The Rogues' Gallery

[SA]

Nothing much to say, really.  I like bagels, I don't like gnomes, I despise kender (what the hell is a kender, anyway?), I am prone to random ejaculations (the verbal kind, you sickos) of Edgar Allan Poe and H.P Lovecraft, and there is a nuclear device grafted to my navel.

While we're on the subject, NON-SEQUITURS ARE MY LIFE!

I'll probably dump a whole mess of posts in the Homebrew/Campaign Elements & Design boards in a relatively short period of time, then disappear inexplicably and without notice, only to reapper a month later under a different name with a rucksack full of precious Xen'drik artefacts and a talkative, tentacled growth on my backside.

I think that about sums it up.

...oh yeah, and hello.

[t]

t.a.j.
is simply my initials
 
*Germany
is where I live, so english is my second language and, as much I'd wish it didn't, that will show from time to time.  
Especially my use of tenses leaves much to be desired.

*What I play:
The Classic Battletech RPG, Hero System, DSA (which is a german RPG marketed in the US as The Dark Eye), Call of Cthulhu and Shadowrun mostly. Until recently I also played 3rd Edition D&D.

*What I do that could with much leeway be called a carreer:
Studying Sociology, Philosophy and European Ethnology in Regensburg, Bavaria.

*What else I do:

www.neosophia.de : I write, in both english and german. Mostly poetry and some short fiction. I'm also working on a comic book.
http:\\nonnihilnon.cjb.net : My attempts at electronic music. Mostly experimental stuff.

*Music:
www.last.fm/user/Eisenmann
if you care.

*What I read:
George R.R. Martin (A Song Of Ice And Fire is probably my all-time favorite story)
Tad Williams
H.P. Lovecraft
William Gibson
Neal Stephenson
Terry Prachett
Magus Magellan's Gezeitenwelt, which is a german fantasy cycle co-written by 4 authors.
David Gemmel (Knights of Dark Reknown and the first two Rigante Books)

*What inspires me, apart from the above:
Mythology, espc. modern legendmaking: conspiracy theories and off-beat pseudo science the likes of Erich von Däniken or the Holy Blood, Holy Grail people. Amazing stuff really and good for some great stories.
[/list]

[Velox]

My name is Joe, but I go by the handle "Velox" whenever I need a handle. I choose "Velox" mainly because people will recognize me by it (itâ,¬,,¢s the only handle I ever use, other than "Brother Actinism"... which is a bit of story). Velox was my first DnD character, an elf thief, made when I was about 9 years old. I got the name from a piece of candy I was eating at the time, which happened to be a sucker with a rather vicious-looking alien printed on it (whose name was also printed -"Velox"). I recently found the word velox is Latin for swift... an appropriate name for the character, but not for me. I'm about as swift as frozen molasses. In any case, I like etymology.

Gaming System Use Chronologically I've played Advanced Dungeons and Dragons second edition, Rifts, Shadowrun Second Edition, Alternity, Shadowrun third edition, Dungeons and Dragons third edition, Dungeons and Dragons v3.5, Deadlands: Hell on Earth, Vampire: The Requiem, Deadlands: Lost Colony, Shadowrun fourth edition, and Werewolf: The Forsaken. I am also the not-so-proud owner of a three thousand point Necron army (Warhammer 40,000).

Gaming Likes I like character driven stories. I like high adventure and heroism. I like light-hearted fun and grim noir. I like technology, especially war technology. I like guns. I like machine-people, especially flesh-and-blood people who have mechanical modifications. I like villains, especially those who wear masks; I like masked characters in general. I like wonder and awe, excitement and hope. I like to be able to inspire these things in people. I like balance, equality, and fairness.

Gaming Dislikes I dislike restrictions; I want people to be able to do whatever makes them happy. I dislike leaders and I dislike seeing people ordered around. I dislike game-elitists, who think that one game or style is inherently superior to another. I dislike being led by the nose, or into narrow places with few options. I dislike apathy and lack of effort, loss of hope. I dislike power-gamers and munchkins, people who consistently play just so they can kill and hurt imaginary things; or even worse, so they can feel superior to other players. I dislike magic. I dislike just about anything that defies explanation and stretches my sense of reason.

Gaming Strengths and Weaknesses I'm not sure... You guys tell me. I think my ideas are original if difficult. My adventures are complex if hard-to-finish. My worlds have grand expectations, but they often fall short. I often miss small details, and generally have trouble describing things, especially in terms of shape or dimension. If I don't have something pre-planned, it often ends up being bland; I'm not good at coming up with things on the fly. Although, I can throw in seemingly un-related material and make it a lot of fun. I give my players freedom, and I give my game-masters my patience and loyalty.

Published Settings I Like As far as DnD goes, I've only played Forgotten Realms. I enjoyed playing it, I appreciated the detail, but I didn't enjoy all the typical fantasy cliches (especially the magic). I've looked into the Iron Kingdoms, and I like some of the differences they implement, but it's still not quite out of the "magic is technology" mind set. Outside of Forgotten Realms, I've never played another published setting. Me and my gamers are big on homebrews.

Major Influences I've always loved science fiction. Ever since I started playing Doom as a young boy, I've loved gritty technology. I also became interested in cyborgs, people who had machine parts (I blame Robocop). I'm not sure when I became interested in steampunk, but it had a lot to do with playing Arcanum. I really enjoyed that game, and I've always admired the Victorian perspective on science. I also love westerns and gunslingers. Animes also influenced me, most recently "Steamboy", which I thought was wonderful. I've read a lot of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, H.G. Wells, and Jules Verne, who have all greatly added to my love of steampunk. I also love pulpy heroics, inspired from the Indiana Jones movies, and more recently Crimson Skies. That game gave me a love of early aviation. Final Fantasy games also fill me with a desire for adventure, and fuel my love of airships and unique technology (and the technology versus magic conflict). I'm also fascinated by war, especially world war one and two. While I believe they did horrible things which they should have never been allowed to get away with, I've always been interested in Nazis. I find it amazing that something like that actually occurred, and it proves that fact is truly stranger (and in this case, more horrible) than fiction. Truly, there have never been any villains more villainous than the Nazis. I'm also fascinated by the strange and outlandish beliefs these people had, fictionalized in comics like Hellboy and games like Wolfenstein; did they actually try to obtain the spear of destiny, and who knows how many strange pseudo-science experiments they actually conducted? All these things (and more, I'm sure) add to the dreams that fuel my story, character, and campaign setting ideas.

That's my gaming tendencies in a nutshell. For any personal curiosities, visit MySpace at http://www.myspace.com/uberjoe .

[Kindling]

Hello everyone.

I mainly signed up so I could vocalise my appreciation for the worlds you lot are creating.
I'll probably start work on my own CS soon, but it may be slow going seeing as I enter my frantic final term at college soon and will have to cut down on interestingly spent free time.

Anyway, something along the lines of what others in this thread have posted, now.

 System
D&D 3.5 edition... the rulebooks I own are all 3.0 but the online SRD is what I more consistently refer to.
I have also been known to dabble in GURPS and the World of Darkness. World of Darkness was fun, GURPS was a very good system, but I'll always have a weakness for D&D.

 Gaming Likes
Unravelling plots, with many many layers, some of which are unrelated, just to make you use your head even more.
Having to really panic when you get in a combat situation. Every time. (That was the great thing about the World of Darkness game we played - the party strove to avoid combat at all costs, not because of any kind of pacifism, but because we were terrified of basically every enemy we had to face)
I also like stuff that's good.

 Other Likes
Fantasy and sci-fi books.
Music (I'm doing music at college), and my taste in that runs from the bizzare to the virtuosic to the  clinically insane, running the gamut in between - All hail Mr. Bungle, Melt-Banana, Radiohead, the Dillinger Escape Plan, most reggae, the Mars Volta, Primus, Squarepusher, 3 Inches of Blood, Bjork, The Locust and yeah... all the other good stuff!

 My Worlds
The worlds I create tend to be half-formed. I then forget about them, recycle a few ideas in my next one, and drop that one too after a while. I need more dedication, heh.
I generally try to be quite original, but fail.

I can't really think of anything else to say about myself other than that I am, quite obviously, the best person ever to have lived!

So, there's my introductory post. Hope you enjoyed it!

[beejazz]

Beejazz is the current manifestation of an entity known only as Darth Byron. He comes from the desert bearing news of nuclear snowcones and gold pieces smeared with contact poison. The machines and fungi will hear his message and rejoice, for they have long been waiting for the scriptures of bio-punk fantasy.

Seriously, though... I'm a 2nd gen Persian-American. I say "Persian" and not "Iranian" for two reasons. The first is that Persia just sounds better. The second is that when my mom was adopted, it was still called that. I've actually spent a year and a half of my life living in a tent, and have been through Christian school, a correctional facility, and art school (in that order). I'm a retarded, schitzophrenic, genius Green-Party-Advocate. YAY!!! ROLEPLAYING A BACKSTORY!

Oie, now that that's over... as for DnD, I'm just trying to find a cozy home for ALL the rules... While simultaneously making it all make sense... AND trying to bring the extraordinary back to fantasy. I prefer plot and character driven games... so why the hell am I obsessing over setting. I fall short with description in-game, but I'm a wiz with pacing.

[Stargate525]

Yeah, Stargate525, that's me. Name, obviously comes from the show (the movie wasn't that good). I'm a rather new DM, and only a little bit more experienced at building campaign settings. I'm mainly a computer user as far as gaming programs, 3.5 D&D with tabletop stuff. I write as a hobby and enjoy history and literature. I read alot, and that's probably where alot of my ideas come from, subconsciously and consciously. That's pretty much me...

[Vecnas Evil Twin]

Vecna's Evil Twin here. I am here to experiment with D&D after a long hiatus from any association with said RPG. Other systems I am fond of include Exalted, Werewolf: The Forsaken, Mage: the Awakening, and WFRP.

[DeeL]

My SN here and on the WotC boards is a phonetic version of my initials.  I prefer DL, but that's usually taken.  I am also Variform on the GitP forums, and on LJ.  Boy I hope I can keep all this straight.

I'm focussed on D&D right now, but I'm also kind of interested in Mutants & Masterminds.

And that's all I can think of right now.  Might edit this post later, though.  I'm afraid I just don't have much to say about myself, except through my setting.  With any luck...

[TheMightyWarhamster]

Life Story
TheMightyWarHamster is a 19 year old student from germany. He is in his last year at school and will be finishing by the end of june. He speaks german, english and french and owns enough books to open a small library (somewhere between 1.5k and 2k).
He is slightly under six feet tall and shows some signs of couch-potatoness. He has long brown hair, black-brown eyes and wears glasses. He mostly wears black cargo pants and black t-shirt under a coloured shirt.

Gaming Systems I use
-D&D 3.5 (At least that's what i say. in reality, i am very fond of house rules, so its more like DnD 3.7543B)
-On rare occasions, d20 Modern/Star Wars
-I've experimented with a lot of other systems like World of Darkness, Shadowrun, Alternity, Degenesis
-I'd really love to play call of cthulhu or inquisitor (i own both ruleset) or some ars magica, but there isn't much resonance from my friends and i haven't had the time to look for new plaers, yet.

General Gaming History
I have been playing DnD since ADnD 2nd ed somewher in the nineties and have been playing CRPGS since my computer allowed it. I'm a pretty uncriticising gamer and will try most things people hand me.^^

Published Settings
ImO, FR is wishy-washy. I've never tried Greyhawk or Dragonlance. My favourite published settings are Eberron, Birthright, Dark Sun and Raveloft. Planescape is pretty cool, too.

Personal Likes and Dislikes
Likes World Creation, English Literature, Norse myths, heavy metal, irish folk, dancing (well, i would, if i could. there far too few girls who still like the "old" traditions and values. lol.), cats, books, video games, martial arts (so sad my club closed down), tabletop games (warhammer 40k!) and anime/manga.
Dislikes maths, latin, hiphop, modern art and literature

Strengths and Weaknesses in game design
i'm pretty creative and can do five-minute-campaign settings if i have to, but a slight overdose of fantasy literature and creativity has left me with the attention span of a small kitten.

Influences on my Design
Lovecraft, Larry Niven, George R.R. Martin, Phillip Puillman, Terry Pratchett, Dan Abnett.

Currently, I'm developing my first long-term setting on the WotC boards:
 Dream-Quest: Adventures in the Land of Dreams [PEACH]

[Wraith]

Morning all!

I am Wraith and I thought I would share my new setting here as this seems like a good spot for it! Hi everyone!


Games I play:
Bad question actuall; because the answer is everything!

Likes:
Authors: Pratchett, McCaffery anything fantasy/sci-fi!
TV: not much really.

Dislikes:
hmmm, I might have to come back for this one!

[fw190a8]

I found out about this project from the WotC boards and I admire the collaboration, motivation and determination it must have taken to get something like this off the ground. This is something I want to be a part of!

Gaming Systems
D&D 3.5 only right now, but if I came across a good reason to use another, I would switch.

General Gaming History
I began playing a diceless form of D&D at an early age without even knowing it (much like Mithridates), describing situations and outcomes. Later I found a D&D boxed set (I can't remember which version), used and discarded by my sister, and was shocked to find that someone (TSR) had already fleshed out my concept, bringing order through organised rules. After saving up enough money, which was a big investment at the age of 12, I bought the AD&D 2ed core rulebooks and started my DM 'career' gaming with friends, although these games were never really serious.

Since then I've never even played a pen and paper RPG but I got hooked on the artwork and presentation of the rulebooks and I have since become a bit obsessed with collecting TSR and WotC stuff. Now I have most of the 3.5 rulebooks and a large amount of preowned 2ed. I've played Baldur's Gate II and Neverwinter Nights although I admit to spending most of my time in the NWN toolset!

Likes
- Creating, inventing, devising, revising, manipulating or implementing virtually anything
- Those breaded cheese and bacon grills made by Danepak
- The Neverwinter Nights toolset
- (The Elder Scrolls IV) Oblivion, despite the people who say it wasn't all it was hyped up to be, although I reckon those people are the culprits of over-hyping it in the first place

Dislikes
- Poor English through laziness (as opposed to those for whom English is not the first language)
- People who defend poor English by throwing the term 'spelling nazee' around, or by saying it's the norm
- People who say they will do things and then don't (especially if they later try to mask their laziness by lying about it)
- People who have a large e-peen (claiming to know far more about a subject than they actually do, usually for the sake of their ego)

Strengths in game design
- Thoroughness and the ability to use reason to create a solid, credible justification for a game element
- Ability to steer clear of monotony, cliché and predictability
- Strong command of the English language
- Good technical knowledge, useful for map-making, custom images, printed notes, etc

Weaknesses in game design
- Such an unrealistic demand for perfection that it can never be met
- An inability to 'fudge' something with the knowledge that a rule for it must exist somewhere, or a piece of research would turn up some concrete information
- Definitely trying to bite off more than can be chewed

Favoured (yes, there's a 'u' in there!) Published Settings
- Forgotten Realms: Don't bite my head off yet! I realise that there is quite a lot of animosity towards this particular setting because of the lack of variety and the abundance of clichés but when I got into it, this feeling was less prevalent . I reasoned that if I concentrated on one setting instead of switching around a lot, my understanding and knowledge would be greater and I would be able to represent this setting far better. Had I known that FR would come in for such heavy (and, I feel quite often, jump-on-the-bandwagon) criticism, I might have chosen another.
- I happen to love the Al-Qadim setting. Something about the near east captivates me and I remember being really taken by the elaborate architecture, vibrant colours (there's that 'u' again!) and historically rich setting.

Influences
- I love the Prince of Persia games, not only because they were examples of near perfection in terms of game design, but because the Persian setting has that same draw as the Al-Qadim setting.
- Various Final Fantasy games, not because of any particular creature or setting, but because the storytelling is top-notch, there are some fantastic plot hooks, and each game could be seen as a 'campaign' if taken from start to finish
- D&D sources, both official and unofficial (WotC boards, for example)
- Historical sources of any kind because I like to use actual history as a basis for my reasoning

That's about all for now. I am a very hands-on person so if you think I'm the type who could help with something, let me know.

[Blackheart]

Hey Everyone
My name is Rob and I have joined this site hoping I can get a little input on some of the campaign ideas I have been tossing around for last couple of years.
A little about myself, I am a freelance graphic designer and illustrator with a part time office day job. I live in South Australia.
I have been role-playing on and off for about fifteen years and Iâ,¬,,¢m currently playing a Dragonlance game on a weekly basis.
If I was to describe myself as a role-player I guess I would say that I'm not a super gamer, I place less emphasis on the rules and more on enjoyment. I like games that allow players to think laterally rather than an endless string of combat and collecting toys (although there is something to be said for that).

Gaming Systems I Use
Dungeons & Dragons 3.5, I have a real soft spot for D&D and play it exclusively these days.

General Gaming History
I started role-playing with 1st edition AD&D. Systems I played since then include 0 edition D&D, Rolemaster, Cyberpunk, Hero System, Star Wars d20.

Personal likes and dislikes
Likes - beer, computer games, good movies (too few and far between) and simple pleasures
Dislikes - not much really, cold weather maybe, I don't know

Strengths and weaknesses in game design
My strongest asset in game design/DMing is adventure design, I write good adventures with strong plots and a fair amount intrigue which challenge players to do more with their characters then stab monsters with pointy things.

My weakness would have to be 'Big Picture' campaigning and for this reason I usually run episodic style games which are a collection of unrelated adventures. It's something I want to improve on next time I run a game which will be if ever get the world I am currently working on finished.

What published settings have you used/do you like?
I've DM'd Forgotten Realms, Played Dragonlance, Middle Earth Role-playing, and 1st ED Greyhawk.
My favourite of those would have to be MERPS but how can you go wrong such great source material.  

Major influences on your world-building
The world I'm working on at the moment, Metropolis, is drawing influences from heaps of places including (but not limited to):
Lovecraft/Cthulhu Mythology
Discworld
Julse Verne novels
Aspects of steampunk
The Iron Kingdoms campaign setting (what I know of it)
Eberron (kind of)
The medieval catholic church
Secret societies such as the Freemasons, Knights Templar and Illuminati
Movies like - Brazil, Raiders and the crappy Steampunk Movies we've seen lately (jeez why can't they they get it right).
The Computer game series Thief
and moreâ,¬Â¦

I hope you guys can give me some feedback on some of the stuff I've put together and I'll try and help out if I think I can. I'm no rules lawyer but I am an ideas man.

Cheers

[Lmns Crn]

Well, what do you know? It's the CBG's highest-post-count lurker.

The Mysterious Pigmented Wax Stick!
Who is this impetuous instrument of intellectual inscription? Where did he come from? Why does he glow like that?

In fact, a shade of vibrant yellow-green!
The Luminous Crayon is also called Brent, and hails from a small town in the Eastern United States, where he is studying to be a teacher of music. He has two hyperactive dogs and a desperate addiction to coffee, and is engaged to the awesomest woman in the entire crayon box.

But wait, there's more!
DJ Crayon also plays games, when he is not cuttin' fly beats, yo! He plays DnD when he has the time, which is seldom, but also has been known to run games! Lately, he has been running games over IRC, since his trusty old gaming crayons have all gone to college in different cities.

I thought this was about campaign settings or something!
You're right; it is! The Crayon has scribbled out a setting, which for no easily discernable reason he calls the Jade Stage! The Jade Stage has been a work in progress for several years, and is designed to showcase war, politics, and other issues of delicate moral shading, in a low-magic environment, while thwarting common fantasy and gaming clichés. The Jade Stage has a nougaty, theme-based center, surrounded by a chocolatey, realism-based coating! Mmm, mmm!

Let's talk about something besides chocolates!
Okay! Luminous Crayon has extensively rewritten game mechanics to support the feel of the Jade Stage setting. The revised mechanics are based on DnD 3.5, with a lot of new or heavily modified material. Anyone with access to a PHB can use them, and they work for settings other than the Jade Stage with only minor modifications.

Things the Crayon is good at include:
- modifying game mechanics
- realistic-feeling setting cohesion
- prose!
- attention to detail (some of the time!)

Things the Crayon is not-so-good at:
- working with schedules and deadlines
- filling in all the gaps
- resisting feminine wiles of the future Mrs. Crayon
- probably lots of other things!

The Crayon's To-Do List Includes:
- increase Awesomeness Quotient of the Jade Stage
- run more games, preferably for CBG people in IRC format
- ???

Perhaps some other information should be included?
Perhaps, but I don't know what that additional information could possibly consist of.

[NeazurLich]

General History Gaming History

I discovered D&D in a bookstore in 6th grade (about 2 years ago), I began to play with two or three freinds, DM'ed once in a while, and as i discovered older and more "nerdy" people my party grew and is now made of about 10 people, we play twice- three times a month and have fun doing it.

Neazur was created June 15 2005, started as a drow wizard, grew to eventually get bitten by a vampire and for 10 years of his life stayed one, was cured at the age of 56. for 116 years he ventured the surface lands searching for ways to enhance his powers, at age 172 he began his return home to the underdark. there he lived at studied for another 100. at age 270 he began his ascension to Lichhood. he now lives in a tower near Mulorhand increasing his arcane knowladge and bulstering his udnead army.

Systems

I basically use D&D, some other games based off of D20 as well.

Likes&Dislikes

Well i like to RP even outside of games, i like people who are accepting, i like the colors black and red and usually wear black and lots of metal, and i love video games.

i HATE people who cant accept other people for being different, i hate platformer video games, i cant stand people who are competative when playing D&D, and i dont like collyflower.

S&W in game design

i tend not to make simple campeigns, ver intracate ones.

i have problems dealing with some of the players dumb responses when i DM.

im good at talking in old english to make the game sound more authentice and ye olde-ish

im also good at describing setting with sometimes gruesome detail.

Published Settings

Im infatuated with forgotten realms and have problems understanding Eberron.

Major Influences

Alot of times i get ideas and ifluences from video games, books, and dreams



Thats me for ya, if i ever come across as weird, just tell me, i can get =/ odd at times

[Ghost]

To go with the flow of the thread, I guess i'll describe myself - in third person.

The Realm Weaver, also known as Rewind on the WotC boards, is pretty new to this site - in fact, he learned of it just yesterday, after reading someone's post about how the Campaign Workshop forum had dwindled in popularity.

The Realm Weaver just got into D&D about 6 months ago, with 3.5. He's also played a bit of D20 Modern/Future (which he considers to be pretty much the same game), and will be playing some D20 Star Wars soon. He has not played any other RPG system, but will eagerly do so, if given the opportunity. He like the established settings, such as FR or Spelljammer, and will sample ideas from them quite often, but likes making his own much more.

The Realm Weaver's influences come primarily from D&D rulebooks, sci-fi books (which he reads a lot of), random internet searches, movies, and other games, such as M:tG (which he used to play alot).

The Realm Weaver is currently in the middle of job hunting (so his posts might be erratic to begin with, but will eventually be common). He hopes to enroll in some kind of writing program in a nearby post-secondary school in the next year or two.

Speaking of writing, that is one of the Realm Weaver's favorite things about making campaigns, and just making worlds in general (even ones not for D&D!).

Lastly, the Realm Weaver's current work-in-progress is a setting called Ifpherion, which i'll be posting as soon as I can finish the last few details, maybe have a trial run-through.