https://forum.obsidianportal.com/categories/general-discussion/p36/feed.rss Wed, 16 Sep 2026 23:45:54 +0000 General Discussion Discussions on Obsidian Portal Community Forums en-CA https://forum.obsidianportal.com/discussion/1688/the-wip-thread Tue, 21 Dec 2010 10:03:48 +0000 gaaran 1688@/discussions
So without further ado, I give you my work in progress: "WIP":http://cdn.obsidianportal.com/assets/31901/painting_WIP.jpg

I've been quite pleased with the way this is turning out, as this is my first attempt at painting anything ever (I've dabbled in drawing years ago). The intent with the armor is to make the silver trim look metallic, but right now the contrast looks a little wonky, so if anyone has suggestions for the armor, I'm willing to listen :). Also, the light is suppose to be coming from sort of above and to the left, so any tips on the shading of the skin will be appreciated :).]]> https://forum.obsidianportal.com/discussion/1835/asendant-campaign-backgrounds-cause-scroll-lag-qq Wed, 16 Mar 2011 07:06:35 +0000 Deadlee 1835@/discussions
Anyway to fix this?]]> https://forum.obsidianportal.com/discussion/1645/i-don-t-know-how-i-missed-this Thu, 02 Dec 2010 22:11:55 +0000 Duskreign 1645@/discussions
Bravo, Micah, Ryan, Dan, or whoever it was that made this decision.

"Duskreign":http://www.obsidianportal.com/profile/Duskreign

"Wyrmshadow Campaign Setting":http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaigns/wyrmshadow

"Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic":http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaigns/star-wars-knights-of-the-old-republic]]> https://forum.obsidianportal.com/discussion/1822/pax-east Tue, 08 Mar 2011 14:01:09 +0000 RaseCidraen 1822@/discussions
I'm just wondering if we can get some more information and hoosie whatsits about who might be available to meet up at the infamous PAX!


I'll be there on Sunday with my Fiancee, and if any of you all would fancy a meetup to whatever end, I'm more than game for it. I relish the chance! (I have no idea where I'm bloody going to park, but that's a different matter altogether. I'm an old school Bostonian - I'll manage and/or probably take the T from far out.) I enjoy the fact that Boston is close for me to get to at more or less any time (I could commute to work there if I *really* wanted to, but It'd be a bear, and I'd have to wake up a bit early :( ) Any'oo, either PM me or post here - I'd love to get a feel with who's going to be there and how we might manage an OP get together/pictures, etc!]]> https://forum.obsidianportal.com/discussion/1775/we-need-a-nickname Mon, 14 Feb 2011 09:09:45 +0000 Black_Vulmea 1775@/discussions
Frex, the posters at ENWorld often refer to members of the community as 'ENWorlders' - easy to remember but decidedly lacking in style. Posters at Daily Kos* call themselves 'kossacks' - also easy to remember, but with a bit of clever wordplay.

So I put it to the OP community - can we come up with a fun nickname for ourselves?



* I'm citing Daily Kos strictly for its wordplay - let's keep personal politics out of this thread, please.]]> https://forum.obsidianportal.com/discussion/1809/my-shadowrun-campaign-launches Wed, 02 Mar 2011 18:20:36 +0000 LonePaladin 1809@/discussions
I've got some pretty good stuff on the page already (one of the first steps was a custom banner), and I'll be adding a lot more information to the pages as we go. The lot of you are welcome to take a look and give me advice, criticisms, and/or useful tricks to make the page better.

Be sure to check out the achievements (on the wiki) and let me know what you think.

(I'm slowly putting together a new DST for Shadowrun, which is why I'm not using the current one on the Character pages.)]]> https://forum.obsidianportal.com/discussion/1802/live-action-roleplaying-victoria-bc Mon, 28 Feb 2011 05:52:25 +0000 Woodcrafter1372 1802@/discussions http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=3135690499 is the game proper.

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_128350753896966 is the weapons training.]]> https://forum.obsidianportal.com/discussion/1813/crazy-celebrities-as-d-d-monsters Thu, 03 Mar 2011 17:18:59 +0000 gnunn 1813@/discussions
In the wake of the now internetfamous Charlie Sheen interview, I started thinking about which crazy celebrities would fit well as the personalities for different D&D monsters and I'd LOVE to hear other folks' ideas on the matter.

* Charlie Sheen - I think his burned out voice and raving about giving people magic would be ideal for a Lich.
* Oprah - She seems like she would be good as some sort of dragon, acting magnanimous but in a way that adds to her prestige and ultimately benefits her own horde.
* Sean Penn - An ogre druid who was once in a torrid love affair with a nymph. He loves the planet, but always scowls and if you piss him off, he'll smash your face.
* Tom Cruise - Dragon with a captive princess. He is a major player in a bizarre cult and will ruthlessly quash anyone who calls BS on them.

Okay now it's your turn!]]> https://forum.obsidianportal.com/discussion/1810/chill-creature-template-help Wed, 02 Mar 2011 18:45:51 +0000 Elpis 1810@/discussions
(need help with what it should or shouldn't be applied too)
Size/Type: the creature gains the cold subtype
Seed: - 10 feet f base land seed
Stats: +4 con, -2 dex
Attack: Unarmed or natural attacks by the creature deal an additional 1d6-4 cold damage, plus 1 cold damage/2 levels(hit dice)
SQ: Resistance to cold 5, Fridged wind 3/day, Ice walk 1/day
Skills: +5 survival in snowy areas
Cr: +1
LA: +1

-Fridged wind: this ability does 1d4 cold damage + 1d4 nonlethal damage in a 15 foot cone, Medium or smaller creatures must make a fort save or be knocked prone. The save also negates the nonlethal damage. DC= 11+ cha mod
- Ice Walk: the creature can move across Ice and snow with no movement penalty or the need for balance checks for 1 hour.

Thank you all again for your help.]]> https://forum.obsidianportal.com/discussion/844/show-off Sun, 31 May 2009 18:07:27 +0000 dungeonman 844@/discussions https://forum.obsidianportal.com/discussion/1754/japanese-miniatures Sat, 05 Feb 2011 03:52:27 +0000 Bogus 1754@/discussions
I love using miniatures in my games. I've done some independent searching for Japanese miniatures, and have turned up a few things. However, I am wanting more.

For those that use them, does anyone have any good suggestions for an online vendor? I prefer 28mm scale. Painted or unpainted, it doesn't matter. I'm hoping to keep the individual price down, think about USD$2-3.]]> https://forum.obsidianportal.com/discussion/1769/attribute-auction-kingdom-liege-creation-tool Fri, 11 Feb 2011 03:41:50 +0000 igornappovich 1769@/discussions
But there is a very cool concept called the Attribute Auction that takes place before character creation that I have used in other RPG settings, with slight modifications. Here is a wiki description of it, in a paragraph.
"wikientry":http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amber_Diceless_Roleplaying_Game#The_Attribute_Auction

MORE IMPORTANTLY - I have used the auction to have players help me come up with more realistic leaders for kingdoms and/or nation states who are neighbors. How it works: You come up with a list of attributes. In Amber, its strength, endurance, psyche and warfare. But it could just as easily be anything.

For kingdoms I use:
1. population
2. mineral/ mining wealth
3. farming/ forestry wealth
4. currency reserves
5. arcane magic skill of populace
6. divine magic skill of populace
7. standing army/ navy
8. static defenses
9. skill of the king's advisors (governance)
10. skill of the king (governance)


You assign each person who wants to help you out with the name of a king/ kingdom. You might even show them on your maps where this kingdom is located (or not, its not necessary). Basically you give them a copy of your list of what is going to be bid on, and tell them they have 100 points to Bid with. Once they are comfortable, you start the auction. At the end of the auction you ask each player to jot down their least favorite and most favorite kingdom (usually based on who was trying to outbid them during the auction, this simulates a history of ill will or cooperation without having to work out a whole backstory - or you could use that info to create a diplomacy tree).

The end result is a much more dynamic NPC liege creation system. As a GM, you already have laid out for you the answer to innumerable questions that might arise during the course of a mid to high level campaign-- if the players are taking an active role in conquering, building strongholds, fighting wars or engaging in politics, etc. If they arent, you still have set yourself up with a Simulated Continent or Region that you can use to help drive storylines and make your world more realistic. The most liked and least liked also give you the context for a history of wars/ religious strife, or economic / social cooperation between some nations.

I HAVE ADDED A SECOND POST BELOW THIS ONE WITH A CONCRETE EXAMPLE, AND ALSO HOW YOU CAN APPLY THE AUCTION CONCEPT TO ANOTHER RP SITUATION .. see below :)]]> https://forum.obsidianportal.com/discussion/1784/brainstorming-interesting-wilderness-encounters Fri, 18 Feb 2011 04:04:30 +0000 KMcCollam 1784@/discussions
TL;DR- Any ideas for interesting forest encounters?]]> https://forum.obsidianportal.com/discussion/1786/pax-east-obsidian-portal-meetup-thread Sat, 19 Feb 2011 11:28:12 +0000 Duskreign 1786@/discussions
PAX East 2011 is a mere three weeks away, and I will be attending this glorious expo with two of my players, ChristineScott720 and CitrusAssassin. SHINenzo had to pull out for financial reasons, unfortunately :(

However, I am really excited at the premise of getting some sort of a meetup together in the tabletop freeplay room on Saturday, March 12th, probably sometime in the late AM hours. We'll meet up, take some pictures, share some stories, and maybe even do a little gaming, if the mood catches us!

Some of you have already expressed interest. DarkMagus, in particular, said he might be down with a trip to Beantown. If you can make it, it would be great to meet in person with some of my fellow OPportunists!

Anyway, lemme know in this thread if you are interested in making this meetup happen. :)


"Duskreign":http://www.obsidianportal.com/profile/Duskreign

"Wyrmshadow Campaign Setting":http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaigns/wyrmshadow

"Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic":http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaigns/star-wars-knights-of-the-old-republic

"The System":http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaigns/system]]> https://forum.obsidianportal.com/discussion/1780/congrats-to-dusk-and-wyrmshadow-on-100-fans Wed, 16 Feb 2011 19:05:52 +0000 DarkMagus 1780@/discussions
Keep up the good work Dusk!

-DarkMagus]]> https://forum.obsidianportal.com/discussion/1767/orc-con-2011 Thu, 10 Feb 2011 23:30:42 +0000 libranchylde 1767@/discussions https://forum.obsidianportal.com/discussion/1764/dungeon-brainstorming-1-temple-of-fire Wed, 09 Feb 2011 18:57:16 +0000 Bwade 1764@/discussions https://forum.obsidianportal.com/discussion/1763/help-playing-my-character-sought-3-5-cleric-of-pelor Mon, 07 Feb 2011 22:10:14 +0000 RayPrancer 1763@/discussions
On to the reason I started our thread - the party leader, a Rouge/Bard who holds titles to the lands where the party is building a city (called Firefort), has expressed some deeply troubling signs that she is either an agnostic or worse a Hextorite - I say worse as one of the other players has a Paladin of Heironious (although he also took levels of rouge for the character). We (myself and the player of the other Paladin) have been considering the possibility of getting her excommunicated - but have not approached the DM about this yet, and personally I think a final warning is in order. An option we've been considering is charging the leader character for spellcasting but giving it to the rest of the party - even healing spells which I'd normally provide free to those requiring them.

I also have recently acquired a Ward of the Chruch for the physical church I'm building in Firefort. We're on our way to Spellet, where our respective lieges are located (hers an Earl, mine a Bishop). Once I've dealt with the paperwork, what would you expect me to do about this as I intend to raise the child?

I'd also like more general advice on running at least Alfred - and if you have any suitable ideas Derum/Derek]]> https://forum.obsidianportal.com/discussion/1673/planning-scramble Thu, 16 Dec 2010 00:53:10 +0000 gnunn 1673@/discussions
Anyone have any tried and true methods for quickly pulling together fun sessions on short notice?

Here's a rough outline of how I expect tonight to go based on my players' out of game discussions.

Scene 1: Shopping! Do I even bother trying to spice this up with shopkeepers, etc. or do I just let my players descend on my game books to unload all their recently acquired coin?

Scene 2: Meet their new contact and introduce a new PC. There's a gnomish explorer in town with information on their next adventure. The players want to try to convince him to ferry them around the continent in his airship. The problem I see looming for this encounter is that the players just rescued an NPC, Prince Steponas, who is in possession of information and an artifact this gnomish explorer wants. I fear having the bargaining session break down into a conversation between NPCs as my players watch me have a conversation with myself. The PC is a member of the ship's crew.

Scene 3: The players either commission the airship, or preferrably convince the ship's captain to meet them down the road after they have recovered the Prince's. In which case, they would use the city's teleportation network to get out of town. (I'm considering throwing in an easy fight with some agents sent by the vampire, whose house they just raided... just to make things more interesting. Think Han & Luke getting out of Mos Eisley in Episode IV.)

Scene 4: Arrival back in Prince Steponas' kingdom where his estate is in the hands of his brother's men. Begin plans to infiltrate &/or assault his own home to acquire the artifact. Again, this scene could devolve into a conversation between NPCs if the PCs don't take an active role in the planning... ugh!

Anyway, maybe I just needed to write stuff out, but I'm still definitely nervous about not having my NPCs fleshed out, and about inadvertently putting my players in a corner.]]> https://forum.obsidianportal.com/discussion/1765/items-feature-lootbag Thu, 10 Feb 2011 00:26:35 +0000 igornappovich 1765@/discussions
Also, I gave our DM access to it so he can drop stuff in there, monitor its contents, remove stuff if necessary, etc. The other players in our group decided they wanted a lootbag too -- they each created one for themselves. The DM saying he might add stuff to a lootbag on OP is a pretty big incentive for some of the players to pop onto the campaign website more often too. But mainly I am loving the convenience and ease of use of the item feature in general-- been using it for everything from mounts, to circus gear, to personal items.

I just thought it might be nice to share the lootbag concept as an item with you folks. It works well.]]> https://forum.obsidianportal.com/discussion/1647/duskreign-sulk-thread-come-pity-the-poor-duskreign Sat, 04 Dec 2010 06:34:05 +0000 Duskreign 1647@/discussions
To top it off, both of these people knew that tonight was the night that they committed to have their PAX East 2011 3-day entrance fees. I made this a stipulation because, frankly, if I am making joint travel plans with someone, I have to believe they are capable of following through on what they say they will do. If I look a man in the eye and he says he will be here, then he doesn't show because he went to a party, and has a concert to go to ALL OF THE SUDDEN (because we know how tricky those surprise concerts can be), how can I have any trust, much less respect, for such a man? How can I have faith that such a man will follow through on his promises and not flake on our planned trip in March? I ask you, fair fellows? What is a Duskreign to do when two of his wayward players seem to have no respect for the DM, the game, or the plans they made? If this was the first time this happened, I'd call it a fluke. But it is not the first time, and I fear, if this trend is left unabated, it is far from the last time this will happen.

Bah.

Who wants to sit at my table and play with me every Friday night? The one requirement is that you show me the slightest fathom of respect and not consistently disappoint me at every opportunity.

Of course, this is rhetorical, and I'm just moping. I love these guys. They just... they... aaargh!]]> https://forum.obsidianportal.com/discussion/1709/just-looking-for-feedback Sun, 09 Jan 2011 19:12:21 +0000 Duskreign 1709@/discussions
Thoughts?

Ideas?

Rabid political rants? (please... please, no).]]> https://forum.obsidianportal.com/discussion/1637/base-of-operations-castle-or-airship Tue, 30 Nov 2010 20:33:45 +0000 gnunn 1637@/discussions
Here's the sitch... Over it's 2 year span, my campaign has involved a LOT of travel. My PCs have hopped from settlement to settlement and it seems to be wearing on the group a bit. Their loot is piling up now, and I've had a couple players voice frustration that they can currently only accumulate as much loot as they can carry (in their bag of holding & 3 Heward's Handy Haversacks).

I have been working towards providing them with a central base of operations for some time... even before the grumblings began to emerge.

Originally, I had planned for them to inherit a semi-ruined keep that they had previously visited. The keep is located near the driving force behind the main plot arc, and would provide an opportunity for them to engage in a different aspect of the game, namely customizing their own defensive living space as they restore the castle. The downside to offering this as their base is that their most obvious path is still an adventure arc away from returning to take control of the building.

Recently, I have been mulling over another option, which is to provide them with an airship. Their most obvious adventure path will include them as passengers on such a vessel within the next couple game sessions. My worry in this case is that an airship might completely unbalance the game. While it is less advanced than the ships described in the 3.5 Eberron campaign setting, having a mobile base of operations could still put some strain on my adventure designs. On the other hand, in order to operate said vessel, my PCs would either need to hire a crew, or start putting ranks in profession air-pirate or something.

At this point, I can honestly make either option work, and can encourage the PCs in one direction or the other by utilizing the NPC prince who they just rescued. The prince is in town researching a lost relic that can potentially save his blighted country. The current owner of the airship has a lead on and access to the rumored resting place of said artifact. However, the Prince also has troops who are loyal to him back in his home country embroiled in a civil war with his brother. These troops are based at the previously mentioned keep. I could easily have the prince request a stopover there to reassure his troops &/or retrieve a key element to recovering the relic. It's a bit of a shoehorn, but it might allow me to give my players a solid home base without over-rewarding them & potentially breaking things in their favor.

Anyone have sage advice or crack-pot theories to offer?]]> https://forum.obsidianportal.com/discussion/1752/my-way-of-punishing-player-dumbness Thu, 03 Feb 2011 21:58:45 +0000 Duskreign 1752@/discussions https://forum.obsidianportal.com/discussion/1753/brainstorm-amusing-character-ideas-here-go-now Fri, 04 Feb 2011 16:50:04 +0000 gnunn 1753@/discussions
To start, these are the characters I have come up with in the past 12 hours.

Gnollish Air Pirate named Dog-Faced DeGuerre. He is notorious for actually managing to hijack an airship owned by the gnomish government. He now uses it as a platform for terrorizing the countryside.

A humanoid-eating group of were-elk known for grinding their victims into sausage... led by someone named Donner.

A halfling, gnomish, or even pixie werebear... I can't figure out if it would be funnier if his/her bear form was the same size as a regular werebear, or if it was tiny... but just as full of rage.

A lich whose primary studies revolve around creating artwork which depicts single heiroglyphic images of heroic tales painted with evenly spaced dots of various creatures bodily fluids. His name... Roy Lichtenstein.

It's going to be a long...and weird day. TGIF!]]> https://forum.obsidianportal.com/discussion/1743/obsidian-portal-wants-to-know Mon, 31 Jan 2011 23:53:05 +0000 libranchylde 1743@/discussions https://forum.obsidianportal.com/discussion/1702/flashback-adventures Tue, 04 Jan 2011 23:12:05 +0000 jmoeray 1702@/discussions
The other issue is that i'm a little worried about my players "breaking" time. They just seem to always find that one thing i didn't plan on that really makes everything else go out the window.

Any ideas or has anyone run a session like this and run into any issues?]]> https://forum.obsidianportal.com/discussion/1717/rewarding-creative-failures Fri, 14 Jan 2011 23:19:21 +0000 gnunn 1717@/discussions
In part 2, they launched their raid on the main keep - (more of a reinforced manor house, really). This time, most of the group charged the main entrance, and a successful bluff check by the rogue who was disguised as a guard convinced the sentries to open the door.

The lone exception to the mass charge was the bard, who decided instead to circle around behind the main building to create a distraction outside the kitchen door. The idea was very creative, but far from successful. The bard, under the cover of invisibility cast a ghost sound spell that created the sounds of pillage, rape and crying women pleading to be let in. The trouble was, all the guards in the building were caught in melee with the rest of the party and a. couldn't hear the sound, b. were focused on confronting the immediate threat, and c. knew the keep had been converted to an all male military base with the exception of the servants quarters, which were nowhere near the noise. So the bard continued to pound away through most of the fight until he finally conceded that his scheme wasn't working.

Once he realized his good idea wasn't bearing fruit, he switched to calling the team's secret code word, "bunkbed!" over and over until the sorcerer broke away and opened the back door for him.

So, here's my challenge. One of my players had a good, out of the box idea that failed on the surface and ended up causing the character to miss most of the fight. While its intended effect was a failure, I feel I would be remiss if I didn't reward the effort.

Therefore, I think I am going to unleash a rumor on the game world about a mystical and malevolent force/spirit called the bunkbed banshae which manifests in moments of impending doom. The banshae cannot be seen, but it's presence can be determined by the horrific wailing of female spirits and the repeated cries of "bunkbed! bunkbed!"

Anyone else have similar instances of good ideas gone wrong which demanded some sort of reward?]]> https://forum.obsidianportal.com/discussion/1741/under-what-circumstances-do-you-roll-these-dice Mon, 31 Jan 2011 17:06:19 +0000 Poutine_Paladin 1741@/discussions
I quickly whipped up these dice quite a while ago just to give myself a geek-fix during a slump (for a few minutes, anyway) so I thought maybe it would be a fun discussion to see what everyone thinks of them (good/not so good/suggestions) and maybe get a discussion going on interesting items people have created and when they were maybe used to produce...lets say unwanted...effects?

www.obsidianportal.com/campaigns/16429/items/dice-of-best-of-luck

not good at linking stuff, obviously. so I sometimes don't even bother trying]]> https://forum.obsidianportal.com/discussion/1659/if-you-could-make-your-favorite-show-movie-video-game-into-a-campaign-setting-what-would-it-be Fri, 10 Dec 2010 22:56:46 +0000 DarkMagus 1659@/discussions
There's so many to choose from I'm going to have to think about it for a while, but I wanted to put the question out there just so we have something cool to talk about this weekend in the forums. I know some already exist, Star Wars, Star Trek, Serenity, etc. But if you could turn something into a setting that hasn't been done yet what would it be? Why?]]>