tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9857492078718986682026-05-01T00:27:03.873-07:00Mostly RPGs, sometimes other things.Jeremy Murphyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17072164588443858336noreply@blogger.comBlogger128125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-985749207871898668.post-76196918513461943342016-12-21T15:17:00.000-08:002016-12-21T15:17:06.814-08:00

But you could see one from there! I know my players read these, so I'm going to try to avoid campaign spoilers.  But there will be some. Last night the party, currently made up of: Loria the elf Ranger, Arnik the half-elf sorcerer, Merrin the halfling cleric, Wrenaldo the half-orc paladin and Morwen the half-elf druid, ventured into a swampy valley to try and track down the "shape-shifting

Jeremy Murphyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17072164588443858336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-985749207871898668.post-3338554873903534242016-12-06T15:24:00.001-08:002016-12-06T15:24:44.101-08:00

When we left our intrepid band of kid D&D players in the first episode of D&D With Kids, the party, Kriv the dragonborn fighter, Foxy the human druid and Adrak the elf rogue, along with their animal friend, Scruffy the wolf, were just entering the lower entrance complex of the dwarven city of Karak Norn. They encountered a handful of goblin sentries (more on that later) and defeated them

Jeremy Murphyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17072164588443858336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-985749207871898668.post-38090660527379532152016-11-29T11:38:00.000-08:002016-11-29T11:38:07.475-08:00

For my 5e game, I nabbed a bunch of additional Domains from +Samwise Seven RPG. http://samwise7rpg.blogspot.ca/2014/10/cleric-domains-for-dungeons-dragons-5e.html http://samwise7rpg.blogspot.ca/2014/10/cleric-domains-for-5th-edition-dungeons_23.html Personally, I feel like Gods having a single Domain is a bit too simplistic, and doesn't really reflect how gods were worshipped historically. &

Jeremy Murphyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17072164588443858336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-985749207871898668.post-86423677208620084062016-11-23T19:51:00.000-08:002016-11-23T19:51:16.458-08:00

I play a fairly house-ruled version of D&D 5e with lots of more old-school elements to it. One of the most noticeable elements is my Modified XP and Levelling Rules. Different classes have different ways of turning treasure into XP, and carousing is a pretty common one for all the martial-style classes. When you carouse, you spend money, it turns directly in XP, you lose time and you

Jeremy Murphyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17072164588443858336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-985749207871898668.post-49076911210588551472016-11-23T15:34:00.001-08:002016-11-23T19:51:57.048-08:00

I use several random tables in our weekly D&D campaign. Often, the tables give me something interesting/funny to build on, but last night I had decidedly mixed results from the tables, so I thought it would be interesting to talk about that. In general, random tables are great Improvisational Building Blocks. They provide a basic framework that you can build upon with other pieces from

Jeremy Murphyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17072164588443858336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-985749207871898668.post-33528145815683470332016-11-16T10:36:00.000-08:002016-11-16T10:36:05.823-08:00

Mages.  They're always messing around with things.  Stuff that you aren't supposed to mess with. Like gravity, or dimensions.  Fuckssakes, people, things are put in different dimensions for a REASON. This is, of course, the reason that Mages tend to have a fairly short life expectancy, at least compared to most things that can alter fundamental laws.  The ones that don't

Jeremy Murphyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17072164588443858336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-985749207871898668.post-51502922388320861132016-10-20T14:48:00.000-07:002016-10-20T14:48:27.061-07:00

Sometimes, you can really force yourself to think on your feet if your players decide to do some investigating and look deeper than the surface of things.In our last Over the Seas and Far Away session, one of the players went off to his temple to inquire if they have any work. As the DM, I want to remind players of the horrible system of oppressive slavery and corruption that the party is working

Jeremy Murphyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17072164588443858336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-985749207871898668.post-4951245891700433802016-10-17T15:38:00.000-07:002016-10-17T15:38:26.880-07:00

D&D with Kids! Session 1: Adventures in the Northern Wilderness.The daughter and nephews are now all old enough to play D&D. So the 7, 9 and 14-year olds sat down with me on the weekend to play full-on 5e for the first time.We made characters first. The oldest played a Dragonborn Noble Fighter named Kriv, the younger nephew played his old character, a Wood Elf Rogue named Adrak, who used

Jeremy Murphyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17072164588443858336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-985749207871898668.post-81843459385661917652016-09-06T13:19:00.000-07:002016-09-06T15:59:36.707-07:00

The slipstream of the 20-trailer road train ripped at me, roaring like a dragon, trying to claw the bike under the churning wheels. With a mental pulse, I gave the Rapier more gas, surging through the spray and accelerating past the 1000 ton automated monster. Slashing rain and lights blurred together to turn the highway into a surging river of color that the bike and I flowed down, darting

Jeremy Murphyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17072164588443858336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-985749207871898668.post-26164999333804855212016-08-18T15:33:00.000-07:002016-08-18T15:37:22.073-07:00

The crosswind was really starting to act up when the phone call icon popped up on my implant hud. Constance. At 2 AM. On a Wednesday.With a sigh, I subvocally activated the vidphone pop-up, partially obscuring the rain-splattered roof of the Aztecnology helipad far below. Constance was, predictably, not looking too happy.“Where the fuck are you?” she asked, crossing her arms.“Umm..” I

Jeremy Murphyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17072164588443858336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-985749207871898668.post-84326626575085838162016-03-22T15:48:00.000-07:002016-03-22T15:53:21.187-07:00

There is a place where it is never warm.  Cast in shadow by glacier-fringed granite peaks, slashed by freezing winds and hammered by icy seas, the Frozen Shore is a place of cold and death for most creatures.  Only the frozen citadel of Atlantis, carved from the base of a towering glacier, ever shows signs of life. Gods can live and die many times, rising from the dust to

Jeremy Murphyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17072164588443858336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-985749207871898668.post-79510476145061227772015-02-20T09:25:00.000-08:002015-02-20T09:25:01.312-08:00

This post is by special guest author and player of Hilbo Huggins, +J Malfair. We will pick things up at Rivercrest - A walled Forest Gnome community along the Clearwater River.   There are a small number of farms outside of the town but the gnomish town looks to have seen better days.   Having said that it's still up and running and fighting for survival. Rivercrest We're

Jeremy Murphyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17072164588443858336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-985749207871898668.post-26360001362599053682014-12-02T11:08:00.000-08:002014-12-02T11:08:40.620-08:00

This was a big session, so I split it into 2 parts: The jailbreak is a classic trope, and it’s usually a fun one.  Putting the players in a situation where they are at a disadvantage, and have to juggle stealth, timing and speed in an environment specifically designed to hinder them. So when we left off last time, the party was in the custody of the Splinterbeard clan, acting (allegedly

Jeremy Murphyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17072164588443858336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-985749207871898668.post-4089734214786292992014-09-25T14:49:00.001-07:002014-09-25T14:49:12.908-07:00

When I started putting together my campaign world, I looked around for things to make my life easier, and I found some: donjon fantasy world generator This is the one I use. Click to embiggen. Welsh Piper's Hex-based campaign design I used them with Hexographer to make this kind of stuff: You can embiggen this too! And I drilled down to get this: Bigger!  Click on it.

Jeremy Murphyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17072164588443858336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-985749207871898668.post-88215549360884132702014-09-17T09:41:00.000-07:002014-09-17T09:41:08.456-07:00

My buddy +Torben Schau identified 10 books that influenced him, and asked me to list 10 books that influenced me.This was hard, because I have, by my estimation, read at least 4000 books in my life (based on 3 books/week since I was 8 years old, rounded down to account for re-reads). I did finally come up with a group of 10 books that I found very influential. I listed them in no

Jeremy Murphyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17072164588443858336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-985749207871898668.post-849654240940707662014-09-12T12:05:00.002-07:002014-09-12T12:05:47.782-07:00

When you think of dwarven warriors, the axe and the crossbow are the weapons that come to mind. Dwarven Axe by Faradon, from Deviantart They are the iconic weapons of the dwarves, but surely, a dwarven army cannot function with such a limited range of weaponry? Dwarves, as evidenced by the vast sweep of their history, have been successful enough in war to defend their holds and halls from

Jeremy Murphyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17072164588443858336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-985749207871898668.post-66170967128511730942014-09-11T11:06:00.000-07:002014-09-11T11:06:02.126-07:00

The session summary reports provide me with reference material as I move the campaign forward, and put the events of the game in narrative form, but they don't really give me the chance to talk about the session from a mechanical or DM perspective.  I personally find this kind of information really interesting to read about, but it makes for a really long post if I include it in the main

Jeremy Murphyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17072164588443858336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-985749207871898668.post-22147043470463533542014-09-11T09:59:00.004-07:002014-09-11T09:59:56.623-07:00

When we left off last week, the party was just about to enter what they suspected was the lair of a purple worm. Likely one of the two that escaped during the Siege of Greatview Hall.Upon entering the cavern, they noticed several slightly steaming pools of water, and a strong, caustic stench. The area proved to be a raised section of the cavern, with cliffs on two sides and a steep slope

Jeremy Murphyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17072164588443858336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-985749207871898668.post-37942002265271410112014-09-02T15:36:00.001-07:002014-09-02T15:36:58.195-07:00

After taking the summer off, the old Playtest Group reconvened to kick the Dwarves! campaign off in full 5E style.  There have been a number of character changes, of course, but they have managed to maintain a dwarf-majority party.  However... one of the member of the party is now an elf...  An elf spellcaster, to boot!  Horrors.  How will the intrepid dwarves deal with

Jeremy Murphyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17072164588443858336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-985749207871898668.post-17195323408776754062014-08-22T13:18:00.001-07:002014-08-22T13:18:43.694-07:00

Back when the party was about level 4, they were instrumental in defeating an evil cult worshiping Doresain, the White Hand, King of Ghouls.  The cult was based in an old fort, and were using Ghuls, Wendigo, Perytons and gnolls to raid and enslave the local Ahten nomads. The party attacked their fortress, cleaned out the upper levels, then retreated, called in military help from from

Jeremy Murphyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17072164588443858336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-985749207871898668.post-69665932202070193402014-08-21T21:43:00.000-07:002014-08-21T21:43:36.822-07:00

Originally from a picture called City of Galastan. Greatview Hall is an independent domain. It was once the center of a much more prosperous domain, but has suffered greatly from several lost wars. It currently takes up 1 6-mile hex (32 square miles) in claimed territory, but realistically claims very little land other than the Hall itself and the adjacent mines and farm caves. Unlike many

Jeremy Murphyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17072164588443858336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-985749207871898668.post-27841803593617314602014-08-19T09:39:00.000-07:002014-08-19T09:39:37.830-07:00

Should I just call it 5Economy? In any event, after being called out on my math, I settled down to think about the world-building ramifications of the crafting rules a bit more. The basic math leads me to some conclusions which - fortunately I think - replicate (in a rule-of-thumb, simplified for gaming way) the sort of conditions you'd expect in a faux-medieval economy. 1) Limited Supply

Jeremy Murphyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17072164588443858336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-985749207871898668.post-67970289587714298262014-08-15T09:42:00.000-07:002014-08-15T09:42:25.377-07:00

Our 5E Dwarves campaign is set to restart shortly. When we left off, the party had reached the dwarven city of Greatview Hall, returned the undead dwarves of the High Guard to the Temple of Moradin Dawnbringer, and met with the Elder Council. (I set up and played out a wargame scenario for the Siege of Greatview Hall with my friend Craig - he beat me like a rug, so that's the result we'll

Jeremy Murphyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17072164588443858336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-985749207871898668.post-17650611045863188292014-08-14T14:03:00.000-07:002014-08-14T15:02:28.304-07:00

In older versions of D&D, the economics were weird and often nonsensical.  Especially considering that PC’s do not inhabit the “normal” economic system.  They operate more like gold rush prospectors than shopkeepers.  High risk, occasional massive payout and long stretches of downtime. And where do magic items (sale and purchase) fall into the economy?  3e just

Jeremy Murphyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17072164588443858336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-985749207871898668.post-3050942824217160752014-08-13T15:36:00.001-07:002014-08-13T15:36:44.761-07:00

Now that 5e has officially dropped, the Playtest group and I have decided to get back in the saddle.  The consensus was to restart the existing Dwarves campaign slightly after where we left off in the spring. So players will be able to rebuild their characters with the current PHB rules or to make new characters that start at 6th level.  Most longer-term characters were 7th level (or

Jeremy Murphyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17072164588443858336noreply@blogger.com0