Last weekend, I made a trip to WalMart, the craft store, and my FLGS. I got a roll of hex Gaming Paper, and they finally had some GameScience dice. (Yes, I know, this is only a couple days after another post where I had mentioned I didn’t last very long without buying more dice. I bought these the same day as the others, I just spread out my posting about it.)
Unfortunately, these are the “not perfect dice” that lead Lou Zocchi to return to running Game Science. I think they will roll fine, but some faces have lines and minor deformities in them, that were not evident until I got home and looked at them.
As expected, all of the have burrs. Only the d3’s burr was small enough to not show up in a picture. I will have another article on de-burring these dice and filling in the numbers for legibility.
For now, below are some fuzzy pictures showing the burrs. My de-burring article will have better pictures.
Just got this update from Peter Ragan. 20 days just to get the funds, but he’s reliable so his print shop is all ready to go, just waiting on the money. I suppose all those planning a Kickstarter need to factor in 20 days until they get the money. So, barring something unexpected, this will deliver on-time.
#10 Kickstarter Funds Transferred
Posted by Peter Regan
The project funds hit my account this morning (not sure why it takes 4 days to transfer them on top of the 14 days they take to collect the funds) and I’ve just sent a payment to the printers. They’ve already set the print job up, which helps speed things along.
As soon as I get a firm delivery date I’ll add it to the comments here. I’ve got all the packaging supplies in hand ready to go. This week I’ll be printing the sticker sheets and ordering the A3 insert sheets.
I’ve had survey responses from all but three backers, and I’ll chase them up at the weekend.
I saw the story dice posts that made the rounds a week or so back, so I decided to jump on board. I found them at WalMart. They only had two sets, the blue actions and the green voyages. There are nine dice in each package. (Yes, I know, I just recently wrote about my last dice purchase saying I wasn’t going to buy any more dice…. It’s not that I have a problem, I just had to have them.)
I also just looked in that section and found some game in a tin called Left, Right, Center and had the impression that the dice were one of L, another or R, and another of C. I thought how cool that would be to determine which way a fleeing creature went, or which way a random street, tunnel, or dungeon passageway turned.
What I found when I got home is that each die had R, L, C in succession of sides and a dot on the other three sides, so each die was identical. I did not read the rules for this game, as I was planning to use the dice in a different way. I was a bit let down by what I found when I got home to open the tin.
However, as I thought about it, I had a few ideas. L, R, C can represent left, right, and center for anything. The dots can indicate no change, or a special feature, like a trap, scrawl on a wall, rug, hidden door, etc. One thought was to roll all three dice and let whatever the majority come up determine what it indicates. This could just as easily be decided by a d3 or d6/2, etc. Having a die with what you need on it is very interesting and speeds things up, since you don’t have to remember what the number means or look it up.
The story dice are interesting and can be mixed and matched. Since I have two sets with 18 total, I could roll a d20 for how many to use, and on a 19 or 20 add one or two other random dice. This could give all kinds of ideas. I rolled each of my sets and made a quick story about each one, to illustrate. I can see how they would be useful to get out of writer’s block.
Actions:
I was out walking and something almost hit me. I saw this guy laughing and he went inside as I approached. I knocked on his door and he did not answer. Finally, he came to the door wearing headphones and acting like he didn’t hear me. That’s when our story took a drastic turn. As I was covering the body, I was caught, and now I’m locked up for good.
Voyages:
The king of the mountain was a real crab. His only joy in life came from drugs and funny mushrooms, but music was banned. After a plague I went on a quest for food and all I found were some beans.
Not necessarily the best stories, but it is easy to string them together and rearrange as needed to make things work.
Need a quick plot point or item – grab a random story die and roll it.
Faster than a table, because the dice ARE the table. That would take a lot of dice for every kind of table, but for specialist tables, this is like dungeonmorph or citymorph dice. Something to mix things up a bit. Relying solely on a table or a die role, can also make things a bit stilted and forced. One should be on guard to avoid having to have dice to generate a map, creature, situation, plot, etc. Be free to ignore a result or modify to make it work.
Yesterday, I posted that I received my order of 3 50-sheet pads of the same isometric paper that +Dyson Logos says he uses.
I finally got my home office where I can use my flatbed scanner again and scanned my first doodles using this paper.
I drew some shapes that I can see, and had a realization that a 3-D cube drawn in 2-D is a hexagon with a triskelion-like set of lines in the middle, that divides it into thirds. Thus, I drew two connected hexes, like on a map.
My expectation was that it was perforated paper, but it has a glue binding along the top and you just tear off the whole sheet, so the entire black line label is repeated on every sheet. this is not a problem, just something to be aware of.
My initial impressions were that the paper was slick, but it holds ink well. I did not smudge test it with fresh ink, so I don’t know how much it will smudge.
I did find that one has to get used to isometric paper and start with pencil to get the placement of items before resorting to ink.
I like how my stairs turned out for my first effort, in spite of having things not quite right. I made a mostly 3-D looking raised star, after I goofed my first attempt.
The last thing I tried was a tower with a smaller tower on top of it. I need to work on perspective of the little touches I added for battlements, but it isn’t bad for a quick try out.
The blue lines and dots did not entirely fade away, but someone with skill with a graphics program should be able to clean those up fairly easily.
The last thing I see, is that I need to either really slow down and make my lines look straighter, or use a straight edge. Again, like most things, practice brings improvement. I have not done a lot of map making for a long time. Now that I am working from home, I can use slow periods or conference calls to work on map ideas.
I follow +Dyson Logos and his maps. The other day, he mentioned that he got his isometric graph paper pads as a gift from Lee Valley Tools. It is a Canadian based company I had not heard of, but I ordered three pads and they arrived yesterday. I am just now writing about them and getting the pictures posted.
The brand is a Canadian brand called Veritas. The first page is the start of the pad of sheets and not a slick cover like some pads of paper might have.
In the top left corner, each page has “From the workbench of” and below it “date”. The original design is for use in a workshop. I can see how this would help design woodworking and other projects in 3-D.
I had a very basic introduction to “drafting” in 7th grade shop. We use 5 squares per inch graph paper to do block lettering and draw cubes in three dimensions. I would have had to take a specialize class if I wanted to do real drafting. It is a dying skill to draft on paper, and for making maps, I wouldn’t mind knowing the right way to do it.
Oh, well, I have rulers, and some templates and a compass, so for my use, I can have fun.
I really like the 3-D look one can get with these. My whole reason for buying Ravenloft when it came out was the isometric maps. I also like the Dungeoneer Survival Guide and it’s instructions on how to make your own isometric maps from regular graph paper, or to use the sample images on a photocopier.
I’m still getting settled in to working at home, but things are falling into place, so perhaps I can start practicing, and coming up with something of my own to share. If nothing else, I’ll have fun with it, and come up with something good enough for use in my own games.
I like the big ziplock bag the three pads came in. The box is big enough for more than double the three pads I ordered. I don’t see me needing more than 150 sheets. That’s a LOT of drawing!
I wrote about the quadrille desk pad I once had when I shared the map of a town, for a character in my brother’s campaign. I was reminded of this by the Dungeon DeskpadKickstarter. I had been toying with the idea of getting quad ruled desk pads for over a year, and I decided to get them, and to joining the Dungeon Deskpad Kickstarter. Once I get my overseas shipment I will take pictures to compare..
The brand of desk pads I got are the Tops. Each is individually wrapped in plastic. They were the least expensive. They are not all square and not all the same exact size. That’s OK. I plan on using them for mapping out an abandoned ancient city/megadungeon. I can also use a sheet for a single sheet map of the town that is the current home base of the players in my campaign. The rough map I have for the town of Larenda is two quad ruled sheets taped together. I can even get a roll of clear plastic “shelf-paper”, and laminate some of these sheets for a quick and cheap dry erase surface. I usually only use maps and such to show relative position. Even if it is an exercise only for me, it will be fun. The one draw back to paper this size for maps is that it is too big for my scanners. I will have o do better than a quick picture with my cellphone. I’ll have to put my cheap camera on one of my cheap tripods, to get good pictures for online.
After ordering the two sets of Koplow Who Knew Dice that arrived last week, I ran across an article on Imagur about Wiz Dice and their bag of 100+ dice vs. the Chessex Pound’O Dice, and I ordered the Wiz Dice based on that article. I am always needing more d4’s and d8’s in play. The Wiz Dice 100+ pack includes a fancy drawstring bag with complete matched seven dice set. I ended up with 103 dice plus the set in the bag, for 110 new dice. I received 15 of each die, except for the d12 and d20, which I received 14 of each of those. So I ended up with 14 matched sets of seven dice, 15 counting the drawstring bad, and one partial set missing the d12 and d20. I have matched sets of solid colors and then the “gem” style dice of the same color: green, blue, red, yellow, purple, and red. Then a solid black, swirled black, and a white set. I have one complete orange set and the other orange set is incomplete. I don’t think most people get that many matched sets. I think it is cool that I have enough dice for 15 players from one order of dice, not counting how many ever sets I had before.
One idea I had with this package of dice is making multiple dice tables using different colors of the same die. For example, if I need a table for 14 different results of a d20, or 15 results of a d8, I can do it.
Magic missile is resolved quicker with more d4’s. Lots of monsters taking their attack is resolved quicker with more d20’s.
Blue is my favorite color, but in dice, I find black and red to be my preference. For some reason, it is the same way for me with Risk. For some colors, I prefer the gem style over the solid style.
I guess I need to have a post with a picture of all my dice. They are not all in one place at the moment, so I will have to defer that for a bit.
I also realized that having so many d10’s makes it easy to roll a d1,000 or a d10,000, etc. just specify which color is which digit. I know that they make custom d10,000 dice for such a thing, but I have to tone it down a bit. I’ve spent more on dice in the first two months of 2015 than I spent all of last year, and most of the three plus decades before that. That isn’t to say that I won’t buy more die this year, but I don’t have to buy them all in the first quarter.
Joe Johnston published a “How To Hexcrawl” PDF geared toward Labrynth Lord. I read part of it and he mentioned me in the acknowledgements. This is not the first RPG product that I have been involved in, just the first one published. How cool is that?
You really should go out and get this, for no other reason, than I helped! Also it is PWYW, so you can get it for free and tip him later.
It is a quick and simple introduction to hex crawls and he lists resources for free existing hex maps, three sources/programs for creating your own hex maps, and the hexcrawl articles on Welshpiper, Bat in the Attic, and The Alexandrian.
On Tuesday, March 3, 2015, I posted on my G+ page a desire for the OSR mapmakers to map the Phuktal Monastery.
This picture so captured my imagination that I immediately started wishing I had a cool map and thought how and where I could work this into my campaign.
I was not expecting the immediacy with which Dyson dove in the day after my post. I must have caught him at the right time. I was not a member of his Patreon, so I decided to do my small part. I see that members of his Patreon can suggest maps, so I think it fitting that I signed up. I only wish I could afford more and sign up for all the cool map makers at the same time. Perhaps, I can give a month or two here and there to each one.
I am excited to see the conclusion of this map. I have enjoyed Dyson’s many maps and his latest megadungeon effort. I think it is cool that I am a member of the Tenkar’s Landing Crowdsourced Sandbox Setting that resulted in the island and is now moving on to designing the town of Tenkar’s Landing. Dyson drew the town back a year or two, but from what was posted the other day, he is drawing a bigger town for that effort. I have been so busy with changes at work, a convention, and preparing for my efforts at the 2015 April A to Z Blogging Challenge, that I have not had any ideas come to mind for the town.
I had this article scheduled to post on March 6th, but Erik beat me to it and announced the resolution here.
Not what any of us wanted, but a conclusion nonetheless.
Below is what I wrote.
In 2014, Erik Tenkar, over at Tenkar’s Tavern, held a contest for the OSR Superstar. It got down to the finalists in July and there were some delays on the final judging. Up until Erik re-organized his page, there was a largish graphic about the contest.
I posted a comment to the OSR Superstar page asking about it a few months back, and I have seen others ask about it in other forums.
It is understandable if judges dropped out, or something else beyond Erik’s control. Did the finalists not submit? He is a NYPD officer, so his job comes with stresses most of us will never encounter.
Erik usually keeps all the Tavern’s readers in the loop. If he has mentioned it, I have not encountered the explanation.
If it’s resolution is dead or will eventually be resolved, I would like to know. I had a submission, I did not win. The submissions that did well were very cool, and I am curious to see what the finalists come up with for the final challenge.
I know that Erik is looking forward to retirement soon, sometime in the next year, I believe. I would ask that he wrap up a soon to be year old contest before then, so he can focus on the good content he regularly provides.
Back in the mid to late 80’s I bought a quad ruled desk pad from an office supply store. That was back when desk pads and pen and paper were still the mainstay of business. I have only one sheet from that desk pad that holds the map to the town for Griswald, the longest running character I have played, who is now, essentially retired from play.
I don’t know what happened to the rest of the pad. I used it for mapping out a Boot Hill area, and such things. I think that pad may have been one of the things I lost in the water leak incident, but I don’t recall.
I have in the last few years tried to find such a pad in stock at an office supply store, but no go. I would have to special order or order online. If you search for quad ruled desk pad you will find them. They run a little under $20 each.
I like using them to map out large cities. I am a visual person and like to be able to see them. In my campaign, there are ten ancient cities of a fallen empire. I have taped together 8.5 x 11 quad ruled graph paper for a rough map of the one closest to the action of the current group of players. Having a bigger single sheet would simplify things and make it easier to fold up and get out of the way.
I also like he idea of using them for a megadungeon. Who doesn’t want to design a megadungeon? I think I started to do so way back in the day, but it is lost material.
This all comes to mind as I ran across Peter Regan’s most recent Kickstarter for a Dungeon Desk Pad, over at Oublette Magazine. It is an interesting idea. I am trying to avoid new Kickstarters for the financial responsibility end of it, but man is this one hard to resist. Personally, I prefer a full-size desk pad of grids, but this idea is interesting. My desk pad pages are 16 inches by 22 inches, slightly smaller than the A2 standard. The Dungeon Desk Pads are 16.53 inches by 11.69 inches, which is the A3 standard. The other issue is that Peter is UK based so overseas shipping adds to costs, etc. So far, I have only backed US-based Kickstarters, mainly because I have not had interest in others that were not based in the US. I know that Peter has a good track record, thus hitting the funding goal, and stretch goals are reasonable and fit with the base project.
I was also intrigued by an article that Peter shared that of Ian Livingstone of Games Workshop [former link: http://unpluggedgames.co.uk/2015/02/13/games-workshop-the-inside-story-part-one/] still has his first dungeon on a desk pad on his desk. You can save this photo and zoom in to be able to read the room descriptions. It would be easy to use this for a quick dungeon for your next session.
Ian Livingstone Deskpad Dungeon
This motivated me to get the rough map of Helmsdale, Griswald’s town, and share it here. The quick story on this town. My brother, Robert,the DM determined that for Griswald to be a half-elf, it made sense for the human to come from a place near the Elven Kingdom. The hillsmen in his campaign are based on the Scottish clans. They live in a series of hills called Carbaen Moor. Griswald is a Fighter/Cleric/Magic-User and we rolled his age. I believe 45 years old, so the backstory is that the hillsmen had a civil war where the Buchanan Clan Kicked the Stewarts out of their territory and became king. They did not maintain control of the Stewart territory so it became infested with Orcs and worse.
Griswald’s father was a duke, and as far as Griswald knew, he was the true heir to the throne. He later learned that the grandson of the king and the grandsons of the dukes higher in precedence had their own band of outlaws called the Red Arrows. They had red fletchings (feathers) on their arrows. Griswald joined up with them, and through creative use of magic and bluff developed a reputation beyond their actual abilities. Tameus, the true king, decided it was time for war. Through lots of favors owed and other factors and army big enough to challenge the Buchanan’s was raised, and while outnumbered by the Buchanans, magic and Elven cavalry defeated them. After reclaiming the kingdom, there was a massive earthquake that devastated most of the kingdom and the old Stewart lands. Since the orc tribes in the Stewart lands bordering the former Buchanan lands were hurt as bad as the humans, Griswald decided to take back his ancestral lands. With the help of a small force of mercenaries and a PC wizard and his own henchmen – two fighters and three magic users, the orcs where driven out.
The town is in a valley of a ring of hills. It has a ditch 30 feet wide and 20 feet deep. The earthquake reduced the walls. Griswald rebuilt a smaller town with an Elven temple, the price of the Elven troops. This works for Griswald as he is a cleric of the Elven moon diety, Isil-nar. There is also the ducal palace and homes for troops and workers and farmers. Outside the walls is an inn, The Merchant’s Delight. The merchants like Griswald, since he does not tax them as heavily as the orcs. He also built a gatehouse at the only way across the ditch.
The two biggest orc tribes were not hurt by the earthquake, and were consolidating their control over the remnants of the orc tribes Griswald had not yet eliminated. These tribes did not like this upstart half elf moving in, so they moved to invade and take him out. Griswald has a crystal ball so he looked for the leaders of the invaders and took Alim, his highest level magic user henchman to teleport to these troops on the march to take them out. While the two most powerful magic users in town, Griswald 10th fighter/10th cleric/11th magic user and Alim, 10th level magic user were gone, the other orc tribe got past the wall across the valley to the south and surrounded the town. Griswald and Alim mangled the rear guard of the larger force and were gone until morning. This was put on hold for 15 years, until we made it work to finish the scenario. Robert wanted to resolve it so the other players would know what happened, as they are ten or more game years past this point in time.
The orcs surrounding the town set up a catapult and started battering the walls. They also attacked the gatehouse with 50 men that were the troops of Logan, a PC who was killed, but the men stayed with Griswald. The gatehouse was cut off from the rest of town and the 30 or so cavalry on hand tried to get through, but were routed and nearly all of them were killed. The archers on the walls of town made long range shots at the orcs around the gatehouse, and nearly exhausted all the available arrows. The gatehouse fell. The high priest of the temple cast insect plague in the area around the catapult to delay the battering. By the next morning the high priest rested and relearned insect plague and cast it again. Somewhere in here, we had a two year delay of getting together to wrap it up, but we finally finished it.
Finally when the time line in town caught up to them, Griswald and Alim read teleport from their travelling spell books and returned to the palace. Griswald and Alim had hardly any spells or scrolls left, but as a fighter with protection from normal missiles, Griswald could mount the walls and fight off the invaders. Finally enough orcs were killed that their morale broke. I don’t know if I ever got a full count of the number of dead orcs, but the image in my mind is of The Battle of Roake’s Drift from the movie Zulu. Thankfully, it was not The Battle of Islandawana.
On this map each square = 40 feet. I found that the width of the squares is the same as the distance between the lines on a standard 3 x 5 index card. Index cards were handy for measuring ranges in the battle. We used a few miniatures, but was mostly scribbles on the map.
Every time an orc was killed we yelled, “Oh no! They got Grignak!” The inspiration for Grignak comes from Galaxy Quest.
First the map of the “north” of my brother’s campaign. This is one half of a TSR hex mapping paper, with the Willingham cover. The other half is the “south”. Only one player has been off this map. It is 10 mile hexes. This is a photocopy. I did the coloring. Robert used the photocopier to enlarge and zoom in in the following images. These are pictures and not scans. You still get a hint of my brother’s artistic talent here.
The Stewart Lands shows the fiefs of the various Stewart Dukes.
The North
Carbaen Moor
Stewart Lands
Griswald’s Hex
Below shows the ring of hills with an opening in the hills to the North West and South. The rectangle in the center is where the town goes.
Detail Griswald’s Lands
The post it note was added to complete the circle for the area of effect of insect plague. That spell is one of the ultimate battlefield spells if you can buy a high priest ten minutes (one turn) to cast it.
This is in pencil on 20+ year old paper with poor lighting.
Helmsdale
Inner Town
Insect Plague
I am curious if there are any other desk pad sized maps of towns, dungeons, space ships, etc. That would be an interesting gallery.
