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Post by Merctime on Nov 13, 2014 13:30:46 GMT -6
Hmm. Maybe Jeff can use one of those UPS pens that writes digitally Seriously, though... AS&SH is a fantastic bargain. Heartily recommended to ANYONE who loves great gaming. I don't have a signed/numbered copy, but even my 'standard' variety is some of the best 50 bucks I ever spent. Jeff and crew did a phenomenal job with it. Great presentation, great quality, great game!!! Two thumbs up.
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Post by Merctime on Nov 12, 2014 15:43:49 GMT -6
((A bit off-topic of the OP, I hope you don't mind!!)) I absolutely LIVE for hiring mercenaries, and, importantly, retainers/henchmen at every opportunity. Not only do they increase survivability in my opinion, but also 'player power' if you will (note: I am not a 'munchkin' type, though). Henchmen specifically because they will hopefully become very loyal lieutenants and captains and bishops at one's keep in later levels! I love 'end-game' style domain play; Especially with the benefit of a hireling who's been leveling right alongside you! I didn't start with OD&D I'm afraid. So I can't speak for someone during that timeframe. BUT. As a person who started with either Holmes or B/X (it's been so long, I can't remember which!!) back in the day, it's definitely the way I played over 25 years ago! ...Now to be back on-topic. Can you 'hook a brother up' and let us know where you got that great cleric drawing?
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Post by Merctime on Nov 10, 2014 21:29:36 GMT -6
Man, this is great stuff! I love the cleric 'doodle' too, btw... If that's doodling, I'd love to see art!
What kind of paper did you print these on?
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Post by Merctime on Nov 9, 2014 17:45:12 GMT -6
Anyway, the "1/2" doesn't ruin this product in the slightest. You have done a great job with your stewardship of DD. This is exactly my sentiment! But, I'm quite sure you'd like to scratch this itch. Mabye it is as "simple" as using a different font? I wonder if you can go to one of the free online font galleries and check the one used for the PoD, and see if there is some type of library of information on that font's download page that says if it contains composite characters or not? Perhaps there is a list of fonts that lists ones that are, and ones that aren't? Just some ideas.
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Post by Merctime on Nov 6, 2014 12:28:12 GMT -6
Sounds like the gate to my back yard..... I hope you've got a great STR!
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Post by Merctime on Nov 6, 2014 9:36:28 GMT -6
I guess I integrate ideas better than I create. This is me in a nutshell; But I'm working on practicing that out. Not sure if I'll succeed! Also no offense meant, Makofan... You are a fantastic DM. It's awesome to play in your game, bro.
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Post by Merctime on Nov 5, 2014 19:56:00 GMT -6
Is it not awesome that you can read the DMG over and over and still find stuff you've never seen before? Almost magical... This! In spades!
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Post by Merctime on Nov 5, 2014 11:20:55 GMT -6
I've done alot of solo games myself lately. I use Ruins of the Undercity for that, mostly; Or sometimes just the straight DMG tables.
Back in the days, I began running modules, then as a kid tried to make my own using the modules as a learning block how to do so. Then, to my great misfortune, I began to become a sort of 'dungeon magazine crack baby' and used alot of those adventures instead of writing my own. I really believe my ability to create dungeons has suffered because of this and am now in practice of making dungeons again to remedy this.
Like some others here, and maybe alot of people, I love to read the modules for fun. I'll oft-times curl up in bed with module (or rulebook) in hand and fall asleep to that.
These days, I buy a few here and there if they really pop out at me. Some of the modules being put out by folks like Geoffrey and Chaotic Henchman Productions are just awesome! And really fun to read. But I don't buy them like crazy.
My play these days is all done via PbP here at these boards, and over at Immersive Ink (Delving Deeper's home). I've been wanting to DM a PbP game, something fierce lately, but probably wouldn't use a module for that as I'm sure I'd have to modify it so much that it would hardly be recognizable to the people who might play in it. So why not just make your own stuff up anyways?
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Post by Merctime on Nov 5, 2014 0:40:25 GMT -6
...Yeah, what oakesspalding said, and they are Heavy too! Joking aside, though... Great find, geoffrey. Love the bits that can be found in the DMG. Imagine a door 8' wide and 9' tall, made of 6" or 8" thick iron-bound oak, with rusty hinges, scraping across an uneven stone floor. And that picture in my mind is a thing of beauty! I love D&D
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Post by Merctime on Nov 3, 2014 20:32:19 GMT -6
That, Sir, was a fascinating read. Thank you very much for such an in-depth and thoughtful post. I've learned quite a bit just by reading it, and had fun besides! Can you say, 'Win'?
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Post by Merctime on Nov 1, 2014 19:35:37 GMT -6
Dang! My fave got beaten by a mere few percentage points! Hahaha. What a fun contest! Oh, and the joke about U.S. elections? I don't know whether to laugh or cry about that one I think I'll just do both...
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Post by Merctime on Oct 29, 2014 23:28:46 GMT -6
Must have missed this one. Well, ability bonuses... that really wasn't noticeable until later. Basically, it's made a whole bunch of players into whiny little crybabies who pout if they don't have big numbers. Somebody on another forum actually said they'd suicide a character that didn't have any 18s. Interestingly, I played a Star Wars d20 game for 3 years. I had the lowest stats of anybody... I had ONE stat over 12. And at the end of the game, I was the most badass Jedi in the galaxy, because I PLAYED like the most badass Jedi in the galaxy. Play trumps stats. Variable weapon damage... since nobody, but nobody, used weapon vs. armor type, it meant that fighters all used swords, which is OK because it emulates sword & sorcery literature. The BIGGER change is multiple attacks per monster. It turns low level play into a friggin' bloodbath. I dropped that in my latest game just like I dropped variable weapon damage. I'd like first level characters to survive by more than sheer luck, and when a stinking LIZARD MAN does 1-3 claw, 1-8 bite, 1st level PCs are in deep trouble. This post is simply full of WIN. On so many levels. -Man, I used to just hate when players would cuss and moan when I ruled that no stat roll counted unless I witnessed it. But you know what? After a few weeks, those same friends of mine would actually realize that they had just as much fun with a guy that had one 15. -What you say about your star wars game... Man, that's the type of stuff that separates the Men from the boys!!! Like riftstone, I think this is just a fantastic answer.
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Post by Merctime on Oct 29, 2014 17:17:42 GMT -6
Haha! Yeah, what geoffrey said! Be interesting to see the results of the poll, too, really... Especially if what I voted for won
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Post by Merctime on Oct 29, 2014 12:23:57 GMT -6
Isn't that fun? Yeah, I sort of thought that this would be a good thing to post up here. Whats nice is that, in some cases, there is enough meat in the description to move it into a 'new monster' listing whole-cloth with only your stat blocks needing an entry And I couldn't agree more, that some of these things would really scream in Carcosa!
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Post by Merctime on Oct 28, 2014 20:41:21 GMT -6
Hi everyone, Not sure if this link has been posted here before, but if it hasn't, it's well worth a look! Heraldic Monsters & Medieval CrittersNote that alot of these monsters will be of the 'familiar' variety, perhaps with a new take... But still, it veritably bursts with awesomeness... Have fun!
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Post by Merctime on Oct 28, 2014 20:03:29 GMT -6
Ok, man, I'll do just that Maybe I'll mark one book and leave one untouched. It's basically a grail for me
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Post by Merctime on Oct 28, 2014 12:14:17 GMT -6
waysoftheearth, I've got a nagging little question: Have the new errata made it into the Lulu books or are you still waiting for further errata to show up before you do this? Just wanted to ask and see what's new with Delving Deeper!
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Post by Merctime on Oct 28, 2014 11:49:56 GMT -6
Top of my wish list: A single volume Lulu hard copy. In Australia each book is $8.94, add in the postage and I'm looking at about $44.00. :-( Kind of piggy-backing on what Mike says above, I'm wondering if there are any further developments in the works for 7VoZ, oakesspalding? (...Heh, looks like I gave up my favorite abbreviation there...) Personally, I'd be interested in both a single volume edition (truthfully, mainly in the interest of your overseas enthusiasts than my own self), but particularly in the four books as they are. I think it would be great fun to make a 'box set' for this; Replete with neat box art and old gamescience dice inside. Before I do this, though, I did want to ask (and herein lies the actual reason for this post), have you encountered any errata, corrections, or updates that haven't yet made it into the lulu copies? Or, if not, are there any plans to do something a little different in a new edition (not that I think there is a need for you too; I'm just asking out of curiosity). Thanks! Looking forward to getting this in hard-copy and giving it a whirl. Making the box set should be fun, too! EDIT: I did, in fact, mean interested in buying either the main books or a complete one; And also, I meant that I wanted to try my hand at making my own box for a personal 7VoZ box set. I wasn't terribly clear on these points!
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Post by Merctime on Oct 27, 2014 18:34:47 GMT -6
Thank you, Sir!
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Post by Merctime on Oct 26, 2014 23:18:51 GMT -6
Hi Vile! Any news or updates on Compleat? I'm keen to learn of any new developments, here, myself, Vile Traveller! I check your blog site pretty frequently... Would love to hear what's going on with the complete rules! By the way, I printed out your "Maze of Nuromen" yesterday at work. Lovely adventure, Sir. Some great ideas in there! I really dig some of the 'creepiness' that you put in it. This, and Seven Voyages of Zylarthen, are curretly top on my wish list (well, outside of the hope that my Delving Deeper Compendium gains a hardback 'big brother' too ). Can ya hook a bruther up with some info?
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Post by Merctime on Oct 26, 2014 23:12:26 GMT -6
Lately I'm wanting to envision Bugbears as basically that: The tall, body of a bear, somewhat less bulky and more proportionately 'man-sized' if you will, but at the base of his neck with a fluff of fur (somewhat like a lion's mane, but circular) from which a big, green, ant's head pokes out... Replete with really big, buggy eyes that are multi-faceted like a fly's are. He even has pincers at his mouth! Hehe... Just tossing that out there. The ol' pumpkin head is cool, too, though
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Post by Merctime on Oct 21, 2014 12:04:25 GMT -6
All good advice, guys... And thank you for it. I suppose I just got a bit flustered trying to make the maps too utilitarian in purpose. Think I'll just 'go with the flow' and draw me up some caverns! Love the idea that scottenkainen brought up about multi-height stuff too... Think I'll try to incorporate some of that somehow. Appreciate it, fellas!
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Post by Merctime on Oct 20, 2014 0:25:34 GMT -6
Ok folks... It's late, I'm sleepy, but I'm hitting a quandary here: When you guys are mapping out caverns, how many of you make at least some concession for mappers? Please note here, that by 'cavern' I mean something like a naturally-occurring cavity in the earth, whether it be a 'room' or 'passage' as opposed to a cavity in the earth that was 'worked' or 'mined out', if that makes sense to you. This is what I mean: When drawing caverns out, how "Lazy" do you draw the rooms and passages, as in how much do they meander in and out of the utilitarian 10' squares? Do you make lots of attempts to keep most lines near the edges of the squares so that caverns as well as dressed-stone rooms and passages can be reasonably simply explained to the mapper? Or do you draw the caverns and natural passages as curvy and wierdly-shaped as you imagine they might really look like, and mapping be d**ned? I've basically decided that I currently despise caverns as opposed to dressed-stone for this reason... I would really like to make concession for players mapping out the dungeon. Not necessarily making it easy on them, but at least making it doable. Even so, I think that natural caverns and caves, either as the solitary dungeon space on a whole level or when mixed with 'worked stone, square-shaped areas', really add to the atmosphere of the place so are actually really good to have. I've been drawing/re-drawing the same level all fricken' day because I'm finding it a hard time drawing caverns and natural passages that are pleasing to the eye, provide long-ish passages with multiple (and hopefully meaningful) exploration choices, and still aren't next to impossible to describe dimension-wise so players can map them. For one map, I said screw it and just drew the caverns/passages 'lazy' and 'mapping be d**ned'. Any advice here? Any visual aids you guys might recommend?
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Post by Merctime on Oct 19, 2014 9:19:58 GMT -6
I just read that essay myself, and, I daresay oakesspalding, you will love it.
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Post by Merctime on Oct 19, 2014 8:46:48 GMT -6
I don't know.... AAAAAAaaaaaaaggggghhhhh!
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Post by Merctime on Oct 19, 2014 8:41:46 GMT -6
My burning question is.... "What... Is the average air speed velocity of an unladden swallow???
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Post by Merctime on Oct 18, 2014 23:05:36 GMT -6
Heh... Well, I'm all caught up in my PbP games here, myself... Uh, Geoffrey asked Gronan a great question (that was fun to read the answer too, also,) and, Oh, hey! Look... Some fellow who has a "Save vs All Wands" blog has a new post, I'll be right back!
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Post by Merctime on Oct 16, 2014 17:09:13 GMT -6
Haha... I think there is a bit of the ol' 'Wink Wink Nudge Nudge' going on in this thread...
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Post by Merctime on Oct 15, 2014 8:48:07 GMT -6
tdenmark, your write-up of the Landsknechte is truly stunning. Geez, I knew I wanted to get chainmail, but now I really want it! Really gorgeous work on the reformatted books there, also. I wonder what little golden secrets you've gleaned out of the rules that were in places often missed? Much like the things you've collected for the above stated Landsknechte. I'm curious, as I've never read chainmail before. Hope you don't mind the question!
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Post by Merctime on Oct 13, 2014 7:54:23 GMT -6
This is a bold work, tdenmark! The lazy guy in me is quite looking forward to seeing your finished copy! Seriously, this is a wonderful idea. Like you, I find the older material to be superior to gaming, but oft-times far too expensive to get hold of. I do appreciate your efforts here!
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