Crafting Dimensions: An Adventure in Writing

Project Genesis & Exodus - Update 2

2011-04-15T07:09:00.000+01:00

Ok, there have been some major changes, mainly in the Races players can select, but thats remaining a poorly guarded secret at the moment (if you're on DNDOnlineGames.com we're been discussing it for a couple of weeks now). The story arc for the first quest has been all worked out, just got to get around to working out the instances etc. (i.e. actually writing it out as an adventure rather than a pile...no, pile sounds organised... rather than a heap of notes).

Other commitments are going wild at the moment so expect a huge number of updates from May onwards!

Projects Exodus & Genesis - Update

2011-03-12T19:25:00.002Z

Ok, Been a bit quiet for a while, but development is still happening. Firstly, my wife has joined me on working on both Genesis and Exodus so if I refer to (H) or start talking in first person plural I (S) haven't gone nuts!
OK, on to the update.

Genesis:
Cosmology is under way, its pretty much worked out, its a two deity system with a twist and the twist plays a major part in Exodus. From the cosmology we're getting an idea of the structure of the society, the power dynamic and groups of people. Races and Classes are the next consideration once we've written up the Cosmology and found some deity names that don't suck. We've already decided to cut one race from the 4e rules, but not made any decision on 3.5e yet. Speaking of 3.5e and 4e we're going to try to make Genesis work for both, however Exodus will be 4e simply because it is the most recent system (although some minor rule adaptations may occur).

Exodus:
The first quest is progressing, and we've got a basic story arc worked out for the campaign (up to a point) that is full of twists, turns, and some difficult choices for the PCs (especially some the LG ones!). The main focus now is NPCs, encounters and actually getting it all written down rather than in our heads!

Stay Tuned!

Project Exodus: The Beginning

2011-02-08T12:26:00.007Z

This is what I have come up with for Project Exodus so far, There is a lot to do, but it gives a good starting point with lots to develop.

Starting Level:
This will be a campaign for four low level players; I’m thinking Starting Level 2 at this stage with at least one of the characters being a Rogue. There is a possibility to make it a Startling Level 3 adventure but to give force each character to take a level of Rogue although this may undermine some of the challenges in store. I can see this being episodic, each adventure centred on a treasure – whether the treasures have any link or not is as yet undecided.

The Hook:
The characters respond to an advert looking for treasure hunters posted by an aristocratic gentleman who is looking to replace his current team of treasure hunters who didn’t return from their last job. The man doesn’t give much away other than he has a job for the adventurers, and if they can track down the missing team there will be a bonus.

The Continuation:
From the point of view of the players this campaign will initially be a simple treasure hunt, whether getting artefacts from “dungeons” to negotiating with villages and robbing nobles. However the “missing team” can develop into many possibilities – finding them dead: either killed by a trap, by a rival group of treasure hunters, or something more sinister like a secret society; Finding them alive: possibly trapped, captured or deciding to go it alone (as their own group, or recruited by a competitor or the sinister secret society).

The First Quest:
All I have so far is: Go to a temple and recover a treasure. There is going to be a boat journey to a village near the temple, and the players will need to find information and if possible a guide. The temple is going to seem innocuous enough but will really be a front for worship of an evil deity

Things to Develop:

Cosmology - See Project Genesis
Treasure
Temple
Aristocratic Gentleman (AG)
AG’s Servant
Villagers
Main city
Village

A New Beginning

2011-02-02T08:45:00.004Z

Ok, I'm Back!
Now I still have quite a lot to do but I'm going to not let that get in my way. So I have come up with three projects to work on simultaneously:

1) A New Campaign setting - Project Genesis
Much like Kingmonkey did in Shattered World I'm going to follow Rich Burlew's steps to forming a campaign setting.

2) A New Campaign - Project Exodus
I already have a basic hook, but there is a lot more work to do and here seems like the right place to do it.

3) Concepts - Project Devarim
While I'm not great at the writing part yet (hence the blog) I always come up with interesting fantasy/sci-fi concepts that, when I improve at the writing, I want to try later so I'm going to post them here to stop me forgetting them.

There is a possible fourth project as I have a concept that I'm working on with the wife but it's hit a brick wall at the moment and I need to try and work that out before I go any further.

Hope you're out there good readers!

New Start

2010-12-13T17:09:00.001Z

OK I've been quite lax/very busy with other things and as such haven't posted anything on here for ages!!

HOWEVER!!!!

As of December 15th 90% of my uni work is out of the way so I'm going to restart this blog and work on lots of new things!!! See you in the New Year!!!

Bridge - A Town Divided

2010-03-09T19:56:00.005Z

A Brief History:
Bridge was originally two smaller towns situated either side of Red Rock Canyon - a 250-foot deep scar down the countryside into which the Parle river cascades then disappears underground.

Developing the Concept:
The main two reasons for big settlements are either that the area is: resource rich; or strategically valuable. Since the town was originally two towns divided by the canyon, it seems unlikely that it is the latter, strategic, option as this suggests danger, or a threat, and defending two towns (rather than one) sounds logistically suspect to say the least. Because of this I’m going for the resource rich option. The two towns grew up on either side of the canyon which suggests to me that the resources are in the canyon walls – each town controlled a face of the canyon – so that leaves mineral options: Gold, Silver or Iron (I’m leaving out coal as I don’t want to steampunk it) or gemstones: Emeralds, Diamonds, even Quartz. The question is: What would make someone dangle themselves off a piece of rope over a 250 foot drop. Anything too precious and the town becomes Fort Knox, and that doesn’t really suit the feel I’m aiming for. Since Coal is out of the question I guess it has to be Iron (but I may change my mind later). To keep the standerd weapon/armour prices there has to be a forest within a reasonable distance (20-50 miles) to provide plenty of wood and other natural materials.

This is about as much as I have figured out for now and provides enough for me to base the rest of the adventure around. The surrounding towns and villages are patrolled by the town guard and this could be an opening for the first quest.

Settlement Creation

2010-03-09T11:57:00.002Z

OK I have run up against my age old problem - thinking too much!!

After a long discussion with someone over the usefulness of my Settlement Generator I have decided to scrap it! While it is useful, it is far too prescriptive and comprehensive. It is unnecessary for most people to know all the information generated, especially since most towns are only encountered once - for a couple of days. The exercise wasn't a complete waste of time as it let me consider the differing types of settlement and the sheer range of possibilities. So I have decided before I dig deeper into the quests and storyline behind the adventure I'm planning I'm going to design the city.

I've got a concept going and this will follow later.

The Adventure Begins!

2010-03-04T09:06:00.002Z

The adventures of Cass in "Shattered Inheritance" have begun! keep track of his adventures here!

Writer's Block

2010-03-01T10:37:00.002Z

Ok, so I've decided that while I like the concept for the campaign I described below, I'm not too enthused by the first quest and I'm finding it very hard to write, so I'm going to put it on the pile and save it for later...need a new quest now.

Just re-watched Saving Private Ryan, so all the ideas I'm coming up with are very war themed - not something I want to include in this campaign yet. Saying this it has made me think that an on-going conflict with a neighbouring nation could produce some interesting quests based on the front lines.

I'm thinking about changing them from an internal "police" force to more of a basic guard platoon. Possible first quest - escourt a V.I.P. somewhere and get ambushed.

The Adventures of Cass

2010-02-27T12:14:00.004Z

So Cass was accepted into the game! I'm working on the character sheet at the moment, which would be easier if I hadn't lent my 3.5e Players Handbook to my brother (T). Luckily H's PHB is on the boat and we're going to pick that up soon!

Cass' character has developed a bit more in my head, nothing that has drastically changed it other than he has (since the Introduction) started wearing a bandana across his mouth to hide his tusk (think bandit/cowboy style). He is, by trade, a blacksmith (and a mercenary - to fit the campaign story) and so I wanted to incorporate this into his character as Craft skills are vastly underused in DnD. As a result of this he uses a Warhammer as his weapon of choice and also uses this as his main tool for smithing. I'm thinking Medium armour would suit him as well as he is very much a melee fighter, but I'm yet to get that far.

Character Sheet

Campaign Idea

2010-02-20T19:58:00.000Z

OK, so I'm going to start writing a campaign, I already have the concept for the characters and their role, as well as ideas for a major and a minor NPC.

The Concept
The Player Characters (PCs) are members of the town guard. The town - Parle. Due to the nature of the concept I'm going to run it as an episodic campaign with reoccurring characters - basically a fantasy crime drama with magic. This basic setting allows for 3-5 PCs, explainable character absences and an extensive variety of quests.

The First Quest
The first quest is going to be an introduction into the roles, and not overtly connected to the main story arc - mainly because I'm yet to decide on it. The hook is simple: first there has been a murder in Parle and the team must find out whodunnit. From there it will progress through a number of clues and subsequent murders. At the same time (approx after the 2nd or 3rd murder) they will be given a second case - a Wizard has gone missing. innoccuous enough, but the two are actually connected, the wizard (who runs a potion and magic shop) has tried to make a potion and got the recipe wrong (or the recipe has been switched) and has been turned into a [insert monster of appropriate level and scariness]. Track, Kill/Capture, Kudos and Reward.

While it sounds like I've got it all worked out, its still very much in the planning stages! Although I have pretty much got the Wizard's shop mapped out (pictures to follow soon). I may reverse the order of the cases and: have the wizards shop broken into (or rather: out of) and the Wizard missing; then when they return to the Captain's office they are told of the murder.

The NPC's
Captain Albrin Weller
The Captain of the Parle Guard
not got much of his character worked out yet, but thats my next priority.

The Wizard
Again, next priority... I promise!

2010-02-20T11:23:00.000Z

I've borrowed this from Shattered World (see links). The author of that blog is using it as a basis for constructing a new DnD campaign setting - something I would love to do one day!

They reference Rich Burlew (from Giant in the Playground) and his 11 basic assumptions of (existing, main-stream) DnD campaign settings:

Humans dominate the world.
Gods are real and active.
Magic is real and can be used by anyone who learns it.
Opposite alignments fight each other.
Arcane and divine magic are inherently separate.
The wilderness is separate enough from the cities to justify 3 wilderness-oriented classes.
There are hundreds of intelligent species of creatures, but 99% of them are considered "monsters".
Arcane magic is impersonal and requires no "deal" with a supernatural being.
Beings from other planes of existence try to influence the mortal world, usually on behalf of gods/alignments.
Magic items are assumed to be available, and game balance proceeds from that assumption.
Magic is consequence-free.

One of the reasons I'm putting this here is to keep hold of it for when I finally come to create my own campaign setting - it seems like a good trigger for important questions about the world. Another reason is that it highlights the kind of questions (and answers) one must ask about anything they are creating - from characters to cosmos. Thus far, the one thing I have learned in my years trying to write; reading about writing; and thinking about writing; is good writing comes from questions.

Questions begat few answers and more questions in a way the old testament would be jealous of. From the benign -"Why does Sammy always wear her hair up?" - to the ridiculous - "What if time travel was not only possible but available?". Both these questions allow us to know our creation even better and as such describe it better to someone else!

Character Background - Cass Bridgemore

2010-02-19T16:08:00.000Z

Cass is a character I've had as a concept for a long time and has had various incarnations. He originally started as a She - Cassandra - but as the character developed it felt more and more male. The text below is a background placed in application to a game set in quite a well crafted homebrew world hence the references to past events and custom gods. The Game Ad asked for something essential to the character, and considering "Nonhumans travelling openly often face confusion or open fear from citizens." (taken from the advert) and his Half-Orc race I wanted to reflect his interractions with people.

Cass’ start wasn’t easy, but then in the Post-Ascendancy world whose was? The only child of a single mother Cass was often bullied and rarely attended school, preferring to spend his time in the company of the local blacksmith. It was here that he gained his education, learning: to work metal; the stories of Keotil; and, in time, a small number spells to aid his craft. It wasn’t just his mother’s reputation that tainted his relationships, he wasn’t all human. His mother never spoke of his father or how Cass came to be, but his greenish skin and solitary tusk gave him a hint of his origins. However it was these traits that also set him apart from the other residents of the village – they feared him.
The blacksmith was old when Cass met him, and once he died, Cass had little holding him to his village – his mother had remarried, and he hated everyone else – so he packed his meagre possessions and set off to earn his fortune. He wandered between villages finding work where he could: working farms; mending, or making, tools; and occasionally warding off marauding creatures. It was a simple life, living hand to mouth, looking after himself – he was happy.

They were coming for him again, it wasn’t surprising really, but he hadn’t meant to scare her. He’d been in Brook for nearly six months, and had actually started to like the place. The people left him alone (except when they wanted to pay him for something) the village’s smith was getting old and had welcomed the help. This was when the problems always arose - when he relaxed. The young girl had been playing with her dog in the street and the calm scene had brought a joy to his heart he hadn’t felt in a long time. The dogs ball had rolled to his feet and he picked it up offering it back to the girl with a smile – that smile, his vile, angry tusk, usually hidden, revealed. As soon as she’d screamed he’d known – it was time to go. He’d picked up his tools as quickly as possible and set off for home ’they’ll be five, maybe 10 minutes behind’ he thought as he hurried out to his house just past the village boundary. He never carried much with him, and had the important things packed and ready for times like this. He’d liked Brook, '’bye old house’. He headed off into the afternoon sun...

I'll keep you posted on how Cass does in the selection process...

Settlement Generator

2010-02-19T11:31:00.000Z

I'm currently playing around with some math and creating a random town generator, all the ones I've come across so far concentrate on part of the city - commerce, defence, population dynamic - I'm trying to combine all these elements into a single generator. I have (what I think are) reasonable numbes eing generated so far, but I need people to test is and see if there is a consensus (link below) - It is in Excel 2007 (only program I have access to both at Uni and Home) so it won't work on Excel 2003 as it uses some formulae that aren't in 2003.

So please, download my Settlement Generator and let me know what you think!

And so it begins...

2010-02-19T11:02:00.000Z

Welcome Reader!

This concept has been running around my head for some time and after some encouragement I have decided to start. This will blog my development as a DM and as a Writer.

So a little about me, I'm 23, happily married, and have always wanted to be an author. I discovered Dungeons and Dragons many years ago, but didn't actually start playing until I started uni. My wife (H), my dog (P) and my spider (N) are my main influences for different reasons and they will probabily pop up quite a lot.

Thats about it for now, once I'm properly set up I'll post again, but until then: Have Fun!