https://forum.obsidianportal.com/categories/general-discussion/p20/feed.rss Thu, 17 Sep 2026 19:21:44 +0000 General Discussion Discussions on Obsidian Portal Community Forums en-CA https://forum.obsidianportal.com/discussion/4268/upcoming-blog-post-details Thu, 05 May 2016 21:29:23 +0000 Kallak 4268@/discussions
Just posting this really quickly to say that the impending updates blog post is just about completed and will be arriving within the next couple of days (potentially even some time Friday, we'll see). If you have not heard as of yet, the current week's blog material has been put on hold to allow for work to be done on the upcoming Site and Tech Updates post. This post follows my recent Skype meeting with John Hudak and will go over some of the things that have been happening on the 'back end' of Obsidian Portal, recent changes and bug fixes, and things you can expect to see coming up.

I'll definitely be interested in discussions after the article has been released. Until then, take care.]]> https://forum.obsidianportal.com/discussion/4212/the-ultimate-comedy-movie-march-madness-round-3-3-3-4-voting-open Mon, 21 Mar 2016 10:06:44 +0000 UselessTriviaMan 4212@/discussions
I'm not really a basketball person, but I do love comedy. So with a lot of input from online friends, I built "a mammoth 256-entry March Madness bracket":https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1IJVs_KpLYlQ-fU08A8d2jlOn6CXJTwySETpuu27et1k/edit#gid=541452348 for comedy movies.

"Here's the first piece of Round 1.":https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/K2SHS3S The rules are simple - in each head-to-head match up, pick the movie you think is funnier. The winner will move on, and the loser will be out of the competition. I'm going to leave each survey open for 48 hours before moving on to the next set. (I wanted to make each set longer, but I didn't want to give SurveyMonkey $300 just so I could include more than ten questions per survey.)

The first set of match-ups:

- The Great Dictator (1940) vs. My Little Chickadee (1940)

- The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014) vs. A Million Ways to Die in the West (2014)

- Father of the Bride (1950) vs. Funny Face (1947)

- Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004) vs. Napoleon Dynamite (2004)

- Hatari! (1962) vs. The Nutty Professor (1963)

- A Mighty Wind (2003) vs. Evolution (2001)

- The Odd Couple (1968) vs. Our Man Flint (1966)

- Dogma (1999) vs. Meet the Parents (2000)

And don't worry, this isn't some kinda click-bait. It's totally anonymous and free. So go vote!]]> https://forum.obsidianportal.com/discussion/4267/kickstarter-promises Thu, 05 May 2016 17:21:03 +0000 Krothos 4267@/discussions https://forum.obsidianportal.com/discussion/4255/escalation Mon, 02 May 2016 22:45:08 +0000 Krothos 4255@/discussions
Is this where Obsidian Portal customer service has escalated to? Nothing in the deleted posts did I see where they broke the new OP Community Forum Rules. All I'm now seeing is OPSupport deleting posts that have legitimate questions, which doesn't bode well for the reflection of customer service I would think they want to show now under their new management. Even other gaming sites (i.e. Blizzard/Activision) allows their customers to voice their displeasure as long as it's done constructively. And even when it's needed to moderate a discussion, there is a moderator post in that infracted discussion indicating what was done (i.e. "Removed insulting remarks against OP user. Please keep discussion constructive."); not deleted outright.

Looking forward to a meaningful and helpful response. Thank you.]]> https://forum.obsidianportal.com/discussion/3809/unconquered-kingdoms-adventure-logs Mon, 20 Oct 2014 14:54:21 +0000 SkidAce 3809@/discussions
But ogres are too stupid to bluff...right?

"Blood of the Throne":https://unconquered-kingdoms.obsidianportal.com/adventure-log/the-blood-of-thrones

I've decided since fans can't read the forums, where the adventure is updated daily, that I would post the adventure logs here.

Caution, they are draft, after I create them the "Archivist" of the campaign goes through for typos and such. And eventually we will put the battlemaps and the pictures in the logs from the forums.

"Blood of the Throne" is the most recent adventure, with links to different parts on the main page listed above.]]> https://forum.obsidianportal.com/discussion/4238/phone-number-required Mon, 25 Apr 2016 20:46:11 +0000 Basileus 4238@/discussions
How new is this? Part of a recent update?]]> https://forum.obsidianportal.com/discussion/4237/things-i-learned-by-spending-five-thousand-years-in-an-alternate-universe Mon, 25 Apr 2016 11:52:05 +0000 Tau_Cetacean 4237@/discussions http://slatestarcodex.com/2013/04/15/things-i-learned-by-spending-five-thousand-years-in-an-alternate-universe/

the totally awesome teacher I had in 4th grade, the one who suggested I take a look at Dungeons and Dragons when I got back to the United States... she had us do this year-long continent-simulation for social studies, where each of us had to run our own country... then went on to do Model UN, which is really just live-action roleplaying that looks good on a college application...]]> https://forum.obsidianportal.com/discussion/4231/can-t-start-a-new-campaign Tue, 19 Apr 2016 08:58:03 +0000 LordGoat 4231@/discussions https://forum.obsidianportal.com/discussion/4222/kickstarter-trail-of-the-apprentice-a-pathfinder-5e-saga-for-all-ages Sun, 10 Apr 2016 22:54:04 +0000 RachelVentura 4222@/discussions
In Trail of the Apprentice, a hidden danger threatens the kingdom of Threll and brave adventurers must answer the call! A bold attack and a mysterious theft set a group of heroes on a mission to find the mastermind behind them. They must follow clues, face terrible threats, and uncover ancient secrets to stop a madman before he can unleash a terrible evil upon the world.

The 5 adventures take the characters from 1st to 5th level, and each book is approximately 32 pages. This project is currently on kickstarter. The funding goal has been reached as well as some stretch goals.

You can read more about the adventures here: http://bit.ly/trailoftheaprrentice

The kickstarter ends 4-22-16!]]> https://forum.obsidianportal.com/discussion/4138/the-people-s-cotm Thu, 14 Jan 2016 13:18:18 +0000 GamingMegaverse 4138@/discussions I will reach out to some of the old timers that have won this, and get there input as well (Looking at you Twiggyleaf, Keryth987, Basileus, and AZ Rune).

We will announce one each month, starting in February. Submissions due by the 21st of each month. It must be a current game.
Get those suggestions to me, and I will pass them on to the others. Click on my name below.
"Killervp":https://www.obsidianportal.com/profile/killervp]]> https://forum.obsidianportal.com/discussion/3566/obsidian-portal-has-no-wikipedia-page Tue, 07 Jan 2014 21:07:08 +0000 Maesenko 3566@/discussions
Does anybody out there want to help create the Obsidian Portal Wikipedia page?

_~Mae_
"Whispers in Tamris":https://whispers-in-tamris.obsidianportal.com/]]> https://forum.obsidianportal.com/discussion/4206/bbc-documentary-skill-stamina-and-luck-on-fighting-fantasy-gamebooks Wed, 09 Mar 2016 07:04:21 +0000 andreww382 4206@/discussions
A documentary by the BBC on fighting fantasy gamebooks which started with The Warlock of Firetop Mountain by Steve Jackson (the brit one, not the US designer of GURPs, Car Wars, GEV/Ogre, yadda yadda), and Ian Livingston who went on to found Games Workshop (creator of blood bowl, warhammer, warhammer 40k, yadda).

Here's the "documentary link":http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b071h083]]> https://forum.obsidianportal.com/discussion/4184/session-0 Wed, 17 Feb 2016 06:47:18 +0000 ketherian 4184@/discussions
So, in surfing the net (as I am want to do), I came across a new gaming term: "Session 0".
It took a bit of digging, but this seems to be the new nomenclature for a "Pre-game" (as we old foggies called it). I've always done a pre-game with my campaigns. I try to gather the players together, get them enough information to understand the world they'll be playing in and help them figure out how the party fits together and in the world. I'm rather surprised this is treated as a new idea (by some of the article's I've read at least) and find it even stranger that some seem to see this as a way to limit player's potential characters.

So, I'm curious. Do you run a Session 0?
Can it be lethal (a la old-school Traveller)?
What are your goals as a GM in a Session 0?
As a player, have you ever been through a Session 0? If so, what was your opinion of it.

---
Ketherian
"Signs & Portents":http://swtwc.obsidianportal.com]]> https://forum.obsidianportal.com/discussion/4198/show-off-your-campaign Sun, 28 Feb 2016 11:34:23 +0000 Vishera 4198@/discussions





DM of "Rage Of Demons: Out of the Abyss":https://rod-oota.obsidianportal.com/]]> https://forum.obsidianportal.com/discussion/4150/those-things-you-aren-t-supposed-to-discuss Mon, 25 Jan 2016 09:05:18 +0000 Tau_Cetacean 4150@/discussions
Short version: my sci-fi campaign is still private, but contains a lot of geopolitics (cause that's one of my interests... and I don't want to wind up with very "shallow" geopolitics... e.g. read a sci-fi book by a well-known author that was like "Mercurians are all hot-headed because they are close to the Sun" which made me eye roll... like I want something more in the vein of "Mercury was colonized by {{x, y, z demographic groups}} in {{year}} because {{reasons}}")

I also want to figure out a plausible "muddle through" pathway through our current situations (Global Warming, a Rising China and the Thucydides Trap, Second Cold War with Russia, signs of an imploding European Union, emergence of totally antibiotic-resistant pathogens etc.) to where I can plausibly get to an interplanetary / interstellar scoped human / transhuman / post-human society

Since getting my wiki to a place where I feel comfortable sharing is still a year or two away... contemplating just articulating some of my questions outside of the sort of solipsistic confines of my wiki-writing

TL,DR: would people be okay with me posting political questions here? (keeping it to just this one thread, trying to be objective / civil... this is not about "what I want to happen" but "what is the most plausible scenario of what could happen") or would that be too risky / break the forums / community?]]> https://forum.obsidianportal.com/discussion/4160/campaign-backup-splitter Sun, 31 Jan 2016 18:32:28 +0000 ChainsawXIV 4160@/discussions
It's pretty bare bones, and doesn't give any feedback if there's a problem of some kind, but it's what I could put together in an hour, and it got the job done with my test cases at least. Try it out, and let me know if you run in to any issues.]]> https://forum.obsidianportal.com/discussion/4189/dungeonmasterloki-returns-with-planescape-the-infinity-arc Sat, 20 Feb 2016 16:41:40 +0000 Dungeon_Master_Loki 4189@/discussions
I'll hop in and be more social soon, I've got one more book to complete for Savage Mojo and then my schedule frees up significantly!

Hope a lot of the old faces are still around....

-DungeonMasterLoki]]> https://forum.obsidianportal.com/discussion/4176/fudging-rolls Thu, 11 Feb 2016 09:32:57 +0000 Lxcharon 4176@/discussions
Aaaaanyway...

What's your opinion on fudging rolls? Both as a GM and as a Player?

I fudge rolls... sometimes quite often. I always try to make the best story and have the most fun with my players. I have had players die on me, of course, from vicious traps, stupid decisions and powerful bosses, but never from a band of goblins. I just don't think that lends to a fun play experience or a good story. Though I don't think most of my players know I fudge rolls, so they still feel like they could die when facing a lowly pack of wolves.

I don't have much of a opinion from the players side being as I can count the times I've been a player on one hand.]]> https://forum.obsidianportal.com/discussion/2361/cheating Mon, 23 Jan 2012 17:23:53 +0000 Baalshamon 2361@/discussions
On the flip side do you ever catch your players cheating at dice rolls? What do you do about it? I had a player not long ago turn on the party. He should have died about four rounds into the combat but cheated and stayed alive for ten and only died after he killed another player. This guy doesnt play with our group anymore, but it makes me think about other games and I wonder how often it happens in your games?]]> https://forum.obsidianportal.com/discussion/4175/abandonware-for-fighting-fantasy-type-gamebooks Tue, 09 Feb 2016 19:40:25 +0000 andreww382 4175@/discussions
If this is new to you, these are interactive books where you are a section, then reach a decision point at the end of the chapter (eg: Free the witch, or kill the witch), then turn to a new section to find out what happened next.

The more complex books, specifically the Fighting Fantasy series by Steve Jackson (I believe this is the British guy, not the GURPs/Ogre/GEV/Car Wars/Munchkin Steve Jackson) and Ian Livingston. They went on to found Games Workshop, which publishes all the Warhammer stuff, Blood Bowl, Chaos Marauders card game, yadda yadda.

-
Anyway, I was doing some research for a project, trying to find JH Brennan's Grailquest, where you play Pip, a stableboy, who comes into possession of Excalibur Junior, then goes to fight the antagonists in a Camelot/King Arthur type setting.

Since the stuff was published in the 1980s, it is mainly out of print, so I managed to find some scanned copies online.

I also came across some middle earth role playing, marvel super heroes gamebooks/game novels (these are not RPGs).

You can take a peek at "abandonia's gamebook section":http://www.abandonia.com/en/gamebooks if you might need some inspiration for campaigns, plots, etc.

The Grailquest series is fairly British in that it doesn't take itself too seriously, pokes fun at RPGs, and gamebooks.

The POV is pretty cool too, with a "Hey there, you, reading this spellbook. I'm Merlin" style to it.

-
Check it out and do you like these books? hate them?
Remind you of your childhood 30 years ago?]]> https://forum.obsidianportal.com/discussion/4177/blog-our-first-thursday-feature Thu, 11 Feb 2016 10:04:02 +0000 Kallak 4177@/discussions
So please stop by and check out his article "You Got Gaming In My Anime":http://blog.obsidianportal.com/you-got-gaming-in-my-anime/, and keep an eye out each Thursday for what's coming next.

- - - - -

As someone who has never been much of an "anime guy", I'm definitely more curious now about checking some of these out and looking for my favorite gamer archetypes. Thoughts? Comments? We'd love to hear from you!]]> https://forum.obsidianportal.com/discussion/4174/favorite-most-hated-creatures-and-foes Mon, 08 Feb 2016 22:04:28 +0000 Maesenko 4174@/discussions
And from a player's point of view, what creatures do you like to see headed your way, and which ones do you most dread?]]> https://forum.obsidianportal.com/discussion/4167/tucker-s-kobolds Thu, 04 Feb 2016 11:46:22 +0000 Tau_Cetacean 4167@/discussions
For those who do not know this piece of D&D legend:
http://www.tuckerskobolds.com/

While the article and concept were great, I've always felt a little sad it was just a short article, and not, like, a dungeon module... so, I'd like to put out a call: anyone interested in collaborating on a mega-dungeon that involves Tucker's Kobolds? I feel like this is something ripe for crowd sourcing... like, multiple sadistic bastards need to get together and spitball all the things these guys would do

only parameters I am set on:
1) it has to be kobolds, like, yeah, the article specifically makes the point Tucker's Kobolds don't have to be Kobolds to be Tucker's Kobolds, but in the spirit of homage, they should be kobolds
2) it has to be on the first level of a multi-level dungeon (and so people not interested in Tucker's Kobolds per se can contribute)
3) open source / share alike (e.g. anyone who contributes is free to use the final product), so it shouldn't be tied to anyone's D&D campaign specifically

parameter I am sort of set on:
4) I'm a holdover and stick to 3.5rd edition... I'm told Pathfinder is quite similar... but definitely there should be a consensus on what edition we're using... or a dedication to offering side-by-side translations for things like stat blocks, so it can be compatible for different editions?
5) thinking about creating a public campaign here on OP to host this... but open to other suggestions for what the best platform for a collaborative mega-dungeon might be

one of my inspirations for the collaborative dungeon idea is seeing people get together and expand the old 1st edition underdark modules:
https://sites.google.com/site/deadgreyhawk/mappingthedepths]]> https://forum.obsidianportal.com/discussion/4158/your-proudest-moment Sun, 31 Jan 2016 09:54:42 +0000 Lxcharon 4158@/discussions
I once had my players launch into a long debate on whether or not to kill children when they were hired to exterminate a thieves guild which they only found out were all kids once finding their hideout. The argument ended when one of my more brash players jumped through the window and swung down on a chandelier, murdering children left and right. They still mention that event to this day. (some positively, some negatively) and I love how strongly they still feel about it.]]> https://forum.obsidianportal.com/discussion/4146/the-rubicon-is-in-sight Fri, 22 Jan 2016 13:12:09 +0000 twiggyleaf 4146@/discussions Y'all will probably know I can consider myself an OP veteran by now. There are older members and I respectfully bow to their venerated status.
"We came, we saw, we conquered," I hear people say.
But those REFORGE Celts certainly rocked the empire somewhat.
In war, we all suffer pain and indignity. Sure!
But let us set our sights on that great City across the river.

Many thanks to Alex for bridging the gap.
I am in utter reverence of the evident resolve of Andrew Wee.
It was slow in coming, but I feel (and REALLY feel) he is now totally with us.

We have suffered. But let us now cut that suffering from our memory.
Things will never be as they were. But they can be better. Much better.
Let us make it so!

Let Obsidian Portal flourish!
Please pledge your support.....

twiggyleaf
CURRENT CAMPAIGN: "Mysteria":http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaigns/mysteria - set in Wolfgang Baur’s MIDGARD.
Previous CotM Aug 2012: "Shimring":http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaigns/shimring]]> https://forum.obsidianportal.com/discussion/4101/core-features Tue, 08 Dec 2015 14:06:17 +0000 Basileus 4101@/discussions
At a high level, what are the core features that make Obsidian Portal a useful/essential tool or community for you?

For example:

*Campaign-specific*
Wiki
Calendar
Blog (adventure log)
Forums
Email notifications/reminders

*Site-wide*
Campaign search (geographic most important? or by other criteria?)
Campaign of the month
Community forums]]> https://forum.obsidianportal.com/discussion/4152/designing-music Tue, 26 Jan 2016 14:04:12 +0000 Keryth987 4152@/discussions And if you do have music going, what type? Or least some titles.
Me? I tend to run a YouTube Playlist I've got. It's pretty eclectic and includes everything
Republica "Ready to Go"
Ray Charles "That's What I Say"
Elvis Presley "Rubberneckin"
Ram Jam "Black Betty"
Alex Gaudino and Crystal Waters "Destination Calabria"
Chic "I'll Be There"
Nickelback "She Keeps Me Up"
Archive "Bullets"
Britney Spears "Toxic"

Yea, like I said, eclectic
Keelah Se'lai,
Keryth
"Shadows Over New York":http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaigns/shadows-over-new-york
"2013 Campaign of The Year":http://blog.obsidianportal.com/2013-coty-shadows-over-new-york/
"Campaign of the Month July 2013":http://blog.obsidianportal.com/shadows-over-new-york-julys-campaign-of-the-month/]]> https://forum.obsidianportal.com/discussion/4155/favorite-google-fonts Thu, 28 Jan 2016 19:51:19 +0000 Lxcharon 4155@/discussions https://forum.obsidianportal.com/discussion/1628/scabbards-everywhere-managing-carried-items Mon, 22 Nov 2010 20:17:15 +0000 gnunn 1628@/discussions
I pose the following questions to my fellow GMs:
1. How concerned/strict are you about your players loot tracking? Do you limit the number of weapons they can have on their person or do you run a Goldeneye-style, "I have a rocket launcher, machine gun & 12 pistols in my pocket" sort of game?
2. What methods do you use to keep track of loot & gear
3. Whose responsibility is it to track these things in your game, you? your players? 1 record keeping player?

In my game, we currently have a couple house rules related to loot & carrying capacity:
1. Magical carrying spaces like a Bag of Holding or Heward's Hand Haversack are limited only in terms of weight. Trying to puzzle piece in all of the stuff that goes in there is just not fun.
2. Each player is limited to two belt pouches, each of which can hold up to 5 potions or grenade-like weapons.
3. Wearing a full backpack (not a haversack) automatically causes your movement to be restricted as though under medium encumberance. (backpacks are awkward, regardless of how full they are. While this awkwardness wont really affect someone in full plate, it will sure inhibit a monk's ability to backflip past an enemy.)

I am also in the process of adding a couple new elements that I should have thought of a LONG time ago.
1. Unique ID numbers for each item found. These numbers use a decimal system, so the first number is the average party level when it was found, and the second is the item number. (e.g. "9.3 scroll" would be a scroll found when the party was level 9) I am currently building a spreadsheet that will key each item to it's number and which will hopefully make it easier when someone says, "Hey I have this flask of unusual liquid written on my sheet. I don't know how long it's been there, but we haven't identified it yet. do you know what it is?" With the sheet, they can just give me the item number and I'll be able to ID it without poring over past session notes for possibilities.
2. I found a huge stack of notecards at home, and am considering using them to help players better track their stored items. My thought is to treat each card as a storage space - belt pouch, backpack, haversack main pocket etc. - on which players can write their items in hopes of doing away with some of the ambiguity about exactly WHERE someone is stowing the +2 flaming greataxe they just found without forcing them to actually do more writing of things down.]]>