />
<br />
I think the answer basically comes down to this:<br />
<br />
A game is made more fun than just imagining through the limited introduction of rule. We use rules when we want to resolve things that are ambiguous, or when we want to abstract something, or when it is more fun to have a rule or constraint of some kind.<br />
<br />
Ambiguity:<br />
<br />
Some things are just ambiguous and dice mechanics are useful for those situations. Are you strong enough to knock the door down? It is hard to know, the player could say: "well I hit the door<i> really</i> hard." And we could try to work with that, but fundamentally this is an ambiguous situation and it is better to abstract it using a die roll.<br />
<br />
Abstractions:<br />
<br />
While in most cases in a rules-light roleplaying game descriptive exploration and activity is encouraged, there are areas where description is either too ambiguous (as above) or otherwise finicky or difficult adjudicate so we abstract that decision with a die roll. Combat, saving throws, and thief skills all fall into this category.<br />
<br />
Rules are fun:<br />
<br />
Rules ARE fun. They are fun to think about, they are fun to experiment with. Constraints can create challenge. Niche protection and spell memorization rules create interesting constraints. The many tables for spells, criticals, and fumbles in Dungeon Crawl Classics are a good example of rules being fun. They certainly slow the game a bit compared to what the game would play like in their absence. However, they provide a lot of fun without creating many constraints on what is possible in the game. What is problematic is that in many RPGs is that there are many rules because it seems to be that the "rules are fun" reason has been taken to extremes. Because we like rules for a few things or because a few rules are useful it doesn't mean rules are good or necessary when created to cover all situations.<br />
<br />
A key to an excellent game is making sure that the rules are serving a specific purpose. The rules covering every eventuality is not useful to a good game. Common sense can serve a lot of the need that rules purport to. The referee was introduced into wargaming as a way to obviate the need for encyclopedic rules and to make it possible for <b>anything to be attempted </b>(see <i>Playing at the World</i>). Referees can still do this job without a lot of policing! That is because <b>the referee is not the players' opponent</b>.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17960874265925545983noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7842930555161102172.post-80643413265862602972013-10-05T16:49:00.000-04:002013-10-05T16:49:00.782-04:00The Source of Clerical PowersThe reality of clerical magic is not per se evidence of the existence of the gods.<br />
<br />
I was reading <i>The Kobold Guide to Worldbuilding</i> and one of the articles was discussing the difficulty of atheism or agnosticism in a world where clerics have real magical powers. I think nothing could be further from the truth.<br />
<br />
While most clerics (or even most people) might believe that their powers come from a divine source that does not foreclose other possibilities. Perhaps clerics have gained powers through the brain altering power of prayer and meditation. Perhaps it is a form of sorcery that is simply not well understood but ascribed to higher powers. Or perhaps the "gods" are in fact other beings masquerading as gods.<br />
<br />
Just because someone says that something is the cause of another does not make it so.<br />
<br />
Perhaps wizards loath clerics for their dogmatic and irrational beliefs.<br />
<br />
Perhaps all wizards are traditionally elves and all clerics are traditionally humans and it is mere racial magic passed down along with the spiritual traditions of the race.<br />
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Perhaps things can be mysterious and ambiguous!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17960874265925545983noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7842930555161102172.post-8229340026452361152013-10-02T18:33:00.003-04:002013-10-02T18:35:01.449-04:00In which I become much more specific and discover the problem I am truly facing.Zak S. had some good feedback for me on my last post and through our conversation I have come to a few conclusions.<br />
<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>I don't mean collaboration. What I am talking about is participating. A game is created by mutual participation in the game. I am not talking about games where the storytelling responsibility is equally shared among all participants.</li>
<li>The problem I am grappling with is when players either don't participate in the game or are hostile to the game.</li>
<ul>
<li>I am not talking about quiet players, quiet players participate - just not always vocally.</li>
</ul>
<li>This behavior begs the question of why are they playing.</li>
</ul>
<div>
Zak said this:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
If someone is at your table it isn't necessarily because of some gameological compatibility--it's because they bring something (anything: creativity, friendship, snacks) to the table that you want at that table.If you want that at the table, then you don't get to change them. You, like any general, use what they bring (wanted and unwanted) to somehow fuel the game .If a player just wants to hit things with an axe, create situations where that desire makes the game more interesting for everyone rather than treating it as an obstacle.Your players have traits: you can use them for you or against you. If you use them for you, then you create an exciting game that will make everyone want to extend themselves in new ways.</blockquote>
<div>
<br /></div>
<br />
I think this is very well-phrased. I think that deep problems arise when a participant is no longer bringing something that you want to the table or if what the player wants is outside the scope of what you can provide in a game. At this point the game fails - at least in the context of that individual.</div>
<br />
This is what I was talking about with the terms collaboration and consensus. We at the table all come together to play this thing and bring whatever we have to offer. If one of the participants either: doesn't give anything; or interferes with the ability of the other players to participate you have a failure of the game.<br />
<br />
What I meant by rescue (which may have been a poorly chosen word) is: how can we invite a player who is not participating to participate? The problem may be that there the situation only occurs when there is <i>no longer anything that the player can or wants to bring to the game which is compatible with the game the others are playing.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
For whatever reason, I have noticed that this is most often an issue with people who have been roleplaying for a long time - hence the veteran player aspect. I suspect this is because some players may only have continued to roleplay for social reasons - and that over time the gap between their actual needs and desires from a game have increasingly diverged from what roleplaying has to offer - leading to anti-social play.<br />
<br />
Perhaps why play with new players tends to be better is that there is <i>no social impetus for the game to occur.</i> This would also apply to online play. The game only happens because of mutual interest.<br />
<br />
In terms of solving my particular problem? I think that sadly there is no game remedy, so the problem is inevitably a social one.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17960874265925545983noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7842930555161102172.post-934934510182880442013-10-01T20:01:00.001-04:002013-10-01T20:01:52.447-04:00Game Through ConsensusI love playing with players who are new to the hobby. They have no preconceptions. I try to run my game as much as possible by consensus. Whether it be the crunchiest modern system or the lightest OSR system consensus is the aspiration at my table. Collaboration is the only vehicle to a successful game. As I play with new players more I find that they are more open to the collaborative and consensus driven nature of my game. I find that often the more exposure players have had to role-playing the less they are interested in the group story. I don't know why this is. Maybe as players gain more experiences they become more particular as to what they want the story to be about and stop listening to the others at the table (or even the gamemaster)? Or maybe it is just that they have had a lot of non-collaborative roleplaying modeled to them, so they have become habituated to a different style of game - whereas the new player learns from what I model and suggest which may be quite different?<br />
<br />
In either case how can we rescue the veteran roleplayer?<br />
<br />
I also wonder if this is a problem I face alone, but my experience as a teacher tells me that a problem one person is having is often just the tip of the iceberg.<br />
<br />
Anyone have any thoughts?Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17960874265925545983noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7842930555161102172.post-39269339921665003742013-09-26T06:54:00.004-04:002013-09-26T06:55:30.792-04:00Alternatives to DeathOne of my goals for my over the table gaming is to spread the excellence of the OSR. However I find a lot of opposition to OSR games in my local community. One of the complaints is the lethality of the game. From a <a href="http://beinggiant.blogspot.com/2013/09/on-modern-game-player.html" target="_blank">certain perspective </a> this makes sense. For those players who want to invest in their character but find the likelihood of death in a gritty game is an impediment to engagement then the game is failing. I don't think it is my role as the GM to educate my players about the wisdom of the OSR, but rather it is my job to facilitate a game that all can enjoy. So I began thinking about ways to reduce the likelihood of permanent character death without making characters invincible.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<div>
<i>I'm not dead yet! </i>After being brought to 0 characters survive and can be saved for 1 round per level, through magical healing, binding wounds, or inspiration.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<i>Binding Wounds! </i>As per S&W White Box. Trying to do this during battle is not advisable without a fighter standing over you, but you can of course attempt anything!</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<i>Inspiration!</i> Any character can attempt to inspire a dying character to continue fighting. The character doing the inspiring makes a charisma check, if successful the dying character recovers to 1 hp and keeps fighting. This is a temporary hit point.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<i>Deal with Death!</i> Death is willing to bargain with heroic types. When a character dies death is willing to bargain with them. Death will resurrect the character in exchange for favors. Each resurrection incurs a debt with Death. If you roll a 1 on any d20 roll and have an outstanding debt Death calls in a favor. The favor would be determined randomly using the Tome of Adventure Design or similar quest table. If Death feels you are not making adequate process you might have to explain yourself. This is of course available totally on an opt-in basis. It is also rumored that other powerful beings have the ability to intercede and resurrect fallen heroes but they are not as predictable and even-handed as Death.</div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17960874265925545983noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7842930555161102172.post-5142024293775425112013-09-22T08:47:00.001-04:002013-09-22T08:49:04.234-04:00The Pitch: Crater DivingThe old folks say that when they were children the Empire straddled the continent entire, and that the Emperor sat upon a diamond throne in a shining city. Well, all that is gone since the five kings of the ancient kingdoms made war against the throne. The war raged for seven years. In the winter of that seventh year the Emperor was on the verge of defeat. Some say he summoned a great demon from Outside. Others say he slew his own priests and stole a weapon forged in darkness. Children and fools believe he became a ravening dragon. Whatever the truth is, the armies of the kings vanished at the gates of the Imperial City - along with the city itself. Instead a gaping wound was left in the earth and the land for miles around was left a wasteland.<br />
<br />
The five kings allied in the war all suspected treachery in each other and, the armies destroyed and kingdoms impoverished by the expensive war, settled into an uneasy, inward looking peace while they rebuilt.<br />
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Curious types soon began exploring the crater where the Imperial City once stood and found it was riddled with mysterious tunnels and caves - as if the earth below the city had been rotten. When a group of delvers brought up a chest full of gold and jewels word exploded across the continent and treasure hunters, mercenaries, and cutthroats of all sort made pilgrimage to the crater to seek their fortune. Many of those who went down never came back up, but nonetheless many still make their way to this unhappy place. So many that a thriving boomtown was settled on the rim of the crater, catering to the wants and needs of the delvers.<br />
<br />
Now people from across the continent make their way to the crater for information, magic, and hired-blades for there is no better place to find any of those precious resources.<br />
<br />
The five kingdoms have rebuilt their peasantry and armories and eye each other hungrily across their borders.<br />
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And quietly, sages at the crater warn those who listen that the wound in the earth is growing.<br />
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You, a treasure hunter through and through, have journeyed from your homeland seeking your fortune at the crater.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17960874265925545983noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7842930555161102172.post-69123487814584614962013-09-15T09:07:00.003-04:002013-09-15T09:12:31.247-04:00on the modern game player<span style="background-color: black; color: #cccccc; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Holy crap, it's been over 7 months since I posted anything. I haven't been posting because I've been busy with work, life, and gaming! So I am content with that.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: #cccccc;"><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">I've been running a lot of games in that 7 months including a nice sustained Swords & Wizardry game that lasted a pretty good while. Since then though the group has fallen apart and attempts to begin new games have been failures.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: #cccccc;"><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Last night I sat down with two key players and hashed around about why things weren't working and what we wanted to do about it.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: #cccccc;"><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Key points from the discussion: I find Pathfinder and most rulesy games obnoxious (for reasons I have posted about ad nauseum); Player A doesn't like OSR games because he finds character death upsetting and discouraging; Player B wants to play fantasy and doesn't want to get bogged down in rules adjudication.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: #cccccc;"><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">We decided that I would run a series of one-shots with them and a few new prospect players to A) try get a group and time established; B) try out some systems and settings and see what people like.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: #cccccc;"><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Then this morning I finally understood the modern game player in my group (Player A above) and I sent A & B this email:</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: #cccccc;"><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><i>After a good night's sleep I think I have an insight coming out of last night's discussion.</i></span></span><br />
<div style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<i><span style="background-color: black; color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<i><span style="background-color: black; color: #cccccc;">RPGs can be divided broadly into two categories: story games and traditional games. Story games have mechanics that can effect the narrative, in traditional games the narrative is totally the purview of the GM.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="background-color: black; color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<i><span style="background-color: black; color: #cccccc;">Within traditional there are modern and OSR (old-school) games. Modern games tend to be rulesy and tend not to include character death as a large part of play. Whereas OSR games tend to be rules-light and embrace character death. Until last night I was focused on the rulesyness as the main dividing line not thinking about the implications of the latter division.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="background-color: black; color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<i><span style="background-color: black; color: #cccccc;">The big difference I think is that in a modern game we are telling The Characters' Story, in an OSR game we are telling The Story - in which the characters are participants. That is why for me (and others who enjoy OSR games) character death is (while sometimes disappointing or frustrating) fundamentally not a big deal, because the larger story in which we are participating continues, and we get to continue participating through a new character. This can even be exciting.</span></i></div>
<div style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<i><span style="background-color: black; color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<i><span style="background-color: black; color: #cccccc;">Neither of these approaches is badwrongfun, but I think our discussion finally gave me insight in to the modern game player's preference. Having permadeath on the table adds to tension, excitement, and ultimately the satisfaction in victory for the OSR player - because the OSR player is focused on the overarching game experience. For the modern player it is merely loss, because the focus is on the character in its individuality.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="background-color: black; color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<i><span style="background-color: black; color: #cccccc;">So for RP oriented players the rules heaviness may not be the important distinction at all.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="background-color: black; color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<i><span style="background-color: black; color: #cccccc;">I may run something other than Other Dust for the 1st one-shot game. It is most definitely an OSR game. So while it has awesome systems and lots of opportunity for sandboxing and RP there are mutants in the waste that want to (and can) eat your face.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="background-color: black; color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<i><span style="background-color: black; color: #cccccc;">-JD</span></i></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17960874265925545983noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7842930555161102172.post-84246524284139094362013-02-23T10:45:00.000-05:002013-02-23T10:45:38.378-05:00Ancient Alien Power SourceWhere do dungeons come from?<br />
<br />
If you are swayed at all by <a href="http://grognardia.blogspot.com/2008/09/gygaxian-naturalism.html" target="_blank">Gygaxian Naturalism</a> this is a serious question. While I enjoy games that have weird stuff in them I find that if things don't make some sort of sense, if there is not some reasonable verisimilitude, I find it hard to suspend my disbelief and invest my imaginative powers in the game.<br />
<br />
So where <i>do</i> dungeons come from? Ruins, crypts, and caves seem to account for many of them. Well, why are they full of monsters? What percentage of such things end up being full of monsters? How do they supply themselves and where does their material culture come from? These sorts of questions lead to a Gygaxian Madness of maps full of lots of latrines, bedrooms, and kitchen. How many goblins to a latrine? How much grain do the giant rats need access to? The dungeon master can easily spend enormous amounts of time worrying over this sort of minutia that ends up being quickly forgotten flavor description. Basically not a good use of time worrying over, but if you are a logical sort of person who thinks about these things you will probably spend a lot of time thinking about why exactly some dead become undead, and why certain places are infested with this or that and others aren't. Some of these things are important back-story considerations and others (e.g. how many weeks of rations can you reasonably retrieve from the goblin storage-warehouse, and where did all of these barrels come from?) are just distractions.<br />
<br />
How come all of these monsters have managed to exist, survive, and even thrive alongside humans? Humans may have become agrarian because they wiped out all of the mega-fauna they hunted in the paleolithic, so how come we have a world full of crazy beasties alongside professional monster-slaughterers? It is either a crazy game of evolutionary arms-race, or they must be <i>coming</i> from somewhere.<br />
<br />
<b>Ancient Alien Power Sources:</b><br />
<br />
In the before time, otherworldly beings visited, lived, fought wars, and died on the planet<b>. </b>The ruins of their technology can be found here and there, particularly if you delve underground where the ruins are protected from the elements. In these places one can find crashed starships, factories, and even cities built out of strange materials and exhibiting wondrous qualities. Most dangerously though one can also find the long-decayed power sources of their civilization.<br />
<br />
These power sources, large and small, have lasted across the eons but have decayed and become uncontrolled. Their strange emanations twist the matter and energy of the universe itself. In their vicinity strange creatures roam and the earth itself can become deformed. Sometimes alien sites no longer hold any trace of their true nature other than the power of source. These places hold wondrous unearthly riches and terrible dangers. The power sources themselves, (which have through the ages mutated and changed into many forms) are a miracle and a disaster, bringing both power and corruption to those sorcerers and heroes who attempt to harness their powers. Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17960874265925545983noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7842930555161102172.post-19843756387124023852013-02-19T17:11:00.000-05:002013-02-19T17:11:00.148-05:00Updated 0th level character sheetI have updated the 0th level sheet, the new sheet can be found <a href="https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B9Hw860V1J9XWDR1Y19FYmVJSm8/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank">here.</a><br />
<br />
My next DCC projects:<br />
<ul>
<li>Make a 1st/2nd level sheet. I am thinking it should probably be two characters per sheet.</li>
<li>Make some sort of marching order tracker, maybe something as simple as little character nametags that can be pushed around as characters <strike>die</strike> change march order.</li>
<li>Spells record sheet. Instead of printing out gobs of text about each spell I think a simplified cheat sheet for players to fill out would work well. One stop shop for all of the relevant information (mercurial magic, manifestation, brief summary of spell effects, etc.).</li>
</ul>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17960874265925545983noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7842930555161102172.post-75660871841233779602013-02-18T15:10:00.003-05:002013-02-18T15:10:34.725-05:00Religion on the IsleThree religious groups account for most of the believers on the Isle: the Church of the One True God, The Holy Order of the Eternal Void, and the Righteous Path.<br />
<br />
<b>The Church of the One True God</b><br />
<br />
Before the base world there was pure law, truth is law and all else is illusion and corruption. <br />
<br />
The state religion of the Isle and by far the most popular. The Church is responsible for many good works around the Isle including insuring (comparative) safety on the roads and shipping lanes, charity to the poor, and the championing of righteous causes. The Church rejects the notion of other deities, denouncing other powers as devils and tricksters and stamping out other religious sects when able. Encountering the healers and holy warriors of the Church is a boon or bane depending on ones outlook as they are equally quick to help allies and destroy enemies.<br />
<br />
<b>The Holy Order of the Eternal Void</b><br />
<br />
Before law and chaos was the void, pure, holy, and unattainable. Seeking the bliss of the void is the only true path.<br />
<br />
In secret enclaves and remote temples one can find the Holy Order. Despite cultural, theological, and material encroachment from the Church, this ancient mystical order remains. They quietly and patiently seek out converts among the mystically oriented. The Order claims that they are a peaceful, intellectual sect, but the Church claims that they are in league with evil forces from beyond space and time.<br />
<br />
<b>The Righteous Path</b><br />
<br />
Before the coming of the great powers there was only freedom. Freedom is power, slavery is death.<br />
<b> </b><br />
The Righteous Path has no organization or assembly but is rather a loose association of like-minded mystics. They believe that the purpose of the powers of law is to enslave and that the void is a mere shadow of law. Freedom is the true path of humanity. Some say though that the worshipers of the Righteous Path seek only their own freedom regardless of cost, consorting freely with terrible enemies from Outside. The Church hunts the Righteous Path with obsessive fervor.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17960874265925545983noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7842930555161102172.post-23123209431240204232013-02-10T20:32:00.000-05:002013-02-18T14:48:30.097-05:00The Horror at IlioAs I add things to flesh out the Isle of the Unknown I will post a summary here along with the hex it is in. Generally I will post the descriptions, plot hooks, etc. but leave off the game statistics (unless there is a desire for game statistics?).<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Hex 0506<br />
<br />
On the southern shore of the bay sits the town of Ilio. The town relies heavily on fishing (along with vineyards and some farming).<br />
<br />
Over the past few weeks a strange red ooze has been filling the bay corroding the hulls of ships. Some fisherman have disappeared. The ooze can be traced to a small cave along the shore. The cave can only be entered at low tide.<br />
<br />
Behind the ooze lies Yapesh, a wizard who, having been taunted by his peers as a scrawny boy in Ilio now seeks revenge against his persecutors. He has sworn allegiance to a terrible brine demon in exchange for his wizardly and alchemical powers. The brine demon takes the form of a giant bipedal shrimp with a blue crystalline rhombus instead of a head. The demon attacks with a powerful psychic attack that enslaves those it does not kill outright.<br />
<br />
Yapesh's cave is full of alchemical and magical traps of his own devising, along with the carnivorous shrimp-spawn of the brine demon, psychically enslaved fisherman, a dangerous brine elemental that takes the form of an enormous, iridescent snake, and treacherous portals to a watery extra-planar domain. Beware high tide.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17960874265925545983noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7842930555161102172.post-85914461038635295602013-02-06T21:15:00.000-05:002013-02-18T17:04:05.456-05:00DCC RPG 0th Level Character Sheet<i>Update: I have made some minor changes to the character sheet based on player feedback. <a href="https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B9Hw860V1J9XWDR1Y19FYmVJSm8/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank">Here is the new 0th level record sheet.</a></i> <br />
<br />
So, my few readers, the blog has obviously been not doing much since I started my new job this fall. Projects begun and largely abandoned. I am okay with this I think. I've run a fairly good Swords & Wizardry campaign, which I am now throwing overboard to begin a long awaited Dungeon Crawl Classics game. I am going to be running the game on the Isle of the Unknown to get me past the world creation point I always get completely stuck at: the basic map.<br />
<br />
My resolutions:<br />
<ol>
<li>Actually work on fleshing out my game world. I have always enjoyed this but have gotten flummoxed since my return to gaming with the whole map thing. Having removed the map from the equation I should have no more excuses.</li>
<li>Work on creating things that I wish I had access to. For example a 0th level character sheet for Dungeon Crawl Classics. </li>
<li>Post the crap I create for my game.</li>
<li>Post no more random ramblings. </li>
</ol>
I have wanted a good character sheet for funnel play in DCC. Full character sheets are a waste at this phase and you can go through a lot of index cards.<br />
<br />
So I made one: <a href="https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B9Hw860V1J9XWDR1Y19FYmVJSm8/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank">0th Level Record Sheet</a>. <i>Link updated 2/18/2013.</i><br />
<br />
Feedback is welcome, this was my first time using Scribus (or any layout software for that matter).Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17960874265925545983noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7842930555161102172.post-36263988850563635332013-01-06T11:03:00.000-05:002013-01-06T11:03:25.967-05:00The Stag and the GladeHuntsman and travelers tell of a giant stag that wanders the woods. A careful search of the woods will reveal signs of the stags passing. The stag is fearless and makes no effort to disguise its passage. A ranger or other skilled tracker can follow the stag to an ancient and hidden portion of the forest. The stag will often be found drinking from a clear pool at the foot of a massive deciduous tree. The stag is an ordinary animal but 9 feet tall at the withers with a rack 6 feet across. The stag is fearless but will flee from giants and speakers of giantish. The pool is pure clean water and the tree radiates a faint aura of holy magic. The pool, the tree, and the stag are all under the protection of the various powers of the forest. Desecrating any or all of them will invoke the wrath of the forest but consequences are not immediate, rather agents of the ancient forest will seek revenge from time to time, if they fail however, the wrath of the forest builds over time until making all out war against the violators. Atoning for such a crime is possible but exceedingly difficult. On the other hand protecting the sacred stag and glade from harm will earn the gratitude of the forest itself - a powerful ally indeed.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17960874265925545983noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7842930555161102172.post-59972361077950591192012-12-30T11:48:00.002-05:002012-12-30T11:49:24.954-05:00DCC Critical hits for S&WI want to use DCC critical hits and fumbles for my Swords & Wizardry game. Fumble table maps directly. The classes map as follows:<br />
<br />
Fighter --> Warrior<br />
Cleric --> Cleric<br />
Thief, Assassin, Monk --> Thief<br />
Magic-user --> Wizard<br />
Paladin, Ranger --> Dwarf<br />
Druid --> Elf<br />
<br />
The only thing I haven't decided is whether to keep the levels the same. DCC is only a 10 level game, S&W is theoretically 20. I think it might work fine to just keep the levels the same though. This fits with the flattening of the power curve after level 10. That being said it would be something to strive for at high levels.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17960874265925545983noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7842930555161102172.post-20331235759934104162012-12-01T09:14:00.000-05:002012-12-01T09:29:28.825-05:00More on paintSince my last post I've been working more with the paints I have bought and changed my mind on a few things.<br />
<br />
While I do love the stickiness of the Vallejo paints they are not well suited for blending. They lay down an excellent base coat (and I have read they are likewise great for layering - I don't have enough colors to try it). They look a bit "out of the tube" though, very bright and flat. The Reaper paints in contrast mix and blend beautifully. I mixed the red I have with the flesh tone and wound up with a wonderful leathery pink that I used to paint a grimoire (Malifaux Student of Battle if you care).<br />
<br />
I have also continued to research (I am planning to buy a paint set) and apparently the Vallejo paints have a very bad separation problem. I haven't seen it yet but I don't do tons of painting so paint needs to last for me. The more I use the Reaper paints the more I like them, so I think I will probably buy a set of Reaper paint and only possibly buy Vallejo for colors that are tricky to basecoat - like yellow for example. Also, Reaper I can buy directly from them instead of going through unknown ebay dealers which to me is a plus. I have had great experiences with Reaper's customer service and they ship like lightning.<br />
<br />
Lastly, the more I work with either of these paints the less I like my Citadel paints. Some people swear by them, and some people claim there is no difference but if I could go back I would never have bought them. They are more expensive and I find them much more difficult to work with than either of Reaper of Vallejo. My recommendation for a new painter would be: skip Citadel completely, buy a few of Vallejo and a few from Reaper and try them out, see what works for you. I have heard mixed things about P3, but I've never tried them.<br />
<br />
<i>Edit: One good thing for a beginner about Citadel paints for beginners is that they have pretty good coverage. I think it is hard to get a precise edge with them though due to the consistency of the paint. So a beginner might be able to lay down only a coat or two (which is satisfying) you will have a hard time not obscuring details and getting paint all over the model. I think a beginner might be more satisfied with Vallejo if coverage is an issue. Reaper is thin, which is nice for details.</i> <br />
<br />
These are both good paints with strengths and weaknesses. If I were rich I'd buy both. In reality I think I am going to buy heavily into Reaper and supplement here and there with Vallejo.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17960874265925545983noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7842930555161102172.post-42198479742065024262012-11-23T17:06:00.002-05:002012-11-23T17:06:51.183-05:00On paintI don't have enough colors so I want to buy a huge paint-set thingy. I knew it was time for an upgrade from Citadel paints, but I wasn't sure what brand to go to. So I bought a few Reaper paints and a few Vallejo paints to give them a try. Both of these come in droppers instead of paint pots and have a good reputation (and cost a little more than Citadel paints). I tested them alongside the Citadel paints on a Reaper Bones model. I liked the Reaper paints, they went on a bit more cleanly than the Citadel paints and the droppers are nice. The Vallejo paints are awesome. They go on in a smooth, even coating layer and practically cling to the model.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17960874265925545983noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7842930555161102172.post-66810784277036240282012-11-23T12:04:00.001-05:002012-11-23T12:04:39.497-05:00Provisional list of skillsBasically the list of skills I might include, cobbled together from various sources and my imagination along with a few notes. Any thoughts would be appreciated.<br />
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Artistry</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Athletics</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Trade and appraisal</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Combat (melee - maybe heavy and light separate?, missile, thrown,
unarmed) – not sure if I want to include this aspect from SWN. But
I thought I'd at least consider it.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Armor (heavy, light, unarmored) these
wouldd probably give some sort of bonus for skill (not necessarily
AC)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Culture
adventurer/criminal/region/race, culture adventurer might include:
how to get along in a variety of cultures, and basic adventuring
skills: lighting fires, riding a horse (out of combat), appraising
common goods, recognizing common monsters.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Gambling</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
History (probably not available to most
PCs)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Instructor</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Language</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Leadership</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Navigation</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Listening</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Profession (whatever trade you can
think of!)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Religion (probably not available to
most PCs)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Science & mathematics</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Security</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Stealth</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Steward</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Survival</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Tactics</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Engineering</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Tech (primitive, arcane) –
contemporary technology would be covered under other skills or the
relevant profession</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Riding</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Sailing and boating</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Healing</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Animal handling</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Poison use</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Sleight of hand</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Tinkering</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17960874265925545983noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7842930555161102172.post-22737150434773846622012-11-16T06:24:00.001-05:002012-11-16T06:24:44.927-05:00I'm not dead yet!But you might think my blog is.<br />
<br />
But no! It returns from the grave! Skip to the bottom if you don't want to read personal ramblings and just want some cold hard analysis on PoD providers.<br />
<br />
September and October are crazy months in my profession under normal circumstances (guess what I do). I started a new job this year. So yeah. No blogging happened.<br />
<br />
What did happen though was Swords & Wizardry. I formed a new group and we have been playing Swords & Wizardry biweekly with fair consistency. The players have nearly completed <i>The Tomb of the Iron God</i> and some of them are level 2. We have had only a few PC deaths but many hireling deaths. It's been a blast and I will be posting some thoughts based on honest to goodness play sometime soon.<br />
<br />
Other projects (magic realm and fantasy SWN skills) are not dead or forgotten just on hiatus.<br />
<br />
____________<br />
<br />
It's been just over a year since I first became aware of the OSR movement and realized I was not the only one who felt that modern D&D was an abomination. It is also just over a year since I bought my first PoD books from Lulu - Labyrinth Lord and Stonehell. I have bought many (too many probably) OSR products since and have developed some clear preferences.<br />
<br />
The two main providers of print on demand for OSR products are RPGnow and Lulu. RPGnow usually includes free pdfs which is nice. But the Lulu books are much better. If you compare for example the softcover I have of Barrowmaze I with my Stonehell softcover, the Stonehell is easily the superior book. (better paper, better binding, cover is better material). Likewise, compare my Labyrinth Lord hardcovers with my Barrowmaze II hardcover (sorry Barrowmaze), again the Lulu books are made with better materials and are better constructed. While I am generally pleased with the content of books I have bought from RPGnow, the books themselves are inevitably a little disappointing.<br />
<br />
Upshot: my recommendation would be buy from Lulu unless you really care about PDFs. I have also heard that Lulu has ridiculous shipping fees for outside of the US. That would also be a good reason (provided that RPGnow is better, I have no idea).Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17960874265925545983noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7842930555161102172.post-31719851181850057872012-08-30T08:17:00.001-04:002012-09-08T16:53:57.861-04:00SWN-like skills for fantasy settings.As much as I dislike d20 skills, I actually have enjoyed using the skill system from Stars Without Number. I've been contemplating for some time adapting that system for use with fantasy games. Even though the OSR community has a general share and share-alike policy, I went ahead and asked Kevin Crawford if it was okay to borrow from his systems and he gave an emphatic yes.<br />
<br />
Here are my initial thoughts on what this should like:<br />
<br />
Skills should never <a href="http://beinggiant.blogspot.com/2012/03/special-problem-of-knowledge-skills.html" target="_blank">remove exploration or discovery</a> from the game.<br />
<br />
Skills should not be <a href="http://hackslashmaster.blogspot.com/2012/01/epic-failure-of-perception-and-stealth.html" target="_blank">skill taxes or remove game play</a>.<br />
<br />
Skills should not be <a href="http://hackslashmaster.blogspot.com/2011/12/on-skill-deconstruction-appraise.html" target="_blank">useless</a>.<br />
<br />
Since I will be using SWN as my baseline I will avoid the linear-skill roll problem and some of the difficulty with modifiers, character creation, and the like. I intend to rewrite the list of skills and packages pretty much from scratch for obvious reasons.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17960874265925545983noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7842930555161102172.post-65048983890186231532012-08-29T22:01:00.000-04:002012-08-29T22:01:05.084-04:00Magic Realm - Acquired!I've been hoping to acquire a copy of Magic Realm for quite some time and a friend brought me back a copy from GenCon. Beat up box, heavily marked up rulebook, but it appears to be complete and all of the components are in good condition. In fact, many of the counters were unpunched. So tonight I did the unthinkable and punched them all out. The finicky collector in me is appalled, but I don't collect games to look at them. Expect a series of posts about me trying to figure this out.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17960874265925545983noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7842930555161102172.post-89275628151971081842012-08-15T11:57:00.003-04:002012-08-15T11:58:21.458-04:00Reaper Bones review part 3So as I posted originally, I've been curious about the <a href="http://www.reapermini.com/miniatures/bones" target="_blank">Reaper Bones line</a> for some time now. I decided to go ahead and buy one because of the <a href="http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1513061270/reaper-miniatures-bones-an-evolution-of-gaming-min" target="_blank">Reaper Bones Kickstarter</a>. I wanted to at least check one out before dropping $100+ on a big bag o' minis. To be very conservative I only bought one, and did not go for the free shipping (perhaps my only regret as I ended up really liking the model).<br />
<br />
Because of other reviews I read <a href="http://flamingtales.blogspot.com/2012/03/reaper-bones-review.html" target="_blank">here</a> and <a href="http://blackwarden.blogspot.com/2012/03/reaper-bones-review.html" target="_blank">here</a> I did not bother trying to remove mold lines and I did not use a guide coat (a light paint wash on the white model). The mold lines weren't bad - a bit on the helmet and on the legs, might be more of an issue on a different model.<br />
<br />
As mentioned before the model was a bit bent, but very hot water allowed me to reshape it.<br />
<br />
Now for painting and some pictures! I've never photographed my miniatures before so it was a bit of an experiment, I think the pictures turned out okay though.<br />
<br />
Here is the unpainted model:<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy3UgZnUGJ0atQrrWkgK1YUCzj_3MYOpkIpuT5S9kz6R6DpE6WqZpgWyps4yH6vCEY-CCzNPVky6O5SPcU3yvWUclUzutySyLmyGNdcM1xf4Bd7MVnczXBN3fTxmlXZpHshNiPEYy4Fy4/s1600/003.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy3UgZnUGJ0atQrrWkgK1YUCzj_3MYOpkIpuT5S9kz6R6DpE6WqZpgWyps4yH6vCEY-CCzNPVky6O5SPcU3yvWUclUzutySyLmyGNdcM1xf4Bd7MVnczXBN3fTxmlXZpHshNiPEYy4Fy4/s1600/003.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
I painted on three base colors and then added a brown wash. I found that if the paint was thinned at all that it slid around a lot on the plastic so I had to keep my brushes and paints quite dry. The only issue was that it meant I had to be extra careful not to fill in details - on the finished model there are a few places where the paint on the chainmail is a little too thick.<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiokXT24hq7bOmgAuoTrKxc0jr3ZXhB86NJQAYQyNDsA17kOUSXWydAqRmpjceQwXXbmxHNY4ZqiE8yiQKoo90Ox4WVa6nhqr4vGcKqoJbjr99AffQYxRnl5qKo8ClARDtaQ2vmdlDu6z0/s1600/005.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiokXT24hq7bOmgAuoTrKxc0jr3ZXhB86NJQAYQyNDsA17kOUSXWydAqRmpjceQwXXbmxHNY4ZqiE8yiQKoo90Ox4WVa6nhqr4vGcKqoJbjr99AffQYxRnl5qKo8ClARDtaQ2vmdlDu6z0/s1600/005.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
Because of the paint slipping on the plastic I had to do some evening out of the base layer, mostly accomplished with dry-brushing. I followed that with detailing and dry brushing, along with some additional washing, brown or black depending on the area. I think it turned out looking pretty decent, and the model is definitely a value at $2.<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8T1PCSUt7sBZDTmDZNrIARBFiYGdCkgs2meWdHMd8zGlgZr-PjMC2ORhLsFuKrvFRgj_S9k6oJx1MioIbUe62b-1FiSLmC7j4UmXSWLREs94IWXCd_V0xeeWf_jWpODRxjADBLw45mMU/s1600/012.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8T1PCSUt7sBZDTmDZNrIARBFiYGdCkgs2meWdHMd8zGlgZr-PjMC2ORhLsFuKrvFRgj_S9k6oJx1MioIbUe62b-1FiSLmC7j4UmXSWLREs94IWXCd_V0xeeWf_jWpODRxjADBLw45mMU/s1600/012.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
These models are definitely intended for play. They are cheap and durable (I did a <i>lot</i> of bending of it trying to straighten out the sword before I was successful). If you want perfect control, go for more expensive metal models. I don't know about other people, but I don't like other people handling my metal models, whereas this I will not be fussy about.<br />
<br />
It looks like many of the bones line also come in prepainted versions, but frankly mine looks a lot better than the prepainted version and I'm by no means an expert painter. Also, the unpainted models are a good bit cheaper (even counting the paint).<br />
<br />
So the upshot is that I am totally satisfied and I will by buying more of these and I can't wait to use them.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17960874265925545983noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7842930555161102172.post-78860965754580849822012-08-09T18:10:00.001-04:002012-08-15T12:00:43.782-04:00Reaper Bones review part 2<i><a href="http://beinggiant.blogspot.com/2012/08/reaper-bones-review-part-3.html" target="_blank">Read the final review here.</a></i><br />
<br />
Quick update:<br />
<br />
Over the last few days I've corresponded with someone at Reaper who gave me a number of suggestions for fixing the bentness of the warrior's sword. Finally hit upon one that worked very well: soak briefly in hot water then reform, hold until cool. I tried first with just using water hot from the tap, didn't work, but then microwaved the water until nearly boiling and just dipped in the sword arm - the sword basically straightened itself. It is not totally perfect looking but weapons on metal miniatures rarely end up being perfectly straight either so I'm not going to fuss. As I said, I don't think being terribly finicky is worth it for a $2 miniature. That being said, now that I know I can fix bent weapons I am <i>much</i> more likely to buy more of the line and will likely wind up contributing to the kickstarter campaign.<br />
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Once I put some paint on it I'll update again.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17960874265925545983noreply@blogger.com2