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Post by Mighty Darci on Oct 13, 2016 11:40:38 GMT -5
OK tetramorph, will you walk me though making my first mini module? I grabbed one of your titles and I have some ideas, but I am not sure about how to turn it into a written product and I can't produce those professional maps that you did for Skeletons In The Closet. I was thinking of a mountain with a sizable lair inhabited by a tribe of barbarians that raids caravans that travel a pass through the mountains and the terrain makes detouring away from these barbarians impossible. The Chieftain of the tribe is about 7th level and is a berserker that fights with such ferocity that no one has ever withstood his onslaught. Is that a good place to start and where can we go with it. |
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Post by tetramorph on Oct 13, 2016 18:34:50 GMT -5
Berserker's Mountain! How awesome, Mighty Darci , I'm glad you're joining the project! Okay, so, the maps are "professional" because I used Google and searched for "floor plans victorian house" and found a bunch and then linked to the one you see on my blog. Nothing like the inter webs! I've found an awesome outline of a hobbit smial for the current project. There is a heck of a lot of stuff out there. I would recommend you check out Dyson Logos' maps over on Dyson's Dodecahedron. He has a lot of stuff that is available for fair use where you just cite that it came from him and link to his web page. I know he has done a lot of desert and mountain fortresses and stuff. You could probably find a rad one to use for Berserker's Mountain! You can put the picture up on your blog post and link to your post from here, once it is ready to share. Your description sounds awesome and I am looking forward to seeing it! I found that simply using my generic section headings as an outline, the thing just kind of wrote itself as I slowly filled in the blanks. I shifted back and forth by interest and inspiration until the whole thing was filled out. Then I made sure that things referenced one another and the whole thing hanged together well. It was fun and I am looking forward to moving on with Tucker's Kobolds as soon as I get a chance. The next thing I would suggest (only a suggestion) is that you go with the stats and composition of force as described in Men and Magic. So, e.g., pp. 5ff: Give 'em a big old force, maybe even maxing out at 300. (Alternatively, the size of force may be the difference between normal, heroic and super heroic levels of challenge. Really, I think this could only be heroic and super heroic in challenge. "Normal" types would need to find, say, an abandoned fort with a handful of berserkers led by a low level FM and maybe a crack pot Medium or else the result would probably be a TPK!) If you go with a force of 300, they get 10 heroes, six 5th or 6th level FM and 3 superhero/lord types. Rad! Give them a powerful MU (11th level) and a Patriarch. Fill out magic items for all the leader types erring on the side of generous. Give them a big old Type A treasure. Etc. Maybe the leadership are not berserkers. Maybe they've got some crazy back story for why they want to use berserkers as their minions. Maybe they are drugging them to get them to go berserk. Etc. Okay, I've gotta slow down here -- its your project, not mine! Anyway, hewing close to the LBBs as much as possible at first gives us a base standard that folks can expect. But then a wild back story and suggested hook to the campaign world, plus a unique treasure item, a fantastic unique magical artifact and a unique monster (like some mute eldritch blasphemy they keep locked up, only to unleash when necessary!) should give the personalized flavor, while retaining the standard stuff that we can share from the LBBs. Let me know if my suggestions help or hinder and if I can help out in any other way. Fight on! |
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Post by Mighty Darci on Oct 14, 2016 11:34:42 GMT -5
I will be working on those things. A blog, I don't have one and had not thought about creating one. Hmm!
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Post by tetramorph on Oct 14, 2016 12:24:59 GMT -5
I will be working on those things. A blog, I don't have one and had not thought about creating one. Hmm! It is really hard to post picture on these fora. If for no other reason I like having a blog so I can link to pictures more easily. |
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Post by tetramorph on Oct 15, 2016 13:42:42 GMT -5
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Post by Mighty Darci on Oct 17, 2016 15:58:12 GMT -5
Thank you for the links, good to know. I may give the drawing a try. I found elsewhere on here a bunch of videos with instruction on how to draw things. Looks like hours to watching, so it will not be soon.
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Post by mormonyoyoman on Oct 17, 2016 18:27:09 GMT -5
The more I read about this project, the more I want to read the published sourcebook/scenario/adventure/module. (What ARE we calling them things these days?) ❔
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Post by Mighty Darci on Oct 17, 2016 23:00:21 GMT -5
The more I read about this project, the more I want to read the published sourcebook/scenario/adventure/module. (What ARE we calling them things these days?) ❔ Why don't you start one too! |
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Post by mormonyoyoman on Oct 18, 2016 1:02:46 GMT -5
Ugh. Many irons in many fires.
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Post by Mighty Darci on Oct 19, 2016 7:19:38 GMT -5
Ugh. Many irons in many fires. Ahh! A blacksmith, that would not leave you much energy for hobbies.  |
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Post by mormonyoyoman on Oct 19, 2016 7:25:01 GMT -5
Ugh. Punster paleface girl. Chet no black Smith - just Creek/Cherokee Cox. (I yam what I yam.)
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Post by Mighty Darci on Oct 19, 2016 7:46:09 GMT -5
Ugh. Punster paleface girl. Chet no black Smith - just Creek/Cherokee Cox. (I yam what I yam.) I love spinach too, but it doesn't make me talk like that.  All this time and I thought Popeye was a paleface too! I didn't know, please tell me more? I want to know more about how a Creek/Cherokee Cox became a sailor? |
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Post by Mighty Darci on Oct 19, 2016 8:35:07 GMT -5
Am kicking around a number of ideas for the backstory and several different directions this can take. Hope to post about it before too long. This is a lot of fun!
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Post by mormonyoyoman on Oct 19, 2016 8:43:05 GMT -5
One doesn't need to be a sailor to have a healthy self-identity. Arf! Arf!
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Post by Admin Pete on Oct 19, 2016 11:40:30 GMT -5
One doesn't need to be a sailor to have a healthy self-identity. Arf! Arf! Now I am curious, what type of dog do you imagine you are? |
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Post by Admin Pete on Oct 19, 2016 11:40:55 GMT -5
Am kicking around a number of ideas for the backstory and several different directions this can take. Hope to post about it before too long. This is a lot of fun! Sounds great and I look forward to reading it. |
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Post by mormonyoyoman on Oct 28, 2016 9:31:58 GMT -5
One doesn't need to be a sailor to have a healthy self-identity. Arf! Arf! Now I am curious, what type of dog do you imagine you are? No doggie. This is the sounds Popeye makes when he laughs. No actor has quite managed it, though I really like Jack Mercer's innovative attempt - which was sort of a gargling sound which even Robin Williams tried to emulate. See the link. 3.bp.blogspot.com/-yiGTKlukPBI/VMGBiFk5IKI/AAAAAAAA3kM/Bl00_nG2CyI/s1600/img352.jpg |
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Post by Admin Pete on Oct 28, 2016 10:01:50 GMT -5
It has been so long since I saw a Popeye cartoon, I had forgotten about that. Now back to your regularly scheduled topic. |
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Post by Mighty Darci on Oct 29, 2016 22:24:32 GMT -5
I have not had too much time the past week, but here are some ideas I have been mulling over.
There are high mountains to the north and to the south that go up to about 20,000 to 25,000 feet. There is an area between the two that is about 20 miles wide where they only go up to about 15,000 to 17,000 feet. There is only one discovered pass between east and west that snakes around through the mountains winding and twisting. Just past the "Berserker’s Mountain" cave system where the barbarians live, is a decent sized river, feed by snow and glacier melt. There are two rivers, one running north and one running south and they combine a little south of the pass. The use of the pass involves a ferry that crosses the river and it is under the control of the barbarians who have a few older semi-civilized types that operate the ferry with the help of a score of slaves (who do not have tongues). There are scouts out in both directions from the ferry and the tribe uses odd sounding horns that when used tell the size and disposition of the merchant caravans or other travelers. Depending on what is observed the decision is made to charge high fees for passage, reasonable fees or ambush and capture. There is never any trace of the battle, as they use these odd little cube shaped creatures that consume everything, blood, bodies, wood, cloth and then they (the barbarians) gather up anything the creatures don't eat. They were in the baggage of one of the caravans and while they have been gradually getting bigger to the point they have to drive them away, there are always more little ones that are exuded from the larger ones bodies every so often. There are stories told by travelers of the odd cube shaped creatures that an grow quite large and are sometimes found blocking the pass at any point along it.
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Post by tetramorph on Nov 2, 2016 20:28:05 GMT -5
Mighty Darci, sorry to be so long in reply. Tough week. Rad ideas! The mountains sound like cyclopean monstrosities! Love the odd cube shaped creatures! Is that your "unique monster" idea? Can't wait to see how you link them in. Okay, here is my worry: it reads a bit more like a mini-campaign setting than a mini-module. I can't see how it would be able to "link up an down" with other modules very easily. Unless it would be through the cave system you are describing -- which could be rad! But maybe I am just not following how you are thinking it out and keeping it "mini." Looking forward to more!
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Post by Mighty Darci on Nov 3, 2016 8:29:49 GMT -5
Mighty Darci , sorry to be so long in reply. Tough week. Rad ideas! The mountains sound like cyclopean monstrosities! Love the odd cube shaped creatures! Is that your "unique monster" idea? Can't wait to see how you link them in. Okay, here is my worry: it reads a bit more like a mini-campaign setting than a mini-module. I can't see how it would be able to "link up an down" with other modules very easily. Unless it would be through the cave system you are describing -- which could be rad! But maybe I am just not following how you are thinking it out and keeping it "mini." Looking forward to more! Hi tetramorph, I am doing two things simultaneously, I am doing both a mini-module and a mini-campaign setting (as part of a full world) at the same time. The odd cube shaped creatures,   is all I am saying for now. |
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All this time and I thought Popeye was a paleface too! I didn't know, please tell me more? I want to know more about how a Creek/Cherokee Cox became a sailor?
