My early role playing characters embarrass me. At the time, they were fun to play, but they were so one dimensional that a monkey could have role played with them. My perfect example of the stereotypical character was Thunk the Barbarian. Thunk was a fighter with high strength and constitution, and low intelligence and wisdom. He spoke in broken English, carried a gnarled wooden club, and tried to solve every problem by bashing it over the head, always with the battle cry, "Thunk Smash!"
Everyone would like to think that they are special. I know this, because I am like everyone. Yes, this applies to games as well. Once upon a time we could think that we were special because we were the hold outs on something: the only person who spoke Esperanto, the only soul with a Gloria Swanson-milk carton fetish, the only one still playing a Boot Hill campaign.
Part 3 of our (ever-increasingly unlikely to be) 10-part series has arrived at long last. Amidst rumors of Hasbro/Wizards of the Coast shakeups that could affect the future of the d20 movement, we found the time to chat with Alex Jurkat, CEO/Editor in Chief of Eden Studios, a 4-year-old company that's heavily involved in d20 publishing.
I wrote this as a quick interlude while the party explores their new land. I knew my party would be suspicious as hell, and take up most of their time trying to figure out where I had hidden the dragon, or tribe of 20 trolls. They finally found a small cave entrance in the SE corner of their land. That entrance led to the "Dungeon of the Fire Opal".
The Bucket of Holding grows ever deeper with dastardly things lining the rim, ready to attack the nearest passerby. The Bucket comes with a history, you see, one which isn't very pleasant. Want to know more about this magical artifact, long lost in your campaign world? Let us know by commenting below.
There comes a point in every gamer's life when he thinks back on all the roleplaying groups he's been a part of since he first picked up a d20 and a character sheet. He recalls great campaigns, beloved characters, favorite stories, and fellow players who became his friends for life. But when he considers those players more closely, he wonders "why is it that so few women get involved in what I know is a great hobby?"
After your success at Five Oaks, your party has ended up in the city of Pardue in the United Kingdom of Ahlissa. While making your daily rounds of Inns and taverns, you hear of trouble to the southeast of the city. Tales tell of a series of hills that have become infested by goblins. Some stories tell of how these goblins are led by particularly large and vicious goblins. After a couple of weeks of hearing these tales, wondering as to their validity, and perhaps even thinking that you might take a little trip to see if these rumors are true, a merchant confirms the tales.
I hate terminology. I really do. Terms are as dangerous as guns, and much easier to get a hold of. Terms kill as well, but do so by thought obliteration, by limiting a possibility to a narrow one. All words are terms. Using a word to describe something can fail utterly because not every word is able to take in the true meaning of a situation. One of the worst places for this sort of thing is in the gaming world.
In part 2 of our (hopefully) 10-part series, we interviewed a relative newcomer to the world of d20 publishing. We gave 20 questions to Margaret "Maggie" Vining of Better World Roleplaying, Inc., and she gave us her impression of the current state of the d20 system, and her part in the larger picture. Take a look inside Maggie's mind...
Jeff Dee is perhaps best known to fans of Villains & Vigilantes, oft recognized as one of the best Supers RPGs ever to come along. But he's much more than that; in his secret identity as a freelance designer and artist, he's also developed several other game systems, worked for TSR, and started UniGames with fellow artist and designer 'Manda. He was kind enough to lend us 30 minutes of his time.
