Bards and ribbons.
En Garde!
A very, very quick scribbling of Ciranda, a bard.
A bard that apparently likes ribbons.
What DM’s dream about.
While I’m definitely not a proponent of Microsoft, considering their blundering attempts at workable OS’s lately, I can’t really say much about Windows 7 because I’ve already decided to upgrade to a Mac once I’m forced to move beyond XP.
However, this isn’t about what I’m upgrading to in the future. Its about a very interesting thing I had seen linked on Penny Arcade recently featuring the following: http://www.wired.com/geekdad/2009/10/d-and-d-microsoft-surface/
Its definitely a work in progress, but I really do like seeing innovations like this. Why? Because I’m a fool for glowy effects and visual things. The potential alone to do a slide show, or a text walk-through, or show images of maps/NPC’s/Etc is enough to send an artist into some kind of Geekgasm.
If only it wasn’t a Windows 7 thing.
Then again I don’t have the thousands of dollars this thing is probably going to cost to create. Seriously, a fully visual table? Yeah, that’s not going to just burn through a bank account at all.
Still a pretty need application of touch software. Pen and paper games will never die (Honestly, I’ve seen so many posts about people who’s kids are really getting into pnp games lately that there is always hope). However they might take on a different feeling or visual aspect in the future. Sane people will always crave some kind of face to face time with friends which is impossible to get even over the best of networks/ventrillo setups.
MMO’s are nice, yes, they’re interesting time wasters, but you don’t get to really tell a story through them. Stories are set about by whatever company is making and updating the game. Some people just want to tell the story through characters, or through worlds of their own. I think that’s something that will always remain.
Then again, I once believed my cats were psychic, so what do I know.
(shhhh… they’re listening to my thoughts RIGHT NOW).
The Alignment Problem.
I will admit here: When it comes to D&D alignments, I have never used them or worried about them. There was a brief time back in the days of 1e/2e when it was decided that a Paladin wouldn’t cut down a fleeing enemy, or stab them in the back because they were lawful good, but other than that I have never actually used alignment in any of my games, outside of alignments being a triggering effect or target for a power, such as the ‘Protection from Evil’ spell.
I realize I’m the odd man out here. In fact, there was a monolithic debate about why in the fourth edition that the nine alignments were condensed. It was odd to me that this could be such a contentious thing. Considering all of the other sacred cows that were sacrificed for better or worse (Vancian spell system, I happily dance on your grave), you would think that alignment would be pretty minor.
But thinking about it, I can see why it was a big deal to a lot of gamers. Its human nature to categorize things. To have things set neatly and evenly in a set of quantifiable boundaries. Its easier to simply say “Orcus is Chaotic Evil” than to say “Well.. He’s acting more out of rage, something in his past is affecting him”. When people think of a leader who would actively crush every other nation under their boot while maintaining draconian law in their own lands, they think “Lawful Evil”. But what if that leader didn’t have the alignment tag on him? You might be forced to consider that said leader was actually acting out of a wish to do good for his own people. Perhaps he’s looking for a way to create a lawful society of peace within his borders, and tired of chaotic elements from everywhere else pushing into his territory to create havoc? He sees adventurers as a threat because.. well, they are. To him, the PC’s are *gasp* evil!
Before I go on, I realize the above analogy might be construed as some kind of political point. It isn’t. I just used a random analogy, its not a diatribe on forgiving or blaming any real world power.
I think that’s why I’ve always ignored alignments. Not because they are bad, but because I’ve always liked the way things get more complex when you don’t have the option to place things into neat perspective. I feel more restricted when I have alignments forced on my characters, or villains, or what have you. I tend to leave it up to the players as to figuring out the motives of enemies. Yes, its a given that undead are evil and we don’t need a tag to tell people that, but what of their ruler? The king driven mad by watching his city razed and whom after escaping his imprisonment returned to his charred homeland and ritually raised all of his citizens in an effort to reset history, as warped and cruel as it may be? Is he hopelessly evil? Or is he tragic? Or is there something else behind what he’s doing.
I could use Cinders as an example. She’d actually be considered a shade of chaotic evil (Maybe more Chaotic neutral) if I used the strict alignment systems. For example: She’s stolen crops from farmer’s fields without remorse or understanding why its wrong to do so. She’s invoked a very black, very primordial curse on the first Prior that she and her friends ended up defeating, ensuring that the Prior (actually an evil entity itself) would writhe in the nine hells for eternity in the afterlife. She would be considered a heathen in many cultures, her bloodline is feared and in some cases deeply loathed. She has (along with her party) awoken something terrible in the once quiet darkness of a forgotten Amantiri tomb. She’s even laughed maniacally while bringing down frost-laden destruction on hopelessly wounded and quaking enemies (Mind you, they brought it on themselves).
On the other hand, she could be considered Chatoic good for: Helping rebuild a failing church. Helping a dwarven cleric who’s mind was warped by unknown magics navigate his way to safety. Helped a town rid themselves of the Priory of Orthane (A group dedicated to the control of the Lorrnath peoples, and who have been into some extremely shady dealings as of late). She’s practically brought light and joy to Berrand. Despite all of the terrible things she’s been through from a very young age, she still wouldn’t bring down random or willful destruction on innocent people. And most of all, despite all of the tortures she’s gone through, she still finds joy and wonder in the world.
So really, Alignment couldn’t really fit in her case. As is the case with almost all of the characters (mine or otherwise) that I’ve come across. Its a matter of outside perspective as to what alignment a person might have, and thusly I happily wave goodbye to a system I’ve always found bloated and unneccesary, at least in my games.
Negative Creationism
When the new edition of D&D hit, I had been expecting a lot of negative feedback since every new edition or update of a game garners quite a bit of initial negativity. Its people’s nature to resist change especially when it comes to hobbies they have supported for a large portion of their lives.
Firing off negative reviews is also quite a bit easier than writing anything positive, such reviews also garner more views since its more sensationalist to hate something than review what you enjoy about it.
Lately, however, its starting to get incredibly worn out, sad, and surpassing the great nerd war topics such as Kirk vs. Picard. I’m not saying people shouldn’t be critical of what they believe is going on with their beloved game, but droning on about the same subjects ad nauseum is starting to border on the pathetic lately.
“Well, if they would only support the older editions.” is one gem that gets dragged up to the surface and paraded around like some utopian literary messiah.
Sure, it would be nice if every company would never outdate any of their products ever. If they could count on enough of a customer base to actually hire the staff and writers to continuously update every old work, program, or car, we’d have this wonderful singing paradise where birds would land on our shoulders and children would grow up behind white picket fences.
The reality is that no company I can recall – outside of archival services – actually does this. Microsoft isn’t going to update Windows 3.1, no matter how much you hate Vista. Adobe isn’t going to put out a new version of Photoshop 2.0, the original AMC Gremlin isn’t going to suddenly start rolling off production lines any more, and as far as I know Bic won’t be going back to feather quills with bells on them as the hot new writing tool.
Sure, I loved the older versions of D&D as well. There are things I still miss about first and second edition. I was one of those that didn’t care for third edition in the end, finding it to be an utter nightmare to write campaigns for (Seriously, having your big evil boss die due to one spell is asinine), and while I did air a few complaints, I didn’t groan on an on about it like a child being forced to go shoe shopping with mom.
I don’t think I’d mind it as much, if I didn’t have to wade through heaps of this whining every time I found an interesting thread about a new edition. Hell, I wouldn’t mind it if it was at least productive whining as that could lead to correction or innovation, but having to climb past the ‘Version x is homogenous’ or “Version x doesn’t promote roleplay” (The latter of which is utter bullshite, by the way) on boards dedicated to the version of the game I’m looking at doesn’t help. That’s just being bitchy for the sake of being heard.
We get it. You won’t change. If you have suggestions to make things better, by all means lets hear it. And for those who do play 4e, lets stop being jackasses and showing up on threads dedicated to older versions of the game only to whine about how inferior they are. (Yes, the fanboys are just as bad as the Eeyore types). I’d like to get to a point where every second topic on a discussion board isn’t about what version is ‘best’.
A bit more of a rant today, I guess.
First Look: Icons
I haven’t been idle all of this time. I’ve actually been doing the icons for the characters in the upcoming story.
They might be small (as they should be, being icons), but they actually took a bit of work to get to work right. First three up are Cinders, Berrand, and Anishta.
The Aspect of Story over Rules.
The hardest part that I’ve found in writing for the current campaign is that I’ve become too used to writing encounters and story according to a specific ruleset. Meaning that most encounters come away feeling a little mechanical in nature because I’ve become so used to looking at the numbers that I don’t see a larger picture.
After reading some posts by other people running games, namely Gabe from Penny Arcade and an incredible encounter he put together (with props no less) I’ve come to realize that I need to write the story and/or encounters first, and then figure out the rules and logistics for them afterward.
I have a few encounters that I’m actually reworking in this way. Its not easy shaking myself out of the rules heavy skillset that third edition bred into me (The system itself is fun, but extrordinarily heavy on rules and numbers to the point that you become scared of slipping up).
Story is another thing that could use some tweaking. Especially when it comes to thinking in a little more abstract terms. Admittedly I had some problems with characters that were just too bizarre, to the point where they were annoying enough that I had to ban them from the game entirely. I think this might have made me pull back too much though, and become far to conservative when it comes to Felwroth and its environs.
Thoughts like: “Why didn’t I put in that Mushroom forest? Just because Warcraft has it, doesn’t mean I can’t nab the idea and run with it” or “I like this rogueish character, but the whole thing with the face-paint and split personalities due to a cursed tattoo put on her when young is a little too odd”.
Then again, I can’t let things get too bizarre. Talking penguins or vampires in love with a tree that has the spirit of their dead faerie lover embedded in it that drives them so bonkers that they talk to themselves and believe that milk is the only holy cure are oddball just for the sake of oddball.. Not for the sake of story development or even interesting enough to be able to hook a story arc or two to (Well, the vampire might be, but lets just say the character was far, far too disruptive and screwed up for anyone to logically want to be a companion with it).
I’ll see how I do with the upcoming story arc. I have tons of time, luckily, because I’m actually *gasp* playing in another campaign for the first time since second edition (Over a decade ago o.o ), so there’s a pause in my campaign that gives me a great deal of time to get writing.