Search found 85 matches

One of the aspects that I used regarding the power of the local ruler, and as an issue of taxation and security, was the use of licenses. As I see it anyone who would want to out into dangerous and un ...

As it so happens, I'm currently running the Temple of Elemental Evil with the HackMaster system. I've been running it for almost 4 years now. it is an enormous module and its easy to be intimidated by ...

I just assume (in my games) that undead can sense 'life force' up to 120'. I don't really deal with undead too much, except in dungeons, so I've never really thought too much on this topic.

Now yo ...

Personally, I would say 'no, prayer does not affect turning'. Mostly because a cleric's turning attempt is demonstration of the cleric's faith, investiture of power from his deity, and connection with ...

I see I am a little late for the party.

One thing I have that I think will make a difference when coming across, or otherwise interpreting 2E spells and rules, is the background (or spirit) in whic ...

hmm, looks like a double pit-fiend!

Admittedly, I don't know either. However, I do have a few ideas that may, or may not, be of use.

1) Ket, Veluna, and Bissel all claim it for themselves. Depending upon how useful the land is determ ...

An interesting topic. I'm inclined towards the Planescape view that belief is paramount and can alter reality. In that view, powers can be altered as well. I have two ideas around this topic: fixed na ...

Yes, this is an interesting topic.

I've thought about this some as well.

It had occurred to me for a while that places of evil (unholy sites, places of great tragedy or whatnot) would attract e ...

Admittedly, I allowed firearms without thinking about the larger campaign-changing repercussions. This is what I did do:

First, I thought about the tech-level of Oerth. Oerth's tech-level always st ...

Yes, I have run into this phenomenon as well. So far it has only been one player and a younger one at that. He always played paladins and he never wanted his character's powers bestowed by a deity. I ...

I am currently running ToEE and these are my thoughts:

You have quite an ambitious campaign you're setting up.

I'm running the ToEE pretty close to 1E, although I'm allowing 2E character classes ...

I'm in L.A. keeping it real!

One of my players once said, as a joke, 'If it has stats, we can kill it.' Happy

Thats my reply to Mystic Scholar.

The Grey Mouser

I think the Roman Empire would also suffice as a model of how the empire would continue and develop. After the Bakluni are no more, the great existential threat to the empire would be gone. Of course, ...

Wow, that is a big question. Although I don't know much about the Suel Empire, it does occur to me that it could look like Netheril from the Forgotten Realms. Even if you don't want to go that way, I ...

Hmm, i'm frequently surprised whenever that happens to me. I'm sure that if it wasn't a Gather Information skill check, it would be something else.

I enjoy 2E and I recently had a player, who had o ...

Is is possible for the PC to recover his nose? You could also allow a cure moderate wounds to be able to graft a nose back on. Of course, there would be a bad scar. Also, if the nose is not recoverabl ...

If only a few people have wealth, that just makes those people who have it more prestigious in comparison - is the priesthood of the god of prestige and influence really going to step in and tell mono ...

Hmmm. I would hardly call having a concern about monopolies anachronistic. Monopolies actually stifle the marketplace and costs go up for consumers as does quality. Society is beggered as a result. It ...

There is a lot of latitude to use when determining whether a city has a sewer system, or not. Factors that stand out to me is the level of magic in your campaign, and -if you're using canon- how preva ...

Trial by combat is indicative of a LE society, maybe even CE. It is simply rule by the strongest!

I really enjoy the 1E alignment descriptions in the DMG. I don't have it in front of me, so I will ...

Well, if you've spent any time on a boat, you will hear of the black water tank, which is fed by the toilet! So... maybe, just maybe, if you melt black ice, you'll get that kind of black water. j/k
...

Thats pretty ambitious, I like it. I'm down for something like that. Keep me informed.

I'm up for it. However, I live in Los Angeles, so if it is out of state, travel will be an issue for me.

ciao!
The Grey Mouser

Wow, thats an awesome mini your friend made, I can see why you are proud!

The Grey Mouser

'You can't be a pirate if you don't have a beard. MY boat. MY rules.'

Yes, this does sound like a lot of fun. Are you at all familiar with Ravenloft? This sounds like a great chance to introduce some horror tropes into your campaign.

I like the idea of any undead hav ...

Hmm, the 100 Year's War started when the english invaded France, intent on taking the throne. The english king (i forget which one it was, I think Henry II) was descended from the french royal line. T ...

Have you ever heard of the 30 Year's War? It happened in the 17th century in the Holy Roman Empire, or present day Germany. It was one of the darker chapters of European history. What happened was tha ...

Now for my 2 cents. Don't forget you're the DM! and all the rules are merely guidelines. But be careful! I've run into many newer players who don't like. Its like that old saying, 'with great power co ...

Hmm, I had a player who wanted to play an aasimar in my ToEE campaign. it didn't quite work... Planescape is a VERY high magic campaign setting. The very mechanics of the planes put a handicap on magi ...

I agree, Gman, there are some really cool campaigns going. many of them have a lot of texture and depth, I can tell the players are really enjoying themselves. I like the idea of the cleric of Olidamm ...

I've got two campaigns and one short adventure that I am running. Two of them I am running with the HackMaster rules set and the short adventure is set with the 1E rules.

The first campaign is the ...

Acid Arrow - have you ever taken a look at Hackmaster? I think you'd like it. I've been using the system for several years now and my players prefer it to any other derivative of the D&D rules set ...

Hmm, Zuggtmoy comes to mind. There is some overlap between the two demonic powers. It occurs to me that having her minions involved in Jubilex's plans would spice some things up. I don't imagine Jubil ...

Interesting experiences about the ToEE. When I ran the Moathouse for my party, they had some real strong characters and the Moathouse was a virtual cakewalk for them, even though they were 1st level. ...

Hmm, you do that by acting out the character. Reflecting the NPC's mannerisms is a great way, so is the inflections in the voice. You mentioned other DMs and how well they pulled it off in their games ...

About putting some emotional pull into a game: a damsel in distress work pretty well. My players got into a fight in Verbobonc and were thrown into jail. A young lady who was studying to be a lawyer n ...

I'm DMing the Temple of Elemental Evil and believe it or not but I have never been a player in Greyhawk! Blasphemy, I know! Most DMs i have played prefer their own generic worlds or I have played in t ...

Forgot one thing: Its a game, if you're not having fun then you aren't doing it right!

Hmm, that is long, and complicated. I take it you are running it in 4E, is that correct?

Starting a new campaign is always tough. There is a lot of prep work, themes to consider, plots for the vil ...

I'm sure all his worshippers went mad thinking about stuff like this! Laughing

I remember reading something somewhere long ago that Gary developed it to put players who got too big for their britches in their place. The player who feels that his character is unstoppable and is v ...

One thing you might want to consider is 'minor inconveniences' that add 'an hour here, an hour there' that could add some time over a journey. Afterall, the climate is supposed to be Northern Europe - ...

A follow-up to my earlier question: what is it about this area that appeals to you over other areas. What plots/sub-plots, villains/antagonists, challenges are present in this area that make it so mor ...

Oooh, that 'it wasn't me, it was my evil clone!' idea is a good one. I'm going to steal it!

Hags. I never considered using them. I run into material about them that illustrate them as a power group ...

And, who is your favorite villain, or faction. Also, is there a favorite time period you like to run your games?

My group started out with 2E. After looking at Hackmaster I began incorporating more and more of those rules into the game until, ta da! we were playing Hackmaster. I'm running the ToEE and since Kenz ...

Context is everything.

I like to really get into detail about something like knowledge. Having the party mage go out and buy some books for his library without really designating what the books ar ...

The 'tallest mountain in the world' can be anywhere you want it. It occurs to me that if you are dealing with artifacts and I imagine high level characters as well, then anywhere, as long as it is con ...

The good news is that you can make Ratik however you want!

If you have information on the surrounding lands you can infer a lot of what happens there by looking at what happens there.

Have fun ...

I haven't adventured around Salinmoor, as a player or a DM. However, I do have some ideas might be of help.

1) One of the things i've always liked about Greyhawk was the dichotomy between the Old F ...

Dude! I totally agree! (Yes, I am from L.A., and, no, I do not surf).

The great thing about having a community of devoted fans like we do here is that we can really start to recreate GH in a way th ...

Regarding your kill-happy players: deduct experience for killing 'friendlies'. And, the forces of Good look after their own, send an aasimon down to teach them a few lessons. If word gets out that the ...

Armitage - I recommend trying other gaming systems where they use a Spell Point system mechanic. The two that come to mind are Rifts (or any Palladium system) and Exalted. One of the first things you' ...

I think you're trying too hard.

I, too, have thought about this particular topic and I came to many of the same conclusions you have. This is what I came too: Changing the way magic works, to make ...

I had never thought about CN that much. And to come from a philosophical view of the alignment is something that had never much occurred to me. CN is not an alignment I have seen played very often. Th ...

The only thing I'd add is how the players perceive the group(s). Frequently a group's level of power pales in comparison to their reputation. Since your players don't know much about the group, you ha ...

Perhaps. Mostly what I wrote was to help me get a better grasp on the demographics of the area, like monster populations, actions by agents of the Temple, that sort of thing. It was written in a free- ...

personally, I take what works for my game and what doesn't. Don't be afraid to make the world your own. However, the world of Greyhawk has certain tropes and qualities that make it distinct from Plane ...

no, I would rule that it is not possible to study magic while flying and invisible. You could do it invisibly, though. Flying, as I envision it, requires some concentration to maintain flight.

Wow, ...

Ah, yes, Greyhawk is a low-magic world and many magical luxuries and other magical amenities that could easily be included in a write-up of Suzail in the Realms would not be present. Having them prese ...

I remember in my early medieval class something about demographics of the era. After the fall of the Roman Empire there was a great contraction in the number of people living in Europe, people fled th ...

For first time gamers I recommend taking Thaco out. Most newbies just get confused by it unless they're into mathematics or something similar. Beside, I think the worse thing that happened to AD&D ...

Remember that Lareth is a 'gifted' individual. He is cunning, charismatic, intelligent, as well as being a natural leader. He would know that his position is untenable. The majority of his underlings ...

i find having a certaint amount of fantasy realism to be important for the overall consistency for the players. If encounters are constantly scaled for the players then the PCs will not feel any sens ...

looks like some good stuff, wonder if this portends more extensive source material, always welcome!

The Grey Mouser

'Choose your enemies carefully, you will become just like them' -unknown

My input is this: consider what level your PCs are. Depending upon their level and capabilities they will either be killed by the badguys or will zip through whatever you have planned (provided they ...

Hmmm, so you want to get a better handle on the culture and organization of the Viscounty of Verbobonc? When i ran the Temple i ran into a very similar question.

The Viscounty has always occurre ...

dude, not a problem! if i need any assistance i'll let you know

The Grey Mouser

i see, i see. I'm giving some thought on how i could use it in one of my games as some kind of forboding message for the players.

thanks,
The Grey Mouser

Hey, Ivid, what is that poem you put in the postscript of your postings? Where did you get it?

Grey Mouser

'Never play a sport where the players carry clubs' - Grandma

I would choose Nerull. In my campaign i took the part of Ivid the Undying that states that no one knows what is going on there after Duke Szefferin took over and made it into a place dominated by und ...

Hey, as it happens me and a good buddy of mine are looking for gamers too. Yeah, he lives in Costa Mesa and live near Long Beach. I am an experienced 'Hawker', so lets talk! We are interested in me ...

Hello! Currently i am in London for the school semester but i will be returning to my home in Los Angeles. Then i will continue my ToEE campaign. As for the RPGA, that is the Nyrond area.

Grey ...

I have not read much in way of devils having an invested role in the affairs of the Flanaess. However, in Ivid the Undying Baalzephon, one of the Circle of 8 from the 9 Hells, has fostered his own ch ...

I really liked the advice you gave me. This old mage is the mentor of the group mage. The mentor, Max, and his student are both wild mages. My ideas i had was Max was secretly seeing his lost love, ...

... damn, i stand in awe of your greatness!

thank you,
The Grey Mouser

'I drank what?' - Socrates

I am writing a module and would like some help. I am having difficultly writing a module involving an old mage whose first love was turned into a vampire when they were young and fleeing some Bonehea ...

i accidentally posted

Tiernan, are you planning a mutiny? Happy

I converted to 4th Edition, a.k.a. HackMaster and i am really enjoying it.

The Grey Mouser

Never play a game where the players carry clubs - Gran ...

I'm glad you found my suggestions helpful. I am fond of having the world be in motion. If the PCs see that their names are known in places other than their home town it gives them incentive to make ...

Some interesting notes on Ehlonna and Obad-hai. Personally, i took the Greek gods Diana and Dionysos and used them as templates for Ehlonna and Obad-hai. I'm pretty sure that Gygax got the inspirati ...

I happen to be a history major and i just completed a class on Tudor-Stuart England. Gary, you had asked what the economic conditions after a war would be like, i might be able to give you some ideas ...

I have not used fey in my campaigns, i usually stick to demons and morality, redemption, and that sort of thing. However, if i were to have feys play a major role in my campaign i would have them be ...