Logo v.02

Better than the last version, but still not exactly what I want.

Working On a Logo...

On my level up day, here is v.01 of an RPDM logo.

No, I'm not a graphic designer. Obviously.

Legends & Tabletop

Starting off this post with some D&D-related video game info. Sword Coast Legends was announced in February this year, and I've been following it since then. For those who may not know, the Sword Coast is a region of land set in the Forgotten Realms D&D setting, and has been used in multiple video games, including Baldur's Gate and Neverwinter Nights. 

The latest news update for the game describes how the Dungeon Master's roll will be implemented during game sessions. Read the following PC Gamer article with video for all the details.

Sword Coast Legends video introduces the Dungeon Master [PC Gamer]

And in case you'd also like to keep Sword Coast Legends on your gamedar, bookmark these links:

Sword Coast Legends [PC Gamer]

Sword Coast Legends

International Tabletop Day is happening 11 April 2015! I do hope you will be out at celebrating at your FLGS, or hosting your own intimate tabletop gaming at your favorite kitchen table.

I will be taking grandchild Joshua to the FLGS here, Flashbax, to get us into some all-day gaming. I'm also working with the Flashbax owner to possibly DM a session or two that day. Gonna try to talk my daughter and her husband into joining us, as well. Will also try to get some photos taken to share here. 

What's your game plan?

Lastly, here are the latest additions to RPG SceneShots!

Extended Rest Complete

Almost a year ago, I got the hell outta Alabama (again) and moved Aberdeen, to South Dakota, accompanying my daughter and her family. Since then, I've been acclimating to the weather, re-establishing myself in a new location, and dealing with other encounters that Life serves up. 

Happy to report that I have my own apartment now, and have re-stabilized my work flow, to the point where I am ready to blow the dust off my DM hat and get back into the RPDM gig. 

I have set up a mostly weekly schedule for this blog and my other RPDM social media locations, and aim to get various actions in play. I have set Sunday morning up for this weekly delivery, and say 'mostly' to cover the weekends when I may not publish something due to spending time with grandchild #1, Joshua.

Overland Map by Wizards of the Coast

He came over he stayed with me last weekend, and I introduced him to his first official D&D session. Previously, as we were still getting situated here, I ran the Heroes of Hesiod game for he and his younger sister, Angel. They both took to it well, Joshua more than Angel, however. She did catch on quickly, but is still too young and doesn't have the attention span to play more than a few minutes. 

Last weekend, I ran Joshua through the character creation process, and he rolled up Thunder the human fighter, armed with a greatsword. We then ventured into the first part of Lost Mine of Phandelver, and he handled it well, rolling very positive numbers and cleaving through goblins in single hits. We'll be continuing the adventure perhaps this weekend, and onward from there.

That was my return to DMing after separating from my players in Alabama, and it was good. Unlike where I lived there, there is a D&D hobby shop in this town, I've already met with the owners and played a session with some other local players, and am looking to set up another group of players here. 

Back to my RPDM offerings. I have a couple of notebooks with DM notes about various topics and ideas which I'll be transferring into this blog. Many of the ideas I plan to use in my sessions, and I want to make them public should anyone else think them worthy to use in their own campaigns. 

I'll also continue to add to the RPG SceneShots, when I have collected and processed enough pics from my video gaming to add. 

So there's an update on the past year, and my adventure plan for the future. Roll 'em!

The Player DM

Aside from doing the DM thing, I also get to spend time playing. I currently have three characters in three campaigns: a halfling assassin in a D&D4E campaign, a human fighter in a Pathfinder campaign, and I have just started a dwarf rogue in a heavily-modified D&D Greyhawk campaign.

The D&D4E campaign is played with the same small group of three with whom I also DM. After a solid year of having them play and get comfortable with D&D, I asked if either of them would like to try to DM a session. So, one day I had them both DM a short encounter with the remaining two of us, while I offered up DM tips when asked and needed. One took to being the DM better than the other, liked it, and agreed to doing it more often, giving me breaks from being the sole DM to allow me to get a balanced play experience in.

The Pathfinder and newly-started Greyhawk campaigns are played online with a group spread across the US, and with one player located in Isreal. We use a combination of tools to facilitate the game, including MapTool, PC Gen, and Oovoo. So far, they have worked well for our needs. Not as smooth as all of us sitting around a single table in person would, but we handle the little problems as they arise and get on with our gaming.

Being able to both play and DM is the best way to experience the full spectrum of these RPGs, I believe. It’s balanced, and I think doing one very often allows me insight into how to do things better in the other. And since they are both very fun, and I like to do fun things, I make sure I get (and give) all the fun I can from them.

Let's Game

Greetings! RPDM here, finally getting this blog kicked off.

As I said in my initial post, this blog will be for me to spill out and set structure to the D&D campaigns I'm DMing, along with general other thoughts and items D&D related. I am also launching another (hopefully) important item here, and that is the DM Pics Project. More on that later.

My Campaigns

I currently run two campaigns, and am in the process of creating a third. First campaign is 4E pre-Essentials, involving the official modules H1 Keep on the Shadowfell, H2 Thunderspire Labyrinth, and H3 Pyramid of Shadows. Players are currently about 75% of their way through the first level of the Pyramid of Shadows. These are all set in and around the Nentir Vale.

The second campaign is with Essentials characters, and has the players adventuring in the Chaos Scar setting. I have tweaked and modified a number of items in this setting to get players to a different end game than what is given in the official modules. I've also instituted a couple of house rules that were agreed upon by the players.

The campaign I'm creating from scratch is still without a name, but is best described as the D&D version of The Walking Dead, one of the many TV shows we are all huge fans of. This is being created with the solo player in mind. My group currently only has two players (both female), and we are not always able to coordinate days off to have a full game session. So, I am working on this campaign to be played by one player at a time, and in 3-4 hour chunks. I also want this campaign to be heavily geared toward survival horror, and solo play will help me create sessions that will better convey that, I do hope.

Lastly, I aim to share a lot about the art of roleplaying in D&D, as it is my most loved method of pen-n-paper gaming. I've been writing about the art in PC gaming (MMORPGs) for many years, and credit D&D and many other tabletop games with manifesting and honing that skill for me. So I figured it's about time I get to writing about it where it started for me. I hope to help my fellow DMs and players with some excellent ideas that they can work into their campaigns, as so many of them have helped me likewise.

Roll 'em!

Initiative Rolled

Greetings! I am the Roleplaying Dungeon Master, RPDM for short, or you may just call me Jim. This is where I place all the D&D and other RPG ideas I have to get them out of my head and into the open, where I can sort them out into hopefully some logical and useful order.

Google+
Twitter