Project Hold...

As the lack of posts is sure to show, Deminar has been put on the back burner as I develop new projects.
Currently I've been working on a MegaDungeon that is going to be put into actual play soon and that has eaten a lot of my free time as I prepare it.

Making a complete world from the ground up is hard work, the MegaDungeon is being made the opposite way, with details about the world only being filled in as needed in the course of the adventure and some of it player created, as opposed to under the iron fist of an "official campaign sourcebook." It's quite refreshing and an interesting way to make a world come to life. This has lead me to change the first OSR project put out by OmniPro, to an Adventure Path style series of .pdfs that slowly add levels to the dungeon while also being filled with articles developing more parts of the world as the creative energies hit me.

Deminar is not dead, merely sleeping as it has done before. In the meantime, you can keep an eye on my work over at Matt's MegaDungeon.

Design and Development: Cleric Training

During the construction of my MegaDungeon Campaign I made a reference to the fact that clerics were, at one time, trained by just one faith/religion/order. Later other faiths saw this training and its effectiveness and copied the style or converted trainers to teach clerics of their own. This helps explain away the fact that all clerics, regardless of faith or religion, have the same abilities and spells.

This concept actually works well in Deminar's atheistic to have everything explained and making sense. So, should we "steal" (being a loose sense of the word, since it's already my idea) this concept for Deminar or something simliar?

Design and Development: Religions

The standard template for D&D religions seems to be that people pick a god and that's the god they worship, sometimes on a racial (read: species, but we're talking classic D&D here) level (the god of elves!), sometimes on a class level (the god of magic!). A farmer prays to the god of farming and a warrior to the god of war. Temples exist for each individual god and you go worship there as you please or whenever mass is.

The question is, should we hold on to that classic style in Bluestone? Are there a variety of temples dedicated to each god that is worshiped in, say, Ashford Bay. Or do they organize the groups into pantheons, something similar to say, Eberron? So perhaps a major god and two minor gods with similar portfolios would be called The Triad and have their own temple or perhaps the humans would mix together a group of gods and the gnomes would group together another (with some potential cross-over, either realized or not) and each have separate worship.

Or maybe a mix of both, some places/species only revere gods individually while others like to group them into pantheons. More things to ponder...

On: Sharing the Love

Quick post, just want to point out a few other blog related things I have a hand in:

First off, there is the other project that the team from Omniscient Projects is working on: a rules-lite pulp feel RPG called ExplorerMan! The progress of such can be found on this blog.

Second, I've been inspired to put together my own Megadungeon to run my gaming group through and would feel remiss if I didn't blog about that too, so that's also available to check out.

Design and Development: Spirits

In my last post I mentioned that clerics and druids gain their abilities (from spell casting to turning the undead to shapeshifting) through power given to them by the gods and spirits. This power actually comes out of the being's very essence and thus each mortal he blesses with these abilities makes him weaker (albeit in very small amounts).

I spoke at some length why the deities are very careful with this and why not every holy man has clerical powers, but how about druids?

Like the gods, spirits have to give up their own power in order to fuel a druid, thus, only the more powerful spirits would ever think of offering their patronage to druids. Also like the gods, spirits wish to better their station and look for an opportunity to do so. While spirits do not wish to destroy one another in order to take over (a trait spirits contribute to gods as "picking up from simple mortals"), they are as ambitious as any living creature. Spirits exist in a strict hierarchy, everyone has their place and knows who lords over them and who serves under them. The spirits also place the gods in this hierarchy (and not at the top), for in their minds, the gods are just another form of spirit. The gods pay little attention to their place in the order however. The hierarchy is a complex thing, with much crossover between various groups (a tree spirit, for instance, has a place among other spirits of trees, nature spirits, and spirits of living things, among others) and various positions among the spiritual ladder in each one. A spirit would always like to climb up one of those ladders when possible. A forest spirit, as it grows in power, may become the spirit of a grove, and possible the spirit of a whole forest and with enough effort, the spirit of all natural thing on an island.

A spirit climbs this ladder by... well, that's why this is a Design and Development feature and not a Musing. I'm not entirely sure how spirits rise in the hierarchy, though I know why they do not. They don't destroy each other, for if you killed the spirit of a tree, that tree would die. Even if a greater spirit could "consume" a lesser one, then that tree would lose its individual spirit, something the spirits would never think of doing.

So, a few ideas: Perhaps lesser spirits are required to swear allegiance to more powerful ones, via some ancient unbreakable eldritch pact. Perhaps it is similar to a blood bond in White Wolf's Vampire games, where a spirit is injected with some a great spirit's essence and then becomes its thrall. Perhaps a greater spirit, as it grows in power, increases in size, a metaphysical web spreading from it that enthralls all lesser spirits of similar type within its grasp.

Any of those sound good? Ideas of your own?

Musing: Religion Part 2

One of the common misconceptions (or, indeed concepts if written into the setting) is that every holy man is a cleric or a druid. Every temple you wander into, the head priest is a cleric of some level, often with lower level cleric apprentices. I like to call this the Forgotten Realms syndrome. Deminar is simply not designed that way.

From a game perspective, I've already mentioned my belief that an adventurer should be rare, in order to maintain the uniqueness the player's feel when their characters interact with the world. How special are you when you're one adventurer among a countless horde after all?

Within the world, it wouldn't make a lot of sense either. Unlike the arcane spellcasting of a magic-user that manipulates the very building blocks of creation, divine spellcasters are fueled by the gods themselves (or from various patron spirits amongst the druids). A god has to sacrifice a bit of his own power to give a cleric the ability to cast spells or turn the undead and, despite the power of the gods, their power is finite. Every bit of power given to a patron on Deminar is power that the god no longer has at his disposal to fight off rival gods. The gods are locked in a power struggle, and a god that does not have enough worshipers or who foolishly expends his power on both planar and mortal followers risks having his domain taken over by a lesser god or having his domain absorbed by another major god. Because of this, a god can't simply gift every being that prays to him with power. On the other hand, gods receive their power from mortal worshipers as well as the souls of those faithful that pas beyond mortal life. What better way to convert followers then to show a god's power through a mortal vessel (since no god can directly influence the mortal world)? Like any power struggle, this is a delicate balancing act between attracting more followers through displays of faith and power and holding onto enough power to protect their position.

This is why clerics are more then simply undead hunters, they are also traveling emissaries of their faith. They are divinely appointed to spread the good name (or vengeful wrath) of their god, converting new followers through awe or fear. A cleric who forsakes this duty soon finds himself without his abilities, as even the smallest bit of a god's power is precious and the deity is always looking for the most effective way to use it.

Book Building: Class Write-Up Preview

As I await some feedback about the amount of gods/worship in Bluestone I realized that though I had completed the fluff pieces for the various classes, I never posted any. So, as a bit of a preview/teaser, here's the first one!

Assassin

Assassins are nothing less then professional killers and while one could argue that title could belong to any adventurer on Bluestone, only the assassin does it with such skill, subtlety, and ruthlessness. The very idea to be hired out to kill others, often without any prior knowledge of the target is difficult for many people to understand. Many of the people of Bluestone could not detach themselves morally enough to contemplate such a profession. Of the intelligent species only three, humans, dwarves, and kobolds, find that they have those amongst them that can handle such a lifestyle.
Among Ashford Bay and many of the larger towns, assassins work for various guilds who keep a close watch on the murder-for-hire business, making sure they keep prices competitive and that no rogue killers work without representation. While these guilds are not officially recognized by the Lords of the land, they are the worst kept secret of Bluestone (and still quite thoroughly taxed, even if it doesn't show up on official records). For most citizens, assassins are of little concern, the peasant and merchant classes simply could not afford the prices they charge and that same high cost keeps nobles from wasting gold on the lower class. It is much easier to bribe a guard to take a peasant into a dark alley or blackmail a judge to lay a false sentence on a merchant then to hire an assassin. Assassins main targets are nobles, but fear of retribution from a rival's family means a noble decides to use assassination as only a last resort or if he knows the hit cannot be traced back to him.
A kobold's lack of morality, small frame, and desire to prove himself, means a well trained kobold can make a fearsome assassin. They never will question the morals behind their choice of targets and will not give up on a job until the end result is either the target's death or the kobold's. Kobolds make excellent assassins for more "morally ambiguous" targets; women, children, or clergymen for example. Kobolds have to be well trained however, so not to allow their fleeting minds find another occupation they like better and wind up acting as a squire to the very nobleman they were sent to kill. Humans, and their diverse ethics, make excellent assassins as well, however the ever present (in even the most morally detached person) human condition means they are more likely to have clear cut limits to who they will target. However, humans are better at reacting to changing conditions, and can better handle an assassination attempt gone wrong then an average kobold can.
Dwarven assassins are another matter entirely, as their work is purely military minded. Dwarven assassins are trained to eliminate high profile targets among their enemies, mostly the goblins. A dwarven assassin is ruthless in his pursuit of a goal, and will take out any targets of opportunity that stand between him and his quarry. To dwarves, the goblins are not people, simply the enemy, and a dwarven assassin can be even more heartless then a kobold in pursuit of his target or choice of target itself. However, dwarf assassins are only used against an enemy of a different species, never their own kind. Even though various dwarven clans may have rivalries with one another, the idea of taking another dwarven life, even of a different clan is an alien concept to them. Dwarven assassins, even those that have left their clan, would never join an assassin's guild, for killing another person who you don't have a personal or racial vendetta against is seen as nothing more then murder in their eyes.
While guild assassins are well paid, their targets are few and far between, due to the cost and retributions from their use. Because of this, many assassins also take up adventuring, as a way to supplement their income and continue to practice their skills. A guild assassin is still ever ready to be sent to a job at a moment's notice, however, and adventuring parties with them in the group are not surprised to wake up one morning and find their companion gone. A dwarven assassin that is adventuring is, to other dwarves, a shameful sight. If he is not working for the clan, then he must no longer be part of it. A dwarf assassin joining an adventuring party more then likely failed to eliminate a target and left the clan in shame for his digression. These dwarves will often be very faithful to a party, a combination of the dwarven sense of community and the desire to prove to themselves that they are still skilled warriors.

Design and Development: Gods

I've talked plenty about the gods before, in fact, the greater cosmology of a setting seems to always be a high point for me, be it designing or reading about it. When we originally developed Deminar we had a good number of gods figured out, nine major powers representing the nine alignments, plus a score of lesser gods that dealt with a variety of specific aspects, concepts, and states of being. The same god may be worshiped by several different groups, each who call him a different name, and worship a different aspect of his portfolio and believing that the other groups are worshiping a different or even false god (and indeed, going to battle over such slights). There may be hundreds of different religions among all the islands of Deminar, the isolation between each other means even more radical offshoots of the same deity could be worshiped.

The question is, how many of these gods do we introduce in our first book? The Bluestone Isles are not that large, but they do feature a diverse number of species and one major metropolitan area. Enough variety for several deities to have a home. I don't think there should be too many gods in the Player's Guide, especially with this one acting as a low-level beginner's guide. You don't want to overload player's with too many choices to begin. However, I do want to introduce the concept of different species (or even the same species) worshiping the same god under a different aspect/ideology/practice without them even realizing it. Though it wouldn't be spelled out that it was the same god in the Player's Guide (that's what the DM's Guide is for), meaning to players, it would seem like just a different god.

So, how many? Just the major ones? A few of the major ones? How many minor gods? Are there minor gods very specific to Bluestone? What would be a good target number for how many different types of deity worship exist on the Bluestone Isles?

Musing: Religion Part 1

There are two major forms of religion on the Bluestone Isles, druidism and deity worship. Both are intrinsically linked to one another, but the separation of ideology between them means they will forever be at odds.

Druidism is the belief that everything has a spirit, be it a living creature, inanimate matter, or a concept or idea. The spirit may be a part of something (the souls of all living things) or the spirit could be a guardian and caretaker of it (like the spirit of a river or the spirit of war), but it a force possessed by all things. The ultimate testament to the faith is the Druid, someone who can commune with spirits to obtain an array of powers and abilities.

Deity worship, on the other hand, is the belief that the powerful beings worshiped as gods created the world and everything that exists on it. They created all living things, set about the laws that make the world work, and developed every concept from love to war. When a soul dies, it travels to the plane of the god that the being worshiped and who's tenets it lived by the most, or the plane of the god that is most befitting the being's punishment, if it worshiped no god or violated his god's tenets. The ultimate expression of the power that the gods wield is that of the Cleric, someone who can focus the very power of the gods into a variety of spells and the ability to drive away the undead.

Both religions have many ties to one another, those that worship the gods very much believe in the souls that exist in them, while the druids cannot deny the power of the gods, nor their duty to claim the souls of those beings that die. However, their are core differences in their beliefs that have stopped the two from ever existing fully entwined.

While practitioners of druidism believe in the gods, they do not believe the gods created all that is. The gods are simply a group of spirits, powerful indeed, but not even the top of the spirit hierarchy. While their positions are important, their are things that have existed long before they did and play a much more important role in the world.

Those that worship the deities see the gods as the ultimate powers in existence, and that everything that is, is because of them. Also, these worshipers do not believe that everything has a spirit, certainly not non-living things and concepts. More extreme believers (but not the followers of all gods) do not even believe that unintelligent living things (such as many monsters, beasts of burdens, and wildlife) have souls and the most extreme do not even think that all intelligent species (their enemies in particular) have souls, so killing these beings is not any worse then cutting down a tree.

So who is right? Are the gods supreme beings that created all that exists and have the power to destroy it on a whim? Or are they simply just part of a larger spiritual hierarchy that has always been and always will be? These questions ensure that while the two religious ideologies may not always be at one another throats, they will never truly get along.

Book Building: Status Update II

With our campaign (which was really gelling together nicely) currently on life support, I've been furiously scrambling to put together something better fitted for our "revolving cast" style sessions we've been having lately. That, coupled with something called Real Life showing up a whole lot these last few weeks, means the manuscript for the Player's Guide has been on a bit of the back burner. And, this accompanying blog as well.

But fear not! Progress has continued in the background, even if I've not been vocal about it here. The class flavor text is finished, knocking another chapter off the list. With the bulk of my new campaign wrapping up and things dying down around me before the fervor of the holidays, I've begun to turn an eye towards the next chapter. Either History is going to get a revisit or I'll begin the Religion chapter, haven't decided yet, but forward I shall go!

Musing: Thieves

Like fighters, I always thought thieves got short changed when it came to their background and understanding what they were. Most think thieves are just that, those engaged in thievery, either raised on the streets or trained at a guild to be a pick pocket in a busy market.

But thieves don't strike me as that, in fact, I see them as the most appropriate class to be delving into ancient dungeons. Look at their abilities after all: Find/Remove Traps, Climb Walls, Read any Language, Read/Cast from Magic-User scrolls... these guys aren't thieves, they're tomb robbers! The thief class has much more in common with Indian Jones and Lara Croft then it does with the urchin pick pocket. These guys are build to enter old tombs, crypts, dungeons, and temples and not only survive the old traps left behind, but understand the old pictographs on the wall and know where to find the hidden treasure cache.

Guilds that train the adventuring thief class are probably full of old scholars, archeologists, and the plain old curious, people that want to know what had gone on before them (and score some loot along the way). I see these guilds as training "thieves" to delve these places for research, getting their hands on ancient artifacts, and just plain old testing of skills. These guilds also train in less savory things like Hiding in Shadows and Picking Pockets so that their employees can not only better survive, but gain valuable information. Someone knowing about secret entrances to old temples may not reveal such things in public, then there are those that hold the only remaining copy of that old key and won't give it up willingly. If some "thieves" happen to use those skills to relieve a well off noble of his coin purse, well, that's not the guild's fault is it?

In fact, most likely thieves, in terms of the adventuring class, are probably not called thieves in Bluestone. Though "tomb robber" sounds just as bad, hmm, what to name them... Any ideas?

Musing: Fighters

Fighters get a bit of the shaft when it comes to where they learned their trade and what they're all about. Most often this class is seen as something someone can just "decide to be" at one point in their live and that's all there is to it. A farmer decides to make a difference, picks up a sword and starts adventuring, now he's a fighter. Once you break down the class mechanics, the scenario of this class being organically grow as opposed to the specific training of say, a magic-user, simply doesn't make any sense.

 Looking at the class, you can see that he can effectively use ALL weapons and armor. Indeed, over time, he is much more skilled in weapon use then most other classes and certainly more so then a standard city watchman or militia member. They also develop into one of the most physically fit and hardy classes (as evident by their hit dice and saving throw progression). This means they are not simply people how decided to be a fighter, nor someone with some experience in the city watch. These are trained individuals, and those specifically trained for excellence in combat. As stated before, they can use ALL weapons and armor very effectively, no easy task. Someone who spent years training how to use a staff properly, learning the techniques to trip an opponent, strike fast at vital areas, and parry blows directly at him couldn't then pick up a flail or battleaxe and be expected to use it just as well or suddenly be a crack shot with a long bow. He also couldn't throw on a suit of full plate mail for the first time and then be expected to be just as skilled with his weapon. Yet, fighters are those people, they can pick up a sword and use it just as well as a crossbow or throwing daggers or a flail, all weapons that handle very differently. These individuals must have spent years being trained in their use as well as trained physically.

The typical caravan guard or militia are nowhere near this level, nor could they possibly hope to be. In modern comparisons, the watch, militia, guards, etc. are similar to the police and the weekend warriors of the army reserve. They have some training, mostly in specifics dealing with aspects of their job, and they may be very good at that job, but they don't have a well rounded skill set in all weapons, tactics, and other combat aspects. The closest comparison to fighters may be career military, though the military still further breaks down their members into specialties, while a fighter is much more varied in his skill. In Bluestone, the government doesn't train all fighters, they don't have the resources nor manpower to do so, so instead they employ a War College, to train a few people to be fighters in which to lead militias, protect against threats too challenging for the common man, and handle "special projects" that may need to be attended to. The vast majority of fighters are, therefore, trained via private guilds. Like PMCs of today, these guilds attract those that want to make a difference or be the tough guy without having to fall into the government's program (or couldn't pass the requirements the war college has for entry). Guilds become like brotherhoods, those graduating from them will find themselves quickly befriended by past alumni. Rivalries between guilds is also common, mostly on a friendly level (especially when competing against one another in various guild sponsored tournaments) but sometimes things get personal and on rare occasions, deadly. However, the War College has stringent requirements for potential candidates and guilds can be quite expensive (though they are willing to work out loans, repayable with all that adventuring treasure a fighter is known to get), meaning not every citizen with the desire to pick up a sword and slay dragons is going to become a full fledged fighter. A city watchmen is just that, a man with a bit of training in basic weapons, armor, and apprehensions, a fighter, however, is something much more entirely.

Design and Development: Classes

With the species entries pretty much in the bag with Sean's gnomes coming in later this month or early next, it is time for me to look at the classes and their role in the Bluestone Isles. I'm not planning on rewriting, mechanically changing, or adding new classes like what was done with the species. Instead, these are going to be a few paragraphs spelling out how each class functions in Bluestone.

I've already done some preliminary work with both the clerics and paladins (I always go for divine type stuff first it seems) and am looking to continue it with the others. So, keep an eye out for that soon, but here are some general thoughts:

• Classes are trained: If you really look at a class that a player can choose and compare it to the "regular man" type entries in the monster section, you can see that these classes are a huge step above the common bandit or acolyte or pirate. That means that a fighter, someone who can use all weapons and armor without penalty and (especially as time goes one) has a much better chance successfully do damage with those weapons, is trained to use that stuff. A 1st level fighter (or any class) is just a farmer who just last season decided to be an adventurer after his family was killed by orcs, he was trained, he is lethal, and he is stronger, faster, and better then the average citizen.
• Adventurers are rare! If everyone was an adventurer or had a level or two in a class, then the ideal that the PC is special is gone. The blacksmith is not a 1st level fighter nor is the sage a 2nd level magic-user, they're normal men. If I had to stat them up, they'd use the 0 Level Human attack table and have a paltry amount of HP, someone who would be scared of a small handful of goblins.
• Just because they're all trained, doesn't mean they're all brothers. Like any business there are probably a competing number of guilds that train fighters, each one boasting they offer superior training and graduates from each guild are probably quite proud of their guild and like to show up those from other guilds. Save for paladins, of which I mentioned, are only trained from one Order and are usually quite content to point out that they're better then everyone else.

So, just a few initial thoughts, look for specific classes in the near future.

Design and Development: Kobolds Part 4

So we've looked at the nature of kobolds and then we looked at their abilities and we've defined what makes a kobold a kobold in a mechanical sense. So all that leaves now is to figure out what classes a kobold adventurer can be:

• Assassin: Kobold assassins are scary, they're small, quick, can get in and out in an instant and don't hold the same moral values many of the other intelligent species do. A job is a job and they will do anything to anyone in order to get their target.
• Cleric: All kobolds worship Grebow, Lord of All Kobolds, though their worship is unique. The church has no doctrine, instead kobolds worship in whatever style of worship is predominant in the area they live. If the local churches use animal sacrifices under a full moon, so do the kobolds. If the local temple worships in several hour long chants relating to their god's deeds, so do the kobolds. However, all of the worship is given to Grebow, instead of the local religion. Grebow accepts whatever worship is given his way and will reward some kobold's with clerical powers for their dedication.
• Druid: Like the rats some claim them to be, kobolds are urban creatures and have no real understanding of the natural world. Likewise, they all pay reverence to their creator Grebow and have little time for ancestor or spirit worship. Because of that, no kobold has ever learned druidic secrets.
• Fighter: Many kobolds pick up martial abilities, either through emulation of local fighter's guilds or via training in jobs like militia, sewer guards, or other martial careers.
• Magic-Users and Illusionists: No arcane teacher would train a kobold, nor would any kobold maintain the patience and skill needed to become a trained acrane caster. And while some kobolds are born with innate magical abilities (a Wild Mage class may come of that), none will ever be fully trained casters.
• Monks, Paladins, and Rangers: There are no monastic orders in Bluestone and even if there were, much like arcane casters, few would train a kobold. Paladins on Bluestone are an exclusive human only brotherhood and, as mentioned above, kobolds do not have the respect for the natural world to learn to be a ranger.
• Thief: Like assassins, kobolds make dangerous thieves. Their size and speed give them many advantages to thieving abilities and skills and their unique sense of morals means they have little hold up about taking something belong to someone else.

That being said, how good are kobolds at being thieves? Well, their size and speed allow for the following bonuses to thieving skills:
Their small hands give them a +10% to Pick Locks and Pick Pockets. They gain +05% to Find and Remove traps. They gain a +7% to Hide in Shadows and a +5% to Move Silently, these numbers would be higher based on their small size, but their inability to stay still or quiet at times means this bonus is negated by them being so fidgety. Their small size is a determent to Climb Walls (like it is for all smaller species choices in the AEC), but their claws also help negate some of that, giving them a total penalty of -10%.

And there you have it, the final step. I'll let this sit for a bit, see if my "Co-Developers" have any thoughts on it, and if this one also passes the test, then a final write up will follow.

Design and Development: Kobolds Part 3

So we've taken a look at what makes a kobold tick as well as their ability modifiers and their min/maxs, so next up we need to start figuring out special abilities, things that make the species unique in a mechanical stand point.

We can already factor in that they have infravision, it is right there in their description as a monster entry and the red eyes are a staple of the kobold look. Next, they're small and fast, based on their size, thin frames, and unique locomotion, kobolds can move when they have to. At first I thought about some sort of rules for them being better jumpers, based on their locomotion, but there are no rules for jumping in LL (besides an off hand mention in the optional ability check section), and I'm not going to grant bonuses to something that is reserved for DM fiat. Instead, you'd assume that people would say that kobolds are better jumpers if it comes up in play, but there need not be a rule for it. So the best way to represent this would be to firstly take a page from the halfling write-up in the AEC. Halflings get a -2 AC against any creature larger then human sized, but kobolds are shifter then halflings, so, a proposed idea would be that they receive a -1 AC overall and a -2 AC against any creature larger then human sized. Also, to denote their quickness versus other PC species, they are able to move an additional 10 feet per encounter round. This makes kobolds great for quick hit and run style tactics, drawing enemy attention and running circles around them while the rest of the party dispatches them.

Next, kobolds are pretty resistant to magic, this is because many kobolds are born with the innate ability to fire off spells without any training (and with many disastrous results), because of that, the species as a whole has developed a keen ability to resist such magics. Couple this with their speed that would give them bonuses against Breath Attack (since that Saving Throw is really just a dodge roll when you break it apart) and you get the following Saving Throw Bonuses:

• +2 save vs. Breath Attacks
• +3 save vs. Wands
• +4 save vs. Spells and Spell-Like Devices

Saving vs. Posion and Petrify/Paralysis wouldn't get any bonuses as they represent a physical fortitude in my mind and we've already given the kobolds a -1 to Con.

So, there we have their abilities and saving throw bonuses. Unless it is met with mass rejection, the next entry will look at just what type of classes kobolds can be.

Book Building: Status Update

So now that I've made my "come back" let's take a look where we are on the first book, shall we?
Using the already posted ToC as a guide:

• Introduction: Written and done 
• Chapter 1: Races & Classes of the Bluestone Isles: Of the proposed species, three are written, one needs to be figured out by myself (the kobolds) and one needs to have Sean's write-up (the gnomes). The classes I've had a few thoughts on, some of which I've already talked about. They'll be nothing but flavor explaining their place in Bluestone, so it won't require anything out of some creative writing.
• Chapter 2: Equipment & New Rules: We haven't really got into this section yet, mostly it will be a few rules on airships including some sample models as well as some steam punk inspired devices. The most crunchy of the book, it'll probably be looked at last.
• Chapter 3: History of the Bluestone Isles: I took a stab at this, didn't like, decided to change it to a narrative style and it requires a rewrite. But I know the basic timeline of the setting, so that'll be complete in no time. 
• Map of the Bluestone Isle: Handled 
• Chapter 4: Player's Gazetteer of the Bluestone Isles: This Sean and I worked out over several sessions and have pretty much finished.
• Chapter 5: Religion of the Bluestone Isles: The gods and their meddlings, domains, and  going-ons have always been something I loved about world building (probably why I liked Planescape so much), so I've thought, and Sean and I have talked, at length about the gods and what they are all about. The real trouble will be narrowing down which gods we introduce in Bluestone and how much we reveal about each one. I will tell you one thing though, none of them will have stats.
• Chapter 6: X: X is one of the towns/villages on the map that will get a full write-up, including map, NPCs, building descriptions, etc. This can be used as a "home base" for starting characters and campaign launching points. This will probably be the second to last thing that gets written up, before we tackle the crunch of equipment and rules.

 Now I gotta hammer out those kobolds!

On: Oh, THERE he is!

Well, I'm back!

In what I can only call "a thousand little distractions," I was caught up in several other things that kept my creativity away from this blog and the subsequent digital release that shall come from it. Part of the problem has been that our group hasn't managed to all get together and play in a few weeks which has cut off my "D&D mentality" that would help me focus.

However, I'm back in the saddle and ready to go. So, look for me to re-attack Kobolds in the near future and a full finish on the species write-ups soon after (once I recoordinate Gnomes with Sean as well) and of course my usual random thoughts, musings, and other bits of info that come across my brain.

I want to return to doing close to one post a day, so, let's see what happens!

Musing: Paladins

I had made an offhand mention in my first D/D Dwarf entry about paladins being a human only class. As I thought about it, I actually came up with a fairly descent idea as to why that is within the context of the setting.

Paladins are part of the Militant Order of one particular god of good, law, and all that upstanding stuff (as to which god, we'll figure that out when we start hammering out the religion in the game). Paladins are a lot like special forces or the U.S. Marine Corps; highly trained, first in/last out, off doing things that regular armed forces can't handle. The paladins are trained in Ashford Bay, but maintain outposts throughout the Isles. The Order also has a strict "humans only" policy, stemming from their belief that the god they worship only grants divine protection, blessing, and ability to humans (whether or not that is true hasn't been tested, it also means clerics to this god are only human as well due to the same "ideal")

Much like the above mention Marine Corps, while many paladins are out there doing the right things for the right reasons, some think they're much better then everyone else. They have an air of haughtiness to them, they are the best of the best, and many take their oaths of routing out evil to the extreme, making them zealots along the lines of the Inquisition. This makes many paladins assholes, but assholes that fight the good fight, which can make for good characterization.

Design and Development: Dwarves Part 1

Meanwhile...

Yes, I'm working on two species at the same time, but it's not as difficult as you may think. Whereas the kobolds are getting designed from the ground up, the dwarves are simply in need of an edit.

Our dwarves are not that far removed from the "traditional" dwarf archetype, mixed with a little bit of the Soviet USSR, yes, but still, they're underground dwellers that excel at metallurgy, have magical resistances, and hate goblins. Because of this, all that needs to change from the standard AEC write-up is the flavor to mention dwarves tie to their own clan and a look at Class Limits.

I've mentioned before that I will look at classes for each species based not only on play balance, but on how they fit the world in which we designed for them. Because of this, the standard limits on the classes might not apply as how they do in the "standard" AEC entries.

Now in the AEC, Dwarves may be assassins, clerics, fighters, and thieves. All of which fit fine for the dwarves of Deminar. Fighters and thieves are universal classes it seems, every species has them as they require no special talents/abilities other then skill and talent. Assassins are a necessary evil for dwarves as they fight their on going battles against the goblins, since you need to employ more tactics then standing on the front lines. The dwarves worship the gods and some are blessed with ability because of it, meaning clerics work as well.

Druids, Illusionist, Magic-Users, Monks, Paladins, and Rangers are what is left out then. Illusionists and Magic-Users are out, due to the dwarf's resistance to magic. If they're resistant to magical energy, they probably couldn't tap into it to use it. Druids are more or less restricted to those species that don't worship the traditional gods, which is why only the Lizard Folk have access to it at the moment. Monks and Paladins are restricted to humans for the time being (unless something strikes me later that fits a different species), which leaves rangers.

Would dwarves have rangers?

On the "Yes" side, there's no reason for them not to be, rangers have no special powers not learned by training. Dwarves have a martial archetype, and rangers are more or less a martial class, so it seems to work.

On the "No" side, the rangers abilities mostly stem from training out in the wilderness, yes they can attempt to track underground and have bonuses to some underground races (including goblins), but the wilderness tracking, the bonuses against giants, the stealth, and just the iconic look of a ranger is that of a man of the woods. And if dwarves are mostly tied to their clan and their underground holdings, where would that training come from?

So, rangers on the face right now, thoughts?

Design and Development: Kobolds Part 2

So now that we've established the "idea" of what a kobold is in Deminar, we can take that information, along with its entry in the LL book to start figuring out what abilities it has as a species in terms of game mechanics.

Firstly, we know they're small and fast (due to their kangaroo-like legs), so as that applies to Ability Modifiers you immediately think -1 STR, +1 DEX, a set up shared by halflings. However, there are no playable halflings in the Bluestone Isles, so that might not seem to be a copy right away. After all, what else would get a bonus? They're not hardy, so CON doesn't make sense, nor are they particularly more intelligent, wise, or charming then the other species. Another idea would be to take a penalty elsewhere (say -1 CON), retain the +1 DEX, and then through Ability Min/Max limit STR to say 14 or so. It still gets across that they can't be as strong as a beefy Lizard Folk, but doesn't enforce a penalty that mirrors the halflings. Also, despite their desire to emulate others, I don't think Kobolds are in any way more stupid then other species, they just live life differently, I don't think an Intelligence or Wisdom Max lower then 18 is needed, you can have wise and smart Kobolds, they'll just act like wise and smart members of whatever species they're with. Also, I think their adaptability actually makes them slightly wiser then most, due to their ability to emulate people after observing them for just a little while. Finally, their loose grasp on morality also probably stifles their CHA, as seen by other species, somewhat. I can also, of course, give them a DEX requirement to show that all of their species is more shifty then others.

So, at first pass, we have:
Kobolds
Requirements: DEX 9
Ability Modifiers: +1 DEX, -1 CON
Ability Min/Max: STR 3/14, DEX 9/18, CON 3/17, INT  3/18, WIS 8/18, CHA 3/14

Feel free to weigh in on that.

As for their other abilities, infravision is a given, its mentioned in their monster write-up, and I think I'm going to stick with the image of them having glowing red eyes as well, since it sounds cool and helps explain the lower max CHA. But now we need to see if we can work in their adaptability and unique locomotion into their other abilities and potential saving throw bonuses.

That's for next post though, unless the Ability Modifiers and Min/Max need retooling based on suggestions. After that we'll look at Class Limits and Thief Skill Adjustments and we'll be done!

Design and Development: Kobolds Part 1

Before even a single mechanic can go down, it helps to understand the lore of the kobolds in our setting. The idea behind them is something that we've had for a long time and something I'm quite pleased with if you forgive the ego in that.

Kobolds in Deminar are NOT draconian, nor have any dragon heritage, instead they embrace their "dogmen" roots and have much more in common with them. They are not, however, simply anthropomorphic dogs, neither in look or personality.

While kobolds do have canine like faces and are covered in short fur, there are some fundamental differences in their look. First, the males have two small vestigial horns on top of their heads. Second, all kobolds have enlarged feet that rest at an angle, like kangaroos, and also have long thick tails to support them. Because of that, they have the them hopping gait of a kangaroo and sometimes even maneuver around on all fours, especially in tight places.

Personality wise, kobolds yearn to be accepted by all other intelligent species. They are much like rats, found everywhere civilized species are found (including goblin and dwarven holdings). Their doesn't seem to be a settlement, no matter how small, that doesn't have atleast one kobold in it. However, unlike rats, kobolds are not seen as pests (atleast, not by everyone), because in their bids to fit in, they'll accept any role assigned to them. They often have the lowest jobs, charcoal burners, rat catchers, sewer cleaners, all which they take with pride, because they know this means they are part of society. Kobolds emulate the dress style and mannerisms of those closest to them, and many a kobold hero was born after listen to adventurers tales while serving tables and decided he needed to join a party as well.

Kobolds have an odd sense of species unity as well. Where as in most mixed settlements, such as Ashford Bay, you would find places that would be considered a gnomish district or lizard folk district (much like ethnic subsections in a city), there are no gatherings of kobolds. As far as anyone knows, kobolds don't gather into settlements on their own and only live among other species. Sure, some kobolds may live together and small groups may gather socially, but they don't seem to gather together into communities, perhaps due to their desire to fit in with others, there would be no guidance among a large group of kobolds on how to act. However, kobolds are fiercely protective of each other if they feel threatened, to a frightening degree. A single kobold harassed in a town may draw no repercussions, but someone purposely targeting all kobolds in a town may find the entire kobold population in the town (and several nearby towns) at his home at night, carving up his family without remorse and gleefully dancing around the house they just set on fire with the offender still tied up inside. Horror stories exist of kobolds attempting to integrate themselves with early gatherings of humans and goblins while they were still recovering from The Sorrow. These kobolds were killed for fear of attack or perhaps as food for the surviving masses, only to have a great horde of kobolds descend from the darkness and slaughter every man, woman, and child and simple disperse again calmly. These claims may be exaggerated, but always sits in the back of the minds of any settlement who thinks about driving out their local kobold population.

So, interesting take on a race?

Now, how to work that information into crunchy bits for a species write-up?

Design and Development: More Species Love

With the history section sort of waffling in my mind and not clicking as well as I'd like, I've turned my attention back to the Species section of Chapter 1.
Now, I've already established which species are going to be in the book and I finished off the write up for Lizard Folk, so what does that leave us with?

Well, first we have three species that are already in the AEC; humans, dwarves, and gnomes. For the humans, I just have to tweak a few sentences to make them fit in the Isles. Dwarves only need a similar flavor text revision and a look through and revision of the Class Limits (something that will be its own series of posts I'm sure) and the gnomes are going to be handled by Sean (I don't know if he knows this yet, but they really are his baby, and he only needs to do the same thing I'm doing with the dwarves). So that only leaves one species to write from the ground up, the kobolds.

The kobolds have become somewhat of a fan favorite among the D&D community over the past several years it seems,  maybe due to fond remembrance of facing so many across so many low level games, or just an undercurrent of wanting to see the lowest of the cannon fodder raised to something better, people just seem to like kobolds and admittedly, so do I.

So, coming soon will be the ideas/discussions/builds of the kobold as a playable species.

Musing: Plane Names

Just a quick thought for tonight:

What about using "Realms" instead of "Planes" with a more looser naming convention instead of "The Elemental Plane of..."

So:
The Water Realm
The Air Realm
?The Life Realm? (For Positive Energy)

etc.

It sounds a little less "scientific" then the default names used in later D&D editions and I think fits the theme of our setting better.

Just a thought...

Musing: Going Narrative on the Timeline

Back again after another small hiatus (anytime I delve into campaign creation I lose the ability to focus on other stuff it seems...), but still thinking, even if not posting.

I think in the end, it's best to go with a more narrative form of history for the Player's Guide, rather then the strict timeline I presented earlier. The timeline works well for DM's, it makes a quick reference, especially when slotting in their own events as well as cross-checking history we reveal in various other modules and sourcebooks (and therefore will be a good reference for us too!).

A narrative style, I think, is more friendly to player's and presents itself in more of a useful fashion as something players and characters would know. That being said, I don't think it will be written "in world" by like a scholar or something. Full in character chapters seem to be more of a later RPG thing and robs some of the old school feel, I'm not ruling out using quotes here and there that are "in world" but I'll be avoiding the "in world" fiction and chapters that populate some later RPGs, gotta keep the feel right!

Now to go about finishing and rewriting the history section...

Musing: Player's Guide Timeline

Quick thought, I think the Player's version of the timeline works better in paragraph format in a more story like convention (not "in character" per say, but not a roll of years either). Though the roll of years format works well for the DM side of things.

I think it would fit the Player's Guide better that way, and you can also leave out chunks that are specific events the average person wouldn't really know happened, yet keep all the "big events" in.

Hmm, need to finish that timeline

Design and Development: Module Layout

The strength of most "old school" settings come more in the adventure modules that come from them rather then the big fluffy setting books (perhaps because of the model set forth by TSR in the original releases). So, while I'm still working on the Player's Guide (and to lesser extend DM's Guide) I can't help but think about the modules.

While we have plenty of ideas about the modules from the various "lairs" we set-up during Step 15 of our Sandbox Design, I'm think more in terms of what to do about layout.

Most LL and other retro clone modules are sticking with "paying homage" to the classics, you get a map on the inside cover, several pages with numbers corresponding to rooms, boxed text of a line or two of description and then a paragraph for the DM with what's in the room and the stripped down stat line for monsters.

Now while that's fine, I have a slightly different idea.

Despite my whole plunge into the OSR and the enjoyment of the simplicity of the rules allowing for building a more "anything goes" world that doesn't have to confirm to the more explicit rules of other systems, I'm not one of those folks that hates every other version of D&D that's come out.

In fact, I'm quite a fan of 4E, it's not perfect, and it's getting more clunky as more and more powers and feats are released, but I think it did many things right, especially on the DM side of things.

I began playing 4E almost the day it came out and as we played several of the players, who had never DMed before, decided to give it a go and had a blast. The way adventures/encounters are laid out makes it very easy to figure out what's going on and give that information to the players.

So why not use a similar approach for our modules? Each piece that has an encounter should get it's own page with read out loud text boxes in one section, DM notes about the room in another, traps and terrain hazards with their relevant information about what they're doing in yet another, treasure/rewards in it's own, and full monster stat blocks as well! It's an elegant system that makes everything easy to locate when a player interacts with something and allows a DM to quickly describe the effects of those actions without hunting through text. One thing it wouldn't need, however, is the blown up map section with the little letters that show you where each mini is supposed to go on the battle tile, I think we should still hold fast to the idea that older D&D (and the clone AEC we're using) does not emphasize using mini's to enjoy the game (which also means we'd have to have better descriptive text that doesn't rely on the picture of the map to explain the scene, which I actually think is a good thing)

So, is the idea crazy or could it work?

Design and Development: Timeline Bits - Part 1

Though I've made headway into the Timeline (which is both Part 16 of our Building a Sandbox goal as well as going into the PG) it is obviously not quite complete.

But as I go into designing more, I  run across a few things that leave me doing a bit of head scratching.

Number one hiccup: When did the Lost Desert float into picture?

It is a desert island in a temperate climate and as of now, is still very much desert. Now, while I could, in theory, have it float to its current location and call away some mystical/magical/D&Dlike explanation as to why it stays a desert (and could very well do that if I end up with a cool mystical explanation), I want to also look at it from a "real world" inspired reason.

How long could a desert hang out in an area that receives rain and cooler temperatures and remain a desert? The island is floating beneath another, more temperate, island (though it does have a huge volcano on it), so pollination across the islands is possible. How long would it take to float into place? How fast would it move? If it moves too fast, then aren't all islands subject to just floating away from each other? Is there some sort of gravitational attraction to them, despite their relatively small size, or maybe something more mystical?

I don't the island to just have shown up in the past few years, it has been explored (though not very thoroughly and, as always, most of those explorers never returned) and may factor into other events in the timeline itself.

Things to ponder... Any ideas?

Musing: Class/Level Limits

One of the comments from one of my loyal followers (I swear I don't know this man in real life nor is he a co-developer on Deminar) mentioned his disdain for class/level limits in the AEC (and presumably it's "inspiration" 1E AD&D). I, for one, wholly agree with him, artificially saying a certain species (or race) can't get higher then X level in a class or can't even pick a certain class does indeed seem silly and hard to justify within a "living world."

However, you have to remember to play to your audience, and if we're writing this for the AEC, potential buyers like the AEC (or its "inspiration") and are probably just peachy with Class/Level Limits. So, they're staying in our books.

They're mostly a matter of play balance, though the AEC has a looser sense of play balance then the strict mathematical consistency of the 3E and beyond editions. It's the same reason Ability Modifiers can be of the +1 or -1 variety, it's always an even number in 3E because that way you're guaranteed a bump to your modifier, where as in the AEC, the modifiers are more about fitting the strengths and weaknesses of the particular species.

Class/Level limits help iron out the massive advantages demi-humans (as they're called in the earlier editions) get over humans, they have tons of pluses just for being of that species but no real negatives (even the ability modifiers don't fix things that much). So, instead, there are just certain classes or certain levels of classes a certain species can't take. This, coupled with the variance in leveling between classes (something else 3E and beyond was scared to do so that everyone went up in level at the same time so they could all feel happy) adds some level of play balance throughout the species/classes. These certainly aren't as exacting and balanced across the board as the 3E+ crowd though, and you know that going in, some species/class combos are just better then others in certain things, some players will pick them just to have "the best" (be it in survival, combat, saving throws, etc.) and some will pick whatever species and class they feel like slipping into the role of, that's just how the game works.

For me, the challenge will be fitting these class/level limits into the actual setting itself. Why can a certain species only go to a certain level or why can't they be a particular class? Not in terms of balance and stats and numbers, but why within Deminar itself does that happen? For instance, the Lizard Folk don't have clerics and paladins, this is as much a "universe" choice as it is for balance. Lizard Folk don't worship the traditional gods of the outer planes, so they don't receive any powers because of it.

This will be a trend going forward into all class/level limits, and while it may not be mentioned in the text (certainly not in the Player's Guide, though it may show up in a "species" book), it will be thought of.

Because of that, look to see shake ups in the class/level limits of species that are already published, dwarves might not be limited the way they are in the AEC, but that's because dwarves in Deminar don't follow the same "racial presumptions" that they do in the AEC.

Design and Development: Lizard Folk Part 5 - Final?

This is, unless a huge uproar of discontent occurs, the final write-up for the Lizard Folk as a playable species

Lizard Folk
Requirements: STR 9
Ability Modifiers: STR +1, CHA -1
Ability Min/Max: STR 9/19, DEX 3/18, CON 3/18, INT 8/18, WIS 8/18, CHA 3/15

Lizard Folk were one of the first species to organize after The Sorrow and begin to reorganize old settlements and expand into new ones. Their cold blooded nature makes them somewhat lethargic in colder temperatures as well as come across as blunt and cold during social interactions. Lizard Folk stand between 6 to 7 feet tall and weight around 200 pounds. They have thick, scaly, green skin and a large crest that runs from the top of their heads, down their spine, and along the length of a thick tail. The crest varies in color, from a variety of shades of greens, tans, and browns and often is seen as analogous to hair in other species. Because they are cold blooded and have little in the way of visible gender dimorphism, many other species have a hard time telling their genders apart. Lizard folk lay eggs, which are usually hatched and raised among other young in a hatchery.


Lizard Folk have ultraviolet vision up to 300'. Because of their scaly hides, all lizard folk have an AC of 7 when not wearing armor (this number is replaced with that of whatever armor is worn by a character). Lizard Folk tongues flick in and out like many lizards and snakes which allows them to "taste the air" gaining information about where things are even if they can't fully see them. Because of this if a Lizard Folk becomes blinded he only suffers a -2 penalty to hit, this includes the ability to hit invisible creatures, because of this advanced warning, Lizard Folk are only surprised on a roll 1 on a 1d6. Because they are cold blooded and have a slower metabolism lizard folk only need to eat once every three days. Their near match in temperature to the environment makes them hard to see with Infravision, thus, a group of only lizard folk will surprise a group using only Infravision to see on a 1-3 on 1d6.
 
Lizard Folk receive the following saving throw bonuses:

• +4 save versus poison

Lizard folk, like their reptilian kin have developed a strong defense against most poisons.


Lizard Folk may select the following classes, with the indicated level limits:

• Druids (7th Level limit)
• Fighter (12th Level limit)
• Illusionist (8th Level limit)
• Magic-User (8th Level limit)
• Ranger (8th Level limit)
• Thief (14th Level limit)

Lizard Folk thieves receive the following bonuses and penalties to thief abilities:

• Pick Locks (-5%)
• Pick Pockets (-10%)
• Move Silently (+7%)
• Climb Walls (+5%)
• Hide in Shadows (+5%)

Musing: Lizard Folk Eggs

Before I present what will hopefully be my final rendition of the Lizard Folk Species (look for it on Monday!) and hammer out the last of Bluestone Isle's Past (look for it... in the future!), I just have a small thought for today.

Lizard Folk, by nature of being cold blooded, lay eggs in which their young hatch. The way I see it, hatcheries are a communal place, where those females who are about to lay fertilized eggs go to be with other expectant mothers and mid-wives, it's a place made to be humid and warm and the children are raised up together after hatching. They are not abandoned strictly to midwives or some such after birth, the mothers stay with the young for a few years as they mature and most fathers come and visit, but Lizard Folk development at a young age is communal.

Just a random thought to help separate them more so from simple be "humans skinned slightly different," like many species end up in fantasy games and makes for good visuals, I still need an artist who enjoys working for free...

Book Building: Timeline Part 1

Alright, here's the first half or so of the player friendly timeline for the book, check it out, give some thoughts and love:


??? (Generations Ago): The Sorrow; Ashford Island and its companions take to the skies. Survivors fight the environment, predators, hunger, and sickness to survive.

ca. 1800 Years Ago: Goblins, owning to their quick reproduction, are the first to begin to spread throughout the Isles. They prey on the intelligent species of Ashford Island as well as settle under the hills of Isakova Island.

ca. 1200 Years Ago: The dwarves, avoiding most of the disaster by being underground begin to repopulate their home of Mitrovka and the surrounding hills of Isakova Island. The dwarves and goblins encounter one another and bloody conflict ensures.

ca. 1000 Years Ago: The lizard folk organize, they drive the goblins into the Bluestone Mountains on Ashford Island and settle into the remnants of what will become Ashford Bay.

ca. 1050 Years Ago: The lizard folk attempt to ally themselves with the surviving humans, some take up the alliance and move into the ruins of Ashford. Other groups of humans rebuke the offer and continue their ways of raiding and pillaging one another as well as the ruins of Ashford. The two groups clash several time, but Ashford, as a unified and defensible position beats back each group of raiders. Lizard folk begin observations of the other nearby islands.

ca. 1040 Years Ago: The raiding tribes of human unite under one ruler and once again set their sights on Ashford. Two humans, named Orial and Cannas gathered a small force that executed a preemptive strike deep into the heart of the raider territory, they successfully scatter and slaughter the raiders, but pay for it with their lives, they are forever more regaled as heroes.

1037 Years Ago: First observed eruption of Naythariruh. The eruption is spotted by a gnome explorer airship. The airship, crewed by kobolds and gnomes docks near the city of Ashford and the first diplomatic meetings between the gnomes, lizard folk, and humans take place. The gnomes agree to send a formal delegation to discuss further alliances. Several kobolds remain in Ashford. The humans and lizard folk begin the construction of several docks for the arriving gnomes.

1035 Years Ago: The Gnome delegation fleet arrives, talks between the groups end with the gnomes getting a section of the city for which they can conduct research in exchange for knowledge and technology involved in the construction and usage of airships.

1 ABR (1032 Years Ago): Gnome settlers (and scores of kobolds with them) arrive at Ashford as human and lizard folk begin the exploration of the surrounding islands. The first group sent to explore Lapis disappears within the ruins never to return. First contact between the dwarves with the humans and lizard folk of Ashford Island. The first Lords of Ashford Bay elected. Ashford renamed Ashford Bay, Ashford Island and the surrounding islands formally named. The Bluestone Isles officially adopted as the name of the island cluster. The beginning of Ashford Bay Reckoning.

4 ABR (1029 Years Ago): First attempt at constructing a settlement on the shores of The Marble Lake ends when the settlers mysteriously vanish.

8 ABR (1025 Years Ago): Two more attempts at settling along The Marble Lake fail when both colonies are attacked by elemental creatures that flood and demolish the settlements. Ashford Bay halts attempts to settle the area for the first time.

12 ABR (1021 Years Ago): Gnoll raiders discover the Bluestone Isles and launch daring raids on Ashford Bay, the people of Ashford are unprepared for such an assualt and suffer great losses of both life and supplies. Sir Tobias Calder leads a group of adventurers against the gnolls, ultimately driving them off, but at the loss of the entire adventuring group. Lands on the island of Iscarion are granted to his descendants who name the settlement they make there Calder's Promise. The town begins to transport water from Lake Maséy to Ashford Bay to help with the dwindling water supplies due to the growth in population and being unable to establish a permanent settlement along The Marble Lake.

26 ABR (1007 Years Ago): Gnomes become eligible for positions as Lords of Ashford Bay. The ever growing population calls for clear cutting cast swaths of the Garové Woods to make way for farmlands.

30 ABR (1003 Years Ago): The first permanent structures of the town of Sama are built.

31 ABR (1002 Years Ago): The dwarves finally agree to send delegates to Ashford Bay, they do not ask for aid in their campaign against the goblins, however they do agree to opening trade between the two islands.

35 ABR (998 Years Ago): A huge eruption of the Heart of Chasnor throws large amounts of dust and rock into the air, blocking off safe passage outside the island cluster.

Design and Development: Lizard Folk Part 4

It's hard to draw a line on how many abilities and bonuses are too many when making a species using the AEC, after all, the game didn't go for straight one-to-one balances to make sure everything was even, instead it made the species fit the idea of what the species was and then worked out balance in other areas (mostly class and level restrictions).

For example, the Halfling has 5 special abilities on top of Saving Throw bonuses, now some of these abilities are very restrictive in how they work (+1 Initiative in an all Halfing party only) and others are very general (+1 To Hit on missile attacks).

Compare that to the Half-Orc, who only has two (a bonus to secret door detection and 60' Infravision), you could say 3 if you added the fact he can speak orc on top of Common and his alignment language I suppose.

Now all of these are also counter balanced by Ability Score Modifications, Max/Min, Thief Ability adjustments, Class/Level restriction. It's a lot of stuff!

That said, let's dissect what I have about the Lizard Folk so far and see if we can start narrowing in on final design.

Abilities
I gave the Lizard Folk a Requirement of having a STR of 9, the requirement of an ability or two at 9 seems to be the standard across the races in AEC (save the Gnome and his 8 in DEX), and it states quite clearly in the monster write up for Lizard Folk that they get +1 damage due to their high strength. This seems to indicate on average they are stronger then the other playable species, so I felt I'd carry that on.

The +1 STR to -2 CHA got atleast one mention of it not being a fair trade, and I agree, it's not, but there are lots of unfair Ability modification "trade offs" in the AEC. The Half-Orc is +1 STR and +1 CON to a -2 CHA which is even more ridiculous then the Lizard Folk modifier. Of course this is slightly balanced by not having as many abilities and class options. The -2 CHA is to portray the sorta cold demeanor the Lizard Folk have compared to other species (and a nod to being cold blooded), their emotions are a lot less expressive and a lot more black and white, that makes them slightly off putting to most other playable species.

No one seemed to have issues with the Ability Min/Max scores, they carry over the strength of course and add an 8 minimum to both INT and WIS, meaning this is a learned race (very rarely does a Lizard Folk not possess the ability to read and fully write, for instance)

Special Abilities
This is the heart of the discussion, as I came up with a lot of ideas for special abilities and I'm not sure which ones to go with or how many of them to use. Below are the ones I ended up with, along with a mechanic benefit if I could think of it (if I don't have the benefit and you like the special ability, suggest a mechanic behind it!)

• Scaly Hide: Gives them a natural AC of 7, this is overridden when armor is worn, but magical items that affect AC directly would subtract from this, not AC 9.
• Fire Resistance/Cold Vulnerability: They take half damage from fire based attack but double damage from cold based attack.
• Claws: This lets them do 1d4 + STR Mod damage with an unarmed attack as opposed to the standard 1d2 + STR Mod.
• Ultraviolet Vision: Something with rules for in the AEC and something I was told many reptile possess. It's a type of night vision that works better outside then in dungeons (see AEC for complete details)
• Taste the Air: Lizard Folk tongues flick in and out like many lizards and snakes (maybe the oddness of that adds to the CHA penalty too) which allows them to "taste the air" gaining information about where things are even if they can't fully see them. Because of this if a Lizard Folk becomes blinded he only suffers a -2 penalty to hit (-4 being the standard penalty to blindness, finally found that in the LL rulebook), this includes the ability to hit invisible creatures (which is also -4 in the same sentence as the blindness rules). If I wanted to extend this ability, you could also say that they only may be surprised on a 1 on 1d6.
• Cold Blooded: This actually give the Lizard Folk two advantages, first, Lizard Folk only need to eat once a week, instead of once a day (as mentioned in LL under Rations and Foraging) and two, their near match in temperature to the environment makes them hard to see with Infravision, thus, a group of only Lizard Folk (or I suppose a Lizard Folk traveling solo) will surprise a group using only Infravision to see on a 1-3 on 1d6, this bonus is negated if the Lizard Folk is carrying a light source (like all surprises are negated with the presence of a light source)
• Balance: Tails give the Lizard Folk good balance, though I'm not sure mechanical how to represent that.

So, there's the list I came up with, you may have others, feel free to suggest, but I'm curious to how many of those you think the Lizard Folk should have or which ones you disagree with.

The +4 Save vs. Poison is quite obvious, I think, most reptiles have higher toxic immunities then warm blooded mammals, mostly due to reduced metabolism and because many of them produce toxins.

Class/Level Limits
 I changed the Class/Level Limits around a little bit, the list now stands are follows:

•  Druid (7th Level)
• Fighter (12th Level)
• Illusionist (8th Level) 
• Magic User (8th Level)
• Ranger (8th Level)
• Thief (14th Level)

Now, this seems like a lot of classes, but I think in Deminar we're going to be slightly more lax about what classes are allowed, I've disliked several of the class restrictions on an "in universe" level and when I go about rewriting species that are already in the AEC you'll see that some of them will gain access to classes not allowed in the AEC, because it fits how the species operates in the Bluestone Isles better.

Thief Skill Adjustment
Finally, the Thief Skill Adjustments I mentioned in a previous post:
"The penalty to picking locks and pockets come from clawed hands that don't have the same amount of fine manipulation that other species do, the bonus to climb walls is also based on the claws, and the move silently, hide in shadows bonuses come from the quiet and stillness most cold blooded creatures seem to excel at."

In Conclusion
So that's everything ripped apart again, for one final round of debate and discussion, let's get lively here, yay or nay on choices and see if we end up with an approved Species for this book!

Design and Development: Lizard Folk Part 3

Okay, so the "rough sketch" of what I thought for the Lizard Folk as a playable species went up and opened up some ideas and thoughts and changes, including some from my end as well. While fluff, you can write whatever you feel inspired to write, crunch needs to ground itself somewhere with the other rules around it, so I want to get things "right" and not just say my first pass is the one we're using.

So, a whole new set of thoughts:
I think the Ability Section is just fine, the +1 to STR being opposed to a -2 CHA instead of a 1 for 1 trade-off comes from the almost universal understanding that CHA is a dump stat (not to me, but, come on, let's all face it), so if you're going to get a bonus to STR and not take a penalty to another physical ability, you should make it count. Also, I've already portrayed the Lizard Folk as intelligent and wise, so it doesn't work taking a hit to INT or WIS.

As for their special abilities, one reader said they didn't seem "lizardfolky" and that it gave of a vibe of a 3.5E race which "just "kinda sorta" gives you some stuff that fits the race, rather than LL/AEC style which has more extreme stuff to help you fit in" I'm not sure how I would approach that to fix it, I felt "built in armor" and "half fire resistant/double cold vulnerable" fit the species, but maybe because they're more "combat mechanic" abilities they stray away from the "dungeon exploring" vibe earlier editions have. That's a fair point.

Of course, another ability I thought of is "combat mechanic" related, so I'm right back at square one! I was thinking of giving the Lizard Folk the ability to do 1d4 damage + STR Mod unarmed to represent claws (as opposed to the 1-2 + STR Mod that LL states for normal unarmed attacks), meaning a Lizard Folk stripped of weapons is still as effective as someone wielding a dagger, but not so effective that if he picked a melee fighting class having a weapon would be pointless.

Another reader mentioned the need for Lizard Folk to have Ultraviolet Vision, a rule already supported in the AEC, which makes it a good candidate since it does not introduce a new mechanic and, as he stated, "most demi-humans have some sort of additional sight anyway." Which I agree.

Other ability ideas that were less "Combat" would be to somehow play up the balance a tail provides, an ability to "taste the air" like many lizards and snakes do to help compensate for being blind/in complete darkness. Being cold blooded, they don't need to eat as much, warm-blooded animals of the same size require 5-10 times the amount of food as a cold blooded creature, so an ability to survive without food longer could be helpful. Also, since cold blooded creatures do not generate their own heat, wouldn't they be harder to spot with infravision?

If anyone has an suggestions into how to turn them into mechanics or which ones strike you as an interesting ability that would make you want to try out the species as a character, please comment below.

I think the +4 save vs. Poison still fits the species pretty well.

Between the natural AC of 7 and the potential ability to do 1d4 damage unarmed, the Lizard Folk make tempted choices as Magic-Users, especially since Magic-Users would look to getting magic items that lower AC (rather then "override" it like armor does), a higher level Magic-user with some Rings/Cloaks of Protection could be formidable, as he wouldn't be taking the same amount of hits a MU of another species would be.

Because of that, I may wish to knock down the maximum level a Lizard Folk can achieve in MU and Illusionist classes, maybe to below "name" level and the ability to research and make their own spells.

Finally, I think the Thief skills fit well and are within the bonus/penalty levels of other species. The penalty to picking locks and pockets come from clawed hands that don't have the same amount of fine manipulation that other species do, the bonus to climb walls is also based on the claws, and the move silently, hide in shadows bonuses come from the quiet and stillness most cold blooded creatures seem to excel at.

So, again, thoughts on the proposed changes or how to work out new mechanics based on some of the "non combat" abilities I thought up?

Design and Development: Lizard Folk Part 2

So, as I begin to codify the Lizard Folk for their inclusion as a playable species, I'll once again share what I've come up with to open it up to discussion.

Lizard Folk
Requirements: STR 9
Ability Modifiers: STR +1, CHA -2
Ability Min/Max: STR 9/19, DEX 3/18, CON 3/18, INT 8/18, WIS 8/18, CHA 3/15

Lizard Folk were one of the first species to organize after The Sorrow and begin to reorganize old settlements and expand into new ones. Their cold blooded nature makes them somewhat lethargic in colder temperatures as well as come across as blunt and cold during social interactions. Lizard Folk stand between 6 to 7 feet tall and weight around 200 pounds. They have thick, scaly, green skin and a large crest that runs from the top of their heads, down their spine, and along the length of a thick tail. The crest varies in color, from a variety of shades of greens, tans, and browns and often is seen as analogous to hair in other species. Because they are cold blooded and have little in the way of visible gender dimorphism, many other species have a hard time telling their genders apart.

Because of their scaly hides, all lizard folk have an AC of 7 when not wearing armor (this number is replaced with that of whatever armor is worn by a character). Because they are cold blooded they take half damage from fire based attacks, however they take double the amount of damage from cold attacks. Lizard Folk can speak their alignment language, common, lizard folk, and goblin.

Lizard Folk receive the following saving throw bonuses:

• +4 save versus poison

Lizard folk, like their reptilian kin have developed a strong defense against most poisons.

Lizard Folk may select the following classes, with the indicated level limits:

• Druids (7th Level limit)
• Fighter (12th Level limit)
• Illusionist (10th Level limit)
• Magic-User (10th Level limit)
• Ranger (7th Level limit)
• Thief (14th Level limit)

Lizard Folk thieves receive the following bonuses and penalties to thief abilities:

• Pick Locks (-5%)
• Pick Pockets (-10%)
• Move Silently (+7%)
• Climb Walls (+5%)
• Hide in Shadows (+5%)

Initial thoughts?

Design and Development: Lizard Folk

Once again it's time to open the post up to discussion from my reading audience, both of you...

With the actual text behind our first release coming along nicely, and two out of the 8 sections pretty much written, it's about time I leave some of the fluff behind and work on actual crunch.

So I thought I'd look at one of the new species in the game, the Lizard Folk. Using the AEC as a template, a new species needs several things, Ability Requirements, Ability Modifiers, Ability Min/Max, a few paragraphs of flavor mixed with any special abilities, saving throw bonuses (if applicable), class restrictions, and finally thief ability adjustments.

A tall order, I'll be developing the Lizard Folk over the next few posts, but figured I'd start with a few ideas, along with asking what you guys think should be included.

Opening Thoughts:

• A per standard fantasy fare, Lizard Folk, being cold-blooded should have some form of fire resistance but more sustainable to cold damage. Possibly half damage via fire, double via cold?
• Lizard Folk tough hide gives them an effective AC of 7 (The monster description has an AC of 5, but I feel that's too good a bonus) when unarmored, wearing armor overrides this AC if lower (it does not subtract from a "base" of 7), wearing armor of a higher AC also overrides this AC and is just a silly thing to do.
• Not totally sure on Ability Requirements/Modifiers/Min/Max yet, according to the monster entry they get +1 to damage because of their great STR, so they should atleast have a bonus there.

As for classes, I look to it just like the AEC does, what classes fit the species lifestyles, and then introduce play balance through level limits. Fighter and Thief are a must (they are the only two classes every species can take in the AEC), I don't feel as though they have Clerics, but they would have Druids, based on their more shamanistic and spirit driven faith. As for the other classes, I'm not sure yet.

Ideas, agreements, disagreements thus far?

Book Building: Chapter 1 - Species and Classes

The first chapter after the intro introduces (or reintroduces) the species and classes from the AEC, as well as new ones, and talks about how they're incorporated in the Bluestone Isles.

The fun thing about the fact that various islands and clusters out there is that they all reestablished themselves over generations after The Sorrow in pretty strict isolation. What this means is that on each island set we can change up the species, the classes, and even what bonuses/class allowances the same species get from island to island (races/ethnicities for everyone, not just the elves!). So while dwarves in one cluster may have access to say, the cleric class, other dwarves that don't worship gods on another island won't have that option. The other nice thing about this that we can make distinct and different species/races to play, without having to create 400 different intelligent species running around on one world (which always seemed weird to me)

We may even do humans with slight bonuses or class restrictions, seriously, crazy I know!

Now, much of this won't apply for Bluestone, as its an introduction to our world and a "Basic" cluster for the setting. We don't want to go too crazy and different from the AEC, but we're not going to keep it exactly the same either.

For instance, the PC species for Bluestone comprises of the following:
Dwarves
Gnomes
Kobolds
Lizard Folk
Humans

See, slightly different.

Book Building: The Maps!

With all our names in hand, I can now present the maps of the Bluestone Isles, in both Political and Geographical splendor!

Pretty sexy, right?

Building a Fantasy Sandbox: Step 15 - Part 7 - The Big One and We're Done!

We saved the biggest and best for last!

Finally the last island, the big boy in the center gets all of the naming out of the way and we put a wrap on Step 15:

The crown jewel of the Bluestone Isles is Ashford Island, largest of the islands in both landmass and population, it is the literal centerpiece to the island cluster.

The island's eastern border is covered by the great Bluestone Mountains, named so because of the blue tint they take on when viewed from a distance in the morning light, and from which the Isles take their name. These great peaks jut skyward, from the jagged summit of the tallest, Mt. Eudora, down to the lower, gentler mountains to the south. This natural barrier helps protect the island from the harsh smoke and ash pumped out of the neighboring volcano, The Heart of Chasnor.

The mountains themselves are flanked by the rolling Lafe Hills, who's western side is carved into by three rivers. The twin rivers Alar and Falar are naturally fed, formed from water running off the Bluestones, as well as from collected streams throughout the surrounding hills. They collect into the Mud River, named so for the dark, murky waters that are created by the rough waters from where the rivers meet, combined with silt and other particulates that are brought down from the mountains. Further to the east, the White River is named for the caps that form on it, due to a rapid current and numerous rocks. It is a younger river, once a mountain fed stream, it now is thought that a crack into the Elemental Realm of Water is feeding it, creating a much larger volume of water than was previously there.

The mountains are also split, separated by The Marble Lake, thus named for the marble striations created from the mixing of the opaque waters of the Mud River with the crystal clear waters of the White river. Marble Lake is a source of food and water for those on Ashford Island. The Goblins that have taken up residence north of the lake often are a nuisance, but aren't in large enough numbers to pose a real threat. The real danger of the lake lies in the wildlife that lives in the nearby woods, as well as elemental creatures that slip through and travels to the lake via the White River. In fact, many ruins of failed attempts to settle lands around Marble Lake speak of the danger of the elemental creatures. These attacks happen so frequently on any attempt to settle along the lake's shore that many believe some mad druid or practitioner of magic is protecting Marble Lake for some unknown reason.

Further west, the land begins to even out and a vast forest growth, named first by the lizard folk as the Garové Woods (the name being adopted by the humans as well), used to dominate the rest of the island. However, as the humans and their lizard folk allies have begun to settle and expand the lands around them, much of the woods has been cleared to make way for farming. The farmland covers most of the south of Ashford, and while numerous farm houses dot the land, several prominent settlements have been built as well.

Furthest north, nestled into a “bay” created by The Sorrow as it tore Ashford Island free from the land below, is Ashford Bay. This city had existed long before the great cataclysm and was gradually resettled by humans and lizard folk, who expanded it by added vast airship docks as well as allowing the gnomes to create several steamwork systems to help run the day to day functions of the great city. The “bay” itself is protected by two great towers, built upon two chunks of rock hauled close to its entrance and connected to Ashford itself by great, and magically reinforced, lengths of chain, each with link as big as several men standing side by side. These towers are named Orial and Cannas, after two brothers and great heroes who managed to infiltrate and defeat a great gathering of airship pirates before they could launch a raid on Ashford Bay during its infancy.

Situated in the middle of the farmland is the great keep known as The Citadel. From it, the crossroads of five trade roads come together, like spokes meeting at the center of a wheel. These roads are well built and well maintained, wide enough to allow two wagons to pass one another. It is along these roads, and the many smaller roads that branch off them into the farmlands, that the Citadel Marshals patrol, keeping the road safe from bandits and monsters that would prey upon caravans, pilgrims, and travelers. Those captured are brought back to The Citadel for quick sentencing, usually left to rot in the prisons beneath the keep or put on display at the crossroads in the various stocks and cages that run along beside it.

These roads lead to the other notable settlements of Ashford Island. To the west is the village of Sama, the center of the agricultural lands of the Bluestone Isles. Most of the harvested goods travel there, prior to being dispersed to Ashford Bay and other population centers near and far. The village maintains it's own docks, primarily used for the heavy shipping barges that transport the grains, meat and other foodstuffs collected from the farms. Sama itself doesn't host that much of a population, while there are some residents, most of the workers come from the surrounding farmlands. Most of those that live in the village proper are cobblers, wheelwrights and others of the sort. There is, of course, a few local taverns. To the south of Sama is Iscarion's Way, a small port hamlet used primarily as a trade stop for smaller airships carrying goods from Calder's Promise. It mostly caters to airmen crews and has a large number of inns, taverns, and brothels to keep the crews occupied while the deals of trade are worked out in great guild halls by the docks.

Further east and south of Iscarion's Way is one of Ashford's two logging and hunting hamlets, a place known as Forest's Edge. Situated along the current edge of the Garové Woods, this small settlement is mostly known for its practice of sending its children to South Island to hunt the great Fangbeast the roam there. The other hamlet, directly east of The Citadel is called Falconwood. Here, many of the hunters are trained falconers, and primarily hunt in the farmlands themselves for small game, helping to control pest populations and bring in food to feed the hamlet itself. The rest of the hamlet provides much of the lumber used in the rest of the settled lands.

Book Building: The Introduction

No, I'm not going to give the book away piece by piece here, but I am going to show parts of it (and have been doing so among the various Building a Fantasy Sandbox entries). However, the introduction is very important to hook people into wanting to check out your product and this is my first pass at said intro. Of course constructive criticism is welcomed (please note, this cold text has not yet seen a pass by an editor).

The world of Deminar has changed, once a glowing marble floating in a black void, teeming with life, it is now shattered, broken, transformed. Generations ago, The Sorrow tore the planet asunder, ripping her to pieces and casting large chunks of earth skyward. And there those pieces hung, floating amidst the clouds, silent sentinels to the world battered below it.

Yet life still clung to those shattered fragments of land, survivors of the great cataclysm that were taken to the skies along with the land beneath their feet. At first, they merely tried to stay alive, finding food, shelter, and avoiding becoming prey to dangerous creatures that stalked what was left of their homes. But as time passed they once again grew to tame the land, reclaiming old cities and towns, plowing farmland and creating new places to live and grow. But they were still isolated, until, once again, their lives changed.

It was the Gnomes that thought of it first, harnessing the very rock that floated beneath them, carving it into great hulls and affixing sails. Thus, the first airships were born out of the very disaster that nearly wiped out all existence. And while the Gnomes had moved onto greater and grander things, including harnessing the power of steam, the other intelligent species took what it was the Gnomes had first created and opened their worlds to exploration.

It was not simple, however, for great danger lurked in the skies. Many island clusters were cut off from others due to large rock fields, encasing them like a shell. Debris that constantly shifted and smashed together, often at random. Those that found safe routes through them discovered that many times so did lurking sky pirates and creatures who lived upon the crashing rock, all who would prey upon those that passed. Many a explorer was faced with the decision of facing potential threat of death from pirates and monsters or from unknown routes and crashing rock. Other clusters, and even lone islands, were separated by vast distances of what seemed like nothing but endless sky. However, these places were just as dangerous, and explorers who set out through them often never returned or found another civilized land, instead falling to slavers, pirates, or vast monstrosities that plied the empty sky, free to grow to enormous size.

To this day many islands and tiny clusters of islands have not seen those outside of their vicinity, and some assume they're the only ones left. However, the inherit trait to explore and discover was not lost, even with these dangers and many an explorer continue to set out to see what is beyond the horizon. Clusters and islands have begun to discover one another, safe routes are established and patrolled, and species that once shared common ground have discovered how different one another are when growing up for generations in isolation. New cultures, worship, and indeed lives, have been made that have separated species that once held common stock and belief. From this new alliances have been forged, new ideas and innovations shared, so have great enemies, unable to allow another of their kind to act so different from them.

In this vast floating tangle of diversity, threat, and evolution sits a cluster of islands known as the Bluestone Isles. It is here, among the seven small masses of land, that new heroes arise, ready to explore not only the mysteries of the lands around them, but the mysteries of the lands abroad. Great danger and vast wealth lies hidden not only among the lands nearby but out amongst the endless blue. You are those heroes, this is your destiny, welcome to the Bluestone Isles. Welcome to Deminar.

The Player's Guide to Deminar is the first in a series of campaign setting sourcebooks for use with Labyrinth Lord and the Advanced Edition Companions, available at http://www.goblinoidgames.com/.