https://forum.obsidianportal.com/categories/general-discussion/p40/feed.rss Wed, 16 Sep 2026 16:45:01 +0000 General Discussion Discussions on Obsidian Portal Community Forums en-CA https://forum.obsidianportal.com/discussion/1397/beta-testers-wanted Wed, 23 Jun 2010 17:51:35 +0000 DiceMasterNick 1397@/discussions Thanks to Obsidian Portal I've been able to write my "players handbook" as a Wiki, and while the project isnt nearly finished, I was wondering who might be interested in playing it once it is complete.
Heres the Link: Note that the title of the game is tentative.
http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaigns/lords-and-legacy

You see, the problem is, I am a DM without a gaming group right now. So in place of playing D&D, I've been rewriting it. Because I wont be able to test the game on my own, I was hoping other DMs out there would be willing to introduce my game system to their players and have a go at an adventure or two, just to see how things work out.
Without being able to test the game as a whole, I cant be sure what mechanics are out of balance so this is where you come in OP community. =)

Currently the game is unfinished, so I wont be surprised if I dont get to many responses. Really I am looking to see how many people out there are interested in trying out a new game. If there are some takers then I'll make another more official announcement when the game system is ready for a full beta test.

This project is very much a mashing together of Pathfinder and D&D4.0 with a few twists of my own. Most notably, a card based mechanic. Theres a lot more going on, including a massive overhall to the classes, but I wont mention to much more until Im closer to being finished. For more info, you can check the updates on the homepage of my Wiki.
There should also be more then enough info in the wiki itself as of now to give you a good idea of the direction this game is going in.
Here is a short list of the chapters I have, and a rough estimate of how complete they are.
Chap 1. Getting started 65%
Chap 2. Races 0%
Chap 3. Background 95%
Chap 4. Classes 40%
Chap 5. Skills 95%
Chap 6. Feats 5%
Chap 7. Cards 40%
Chap 8. Equipment 10%
Chap 9. Combat 95%
Chap 10. Massive Combat0%
Chap 11. Roleplay 0%

If your at all interested in testing out this game once it is ready, please post a reply here.
Also, if you have any comments or general impute I am more than happy to here your constructive criticism. =)

~Cheers]]> https://forum.obsidianportal.com/discussion/1395/cortex-firefly-game-looking-for-players Tue, 22 Jun 2010 08:17:01 +0000 vonpenguin 1395@/discussions
Thanks for reading.

PS: Also this will be my first time in the GM chair so don't bother joining if you don't want to deal with the occasional mistake.]]> https://forum.obsidianportal.com/discussion/1378/tuesdays-with-nicole-what-do-you-want-to-see Tue, 15 Jun 2010 22:42:24 +0000 calabacita 1378@/discussions
It's been a whole 2 months since "Tuesdays with Nicole" began and I've had the pleasure of making friends, reading some awesome character/item/campaign stories and of course, drawing some nifty things from users' campaigns. For this next round, I would really like to know what YOU want to see from these videos. Have I left anything out about my process that you'd like to know? Do you want more color? What questions do you have? I want to make something for OP users with help from OP users :) So please, share your suggestions!

I'm also open to the idea of creating more videos (and featuring them on my blog: www.ihasapencil.blogspot.com) in my free time about creating art assets for gaming such as tutorials for creating your own dungeon tiles, counters or anything else you can think of. I would love to hear your requests/suggestions for this idea too!

Thanks!]]> https://forum.obsidianportal.com/discussion/1387/sla-industries Fri, 18 Jun 2010 22:03:46 +0000 Coulra 1387@/discussions
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sla_industries - if you need more info about the game.]]> https://forum.obsidianportal.com/discussion/1364/can-i-suggest-a-new-rpg-to-add-to-the-list Mon, 07 Jun 2010 19:57:01 +0000 Wyldkat 1364@/discussions https://forum.obsidianportal.com/discussion/1333/share-the-best-elements-of-your-campaign Mon, 17 May 2010 18:37:26 +0000 arsheesh 1333@/discussions
So where am I going with all of this? Well my idea is just this. Why not collaborate with each other to help fill out those aspect of our campaigns that we just haven't gotten to yet? We are all in need of new and interesting NPC's, villains, locales now then as our players venture out into the unexplored parts of our world. Wouldn't it be nice to have some well thought out, ready-made campaign elements at hand to throw into the game at a moments notice? Do you have some NPC or Villain that you are particularly proud of? Or perhaps a village that you created to launch your campaign? Why not share your creation with the OP community. In turn you might find some interesting elements in someone else's campaign that you want to use for your own. This thread could be used as a campaign resource wherein those participating would post one or two of what they consider to be the best elements of their campaign.

So here's how I propose that this project be carried out:

* _First:_ While I hope that people will submit their best work, please try to avoid spamming. Keep your entries brief. Perhaps give a couple of sentences, or up to a paragraph of explanation related to the NPC, Villain, Tavern, Village or what have you that succinctly describes that element.
* _Second:_ Post a link to the page where others can read more about that element if they so choose.
* _Third:_ If you use some one else's material, you should leave them a comment here or at their site, or perhaps send them a private message letting them know about it. We all appreciate being recognized for our work

Also, it should go without saying that if you submit material that you have created to this thread, you are thereby implicitly giving others permission to use your work in their own campaigns. That said, I have some ideas I feel are worth sharing, but before I do so, I want to know if there is actually any interest in this project? So, what do you all think about this proposal?]]> https://forum.obsidianportal.com/discussion/1358/congrats-arsheeh Thu, 03 Jun 2010 17:58:30 +0000 Hardhead 1358@/discussions https://forum.obsidianportal.com/discussion/1370/a-javascript-villain-picker Sat, 12 Jun 2010 20:08:03 +0000 barsoomcore 1370@/discussions
http://github.com/barsoomcore/True20VillainPicker

I'm using it on my DINO-PIRATES OF NINJA ISLAND site, and thought it might serve as a useful jumping-off point for similar tools in other systems, or just True20 folks (would be VERY easy to adapt it to M&M, at any rate). Maybe Obsidian Portal wants to incorporate this into their offering?

It's public domain and OGL, so whoever wants it can use it, hack it, whatever. Enjoy! Let me know if you have any thoughts.]]> https://forum.obsidianportal.com/discussion/1273/the-rpg-formula Wed, 31 Mar 2010 17:19:17 +0000 DiceMasterNick 1273@/discussions
RPGs have been around for a long time, and every video game designer/directer has struggled to create the perfect RPG formula.
Many elements can be incorporated into the equation.

1.*Reoccurring Villain*: There are many kinds of villains but they pretty much brake down into 3 groups. The Mastermind whom the players only hear about for a very long time but never see. The Thug, who arrives suddenly to the story and is dispatched immediately. And the reoccurring Villain who the players often times know about from the very beginning of the campaign. This villain shows up time and again to thwart the party and get away by slipping through the adventurer's fingers. Sometimes the reoccurring villain can drive the entire plot of the campaign. His/her initial appearance/betrayal can set the seen of the game and work as a reminder of what the players are really after each time they find a clue to his/her whereabouts.
I try to use all three kinds of villains in my campaign and make them all interconnected. There is always a master mind, often the players dont learn of him until he is revealed to be served by the reoccurring villain, and the thugs.

So that is one example. Please share with us some elements youv found to be components to a successful story and RPG.]]> https://forum.obsidianportal.com/discussion/1359/google-reader-for-keeping-up-with-favorites Thu, 03 Jun 2010 20:33:52 +0000 gnunn 1359@/discussions https://forum.obsidianportal.com/discussion/1303/home-gaming-den Tue, 27 Apr 2010 18:52:23 +0000 gnunn 1303@/discussions
Here's what we're likely working with:

Dining area that will double as game area (really an offshoot of the living room.) We have a large table that will occupy the space.

Guest bedroom / office that we want to have include a craft station for papercraft and other game-related prop assembly.

So, here's the question... What things would you include in such multi-purpose spaces in order to best facilitate gaming while not compromising each area's other purposes?

Some ideas I have:

Dining area/Game table:
* Laminated table cover with 1" grid (should either roll-up or fold for storage between games)
* Sidebar to double as game-night prop staging

Office/craft area:
* Table for craft projects with cutting mat, mini paints and associated accoutrement
* Shelves for papercraft and mini storage]]> https://forum.obsidianportal.com/discussion/1330/hello-to-all-the-ad-d-2nd-edition-fans-as-well-as-rpg-fans Mon, 17 May 2010 05:30:02 +0000 tonynyr 1330@/discussions
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=300428468509&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT]]> https://forum.obsidianportal.com/discussion/1336/gm-fun-brainstorming-inspired-by-obsidian-portal-facebook-post Wed, 19 May 2010 22:04:05 +0000 JimTriche 1336@/discussions
bq. Obsidian Portal Wants to know: A cadre of timid fungal menfolk approach. It appears that their matriarch has been kidnapped by a psychotic lizardking who wishes to make her his bride! Would you help?

Hilarious indeed, but I thought -- that's not really a bad idea!

So, can you come up with a ton of old 8-bit game plots to use in an RPG?

Bonus points if the players wouldn't figure it out.

Major bonus points if you use critters that look proper.

I imagine the post above could be done in D&D with Myconids, a Giant Lizardman, and a Wand of Missle shaped like a flower.

Let's see what we can do.]]> https://forum.obsidianportal.com/discussion/1309/whats-your-favorite-magic-item Sat, 01 May 2010 20:42:20 +0000 Dra8er 1309@/discussions https://forum.obsidianportal.com/discussion/1324/framed-campaign-help Wed, 12 May 2010 18:30:54 +0000 gaaran 1324@/discussions
The situation will be as follows: the leader of the council of elders has been slowly going mad for power, and over the past decade has orchestrated the deaths of several of the other members. The most recent one was botched (the assassin failed) so now he needs someone to pin the crime on. The party is a group of misfits with no real ties in the city. Perfect scapegoats. The leader will fabricate some evidence that not only was the party involved, but also that they were working for their tyrant neighbor country. Nothing gets a jury fired up like treason.

My question is: what sorts of evidence would be compelling for the PCs to find that they could use to prove their innocence. I'm planning on using overheard conversation to get them pointed in the right direction, and of course there's the infamous "note" with cryptic details and the plotter's initial on the bottom, but have any of you tried anything else, maybe a little more original? Also, if anyone has any suggestions to make sure that they try and clear their names, rather than just fleeing the country (cause that would really throw a wrench into my plans :). Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.]]> https://forum.obsidianportal.com/discussion/1326/is-the-site-back-up-or-no Thu, 13 May 2010 03:50:33 +0000 JimTriche 1326@/discussions
Still doing stuff?]]> https://forum.obsidianportal.com/discussion/1308/artwork-copyright-question Thu, 29 Apr 2010 21:22:57 +0000 Spica 1308@/discussions https://forum.obsidianportal.com/discussion/1317/the-complete-book-of Fri, 07 May 2010 03:57:47 +0000 Idabrius 1317@/discussions
EDIT: cannot remember code to make links on this forum!

http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaign/the-10th-age/wikis/the-book-of-elves]]> https://forum.obsidianportal.com/discussion/1316/adventuring-commpany-charter Thu, 06 May 2010 20:11:24 +0000 VegasDM 1316@/discussions
If you need, I can dig up a blank version or a PSD you can edit on your own.]]> https://forum.obsidianportal.com/discussion/1272/show-and-tell Wed, 31 Mar 2010 06:07:53 +0000 DiceMasterNick 1272@/discussions A DM has many paths to success at his/her disposal when deciding how best to paint a picture of the world the players live out their fantasies in. There are many tools a DM can choose from to accent a game like, colorful maps, background music, or even a website like OP, yet not all DMs use all these tools. However, the one tool we all use, is our voice. How best then to tell the story? Do you embellish every dungeon with descriptive text? Do you ramble on about the unique details and history of every culture the party encounters? Do you change inflection and add accent to even impersonate the voice of your NPCs? Do you yell out battle crys? Do you get out of your seat and swing your imaginary sword?

Id like to know what works for you. Where do the seasoned DMs of OP find themselves most comfortable. Share with us your story telling style and maybe some of your most memorable gaming moments in doing so.

If possible, Id also like to hear a bit from our players out there. How do you prefer your DM tell the story? What aspects of story telling draw you in at the table and keep you coming back for more?

Dont forget to check out "part 2":http://forums.obsidianportal.com/comments.php?DiscussionID=1273 to this topic: the RPG formula]]> https://forum.obsidianportal.com/discussion/1295/gaming-parents Tue, 20 Apr 2010 07:29:50 +0000 jemmasmum 1295@/discussions https://forum.obsidianportal.com/discussion/1297/random-tables-demographics Wed, 21 Apr 2010 10:07:48 +0000 jemmasmum 1297@/discussions https://forum.obsidianportal.com/discussion/1301/closest-thing-to-off-topic-forum-here-thursday-friday-saturday-gamers Sat, 24 Apr 2010 21:09:06 +0000 JimTriche 1301@/discussions
Had SO much stuff to do, but there was just way too much distraction. :/]]> https://forum.obsidianportal.com/discussion/1287/setting-to-put-in-to-export-from-campaign-cartographer-3-for-maps Sat, 10 Apr 2010 15:02:54 +0000 rdowney1 1287@/discussions
I was wondering if anyone is using Campaign Cartographer 3 for their mapping work, and if you are then what settings have you found work best for exporting into JPG and then into Obsidian Portal. Also if you are interested and have never heard of CC3 check out www.profantasy.com I can highly recommend the software for the options and the company support.

Richard Downey
rdowney1@yahoo.com]]> https://forum.obsidianportal.com/discussion/1280/grats-to-gnunn Fri, 02 Apr 2010 18:31:53 +0000 vstraydogstrutv 1280@/discussions https://forum.obsidianportal.com/discussion/1184/one-page-dungeon-contest-2010 Sat, 30 Jan 2010 12:51:20 +0000 kensanata 1184@/discussions
**Dates**: Submission **deadline is March 1**, 0:00 GMT. Based on last year's experience, judges will have one month to read all the submissions and another two weeks to discuss the result. Winners will be **announced April 18**, 0:00 GMT. A pitty this will be too late for "International Traditional Gaming Week 2010":http://www.traditionalgaming.org/!

**Prizes**: Do you have prizes to donate? Let me know ? kensanata@gmail.com!

**Submissions**: Here's how to submit your entry.


* Participants create a "One Page Dungeon":http://campaignwiki.org/wiki/DungeonMaps/One_Page_Dungeon.
* Submitting a dungeon to the contest releases it under the "Creative Common Attribution-Share Alike 3.0":http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ license with credit to the contest participant.
* The submission must have a **name**, an **author**, a **map**, a **key**, a **link to the license** (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/) and **no game stats**.
* A link to your blog, wandering monsters, random events, adventure background or introduction, and descriptions of tricks or traps are all optional.
* One entry per participant. Participants may revise/replace their entries up until the end of contest, with the last revision counting as their official entry.
* Submission must be mailed in PDF, Open Office, or Microsoft Word format to Alex Schr]]> https://forum.obsidianportal.com/discussion/1289/1e Wed, 14 Apr 2010 17:36:57 +0000 Cruelnicorn 1289@/discussions https://forum.obsidianportal.com/discussion/1254/a-plot-hook-idea-morana Thu, 18 Mar 2010 23:01:03 +0000 Grozomah 1254@/discussions
First of all, i'm new on the forums so i appreciate any feedback or suggestions =)

A few weeks ago i had this idea and decided to share it. It's an adventure hook based vaguely on webcomic Looking for Group and Terry Pratchet's Discworld series. It's quite simple really. The questgiver in the campaign is Death itself.

Now let me explain how this would look in my campaign: Death, Mort, The Grim Reaper, Morana, Jonny Black or whatever you call him (her? it? whatever) is NOT the same as the god(s) of death. He does respect their wishes, and they do play poker together at saturday evenings, but that's it. He and his agents are still the ones that do the reaping. Mostly his agents, though, he only has to show up for the deaths of inportant people, high nobility and wizards. He also helps when there is a plague, or a war, since then there's a lot of work to do.

Death, since the beginning of time reaped the souls of every living thing, and it never made much difference to him. But during the last few billion years, with little else to do, he found some sort of amusment in exploring the peculiarities of life. He became intrigued by the desires, feelings and other things so foreign to him. So besides the duties that were given to Mort, and enable him to explore the last moments of certain individuals, he secretly became the mayor of a scenic little town up the coast (where he is also the lord of the dance ;) Although he can alter space-time in any way he wants, including shapeshifting, teleporting, time manipulation and all the cool stuff, he likes to act as a human being while he's at Endswille. He can appear any way he wants, although i imagine him as a sleek young man, reserved and polite, like someone taken from a work of Byron. If asked to prove his dark identity, use the flashiest thing your mind can produce (preferably icluding flaming horses, flames, skeletons, flaiming skeletons and a fallen angelic choir singing something in faux latin in the back).

Why secretly? Firstly he doesn't want the villagers to know who he really is, as if not to disrupt his experiment. Secondly, he wouldn't like his friends (War, Famine, Plague... and don't forget Scrofula!) to know what he's up to. This means that sometimes, he cannot do certain things, since his presence usually attracts a lot of attention. However, the town itself is scry-proof, and not so spetial as to attract unwanted attention. And yes, this is where the players come in. Even if they have clerics. Or paladins.

Let's just get one thing straight: Grim is NOT evil. Collecting and managing the souls is a part of his job and not really evil. He is after all the only way for mortals to ascent into whatever afterlife they might have, and do whatever needs to be done to elementals, animates, undead etc. So if you want an alignment it would be Lawful neutral, or even better Unaligned. Time is insignificant to him and since he is eternal he doesn't have a grudge against anyone, because every living thing dies sooner or later. he doesn't mind a slight delay (which is pretty much any duration, compared to the universe). Eventually even gods can be killed, and Death never takes a major role in any conflicts, let them be between mortal or gods. He might chip in a small, flashy detail, or take a soul of an incignificant creature a bit sooner or later, but never in a way that alters the course of fate. The only thing that he has a fancy for, is his town Endswille.

Endswille is in absolutely no way any different than any other generic town. Most importantly, people still die there, like everywhere else. Build the town in just about any way you want, and add any truble that mught befell it, to draw adventurers in.

Part 2 is in reply :P]]> https://forum.obsidianportal.com/discussion/1250/sabotage-suns-help Wed, 17 Mar 2010 04:22:55 +0000 SlatzG 1250@/discussions If you want to know about the core system for S&S, please read my latest blog post, and test it out. I would greatly appreciate the feedback. This is still a work-in-progress, so please any constructive criticism would be welcome. Try it out, let me know how it works out.
"My Blog":http://beardsleygames.wordpress.com]]> https://forum.obsidianportal.com/discussion/1232/learning-through-games Thu, 04 Mar 2010 18:04:56 +0000 gnunn 1232@/discussions
A while back, while at work, one of my coworkers asked me If I knew how to do some bit of fancy formatting in Excel. I did... and then I realized that the reason I did, was because I first learned how to do it when creating an electronic spellbook for my Wizard character for one of the campaigns I'm currently a part of.

Then, two weeks ago, at a departmental meeting, one of my coworkers announced that we were building a wiki to compile our department's knowledge database! The wiki at work uses Wikitext, rather than Textile, but there are many similarities between the language and the one used on Obsidian Portal, so I have been able to quickly come up with effective formatting for the pages and have started transferring process documents from our old system to the new wiki.

One of my players is a teacher at an alternative ed school here in Seattle and she regularly plays Magic The Gathering with her kids (mostly as a reward, rather than a lesson)... and used to do weekly recaps of our D&D sessions when she taught a slightly older group. She was even thinking about setting up a D&D club for after school, because her kids were so interested in it.

Do any of you have similar experience of gaming contributing to real-world learning? If you game with your kids, has it influenced math, problem-solving or storytelling skills?]]>