The Campaign Builder's Guild

Quote from: IshmaylI just don't think we currently have enough regularly-active members to really, truely benefit from such a thing.  Plus, I do see it as possibly taking away from the forums, which really aren't getting as much use right now as I'd like.

Not to mention, do we want just any-ol' random person who has an IRC client to be able to drop in and harrass/bother us about things that have nothing to do with the CBG?[/quote]
In theory, any-ol' random person with a web browser can drop in on the forum and (admittedly after registering) make posts. ;) As with anything else you can assign moderators to the chat room and they can kick out anybody who causes problems, just like you would delete posts here if they were objectionable. Also, the chat feature on this site should be put into a members-only section (possibly forcing people to use the same screen name as they use on the site).

I really hope you do decide to go ahead with this, although I agree with you on the community being too small to take such a step right now.

I will try to be around on the site at 7pm EST but that's midnight for me so I might end up falling asleep!  :! I think the IRC thing is a great idea but I wanted to say a fair bit on the subject so I made a fresh post here instead.

A lot of sites have 'live chat' features and most of these are based on an IRC channel. As Ishmayl is looking into it, I thought I would post my thoughts. I realise you young whipper-snappers out there have probably grown up with ICQ and MSN Messenger rather than IRC, so for anyone who doesn't know (and doesn't want to read a newbie guide) it's similar to the IM programs, but you connect to a specific server and join a chat room. Everyone in that room can interact with one another and you can get as many people into the room as you want.

Setting up an IRC channel for the CBG would have both positive and negative effects I think. First, it would be much easier to have conversations. Imagine the tavern, but you'd be able to see responses much sooner. It would definitely make it easier to play games (over the play-by-post method) because it would be much more like sitting at a gaming table so proper sessions could be arranged (although even that has disadvantages if people are in different time zones, etc).

The disadvantage that I see is that there would possibly be decreased activity on the forum, but I think it would mainly be the off-topic 'chit chat' type of posts that would be moved to the chat room and not the more substantial posts or discussions about campaign material or elements. A chat room would only really succeed if people were willing to linger at first. For example, if you joined the chat room, saw nobody else was there and then left again right away, nobody would ever be there, but if you were willing to join it and stay logged on, at least until the community becomes larger, there would be more chance of 'chat' :)

Although it's possible for one to set up one's own IRC server, that's probably unnecessary because there are already some established servers on which a chat room (#cbg, for example) could be registered for free. I have a feeling Coldfront would be ideal, although there are countless others. Once a channel is set up and registered (usually instantaneous), Ishmayl would be able to add a plugin to the web site to provide a chat section. This is usually a java applet that hooks up to the specified server and channel. PJIRC is functional and free to put on sites, but again there are others. There are lots of other ways to connect too, most of them more 'persistent' than a window on a web page, like mIRC and even Trillian if you use that for your IMs.

I think this is a really nice idea. Does the ki pool refill when resting, like wizard spells? How do you gain new ones? Do you have to use up a feat?

Since we're going back quite a long way with this and the continent I have in mind is mainly sand and extreme heat (during the daylight hours), I was going to base a humanoid race on the desert-dwelling tribes of Earth, using what information I can find out about the way they lived their lives to shape this race. That doesn't mean to say this race has to be human or human-like, of course.

In terms of world-building, I'm not really that great with stats and balancing but I'm hoping to improve. I have a fair few of the 3/3.5 WotC books but I tend to read the fluff more than the crunch, because I haven't played in such a long time. I'm quite good with words so I feel like I can write things up well. I'm pretty techy and quite arty, although only really with digital art.

I do have a few questions! ;) Is this aiming to be a campaign book in PDF form when finished? How much attention will each aspect get? Will the settlements get more attention than the ecology but less than the deities, for example? Are you intending for each project member to develop all aspects of one continent, or assign project members to more global ideas like major events? Because there's an added dimension of time in this campaign setting (not that the conventional ones don't have history, but not a history you can just delve in and play I suppose), are we to develop several distinct periods of history separated by a few hundred years each so that the player can pick one in which to base their campaign, or just write up the histories in such a way as to make a campaign in any period a breeze?

Thanks very much Mithridates, Túrin and Xathan for your encouragement. I don't think you will see a full campaign setting from me, but I am happy to contribute to smaller creative works like this one here, or to a larger team effort. :)

Before you start something new, what would happen to the last campaign setting if you did? Do you consider it to be in a complete enough state that you feel it can be of significant use to people? If not, then I think it would be a huge shame not to complete it to your satisfaction. I don't mean flesh out every tiny detail, but just enough that you consider it complete enough to be of use. I think it's important to avoid having the disappointment of an incomplete project at the back of your mind.

Quote from: Xeviat TranionIt would be hard to balance; because the player character would bone their physical ability scores and pump their mentals, and then just find a "perfect body" with great physicals... The worm's con shouldn't be horrible anyway, unless it is a particularly unhealthy worm.

At some point, you'll lose the whole parasite flavor and just turn into a "what-new-monster-can-I-be-today" guy like a mage with a shapechange spell.[/quote]is[/i] a totally different way of playing a character though.

The reason for the worm needing a fresh dead creature rather than a living one was to prevent players trying to gain an advantage against friendly NPCs by possessing them. Also the corpse probably needs to be fresh to prevent players returning to a previously possessed creature later on. I do like brainface's possession though. Perhaps needing to survive an attack of opportunity while it flings itself towards an enemy's face?

How about having any dead creatures the worm possessses lose their spell-like and supernatural abilities, but retain their extraordinary ones? The worm needs to be able to possess a creature from one fight long enough to use it in the next fight otherwise the hack and slash game might become dull for a player.

Thanks for the huge response here. There are so many implications and subtleties that I probably would never have thought of on my own.

I thought I would put this one forward and see how well received it is. I'm not sure if this is viable in a d20 game or whether it has been done before, but I'm sure some of you will be able to answer both!

Parasitic PC (name pending)
I'm thinking of a tiny (about 8-12" long) worm-shaped creature as a PC. Instead of trying to apply stats to the worm and ending up stuck to the bottom of a kobold's foot, it works a little differently. The worm can enter the freshly deceased body of any (solid) creature and assume control. If the creature dies, the worm is ejected from the body immediately, but otherwise can leave willingly at any time. A quick table for you...

[table=Parasite PC Worm Thing]
[tr][th] [/th][th]Worm Form[/th][th]Possess Mode[/th][/tr]
[tr][th]Str[/th][td]divide by 3[/td][td]as creature[/td][/tr]
[tr][th]Dex[/th][td]normal, +4[/td][td]as creature[/td][/tr]
[tr][th]Con[/th][td]divide by 3[/td][td]as creature[/td][/tr]
[tr][th]Int[/th][td]normal[/td][td]as worm[/td][/tr]
[tr][th]Wis[/th][td]normal[/td][td]as worm[/td][/tr]
[tr][th]Cha[/th][td]normal[/td][td]avg. creature+worm[/td][/tr]
[/table]

For example, when the worm takes over the body of an orc, it assumes the physical characteristics of this orc (Str, Dex, Con) and uses its own scores for Int and Wis, totally ignoring the orc's, regardless of which is higher. Since charisma is partly the physical appearance of a creature and partly the personality, the worm averages its own score with that of the orc (rounding down, of course).

Effects on gaming
This would probably be weird at first, since I'm not sure many people have roleplayed a tiny parasitic worm (although I'm sure some have ;) ) but it has pros and cons. The good part is that with the wide range of monsters the PCs will be encountering (in most campaigns), the worm has a decent choice of character, and will always be around the same level as the PCs. The bad part is that whilst the rest of the party are gaining skills, spells and feats, the worm has to make do with whatever the host creature provides.

I won't go into any more detail just yet, because I have a strong feeling that this can't be a new idea and there's probably a rulebook somewhere (even an unofficial one, perhaps?) with this in it. Criticism is always welcome.

Strangely I don't remember the third edition character generator with Baldur's Gate II but I live in the UK so perhaps it was distributed differently or something. What I do remember is that I got Baldur's Gate II and Deus Ex (the original) around the same time and they were the last games I bought that came in proper boxes before they changed to those horrible DVD cases. I used to love the goodies you'd get with a game inside those huge boxes, like maps, concept art and other freebies and I wish that was still an option. :cry:

Slightly more off-topic, Black Isle Studios, who were behind BGII, sort of evolved into Obsidian, who are behind the upcoming Neverwinter Nights 2 which looks excellent.

Anyway, back on topic and...

Quote from: Elven DoritosThe year was 2000, I was but a 6th grader, and I fell in love with those books.

If you've never tried Elite you can get hold of a copy pretty easily now and it's worth it for the sheer achievement it represented at the time and what it did for freeform gaming. David Braben (one half of the original Elite programming team) said his favourite version of the plethora was the one for the BBC Micro and I've even seen an emulation of the entire game run in a java applet on a web page.[/i]

That is dark! In fact, if you were to strip the message board style back to the pure narrative, it has chilling echoes of the tone and delivery of Mein Kampf. I have already built up a strong contempt for the pretentious nature of this Josh and his radical dangerous musings. If I was starting a character in this setting I get the feeling I'd end up coming face to face with Josh after a while, and not over tea and scones.

There is nothing here that tells me about the core elements of this campaign setting such as classes or environments and precious little about the themes presented within, but I appreciate that part would come later. I suggest that the unconventional and almost overwhelming nature of the material presented here would be enough to turn a lot of people away, but I am imagining a campaign sourcebook where the rules and tables are accompanied throughout with a running narrative, perhaps in sidebars or similar, detailing the ranting of this Josh person. Is that what you had in mind? How far developed is this setting, and can we see more?

Is there any news on how this is developing? I really do like this idea, but there are still so many unknowns. As for the 'internal magic' - how about simply inner magic? I'm not familiar with the shadowcaster because I don't have the Tome of Magic (is it worthwhile me buying this considering I have the majority of core and Forgotten Realms 3/3.5 books?) but from what I can see, a certain aspect of these new varients supadupaman presents here attempts to reclassify magic. So, a fireball spell is in the traditional school of evocation, but here it would be in the lore (is that the right word?) of energy/channeler, and even though sending is also evocation, it would fall under celestial here?

Does this mean that each existing spell needs to be put into one (or more) of these six categories?

The previous two are both excellent and really creative. Mithridates's has got me thinking about how many elephants there must be supporting that bridge and Túrin's has me wondering if that is the dragon, waiting to get his revenge. :blink:

I don't have a current campaign  :crybaby: so I just made this up totally. Keep these coming though because I'm dying to read more!

[spoiler=The Tears of Jarinza]
The large and once prosperous city of Riazamatanza lies in the foothills below the great mountain-god, Bunugh. He is more than a mere deity; his physical manifestation rises tall and proud from the ground itself, peaking so high that not even the clouds, on the rare occasions Bunugh allows their presence, can soar above him. He watches over every inhabitant below, all-seeing. He answers prayers of the faithful and passes judgement on those who do not believe, yet he takes no action against them. It was not always this way.

Were it not for the cityâ,¬,,¢s prime location between the bare, rocky crags of Bunugh and the sandy wasteland of the Waskani desert below, it might not exist at all. From high on Bunughâ,¬,,¢s mighty form, the Flarzagkh meandered and twisted its course down through the city, bringing liquid life to every man, woman and child, then disappearing underground before so much as a drop could reach the vast desert.

Ever since the trade route had been established with the city of Estrirk far to the west, the people of Riazamatanza had learned of other deities. It wasnâ,¬,,¢t long before a number of minority religions sprung up, although their temples and shrines were always on the opposite side of the city to Bunugh and facing the opposite direction. It was not enough to fool him, and the Riazaman prophets had foreseen this day.

In one tremendous earth-shaking moment, the wrath of Bunugh burst forth from his peak and rained down upon the people of Riazamatanza. Many perished in the initial cloud of poisonous dust and gas or were mercilessly crushed by falling debris or masonry, and worse was to come. The surviving inhabitants were struck with terror when they saw the fiery arm of Bunugh reach out and rush down towards them. Jarinza was among them, and though she was wide-eyed with the horror of seeing people simply melt away as Bunughâ,¬,,¢s touch flowed over them, she realised her destiny.

Jarinza rushed to a spot as high as possible on Bunugh, and counting on him being preoccupied with his murderous and vengeful act, began to work her magic to move the very earth that was the mountain-god. But, every time she summoned enough arcane energy to create a wall of rock, Bunughâ,¬,,¢s arm simply consumed it again. Jarinza quickly realised what she had to do. Summoning every last ounce of energy within her, driven on by the images of the slaughter and doom below, she tapped into her most powerful magic and flung herself onto the arm of Bunugh.

It was not until the survivors, few though they were, came together and collated their accounts that they realised that Jarinzaâ,¬,,¢s supreme act of heroism had defeated Bunugh, his arm forced in a different direction, away from the city. Tragically there was no sign of Jarinzaâ,¬,,¢s body, but the people noticed an even more alarming occurrence: the flow of the Flarzagkh had been staunched! When Bunugh had pitifully retreated his arm back into his mountainous form, a new underground cavern had opened up and the lifeblood of Riazamatanza now flowed deep underground, long before it could reach the city.

To honour the great sacrifice made by Jarinza, the survivors gathered all the help they could from the distant city of Estrirk and set about creating a wondrous monument to solve their cityâ,¬,,¢s water crisis. Now, over a hundred years later, but only twenty since the monumentâ,¬,,¢s completion, the city of Riazamatanza is on the way back to its former glory and its people can once again see Jarinza, for a colossal likeness of her face has been painstakingly carved into the body of Bunugh himself. The two great mechanical gates in the monumentâ,¬,,¢s eyes divert the flow of the Flarzagkh back to its old course, and from below it looks at though the city is sustained by the Tears of Jarinza flowing from her eyes. Although it is a joyous time for Riazamatanza, the weeping of Jarinza serves as a constant reminder of the terrible loss of life that Bunugh inflicted upon the city. The monument also serves to remind people that the mountain-god was defeated on that day and he shall never again try to punish those who choose to worship other deities.
[/spoiler]

I'd very much like to get involved if I may. My idea was for a desert continent stuck right on the equator of this world, allowing for some extremes in terms of the PC race or races that have developed in this place, as well as the kinds of beasts that might be present. Attached (I hope) is a Campaign Cartographer 2 map. The varying shades of brown are supposed to be increasingly tall hills or mountains and the green stuff at the top is jungle. I'd like to add more jungle really but the counter-intuative design of CC2 makes a simple task like drawing a line seem like an agonizing, slow death. Comments and criticisms welcome!

[spoiler=Map][/spoiler]

Thanks for the compliment Ishmayl! I did notice more recent activity in The Aniga Project thread and considering I'm new, I think I'll divert my attention over there. :afro: