The Elminster Problem (World Building)

Hey guys, this article came up as a part of a discussion this morning with our friend @DroptheDie on Twitter.  The crux of this discussion revolves around the resources that a party of characters has access to, and how do you as a GM design appropriate challenges to that kind of a group.  How do you effectively challenge a group that has all the resources in the world behind them?  What if they have access to powerful allied spellcasters or a near infinite supply of money to purchase goods and/or services?  This turned into a quick discussion about the existence of high level NPC characters in your world, and that’s the crux of what i am planning to talk about.  (I’m sure i’ll find a couple of other important topics to hit along the way, but let’s dig into High level characters in your world).  

 

Tales from the Yawning Portal Part 7

Tales from the Yawning Portal Part 7 (The Tomb of Horrors)

Hey Game fans, we’re back with another look at the brand new hardcover adventure compilation Tales from the Yawning Portal.  We’re going to break down each one of these adventures and take a look at the adventure as it’s presented and compare it to its original presentation from a previous version of dungeons and Dragons.  Our quest comes to the end of its journey with Tomb of Horrors.

The Half-Elves of Lakeport

So this is another expansion of the work i have been doing on my Lakeport setting.  Today I’m going to talk about the Fey of this world, and how they helped shape it into what it is.  There’s a companion article (really four companion articles) that detail the Fey Gods, and then a companion piece about Elves and half Elves.  This group of articles should do a fairly solid job of putting these three races together and give you a wealth of information on who they are and what they do.  Let’s dig into the Half-Elves.

Player vs. Character (Key Terms)

Hey Game Fans, we’re back with a look at a couple of key terms that are going to come up a lot in the world of Role-Playing games.  If you haven’t joined a game yet, or have been playing for years, you’re going to routinely encounter the terms Player and Character, and you probably shouldn’t get them mixed up.  “I think I was too rough and killed one of the players in my game” has a much different meaning than “I think I was too rough and killed one of the characters in my game.”  Let’s dig into these two important concepts and then we’ll cover a couple of other ideas.

The Elves of Lakeport

So this is another expansion of the work i have been doing on my Lakeport setting.  Today i’m going to talk about the Elves of this world, and how they were shaped by it. Once the Elves are finished, we'll cover the Half Elves, and then it's off to another group of interesting people.  Let’s dig into the Elves.

Equipment for Edge of the Empire (Multipasses not Included)

Hey Game Fans, we’re back to take a look at the equipment you’re going to probably utilize at some point during your games of Edge of the Empire from Fantasy Flight Games.  Star Wars has a rich history of cool gadgets and gizmos that crop up during important scenes during various movies, games and books.  They are an essential part of life on the fringes of society and can do a lot of things.  We’re not going to talk about Droids today (mostly because they are much better as a species discussion) nor are we going to talk about vehicles and starships (those belong in their own article).  We’re going to cover the other pieces of technology that make life a much easier proposition in the Star Wars RPG.  Now there are a lot of different kind of equipment, and we’re going to try cover as much ground as we can.  Let’s take a deeper look at Equipment.

 

Tales from the Yawning Portal Part 6

Tales from the Yawning Portal Part 6 (Against the Giants)

 

Hey Game fans, we’re back with another look at the brand new hardcover adventure compilation Tales from the Yawning Portal.  We’re going to break down each one of these adventures and take a look at the adventure as it’s presented and compare it to its original presentation from a previous version of dungeons and Dragons.  Our quest continues with  Against the Giants.