https://forum.obsidianportal.com/categories/general-discussion/p25/feed.rss Fri, 18 Sep 2026 19:53:04 +0000 General Discussion Discussions on Obsidian Portal Community Forums en-CA https://forum.obsidianportal.com/discussion/3545/twilight-of-the-north-teaser-trailer Mon, 16 Dec 2013 22:51:16 +0000 Basileus 3545@/discussions
However, I mostly wanted to show off the teaser trailer I created today - of which I am exceedingly proud. Located on the front page: "Twilight of the North":https://twilight-of-the-north.obsidianportal.com/

This isn't a classified/recruitment thread (yet), but maybe I can drum up some preliminary player interest, and hopefully coast on any Tolkien excitement created by the release of "The Desolation of Smaug" in theaters.]]> https://forum.obsidianportal.com/discussion/3549/cheap-character-portrait-commission-from-5-usd Thu, 19 Dec 2013 00:29:40 +0000 sademica 3549@/discussions Here is the FB group's link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/289753921149883/
(lately i recived ALOT of manga commission, but i make all style)

If you interest, please send a message on FB.]]> https://forum.obsidianportal.com/discussion/3541/a-specific-question-and-an-open-request Fri, 13 Dec 2013 13:05:55 +0000 malcolypse 3541@/discussions
Is there an option in the Ascendant campaign forums to limit which players have access to certain topics? I ask because the potential GM was talking about how each Vampire clan( also the Primogen, the group of anarchs who are plotting against the Prince, and even the GM and his assistants) would need a private place to discuss their schemes without the risk of others surreptitiously taking a peek. I don't know if there is the possibility to limit access, so I told him I'd ask.

That taken care of: I would like to open the floor for anyone telling me anything about Ascendant membership. The page for upgrading is pretty scant on information, usually just a sentence or two about each feature. If you have the time to spare, please pile information, praise, or derision for the value and features of the Ascendant membership on me. I appreciate any info.]]> https://forum.obsidianportal.com/discussion/3525/new-blog-about-fantasy-map-and-rpg-design Fri, 29 Nov 2013 20:04:38 +0000 arsheesh 3525@/discussions
Been away for a while so some of you may not know me, but I used to be quite active in the forums here some years ago. At some point I plan to return and "fix my site":http://forums.obsidianportal.com/comments.php?DiscussionID=3523&page=1#Item_1 which sadly has been adversely affected by the reforge. At the moment though I just wanted to let people know that I am starting a new wordpress blog on the topics of fantasy map creation and RPG game design.

I've been creating maps for several years now and have done some professional commissions and have authored several tutorials on the topic (you can check out my portfolio "here":http://arsphantasia.wordpress.com/portfolio/). I'll be re-posting these up at my blog and going more into depth about the process of creating fantasy world, regional and town maps using freely available software.

I'm also in the process of creating a sort of "rules light" version of the D&D 3.5e rules intended to foster a more fast paced, grim and gritty mode of game-play (think swords and sorcery). I'm nearly finished with the Players Handbook beta rules and will be hosting those at my site. I'll be throwing up information on this system and all sorts of content related to it in the weeks ahead.

If any of this sounds interesting to you, please come check out what I'm doing over at "ars phantasia":http://arsphantasia.wordpress.com/ and let me know what you think.

Cheers,
-Arsheesh (aka Tad Davis)]]> https://forum.obsidianportal.com/discussion/3539/save-account-info Tue, 10 Dec 2013 16:41:39 +0000 wgulliver 3539@/discussions https://forum.obsidianportal.com/discussion/3412/new-200-club-member Tue, 29 Oct 2013 12:15:54 +0000 GamingMegaverse 3412@/discussions Check out "Avatar-Conquest of the Imperial Order":https://avatar_adventures.obsidianportal.com/

Speaking of, who else misses the Campaigns listed in most popular order? I know I started my time on OP asking those campaigns that were high on the list for help- Arsheesh, Chainsaw, and Duskreign....
killervp
"A God...Rebuilt":https://a-god-rebuilt.obsidianportal.com
Unabashadly pushing for 300 fans!]]> https://forum.obsidianportal.com/discussion/3526/download-backup Sun, 01 Dec 2013 07:57:03 +0000 SkidAce 3526@/discussions
Or at least, I can't find the info like I used to.

Can still get to items, characters, and forums, but can't find the wiki stuff (most important) anywhere.

Previously it was easy, I would unzip the backup to a folder, then open it with explorer, and while not pretty (and it doesn't need to be) I could navigate my wiki and find info I had changed or deleted.]]> https://forum.obsidianportal.com/discussion/3511/a-call-for-calm Tue, 19 Nov 2013 11:59:43 +0000 Keryth987 3511@/discussions
We all need to calm down and be a bit more understanding of each other.

Many sites were broken by the Reforging, mine included. Restoring and fixing them is a large time investment, and for some, an investment they do not wish to take. For others, like myself, it was worth the effort.

Those of us who have decided to fix their sites and continue on must be understanding of those who have not. If someone chooses to leave OP because of how their sites were affected by the reforging, we should wish them well and let them know they will be missed. It is not the place of those of us remaining to defend the site or the changes.

Those who are leaving, need to remain calm as well and not attack the site, those who maintain it, or those remaining here. Say your farewells and calmly state your reasons for going.

As one who was truly disappointed with how the Reforging went, I ask those who are planning on leaving to hang in there and give it a chance. The team has been fixing things as quickly as they can. Also, you might be surprised, like I was, after investing the time to fix your sites, at how things have improved.

Keelah Se'lai,
Keryth
"Shadows Over New York":http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaigns/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/3489/the-imperial-age Sun, 10 Nov 2013 23:18:12 +0000 bloodymage 3489@/discussions https://forum.obsidianportal.com/discussion/3297/new-pathfinder-compatible-adventure-path Mon, 14 Oct 2013 12:51:13 +0000 wmoomaw 3297@/discussions
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/991277697/plight-of-the-tuatha-a-pathfinder-rpg-adventure-pa

Feel free to come look at our website as well at:

www.imperiumscs.com

Thanks all!]]> https://forum.obsidianportal.com/discussion/3461/appearance-of-pages Tue, 05 Nov 2013 03:44:00 +0000 Nerdvana 3461@/discussions https://forum.obsidianportal.com/discussion/3127/my-best-campaign-ever Tue, 06 Aug 2013 19:11:10 +0000 Adenides 3127@/discussions
What was the best game you ever ran?
What was the best campaign you ever participated in?

For me, the game was a GURPS campaign that ran (all told) 20 years of real time to bring it to a conclusion that was, in itself, actually a new beginning....with a new generation of Hard Suited hero-types to replace the last.
The game world in question (that SJG refers to officially as Earth-6; Autodeul) is considered a "Hell World" by those with Conveyor technology and is avoided by both the Centrum and I.S.A. factions in the Cross-Dimensional War.

(Those two factions had very little to do with the flavour and flow of the game)

The "whole" tale, will not be related here.

(Regardless of how many pages of background story that appear in this thread)

Most of it developed overtime from attempting to complete the Car Wars Road Atlas adventures from A to Z and somewhere along the line, a story just took on a life of it's own.
This thread will update periodically until the story is brought to the conclusion. I may or may not make it the focus of my next gaming foray.

The campaign began in GURPS 1e and reached it's conclusion in GURPS 3e.
It was a "meat game" that ran steady for 15 years and then on and off for the last 5 with a different group of players in the same game world.
Although the game began in the Autodeul year 2022, it ultimately spanned to 2072 then was rebooted 70 years later in 2142.
The entire game took it's direct influences from:

- Appleseed
- Bladerunner
- Car Wars; Autodeul
- Bubblegum Crisis
- The Matrix
- Johnny Pnumonic
- Battlefield 2142,
- Mortal Kombat
- G.I. Joe (THAT one is ENTIRELY SJG's fault. They THEMSELVES created the group "A.S.P." in the Midwest Road Atlas adventure section of the book. I just ran with it!)
- Aliens
- Predator

(And even)

- Unreal Tournament

It's actually a rather lengthy tale (even in the condensed "censored" version) and is a "minor" Retcon of the original game (to remain current should I choose to restart the game) This only consisted of changing a few names for realism or to protect the innocent!
I painstakingly reconstructed from a combination of game notes, surviving original narrative and related material (as many portions of it were missing) as well as some fond memories of the old group added for "color commentary".
Exageration is unessesary in its retelling and it was easily the longest game I've ever run...and it all started a little something like this:

Back in what would be OUR 1986, an organization that would eventually become the I.S.A. (in a parellel universe) was experimenting with a prototype cross-dimensional gateway generator that was the precursor to the modern trans-dimensional Converyor.
In its first activation, the experiment was deemed a total failure as after all the lights and smoke has cleared, nothing was believed to have happened. This accident was later revealed to be the source of close to 100 confirmed disappearances on Earth Prime. These incidents were simply considered unrelated "missing persons" reports.
Earth-6's I.S.A. would not discover they had caused the effect on Earth for another decade and once they had, the damage to the timelines was considered to be "within established tolerance levels".
Scattered across the entire spectrum of reachable worlds, most of them died very soon after arriving where ever it was they re-materialized at.
Ten alternate worlds became surrogates to these accidental travellers. Of the (later to be determined at) 99 "displaced" Terrans from Earth: Prime, Autodeul has the largest amount arrive and survive.
Of the 13 that were displaced there, 3 are still alive as of 2072 and only one of those by 2142.
Only once has one of the "displaced" ever manage to cross a dimensional barrier but the incident records were sealed for "national security".
It was during this incident that the Terran known only to I.S.A. personal as "Mee-Chan", managed to steal top secret military technology from an alternate universe that was over a century beyond that of Autodeul circa: 2022 A.D., but I am getting ahead of myself!

TO BE CONTINUED....

-Peace-]]> https://forum.obsidianportal.com/discussion/3462/post-reforge-icons Tue, 05 Nov 2013 04:44:18 +0000 Kallak 3462@/discussions https://forum.obsidianportal.com/discussion/3434/loved-the-old-op-hate-the-new-one-viable-alternatives-list Fri, 01 Nov 2013 18:15:39 +0000 dragondreams 3434@/discussions https://forum.obsidianportal.com/discussion/3422/new-format-leaves-lots-of-blank-space Wed, 30 Oct 2013 11:54:32 +0000 airwalkrr 3422@/discussions https://forum.obsidianportal.com/discussion/3301/gm-tips-voice-acting Tue, 15 Oct 2013 04:30:38 +0000 Thorvaldr 3301@/discussions https://forum.obsidianportal.com/discussion/3386/mnm-3e-game-recruitment Sun, 27 Oct 2013 10:45:20 +0000 Adran06 3386@/discussions Where: OpenRPG (Traipse)

We have one, possibly two openings for this game. Roleplaying and story-focused group. New players will be considered based on compatibility with the group, roleplaying ability, genre interest, and availability.

Players will be PL 8, with 120 character points. Characters should be inexperienced super-powered teenage characters in high school. Mutant backgrounds preferreed but some other origins may be possible. All characters must be human (no aliens, robots, etc). The setting is an alternate history Freedom City in which super powerd humans have long operated behind the scenes but their existance is not publically known.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask here.]]> https://forum.obsidianportal.com/discussion/3385/wok-dancemaster-mini Sun, 27 Oct 2013 07:00:15 +0000 DamienMaster 3385@/discussions
I've been "hunting":http://forums.obsidianportal.com/comments.php?DiscussionID=3095&page=1#Item_4 for a decent, sensibly armoured Female Paladin mini and I just discovered "The Dancemaster":http://www.google.com.au/imgres?client=firefox-a&hs=ga7&sa=X&rls=org.mozilla:en-GB:official&biw=1427&bih=930&tbm=isch&tbnid=jyW7JyaoIkgx4M:&imgrefurl=http://xivlegion.blogspot.com/2012/09/wrath-of-kings-dancing-master.html&docid=o0E7X6V9EiEuQM&imgurl=http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sh-oNKZ3Elw/UFJWIhnBH4I/AAAAAAAABrs/_TwFrLVEJSs/s1600/900034-gortisi-dancing-master_2.jpg&w=600&h=600&ei=ZRltUu_iN-ioiALazYDABg&zoom=1&ved=1t:3588,r:0,s:0,i:79&iact=rc&page=1&tbnh=185&tbnw=185&start=0&ndsp=25&tx=129&ty=62 that's part of the Wrath of Kings Kickstarter (Goritsi faction).

I was wondering if anyone has seen this currently available anywhere as a single fig?

It was available as a limited edition model, and whilst it will come out with the WOK Kickstarter, that will be long after I need it!

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks folks!]]> https://forum.obsidianportal.com/discussion/3362/elven-miniatures Mon, 21 Oct 2013 09:38:14 +0000 DragonHunter 3362@/discussions
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2087444096/elven-adventurers-box-set]]> https://forum.obsidianportal.com/discussion/3325/free-how-to-take-the-future-of-storytelling-online-class-and-other-classes Thu, 17 Oct 2013 09:08:07 +0000 GhostDancer 3325@/discussions The Future of Storytelling
Design 101 (or Design Basics)
Monte Carlo Methods in Finance
The Fascination of Crystals and Symmetry
DNA - From Structure to Therapy
Contemporary Architecture
Dark Matter in Galaxies: The Last Mystery
Public Privacy: Cyber Security and Human Rights
Vehicle Dynamics I: Accelerating and Braking
Vehicle Dynamics II: Cornering
Vehicle Dynamics III: Vertical oscillations
...and several more. Check them out at https://iversity.org/c/6?r=b36c8 Oh, and please pass the word about the classes. I'm not compensated, but there is *potential* swag for me.]]> https://forum.obsidianportal.com/discussion/3312/are-you-interested-in-a-basic-d-d-1980-redbox-campaign Tue, 15 Oct 2013 10:19:28 +0000 Teak_Dhara 3312@/discussions
When I was in 5th grade back in 1980, I remember playing hours upon hours of the RED BOX BASIC D&D. We would draw our own maps on graph paper and "explore" dangerous dungeons. Recently, I have been buying Red Box Basic Sets off Ebay and now have 5 of them (in various conditions) so I can introduce my children to this great game. Anyway, I am GMing Pathfinder and Traveller games on Obsidianportal and playing in D&D 3.5 and Star Wars Saga RPs on here as well.

I do have an itch to play in a Basic D&D campaign but I couldn't find one on Obsidian.

Any have such a campaign? If not, are there enough people who might to give it a go?

Montana]]> https://forum.obsidianportal.com/discussion/1432/dealing-with-dangerous-encounters-pc-death-in-your-campaign Tue, 20 Jul 2010 19:54:17 +0000 arsheesh 1432@/discussions
I want to get your take on something. So last night my "Tales of Darkmoon Vale":http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaigns/tales-of-darkmoon-vale gang got together for another game session (we're just about to finish up with Paizo's D1 _Crown of the Kobold King_). The group confronted the chief villain of the campaign, Merlokrep the Kobold King, and two of his elite warriors. It was a tough fight (CR 8) for our band of 4th level adventurers and two of the party members went down in battle. They didn't end up dying but one of them came pretty close. This wasn't the first tough fight I've thrown at them, they've had at least two other battles that, by the 3.5 Encounter Difficulty standards would be rated "Very Difficult," and in one of these, a PC _did_ die (though he was latter resurrected).

Well, when things started to heat up two of my players really began to gripe, especially after one of their characters went down. The third member of our group had a blast however; he tends to thrive on dangerous encounters. Afterwords one of the former players came to me privately to complain that the encounter difficulty level of this battle was far too high. His position roughly was that the PC's shouldn't be confronted with combat situations in which there is a decent likelihood that one or more of them could die. I disagreed. I pointed out that according to the 3.5e DM guidelines for Encounter Difficulty, while most of the CR encounters the PC's face ought to approximate the party's level, at least some of the encounters in an adventure ought to be "difficult" (CR 1-2 levels higher than party level) and one or two ought to be "very difficult" (CR 3-4 levels higher). In these encounters it is totally possible that a PC will die. We went back and forth on this issue for some time, and it became apparent that each of us just had different expectations here. In general I feel that a quest ought to involve a bit of real danger. Not _all_ heroes in the story books do survive (think of Boramir), and risking one's life and limb to fulfill a quest is just part of what makes the quest so exciting. Likewise, virtues such as courage and honor in battle would be meaningless without such a risk. As such, parties ought to come to expect a fatality or two in their career as an occupational hazard of adventuring. My player's thinking on the other hand was that it would really be lousy to have invested so much time, effort and care into a character only to see that character die midway through a campaign. The looming threat of death might thus either prevent him from fully investing into his character, or make him a whole lot more skidish in combat.

So here's a question for you DM"s our there. How do you deal with both challenging encounters, and PC death in your campaigns? Regarding challenging encounters, I assume that most of you probably have them. But what happens when say that Deathknight lands what would be a killing blow on one of your PC's. What do you do? Do you fudge the roll or do you let it stand? Have any of you ever had PC's die in your campaigns before? If so, how frequently has this occurred, and how do you and your players usually deal with it? I realize that different systems might have different conventions for dealing with this matter, but I'm just sort of trying to get a feel for the conventional wisdom on this issue. Anyway, curious to here your thoughts.

Cheers,
-Arsheesh]]> https://forum.obsidianportal.com/discussion/3216/what-are-the-most-rules-light-and-crunch-free-systems Mon, 30 Sep 2013 07:28:04 +0000 ninjazombie42 3216@/discussions https://forum.obsidianportal.com/discussion/3136/dresden-files-dallas-seelie-unseelie-fae-courtiers-project Thu, 15 Aug 2013 08:37:49 +0000 wolfhound2 3136@/discussions
I have a need for some loosely (or completely) fleshed out minor Fae members of the Summer and Winter courts in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. For the most part, these would just be "background dressing" but they might come up in games, who knows. So the idea is... why not just let the community have some fun making up a character concept (if they wish) and we'll incorporate it. We could create them, sure... but why not let others have some fun too, and maybe get a cameo in an upcoming game.

I know not everyone has had a chance to read the Dresden rulebook or FATE so this post will be divided up into a "short and sweet" for DFRPG pros and a "longer" section in case you'd like to participate and have no idea how to do so.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

For the DFRPG Pro
----------------------
1) A Name
2) An actor/actress/model/celebrity that I can use as the basis for the picture (we've used a bunch already, so maybe pick 2)
3) "Template" - Summer or Winter Court - Scion or Changeling (1 unspent Refresh) or Full Fae (0 unspent Refresh)
4) Aspects: All I'm asking for is High Concept, Trouble, and maybe 1 or 2 more. You can do all 7 if you wish.
5) Refresh/Skill Points (your choice, use the fewest that logically makes sense for the concept)
-- 8/30 Chest Deep
-- 9/33 "Neck Deep"
-- 10/35 Submerged
-- I give a full 4 point rebate for "Cold Iron and the Like" as The Catch
6) If you take Item of Power, gimme at least a sentence describing what (and make sure there's an Aspect for it)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

For The DFRPG Newbie
----------------------------
1 & 2) Mainly what I need are a name, and an actor/actress/model/celebrity that I can use as the basis for the picture (we've used a bunch already, so maybe pick 2)

3) Then, pick a type of "Fae" that this character would be. I have an incomplete but functional list here:
"http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaign/dfd/wikis/little-folk":http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaign/dfd/wikis/little-folk

4) Then decide if they'd be Summer or Winter - if you've no experience with those terms, I created a page that basically describes each side's "agenda" (you can read the rest if you like, but the Agenda will easily convey what you need)

"http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaign/dfd/wikis/fae-magic-notes":http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaign/dfd/wikis/fae-magic-notes

5) Pick 3 or 4 Aspects.
An Aspect is a sentence fragment that describes some aspect of the character's personality/self/concept. It's usually 3-6 words or so.

a) One is the "High Concept" - this will probably have the type of Fae listed in it. This is the main "idea" behind the character. Like if you met a random person at a gaming convention and briefly mentioned the character... what is it?
* Examples:
** (Summer) "Hyperactive Elf Street Artist"
** (Winter) "Corporate Raider Goblin In A Suit"

b) One is a "Trouble" - this is the main complication that makes the character's life less than idea
* Examples (continued from above):
** "Kinda Sorta Addicted to Meth"
** "Greedy Amoral A###ole"

and then 1 to 5 more that just flesh out the character. Since I'm not really looking for fully fleshed out characters, all I am asking or is 1... but you can do as many as you like up to five more.
* Examples (continued from above):
** "Would take Starbucks Intravenously If I could" and "Hipster before Hipster was Cool"
** "If it's not Scottish it's Crap" and "Closet Sado-Masochistic Freak"

6) Don't worry about power or supernatural abilities, I can take care of that. Basically you'll have either "Glamours" (ability to create illusions) or full magic (Seelie or Unseelie) or both, plus depending on your shtick, maybe supernatural strength, speed, toughness, or other such things. But this is less important than the previous 5 items I listed. If your character has an item that's central to the Fae myth (redcaps have red hats, selkies have seal skins, etc.) then I'll figure that out as well in terms of game mechanics.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Misc

This is "The Marchioness":http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaigns/dfd/characters/the-marchioness and "her Winter Court":http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaigns/dfd/characters?tag=Winter+Court in our version of Dallas

This is "The Duke":http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaigns/dfd/characters/the-duke and "his Summer Court":http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaigns/dfd/characters?tag=Summer+Court in our version of Dallas]]> https://forum.obsidianportal.com/discussion/3158/dead-reign Tue, 03 Sep 2013 01:28:34 +0000 ShawnWrestledabearon 3158@/discussions https://forum.obsidianportal.com/discussion/3137/flat-screen-telly Thu, 15 Aug 2013 21:59:11 +0000 twiggyleaf 3137@/discussions
I just wanted to share my joy from last night's game. We are currently playing a game outside of Obsidian Portal (Pathfinder Rise of the Runelords) and last night we strode boldly into the virtual (but real) tabletop future with our FLAT SCREEN TELLY on its back on the table, connected to an iPad to give us our first trully electronic terrain. It was so fantastic to see our little miniatures on that well lit surface that could change according to the different parts of the dungeon. Bravo! to our new GM, who has given us such innovation and a new thirst and hunger for improvements!

Happiness is a FLAT SCREEN TELLY!

twigs]]> https://forum.obsidianportal.com/discussion/3149/stuck-on-the-blog-page Tue, 20 Aug 2013 16:40:48 +0000 weasel0 3149@/discussions https://forum.obsidianportal.com/discussion/2767/gaming-music-1 Thu, 11 Oct 2012 01:16:11 +0000 GamingMegaverse 2767@/discussions https://forum.obsidianportal.com/discussion/3115/what-no-ennie-nomination-for-op Thu, 25 Jul 2013 18:52:43 +0000 GamingMegaverse 3115@/discussions killervp
"A God...Rebuilt":http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaigns/a-god-rebuilt
"OP's COTM April 2012":http://blog.obsidianportal.com/a-god-rebuilt-aprils-cotm/]]> https://forum.obsidianportal.com/discussion/3097/creation-myths Mon, 08 Jul 2013 18:52:29 +0000 SkidAce 3097@/discussions
I kind of sit on the fence with this idea. If I don't write it up, nobody will appreciate it.

But if its all explained out in the open, then there is no mystery about "the true dawn war" or even who is the big bad.

Since I am stuck in the middle (I have a creation history) I thought I would ask y'all's viewpoint.]]>