2013 March » CarpeGM Digital Entertainment

A City of Adventure

orrynemrys, The Prismatic Dragon Comments Off

Mar 292013

If you’ve been following my recent elucidations on Facebook, Twitter, my own website, or the new Prismatic Tsunami VLOG, then you have probably heard me extol the virtues of Green Ronin’s Freeport setting. Freeport is a pirate city with some Lovecraftian undertones and plenty of room for adventure, political intrigue, investigative play, and lots of piraty goodness.

It first appeared in the adventure module Death in Freeport, released the same day as the 3rd Edition D&D Players Handbook in August of 2000. The adventure was soon expanded into a trilogy and the company started producing free downloadable content to help expand their city and provide a plethora of tools for the discerning DM to wield responsibly and with great wisdom.

Or not.

Eventually they released the first actual setting book, and I was quick to snatch it up and launch a campaign. It was a smaller group that I ran alongside our regular bunch on an alternate game night. And since it was an investigative game set in a pirate town, all three of my players decided to explore character concepts that had nothing whatever to do with investigation. Or pirates. I was a little surprised, to say the least. But I soon grew to love these characters as much as any who had ever graced my gaming table, and we enjoyed two or three years of on-again, off-again hilarity and profundity in Green Ronin’s ever-expanding City of Adventure. There really is no way that I could convey the ridiculousness of this particular degree of success, so permit me show you precisely what I was dealing with…

The first character was Argamon the Red. Argamon was a dwarven multi-classed fighter/sorcerer with a club-footed Dexterity of 5 and a serious propensity for coming up with the wrong answer for any situation. Having developed sorcerous talents in a superstitious dwarven community, Argamon was effectively ostracized and elected to set out on his own. Despite his relative inexperience as an adventurer, he routinely entertained his comrades and erstwhile drinking companions with largely fabricated and heavily exaggerated tales of heroic deeds designed to spread his fame and unnerve any would-be antagonists. Additionally, though he spent considerable effort honing his mystical talents, he had an unusual habit of utilizing them in unexpected ways. Ever he strove to prove his dwarfishness, and he even took up work in a local smithy to hone his natural skills with working metal.

One of the ruddy-bearded, crimson-garbed dwarf’s hardened compatriots was a monkish fellow named Taermon. A generally serious and fairly dour individual, Taermon’s player exhibited – through the course of the campaign – an unending series of pretty much the worst die rolls I have ever, EVER seen. This quickly became a characteristic of the character, and Taermon was widely considered a well of bad luck best avoided at all costs. He took employment as a bodyguard on more than one occasion, though his potential clientele soon diminished as he failed to keep one employer after another from meeting their doom. A notable failure was the gentle gnomish bard with a troop of adopted teenage human girls with whom he frequently shared the stage. The gnome had an unfortunate gambling problem that soon turned quite fatal, and Taermon’s sense of responsibility quickly turned the four teenage NPCs into wards who constantly needed saving from themselves… though the eldest of them quickly became a love interest.

The final member of the trio was a young gnomish woman known as Twinkle the Barbarian. A diminutive canine-mounted rogue who had learned to tap her inner rage to lend her strength in times of need, Twinkle earned her keep with the development of a specialized courier service that delivered clandestine meeting arrangements, discreet payoffs, and questionable merchandise throughout the city’s underworld for a modest fee. Though the quietest of the group, Twinkle had a self-satisfied manner and a lust for fun and games that made many of her associates finish their drinks quickly and depart lest they get caught up in another grand scheme. And of course, you just didn’t want to piss her off.

A more unlikely group of investigators might have been hard to find. They often stumbled into one situation or another and frequently fell for the red herrings. But they had a blast doing it, and there was quite simply never a dull moment for any of us in Freeport: City of Adventure.

I recently interviewed Chris Pramas of Green Ronin on our podcast, and we talked about the latest development in this wondrous city’s noble heritage: a 512-page full-color hardback for use with the Pathfinder game system. I’m not even a Pathfinder guy, yet I can’t wait to get my hands on this tome. If you’d like to check it out (and trust me, it’s more than worth it), I encourage you to support the Freeport Kickstarter campaign currently in progress.

And get yerself some booty! Arr…!

Orryn Emrys, the Prismatic Dragon, is the director of the Prismatic Tsunami web community and the host of the popular Metagamers Anonymous RPG podcast. Learn more at http://www.prismatictsunami.com.

DM’s Log: Behind the Screens, Entry 3

El Curto, Guest Authors Comments Off

Mar 292013

Finally, it’s all in place. You’ve done the bookwork. The characters are all rolled. And after much introspection and contemplation you’ve sewn the first strands of a web-like plot in your head. Now, every great adventure needs a grand beginning. So how do you bring this all together? You want to get your hooks in early and keep them on the line, but how? Too many campaigns commence in a tavern. A group of adventurers just deciding randomly to throw their lots together just doesn’t offer that explosive start you’re seeking. Wait a minute, that’s it! Start with a bang, literally.

Nothing will get your players attention quite like a fight. In fact, I think a good skirmish can be exactly what is needed to really kick things off right. It sets an exciting tone for the rest of the campaign. Immediately, and without remorse, the characters are put to the test and are instantaneously inundated with a sense of fear and anticipation of what awaits them beyond each turn. That sense of anxiety and curiosity works fantastically to a DM’s advantage in a number of ways. Similarly, the scuffle itself can be used to several ends.Inflatable bouncers

Characters and players experience will vary. Some players may be seasoned vets, or as with my party, most are quite inexperienced and green. A good scrap right from the start is great because it provides an immediate opportunity to explain the rules and mechanics of the game itself. It’s a lot easier to teach someone how THACO (old school D and D battle mechanic) and Armor class work when it’s in game and they’re rolling dice as opposed to in a conversation. The fight can be a clever way to give your players a tutorial without them realizing because it can simultaneously kick off a grander story arc. It doesn’t have to be a semi- random onslaught of kobolds upon a quiet farming community. However, there is no shame ever in a random kobold offensive.

Many good lads were lost to the Great Kobold Incursion of 987 DR.

For my group I had arranged a delightful little ambush by thugs. Though it should be said, this was not just a lame attempt at extortion. The opening sequence of the campaign came together as something of a theatrical production. I had given each player a few specific lines or actions there were to take to get things started and then they take over with their role-playing and off we go.

So it was, the paladin of the group is a young nobleman named Dhagan who had recently been promoted to captain of the guard of Copperkeep, the city in which this is all set. He and his trusted counselor, the wizard Vaerzaal, were at the barracks awaiting the arrival of a bounty hunter, a ranger of some renown by the name of Ulderic the Blackbear. The ranger was bringing to justice a young and naïve halfling rogue known as Longbelly who was involved in the robbery of a powerful and influential mining guild. As the gruff ranger pushed the bound Longbelly into the captain’s chamber he declared with a wry smirk on his weathered face, “It’s not so hard to track a Halfling.” So there they were, the four would-be companions. The first interaction wasn’t particularly amicable as you might imagine.

The halfling revealed that he was the “patsy” in a grander scheme. He offered up anything he had on the local thieves’ guild, and was even willing to help in the capture and disposal of the rest of the bandits in exchange for his own neck. (A truly typical amount of loyalty shown by a thief) However, no sooner than he had struck his bargain, they were all ambushed by a group of thugs hired to assassinate the halfling should he be bold enough to show his face or portly belly. To the little round one’s credit, he did immediately endear himself to the group by saving Sir Dhagan’s life in the onset of the ambush. The halfling, gifted with great dexterity and freshly unbound, unsheathed his sword in a flash and deftly batted away an arrow bound straight for the knight’s head.

Fear not though, after some tense moments the group did successfully overcome the thugs. It is important to remember not to overwhelm your party right away. You want to challenge them, but you don’t want to set a climate of defeat within the group. Certainly not in the beginning anyway, sometimes you will need to crush them just to remind them they’re not the biggest kids on the block. But, a nice clean victory over some brutish assassins to get things started, that sounds about right.

They’re getting a little cocky, it’s time for them to learn what a beholder is.

And that was our first session. They came together, they fought together, and they learned together. After all, anyone who plays or played old school knows THACO takes some getting used to. All in all, it went really well. It’s all about finding the right blend, my friends. You have to have a good mix of story-telling and the hack and slash. Once your players get the hang of what dice they need to roll when, and the web really starts to unwind, it becomes like your new favorite show and you can’t wait for the next episode.

Episode 23 – Character Death

The Carpe GM Gamecast Comments Off

Mar 292013

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Hosts – Dan, Mack, Steve, Bryan, Tyler

Topic – In this episode, the hosts explore the idea of character death, whether or not if it matters, and how it factors into our games, our game design, and what we do when it occurs.

Media –

RPG Circus | The Greatest Show In Gaming(Podcast)
NPC CAST | Your place for face to face games(Podcast)
Blizzard Entertainment:StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm
New 52 Batman – Batman News
RPPR Actual Play | Role Playing Public Radio
The Death and Return of Superman – YouTube (NSFW)

Notes – I’ve checked them out, and NPC Cast not only exists, they’ve got a really good podcast! Make sure to check them out!

The music for this episode is provided by:
Captain Carl’s Tuesday Nite Blues Band
Find more from these wonderful musicians….
On Facebook
On ReverbNation

MetAnon Int09 – Chris Pramas

Metagamers Anonymous Comments Off

Mar 272013

Podcast (metagamers-anonymous): Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

In the ninth episode of our interview series, we discuss the illustrious career of Green Ronin Publishing‘s own Chris Pramas. Erik and Chris touch on life as a game designer, the challenges of starting a fledgling company at the onset of the D20 movement, and the ridiculous array of products available from Chris’s company! They also go over the Freeport Kickstarter campaign with a fine-toothed comb. Metagamers Anonymous is a weekly podcast dedicated to tabletop roleplaying games and (mostly) related material. Feel free to post any comments or questions to our forum, or drop us a line at feedback@prismatictsunami.com.

Links from the show:

Green Ronin Publishing
The Freeport Kickstarter page
Mutants and Masterminds
Dragon Age RPG
and A Song of Ice and Fire RPG

MetAnon Live! @ Tsunami GameDay I

Metagamers Anonymous Comments Off

Mar 172013

Podcast (metagamers-anonymous): Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

On March 16th, the Pristmatic Tsunami web community and the cast of Metagamers Anonymous hosted a live event at The Burrow: Gifts for Geeks in East Wichita. It was an evening of tabletop gaming with gamers from in and around the area. As the evening drew to a close, the cast recorded a live podcast with the participation of the numerous players, GMs, and casual game enthusiasts in residence, discussing their games and generally getting acquainted.

Metagamers Anonymous is a weekly podcast dedicated to tabletop roleplaying games and (mostly) related material. Feel free to post any comments or questions to our forum, or drop us a line at feedback@prismatictsunami.com.

Links from the show:
The D20 Girls
D20 Girls of Kansas Facebook Page
Cards Against Humanity

GM’s Toolkit: “Yes, And…”

orrynemrys, The Prismatic Dragon Comments Off

Mar 142013

In the past year or so, a new sort of wisdom has emerged amidst the community of modern game masters. Drawn from the root philosophy of improvisational entertainment and arguably a life-altering perspective that could forever change your relationship with your friends, your environment, and ultimately your gag reflex, the “yes, and…” mechanic is an inspiring idealogy comprised of “can-do” conventions and clever altruisms, coated in a mild veneer of sly wit and much winking of the eye. Whether it can improve your knitting, your sex life, or your dry cleaning bill is a matter best left to wiser men than I… but it can certainly improve your game. Dangerously so, in fact.

Let’s posit an appropriately fictional scenario. Your brave and oh-so-clever party of intrepid adventurers are making their way through an old dwarven stronghold that has now been overrun by filthy goblinses. Putting aside the ridiculous presumption that a small army of goblins could infiltrate a well-defended stronghold of heavily inebriated dwarven regulars, you watch as your heroes gracefully stumble upon a nest of feasting humanoids in what was once the banquet hall. As the two groups manage to both reel in stupefied alarm at the suddenness of the encounter, your players start casting about for ideas that can restore the balance of power to their effectively outnumbered adventuring party.

“Filthy goblinses!” John says, in his best Dwarvish brogue. “GM, sir… could I slide under the table and surprise them all by lifting it up and throwing it?”

“Of course,” you reply blandly, “if you want to be stomped by six of the fiends on the way there.”

“GM, sir,” Sarah says. (Isn’t is nice how they call you sir?) “Are there any torches I could grab off the wall?”

“Goblinses need no torches,” you respond, offering Sarah a look of quiet sympathy. “They appear to have ripped all the sconces right off the wall.”

“GM, sir!” Richard exclaims. “I’d like to step forward and loudly proclaim, ‘You insolent fools! Do you realize what the Goblin King will say when he hears that you’ve been lounging about, drinking all the mead?! Stand up straight! Eyes forward! His Majesty approaches!”

You quirk an eyebrow. “Seriously…?” you exhale, reaching for your dice…

You may be thinking to yourself, “that’s it, GM sir… teach those presumptious know-it-alls a lesson in humility.” In which case, I’d like to kindly invite you to let each of your own brood take a turn GMing for you for a session or two and see how much you enjoy it. You might be surprised to learn that they’ve picked up a few of your more stingy and unforgiving traits. Not to say that the game can’t be fun… but let consider an alternative approach.

“Filthy goblinses!” John says, in his best Dwarvish brogue. “GM, sir… could I slide under the table and surprise them all by lifting it up and throwing it?”

“Of course!” you smile, “You slide past the lead goblinses before they even have a chance to pull up their wastebands and lock yourself into position for a mighty heave. You’ll need to avoid the teeth of a snarling goblindog, then make a strength check to heave the oaken table.”

“GM!” Sarah says, (forgetting the sir, but that’s alright) “I grab a torch off the wall and light in the fireplace!” You nod assertively, pointing over to Richard.

Richard ponders a moment. “I got it!” he says, striking a defiant pose and setting his features in a visage of terrible wrath. ‘You insolent fools! Do you realize what the Goblin King will say when he hears that you’ve been lounging about, drinking all the mead?! Stand up straight! Eyes forward! His Majesty approaches!”

You find yourself smiling along. “Make a bluff check,” you say, watching as Richard rolls an 8 out onto the ricketty card table; not really much of a success, even against goblinses. You offer them a level look. “They are so befuddled by the sudden torchlight and your exclamation that they are caught completey off guard as the dining room table explodes into the air, iron trenchers and goblets of fine mead flying in every direction. They reach for their weapons, but they are obviously unclear how many opponents there are which way to leap…”

In the second scenario, you’ll notice, you provided an empowering reaction to each of your players attempts at cleverness and heroism, without mitigating the challenges involved. Instead of feeling stumped at every turn and unable to do anything cool or interesting, the players felt energized and heroic, even in the face of poor die rolls. This is the “Yes, and…” philosophy at work. Rewarding your players for their engagement invests them in the scenario and makes it more fun to play. Believe it or not, a “Yes, and…” motif can even make tragic failures a powerful and engaging struggle for your players, and they will even accept character death or dishonor with a sense of dramatic panache. The key is to listen to what the players want and find a way to give it to them, adding a twist, condition, or challenge to the process. It’s easier than it sounds.

There is a precipice, however, that much be watched carefully. Permissive GMs can create a sense of entitlement in their players over time. And too much entitlement can create an expectancy in the players that will have dramatic and unpleasant results when you don’t give them what they want. It isn’t necessary (or even a good idea) to “Yes, and…” every challenge the heroes encounter. The story may wrap itself around the main protagonists, but the world doesn’t. Sometimes, there really are no torches on the walls. Or the goblinses just beheaded their king and offer only wicked smiles to Richard’s proclamation. As long as that sense of empowerment is there enough of the time to make the players excited about each new challenge, they are easily resilient enough to accept that sometimes life just doesn’t play by their rules.

You wanna walk along the precipice, not run over it to get away from murderous gamers.

Online and Video Games from German Developers

Uncategorized Comments Off

Mar 112013

When it comes to video games, Germany is second on the list. After the United Kingdom, Germany has the second largest market for video games in Europe. So popular is it that, you can get a sugarhouse promo code for almost any game in Germany. Since the ‘80s, German developers have been creating world class video games like the popular Turrican series of games. Other popular titles from Germany include The Great Giana Sisters, Yo! Joe, Far Cry and Risen. Crytek, a private video game company in Germany, has released high quality video games for different platforms like Windows;, Xbox 360, PlayStations, and Xbox Live Arcade. Online games are gaining popularity, too, like Party Casino where people can play real casino games virtually. The following are some of the popular games to check out:

Party Poker

Party Poker is not the archetypal casino game. Although this isn’t an RPG game with massive visual effects, Party Poker offers a wide range of poker games where online players can battle against each other virtually. You can choose your own avatar while you are betting against poker enthusiasts around the world. The game is accessible over at de.partypoker.com. Aside from the famous 7 Card Stud and Ohama Hi-Lo, the site also offers exciting peak of on-going poker tournament in Germany and neighboring European countries via their Party Poker TV section. There is also a lounge in its community section for players of the different levels to interact. This is not just a typical poker game because if a player wins a series of tournaments, he or she could get a chance to be listed on Poker Listings, a prestigious site featuring famous poker players.

Fibble –Flick ‘n’ Roll

Available for iPhone and Android devices, this cool game is created by German developers in Crytek. The interface is amazing and is packed with cute monstrous characters like that from Disney’s Monster, Inc. There is a back story in the game. It all started when Fibble, a cute extraterrestrial explorer and his alien friends crash-landed in a suburban home, making it an alien territory. Fibble was separated from his friends. They’re scattered in the mysterious house. Your mission is to reunite all of them. Navigation is a lot easier. Tilt your device to make the characters roll and tap to control the action. This is even better than Temple Run

Far Cry

This video game is also created and developed by Crytek studios, a German video game company. The game is popular worldwide particularly among Germans. This is a very futuristic video game with exciting 3D Elements. This RPG has the most advanced technology showcasing believable character movements. You can also expect detailed indoor and outdoor environments. You will be teaming up with Jack Carver in your own boat charter. You will then be given an initial assignment: to escort an ambitious and beautiful journalist named Valerie Cortez to Cabatu Island. It is not as easy as you’re expecting. The paradise can be hell with numerous enemies. You may also change and select

[cc_full_width_col background_color=”141314″ shadow_color=”000000″ border_color=”0a678f” radius=”6″]~Notes From Dan~

-Hey all! The above article was written by a guest author exclusively for CarpeGM.net.[/cc_full_width_col]

MetAnon Ep24 – Battle of the Settings: Sci-Fi Edition

Metagamers Anonymous Comments Off

Mar 112013

Podcast (metagamers-anonymous): Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

In our twenty-fourth regular episode of Metagamers Anonymous, the cast discusses the numerous thematic variations that can bend and twist a typical science-fiction setting. They also wax philosophically about the Warhammer 40K RPG universe, talk about their recent games, and introduce another round of locations for the Tsunami City Project. Metagamers Anonymous is a weekly podcast dedicated to tabletop roleplaying games and (mostly) related material. Feel free to post any comments or questions to our forum, or drop us a line at feedback@prismatictsunami.com.

Note: This is a revised version of episode 24, uploaded on May 6, 2013. The only adjustment is the removal of the “Ask the Master Game Master” feature originally included at the beginning of the episode. If you any questions about this decision, please feel free to contact the host atorrynemrys@prismatictsunami.com

MetAnon Ep23 – Baggage Handling

Metagamers Anonymous Comments Off

Mar 052013

Podcast (metagamers-anonymous): Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

In our twenty-third regular episode of Metagamers Anonymous, the cast touches on the intricacies of PC psychology, exploring the potential applications of strong pscyhological conditions and traumatic experiences. They also introduce the program’s newest seasonal giveaway and take a few moments to promote upcoming community events. Metagamers Anonymous is a weekly podcast dedicated to tabletop roleplaying games and (mostly) related material. Feel free to post any comments or questions to our forum, or drop us a line atfeedback@prismatictsunami.com.

Links from the show:
Psychology in Roleplaying Games
Sabbat