The holidays have begun and I am going to DM a major 4th edition campaign. But before I begin, I have to prepare it. I was given a time of two weeks, which would be quite a lot if I wasn’t leaving etc.

So, the first thing I did was writing down my Campaign Plan, reading The Universal Campaign Plan and going over Instant Campaign Builder and Start a Campaign Now. Now, that I have done it, I know more or less how my campaign is going to look like. However I still want to work on it, as it will be my first 4th edition campaign and I want it to be great.

So, here’s my timetable:

1st week: Writing things down
Adding treasures
Adding additional NPCs

2nd week: Adding additional quests.
Preparing the first 3 adventures

That’s more or less what I am going to do. How long does it usually take you to prepare a campaign? Please share in a comment.

This is the first edition of Sunday links. I used to take a break from posting on Sundays. From now on, there still won’t be any serious posts, but I will supply you with a number of cool RPG-related links, each one with my comment. So, let’s begin:
How Do You Foster Good Roleplaying? - Bob from RPGDigest writes about roleplaying and hack’n’slash style gaming and asks the question. More interestinmg then the article itself, are comments from readers.
GMing for Weight Loss - Adam Nave at Gnome Stew writes an interesting article about food and RPG.
Aleph Gaming - It seems this site hasn’t been updated for a long time. However, there are tons of useful aritcles. If you haven’t been there yet, go take a look.

Well, as I mentioned, I have been to London lately. The trip gave me an inspiration to write this article.

I believe 90% of our descriptions are improvised. This means, you didn’t plan them before the game, you haven’t got the descriptions written down and so on. Basically, the quality of your description depends on three things:

1. The amount of vocabulary that you use.
2. Your personal experience.
3. Your imagination.

The experience I am talking about in point 2 also includes movies you have seen, books you have read etc. Also, points 2 and 3 are related, the more you have seen, the more vivid imagination you have (This is not always true, but for this article, let’s pretend it is).

All those things support my theory that watching landscapes, dungeons and castles makes your descriptions more interesting, therefore it makes you a better GM.

Not convinced? Here’s an example:

1. Imagine and describe a waterfall in forest. Just now, without writing it down or preparing, like it was a gaming session.
2. Now look at this photo and this movie.
3. Describe the waterfall one more time.

I am sure you can feel the difference.

This works even better if you see some sceneries with your own eyes, your head is full of colorful descriptions. At least mine is.

You can even describe what you see (just in your head, not loudly), so you can practice for a future session.

What I want you to do is leave the computer for some time and go to a forest, park, meadow, look at the world around you and remember what you see. This will give you extra power, when you need to quickly describe some scenery.

Fresh air is also good for your health

Right, if you haven’t seen it yet, here it comes.

Link

I noticed that, in the comic, a DM is using a laptop. I have never tried GMing with a computer.
What bothers me is if that is the official way we should play from now on (D&D Insider etc.).

I came back from London, I had a great time. English landscape and London cathedrals, Tower of London etc. also are very inspiring for creating a RPG scenario.

Now, this post is to inform you that I will be leaving again, on the 23th of June, to the 28th. However, this time I will ensure that you will have as many posts as at times when I am at home.

By the way, it is so funny to write about yourself in 3rd person

Lack of half-orcs was one of the biggest disadvantages of newest DnD edition for me. I am a real orc-barbarian-lover, absence of my favourite race really hurts. However, I am not going to write about my sadness (cause in fact it was just a little irritation). Instead, let’s concentrate on what such change means, what are WotC trying to tell us.

The simplest characteristic of orcs (and half-orcs) is that they were stupid, ugly and strong. Believe me or not, it was great, being stupid allows you to do funny things. There were (many?) people who enjoyed playing a half-orc barbarian.

And, of course, barbarians are also out.

If we search the rulebook for a race that should be fulfill such players’ needs probably the best one are Dragonborns. However, they are still described as honourable, proud and ancient race. What if a player wants to play a simple, brutal and violent race?

You may think evil Tieflings are the answer. Well, again not so. With +2 Cha and +2 Int bonuses they suck as dumb killing machines. Even though the inside evil was what I liked about Orcs.

Some may say that a fighter, with proper powers, can work like a barbarian. This may be true, but still, they are not the same wild, unstoppable warriors I remember.

So, Wizards don’t like brutal and stupid heroes. I guess they wouldn’t suit to their paragon - epic system, where the epic heroes are wise, strong and noble.

What are we getting in return for the pure barbarian strength? Eladrins, which are graceful, intelligent and sooo elvish and cute that I skip their page when reading the corebook. Argh…

For the Horde!

Well, here’s a link to another funny comic connected with D&D and tabletop RPGs in general. It is not brilliant, but it is definitely good.
Have fun!

http://www.critical-fumble.com/

I am coming back on Wednesday, please don’t expect more posts until than. And please, be patient I am going to come back with some cool posts, as my school is finally going to be over.

 
I am going on a trip to London for a week, so expect much less posts than usually.

As you have probably noticed, there were not many posts lately as well, that’s because I was in mountains. What can I say - summer is beginning.

Anyway, I have written some posts in advance, so there will be something to read (and hopefully comment on) but not as much as usual.

I think that’s all. I just wanted for you to know, so you wouldn’t think I abandoned the blog or something.

Well, I just came back home from my local Game Day. I have played in one session, been GMing two games. Well, before I write something more about the Game Day itself and my impressions about 4th Edition, I want to say one thing about it:

It is sooo cool.

That’s right. The game is great, it remind me of the times I started playing D&D 3.0. I had a great time on the Game Day and I also came back with a free set of dices and some miniatures (unfortunately I am not getting a free T-Shirt).

The newest edition has a very “classical” feeling. You have seen the classes, the monsters, the dungeons thousands of times and you know them and you love them. It is fun to pwn some hobgoblins! You are anxiously waiting for your turn to use some super-power and cut a head off! You try different tactics, heal, shoot, kill etc.
The most important thing about the new D&D is that there are special abilities and powers both for PCs and monsters, so that everyone is unique and everyone have some tactics, and you combine different monsters in an encounter and cast spells and you watch the results and you secretly admit that you are so childish. Pure joy.

Well, I know this is a very chaotic post, but I am just writing down my impressions… If you want to read some more serious review take a look here or here. The first one is about the books, the other one is something more on gaming.

Chainmal Bikini is an absolutely hilarious web-comic for RPG players. If you haven’t tried it yet, go, now!

I know most of you probably know it, but if you don’t - you have to

Chainmal Bikini