Please Vote for Us as Campaign of the Year on Obsidian Portal!
Campaign of the Year Award - The Dice Goblet
The Spelljoined won Campaign of the Month last April on Obsidian Portal. That means we are in the running for Campaign of the Year, and voting ends on the 31st!
Being a bit of a narcissist I would love to win this purely for my own egotistic satisfaction, however there is more than that in the equation. You see, we have two brand new game artists on our team and their imagery is what really brings it all to life. Just read through the Journals and you’ll see some amazing illustration as well as some truly entertaining writing.
As the DM I am the overall architect of their fate, but as you can see from the journals we have hit on a really good streak of gaming at it’s best – collaborative storytelling. Even if my rules design doesn’t grab you their art and the fiction they’ve produced most assuredly will.
Check them out our artists’ galleries on Deviant Art:
- RavenKin did our logo and the more Manga looking artwork while
- Syreene did the majority of the illustrations found here and on Obsidian Portal.
It would be a great kick in the pants to see them get this sort of recognition.
Vote Here for The Spelljoined because we would all really appreciate it!
Thanks,
-DungeonMasterLoki
The Stars Are Right….
The Games and the development work will be on hiatus through the 21st, as we are relocating Planejammer World HQ back to its native land – New Orleans. Once we come back online there will be several new developments of interest (I hope):
- We will be continuing The Spelljoined campaign as a once a month virtual game run over Hangouts on Google+. Several of the players and I will be blogging here about our experiences as this will be new ground for all of us.
- The Ad Astra Per Arcana campaign will be taking over the regular Thurs night spot. Character generation will begin in Dec.
- The first annual Planejammer Cheesecake Calender (2012) will debut for the holiday season!
- Our Fantasy Space Netbook (Pathfinder compatible) should be finished and available though Beyond The Moons in the Spring.
- Work continues on adapting Planescape to Pathfinder…
The Campaign Stat Block
Statblocks are wonderful things. They are a nice, compact, and standardized was of presenting information ranging from cities, to ships, to NPCs.
Since it seems there are so many gamers out there bereft of a game, and so many DMs looking for players, that a stat block for campaigns might be in order. After all, if you’re looking for a game wouldn’t it be great to be able to get the pertinent details about play style and options right off the bat?
I’ve been using a simple one for years now and it’s worked very well, saves a lot of time when screening new players. It’s basically as follows:
Campaign Name
Rules: List the rules system and whatever add on’s you plan to use – critical hit decks, additional source books, etc. .
Setting: What world will you be playing in? Is it an established setting like the Forgotten Realms, a homebrew world, or something else?
Rating: I generally use movie style ratings (G, PG, R, etc.) along with warnings if adult themes will be addressed.
Emphasis: It is mostly combat, mostly role playing, or a blend of the two. Will it be heroic in nature or grim and gritty?
Psionics: Are there psionics in this campaign, if so are they treated as standard or differently.
Firearms: Do they exist? Are they primitive or advanced?
Starting Level: This is where you denote low, medium or high level games
Starting Characters: List any options beyond the core rules that players have access to while generating their characters.
Game Night: How often, how long per session, and location.
For Example, the statblock for my main game is:
Planejammer: The Spelljoined
Rules: Pathfinder, augmented with a large variety of non core WOTC books and third-party publications as well as extensive house rules. We also use the Paizo Critical Hit and Critical Fumble decks.
Setting: Spelljammer / Planescape [This means that most standard / homebrew settings can exist somewhere in the multiversal framework.]
Rating: Adult themes, NSFW.
Emphasis: Role Playing, not roll playing. XP bonuses for good characterization and role-playing are standard. XP Bonuses are standard for creating setting material- character journals, sketches, etc.
Psionics: Yes, using Psionics Unleashed for core psionic rules. Psionics are different, limited.
Firearms: Emerging Firearms
Starting Level: 3rd, Generated according to our campaign standard.
Starting Characters: Due to the multiplanar nature of the setting all character concepts will be considered. Eberron, Ptolus, Ravenloft, Greyhawk, Planescape, d20 Modern, Dragonstar, Dragonlance, Spelljammer, Iron Kingdoms and most other d20 based settings are subsets of the main game and are valid choices.
Game Night: Thursday Evenings 7-11 pm, starting early October 2010 at Mardi Gras Manor in Northside Cincinnati. All attendees must follow the rules of the house.
I have a campaign statblock on the home page of each of my games on Obsidian Portal as well. I find it makes it easier on casual readers.
Hope you’ve found this useful, good gaming!
Me? Trolling?
Yes, it would seem that I am. Trolling, that is.
Today my debut post on the Troll in the Corner Website just went live today- Edition Wars Are Merely Failed Diplomacy Checks.
I’ve donned my asbestos underwear and quaffed a potion of fire resistance. I have a feeling I’ll need them.
New Rule: Dolorous Wounds
As of this evening I am adding in something a bit Arthurian for our home campaign. Dolorous Wounds.
I saw this float past me on Owen K Stephen’s Google + Stream and immediately recognized it as something that would be great in a Planescape game. Here is his take on it followed by my own note on how it will be implemented in our home game. Players take heed, it is in effect as of next game and has already been integrated into the campaign wiki!
Some wounds do not answer to even the most powerful magic healing. When a character would normally be killed, the player may instead choose for the character to suffer a “dolorous wound.” The dolorous wound produces some physical ailment, agreed upon by player and the GM (normally a -1 penalty to one category of skill checks, most often Str, Dex, Con, or Cha-based skills, though a penalty to range modifier for losing an eye or a reduction of movement rate for a limp are also appropriate). The dolorous wound is so severe the damage is duplicated on the character’s soul, making it impossible to heal with normal magic. A special ritual may be able to fix a dolorous wound, but it has at least the cost and difficulty of a true resurrection spell.
DM Note: This option will only be available when offered by the DM. Dolorous wounds do not result from regular combat, the circumstances are always something legendary.
Many thanks to Owen for posting this as Open Content. If you use it elsewhere here is the correct Sec 15 entry for your OGL: Rules+. Copyright Owen K.C. Stephens 2010-2011; Author Owen K.C. Stephens.
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