Reading around Dragon’sfoot, a poster submitted a two page write-up for a campaign area. (Link to thread here.) The submission was a write up for the Principality of Kedmere.

This is a concise and easily adaptable summary of a campaign area, complete with a map. Major cities and towns get a good description along with population, leaders, and other important details.

It is easy to imagine that providing more detail to areas within Kedmere could be done with a similar two page write up. For example, a writeup on Belmord complete with city map, building details, etc.

All in all this is an excellent way of presenting broad areas of the campaign world. I can get lost in centuries of history, but this straight-to-the-point presentation is ‘just right’.

Added a new link to Nailbiter Games. Nailbiter Games specializes in sports sims. I’ve downloaded a couple and they look very interesting.

These games are not in the Statis-Pro or APBA category. Each game is an abstraction that looks at the relative strengths of two teams and provides highlights of each drive.

One game, however, allows for a distribution of points to a team’s roster. It is called Coach’s Call Football and is avaiable here. QB’s have a cost, the better rating, the more costly. Skill positions have a cost. The Defense is a generic rating, but you can rater the DL and LB on a 1-5 scale. The same is true of the OL.

It wouldn’t be hard to imagine using this system to rate all the teams and recreate a season. Just may have to fiddle with it and see what turns up.

This game *is* chart-heavy. This doesn’t bother some folks, but I thought it would be fair warning for others that may not like a game with seven results charts.

UPDATE: Four new files now available as of today.

The pdf files for OpenD6 are now available. Thanks to a user that goes my Temprus, the OGL has been added to the original PDF files. As of July 28, 2009, not all links work. I’ve marked the ones that are not currently working. Let me know if a pdf comes available, the link is correct for the file once it is available and uploaded.

The links to OpenD6 files are:

(Not Available) 51005 The D6 System: The Customization Roleplaying Game
http://www.westendgames.com/files/weg51005OGL.pdf

51011 D6 Adventure
http://www.westendgames.com/files/weg51011OGL.pdf

51012 D6 Space (NOW AVAILABLE!)
http://www.westendgames.com/files/weg51012OGL.pdf

51013 D6 Fantasy (NOW AVAILABLE!)
http://www.westendgames.com/files/weg51013OGL.pdf

51015 D6 Fantasy Creatures
http://www.westendgames.com/files/weg51015OGL.pdf

51016 D6 Adventure Locations
http://www.westendgames.com/files/weg51016OGL.pdf

51017 D6 Space Ships
http://www.westendgames.com/files/weg51017OGL.pdf

(Not Available) 51019 D6 Gamemaster Screen and Aid
http://www.westendgames.com/files/weg51019OGL.pdf

51020 D6 Fantasy Locations (NOW AVAILABLE!)
http://www.westendgames.com/files/weg51020OGL.pdf

(Not Available) 51021 D6 Adventure Creatures
http://www.westendgames.com/files/weg51021OGL.pdf

51022 D6 Space Aliens I
http://www.westendgames.com/files/weg51022OGL.pdf

51024 D6 Vade Mecum of Magic (NOW AVAILABLE!)
http://www.westendgames.com/files/weg51024OGL.pdf

Here is the first of the weekly dragons for the month of July, the thunder dragon. First the M20 statblock:

Adult Granite: HD 21d12+105 (241), AC 28, Bite +27 (2d8), or Breath 8d6 stream of rocks DC 25,  phys+DEX to dodge for half, or thorwn rock 2d6+7.

And now for the Basic Fantasy Statblock

Dragon, Granite

Granite dragons have thick, rock-like scales with small black spots on them. The scales also tend to become for red as they age. They prefer to live on top of ancient mountains or near stone quarries. In order to properly digest their food, they swallow heavy stones in a gizzard type of organ. The bite of a granite dragon is severe due to their hardened teeth. When fighting, a granite dragon prefers to be near a source of rocks. When their breath weapon is not available, a granite dragon will attempt to hurl boulders. Granite dragons are capable of great cruelty. They enjoy swallowing humanoids whole and listening to their cries as they are ground into pieces by the stone in their gizzard. Outside of this rare pleasure, granite dragons are motivated by the urge to live, breed and collect valuable items.

Granite dragons are immune to poisonous gases.

Here is the first of the weekly dragons for the month of July, the thunder dragon. First the M20 statblock:

Adult Thunder: HD 18d12+72 (189), AC 27, Bite +22 (2d6+7), or Breath 6d6 sonic DC 23, phys+DEX to dodge for half. STR 23, DEX 10, MIND 10. Phys 5, Subt 8, Knowledge 5, Communication 5

And now for the Basic Fantasy Statblock

Dragon, Thunder

Thunder dragons are about the size of white dragons, but more stocky in build. They are slow fliers that prefer to move along the ground. They are light brown and distinctively marked with large, irregularly-shaped, blood-red-edged ellipses. When first seen, sages called them clouded dragons.

Thunder Dragons prefer to live in large caverns in mountains or hilly areas. Over time, they continue to enlarge their home cavern into a byzantine maze. They are considered by other dragons as more brute than intelligent dragon. As a result, thunder dragons tend to be neutral in outlook, and generally distrustful of other dragons.

Thunder dragons prefer to fight by means of a sophisticated ambush that best uses their sonic breath weapon and chameleon-like abilities. They are motivated to reproduce and accumulate treasure. They prefer a diet of vegetables and rocks, but they are not adverse to eating the occasional mountain lion or dwarf.

Thunder dragons use a sonic breath weapon. This blast of sound disorients target creatures, leaving them effectively stunned for 1d4 rounds. No attack roll is required, but a save vs. Death Ray is allowed to resist. They also have the ability to blend into their surroundings like a chameleon, allowing them to surprise prey on 1-3 on 1d6.

Thunder dragons are immune to sonic attacks.

Thunder Dragon Age Table

In my work with Nevermet Press, I wanted to work on providing statblocks for the free content, there. I wanted to choose a Neoclassical system because 4th Edition appears to be well covered. After researching various systems, I chose Basic Fantasy. This system feels the most familiar to me, based on my history of playing. The differences from Basic D&D make sense to me, but also allow for some flexibility in classes, rules, etc. The real winner for me was the ’source’ content published in OpenOffice file formats. This demonstrated to me that the philosophy of the BFRPG developers is very much in-line with my own.

So, there will be content on my site from this point forward designed specifically for the BFRPG. This month will include new dragons, as well as statblocked content from Nevermet Press.

Did I forget M20? No, I start with M20 and work my way forward. I also intend to provide M20 statblocks for everything as well.

Here’s to a reboot of Sycarion.com

Magman over at the WEG fansite is holding a contest for ‘backdrops’. The rules are straightforward and open-ended.

All details can be found here.

If I can keep up with my assignments from Nevermet Press, I plan on submiting an entry.

The word of the day from the folks at dictionary.com provides an interesting adjective. Here is one of the examples of usage provided on the site:

As for Neeson — of the nose-heavy, asymmetrical countenance and shrewdly darting, soul-searching eyes, he is a lopsided Gary Cooper redivivus — hardly something to sneeze at.
– John Simon, “Michael Collins”, National Review, November 25, 1996

Note that the proper usage is (Name of Person) redivivus.

Within an RPG with many forms of undead, such a name could add story elements by naming an individual ‘weaker’ undead. (zombies, wights) It could also be used as a title for more powerful undead (vampire, revanant). The latter usage gives a more regal feel because redivivus is a purely latin based word.

Here’s an example of a third person referring to a zombie of someone recently deceased: Tragen, our mayor, is dead, but Tragen Redivivus roams the village terrorizing our citizens….

I can easily imagine a vengeful revanant placing this name upon himself upon his return to the physical world: Tristan was felled by a corrupt guild under the iron rule of Kuroun Fes. As Tristan Redivivus, I will see justice done by the force of my will and the blade he placed in my back.

I leave it to others to decide if such a title is appropriate to a lich.

I was catching up on Trapcast listening to their return podcast from May 18. Aside from the usual random stuff, they were discussing the topic of creating races outside the standard fantasy milleu. On the podcast, they talked about balance and playing all characters as humans. Good points, be sure to take a listen.

As far as acheiving balance, though, I began to think about how races are defined in Microlite20. Most races are defined as a bonus or penalty to one of the three attributes. Humans get a +1 to all skills with no adjustments to attributes.

The balancing mechanism is that all adjustments total 2. For humans, having a +1 bonus to all four skills is equivalent to a +2 Attribute adjustment. For example, Elves get a +2 MIND adjustment, Half-Orcs get +3 STR and -1 MIND, Half-Elves get +1 MIND and +1 to any two skills.

With three attributes and four skills to fiddle with, M20 seems to be the perfect place to look at the mechanics of creating new races easily. To limit the number of options, I decided to set up a few parameters for this exercise:

• There can be only one penalty and it can only be a -1. This could a -1 to any attribute or -1 to any two skills.
• The largest bonus will be a +3.
• Avoid setting specific skills to receive a bonus or penalty. It should be an adjustment to any 2 skills or to all 4 skills.
• Add in as many pre-defined races from the macropedia that still fit within the above parameters.

The result is the attached spreadsheet below:
Racial Template Options

Looking through the results, some are quite interesting. For example, a race that receives a +1 to Mind, +1 to all skills and a -1 to STR. This would mean that there is a race that is just as adaptable as humans, slightly smarter, but slightly weaker physically. Of all the possibilities, the one that appealed to me was a somewhat evolved human.

Others have definite possibilities, especially a race that would receive a +1 bonus to all attributes, but a -1 to any two skills. (This may seem like a cheat to get a super character, but M20 is a skill-based system.) This creates a race that is smarter, stronger, and more agile than a typical human, but less adaptable. This makes me think of the invading aliens from In the Balance by TurtleDove.

This only takes care of the mechanics. For those that tend to look for how a race can benefit them in combat, not much more needs to be done. For others like me that get into the fluff, getting this part nailed down provides suggestions for what a race is like without removing many possibilties. Using a good random generation like this one can fill in some of the details.

I admit, I’m a nut when it comes to fluff like this. I think about the form and function of a different race. For example, giants in my world have a different material in there bone makeup. It is stronger than regular bone material by an exponential factor. This makes them feared adversaries, but also threatened by others that seek to harvest the hardened bone material. The reason for this change is that a 12 ft tall human could barely walk and would break bones at the slightest movement.

I have other examples, but I hope this provides a good baseline for creating new races. I hope to detail more of these just to see how far it can go. If you find any entries on the spreadsheet you find interesting, let me know.

Long term, I want my posts to be more polished. I hope to spend some time mulling over the idea and performing some basic editing. After all, I do have an English degree – I feel like I should write like I do.

In any case, here are the latest idea sketches:

Self-healing wood:
Black Birch creates the most BTUs per cord. It is an American wood. The difference between it and the closest type of wood available in Europe/Asia is about 8%. What this means is that certain wood from the North American continent will be the most prized and the most expensive.

Coal is a more efficient fuel than regular wood. It is lighter and it generates more heat than wood. Self-healing wood is a popular option, but there is still a place

The other key to self-healing wood is that it cannot be grown. It can only be created from normally harvested wood.

Self-healing wood and cannon don’t always go together. You can sink a ship made of self-healing wood, it will sit on the ocean floor, pristine and intact. Wood heals, but not fast enough to keep water from coming in. Once underwater, it will continue to heal. It will not allow barnacles or other things to attach to it.

Open D6:
Since the Septimus announcement, there has been buzz about what fans and vendors will create under the D6 engine. ComStar, no surpise, has expressed interest. More than a few fans are showing up eager to use D6 to go where other systems cannot.

I like the ideas around a creature compendium and conversion from other OGL systems. I’m not so much into the special abilities as much as templates (like classes in d20), bestiary (already stated), and spells (although many will be redundant).

After the one page dungeon, if I can finish by tomorrow, I’ll start on some of that. I’m typesetting D6 Fantasy Creatures (much harder then D6 Fantasy Core book), so I’ll add on my conversions later.

Big thing for me is the very large stat block required each creatures. I would like a shorthand stat block, but I can’t figure out a way to do it.

There’s more, but I’ve lost some of my notes. More later…