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Showing posts from August, 2018

Podcast: C is for Character Creation

Dungeon Chatter Podcast Episode 3: C is for Character Creation In this episode, Travis and Victoria discuss character creation methods, including how the system functions in Blood of Heroes. We create Han Solo using our heroic creation method. Soundcloud Link https://soundcloud.com/dungeonchatter/003-character-creation Works Discussed TTRPGs AD&D, Middle Earth Role Playing (MERP), Rolemaster (RM), Generic Universal Role Playing System (GURPS) Video Games I don’t think we touched on any specific ones here. Literature Star Wars Concepts PBTRPG (Play by Tweet/Text RPG), PBM (Play by Mail), PBEM (Play by Email). We also discuss charisma and interactions, specifically regarding a party member (my son) who is on the autism spectrum but plays a character with a high charisma. Probably worth an entire show on its own. Show Notes I think this was our best sounding podcast, from a technical point of view. Realizing we need to reduce our mic pops

Podcast: B is for Blood of Heroes

Dungeon Chatter Podcast Episode 2: B is for Blood of Heroes In this episode, Travis and Victoria discuss the swords and sorcery setting they’re building. Soundcloud Link https://soundcloud.com/dungeonchatter/002-b-is-for-blood-of-heroes Works Discussed TTRPGs AD&D, Middle Earth Role Playing (MERP), Rolemaster (RM), Mage: The Ascension (Sorry I couldn’t remember the name at the time), StarWars the RPG Video Games Wasteland, Bethesda generally Literature Harry Potter, JRR Tolkien, Robert E. Howard, Mickey Zucker Reichert Concepts The majesty and prevalence of dragons, ritual magic/divine magic, blood magic/demonic magic Show Notes Occasional fireworks because it was July 4th The Pitch Swords (technology level) and Sorcery (there is magic) The flavor of Republican (and possibly Imperial) Rome (technology and flavor) Dragons as rare but incredibly powerful Magic as truly arcane, also possibly establishing some “good vs. evil” poss

Meet the Party

Left to Right Marcus the Tamer of Horses (Erika) Ghislain the Magebane (Victoria) Dahlia the Apothecary (Lisa) Landolo the Smuggler (Haris) Ambrosio the Tinker (Jeremy) This is the party that is tackling the Philosopher King campaign set for Blood of Heroes. We'll be discussing the group occasionally on the Dungeon Chatter Podcast and here on the blog.

Show Notes: A is for Armor

We've done it! The podcast is now alive on Soundcloud, and we'll post it to iTunes and a few other places this weekend. Please head over to https://soundcloud.com/dungeonchatter to listen to A is for Armor, B is for Blood of Heroes, and C is for Character Creation. Dungeon Chatter Podcast Episode 1: A is for Armor In this episode, Travis and Victoria discuss armor systems in RPGs. TTRPGs discussed: AD&D, Middle Earth Role Playing (MERP), Rolemaster (RM), Marvel Superheroes, StarWars the RPG, Fading Suns, Rifts, Generic Universal Role Playing System (GURPS), Video Games discussed: Knights of the Old Republic, Shadow Run Concepts Discussed: thac0, Armor Class, Double 20s, Decapitations Show Notes: around 17 minutes, the audio becomes a bit fainter briefly; we’re still working out our audio. ARMOR PITCH The armor pitch is based on armor types and two characteristics:                 Defensive Modifier: a measure of how elusive your character i

Podcast Testing

I'm trying to host my podcast on Google Drive. Here's a test run. In this episode, Travis and Victoria introduce themselves, discuss armor in AD&D, MERP, Role Master, and then they move on to create an armor system for their Blood of Heroes RPG.

Blog: The Magebanes (Guild)

The Magebanes In Brief The magebanes are a guild responsible for stamping out misuses of magic in Kura. Magebanes are trained in the investigation of the arcane and the containment of dangerous arcana. This means they often operate covertly, with only the council and/or the local hiring agent being aware of their presence. Magebanes almost never advertise. Heraldry The traditional symbol of the magebane is the opposed wands rune, presented either vertically or horizontally: >--------- ---------< This symbol is quickly produced and recognized. More advanced symbols include the hooded mantle of the upper echelon members, sometimes with a vertical wand in accompaniment. Membership Apprentice > Cap > Cloak > Mantle > Council A typical apprenticeship lasts for two years (apprentices are called apprentices), before the newly-titled cape is permitted to handle jobs on her own. After adequate service through approximately five years, the cap

Fiction: The Last of the Last Good King

The Last of the Last Good King Travis J. Rodgers It was in that cool chamber, all alone, with the sounds of pitched combat outside the door, that Doracles realized that his life was ending. His dearest wife Eridani was either dead or would soon be dead. The bodies of his sons, Dorani and Golos, had been found earlier in the day. Where Kalani, his youngest child was, Heaven alone knew. Al-Alamra, his most trusted friend and Master of Horse, had delivered the final message only moments ago: mercenaries had gained entrance to the castle by force or fraud. Countless were dead in all corners. Eridani, who not twenty minutes earlier had gone to bed and ordered him to follow not soon after, was last seen dashing into the servant’s quarters, chased by cruel men with crueler weapons. Having delivered the message, Al-Alamra had snapped shut his helmet, steeled himself, and dashed out into the fray. The door behind him had closed, and the bar had slid back into place, locking it.

Blog: Between Slaying Dragons (What to do with Downtime?)

Between Slaying Dragons: What to do with Downtime? Travis J. Rodgers What is Downtime? Downtime is the time between the characters’ active involvement in adventuring. Downtime can occur if a character is uninvolved in a scene, if the player misses a session, or if the players have reached a natural stopping point before moving onto the next adventure. Additionally, between a session zero and a first session of a campaign, the GM may allow downtime. Downtime gives players a chance to do things that are ancillary to, or at least outside the flow of, the campaign proper. The main desiderata from a gaming point of view are: increasing player enjoyment and fulfillment, allowing individual pursuits that the group need not be involved in, affording an opportunity for players who miss a session to contribute nonetheless to the story, and to minimize what might otherwise be grunt work (exploring, interrogations, restocking supplies). Degrees of Freedom There are three main