Shadow & Fae

  What Makes a Setting Good? Adventure games are about adventuring. In so far as a setting empowers that, it is good. If it makes adventuring difficult or confusing, it has taken a misstep. That's the theory, and I'm running with it. Lots of folks like to talk about Elden Ring, which gives a  touch  of lore up front, just enough to make you wonder, and then trusts you to explore and figure out that world on your own. If you want to dive into the lore, you've got to dive into the world and it's dungeons. That is my aim. Inisval Three Centuries Ago The Grey Lady lead the Fairfolk away from their home in Greymirror deep into the underworld at Fairgrave, and they have not been seen since, unless you believe old wives' tales and rumors, that is. The land was entrusted to the King in Casarra, but it was never the same. Three Decades Ago Dwarves, exiles from their home in the east, founded a mountain home at Lastlight. They don't allow visitors, but from time to time t...

The Shattered Coasts server sees a fair share of games. Some are via voice, some are slow-form play-by-post, and then there are the dreaded "Live-Text" games. The other night, a small dungeon ran from about 4 PM to 11 PM PST. Over the course of 7 grueling hours (admittedly I only glanced at it occasionally), the players investigated a town, made their way to a dungeon, dealt with a strange curse and some interesting enemies, and eventually made it out alive with some lute  loot. Afterwards, the GM swore off live-text games, understandably so. The adventure shouldn't take half the time it did. I spy one key problem. Every interaction in a live-text game takes a minute or two, rather than a few seconds. Players have to type out responses (when they're paying attention), then other players have to read those responses, and so on. In a voice game, folks (hopefully) listen at the same time someone else speaks, and a silence of more than a few seconds is rare. Things simply...

Gold and Sleeping Bears The gold is just lying there, but so is the bear. What do you do? And just like that, we're playing Dungeons and Dragons. Now, yes, someone will tell me there's all sorts of rules about Conflict Resolution, Dice Mechanics, Action Economy, Death and Dismemberment, etc. But all of that exists to support one question: How do you get the gold? This gives us not 2, but 4 categories to consider: 1. Rewards What is the reason for the players being here, what do they want? While gold is the simplest answer, and the most versatile, other rewards exist as well. 2. Danger Why hasn't someone else claimed the treasure? 3. Environment Dreams of the Slumbering Moon Each player takes on the role of a member of the small village with an important job. Each turn represents 1 week, wherein the members of the village do their best to overcome the struggles of the village and prepare for the coming festivals. Each season is 12 weeks, and ends with a Festival. To start, p...

Recently a method of writing a quick campaign opener has been floating around Phlox's GLoG server, and I decided to give it a go. The idea is to write up what happened 5 Centuries ago, 5 Decades ago, 5 Years ago, 5 Days ago, and lastly 5 Minutes ago. I actually started with the "5 Minutes ago", as I had an image in mind of what the players would be dealing with, then worked back from there. At the end of the process I realized I'd created something rather dark, and placed the heroes in a position that wasn't as unquestionably heroic as our playstyle tends to be. That's all well and good for some tables, but we just happen to like being the good guys, or at least feeling like we're good guys. So I thought, "Who else could the group play as?" Well, I found some. And it turns out they aren't perfect people either, but their story is—in my opinion—the more interesting of the two. Of course, then there's option C. The Mountain of the Sun  5 Ce...

GLOG Solutions An archdevil rules the City Beneath with legions of devils and human thralls at his command. The party wishes to end the devil's infernal reign, and sets out to slay him and lift the city from its ashes. 5e's solution: The 300 HP, AC 19 Pit Fiend. The Pit Fiend makes 4 attacks, averaging 73 damage per round. It also has magical weapons, the ability to cast a few spells, and a few nasty traits like a fear aura and Magic Resistance. GLOG's Solution: Archdevil This being commands an infernal legion of approximately 500 soldiers. It is imbued with unholy magic, and seeks to bring all peoples under its command. Archdevils rarely work together, unless brought into servitude to another of their kind. HD: 12+10 (64 HP), AC : 18 (Infernal Plate), Morale : 10 STR:  +4, DEX : +2, CON : +3, INT : +2, WIS : +3, CHA : +4 Motive : Dominion Move : 45' Fly Flaming Greatsword:  x3, STR+3, d12, 1d6 Fire Hellfire : A 45' cone of flame shoots forward from the Archdevil...