So recently I've been thinking about World Building. It's, at once, a daunting task and at the same time, really exciting. I've been doing research and getting back into my artistic mindset, busting out forests, mountain ranges and expanses of land where the peoples of this fictional world can live. As I was thinking about doing this, as well as executing it, it made me realize something. The use of reference in gaming.

In art, the use of reference is invaluable. I'm sure there is nary an artist out there who can honestly do better work without reference, than with it. Now, granted, this is somewhat of different context, but bear with me. I find that, when dungeon mastering, things are much easier, much better and much more fun if I have something to reference. I can write out a list of buildings and cities with different peoples in them, but it still isn't visual. You read it and still have to vaguely imagine "Ok, this is here, that's over there, etc". With a map, you can see "Ok, this place is near this place, that means that the crowd for this place is near the other, this impacts these other places around it, etc."

Learning this, I went to the effort of making a map, which is still in the process of being made, of a world that's been sitting in my head. Seeing it come to life on the page (ok, the digital paper) really makes things pop. You get to look at it and go "Ok, we're gonna have it cold here, hot here; there are gonna be civilized folks here and barbarians here, etc." and it really makes it much more real.

So, that said, I believe that having a map, and some point of reference is really good. I recognize that not everyone feels that art is their forte, but if you ever have the inclination to give it a try, you deffinately should try your hand at some fantasy cartography. The software I hear most use for these efforts are Gimp, Photoshop and Campaign Cartographer 3. Gimp and Photoshop are more advanced and are made to do photo editing and whatnot. CC3, on the other hand, is made specifically for building campaign maps and whatnot, for use in fantasy games. It's worth a look, if you're interested in the subject.

Alright, that's it for this little bit. Thanks again for reading!

~Andrew

Alright guys, brief update on the game I'm planning on running. It's on hold for a bit for a few reasons.

1) I'm still trying to flesh out the contents of the city, figure out what I want where, who's who, etc.

2) I've made a foray into fantasy map cartography. This is to say, I've wanted to make a great map for a campaign for a long time and learned how to do it, so I'm in the process of not only creating a city, but a world, complete with political boundaries, natural formations such as mountains, lakes, forests, etc; that I'm trying to make look as high quality as possible. I will post it on my deviantart account (saintknight.deviantart.com) as soon as it's done. Ohdd is going to be a part of this world, I think. We'll see, but that's what I'm thinking.

3) I want to give you guys time to figure out what your characters. I'll have you all starting in Ohdd, but as far as what kind of things your character is into as far as hobbies and whatnot, their personalities, their quirks and character flaws (and every has flaws, remember), is still all up to you. I've got a place in the city for most things, and if there's not something there, we can make something or I'll get creative.

4) I want to make sure that this has the potential for more than I was originally thinking. Yes, I would like a lot of the game to start in Ohdd. Perhaps containing all of heroic tier, maybe even some of paragon. That said, I want to make a city you can go outside of, although I don't plan on sending you beyond it right away. That said, I'm trying to make a world that's robust to the point of the forgotton realms. Maybe not with the MASSIVE history behind it, but different cultures for sure and cities, sights to see, etc. I've got a lot of ideas that I'm rolling around in my head and I'm trying to make a world that's the pro-quality I know I'm capable of.

Thank you guys for your patience and I'm still very interested in your ideas! If you'd like to e mail me, you can reach me at paintknight@yahoo.com. Thanks again!

~Andrew

So, here it is. I'm going to be running a game online called "The City of Ohdd". The game is going to be run sort of episodically in that characters will be able to pop in and out. I'm going to try to keep things within the city (and will try to make the city as interesting as possible). I'm looking for some specific things in the way of characters, so here they are.

Firstly, we're going to use standard score arrays. In the past I've used 18, 16, 14, 12, 10, 10. A bit overpowered. This time we're using from the book arrays, or if you're using the character builder or point buy system, your point pool should equal zero when you're finished. Also, as for character backgrounds, you're allowed one background that gives you a bonus. No region backgrounds, just "character type" backgrounds; i.e. scoundrel, criminal, aristocrat, etc.

Second is I want developed character ideas, to a point. I want an idea of what they do. Are they a thief? Are they a street sweeper? Are they a tavern waitress? What are activities they like? Do they enjoy loads of exercise or are they lazy and lethargic? Are they generally depressed "glass-half-empty" types or are they ever the optimist, even when they're smelling a dragon's sulfurous breath straight from the source? Develop their personalities and the basic things they like and I'll start them at an appropriate place within the city.

Third, you start with 100g. With this gold you may purchase any equipment you may need. The amount of gold you have to begin with is what's left over after you purchase what you need.

A feature of this game is mainly going to be about exploring the city and experiencing neat moments and running into interesting characters. Plot-lines will appear through good role play and ideas given from the players. The more work you put into your character, the more you'll potentially get out of your game experience. I always also encourage extra work on the part of your character as well. Drawings, character journals, etc, will be noted and rewarded in some way, depending on what I feel is merited by the work.

Lastly, I strongly want to emphasize character motivation. Give your character a reason to do things. When your character walks through the street and sees a beggar, do they look down with disgust or do they feel pity? Do they kick the beggar or slip them a silver piece and help them on their way? Do they value life or do they think that theirs is the only one that matters? When they interact with other people, are they positive or negative and why? Did they have a rough childhood or did they grow up privileged? As a rule, be specific. Specifics will give characters and players firm points of reference for good role playing and decision making within the game. If I read something that seems too vague, I'll let you know and we'll work with it until it seems like something that's very compelling. In your backstories, you can do what you will, so long as it follows the parameters set by the game and so long as it still allows me to place you where i need you within the city.

I will address other concerns as they arise. Before playing, know that I'm building the city as we play. It will be exciting!

If at all possible, please subscribe to D&D Insider and get yourself the character builder. It will be updated with all the latest character classes and races.

Races allowed:
All Player's Handbook races
All Player's Handbook 2 races
Drow - Forgotten Realms
Genasi - Forgotton Realms
Githzerai - Player's Handbook 3
Minotaur - Dragon #369
Revenant - Dragon #376
Shadar-kai - Dragon #372
Wilden - Dragon #374

Classes Allowed:
All Player's Handbook Classes
All Player's Handbook 2 Classes
Artificer - Eberron
Hybrid - Dragon #375
Monk - Dragon #375
Psion - Player's Handbook 3
Swordmage - Forgotton Realms

Backgrounds Allowed:
General backgrounds found in:
Player's Handbook 2
Dragon #371
Dragon #373
Dragon #374
Arcane Power
Divine Power
(No Forgotton Realms, Scales of War or Eberron backgrounds)

Sample Arrays:
18, 14, 11, 10, 10, 8
18, 13, 13, 10, 10, 8
18, 13, 11, 10, 10, 10
17, 16, 11, 10, 10, 8
etc.

Point Buy:
Pool of 22 points. (this equates to an array of [8, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10] Point pool should be down to zero when finished. No score may go lower than 8.
Current Score - Cost to Raise
8-12 = 1 point
13-15 = 2 points
16 = 3 points
17 = 4 points

NOTE: The point pool is 20, when the score is 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10.

Example: Raising from 16 -> 17 costs 3. Raising from 17 -> 18 costs 4. Raising from 10 -> 11 costs 1 point, etc.

I can't think of anything else that needs saying. Any questions, please post a comment and ask.

Alright guys, thanks for reading and lets see the ideas!

~Andrew

You know, I've been doing some thinking lately and I've been trying to come up with something fun to play. It seems to me that right about the time you want to play something great is when your brain seems to want to shut itself off. You want to just pull your brain out and yell at it, sayin'
"Stop being lazy and work like you need it to!" It's enough to drive you insane when inspiration decides to take a vacation right when you need it working overtime.

Well, I think I may have come up with something to counter this. Being creative.

Now, I know you say "Be creative? What kind of answer is that?!" but bear with me.

Being creative, to me, is coming up with something unique or at least good, when you need it, DESPITE easy inspiration. I look at it this way.

Being inspired is when an idea pretty much puts itself right in your head without you doing much at all. You're sittin' there watchin' a show and "BAM" a perfect idea (or at least one that's pretty darn good, eh?) pops into your mind.

Being creative is when you aren't being assisted by the muses, as it were. Being creative is going "Geez.... There's NOTHING up there; what the heck is wrong with me?!" and yet, you still manage to go "Darn it, come Hell or high water, I'm coming up with something!"

So, I've realized the way to do this, in a lot of situations, is realize that when you think about something (such as a D&D game), you think about it in a rather conventional vein of thought. You roll it (whatever it is) around in your head, thinking about it, passively using conventional parameters as guides for your thoughts. Now, you don't consciously do this, but it's how most brains work. You have certain ideas and concepts that are tied into other concepts and ideas, which tend to define a thought process.

Well, what I realized is that to be creative, a lot of times you need to bend or break those connections. Instead of saying "A Dungeons & Dragons adventure is made up of travel, underground passages, treasure and monsters; you could say "A Dungeons & Dragons adventure is made up of chartreuse colored bunny rabbits, a room the party stays in but keeps changing around them and odd facial mutations!" I guarantee you, that would be looked at as absolutely creative (possibly even genius if you actually managed to make that work!)

So, thinking about this, I realized that we're never out of ideas, we're just out (or bored with) standard ideas of what something should be. As an artist, I have things I like to draw. Sometimes to my benefit, sometimes to my detriment, it's a lot of things that are very much in the same line of things. The pro to that is that usually, it turns out a pretty good picture on a relatively consistent basis. The con is that when they aren't turning out or I don't feel like drawing the same ol' thing, it leaves me in a bit of an art artistic quantry. I sit there and I wrack my brain and think "Geez... what the heck can I draw?" Then I realize "You know what? Let's try a cartoony old man with a cane walking down the street... being followed by a weird, tiny, furry, black cat who, in turn, is being followed by a tall, mischevious alien who's grinning and trying to step on the cat!" Weird? Yes. Off the wall? Absolutely. Creative and entertaining? You bet your life it is!

They say that necessity is the mother of invention and that's true in this case, as in the one it's literally talking about. When you need an idea, you'll get one. You just need to do one thing and that's this.

Open yourself.

Be open to odd ideas. Be open to things that are off the wall, unconventional and downright baffling. The stuff that makes you cock your head to the side and go "What the....", that's the good stuff. Sure, you can start your adventurers in a tavern. It's easy, it's classic and it's a cliche and a stereotype. It's cliche for a reason. It works. It's a quest hub, it's a place the party can rest, it's a place where role play can happen in the blink of an eye, it's a place where new characters can be introduced almost at any time. There's nothing wrong with using that in a campaign. But for those of us who want to buck the trend every once in a while, perhaps we could start in other interesting situations. So, as a little treat, I'm going to try to come up with some off the wall ideas of locations in which to start your players that will dodge the good ol' tavern.

"As our story opens, you find yourself in a field surrounded by dead bodies. The bodies are burned badly as if there was a harsh fire and they're all scattered about you. Off to the west, a few kilometers off, you see a green tree line. Around you, you see a field of wheat or, rather, what was wheat. Now it's a field of still-smoking ash for about a mile in each direction. The disturbing thing is that around you are a few other folks, all lying somewhere sprawled inside a circle that seems about ten feet in diameter. In the circle is wheat, smashed down partially from bodies lying on it, but unburned and in otherwise perfect condition. You're all holding torches. As you awake, you all seem to have one thing and one thing only, in common... The thought "Who are these people and what in the world happened?!"

"Air whips around you, roaring in your ears. Tears form in your eyes and your vision is blurred. You try to scream, yell, even just say words but your breath is sucked back into your lungs. You see white around you and feel moisture collecting on your skin. Your head starts to swim, your vision blurs and then, you break through the cloud and notice about a hundred yards down, through nothing but open air, are miles upon miles of pointed, green treetops; all racing up at you much quicker than you'd like..."

"The throne room feels cavernous. As you walk in, you hear your footsteps echo through the space, the noise actually accentuating the silence. You feel the butt of a spear haft jab into your back as you're pushed aggressively down the crimson carpet on the floor, leading the way to a dais, upon which sits a large, polished, throne made of what seems to be carved ivory and white marble. Upon it sits a figure dressed in black, wearing a crown bearing a veil that drapes over its face with naught but two small eyeholes cut in it, silver embroidery tracing their edges. You look down at your hands and feet and notice you've been hearing manacle chains as well, but lightly because of the carpet, as there are some on both your wrists and ankles. You turn your head to look at the guard who nudged you and see a figure standing ten feet tall with features all of metal, but moving smoothly. It's face, a mask of cool precision not meeting your eyes for a moment, gives you another jab as you reach the bottom step of the dais. As you look up to the throne, looming over you now, you see the figure rise from the chair and walk slowly down the steps toward you. 'Well, well, well...' it says, in a voice that seems strangely androgenous ', I finally meet The Troupe of the Fallen...'"

I like to think that these three examples have the potential to start games with a bang and have a great deal of possibilities for plot hooks to go from where they begin. They imediately present the characters AND players with the question "What's going on?" This prompts the desire for discovery and also begins the game with much momentum (literally, in example number two!) and can lead to tons of interesting things.

So, I leave you with this exhortation. Use cliches sometimes, if they fit and if they're necessary and make sense, but also strive for more. Make originality your goal. Being original in all things is, at the very least, extremely hard. You are a collection of experiences, therefore anything you do will come from something that you know, even if it is rather loose. However, you can come up with a LOT of things that are original if you simply accept ideas you may usually say "No" to. Be open and let your mind wander, and just tie things together in a beautiful web of organized random thoughts!

Happy thinking and, if you feel so inclined, lets hear some other neat ideas!

Back in the saddle again,

Andrew

P.S. - If you feel that posting an idea might give away key things to key people, don't post it. Instead keep it in your head but silently promise me that you'll at least write it down and think on it later. Use your creativity!

Alright folks, I've had this idea rattling around in my skull for a while and I wanted to throw it out there. In a post a while back, I mentioned online game tables. That was pretty popular and a lot of people said it was really informative. Well, lets put that to the test. I've had individuals ask about a D&D Take game, where members from the site were welcome to participate in a game.

So, this is what I'm requiring in a game that I'll play in. Each player needs at least their own Player's Handbook. If you're playing, you should have the basic tools. Dice macros will be in the game table but you may use actual dice if you like. Rolls will be on the honor system.

When you express interest in playing, do so in a comment and include day(s) of the week, times, and preferred days. Also, I'd like to give one of you players a chance to DM because I know you guys have talked and expressed abilities which I'd like to see first hand, so list whether you would like to DM.

Also in your comment, please describe the kind of game you'd like to play in. It will, of course, be D&D 4th edition, but beyond that, as far as theme goes and whatnot, you're more than welcome to suggest.

I think that's about it, folks, so let the comments fly. Thanks.

~Andrew

Rollan awoke, albeit groggily and with a throbbing headache, to the sensation of rocking back and fourth. The floor under him was moving and swaying, he thought. Upon closer observation, he was lying, curled up, on stained, rough, old wooden floor. What's more, around him, as he blearily looked up, was a cage of blackened iron bars with a great big lock on the door.

How did this happen? One day he was on his way from a remote village to the city, the next he's decided to follow a man who, for some reason or another intrigued him. Who was he kidding? It was the money. The money flashing around in front of him, sliding across the counter with careless ease. He had been greedy. How ironic now, that not only had he not made any money, but in fact, had been sold himself to put more money in the same man's pocket. He'd find that bastard someday, that was certain. For now, he was stuck on what seemed to be a ship with a massive bruise on his stomach and a huge bump raised on the back of his head.

Gods it sure was cold. He noticed that he wasn't wearing much. He just had on a ragged pair of trousers and a linen shirt. The pants had a rope belt, but that was it. While he sat and tried to observe his situation, all the while trying to ignore the thumping feeling in the back of his skull, he noticed he was terribly hungry. How long had he been in here? How long had it been since they left the city? They hit him hard, he might have been out a while. He looked around and saw, over on the floor, there were a few crusty hunks of bread and a tin cup of stale water. Hardly a feast but anything would beat starving. He gobbled them up quickly.

The bread wasn't much and the water seemed sour but it at least took the edge off. As he looked around the room he was in, he saw lots of crates and barrels. Sadly, they seemed to be out of arm's reach and the cage walls were bolted tightly to the floor, so it's not as if he could scoot the cage from the inside. As he looked, he noticed a few of the barrels had rough lettering on them, labeling the different contents. Some seemed to be food like apples or pears. One even seemed to be a barrel of walnuts. There were also what seemed to be other barrels that were tarred and sealed to hold liquid. With a ship's crew, he figured a lot of it was probably grog and booze but maybe there was some water too. He had heard it was bad to drink salt water but he didn't exactly know what kind of water they were in, so perhaps they didn't need fresh water on board.

Rollan sat against the back wall of his cell and thought. So, he was sold into slavery, or so it seemed. He was bought, for sure. He really had no idea what for but he could imagine without stretching all too far. Would he be a farm hand or some kind of other manual labor on some rich estate? Would he be made to fight in some huge colliseum for the masses to see murder... or be murdered? He gulped at that thought. Perhaps he would simply be a house servant. He chuckled at that idea. Well, whatever it was, he was sure it would be something he'd rather not do. He heaved a sigh and, with the rocking of the boat and the pounding of his head and the still present complaining of his stomach, he drifted back off into an uneasy sleep.

He awoke to creaking boards overhead and thumping footsteps. He followed the sound overhead, on what must be the floor above him down the length of the room. The footsteps became clearer, as did some talking that he could hear now.

"Captain say where we were dropping anchor?"

"Aye, some place called Strama's Landing. Little port town or some such. Just to re-supply take a night off the water."

"Be good to hit the town again. Colmaire wasn't enough. Place 'idn't have naught but grime and cold wind. Kinda like all we get out here, eh?"

"Stop yer whinin'. A sailor's life is a sailor's life and you know there ain't nothin' like it."

"Yeh, yer righ'. I jus' get so bored out here day after day s'all."

"Well, entertain yersel- Well well well, look who's awake."

The two men who'd been talking came to the cage. One was a big fellow; tall, big as an ox. He had a red rag tied like a bandana around his head, wore a thick, old, grey-blue leather waistcoat that seemed to have had some form of gold stitching along the edges once, but it was frayed and tattered now. He wore high black leather boots that went to his knees and six earrings in his left ear. He was light skinned. His partner wore a similar kind of jacket but nowhere near as fine, in this time or a previous one. He wore a battered triangular hat with a frayed feather in it. He wore a plain tunic-shirt underneath and wore black leather shoes with tarnished brass buckles on them. He had long, matted, greasy hair about to his shoulders and a few scars on his face.

"Looks like he ate," said the big fella.

"Aye. Think we should tell the Captain he's awake?"

"Probably..." The big man looked thoughtful. He looked around, popped the top off a barrel and grabbed an apple and took a big bite, still looking at Rollan and thinking. He took one more huge bite, taking another third of the apple, looked at it, shrugged and tossed Rollan the scant remains. "Yeh, let's go tell the Captain."

The both turned and left and, as soon as they were gone, Rollan near dived on the apple. He ate it quickly, not thinking to savor it. The cool juice went down his throat, sweet and delicious while the meat of the apple and the skin scratched his parched throat.

After a while, footsteps came again.

A man came to the cage. He was not entirely what Rollan had expected though. The man was young, almost boyish. He looked about nineteen, maybe twenty. He was wearing a long red waistcoat with gold embroidery and a large, thick, collar and lapels, with oversized cuffs. Beneath this, he wore a shirt that Rollan would have called frilly but thought better of it at this moment. Around his neck he wore a black scarf that flowed over his jacket. He wore tall, kneehigh boots of black leather that were polished to a mirror shine, which matched his black leather gloves. On his head was what seemed to be a bandana, but also made of the same black leather, holding back blonde hair tied back in a ponytail. He had fair skin and icey blue eyes as he stared down at Rollan.

"It would seem that our new guest is indeed awake. My name is Captain Barret Tollomey and welcome aboard The Siren."

And there Rollan hung, by slipping fingertips over a yawning gap in the buildings, wind rushing through the opening and worrying him more and more by the second. He thought and thought about what he would do for the longest five seconds of his life. His fingers slipped away.

He dropped about six feet before slamming his feet against the wall in front of him, mashing his back against the wall behind him. He slowed with a teeth-rattling jolt. Before he knew it, his heels were touching the ground and he was barely recovering himself. He got up, dusting himself off, flustered from the fall. Cedric was just staring at him, then he looked out into the lit street.

"That could have gone worse..." said Cedric.

Rollan wasn't sure how to take that.

They poked their heads out into the street. No one was around. The street was wide and the other side of the street was the docks, then the bay.

"You ready?"

Rollan nodded

They went to the shop and opened the old door. It creaked open. "Aright friend, here's what we do. I want you to put this mask on and hide where I tell you." Rollan nodded his head, donned the black hood-mask and followed Ced down some steps. It was dark in the hallway, all except for a bright line of light at the bottom of the door at the bottom of the steps. He heard what sounded like a good deal of people inside. It was actually relatively loud. They got to the bottom of the steps where there was a door in front of them but also, there was a door to the immediate left.

"Alright," said Ced "You go in there and wait. You'll know what to do when the time comes."

"What? But I-"

"Just do it!" Ced hissed, and pushed Rollan through the door into a dark room, about the size of a closet.

It was dark inside, very dark. He heard noise coming from the other side of the wall but no light. He waited, like Ced told him to, wondering all the while What in the world is happening? He waited and waited. All of a sudden, a scraping sound came from behind him, the sound of wood scratching on wooden flooring. Before he knew it, he felt arms, big arms, wrap around him and a hand close over his mouth. He started struggling but before he knew it, his arms were behind his back and he felt iron manacles clink onto his wrists. Something like cloth wrapped around his head and if it hadn't been too dark to see before, it certainly was now. He felt fingers moving across the hood on his face. They felt for his nose and then heard a snikt as a small hole opened in the hood under his nose and with that, something closed over his mouth. Blood started pumping in his ears and he started struggling. He tried to make sounds outside of just grunts, growls and unintelligible sounds, but it was nothing doing. He felt his feet get bound, arms went under his and he felt himself getting dragged down what seemed to have been a crooked hallway to the back of the dark room. It must have doubled back around the wall, into the room with the light.

He heard wood scrape again. A door, he thought. The noise from a mass of people assaulted his ears. The men (he assumed they were men) held him still as he struggled and strained against them. He felt what must have been a large fist slam into his stomach, doubling him over, leaving him hanging by their large arms. He heard footsteps approaching.

"This the one?" said the man who had Rollan's left arm.

"That's the one. He'll do just fine."

The voice belonged to Cedric.

Rollan struggled harder, still winded by the blow to the gut. What was happening? What was this?

He felt the men drag him up some steps onto what must have been a stage. They held him up and he had a feeling he was on display.

"Gentlemen," said a voice that projected around the room. "We have another fine specimen here! Good for any kind of work you'd need and not sickly like some of the poor shows you've seen brought in here tonight!" There was some chuckling, and some jeers. "We've got a man here who looks a good six foot and some, 'bout... two hundred pounds, maybe a bit more. Good strong stock, not much else need be said! The bidding starts at fifteen gold pieces!"

I'm being sold! It was in that moment that Rollan felt at once both furious and afraid. But then, he supposed, it made some sense. Robbing folks could only get you so far, especially sticking to one town or city. To the Hells with this. He started struggling and thrashing against his bonds, like a fish being held by the fins.

"Sixteen!" yelled someone in the crowd.
"Eighteen!" yelled another.
"Twenty one!" yelled someone else.
"Twenty five!"
"Thirty and five!"
"Forty two!"
"Sixty!"

There was a moment of silence.

"Eighty five" said a solid voice near the front.

Someone in the crowd gasped.

"Filthy rich son of a-"

"Eighty five is the bid! Anyone else! Going once!"

bang

"Going twice!"

bang

"Sold! To the lord here in front!"

"Grrrrmmmmph! Muurrnnnnnnmmmmmmph!" Rollan bellowed against the fabric over his mouth.

BOOM! A hard blow landed square in his stomach. He felt all his air rush out of his mouth and nose as he fell to his knees, folded over.

CRACK! He felt a sharp impact on the back of his head, saw nothing but white, swooned and hit the wood platform with a dull thud.