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The Captive of Dardrin’s Deep: Othmidia

October 11, 2016 / Stan Shinn

The heroes begin their quest in Othmdia. See the map below, or download a printable map.

Othmidia

The Captive of Dardrin’s Deep: Prelude

October 10, 2016 / Stan Shinn

You’ve travelled alone thus far, but after a few pints shared with some interesting travelers you met this evening at the inn, you think you’ve found some companions you might venture with on the morrow. That night, as you turn in for the evening, you sleep fitfully. You feel like someone in the distance keeps whispering ‘Help me!’ in whispered but frantic tones.

The Elf Woman in the Vision

A vision then emerges of an angelically beautiful elvish woman, floating ethereally, her face occasionally contorting into bursts of pain. Then you hear a chorus of unseen voices chanting what seems to be a prophecy:

The elf-lord was a suitor spurned,
thus eldritch wrath his lover earned.
Dark spells he wove in hidden cove
in vengeance while his anger burned.
The elvish maid now cannot weep,
enchanted in eternal sleep,
transfixed and bound by ring she found
in hidden vale of Dardrin’s Deep.
To free her of her slumber cold
one must make haste to Spire of Gold.
The death-filled tower holds gauntlet’s power
to wield the sword of heroes old.
The Soul-Blade rests in bones of care
beyond the pool where damsel’s fair
gave gods their gift at Burden’s Lift
to be relieved of life’s despair.
With blade and gloves seek Belfin’s Height
through tunnels dark restore the light
the keeper’s chain will on you rain
but take the ring to make wrongs right.

You wake. You are alone in the room, but have a feeling your life will never again be the same.

Colonel Archibald Jefferson Johnston IV (CSA Ret.) musings on infantry combat

October 10, 2016 / Robert Miklos

Excerpt from Musings on Infantry Combat by Col. Johnston.

“Fear of fixed fortifications and an entrenched enemy is highly overrated. A direct assault on a fixed location only puts 40-70% of your men in jeopardy of a fatal wound during the first wave. With fixed bayonets, and a lightened load by leaving ammunition behind, a company of men can cross a field of rifle fire with some semblance of order left once the battlements are reached (see in point Gettysburg Little Round Top or the wall at Fredricksburg as examples). Then once the battlements are reached, who knows what will happen? Although exhausted, out of ammunition, and with only two or three out of the ten men you started with, engaging with an enemy after such carnage should terrify them. After all, if you are willing to sacrifice so many men so easily, what do you know that your enemy doesn’t. What trick do you have up your sleeve, so to speak? Although after twenty-two engagements it hasn’t yet worked, I am convinced that the next engagement will prove me right. On to Appomatox!”

Fr. Rodrigo’s fevered dream

September 20, 2016 / Robert Miklos

As Torquemada’s minions battered me into unconsciousness, I found myself drifting, in a timeless float towards a familiar place. Old Valencia, and the Via Pared d’Azul (Blue Wall Street). When I was a child, I knew every corner, every shoemaker’s stall, every flower vendor, every fishmonger’s bucket. As I grew up, I would return to visit. The old smells of the street would instantly transport me back to a time of comfort, of safety and innocence. But this time, when I returned, things were different. My old street, always so full of life, was dark. Instead of fresh flowers, I smelled death and decay. No vendors opening their stalls. No fishmongers yelling out that day’s catch from the Mediterranean. Only decay and darkness. I walked the street, and in the distance a cowering figure walked slowly in the distance. I quickly approached, desperate to inquire as to what had befallen my street. Plague? The Moors? The French on a sea raid?

I caught up to the figure, grasping its shoulder, and spun it around. Of course it was My grandmother, Mi Abuela. At first I exulted. She was free from that Inquisition prison cell! She frowned, turned back walking. I was confused. I called out to her. She kept on walking. I rushed in front of her and stopped her in the street. I grasped her shoulders and pleaded for her to explain. She pointed her old, boney figure at me, and nearly spat in response, “You are not allowed on the blue street yet. You are not finished. El Mundo Agua necessitate. Yo espera hasta se regrese.” With that, she faded. I saw the bars of her cell once again. I knew she had talked to me from her cell, although I did not know how. Then light began to fill the street. Vendors began to open their shops. The smell of death started to fade. At that, I knew the street and my body were the same. As the street healed, so did I.

Flesh Out Characters With A Character Connections Chart

September 19, 2016 / Stan Shinn

Here’s a system I developed after being inspired by both mind-mapping software I have used as part of story-creation as well as the very innovative Smallville RPG techniques of character building. I call it “character connections.”

Developing Character Connections

Creating a character connections chart is a great way to chart relationships and conflicts and build some depth for your characters before you launch a campaign. Taking this extra step can make your two dimensional characters come to life and make your roleplaying experience more enjoyable.

Create a grid which maps all the characters possible connections such as the one below. As you go through each stage, players add sentences to a square in the row with their name next to it.

The process has a number of steps equal to the number of other characters in your group (for example, a party of five requires 4 steps to complete this process.

If you have three characters, the steps are: Person and Trouble
If you have four characters, the steps are: Person, Trouble and Event
If you have five characters, the steps are: Person, Trouble, Event and Place
If you have six characters (the maximum recommended), the steps are: Person, Trouble, Event, Place and Heritage

In the Person stage, you create an NPC (maybe a father, captain of the guard, an ex-girlfriend, etc.) which somehow connects you to another player. Alternatively, highlight some interesting aspect of the relationship between you and the other character.

In the Trouble stage, you determine some conflict between you and another player. This should add drama but not be something that would hamper teamwork. A “vowed to kill you” aspect doesn’t exactly lend itself to working together!

In the Event stage, you identify some past event which effected both you and another player.

In the Place stage, you pinpoint a location which connects you and another player.

In the Heritage stage, you develop a shared ancestry or other origin related event to connect you and another character.

Example

In this example we’ll have three characters from Star Trek.

In the Person stage, Kirk writes “Knows Spock’s ambassador father Sarek.” For McCoy, he writes “Friends with McCoy since the Academy.” Note that the Person connecting them may simply be a past friendship between the two, so the person is simply the other character. Spock writes “Kirk reminds Spock of his Human mother’s influence on his DNA” and “McCoy’s nurse, Christian Chapel, has a crush on Spock.” McCoy writes “Always tries to may Jim (Kirk) think” and “Spock should be more human.”

In the Trouble stage, Kirk writes “Why can’t Spock see the value of human emotion?” and “McCoy is always acting like Jiminy Cricket.” Spock writes “Kirk is simply not…logical” and “McCoy is a loose canon, letting his emotions cloud his judgment.” McCoy writes “I’ll put Kirk on medical leave if he goes off the deep end” and “Spock is like a green-blooded computer.”

There’s simply a few summary sentences in each box, but behind those sentences are deeper stories which have been fleshed out during the banter between the players (if you’re at a tabletop) or in a paragraph or two per stage (if you’re doing this online via text posts).

Tips for Online Usage

If you’re doing this online it may be a good idea to post your idea as a ‘Draft’ (put the word “Draft” in the title or at the beginning of the paragraph). This gives you a chance to essentially ask permission from the other player to do something with your shared history.

Note that conflicts can add drama and excitement, but do be careful to make sure you give affirmation in OOC posts and continue to stress that this is just story-conflict not actual conflict between the players. I should all be in good fun; not something personal.

If your RPG system has the concept of alignments or values, make sure the relationships reflect this. Don’t allow one lone wolf evil character whose actions sully the group’s fun!