The Mad, Mad, World of Dthclaw Syndication Tue, 27 Nov 2007 17:21:06 -0600 webmistress@dndresources.com (Forums) IP.Blog 60
My work on Final Horizon d20 taught me a number of things. Firstly, you can't alter the basic mechanics of d20 too much. Even balancing everything else against itself, everything was unbalanced. The chinks and cracks in d20's foundations were magnified and exploded under the pressure.

And you know what? It turned out to be pretty boring. That's what I hate the most about the conclusions I've drawn from all of this. For all the effort, for all the care and attention that I have lavished on this setting - from it's earliest incarnation to its most recent, heavily BSG influenced rendition - it just did not translate to a fun RPG setting. Part of that was my own inept planning - I threw my players into the biggest mystery and conundrum of the entire setting almost from the get-go, which served to make them paranoid when they should have been bold and bold when they should have been paranoid. Part of it was my artificial magnifying of d20's flaws, which was both avoidable and unavoidable when dealing with d20 Modern/Future, especially. Designing starships proved better than Rules As Written, but the mechanics for fighting proved just as tedious and broken.

Part of it... part of it was just that Final Horizon doesn't have the stuff of heroes in it. It's a setting about ordinary people in extraordinary times and circumstances. There's no magic, little mystique to the setting - it's grim, it's dirty, it's all too human in its fragility and it's all too close to home in its realistic strangeness.

Thok the Barbarian and his kick-down-the-door style has no place in Final Horizon. Heroes wind up dead more often than not, and when you die, that's it. No magical technology will save you. No divine intervention is awaiting to patch you up. A Combat Medic can only do so much and they better do it fast if there's to be any hope at all. Duck and cover or fly and fry - most RPG players' worst nightmare. The NPC's, depending on who you offend, almost certainly have more firepower. A small, purely PC ship with some NPC crew has not a prayer in hell against an NPC ship-of-the-line. Information is need-to-know when it comes to the deeper and darker pits of the setting - and players usually won't dig.

It makes for a good read in my biased opinion, but an RPG? Not so much. At least, not as it stands these days.

Maybe, if and when Final Horzion and/or Teltesh make it big, I'll revisit Final Horizon d20 and do it proper, build it from the ground up into something of the scale the Teltesh CS is currently experiencing. D20 stripped of all but the name, and made into something suitable for that setting.

But for now, Final Horizon d20 is going the way of a Predator-class cruiser... decommissioned and placed in mothballs, in case it might need to be reactivated again someday...]]> Wed, 01 Aug 2007 14:02:15 -0500
With the sheer quantity of work and results that have been coming out of my work on Teltesh, it seems obvious to me that the next step is really a logical one. D&D's d20 system is proving problematic to me from an intellectual standpoint (a long, long rant there, but suffice to say for now that I see several critical flaws with its premises and implementation). For now, I'm tentatively naming my new system Multiverse (and hoping that name isn't taken by some other obscure gaming group).

This is all in part due to some of my goals for the future starting to crystallize in my mind. I plan on eventually starting a pdf publishing company that will do custom prints of available titles, with prices for books and pdfs varying for quality desired. If the pdf section makes sufficient money, expand into some full-time printing and go from there up to the final goals sitting in my mind these days. I know, I know - done to death in the business and no one makes a name that way... but I have other ideas floating around that I think might give my effort a boon that Wizo's can't/won't match and let me/us stand above the rest of the crowd. Though as soon as possible I'd get someone to make a reader that functions like a smoother Acrobat Reader but where it doesn't allow copying the product ad naueseum... it's not like this is going to make a ton of money out the door and piracy would leave me proper [FLOPPED] at start-up, since pirates don't give a [WOMBAT] who they're stealing from

Part of this, the gaming division of the company I'd like to form, would be divided into two different sections: one a d20 version of products, the other a Multiverse version. Simultaneous publication under both systems, but Multiverse would gradually gain material that wouldn't be possible (legally and from a rules standpoint) under the d20 version.

Multiverse itself will be a heavy variant on d20 - it'll keep the same dice setup and much of the same premises on checks, etc, but from there it'll be a parallel but very distinctly different system. The name for it stems from my plans on where to go after finishing the Teltesh CS - namely, releasing source expansions as modular, plane-based plug-n-play add-ons to the Teltesh CS's Multiverse (hence the name).

Nexus Media... it has a nice ring to it, I think. I'd love to be the one that started something akin to the literary/gaming world's equivalent of a Google-type workplace.]]> Tue, 31 Jul 2007 10:20:06 -0500
I've been a busy beaver with my campaign setting document. It's becoming tantalizingly close to finished or near-finished status - formatting is being worked out, remaining sections being filled in, nebulous rules being fleshed out and clarified.

In fact, the largest task left (soon, at any rate) is going to be artwork for it.

Thanks to a closed (useless) bank account, I've got a few hundred dollars in liquid assets right now. My mom got a coupon certificate thingy to the University bookstore as part of her work. Put the two together, and I got a copy of Adobe CS3 (yes, the WHOLE Creative Suite) for a final cost of about $300 after the certificate. So... when I'm done with my tinkering in Microsoft Word, I'll be taking the Teltesh CS into Adobe In-Design and see what I can do with it.

But the CS... it's coming along nicely. So nicely, in fact, that I'm wondering where to go after I do finish it.

I could try getting it published through Wizards. Unfortunately, that has a whole host of problems associated with it: Teltesh is a pretty big departure from 'standard' D&D, and I slew a few golden cows along the way. The document is enormous already - even in a half-finished state it's 300 pages, and Wizo's doesn't seem to like printing large books, especially anything over 200 pages (it drastically increases printing costs, I imagine). But my biggest concern is two-fold. One, Wizards does NOT like to open things up for OGL... and I've decided to make virtually everything in the Teltesh setting OGL. Two, if I do submit Teltesh for consideration to Wizards... I'll never be able to do anything with it again. Wizards has a strict gag policy about things submitted to it; even if they ultimately decide not to use what they receive, the creator(s) are still legally obligated not to do anything. Just look at the volume they received as part of their campaign contest, and even the losers were basically forced to write off their own IP to corporate interests. And if they do decide to take it, well, you're still not allowed to do anything with it - the information gets locked up into Wizo's R&D, and on any further products they don't exactly fast-track input from the creator (look at Eberron... hell, look at FR, or even Greyhawk - how often do they get the original creators back into the R&D process?).

I could try getting it published third-party. That has the problem of "it's not WotC," which would pretty quickly gimp any potential audience (say what you want to the contrary, but whose gaming books wind up in your local Borders or Barnes&Nobles? Ain't White Wolf or Legends and Lairs). I'd be more likely to get a fair shot at publication... but then, I might not. Third-party seems to exist in its own little universe sometimes.

There's also the online option. I couldn't sell such an enormous document online - no one's going to pay money for a pdf of an unpublished CS (especially if they're already inclined to piracy). And there's still the issue of reaching an audience; I think I could possibly count on the good folks here to support me a little, but beyond that I dunno. It would give me the greatest control over my own work, but at the cost of reaching everyone I'd like to reach. And, honestly, it just wouldn't stoke the ego as much as a printed book with my name on the cover.

Basically it just comes down to choosing whether or not to get screwed or remain obscure. My ego would like to see it go through Wizo's, just for the opportunity to walk into a major bookseller and see my work there on the shelf. But that same ego doesn't want to see years of personal, heart-fueled work crushed by being locked into Hasbro/Wizo corporate hell for the rest of eternity.

Horns of the dilemma. [WOMBAT] it all if I can't figure out which end to get gored by.]]> Sat, 07 Jul 2007 12:23:48 -0500
The most recent one, and one I fear I may have repercussions similar to a dropped bee's nest, is tossing out the idea of putting magic more in line with a lot of other things in d20.

I've noticed that a lot of abilities get more difficult to resist in tempo with a character's leveling or a monster's advancement. Breath weapons, fear effects, poison, a lot of supernatural abilities, hell, even most class abilities... they all have a built-in means of keeping their power in line with the ability of players (or the reversal) to deal with them via saving throws.

And then I look at magic. The supposedly total ownage of any group or encounter with save-or-die or fistful of damage or any number of effects.

Most of them allow saving throws. But the DCs are determined via a near-static calculation.

I have a party of 12th level characters that are virtually immune to most of what a 20th level caster could do, by sheer virtue of their save bonuses. Similarly, most 12th level NPCs would be effectively immune to most things the party can throw at them. For being fantastically overpowered, magic seems pretty bloody impotent to me for the most part.

Consider: a Human caster that starts with 18 in a relevant ability score, increases it at every chance possible in every conceivable way and winds up with a base DC (before adding spell level) of 20 at 20th level. Factor in spell level and perhaps a lot of Spell Focus, and we're looking at a maximum of 31, 32 ish save DC.

I have a 12th level party that can make that ~1/3 - 1/2 the time. Toss in a ring of evasion or a few levels in Monk or Rogue, they're pretty much untouchable.

It's frustrating from a DM standpoint, because it means that I'm either unable to make magic suitably intimidating for players, or I have to tell them that, no, their spell had no effect yet again. It's been suggested that save-less spells should be used, then. Well, the problem there is that most saveless spells tend to be less-than-useful. Or require some other problematic factor (like touch attacks... goddamn touch attacks).

I'd like to do a scaled DC determination, using something like +1/2 CL or something. Magic shouldn't be broken, but for god's sake it should at least be worrisome when something starts chucking spells around.]]> Sat, 10 Feb 2007 19:11:03 -0600
I was looking through Ghostwalk earlier today and I started to get some ideas out of it (a dangerous thing, I know, but bear with me). Combined with a lot of the Heroes of Might and Magic mythos (particularly regarding Necromancy and fiends), I started getting a rather wierd idea: namely, a "shadow world" of sorts where the undead and fiends have merged into some bizarre hybrid lurking just out of reach of the Material Plane. Vast necropoli populated by minor fiends, undead, and hybrids stretching across the Plane of Shadow (or the Deep Shadow; I haven't figured a cosmology yet). Most of the inhabitants are intelligent; using the Bone or Corpse templates in lieu of Skeletons/Zombies, respectively, for the Bone clans (the three major factions being Bone, Blood, and Spirit). And most of the inhabitants have an even more perverse penchant for corrupting mortals, although in this case into their respective house of the undead instead of fiendish damnation.

It's creepy as all hell, at least in my mind.

It would also be the perfect source for a lot of the more esoteric material, like Tome of Magic stuff. I'd probably adapt the Eidolon/Eidomancer from Ghostwalk, as well as create two more similarly themed classes (yes, classes, not PrCs) to fit with the shadow world, which I'm tentatively naming the Bleaklands. They would, quite literally, be classes intended to meld pure evil into the essence of a creature. Whatever the users of the class may do may not be evil in and of itself... but the actual power they are derived from is notta gonna sit good with the high-n'-righteous types, y'know?

...

Dear god, I haven't even finished writing a campaign setting and I'm already planning expansion releases. Oye.

I better get to work on other things before this starts gnawing away at my creative focus. Cause it's like the rock from Indiana Jones - once it gets going, you can't stop the rock.

Um...

Yeah, bad pun. Promise to flagellate myself. Maybe. Uh... well... no.

DTHCLAW AWAY!!!]]> Thu, 08 Feb 2007 18:27:31 -0600
Then, come January, it appears that we will be regressing at least a half-dozen levels. The players have spoken, and it seems that there is at least somewhat of a consensus at this point as to what the post-Bysiras campaign will be.

Yo ho, yo ho, the pirate's life for me.

That's right. It seems the general idea at this point is a pirate (or other CN) campaign.

So break out Stormwrack and ye olde tricorne hats. Because it seems like the fantasy pirates are about to set sail. It should prove highly entertaining.

DTHCLAW AWAY!!!]]> Fri, 08 Dec 2006 14:20:57 -0600
I plan, by the end of December (maybe... hopefully... if my players get cracking during sessions and I don't have any more equipment failures) for the BIG fight. You know, the 'final boss' type encounter. Win or lose, many of the seniors in my group will only have one semester left. And faced with the prospect of losing so many good players, I'm faced with a decision to (help) make regarding my last three semesters in Cyclone Country.

Do we carry on at our current epic-level campaign? Or do we start over as new characters, advance the timeline a bit, and take a completely different tack?

My 'problem' is that I would be perfectly comfortable either way. I have more than a few post-Bysiras problems I could use, such as the origin of the Mannacants and the rise of the Speakers (not to mention dealing with any remaining Gatekeepers and their mysterious 'allies'), plus dealing with the re-discovered Grand Kingdom and... and... and... you get the point.

But on the other hand, if we were to return to new characters, it would add that much more options to players. Affiliations are a new thing, with the major organizations being statted out as I have time (I must give kudos to Wizards on that aspect of PHB2, at the least). I suspect that the 'start over' approach would lead to characters being embroiled in a much meatier mix of action and roleplaying as they work for, with, and against the numerous organizations on Teltesh. Will they have the benefit of ultra-high magic and epic items poking from every inch of their bodies? No, not for a while again at least. But I'm noticing that the epic items seem to be taking a fair amount of the fun out of things. What is tactical scale to a monk with boots of swiftness? (Not much) What is a Spot check to a Scout with a mantle of great stealth? (Laughable - most can't succeed on a nat 20)

I want my players to have fun. Those that stick around after the semester will have to tip the balance for deciding if low level, mostly RP (with healthy smashing) is more fun than psychotically over-the-top encounters and plot threads.

I would enjoy either way. But, in my mind at least, we'll have a choice between two types of enjoyment. And I personally can't make a decision on my part which I want.

DTHCLAW AWAY!!!]]> Thu, 09 Nov 2006 10:37:58 -0600
Imagine my displeasure when, after properly disconnecting my Flash memory stick from my home desktop (always disconnect properly... I don't just pull it out), I arrive at session, start setting up the laptop as normal, plug it in...

"Drive E is not formatted. Format now?"

Stare at computer.

You miserable piece of -

Restart. Plug back in.

"Drive E is not formatted. Format now?"

Begin panicking. Try to find a Mac in the hopes that maybe, just maybe the school computers will be able to open it.

"INVALID BOOT SECTION!!!! Format now?"

Frak!!!!

And several ad-hoc and piss-poor hours later, our session ends. Lost everything created in the last three months - projects, stories, gaming documents (including campaign settings, characters, classes, races, etc) - eevvverrrything...

And the cherry on top? I had planned on backing the [WOMBAT] thing up after the session because I was worried something like this could happen.

Now I'm going to be out at least $15 getting the school's IT services to attempt recovery. On the other hand, if they succeed it'll still be a helluva lot cheaper than services in town that want $200 to recover a flash drive. $200?!?! I know my data is valuable, but $200 for a flash stick?!

I ain't made of money! I can't afford to print every [WOMBAT] thing off for gaming, let alone create and print character sheet after character sheet for NPCs, etc!

So RAWR to technology and to teh Internets!

I'm going to go chisel characters out of a freaking rock, now. *mumble mumble [WOMBAT] computers mumble mumble*

DTHCLAW AWAY!!!]]> Tue, 31 Oct 2006 14:32:34 -0600
In my foolish foolishness, I took up Rin on his invite to the National Novel Writer's Month challenge/contest/doohickey. Starting November 1st, I will be obliged to pull some 1700+ words per day from some orifice of my body and put them to (electronic) paper in an attempt to compile a rough, 50,000+ word novel by November 31st.

I probably couldn't have picked a worse time of the year to do so: two gaming groups in desperate need of creative attention, several major projects either due or needing substantial work done, and the end of our marching band season (at least the odds of a winter excusion to lovely locales such as Shreveport, Louisiana are nil). And family problems are... definitely not helping things.

But what needs to be done must be done.

I've let my major works fall behind for a variety of reasons. I have the means and the will, I just need the motivation - the entire goal behind the contest being to provide that motivation.

Depite the work that should go into the Teltesh setting, somehow I don't see that ever leaving the boundaries of my gaming group. Why develop something that, for a variety of OGL reasons, would never see the light of day in published form? So... looks like I'm going to be working a lot more on the Final Horizon setting for good ol' NaNoWriMo.

On a tangent, I find it rather sad, really, that I'm starting to become disillusioned with so many things. The latest books from Wizards are truly starting to make me question my devotion to d20 gaming (and if I give it up, that's that - I have no plans on learning any other systems). Video gaming just seems like work anymore, and that's saying something coming from a self-admitted couch potato and gaming freak. Can't stand reading anymore (doubly sad, given that I plan on writing for a living). Art and writing are just about the only things I still enjoy without hesitation... and I don't have the spare time for art.

Sigh... the world of Dthclaw just isn't looking that great right now.

Hopefully, a little of booing NaNoWriMo and cheering for 'beer' will get me out of this rut, and back into the groove.

Cripes. Soc midterm today, proposal tommorrow and a project for Thursday. Mebbe not.

DTHCLAW AWAY!!!]]> Mon, 30 Oct 2006 10:06:48 -0600
In an earlier time I made the mistake of thinking that it was more character options that determined a character's choice, thinking that equipment was the fun stuff that players should have a degree of freedom and, perhaps, a little excess of.

I've never been particularly 'close' to the NPC equipment values listed in the DMG. I didn't like the idea that NPCs should, for some reason, be poorer than characters that have done similar amounts of work - it didn't make logical sense. I also made the mistake of allowing too much easy-money opportunities (few in number, but a larger payoff than risk taken proved, in retrospect, disasterous). In the end, several players had the benefit of an equipment and wealth value equal to that of characters many levels higher. And last night, after a particular event, it hit me:

We're spending more time counting initiative than actually fighting. Our group's barbarian, on the first round of what would have otherwise been a fairly lengthy and - perhaps - enjoyable combat, scored a critical hit for 300 damage - enough to kill the creature twice over. And this was before our monk would have acted, and as of late it is not surprising for him to land, with a single flurry of blows, a total of 150+ damage. Our group had members that hadn't acted in combat for... I don't even know how many sessions. Our second-newest player, one who joined us in spring, had equipment valued at almost four or five times that of one of the two original players we still have.

I had to act. Much as I hated doing it, I realized that the game just wasn't any fun for them, and it wasn't being fun for me - anti-climatic didn't even begin to describe how that fight went.. So I put it up to the vote whether to hit the 'reset' button. An opportunity, by collectively agreeing to nuke continuity and current characters, to restore some semblance of balance and actually put some fun back into the game.

It was a strange mixture in the room, one of both "I hate this" and "I'm glad we're doing this," all at once from everyone. And the session came to a halt as we decided to turn the night into a character (re)build session (I gave them the opportunity to change characters, either by rebuilding current characters or changing to new ones they had in mind). It wasn't fun, but it seems that everyone agreed that it was necessary.

We'll see how it goes. I hope for the best, and I hope that time will prove the decision to be correct.

Stay tuned, folks. Things seem like they'll get... interesting.

DTHCLAW AWAY!!!]]> Tue, 24 Oct 2006 15:09:15 -0500