It was a rainy Sunday so I spent most of the afternoon, and evening wandering the world wide web in search of gaming blogs. I was also on the hunt for a freeware mapping program. I finally found a site that wasn't "corrupted" or something, and downloaded Dungeon Crafter 3. I experimented with it a short time, and like it so far. Not really great for anything but floor plans, but I'm happy with what it can do. I know the program has been out a couple of years but it's new to me. I also found Dungeonforge, but it's downloading as I write this ( I'm multi-tasking ), and probably will play around with it tomorrow. I also plan on comparing the two for a review; a Dungeon Crafter 3 versus Dungeonforge article.
Speaking of maps, I was looking through a storage box for something, and I found an old map I had made as a prop for my Rolemaster campaign. I drew the map on parchment paper; then I aged it a bit, crumpled it, and even scorched the edges a bit with a lighter. I then later photocopied it so I could make notes about what was in the dungeon, and be able to give the map to the players. ( I thought it would save time mapping. They wanted very accurate maps... )
Here is the map:
It looks like part of the northwest corner is missing! I apparently tore it off, or the years of getting packed and repacked haven't been kind to the map. I may make another copy, then age and distress it even more. Perhaps add some odd markings, runes or something. Maybe a blood spot or two...
It's not that big, and not all that impressive, but it was an effective prop for the players, and made my life a little easier. Once I start gaming again, I plan on using more props.
A word on creativity...
If you get the chance check out the blog,
A Hamsterish Hoard of Dungeons and Dragons , the blogger in one of their many great posts describes different kinds of unusual metals. I thought they were very original, and while I may never use those in a campaign; I may eventually create some of my own odd and unusual substances for a campaign. Here is the description of one of the metals...
Pashken: Dull, almost pewter grey in colour, this metal is strong enough to be made into weaponry but is not recommended for armour. It is riddled through with a strange absorbent quality to its substance; a pashken sword, for example, will absorb as much as a flask of any fluid applied to it. Impact will cause the fluid to be expelled.
Imagine a dagger made from Pashken. It could be dipped in venom, poison, or maybe even acid, and as long as it was handled carefully the next blow would deliver not only a nasty wound, but also quite a surprise!
This is one of the reasons I have started to peruse the many blogs, and websites about role-playing games. Reading what all these different GMs create is very synergistic. It really helps to jump start my creativity. If you ever feel yourself in a creative slump it helps to see what other people are doing.
Memories
While I was searching for whatever I was searching for ( I have already forgetten! ); I found a blast from the past. The convention program book from Origins 84! I'm surprised I still had it, and flipped through it. It was mainly advertisments, with a few interesting things which I may write about later. Now, if I can just find my Crown Royal bag of dice...
Origins was a national gaming convention, and at one point apparently, an international gaming convention. Now I believe it is called Origins Game Fair, and mainly held in Columbus, Ohio. About the only thing I remember about this convention is that I forgot to mail in the early registration packet for me and a friend. UGH! When I told him about my mistake on the first day of the convention he was, to put it mildly, a little ticked off. At least he was until we saw the line for early registration. It was much longer than the line for people buying their ticket that day. We were lucky, we speed through the line, and was in the convention so much faster than anyone who had pre-registered. And if I recall correctly we got to play in all the games we wanted to. One worry was that the slots may have filled up, but that wasn't the case. Bwahahahahahaha! I was soooooooo lucky...
Time for me to sign off for now. Keep on gaming!
