The Campaign Builder's Guild

Quote from: KindlingI never did understand where the whole Dwarven = Scottish thing came from... I've always imagined them sounding more... I dunno, eastern european, maybe?

I think it's the dourness.  Dourness  + stubbornness + ale  = Scot    (in that sort of older English stereotype kinda way)

Quote from: TybaltI didn't like the essay because it reads like some old fart sitting around complaining about the 'damn longhairs'.

LOL.  I bet he has a walking stick that he uses to beat the neighbor children when they  mess up his lawn.

Quote from: HaphazzardActually, the essay is objectively sound.  The sentence structure, grammar, use of examples and facts, etc. are all fine.  However, I dissagree with the point he's making.

Yes I know, I'm just being silly.

Yes.  That essay objectively sucks.  

I realize I'm getting all tangled in something that's very subjective, but I'm an English major.  I'm also a writer, so I'm slightly invested in this particular debate. And while there is no objective determination for whether you enjoy a piece of art (whether it be visual, auditory, or written), there are definite specific things that determine the skill with which something is created.  Art is something to be enjoyed - but for the people that make their bread and butter by Art - its also a craft.  And just like any other craft - wood working,  etc. there are objective standards by which you can determine how well something is made.  
"Good writing" is not whether or not it fits your taste.  It's not the subject matter.  It's not the style of the writing.  It has nothing to do with whether the plot if fantastical or gritty.  It's the skill that an author uses to choose his words.  It's how clearly he conveys his message.  If writing does not succeed at clearly and concisely conveying its meaning then it's the same thing as a potter making a pitcher that doesn't pour well; a sword that is badly balanced and clumsy to wield; or a dancer that stumbles through their steps.  

Magic hat is it's own microbrewery.  http://www.magichat.net/

I find the second edition material really great for settings in the Realms.  You can download PDFs of Volo Guides from the Wizards website, a sort of blue planet guide to different regions in the Realms.  They are really useful for getting a better idea of the character of the regions.  And they are free on the internets!

I too love Magic Hat #9.  I am also a fan of Sam Adam's Winter ale, Old Heathen Ale, and Legend Brown.

"The dragons! The dragons are avaricious, insatiable, treacherous; without pity, without remorse. But are they evil? Who am I, to judge the acts of dragons?... They are wiser than men are. It is with them as with dreams, Arren. We men dream dreams, we work magic, we do good, we do evil. The dragons do not dream. They are dreams. They do not work magic: it is their substance, their being. They do not do; they are."
~Ursula K. Leguin, The Farthest Shore

I saw a program on cable (an irrefutable source, I know) about blood hounds.  A trained bloodhound can do some amazing things.  I always felt that Scent has a much larger effect on things.  How many times have people said that animals can "smell fear"?  While that's an exaggeration someone with Scent would be able to smell increased sweating, from nervousness or fear.  They would be able to tell what people a person had touched, where they had been recently, what they had walked through, whether or not they had a lover.   I feel like that could add a bonus to sense motive checks some times.  I've often wanted to add some more capabilities to scent, especially if it were a campaign of monstrous PCs; but at the same time it seems as if it would make game mechanics more complicated.

Wow.  This is a really nice idea.  

I've noticed lots of people have adapted the skill abilities in their homebrews.  I was wondering if anyone has any interesting houserules, or  have implemented any changes in their worlds, involving the Scent ability.  I've always thought that it was sort of underrated in the D&D system.

Quote from: Elemental_ElfI have a question though, what happens when your Co-Dm is doing combat? Do the two of you share a character or do you wait on the sidelines for the combat to finish?

Hmmm - well, I don't know if this is bad form or not - but we actually both have characters.  We try very hard to be unbiased.  And we try to save a few surprises for each other.  

penicillin

I like the section about resurrection.  I have played in a game where the DM was intent on getting us to high level as quickly as possible.  As a result it was   nothing to have two or three people die a gaming session.  The good side is that by the end I had learned to build a character that was indestructible.  The bad side was that the party became very blase about death and resurrection - and the party became totally obsessed with finding diamonds.  We didn't even have horses , but we were carrying around 10.000gp of diamonds apiece.  It made no sense.  
This seems like a great way to limit that sort of nonsense, and also make players stop and actually think about the fact that they're   dying  and being reborn - not just coming back up at their nearest rez-spot and starting over again.

Also - what happened to the elves that they became not-whole?  What did they do?