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Honor Among Thieves
Honor Among Thieves They say there is no honor among thieves. That is probably true, but there are rules. There are societies, crews and of course guilds. I have written up a few guilds and there are plenty of others to draw on, but it can be hard for some folks to figure out how to use them. The easiest use of course is adversaries. They steal the PC’s stuff and the PC’s have to get it back. Either that, or they beat the PC’s to the loot. That is fine but is not always the most compelling answer. Many players are into the whole idea of playing criminals. There is something to the…
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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.
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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
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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,…
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The Basics of the Game Rambles 269 My Favorite Game
This is inspired by a thread on the Brigade over on Facebook. I thought it was worth talking about. My Patreon https://www.patreon.com/jeremiahmccoy
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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.…
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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…
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5 Magic Spears…you are on your own for the Magic Helmet
So…magic weapons are a thing in D&D. They have been since the early days of the game. Certainly the most often remembered ones are magic swords. A sword is a good weapon. It is versatile, with chopping, slashing, and stabbing elements throughout its various iterations. It was the go-to weapon for professional soldiers through a lot of history. However…. There are other contenders. Let me tell you about spears. The spear is also a weapon with a long history. Spears are useful for a number of reasons. First, they are cheap to make. You find a straight piece of wood. Forge about a daggers worth of metal to add to…
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Researching New Spells
So, this is my core system for researching spells. To say this could use some feedback is an understatement. Researching spells is something I want rules for, and sometimes you just have to write them yourself. It also forced me to look at the structure of Wizard spells in 5th Edition more closely. These rules are assuming there are more restrictions on learning new spells than are currently in place in D&D, but they should work fine with the current system, as well. With all that preamble out of the way…
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Stealing the Guild
Consider the thieves’ guild. The thieves’ guild is an odd artifact of fantasy games. Once you accept that a hero can be a thief, you begin finding ways for the thief to belong to the world. Wizards have colleges and councils. Fighters become knights, become lords, and even become kings, ruling by this ax. Clerics have their religious hierarchies. The choirs of angels have nothing on the politics of churches. Thieves, though, are inherently outsiders. They prey upon the world. Yes, Hobbits get led astray by dirty road dwarves into being burglars, but that is not quite the same thing. A thief is more than just someone who sneaks around.…