So I've been getting various pieces of advice from friends, and the quantity is starting to convince me of its veracity. Until I get all of the various relevant proper nouns copyrighted and find a new place to host my work, I'm afraid it won't be available for view.
It was pointed out to me that, even though I intend to make this content free and available on the internet anyway, if I don't acquire all of the necessary copyrights first and find a place to host it that doesn't have a bit of fine print that allows the hosting company to commandeer your products, I could end up ceding my intellectual property to someone who's a bit quicker on the copyright draw. The last thing I want is to get slapped with a cease and desist for posting my own work!
So in short, the publishing of statistical data and specific setting info on this site is officially at an end. As soon as I finish this post I will be removing those things from previous posts as well.
From here on out, I'll be using this site to discuss my work in broad strokes. No, it's not as interesting as the nitty-gritty, but I've got to protect my IP. If someone steals my ideas, it will be hard for me to give them away.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
The Project
This Blog is about a set of modifications to the WotC product Dungeons & Dragons. If you're not into that sort of thing, feel free to mosey on. This site has a lot of other fun hijinks on it. Go ahead, look around.
Alright, then. For those of you who stuck around, I'll begin.
I won't lie to you; I love pen and paper rpgs. I've played more than a few of them and enjoyed many of them thoroughly. As I became more mature, however, I found more and more reasons to appreciate the mathematical clarity of D&D v.3.5. It's mathematic precision (by rpg standards, anyhow) and wealth of material allow for gaming limited solely by the imagination of the players. Second edition was good, but so deadly that the table experience was often ruined by the poor gamesmanship of immature, overly attatched players. My experience with Fourth edition is limited, but thus far I've found the rules limiting and the unreasonably high enemy hp totals tedious. I'm sure I'll play it again to refine my opinion, but in the mean time, 3.5 is the king of games in my book.
But it isn't perfect, is it?
Unless one rolls characters and gets lucky, the paladin, who needs decent stats in four of their ability scores, never really measures up. Since I only deal in point-buy character creation, paladin isn't really viable at all. And what of ranger? Their animal companion becomes more of a hindrance than a benefit in later levels due to its low relative level. All but the most precisely built barbarians and fighters are able to keep up with the their squishier caster companions by the end.
On top of that, by limiting the range to that of a single d20 roll on attack rolls and saving throws, the system necessitates auto hit and auto fail numbers (20 and 1, for you odd non-gamer folk who are reading this). The inclusion of abstractions (ostensibly put in place for expediency of gameplay) can, and often does, create untenable situations where the number one must roll cannot by the active party. Having seen this as both a player and a gm (damn you, Fred), I feel this detracts from the primary element of interest in a game of D&D: chance!
What I am attempting to do here is create a system similar to D20 but distinctly different in a number of key ways. I am removing AC and making attack rolls opposed. I'm doing the same with casting checks. I am attempting to make each and every class customizable, viable, and potentially heroic without sacrificing the simplicity that makes the classes so accessible. I am attempting to do all of that and do it in a setting of my very own design: The Clavesti Coast.
With this relatively small strip of land (about 25,000sq miles) I will begin to build the world of Vul. In this blog I will post bits and pieces of the things I am working on for the perusal and commentary of whosoever reads. If you like what I'm doing, tell me and tell me why. If you hate what I'm doing, tell me and tell me why. If you think I'm an idiot, tell me but TELL ME WHY. This rules set isn't in beta; it is still being written. If this project sounds like it might be worth its salt, then help me out: speak your mind.
Alright, then. For those of you who stuck around, I'll begin.
I won't lie to you; I love pen and paper rpgs. I've played more than a few of them and enjoyed many of them thoroughly. As I became more mature, however, I found more and more reasons to appreciate the mathematical clarity of D&D v.3.5. It's mathematic precision (by rpg standards, anyhow) and wealth of material allow for gaming limited solely by the imagination of the players. Second edition was good, but so deadly that the table experience was often ruined by the poor gamesmanship of immature, overly attatched players. My experience with Fourth edition is limited, but thus far I've found the rules limiting and the unreasonably high enemy hp totals tedious. I'm sure I'll play it again to refine my opinion, but in the mean time, 3.5 is the king of games in my book.
But it isn't perfect, is it?
Unless one rolls characters and gets lucky, the paladin, who needs decent stats in four of their ability scores, never really measures up. Since I only deal in point-buy character creation, paladin isn't really viable at all. And what of ranger? Their animal companion becomes more of a hindrance than a benefit in later levels due to its low relative level. All but the most precisely built barbarians and fighters are able to keep up with the their squishier caster companions by the end.
On top of that, by limiting the range to that of a single d20 roll on attack rolls and saving throws, the system necessitates auto hit and auto fail numbers (20 and 1, for you odd non-gamer folk who are reading this). The inclusion of abstractions (ostensibly put in place for expediency of gameplay) can, and often does, create untenable situations where the number one must roll cannot by the active party. Having seen this as both a player and a gm (damn you, Fred), I feel this detracts from the primary element of interest in a game of D&D: chance!
What I am attempting to do here is create a system similar to D20 but distinctly different in a number of key ways. I am removing AC and making attack rolls opposed. I'm doing the same with casting checks. I am attempting to make each and every class customizable, viable, and potentially heroic without sacrificing the simplicity that makes the classes so accessible. I am attempting to do all of that and do it in a setting of my very own design: The Clavesti Coast.
With this relatively small strip of land (about 25,000sq miles) I will begin to build the world of Vul. In this blog I will post bits and pieces of the things I am working on for the perusal and commentary of whosoever reads. If you like what I'm doing, tell me and tell me why. If you hate what I'm doing, tell me and tell me why. If you think I'm an idiot, tell me but TELL ME WHY. This rules set isn't in beta; it is still being written. If this project sounds like it might be worth its salt, then help me out: speak your mind.
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