The Temple of Air (Zeb Cook)
by weem on July 19, 2011
Back in 2001, I ran a Q&A with Zeb Cook [read it here], much like I did with Gary Gygax around the same time (found here Part 1 and Part 2). These interviews were lost to me for many years, until I ran into them last year (2010) and posted them.
The Temple of Air was also lost to me… until yesterday. While browsing some of my old sites via the Wayback Archive, I ran across it – something I had completely forgotten about. This piece was related to the interview, but followed the next day (if I recall correctly). He had mentioned the temple and when pressed for more details, it is the piece below that he shared. He indicated at the time (in 2001) that this piece was never published for Planescape, so I assume it’s probably not published anywhere else, but I could be wrong (he could have put it up somewhere online for all I know).
With that said, I hope this is something new for you to enjoy, but if it has turned up elsewhere and you have read it already, I apologize. Either way, here it is…
The Temple of Air
David “Zeb” Cook
Not all the temples found in Sigil venerate the powers of the Great Ring. There are more than a few beliefs that transcend the simple limits of orthdoxy to embrace the abstract. The Temple of Air is one such place. The Breathers hold that the very air of Sigil is imbued with holiness. Sigil’s air is the breath of centuries, bottled within the Cage. Each breath is the breath of someone who came before. A man breathes the taste of his wife, his uncles, and grandfathers and they have tasted the breath of fathers and lovers before them. The very air is what binds generations together.
So the Breathers, as most cutters know them, hold the very air of Sigil holy. It is the link to one’s ancestors, the receptacle of everything that has ever been. Breathing is more than living, more than art; it is a divine act. As such, it is not enough to inhale; the worshipper must learn to be conscious of every breath and to feel the essence of the past as it passes through his lungs. Breathing without understanding is futility.
The Breathers gather at the temple to learn the fundamentals of breathing. As such the grounds are not at all like a normal temple. There are no impressive displays to some mighty power, not even a modest house of worship. The temple is nothing but a simple compound wall laced with razorvine. Beyond the iron gate is what seems a garden with a circle of pillars. In truth it’s the entire temple – a polished marble slab ringed by pillars of Bytopian ivory, valuable to be sure but too massive to be the swag of any but the most gigantic knight of the post. On most days and in all weather a few worshippers sit on the stones, serenely communing with the air and all the spirits it contains.
The high priest of the temple, Grand-Duke Comolo, uncle to His Majesty Emperor Sindsaris of the House of Clouds on the Plane of Air, lives in a small set of apartments built into the far walls of the temple compound. He is attended by a modest staff of servants: a valet, two gardeners, a housekeeper, two maids, several spit-boys, and thirteen guards, all genasi of the air blood. He is hardly the image of a priest, barely atttentive to his own duties.
The Chant: Word to be had from the Miracle Man is that the duke’s in exile, cast out of the Airy Realm for his part in the Innsurection of the Strati. The guards and the servants are not his and the duke lives a virtual prisoner within the walls. It may be that among the Breathers are agents loyal to the duke, passing messages back to fellow plotters on the Inner Planes.
Marston Mouse-Ears believes there’s a vault beneath the marble slab where temple treasure is hid.
The Dark: The Miracle Man’s information is true; the duke has been banished to Sigil and his guards are his wardens, though not that he complains. He was a reluctant revolutionary. Of late, agents of the Strati have been joining the cult, intent on drawing the man back into their rebellious plans.
Marston is wrong. There is no treasure
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Epic Inventor
by weem on July 12, 2011
So yea, Epic Inventor. Many of you have seen me mention it here or there, but I wanted to take a minute and explain what this thing is that I have been plugging in case you were curious. I really haven’t shared much except a link to the Facebook page (toss us a “Like” if you go there!), or a hint of some kind of game and I figured it was time to share a bit more for those interested.
If you don’t care to hear how we came to create Epic Inventor, just scroll down to the “Epic Inventor” heading below.
Otherwise, begin the brief history here…
Minecraft
This game blew me away when I first came to understand what it was about (and play it). I even found ways to bring it into this D&D world from time to time. Many of you have played it, but for those that haven’t it essentially drops you into a world that has been randomly generated… a HUGE world, one you can explore both above, and below ground. You can dig all the way down until you hit lava, swim across oceans, and literally craft everything you need to survive. Did I mention monsters come out at night?
I was thoroughly sucked in. The idea that you could do whatever you wanted, create what you wanted and explore areas unseen by anyone else really appealed to me – much like D&D has for years.
Terraria
When Terraria came out, I was again enthralled. This game took the elements I loved about Minecraft, but brought some of the focus more towards combat – killing monsters, getting loot, challenging bosses, etc. It was also a side-scroller which appealed to me in that “let’s play Mario Brothers again” kind of way. The possibilities were endless, but there were also goals (crafting better gear to take on harder bosses, etc).
The downside was that once you hit the end game and kind of “got it”, it was very easy to repeat that success and there simply wasn’t anything else to do. Right now, many people are finding themselves waiting for content before playing again, having attained everything they can…
…that’s where Epic Inventor comes in.
Epic Inventor
We wanted something more.
In playing Terraria, a friend of mine (who is also a co-worker) had mentioned he thought he could program a similar game. It wasn’t said in a “this would be easy” tone, but rather a “this could be fun to try”. Before long, we had pulled in another friend (and former co-worker) who was also a programmer, and I was working up what the game would be.
We liked Terraria so much, we knew this would be a side-scroller and that there would be things to fight, but that was it initially.
After a few weeks (and a few ideas chosen and later discarded) I came up with the story for Epic Inventor. It’s still a work in progress, so I won’t go into that yet (and it could change a bit anyway), but the concept of the game is as follows…
You are an Inventor, and a newcomer to this world. Like Terraria, you will gather materials and craft them into items. There will be monsters to kill, caves to explore and more. But here’s where it gets interesting (we think)…
There will be RTS elements to the game. In this case what that means is that you not only will be creating standard items for yourself to use (armor, weapons, etc) but you will be building “placeable” items and structures that will benefit you much like various building types do in an RTS. For example, in Terraria you can place decorations (torches, tables, etc) but in Epic Inventor you will also place things like…
- a Lumber Mill that will generate Wood for you (so eventually, you won’t need to go gather wood)
- a Steam Engine that acts as a source of power for other structures
- an Auto-Crossbow Turret to… you know… kill things that approach
- …and many more! *salesman voice*
You will also be able to advance along a “Tech” tree, deciding in which areas you wish to specialize. Benefits from some of these “techs” could include increasing the production from a lumber mill, or decreasing the time it takes to craft certain items.
One of the key differences between Epic Inventor and Terraria is that there will not be any digging of dirt, or chipping away at stone. Resource materials (such as stone, wood, and various metals) will be visibly different than the ground blocks you walk upon. There are a number of reasons for doing this, the primary of which is that it presents us with some great opportunities in other areas (that I can’t yet go into).
Anyway, that’s the very basic run-down of Epic Inventor, but at this point it represents the most we have said about the game to date. We just put out the very first build allowing us to run around in a generated world. We could only walk around (and jump/fall), but it was amazing to see for the first time. I have a few screenshots on the Facebook page, though remember these are all very early stage ideas and screenshots. We still have much to do and many things are bound to change.
With that said, I do want to clarify that comparison to Terraria is simply from an inspirational standpoint. We do not expect to be as successful. We’re not attempting to go toe to toe with them or with Minecraft. We love both of those games, and this one is simply inspired by them! If we complete it and can get a handful of people to enjoy it, we would be very happy.
Wanna help support us?
- Follow us on Twitter @EpicInventor
- “Like” us on Facebook (so we can grab that custom url!)
- We also have a website up, but there’s not much to see yet
Thanks for stopping in!
- Weem
Monster Vault: Threats to the Nentire Vale (Unreview)
by weem on June 25, 2011
Choose Your Own Adventure…
You find yourself sitting at your computer, staring at the screen before you. It seems a mysterious figure known as “Weem” has written an article on his website. At a glance, the work appears to be about a Dungeons and Dragons product he recently received. He goes on at length about how he came have it before finally arriving at what he calls the “Unreview”. You now have a very difficult choice to make…
If you choose to read about how Weem came to have the new Monster Vault, turn to page 1.
If you choose to simply read the Unreview itself, turn to page 2.
If you can’t be bothered with any of this, turn to page 3.
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PAGE 1
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The Matt James Show
So, a little while back (we’ll call it about two weeks ago) Matt James (@matt_james_rpg) was hosting one of his shows, and I figured I would drop in and listen as I have before. This particular show was an unboxing for the recently released Monster Vault: Threats to the Nentir Vale (video follows this article), a Wizards of the Coast product for which he contributed to.
Matt James
The show was interesting as usual (Matt’s an interesting guy after all), and despite the fact that I have not played 4th Edition since December 2010, I found myself very interested in this product. But this was of course Matt’s product – obviously he would be trying to build excitement for it, and it had worked… well played.
Now, here’s where things got really interesting… at one point he mentioned he would be choosing someone from the chat (essentially from the people signed into uStream and watching the video) and sending them a copy of the Monster Vault from the show. I looked to see how many were signed in… 8 (many more were watching but not signed in)… “Huh”, I thought, “Interesting odds… but I never win anything… but… what if I did?”. Immediately I felt bad… it’s been clear to anyone who visits my site the fact that I have been playing Pathfinder these days, not D&D. If I won, would anyone be upset at the idea it may not be used?
Immediately I did not want to win.
I hope I don’t win… Oh who am I kidding, I won’t win, settle down… I considered leaving the chat to avoid the chance, but the product had been intriguing me the more Matt discussed it. In the last month I HAD picked up the “Essentials” Dungeon and City Tileset boxes, as well as the first Monster Vault, all for use in Pathfinder. I bought the Monster Vault for the tokens really, and I would most certainly use the tokens from this new Monster Vault, at the very least.
Fine, I will stay… if I win, I will use the tokens… but I won’t win, so it’s no big deal… The show eventually came to the end, and to the time at which a winner would be determined. Matt would roll using a dice app (yea, he had no dice at his desk). He numbered everyone, I was number 8, and rolled…
…and I won.
I am one of those people that feels bad when they win something, regardless of the circumstances, and this was no exception. Although I had earlier convinced myself I would use the product, I felt bad for the others nonetheless. However, after having had a chance to look it over (and with the benefit of the passing of time), I can say… too bad suckers, I won and it’s mine!
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PAGE 2
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The Unreview
So, I don’t really do reviews.
It’s not that I don’t think I would be good at them, it’s just that I don’t want to say anything bad about a product/idea even if it is legitimately bad. Every once in a while though, I’ll talk about something I do like. One could call it a review, but I see it more of a sharing of tastes… like a, “here’s something I dig”, for example.
So with that said, I dig Monster Vault, Threats to the Nentir Vale.
Monster Vault, Threats to the Nentir Vale
Fluff, and Toilets
One of the things I have never been fond of with 4th Edition is monster info. Specifically, the lack of fluff. At this point, I have been around long enough and gamed long enough that I understand much about many monsters and can make up the rest. The fact is, I don’t NEED a lot of fluff, but I WANT it. Having decent fluff is what makes the difference between a book I will only look at once, and one I will take with me many times to that place where the reading magic happens…
…on the toilet.
Oh whatever, admit it – you do your best reading while pushing one out, don’t even give me that look.
Anyway, yea, I need my stat blocks broken up with chunks of fluff. Without fluff in-between, it feels like a brick, and I won’t want to buy it. A book full of stat blocks? I could make one of those from the Monster Builder in no time.
Monster Vault (NV) has the perfect balance for me between the two, after all, there can be TOO much (at least for a book intended to serve up a good number of monsters). In this case it was just right. I actually wasn’t sure what “just right” would be until I read through this – it’s exactly what I am looking for. On top of it all, the fluff is GOOD! My head was spinning not only with one-off or short adventure ideas, but whole campaign ideas as well. This was a book I knew I would be spending some time in the bathroom with (ok, that sounds bad… let’s just keep going).
The Listings (Creatures, etc)
What I really loved about this was the variety. There were listings for families, and various groups. For example, in this Monster Vault, there is a listing for “River Rats”, a “gang of common street thugs and con artists” comprised of stat blocks representing these various people. One of the things I took away from this book was that you could probably do a campaign setting book in this kind of format. There seems to be a LOT you can learn about the Nentir Vale just from this MV. It’s not just monsters, but it’s people and groups, factions and more. A full setting book could do more of course, but this is an interesting way to present the information.
Anyway, here are some of my favorite listings so far (I have not yet finished reading it all)…
1) The Cadaver Collector – These are big armored constructs that essentially go around scooping up the dead for nefarious uses by their masters. Awesome stuff! Combine that with some cool powers like imaling their enemies to one of the many spikes on their bodies and carrying them around with them during the fight? Yes please.
How epic is this tower? It has it's own fucking token! Are you not entertained?!?
2) Wandering Tower – This is a wandering tower (really Weem?) that changes its appearance. I mean, it’s still tower-ish in appearance… it’s not appearing as a traveling wand merchant or anything like that, but it has various structural forms to choose from I would imagine… It might decide based on the seasons… no white tower after labor day, for example. Anyway, this reminded me of a sentient fort I created in my first 4e campaign that gave the players a lot of trouble. Lot’s of fun, and again with the fluff – there was a lot for this listing and it was great. I came away with a lot of ideas here.
3) River Rats – I mentioned them above for a reason. This listing makes me want to make a halfling rogue and seek out Kelson… I’m ready to throwdown for the River Rats!
There are many other cool creatures in there, epic stuff like Dragons and more, so don’t let my current favorites downplay the epic in this book. I just happen to love the smaller scale stuff.
The Tokens
Yes, tokens. As I mentioned before, I’m not even playing 4e right now, but the tokens I love. I bought the first Monster Vault recently just for the tokens for my Pathfinder campaign. In fact, recently I pulled out this latest Monster Vault (NV) at Gator Games and said, “Mmm, tokens” before my brother reminded me, “Dude… you just won that book… you will have it pretty soon”… oh yea, I forgot.
The quality of these tokens (like those in the first MV) are rad, and the selection is great as it includes things I will be using again and again. For example, there are a lot of human/human-like tokens that will come in handy with my current Pathfinder campaign. We’re playing on Mystara with much of these early levels likely to be spent in a large city (Glantri).
The only problem now is… how in the hell am I going to organize and store all of these?
The End
The set also comes with a double-sided poster map which is cool, and that’s pretty much it. It was easily worth what I paid for it (ok, I didn’t pay for it so that was easy) – seriously though, this is one of my favorite 4e products. There are many reasons to get this, even if (like me) you are not currently playing 4th Edition. I want to thank Matt James for his show, which is awesome, and for the chance to win this product.
If you want to see the Monster Vault (NV) on Amazon.com, turn to page 4.
If you want to follow Weem on Twitter, turn to page 5.
If you want to follow Matt James on Twitter, turn to page 6.
Matt James Unboxes the new Monster Vault
Is Pathfinder D&D to you?
by weem on June 22, 2011
I was considering this question myself recently as I have been telling people, “I’ve stopped playing D&D for now and am playing Pathfinder”. The thing is, I feel like I am still playing D&D, or at least the previous version, which makes sense.
My official (short) answer to this question is that yes, I am playing D&D when I play Pathfinder, but I make the distinction in the event someone may want to know more about it, or wants to know what edition it is I am playing, etc. If I was only playing Pathfinder (for example) and stated, “I am playing D&D”, I think the vast majority of people would assume I was NOT playing Pathfinder, thus the distinction is made.
With that said, I posed this question to the #dnd Twitterverse recently. I have posted the responses below, not in an attempt to sway opinions, but simply to share. This is of course anecdotal data, and I am not attempting to draw any substantial conclusions from it – the range of answers is indication enough that that this is a rather subjective topic as presented. We would have to (as others have mentioned) get into the debate of what D&D “is” before really deciding what systems/games qualify as well, not to mention find a better way to poll a wider array of people, etc.
The point is, this is simply for entertainment purposes.
Okay, here we go. I asked this question via Twitter, Facebook and Reddit. Here are the results…
Is Pathfinder “D&D” to you?
Total Responses: 55
Yes: 41
No: 6
Other: 8
Yes, Pathfinder is D&D to me…
@brianliberge: #Pathfinder is #dnd as far as I am concerned, yes.
@paulbaalham: ive always thought it was
@dmfumbl: #pathfinder is as much #dnd as 3.5, 3.0, 2e, and 1e. Never understood the argument against thinking that way.
@smittyhalibut: I treat it as such, yes.
@pedr: #pathfinder is definitely #dnd to me. I far prefer 4e but playing pfrpg feels just like playing 3.5 did
@exalteddarkness: I certainly consider #pathfinder to be #dnd, most certainly in spirit if not in name/publisher.
@sarahdarkmagic: I think it is but at times it can be important to distinguish.
@samldanach: yes. I feel that #pathfinder is #dnd
@zizazat: #patfhfinder is totally #dnd to me. Started w/ red box, played 2nd and 3rd. Pathfinder continues in that tradition for me.
@dysonlogos: I feel that #Pathfinder is (a) #DnD game, yes. But I understand people who don’t.
@richgreen01: yep #pathfinder is still #dnd
@charismacheck: Yes, I do consider it an upgraded version of DnD.
@the_blind_gm: the answer is of corse yes branding has little to do with the game at it’s core
@brainclouds: I’ve never read a Pathfinder core rulebook in my life, yet I understand everything when I read a module. So, in a way, yes.
@grahamemulliss: I would say no. Can’t really explain why in 200 characters tho.
@ldcomic: pathfinder is “all but” dnd to me. In some ways, more dnd than 4e ever will be.
@brindy: yes. It’s like a software fork. It’s 3rd edition revised continued on its own path.
@lowlyminion: Definitely. If you go by Mike Mearls’s recent “what are the bare essentials of D&D” post, there’s no question.
@ObsidianeCrane: Pathfinder is a version of dnd, like BECMI and AD&D. Like 1E AD&D it is a version I don’t enjoy as much as 4E (or BECMI back then).
@neceros: #pathfinder IS #dnd. Paizo picked up the slack where WotC left off. My table uses it as the core system.
@nikonraccoon: I think of #pathfinder as #dnd 3.75.
@captcalamitous: I went back to #DnD with #Pathfinder, I feel that #4e strayed too far, that’s a personal opinion btw #asshats need not reply. 
Elsbeth [Facebook]: I don’t play it, but I still consider it to be D&D
Jody [Facebook]: Quick answer: Yes
TrueBuckeye [Reddit]: When my friends and I get together to play D&D, we play Pathfinder, so yes.
Laughing_Boy [Reddit]: Pretty much have to agree (with TrueBuckeye), here. Fact is, I have one group that plays Pathfinder and one that plays D&D 3.5, and I could imagine my characters in either game, no problem.
Not_Really_Here [Reddit]: Pathfinder is the evolution of D&D 3.5. Pathfinder is what D&D 4.0 would be if they went to improve 3.5, rather than re-make the D&D system like 4.0 now does (I don’t mind 4.0, I’m just stating it’s different).
cartmanbeck [Reddit]: Short answer: yes.
rednightmare [Reddit]: Is Lamentations of the Flame Princess D&D? I say yes to both. If has all the same tropes and conventions I expect from D&D then it’s D&D.
An interesting question is how much would D&D need to change for it to stop being D&D? I think that if the class system and d20 were taken away I wouldn’t consider it D&D anymore. Sometimes I think that 4e dances along the edge of D&D-dom. Not really mechanically, but with how the iconic races and classes have kind of been swept away.
dcampbez [Reddit]: D&D is almost like Kleenex or a Xerox generic for me when telling people what I am doing Friday night:
OLD ME:
Co-Worker: What are you doing this weekend?
Me: Playing Pathfinder (Or Eclipse Phase, Mouse Guard, Traveler, Outbreak:Undead, or whatever we are getting up to)
Co-Worked: Blank Stare
Me: It’s Like Dungeons and Dragons
Co-worker: Ah!
NEW ME:
Co-Worker: What are you doing this weekend?
Me: Playing Dungeons and Dragons
Co-worker: Ah!
Moves the conversation along faster…:)
Wakefield [Reddit]: It’s more D&D to me than 4th edition is, and it sure as hell put a fresh face on everything I liked about 3.5.
ShyGuysonStilts [Reddit]: Pathfinder is D&D 3.5++
W32Badwolf [Reddit]: Emphatically yes.
jcfalia [Reddit]: The only way that Pathfinder isn’t D&D, is that it’s not allowed to put the words ‘Dungeons & Dragons’ on the cover. But c’mon – it’s just as much D&D as any other version of D&D is.
Rayston [Reddit]: Yes. As in I know automatically without looking to closely that its not for me.
bobrogue [Reddit]: Me and my friends basically consider pathfinder what DND 4.0 should have been, it cleans up alot, rebalances things and gives alot more diversity to the game we switched awhile ago and never looked back.
insanityv2 [Reddit]: With all due respect, this is sort of a bullshit question. I have never seen anyone discuss of what “real” D&D without using it as a means to try and exclude people and try to assert some sad and imagined superiority.
So yes.
ExtremeMetalFTW [Reddit]: Yeah, it’s pretty much 3.5 with some (IMO) great revisions and since my group is full of noobies they call it D&D anyways.
Strebalicious [Reddit]: Considering it was designed to be used with all the 3.5 D&D material (with a few slight changes), I’d say yes. Inf fact, I never once considered it NOT to be D&D.
SmilerClark [Reddit]: It feels and tastes like DnD to me and my friends (who have been in a 3, then 3.5, now Pathfinder) game for the last seven years, but we prefer to call it Pathfinder. Mostly its out of respect for Paizo and their product, which we are really quite fond of. Paizo should get some kind of award for the masterful way they support their product line.
d1ngo: I say 3.75
No, Pathfinder is not #dnd
@phaezen: It may not be dnd to me, but for many people it is, and who am I to say they are wrong?
@wolfsamurai: [msg 1] It’s… not. It’s got the same bones underneath so it’s close, but it’s different enough that to me it’s not D&D. [msg 1] Right now, D&D is D&D to me. Pathfinder has similar mechanics, but feels more like it’s own thing.
@aliothefool: I don’t consider Pathfinder D&D. They’re both fantasy RPGs. Names are just names.
@nightchilde: No. D&D is D&D, Pathfinder is Pathfinder. I like both.
Moe [Facebook]: I was going to say yes but then read Ari’s “Hey, do you have a D&D game going right now?” and it made me reconsider. If I was running Pathfinder and someone asked me that question I would say “No I don’t, but I am running Pathfinder which came from D&D 3.5″ so I obviously think of it as something different.
AGNKim [Reddit]: Not at all. I don’t buy into the “Edition Wars”, as its all role-playing games and we nerds should stick together, but D&D will always be AD&D 1st edition, being 16, eating Doritos and wondering how cool it would be to meet Gary Gygax. And writing run-on sentences apparently.
Neither (that, or Weem can’t call it)
@hawklord2112: it depends. To my GF all rpgs are dnd
@mandarific88: [msg 1] Often times with Pathfinder I often preface it by saying “D&D, or in this case Pathfinder” or something. [msg 2] To me it’s the difference between, like, Oatmeal & Cold Cereal – both are for breakfast, both are technically “Cereal.”
@trachalio: That’s how Pathfinder was first described to me; it’s D&D 3.75. Haven’t played 3.5 or Path yet so don’t know if description is apt
@ampthebard: Any game of fantasy roleplaying can be #dnd if it covers some basic tropes. It’s the experience that matters, not the ruleset.
@miskatonichrich: [msg 1] it is based on 3.5 and since a lot of things were made for the D20 OGL. Dnd became settings, the D20 system was almost universal [msg 2] To some playing any rpg is #dnd because that is the Icon, like BandAid or Jello. Not technically correct but you will be understood
Frank [Facebook]: It is the spiritual successor and natural progression of the game as it stood with 3.5. I was just having this conversation with the store owner I run 4e at. In many ways I saw it as a pure system, meaning it was not bogged down with all of the additional glut of material official or not.
That being said with the Ultimate Books, the 3rd party support it can look as if they are taking some of the mistakes 3.5 and wotc took and continuing them. More class options, making more base classes, more feats more spells.
While I can say no it is not D&D in some ways yes it is. All that is missing is the old second edition spell reincarnate and there you go. D&D in a different body. This is the long form response.
Ari [Facebook]: I don’t think it’s any more or less “spiritually” D&D than any other edition, since it’s basically a variation on 3.5E. I’m no less likely to play it than I am most of the other editions, and if I were involved in a game and somebody casually asked me “Hey, do you have a D&D game going right now?” I’d probably say yes.
David [Facebook]: This presents us to the tangent of would you call Castles & Crusades or any of the “off shoots” D&D. On a pitiable level no they aren’t as they aren’t produced by TSR or their successors. On a game play level, yes they are a they use base systems derived from their D&D counterparts. Overall they’re games and as long as you’re having fun why classify.
Happy Weemiversary!
by weem on June 18, 2011
One year ago today theweem.com went live, so Happy Weemiversary… me!
I considered doing something fun for this, but the fact is I just returned home after being away on vacation for 8 days or so. I’ve only just settled in tonight, and frankly I’m lazy anyway.
This project (theweem.com) has blown away every single expectation I have ever had for it. Whether it’s been the number of visitors to the site or a guess at how well received an article will be… or even an assumption that “those guys don’t know who I am”, I have been and am still constantly surprised at how often I am wrong. As such, this has been a very exciting year.
I call this site a project, and there is good reason to do so. Over the years I have started, maintained, and let fade so many RPG-related websites that I long ago lost count. The goals have always been the same over the years… 1) create a site I would enjoy creating content for that was also 2) related to a topic that I have at least a little expertise in (D&D) while 3) turning it into something that more people enjoyed than I could count on my two hands. I also wanted to use this effort to 4) promote the prosperity of the game and table-top gaming in general.
Since 1999 or so, I have had many websites hit one or two of these, while failing at the rest, but theweem.com has seen successful for me where all my other projects have more or less failed.
This is all sounding like big pats upon my back from my own heavy arm, but the fact is that I have been, and remain still, quite humbled by the successes. I still get excited when those “in the industry”, or those connected to it whom I highly respect take notice of my site, or share a word with me on Twitter. I’m still just a guy who loves D&D (and now Pathfinder as well!), and the awesome people who make up the community. Anything beyond that is the extra chocolate on top (sorry, I’m not into cherries).
Thank you everyone for being a part of this site and the community in general. I hope to continue promoting the game and enjoying your company for another year at least!
Anyway, I will leave you with the following link in case you are curious to know more about me or this site (for whatever reason)!
Who is Weem?
Who cares, I’ll just follow him on Twitter and find out.
Oh, and just for fun… Here are some posts I made on the day the site went live one year ago today…
1) Twitter, D&D and Tweetdeck
2) Q&A With the Man They Call Weem (Interview by Emerald Press)
3) Azeroth, the 2011 D&D Campaign Setting?
Not Starting at the Tavern: Idea 2
by weem on June 12, 2011
In every campaign I run, I look for new/unique (to my players) ways to bring my players together at the start. I love reading about these from other players as well, so I thought I would share a few of mine.
This second idea (see the first) is one I used for my very first 4th Edition campaign.
Last Man Standing
The first game of this campaign began with me describing the troubles facing a small town. Compounding the ordinary issues that befall many small towns was an issue that many were not facing… regular trouble with Goblins.
The town was constantly harassed by them, or at least those on the outskirts were. Recently, it had become hard to recall a night were a farm was not raided, or cattle not stolen/killed. In fact, there were occasions recently where the Goblins had become so bold as to sneak their way into this small town to raid very specific targets. Of course this was very troubling – Goblins using excellent tactics, and showing great restraint to achieve very specific goals.
The problem was that while these incidents were occurring more and more frequently, nothing was ever done about them – at least nothing of any significance. The local guard appeared either reluctant or were too inept to act.
Goblins!
Everything came to a head one night when a large raiding party swept into town and began what would be a days long run of destruction. This consisted mostly of careless destruction, but was coupled with spurts of sophisticated tactics aimed at taking out key targets important to the defense of the town (of which there were very few).
Unfortunately for the players they all found themselves caught in this town with no immediately clear way to escape.
They were told beforehand that they would all be starting in the same small town. They knew which town and where it was located. I had also told them to think about what had brought them to this town – it was completely up to them. After my description of the events above, I confirmed what they had began to assume… this town being assaulted was the town they were all in.
I described how the local guard (led by a man whose name I don’t recall) reacted to the attacks almost immediately by going to few Inn’s and Taverns and strongly suggesting that any who could SHOULD be out helping defend the town. This call went up throughout the town and the players indicated that if they heard this, they would indeed go to help.
With that, I described how the young fell first, followed by the weakest, and that after two nights at the edge of town they had been pushed into the town proper. Fights were now taking place in alleys or even within various building themselves.
Finally, I described how the numbers (around the PC’s) began to dwindle until the four of them found themselves barring the doors of a random building, fighting off Goblins to do so.
“And so here you find yourselves, just the four of you, trapped in a building somewhere in town. The Goblins you were fighting seem to have given up on trying to get through the doors and by the looks of it, through nearby windows, have decided to move on to easier targets… what’s the plan now?”
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Not Starting at the Tavern: Idea 1
by weem on June 11, 2011
In every campaign I run, I look for new/unique ways to bring my players together at the start. Now, when I say new and unique, I don’t mean to imply that the means by which I bring them together have never been used before – rather that I have not used them with these players before. I love reading about these from other players as well, so I thought I would share a few of mine.
This first idea is one which I thought I had described here before, but after some searching it seems that is not the case.
We’re All Connected, But How?
In the previous campaign I ran I went around the table explaining the circumstances of how each player received a very strange letter. I spent a few minutes talking to each player, finding out what they have been doing and where (all of them within the same small town). Once they had done this, I described the letter to them and read aloud its very brief contents.
Essentially the letter asked the individual (named specifically in the letter) to meet with the writer at a well known common area in one week at midnight. This was a large Oak tree just outside of town. The letter simply stated that it was urgent the writer “meet with you”. The letters did not mention that a number of people were involved, and were instead each addressed to each individual as if they were the only one the writer wished to meet. The writer also claimed that the importance of this meeting was a matter of life and death.
Once I had gone around the table, each player then described to me how they approached the meeting place and when. Some came early, some snuck they’re way in to see the writer before entering the clearing. There at the Oak tree was a man, speaking with two men who appeared to be twins. The conversation overheard was of the twins asking the man why they were here, and the man simply replaying that he wanted to wait to address the reason until the time “everyone” had arrived.
Eventually all of the players arrived, or came out of hiding as it were. The man, who claimed to be the writer of the letter, also claimed to have been down at the docks one night a month prior and was attacked by two men. In the end he was able to kill one of the men, but the other slipped away. However, on the deceased he found “this…”
The writer then held out what appeared to be a list of names, of which all of the players were on. Also on the list were the names of the twins (NPC’s) already there, a woman who the writer claimed he could not find, and finally himself. When everyone had a chance to look at the list of names, the writer finally asked…
“Why are we on this list?”
At that moment, the writer was struck with an arrow and an ambush was sprung. The twins were killed, but the writer lived long enough to help fend off the ambush, though he did die later. When the dust settled, the players were left to wonder why they were on the list. What was the purpose of the list? Was it simply a hit list, and if so… why were they on it? And where was the woman who was also on the list?
This intro to my previous campaign setup a theme that carried throughout, and one that worked out very well for the style of campaign I was going for.
In the near future I intend on sharing another one of these campaign intro methods. As I said in the beginning, I love reading about what others do, so I thought I would take the opportunity to share one of mine.
I hope you enjoyed it!
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Piratecat VS Gygax
by weem on June 2, 2011
There is an effort over on EN World to move Gary Gygax’s forum account to the top of the XP list (I happen to be in the #1 spot at the moment). Right now, his account (Col Pladoh) is pretty much tied with Piratecat (aka PC, aka @KevinKulp) and people were talking about them battling it out. Anyway, of course I visualized this, and in this case, I imagined it as a Mortal Combat fight.
Click to see the larger version…
Dice? Really? I mean, seriously you... HEY! That HURT!
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Cleric changes? Don’t tell Neo
by weem on May 17, 2011
I’ve been quiet here as I have not been doing a lot of D&D things lately, but with the Cleric changes today (and the reaction to them) I thought I would throw this together – enjoy!
Uh oh...
Personally, I’m so far removed from gaming at this point that I have no grasp of how this effects the game-play/feel of the Cleric, so really I have no opinion one way or another.
To DM Again!
by weem on April 28, 2011
Tomorrow night (well, technically tonight) I have company coming over to the house…
Normally, this isn’t a huge deal. After all, people come over every Sunday to watch Game of Thrones, at least.
The great thing about tonight, however, is the purpose, which is to discuss my next D&D campaign. We’ll talk possible campaign themes, character ideas and concepts as well as the system we’ll be using… Pathfinder!
This will be my first time running Pathfinder (I have played a few times), and the first time I will have run a non-4e version of D&D since 4e was released. As I have said to a few of you, it shouldn’t be anything too crazy; after all, I have played and run every version of D&D. The idea of running a Pathfinder game is very exciting to me, but almost equally exciting is the fact that I have not DM’d a game since November of 2010, so I have had the DM twitch for some time now.
I am the kind of DM who, for the most part, does not like playing when a player can’t make it… even if it’s just one. I would rather hold off and make sure no one misses anything. In this case however, that will change. I intend on playing regardless (as long as we have at least a few) and will work it out in the game as best as possible… it may be wonky at times, but it’s that or we could end up with huge spaces between games which my body seems to be rejecting.