The iPad and Gaming Conventions
I am getting ready to attend my first gaming convention in quite some time this weekend. Megacon is held annually in Orlando, and it is my first time attending, as well as my first convention with my iPad. While I am not an "avid" gamer, I do enjoy role-playing in general. This convention, I have signed up for three separate games and am looking forward to each of them. I have signed up for two indie games, and a game of Shadowrun. Also, my friends and I are looking to take the opportunity to do some gaming on the day, Saturday. Nothing planned, but with my wonderful little friend traveling with me, I've brought a couple of eBooks with me, as well as some apps for visiting the area theme parks on my "off time".
This should be quite interesting, as I've only ever played D&D with others using the iPad, and only as the game master. Now, I will be on the other side of the screen and enjoying my hobby for the first time using my tablet device, so this should be interesting. Going in to the event, my main concern is for wifi connectivity, mainly because I use Dropbox for syncing and sharing files with my fellow gamers at home.
If I had been playing D&D, I would definitely be looking towards apps or iplay4e in order to properly play directly from the iPad in place of lugging around me character sheets and books. It's Friday morning of the convention and I am getting excited to test out the device on the convention floor.
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My Digital Assistant – iPlay4e
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2011 and the Maiden’s Head
As the year rolls around to 2011, I am here and looking at the quaint little stateof my blog. It has beena pretty decent year and the blog has had a fairly low key number of visitors in year two. The blog has had a great influx of visitors when I post on topics related to what is relevant over at several sites that I follow, key among them the Wizards and Gnome Stew sites. I have branched out a bit on topics and most of my blog posts have featured cintent that could be multi-game centric. This means that I have looked at the topic from the vantage of running more thanjust a D&D game (e.g., Shadowrun, Star Wars, Call of Cthulhu or other role-playing games). The tools that I use are cross-functional across both games and genres. I look at these games and try to consolidate down to running a convention game. Most of my session material is meant to run an average game session of three hours in length, but also incorporate the session with open hooks for my players.
Most sessions, I incorporate three to five hooks for my players. These hooks allow me to find pointsof future interest for my players. Between these hooks and existing loose ends, I am able to incorporate three to seven plot hooks into a given session. And as always, I look to run from the smallest platform possible. I enjoy running from my iPad. It's something I look to do more oftenin 2011. This year, I have resolved to post more about my efforts to run from my iPad and the pitfalls and hurdles that I have overcome to achieve it.
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Dungeon Mastering from the iPad
So was Santa kind this winter and brought you a tablet? Whether it be an iPad or one of the various Android flavors of tablets, these great little devices have certainly provided those of us that game with an arsenal of tools to bring to the gaming table. I have recently acquired an iPad and while the novelty of the device was present early on, I quickly got down to business with the device and found uses for the device at the game table.
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Advancement
Having just had my players achieve 5th level, I am re-examining their current series of adventures and where I am taking them with the plot that I've originally developed. On the one hand, I've realized that I am stringing out this plot more than I should have; and then considering some of the plot hooks I've realized I'm not doing enough to move the plot forward.
Having recently picked up the "Dungeon Master's Guide 2" and reading through some of the artifacts presented, I realized that I need to take a new approach with the artifact they are searching for, the Cauldron of Ongurr. In the DMG2, WotC presents the 4th Edition version of the "Rod of Seven Parts". My original plot for the current campaign deals with an ancient artifact that was split into seven parts in times past and ancient... For those that follow Eberron, this was during the Age of Monsters and the Daelkyr Wars, some 10,000 years before the current age.
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The Rise of the Entourage, or How to use Companion Characters
In the evolution of my Eberron game, I've found a practical use for Companion Characters as outlined in the DMG2. My current group numbers two steadfast players and their combination of characters. Currently they are playing two and three Player Characters each. This gets a bit cumbersome, both in roleplaying and combat. I am working on a couple of interesting and enticing Companion Characters to help "level" the playing field. While I know that out of the box, this isn't going to go down well with the players, I am going to illustrate how much faster combat and roleplaying is when limited down to a single "Player Character" and a Companion Character. I've been working on several companions that would fit in with the current storyline, and will be attaching them here in the coming week. First up though, is Captain Corgin Tarq. The Captain is a veteran of the Last War and also a "skyship captain". I'm trying to draw the players more in to the "pulp" style of play so I'm bringing back some of my favorite elements of the original setting. I will be working with them on Action Points and also looking to incorporate more "action-based" mechanics in to the Fourth Edition setting.
In the first series of Companion Characters, I'm providing the players in my group with a small airship, the Lady Belle, and her crew. The party of two players can then take up to three companion characters from the crew. The first batch, below, focuses on the Captain and his crew. I will be posting some more information later on as far as the ship and it's layout.
You can find the initial set of Companion Characters here for download.
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How the West Was Won
In the next harrowing chapters, I plan on bringing the party a bit closer to their foe. In order to this, I'm planning on placing them on a lightning rail (read "train" for those not savvy on the Eberron setting) with the villain. This will work to give the game a sort of western / pulp fiction sort of feel. I'm planning on incorporating a couple of key encounters along the course of the lighting rail. The enemies will begin with a tradition group to harry them and press them on their objective and culminate with another encounter with their key foe. This will only be the second encounter with their foe, but it's been a short span since the encounter with him.
The players will be forced to decide on some tough questions, mainly on whether to protect the artifact they've been in search of, or the innocent by-standards on the train. This should be a very interesting session, as I will also be presenting them with a bit more background on the Eberron setting in general. Lightning Rails, attacks from an air galleon and the potential for much, much more! I am really enjoying the setting and it's pulp tendencies!
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High Wizard’s Tower & Dungeon
by zencorners
This is the High Wizard's Tower and Dungeon that I'm using in my current game session. The Dungeon has been set upon by an Aurum Concordian that is in search of the second piece of the Cauldron of Ongurr. The Concordian has arrived before the party and has begun his search for the second piece. While searching he has sent out his security forces to secure the lower levels of the High Wizard's Tower.
The Aurum Concordian has brought together a small battalion of hobgoblins and bugbears to protect him in his search for the Cauldron of Ongurr. He is currently downstairs in the main room examining the altar. He hopes to uncover the secret mechanism to unlock the treasure room where the second piece of the Cauldron of Ongurr has been hidden away. His forces are split in to four groups in order to better deter the adventurers. He has even brought on a hobgoblin warcaster to guarantee him success in his endeavors. The remaining bulk of his security detail are stationed to the south and east of the dining hall. Here, two groups of hobgoblins and the bugbears are stationed to prevent the adventurers from continuing after the Concordian.
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The Abandoned Village
by zencorners
During a journey across the Eldeen, the party encounters what looks like an abandoned village. Recently, the village has seen a number of goblins take up residence as a forward base for the upcoming invasion to the south. The goblins have a regular patrol around their common area and look to scare, rather than kill any wayward travelers who happen by. The patrol will usually consist of a goblin delver and two gnoll minions. If they are able to surprise the party, the scouts will go back to the village and organize an ambush in larger numbers rather than attack the party that is obviously more powerful than the scouting party. The remains of an even older village lies to the north of the abandoned village, and the goblins have taken to moving their refuse here. They use this area for cover during any assault. The hedge surrounding the village offers the goblins only two entrances to defend and a great advantage for the gnoll minion, who prefer to hold the party at range for as long as possible.
The village is protected by a group of 3 goblin delvers, 6 gnoll minions and an advanced hobgoblin warcaster. This works out to a 5th level encounter at 1,025 experience points.
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Dawn of a new Adventure
Having just had my players achieve 5th level, I am re-examining their current series of adventures and where I am taking them with the plot that I've originally developed. On the one hand, I've realized that I am stringing out this plot more than I should have; and then considering some of the plot hooks I've realized I'm not doing enough to move the plot forward.
Having recently picked up the "Dungeon Master's Guide 2" and reading through some of the artifacts presented, I realized that I need to take a new approach with the artifact they are searching for, the Cauldron of Ongurr. In the DMG2, WotC presents the 4th Edition version of the "Rod of Seven Parts". My original plot for the current campaign deals with an ancient artifact that was split into seven parts in times past and ancient... For those that follow Eberron, this was during the Age of Monsters and the Daelkyr Wars, some 10,000 years before the current age.
As a DM, I always wanted my artifact to have special powers. Looking at the "Rod of Seven Parts", I see something that falls along the lines of what I was looking for in my original design notes for the Cauldron. I only need to change a couple of design elements, and of course the background story of the artifact.
I'm working on the next several series of encounters and am seriously considering to continue challenge the group with ranged combat. I've run several encounters using a simple group of gnoll minions (using a 20hp "house rule" for these minions), and several higher powered brutes and solos to make a very engaging encounter for the party. The next couple of encounters will probably focus around a similar set of base creatures, only because it fits in with my storyline.
Next up in my encounters is uncovering the artifact, a new "side quest" for the portion of the party that split off and a new set of adventurers. As the party split up to accomodate a couple of new PCs (see my post on the D&D Avengers earlier this year for more) I will begin them at 4th level versus the current party's 5th level. I clearly stated to the players this is more so that I can run them through "Seekers of the Ashen Crown" as the current party will more than likely attain 6th level before the end of their current story arc.
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