Not much posting lately!

I really hate to read blogs that say that. However, it’s true, and I owe an explanation.

I’m now working on upcoming projects for Margaret Weis Productions’ Marvel Heroic Roleplaying, so that’s taken time away.

In addition, I’m running things over at Plot Points (though taking a small hiatus to meet deadlines with MHR), and it turns out that having more contributors keeps you busier, not less busy. Who knew?

In addition, I’m moving in two weeks, back to Spokane, WA. Expect posts to be scarce until I can get things going on back there.

I’m finishing up the details on SIR, so that I can start a Kickstarter at the end of June. Things are on track there.

That’s about all! What have all you been up to in gaming? Let’s talk about that!

My Simple, Intuitive Roleplaying game has actually gotten a bit of  buzz! I’ve been getting some really positive feedback, and I’m participating in a play-by-forum game of it, letting someone else GM it to see how it plays.

With that, I decided that a Kickstarter may be in order. My rules, while simple, allow for a lot of flexibility and expansion. I’ve begun fleshing out the rules a bit more to give more weight to them, while maintaining the simplicity. Also, I’m going to add some genre specific rules, such as mass combat and starship rules. In addition, I’d like to include a few different one to two-page settings in different genres, similar to how True20 did it.

I’ve got an artist lined up for the cover and internal art, and I’ll be handling the layout and design duties. My goal, once we’re funded, is to get this thing out on the digital shelves around November or so. If we get enough funding, at certain stretch goals, the book will become large enough that I may do a print run or a Lulu thing. We’ll see. My current plan is to start the Kickstarter on the 28th of June, then run it through the 28th of July.

If you’re interested in playtesting the rules, let me know!

I thought up an idea, which I put out on Twitter this morning: “What if RPGers had their own io9-like site?

You would have one central site, updated multiple times a day, with mostly news and rumors from around the web, with some occasional original content. You would have a post talking about D&D’s latest offerings or D&DNext rumors, alongside news of the release of the Savage Worlds Deluxe Explorer’s Edition.

As Quinn Murphy pointed out, you would end up with a lot of backlash from fanboys of any game, raging against either the underrepresentation of their favorite game, or the overrepresentation of their least favorite. That’s what a Banhammer is for.

The site would have strict comment policies, in order to keep negativity low. This would be a place for people who loved games and wanted a positive discussion about them.

Now, could devote hours and hours to run this site? No. I’ve got this blog, as well as Plot Points, and fiction writing to do.

I could design the site (using WordPress stuff), and be one of the editors, but I certainly can’t be the sole guy in charge. You’d want about 10 guys willing to post things as they saw them come up, and not have any one central main dude. You’d probably want three editor-in-chiefs.

Is there anyone interested in this concept, giving it a try?

I’m an actual author! You can read my short story, Necessary Sacrifice here at Nevermet Press. The story is scheduled to appear in Issue 5 of Stores in the Ether. I’m very, very excited!

According to JJ Sloane and Jared von Hindman, today is Draw Vecna Day! Using the Twitter hashtag #DrawVecna, artists (and some non-artists such as myself) have drawn the god of secrets in all his glory. Behold, my depiction of Vecna!

You’ll note I chose to go with the Fiery Skeleton With a Cape idea behind Vecna, rather than the standard Powerful Lich idea, which is a bold and brave move, if I do say so myself. Please, join us over on Twitter in our celebration of secrets!

I really raised the hackles of some people in yesterday’s post. I should probably clarify what I was saying yesterday.

What some (including myself) would construe as hyperbole, some took as “I’m an asshole DM. What I say goes, and the heroes can go f*** themselves.”

This is not the case.

I really, highly doubt that anyone, especially one of my commenters, bothered to read the article past my first line. If they (read: one in particular) had, they would have seen this line:

Remember: As a GM, your job is to see the larger picture, to run an entire world. As a player, your job is your character. But allow a little bleed-through and care about what the other side is paying attention to.”

See? I’m not all bad.

The point of the article, which may have been overlooked, is this: Players look at their characters, GMs look at things on a larger scale. We need to have more bleed-through. Was the article fraught with statements that, if read out of context could be seen as me being a tyrannical or “arrogant” as I was called.

I think any of my players can vouch for me that I don’t even believe all that I said in the first quarter of my post yesterday. The first quarter. If you read the rest of it, it makes a pretty good point. That first half is hyperbole to get a point across.

Most of the commenters were very well reasoned, explaining their side of things, and I appreciate it. Others… well, others sounded like they’ve been in some pretty terrible game groups with some terrible GMs. I can’t blame them for saying some pretty terrible and harsh things.

Hey, everyone. Today, I’ll be pimping someone else’s site. Online Dungeon Master, originally located on a WordPress.com site, has officially moved to his own address at Onlinedungeonmaster.com! Why am I talking about this? Two reasons.

Reason 1: I did the site design for it. Now, I’m no coder, but I do understand HTML and how WordPress templates work. I’m primarily a graphic designer, so my forte is in logos and the look of things. If you’re interested in shifting your site over from a WordPress or Blogger site over to your own, contact me. I’d love to work with you.

Reason 2: Michael the Online DM has a fantastic website. I’ve been utilizing a lot of his tips in my online Pathfinder game. He runs games almost exclusively online, and has some amazing tips and code for doing so. You need to go visit his new site and check it out. You won’t be disappointed.

Here’s a little story I saw over on Reddit, and I thought you all might enjoy it.

This reminds me of a story I heard from one of my friends about how he played an undead kobold wizard. He was quite powerful, and so came back as a lich. Most people wouldn’t recognize the sheer power of this little Kobold, so he created a Shield Guardian, placing it in massive robes and giving it a large staff. When he would travel with his Guardian, he would channel all of his spells through this creature. Anyone who saw the two simply assumed that the guardian was the powerful wizard, and his undead kobold companion was his servant. As such, they generally left the kobold alone.

Not a point here. Just saw the picture, and wanted to pass it along.

You’ve done it! You’ve come up with the perfect plot. Great!

Your players have just told you they don’t want to play another Fantasy game. Not great.

 So what do you do? Easy: Convert your plot wholesale to the new genre. It can work, and I’ll show you how.

There’s often a MacGuffin associated with a plot. I’ll use the Godfell Stone campaign as a general guide throughout this. In the case of my campaign, the MacGuffin is, in fact, the Godfell Stone. It’s the thing the players want, it’s the thing the bad guys want.

In my plot, the Godfell Stone has been stolen, and it’s up to the players to recover it, following the clues as to its whereabouts.

How do you convert this over to a different genre? I’ll use the GFS as an example:

Star Wars: A powerful device, the Forcekiller, has been discovered on a distant planet in Wild Space. While being transported to the Jedi Temple (or whatever center of power exists in the era you’re playing in), the ship was attacked, and the device was stolen. Rumor has it the Forcekiller is capable of destroying the mind of any Force-Sensitive being within a star-system radius of it. The heroes must track down the device before its too late.

BattleTech: A powerful piece of LosTech, of Star League origin, was found on a planet in the Periphary. The LosTech has been stolen, and the players must recover it before its powerful EMP powers can be brought to bear.

Dresden Files: The UnSeelie Stone, an artifact capable of sundering all magic around it, has been found buried in the sewers of (the city you’re playing in). As it was being taken for safekeeping by the White Council, it was stolen. Can the characters track it down and recover it?

As you can see, there are a lot of ways you can go with a plot.

If you have a particular plot you’d like ideas converting over to a different genre, even as a thought experiment, post it below, and I’ll do a blog discussing how to convert it.