World Building

So I found the official font for 5E and decided to get logos and emulate the cover of a 5E book for our world. This got me once again working on world building.

I have always put off world building as it's too damn big. Yes I have the shorts, I have the important NPCS, I have the city districts, the main places the PC's visit, the kingdom, the guard, vague laws, etc. But I have not been able to flush out the entire world with deities in complete detail, areas, lands, customs, etc, it's just too much to do.Each section alone of just parts of the city would require paragraphs, pages, art, custom images to show what I am referring to, references to old content we did in game years back that has to be found and referenced and even the best program to build this all in.

Why do I want a campaign guide? Well especially now with two DM's doing our world (one Pathfinder, one 5E). It would be handy to not have someone go totally off on in a way that doesn't fit our world, but more than that the 5E content is written in such a way as to be role play vs. rules so the book doesn't have to be 1000 pages of rules Pathfinder style, but more 5E role play style.

I will try to release some information on here, but I will not be releasing this via DM's Guild or similar website as no one would buy our custom campaign world book. It's our book for us and only makes sense to us, but anyone can view what we've done and we've done a lot!

Hopefully soon I will be releasing content on here (Especially if I can find the 5E page templates) for everyone to see and enjoy.

Streaming and Video Catch up

Hopefully we are set to start streaming soon. "Every 2nd Sunday night, Pathfinder" Will be the tag line for Twitch as well as picking up a sub for the channel. (If I can get people to pitch in about a dollar a month. $8.99/mo for turbo).

We can start streaming immediately with major changes to our table rules while the stream is live. The past broadcasts will still upload to YouTube and go in manual order, while the new twitch streams can go private until they are ready to go in chronological order.

Programs: OBS and proper cables from laptop to Jeff's camcorder.

At the table we will need a laptop to monitor the chat stream, make sure the stream is still live and a pause screen with art for our half time break.

We should also invest into a small monitor to attach to the camcorder so we can see what the feed is seeing on a larger scale (this may work on the laptop as well, but is handy for the group to see next to the camera to see how things are working). A final though is going to be investing in mic's for the table and setting that up.

Table rules can be taken from our house rules section and added to a bit. So far I am working on the following:

Table Etiquette

• No phones at the table, please don't be on a phone, watching a video or preoccupied.
• No magic cards at the table, were here to play Pathfinder or D&D.
• Be ready for your turn. Have a plan based on what's happened so far and look up what is needed
spell wise etc for when it is your go. Keep the pace moving.
• No swearing OOC at another player. *updated* as well as threats of violence.
• No name calling or intentionally putting another down.
• Breaks are to be called by the DM. Don't wander or leave during game play.
• Be prepared to start when the game begins so we can get to gaming. *updated* after the social introduction time period at the start of the game.
• Try to avoid META gaming. If your character does not know it, you do not know it.
• DM decisions are to be taken as this time. We can discuss rules and decisions after game.
• Minimum age allowed at the table depends on the maturity of the player asked to play. Kids are
not allowed to play as concern about the language being to mature is not acceptable.

NEW Stream Rules

• No racial slurs, political statements, opinions on sexuality.
• Do not openly argue in a loud manner. Suggest we re-look at a rule or issue later after the game or at start of next game.
• Do not suggest anyone doesn't know a rule or is doing something wrong. Only correct someone if it is in a helpful manner and you fully understand that rule without having to look it up.
• Do not discuss real life opinions of other people (friends, known or celebrities).
• Do not discuss brands, show logos, trademarked pop cans, beer labels, chip bags, etc.
• Snacks can be eaten during the timed (10m?) break so were not eating and talking on camera
• Speak loudly to be heard, even whey your character is whispering. Stage whispers (Means to talk loud so the audience can hear you even though we know your whispering in character.)
• Speak to your party in character, take all the time you need to open, have and finish a conversation or social even between characters at the table before talking to the DM about the event at hand.
• Remember D&D is about role playing or "acting" don't be afraid to put on a show for the audience watching. If you are not about that, allow the other players who do like it to continue and do not shut them down.
• The DM will try to be more passive and almost invisible so the players can take center stage. The more you interact and ask each other, the less I have to explain between everyone and give opinions.
• Dead air sucks. Talk too much is good. Sometimes players will tell you to tone it down if your talking too much, but do not listen. This is a good thing, you need to be talking, telling a story, interacting with the other players, asking questions in character, or getting up to no good.

Stream monitor duties

• Shout out's to subscribers
• Immediately kick and block anyone using insults, unacceptable language, advertising or harassing comments.
• Ensure the stream is still going
• Appoint mod's from reoccurring fans to help monitor or real life known friends in stream.
• Maybe answer a question or two at the break

Campaign Chronology

Enjoy a small summary of the 14 year history of our game. It's the Halloween episode which is why we are dressed up. Looking forward to many, many more years of playing.

Rules vs. Role Playing

So once again we stall a game over rules instead of just role playing out a scenario. In this write up I want to address both the ability to identify magical items found and how wish is handled. (Possibly touch on power building)

When done reading, come back to this. . .

To do this we can look at rules as printed and try to interrupt them with their contradictions, grey areas and what others on official forms think they mean. We can look at how other groups handle these issues, what they do and look back to our own history on how they were handled in other rule sets as well as why they are important to the integrity of role playing as whole.

The purpose is to satisfy the player out of game while not breaking the immersion of role playing in game by using terms that are meant to be taken out of game. 

Putting identify in the hands of a major NPC helps to fill a role as a reliable source of information for the PC’s and a useful tool for the DM for passing information and quests as well. This NPC would become more and more known to the PC’s making them seem almost real or like an old friend. Heading back to town with a bag full of unknown loot the PC’s would talk about wanting to visit this NPC to get their items both identified and to have them research the items so when they are ready for pick up they get both the joy of what they’ve discovered as well as possibly an interesting story about an item or two that may lead to further quests or investigation. 

Now our game feels more immersive, more real, like role playing. We have NPC’s who we are interested in on a personal level (their day, their issues, what they are up to), we have a reason to haul all that loot back to town, and we have the joy of discovery when we find out what it really is in town where it can be sold, stored or equipped. 

But we forgot, what if we have a mage ourselves. Back in 3.0 or 3.5 we used to visit our house for some downtime. This downtime was again used for the mage to be studding the items after purchasing the needed pearl dust to identify a set number or items over the course of eight hours. That’s what these studied old mages do, they hold up in their workshops and study magic! 

So far we’ve talked a bit about why it’s important for identify to remain in the hands of NPC’s and also why it works as the perfect role for the mage during their downtime. 

Quick examples of NPC's. For UPM Gaming it's always been Morgan. Morgan was there at the start of the game some 14 years ago known as the mage who lived in a large black stone tower on the side of the city where the merchants were. She had an adopted young apprentice who helped with the studding as needed and a counter for purchasing limited magical trinkets. 

The PC's visited Morgan on many occasions over the years and followed her one some adventures as well as rescued her from another plane and had a story arc about saving her apprentice Charlotte from The Shadow Queen. Morgan always identified the magical items for the PC's as well as was the only one who could study and research artifacts for the party. She required a pearl of at least 100gp and could identify a number of items up to her level over the course of 8 hours which sometimes required more visits.    

We followed the adventures of Morgan even when the PC's went 16 years into the future after battling the king lich in his floating fortress and found her later as a grown woman who had retired. As such with her family we learned that each apprentice was required to also see a new apprentice upon becoming a master and of age. This lead to Morgan's apprentice Charlotte becoming a master and having an adopted apprentice of her own. 

Fast forward from 535cy to 571cy and we find a new historian mage named "Mercedes" a descendant of the house of Morgan. She is the fourth master who's come of age and claiming the mages tower as her own. She is now in need of her own apprentice (which is being worked into 5th edition d&d and started on the plane of the Fey Wild as the PC's see a painting of Mercedes after visiting her to get information on a mysterious cult that worships an egg found below a mansion.)

This is our campaign's legacy.

 

Let's jump over to something famous, from California and visit a man called "Gilmore".

If you don't know the long running major NPC who sells the PC's magical items and identifies their gear and helps them is named Gilmore and he is far more than just a random NPC he is also their friend, who they visit from time to time. They go on quests which he play's a major role and acts as an ear for downtime heavy hearted drama from the PC's. If the PC's could just roll a dice and get all their answers we would never have met the inspirational and charismatic man.

The NPC is so well known he has spawned T-shirts, dice boxes, etc all named after him and his famous shop known as "Gilmore's Glorious Goods". I won't list his entire history, but it is safe to say the DM is using Gilmore in the same way that I used Morgan. 

The story is so much richer when characters are brought to life and intertwined in the PC's story. The PC's we must remember are not in a black box isolated by rules, but rather in a living, breathing world. If there were no one to interact with the world would be flat and dull, unbelievable and fake. It would be like playing a game by the rules like Monopoly where there is no room for storytelling or imagination. At this point why would you not just play alone on your computer? 

Well I have now shown you two major NPC's who would not have existed if it were just a roll in a book to uncover the secrets of magic rather than a social interaction between PC and NPC. But let's get to some rules comparison's between rule set's and see how this evolved and came to be different from 3.0 to Pathfinder. 

Back in the days of 3.0 it was pretty simple. Get a pearl worth 100g, smash it up into dust, mix a cocktail and identify a number of items up to your level. Of course this only got you some of the abilities and the command words. For higher and more thorough inspection you needed a 6th level spell "Analyze Dweomer" this allowed you to get more abilities out of an item, but still not an artifact and still required 8 hours, a gemstone worth 1,500gp and targeted one object. This was why it was best left to an NPC to do items over time. 

Jumping forward to 3.5 we see a major change! As I open my book to page 243. I see identify now takes one hour and can only be used on one item. It still needs that 100gp pearl powder making it now way more expensive, as before you could do multiple items for that price. So for comparison we now see analyze dweomer does a number of objects (not just one anymore) per level and still has that 1,500 gemstone cost.

This is quite the difference and cost! It still hasn't eliminated Morgan, choosing to take the rules over the person, but it has made the PC able to identify something quicker. I believe that back in the day we even chose to keep the 3.0 version due to the taking 8 hours make more sense for something to be fully researched. 

Now we chose to jump to the final incarnation of the 3.0 rule set, Pathfinder. Here is where it gets even more bizarre. In an attempt to combine multiple skills into one James Jacobs (Author of the Pathfinder Core rules) explains that spellcraft was meant to answer questions based on crafting and knowledge was meant to answer questions based on magical theory (how things work).

The mass posts on the forums indicate that the community is quite confused on just why there are skills and spells used in combination for the purpose of identifying items. Here below is just one such example.

There are many posts, but this one shows some of the confusion players in the community are finding when trying to interpret James's rules. What was meant by the designer to be an easier solution has escalated into a math problem.  

Wow! Really, we need to do all this during the adventure to tell what a +1 sword is. Hmm I am sensing that something is a bit off here, but let's continue down this thread.

Now were not even getting command words, charges, and curses! What a headache, no wonder there are so many threads on this simple thing, but wait . . . where is our beloved NPC in all of this? When the calculators, books and push pins with thread come out to join one skill to one spell to one other spell who are we talking to? What size is the room were standing in? What is the weather like? Hmmm I think we just lost our immersion, our role playing, unless of course we are role playing reading a rule book and solving math problems.

Now I present another post to spin our world back. James Jacobs back in 2009 said it worked well to use the two skills and tie in the magic and in 2012 he says . . . 

The post is too large for the blog, so zooming in by clicking the photo may help. Here is the key words to this. "There's already a mechanic in the game for knowing about magic items - Spellcraft. I know that skill says you have to have detect magic going to identiy an item, but I personally feel that's a remnant from an earlier design philosophy that we should have dumped. The mystery of identifying magic items is relatively abandoned in modern gaming."

ARE YOU FUCKING SERIOUS???

What the fuck . . . wait, what? 1. The rules say this but I feel fuck that. 2. The mystery (unknown ancient magical powers that you unlock and are wowed by) are not needed in today's gaming? So just give the player the stats and move on? 3. Remnant from an earlier design philosophy? When he says back in 2008 "I think the solution works out pretty good", when talking about using both detect magic, and knowledge skills?

 

 Here are some follow up posts from that thread.

This post is close to home, it talks about a player who has no knowledge of any of the past but simply put skill ranks into spellcraft because James Jacobs told him if you do, you simply identify magical items. However this post goes on to contradict it's self by saying okay add in a knowledge check cause if you don't the PC's will miss out on crucial story info. Well no shit dummy, if you use a check to unlock the unnecessary mystery you dumped you stats not story. Now if your a rules guy, at this point you are like "Ha see, the skill makes me win." 

But sadly then you see this . . . (*massive content reply removed to get to his words*)

 "One of my big hopes for a new edition would be to build the game to start to give the power back to the GM, to allow the GM to be able to make rules adjudication without the players using the core rules as a bludgeon to argue with. I love how the d20 system has rules for so much you might want to accomplish in the game, but hate how people get obsessed with adhering exactly to the rules, because it starts to ruin the game designer's ability to present a fun adventure or encounter if every single word needs to have only one specific definition."

So you wrote your rules, then decided they were not working in the modern gaming world, then took the role playing out of role playing, and now are mad that modern gamers who play but the rules only want to adhere to those rules? What a fucking joke, you did it to yourself. 

Wow that was quite the interesting time and I only did a small search on James Jacobs and identify. There are many, many more! So what did I learn from all that personally? The role playing is missing dammit, the NPC's are gone, the world is gone, it's Magic The Gathering with it's specific rules! This card does this period. No goddammit, this is d&d, it's fucking role-playing.

So let's back up to where we were to post about how Pathfinder handled identifying a magic item as it was back when it was released. (As a side note, here is a good article about how stupid another GM finds it: http://www.paperspencils.com/2012/10/08/identifying-magic-items-in-pathfinder/)

It's posted above but let's do it again from the massive reddit post. 

Got that? Having fun yet? Do you feel immersed in a fantasy world with the wind in your hair? No? Me either. Having spent over two hours writing up just the pathfinder part and researching online all the forums, posts, arguments, endless debates, designer double talk . . . I can finally say. What was wrong with 3.0?

I hate playing alone!

-- ~~ Part I ~~ -- All Alone

So I learned that nothing sucks more in life than owning a fuck ton of D&D rule books, accessories, mini's, maps, etc and having no one to play with.

I go on twitter and watch as the creators of D&D are busy setting up their live stream set for a gaming group to play the new Storm Giant's adventure released for 5th. Or on Facebook groups where D&D players are posting happy photos of their friends around the table having a blast being silly and playing D&D, but when I go to my game now (after 13 years) no one is there! Or even worse, only two people show up and we don't play. I just want to play D&D! It is sadly a game that depends on others to be there for you to have fun. You can't play alone!

I go home and sit there with my books and thoughts of what adventures we could go on or play and indstead twiddle my thumbs as I can't do that by myself. Uhhhhh frustrating. I watch Critical Role and write up adventures for no one since we aren't playing and again am watching others play.

I try to think up ways to do something that involves D&D alone. A podcast? A video on YouTube? Anything! Fuck, we played for 13 years and in this unlucky year the group falls apart and finding new people isn't easy. You would think finding players who are in the same boat, sitting there wanting to play but having no one to play with would be easy to find, but nope. Not to say 100% no one is available, but only complete city strangers might be interested. At this point I don't even care who they are, I just want people to play with, anyone will do! Getting desperate to player here.

So I think back to how this all started, and how I had to split the groups because people can't play together when they all want the same things. Which brings me to the second half of this blog, why can't anyone get along in D&D? What is it that EVERY game of D&D played by everyday people to rich famous actors all have the same problems of "fuck you, your a dick, I quit". Why does this happen?

-- ~~ Part II ~~ -- Why Can't We Get Along?

Getting along at a table is hard. Characters clash, don't like each other, or have conflicting views. Players clash, don't like each other, or have conflicting views. So how do get people to play together?

I find this is much different than all the articles in magazines and online that talk about dealing with a disruptive player at the table. Most of them are exactly the same and say "Just stop playing with this player." Ya well that doesn't work, it don't work because sometimes this person is a friend and should not be kicked out of the game, or the player might be someone I could do without, but then again I would be too low on players and it's too hard to find more and in truth they are not that bad.

There are lots of sides to blame in every argument that comes up:

The PC causing the argument has most likely taken a selfish action due to boredom, or done something that effects the way the other players are able to play their PC's.

The PC's are working on a discussion and another PC races in due to boredom and ruins things for everyone.

The PC has chosen a rogue or evil path, while the other players are good aligned or do not allow stealing or roguish actions.

A PC murders a NPC or something the others deem non-evil and believe should not have died.

A PC lords his strength or ability over another forcing him to do what he wants or face him in battle of which he will clearly die.

A PC uses his magic to force another PC to do what he want's and takes away his free will.

These are some of the issues that ALWAYS come up, no matter what, that pisses off a player and stops them from playing. A player has to be able to play their PC the way they wish, but this should not affect the rest of the way the groups plays their PC's.

 

So if all these issues arise, what also add's to driving people from the game?:

Player lectures other players at the table out of character asking why his/her character would do that?

Player at the table questions another players stats or abilities or spells and tells them to prove how they arrived at such an outcome.

A PC in game refuses to change their coarse of action even when presented with in game mechanics such as diplomacy or a good reason why they should stop.

A PC is seen as not trying or seen as sabotaging his party when he is just playing in character having fun, while the others are more insistent on "winning" the encounter.

There are no right or wrong answers for these situations, for even with a DM's hand a selfish player will continue to be selfish if he/she thinks everyone is now ganging up on them.

 

Examples from Critical role were when Percy was greedy and opened a trap that got Vax's sister killed (All PC's). He later went up to him to apologize and got punched in the face for his trouble. You would think this might piss him off as he was saying sorry for what he did, but character Vax could not accept this apology and thought Percy cocky and a know it all so smashed him in the face. Instead of pushing the situation Percy simply took the punch and said goodnight. From that Vax also said goodnight and the situation was over with that. It could have taken a more nasty turn, but both playing in character (one accepting the repercussions of his actions, the other playing the moody rogue who upholds his sisters health before any others.)

PC's can interact by hitting someone who was wrong and that player accepting it or feeling he/she did not deserve it, but they should never immediately say "They attacked me!" and go full force weapons out into attacking the other PC back. This is not what party members who have similar goals and have known each other for years would act in reality.

Another example would be when an evil magical item was a way for the party to solve a goal quickly and one player wanted to use it, while the rest of the party was worried about releasing the evil inside. The one PC defended it against the other players with his weapon out saying "Fuck it, I'm going to use it" against their wishes. While this player is in the wrong (believing his PC is doing what he would do). The others tried to persuade him before taking actions to get the evil item away from him for his own good. Though this upset him, he understood they were trying to get the item to keep him from releasing evil and took no actions against them once the items fate was finally put to rest by an NPC who arrived during the skirmish. He did not pursue it or break past anyone, ignoring the story to complete his task as a clear head told him it was a bad idea and the situation was over.

An example from our game was a new player had come in as a rogue who disarmed traps to join the party as they investigated a house. As they went into the house, the other players knocked him into a hole while screwing around and not allowing him to check the trap, only to have him fall through a deadly trap and die, catch on fire and dissolve in acid.

So with all this that can arise, how do we actually solve issues? So no one get's up and says "fuck it, I'm out."

-- ~~ Part III~~ -- How Do You Fix, Broken?

There is no answer for this, for each situation is different and requires it's own answer. If players do not like each other, they will come to blows no matter what. The only thing someone could do in this situation would be to see the larger picture and realize if they quit, they will have no game to play again. I would hope they would think or walk away before our right quitting.

Here are some examples of how somethings could be fixed:

Players learn to separate themselves from their characters

Players talk about the issues out of game and work through them

Players play with "teamwork" in mind, no matter the vice of personality flaw their character has that works again the group or other PC's.

Players don't drink at the table, if they realize it affects their behavior in a negative fashion

Players don't take an alignment or view in direct opposition of their party's

Players know when their PC has to take a backseat to the other players at the table and let things happen that they are not into, such as non combat exploration or diplomacy

Players learn to talk in character to each other to solve issues, not yell at each other at the table as players.

Players who are bored can work on their characters goals and fix their notes, etc while the other players are busy doing what their PC's want to do, instead of making issues of it

Players who don't like each other or clash, need to keep their PC's out of direct interaction in game or when it is needed, instead of being rude, treat the other players PC as they would a friendly NPC

Player complains openly at the table about not knowing why they are doing what they are doing. Instead should be asking in character and seeking answers to his/her questions to get answers that might be an adventure in it's self!

Player instead of stopping another player from doing an action, let's them do it then finds an interesting way to bring up why they shouldn't have done that or starts up a conversation about doing the wrong thing. This shows his characters values in game so others will learn of them

Players must realize their PC's are part of the story, the story isn't about their PC alone. Help everyone to get some stage time and have the light on them during the game.

Players should never do something to another character because they know they can get away with it. You have to realize the player at the table isn't having fun if your openly fucking with them. Instead realize this PC is on your PC's side and your buddies or at least after the same goal, if you wanna fuck with someone, fuck with NPC's and include the other PC's in your actions

Players need to understand the DM has the final say about a rule and should not openly argue at the table, but instead write it down and plan to bring it up later to get an answer

Players who are distracted by their phones, games, or other issues, should stand up and leave the room for a while. Everyone needs to be 100% focused on the game even if you are bored with the action happening at the moment, have that respect or take a break for the sake of the others

DM can end the session early and break out another game for the players to play until things can be settled out of game

DM can take clashing players and make their PC's use in game skills to diplomasize each other or talk it out to solve the issue.

DM, instead of questioning the player about his/her choice can make them roll a check if they are doing something he believes is out of character for that player.

DM can bring about divine karma to a players PC if he/she is running wild murdering NPC's or ruining things for others, making it clear that for every action there is a reaction

DM can suggest that the player think about his/her actions if they affect the rest of the party, before letting the action continue

 

There are no clear ways to fix this unless everyone wants to fix it and in the end when they are sitting at home having stopped everyone from playing by shrinking the group size, I think we can gather and talk things out and get the game back on track. Which, is the only thing that matters in the end, because without anyone to play with you can't play.

Alone forever, bored for life, not just for your turn in a game where you can have endless fun, for just a small investment in tolerating other people.

New books

A package arrives and it is time to build in another way.

Classes and Races to work with

Things to battle and fill our dungeons

and the world builder with new fresh ideas

Pathfinder story so far June 2016

Started off in the city of Ashura as the PC's join up as protectors of a Pathfinder's group. She leads them into a southern swamp towards a small town that houses a scroll of power. Here the town they visit is plagued with an undead menace and holds a family secret. The PC's right the wrongs here and end up recovering the scroll and ending the storm that came to this town.

Next the PC's visit the sister city of Rankin where a festival has just begun. The carnival is in town and the peoples sad spirits are lifted for a while. Here the PC's come across a kidnapping and get involved in rescuing a family of gypsies. During this time the PC's also make way to a wizards tower to recover another object of power called the orb of storms. They make way through the tower using tables and ladders until they steal the orb and flee back to the city. After some time exploring the corruption in Rankin the PC's decide to go back to Ashura and let their Pathfinder leader research these objects. 

 

From here they return to the city of Ashura where they are sent on a mission to the stars and land on a planet full of rotting technology. Battling a lunar dragon in space and taking a worm hole to a distant planet they land and find the near by city is having trouble as their forge (the soul source of their income) has gone out. The PC's delve beneath the mountain here to find a crashed ship and the reason why the forge had gone out. From here they save the city and make way back to their crashed ship where they then head for home.

Then the PC's return home to the city with new friends in tow. From here the Pathfinder leaves for a meeting and the PC's want to take on missions of their own. One of their expeditions lead them north in the winter and ends with them suffering frostbite, failure and a cave of vampires who capture some of their companions forcing them to find new allies to launch a rescue mission.

 

The PC's help a scholar investigate a temple that appears during storms and return with children, information and more. In this temple they find many gods from another plane in statue form and an intelligent ape who guards a statue of another god. They are stuck for a time on the astral plane and finally defeat a snake abomination that breaks the curse of the temple.

Next the PC's help an eastern woman investigate an ancient castle and go on a mission to reclaim her throne. They join up with her and her companions to find a family heirloom. During this adventure they make way north and defeat assassins until they free the eastern woman from her kidnappers.

The PC's now break off and head to an island where they recover an object of power from an abby and join a local guild.