Words of Replicant Jesus

It’s back and I am glad to have it back.  I really enjoy Legend of the Five Rings and want to continue playing it but I am absolutely chomping at the bit to run a Dark Sun game in the near future.  I missed ye olde Dark Sun and I am glad to have it back in my life.  I have so much stuff for D&D 4th Edition as well that I really want to utilize it.  I am also intrigued by this Essentials line of products especially the Monster Vault and the DM’s Kit, both look rather awesome and will be available in October I think.

I really like the map tiles as well I have two sets of the Athas Desert tiles ready to go for the campaign I am building and itching to use them.  The Dark Sun Campaign Guide and the Creature Catalog are awesome and are worth the money.  I picked up the Demonomicon as well and really enjoy it and hope to incorporate some of the ideas into my Dark Sun game to give it a sinister twist.  Also as a totally frivolous want, I want this Ravenloft boxed game like whoa.

So yeah I love D&D.

I picked up Dark Sun and I love it so far.  I am not sure I will get a chance to run it any time soon with my Legend of the Five Rings game going quite well we just added a third player.  But when I get the chance I do want to try and run this game.  It seems a lighter version of the original but with plenty of room and rules to make it fairly bleak and ruthless.  Now if only Enemies of the Empire would come out for L5R 4E I would be set.

These are just some of my notes on the village of Ravendale, it’s a quaint little place on the edge of a primordial forest filled with ruins, mysetry, and humanoid tribes.  It serves as the starting point for my campaign for the summer and I wanted to share my ideas.

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Just posting some of my general notes I have for my forthcoming summer campaign:

Origin Hooks Notes

• Noble Blood: Last born in a noble family you had little chance of gaining anything other then a small inheritance and perhaps a title.  You could choose a life living in the shadow of your elders or take the path of the Rusty Legion and forge your own path.  The Legion grants you the opportunity to see the world, adventure, and most importantly find your own place in the world.  Despite your “newfound” freedom you still have ties of blood that could entangle you in the politics of court.
• Outcast (Primal Classes): You were responsible for some terrible act by your people.  You were spared from execution by the Rusty Legion, instead you were exiled, a fate worse than death for most but you are made of stronger stuff than most.  Before you left your tribe the shaman of the clan/tribe read your future and saw that you would be responsible for great change to your people, but the signs were mixed on the outcome being harmful or beneficial.  Now you have dreams that plague you of your terrible destiny.
• Blank Slate: Your first memories are waking up in a small village not far from the main settlement.  You did not remember who you were or where you came from.  The village was attacked and you sprang into action using you skills you had no idea you possessed.  Luckily a local Rusty Legionnaire was in the area and heard of your prowess and condition; you were recruited and given a name and a place in society.  But your lack of memories gnaws at you.  Your only clue is a tattoo of a two coiled serpents over a black disk on your left shoulder.
• Strange Bloodline (Psionic Classes): You were born different, always touched and always aware of the psychic energies that course through the world.  From a young age you knew things that children should never know, some say you got it from your missing parent, raised as an only child by the surviving parent you were always told that the other died before you were born.  It was not until a terrible plague took the life of your surviving parent that you found out the truth, that the parent you thought was dead could still be alive and had at one time been a Rusty Legionnaire.  Emboldened by this you sought membership to track down this parent who abandoned you and find out more about your bloodline.
• Plague Born: You were born during a terrible plague and were the only child to survive the terrible sickness.  Orphaned and alone you grew up fast and did what you had to do to survive.  It was not until you were much older that you heard of the prophecy of the Plague Child, one who would be born into an age of strife surviving when others would not and destined for a future that could usher in a reign of darkness.  Some religious orders seek your death, to avert this tragedy making your life needlessly difficult.  You joined the Legion for protection and a chance to do some good with whatever power may or may not be inside you.
• Sins of the Father (Martial Classes): The hero’s father or mother was once a Rusty Legionnaire, an individual of worth who was both skilled and well respected.  But the name was tarnished when they betrayed the order, becoming an outcast and criminal… eventually becoming one of the monsters that the Legion is sword to destroy.  Now the parent is an unliving monster an object lesson in the fall from grace.  The hero joined the legion to clear the stain from the family name.  The character has an uphill battle to earn the respect of his peers as the parent casts a long and bitter shadow.

More notes after the jump:

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Well I went running today and I had a wonderful idea for a mini campaign arc, at the Heroic tier probably blending some of the Chaos Scar adventures into a primal/Feywild focused story arc.  I am basing the campaign in my “homebrew” setting that I ran for the Spring but some 1000 or so years in the future where the current group has become legendary heroes who founded an organization to defend the common man from the evils of the world, the Rusty Legion, not the most formidable name but I wanted it to tie into the name of the bar the current group uses as their base of operations, The Rusty Pickle Jamboree.

This is more a nod to the previous group and since some of my players are from the last game will give them a sense of familiarity to the setting.  I am leaving the majority of the details pretty loose at this point I have my main villain, the basic plot flow, and the idea that the world resembles the “standard” Points of Light default setting.

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I have caught the D&D 4E fever finally after having the books since launch I am finally putting them to good use and actually running games with them.  I have a bunch of experience with 1st, 2nd and 3rd editions but this game is a very different beast and it has taken me awhile to get a firm handle on it.  I have learned a great deal since I started and have a better idea of how I want to run future games; what accessories I will need, the campaigns  I want run, and how to best run them to blend both role playing and action.

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I should be getting my Nook from Barnes and Noble tomorrow, which has me plenty excited.  I am going to load it up with a bunch of role playing books I have on PDF and probably read the hell out of them in bed and on the couch.  I really need to also get my ass in gear and get my notes written out for D&D this week and flesh out the setting I have.  I drew a map the other day of the city the campaign takes place in, Avernus.  I don’t really have a name for it yet but I should come up with something.

Between Mass Effect 2, school, and a general unreliability to keep my site updated I had lapsed on my updates. But thanks to some encouragement from a fellow guild mate I am back to try and remedy that. I don’t have anything particularly moving to say today but I do have much to talk about.  I picked up Mass Effect 2 in January, hard to believe it is already March and Final Fantasy XIII is right around the corner.

Speaking of Mass Effect 2, what an awesome second act for the series.  I know some people don’t like some of the elements but I found it amazing.  Being able to transfer my character into the second game and continue his story was awesome and hooking up with Tali’Zorah vas Normandy was the icing on the cake.  from start to finish it is an awesome ride and the combat system is so much tighter and better than the first game I absolutely love it.  My main grips is that I wish there was more armor customization, more conversations between and with quad mates, and deeper friendship paths for all the characters.  My enthusiasm is high for Mass Effect 3.

I also started up on Valkyria Chronicles for PS3, which I got over Christmas and I am enjoying it.  The story is so-so but the actual game mechanics and the tactical combat is very fun.  I should beat it here soon.  I am getting Final Fantasy XIII for the PS3 as well, don;t really know much about the game story wise so it will be interesting to go into it blind.  I also started playing Dungeons and Dragons 4th Edition with some friends from school.  It’s really nice to run a game again after so long and it keeps the creative juices flowing.

As far as World of Warcraft is concerned, I was burnt out for awhile but I am getting back into it and working on the Lich King.  Interesting fight, I like it, keeps you moving and thinking and is quite the challenge for my guild.  I am interested to see new Cataclysm stuff and I am still debating if I want to race change to a Tauren or not just for the fun of it.  I also plan to do some writing over Spring Break and try and put some progress on this crappy novel idea I have.

Also despite what my guild mates think I am not an atheist or a scientologist.  But I do love me some Asian women.  One final note the soundtrack for Mass Effect 2 is awesome.

Other then that things have been rock solid, Diablo III is coming, Wrath of the Lich King is chugging along, and I am absolutely a fan of the newest edition of Dungeons and Dragons; currently running a play by post game at Myth Weavers… so far so good.

I started back in school which is an adventure in and of itself, going to finish my Computer Science degree and then get into software development; i.e. game software in the long run. It is a refreshing change and I am digging it so far and I can’t wait to get to the meat of my actual degree related coursework but thus far it is interesting.

But enough about my paltry and dull life, I am really excited about 4^th Edition Dungeons and Dragons, my set arrives tomorrow and I can’t wait to look through the books and percolate a campaign that is already gestating in my fevered mind after perusing PDF files and glancing over the first introductory adventure. I whole heartedly expect that I will run something and probably in a campaign setting of my own design though the new Forgotten Realms could be interesting… I have always had a predilection for creating my own settings.

I have plans to return to Blizzcon, and this time I won’t be going by myself which is always a plus. Hopefully by then Wrath of the Lich King Beta will be in full swing and I can take a crack at the Death Knight, which I will admit has my interest piqued, but I know that Vanifae will be level 80 and tanking the content in Northrend for sure… there is no doubt in my mind on that. The artwork for the new loot in the expansion looks really sharp and well done.