Blogroll
My personal blog of games, pop culture, content creation, web-technology, and whatever strikes my fancy.
-
Setting Idea: the God Thrones
Okay, so I had a crazy idea pop into my head. This actually happens a lot, but I try not to let myself get to taken by them. Sure, I probably could make an excellent dread overlord, but I am unwilling to spend time making the robot army of Pippi Longstockings. Think of the overhead! Where was I? Oh right! Crazy idea.
-
The Basics of the Game updates and The Tal Dorei Setting
Here I am making another video. Crazy talk. I talk about recent projects, new audio gear, and I briefly review the Tal’ Dorei Setting. http://www.thetomeshow.com/e/the-beholder-monstrous-ecologist-001/ My Blog https://jeremiahmccoy.com My Patreon https://www.patreon.com/jeremiahmccoy
-
Different Rules for Death.
Why I am I talking about death on a blog dealing mainly with games? Well, games handle death differently. In many video games, you simply return to prior save point if you die. In Dungeons & Dragons we have spells which can bring you back from the dead. Death does not have the tight hold on a character it does on people in the real world. How easily a caster can gain access to these Resurrection spells says a lot about the setting. If it is just something you pay some gold for at the local temple, then death is less scary. If it is something that only pc’s can learn,…
-
Bringing Tal Dorei races into Fantasy Age
Trying something new here. Bear with me…. I am fond of the Fantasy AGE game system. It is, in many ways, very reminiscent of old school D&D in feel, but with some more modern tweaks that make sense. The die mechanics of the AGE system are not the same, but they are clean and simple to understand. I have not, however, tried making things for it. I mainly work in D&D, specifically in 5th Edition, because it is easy and there seems to be a higher demand for D&D material. That said, I kind of want to take a whack making things for Fantasy AGE if for no other…
-
Gencon 50 and the Refreshed Mission
A brief post about Gencon 50. Gencon is the annual pilgrimage for many gamers, designers, and game writers. I have been before but not in a long while. It is like going to the cold clear spring and having a sip. The walk is hard, there are uncomfortable parts to the trail, but the trip is made worth it when you sip from that spring. I went to Gencon for the 50th anniversary this year. I met cool people and played cool game. I got to attend interesting panels and see the latest things. I also got to be reminded that I am not alone on this winding path…
-
More Thieves Guilds To Further Your Criminal Endeavors
So here are a few of more Thieves Guilds archetypes. Clearly, I have a problem. This is my cow bell to be sure. I think the Thieves Guild is an interesting element and can be used to serve a lot of functions. Sometimes they are just vehicle for the thief in a party to get things. Sometimes they are plot hook providers. You can use them as the premise for a group of PC’s or you can use them as antagonists in your campaign. With all of that in mind, here are an extra set of guild ideas. They could easily fit in a number of campaigns. I also have…
-
The Vigilante Rogue: The Justice Found In The Dark
As is often the case, I was inspired by a friend’s work. My pal Greg over on his blog wrote up a barbarian build for the Urban Arcana Unearthed Arcana article….. Wow, that a repetitive sounding sentence. That phrase almost counts as alliteration. That should totally be a comic book phrase. I should find that as the title of a book in Dr. Strange’s library. Anyway, where was I? Oh, right….INSPRIRED! Anyway, his build was for a city tied barbarian pulling on the spirit of a neighborhood. It felt very Luke Cage adjacent. When I commented such, he admitted he was inspired by that Netflix show.…
-
4 Grand Thieves Guilds
Large Scale Thieves guilds The thieves guilds are an integral part of the standard generic fantasy worlds in which D&D takes place. This is partly due to the inspiring fiction. That said, it is often portrayed as a local phenomenon. There is a local guild or two in the city, or maybe the bandits inhabit a particular forest. I am looking at you Sherwood. World guilds, which is the term I am going with, are not quite so local. They have a broader reach but still remain secretive and unknown. This could be like La Cosa Nostra, or the Yakuza in the real world. They may have local affiliates, but…
-
Undead Beware the Gravedigger’s Wrath: The Gravedigger Rogue Archetype
I have a long history with the concept of playing a gravedigger. I played one for over a decade at a larp in the Atlanta area. I rather think he may have been the most interesting character I have ever played. For all his sneaky abilities (he was a rogue) he was also noble in thought and action. He was tremendously creepy and people expected him to be evil, but he wasn’t. He was just not socially adjusted. That lead to some amazing role play sessions and I kind of miss playing the guy. Anyway, I always liked the vision of champions of death that are not evil. With that…
-
Yet another take on Kalashtar for 5th edition
I recently offered to run the alternate, off-week, D&D game for the group I play with on Tuesdays. I would be the fill in guy for weeks when the normal DM did not want to run. My offer was generally greeted with some enthusiasm. The normal DM and another player expressed a desire for Eberron. Now, I love me some Eberron. I could wax rhapsodic about it for days. It is a setting with a wider range of setting conventions than are found in Forgotten Realm. And then there is Sharn: City of Towers. That said there are some issues with running it in 5th edition, at the moment. Some…