Tuesday, April 30, 2019

Tentacled Dice Tower


Yeah, I know... it's not really a tower at all.  More like a tunnel or slide.
And not every die makes its way to the other side.  I feel like that's some kind of "tentacle initiation."  Such unfortunate rolls are simply sucked up into the void.

Hope you enjoy the video and like my clay sculptures.  I'll do more in the future.

Currently, I'm finishing up Cha'alt.  It's quite a beast and is taking up the majority of my free time.  Just about every room within The Black Pyramid has been written up (all 111 of them).  Now, I just have to make them even more awesome during the revision process!


Thanks,

VS

p.s. The Roll20 playtests have gone really well.  I appreciate everyone who comes back for more!

Friday, April 26, 2019

The Horror In Clay


For as long as I can remember, I've wanted to fashion my own Cthulhu idol out of clay...

Well, last week I did just that.  And also made a kind of dice tower, which is actually more of a dice tunnel/slide.  But that I'll show off in a video and blog post this weekend.

Clay is difficult for a noob like me to work with, but I hope to improve on my next attempt.  The painting comes easier to me because I've been doing that all my adult life.

So, there you go... ia ia Cthulhu fh'tagn!

Enjoy,

VS


Tuesday, April 9, 2019

Crimson Dragon Slayer D20


As I've said before, D&D means a thousand things to a thousand people. 

It's impossible to define with just the acronym alone.  Even citing a particular version, preference, or play-style of D&D is fraught with peril.

Getting on the same page with a virtual table full of players is of paramount importance.  Without a place to start, you have nothing but floundering.  You need some kind of foundation in order to begin playing.

Here is bedrock!  All new and over-the-top "bloodstained parchment" look provided by layout guru David Guyll.  Did I mention it was absolutely FREE?!?

There are a few iterations of Crimson Dragon Slayer out there, but this isn't a new edition.  Rather, it's my quick and dirty checklist / cheat-sheet for running OSR type 5e games online.  It started here and evolved organically thanks to the feedback I received.

For me, virtual gaming requires the most rules-light approach.  Crimson Dragon Slayer D20 is my solution to all the problems I've encountered running D&D on Roll20, Fantasy Grounds, and elsewhere. 

Hope you find it as invaluable as I have,

VS

p.s.  If you appreciate all the freebies that come out of Kort'thalis Publishing, try our nearly 50 PDFs!

Monday, April 8, 2019

Equality of Opportunity, Not Outcome


For some, it's a difficult concept to grasp.  How can things be essentially equal if one person has advantages that another does not?

Well, it's kind of like rolling 3d6 in order, six times.  Everyone has the opportunity to be a titan of strength, intelligence, etc. but we all know that it's random.  You get what you get.  Sometimes the Gods favor you, other times they kick you in the balls.  That's life.

Now, if you were to make everyone's stats pretty good but not great, regardless of what was rolled, that would be equality of outcome.  This is attractive to some because they don't want the risk.  They want an easy "B."

But then, of course, everyone in the party pretty much has the same stats.  You lose individuality.  You also lose any sense of scale.  If everyone has the same thing, then that "B" might as well be a "C" or even a "D."  Without the highs and lows, those stats are relatively meaningless.

That which is attained without struggle has less value.

Especially when you consider the GM's plight... or obligation.  One of his many jobs is to challenge the PCs.  If everyone has good stats, then some villains will have to have even better stats to compensate.

Anyways, what we're after in life and in gaming is a fair shot, a decent chance.  Don't hand your players good ability scores just because you don't want anyone to feel bad.  Make them work harder to compensate for their PC's shortcomings.

What about the super-rich kids that inherent all their parents' wealth?  They didn't have to roll the dice in life.  True, but someone always gets really lucky.  Anyway, overconfidence and a sense of entitlement are their own weaknesses.

Actually, that reminds me of legacy PCs in the Knights of the Dinner Table comicbook.  Ensuring that newly generated PCs get certain advantages from the very beginning... and that shall be the topic for my next blog post!

VS