Friday, August 10, 2012

Friday Gems by Johnn Four

Happy Friday!
Welcome to another edition of Friday Gems.
As a Roleplaying Tips subscriber, you'll receive an email on Fridays with interesting GM links.
This includes sites, tools and articles sent in by you and your fellow GMs. Thanks for the link suggestions!
Now, on with Friday's Gems....

Medieval Demographics Made Easy: Numbers For Fantasy Worlds

This link comes from RPT subscriber David Lundy.
"I found this site to be very helpful with building my fledgling world."
Created by John S. Ross, Medieval Demographics Made Easy will help you figure out realistic populations for your setting:
http://www222.pair.com/sjohn/blueroom/demog.htm

How to Make Your Own Dice Tower From Formboard

I love dice towers. Remind me someday to tell you how I earned a Boy Scout badge by making a dice tower out of a 2 litre milk carton.Eric Gosselin shared this great tutorial:
"I made mine from cardboard, it's a fun project and the result is fun to use. :) "
http://www.instructables.com/id/Making-a-Formboard-Dice-Tower/

NPC Factions (Or how to be a lazy DM)

This short blog post advocates a technique I also use in my games: factions.
"The vast majority of the two hours of prep work I have done recently was statting up a few different groups that the PCs have been interacting with.
"I first come up with the leaders of the group and write a sentence or two describing their personalities and motivations.
"Then I stat up a sample member of the group, a tough member of the group, and make a few notes about different weapons or armor that I can use to make members of the group seem unique."
Read more >>
http://mutagenicsubstance.blogspot.ca/2009/11/npc-factions-or-how-to-be-lazy-dm.html

D&D Aides Downloads

Some great downloads on this page:
  • 3.5 Edition Character Sheet with Formulas (Excel)
  • Party Tracking Worksheet (Excel)
  • Blank Item Cards
  • Monster Cards
  • 2 Fonts (Centaur, Morpheus)
http://www.educatedgamer.net/downloads.htm


That wraps up this week's 1d4 Friday Gems.
Cheers,
Johnn Four
Have more fun at every game!
roleplayingtips.com

Thursday, August 9, 2012

Braille Dice by Dana Jorgensen — Kickstarter

Braille Dice

byDana Jorgensen

Funded!This project successfully raised its funding goal just now.
Photo-full
Tactile dice allowing the visually impaired to roll and read their own dice.
  • Launched:Jul 18, 2012
  • Funding ends:Aug 31, 2012
  • Don't want to forget? We'll remind you by email 48 hours before funding ends.
Braille Dice.
About five years ago, I recognized a long-standing problem in the adventure gaming industry. In spite the fact that the vision impaired could quite readily participate in the vast plethora of imagination-based games produced over the past 40 years, there are still some things lacking in providing satisfaction. Can you imagine playing and never having the satisfaction of rolling your own dice and reading the results?
So I approached a known dice manufacturer in regards to the problem and after much discussion, things sounded like they thought it was a grand idea and wanted to add these tactile dice as a regular product. I even provided simple, straightforward plans for the dice. That was five years ago.
Recently, the issue was raised again. Admittedly, I'm partly at fault here, as I never followed up on the earlier attempt. However, this time around, things are very different. In the last five years, my circle of friends and associates has changed drastically, and my skill set has expanded. This time around, I don't have to turn to a dice manufacturer to get the job done. Today, I have the know-how to see it through to the end myself.
As I write this, many things are coming together. Raw materials for prototyping are in the mail. Orders for materials to make the mass production molds have been written up. Blueprints for machinery have been drawn up. Now is the time to search for funding.
About the dice: The dice are designed for the visually impaired. As such, rather than numerals, they are marked with braille pips. To allow the owner to distinguish between dice by touch, we rely first on shape, then on size. For example, D100 means rolling 2D10. We provide two D10 dice, the smaller for the ones digit and the larger for the tens digit. Below are descriptions of the dice.
D4: This will be a standard sized pyramidal die. There will be two styles. The first will follow the visual version, marking each corner to read the point facing up, while the second will mark each face with a single braille character, with the roll result being the side facing down.
D6: This will be a standard 15mm sized cubic die.
D8: This will be a standard sized diamond die.
D10: This will be a standard sized and shaped die, denoting the ones.
D10s: This will be an enlarged 10-sided die, denoting the tens. Paired with the above to roll D100.
D12: This will be a standard sized die.
D20: This will be enlarged from 0.75 inches to 1.25 inches
Die sizes are tentative. Because braille is tactile, further enlargement of the die designs may be necessary to provide fast, reliable reading ability. We'll determine that and make the necessary changes in the prototype phase.
The faces and pips are formed by removal of material from the facing surface, forming a depression the braille pips rise in. As a result, a rim exists on each die face. To provide a "bottom" to orient the die for correct reading, one side of this lip will be rippled along the side of the depression, while the other sides of the lip will remain smooth.
The dice will be cast from polyester resin. They will probably be left in the resin's natural color and uninked. After all, if you need braille markings, color isn't a big concern, right? But then again, if enough of you say you want color, we'll add color.
6-die set: 4d6, 1d10, 1d10s
8-die set: 2d4 (1 of each style), 1d6, 1d8, 1d10, 1d10s, 1d12, 1d20.
Bonus die: 1d3 (D6 marked 1-3 twice, enlarged to 25mm).
Bonus Die: 1d2 (thick coin slug marked in braille on each side)
Bonus die: 1d30 (enlarged to 3 inches/75mm)
The bonus dice will not be mass produced for general distribution.

Braille Dice by Dana Jorgensen — Kickstarter

D&D Next Q&A 8/9

D&D Next Q&A 8/9

Thursday, August 9, 2012, 8:01 AM
Posted By: WotC_Rodney


You've got questions—we've got answers! Here's how it works—each week, our Community Manager will be scouring all available sources to find whatever D&D Next questions you're asking.
There are certain business and legal questions we can't answer (for business and legal reasons). And if you have a specific rules question, we'd rather point you to Customer Service, where representatives are ready and waiting to help guide you through the rules of the game. That said, our goal is provide you with as much information we can—in this and other venues.
____________________________________
1 Mike mentioned that the combat superiority dice could be used to deal more damage, soak damage, defend an ally, or some other interesting combat tricks. Could you give us some more examples of any of those combat tricks you’re looking at now?
Sure. Right now, we’re looking at the ability to knock people prone, to push people around (think tide of iron, 4E players), to shift around the battlefield, to make quick jabs that deal less damage, to be able to damage multiple enemies with a single attack, to riposte when an enemy misses, and so forth. We’re still working out the details for how many of them would work, but we think there’s a lot of potential for building your own fighting style based on how you use your dice.
2 How quickly will a fighter be able to emulate multiple fighting styles? For example, can a 1st-level fighter choose to use combat superiority in combat to do more damage one round, and then defend an ally the next? Or is that versatility something that comes after a few levels?
Every fighter starts out with two “freebie” uses of the dice: adding damage onto your attacks, and reducing damage from incoming attacks. We’re also looking at giving you a third right out of the gate, based on the fighting style you selected. As you gain levels, you’ll periodically gain access to new uses for your combat superiority dice. So, you’re likely to have a growing array of options, we just need to peg the right number of options for a 1st-level character. Luckily, we have lots of active playtesters who will help us gather data on what that correct number really is.
3 What do the fighter's combat superiority dice represent in the context of the game world? How do you think they would be described in the flavor section of the class?
Combat superiority and the dice they provide are a representation of active focus with a fighting style. When two dueling swordsmen face off against one another, they (frequently subconsciously) shift their attention between footwork, attacks, defense, predicting their opponent’s next move, and so forth. Beginning fighters can only split their attention so much. They’re still better at the basic use of their weapons than other people, but they can’t focus on as many different variables as a more experienced fighter can.
As a fighter gains levels, he or she not only increases skill at swordplay (represented by the dice growing larger in value), the fighter also learns to divide up his or her attention between multiple aspects of the fight (represented by gaining more dice). Furthermore, in many cases the fighter learns to focus more intently on a particular task, or perform more complex maneuvers than were possible when he or she was less experienced. So, the fighter learns new techniques (new uses for the dice), and also learns how use old maneuvers in ways that were previously beyond the scope of his or her skill (greater numeric values from the dice).

The Wizards Community > DnD Next > Blog > D&D Next Q&A 8/9

Eternity Dice: forged from lava by Escape Studios — Kickstarter

Photo-full
“Alea iacta est”. Handmade solid stone dice for Demanding Gamers.
  • Launched:Jul 31, 2012
  • Funding ends:Sep 29, 2012
  • Don't want to forget? We'll remind you by email 48 hours before funding ends.
We have always been fascinated by dice. Somehow we consider them as mystical objects, but all dice we've ever bought and used to play with didn't have a soul. After a walk in Vesuvius National Park, we realized that we wanted to have dice directly from Mother Earth which would be able to evoke old world feelings now lost in the traffic of the modern metropolis. So what material could be more evocative and pleasant to the touch and sight than the lava of a volcano?
Straight from the slopes of Vesuvius and forged one by one entirely by hand, these dice made of lava (sculpted solid stone) are a worldwide exclusive that we present here on Kickstarter for the first time. All dice will be finely worked and certified by an artisan from Torre del Greco (Naples) specialist in the processing of lava. Lava is an ancient and eternal material and today it is a really rare stone, because the last eruption of Vesuvius occurred in 1944 and the volcano is currently dormant.
The lava of Vesuvius is different from that of Etna or the Aeolian islands since, modifying itself during the centuries, it has become rich in potassium and decreased its quantity of silice, coming to be harder than marble.
During the 17th and 18th century the magnificent Vesuvian Villas of the “Golden Mile” had statues, columns, fountains and marvellous stairways made of lava stone. Masons then established a deep relationship with the lava stones they worked, passing on their craft techniques from father to son. And today, thanks to their knowledge and commitment, the Eternal Dice are here for you.

SPREAD THE WORD

We reached our primary goal really fast, but now there are many days to the end of this project...now, we can make grow it with our backers and give you more interesting extra pledges, but we need your help to spread the word about our Eternity Dice. If you believe in this project, tell about it to your friends, on your preferred social networks (twitter, facebook, diaspora) and on your communities around the web. Thanks to each of you, because you turned this project into reality!

Update #5

GOAL $10000
We are really amazed by your support, so we want give you more stuff!
If we hit $10000 we will add for free an exclusive Dice Bag to each pledge of 4 dice or more. You can also update your pledge to 4 dice or more in order to receive this gift (only if we reach this goal).

Update #4

Eternity Fudge Dice now available!

Recently we started playing the Dresden Files RPG.
That RPG runs off the opens source Fate System, which requires Fudge Dice.

Eternity Dice: forged from lava by Escape Studios — Kickstarter

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Gen Con One Week to go.

Gen Con Indy 2012: No Game Left Behind


One Week to Go

Just one week remains until Gen Con Indy 2012. If you’re traveling to Indy for the show, you may be leaving as soon as this weekend!


You’ve almost made it!
If you are still interested in attending, but have yet to pick up your badge, you still can here. Four-Day badges are just $80, and one-day badges are only $50. You also may still purchase event tickets and register for open events at registration.gencon.com.

Do you have children? Then, Gen Con’s Family Fun Day may be just right for you! For just $30, a family of four can attend Gen Con Indy on Sunday, August 19. Family Fun Day incorporates numerous family themed events, including face-painting, crafts, learn-to-play games, and more! No pre-registration is required for Family Fun Day, and families may sign-up at the Convention Center.
Exciting Updates!

Wes Bentley

Wes Bentley Announced as Media Guest of Honor


Gen Con is happy to announce Wes Bentley as a 2012 Media Guest of Honor. While many will recognize Bentley from his starring role in Sam Mende’s Academy Award-Winning film American Beauty, he also garnered acclaim as The Head Gamemaker, Seneca Crane, in the wildly popular film adaptation of The Hunger Games.

An actor with more than a decade of experience, Wes Bentley has appeared in more than 25 films, including The Four Feathers, Ghost Rider, and Jonah Hex.

He joins other Media Guests of Honor Wil Wheaton and Nichelle Nichols, and will sign autographs for fans on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday during Gen Con Indy 2012. Attendees should follow posted information in the Autograph Area of the Exhibit Hall.



Magic Events

Magic: The Gathering Championship Events

This year, Gen Con will host two global Magic: the Gathering Championships, in addition to an already jam-packed event lineup.

On Thursday August 16, the first rounds of the Friday Night Magic Championship will take place. One hundred players from around the world will compete for the coveted Championship, as well as an amazing collection of Magic products. Stop by Hall G on Friday to check out the action at the finals.

On Friday, the inaugural World Magic Cup begins! The World Magic Cup brings together the best players from around the world for a unique team event. Teams representing more than 50 countries will face off at this pinnacle of international Magic competition, but only one nation will bring home the title of "World Magic Cup Champion."

World Magic Cup coverage begins Friday morning with a live video webcast and text coverage running all three days of the event. Live chat sessions with players, R&D staff, and coverage reporters will take place at various times during the three days on CoverItLive, video content will post to YouTube on the wizardsmtg channel, and you may join in the conversation with the official Twitter hashtag for the World Magic Cup #mtgwmc.



Apples to Apples
Bash!


Here’s a quick message from Mattel Games on an exciting event at Gen Con Indy 2012:

Greetings Gen Con Folks!

We are excited to announce the first EVER Apples to Apples Bash hosted by Mattel Games! What is Apples to Apples you ask?! Apples to Apples is the wild card and party game that provides instant fun for all ages. It is as easy as comparing “apples to apples”… get ready to form those crazy combinations! Each round is filled with surprising and outrageous comparisons from a wide range of people, places, things and events.

You won’t want to miss an evening of game play, prizes, FUN and much more. One lucky fan will be crowned Apple King and win an awesome grand prize! But don’t worry we will have plenty of giveaways throughout the evening for those that hang out. If you HEART Apples to Apples then make sure you pre-register for the event or come by the Mattel Booth for the coveted Golden Ticket. There will be a limited number of tickets passed out at our booth so make sure to stop by, play some games and pick up a ticket. We look forward to seeing you at the event and kick off our first ever Mattel Party!

Are you our Facebook friend? If not, please join http://www.facebook.com/ApplestoApples and be part of the one Million Fans and counting!



Ale of Destiny Tapping Event

Sun King Brewing Ale of Destiny Tapping Event

For Gen Con fans, ages 21 or over, you are invited to attend the first official Gen Con beer tapping event on Wednesday, August 15 at 6 pm at the High Velocity Sports Bar adjacent to the JW Marriott. Gen Con’s Official Beer Partner, Sun King Brewing will host the tapping of Gen Con Indy 2012’s official beer, the Ale of Destiny. Admission to the event is free, however, space may be limited. Proper identification with proof of age is required to attend.




Gen Con Event Spotlight

First Exposure Playtest Hall

Do you want to try new games before anyone else? How about even before they reach stores?

As announced last week, Gen Con is pleased to debut a new gaming area in 2012 - the First Exposure Playtest Hall. Attendees can sample new games and speak with their creators throughout the entire convention weekend. The First Exposure Playtest Hall will reside in Sagamore Ballrooms 6 and 7.

Players who are interested in trying out new game concepts should add playtest event tickets to their schedule, like a standard event. Onsite, players will receive information regarding the games they will playtest.

Authors, designers, and publishers interested in presenting their prototypes for playtesting should fill out an application form and read through the area’s full policies and instructions.

Live Music Events!

A variety of bands – from rock to nerdcore to video game music to mixed comedy performances – will perform in Grand Ballroom II and III on the second floor of the Westin, just across the skywalk from the Indiana Convention Center on Friday, August 17 and Saturday, August 18.

Have extra generic event tickets? Why not see a show after a day of playing games?

For more information on the acts, please click on the following links:

Friday
o 6 pm: ENT1238762 - Soup or Villainz
o 8 pm: ENT1238081 - Five Year Mission
o 10 pm: ENT1238347 - Straight Outta Comic Con

Saturday
o 3 pm: ENT1238095 - Pillage & Plunder
o 5:30 pm: ENT1238738 - Sci-Fried
o 7 pm: ENT1238349 - Professor Shyguy

Feedback Seminar

Sunday


o 10 am: SEM1238688 - EO & GM Feedback

This is your chance to give us feedback about the event process at Gen Con. Good or bad, questions or problems that we need to fix for next time - let us know so we can try to address it.

Dungeon Bastard - The 5 Commandments of GenCon

Dungeon Bastard - The 5 Commandments of GenCon - YouTube